How to destroy your phone in one easy step

Crap! I had a bottle of nail polish remover in my purse so I wouldn't forget to take off my nail polish later, but I found out what a brillant idea that was about one hour later. The lid came undone ever so slightly and sloshed sticky smelly liquid all over my purse. Then when it dried it made everything stick to the side of my purse. It's not like I carry around anything too important, but my phone was in there and now it looks like it went through the Battle of Gettysburg. The entire face was eaten away by the acetone in the nail polish remover and it is not a pretty sight. Fortunately, it can still make phone calls. I just can't see who I'm calling. My apologies in advance--stranger I call mother.

BTW it looks like I'm in the market for a new camera (lens damage due to sand??) AND phone. If you have any recommendations for either, please let me know.

Powerless

I started this blog excited to write posts quite frequently, but unfortunately have not lived up to that already, after only one post. I have an excuse though. A good one.

I have been powerless the past few days quite literally. A thunderstorm on Sunday knocked out power for a lot of the DMV, but in typical Maryland style, it won the race for taking the longest to restore power. I have been going to the university to hop on the wireless internet network at night, charging my cellphone at work, using a flashlight to get in the door, sweating at night in the humidity, and taking freezing cold showers in the morning. It's about time you restore the power Pepco! I have learned the worst part about a life without electricity is the lack of cold food and internet access. These two things are essential, and you don't appreciate them until you don't have them.

Welcome to Resonating Rhetoric

Hi Friends! Thanks for visiting me at Resonating Rhetoric. You might be asking all the usual questions you ask when you stumble upon a new blog.

How did I get from searching for "my cat can eat a whole watermelon", to a site on toe fungus infections, to buying vintage jeans on Ebay, to updating my facebook status, to stalking my friends on Twitter, to watching Lady Gaga's latest music video, to wikipedia, to playing Snood, to heaven knows where, to *you can almost take a breath* here. Well, I can't answer that question, but I can say, welcome.

I hope to amuse you, or at the very least, make you think. I hope to be your little monkey with cymbols, only cooler and more intellectually stimulating. You can never predict what I will post about next, but I will give you a clue--I study communication for a living, and my posts tend to be about "stuff" that interests me.

Ok, maybe that wasn't the best clue, because if you know anything about communication at all, you know pretty much EVERYTHING and ANYTHING can be related to it. So more or less, my posts are random. One day I might want to share an interesting article on a new technology and the next a personal commentary about why running with scissors is unadvisable (hint you probably enjoy your vision).

I had been blogging for over 5 years (@ Moonlight Masquerade and My Fulbright) followed by a short break during which I started to miss blogging, so I decided to create Resonating Rhetoric in hopes of getting back into the blogging groove again. I have high hopes of sharing interesting posts with you and having engaging conversations! So check back here soon, follow me, offer suggestions in the comments section, subscribe to my feed, hit the refresh button on your browser every 30 seconds in anticipation of my next post, whatever; just join me in my newest blogging adventure!

Oh, and P.S. yes, I did type "my cat" into Google, and it recommended that I search for "my cat can eat a whole watermelon." Dang. If only I had a cat. Or a watermelon.

Some stuff you just can't make up...

**Update** Whoa, I had no idea you could import/export blogs. I just imported my two old blogs right into this one, so now you see all my posts over the last 5+ years and not even have to click away. How handy dandy. Thanks Blogger!

Read This!

Want to find out about my Fulbright experience in a nutshell? Check out the article that I wrote for the Fulbright website by visiting this link:

http://fulbright.state.gov/fulbright/regionscountries/whereare/the-americas/uruguay/highlights/bly-story

(Thank you Mary for the opportunity to write it.)


It's difficult to sum up an experience of a life time. Writing this article got me reflecting about my time in Uruguay. What have I accomplished? What kind of impact have I left? What have I learned? What have gained? What have I lost? How have I changed? Where will the future lead?

In the midst of all those questions, I meant what I said at the end of the article. I know that a little part of my heart will always belong in Uruguay. Uruguay has has left some kind of impression on me and it will always be a part of my life.

Uruguay Elects a New President

There was quite a party Sunday night as thousands of Frente Amplio supporters took to the streets in Montevideo to celebrate the win of their presidential candidate, Pepe Mujica.


The results of the runoff followed pretty much just as the pre-election polls predicted. Mujica, the ex-guerilla fighter won 53 percent of the votes, beating out his opponent, Luis Lacalle.


Only minutes after Mujica was officially announced the winner of the election, a torrential downpour soaked the crowds gathered along the rambla. That didn't seem to bother anyone. In fact, soaking wet FA enthusiasts took to 18 de Julio (Montevideo's main street) celebrating the win of their party in a long victory march. Flags, fireworks, and Frente cheers abounding.


Mujica ended his short speech on election night with a phrase from Uruguay's national hero, Artigas, "ni vencedores ni vencidos"(There are neither victors nor those who have been defeated) in order to leave party differences aside and unite Uruguayans together under the new democratically elected leader.

Piriápolis, Uruguay

Piriápolis is a beautiful beach town in eastern Uruguay in the province of Maldonado. It is a great place to go to relax on the beach a catch a few rays of the hot Uruguayan sun without all the hustle and bustle of its more famous neighboring city, Punta del Este.


There's a great cable car (ski lift-like thing) you can ride on to the top of Cerro del Inglés where you can see a majestic vista of the whole coastal city. From the hill you can also see a glimpse of Montevideo on one side and Punta del Este on the other. There's also a the other cerros to climb including Cerro del Toro which features a statue of bull and natural spring water flowing out of his mouth. The cool water is all the more refreshing after the trek there.


There are also beautiful sunsets in Piriápolis. But that is nothing new. I'm firmly convinced Uruguay has the most beautiful sunsets in the whole world.

Teaching English in Montevideo

I realize that many of my posts on this blog are about things unrelated to my work as an English Teaching Assistant and have decided to remedy that. Let me tell you about the work I have been doing this year in Montevideo.

I have been working in two places since arriving in Montevideo.


Instituto de Profesores Artigas (IPA)

I worked in many different classes, with all of the years and shifts, but mostly in Language, Literature, History, and Culture. The professors asked me what I was most interested in teaching and my answer was usually something related to discourse analysis. As such, I am confident my students are better able to develop quality criticism of the texts they encounter daily.


Inspeccion de Ingles for secondary schools

I give conversation circles every Tuesday and Thursday for teachers in distinct areas of the city. The idea was to reach those who may need English support and to provide a more relaxed atmosphere to speak in English. I also visited the classes of some of the teachers at their respective high schools.

I also work in the office of the inspeccion where I focus my time mostly on the design, research, organization, and distribution of the monthly Teaching English Newsletter.

Thanksgiving

My Thanksgiving this year was hardly traditional. I spent the morning and afternoon visiting a local private school with my mentor from IPA. This was the first time I stepped foot inside a private institution since arriving in Uruguay to work in the public education system. The difference was quite noticeable, even though many of the same teachers work in the both the public and private sector. I'm not sure whether to attribute this to management, funding, student background, or support. Clearly, Crandon, the school I visited, is getting it right.


I took advantage of my visit on Thursday to teach the students about Thanksgiving in the United States. I talked about the history, the idea of giving thanks, the time spent with family, the American football, and of course the turkey. But turkey is next to impossible to find in Uruguay! Nobody likes it! I was worried about celebrating Thanksgiving without a big fat juicy turkey, but then my problem was solved.


A friend of a friend us over to his house for big Thanksgiving feast that he spent two days preparing. And it showed. His food was delcious. And not to mention the view from his apartment was spectacular. People are very generous and caring here.

I am very thankful for my time spent in Uruguay and for the many great friends I have made.