tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.comments2017-10-06T16:39:57.751-04:00Sapitos de la NocheHedgehoghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05030605395548163928noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-15460036216977652182008-10-06T17:13:00.000-04:302008-10-06T17:13:00.000-04:30I think the episodes described in your post and in...I think the episodes described in your post and in mgrace's comment show that one big key is awareness. If you are wearing or carrying symbols of wealth in a wealth-deprived area... Luck and timing and other things play their parts, too.<BR/><BR/>So, in my opinion, as someone who has been attacked while traveling, but only when told to let down my guard as that location is "safe": It's all a matter of the specifics. It's not as bad "as they say," since THEY always talk about the worst, but the worst is as bad as they say.<BR/><BR/>It isn't a great idea, though, to make everyone scared of everyone without qualification.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-31371193642654214102008-10-06T10:41:00.000-04:302008-10-06T10:41:00.000-04:30I, too, have always wondered about the reports of ...I, too, have always wondered about the reports of violence in Venezuela (and other countries) and the reality of it. Thanks for your honest assessment. <BR/>I think I tend to underplay problems in the countries I'm in, just because the truly nasty stuff hasn't happened to me. But it does exist, and one needs to watch one's butt carefully.<BR/>The only problem I've had this year was an attempted mugging in Lima, in which I freaked out and scared three teenagers away.<BR/>The only ever time before that was getting kidnapped in a taxi 13 years ago in Mexico City after getting busted by the police for peeing in the street, and then, after the thugs released me (thank god I didn't have my ATM card on me) I was mugged twice on the way home, walking through slums in my party clothes.<BR/>Ah, youth.mgracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14152242876973215959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-80754728230163644852008-09-30T17:53:00.000-04:302008-09-30T17:53:00.000-04:30har har har.seriously though. try a cheap bolivian...har har har.<BR/>seriously though. try a cheap bolivian hotel and a concave matress. that`ll give you a bad back!mgracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14152242876973215959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-85115238999567972122008-09-29T20:20:00.000-04:302008-09-29T20:20:00.000-04:30That's what I call them, though when I take them o...That's what I call them, though when I take them out and talk to them in class the teacher always tells me those are supposed to be called "lint balls" and that they are "asco."Hedgehoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05030605395548163928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-7853458417501459752008-09-28T22:52:00.000-04:302008-09-28T22:52:00.000-04:30Thanks Bina. I am easily confused.Thanks Bina. I am easily confused.Hedgehoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05030605395548163928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-82702153888786428942008-09-28T22:39:00.000-04:302008-09-28T22:39:00.000-04:30you have friends?you have friends?Ottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03069822714021884725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-63258055737064816412008-09-28T07:32:00.000-04:302008-09-28T07:32:00.000-04:30I tried that mountain raspberry "juice" the other ...I tried that mountain raspberry "juice" the other day (it was thick). It's sour but really great in flavor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-11999265383384942812008-09-28T00:41:00.000-04:302008-09-28T00:41:00.000-04:30Actually, Angostura is named for what is now Ciuda...Actually, Angostura is named for what is now Ciudad Bolívar. It's at the narrows of the Orinoco River.<BR/><BR/>Sorry if this sounds anal, but it's worth noting, I think!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-33827824198324705242008-09-28T00:30:00.000-04:302008-09-28T00:30:00.000-04:30The MSM always uses words like "says" instead of t...The MSM always uses words like "says" instead of the supposedly value-laden "claims." I refuse such objectivity as part of my obligatory blogger anti-MSM pose. Down with the man. Up with "claims."Hedgehoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05030605395548163928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-48981309033090431622008-09-28T00:02:00.000-04:302008-09-28T00:02:00.000-04:30Thanks! You wouldn't have wanted my back a few yea...Thanks! You wouldn't have wanted my back a few years ago, but physical therapy is great. <BR/><BR/>I like your writing too. Keep in touch.Hedgehoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05030605395548163928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-32836275981173131072008-09-27T23:22:00.000-04:302008-09-27T23:22:00.000-04:30Screw your "claims", erizo. My coffee totally rock...Screw your "claims", erizo. My coffee totally rocks. <BR/><BR/>The frisbee post was cool.Ottohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03069822714021884725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-89028901966390140752008-09-27T15:43:00.000-04:302008-09-27T15:43:00.000-04:30Good to have you back. I like your writing!Good to have you back. I like your writing!mgracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14152242876973215959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-60304193062969757102008-09-12T02:22:00.000-04:302008-09-12T02:22:00.000-04:30Ah! Good to have you.On the passionlesness thing.....Ah! Good to have you.<BR/><BR/>On the passionlesness thing...well, it's just that this is a 74 act play and you can in at the 72nd act. We're all passioned out. Nothing Chávez could say could, as a matter of logic, be any crazier than lots of stuff he's already said. And everything that might have been said about it has been said about it, once, twice, a million times. People are tired. Who can blame them?Quicohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01918360279955582028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-13814359500328516412008-09-08T23:13:00.000-04:302008-09-08T23:13:00.000-04:30It was the same bat, you short-sighted hedgehogIt was the same bat, you short-sighted hedgehogOttohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03069822714021884725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-32931494295186546002008-09-05T14:32:00.000-04:302008-09-05T14:32:00.000-04:30mgrace:I work exactly in one of the buildings abov...mgrace:<BR/><BR/>I work exactly in one of the buildings above Penn Station and currently live in New Jersey.<BR/><BR/>PepitoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-79499059750473854132008-09-05T14:30:00.000-04:302008-09-05T14:30:00.000-04:30hedgehog:I quibble too. You see, 12 years of livin...hedgehog:<BR/><BR/>I quibble too. You see, 12 years of living in the New York/New Jersey area (the Bronx, Jersey City, etc) have taught me exactly that here people are also willing to withstand abuse from those who are in a position of power or from those that can provide them a service. Bank tellers, state employees, etc. etc parade their incompentence in front of people that are apparently not willing to raise their voices. I've lived it. <BR/><BR/>I think you are being a little unfair also with the typical venezuelan population. If you're going to take a progressive San Francisco community as a representative sample of your typical USAmerican you're going to end up getting the wrong conclusion. Typical Venezuelans and typical Americans are not that different. And I can assure is not about not wanting to make a scene. As for that minority that demands their rights in Venezuela, you're more likely to find it in the cerros (if you have the balls to go up there) than walking down Las Mercedes or strolling along el Bulevar de Sabana Grande. Don't forget these people came down from their ranchitos when their adored President was kidnapped. Somehow I have a tough time thinking of Americans doing the same if they were in that kind of situation.<BR/><BR/>One more quibble: Yes, in the USA people also go to marches and organize protests. But the larger point stands: they get totally ignored by the powerful and the media, and they get booed and verbally abused by the sizable reactionary portion of the US citizenry. Your tipical escualido venezolano chains himself to the doors of the Asamblea Nacional without being beaten up by a baboon in uniform (totally unlike what happened in Saint Paul just this week). So I won't concede you that point. The powerful State machinery of your country has perfected the act of either ignoring or coercing protests with typical gringo efficiency.<BR/><BR/>As for physical space, I believe you are in one of those typical instances in which cultural differences actually play a role. People don't touch each other much here in the USA, at least not as much as in Venezuela.<BR/><BR/>PepitoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-5600680138464833642008-09-05T10:54:00.000-04:302008-09-05T10:54:00.000-04:30Pepito:NY cabbies can be bad. I don't know, maybe ...Pepito:<BR/>NY cabbies can be bad. I don't know, maybe it's just that I REALLY don't understand the rules of the road down here, but man I get pissed at the cars. It reminds me, though, when I was in Casablanca and I was trying to follow a local to go have some tes (which turned into a scam, BTW, but that's another story). He crossed the street in front of me, but I was petrified--the traffic was too intense! He turned around, laughed at me, and help me across. <BR/>Cultural differences? Sure. But damn!<BR/>Where are you in NYC?mgracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14152242876973215959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-81464413798280373492008-09-05T08:07:00.000-04:302008-09-05T08:07:00.000-04:30Thanks for the thoughts, Pepito. I edited the post...Thanks for the thoughts, Pepito. I edited the post a bit. But I quibble:<BR><BR><I>I have never seen people more cowed and more likely to submit to authority (and to the powerful) than typical U.S. residents.<BR><BR></I>I am not talking about typical folks, who will always go along to get along. I am talking about the independent-minded minority that I found in the States. I have had a very hard time finding people here who instinctively assert their rights. In the States, I sought out that kind of person and lived in a whole community of them for a time in San Francisco.<BR><BR><I>Here in the good ol' US of A nobody gets out of line and if they protest they have to do it 5 miles away from where the acts they are protecting are happening<BR><BR></I>That's baloney. There are protests all the time in the U.S., and while there may not be enough, it's <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biotic_Baking_Brigade" REL="nofollow">wrong</A> to say they are always far from their targets. <BR><BR><I>...do you know anything about living in Venezuela?<BR><BR></I>No.<BR><BR><I>Nearly everybody is armed, and they are willing to shoot you for nothing...It's that hot Caribbean temper. That's why people are sometimes willing to let abusive bastards get away with everything.<BR><BR></I>Sure, fear plays a role at times, but it can't explain why no one complains if a cashier helps three people ahead of you in line to reward those people's pushiness, or why people keep going back to restaurants that treat their customers like annoying pests, or why in the face of a very controversial government, opponents complain but don't build alternatives. The other thing is that fear works two ways. In big U.S. cities, what politeness drivers show to others is partly motivated by fear that the other drivers, too, may be armed or may scratch or kick their car (Cyclists in San Francisco have been known to demolish the car of those who try to commit hit-and-run.) So I don't buy that it's all about fear.<BR/><BR/>I suspect conformism plays a role as well. Nobody wants to make a scene. In every social class in the U.S., there is a powerful tradition of claiming your physical space. I have seen low-income 50-year-old black women and 22-year-old biker kids and old men with walkers in the U.S. just shake their heads and go, and if they get messed with they will argue back about rights. I don't think Venezuelans have nearly the sense of individual rights that I was used to in North America.Hedgehoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05030605395548163928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-67240681787948649262008-09-04T13:38:00.000-04:302008-09-04T13:38:00.000-04:30"As a New Yorker living in La Paz, I sympathize co..."As a New Yorker living in La Paz, I sympathize completely. I've been daring to do what you've done: Actually insisting that I have the right-of-way when I cross the street here. I have to keep telling myself that I am not going to change Bolivians' driving habits and I better just chill the fuck out."<BR/><BR/>Jeez, man. I'm here in NYC...and guess what? People are so fucking rude it's unbelievable. Everyday when coming to work I see drivers disrespecting the right of pedestrians to cross the street without fear of being run over. Cabbies are the worst of the worst. And don't get me started about people with big SUVs. It's funny, because when I got here driver behavior made me think I hadn't left Caracas.<BR/><BR/>PepitoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-81308558560475269322008-09-04T13:31:00.000-04:302008-09-04T13:31:00.000-04:30"There is a willingness to submit to the power of ..."There is a willingness to submit to the power of others that I, as a long-time U.S. resident, find kind of pathetic."<BR/><BR/><BR/>Mwahahaha!! No me hagas reir, por favor. I have a long time living in the U.S. and I have never seen people more cowed and more likely to submit to authority (and to the powerful) than typical U.S. residents. Here in the good ol' US of A nobody gets out of line and if they protest they have to do it 5 miles away from where the acts they are protecting are happening...do you know anything about living in Venezuela? Nearly everybody is armed, and they are willing to shoot you for nothing...It's that hot Caribbean temper. That's why people are sometimes willing to let abusive bastards get away with everything. Methinks you haven't been in Venezuela long enough....<BR/><BR/>PepitoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-3448512881512241042008-09-04T13:21:00.000-04:302008-09-04T13:21:00.000-04:30Now i see you were not driving..so then you say "M...Now i see you were not driving..so then you say "Me atropellaron" as the word "chocar" is not used when describing a car running over a pedestrian. <BR/><BR/>PepitoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-7174770139014554172008-09-04T13:17:00.000-04:302008-09-04T13:17:00.000-04:30Dude, it's not "Se me choquaron'...the right way t...Dude, it's not "Se me choquaron'...the right way to say it is "Me chocaron". I hope your spanish gets better if you stay in Venezuela...<BR/><BR/><BR/>PepitoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-8503894218267462222008-09-04T10:06:00.000-04:302008-09-04T10:06:00.000-04:30As a New Yorker living in La Paz, I sympathize com...As a New Yorker living in La Paz, I sympathize completely. I've been daring to do what you've done: Actually insisting that I have the right-of-way when I cross the street here. I have to keep telling myself that I am not going to change Bolivians' driving habits and I better just chill the fuck out.<BR/>It's hard, though, because these fuckers don't give a damn about pedestrians.<BR/>Great blog, great writing. I'm here through Inca Kola and now I've got you linked at my blog (should show up in my profile, I guess).mgracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14152242876973215959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-56260181789292326882008-09-04T00:15:00.000-04:302008-09-04T00:15:00.000-04:30Yes, absolutely. Cutting down on trash production ...Yes, absolutely. Cutting down on trash production is the first goal, though it's all part of the same struggle. Supermarkets here always put cheese, as I mentioned, on a styrofoam tray that is less than useless. It takes up extra space in the fridge and causes the cheese to go bad more quickly because it creates an air gap between the cheese and the plastic wrap. But people feel they are somehow getting more when they get the tray. No consciousness and no leadership to change that. <BR/><BR/>Are you teaching in Venezuela or somewhere else?Hedgehoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05030605395548163928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4334763547390699039.post-29897221308566798752008-09-03T22:51:00.000-04:302008-09-03T22:51:00.000-04:30I work at a school and schools produce lots of pap...I work at a school and schools produce lots of paper that can be recycled. I teach my students to separate the materials into recycling and garbage which at the end of the day is dumped into the same container by the custodian. I have brought up the lack of recycling with a few people but it is not a high priority issue in an inner city school. I should also say this is not the first school where I have seen this happen. People in the states are so set on recycling where in other countries it is not given a thought because of the recycling that occurs at the dump. Sometimes recycling seems to absolve people from producing so much trash in the first place. But isn't the real problem with both scenarios, the fact they we do not give a thought to where our garbage ends up after we produce it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com