The Life and Times of Pete Cailloux

Republicans

2012-01-19T21:24:00.002Z

I read today that Republican lawmakers are furious over President Obama’s rejection of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. WHY???

I thought that was very reasonable of him, and completely supported it. Getting back to my original point, no politician would admit to being against fuel-efficient cars (or cars "fueled" by a source other than fuel/refined oil), nor would they be in support of creating plastic bags/other uses of refined oil, etc.

So, why are Republican lawmakers against a bill that would support the non-American company TransCanada?

I guess the obvious answer is the one that makes me cringe, which is the same one that has caused me to not go to any NBA games in the near future.

If these politicians are anti-fuel (i.e. pro-new technology), how are they pro-fuel? Is it just me, or can people be both for and against supporting crude oil at the same time? Is this proof that (Republican) politicians are two-faced?

The money that would be invested in supporting this Canadian company (and give Americans jobs) could be redirected to support transport infrastructure and/or manufacturing new technology (and give Americans jobs). I guess my point is ... not supporting one specific (non-sustainable) project doesn't mean not supporting job creation. Another good use would be to have the government invest in infrastructure projects, as that would give jobs to people for construction as well as overhead jobs (e.g. being conductors, etc, for the proposed rail system).

- -

To all those in South Carolina - vote Stephen Colbert / Herman Cain for leader of the Republican party in South Carolina!

Supporting the USPS

2012-01-17T17:58:00.000Z

We all get letters from credit card companies, asking us to sign up for new credit cards, etc. Well, in those envelopes, there's always a return envelope saying "no postage necessary if mailed in the united states."

I want to bring your attention to another part of that envelope ...

Do you see how it says "postage will be paid by addressee?" Well, instead of simply recycling the letters, why not send them back to the credit card companies?

That way, the credit card company's paying 60 cents or so to the USPS. Inside the envelope, put the application form or whatever with a note saying "I'm not interested, but have a good day" to the person working in the mail room of whatever company.

All this costs you is 10 seconds to find a pen and write that note and lick the envelope. What's the result of that effort?

She gets to continue to work.

- -

A friend of mine has been doing this for a while and I love the idea!

State of New York

2012-01-12T21:49:00.000Z

I've been impressed by New York recently.

First off, it's enormous. I'm always overwhelmed by the size and the movement of the residents and their cars when I'm there. Despite the size, its water is some of the cleanest in the world, and its famous bagels are replicated by creating the same chemical content of that water all over the world, including Florida.

In a visit to NYC for new years, I found letters on the outside of the buildings.

So I researched it to find a description of the system as well as a guide for what specifically is looked for during inspections. I feel that it's pretty easy to meet this ... make hot things hot, make cold things cold, don't leave fish for more than 3 months, don't put weird stuff in food, no rats ... but I guess this is easier to do in a residential kitchen than in New York and running a restaurant.

Furthermore, in New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's State of the City address earlier today, he highlights some interesting strategies to emphasize education (not employment of teachers) as well as many recycling initiatives.

He also talked, at some length, about several recycling initiatives. He promised to double the amount of residential waste diverted from landfills by 2017, and to make New York one of the first cities in the country to convert waste water into renewable energy.

Go New York!

Five years, in review

2012-01-11T19:29:00.004Z

Going back to what I wrote on Thursday, June 7, 2007, I smile. That day was a turning point in my life, my first foray into my independent life. I went to Portugal knowing no one, followed by exploring life and culture in many countries of Europe and northern Africa. What makes me smile, though, is how I completely forgot about this blog post until the end of 2011 when I was doing some reflection. What makes me smile is my how interests and "dreamer" expectations somehow worked out.

Here's some Portuguese culture I loved.

Indeed, a close friend pointed out "you are a freak of nature, but I love you."

So, what did I say 4-and-a-half-years ago?

What Pete plans to have done:
9) Peace Corps - November '08 - January '10 11
10) Designer, or something, in Colorado/Europe - Spring '10 11
12) Quit my job - April '12 13
13) Complete life goals:
-Climb Mt. Everest
-Read all books that have gotten Pulitzer Prizes
-Swim English Channel
-Whateva other ones I'll figure out later.
15) Find some other job / go crawling back to old job, '13 14
16) Wife and Kids (have 2, adopt 2), '14 15
18) Have my ~~son~~ daughter or son create a blog of ~~his~~ her or his own, Priceless

I made a few ~~mistakes~~ corrections for dates that I got wrong (2 years 3 months after Nov '08 is Jan '11, not Jan '10 ).

A year-and-a -half after I wrote that timeline, I joined the Peace Corps as I had forgotten I had planned. I got back from that at the time I had forgotten I had planned. Got a job as a designer (designing engineer) as I had forgotten I had anticipated (which I feel very fortunate to have ... or maybe it was fate?).

So, what does this mean for my future? According to the prediction it made, it means I will continue to work for another year and a few months before taking all my savings and quit my job in lieu of personal exploration and accomplishments.

I currently view that as unrealistic, as as more-mature me realizes the benefits of job security and health care. But, who knows... Brick - I may keep it up, as you supported me in saying! And Nancy, my interests on that issue remain the same. And Mary, I don't know who you are...

Dreams can come true.

12 Things It's Best to Buy Organic

2012-01-06T20:11:00.002Z

1a - Beef

You’ve probably read plenty of stories about the risks of eating chicken. But the most important protein to buy organic may well be beef. "Research suggests a strong connection between some of the hormones given to cattle and cancer in humans, particularly breast cancer," says Samuel Epstein, MD, professor emeritus of environmental and occupational medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. Specifically, the concern is that the estrogen-like agents used on cattle could increase your cancer risk, adds Ted Schettler, MD, science director at the Science and Environmental Health Network.

1b - More on organic beef

Though there are strong regulations about the use of hormones in cattle, "not all beef producers are following those regulations strictly, and some studies continue to find hormone residue in cattle," Dr. Schettler says. When you buy beef that’s been certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), you’re not only cutting out those hormones, you’re also avoiding the massive doses of antibiotics cows typically receive, which the USDA says may lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in people.

2 - Strawberries

Strawberries may be a superfood—but they pose a potential risk unless you go organic. In addition to having up to 13 pesticides detected on the fruit, according to an Environmental Working Group (EWG) analysis, conventional "strawberries have a large surface area and all those tiny bumps, which makes the pesticides hard to wash off, so you’re ingesting more of those chemicals," explains Marion Nestle, PhD, a professor of nutrition and public health at New York University and author of What to Eat.

If you can, also skip conventional peaches, apples, blueberries, and cherries, which are typically treated with multiple pesticides and usually eaten skins-on.

3 - Cookware

Your pots and pans are just as crucial to upgrade as the food you cook in them: "Most nonstick cookware contains a fluorochemical called PTFE that breaks down to form toxic fumes when overheated," says Olga Naidenko, PhD, a senior scientist at the EWG. "Those fumes can coat the inside of the lungs and cause allergy-like symptoms."

Tests commissioned by the EWG showed that in just two to five minutes on a conventional stove top, cookware coated with nonstick surfaces could exceed temperatures at which the coating emits toxic gases. Switch to stainless steel, ceramic, or cast iron cookware.

4 - Popcorn

The linings of microwave-popcorn bags may contain a toxic chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, which is used to prevent the food from sticking to the paper. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), PFOA is a likely carcinogen. "We don’t know all of the hazardous effects of PFOA yet, but we have some evidence of a link to cancer, as well as to effects on the immune, nervous, and endocrine systems," says David Carpenter, MD, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany.

Pick up an air-popper or make your popcorn in a pan on the stove top.

5 - Yard pesticides

Some lawn and garden pesticides contain suspected carcinogens, according to EPA data. Long-term pesticide exposure may be related to changes in the brain and nervous system, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center reports. "Not only are you breathing the chemicals in, but you bring them indoors and onto carpets via your shoes," says McKay Jenkins, PhD, a journalism professor at the University of Delaware and author of What’s Gotten Into Us?

Healthier brands like BurnOut and EcoClear are made from vinegar and lemon juice, and are effective weed-killers. To find less-toxic lawn-care companies in your area, go to Health.com/lawn-care.

6a - All-purpose home cleaners

Time for spring-cleaning? Using common household cleaners may expose you to potentially harmful chemicals. Ammonia and chlorine bleach can irritate the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. And some cleaners contain phthalates, some of which are endocrine disruptors, meaning they interfere with normal hormone activity, says EWG senior scientist Becky Sutton, PhD.

6b - More about cleaning products

Although there’s no definitive proof that phthalates cause problems in humans, "the greatest concern is how early-life exposure will affect male [reproductive] development," Dr. Carpenter says. There’s weaker evidence, he adds, that phthalates affect the nervous and immune systems. Go natural with the cleaner you use the most frequently and in the most places, such as kitchen-counter spray—look for brands approved by Green Seal or EcoLogo, two organizations that identify products that have met environmental label guidelines.

7 - Water bottles

You’ve probably heard that many hard, reusable plastic water bottles could be bad for you because they may contain BPA, or bisphenol A, another endocrine disruptor according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

"For adults, the biggest concern with BPA is that it may increase the risk of breast cancer in women and reduce sperm counts in men," says Dr. Carpenter, who explains that BPA can leach out into the water in the bottle. To be safe, sip from an unlined stainless steel or BPA-free plastic bottle.

8 - Food-storage containers

BPA strikes again: Many food-storage containers are made of the hard, clear polycarbonate plastic that may contain BPA. As is the case with water bottles, the BPA can leach out of the plastic in these containers and seep into your leftovers.

"The leaching is increased during heating, but it also leaches to a smaller degree even when cold foods are stored," Dr. Carpenter explains. Glass containers are your safest—not to mention planet-friendly—bet. Both Rubbermaid (at left) and Pyrex make glass ones with BPA-free plastic lids.

9a - Milk

The milk you’re drinking may not be doing your body good: Dairy products account for a reported 60 to 70 percent of the estrogens we consume through our food. If that seems like a shockingly large number, it’s mainly because milk naturally contains hormones passed along from cows. What worries some experts is that about 17% of dairy cows are treated with the hormone rBST (or rBGH), which stimulates milk production by increasing circulating levels of another hormone called insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1).

9b - More about organic milk

"Elevated levels of IGF-1 in people are associated with an increased risk of cancer, including breast cancer," Dr. Schettler explains. In fact, the use of rBGH is banned in Europe and Canada. Although research has yet to definitively conclude whether drinking rBGH-treated milk increases your IGF-1 levels high enough to cause concern, Dr. Schettler says it’s advisable to buy milk that hasn’t been treated with it. So pick up milk that’s labeled rBGH-free, rBST-free, or is produced without artificial hormones.

10 - Celery

When researchers at the EWG analyzed 89,000 produce-pesticide tests to determine the most contaminated fruits and vegetables, celery topped the chart. "In terms of the sheer number of chemicals, it was the worst," says Sonya Lunder, senior analyst at the EWG. Celery stalks are very porous, so they retain the pesticides they’re sprayed with—up to 13 of them, according to the EWG analysis. Lunder also advises buying organic bell peppers, spinach and potatoes because they scored high for pesticides, as well.

11 - Tomato Sauce

When picking up tomato sauce or paste, choose the glass jar or box over the can. "The lining on the inside of food cans that’s used to protect against corrosion and bacteria may contain BPA," explains Cheryl Lyn Walker, PhD, a professor of carcinogenesis at MD Anderson Cancer Center and past president of the Society of Toxicology.

In 2009, Consumer Reports tested BPA levels in a variety of canned foods and found it in nearly all of the brands tested, suggesting that the chemical leaked in. "What can happen is that BPA in the lining can leach into the food," Walker explains.

***Or better yet, make it yourself***

12 - Natural splurge

Some regular mattresses may have been treated with potentially toxic flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which have been linked to learning, memory, and behavioral impairments, according to Lunder.

Though PBDEs were phased out of mattresses in 2005, they can still be found in other household items, including carpet padding and some electronics. The EWG advises opting for products that haven’t been treated with brominated fire retardants and choosing less-flammable materials, such as wool.

- -

I got these tips from this website: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20471167_1,00.html

These Come from Trees

2012-01-05T16:58:00.000Z

As one of my "crazy" "eco-strategies," I have been using a towel to dry my hands instead of paper towels. Here's why.

As everyone should know, paper towels, napkins, toilet paper, etc, come from trees. The first step in creating paper towels is also known as "logging." Have you, ye loyal readers, ever heard of "logging" as a good thing?

Furthermore, these trees (which produce products whose post-consumer destination is inside the earth) end up in landfills, as this article highlights; "with over 90% of US households taking advantage of the convenience of papertowels, we produce over 3,000 tons of waste each day."

Yet still, electric hand driers aren't everywhere - for example: office buildings (including the one at which I am).

But, I guess they're convenient.

Household Products

2011-12-30T14:41:00.000Z

With the approaching winter comes dry skin, and I start piling on lotion to combat the effects of the cold.

Ah! It's the governator!

I've been checking out two websites that talk about concerns in products. The first, great one is Skin Deep @ http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/, put on by the environmental working group. For almost two decades, the EWG has been using the power of public information to protect public health and the environment.

The EWG "brings to light unsettling facts that you have a right to know. It shames and shakes up polluters and their lobbyists. It rattles politicians and shapes policy. It persuades bureaucracies to rethink science and strengthen regulation. It provides practical information you can use to protect your family and community."

The other one is put on by the National Institute of Health: http://hpd.nlm.nih.gov/.

A friend's blog touched on this topic, too, and I was introduced to Skin Deep and Slow Death by Rubber Duck (which I've quoted many times here and IRL) by her.

For example, Dove Energy Glow Brightening Eye Cream contains Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, which is said to contain and contribute towards "developmental/reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)." Its contamination concerns include arsenic, lead, and heavy metals. What is Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate? I don't really know. So, why would I want to put something like that on my skin, especially if it would affect any kids I might one day have (developmental/reproductive toxicity).

But, I'm sure Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate makes skin "look" healthy, so that's why it's included.

Solar News - I'm Confused Yet Pleased

2011-12-29T22:07:00.001Z

Recently, I've read about BP Solar shutting down, as well as Evergreen Solar, Stirling, and Solon. It got me intrigued, so I started researching why. Apparently, Chinese competition and low prices are beating out American-made (and British/BP and German/Solon) solar panels.
- -
I would like to ask why this is happening. Instead of fueling American businesses and the "green" movement--which every politician will say they support--the USA is subsidizing unclean meat by supporting "Factory Farming" by making subsidies to Smithfield. But not only Smithfield is subsidized, both Tyson and Cargill are, too. The products that are produced in such large quantities due to the US government supporting them are "contaminated with salmonella, antibiotics and other undesirable pollutants." Food produced by this system can regularly contain salmonella, listeria, e.coli O157, and campylobacter. The US should be subsidizing renewable energy more than--and hopefully soon replacing--subsidies for the meat industry.

A great movie that talks about this is Food, Inc., and this whole movement to support the decline of health in the USA started with the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996.

It's a cause for concern for me when the price of meat at the supermarket is half the price of the farmer's market. So, I've stopped purchasing meat at the supermarket: simple as that.

Going back to the solar world, though, I've been impressed by India utilizing solar panels. And, it's refreshing to read about how Germany has 20% of its total energy produced by renewable resources. Unlike the US, Germany subsidizes renewable energy; the German Renewable Energy Act uses spends 1 billion euros per month to subsidize new solar installations. This trend shows the direction for the future: Paint-On Solar Cells.

Waste Awareness - Down to Just About 0

2011-12-28T14:47:00.002Z

My waste nowadays is basically 0. Since I started documenting the waste I produce, I have been throwing away less and less. I regularly go many days without throwing anything away (the only thing I throw away is delicatessen paper, since there's no other use for it).

Since resuscitating my blog, I've stopped getting meat from the supermarket, thus eliminating my chances of getting Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli, Enterococcus, and staphylococcus aureus ("Staph").

Another Oil Spill?

2011-12-22T16:58:00.004Z

This article highlights it. Do I need to comment any more than I have?

The implications of this range from economic (people in the community that depend on the ocean) to environmental (... no need to comment) to political (pirates who steal from boats off the Nigerian coast will be affected).

Regarding this one, all I can say is good luck, Goodluck Jonathan.

EPA Requires Mercury Limit

2011-12-21T21:51:00.002Z

This article shows that mercury needs to be contained - and the EPA has finished federal standards that will limit the spread of mercury--contained in coal--from being released into the atmosphere. Unfrortunately, this article doesn't really say anything, though, so I needed to dig deeper to find something of value. The EPA blog, another EPA blog, and the 1117-page document from the EPA about the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. I'll read this all later and add an update.

IMHO, the most relevant two paragraph are squeezed into the very, very bottom of the article: "Once airborne, mercury enters bodies of water through precipitation, becomes methylmercury, and accumulates in the food chain. The EPA and the FDA jointly recommend that pregnant women and young children limit their consumption of fish and shellfish to two meals a week because of the methylmercury contamination." Is anyone else disturbed that mercury--which comes from these plants--is brought via rain into the soil and bodies of water in such large quantities that our government recommends we don't eat from these bodies of water?

The metro in DC also has ads against this - and I'm sure the Sierra Club is happy with this.

- -

The highlighted text above has been reflected in a resource I've used many times: http://slowdeathbyrubberduck.com/USA/activism.html - Number 6.

"6. Fish in moderation: Fish is generally good for you, but levels of mercury increased by 2.5 times after the book’s authors ate tuna. Mercury is a known neurotoxin that harms the development of children. Mercury builds up in certain fish, so smaller fish are safer to eat than big fish. If you are pregnant or are planning on becoming pregnant avoid all tuna, shark, and swordfish."

Re: Tornadoes Go Easy on the Weekends

2011-12-21T16:10:00.004Z

In response to this article, I would like to report that some scientists at UMD recently found out the same result. "It's the strangest thing," Michelle Dobbs, a grad student studying meteorology said. "Only about 29% of all tornadoes happen on the average weekend day, whereas a whopping 71% of the tornadoes that happen fall on the weekday days." No one is really certain why it's two-and-a-half times more likely that a tornado will fall on a weekday, but Dobbs and her team are looking into it.

Online Holiday Spending: All-Time High

2011-12-20T20:50:00.001Z

With people buying more than ever, please keep some recycling tips in mind.

When recycling, put like-items together.

What I'm talking about here is basically to recycle plastic bags at the supermarket.

Recycle almost everything.

Almost always, domestic recycling is co-mingled / single-stream. The intention in recycling is to separate like items and sell them to companies that will use them / treat them for (re)use. There is a threshold on that sale for cleanliness. If a shipment (a series of huge 10ft x 10ft x 10 ft) blocks of recycled stuff) is too dirty ("contaminated"), the recycling company will get less money for that shipment. But, if people recycled stuff that may be considered "contaminated" instead of throwing it away (like a lightly-used paper plate), you'd be helping the recycling company generate revenue and help the expansion of recycling.
The only things you shouldn't recycle is plastic (because you shouldn't get it in the first place), egg crates (for whatever reason they're not recyclable), and delicatessen paper (it's lined in plastic, making it neither plastic nor paper.

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas/Hanukkah!

Eliminating Plastics

2011-12-20T17:06:00.002Z

Not using plasitcs is great as a decision at the personal level (for health) as well as the community level (difficult to recycle--plastic bags complicate the sorting machines at recycling facilities--and impossible to recycle 100%, adds a lot of bad things to the environment/rivers/soil/our food).

TIL in this article that Agilyx will be reducing plastic to it's components. It's like the ring from Lord of the Rings that needs to be "un-made." That's what Agilyx is doing. Hey, it may be a good idea to invest in that company. I don't know if it's possible - just an idea. Apparently Agilyx sells to oil refiners - they generally use the crude (or in this case synthetic) oil to produce such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas. Sorry to disappoint you, Mr. McGuire, but the future won't involve plastics.

As I touched on earlier and this article confirms, "about 7 percent of the world's oil supply is used to make plastics."

Also, I mentioned above that plastic is impossible to recycle 100% like paper or metal; it degrades over time. With each iteration, there is a release of toxic chemicals: phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), mercury, and perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), among others. These chemicals can lead to birth defects, cancer, diabetes, and can affect child development.

- -

How wonderful a world it would be if we didn't mine for oil, but instead use plastics to fuel current cars until they get replaced by electric options (yes, producing electricity uses a tiny bit of petroleum, but not much), as this graphic shows:

Unfortunately, natural gas, coal, petroleum, and nuclear are non-sustainable forms of energy. With research into biofuels, even they can be replaced.

I'm looking forward to my bike ride commute back home today.

Waste Awareness - Spreading Awareness

2011-12-01T17:22:00.001Z

I got a very encouraging message this morning from a friend about my waste awareness blog!

"I like your waste blog posts - interesting to think about. It's made me stop and consider my own use"

Thanks!

- -

In order to eliminate waste from little office coffee bags (like the one below), I've brought in a french press to work. I'll somehow try to bring the coffee grounds home and compost them (or maybe sprinkle them on plants that line the street? They need nutrients/nitrogen).

Using my mug and this press, I'll create no waste.

Oh, and the coffee's better.

Waste Awareness - Plastic "Recycling"

2011-11-28T16:08:00.001Z

Summary: plastic is petroleum-based and should be 100% eliminated if we want to lead a sustainable life (because mining is--by definition--not sustainable). I don't know about you, but I don't want to ingest petroleum on a daily basis, and trace amounts enter the body when you use tupperware, plastic cutlery, plastic bags, etc. It shouldn't be thrown away, nor should it be burned; it shouldn't be produced in the first place. Also, "recycling" plastic isn't really recycling like glass and paper is recycled, because it just starts degrading and degrading, releasing toxic chemicals in each iteration.

- -

And, to keep in line with the theme - how will I reduce waste. I plan on finding an affordable tupperware substitute, like the little fridge dish below.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/kitchen-and-food/food-containers-storage/medium-glass-refrigerator-dish/s165517

Also, I have stopped using saran wrap (a.k.a. Plastic wrap by Saran™). If needed, tin foil can be recycled; saran wrap cannot.

I already don't use plasticware, so I'll keep that going. Compostable or biodegradable plasticware exists (http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/compostable-tablewareaor-not.html).

And, obviously, avoid using plastic bags.

If you decide to use plastic, however, there's a good solution:

- -

Further reading:

Design by Philips: http://www.design.philips.com/about/design/designportfolio/design_futures/design_probes/projects/microbial_home/paternoster.page
A small pdf: http://www.design.philips.com/shared/assets/design_assets/pdf/news/Annex_Microbial_Home_concepts.pdf
book: http://slowdeathbyrubberduck.com/ (to name one of a million books on the subject)

For your viewing pleasure:

Fun story about a plastic bag: http://futurestates.tv/episodes/plastic-bag
Educational video: http://www.ted.com/talks/capt_charles_moore_on_the_seas_of_plastic.html
Documentary: http://www.1channel.ch/watch-25849-No-Impact-Man-The-Documentary

Waste Awareness - Day 22 - Friday, November 25, 2011

2011-11-26T17:18:00.001Z

1 paper coffee cup from Whole Foods - free and good coffee!

Waste Awareness - Day 21 - Thanksgiving, November 24, 2011

2011-11-26T16:53:00.001Z

Happy Thanksgiving!

I can't even begin to think about the (hopefully minimal) amount I contributed to landfills. Probably wasn't too much, but I'm sure there were wrappers here and other things there. Good news is that my aunt composts, which reduces waste somewhat.

Thanksgiving with the family was wonderful!

Waste Awareness - Day 20 - Wednesday, November 23, 2011

2011-11-26T16:46:00.001Z

Portion of cream cheese container
Coffee filter and coffee grounds
Pumpkin Spice K-cup
Food scraps / chorizo wrapper

Waste Awareness - Day 19 - Tuesday, November 22, 2011

2011-11-23T18:49:00.001Z

Pumpkin Spice K-cup
Piece of delicatessen paper (was thrown away needlessly after I told the person at the bagel place I didn’t need it)
Piece of paper (Subway prepares sandwiches on paper before wrapping on…)
…wax paper.

Waste Awareness - Day 18 - Monday, November 21, 2011

2011-11-23T18:48:00.001Z

Pumpkin Spice K-cup
Piece of paper (Subway prepares sandwiches on paper before wrapping on…)
…wax paper.
Napkin
1 paper towel

Waste Awareness – Week in Review

2011-11-21T16:47:00.001Z

In an effort to reduce plastic waste, I will be checking out Eastern Market a bit more and trying to purchase locally. I’ve never been there, but I’m excited for the possibility of fresh fruit and veggies and getting to know my local farmers! It’s a bit more expensive, I guess, but it will make for healthier eating. And I’m supporting the local guy, which is great.
I’m also looking into a community garden, but it’s not too likely that I’ll be dedicated enough to that (it’s like 30 minutes a day commitment, not including transport there, etc) … also, it’s almost the winter.
I recently watched No Impact Man, which is a documentary akin to the current focus of my blog, and in that movie he had a box of worms to compost his food scraps. I’m curious if worms work with / eat eggs. And I’ll try to find a local butcher to reduce plastic/Styrofoam waste.

“Some people put their food scraps, including eggshells, into a blender and make a slurry. The
worms seem to love this, but it is not necessary.”
Use Caution When Adding These

Breads — can attract red mites
Potato skins, onions, garlic, ginger — getconsumed slowly and can cause odors
Coffee grounds — too many will make the binacidic

“Do Not Feed: Meat, poultry, fish, dairy —protein attracts rodents.”
http://www.recycleworks.org/compost/wormfood.html
Oh, this means I’ll be getting worms … if myroommates are cool with it.

Waste Awareness - Day 17 - Sunday, November 20, 2011

2011-11-21T16:46:00.005Z

Plastic plate

Fork

2 egg shells

Waste Awareness - Day 16 - Saturday, November 19, 2011

2011-11-21T16:46:00.003Z

Apple core

2 egg shells

Food scraps

Waste Awareness - Day 15 - Friday, November 18, 2011

2011-11-21T16:46:00.001Z

1 styrofoam plate (that’s it!).

Waste Awareness - Day 14 - Thursday, November 17, 2011

2011-11-18T22:17:00.001Z

Sheet of wax paper
Paper bag [contaminated by food :( ]
small sauce container
little sandwich wrapper bag
Two paper towels
Kale scraps/spines, onion, etc
Small coffee bag

Waste Awareness - Day 13 - Wednesday, November 16, 2011

2011-11-18T22:05:00.001Z

3 paper towels
A tissue or two
A plastic bag

Waste Awareness - Day 12 - Tuesday, November 15, 2011

2011-11-17T18:44:00.000Z

Food scraps

Two food wrappers

Waste Awareness - Day 11 - Monday, November 14, 2011

2011-11-17T18:43:00.000Z

2 wax paper (bagel and sandwich) and 1 other paper (sandwich)

Weird green tea flower + wrapping

A few other wrappers

Food scraps

Waste Awareness - Week-in-review

2011-11-14T03:10:00.001Z

Many items I’ve been throwing away could be composted (orange peel, egg shell, food scraps).
To reduce paper towel waste, I plan on bringing in a small towel to work.
If I brought in food from home during lunch, I’d lessen lunchtime waste (sandwich wrappers, pizza boxes, kebob wrappers, small sauce containers).
One suggestion, given by a friend, is to take pictures and document ways in which I reduce waste (e.g. composting more, bringing in a towel to work, or cooking larger meals at night with plans to have leftovers). I'll try to do that. Thanks for the suggestion!

Waste Awareness - Day 10 - Sunday, November 12, 2011

2011-11-14T03:08:00.001Z

A few napkins
2 “silica gel” dehydrating packages
A few small pieces of Styrofoam
Small coffee wrapper
2 tea bags
Ramen Noodle seasoning package

Waste Awareness - Day 9 - Saturday November 12, 2011

2011-11-14T03:07:00.001Z

Chinese Food container
Egg Drop soup container (portion)
A few napkins
Bag of chips and dip container (portion)
Hummus container (portion)

- -

By "portion" I mean I just ate a few chips with dip (for example), and therefore contributed--somewhat--to that item being added to a landfill.

Waste Awareness - Day 8 - Friday, November 11, 2011

2011-11-14T03:05:00.001Z

(Camping)

Styrofoam plate
A few bottle tops

Waste Awareness - Day 7 - Thursday, November 10, 2011

2011-11-14T03:04:00.001Z

2 paper towels
Bag of coffee grounds
Wax paper from sandwich
A bunch of food scraps
2 bottle tops

Waste Awareness - Day 6 - Wednesday, November 9, 2011

2011-11-14T03:03:00.001Z

5 paper towels
Orange peel
Egg shell
Napkin
“Carbon Credit” – Moved one cardboard box to recycling!

Waste Awareness - Day 5 - Tuesday, November 8, 2011

2011-11-14T03:02:00.001Z

2 paper towels
Some food scraps: onion, ginger, pepper, garlic
2 bottle tops
Lunch sandwich wrapper

Waste Awareness - Day 4 - Monday, November 7

2011-11-14T02:56:00.001Z

2 paper towels
Chocolate wrapper
Feta cheese container
Bacon wrapper + old bacon strips
Piece of string

Waste Awareness - Day 3 - Sunday, November 6

2011-11-07T22:41:00.000Z

Redskins Game

1 piece of aluminum/tin foil
4 sugar packets
1 paper coffee mug/cup + lid
1 sandwich wrap
2 paper towel squares
1 egg shell (should have composted again!)

Waste Awareness - Day 2 - Saturday, November 5

2011-11-07T22:39:00.001Z

Day 2 of weekend road trip to PA

1 Small chip wrapper
2 candy wrappers
1 un-recyclable container of strawberries
1 egg shell (should have composted)
1 straw

Ugh - I know it's not much, but this is all just gonna be shoved under the earth's crust - very disconcerting!

Waste Awareness - Day 1 - Friday, November 4

2011-11-06T02:34:00.000Z

This is the waste that I contributed to, though it may not be a direct result of me alone. I tried to be as fair as possible and consider the destination of everything I consumed, etc (e.g. the work coffee comes in a bag that's thrown away - since I drink it, I'm partly responsible for its placement in a landfill).

3 small bags of chips
2 paper towel squares
2 napkins
2 sandwich wrap / wax papers
1 small salsa container
Coffee grounds wrapper

Waste Awareness - Day 0 - Thursday, November 3

2011-11-03T21:26:00.000Z

Starting tomorrow, I will document the waste that I produce that is removed by municipal services for placement in landfills. I shutter at the idea of anything ending up there (it's, by definition, not sustainable ... just shoved deeper and deeper into the earth, and there's only a certain limit for that), so for my own personal awareness, I will document everything that I send to landfills.

What this means is I will need to be conscious of everything I throw away - because if I throw it away it will end up here. I don't like putting forth any more effort than is necessary, and so I'll try to err on the side of not throwing anything away, because I'd prefer to not type something than type something.

When I purchase something from the supermarket, I have to keep in mind where the purchased material will end up (canned baked beans can be recycled, but styrofoam isn't recycled at the local recycling facility: http://www.wm.com/facility.jsp?fac=S04324&zip=20743&cat=6 - [Acceptable items: plastics 1 & 2, glass, aluminium cans, pie pans, steel cans, newspaper, cardboard, paper bags, office paper, books] ).

I also will consider offsetting waste. For example, if I finish a friend's plate before it's picked up at a restaurant, that will be "reduced waste," and I'll write that. Or, if I find paper on the street and I take it home to be recycled, that will also count as "reduced waste" and I'll mention it here as well.

Furthermore, I'm planning a trip to my local recycling facility - I have a bunch of questions already lined up.

Also, I anticipate this to be the first step of many as I continue to want to create less and less waste.

Looks like I won't be ordering pizza delivery any time soon. If I do, though, you'll be reading about it.

4x the Awesome

2011-03-11T18:27:00.011Z

I'm currently working on a purchase for Amazon.com. I am getting a Thank You present for a friend, which costs $22.99. For the round $25 you can get free shipping with Amazon. So, why not try to find something that costs $2.01 instead of paying that or more for shipping?

I considered my starting point. There have to be some "readable" books for that price, I thought to myself... How tough could that search be?

As it turns out, very tough:
- $4.73 - More Stuff on My Cat: 2x the Stuff + 2x the Cats = 4x the Awesome

Notice the keyword "more" I can only imagine the joy in reading the first version.

- $3.11 - Meat: A Love Story

- $4.80 - Cooking With Hot Flashes: And Other Ways to Make Middle Age Profitable

- $2.29 - The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything

- $3.86 - Rick and Bubba for President: The Two Sexiest Fat Men Alive Take on Washington

Includes Best of Rick and Bubba CD

- $3.74 - How to Make Love to Adrian Colesberry (by Adrian Colesberry)

- $3.98 - The Bad Ass Girl's Guide To Poker: All You Need To Beat The Boys

- $3.14 - The Best of Playboar

And that's just one random page in my search.

I'll probably get one of the two Simpsons books listed, or for the exact price of $2.01, I could get The Island at the End of the World: A Novel.

That one could be okay, I guess. Published by Penguin.

I'm trying to figure out what this says about humanity. There are a lot of books out there. Not all of them are classics. These listed all have publishers (i.e. not self-published). Someone thought they'd be a success. People have a lot to say. I guess that's what it says.

A Teacher? Not sure. (January 29, 2009)

2009-01-29T12:40:00.000Z

Well, school starts this next Monday (opposite seasons from the USA), Groundhog Day, February 2nd. I was told last week that I will in fact not be teaching biology as I preferred, prepared for, and expected. I will be teaching math, as it turns out, as it’s a more central course, closer related to my college major (Mechanical Engineering) than biology, and has a stronger need at the school than biology. I found out about this change less than a week before next week’s start. I—now just 3 days before the start of school—don’t know what grade I will be teaching.

What I do know is that I will not be teaching 11th grade as expected, but 8th-10th. Why does that matter? High Schools here are broken into two parts, the first cycle and the second. The first (8th-10th grade) is like many high schools in the USA in which the courses offered are mathematics, language (Portuguese and English), design, geography, history, physical education (, and a very African course about how to till the land!). The second cycle is akin to the British system. Here, 11th and 12th grade is a concentrated high school in which you choose either sciences or letters. Sciences are courses like physics, chemistry, biology, and math. Courses under letters are geography, history, language (in which French is required). (In England, I believe the system is that you go to a 2-year college between high school and Uni).

In Chicumbane (my village), 11th grade is being offered for the first time. Until this year, the school wasn’t capable of offering 11th and 12th grade, so it’s very exciting that people will now be able to complete their high school education here! The coming 11th grade class will have many people of all ages (from 21 until around 40) who were previously unable to complete their education, will now be able to!

I was eager to teach 11th grade, but I will be happy now teaching mathematics (though I really have no idea how to teach math, as biology has such tangible hands–on impacts) to 8th-10th graders. Any pointers?

The Moon Surrounded by Two Planets

2009-01-05T12:56:00.002Z

As promised, some pictures.
Burning leaves after raking them, the sunset over my school, me, looking out in Maputo, the moon surrounded by two planets, and my host family (not in that order).

Peanut Surprise (January 3, 2009)

2009-01-05T11:52:00.001Z

January 3rd consisted of a lot. For example, reading, and a chocolate taste test. Let me share with you my summary of various popular delicious chocolatey treats. The following excerpt is directly copied from my little journal:

“03 Jan 09
Taste Test
1) Butterfinger – Crispety, crunchety, peanut buttery. Too sweet.
2) Twix – Caramel’s good, but sticky. Wafer not too much flavor.
3) Milky Way – Creamy. Like toffee, full flavor remains in mouth.
4) 3 Musketeers – Sweet, sweet, sweet. A creamy (?) paste surrounded in chocolate. Not very pleasant.
5) Babe Ruth – Peanut surprise. Good all-around chocolate and peanut flavor. Sweet as well.
6) Snickers – Good peanut flavor. Not too sweet. Not sticky. Pretty good.
7) Milky Way Midnight – Caramel surrounded in chocolate. Boring flavor. Sticky, too sweet.

All-in-all favorite: Snickers.

Thanks, Russell (+ dad) for bringing it.”

Russell is my roommate. Condolences go out to him for him now missing 8 pieces of chocolate. 7 for the taste test + one final Snickers. Also, writing this blog entry made me want both a Snickers and a Butterfinger, not in that order. Updated total: 10.

Fresh New View (January 2, 2009)

2009-01-05T11:51:00.001Z

Every night not plagued by clouds, I gaze directly upwards at the Milky Way. It coincides with Orion’s Belt (which is the only constellation I know, thanks to Men in Black), and it’s beautiful. First of all, the stars in this part of the world are beyond words, glistening proudly seeming non-affected by light pollution. I don’t remember them being so brilliant when in the Sahara Desert in Morocco. To be able to see these stars for the next 2 years (with a potential 3rd) fills me with sheer excitement!

I first saw the Milky Way on Christmas Eve’s eve. The visiting PCVs and I were just staring northward at the fresh new view we hadn’t yet seen in our lifetimes when I noticed there was a distinct arc of brightness. I asked, and Abby, a volunteer also living in my province, pointed out that what I saw was in fact the Milky Way. We all, then, stared in amazement at the ‘Way, something we had heard about in school for years, but only then were seeing for the first time. That night, we also saw about 6 shooting stars, including one huge one that left a long streak in the sky for about 5 seconds.

I was going for a jog on the evening of December 29th and, after greeting about a dozen locals, I found myself in the middle of a field amongst a great 360-degree view: to my back was a clear blue sky, to my left a fantastic sunset shining brilliant hues of vermillion and peach, to my right a beautiful array of clouds, both white and ones reflecting shades of the sunset, and to my front a huge approaching thunderstorm. Looking ahead I saw ominously dark clouds, the outline of the rain falling in the distance below those clouds, and lightning that would flash about 5 times in rapid succession in the one place and with the same shape.

With these spectacular views, as well as spending both Christmas and New Years at the beach, it’s a great reassurance that Peace Corps was a good decision.

Namaacha!

2008-10-06T12:03:00.002+01:00

I have arrived at the city that will be my home for the next 10 weeks!

My room is spartan; I have a very large, comfortable bed and a night stand with a bedside desk that has a drawer. My family is very warm and welcoming and I already feel like I am part of their family! Yesterday, we had a yummy potato and egg salad, and this morning some eggs with bread.

As the internet connection here is slow, I will not check my eMail for the 10 weeks, and will try to put pictures up as often as I can, which may not be likely at all.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Pete

Arrived and all's well!

2008-10-03T22:04:00.002+01:00

Hello readers of my blog!

I have arrived and all is well! I am outside Maputo right now, and will move to Namaacha in 2 days!

Thanks for reading!
Pete

Peace Corps Mozambique

2008-09-17T06:46:00.004+01:00

It's official, on October 2nd I will be arriving in Maputo, Mozambique as I start service with the Peace Corps as a chemistry and biology teacher!

I will have orientation in Philadelphia from September 28-30. I will then take three flight-segments in three days, refueling in Dakar, stopping in Johannesburg, and continuing to Maputo! After a few days there, I will be taken to Namaacha on October 5th, which is where I'll be hosted by a family for 10 weeks until I'm sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer on December 12th!

If you know someone who isn't using a microscope or has anything that would be useful (e.g. periodic table of the elements) to use to teach an intro to the subjects, let me know as any item like that would be very useful!

I will update as often as I can, but I don't know how much computer time I'll get.

Morocco travels with Jim!

2008-05-09T17:51:00.003+01:00

I now can relate to how people from northern africa and the middle east have such great skin! While there, the dry skin I had on my forehead was completely healthy! AND, no dandruff! Thinking it was a coincidence, my skin, now back in Porto, is again drying up. Does anyone know why that is the case?? I'm curious.

Morocco was great! Here are a few highlights for me:

- Camel riding in the Sahara!
- Hammam massage!
- Square in Marrakech with snake charmers/storytellers!
- Fun souk/souq in Fès!
- Watching the sunrise/set on the dunes in the Sahara!
- The fun sport of bartering!
- My now-tan skin!

A cheap trip from Barcelona and Madrid, among many other destinations, I 100% recommend it if you get a chance!

Francesinha, the 5 best in the Porto area

2008-04-21T12:45:00.006+01:00

The Francesinha is a Portuguese dish with alternating layers of different types of meat (steak, ham, sausage ...), encased by bread on the bottom and top, egg on top of the bread, melted cheese covering the entire sandwich, fries served on the side, everything covered with a delicious sauce (made from beer, port wine, tomato sauce, milk, etc...), and cooked to perfection, all flavors being absorbed into an entire Francesinha experience.

Porto is the home of the Francesinha. Below are my Top 5 places to get a Francesinha in it's home.

1. Requinte

Requinte is synonymous with francesinha. You go there to get a francesinha, and to get a francesinha you go there. The melted cheese is served right to you, directly from the oven, and makes your mouth water between bites. Despite not being extremely spicy while served (as younger kids/Abbey may not like it as much), for an extra € 0.80, you can get one of the tastiest spicy sauces, ideal for bringing out even more flavor. When the waiter takes your order, he doesn't ask "what do you want;" he asks "how many francesinhas do you want?" Do they serve anything other than francesinha at this place? No idea.

Flavor: 10
Wait: 10 (1 minute, tops)
Atmosphere: 7 (small, but fun atmosphere)
Location: 5 (Matosinhos, far away, in a small building)
Price/Value: (€8) / 10

2. Capa Negra

A chique restaurant, it's prices are high, but for good reason; this is a delicious Francesinha. Some people regard this as the best, however, I feel the atmosphere is slightly edged out by Requinte since, given the pricier menu, it's more chique and thus more serious; however, large groups of families all dine together here. The wait is average for a restaurant of this caliber (15 minutes).

Flavor: 10
Wait: 7 (15 minutes)
Atmosphere: 6 (serious, but families eat together)
Location: 9 (Not too far away from downtown)
Price/Value: (€10) / 9

3. Piolho

A student bar, this has the most my preferred atmosphere for a good Francesinha. It's loud and busy, up to 2 football matches being watched at all times on the 2 huge flat screen TVs, but always prompt service with a smile. This is a pretty good francesinha, and the sauce is spicier than the average. The meat selection could be better, but with competitive prices and good times, this is a good francesinha experience.

Flavor: 8
Wait: 7 (15 minutes)
Atmosphere: 10
Location: 10 (Very central!)
Price/Value: (€7) / 8

4. Verso em Pedra (trans: "Other side is rock" ...kinda...)

This restaurant has a big sign in front: "FRANCESINHA." This is a nice place and also has a great atmosphere. Everything is extremely positive about this location, but I found the sauce to be quite weak.

Flavor: 7
Wait: 7 (15 minutes)
Atmosphere: 8 (Fun, loud, well-lived, birthday party-friendly)
Location: 10 (Right next to downtown)
Price/Value: (€10) / 7

5. Art's Kafé

I have an extremely partial opinion of Art's Kafé, as it's directly next to my house. I know all the waiters, it's pretty tasty, always hot with great fries, and I go with my roommates.

Flavor: 7
Wait: 5 (20 minutes)
Atmosphere: 4 (Too new to have a fun atmosphere)
Location: 8 (Pretty close to downtown)
Price/Value: (€7) / 7

Enjoy!

Galician Cities: Vigo and Santiago de Compostela

2008-03-23T01:15:00.005Z

A buddy of mine, Ben, has been a great host the past few days to his erasmus city for the semester in Vigo, Spain.

Akin to Porto, Vigo is a city that has developed out of its original roots as a port city. With a nice white-sandy beach, the small city is very industrial city with few attractions; the main missing piece that I have noticed, a staple in nearly all European cities, is the open city center. There are many apartment buildings that tower over you as you walk through the city; these buildings made me feel somewhat claustrophobic. The main difference between these buildings and ones in Portugal is that buildings in Portugal are very colorful with their azulejo (tiles); the buildings in Vigo don't tend to stray too far from grey. You can, however, see over the buildings as you climb and climb and climb up to the castle. There, Ben and I met three girls from three different countries: Belgium, Germany, and the you'll-probably-not-meet-anyone-from-here Uzbekistan.

After watching the disappointing loss between UMBC and Georgetown on www.ncaasports.com, the 5 of us met up and went out on the town; the beers in this city were expensive at 3€/$5/2£ a pop. All of the bars were centralized in a small 4-block area. Also, given that it was Good Friday, many of the bars/clubs were closed. As we went out, we had lengthy discussions about the waiter/esses and their transgender status, both at what appeared to be a regular bar and another discussion at what appeared to be a gay bar.

A 1-hour boat ride from Vigo brings you to a nice pair of islands with white sand (again), large forests, and a very pleasant sand bar bridge between the two! Vigo, on the whole, is far from a touristy city, and you won't find really any tourists there (the three girls study at a university in Santiago de Compostela, a short day trip from Vigo, which is why they were visiting Vigo). Vigo is a small city situated between a 17€, 2.5 hour round trip bus ride from Porto and a 11€, 2 hour, train ride from Santiago de Compostela. A further trip, north of Santiago de Compostela, is a city on the northern Iberian coast: A Coruna.

Santiago de Compostela is the center of life of Galicia; housing the Museum of the Galician People. The most-visited city in the area, Santiago marks the end of St. James way, its end at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Closing just as Ben and I arrived there ( :( ), the cathedral, whose construction started nearly 1,000 years ago (CRAZY, right?!), houses the tomb of the apostle St. James (REAL cool!). Santiago is a very nice city that reminds me of both Leon, Spain and Guimaraes, Portugal. Facades are similar to the color-free ones of Vigo, but the roofs and small, windy, walkable streets are very attractve! Tapas are great there, as well! My favorite part of Galicia and Spain, by far, in general is the Iberico Pork: a little spicy, a little dry, peppery, and a lot of mmmm!

Galicia

2008-03-20T12:23:00.005Z

Tomorrow I will be making it to the Spanish area north of Portugal: Galicia. There, they speak Sportuganish, a mix of Portuguese and Spanish. I hear the food is excellent there as well. Specifically, I plan to head to Vigo and Santiago de Compostela.

I will be going to Vigo, "the lesser-attractive" of the two, to visit an ex-Breyner-roommate Ben.
Santiago de Compostela is known for its Camino de Santiago. It takes place in July, I believe.

I may also to go Goruña, which is further north.

Above, and to the right, is the current logo of the Camino.

A Tale of Three Currencies

2008-03-17T10:23:00.007Z

3 currencies that have been the foci of finance talk are the dollar bill USD $, the Euro EUR €, and the British Pound GBP £.

The most surprising change of late is the weakening of the GBP! The chart below tracks this change over the past year.

Demonstrating the deterioration of the dollar in relation to the pound (not too interesting) is the chart below:

Finally, the plummeting dollar is most shown at the chart below, further bludgeoned by the incredible strengthening of the Euro. It should be noted that the Dollar, at one point, was ahead of the Euro $ 1.19 to € 1 (2002 or so), but now is behind $ 0.63 to € 1 (a.k.a. half of it's max. value).

So, this blog entry isn't too interesting, but just gives an overview of these three currencies over the past couple years.

- The Euro is leading The World's Strongest Man competition.
- The GPB has been slacking on it's reps, but may get some Weight Gainer 3000 in the coming few months (p.s. there are almost plans for GB to adopt the Euro).
- The Dollar is becoming Screech from Saved by the Bell.

If only my salary here was in Euros, not USD ...

August 2008

2008-03-03T14:53:00.004Z

I, in addition to planning my trips around Europe, have been planning many around the US.

Using greyhound, I will travel between MD, PA, NY, and wherever else I have friends/family I want to visit.

Currently, I plan to hang out at home for a few days before going for a family reunion in Atlanta Aug 2nd - 4th with my mom, dad, sister, brother and his wife, step dad, and luiz. This is because we didn't really have too much of a Christmas in December, so we're having one in August while my dad has a layover for a few days.

After that, I plan to hang out with Sketch, Steph, Scooter, and Patsy in Middletown/Frederick before heading to Baltimore to see a bunch of current UMBC people, as well as Jordan and Erica in Dundalk.

Then, I'm heading up to see Christine Jermusyk in Philly, where we'll hang out for a day and have philly cheesesteaks before our Road Trip to Niagra Falls and/or Taughannock Falls on our way to Toronto, then back down to Philly.

After that, I'll head to New York to visit some family up there: Andrea, Leslie, Aunt Wendy, Uncle John, and will hopefully go into the city and stay with Uncle Roger and Ronni and see Central Park (never seen it), before heading to see Aunt Helen and Uncle Ron and Aunt Judy.

This is all before September, when, as I'll only find out to which country on or before July 18th, I'll head to sub-Saharan Africa for 27 months (a.k.a. returning to the US probably just before Christmas 2010).

Summer 2008

2008-02-28T14:52:00.003Z

Below is my travelmap, linked from facebook:

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

London, England

Krakow, Poland

Porto, Portugal

Prague, Czech Republic

Fernando de Noronha, Brazil

San Francisco, CA, USA

Denver, CO, USA

Oswiecim, Poland

Bethesda, MD, USA

Create your own travel map or travel blog

Visit TripAdvisor.com

Below is my summer 2008 travel plans:

I agree this looks too ambitious, but I have a friend who did basically the same (went to istanbul in 1 month). Well, this is my plan, also going to Istanbul in one month, or so, but with a more-relaxing second month ... a week or so in Budapest, a week or so in Bremen, passing through Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris on my way back to Porto. I will meet people along the way I'm sure and will travel with them if they go to Berlin, or whatever. I am also doing this keeping people I know in mind ... I know a bunch of people in Italy, Barcelona, Greece, Istanbul, Budapest, Berlin and Bremen, Paris... I think that with me staying with them I will get to know the places that the people from those cities actually go to, and get an insider's perspective to the different countries.

Then I will go back to the states July 30th and visit friends and family before I start packing for deployment into sub-Saharan Africa for service with the Peace Corps!

People have told me they're jealous of the opportunity I have here ... but I would be very excited go do research on various facets of mechanical engineering while earning my PhD, or teaching to inner-city kids in Baltimore, or being a political leader in a MD district, or any of the many other things friends of mine are doing. There's stability and interesting things happening all over the place, so don't be jealous of my instability here.

Traveling IS fun, though!

Why I love my house - Reason 1

2008-02-19T18:11:00.003Z

*** I don't know how many reasons I will get to but this is the first one so far ***

1) The people

Brasilian music flows through the warm February breeze as I lay in my hammock and reminisce to my time back in Cidade Maravilhosa. Jota's voice so soothing, his hand strumming the strings as if they were clouds, I lay in utter contentment.

Those are the things I'll remember in my house: appreciating the specific things about people, like Beppe's flying hands, screaming "vanculo," Paul's rosy cheeks, Ben's "go fuck off you," Lea and Elena's laugh (could go on but i want to leave work)...

People are from all over so I get to see what it's like to live, etc. in all different countries ... what food they eat, their temperament, their interests (for example, though nothing profound, every single person from every single place likes Cirque du Soleil and most roommates have gone to a show before!) ... it's a really warm atmosphere!

I have found it surprising that almost everyone knows just about every American TV show ... and follows them closely! For example, everyone watches Desperate Housewives, Sex and the City, Grey's Anatomy, Prison Break ... basically everything except for 24.

Everyone also follows American politics very closely; in addition to knowing about Barack and Hilary, they even ask me "so isn't there a crazy mormon running?" and know that there are primaries before the actual election. Actually, talking and appeasing their curiosity has strengthened my competence in American politics; since I'm not gonna bullshit my roommates, if I don't know something I research that shiz and fill them in while finding out myself.

It's also refreshing to hear that I have shattered all the negative stereotypes that they had about Americans. I'm sure any average American could do the same, but I'm glad that they have taken as much from me as I have from them.

[ P.S. Until recently my roommates came from all over ... Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Greece, Brasil, England, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Senegal, and, of course, the United States. Now, half of the house is from Belgium. Though this isn't a bad thing, there are some cliques that form as some of them were friends back in Belgium, and now half of the house has French as their native language. We now represent the US, Germany, France, Italy, Senegal, Brasil and Belgium (5 fewer countries). ]

Always a breyner...

More Occo!

2008-02-18T12:24:00.003Z

While planning my upcoming trip to Morocco with Jim on April 25 - May 5, I found some website with some good African/Arabic music!

http://www.temaracity.npage.de/

The only song you'll know on here is by Cheb Mami (official site). Cheb Mami and Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner sang together on their song Desert Rose.

I encourage everyone to listen in the background while you work. Assuming you don't know Arabic, the lyrics shouldn't throw you off. You should be able to multi-task and appreciate the music while still getting work done!

Informing about Peace Corps Health Forms

2008-02-15T11:00:00.004Z

The application process for the Peace Corps is by no means easy, especially when applying from overseas.

Having written the two essays talking about why I would be a great Peace Corps applicant, updated my resume, got my fingerprints in the US consulate in London while being a tourist there (story below), and had the 2-hour overseas interview with my recruiter, she nominated me for service teaching science to high school kids in sub-Saharan Africa. I'll only find out where I'll spend my 27 months of service 6 weeks to 2 months before I'm supposed to go there.

The post-nomination steps involve getting a medical checkup. It's just like a regular checkup, but, given that I'm a recent college student overseas, it's quite difficult. As a college student, I got many injections/etc at UMBC for various reasons (e.g. my visa for Portugal). The record of these immunizations were not sent two my regular doctor/pediatrician. Furthermore, when I went to Brasil, I received many injections, and records of those are in yet a 3rd place! I need to consolidate all of those records to find out what further injections I need for the Peace Corps application.

Once that's done, I will also need to go to a private dentist for xRays for my teeth.

Keep in mind that Portugal, like all of the EU, has Universal Health Care. Meaning, that if I wanted something done about 6 months from now, it would be free. However, given that this is time-sensitive, I need to get a private practice (a.k.a. expensive) to do these checks. Money is Not the important thing, obviously, but does play its part in this current step.

Once all that goes through (basically the final step!!), it will be reviewed, and, on or before July 18th, I will be presented with an invitation for service, that invitation coming along with placement, country, housing family, job, etc!!

- -

P.S. London Consulate story: After walking through the gate for the London Consulate on Thursday November 1st, I waited in line, passed through the security check points, and made it through one of the doors. As always happens in large places, the place where you go "isn't where you need to be," and are redirected somewhere. When you get to that place, "it's actually in a different place where you need to be." Having originally gone to the door on the left side of the building, then the right, then the center, I found out that, "as it turns out, the place you originally went was the correct place." Now approaching a furious rage, I went to that place and leveled with the people there. Actually! As it turns out, they were Brasilian! Hearing within a second of them talking to each other (based on their accent), I broke the ice and we immediately started talking to each other in Portuguese! Now impressed and comfortable around me, they called some administrator in the consulate, who came down.

How is it that you made it through all security check points of the most secure consulate in the world without an appointment or knowing anyone?

What can I say? I guess I'm a smooth-talker.

I explained my situation: how I live in Porto, but all finger prints for Peace Corps need to be done in a consulate. I can't get my finger prints in Portugal (Lisbon) because I live on the other side of the country and need to work. Now in London as a tourist for 5 days, I need to get my finger prints. I told her this as she told me that the London consulate only gives finger prints for passports and not for Peace Corps (ARG!). Now keeping a level head and speaking calmly, making jokes as well, she decided to help me out (yay!). We walked back to the right side of the building, and I joked about one of the guards. She laughed. She also told me how impressed she was that I got through all of the security check points of the most secure consulate in the world (the US Consulate in London) without an appointment or knowing anyone there. "What can I say? I guess I'm a smooth-talker." Having arrived at the other side of the building, I was given the name of the person who would take my finger prints (yay!) and set my appointment for the following day, Friday November 2nd (WHEW!). Had I gone to the consulate on Friday, I would have been completely SOL, but yay that it all worked out perfectly.

- -

P.P.S. The new Britney Spears' video isn't too bad. However, not all of her new songs are as good.

My LinkedIn Profile

2008-02-14T11:22:00.004Z

Hi, everyone!

I have just about completed my LinkedIn profile, and I wanted to link everyone to it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Carnaval in Cádiz!

2008-02-07T16:27:00.011Z

(L>R: Caeli, Jaci, Me, Saron)

This is the pic of the 4 of us in costume, after having arrived in Cádiz and gone back to the hotel to take a nap, so we could stay awake all night.

We arrived in Sevilla at about 6am on Saturday, February 2nd. We then scurried around and tried to find how to get to Cádiz at that time on a Saturday. After 2 hours, and hearing many differing stories, we finally arrived at a train station at 7:50 with the next train going to Cádiz at 7:52. We ran down the escalator, to find the train approaching. Thinking she had enough time, birthday girl Saron tried to get an icecream from the machine, but, needed to abandon it as it dropped into the place where you can pick it up (whatever it's called) since the train was yelling at her.

ahhhh..... now comfortable and on the train to Cádiz, i took embarrassing pictures of both Jaci and Saron as they slept:

We arrived in Cádiz, walked around town, then went to Puerta de Santa Maria (where our hotel was), took a nap, and then we shared Saron's birthday "cake" that we got along with her scarf.

Now awake and ready to start the night, we watched some TV while eating dinner and getting ready with out costumes, etc.

We found great costumes in Cádiz on the night of the start of carnaval!

After we woke up, we made our way back to Sevilla, and met up with a friend. I tried to watch the SUPER BOWL online, but the connection wasn't great. The three of us walked around town in Sevilla, starting at about 7:30 when we needed to leave my friend's house.

After about 14 hours walking around town and reading Harry Potter and then I took the 12-hour bus ride back to Porto, in time to nap for about 8 hours, have dinner, then go back to sleep for the night.

Through the Air to Break My Heart

2008-01-28T14:48:00.000Z

Somehow, some 1s and 0s flew through the air to my computer, were analyzed, and an image was displayed. What a beautiful image it was for the first half. But the second half of one of the highlights of the season for duke and md fans, alike, consisted of some 1s and 0s of itself ... 1 large lead at halftime, 0 conversion ability except for the 1 pair of threes down the stretch, 0 calm behavior or confidence shown, and 1 big heartbreak.

Yes. You're thinking correctly; I watched the game online. I got the link to the game through www.myp2p.eu, and subsequently downloading one of two programs--TVU or sopcast--gave me access to the big game.

Always a challenge when you share your internet with 24 other people, I remember one specific instance of the semi-there stream at the end of the half as Duke was taking the ball down the court ... "th.....h......cros.....driv......OFFENSIVE FOUL!" at the end of the half. Silently I threw my hands up in the air. I would also pray during free throws, hands in the air, wooshing my hands simultaneously along with the ball. the majority of the game was great, about 80% nearly-flawless, only 8 minutes not 95%. However, as the time was winding down, the game cut out every few seconds, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't will the connection to work.

- -

That's quality of stream, not quality of the video, nor the commercials. The commercials seemed to solely focus on the US Army. Here are a few of the commercials seen:

- A professor (drawing of a chicken) taught the commercial-long class entitled "chicken knows best," teaching about different types of flus. This chicken taught about flus and how they relate to the army.

- 52 weeks of safety, some local program for suburban Oklahoma, spondored by someone I guarantee you will never hear of, and how it relates to the army.

- A completely annotated recipe, and how it relates to drug prevention, and also the army.

- Sexual assault, and how it relates to the army.

- The website www.armygermany.com, advertized by two monkeys talking to each other. One monkey mentions the website, and the other yells "BANANAS! Why didn't I think of that." Bananas, and how they relate to the army.

- How being a wingman relates to skills involved with being in the army

- How not playing with matches relates to skills related to being in the army.

- Gambling, and how it relates to being in the army.

- Bitburg-Prüm and how it relates to being in the army.

- Trash and recycling, and how they relate to the army.

- The University of Phoenix, and how it doesn't relate at all to Phoenix, AZ.

- Airman Magazine

- "Doggy Day Care" and how it relates to the army.

- "The Real World" MTV show and how it relates to being in the army.

- And volleyball, and how it relates to the army

(I only found out at the end of the game how the game was sponsored by the American Forces Network ... this got me thinking ... does md or duke have a large population that have gone to the army? large enough they would sponsor a md-duke game...)

- -

It was refreshing and nostalgic the hear the UMD pep band! As I appreciated their music, many selections also popular at UMBC, I developed a cold. Probably because I was freezing next to a window where the temperature outside the window is about 5 degrees C (~40ºF). I now, the day after, feel slightly sick due to the cold, but I did wear my still-great UMBC hoodie. It probably didn't help that I donned the faux-pas sandals and socks.

Alas, Coach k still sounds like an idiot when he speaks ... it impresses me how people take him seriously.

As far as gameplay, I did not like much of what I saw. For offense, I saw several turn-around shots, none of which ever worked. The zone/man-combo MD tries to play has struggles for years and is far from seamless. They always leave a man free for about 3 seconds, which is just about enough time to leave, get in each players' respective cars, have a caravan down to Ashburton Elementary, and take MD to school.

- -

Tidbits and reactions section:

It saddened me to see that MD has inclement weather coming up, as the warning scrolled along the screen.

I also felt the halftime show was strange, showing the news reporter playing against gVasques in both real basketball and tv basketball.

As I watched the game in the hallway, where the best internet is, my roommates walked by and admired the game I was watching. Yeah, they were probably jealous.

Most important, though, were the new jerseys worn by the fierce turtles. It's a yellow/black alternating stripe basically where suspenders are. I still prefer the one they had before two years ago.

Now excited that this works, I am ready to watch live tv shows once they return and the writer strike ends.

SPI USA

2008-01-16T11:15:00.000Z

SPI (the consulting company I work for) will be moving from Catonsville (Baltimore) to Washington D.C., where many of our contacts are!

My appointed task for the day is to find places in and around Arlington, VA for our new office.

We'll see how the search goes...

New Laws for 2008

2008-01-15T11:08:00.000Z

( this is from http://techbizlawblog.wordpress.com/2008/01/ )

"With the onset of new year some new laws went into effect on January 1, 2008.

Here is the list:

1. This might help the new year resolution to quit smoking. One could be subject to fines of up to $100 if caught smoking in an vehicle if there is anyone under 18 years of age in it, and a citation can only be given if the vehicle was stopped for other reasons such as for speeding or erratic driving and not solely for smoking.

2. If your child happens to be a gang member then Courts can require parents and guardians to attend parenting classes.

3. This is to protect deceptive advertising and to protect music fans who buy tickets to oldies concerts. The performing group has to meet certain authentication standards and ensure that at least one member of the group has the legal right to use the name of the original recording artist, but this doesn’t apply to tribute groups.

4. Now, this is a biggie and I totally support it. It bans employers or anyone requiring employees or others to have a RFID or radio frequency identification device under the skin which could be used to track and get personal information about the user.

5. I thought that the government was cracking down on illegal immigration and this law seems to help illegal immigration. Landlords are no longer required to obtain and report the immigration status of their tenants to cities and counties. It further prohibits ordinances preventing landlords from renting to illegal immigrants.

6. Without obtaining a conditional use permit, cities and counties must designate areas where homeless shelters can be located.

7. I don’t really support this law since there could be room for manipulation. The requirement that patients fill out a form to be tested for HIV or AIDS is being dropped and verbal consent to the doctor is sufficient.

8. Looks like this law is a trickle down effect from the federal government. The California Public Employees Retirement System and the California State Teachers Retirement System will be prohibited from investing in companies that have a defense or nuclear related business with Iran.

9. I really don’t understand the significance of this law which allows shoppers to receive cash when a gift certificate has less than $10 left in value.

10. From July 1, 2008 “Don’t talk and Drive”, so if a driver has a cell phone plastered to his or her ears they will get a traffic ticket and fine. Also drivers under 18 years prohibited from using any wireless device while driving.

11. Birth Certificates will be issued for still born babies."

This is the New Year

2008-01-14T10:38:00.001Z

Christmas was nice, spending it with Elena (former roommate) in León, Spain. Initially awkward since no one has spent the night at her house before (not even her best friend), her parents seemed uneasy with me there (though appeared very happy I was there) since I assume they thought I was dating her.

I went Tapas bar hopping for the first time! I especially liked the Pipas tapas. There were many types of tapas: muscles, bread with a blood spread, garbanzo beans, bread with prosciutto, etc. They were free with the drinks, too! Each glass of wine was about 1 euro, and you get more food the more drinks you get (1 drink a person, etc.). Groups of 2-4 go tapas bar hopping usually.

Other than that, the other Spanish food eaten was good. More pipas, as well as nice soups and fresh bread and other meat dishes. Except one meal i didn't like as much was this strange plate of cod fish with tomato sauce. that wasn't as good.

Elena got a Nintendo Wii for christmas! It was fun to watch her go crazy and punch as air during the boxing game of Wii Sports.

All-in-all, a very nice trip!

- -

New Years Eve! Around 8pm, we started heating up our bullion fondue at the house! Vegetable Oil boiling, we stabbed the raw cubes of meat with our skewers, placed them in the oil, and pulled them out, letting them cool and dipping them in sauce before appreciating them. After a few hours of wine, champagne, beer, our dinner, and hearty laughs, we set off to the city center at 11:30pm.

Arriving there soon after, just before the cusp of the year, we saw the pre-new year come to a close, and, soon after, the fireworks to start the year. After more celebration on the street, with dancing and a samba band, we called it a night, though early, at around 3am.

Prague, Day 4 (Part 2) coming next...

2007-10-16T20:28:00.000+01:00

This is just an update while I wait for the pictures to upload on facebook...

I obviously did not take some time every to update my blog in my hammock, but that's because the internet don't go through the 4 x 1-meter thick walls. Bummer I need to come to the courtyard to get internet (learn french) or to talk on skype.

I plan to learn French as my next language, and am using this one good website. It's a great website!

My next language will be Mandarin, or so I plan.

To improve my Portuguese, I signed up for a Portuguese word of the day. I've also found out about libraries, which I plan to join asap.

Also, it's been a challenge to get finger prints done for Peace Corps. I will keep on trying, but I've been told I need to go to the US Consulate in Lisbon to get them done. That's not gonna happen.

Ok, now that I've finished this blog, it's time to eat, so I'll update Prague day 4 part 2 later on....hopefully not a month and two days again....

not "Prague, Day 4 (Part 2)" yet....

2007-09-14T15:33:00.000+01:00

I'll get the part 2 later, but I know what you're thinking. 4 blog posts in two days?? Yeah I'm spoiling you.

This is my plan for every day after work. Now that I have both hammocks set up (Thank you Tante Magda for yours!!!!! ... I got a hammock from my Belgian Aunt (Tante), Magda, and one from my Spanish roommate Elena), I plan to lie in them after work every day and, with the hopes that my internet connection is better out there than in my room, I hope to update my blog daily (as is my goal so far...), and attempt to self-teach myself languages. My first language will be French since no one in the office (except for the boss) claims to have a good French (though I beg to differ) and we work with French companies a bit. Knowledge of French should allow me to be able to travel (Paris, Brussles...) with SPI and assist the productivity.

After learning basic conversational French, I would like to speak with two of my roommates (one Senegalese, one Parisian) with my newly-acquired language. This should hopefully also improve my Portuguese!

I will hopefully get to Prague, Day 4 (Part 2) tonight. But yes, I will do this every day except for Thursdays: salsa dance lessons night.

Bohemia Bagel

2007-09-14T12:30:00.000+01:00

So the unlimited refills, mentioned in the previous blog, is at a place called Bohemia Bagel.
Site 1
Site 2
Site 3

One of the restaurants with the most delicious food in the world, or, at least one that allowed my taste buds to reminisce about the US, even if for a fleeting moment, was Bohemia Bagel. The panache flavor of the artwork between two halves of a bagel, coupled with the unlimited refills of Always Coca-Cola, gave me a brief respite from the chicken, mayonnaise, and pickle sandwiches of Eastern Europe (which are actually pretty good!).

I feel that Bohemia Bagels deserved a post, dedicated entirely to itself. If you ever make it to Prague, Bohemia Bagel is a must-eat!

Bohemia Bagel

Some painting. I think it's related:

Prague, Day 4: Greg's an Engineer (part 1)

2007-09-13T19:18:00.000+01:00

Pavlina woke us up at 8:15, and we were supposed to be ready at 8:45. She dropped us off at a tram station (P.S. Prague's public transportation system is amazing!)

We went from the metro station, to a metronome...

...to the shoe, and to the camera shop. Greg fixed some guy's camera!!

Then, Greg, the two British guys (one of whom had a camera that Greg fixed), and I went to Mozart's house!

...Mozart's house in part 2. Gotta go shopping now for dinnnnnerrrr!!

Only place where you can get free refills on your soda! Delicious!! (this was actually day 3, not day 4)

Pictures of Prague, Day 3.

2007-09-13T18:52:00.000+01:00

Look! Absinthe!

Absinthe and Marybelle!

Greg and me!

Intensity!

Such Intricacy!

Barbie Museum???

Another picture of Prague!

Prague, Day 3: Marybelle

2007-08-22T01:15:00.000+01:00

I'm just writing this blog to have an entry and description of the day, some pics will come in a later blog.

Greg and I woke up at 10am today, and we had the bright idea to get some cheap Czech wine and drink it while walking around the city. We wanted Rose wine, and found two boxes of wine...red and white wine. Marybelle was the name. You'll soon see why this was a terrible decision. Well, we bought it because it was the cheapest possible. Then we mixed the two, making the rose. But, thanks to the disgusting white wine, this concoction tasted like urine, with added sugar. Well we started drinking it while walking around, but it became too disgusting, so we poured it out.

We then met some Brits who needed their camera fixed, so Greg fixed it. We went to the TV tower, Mozart's house, and then to an overlook to watch the sunset.

--

As a current update, I started cleaning the "basement" of the new room that I'm moving to on September. Shouldn't be too tough, actually. Cleaning up some ivy, taking the wood out of the basement (which I don't know why it's there), and then sweeping the dirt away (concrete floor) and into a trashcan, and finally setting up my hammock. Hopefully I'll be done this weekend!

--

But as for Prague, the pictures are to come soon enough!

Prague, Day 2

2007-08-18T19:53:00.001+01:00

Here are some pics from walking around in Prague!

These were the sketchy ATMs in the Prague airport...

Mika, ____, Pauline, and Mikaela:

The tourist part of Prague:

Dancing Towers!

Ballin cow:

Floorball, it's a sport!

Another View:

Me, trying to be artistic or something...

There's a statue of a guy, falling apart...

Stiletto:

I've decided that whatever city I live in needs to have a large open area where people meander throughout all the hours of the day.

Prague, Day 1

2007-08-17T12:38:00.000+01:00

Eastern Europe!

I arrived in Prague on the night of August 4th, via Lufthansa (great airline!). Unfriendly people at the airport, my God! I went to the ATM and took out 2000 Kc ($100), and got a 2000 Kc note. Not, 4 500 Kc notes, one single 2000 note. What the hell am I supposed to do with a 2000 Kc note? I exchanged it at the exchange counter, but the guy gave me a ton of attitude. After I left the airport, I spent maybe an hour going by bus/metro/walking from the airport to Chili Hostel (the directions to the hostel, as provided on their website, weren’t great).

But, I got there! Woooo! Dropped my stuff off in my room, and I noticed that in the room of four, the other three roommates were girls, based on the clothes spread out over their bed (turns out they were three cute Spanish birds, as I noticed the next morning since I got back after they went to bed. oh, “birds” was a term I picked up from these British guys I met on day 3).

So, I went out after meeting, in the hostel, two Swedes (girls) and two Fins (guys). We went to this one bar, Desperados, which had glasses of beer, 0.5 L for about $1.50 (29 Kc....20 Kc to the dollar), a pretty good price when compared to the US. I got a few of those and a rum&coke. We then tried to get a bottle of wine and head to Charles Bridge (the main attraction in Prague), but we couldn’t get any wine since the liquor stores closed around 6pm, I believe. We went to Charles Bridge regardless, walked across, then back, and everyone else went back to the bar, but since I didn’t want to blow my money the first night and since I was somewhat tired come like 3am, I went to bed.

And that was the first night. A great start. When the Charles Bridge and the castle are lit up at night, it's gorgeous. I think I'm going to try and come to Prague again next summer!

P.S. Pictures to come later when I'm updating my blog at home...

A ton of walking and my legs are dead. Oh, speaking of dead...

2007-08-05T16:22:00.000+01:00

I think I saw my first real-life dead person today, but I'm not sure. Either that or he was sleeping in the most uncomfortable position possible. I didn't take a picture, sorry, it didn't seem right. I didn't prod him with a stick, either, though I considered it.

I will talk about profundities about why Prague is as touristy as it is in a later blog.

So today, I visited all of the tourist sites, except for the slim few that were way too packed with tourists. I figured if everyone's going to them, they can't be a pride of Prague, just a pride of non-Prague-ites.

I got an initial direction from the front desk of the hostel, and went wherever I wanted afterwards. The majority of my travels today were ones that I didn't plan, including the dead person. But man! If I could plan that...

Just walked around, saw nice parks and appreciated the beauty of all of the buildings (look three paragraphs above... "I will talk..."), until I got thirsty. I decided I wouldn't get something to drink at a bar, and then! I saw a gas station! There seem to be very few gas stations here, especially in the touristy parts. So I got 1.5 L of tasty sparkling lemon-flavored water. Mmmmm! 20 korunas....~ $0.66 or EU$ 0,50. I then kept on walking until I found a tiny supermarket, and had a nice chicken sandwich with testicku, pickles. 42 korunas. Oh yeah, korunas are like yen in that there aren't any cents, just korunas (unlike how dollars/euros have cents). I then got another 1.5L of water for 13 Korunas. And then some bread I took from breakfast. In total, I survived today only spending 75 korunas...a little over $2. Not too bad...more money for me to drink tonight.

Well, I gotta go, but I'll check y'all later!

Prague!

2007-08-04T22:25:00.000+01:00

I`ve arrived in the hostel! Headin out! More to come later!

Next Stop: Prague and Poland!

2007-08-04T02:57:00.000+01:00

I should mention that in 2 hours I'm going to Prague! Well, walking to the bus stop, then to Lisbon, then to Munich, then to Prague! I'll be there by 8:20 tonight...August 4th. I'm meeting up with a friend tomorrow and we'll travel around in Prague for a few days, drink Absinthe, and then go to Poland for a few more days, then return to Prague on the 14th for my flight home on the 15th! I'm very excited and I'll put my pictures up that I take. I'll be taking a lot of cool ones, not just touristy ones. Hmmm i should start packing!

I just got back from the Keane concert, and I had a sort of epiphany there. Well, that's an overstatement, but it's really hit me that I'm in Europe a few times, first, the amount of people at the one bar Piolho and the nightlife. Secondly, at a dance club, the was one of my roommates, Lajos, was dancing, seemed very unique to Europe. But tonight, at the Keane concert, I thrived off of the energy of everyone around me, a concert by Matosinhos beach. I also like the band a lot. But I always appreciate when I have moments like this where I really feel that I am in Portugal. For some reason the regular 9-5 doesn't really hit me that I'm here...

Anyway, seriously I haven't started packing yet. I'm gonna do that. Peace until I'm back from the Prague, Czech Republic and Krakow, Poland, and wherever else I end up (I hear Zakopane, Poland is really nice)!

I have a very large smile right now, if only you could see it!

Tax

2007-08-03T10:19:00.000+01:00

I really like the tax system here.

When you go to the grocerie store, let's say you get three things: rice, beer, and rosemary.

Rice: Since everyone needs rice, regardless of their financial background, the tax for rice is 5%.

Beer: Since beer is populat, and a wide range of people have it, though possibly less likely for the lower classes, beer is taxed 12%.

Rosemary: Since rosemary is a spice (well, also a name), and only the upper classes use it for flavoring, the taxation on it is 21%.

The taxation in MD, I believe, on everything is 5%, but in Portugal there's progressive taxation to help out the poor by taxing, highly, the fine things that richer people usually appreciate.

I believe that wine also is taxed 5%, and when it costs €1, and is taxed 5%, you're getting a pretty good deal!

well....the good wine starts at 3€, and I suppose That's when the good deals start.

New Room!

2007-08-02T12:29:00.000+01:00

Attn: Everyone. I may be moving rooms in a month.

I may move from my large one into a tiny one but which has its own bathroom and a patio behind it! Let me explain.

There's a tiny room, which has a door facing the main hallway of my house, but, also has a door out the back! Going out this door, you have the personal bathroom to the right a small room with a toilet, sink And shower! I can use all three at the same time! Shower, brush my teeth, and use the toilet! I'm pretty excited. Going to the left outside the door, you walk down these stairs to a back courtyard / basement. Now, there is ivy lining th way (looks great), but I need to trim it. But wait, I haven't even gotten to the best part yet! The fun part!

Currently, the basement is completely dirty. There's dead wood, foam, broken chairs, metal which I don't even know what it was used for, and that whole deal. I plan to, today and tomorrow, start cleaning it. There's this one person, João, living there now until the end of August. I'll clean it with him so I have a helping hand, and, so, over the next month, he can use it. My big plan:

- Put a hammock.
- Fireplace?
- Yeah more later...

I do like the room where I'm living now, since it faces into the courtyard, but this other one also pulls me since I have a back door with a personal bathroom
I'm deciding whether to move or not. Comments welcome.

If I do move, I'll have before and after pictures!

2007-07-31T09:39:00.001+01:00

SPI Challenger

2007-07-31T04:29:00.000+01:00

SPI Challenger is "awesome."

(happy, Dora?)

This past weekend was the SPI Challenger, an event, organized by 3 SPI employees, in which there is always something fun going on in addition to team building.

This year's SPI Challenger was at an outdoor camp. The team-building consisted of many games: that one where groups of people walk on wooden skis, a race where you need to carry this one ball between two people's stomachs...Basically things that I've done at leadership retreats countless times.

That was the first half of the morning. The second half was much more intense. The goal of the second half was to challenge yourself. All 16 of us SPI employeed needed to summit a 15-meter-tall cement prism. 15 meters is pretty tall. There were a few ways to get on top of the prism: vertical hoist by the rest of the team, rock climbing up the side, climbing a ladder on the side, or, climbing a few rocks on the side of the cement prism and tightrope walk to the top. So I don't really like heights, scared of them, but since I knew I was pretty secure, I went across the tightrope pretty quickly.

The ways down were much more fun! My first descent was zooming down the zipline. I did what I could to get a running jump off the cement prism. The views from that area of Portugal, too, were stunning. It was so far that it got hazy in the distance. After walking back to the prism from the landing point of the zipline, I climbed up the ladder and did the australian descent. Ok, have you seen Mission Impossible 1 (back in 1996!)? Remember that scene where Tom Cruise, Ethan Hunt, descends into the very secure room in Langley, VA, front-side-of-his-body-down? That's what I did, for 15 meters, much more than Tom's mere 4. That was the intense part. I hurt my back a little doing it, actually. And my neck, too, I have found out.

And actually, that pain has only gotten worse...but in addition, I have this hip thing from 8 years ago when I climbed a mountain with my dad. On the way down, I jumped down rocks to help him down. A day or two after this, my hip hurt a lot (I needed to limp around), and this pain has been coming and going ever since. It comes when I get lazy and recline in a couch, my bed...recline anywhere. I've been to doctors and they don't know what it is. I think I will research on google about it tomorrow. Anyway, this past Sunday was a lazy Sunday for me. I woke up with a little pain, but nothing unbearable for me. Lounged around the whole day, watched Tomb Raider II - The Cradle of Life. Then I woke up Monday morning and my back, neck, and hip hurt quite a lot. But I tried to not let it get to me; my plan was to just walk around all day with the hopes that it get better (usually works). I thought it Was working. But if you notice it's 5am. I tried to sleep at 1am, and get almost 8 hours of sleep tonight. But, about every 10 minutes, I wake up due to the pain. My neck pain prevents me turning my head, and my hip/back prevents me rotating/moving at all. I woke up at 4:30am, and, after about 2 minutes of determination, finally got enough energy to disregard this pain and get out of bed to get a drink of water. Walking to the bathroom, 2 meters outside my door, took about 1 minute to walk, holding myself up on the wall.

The funny part is that I woke up at 4:30 am thinking to myself "Ok! 4 hours down! Only 4 hours to go!" It's like sleep was a challenge. I think this is the first time I've ever felt that way.

I think it's safe to say this is the worst physical pain of my life (so far! thanks, Simpsons: The Movie). Mom and dad, I know you're going to worry about me, but in a few days I'm sure I'll be fine. This sort of thing is common, except that it's now paired with both neck and back pain. We'll see how tomorrow (today) treats me. There's a bbq tomorrow night.

I just hope I'm fine to travel to Prague this Saturday! I'm hopeful.

Woooo! Europe!

Allowance

2007-07-23T09:48:00.000+01:00

My dad told me that I should keep all of my receipts for the first few weeks so that I can keep track of my spending. But I don’t want to. Instead, I take out 50 € every Monday, and that’s my spending for the week. I am my own parents, limiting myself to a weekly allowance.

I’ve been doing this for one week so far (last week was the first), and it seems to be a success. I went the first few days spending only ~6 euros, thanks to my roommates cooking everyone dinner. But, with things like Festival da Francesinha, it was tough to use such little money.

So this morning, I took my weekly allowance of 50 € out of the multibanco. Now, the multibanco is an interesting piece of electronics.

As opposed to the general ATM, a multibanco allows you such features as shopping payments, paying rent, paying bills, charging your cell phone, and show tickets sales, among others. It’s really an amazing thing.

In addition, there’s a thing called “Via Verde” (“Green Way”), and is similar to a credit card. This device is comprised of many things: EZ pass, exxon mobile, and the Metro parking pass.

Via Verde

An RFID Tag is attached to the windshield and is linked to a bank account.

For tolls: you can drive as fast as you want, and the toll can recognize it.

Exxon Mobile: You drive up to a gas station, fill up, and drive off. Nothing else is required.

Metro parking pass: You can drive into a parking garage, park, and drive off. No need to take out your wallet.

--

As I said in a previous blog, I really admire the technology use in Portugal. It seems to be a very practical use of technology. One other item I find gorgeous, how they save energy. I have noticed this in many ways, a few detailed below:

1) Escalators (I noticed this in Brazil as well) – elevators move very slowly as to save energy, until someone steps on them, which is when they speed up. The reason they move at all when no one is on it is that they need to show people which direction it’s moving.

2) Lights - At my office, hallways are dark, as an energy saving measure, until you walk by them. As you walk down the hallway, the lights turn themselves on. This extends the life of the bulbs and saves energy.

--

I just find it interesting that the US tries so hard to save energy and be technologically advances, but Portugal does it flawlessly and has been for some time.

Absolutely elegant.

Doppleganger

2007-07-18T09:46:00.000+01:00

There are two references for this word that I feel everyone should watch/read. Sorry for the quality of the youTube video. The SNL original video isn't online, but it's pretty funny.

Wiki
YouTube

It has become common for me to find American dopplegangers here in Portugal. For, example, I work with one, the doppleganger of this one girl Danielle. It's uncanny. But just walking down the street, for example, I see old professors, UMBC students...

I just gotta ask myself, will I take the shot?

2007-07-16T11:04:00.001+01:00

FC Porto

2007-07-16T09:52:00.000+01:00

It's the strangest thing. FC Porto (futbol clube do Porto...the Porto soccer team) has been the recent champion of like 5 of the past 7 annual Portugese soccer tournaments and has also done quite well in European league football (including being champion in 2004 and 1987). Yet, many of the Portoenses (someone from Porto, a.k.a. Tripeiro...someone who makes Tripe), aren't Portistas (nickname for any fan of FC Porto).

I have shared my excitement of going to a futbol match at Dragon Stadium (Estadio do Dragao), FC Porto's stadium, with many Portoenses, but almost all of them share their displeasure of the team. This is the case for about 70% of the people that I talk to about them.. I would have thought that, like Brasil, people would hav been big fans of soccer, especially since their mascot is the Dragon.

But alas no, that does not seem to be the case. Well, come August or September, I will be going to a game, and I'll be eager to see how packed the stadium gets.

Oh, and PS, the reason for the pictures is that if you're looking at this at work, it makes it seem like you're doing work.

Day 7 – How many days in a row can Pete go with his blog?!

2007-07-12T01:55:00.001+01:00

July 9, 2007 – Monday

Well, I think this is my last daily blog since I'm settling and everything's become more of a routine, but far from boring.

Today I bought new bedsheets-n-stuff...nail clippers...finally can cut my nails; it's been frustrating me. My nails would touch the keyboard and would make me self-conscious. Well, my next purchase is going to be a Cartão Jovem, or, best translated, a youngster's card. It's for people 25 or younger, and it gets you discounts on train tickets, movie theaters...it's usually for students to encourage them to go to school, you know the deal...student discounts. I'll get it tomorrow. It's awesome, right dad? Awesome.

Tripe: Well, tripe is, in my opinion, disgusting. I had it for the first time this past weekend and felt that I should write about it. Oh, it's pork intestine. Luckily I didn't order it, just tried it after a friend ordered it. I do not recommend it. But I do recommend to come to Portugal as it has so far been a very unique and rewarding experience!

Day 6.5 - Smart Car

2007-07-09T01:17:00.002+01:00

Check out this sweet pic of a Smart Car parked perpendicular to the road. It's soooo short in length!

Day 6 – João

2007-07-09T00:45:00.001+01:00

July 8, 2007 – Friday

João woke me up at the early hour of 2pm today. As the day seemed to work out, I spent it all with him. My, Lajos, he, and his friend all went out to lunch at a restaurant that wasn't great (Portuguese restaurants usually aren't good on Sundays since Sunday is all for tourists since all Portuguese are in churches, and tourists usually don't have as good taste buds as the Portuguese, so they say). Afterwards, João said he was going to take me to some nice places where I could take some sweet pictures, so, since I don't know the town very well, I thought it would be a great idea. The following pictures were some of the sights that we saw:

This bridge just makes me nervous:

I think hillside cities are awesome:

The bridge I'm on (red railing):

fell in 2002, and was rebuilt and another was made (white bridge on top). It is memorialized by:

And actually, some entire famies died when the bridge fell. It's very sad, and what's more, their houses can't be bought or sold or destroyed, legally, so they've been abandoned and will stay there forever, it seems.

This is where Port Wine comes from:

I just thought this looked interesting:

They're lovin it, even in Portugal!

The name of this city was "Walls." There was another city called "Faithful Feather."

The seven wonders of the world: seven different types of (very popular) Super Bock beer:

Afterwards, we came back and got a bite to eat at the local mall. He tried to teach me some new Portuguese, but I wasn't going to have it, and you'll understand why in a second. He told me about two new pronouns: tu and vos (sp?). Tu is the informal “you” used in Portugal (the more formal “you” is você, and is the sole “you” used in Brazil), and vos (“y'all”) is the more common way used when you talk to people. Ok, fine, I can use these two new pronouns. But wait, there's more. For each of these pronouns, there's a new conjugation. Well, given the amount of irregular verbs in Portuguese, I have since decided against using these two pronouns. Also, I went shopping today and purchased seven tomatoes and a set of Jacks (you know....that game). I'm going to throw the tomatoes (I made sure they were rotten) at the City Hall of Porto in protest of the language. It's biodegradable; they can't arrest me.

Insight of today:

There is very little ethnic diversity in Portugal! I have been keeping a tally of the non-Portuguese since being here 5 days.

Black: 15
Asian: 2 (two today...Sunday..., in the main tourist region of town).
American: 22

There have probably been more Americans here, but my eye and ears probably have not been keen enough to catch them.

Day 5 – Porto nightlife

2007-07-09T00:24:00.001+01:00

July 7, 2007 – Friday

The nightlife here is fun! I'm looking forward to the rest of the year!

Roommates:
(Lajos, me, Sandrine
Eliza, Julia)

A big change from the US, it's not illegal to drink on the street, which is why I felt it necessary to take a picture of me drinking out of that bottle. It's awesome here!

I'm about to go to lunch with João, who is the friend of Andre, some guy I haven't yet met but who is in charge of this house. I just talked to him a minute ago (I don't know where he came from) just wearing a towel. It was cool.

--

João, Lajos, and I went to Maia today (some city north of Porto) since João needed to make some presentation. I agreed to go since I didn't have any other plans until later in the night. Lajos (lóyosh roommate from Hungary), and I walked around a little bit, since João needed to make a presentation. We had a nice conversation and got a couple of sandwiches.

On the car ride home, João told me how he wanted to travel throughout Europe at the beginning of August. Since I have a break from work (well, all of Europe does) from August 5th – 17th, I told him I would be interested in coming. Yeah, so I met him today, he's an alright guy and it would be fun to travel Europe. I was trying to find plans, anyway. So from August 6th to 16th, I'm going from Porto to Paris (stay there for a day or two), Paris to Vienna (stop in Germany on the way, but stay in Vienna also for a day or two), Vienna to Rome (travel around Italy...Venice?...for a few days)!!! I think it will work out well since he speaks English, German, Portuguese, Russian, French, Spanish, and I don't know what other ones. It's like 130 euros for a 10-day pass for train rides throughout Europe. Needless to say, I'm wayyy excited!

--

I'm really impressed with the people here! Last night, I came home after falling asleep on the street a little bit (don't worry). I came home at 3am, and I was the first person to go home out of the ~1,000 students at the huge outside party. They were hanging out there (this one place outside) until like 4am, which is when they go to their afterparties, and they stay up there until like 7 or 8. Apparently, this is a pretty average weekend.

So tonight I did what I could to keep up with them. I went out at about midnight, went to a few bars in the Ribeira part of town. I was drinking with this one cool guy I work with, Anders Hyttel. We were hanging out for a while, drinking outside and talking about whatever. But it was the craziest thing! Come like 12:30am, there was an entire family at thise one bar. I mean 100% of the family! The parents were there just chillin, drinkin. Their younger son, ~19, was there too, which is fine. BUT, their ~8-year-old daughter was also there! She wasn't drinking that I saw, but she was outside of a bar at this social outdoor place (plastic tables/chairs...you get the idea) overlooking the Rio Douro (Gold River). “Isn't it past her bedtime,” I thought to myself. I mean, goodness! Why is she here at this time. I would say that the events of the past two days has given me a slight culture shock. It's great how social they are! I'm excited about picking that up myself!

Afterwards, Anders and I went to a club, where we danced and stuff for a while. People were walking all over the place (like a normal night club)...from one bar to another, and then to dance with their friends, and then back to the bar to get a drink. Well, I'm pretty sure that I saw just about everyone in the place.

Come 5:30, however, I needed to go to bed. I went outside and got one of Porto's famous hot dogs before getting in a taxi and going home.

Well, these hot dogs are huge on this one street lined by night clubs:

I don't know how they do it. Goodnight (7:30am)

Insights of today:

1) Drivers:

Portuguese drivers are very aggressive. They don't seem to take any heed toward the lines on the road (the lines are all white and dashed...I don't know how the lines for separating lanes in one direction differ from the lines separating the two directions). However, through this aggression, they are very, very observant (survival of the fittest...literally). They also always stop when people are on the side of the road, considering crossing the road, even if cars are behind them (I had a similar feeling when I was at the UMD College Park campus).

2) Attention:

People here don't try to stand out as much as they seem to in the United States (I feel I'm a prime example of that given my facebook profile images of late). I don't know how this relates to a generalization I can make about the community here, or how it differs from a generalization I could form about Americans, but it's just an observation.

Peace out, kids!

Day 4 – Breyner

2007-07-06T22:24:00.002+01:00

July 6, 2007 – Friday

I moved in and this house is amazing! I'm convinced more and more each day to stay in Portugal after my internship. Check out the pictures of my house though:

Front of the house:

Party Place:

Living Room:

Kitchen:

Room with a view:

My room:

I'm home!

Day 3 – Falling in love...

2007-07-06T22:06:00.002+01:00

July 5, 2007 – Thursday

“You know, Pete, you've changed.” Absolutely! Or at least I plan to. That's something I decided today; I am going to do whatever I can to be as Portuguese as possible. If that means I have three espressos per day, that I am going to have three espressos per day. Speaking of, I had my first espresso (or, first coffee ever, actually) tonight. Check out the pic!

It was at the mall just outside of my hotel, and was actually really good! Oh, speaking of living places, I am going to move to my new place tomorrow!!! It's the decroded piece of heaven that I mentioned a blog entry or two ago. Also, it's 2am, and I believe I am still somewhat jet-lagged since I don't seem to be able to sleep until about 3 or 4 am on the average day so far. Changing subjects, here are some interesting things about Portugal that I've noticed so far:

- Everyone can tell that I've lived in Brazil based on my pronunciation and word choice. Everyone. Including the woman at the cell phone store who I said maybe 10 words to.
- People eat healthier here (well....i mean, that's kinda given) and also walk a lot (even in the middle of the street as a car's approaching) and as a result everyone generally has a good figure. I have heard very little talk about how people feel they would like to lose weight. Figures don't matter (in fact they're preferred in many African countries), but the difference between what I'm used to and this new opinion is very interesting to me.

Also, this one guy, Miguel Barbot, from my office, has been a great help when it comes to helping me adjust to the city. The second day, he took me to see the place that I will move into tomorrow, and, afterwards, took me on the tour (for which I have the pictures in the previous blog). He's actually going to help me move into my new house tomorrow morning! Also, my first ever mug o' coffee was with him and his wife. I plan on doing this whole Coffee thing more often. Miguel wants to show me around all of Portugal with his wife...wine cellars, places with nice views, boat cruises, the beach, and his house in the country. He and his wife are good people (also they are family of my boss ).

Also, today I got a cell phone. It's weird how it works and I still haven't figured out how to pay for it yet (you pay at an ATM...well, you do everything at an ATM: pay bills, top-up your phone, take money out, and many many other features which I don't even know about yet (I'll hopefully get my bank account tomorrow as well, and I will subsequently familiarize myself with the process) ). So if you had a calling card and wanted to call, it's +351 (country code) 91 2003520. My plan is that I get 1,500 text messages to people who share my network, Vodafone. Vodefone subscribers all have the 91 at the beginning of their number (other providers: TMN is 96, Optimus is 93 I believe...). Also, calls are € 0.19 / min within the network, € 0.32 / min outside of the network, and texts are € 0.11 outside of the network. I need to pay a minimum of € 15 / month for it, and it is rollover and all that jazz. Hopefully this helps you understand international cell phone plans. I find things like this...the little things, like the ATM, cell phone plans, the "Via Verde," or "Green Way" (basically using an EZ pass for everything car-related: tolls, filling up at a gas station...) soo interesting! I also feel that Portugal is VERY advanced in many areas, and leaves the US in the dust! The practical technology (things I mentioned above) in Portugal excels way beyond the US...no one drives a SUV or Hummer (I'm trying to get a really funny picture of a Smart Car. I'll make a blog entry entirely about it once I get it), just small cars, which are much more practical, given the layout of Porto and the rest of Europe. Porto, having only been here for 3 days, is gorgeous in every aspect!

You know what I just realized? I'm pretty sure I love it here! I honestly don't know if I will want to come back!

Well goodness! I feel like I've learned a ton in the past 3 days! It's now 3am, and I'm gonna take another stab at this whole sleeping thing. Wish me luck.

P.S. Everything is happening in London this Saturday! Live Earth and the start of the Tour de France! I wish I could be there for both of them!

Day 2 – Decroded Piece of Heaven

2007-07-05T10:45:00.001+01:00

July 4, 2007:

Happy 4th of July!

Well, it's official, I speak Portuguese well. I subconsciously cursed today in the Mother Tongue. My parents would be so proud. But I'll get to that later.

So, last night, after going to bed around 5pm, I slept until 2am, which is when I wrote the entry, entitled “Day 1.” Yeah, so I'm not that creative; wanna fight about it? (http://youtube.com/watch?v=enG18NdT-zI) Anyway, though I have yet to upload any entries to my blog as I have yet to have computer access with my little lappy. So, after writing “Day 1,” and watching Robocop, I went to bed at about 4am. Looking around, I noticed that my *** / 5 hotel had no clock for me to use to set my alarm. “Oh, but there's a phone.” Nope. Phone's out. Luckily, after playing with my iPod a bit, I remembered how it has an alarm. So, a shot in the dark, I set my alarm with the hopes that the buds in my ear would stay there and that turning the volume up as loud as it could go would wake me up in the morning. It did! (P.S. I'm on the Metro now and the Portuguese countryside is gorgeous!). I woke up to a techno remix of the song Hey Baby by DJ Ötzi. And Holy Toledo it was loud. But it did its job. So, tired, I hopped in the tiny shower, the shower curtain doing this annoying thing where it attacks you when you shower. And I know if you've ever been in a shower where there's only one curtain (as opoosed to one on the inside, one on the outside, you know what I'm talking about. So after being mauled by the nylon fiber cloth, I jumped out, the floor soaking since I put the curtain on the outside to stop it attacking me, got dressed in the same clothes that I was wearing the day before, since my bags were lost, and left the hotel. (Oh yeah, so I went to work in shorts and a t-shirt yesterday, well, and today. Talk about a casual work environment.)

I went to a local cafe for breakfast. he most interesting thing happened, and gave me slight culture shock. So I ordered a croissant (just one, since I was on my way to being 20 minutes late) and a fresh glass of orange juice. I asked how to pay for it, and the guy behind the counter told me that I shouldn't worry and I should sit down. So I did, yay for not paying. After about 5 minutes, this one guy came by cleaning some items off of the table, so I asked him how much I owed. He told me I shouldn't worry so much (well, basically). “Okayyyy.....” I thought to myself. A minute or two later, he came by with the check. Finally! I wanted it for two reasons: I was almost late and I was eating a delicious croissant and glass of fresh orange juice and wanted to pay for it.

--

The reason I found this so interesting is that this instance, I feel, was a testament to many things I now believe about the Portuguese: they are kind, friendly, blah blah...but more importantly, offer blind trust (basically just realize human dignity and trust, at least on a basic level, every person they meet), feel that friendships are more important than money (making me comfortable took priority over taking my money, which seems backwards when compared to the United States. This made me feel very good about the human race (I am in no way saying that Americans in the United States don't, but it's different way that I feel about both, and I'm getting a good feeling about this new experience), and helped me realize that coming to Portugal is going to be a very rewarding experience.

--

I walked to work, and it was fantastic, especially with the warm air and an almost chilly breeze. And I'm not filled with hot air when I tell you this (har?).

So enough with already one page of text recalling events that happened before 9:30 am. So I went searching for a house. This one place I went to, when I first walked in, I saw a dirty table, unwashed dishes, food falling out of the cupboard, walls with the paint chipping, dirt-filled floors, 8 shopping carts filled with empty beer bottles. Well, needless to say, I'm head-over-heels in love with this place! Well, maybe not literally head-over-heels, since if my head was over my heels, it would likely get dirty, and I would need to shower in the dirty stalls. It was a Decroded Piece of Heaven (Napoleon Dynamite, anyone?). I seriously smiled for about half an hour after I left the place, and nothing could phase me, since that's how excited I was. Oh, it didn't help that I got a tour, just after seeing my new house, of Porto. Check out the pics!

Notice how the metro rides on rails laid on the grass!

The new motherland:

Well, tomorrow I am going to get my tax ID#, open a bank account, get a cell phone, and hopefully start to move into my new house/home! I'll get more into that in “Day 3 – Short Phrase.”

Day 1

2007-07-05T10:42:00.001+01:00

July 3, 2007:

Ok, so. Take the world: Round! (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ynu7lpkTkGM) I'm learning how different the different places of the world are. It's actually amazing. Originally, my impression of Portugal, or at least Porto, was that it was a miniature Brazilian slum, the buildings all made of concrete, and roofs with their red clay inserts, poor road system, bad drivers, small cars, a sparse collection of small parks (pracas) throughout the city. That was the first not even 5 minutes. What a buzzkill I placed upon myself!

My current plan is to take a nap, and, at ~8:00 pm or so, to go out to a mall, maybe go shopping a little bit, and get a bite to eat. Also, I plan to embrace Portugal, which I didn't do in Brazil. I'm gonna go to the beach as often as possible, and, when I can't, I'll go to a soccer/football game, or take a road trip to Lisbon or Madrid, or local things, not to mention the international travel I expect to do as well.

My hotel room:

Anyway, so far I am right about my impressions. In fact, today, Day 1, I saw a car accident (I was warned about them) ... already! It wasn't bad, but it seemed like someone pulled out of a spot on the side of the row as someone was driving down the already-very-skinny road.

Everyone in the office is very nice! Rachel is a very wonderful person and very interested in making my transition to Porto seamless. She had this other employee help me find a place since he apparently know a guy who knows a guy who runs the Erasmus house (~25 college-aged roommates), and some other similar student housing throughout the city. Furthermore, Justiniano, the finance guy, will go with me tomorrow to the bank to hopefully open a bank account so I can use my “Multibanco,” a debit/credit card that can be used for phone calls, as an ATM card, as a credit card, and just about every other function possible. Justiniano will also help me get a cell phone.

Side note: my bags got lost by the airline and there's no sign of them turning up.

Paris, France Charles de Gaulle (CDG) – Porto, Portugal (OPO)

2007-07-05T10:38:00.001+01:00

July 3, 2007:

I arrived in the fantastic Paris, and all I have to say is that whomever said that Portuguese was similar to French is a liar. Though the French people there did seem pretty friendly (opposed to the impression that I had and had been told about them). Unfortunately, I didn't get to see anything, partly because the airport is pretty far outside of the city, partly because it was raining.

--

Also, I had a pretty surreal moment, and it was triggered when I felt the rain, I don't know why. For the first time in my life, I realized I am completely independent. I was in France; I can't speak French; I can't call mom or dad and ask them anything; I am completely on my own. It was such a powerful and rewarding feeling! I think it was important to feel this before going to Porto, but regardless, I loved that feeling. I believe I can partly tribute it to the fact that I was in what is possibly the tourism capital of the world, alone, not knowing the language, needing to do this one specific thing (find my airline) in order to survive. It was empowering.

Well, after talking to them, I found out that the airline that I purchased the tickets for, Portugalia, doesn't exist anymore. “What?!?” Apparently, two days before my flight, Portugalia merged with TAP Portugal hence why my original flight no longer existed. I found this out when I went to the Portugalia kiosk, and Air Australia, whose kiosk was nest to it, and the woman there told me they moved from terminal 2 to terminal 1. Oh, Terminal 2 must be close to Terminal 1, right? Wrong. Below is a very detailed and precise schematic map of Charles de Gaulle airport:

So the scale is off, but the distance between each terminal was about 1 mile (2 miles total...4 stops). So I took the train CDG VAL to Terminal 1, hoping that Portugalia/TAP Portugal would be there, but expecting it not to be. It was! Yay! I went to the check-in counter, expecting my name to not be in the database. It was! Yay! Then came the fun part: walking from the check-in counter to Satellite 6. In order to do this, you needed to walk up these angled moving sidewalks, encased by Plexiglas tubes (sorry if it's difficult to see):

I nicknamed it the “Ant farm.” Got to satellite 6. Yay! So I put my bag in the xRay machine, and after getting through, the employee there asked me if I had any liquids in my bag. So he, the entire time...it was weird, chanted “creamy, creamy, creamy, creamy, creamy, creamy, creamy, creamy...” Alas, no creamy creamy cream or other liquids in my bag. Passed through security and was on my way to Porto! Yay!

2007-07-05T10:37:00.002+01:00

Dulles, Washington D.C. (IAD) – Paris, France Charles de Gaulle (CDG)

2007-07-05T10:11:00.001+01:00

July 2, 2007:

I have always been amused by the different positions people find when trying to sleep in coach class on an airplane. My personal favorite which has worked many times for me before, is the one where you take the meal tray down from its full upright and lock position, and you lay forward on it. Regardless, I didn't need to discover any new positions on my ~7 hour flight from Dulles International near Washington D.C. To Charles de Gaulle in Paris, France. I don't know if it's karma, or maybe it's luck; all I know is that I rode Business Class on that trip. I sweet-talked the flight attendants to let me upgrade to the seats that flatten to 180 degrees (actually I just sat down in a Business Class seat since by the time my section of the plane was boarding, there were many open seats).

Now seated and feeling like royalty, I made the decision early to try everything that Business Class had to offer. After sitting down, I admired all of the amenities: my own personal coat hangar, a 12” personal tv, a remote control (but damn it it if it wasn't cordless), a great seat, a library (where the many reading materials were kept...Duty Free, Sky Magazine, Safety procedures for the 777 which I felt like I owned at this time), a blanket with a frayed design around the border, a pillow, my own personal sound system (headphones with noise cancellation, a set of cabinets and other storage space, a personal reading light, an overhead light, a chair that you could adjust any part that you wanted and could also give you a massage, and a kitchen sink. I nicknamed Business Class “Xerxes,” since I felt as though his army was carrying me on their shoulders. I also would bet that his tall stature could fit comfortably in these seats as well. My chair was basically a throne, the many glasses of wine they would offer me (and I never refused), my scepter.

Ok, I am currently writing this mid-flight. I am right now chasing my apple whiskey down with delicious red wine. They say that I have tried every type of alcohol present on board.

My dinner:

So, glancing around Business Class, what I find most surprising is the amount of fannie-pack necklaces being worn. I hadn't seen them too often, but now they seem omnipresent, every where you look. If you don't know, they are about the size of a microwaveable popcorn bag, strung around the neck.

Next Stop: Porto, Portugal

2007-06-29T16:47:00.001+01:00

This has been one of the best weeks of my life, for one main reason. It has been fantastic hanging out with some of the many friends I've met over the past four years! Hanging out with them reminded me and changed my view of me traveling to Portugal...I realized how much I'm gonna miss people here.

I used to have just the selfish view, which I feel is hard to explain. I used to, last week, felt that "well I'm going to Portugal; I'm living independently, I'm wayyy excited for myself." I'm glad that I'm less selfish.

Uzi - I can see so much of myself in you! Remember the advice that I gave you that one late night, and you'll be fine
Nancy - You're likely the craziest person I've ever met, and that's why you're awesome.
Caeli - I'm lookin' forward to your spring semester in Spain!
The Jokers - I can't even begin to describe how fantastic you all are! Cruisin has probably been the most fun I had in college. Don't worry; I won't make out with any 17-year-olds.
Kanan - Keep on livin like you are! You're doing a great job!
Cassie/Melissa - Thanks for everything these past few weeks! Enjoying the Brats during the Colbert Report, and everything!
My fellow SPI employees - Keepin it real in the office! Kels will live on!
Katie Dix - Come downey Portugal, hon.
Dave Iden - Sorry about falling asleep during Brazil, but I'm glad to have shared my first viewing of Pulp Fiction with you.
James Valentine - I better see www.truegrit.com functioning by the holidays.
Ally - Those goldfish were delicious!
Jordan - We've shared some great times, stealing that sign outside the commons and all. I'll miss you.
Jordan Chatfield Hadfield - You're an awesome person! So many more great things I could say about you...
And finally, Sketch - Not even going to begin a tribute to you, or whatever this is, on a blog.

Thanks to everyone for being my friends, but who I didn't get a chance to hang out with this past week...

Completed and Planned Highlights of Pete's Life

2007-06-07T22:23:00.001+01:00

Well, this is what pete has done, basically:

1) Born - 1985
2) Lost his pacifier - 1987 (Circa)
3) Raised - 1990s
4) Lived in Brasil - 2000-03
5) UMBC - 2003-07
6) Biked across the US for people with disabilities - Summer 2006
7) Graduated from UMBC - May '07
8) Moved to Portugal - June '07

~

What Pete plans to have done:

9) Peace Corps - November '08 - January '10
10) Designer, or something, in Colorado/Europe - Spring '10
12) Quit my job - April '12
13) Complete life goals:

-Climb Mt. Everest
-Read all books that have gotten Pulitzer Prizes
-Swim English Channel
-Whateva other ones I'll figure out later.

15) Find some other job / go crawling back to old job, '13
16) Wife and Kids (have 2, adopt 2), '14
18) Have my son create a blog of his own, Priceless