14 Junio 2011

Hercules was sold to the butcher.
I didnt even get to say good bye...

12 Junio 2011

11am thursday

cousin henry leaves viña del mar on a 30 hour bus ride for arica

this is when i lose communication with henry

6ish friday

henry should be arriving in arica. he informs his mother

i am expecting him sunday afternoon

saturday 6ish

my mother, in the united states, calls me in a panic because no one knows where henry is.

i assure her he is arriving sunday afternoon in arequipa. i was wrong

saturday 7ish

my mother assures me, via mathematical correctness, that he would be arriving in arequipa a day sooner than i thought, and i should be worried.

i call his cell, it goes to voicemail

i do the math in my head, and realize i should be worried.

saturday 8ish

henry's mother calls my mother and says he arrived in arequipa at 2pm

i start to friek, because i am still in lima

saturday 9ish

henry's mother calls my mother and says he arrived in arequipa at 10pm

i wonder which time is correct

saturday 9:30

i send my peruvian friends on a wild goose chase in attempts to contact henry via his cellular apparatus, or intersection at bus stations.

still, no henry

saturday 10ish

henry's mother calls my mother and says henry just arrived in arequipa and is staying at a hostal whose name had the word backpackers in it.

i wonder, which of the hundreds of hotels with the title 'backpacker' in their name, he could be staying at.

saturday late

henry finds a phone that can connect to my cell

the international crisis is averted.

Hirma's family is putting both of us up tonight. now we sit on our beds chatting about the interesting smells in south america and the joy of being stuck on buses which encase those aromas.

11 Junio 2011

I don’t think anyone would hesitate to say that I am a passionate person.
And when they say that, I think what they are intending to imply is, “she gets real mad when people mess with the potentially successful”.

I have been searching for ways to be less mentally clouded when projects are threatened. I am of no use to the project if my head is steaming and blurring my vision of the past and present. But how? I feel like such a child. I close my mouth and say nothing until the smoke passes, then act. It would be so much easier and useful if I could react with clarity in the moment.

I read Greg Mortenson’s book to see if the frustrations of bringing education to the impoverished got to him, and how he managed it. I basically learned it did get to him, and he didn’t know how to manage it. But, due to the nature of our work, somehow, it works out. A wealthy donor leaves an envelop in the back of an empty lecture hall, a responsible community member shows some leadership when you are not around, etc. That seems to be the trend across the board.

So, who do I turn to to try and find my peace in knowing it will work out purely due to the nature of the work? Mother Teresa. I am defining faith here. “peace in knowing”. It doesn’t have to be in a god or deity (though it can be), but just carrying peace in knowing. My anger comes from fear and a lack of faith in myself and/or the communities I am working in. Just doubting for a second sends energy that is destructive. I, and my fellow volunteers, am experienced now. We have a wisdom we didn’t carry a year ago and it is apparent in our nature and our work. To be at peace when challenges show themselves is to have faith in that wisdom and the work itself.

Though many try to keep me safe, and watch my back by reminding me to keep my visions realistic, I would prefer to stick to my friend Javier’s words, “haz lo. Salta la increabilidad”.

11 Juino 2011

Thank you Juliane

Sustainability?

Go to the people;
live with them, learn from them
love them
start with what they know
build with what they have.

But of the best leaders,
when the job is done,
the task accomplished,
the people will say:
"We have done it ourselves."

-Lao Tzu

How is it that I walk around Lima and run into people I know? Have I really lived here THAT long?

Oh wait, that would be a, 'yes'. Today is my one year anniversary to move to Peru.

I am ready and rearing to leave Lima and get back to site. Back to my work. Back to my life.

Special thank you to Paul Sarria and Javier Arévalo for being so supportive and inspiring.

10 Junio 2011

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_Tern

I am surrounded by these guys right now. Such beautiful birds!

Can you see the nest and the bottom right of that photo (at the top of the cliff)?

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

Robert A Heinlein

Thank you Courtney and Mario

Such beautiful quote that I deeply relate to.

Thank you Sam...

For example once I started asking myself "How can I be of service in this moment?" I found all sorts of things. I would do wash up at the monastery. I would see someone feeling down and talk to them. I would straighten shoes that were out of place. I would pile my dishes in a neat stack to help out the server. Opportunities to be of service present themselves all the time. As I have done this I have been able to see areas where I am more skilled at serving and where I am drawn. For example I know I am drawn to working with kids. So I look for any opportunity to help kids around me even in small ways. I also know I am drawn to talking to people who are not seen so I look for opportunities to do that.

You can follow Sam's blog at http://dharmadharmaku.blogspot.com/

yet more exciting news...

a friend and fellow Peace Corps Volunteer in Small Business Development just finished this tourism website

http://www.cabanacondeperu.com/

I am going to throw a few terms in here so it comes up in searches:

tourism peru cabanaconde colca canyon turismo perú colca cañon arequipa

also exciting,

we have an official website from our donor that will be updated regularly.

http://www.worldconnect-us.org/projects/project.php?project=820

6 Junio 2011

Elections here were exciting and scary.

Change is inevitable. I hope, with every other Peruvian that it is only for the best.

Señor Ollanta Humala,

Please don't kick me out of this country. I love your country and people too, even though I am a white american. I have faith in your potential and wish you wisdom in this time.

Lu

Comparing these two videos is interesting

4 Junio 2011

Hirma invited me to stay with her family in Arequipa anytime I come into town.

I thought it was going to be another living situation where I would need to eat food I don't like and walk on eggshells to make everyone else feel comfortable.

It couldn't be more opposite. Everyone in the household is incredibly friendly and loving towards me and each other. There is SO much good and active energy here. The whole family is inspiring, even down to the 2-year-old. I LOVE it.

Tomorrow I head to Lima, and Hirma meets me there Tuesday for In Service Training. There isn't an ounce of me that wants to leave here, let alone for Lima.

contenta

2 Junio 2011 take two

How to harvest barley by hand

1. lay out large tarp or blanket
2. cut down dried barley with round serrated knife
3. carry in bundles about 10x your girth to tarp
4. wack the heads off with a stick, give stalks to donkeys
5. wack the heads with the eucalyptus stick until all grains have fallen off
6. wack at this pile until grains fall to bottom of mound
7. use thorny branch to brush off unwanted huskings
8. toss the grains to winnow the rest of the unwanted huskings away and leave you with only barley
9. preferably, make beer (please, for the love of pachamama, do not make chicha)

My family bought another calf that is less into suckling my fingers and more into head butting me in the knees until I bring her more buckets of milk. Its all fun and games when she gets me from behind, but all 150 lbs of her stopped our laughter when she got me in the kneecaps today and sent my head to images of emergency donkey rides and health post beds.

My host mother had to attend to “women farm-workers” club while my host father was still tossing barley. So, I sat in the kitchen, alone, with only the sound of the wind, as I pressed cheese for about an hour. The thing with making cheese, is there is no doing it quickly and well at the same time. As the cows milk warmed my submerged hands all I could think about was how I can never live again without doing this; without whacking fodder, without slobbery bull kisses, without hens wondering in my room for their breakfast, without doing by hand. So much about this life just feels so gratifying.

As round after round of kids came for homework help I imagined living here. Scary.

2 Junio 2011

My entire life everyone is always telling me I have lost weight.

The funny thing is since puberty finished I haven’t wondered from 116 lbs.

But, since these bouts of sickness I have felt skinnier, and my Peruvian friends and family have actively become concerned for how much weight they believe I have lost.

I went to weigh myself this morning at the health post.

52 kilos

or 115lbs.

Ha!

1 Junio 2011

Helena Norberg-Hodge

“It may seem absurd to believe that a “primitive” culture in the Himalaya has anything to teach our industrialized society. But our search for a future that works keeps spiraling back to an ancient connection between ourselves and the Earth, an interconnectedness that ancient cultures have never abandoned.”

“I used to assume that the direction of ‘progress’ was somehow inevitable, not to be questioned, I passively accepted a new road through the middle of the park, a steel-and-glass bank where a 200-year-old church had stood… and the fact that life seemed to get harder and faster with each day. I do not anymore. In Ladakh I have learned that there is more than one path into the future and I have had the privilege to witness another, saner, way of life—a pattern of existence based on the coevolution between human beings and the Earth.”

Shaikh Abu Saeed Abil Kheir, aka Nobody, Son of Nobody

“Let sorrowful longing dwell in your heart. Never give up, never loss hope.

Allah says, ‘The broken ones are my beloved.’

Crush your heart. Be broken.”

Rabindranath Tagore

“Not hammer-strokes, but dance of the water, sings the pebbles into perfection.”

Tiffyn Cvejanovich and myself hashing out some thoughts

“god is within yourself and everyone else. The connection is strength. But, there are more connections outside of those you touch. Those external connections are and always will be stronger than you. Nothing can ever develop or change without a huge part of the web working together.”

1 Junio 2011

I believe I made a grave error today.

Having not washed my sleeping bag sense winter season started, I decided to do so today.

It is now 10pm and my sleeping bag isn’t dry. As it is close to freezing in my bedroom, I started piling every warm clothing item I own on me because only one alpaca blanket won’t do.

The list:

Three pairs of socks

Warm leggings

Leg warmers

Fleece pajama pants

t-shirt

under armor

hoodie

wool sweater

wool hat

scarf

mittens

It won’t be a dangerously cold evening, but probably an uncomfortable one.

It doesn’t help that I am watching season one of BBc’s Planet Earth and tonight is “ice worlds”… I think we might have to skip to deserts for this evening.

31 Mayo 2011 take two

I ate lunch with the teachers again today, then headed off to begin painting the world map in the primary school. Two little guys on bicycles way to big for their bodies hurried up to my side, hopped off their bikes and offered to help me carry the supplies. They had arrived early.

Over the next 10 minutes about 20 students appeared and slid the leftover dentist scrubs over their clothes overly excited to paint.

My hands are still ocean blue.

31 Mayo 2011 take two

Last night while I was running around looking for a social counterpart to bring to training I ran into some primary school students that wanted me to check the posters they were working on for the parade in the morning.

“Cigar is spelled c-i-g-a-r not s-i-g-a-r, but everything else looks great.”

I assumed it was an anti-drug parade the primary school was doing. When I heard them marching this morning I ran outside to take pictures. It was an anti-drug and alcohol campaign not for the students, but for their parents.

This past weekend after the festivities of San Isidro the drunkenness in the streets was rampant. You can imagine that if the drunk adults scare me, they certainly scare these little ones. Proudly they walked through the plaza chanting and carrying signs…

“Please, Mr. Alcohol, I ask you with all my heart to leave my village, far from my family.”

“Daddy, please, I ask you not to drink alcohol.”

And the killer… “The beer that you drink is the bread that I lack.”

30 Mayo 2011

Next week the volunteers from my training group have In-service Training in Lima. Angelica (who went with me to the last training and is a great counterpart and good friend), recommended a man who lives in Madrigal that used to be a teacher to go with me. When we knocked on his door last week his toddler and 6-year-old answered. As they ran to get their dad we could hear his voice over the tin scrap door. Before seeing him I was filled with soothing hope. He spoke to his children so kind and attentively (not the norm here) I had a quick vision of him and I developing the library space together over the next year. His compassionate face lit up when Angelica and I explained our plans for the after-school program and library. He was delighted with the idea of working with kids again instead of construction. We told him to talk to his boss and wife about going to the Peace Corps training with me and would come back this weekend for his confirmation.

I was bubbly with the idea of working with an individual so perfect for the position of counselor/librarian.

Upon returning to site today I received notice from Angelica that Hermes’ wife had told her Hermes had to go to Chivay to look for work. Not only would he not be able to attend the training because the family could not afford to lose a week’s worth of income, but he might not be returning to Madrigal for a while as this job in Chivay was higher paying than what he had previously.

What broke my heart more than anything was that such an affectionate father was being pulled away from his children.

I set out on a quest to find someone to go with me. The first primary school teacher I talked to is a little, smart 4^th grade teacher. She clapped her hands and jumped a little at the thought as her husband said over her shoulder, “She doesn’t like to travel”. Her energy died and she tried to help me think of other people I could invite. I went to the preschool principal and she said she can’t leave her cows or her son for a week. I went to the woman who teaches carpentry and sewing and she said the Ministry of education won’t let her take more than two days off at a time. I went to another Primary school teacher and she asked an aunt to take care of her 10-year-old son for the week and the aunt said she was going to be in Chivay one of those days and couldn’t. I asked another primary school teacher and she said she was already traveling to Lima that week for an important doctor’s appointment that could not be rescheduled. Now, I was in a quandary. The training is in a week, and Peace Corps needed the name by today. I asked Hirma again if her doctor’s appointment could be pushed back a day and Peace Corps would be paying her transportation to Lima. “Perhaps,” but she had already booked her flight for Wednesday and the training started Tuesday. She called her husband who lives in the city to see if he could sign online and change her flight. He did it in less than five minutes and Angelica and I were dancing around the room.

What a long day.

30 Mayo 2011

Something weird is happening. Somehow, not only do I see a circle of my very own Peruvian friends forming, but, ‘Stability’ has become my middle name (go figure, I know).

A small group of educated women that are teachers in the schools has invited me to join their cooking circle. It almost feels like my life in Austin doing round-robin potlucks, which I love.

I have been so busy I haven’t had time to get lost in my head. I have a set schedule materializing and a rhythm that feels good.

Today Rocio, Edgar and I organized a meeting for the greenhouse project. Rocio heads this project and has organized it amazingly well.

The meeting ended up being invigorating for all of us. It isn’t just a charity that Rocio is organizing, but a 6 month series of workshops that train each potential greenhouse recipient on how to grow organically and how to cook nutritiously. The community members themselves provide all of the labor to build the greenhouses, but the materials are coming from a grant application to the regional government. Basically, it is the perfect example of Peace Corps supplying human resources to use the local resources optimally. I am honored and excited to be helping her with such great justice work.

Of the 32 expected to attend, 21 showed up, which is a HUGE percentage here in Peru. When I made 20 copies of everything everyone thought I was being overly optimistic. The most beautiful part of the meeting today was the excitement in the community members’ eyes. We really focused on emphasizing the fact that this is their project, and it can only be successful if they stand up as leaders and responsible members of their representative towns. I think they all walked away with a sense of ownership in the project. It was truly beautiful.

Of the 9 towns involved in the project 7 individuals (33%) are coming from Madrigal. I am SO proud of them for making this project a priority. I am also very pleased to know that my knocking on doors and ear pulling is being appreciated instead of found annoying.