All Things New

Hello, beautiful people!

My apologies for the significant lag in my blog updates. It has been quite a week, marked by very long days of wonderful project work with my Saint Scholastica buddies and a move to a new apartment! It's been so long since I last blogged that I can't exactly remember everything I've been meaning to share, so I'm just going to try and recall what I can and hope that it develops some semblance of fluidity. I'm also hooopefully going to have a bunch of photos to share soon. I've been told that uploading pictures at the ProWorld office is a much faster process than uploading them in my house (which is no longer even an option in my new apartment--no internet--boohoo!), in which case I'll have quite a bit more photo footage to share with y'all! Anyway, without further adieu, here we go!

- I've had a seriously wonderful time with the St. Scholastica group these past two weeks. Yesterday, I was super sad when I brought them to the airport for their return to the US. (Although somewhat soothed by the fact that people were giving me presents left and right--shampoo that didn't fit in Keri's suitcase, a book and some hair mousse from Sarah, a bunch of high-quality toilet paper from Marie and John. No one at ProWorld told me about how much free stuff I'd acquire by taking on the airport drop-off responsibility!). I also had rather an interesting realization during the whole airport drop-off process. Most ProWorld groups are here for a week or two, and sometimes five or six weeks, but I get to be here for three months! What an incredible opportunity to fully immerse myself in the culture of Cusco...to become a member of the community here...to develop friendships and life experiences that can't be replaced. It's pretty neat to be dropping people off at the airport, and then being able to say goodbye and hop into a taxi and return to my apartment in Cusco. While my first few blog entries probably indicated a clear desire to get back to NJ and the USA as soon as possible, I've come to develop a fondness for Cusco, and a desire to make the very most of my time here. I am very blessed.

- My last few days of work with St. Scholastica were spent at Manos Unidas, and one day was devoted to building stoves in the same community where I worked with the students of Pittsburgh. I am going to miss Manos Unidas, and the wonderful people who work there, who have so much love for the children. I plan on getting back there a few times while I'm in Cusco. As I believe I may have mentioned, Manos Unidas is primarily able to run because of donations from supporters in the US and other countries. If you're interested in learning more about Manos Unidas, you can definitely e-mail me and I'll either tell you what I know or put you in touch with one of the directors. If you'd like to consider making a donation, just go to this link: http://www.manosunidasperu.net/id6.html. Having seen the wonderful work being done there, I can assure you that your money will be well-utilized to better the lives of some truly beautiful children. So you don't think Manos Unidas is already perfect or anything, I should mention that on my next to last day volunteering at Manos, one of the teachers asked for my help, but didn't specifically tell me what she needed me to do. Without question, I followed her, and she led me to one of the upper classrooms, where three children were supposed to be sitting at their desks and eating their snacks. One student, Joaquin, had a tupperware container with rice and chicken, Alejandro had an apple, and Edher, had peanut butter and jelly. The teacher smiled at me and shut the door, and then, for about thirty minutes, PURE CHAOS ensued. Joaquin was uninterested in eating, but also quite unwilling to share with Alejandro, who, at every possible moment, attempted to scoop up handfuls of Joaqin's rice and stuff it into his mouth, spilling lots of it on the floor in the process. Joaqin would then get angry and pull Alejandro's hair, and then Alejandro would scream and cry and refuse to return to his seat. Edher started off eating quite peacefully, but when Alejandro decided to raid Edher's lunch stash, I ultimately ended up with three very LOUD and displeased children. Looking back, I am wondering if this teacher intended to give me a taste of her daily life, or if she really thought I'd be able to handle three stubborn children all by my lonesome! While the whole half hour was quite frustrating, it was also eye-opening to see the degree of patience that is required of these teachers, most of whom have had no training in special education. It also made me even more aware of how much individual attention and care these children need, much of which can only be provided by additional staff members and more specialized training. I am so impressed with all that Manos Unidas is doing, but also so hopeful for its future, and for all the changes that can make it better still.

- On St. Scholastica's final work day, we drove to a rural community to build clean burning stoves for some of the families there. When we arrived, Lalo gave the group a demonstration on the stove-building process, which took about an hour. Then, we divided into groups of two and three and headed to individual houses to begin building. My partner was the lovely and beautiful Jenna Fischer, and we made a pretty super awesome team, except for the fact that I kept accidentally dropping blobs of mud down our chimney and having to make Jenna stick her hand into the oven opening to get them out. The stoves were constructed using only bricks (of four different shapes), mud, three metal rods, a damper, and a little metal "roof" that we called the "sombrero." Jenna and I worked at the home of a dear woman whose name I unfortunately can't remember. Her son, Marco Antonio, was 12 years old, and I talked to him a bit about his hopes of becoming a police officer in Cusco. Apparently, becoming a police officer here is quite difficult because there are only about 300 spots open per year and some 3000 applicants. I found this out from Lalo, who apparently considered becoming an officer himself. (Luckily, ProWorld snagged him up!). After Jenna and I finished up our stove, it was time for lunch. Then it was back to stove building. Jenna partnered up with Keri and Jennie (Team Physical Therapy--PTs stick together!), and I began making rounds with Lalo to check on the other stove builders. It was very interesting to see the different kinds of houses in which the community members lived, and to realize the excess that so powerfully characterizes the USA and other more developed countries. We have so much more than we need, and I continually find myself contemplating how I can better reflect the idea of "living simply so others can simply live." The highlight of the stove-building day was getting to see my dear Analie, whom I'd been missing since my last time in the community a few weeks before. She remembered me right away, and I was so glad to scoop her up and hold her for a few hours before it was time to return to Cusco.

- For Saint Scholastica's farewell dinner, we went to Don Antonio and had a delicious dinner, featuring some really tasty roast beef, a ceviche, and guinea pig (which I avoided happily). When the dancing performances began, I saw one of the guys who does the dance in which he and his partner try to light each other on fire. Knowing that they always bring up audience volunteers for that particular dance, I pointed out Lindsay, one of my favorite St. Scholastica darlings, and told him that she wanted to get up on stage. He was quite willing to honor my request, which resulted in a hysterically red-faced Lindsay dancing around for lots of tourists and attempting not to be lit on fire. It was priceless. After having sufficiently amused myself, I gave Lindsay what remained of my Machu Picchu, a mixed drink that I had ordered. I essentially drank the sugary juice part and then gave Lindsay the pure alcohol. She had earned it, and I certainly couldn't have drank it myself without significant after effects! After dinner, we all went to one of the discotecas for the free salsa class followed by some open dancing. It was very fun (and funny), and I stayed until the non-salsa music came on (aka the music that requires one to have "moves"), and then headed home to...drumroll please...my new apartment! During the two hours between my return from building stoves and the start of our farewell dinner, Laura and I had moved all of our stuff from our lovely apartment in Huancaro to our new digs in San Borga Alta. While our new place is smaller and in a slightly less desirable neighborhood, we are now only a block from the ProWorld office, which is SUPER nice, and also on a convenient ground floor and quite close to Avenida de la Cultura, one of Cusco's major streets with lots of stores and restaurants and other things we might need. (We're also a block from my new friend Helmud, which I'll discuss further in a bit!) I'll provide a photo house tour sometime soon. Today, Laura and I have been given the day off because we've both been working pretty incessantly the last few weeks. So far, I've had a lovely morning. The weather is beautiful, and I walked to the grocery store and the home store, where I bought some much-needed food items as well as dish soap and sponges, a bath mat, a carpet for my room, and a trashcan for our kitchen. Then, Laura and I went to the Wanchaq Market, where I bought some carrots and bread and potatoes. Pretty much the only major item I'm still looking to buy is a hair dryer. I've decided that the time has come to tame the tresses--at least a little bit! (Sister Julie, I know you're beaming right now, but know that you haven't won me over in the battle against my baby curls--I'm merely concerned about my hair having adequate time to dry now that I live so close to the office!)

- Yesterday, I had the joy of some company at the 11:30 mass at La Compania. Emily, Lindsay, and Sarah (St. Scholastica ladies) joined me, and the service was, as usual, lovely. This week's reading referenced Jesus' words, "If you love me, then keep my commandments." The priest's homily was wonderfully relevant; he spoke about friendship in general, and how, when we love our friends truly, we want them to know the truth and not be deceived. And if we humans care about our friends that much, how much more does Jesus love us and long for us to know the truth about His love? I have to admit that I was a bit less attentive than usual in light of the presence of my St. Scholastica amigas, so I didn't get quite as much out of the homily as I normally do. Actually, what most moved me during the service was a little quote on the front of my mass program, which said, by my translation, "When life's troubles come upon us and things get tough, we must not fall except upon our knees in prayer and thanks to God, who alone can save us." How wonderful that there's such a small difference between "falling" and "falling on our knees in prayer," and that we can choose between the two!

- Amid the departure of St. Scholastica was also the arrival of Missouri, or, as they say, "Mizzou." Laura and I were in charge of the Mizzou airport pick-up, and while we waited for the group to emerge, we met a friendly guy named Wilfredo, who works for Condor Travel. Wilfredo apparently used to work for ProWorld in Urubamba, Peru, and spent some time studying at California Polytechnical Institute. It just so happens that a group is coming from CalPoly to Cusco in a few weeks, so Wilfredo and I exchanged numbers so that he can see if it might be possible for him to send something home to his California host family. Small world! The Mizzou students seem like a pretty super bunch for the most part. They're here with a professor (Jacqueline), as well as Jacqueline's 13-year-old son Michael and his friend Alex. We took them to lunch at Victor/Victoria, my favorite restaurant ever, where I enjoyed a trout appetizer, some pasta bolognese, and a little piece of chocolate cake. I am excited to take Andrew and Brian there!

- Which leads me to my next point of note--Andrew and Brian Whitman are arriving in Cusco in less than a week! This Thursday, at 7 AM, I'll pick them up from the airport and check them into the guesthouse where I've reserved them a room with a set of twin beds. Now that St. Scholastica has left and I have a bit more downtime in life, I am going to start making a little itinerary of fun things to do with the boys. The item of greatest importance is probably their trip to Machu Picchu, which I have yet to arrange. Hopefully, that task will be completed by the end of today! I can't wait to see my precious brothers!

- Helmud! Helmud, as some of you may recall, is the physical therapist who works at Manos Unidas School, and whom I listed as a potential husband in my last blog entry. Since I last wrote, Helmud and I have conversed and exchanged numbers, AND spent two evenings in a row together practicing English. He has quite a bit of work to do, as he'll be moving to Norway in a few months to earn his master's degree. His classes will be in English, and while he does a pretty nice job with comprehension, I need to slow down my speech rather a lot for him to catch everything that I say. Our first meeting happened on Saturday evening. He called Saturday in the early afternoon and asked if we could meet at the Cathedral at seven. I agreed, and we met there and then decided to take a cab to his house, which is truly only a black from my new apartment--super convenient! We listened to salsa music and he bought me my first (and second--ha) Cusquena beer, and then we chatted for about five hours, mostly in English but the last hour and a half or so in Spanish. It was really fun to talk to him, and while I became aware of certain ideological differences between us that would make marriage difficult (shucks!), he's very dear, and certainly easy to look at! He has some of the most beautiful curly hair that I've ever seen on a Peruvian! We agreed to meet again on Sunday evening (last night), so he came over to chat for a little while around seven. We only spoke for a bit because he had some friends over at his house and didn't want to leave them for too long, and now we have plans to meet again tonight to eat ice cream and go shopping for a book for him to read in English. I'm rather amused by all of these Helmud interactions because I found him so intimidatingly and unapproachably handsome at first meeting. Now, the whole thing just makes me laugh! He apparently has a girlfriend in Lima as well, which, while disappointing at first, now is sort of a relief because I don't have to worry about romantic tension and such. Also funny is Helmud's tendency to ask very personal questions. This is pretty standard among Peruvians, who don't think twice about asking your age, your marital status, and more, and it doesn't really bother me because I love finding out about people and having honest interactions. That said, it still amuses me when Helmud suddenly asks me something like, "Do you think I am handsome?," which would be super unusual in the US! :-) It's been fun getting to spend time one on one with a native Peruvian, both to better my Spanish and to be able to help him with his English. It's also just nice to know that I speak good enough Spanish to be able to make friends and keep up my end of the conversation without feeling like the "weakest link."

- I just started reading a really great book called Better, by Atul Gawande, a Harvard-educated surgeon. The book was recommended to me by a friend, and I wasn't sure that I would like it considering my general lack of affinity for most things medical, but it's turning out to be an inspirational and intelligent read, and I am really glad that I brought it along! I highly recommend to doctors, nurses, and non-medical people alike!

That's about all I've got for now, folks! I hope I've been able to catch y'all up on some things, and I wish you all a splendidly beautiful week!