“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” “So live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act … more →

This is the beginning of a much larger post about reciprocity (in sociobiology reciprocal altruism), which has been lovely to experience. My notes: Juli and Andrea make arrangements for Charlie to attend private school. When Juli’s Se Habla La Paz school loses two large windows, Charlie and I show up to help with clean up. David, Rachel, Anastasia, and Belim also show up. David takes the lead on window extraction, while we others sweep and … more →

After a magical night at the One Hotel, with hot showers, air conditioning, and Internet – maybe the best $80 I ever spent – we’re back at Se Habla for Spanish classes. Our house is still with electricity and therefore water and air conditioning. Hoping that today is the day they return, but hard to know. Unlikely we’ll see Internet restored for much longer. Thankfully Se Habla and other other locales are connected. The city … more →

It’s Wednesday, three days post-Odile. We survived with relatively few traumas – some leaks and mopping and a very sleepless night – but La Paz is a mess. No electricity, no water, no Internet (we’re at a hotel lobby), long gas lines, no banks (therefore no cash). But our spirits are high. I’ll check in when things return to normal, hopefully by Friday. Lots of stories of kindness and community. The worst brought out the … more →

They got no sleep, have no power, no running water and no cell service but they called at 9AM this morning to say they made it through the hurricane with only slight flooding in their house. More to come as I hear news.