On Yerba Mate (grass drink)

Mate is a drink that's popular throughout southern South America.  It's kind of like herbal tea, made from the yerba mate plant.  Due to its appearance, a few friends and I refer to it as "grass drink."  Most of my friends think it tastes nasty - it has a very strong flavor.

There exist a few native South American legends about the origins of the mate drink.  Some of these might be of interest to anyone familiar with the Book of Mormon (a scriptural account of God's dealings with ancient Americans).  As you continue reading, please keep a couple things in mind:

1. No one' s belief of the Book of Mormon should be based on old stories, or even physical evidence, for that matter.  Belief should come through a witness from God, as mentioned in the Book of Mormon here.
2. I will be quoting things I found on the internet.  Not everything you read on the internet is true.

The following is taken from this website:

There is an old Guarani Indian legend that relates the origins of the Guarani in the Forests of Paraguay. According to the legend, the ancestors of the Guarani at one time in the distant past crossed a great and spacious ocean from a far land to settle in the Americas. They found the land both wonderful yet full of dangers; through diligence and effort they subdued the land and inaugurated a new civilization. There were two brothers that vied for leadership of the people: Tupi and Guarani. Eventually they feuded and divided the people into two separate nations. Each nation, or tribe, adopted the name of the brother who was its leader.

The Tupi tribes adopted a more fierce, nomadic lifestyle, rejecting the agricultural traditions of their fathers...

The Guarani tribes became a stable, God-fearing people who worked the land and became excellent craftsmen. They looked forward to the coming of a tall, fair-skinned, blue eyed, bearded God (Pa'i Shume) who, according to legend, eventually did appear and was pleased with the Guarani. He imparted religious instruction and taught them concerning certain agricultural practices which would benefit them in times of drought and pestilence as well as on a day-to-day basis. Significantly, He unlocked the secrets of health and medicine and revealed the healing qualities of native plants.

One of the most important of these secrets was how to harvest and prepare the leaves of the yerba mate tree. The [mate] beverage was meant to ensure health, vitality and longevity. The choice of favorite drink by the Tupi and Guarani came to symbolize opposition between the respective groups. The yerba [mate] of Guarani, reflecting the agricultural and domestic nature of these Indians, provided many more beneficial properties than the Tupi's guarana, which symbolized their preoccupation with running wild and free and their reliance on brute strength and the need to physically excel. [Mate] became the most common ingredient in household cures of the Guarani, and remains so to this day.

The Book of Mormon starts with the story of a family who sails across the ocean to inhabit the Americas.  Nephi and his brother Laman don't get along so well.  Read what happens in chapter 5 of 2 Nephi:

Behold, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cry much unto the Lord my God, because of the anger of my brethren.

But behold, their anger did increase against me, insomuch that they did seek to take away my life...

And it came to pass that the Lord did warn me, that I, Nephi, should depart from them and flee into the wilderness, and all those who would go with me...

And all those who were with me did take upon them to call themselves the people of Nephi.

And we did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things, according to the law of Moses.

And the Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly; for we did sow seed, and we did reap again in abundance.  And we began to raise flocks, and herds, and animals of every kind...

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cause my people to be industrious, and to labor with their hands...

[The followers of Laman] did become an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey.

Interesting, no?  Later on in the Book of Mormon, Christ visits their descendants in the Americas after His resurrection.  Several legends from other parts of Latin America mention a white bearded god who came anciently; Quetzalcoatl is one of the most well-known.

In another part of the Book of Mormon, it mentions the "excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate-".  Whether you believe yerba mate is a gift from heaven or not, it's an interesting story.  I'll keep drinking it.

Click here for a scientific article explaining the health benefits of yerba mate.

Teko año

source

Timpanogos

Earlier this summer, a group of friends and I hiked Timp.  The first time I hiked it, the group I was with only made it to the saddle.  This time we went all the way to the top.  Here are some pictures from the trip!

(During the hike, I had three or four songs running through my head the entire time.  Play the videos to hear!)

(start at 1:45)

(I couldn't get the movie for this other song to work, so click here.)

In 2009 I sang in BYU's Homecoming Spectacular.  The theme was "Reach for the Summit" and focused on Mt. Timpanogos.  Another song going through my head on the hike was one we sang for the event: a MoTab arrangement of a popular LDS hymn set to these lyrics:

High on the mountain top a banner is unfurled.

Ye nations, now look up; it waves to all the world.

A standard has been raised by those who've gone before;

The trail was blazed by all who dared for more.

So let us face the test, we will succeed at length;

For only in the quest can we improve our strength.

With hope we'll journey on to gain the summit's source.

The road is long but we shall stay the course.

And when our journey's through, the summit we've attained,

We've learned this vital truth: our humbled hearts have changed.

The sermon was the mount; the lesson long and hard

Erases doubt and testifies of God.

On God we must rely through every darkened hour.

His Spirit as our guide will truly give us power.

A light upon a hill, a banner is unfurled

To bring his truth to all the world.

An Open Mind

"The Jesuit Pedro José Márquez published two studies at the beginning of the century which argued that notions of beauty are relative, and that the great monuments of the indigenous past should be studied on an equal footing with those of Greece and Rome."
(Dawn Ades, Art in Latin America, 28)

As a percussionist in high school, I was able to attend a master class taught by Michael Spiro, a world renowned Afro-Cuban drummer.  In addition to teaching us techniques on congas and bongos, he spent a fair amount of time talking about music appreciation.  The most memorable thing I learned that day was about keeping an open mind:  even though we may not enjoy a particular genre or style of music doesn't mean that we should dismiss it completely as a valid form of art.  Within a genre there can exist good and bad examples, but to discount it entirely is arrogant.  This concept also applies to literature, visual arts, drama, etc.

For example, I often hear people say things along the lines of “Modern art/music is dumb!  There’s no skill involved - it’s meaningless.  Anybody could produce that type of art.”  I’d never had much of an opinion about modern art, either for or against.  However, after taking MUSIC 201 & 202 (Civilization: Music) from a professor whose specialty is modern art/music, I better understood the genre.  Learning about the context and motives for different styles of art gives you an appreciation for them, even though you still may not like them.

source

I think this is the point that Pedro José Márquez wanted to make - just because indigenous art wasn't understood, it shouldn't be viewed as a lower form than European art.

To me, this idea extends beyond the arts to opposing positions on various topics.  It annoys me when people aren't willing to admit that views different than their own contain any valid points whatsoever.  Because of this, I often play devil’s advocate when talking with friends or family, even if I’m completely against the position I’m defending.  I was reminded of this in class on Tuesday when Dr. Mack mentioned a character from the book The Name of the Wind who had to maintain two diametrically opposing thoughts in his mind simultaneously.  By considering multiple views of a situation or art form or culture, we develop a more complete understanding of it. 

New blog

I'm enrolled in a Humanities of Latin America class this semester.  One of the requirements is that I start a blog for this class, as a sort of reading journal.  For those of you that are interested, click here.

I'm really looking forward to this class, actually.  It's the only non-heavy-duty-science class that I've got, and I will be learning about a culture that I love.  While waiting for our first class to start, our instructor played the following video for us:

I like this video a lot - I think it's a good montage of the people and culture.

California: Paradigm Changer

Before this summer, the only part of California that I had visited was the LA area.  It's nice - I love Disneyland, the beaches are fine, and there are palm trees.  However, based on Californians' claims for how awesome the state is, and only having been to LA, (and being from Texas,) I thought their claims were unjustifiably exaggerated.  BUT NOT SO!  Earlier this summer I visited northern/central California, and it was amazing.


My friend Ammon invited me to go along with him - he was going to visit his sister and participate in one of those obstacle course/race things, and wanted some company for the trip. After making it through the barren wasteland that is northern Nevada, we stayed the night in Reno.  (As it turns out, Reno is not a very classy place.  But we stayed in a "nice" casino for cheap!)  The next morning we crossed the border into California.  As soon as we did, the landscape instantly changed - suddenly we were driving through the mountain forests of the Tahoe area, with occasional vistas of gorgeous mountain lakes.  We made our way south and made a stop at the redwood forest of Muir Woods National Monument (WOW - breathtaking!), then crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco.  SF was a neat city - I'm sad that we didn't have enough time to explore there.  We kept going south, and eventually ended up on Highway 1, driving right along the coast.  We watched the sunset over the ocean as we continued on the winding cliff road.  Eventually we made it to Ammon's sister's place in Morro Bay, a neat little town right outside of San Luis Obispo.  It was pretty late by then, and we went straight to bed.  When the sun came up, we saw that they had a beautiful window view of the beach just a couple of blocks away.  I went with them to the obstacle race (which was fun even though I was a spectator), then back home and cleaned up.  In the afternoon, we visited a really fun beach with Ammon's sister and her family, then went out for dinner for some authentic seafood (more authentic than in Utah, anyway).  The next morning we left early, stopping only for church (Sacrament in Sacramento!).  What a great trip!  Who knew California could be that awesome?!?!

 Here are some pictures from Muir Woods...

(my camera phone can't do justice to how majestic it was)

 Sunset over the ocean driving down Highway 1

Ammon's sister's kids were gone the first night we were there, so we got to sleep in their beds - look how cool they are!  I slept in the pirate ship!  (Also, their room was full of Legos, so I kept busy even when we had down time.)

The view from their living room window... sigh... 

Sea otters in Morro Bay! 

A vineyard we drove through on our way to get to the obstacle race, located on a ranch.

 Here's a video made of the race that Ammon and his sister participated in.

 On the beach!

 We had fun with Ammon's nephews scrambling up and down the beach hills...

 Tide pool creatures

 Cool geology!

You may remember the eclipse that happened earlier in the summer - we were able to see it on our drive home through two layers of sunglasses and a tiny hole made with our fingers.  I tried taking a picture, but you can't tell there's an eclipse going on.

Heroes

Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is impressive - he's a serious artist and the films are amazing (though rather dark).  In light of the deaths surrounding the last two installments, I think the following project (that Nolan is also involved with) will come as a welcome and refreshing change of tone:

"You will give the people an ideal to strive towards.  They will race behind you; they will stumble, they will fall - but in time they will join you in the Sun.  In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."

Memorial Day

I had an exceptionally good Memorial Day this year - probably my best Memorial Day yet.  It started out the night before by watching the movie Glory with some friends.  (I did not forget the true meaning of the holiday amid my day-off activities).  Then early Monday morning, a couple of friends and I hiked up near my old stomping grounds (Pleasant Grove) and sat on the top of a waterfall.  After that, we finished the New York Times crossword puzzle over an all-you-can-eat French toast breakfast at Kneaders (probably one of the most divine experiences you'll ever have).  Then I went home and read my book for a few hours out in the sun while drinking some terere.  Then a friend invited me to go swimming - we did, and in addition I got some lovely sunburns on my legs while reading at the pool's edge.  After that, several friends and I got together and ate strawberries and made hot-dogs and hamburgers on the grill.  Following that I participated in an intense water-balloon war with the rest of the ward for FHE.  Then, after receiving a thorough soaking (cold and wet), a group of us went hot-tubbing (warm and wet).  One of the coolest things was that almost none of it was planned beforehand - hooray for summer spontaneity!

Holidays

I'm well into my summer holiday - I've enjoyed my job and spending time with friends thus far.  In the meantime, several other holidays have come and gone.  Let's have a look:

The Pides of March
This actually happened before school got out.  As everyone should know, March 14th is Pi Day (get it? 3/14 and 3.14159...) and March 15th is the Ides of March (the day Julius Caesar was murdered).  I was speaking to a friend at work about combining the two into a "Pides of March" Party.  She loved the idea, and we started planning it.  It turned out great - ancient Rome decor, togas, and pies (along with other round treats) were all part of the festivities.

Notice the togas...

Notice the punny phrase...

We even did a reenactment...

Something I made to put on the wall.

(I would have kept going, but the next digit was a 0.)

May the Fourth / Cinco de Mayo

Here's another set of back-to-back holidays.  May 4th is Star Wars Day (get it? "May the Fourth be with you"), and is actually more official than you'd think.  And May 5th is obviously Cinco de Mayo.  On the evening of the Fourth, I went with a group of friends to the first of a series of free rooftop concerts in Provo.  The super-nice weather, great music, paper lanterns, full moon, and fun friends made it an enjoyable evening.  Afterwards, in honor of Star Wars Day, we watched Episode III.

On the following day, my new roommate threw a house-warming party for our apartment - it was "Old Hollywood" themed.  He spent a lot of time getting it organized, and it turned out great.  We had lots of good people, good food, and tons of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider.  In honor of Cinco de Mayo I came dressed as one of the Three Amigos, but quickly felt silly and changed into something else.  I think the party turned out to be a great success.

Here's the outside view of our place.  Notice the red carpet...

 Here's the inside.  Notice the record player in the corner (playing "Old Hollywood" themed music)...

There was a silent Charlie Chaplin film playing, which was cool.

Downstairs, we had a "speak easy" showing the film adaptation of The Great Gatsby.

Also, a poker table.

Paraguayan Independence Day

As most of you probably know, I went on a mission trip for my Church to the southern part of Paraguay.  A good friend in my apartment complex also served there, but in the northern part.  We decided to throw a party for our mission friends to celebrate Paraguayan Independence Day on May 15th.  It was a blast!  Among other things, we sang 'Happy Birthday' to Paraguay in Guarani.  There was traditional Paraguayan food and music playing, along with flags and other decorations.  We also had a good time passing the mate/ tereré around.  There were two real Paraguayos and my mission president even came!  I think it was a great success.

 From the outside...

 My friend made a map - we all stuck pins in the cities where we'd worked.

All the gente...

 Chipa, mandioca, chipa guasu, jugo de mburucuya, etc...

Here's a nice low-quality photo taken as the party was dying down.

There were lots of other fun things going on between all these holidays - I'll post about that soon.