So I was in that place between being awake and asleep last night with the TV on and this song came on. This is a simple and incredible song (same title as this post) from Antony and the Johnsons. I had never heard someone sing like Antony.

Here’s a bit:

Hope there’s someone
Who’ll set my heart free
Nice to hold when I’m tired

There’s a ghost on the horizon
When I go to bed
How can I fall asleep at night
How will I rest my head

For some samples from Antony and the Johnsons, visit brainwashed.com

I am now an official resident of Chile. I can freely go in and out of the country; I could before, but now I can pass through the citizens’/residents’ line. Woo hoo! The benefits extend beyond that though. Now I have a RUT (aka RUN) which is a national identification number that allows me access to many services available only to individuals who have one.

I asked a friend what RUN (Rol Único Nacional) means? On the first hand, translated, it means “National Unique Role.” What the heck does that mean? Well it’s the national unique identity number, kind of like a Social Security Number. I was thinking how many in the United States are opposed to such a thing. I understand the privacy and logistics issues, but still have not formed an opinion on the matter. As a military kid having a personal I.D. lifelong (or until the end of one’s studies) is normal.

If we look at the crisis the State Department has been thrown in over the increase in demand for passports, it presents us, on a micro scale, with what a nightmare such a mandate would create. Chile is a different case. With about 16 and a quarter million people, it’s a bit more of a manageable situation.

If you did not catch it, the United States with the REAL ID Act of 2005 has already set in motion a national standardization of state driver’s licenses. It has stirred up some controversy, but honestly, if you ever have applied for a job or to be a member of Blockbuster, you had to show your passport, Social Security card, driver’s license, etc to apply.

But a national ID card to vote? (See Indiana nuns lacking ID denied at poll by fellow sister) I don’t know.

Well today was the first time for me to give blood.

My father has always been a bit faint around needles which does not give me heaps of confidence about the matter. A friend’s mother is having cysts removed from her lungs tomorrow and has made a call to all for blood donations. So I decided to go this morning. Set my nerves and personal comfort aside to do it.

Well as I was saying to my new friend Marcelo an the way out of the clinic, he didn’t take a good look at the needle - I did, it was more like a TUBE with a pointy end. Squeezing my hand in to a fist over and over reminded me of having my wisdom teeth extracted - they tapped and tapped and tapped to find a good vein for the IV, I was about to scream.

It was a good experience though. Except for the bout of upset stomach that caused me to have to go, accompanied no less, to the bathroom very soon after the needle was pulled out. I got a cup of free coffee and had some great conversation with the excellent staff of the blood bank.

The temperature has dropped considerably recently and rain rolled in yesterday. So it’s most definitely fall. I’m glad to see the tops of the mountains that back Santiago dusted with snow again.

Smog puro…

Well if you look to the left you can see Santiago, or Santiasco (”Santiagross”) to some, well, it’s under that blanket of smog. Santiago, unfortunately suffers the effects of thermal inversion (a layer of warm air traps a layer of cold air beneath it) which keeps air pollution low in the city. Chile has made environmental improvements over the years, but, as many nations, could do better. I, in particular, am a fan of the transit system, although horrendously jammed

sometimes, it’s a good alternative for driving. It does not possess as many green spaces as some other South American cities, but has lovely parks and plazas. Most recycling is left in private organizations’ hands as a way of generating revenue, but many have yet to catch on. One of my personal triumphs on a very local level has been setting up a recycle system with Scott Emery’s support in the church building. Many of the local municipalities and grocery stores have pushed changing light bulbs for energy savings. I’m happy to see Chileans on a trajectory for a better and cleaner country. If you have been following the news, you may have seen that Buenos Aires is in a bit of a pickle at the moment. The city has been blanketed with smoke from nearby farmers burning their fields. Check out more here.

Happy Earth Day!

Today is a great day to start doing simple things to take the stress off of this planet. Try modifying your behaviour with a few simple changes:

- RECYCLE
- Turn off the lights
- Unplug your appliance when away from home
- Use cloth or environmentally-friendly diapers (they contribute 3.5 million tons of waste to landfills annually)
- Hang dry your clothes
- Drink tap water
- Take one paper napkin (not a fistful)
- Walk
- Ride a bike
- Turn off the blasted faucet when brushing
- Purchase e-tickets for travel
- NO PLASTIC! Take a fabric bag to the store
- Buy in bulk
- Compost your kitchen scraps

These are simple changes you can choose over the status quo that can make an impact.

More ideas are available at Wire & Twine

Well, I am a terrible at blog maintenance. I was just looking at my friends Ali’s and Mark’s blog and feel a little lacking. AH, oh well! Here we go.

At the beginning of March I was graciously invited to attend the Team Banquet. It’s an evening dedicated to looking back over the year and enjoying an appetizing meal together. It also involves awards and videos. I had the pleasure of being a part of the production crew for the short films made in honor of some of the team members. Infomercials, top ten lists, and re-enactments. Oh man! I was bestowed the honor of The Wizard of Wikipedia. I have no earthly idea, ahem, what that’s getting at, but this one is another upon my mantle of titles, next to The Sultan of Slide.

Easter was quite an event this year, I don’t have much else to compare it to because it is my first outside of the U.S. Chile, as many other holiday traditions (i.e. Halloween - trick or treating, Christmas - Santa Claus, snowy images in the middle of summer, etc) has adapted Easter with foreign traditions. The jóvenes (youth) were in charge of Sunday games and Easter egg hunt. One thing that Chile has not is the plastic egg or variety of candy, everything hidden were small chocolate eggs. Delicious, and this year, they were kept our of the sun. For Viernes Santo (Good Friday), we had a progressive play with five scenes spread over the church building grounds. It was really well done and much of the preparation was put in Chileans hands.

Good Friday performers. Christian (no shirt) and Diana (only female).	Birthday cinnamon roll cake after two hours of sleep

Currently I am living with two friends, Christian and Diana, that are to be married this coming weekend. They were kind of forced to move out of his parents’ house in to their old house. Well I got the call two weeks ago, telling me (not asking me), that I was to come stay with them for three weeks. It’s been a lot of fun and great experience. I was living with Jeff and Penne before, who live a bit closer to the church building (i.e. bike ride of 15 min.), but now I get to experience the daily joy of Transantiago, the transit system of Santiago. My friend Rodrigo told me yesterday, “Creo que eres el practicante que ha tenido una experiencia más cercana a la verdadera vida chilena.” (”I think you’re the intern that has had an experience closest to the the true Chilean life.”) or something along those lines. It’s quite a compliment.

I had a swell birthday. I was taken out to eat by my friends Jeff and Penne. We had a lovely dinner and afterwards I returned to the church building to pull a near all nighter working on some presentations for the Deans goodbye the next day.

Oh the Deans! Man was that a day to celebrate, cry, share, and see the change they brought. There’s a hole here now and it hasn’t been filled, because, really it can’t be. Mark is a superb friend. Denise can make you laugh with nothing other than her own laughter. And their precious two children are a delight to be around. I’m going to miss the cooking together, talking about our lives, watching movies together, and just being in their presence. They left on April 2, woo was that a doozy of a send off in the airport. We miss them, but know who is guiding them.

The Dean Family	Christian and Jenny avoiding sleep prior to 15 hour flight

Some other quick updates:
- I’ve began meeting with two friends from my small group, Aníbal and Micheln, Friday nights to practice their English.
- I’ve been unofficially in charge of multimedia at the church (”button-pusher for PowerPoint”) and am trying to hand it back over to Chileans via hands-on training.
- My computer is currently backing up in Safe Mode. It’s on its last leg.
- I’ve been doing some more cooking. (See previous posts)
- The boy Felipe who had a brain tumor was operated on successfully and doing well. Thanks be to God.
- And my brother Christian and sister-in-law Jenny went to Japan and have some superb photos from the trip on Flickr (click ‘Fli’ for his photos and ‘ckr’ for hers)

Prayer Requests:
- The youth for clarity as we’re looking ahead
- God’s Spirit to lead me in all I am and do
- Christian and Diana in their new stage as a married couple
- Deans transition in to the U.S.

Recent Reads/Listens:
- Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time - book - “The very nature of a crowd is the ability to be lost in it. It costs nothing to be a part of the masses. One can either be positively or negatively inclined. A member of a crowd, such as a worshiper in a congregation, can remain lost in the sea of faces, neither having to commit nor declare loyalty… Jesus ministered to the crowd in order to call people out of it.”
- April Update - email from friend - “A seder is a neat experience - a ceremonial meal eaten to retell and celebrate the story of the liberation of the jews from egyptian slavery. It was a lot of fun, though we did do some parts of the meal incorrectly, but I figure we would be some very reform jews, so oh well.”

If you are interested in any other things I am reading or have read, please visit my del.icio.us page: http://del.icio.us/tterrag

Today is the hollowed Spring day anticipated by thousands of school children across San Antonio. Today is Battle of Flowers. It was started back in 1891 a few days after the event was originally scheduled.

Several ladies of San Antonio’s elite had planned a parade and battle of flowers in honor of President Harrison. As often occurs, the Texas weather turned quickly and rained out the event. Not to waste a well planned shindig the event was held anyway, three days after the President had left town. The tradition still continues, just a parade nowadays, and is one of the highlights of Fiesta. Held on the Friday of Fiesta; it is the big event that kick off the ten days of festivities. Most schools and public offices are closed in honor of the many brave and hallowed souls that never died in battle.

Yes, Fiesta has arrived in San Antonio. Sadly I am not in San Antonio. I never got too much in to the event until high school. I went down to NIOSA (Night in Old San Antonio) with my parents to volunteer at a drink booth and had a BLAST! I’m missing the cascarones, King Antonio, El Rey Feo, the food, and the overall atmosphere of the city.

If you’re in town and read this. Smash a few cascarones over some friends’ heads for me.

Learn more:
Fiesta San Antonio
Battle of Flowers
NIOSA

Sorry for the gap in posts. My computer kind of semi-died last week, so my computing has been a bit sporadic. Something will be up soon.

So my first week at Texas A&M, I was helping a friend from high school move in and his mother took us out to Phở John’s in College Station. I fell in love with the food and the management. What was truly a joy for me was, they would stay open for students who showed up ten minutes before closing. I loved bringing friends to have their first experience with Vietnamese food. This is a simple, healthy, fresh dish that I love. Enjoy.

Vermicelli with Charboiled Chicken

1 lb chicken (white or dark), cut in small pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 shallots, finely chopped
1/8 cup vegetable oil
2 cups lettuce of choice, torn in to large pieces
1 cucumber, peeled and julienned
1 cup carrot, julienned
1 cup bean sprouts
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped
1/2 cup rice vermicelli, uncooked
Salt and pepper to taste

Nước chấm | Spicy Sweet Fish Sauce

1/2 cup water
2 tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons vegetable or olive oil

1. In a bowl, mix the nước chấm ingredients and set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine the chicken, shallots, garlic, salt, pepper, and oil. Set aside to marinate for 15-30 minutes.
2. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Add the carrots and blanch for about 30 seconds. Remove them to a bowl of cold water, drain, and set aside.
3. Place the rice vermicelli in a bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let it sit for five minutes or until almost soft. Drain, rinse in cold water, and set aside.
4. Add equal amounts of the carrots, sprouts and lettuce to each serving bowls. Place equal amounts of rice noodles on top of the vegetables.
5. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan over high flame. Remove the chicken from the marinade and cook quickly until cooked through. Place the chicken in the bowls to cover about 1/3 of the noodles. Place the cucumber over another 1/3 of the noodles. Place the cilantro and mint over the remaining 1/3.
6. Sprinkle peanuts over all and serve with nước chấm to be poured over the noodles to taste.

Variations

This in its true form is made with grilled chicken. Try marinating whole chicken breasts for one hour, grill, slice, and place it over the noodles.

Bún Thịt Nướng: substitute pork for the chicken

Sources:
Whats4Eats (Bún Thịt Nướng recipe)
RecipeZaar

Pad Gai Grapao (Basil Chicken)

1 lb ground or minced raw chicken
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5 shallots, thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp peanut oil
2 tsp black soy sauce
1 cup fresh holy basil (can substitute other type of basil)
6-12 Thai chilies (I used peppers I could find like jalapeño and cacho de cabra)
1-2 tbsp Fish Sauce, to taste
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp palm sugar

1. In a mortar and pestle, grind the garlic, shallots, and chilies together.
2. Heat the peanut oil in a wok and swirl it to coat the surface.
3. Briefly (ten seconds) stir-fry this chili-garlic-shallot paste to bring out the flavor and aroma.
4. Add the chicken and stir-fry for a minute or two, until most of the chicken has started to change color and is no longer pink. 5. Continually stir the ingredients.
6. Sprinkle the soy sauce over the mixture and stir-fry for 15-20 seconds.
7. Add fresh basil leaves, palm sugar, oyster sauce, and fish sauce to taste. Stir-fry and mix well.
8. Stir-fry another half a minute, or until the basil is wilted and the chicken is cooked through.

Serve the dish hot over jasmine rice and a fried egg on top.

Note: The smaller the chicken is cut, the greater the surface area to coat with the flavors of the herbs and sauces, and the more flavorful the stir-fry will be.

Sources:
Kasma Loha-unchit
simply-thai.com
ThaiTable.com (illustrated)