ahora vamos a contar

***i don't understand why my pictures aren't showing up. just go to flickr, i guess.***

for some strange reason, the part of the east coast i've been hanging out in has been nothing but humid and rainy. i thought it would be breezy and balmy. in reality, i've been sweating more here than in texas. at least down south we compensate for the bitter heat with air conditioning everywhere but in the streets.

first stop on my weeklong tour: providence, rhode island. i reunited with a friend i've known since kindergarten and he gave me the grand 15-minute tour. turns out metropolis (of superman fame) had its skyline modeled after that of downtown providence. even stranger, about 10 yrs ago, the mayor decided to replicate san antonio, tx's riverwalk to rejuvenate downtown (along with an enormous 4-story mall). aside from the universities, those are the city's only claims to fame. oh, and there is a donut place on every corner. hence my charming title. i can't complain, though. there's an italian district with great food and everything's within walking distance.





second stop: boston, massachusetts. we hopped on a bus midday and an hour later we were in beantown. since it was pay day, i got a few cheesy souvenirs, went crazy at the famous mike's pastry shop, and bought some children's books (you know i can't forget about my chamacos). we hit several tourist spots like the freedom trail, faneuil hall, boston common, quincy market, harvard square, and paul revere's house. we also ventured into the harvard bookstore, north end, and zoomed about via subway. didn't make it to fenway park or the prudential center, but ni modo. some silly pictures:




the most impressive thing we saw, we happened upon by accident: the new england holocaust memorial. it's a simple yet strikingly somber series of glass towers that are inscribed with millions of identification numbers. each tower is labeled with the name of a concentration camp, and warm steam rises from grates inside each one. the glass doors are inscribed with quotes from survivors, which you read while standing in the uncomfortable steamy space. it's an awkward experience, reading and thinking about such horrible events in the middle of this quaint city as steam surrounds you within a small crystal space. at the end, as you walk over the last few steps, there is this quote by Pastor Martin Niemoeller, which i'm sure most of you already know:

In Germany they came first for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me--and by that time no one was left to speak up.

i'll leave it at that. time for bed, off to philly in a few hours! cuidense.