“It Depends” is not a Helpful Answer

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Whether you’re asking about travel destinations before heading to a foreign country or financial implications regarding the impact on your future, you might often get the “it depends” answer from the “informed individual.” What’s worse, is that there’s not usually a follow-up with the likely scenarios of alternative A or alternative B, but just a smirky smile and a phrase: “Like with It_Depends  most things, it really depends on what you want.”

I feel like the questioner has already expressed what they want – they are looking for advice on a few alternatives and their implications from you, the supposed enlightened individual holding onto a bit of knowledge. I don’t know if it’s because people don’t want to be held responsible for an unfortunate outcome or possible dissatisfaction with the response, or if in fact, they really have no idea.

It makes me think about the nature of asking questions, and what happens often to me during travel in Latin America. Normally, I’ll find myself in a situation where I’m looking for a bus to a specific town or city, and when I inquire about the hours of departure for the proposed transport, I’ll sometimes get the terse reply, “Nope, that already left.” In dismay, I’ll turn around and figure out how else I could make my way to the destination. Experience has taught me that there are often many buses that leave on many schedules, and if I miss one, there is a high probability that another one could be leaving in two hours – whodathunk!buses-of-guatemala-3

To unpack this “question asking” situation little more, I will often find out later that there are often better or faster ways of getting to the destination that the initial responder(s) never told me about. That’s something else experience has taught me: ask the same question to many people, even if the first person told you “no” and you want to believe them.

It comes down to this: anyone receiving a question should be curious as to why someone asked them the question in the first place, and maybe delve into the motives for asking such a question. Someone who is asking about a bus for a specific destination wants to go there, their priority is getting there, and they may not care that a bus already left if another was set to leave soon, and could be equally be satisfied if another station with similar bus travel was located nearby.

Instead, I think some people just take the question as a one-off situation: they were asking about that specific bus and that specific route, instead of the purpose behind the question. Many just choose to deflect the question and move on. They don’t care about being helpful. Not all people are like this though. I find in places that have high quality service will not only tell you that something isn’t possible at the moment, but how it can be possible later – they see the main-questionsoriginal purpose for asking and take a moment to help you out. They see through the current roadblock and tell you how you can get to your ultimate destination.

Which is why I think the answer of “it depends” is so frustrating. Someone isn’t asking because they want you to engrave your answer in stone or testify in court, they are asking for themselves for more information relating to the overall purpose of their goal, you’re just the intermediary.

When people usually ask me, “How long do you think it takes to learn Spanish?” I never respond with “it depends” because even though it’s true, it’s simply not helpful, and they aren’t asking me to teach them, nor for a specific number of weeks, nor will they hold me to whatever I say if they do choose to start the process. Quite simply, they are excited and are doing a bit of information gathering.

I usually say, “I think everyone can learn another language. What’s important is to be dedicated to the practice of it and find a way that makes it fun. I feel like someone can reach conversational fluency in a couple of months, and what’s amazing is that even after a week or two of dedicated practice you’ll feel confident of the progress you’re making and want to study even more.”

Now that wasn’t too hard to provide a little more guidance, now was it?

A $1.80 Bribe and Refuge Under the Chasis

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I watch the news everyday at lunch to be better informed about the city in which I live and to continue my Spanish practice. For the first few weeks, all the new themes and trends were new and I filled many pages with new words and phrases, but then after awhile I needed only to write the uncommon or unusual words down. One of those new words made its way to me by a news story regarding a bus driver who got stopped by a local policeman for not having the appropriate regulatory licensing and stickers on his vehicle. combi mas

I’ve been stopped many times by police while riding or driving in a vehicle while I’m in a foreign country, and the scene usually plays out the same way. They stop me because I’m a foreigner, and say something to the sort of “It’s hot out here . . .” or “Christmas is just around the corner.” Which is a clue to me that if I want to leave this “routine” police stop within the next hour I should just fork over some cash out of goodwill to my fellow (hungry) man. The Spanish word for this is: soborno (a bribe).

Now, of course, they didn’t ask for a soborno, they merely commented that the hot weather was making them thirsty. If I should choose to give them money it would be towards the quenching of their thirst. Nothing more. Just man to man understanding.

Wcombihat was odd about the current news story I was watching was that they caught on film the driver handing over money to the Policeman. The driver knew that he was in trouble. No documents, and a fine was coming his way, and probably he had a few more unpaid fines that would come to the surface if they took him in. He thought to precede this disaster by handing over some money, ever so discretely to this policeman. He gave him a 5 sole coin which is about $1.80.

Could this policeman be bribed with such a paltry amount? Could he be bribed with $18 which is 50 soles? Or for $180 for that matter? Who is to know really. What we do know was that the policeman did have his camera filming the episode from his vehicle. We all know that big brother will influence behavior.

What you’ll find out very quickly in Lima, and throughout Peru, is that these small buses, called “combis” are incredibly common, and are driven by those who live in economic poverty and serve those who can only afford to pay the 20 cent or 50 cent fare, and not a taxi – which could cost $1 or $1.50. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who has to make financial decisions regarding of less than a dollar, and you’ll get an idea of what it’s like to be a driver of a vehicle who can only charge 20 or 50 cents. You’ve got to pick up a lot of passengers to make the kind of income to have any sort of living wage in Lima.

Moving onto the next story, the camera was placed low, on the pavement of the chasis of another small bus, a combi, showing a 20 year-old man, screaming and clinging to the exhaust pipes of the vehicle he had been driving just moments ago. He was stopped at a routine checkpoint and when he wasn’t able to produce his documents, nor account for the 30 some traffic violations he hadn’t paid. He did the only thing he could think of in that moment to save his current predicament. He dove under the bus and held onto metal structure and clung for his life (the metal was probably still hot from just being driven). They pulled him out kicking and screaming (literally). The news had a field day with the absurdity of the scene.soborno

Chasis in Spanish is still “chasis” but the word here is desperation. Economic desperation. Now, I’m not condoning the poor decision-making, nor the behavior leading up to their arrests, but can you imagine being that desperate that you would try to bribe a police officer with $1.80 or scramble under the chasis of your vehicle to avoid getting taking to the police station because you knew what fate would await you?

 

In a word: Momentum

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As my last post suggested, one word that’s been on my mind lately is “momentum.” Simply put, it takes awhile to put anything together, and you only get to the destination if you’ve built up the velocity to cover the distance. Language ability, getting in shape, and finalizing a partnership in Peru. Everything takes time and the course of events needed to do it will sometimes stretch over longer than anyone of us wants.

What I’ve had to realize that in the middle of everything, when I don’t know what I should be doing, I should come back to focus on what I do know – building momentum to the destination of where I want to go. In my mind I kind of break that word into two parts: the “moment” and the “tum.” I’m just going to skip the latin and say that “tum” sounds to me like a “ton,” so when I combine both of those words I basically think of it as a “ton” of “moments.” Isn’t that what you need to get going anywhere? Here’s a more formal definition just in case you’re curious.

momentum: force or speed of movement; impetus, as of a physical object or course of events. (source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/momentum)

After looking at this I discovered that there exists maybe even a better word inside of the word full of a ton of moments. So I looked up “impetus.”momentum-b2b-marketing

impetus: the momentum of a moving body, especially with reference to the cause of motion. (source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/impetus)

Now, that’s even more packed isn’t it. “The cause of motion.” What is the cause of motion? Well, it could be, and it should be, a “ton” of “moments.” Tons of phone calls, emails, trips to the office, early mornings, late nights, extra cups of coffee, patience, clarification, declarations, apologies, training, study, rest, exercise, frustration, release, joy, accomplishment, plans, changes, and a renew.

To cause any motion to occur, you truly need a ton of moments.

 

Standing Broad Jump

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As a young squirt in fourth grade I was the favored victor in nearly all of Hampshire Elementary’s field day events in the spring of ‘93. At least that’s what I had set up in my mind. In playground games during recess I was usually one of the fastest, certainly one of the most agile, and at least 75% most passionate to win. I was much like a cheetah in those days, combining my early growth spurt that gave me long legs with the spirit of the animal I adored as 10 year old.

In or around the time of my elementary school days, I remember that they had one of those interactive displays at the science museum in Chicago where you could race a host of animals and famous fast things in a sprinting test down a medium-sized corridor. You lined up at the cheetah-world-speed-record-set_57554_600x450start line, chose your animal/athlete/machine from the computer screen, and raced down the hallway while the image of your competitor ran beside you on the projection wall. The only thing you really had to do was slow down before you smacked into the wall, but they had already thought that through and put up a few wall pads for other equally zealous ten year-olds.

I was enamored with the idea that I could finally race a cheetah. So I tied my Reebok trainers up a little tighter, did some preliminary calisthenics, and readied myself up to the start line. I looked down and saw that I had 1/8 of my foot over the proposed line, so I inched it a bit backwards so that it was flush with the line. I wasn’t going to have my victory tainted by any recalls from the judges or sneaky tv monitors that would belch out instant reply after the race.

3 . . . 2 . . . 1 – the sound and the fury of the start line buzzer! I sprinted down that hall like it was my destiny. And the cheetah, well, he was more like a rocket. I saw him ahead of me and then cover the gap bycarl-lewis-2 at least 15 yards. My defeat was quick and mostly painless.

I had not a moment to dwell on my because my brother quickly figured out how the interactive design worked. Apparently, it was controlled by separate lasers at the start and the finish line. So with one of us poised at the start line, and the other at the finish line, we waited for the official countdown and sprinted through the start, and not only beat Carl Lewis, the famed sprinter of the 80’s, but we accomplished what no human was even known to do, we beat the cheetah.

I entered field day with the spirit of the cheetah, knowing that since I had beaten the cheetah, I could defeat every competitor who dared race me, maybe even Carl Lewis, but I still had some sense in me and focused on my adolescent peers. I swept the 50, 100, and 200 yard dash. I may have also won the  400 yard dash, or lost it, or we may not have even had it, I can’t remember. I do know there were physical limits to my bravado.

There was one event I competed in, and I do believe I annihilated the competition. Due to the nature of my height and naturally long gait, I think I just stepped over my competitors in the standing broad jump. Which if you recall, requires you to stand completely still, drop down like you’re about to pounce, and then hurl yourself forward into a sand pit. I didn’t really practice this, but I was just good at it. I remember asking my parents why they didn’t have the standing broad jump in the Olympics. They told me they used to, but they took it out, it wasn’t carl-lewis-1really a true test of an athlete. That’s probably why they also eliminated it from the interactive science museum display. (Come to think of it, my brother and I probably wouldn’t have been able to cheat that one . . . but where there’s a will, there’s a way.)

I found it difficult to believe that the International Olympics committee could eliminate an event that I was so good at, that seemed right up there with the others of the decathlon. How could Carl Lewis, master of the long jump, the man who could fly like an eagle, not be able to participate in the standing broad jump. He would have gotten a  gold for that too.

These two tests of athleticism that got me thinking recently about the nature of a gap. Or the goal that stands way out there when you see it from the line of where you currently reside. I see the amount of effort I want to exert, much like the nature of the standing broad jump: look at where I want to go, squat down and then hurl myself forward. But then I look at the distance Carl Lewis could travel with momentum – 29–1¼ feet – was his record in 1991.

It’s all about momentum, a building up of the velocity required to do anything. When I make rash pronouncements of what I want to do, and then lurch forward, I don’t go very far, but when I consistently work on something that I want, I know that I’m building up momentum. When the gap comes, I go faster, and then, and only then it’s time for liftoff.

More of what you want and Less of what you don’t

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Any self-help guru will tell you that in order to really succeed at any life goal you must set goals and focus on them. Pretty simple right? What if you have like 15 goals?

If there’s one thing you probably already know about me, it’s that I have a lot of interests. I’m always onto something new, and honestly, I pride myself on it. I was always a curious child and read a variety of subjects in books and found myself repairing, or better said, destroying items that my brother and I had found at a local garage sale. I never felt that I could satiate my curiosity and for that I moved onto different sports, different types of music, and one day dreamed of travel. After all, travel is curiosity, and curiosity is travel.

I suppose my curious streak continued through high-school as I played basketball, cross-country and soccer, and joined a few clubs. Then onto college it continued with my choice of electives as I took courses on linguistics, ethics, psychology and economics. Well, I guess we are all curious in college right? That’s the time to study everything. To explore what you’ve never been able to grasp a hold of with people who are similarly intellectually inclined. Fortunately, I had friends who were not just intellectuals but pragmatists, and urged me to write down the things that I really wanted to accomplish.

I started out last year with a sheet of written goals. Maybe there’s 15 that include things like cooking and surfing, and then the crucial ones like Spanish and technical writing. And you know what? I had been spreading myself too thing across all these subjects.

sunset-read

I’m focusing on catching more sunsets.

I realized that if I was ever going to make progress, I was going to have to focus on just a few things, the most crucial. I suppose it all boils down to a simple phase: “Do more of what you want and less of what you don’t.” Good phrase right? If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that talk is cheap. Really cheap. We can all say we’ll do something, learn something, or be somewhere at a specified time, but unless these words are converted into daily practices, they simply remain as dead words.

Rock Climbing – Learn to Reach Higher

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Last night, my friend Steve from HOPE International convinced me to go rock climbing. As I’ve written before, I’m quite afraid of heights, but persist in making that a non-issue when it comes to adventurous things: San Pedro Lake Atitlan

I had only attempted rock climbing, on a real rock wall once before in Richmond, and I’ll say that a rock climbing wall is much easier. And still pretty frightening. Our Peruvian teacher insisted we do some stretching and practice on the smaller wall with the huge crash pad. After about 5 minutes I felt like I had already exhausted my arms. How was I going to do the wall?

I feel like my own advice applies here, Just Press Call, and when Andre passed the rope thru my harness he said, “Alright, don’t think. Just do it.” For some reason, I just did it. I just climbed up. Rock-ClimbingLike a kid on a tree in the backyard. Up, up, up.

Then, of course, it gets harder. It gets really hard. Especially, when you look down. I yelled to Andre, “Ahhh! I’m so high up.” He yells back, “Well, don’t look down!”

It’s funny how simple all of it can be. And maybe that’s my favorite part about rock climbing. It’s when you don’t think you can, you just try. It’s when you think you’re going to fall, and you press in toward the wall. It’s when your hand is slipping and you don’t think you can hold on, and people encourage you to reach higher.

You reach higher.

And you find a handhold.

Just when you thought you couldn’t go any further, you find something to grab onto.

At least five times last night I found myself in this situation: my fear of heights starts to wash over me. My hands sweat, to help me grip, but seem like they were going to let me go. My forearms burn with exhaustion. For a moment, I freak out. I wonder what if I fall the 25 feet to the floor. How painful that would be. How long it would take to recover, if I ever recovered. But the crazy thing is, when I feel a point a way from falling, I know I won’t fall. So, all arguments to the contrary are invalid. The only rational thing to do is reach higher.

I made it each of the five times. It’s a terrible feeling thinking you’ll fall, but it’s so wonderful when you get just a bit higher.

I’m going to do it again.

I Was Fluent in About a Week

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Ok, so one week later and I don’t feel any closer to being able to have a conversation in Portuguese. It’s interesting though. I feel like I made a small dent. Well, a really small dent. Ok, now the more I think about it, it’s barely noticable. But at the time it felt like I was making a real impact. At the time I felt like I was getting into a groove. I felt like I could totally run with a conversation in Brazilian Portuguese if I needed to.Fluency-means what you think it means

It reminds me of an incredibly common conversation I’ll have with travelers who are just starting out on their journey with Spanish, or have done a few trips into Spanish speaking countries in the past. They’ll describe a week at a resort or a hotel, and they’ll say, “Well yeah, by the end of it I was fluent!”

In reality, I can only imagine what it was like for the native Spanish speaker and the amount of effort they had to put forth to understand the individual and help them out. Probably the conversation was mostly Spanglish with a few Spanish-like words sprinkled in. They say in communication that it doesn’t matter what you say, it matters what was understood. So to borrow the meme from Inigo Montoya of the 1987 film Princess Bride, “Fluency. I do not think that word means what you think it means.”

What I think happens is that during the process, or during the experience, our senses get activated to a new world, and with every step of success we feel energized and motivated. We feel like we are really picking up momentum, really connecting with the individual, and with every affirmative nod of the head, every smile, and every confirmation to a question, we float a little higher into the language atmosphere. It’s so easy to float in it, because learning a language is a social experience and when we share this new learning initiative with another, we naturally are spurred on.

What’s interesting for me is that I feel like I really now know what it takes to become fluent, and for me the meaning of that word had taken on a whole new meaning after a few years. I remember thinking I was “fluent” after three months in Guatemala, only to arrive in the Dominican Republic stumbling for a simple flow of conversation, heck even common words, and conjugations. Dominican Spanish (which I believe is much different than textbook Spanish), is very difficult to understand as it contains an incredible amount of stylistic shortcuts and slang that is native to the country. As is often the case with Spanish accents from the Carribean, it really takes an ear for it, and requires many months, ok to be fair, a couple of years to feel comfortable.
heavy-load
Learning a language takes a lot of work and it’s a sizable commitment. It’s almost like someone asking you to carry something for them as you’re headed out the house. The load is heavy at first, gets easier after awhile, then it changes shape, you get really tired, you lose hope, but somehow you get motivated again. You get some rest, and start out again, but its even heavier this time, but strangely it’s lighter than ever before. Many people come join you on the journey, and then people come along and show you how to carry it. They take some stuff out, show you how to distribute the weight, tell you to put some things on, and after awhile, you don’t even know you’re carrying it, you somehow just wear it, and don’t even have to think about having to put it on.

Then it’s a part of you, it’s a part of your life, and then you really can’t imagine living without it. I think then and only then, you start to understand fluency.

“I am a Product of Education” – (Jan ’14 Newsletter)

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I hope you all have had a wonderful start to the new year. I returned to Lima, Peru soon after our annual meeting with Edify in San Diego, California where our central office is located. Peru is in the middle of summer and it’s great weather (so strange to be on this side of the equator!). We’re really excited to start doing our first microloans here in Lima in the next few weeks because schools are out for the summer and are looking to expand their operations. Schools look for financing for their construction projects during this time period and often find loans from banks that charge them very high interest rates. For us, it’s an excellent opportunity to connect with them about our small business loans and business training, and to share with them our vision for education in Peru. -Aaron

“Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.”
– Nelson Mandela

I had the opportunity to reconnect with my colleagues in Edify early this January in San Diego. Because we work in six countries (seven, if you count our own country) we see each other but once a year. Most meetings are carried out via Skype, and the preferred method of communication is via email. Yet, we are all drawn to the organization for the same reason. As I talked with each colleague I realized that we really do believe in our mission: 

To improve and to expand sustainable, affordable, Christ-centered education in the developing world.

But why do we believe this, I thought, as we gathered around the table. I know that we use language like this all the time when we talk about improving the economic outlook of developing countries, and how we can help people out of poverty. Do we really believe that education can make a difference in this way and why does it matter that we bring Christ into the initiative of building better schools?

One night, we left the meeting rooms and went to a local restaurant to have dinner and to relax from the previous days’ meetings. I looked around the table and was amazed to see individuals from so many countries. We had Ghanaians, an Ethiopian, a Ugandan who now lives in Rwanda, a Dominican and Americans from just about every corner of our country, certainly every coast. I know this sounds like I’m about to tell a joke, but nope, that night we simply traded stories.

There’s one story in particular that I wanted to highlight. It’s the story of my colleague Godfrey, the Ugandan raised in Rwanda. I’ll summarize it now from my own notes and recollection, which will be a sneak-peek to the full story we’ll plan to release later in the year.

Earlier that day, in the morning, Godfrey shared with us his personal story as a devotional using Psalm 23.

Jan-14-News-02Psalm 23

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.”
(Biblegateway link: Psalm 23)

Godfrey started off by saying, (and I’ll paraphrase most of this that comes next)

“Now I’m not sure many of you have had an experience being a shepherd, (Godfrey is quite clever and quick-witted.) but I do.

My brother and I were shepherds growing up. We cared for many animals. And I love the stories of Jesus in the New Testament where he talks about being a shepherd, because I know what that is like. I especially like the part where Jesus uses an example of the shepherd who finds the young sheep and puts it Jan-14-News-03across his shoulders. I remember seeing my brother pick up a sheep and place it across his shoulders when it was weak. It is a true thing. Shepherds do that. . . . I love that story, because I have been carried by Jesus like that.”

“When I was very little, I was one of the few people I knew who was born in a hospital in Uganda. My father had a very good job at a financial institution, and we lived well. But when I was very young, my father lost his job and life changed dramatically for us. We had to move out from the city to the rural area.

There were few jobs. We were very poor. We tended animals because that was the only way we could make money. These animals were so valuable. They were our assets. They were worth more than our house. Once, when I was very sick, we couldn’t go to hospital, because we didn’t have the money, and my father would not sell an animal for the money.

“I did well in grade school. In fact, I did so well that I earned the highest marks on my national tests that I could attend an excellent private Christian school. The only problem was that we did not have money to send me there. I was so mad at my father for not selling an animal to pay for my schooling. I was devastated. I prayed to the Lord to help me study at this school. I tried everything I could to find a way to pay for the entrance fees and tuition. I spoke with Jan-14-News-04the director about a scholarship and he told me that the only way to receive a scholarship was to repeat certain grades of middle school and perform well so that I could attend high school. I was so disappointed, but I knew that this was the Lord’s plan for me and I should accept it.

“I repeated three grades so that I could attend this school. I was so ashamed to be seen by my classmates who were in the grades above me. They tease me, “Godfrey, if you are so smart, why are you three grades below us?” I kept praying to make it through because I knew that this was my way to a good education.

“Jesus carried me through this period, and I made it to high school, and I did well. I did so well that I got to go to University. I studied business and I got a wonderful job after University. My life was fully changed. I never stopped praying to my Lord, I never stopped being thankful for his faithfulness to me.

“The reason that I am standing here today is because I am a product of education. I am so grateful to be standing here before you. Grateful to the Lord for all he has done in my life, and grateful to Jesus, for his work and his life, and for his gift of salvation.”
Jan-14-News-05
[What’s equally amazing is that our Chief Transformation Officer and Vice President of Program Assessment, Mokonen Getu, was once a shepherd boy in Ethiopa. He has an inspirational story of his long journey from the pastures of Ethiopia to the halls of higher education. He got his PhD in International Development from the University of Stockholm, Sweden. His amazing journey is detailed in his autobiography. (You can read more about him in Edify’s 2013 annual report.)]

———-
I am still in awe when I think about Godfrey’s story. When I hear about the valleys he walked through to make it to where he was, it makes me proud simply to know him and have him on our team in Rwanda. I told Godfrey how amazing his story was. He is very humble and approaches everything with a smile. He brushed off my compliment and said he enjoyed my presentation on Peru.

A little later on in the meeting he told us that he wants to get more involved at his church. While he does music and Jan-14-News-06evangelization, he’d like to get back in the pulpit. (What a guy!)

—

But right now, let me return back to us sitting around the multi-international table at the restaurant:

Later on in the meal Godfrey turns to me and says, “Aaron, may I ask you a question? I need your help.”

(I wondered what came next.)

“It is my first time in America and I think right now I want to order a hamburger. But we are at a fish restaurant. I think I should order fish.”

“I think that’s a good call. Do you like fish?”

“Yes, I like fish. In fact, I ate shark in Colorado. Have you eaten shark?”

“Wow, you had shark? How was it?”

“It was good. It tastes like chicken. But I don’t think I want shark right now.”

“How did you eat shark in Colorado?”

“We made a stop for Edify for two days for some meetings, and I got to visit a University.”

I tried not to laugh at the strange connection of those statements, and when he saw me smile he said,

“Yes, it was strange. I believe there are no sharks in Colorado. Nowhere close.”

We both laugh about it. I walk him through a few “American” choices. He continued later telling me that part of the reason for the stop is for him to see the university and sign up for the online MBA program at Colorado Christian University.

“It is such a great opportunity Aaron. I am so excited to start. I love education.”

. . .

Godfrey’s story and Makonen’s story are yet more reminders of why I work for Edify, and why I am excited to open the program here in Lima, Peru. Their stories are incredibly unique, yet share so many common threads with stories of adults I’ve met throughout the past three years working in Latin America. To believe there is hope, to believe that there is a God who has a plan, to believe that there was a man Jesus, the Great Shepherd who walked among us – who carries us when the burden is too great – is to know that Jan-14-News-07there truly is a pathway out of poverty.

I know there are still millions of children here in this country of Peru who walk through valleys and are looking for a pathway up and out.
. . .

I pray that we would all see the value in education, and that we would find ways to take advantage of the opportunities that we have.

Blessings to you all,
-Aaron

aroth@edify.org
Skype: aroth.edify
Web: www.AaronRoth.net

Today I start learning Portuguese

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While planning is helpful, but sometimes I’ve gotten much more mileage out of simply starting. The whole “ready, fire, aim” approach than wasting too much time. So to that end:

brazil-flag-small

Hoje eu começar a aprender português.

Hoy empiezo a aprender portugués.

Today I start learning Portuguese.

Look over to the right underneath my Spanish badge from LingQ. I put a new one with Portuguese. Went through a page and tried to learn some words. Turns out I already know a few since I know Spanish. I know 12 now.

Ordem e Progresso.

Orden y Progreso.

Order and Progress.

They Destroyed My “Up” House

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Up-House-MirafloresUp-House-MirafloresI had a clear view of the house like the one they used in the movie “Up” where I used to live in Miraflores, Lima. I mean look at this house. It’s a spitting image of it there, like a sitting duck amidst its giant neighbors. It was a house from the late 60’s, maybe early 70’s with a classic architecture. If you walk around Miraflores you’ll see some of these houses remaining. They are becoming more rare because of the current trend of building 10 floor apartment or condominium buildings. Some of these property values for the houses can go for over $300,000 and even up to $500,000, my guess is that the sale of a well-located property can fetch up to a few million dollars.

up-movie-posterWhen you look at my “Up” house here posted, doesn’t it look so out of place next to the towering apartment buildings next-door? I kept thinking that it was only a matter of time before the owners sold their property, and yet another classic house would succumb to the fate of other well-located houses in dense residential areas. It’s sad to me thinking about the loss of another house because I feel like this district loses more of its charm with every sale of a quaint residence. But if I were the owner, what would I do? Would I do the same?

I initially thought this house just looked like the house from the movie, but I wonder if the owner found him/herself in the same shoes of the protagonist. Maybe after the passing of their spouse, they wanted to just fly away and visit some faraway lands to fulfill a lifelong promise? Or maybe modern life had become to irritating with the worsening traffic and hustle up-house-miraflores-02and bustle of the burgeoning economy? Or they used the funds to help their children go after their life-long dreams?

It was strange to me because just six weeks ago the house stood their on it’s on, and now it’s gone. Slowly gone the way of the buffalo. And I expect in another six weeks, another small portion of Miraflores will lose its character to yet another residential developer.