Being home

It is nice to be back in Pittsburgh. The city is a lot different than I remember it. There is more to do and either a more diverse night life or I am open to a different kind of nightlife. Either is possible. Trying to balance a life at home with work and trying to stay involved in Politics. I am worried about the direction that Bush is taking us again with the increased rhetoric about attacking Iran. I worry about Bush's WWIII claim, that Cheney is out beating the drum, Foxnews is trying to convince people that Iran is responsible for Iraq. We need to pay attention because this administration feels that it can whatever it wants and not get in trouble.

Home again

As many of you know by now and some not, Janina and I have decided to stay in the states for a couple of years. So if anyone comes to Pittsburgh please let me know.

While we are home, I plan on getting involved in politics as much as possible. I have been reading the news, following the campaigns. I really feel that Barack Obama is the right person to run this country. He plays politics but doesn't seem afraid to take his own direction on issues. Barack seems like the kind of candidate that can maybe silence the partisanship that plagues our country. We need someone to silence the Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, DailyKos, Air America rhetoric. I would encourage anyone that still reads this blog to pay attention to this election cycle.

Travel plans are minimal right now. I plan on going to a lot of concerts in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas. janina and I are going to see TV on the Radio August 3rd. We will start taking some roadtrips once I get my license back after my 30 day suspension. She gets tired and cant handle driving long distance both ways plus doing some kind of activity. I cant wait for January when my baby arrives. We find out on August 6th whether it is a boy or girl. I dont care what it is but I know that I will be so protective if its a girl. For more pics of my travels and upcoming pics of the baby, go to my facebook page.



Support Barack Obama @

www.barackobama.com or

www.myspace.com/barackobama or

youtube.com/barackobama or

www.facebook.com/person.php?id=2355496748

Update on Life, July 2007

Well it is the middle of July 2007 and my life keeps on changing on a daily basis. Janina and I are expecting our baby in January. We have decided to stay in Pittsburgh for a couple of years to have the baby and start our family, get married, get our master's degrees, and then move back overseas. It is a lot to give up but I think( stress the word think)it is for the best and we will reap the rewards from this decisions. However, I am scared more now than ever. I was scared before about living overseas and having a baby but I am even more scared staying near my hometown. We will see. So if anyone reads this blog still and is in Pittsburgh please feel free to drop me an email and look me up. I am going to take a couple years off from teaching to get my master's and support my family. I will keep this site going with some travels around the US and baby information.

Farewell to Venezuela

I have neglected my blog for a long time with no good reason other than laziness. It has been an interesting time here in Venezuela with Chavez shutting down the television station and threatening other stations with being shut down. It was amazing to watch people take to the streets to protest this action by their government. On the night that RCTV was to shut down, people were everywhere honking horns, banging pots, there was a rally down the road from my apartment with people crying, holding candles and singing. Janina's sister witnessed a police attack on college students protesting the government action. The police came onto campus and attacked students who were holding signs and sitting in a court yard. At a soccer game protesters were going to stage a sit in during the game but the police would not let them into the game. While the protesters were sitting outside they were attacked by Chavistas with no intervention from the police. It is a crazy situation and I feel so badly for my friends here who are so upset with the direction of their country. I was speaking with someone last night who is planning on moving out of Venezuela to Canada. He asked me my opinion of the country, I responded with all the positive things about Venezuela and he just looked at me and said you should have been here before Chavez, our country was so much better then. It is hard not to see both sides of this statement. Was it a better country for the poor people before Chavez? Have the poor gained that much from having Chavez in power? Would anyone use the oil revenues to make Venezuela better or to line their pockets? Its hard to blame the poorest of people here for putting hope in Chavez. Obviously, I will always come back to Venezuela to visit my future inlaws. I have enjoyed my time in Venezuela so much and it is bitter sweet to be leaving after only one year. On the one hand I will not miss the heat of Maracaibo and I am really excited about the possible future adventures in Taiwan. But I want to learn so much more about this country and Spanish, I want to learn more about South America. I guess there is a lifetime for these adventures.

I am looking forward to this summer with some possible road trips and spending time with my family which has not really happened in a long time. I am so scared about having our baby in Taiwan but it will be a great experience. I would recommend international teaching to anyone at least for one year because it is a great experience and challenge. This experience will make you pull out your hair and feel like the luckiest person all at the same time. Finally, I feel so lucky that I met and fell in love with Janina. I am so unbelievably excited about starting our lives together and experiencing the world with her and our child.