Dirty hippie

OK. Here is another one.

Jessica: so are you a dirty hippie now?

me: no way. i shower
or dip myself in a pool or creek
several times a week

and i guess i did go to see a band that played a lot or bob marley covers
oh no!

Jessica: HAHAHAHHA
yes you are a hippie!

me: no, but i arrived in Santiago de Chile and i was like "aaah, noisy streets and polluted air. Feels like home."

Free movie for teachers

I got this e-mail from a Summerbridge listserve (a summer program I taught it). I have no idea what this movie is about, but free can´t be bad.

Dear Friend, I have some amazing news to share with you!

AMC Theaters and Paramount Pictures have agreed to let teachers across the country see “Freedom Writers” for free for one week! Between January 26 and February 1, AMC Theaters will be celebrating teachers and spreading the Freedom Writers’ message by allowing teachers nationwide to see “Freedom Writers!” I urge everyone to tell a teacher to go see “Freedom Writers” at an AMC Theater near them! I also encourage teachers to bring their class, their co-workers, or even their families to this special film that is touching the lives of millions. Please help the Freedom Writers and me encourage educators everywhere to take advantage of this very unique opportunity! Please see AMC's press release for more information and be sure to forward this email to everyone you know (especially teachers!)

For further details, go to http://www.amctheatres.com/promos/freedomwriters/.

Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy the movie!

Erin Gruwell .

Don´t cry for Argentina, Ariel

Today, I think a cut-and-pasted gmail IM conversation will serve to share what is going on more than something I make up.

me: well, now that i left argentina
i feel more connected to it
and i feel like less of an outsider with argentines
because i was there for 4 months

Jill: that's great. you've made a new home

me: yeah, very self-consiously and deliberatley
trying to connect to my roots

Jill: chosen homes are often the best

me: yeah, even when people make fun of me for trying too hard to adopt an accent
and say i sound italian

but to me argentines sound italian

but yesterday i was talking to chilenos in the hostel and they first guessed i was argentine and then said i must have lived there for at least 1 year

i took it as a compliment

Jill: that's awesome..congratulations..on your italian

Merlo Routine

I found a comfortable routine in Merlo. I enjoyed it for a while and today I left. I wrote the following description of my routine while I was still practicing it: I wake up between 9 and 10 when the bird chirping and heat makes it difficult to keep sleeping in my tent. I brush my teeth as I stroll through a path in the mini-forest. I take a quick dip in the pool to wake up.

While listening to poetry in English on my i-pod, I do some landscaping work on the property for a few hours.

I eat lunch with the family.

I go to a cyber café to revise a comics script that I wrote during a School of Visual Arts course in New York.

I eat dinner with the family and hang out with them until going to bed.

Before going to bed, I practice my rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" on my harmonica in my tent.

I occasionaly go up the mountain to bathe in the creep or go on a hike. I go to yoga on Mondays and Thursdays. On weekends, I might go to the bar and see a band.

I was feeling pretty lonely and useless when I left Buenos Aires. It takes time to construct a life in cities. The nature, laid-back pace, physical activity and good company here have rejuvenated me. I´m ready to hit the road again, this time alone.

My landscaping