Twistie the Reindeer

I find myself wandering towards thoughts of Christmas now and then. It manifests itself in the strangest ways. My wife Laura says I become 9 from December through January(my birthday), but I think there's nothing wrong with that.

-John

Speak for America: Work for the National Security Agency!

This week at campus, the NSA was on campus recruiting. They had signs all over campus that said "Speak for America: Work for the National Security Agency." . They were looking for people that spoke other languages.

They were giving away free pizza, soft drinks, and even gifts for those who came to interview or turn in a resume. Those of you that know me think I would have been the first in line to check this out. Even if I did not get the job, free pizza and pop is on my list of cool things in the world. But as much as I want a job where I get paid to speak Spanish, I'm not interested in "speaking for America". At least, not the way we have been talking lately.

With our lack of real policy at the border with Mexico, and the allegations that our military and intelligence forces torture in the name of freedom, I'm not interested in being a mouthpiece for that kind of message.

I know every job we take makes us do things we don't like. There's no perfect job. But I've always said I wanted a job where I could be a bridge between the two cultures. I don't want to help someone else blow that bridge up...

-John

Click here to read a very interesting article on Torture from the Washington Post

Good News From Mexico

Latino countries have never been known as bastions of equality for women, but things are changing for the better in Latino America, just not as often as we hear on the news. Mexico, being such a large country, seems to always be receiving bad press about their record in this area.

Its no wonder, with all of the bad news we have been seeing coming out of Mexico. 431 women have died in Ciudad Juarez in Northern Mexico over the last 12 years in what appears to be sexually motivated murders (Prensa Latina). Many of the women in this same part of Northern Mexico work in Maquiladoras. Maquiladoras are factories owned by multinational companies who use Mexico's cheap labor to increase profits on items sold in the U.S. and other countries.

Many of the Maquiladoras like to hire young women, citing that they have nimble fingers that are suited this type of work and are good workers. The truth in reality has a lot more to do with the idea that some managers believe that these young women are easier to control and are not as likely to organize as a male workforce.

There are many other examples of inequality in Mexico, but I want to talk about something positive. I met a woman that exemplified some of the positive changes in Mexico on my last trip. Her name was Marí­a. She is a dentist in Ciudad Victoria.

We were all stuffed in a van on the way back to our hotel in Tampico after a grueling day of working in the free dental clinic in a village on the Gulf of Mexico. The van was bouncing and dodging rocks and the occasional cow, then came to a complete stop because of a valiant skunk in the middle of the road that threatened to spray the van if we moved any closer.

I started talking to Marí­a about my research paper that investigated the conditions in Maquiladoras. She seemed interested, and then she explained how there were positive changes going on in Mexico in the lives of women. She owned her own dental practice, managed it, and had a good business. Amazingly, her husband stayed at home and took care of the house. There is evidence that this is becoming more common, especially in areas where a lot of women work in the maquiladoras.

What struck me about this conversation was how Marí­a was another example of how preconceived notions about gender and even our prejudices about different countries keep us from seeing the whole truth. Mexico is not inhabited entirely by those outdated caricatures of macho men with big mustaches and dark-eyed, fiery, yet demure women. Mexico is changing like the rest of the world, many times for the better. It just may be hard to see it from the picture the media paints.

Finding who you are and how you fit in society can be such a struggle, no matter what country you live in, but it's not without hope. There are still people who define themselves by more timeless truths, instead of letting their society define them.

-John

To learn more about maquiladoras, visit:http://www.cfomaquiladoras.org

Here's an interesting paper on machismo also:
http://www.fgvsp.br/iberoamerican/Papers/0456_Machismo6-2003.pdf

"Day By Day"

Now you have a reason to visit Casa De Juanito cada día(every day). Even though I don't update everyday, there is something new here every day. You can read one of my favorite political comics,
"Day By Day" here every day. This is a great comic with the biting sarcasm of Doonesbury without the unrelenting Liberal bent, but its not a mouthpiece for Fox News. It knows when to speak out against this administration's mistakes, which seem to be growing worse...

Scroll to the very bottom of the page and it is after the last post.

Thanks,

Juanito

"Disco Queen of South Bend"

You find the funniest things surfing Google News...

Check out this news snippet about our Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice. This is from the Boston Globe,

"...But perhaps the most surprising news came from the editor who introduced Rice, saying the secretary of state once held the title of ''Disco Queen of South Bend, Indiana."

'You've got quite a research department,' Rice responded in the opening sentences of her address. 'I want to assure everybody, it's actually not that hard to be the disco queen of South Bend, Indiana,; Rice said. 'There's not that much competition in South Bend, Indiana.' "

It's official....South Bend is being dissed nationwide as a boring burg.

-John

¡No me ayudas gato!

"You're not helping any, ya know!"
He rolls over on his back and reaches out a soft furry paw. It always appears like he's reaching out in a gesture of friendship, but he's only wanting me to scratch his ears. He doesn't care if I finish my homework or not, rotten cat!

Maybe I'll just scratch his ears for 10 minutes and get back to my Spanish homework...

-John

Visit Sunny Puerto Rico...

I'm really enjoying my new Spanish class,"Spanish For Teachers". We learn to debate, and tell stories, even be rude in Spanish(too cool!). One of the things we have to do for exams is make recordings of ourselves speaking in Spanish.

For the first test I had to make a recording where I read an advertisement for a travel agency in Puerto Rico. I thought it was ok(I still need work on my accenty). Actually, it really struck me as sort of funny. It sounds more like a smooth jazz DJ on Valium. Click below to hear the MP3.

"De viaje a Puerto Rico"

-John

37 years old...

Today is my birthday. I turn 37 years old. It's not as scary as a few years ago when I turned 34. I remember that day, because it was the day I finally made up my mind to go back to school and study Spanish seriously. Growing older isn't bad, when you've got something to work for, as opposed to feeling like you are just swimming in that working-for-a-living numbness that swallows most of us up from time to time.

We had my party yesterday. It was really great. I made such a haul! Here's what I got:

-Three Diego Rivera Art books
-The DVD "Romero" about Salvodoran Archbishop Oscar Romero.
-"Versos Sencillos" by José Martí-One of the classics of Latin-American poetry.
-"Pensées"("The Thoughts")-By Blaise Pascal-great apologetical writing.
-Chocolate!
-Coffee!
-Money!

We had Papa John's Pizza, Chocolate Eclair Cake and Mango Jello Cool-Whip cake, and played cards afterward for a few hours, and I actually won! It was one of the best adult birthdays I have ever had in recent memory.

Here's a picture from one of the Diego Rivera artbooks I got for my birthday. Its called "Night of the Poor".

Marion Fouty

My great Aunt Marion died around 9 am in the morning on Tuesday the 11th of January. She was a teacher for many years near the Mexican border. She taught classes with Native and Mexican-Americans in her classroom. She was extremely intelligent, and one of the most independent women I have ever known. However, I was glad I was never her student, as she was never described as a "softy".

That does not mean that she was not a loving person. There is a memory I have of her that means a great deal to me. When I was sixteen, I dropped out of high school and took the GED exam. I passed the exam and went to some technical classes and later on went to a two year school called Rhema. Now after all of these years, I am on my way to getting a degree. In some ways, Aunt Marion was an impetus to continue school.

After I took the GED, I struggled with a kind of academic inferiority complex for a while. Even though it is the equivalent of graduating high school, some people look down on it. I remember very clearly on several occasions when I was a teenager how Aunt Marion looked me in the eye, and with a very serious tone and said "John, don't you ever feel ashamed about taking a GED! You can still go to college and do well!".

The look in her eyes explained very clearly that there was no discussing the pros and cons of the issue. I had been told the truth, period. For years after that, she was always one of my "boosters". When I graduated from Rhema, when I got published, and other times in my life, she was always there encouraging and supporting me. She was very excited when I started studying Spanish and encouraged me to continue. She always sent hand written cards for my birthday, our wedding anniversary and so on.

Besides her loving actions, the way she and my uncle John presented themselves was always an inspiration to do better. She was an educated person who made the world a better place, and he was a celebrated World War II pilot. They always made me proud to be part of this family. I will miss her very much.

-John

Spanish For Teachers..

Today was the start of my new Spanish class here at Indiana University. It's called "Spanish For Teachers". Its actually a class devoted to oral Spanish and learning how to speak Spanish in different situations, such as to children, or in a professional situation, etc. I really like my professor, she is from Puerto Rico and seems very smart and kind, but also has real plans to make us all work very hard.After class, one of my classmates said "Tengo miedo!"(I'm scared!). I felt the same way.

Fear aside, I really want to put all I can into this class. Sometimes I get sloppy in my Spanish, since I know that Spanish speakers will cut me some slack just because I'm a gringo. But if I truly want to make a living at this, I have to bring my speech up a notch, so I can gain the respect of those I speak to, and not just amuse them with "restaurant Spanish".

-John

My Mission Statement

I hate "corporate-speak". You know what I mean, such as when people throw words like "resource" and "shifting paradigms" into every sentence just so they sound intelligent(most of us can barely spell paradigm, let alone shift one). Multi-syllable words filling vague sentences are not the same as plain, coherent speech.

The company I work for actually has a very succinct mission statement:"We are committed to reducing downtime and repair expense for our customer's trucks." At least that's how I remember it in orientation.

Recently, I was asked in a class we have been attending, what was my personal mission statement. That's a good question. I'm still thinking about it, but here's what I have for now.

I want to be a bridge between English and Spanish-speaking cultures. I want to help the two groups understand the differences between them.

I guess thats as good as I can come up with for now.

-John