I’ve spread my life all over the world…

With the end of 2013, my year as a Fulbright grantee also comes to a close as does this blog.  I applied for the grant my senior year of college, not knowing what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go or even how I aimed to get to my unknown destination.  However, I did know that I wanted adventure, that I wanted to learn, and that most of all I wanted to take chances and maybe if all went well, I would find myself along a road of happiness while discovering more about our curious world.  Little could I have imagined that I would have such a wonderful year: meeting incredible people, developing professional skills, and growing as a person—themes that have been a part of my journey in each of my international experiences as well as my educational opportunities in high school and college. 

I set foot in an airport for the first time in my life in June 2006 to board a plane bound for Slovakia where my mind expanded.  My travels to Slovakia and since (Germany, Peru, Kenya and South Korea) have forever changed the way I see the world.  It’s not just the big things, but the simple things too.  Beauty lies in the small moments: the excitement of small children waiting in the dirt outside their adobe homes to watch you teach their mothers to bake a cake, ugali and a warm cup of tea served up by an old grandmother in her mud hut as she thanks you for teaching her grandchildren, the letters received from across the ocean at the holidays, the willingness of university students to take time out of their  busy schedules to explain things about their culture that you are struggling to grasp, and the warmth of hugs and kisses from friends and family. 

Growing up in rural Nebraska, I took for granted the change of the seasons, the fragrance of freshly cut grass and the lilac blossoms in the spring.  I didn’t know the blessing of peace and stability, nor of understanding those around me.  I now see each moment of life as a miracle, never ceasing to marvel at the kaleidoscope above—the changing clouds, the sunsets, the storms.  We are like the weather—like the particles in motion working together, doing our separate tasks.  Sometimes we create a sunrise or sunset, but at other times we become caught us in ourselves and sabotage ourselves.  The atmospheric conditions just keep on changing and there is no one who can stop it.  Culture varies.  Languages evolve.  Hope lives.    

I’ve learned that there is much truth in the African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.”  Some of us have blue eyes and silky blonde hair.  Others have green eyes and curly red hair, yet still there are those with smooth dark chocolate eyes and hair black and stiff like steel wool.  Our languages are distinct—some are nasal, some guttural, some tonal and others with clicks.  Our values, traditions and taboos can be as extreme as the ocean floor and the sky.  Despite all  these differences, we are the same.  Our faces break into smiles when we’re happy.  We clench our teeth in pain or anger.  Children learn to crawl, walk and speak, to jump and sing at roughly the same ages all over the world.  We all experience hunger and thirst.  Aging escapes on one.  It really is easier and quicker to do many things on your own as you need not concern yourself with understanding anyone else.  Yet to succeed, to accomplish great things, to have someone to pick you up when you fall—you must slow down and invest in others.  In this way we can all go far.  We can reduce the prevalence of poverty, ignorance, crime and disease.  Each of us can make a mark and together we can paint a masterpiece.  I’ve learned things about myself and about humanity that I hadn’t known before.  I discovered bright meadows, shadows and caves.

Arriving in Germany in 2007 as a naïve teenage girl, I quickly hit many bumps as I struggled with the language, was placed with an abusive host family, was pulled into a nightlife scene that I had never before seen, and looked for friends to fill the voids of those I’d left behind.  The journey was tough, but I came out ahead with a loving host family, stronger values, a good control of the language, and a few good friends with whom I continue to share life today.  My adventure to Peru a little over two years later was also filled with many misadventures, but helped me discover the joy of volunteer work and opened my eyes up to the work of the NGO world, something that would later lead me to Kenya.  I didn’t fly halfway around the world to Kenya to see cornfields, to learn to use pit latrines, to listen to magical tales or to be pinched by hoards of children and adults alike, who just wanted to see if I was as human as them.  But then, that’s the point of flying halfway around the world—to experience what you didn’t expect to. 

After all the hatred, all the love, all the differences and all the similarities I’ve encountered, it is hard to sift through the sand and know what’s valuable, but I’ll always have a treasure chest of memories.  In some ways I see more clearly, in other ways my vision is hazy at best.  The one thing I do know is that I will never be completely at home again, because part of my heart will always be elsewhere.  That is the price I must pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place. 

My Crazy Week and a Half

Over the last week and a half I've been busy, extremely busy.  It's been fun though.  As my Fulbright scholarship draws to an end, I feel busier than ever, but know that I have made the most of my time here, have learned a lot and have made many memories.  I went to Lima where I was able to meet up with a few friends who live in Lima, as well as meet other Fulbright teaching assistants and researchers.  Returning to the region of Lambayeque, I finished up my classes at the university on Friday, helped plan and put on a few workshops with Centro Esperanza for the women and youth and helped with the organization and facilitation of a youth gathering of 35  12-16 year olds from several parts of Chiclayo in Chosica del Norte.  It was a lot of fun and all went smoothly, thanks in great part to Sarah's meticulous work.  There were games like a three-legged race, water balloon races, scavenger hunts, and workshops including crafts, art and guitar and singing.  One more week to go and I'll be on vacation! :)  (Below are some snapshots of some of the moments I mentioned).

Peru's four Fulbright ETAs for 2013: Maya, Melissa, Aprill and Erin

Fulbright: Peru's 4 ETAs, 8 researchers, president and vice president of the commission  

My 3rd semester language students at the university surprised me with a farewell party!

Visiting Geidy on her work break

Larco Mar (Lima)

Youth getting ready for the three-legged race...  

...and the race is on!... 

Youth learning a little about guitars

Month of Giving Thanks

As we celebrate my favorite holiday by giving thanks, I make note of something I've been thankful for each day this month:

1- Improvisation skills

2- Artwork

3- Music to dance to

4- Learning

5- Smiles

6- Supportive colleagues

7- Cupcake tins to bake cupcakes with the women in San Borja

8- Time to get together with Sarah

9- Having functioning internet to call Tammy and the warmth of amigas here

10- The opportunity to taste a coconut (even if I'm not a huge fan)

11- Patience that God has given me and taught me to use

12- The man down the street who repairs broken shoes

13- the talents of students and the work they put into their graduation ceremonies

14- International volunteers and North American jokes  

15- Sarah, who always makes the not-so-good workshops go better

16- a windproof jacket at the beach in the early morning hours

17- Sunshine

18- cellphone to keep in touch with friends

19- fun, intelligent students who show up for conversation groups

20- Igor, who went for a walk with me after a long day at work

21- donations from a Canadian group to provide plastic stools for the group of women in San Borja

22- cousins and friends and country music

23- the green-grassy median of the Pan-American highway to lay down and relax

24- mangos at the market

25- My parents (and host parents) and their 30 years together

26- having the chance to watch the Juegos Bolivarianos (pre-olympic competitions for South America) right behind my apartment!

27- not having class in the morning so I can correct assignments

28- a flight to Lima

In learning you will teach and in teaching you will learn. ~Phil Collins

   I came to Peru on as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant.  My role was defined on a piece of paper, but the reality is that although I have been a teacher in some capacities, I have been a much better learner throughout my time here.  As the year winds down, I am left to reflect upon not only what I have taught, but also what I have learned.  
   Time has flown.  This was a busy, but more productive semester for me at the university and language center than the first semester that I was here.  I have been involved in a variety of activities, providing most of my support to students who will be studying English to an advanced level, using it as international business majors or studying English to become foreign language teachers.  My job has therefore included helping with a translation course, reviewing and helping to develop curriculum, designing and conducting oral English evaluation activities and exams for university students.  I began conversation groups with foreign language majors and have enjoyed getting to know them better in those more intimate moments when we can laugh, look at photos, and discuss cultural differences, life experiences and ask/answer questions that have nothing to do with the teaching objective as we are limited in some of their other classes.  I also developed and facilitated a teacher training course for English professors at the university.  It will soon be coming to an end along with numerous other activities with which I've been involved at Pedro Ruiz Gallo National University.  While I look forward to new experiences, I realize that I still have much to do, but that I have also gained a lot.  Throughout these different activities and spaces, I have met new people, learned about the Peruvian public education system, bureaucracy, politics, teaching, and language learning.   
   Aside from my work as an ETA, I have learned many things by partnering with the NGO Centro Esperanza.  The projects and workshops with the organization will also be coming to an end in a few weeks for the year of 2013.  
   I have thoroughly enjoyed working with a women's group in the pueblo joven of San Borja just outside of Chiclayo.  Throughout the five months that my friend Sarah and I have been working with the women, we have focused on good practices for small businesses and baking.  With one workshop a week, we have been able to share ideas, build trust, taste a variety of baked goods, analyze team work, and get to know one another better.  We spent numerous weeks teaching the women to bake, a task that seems second nature to us, but quite complicated to those who have never had to measure flour or sugar in their lives.  The majority of our baking workshops focused on Peruvian desserts that the women requested, but during our final two baking sessions we taught them to make North American treats: cupcakes and Christmas sugar cookies.  Thrilled with the new brightly decorated treats, cultural exchange was rich.  
   We have also been able to share our cultures with our youth group in Chosica del Norte.  Last week we taught them to line dance to Cotton Eye Joe for an upcoming talent show.  We (2 Americans, 2 Canadians and 1 Peruvian) are gearing up for a gathering of about 50 youth from pueblos jovenes around. It should be a lot of fun for the youth to get together, try some new activities and perform in a talent show.  
   Although I have been a leader, facilitator and teacher in many ways in these projects, I have also been a learner.  The women at Centro Esperanza have taught me a great deal about leadership, service work, compassion and dedication.  The mothers in San Borja have taught me patience, resilience, and reminded me to take life one step at a time, and the youth in Chosica del Norte have taught me about their generation, have shown me yet another perspective on life and have given me experience in dealing with challenging situations. 
   This year has been a blessing and a great learning experience.  In a few more weeks, my grant will expire and I'll see where things go from there.

 Thanks to good will from Canada, the women 

no longer have to sit on buckets and stones but just 

recieved stools and an oven in which they can bake!

        

Pictures of the Week

 Youth making a banner for their youth group in Chosica del Norte

 Making and decorating cupcakes for the first time

Waiting patiently for a sweet treat: Cupcakes!

Color of a Donkey's Belly

   This morning, I awoke to one of those rare days on which the people around me say in Spanish, "The sky is the color of a donkey's belly."  It's not often that weather in Chiclayo is dreary and grey, but this morning, it certainly was.  Fortunately by this afternoon, the sun decided to shine.  When I look up and the sky looks like a donkey's belly, I feel sluggish and not as cheerful as when I'm blinded by the glaring sun.    

   On my 25 minute walk home to make lunch after the university and my bus ride back to Chiclayo, I began to think about things that are grey around me.  There really isn’t much that is black or white.  Donkeys are grey.  Sidewalks are grey.  One of my suits is grey.  People with a lot years under their belts have grey hair.  Smoke is grey.  Sometimes dogs are grey. 

  There are a lot of other things that I find to be neither black nor white, but rather some shade of grey in between.  Sometimes it is hard to know when to lend a hand, when to place a few coins in someone’s hand, to give a few more examples in class, to ignore someone, or to share your criticisms.  Does she want your help?  Does he need the money for food or will it go to drugs?  Are they calling out to you as a greeting or to make a harassing comment?  Will your comments be taken and used for motivation to improve, or will they create a sense of resentment in the other person?   

   One incident this last week reminded me that we are all made up of shades and grey; we’re all a little bit good and a little bit bad.  One of my friends had to take a taxi from classes at the university to arrive punctually at the hospital for practical hours in an operating room.  When getting out of the taxi, his wallet fell out on the seat.  He noticed as he was beginning to shut the door—but so did the driver.  My friend tried to open the door, but the driver stomped on the gas pedal and sped away.  A wallet full of important documents and money: gone.  Three days later after having been very distressed about losing his wallet and reapplying for a national document of identity and preparing to reapply for other documents, a mototaxi driver dropped off a document void of money, but with all the documents at my friend’s house.  Who took the money?  The mototaxi driver, the taxi driver or someone else? That was a thankless act; however, there was certainly a bit of good in that young mototaxi driver who decided to deliver the personally documents to their rightful owner.   We are all a bit distracted at times.  We all err and we all do good.  And then, there are many more actions in the middle that are neutral, not necessarily bad nor good, neither black nor white, simply grey and play out in unknown ways.  Like it or not, we’re all a bit like a donkey’s belly. 

Blessed Bits

A few shots through a lens at great moments in the pueblos jovenes:

Children playing in our "kitchen"

My treat...

I prefer shopping at the markets where I can buy fresh produce and grains at fair prices in a lively environment much more quickly that in a supermarket where it is always necessary to wait (sometimes up to a half hour) in line.  Thus, I seldom go to the large supermarkets here in Chiclayo, with Tottus and Metro being the most well-known.  I get used to eating typical Peruvian dishes which includes rice often with lentils or beans.  Additionally I eat salads, bread from the bakery with an avocado or olives and cheese, typical pastas or papa a la huancaina.  Despite the huge variety in Peruvian gastronomy, sometimes I get tired of the food here.  This last week, as I was telling Igor how I miss certain foods from home, he suggested we go to a supermarket for un gusto.  It was a great idea and we even got through the checkout line in 15 minutes!  Even though I think some of the prices are outlandish and I'd prefer to support small businesses, I must admit that my $8 box of cereal, $7 jar of peanut butter, and other over-priced foods taste great.  Making stir-fry, french toast and pancakes have been a great touch as well.  I long to have an oven again, but at least, this week my palate has had a treat!  :)

Peruvians Love to Party

If there is any special date be it a birthday, anniversary, the16th year since the language center began, the week of medicine, Women's day, a wedding, day of the volunteer, an engagement ceremony, holidays or whatever it may be, you can be sure that their will be a celebration full of food, pictures, a toast and dancing.  This last month has been full of celebrations at the university, at the language center, with friends, and a small ceremony for those with birthdays at the NGO and at our work sites.  Below is a glimpse:

My Interpreting Adventure

The opportunity to practice Spanish <---> English interpretation arose this week to translate for a visiting opthamologist from the US.  He was here with members of his charity organization who come from countries around the globe.  Conducting eye surgeries for free on people with great needs and living below the poverty line, his organization has also selected the community of Mórrope (about 40 minutes by Combi from Chiclayo) as their partner community in Peru.  There they are constructing a soccer complex as well as implementing healthy livestyle programs into the school for the youth.  Thanks to Igor and his hospital ratation group from the university, I was invited to interpret for his presentation at the city hall.  I was nervous and it was nothing like I had expected.  There were a ton of people and it was packed.  

Dr. Assil gave a motivational speech for the community explaining his past and why his team is in Mòrrope to do what they are doing.  He explained much of it through his own experiences of belonging to one of Iran's wealthiest families, but having his father lose the entire family fortune while he was a very small child.  He told of how they sold everything and moved to the USA and his father took ill and passed away.  Dr. Assil shared his tough jobs with the community and asked them to try to motivate their youth.  Afterwards there were questions and answers that included both good questions and offensive comments.  I felt embarassed at times interpreting their comments, but that was my job, simply to convert the words of one person into understandable words for another.

I enjoyed visiting with people from the community and the doctor's circle of friends afterwards.  They seem like people living life to the fullest with all kinds of interesting adventures as they work to serve others.  I was interupted by a man who thought that I, the gringa, could solve his land dispute problem as he thrust his documents into my hands.  He did not want to accept that I couldn't solve his problems when I directed him to a community leader.  "No, no señorita.  He already told me he can't help!"  he told me in earnest.  Inwardly I shook my head, feeling sorry for him, but also shocked at his ignorance and lack of understanding about how to go about finding a solution.  

Concluding with a walk around the main square, some photos and lunch, we returned to Chiclayo.  Despite being nervous, the experience was a good one.  It allowed me to practice thinking on my feel and converting languages, while also strengthening my desire to take a course in translation and interpretation in the future.  

In the main square in Mórrope

In Mórrope with Igor

Combi ride with Vanessa and Ginette

My Letter to the World

Inspired by a project that Sarah asked our youth group in Chosica del Norte to do last Friday, I have my own message to share with the world.  After watching “Freedom Writers” the previous week, when we were able to transform a classroom into a “theatre” for the students (many of whom had never been to a movie theatre) by projecting the movie on the wall, using speakers and taking them popcorn and lemonade, the students followed up on the topic by learning a little about Anne Frank and writing their own message to the world.  Based on experiences that I’ve had, things I have seen and heard, and several quotes that I have come across over the last few years, the following is a short message that I have for the world. 

Dear World,

   Our planet is diverse, bursting with life and mysteries.  You can choose to live as if everything is a miracle or as if nothing is one.  Explore and take interest in others.  No two people are exactly the same.  Some of us have fair complexions, while others have darker ones.  We vary in height, weight, personality, likes and dislikes, yet we are all people.  Treat one another as such.  Sit down and talk.  Communication is the only way that we can change. 

   Although travel may not prevent bigotry, it demonstrates that all people worry, laugh, cry, eat and die.  By trying to understand each other, we might become friends.   Several landmarks have won recognition as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, but there are seven wonder that do not require travel.  They require heart: sight, listening, touch, taste, feeling, laughter and love. 

   Follow your dreams and your passions.  Don’t put your key to happiness in someone else’s pocket.  And if you can, use your passions and your skills to be a blessing to others.  No one has ever become poor by sharing. 

   Your past mistakes are meant to guide you, not define you.  Learn to forgive and keep moving forward.  Respect others.  The respect that you give to others is a clear reflection of the respect that you have for yourself.  There is more power in a hug than in a punch.  Some people are blind.  Others choose not to see.  People usually tell the truth if you listen hard enough.  There are only two mistakes along the road to truth.  Not going all the way and not starting. 

   Few people will be able to make history themselves but we can work together to change small portions of events.  Together our acts will write the history of our time.   

   With love,

Dreamer of Peace

..................PERÚ <=> USA..................

Perú

Colorful, Chaotic

Dancing,  Intriguing,  Changing

The Americas, Bureaucracy, Mixture of Cultures

Hurrying,  Acting,  Demanding

Organized, Individualistic

USA 

*With all that's going on in the world today, the hatred, violence, fear, love, trade, and social media, it's important for us to take a moment and reflect on the similarities and differences among us and how we can positively enrich one another's lives.  The poem above are some of my thoughts on the similarities and differences between PERÚ and the USA.  

Full of Surprises...

Like the slogan on the back of the box of my favourite breakfast cereal, "LIFE IS FULL OF SURPRISES," I'm constantly seeing the truth in that statement.

Take this morning for instance.  The university authorities threw a wrench in the teaching schedule to celebrate the 29th anniversary of the humanities department (which actually should have been celebrated in July), so I don't have class this morning.  I decided to sleep in late =)  After rolling out of bed around 7:15 and doing some exercise, I thought I'd shower before eating breakfast and mopping up the dust all over my floors.  For starters, I've been here nearly 7 months, and still am surprised by that first splash of cold water shooting out of the shower head.  Moments later, a lizard jumped on me!  Needless to say, after being unable to capture and remove that squirrly critter, my shower was cut short.

Sometimes I'm asked to prepare an entire course or a series of lessons or workshops for university professors, teachers at the language institute or for university students.  I put in a fair amount of time putting together the sequence, planning the activities searching for resources and materials and sometimes purchasing them, for the individuals who have requested the service to either fail to show up or to tell me just beforehand, that actually they'd rather not participate (although the idea and request had come from them).  Those moments are very frustrating, but once again, LIFE IS FULL OF SURPRISES, so we just have to move on.

A few weeks ago, after deciding that I really wanted to buy a blender to be able to make fresh fruit juices in my apartment and different sorts of pasta sauces and salsas, Igor accompanied me to the market to search.  We asked after several inside the market where people sell from their little cubicals, but the prices were high.  Outside the prices were cheaper, as usual, but there are also shadier characters there.  When asking one man his prices, he told us, "50 soles!  It's the original Oster!  Robbed it out of a house last week!"  Shameless.  I prodded Igor to just keep walking.  LIFE IF FULL OF SURPRISES.  Eventually, we found one for a good price from a different dealer.

After several botched attempts of backing in round tin ovens valued at $25 with the women, Sarah and I had a few theories about the problems.  They weren't preheating the ovens long enough, they weren't measuring with precision and the flour the were using was not of good quality.  Needing to improve upon our week, we got together last night and decided to try to bake a chocolate cake.  It turned out perfectly!  Let's hope that the women can replicate this cake on Thursday.  What a nice surprise!

A few other mundane experiences that may strike a newcomer as surprising and that on occasion continue to seem bizarre to me include the following:
*In order to exit most homes, one must have a keep to open the lock (from the inside too)!
*Toilet paper is a precious commodity and is almost never found in a public place.  Understandably so, when you watch many Peruvians unwinding and unwinding the roll to take half of it with them to do their business and stuffing the rest in their purse!
*Nearly every taxi driver seems to think you'd like to get into his vehicle, and if he honks enough, you will.
*Many people whistle to attract the attention of family members and have a different whistle to call waiters or  hail taxis.
*Men seem to have no qualms about peeing openly anywhere in this city rather than finding themselves a restroom.
*Toilet paper cannot be thrown in a toilet as that will clog up the sewage system; but rather must be placed in a garbage can.
*Trash can only be placed in a pile outside in the street at night to be collected.
*Despite ignoring many people in the market or not buying their product, most are helpful and point you in the direction of whatever you ask for.

Let the Little Things In Life Surprise You!  .... A little lizard I captured in my home the other day...

Bosque de Pomac

As a weekend escape, 3 friends and I visited the nearby Bosque de Pomac, on of the world's largest dry forests.  Despite the desertish conditions in which it lies, the forest is suprisingly green and inhabited by numerous critters:  snakes, mountain lions, many species of birds and insects and supposedly Peruvian kangaroos.  Besides for bees and a few birds and other insects, we weren't fortunate enough to see other wildlife.  A local told us that the forest is in bloom in late November and December.  Below are a few pictures of the forest taken from high up on a rocky mountain protruding from the sand where we enjoyed a picnic lunch that we had packed as well as the four of us admiring an algaroba tree said to be more than 1500 years old.  Gorgeous and very sturdy.

Little Letters

Dear Dust,
Please do not enter my home.  I find it rather abnoxious to have to mop you up once or twice a day.  I would love it if you stayed outside (and preferably off of my shoes).

Dear Women in Sanborja,
You bring a smile to my face when we get together, laugh, bake and learn hand in hand.  You are extremely resilient and bursting with skills and great qualities.  Please work together to achieve your goals.

Dear Taxis,
Please do not honk your horns.  No, I do not want to take a taxi everytime I step out of my door.  I have two good legs and prefer to walk.  And I certainly won't ride with you if you try to overcharge me.

Dear Chiclayo,
Thank you for welcoming me for this year.  I appreciate the friendly souls you've shared with me, but please learn to keep your garbage off of the streets and not have your sewage systems leak.  The stench and wet streets are unpleasant.

Dear Nebraska,
I miss your lovely sunsets, your varied climate, big sky, peaceful silence, cool breeze, fireflies, my family and friends, your long traffic-free gravel roads for running, your corn and bean fields, flowers and safety.  Keep all of those things waiting for me.

Dear youth in Chosica del Norte,
You are full of creativity, energy and potential.  You brighten my day when I see you cooperating and enjoying yourselves, but you make me suffer when you misbehave.  Please respect one another.

Dear Chiclayanos devoted to Santa Rosa de Lima,
I know today is the day of the patron saint of Peru's police force, that today is a national holiday celebrating one of your own saints.  I also realize that my apartment is over looking Parque Santa Rosa, but is it really necessary to have a huge fiesta for more than 24 hours, to intoxicate yourselves with alcohol, pound on base drums, blare trumpets, sing, set off fireworks (throughout the day and night) to celebrate her?

Dear Schoolchildren,
You fill me with joy when I hear you laughing, see you playing, and make me smile as I watch you struggle along the broken side-walks with your schoolsbags that look like carry-on suitcases, when in reality it would probably be much simpler to use backpacks.  Work hard and help move your country forward.

Dear Rude Englishman,
Sometimes when you ask people to do you a favor, they take time out of their routine to offer you voluntarily, giving you teaching techniques.  Please don't criticize American English.  Also, it would be wise for you not to say rude and offensive things to the director and coordinator of the language center, especially not to tell them to speak English in the meetings for the teachers.  You're in Peru and working on a tourist visa.  Watch out and learn Spanish.

Dear Sarah,
Thank you for all the help and support you give me.  You've taught me a ton about organizing projects, working with people, facilitating workshops and are always a great listener.

Dear Profesors and Students,
Please don't think of a million and one excuses for why you couldn't make it to class.  Also blame others and say their absence prevented you from going to class.  Learn to be honest and efficient.

Dear Kimori,
I miss the green tea plantations, the short daily rains, the banter of Kipsigis and Kiswahili, the way you always wash your shoes, the discipline respect and pure joy of the children, the simplicity of life and your attitude of "Karibu".

Dear World,
You could be beautiful and in some ways you are.  You have so much diversity.   People have so much to learn from one another.  Why do some desire war?  Please teach them peace.

Dear Flowers,
You are lovely.  I don't see enough of you.  You are very tempting to buy in the markets, but I don't think you can survive very long.  Someday I'll purchase you.

Dear Peru,
Thank you for welcoming me back as a Fulbrighter.  You are a country of immense beauty and diversity.  Please reduce corruption and violence.  Please improve your schools so children may have brighter futures.  I enjoy exploring you and look forward to continuing to learn through my experiences with you throughout my final 4 months.

Moments that make you ask yourself, "What is going on here?"

People travel for all sorts of reasons.  Some might say I travelled to Peru because I received a Fulbright grant.  Others might say it was because I've got the travelling bug.  What I can tell you though is I didn't come to Chiclayo to see piles of trash, garbage trucks with men hanging onto the back of it and ringing an obnoxious bell, or ritzy multi-story glass hotels.  But then, that's the point of travelling, isn't it?  To see things you didn't expect to see?

Although I've become accustomed to life here, there are many things that continually take me by surprise.  A few of them in the last week or two are as follows:

Unlike the dirty city with trashlined streets that I call "home" for this year, Chachapoyas is a calm and clean city.  Free of mototaxis, it is also free of the loud dinging sound of bells calling its residents to place their trash in the streets.  Instead, I encountered a smaller truck playing soft, tranquil melodies.  "What's that?" I asked myself.  The answer: The trash truck :)

Upon seeing the horrors of an accident when a drunk driver of a large car crashed into a mototaxi, rather than trying to help or calling the equivelant of 911, many people came out of their homes even venturing a few blocks to stare.

Walking down one of the main streets in Chiclayo, I saw numerous people gathered round something.  When I stepped closer to get a better look, they were fascinated by a furry magnetic toy!

This last week, while returning from a pueblo joven to the city of Chiclayo with my friend Sarah, we had a very awkward ride in a combi.  Some men do not know how to flirt.  Sarah, who had just purchased natural yogurt from one of the women with whom we work there, had her yogurt in a glass pitcher that she had borrowed.  In order to prevent it from spilling or breaking she kept it in her hand.  Shortly after entering the vehicle, the cobrador (money collector) took her yogurt from her and put it underneath of the jacket he was wearing and claimed he was going to drink it.  Thinking he was funny and would get a rise out of us, he kept up his antics throughout the rest of the ride, while we did our best to ignore him.  Finally, grudgingly, he returned the pitcher of yogurt when we alighted from the combi.  Flirtatious or creepy?  I'm sticking with the latter.  

Oh, the crazy things that happen everyday.  That's life.  Wait!  What is going on?

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A History Lost in Ruins

…But a Story Born Exploring Ancient Sites.  Home to many great cultures and civilizations, Perú is full of archeological sites with gems hiding in ruins scattered across the land.  The last week and a half were an opportunity for me to travel to visit a few of the ruins, learn more about the country’s rich history and relax before this next semester gets back into full swing. 

Cajamarca, a city surrounded by mountains and the site where the last Incan king, Atahualpa, lost his life to the Spaniards in 1532, was my first destination.  From a high point on one side of the city, Santa Palonia, the city looks tiny, but when down below, it seems to sprawl throughout the valley and up the mountains that surround its population of 250,000. I was able to see the “Seat of the Inca,” to wake up very early…4:45a.m. to go to the Baños del Inca (natural thermal baths), to see a botanical garden, visit several artisan shops, see the niches known as the Ventanas de Otuzco and to hike a Cumbemayo. 

Although there are a ton of things to see and enjoy in Cajamarca including numerous ornate cathedrals, Cumbemayo was by far my favourite site.   Outside the city and several hundred feet higher in elevation, Cumbemayo is like a real live version of the stone garden out of the Chronicles of Narnia.  The rock formations bear shapes of animals including a fish, elephants and an enormous rat as well as include a giant face and a giant pirate’s face.  Incredible and peaceful!  We saw many women and children spinning wool or weaving in the grass as we hiked along.  Unfortunately, Cajamarca is impoverished and to help some children or women out, I shared some food or gave them a tip for doing a small favor for me. 

Chachapoyas was my other destination.  As a city in the ceja de selva (aka literally translated as the “eyebrow of the jungle”) it has jungle-like conditions at high altitudes.  Tranquil and clean the city seems orderly and unlike the abnoxious bell that is rung when a truck comes to collect garbage in Chiclayo, the trucks of Chachapoyas play calm lovely melodies when they pass by. 

This visit allowed me to see Kuelap (a huge historical site of ruins) that was originally built by the Chachapoya, later conquered by the Inca and eventually destroyed when many refused to bend to the will of the Spanish missionaries. 

The Chachapoya are said to have valued the after life perhaps more than life itself.  They buried their dead in sarcophaguses built high up into stone cliffs where no one would be able to reach them as well as in villages of the dead on rock faces.  It remains a mystery today as to how the sarcophaguses got to where they are.

The following day was filled by a long and gorgeous hike that wound its way up some mountains to one of the world’s 5 tallest waterfalls, Gocta!  The effort to get there was well worth the view and the spray of mist blowing off of the Fall.  Unfortunately it rained terribly on us, but afterwards we were able to see an amazing rainbow. 

Our world is full of mysteries, waiting for us to follow our curiosity and sharing some of its stories with us, while leaving others up to our imaginations that we might create our own stories.