I know it has been a long time since I have blogged, but this is very important.
I do not remember what it was like being with my other children when they were very small. It is almost like I am actually experiencing something for the very first time in my life. When I was with my other children, I actually was not with my other children. I would wake up in the morning and get ready for work, and help get my children ready for school, some of them, any way. Then it would be off to work, to spend 8 hours or more with people that were, mostly, acquaintances or co-workers. Then after a long day, back to the house, exhausted either physically or mentally. My time that I spent with my children is a vague memory.
We were young, I was in my 30's when my son was growing up. I do remember quite a few things but I don't really remember feeling the way I do watching Agustina grow. She turned 3 years old last month, February. I find myself being absolutely amazed at some of the things that she does and says. I am reminded of a saying I used to hear all the time, "Youth is wasted on the young".
I am a parent in my 60's and it is a different world. I am the age of a grandfather but I get to be a daddy.
I guess what I am trying to convey here is, every waking moment, not working, you need to spend with your children and be awed at the things that they do and say. I am thankful that cell phones have cameras, because I have taken a boatload of photos of Agustina, mostly when she is sleeping. I didn't know that children could find so many different positions and places to fall asleep. I capture many amazing moments when she is fascinated at different things. Of course, I have it on film, but more importantly, it is embedded in my memory.
Take the time to be amazed. They grow up fast and soon they will be young adults and if you don't take the time to be amazed, you will be asking yourself what happened to the time and you will realize all that you missed.
Sé que ha pasado mucho tiempo desde que he blogado, pero esto es muy importante.
No recuerdo cómo era estar con mis otros niños cuando eran muy pequeños. Es casi como si estuviera experimentando algo por primera vez en mi vida. Cuando estaba con mis otros hijos, en realidad no estaba con mis otros hijos. Me despertaría por la mañana y me prepararía para el trabajo, y ayudaría a que mis hijos estuvieran listos para la escuela, algunos de ellos, de cualquier manera. Entonces estaría a trabajar, a pasar 8 horas o más con personas que eran, en su mayoría, conocidos o compañeros de trabajo. Luego, después de un largo día, de vuelta a la casa, agotado ya sea física o mentalmente. Mi tiempo que pasé con mis hijos es un vago recuerdo.
Éramos jóvenes, yo estaba en mis 30 años cuando mi hijo estaba creciendo. Recuerdo un buen número de cosas, pero en realidad no recuerdo cómo me siento viendo crecer a Agustina. Ella cumplió 3 años el mes pasado, febrero. Me encuentro absolutamente sorprendido por algunas de las cosas que hace y dice. Me recuerda un dicho que solía oír todo el tiempo, "La juventud se desperdicia en los jóvenes".
Soy un padre en mis años 60 y es un mundo diferente. Tengo la edad de un abuelo, pero llego a ser papá.
Supongo que lo que estoy tratando de transmitir aquí es, cada momento de vigilia, no funciona, es necesario pasar con sus hijos y estar asombrado de las cosas que hacen y dicen. Estoy agradecido de que los teléfonos celulares tengan cámaras, porque he tomado un cargamento de fotos de Agustina, sobre todo cuando está durmiendo. No sabía que los niños pudieran encontrar tantas posiciones y lugares diferentes para quedarse dormidos. Captura muchos momentos increíbles cuando está fascinada con cosas diferentes. Por supuesto, lo tengo en la película, pero lo más importante, está incrustado en mi memoria.
Tómese el tiempo para sorprenderse. Crecen rápido y pronto serán adultos jóvenes y si usted no toma el tiempo para ser sorprendido, usted se preguntará qué sucedió al tiempo y usted realizará todo que usted faltó.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Life: The Beginning
Life: The Beginning: As I was standing looking out our front window I was thinking that now is a good time to begin writing about what life is like actually livi...
The Beginning
As I was standing looking out our front window I was thinking that now is a good time to begin writing about what life is like actually living in Uruguay. I opened the "blinds" on the front window using a method that would be quite foreign to people living in North America. I think that is what started this thought process.
Where to begin? I think at the beginning would be the best place to begin.
I have lived in Paysandu, Uruguay for about four and a half years. Once I boarded the airplane in Miami, Florida, USA my life took on a whole new adventure. I have visited many foreign countries in my lifetime, perhaps more than any "normal" human being. I believe that being in the US Navy had a lot to do with my deep embedded desire to live somewhere other than the United States. I was stationed aboard an LST for my first duty station and was involved in a couple of cruises. My first cruise was to the Caribbean Sea visiting some of the Virgin Islands and the military facility in Cuba. Later, in 1969, we went on a Mediterranean cruise. We visited Spain, Crete, Italy, Greece and Malta on that particular cruise. We were stranded in Naples, Italy for a month waiting on a drive shaft to be manufactured in the US and shipped to us because our particular ship was being "driven" by experimental engines and did not use the usual drive shafts. I believe that the style of living of the people of Italy was somehow filed away in the recesses of my brain.
My tours of duty while in the Navy did not have any significance toward my desire to live in a foreign country. I became a Hospital Corpsman and was later assigned to the Third Marine Division as a Fleet Marine Hospital Corpsman. My first duty station was at Camp Hansen, Okinawa. While there I visited the village outside the base on numerous occasions and also explored some to the caves. I was sent to Camp Fuji, Japan as the Corpsman for Delta Company, 7th Engineers. On my free weekends I would explore the countryside outside the perimeter of the base, many times sleeping in abandoned WWII bunkers and pillboxes. I would wander the village outside the base and became friends with one of the owners of a bar. Instead of going there to drink beer I would visit the bar and spend time with the owner drinking tea. It was at this point that I decided that living in a foreign country was what I was destined to do.
After I was sent back to the US and separated from active duty I began the usual life of a regular person and the dreams of living in a foreign land was filed away in the deep recesses of my mind. I knew that my dream was nothing more than a dream that would occasionally surface and start my mind to thinking how wonderful it would be to go back to Japan to live; but I had a family and needed to live the same life as everyone else.
Time moved on.
It wasn't until I began a life where it was possible to go on cruises that the thoughts of moving to a foreign country resurfaced and stayed in the forefront of my thoughts. After visiting many different places and I began thinking about how it would be possible to actually bring my dream to fruition; but it was somehow shelved because it didn't seem likely.
Something happened in my life and the move to live in a foreign country became a reality. The reason I chose Paysandu, Uruguay has a personal importance to me and doesn't really have much bearing on the remainder of this blog.
I remember thinking as I was preparing to board the airplane in Lima, Peru how much of my knowledge of the Spanish language was lacking. I could communicate with the Hispanic people that lived in the US but I soon realized that my true knowledge of Spanish was not what it needed to be. I remember listening to someone, that was obviously American, speaking Spanish on the airplane because he didn't have any kind of an accent. It sounded like the Spanish we would speak in Spanish class in school. If any of you have ever studied any kind of a foreign language in school, you know what I am referring to.
I didn't know what to expect when I got Uruguay. Would the entire country, other than the cities be covered in jungle? Would everyone be riding horses and driving horse drawn carts? Of course not. I had studied enough about the country to know that these were ignorant thoughts. It is like people that have lived someplace like New York City believe that all the people in Texas have ranches, oil wells and ride horses.
At this point I have decided that if you wish to know more about what it has been like for me that this blog should be attached to other blogs that I have written in the past. The one thing that I want you to know is living here is not that much different than living anywhere. The major difference is the language and cultural norms. I can have decent conversations with the people here and I am steadily learning some of the cultural differences. I wish I could learn the language better, but I think in time I will become very fluent with my Uruguayan. The cultural differences are somewhat foreign to me and I am hoping with the help of many of my new friends here I can learn to understand those also.
As I stood looking out the front window I realized I am home here. I have a family that means everything to me. I do not have any intention of leaving Uruguay. I am going to renew my passport in July and sometimes I wonder why I am even bothering with that, except I will need it if we ever visit other countries here.
If you have any questions for me you can respond (leave a comment) because this will be posted to my facebook page and sent to my contacts on gmail.
Como yo estaba de pie mirando por la ventana delantera estaba pensando que ahora es un buen momento para empezar a escribir acerca de cómo es la vida en realidad viviendo en Uruguay. Abrí las "ciegas" en la ventana frontal por medio de un método que sería bastante extraño para las personas que viven en América del Norte. Creo que eso es lo que se inició este proceso de pensamiento.
¿Dónde empezar? Creo que al principio sería el mejor lugar para comenzar.
He vivido en Paysandú, Uruguay en los años alrededor de cuatro y medio. Una vez que abordé el avión en Miami, Florida, EE.UU. mi vida tomó una nueva aventura. He visitado muchos países extranjeros en mi vida, quizás más que cualquier ser humano "normal". Creo que estar en la Marina de los EE.UU. tuvo mucho que ver con mi profundo deseo incrustado vivir en un lugar distinto de los Estados Unidos. Yo estaba estacionado a bordo de un LST para mi primer lugar de destino y estaba involucrado en un par de cruceros. Mi primer crucero fue al Mar Caribe visitando algunas de las Islas Vírgenes y las instalaciones militares en Cuba. Más tarde, en 1969, nos fuimos en un crucero por el Mediterráneo. Visitamos España, Creta, Italia, Grecia y Malta en ese crucero en particular. Estábamos colgado en Nápoles, Italia por un mes esperando en un árbol de transmisión que se fabrica en los EE.UU. y enviado a nosotros porque nuestro barco en particular estaba siendo "impulsada" por los motores experimentales y no hizo uso de los árboles de accionamiento habituales. Creo que el estilo de vida de la gente de Italia fue archivado alguna manera en los recovecos de mi cerebro.
Mis períodos de servicio, mientras que en la Armada no tenían ningún significado hacia mi deseo de vivir en un país extranjero. Me convertí en un farmaceuta del hospital y más tarde fue asignado a la Tercera División de la Marina como un farmaceuta del hospital marina de la flota. Mi primer destino fue en el Camp Hansen, Okinawa. Si bien no visité el pueblo fuera de la base en numerosas ocasiones y también exploramos algunas de las cuevas. Me enviaron al Camp Fuji, Japón como el farmaceuta de la Compañía Delta, 7 de Ingenieros. En mis fines de semana libres me gustaría explorar el campo fuera del perímetro de la base, muchas veces durmiendo en refugios y pastilleros la Segunda Guerra Mundial abandonados. Me gustaría vagar por el pueblo fuera de la base y se hizo amigo de uno de los propietarios de un bar. En vez de ir allí para beber cerveza me gustaría visitar el bar y pasar el tiempo con el té propietario potable. Fue en este punto que decidí que viven en un país extranjero era lo que estaba destinado a hacer.
Después me enviaron de vuelta a los EE.UU. y separados del servicio activo empecé la vida normal de una persona normal y los sueños de vivir en un país extranjero fue archivado en las profundidades de mi mente. Yo sabía que mi sueño no era más que un sueño que de vez en cuando a la superficie y empezar mi mente para pensar en lo maravilloso que sería volver a Japón para vivir; pero yo tenía una familia y tenía que vivir la misma vida que los demás.
El tiempo pasaba.
No fue hasta que empecé una vida en la que era posible ir en cruceros que los pensamientos de trasladarse a un país extranjero volvió a nacer y se quedaron en la vanguardia de mis pensamientos. Después de visitar muchos lugares diferentes y empecé a pensar en cómo sería posible traer en realidad mi sueño a buen término; pero fue dejado de lado alguna manera, ya que no parecía probable.
Algo sucedió en mi vida y el paso a vivir en un país extranjero, se convirtió en una realidad. La razón por la que elegí Paysandú, Uruguay tiene una importancia personal para mí y realmente no tiene mucho que ver con el resto de este blog.
Recuerdo que pensé cuando me preparaba para embarcar en el avión en Lima, Perú cuánto de mi conocimiento de la lengua española era deficiente. Podía comunicarse con las personas hispanas que vivían en los EE.UU., pero pronto me di cuenta de que mi verdadero conocimiento del español no era lo que tenía que ser. Recuerdo escuchar a alguien, que era obviamente estadounidense, hablando español en el avión porque no tiene ningún tipo de acento. Sonaba como el español que se habla en la clase de español en la escuela. Si alguno de ustedes alguna vez ha estudiado ninguna clase de un idioma extranjero en la escuela, ¿sabes lo que me refiero.
No sabía qué esperar cuando llegué a Uruguay. Sería todo el país, con excepción de las ciudades se cubrirá en la selva? ¿Están de ser montar a caballo y conducir los carros tirados por caballos? Por supuesto no. Yo había estudiado lo suficiente sobre el país para saber que se trataba de pensamientos ignorantes. Es como las personas que han vivido algún lugar como la ciudad de Nueva York creer que todas las personas en Texas tienen ranchos, pozos de petróleo y montar a caballo.
En este punto, he decidido que si desea saber más acerca de lo que ha sido para mí que este blog debe estar unido a otros blogs que he escrito en el pasado. La única cosa que quiero que sepas es vivir aquí no es muy diferente a vivir en cualquier lugar. La principal diferencia es la lengua y las normas culturales. Puedo tener conversaciones decentes con la gente de aquí y estoy constantemente aprendiendo algunas de las diferencias culturales. Me gustaría poder aprender mejor el idioma, pero creo que con el tiempo voy a ser muy fluido con mi uruguaya. Las diferencias culturales son algo ajeno a mí y espero con la ayuda de muchos de mis nuevos amigos aquí puedo aprender a entender a aquellos también.
Mientras estaba de pie mirando por la ventana delantera me di cuenta de que estoy en casa aquí. Tengo una familia que lo es todo para mí. No tengo ninguna intención de dejar a Uruguay. Voy a renovar mi pasaporte en julio y, a veces me pregunto por qué estoy siquiera molestarse con eso, excepto que la necesitará si alguna vez visitar otros países aquí.
Si usted tiene alguna pregunta para mí no pueden responder (dejar un comentario) porque esto será publicado en mi página de facebook y se envía a los contactos en Gmail.
Where to begin? I think at the beginning would be the best place to begin.
I have lived in Paysandu, Uruguay for about four and a half years. Once I boarded the airplane in Miami, Florida, USA my life took on a whole new adventure. I have visited many foreign countries in my lifetime, perhaps more than any "normal" human being. I believe that being in the US Navy had a lot to do with my deep embedded desire to live somewhere other than the United States. I was stationed aboard an LST for my first duty station and was involved in a couple of cruises. My first cruise was to the Caribbean Sea visiting some of the Virgin Islands and the military facility in Cuba. Later, in 1969, we went on a Mediterranean cruise. We visited Spain, Crete, Italy, Greece and Malta on that particular cruise. We were stranded in Naples, Italy for a month waiting on a drive shaft to be manufactured in the US and shipped to us because our particular ship was being "driven" by experimental engines and did not use the usual drive shafts. I believe that the style of living of the people of Italy was somehow filed away in the recesses of my brain.
My tours of duty while in the Navy did not have any significance toward my desire to live in a foreign country. I became a Hospital Corpsman and was later assigned to the Third Marine Division as a Fleet Marine Hospital Corpsman. My first duty station was at Camp Hansen, Okinawa. While there I visited the village outside the base on numerous occasions and also explored some to the caves. I was sent to Camp Fuji, Japan as the Corpsman for Delta Company, 7th Engineers. On my free weekends I would explore the countryside outside the perimeter of the base, many times sleeping in abandoned WWII bunkers and pillboxes. I would wander the village outside the base and became friends with one of the owners of a bar. Instead of going there to drink beer I would visit the bar and spend time with the owner drinking tea. It was at this point that I decided that living in a foreign country was what I was destined to do.
After I was sent back to the US and separated from active duty I began the usual life of a regular person and the dreams of living in a foreign land was filed away in the deep recesses of my mind. I knew that my dream was nothing more than a dream that would occasionally surface and start my mind to thinking how wonderful it would be to go back to Japan to live; but I had a family and needed to live the same life as everyone else.
Time moved on.
It wasn't until I began a life where it was possible to go on cruises that the thoughts of moving to a foreign country resurfaced and stayed in the forefront of my thoughts. After visiting many different places and I began thinking about how it would be possible to actually bring my dream to fruition; but it was somehow shelved because it didn't seem likely.
Something happened in my life and the move to live in a foreign country became a reality. The reason I chose Paysandu, Uruguay has a personal importance to me and doesn't really have much bearing on the remainder of this blog.
I remember thinking as I was preparing to board the airplane in Lima, Peru how much of my knowledge of the Spanish language was lacking. I could communicate with the Hispanic people that lived in the US but I soon realized that my true knowledge of Spanish was not what it needed to be. I remember listening to someone, that was obviously American, speaking Spanish on the airplane because he didn't have any kind of an accent. It sounded like the Spanish we would speak in Spanish class in school. If any of you have ever studied any kind of a foreign language in school, you know what I am referring to.
I didn't know what to expect when I got Uruguay. Would the entire country, other than the cities be covered in jungle? Would everyone be riding horses and driving horse drawn carts? Of course not. I had studied enough about the country to know that these were ignorant thoughts. It is like people that have lived someplace like New York City believe that all the people in Texas have ranches, oil wells and ride horses.
At this point I have decided that if you wish to know more about what it has been like for me that this blog should be attached to other blogs that I have written in the past. The one thing that I want you to know is living here is not that much different than living anywhere. The major difference is the language and cultural norms. I can have decent conversations with the people here and I am steadily learning some of the cultural differences. I wish I could learn the language better, but I think in time I will become very fluent with my Uruguayan. The cultural differences are somewhat foreign to me and I am hoping with the help of many of my new friends here I can learn to understand those also.
As I stood looking out the front window I realized I am home here. I have a family that means everything to me. I do not have any intention of leaving Uruguay. I am going to renew my passport in July and sometimes I wonder why I am even bothering with that, except I will need it if we ever visit other countries here.
If you have any questions for me you can respond (leave a comment) because this will be posted to my facebook page and sent to my contacts on gmail.
Como yo estaba de pie mirando por la ventana delantera estaba pensando que ahora es un buen momento para empezar a escribir acerca de cómo es la vida en realidad viviendo en Uruguay. Abrí las "ciegas" en la ventana frontal por medio de un método que sería bastante extraño para las personas que viven en América del Norte. Creo que eso es lo que se inició este proceso de pensamiento.
¿Dónde empezar? Creo que al principio sería el mejor lugar para comenzar.
He vivido en Paysandú, Uruguay en los años alrededor de cuatro y medio. Una vez que abordé el avión en Miami, Florida, EE.UU. mi vida tomó una nueva aventura. He visitado muchos países extranjeros en mi vida, quizás más que cualquier ser humano "normal". Creo que estar en la Marina de los EE.UU. tuvo mucho que ver con mi profundo deseo incrustado vivir en un lugar distinto de los Estados Unidos. Yo estaba estacionado a bordo de un LST para mi primer lugar de destino y estaba involucrado en un par de cruceros. Mi primer crucero fue al Mar Caribe visitando algunas de las Islas Vírgenes y las instalaciones militares en Cuba. Más tarde, en 1969, nos fuimos en un crucero por el Mediterráneo. Visitamos España, Creta, Italia, Grecia y Malta en ese crucero en particular. Estábamos colgado en Nápoles, Italia por un mes esperando en un árbol de transmisión que se fabrica en los EE.UU. y enviado a nosotros porque nuestro barco en particular estaba siendo "impulsada" por los motores experimentales y no hizo uso de los árboles de accionamiento habituales. Creo que el estilo de vida de la gente de Italia fue archivado alguna manera en los recovecos de mi cerebro.
Mis períodos de servicio, mientras que en la Armada no tenían ningún significado hacia mi deseo de vivir en un país extranjero. Me convertí en un farmaceuta del hospital y más tarde fue asignado a la Tercera División de la Marina como un farmaceuta del hospital marina de la flota. Mi primer destino fue en el Camp Hansen, Okinawa. Si bien no visité el pueblo fuera de la base en numerosas ocasiones y también exploramos algunas de las cuevas. Me enviaron al Camp Fuji, Japón como el farmaceuta de la Compañía Delta, 7 de Ingenieros. En mis fines de semana libres me gustaría explorar el campo fuera del perímetro de la base, muchas veces durmiendo en refugios y pastilleros la Segunda Guerra Mundial abandonados. Me gustaría vagar por el pueblo fuera de la base y se hizo amigo de uno de los propietarios de un bar. En vez de ir allí para beber cerveza me gustaría visitar el bar y pasar el tiempo con el té propietario potable. Fue en este punto que decidí que viven en un país extranjero era lo que estaba destinado a hacer.
Después me enviaron de vuelta a los EE.UU. y separados del servicio activo empecé la vida normal de una persona normal y los sueños de vivir en un país extranjero fue archivado en las profundidades de mi mente. Yo sabía que mi sueño no era más que un sueño que de vez en cuando a la superficie y empezar mi mente para pensar en lo maravilloso que sería volver a Japón para vivir; pero yo tenía una familia y tenía que vivir la misma vida que los demás.
El tiempo pasaba.
No fue hasta que empecé una vida en la que era posible ir en cruceros que los pensamientos de trasladarse a un país extranjero volvió a nacer y se quedaron en la vanguardia de mis pensamientos. Después de visitar muchos lugares diferentes y empecé a pensar en cómo sería posible traer en realidad mi sueño a buen término; pero fue dejado de lado alguna manera, ya que no parecía probable.
Algo sucedió en mi vida y el paso a vivir en un país extranjero, se convirtió en una realidad. La razón por la que elegí Paysandú, Uruguay tiene una importancia personal para mí y realmente no tiene mucho que ver con el resto de este blog.
Recuerdo que pensé cuando me preparaba para embarcar en el avión en Lima, Perú cuánto de mi conocimiento de la lengua española era deficiente. Podía comunicarse con las personas hispanas que vivían en los EE.UU., pero pronto me di cuenta de que mi verdadero conocimiento del español no era lo que tenía que ser. Recuerdo escuchar a alguien, que era obviamente estadounidense, hablando español en el avión porque no tiene ningún tipo de acento. Sonaba como el español que se habla en la clase de español en la escuela. Si alguno de ustedes alguna vez ha estudiado ninguna clase de un idioma extranjero en la escuela, ¿sabes lo que me refiero.
No sabía qué esperar cuando llegué a Uruguay. Sería todo el país, con excepción de las ciudades se cubrirá en la selva? ¿Están de ser montar a caballo y conducir los carros tirados por caballos? Por supuesto no. Yo había estudiado lo suficiente sobre el país para saber que se trataba de pensamientos ignorantes. Es como las personas que han vivido algún lugar como la ciudad de Nueva York creer que todas las personas en Texas tienen ranchos, pozos de petróleo y montar a caballo.
En este punto, he decidido que si desea saber más acerca de lo que ha sido para mí que este blog debe estar unido a otros blogs que he escrito en el pasado. La única cosa que quiero que sepas es vivir aquí no es muy diferente a vivir en cualquier lugar. La principal diferencia es la lengua y las normas culturales. Puedo tener conversaciones decentes con la gente de aquí y estoy constantemente aprendiendo algunas de las diferencias culturales. Me gustaría poder aprender mejor el idioma, pero creo que con el tiempo voy a ser muy fluido con mi uruguaya. Las diferencias culturales son algo ajeno a mí y espero con la ayuda de muchos de mis nuevos amigos aquí puedo aprender a entender a aquellos también.
Mientras estaba de pie mirando por la ventana delantera me di cuenta de que estoy en casa aquí. Tengo una familia que lo es todo para mí. No tengo ninguna intención de dejar a Uruguay. Voy a renovar mi pasaporte en julio y, a veces me pregunto por qué estoy siquiera molestarse con eso, excepto que la necesitará si alguna vez visitar otros países aquí.
Si usted tiene alguna pregunta para mí no pueden responder (dejar un comentario) porque esto será publicado en mi página de facebook y se envía a los contactos en Gmail.
Friday, July 18, 2014
life
I know it is been quite some time since I have "blogged". I have been thinking about writing something for quite awhile.
For example:
I was on the stationary bicycle at the gym the other day, it was raining, and I watched someone take a water meter reading outside. They were using a hand held electronic device to record the reading. This started me to thinking about all the technilogical advances in this "backwoods" country. I remembered when they began using these same devices in San Marcos for recording water meter readings. Next would be the meters that are used to record electicity use here. They are all digital, no longer the analog. which involved the rotating wheel. Cell phone use here is probably as extensive here as it is in the US, along with the same texting while driving problems. Last year fiber optic cables were installed in the country for telephone and internet use. We have a router that is a combination, lan and wifi. For a "third world" country we seem to be keeping up with the rest of the world, fairly well.
I moved here for many reasons, the primary reason being to spend the rest of my life with Fabiana Ponzoni. Before I moved here I had the same impression that most people have of South America. I imagined it as being jungle infested with all kinds of tropical animals and flora. It is almost identical to Texas, just a lot smaller. We don't have mountains here, like in West Texas. We have rolling hills, plains and a coastal region. It has still been the adventure I had imagined. My adventurous life took a different turn with the birth of Agustina, our daughter. I am 64 years old and parenthood has taken on an entire different meaning for me. I cherish each and every moment that I am given to spend with my family here. Do not misunderstand what I am saying. I have a son living in San Marcos, and I love him very much, but I do have a hard time remembering him growing up. I remember bits and pieces. I believe that has a lot to do with the fact that I spent most of my time during the day being at work, so a lot was missed. I am retired now and I spend most of my time with my family and I have the joy of spending a lot of time with them. There are still things I miss but it doesn't have anything to do with me not being here with them. I am living a new adventure, being a "senior" with a baby in the house.
I still find myself being amazed at times that I am living in South America. Living here is not really all that much different that the life I lived in North America. The only true difference is the language, and I think I am getting better at understanding and speaking the language here. I was thinking the other day, and I hope this doesn't upset too many people, but Americans have a kind of arrogance about english. When the people began coming to America, colonization, their primary language may or may not have been english. We were all descendants of immigrants. If you ever have the privilege of visiting a foreign country you may understand what I am saying.
I am rambling but I wanted to write down some of the things I have been thinking about while living here.
I still wake up every morning being more thankful than before the God has given me one more day to enjoy life. I am thankful for my family and friends, my true friends.
I want to add something I was thinking this morning. I have lived through various stages of life. I have struggled for a dollar, I have been comfortable with an income. I now depend on Social Security and another annuity and because of things that happen unexpectedly in life, some months have been a struggle but we have never gone hungry. If we run out of money before the end of the month there is always a way to survive. The fruteria where we shop regularly doesn't have a problem extending credit for us to get things and pay for them at the beginning of the next month. I was thinking this morning that almost every person in the world is dependent of the economy. If another big war should occur, and it will happen, the economies of every country involved will be affected. There are going to be a lot of people that will be doing without, food being on of the things that will be a struggle to have. Jobs will be lost, retirement annuities will not be paid, even people that have invested in the stock market will be counted amoung the struggling population. You will only be worth the money you have in your pocket. I am not trying to paint a negative picture, but it is something everyone needs to think about. I pray that it doesn't happen my lifetime or the lifetimes of my family and friends, but it is going to happen if the world doesn't wake up and figure out a way to reach a worldwide solution to peace.
For example:
I was on the stationary bicycle at the gym the other day, it was raining, and I watched someone take a water meter reading outside. They were using a hand held electronic device to record the reading. This started me to thinking about all the technilogical advances in this "backwoods" country. I remembered when they began using these same devices in San Marcos for recording water meter readings. Next would be the meters that are used to record electicity use here. They are all digital, no longer the analog. which involved the rotating wheel. Cell phone use here is probably as extensive here as it is in the US, along with the same texting while driving problems. Last year fiber optic cables were installed in the country for telephone and internet use. We have a router that is a combination, lan and wifi. For a "third world" country we seem to be keeping up with the rest of the world, fairly well.
I moved here for many reasons, the primary reason being to spend the rest of my life with Fabiana Ponzoni. Before I moved here I had the same impression that most people have of South America. I imagined it as being jungle infested with all kinds of tropical animals and flora. It is almost identical to Texas, just a lot smaller. We don't have mountains here, like in West Texas. We have rolling hills, plains and a coastal region. It has still been the adventure I had imagined. My adventurous life took a different turn with the birth of Agustina, our daughter. I am 64 years old and parenthood has taken on an entire different meaning for me. I cherish each and every moment that I am given to spend with my family here. Do not misunderstand what I am saying. I have a son living in San Marcos, and I love him very much, but I do have a hard time remembering him growing up. I remember bits and pieces. I believe that has a lot to do with the fact that I spent most of my time during the day being at work, so a lot was missed. I am retired now and I spend most of my time with my family and I have the joy of spending a lot of time with them. There are still things I miss but it doesn't have anything to do with me not being here with them. I am living a new adventure, being a "senior" with a baby in the house.
I still find myself being amazed at times that I am living in South America. Living here is not really all that much different that the life I lived in North America. The only true difference is the language, and I think I am getting better at understanding and speaking the language here. I was thinking the other day, and I hope this doesn't upset too many people, but Americans have a kind of arrogance about english. When the people began coming to America, colonization, their primary language may or may not have been english. We were all descendants of immigrants. If you ever have the privilege of visiting a foreign country you may understand what I am saying.
I am rambling but I wanted to write down some of the things I have been thinking about while living here.
I still wake up every morning being more thankful than before the God has given me one more day to enjoy life. I am thankful for my family and friends, my true friends.
I want to add something I was thinking this morning. I have lived through various stages of life. I have struggled for a dollar, I have been comfortable with an income. I now depend on Social Security and another annuity and because of things that happen unexpectedly in life, some months have been a struggle but we have never gone hungry. If we run out of money before the end of the month there is always a way to survive. The fruteria where we shop regularly doesn't have a problem extending credit for us to get things and pay for them at the beginning of the next month. I was thinking this morning that almost every person in the world is dependent of the economy. If another big war should occur, and it will happen, the economies of every country involved will be affected. There are going to be a lot of people that will be doing without, food being on of the things that will be a struggle to have. Jobs will be lost, retirement annuities will not be paid, even people that have invested in the stock market will be counted amoung the struggling population. You will only be worth the money you have in your pocket. I am not trying to paint a negative picture, but it is something everyone needs to think about. I pray that it doesn't happen my lifetime or the lifetimes of my family and friends, but it is going to happen if the world doesn't wake up and figure out a way to reach a worldwide solution to peace.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Living in Uruguay
I am still living in Paysandu, Uruguay and plan on spending the rest of my life here.
I apologize for not blogging more this year but I have been busy enjoying life here, especially since the birth of our daughter in February. Life was good before she arrived but it has gotten great since then. I thank God for being given the chance to be a daddy, again. Agustina has brought sunshine to my life, and my other daughter, Valentina, is my other sunshine.
Unless you are a parent you don't have a clue what I am talking about.
I talk to Agustina in english and,of course, everyone else talks to her in spanish. I love watching her smile. She has a wonderful smile. She smiles with her eyes. She started making baby sounds about a month ago. Her first word was "aco", whatever that means. Her second was "goo". I am happy and I love living here with my new family. I know I will probably never seen any of you all that are living in the US again but I want you to know that life is good here.
On a different note, I have been going to the gym on a regular basis and decided to compete again. I asked the owner of the gym where I go, En Forma, if he thought if I could compete and he told me yes. He sponsors the competition here. I have started a tough regimen of weight lifting and diet. I have already lost 2 kg. I am not sure what part of the competition I will enter other than the over 60 category. I was thinking of entering the over 50 category and hopefully beating the person that won last year. This is the guy that won last year: https://scontent-a-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/1385264_633576303348668_1081689866_n.jpg
This is a video of the top 4 contestants in the over 90 kg category: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=paysandu+classic
I think the same people that thought I was crazy for moving to Uruguay will think I am crazy for doing this, but what the heck, it's my life. I'm not going to live forever. Fabiana is very supportive and helps me with my diet, which consists of eating 10 egg whites, daily and drinking no less than 4 liters of water, daily.
I will try and keep up more with what is happening here. We are going to Montevideo next month to the US Embassy so I can get papers notarized to get a number for Fabiana so I can file Married filing Jointly so I won't have to worry about paying any more taxes. I think it is ridiculous that people that live on Social Security and retirment annuities should be expected to pay taxes, but that is a different story.
Until next time.
I apologize for not blogging more this year but I have been busy enjoying life here, especially since the birth of our daughter in February. Life was good before she arrived but it has gotten great since then. I thank God for being given the chance to be a daddy, again. Agustina has brought sunshine to my life, and my other daughter, Valentina, is my other sunshine.
Unless you are a parent you don't have a clue what I am talking about.
I talk to Agustina in english and,of course, everyone else talks to her in spanish. I love watching her smile. She has a wonderful smile. She smiles with her eyes. She started making baby sounds about a month ago. Her first word was "aco", whatever that means. Her second was "goo". I am happy and I love living here with my new family. I know I will probably never seen any of you all that are living in the US again but I want you to know that life is good here.
On a different note, I have been going to the gym on a regular basis and decided to compete again. I asked the owner of the gym where I go, En Forma, if he thought if I could compete and he told me yes. He sponsors the competition here. I have started a tough regimen of weight lifting and diet. I have already lost 2 kg. I am not sure what part of the competition I will enter other than the over 60 category. I was thinking of entering the over 50 category and hopefully beating the person that won last year. This is the guy that won last year: https://scontent-a-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/1385264_633576303348668_1081689866_n.jpg
This is a video of the top 4 contestants in the over 90 kg category: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=paysandu+classic
I think the same people that thought I was crazy for moving to Uruguay will think I am crazy for doing this, but what the heck, it's my life. I'm not going to live forever. Fabiana is very supportive and helps me with my diet, which consists of eating 10 egg whites, daily and drinking no less than 4 liters of water, daily.
I will try and keep up more with what is happening here. We are going to Montevideo next month to the US Embassy so I can get papers notarized to get a number for Fabiana so I can file Married filing Jointly so I won't have to worry about paying any more taxes. I think it is ridiculous that people that live on Social Security and retirment annuities should be expected to pay taxes, but that is a different story.
Until next time.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Free Will
For lack of imagination to create a title for this blog I decided Free Will is as good as anything because it is the "meat" of this post.
I read an article the other day where a man, who was a teacher, in a coloquial (sp) school, was fired because he applied for a marriage license so he could marry another man. The school told him that he was in violation of his contract. So given that, the school was probably justified in their action. The part that really started this blog is the part that was written about acceptance and tolerance. I have been thinking about this for the past few days since I read the article.
I am sure there are going to be many of you who are going to disagree with what I am going to write, some of you are going to be angry and hopefully some of you will start thinking about how you might be able to do something to change the way people think.
I neither condemn or condone same sex marriage. I personally don't see what is wrong with it. I do not know what the statistics say about the divorce rate is in same sex marriage, probably too soon to demonstrate that they are either more successful or less successful than same sex marriage. The addage: "opposites attrack" is what started a thought process in this direction. Opposites is taken from the same Greek base as opposition. I think that is the basis of most unsuccessful marriages. I defer from using the expression failed here because that means someone did not do enough to keep the marriage together. I am sure that could be the case in some divorces. I do believe the deeper reason for divorces is that people grow apart. The emotion of love disapates and the union is over. Too many marriages stay together for the wrong reasons; we stayed together for the kids, even though they spend the major part of their formative years watching us fight all the time; so much so that it became the norm for them. When they got married they thought the same thing we did, thus creating a very vicious cycle. Just one example.
Now going back to my original statement. Who said that people of the same sex should not be united in matrimony? The Bible? Who wrote the Bible? Where did the stories in the Bible come from? A lot of people cite the book of Genesis, chapter 19 as an example: Sodom and Gomorrah. Who selected what books would be included in the Bible? Originally, it was the rabbe. Here is some Biblical history for you. The Bible was developed from Midrash. Midrash is oral stories passed along for many generations before they were written down. Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that the stories that were told from generation to generation, never varied. What was told at the first sitting stayed the same, forever; but unless the people that told the stories witnessed what actually happened only told a story of something that they heard from someone else. A very great number of people believe that the Bible is the Word of God or the inspired Word of God. It all boils down to belief. Okay, for the sake of another argument, what if man created God and not the other way around? Do not be mistaken, I believe in God. I believe God created the world, not necessarily how the Bible tells it. No one was there to see it happen, so no one actually knows how it really happened. Another story passed down.
Okay, we are finally getting to the part that inspired the title to this blog. Almost every Christian believes that God gave man "Free Will". What exactly is free will? To me it is the ability to gather all the facts about things and make a decision based on the facts. So every person has the God given right to make his own decision based on the facts. Too bad that doesn't always happen. Too many times decisions are made based more on emotional inspiration rather than logical; not necessarily a bad way to make a decision but not always successful. So a man loves another man, or a woman loves another woman. Who makes the decision that this is wrong? and based on what information? Is it because the Bible says it's wrong? So if you believe that then you are relying on a document with a great deal of historical background and "stories". When did the historical part of the Bible become factual? I try to follow the Ten Commandments as closely as possible, but can you truly prove they existed? Where are the tablets that they were written on. According to the story in the Bible they were placed in an ark and protected, but somehow the ark was hidden and no one knows where that ark is located. Did someone write down on a secret document where it was hidden and that document has yet to be written or people were sworn to secrecy and the secret died with the passing of those that knew where it is? Did it really get taken up to heaven? Everything depends on faith. The definition of faith is trust in things unseen. Christians have faith that Jesus ascended to heaven by the hand of God, but no one saw it happen, but by faith they believe it to be true.
What is truly acceptable? Is it so wrong for a couple of the same sex to be united? Is it because they have found something so very few people discover in life...happiness. What do we need to accept and what do we need to tolerate?
ns] Show IPA
ns] Show IPA
the act or capacity of enduring; endurance: My tolerance of noise is limited.
Acceptance and Tolerance are not synonyms. The key word being "fair".
Like I said I am neither condemning nor condoning same sex marriages. I am going to take a fair viewpoint and not judge the decisions of people that want to be united with someone they love. I am using my Free Will to make that decision based on facts.
So if this is a something that really bothers you, I would suggest for your own sanity's sake, give it a rest. There are far more important things to be concerned with in this world, like are you going to be making enough money in the future to support your lifestyle.
Not meant to offend anyone. And by applying your Free Will you can chose to not like me anymore.
I read an article the other day where a man, who was a teacher, in a coloquial (sp) school, was fired because he applied for a marriage license so he could marry another man. The school told him that he was in violation of his contract. So given that, the school was probably justified in their action. The part that really started this blog is the part that was written about acceptance and tolerance. I have been thinking about this for the past few days since I read the article.
I am sure there are going to be many of you who are going to disagree with what I am going to write, some of you are going to be angry and hopefully some of you will start thinking about how you might be able to do something to change the way people think.
I neither condemn or condone same sex marriage. I personally don't see what is wrong with it. I do not know what the statistics say about the divorce rate is in same sex marriage, probably too soon to demonstrate that they are either more successful or less successful than same sex marriage. The addage: "opposites attrack" is what started a thought process in this direction. Opposites is taken from the same Greek base as opposition. I think that is the basis of most unsuccessful marriages. I defer from using the expression failed here because that means someone did not do enough to keep the marriage together. I am sure that could be the case in some divorces. I do believe the deeper reason for divorces is that people grow apart. The emotion of love disapates and the union is over. Too many marriages stay together for the wrong reasons; we stayed together for the kids, even though they spend the major part of their formative years watching us fight all the time; so much so that it became the norm for them. When they got married they thought the same thing we did, thus creating a very vicious cycle. Just one example.
Now going back to my original statement. Who said that people of the same sex should not be united in matrimony? The Bible? Who wrote the Bible? Where did the stories in the Bible come from? A lot of people cite the book of Genesis, chapter 19 as an example: Sodom and Gomorrah. Who selected what books would be included in the Bible? Originally, it was the rabbe. Here is some Biblical history for you. The Bible was developed from Midrash. Midrash is oral stories passed along for many generations before they were written down. Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that the stories that were told from generation to generation, never varied. What was told at the first sitting stayed the same, forever; but unless the people that told the stories witnessed what actually happened only told a story of something that they heard from someone else. A very great number of people believe that the Bible is the Word of God or the inspired Word of God. It all boils down to belief. Okay, for the sake of another argument, what if man created God and not the other way around? Do not be mistaken, I believe in God. I believe God created the world, not necessarily how the Bible tells it. No one was there to see it happen, so no one actually knows how it really happened. Another story passed down.
Okay, we are finally getting to the part that inspired the title to this blog. Almost every Christian believes that God gave man "Free Will". What exactly is free will? To me it is the ability to gather all the facts about things and make a decision based on the facts. So every person has the God given right to make his own decision based on the facts. Too bad that doesn't always happen. Too many times decisions are made based more on emotional inspiration rather than logical; not necessarily a bad way to make a decision but not always successful. So a man loves another man, or a woman loves another woman. Who makes the decision that this is wrong? and based on what information? Is it because the Bible says it's wrong? So if you believe that then you are relying on a document with a great deal of historical background and "stories". When did the historical part of the Bible become factual? I try to follow the Ten Commandments as closely as possible, but can you truly prove they existed? Where are the tablets that they were written on. According to the story in the Bible they were placed in an ark and protected, but somehow the ark was hidden and no one knows where that ark is located. Did someone write down on a secret document where it was hidden and that document has yet to be written or people were sworn to secrecy and the secret died with the passing of those that knew where it is? Did it really get taken up to heaven? Everything depends on faith. The definition of faith is trust in things unseen. Christians have faith that Jesus ascended to heaven by the hand of God, but no one saw it happen, but by faith they believe it to be true.
What is truly acceptable? Is it so wrong for a couple of the same sex to be united? Is it because they have found something so very few people discover in life...happiness. What do we need to accept and what do we need to tolerate?
ac·cept·ance
[ak-sep-tuhns] Show IPA
noun
1.
the act of taking or receiving something offered.
2.
favorable reception; approval; favor.
3.
the act of assenting or believing: acceptance of a theory.
4.
the fact or state of being accepted or acceptable.
tol·er·ance
[tol-er-uhns] Show IPA
noun
1.
2.
a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions and practices that differ from one's own.
3.
interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint.
4.
Acceptance and Tolerance are not synonyms. The key word being "fair".
Like I said I am neither condemning nor condoning same sex marriages. I am going to take a fair viewpoint and not judge the decisions of people that want to be united with someone they love. I am using my Free Will to make that decision based on facts.
So if this is a something that really bothers you, I would suggest for your own sanity's sake, give it a rest. There are far more important things to be concerned with in this world, like are you going to be making enough money in the future to support your lifestyle.
Not meant to offend anyone. And by applying your Free Will you can chose to not like me anymore.
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