the booger index

in our hostel in quito, the capital of ecuador:

me:  hey, when you walk around or take the bus in a big city, do your boogers get black?
megan:  yeah, they always do.
me:  it happens to me in london.
megan:  it’s kind of like evidence of all the pollution.
me:  there should be a booger index, don’t you think?
megan:  a what?
me:  like how bad the pollution is, as evidenced by the color of your boogers.
megan: ewww.
me:  yeah.  if your boogers are grey, you’ll be okay.  if your boogers are black, you better turn back!

things that happened

my new joke is to ask my sister to translate really complicated concepts and/or words into spanish. here is a list of things i�ve asked her to translate:

�c�mo se dice perpetuate the stereotype?
�c�mo se dice space-age polymers?
�c�mo se dice corrugated metal?

also, someone said “ustedes,” and i thought they said “prosthetic.” i told megan this and she thought it was hilarious, and then she had to explain to everyone, in spanish, what a prosthetic is.

a ferreteria is a hardware store, but i like to think it�s a place where they sell ferrets.

megan�s friend wiston was watching hey, arnold! which i�ve never seen, so i asked him what it was, and he said, “�oye, arnold!” i found this hilarious.

iguanas fought.

i gave some silly putty to junior, the seven-year-old boy who lives in megan�s house. then i taught him how to say “silly putty.” by the end of the day, he�d played with the silly putty so much it was gray with dust.

today we went to see junior perform in a program at his school. his class wore hats and costumes and did some sort of traditional dance, which looked like square dancing. before the music started they were all lined up in formation on the sidelines. junior saw me and waved.

the most surreal thing by far was when i was sitting on the roof of the house with junior (7), carla (13), and liro (17). the television was on in liro�s room, and when the theme song to malcolm in the middle started, all three of them sang along in english. “you�re not the boss of me now, and you�re not so big…” then they asked me what it meant.

my sister answers the questions

…and i show you her answers, skipping the boring ones.  i’m not entirely sure if any of you will find this interesting, but it does give you an idea of what i’ll be doing in ecuador.

—–Original Message—–
From: Megan Headley
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 2:09 PM
To: alison headley

I AM NOT YELLING AT YOU, CAPS ARE TO DIFFERENTIATE.

1.  are the outlets the same size and voltage there?  i mean, i assume they would be if a cordless phone here would work there, but i thought i’d ask just in case.  i’ll need to charge my camera batteries from time to time.

THE OUTLETS ARE THE SAME. I CHARGE MY CAMERA BATTERIES TOO.

3. is there anything else i should bring for your family / friends / organization?  things that they need or will like or will think are cool?  is there anything YOU need?

THAT IS A VERY GOOD QUESTION. ILL HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT. THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND IS FOOD – FOR EXAMPLE, JOSE LUIS4S MOM LIKES TO MAKE COOKIES, SO MAYBE SOME CHOCOLATE CHIPS? OR ANYTHING THAT WE COULD COOK FOR MY FAMILY.

4. i was thinking about making a necklace for the mom in your family (i can’t remember her name).  do you think she would like it / wear it?  what colors does she wear?  how long should the necklace be?  should it be chunky or a bit more subtle?  you know what my stuff looks like; let me know what you think she’d want.  also, how old is the little girl?  if she’s old enough, i could make her a cute little elastic bracelet like i did for ginny at work.  ginny’s three, and she loved hers.

THERE ARE TWO MOMS – AZUCENA, WHO I LIVED WITH LAST YEAR, AND MARJORIE WHO I LIVE WITH NOW. AZUCENA WOULD LIKE ANYTHING THAT YOU MAKE – SHE WEARS JEWELRY A LOT. I WOULD SAY ANYTHING THAT MOM LIKES WOULD WORK. SHE IS ABOUT THE SAME HEIGHT AND SIZE, BUT A LITTLE CHUNKIER, AND WITH LONG HAIR. CHUNKY OR SUBTLE WOULD WORK. SHE IS THE ONE THAT BOUGHT ME THAT OUTRAGEOUS TANK TOP I GAVE YOU.

MARJORIE WOULD LOVE A NECKLACE FROM YOU, AND I WOULD RECOMMEND SOMETHING SMALL AND SUBTLE, WITH MUTED OR DARK COLORS. SHE IS ALSO VERY SHORT, LIKE MOM, SO NOTHING VERY LONG. THE BABY IS A LITTLE OVER TWO. SHE WOULD LOVE A BRACELET.

5. if a necklace isn’t a good idea, what should i bring instead?  i’d like to have a gift of some sort for your family.

WE WILL PROBABLY ONLY BE HERE A FEW DAYS BEFORE WE GO TO QUITO, WHERE WE WILL STAY IN A HOTEL. THE NECKLACE IS A GREAT IDEA. IF YOU WANT SOMETHING MORE RELEVANT FORTHE ENTIRE FAMILY, ANY GAME IS GOOD, ESPECIALLY ONES THAT ARE FUN FOR KIDS AND ADULTS (I DONT KNOW, JENGA, UNO, THINGS LIKE THAT). A BAG OF CANDY IS ALWAYS ENJOYED. REALLY, ANY TYPICAL GIFT THING THAT A GROUP OF PEOPLE CAN ENJOY. ALSO, WITH THE NECKLACE, YOU COULD ALSO BRING YOUR NECKLACE MAKING THINGS AND DECIDE HERE WHAT YOU WANT TO MAKE.

6. i know you said i’ll stand out no matter what i wear, but really, what should i wear?  i keep thinking about when we went to europe in high school and we were all in shorts so we looked stupid because nobody wears shorts there.  if i wear shorts or a skirt or a tank top, will everyone think i’m a ho?  i don’t want everyone to think i’m a ho.  heh.

YOU WILL NOT LOOK LIKE A HO. TANKS TOPS, CAPRIS, SHORTS, SKIRTS ARE ALL COMMON HERE. SHORTS MAYBE A LITTLE LESS SO, BUT I CAN4T THINK OF YOU WEARING SHORTS ANYWAY. DO YOU WEAR SHORTS?

BRING PANTS AND JEANS TOO. SOME LONG SLEEVED STUFF FOR QUITO, OR A JACKET. OH, AND BATHING SUIT JUST IN CASE. ALSO, BRING A TOWEL.

7. what about shoes?  what kind of shoes should i wear?

REALLY, ANY SHOES ARE FINE. MOST WOMEN GO AROUND IN SANDALS, BUT IM MORE OF A WALKING SHOE KIND OF PERSON, SO I WEAR THOSE BLUE SNEAKERS A LOT, I USED TO WEAR MY MAROON DOC MARTENS LAST YEAR BUT I DIDNT BRING THEM THIS TIME. SOMETIMES ITS DUSTY OUTSIDE. ALSO, FLIP FLOPS OR SOME SORT OF SHOE TO WEAR INSIDE. THE FLOORS ARE CEMENT, SO EVERYONE WALKS AROUND WITH SHOES ON.

10. can i wear my cowboy hat?  i like my cowboy hat.  jeff gave it to me.  it’s the hat that won’t quit.

OF COURSE. WON4T QUIT WHAT?

12. i just spilled coffee on my shirt.  but that’s not a question.

ARE YOU GOING TO BRING THAT SHIRT?

13. i was thinking i’d print out some of the photos i’ve taken and bring them along — photos of my apartment and the restaurant and my perrita bonita.  will people want to see these photos?  my perrita bonita’s curled up on a little pink blanket on the floor right now, and i want to take a picture, but if i get up she’ll get up too and then it’ll be ruined.  this always happens.

YOU SHOULD CARRY AROUND YOUR CAMERA. THEN NO GETTING UP. BUT A NEUSANCE (I CANT REMEMBER HOW TO SPELL THAT WORD)

PEOPLE WOULD LOVE TO SEE PHOTOS. I GOT YELLED AT THIS TIME FOR NOT BRINGING ANY. MARJORIE WANTS TO SEE A PHOTO OF OUR PARENTS. COULD THAT BE ARRANGED?

14. what else should i bring / not bring?  what will we be doing most of the time?

ill stop yelling. as for what well be doing. in our few days here – in the city, theres not that much. well see the boardwalk, things like that, probably go to this place called Frutabar which i like.

in the neighborhood, youll meet everyone, walk around. relax. whatever. well go out dancing one night if you want. also, maybe you could help me a little with the design of my book.

a couple of things ill warn you about. one, people begin to make a lot of noise startign at like 6 o4clock in the morning. i never ever get up that early, but i start waking up, falling back asleep, etc. you are probably more used to quiet.

also, you wont really be able to walk around much by yourself (i know you like that, thats why im warning you). since people dont know you around here and you dont know the language that well. you can, however, walk around with anyone else, it doesnt have to be me. its not unsafe, i walk around by myself all the time, its just because you arent known.

food –
breakfast is bread, or empanadas, an egg, some sort of juice, fruit, things like that
lunch is always soup, and then rice with something – chicken, fish, salad, beans, lentils, things like that.
i pretty much eat whatever i want for dinner. a lot of times they dont make anything.

i dont know what well do in quito. wednesday are two options – tim and his friends are going hiking to this volcano, and alejandra is taking some people to otovalo (art craft stuff). thursday at night, there is some tour of the city in a chiva (a traditional car sort of thing). saturday is the wedding. while we are in quito, we can go to the mitad del mundo, things like that.

oh, i will go to pick you up at the airport in the organization’s truck. besides me, there will be the driver, and anyone else who wants to come. its likely that a few kids will want to go.

i thought of something else you could bring – music. especially anything thats fun to dance to while youre here.

i have to go now. these two girls just came in and are asking me to say everything in english, and then asking me what it means. its a little annoying. they asked me how i learned to speak spanish, and i said i spent time in Chile, so they said, sabe hablar chile? habla chile.

i said no, chile is a country where they speak spanish.

any more questions, email me.

love,
megan