Puerto de Iguzu

Yesterday I got on a bus. Today, after nearly 22 hours on the exact same bus, I arrived at the Argentine-Brazil border where we'll spend the next two days exploring the national park and getting sprayed by a giant-ass waterfall. From the montanas to la jungla in less than a day. Not bad work, but my legs and back haven't taken it lightly.

These long bus rides give you a lot of time to do some serious reading, writing, and thinking. Books I've read so far this week: The Namesake, Lahiri; You Shall Know Our Velocity, Eggars; and today I finishied Diary of a Bad Year, Coetzee. I haven't actually done very much writing, only sketches of things I want to write. I have to finish a poem, a short story, an introspective blog post, and a let-me-into-med-school-NOW letter in the next two weeks - so I don't think any of my notebook scribblings will be going to waste.

Gots to run. Later, all.

Booker T and the MGs

Working on these medical school applications is grueling work. I’ve only been at it for a few days since my family departed South Africa (we all had a wonderful time), but I already feel like I’m hitting the wall. The application process is really starting to pick up speed, however. Most of my recommendations have been distributed to the schools I’m applying to, and I’ve already received my first rejection letter. Don’t feel too bad; it was a public university in a state that puts high priority on residency. Although growing up in Seattle, Washington would have been fun, I didn’t. Also: I fully recognize that this is going to be the first of many rejection letters to be sent my way in the coming months. That’s just how this process works.

While I wasn’t actively working on applying while my family was around, I was doing a whole mess of relevant reading: Atul Gawande’s new book, Better, Tracy Kidder’s bio of Paul Farmer and his Partners In Health organization, Mountains Beyond Mountains, and Jerome Groopman’s, How Doctors Think. I highly recommend the first two, but worry that Dr. Groopman – while providing valuable insight about the cognitive traps that doctors can fall into when missing the correct diagnosis for patients –
comes off a bit pompous at times during his book.

The Paul Farmer biography tells an absolutely amazing story of a quirky and extraordinarily dedicated physician who was unwilling to allow his adopted patients in the poorest areas in the world to fall victim to heavy disease burden unfairly foisted on them by Structural Inequalities (one of Farmer’s many invented phrases to describe his anthropological and public health observations) that the most developed countries have historically demonstrated little or no interest in curbing. These Structural Inequalities continue to fuel epidemics in all societies, laying plain for everyone around the world the relationship between disease and social and economic development. But with Dr. Farmer’s influence, it seems, these issues have started to become more central points in important policy discussions about the most effective responses to pandemics around the world.

And Atul Gawande’s second book was an absolute pleasure, as expected. He has such an fantastic way of talking about important health and medicine issues through the stories of his patients, or, often, the patients of his colleagues. The narratives are usually fairly simple, if full of detailed doctorly description, but the themes that he brings out are poignant reflections of many of the most important issues being addressed by physicians and policy makers today. He also knows how to be self-effacing, when appropriate, which earns him points in my book.

Alright, I’m done with the book report. Now that I’m in writing mode and bored of working on these apps, maybe you’ll actually hear from me a bit more on this thing. It was a good way to help keep me going for my first 5 or 6 months here; I might as well try to finish strong. Hope you haven’t been losing too much sleep over my radio silence, but I’m trying over here. Holler.

Electronic odds and ends

Because I wouldn't want you guys to start suffering from a lack of content, here's some interesting stuff for you to check out/think about:

For those of you who don’t subscribe to my feed and are reading this directly off the website, I would like to take a moment to introduce you to the Greatest Contest Ever Held. Science Blogs – a place I have been known to waste a great deal of my time on the internets – in conjunction with Threadless – another site I have been known to frequent –
have joined forces to sponsor a t-shirt design contest. The designer of the most creative image in response to the prompt “Science is Culture” will be handsomely rewarded with cash and other prizes (including a sorely needed iPod). I’ve been turning over some ideas in my head – especially relating to the heavy Religious/Creationist bent of many South Africans I have come to meet in the past few weeks - but am not sure if I really have the technical knowhow, or creativity, to put together a winning proposal. In any case, if I win (or even place), I’m sure you guys will be the first to hear about it.

I would also like to let you guys know about Tim Fite’s new album Over the Counter Culture, which is quite good and quite free when downloaded from his website. It’s relatively spare Hip Hop production, but I know that many of you will agree with his take on the subject matter and some of you might even appreciate his flow. You can also hear him interviewed on this weeks’ episode of Sound Opinions, where I managed to hear about his newly released album in the first place. I’ve been hurting for new music as of late (my internet connection from the office here isn’t quite fast enough for me to feel comfortable downloading stuff from iTunes or other music sites), so it’s been nice to have something new to listen to.

As for my weekend: it consisted of a second viewing of Blood Diamond (Leo’s Rhodesian accent and slang stands up to my improved ability to discern a good accent from a bad one), a early morning trip to the beach for a few hours of body surfing, and reading the first half of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. Oh, and I've also started looking into getting my International Driving Permit for when I get my car in March. Not a bad weekend, certainly, but not the most exciting on record. Hope you all had great weekends, wherever you are in the world, and I’d love to hear from you if you find yourself at a computer with a moment or two on your hands. Talk soon.

A public letter to Chris

Dear Chris -

Go out and read Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman now now. (South Africans have this hilarious way of differentiating between doing something Just Now - which could be at any point in the future, and not necessarily soon - and Now Now - which means immediately. Acually, I think should put up a post about South African slang Just Now.)

In the first three pages of the book, Chuck blames his inability to have a fulfilling relationship on John Cusak (as Lloyd Dobler). And things only get better from there. I'll post an excerpt from page 2 below, but I think you'd like his deconstruction of Pop Culture as much as I do. I hadn't really read his stuff before, but one of my old coworkers at New York Cares told me he was awesome - I actually think that those words constituted the entirety of the e-mail she sent me about it - and I'm just getting around to reading it now.

Also, I'm feeling the blog. I mean, it's not as cool as mine (or your current roommate, Matt's), but it seems like you're getting the hang of it. Maybe you could spice things up with a section devoted to your obsession with Sad Bastard Music? Or maybe something about your penchant for Exorbitantly Expensive Denim? Those are just some thoughts.

Hope the 'Slope is treating you well, and I'll talk to you soon.

Hugs and Kisses (but don't tell Ariel),
Benny


From Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, page 2:
But whenever I meet dynamic, nonretarded Americans, I notice that they all seem to share a single unifying characteristic: the inability to experience the kind of mind-blowing, transcendent romantic relationship they receive to be a normal part of living. And someone needs to take the fall for this. So instead to blaming no one for this (which is kind of cowardly) or blaming everyone (which is kind of meaningless), I’m going to blame John Cusak.

I got a visa, I got a visa/ I got a visa, hey hey, hey hey!

I think that about says it all. For those of you keeping track at home (or those who read my earlier post), I decided to get a tourist visa - which, it turns out, doesn't even require a visit to the South African Consulate. This visa can be extended by either leaving the country every 90 days or through an application to the Home Affairs office - both of which can be done in a single day. Applying for the temporary residence permit proved to me too much of a hassle, and I think having an excellent excuse to leave the country every 3 months will prove to be a good thing.

I have also been spending some time trying to track down books, movies, &c. about life in southern Africa, and South Africa in particular. Most of what I have found - Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, the books of JM Coetzee, Cry the Beloved Country, Mandela's autobiography Long Walk to Freedom - center around a South Africa in the midst of Apartheid. And while these books give me a great deal of historical perspective on South Africa, I wonder if these books are now dated in a particular way.

Part of me feels that this books might still be relevant, and it is obvious to me why, for 45 years, fiction and nonfiction work coming out of South Africa focused on the issues of Apartheid. However, with the democratic elections of 1994 and 1999, I am hoping that the dialouge in South Africa has progressed some since these books and movies were penned.

Have any of you read books or seen movies that address post-Apartheid South Africa? I would love to hear about them - good, bad, or otherwise.


I also wanted to let you know that I'm currently deciding between the Friday the 19th and Saturday the 20th, but that my going away party will be at the Luca Lounge between 13th and 14th streets on Avenue B in the East Village. Hopefully I'll have a finalized date for you guys by tomorrow - check back here soon.