Envivo De Michoacan III: Before The Next Teardrop Falls

I have wanted to learn Spanish ever since 1975 -- the first time I heard the late great Baldemar Garza Huerta (stage name: Freddy Fender) on my car radio singing “Before The Next Teardrop Falls.” In case you don’t know the song, it is one of those dreadfully sentimental Country Western oldies. Freddy sang the first verse straight and it was as bad as always. I was on the verge of changing the channel when he sang the same verse in Spanish. It was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever heard.<br /><br />Si te quierre de verdad<br />Y te da felicidad<br />Te desea lo mas bueno pa’los dos.<br />Pero si te hace llorar,<br />A mime puedes hablar<br />Y estare’ contigo quando trieste estas.<br /><br />Does it get any better than that? Not in the world of Tex-Mex music. But as the years went by I came upon Neruda:<br /><br />Inclinada en las tardes iro mis tristes redes<br />A tus ojos oceanicos.<br />Alli se estira y arde en la mas atla hoguera . . . .<br /><br />Whether in print or given voice, this language held a beauty that was inaccessible to me. My upbringing was a bigger trap than my lack of language. I could never bring myself to devote the time and effort to learn Spanish simply because it is lovely and has feelings and ideas embedded in it that cannot be expressed in English. What’s more, I am bad at languages. Just awful really – and afraid of them.<br /><br />So I feel enormously grateful to the many Latino Episcopalians in Nevada for giving me final push I needed for this experience. The joy and vitality of the worship and community life of our Latino congregations is just too good to miss. I hope I will be of greater service to our fastest growing congregations, but I am sure of this: their spirituality is already an energizing, life-giving blessing to me, and I will be better able to receive that blessing as I understand more of the language of Neruda, Lorca, Marquez, and the philosopher Miguel de Unamuno.<br /><br />After 2 weeks of living in Morelia, studying Spanish every day, I feel different in more ways than having just learned some verbs. Learning the language while living in its home culture is somehow transformative in a way it will take some time to sort out. Before coming here, I really didn’t know Hidalgo and Morelos from Profiro Diaz. I had no idea that there was a culture in Mexico the Aztecs never conquered, the Purhepecha who still live here and who ruled Michoacan, the place of fishermen, for 1,000 years, that they built pyramids as temples and the people worshiped outside – loudly so their gods could hear them -- or that images of sun and moon flank images of God above church doorways preserving the place of sun and moon in the pre-Hispanic religion of this ancient place.<br /><br />Despite my weakness in language, all the individual attention from the some of the best teachers I have ever had has made a huge difference. I have learned so much! I am a long, long way from conversant in Spanish. That will take much more than 3 weeks. But I have the foundation now to study at home. Before coming here, the prospect of even starting something like Rosetta Stone was overwhelming. Now I believe I can do it, especially knowing I will have the support of my Latino brothers and sisters.<br /><br />One of the big surprises here is that there are so few American students. All the violence along the border that is so exhaustively covered on American news has scared the Americans away. My school, the Baden-Powell Institute, <a href="http://www.bpimorelelia.com/">http://www.bpimorelelia.com/</a>, had about 30 Americans at a time until recently. Now you could count us on one hand. This is a long way from Juarez. I feel safer here than in Las Vegas. This is a beautiful city, untouched by urban renewal, full of old style Spanish architecture, no tall buildings, a magnificent Cathedral with the 3rd largest organ in Latin America, good food, and friendly people.<br /><br />I hope to come back again and again in the years to come.

Envivo De Michoacan III: Before The Next Teardrop Falls

I have wanted to learn Spanish ever since 1975 -- the first time I heard the late great Baldemar Garza Huerta (stage name: Freddy Fender) on...

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The wine was my downfall

After three days of being really good, eating on plan, feeling a few hunger pains during the day (a good thing),and having a late night healthy snack at 9pm each day that seemed to put a stop to my binges, I totally blew it.<br /><br />It started out well yesterday, healthy breakfast, healthy lunch, and super busy at work. So busy that it took me four hours to eat my salad of spinach, shrimp, and clementines with balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon of oil. It's my latest most favorite lunch (at home I add a little red onion, but not at work). I worked through lunch, with  barely time to eat a few bites, then meetings all afternoon. I'd grab a few bites between meetings. A crazy day.<br /><br />I had a fantastic workout yesterday, as I have every day this week, plus I've been doing our three flights of stairs at work twelve times during lunch each day, 720 steps (except yesterday). Every morning 110 to 120 flights on the StairMaster, plus 40 minutes of strength.<br /><br />Then my eating plan went all to heck. Last night I had a date with my best girlfriend. Her birthday was a couple weeks ago (the breakfast at IHOP), but we always celebrate later in the month with dinner and a movie. Her pick for both since she's the birthday girl. <br /><br />I was so busy all day that I didn't even have time to ask her where we were going. When I picked her up at 5:30 p.m. she said the dreaded two words: <a href="http://www.claimjumper.com/">Claim Jumpers</a>. This is a very bad restaurant. My girlfriend usually chooses this restaurant since it's one of favorites. When I know we're going there I go to their nutritional information on their website, decide what I'm going to eat and stick to it. This always works for me because I sort of get my mind around it, and I feel good about it. This restaurant is like hell for a dieter. Giant servings of fat-laden, delicious food. There are healthy choices, but you have to be really careful.<br /><br />Last night, after a horrendously stressful work day, I couldn't even think straight (this is my excuse for what happened). The Claim Jumper website is very unfriendly and difficult to use. It takes time to look things up and it's hard to find things (because everything has a million calories and they don't want people to know). In other words, trying to do it on my Blackberry was just about impossible. <br /><br />I asked the waitress to see their nutritional information. I got this story from our very sweet waitress. "Yes, we know it's the law in Washington state for restaurants to provide that information, but the restaurant chain has been purchased by a business in Texas, where nutritional information is not required. They just redesigned the menu and didn't realize they needed provide the nutritional information. They're working on it."<br /><br />Oh well, I'm a big girl, and I know what's healthy and what's not. I ordered the half rotisserie chicken (and it was a tiny, baby chicken) and a dry baked sweet potato (which was huge and delicious), no bread (they have the most amazing corn bread you've ever tasted). Good so far, right?<br /><br />Then I messed up. I know my girlfriend loves a glass of wine with dinner. I also know if I don't order it she won't either. I entirely gave up wine several months ago. I decided it was just a waste of calories and usually gave me a headache.<br /><br />Last night I was tired, stressed with a neck thing going on, and a glass of wine sounded good. So I ordered a glass of Cabernet. It was huge (as everything is in this place except for that chicken). Probably at least two servings.<br /><br />I ate every bite of my dinner (which would probably have been enough food for three people). Then I ordered dessert. My girlfriend's favorite dessert, Lemon Bar Brulee. And  no, we didn't share a piece and yes, it was wonderful. It's a lemon bar cheesecake thing with raspberry sauce and whip cream. I looked up the dessert this morning, 747 calories, 16 gr of fat, 105 gr carbs, 1 gr fiber. <br /><br />Anyway, the end of the story is that I gained two pounds overnight. 180.2 this morning. I know some of it's probably the sodium. I know it was just one night. I know it's not that big of a deal. It's just that I have Weight Watchers tomorrow, which means I have to weigh in. Sort of depressing. <br /><br />The movie was great though. No Strings Attached. Very funny, cute chick flick with Natalie Portman and Aston Kutcher (love him). I had a great visit with my girlfriend. It was very fun and yes, I would do it again, but skip the wine and dessert. Maybe. :)<br /><br />Life happens, but I really need to get serious about losing weight and stop just talking about it. The Big Climb is less than two months away. Remember, 1,311 steps. Scary at 180 pounds!

The wine was my downfall

After three days of being really good, eating on plan, feeling a few hunger pains during the day (a good thing),and having a late night heal...

Read more »