Dance For a Reason

The Sportsman Bar & Lounge

Riddle:

You are on a horse, galloping at a constant speed.

On your right side is a sharp drop off, and on your left side is an elephant traveling at the same speed as you.

Directly in front of you is a galloping kangaroo and your horse is unable to overtake it. Behind you is a lion running at the same speed as you and the Kangaroo.

What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?


If you do not know, see answer below.

It was 10:00pm Friday night and we were about to begin. I flipped the dome light on in my car so we could go over the assignment one more time. We were to focus on 1) the skills of observing and interviewing 2) the process of entering and belonging to a new culture and 3) translate the learning into teaching questions.

We got out of my car, walked up the old wooden steps, and I hesitantly opened the door of the Sportsman Bar & Lounge for Sunny and Akisha. The three of us, a Korean, an African American, and a W.A.S.P., were an unlikely group to enter a Vermont workingman’s bar.

We drew a few glances from a few folks playing pool in the back as we inquisitively walked up to the bar to order and were nonchalantly greeted by the bartender, “What can I get ya?”

“Um. Uh,” I stuttered, “Bud, please,” thinking it was the most generic beer.

“Well,” began the bartender, “we got a special ‘cuz the Sox game is on. Bud Light draft is only a buck.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

We took a seat at a nearby table with two beers and a Kahlua milk that came in a beer mug. Next, we began to take in our cultural surroundings. Akisha and I, being somewhat familiar with American bar scenes, decided to just sit back and try our best to be flies on the wall.

Sunny, on the other hand, took a much more active approach. She started walking around the bar surveying all the various wall hangings. Amongst Red Sox banners, Bud beer posters, and neon signs, she spotted some thing that caused her to pause.

“Who… who’s this picture?” she asked to any willing patron seated at the bar.

A scruffy fellow, named Tony, in the corner seat of the bar decided to answer, “That there is Warren Wilcox. He was a regular here; lived upstairs, and those are his ashes in that urn. Now, he’s always with us.”

Shocked and chagrined I abandoned my passive state to check this out. Sure enough, there he was; a picture of Warren sitting with elbows on the bar and a grin from ear to ear placed directly on top of grey urn.

Meanwhile, Sunny kept exploring. “What this?” she asked and pointed to a piece of white poster board over the bar.

“That’s for Kyle Gilbert. He was killed in Iraq in 2003,” answered the bartender without batting an eye.

Again, not believing my ears, I walked across the room from Warren to Kyle. The white poster in question was nothing fancy, just a piece of white poster board with photo of a young man in uniform with the date August 6th 2003 and the words “Just Don’t Forget Me” written in a black felt tip marker.

“GEORGE BUSH!!!” Sunny hollered and pointed before I could even finish processing the poster for Kyle.

“Did George Bush come to this bar?” Sunny asked bluntly and pointed to a framed picture hanging above the bar next to Kyle.

“Naw,” the bartender shook his head. “Kyle’s parents went to D.C for a memorial service and got their picture taken with President Bush. The flag from Kyle’s coffin is downstairs in the basement.”

I think I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Then, I had to bite my tongue to keep from asking why a bar has a memorial flag in the basement.

Sunny, still investigating, managed to make her way back across the bar towards Warren’s urn. “What’s this?” Nothing could have prepared me for what was coming.

“Hup! She found the trophy!” exclaimed the bartender as he eagerly darted out from behind the bar as if he’d been waiting for that question all night. “That’s a Butt Dart trophy.”

“A what?”

“A Butt Dart trophy.”

“A what?”

I walked over to see this trophy with my own eyes. Wiping away the disbelief, I saw it. It was a standard softball trophy, but instead of a gold figurine on top swinging a bat, there was a 5’ inch, whittled wooden derriere with a 25cent piece wedged between the cheeks.

“It’s a game we play here in the bar,” came the explanation. “Ya see, here’s what ya do. Ya put a shot glass on the floor, a quarter between your butt cheeks, and ya try to drop the quarter in the glass.”

“You’re kidding, right?” is all I could muster, but in the back of my head, I was wondering if this happened with pants on or off.

“The owner of the trophy is on her way down here right now. She’ll be here in about 15 minutes.”

Fifteen minutes later, a tornado blew into the bar. “Wheeeeeew!” was the first thing I heard, and before I knew it, a heavyset woman with long blonde hair was standing on a chair and spinning around a pillar by a nearby table.

“Gina! Gina!” yelled the bartender. “Before you git goin’, we got someone here who wants to see Butt Darts.”

This perked Gina’s interest because without hesitation she jumped down off the chair, sauntered up to the bar, and demanded “Gimme a roll of quarters and a shot glass with water in it so they don’t fuckin’ bounce out.”

“Who wants to see Butt Darts?” she slurred and looked around before the bartender could point her in our direction.

“Alright, here’s what you do,” she said as she placed the shot glass on the floor next to our table. “Ya insert the quarters in ass; ya know where the glass is; ya know where yer ass is, and ya know where the quarters are, right?”

I watched in pure astonishment as Gina proceeded to insert a dollars worth of quarters into her rear end (with pants on, in case you’re still wondering), hobble over the shot glass, and successfully plop three of the four quarters into the glass.

“Yeeeaaaahhhh!” she howled and started cavorting around the bar. “Okay! Now you try!” she pointed at Sunny.

Sunny voluntarily got up and received the wet quarters. “Okay, but you have to help me.”

Gina reassuringly walked up behind Sunny and told her, “You need an inserter? Okay, here,” she said as she took the quarters from Sunny’s hand and bent down and began placing the change in Sunny’s gluteus maximus.

Sunny squeezed and shambled over to the shot glass with a look of total discomfort and determination.

“Whoa! Back up a little bit,” Gina coached her from behind. “That looks good. Let ‘em go!”

Sunny relaxed her backside and to her own amazement, all four quarters fell directly into the glass without touching the rim. “I win! I win!”

“Fucking bitch,” huffed Gina. “Peter, pour me two shots of tequila. One for me, and one for the new Butt Dart champion.”

Riddle Answer:

Get your drunk ass off the Merry-Go-Round

bittersweet bye bye

so as some of my dear MATs know, I flew back to the U.S. of A. last week from the lovely tropical, rural regions of Costa Rica with a serious health issue. I am in Providence, still awaiting what tests and probes and more tests say about this very confused body of mine. But in the meantime, I am trying to stay focused on getting better, no matter how long it takes dammit!

so these are some shots of my last weekend in Costa Rica, at a beach called Manuel Antonio. Carol, Rochelle, and I just hung out and waited until the sunset.

i'll keep in touch....you'll never get rid of me!

Good ol' Morocco

Here is a special item for all of the MATs, complimentary from Morocco!

Bugs in Mexico

I thought this would be an interesting way to show some of the things I see everyday in Veracruz on my one mile walk to work.



It takes me back to the days of Herbie (before Lindsay Lohan was born).

Winter Night in Brattleboro

Here are some more pictures of Friday night and saturday afternoon.
Enjoy

in case you missed winter...

we finally got some real snow on friday night. hopefully there'll be more to come!

Girls Gone Wild

...in the frigid waters of La Fortuna. We went on a trek to La Catarata in this tourist town and decided to just jump in there....why not, right? The trail going to the waterfall was pretty steep but absolutely doable. We were lucky enough to have a guy on a rock with free hands to take a picture of us. From the left: our beloved Carol in purple, a Tica friend named Raquel, SIT teacher trainer Susan, and yours truly, la chinita.

Bonjour!

Hello again! Things are going better here in Kenitra. Classes are great and the food and people are wonderful. We have explored some and shopped and eaten so many things. For Uli and I, it seems like we are just like a moroccan, while Oksana is thought to have been the American. I was invited over to one of my students houses, along with Uli (unfortunatly Oksana has been sick). It was wonderful food, with three different dishes. It was such a different experience, with eating with our hands and speaking, german, french, arabic, english and spanish with the family. As Uli and I walked it, the family did a double take because we were not what they excepted from an american. hahaha.. that is the theme for me here. Besides that I am enjoying my intermediate students immensly, while my beginning classes are a struggle. We have made lots of friends, from the office girls so people we meet all over Morocco. I am definatly going to miss this place when we leave. I hope everyone else is doing great! ~Alesha

Boston Kremes & Semi Frozen Rivers

Hey All Y'all, thought I'd post a few recent photos. Unfortunately I forgot my camera the last time I went to Dunkin Donuts, which was about a half hour ago, on my way home from indoor soccer (a tie game for the Chipmunks!), otherwise I would post a picture of those most delightful donuts that those of you outside of New England must be missing so dearly! They await your return... if you feel a photo of these pastries would lift your spirits let me know...



Looking out on the frozen CT River from Amy's Bakery

Carolina and Ayako at our home base in the Graduate Building Basement

Hmong Cultural Celebration! Emily, Amelia, Nancy, Yuki & Mystery Man (initials BL) with a touch of Hmong Style!

Icicles formed on my windows during our recent cooler weather (though still wondering when it will snow so I can get out the student activities sleds and bobsled it down the hill in front of Boyce house!)

buenas from the pure life

Winter? I scoff at you, Winter! Just some warm and steamy messages from the gals down in Costa Rica. Here is Arenal Volcano on a clear Sunday. I went to visit a friend who happened to be in Costa Rica (small world) around the same time I am. So we met up near the volcano on a clear day. Quite clear indeed. Look at her in all her glory!



A view from a fine dining establishment called Sarichi overlooking the Orosi Valley...We obviously paid for the view (all 7 bucks worth of our meal).

A Thursday night in San Pedro with familiar faces and two who aren't (Jeany and Carmen from El Salvador up front). These two mujeres are taking the TESOL course with us at El Invu. We were rowdy in there....

Chipmunks Winter Training

While all of you have been traveling around in different parts of the world, the remaining chipmunks are hard at work! We miss you and thought this pictures may give you good memories of the games and of the unique town of Brattleboro. I hope your internships are going well and keep posting all those wonderful pictures.


The bottom pictures are displaying a frozen Connecticut river, to me it was like seeing snow for the first time!

Boxer rebellion, or just thighs of relief?

I dropped the ball on this one. I meant to inform all ya'll New York interns, but I got preoccupied with Mexico.

My apologies.

January 13th, 2007: No Pants Subway Ride 2k7

Sushi w/ Salsa?

I knew Veracruz had a small Japanese restaurant around somewhere, but I’d nearly walked all the way to the beach before I stumbled upon the squat building with Kanji painted around all the windows. As I stepped into the nearly empty restaurant, a short and weathered old Mexican man stood up to greet me, “Buenas tardes.”

I thought for a moment and then muttered in Spanish, “Hablo Ingles?” In a split second, it occurred to me that I’d conjugated the verb wrong. The old man just waved me off and motioned for me to sit down.

Not exactly sure what to do or say next, I reached down to the nearest table and picked up a pair of chopsticks. The old Mexican man looked puzzled and said, “Hashi da.”

With renewed confidence and a gleam in my eye, I asked, “Nihongo hanasemasuka?”

“Un,” grunted the Mexican.

“Eto ne… Boku wa Eigo no sensei desu. Kyo no jyugyo de hashi tsukaitai. Moratemoii desuka?”

“Ii desu yo,” he said delightedly and gestured for me to take the chopsticks in my hand.

“Yon seto de ii desuka?”

“Ii yo,” the Mexican’s son said coming out of the back kitchen with a handful of chopsticks for me.

“Arigatogozaimashita,” I said with a bow as I backed out the door. “Shitsuraishimashita.”

As soon as I was back out on the street, I thought it was strange to meet a Mexican family that could speak Japanese.

Then, I began wondering what they thought. Some white boy pops in off the street, can’t speak a lick of Spanish, but in Japanese says he’s an English teacher and wants to use four sets of chopsticks in his class, and he pops back out.

Yeah, that might be a little odd. I smiled and hurried towards the bank. Now I needed to ask for $20 worth of coins.

looking at the seams

Life offers its wisdom generously. everything teaches. not everyone learns. Life asks of us the same thing we have been asked in every class: "Stay Awake." "Pay Attention." But paying attention is no simple matter. It requires us not to be distracted by expectations, past experiences, labels and masks. It asks that we not jump to early conclusions and that we remain open to surprise. Wisdom comes most easily to those who have the courage to embrace life without judgment and are willing to not know, sometimes for a long time. It requires us to be more fully and simply alive than we have been taught to be. It may require us to suffer. But ultimately we will be more than we were when we began. There is the seed of a greater wholeness in everyone.
-Rachel Naomi Remen, "My Grandfather's Blessings"

Carry on, friends...Nos vemos pronto, Shei

here are some pictures from the first couple of days in costa rica... the first two shots are from Alajuela, a city outside of San Jose. Carol and I meandered and sauntered and got lost a couple of times in this busy city. the next couple of shots are from El Invu de Penas Blancas, at the school. Rochelle and Carol are looking at chestnusts that have fallen from the tree. Our advisor Mary walking in at the perfect moment while i take a shot. the landscape shot was taken on our way to the school.

more to come in the next installment from Costa Rica....
pura vida!

Pics from Mexico

Here are some pictures from our first week in Veracruz, Mexico.




These are pictures from the the Anthropology Museum in Xalapa.

Hello from Kenitra!

Hello everyone! Everything is going great over here in Morocco. Today I learned how to wash my clothes by hand, which was very different. We have traveled to Rabat, twice already. We enjoyed it tramedously! We saw the Royal Palace and the Ocean, along with the markets and the grand Mosque. Today we start our first day of teaching. We teach 6 days a week, one class a day. We have a wonderful apartment, though some mishapes. I hope everyone is doing well. We all will post more, as things come along.

~Alesha, Uli, Oksana

Veracruz, Mexico

MATs in a bag

zany MATs after the last day of the semester... yes, there's a story here, it's called "bite the bag" and my ass was so sore the next day. hope you all are doing well!

A MAT Back in B-Boro

Well it is a sunny Sunday morning here in Brattleboro and just as when we dispersed in the middle of December, January has not made up it's mind if it is winter or spring (to everyone's surprise, no snow!) Though different from December there is a new spirit in the air, one of anticipation and adjustment as we start our praticums/internships and one of realizing how nomadic our SIT community is. I think often on the importance of community and truly appreciate the community that we created in the Fall. Now as I drive I-91 down to Amherst High School three days a week I will think about everyone stepping in to new communities, whether that be in Massachusetts or South Africa, and feel thankful that the richness and learning experiences we will gain in the next few months we will be able to share in person come the real Spring. Hope all are settling in to this next phase well!

the dolly lama

look closely...VERY closely: in the hand of the tallest woman there (right in the middle, Susan Berry) is a sacred doll....the lamb, the dolly lama. Mary Scholl, Susan, Rochelle, Carol, Elizabeth, and I are standing in the Spiral classroom of Centro Espiral Mana at the end of our workshop orientation. PURA VIDA! stay tuned for the next installment from Costa Rica....