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.

It's Good To Be Home

Hey friends.

I realize that the title to this blog might be a little weird. I mean, I was home about 2 weeks ago but now I'm back in Peru. So what exactly am I trying to say with this title? Well, I'll tell you. I mean it in two ways: the past tense - it was good to be home - and the present, it is good to come back to the home I've found here in Peru. So let's start with how it was good to be home in the States.

I wrote a 25 page journal entry about my trip home. Don't worry, I won't re-write it here. And since most of you, my readers, were part of my trip home at least via phone call, I don't think I need to write a whole lot about what I did. Most of you know that I was home to attend the wedding of a dear friend, practically brother, one Mr. Nathan Hubbard, in Pennsylvania. Shout out! I also took advantage of the relative near-ness to visit a special fella in Atlanta. And since the parents and the majority of other people I love are in Illinois, I was there too. What do all of these locations to visit mean? It means I didn't spend more than 2 nights in a row in one place. I flew a red eye to Atlanta, spent the day and night there and flew out the next morning to Chicago. Two days later, we hit the road to drive to Pennsylvania. Two days later we drove back to Illinois and then (ok, fine, there were 3 nights in a row) 3 days later, I flew back to Peru. And you would think, whoah, that doesn't sound relaxing at all. But I'll tell you, it was. The whole time, I truly felt that I was on vacation, worry-less and free to enjoy my time with the people around me.

So here's a top ten list of things I did, ate, drank, experienced, re-experienced during my vacation to home:

1. Nate and Laura's Wedding. I laughed, I cried, it was a good time.

2. Visiting Austin and Andy in Atlanta. Atlanta being my first American stop on the vacation, I marveled at the customer service and quantity of bacon at the IHOP, enjoyed a quality pizza at Mellow Mushroom and reveled in the amount of excellent selection of beers at the bar Battle and Brew which was hosting table top game night. Not to mention, a great time with a special fella.

3. Quality breakfasts. No one does breakfast like the United States: pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, sweet rolls, donuts, bagels, smoothies, brewed coffee and fresh fruit. How lucky that the hotel in Pennsylvania hosted a breakfast buffet for all guests.

4. Catching up with friends. Maggie, Nate, Sam, Jeff, Nicole, Robby, Zachary...need I say more?

5. Hot tub. Once again, lucky the hotel had one and extra lucky that on the day of the wedding, the groom and a bridesmaid could take some time to chill...brew?...in one with me.

6. Texting. Haven't done that in a while.

7. Baking. Cookies and brownies paired with excellent Oberweiss ice cream.

8. Sharing bits of Peru while home. i.e. This talk at FUMCoP.

and making Pisco Sours with Joe, Jason and mom for everyone else to enjoy.

9. Driving. Having not done it in 9 months, it surprised me how much of driving turned out to be muscle memory.

10. The availability of good beers and wines and being carded. I haven't written about it yet, but in terms of these beverages, the pickings are slim here.

11. Bike riding.

12. Summer showers.

13. Fast, reliable internet.

14. Phone calls.

15. Family.

16. Being able to exchange witty banter once again. I haven't quite mastered it in Spanish yet, and even if I did, there are some things that just don't translate.

When if comes down to it. Most of the things on that list involve being an adult. And I realize now that while I am here in Peru, it's not any of those, particular things that I miss. I don't miss my cell phone, or my bicycle, or good beer or customer service, or supermarket options, or even baking. I miss that sense of independence that comes with picking up my cell phone and texting or calling a friend to make plans for later. I miss choosing to go out for a drink and having the many options be it beer, breakfast or cheese presented to me in a respectful manner. I miss the freedom to grab my bicycle or my car keys and go where I please. And it's not the oven I miss, it's the fact that baking is an excuse to play hostess to my friends. As anyone who knows me knows, I love to play hostess - to offer my home as a place to eat, drink and be merry with loved ones. And ultimately, those things are what I loved about being home. For a fleeting week, I reclaimed my "adult life" and independence that are sometimes lacking in Peru. To go somewhere here in Peru, I am at the whims of the few car owners or my feet. And forget about playing hostess in a a home of which you rent one room. That life, is the one I left 10 months ago. And I do miss it. But I have traded it temporarily for another life style. But, I think that removed for a time from this new way of life, I will come to miss it too. And here's why I think that:

After that brief week home, I was back in Peru. As the plane was landing I didn't feel that feeling that I normally get when touching down in a foreign country, one that says that I am off on another adventure. This time, I felt like I was coming home. But I had just left home. What?

One of the questions I always get is: ?Y te has acostumbrada ya? (Have you gotten used to here yet?) I usually answer: "Yes, I think so." With this feeling of homecoming I had on the plane, I can answer assuredly yes. You don't know your home until you are returning to a place and are certain that there are people you will see there that care for you. I had that feeling going to Atlanta even though I have spent now a total of 3 nights in the city. I had that feeling landing in Chicago. And I had that feeling on my return to Peru. Home is where your loved ones are. In my experience, I have met and found many loved ones. And thus, I have created for myself many homes.

And it is good to be home. Blessings.

Another Party

Dear Readers,

I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to give you a new post. The thing is, there was another party in Laraos. I know, shocker. It happens every May 15 and it is called the Limpia Acequia (Clean the Canal) and it is a work and party type party. And you're thinking, "man, she could have updated in the month that passed since that party, right?" but no. I wanted to write this really awesome, introspective, cultural experience of a blog about this party, complete with video. But I never had the internet fast enough to upload the video...until now!

Awesome, right? I have a 10 minute video of me doing the dance but that would have been way too long for the blog. And unfortunately, so many more things have happened since this party that to write a long thing about it now would just be weird. Still, I thought the dance was fun and that you should see it.

Keep yourself posted about the blog post because boy do I have a whole bunch more to tell in the near future.

Blessings.