Connected

I'm sitting in my living room, writing this blog post, and I feel connected to the world for the first time in a year.

Is it because I'm connected to the Internet? No.

It's because I'm also listening to the Don Telmo y Segundo Morning Show on 107.1 Radio Voz de Arenillas, the local radio station, on my newly purchased radio.



I bought it in Huaqillas yesterday for seven dollars, including batteries. A good purchase, I believe, because it lets me listen to Telmo and Segundo mornings, Jennifer Lopez mid-mornings, Juventud Extrema afternoons, the youth radio show Sunday mornings, every Condor game, and much more.

I have listened quite a bit over the last year, mostly because my neighbors started blasting to the morning show as soon as it started at 6:00 A.M. but now I can control my listening schedule and understand what they are saying (because I don't have to listen through the wall).

So far this morning, the host, Telmo, has congratulated his daughter on her birthday over 20 times. Then, a local restaurant called in and offered a free dinner to Don Telmo and his family. He has announced the official time over 35 times in the 22 minutes I've listened this morning, and one of the morning show guys had to duck out for some undisclosed reason.

It's a bit of a slow news day, I guess.

Now, he is talking about how the national sports ministry has built 48 soccer fields in the neighboring county over the last year and that one of the rural townships in Arenillas is petitioning the government to construct a stadium for them.

How have I lived without this?