May 6

Puerto Nariño & the Amazon Part 2.

When we weren’t socializing with forest animals, we would walk to nearest pueblo, Puerto Narino. It’s an ecological community of about 6,000 indigenous people and zero motor vehicles. The epic rains caused heavy flooding so the young people spent every afternoon playing water basketball and sloshing around in the muddy waters.

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All the sidewalks were flooded so they set up an extensive zigzag of planks along the water front.

pin it!We were only 3 of maybe 10 tourists in Puerto Narino so it was surprisingly hard to find restaurants  that would feed us. Every time we walked into what appeared to be a food establishment, someone would say that the cook went home, or we came too late, or they weren’t really open. Fortunately, we found a fellow named Alfredo who had a river-front restaurant, and since we were his only customers, we deemed him our personal chef. Everyday we would stop by, tell him what time we wanted to eat, and we’d come back a couple hours later to elaborate home made meals with endless fresh lemonade. All for about $3.50!

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Jan 28

I Love City Snow.

I was in sunny San Francisco when the first blizzard of the season hit NYC. I love a good snowstorm, so I hoped for another one, and it finally came. It snowed all night, so the first thing I did in the morning was run to my kitchen window to see how many recognizable forms had been transformed into amorphous marshmallows.

The entire backyard was completely white, and the only movement came from birds fluttering and bouncing comically from flimsy branch to flimsy branch. The sun was doing that crazy thing where it peeks through the clouds and it looks as though Jesus himself is shining a light on Brooklyn.

With all signs of hazardous weather in the past, I armed myself with  3 cameras (4 if you include my phone) and ventured out into the wintery abyss. I had never seen city snow like this, and I think it made everyone feel like a kid again. Neighbors were chatting and joking while shoveling the sidewalks and stoops. Kids in giant puffy jackets were shoving handfuls of snow into their mouths. And then there were puppies. Oh god, I don’t think there’s anything I love more than dogs frolicking in the snow. I’m not sure if it’s me projecting my joy upon them, but they look SO damn happy.

I need to stop smiling. My face is starting to hurt.

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The view from my kitchen.

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On the roof.

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Overheard neighbors chatting.
“After I finish this sidewalk, I have to find a way to dig my car out.”
“Oh man that sucks. Which car is yours?”
“Not sure.”

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I’m so not afraid of you.

pin it!I think it would be fun to make little snow men with fruit faces on your friends’ stoops or in really awkward places throughout the city.

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I think I’m becoming a pancake person.

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Fort Greene Park was a wonderland. People of all ages came with their toboggans, trash can lids, cross-country skis, and cafeteria trays to slide down that little hill.

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This is Shoko! He is the protector of Adelphi Street.

Posted by Jen at 3:49 pm — 1 comment
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Aug 22

Wandering the wild west.

I recently had the opportunity to work on a project in Buffalo Gap, a tiny town in the middle of the Lone Star State. Coming from NYC, I had no idea what to expect. I envisioned driving through the night on a narrow, 2 lane highway and pulling over at a dingy gas station with flickering florescent lights. The locals along with tired transcontinental truck drivers (with mustaches) gather at the neighboring bar/pool hall to feed their bellies and feed the juke box cranking out an all-American soundtrack by CCR, Toby Keith, and Neil Diamond. Maybe some Bruce Springsteen.

My Texan fantasy never materialized, as I was always exhausted after 12-13 hour days and would lose motivation to socialize. I generally wound up watching shows about giant fish or jungle survival on the National Geographic Channel in my hotel room. Or Egypt documentaries on the History Channel because that dominates approximately 78% of their programming.

Fortunately, I’m a morning person, so every time I had a day off, I would wake up at the crack of dawn and venture out into the Big Country to explore. The lushness and beauty of the countryside totally won me over. I miss the crunchy gravel roads, the friendly farm animals, and the 9:30pm sunsets.

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Posted by Jen at 11:08 pm — 3 comments
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Aug 8

Bent By Elephants

The most valuable things I took from Montreal were a desire to learn French, and a CD by Bent by Elephants. When Vic and I stumbled upon their CD release party at Divan Orange, we were blown away by their talent. Their set was short, and I wished they would play it over. And over. And over.

This orchestral/folk/pop band is relatively unknown outside their native city and I hope they build a large enough following to warrant many shows in NY in the future. Guys, this band is REALLY good. Please sample their incredible sound. Their CD is on iTunes and all that good stuff.

BENT BY ELEPHANTS – Emma Lake from Mitch Fillion (southernsouls.ca) on Vimeo.

Posted by Jen at 2:27 pm — comment
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