TheExpatJournals.com

I no longer live in Casco Viejo. It changed and/or I changed or time marched on to separate us, but in response to questions about how I saw the changes, and especially the mass eviction of squatters who had lived in those buildings for over 20 years, this is what I answered. (more…)

Honestly, I fear that when I do finally re-ascend from this computer screen, I’ll have no friends left! I haven’t been writing because typically, I’ve written about what I’ve done, where I’ve been, what I’ve learned and these days, leaving the house is typically only reserved for when it’s essential…like groceries. So since all I see or experience these days is really the inside of my apartment, what you get is the likes of my ‘Drawing The Line’ journal. And now this. (more…)

In what I have realized is an ongoing battle against nature and the elements, I have opted to surrender to aspects that previously fell into the category of never ending. And as someone recently said, I am learning which weeks I do NOT want to even be here next year. I beg to differ…next year, I think I’ll skip the entire month of April. Mayflies….swarms of them looking like termites or winged ants that you also get the privilege / curse of watching grow over the course of about 3 weeks. Just like watching some of the neighborhood kids, only in fast motion, these things at least triple in size, though fortunately, diminishing in numbers as the weeks pass. (more…)

A couple of weeks ago, I finally went down to the Sunday baseball game…the one that occurs on the beach in front of my apartment at low tide. One person I know who lives there says the noise is absolutely unbearable during a game. I can imagine. Between the beer and the music and the yelling and the music and the beer and the impact beer has on yelling…
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And no, I’m not talking about Bush’s visit last week. Isn’t that what they call Air Force One? I’m being literal. Honestly, sometimes life in Casco Viejo seems to fall into that category of ‘who could invent this stuff?’ And everytime, something rich unfolds, it just feels like this little part of the universe is something more special than most.
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I have written that what I love most about Casco Viejo is an intangible in the same way sparks fly when two people meet. You can’t put that in words that can adequately explain it, but you sure know it when you feel it. (more…)