Farewell y hasta luego!

Tomorrow morning I will wake up, pack my car and set off for the adventure of a lifetime. Mi prometido y yo are going in search of America. We have 9 weeks to drive in our Prius and discover the state of our nation today. What is the recession outside of the media and how is it impacting real people in the middle of the country? In the South? What is it like to be a newly arrived immigrant in Minneapolis? New Orleans? After this summer, I hope to have those and many more answers.

I will be continuing to blog all multi-culturally related events of the journey on Me Dije Porque... Stay tuned for additional blogs on American's best running trails and taco stands. :)

Thank you y muchas gracias a ustedes for reading and following this blog throughout the quarter. Espero que todo este bien en la vida. I hope that all goes well in your lives and that you have a great summer.
-BC

New Family Traditions

This weekend was spent with my best friend from college - who is about to become my brother-in-law. I was also hanging out with my new friend Jon - who is about to become my stepson. All this quality bonding time got me thinking about family in all the forms it takes. While last summer I lost my dad, I've just managed, in the last nine months to have gained a husband, a child, a brother and of course, all the in-laws I can possibly want! (6 children on one side of the family alone.)
When I was a kid I'd always walk by big families picnicking in the parks of Phoenix - twenty kids yellin' and running through the sprinklers, parents subtely sipping on spiked Cactus Coolers and I'd feel kinda sad. My nuclear family was only 4, everyone else lived all the way out in North Carolina.
Now I realize that family can be more universal. I can choose my family - or they can choose me and we can all proverbially picnic in the park together. It's a great feeling, and one that I definetely wanted to share.

Bi-lingual Dreams

Saludos a mi gente!

     Lately, I've been enjoying a strange mezcla of English and espanol in my dreams.  The characters will sometimes speak in English to me and I will answer back in Spanish, or, like last night, my "voiceover" narrator is projecting his official, wise voice, but in Spanish.

     I'm wondering if any or all of you second language learners have been able to manipulate this phenom into a learning experience, for example, by training your mind to go to less familiar territory and therefore gain vocabulary practice?

     When I was studying to be a cartoon writer in college, the best thing about the experience was that my dreams became like "Roger Rabbit," with animated and real-life bits included.  All kinds of crazy things happened, and one of the scariest portions of the dreamworld, mortality, became obsolete.  How can a cartoon die? (The Dip!  The Dip!!  Poor shoe...)

      I have also noticed that on days after this class, my dreams reflect the process of opening and closing windows.  I have discussed with others the strange effect that hypertexting and links have on the mind as well.  

      If the great ideas of progress stem from dreams, and what we do in real life effects dreams, what can we all be doing today to make the world a better place in the future?  See you in Dreamland...

Hoy es un dia muy especial para mi

One year ago today my dad, perfectly healthy, entered an operating room to undergo voluntary (but strongly suggested by the doctor) brain surgery. Although the tumor they removed was benign, it was too large and his brain collapsed on itself, paralyzing him during the surgery. He never regained his ability to swallow, speak or move his right side. Twenty-four days later, my dad died.

Last night marked one year since I'd heard his voice. Strangely, I was in a Bed, Bath & Beyond during the final "good luck, I love you" call before the operation. Today, I couldn't help but think of him and wish that somehow there was more language for grieving in English, more open channels of communication, more universal rituals in place in our American culture to better express my feelings.

I have always been drawn to Mexican culture, and one of the main reasons is the openess about death and dying. Lleve a mi hermanito a Calle Olvera el octubre pasado para ver la celebracion del Dia de los Muertos. It was cathartic for us both to witness others openly communicating with their loved ones not still here on Earth.

Having no real religion to subscribe to, I turn to the wisdom of great Buddhist thinkers, and the beauty of the setting sun. When I am really missing my dad, so badly that I start to cry, I make a point to walk out to the beach at sunset and say, "Hello, Dad." Sunset orange and Carolina blue were his favorite colors.