¿Cómo No?

1)  Whatsapp With That? -- in Cameroon, locals who don't have phone credit will call you and then hang up.  You then call them back and have to pay for the call.  They call this bipping someone.  In Panama, the locals use whatsapp because its apparently cheaper than paying for phone credit.  Unfortunately, I don't think I can put whatsapp on my dumbphone, so what ends up happening is that people who want to get a hold of me will not call me unless it was really important.  Wait a minute, that's actually not a bad deal.

2)  Down with Monopolies -- I just used a free online photo editor to redo the banner for my blog.  Better than paying who-knows-how-much for Photoshop.  Not bad for something free, eh?  Its not the first time I've used a free program instead of the more common or popular one.  I also use a free word processing and spreadsheet program (ie not Word or Excel) and they work just fine. 

3)  Reuse/Recycle -- making a cellphone case using a knitting needle and plastic bags:

Now I just need a rocking chair and about 100 cats.

4)  Site Visit -- my program manager dropped by to check out how work was going.  She also went with me to check out a potential accordion teacher:

What a cool boss.  Tiki would never have done that.  If they had accordions in Cameroon, that is. 

5)  The NFL -- Its Sunday and that usually means watching football back in the US.  But I don't really miss it.  I do miss this:

Throwing the Nerf in Ebolowa

Siete

1)  Quote of the day -- "The NFL has had an inappropriate language penalty in its rule book, and this year is having officials enforce it with an emphasis on eliminating racial slurs."   Unless of course when the racial slur is also the name of an NFL team. 

2)  Currently reading -- the Spanish version of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (La Cámara Secreta).  Vocab that I learned in the book that I'll probably never use in real life:  pergamino, which means parchment. 

3)  Advantage of a dumb phone -- my dumb phone has this really cool app, where I only need to charge my phone once and it lasts for 3-4 days.  Its pretty cool. 

4)  Floyd Mayweather -- I watched a Mayweather fight for the first time several weeks ago.  The one against Maidano.  Man, that was a boring fight.  I can see now how Mayweather has had such a long career.  Then again, if it wasn't boring, then somebody was probably getting their head bashed in.  Ah, boxing. 

5)  A Day at the Office

Come Visit Me. Yes.  Here.  In Panama.

 6)  Cameroonian English -- I was wearing a shirt from Cameroon that said "Join us improve the environment" and a counterpart was reading it out loud, trying to learn English.  I told him its probably not a good idea to learn English from that shirt. 

7)  Just Like Lebron -- Talked to my mom last night.  Looks like I'll be moving back to the Philippines next year after I finish my service in Panama.  Not sure how useful a TEFL certificate would be over there.  Probably not very. 

Seis Pensamientos del Momento

1)  Food -- in Cameroon, it was rice and beans.  In Panama, its rice and lentils. 

2)  Things I am Tired of -- links to articles on the sidebar about wives and girlfriends (WAG) of athletes while I'm trying to read the sports page.  Who gives a sh*t?

3)  That's a Switch -- I'm living with a host family whose members all have smartphones while I have a dumbphone.   

4)    Quote of the day -- I think Buddha once said that life is suffering.  Life is pain.  Or as Sgt. Barnes would say, "Shut up and take the pain!  Take the pain!"



5)  Music in my head -- Jonathan Richman's True Love is Not Nice, U2's Elevation and Bruce Springsteen's Badlands. 

6)  "… and that has made all the difference."

Panamá

Well, I've now been in Panamá for a few weeks -- a week in the capital and some weeks at post.

So far, things have been going well.  Some thoughts:

1)  Húmedo -- its quite humid where I am even during rainy season.  The fan is almost always on in my room.   My mom says it sounds like Manila.  Or my post in Cameroon.

2)  Los Contrapartes -- My counterparts seem motivated.  I just talk to them about some of my ideas and they run with it.  I don't get the "We can't do that" answer.  Of course, its still early, but hopefully we can keep things moving. 

3)  Teléfono Inteligente -- I returned my smartphone after 1 day.  Well, I couldn't actually return it for some strange no-return policy reason.  So a fellow PCV, who felt sorry for me, bought it from me.  The smartphone was just too much.  The only fancy feature I wanted on the phone was a flashlight.  Back to using a dumbphone.   

4)  El Cuerpo de Posh? -- at my post, I have constant electricity, a cellphone network, a decent internet connection and running water that's potable.  Oh, and street lights.  Yeah, pretty posh. 

5)  La Musica -- current song in my head, Richard Thompson's Keep Your Distance:

Mexico …

… y otras cosas. 

Its been an eventful few months since I went off to Mexico a few months ago: 

1)  Mexico By Bus --

Image above is from my Facebook Places map.  I sometimes think I only travel so I can put virtual pins on that map.  It also looks like I need pins in Eastern Mexico.  ¡Me iré proximo tiempo!

2) Peace Corps Reboot (Or Response) --  a lot of movies nowadays are reboots of old films -- Batman, Superman, Star Trek, etc.  Probably due to a lack of original ideas, as the reboot of 21 Jump St ironically says.  Well, I also have a bit of a reboot -- Peace Corps.  I've been invited to be a Peace Corps Response volunteer in Panama promoting environmental education.  I'm scheduled to fly out in early September. 

I was actually surprised to be invited for this assignment since the process took quite a while.  The assignment was supposed to start in July, but I wasn't notified until it was practically 1-2 days before July.  On the day I got the email, I was already making backup plans -- I was at a TEFL school in Guadalajara, Mexico getting information on how I could enroll so I can get an English teaching certificate.  I figured I was going to be teaching English, not environmental education.  Well, as Ryry, a former PCV buddy once told me, "Have a little faith, man."

3)  SoCal -- after getting my invitation, I needed to get some medical check-ups and also take care of some paper work.  I decided to go to San Diego, thinking I'll head back to Ensenada, Mexico while waiting for Peace Corps to clear me.  It would also give me more time to continue speaking Spanish.  Alas, Peace Corps wanted my passport so I ended up staying in San Diego instead of leaving the country.  San Diego wasn't bad.  Cheaper than staying in the Bay Area. 

4)  What Cellphone? --  I still don't have a functional cellphone.  Haven't had one since November.  When I left Cameroon, I decided not to get a sim card for my phone since I would be traveling from country to country.  I relied on other people's cellphones (Thank you!) or I used public telephones.  A few months ago, however, I decided to get a sim card for my phone since I was expecting job interview calls.  When I tried to buy one, though, the guy said they didn't make sim cards for my dumbphone.  The US discriminates against dumbphone users!

Nonetheless, I managed.  Not really sure how I survived without a cellphone for 8 months, but its possible.  Note to self: never make a collect call from a payphone using Legacy.  Side benefit of not having a cellphone:  less chance of becoming a smartphone zombie. 

Laird Hamilton

My mom has been asking for my cellphone for some reason for a while now. She visited a few weeks ago and since I wanted a cellphone with a better camera, I finally decided to give her my phone. So after having no cellphone for a few days, I bought myself a new one: a Nokia with a 3.2 megapixel camera. The good thing about Nokias is that they're the greenest electronic company, according to this guide from Greenpeace.

Anyway, now that I have a new cp, it's time to test the camera. First test: surfer god Laird Hamilton's book signing at Diesel bookstore in Oakland, California:
The picture's not bad for a cellphone, eh? Definitely better than my last cellphone.

Anyway, I heard about this event by listening to the Sarah and Vinnie show a few days ago. The show had Laird as a guest, who was in the studio to promote his new book, Force of Nature. I looked at the book prior to his talk and it looks interesting. He's got advice on exercise (e.g. ab workouts), food (he has some recipes and talks about eating free-range beef) and surfing tips. As for the talk itself, he just took questions from the audience for about an hour. He talked about a lot of things. For instance, he talked about the art of crashing. That's when a wave may hold you down and you have to hold your breath until the wave lets up. He also talked about using his wetsuit as a tourniquet on a buddy who broke his leg. He also talked about being the risk taker that he is (i.e. still riding the big waves) while maintaining his family life. He's married to former pro volleyball player Gabrielle Reece, btw. It was an interesting talk. After the talk, he signed copies of his book. I didn't buy the book though so I didn't get to meet him. Bummer, dude. ;) It was a bit too pricey and I already have enough books. hehe. Anyway, check out Laird riding some huge waves:Anyone wanna go surfing? hehe

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