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Chévere- A common Venezuelan interjection, meaning "great," "stupendous," or "super."

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I Am From

I am from tree houses in the tall dying maple, two chairs with a blanket stretched across for a fort, a day digging snow tunnels, silent, icy, white 

I am from krumcaka, lefse, baklava and poori, alligator fries, frog legs and curry, all night cookouts, and early morning waffles, midnight snacks, brunch, and mini-meals all through the day, bananas, apples, and homemade jam, jelly, marmalade, and pickles

I am from cooking, cheesecake, pound cake, tarts, and pies, apple, cherry, plum, and pumpkin, bread, cinnamon raisin, whole grain, and cheese

I am from bottles of W-40, a match, and anything flammable, bonfires reaching to the stars, cotton balls, Vaseline, and a striker

I am from mountains, ice capped, valleys as deep as the mountain is tall, kayaking in the open ocean, sleeping under the stars

I am from trips to Minnesota in our silver Astro Van, listening to Narnia and watching old war movies, Red-Eye flights to Florida, New York, Louisiana, trying to catch the lights on the ground

I am from James A. Michener, J. K. Rowling, Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Avi, Homer, Margret Mitchell, Tolstoy, Stephan King, John Grisham

I am from tidily-winks, Candy Land, Husker-Du, sidewalk chalk, trampolines, mud pies beneath the deck, and burning bugs

I am from catching toads, constructing dams in the creek, skinny-dipping in the lake, setting traps to catch the neighbors, climbing trees, snow angels, and snow ball fights, tubing and skiing, in the water and snow

I am from rollerblading and skating, gliding over pavement and ice, biking, pedaling and skidding, running, jogging, sprinting