My new Cell Phone Number- 630-453-7205

Crazy Guy goes Nuts went confronted with Us

Yesterday we went to the Boston Marathon to watch a friend of ours run it. The Marathon in itself has nothing to do with the rest of this posting. Afterwards we went to dinner at this Bar where you can get a 1/2 pound burger and fries for only $1.95. Again, this has nothing to do with the main point of this posting. After talking for a while, we decided to try and walk across town and catch a train that was leaving in 10 minutes. When we got to the train station, it had already left, which meant we had to wait for the next train which came in an hour and a half. The train station is underneath the Boston Garden (the basketball court where the Boston Celtics play), and the Celtics Game was starting at the exact time we showed up. Here's where the action took place.

None of us cared to go to the game (us being Weber, Scott, Drewman, Phil, Chaz, Jessica, Doug, a girl from El Salvador, and myself), so we sat down at a wall and began waiting for the next train. There were some people trying to sell their tickets near the place we were sitting, so Weber asked a fairly wealthy looking guy how much a ticket cost. He told Dave they were $15 seats, but he would give them to us for only $10. Weber came back to us and asked how much we would pay to see the Celtics play. After a bit of deliberation, Drew and I told Weber no more than $3. When Weber told the guy (whom I'm going to call "Boss" for the rest of this posting), he laughed at us and walked away. Drew, Chaz, Scott and I knew that there was no market this evening, and that Boss would eventually come back to us because no one wanted to see the Celtics play their last game of the season being they just missed the playoffs. I promised the group that we would get the tickets for $3 if we only waited, although none of really cared if we went to the game or got on the train and went home. Bargaining is something that most of us know how to do pretty well, having lived in all the places we've lived, so we continued to wait....

If you know me, you know that I'm fairly stubborn and a bit of a smart-ass at times. If you know any of my friends, you know that we tend to feed off of each other, and they are probably even better at getting people riled up than I am (Brent being the best I've ever known). About to come is a graphic description of the ensueing events. Please Note that Boss is a little insane, and most people have a good time with us when we do stuff like this. We never expected him to get so upset so quickly.

Boss kind of wandered over in our general direction. He then told us that we could have the tickets for only $5. Normally we would have just bought the tickets, but again, none of us wanted to see the game so we stuck to our original plan and just told the guy "No Thanks". He was getting a little angry in the face, so he asked us "Fine, how much do you want them for?". Chaz quickly chimed in and said, "We have $30. You give us 10 tickets, and we'll give you the $30". Boss lauged to himself and said "You want tickets to the Boston Celtics for $3 a piece? I would throw them in the trashcan before I sell them to you mother#@**#* for $3." At this point, we probably should have just gotten quiet, but Drewman came to the rescue with, "I once threw $30 in a trashcan too!". Boss responded with, "I'de tear them up first you F#@*#*, you're not getting these tickets", and then he walked out the door. We continued to sit along the wall talking amongst ourselves wondering WHAT IN THE WORLD just happened, we were only bargaining with the guy, not trying to get him upset!

We quite honestly didn't know what to do. We figured that it was all over, and that he wasn't going to come back. We made jokes like "If he comes back to tear up the tickets and throw them in the trashcan, we'll take out $30 and tear it up, then throw it in the trashcan." 10 minutes later, we saw Boss come back through the doors. Some other tall guy walked up to us and told us that he would sell us 10 tickets for $30, and we quickly knew that Boss had given him the tickets to sell to us because he couldn't find anyone else to buy. At this point we didn't want anything to do with the tickets. Chaz told the tall guy that we would only buy from the guy who had given him those tickets. Boss wasn't far behind the guy, so he heard Chaz say that, and he went ape. He came and took the tickets out of the tall guys hand, and preceeded to SCREAM at us at the top of his lungs. Stuff that I can not and will not repeat, but something to the affect of "Go bleep your mothers bleep".

Last I remember, he was walking out the door daring us to come outside and get the tickets for free. None of us really knew what to do, so we just stared at the ground in front of us waiting for him to leave.

End of Story.

Son of a..... Where's the instant Replay?

Driving on Roosevelt, the speed limit is 35mph. I was going the speed limit, and I had my seat belt on. The light turned yellow at Lorraine, and I had no option but to go thru it, as there was a car close behind me. So I did. Next thing I know, the siren lights are on behind me, and a cop is pulling me over. Ok. He tells me I just ran a red light. I tell him it was yellow. He said he was gonna give me a ticket for running a red, end of discussion.

Funny thing is, the first thought that came to mind was "Well let's just look at the instant replay. I KNOW that the light was yellow, you can't run a red light on Roosevelt and Lorraine and not get hit by cross Traffic. The instant replay will show the light was hardcore in the middle of being yellow".

As soon as the thought entered my mind, I realized I wasn't playing on national television, and there was no instant replay. SON OF A ....... I've decided to take this as a good sign that I've been watching too many sports on ESPN. I'm gonna go outside and get some fresh air.

Putting it Off

I have a bunch of emails to write, and I don't want to write them because I am lazy. I will wait, and talk meaningless sports talk.

So March Madness has lost its luster this year. Usually I am at least somewhat excited about the Championship Game, but this year I really couldn't care less. I really dislike Florida(and think they got gifts the whole way to the championship game), so usually I would just root for the other team and be kind of interested in the game. For instance, if Duke was in the championship game, I would automatically root for the other guys because I hate Duke, thus I would be interested in the game and even feel invested in the other team. But this year, the other team is UCLA, and let's be honest here, a UCLA game is boring to watch because they have no offense. This year, two mediocre teams made it to the championship game, and I am apathetic to the outcome, which is just strange for me in any type of sporting event.

So in the words of a poster

one more post

This post is for two people: Matheo Gavilano and Scott Aronson

I've been watching a lot of tennis on ESPN2. I've gotten so into it that I actually can't wait until the next match. Yesterday there was a woman's tennis match on, and it was awesome (yes scott, not only tennis on TV, but WOMAN'S tennis). Best of 3 sets. Sharapova versus Golovin. Golovin was down one set, and down 5-1 in the second set. She saved 4 match points, and then proceeded to come back and win the set. Incredible. There were points where I had to stand up off the couch. She later rolled her ankle and tore two ligaments, but the match was unbelievable.

So now you know how low I've gone. I'm interested in Woman's tennis.

ESPN and ESPN2 and ESPN

I've been reading a book that a friend told me about called "Open Veins of Latin America". It's a pretty heavy book that so far has done quite a bit of bashing on Capitalism and what it has done to Latin America (Matheo, you would love this book). Some of the stuff is really good, and some a little off base, but for the most part it gives a pretty accurate history. The rich and the powerful feed on the poor and powerless, it's the basic story of life for much of the world. I saw a demotivational poster for sale that said it quite well

in case you can't read it, it says "A company that will go to the ends of the earth for its people will find it can hire them for about 10% of the cost of Americans"

As for me, other than reading and sleeping, I've been watching a lot of ESPN. In the morning I wake up and watch SportsCenter on ESPN. After SportsCenter, I might watch it again, or I might change the channel to ESPN2. Either way, I watch more sports. After that I watch Pardon the Interruption on ESPN, and then flip back to ESPN2 to make sure I'm not missing anything. If I have any energy left after all that, I may or may not watch College Gameday on ESPN. Then I sleep. Then I eat. Then I check to see if my eyes are white yet, which they never are. But they are more white, which is always encouraging.

By the way, to all my students, the Final Four is a little whacky this year. I told you that usually 2 number "1" seeds make it to the Final Four, which is usually true....but not this year. I suggest getting together on Saturday and rooting for George Mason, the team that shouldn't be there. And the Illini got screwed, they should totally be in the final four, just in case you didn't know....

an email, nature, plazas, and chaotic thoughts

I've been wanting to write for a while about some of the events of the last week and a half. Now I don't care to mention them at all. I got an email today that was titled "You are leaving the 21st". Before even opening it, my heart dropped. I didn't actually expect this to happen. The nightmare turned reality. Even when I wrote home and asked someone to find a flight, I thought it was just words and words don't have much power, right? Something would change and I would end up being alright, without any sickness, my liver perfectly healthy. Just a big scare, another lesson in trusting God.

The title of the email couldn't actually be right, so I opened it up. Crap. Crap. Crap. No Way. Tears flooded my eyes, but I'm way too tough to cry in the office so I held them back and tried to focus on the screen and on the words and I couldn't but I tried and tried and tried. I swore in my head, twice, three times, four times, five times, and then closed the window and left the office to the fresh air where nature could refresh me and revive me and beat me once again. God I love nature.

I left the school to go get my test results. Why do I have to carry them? Why can't the dumb lab send them to the doctor. Now I have two trips instead of one. Why am I so cranky? I got the results and opened them as soon as I got outside. Medical words in Spanish made it much more difficult, but I got the gist from looking at the Bilirrubina and other numbers. I'm still really sick, my liver isn't doing its job. I had time before the doctor got to see the numbers, so I walked over to a nearby plaza and sat down. God I love plazas.

My usually simple thoughts were no longer simple. I was sad. I was happy. I was relieved. I was grateful to my family, they care so much, way too much, they're too good to me. I was mad. I was excited. I was sad. So damn sad. I thought back to the Bolivian Dodgeball tournament I played in two weekends ago with my students, and how we made it to the championship game out of 13 schools, and I got sad. I thought about when I listened to an Aymara priest talk about the beliefs in the Campos, and I was thankful I got to hear it. I thought about the near raping under my Terraza the other night, and I was glad I was there at that moment in that exact place. I thought about the Mountaineering Club and their trip this weekend with the Shoe Shiner guys, and I got more sad. So damn sad. Am I being the biggest wimp by not going? I know I could go, I know I could make it down that trail. Why am I being a panzy? Then I thought about my students and how I'm leaving them and how I have to say goodbye TOMORROW because many of them will be gone on the Mountaineering Trip on Monday, and the sadness hit a new level, and the tears came. Oh man. Then I thought about how I'm gonna see my brother and sister and mom and dad and new sister and spend time with all of them, and I felt a bit better, a bit happier. Then I thought about all I had to do before I left. Why am I sitting here thinking and feeling and watching the little kids play soccer, when I have so much to do? oh yeah, I love plazas. I sat there for the next hour.

I then went to the doctor. Good news. Bad news. News. I am closer than I could have imagined to really screwing things up. Relief. There is still hope and I will still recover, if I can not be stupid. I have to be careful. I am sicker than I thought. No room for error. Por lo menos, un mes en la cama. I'm glad I have a plane ticket for Tuesday. I am sad.

Now I have to tell people. I have to find a way to say good-bye to my home, to my family. I may never come back. I'm confused and I wish it could be easier, but it can't. It never is. If it were easy it wouldn't be very meaningful. I'm glad it's not easy. I thank God this will not be easy. If it were easy I would have to think that maybe my time here was a waste. At least the hardness gives me hope that there was a purpose in me being here, that I served God and people with my heart. My heart that now feels so broken....

God I love life.

from writing book entry to blog entry

As I walked home tonight, I had thought after thought after thought. Every now and then, I have moments of clarity and this was one of them. The lightning and thunder shook the ground where I walked, yet it had not yet begun to rain. The air chilled by the second, yet I felt warm. I looked up at the sky and bolt after bolt lit up the darkness that surrounded me, while the deep roar shook my soul and spoke. At one moment, I saw a brilliant, neonic, white, etch it's way jaggedly through the blackness. It did it so slowly that I can trace it in my mind. It stayed for so long that I thought time stopped. If only time had really stopped....if only i needn't be bound by past, present, and future. If only.

Pain can be so deep it can cripple us. Sorrow can be so sad it can kill us. I looked into the eyes of a young mother over the weekend, and saw what I frequently see in eyes: intense hurt. I didn't hear much of what she had to say, but I saw her saying it. Her eyes told the story for her, as they often do, and once again my heart ached and my head throbbed. Why can't it all stop, just for a short time? All of the oppression, all of the mourning, and all of the evil. This isn't how it's supposed to be. And it can be better, that I truly believe. Maybe I've become a litttle bit of an idealist without realizing it. When did I start to dream in such big proportions? Who's to blame, or who can I go out and thank? If only time had stopped when the lightning traced its path through the sky. If only.

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 "It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning."

James 4:9 "Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

Psalm 34:18 " The LORD is close tot he brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Before I finished my walk home, it began to rain. Typical. Soaking wet, I changed my clothes, and got myself relatively warm, only to be reminded once again of all those who would endure the cold, wet, night under a bridge somewhere. Worst of all, many without feeling loved and most without hope. I thought of yesterday, ash Wednesday, and began to really process the significance of Lent. I thought of Isaiah 58, which we just read at the Bakers the other night. It tells us that our fasting should lose the chains of injustice, set the oppressed free, break the yoke, share food with the hungry, provide shelter for the poor, clothe the naked, and not turn away from your own flesh and blood. This is the meaning of fasting, a meaning so deep I read the words again and again and again and still they refuse to seep into my innermost core. Fasting is meant to do all of that? Wow. I want that, that's what what my soul ultimately yearns for. To free the oppressed and in no way be the oppressor. To do that I have to be completely humble, with no power. Or in other words, be truly poor in spirit as Jesus was.

So in the spirit of Lent, truly think of the real meaning of "fasting". Go to the house of mourning, for God is near to the brokenhearted.

The rain has stopped.

Arequipa and Back

Here are some picture of the weekend. I went to Arequipa over the weekend and got to celebrate two carnaval's, because I made it back in time for the La Paz carnaval on Tuesday. I will write of what happened over the weekend when I get the chance. Right now I have to plan for another day of teaching....

A picture of Monica and I in front of the fountain at the Plaza de Armas.

A Picture of us in front of the main Cathedral in the center of town (photo taken a completely different night)

Carnaval in La Paz. As soon as I got back from Arequipa, I got hit multiple times by water balloons. In fact, right now I sit at the computer soaking wet (i saw the truck coming full of teenagers, but I froze). That is one huge difference between La Paz and Arequipa. In La Paz, they mostly throw water balloons. In Arequipa, they mostly throw buckets of water, paint, and motor oil. I still don't understand the oil, but we were able to stay away from it the whole time. Back in La Paz, the costumes and dances continued all day. Very very interesting time.

Ok I will post in the next couple of days to tell everyone about the weekend. Hope all is well.

Ceja Stares

Walking in El Alto, especially the Ceja (or eyebrow), almost always brings amusement. I swear, these people have never seen a blonde person in their life. Minutes ago, I passed a group of teenage looking guys, and one of them nudged his friends to look at me. They stared, and stared, and stared, and then laughed and laughed and laughed (really, this is a pretty daily routine walking through the Ceja). Then, they attempted to pelt me with about 10 water balloons (also pretty ordinary for Carnival season). None of the balloons hit me. I almost started to laugh, being they couldn't hit me from 15 feet away. Instead, I told them they should try using their feet next time. Then I laughed.

Carnaval 2006

so far, no hits on me. count may rise exponentially in this next week.

the time has come.....

so why haven't i been posting??

1. I'm lazy
2. I don't have much to say
3. The times I'm near a computer, I'm tired

Right now, all three of the above apply. But I'm gonna suck it up, and try to write a little bit.

Times are starting to get exciting in South America. Carnaval is quickly approaching, which means that everyone under the age of 60 gets excited. Grown men find themselved chucking water balloons at helpless youngsters, while the youngsters devise over-ly complex plans to wet the elderly (which is everyone above the age of 30 for them). Women who think it is a childish thing to do suddenly begin filling water balloons out of revenge and protection, and gringos find themselves constantly running for cover, lest they get the brunt of everyones pent-up water-balloon-throwing energy.

Knowing that this is my last Carnaval for a few years (at least I think), I am saving up my energy for one day. I am saving up my balloons for one day. I am saving everything I have, for one glorious day of gringo revenge. I will wet the young and the old, the teething and the balding, and the male and the female.

You see, Wes and I have begun discussing plans. We have a catapult (sp?) in our mind, built on our Deck, and able to hit anyone within a square mile. In addition, I have the support of twelve 8th grade students (possibly less depending on the mood of the girls). And lets face it, 8th grade boys, and anyone willing to teach 8th grade boys, were made for this holiday.

This is the month where water is our friend, and childhood returns to everyone, the young and the old. It is the month of Carnaval....the greatest holiday ever created.....

---pics to come---

Much Better

Thank you for all your prayers. Last week I was able to teach all 5 days without missing a thing. I feel much better and am regaining energy by the day. The jaundice has almost completely faded, and I feel almost normal. This weekend I plan on making it back into the Mountains to start planning for the next few trips with the students.

On Saturday I moved back up to El Alto (my life is easily moved from one place to another with only one bag). I'm living with a guy named Wes who works for Word Made Flesh.

Hasta Luego

here it is....

here is a pic of my yellow eyes, now that the jaundice is fading. They were REALLY yellow last week, but I never got a picture of it.

Right now I'm on the recovery. I feel much better and finally have an appetite, so I have a lot of work to do in order to get the 30 pounds that I lost back.

I went back to school yesterday, and have been able to make it through both days without too much pain. Last week I tried to go to school and never made it longer than a couple of hours. Plus I don't think that the students were enjoying my looks very much. LJ, an eight grader, was talking to me and in the middle of her sentence said, "You know, it's kind of freakin me out to talk to you with your yellow skin and yellow eyes, so I'm gonna go", and she walked away. Other comments included, "Dude, Mr. Watson, you don't look so good." and "I can't tell the difference between your hair, skin, and eyes". The comments from the younger students were even funnier because they tend not to hold anything in.

Anyways, after 10 straight days of laying in a bed and resting, I'm back up and feeling much better. Everyone is telling me that I need to continue to rest, or I could get chronic Hepatitis, so I'm still taking it easy.

Sorry I wasn't able to post more last week, but I couldn't sit up to use the computer for more than a few minutes without getting tired. Thank you all for your prayers, I could have never recovered so fast without them.

Yellow Eyes, Yellow Skin means what.....

well the word that comes to mind is Jaundice. You know, the pictures you always see in health books and science books, maybe occasionally in a National Geographic or a world news picture of sick people dying.

I am those pictures. I came down with something pretty ugly on Tuesday afternoon (I couldn't stand up straight, and my stomach was in excruciating pain), and ended up missing the rest of the week of School. After seeing 2 doctors and having 4 blood tests, 2 ultrasounds, 3 urine tests, a variety of people poking at my stomach, and seeing the white of my eyes turn yellow, it was decided that I needed an operation. Not the kind of operation where they cut you open, but the kind of operation where they stick a scope down your stomach, and then down your intestines until they find the main tube that feeds bile into your stomach from the pancreas, gall bladder, and liver. They then make a small incision to release a Gall Stone, and once again allow the flow of bile into the intestines, thus fixing the problem.

I personally didn't like this option, so on Friday I went to a 3 doctor for more tests. Actually our financial director at the school MADE me go. I was put in the hospital (if that's what you want to call it), and after a day was told that I had a very serious and advanced case of Hepatitus A. There was, and still is, very serious suspicion as to if this is the problem. Hep A does occasionally cause some abdominal pain, but with this case this is all I've had. They haven't completely ruled out Apendicitis, although I highly doubt this being the nature of how long I've had the pain. Tomorrow morning I will return for more tests.

Anyways, I am currently out of commission for a while, so maybe I can post more often. I still can't stand for more than a few minutes, my stomach is still in a lot of pain (although not as severe), and my eyes and skin are the yellowest they've been (which kind of freaks me out), but I think I'm on the road to recovery.

Stay in prayer over these next few days....

180 Hours Later, a little bit smarter.

I made it to Patagonia, and it was amazing. The whole area. I hiked for 4 days in the "Torres del Paine", which has glaciers that would stop me for hours at a time. Glacier Grey will forever stick in my mind as the most impressive site that my eyes have ever seen in the outdoors. The lakes were the same color blue that I saw at the beatiful beaches of the Carribean. A blue that doesn't make any sense at all in the middle of the mountains. So was it worth it? 180 hours of bus time, just to catch a glimpse of God's beauty and be in a place where the sun doesn't set until 11 oclock pm and rise at 4:30am. Yes, and here are just three moments that stick out.

We met a guy in the city of Osorno, Christian, that went out of his way to help us. He spent his whole day, showing us the city, and then went into the municipal courts to talk to some friends about getting us a free campsite. He didn't even know us, but he served us in unimaginable ways. It was hard at times to just let someone serve you the way he did. Sometimes I just wished he would let us go on our own, but then I realized that that was most likely my pride of not wanting to be helped and served so much. Without people who are willing to be served, what is the point of people who are willing to serve?

At Greys glacier in the Torres del Paine, Randy and I had just hiked 11kms and we came across a Brazilian couple that we got to talking to while overlooking the most amazing glacier. After learning a little bit about each other, Randy asked them a question that opened up a hour long conversation where we just sat and listened: What do you think of Americans? I learned more about that guy, Roberto, in the next hour than I have ever learned about anyone in such a short time. I have yet to meet a Brazilian that I don't like, and I have yet to meet a Brazilian that doesn't hate America. This was so exception. The guy was awesome, and he just talked and talked, while his wife sat there a little embarassed at the things he was saying so openly. By the end of the conversation (which we had to stop because we had to hike the 11km back), it had come to the point that he has lost all faith in Humanity. He told Randy and I that he only trusted 4 people at this point in his life: himself, his wife, and Randy and I. The funny thing is that all he knew about us was that we lived in La Paz and cared about Latin America, and that we both play basketball. Other than that, we just sat and listened to him, which is what so many people need. Just to be listened to, to hear there thoughts and not necessarily hear anything back.

In Arica, only 8 hours from being back in La Paz, Randy and I got asked by a bunch of High School students to play in their Rugby game on the beach. I don't know what it was about being on the beach playing a game that I didn't know very much about that was so refreshing to my soul. Maybe it was nice to call yourself Estadounidense (from the States), and not have people look down on you and even invite you to do something with them. The fact is, most people don't like Americans down here. They hate Bush, and that is usually the first thing I hear about. Most Christians here won't even believe that a Christian COULD vote for Bush. It makes no sense to them. And as soon as you tell them where you're from, it ends any type of a conversation, especailly in Bolivia. There are exceptions of course. This was one of those exceptions, and it was really good for me and my soul. Also, it turns out Randy and I are pretty good at Rugby.

So yeah, I spent 180 hours on buses. But I learned more about the cultures down here in South America. I learned more about how people think in this world. And it made me question many things about the role of the culture in which we are raised. I plan on writing more about the Brazilian couple and what they said in a future blog, but right now I'm still processing.

What is the role of the most powerful nation in the world? Obvious answers to this question don't necessarily mean obvious responses.

----In case you haven't heard, Evo Moralis just won the presidency here in Bolivia. Nobody knows what that means for Bolivia right now, or in the long run. He is the leader of the Socialistic Movement in Bolivia, so only time can tell what is in store for Bolivia. He has a very strong anti-American sentiment, and is working more closely with Chavez of Venezuela and Castro of Cuba.

----Congratulations to my bro Dave on his engagement to Nickie. I wish I could be there with you to celebrate. I am already looking forward to the wedding. Send me pictures of the ring and whatever else when you get the chance.

----A very Happy Birthday to Monica Ghali.

When I get my pictures downloaded, I will post them on the site.

Update on Adventure

The title might be a little misleading. I actually haven't had an adventure lately. I've been sitting in bus, or buses, for over 50 hours now. In our first 48 hours away from La Paz, we were on a bus for 45 of them.

I'm in Osorno. This is the first time I've ever heard of this city.

I have a ticket to Punta Arenas, the southern most city in the world. We have to take a bus into Argentina first, and then back into Chile to get there. We will then be hiking into Patagonia and the beautiful mountains and mountain lakes that are surrounding the area. I'm not sure how long we will stay, but it might be 4 or 5 days of just camping and enjoying the hikes and scenery.

Once we get there, it will not cost a thing. We have fishing poles, water filters, tents, and hammocks to live off the land for quite a while. Apparently the mountains just run straight into the Pacific Ocean all over the area. I am more than excited to see this amazing site. I probably won't be able to post again for a while, so I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone, especially the family, whom I will be away from for my second Christmas (which is way too much).

Mom-Merry Christmas. I love and miss you. Christie- You're in my prayers all the time. I love you. Dave- Michigan for christmas huh? too bad it's not back to Bolivia, but i understand. Dad- Give Mark a hug for me and have a Merry Christmas with everyone.

Christmas Plans

I am off to Chile for Christmas Break. The US Embassy gave me a temporary passport, and now the plan is to get as far south in Chile that we can (randy, caity, and I). I'm going to take cash, and when I get half way through it, I will turn around and come back. Randy and Caity have the morbid goal of finding a penguin and kicking it, while my goal is just to get to Patagonia.

I'm guessing this adventure will last about 2 weeks, which will leave me with one more week of freedom. I'm hoping to hike over half of the mountain range (the Cordillera Real) with this one extra week. We'll see.

Anyways, Merry Christmas to all. You are all in my prayers over this holliday season.

Updates on Life

So an update is necessary on a few things: I do not have my passport, and I will not have it for a while longer. I went to pick it up today at the Embassy, and they tell me "OH, we need an original of your Birth Certificate because, it turns out, we lost your registration with us and we now need an official document". I asked them why they didn't call me and tell me two weeks ago, only for them to say that they are busy. So now the goal is to get another original copy from a family member, and have them send it, and then wait the 12 days to process another passport. Does this mean that I probably can't travel over the Christmas Holiday, and that I will be in Bolivia during the chaotic elections? precisely. The elections are coming up real quickly. It is going to be super interesting, and have a big effect on the country. There are good chances that things could go very badly here. to read an interesting article that Scott sent me, go to http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/112005H.shtml I'm currently planning some of the next trips with the students. One is going to be in January, another in February, and then I'm planning a 9 day hiking/climbing trip in March (during our spring break). So far most of it is just on paper, and I'm planning on getting out into the mountains for about 10 days over Christmas break to get to know the mountains a little bit better so we don't get lost on the long hike in March.... If any of my readers have ANY ideas on some financial funding for the upcoming trips, please let me know as soon as possible......I need to look into different options, as my salary is not enough to fund these trips....

Caught and Kicked Out

After a weekend of getting caught trying to sneak across the border into Peru, I've decided a passport is necessary for South American travel. I have a new telephone number, because I had to get a new telephone, because I got robbed of my other one. Some guy named Carlos got it. I called my telephone only to have him answer and hear him laugh at me..... new number: 77-77-0786

and....

Happy Birthday to my awesome Bro Dave. hope you spend it well. love you much,
Jon