Last night, I went to an Returned Volunteers happy hour in Cleveland. It was fantastic. The volunteers had so many stories, and so much great advice as to what to pack and how to be a smarter volunteer, just in general, that I feel much more comfortable than just 24 hours ago. I heard some of the best stories, especially when it comes to being brutally honest.
The living conditions sound very much like camping in the woods ... for a couple years. I know I adjust to that lifestyle very easily (and in many ways, I prefer it), so I don't think that will be a very difficult adjustment. The language barrier seems to not give anyone any trouble, even the ones who have very little background in the language they will need to speak. It seems that you pick up very quickly on the native languages, and even though I knew this, I hadn't heard it from enough people to really hit home. I'm still going to keep doing plenty of studying in the next few weeks though!
I did take everything with a grain of salt, however, because these volunteers are the ones who completed their service and were satisfied enough with it to continue to associate themselves with Peace Corps in some capacity, even in just a social one. I do know of volunteers who didn't have as great a time, but it seems that the people who did make the most of their time abroad were very flexible, unlike those who are less glowing about the experience. Even though it wasn't explicitly stated, adaptation to different situations seems to be the most important quality -- plasticity, if you will.
I definitely need to find a way to take music. When I'm listening to good music, it fills the air around me with an indescribable atmosphere. Music can dash anxiety in a second, and can give unconditional hope. I think I might need a dose of that.
Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Friday, September 06, 2002
The Diatribe Spigot Reopens
Why are Americans so ridiculously paranoid? There are examples every day of how we hypersensitive we are, like a kid afraid of the dark. College football coaches don't want prop planes flying overhead (the ones that carry the banners) because they are actually afraid someone will take over the planes and crash them into the stadium. We have "terrorist" watches around the neighborhood, asking people to spy on their peers, being ever vigilant for "suspicious activity."
In our private lives, we load ourselves down with guns, car alarms, security systems, self-defense seminars, insurance for everything we own, and pension plans richer than some small countries. Not a day goes by when you don't hear of some elderly person being taken advantage of on the local news. We spend all of our time shopping for more things, and then spend even more time protecting it. We exist through the things that we purchase -- we are defined by our materials, and we covet what we do not have. Personal crime would not exist were it not for this simple fact.
So is it exaggerated materialism which brought on September 11th? Were the events of the day merely a manifestation of our own unabashed desire to have everything we could possibly want? Is our paranoia about the world around us just a way of "protecting our stuff"?
Sure, in some ways it's more than that. We value ourselves and our loved ones. But we are willing to sacrifice them for our way of life, through war against nobody in particular. We love having everything that we want to, from fast food to fast cars. There is no end in sight as we are a country that gets fatter and richer every day, at the expense of the rest of the world.
It would indeed be gloomy if this were the end of the argument. However, there are many things that are going right in the country. Americans are finally seeing how desperate the world HIV/AIDS situation is, and how much the USA can help out. The rapid development of fuel cells and the infrastructure beneath them will not only reduce our dependence upon oil, but will clean up the earth. It seems that our government is finally starting to see that Israel and Palestine are just two sides of the same old, battered coin and that supporting Israel is simply racism. We didn't send a delegate to the summit in Johannesburg, but anti-American demonstrations are getting more and more press.
We are finally realizing just how other-worldly our lives are as Americans. Maybe this incredible sense of paranoia is just a product of people being reticent to admit it, trying to stay a victim of tragedy for as long as possible. We have to take the last step, and just wake up.
So this 9/11, let's not harken back to a year ago, but instead concentrate on becoming a part of the world again, with our arms open wide. Let's realize that belligerence only spawns hatred, and that paranoia only creates isolation. The newly crowned "Patriot Day" should be a day for realizing our humble place in the world.
Only a few weeks later, I'll be finding mine.
In our private lives, we load ourselves down with guns, car alarms, security systems, self-defense seminars, insurance for everything we own, and pension plans richer than some small countries. Not a day goes by when you don't hear of some elderly person being taken advantage of on the local news. We spend all of our time shopping for more things, and then spend even more time protecting it. We exist through the things that we purchase -- we are defined by our materials, and we covet what we do not have. Personal crime would not exist were it not for this simple fact.
So is it exaggerated materialism which brought on September 11th? Were the events of the day merely a manifestation of our own unabashed desire to have everything we could possibly want? Is our paranoia about the world around us just a way of "protecting our stuff"?
Sure, in some ways it's more than that. We value ourselves and our loved ones. But we are willing to sacrifice them for our way of life, through war against nobody in particular. We love having everything that we want to, from fast food to fast cars. There is no end in sight as we are a country that gets fatter and richer every day, at the expense of the rest of the world.
It would indeed be gloomy if this were the end of the argument. However, there are many things that are going right in the country. Americans are finally seeing how desperate the world HIV/AIDS situation is, and how much the USA can help out. The rapid development of fuel cells and the infrastructure beneath them will not only reduce our dependence upon oil, but will clean up the earth. It seems that our government is finally starting to see that Israel and Palestine are just two sides of the same old, battered coin and that supporting Israel is simply racism. We didn't send a delegate to the summit in Johannesburg, but anti-American demonstrations are getting more and more press.
We are finally realizing just how other-worldly our lives are as Americans. Maybe this incredible sense of paranoia is just a product of people being reticent to admit it, trying to stay a victim of tragedy for as long as possible. We have to take the last step, and just wake up.
So this 9/11, let's not harken back to a year ago, but instead concentrate on becoming a part of the world again, with our arms open wide. Let's realize that belligerence only spawns hatred, and that paranoia only creates isolation. The newly crowned "Patriot Day" should be a day for realizing our humble place in the world.
Only a few weeks later, I'll be finding mine.
Thursday, September 05, 2002
Fear is Endearing
I've found that the more people I talk with about my trip to Mozambique, and the more people I express my fear to about how I am going to have to conquer the language barrier, the more people seem to have a stake in my experience in Africa. It's interesting because it seems to partially alleviate my fears, that I have so many people supporting me. And I suppose that's why people like to offer support and lines of communication. However, a certain part of me knows that I'm the only person who can do this as well as I would like to.
I picture myself in a small room with a shortwave battery-powered radio broadcasting a talk show in Portuguese, dim light from outside and a couple candles lit inside, writing to friends during my first week and feeling both an overwhelming sense of adventure and overwhelming responsibility. I realize that I'm 2+ years and several thousand miles from my friends, and it still feels like I'm just camping out. Except I have two billion things to remember about my new life, not to mention just communicating with the people who I'm living with. I envision not getting very much sleep the first night, but getting the best night of sleep of my life the second night, as fatigue and the comfort of being away from technology shut my eyes.
A part of me wants to be in that world tomorrow, while another part of me wants it to still be two or three years off, so I can be adequately emotionally prepared. But I guess it would be impossible, as I would have too many prejudices about the entire experience if I had too much time to research what I thought it was going to be. So I'm glad that I'm four weeks away, and that I won't have too much time to just sit around and feel useless.
My birthday went well, mostly spent relaxing and brainstorming things to do for my birthday, then realizing that it was Labor Day and nothing was open :> . This week has been a little strange, as it's the first time that I've been in Cleveland not working and not taking classes. I'm still keeping busy, however, whittling down that To Do list. I hope that I get to say goodbye to everyone I would like to, especially for my going away party next weekend. I know, however, that saying goodbye won't help me to not miss them.
I wish I could *not miss* some people who I know I will miss dearly.
It's only two years. You'll hardly know I was gone, anyway :>
I picture myself in a small room with a shortwave battery-powered radio broadcasting a talk show in Portuguese, dim light from outside and a couple candles lit inside, writing to friends during my first week and feeling both an overwhelming sense of adventure and overwhelming responsibility. I realize that I'm 2+ years and several thousand miles from my friends, and it still feels like I'm just camping out. Except I have two billion things to remember about my new life, not to mention just communicating with the people who I'm living with. I envision not getting very much sleep the first night, but getting the best night of sleep of my life the second night, as fatigue and the comfort of being away from technology shut my eyes.
A part of me wants to be in that world tomorrow, while another part of me wants it to still be two or three years off, so I can be adequately emotionally prepared. But I guess it would be impossible, as I would have too many prejudices about the entire experience if I had too much time to research what I thought it was going to be. So I'm glad that I'm four weeks away, and that I won't have too much time to just sit around and feel useless.
My birthday went well, mostly spent relaxing and brainstorming things to do for my birthday, then realizing that it was Labor Day and nothing was open :> . This week has been a little strange, as it's the first time that I've been in Cleveland not working and not taking classes. I'm still keeping busy, however, whittling down that To Do list. I hope that I get to say goodbye to everyone I would like to, especially for my going away party next weekend. I know, however, that saying goodbye won't help me to not miss them.
I wish I could *not miss* some people who I know I will miss dearly.
It's only two years. You'll hardly know I was gone, anyway :>
Thursday, August 29, 2002
The world is changing
It seems like the whole world is changing around me, now that I can tell people where I'm going and what I'll be doing.
At the post office, where they don't handle passports after 4pm, they gladly and voluntarily made an exception for me -- on two consecutive days -- just because I was joining Peace Corps. In fact, the line on Tuesday was about two dozen people deep, and the woman who processed all the information for me said that I could have just jumped in front. I wasn't in a hurry, though, and I think she appreciated that as much as I appreciated her taking care of my paperwork expeditiously!
Every day, more and more people tell me what a great thing I'm doing, and maybe I might believe it. But for now, I'm content with doing this for the people of Mozambique who don't have the privileges I've enjoyed for almost 24 years now. It may sound corny, but I can't help but be ashamed with how easy my life is right now. I paid for a pop (soda) the other day, putting $.60 in the machine and realizing that's what the average Mozambican makes in one day. I've been putting all of my purchases in a different perspective -- instead of thinking about it in terms of how many "hours of work" something costs.
Not that I took much for granted before, but I've been scrutinizing more and more every little thing that I do, and realize that most of it will be foreign in just over a month. My father told me, "It's not like you're headed into the Dark Ages." I'm not exactly expecting to be wading through my own feces, but at the same time I know the concept of air conditioning will soon (thankfully) be completely obscure.
Something else that people have been telling me is how they could never do anything like this. As if I've done anything yet :> . But I think everyone is capable, it just requires an open mind and a willingness to work hard. And I think those two things are what people are scared of -- if they open their world up, then they think they will lose all of the security they've worked towards for years, and they'll have to work doubly hard just to get that back.
I'm glad everyone's communicating their well-wishing to me, I just hope that the communication continues into October and beyond. Letters from home are so vitally important -- especially when you're seven time zones, one large ocean, one language, and one hemisphere away.
At the post office, where they don't handle passports after 4pm, they gladly and voluntarily made an exception for me -- on two consecutive days -- just because I was joining Peace Corps. In fact, the line on Tuesday was about two dozen people deep, and the woman who processed all the information for me said that I could have just jumped in front. I wasn't in a hurry, though, and I think she appreciated that as much as I appreciated her taking care of my paperwork expeditiously!
Every day, more and more people tell me what a great thing I'm doing, and maybe I might believe it. But for now, I'm content with doing this for the people of Mozambique who don't have the privileges I've enjoyed for almost 24 years now. It may sound corny, but I can't help but be ashamed with how easy my life is right now. I paid for a pop (soda) the other day, putting $.60 in the machine and realizing that's what the average Mozambican makes in one day. I've been putting all of my purchases in a different perspective -- instead of thinking about it in terms of how many "hours of work" something costs.
Not that I took much for granted before, but I've been scrutinizing more and more every little thing that I do, and realize that most of it will be foreign in just over a month. My father told me, "It's not like you're headed into the Dark Ages." I'm not exactly expecting to be wading through my own feces, but at the same time I know the concept of air conditioning will soon (thankfully) be completely obscure.
Something else that people have been telling me is how they could never do anything like this. As if I've done anything yet :> . But I think everyone is capable, it just requires an open mind and a willingness to work hard. And I think those two things are what people are scared of -- if they open their world up, then they think they will lose all of the security they've worked towards for years, and they'll have to work doubly hard just to get that back.
I'm glad everyone's communicating their well-wishing to me, I just hope that the communication continues into October and beyond. Letters from home are so vitally important -- especially when you're seven time zones, one large ocean, one language, and one hemisphere away.
Sunday, August 25, 2002
Mozambique
Q: Where and when are you going?
A: I leave in mid-September for Connecticut to spend time with my family (meaning there will most likely be a big party just before then :> ), then October 2nd for "staging" which is basically a big orientation session (I don't know where yet). October 5th, I leave for Maputo (the capital of Mozambique), Mozambique, a country on the eastern coast of Africa, directly north of South Africa and directly west of Madagascar. The ten weeks between when I arrive and when I leave for the community I will be teaching in, I will be training for my service. Training includes learning the language, learning customs, learning how to teach, and just basically how to survive.
Q: Portugese?!?
A: If you're wondering about Portugese, no I don't know the language! I know French and a decent amount of Spanish, and today I bought two books and tapes on learning the language. It certainly looks like Spanish, but a lot of the pronunciation is like French in that it isn't quite literal. The basic grammar and sentence structure is very familiar, and much of the vocabulary. It will be a challenge to teach in Portugese, but I'm definitely up to it.
Q: What are you doing there?
A: I will be teaching Biology to eighth through tenth graders, to prepare them for the national exams. I will most likely only have a chalkboard and chalk -- chairs, desks, and other materials are rare, textbooks (even for the teachers) are nonexistent. I will be teaching classes of between 40 and 50 students, and doing HIV/AIDS education as well as after-school clubs.
Q: What are the economic and health conditions like in Mozambique?
A: I'm glad you asked. Mozambique is the seventh-poorest country in the world. The per capita income is $220, or about $.60 per day per person. HIV is rampant (about 30% of the adult population is infected) due to ignorance and myths. Most do not know or see HIV/AIDS as a problem. Teaching biology in conjunction with education about the HIV/AIDS epidemic will help stem the spread of HIV.
Q: Where will you be living?
A: I will be living with a family for my training, and my training will be with other volunteers. After training, I will be assigned to a community, where I will live with another teacher (or volunteer, if there is one) in, well, modest accomodations. As a volunteer, you live at the same level as the rest of the community. I will most likely not have electricity most of the day, if at all. I will be either in a concrete-walled dorm or basically a thatched-roof hut. Either way, I'll have my own bedroom and either an indoor or outdoor bathroom. Bathing will probably be every week. The climate is much like a Cleveland summer, and since Mozambique is in the southern hemisphere, I will be arriving in Spring. Winter is temperatures in the mid 70's, sometimes in the high 50's at night. I *will* miss snow :>.
Q: How do we keep in touch?
A: Communication will be difficult. There may be telephones in the community, but maybe not. I won't be further than a day's ride to a telephone, however, and in an emergency less than a day from any news (via Peace Corps). In any extreme governmental issue, Volunteers are some of the first people to be removed. Mail can take up to a month to arrive from the States, and to be sent back to the States. Often, Volunteers find travellers to mail things for them (the African version of "air mail"). Computers will be few and far between, except in Maputo, where there are a couple Internet cafes.
During training, my address will be:
John Dutton, PCT
Peace Corps
C.P. 4398
Maputo, Mozambique
[IMPORTANT: Write "Air Mail" and "Par Avion" on all letters and make sure to date and number them.]
My mother will probably be updating my website (http://john-dutton.com/) with journal entries and post-training contact info, but please never hesitate to write, even if it's just a postcard. I will probably also have her check and print out my e-mails (and not the spam), so if you don't want to write an actual letter, send an e-mail and I'll get it (eventually :>). [BTW, her name is Alice, so make sure to thank her for printing the e-mail out and sending it along!] The best thing in the world will be to receive some news on what's going on, and I promise I'll be the best African pen pal ever :> ! Keep in mind that even if I write back the same day, you may not hear back for two months. So just keep on writing and include little bits of American culture that I can show the locals.
Q: Do you have any vacation time?
A: Yes, I get three weeks per year (or two days per month of service). The schools have four weeks of vacation time, two of those in June. Because it costs so dang much to get to the US, I will probably end up vacationing in South Africa or Europe. If you are at all interested next June (or the June after) in doing either of these, let me know!
There's so much more, so if you wanna ask me anything, feel free. If you wanna hang out sometime before I leave (and I don't see you every day :>), I've got a really flexible schedule for the next few weeks in Cleveland and in Connecticut, just let me know! Please, please, PLEASE keep in contact and I will be back mid-December 2004 (hopefully it will be snowing :> ). I'm going to miss everyone so much!
Proxima ("Later"),
John
A: I leave in mid-September for Connecticut to spend time with my family (meaning there will most likely be a big party just before then :> ), then October 2nd for "staging" which is basically a big orientation session (I don't know where yet). October 5th, I leave for Maputo (the capital of Mozambique), Mozambique, a country on the eastern coast of Africa, directly north of South Africa and directly west of Madagascar. The ten weeks between when I arrive and when I leave for the community I will be teaching in, I will be training for my service. Training includes learning the language, learning customs, learning how to teach, and just basically how to survive.
Q: Portugese?!?
A: If you're wondering about Portugese, no I don't know the language! I know French and a decent amount of Spanish, and today I bought two books and tapes on learning the language. It certainly looks like Spanish, but a lot of the pronunciation is like French in that it isn't quite literal. The basic grammar and sentence structure is very familiar, and much of the vocabulary. It will be a challenge to teach in Portugese, but I'm definitely up to it.
Q: What are you doing there?
A: I will be teaching Biology to eighth through tenth graders, to prepare them for the national exams. I will most likely only have a chalkboard and chalk -- chairs, desks, and other materials are rare, textbooks (even for the teachers) are nonexistent. I will be teaching classes of between 40 and 50 students, and doing HIV/AIDS education as well as after-school clubs.
Q: What are the economic and health conditions like in Mozambique?
A: I'm glad you asked. Mozambique is the seventh-poorest country in the world. The per capita income is $220, or about $.60 per day per person. HIV is rampant (about 30% of the adult population is infected) due to ignorance and myths. Most do not know or see HIV/AIDS as a problem. Teaching biology in conjunction with education about the HIV/AIDS epidemic will help stem the spread of HIV.
Q: Where will you be living?
A: I will be living with a family for my training, and my training will be with other volunteers. After training, I will be assigned to a community, where I will live with another teacher (or volunteer, if there is one) in, well, modest accomodations. As a volunteer, you live at the same level as the rest of the community. I will most likely not have electricity most of the day, if at all. I will be either in a concrete-walled dorm or basically a thatched-roof hut. Either way, I'll have my own bedroom and either an indoor or outdoor bathroom. Bathing will probably be every week. The climate is much like a Cleveland summer, and since Mozambique is in the southern hemisphere, I will be arriving in Spring. Winter is temperatures in the mid 70's, sometimes in the high 50's at night. I *will* miss snow :>.
Q: How do we keep in touch?
A: Communication will be difficult. There may be telephones in the community, but maybe not. I won't be further than a day's ride to a telephone, however, and in an emergency less than a day from any news (via Peace Corps). In any extreme governmental issue, Volunteers are some of the first people to be removed. Mail can take up to a month to arrive from the States, and to be sent back to the States. Often, Volunteers find travellers to mail things for them (the African version of "air mail"). Computers will be few and far between, except in Maputo, where there are a couple Internet cafes.
During training, my address will be:
John Dutton, PCT
Peace Corps
C.P. 4398
Maputo, Mozambique
[IMPORTANT: Write "Air Mail" and "Par Avion" on all letters and make sure to date and number them.]
My mother will probably be updating my website (http://john-dutton.com/) with journal entries and post-training contact info, but please never hesitate to write, even if it's just a postcard. I will probably also have her check and print out my e-mails (and not the spam), so if you don't want to write an actual letter, send an e-mail and I'll get it (eventually :>). [BTW, her name is Alice, so make sure to thank her for printing the e-mail out and sending it along!] The best thing in the world will be to receive some news on what's going on, and I promise I'll be the best African pen pal ever :> ! Keep in mind that even if I write back the same day, you may not hear back for two months. So just keep on writing and include little bits of American culture that I can show the locals.
Q: Do you have any vacation time?
A: Yes, I get three weeks per year (or two days per month of service). The schools have four weeks of vacation time, two of those in June. Because it costs so dang much to get to the US, I will probably end up vacationing in South Africa or Europe. If you are at all interested next June (or the June after) in doing either of these, let me know!
There's so much more, so if you wanna ask me anything, feel free. If you wanna hang out sometime before I leave (and I don't see you every day :>), I've got a really flexible schedule for the next few weeks in Cleveland and in Connecticut, just let me know! Please, please, PLEASE keep in contact and I will be back mid-December 2004 (hopefully it will be snowing :> ). I'm going to miss everyone so much!
Proxima ("Later"),
John
Thursday, August 22, 2002
Watch this space ...
... because on Monday evening, I should know where I'm going and what I'm doing for the next 2 1/2 years!
UPDATE!
I have just received word that my Placement Review has been completed! Wooo!!
No, I have no idea what that means, either.
No, I have no idea what that means, either.
Wednesday, August 21, 2002
I spoke with my placement officer and temporary screening nurse today. It seems that my nomination has expired, so I could end up anywhere and doing anything in the realm of science teaching. The good news is that I will have an invitation to go ... somewhere ... by the end of the month! I got interrogated about my vegetarianism again, and I gave the same response of essentially "I'll eat it if I have to," meaning that if culture dictates, I will abide.
I leave work the 30th and start a position with the Cleveland Metroparks banding birds 3x a week. You may be asking when I have to get up to do such a cool thing. Well, I would have to respond by saying that I have to get up at about 4am, depending on where we're banding. That's right, 4am. It'll be an adjustment, especially living in a fraternity house. Maybe I'll just crash when I get home, and be mostly nocturnal.
The bike ride this weekend was a blast - MS really has their shit together and I was impressed by the entire weekend. The only thing I was disappointed by was their lack of environmentalism, which kind of surprised me. However, beggars can't be choosers, so I suppose making conservation decisions might not have been an option.
I leave work the 30th and start a position with the Cleveland Metroparks banding birds 3x a week. You may be asking when I have to get up to do such a cool thing. Well, I would have to respond by saying that I have to get up at about 4am, depending on where we're banding. That's right, 4am. It'll be an adjustment, especially living in a fraternity house. Maybe I'll just crash when I get home, and be mostly nocturnal.
The bike ride this weekend was a blast - MS really has their shit together and I was impressed by the entire weekend. The only thing I was disappointed by was their lack of environmentalism, which kind of surprised me. However, beggars can't be choosers, so I suppose making conservation decisions might not have been an option.
Mom charged with letting kids get sunburned
"She pushed her kids around the fairground all day last Tuesday, and it looked like those kids' faces were dipped in red paint," [Sheriff Fred Abdalla] said. "There was no sunscreen or nothing on these children."
Hibbits, 31, could face 15 years in jail if convicted of all three counts.
John says: And in other news, Sheriff Fred Abdalla is facing 20 years in prison if convicted of using "dumb English."
"She pushed her kids around the fairground all day last Tuesday, and it looked like those kids' faces were dipped in red paint," [Sheriff Fred Abdalla] said. "There was no sunscreen or nothing on these children."
Hibbits, 31, could face 15 years in jail if convicted of all three counts.
John says: And in other news, Sheriff Fred Abdalla is facing 20 years in prison if convicted of using "dumb English."
Tuesday, August 13, 2002
Stargazing
A few friends and I tried to go stargazing last night, away from the light pollution of Cleveland. The Perseids meteor shower was apparently visible after 10pm, so I rounded up the troops, we borrowed a car and headed east. We didn't really have any particular destination, we were just looking for some land to lie down on where we could see stars.
I guess that was really our first problem. Being spontaneous does require permission, after all.
Well, we headed east on Fairmount, all the way into Pepper Pike, a nice upper-middle class suburb. I took a random turn down a quiet street, and we struck gold. There was a cul-de-sac at the end of the street with a nice grassy area in the middle, and there were cars parked along the side of the street. I pulled in behind the cars, and we laid our blankets out on the grass.
I was driving a friend's car, an old American beast that sucks down gas at an amazing rate. It didn't really fit in among the Audi, BMW, Lexus, and other luxury cars we were parked alongside. When I write "luxury," I mean "really fucking expensive and symbolic of people who just want to be left alone." So all the signs were pointing to this being a short-lived trip. But we were determined.
We didn't see any meteors, but we had a fun time trying to find constellations. The light pollution, at least 15 miles from the city, was still keeping part of the sky illuminated. The moon wasn't visible, but we did see a few planes.
About 15 minutes after we laid down, we saw headlights. Looking more closely, I saw that it was in fact a police car. He explained that he had received a complaint that people were camping out. He had expected to find tents and a bonfire, and seemed to have as much frustration as we did that he was out here, breaking up our very peaceful party. I asked him if we were trespassing, to which he gave a very circumlocutive answer. I knew we weren't, that this was city property, and unless we were taking a poop or drinking on it, there was nothing he could do. But why give him a hard time? He was being nice, and giving us suggestions as to where else we might be able to go. Plus, we weren't seeing any meteors, so we got up and left.
When we were pulling out, we noticed that people started to emerge from across the street. About 50 college-age people and a set of parents were on the lawn (and as we found out had all been drinking their share), and started excitedly asking us what we were doing. Their interest was obviously more out of curiosity than concern, and so we told them what were doing and that we had come from Cleveland.
They were flabbergasted. They couldn't believe we had come all the way to their street just to go stargazing. Now, this was entertainment for both of us. Imagine, 50 people on their lawn at 11pm talking to 5 strangers in a car from a city 15 miles away who were looking for something the other 50 had every day of the year, in full view of two very bored police officers. Same planet (same county), different worlds.
I guess that was really our first problem. Being spontaneous does require permission, after all.
Well, we headed east on Fairmount, all the way into Pepper Pike, a nice upper-middle class suburb. I took a random turn down a quiet street, and we struck gold. There was a cul-de-sac at the end of the street with a nice grassy area in the middle, and there were cars parked along the side of the street. I pulled in behind the cars, and we laid our blankets out on the grass.
I was driving a friend's car, an old American beast that sucks down gas at an amazing rate. It didn't really fit in among the Audi, BMW, Lexus, and other luxury cars we were parked alongside. When I write "luxury," I mean "really fucking expensive and symbolic of people who just want to be left alone." So all the signs were pointing to this being a short-lived trip. But we were determined.
We didn't see any meteors, but we had a fun time trying to find constellations. The light pollution, at least 15 miles from the city, was still keeping part of the sky illuminated. The moon wasn't visible, but we did see a few planes.
About 15 minutes after we laid down, we saw headlights. Looking more closely, I saw that it was in fact a police car. He explained that he had received a complaint that people were camping out. He had expected to find tents and a bonfire, and seemed to have as much frustration as we did that he was out here, breaking up our very peaceful party. I asked him if we were trespassing, to which he gave a very circumlocutive answer. I knew we weren't, that this was city property, and unless we were taking a poop or drinking on it, there was nothing he could do. But why give him a hard time? He was being nice, and giving us suggestions as to where else we might be able to go. Plus, we weren't seeing any meteors, so we got up and left.
When we were pulling out, we noticed that people started to emerge from across the street. About 50 college-age people and a set of parents were on the lawn (and as we found out had all been drinking their share), and started excitedly asking us what we were doing. Their interest was obviously more out of curiosity than concern, and so we told them what were doing and that we had come from Cleveland.
They were flabbergasted. They couldn't believe we had come all the way to their street just to go stargazing. Now, this was entertainment for both of us. Imagine, 50 people on their lawn at 11pm talking to 5 strangers in a car from a city 15 miles away who were looking for something the other 50 had every day of the year, in full view of two very bored police officers. Same planet (same county), different worlds.
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