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“Hinglish”

Yet another reason I wanna go to India: “Hinglish.”

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Che Meets Mickey Mouse

Here’s a hilarious tee shirt design. (via Reenhead.)

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Misc.

Post-Shower Sweat, Toilet Paper, Cell Phones, and Avocados

Post-Shower Sweat, Toilet Paper, Cell Phones, and Avocados
I’ve been home a few days now and have had some time to reflect on the differences between my life in Ecuador and my life here in South Carolina.

Here’s a quick list of both significant and insignificant (mostly insignificant) observations:

  • Post-shower sweat. Though Cuenca, my home in Ecuador, is only a couple hundred miles from the equator, it sits in a valley at about 8,000 feet. So it’s not humid. South Carolina in August, I’m here to tell you, is very humid. And I’d forgotten all about what my buddy Miles B. calls post-shower sweat–how you’re covered in sweat just a few minutes after toweling off.
  • Toilet paper disposal. In Ecuador, the plumbing isn’t strong enough to handle toilet paper, so you dispose of it in small trash cans positioned next to toilets. American plumbing, obviously, is mighty. No trash cans.
  • Communication technologies, especially cell phones. I certainly missed having digital cable and broadband Web access. But I haven’t missed my cell phone. Man, it’s astounding how many people have got the contraptions here.
  • Avocados cost about 25 cents each in Ecuador. Here, you’ve gotta shell out a buck-and-a-half for ’em, and they’re small, un-ripe, discolored, and generally crappy.

    Watch this space for additions.

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    Report from Beaufort, SC

    Greetings from the Lowcountry of South Carolina, land of sweet tea and shrimp n’ grits and Spanish moss.

    My return home went well–I made it from Ecuador to Miami to Charlotte to Savannah without incident. The Guayquil airport on Friday morning was hectic; turned out it was the last day that Ecuadorians could leave the country and enter Spain without a special visa.

    And, interestingly, Nico Lapentti, an Ecuadorian pro tennis player, was in the immigration line behind me. He was heading to Montreal for a tournament. I chatted with him briefly. Seems like a nice guy.

    So now I’m home. I’m off to Boston on Wednesday, then I’ll be in DC next week. For now, I’m soaking up as much digital cable TV and fast Internet access and good food as I can.

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    My Summer Tour Dates

    Postings will be sparse for the next week or so.

    Our classes just ended, so tomorrow morning I’m heading down to the beach town of Puerto Lopez, which is supposed to be beautiful. (And it’s whale season, so I hope we’ll spot some humpbacks.)

    Then, on August first, I leave for home (Beaufort, South Carolina) and then I’ll be visiting friends in Boston and DC. Here’re my approximate dates and locations:

    Fri., August 1st-
    Wed., the 6th: Beaufort, SC

    Wed., August 6th-
    Sun., Aug. 10th: Boston

    Wed., August 13th-
    Sun., Aug. 17th: DC

    Mon., Aug., 18th-
    Sat., Sept. 13th: Beaufort, SC

    Sept. 13th-
    TBA (at least until Christmas): back in Ecuador to teach (after a side-trip to Bolivia)

    On another note, I’m looking for a job for the month I’ll be in SC. If any of you Lowcountry denizens have any ideas or leads, please email me.

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    The Avenger

    The Columbia Journalism Review profiles Sy Hersh, the legendary investigative reporter.

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    A Revolutionary Shaving Solution

    Guys: tired of paying top dollar for fancy razor “systems”? Here’s a radical new solution.

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    Peru News Round-Up

    –The New York Times weighs in on the Shining Path’s resurgence;

    eight international climbers appear to have been killed by an avalance on a mountain in the Cordillera Blanca range;

    –and (spoiler alert! spoiler alert!) the more than $140 million the US is spending to eradicate coca in Peru this year…(are you ready for this?) isn’t keeping cocaine out of the States.

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    Lucio G’s Indigenous Issues

    Reuters: “Ecuador’s President Lucio Gutierrez dismissed Education Minister Rosa Maria Torres on Monday, a move that could weaken his fragile coalition because of her close ties to the nation’s powerful Indian movement.”

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    Peter Olson, The King of Book Publishing

    The New York Times magazine on Peter Olson, chairman and CEO of Random House: “Although he has never edited a book, discovered a writer or masterminded a marketing campaign, Peter Olson is the most powerful man in book publishing.”