tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74812792304046652662024-03-06T02:54:46.220-05:00Tango 2 the MoonThis story began one day when I stepped into a little latin dance cafe with $10 in my hand wanting to learn something called "Argentine Tango" A little more than a year later, I found myself dancing in the very heart and soul of the great and glorious city of Buenos Aires...funky monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10246856727401541986noreply@blogger.comBlogger412125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-21872233661564103362017-11-20T04:00:00.000-05:002017-11-20T07:35:08.713-05:00The Rebirth, Regrowth and Regeneration of Cafe Kiffin: Flavors Forged by Fire<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> fresh baked scones</td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">fuego.....feu.....fogo.....feuer.....fuoco.....FIRE</span></i><br />
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Natasha and i stood in silence outside Kiffins entryway that fateful morning of May 1st. Her lower lip showed the tiniest hint of a quiver before a single shiny precious tear drop managed to sneak its way out and went streaking down her cheek at the speed of light.<br />
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My first visit to Kiffin was a few days after the grand opening. Their vegan mac and cheese wooed me with its eclectic mix of flavors and I found myself already planning my return even before I walked out the door on my first visit. Serendipitously, the day i chose to return was the morning everything went up in smoke. Natasha had just been informed and arrived at the cafe the exact moment i did and our worlds collided.<br />
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Looking back, i wonder if my presence being there was meant as a good sign for her. Like a little angel sent to the scene as if to say "this isn't the collapse of your dream, it is the beginning of it." My name is Angelina and the word "angel" happens to be in my name so i guess that every so often the higher powers that be arrange for me to be an angel of sorts.<br />
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***Here is a summary of Kiffins story. Founder Natasha Alani had a dream of making healthy affordable meals more widely available to the public. "Good food is a right" is the philosophy Kiffin was founded on in 2013. Hailing from San Fran, she realized that due to high cost of living, her vision was simply not feasible there. In 2015 she put roots down in Montreal and established Kiffin firstly as a catering business that would eventually extend to a cafe where people could eat nurturing, nourishing meals for as low as $10***<br />
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Standing there staring deep into Natashas devastated eyes, i wish that that i could have had the power of psychic vision to tell her that in 6 mths we'd be toasting to the relaunch of Kiffin in our pjs. Then again i really don't like making it a general habit to come across as a nut job to someone I've never met before in my life. But 6 mths later, there we were on Nov. 18th at a fundraiser entitled "We didn't start the fire pyjama brunch." In that very space that went up in flames, every bite i took sent my tastebuds up in foodgasmic flames<br />
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I'll end with some food for thought on fire. When a forest fire rages uncontrollably, it destroys all life devastating everything in its path. However, after the destruction of the forest, new species of trees were seen emerging from the ruins. It was discovered that there were certain species of cones filled with seeds that would only explode and release their seeds under the heat of the fire. Rebirth. Regrowth. Regeneration.<br />
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<i>Something deep inside me can't help but feel that Kiffins new flavors are somehow forged by fire.</i><br />
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<i><a href="http://www.cafekiffin.com/" target="_blank">http://www.cafekiffin.com</a></i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tarte au philo aux légumes-racine</td></tr>
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<br />tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-52298556172831997602017-03-27T04:00:00.000-04:002017-03-27T04:00:14.849-04:00My Cities......My Lovers: Dating Buenos Aires and Discovering True Love in Montreal <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese themed Le Falco cafe</td></tr>
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There has been an interesting thought swirling around my head recently. I've never been in a long term relationship with a human, but i have been in a relationship with a city. And I've been thinking that if cities were lovers, how would i describe our affair?<br />
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In the case of Buenos Aires, i didn't choose the city, it chose me. I had only planned for a "one night stand" of 6 mths but the city seduced me into a 3 and half yr affair that was characterized by love-making and tears. It was the kind of romance where when you had a "high" it was truly high and you felt this magic and chemistry that leaves you convinced this is something you'll never have anywhere else.</div>
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But the lows were equal to being in Dantes 7th circle of hell. Yesterday may have been a magical nights of tango but what the next day held was your cellphone getting stolen, a transportation strike, inflation so that your budget is screwed cuz everything is 5 pesos more than yesterday as well as some cronies trying to rip you off because you are a foreigner.</div>
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But every single time i thought about breaking up with Buenos Aires, the city would burst forth to life in song, dance, passion and parades. Much like a lover who comes thru the door with your favorite things after a toxic fight. The city knew that our relationship was on borrowed time and wanted to keep me in a tango dance for just a little bit longer.</div>
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Relationships in ones 20s is all about CHEMISTRY. However come your mid 30s the dating game changes drastically. In ones mid thirties you begin to realize that you don't have to be a slave to just "chemistry" in a relationship, but you know who you are and what you want and what works for you and what doesn't. So you get a say in dictating the terms of what would be a fit for you. </div>
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Now i see what i couldn't have seen so many yrs ago, that as passionate, fiery, mystical and magical Buenos Aires was, it was a lover complete incapable of a healthy functional long term relationship. Earlier i wrote a heartfelt post about my break-up with Buenos Aires. Here is the link to it below:</div>
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<a href="http://www.tango2themoon.com/2015/01/a-sneaky-sudden-sense-of-saudade.html" target="_blank">http://www.tango2themoon.com/2015/01/a-sneaky-sudden-sense-of-saudade.html</a></div>
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Montreal however is neither a fresh fiery romance nor a boring loveless marriage. Instead it lends itself to being an amazing partner by everyday magic as opposed to high "highs" and low "lows" that summed up my complicated dating relationship with Buenos Aires. Our break up was the worst thing and the best thing that could have happened to me. </div>
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If i could go back in time and appear to my heart-broken younger self sitting on a bus to Chile about to leave Buenos Aires, i would have told her "4 yrs from now Montreal is gonna call your name and when it does, it will be the beginning of your discovery to the meaning of true love ....."</div>
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<i>Buenos Aires may have been the birthplace of tango but Montreal gets to have the last dance :)</i></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="280" src="https://embed.wattpad.com/story/295185" width="500"></iframe>tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-22356168615534355002017-03-13T04:00:00.001-04:002017-03-13T04:00:21.315-04:00Living Loving and Learning the Meaning of "Honour"<br />
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Every yr i choose a word that i want to mark that particular yr with. Last yr my word was "fortification" and i made a focus to fortify myself in every aspect of life e.g. relationships, spiritually, mentally, emotionally<br />
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So after prayerful consideration, the word for to mark this yr is "honour". And i want to make the goal of this year to not only honour everyone and everything that has been placed in my world but to learn what it means to honour.<br />
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According to the merriam webster dictionary, the definition of honour is this:<br />
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<ol class="definition-list" style="background-color: white; color: #3b3e41; font-family: "Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: no-common-ligatures; letter-spacing: 0.04em; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 1.1875em; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div class="definition-inner-item with-sense" style="clear: both; font-size: 1em; letter-spacing: 0.04em; line-height: 1.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.1875em; position: relative;">
<span class="sense" style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px;">1</span><span style="display: block; margin: 0px 0px 0.125em; padding: 0px;"><span class="sub sense alp" style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; top: 0px;">a</span> <span class="intro-colon" style="display: initial; font-weight: bold; margin: initial; padding: 0px;">:</span> to regard or treat (someone) with admiration and respect <span class="intro-colon" style="display: initial; font-weight: bold; margin: initial; padding: 0px;">:</span> to regard or treat with honor</span><span style="display: block; margin: 0px 0px 0.125em; padding: 0px;"><span class="sub sense alp" style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; top: 0px;">b</span> <span class="intro-colon" style="display: initial; font-weight: bold; margin: initial; padding: 0px;">:</span> to give special recognition to <span class="intro-colon" style="display: initial; font-weight: bold; margin: initial; padding: 0px;">:</span> to confer honor on</span></div>
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 1.1875em; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div class="definition-inner-item with-sense" style="clear: both; font-size: 1em; letter-spacing: 0.04em; line-height: 1.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2.1875em; position: relative;">
<span class="sense" style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px;">2</span><span style="display: block; margin: 0px 0px 0.125em; padding: 0px;"><span class="sub sense alp" style="font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; left: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: static; top: 0px;">a</span> <span class="intro-colon" style="display: initial; font-weight: bold; margin: initial; padding: 0px;">:</span> to live up to or fulfill the terms of <span class="vi" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">honor</em> a commitment></span></span></div>
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</ol>
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We can bring honour into every area of our lives. For the purposes of this blog I'm gonna focus on bringing honour to relationships and what that looks like from a practical standpoint. It became my hearts quest to bring this very definition of honour into my dearest relationships. To regard and treat my loved ones with admiration, respect and give special recognition. Also to become a person who lives up to and fulfills my words and commitment to them.<br />
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The idea seems to be embraced by a majority of cultures in the world except the western culture where it is all about my rights and my mood and what i feel. In the middle east both ancient and modern times now they honour a guest by taking the fattened calf and using it for their meal. This would have been the calf they have been putting all their time, money and resources into. So in a sense by giving it to the guest as a meal they are in many ways giving this person a good chunk of their income. The same concept plays itself out in many cultures where one is expected to give the best of yourself.<br />
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So how does honour play out in my relationships in a modern day culture? I obviously don't own livestock that I've been fattening up to make for dinner when my friend comes over. The good news is that one doesn't need a fattened calf to show honour.....PHEW.<br />
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I'm of the utmost highest conviction that honour in a relationship begins by LISTENING. It doesn't cost a dime and all one has to do is open up your heart and shut your mouth when a loved one is trying to get something across to you. In a previous blog i wrote about the experience of creating a space and a platform for a loved one to talk to me about things i was doing that was bothering them.<br />
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I showed honour to this person in two ways that matched the dictionary definition above. I regarded and treated every word they said with admiration and respect. After i knew what the problem was, i gave them my word and my commitment that things would change and i fulfilled and lived up to everything i promised. To me this is the modern day version of offering up the fattened calf cuz likewise i am offering the very best of myself to my loved ones.<br />
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Here in Montreal an interesting situation has been dropped on my lap that is teaching me daily lessons in listening and honouring. Thru a very unique set of circumstances, there is an aquaintance and someone who i knew of from many yrs ago to whom I've become part of her inner circle quite quickly. When i met her almost a decade ago she was an out of control alcoholic having come from that background.<br />
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When i arrived in Quebec we got reconnected and i found out she had made an amazing accomplishment of going without alcohol for 1 yr and 4 mths. I don't have much of a family background that gives me anything i could relate. And she doesn't speak much english either. Nevertheless she has made it clear that she wants me in every way to journey beside her on her new path. It has been an absolute joy to enter into her world and forge a meaningful friendship.<br />
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In my journey to understand someone who comes from a background with different challenges from me as well as speaks a language that I'm not fluent in yet, i can honestly say that every single day new lessons are unfolding on what it means to listen and what it means to honour.<br />
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<br />tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-3909150949044658372017-03-13T04:00:00.000-04:002017-03-13T04:00:06.181-04:00Making Love to Montreals Tango Scene<br />
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Montreal seduced me....she had me eating out of the palm of her hand the moment i touched down in Trudeau international airport. Not only did she seduce into the kitchen of Robin des Bois peeling potatoes as a volunteer, she seduced, me onto her beautiful wooden dance floors. It was on those floors that i began making love to Montreals tango scene.<br />
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Deep down in my heart i knew that a return to Canada would also mean a return to tango. It also made me abit nervous because breaking into a tango community can be extremely difficult. Locals who have been dancing with each other for yrs may prefer to dance with their buddies that they are comfortable and familiar with. It can result in a new comer sitting on the sidelines all night watching everyone else on the dance floor.<br />
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But nevertheless i decided to be brave and see where things would take me so i found a reputable tango school nearby and showed up at a practica on a snowy Sunday afternoon. I had no idea if anyone would talk to me or dance with me. What wound up happening no one could have predicted.<br />
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After sitting around for abit and watching others dance, i decided to chat with the people that run the studio. They welcomed me warmly and gave me info on their classes and events. They even told me about a promotional deal that was running on Tuango where i could get a card for 10 lessons for the price of 24 dollars. 84% discount off the price of normal classes.<br />
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At that moment i was thinking how wonderful it was that even if nobody dances with me at least i got a nice chat and info about a deal on lessons. Little did i know that by the end of the practica i would not only get asked to be danced with but i would also end up leading as well. My level of tango is just enough that I'm getting to the point of being the leader and not just the follower.<br />
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Chinese new yr good fortune must have smiled on me because shortly after someone looked at me and asked to get on the dance floor. I enthusiastically accepted and we ended up dancing very well together. Not long after that a girl who was new to tango chatted me up and i ended up being a lead for her on the dance floor and giving her practice in tango basics.<br />
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Little did i know that my beloved tango skills would crossover and be a great asset when i dove headfirst into the world of salsa for the first time. My 10 class pass i bought also applied to drop in classes of salsa run by the same school. I found that from dancing tango i have a natural ability to read a dance partner and be able to anticipate and flow with whatever move is coming next.<br />
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When Montreal is making love to me tango style it is reflective and about intimacy and connectivity. When the city makes love to me salsa style it is rhythmic and high energy. But either way my love making with the city never ends.....<br />
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***out of respect and gratitude to all the places I've danced at in Vancouver, Victoria, and Montreal....I've put their links below FYI<br />
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<a href="http://santiagodeborah.com/" target="_blank">http://santiagodeborah.com </a> (vancouver)<br />
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<a href="http://airdetango.com/?lang=en" target="_blank">http://airdetango.com</a> (Montréal)<br />
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<a href="http://cafecasablanca.ca/" target="_blank">http://cafecasablanca.ca</a> (victoria)<br />
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<br />tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-69474157979517829112017-03-08T03:00:00.000-05:002017-03-08T03:00:11.838-05:00Weaving Hope and Prosperity One Basket at a Time in the Artesanal Market of Chino <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Of all the many excursions available to visitors of Tahuayo lodge, there is one that has a deeper more meaningful history behind it......the Artesanal Market. Here you can buy handmade crafts from the women of Chino village. During my stay at Tahuayo there was a journalist there who went to the village with Dolly Beaver interviewing these women and getting their stories.<br />
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In order to launch the artesan market these women had to learn how to make crafts and take lessons. They would return late to their homes after taking these classes and their husbands thought they must be prostituting themselves and would beat their wives, not believing that she was simply taking a class. Many of these women would show up at classes with bruises and strikes on their bodies.<br />
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It is also important to understand that in this culture women did not have alot of opportunity career wise. I found out that it wasn't uncommon in previous generations for girls to become pregnant at 13 yrs old simply because there was no other life for her other than to have babies. My heart breathed a sigh of relief when i looked into the faces of my students and none of them had signs of pregnancy.<br />
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So for these women, selling their crafts was the first kind of financial freedom they have ever had. Pretty soon as they began making money from their crafts their husbands would ask for money to drink to which they said NO. Finally they were able to take control of things and draw a line in the sand with just a little bit of economic prosperity.<br />
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Perhaps the most enduring symbol of womens empowerment is the Artesan Centre that stands in Chino village. On my first trip at my visit to the market it was housed in an old run down house made of wooden planks. However when i returned as a volunteer the Artesan Centre had been launched. They now had a beautiful housing just for the market for tourist to come buy handicrafts.<br />
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From what i was told Angels of the Amazon donated some money and each of the women contributed abit from their earnings and now the women have a place of their own where they can sell their handicrafts with pride. Basket by basket they began weaving hope and prosperity for their families.<br />
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Each one of these women were born to a generation where women were only good for making babies. They endured beatings, bruising, and jeering from their husbands to break a cultural stronghold and belief that women had no power. And in the end they became the breadwinners and set an example to the next generation of what being a woman meant. These are the thoughts that echo through my mind as everytime i gently caress the image of a toucan that has been handcrafted with love onto a gourd bought from one of these amazing women of Chino village.....<br />
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<br />tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-24932036731134393782017-02-27T04:00:00.000-05:002017-02-27T04:00:02.023-05:00Noshes of Philatrophy and Nibbles of Charity at Robin des Bois<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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RIDDLE: How do you learn french for free while making a difference at the same time in an atmosphere surrounded by delicious food?</div>
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ANSWER: by volunteering at non-profit farm to table restaurant Robin des Bois</div>
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My descent into this magical world where food and philatrophy began when i was in a little cafe doing research on where to find my next foodgasm. I happened to do a particular search for "farm to table" restaurants and Robin des Bois came up top of the list. Further research would reveal that there was something even tastier than just the food itself.</div>
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Robin des Bois combines food and philatrophy in a mouthwatering manner. Founded in 2006 it was the first of its kind in the world. The majority of the staff in both back room and front of the house are volunteers. 100% of all profits go to 4 different charities in the Montreal area helping with a range of things from providing free nutritious meals to needy, womens shelter, young homeless men etc. I knew in a heartbeat that i was meant to sign up. They have a lovely system where you can go online and sign up for whatever available shifts on the calendar. </div>
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***interestingly enough "Robin des Bois" means "Robin Hood" in english. This non profit restaurant was named after a heroic fictional figure that robbed the rich to feed the poor.</div>
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At my first shift in the back of the house of the restaurant, the staff couldn't have been more welcoming to someone who spoke little french and had never worked in a kitchen before. Whether i was slicing potatoes, peeling carrots, or weighing gorgeous chunks of poutine cheese (I'll admit some of those chunks ended up in my mouth), they always took time to make sure i felt comfortable in whatever task i was doing. </div>
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Working in the back kitchen also impacted me personally. I have always been empathetic to people in the service industry because i know they work hard. However the experience of being in the backroom doing prep watching the cook as well as doing the prep work myself deepened my level of empathy towards service industry people. As a result of this experience, the next time i go out to any place I'll want to tip more.</div>
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One morning as i was preparing to do a waitressing shift at the restaurant, i happened to check my phone and it had opened up notes of a sermon i had jotted down from my time in hillsong LA. Those words ran a sword thru the very core of my heart....</div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Do more than you are paid to do</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Do more than you want to</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Consume less than you desire to</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Help more than you need to</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Waste less time </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">God time more than you are used to</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>-Brian Houston (global senior pastor of hillsong)</i></span></div>
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tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-73897681418137245512017-02-20T04:00:00.000-05:002017-02-20T04:00:00.353-05:00Honing and Harvesting Raw Honesty (pt. 2)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La Fontaine Parc</td></tr>
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Last week i began writing on the theme of cultivating raw honesty in a relationship. My last post touched on how to create a platform and foundation for your loved ones to have a safe space. This week part 2 will be about how to create the kind of relationship where you look out for each other and call out each other on things that might pose risks to well-being.<br />
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This is a topic that passionately burns inside of me because i have been burned countless times by people who emotionally abused me under the name of looking out for me. I've had some of the most demeaning comments made to me and then get told that it's good for me and that the "truth" is simply hard for me to hear. Funny how that is exactly what women who are victims of domestic violence get told by their spouses.<br />
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Believe me when i say that when someone is looking out for you, their behavior is a far cry from emotional abuse under the guise of love. The two are like night and day and there is literally no comparison. One of the first red flags i get is when someone says they are telling me a hard truth that is really in fact abusive, it's funny how that same person will never give me positive reinforcement in my daily life when i am doing things right. I never get praise, support and encouragement on virtually anything but they are quick to rush in and point out faults in the name of "looking out for you".<br />
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Me on the other hand am always praising my loved ones with positive reinforcement. On regular basis I'm always saying "im so proud of you" "you've grown so much!" I've even written emails telling them every single positive trait about them and what i love about them.<br />
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The Bible says that salt and fresh water cannot come from the same source. So if I've been clearly demonstrating that I've got someones best interests at heart, then even if one day i have to have a hard conversation with them they know that it is coming from a place of having their best interest at heart. However if you have a toxic relationship where there is no positive reinforcement on a regular basis, then when that person comes to you saying they are doing this out of "love" for you, i find that really questionable.<br />
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So it boils down to the ultimate question of what do you do when you see something in someones life that they cannot see and you are considering bringing it up? The first consideration is your knowledge of the person's inner workings. People who rush in to say something demeaning in the name of love never consider sensitivity or timing. They just open their mouth in the name of telling u the "truth". When i am getting ready to have a hard honest conversation with someone there is literally hours of thought and prep that go into it.<br />
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I take into consideration the persons personality, insecurities and the best method of delivering what i have to say to them that will bring fruit. Also i weigh the pros and cons of my words. What is the outcome if i don't say anything to them and what is the outcome if i do? I also have to check myself 3 times over to make sure my motivations are coming from the right place and I'm not doing anything out of hurt or insecurity.<br />
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A key factor in all of this is when you've said what you have to say, let them have their own reaction and response. Simply tell them your concern and your POV but also give breathing space for them to give their interpretation of things. The show BONES is the perfect example. Brennan gives the pure facts on what the bones are telling her. But Booth is the one who is gifted in interpreting human behavior and motivation. My method of cultivating honesty is to give someone facts about what i see and whats going on. However i don't push my interpretation of things. If the other party hands me a different interpretation on what they feel is unfolding, then i welcome their POV.<br />
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Honing and harvesting raw honesty in relationships requires just as much time, work, care and cultivation as harvesting maple syrup here in Quebec. If it were easy i wouldn't have to spend an entire afternoon writing a two part blog posts of things I've gleaned from my own personal life. Instead i could be gorging myself with poutine :P<br />
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On the subject of honesty with you i'll be honest with you that the idea of being that honest with someone can be nerve-wracking. At one point i had a draft of an email to someone and i actually deleted it and thought NO WAY. But my love for my loved one overtook me and i end up rewriting it, took a deep breathe and hit the send button.<br />
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So was that email worth all the hairs at the back of my neck standing up? What i will tell you is because i did everything right with a pure heart and motivation and consideration, that email was met with a deep sense of appreciation when the other party saw how far I'm willing to go to look out for their well-being. When i went to bed that night, raw honesty had begun to ooze from our relationship the way liquid gold oozes from the maple trees....<br />
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<br />tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-1984364732104180912017-02-13T04:00:00.001-05:002017-02-13T04:00:06.918-05:00Honing and Harvesting Raw Honesty (pt. 1)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caramel maple syrup ice-cream in Jean-Talon Market</td></tr>
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The season for harvesting maple syrup here in Quebec is once a yr during late winter to early spring. Locals will tap trees and watch as liquid gold oozes out of the trees into their buckets. Likewise i see our dearest relationships as lovely trees that can ooze goodness. If honed correctly we can enjoy a bountiful harvest.</div>
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There is a deep conviction inside of me that rich relationships aren't invented, they are cultivated. I cannot tell you the countless amt of relationships that I've had that began with a BANG of great chemistry and today those people are no longer in my world. Much like the leaning tower of Pisa, those relationships were not built with the proper foundation and ultimately sank just like one day we know the leaning tower of Pisa will.</div>
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For me chemistry is simply not enough, I want longevity. One of the things that i had a desire to harvest is raw honesty. My heart was to create a platform and space where we do more than brunch and coffee dates. But for it to become the kind of relationship where we look out for one another and even have the kind of trust that we can call each other out on things that may pose a potential threat to someones well-being. </div>
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One of the first things I've learned is that when i want change in a relationship i have to demonstrate the behavior that i wish to see from the other person. Whatever words or actions i do or say are things that will either build or erode the foundation of relationships. If i take on a passive aggressive tone, it will be dealt back to me. If i demonstrate an ability to show raw honesty, then I'm opening a door for that behavior to be a regular part or our relationship.<br />
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At one point in any close relationship we will end up needing to have a brutally honest conversation. Whether we are doing things that irk the other person or maybe they are irking us. Maybe there might be some things you see in the lives of each other that are posing risk to well-being. When done right, raw honesty can create a stronger relationship and deepen the trust between two people. Done wrong and you'll end up putting a sword thru your relationship.</div>
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When creating a platform for honesty it is important that you make the other party 100% safe. This means that if you have started something where you tell them what they are doing is irking you, it means they have the freedom also to tell u if something is bothering them about you. I also highly recommend that if someone comes to you and speaks their heart about things that are troubling them, do NOT bring up any issues you have with them. It has to be purely their moment.</div>
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Bringing up things to them when they bring stuff up to you gives a sense of retaliation that ultimately comes from a place of insecurity. It will make the person less likely to be honest with you for fear that you'll give a snappy comeback. Instead of making people feel insecure about coming to you, why not praise them and give them positive reinforcement to encourage raw honesty?<br />
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That's what i did, when my loved one took the incredible step of starting to talk to me about things that i was doing that was irking them, i praised them enthusiastically. Not only did i make them feel safe and encourage this behavior, i immediately made changes to the way i had been interacting with them and stopped the things that were bothering them. <br />
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When you've been made aware of what's bothering the other person, be committed to change. The last thing that you want is to go from zero to sixty and show signs of change for a little while and then leaping headfirst into the same toxic behavior patterns. If you want a stronger relationship with someone then they need to feel safe that you are committed to ensuring a new set of behavior patterns.</div>
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These are lessons I've gleaned on ways to produce raw honesty in a relationship. Another subject i wish to tackle is how to use raw honesty to look out for each other and call out each other on things if need be. In my next post I'll write guidelines and tips on how to do that in a healthy way.</div>
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tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-55658177367457481192017-02-06T04:00:00.000-05:002017-02-06T04:00:20.733-05:00Bitter Bagel Battles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doorway of Drawn and Quarterly. Famous hipster bookstore in Mile End specializing in comics and graphic novels </td></tr>
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Upon landing in Montreal, unbeknownst to me there was a civil war of sorts going on in the city. Enemy lines were drawn and loyalties divided in a bitter bagel battle between Fairmount and St. Viateur. If i wanted to be a true local i could only have one lover and forsake all other mistresses.<br />
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One cold crisp winters evening, i braved the icy streets to grab a bite of both and decide upon my alliances. The first bagel place i popped by and for a mere 90 cents i was holding in my hands one of Montreals foodie gems. When they handed it to me i could feel its warmth oozing out of the pouch seducing me.<br />
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As i made my way to the other bagel place, i couldn't take it any longer and took one naughty nibble. It was love at first bite and in that instant knew where my alliances would be forged. But i couldn't be 100% sure until i snuck into the enemies camp for a tasty morsel.<br />
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Before long i found myself in the door of the rival bagel place holding a divine food find. Taking a deep breathe, i opened my mouth and allowed my tastebuds to savor the moment. This bagel was a completely different experience. Firmer, less sweet and chewy than the first place i tried. A very worthy contender in the heavyweight battle of the bagels.<br />
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On this note it is time for the big reveal to which bagel joints SWEET seduction i came under. For those of you from Montreal the word "sweet" is already a huge hint to where my allegiance lies. But for those of you not from here without further adieu I'll unveil which bagel won my heart......<br />
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FAIRMOUNT......je t'aime a la folie :)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="280" src="https://embed.wattpad.com/story/295185" width="500"></iframe>tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-53930863164547944222017-01-30T04:00:00.000-05:002017-01-30T04:00:22.018-05:00Seduced by Sexy Sinful Spoonfuls of "Elle McPherson" at Cafe Melbourne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When images of Montreal come to mind I'm sure people think of poutine and smoked meat. However as i delve deeper into the food scene here I've been pleasantly surprised to find quirky food gems all around the city. I christened my first day in the city with a visit to cafe melbourne to honor my Australian heritage. It was quite timely as well because it did happen upon Australia day.
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Walking into the cafe i wasted no time in getting my jaffles and flat white fix while chatting up one of the owners. My mouth nearly started to water when i saw a poster advertising their pop-up melbourne style brunches that happen every weekend. One sip of that flat white made all my caffeinated dreams come true.</div>
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My curiousity was piqued at what an Australian style pop up brunch on the weekend would look like so a few days later i returned to the cafe to satisfy my curiosity. Already at 10am the cafe was teaming with people and a line of hungry people had formed outside the cafe. They squeezed me into a corner where i got a good first look at a quirky menu. Each of the brunch entrees were named after an Aussie celebrity.<br />
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I went with the "Elle Mcpherson" which was a smashed avocado toast with egg, tomato and halloumi. Earlier in the week the jaffle and flat white had worked on the art of enticement. The moment that smashed avocado toast hit my tastebuds, enticement turned into full blown seduction by sexy sinful spoonfuls of "Elle McPherson". Even before i left the cafe that day i was already fantasizing about having a luscious lick of "Nicole Kidman" at brunch next weekend.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="280" src="https://embed.wattpad.com/story/295185" width="500"></iframe>tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-29230181045869064762017-01-17T03:00:00.000-05:002017-01-17T03:00:11.686-05:00Becoming a Girl on Fire: Fortifying, Forging and Fertilizing Relationships<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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My eyes stared fixed at the screen of the scene of Katniss Everdeens arrow shooting straight towards the dome in what would result in a fiery explosion. Who of us haven't fantasized about being the girl on fire? Hitting bulls-eyes on a tracker jackers nest and bringing it down on unsuspecting enemies. Or showing off your skills as a dead sharp shooter and igniting a revolution with an arrow perfectly aimed at a chink in the dome of an arena.<br />
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For those of you who want nothing more than to be a girl on fire, I'm about to drop a truth bomb on you. You do have a quiver fulls of arrows that can ignite a revolution in your most cherished relationships. What do I mean when I say that each of us have a quiver of arrows? Well there is something I need to explain first. When you know someone intimately, you start to know what their individual fears are whether it would be loss, separation etc. Each one of us have an Achilles heel, areas of sensitivity that if the wrong person gained intimate knowledge of them could literally annihilate us psychologically.<br />
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I grew up in a home where there was high level manipulation and it wasn't safe for people to know intimate knowledge about my inner workings. Because there was no doubt that that information would be used later to attempt to annihilate me psychologically or used to fulfill someones agenda and purpose. Even after I got out of those twisted destructive relationships, one of my deepest fear is that I would take that manipulative behavior I learned growing up and use it to destroy someone.<br />
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So I did a lot of work on myself mentally, emotionally, spiritually and therapeutically to makes sure that I was a safe person who would never take intimate knowledge of someone I loved and and use it for destruction.
This is what I mean when I say we have a quiver of arrows. Every single tidbit of info we know about a loved ones insecurities is an arrow that can be shot at them. However, are two ways to shoot an arrow at someone. One way is the way I described above where you use your knowledge of them for their own mental destruction. Ultimately this up with no winners and a massive therapy bill.<br />
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The other way you can shoot an arrow at them that ignites and revolutionizes relationship is to take the very thing they fear and openly work hard to give them the very thing they need to feel safe.
If someone in your life has a deep need to feel safe, manipulative destructive behavior will do everything it can to take away that sense of safety and leave that person forever a prisoner of fear. But instead one takes that info and says "OK, you have a a need to feel safe, lets come up with a system and model in our relationship that will make you more safe than you ever dreamed possible."<br />
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When you take the intimate knowledge of someone and do everything you can to make life as amazing as possible for them....you aren't sticking glue on your relationship. You've upgraded and are sticking CRAZY GLUE! Knowing the inner workings of someone is like holding a key in your hand that allows you to unlock the secret door to fortifying, forging, and fertilizing your dearest relationships.<br />
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Millions of times in my life I've had a choice on what kind of arrow I was gonna let loose. Like Katniss Everdeen, I've got a quiver aimed at the heart of a loved one. I could have chosen to follow the pattern that I saw growing and unleash an arrow that would bring death and destruction. Instead I chose to unleash an arrow that would ignite a revolution in my relationships and create an everlasting foundation.<br />
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When in the midst of the heat and dealing with relationship frustrations, it is easy to forget that at the end of the day they are on our side and they are the ones we are fighting for and not against. Remember this quote from the Hunger Games:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> "Remember who the enemy is."</span></blockquote>
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The enemy is not THEM, they are our allies. Indeed when it comes to the battle for strong, healthy, lasting relationships it's the Hunger Games. There is a quiver of arrow in your hands and the odds are DEFINITELY in your favor.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="280" src="https://embed.wattpad.com/story/295185" width="500"></iframe>tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-11988796157032946242016-12-05T03:00:00.000-05:002016-12-05T03:00:06.251-05:00The Habituation and Rehabilitation of a Beautiful Baby Black Market Monkey<br />
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It's no secret that i get tickled pink at the chance to teach people a word in english they've never heard before. However in my last two days at the lodge I found myself teaching a word to some guides and staff that i wish i didn't have to teach, the word "habituated".<br />
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This all began two days before i left when a girl came up to the lodge with a tiny monkey clinging to her. It was then that the whole story came out. She had bought the baby monkey for about $5 USD and had been keeping it as a pet for 6 mths. After some soul searching and hearing that Tahuayo helps with rehabilitation, she handed the monkey over to the people at the lodge.<br />
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The monkey is set to join Dorilla and Chippa at the research centre but before that happens there needs to be some serious rehabilitation work that needs to be done. This baby monkey had become too habituated to humans and lacked skills and behavior of its own species.<br />
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So the staff at the lodge set a plan into motion to prepare this monkey for life in the wild and not as someones pet. It was decided that every afternoon the monkey would be brought out and have practice climbing at a nearby tree. It had been kept on the floor of someones home and fed the wrong diet so there was work that needed to be done.<br />
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The first afternoon the guides brought her out and put her in a tree to practice. Initially she could climb but didn't want to and kept coming down the tree. But by the end of her session she was climbing higher and higher and was taking her first step towards behaving more like her wild counterparts.<br />
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Unfortunately in Iquitos this is all too common. Every animal sanctuary has signs warning people to never buy a baby monkey as a pet. Because the person who sold the monkey likely killed the mother and buying from them is just fueling the industry.<br />
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As cute as the baby monkey was swinging from limb to limb and licking insects from its fingers, a thought came to my mind that i couldn't shake off. Which word in the dictionary did i feel a growing disdain for, the word "habituated" or "anthropomophize"?<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="280" src="https://embed.wattpad.com/story/295185" width="500"></iframe>tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-24101904729143240942016-11-21T03:00:00.000-05:002016-11-21T03:00:10.650-05:00A Terrifying Yet Tantalizing Tango with Trust Above the Treetops<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you were to ask me if there was any one excursion or activity that represented this whole season in my life, one word comes to mind: CANOPY ZIPLINE. </div>
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Firstly they hook you up to a harness and get you to sit in it. Then one feels the exhilarating feeling of being raised higher and higher into the air. Until you look down and the jungle floor is starting to look like a dot. Within minutes one finds themselves 40 meters above ground level and being helped onto the actual platform where the zipline is. All the butterflies in your stomach start to bounce around as if they were playing in one of those big bouncy castles.</div>
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After being hooked up to the zipline itself you are then told to JUMP. It's at this point that some visitors start crying and there have been a few (very rare) that actually can't go through with it. But the ones that do jump are rewarded with an up-close and personal encounter with nature that is beyond ethereal.</div>
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So much of this parallels my journey of making an exodus from Vancouver and giving my all mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially to make that daring jump and do all God has called me to do. There was no guarantees if by making this move it would be the biggest mistake of my life or leaping off the diving board into one of the richest experiences one could possibly have. </div>
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Trust is a theme that is woven into both the experience of being on the canopy zipline and the journey of making this incredible adventure happen. My guides securely hook me up then give me the thumbs up signal that it is OK to jump. They've done this a million times with so many visitors and not one accident. Yet I'm 40 feet above the jungle floor and anything that goes wrong would be instant death my head tells me. My emotions are whirling around like laundry in a washing machine. Thus begins a terrifying yet tantalizing tango with trust.</div>
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Even before I got to the jungle, there were many signs along the way that this was the path. Many of the things I needed like knee high socks, insect repellent, a hat with a brim, raincoat, flights from Santiago to Lima etc. All these things I would find deeply discounted or on clearance. Yet with all these signs my inner doubts pounded within my mind like a noisy construction drill. However, in the end I chose to trust and clear those doubts out of my mind the same way my jungle guides clear the bush with one whack of a machete. </div>
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The cost to come as a volunteer may have been 75 USD a day but the return on the price that I paid is an infinite times what I paid out. Witnessing the inaugaration of a new school wing, enriching the lives of the village of Chino with the language of english are only the beginning. There were intimate and lively chats with visitors to the lodge and daily excursions where I got an up-close and personal encounter with nature Three times a day my body was filled with wholesome food from a buffet that looks fit for royalty. Pure wholesome food coupled with frequent hikes in the jungle and my health soared like squirrel monkeys leaping from treetops.</div>
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Truthfully, hanging 40 meters above the jungle floor in a harness was actually the safest place I could possibly be even if my head was trying to tell me something else. The same is true with life, there is no real security in any one thing whether it would be money, job, home or stability. A lesson life has taught me is that the most secure place you'll ever be is that place where you're meant to be. There was more safety and security in me giving up everything and going to the jungle there ever would have been staying on and holding on to shreds of things that no longer served me. </div>
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The most interesting part about the zipline experience is that you don't just jump once and are done with it. Your first jump lands you on a first platform where you are met there by a guide and when hooked up again. In total you actually have to leap three times before you get to the final station and are lowered down to the jungle floor. </div>
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Coming back from the jungle there are still multiple leaps I still have to take in daily life in the area of trust. Everytime my fears creep up on me and want to steal my ability to trust, all I have to do is remember the moment when I was strapped to the zipline and I took a deep breath and chose trust over fear. All I can remember is that in the very next moment, for one eternal second I felt what it was like to be one of those majestic Macaws gliding effortlessly over the jungle......</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="280" src="https://embed.wattpad.com/story/295185" width="500"></iframe>tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-72855409005954793622016-11-14T03:00:00.002-05:002016-11-14T03:00:11.574-05:00Iquitos.......Hotspot or Hodgepodge?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikoWknBr9yCW4xp10GxYN_07hVcALhZpBAD8GVHxQ4QOFE9rs0TYCuebvbwAgEycUWeapB3Hs57ti7j5qUd-u67912vFwtV1J42rZfzzbP3HyRqBKbIm5JPOUB3K5rxGzCrB6V3aTRpxQ/s1600/FB_IMG_1477770333992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikoWknBr9yCW4xp10GxYN_07hVcALhZpBAD8GVHxQ4QOFE9rs0TYCuebvbwAgEycUWeapB3Hs57ti7j5qUd-u67912vFwtV1J42rZfzzbP3HyRqBKbIm5JPOUB3K5rxGzCrB6V3aTRpxQ/s320/FB_IMG_1477770333992.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">roasted grubs on a stick</td></tr>
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"Hodgepodge or hotspot?" That is the question that screams through my mind as i narrowly escape the endless rows of amazon tour companies beckoning my attention on the streets of Iquitos.<br />
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The masses descend upon Iquitos like a swarm of piranhas to a carcass. A general rule of thumb is that people are here for one of two reasons or perhaps abit of both. Foreigners are in Iquitos either getting a taste of the Amazon jungle or to participate in a Shamanic ceremony taking Ayahuasca.<br />
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Ayahuasca for those that may not be familiar is a psychedelic tea concoction made from plants and herbs of the Amazon. It is taken as part of a special ceremony with a Shaman preceding over it. Ingestion of Ayahuasca can result in dizziness, vomiting, hallucinations and visions. Unfortunately there are those who did not take the ceremony seriously and do their research and ingestion of the tea resulted in death.<br />
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Ayahuasca popularity is evidenced by the amount of restaurants one can walk into in Iquitos where they have two menus, a regular menu and the other for those who are on the Ayahuasca diet. Namely no fried food, no alcohol, no fatty foods or spicy foods either etc.<br />
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In Iquitos mosquitos will feed off your body if like a stupid sucker one walks out without repellant. Likewise, crooks and robbers feed off naivety like there is no tomorrow. Whether one is here for Ayahuasca or the Amazon, you can bet that there is someone out there who is more than willing to overcharge and under-deliver on the experience you are looking for.<br />
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The best protection against crooks in this place isn't with a gun or pepper spray, it is with knowledge and research. Knowledge that tells you that Tahuayo Lodge has one of the best reputations out there. Research that informs you that there is both a false monkey island and butterfly farm and a real monkey island and butterfly world and how exactly to get there. In Iquitos many boat drivers are being paid a special commission to take naive unprepared visitors to the fake versions of the real places.<br />
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When it comes to Iquitos, doing a little homework goes a long way in having a flawless stay in the city. Instead of getting ripped off by some unsavory tour operator; conned by a disingenuous Shaman; robbed at Belen market or fallen victim to a scam, one can take your hard earned cash and sit outside enjoying a cup of coffee at Amazon Bistro. Or hear the excited chatter of Ayahuasca drinkers as they converge at the Karma cafe while enjoying delicious spoonfuls of Thai green curry.<br />
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Or perhaps your greatest triumph of all will be having returned from Belen market with camera intact full of magnificent pics without getting robbed because you were smart and took a guide and little cash, unlike those other silly gringos who decided to pop by there with a $4000 camera hanging from their neck for all the world to see......<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pilpintuwasi butterfly farm and animal orphanage </td></tr>
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<br />tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-17083170728650647202016-11-07T14:32:00.000-05:002016-11-07T14:32:02.067-05:00Crazy Critters at Yarina Lake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ujxyin44dG3nN2h1Sp7fQ2I9SKIVhs3hyphenhyphen2OCY8rUn2Bp6NOnU2ycnlx8R67Fl0Gq3Y3c3b9E6acaddyzcizwAnC_X3dkEqdZmuPPDESC90e3B4Ej16U_0mChHNllxv3sTMjIjoHqQ3Y/s1600/2016-10-07+12.57.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ujxyin44dG3nN2h1Sp7fQ2I9SKIVhs3hyphenhyphen2OCY8rUn2Bp6NOnU2ycnlx8R67Fl0Gq3Y3c3b9E6acaddyzcizwAnC_X3dkEqdZmuPPDESC90e3B4Ej16U_0mChHNllxv3sTMjIjoHqQ3Y/s320/2016-10-07+12.57.16.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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While on a mini vacay to the Amazon Research Center, I did a 4.5 hour hike to Yarina Lake. There I encountered a whole host of crazy critters that I thought I'd only ever see watching National Geographic channel. From that one hike I came back so chock full of interesting photos that I've dedicated an entire post just to all the creatures I encountered that one afternoon<br />
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disclaimer: social media can paint a perfect picture of someones adventures and leave people thinking that they are living some kind of fairytale life. As you look at these photos what they don't show you is me going over slippery logs, trudging through mud, getting rained upon etc. There was even a couple of times during the hike that I stepped onto what I thought would be semi-solid ground and within a sec my leg had been swallowed up thigh-high into soft mud.<br />
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<br />tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-34008248787040127682016-10-31T04:00:00.000-04:002016-10-31T04:00:13.140-04:00The Early Bird Catches the Wifi Signal <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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"Don't touch that tree." warned my guide Nelly as I gingerly took steps along the muddy path.<br />
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"What's wrong with the tree?" I inquired. Her one word answer would send a chill down my spine.<br />
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"FIREANTS."<br />
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Duly noted. On my last trip to the amazon jungle I had been bitten by a piranha and had absolutely no desire to add fireants to the list. Step by step as we made our way through the jungle trails, I always did my best to adhere to the words of my guide on our hikes. One vivid memory that sticks in my mind is when my guide suddenly stepped in front of me and began pressing her boot against the mud as if she were testing it. Nelly then looked up at me and gave me some simple instructions.<br />
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"Try to step where I step." She indicated to me that where she left bootprints in the mud, I ought to step exactly in those prints. Truthfully, it was easier said than done. With the ground being uneven, it made it challenging to aim to step exactly where she had stepped. At one point I took a step that was close-ish to where she had left her prints. Within a second I found myself knee high being swallowed alive by the jaws of the greedy mud.<br />
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Every single minute of every hour in the jungle there is an ongoing struggle between predator and prey in the battle of life, death and survival. For a few terrifying seconds I got a taste of what it was like as my leg thrashed and fought against the mud the way a fish fights to free itself from the talons of a bird that had just swooped it right out of the water. The tug of war lasted a few moments more before the mud reluctantly relented and my leg came free. After brushing myself off and making plans for a shower, the hike continued without further adieu.<br />
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No matter where I am or what I'm doing, there seems to always be some kind of ongoing battle. In the evenings, an endless saga takes place as mosquitoes battle hard to turn my beautiful body into a bountiful buffet. When I'm not battling mud or mosquitoes, I'm battling to get a wifi signal that sometimes seems to be only at its best early in the morning. Early morning is the best time for spotting animals because they feed while it is cool and then disappear into the jungle as the weather warms up; that time of day is turning out to be also the time that I "feed" too on getting connectivity. I guess the early bird catches the wifi signal.<br />
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Perhaps my biggest battle of all is the fear of not being able to deliver. Arriving in the jungle, I knew that I was a gifted english teacher who could give decent classes. Teaching english is far from easy and even with being gifted and having experience, I never got arrogant and let myself forget that. Every one of my classes was treated with thought, care, dilligence and preparation whether I was teaching the teachers of the secondary school or holding a session with preschoolers who could barely speak a word even in their own language.<br />
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However I must have underestimated my teaching ability because pretty soon word got out in Tahuayo Lodge and rumours were spreading in Chino village about what a great teacher I was. One night I was having a chat and giving a mini lesson with an employee at the lodge and he said to me "They said you are a good english teacher." I inquired to whom he heard this from. He said that he hears snippets of conversation from people talking. It was then that an epiphany swallowed me whole the way the mud had swallowed up my leg during my hike.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">I hadn't just delivered......I had over-delivered</span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAX_hQ25Q6-tmZlC6mpvqY4dCUbWuDtOU6gVJJrPtvrDrEukHvqy_nrXjnigLUEPH4llT5zB9_tGvcx3Lnu5UeQvmsN3j4HeY7Ul-gyJdWbtV2agsbgUU38HPD3cRPm1IH_MONQe4gQ5Y/s1600/2016-09-19+15.12.33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAX_hQ25Q6-tmZlC6mpvqY4dCUbWuDtOU6gVJJrPtvrDrEukHvqy_nrXjnigLUEPH4llT5zB9_tGvcx3Lnu5UeQvmsN3j4HeY7Ul-gyJdWbtV2agsbgUU38HPD3cRPm1IH_MONQe4gQ5Y/s320/2016-09-19+15.12.33.jpg" width="240" /></a>tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-78525668736453125082016-10-24T04:00:00.000-04:002016-10-24T04:00:10.634-04:00Blind As a Bat and Trapped Like a Rat<br />
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Blind as a bat and trapped like a rat, that was what it was like in the early morning hours at the Amazon Research Center. Mentally my fist had slammed on the panic button to put a red alert telling my whole body system that this was a code red emergency. Immediately regret filled me from head to toe as thoughts of my flashlight lying on my bedstand danced mockingly in my head.<br />
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A couple of times I had to make use of the bathroom in the middle of the night and walked out of my lodging finding myself in pitch black. All lights in every part of the lodge were gone. It seemed as if they stay on until a certain time then everything shuts off. Leaving my room without a flashlight was a good way to discover the feeling of what being in a horror movie is like.</div>
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One night while making my way to the bathroom, the lights were still on so I left my flashlight on the stand beside my bed. This would soon turn out to be a sorry mistake. While making use of the facilities, the lights without warning turned off completely and the darkness swallowed me whole. </div>
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For most of us who have spent any amount of time in darkness, it's rare that it is 100% complete darkness. There are usually lights in the distance or shadows we can make out. But I had been engulfed by true darkness, a comparable experience to being born blind and having known only a world without light.</div>
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Immediately my head snapped into action. "OK Angelina, you know the layout of the bathroom". Automatically my fingertips reached forward and felt for the door. Once outside the stall, the world remained in complete darkness. My hands pressed against sides of the wall and I knew that my only hope was to follow it to take me out of the bathroom. Before long those faithful fingertips of mine felt the door to the entrance of the bathroom.</div>
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Unfortunately, my conundrum was nowhere close to finished seeing as there is a whole room that was built outside of the entrance to the actual bathroom. It was designed to keep out insects with mesh windows. Inside this room is also a large railing that my hands grasped for desperately. Consumed by pure black, the darkness seemed to taunt my efforts to escape from this seemingly endless maze.</div>
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My heart was racing faster than cars in a Nascar race. For a mere moment I considered just staying in one place until morning came in lieu of running the risk of stumbling around in the darkness all night. Other than the feel of the wood on the tips of my fingers there was no way to figure out my exact location in the room.</div>
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In my imagination I pictured the railing as I had seen it in broad daylight and just trusted that if my hands kept following faithfully, it would lead me close to the entrance where there might be a chance at even a little light from the night sky. The tips of my fingers followed the railing until I felt where it ended. It was then that my fingers had a new feeling, something hard and wired. It was the mesh windows.</div>
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Confusion engulfed me as my fingers ran against the mesh windows hoping for some kind of solace. The mental map of the layout in my minds eye had now been burnt to bits and now all there was left was guessing games to where I was. The darkness smirked as my daring attempt to free myself from its grasp continued.<br />
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Just when things had begun to feel completely fruitless, strange shadows appeared that looked to be like thatched roofs from its shape. Abit of a light color appeared and although pitch black, it now registered in my brain that I had reached outside.</div>
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*just wanted to explain the layout. The whole research center is built the style of raised huts. So after exiting the building that houses the bathroom, one can walk straight ahead to go to the main centre but there are walkways that branch off to the left and the right towards the individual rooms.</div>
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The finish line was near, all that was left now was to find the first walkway that branched to the left and I was home. For a few terrifying moments my hands couldn't feel anything and feared gripped me that I would fall off the edge. But my head snapped back into place and remembered that safety railings had been installed and there was no chance of that.</div>
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So once again, with only the tips of my fingers as my guide, they felt for the beam and followed it religiously. After stealthily walking for a few paces, my instincts screamed at me telling me that I had overshot the turn to my room. So with just a little bit of backtracking, my fingertips followed the path of the beam until it felt the corners where the walkway branched towards my room. </div>
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After following it for a few more secs, my hands made contact with a room with an open door. Thoughts whirled around in my brain faster than laundry in a washer. Dashing thru the open door, my hand reached for the one object that would give me the solace my soul was desperately craving. Flashlight in hand, my thumb hit the ON button and my heart exploded as a glorious beam of light flooded the room.....</div>
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tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-37836820576235224952016-10-17T04:00:00.000-04:002016-10-17T04:00:05.090-04:00A Rendez-vous with Dorilla Plus Two<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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Whilst on the way to go searching for poison dart frogs during my first trip, I was introduced to a Woolly Monkey named Dorilla. Guides always used to stop when they came to the spot where Dorilla was and she would come right out onto the boat and we'd have the absolute pleasure of feeding her fruit along with her friend Chippa. Now 3 yrs later I find myself having an upclose and personal encounter with not only this amazing monkey but her baby as well.<br />
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For those of you who don't know Dorilla or Chippas story, I'll summarize it right here. Dorilla was rescued off the black market and brought under the care of Angels of the Amazon and the people of Tahuayo Lodge. They released Dorilla into the forest thinking she would find another tribe to join but she never did. Instead she chose to stay around and enjoy attention and free fruit.<br />
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Chippa (whom they believe she may be pregnant at the time of this writing) was being kept as a pet in someones home. She was being fed rice and not given the proper care needed by her species. Dolly Beaver convinced the woman to hand Chippa to her and the woman finally did.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYIAsFZnG6tp3anL0RKkRFxJIiRfQqUHNzU2JQw8RK7RBQwh7P8a1VVpK-SvPtBLy8FyH9f7zO3_r70ltX7OSdvgOcf6jmVd5iez-_YIDdUWMhmvF1zmDXXTJU9ijGuh0YrVxcALHU24/s1600/2016-10-07+13.03.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYIAsFZnG6tp3anL0RKkRFxJIiRfQqUHNzU2JQw8RK7RBQwh7P8a1VVpK-SvPtBLy8FyH9f7zO3_r70ltX7OSdvgOcf6jmVd5iez-_YIDdUWMhmvF1zmDXXTJU9ijGuh0YrVxcALHU24/s320/2016-10-07+13.03.48.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chippa</td></tr>
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Due to conflicts with the village nearby between the monkeys and the people, Dorilla and Chippa were relocated to the Amazon Research Center to avoid further trouble. Unfortunately Coby (the father of Dorillas baby) did not cooperate with the relocation and is currently still in the orignal location close to where I first met Dorilla while going to look for frogs. But they will continue with efforts to relocate him and bring him here to reunite him with his family.<br />
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For now it was me who had the joyous reunion with Dorilla. I was overjoyed to see the monkeys and they were overjoyed at the sight of fruit. Both of them would come running down the limbs of the tree, snatch the fruit out of our hands and then find a limb where they could perch on to enjoy this succulent treat. The monkeys tore into the fruit with such a voracious appetite that the juice of the fruit would rain down on me from high above the branches. With such a healthy appetite I don't think that it will take much to convince me that Chippa just might be eating for two.....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJCzMfBjNNPI2AEA-xAK1Rp0msPRppO155mmxKIli1YMF0kf4Z8qDWPtvbF1CiTZxpWIbHRurBOnx4tQffj4FNHDHW0DsEjK3-hoIlWNQ2dURI25k25aUMJye_9nWCfekE9rBcaVyAfs/s1600/2016-10-07+13.07.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJCzMfBjNNPI2AEA-xAK1Rp0msPRppO155mmxKIli1YMF0kf4Z8qDWPtvbF1CiTZxpWIbHRurBOnx4tQffj4FNHDHW0DsEjK3-hoIlWNQ2dURI25k25aUMJye_9nWCfekE9rBcaVyAfs/s320/2016-10-07+13.07.25.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="280" src="https://embed.wattpad.com/story/295185" width="500"></iframe>tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-10955374184073056172016-10-10T04:00:00.001-04:002016-10-10T04:00:00.219-04:00Canopy Ziplining My Way Thru Culture Shock<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdP0smI-qc8nzPYicM157HiZ0r6CbZJsQ6jvlIRZDhqJWcUleIIDX9m4FMurj6HOXnxvd1jzM3PkPJsBkbpyfN7CT3WKyTbGHFFu4pc_oyKmq1v2ohHDWsKfDUpOvYdg-KVlO0vXBg88/s1600/2016-09-13+12.12.19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDdP0smI-qc8nzPYicM157HiZ0r6CbZJsQ6jvlIRZDhqJWcUleIIDX9m4FMurj6HOXnxvd1jzM3PkPJsBkbpyfN7CT3WKyTbGHFFu4pc_oyKmq1v2ohHDWsKfDUpOvYdg-KVlO0vXBg88/s320/2016-09-13+12.12.19.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">full disclaimer: this pic of me and the monkeys are from my visit to "isla de los monos". Not from any excursions from Tahuayo lodge</td></tr>
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"I'm sorry but we have to ask you not to use the hairdryer. It takes up alot of electrical current."
That was the approximate translation of one of the staffs gentle reminder to me when I had turned on my hairdryer to dry my hair following a cold shower. Yes, you heard me right, a cold shower. In the Amazon jungle if water is heated to 33 degrees it becomes a soup for bacteria, leading to upper respiratory diseases. I was reminded of this fact he first day I landed back in the lodge and found there was only one option for the shower temperature.....COLD.<br />
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But back to the story about the hairdryer, I had completely forgotten that here at lodge there are only certain times in the day that devices can be plugged into the wall to conserve energy. The lodge is powered by solar power that converts it into electrical energy. Devices can be plugged in between 1-3 and then 6-8. Of course no one is going to punish you if you plug in your device any other time but it is the principal of respect for the lodge and the limited natural resources.
I courteously apologized to the staff member after she reminded me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1H7OD7SAAmwCuu2sncimDmFaJdHa_0buOWqmG19bX6gcytTNbQCIROPde-ZI-7-N9tB2NDY2asIPYVTgLOTOs_mrsffYIHezUXzN5szjGcM-GNfCFZ8Vf_bA_ywPVMwOePbhppvE6JI/s1600/2016-09-15+12.45.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1H7OD7SAAmwCuu2sncimDmFaJdHa_0buOWqmG19bX6gcytTNbQCIROPde-ZI-7-N9tB2NDY2asIPYVTgLOTOs_mrsffYIHezUXzN5szjGcM-GNfCFZ8Vf_bA_ywPVMwOePbhppvE6JI/s320/2016-09-15+12.45.15.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Then I proceeded to pack my hairdryer into my suitcase because if I leave it out there is no doubt in my mind that when I get up in the morning my first instinct would be to grab it to dry my hair. That incident opened my eyes again to how scarce our resources can be that even the use of my hairdryer was using up electricity that the staff badly needed to keep for themselves in order to prepare breakfast for the guests early in the morning.
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Tahuayo Lodge has a 40 meter high canopy zipline that runs through the jungle. They have such a good standing with the Peruvian government that they are in fact the only lodge in the jungle that is allowed to have one. Visitors always come back from having been on the zipline beaming and gushing endlessly about how thrilling the experience was. Day to day life in jungle lodge and amongst the people of the village made me feel like I was on a canopy zipline of a different sort. Canopy ziplining my way thru culture shock.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1gfXvumvPYEupM05KJZKXDL7h_6ZZJAY0-eZKM5hjAxAceOqMDpTjvzlzw3qvLGAOAZ5adjBl38ZmZjf2dIFFMtdnSNmx2g0fvhU9NeWZxb83E3gJj2DmFIje88Vdy761NEpcskGrnKQ/s1600/2016-09-24+15.45.04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1gfXvumvPYEupM05KJZKXDL7h_6ZZJAY0-eZKM5hjAxAceOqMDpTjvzlzw3qvLGAOAZ5adjBl38ZmZjf2dIFFMtdnSNmx2g0fvhU9NeWZxb83E3gJj2DmFIje88Vdy761NEpcskGrnKQ/s320/2016-09-24+15.45.04.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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As some of you know, I came to Tahuayo Lodge for 4 nights in July 2013. And like many visitors, once they get a taste of this place they fall in love and want to keep coming back. Who wouldn't want to come back to a lodge where you are greeted with love and hospitality the moment you get off the boat? In addition to that being paired up with a guide who takes you on fun excursions like: canopy ziplining, searching for poison dart frogs, looking for caiman, fishing for piranhas etc. My guides were wonderful and caring to me when I actually got bit by a piranha on my first trip. Make a note to oneself.....if your guides catch a piranha and show you its teeth the fish is NOT dead. Please do not reach your finger out to touch its teeth.</div>
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For the full recount of that incident you can click on the link below:</div>
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<a href="http://www.tango2themoon.com/2013/07/pecked-by-peeved-piranha.html" target="_blank">Pecked by a Peeved Piranha</a><br />
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I couldn't get Tahuayo out of my mind so I came back as a volunteer english teacher, teaching english at a local village named Chino. Stepping into the classrooms of Chino as a teacher and not as a visitor was an invaluable lesson in itself. The moment me and my guide entered the uniformed children would rise to greet me with a "Buenas Dias." And the funny thing was that no matter what age or classroom I went to, whether it would be primary or secondary school the kids would do it automatically on cue. There was no arguing, bad attitude, moodiness, or whining. These kids knew exactly how to treat visitors or authority figures.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyN7gvQABB7fYnL17sx4VhRAuUNc1Le_w-BRrH7wyex2C9QYLMNbWl36rpNK3Xbt4tt0Zqo26KBLNrWBcSvKE3oN8ERT5-aC3_iqBdO0aFLi2rL2uMRTT3AituWUGaSlxyDYgqKODTtc/s1600/2016-09-22+11.13.54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVyN7gvQABB7fYnL17sx4VhRAuUNc1Le_w-BRrH7wyex2C9QYLMNbWl36rpNK3Xbt4tt0Zqo26KBLNrWBcSvKE3oN8ERT5-aC3_iqBdO0aFLi2rL2uMRTT3AituWUGaSlxyDYgqKODTtc/s320/2016-09-22+11.13.54.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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On the theme of culture shock, a vastly unsettling sight that was completely normal to these people was the sight of children of all ages running around with machetes. Here in the jungle a machete is an essential tool for day to day life. Kids learn the proper use of a machete right from young from watching their parents and also being shown by the others in the village. It makes me breathe a deep sigh of a relief that these children are so well schooled; the last thing I would ever want is to come face to face with an army of unruly misbehaving children skilled with machetes.<br />
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Trudging down the muddy hill one day, having finished a session in the village, I silently thought.....</div>
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<i>"It really does take a village to raise a child."</i></blockquote>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="280" src="https://embed.wattpad.com/story/295185" width="500"></iframe>tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-64816250147208428932016-09-26T04:00:00.000-04:002016-09-26T11:40:43.195-04:00A New Building and a New Beginning: Inauguration Ceremony of School Wing<span id="goog_1332156691"></span><span id="goog_1332156692"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQFHnEX8GeLmLolyioVsBvSmLrwMc_BLm4eP5gOEUpiLumTGmm3twYZ1mtMfO6nSJGA_TuR-IhG-AytsiN49ch1VI5l_HQp3y3yhsClJ0tvHdOFsQ-sNOtodw8JTic3j_-nMGxHmfSztA/s1600/2016-09-22+10.04.22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQFHnEX8GeLmLolyioVsBvSmLrwMc_BLm4eP5gOEUpiLumTGmm3twYZ1mtMfO6nSJGA_TuR-IhG-AytsiN49ch1VI5l_HQp3y3yhsClJ0tvHdOFsQ-sNOtodw8JTic3j_-nMGxHmfSztA/s320/2016-09-22+10.04.22.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As I tenderly caressed each of the beautiful beads from the necklace, emotions within my heart welled up and burst within like the nightly fireworks that light up the skies of Disneyland every single night. The atmosphere had been ripe with the sounds of laughter, chatter, music, dancing, speeches. There even an impromptu gift of hand made gift of hand crafted beads to the volunteers who had spent 6 days building the new wing of the school; I was caught off guard when one of the village women also placed a necklace on me. That necklace would serve forever after as a reminder of the villagers gratitude to not only the volunteers who built the new classroom but me as well who came to teach english to them.</div>
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Of all the excursions I've done whether it would be canopy ziplining; piranha fishing; searching for poison dart frogs etc. I would have to say that my favorite excursion was one that Tahuayo Lodge doesn't offer on a regular basis. And that was my excursion to the inaugaration ceremony of the new wing of the school that had been completed by Be The Change Volunteers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhliwnh1SKutdslrHukmDFUuJStJ2E9i3WkJXesK3MdR3_NhKYajRxz3Bg3rMDdkxoWkYWIz7ZSXOc040yaQmJWbB1ecQxrer0lieCDvSAZDizpODeqdyuPvVi8Fr04U5abequoDBs5Oo4/s1600/2016-09-22+11.55.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhliwnh1SKutdslrHukmDFUuJStJ2E9i3WkJXesK3MdR3_NhKYajRxz3Bg3rMDdkxoWkYWIz7ZSXOc040yaQmJWbB1ecQxrer0lieCDvSAZDizpODeqdyuPvVi8Fr04U5abequoDBs5Oo4/s320/2016-09-22+11.55.46.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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In 2013 when I first arrived here there was only one building that housed the school. There was only one teacher for all the grades who would have to go to one side of the room and teach primary school and cross to the other side of the school to teach secondary. In 2014 for first time ever, Be The Change Volunteers began getting involved with the people of Chino village and built their very first classroom of what is now the secondary school. The same organization would return the very next year to build another classroom. And this year in 2016 they returned to build a third classroom. So as you can imagine what a surprise for me to return 3 yrs after my first trip and find that Chino had gone from one building with one teacher to having a seperate building for primary and secondary and now had a principal and seperate teachers for all the grade levels.<br />
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I arrived at the village on Inauguration day with a boat filled with volunteers who were putting the finishing touches on the construction work that they had been working on for the last 5 days. Upon reaching the secondary school, all words in both english and spanish left me. Where one week ago there was nothing but a cement foundation, there were now walls and a roof and a fully fledged classroom that was almost ready to go. It is important to note that the foundation had actually be laid by an earlier group from the same organization who did the ground work so that this second group could come and finalize the construction work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Oe58xY3JS6_4nSl_q0q1pMWgYn51nvLTjNPJQyykaB4lX01SYqfLtai4Ye2swmMOo1s5VUTzfHIYJj-3kqOuiAGz0Anbulpy89m9g1zKYps7uBD776kq82zCO8WusSigU7mF4R7i50Y/s1600/2016-09-22+11.58.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Oe58xY3JS6_4nSl_q0q1pMWgYn51nvLTjNPJQyykaB4lX01SYqfLtai4Ye2swmMOo1s5VUTzfHIYJj-3kqOuiAGz0Anbulpy89m9g1zKYps7uBD776kq82zCO8WusSigU7mF4R7i50Y/s320/2016-09-22+11.58.16.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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But I didn't have time to gawk for too long because I was hailed by a group of teachers from the school who beckoned me to come chat with them. I should maybe give some backstory to this. Basically when I arrived at the lodge and began teaching in Chino, I did so well that pretty soon word got out and the demand for english classes went way beyond teaching kids. The employees a the lodge become interested in lessons and after watching me teach, the english professor in Chino said that a group of teachers would like lessons from me on a regular basis.<br />
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So I was introduced to the group of teachers I would be teaching and they wasted no time wanting to practice english with me. Lucky for them in my messenger bag I happened to have "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. I had made a decision to bring it along just in case people wanted english classes spur of the moment while the construction was going on. It turned out to be a wise decision indeed. Within 25 mins of reading this Dr. Seuss classic it became clear that their english had improved exponentially. Pleased with the results, all the teachers unanimously agreed that I am indeed a marvellous english teacher and looked forward my classes with eagerness.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHtpiBwKNYYKbHYrqwIrhyKDimhzZi5w2O03vCC1HmJXxpRuzoz8SHT_3Wr4VF7hUbvmUqUsdi4xZkWptQFOBeDQcjpkLz9S_0URpy3hwiFBkv66WUPw56MizRRFugSvm7ES9oN1NupMw/s1600/2016-09-22+11.15.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHtpiBwKNYYKbHYrqwIrhyKDimhzZi5w2O03vCC1HmJXxpRuzoz8SHT_3Wr4VF7hUbvmUqUsdi4xZkWptQFOBeDQcjpkLz9S_0URpy3hwiFBkv66WUPw56MizRRFugSvm7ES9oN1NupMw/s320/2016-09-22+11.15.14.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTOH7Q9os9CvTz_cEnXnrzLKCeUP4RIRS3jH-EwkoaOBvAV2XS7py4bPjrLWHpp497OaI3FCCtLcHn8OTKphh40fHtogUnTJyS5tbGk6Wu4f0XfI9Jk_ZyXbARLVhMlN1-Jy2U8d7piJk/s1600/2016-09-22+15.32.23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTOH7Q9os9CvTz_cEnXnrzLKCeUP4RIRS3jH-EwkoaOBvAV2XS7py4bPjrLWHpp497OaI3FCCtLcHn8OTKphh40fHtogUnTJyS5tbGk6Wu4f0XfI9Jk_ZyXbARLVhMlN1-Jy2U8d7piJk/s320/2016-09-22+15.32.23.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGOpjwuzMW6Q16XsLFgn4h0SP8BBT6le6bC00UBwh5JodOCyoAyHUxPQQlqKVyoTFvm2WJEzuFTkB8sewrclC_NYYadp8eP-bPlELwj98IpPqaWdlchrO_Kn_Be9WbbohAAypoKI5NMk/s1600/2016-09-22+11.41.03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGOpjwuzMW6Q16XsLFgn4h0SP8BBT6le6bC00UBwh5JodOCyoAyHUxPQQlqKVyoTFvm2WJEzuFTkB8sewrclC_NYYadp8eP-bPlELwj98IpPqaWdlchrO_Kn_Be9WbbohAAypoKI5NMk/s320/2016-09-22+11.41.03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of the most beautiful sights I saw that day is how an entire village works together right down to the youngest generation. The women on one side began chopping up a plant that the locals named Yuca (in reality it is Manioc) to be cooked that would go alongside fish and rice as part of our lunch. On the subject of Manioc, I would like to report that I got my very first taste of a fermented drink made from Manioc called "Masato" and was instantly converted into a fan. The children obeyed any call to help without any questioning, talking back or attitude. Whether they were being asked to pick up leaves in bunches or to help the adults, they always came willingly and quickly. Although it is quite a bit of a culture shock for me seeing all the village kids walking around with machetes and being so adept at using them. Perhaps one day in exchange for english lessons on four letter curse words they can give me my first lessons on how to use a machete :P<br />
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If there was one word in the whole english language that I would pick to describe the feeling in the air it would be solidarity. It was indeniable the kinship that was growing between Angels of the Amazon and Be The Change Volunteers. In case you weren't aware, Angels of the Amazon is the non-profit charitable organization from the founders of Amazonia Expeditions to aid the village of Chino. There wasn't a single doubt in anyones mind that this was a partnership that will last years to come resulting in an explosion of more buildings and projects, thus increasing the quality of life for the jungle communities. <br />
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<a href="http://www.angelsoftheamazon.com/" target="_blank">http://www.angelsoftheamazon.com</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.bethechangevolunteers.org/" target="_blank">http://www.bethechangevolunteers.org</a><br />
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The volunteers who came had no idea that I was coming to teach and I had no idea they were coming to build. Yet the beauty of it is that upon meeting me they realized the wing they just build would be something that benefits me directly as an english teacher. Each one of our individual philantrophical efforts wound up playing off of each other and thus the volunteers and I got woven into each others lives in a way that leaves me breathless and speechless......<a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><br />
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tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-63122210979515387322016-08-01T04:00:00.000-04:002016-08-01T04:00:01.858-04:00Mastering the Art of Turning Foreigners into Friends<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” </i></span></b></blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Maya Angelou</i></span></b></blockquote>
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So I'm in the midst of a life change right now and I find myself in hostel in Los Angeles. The fun part about hostels is that one gets to meet people from different cultures, backgrounds, walks of life all here in the city for different reasons. One of my dorm mates is a taiwanese girl who just arrived from Taiwan a few days ago to study english. I ended up having a beautiful chat with her giving her advice on how to connect while in a foreign country as well as tips on learning a language.<br />
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It then occurred to me that the advice I gave her is applicable to ANYONE whether one is a study abroad student learning french in France, or a Brit on holiday on the beaches of Spain. There are countless opportunities all around us to make meaningful connections. Trying to make friends from people who grew up in another world so different from yours may seem like an obstacle but in reality it's an opportunity if we keep a few important pointers in mind. I'll share with you the pearls of wisdom I showered on this girl from Taiwan.<br />
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Firstly I encouraged her not to get sucked into the trap of hanging around people who spoke the same language as her. In a foreign country it is natural to gravitate to those who come from our cultures. Nothing wrong with that but if all we do is spend time speaking our native tongues and doing the activities we do at home, we aren't making the best of our time. My advice to her was to be brave, and go out and have as many conversations and experiences in a foreign language as possible.<br />
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Another thing that I advised her was that even if one cannot fluently speak a foreign language, if you learn a thing or two about the culture, political background, or food of the place and are able to talk about it in english, that opens opens up a multitude of conversations. The two subjects that get people going are the topics of food and politics. What helps while one is abroad is to go try a food that only locals would really be familiar about it and go talk to them about your experience. In other words, don't only go and eat sushi and talk to locals in Japan about it. Everyone knows about sushi. Try something that is common knowledge to the people who live there but not necessarily common to the outside world. When locals hear that you've tried something out of the norm, it gets them talking.<br />
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In addition to that advice I let her know that sometimes when one doesn't know how to start a conversation from someone of another culture, a helpful tip is to google unusual facts about that country or culture. That way the next time you see the person you can tell them about the things you found out about their culture. In my experience people deeply appreciate it when they see that you've taken the time and effort to find out more about the culture and background they are from and feel extremely proud of.<br />
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Here in Los Angeles, I've made it a rule that right now I'm not doing any theme parks. Instead I'm going to all the hidden places that most tourist skip because they only go to Universal Studios, Disneyland, and the Hollywood Walk of fame. But during my time here I've already ate at a Hawaiian restaurant and tried Loco Moco, visited little Tokyo, gone to the arts District as well as the fashion district. And there are so many places on my radar that I could visit to expand my mind. I had no idea that there is a district called "little Ethiopia" full of restaurants and shops related to the Ethiopian culture. The words of wisdom I write to you are ones that I am taking myself.<br />
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Politics is another great topic you can venture into while abroad. . Find out something that has been going on about the country that only the locals know about and talk about it with them. Engaging in those conversations will help you become a well rounded person. You'll find out things like why people from Taiwan don't like to be called "Chinese". Why don't the people of France really favor the city of Marseille? Why is there a street in Santiago Chile called "11 de septiembre"? And if you dare decided to engage in both the topics of politics and food at the same time, make sure that you have nothing on your schedule for the next few hrs because you'll be engaged in a conversation for a loooooooooooong time :)<br />
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What made my talk with this Taiwanese girl even more interesting is all the advice that I was telling her, I was actually using on her. I would also ask her about Taiwan and bring up things only a Taiwanese person would know. It made her feel connected to me. Little did she know that while I was talking to her my mind was searching my memory bank for anything I could remember about Taiwan.<br />
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A funny moment happened in our conversation when I asked her about a famous restaurant in Taiwan. In Asia themed restaurants are very popular. And there is a restaurant in Taiwan where it is toilet themed. When you go into the restaurant the seats are shaped exactly like toilet bowls. When I brought that up her face beamed and her voice quickened. Even with her broken english she knew what I was talking about. We had a really good chuckle about this unusual restaurant that is famous in Taiwan.
That is another thing to watch, when you've said something that people are deeply connected to, their body language will change. They will start to talk faster and become chatty. Their eyes light up as you touch on something that is familiar to them.<br />
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Often times people's greatest mistake when trying to connect is talking too much about themselves to start. Instead, put yourself in the other persons shoes and think of what themes they might be connected to. And you'll find as you do this, endless flow of conversations start. And eventually you'll get to talk about yourself and people will want to know about your background, culture, and history. And before you know it, you'll have mastered the art of turning foreigners into friends......<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">The Last Bookstore
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="280" src="https://embed.wattpad.com/story/295185" width="500"></iframe>tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-116906671105156552016-05-24T04:00:00.000-04:002016-05-24T04:00:03.130-04:00Argentine Eyes<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="280" src="https://embed.wattpad.com/story/295185" width="400"></iframe>
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Some of you who have been with me on my journey when I first stepped into Argentine soil right from the beginning may remember that at one point I wrote an autobiography about my life. As well as an encounter with an Argentine woman who would eventually become my Argentine mother. The autobiography was called "Argentine Eyes" and it was done through wattpad.<br />
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I know that many people publish hundreds of stories on wattpad daily but I've only written one and then I haven't done much on wattpad very much. But the other day I decided to log in and look at my work and got struck by lightening when I saw that it has 3.4 K reads!<br />
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At first I thought there must be a mistake or I was reading the numbers wrong. I wanted to pinch myself. At most I thought it would be a worth a few hundred reads by a select group of people who were interested in Argentina. My books popularity has gone above and beyond anything I could have fathomed.<br />
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Wanna share a beautiful story of how this book impacted someone's life. Being non-fiction, all the places I describe in the book are real. One place that I talk about was a school called the Vamos Spanish Academy. As a language learner, picking the right school makes all the difference between paying for an overpriced pretentious course and learning next to nothing or paying a fair price and having a fantastic experience as you accelerate your journey to fluency.<br />
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Someone read my book and about my time at the Vamos Spanish Academy and actually decided to go there for real. They messaged me telling me that they ended up the school and had a fantastic time. It's moments like these that are the true reward as a writer. Yes, seeing that ones book has been viewed thousands of times is lovely. But nothing beats knowing that something you wrote impacted someones life.<br />
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So I am reposting the book here again for your reading pleasure. Simply click on the image above and it will take you to my book on wattpad. It is quite timely as well because this is the week that Argentina celebrates the May revolution. A moment in history that resulted the birth of the beautiful city of Buenos Aires on May 25th. And if my memory serves me right I actually started writing "Argentine Eyes" on May 25, 2011, the day that they commemorate the revolution. Happy birthday Buenos Aires. TE AMO
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<br />tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-42732555247184947592016-04-18T04:00:00.000-04:002016-04-18T12:56:44.934-04:00Death by Hot Chocolate: Sweet Stories from Vancouver's Hot Chocolate Festival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="line-height: 22.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Do you have any suspended coffees left?" I asked the cashier.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Unfortunately no, we are completely sold out." She replied</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"OK, then I'll buy one then." I gushed.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her face beamed with gratitude, thanked me for this gift I was giving buying the first suspended coffee of the day. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a suspended coffee is a coffee you can prepay in advance for a homeless person to be able to have a drink. There are several places in Vancouver that have this program, East Van Roasters was one of them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This particular exchange took place when I was visiting EVR to sample their hot chocolate that was part of the hot chocolate festival going on in Vancouver. Looking back, I'm glad that I wasn't silly enough to go make some new yrs resolution about losing weight or eating healthy because that resolution would have been out the door the moment the hot chocolate festival started.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 22.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There may be many tasty places to visit in Vancouver but what makes <a href="http://eastvanroasters.com/">East Van Roasters </a>extra delicious is that every order comes with a taste of charity. Located in the Rainier hotel, all the women who work at EVR also live at the hotel. And all the income from the sales of food drink and merchandise go directly towards these women, enabling the women of downtown vancouver to be able to support themselves. And most of all for these women to be able to live a life of dignity.</span></span><br />
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The Hot Chocolate Festival took place from Jan 16-Feb 14. Like a bull unleashed from its pen, I galloped through every nook and cranny of the city satisfying my sweet tooth with sinfully delightful cups of hot chocolate. There were more than 59 flavors of hot chocolate available throughout the city. And 5% of all the proceeds from the whole event goes to support East Van Roasters.<br />
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It was at another one of these vendors, <a href="http://www.butterbakedgoods.com/">Butter Baked Goods</a> where I had another interesting experience that opens up a whole new topic that's been on my mind for awhile. The topic of accents and languages. The cashier at the hot chocolate vendor was latino so I started speaking to her in spanish. She said she was from Peru and recognized immediately that I was from Argentina the moment I opened my mouth. </div>
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This isn't the first time this has happened, there have been several other times where I've started speaking and people recognize that distinguishible accent that could only belong to someone who has spent time in Argentina. It got me thinking about a topic that has been on my mind for awhile. And that is the idea that perhaps one someone is learning another language the very first country they adopt the language from will be what they sound like.</div>
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While I was in Paris on a tour with <a href="http://www.urbanadventures.com/destination/Paris-tours">Urban Adventures</a>, our tour guide had an accent that sounded like he was Australian. But upon getting to know him, it turns out that he's native to France but his girlfriend is from Australia so when he speaks english, it has an Australian slant to it.</div>
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The other point that language experts have recently done some research in is the possibility that when people talk another language, their personality changes along with the language they are speaking. This may actually be true because I have a Chilean friend who when I start speaking spanish, he told me I get a personality change and I get LOUD. Interestingly enough Chileans aren't loud but Argentineans are loud when they speak. So not only do I speak spanish like an Argentinean but my personality seems to shift to be similar of that of Argentineans when they speak.<br />
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The psychology behind languages is a fascinating subject for me on how knowing more than one language affects the brain. Studies are beginning to show that bilingual people may have better multitasking abilities than those who speak only one language. And research is also being done to see if having a second language affects the cognitive function of the brain in a way that may slow or prevent the onset of things like Alzheimers.<br />
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All this talk about languages reminds me of another beautiful moment that I had while making my rounds during the Hot Chocolate Festival. One of the vendors is a boulangerie <a href="http://frenchmadebaking.com/en/">French Made Baking</a>. I actually ended up going there a couple of times and each time not only was I pleased at how delicious the hot chocolate offering was, but I was pretty pleased at my french language skills in being able to have basic conversation and was even able to place an order for monkey shaped macaroons for Chinese New Year......entirely in the language of french.<br />
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During my time making rounds at the Hot Chocolate Fest served me not only just cups of delicious hot chocolate, but cups of delightful unexpected moments as well. At East Van Roasters my beverage was infused with a taste of charity, compassion and philantrophy. On my visit to Butter Baked Goods, my Argentinean accent gave me away immediately to the latino cashier. And at French Made Baking, my drink was served up with a spoonful of language learning stirred into it.<br />
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Death by hot chocolate indeed.......<br />
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tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7481279230404665266.post-53343288209402378572016-03-21T04:00:00.000-04:002016-03-21T04:00:17.501-04:00The Corrie Ten Boom Story: Discovering the Hiding Place<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaln6c61VYVy-7TadDwk1XeqLy3Q9Wio_sNyNN5GDdK5cJg4ThmRIPgc_SJrfmf0QfalzM_apsXOnaBKuJvuinTpFfK53wqLfhsqh9WN575AEonGRVxCRpqSRaXfM6WmTvQy6NKsz1-s/s1600/FB_IMG_1443906495591.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaln6c61VYVy-7TadDwk1XeqLy3Q9Wio_sNyNN5GDdK5cJg4ThmRIPgc_SJrfmf0QfalzM_apsXOnaBKuJvuinTpFfK53wqLfhsqh9WN575AEonGRVxCRpqSRaXfM6WmTvQy6NKsz1-s/s320/FB_IMG_1443906495591.jpg" /></a><br />
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This is the season where there are a multitude of inspiration post about love, sacrifice and salvation. As a person I'm extremely inclusive and that also reflects on the type of writings I choose to do here on this blog. I make every effort to create content that are enjoyable to all no matter what background, faith, culture or walk of life you are from. So in the spirit of inclusivity, I've decided to veer away from doing what everyone else is doing and writing about the cross or salvation or using lots of Christian talk.
Interestingly enough the people I'm about to introduce to you today were all about inclusivity....the Ten Boom Family.<br />
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Pretty much if you're Christian or from Holland the story of Corrie Ten Boom should ring a bell. The Ten Boom family had a famous watch shop in Holland (the watch shop is still there) and during world war 2 played an active role in helping Jews in hiding. Eventually they created a false wall that would serve as an escape route if ever their home was searched. The false wall became known as "The Hiding Place".<br />
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In Dec 2013 during a wk in Amsterdam I took a train to Haarlem and got to see the Hiding Place. The Ten Booms house and watch shop is still standing and I sat in the very living room the Ten Booms once sat hearing tales of this extraordinary family.<br />
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Eventually they were found out and arrested for helping the Jews. There are amazing stories of their family life before their arrest and also incredible stories of what happened in the concentration camp at Ravensbruck where Corrie and Betsie would find themselves. For the purposes of length I'll give you the highlights. All the rest of the story can be read in the book "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hiding-Place-Corrie-Boom/dp/0553256696">The Hiding Place"</a><br />
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1. When Corrie and Betsy arrive at Ravensbruck the women are being stripped of all personal items. Corrie was holding a massive Bible, big bulky and obvious. She thought surely it will be confiscated. When it gets to her turn the Nazi guard doesn't seem to see it and ushers her to go through. The woman behind her had something tiny and it got taken away. It was as if the Bible was completely invisible to the guards.<br />
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2. The sisters at one point get thrown into living quarters full of fleas. Corrie is disgusted but Betsy says "We must thank God for the fleas". Within the concentration camp they had a secret Bible study. The camp forbid Bible studies so they knew it was at great risk. Everyone elses's living quarters regularly got checked but theirs was never checked so the Nazis never discovered that a Bible study was going on. Later on it was discovered that the Nazis didn't check their quarters due to the fleas.<br />
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3. At one point the women are in desperate need of vitamins. Corrie discovers a bottle dispenser that had abit of vitamin left in it that she could disperse in drops to the other women. The bottom of the bottle was very dark and it was hard to see what was left. But each day no matter how much she dispensed there was always drops of vitamins that came out from the bottle. It seem to have no end<br />
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Then one day they discovered bottles of vitamin tables made available to them. That same day when Corrie went to use up the last of what was in the vitamin dispenser no drop ever no matter how much she shook the bottle.<br />
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Betsy was weakening very fast in camp and she told Corrie that before the end of the year they would both be free. And indeed it came to past, Betsy's body gave out at the camp and Corrie was released from the camp Dec 31st, 1944. A few yrs later after the war was over Corrie went back to the camp to find out more details about her release. She discovered that her release had been a "clerical error", a wk later all the women her age were sent to the gas chambers.<br />
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I normally don't post this many pics but today I did because I wanted to give you an idea of what it was like inside "The Hiding Place" At one point in the story 6 people hid in here for 48 hrs not knowing if they came out they would be discovered and arrested or if the house was under surveillance.<br />
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To finish this post off I'll share with you parts of the story of the Ten Boom family that really moved me. When the Ten Booms were first arrested, one of the officers says to Corrie and Betsy's ailing father "OK, since you're an old man we are willing to let you go as long as you promise not to be helping any more jews". To which Casper replies "If you let me go today, I'll open my door to anyone that knocks."<br />
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One of the greatest examples of forgiveness is when Corrie and Betsy witness a nazi guard beating one of the prisoners. Betsy begins to pray for their soul. But at one point Corrie realizes that Betsy isn't praying for the soul of prisoner who was being beaten, she was praying for the soul of the Nazi guard who was doing the beating.....<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"There is no pit that He is not deeper still"</i> </blockquote>
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-Betsy Ten Boom </blockquote>
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My heart has been waiting forever for this day to come and now the day has arrived.....Feb 8th is HERE. Today isn't your average monday, it's a special day for me for a multitude of different reasons. Let's start with the obvious that today is the start of the Chinese new yr. Gung Hey Fat Choy to everyone around the world. What makes it even more special is that it is the year of the monkey, my yr. For each of us out there celebrating Chinese New yr that falls upon the animal of our birth yrs happens only once every 12 yrs. And to top it off this yr the lunar calendar Chinese new yr happens to fall on feb 8th and in Chinese culture 8 is the luckiest number of all.<br />
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But there is another secret reason why feb 8th is a significant day for me, this blog turns 6 yrs old TODAY. It was on feb 8th 2010, that I sat in my dorm room thinking to myself "hmmm, I wonder what would happen if I took copies of all the emails I've been sending to a select group of people and posted it on a blog?" So I did exactly that, I innocently posted copies of my writing, my blog began exploding with hits from visitors around the world and the rest is history.<br />
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To celebrate the start of a new year as well as the birth of my blogsite I've included a link here to the very first blogpost I posted on this blog that was done the very first day my feet touched Argentine soil.<br />
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<a href="http://www.tango2themoon.com/2010/02/first-day.html">http://www.tango2themoon.com/2010/02/first-day.html</a><br />
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As well I've posted a video from my Youtube channel of my favorite place to chill in Buenos Aires, El Ateneo. Few things in my mind rival El Ateneo in its splendor and glory. Originally it was a magnificent theatre that eventually got converted into one of the most famous book stores in the world. If a picture is worth a thousand words then videos are priceless. Enjoy....<br />
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Being so close to Valentines day we all find self deprecating stories of misery and woe far more entertaining than stories of chocolates, roses, and faeries. And for my audience who've been following this blog faithfully there hasn't been any story of someone's misery and woe that was more enjoyable to them other than MINE. When I first landed on Argentine soil I had no idea that I would eventually fall under the spell of the <a href="http://www.tango2themoon.com/2012/10/the-argentine-serpentine-spits-venomous.html">Argentine Serpentine</a>.<br />
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The Argentine Serpentine was a friend turned frenemy. In 2011 I was teaching some students english in the school the church ran. During the course of the english class one of the students started to feel a connection with me and I felt a connection with her. Eventually she found out that I'm into women.<br />
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To make a very long complicated story short, she was in a relationship with a man at that time that she knew wasn't going to work out eventually. So when she found out that I'm gay, she decided that she was going to get me to fall in love with her......without me knowing. So connection eventually turned into obsession and she began to plot and scheme on how to cast a love spell on me using clever knowledge of the human psyche.<br />
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At that time I had absolutely no clue how truly obsessed with me she was. But slowly she began working on me bit by bit, weaving an enchantment on me and by the time I realized what she was up to, it was too late for my soul. I was eating out of the palm of her hand, drunk her entire love potion and had fallen under the hypnotic spell of the Argentine serpentine. Thus my life turning into an episode of Once Upon a Time with me as her hapless victim and her as the evil enchantress. <br />
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In all fairness to my side of the story, I did attempt to break the enchantment but the results are futile. At one point I made a plan to one day message her and give her a piece of my mind. Unfortunately one night I went out for a 5 course dinner with wine pairings. And it is never a good idea to get on the internet and message an Argentine Serpentine after you've had 5 glasses of wine because instead of giving her a piece of my mind like I planned, I ended up telling her that i was deeply in love with her.....playing into her hands even further.<br />
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Her possessiveness and obsessiveness of me eventually led to a climax with her leaving her home town located one hr outside of Buenos Aires and all that she's ever known and moving into a neighbourhood near me. Even though I eventually escaped the madness of life in Buenos Aires, I'm not sure I've ever truly escaped from the enchantment of the Argentine Serpentine. Looks like this little monkey has still got a snake bite on her arse (no sexual nuances intended).<br />
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tango2themoonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10769055222812146727noreply@blogger.com