A Little Collaboration

Hi all and happy Thursday. It’s a beautiful day here in Huancayo and I am taking advantage of the faster internet to give you a blog post with pictures today. Hooray.

So as the title implies, today we're going to talk about collaborating. If you've been reading for a while (and I hope you have) then it might seem like I am the only one responsible for anything I do in Laraos. And in some ways that is true because I am the only volunteer in my town and because travel between towns is somewhat difficult. But in the last few months, I have had the pleasure of collaborating with my fellow volunteers on a few projects. So I thought I would use today to tell you about them. Here we go.

1. Tomas Verde

This was the project of my "site mate" Alex (check out her blog at http://lexwritr.blogspot.com/2011_11_01_archive.html) who lives about an hour's drive away from me but really only 30 km. She's been working all year doing environmental art projects with her kids and as a culmination, she put on this event to showcase the work of her students. There was a contest among the high school students where they were required to demonstrate one of 5 themes (earth, water, wind, fire, flora/fauna) in a poster using natural materials in addition to markers and paint. The contest among the elementary school kids was in chalk art. I must say, I was impressed with their knowledge on how to shade and blend the chalk colors. It was a one day commitment for me but I know that Alex had been working on it for a while and I was there to lend a hand and to be (dun dun dun!) a judge in the contests. This was the first time that we volunteers of Yauyos had a work-related reason to get together and it was really cool to spend my day with these guys.

And to see the creations that Alex had encouraged out of her little soldiers. Though it wasn't my event, I feel justified in declaring it a success. Kudos to Alex.

2. Laraos Despedida

I think we technically designated the two days that my site mates came up to visit Laraos as the goodbye event for one of them, Mark. And we had a good time just hanging out in my room and spending some last moments in Peru together. Little did they know that they were coming over one of the days that I teach my weekly class to the 5th and 6th graders. So being the good sports that they are, they helped me talk about the food web that day.

And since they seemed to have it covered, I just sat back and relaxed.

3. Campamento Runa/Huarmi

You might guess by the name that this is a camp, specifically, two camps - Runa for boys (because Runa means men in Quechua) and Huarmi for girls (Huarmi means women). The camps were held in Junin, a solid 8 hours of travel from Laraos and took place on two consecutive weekends. Alex and I were able to bring two boys and two girls from each of our towns. And once in Junin, we met up with the 6 volunteers there who were also bringing students from their towns!

So let's start with Runa:

8 volunteers, 10 campers and 3 youth helpers attended this camp the last weekend of October. In the photo above, we are at the top of our hike, the activity that I led. As part of the plan, the lady volunteers fulfilled more behind-the-scenes rolls for this camp. The boys got did a team building activity, row in a boat, make environmental thank you cards, learn about the 3 R's, make music with recyclables, go on a hike, watch a movie, learn yoga and more. Two nights, two days and a whole lot of travel for us from Yauyos but as we were leaving the camp the final day, the boys I had brought commented to me (totally unsolicitied) "Este fue bien chevere. Seria mejor que sea un dia mas." Translation: This was really cool. It would be better if if were one day longer. Ah yeah, nothing like some unsolicited props to let you know that you are doing something right.

On to Huarmi:

The next weekend, these girls got together for their eco-camp experience.

The girls got to do a lot of the same activities as the boys but we had learned from the past weekend's experience and this camp flowed much more smoothly. This time we had the same 8 volunteers, 21 campers, 2 helpers and 7 Peace Corps volunteers in-training participate in this camp. For the girls, we girl volunteers got to play the more prominent role and I got to lead one of the teams. Here I am with my team, the Pink Panthers.

All weekend as we participated in the activities, teams could win points for skill, spirit and eco-conscientiousness. The last day a team was declared a winner and although it wasn't us, I think we had the most fun. I, personally, was so glad to be able to be a leader to these girls if only for a weekend. We also got to meet the new volunteers who would be coming to our region this next year and see them in action as they gave a talk on composting. As cool as it was to begin getting to know these people who will be working with us next year, we knew that as a result we would have to say goodbye to the volunteers with whom we had worked all of this last year. In a way, this camp was a good last hurrah while simultaneously a good "welcome to the region" activity.

As the girls and I left this camp, they gave the same feedback that the boys had. They wished it could have been longer and they hoped to keep in touch with the friends they had made while at the camp. We value these camps as a way for our students to come to know other realities, other regions of Peru and people beyond their own town. They expand their worldview and encourage them on their path as leaders in their own communities knowing that there are youths just like them doing the same thing in other communities. So, if you are one of those people who saw the link I posted on facebook asking for donations to make these camps a reality, thank you.

So I wanted to write about these events for a couple of reasons. The first being that they have taken up a whole lot of my time in the last month and for many of you, you read this blog to know what I am up to. But the other reason is this:

I think that a lot of people have an image of Peace Corps as a solitary person working in their community far removed from any sort of civilization. And historically or in other countries this may be the case. But in Peru, we are lucky to be able to collaborate with other volunteers and other communities and for me, that is when true development can begin. After all, what good is a highly developed community that isn't interacting with the rest of the world? The point of Peace Corps is to aid countries in development by providing volunteer professionals and to PROMOTE PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP. What better way to promote peace and friendship than to bring together people who would not be brought together under other circumstances? What better way to promote peace and friendship than by expanding world views and growing confident leaders? And I think in some small way with these activities, we have done that. So. Here's to working together.

Blessings.

Homecoming

Hi all. Everyone be glad. Not only is it a beautiful day but for once I didn't leave a month between posts. I'm finding that if I don't stay on top of this whole posting business, I fall very very far behind and then cool things to write about are no longer relevant because even cooler things have happened. So before I can tell you about the cool things I've been up to in the last two weeks, let me give you some thoughts on the first two weeks of October. For some of you these stories might sound very familiar because they happened in the United States and you were there to share in them with me. Also, I'm sorry that there are no pictures but the upload just wouldn't happen. I figure you can forgive it because most of you were there for these events. And those that weren't can check out photos on the facebook. Anyway, here we go.

OK, as most of you (and the people of Laraos who most likely don't read this blog) know, I went home in October to attend my one and only big brother's wedding. I was very excited because I had not been in Palatine in October in 5 years and I was pleased with the brilliant foliage my eyes met everywhere they gazed.

I was also very excited to be spending two whole weeks in the great country of variety and choice when it comes to food, drink, entertainment and people. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the food and drink was postponed until 5 days into the trip due to a sickness that hit me on the plane. It was uncomfortable but I can now add some new experiences to my list. And I still had the pretty leaves and many flavors of Gatorade to enjoy.

But once I was better, I more than made up for time lost and thoroughly enjoyed myself and seeing all of you. So should we do a top ten list? I think this blog would be lacking without a top ten list. Here goes.

1. Met my teacher pen pal and her classes in Lake Geneva where I gave 6 1-hour talks to high school students. I like to think that a few of them enjoyed my anecdotes if not just the break from the routine of normal class. And I definitely look like I know what I'm talking about. Also note: I had not fully recovered at this point. Now that's professionalism.

2. Tested out my mountain lungs at sea level and found that my previously "hard run" route in Palatine was surprisingly easy.

3. Falling back in with my Rhino friends and a Mr. Jeff Zagoudis. When other hear that I still am in contact with these buddies, some of whom I've known since elementary school, they tell me I'm lucky and that it is rare. I am only now coming to appreciate that fact and I am so thankful to continue having these folks in my life.

4. Skyping to a friend in Peru from the comfort of my living room. Having skyped many times from Huancayo to Palatine, it was especially neat to be on the Palatine end of that conversation. I found it much less frustrating and much happier.

5. Joe and Carrie's Wedding! I think I'm going to make a sub-list for this one.

a. How about the obvious result of this event being that JOE AND CARRIE ARE NOW MARRIED!!!! So that was pretty much a given but you can call that my excitement at acquiring a sister and seeing my brother the happiest (and giddiest) I've ever seen him.

b. Giving the soon-to-be-weds gifts from all over Peru. Hats and honey from Laraos, mugs from Ancash, a bowl from Huancayo and placed in a handmade basket from Laraos. I like to think they enjoyed those things.

c. The great thing about weddings is that they are like family reunions with a purpose beyond just getting together. So all of Joe's family (which is coincidentally my family too) came in to celebrate the event which means that I got to catch up with them too! It was especially cool to visit with cousins now that we are all "adults" and have developed into "real people" as some would say. It was almost like meeting new folks altogether and I liked hanging out with those new friends.

d. Party! What a good way to experience good food I had been missing than at a wedding. Also, dancing. Need I say more?

e. Getting all dolled up. I hadn't worn heels in a while since I am already a giant in Peru and heels aren’t the most practical of shoes when walking in the campo or up and down the town’s hills. I also hadn't worn a dress in a while for that matter. So as much as I may have complained about pomp and circumstance and frivolity, it was nice to be clean and dressed up and maybe even reminded of the fact that I am a girl.

f. Also, this girl. I got to see her! How great! I mean, come on. Maggie. Is there more to be said? Probably. Do I have the words to do any of our interactions/love for each other justice? Definitely not. So let’s just say that it was without a doubt, a highlight of the trip to get to hang out before and during all the wedding shenanigans.

g. Let’s reiterate: JOE AND CARRIE ARE MARRIED!!!

6. Trip to Charleston! Once the wedding smoke had cleared, mom and I took a trip to my college town to visit friends, eat good food, feel a little nostalgic and enjoy the beach. More on that in the following items.

7. Sushi with Sam and Alex and Marisa! So not only was there delicious sushi that cannot be found here in Peru but there was fantastic company.

8. That same night of sushi, the Chucktown Trippintones were so kind as to let me crash their rehearsal and even sing with them. I don’t think they realized how much it meant for me to be able to sing with them again. See, here in Peru, I don’t get a whole lot of chances to sing and zero chances to sight read music. So that first greeting I got when I typed in the familiar code on the door’s keypad once they realized who had come in and the next couple of hours felt like such a comfortable homecoming. For those two hours, I was somehow transported to a once familiar element. So good. Thanks Trippintones for letting me sing my way down memory lane with you.

9. Crashing at Michael’s house with Marisa. With this came late night discussions of everything and delicious breakfasts (one at a new café and one of cupcakes and oranges). It also meant taking nice relaxing walks with very nerdy conversations about what we were seeing in the harbor. What I liked most about this trip and visiting with these two especially is that we just fell back in to our friendship. Sometimes when away from folks for a while, it can be difficult to get back into a swing of interaction but with the truly great friends, after not seeing each other for a while, no time is wasted on “catching up”; the conversation goes straight to the now and sharing silly things like new shows.

10. BEACH!!!! After 4 years of living in Charleston and being only 11 miles from the beach, I up and moved to the complete opposite- the mountains of Peru. And as a marine biologist (that still sounds funny), it is weird that I now live at 3500 meters above sea level and a 6 hour drive from the ocean. So needless to say, I have been missing the coast and particularly the verdant marshy coast that is Charleston’s. Good day with mom at the beach and an even better night and morning run on the pebbly sand of Folly Beach.

11. Pizza! Mellow Mushroom pizza remains my favorite pizza in the southeast and I got to enjoy it again with some great company. I’ve found decent pizza in Peru but it’s not around and so although I didn’t eat it very often when it was everywhere, I can’t get enough of good pizza when I can find it these days.

12. Kaminsky’s dessert. I’m thinking that maybe I should have put all of the food things together in one super number in the list. But the emphasis of these food numbers shouldn’t be the food but rather the people I ate it with. So at Kaminsky’s, I was so glad for the company of Jen Jones and Patty Melt. What an adult conversation that was: talking about teaching the kids and school systems and how to teach character. What? When did we become so adult-ish?

13. A Saturday morning to myself in Charleston. After staying up late talking with Michael and Marisa, I woke up early Saturday morning to revisit one of my favorite running routes along the peninsula. As I turned off of Ashley to run along the Battery, the sun was glinting above the blue water of the harbor and my music kept my mind at ease. My legs carried me back down Queen Street to Colonial Lake where I was reminded that other people exercise for the fun of it too (a rarity here in Peru). Having that alone time in this city I had come to love, I felt like I had come home. In fact, it was weird to be in the city without having my home be there. But maybe I'll be back to stay some day.

14. Visiting with professors and mentors from the college. It was nice to see that although there had been some changes on campus, the people I had come to love are still working hard and devoting their lives to the development of their students. I was glad to chat with a few Honors Students about the Peace Corps but I was even more glad to catch up with Jill and Maria. My last event in Charleston before getting back on the plane was a lunch with Courtney and Marisa. Somehow, the 3 of us had developed a great working friendship my last year of college and although we still are doing some working, this lunch was all chatting. And I couldn't have been happier with it.

I found that I couldn't get enough conversation out of my trip to those homes. There were so many people to see and to talk with that I felt like I could have stayed a week longer just to keep up the conversation. But that is the beauty of the internet. It is always more difficult to keep a conversation going when not in the same place but with the help of technology, it is not impossible. And like I said, the good friends - the really good ones - are the ones that keep the conversation alive, even if they know they won't see you for another year.

And that's the plan. If you would like to see me in the next year, you are welcome to come to Peru and I will show you around as best I can. Because as we learned in June, Peru has become a home for me too.

You could say that home is where there is someone (and not a cabby with a sign) to welcome you at the airport. I had it in Chicago and I had it when I landed in Lima thanks to my friend Mark. I took my time getting back to site, spending time in Lima and then in Huancayo for a regional meeting. As sad as it was to leave friends in the States again, it was equally nice to reunite with the other volunteers in this place that has become another home.

Blessings.

Disculpen la Tardanza

Friends, I apologize. I have definitely dropped the ball on keeping you informed as to the goings-on here in Peru. You may remember from previous posts that recently there were a lot of festivities going on in my site. And then there were some festivities at home for which I traveled (more on that in another post, I promise) but now things seem to be settling down, at least in terms of the partying. So, to translate the title of this post for you, forgive my lateness.

This post, I would like to talk about Ancash. And here's why.

It is freaking beautiful. Oh my goodness. So beautiful. Now do you understand why I am so apologetic for waiting so long to tell you about this gem of Peru? If you still don't get it, here's another one.

Ancash is a department of Peru. I liken Peru's departments to our own states. So think of it as our own beloved Illinois...only full of snowy mountains. It lies just north of the department of Lima and is home to the Parque Nacional HUascaran (Huascaran National Park). Huascaran is the highest mountain in Peru. And here it is.

Our reason for going was a training event where we got to meet up with our fellow volunteers whom we hadn't seen since May. Here they are.

And I had the luck of traveling with my friend from site, my socia, Isabel who is in the picture two images above. This trip we got to delve further into working with the national park service, SERNANP, eco-turism, medicinal plants and implementing eco-efficient schools. So, nothing entirely new, but still new ideas that make the trip worth it. Plus, of course, the reason to see more of Peru and more of each other. So highlights include...

1. Wading in the glacial lake, Llanganuco in a part of Huascaran National Park.

2. Doing a group P90X session with other volunteers and one Peruvian. The other Peruvians and less active volunteers were just peering at us through the windows but it was all OK. I found it to be a good bonding experience.

3. Hearing Quechua spoken conversationally for the first time. When I approached a woman to inform her about the recycle buy that would be happening that afternoon, she answered me in Quechua! Luckily, her daughter was there to translate for me. I hadn't had that experience in quite a while where a person could understand everything I was saying but I couldn't understand a word she was saying. Not even was I able to pick out key words. But I could tell that it was a beautiful language.

4. Hanging out at the base of the highest mountain in Peru.

5. Witnessing a volunteer naked lake jump in to the glacial lake, Llanganuco. Maybe if there had been another girl willing to jump and about 40 less people watching, I might have been on board. But for now, I'll just keep mentally preparing for when it's my turn. Don't worry though, I'll keep you posted.

6. Getting to know Huaraz. This capital city is one of the coolest ones I've seen yet. It has the vibe that a young adult adventuring, borderline hippie, backpacker would dig. And there are lots of those around. Lots of tourists from other countries ready to scale some mountains and check out the hot springs. There are quite a few ex-patriots from other countries that are now running restaurants too. We were able to find Indian food! Soooo good. We also got to do some shopping and eating at cafes and feeling like adults. It was all good.

7. Among the things we did in Huaraz was visit a bar called Trece Buhos (13 Owls). This bar is well-known among volunteers and after hearing so many good things about this place, I was very excited to see it. The bar is home to a man-size game of Jenga complete with helmet in the event that the tower grows to above head height. But the best thing about this bar is that it is home to a micro-brew of coca beer. And it is by far, the best beer I've had in Peru. Now, this isn't really saying much because the rest of the beers that we've tried here, just aren't impressive. But I would say that this could stand up against some of the better loved brews of the States.

8. Bonding with my socia, Isabel, in Lima. We went to visit a park, got some chinese food, and took in some theater in the park!

9. Going for a walk around, or I should say on top of, old Yungay. We stayed in the town of Yungay but this town has quite a history. In the 1970's, the old town of Yungay fell victim to a giant landslide and was completely covered by that land. Two Peace Corps volunteers serving in the area at that time died in the disaster and the entire town was buried. To walk over old Yungay now is to simply continue walking along the road onto the grass. But then you begin to notice the memorial stones scattered around the ground. Each stone marks the location of the house that is under all of the earth. It was eerie to think about and made the walk a lot more introspective than I had planned on it being.

10. Views like this.

So, this blog was a long time coming. And it probably would have been a lot better had I written it sooner after the trip. But at the very least, you have seen a little more of Peru and know that this area is for you if you want to see some mountains and do some hiking outside of the Incan Trail to Machu Picchu. And you have a few more stories. Stay tuned. I promise to be more attentive to posting more frequently. Coming up: volunteer reunions in site, vacation home, and some event that I can't even begin to predict.

Blessings.

Common Ground

So readers, it's September 11, 2011. I have a lot of experiences still to write about, but since today is the day that it is, I have chosen to go this route. Lest you think I am jumping on the fleeting Patriotism bandwagon that this day creates, let me assure you that I wouldn't write about September 11 if it didn't play an important part in my daily life in Peru. Are you confused? You should be. I mean, I was when these this first happened to me:

Peruvian: Y de donde es usted? (And where are you from?)

Me: De los Estados Unidos. (The United States)

Peruvian: Ah, Estados Unidos. ....Y las torres gemelas? (Oh, the United States. ...And, what about the twin towers?)

Me: *blank stare*

How do I respond to something like that? Furthermore, of all the things that a person who does not live in the United States could choose to say to a person who is from the United States, how does that person decide to ask first about a painful day in our country's recent history? I would welcome the question as to whether I know Michael Jordan personally or not and would happily clear up the misconception that all we eat is packaged foods but, why that question?

Ever since that day in 2001, the date "September 11" is said quietly, with reverence, almost with fear that in speaking it, we will cause events to repeat themselves. The day has been memorialized and united Americans out of love for their country. It has also created division, intolerance, ignorant fear and some would argue unnecessary wars. I don't want this blog to turn in to a discussion of the politics and human rights that we find in the United States. It has been and will continue to be a forum for me to let you know the situation in Peru as I see and experience it.

It turns out, as big a deal as September 11 is for Americans, the terrorism displayed on September 11, 2001 was just as big a deal for Peruvians. In case you didn't know, Peru is all too familiar with terrorism.

From 1980 until the group leader's capture in 1992, Peruvians were subject to terrorism enacted by the group known as Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path). This was an offshoot of the Peruvian Communist Party that enacted militant Maoism to obtain their goals. They gained power first in the small villages in the Andean highlands and made their way towards the coast and their guerilla war operations were often funded by cocaine trafficking. They were looking to replace Peru's democracy with a "dictatorship of the proletariat" and to advance these goals they would, upon arriving in a town, publicly execute elected officials, teachers and other authorities without restraint.

When the government became involved in its war on terrorism (sound familiar?), it often times did not treat the town any better than the terrorists had. It was difficult if not impossible to distinguish who was in league with Sendero Luminoso from someone who had complied to save his life. As a result, government soldiers executed their fair share of innocents in order to maintain their tough on terror stance. And although the president from that time, Fujimori, is now in prison for these crimes against humanity, many Peruvians still revere him as the man who caught the leader of the terrorists, ending its great reign.

Now, as I live in a town in the Andean highlands, the recent history of terrorism is present in the minds of everyone I know. Many of them remember when Sendero Luminoso arrived in my town and could tell stories about it, if they could gather the strength to speak of it.

And so I realize, when I am asked by Peruvians about September 11, it is not because that is the first thing they can think of that they know about America. Nor is it that they want to talk about a timely news story involving the United States because a lot of other things have happened since then and the news does make it here in a timely fashion. It only took Peru a week after the fact to find out about Amy Winehouse, for crying out loud. It is none of those things. They, as fellow victims of recent terror, are looking for that common ground for which we are always searching. Something in which, although we are from different countries, cultures, and languages, we can find that connection.

Ten years ago, we Americans were shocked by one day of large scale terrorist acts and were pulled together, seeking a brotherly connection with our fellow patriots. For 12 years, Peruvians experienced a constant fear of attack as much from the terrorists as from their government seeking to end the terror. Let's remember today to think beyond our country and to the conditions of the world beyond. Let's join together in the sense of Patriotism that every special shown on tv today will incite and use that unity to affect positive change in our own hearts and country as well as beyond our borders.

And let's not throw a pity party today. Let's make new positive associations with this date. Today, since I am not in the United States, I am far from the television specials, ceremonies and memorials that will be taking place. I see this as a good thing. Because although it is important to remember, it is also important to celebrate the lives of those that are still present. And today, my host sister's son turns 2. Look at this guy.

And I will celebrate his life out loud while I remember the lives and deaths of others in my heart.

Here's a quote for you:

"This is the way of peace - overcome evil with good, falsehood with truth, and hatred with love."

~ Peace Pilgrim

Blessings.

Party Time

All I ever do is write about parties but guess what! We had another one!

And this lady is really excited about it. This is by far the best party photo I've ever taken. So, a quick explanation of the reason for this 5-day (yes, 5-day!) party: August 4th is the anniversary of the establishment of the district of Laraos. So. Town anniversary. Let's celebrate with 1 day of parade and pompy circumstance. I was officially invited by the mayor to participate in the first day's festivities by marching in the parade. As you, my loyal readers know, in Peruvian parades, when they march, they MARCH. Not wanting to be the only person marching to represent the Peace Corps in Laraos, I invited my neighboring sitemate, Alex (she also has a blog http://lexwritr.blogspot.com/2011/08/when-law-is-nothing-more-than-words.html, if you are interested in reading another perspective), to come and march with me. And of course, I got my now-blossoming Eco-Club of kids to march with us too. And, of course, I pulled out the official vest to be completely legitimate. So what began as an invitation for me to represent the Peace Corps, turned in to a showcase of one of the only kids clubs in the town.

The kids were so excited to be marching and waving and I was ecstatic to see their excitement about the event. What shocked me more was that halfway across the plaza, a group of adults began cheering us on like crazy. And that moment was the most affirming I have experienced yet in working in this country. To be able to show the town a little bit of what I had been doing (because some of them don't know) and then to have them respond with applause was wonderful.

I was also invited to dance as part of my community neighborhood in the traditional dance showcase. We danced the coronguina and because of a lack of male participants and my towering height, I was asked to dance dressed as a male. This is not because the men are a whole lot taller than the ladies, but because if a lady were to lend me a costume skirt, it would end up being a "mini-falda" rather than the conservative traditional knee-length. But I had a couple of pairs of pants that could work. And so here's the "integrated volunteer" next to the "professional volunteer" photo that Alex and I took at the party.

The rest of the days of the party went as follows: in the morning "las Pallas," or senoritas, would put on their party best and sing and dance until lunch time. Then, everyone would go eat in one home, emerge and then resume dancing and drinking until about 6:00 pm. Then later, around 9:30, the next family would parade in to present firewood to the their hosts for the next day. Way cool, but way cold. All in all, a fun but as ever, exhausting 5 days of party.

Which brings me to the theme of the day: celebrations. You may have noticed, we have a lot of them. Peru will take any occasion and use it as an excuse for a celebration of some kind. As you've seen, we celebrate the normal holidays, add in the saints days, anniversary of the town, anniversary of the district, anniversary of the school, anniversary of the high school and international anything.

And I am fully signed on to this idea. Because you see, if there is an international something day, it is worth celebrating. Luckily for me, there are a multitude of days celebrating the environment. There is Earth Day (April 22), Water Day (March 15), Earth Hour (March 22), Biodiversity Day (May 22), Environment Day (June 5), Fight Against Desertification and Drought Day (June 17), Arbor Day (September 1), Ozone layer preservation day (September 16), Habitat Day, Space Day, Forest Week, Danger of Mines Day, Animal Life Day, Scientific Service for Peace and Development Day and then...what I chose to celebrate this past week - Air Quality Day.

So Air Quality Day. I don't know anything about the origin of this day but I chose to use it to raise awareness of the importance of clean air and good habits to not pollute that air. In the mountains, we are pretty lucky to have that crisp clean air that so many people desire. But also in these days, that air tends to be filled with dust and now twice, smoke from burning mountain fires. So as I gave a small talk on these issues, we got the kids going on the main event: the kite contest. Because what better way is there to appreciate your air, then by playing with it? And what better way to play than by flying a kite? Cue the Mary Poppins music. And the turn out was great.

So as much as I may dislike the duration and the frequency of our parties and how it can often impede any progress I am making, the Peruvian propensity to want to celebrate can work in my favor. If there is a day for the environmental, I will claim it and proclaim it something worth celebrating and I can usually get the authorities on board. And when the authorities are on board, I am the one who is ready to celebrate.

Blessings.

Feliz Dia de Independicia!

Happy 28th of July! Don't worry, readers. I haven't completely lost my sense of patriotism. I am still quite aware that it should be "Happy 4th of July!" And since I'm writing now in August, it sounds even sillier. But here in Peru, the 28th is the day of Independence, Fiestas Patrias. And for those of you who snoozed through the month of history class where you talked about colonialism and imperialism, Peru celebrates its Independence from Spain.

But, after experiencing Peru's version of a celebration that we previous colonists can appreciate, I find that there aren't too many differences between Laraos being proud to be Peruvian and free from Spain and us being proud to be Americans and free from England. So here we go.

1. Who are we celebrating our Independence from? USA out from under England, Peru is out from under Spanish rule.

2. How long have we been free? Peru: since 1824. USA: since 1776.

3. How long do we celebrate? USA: 1-2 days. Peru: 5-10 days.

3. How do we celebrate? Peru: Food, parade, fireworks. USA: See "Peru"

And that is awesome, right? OK, so the food part is a little different. Peru chooses to have a contest showcasing the typical plates of each region of their country and we choose to have a cook-out in our backyards. The parade? Well our parade routes tend to be miles long and with at least 50 different groups marching. Here, the parade was approximately 100 yards with about 8 groups marching. When we parade, we walk and throw candy. A parade in Peru is a march. A near goose-stepping, downright military march. Maybe that's why they don't parade for miles. That and because any further and you'd be in the fields with the donkeys.

And the fireworks. In the USA, big works, sometimes set to music and blown up a substantial distance away from the spectators. In Peru, I'm sure you can guess. There are a few big ones but the majority are more like firecrackers and they are lit maybe 10 feet from the on-lookers. I think this adds to the excitement and only slightly unnerving.

Let me throw another interesting thought your way regarding independence and revolutions. There is another gringo in town at the moment. He is a college student from France who is doing a study on the quinual (endemic tree species to the Andes) forest. As we were talking about the 4th versus the 28th of July, he reminded us that for him it is the 14th of July, Bastille Day. 4th, 14th, 28th ... of July. All of them. So what is it about July that makes the repressed peoples get up and go revolt? Is it the hot weather that gets their blood boiling at their injustice? Or is the weather just more pleasant that people are outside and discussing how their lives could and should be? Or, are there just no holiday celebrations to get in the way of their revolution's progress? Either, way, I don't think that a leader need worry about a state-upsetting coup mid-December.

Blessings.

Knowing Your Priorities

Felices Fiestas Patrias a todos!

Today, July 28, is Peru's Independence Day. But this entry isn't going to compare the two Independence Day celebrations. I'll do that later when I have time to process, reflect, and upload the photos. This post is about priorities and how mine are so often different from my host culture's. Here I will present one case study for your analysis.

Since coming back to Peru and being back in site, we've lost power on three separate occasions. Now. When we lose electricity in the well developed United States, it generally comes back within an hour or so if not the next morning. In the mountains of Peru, this is not the case. And this is owed to the fact that our electricity travels what is for me a 4 hour car ride to get to our little pueblo. Thus, a lot of cable + a lot of distance + mountains + strong winds - frequent maintenance = a grand possibility of power failure and delay in repairs.

The most recent power outage happened on a Monday around mid day. The most frequent answer I heard was that a transformer had blown and that the power would be back anytime between the next day and 15 days from then. As a technologically dependent American, I was hoping for the former. I needed my computer to type up some documents, the internet to get them sent out, the printer at the municipality to get them printed to be delivered. Without power, the cell phones don't find their signal and I couldn't make my calls to other volunteers. I was for once living that incomunicado lifestyle of a Peace Corps volunteer. Out on my own, far and out of touch from other Americans with only my books and my knitting to keep me busy. And in some ways, this is good. It's always nice to take a break and remove ourselves from such a dependence on our modern contraptions. However, this was not the time for that. Not just I, but much of my town have/has become dependent on these machines to get our work done. And without electricity, nothing was getting accomplished anywhere.

But it went out on Monday and so with the entire work week ahead of us, we trusted that the good employees of Electro-centro would have us up and running and back on the grid in no time. But. Monday night passed and Tuesday came and went. Tuesday night as I planned on making a trip to a neighboring town to borrow some of their power to charge my gadgets: computer, ipod, cell phone, flashlight batteries, the authorities were busy figuring out how to get one television to work for 2 hours that night.

Back story time: For those of you who don't follow soccer (which I imagine to be most all of you), the South American Cup has been going on. That week was the semi-finals, that is, the game to get in to the championship game and it was Peru v. Uruguay. You may remember Uruguay's awesome handball play during last year's semi-final in the World Cup....or you may not. Let's just lay it out there. Peru doesn't win very often. Ever. Maybe once. So this was a big deal. And this town of 500 was going to see this game with or without electricity. (Turns out without electricity.)

This is how it went. It turns out that our municipality actually owns a gas-powered generator. I had no idea. But you'd think that they might have been using it a little bit in the last day and a half to accomplish those necessary work items similar to the ones that I couldn't do without power. At least I would think that. But it turns out that the generator is only for emergencies. And the threat of missing Peru in the semi-final game was emergency enough. So they hooked it up to the tv in the internet cafe (my house!) and when the time came, the fired it up.

And there we sat. Two hours. In complete darkness but for the bright shining of the television. A few times our generator failed us and we missed a few precious minutes, imagining what might be happening. Everyone cheering on their team, sharply inhaling when Uruguay made an attempt on the goal and yelling directions to the Peruvian with the ball. No matter the sport or the country, a true fan will yell at the tv and expect their player to hear them and heed them. Although I couldn't get over how ridiculous it was that this was the emergency reason to pull out the generator and spend the fuel, I love the night. The sense of camaraderie among Peru futbol fans was heightened by the sense of community brought on by a power outage. Unfortunately, we left the game sadder for having watched it because we were still without electricity and Peru had lost. (They went on to take 3rd place but don't ask me who won the Paraguay v. Uruguay championship.) Still, it was a night worthy of a post.

The power outage was still in effect Wednesday morning and so I took a nice hitch hike down to the town 9 km away hoping to get some power from the NGO I knew to have a generator. But this being the 3 day of the outage, they were out of power too and couldn't help. So then, I went to the source. Although our electricity comes from Huancayo, my capital city, the electricity for the mine comes from a hydroelectric plant roughly 10 km from my town. So I walked there and nicely asked if I could borrow their outlet for a while. They were more than helpful and as I sat working on my laptop while my ipod, cell phone and batteries charged, I marveled at how I was sucking my energy in straight from the source. The river rushing by was making that little battery symbol fuller as I typed. How cool and totally worth the walk.

The thing about losing the electricity is that it can be fun and beneficial if for a little while. We and our neighbors are outside enjoying all that we can of the sunlight until it sets completely. We rediscover the beauty of candlelight and story-telling. We are often more productive in activities that technology distracts us from like my knitting, journal-ling and reading (South of Broad, not the fluff read that you might think judging by the cover). We discover that we can do some things without electricity like making yogurt. We go to bed and arise earlier. We rediscover our priorities when rationing our power and we truly come to value its creation before we spend it.

And those are good reminders. But I'm still glad that we've gone a solid week without another loss of electricity. New record for the month of July. We'll see how long it goes.

Blessings.