something that isn't food

I realized as I was writing my last post that 5 out of the last 6 posts on this blog have been food-related. I guess that tells you a little something about what I think is important. Or maybe it tells you what I associate with the holidays. Or maybe it just tells you that, right now, food is my primary window into this culture. That's probably the nicest way of putting it.

Anyway, I wanted to write about something that isn't food. And this is the perfect time to do it, since we have a very recent new addition to our family:

My new bike!

We were eating dinner with some of my classmates on Monday night, when Juana mentioned that there were some people selling new bikes at very low prices just down the street. No, not stolen bikes; just new, relatively low-quality bikes. But hey, what do I need a high-quality bike for, anyway? And at $25, who cares if it's quality or not. Actually, having a low-quality bike will probably help ensure that it will be some time before it is "lost." (Of course, it will probably also ensure that I build up some massive leg muscles--this thing doesn't pedal so easy.)

Ben and I engaged in a little christening ceremony after we bought the bike. First, we took some steel wool and tried to scuff up the paint as much as possible. We especially scuffed up around the bike's logo. Ben even took a little time to scuff up my seat. Then we took handfuls of dirt, and rubbed them in all the places where my hands and behind won't be touching. The goal was to try to make the bike look at least a little bit well-used, less shiny and desirable, to try to deter would-be thieves from taking it. I tried to capture our artificial "weathering," but our efforts didn't show up so well on film. Anyway, it seems to have worked so far--two days later, and my bike isn't lost . . . yet . . . .