A Piggyback a day...

I saw another hawk today!!  But enough about that.

Something did happen to me though that does symbolize the need for a direction in my life:  So there was this small child; I snuck up behind him and did this running, Superman maneuver complete with inverted flip over my head which was flawless!  The 1 witness of the maneuver later confirmed that it was, in fact, "really cool", but unfortunately my shoulder joint exploded somewhere mid-inverted flip.  And keep in mind people...this was my good shoulder.

So you might ask: "McLean, who is this small child and why are you picking him up from behind and doing anything to him?"

or

"McLean, what the heck does this have to do with symbolism and direction in life?"

Both are good questions.

You see, the fact that I hurt myself while playing with a child is symbolic of the fact that I am having trouble doing the things that I love to do.  Knowing, as I do, that my direction in life is to work with youth, the way forward seems clear.  It's time to whip myself into physical shape for this trip to South America.

I'm already a pretty healthy guy.  I don't smoke, I don't drink very often, I don't eat fast food on the weekends.  I have this uncanny ability to whip into shape fairly quickly.  For example a couple of years back I decided to do a triathlon.  My 4th (out of 4) times that I trained for the running portion, I decided to go out and time myself running a mile.  I pushed it and came in at like 6:05 or something crazy like that! ( I have witnesses to that as well)  My point is, with 2 months to go, it's about time to kick it into gear so that I can

Hike up the Inca Trail

Dash Through the Amazon Jungle

Or hang out on  swim the beaches of Argentina

So, having said that I resolve to, by this time next week, have a workout schedule planned complete with cute, experiential names that have to do with South America (i.e. "escaping piranhas" instead of "swimming" and "running down a pickpocket" instead of "running").

Interesting side note:

I heard on OPB today that humans can outrun pretty much anything over a long enough distance; especially on a hot day.  Even though a lot of predators could run us down in a sprinting situation, we have lots of advantages when it comes to long-distance chasing.  I'm not looking to do quite that kind of running in South America, I just thought it was cool.

If you have any exercises you swear by, that fit easily into a daily routine, drop a note in the comments (Currently labeled "High Fives" at the bottom of each post), or just take that as an opportunity to verbally spar - I need to practice that for haggling and conversing with road scholars anyway.

and oh yes,

This is that small child, 

and I was Superman-ing him cause we're buddies, and I would hope that any buddy of mine that was physically capable of picking me up and making me fly like Superman, would darn well do it every chance they got!


La palabra español del dia: "rutina diaria" - daily routine

Spirit Guides and Dirty Water

Though I didn't make it technically by the end of the "day", I figure that this still counts as blogging for two days in a row as I have yet to go to sleep and wake up, so BOOYAH!


I'm currently living in a spectacular ranch-style home.  I house-sit you see.  Currently I am watching 4 horses 3 dogs (including Pancho), and the house.  This house has a little bit of land around it; 3 pastures, and some arena space just past the barn which is about 50 yards south of the house.  The back porch is absolutely my favorite part about the place.  It is a deep, covered porch with a couple of coushined bouncy chairs and a table.  The real beauty about this spot, is that it faces S, SW and there is a goose farm adjacent to the south property line.  So I get to sit out and watch the sunrise, drink my tea (Flowering Jasmine or a Tropical Rooibos/Dragon Pearls blend depending on how zesty I'm feeling) and listen to the geese chat.  Yep my recently realized favorite thing to do: watch the sunrise with my cup o tea!  But really, the reason I go into such detail about this, is because I have a (possibly interesting) story to tell.


There has been a Red-Tailed Hawk hangin' around the property for the last two days.  I was having a peaceful moment closing my eyes and imagining myself watching an immense migratory flyby when I opened my eyes to see this bird of prey on a post; and though this was probably just the Dragon Pearls talking, I could've sworn that it was looking at me.  I watched it, and it watched me, when all of a sudden it dove out into the field, grabbed it's near-sighted prey and swooped back to the post to eat breakfast.


Now when I was back in college, and my mind was open to all sorts of crazy ideas, some friends of mine told me about the (usually Native American) belief structure of Animals as Totems in our lives.  For example, spiders could mean something about hard work and being busy and dogs, of course, were indicators of something having to do with loyalty and/or fun in your life; etc. etc.  Given that I'm 2/3 hippie, I immediately wondered what it meant that this hawk had come into my day and eviscerated a small rodent in front of me (which has been a popular dog sniffing spot ever since).  My mom called later that morning and when I mentioned the hawk to her she immediately suggested that I see what the hawk totem meant - whoah creepy - so I decided to check it out.


According to AnimalTotem.com:

"Hawk's piercing shriek tears through the air. In its shrill cry lies an important message which represents illumination. Hawk teaches us to scope out the situation and focus on our talents, trying to draw them out. Hawk learns to see the big picture in order to understand the past, present, and future. Hawk asks us to be observant of surroundings so we won't get distracted from our path by others. It also reminds us not to get caught up in minor annoyances so we can maintain our inner balance."


Heavy.  Not to mention, This all happened, the day I started this VERY BLOG!!  I decided that Hawk's presence in my life was a good reminder that I'm doing things right and to stay on track! (Incidentally, for those of you without health insurance who are looking for a good life coach, Frog sounds perfect!)


Speaking of Tea, I have recently developed a love for the stuff and in...Argentina, I believe, there is a tradition of drinking Mate  (probably in other places also).  My only exposure to the social ritual of this experience was when a classmate in my Spanish class this past summer, who had just recently come back from a similar trip to South America, showed us how a group of people would share a cup of mate.  I'm not sure why I mention this, except to say that I'm excited to experience different cultural practices and perspectives!  I am a little worried about sharing the Bombilla, but I suppose overcoming my germaphobia is all part of travelin'!!


For now, it's some well-earned rest before work tomorrow, oh which reminds me, I like to spice things up with a picture so here's a picture of what I do for work:

Nice!

Spanish Word del dia : Bombilla - A device that is used to drink loose-leaf teaf (usually mate)

A New Hope

I struggled for about 10-15 seconds deciding what to title my first blog post ever. The struggle was short-lived however, as I remembered that November is coming up which means NaNoWriMo is upon us. For those of you who have yet to attempt to crank out a novel in one (usually rainy) month, feel free to link to the page and you'll understand my need to not be stopped by a title for the blog post as the name for the blog itself has already stalled me for months now! Justin Rothboeck gets full credit for the sheer genius of literary word-splicing that is the title of this-a-here blog. Thank you Justin! To make a long story short, I went with an easy title, threw in a Star Wars reference for good measure, and plowed ahead!!

Welcome to McLotorcycle Diaries!! My name is McLean and this blog is my 23rd attempt to start a journal, but the 1st time I've tried to share it with just about anybody who cares to pick it up! This is an interesting format for me because it directly addresses a block that I have experienced in attempting to document the experiences of my life thus far. I always imagined that someone would be reading my diary Journal (if not posthumously, then in direct violation of my wishes Elizabeth!), and so I was always wondering/censoring with an imagined audience in mind. (which of course begged the question - do I slip random insults of my sister in here so that she feels both ashamed and in awe of my clairvoyance when she reads this?) With this blog however, I can instead congratulate her in front of the whole world on her appointment as the new District Attorney in Multnomah County. (which is worth at least 50 Parent Points)

For the most part however, this blog will be an opportunity for me to share the stories, pictures, thoughts, and cool idiosyncratic expressions that I learn in Spanish as I travel around South America in 2010! I hope that this will be a great resource that will help me to stay connected to the people in my life (something that I have been accused of struggling with in the past), share insights about the world and myself with y'all as well as with myself, and to continue to learn what makes me come alive!

I may also use it to kvetch.

For now, I will say that the ball is rolling...and it's rolling south; I have applied for my passport which should be coming soon. Interestingly enough, for those of you who don't know, I have recently grown my first substantial beard, and though it has yet to be named, it did make the cut for my passport photo. I hope it doesn't cause too many problems for me as I intend to shave it before heading south. Though I am thrilled to join the ranks of the great beards of this world, frankly, it's going to be summer when I get down there, and the surprisingly efficient evaporative cooling that the beard affords me is no match for the itchiness and increased hygienic needs that ultimately tip the scales in favor of a

baby-faced McLean

heading to South America.

So, besides applying for my passport, and contemplating my beard, I have also begun to plan the skeleton of my trip. I should say right here up front, that my travels are going to be unplanned in large part. I am trusting to serendipity and street smarts to guide me on much of my travels. That's not to say that I am not planning on being careful or smart, I'm just really looking forward to creating each day as it comes!

Having said that, I will say that thus far, my itinerary looks something like this:

January 17, 3:10 pm - Depart Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on a flight headed to Buenos Aires, Argentina (ONE-WAY).

January 18-20ish - Couchsurf and check out Buenos Aires

January 20ish - Resist the urge to go across the bay to Montevideo and instead grab a bike or a bus south and work my way down the coast for a couple of days to Mar del Plata.

January 25ish - Head Overland to the Lakes District (San Carlos de Bariloche) which has world-renowned skiing in the winter and beautiful vistas all year-round. It actually was a haven for western outlaws of the past, and even though I won't be bringing

Pancho Villa II "Scourge of the West"

I figured, if it's good enough for

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

(1st and 3rd gentlemen seated in the front row),

then it'll be great for my springboard into Patagonia.


January 25ish - February 12ish - Is it irony that I spent SO MUCH money at Patagonia so that I could spend so little money camping in Patagonia??

Mid-February - ¡Carnaval! Probably in Oruro, Bolivia; I hear that there is a week-long water fight there, and anyone who knows me knows how I need to face my fear of water balloon fights.

February - Summerish - get out there!! I want to see Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, maybe Brazil. I have friends in both Peru and Chile and an uncanny ability to be super-friendly with total strangers. (the secret is asking questions - seriously, it won't take you all the way, but it'll get you started!) I plan to WWOOF, CouchSurf, and find work with organizations focusing on positive youth development, as well as opportunities to teach English.

Though the trip may extend beyond "Summerish", those plans have yet to percolate out as actionable ideas.


As January 17th approaches, my plans will continue to take form. Until then, I would LOVE to have any input or ideas from any of y'all on places to go, things to see, and experiences to have. As this blog develops as well, I will likely be opening up my travels even further to fate and letting you, yes YOU, help to decide if I go North, South, East, or West. (in a highly structured poll of course with multiple reasonable choices listed for you to choose from)

Thanks so much for visiting, and reading all the way to here. I'm so thrilled to be taking this adventure, and so grateful that I can, in some ways, bring you all with me. Having said that, if you have the time and the will, to find yourself heading south of 7-8 borders depending on your route let's find each other and share a cool tropical drink on some beach, mountain cabin, or jungle hut somewhere - yes, a tropical drink either way.













Looking forward to it!!




Also, the Spanish word of the day is: Hispanohablantes - "Spanish Speakers"