Wrestling at its best

One of my endeavors to the community center was one of the wildest. I remember that most of the kids had finished their homework and so they were bouncing off the walls. I remember one boy, who had black hair that was gelled to a "fowhawk." That style of hair was common amoung soccer players.
"Are you a soccer player?" "How do you know?? why do you care??" the boy responded defensively. "You look like one, I like soccer. I'm pretty good myself." the boy calmed and began to open up. After talking a little bit, another boy Fernando was getting really antsy. Looking at my hat, they soon came up quickly with a new game. Everyone attempted to grab the hat off my head. This little boy named Frank was the first to successfully grab it. Wearing it on his head with a big mischievous grin, because he had accomplished some great feet. I grabbed it back and gave it to a friend for safe keeping.
 Without the hat the group of kids just got even crazier. Soon they wanted to jump on me. I quickly pull them off and set them on the ground. Soon all the kids were in awe! Brent told them I was a state champion wrestler. The gossip spread like wild fire. "He a state champion, see! Look how fast he can take me to the ground!" the boys would then jump on my back, I would quickly pull them off and put them to the ground. Laughter would then break. Soon there were several boys on me at once and I had to put them to the ground as quickly as possible. It was fun game for all of us. They always had fun. They knew how to have fun and they would help me have fun. It made realize the playful nature of kids can be much more fun than anything else that I could spend my time doing. It reminded me of my nephews and some of the most fun I had was playing with them.

Market Party

Whenever I go on vacation I always enjoy visiting the markets. On my trip to Mexico I remember visiting all the street vendors and haggling for lower prices on junk that I would end up losing or breaking a month after I bought it. A countries market place is a strong part of that country's culture. The picture of this market is in Indonesia near the Istiqlal Mosque. Since a mosque is a place of worship for Muslims  it is a great place for a market since it is a high traffic area. It is interesting how certain economies revolve heavily around religion. In markets in Indonesia it is often common to bargain for lower prices with the sales people. These markets are called "Pasar." For most people, the trip to the Pasar is a daily trip. It is interesting how these markets work. They are much different than the way Americans shop. While American's generally shop one place or most of their food, Indonesians will travel from booth to booth getting their various foods and needs. It is interesting to learn about other cultures and how they live daily. The simple differences such as their markets is intriguing. We can learn so many new things from all over if we simply seek and learn.

"Traditional Markets (Pasar) in Indonesia." Traditional Markets (Pasar) in Indonesia. Web Site Association Jakarta, Indonesia, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2013.
Salgado, Sebastio. Migrations: Humanity in Transition. New York: Aperture, 1996.421. Print

My "Bucket" list

Look at this adorable baby!!! It's takin' a bath in a bucket! I want to take a bath in a bucket! The best part of the picture is that its on a street corner. Cars and motorcycles are driving by, and the baby is just smiling taking it's bath in the murky water. This has always been on my "bucket" list, but I grew too big. Maybe if i found a really big bucket, I can still do it. One of the main reasons the baby is taking a bath where it is is not because it prefers to take baths on street corners. In places such as Indonesia, running water and drainage is almost non-existent. So in order to take a bath, one must go where water is obtainable. Though it may seem pretty awesome to take a bath in a bucket, one should think that it probably isn't the most ideal circumstances for taking a bath. The time this picture was taken was right before the economy took a nose dive in 1997 (Pepinsky). Indonesia has never been a place to have a great standard of living. Considering that running water is rare, the streets are trashed and the area is not very clean. With that, I can assume that the bath water could have been used multiple times. Looking at the water consumption we use, it is ridiculous how many water we use in one shower. Let's remember that we clean water is a blessing. Let's look at it tha way.

Salgado, Sebastio. Migrations: Humanity in Transition. New York: Aperture, 1996. 362. Print

Pepinsky, Thomas B., and Maria M. Wihardja. "Decentralization And Economic Performance In Indonesia." Journal Of East Asian Studies 11.3 (2011): 337-371. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Apr. 2013.

The Dangers

I think what is most scary about this picture is in the background. Look at the power lines! They could topple over any second and those boys are right next to them! I do not think being electrocuted is very good for the body. The truth is, this circumstance is all over Mexico. strong winds can cause these weak power lines to fall over, and it takes awhile before anything is done about it.  Aurora energy give this advice about fallen power lines: "Stay away, stay alive." Power lines can be fatal to one's life. The electricity flow can kill someone. Having such a fatal hazard near where people ride their bikes and walk. Here, in America, we have the safety of well taken care of power lines. I remember how quick PG&E will respond whenever the power is out, or if there is a potentially dangerous situation. I remember, they would bring a crew to my neighbors properties and cut the branches of trees that were growing close to the power lines to avoid any issues. In mexico, they do not have that kind of response, causing it to be a very potentially dangerous situation. Even the little things that we take for granted,  we should realize are problems in other parts of the world. This is especially prevalent in many of the poorer countries. Ask yourselves, what do we take for granted?

"Fallen Powerlines - Stay Away Stay Alive." - Aurora Energy. Auroraenergy.com, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

Salgado, Sebastio. Migrations: Humanity in Transition. New York: Aperture, 1998. 321. Print