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Complete Archives | Previous | Next Stranger in a Strange Land Newsletter July 1st, 2002Hello Everyone,
Yet again pain and a bad mood has come an gone: for one thing I had a tick in a uncomfortable area that was very stubborn and then there's girl gossip that I'm sure none of you want to hear...(or was it that I don't want to get into? on of those I'm sure). But all's well again. It's troubling and comforting I suppose: life goes on as usual really wherever you are...well, it was definitely more troubling this weekend but I'm appreciating it more. The good thing really is that you can just pick-up from where you left off because things are really the same wherever you go. Of course, by 'everywhere' I mean Europe and America because I haven't been anywhere else. ('Eli you're so Eurocentric' I know, I'm sorry. It's hundreds of years of conditioning: the Man has programmed my conditioning. Even my conditioning has been conditioned.)
(oh and don't mind if I spell things like 'reallz' or 'Geryon': this keyboard is almost exactlz the same as the ones I know except the 'y' and 'z' keys are switched. :shrug:)
Anyway, on to some actual news, that is after all what you are all paying for...oh wait you're not, but FINE I'll give some anyway. This last week I've been working at a volunteer work camp where six other volunteers and I have been helping re-build an old barn to become a 'give-away' shop. Before I say who for and what a give-away shop is I must describe this 'barn,' because it was the most pathetic excuse for a permanent structure I have ever seen. It was so broken down a few people could have demolished it in less than a day. And we did. There were really no walls or ceiling. There were only very old weak, rotting boards and some rusty frames. But it is now coming along and the brick base is taken care of and probably all the boards are ready, and the door and the windows are very nicely painted by some American guy. Now we just have to wait for it to stop raining.
The people who want to do all this are "squatting" the land, a house and this old barn. In the Netherlands if land or buildings are not used for over a year people are legally allow-ed to move in for free! You will never get something like that in the USA: That's our property and we can waste it however the hell we want. But we volunteers are sleeping in tents, which I don't look forward to tonight because it has been raining for awhile... And these volunteers are wicked cool. There's five girls, two from Germany, one from Sweden, one from Belgium, and one from Scotland and one guy from Belgium. The Scottish woman (she's the oldest here: 33) is a fun and the most hard working among us. She and I have a mutual understanding I think as citizens of shameful imperialistic countries and she wishes she had homeschooled. One of the German girls moves and talks as if she is retarded but is intelligent and drives a car... I don't know what to think. I admit she kinda makes me uncomfortable, plus when she saw that I had gotten two postcards that had women with bare-bottoms (one from London, one from Amsterdam, and I have one from Hamburg too!) she said 'I didn't know you were that kind of guy!' To which I responded, 'You mean one that likes naked women? Yes, I'm afraid so.' Anyway, the other German girl is really funny mischievous girl. Well, mischievous is putting it nicely: she was one of those girls who will admit (she did) that she toys with people and is very charming and cute: a 'bad news girl': the type of girl that, shamefully, I cannot resist. No, I've actually done quite well and she is a lot of fun to joke around with. Then the Swedish girl is wicked cool too: she is so fun to joke around with and has a great laugh. She is beautiful too. She's actually Korean by blood incase you're imagining blond hair, blue eyes, and literally white skin. Then the two Belgians! They're 'the two' because they recently became a couple (possibly just for the rest of the week, possibly longer). And they're both really cool. Bart, the guy is one of the most politically sarcastic and humorous people I have ever met. He also has a really cool face, I don't know why but an interesting character to it. And the Belgian girl is wicked sweet, the type of person who likes to hug a lot and really looks at you when you laugh, I don't know how to explain it. Oh! and of course our leader: Florian from Holland is really great guy. Sometimes he worries too much about being responsible and feeling bad about what he's done but we're helping him. This evening we started to give him negativity points: he got ones for “I have never experienced anything great” and “I'm too light.” I'm joking really, he's a cool guy.
And so are all the people who live here, in fact they are very nice! So nice that I feel kinda bad because I just realized that they are being charged per minute for me being online, not unlimited like I have at home! Well I'll pay them back. Don't worry Mom. :) Ok talk to you all later! Thanks to everyone who responded to the last newsletter.
with love,
Eli |
