Nathan MacKenzie

Give These Organizations Your Money

nathanmackenzie — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:32:48 +0000

Hey All. Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we gove.” In that spirit, I just added a new sidebar titled Give These Organizations Your Money. It contains links to some organizations that do incredible work to fight poverty with education. My sister Vaughan volunteered with Safe Passage in Guatemala and I read about the Central Asia Institute in the book Three Cups of Tea (co-written by CAI’s founder). Check them both out and let me know if you can think of any other organizations worthy of a link.

Note: The images above are all from the respective websites.

Updated Blogroll Links

nathanmackenzie — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:55:27 +0000

I just updated the links in my blogroll. They’re a bit varied, but all worth a click. Let me know if there are any you’d like to see added.

Thanks,

Nate

Hot New Music!

nathanmackenzie — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:35:25 +0000

Hey y’all. I just added new music by The Extended Network. Was What It Was (our first blues song) is on the music page and literally just got mixed five minutes ago. Hot off the press! Enjoy and let me know what you think.

-Nate

The Second Coming

nathanmackenzie — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 04:09:29 +0000

My website has just undergone a rebirth. It had previously been a Travel Blog, but I haven’t been traveling enough to justify any blogging and I’ve accepted the fact that my day to day life is just not cool enough to fill the pages. As such, I’ve finally gotten around to rededicating this space as a showcase for my writing, music, and photography. All three sections have been updated with new material, so check them out and let me know what you think. In the spirit of starting over, I’ve decided to delete all of the old comments. I apologize to the sensitive among you, but they aren’t relative anymore. However, I’ve decided to keep all of my old posts because they represent the evolution of this site and some important personal memories. After all, we are nothing without our history. I’d ask you to forgive the hypocrisy, but I don’t really want to. After all, it is my site. Thanks for reading and enjoy.

Cuidate,

-Nate

Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten…

nathanmackenzie — Wed, 16 May 2007 01:04:46 +0000

En route to the luscious fields (okay, there aren’t really any fields, let alone luscious ones) of A-town, I made a weekend stop in NYC to visit Bren and Pat. Leslie and Ellen were visiting Caitlin, so we had a bit of an Andover Reunion. After walking the Brooklyn Bridge, wandering through Soho, and visiting the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, I can safely say that I still have no desire to move to New York. Don’t get me wrong, I love visiting (especially when I have a free place to stay), but I guess I just don’t have the NYC bug. Anyways, it’s always great to see some of my oldest and best friends and I couldn’t have asked for better May weather. Let’s hope it holds for my visit home!

My Last Week as a Floridian

nathanmackenzie — Wed, 16 May 2007 01:03:51 +0000

It’s official; I am no longer a Floridian (for any reason other than tax purposes). After a whirlwind week of packing, working, and saying goodbye, I have departed the Sunshine State for good. Highlights of the last week included getting relieved of all of my collateral duties, having all of my crap packed and moved by the Government, receiving the Coast Guard Achievement Medal, and saying goodbye to everyone. The last was the hardest, as my fellow Junior Officers have been the best part of my arduous two years onboard VENTUROUS. Special thanks to Lis and Tracey, they kept me sane (and well fed). Though my time down in Florida was not the best I’ve ever spent, I did gain many life experiences and memories. So many, in fact, that I see no reason to go back. Good riddance!

Saying Goodbye

nathanmackenzie — Wed, 16 May 2007 01:03:04 +0000

For the second time in seven months, I had to say goodbye to my new friends, family, and teachers in Guatemala. As it did before, my second month in Antigua was filled with exciting adventures, diverse new friends, and amazing memories. Thank you to everyone who was a part of it. I can’t wait to go back…

Tres Museos y Un Santo Malo

nathanmackenzie — Tue, 08 May 2007 23:03:25 +0000

Having now studied all verb tenses in the Spanish Language and taken my final exam, I’ve decided to try to cram a few last minute adventures in to my ultimate days. As such, El Abuelito and I made our way to the Coffee Farm/ Casa K’jom on Thursday afternoon. The “3 museums” are for coffee, Mayan music, and, well, honestly, I don’t know what the third one is because I skipped it. I think it’s Mayan culture or something. I know, I’m horrible. Anyways, all three are located together on the Coffee Farm, which is right outside of Antigua proper in a pueblo called Jocotenango.

The Coffee Museum detailed the process of growing/ making coffee, as well as a bit of local history. It was all very interesting, but it made me pretty bitter to learn that coffee bean pickers earn approximately 30Q (under US$4) a day. I was even more angered to learn that only $0.08 of every $1 earned through coffee sales worldwide goes to the laborers. The importer takes almost 70%. Sometimes capitalism makes me literally feel sick to my stomach…

Speaking of things that make me sick to my stomach, I cannot stand Mayan Music. Ok, I know, I’m applying my own biases and background and all that crap in my analysis, but I don’t care. I can’t stand it. There’s always some sort of beat, but it’s always a bit loose and the rest of the musicians don’t seem to hear it. All I hear is noise. Now, I know it’s an important aspect of the culture, but it’s one of those parts that I will continue to go out of my way to avoid.

Ok, on to another part of the indigenous culture that I can get into: the rum drinking, cigar smoking, renegade saint Maximon, also known as San Simon. Though definitely not recognized by the church as an official saint, many indigenous people believe that Maximon has the power to cure the sick, protect the weak, propagate good luck, and provide for the have-nots. All good things, right? Well, he can also curse your enemies and he usually provides objects of desire to his followers. That is, sex, money, and intoxicating substances. Anyways, Don Juan and I made a journey to visit the local temple on Friday morning. I witnessed a woman burning a large quantity of food as part of a sacrifice, another woman throwing her offering of rum all over Maximon, and a mariachi band. However, I think the “best” part was watching a man having rum spit all over him by one of Maximon’s attendants. The down side to the day was sitting on two damn chicken buses for almost 2 hours to make a 30 minute trip back to Antigua…

Exam…

nathanmackenzie — Tue, 08 May 2007 22:48:53 +0000

I took my Foreign Service (style) Exam Thursday and I got a 3!!! (Those in the know about the exam will know why I’m so excited)

Don Juan, El Abuelito

nathanmackenzie — Tue, 08 May 2007 22:48:08 +0000

While all of my teachers in Antigua have been exceptional, my current one definitely deserves a little notoriety. Juan is 53 years old, about 5’ 4” tall, has a full head of stark white hair, and has a reputation for being a bit of a free spirit. As is typical in Latin American culture, he has some good nicknames. The two that really stick are Don Juan (referring to his infamous affinity for any and all chicas) and El Abuelito (which basically means the little grandfather). I don’t think I need to tell you all that he and I get along pretty well. While most of what we’ve been learning is foul language and jokes, he’s actually made me a lot more comfortable speaking Spanish. We’ll see if the Director feels the same way after my exam…