Trip to Egypt

Having already been to the Middle East once before I was much more comfortable coming to Egypt last month. The first day I was in Cairo I went to the market in Islamic Cairo, which is known as the older part of the city. After the non-stop hassling, we went to a popular teahouse and enjoyed the hot day with traditional mint tea. After coming from the hectic market, I realized its much better to claim my Mexican heritage as my nationality to prevent further haggling and to receive instant fame! Despite many Egyptians assuming I was Colombian, or even of an Egyptian lineage, they were more than happy to accommodate to my “Mexican Spanish”.

Later that evening, me and my friend Joe, who basically played tour-guide for me in northern Egypt, met with his friend, Omar, to visit the pyramids in Giza. To say the least, Omar is a Muslim Puerto-Rican-Egyptian from New Jersey who was anything but boring! You can imagine his Christian mom and Muslim dad raised an interesting son who kept me rolling on the ground with laughter. When we arrived in Giza we rode horses into the desert and watched the sunset over the breathtaking pyramids. The ride back to the city was essentially a scene from Arabian Nights with me and my friends racing our houses through the desert past the pyramids and famous Sphinx. Afterwards, we had some authentic Egyptian food that continues to impress me.

The next day we woke up at 4 am to catch a train north to Alexandria. It was at this point that I realized Cairo was a sleepless city since it was still as busy with people all over the streets at that hour of the night as hours earlier in the day; I honestly think it is much worse than New York City. We slept in the freezing cold train for the whole three hours to Alexandria and were welcomed by another friend of Joe’s, Mohammad. Him and his American wife, Adina, were extremely hospitable and drove us around the ancient city. We saw all the ruins and even went to the Library of Alexandria that was rebuilt in 2004 in an attempt to recreate the famous one that was burned down generations ago that was the biggest of its era and housed documents very advanced and unprecedented for its time. Afterwards we headed to the beach and then drove west towards the Libyan border to stay the night at Mo’s beach house. We arrived late and fell asleep watching a Bali-wood movie (random, I know). We woke up and went straight to the beach the next morning and I have to say that the water was the most beautiful I have ever seen. White and clear at the shore and then tapered off to the dark blue as you go out deeper in the Mediterranean, surprisingly better than Greece. Needless to say I got sunburned quite brutally. Afterwards, I had to rush back to Cairo to catch a 12 hr train ride down south to Answan, near the Sudanese border.

When I arrived, I was greeted by two guys with whom Joe had connected me. They were extremely congenial and directed me to my cruise ship and reassured me I was in good hands (regarding the cruise ship that I didn’t properly sign up for…as it goes many Middle Eastern businesses!). That evening I only went to see the famous Aswan dam, Nasser Lake, and the Answan museum. With temperatures in the 100 degrees Fahrenheit, I went directly back to the ship after I finished taking my pictures. That evening was relaxing. I was coincidentally seated next to a Belgian woman so I got to practice my French extensively and then later that night they had a show that ended by 11pm which was perfect since I was already so exhausted. The next day I saw a whole bunch of ruins scattered throughout the city and even on islands. I can’t describe them all so above are some pictures of them. That night, our cruise ship sailed off up the Nile and stopped by a few sights and had a bellydancer perform. It was a great evening. The next day we spent the whole day cruising north to Luxor so I simply hung out on the deck and next to the pool where I was able to do a lot of research and take in the amazing ambiance of being surrounding by sand hills but cruising on the extremely dependent Nile River…it’s breathtaking just to fathom it. It made it really cool that what I was researching was very relevant to the environment I was in so I can see firsthand how things are occurring of what I was reading. I loved it.

When we got to Luxor, we spent 2 days there seeing all the sights. Luxor is the most historical place in Egypt (aside from the pyramids) and holds some of the most famous events on record. From the Valley of the Kings (their tombs) to awing temples, there was nothing here to keep you less than breathless. However, the second and last day I was in Luxor was extraordinarily painful since I had little time to do everything…I had to rush through everything and since the temperature was about 110 degrees Fahrenheit, it took a toll on me and the sun caused me to have heat exhaustion or sun poisoning where I was extremely nauseous, dizzy, and had a horrible headache. I have to say that it was truly a horrible experience since I wasn’t able to do anything about it. I simply had to wait for my train at the train station, in the heat, for over six hours…one of the worst moments I’ve had to experience.

When I finally got on the train and made it back to Cairo, me and Joe met up with some friends and simply hung out. Went by some of their places and even had an authentic Egyptian dinner by one of the moms. I got a chance to go to the AUC library and get a book for my research and coincidentally ran into a friend I met in Jordan! Oh, and not to mention, while in Cairo I ran into 5 different friends at different times and places from Georgetown…small world!!!! Anyways, since I was still recovering from my time in Luxor we went to the movies and watch Blades of Glory that was, of course, dramatically edited to fit the government’s idea of what is and is not suitable for anybody to see…so needless to say I have to watch it again to see the whole thing. I left that night back to Brussels via Paris and had a nice trip overall despite my dissertation in the back of my head begging to get finished!!!

What is Vicente Doing?

I get asked all the time “Vicente, what are you doing nowadays? What’s with your fascination with the Middle East? Why do you want to get involved with that region?” and “What are you going to do with your degree and what do you want to do career-wise?” So, I thought I would take the time to give you insight on what I am studying, why I’m studying it, and what I plan to do with it.

MY BACKGROUND
First, to understand me you must understand my foundation. You are probably well-aware of the following but a simply reiteration will give more meaning to my current state of being. I was raised by two Mexican-American parents: one who chose a career in the Army and the other who chose to loyally support his pursuit and the well-being of her children (it was not as machovinistic as it seems; in fact, it was quite progressive and equal). With that said, I moved around a lot and experienced the different societies and communities that which make the United States rich in diversity yet poor in equality.

I went to high school in a low-income community that did not have the luxury to provide me or my peers with the resources necessary to join the competitive pool that others our age often enjoy. I was ignorant to this fact until I started to attend college at Georgetown University where many, if not most, got the best education the world can offer while growing up (and that is no exaggeration). This inequality jumpstarted my interest in domestic issues and politics of which I am now extremely active. When I first arrived to DC I was welcomed with the unprecedented attacks on American soil. The image I saw of the Pentagon in flames from my bedroom window scarred my memory but has helped me realize that there is indeed a world outside our borders that has just as much importance on us as we do on them; it does not help that now, with the ignorant and unilateral thinking of President George W. Bush, the world has turned against our great country due to the illegal and catastrophical invasion of Iraq and many other important factors.

From this so-called War on Terror, many people, especially Republicans, have formatted their agendas to more of a War of Hate for personal gain. Regarding anyone not like us as evil, i.e. Axis of Evil, is a recipe for hate and for hateful actions. Tainting the Middle East and its people, Arabs and Muslims, as evil-doers and generalizing them as terrorist is the complete wrong approach. We, as Americans who are role-models for the world, must take root in our morals and values, whether it be from Abrahamic religions or not, to overcome this hatred and build bridges for a peaceful end of the conflicts that plague our time.

PURPOSE OF MY STUDIES
Thus, my mission has been to be a building block for that bridge. I’ve come to Brussels to gain a better understanding of the world and experience life outside the American bubble where we often feel too comfortable. I can already express that all the Muslims, Atheists, Agnostics, Jews, Arabs, Europeans, Africans, Asians, and, yes, even homosexuals that I have met have the same goals and ideals as we, “Americans”, do *(and, yes, they do all inhabit our country). They understand all people are different: they have different religions, different cultures, different lifestyles, but they all want equality and the right to fulfil their potential just like we do. Therefore, I am, specifically, obtaining my Masters Degree in International Conflict Analysis to study in depth how to overcome these issues and misconceptions on more of an international, non-American biased scale.

WHY MY PURSUIT IN THIS FIELD?
I have come across close friends that say “we need to bomb the shit out of those Muslims to protect our country and our Christian beliefs” which is often communicated through shows like Fox News; I simply don’t understand how they can say that. What Christian wants death on an innocent life? What Christian does not want to share their love with mankind and preach hatred? There are many preachers that surprisingly defend views like these and, honestly, I don’t see the difference between their radical views of “bombing the shit out of non-Christians” to those of the terrorists of whom we should actually be putting our focus. The few that believe this radical view in the US are actually a lot more in numbers in comparison to the radical Muslims in the Middle East.

WHAT I PLAN TO DO
The job I am taking in the fall is to alleviate this problem and educate people on how “others”, whether they are non-Christians or non-Americans, are really just like us. We are all rational beings but just simply have different approaches, sometimes they are wrong (not purposely) but more often they are right. Everyone makes mistakes. My position as US-Muslim Relations Program Director at the Americans for Informed Democracy (www.aidemocracy.org) is one way I will be trying to communicate this.

Afterwards, my career path consists of field work in the Middle East to gain more understanding of the average Muslim Arab and to learn Arabic and then back to the US to share what I have learned, hopefully in a think-tank of some sort. Eventually, I think I would like to hold a seat in office to pursue an agenda of peace and equality, domestically and internationally. I could care less if I am elected or not, but what I do care is that we elect people with the right convictions and strong foundations to pursuit peace and equality.

IMPLICATIONS
So, I could not have reached this point in my life where I have learned that mankind is, indeed, of rationale and love without your influence. Your impact on my life has added to my recipe of diversity and compassion for others…I simply hope you reflect and do the same.

Therefore, I implore you to welcome a Muslim over for dinner, take a homosexual for coffee, or have a chat with an atheist. Do NOT preach to them that they are wrong in their lifestyle and infuse a poison of hatred; they are the way they are due to circumstances out of our hands. Not only that but who says they are wrong? God?...perhaps, but let God do the judging and don’t impose your humanly-and thus imperfect-interpretation on others. If anything, you can change the way they are with your love and compassion. Many people call this tolerance, but tolerance has a negative implication that implies that you are merely putting up with something you do not like or agree…I am saying that you must accept others for who they are and to NOT simply “put up” with them…only then can peace and progress be achieved.

Believe me, I get more anti-Catholic remarks, comments, and attempts to be converted a lot more than you think and I’m sure you wouldn’t like that happen to you so don’t do that to others. I like to think I change people’s minds about Catholicism by not preaching down their throats about this and that, but rather through my actions and grounded faith. In fact, I know I have. Plus, I even know someone close to me that has tried to push their beliefs on another but ended up pushing them further away…they did more harm than good. I ask that you spread your morals, values, and love on others…it is what I have been striving to do and wish to continue to do.

IN SHORT
In short, I am pursuing my Masters Degree in International Conflict Analysis outside the US to gain a better understanding of the world so I can hopefully alleviate it of its injustices, especially against intolerance and inequality of others like Arabs and Muslims. My future will consist of this continued pursuit and perhaps lead me to a political office…who knows?

So the academic year has finally ended and thank God it did! I got my papers in on time and I feel like I did pretty good on my exams…we’ll see about that! The day after finals ended, as president of the student government, I was in charge of putting together the annual “International Dinner”. It turned out well, but man am I glad its over. It was held at a museum and consisted of a long presentation over a 3-course meal and open bar.

But first I had to attend to a high school friend who got into that morning. If my hands weren’t already full, you can imagine how I felt! I had to leave her and her boyfriend and relatives at my flat as I headed to the museum to make sure everything was cool…and it was. Come 7 o’clock I had to the usual diplomatic greetings and accompany the keynote speaker and other special guests from England…whew, that was tiring considering I was stuck with juice while everyone was able to begin the night drinking.

I started the presentations a little after 8pm and then we had the first meal. I then introduced the keynote speaker and was more than surprised at his talk. He was extremely loud and entertaining to say the least. I couldn’t help but bust out laughing a few times…and you all know how loud my laughter can be. That finally ended and then we had our main course and then had our award presentations from our acting-dean and myself and then proceeded to desert. I finished up the presentations and by this time it was after 11pm and everybody was already completely drunk, including students, faculty, staff, and guests…except for me. I wasted no time and went straight to that open bar and let the flood gates open. The night turned out to be amazing as my hangover from Sunday could prove and all the above pictures. The year was an amazing one and I’m sad its over, but all good things must come to an end. Now I have to turn to my dissertation and get that taken care of so I can graduate! As its been going, I have been constantly changing my topic and it seems like its now on political Islam and how it has taken the role as the lead opposition against secular parties throughout the region thereby giving many different implications to how the development of democracy is playing out and hopefully giving insight on how Western governments can approach the region that has been plagued with conflict. I’m looking forward to it so hopefully I’ll stick with this one!

Also, I was offered a job in Baltimore as Program Director for US-Muslim Relations for an organization that has the sole duty to educate young American minds about the world outside the US, which I will most likely accept. This position directly applies to my interests, area of “expertise” (I put it in quotes since I am far from an expert), and my drive to educate others on the fundamental similarities of other people, especially Muslims and their core values and morals that are no different than Christians and Jews and any other religion, including atheists and agnostics. I think the most hurtful and common misunderstanding between humans is the view that other people have malicious intentions to hurt others when it is really a misunderstanding; my goal in life is to ensure others learn that we are all rational people and therefore moral as an individual. Once we can all understand that, we will all be better off…

My next trip definitely surpasses all other trips due to its completely different lifestyle and extreme interest to me, and not to mention my region of “expertise”. I went to Jordan a couple of weeks ago to attend a conference about democracy in the Middle East, specifically regarding Jordan and the American implications. I stayed a few days after to explore and it confirmed my love for the region I’ve never once visited.

I arrived in the middle of the night on Wednesday, April 18th. Fortunately, I ran into two other Americans on the flight who were attending the conference as well and who were also just as anxious to visit the area too. Thankfully two of the conference’s organizers were awaiting our arrival at the airport and took us to our lodging. To our surprise, it was barricaded and kind of secluded to the main parts of the city but I later learned its location makes it strategically vulnerable (it was next to a military compound). I headed to my room and met my roommates, a guy from Missouri who was studying in Spain, a Syrian guy from Philly who was living in Dubai on a Fulbright grant, and another Fulbrighter from the Philly area living in Damascus. They were all cool guys. By this time it was about 3am and we knew we had a long day ahead of us the next day.

Thursday came rolling in and I was up bright and early. Registration went quickly along and I met people from all over the world, but most from Jordan and the U.S. To my surprise I met another Mexican-American who was a Middle East fanatic and living there in Amman on a Fulbright Grant as well. I previously thought that would never happen. The conference began with Prince Hassan speaking and we were delightfully surprised the attendance of former-United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali. It was amazing. The panels begun and we head our discussion groups which brought up some very insightful ideas. The second panel on Political Islam was particularly interesting to me since I was originally going to discuss it in my dissertation. Also, I might add that we were to be joined by the Secretary-General of the Islamic Action Front but he backed out at the last minute. He instead wanted to send a replacement whom we recognized as an attendee to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s funeral last year. Due to the replacement’s sympathy for the death of one of the masterminds of several terrorist attacks, we refused to be associated with him and continued the panel without him. We eventually ended the evening and headed out to a local tea-bar to socialize and get a taste of the social life in Jordan, well social life for men since women are usually shunned from most “improper” places. I had some amazing tea and phenomenal houmous, my weakness, and then headed back to our room and passed out knowing I had to wake up early again the next morning.

The next day we had more panels and discussions. As leader of my discussion group, I had to end the day in a meeting that lasted for hours! We were preparing the conclusion of the conference for the following day and had to consolidate our policy recommendations for general discussion. Hours later we finished and I had to refrain from going out and instead headed to my room to work on another paper for school. It was a long night.

The next day we all gathered to discuss and choose the final recommendations that were to be presented to the American Embassy and the Jordanian government. We went way beyond our time limit and spent at least six hours amending and choosing the necessary and appropriate recommendations. When it finally ended a local, who was in attendance a the conference, took me and two other friends to the Dead Sea where we floated for a short while…the Dead Sea is so salty it is virtually impossible to sink therefore you can simply walk in the water, fall back, and lay on your back for hours without any effort or getting the feeling you will ever sink (as you can see from my picture above). Not only that, but its sand and water is famous for the wonders it does to your joints and skin. I walked out of that sea softer than a baby’s bottom…kind of weird for a guy. It was an impressive view to be on the Jordanian side of the water and see Israel on the other side. When we headed back to Amman we went for an AMAZING meal! We went to a grand, traditional restaurant where we had an extremely long table seating about 30 people full of food…I am not exaggerating when I say it was like sitting at a buffet. The food kept flowing out to the middle of the table and we could choose whatever we felt looked good and boy did I! Being surrounded by Arabs all in their traditional clothing was really cool too. They had a traditional band playing throughout the place and we inevitably got up to join in the dancing. It was a blast.

The next day I went with the other leaders to meet with Prince Hassan to present our recommendations and it generally went well (picture above). The meeting was abruptly ended when we said something that wasn't to his council's liking...so it goes with all opposition in Jordan, apparently. Afterwards, I went with a group of friends to the south of Jordan to a desert called Wadi Rum. We drove out into the middle of the desert and had a guide make us a traditional badouin (another word for Nomadic Arabs) dinner in the sand. We ate, drank tea, and then just laid back and stared at the stars until we fell asleep. Since we didn’t get to see the desert when we first arrived (we got there when it was dark) we were pleasantly surprised the next morning. We could see miles of sand and mountains all around us. We checked out some ancient caves and ruins and couldn’t stay too long since me and my friend, John, who is studying Arabic in Cairo, had to hurry over to Petra. If you have seen Indiana Jones then you know what Petra is…it is that castle-looking thing built into the mountain that is pictured above…that is what we had to see. We finally arrived and walked the long path to it in between naturally made caves and ancient ruins until we came up to it. It was simply amazing. Of course I had to ride the camel and take a picture in front of it. It was just breathtaking. We then went further and had to climb the hour-long steps to atop a mountain and see mountain ranges that surround the area. I can’t describe everything in detail since I wont be able to give it justice so I’ll just let the pictures above explain it.

Afterwards, I had to hurry back to Amman which was a few hours away so John could catch his flight while I worked on my paper and get ready for my flight early the next morning. I didn’t want to leave Jordan, but I knew I had to get back to Brussels to work on my finals…egh!

After another long break of writing I thought I’d update my blog finally. One big trip I took was to the Vatican/Rome for Easter and it was phenomenal! I took off on Good Friday and got there around noon. I’ve been to Rome before so I skipped all the sight-seeing traps and did strictly the Easter stuff. So, as soon as I got there on Friday I met up with my friend, Peter, who apparently ends up going on all the same trips as I do. He doesn’t stop following me…HAHA (he’ll get a kick out of this). The weather was amazing so after I was settled we headed to the Coliseum where we thought the procession for the Stations of the Cross were to be held. We stumbled across a small crowd in front of the Coliseum and figured that was the best place to stand since people were already camping out there waiting for things to start. After a few “dot-games”, nuns singing, getting stepped on, and about three hours later everything started to get going.

Down at the bottom of the Coliseum the Pope came out and started the procession. To our surprise, we were directly in front of the 8th Station and the final platform/alter!!! We couldn’t have had better seats! I got great pictures and at one point felt like I could stretch my arm out and touch him. It was surreal. We figured it couldn’t get any better than that. Boy, were we wrong.

The next day, Holy Saturday, we walked around for most of the day and I caught up with a friend, Catherine, who has been working in Rome since graduation. We went to Greece together in 2003 and had a blast so we were able to catch up; we also had her show us to the best gelato and cappuccino places in the city and boy were they delicious. Afterwards, we headed to St. Peter’s to try and get a seat inside the church for the Pope-led mass. To our dismay, we needed to have gotten tickets way in advance and all the time we were waiting in line for (a few hours that stretched all around the Vatican-we were relatively close to the front) was useless. BUT fortunately Peter saw a guy with extra tickets and gave us two! We got really excited to go in except for when the gates opened. When people were allowed to go in, I am not exaggerating one bit when I say that they all turned into ruthless animals! Everyone ran to the front, jumped fences, pushed each other to the side, just to get a seat inside the church! No decency or courtesy…I was seriously appalled and disgusted. Something like that ruthlessness should not be occurring in a kind of religious setting let alone the Vatican during Easter! I can’t believe the way these people were acting. Anyway, we got in and got great seats near the center aisle and, again, basically had the Pope brush right beside us. I have amazing pictures to prove that too. The mass was expectedly long, but awing. It was amazing to be INSIDE St. Peter’s for the occasion. We thought nothing could top that. Boy, were we wrong again.

Waking up around 5am to get to the Vatican early enough to get a seat on Easter Sunday was quite a daunting task considering the potential amount of crowds we were expecting to face. We also were aware that we needed tickets to get a seat inside the square but we accepted that we would just have to stand in the back with most people to watch the mass on the big screens. BUT fortunately my friend Peter again found someone with two extra tickets and we were let in and got seats in the front section below the altar! We couldn’t believe our luck and how things were working out. We knew we had to take a lot of pictures because we wouldn’t even believe ourselves at where we were and how things worked out so well.

I flew out later that evening with a slight tan and an album of memories incomparable to most. Best Easter yet!

So on my way back to Belgium from Washington State, I stopped in Washington, DC, for the weekend. It was really nice catching up with my old friends there. Caught up with Eric (my close Cuban-outcasted friend), Karen (one of my closest friends I met in Guadalajara-Real Worlder!), Christian (my never-ending support and friend who is always there for me when I need her), Juan (token friend, HAHAHA!!), and Ozzie (close friend from college whose wedding I will be in soon…right?). Hung out in Georgetown and then met up with everyone in Adams Morgan to do the whole bar thing and, as expected, had an amazing time. Too bad all my friends couldn’t have made it. I miss those guys.

I made it back to Brussels and was pushed into a Valentines Auction. As president of the student government, I was obligated to take part of our fundraiser to be auctioned. We made a lot of money and I was sold for a pretty good amount, I like to think at least. I took this girl out for an evening of fun who turned out to be really nice. She’s from Bombay, India, and is a very well-rounded gal. We just saw a movie, had dinner, went to a few bars, and ended the night at a club. Good times.

The following weekend I went to Cologne, Germany, for Carnival. It was AWESOME! It was like week-long Halloween party with people’s only goal is to drink and have a good time. Just like Oktoberfest, the Germans are a phenomenal people. Not a single fight (unlike with Americans). I dressed up as a pirate all weekend and I can undeniably say I have never seen so many amazing costumes, aside from the endless amounts of Arab and Mexican costumes. Which made me think whether I should even dress up or just be myself, a Mexican. Either way it was fun. We got there on a Saturday and started the day at a parade outside the city and partied until the sunrise. Sunday was no different but me and my friends made it a bonding day. By bonding, I mean rode bumper-cars for at least 8 consecutive times…could have been the highlight of the trip; except for when one friend accidentally kicked a ball another friend won at carnival game on top of the bumper car tent…actually, that was kinda funny. The next day was perhaps the most fun since it was the highlight of the whole week. People from around the world flood the streets of Cologne to watch a 7 hour parade which seemed endless! I am pretty sure it went down every single street in that city…man, it was so long. Needless to say I didn’t even see more than 15 minutes of it. We just stayed in our rotation of hopping from beer tent to beer tent and dancing with the locals. At one point in time I remember a German throwing me up in the air during their city’s chant: VIVA COLOGNE! I was scared for my life but then I realized this is Carnival! Live it up! So we did and continued to integrate ourselves in the German custom of drinking, dancing, and singing with arms interlocked swaying back and forth…simply an awesome time.

Now, I am overwhelmed with school work and stressing about finalizing my dissertation topic. It has evolved tremendously from what it previously was and the only thing I am certain is that it involves the Middle East and politics and, perhaps, religion. It also seems that I have a sick obsession with Iran so I will probably use Iran as a centerpiece of my work of art. Til next time…

So, I took another long break from writing my blogs for a variety of reasons, but now I’m back and we’ll see how much I’ll get back on top of it. January flew by and there wasn’t anything too exciting besides the normal Belgian weekend of going out with friends to the usual places.

Towards the end of the month I had to attend to some family business back in Washington State and got to see a lot of my relatives whom I haven’t seen in years. Fortunately, I was able to catch up with cousins and reconnect our separate and extremely different lives. Aside from our natural commonality of having the same grandparents we don’t have much in common. We all have extremely different pasts and it is easy to see that we will have very different futures, but I am happy to share that we are all blind to which paths we are each on. My relatives see blood as a binding gift from God that nothing or nobody can divide. No matter where I have been, what I have done, or how bad or good of a person I am, they will each invite me into the comfort of their arms without hesitation. We do accept that we all have our differences, but we know we can always go to one another for whatever reason imaginable and they will help you with whatever you need. I also have to point out that I have a big family of almost 50 cousins, so it is tough to keep in touch and up to date on who has how many kids and what they’re doing with their lives. But when I go back to Washington I know I can continue the conversation I had with them from four years before. I think the toughest part is not being a part of everybody’s daily lives, but it’s understood that we all have different lives to lead. I am thankful for my cousins, my entire family for that matter, and I can’t wait to pick up on the conversation I last had with them.

With that in mind, I have to say something about my uncles and aunts who have been through hell and back for us 3rd generation Mexican-Americans. My grandparents did everything they could so their kids could have better lives and they are doing the same for us (and which we will do for our children). As any normal humans, they have their problems and issues to overcome but it is important to stress that they are the ones who instilled in us our morals and to value the gift of our family. Each one of them approaches each one of us (their nieces and nephews) as their own children and care deeply for us and I think they know we feel the same way about them. I can’t ever express my gratitude for their being a part of my life. In all, my trip back to Washington was a refresher and reminder that family lasts forever whether we are physically present or not. Far or close, we can pick up on the last conversation we left off on. I can’t wait to pick up the conversation I last left off on with my Tio Manuel.

Oh, and the picture above is my nephew, Antonio, the newest generation in my family.

It’s been a while since I last submitted an entry. After my birthday festivities, finals came around and I took off for Texas. I got there the day before my mom’s 50th birthday celebration and met up with my family and extended family. The party was a hit. Live band. Personalized champagne from Champagne, France. Mariachis. Dancing. Tequila. Great company. Two of my mom’s sisters were able to attend, my Tia Vicky and Tia Celia, along with my Tio Lionel and cousins, Sonja, Celia, and Cristina. Of course, we had lots of other friends from around the country as well that made it very special for my mom. Unfortunately due to the torrential snow in the northwest United States, my brother, Rudy, and two other of my mom’s sisters, my Tia Betty and Tia Francis, missed the party but made up for it the day following. It was an awesome and I could tell my mom had a blast. I still can’t believe she’s 50. She definitely has a timeless soul and an ageless smile.
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For the following week, I was fortunate to spend a lot of quality time with my brother, Rudy, who is always stuck working in Washington State and doesn’t get to visit as much as we would like, and his son, my nephew, Antonio. We went out a lot and I was able to meet up with my good ole Harlingen friends who never let me down and know how to have a good time despite there only being one bar to go to in Harlingen. I have to point out that Natalie D. never let me down and was always game for going out.

I also got to hang out with the parents a lot and even with my other brother, Carlos, his wife Norma, and their four million children…well, it seemed that way. Haha. The three little girls, not including the mini-Carlos and other little one on the way, were quite a handful. You can’t avoid their love for life and relentless desire to run their little bodies to the ground. I don’t know how my bigger-than-life parents handle them on a constant basis.

My annual Christmas party came back with a vengeance, literally, on Christmas night! Haha. ALL my friends that were in town made it over and we had Rudy dress in a Hawaiian skirt and hat as the bartender who made sure we all had a good time…definitely did. Yara and Mona weren’t happy with me by the end of the night, but they know Fez can never get too sour for too long…haha.

As you can expect, my time at home flew by. I’m glad I was able to see my parents and recharge my motivation and humility to move forward with life so it was sad leaving especially since I have no idea when I’ll be home again…maybe next Christmas? Why do we have to grow up so quickly and leave the house? Someone remind me. Oh yeah, that’s right…time doesn’t let us be irresponsible forever.

I returned to my “grown-up home” in Brussels with my friend from home, Summer, who has a tradition of accompanying me on extravagant new years parties. This year was Paris and I had the best new years yet. We got there a couple of days early and did all the touristy stuff. We visited the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, all the good stuff. Summer took excessive amounts of pictures, per the usual, and I got frustrated, per the usual. We started New Years night at the Moulin Rouge Restaurant pretty early at about 9pm and didn’t leave the place until about 5am…I think. We met some cool people while we were there. We started to hang out with some guys from southern France, and then a couple from Nice, France, and then a couple from Germany…I think the Frankfurt area. It’s funny how we were lifelong friends by midnight. Anywho, we danced and drank the night away like ballers and two bottles of champagne. Oh, and by the way, apparently Europeans don’t do the whole count-down for new years…very upsetting since everyone suddenly said it was new years and we had to toast…totally missed out on the whole drama of it all…oh well. It was an awesome time.

We headed back to Brussels on New Years day to catch up with some friends that were already back from vacation and had a good time. Jordan, Tara, and Justin made it out to give Summer a last hoorah and we definitely did. She finally took off back home and now I’m back at the “real” world or whatever it’s called for students.