“Edmund y Lucy querian dejarlos alli y explorar con los pies descalzos, pero Susan dijo que era una locura.”
Im not going to lie. I have absolutely no idea what that sentence means either. The only four things I knoe are that (a) It’s in Spanish, (b) it’s from page 14 of a translated version of Prince Caspian (the second installment in the Chronicles of Narnia series) , (c) I vastly overestimated how much I remember from high school Spanish class, and (d) it’s pretty much damning evidence that I’ve completely run out of things to read.
It’s been well documented in past blog entries that I was quite naïve about a variety of topics as I prepared to move to Zambia. In retrospect, it was kinda short-sighted to think that there would be no forks and knifes available for sale in the entire country and I should bright some of my own. I also probably should have used a more logical thought process when I purchased three giant bottles of 98% (NINETY EIGHT PERCENT!!! I’m pretty sure this stuff is considered toxic at like 32%.) deet insect repellent. Just how often did I think I’m going to need this stuff? Every night? Why the heck would I buy three??
Unfortunately, I also didn’t really think through what my entertainment options would be when I moved here. As a result, I made phenomenal decisions like: ‘You’re moving to Africa. You should try to live a simpler life style and do stuff like read books’, ‘No, I don’t need to bring a laptop’, and ‘That’s it. The only DVD I REALLY need to bring is Varsity Blues’.
In all reality, this could have been a viable plan if I had any concept on just how many books a person reads when they have nothing else to do. Since I had only read four books since high school (and all but one of them were in the last few months before I moved here), I figured I’d be set if I brought all six books I owned.
Nine months later, I’ve read over 7,000 pages and completely pillaged two people’s book collections. I’ve grabbed and read essentially everything I found quasi-interesting. Now, we’re getting into lean times. I just finished a 300 paged book about the history of cadavers. Before that, I read a 250 page book about some Japanese dood during the 1910s. Finally, last night, I was resigned to start Prince Caspian in Espanol. It’s not like I have many other options. It’s a children’s book in Spanish or staring at the wall. It’s a close call, but I’ll take the option where I only understand one out of every four words.
I’ve set a tentative goal of reading 10,000 pages before my one year Zambian anniversary. After PCS (Prince Caspian in Spanish), I’ve actually lined up a few other viable books including, wait for it…..A book by KEITH HERNANDEZ about baseball in the 1980s (I’m not sure what makes me more excited. That he wrote a book or that someone actually thought to themselves, ‘I’ve gotta bring this with me to Africa’). There is a friend returning in August who is bringing two books I ordered off Amazon. Other than that, I’m Livin’ on a Prayer (Wahooo Bon Jovi references!!!) that the new intern class will bring some satisfactory material.
Adios muchachos! Neccesito un patada de la cabeza!!
Im not going to lie. I have absolutely no idea what that sentence means either. The only four things I knoe are that (a) It’s in Spanish, (b) it’s from page 14 of a translated version of Prince Caspian (the second installment in the Chronicles of Narnia series) , (c) I vastly overestimated how much I remember from high school Spanish class, and (d) it’s pretty much damning evidence that I’ve completely run out of things to read.
It’s been well documented in past blog entries that I was quite naïve about a variety of topics as I prepared to move to Zambia. In retrospect, it was kinda short-sighted to think that there would be no forks and knifes available for sale in the entire country and I should bright some of my own. I also probably should have used a more logical thought process when I purchased three giant bottles of 98% (NINETY EIGHT PERCENT!!! I’m pretty sure this stuff is considered toxic at like 32%.) deet insect repellent. Just how often did I think I’m going to need this stuff? Every night? Why the heck would I buy three??
Unfortunately, I also didn’t really think through what my entertainment options would be when I moved here. As a result, I made phenomenal decisions like: ‘You’re moving to Africa. You should try to live a simpler life style and do stuff like read books’, ‘No, I don’t need to bring a laptop’, and ‘That’s it. The only DVD I REALLY need to bring is Varsity Blues’.
In all reality, this could have been a viable plan if I had any concept on just how many books a person reads when they have nothing else to do. Since I had only read four books since high school (and all but one of them were in the last few months before I moved here), I figured I’d be set if I brought all six books I owned.
Nine months later, I’ve read over 7,000 pages and completely pillaged two people’s book collections. I’ve grabbed and read essentially everything I found quasi-interesting. Now, we’re getting into lean times. I just finished a 300 paged book about the history of cadavers. Before that, I read a 250 page book about some Japanese dood during the 1910s. Finally, last night, I was resigned to start Prince Caspian in Espanol. It’s not like I have many other options. It’s a children’s book in Spanish or staring at the wall. It’s a close call, but I’ll take the option where I only understand one out of every four words.
I’ve set a tentative goal of reading 10,000 pages before my one year Zambian anniversary. After PCS (Prince Caspian in Spanish), I’ve actually lined up a few other viable books including, wait for it…..A book by KEITH HERNANDEZ about baseball in the 1980s (I’m not sure what makes me more excited. That he wrote a book or that someone actually thought to themselves, ‘I’ve gotta bring this with me to Africa’). There is a friend returning in August who is bringing two books I ordered off Amazon. Other than that, I’m Livin’ on a Prayer (Wahooo Bon Jovi references!!!) that the new intern class will bring some satisfactory material.
Adios muchachos! Neccesito un patada de la cabeza!!
3 comments:
Mark!! Yo tengo muchas memorias buenas de los espanol miercoles. Buena suerte con El Principe Caspian!
Yo falto los viernes de Go-gurt tambien. Buenas épocas, buenas épocas.
ahhh poor Mark. If only you had Mike's classic: My Fourth Grade Teacher is an Alien.
Laura
Keith Hernandez?! I despise him... and his magic loogie.
I hope ESPN/DEPORTES/(Swahili:Click/Clack/Click) hasn't been showing Missouri football games the last couple of weeks. I think you could find a couple guys on Stadium Boulevard in Lusaka that could beat them.
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