For those who don’t know what I’m up to, I recently left Cambodia after twenty months of volunteer service through the Peace Corps. I’m originally from Texas, blah blah blah.  I like to travel PERIOD.

All right then. The beach is where it’s at y’all!  If you are planning a beautiful and exotic trip to escape the bullshit of our times go to southern Thailand.  I just got back from a one week adventure in the town of Krabi, which is a coastal town with jaw dropping beaches just a boat trip away.  I’m gonna hook you up with some awesome info. on cheap accomodation, places to go, and things to do ON A BUDGET!  If you are into resorts and first class shit, get outta here.

I guess if I’m gonna sell it we need visuals.

 Those are just pics and can’t do justice to the real thing no matter how HD they are.

How to get there – FROM BANGKOK Train/Bus/Plane  - If you take the train there are several options, including the sleeper train. First class, second class, and crappy seats are your options.  I recommend 1st or 2nd which offer AC for about $23 on a 13 hour trip. the beds are like bunk beds, so 2nd class is just the top bunk and the cost is cheaper. The seats are just that, so good luck sleeping on those if you choose the 3rd class. The train station is located at the Hua Lampong stop on the metro.  You can reach it from the BTS (skytrain) by going to Sala Daeng stop and getting the Metro from there (to Hua Lampong.)

If you opt for the Bus, it will take about the same lenght or more…I heard from another guy it took 16 hours and was very uncomfortable. Cost is waaaay cheaper (about $12)

AirAsia will give you an awesome deal if you want to fly (anywhere in asia.)  Check often and book ahead of time. It will be a 2 or 1 and 1/2 hour flight.  Deals can be as cheap as $100 roundtrip.

Once in Krabi Town one must take a longboat for about 100 Baht or $3.50 to Railey beach, which is the place to go!!! (the beach pics I posted are from there) There are several beaches near there and it is paradise, people! Tun Sai beach has cheap bungalows for 200 Bhat or about $7. I stayed at Chill Out Bar, which had firedancers and awesome music. It is important to mention that the cheapest time to travel is during low-season (May-June)  Otherwise, I don’t know how much it will cost you.

Things to do: Climbing!  Make friends and borrow their equipment. The only thing I had to rent were the shoes for $5 half-day or $10 full day.

Sit at the beach and make friends over a couple of Changs (Thai beer which will cost $3)

& to finish this post, I’ve made a little video.  Let’s make life count!

My next stop will be BERLIN!!!! I take off in a couple of days   Can’t fucking wait.  FKK, festivals, alternative culture and cool people.  This post can’t convey how ecstatic I am!!! Plan is to get there and go with the flow, so I’ll post when I find the time.  Till then, cheers and enjoy the vid.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/one-towns-war-on-gay-teens-20120202?page=5

& if you are not the reading type, maybe watch this short youtube video

Before Peace Corps, I had never met so many beautiful ambassadors from the state of Minnesota.  So when I read this article I had trouble finding a connection with the people I know and the description of the state they call home in said article, but it serves as a reminder that we all come from  places of beautiful people, and unfortunately some of this beauty is so rare and different, even exotic! that some folks just don’t know what to do with us.

Although I have tried to not come across as an activist for fear of having my tag or label grow in size, I think it is about time that people started speaking up. It is my time to speak up that is.

Now I’m not trying to make people feel sorry for me by sharing what I’m about to share, but if anybody out there is going through anything similar, slightly similar, or heck even different, just know that we all go through crap or even hell sometimes.

Where to start..

I’ll start off by mentioning that I’ve been the victim of bullying.  No surprise there.

School was not the problem though, especially since I learned to entertain people by way of class clown.  Perhaps it was this self-degrading character which granted me immunity from attacks or suspicion.  If anything was ever brought up, I quickly dodged it by acting up or exaggeratingly portraying the insult thrown at me.  “Fag!”  So I gave them a flamboyant but entertaining character which resulted in a cease fire from the offender and a shift of control. This hardly ever happened though (the negative insults part.) Maybe once or twice.

No, the bullying came from my own family, both immediate and extended.  I don’t want to go too deep into it because I don’t want to make people feel like the bad guys, but I do want to say that just because family is supposed to promote a safe place and a healthy environment, it is not always so.  Living with a host family in Cambodia for 20 months I have come to see a varying degree of family impact on the individual, with expectations such as  who we should be and how we should act and even who we should love. Some people are okay with that, but if you are like me, NOT OKAY. It has given me the opportunity to analyze my situation with my family back in the states.

I know that my family and even some of my friends have a hard time understanding me. Having knowledge of my ‘unconventional’ attractions are partly to blame for this I guess, but my personality definitely plays a bigger role.  But of course, every misunderstood part of us is lumped into the one thing that people love to hate, and we wear that label.  The gay guy.  For some reason this overshadows and tries to oversimplify the rest of the complex beings we are.

I’ve done something about it though! We can always do something about it. The solution to my particular situation has been to get away from the unhealthy environment which I felt was suffocating me, which meant leaving my family behind and starting fresh.  Trust me, it is not an easy thing to do nor am I saying that is what everyone should do.  I love my family and I always will, but until I feel that it is a place that will be good for me, I will not go back.

In the meantime I journey on my quest to make friends and in these friends form a new family away from the place I  call home.  It is a journey in which I slowly strip myself of the old skin and grow a new one.  It has been beautiful and exciting.

So far, I’ve learned that this is a wonderful world only when we pursue our own happiness, and for me it is what has made life worth living.

So if anyone out there runs into this blog, like my friends, or absolutely ANYBODY and you are having suicidal thoughts, I offer myself as a listener and confidant.  We may or may not know each other but I value you.  I’m not a therapist nor am I a psychiatrist, but I am a person who will listen.

hurtado.a@hotmail.com  is the best way to reach me.

& to the rest of us, let’s be aware of how we treat others, (our children, elders, students, teachers, peers, counterparts, employees, bosses, family) especially those we see as different.

To my amigos in Cambodia: take a good look because the creature you see before you is OUTTA HERE.

After much time in Cambodia during which I got to experience a lot of self-exploration both spiritually and physically

it is time to goooooo000000ooo0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o & explore more of that

so next up SEX (talk), NEW PEOPLE, NATURE, EUROPE!

Next up:  

For great contemporary Thai art, check out the Bangkok Art And Culture Centre located in the downtown area near the Siam Mall.  Easily accessible by the Skyrail, (the name of the stop is called Siam).

With my buddy Roxy, taking a photo break.Andy Warhol’s Factory made its way to Bangkok too!  A very cool interactive installation for those of us who have no access to awesome colorful wigs or aluminum.

Here are the coolest travel buddies one could ever hope for. Thanks guys for having such great energy!  Wisconsin & California represent! Here we have a cool light installation in front of the Siam mall that lights up at night.

To see the greatest outside market ever, go to the Chatuchak Weekend Market! Fashion, food, and quality stuff for cheap! This place is huge and perfect for us cheap ass people. I found me some booty shorts for $2.  I used them later that night for a free gogo dancing show I did for God. Scroll further down for a picture.

Street food!  Here we have some Chicken Pad Thai, which will cost about 40 Baht or $1.20 cents.  Yeah, in the U.S. that same Pad Thai will cost $7 +.  F***k that. Staying in Asia.  Below are pictures of Khao San Road, which is one of the most popular backpacker destinations for its entertainment, food, drinks, and cheap hostels. 
When it comes to transportation, Bangkok rocks! You have three awesome options.  Option #1: Water Taxi Boat, which costs about 15 Baht for a ride across the city (for example: Khao San Rd to Siam city mall) The down side for option 1 is that it gets crowded and it is kind of slow, but CHEAP!

Option #2: Car Taxi, which will start with a flat rate of 35 Baht or $1.10 + 2 Baht for every kilometer.  So we got across the city for about 90 Baht or $3.  A little more expensive that the water taxi but still very do-able. It is a good idea to travel with other people.  ALWAYS ASK FOR THE METER!!! Some taxi’s will want to charge you 200 Baht or more and skip the meter…this is illegal. They can get in trouble for it, but it’s worth it for them to make the extra bucks.

Option #3: Skyrail, which is probably the most expensive option but still a great way to travel quickly to all the hot spots in the city…even to the weekend market!

Below is a pic of the little informational decals about what is permitted and not, in the taxi. Basically, vomiting is not okay, doing IT is not okay, gambling is not okay, smoking is not okay, but prostitution is OKAY!

For a fun time out, check out the gay district in Silom 2. I went with a couple of friends and we had a really great time out there. One particular club we went to is called God. It has gogo dancers, but because I LOVE to dance as well, I took it upon myself to show those boys how it’s done. Voila-

THE BLEU DIVA

The picture below is of a street full of shows for men, by men. I guess they are trying to be as shocking as the ping pong girls, which I did not see, thank you very much.  If you are into getting groped and harrassed, this place is for you. Otherwise, I would say stay away.

Conclusion: Bangkok rocks!

In other news:

Battambang had its first Artwalk this year!  There’s this huge nest that a local artist created, and he allowed Make Maek Art Space to use it for the event.  Sooooo, we rolled it down the street just for the heck of it.  Below are images of the event.

EVERYONE SHOULD COME TO ASIA!

Many times throughout our lives we have heard people tell a tale or two of adventure in far away lands, and some of us sit there in awe and wonder if we’ll ever experience such a rush.  Or we sit in front of a television screen or in a theatre and watch as the protagonists venture into the unknown, encountering new people, walking on exotic lands, getting killer diarrhea from strange foods, dancing to new beats, and falling in love.  All the while, we are still sitting, comfortable and in some extreme cases wasting away. We’ve all felt that longing to want to live outside of the comfort of our couches, but we don’t know how to go about doing it. To make matters worse, it seems everywhere we look, there is someone trying to scare the hell out of us.  You know, the world is a dangerous place full of terrorists wanting to destroy westerners, especially Americans who stray too far from the safety of the big red white and blue.  Those warnings are echoed by the economic crisis the world is currently still supposedly recovering from.  Like many other young people of my generation, I honestly do not want to participate in the game our governments are crafting, so I took a chance one day, and have been taking chances ever since. Funny enough, the first chance I took was to apply for a government position as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I got accepted, and was missioned to serve in Cambodia.  As long as I was getting my adventure, I was okay with that.   Use the system right?

These are some of my experiences written during my time living in Cambodia.  I just want to share my own little adventure and possibly inspire some to pursue their own.

I lie on my stinky warped mattress, stomach first with my laptop illuminating my acne infested face. My mosquito net does a wonderful job of keeping malaria and dengue at a safe distance.  Outside, fields of rice blend into the horizon interrupted by some palm, banana, and mango trees. Most of the village sits on either side of the dirt road leading to national highway number 5, which is a couple of kilometers to the right of my current home.  There is a circus school across the dirt road making the location of my host family’s house a strategic spot for selling noodle soups and snacks, and behind me is a temple where loud chanting and music make sure to wake anyone up.  But for now, it is quiet. There’s a sense of peace and serenity that only happens at night and for the last fifteen months, the quiet hours have helped me to appreciate my new reality.  Except for the frogs and insects making their nightly orchestral performance, and the humming of my fan which is pointing towards me, Cambodia sleeps.

A little wooden room which fits a queen sized springless lumpy mattress and a meter long metal trunk full of worthless stuff, has become my home.  Being that it is only a ten by ten foot room, I don’t have space for much else so coincidentally,  there’s stuff thrown all around the floor, including but not limited to clean clothes mixed with dirty clothes, creams, water bottles, and more stuff.  Somewhere in the corner is my cum rag.  At one point it had the smell of sweetness, I’m guessing from all the pineapples I ate, but ever since I stopped eating less fruit the smell of sweetness has disappeared.  There is an empty one litter water bottle next to me in my mosquito net for when nature calls.  It is my chamber pot.  I use the flashlight from my cellphone to make sure that I aim into the twenty five cent coin sized opening of the bottle. This is all done within my mosquito net, for once I’m inside, I don’t go out.  I’ve learned the hard way that those little bloodsuckers only need half a second to get in. I’ll empty the bottle in the morning when I go wash my face over the toilet, unless I forget. Until then, the pee bottle rests on my bed next to me.  I used to pee out the barred blue window in my room which is on the second floor directly above my host family’s bedroom.  All I have to do is position my pelvis forward so as not to have any drops fall on the wooden floor of my bedroom. There is something therapeutic about hearing my pee fall through the vegetation outside.  I am creating a nice little waterfall for all the thirsty little insects.  I have been doing this for months. The restroom is downstairs and just too far away to do something which I could do out the window.  Eventually my host family called me out on it.  In Khmer, they said that they couldn’t open their bedroom window because it smelled of pee.  “It stinks,” they said.  They were right of course. It smelled of urinal, but my newfound sense of liberty made me think I could get away with it, and I was too far up to get a whiff of that.  I did stop though.

Luckily, when I do have to go, the restroom has a western toilet so that I can actually rest my cheeks on something instead of squatting over a hole in the ground, which is the norm all over Cambodia.  After that, mosquitos are the next thing to be noticed because there are hundreds in that four by seven space.  The far end of the wall has a concrete bath looking compartment where stagnant water for bathing is stored. This is mosquito haven. Larvae swim around in the cold water in happy little circles until I scoop them up with my shower bucket and pour. Unfortunately for both of us, they end up in my hair on my head and perhaps on other parts of my body. Constant movement while bathing is necessary in order to avoid the bites, so I take the opportunity to practice my salsa turns.The sink in the restroom has no running water so I instinctively hover over the toilet bowl to wash my face.  I never thought about it but I’m just realizing that I think it might have to do with my brain wanting to have a container reminiscent of the sink catch the water I drop.  It’s not very nice however when I lift the toilet lid to find someone’s bean sprouts floating about in a pool of poop nuggets.  I could easily just wash my face and let the water drop on the floor anywhere else in the restroom, but for some reason I always hover over the toilet in order to wash my face, even though I know what may lie beneath.  Guess I realized poop is a reality and I am willing to face it everyday. Literally face it. It’s natural. I’m not repulsed. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

In the states, I would be outraged and find the culprit and make the bastard flush that shit, but here, I just take it.  I don’t know yet if it is submission or patience.  I’d like to think the latter. Point is that after being here for one whole year, I don’t know where I stand.  I can feel a great change in my being but nothing a mirror can show me.  Adaptation perhaps, or a beat down.

Anyway, last night King Sihanouk died at the age of 89 or 90 (Cambodians count time spent in the womb as a year) in a Chinese hospital.  I got a text from the Peace Corps office this morning to inform all volunteers about what had happened.  It was bizarre to be woken up by a text that said “The King has died.” I don’t care.  I don’t know exactly what he was doing in China, it could be that they have better hospitals or maybe he was making business with some Chinese guy who wanted to take more land from Cambodia. Whatever it was it is not important to me.  Notice the indifference, which by the way I blame on my newfound value in selfishness thanks to Ayn Rand whose books I accidentally discovered while almost bored.  I felt nothing. People die all the time and honestly I dislike political figures especially monarchies or anything that has to do with hierarchy. Funny I dislike all that but I’m here living in a culture where hierarchy dominates and dictates the daily activities and interactions of millions, which I will get into a lot more later on.   I asked my Cambodian friend, Soviet, whom I will be mentioning a lot, if he was sad about the king dying and he said no.  At least he didn’t laugh hysterically like my host family when I asked them if they were sad that the king had died. Soviet then proceeded to tell me in English that the king was half robot.  A little confused, I asked what he meant…(inside I was laughing so loud.)  Apparently the king was in China because of health reasons and he had some artificial organs, which according to Soviet, included his heart, lungs, stomach, and everything else necessary to live.  We are both very visual people with a similar sense of humor so we sat, visualized this description, and laughed about it as we ate some awesome Vietnamese vegetable crepes.  Now, that isn’t to say that Cambodian people don’t care about the king’s passing. Some Cambodian people have taken the king’s passing very seriously. The Royal Palace in the capital has received thousands and thousands of mourners after his body was returned to Cambodia.   According to what I’ve heard, people will be able to visit the Royal Palace where his body shall remain for three months.

So check this out.  I went to Phnom Penh soon after the king died. The streets were ever so busy and certain city blocks around the Royal Palace were blocked off to vehicles.  Now Phnom Penh, is the capital of Cambodia, and as might be expected it has the largest population of any city in the country.  The streets are overrun by hundreds and hundreds of tuk tuks, which are motorcycles with a cabin attached to the rear. Well, I was cycling around the city one night getting from place to place, dodging dangerous tuk tuk drivers and moto drivers when after a while of sensing something was off, I noticed people kept looking up at the sky.  I continued biking but from the corner of my eye I could see people looking up, so when I could I risked a glance to see what exactly they were looking at.  There was nothing to be seen other than a crescent moon, which everyone has seen before.  Na, there had to be something else, but I just didn’t care enough to ask in Khmer, “Hey sir, would you mind telling me what you are so intently staring at up in the sky?”  So after coming back to my permanent residence in Battambang province, up in northern Cambodia, I was asked by a Khmer person if I had seen the King on the moon.  Immediately, I connected the dots and realized then why everyone back in Phnom Penh was looking up at the sky.  They were looking at the King’s face on the moon.  How silly of me!  Why didn’t I see that coming.  The best thing though was when I actually saw a photoshopped image of the Kings face on the moon somewhere in a shop.  It made me so happy deep down inside to see that someone had actually gone through the trouble of forcing the two images together. And just today, I went to sit on the riverfront at night where the reflection of scattered building lights along the river made for a beautiful starry night down below from where I was sitting.  The moon was out and all was quiet as most Cambodians go to bed early, when this local man comes and sits next to me.  He was such a friendly guy and he also smelled of alcohol.  I was in a good mood after having a coconut fruit shake so I made it easy for him to start a conversation with me by breaking the ice and saying in Cambodian, “How are you?”  His eyes sparkled under the moonlight and his smile spread wider across his face. “You speak Cambodian?” he asked incredulously.  “Yes, I’ve been in Cambodia for fifteen months” I replied. “Wow, you know so much.”  I really don’t know all that much, but it is easy to impress Cambodians with the little Khmer that foreigners are willing to learn so we shared small talk until eventually I asked if he was sad that the king had died, all the while I purposefully looked up at the moon. I was hoping he’d say something about the king being up there. He did! Not only that, he pointed and examined it looking for traces of the king. It took about two whole minutes before the man found the king on the moon. Pointing up at it, as if that were proof enough, he asked excited, “You see? You see?”  I consider myself an open minded guy and didn’t want to close myself off to the possibility of actually seeing the king up there, so I went along with it and hurt my eyes straining. “No” I replied. “I don’t see him”    He then told me how to find him. “Look at the dark side of the moon, and then go down, and then right.”  “I still don’t see him”  I replied.    “Today it’s not so clear, but yesterday and the day before yesterday it was very clear and you could see the King,” he said in Khmer.

Cambodia goes to bed as early as seven thirty every night, which creates a beautiful balance for those who thrive in chaos and those who require the time and space to withdraw from it.  A smile and the happiness that triggers it are the last thing I am aware of when I finally go to sleep at the end of every night.  The transition to the semi silence when darkness arrives is such a polar opposite to the raucous of the day. It is the small sounds that remind me of my existence. Cambodia is still alive at night, only now that the humans have turned their radios off and are resting their vocal pipes, can the creatures of the night be heard.  This life outside is what encouraged me to start peeing out of my window; to participate. I took pleasure in the act.  How could I not.  A natural release while witnessing the moonlit landscape along with the mysterious shadows that bend and twist through the greenery made me feel like a contributor to the natural night life.  One truly magical experience only happens at night when the rice fields reach up for the stars.  One star for every stem it seems.  Frogs in the rice paddies sing to the constellations and these respond by shooting one of their own down to our plane, in acknowledgment.  I’d never seen nebula clouds nor was I sure of ever seeing galaxies, but I saw all of this one day as I stood in the muddy terrain along the paddies.  Mosquitoes demanded my attention but I did not give it to them.  Suck all you want I thought.  I won’t kill you tonight.  How could I?  No violent act could be perpetrated on a night such as this, and with such a spectacle. Standing outside in the middle of this phenomenon made me feel invincible and thankful for my existence.  It was only during this time that I loved everyone and everything.  If only the coldest of hearts could be brought to this land and allowed to contemplate I thought, we’d live in a different world.  But like all truly majestic things, only under unique circumstances can things such as these be appreciated. Perhaps my circumstance was that of being alone with no one to share, starved for real living; not boxed away in some air conditioned room trying to keep my virtual self ever present in the minds of my online “friends.”  I was happier than I’d ever been.  Another beautiful thing to witness are the Battambang clouds which sometimes grant me these visions of the universe, through their openings.  But they also hide them in the dark sky, and it seems to be in their nature to turn spectators into addicts wanting, needing more, only to keep the treasure hidden until the next magical night.  I always walk out with my eyes looking up to heavens hoping to get a glance of that cosmic display.

Another thing that Cambodia has to offer is an endless display of smiles.  I’m not talking about those unconvincing lip twitches that last half a second with no participation from the eyes. ( I’m thinking about Tyra Banks and her “smile with your eyes.” ) Well, it’s true.  You can tell when someone is truly smiling, by looking at their eyes.  Cambodian people have genuine smiles, and they do it so often.  I don’t know why, but I’ve convinced myself that it has to do with the sun.  They are true children of the sun, projecting light.  You understand what I’m talking about if you’ve ever been to Cambodia.  Anyway, I think it is popular knowledge that people who live in warm places are generally a lot more friendly and happier than those who live in the cold.  It can’t be just that though, because I’ve been to Mexico, Malaysia, Thailand, Italy and although all of the people of those countries are nice, Cambodians are so much nicer.  It is also a country of children, of innocence.  According to the 2009 Unicef “Situation Analysis on Youth in Cambodia, over 40% of Cambodia’s population ins under the age of 18. It is impossible to ride down the street on my bicycle without hearing a hello from either side of the road.  “Hello, hello, hello!” followed by giggles and laughs. I’m sure if they knew more English they’d stop me and try to have a whole conversation with me.  Just the other day, I was riding my bike on my way to the ATM, when this youngster rode up on his motorcycle and said hello.  I wasn’t in a particularly good mood but I responded with a hello as well.  Still riding by my side, and after about thirty seconds, he asks me in English where I’m going. “to the ATM,” I tell him.  He then asks how long I have been in Cambodia (still in English.)  I respond.  “Oh, and where do you work?”  I told him and then he say’s, “Okay, bye bye!”  I couldn’t help but smile after that.  He actually managed to put me in a good mood and I’m sure that it was not his intention to come and brighten up my day.  “Hey, I’m gonna go make that foreigner happy.”  No, he was just being friendly like the majority of the Cambodian population.  Funny enough, right after he took off, I turned a street only to hear a loud maniacal laugh.  It caught me off guard, so I looked for the source, and found it sitting on a bench smiling hard and looking straight at me.  I don’t know what I had done to make her so happy, but she made me happy back.  If you’d seen the way she was acting, you’d think she was on crack, but she was just excited about something.  Back in the states, I would avoid her.  Here in Cambodia, I wanted to be her best friend.

I’ve read about this theory some time ago, and since I agree with it, I find it fitting to mention it at this time.  Now this might sound like I’m just being emotional and posting subjective material, but the truth is that what I am about to share is backed by professional opinion and has been for some time.  Unfortunately not much attention has been given.

Most media is crap and in cases such as the reporting of the recent massacre at the elementary school, it is harmful.  Based on past experiences, we can agree that this story will be the main topic of discussion and news for the next couple of weeks.  The problem with that is that this kind of ‘news’ creates a ripple effect.  Those ripples are carried out by all media outlets in the country, and even world (heck I got the news here in Cambodia) to a degree of having a devastating effect on a few who are then inspired to commit these same kinds of atrocities.  If we stop to think about it, it makes perfect sense.  There are unstable people out there in every corner of the country, and when they hear about a misunderstood boy with issues killing others and becoming an instant poster boy with everybody mentioning their name, trying to figure out why they did it, and getting all the attention that they crave, the unstable boy in front of the tv goes out and claims that attention by copying what worked for the other guy.  If any of you guys read Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, he talks a bit about this phenomenon along with other ‘trends’ and how/why they happen.   Unfortunately, our gun obsessed culture does not make it any better.  The guns are out there. Plenty of them.

Anyway, because I understand that we like to be entertained, I will share this video link which briefly touches on why we should condemn the kind of “reporting” that we tune in to watch.

I think the guy sums it up.  News media outlets should really start some responsible reporting, and we as the public, should stop tunning in to this kind of stuff.  That’s the only reason I mentioned this story.

In other news: My friend sent me this very nice poem by Alejandro Jodorowsky. I could not find it in English so I’ll have to translate the best I can.

This is the Spanish Version:

En el país de los mediocres, nació un verdadero artista. Su necesidad de expresión era esencial y pronto encontró un viejo piano en el que llegó a tocar sublimes conciertos. Su perfección como pianista despertó tal envidia que pronto los ciudadanos, por medio de calumnias, se las arreglaron para meterlo preso y ahí, en la cárcel, hacer cortarle el brazo derecho. El manco sufrió un tiempo, pero luego su mundo interior le hizo reponerse y comenzar, con una mano, a fabricar máscaras que eran obras maestras. Los mediocres hicieron que le cortaran el otro brazo. Así mutilado, el artista no se dejó abatir y se convirtió en un gran bailarín. ¡Le cercenaron una pierna! El cojo se encerró en un cuarto y con telas, óleos y pinceles, aprendió a pintar con su pie. El único público que este creador tenía eran los niños, porque en sus corazoncitos no cabían los celos y eran capaces de aceptar el valor de otro. ¡Los resentidos le cortaron la otra pierna! Se dedicó a cantar ópera. ¡Le cortaron la lengua! Tomó entre los dientes un pincel y creó dibujos fantásticos. ¡Le arrancaron los dientes! Consiguió una antigua máquina de escribir y golpeando las teclas con la nariz escribió poemas, cuentos, novelas. ¡Le arrancaron la nariz! Rodó entonces sobre polvos de colores y con el cuerpo untado, frotándose contra una tela, hizo maravillosos cuadros abstractos. ¡Los amargados, no soportándolo más, lo asesinaron! En su testamento dejó una orden, que los niños, convertidos ya en jóvenes, ejecutaron religiosamente: con sus tripas fabricaron cuerdas de violín, con su piel hicieron un tambor; con sus huesos, flautas; con sus cabellos una funda para armónica y con sus demás restos, molidos, obtuvieron celulosa para fabricar un blanco papel en donde imprimieron sus versos.
Alejandro Jodorowsky

ENGLISH:

In the land of mediocrity, a real artist was born.  His necessity to express was essential and soon he found an old piano through which he was able to play sublime concerts.  His perfection as a pianist created such envy that soon the citizens created a plan to have him arrested, and there in jail, have the artists’ arm cut off.  The artist suffered a while, but soon the world inside him gave him strength to heal and start with one hand, to make masks which were true works of art. The mediocre crowd had his other arm cut off. Mutilated, the artist did not give up and he became a great dancer.  They severed his leg! The cripple locked himself in a room with canvas, oils, and brushes, and learned to paint with his foot.  The only public this creator had were the children, because their little hearts had no room for jealousy and they were able to accept the courage of another. The embittered ones had his other leg cut off! He then dedicated himself to singing opera. They cut out his tongue! He took a pen in between his teeth and created wonderful drawings.  They took out his teeth! He found an old typing machine and srtiking the keys with his nose, he wrote poems, stories, novels. They had his nose cut off! He then rolled about in colored dirt and with his covered body, created wonderful abstract paintings on cloth.  The bitter crowd could not stand it anymore. They killed him.  In his testament he left an order, that the children, now grown to young adults, religiously executed: with his entrails they created strings for violins, with his skin they made drums; with his bones, flutes; with his hair a case for the harmonica, and with the rest, grounded down to pulp, they obtained material to create white paper on which to print their verses.

These writings and instruments eliminated a bit of the mediocrity of the country…

Nobody can stop the human spirit from expressing! No matter the adversity, if you are authentic, you will always find a road that will allow you to create your world.

Thanks Andrea for inspiring me!

& in case I don’t post something sooner, happy end of the world! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! if we survive.  :)

I realize that I made some errors in the video: sell not sale is one of ‘em.  …

Also, to anybody interested in supporting an awesome cause, my friends and I will be working with an animation studio in order to get a comic into Cambodian television.  It will educate people on proper garbage disposal among other things.  Check out the official website for more information and for instructions on how to donate.

https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=303-036

I’d be happy to answer any questions regarding this blog post and information presented on here.

Another thing the kids love is acting! When we go over new vocabulary, I do my best to use  props and to act it out (or have them act it out) instead of just translating.  It keeps them engaged and in my experience the more involved one is in the process of anything, the more it helps to understand and ultimately remember, which is key.

And in other things non-related: Here’s a dance routine we did at the circus dance school.  I love everybody’s own version of this! & check it out my booty. DAMN! I’d hit that.

So, I reached out to my best friend here who was feeling the same same but different way. We stayed in a A/C hotel room, ate out at Western restaurants, went to see an art exhibition, and talked about life.  Thank you so much Maria for helping me through that downer.  You are such a powerful woman, just like your laugh.  & to anybody who is around me please know that I used to be pretty chill back in my element, and I hope to be chill again when I’m back.  But for now, here in Cambodia, just deal with the weirdness.  I’ve decided to embrace it and let go.  That’s what this adventure is all about.

Halloween came and went. A group of us dressed as Village People.  No group pics available yet but I’ll post if people ever send me the pictures they took. hint hint