Mi hermano

My brother Pieter is a very funny man..he is a big clown!He writes: (Mi hermano Pedro es un hombre muy divertido...el es un payaso grande! El escribe:)

Hey Thoom, you know your writing style is like this: 'The small one likes me I think. Communications are slow, but after sharing coffee with my new Indian friends I feel increasingly like a native. Still no signs of reinforcements'

Of course my brother is referring to one of the great movies of all time 'Dances With Wolves' (Bailas con lobos) where Kevin Costner (Ltn. John Dunbar) often narrates sections from his diary describing his life on the prairie. During his lonely time at an outpost somewhere in the Wild West he slowly but surely integrates with the local Indian population. My brother – to my greatest of pleasure – often relives moments from this great movie by pretending he is Ltn. John Dunbar.

As a social scientist I love all social and cultural interactions. Here in Madrid I have noticed a few things. Chinese people try to sell everything to you especially at night. Anything from beers to umbrella’s to snacks to funny strange rocks that make noise when you through them up in the air. And the amazing thing: you end up buying them! Then there are the African immigrants who also want to sell everything in the street. This gang however concentrates on the selling of illegal DVD’s and CD’s. They have an inventive system. All the CD’s are laid out on a sheet. The sheet is connected to four ropes connected to each corner. When a policeman comes to close a process of communication starts which end with the seller pulling the ropes and running away. And the amazing thing: you end up buying the CD’s!