Where I'm From

I am from flour.

From bread and butter.

From the tree with a swing in the yard,

From the small red palm tree that refuses to grow.

I’m from my uncle’s lake house,

From my grandmothers apartment,

The only places where my family reunites.

I am from the jokesters and the pranksters,

From Juan Carlos, and Jorge, and Eduardo.

I am from my dad’s side of the family,

From long dinner tables at family trips,

From passing the salt all the way down,

And then back up.

I am from going to church on Christmas Eve,

And not returning until the following year.

From Medellin and Bogota,

From Ajiaco and Bandeja Paisa.

From moving away from our home

Into a different house.

I am from the shelves of photo albums,

Filled with colorful memories,

Waiting to be looked at and remembered.

I am from those moments.

A tree that continues to grow,

Despite not being watered often.

Terrible Catastrophe

Copious Amounts of Japanese citizens have been killed by the sequence of natural disasters. On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the island country. This tremor preceded a tsunami, also in Japan, that affected the northeastern portion of the nation.
At 2:46 local time the three-minute quake began. Tsunami warnings where sent out immediately to the entire Pacific coast of the Americas, and Japan. The inevitable happened and not even an hour later the ten-meter high tsunami washed away the city.
As if it weren’t bad enough, the quakes produced malfunctions in nuclear power plants that are bound to meltdown and release lethal radiation. Adept, fastidious scientists have been working together in order to figure out how to safely contain the radiation and eventually shut down the plant in order to repair it.
Relief efforts have already been put into action by over 70 countries around the globe, deploying crucial equipment, temporary homes, clean water, clinics, and blankets, in order to facilitate the people of Japan after the fitful event.
The entire world as been moved by this incredible catastrophe, and people feel pang of sorrow for the thousands of affected citizens.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames - Book Review

Book: When You Are Engulfed in Flames

Author: David Sedaris

David Sedaris's memoir, When You are Engulfed in Flames, is a comical piece that will keep you laughing every chapter. However, if you just focus on the thin, comedic meaning you will miss most of the book.

David Sedaris is a forty-year-old man that tells about his childhood, and his young adult life in a collection of short essays arranged in a non-chronological order. David lives in France with his longtime partner, Hugh.

The title of this book is derived from a chapter where David begins his efforts to quit smoking. He takes a trip to Japan and is amused by the broken english around the hotel room. One example is on a fire safety sign that says:

"When you check in the hotel room. When you find fire. When you are engulfed in flames"

The significance of the title is that sometimes there is nothing you can do about something. When you are engulfed in flames there almost nothing you can do. This could shift the focus into prevention, for him it was quitting smoking.

Numerous chapters have David speaking about death, whether it was to someone really close to him – his mother – or a complete stranger. David realizes that everyone dies sooner or later and that no one escapes it. He learns to acknowledge his mortality and accept it.

Lines I loved:

"Ive often hear cigarettes compared to friends. They can't loan you money, but they are, in a sense, there for you, these mute little comfort merchants always ready to lift your spirits. It's how I now feel about macadamia nuts, and these strange little crackers I've been buying lately."

"I was awoken at dawn by my uncle's hacking, which was mucky and painful-sounding and suggested imminent death."