Thursday, March 29, 2012
KDog and The Doctor
The radio silence for the last couple weeks has not been because I quit blogging again (as I'm sure you all thought it was) but because my dear friends KDog and The Doctor came for a visit. I've known KDog and The Doctor since I was quite young. It's funny to think of how are relationship has changed over 20 some-odd years.
When I was probably around 5 or 6, they were friends with my parents. Like all of my parents' friends they were always kind to me when they would come over for dinner or whatever. I often babysat my siblings while my parents went out for their weekly trivia night with the pair. As I got older and band and softball and other social things started to take over my life, their daughter (previously mentioned on this blog, The Quitter) started babysitting for my siblings.
When I moved off to "the big city" for college I kind of lost touch. It'd been several years since I'd had contact with them, though I still received occasional updates from my parents. I was finishing my last semester of college and had accepted a job at a bank (not my long term plan, but a little better than retail and enough to pay the bills until I could get a "real" job - something at least somewhat marketing related.) I was on a break at my first day of training and saw I had a missed call from my mom. I called her back and she said, "So, you need to send KDog your resume."
I was quite confused but could only ask so many questions given that I was surrounded by co-workers/trainers. I vaguely remembered my parents mentioning a few years prior that KDog and The Doctor had started some kind of textbook company, something about science and homeschooling. Couldn't really remember. Mom seemed really excited so I called her back later and got more details. A month or so later, I was their Advertising Manager (talk about finding a "real" job - yeah baby!!)
The beginning was a little rough. I'd always planned to have a big corporate job, and suddenly I was back in the little town I grew up in (and hated) in an office comprised biggest mish-mash of people you've probably ever seen. It wasn't what I'd pictured, but I quickly began to recognize the value of working for a small, family owned company, and reporting directly to one of the owners. I was young and unexperienced, but I was interested and ready to learn. I was given tasks and freedom that would have never been allotted to a fresh out of college newbie in the corporate world.
As I continued to work for them they became not just supervisors, but mentors and friends. I valued their input on my work and my life. When they sold the company and things got nasty between the new owners and myself, they backed me 110%. They love and care for me so much that I've come to regard them not just as friends, but as another set of parents.
And after all that, they came down to visit me in my happy place!! We had a wonderful week, visiting pretty much the same places visited during the Three Crazy Gringos trip. But mostly we just enjoyed each other's company.
As I continued to work for them they became not just supervisors, but mentors and friends. I valued their input on my work and my life. When they sold the company and things got nasty between the new owners and myself, they backed me 110%. They love and care for me so much that I've come to regard them not just as friends, but as another set of parents.
And after all that, they came down to visit me in my happy place!! We had a wonderful week, visiting pretty much the same places visited during the Three Crazy Gringos trip. But mostly we just enjoyed each other's company.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Thanks Peyton
**I wrote this post the day after the press conference announcing that Peyton Manning would no longer be playing for the Indianapolis Colts. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to edit it until now and thus am posting much later than planned. The events that have since occurred regarding the Colts will undoubtedly be covered in a future post. On the plus side, the extra time has allowed me to link to post that far more eloquently expresses what I have attempted to state here.
Fight2type has typically been a personal blog centering around, well, me. I've always wanted to write about other things, but frankly with the infrequency at which I have written in the past, it just didn't happen much. Now I am starting to write a bit more, and with such an epic event yesterday (*at the time the post was mostly composed), I feel I must write.
Yesterday afternoon, Indianapolis Colts Quarterback, Peyton Manning, and owner, Jim Irsay, announced that after 14 years, Peyton would be leaving the Indianapolis Colts. I've mentally debated how to approach this subject. Re-cap the press conference, give highlights of game winning throws, analyze the decision that was made? In the end, I think I'd just like to say thank you to Peyton Manning.
For most of my young life Indiana was a basketball state and a racing state. The Colts were there, but they never really did anything. Frequently the games couldn't even be watched on TV because of black outs due to lack of ticket sales. In fact, back then, I didn't even care about football.
For many NFL players, I feel like it's all about them. How many passes can I catch? Whose rushing record can I break? What team will pay me more to come play for them? For Peyton (and obviously, I'm not him, I could be completely wrong) I feel like it was always about playing the best football he could play. He has such a wonderful mind for the game. He studied, he motivated his teammates, he appreciated his fans. Regardless of how many years the Colts have been in Indianapolis, Peyton brought us football.
If it weren't for Peyton, we wouldn't have a Super Bowl title, we wouldn't have a new stadium, we might not even have a team! Without all of those things, we definitely wouldn't have hosted a Super Bowl. He even helped convert this previous football hater (and I do mean HATER) into a ravenous fan with a fantasy team. Peyton put Indy on the map in the football world. Add to that the millions he's put into the city of Indianapolis with the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital, not to mention all the other charities he's contributed to.
So Peyton, thank you! Thank you for countless long bombs into end zone and a couple QB sneaks, for breaking a multitude of franchise and NFL records, for keeping us on the edge of our seats every Sunday, for never running into the stands to punch a fan, for never giving less than 100%, for bringing Indianapolis a Super Bowl title, for making ME a football fan, for all those seconds ticking off the clock as I screamed, "SNAP THE BALL," for openly admiring the men you worked with (except that 'idiot kicker' who deserved to be called an idiot in the moment), for the, literally, laugh out loud commercials ('Can you sign this for my brother, Eli? He's a big fan!), for supporting our city and calling it home. Thank you!
At this point, Colts fans don't know what the future means for you. But this Colts fan (and I'm sure many others) knows what you've meant to us. I won't abandon my team because we've lost an amazing player, but I'll never forget what that player did for our team and our city. Wherever you go, wherever you play, there will be cheers from Indy as that laser-rocket arm throws touchdown passes - as long as you're not playing the Colts! Thanks Peyton, and best of luck. Come back when you're ready to coach!
**A far more eloquent Thank You than mine.
At this point, Colts fans don't know what the future means for you. But this Colts fan (and I'm sure many others) knows what you've meant to us. I won't abandon my team because we've lost an amazing player, but I'll never forget what that player did for our team and our city. Wherever you go, wherever you play, there will be cheers from Indy as that laser-rocket arm throws touchdown passes - as long as you're not playing the Colts! Thanks Peyton, and best of luck. Come back when you're ready to coach!
**A far more eloquent Thank You than mine.
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Fluent? Bilingual? Neither?
When I was a small child my aunt started teaching me words that she learned in her high school Spanish class. Basic counting, the alphabet, body parts, words I had only learned in English a year or two before. In elementary school, local college students would come once/week for an after school program where they would try to teach us a few words. It wasn't until high school that I had the opportunity to take a real Spanish class. I completed 3 years of high school Spanish, spent a year as an exchange student in Costa Rica, returned the States and Minored in Spanish in college. Still, every opportunity I had to speak Spanish was a struggle. The person speaking to me was required to slow their speech pace to a crawl, and I had to rack my brain to put together a sentence. Ok, it wasn't quite that bad, but pretty close.
Through the joy of a store mis-marking their product, and Will being in the right place at the right time, I got (as a Christmas present from Will) all 5 levels of the Rosetta Stone program. When I made the decision to move back to Costa Rica, I was determined my Spanish would be better this time. For about a month I spent 4-6 hours/day doing the Rosetta Stone program (I don't recommend this by the way!) I actually was able to move through it pretty quickly, because I wasn't really learning much new vocabulary. I was however, speaking in full, grammatically correct sentences.
With no one to really practice with, I wasn't sure if my skills had actually improved or not. I jumped on my plane, flew down to CR and hoped for the best. It only took me (and my Tica family) a couple weeks to realize the difference in my abilities. Suddenly I was following conversations without feeling exhausted afterward. Eventually, I was actually contributing to conversations, and not just when I was asked a direct question. My work had paid off.
Now, don't get me wrong. Rosetta Stone is not necessarily the key to mastering a language (though I do believe its method is great and it is the reason I can speak more fluently now). And in fact, I haven't even come close to mastering Spanish. While I consider myself fully communicative (I almost never find myself in a position where I don't know what's going on and/or can't get my point across) I don't consider my fluent.
This has become a topic of conversation among myself and other ex-pats. What defines fluent? Is there a difference between fluent and bilingual? If I'm "fully communicative" should I be calling myself fluent, rather than "Conversationally Fluent" which is the term I generally prefer to use. Can I ever truly be bilingual if I didn't grow up speaking the language?
At my previous job, one of my responsibilities was to give English diagnostic exams. We rated speaking using interview style question with increasing difficulty (more challenging questions required the use of past and future tenses) and then rated the speaker on a 0-4 scale (including half points). A zero was a non-speaker (like if I tried to speak Mandarin) and four was a native speaker. No one ever got a four. I was also responsible for conducting interview with prospective teachers. While Spanish was not a requirement, it was always good to know what skills they had. I always found it weird when someone listed fluent on the resume, but then when we switched to interview questions in Spanish, they didn't even speak as well as me.
The definition of "fluent" according to http://www.merriam-webster.com/ is:
1 a. Capable of flowing
b. Capable of moving with ease and grace
2 a. Capable of using a language easily and accurately
b. Effortlessly smooth and flowing
c. Having or showing mastery of a skill or subject
Focusing on number 2, generally I'm capable of using Spanish easily, though not always accurately (from a grammatical stand point). I'd say most of the time I'm can achieve smooth and flowing, though not effortlessly. I certainly don't display mastery.
The relevant definition of "bilingual" is "using or being able to use two languages especially with equal fluency." I can use two languages, but not with equal fluency, but it says "especially with..." so, not always. However, http://www.learnersdictionary.com (an ESL dictionary by Merriam-Webster) says it's simply, "able to speak and understand two languages." Well I can definitely do that!!!
So, am I bilingual, but not fluent? I've always thought someone who is bilingual is someone who speaks 2 languages as if they were both their native language. As if mastering Spanish isn't enough, now I don't even know how to define my Spanish capabilities!
The definition of "fluent" according to http://www.merriam-webster.com/ is:
1 a. Capable of flowing
b. Capable of moving with ease and grace
2 a. Capable of using a language easily and accurately
b. Effortlessly smooth and flowing
c. Having or showing mastery of a skill or subject
Focusing on number 2, generally I'm capable of using Spanish easily, though not always accurately (from a grammatical stand point). I'd say most of the time I'm can achieve smooth and flowing, though not effortlessly. I certainly don't display mastery.
The relevant definition of "bilingual" is "using or being able to use two languages especially with equal fluency." I can use two languages, but not with equal fluency, but it says "especially with..." so, not always. However, http://www.learnersdictionary.com (an ESL dictionary by Merriam-Webster) says it's simply, "able to speak and understand two languages." Well I can definitely do that!!!
So, am I bilingual, but not fluent? I've always thought someone who is bilingual is someone who speaks 2 languages as if they were both their native language. As if mastering Spanish isn't enough, now I don't even know how to define my Spanish capabilities!
Friday, March 02, 2012
Returning Home... except... not.
After nearly a year in my wonderful tropical paradise, I decided it was time to go home for a visit. (This was only mildly influenced by the fact that Indianapolis was hosting the Super Bowl.) I had a wonderful time. I visited lots of friends and family, drank good beer (something seriously lacking in Central America), and just generally enjoyed myself.
Breakfast at the airport. Last call for Gallo Pinto! Even if it's from Burger King, it had to be done.
On the plane, waiting to take off in the morning. Costa Rica mornings are so beautiful.
In Atlanta, Delta was kind enough to fly into a terminal with a brewery. GOOD BEER!! I knew I missed the States!
And what's a good beer without some Nachos. (Oddly, CR doesn't do nachos very well - this was a treat)
Pretty impressed by Delta's terminal. These charging stations were all over the place in waiting area. Regular plugs and USBs. Way to go Delta!
Can you say AWESOME!?!? So proud of my little Indy. We look so cool!!
Only in Indianapolis can you find a Rolls Royce parked outside a laundry mat...
... with a camera shy Weimaraner in the front seat.
Super Bowl Village!
Super Bowl Village!
Ah... Super Bowl Village!!!
Super Bowl super cool ice sculptures
Awesome!
What's a Indy Super Bowl without some Indy Cars? Go Giants!!!
I guess they can have a car too. Whatever.
Zipline Indy. So bummed I didn't get to do this. Guess I'll have to settle for my jungle ziplines.
I love our stadium!
Pretty much all buildings downtown had been converted into clubs.
With no cover before 5pm...
...we wondered in to check this one out. (Yes those were bounces houses you saw in the previous photos!)
The building previously known as Nordstrom, converted to The Huddle.
And what was once The Hampton Inn (I think) became The Bud Light Hotel. They actually changed (well covered) all the signs on the building. Rumor has it even towels, sheets, blankets, etc said Bud Light.
Greek Tony's breadsticks! So bad and yet soooooooooo good.
My adorable baby, taking a break, after ferociously playing with his buddy Jay.
My flight back was in the afternoon which allowed time for breakfast at Cafe Patachou (one of my favorite breakfast spots) As per usual, their coffee offerings were the Patachou blend, Patachou decaf, a flavored coffee and a single origin. How appropriate that the single origin would be from my beloved Costa Rica!
The trip was a whirlwind. The pictures only document a small portion. It completely excludes my awesome brother doing my hair, being rejected by Jimmy Fallon and alternatively creating our own Broad Ripple pub crawl, family Christmas, seeing friends' new places, a Thai Massage, shopping, watching the Super Bowl, etc.
The pictures are also incapable of capturing the odd feeling of being home, but not. For all of my life (except those first few I have no memory of) I have lived in Central Indiana. I moved from the small town outside of Indianapolis, where I grew up, to the big city for college and eventually bought a house in the suburbs (because that's what you do when you graduate - or so they tell you). While I never had much love for the small town I grew up in, I do love Indy. Maybe it's not perfect and maybe it's not where I'll end up, but I like it. I had a house, dogs, a car, my friends, nearly all my family within a one hour radius. It was home.
So, like any normal girl, I sold what I could, packed the rest and fled the country. There's a saying (and I'm far to lazy to actually look it up to make sure I'm getting it right) that "You can never go home again." I've never really understood it until now. I had a great time while I was there. It was so awesome to see people that I've desperately missed over the last year. But it's just not home anymore. Doesn't mean it won't be again one day, it's just not now. It was like being a tourist in my own town. I don't know that there are really words to describe it, but I didn't feel like I was home until the wheels touched down in Costa Rica.