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  • A Thumb, a Smile, and Ten Days Waiting

    In the early days of Youper, we had these little social challenges. Nothing extreme, just things meant to poke the shy parts of our personality. Wear mismatched shoes. Say hello to strangers. Ask for a ride. Tiny exercises in courage (or embarrassment, depending on the day).

    I tried a few of them. And somewhere between curiosity and stupidity, I decided to try hitchhiking for real.

    Tenth day hitchhiking, a big smile brought me my first ride on the SC-401!
    Mismatched shoes challenge.

    I still remember standing there on the side of the road, sun burning, arm tired, thumb out like an antenna searching for human kindness. Cars passed. People pretended not to see me. I pretended everything was fine.

    But on day ten, someone finally stopped. A car pulled over, the window came down, and a friendly voice said something like, “Hop in, crazy guy.”

    And just like that, I got my first carona solidária.
    A tiny victory. A tiny lesson.

    Sometimes, all you need is a smile, a thumbs-up, and the willingness to take some risks on the highway. 😛

  • Hey Gringo

    “Gringo, gringo, gringooo,” said Deniro, a kid who sat beside me on a dusty bench in Pichanaki.

    “Oye niño, ¿por qué me llamas así?” I said asked, a bit hurt, I confess. The last thing I want is to sound like an American.

    “Porque los gringos son personas con barba.” he replied.

    I guess I’m a gringo! 🤷‍♂️

    Deniro and I, at a coffee farm in the Peruvian jungle. His mother was a big fan of Robert De Niro.

  • Black Soldier Flies for Lunch

    ,

    Once, I was obsessed with Black Soldier Flies and came across another unusual person, Justin Piatt. We got some larvae and decided to prepare them as snacks.

    For better or worse, the owner of the pans was so disgusted that we decided to skip that experience for now.

    This is a glimpse of our hunting techniques.

  • Minerito

    ,

    The Uncle wants ore
    Little miner

    Uncle Sam
    Blood

    The uncle is me
    And you

    O Tio quer minério
    Minerito

    O Tio Sam
    Sangre

    O Tio sou eu
    Y usted

  • Borrowed Eyes

    ,

    Six months of deep gratitude
    for borrowing your eyes,
    the ones that made my skin tremble,
    and still do.

    I had to say goodbye to everyone,
    to people who don’t exist anymore,
    who existed only inside me,
    or maybe never existed at all.

    I say goodbye to myself every day.
    Today, it was a great pleasure.
    Mañana, mucho gusto, Diego.

    6 meses de muita gratidão
    por me emprestarem seus olhos,
    que arrepiam minha pele,
    ainda arrepiam.

    Tive que me despedir de todos,
    de pessoas que já não existem mais,
    existiram somente em mim,
    ou talvez nunca tenham existido.

    Despeço-me de mim mesmo todo dia.
    Hoje, foi um muitíssimo prazer!
    Mañana, mucho gusto, Diego.