Short Term Memory

Flat Stanley visits DC

stmemory — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 03:08:28 +0000

Have you heard about Flat Stanley, the boy who was accidentally squished by a bulletin board? Stanley is very, very flat; but otherwise fine. The children’s book goes on to tell how Stanley discovers some real advantages to being flat. He can slide under doors, and even fold himself up small enough to fit into an envelope and be mailed to California for vacation.

This year my 2nd grade cousin read about Flat Stanley and her class made paper dolls to send to cities all over America. A flat version of my cousin visited me in DC and like any first-time visitor, we had to do a Monument tour. We also had dinner and margaritas at Lauriol Plaza, but thought it best to keep those photos to ourselves.

We started with the Washington Monument.

On the way to the Lincoln Memorial, Flat "Stanley" lost an eye. She's covering it up with one of her braids. She was a good sport though and kept smiling the whole time.

We drew on an eye and kept going. Here's Flat "Stanley" across the Tidal Basin from the Jefferson Memorial.

And to wrap up our tour, we visited the newest memorial on the National Mall, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

Fact or Fiction

stmemory — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:02:14 +0000

This weekend I had a double dose of Balkans history. I saw Angelina Jolie’s film, In the Land of Blood and Honey. It’s a complicated story centered around a Bosnian Serb man and a Bosnian Muslim woman during the war in the 90′s. It was difficult to watch in parts, and I was a little skeptical about the ending, but overall a good film.

This weekend I also started Tea Obreht’s book, The Tiger’s Wife, which is set in an unnamed Balkan country. It’s a region I know relatively little about. I was in high school during the Bosnian War. And while I was vaguely aware it was going on, like most high-schoolers in America, I wasn’t really paying attention. I remember hearing the word Kosovo for the first time in a model-UN program one summer and I thought it was a fictitious place made up for our scenario. Only later did I learn that Kosovo is very real.

If I had the time or patience I would pick up a non-fiction book about the Balkans and educate myself. But let’s be honest, sometimes a long day of work at State feels like several hours of non-fiction. When I get home I’m ready for something different. So if I do have time (and my favorite TV shows aren’t on) I’ll usually reach for a novel.

On a lighter note

stmemory — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:25:05 +0000

The last few posts have been intense (turtle egg poaching and street dogs!). So for a lighter note I dug up a photo I took in Nicaragua that always makes me laugh. I saw this sign advertising jewelry and watches one day on the way to the hardware store in Managua and almost crashed my car staring at it. I went back to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me. Sure enough, there was a woman vomiting pearls.

Suggestions for captions are encouraged…

street dog, sweet dog

stmemory — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:35:17 +0000

Two of our friends were the talk of our Managua neighborhood last year when they adopted a skinny street dog and helped her become a lovable household pet. The local neighborhood guys called her cucaracha (cockroach) and thought the couple was crazy for taking her into their home. After feeding her, getting her healthy, and patiently loving her, cucaracha was reborn as Tila. Tila is a sweet, happy, slightly shy and very friendly dog.

Evan Bliss, the husband in this adventurous duo, is a talented singer/songwriter. Check out this incredible song he wrote and video about rescuing street dogs.

White Christmas

stmemory — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 01:25:24 +0000

In a way…

Marco Island, Florida

Getting mad about turtle egg soup

stmemory — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:59:07 +0000

In October, I visited my husband in Nicaragua for what turned out to be a disastrous weekend. We rented a beach house on the Pacific coast with three other couples and for at least one half of each couple, something went terribly wrong (although I admit I’m SO glad I went). For couple #1, an absurdly designed glass pane connected to the gas stove exploded and it’s amazing we didn’t have to take anyone to the hospital. Couple #2 ended up in a bedroom with a leaky roof and woke up to a cold, wet bed. My husband (part of couple #3) was stung by a stingray and was in pain for several hours. And couple #4 ended up having to leave their car behind because the road was too muddy to get out the last day. They couldn’t go back until almost a week later to get it. Plus all the rain delayed my flight and I missed my connection back in Miami.

But there was an additional calamity that we all shared. On the second night of our stay, the caretaker of the house told us that there were turtles laying eggs on the beach. We all went with her, using as little light as possible so we wouldn’t disturb or confuse the turtles. When we finally got to the turtle, she was big and beautiful. She was clearly tired from her journey up the beach and laying eggs. Now she was using all the energy she had to cover up the nest and try to make it blend in with the sand around it. A group of us followed her as she slowly, heave by heave, made it back to the shoreline and slipped into the dark waves.

Photo taken by Mikell Carroll on a separate trip to Tola, Nicaragua.

A few of the people who stayed behind near the nest with the caretaker asked how long it would take for the eggs to hatch.

“Oh, the eggs have already been taken,” the caretaker said. “The guys were here earlier and all the eggs are gone.”

“Isn’t that illegal?” someone in our group asked.

“Well, they shouldn’t gather eggs during November or December. But in October it’s ok.”

“And do people respect that?”

“Generally they do, or they just take half.”

When I heard this I felt sick. After seeing that turtle struggle back to the ocean, exhausted, I wondered if she knew that it was all for nothing. Or if she felt satisfied, blissfully unaware that her eggs would never hatch but instead be eaten in a Sunday soup. Who knows what turtles feel. But our whole group felt awful and mad. I became aware of the men walking around the beach with flashlights, presumably looking for other nests. I wanted to call the police or go yell at these guys and tell them how wrong they were. But we all felt helpless and returned to our house, depressed.

Photo taken by Mikell Carroll on a separate trip to Tola, Nicaragua.

For several weeks after returning from Nicaragua, I had turtles on my mind. I thought back to when I lived in Nicaragua in 2002 and was offered to buy turtle eggs on the beach near Pochomil. No, I didn’t buy them. But looking through my old photos, I found a picture of the woman I was traveling with that day holding a bag of freshly purchased eggs.

It wasn’t illegal back then. According to this article, eating sea turtle eggs has been illegal in Nicaragua since 2005. And I haven’t found anything that says that it’s only illegal in November and December.

Fortunately, there are several groups working to protect turtles in Nicaragua, including the Nicaraguan Army and Navy.

Fauna & Flora International, along with other organizations, runs a campaign called Yo no como huevos de Tortuga (I don’t eat turtle eggs). They work on both the supply and the demand side of the equation. Part of the problem is that people collecting the eggs are poor and poaching turtle eggs brings in extra income. Fauna & Flora International works with communities to find alternative sources of income. USAID in Nicaragua supports hatcheries as well as informational campaigns and trainings in local communities to improve conservation and protection efforts.

I always knew turtle egg poaching was a problem, and obviously didn’t support it. But it wasn’t until I saw that mother turtle return to the waves with her eggs stolen that I actually got mad about it. There’s only so much I can do about it from DC. But this year when deciding how to distribute my CFC pledges, I chose to support a conservation organization that works with endangered turtles. It’s not something I had ever thought of supporting before this year. But I guess sometimes it takes having a personal connection, and possibly getting mad, to donate, volunteer, or actually do something about a problem you always knew about, but never really went out of your way to involve yourself in.

What cause have you encountered this year that has motivated you?

Hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful start to 2012.

A People without Murals

stmemory — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:45:48 +0000

How are we already half way through December?! I have three half-written posts that I’ll hopefully finish soon. But in the meantime, here are more murals near my house. This mural is located near 1786 Lanier Pl NW – near the intersection of 18th Street NW and Columbia Road.

According to Mural Locator, A People Without Murals is a Demuralized People is the oldest and only mural remaining in Adams Morgan created by a group of latino immigrant artists. It was brought back to life in 2005 by Sol & Soul, a D.C. artist-activist organization, with the collaboration of artist Juan Pineda.

and this isn’t too far away…

Tree carvings

stmemory — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:00:25 +0000

Last weekend after my husband took off back to Managua, I went on a long walk through Rock Creek Park so I wouldn’t get too sad alone in my apartment. I took a different route than I usually do and I was enjoying the new scenery. On the way back I started noticing all of the tree carvings. Some were sweet and others were just strange. Here’s a few.

Tracy + Juan

Me + You

D.B. + V.W. 8-95

Pickles

The Monk

Dana -n- TAJ -n- Ralph. Wait, who’s Ralph…

Anna and sunshine

Full and Thankful

stmemory — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:15:22 +0000

We had a quiet Thanksgiving for two this year. I ordered a fresh 4 lb turkey breast from Eastern Market instead of making the whole bird for just the two of us. It was so wonderful to have L here and I’m already counting the days until we see each other again at Christmas. I put him to work hanging up shelves, a spice rack and pictures. He put me to work cooking – we only ate out once. (Thank you Aunt Nancy!) But that’s fine with me, I’m happy to cook for more than just myself again. Here is our Thanksgiving Day menu.

1. Mashed potatoes and parsnips with roasted leeks

2. Haricots verts and sugar snap peas with shallots and pine nuts

3. Provençal turkey breast with jus

4. Grilled carrots with balsamic glaze

5. (not pictured) Cranberry-Apple pie

The Bridge Spot

stmemory — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 03:08:40 +0000

I’m counting down the days until L comes for Thanksgiving. We haven’t seen each other since early October, making this the longest stretch we’ve been apart so far. I’ve been missing him extra these last two weekends because I spent time over on the Eastern Market side of town, our old neighborhood. I like my new apartment, but the Capitol Hill still feels more like home.

On one of my trips over there I checked out the new murals under the bridge at Garfield Park – where L spent numerous Saturdays playing tennis. The Fridge sponsored over 30 artists to paint a section of the wall under the bridge, creating a huge mixed mural. The event took place over Halloween weekend. The Fridge also has an exhibit called Above the Radar until December 4 featuring nearly 70 graffiti and street artists from the Western United States.

Here are a few photos and a video of the work at the Bridge Spot.