An Alternative to Development

My posts have been a bit out of order lately, mainly due to lack of internet. I lastly wrote on my birthday (Saturday) and ended with saying I would have more after I returned from the cloud forest. That post was completed about a week prior to the actual posting, so I am, in fact, back from the cloud forest. So what is the cloud forest? The Intag Cloud forest is first and foremost a climite region in Ecuador. I wish I knew the specifics of how it is formed, but I don't. I know it is at a lower elevation that Quito and on the west side of the westernmost Andese Mountain range. I assumed it is formed in the same way the clouds are trapped by the Cascades in Oregon, by forming over the ocean and rushing onto land only to be blocked by the mountians. What happens here next is the warm weather and calm winds allow the clounds to slowly rise and pass over the mountains. The water condenses making this zone super wet, but is warm enough in the day to support a huge variety of life and create a semi-rainforest atmosphere. The property itself that we visited for 5 days was called La Florida, and is run by a man named Carlos. Carlos is an activist and for all intents and purposes a hippy by American standards. But the label of hippy doesn't do him justice. He is both well educated and well articulated. For the past thirty-some years he has dedicated his life to Intag and protecting the natural beauty and biodiversity it has to offer. He has purchased swaths of farmland and allowed nature to reclaimd its rightful place as a prosperous forrest. He also lives in the cloud forrest with his wife and family and a few other Ecuadorians and gringos. Everything they eat they grow, and if they don't grow it they purchase it from the nearest town of Otavalo. The food is all organic and everything on the property is recycled into compost to continue the process. We had coffee, oh the best coffee in the world, quinoa, potatoes, fuits, juices, everything was homemade (at one point a cookbook even existed; written by one of the Intag community memebers). In addition to the wonderful food and company we were given the opportunity to listen to lectures by the local community memebers, beginning with Carlos and his struggle against the mining companies. The community of Intag has time and time again fought off commercial mining interests, first the Japanese, then the Canadians, and now the Chinese. Each time the dispute has intensified, and with road improvement being completed in the region, I fear that this new fight is only just beginning. In the past Carlos has been called a environmental terrorist by the government, had his home raided, and has gone into hiding. All to protect the land that the Ecuadorian consitution gives rights to; rights that protect it from extractive practices. It was in this lecture that Carlos put the indigenous sruggle, and his, in a nut shell. He said that from the indigenous people's perspective the earth has existed and will continue to exist without us, but we can not exist without the earth; so how can somone own something that they depend on? We listened to a woman speak on the protests and an incident in which private security came to Intag and berated protestors with tear gas. Last but not least we listened to Mary Ellen, a member of the community and expert on Ecuadorian history, give us a lecture about post colonialism ecuador; ending in the 1910s. We went on a hike though the cloud forrest with a man who had grown up in the area, and whose knowledge of the plants, both medicinal and not, was astounding. It was an amazing trip. We spent time learning about the world we are taking a part in, and learning about each other as well. Our first night we spent playing a question game where anything was game; regrets, fears, apirastions, first experiences. I don't think I've ever felt so comfotable opening up to a group of friends. And lastly we did an early celebration of my brithday, though I missed it (a virus went around the program while we were there). I did get my present afterwards, an authentic Cuban Cigar which I promptly smoked the following day. I can't say enough about this trip, and as always I am at a loss for words to discribe my program and the profound impact it is having on the way I see the world. I am now at my Quito homestay and have begun the first series of lectures on Development Paradigms. I'm sure some interesting conversation will come of this, but as always I'll leave you on the edge of your seat until next time. Chiao friends!

Liver Deliberately

These last 12 days seem like they just whisked by. I finished the first paper over the course of 6 hours, exhausting but necessary. The rest of the week was pretty smooth, the weekend brought with it more dancing and hanging out with friends. This last week was one of the more stressful ones yet, I had another paper and presentation, plus a final presentation for spanish class, a final exam, another program assignment, and a separate program paper. Amazingly it all got done, although I'm still not sure how. All the work came brought with it a short lived cold, which put a damper on things. The hardest part of the week was finding out one of the gringos would be leaving us. After eight months abroad he had decided it was time to go home. So this post goes out to Max! While we miss you here I'm sure home missed you more. Other than that not much has changed. I've had a bunch of opportunities to play soccer, and was even told I play well for a gingo. My spanish continues to improve with everyday, I'm learning so many new things and have been working hard to incorporate complex grammar into speech; which is insanely hard. Today I leave my host family for a week in the forest with my program. We'll talk with activists and observe nature, then return to Quito on Friday. I'm looking forward to the break from urban life and the opportunities to indulge in both as mnay raw fruits and veggies as I can consume, as well as fresh picked and roasted coffee. We also have a male bonding event planned which consists of smoking Cubans and chilling in nature. Our program director also told me he had put in a special order for a cake on Thursday for an early birthday celebration. I don't know why but being so far from home, knowing somone I've only just met is planing something for my brithday makes me feel even more at ease. Saturday we meet our Quito homestay, and it's my birthday! I guess 21 doesn't mean much here, but for me being in Ecuador is the best birthday present I could have. Anywho, there will be more to come I'm sure after I return from the Cloud Forest, Chiao!

School, school, school, school, school

School, School, School. School, School. Nearly three months off did not help my dedication to studying, and with a whole country of distractions at my hands its been nearly impossibly to hunker down and work. This is especially sad because day one I was assigned a story due the next day. A 5 page paper in Spanish due the day after with a presentation, and an observation based anthropology assignment due the day after the paper. WTF. Not that I was expecting it to be easy but that's a bit much. It also doesn't end there, we have another paper due the following monday, and the wednesday after that. Not going to lie I feel a bit overwhelmed. I also do not have reliable internet with my host family, and I don't want to have to use my brothers computer everytime I need to write a 5 page paper in Spanish. I have been going over to a fellow SITers house to work, but when the gringos get together, like we did yesterday, nothing gets done. Today I went over to pump this thing out, only to arrive and find out a thunderstorm had knocked out the power; and with it the internet. (Disclaimer: I'm done venting now. Sorry for the complaining). These last three days, other than the school stress, have been pretty awesome. Superbowl Sunday was great! The gringos and I had a reunion at the local TGI Fridays to watch the game with a few of our host family members. With only two days separating us at the time I haven't been more excited to see a group of people in a while. Monday was the start of classes, I was a bit dissappointed to find that I palced into the lower intermediate level; the lowest here in Ecuador. As the days have gone by though, I'm finding more or less we are all about on the same level. The advanced speakers are a bit ahead, but not by much. I've also been working hard to catch up, talking with my family as much as possible. And they're beginning to open up to me now that I can hold a semi-decent conversation, which has been really rewarding. I've been learning a lot of words and today got the chance to brush up on my written Spanish with a friends host brother.While at my friends house, the one with the power out, we sat and talked with her mom and host brother in Spanish for three hours. It was fun, I really like her family. They are really nice and interesting people and I think I bonded with her host brother by sharing the same favorite soccer teams and a love for rock climbing. We ate zuccini cake which was absolutely delicious! Forgot to mention this but earlier during school we were told to go to the market and haggle for some fruit. The haggling didn't go so well, but on the other hand we got tons of fuits to eat. In hindsight this wasn't the best idea because we ate a lot of them on the spot and I am now suffering the consequences. Nothing too serious, but I haven't really had much to eat after then out of fear that things wont go well. Back to tonight. I came home to spaghetti tongiht, Im guessing my mom made it because I mentioned my Italian heritage and she has noticed that I haven't been eating much (by Ecuadorian standards, I challenge any westerner to come here and try to out eat on of these guys). Last night I had mentioned wanting to help change the water bottle on our water machine, you know, trying to not be completely helpless. My family had told me they didn't have an extra, so I told them it was cool and went about my business. Today I came home to a new bottle waiting for me to hook up. Apparently my mom told my dad not to do it specifically because I wanted to. These people crack me up. I was hoping the gesture would get them to start asking me to help out a little more, at times I feel like im useless, but they interpreted it as me REALLY wanting to change the water bottle. And so, well, I did. I really like my family, they are genuinely nice. Today I found out my brother wants to persue grad studies in graphic design in Argentina after undergrad here in Ecuador. It's been great getting to know them and I cherish the time I have here. I think I'm starting to miss home though. It hasn't even been two weeks but I find myself thinking about how comfortable home is and the friends I have there. As well as the ease of access I have to calling friends and family just to chat. I miss you guys a ton! At the same time I'm having the time of my life, everyday is something new, and I feel like my Spanish improves 1000X with every conversation. That's all I've got for today. Not posting because I don't have internet but I'll write again soon and hopefully get these up shortly.

Que Chevre

I met my host family! After a long dat at the migration office, and a post lunch beer in the Mariscal aka Gringolandia we boarded a bus to the suburb of Valle de Los Chillos. There we were dropped off in front of a church and waited with our academic director for the families arrived, my family came second. They drove me to their neighborhood, San Pedro de Taoaba, and then into their gated community which I think is called Hacienda. I live in a three story house, on the second floor. My room is the former baby room of my host sister who also lives in Hacienda. My host dad is reserved, to be honest I have difficulty understanding him, but he has been nothing but nice thus far. My host mom is a house wife, but not in the typical sense. She does most things, but leaves many to either the kids or house workers. Shes a sweet lady and I look forward to talking with her more. My host brother, Felipe, is ridiculous, in a good way....I think. My first day here we went to pick up his dad from work, met a few friends at the mall and then we hit the town (after a minor bout of gringo stomach). With seven people and two cars we drove into Quito to farrear, and we danced. It took us a while to get organized but eventually got into the club La Bipolar. We danced to American Pop, Reggeton, Electronica, just about everything. It was a blast. At first they were dismayed by my choice not to drink, but after a while they didn't care, it just ment more for them. We danced for hours, I was even taught a couple new moves to add to my salsa repetoire! All in all it was a fun but long night. Apparently we are going to be going out again tonight, it might be a challenge to get some rest on the weekends around here. So we didn't go out! Which I am totally cool with, I was exhausted and the alternatve was my first semi-bilingual experience. Let me back track though. I woke up today to breakfast, that being a snadwhich my second in two days, not bad odds but it seems to be a popular snack in my household. I was offered eggs and more but I figured I would let my host mom, who had already moved on to cleaning, continue doing what she needed to do and not worry about me. At around 2pm I went down stairs to what I thought was family lunch, after asking my bro “estamos iendo a un lugar para almuerzo?” to which he replied “no,” I quickly realized I would in fact be leaving the house. Still in pajama mode (though wearing jeans for presentableness) we left the house together. Me, Mom, Dad, Bro, Sister, and Baby. We arrived in a new part of Los Chillos, along the drive I managed to call my host mom a rat and be convinced that another person in my program would be joining us for lunch. Neither were true (suprise, suprise, lost in translation seems to be the theme of these last two days). The house we pulled into was spectacular, big and beatiful. We sat down at a table and were served by a woman I would later find out was the wife of my host dads friend from childhood, and introduced my host mom to my host dad. This culture is completely new to me. We were served dinner by this lady, with two other older Latinas cooking in the kitchen. She didn't eat with us but talked with my host mom while the rest of us ate. I felt really bad because I barely scratched my plate, after being told a million times how offensive it is to not eat what youre given. After all, a happy student = a hungry student, or so goes my directors take on Ecuadorian homestays. I ate as much as I could, while I was winning the battle with myselg I was definitely losing the war. I was saved by a phrase my host mom dropped which I translated to mean “If you're not hungry you don't have to keep eating.” Good looks host mom. After lunch I went on various errands with my bro, meeting with friends and chatting or just hanging at the corner store. It ended with hanging with the guys we partied with, and some we didn't, last night at the park. After that we returned home, I ate another sandwhich, finished my laundry, and then as it got closer to 8 began meeting up with friends at the house. I was cohersed into eating dinner with the family, something I was glad to do. Unfortunately the sandwhich held me over, and again I had to excuse myself before my plate was clean; I hope host mom isn't offended. I also took part in my first dinner table discussion with my host tio and tia, and host sister and brother-in-law (who oddly enough reminds me of Abe; so if you're reaidng you have a semi-twin down here in Ecuador). Friends began to come over, Mauricio, Clara, Nati, Sharon, and Christian. I told my bro I was too tired to farrear (party) tonight but would be down to smoke hookah (pipa). He told me plans had changed (I have no clue when) and that we were just gonna chill and drink beer, my kinda night. I chatted for 4 hours with these people. It started with Clara asking me why I didn't talk much, and that she dind't care if my Spanish wasn't great. It was on. I don't know how, but I got indo a dicussion and managed to share my feelings of learning language and what I want to do, as well as discussing Mauricio and Nati's majors and future careers; all in Spanish. When Christian and Sharon showed up I had an English speaking buddy (Christian lived in NY for two years trying to go to architecture school). I talked all night, some in English, some in Spanish. I made jokes, laughed with the guys and girls, shared stories of camping and city life, it was fantastic. It ended with me and Felipe (host bro) walking Nati home and laughing the entire way, bringing up jokes from the day before, again all in Spanish. Not to toot my own horn but I think I'm getting the hang of this Spanish thing. Tomorrow is soccer with my new friends here in Hacienda and the Superbowl with my gringos. What a weekend. Classes start Monday and I have my first assignment due Wednesday. I'm not ready at all but it's time I got back into school work and preparing for my ISP. Sorry for the long post but more so than ever, I can't wait to see what this trip has in store for me.

"You're experience will be similar to that of Zen Buddhism...

...You must be assertive but not aggressive, sweet but not docile, you have to be focused but not obsessed. You have to find the balance."

So little and yet so much have happened since my last post. I say that because at first everything was a HUGE deal. Now that I've been in country for almost a week my excitement at the little things has diminished and my appreciation for the big things has grown. I left off on cards and beer night, a good choice might I reiterate. The next day we had the so-called "drop-off" which was more like abandonment. Our assignment was simple. We were broken into groups of three and given a town either the north or south of Tababela. It was our job to find a bus to the town, speak to some locals, find a (hopefully) safe place to eat, and then catch the bus back not to Tababela, but to Quito. Oh yeah folks, I'm in the city now. From the bus terminal we had to identify a safe cab (many aren't here) and using our conversation skills give the address of our hotel on the other side of town to the cabbie, and make it there to the Hotel Sierra Madre. My group's town was Checa, a small agricultural town about 15min north of Tababela. After catching the wrong bus we stopped off in Yasuni. From there we waited until the next bus in the direction of El Quinche came. Despite a little confusion we managed to make it to the right stop and into town with the guidance of a nice gentleman. We walked into town and were directed to the towns square, a park in front of a church. There we saw a troop of adorable preschoolers in various colored bucket hats. One was crying near a tree, and an older lady watching beckoned him to come over so she could embrace him. It was such a cute first thing to see in this town. After talking with a park landscaper and a baker we found out that the town was a agri-town focused mainly on the production of Roses; a relatively new industry to Ecuador. It is also a popular destination for people looking to start families. Ecuadorians come from all over the country to Checa and even some from Colombia because it is, as one of Ecuador's favorite words suggests, "tranquilo." Calm and quiet, everyone seems to know each other and there are literally hundreds of kids to socialize yours with. It is a huge community support system, something not unique to Checa, but definitely something locals take pride in. We then moved on to eat lunch at a small cafeteria where for only $2 we got a two course meal. Potato soup and rice with beef avocado and beets. We paid and graciously thanked our cook, although we avoided the lemonade for fear it may have been made with tap water; not an easy task. Making our way this time to the correct bus stop waited for the next bus to Quito. 

Arriving in Quito was amazing. Going from rural/suburban Tababela/Checa to Quito was a trip. The city was bustling with people working and living. On the bus we had beggars, vendors, my friends even had a musician eager to share his music. We got dropped at Rio Coca bus terminal in Northern Quito and rather quickly found a tax to take us to Sierra Madre. With relatively little confusion we made it to Sierra Madre we Fabian was waiting for give us a hug and lead us to reflect on our trip and the info we collected. After our conversation about each city a panel of local college students came and talked to us for over an hour in Spanish. We talked politics, social life, sports. We talked about almost everything, and these students were both willing to share and insightful in what they said. We were even invited to come party with them on Friday, but had to turn that down because we will be with host families. Later in the evening we bought beer, determined to go out. We were ever so slightly (and by that I mean 45min) but Ecuadorian liquor bottles. Who would have thought you'd have to flip a bottle upside down to pour? After a pair of pliers and knife were used, we gave in and asked the concierge at Sierra Madre who, I'm sure got a good laugh out of our predicament. We drank and talked and about 10:30 decided to head out, on traditional Ecuadorian party time. We got lost. One block too much, then retracing our steps, and with a little help from our friendly concierge we reached Cafe Libro. Described to us a a cool college student spot with a mature crowd. Mature was a understatement. The average age must have been 35, and when 11 tipsy gringos pored in, you can bet we distracted these fancy folks from their Tango night. The owner came over and spoke with me briefly, attempting to explain her establishment wasn't the spot for us, at least not tonight. So we left, and with the rain coming down and the closest party district described as "peligroso" i.e. dangerous, we decided to call it a night. 

This morning we woke up early, headed to breakfast and then to EIL Ecuador. EIL is my organizations partner and is responsible for running our language lessons. We sat through a lecture on homestays and then current events. After lunch it was our Spanish placement test. To say the least I'm rusty. My conversational skills are good, but my verb conjugations are not, something I will definitely have to work on these next few months. All in all I thought it went well. Tonight the plan is to hit the Mariscal district or Gringolandia as it is locally know. Pick pocket rates our high but it is relatively safe for gringos, and ina  group of 11 it is hard not to stand out as the gringos in town. Tomorrow is both a long and intense day. We have our first experience of bureaucracy in the form of the migration office in Quito where we must go register as being present in the country of Ecuador. Afterwards we have interviews with the one and only Fabian to check in with us and make sure everything is going well. After is the scariest thing of all. The gringos are dropped off at our first homestay in the suburb of Los Chillos Ecuador. I wrote my family a letter before coming, and today received a response from them. My papa is an administrator at a restaurant and my mama is a housewife. I have a host brother a sister. My brother is 23 and studies graphic design, he likes soccer and hanging with friends. My host sister is 21 and married with a baby, who I will most likely be meeting. I'm excited and terrified. They seem to be a very loving family and said they look forward to having me fit in as another son, which makes me feel a little more at ease with the situation. Regardless this is bound to be an interesting weekend. I look forward to posting soon and giving an update.

As for the title, it was yet another Fabianism. The wisest man here who continually gives us deep and profound things to ponder. I'm just feeling very grateful for this opportunity. 

Only in diversity of thought is learning possible

I really don't know where to begin. I feel like it's much to early to already be overwhelmed by my experiences, but at the same time so much seems to already have happened. My flights were, well, for the most part flights. I hastily boarded my flight from PDX to LAX at 5:45pm, two hours later I was in L.A. After bumming around for 3 hours watching Stargate and eating I made my way to my flight to Miami, possibly the most disorienting flight ever. I know I slept, but I am not sure how much like how it went by quickly but at the same time I was so uncomfortable at times ten minutes seemed like an hour. Arriving in Miami in the morning was cool, with only a few hours of sleep under my belt I looked around for the closest sign of coffee and sustenance. This came in the form of a Beanerie (thought nothing like those of my little college town), after miscommunication over what a Mexican mocha was I ended up spending $10 on some sort of caffeinated mocha and a sausage, egg, and cheese (the same type sold at Circle-K). I then realized that the Internet here at Miami International Airport (MIA) was NOT FREE. Not cool. Bro. I gave up on the wonders of the interwebs and made my way through my terminal, out of TSA and into the main area of MIA. I then had a beautiful revelation that the sun was in fact out, and shinning, and that Miami was a wondrous 72 degrees. I felt like I hadn't seen the sun in months and relished int he opportunity to walk across the entire airport outside in it. I took the time to call all of my family members (mother, brothers, and sisters) one last time before leaving to Ecuador. After many half-hour long conversations and goodbyes I went back in MIA to charge my phone and with my extra time start a movie. Around 12:30 I decided to go back through TSA and into my new terminal where I would cat LanEcuador flight XL 517. Being the good American I am I stopped at the airport Mcdonalds and had my fill of grease and fat. At 2:55 my flight began boarding. At about 3:40 we took off, I was finally on my way to Ecuador. Yet again I fell asleep instantly but woke up in time for dinner. International flights are the shit. While I meant to ask for ravioli and ended up with rice and beef, I was offered soda, wine, whisky, and beer, declining all but the foremost. Along with my rice and beef I was served a roll and cheesecake (that's right, dessert). After many failed attempts to go back to sleep and dinner warm in my belly I turned on my headrest TV with offered hundreds of movies, games, and TV shows. After Elysium ended I patiently waited to land.

Arriving in Quito was unreal. For the first time in my life I was a minority language speaker, and most people were not English fluent (not even many of the flight staff, hence my lack of ravioli). I made my way to customs and was pointed to the "foreigners" line. After a five minute wait I was welcomed to Ecuador (in English) and began my search for my bag and program meeting spot. I found the first quickly, only to leave customs and see not a single person carrying an SIT Ecuador sign or beckoning to all the gringos to come talk to them. Convinced I had read something wrong I ran to the nearest Internet cafe (about 10ft away) and in my extremely broken Spanish got onto a computer and my gmail and reread one of the last emails I was sent. I confirmed that I was right and headed back outside customs where I found my group and met Matt, a junior Philosophy major at Pomona college and Fabian Espinola, program director. After assembling our group we shuffled towards a taxi, where to my surprise I learned my next three days would be a a Hostel outside the city in a town called Tababela (still strunggling to write and say that).  The hostel is nothing like I had expected, I have somewhat of a suit with two other guys (Max and Ryan). I has a huge door for cars and a smaller for persons, and is reminiscent of a combination of old western-moive style pueblos with a distinctly South American flair. Basically it's paradise. We ate dinner and talked until late in the night, waiting for as many stragglers as we could before travel exhaustion set in. We all went to sleep.

Up at 7:30am and determined to shower (I had logged 23 hours in airports plus however much time the night before and sleep, showerless). The water was cold. And I don't mean, "Oh I should hurry up this is cold," cold. I'm talking, "WASH ONLY ONE BODY PART AT A TIME," cold. Ryan and I in stalls next to each other exchanged techniques. After a shocking wake up shower we headed to breakfast where we were served bananas, fresh juice (super fresh), eggs, and toast. After breakfast we oriented some more with Fabian, our program director and the assistant program director (still haven't caught her name). We did a presentation on health (2/3 of which was diarrhea) then after a break ate lunch. After lunch we were given our first assignment. We were split into groups and had to find a building in town. My group and I found very quickly the "tienda de aborrates" aka grocery store. We then made our way down through Tababela we found the rest of our program members involved in a pick up game of soccer with some local kids on their lunch break. Somehow we managed to win 10-7 in 3V3 with one substitute each (granted they were maybe 12). Later we returned to the hostel and debriefed with Fabian. After another break with took us into the hostel's pool for some fun we reconviened for a quick Salsa lesson. Not gonna lie here, I was feelin the Salsa. Our instructor spoke in mostly Spanish, but even from my loose grasp on his words I could see the passion he had. While this may bring to mind a flamboyant Latino man with a black half-unbottoned dress shirt and cold chain, he was anything but. He spoke of it much like the author of a book I was recently reading spoke of Tai Chi. It surprised me how I could see the connection between the two, the centered core the deliberate and concise movements, but mostly moving through feeling your inner energy inspired in part by the music in the background. My pareja and I killed it! She was very much into as I was so we spent a good amount of time perfecting our steps and trying to impress the instructor. From what I've gathered from the other guys they are interested in a salsa night when we get to Quito, and I'm pretty stoked. After salsa was dinner, a little bit of card playing accompanied by beer purchased from town and I am calling it a night.

I wanted to touch on the title before I sign off. It is a bit out of place but I wanted to have it preserved early on. Our director Fabian is an amazingly wise man. He understands the function of the program really well and knows how to push us in the right ways. I'm confident this program is going to be great if only for the fact that he is guiding its implementation. Fabian said this in the midst of our discussion on the purpose of the program, and I immediately wrote it down. I'm excited to see what the rest of the week brings. If you read this far congratulations! If you skipped the middle I completely understand, because I've done the same on many other blogs. I am also gonna throw a disclaimer out there I am soo incredibly exhausted right now so I apologize for my terrible grammar and spelling. 'Til next time!

Packing

Without my 'Tab' button working and the apparent lack of a indent buttong I am forced to start my first post without structure. So, packing. I started today, a whopping three days before I leave (and it's hard). I'm supposed to bring supplies for three months of my life, which would be easy if I was doing a traditional study abroad where I was at a University studying and living a fairly typical western lifestyle. But this is different. I don't really know what to expect from my program. There are two excursions from the city, and I will possibly be spending the entirety of my independent research project (ISP) in the Amazon. So far it's been a bring-everything type event. With an additional 50lb bag free of charge for my international flight I am not lacking in space, but I also don't want to be weighed down. I hope this suffices as a first post. I'm sure there will be more to come later. (fyi editing, an important step in blogging)