Author: Chad
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Chacho En Bogota: SpongeBob
Matilde, almost 4, came to my room to show me her new SpongeBob Squarepants band-aid and this conversation followed: MATILDE: That’s Patrick and this is SpongeBob and they live underwater. CHAD: Yeah, they do. MATILDE: Do you think they have special beds? CHAD: Yeah, they probably have special underwater beds because they live in the…
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Do: Write a Novel. Do Not: Shave.
Who has two thumbs and is participating in No-Shave November and National Novel Writing Month? This guy. Participation in the former will be quite easy; I’ve been spotted with all kinds of facial hair in the last few years of my life. I also figured I should start preparing now for my reentry into the…
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Chacho En Bogota: Fortuitous Times
I took a cab by myself (in a foreign country) for the first time yesterday. I was going to an English tutoring session for two 13 year-olds and was going to bike there, but then it started pouring so a cab suddenly looked a lot better. I ended up walking back after the session, which…
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Chacho En Bogota: The Cows Are Off To Pasture
SuperVacas has ended. Ninety kids showed up on Friday. Monday there were about 50. It’s incredible how good news travels around the neighborhood. A lot of the kids were first-timers. It was an exhausting week because there were only 10 adult workers for the 90 kids that showed up, but everything got done and the…
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Chacho En Bogota: Blessed Indeed
Some 70 kids came to SuperVacas today, which means the good word is spreading ’round the barrio. The kids played ping-pong and soccer today – I pinged a little pong before they did and remembered how much I loved playing. My backhand, though, is much stronger than my forehand. The Encisos invited a boy from…
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Chacho En Bogota: Cows That Are Super
Today was Day 1 of, as Jorge would say, ¡¡¡SUPERVACAS!!!! It’s basically an AWANA-type day camp hosted by the church from 9am-12 every day this week. About 60 kids showed up today in total, so it was a lot of controlled chaos. It definitely brought me back to my days as a counselor at Lake…
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Chacho En Bogota: Flea Market
I played drums this morning for church – the first time I’ve done so while I’ve been here. It’s been a while since I’ve played and it felt pretty good. After church, a couple of people from the singles group, plus the Encisos and the adopting family, visited a flea market not far from our…
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Chacho En Bogota: Adorable Babies
It’s quite humbling to get schooled in a pick-up soccer game by a kid more than half your age. That happened to me yesterday when I brought a soccer ball out to the kids who live in the orphanage around the corner from the Encisos. I was doing pretty well, but this one kid –…
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Chacho En Bogota: Arm Wrestling
Last night, I’m doing laundry, getting ready for bed, when Jorge tells me to get my “party clothes” on because we’re going to a surprise birthday party. OK. We get there, gather with the other party attendees, climb silently up the stairs to his apartment and sing him Happy Birthday, en español, claro. We eat…
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Chacho En Bogota
Hola amigos cerca y lejos. I’ve officially been here for a month now, which means I’m almost a third through my time here. It’s a strange thought because it means eventually I’ll have to start thinking about what I’m doing to do when I get back to the States. I, like many people, will need…
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Sarah Palin Is Not A Serious Person
If Sarah Palin plans to run for president in 2012 (which I’m not yet sure if she’ll do), many people will vote for her. But count me as one of those Americans who will not check the box for Sarah Palin if that day comes. There are a few reasons why I won’t vote for…
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On The River
The sky is clear and the air is clear and the air smells clean. So clean. The wilderness of northern Wisconsin is still very wild. Evergreens clog the air. It’s perfect, this time of summer. Glory defined, with a high of 75. And it’s a perfect time to ride the Brule River, which snakes through…
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iPad? I think not
Originally published in the North Central Chronicle on April 16, 2010. With all the near-orgasmic praise Apple’s iPad has received lately, I feel like I should want to get one. But I don’t. Let’s be honest: it’s a cool toy. It does most of the things and iPod Touch or iPhone can do but on…
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The Cove
Save the Whales is so last century. Dolphins, according to the new Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove, are what really need saving now. The film profiles Ric O’Barry, a former dolphin trainer who captured and trained the dolphins for the 1960s show Flipper. It was during that time when O’Barry realized the inherent cruelty of…
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Breaking News: Jesus Christ Registers As A Republican
GOP officially God’s Own Party In a move sure to spark endless debate, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world, has declared himself a Republican. “I’ve been a moderate for most of eternity,” said Christ, speaking at a press conference. “But lately, Barack Obama’s choices regarding the economy, the wars, and…
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Disney, Pixar, And The Golden Age of Animation
Published in the North Central Chronicle in September 2009. Everyone has a favorite animated movie. I’m a Toy Story man myself. But no matter which film you prefer, it’s clear that our generation—the Millennials, born between 1983 and 2000—has been the most spoiled in history in terms of the animated films we’ve grown up watching.…
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The Ten Commandments Of Watching ‘LOST’ In A Group
1. Thou shalt be caught up. 2. Thou shalt hold all questions until commercial breaks. 3. Thou shalt not bring a friend who hath not seen Lost or hath not been caught up. 4. Thou shalt offer theories upon the conclusion of the episode. 5. Thou shalt not use the bathroom during the show and…