Summer @ the Lake

Many of you may not know it but we live on a lake. We moved here around April to live with Laurie's parents who are getting older and needing some help. It's not always an easy gig and has its ups and downs for sure.

That being said, today was a pretty good day. I got all of the mowing done and jumped in the lake afterwards then grilled some brats and had a lovely dinner.

For some reason I was never exposed to the wonderfulness that is a bratwurst until I moved to the midwest. Next to bacon and ribs, brats are the best thing ever to come from the side of a smelly pig.

I normally like everything on my burgers and hot dogs, but brats are a completely different thing. You need to take more of a minimalist approach to savor the nuances of the flavor of brats. Onions chopped fine, brown mustard-none of that plain french's, and maybe, maybe a little relish. Iced sun tea, made with Luzianne and sugar, and pringles potato chips, and some cantalope or watermelon and you are talking a meal approaching culinary Nirvana.

Here's some pictures from my tiny digital camera:

View of Simonton Lake

Laura and the Grandparents in the swing

The yard and the lake

Read me....

One of the reasons I started this blog was for shameless self-promotion in securing a job someday using my knowledge of Spanish and Hispanic culture. So in keeping with that purpose, here are some of the papers I have written while at Indiana University. The links will either open the document up in Word, or you can download them directly.
 
"Mexican Identity Through The Eyes of Diego Rivera"
This paper was published in the IUSB Undergraduate Journal in the 2003 issue. That issue is not on-line yet, but should be soon. This paper examines the cultural messages contained in the murals and other works of Mexican artist Diego Rivera, and how they relate to Mexican cultural identity.

"America's Culture of Superiority".
I wrote this essay as a cultural autobiography of the United States. It's not what it sounds like. It examines why Americans believe they are the best country in the world, and examines how this belief is valid in many ways. It also examines how we still have much to improve, and why American methods don't work in every part of the world.

"Rosie the Riveter meets Señorita Maquiladora"
This essay was written for a sociology course. It examines how multinational companies in Mexico("Maquiladoras or Maquilas")have preferred to hire women instead of men for assembly work. The paper goes on to compare this introduction of Mexican women into the work force to the World War Two introduction of women into munitions factories, with the example of Rosie the Riveter.

Rosie the Riveter Paper in Spanish
This is the same paper as the one above, except it is written in Spanish. I was lucky enough to have a professor that allowed me to use the same theme for my Spanish Composition class. Of the two, I like this version better, my professor helped me to make it sound much better, and give it a more upbeat and positive ending.

"Como perdí mi juventud"
This is an autobiographical spanish piece about growing up very quick when I was in my teens.

I have put up permanent links to these on my blogroll over on the sidebar, along with links to some websites.

Thanks for stopping by...
-John