variedad de temas

Lo que me impresiono mucho de las presentaciones algo muy sencillo y obvio pero importante. cuando yo decia a personas de que se trataba esta clase, se burlaban de mi por decir que eso es lo mas especifico curso que hay. pero al escuchar a las lecturas y las presentaciones, se da cuenta que hay un monton de informacion que cubrir. en todo que ha aprendido de los libros y peliculas, todavia hay mucho que me falta a entender.

Cenizas de Izalco y la historia de dos amantes.

Las circunstancias históricas entre los países de los principales protagonistas de la novela son muy distintas. El Salvador del 1931 esta pasando por una etapa represiva , pues los campesinos descontentos se manifiestan rodeando el fuerte de la Guardia Nacional, y muchos hombres de clase social influyente apoyan la intervencion del general Martinez. Hay intereses economicos por parte del gobierno, y los campesinos viven en pobreza.

Frank acaba de librar tambien otro tipo de guerra, contra el alcoholismo, y se propone realizar su sueño de visitar Méjico y las ruínas de los templos mayas; y muy oportunamente su amigo Vigil, quien esta viviendo en El Salvador como misionero, invita a Frank, quien pasara varios meses con Vigil y tendra la opotunidad de conocer a Farabundo Marti. Frank se enamora de Elena y quiere hacerla feliz, llevarla consigo fuera de su pais, ofrecer una vida mejor a sus hijos, pero Isabel rechaza la oferta, pues no cree que es  Esta ha decidido dejar un diario a su hermana Eugenia, quien se lo entrega a Carmen. El diario de Isabel es un testimonio confidencial que Isabel quiere entregar a su hija para que esta entienda los notivos que tuvo su madre al decidir que no debia dejar a su esposo para seguir a Frank.

El volcan de Izalco es superior a las fuerzas humanas. Frank esta muy deprimido y recurre al alcohol para sofocar su desilusion y dolor, pero dio la razon a Elena al reconocer que 'la gente de Santa Ana se han alimentado de los temores y los prejuicios de sus conquistadores.", Una posible referencia a las convenciones patriarcales de la sociedad en que Elena vivio. 

 

Devin Larsen
Profesora Finzer
Blog Extra crédito
Bueno creo que hay muchas maneras en que los textos literarios y también culturales son buenos para estudiar la historia de un país. Algunos de los ideas en que puedo pensar son: el punto de vista, sea de un paisano o de extranjero. Por medio de los videos y textos, podemos ver realmente estas tiempos en la historia, especialmente por los textos porque son como testimonios de la gente o hechos de un país.
Primer creo que el punto de vista es la mas importante en la historia de otros países. Me imagino que las personas que estuvieron allí cuando pasaban guerras, bodas, muertes, adelantamientos tecnológicas o científicas, y otras cosas así, que estas personas saben mejor que nosotros lo que realmente paso y quien estuvo o lo hizo. Si soy extranjero de un país, aun si hablo el idioma, no voy a recordar todo lo que aprendo acerca de esta país y cambiaria sin pensar en hacerlo la historia hasta un punto. Pasara con cual quier persona, porque cada uno recuerda en su propio manera y ajuste la realidad de las cosas en su propio mente. Por eso es importante a estudiar lo que escribieron la gente y hicieron visualmente para el próxima generación. La gente van a escribir sobre lo que paso y que esta pasando hoy DIA. En esta manera logramos, vemos, y leemos los sentimientos, pasiones, dolores, sueños, y esperanzas de los paisanos en aquel tiempo cuando pasaron por tantas problemas o cumplimientos. De vez en cuando va hacer un poco difícil a entender algunas de las historias porque la manera de hablar siempre esta cambiando con los dialectos y el “Slang.” Entonces los textos y películas son buenos para estudiar porque nos dan una visual, sea por la imaginación o algo que podemos ver realmente. Creo que la única cosa de lo que uno tiene que cuidar es el punto de vista. Como dije antes que depende en el punto de vista, especialmente con guerras, la historia cambia mucho por los ojos de un niño, una mujer, y un hombre.

Central America called free of antipersonnel mines

This is an interesting, short read, Nicaragua says it's done removing any remaining antipersonnel mines and that this means Central America is now free of them to the best of their knowledge.

Here is a link to the story

El uso de Textos Culturales para el Estudio de la Historia

Los textos culturales sirven como una buena herramienta para el estudio de la historia. Especialmente cuando queremos conector bien con los sentimientos de la gente. Eso digo por que nos dejan lograr un sentido de las emociones crudas de los personajes involucrados en la situación y podemos recibir sus testimonios sin haberlos sido diluidos por el gobierno o la censura. Yo separo el gobierno y la censura por que aprendimos de Roque Dalton que no es solamente el gobierno que puede censurar. Como dice en su poema Lógica Revi “…Una autocrítica equivale al suicidio.”

Pero, también hay que examinar cada obra por sus meritos por que, como hablábamos en clase, la literatura comprometida existe y es importante hacernos concientes cuando estamos trabajando con aquella. Aun, no es que la literatura comprometida no nos enseña, sino que es importante estudiar el otro punto de vista también. Especialmente si tenemos la meta de presentar nuestro conocimiento sin parcialidad.

Sin Nombre

One part that I found very interesting in Sin Nombre is where Smiley is talking to the other young kids. He shows them him gun, and tells them he is going to kill Casper. What impresses me about the scene is the look on the other kids faces. They all want to be like him and are very envious that he is in the Salvatrucha and that he has a gun.

It must be very interesting in real life when all the 10-12 year old kids start to see the older teenagers start to get involved in la mara. It is sad to see how much the young kids look up to the members of the la mara, because they dont have much hope for a better life.

History in Literature

How much of history is reflected in our literature? Literature acts a social sponge or net, absorbing and reflecting important events. By studying history through literature we take a slice of our culture and examine our foundation, often times from a different perspective than what enters our history books. I would argue that literature incorporates more the application what happens than the dates it occurred. Hand in hand with the historical facts and dates we get a clear understanding of historical events.
Insenszatez was a book that perfectly describes the use of literature in a historical context. I enjoyed this book not only for the testimonies in the text but also because it showed the changes that history reflected in the literature can have on the individual.
It is easy to look at testimonies and see their historical significance. They are eyewitness accounts of historical events that define us. The movies that showed these testimonies impacted me more than the books or poems we read. Seeing and not just reading gives a very different effect. I enjoy reading because I, as the reader, get to give the characters and events my own view and opinion, but hearing those same words from the voice and with feeling of the person that wrote them makes such a strong difference. Instead of using my eyes and interpretation I get to see it through them.
In the personal accounts and testimonies it is easy to see the historical significance, but in novels and poems me are forced to look a little deeper. It is a great way to indirectly educate the people and maintain a level of understanding. History will always be incorporated in literature. It is something I was excited to discover during this class and hope to continue discovering.

Mojado

I thought this song/video from Ricardo Arjona (guatemalteco) is relevant to our topic in Central American issues.

Check it out…. There are others but this is one of the most recent that I know.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3ztl5_ricardo-arjona-mojado_music

aqui esta la letra

Empaco un par de camisas un sombrero su vocación de aventurero seis consejos 7 fotos mil recuerdos empaco sus ganas de quedarse su condición de trasformarse en el hombre que soñó y no a logrado dijo adiós con una mueca disfrazada de sonrisa y le suplico a su Dios crucificado en la repisa resguardo de los suyos y perforo la frontera. si la luna suave se desliza por cualquier cornisa sin permiso alguno por que el mojado precisa comprobar con visas que no este neptuno, el mojado tiene ganas de secarse el mojado esta mojado por las lagrimas que bota la nostalgia el mojado el indocumentado carga el bulto que legal no cargaria ni obligado el suplicio de un papel lo ha convertido en fugitivo y no es de aqui por que su nombre no aparece en los archivos y es de alla por que se fue si la luna suave se desliza por cualquier cornisa sin permiso alguno por que el mojado precisa comprobar con visas que no este neptuno mojado sabe a mentira tu verdad sabe a tristeza la ansiedad de ver un primo y soñar con la vereda que conduce hasta tu casa. Mojado mojado de tanto llorar sabiendo que algún lugar te espera un beso haciendo pausa desde el dia que te marchaste. si la luna suave se desliza por cualquier cornisa sin permiso alguno por que el mojado precisa comprobar con visas que no este neptuno. si la visa universal se extiende el día que nacemos y caduca en la muerte por que te persiguen mojado si el consul de los cielos ya te dio permiso.

Dr. Finzer, perhaps you can add this element to your future presentations/classes if time allows.

Guernica Magazine - Moyas Interview

I just stumbled across this article from Guernica Magazine in which they interview Castellanos Moya after the election of Funes in El Salvador. Thought I'd pass it along to the class, very interesting to hear about how his writing correlates to his political views.

http://www.guernicamag.com/interviews/959/our_reality_has_not_been_magic/

Andrew

School of the Americas

So I have been doing my final paper about Torture in Central America.  Erin pointed me towards the School of the Americas.  Basically, it was (and is but under a different name) a military school ran by the US that has been accused of teaching methods leading to human rights violations.  According to Wikipedia page, there are some pretty high profile people that can be called products of the school.  I found a great site at http://www.soaw.org/ which publicizes a lot of the allegations surrounding the school.  Pretty interesting stuff.

Jake

Experiencing the gangs

When I was in Costa Rica on my mission my companion and I were robbed at gun point. It was dark so it was difficult to see clearly but the guns they used appeared to be homemade, similar to what was shown in Sin Nombre. All four of the men that robbed us were covered in tattoos. They took our stuff and everything turned out fine in the end but it was interesting watching the movie and reading the book today. It really starts to hit how real it all is. Sometimes I think we find ourselves living in a bubble oblivious to the real world. Either because we live distracted lives or simply because we dont want to the dust we try to sweep under the rug.

ksl.com - Gang members burn bus in El Salvador, killing 14

ksl.com - Gang members burn bus in El Salvador, killing 14

Another senseless killing in Central America. This one caught my attention because of the gangs we talked about in class today. The gang involved in this attack was 18, the rivals of the Salvatrucha.

The Tatooed Soldier

I thought this book was very interesting. I brought up the contrast of Jose Juan and Antonio in the family situation. I found this intriguing because Jose Juan has everything to make him happy in the family department but chooses to run into the arms of another woman. His wife was worried that he would find a "gabacha" and instead he just found another Mexicana. It actually made me sad because I have met families where the father has two families one in his home country to who he sends money every month and a family in the United States. More often however, the father just cuts ties to his first family and keeps his US family. It's sad.

Antonio on the other hand had a family and although his relationship was a wreck he sees now that he had everything he had ever wanted and now lost it all. He tends to see Elena as a sort of patron Saint. I think it is interesting that he has no family ties that force him to stay away from other women but chooses to avoid starting another relationship.

On an unrealated note, I also personally think that Longoria would have gone crazy if he had a family and his son was shot in the same manner that Lopez lost his son. I think that all the maldades que hicieron los jaguares subieron al fondo e hizo que Lopez se volviera loco. Longoria was way to brainwashed to realize that he is crazy for other reasons.

Politics in the Tatooed Soldier

Some thoughts on the Tattoed Soldier. Tobar, the author, wrote for the LA Times and even won a shared prize for the coverage of the LA Riots, which brings extreme authority to his details provided in the novel. I liked the book. The detail was great and the plot, as simple as it may be, was intriguing. To see the baggage that both Antonio and Longoria brought with them from Guatemala to a crazed LA was interesting and showed the truth that not all is done once you've cross "La Frontera", the conditions of living in the war ravaged and politically strewn countries of Centroamerica leave people and families scarred for generations.

If you get the chance watch the film "De Nadie" or "Wetback", both documentaries about the boarder crossing situations and all that people from Centroamerica are trying to escape only to find that the Steel Beast of 'El Tren' and the viciousness of 'Las Maras' often cannot be escaped. Indeed the idea that the US boarder is difficult to cross is pale in comparison to what the people of Central America have to go through just to enter into Mexico. Having watched both of these films and reading Tattooed Soldier I've learned a lot about Centroamerica and what the results of political mayhem can be...or better yet, I've become aware, with a lot yet to learn.

How do you think Hector Tobar feels about the current Immigration issues taking place in Arizona and Texas?

Life in Honduras and Perhaps most of Central America

http://lagringasblogicito.blogspot.com/

The above link is for the blog of a gringa living in Honduras. You may find her insight into the poor country very fascinating. She is currently documenting the mistreatment of a poor young woman and her baby. Its a devastating story, and is a reality for most citizens in Central America.

Tattooed Soldier

I have really enjoyed reading this novel. One thing that stands out to me if the use of Chess. Antonio first seems Longoria playing chess in the park. However, what is interesting is how the author jumps back and between narrating Antonio and Longorias point of view, much like chess pieces move back and forth. The novel is very masterfully worded and was a very interesting read. It also goes into a lot of detail and explains a lot about the Guatemalan civil war and has helped my understanding of events that happened there.

Police Violence

I saw this video and it made me think about the difference between the protections we enjoy in the US vs. Guatemala, Honduras Etc. I am not saying the officer was right or wrong, but the fact that we are protected by checks and balances for even a punch to the face during an altercation we may have been responsible for is a huge blessing vs. the atrocities that can be committed in Centroamerica with no repercussions. My stomach turns when I see the young lady get punched. I can't even begin to imagine how I would feel seeing my neighbors beaten or killed, knowing nothing is there to prevent me and my children from being next. Here is the link http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/20360943#video=20360943

"La Prueba"

I actually like where this story was going quite a bit and enjoyed its writing style. I wish there was more to read on it. I finished this reading wanting to learn more about the young boy and more of his imaginative perceptions on the nature of God and life...

Graphic Narrative Version of Honduran Coup

http://www.alternet.org/images/slideshows/houduras_coup/illustration.php

Important stuff

I am a teller at a credit union here in the valley and do a lot of work with latinos because everyone needs a bank account, right?  Anyway, though most of the people I help are from Mexico, I do know several who are from Central America.  It's very interesting to me now to speak to these people because of the stories and facts I have learned in this course.  I view their lives differently than I did before learning about the turmoil many of them lived in.  It's important stuff to know and really has broadened my world view.

Jake

Incensatez

I lament missing class yesterday because I really wanted a chance to discuss Incensatez with the class and hear your thoughts. For me the book was somewhat peculiar, if that's the word I am looking for. It came and went kind of like one of those little dust devils that come up out of summer's breeze, spinning and controlling it's tiny space, then settling back down having seemingly come from nowhere. At first I was annoyed by our subjects apparent lack of sincerity, and disconnect from the feelings and emotions of those living in the world around him, but for some reason caring for those he was reading about. I soon realized however that most of the time we are in his mind, and our actions don't always match out thought's(though he seemed a bit more brazen than most). I think this disconnect and conceit, which he expresses through the way he treats the women as meat, and rarely refers to people he encounters by their names, preferring to give them nicknames like, "the man with the mustache" etc., is probably the only thing that allows him to get through the work that was put before him. While the ending certainly certainly causes you to believe that all his paranoia was justified, I am still deciding if the email was real or part of a delusion. What do you think?

As I was reading the Blogs I noticed one that talked about how much of what we are reading is fact, not fiction. I thought it was so interesting that many times as i read these eye witness accounts or personal stories it is so easy to discard them as just that, a story. By remembering that they are actual events it makes what we are studying just that much more important and the massive amounts of reading almost tolerable! (almost)

ksl.com - Honduran journalist shot dead, 9th slain this year

ksl.com - Honduran journalist shot dead, 9th slain this year

I read the news today about another reporter being killed in Honduras. So far, there have been 9 reporters murdered since the coup in June of last year. Its sad to think that in many places you can lose your life for writing about what you think. Violence seems to rule the minds of many Central American countries still. Intolerance for different ideas led to problems in the past, in the present, and I imagine it will do the same in the future.

Insensatez

Honestly I think I enjoyed this book more after I realized that it was based on real events (That was most definitely an "ah ha" moment for me).

A few things that stuck out to me in the book was when the narrator talked about how he was going to write a book. He goes into some detail about how he was going to base the book off of a man who was responsible for recording the names of the dead. Later the military would find out about the book and the man and search after him. The keeper of the book would die after hiding the book and the rest of the story would involve the spirit of the book keeper leading someone to the book so that his name could be recorded and he could rest in peace. I thought it was interesting because the narrator said that he would write a best selling realismo magica and show up all the other authors. It was funny to me because I thought that he was totally stuck on himself and cynically sneering at that genre of writing. However, I think at that point I could see how his work on the editing was actually impacting him. He was reading enough testimonies to have an understanding enough to actually write about a native hiding something from the army and how the army would react.

JC

Noticias de Guatemala

Yesterday also, four decapitated heads where discovered in prominent places of the city. Messages where attached to the heads directed at the Ministry of the Interior and the prison system. The real intent of this gruesome display of violence can also be interpreted as a very clear statement of the dark forces that promote impunity in Guatemala, who felt empowered after Dr. Castresana resigned. The groups wanted to send an unequivocal message to the population, to the justice system and to the President of Guatemala.

Castresana said: "The problem is that in Guatemala, criminal organizations had never been confronted. CICIG is doing it, but so is the Prosecutor General's Office and the Judiciary. Let's say it: we are looking the monster in the face, we are holding its gaze, and it is reacting. The question is: Where were Guatemalans at the most critical moments of this Commission? We are not making the effort in the interest of the United Nations or the people that make up CICIG. We are working for Guatemalans, but if you [do not support our efforts] and do not take charge of your destiny, after a while nothing will be left."

See complete link if you want the rest of the story....

http://www.guatemala-times.com/news/guatemala/1670-shake-up-in-guatemala-after-un-commissioner-castresana-resigns.html

Asociaciones latinas piden Nobel para Micheletti

 Esto es una buena noticia para Honduras y Micheletti
 Felisa
http://www.elheraldo.hn/Hondure%C3%B1os%20en%20el%20extranjero/Ediciones/2009/12/18/Noticias/Asociaciones-latinas-piden-Nobel-para-Micheletti

Email de la Profesora

Me sorprendí mucho de recibir las noticias de la profesora de lo que pasó recién en Guatemala en cuanto a las personas que fueron decapitadas. Es increíble que lo que estamos aprendiendo en clase todavía está pasando hoy en día. Me gusta que tenemos la oportunidad de aprender sobre las luchas y los desafíos de la gente de Centroamérica, a fin de que reconozcamos mejor las libertades que tenemos en nuestro paíz y que busquemos maneras para ayudar donde podamos. Los temas tocados me han ayudado "abrir mis ojos".

Senselessness

I am still not finished with this novel, but it is probably the most enjoyable read I have ever had in a school assigned book. The thing that impresses me most is how the book is written. The narrators emotions are very well conveyed. I can easily tell through the reading how he begins to feel paranoid, and how all his emotions start going crazy as he begins to sort of struggle to separate the two worlds he is in. After this class I will be very interested to check out other works by Moya.

I just gotta write in english because my laptop is being stupid and wont put the accents on right, see for yourselfs. por ejemplo: me gustar´´ia tener los acentos pero mi laptop no est´´a funcionando bien, entonces escribir´´e en ingles!
Lame I know. Anywho all these books and movies we read and watch are pretty depressing but at the same time kind of inspiring, but mostly sad. I think it is great and all how the pueblos come together and help each other but its horrible that the government is fighting agains their own people. Maybe they should have used communication a little better and used the "I feel" language. "I feel you are a communist". And maybe if they just comminicated a little better they could have avoided this whole conflict and lots of deaths.

Diarrea: la causa principal de muerte entre niños

http://www.contrapunto.com.sv/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3185%3Anoticias-de-el-salvador-contrapunto&catid=92%3Aultimas-noticias

Civil War

The films that we have been watching in class have deeply impacted my thought process about America and Central America. I wish I could change the world. The horrible mistreatment of man towards another, makes me so sad. The poor children who grow up in this atmosphere. As we have watched the children in the movies, I think they become jaded. They are so accustomed to abuse and mistreatment by the government and adults, that they only learn fear. I regret the participation of the United States that led to the further suffering of these people. I found it ironic in the movie of Alsino y el condor, the American was fighting for the people that we keeping education from the masses. But, if you remember he kept telling the boy to study. Where was he suppose to study of the army had closed all the schools. I think everyone was confused about what they were fighting for, which led to more and more tragedies.

New Show at Clark Planetarium

This is a new show in the dome theater at the planetarium. It's called "Tales of the Maya Skies"
Here is a link to the trailer http://www.clarkplanetarium.org/shows/view/id/60

Quick Doc

Al azar encontré un documental breve que se trata de las persecuciones de las mujeres en Guatemala. También muestra miles y miles de documentos del gobierno de Guatemala que recién encontraron y que fueron escondidos por muchos años para guardar en silencio la mala práctica del gobierno de Guatemala durante la Revolución... Se relaciona mucho con lo que estamos leyendo en Insensatez, es una situación muy parecida. Pretty interesting...

Copy this into your browser:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70sB6okXDzA

BTW, I think we should have class outside more often. :)

El Salvador Elections in 2004

I came across these articles while doing research. I thought it was interesting that one of the interviewed men said that it reminded him of the 80's and all the intervention from the US during the civil war.

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/elections/elsalvador/

http://us.oneworld.net/article/is-us-interfering-el-salvadors-election

Check out this film website

Movies featuring indigenous peoples of Central America:
http://www.nativeamericanfilms.org/central.html

China and CAFTA

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/may/31/china-cafta-central-americahttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/may/31/china-cafta-central-america

Los Movimientos Revolucionarios

I think that its really interesting that La Mujer Habitada makes a point of comparing Lavinia's struggle against modern despotism to Itza's struggle against the spanish conquistadores. Revolutions and struggles of the past are generally viewed in a different light than contemporary revolutions/struggles. For example the struggle of the indigenous americans against the spanish conquistadores is generally considered a heroic fight against oppression, whereas the more modern struggles in Central America against military dictatorships are judged more skeptically. Also the American revolutionaries are seen as heroes but most modern revolutionaries are seen as criminals or miscreants. That's not to say that all revolutions are just, and maybe the test of time is needed to be able to judge a revolution fairly, but I think that Belli was conscious of these perception when she made the comparison between the two struggles. Also, for wednesday we're only supposed to read the Rigoberta Menchu/David Stoll stuff, right?

Al Gore the Poet - Literatura comprometida?

hear it directly from him or read it..... judge for yourself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbBhMnlXBTE

One thin September soon
A floating continent disappears
In midnight sun

Vapors rise as
Fever settles on an acid sea

Snow glides from the mountain
Ice fathers floods for a season
A hard rain comes quickly
......

Then dirt is parched
Kindling is placed in the forest
For the lightning's celebration
.......

The shepherd cries
The hour of choosing has arrived
Here are your tools

Bananas!

I was reading the Wikipedia article about the United Fruit Company (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Fruit_Company) and noticed that today the Company is formally known as Chiquita Brands International.  I don't know about you but bananas look a little different while shopping for groceries.  It's really interesting to me to see how connected I am to a piece of Central American history.  In other Spanish classes I have taken for my major I have found that things seem so distant.  Yes it is interesting to learn about Evo Morales or what not but this United Fruit Company contriversy has seem a little closer to home than other topics. 

Jake

Honduras coup still divides Latin America

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/world/americas/06honduras.html?hpw

The Inhabited Woman

I've been reading the book and so far it is pretty intense. After you get past the romantic stuff it got my attention. I can't imagine what I would do if I was put in a position to choose between a normal life and an underground secret life. It really humanizes the people you hear about in the newspapers and other media, which is something I find to be very worthwhile. Similar to the movie we watched in class, when the characters are shown as humans with feelings and goals we seem to have more empathy towards them. That is what this world lacks in my opinion.

Sobreviviendo....

I really enjoyed this film. It was very interesting to see how the people were portrayed. It is interesting to see the message of the film that is directed to the people of El Salvador and how they can progress in the future. I am not sure how it is in El Salvador, but I know in Guatemala there still remains conflict and problems for those who had family members who were guerrillas. Hopefully the message resonated with the people of El Salvador and they have been able to put the past behind them in order to make a stronger future. There needs to be unity in the country in order for that to happen.

Sobreviviendo Soyapango

Cuando vi la película me recordé de todo lo que me salve. El lenguaje es bastante fuerte y sin duda vulgar, pero puedo decir que es muy representativo del hablado de muchos de los salvadoreños. Noté como cuando se dirigían a los muertos no se les hablaba vulgarmente, de lo contrario, se les dirigía con mucho respeto. Cuando se expresaba enojo, frustraciones o burlas sí se llena de visiones de prostitutas y pendejos. Me pregunto si el lenguaje vulgar sirve como una manera de desahogarse de las muchas y largas opresiones.

I really enjoyed the movie that we watched in class last week. I am a history major, but since the U offers little to no classes on Central American history, I really lacked knowledge about all that had happened in Guatemala. I was impressed by the strength of the people, and their desire to stand up to the government. They fought for their rights. Not rights like you and I have, but basic human rights. Rights they had been denied by powerful men and government. They wanted to be treated fairly, and like the were a valuable part of Guatemala and the population of the world. I am grateful for men and women who take the time to bring these part of history to my attention.

Cristo campesino

The credits for the new image placed above belong to www.indigoarts.com, which features an archival gallery of the work of Nicaraguan artist, José Ignacio Fletes Cruz.  Fletes Cruz paints in the "pintura naíf" style.  During the Sandinista Revolution, he painted testimonial images for the Gospel of Solentiname, a liberation theology text that presents a socialist reading of the gospels, by Nicaraguan priest, poet and then Minister of Culture, Ernesto Cardenal.  Solentiname was an artists' commune in the early years of the Sandinista Revolution of visual artists and poets who worked collectively to promote popular art throughout the Nicaraguan countryside.  Much of the art and poetry that was produced in Solentiname was testimonial in nature.

Cenizas de Izalco

He leído en el pasado unos poemas de Claribel Alegría. Muchos de los mismos temas están en Cenizas de Izalco: el rol en la sociedad de la mujer y el hombr, la vilencia, la corrupción, la pobreza y la naturaleza. Me interesa la manera en que Alegría utiliza Frank y Carmen para dar dos puntos de vista. Sin embargo, en mi opinión, la novela no demuestra el mismo nivel de ira ni temor que surgen en sus poemas. No pude encontrar este libro en español y es posible que la traducción falta la emoción que he visto antes. Les recomiendo "Hacia la edad jurásica", "Eramos tres" o "Tamalitos de Cambray" para ver la diferencia.

El Silencio De Neto

El Silencio de Neto demuestra una perspectiva distinta de lo que yo esperaba. Me gustó que pudimos aprender sobre el impacto de la revolución desde la perspectiva de un niño imaginativo como Neto. Al experimentar los cambios en el país de aquel tiempo de esta manera, aprende sobre el impacto más con respeto a la familia que a la nación en si. Por éso me gustó la película.

Reading for Wednesday

Does anyone remember what the readings are for Wednesday?

Thanks,

Scott

Sandino's influence

Sandino's life and consequent mythology are very interesting to me. When I was reading about him and his ability to invoke fear in his enemies and hope into his people I couldn't help but relate it to the legends of America. For example, when reading about him made me think of all the stories and anecdotes of Lincoln and and Washington and how they had so much virtue and character. I've read a number of things about both and i can't think of any negative thing said about either of them. Along the same lines it seems like Sandino is just one of those once a generation people who have the charisma to continue influencing even after they've passed on. The only real negative thing said about Sandino is his relationships with women. Unfortunately that was a black spot for him, nevertheless, he's been able to help so many of his countrymen despite this one bad aspect.

Después De Las Bombas

I just finished this book by Arturo Arias, and loved it. It covers the political unrest in Guatemala beginning in 1954 and continues on into the early 1970's. It also covers the revolution in 1944 briefly. It's a really cool book. It uses magical realism to tell the story of a young kid growing up in war-torn Guatemala, and reveals the political instability of the nation, as well as the fear and very limited freedom of the people. Its really intense and often graphic, and although the violence and oppression is intentionally exaggerated, it definitely made me feel fortunate to have grown up in a time and place that is so relatively safe and peaceful. Its also a really fast and easy read (at least in english), and it's actually kind of funny (in an ironic and sometimes disturbing way). I think I'm going to write my final paper on this, and I'd recommend it if anyone is undecided on their topic.

Eye Opening Education

Its really interesting to learn about the history of Guatemala and its civil wars that its been having, particularly in recent decades. I had the opportunity to go there a few years ago and had no idea that the people had only recently been through so much civil warfare (and in many cases were still going through it). It was so apparent in the people’s humble faces that they had been through struggles in their life, but I had no idea to what extent their trials had escalated. Having learned more from reading these pieces of literature and seeing the documentary in class the other day are very motivating to go back to better appreciate what the people you meet have been through.

Agatha

¿Han visto la ira de la tormenta tropical Agatha en Centroamérica?  A propósito, los desastres naturales muchas veces han tenido efectos no previstos en la política y la historia de la región...

http://www.laprensagrafica.com/el-salvador/social/121145-tormenta-agatah-ya-toco-tierra-salvadorena.html

El Silencio de Neto

It was interesting to watch this movie and think about what it may have been like to live in Guatemala at this time. Seeing the different characters in the movie made me think on the different types of people in this time. From the father and the uncle having disagreements over the current political situation, the brother who becomes very politically active and ends up vanishing, and also the in the schools yards when the girls start teasing Neto, accusing him of having a 'revolutionary' for a father.

I thought this movie was very well done. When I first read what the movie was about, I basically thought it was just gonna be a movie based on the history of Guatemala for two hours. However the movie was very interesting and enjoyable to watch. The filmmaker did a great job in making a good story but also showing how it would have been to live in Guatemala during that time.

Class 5/26

I missed class on Wednesday, due to being in the hospital with some pregnancy complications, and am wondering if anyone would email me their notes from class and let me know what I missed!?!?  I would really appreciate it!

Thank you!
My email is: aubriesmyth@gmail.com

~Aubrie

El silencio de Neto y Cenizas de Izalco

Pienso que El silencio de Neto es una buena representación de lo que la clase alta pudo experimentar mientras vivían en Guatemala durante los años de los 40 y 50. Cierto que tiene su influencia “Hollywood” pero aun representa a la vida de esta sociedad. Toca un poco la situación de los indígenas pero no se sumerge en esa escena, pienso que hace bien en vez de abarcar mucho se enfoca en estas vidas de la gente de la ciudad. Es bastante similar con la novela Cenizas de Izalco. La novela y la película ciento que son mas atractivas porque no vienen pintadas de rojo comunistas, son sutiles en su mensaje y a la misma vez desarrollan personajes con quien yo me pueda relacionar. La escena de los niños en el billar fumando me recuerda de mi niñez más de lo que ustedes se pueden imaginar.

Excellent posts!

Excellent posting!  I just read through everyone's posts for the last week and am so pleased with your insights.

Miguel, I have been thinking about your question today about whether or not there are Central American texts published with conservative viewpoints about what has happened over the last century.  If there are, they have not made it into the canon, which, remember, is formed by academics.  I did think of a few conservative texts from the early twentieth century:  Pedro Joaquin Cuadra Chamorro (father/uncle to Pablo Antonio Cuadra, one of the founders of the Anti-Academia; also patriarch of powerful Chamorro family) published very conservative novels that served as comportment manuals for young Nicaraguan women.  These were _Las dos mujeres_ (192?) and three short novels, "El manto de Jesus", "El gobierno del hijo prodigo" and "Los tres azotes del diablo" (1927).  There was also a comportment manual, _La mujer y el hogar_ by Manuel Rosales (Guat) published in 1930 that was apparently well-received throughout the isthmus.  It was also common to see protests and complaints about the Nueva Mujer in periodicals throughout the 1920s and 30s.

In 1936, Somoza published a scathing biography of Sandino titled, _El verdadero Sandino_.  He meant to discredit the hero that he martyred.

Ediciones F & G in Guatemala published Odette Arzu's memoir in three volumes as a document of the privileged lives and perspectives of the Guatemalan oligarchy.  Although it reads like a novela rosa, this text has historical value in that gives us such a perspective in bound print.

I will have to think of and investigate more examples.

Enrich your FB experience!

Enrich your Facebook experience.  Become fans/friends of ContraPunto-El Salvador, Pnud-El Salvador, 400 Elefantes, Miguel Huezo Mixco, and others featured on the "Central American Links" of the Finzamos blog.

how much have we really changed?

I learned my Spanish while serving a mission in Costa Rica. Many of the people we would interact with lived in the banana fields or the coffee plantations. It has been very interesting reading Bananos y Hombres and comparing it to what I saw. Not much has changed. Obviously things are a little more stable as a country, but the poverty and working conditions are similar to what they were during the early 20th century. Children still work in the fields, these lowest class workers live in one-room shacks, and disease is still rampant. In a somewhat modern society it is easy to see and feel progress but stepping into the banana fields fells like taking a step back into a different world.

Another Point of View

It has been an interesting way of learning about the civil unrest in Central America via literature that was produced at the time, rather than from a text book of solid facts.  I have had a couple other classes dealing with similar issues in the area but have enjoyed looking at a single point of view rather than an outsiders trying to give a blanket overview of a situation that obviously effected many.  I mean, even reading Carmen Sobalvarro's poems (though they weren't very good) has been interesting in that her voice and face became such an icon.  It gives history a much needed personal touch.

Jake

Bananos y Hombres

Se que hable un poco de esto en la clase de hoy pero queria ensenarles una photo de bananos. Me hace pensar en como Carmen Lyra quise que los demas vieron que la naturaleza trata de proteger a sus "frutas" y que los humanos no hagan lo mismo por sus "frutas." Tristemente las cosas no han cambiado desde los 1930's. Hay mucha explotacion de personas. Aun hoy hay personas en los Estados Unidos que trabajan en los campos de fruta y verdurda por todo los Estados Unidos. I remember when there was a huge movement about helping the migrant workers, who were being paid poorly and maltreated, have better lives. People boycotted certain food establishments. There are probably many other things that we should avoid and boycott to help stop inhumane treatment of other humans. Not only do we have issues with cosas de agricola pero there are sweatshops and other types of labor in other countries that make the clothes we see in stores and on commercials. Even if we just treated each other fairly in doing business and other daily interaction the world would be better. Si todos apreciaramos y vigilaramos a los ceres humanos como la naturaleza a sus frutos, quizas tendriamos un mundo mejor. Lastima que las cosas no son asi. Entiendo mejor poque los periodistas, poetas y escritores ahnelaban una sociedad utpica.

U.S. policy in Central America

I didn't know very much about U.S. foreign policy in Central America over the past 100 years before this weeks readings (and I guess I still don't know very much about it), but after reading Bananos y Hombres and the reading by Whisnat about Sandino I understand why there are prevalent anti-american sentiments in Central America. I'm a pretty politically moderate guy, but it seems that U.S foreign policy in Nicaragua, and later Guatemala during the 20th century was strongly motivated by North Americas economic interests at the expense of Central Americas development. Its also unfortunate that the Central American civil wars (especially in Guatemala) seemed to occur at the height of the Red Scare in the U.S., causing the U.S. to come down harshly on anything that appeared to be associated with Communism. I know that any nations foreign policy is motivated by its own interests, but I think that U.S. intervention in both Nicaragua and Guatemala really retarded the progress of those nations. Also I got a book on Amazon about a week ago called Bitter Fruit:The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala, I've only skimmed it but it seems like good source if anyone is planing on writing their paper on the Guatemalan civil war.

Telegrafo

I found this story quite comical. After living in Central America for a short while, I realize this is the manera in which information travels. It didn't take long for news to travel between the group I lived with or in the community. I called them chambrosos. The chambres traveled quick, and as in the story most of the time the reports had been falsified to be more entertaining. It is much the same in the US with facebook, and twitter, a story can be told and retold until only part of none of it is true. I don't see the Central American way of life changing very soon, as it hasn't changed in the past century, since the story was written.

Clueless!

Bueno pues no sé si estoy escribiendo en el propio lugar pero ni modo, si no? Aprenderé. Entonces no sé exactamente de lo que habla las lecturas pero ay voy poco a poco. Es interesante ver la película que nos enseñó la maestra y ver como se presenta la información en dibujos de animales y otras formas. Es interesante porque en una programa se llama NOVA, tienen un historia documental sobre el código de los Mayas. En esta programa hablan acerca de todas las personas que han intentado traducir la lectura de los Mayas y el hombre que, según ellos, realizó esta meta. Si quieren verlo, les dejo el sitio de web.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/63741/nova-cracking-the-maya-code

La Loba

I really enjoyed La Loba as a story. I thought it was a great depiction of what that witch magic would look like. I liked the detailed description of when Kola vomited up her spirit into a flower pot. It actually made me sick to my stomach. It reminded me of stories that were told to me when I lived in Merida. They used to tell a story about the "Coco" who would come and eat bad children who had wondered away from their Mothers.

Popul Vuh

I have previously taken a Classic Maya class, and although we only went over the Popol Vuh for a short time, it was interesting to connect the dots from the video we watched in class to the aspects of the Maya.

Murals, carvings, and paintings have been found all over the Mayan region with depictions from the Popol Vuh. Depictions of Xibalba are often found, especially on tombs of the Mayan rulers. It is also interesting to see how many important aspects of Mayan life are in the Popol Vuh. For example, the ball game was very important to the Maya, and had a lot of religious implications. The stories of the hero twins also involve sacrifice, which was important to the Maya, and the stories also involve maize, which was very important to the diet of the Maya.

I am very glad we got to watch the video, although I have learned about the Popol Vuh in other classes, I was never able to see how the entire story fits together like we were able to do in the video. The video helped me understand parts of the Mayan life that I wasnt even able to fully learn in other classes dedicated solely to study the Maya.

Telegrafo

I actually liked the reading about the telegrafo. It was a fun read because it showed that the same problems being faced then are still being faced today. The differences lie in the amount of technology use. I asked the question as to whether our gossip problems are better or worse and I say that it is obviously worse. With better sources of communication comes better ways to gossip.

Popol Vuh

Lo que me llama la atención en el Popol Vuh es que estas leyendas me parecen muy semejantes a las leyendas de los indígenas del sur de Estados Unidos. Por eso, investigo un poco los imágenes que parecen en los artefactos. Mientras, por supuesto, hay diferencias en los cuentos y el juego con la pelota no existe en EEUU, el uso de las imágenes, especialmente la naturaleza y los animales, acerca el uso de los Hopi y los Navajo (por ejemplo). Sé que estas tribus compartían una ruta comercial, sin embargo, me sorpresa que los colores y las representaciones de gente, dioses, animales y plantas refleja las que he visto en el suroeste.

En caso de que ustedes quieran ver el video de la clase, está en partes en http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=993B4EACD2CEDCA0

La Loba

I was captivated by the introduction of Gavidia’s “La Loba.” From the depiction of El Salvador and how one man could have so much power, such as in the case of don Gerardo Barrios, I automatically put my sights on having this leyenda be another demonstration of the inequalities between the few in power in El Salvador and the majority living in poverty. I was pleasantly surprised on how the leyenda took a turn to the past and detailed how la loba came to be. I enjoyed so much how Gavidia unclothed the current El Salvador and took me on a journey back to a virgin land free from any European influence, architecture, religion, culture, etc. Gavidia at that point was then free to use any form of experimentation with unexpected words and images. Gavidia makes me want to be a better story teller and gives me ideas on how to be more captivating even when writing.

Punto de Vista

Reading the Leyendas de Guatemala by Migel Angel Asturias has been very different from other readings in Spanish I have done.  Usually when I read I put a lot of effort into piecing things together, be it plot, characters or even just sentences and paragraphs.  I have noticed with the Leyendas de Guatemala that this has been a bigger challenge than usual but I feel though that this is simple my point of view.  Reading something that is written with "surrealismo" has been different in that when I try to sync it with my reality, my thought process, it hasn't matched up.  In Los brujos de la tormenta primival, reading about how the world came to be and the separation of people from the gods exemplifies my struggle in that reading the story in any language would have been foreign to me.  There were however parts that came quicker, such as the problems that came with disobeying "las leyes del amor".

Leyendas de Guatemala forced me to trust what I was reading and to turn off my "nonsense" alarm that I have come to use when reading in my second language.  It was a stretching text, but in a good way.

Jake

Central American Links Added

I have added a working list of links to Central American news, culture and political sites that may be of interest.  Please feel free to make suggestions and enjoy exploring!  There may be content for final projects here...

CAFTA

What do you know about DR-CAFTA?  What are its benefits?  Who benefits?  Why has it been so controversial both among North American and Central American voters?

Examen Final

Think about the final exam as a second midterm covering primarily the second half of the semester.  There are a couple of concepts from the beginning of the semester that have continued being relevant throughout the second half of the semester.

There will be one section of IDs.  There is a bank of about 15, and you have to define and give examples for only 3.

There is a section of short answers, just like there was on the midterm.  You must answer 2 out of 6.

Finally, there is a little question on presentations that asks you to draw from a couple of others' presentations you have watched.

Think big picture.  Find your syllabus and go through each class day and text.  For each class period and text, jot down the main concepts and themes.

You do not have to know specific dates, characters, legends, etc.  You DO have to know concepts and how they might show up in different texts.

Hope this helps.  Send me emails if you still need guidance.

April Ends Here.

I have so enjoyed reading your insights and questions on the blog.  I have also enjoyed your eco-experiments.  Thanks for a great class this semester!

Eat meat sparingly

On Sunday there was a very interesting editorial in the SL. Trib. written by a former U of U student. The author (who is a member of the LDS church) talks about the word of wisdom, which forbids drinking alcohol and coffee, smoking and doing drugs. The author says that many members of the LDS church dismiss the pat which reads "yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly ; and it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or of famine." The author continues by stating: "According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the runoff from factory farms pollutes our waterways more than any other industrial sources combined. In the U.S., 70 percent of all grains, 80 percent of all agricultural land, half of all water resources and one-third of all fossil fuels are used to raise animals for food. Eating animals destroys the rain forest, when the amazon is slashed and burned to create grazing space for cows as well as land to grow feed for chickens." The Environmental defense fund states, "if every American skipped one meal of chicken a week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads." I am not sure if all that she is saying is true, but I have to tell you I was shocked when I read this. I knew that the meat industry wasn't the best thing for the environment, but these numbers are shocking, and it is scary to think of all the damage we are doing just to eat meat. I challenge everyone to skip one meal of meat a week, so we can make this earth a better place.

Final

Well I am just going to suggest that we should all post some things about the final exam here on this blog. Professor Finzer has let us talk about the final, although we don't know much about it I think it is in our best interest to talk about and review things from the class. I am going to find some information that I think will be useful from my notes, and I will post them here on the blog.


CAN YOU DO THE SAME???

Jandote de mi presentación

Supongo que no haya estado prestando la atención en clase y olvidé completamente que tuvimos que tener un "jandote" para dar a cada uno durante nuestras presentaciones. Si hubiera hecho un papel probablemente sería el sexto slide de mi powerpoint. Es una foto de Che y unas palabras que escribió él en su diario. Me gustó mucho lo que dijo Beau después de mi presentación. Dijo que la idea de morir luchando se base en la patria argentina y que es parte de la cultura y la esencia de la gente. Es cierto que esta idea fue parte del hombre Ernesto "Che" Guevara de la Serna. Voy a poner las palabras que escribió Che abajo y esto hubiera sido mi jandote.

"Lo sé! Lo sé! Si me voy de aqui me traga el río.

Es mi destino: "hoy voy a morir". Pero no,

la fuerza de voluntad todo lo puede.

Están los obstáculos, lo admito. No quiero salir.

Si tengo que morir, será en esta cueva. Las balas,

qué me pueden hacer las balas si mi destino es morir

ahogado, pero voy a superar mi destino.

El destino se puede alcanzar con la fuerza de voluntad.

Morir sí, pero acribillado por las balas, destrozado

por las bayonetas, si, no, no, ahogado no...

un recuerdo más perdurable que mi nombre es luchar,

morir luchando."

Llegamos!

Well, its been a fun ride this semester. I hope that we have all taken new ideas from our classes. I know I have. This class has allowed me to focus on things that I have never previously thought about. I liked that experiment that I did, it really made me concerned for the evoirnment and what my actions may cause. I do believe that we have a great influence in the evoirnment as it does with us. I hope that I am able to become more intuned with the eviornment as I continue with my life and help others to do so as well. As in my presentation where I talk about Dimonds theory of Guns, Germs, and Steel. He presents that we are subject to the earth and it is the earth that leads us. He explains the Fertil Cresent were the ability to grow and live are more efficient. On a Micro level we till the earth and grow food but on the Macro level the earth tills us and grows us. It is something to think about and I strongly recommend the Book Gun, Germs, and Steel. I shows us how geography or nature limints or allows for progression depending only on geograpy.

Spring Peacocks

Porque ha llegado la primavera, me encuentro dando más atención a los cambios en manera de vestirse en nuestro campus...more skin! To what extent are we peacocks? Vi a los fotos de la semana "fashion" de Paris y todos están vestidos como aves--estos volantes son de colores neutrales, como la pureza de este estación. Llego a la primavera con esperanza y una tabula rasa (al menos, despues de los examenes) y lista para el verano.

Finals: Going to Your "Happy Place"

(my desktop image -->)
I've found more and more that during times of stress, like finals week, it helps me a lot to put up a picture of or relating to my "Happy Place". MY happy place is under water, interestingly enough, and that's what I have on my desktop.


Speaking ecocritically, I think it's interesting that the place that's my happy place is in water, usually outside. I don't picture myself in a swimming pool, but if I were given the choice to be in a pool or to be somewhere else so that I could de-stress (unless that place was on a massage table)I would choose the pool if I couldn't have my lake/river/ocean/etc.

I'm interested to know if the "happy places" of my classmates are also so-called natural places... any thoughts?

History Channel

Last night I stayed up way too late watching this program on the history channel about what would happen in a modern day Armageddon. In this instance, there was a plague that contaminated the entire human population, much like the black death. It was interesting to see how humanity would change and over time, eventually go back to their older ways, farming, living off of the land, without electricity or irrigation for their water. A situation like that would be entirely life altering and it made me wonder if in our lifetimes, we will ever see a pandemic break out that changes our lifestyles. I know the swine flu had us worried, but do you think it will ever get worse? Any thoughts on this?

la primavera!

Al manejar hoy me di cuenta de que por fin la primavera está aqui. Vi que todos los arboles estan llenos de ojas, y verdes, y yo me siento bien. No voy a mentir el calor y el sol me pone muy feliz. He estado jarto del invierno pero lo que quiero decir es es bueno que hay oposicion. O lo que quiero decir es que si no tuvieramos el frio no nos disfrutaríamos el calor tanto. Verdad?

Carbon Offset

The video I posted talked about carbon offset. What is it? Well, basically you pay money to make up for your carbon glut. But after doing some research I'm still not exactly sure how it offsets your footprint. I mean, it's not like playing money to an organization is magically going to make the exhaust from your car disappear. From what I've read, it "represents" a reduction in CO2 production. If anyone has better information on the subject,please reply because I'm very curious about how it works.

In the beginning

At the start of the semester, I remember we talked about how ecology and economy could be (and in my opinion are) greatly related to one another; in a way that goes beyond sharing the same root "eco". Here is a cool Newsweek article that shows the relationship. In particular, the article shows how the recent volcano eruption has impacted international business.

Phantom Power

So I know we've all heard about what a carbon footprint is, but this video brings up a specific concept in reducing our personal footprints: phantom power. Sounds silly, but it actually quite practical. Basically it invovles power usage while things aren't being used (like laptops on standby). Cool video, check it out.

Benefits of Being a Vegetarian

The only reason way I thought people were vegetarians is because of animal rights issues. I thought that they didn't want to eat anything that comes from animals so that the animals number one don't get slaughtered and also that they aren't taken advantage of sense we as human have such a dominance over them.

The other reason that I found out on Earth Day is actually for us! I found out that the farms were they mass produce chicken, cows, all matter of livestock produces high amounts of Methane into our atmosphere. Methane is one of the four gases that create the Greenhouse effect along with water vapor, carbon dioxide, and ozone.

When I heard, my reaction was that it can't be that big of a deal because there are lots more cars, factories and other things in the world that produce carbon dioxide. It turns out that methane is 25 times worse than carbon dioxide! It seems as though these animal farms produce a little of methane, but that little bit goes a long way!

Global Warming, yet again

I know that we have had a lot of entries on global warming, but in my Natural Disasters class on Thursday my professor talked about it. There were two things that hit me pretty hard.

The first is about the earth heat cycle. Scientists believe that the earth has periods of "ice ages" and "warm ages." Right now we are towards the end of a warm age and we should in the next couple houndred of years be heading to a cold age. He explained that many politicians and people in general blame this cycle for the world's overall temperature for rising. They are true but my teacher showed us that this cycle is only to be blamed for 1/5 of the heat rise. The other 4/5 is from global warming.

The second thing that he said was the artic ice caps. Usually the ice caps in the north pole melt a little bit, then refreeze again, and this process happens back and forth through the seasons. My professor showed us a picture in which over a third, almost half, of the artic caps in the north pole have melted! I couldn't believe it and he said that NO scientist predicted it either. They say that is one of the biggest signs that global warming is getting worse and that we have to do something about it.

Before I was a fence sitter but now I'm pretty convinced that global warming is a problem and we have to do something about it.

estar de buen humor

Hay lluvia, y al caminar a mi clase escuche algo muy interesante. Alguien comento que el aire reflejaba su humor. Esta semana habia un empeoramiento del tiempo como todos ya saben y ella dijo que sentia mal como el mal tiempo, sin embargo ella quiso tener el buen tiempo. Yo siento bien pero me encanta la lluvia de todos modos quise preguntarles. El tiempo esta reflejado en nuestro humor, si sea mal o bien? La condicion del tiempo tiene un gran efecto sobre nosotros en varios condiciones?

Happy Earth Day

Hi Guys! I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Earth Day. Having the theme of environmentalism in our class this semester has made me a lot more conscientous of the planet and all the things that surround me on a daily basis. I love the idea of protecting our Earth and taking care of her as she takes care of us. We only have one planet and one place to live so it makes sense that we would do our very best to keep her clean and healthy so that we can remain healthy. Anyway, I'm preaching to the choir but I just thought I would reiterate my thoughts. Happy Earth Day to you all!

The tv show Life.

On Sunday I was watching tv and came across the new series on the Discovery Channel called Life. It is similar to a previous series they did called Planet Earth. Both are really well done and interesting to watch and see places in nature that not many of us will ever have to chance to go. The episode from Sunday was about primates and their abilities to use tools to accomplish tasks like using rocks to smash open coconuts, or use sticks to dip into ant holes so that the ants crawl up on the stick and the chimps are able to lick them off like a juicy ant Popsicle. If you get the chance I strongly encourage everyone to sit down and watch for a little bit. My guess is that you'll lose track of time and be amazed at how amazing nature is.

La vida sin carro

Por mi experimento no manejé mi carro por dos semanas. Tengo un carro, no es una camioneta grande, o un SUV tampoco, es una Honda Civic. Es un carro pequeño que no consume mucha gasolina y es muy fiable. La verdad, me gusta mi carro, me siento libre por que yo sé que puedo manejar donde sea y cuando llueve, voy a estar feliz y seco en mi carro. Uno puede decir que una vida sin carro es fácil. Pero la verdad, cuando uno sabe que tiene un carro registrado, asegurado con gasolina en el tanque y no puede manejarlo, es difícil. A mi me gustó el experimento. Siempre cuando estoy en mi carro no puedo parar y oler las rosas. Cuando caminaba y llevaba TRAX, conocí mucha gente diferente que mi y mucha gente de todo el país. De caminar y andar con bicicleta me hizo bien a la salud también, estaba haciendo más ejercicios y sentía que tenía más energía. Pero más importante yo hice algo bueno por el ambiente. Con la página Web www.corbonify.com yo podía calcular la cantidad de CO2 que no emite durante mi experimento. Según la pagina Web yo salve 0.148678 (tons) de CO2 de entrar a la atmósfera.

Planes Para El Verano

Planeo vivir afuera en la naturaleza para casi todo el verano en mi pueblo, Sandpoint, Idaho que en muy hermoso. :D Estoy emocionada para eso, y quiero llamar a este verano "El Verano Sin Espejos" porque voy a concentrarme mas en divertirme en la naturaleza sin la distraccion de preocuparme con como parezco a la sociedad. Trabajo como guardia de vida (lifeguard) en la playa del ciudad, entonces voy a ir al trabajo de manera de kayak cada dia. No sera mi en la soledad todo el tiempo, pero mi casa sera una carpa y mi cocina sera un hoyo de fuego. :D :D :D :D

Dia de Tierra

El dia de tierra o earth day es el 22 de este mes. Lo que encuentro interesante es que la pelicula Avatar va a salir en DVD este dia. Creo que lo hicieron esto para que la pelicula se parezca mas como una pelicula que es alliado de la naturaleza. Cuando ví la pelicula no me dí cuenta de su mensaje, un mensaje contra los gobeirnos que abusan la naturaleza para su propia gana. Yo estuve tan entretenido con la historia y los effectos visuales que no me di cuenta de este mensaje. Mi hermanito me dijo despues, wow siento mal por no tratar la tierra bien, y en este momento me di cuenta del mensaje de la pelicula, es una pelicula Verde! Que piensan ustedes del dia de la tierra y del mensaje de Avatar?

Volcanos! Run!

So, if you have been watching the news lately you would have notice some volcanos disasters around the globe. Volcanos intereste me so I thought I would do a little research about them. Here are some questions that I had about volcanos....
Which gases are emitted before and during a volcanic eruption, and what effects can they have on people, animals, plant life near a volcano? How could the gas kill trees? Is it realistic that squirrel might die all over the place, but not humans, like in Dante’s Peak? Are all volcanic gases visible? Yellow? Smelly? Can gas emissions occur without a big volcanic eruption happening at the same time?
The gases are released from magma that is located under ground and then eventually surfaces. Gases can also rise through soil and other volcanic vents. These gases start to create tiny bubbles which over time tend to increase in size. After a volcano erupts the gases are carried by the wind then spreading acid aerosols (tiny acid fragments) to the ground.
There are many types of volcanic gases the most common volcanic acid that is released into the atmosphere is water vapor (H20), carbon dioxide (S02). Also volcanoes release other smaller gases know as Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen chloride (HCL), hydrogen fluoride (HF), and helium (HE).
There was another question about if these gases are harmful to people humans and animals the answer is yes. Volcanic gases are the greatest potential hazard to people, animals, agriculture, and property. These hazards are carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen dioxide. Once these toxins are emitted into the atmosphere can turn into acid rain. If a large explosion takes place it can inject a tremendous volume of sulfur aerosols into the air causing lower surface temperatures and cause damage to the earth ozone layer. Carbon dioxide is a heavier toxin which can lower itself in to the earth soil causing soil decontamination. The carbon dioxide gas in these areas can be deadly to people, animals, and vegetation. A few historic eruptions have released sufficient flouring-compounds to deform or kill animals that eat on vegetation.
Sulfur dioxide is another deadly toxin to humans and wild life. This toxin is a colorless gas with a horrible order that irritates skin and the tissues and mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and throat.
Hydrogen sulfide is another colorless gas that is emitted when a volcanic eruption happens. This toxin is flammable with a very strong odor. This toxin can cause respiratory tract and, dizziness, excitement, staggering gait, and diarrhea. Some of these gases are visible to the human eye but some are not. Hydrogen Fluoride is a pale yellow colored gas that attaches to fine ash particles, covers grass, and pollutes streams and lakes. There are many deadly effects caused by this toxin, skin irritation, bone degeneration and mottling of teeth. Animals that eat vegetation that coated with fluorine-tainted ash are poisoned. Well, some of the gases can be detected like sulfur while others like carbon dioxide cannot. So the views and ideas shown in Dante’s Peak seem to be accurate and logical. Remember to always be aware of your surrounding when