arubagirl

Election '09 Reading The Signs

Here we are, less than two months before Election Day, and everything is fairly quiet. Sure, the newspapers don't need to stress about filling the pages, as everyday there are about two dozen candidates from all (ALL!) parties willing to show off how intelligent they are on a certain subject. Sometimes, the results are pathetic, from all (ALL!) parties.

But it IS quiet, though. To me, four years ago at this point there was a lot more rallies, car parades, just more... everything. I'm trying to figure out if the reason why it's quiet is because it's the calm before the storm (of which we will have a taste Aug 7, the presentation of the political lists), or is it something else.

I have fond memories of obsessively refreshing FiveThirtyEight every single day during the U.S. election to see who is up, who is down and which state changed color. In Aruba we don't have such mathematical visions. We only have the art of counting the flags, reading the signs and observing the rallies. But, as I said everything is quiet. There are less flags overall on houses. There are less cars who are sporting decorations of their owner's party affiliation, but those that do, WHOA. It's less car with flag than it is flag with car. Perhaps the owners are trying to conserve energy by seeing if the car will just sail on the road. Hey, it could happen.

Where was I? Oh, right. Less. So, what gives? I don't know. I really don't. Could it be that the recession has hit the political parties and they're less inclined to print up flags and such? Are people still undecided and have therefore refrained from putting a sticker on their cars? I'm betting that's what the smaller parties wish for. Are more people now supporters of the main opposition party but are afraid to show their colors, and instead choosing to display none at all? Or are people going to vote anyway for the ruling party and just don't find it necessary to show that to the world?

End of September, we're going to find out what the answers are to those questions.

E Uso di e Lenga Materno

Awe IPA a publica den Bon Dia Aruba un articulo tocante Hulandes den ensenanza Arubano. E articulo ta argumenta cu pa via cu nos muchanan ta drenta scol basico y sinja Hulandes, esaki lo duna un "schock cultural y psychologico". E articulo ta sigui bisa cu muchanan ta sinja solamente for di cabez y no ta compronde kiko nan a caba di bisa. Finalmente, e autor ta bisa cu ta contra naturaleza pa e mucha hanja les den un idioma cu no ta esun materno.

Awel si. Mi ta kere cu mi por scirbi hopi cos riba esaki, pero lo mi PURBA di tenele cortico.

Un shock cultural y psychologico? Mi Dios, ta cuanto hendenan cu ta sufriendo di trauma no ta canando rond awor riba Aruba. Paso ta generashonnan LARGO a hanja les di e forma aki. Henter mi famia tin Papiamento como nan prome idioma, y tur a hanja les na Hulandes. Pero ami nunca a tende di 'shock psychologico'.

Sinjamento di cabez ta un risico, en berdad. Pero e ora ey ta  na e MAESTRO (bo sa, esun cu ta duna LES) pa wak pa esaki no pasa. Mi sa cu ta hopi anja cu mi no ta den basis mas, pero bo ta bisami cu skolnan no ta wak esaki mas? Kizas eynan mester bin un cambia.

Contra naturaleza? Ami no ta di acuerdo cu esey. Ami ta kere cu nos Rubianonan mester ta ORGUYOSO cu nos ta papia asina hopi idioma. Cu nos por hasta PENSA den dos idioma. Pero loke ami no ta compronde ta, dicon no ta exigi di nos loke a wordo exigi di nos mayornan? Pa sinja papia Hulandes bon, pa por bai dilanti. Paso loke IPA ta lubida ta cu no tin NINGUN institucion di educashon avansa (universitario) cu ta wordo duna na Papiamento.

Y ta parcemi cu IPA ta di acuerdo cu mi, paso nan website ta 90% Hulandes.

Not The Political Post I was Planning On Writing

Sometimes I have a beautiful post, all ready to publish, when I run across a news item that I just NEED to blog about or the world will end. Or something like that.

In this case, it's not one, but two. Check it.

Item the first is of course referring to our splendid government. I swear that I'm debating in breaking my self-imposed travel ban to the US until 2011 in order to be in Texas during the election. I don't think I can face another election day with MEP winning. But then I would miss a potential victory parade. Sigh.
ANYWAY.

As I was going to say. Minister Rudy Croes decided that it was a good idea, perhaps he would call it VITAl, to go the Curacao as they'rehaving a referendum today on their future relations with the Netherlands while they are having that great status called "Status Aparte". I would call it Status Aparte PLUS, the PLUS being that the Netherlands offered take over a good deal of their debts. Lucky sons of bitches. I kid because I love. Anyway, WHY is RUDY CROES, an ARUBAN MINISTER there to help either side of the debate? WHY WHY WHY WHY? Rudy, dude, imagine that Aruba were having a referendum, right? And you were for one side and a GOVERNMENT MINISTER from ANOTHER COUNTRY would COME TO ARUBA and ACTIVELY CAMPAIGN FOR THE OPPOSING SIDE?YOU, yes YOU, would have a heart attack with the "messing with Aruba's autonomy". SO WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING THERE? GOOD GRAVY ON A POPSICLE STICK. Why do you insist on EMBARRASSING US?

So that was one.

As I was browsing through a Dutch newspaper to read its take on the referendum on Curacao, I came across somethingthat definitely made me blink rapidly. Geert Wilders, leader of an extreme right party calls for the Dutch government to name an ambassador to the Flemish region of Belgium, IN ORDER TO A) SPLIT UP BELGIUM AND B) REUNITE FLANDERS WITH THE NETHERLANDS. Oy freaking' vey. God help us if this fool becomes Prime Minister in the Netherlands.
Maybe Rudy could help him campaign for those goals.

Sticking My Nose in Someone Else's Bidness

I am fascinated by U.S. politics. There is always so much drama to be had! Last season was the drama between the Democrats. That ended during November sweeps with the very special episode of the Dems winning the presidency the first time this century.

This season, we've switched gears and are focusing on the Republicans instead. The Democrats are still there in a supportive role, preaching about "hope", "change" and "stimulus", but the Republicans have taken the front seat in providing drama.

The fact is, that whether they want to admit or not, they got beat in two election cycles. They don't control the White House or Congress. They don't really have a leader, Michael Steele's opinions notwithstanding. Some say that Rush is Da Man, while others emphatically think not. Some try to steer the party in a new direction.

Megan McCain, the daughter of Republican candidate Sen. John McCain, definitely falls in the latter category, She is 24 years old and feels compelled to write about the Republican Party. That is kind of rare, this day and age.
So she wrote about extremism in the Republican Party and used Ann Coulter as an example. She basically says that the Republican Party should be happy that some youngsters are thinking of being Republican and that extremists like Ann Coulter are chasing them away. I find it a fair enough opinion of a girl who after all, experienced politics from a very close angle this last election cycle.

Laura Ingraham, for reasons known to her and her God,  jumps in on the issue during her radio show and ... counters McCain's arguments with arguments of her own? Not really. Invites McCain fille to her show to debate the issue? Uhm, no.

Laura Ingraham in all of her splendid wisdom decides to mock McCain. WTF? This is the best you can come up with? I was watching The View (shut up) where this came up and I wanted to check it out for myself. Laura Ingraham invited me to listen to the full clip instead of

...[T]he version that was edited and sent around by left wing smearmongers.

Fair enough, I would say. Maybe it was an "off-the-cuff remark". After listening to the clip in question, I just have to say:

Dear lady, you sound even more bitchy listening to the full clip. It very much sounds like you question her right to have an opinion on the party that she voted for in the last election. You want to win elections, doncha Laura dear? Then stop being such a crybaby and offer alternatives. That goes for the rest of your party too. Perhaps if you include others instead of constantly questioning people's Republican bonafides you might have a chance in the 2010 elections. Might.

But you probably should have a heart to heart with your unintentionally hilarious Chairman first.

Just Realized Something

I haven't taken any pictures just for the hell of it in a long time. Maybe I should start again.

Dilemma

I'm not sure if I want Chavez not to be able to run again, or I want him to be able to run and experience crushing defeat.

Carry on.

Oh Happy Day

Oh Happy Day, indeed.

What A Wonderful World

As I type this Hurricane Ike seems to be fixated on Galveston & Houston. I sincerely pray that these areas will be spared the worst. Please, be safe everyone.

The heat continues virtually unabated.

Now that we're done with the weather report, let's continue with other topics.

I don't remember if I've ever written about this, but did you know that on certain days, we can see Venezuela? That's right, we can see the Paraguana peninsula, particulary the mountain called Santa Anna.
However, I don't think that this fact makes me an expert in any shape way or form about Venezuela - Aruba - Dutch relations. According to Sarah Palin, at about the 3:54 mark, this fact should help me be able to lead a country. I...just...God help us. According to Charles Gibson, John McCain concurs.
I see potential fun times ahead.

Speaking of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez Frias has been up to his crazy ways again. Apparently in solidarity with Evo Morales of Bolivia, Hugito has decided in his very finite wisdom to expel the U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela. Again, dear Lord, have mercy on us.

And now Russian jets have landed in Caracas. I'm sure this is all a big coincidence, right?

Right?

About Leaving the Nest

I have a headache, I'm sleepy, and I'm blogging. A recipe for disaster, right there.

There is one thing that is a theme with most people living in small communities: the social control that everyone experiences.
Of course it has diminished over the generations, times do change, after all.

But it's still there. And you feel it the most when you are right at that middle time of being an adult and a child at the same time. No, not when you're 35, but when you're 18-20 years old. There is a good chance that you're still living with your parents, but you have some newfound independence due to that crazy thing called a driver's license and oh yeah, majority of age. You can get into (most) clubs now. You can drink, you can sign contracts, etc. But there is still the very real (VERY! REAL!) threat that if you don't toe the line your mom and/or dad will be called and hear the question: Do you know what your child did last night?

People who grew up in larger cities are probably laughing right now, like, how can your parents be told what you were doing? It's simple, really, in a small community, everyone knows you. It's just like that. If they don't know my parents, they know my aunts, uncles or cousins. This is not me exaggerating. And woe unto you if your parent(s) are prominent members of the community. Trust me when I tell you that I am far from being the only one who has experienced this. Of course these experiences create a hell of a lot of resentments. I've felt them, just about everybody I know felt them.

But, sooner or later, most start to realize also what a comforting feeling it is, to know that people care about you. When I was living abroad, it was quite disconcerting to realize that NOBODY in my immediate environment cared what I did or did not do. It's a heady feeling, those first few weeks, months or years. Then it's kind of lonely. And then it's kind of empowering. I can now laugh about the bitching and moaning about the meddling of others in my teenage affairs. But I also know that for the crop of young adults who eagerly boarded their flights to go continue their studies abroad, the lure of a foreign country where nobody cares about their actions is a big draw. It's a necessary experience, I suppose, to plunge in headfirst in independence, but I wish I could tell them that it's not as easy as it looks.

Clothes & Me

There used to be a time that I hated to shop. HATED it. Of course, I was also 10, but I still remember feeling like a tortured soul whenever my mother brightly announced that I needed new clothes.

Then I went to the States and suddenly I saw so!many!clothes! in one place. And it was airconditioned. So walking around in the hot son was a thing of the past. And if you got tired,these beautiful things called 'malls' would provide benches and chairs. Oh my. I was giddy. I actually liked shopping now. My mother was shocked.

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I guess I haven't mentioned that my newest obsession is TLC's What Not to Wear. I think that the stylists are usually geniuses. It is also good for my ego, because I'm pretty sure that I don't dress as bad as the makeover subjects when they are surprised.
That being said, if Clinton & Stacey want to surprise me with a US$ 5,000 credit card, I would have no problem.

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I suppose that one area that they really had an influence on the way that I dress is fit. (Oh, just fit. Tiny little detail). I was usually of the opinion that if I can close the button or raise the zipper that it fit. Well, okay, so no. Clothes usually need some sort of structure, a seaming might be nice.

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It is while watching this show that I can see what havoc media in its broadest term has done to women and their body image. There was this girl in her EARLY TWENTIES, commenting that her stomach looks fat. And let me assure you, there was no fat anywhere. And there were many more with the same way of thinking. It's like the attitude is: "Well, if I don't look like fashion model, I don't deserve to shop for nice clothes". That is just freaking scary.

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Anyway, the whole point of this post was to say that I just bought the cutest smocked sundress and a very chic black and white dress. As well as some excellent high heels. So all in all I had a fruitful day.