Live An Adventure Podcast

Ode to Thanks by Pablo Neruda Thanks to the word that says thanks! Thanks to thanks, word that melts iron and snow! The world is a threatening place until thanks makes the rounds from one pair of lips to another, soft as a bright feather and sweet as a petal of sugar, filling the mouth with its sound or else a mumbled whisper. Life becomes human again: it’s no longer an open window. A bit of brightness strikes into the forest, and we can sing again beneath the leaves. Thanks, you’re the medicine we take to save us from the bite of scorn. Your light brightens the altar of harshness. Or maybe a tapestry known to far distant peoples. Travelers fan out into the wilds, and in the jungle of strangers, merci rings out while the hustling train changes countries, sweeping away borders, then spasibo clinging to pointy volcanoes, to fire and freezing cold, or danke, yes! and gracias, and the world turns into a table: a single word has wiped it...

Buenos Aires, 2007. My first trip in South America, summer 2002 South America has been amazing! 8 weeks visiting Peru, Bolivia, Brasil, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile. This past week I've spent a fantastic few days in Buenos Aires. I am a bohemian. One of the bohemian singers-songwriters I admire most is from Argentina. His name is Facundo Cabral. I had the chance to go to one of his recitals in Costa Rica while teaching there. I have listened to his music since I was a teenager. Now, guess whom I saw having coffee as I walked down Recoleta ? Yeah !! A friend told me that these kinds of moments happen to me because I have the best karma. LOL When I first saw him I hesitated for a minute to approach him for an autograph. I didn’t want to interrupt his conversation with a friend. But I had to. I went in the café and said: Don Facundo, could I have your autograph? He immediately asked me: Where are you from? I told him: Guatemala, he then he says loudly: Waiter, a coffee f...

Roots and Wings In June of 2004, after going to college in Arkansas for 4 years and teaching in Honduras, Costa Rica and the Carolinas for 7 years, I decided to take a sabbatical in Guatemala. I wanted to get back to my roots. I spent most of that year in Antigua Guatemala and Lake Atitlan. Two of the most beautiful places I know. I was home. My family. My food. My people. My land. I felt "Chapin" again. Chapin is the nickname given to Guatemalans.  As the end of my sabbatical got closer I began thinking of looking for a job. The thought of returning to the US came to my mind, but Mario Benedetti came to my mind. He is a poet and novelist from Uruguay. He said once: The South also exists...! That thought made me to seriously consider going to South America instead of North America. After a few days looking at the pros and cons I decided to go South. I found a job online. I contacted the school in Cochabamba, Bolivia and after a few emails and a phone interview they...