Sunday, August 12, 2007
Un Mundo Pequeno
Like Nike says, Just Do It. That is what I am having to tell myself right now, because I feel like hell. My brain does not want to function in the nearly 4 km altitude of La Paz, Bolivia. Immediately after exiting the plane in the shining 6:30am light and stepping onto Bolivian soil, the lightheadedness and exhaustion began to set in. It was so overwhelming that I sought airport 
food right away, which was el rey de hamburgesas, or Burgerking, and after consuming some flakey ham and cheese thing, I collapsed into sleep on the counter, just missing my steaming cup of cafe. First 30 minutes of Bolivia. More on that to come.
Third was Miguel "miggie" Sanchez, a long time resident of Boston, a current attendee of Harvard Grad. School, ladies start your bidding at 10 pesos. I met Miguel in my Delta Chi days at UW, when he came over to Seattle for a year of work, study, and skirt chasing. I hadnt seen, or really heard from this old friend of 
mine for at least 2 years. This made my email to him saying "hey, Im in Boston, lets look at each other through empty beer glasses" all the more savory. Cassie and I met him at the Pourhouse Pub about an hour late, but our tardiness did not put a damper on the joy of meeting up with a valued amigo in a different geographical setting. Meeting up with a friend from your past is a special enough event. I am still pondering what it is about a different meeting place, foriegn or domestic, that makes that reunion all the more special; that adds a few more pounds per square inch to those bonds of friendship. I welcome anyones ideas on that last one. By the way, Bolivian shoe shine boys wear ski masks during their 9 to 5. Holler at ur boy, Greenbilitary in La Paz, Bolivia.
¶ 5:05 PM 
food right away, which was el rey de hamburgesas, or Burgerking, and after consuming some flakey ham and cheese thing, I collapsed into sleep on the counter, just missing my steaming cup of cafe. First 30 minutes of Bolivia. More on that to come. However, fit quite snuggly, quite expensively in between my Ecuadorian and now Bolivian adventure, was a brief visit back to the old US of A. I had 10 days in the state of Massachusetts; 5 days in Boston, 5 days in New Bedford. The Why: A reunion with the Greenberg fam claiming the East Coast set, basically my fathers side in its entirety. I can count the number of times I have seen my fathers side in its entirety on two hands. An unfortunate circumstance caused by miles and miles of land between. So when the opporuntity presented itself, I said sorry to the rest of Ecuador and Columbia, and hello to America and its relations. It was (an almost) homecoming of many meetings, some expected, some unexpected. Grandparents Bam and Bampa were not made aware of my coming, and when I knocked on their apartment door I was soon after greeted with a raucus roar of adorable senior citizen coeing. Middle brother Wes wasnt made aware of my presence until I slowly arose out of the back of our rented SUV, about 10 minutes after we picked him up from Boston´s Logan International Airport. I felt like swamp thing slowly rising out of a lagoon of luggage behind him, and when he finally caught me out of the corner of his eye, I do believe he thought it was a terrorist trying to commandeer the vehicle. They all thought I was still in Ecuador, hee hee, they all got punked. I was sincerely relieved that a cortex wasnt splattered, or a heart hadn´t exploded; needless to say it was glorious.
Making this visit more special, was a little exercise in making the great big old world a smaller 
place. What I mean by that is I was able to meet up with three geographically random contacts on a foreign American coast, all in the span of 10 days. First was Emily, a Bostonian who I met volunteering with in the Ecuadorian jungle. We rehabbed monkeys together, cooked in the same presence of tarantullas, and naturally founded a pretty special freindship. I said goodbye to her in Ecuador about 6 weeks ago, and said hello to her in New Beford, MA about 7 days ago. She coasted into the marriot parking lot, tippin fo vos in her red minivan as I was getting out of my whip, and we proceeded to share a beer in the presence of my family. Emily is at left in photo, about to chow down on some delicious, jungle baked bread. Freaking awesome/random.
Second was Cassie O., a former Seattlelite now living and working in Boston. Our families have known eachother for years, yet actual contact wasn´t established until just a week ago (in front of a golden dome) when handshakes, smiles, and pleasantries were exchanged. Wes and I needed a place to crash for about 5 days as our parents had left back for Seattle. Marsha Greenberg in all of her exuberant social skill, somehow coerced Cassie into taking Wes and I in, and history was made. As in new friendship was forged, an apartment wasnt destroyed, and my brother and I didnt go homeless in Beantown. Find Cassie at center, betwixt lazer and blazer.
place. What I mean by that is I was able to meet up with three geographically random contacts on a foreign American coast, all in the span of 10 days. First was Emily, a Bostonian who I met volunteering with in the Ecuadorian jungle. We rehabbed monkeys together, cooked in the same presence of tarantullas, and naturally founded a pretty special freindship. I said goodbye to her in Ecuador about 6 weeks ago, and said hello to her in New Beford, MA about 7 days ago. She coasted into the marriot parking lot, tippin fo vos in her red minivan as I was getting out of my whip, and we proceeded to share a beer in the presence of my family. Emily is at left in photo, about to chow down on some delicious, jungle baked bread. Freaking awesome/random.Second was Cassie O., a former Seattlelite now living and working in Boston. Our families have known eachother for years, yet actual contact wasn´t established until just a week ago (in front of a golden dome) when handshakes, smiles, and pleasantries were exchanged. Wes and I needed a place to crash for about 5 days as our parents had left back for Seattle. Marsha Greenberg in all of her exuberant social skill, somehow coerced Cassie into taking Wes and I in, and history was made. As in new friendship was forged, an apartment wasnt destroyed, and my brother and I didnt go homeless in Beantown. Find Cassie at center, betwixt lazer and blazer. Third was Miguel "miggie" Sanchez, a long time resident of Boston, a current attendee of Harvard Grad. School, ladies start your bidding at 10 pesos. I met Miguel in my Delta Chi days at UW, when he came over to Seattle for a year of work, study, and skirt chasing. I hadnt seen, or really heard from this old friend of mine for at least 2 years. This made my email to him saying "hey, Im in Boston, lets look at each other through empty beer glasses" all the more savory. Cassie and I met him at the Pourhouse Pub about an hour late, but our tardiness did not put a damper on the joy of meeting up with a valued amigo in a different geographical setting. Meeting up with a friend from your past is a special enough event. I am still pondering what it is about a different meeting place, foriegn or domestic, that makes that reunion all the more special; that adds a few more pounds per square inch to those bonds of friendship. I welcome anyones ideas on that last one. By the way, Bolivian shoe shine boys wear ski masks during their 9 to 5. Holler at ur boy, Greenbilitary in La Paz, Bolivia.
