Steph Around the World in 2007

JK Tours: Machu Picchu & Cusco 2007...

2008-01-06T12:17:00.000-08:00

JK Tours arrived safe and sound and right on schedule bright and early Friday morning! I was at the airport and ready to run into a pair of waiting arms as soon as I saw the group come out of baggage claim, and what a great reunion it was, not only with Charles, but also with some college friends and of course my travel dad, one Jeff Keith, who is what you would call the CEO of JK Tours. There were also several others in the group that I was meeting for the first time, and in total there were 9 of us that set off from the airport after meeting Wilbur, our guide for the week. The group was definitely a little tired, not only from the lack of sleep due to travelling by red eye, but also given the fact they were coming from sea level and landing at 3200 meters! Hence the reason for taking it easy the first few days after arriving. Once aboard the bus, we wound through the streets of Cusco, then up and over the mountains surrounding the city, heading directly into the Sacred Valley. First stop was the famous Pisac Market, which takes up several blocks of the town of Pisac, and has so many vendors and stalls, it's impossible to see it all in one visit. Loading up on souvenirs, from handcrafted leather goods and woven textiles (blankets, hats, gloves, pillow cases, etc.) to the multitude of other crafts, it's a fun challenge to find that one thing that no other vendor seems to be selling! And bartering is the name of the game, which if I do say so myself, I have gotten pretty good at, plus being almost fluent in the native language always helps to bring the price down considerably! We arrived in the early afternoon at the very nice Casona Yucay hotel, which seemed to be nestled right in the center of the Sacred Valley, mountains soaring up from the lush green plains and the Urubamba river cutting right down the middle of it all. After a delicious lunch, and a welcome nap, we headed into the town to see the sights and visit a local pub, and play a few rounds of sapo, a sort of target practice/skeeball gametable with different point-valued holes that you try to throw metal rings into. The very center target is a wide-mouthed toad, and the most points obviously, as that is the most difficult. The lady "barkeeper" informed us that men of the village spend hours at this game, enjoying huge glass after glass of chicha, a sweet corn beer brewed in huge urns over the course of several days. We got to sample some of this, along with chicha fresa, or strawberry chicha, which was a big hit. This pub was also the group's first encounter with the concept of the guinea pig farm, or a huge room in the back where there's at least 2 dozen guinea pigs running around freely until they find themselves on a spit, about to be dinner. We also learned that local bars in this area are marked with a red flag, so with this knowledge, we counted about 10 just on the way back to the hotel, most being people's houses!

The next day we went to see the Inca ruins in Ollantaytambo, another city nestled in the Sacred Valley. The ruins here are pretty famous, so a visit was a must. The name of the town refers to corn in Quechua, and after climbing the temple steps and looking out over the town that is layed out in the shape of a corn cob, it was easy to see why. We explored the ruins with Wilbur our guide pointing out various things that were built to create special effects when the sun passed a certain way in the sky, usually only on the solstices, or water tourrets that when you lightly ran a finger over the lip of the fountain, completely changed the flow of the water due to the surface tension and volume of water in the pool...absolutely incredible how scientific these people were with such rough instruments and so early on! And to view a figure carved out of the mountain opposite the temple, in the shape of one of the great Incan kings, incorporating a grainary that looked like it was perched so precariously that any attempt to get a load of grain up to it was risking life and limb, was another jaw-dropper of a feat!

The highlight of the day though, was definitely white water rafting on the Urubamba! We split up between 2 rafts, couples and Wilbur vs. the rest of the group! Our competition was that for every person that fell into the river, that was one point, and the team with the most points at the end had to buy drinks for the other team that night! So in between gazing at the amazing beauty of the mountains and the river, once even seeing glaciers up high on some of the mountains, we were devising ways of attack and getting the other team soaking wet! Well, the last stretch of the river before we took out, the other team purposely flipped their boat, amazingly everyone scrambling up on the top of the bottom of the raft and not falling in, so we thought immediately...our golden opportunity since they had nothing to hold onto! We moved in for one last drawn out battle, which turned into a deadlock, but then in a surprise move, the rafting guide from the other team leapt onto our boat, knocking one of our members into the water, causing us a point, and needless to say, even after a last ditch effort to take their guide out, we ended up ponying up for drinks that night...pisco sours all around!

The next day we set out to start the Inca Trail. Rising early in the morning, we got to the trail head, met our porters and the rest of our team, including the waiter and cook (booyah, this is the way to hike any mountain!), and we were off after checking in at the gate to get the i's dotted and t's crossed on our permits. The first part of the day was great hiking, nice gradual slopes and expansive views of the mountains and valleys. After an amazing lunch that we enjoyed looking right over the valley where we had just hiked, and our first introduction to "Senor Manos Blancos," or Mister White Hands, as our waiter wore white gloves whenever he served us!, the grade increased a bit and we definitely started feeling the altitude. We had a great view of some Incan ruins along the way, and as the afternoon seemed to be a bit long, we thankfully arrived at our campsite just before sunset. An example of how the locals have made a business out of living right along the trail, a woman had set up a small "bar" at our campsite, which entailed an ice-filled bucket with cold sodas, water, and gatorade!

The next day started early and all of us mentally preparing for the long day ahead, as anyone hiking the Inca Trail knows that day 2 is the toughest, hiking all the way up to Dead Woman's Pass, being the highest point on the trail at 13,777 feet. Some members of the group were also ailing from a rough night before, with some gastrointestinal issues. On a side note, having a rating scale (0-5) for GI health was THE best way to check in with people to see how they were doing. People coming back to the camp from the toilet were usually asked right away, "Ok, what's your number?" The company we went with for this trek always had a toilet tent set up for us when we stopped for lunch and then wherever we would make camp for the night. This special little 3' x 3' tent involved a small toilet seat stool with a plastic bag liner. The challenge was to not tip the whole apparatus over while completing your hygiene, which was my greatest fear each time I visited the toilet tent. And one other note, let's just say that you'd better have a pretty strong stomach if you were the last one to use it at night or in the morning before we set out. Needless to say, the porter assigned to that duty got a bit extra for his tip...poor guy.

OK, so now that you are probably asking where do I sign up?, back to day 2...the pace was slow going, and the sun was out quite a bit, so it was pleasantly warm. Since the altitude is such a factor, the hiking involved taking 10 steps and then resting, taking another 10 steps and then resting a bit more. (Arthur & Tara--would just like to say again that you guys are my new heroes for gettin' it done that day!) At this part of the trail, we also encountered our first stairs, which make up a large portion of trail, 8,400 steps to be exact. The stone staircases seem to go on forever, and the steps are quite large at times, so much so that after about 5, my hamstrings and quads were screaming. The views were worth ever step though...as we climbed higher, the clouds pulled away to reveal the most magnificent peaks across the valley capped by glaciers, and with the sun shining down on them, it was just breathtakingly beautiful! Our spot for lunch was a rock outcropping overlooking the valley and these same peaks, and afterwards we set off again up toward the pass that we could now visibly see. The wind had picked up a little bit, and more clouds were occasionally rolling in, but overall it was still a nice day, even though it kept getting chillier the higher we went and the closer we got to the top. The name Dead Woman's Pass is quite alarming, but it is so named because of the rock formations at the top looking like a dead or sleeping woman. About an hour after lunch, and the group having spread out along the trail given our different hiking abilities, Charles and I decided to take a break as the going was getting quite tough. I pulled out an orange and started eating it, becoming quite messy as one does when eating an orange. Looking out over the sweeping valley below us and only 500 meters from the top, we started to talk about the year we have had...quite a year, with blood clots, a whirlwind tour of India, and now in Peru, about to come home for good, together. As I turned to face him, I found him down on one knee, to which I immediately asked, given the altitude and how much we had been struggling, "Oh my gosh, are you all right?!" He started laughing, and then I saw the ring in his hand as he asked me to marry him! Of course I said yes, and then upon reaching the top, we shared the news with everyone, including a group of Brazilians that were cheering right along with us! We captured this particular moment all on video, which I've attempted to attach to the blog, so hopefully it can be viewed just by clicking on it.

It was pretty windy and cold at the top, so after celebrating, we started down the other side of the pass, making our way toward camp for that night. It was pretty cloudy by the time we got in, close to sunset again, but the view awaiting us the next morning as we climbed out of our tents and ate breakfast as the sun came up over the mountains was absolutely incredible, as the clouds settled into the valley revealing more peaks covered by glaciers. Shortly after starting out, we hit some Incan ruins, and then it was a bit further, up all the way, to the 2nd pass of the trail, to which we could see snow-covered mountain ranges ahead of us and behind us. The sun was out in all its glory, creating a beautiful day. It was mostly downhill, literally and thankfully, from there, past some more ruins, perched as a military outpost looking over the vast expanse of the Sacred Valley, which we got to hike up to and explore. Then it was on to lunch after a hike that felt like we would never get there, especially having run out of water half an hour before arriving at camp. From our lunch spot, we could see the tip of Huayna Picchu, the mountain right next to Machu Picchu, giving us the added push we needed to start hiking again toward camp for that night, leading us through more ruins, some beautiful terraced hillsides that were quite treacherous to hike down through, and finally to the camp. Everyone was pretty tired at this point, legs aching, wanting a shower, but the anticipation about seeing Machu Picchu the next day was running high through our group. That night was our farewell dinner, and the crew we had was just top-notch the whole trail, but they outdid themselves with pasta and wine for dinner, plus bananas flambe and hot fudge for dessert complete with the show of fire that usually comes with it...just awesome, considering we were supposed to be "roughing it"!

The next day we set out pretty early, still dark in fact, fairly even grade except for a ridiculously steep staircase, hiking a few hours before we reached Intipunku, or the Sun Gate, the first vantage point where you are able to see Machu Picchu, and the point that begins the Royal Walkway down to the ruins. When we arrived, there was a thick cloud clover, but it seemed to be moving pretty quickly along, so we decided to just sit for a bit and see if it cleared. After about 5 minutes, the clouds started to thin and lift out of the valley, and then there it was, in all its glory, the lost city of the Incas, Machu Picchu. Perched on the mountain ridge, we could see it all from slightly above where we sat, although it was still a good distance away. Not only the ruins, but also the whole side of the mountain that had been cleared away to make way for the road built by the lost city's rediscoverer, American Hiram Bingham, in 1911. It took several different expeditions to clear away the thick jungle that had grown up over the site, and some believe that 1/4 of the city still remains undiscovered. The road winds in switchbacks down the mountain from the ruins, and was crucial in getting materials to and from the site when it was rediscovered, as well as now with the amount of tourism Machu Picchu attracts. No one really knows the story of this lost city of the Incas, although there are many theories as to its function. It was never touched by the Spanish conquerors, and there are signs that some believe the town was continuing to develop as a main trading station and dwelling places of the governor and the high priestess. As we set off from the Sun Gate, our guide let us go ahead of him, to let us rediscover Machu Picchu for ourselves. Down the royal flagstone walkway we went, encountering some llamas along the way, and then we entered the heart of Machu Picchu, still quiet in the early morning with wisps of clouds drifting right over top of us. One of the seven wonders of the world, it was hard to grasp being physically among the ruins that have been so photographed and published, so magical and mystical at the same time. After many photo-ops of individuals and as a group on a ledge just above the ruins, we continued down the steps to the main gate of the lost city, where the 8,400th step is located. We had already decided we wanted to take the official tour the next day after resting up, so for the rest of the day, we split into 2 groups, some of the group just wanting to hang out around the ruins, and the others desiring to climb Huayna Picchu, the mountain that overlooks Machu Picchu. Not really sure what I was thinking, but I decided to go with this latter group, even though looking back, I think I had already psyched myself out of it before we started...looking at this hulk of a mountain from the ruins, it appeared very, very steep at times, and very high...but I was pulled along with the rest of the group you could say, and after climbing and scrambling up the path that was mostly switchbacked stone staircases, we found ourselves at the top, on a ledge overlooking Machu Picchu from the north. At this point I could barely move I was so scared of tumbling over the side, which 2 tourists have done recently (information I found out much too late to turn around). To my chagrin, there was another rock outcropping where we scrambled up to for an even higher vantage point over the ruins, then realizing we would have to partially slide down over a very steep rock face that pretty much plummets over the edge of the mountain if you get going too fast, to get back to the trail head in order to get back down. Needless to say my heart was pumping pretty fast and I was producing copious amounts of sweat, mouth going dry, etc. I basically got myself in a zone of concentration so intense it was difficult to respond to anyone until we made it back down to a navigable trail some 30 minutes later. As we passed back through the gates and entered the ruins again, my legs started to feel a bit jello-y and I was ever so glad to sit down to a long lunch with a celebratory cold beverage at the restaurant just outside the main gate of Machu Picchu. Taking the bus down to our hotel in Aguas Calientes, the town at the foot of Machu Picchu, we immediately headed to the hot springs the area is famous for, which helped to take a little of the muscle ache away, then nice hot shower, followed by happy hour with a whole lot of Nutsy, and dinner at the hotel before turning in to sleep in an actual bed!

The next day we caught the bus back up to Machu Picchu, and our fellow passengers were part of a school field trip, about fifth or sixth grade, and who thought that Jeff, JK Tour President, was Papa Noel, or as we more commonly know him as Santa Claus. This is due to the fact that Jeff has a very long beard, and a very gregarious nature, so the kids were just overjoyed that it being so close to Christmas, they had him all to themselves for the 1/2-hour bus ride up to the ruins! Sitting behind Jeffie, I helped with some translations, as the kids were all telling him what they wanted for Christmas, and him asking if they had been good this year. The kids had various necklaces that they gave us as gifts, taking them from around their own necks and placing them over our heads...such a blessing to help demonstrate what I have encountered all year...how generous and overwhelmingly super these children and every child I have worked with this year have been. Charles and I managed to get together enough candy we had accumulated on the trail (there were about 5 pieces in the snack bags we got every day) to give each kid a piece, and then when we got off the bus, they all wanted their photo op with Papa Noel and our group. And then throughout the day, when they would spot us among the ruins, all you could hear were shouts of "Papa Noel! Papa Noel!" ringing off the stone walls! It was fantastic!

We were able to see the Sun Temple, which was so built that on the winter solstice, and only on that one day, as the sun rises it shines through the Sun Gate on the ridge we came over the day before, and directly into the Serpent Window built into the wall of the Sun Temple! This might not seem so extraordinary, but given the fact that the Sun Gate is only 10 feet in diameter and the window of the Sun Temple is only a foot square, that's pretty remarkable to me! Other innovations we passed included the first known compass made out of stone, that also doubled as a sundial, and other pieces of stone that when the sun hit them at certain points throughout the year, it would cast a shadow in different shapes, like the head of a llama, or a condor. The workmanship of every edifice was perfect, each stone being cut to fit exactly. There was a specific section for the farmers, near the terraces, and then the dwellings of the governor and the high priestess, along with the various temples, one for the sun, one for the condor, and one for the moon, and one with three windows to symbolize the 3 realms: heaven, earth, and the underworld. There was the industrial sector, where textiles were made, and the marketplace, where it was believed that vendors from surrounding towns would come to barter and trade their goods. Even a "greenhouse," which was a open grassy area that was surrounded by trees so that it was blocked from the wind and received enough sun to allow growth of whatever was planted. Before leaving, Charles and I hiked back up to the highest point of the ruins to look out over Machu Picchu in its entirety, in part for one last look and also to convince myself that I was really here and seeing it. We were accompanied by some llamas, who were just grazing on the terraces, and even though the city has been deserted for quite some time, it was hard not to feel the presence of those that had come before and how Machu Picchu had been quite the hub of activity, perched on the top of this mountain that was never found by the Spaniards and lost until Bingham stumbled upon it, originally thinking it was the ruins of some other lost Incan stronghold. Absolutely incredible to walk in and around this city that was lost for so long.

Lunch was a several hour affair at a local restaurant in Aguas Calientes, very long, but very good. And then it was off to catch the train back to Cusco. The track followed the Urubamba River for most of the way, so we cruised right through the valley, with the mountains soaring up on either side of us. The train cars were perfect for the journey, since they had windows in the roof in addition to the sides, for perfect viewing of those mountain tops we were passing! There were stewards on the train, just like you would find on an airplane, but to our surprise, they also doubled as models with the center aisle being the catwalk, for a fashion show of Angoran clothing! Most of our group was pretty speechless, but there was a rather large group of older Italian tourists in our railcar, who got the biggest kick out of this extravaganza, whipping out their video cameras and buying who knows how many Euros worth of sweaters, wraps, and scarves! Quite the experience I must say.

We arrived into Cusco after dark, which had become my favorite time of day in the city, when the main square comes alive and the lights come on all the way up the hillsides...it's just so beautiful at night! We made our way to the hotel, then immediately headed back out for some last minute shopping. I was hoping for one last taste of cuy at dinner for the others to try, but it was a buffet restaurant and alas, no cuy was to be found, to everyone's dismay. To bed early as our flight to Lima the next morning was quite early. We were joined by Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson in first class on our plane, who our guide in Lima informed us were doing some work with a children's center there. Going through the arrivals gate at Lima International Airport, there were several video crews there, shouting at everyone coming through asking if the two celebrities were still inside...quite the scene. We were met by our guide and taken to the hotel, got settled in, then went on a guided tour of Peru's capital city. We split up afterwards, some opting to sleep, others opting to go to the casino down the street, and others, including me, heading out to explore the Indian markets and do some more shopping. I had just a few more souvenirs to get, and after fueling up with a hearty lunch from Bembo's...the Peruvian equivalent of Wendy's or McDonald's, we were off and running. The main artesan section of Lima takes up several city blocks, so there are many choices as to where to shop. We picked one market and wandered down and around the many stalls and shops located inside...again, more textiles, woodcrafts, leather goods, etc. Such beautiful bright colors and patterns on everything! Walking back we took in all the Christmas decorations lining the streets and in the store windows...nice reminder that I would soon be home for good, for Christmas. We left for the airport after dinner that night, as our flight was just after midnight, saying goodbye to our group as everyone had different flights out. Sitting in Lima airport with my fiancee, we started to review the year again, and speculate about the year ahead, mostly counting how blessed we both are, and how exciting the year to come would be for us. Quite the roller coaster of emotions in those couple of hours, as I thought about how my year of travelling was ending, but how we had made it through the year and were now coming home together. This year has been full of so many amazing people, places, experiences and opportunities, and I think it will still be sinking in long after I get home. How truly blessed I am...

We made it to Miami without incident and then on to Philadelphia, where I can't even begin to describe how great it was to see my mom waiting for us just outside of security, to run and give her a hug, knowing that it was the last time I would be away from home for so long. If someone asked me to pinpoint a specific moment that I truly felt like I was home, it was the hugs I got from my mom and Charles at the airport. Christmas with family and New Year's with friends were awesome! And searching for and acquiring a new job that will allow me some extra time during the week for volunteering closer to home, have all kept me busy upon returning. I think I will be trying to process all my experiences from this past year for quite some time, so that will be an ongoing project. I have had some truly amazing support this past year, and I have so many people to thank for that. I really don't know how to say thank you enough, only that I hope my ability to travel and give back some of what I have been blessed with has inspired someone else to do the same. As Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world," and even though we aren't all able to take a year and travel the world, sometimes it's just changing the attitude that this is one world that's not so big anymore, and we're all travelling the road together, helping and contributing whatever way we can. Yes, I was only one person, and that was overwhelming at times, but I did my best and that was enough. Everyone always has something to share, even if it is a mother of 5 surviving every day in the slums of Africa making sure her kids get to school every day, or the child with cerebral palsy in India that brightened any day with his smile, or the boy with a traumatic brain injury in Peru that collected bottles every week to raise enough money to help support his family. I have learned so many times over how to be happy with what I have, usually realizing I am blessed with so much already. So that has been my 2007...this time last year I was getting ready to embark on what I figured would be an amazing experience...little did I know I would learn so much about myself, my faith, and about this world we live in...I hope I left it a little better than I found it.

Adiòs Pomacanchi...

2007-11-28T16:30:00.000-08:00

So 3 weeks later for a total of a month, I am saying goodbye to Pomacanchi tomorrow morning at 6:30 when my bus rolls out headed toward Cusco. JK Tours arrives the next day, on Friday the 30th, and we begin our whirlwind tour of Cusco and it`s surrounds, but most importantly, the Inca Trail and MACHU PICCHU!!! So here is some of the highlights of my past 3 weeks...

After being in Pomacanchi for a week, my first weekend back in Cusco was amazing...got to see a whole lot more of the city, which I continue to just find so enrapturing and magical! Sunday we hiked up what seemed like an endless series of stairs and up even higher into the hills surrounding the city (lots of huffing and puffing and rest breaks) to the Temple of the Moon, a massive hill of rocks that the Incas built back before the 1500`s, and that you can enter through only one entrance as it is an active archeological site. We didn`t get very far in as this entrance only led into a very small cave-like space and did not allow further access inside the temple. We could however climb up to the top of the temple...and the view was incredible...not only could we see all of Cusco, as the temple sits up on top of the hills surrounding the city, but also one of the nevadas, or snow-capped mountains not far from Cusco. Close to the Temple of the Moon, there is a spot that rents horses by the hour, so we mounted and were led up to some caves that not much history is known about them, but legend has it that many people have gotten lost in them and never returned. We wandered in and around this gigantic maze of rock caves after dismounting, every so often coming to a hole hewn in the rock with a perfect view of the city, or that the sun was shining squarely through...another testament to the Incas` talents at perception in their architecture. From this vantage point we could also see Sacsayhuaman, the training grounds for the young Incan warriors, which pronounced correctly, sounds very much like "sexy woman," and hence, gets a lot of giggles anytime it`s mentioned.

Monday we caught the bus mid-afternoon for the 3 hour journey back to Pomacanchi, but not before a trip to the Cusco market for our groceries for the next 2 weeks, or before one last, long shower! The Cusco market was absolutely fabulous...rows and rows of vendors in a big open-air warehouse. One section the size of a small city block for vegetables, another for fruits, including fresh juices made on request, and yet another for the butchers...I don`t think I`ve ever seen so many parts of one animal for sale so closely to each other before, including the heads. Even a vendor where you could request what type of meat and spices you wanted for your sausages, and then watch them stuff the casings...talk about fresh. This is only after you`ve gotten over any squeamishness that results from the hordes of flies swarming around, and anyone and everyone passing by picking things up to inspect or examine more closely what they might possibly buy, since everything is out in the open on the counters...there is no refridgeration. But if you can`t find what you`re looking for at this market, then it doesn`t exist! From household supplies, to baked goods, to clothing and textiles, it`s all there.

We arrived back in Pomacanchi early in the evening on Monday, greeted by some of the kids who were in the main square waiting for the bus to pull in. They were as glad to see us as we were to see them and get off that bus! The following week we were a little higher in capacity as 2 of the volunteers had family visiting, which is nice for the different dynamic it creates. Still quite cold these past 3 weeks, and it has also started raining. It is supposedly rainy season, but for the first week and a half I was here, we hadn´t gotten a drop, and they needed it so badly, especially since farming is the main income for so many families. The Monday we got back, the kids wanted to play a quick game of fùtbol before they left for home, so we were out on the court under the few streetlights there are, and all of a sudden we noticed a group of children out on the street with a few candles...singing something in Quechua. I was told the next morning after a heavy downpour that night that the kids were praying for rain. And it hasn`t stopped since!! God is good! And with the rain also comes hail and even snow up on the mountain tops, which don`t seem that much higher up than the actual village itself...no wonder it`s so cold! Makes me very thankful for the 5 wool blankets I have on my bed without any central heating system in existence in the village.

Other happenings in the village have included a big birthday party, as Pomacanchi turned 51! There was a big concert in the outdoor amphitheater, so a few volunteers and I went with one of the mothers and watched a few of the groups perform, opting to leave after we could no longer feel our bums anymore seated on the concrete steps of the amphitheater! It was a grande celebration and I think a few gringas only helped to add to the party, despite all the stares we got! We had our own celebration at the center, rewarding those kids who had the best attendance, and the hygiene supplies I had brought (thanks to all my fellow Kennedy employees for their help in collecting these donations!) we used as prizes...big hit!

The gustatory adventures have continued...tripe soup, and drumroll please...my first taste of guinea pig!! Called cuy here (pronounced kwee), it is served roasted and complete with skin, some fur, head, teeth, ears, even its last meal in the oral cavity! And they eat every bit of it...even the internal organs. Pretty tasty as they do a special barbecue-type rub...still working up to eating the skin which usually still has some hair on it, and the organs...not quite that adventurous yet. The occasions I was able to try this unique culinary delicacy was the weekend I stayed in Pomacanchi. That Saturday was the first communion and confirmation of one of our girls at the center. And what an event it was as about 50 kids were receiving that day! There were about 35 girls and 15 boys, and the girls were especially an amazing sight, as some of them were decked out in bridal fashion...veil and all! The bishop and archbishops were even present to conduct the service, who entered the village in a huge procession...you would have thought it was the pope the way people were lining the street and square just to have them lay a hand on them or their child...don`t think they venture out too far or often to this neck of the mountains, so they wait until they have a huge group and do one mass service. One of the archbishops was from Spain (could tell by his accent...booyah me!) and even translated parts of the service into Quechua...most impressive I thought. There wasn`t an empty seat in the house as I think the whole village turned out for it! One of the other volunteers who has been here for 3 months was selected as the godmother of the girl, so we went in support of both of them. That morning we helped get her 2 younger sisters ready for the big day to help out her mom...what fun it was boiling huge kettles of water to give them both baths, in huge laundry tubs out in the sun in the courtyard, them giggling and splashing...they were definitely the cleaner ones afterwards! The big party after the ceremony was worth the 2-hour long service in the long auditorium of the church on uncomfortable wooden pews. We bought the confirmand a cake and it was a lovely afternoon celebrating this big milestone in her life...huge rite of passage both religiously and as a female of the community. The other cuy occasion was the next day, as we had a big bash for all the children of the center, but especially to celebrate those that had a birthday in the past 6 months. It was a bash complete with dancing, lots of sweets, 3 cakes, and the highlight...a piñata!! The kids were ordered by age and starting with the youngest, each got a whack at it! Lots of laughs and what pandemonium when it finally broke open, showering little plastic toys and confetti on the kids massed underneath! One thing that I will always remember about the children here in Perù is how they treasure each little special treat or sweet they receive. Picture 30 kids seated at a picnic table laden with plates and plates of candy and cookies, each waiting their turn until the plates are passed to them, or waiting patiently while one child hands everything out. Then putting everything they get, even cake! into a goodie bag to save for later. Incredible when you think those plates of candy and cake would be gone in seconds at a birthday party in the States. Again, I`ve learned so much more from those I have worked with this past year than I could have ever hoped to teach them.

Things at the center have been going very well...I have been trying to learn some Quechua, which is I think must be the hardest language on the planet to learn as it is completely verbal...not much written. The children of the center are bilingual, speaking Quechua and Spanish. Usually they only speak in Quechua when they don`t want the volunteers to understand what they`re saying! So I`m having some of them teach me the language of the Incas, and did I say it was difficult already? Even if the kids write it down for me, the pronunciation is totally different than how it looks on the paper, and there is also a lot of clicking and guttaral sounds as well. The English lessons with the kids are going very well...I am in charge of the tigres y mariposas, or tigers and butterflies, which is the oldest group of 3 that we have for English lessons. The other groups are the loritos, or parrots, and the patitos, the youngest group, which are the little ducks. The third week I gave my tigers and butterflies a pop quiz, and it was so funny to see them react the way I did whenever I got a pop quiz in school...the looks of shock and horror were absolutely priceless!! The plaintive cries of "Tia!!" were unanimous! The kids refer to each of the volunteers as a "tia" or aunt, which is really quite endearing and creates the feeling of one big extended family. The volunteers have also come up with a sex education series for the older kids, so we`ve been gradually implementing that once a week. It`s a shame as most of the children, especially the girls, have started bleeding and have no clue what in the world is wrong with them as they haven`t been told. And the boys have so many questions about the animals they take care of and what they have seen when it comes to reproduction. Amazing the differences between sexes in their curiosities and how those differences seem universal.

I have also gotten some opportunities to explore around Pomacanchi and the expanse of the surrounding mountains seems endless. One day last week some other volunteers and I trekked up to the statue of Christ that overlooks the city (most towns in this area have one, I think both for protection and as an ever-present reminder). It was only a few hundred feet higher than the town itself, but wow could you see forever, even to the lake! Absolutely gorgeous, and on our way back down, I just happened to look back at the statue and there in the sky was a full sundog...the rainbow spectrum that goes all the way around the sun when the light hits the clouds just right! It was absolutely beautiful and such a great moment!

The other outing involved 2 other volunteers and one of the older boys from the center. We started out one morning at 8 am to catch a tractor to where we were going, which in Peruvian time, usually means 8:30 or 9, if you`re lucky. We were not alone as we waited for our ride at the edge of the village, and when the large farm vehicle pulling an even bigger hay wagon pulled up, we, along with the 20 or so other villagers, ran as fast as we could to be one of the lucky ones to get a ride and not have to walk. This is because the journey is about an hour and a half hike, uphill all the way. Now, I know this doesn`t sound like me, I`m usually always up for an adventure where you exert yourself. However, we`re talking about a hike above 4000 meters!! So needless to say, I enjoyed the ride after I caught my breath after only climbing up onto the wagon! The views were spectacular, as we wound through the surrounding mountains. Our destination that day was to see the vicuñas. This is an animal that is in the camelid family, right in there with the llamas and alpacas. However, the vicuña has recently come under the spotlight and is now protected, due to it`s endangerment from hunters and poachers. Apparently, one kilo of gold and white colored hide (about 4 vicuñas) is worth 500 USD here, which is enough to salary half the village for the whole year. They are beautiful animals, and the municipality of Pomacanchi, along with other municipalities throughout Peru and Ecuador, where vicuñas are native, have developed large sanctuaries for them. The one outside of Pomacanchi that we were headed to is about 12000 hectares (not sure of the equivalency in acres) and the fenced in area seemed to spread over the hills for miles. The importance of the reservation is because unlike other endangered animals, vicuñas cannot be raised in capitivity...they don`t survive. There are 3 men that are paid to be stationed along the fence at all times, working in shifts, and the men and women we rode in the tractor with have been going every day for the past several months to build a house for those men instead of the hay shacks they currently reside in while on duty. Vicuñas are very flighty animals, comparative to deer in my opinion, and are quite fast, so the pictures we did get of them were few and from very far away. One of the volunteers had a pair of binoculars, so we were able to see them up close, that is when we were able to get the binoculars off from around the neck of one of the older boys we had brought...he thought they were the best thing ever and was so great at spotting the animals for us to look at! We were able to hike to the lake in the center of the protected area, and one of the guardsmen accompanied us and answered all of our questions. There are currently 98 vicuñas on this reservation, and the females are due to give birth in the months of February to March, after carrying the babies for 11 months!! Beautiful creatures and the fact that we were able to see them in their natural habitat was just amazing!

Community life has continued to teach me so many things, and the cold water I have pretty much gotten used to. Laundry has been quite the challenge, as by the time I finish washing everything and go to hang it up, my fingers can`t quite work the clothespins that well, given the immersion in what feels like ice water and then being exposed to the cold air! Washing my hair over a basin has become routine, very speedy I might add as my head feels so numb it burns by the time I finish. I will also say that I took a bucket bath the weekend that we all stayed for the confirmation, and I think that was all the cold showers I took in Mancora (no hot water there either) every day for 3 months combined into one very cold naked experience...I think I have an idea what the polar plunge in Antarctica would have been like if I had done it. The sun and altitude have also continued to ravage my scalp, lips and nose, even with sunscreen! I think I might be peeling until January at this rate. I kinda feel like a snake shedding it`s skin...every day!

As for living at the center, I have finally gotten accustomed to ducking in doorways, as my stature was not what most buildings here were configured for...I think I had a permanent egg on the top of my head for the first week and a half here! I have had my turn at getting up early to prepare the breakfast for the kids that stay at the center each night, and also cleaning the bathroom. We also take turns making dinner and breakfast. On my night to help with dinner, and this was during the weekend we all stayed in Pomacanchi for the first communion and needing a special treat after a long week, I introduced S`mores to my fellow volunteers from Spain and one from Norway! I had gotten all the ingredients (as best as possible) at the Cusco market the weekend before, collected some sticks, and we roasted marshmallows over a candle flame in the kitchen that night as it was pouring outside!! They loved them and told me they feel ready to go camping American-style! Since the volunteers have most of their down time in the mornings when the kids are at school, I have taken on my own "little project." She is 7 years old and the daughter of the cook at the center. She was born with some sort of hypoxic brain injury, whether it was in-utero or during birth, or as a result of the mother`s alcoholism while she was pregnant with her, no one is really sure. She presents with symptoms most closely related to cerebral palsy. She is just the best little girl! She has a smile as big as the night sky here and that brightens up the whole room. She notices everything and especially loves it when anything falls or someone trips...she has the best belly laugh! She is so incredibly smart too, follows all commands and is able to nod or shake her head in response. So I have started doing exercises and working on developmental milestones with her every morning, and she is just making amazing progress in the four weeks I have been working with her...considering she was kept at home the first 6 years of her life. She has been able to roll over onto her back from her stomach and sit independently for a whole minute since we`ve started! After talking with her mom, the main goal is to get her to feed herself, and also to be able to let someone know when she has to go to the bathroom. This has involved a lot of education with the mom to allow her to try and feed herself and not help, no matter the mess or how long it takes, because she has to learn. And also the importance of a regular schedule so she can learn, not only for toileting, but for other things as well. I also was able to find a no-spill sippy cup in Cusco last weekend and have been trialing that with her...she needs a lot more practice as it requires a whole lot more oral coordination than the bottle she is so used to. The concept of allowing her to do it herself is very difficult as the culture is to care for the family member and do for them what they are not able to, otherwise it is seen as neglect. The kids of the center have also been very good at helping with the exercises by playing with her, encouraging her to roll and sit up to reach for things...it`s a fantastic environment for her. I have showed all the exercises to the director of the project, who will continue them with her and who has also asked our volunteer coordinator to recruit specifically for specialists that could help even more. Another big help has been the nuns of the local Catholic Church who worked for 2 years to get her a wheelchair, and it supports her just where she needs it. I have so enjoyed working with her for the past month, and her progress has just been incredible.

Projects with the kids on my last week have been using the rest of the craft materials and supplies that were donated to me throughout the year (thank you, thank you, thank you!!) One particularly rainy day last week I pulled out some tote bags, cut big hearts out of some red fabric I found, and had the girls who wanted to sew them on a bag they got to keep and decorate it with beads and buttons that I had brought as well. They absolutely loved it and the sewing circle that quickly formed...all the girls bent over their projects, each one chosing to decorate it in a unique way, was so great to see! For the younger ones, I ushered them into another room and their eyes were as wide as saucers when they saw all the construction paper, stickers, stencils, and various markers and crayons piled on the table!! They had a blast making greeting cards and some of them had just as many stickers on themselves as were on their projects!

As I prepared to leave Pomacanchi today, packing up and buying my bus ticket, saying goodbyes and leaving some pictures behind for the kids of the memories I have from the past month, I couldn`t help but add this project to the list of all those from this past year...how blessed I am to be a part of their journeys and to experience all that I have just being a part of their lives for the time I can. This project is growing and moving forward just like the others, and the new center they are working on is only one sign of that. They hope to move in by January, and be able to provide a warm, safe environment for even more children come 2008.

So that has been my past month...looking forward to a sleepless night tonight and and even longer day tomorrow in Cusco waiting for the arrival of JK Tours on Friday!! Guess I`ll just have to bide my time shopping the day away... :) Only one more blog entry to come...and that one will be after I get home...but I`ll be sure to divulge all details, pictures and stories of JK Tours: Cusco & Machu Picchu 2007!!

Hola Cusco!

2007-11-10T23:50:00.000-08:00

So I was in the U.S. for about a week...I endured the 17-hour bus ride from Màncora to Lima, spent half a day in Lima, then my flight from Lima to Atlanta was a little after midnight on Friday the 26th. Charles and I had been gearing up for a huge reunion in Atlanta airport, as we were headed to Wichita together for his niece`s wedding that weekend. Unfortunately, there was some reason why 11 weeks apart wasn`t enough time, because he was so delayed leaving Philadelphia that he missed our connecting flight in Atlanta. Imagine...I made it on time and without a problem coming all the way from Perù, but a domestic flight that was only 2 hours long got delayed...gotta love Philadelphia International Airport. Since my bags were already checked through by the time I got his messages, I left on our originally scheduled flight. The salt in the wound was that so many people missed that connecting flight, a lot of standbys made it onto the flight, and I was seated next to a woman (who was occupying what would have been Charles` seat) who commented to me as I was about to sit down, "I don`t know why they separated my husband and I on this flight." Trying to keep it together at this point, I offered up my seat to her husband, took his seat at the very front of the plane, and buckled in. The pilot soon came on the com to notify us that we were a little underweight with luggage for this flight, and he was asking if someone seated at the front of the plane would move to the center to distribute the load more evenly for takeoff. Now, I must add here that I was sharing the front row of seats with 3 rather hulking gentlemen, but they didn`t seem to be budging, so I got up to change seats and the whole plane started cheering and the new gentleman I sat next to commented humorously that he was sure my 120 pounds or so was going to do a whole lot to redistribute the weight on the plane--God bless him. I will also add here that I had been crying since I sat down, due to the fact that Charles wasn`t on this flight, so my fellow passengers must have thought I was really attached to that front seat! I then had the privilege of spending 7 hours in Wichita airport waiting for Charles to arrive. Needless to say, we were very glad to see each other, the wedding was absolutely beautiful and I got to meet the rest of his family, and we arrived back home without a problem.

I spent the rest of that week catching up with family and friends, and celebrated my 28th birthday, some of the highlights being a Thanksgiving dinner with the family, presenting my travels to some students that were very eager to learn more about volunteering, a Halloween dinner with my girls, as well as a major pampering session, complete with manicure, pedicure, and hairdo, new outfit, and dinner out on my actual birthday (see picture). I also spent the week trying to wrap up my time in Màncora, and re-packing everything for the next and last leg of my year of travel.

I arrived in Cusco Sunday the 4th of November, and flying in was absolutely incredible. I had to ask myself if I was still in Perù, having only seen the coast and being on the beach for 3 months...it was breathtaking to cruise right past snow-capped Andean peaks, and look down at all the other mountains surrounding Cusco...I was actually a little apprehensive landing, as it didn`t appear that there was going to be a flat enough space to even land a tiny plane! I was met at the airport by my homestay here in Cusco, who brought me back to the hostel where I would be spending the next 2 days. Cusco actually means "navel" in Quechua, the language of the Incas (which originally meant king, but has now come to refer to all people of that descent), since it sits in the crevice of surrounding mountainous peaks, and nighttimes are the most spectacular as the house lights of the dwellings built up the hillsides come on and the view is just incredible as you turn 360 degrees to take it all in! The architecture is pretty spectacular as well...some of the original Incan buildings and walls still stand, sometimes side by side with the conquering Spanish-syle structures. My first sunset was magnificent, the sky and clouds over the city turned the most gorgeous pinks and oranges. I was surprised how warm it was during the day, but boy did it get chilly after the sun went down! I think I had about 5 blankets on my bed when I arrived which I thought was a bit much, but as I slipped under them that night and it seemed like I had 5 lead aprons on (the kind you have to wear whenever you get an xray), I was very thankful! I would much rather be warm than suffocate I decided. I wasn`t reminded of Cusco`s altitude of 3200 meters until I went up 3 short flights of stairs at the hostel, and was panting by the time I got to the top. My bottles of toiletries also exploded too when I opened them up...they were greatly relieved to be opened, having expanded so much in the thinner air. As soon as I arrived from the airport, the woman at the hostel had a cup of tea ready for me, and when I asked her what kind it was after taking a few sips and deciding it wasn`t like anything I had had before, I could have sworn she said it was some form of coco, or coconut. Well that night at dinner, when I got to choose my own teabag, I saw the label with it`s 3-leafed plant and realized it was "coca" that she had said. For those of you not familiar with altitude, the coca leaf is often used to remedy the symptoms that come with being high up in the Andes, as well as the original source for producing cocaine. I have been assured that drinking the tea is non-habit forming though. The next 2 days were spent relaxing in Cusco, and I was able to walk around this amazing city that is steeped in history. It`s all centered around one main plaza, and just off the plaza is a maze of winding, steep, cobblestoned streets that just beg you to explore them. There are plenty of artesan caches, vending their wares from alpaca hide blankets to bright, multi-colored woven bags, hats, gloves, etc. that are usually depicted in any tourist`s picture of Peruvians. My last evening in Cusco before heading to my project, I was meandering around the main square and got to see a parade being put on by a local school. Every grade was dressed in costume depicting different periods in Cusco`s history. From brightly colored dresses that swung out as the girls wearing them spun around, to the boys in full gaucho costume. It was beautiful, and the lights were just starting to come on around the city and on its hillsides as the sun was setting...it was truly magical!

I was delayed by a day in getting to my project, as the bus that would have taken me most of the way was full on Monday, so instead, I was picked up on Tuesday by the coordinator of the project and we nabbed the next bus. After 2 hours, and driving through the most breathtaking, sweeping panoramas of river, mountains, and remote villages, we disembarked from the bus to pile into a taxi (8 people plus baggage in a 5-person vehicle), and drove the remaining 30 minutes to the pueblo of Pomacanchi, where my last project for the year is located. Pomacanchi is basically the end of the line, being one of many villages surrounding a very large lake which the town is named after. The village of Pomacanchi is a little bit higher than Cusco, sitting at 3600 meters. There is one main square and then the town spreads out in houses in a half-mile radius around the main square. The main municipal building houses the only internet cafe, and one common telephone that if you receive a phone call, your name is broadcast over the PA system until you present yourself to answer it. So no matter if you`re occupied with shampoo in your hair, or sitting on the toilet, you better get there quick as you only have 5 minutes once they announce your name! There are a few tiendas, or small general stores, for things such as bread and water, some produce items as well.

The program I have been placed at is named Hatun Sonqo, which means big heart in Quechua. The center is an afterschool program for about 50 children in total, although we don`t have more than 30-40 any given day. There are also between 7-11 children that stay at the center because it is a more stable environment for them than home would be, as alcoholism is a very large social issue here. All of the children come from homes where the parent(s) work during the day, and instead of coming back from school to an empty house, they come to the center for lunch, English lessons, crafts, games, and as many hugs as they will let us give them. The kiddos start wandering in around 1 pm, and the last one is gone by 8 pm. They range in age from 4 years old to teenagers, and are a very energetic bunch. When they arrive each afternoon, they must sign in, let us know if they have homework and if they need help, show us their notebooks, then they can have lunch. If they don`t have homework, we have other activities for them, or just play. English classes are later in the afternoon, separated into 3 groups by ages, and then we do a craft activity with them, followed by finishing homework, and then they get a light dinner before they go home.

I am currently one of 8 volunteers at the center, only 2 of us are with i-to-i, the remaining 6 are with an organization based in Spain, so it works out wonderfully that there are so many volunteers already fluent in Spanish! I´m also finding it a challenge to understand Spanish all over again it seems, as the accent from Spain is completely different than Perù to my ears!

My accommodation is at the center itself, as there are 3 rooms for the volunteers to share. The center rents half of a house from the woman that owns the house and that occupies the other half of the house, with a common courtyard. There is one bathroom with a Western-style toilet, and running water in the courtyard that is used for all washing. There is no shower, but I have decided that I would not want to remove any clothing to do so anyway, as it can get pretty cold when the sun goes in. I try to soak up as much of the sun as possible, preferring to roast and remember it when I`m shivering in the stiff wind at night. So on weekends, the volunteers head into Cusco, not only to shower and do some proper grocery shopping, but also return to civilization. The volunteers have a set rotation for chores around the center (i.e. cleaning the loo, preparing breakfast for those children that stay at the center, making dinner, dishes, etc.). This project has taken the most getting used to, and I think I`m still settling in, as it is solely run by the volunteers, whereas before I stayed with host families or in a volunteer house separate from the project. In addition, the projects I was working with before had locals running them, that when I left, they would continue the project regardless if there was another volunteer present. I can`t imagine coming into this project without older volunteers present to orient the newbies and explain the goings-on of the center. There is a brother and sister that are in charge of the project, and visit the center frequently, monitoring the work that is being done. There is also a woman that cooks lunch for the volunteers and the children, and dinner for the children. But other than that, the volunteers are the heart and soul of this program. And speaking of the cook, I have decided that my first week has been the ultimate gustatory adventure, as the lunches have included such things as chicken feet soup, cow feet stew (which is really just cartilage, no meat), and a sort of stir-fry of brains (not sure what the animal was, but then again, does it really matter?) The last one I didn`t realize what it was until the next day, so I did end up imbibing some of it, and wondering what it could be...I think I remember identifying it (incorrectly) as a variety of seafood, given it`s squishy texture and salty taste. I chalk it up to a possible future appearance on Fear Factor, the TV show where they make the contestants scarf down the most disgusting things imaginable.

Being in this remote of a location does have its advantages, as I`m reminded each night when I look up at the sky and see what seems like a million more stars than what I can usually see at home...definitely no light pollution out here! I have done some conditioning this week too, once I allowed myself to acclimatize...my first game of fùtbol with the older boys was great fun, and now they want to play every day, but I have made it clear that they can play only after they finish their homework. I also trekked with 2 other volunteers to Pomacanchi Lake, mentioned previously. The views were spectacular as we got to climb up a little higher over the endless fields surrounded by soaring mountain peaks...I have to keep reminding myself that I`m actually in the Andes Mountain Range...it`s unfathomable at times! See attached picture of the magnificent expanse of the lake...I didn`t go in, but I`m sure the water is freezing! So definitely more huffing and puffing than normal, but when you`re at 3500+ meters high in the atmosphere, what else is there to expect really?

So my first week has come to an end and I am now finishing up this entry while seated in an internet cafe in Cusco, after a nice, long, hot shower. The remaining volunteers and I arrived this morning to join the volunteers that arrived yesterday. It`s a beautiful sunny day, chill in the air though, and I can`t wait to do more exploring! And for those of you counting down...3 weeks til Machu Picchu!!

Adíos Máncora...

2007-11-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have been putting off writing this entry as I knew it would be about saying goodbye to the place and the people that have been my home and family for the past 3 months...so I'm going to try not to cry as I type this, but definitely not promising anything...

My last 2 weeks have been absolutely wonderful...events at the center and around town I have decided have been perfectly coordinated with my leaving. For example, Mancora is gearing up to host the international women's surfing competition at the end of October, and I have concluded that it's probably a good thing I won't be around for it to steal the title away from the current champion :)

As for the center, I was able to help celebrate a rather important birthday during my last full week there. I have never seen a party so big as the center turned 5 years old, complete with a parade! The big day arrived and started out with a march through town...all of the kids wearing their uniforms or t-shirts with the center logo on it, holding signs with messages of 'ability' and not disability, waving balloons, carrying banners...we even had a band from one of the local schools! It was great to see the community respond to our procession, as the police blocked off streets, residents would come out of their stores or homes and wave as we passed by. And even though there is a great deal of street repairs going on, it was interesting to see how inaccessible the community is for these children that don't get around as easily, as the uneven sidewalks, curbs, and steps provided an extra challenge for some of those in wheelchairs and their families. It was quite warm that morning, so the shady spot we found after the parade was over was most welcomed! Then it was back to the center for the big fiesta! The kids had been practicing for the past couple of days, so I had a feeling this was going to be a pretty grand occasion. The little ones started off the party with a couple of songs, complete with costumes! Then the kids presented the woman that founded the center with a gift that I helped them make, and she was so pleased with the bag that had each child's name on individual fabric hearts that were sewn on both sides of the bag. The big guys were next, singing one song that they had been practicing for the past week, and then it was time for the dancing. Of the older kids, 6 of them are very good dancers, and had been working hard on learning the marinera, which is a traditional Peruano dance that most closely resembles the waltz, but with a Spanish flair. The girls were absolutely beautiful in their ruffled skirts as they waved their handkerchiefs and the boys stepped around them in sweeping motions as they waltzed across the dance floor! I was so proud of them...they had worked so hard and the smiles on their faces were absolutely glowing! More dancing followed, as there was a DJ, and we even had the kids in wheelchairs out boogieing on the dance floor! No party would be complete without a cake, and boy did that disappear quickly! I even ended up with the remnants of the cake all over me as the kids wrestled for who got the last lick of the icing and accidentally bumped into me with the platter! It was a great day and definitely a celebration equal to all that the center stands for and is working to accomplish in the coming years. Speaking of the future, I also got to help out with clearing ground and prepping the space that will hold the new center they have been planning and fundraising for. The kids loved the work gloves they got to put on, and as we cleared brush and trash, placed and painted marker posts, you could sense everyone´s excitement at the possibility of this brand new future, a grand expansion of what the current center is and does.

I also had my first Peruano cooking experience...that weekend I headed over to the woman that runs the center's house to cook with her and her 2 daughters. I was originally going to make sloppy joes with them, which is my special favorite back home. However, I found it impossible to acquire 2 of the main ingredients, and was not keen on going all over town asking where I might buy them, as some of you will remember the brown sugar incident of India. Anyway, we opted instead for coconut fried shrimp, and when I say the ingredients couldn't have been fresher, I am in no way exaggerating. Earlier in the morning we had gone 'grocery shopping,' first to the home of a local fisherman for the 'langostinos' or shrimp, and second to the local market where we wandered up and down the stalls of the most beautiful fruits and vegetables, collecting the rest of our ingredients. See attached picture of us grating pieces of a fresh coconut, after tapping into it and draining the milk, followed by smashing it open Gilligan´s Island-style. Now, in my defense, I will say that this was the first time I had cooked in a Peruvian kitchen, and when those delicate shrimp coated in the feathered coconut dropped into the scalding hot oil, I was not prepared when they burned almost instantaneously! The smell of scorched coconut wafted in the air as the family most graciously ate my culinary disaster and complimented me on how really good it was, really. Thankfully, an aunt was also present that day that is a pastry goddess, and saved the day with her specialty, arroz con leche, or rice pudding.

The new volunteer also arrived my last full week, who I would be passing everything to when I left, so orienting her was priority during my last 2 weeks. Now every person that has to orient a newbie hopes and prays that everything goes smoothly, but there always seems to be minor glitches in how things usually get done...Murphy's law right? So on her first day of home visits, as we're in the collectivo (shared taxi) on our way, I had just finished telling her that I had never had a problem with the customs checkpoint between Mancora and Cancas, which is there due to the close proximity of the border with Ecuador. I normally just sail right on through, but as we approached I noticed about 20 more officials than usual milling around, and it wasn't so much the increased number that made me take notice, it was the semiautomatic weapons they were all carrying down at their sides that made me sit up a little straighter in my cramped seat on the combi. Our driver slowed to a stop and they made a cursory search of the vehicle, instructing everyone to step out of the car. It wasn't until they asked for identification that I froze in my apathetic stance right next to the vehicle, as I realized I didn't even have a copy of my passport with me...absolutely nothing except my word that I was who I claimed to be. The other volunteer thankfully had a copy of her passport on her. Now, I knew that my Spanish got a little rough when I was tired or sick, but I soon added nervous to this list. As I fumbled over words that I usually spoke without a problem, trying to explain that this was just a short journey that I didn't think I needed my passport for, and that I always have my passport with me for big trips, that I was simply a tourist on a day trip (since if they found out I was volunteering I would have had a whole lot more explaining to do and work permits to show, etc.). This did not please the customs agent as he then told me that it was illegal to be travelling without a passport. The combi driver, bless him, was trying to help me out, interjecting that my passport was safe in my hostel, cueing me to say yes and another excuse as to why I didn't have it with me, since it's more likely to be stolen when one is out and about. There were a few sentences I truly didn't understand, so if he was guaging to see if I would offer up some money, I'm not entirely certain, but I really don't think that was the case. After what seemed like an hour of questioning, but was probably only more like 5 minutes, he warned me to always carry my passport with me and wished me a nice day, to which I think I expired all the breath out of my lungs that I had been holding in, scurried back into the car, and we continued on our way. As we drove along, my mind started to think about the 'what ifs'...I could have been detained, made to pay a fine, what if the other volunteer hadn't been there to offer some credence to my presence there...so I was pretty jacked up by the time I got back to the hostel. I spilled the whole story to my host family, who assured me that I really only needed a copy of my passport for trips like that, and after I was a little calmer, we had a good laugh about the whole thing, and I received some razzing from them over the course of the next few days, most often gesturing their arms like they had handcuffs on whenever I entered the room!

My last day of basketball was also this same week...as you can see from the attached picture, I usually have to defend against a whole host of fouls, laughing the whole time at the kids' methods of getting the ball, no matter how illegal they might be! But no matter what the score is, they have a blast and we still end the game as friends.

OK, so I know I´ve been saying that the home visits have been my absolute favorite part of this project from the very first week, and it´s only gotten better over the 3 months that I´ve been here. As I often tell my patients, it´s all about the little things...and the last 2 weeks with my home visit kiddos were definitely about celebrating their little achievements that we had been working on for a while. I´ll start with the 2 children I visit in Cancas, another fishing village about 30 minutes by car north of Màncora. She survived a bout with meningitis when she was 4, and now at the age of 7 presents with cerebral palsy-like symptoms. I know I´m not supposed to have favorites, but I have to say that she was. I was working a lot on spontaneous movement with her, basic developmental-appropriate milestones, and one of the toys I brought with me was a bumble ball, or a battery-powered vibrating ball with soft nubs on it. She absolutely loved it, and whenever I put it on her back or stomach or other ticklish spot, she would let out the greatest belly laugh I have ever heard...one that started in her toes and rumbled up out of her! Sometimes I think I selfishly did it to the point of exhausting her because I loved hearing it so much!! But it was so great to get her moving spontaneously and using her muscles reflexively. In one of her last sessions, I placed her on her stomach, and then looked up to answer a question from her mom, and when I looked back down at her, she was staring back up at me with the biggest smile on her face...she had rolled over completely on her own! My mouth dropped open, followed by the most beaming smile back at her, and I don`t think I´ve ever said "muy bien" so many consecutive times or with as much enthusiasm as I did that day! The other child I have been visiting in Cancas has autism and is 15 years old, although developmentally he looks closer to 9 or 10. He took quite a while to get accustomed to me, and the past 3 months we have been working on increasing his socialization opportunities, the biggest undertaking being to bring him to the center one afternoon a week to be around and interact with kids his age. It has been truly amazing to watch him transform, as he has visibly decreased his oral fixations, increased his eye contact with people, and generally is more social if even a little bit. My last 2 visits with him were with the new volunteer, and with the 2 extra hands just in case they were needed to chase after him if he escaped, we took him to the beach and played with him in the sand, picking up shells and rocks, watching the waves, even though he was a little overwhelmed with all the sensory experiences at first, he was reluctant to leave when we started back to his house! My last visit I decided he was going to get a special treat, so we walked all the way to the town center, skipping and swinging him between us, wandered through the market stalls, looking at all the fruits and vegetables for sale that he loved smelling, then having him select a soda and making him give the money to the vender...it was the highlight of my 3 months in working with him as we sat outside the market, him slurping away and then looking down to see his hand in the gravel behind us, seeking out the texture that 2 days before he was freaking out over! He was the most content and happy boy as we returned to his house...huge progress from when I first started with a child that was so scared and aggressive.

So the other town the center makes home visits to is El Alto, about a 45-minute bus ride south of Màncora, a journey and project I believe I have blogged about previously, particularly the sewing project I worked on with one of the older girls. I started out seeing only 2 children there, and my last visit we had a total of about 7 kiddos! The new therapy room in the home of one of the kids we visit has helped tremendously, as it is a central location and the moms can just drop by whenever they get a chance during the morning or early afternoon. I must say that I`ve become most attached to the littlest one that we visit, who is only 3 and has a degenerative disease called leukodystrophy. Her mom is one of the toughest women I know, devoting so much to her only child, and doing it all by herself as the father skipped out as soon as she was diagnosed. She has lost all voluntary movement, vision, the ability to swallow, speak, and hearing in one ear. She was hospitalized with double pneumonia for 2 weeks in August, and has a feeding tube in her stomach. There is no cure, and the last thing the disease affects is the respiratory system, so she will die from not being able to breathe. My last session with her I think I cried the whole time, gently massaging her delicate limbs, trying to soak up all of her sweetness and innocence despite what this disease has done to her body. Another little girl who I have visited since the beginning is another child who had a fever at a very young age, and now presents with cerebral-palsy typed symptoms. I have been working most with her on sensory stimulation and getting her to interact with her environment with switch-type devices. We´ve also been working on basic developmental milestones with her as well, and on her last session, as you can see from the picture, she is propping up on her elbows and lifting her head simultaneously for the very first time! Lots of hard work, but she loves to be silly too, and I always had time for that, especially when I get the best smile and laugh from her in return! My last visits to all of them I was inconsolable basically, but it was so comforting to be sharing tears with all the moms too, and realizing that I was just as grateful for the opportunity to know them and work with their children as they were for the progress we had made. In a country where the culture hides away those with disabilities, it´s so easy to do the simplest things to make these kids feel like all-stars, and I have loved every minute of it!

My last weekend in Màncora I wanted to surf as much as I could! I headed out on Saturday with another volunteer, and the waves were a good size, so it was pretty crowded and a fight for each wave. I caught a few good ones, ran into someone, and also got run into, but it was the perfect last outing running the waves of Màncora! The sunset that day was I think the most beautiful I had seen as it sank down behind all the fishing boats lined up at the end of the day. My last week was also filled with gorging myself on the desserts or "postres" that I have come to love about Màncora! I had my whole week scheduled as far as which restaurant and which baked goodness I would be imbibing meal by meal and day by day. Attached is a picture of the chocolate fudge explosion perfected by vanilla ice cream that is called the TNT by the restaurant that creates this magnificence of dessert, just one of the gloriously rich decadences I re-experienced my last week in Màncora.

OK, so now to the hardest thing I´ve had to write so far...my last day at the center. I arrived that afternoon to all the kids with big hugs and them leading me inside for a surprise ceremony instead of their lesson that day. Now, I knew I was going to cry and had been steeling myself for it, getting a little out of my system I thought with each home visit that I said goodbye that week, but I had no idea the waterworks that would occur this day. I was presented with gifts: a metal cross one of the volunteers had welded together and the chain being crocheted by another of the teachers, and also a red seed that is a symbol of luck in Perù. There were songs, and some of the kids even got up and gave little speeches...my pride at their courage beamed through my tears. As I´ve written before, the kids are very sensitive to any expression of emotion, so at all times, I was surrounded by a minimum of 2 or 3 or them, at most was about 6, all wiping away my tears and putting their arms around my shoulders in order to comfort me, which of course made me cry even harder. The woman that founded the center, who has become a huge role model for me, got up to say a message of goodbye for this time, but not forever, and as she was holding back tears, I couldn´t seem to hold back mine as she enveloped me in a hug that I not only received as a volunteer but also as her friend and family. I got a hug from each one of the kids, as I wet their shoulders and squeezed each of them as hard as I could. Thankfully, we headed outside to play one last game of Kiwi and I could focus on something else besides saying goodbye, as my face and all of my insides seemed to be burning by this point. Not sure if I have ever described the game of Kiwi before, but it is one of the kids´favorites, and now one of mine too! Two teams...chicos versus chicas...girls go first and try to knock down a pyramid of tin cans by throwing a soccer ball...if they are successful, the girls scatter as the last can goes down, and then the boys have to tag each one out with the ball before the girls can rebuild the pyramid. So there is a whole lot of running, sneaking, and mostly dashing for your life before you get beaned with the ball! If the boys manage to get every one of the girls out before they rebuild it, it`s their turn to knock down the pyramid. If the girls manage to rebuild it before all of them get knocked out, they get another chance to knock it down, which is usually what happens, but I think all of them, boys and girls, like the latter arrangement, as the girls love to run and evade, while the boys love to be the seekers and destroyers! As we neared the end of the game, I could sense that something was up, as the kids kept trying to keep me away from the center, telling me it wasn`t time to go in yet, even though I was really excited to do the activity with them that I had planned...face painting! Well, we never got around to it, as I was blindfolded and led back into the center, where all the moms, families and basically everyone that I had encountered while volunteering for 3 months in Màncora was there! In my shock I managed to say hello to most everyone I think, and there were more hugs, goodbye speeches, even a cake and dancing! I had gifts for all of the kids...a picture of each of them with me (taken over the course of the past 11 weeks) in a popsicle stick frame I had each of them decorate the previous week. And then I gave the photo album of the highlights of my time with them to the woman that founded the center and all the teachers. Of course I was crying through all of this, as you can imagine, but I was not at all prepared for what came next. As I realized what time it was and that I basically had a half hour til my bus took me from Màncora, I started frantically hugging and saying goodbye to everyone present, when one of the older girls came up to me, unhooked the crucifix from around her neck and pressed it into my hands, saying it was gift to remember her by. I was speechless at first, and then just started sobbing as I pulled her close and enclosed her in a hug that said only a shred of the gratitude and humility I felt at that very moment. As I sped away in a mototaxi back to my hostel, showered, and finished packing, I kept revisiting that exchange in my head, a necklace I had seen her wear every day, that was most likely her first communion or baptism gift, and each time coming unglued just thinking about the extraordinary memento she had given me and the message that came with it. As I came down the stairs of the hostel when my bus pulled up, since my hostel is also the bus station for the company I was travelling with, I think I was running on fumes, and at the sight of everyone gathered to see me off at the bus station, those from the center, from my hostel, other volunteers, and friends and family I had gotten to know...it was all a blur as I gave more hugs, speaking but not remembering of what through my tears, waving goodbye from my window seat, and slowly rolling out of town, towards Lima, and away from my home for the past 3 months.

This year has definitely been life changing for me with all the experiences I have had, but this project has been my favorite and I will never forget the center, the children that are it`s heart and soul, and the people at it`s core that make it run every day. I consider myself so blessed to be a part of that family for a short period, and hope that will always be the case.

2 weeks left?!

2007-10-13T19:50:00.000-07:00

Work at the center continues...these past few weeks I have been working on a mural of birthdays for the kids...or "panel de cumpleaños"...I had each of them decorate their own picture frame of construction paper with their names and birthdates, using a lot of the donations I received before I came (thank you, thank you, thank you!) I then took all of their pictures, an event in and of itself, as most of them don´t have pictures of themselves, then glued them into the corresponding frames, and they turned out absolutely beautiful! This week we put them up on a wall in the center, in bulletin board fashion, and I had the kids help me decorate the border...so much fun!

Recycling this past week had the biggest turnout of kids since I started!! We had 7 kids dragging the bags that they had worked hard to fill to the recycling center and in total they earned 40 soles!! That´s definitely a record!!

Another activity that has been recently started with the kids is basketball! About once a week we head over to the neighborhood court to shoop some hoops. After the first game, myself and another of the taller volunteers at the center have formed one team, as all the kids want to be our opponents!! They love getting to guard us, as their way of defense is to wrap us in big bear hugs, pull back on our belts as we drive to the basket, and their most favorite tactic...tickling. It´s usually still a rout though, but we have so much fun and I think the best exercise comes from laughing so hard, or from avoiding the aforementioned methods of defense!

Speaking of exercise, on one occasion of visiting the woman´s house that started the center (usually once a weekend her family will invite me for tea or lunch, they have become so much a part of my extended family), I was asked if I knew some different exercises to tone various parts of the body that her daughters wanted to work on. Now, I think my Spanish has become pretty good as of late. I was recently reading a book where the author described her stay in Italy for 4 months, and her description of learning Italian was exactly how I feel about my Spanish now! Basically, there is a line that is crossed, where speaking begins instead of just translating all the time. I´m talking. Of course, there is a mistake in almost every sentence and I only know about 3 or 4 of the verb tenses, but I can communicate...I can get by. So back to the exercises...I flipped back in my mental file to what I knew about yoga and Pilates, and then the challenge came to put that all into Spanish! So along with a heavy dose of demonstration, I was able to explain exercises such as "saludaciones al sol," "triangulo" and "el ciento"! We spent more time laughing as the women struggled to do the exercises, and their expressions of feeling the burn were priceless!

I didn´t think it was possible, but for you American football fans out there, I was able to watch a Monday Night Football game the other week! I ventured down to the little cafe that has an outdoor "milk bar" that serves the best soft serve here, and to my surprise I heard English coming from the TV! I looked up to see the Titans playing the Saints, and for a moment had a lapse of knowing where I was! For every English statement by the announcer, it was followed by a translation of Spanish, and unfortunately there was no touchdown during the part of the game I saw to know if they yelled "GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLL!!" in Spanish or not! In related news, I have also been able to see some of the baseball playoffs down here as well! Last Friday´s Red Sox versus the A´s was a special treat as I got to see Manny Ramirez´s 3-run game-ending homer! This weekend is the big fútbol game...Perú vs. Paraguay, and there´s some sort of qualification involved for the next World Cup game, so everyone is gearing up for what will hopefully be a big win!

Home visits continue to be my favorite part of this project, especially now to one town in particular. I wrote previously about El Alto, how we had switched the schedule to the afternoon briefly before realizing how inhospitable the place is after noon time. Well, we have now started work on developing a central therapy room for those that we visit to come to instead of multiple home visits, as the caseload continues to grow there. One of the mothers of the children we visit has graciously allowed us to use a spare room/garage in her home, which is directly in the center of town near the bus stop. We spent all of last week painting and getting it ready, and this past week had our first therapy sessions there! It was incredible having the woman who founded the center down on the floor on a mattress with one of the children doing physical therapy, while I worked at a table with one of the older girls we visit on a sewing activity (written about in a previous entry) and another of the volunteers conducted screenings of children that were being brought in by their moms and dads to see if they could benefit from physical therapy! The girl I was working with on a sewing project was started last week, and she has done so well with it, really a fast learner! All of the materials were more donations (thank you!), and I am having her decorate a tote bag, first quilting squares of fabric together with the machine, then handsewing them to the bag, then decorating it with large plastic funky-shaped buttons. At first she was completely intimidated by the machine, as it was loud and there was a really sharp needle involved after all, but by the end of the session, I had to move the machine away from her as she kept trying to press the button that made it operate without any material underfoot, with a huge smile on her face! Handsewing the quilted squares to the bag was another challenge, as she has a tremor and I made sure to caution her how sharp the needle was. Well, she only stuck both herself and me one time, and she did one whole side independently!! Next couple of sessions were buttons, and being the fashionista that she is, she absolutely loved all the colors and shapes and getting to pick her own designs. The therapy room is a great project and so needed in this particular town, so it´s awesome to be a part of getting it started!

My surfing outing last weekend I am chalking up to "learning a lot." It wasn´t a stellar performance, as the board cracked me in the nose at one point when I tried to go under a breaking wave on it, and I´m still wondering if I broke it given the amount of swelling and pain. But I did manage to catch 2 waves at the very end of my hour and a half out there, so it wasn´t a total loss. Again, I learned a lot. And more importantly, this outing was completely independent of an instructor, and on Máncora beach, which is a huge factor in and of itself as there are so many people usually out on the beach watching the performances of those in the water. Well, they got a good show last weekend...I´m sure there were plenty of "Ouch" and "Oh! That must´ve hurt" statements! Lot more bruises and cuts, but oh how I love this sport! This weekend I headed out into the water again...sans instructor. I had a little bit of a smaller board, so it was much easier to paddle, but I was worried I wouldn´t be able to stand up. The waves were a really nice size, but the current was very strong and therefore difficult to stay in the right spot to catch them. It took me a while to get going, but once I did, I managed to catch every other wave and stand up on every other one after that! After 2 hours, which felt like 30 minutes, my shoulders, arms and neck were ready to quit, so I headed in, feeling so great about my performance this weekend, especially since I managed to avoid knocking myself in the nose as I went under the breakers! There was a certain buzz in the air around town as some of the top surfers in the world were here this past week practicing for the World Surf Championships to be held in Perú at the end of this month. One surfer in particular is creating a mass of anticipation...the women´s world champion surfer is actually from Perú and trained in the waters off Máncora! There is a particular electricity in the air around town as everyone is on Sophie-watch!

So this past Monday was a national holiday here...honoring some sea captain that was crucial in the war between Perú and Chile. No classes on Monday, and Máncora was host to a very large fiesta Monday night. There are several popular cumbia/salsa bands that are from here, and one of the bands, Grupo Cinco, hosted the biggest block party I have seen in my 9 weeks here so far! And in the time I´ve been in Máncora, their music is on every radio, so I already knew some of their songs. Not sure where their name comes from, because there were definitely way more band members than 5, but they put on a show! They filled the central square with I think all of Máncora, and I made it through the gate and into the mass hordes within the square, going with some of the teachers and other volunteers from the center...we had an absolute blast! We salsa´ed the night away and I actually felt like I knew what I was doing!! There were so many people though that turns and things like that weren´t really physically possible, but we still had a great time...even though now I think I can appreciate what it feels like to be inside of a sardine can!

Another fiesta this past week was the birthday of the woman that founded the center. It was her 50th, and a surprise, and another great time had by all. Lots of preparations...I was even commissioned to draw a clown (I think it turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself), which is a traditional decoration for all fiestas de cumpleaños here in Perú. I was invited along with several other volunteers, in addition to her 8 children, their spouses, and all of her grandchildren! Needless to say it was a packed house. It was a beautiful celebration though...of her, her work, and her dedication to her family was obvious as toast after toast was made, even the older grandkids got a chance with the microphone! This was also an emotional milestone as well, as this was the same woman I wrote about in one of my first entries that was involved in a very serious bus accident earlier this year that almost took her life. She has fought back hard and has an incredible support network in her family and friends, which was obvious that night. In addition to more salsa dancing that I got to practice more during (!), there was also a piñata...and the first one I had seen in Perú. They actually do it a little differently here...no bat involved first of all! One person picks aways at the bottom of the piñata while everyone else huddles around, waiting for the goodies to drop. First came lots of confetti, and in the midst of all the chaos as people were grabbing for anything they thought was a prize, sometimes someone else´s shirt, hand or something else (!), the grand prize inside was a pair of ladies underwear! In the style of a garter belt at weddings, the woman that runs the center graciously donned the panties over her pants with the aid of her husband, and they danced a song together, laughing the whole time! Definitely a Kodak moment, and the camera flashes were going off like crazy!

Lots of birthday fiestas this month, as another party this past week at the center was held for one of the older guys that attends (same one that hoards all of the plastic bottles he gathers for recycling that I wrote about in the last entry). More dancing, cake and games, as they do for every one of the kids´ birthdays, and he even got a present of a new baseball cap, socks and a pair of sunglasses. When he opened the package, you would have thought he had won a gold medal at the Olympics, as he crossed himself, blew a kiss up to heaven, then raised his arms in true victory fashion! Needless to say he was very pleased with his gifts! See attached picture of the cool dude hanging loose in his new shades and hat (he usually has the best smile, but he was concentrating so hard on doing the "shaka" sign with his hand that I taught him just for this picture)!

So it´s hard to believe I have 2 weeks left here...and only a week and a half left of my project before I leave. I had to buy my return bus ticket this past week...very sad as now every time I see a bus I think that will be me very soon, and I know that I will have a hard time saying goodbye to all the kids and those that have become like family to me. In related news, the new volunteer for the center arrives Monday, so I´m very excited to show her around and orient her to the wonderful place that is the center!

2 Months?!...

2007-10-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

OK, so when I left home back in September, I thought October seemed like an eternity away...and now it´s here...wow! So I´ve been pretty busy between the center and just living on the beach in Perú where there´s plenty of surfing and salsa going on!

Work at the center has been particularly focused on the home visits these past 2 weeks, especially since there are 2 new cases in one of the towns the center sends volunteers to. After being introduced to these 2 new families, one of which has a lovely 15-year-old girl that has only advanced to the second grade level, due to an illness she contracted when she was 8. I´m going to be working with her on increasing her independence with activities of daily living (booyah occupational therapy at it´s best!) and also trying to teach her some new skills such as sewing (booyah all those years in 4-H and also muchas gracias to the family that donated the portable sewing machine before I left for Perú!) The second family I met only briefly, and given the long walk to their house through a somewhat questionable section of town, they agreed on coming to the house of one of the already existing home visits, for a group session. But it was also determined that the best time for them was for me to come in the afternoons, so after checking with all of the families that this was ok with the rest of them, it was decided I would visit in the afternoon instead of the morning for the two days each week that I come. Well, no one thought to mention to me the change in weather that occurs every day in the early afternoon. I arrived the first day after changing the schedule all around, and thought I had taken the wrong bus...the town was completely unrecognizable! Given its location up in the hills with nothing really around it in the way of protection from the elements, it is quite calm in the mornings as the sun rises and gently warms the town. However, once it passes noon, clouds roll in, the temperature drops significantly, the wind starts to pick up and there is so much dirt and sand in the air that the people of the town that were wearing shorts and t-shirts earlier in the day have changed into long pants and sweaters and are walking around with scarves over their faces by the time 1:00 rolls around!! The family that we had changed the schedule around for hadn´t even ventured out for the group session due to the weather and were unlikely to do so in the future, so after again checking with all the families, home visits have now resumed their normal schedule...calm, tranquil mornings 2 days a week.

We also had a pretty significant event here in Máncora with the kids at the center...every year the town holds an outdoor exposition along the main road and invites all the schools to set up a table to display either something that they have been working on or that they develop specifically for this exposition. An event slightly akin to what I would refer to as a science fair from my elementary school days. The center´s project was "How to make natural perfume," and also had set up different craft items the kids had done in the past as well as a huge panel of photos and descriptions of all the activities that the center does during the year. Really good networking and marketing opportunity as well! Anyway, two of the children from the morning classes (the little ones) had been recruited to demonstrate the making of the perfume, and after spending a whole hour the day before practicing, they showed up the next morning raring to go! I have never witnessed 2 more natural salesmen...it´s like they were born to work the cologne counters at Macy´s!! We continuously had a crowd around our table, mostly people wanting to buy the different crafts the kids had done. And when the judges approached, the two selling wonders put on their best demonstration ever! The center won first place and are now eligible to compete in the regional competition!! I was so proud!!

We had to celebrate, not only doing so well in the exposition, but also due to the celebration of spring or "celebración de primavera," so we planned a fieldtrip to the beach! Now you might be wondering how this would be a treat for these kids, since they live at the beach, but for some reason, they don´t go to the beach and play like we would expect them to, usually because their parents don´t ever have time to go with them due to working 2 or 3 jobs. So we loaded about 15 kids and 5 adults into a large pick-up truck (for those familiar with my African blog entries, think back to the death ride described during my trips to the Tanzanian Maasai lands)...see picture. However, this ride was much nicer, given the road was paved all the way. We headed up the road a bit to Punta Sal, which I have also described in earlier entries, being what I think is Perú´s nicest beach, where I saw my first sunset over the Pacific with whales jumping out of the water and have seen whales on every subsequent visit there (see picture)! We spent the day digging in the sand, splashing in the waves, playing volleyball and frisbee, and dancing when a one-man band came strolling up the beach. I even accidentally showed the kids how to do an Irish jig, as the sand was so hot that I was hopping around like crazy!! I taught some of them how to make drip castles out of the wet sand and we ate the most delicious lunch of fresh ceviche and arroz con carne y pollo which some of the mothers had prepared. It was a blast and the kids had such a great time!

The kids at the center that come in the afternoons have also been getting a special treat as some volunteers with another organization that has projects here in Máncora have started coming in once a week to do a drum circle! The drums consist of wooden boxes that you sit on to play, pounding out rhythms of salsa, merengue, even "We Will Rock You"!! The kids absolutely love it, and I have been amazed to watch them each week, especially the kids with hearing difficulties, who go bananas because it´s definitely loud enough for them to be able to participate normally instead of usually not hearing what´s going on. I have also discovered that we have some talented little dancers amidst the group, every one of them getting up and shaking their hips like professional salsa dancers. Again I say, these Peruvians were born to salsa!!

Another project that has been developing at the center is the recycling initiative previous volunteers had started with a few of the boys that attend. Currently, we have 7 eager chicos that we have participating in the program. Their job is to collect disgarded plastic bottles, metal, and glass around town and in their neighborhoods, then bring them to the center, where we go once a week with them to the recycling center, where the bags are weighed and the boys receive money based on how many kilos they have. Some examples of the boys participating...one 15-year-old was involved in a mototaxi accident when he was only 8, and as a result suffered a traumatic brain injury, having no short-term memory now, as well as being very impulsive and is unable to plan very far ahead. His goal is to buy a television for his family, but every time he earns any money, he spends it right away on soda and snacks (as do most of the boys involved in the project), so that´s where the volunteers come in. The volunteers keep track of the money each boy earns and saves it for them in what we have endearingly termed "El Banco de los Voluntarios"! Another participant is a 35-year-old veteran of the center, with a diagnosis of mental retardation, who is now pretty independent with his recycling collection, however is a hoarder, and needs someone to go with him every now and then to turn in what he has collected. Last week we went to his house after he repeatedly kept telling us that he didn´t have any bottles to turn in...only to find a mountain of plastic in one corner of his backyard piled up against the fence!! We filled up 7 large potato sacks...see picture of some of the boys with him and his collection! It´s a wonderful program and works on so many different things...not only life skills for the participants but also environmental conservation and keeping their town litter free.

In other news, salsa lessons continue, thankfully improving this past week as I was ready to throw in the towel two weeks ago...my hips and shoulders just refuse to move certain ways that I think Peruvians come out of the womb doing...it seems so easy for them! I have also learned the dance to the local music that is forever playing on the radio here, as the band is from Máncora! Surfing is also going fabulously well...I have 3 lessons under my belt, and as of my last lesson, I have been deemed ready to head out on my own to practice!! It was THE best feeling paddling, catching, and standing up on the last wave of my most recent lesson...all by myself!! The waves were a little bigger with each lesson, and I couldn´t help but gawk at the little kids out running the waves with me this last time...they were absolutely amazing!! I have attached a picture where the wave is actually bigger than the chiquitita surfing it! I do have to say I am so thankful that I am done with blood thinning medication, as I usually have a whole host of new cuts and bruises after each time out in the water!

Last weekend was rather eventful as well due to the unfortunate situation that the other volunteer here became quite sick with a high fever among other things and decided to go to the 24-hour emergency clinic. After spending the night there and the next day, receiving IV´s and having to give so many samples of various things we lost track, she was allowed to go home on medicine to treat the trifecta of illnesses...the Máncora hat trick as we now refer to it. In addition to a parasite she acquired (which happens to most visitors to Máncora), there was also an intestinal infection and some other infection. As I sat with her for several periods while she was at the clinic, I couldn´t help but remember what it was like to be in the hospital in a foreign country, so I was only too glad to be able to pay forward what the other volunteers in Africa had been and done for me. I´m happy to report she is much better now and after recuperating this week, she is ready to head back to teaching English at one of the primary schools here, especially since another volunteer is arriving Monday to help with the same project.

In related news of the goings-on in Máncora, I have now joined the ranks of those that were only supposed to be here a certain period of time and have surpassed that by a long shot, as I had to buy more sunscreen. Now, I know this doesn´t really sound like news to most of you, but if you´ll remember in one of my earlier entries, I described my absolute horror as I saw the outrageous price of the same bottle of sunscreen I had purchased back home for only $5. When I was packing to come here, I thought one bottle would surely be enough for 5 weeks, thinking I would even have some left over. I have eeked out the last possible drop from said bottle however, and given the strength of the sun here and the amount of sunny days (basically every day), I definitely needed to buy more. I think I might have been moping as I walked to the store, even though I had spent several days scouring every possible place that sold the magic substance that is worth gold around here to the tourists, just to find the best price. So I have now paid $15 for a 10-ounce bottle of sunscreen, that will probably be my most expensive souvenir, and one that I will keep even when I have emptied it, also because the label is all in Spanish!

Máncora continues to be new and exciting every week, with the events as of late. We had a minor terremoto, or sismo, here 2 weeks ago. I apparently slept right through it, as when I came down for breakfast the next morning, I was immediately asked by my host family if I had felt the earthquake. I listened as they described how everything was shaking around 11:30 the night before, and later heard as the other volunteer described the same thing happening at her hostel. Later we found out the epicenter was somewhere in Ecuador, registering around a 5.2 I believe. Guess I have built up a pretty high noise tolerance given the major highway is right outside my hostel! We also had a power outage this past week, the most significant one as the whole town was out. As I walked home from the center as the sun was setting, I noticed the street lights that usually light my way were not on, and I entered my hostel to find a candle on every flat surface available, immediately being handed a lit one to be taken up to my room. After dinner (the gas stove still worked), I parked myself in a chair outside the hostel, which is usually so noisy with all the traffic and music from various stores and restaurants along the strip, not to mention very bright with all the lights coming from aforementioned places of business. However on this night, it was so wonderfully quiet and so dark that as I craned my neck back to look up at the sky, I could see the most amazing array of stars out over the ocean...there were so many!! It was so beautiful that I tried to soak it all in, which I´m glad I did, as the power came back on about 8:30 that night, along with the music and lights. I was glad to have the town back that I have become accustomed to, but it was so very nice to have a moment of reprieve and see another side of the place I have been living in the past 2 months!

Correr las olas...

2007-09-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

OK, this is the big entry...and the title is Spanish for surfing, but it literally translates to ¨running the waves¨! So Saturday morning was my first ever surfing lesson, and I have to say it went really well. My instructor and another volunteer and myself headed to Los Organos, a town about 15 minutes south of Màncora, with surfboards piled high on top and me saying a prayer as I slipped my second skin or rash guard (a thick Spandex-type long sleeve t-shirt that protects your upper body from fiberglass splinters from the board as you paddle) over my head. I was also just hoping I would have enough energy for today, as I had been sick all week (see below for further info on that). Now I was also a little apprehensive about having this huge board starting out, as everyone begins surfing by using a long board. Then it was explained to me using the analogy that a long board makes it much easier to stand up on in the water, sort of like a door floating in the water. Anything smaller would be like trying to balance on a cabinet door. The more board you have, the more surface area on the water to spread your weight out over, and thus the easier it is to stand up. Who knew this surfing business was so technical?! So now about my surf teacher...he is a former pro-surfer, and answered with a yeh! when I asked if he had surfed with Kelly Slater, Jack Johnson, and he mentioned a few others. He was born in California, but his father was Peruvian, so after pulling out of the pro scene, he landed in Máncora and now has his own surf shop and only does advertising by word of mouth. When he found out I was volunteering here, he knocked down the price he quoted me by a significant amount, so booyah for me! As I said in an earlier entry, he put me completely at ease and was very reassuring, so I was very relieved of my previously mentioned anxieties! After arriving at the beach and finding no one around--yes!!--except a few fishermen, my instructor had me do some warm-up exercises and stretches, then drew a surfboard in the sand and demonstrated the proper sequence for standing up on the board, then had me practice. I soon discovered that I needed a modified sequence as my upper body is not strong enough to do a jump to standing from laying flat on my stomach, so after practicing another method, we headed out into the water. Average wave size was about 3 feet, and as we entered the water, he went over proper technique for carrying the board, walking past breaking waves with it, getting onto the board, and then paddling. Now when I say paddling, I mean that your arms are stroking away, the only energy source for propelling both you and your board through the water. Well, let me also just say that it`s a good thing you type with your arms down at your sides, because it`s a little difficult to even raise my arms to put a shirt on right now! I also have to interject that my instructor was sans surfboard and instead had on a pair of flippers, hanging onto the back of my board and kicking as I paddled, so it was a whole lot easier this first time out. The fins were also crucial once we turned and were trying to catch a wave, as again, I needed the extra power to keep ahead of the wave until I got into its momentum as my arms were not enough (mental note to self...push-ups are being added to the regimen as soon as my arms don`t shake anymore when I lift them up). As I got into good position relative to the break of the first approaching wave, my instructor started kicking, I started paddling like crazy, the wave caught us up in it`s powerful surge towards the beach ahead, he counted to 3, then told me to stand up...I pushed up onto my knees as he held the board to stabilize it, I turned slightly, and then promptly fell off as I tried to bring my right foot forward and stand up! After making sure I was ok and hadn`t swallowed too much water, we headed back out, got ready, then as the second wave approached, we caught the momentum again, one-two-three, and I was up! I was up!! My instructor let go of the board, and I was off!! Then after what felt like an entire minute, but was probably only 2 seconds, I jumped off as I neared the beach...what a rush!! After high-fiving on that one since I had just surfed on only my second wave, I spent the next hour practicing standing up as we caught the wave and rode it in...however, I must say that it felt like I stood up on most of the waves, even if I only stayed standing for a few seconds before loosing my balance and bailing. We even headed out into the bigger waves (only by a foot or so) halfway through the lesson, since my instructor said it looked like I was ready. Tough work, and I was exhausted as we walked out of the water, carrying my surfboard that had lost a back fin somewhere along the way and the second fin hanging on by a few pieces of tape, me bleeding from several cuts on my feet from some falls onto rocks and a few good bruises already forming, but what an incredible feeling, and I`m already signed up for my second lesson!! Now I just have to work on the upper body strength to be able to paddle myself to catch the wave and be able to read the waves to know when to start paddling and when to stand up, as it was quite easy with someone right behind me in the water doing those things for me! I have attached some pictures that my fellow volunteer took while providing moral support from the beach. Some of them are pretty far away, but if you are able to zoom in on your computer, it`s a better picture. Enjoy!

In other news, it was bound to happen sooner or later, working with kids, and it being winter here so the warmth of the day quickly evaporates into chillier nights, but I was hit with some sort of bug and have been in bed most of my 5th week here. Which makes another reason I´m glad I´m staying, as I would have hated to miss my last week being in this condition! The past week I had a persistent cough that I thought I was over. And I felt fine Monday morning as I met the new i-to-i volunteer at the bus stop, who was arriving to teach English at the school for the next 3 months. But by Monday night my throat started feeling sore and rather thick, and I woke up Tuesday morning feeling like I had been hit by a truck I was so achy. I went on my assigned home visits, not getting back til 3 in the afternoon as there were 2 new cases for me, which thankfully I was accompanied by the woman that runs the center and was the one who did most of the therapy. I literally crashed when I got back to the hostel, sleeping for over an hour, and dug down deep to make it to the center later in the afternoon. They took one look at me, and asked what was wrong, and fighting back tears because 1) I felt absolutely wretched as at this point was going back and forth between chills and feeling like my face was going to burn off my head followed by the rest of my body, and 2) I always seem to break down at the first, if even slightest, expression of sympathy. To which the kids started swarming around me asking if I was ok, making fighting back the tears even harder. So I just handed off the afternoon´s activity I had planned and came right back to the hostel. My host family, along with a few others, were very sweet, feeling my forehead, then quickly withdrawing like they had touched a hot stove, and basically told me to go to the 24-hour clinic. Now as some of you know, I have a very strong aversion to taking medicine, especially antibiotics, so this was the last thing I wanted to do. But after taking my temperature for about the hundredth time, and realizing it was at its highest of 102 even after taking Tylenol, I realized I couldn´t fight this one off on my own and another volunteer offered to accompany me to the clinic. I was examined, and after hearing the equivalent of ¨Oh my goodness!¨ in Spanish from the doctor as he looked in my throat, he announced I had a throat infection that was severly inflamed and prescribed me, you guessed it, an antibiotic. I no sooner got back to the hostel, and I was met at the door by the woman that runs the center, who had made me some soup and loaded me in her car to go get my prescriptions filled. After stopping at 4 or 5 different pharmacies, who were either closed or didn´t have the right medicine, she brought me home and told me to take as many days off as I needed. The next morning I dragged myself out to go get my prescriptions changed and get them filled. My host mom and her daughters have been very concerned, checking and rechecking my forehead, and zipping up my fleece when I would come down with it half-opened, even checking the temperature of my glass to make sure I wasn´t drinking anything too cold. I have heard, ¨No hielo!¨ (no ice!) more times than I can count on both hands from everyone, as it is an old wives´ tale here that drinking cold beverages makes the illness worse. In the past few days as I was coming close to going out of my mind with boredom ¨resting¨as the doctor prescribed, I realized there have been some positives that come with being sick, as I feel a little closer to my family both here at the hostel and at the center...I am so blessed to be surrounded by such great people that have been looking out for me here! I was able to go in to the center on Friday afternoon, and even though most of the kids weren`t there as it was a meeting on domestic violence for all the mothers, I did get to see some of them that had come with their moms, and as I thought it would be, the kids have been the best medicine so far!!

I felt that since this week marked the 6th year since September 11th, I had to put in this entry my thoughts about this anniversary. It was interesting to me that on Monday the 10th, I was sitting around talking with the other teachers at the center and we realized it was the 11th the next day. They asked me what my reaction had been, to which I explained that my generation now has something that they remember exactly where they were and what they were doing at the time, sort of like JFK´s assassination for the previous generation. I was a senior in college, and I had just gotten off the phone with the person who would be my supervisor for my upcoming fieldwork placement, came downstairs where one of my roommates was watching TV, and initially thinking she was watching a movie at first glance given the screen was filled with buildings exploding and thick clouds of black smoke, but then I saw the look on her face and realized it was actually happening. This explanation made the group quite somber, and for these people that watched the events of that day and the events that followed as mere bystanders, even though they were citizens of another country, the feeling was the same. As I said before, I was already quite miserable by the time Tuesday the 11th actually rolled around, since I was not feeling so well, but I took comfort in a simple verse from Proverbs, chapter 10, verse 30, for those that want to look it up, hopefully it will bring the same reassurance it did for me.

So some of you are probably reading this entry and wondering why I´m not writing about saying goodbye to everyone and packing my bags to head to Lima for my next project, as I was only originally scheduled to be in Máncora for 5 weeks. Unfortunately, this is the low season for volunteers here it seems, and the volunteer that was arriving this month for the center has cancelled, the next volunteer that has signed up to work at the center is not arriving until mid-October. The project in Lima that I was to work on also is without a volunteer until mid-October. So in thinking it over and discussing it with my in-country coordinator, I have decided to extend my stay here in Máncora for the entire 11 weeks that I´m here for my first leg in Perú. It basically came down to either leaving the center without a volunteer, or leaving the project in Lima without a volunteer, and having built up a rapport already with the center and the home visits, I decided I would be more effective here, and really couldn´t possibly leave these kids yet! I also didn´t want the new volunteer arriving without someone familiar with the center here for orientation, especially with the home visits and all the projects going on at the center. And besides, I do have to admit this was a factor, although I´d like to say it was down near the bottom of the list, but closer to the middle in reality, that it also came down to staying for 6 more weeks at the beach, or moving on to cold, dreary, big city Lima. That wasn´t so tough a decision!!

Particularly now that I have found my oasis...down the beach further south, about a 5-minute mototaxi ride, in the residential section of Máncora, sits paradise! The i-to-i contact here in Máncora is a wonderful woman who owns this hotel/resort with her husband, who moved to Máncora from Lima after returning from Miami where they lived for 17 years. They take all i-to-i volunteers under their wing, making themselves available at a moment´s notice if there is ever a problem, but best of all, offering the hotel´s pool, private beach, and restaurant to the volunteers at no charge, not including what is ordered from the restaurant of course. It´s absolute serenity as soon as I step through the gate, and it´s very easy for me to spend an entire weekend day there...perfect after a hard workout the day before!

Can it be a month?...

2007-09-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

Wow, time is surely flying by, and I can´t quite believe I´ve been here 4 weeks already! I know that I have not posted recently, so be prepared for a lot of news...aka, allow yourself a few extra minutes at your computer for this one...

So I have been getting settled in here in Máncora and am feeling like one of the natives almost...have also made big strides with my host family as well, as the social culture here is something I had to get used to quite a bit. And it´s all thanks to fútbol (aka soccer for those North Americans reading this), given the fact that I watched the Peru v. Colombia game last night with my host dad, and when I´m finished typing this up, I will headed in to watch the Estados Unidos v. Brasil game (U.S. vs. Brazil). Saturday night I went with my host mom to a community Bingo game, along with 2 of the staff here at the hostel...which was my first latin Bingo game and I have to say I did quite well keeping up, even though I didn´t win any prizes. Bingo is quite popular here, attracting hopeful winners of all ages, from the little kids running around in their pajamas to the school-aged repeating both the number and letter called several times to make sure they got it right, to the couples out on dates, to the grandmas that have to get their grandchildren to help them find and tick off the numbers called. Prizes ranged from a coffee maker to a hand mixer to the grand prize of 600 Soles, or 200 USD!! 3 people got their whole cards full for the grand prize though, so I think it had to be split, but still, quite a good amount of money down here! So needless to say, I think I´m warming up to the family and the community, which is a good feeling. One other story I will share...as I was walking back to my hostel along the main road from working with the little ones at the center this past Thursday morning, who range from 3-7 years old, I heard my name, ¨Estephania, Estephania¨ which is how my name is pronounced down here, being shouted from a passing mototaxi, and I looked up just in time to see 3 of my little guys waving to me from the backseat as they zoomed by...my arm practically fell off waving back at them, with the biggest smile on my face!! This past weekend I was also invited to 2 birthday parties, the first was the mother of one of the kids at the center on Saturday, and the second was the husband of one of the local volunteers at the center on Sunday. I don´t think I´ve ever eaten so much cake consecutively, as we also had a birthday party at the center on this past Friday! It was nice getting to see some of the homes that these kids come from and meet their families, who are just lovely...I even got to watch as the grandmother tended to the family´s herd of sheep! Our walk through the field had us arrive just in time to see the newest addition to the herd, umbilical cord and all, taking his first steps! So cute...but I was cringing in pain for it as the matriarch of the family took her rusty old, rather huge, shears and cut into its ears for a tattoo, then lanced the cuts with dirt that she picked up from the ground at her feet. That´s how they do it in Perú!

OK, so speaking of the center, these past 2 weeks we have been busy travelling! I picked the theme for my activities in the afternoons with the older kids as ¨Around The World¨ but realized after the first week that I couldn´t fit all the places I´ve been into just one week, so I extended it to this past week as well!! Besides, the week before was shortened...there were no classes one day due to it being el día de Santa Rosa de Lima, who from what I have been able to gather, was South America´s Mother Theresa. So the places we´ve gone...first was Machu Picchu and we made original Incan headresses, complete with feathers (see picture of one that I´m modeling). Next was Antarctica to learn all about the animals there, after which we hit India and I had them make paper dolls, saris for the girls and salwar kameezes for the boys...big hit! I also had pictures left on my camera´s memory card, so there were a lot of oohs and aahs particularly over the Taj Mahal! Had to devote 2 days to Africa, one day going to Maasai lands and the kids did beaded jewelry, and then the other day was spent learning about all the animals they would see on a Serengeti safari. Ireland was a stop in there too...the kids and teachers were incredulous over the legend of the leprechaun and how they would get a big pot of gold if they ever got to the end of a rainbow (probably the hardest lesson for me these past 2 weeks, having to explain all of that in Spanish!!) We also hopped over to Hawaii, and made leis of tissue paper flowers, the custom I demonstrated of ´Aloha´with a kiss on each cheek to say hello and goodbye got a lot of chuckles and a very red face of the boy I had volunteer (see photo)! And last but not least, I took them to New Jersey, and we learned all about the fruits and veggies of my home state!! So that has been my whirlwind world tour with the kids...all in under 2 weeks!!

Now on to the extracurricular activities...if you were to pick up the Lonely Planet travel book on Perú, and look up Máncora inside, you would read about the mud baths located about 11 km east of the town, and how the silica mud is thought to have both curative and restorative properties. Well, I just had to go check this out for myself. So arriving after a very long and bumpy mototaxi ride through the arid countryside and along a very dusty road, I climbed down into the 8 foot by 8 foot pit that was the mud baths, along with a dozen other Peruvians. As I accustomed to the warm water and silky mud between my toes, a woman next to me reached over with a huge handful of the magic dark gray substance known as mud, and motioned for me to rub it on my face and neck. I looked around as I smoothed the sulfury smelling silica over my cheeks and forehead, at the very pregnant woman with the mud covering her very round belly, and at the gentleman to my right that was dark grayish green from the waist up...the whites of his eyes were even more pronounced since that was about the only thing that wasn´t covered! I waited til my mask dried, or basically until I found it extremely hard to pronounce words as my face felt frozen in place underneath it. The sun had gone behind the thick clouds at this point, a very unusual day in Máncora as it´s almost always pure sunshine, so I quickly rinsed off, climbed out, and ran to dry off, as being in the warm water had made the air feel quite a bit cooler than it really was. I don´t know if it was all psychological, but I couldn´t help feel more relaxed on the mototaxi ride home as I ran my fingers over my baby-smooth skin.

OK, so I have also started taking salsa lessons...no, not on how to make salsa, but rather, on the dance known as salsa. I have reluctantly attached a picture of my ¨grace¨in action...hopefully the instructor´s toes aren´t too bruised! So once a week, I have been learning the steps and the rhythm of the music, finding the turns particularly hard, and having a lot of fun! I continue to work on completely dissociating my hips from the ligaments that hold them in their sockets, as I have been told that the salsa is all in the hips more than one time...think Shakira. I have found it´s also good to be a volunteer, as I have gotten a discount with one instructor, and with the other instructor, I´m giving English lessons in return for dancing lessons! Both are very patient and easy to laugh at myself with!

Now, my other goal in coming to Máncora was to learn how to surf. This past weekend, I was having major issues with this surfing business...I was going to take my first ever lesson, got to the beach and saw that the waves were absolutely ginormous (see attached photo of said waves)!! The surfing crowd here was buzzing, and there was also a lot of wind, which the kite surfers were very happy about as well! I had visions of me tumbling in the surf and breaking my neck if I so much as even attempted to paddle out there in them, let alone try to stand up on a 2-foot wide piece of fiberglass, with rocks the size of boulders waiting to crack my skull open or cut my legs up when I most definitely wipe out. So I was thinking of changing my goal from learning to surf to coming to a new appreciation for those that can surf...and I sent out a survey to a selected council asking if they would per chance think any less of me if I took such a course of action? I also asked for any thoughts/opinions/encouragement/you`re absolutely right for not wanting to die messages. So this weekend I was sitting on my bed praying and psyching myself up for taking a lesson, when I remembered a business card of a surf instructor one of my salsa teachers had given me. I wandered up the street and managed to find his surf shop somewhere up the road off the main drag...and in talking to him for the 15-20 minutes that I did...I was put completely at ease and my fears relieved, and my first surfing lesson is scheduled for next Saturday at 9:30 in the morning!! So the prayer that I said before I set out this morning led me to the right place I´m sure of it!! And to my select council of individuals, thank you for all the supportive emails and words of encouragement/kicks in the pants that I´ve been receiving...I´ll be sure to keep you all updated!!

I have continued to try new foods as well...this weekend I was also invited to a pub crawl that was to benefit the earthquake relief efforts, and on the invitation were coupons for free drinks...the only catch was that you had to be wearing red and white, the colors of the Peruvian flag. Thankfully, I had a pair of red and white shorts that I packed, so my attire was all set. The highlight of the night was definitely getting to try ¨anticuchos,¨ which is...drumroll please...grilled slices of cow heart speared on a skewer, which I was at first very dead set against going anywhere near, and felt like I would have been on one of those reality shows where they make you eat goodness knows what. I was finally convinced to try it, and kept telling myself, mind over matter! My expected initial reaction was to spew it out of my mouth...see attached picture, but it was surprisingly good and I would eat it again if I had the chance. It was actually the best meat I´ve had here so far! So there you have it, continuing to expand my horizons!

Amazing sunsets...

2007-08-24T18:31:00.001-07:00

So last weekend was my first opportunity to view one amazing sunset...my first over the Pacific Ocean from the coast of Perú! The other volunteer and I headed up the Panamericana Highway a bit further north of Mancora via combi (see previous entry for description) to the town of Punta Sal, a beach resort much less travelled to and thus a whole lot quieter and less crowded than Mancora. After mesquines saltado, a native seafood dish, for lunch, we hit the beach just as the sun broke through the heavy clouds that had been hanging around all morning. It just kept getting better, too, and the sunset, which we had all to ourselves, was absolutely amazing!! You ask how it could get any better? Well, how about watching humpback whales jumping and breaching only about 200 yards off-shore?! It was absolutely incredible and we couldn´t believe our eyes, or our luck, at seeing these magnificent creatures at play as the sun sank over the water and created the most beautiful sky ever! Wow is all I have to describe it!

Last weekend was also the last few days for donations to be collected for the earthquake victims of Pisco and Ica. It´s absolutely amazing seeing bags full of things for these people that have lost everything, but it´s even more humbling when I realize where these donations are coming from, in a town that is on the brink of poverty itself. Giving when you have next to nothing to give, but then again, that has been a recurrent theme that I have been blessed to witness everywhere I´ve travelled to this past year.

So this blog entry is going to be a sort of hodgepodge of updates on the past week and the 2 weeks that I`ve been here. I don`t know if it`s me or just coincidence, but I have now realized that the television show American Idol has infected the entire world it seems. The competition of picking the best singer in the country over and over again appears to have caught on in every place I`ve been this year (excluding Africa thank goodness), as it had completely swept up India when I was there, and now that I`m here in Perù, I am able to follow the Latin American Idol competition! Lucky me! It`s amazing to me how they can find a Simon, Paula, and Randy in each country as well! Ok, that`s enough space devoted to something that should only get 2 lines.

Work at the center has been wonderful!! I still can`t believe I get to live at the beach and play with kids all day for the next 4 weeks!! Home visits are still my favorite, including the journey to get to each place! The adventures of foreign public transportation continue...I even have my top taxi and combi drivers, winners in each category earn the title by going the extra mile, for example, playing a Michael Jackson CD AND doing the dance moves to `Thriller` while driving and still controlling the vehicle! That`s quite a fete of achievement in my book. Bus rides hold no less of a thrill, as the road to the one town I travel to is uphill and very windy in one long section. To make up time, as the driver has to go slower on this stretch, I have come to look forward to the high speed and careening that occurs around corners for the stretches of road before and after the uphill section. If they ever wanted to make a roller coaster out of a bus ride, this would be it. I`ve attached a picture of the landscape that is pretty much typical of the coastal areas here.

Alas, the other volunteer that was here for my first 2 weeks has left now, and I`m all by myself. It was absolutely wonderful to have her orient me, as her enthusiasm and giving 110% were great to work with. I am completely immersed now, having no one around to retreat to using English with, so I figure the Spanish should start coming more rapidly now that I`m forced to use it all the time! So for her last afternoon at the center, we made lemonade and chocolate-marshmallow cookies with the kids...who absolutely loved it! (Probably not so much as the parents though who had to deal with the sugar highs when their children came home). I`ve attached some pictures of the kids hard at work on their treats.

OK, one last picture...this is the dog of the family that owns the hostel where I`m staying. Her name is Queenie and she`s quite cute, but a bit of a beggar at the table. I took this picture last night at dinner, as she was keeping me company. Does anyone else have the phrase, `Yo quiero Taco Bell` pop into their head when you look at this dog? I can`t help it, every time I see her, that`s what I think of, because she looks exactly like the chihuahua from the Taco Bell commercials!! So that`s been the happenings of my 2 weeks so far in Mancora. Had a bit of a worry this week with the leg, which was a little achy, and I was completely paranoid after the very long bus ride, but no worries...I`m completely and totally fine...surfing and salsa lessons here I come!!

El Sismo...

2007-08-18T10:36:00.000-07:00

I`m ok...for those of you that have been watching the news, Peru experienced a severe earthquake this week. News on how bad the destruction was was really delayed in getting to me up here...the death toll continues to climb, although they found 2 women alive in the ruins of a collapsed church yesterday. They have determined the magnitude to be an 8.0, which is quite significant as earlier reports had it in the 7`s. The epicenter was apparently in Ica, which is near Pisco. They´re both just over 100 miles south of Lima. It was a holy day for the Catholics, so a lot of people were killed because churches crumbled during the evening services, as the quake hit just before 7 pm. There were two i-to-i volunteers placed in Pisco at the time, who have both been safely evacuated to Lima. Hauntingly enough, the coffee shop they had been in just an hour before the quake completely crumbled to the ground. Another volunteer that I had orientation with who was still in Lima at the time of the quake said that the section of the city she was in was really rockin´and rolling...she was pretty scared, but ok. I guess we had a tsunami warning along the coastal areas as well, which I didn´t know about until later in the week, but that was just put that out there in the event that there was another earthquake or because the aftershocks got to be really high in magnitude...I guess some of the aftershocks actually got up into the 6´s. But I´m completely ok up here, no worries. Thanks for all the emails and people checking in though...I guess when you just hear about there being an earthquake in Peru, and then remember that I´m in Peru...but I´m too far north to have been affected. Read on for my first week in Peru update...

¡Bienvenidos a Peru!

2007-08-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I made it safe and sound! After just under 4 wonderful weeks at home, and the absolutely fantastic news that I don´t have to take blood thinning medication anymore (!!!!!!!!!!), I am now in Peru!! My flights down here were pretty uneventful, even though there were about 20 people on standby for the flight from Philly to Atlanta, and then I had the special treat of practically walking onto my flight in Atlanta with hardly any layover at all--fantastic!! I arrived in Lima around 11 pm last Friday night, baggage intact and all accounted for! Was picked up and spent the weekend in a lovely house with my host family that I will stay with when I return to Lima for my second project, which I am sure to be fluent in Spanish by the time I leave there as they don´t speak any English (my four years in high school that was a distant memory came rushing back!). I also apologize now if there are any typos in my blog entries for Peru, as the keyboards here are completely different...for example, every time I go to type a colon, I end up with a ´ñ´as that´s the key that is there. Lima is a HUGE city, very modern, and home to about 7 million people. As with any big city though, there are the obvious divisions, and as I travelled on the bus out of the city, the slums were quite visible, as they´re built up into the hillsides. Quite a contrast to the city center, which has numerous shopping centers and businesses...the short time I was there I counted 3 McDonalds, at least the same number of Starbucks, and the KFC´s actually deliver!! Lima was quite overcast and cold--only getting up into the 50´s most days but the humidity was so high that it left a chill that settled into the bones--hopefully they will be well into spring and a little warmer when I go back. Orientation was great and I got to meet the other volunteers who are in the country working: 4 going to Cusco, some of who signed up for a new project called Eco Tour and will be working on conservation around the Inca Trail, and one going to Trujillo, teaching English there. Lunch was definitely the highlight as I got to try some Peruvian dishes for the first time such as ceviche, which is marinated fish, and lomo saltado, which is a sort of beef stir fry--both yummy! I left Lima Sunday evening, enduring a 16 1-2 hour bus ride up to Mancora, a small fishing village on Peru´s northern coast, arriving Monday morning. Definitely rode in style, as the seats were very comfy and reclined...there was even a ´stewardess´...if you thought being a flight attendant was hard work, these girls have it all over them, serving 2 meals and drinks while the bus rocked to and fro on some very windy stretches of the highway!! The landscape on the ride up was quite different than I expected...the coastal regions here are very arid and vast sandy deserts with only scrub brush-type vegetation and shanty towns here and there, and sand dunes the size of small mountains that tower right next to the highway...I could easily see how roads would become impassable here...which I tried not to think about as we drove along! So Mancora is right on the Panamericana Highway, the main route along the coast of Peru, so it´s quite busy, and I´m amazed every day at the size of the buses and trucks that roll along through town on a street that´s smaller than most main streets back home. It´s definitely a beach town, and the surf shops are aplenty!! I´m staying at a hostel/guesthouse (hospedaje) run by a local and his wife, who have 2 grown daughters that study and work nearby. The staff is very nice as well, and the food great so far (breakfast and dinner provided)! No one speaks any English though, so after the other volunteer that is here (from Scotland) leaves next week, I will be completely immersed!! I have a cozy room upstairs, with an ocean view from the open air terrace on the second floor. Bathroom is obviously Western-style, as I´m still in the Western hemisphere this trip. There is no hot water though, so I´m learning the joys of a cold shower at the end of the day--I figure I must be setting a new record for speed showering each time! The hostel is located across from the police station, and is right on the main strip (refer to above description of huge buses and trucks rolling through town), so I have a new appreciation for my ability to sleep through most things...but with the size of the horns on those big rigs, it often sounds like they´re right by my head. It´s about a 5-minute walk to the beach, which is absolutely beautiful with soft sand and the aquamarine Pacific lapping at the shores!! I enjoy some time there every day during my 3-hour siesta in the middle of the day!! The waves are absolutely perfect for learning to surf I hear, so I´m excited to start working on my next goal while I´m here! Mancora is not only far removed from Lima distance-wise, but also concerning the weather, as it´s in the 70-80 degree range each day, with a whole lot of sunshine! The sun can be quite intense from noon to mid-afternoon, so sunscreen es mas importante...and the shops here know it! I´ve already spotted the same brand I bought at home, for a little less than 5 USD, on the shelves here at the price of 60 Soles, which is the equivalent of 20 USD!!

Now on to my project here, which is at Divino Niño Jesus. It is a center for kids with special needs, founded in 2003, for the children of Mancora and surrounding towns (those less than an hour´s drive away) and I have already finished my first week with them, hard to believe! Most children are developmentally delayed, due to Downs Syndrome, autism, traumatic brain injury, or are deaf/hearing impaired and have speech impediments. The center is run by the most amazing woman...I`ve only known her a week and she is my new hero. She is the most enthusiastic and compassionate woman, and the work she does with the children is absolutely amazing. She is a physical therapist, and in addition to running the center, she does PT on the side for adult clients. The center receives no government funding, so the only income is the money generated from these clients. She is the glue that holds the center together, but unfortunately, she was in a horrific accident in January and was hospitalized in Lima for several months, just returning about a month and a half ago. She almost died, her injuries were so severe, as she was hit by a bus, and she is still working on getting full use of her right side back. In her absence, many families strayed away from the center, and some of the clients that were receiving home visits fell through the cracks. So she is still in the process of building the center back up to where it was before her accident. She was thrilled when she found out my background is in occupational therapy, and she said she was excited to learn from ME, believe it or not...so far I`ve learned so much more from her than I could ever imagine. I´m so looking forward to working with her over the next few weeks. My schedule for the week is as follows: Monday and Wednesday mornings I do home visits to 2 families in the town of Cancas, about a 1/2 drive north of Mancora (using the ´colectivo`, a sort of taxi that packs as many fares possible into a car the size of a small station wagon, or the ´combi´, a tamer version of the matatu or daladala from my Africa experiences). Tuesday and Friday mornings I do home visits to 2 more families in the town of El Alto, which is south of Mancora, about a 45-minute to 1 hour bus ride away, and way up into the hills. Thursday morning and every afternoon I spend at the center itself, doing outdoor activities as well as a wrap-up activity at the end of each day (some examples from this week that we did: Pin the Tail on the Llama, and a homemade version of Twister--see picture--they loved it!) I usually am on my way by 9:30 every morning, then break for lunch at 12:30, although sometimes I get back later from the home visits. Lunch is a 3-hour siesta (!!!!!) and then I`m at the center each afternoon from 3:30 to 6 or 6:30 pm. I`m still getting used to the concept of the siesta, and so far it`s really tough to get going again that late in the afternoon, as that is when I`m used to finishing up for the day. But it is nice getting to explore all the little cafés and luncheonettes along the strip, and then hanging out on the beach for a bit before going back to work! Going on the home visits is really the best thing about this placement, although I love all aspects of it, but I feel that they are the most rewarding so far...I`m stretching my comfort zones beyond belief, as pediatrics is not my forté and my Spanish is still nowhere near fluent, so I find myself exhausted at the end of each day just trying to communicate with the families as well as remember treatment protocols and activities! It is truly a learning experience, but the children are amazing and I love working with each and every one of them.

So that has been my first week in Perú...

p.s. For those who know and love the game of Nutsy...it continues to spread...instructions now available in Spanish, as I have taught the staff here how to play!

Iceland

2007-07-24T14:49:00.001-07:00

I'm home! Iceland was definitely an amazing trip...I went as part of the JK Tours' Iceland: Land of Fire and Ice trip, and also helped out a college friend with her research study over the course of the 10 days we were there. The group total was 13 people, quite varied in ages and backgrounds, so we had a really great dynamic right from the start--it was a great group (and some I had travelled with previously)! The 6-hour flight from JFK to Iceland travelling on IcelandAir was interesting...lots of bizarre people on that plane--asking for weird meals, then 15 people getting up to use the toilet at the same time, crowding at the back of the plane, where we were sitting. We arrived early Saturday morning in Keflavik, as the time difference is 4 hours ahead of EST. Upon arriving we met up with our tour guide for the week, who is a geology professor at the local university the rest of the year, and then we were off and running!

So now on to the explanation of why Iceland has the nickname: "Land of Fire and Ice." Driving along and seeing a glacier spread out over the top of a mountain and spilling out into the valley, then driving past a volcano and the lava field that was created from its last eruption, and then seeing waterfalls, hot springs, and a beach all in the same day...pretty incredible! A little background info I found helpful in bringing back from my elementary school years: the earth is made up of lots of different "plates," which are layers of the earth that move relative to each other. These plates either move away from or toward each other, and where they move apart, magma flows upward, forming new material in the earth's crust; where they move together, mountain-like ridges are formed. If one plate moves under another, a deep trench is formed. Iceland is unique in the fact that the country is an island that sits right along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American plate meets the Euroasia plate. The whole ridge is submerged and lies on the floor of the Atlantic, except where Iceland rises up out of the ocean, and is therefore a literal "hotbed" of geothermal activity. The country is theoretically growing due to the separation of these 2 plates, which is about 2-4 cm every year (but erosion of the coast amounts to not that much change in the country's total land mass). In some spots we visited, we could see the small canyons & fissures caused by these plates moving gradually apart...which was kind of neat to be able to put one foot on one side and one foot on the other side, and be able to say you were standing in North America and Europe & Asia at the same time (well, the plates that they sit on, anyway)! Other spots we visited where this gradual divide is evident...a geothermal power plant that actually has a 4-inch crack in one corridor of the main building, as it sits right on the fault line. And the site of Iceland's early government, the small quarries that have formed and filled with water from the nearby lake, Iceland's largest, and is a spot popular with scuba divers and trout fishermen due to its depth and water clarity--absolutely pristine!! Some areas of the country are even monitored by satellites using lasers for the slightest change in seismic activity, as Iceland has experienced some significant volcanic eruptions in the past, resulting in many casualties and destruction. One particular volcano, named Hekla, which means "hooded one" in Icelandic, is often hidden by clouds, but of which we had clear views of given our lucky streak of weather. This particular volcano last erupted in 2000, and according to our guide, has a full magma chamber and is primed for another eruption...a comforting thought as we drove not far from its base and through the largest lava field in the world (in the past 10,000 years) that was created the last time it erupted. We also visited a recently excavated Viking settlement that was wiped out by a similar eruption many years ago. It was tough to wrap my mind around that kind of explosion, given that only a small wisp of steam could be seen coming from the top of the snow-capped volcano. Iceland is also marked by lots of geysers, a cluster of which we got to see, one in particular that goes off every 5 minutes, and another that we were glad didn't go off, as when it does, it causes major flooding and anyone close enough to it risks major burns, as the last time it went off it didn't give any warning when it was going to blow. It's pretty difficult to describe the smell around these geysers and hot springs...if you didn't recognize it as sulphur, you would probably think that everyone walking around that area was suffering from a major case of flatulence, or that there was a whole truckload of rotten eggs in the vicinity. It's pretty distinct. And since Reykjavik gets all its hot water from geothermal pipes, showering is an interesting experience...I knew I was getting clean, but it sure didn't smell like it!

So we quickly discovered on the first day that the best way to unwind after a long plane ride is to relax in the warm aquamarine waters of a geothermal hot spring. Iceland has realized this as well, and the result is geothermal hot springs turned into pools that are spread all over the country. One particular destination popular with the tourists is called The Blue Lagoon, which is basically a large sunken pool in the rocky ground about the size of an odd-shaped Olympic pool, fed by a central hot spring that is quite hot if you get too close, as well as a waterfall and silica mud right from the ground that you can use as a scrub or mask...it's quite the spa experience, au naturel of course! Iceland is not a country for many hang-ups, but they are serious about their swimming and spa-ing, and the one rule they enforce is bathing before you take a dip. How nice it was to decompress after our long journey! I can also now say that I am officially a Viking...and I will try to describe the ceremony as best I can, but I'm afraid it's one of the "you have to see it to believe it" kind of things. At one of our lunch spots, beside one of the most picturesque waterfalls, our guide invited us to officially become Vikings. We listened as he described the process and then watched in amazed horror as he demonstrated it: eat a piece of putrefied shark, then follow that with a shot of Icelandic Schnapps. Sounds pretty simple right? OK, well, let me tell you a little about putrefied shark...after it is caught, the shark is buried for about 3 months, during which time a hard casing forms around the carcass, which is good since that protects the meat from the hordes of flies that assail it during the next phase of the preparation, which is to let it hang out to dry for another 3 months. The meat is then sold, mostly in small cuts/cubes, and is quite expensive, as this is considered a delicacy here. Our guide informed us that he often eats it to combat indigestion and heartburn...I would submit that it causes them, but what do I know? The Greenland Shark is the main type that is used, quite large, up to 70 Kg, and is very ferocious--they are not hunted anymore, mostly just caught by accident in fishing nets. Now, as he explained all this, my attention was drawn to the small lidded container that was holding the rotting pieces of Icelandic goodness, mainly due to the fact that a small cyclone of flies had gathered around it and was buzzing like crazy over it. For good reason too, as the smell was enough to bring me right back to dissection class in college--bleck! OK, now to describe the Icelandic Schnapps...pretty simple, as I can only compare it to what I think floor stripper would taste like--it was pure grain alcohol I'm sure! So the whole thing was pretty much a blur, putting that piece of putrefied shark in my mouth, chewing it up, then swallowing the shot and feeling like my insides were going to explode as it all travelled down to my stomach...but hey, at least I can say I'm a Viking now!

So I mentioned earlier that the whole reason for going on this expedition was to conduct research for a college friend's study that was designed to collect all sorts of atmospheric as well as sense data in order to allow students in her class to write poetry about a place they have never actually visited. This is sort of a new field of scientific research which she is actually scheduled to present at a state conference in the fall, so I was excited to be a part of gathering all the information! Through various grants, we had top of the line equipment to take measurements, one of which I'm wearing around my neck in most of the pictures, that was used to measure light and temperature. We also collected olfactory (sponges/cotton was used to absorb the smell and placed in a bag), tactile (material placed in bags), auditory (tape recorder), visual (pictures), and gustatory samples (several foods native to Iceland were purchased to take back for the students to try). So the study set the atmosphere for the whole trip, and I must say, we had a lot of fun with it! I learned quickly how to be fast on the draw with the tape recorder to catch a unique sound, or which things would provide a unique smell for the students to experience (discreetly sticking a sponge underneath a horse's saddle during a ride, or in a crate of fish just unloaded off a boat down at the docks, or at the edge of a geyser reeking of sulphur...don't worry--there were some more pleasant scents we got for them: wild thyme and a few other fragrant things).

So this was a great educational trip, in addition to vacation, for most of us. We toured a couple of museums, and learned a great deal about Iceland's history, a relatively young country as they just gained full independence in 1944. The many facts we received came in very handy for pondering later in the evening, usually when it was time for bed, when we had a little trouble falling asleep...because it never got dark! Situated just below the Arctic Circle, and now in their summer, we had just missed the weeks of the midnight sun, but let me tell you, given how light it was at midnight, I don't think we missed it by much (see picture of sunset, taken at 11 pm)! I was definitely glad I had packed an eye mask, originally intended for the flight only, but I used it the whole week! Another exciting occurrence: seeing my second full sundog, the rainbow spectrum created around the sun only in the polar regions of the earth!

The trip was all-inclusive (lodging, transport, guide, admittance to various places we toured if there was a fee, and food). This was probably the smartest thing we ever did in planning a trip to Iceland, as it is one of the most expensive countries in Europe. There was not a day that went by we weren't shocked at the price of something, and I would recommend waiting until they convert to the Euro before visiting. One reason for the high prices is that they have to import a great deal, for example, not really being able to grow a lot of produce due to the cold temperatures year-round. We were visiting in the high summer, and temperatures were barely making it to 60 degrees, hovering usually in the low-mid 50's. Most days we were only too happy to wear a fleece jacket, but we were blessed to have unusually sunny skies for most of the week, which every Icelander we met claimed was unheard of this time of year! Food was pretty good though...lots of fresh fish, mainly salmon, trout, and arctic char, which was really good prepared smoked. Some other delicacies they have include sheep's liver pate`, dried fish with butter, skyr (akin to yogurt), herring fixed every way imaginable, and lobster bisque--which I had several times and was probably the best I have every tasted! Whaling was halted back in the 80's, but then recently started up again last year. However, since Japan is the only country still using whale products, and they don't import, Iceland is stuck with all the meat harvested from last season, as there really is no international market for it anymore. They're still debating whether to allow it again this year, but I think it's mainly those die-hard Icelanders that want to hold onto the way things used to be. I did see Minke whale on a few menus, but was not brave enough to try it. Especially since we had just seen some Minkes frollicking out in the sea on our whale watch! We did get to tour a fishing dock and the fish factory nearby...the speed of those filleters was incredible...one worker gets paid 3 times as much due to the amount of fish he can process is triple what the average worker can get through by the end of the day! I really had never seen anything like that before, and to see the fish sitting in crates on the dock, and then tour the factory and see it getting cleaned, cut, and then either packaged or frozen, was pretty neat.

Now, probably the most plentiful natural-occuring tourist stop in Iceland is the waterfall, or "foss" in Icelandic. I took about a million pictures of the first one we saw, and then by the last, we were basically saying, "Oh, wow, another waterfall." Now, don't get me wrong, each one is different and beautiful in its own right, and the water was just the clearest blue, definitely cold too, as most are fed by glacial runoff. I've attached some pictures so you can see how amazing they are. One waterfall we even got to walk behind, and another was Iceland's version of Niagara Falls, just on a smaller scale. Another waterfall some in our group took the plunge on! The amount of water that barrels through these landscapes is pretty incredible--the sound is deafening at most of the falls, pretty much soaking you with the spray, too, and looking at them from above, which some we got to hike up, gives you a pretty sick feeling when you think about what would happen if you accidentally lost your footing and went "for a swim" so to speak. One of the falls, legend has it there is a chest of gold coins that was dropped in transport and now lays at the bottom of the collecting pool, and the rainbow that forms when the sun hits the spray only adds to the story...you know, at the end of every rainbow...

One of the highlights for me was definitely getting to hike on a glacier!! After driving to Skaftafell National Park, and then meeting our guide, we each got fitted for crampons, which are devices that strap to hiking boots, and have sharp metal spikes on the bottoms to allow the person wearing them to dig into the ice and not slip, which is vital given the number of crevasses (holes that vary in depth) and sharp ridges that mark the face of any glacier. We spent about 2 1/2 hours up there, and we hiked all the way up near the "icefall" which is where the ice breaks off of the main glacier and spreads down the valley. The visibility could have been better, but it cleared up by the afternoon, which allowed us to do a great hike to a lookout over the entire glacier, which had the most amazing views! I couldn't help but feel really small standing up there looking out over all that ice!

Some other highlights: white water rafting for the first time! and riding an Icelandic horse for the first time! We had arranged to do some white water rafting, at the most class 2 rapids, and boy was that water cold! We got geared up in wetsuits and drysuit jackets, complete with neoprene boots, but that first shot of water that seeps down between the wetsuit and your skin--definitely a shock to the system! We had the opportunity to do some cliff jumping halfway downriver, which was a complete thrill! Taking that first big step was the hardest, then making sure you didn't lean too far forward or backward, and then trying not to inhale water once you broke the surface since the water's so cold, it immediately takes your breath away! I did 2 jumps, and the picture really doesn't do it justice, since we were about 25 feet up, and you really don't feel it at first when you jump off, but then gravity takes over and your stomach's doing flips in the 4 seconds it takes to hit the water, but what a rush it was! So the horseback riding was a little tamer, even though I had not been on a horse since I was a little girl...we went out for about an hour-long trail ride, and the weather was absolutely beautiful! The Icelandic Horse is a bit smaller than most horses, and Iceland has mandated that any livestock/horses can only be exported, to eliminate the risk of foreign diseases by importing animals. So any horses, sheep, cows, or goats we saw, they are all native to Iceland. If an owner wants to take his horse abroad for a show, he/she has to sell it as it is not allowed back in the country. All horses have 4 basic gaits, but the Icelandic horse is the only one with a 5th gait, which I have no idea how to spell, but it sounds something like "lufft," and is a very elegant gait. In fact, the rider is supposed to be able to hold a cup of tea and not spill it during the ride when the horse breaks into this particular gait. I don't know about that...but I'm not an experienced equestrian, so the fact that I was getting bounced all over probably meant I wasn't directing the horse properly.

Our last day in Iceland turned out to be the best weather...walking the streets in Reykjavik under the bluest sky and warmest sunshine. We ended up at a church with a towering concrete steeple and high cathedral ceilings (the largest church in Iceland I believe) and slipped in just as the service was starting. The organ was absolutely amazing--taking up the entire back wall of the church, and even though the service was in Icelandic, I was still moved to tears as the hymns were sung and towards the end, a young girl was christened. No matter what country I have been this year, or what denomination or language the service is in, the power of faith and the Holy Spirit has been a common thread in every church I have visited. "O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing" will have a completely different meaning for me from now on! We had lunch in Iceland's only revolving restaurant (and it's most expensive), then it was off to the airport, but not without one last reminder of the land of fire and ice we were about to leave...driving past a "beach," our guide informed us that this is the only place in Iceland where people come to lay out by the water in their bathing suits, and the reason for that is because they actually have geothermally-heated water pumped in to the bay for people to be able to swim in the ocean! So if they can survive the nip in the air as they lay out on the beach, there's always a warm current they can dip into!

So I was completely doubting why I signed up for a trip that had me leaving again only 4 days after returning from 6 weeks in India...but I am totally glad I did. Iceland is a unique country, for it's geological features and raw beauty, as well as its "go-it-on-your-own" attitude...explore, discover, realize. It was also great getting to catch up with old friends and making new memories!

I'm now home for a whole 3 weeks before I leave again in August for Peru! It's hard to believe I only have one country left on my list for this year! My first of 3 projects will be in Mancora, just south of Peru's border with Ecuador to the north. I have been briefed that I will be staying in a hostel there, and working in a center for children ages 3-19 with a range of disabilities, including Downs' syndrome and autism. As for materials for those interested in donating: anything for arts and crafts activities, as well as dance and playtime activities. The volunteers that are currently there have specifically requested essential oils, sensory toys (e.g. light boxes, massage products, etc.), and picture books of America and England. So if anyone has any of these things laying around the house or can come by them fairly easily, they would be most welcome!

Chuck & Steph's Excellent Adventure: India!

2007-07-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

So Darjeeling was absolutely amazing...4 weeks volunteering, then Charles arrived, and we began our Indian adventure! My last official day at the school was June 14th, then on the 15th I had planned a surprise pick-up at the airport, and then the next few days spent in Darjeeling were nice...doing some sightseeing but mostly me getting to show off my home for the past month to Charles. And of course, his first full day in Darjeeling, I laid eyes on the wonder that is Kachenchunga (India's tallest mountain and the third highest in the world) from the streets of the town that I had been in for 4 weeks!! Just goes to show you the fickleness of the weather up in them thar hills! Speaking of which, one of the mornings we decided to go to Tiger Hill, which is the best spot to see the Himalayas and the only place in Darjeeling from which Mount Everest can be seen. Now, there is a whole protocol that has to be followed in order to participate in the outing known as Tiger Hill, which involves getting up at 3 am, haggling for a ride from the rows of taxis that are lined up waiting to take people there, as that is the only destination people are crazy enough to be going that early in the morning, as the best viewing is at sunrise. In order to make it there in time, you have to be on the road no later than 4, as the sun rises just before 5 and it takes about 30 to 45 minutes to get there. Well, we woke up on Sunday morning, and it was the clearest I had ever seen it, so how pumped was I that we picked the best morning?! Got a taxi with relative ease, but then on the way, the clouds seemed to envelop us, visibility dropped to about 10 feet, and the conditions really didn't improve from there. Now, Tiger Hill is an observatory, so there are several choices when it comes to buying your tickets...needless to say, we did not regret paying extra for the indoor, heated option with complimentary chai, as we watched those that had opted to save a few rupees, by choosing the outdoor lower viewing platform, withstand the gale force biting winds and heavy mist that assailed them until sunrise. The outcome of this story is that we only got about 3 breaks in the clouds that we could actually see a hint of sunrise for a few seconds each time, which got a reaction from the crowd very much similar to when Shamu leaps from the water at Sea World (I'm sure you can just picture the oohs and aahs), and then when the clouds rolled back in, the sounds of anguish and disgust that followed, much akin to Fenway when Johnny Damon takes the field nowadays. Needless to say, Tiger Hill was a bust and we didn't really see the spectacular views it's famous for, but it was an experience for sure! The last few days in Darj were also spent wrapping things up for me...saying goodbye to the people that had become my family and the kids that were my inspiration every day for the past 4 weeks. The monsoon was creeping ever closer day by day, and our last day in town was pretty much the big arrival! On the way to the airport, we had decided to make a side trip and also break up the 3-hour drive by stopping off at a tea plantation. We picked Makaibari Tea Estate, which is another location that i-to-i places volunteers at, and got a tour of it in the pouring rain. Now, when I say pouring, I mean pouring in the sense that an umbrella does you absolutely no good since the rain that is coming down in torrents is falling so heavily that it bounces off the shallow lakes it has created on all walking surfaces so the water is not only coming at you from above, but below as well, in addition to every side with the wind gusts that closely resemble a minor hurricane. In essence, we were soaked and were quite a sight sitting in the airport and then boarding the plane for the hour-long flight to Calcutta. Any traces of dampness, however, were quickly evaporated I'm sure when we arrived in the heat that awaited us there! 90 degrees and above with high humidity levels made us quickly forget the cool breezy mists of Darjeeling. The rest of our trip was no different...in fact, I don't believe I have ever sweat so much in a 24-hour period for 2 weeks straight before...I still seem to be replenishing my fluid levels!

After arriving in Calcutta, we quickly realized that we had finally arrived in India, or what we had expected India to be like. In addition to the heat, we finally saw cows roaming the streets, along with cars, bicyclists, trucks, rickshaws, autorickshaws, and pedestrians, that all seemed to be on the road when we arrived at rush hour. The air conditioning in our hotel was absolutely a-mazing when we finally arrived. The two days we spent in Calcutta was full of sightseeing, taking in the Victoria Memorial, a large capitol-esque building built during the British reign to honor Queen Victoria as well as the Marble Palace, which is a huge mansion made entirely of marble, and the collections of art and antiques housed inside were absolutely incredible...the larger than life oil on canvas of "The Marriage of St. Catherine" took our breath away when we saw it taking up one wall in the great hall! Lots of walking...I think we managed to see all of Calcutta in the first day! Unfortunately, due to planning miscalculations, we were unable to see the Mother House, where Mother Teresa is buried, or the mission she set up in the city because it was closed to the public on the day we had planned to go see it. Just to be in the same city that she based all of her life's work from, reaching out to those that have found themselves at the bottom in every way, and to walk the streets of Calcutta and see a lot of those people existing and surviving day to day...pretty humbling to say the least. One of many moments that I found myself struggling with transitioning from volunteer to tourist in a country that has so many in need.

Next on our destination list was Aurangabad, for which we had to transfer from Calcutta via Mumbai. The big highlight in Aurangabad, and two of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, are the Ajanta and Ellora caves. We arranged to go see the Ellora caves the full day that we were there, among other spots the tour bus went to that we linked up with, but the caves were definitely the main draw. The "caves" are actually a series of 34 temples, monasteries, and chapels hewn out of the side of the rocky hills just outside of Aurangabad by generations of monks, some even with elaborate courtyards and the majority have the most incredible sculptures. 12 were fashioned by the Buddhists between AD 600-800, 17 are Hindu, created between AD 600-900, and the last 5 are Jain, a form of reborn Buddhism, carved between AD 800-1000. There is a whole park now around the site, so walking trails are set up and the caves are numbered, so you can either do a guided tour or explore them on your own. We ventured into several of them in the 2 hours that we were there, and it's difficult to put into words the awesomeness of it all...I mostly should have walked around with my hand under my jaw the whole time! The masterpiece is one of the Hindu caves, a whole temple dedicated to Shiva (see picture), and the world's largest monolithic sculpture, as they didn't carve from the inside out, they started from the top of the hill and carved down around the structure that would eventually become the temple, thanks to some 7000 laborers over 150 years! Dinner that night was pretty much the moment we realized we were travelling in the low season (not to mention the high heat and humidity or the intermittent monsoon showers)...we had the whole restaurant at the hotel to ourselves! We had to actually go partially into the kitchen to let them know we were there when we first walked in, then waited patiently while they turned on the A/C and lights, and had an amazing dinner of Maharashtra cuisine, 3 waiters catering only to us, not even having to ask for things most of the time!

Next stop was Mumbai (Bombay), for 2 days. Mumbai was probably the biggest city we had been in to date...prime example was that our hotel, which was not far from the domestic airport, was still a 45-minute train ride from downtown. It was probably also the most contemporary city of India as well, feeling a lot like New York most of the time. Our chosen mode of transport into downtown Mumbai was none other than the train, which I would advise as a must-do for anyone travelling there in the future...it is the essence of the total Mumbai experience!! One story I will share that captures the adventure I think quite well...we decided to head downtown our last morning to do some last minute sightseeing before we flew out, and we ended up in the middle of rush hour, so jostling for position to board the train amid the throngs of people on the platform was nothing compared to being packed like sardines in a non-air conditioned car, standing room only, not really knowing whose arm or elbow or whatever was pushing into me or being so close that you're not really sure whose sweat is whose. And of course the ever-present stares we were getting being the only Westerners in the car. One advantage of this method of transportation, which we discovered as the train rocked back and forth, is that you don't really have to worry about losing your balance being so tightly wedged together! Now the trains have special ladies-only compartments, which we had discovered earlier in the trip when we boarded a completely empty car coming back late one night--we were celebrating our luck in finding the only empty car on the train when a kind passerby informed us that we should move out of the ladies compartment or else we would get fined! OK, so the the city of Mumbai has the nickname "Bollywood," and for those not familiar with pop culture, it's India's version of the American Hollywood, for the very reason that all the major motion pictures of the country are mostly filmed and produced there. We adopted the "When in Rome..." adage and with some major convincing I got Charles to go see "Shootout at Lockandwala," a recently released Bollywood movie that was playing in one of the theaters. The movie is "based on true rumors" about the gangsters in the area of the city that the film is named after, and the showdown between them and the Mumbai police at the end of the movie. It was an action film, but even with all the shootings and explosions, there were still a good amount of "items" which is the name given to the song & dance numbers interspersed throughout...so for instance, after the gangsters broke into, robbed, and shot up a bank, they headed down to the local dance club and showed off their moves to a hip-hop tune...only in Bollywood! The Gateway of India was a quick stop as it started to pour soon after we got there, and we also got to see the house that Gandhi stayed in each time he visited Mumbai, the site where many events contributing to India's independence emanated from, that has now been turned into a museum...I admit that I did not know a lot about his life before coming to India, except that he was monumental in the non-violent revolution movement, but I have come to a whole new appreciation for him as the father of India after reading imploring letters he wrote to Hitler, pictures of him not often published, and getting to read excerpts from his journals...a truly amazing man in his convictions and how he was able to do all that he did. Now about the food...Mumbai is also known for its Gujarati cuisine, which is best sampled in the thali, a dish that has a little bit of everything, your own personal buffet almost, and is very tasty, as well as the pure vegetarian restaurants...wow what they can do to vegetables over there in India...amazing! We also opted for Chinese one night...in India's only revolving restaurant!! The views of the city at night were incredible and we were right on the water, so we had a prime view of the back bay and the city skyline along the shore. This vantage point was also quite interesting when a storm blew in and we watched the visibility drop 50% in 5 seconds, the wind and rain blowing so hard it sounded like the windows of the restaurant were going to shatter and watching the huge lights of the nearby cricket stadium sway at least 10 feet in the really strong gusts...did I mention it was monsoon season? We missed the truly serious flooding by a few days, which we saw on the news after we had arrived in Goa...our next stop, aka paradise!

The beach resort of Goa was incredible...the only place we opted for 5-star lodging, and boy was it five-star, all the way down to the sprawling pool, immaculately kept gardens and lagoon, 4 different restaurants to choose from every night and a breakfast buffet to die for (for those familiar with Disney World resorts, this was India's version)...I would have been happy to stay at the resort the whole 3 days we were there!! Given it was monsoon season, we weren't expecting nice weather, but our first full day there we were blessed with partial sunshine, and I even ended up with quite a sunburn, from which I'm still peeling! I did get to dip my toes in the Arabian Sea, but no further as the water was just not safe to go in because of--you guessed it--monsoon season...I don't think I've ever seen a rip tide that obvious before! And it seemed to be churning up everything in the ocean, as there was quite a bit of garbage on the beach. We did however venture out to do some sightseeing one day...renting a taxi for the whole day and taking in Goa's magnificent Catholic churches and mansions. As it was colonized by the Portuguese, Goa remains mostly Roman Catholic today and is the wealthiest state in India. We also stopped at a spice plantation, learning all about nutmeg, pepper, curry, vanilla, cinnamon, and various other spices, then having lunch there that tasted so amazing, after having smelled all the individual spices that went into each dish. We even got to see the streets where I believe the opening chase scenes of the movie "The Bourne Supremacy" were filmed...our taxi driver was quite knowlegdeable!!

Alas, we had to leave Goa :( and the next stop on our whirlwind tour was Delhi. Now when I say the heat was increasing incrementally throughout our 2 weeks, in Delhi it seemed to jump exponentially, as there was really no breeze to give you at least the illusion of coolness. We arrived on a Thursday and had planned to go to Agra on Friday, but were disappointed to learn the Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays, so we did some sightseeing on Friday and although we would be cutting it close to get back for our flight home, we decided to do Agra on Saturday...[cue foreshadowing music here]. Friday we ended up just wandering around Delhi, seeing the largest temple in India, but not really feeling up to going in as there were armed soldiers at every entrance, and someone shouting over a PA system somewhere on the square of the temple in what looked like a protest, as one of the religious leaders had just been arrested the day before. We also walked through one of the bazaars that Delhi is famous for, seeing pretty much everything that can be sold for a profit being displayed there! And Delhi was the place where we took an autorickshaw for the very first time...I wish I had a picture of one here because it's difficult to describe the mode of transport that is the autorickshaw...with the small size of these vehicles, they are able to weave in and out of traffic, although their manueverability is not capable of handling the fetes their operators try to put them through most of the time...pretty much you feel even that much closer to the moment that could be your last in the chaos that is Indian traffic!! The highlight of the day came when we visited the Red Fort, built as part of the Mughal capital in the 1600's. When we had arrived the day before, we saw on the news that it had been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and we had already mentioned we wanted to go see it. After walking around inside the many walls of the fort, we were on our way out when we were stopped by a journalist who had a couple of questions for us as visitors to India's newest UNESCO site, which we thought was neat, that we might get referenced to in the paper. Well, that was only the beginning!! As we exited the fort and headed up the entrance path back towards the main street, we were approached by a reporter who asked if he could interview us for the lead story on the Red Fort for the live local news at noon!! So Charles and I, along with the curator-person of the fort, as well as a crowd of about 50 curious local Indians bunched in behind us, were on the noon news!! We also made it down to the Gandhi Museum, and the Baha'i Temple, which was built in the shape of a Lotus Flower, just in time for sunset, passing India Gate on the way. We were able to get inside the temple and spend some quiet time reflecting there...bowing my head to pray with Muslims to our right and Sikhs a few rows ahead of us, with Hindus interspersed around us, is one of those moments in life I will not quickly forget and I couldn't help but think if this small little microcosm of peace that I found myself in at that particular moment of time were as easy to replicate in the rest of the world...as Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." So to complement that moment that was uniquely India, we finished off the day by heading to McDonald's on Charles' urgings, where he was only too happy to polish off a "Chicken Maharaja Mac", and we both had fries and ice cream. I convinced myself our visit there was just getting me ready to return to Western culture...

So I think I might have mentioned the attention we were receiving, mainly because of the fact that we were Westerners, definitely in the minority, that seemed to stick out practically everywhere we went. Well, our trip to Agra and the Taj Mahal saw the intensity of that attention jump two-fold! Let me just put some other summary points here: this was probably also the most chaotic day we had of our time in India, and the hottest!! We were up by 5 am to catch the train to Agra, arriving in style in an air-conditioned car. We hired an autorickshaw for the whole day to take us around town, stopping for breakfast first, and then it was off to the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. The Taj is a mausoleum, built by emperor Shah Jahan for his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child. The emperor was heartbroken and built this memorium for her, importing materials from all over the world (e.g. turquoise from Tibet), enlisting the labor of 20,000 people, from masons to specialists of in-lay. The moment we walked through the gate was the most spectacular sight...to see the top of a structure that you have heard so much about, that is one of the most recognized works of architecture known to man, and to be standing there gazing upon it, was pretty incredible! The weather was heaven-sent, as the bluest sky created the perfect backdrop and big white puffy clouds lazed overhead...the white marble just shone in all its glory for us!! We took lots of pictures and walked around for about 2 hours, again attracting a lot of attention. Even though it was low season, the Taj grounds were packed! We were even asked to pose for pictures with people, and are probably in a 100 more that we don't even know were taken, as we would see cell phone cameras pointed at us and then quickly put away when we glanced in that direction! Charles and I just chalked it up to the fact that people must have thought we were Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The rest of the day we spent seeing the other sights of Agra, heading back to the air-conditioned restaurant at the train station early to escape the heat. Jostling for position and boarding the train in a non-a/c car, as the a/c cars were filled when we bought our tickets, we met a group of Indian guys travelling together on a pilgrimage to the temple in Mathura, as it was the full-moon holiday. They were in our seats, but kindly got up for us so we could sit by the window. We chatted and joked with them until they got off, and then the ride went downhill from there. We realized soon after we got on the train that it had been double booked, so twice the amount of body heat and half the amount of available space were the conditions we travelled in for about 3 hours. For future reference, when travelling for longer than an hour and a half by train in India, make sure you're in an air-conditioned car, because even sitting by the windows doesn't help when it's that hot. We were delayed, not getting into the station at Delhi until 10:30 pm. So with a flight to London scheduled to depart at 2 am, we booked it back to the hotel, as fast as we possibly could given how near heat exhaustion we were, showered, packed, checked-out, then taking a taxi to the airport, arriving with 10 minutes to spare before we boarded the plane! Needless to say, as we walked down the jetway, we decided our motto for this trip would be, "We survived India!" and had an amazing time doing just that!!

So I've been home for 4 days...had a wonderful 4th of July down at the beach, now it's off to Iceland...I fly out tonight for a 10-day trip! Keep it right here for an update when I get home mid-July!!

The Children of Hope & The Girls of Kripa Saran...

2007-06-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, can't quite believe I'm writing this, but it's a wrap! My last of four weeks volunteering here in Darjeeling, and it has just flown by! My last week and a half was spent using up the contents of that incredible package I received in the mail...thank you again all who contributed to it!! So I wanted to provide a little more detail on my projects while I've been here, as I've been waiting til the end to share them with you...

Hope School
The children of Hope are truly amazing kids...I've learned so much from them, more than I could ever have aspired to teach them! I know I described the school and how it's setup in one of my earlier entries, but I can't stress enough how they've just eked out an existence on the upper balcony of a temple for this school and what they're doing with the limited resources they have! Needless to say, the kids were thrilled with everything in the package that I took in to them...I've attached some pictures of the kids hard at work on the various projects I had them do the past four weeks...the looks on their faces tell it all I think! From tissue paper flowers, to foam sticker collages, to Playdoh and Cooties...they were overjoyed to get their hands on it all! Most kids demonstrated some form of developmental delay, and obviously, there was a pretty incredible language barrier, as the children only spoke Nepali or Bengali, knowing very little English, and sometimes even being non-verbal, or having a speech impediment...it was just as hard for me to understand them as they were trying to understand me. But they comprehend so much it never failed to surprise me, and they're so eager to learn! And they pick up on the subtlest things...completely ignoring how far I would move the glue out of their reach after they created a large lake on their paper and reaching for more, all the time giving me the biggest, most mischievous smile they could muster! Mostly I tried to work on developmental motor skills through creative/purposeful activities/fun stuff for them! So handwriting, cutting, pasting, coloring, tracing, etc., all trying to encourage bimanual integration, fine motor coordination, age appropriate grasp-release, etc. etc. (I won't bore you with the list of things in my occupational therapy-trained head that I tried to focus on with each activity). My main goal each day was to get the kids to produce an end-product that they had done as much as they could on their own or with as little assistance as possible, so they could take it home and show it off. I know I've mentioned this before, but people with disabilities here are automatically counted out, seen as oddities and kept out of the public eye mostly, so just giving the attention to one child each day by either sitting with her for 5 minutes to help her cut out shapes or spending snack time feeding one of the kids with cerebral palsy and doing the "airplane" to make him smile...completely makes their day...it blew me away each and every day how simple it was to create joy for these kids and I was more than rewarded by what I took away at the end of the time I spent there! Unfortunately, a lot of the kids need one-on-one attention, so most of the time, I was wishing I had 3 laps and 8 arms, but I managed somehow! Now, I hate to say it, but I did have some favorites...you might be able to tell from the photos...one of the little girls who attends Hope with her little sister, both of whom are only there because they have short limbs (!!--noted only because if these kids were living in any Western country, all they would need is a one-to-one aid or some other basic classroom support and they'd be attending a regular school) due to malnutrition while their mother was pregnant with both of them. Her smile never failed to give me the warmest fuzzy, and she loved to have her picture taken! She absolutely loved every craft activity and was so tiny that it just was impossible not to scoop her up each time she came in the door! There was also one little boy with cerebral palsy with whom I had a standing lunch date! He is about 5 years old but is already quite the charmer, throwing me a coy smile as wide as the Grand Canyon, his whole face lighting up every time he saw me! As with most of the kids with CP, one side is weaker than the other, and he demonstrated a moderate amount of spasticity, so he preferred to use the side that works best, naturally. My first day at Hope, I was asked to feed him, and by the end of that week, I had him getting the spoon to his mouth after loading the food on for him, and in 4 weeks time, he can feed himself with his unaffected side but most importantly he is now holding onto the cup of food with his spastic hand with assistance for about 5 minutes! (Another concept I really pushed...getting the kids to use their weaker sides, even if it was just to assist their other hand in the task they were doing, as they are not really encouraged to...it either takes too long or they make a huge mess!) Well, today being my last day, it was the last lunch date with my little man, so I sat down next to his high chair as usual, but then the teachers told him something in Nepali, and it took him a minute, but then his face fell, out came the lower lip, and he just started wailing. I had no idea what was wrong, checking his positioning to see if something was pinching him, and then they told me what he was reacting to, which was that they had told him it was my last day and that someone else would be "feeding" him tomorrow, and mind you, I had been keeping it together pretty well, but that just made me come unglued, and I started crying! Talk about hearts breaking all over the place...but by the end of lunch, he was smiling at the bubbles and balloons I pulled out!! Today, my last day working with the kids at the school, I brought in the paint and brushes that were included in the package, and I'd like to share this one little breakthrough that just made my week...little did we know we had our very own Van Gogh who managed to use the whole container of blue paint on his one piece of construction paper (see picture), but the amazing part was that this little boy, who has the worst case of hyperactivity I have ever seen, not being able to focus on a task for longer than 5 seconds, and then throwing things or sabotaging other kids projects after he loses interest, which pretty much meant he was not very popular with the other kids and the teachers were always quick to jump all over him. Well, he became my little project you could say, and today, he was able to stand and paint 2 pictures for a total of 25 minutes, with only a few mishaps!! I was so proud of him, and he knew it! We were both beaming the whole day!! He actually was picked by the teachers today to give me my cream-colored silk scarf, a sign of respect and to wish me well, which he placed around my neck during the little goodbye they had for me today during lunch!

The highlight of the week had to be yesterday though, as I got to take the kids to the zoo!! I had talked to my in-country coordinator here earlier in the week about the idea, and her husband being in the tea industry, and with a lot of connections around town, made a call to the principal of the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute/Zoo, and needless to say, we got in for free!! It was a little misty and rained just a bit, but in no way did that dampen the kids' absolute zeal as we wandered around! About 40 students and teachers piled into 2 jeep taxis (meant for about 10 people each...keep in mind--kids with disabilities here!), me with two kids on my lap and very glad it was only a 5-minute ride to the zoo! Once we unloaded and paired off the kids with teachers, some children requiring 2 people to assist them in managing the stairs and steep hills, and some having to be carried, we spent about an hour walking along all the outdoor cages. The kids had an absolute blast, especially when they had to find the animals that were "hiding." Right off the bat though, we saw a "balou" as we entered the zoo, which the kids were ecstatic and squealing over, which as some of you familiar with the Jungle Book, know that that means bear!! We also saw snow leopards, barking deer, yaks (!!), red pandas, lots of birds, and even some Bengal tigers! I don't know who was more tired though when we got back to the school...the kids, or the adults! Definitely the only way to see the zoo though, through the eyes of children that don't get to experience these things very often.

The Girls of Kripa Saran Buddhist Mission
This was my other project while I was here in Darjeeling, which was kind of an unofficial one started by previous volunteers, who would just go here about an hour a day to spend time with the girls when they got home from school. There are about 41 girls here now, and they are all their own unique personalities...it was so much fun getting to know them! Among their favorite things to do when I was there was to play cards, or "tas", so I taught them a few new games (Go Fish among them), and thanks to whoever included Uno in the package, because the girls love it now! They were also introduced to dominoes, and I had so much fun showing them the ropes! Another favorite activity was dancing!! They had a small cassette player and a few tapes, so another volunteer and I went out and bought a few new ones for them, their new must-play tape being Shania Twain!! Especially the song, "Man, I feel like a woman!" Lots of laughs as we had dance party after dance party (see picture)!! They were so fun to teach new moves to...the tango, with the dip!, the mashed potato, and their new favorite...the disco! John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever, move over, cause these girls can boogie! Thank you also to the people that contributed hair accessories and bracelets to the package, as it made for a day of girly-ness! They were fighting over mirror space and I had a line of girls wanting me to do their hair with the clips and elastics that I gave each girl! I will really miss them and have felt truly blessed to be with them, even if for only a few weeks...seeing these girls at the same points in their lives that reminded me of things that I went through at the same age, it reminded me of how important parents were for those times when I was growing up, and I can only pray for them that their journeys will be ok...they are truly wonderful though and I have no doubt they will become beautiful, independent women!

So that has been my last 4 weeks here...so amazing to be involved in both projects...they will have special places in my heart for a long time to come! A few other highlights from the past week...Indian Idol update: last week's voting placed Prashant (Darjeeling's native son) in the bottom ranking and he was almost eliminated...come to find out...Darjeeling's text message votes via mobile phones were not going through, so there was a huge protest through the streets...shops closed down, people were basically on strike until it was all sorted!! So this weekend's round should be very interesting!! Another highlight...as a token of gratitude, another volunteer that is staying at the hostel and I decided to make chocolate chip cookies, an American specialty, for our host family. Well, who knew how hard it would be to find basic ingredients like chocolate chips and flour!! We had to go from shop to shop, as there is no real supermarket here...picking up one thing in this store, another in that store. The ingredient we had the most trouble with, however, was none other than brown sugar! We searched probably every shop in Darjeeling, asking everyone and their brother where we could possibly find brown sugar (which we were finally able to acquire)...getting the strangest reactions from most, which we just attributed to it not being used here that much. We shared this story with our host family after the cookies came out of the oven, just fine by the way and very tasty!, who started laughing! I guess "brown sugar" in India means a refined form of heroin...who knew?! That would explain all the strange looks! So there you have it...still learning as I go! It is getting rather late though, and tomorrow is quite a big day, as my Charles arrives and we start our whirlwind tour of India together, after spending a few days in Darjeeling!!

Indian Idol...

2007-06-08T09:45:00.000-07:00

So I'm sure most of you are familiar with the popular TV show in the States called American Idol, which got it's start from Britain's Pop Idol...well, now there's an Indian Idol believe it or not! For those of you not familiar with the show, there are 3 judges who travel the country holding auditions that thousands turn out for, narrowing it down to 50 or so that travel to a certain destination and then whittle it down even further to 16 or so that compete live over the course of an extremely prolonged/drawn out period of time, til one is named the next American Idol. The judges do have some say, but the general public has the final vote, casting via telephone for their favorite contestants week to week, each one having their own number. I first became aware of this craze sweeping India when I saw signs plastered all over Darjeeling to vote for a particular contestant--Prashant Tamang--who's hometown is...you guessed it--Darjeeling! I have also been able to view this show/extravaganza, with the girls living at the hostel who are attending local Loreto College. I was unable to stay up til 11:00 with them when the show ended and only saw the first 1/2 hour or so of the 2-hour show, and keep in mind they're still in the preliminary stages, with a dozen or so guys and just as many girls. I did however surmise that Prashant did well based on the squealing I heard coming from the girls still upstairs, and by the fireworks and cheering I heard outside my window coming from all over the hillside!! Needless to say, Indian Idol has taken Darjeeling by storm!

And for the most exciting news of the week: I received a package!! For those of you who contributed to the 40-pound box of goodies, thank you, thank you, thank you!! Just seeing the box sitting at the hostel, I was ecstatic, but then opening it up and pulling out everything, I was completely overwhelmed by your generosity. I have been taking a few things in every day, and the kids are absolutely thrilled with the stuff they get to make and do with all of it! I promise to have pictures by next week, as their faces tell it all much more clearly than I could put into words! So a tremendous thank you goes out to all who contributed! Hard to believe next week is my last, but as they say, time flies when you're having fun...who knew how great it is to spend 4 weeks playing and making crafts with kids that are thrilled beyond belief with a new bottle of glue or a new pack of crayons!?

Elephant Riding in Jaldhapara...

2007-06-03T20:51:00.000-07:00

Now that I've conquered yak-riding, I thought I would give elephant-riding a go...So this past weekend, 2 other volunteers and I made the 3-hour journey down from the hills to Siliguri, where we then transferred to the vehicles that would be taking us the 5 hours to Jaldhapara National Park, located southeast from Darjeeling and at only 61 meters in altitude, very hot on the plains of India as it is now summer here too. The heat is unique here...it is definitely hot, but the humidity, combined with the dust and pollution, leaves a sticky feeling to the skin that is an experience in itself. I felt like we finally arrived in India, not only because of the heat, but also with the drive through towns where bicycles, rickshaws, autorickshaws, trucks, cars, cows, goats, dogs, and pedestrians all jockey for space on the roads, then passing by endless fields, and seeing people bathing in the rivers we passed. Seeing cows not only in those fields, but also wandering errantly through the streets of the towns we went through, I had the thought..."Only in India!" Our group was composed of the three of us, then 4 nurses who all went to school together in London, and a retired anesthesiologist with his wife from Calcutta. We stopped for lunch along the way, then another stop at Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary, where we spent a hot half an hour sweating at the top of an observation tower, not really seeing anything, but completely soaked by the time we came back to the vehicles. After a flat tire along the way, we arrived at Jaldhapara Park, pulling up to the Hollong Forest Tourist Lodge after a 15-minute drive down a gravel road, deep into the jungle of the park. Our room was very nice, with a Western-toilet and a shower that looked oh-so-inviting! One of the leftover influences from the British that I've come to expect here is afternoon tea, which was lovely after a long drive. Surprisingly, a hot beverage actually helps to cool you down. Dinner was great, and the shower helped to make me feel human again. The mosquito nets brought Africa memories rushing back, and having been at elevation and cool weather for the past 2 weeks, reminded me why I was taking malaria prophylaxis. I fell asleep to the chirping of the geckos adorning our walls, and the call of wild animals that sounded like they were just outside our window! Now, we had booked at this particular lodge for the sole reason that you are guaranteed an elephant ride the next morning. That's right...an elephant ride!! So at 6 the next morning (early because it's cooler and there's a better chance of seeing the animals that are still waking up and not moving very fast), we climbed the stairs to the elevated platform, where a line of elephants was waiting for us, saddled up and with a "driver" sitting on the back of each one's neck, armed with a gun, a machete, and a hooked spear attached to a rope...didn't want to really think about the purpose of these as we lumbered off into the jungle! Each elephant took 4 people, so we climbed on, 2 to a side with our backs to the other person and our legs hanging down on the elephant's side. My elephant was a new mother, so her baby stuck right by us the whole time...it was soooo cute! I don't think it stopped eating the whole trip, pulling down branches and uprooting grass like there was no tomorrow...it was like an all-you-can-eat buffet for this little guy! Now, the elephant is a large animal, and was pretty good about judging it's own way through thick brush and under overhanging branches, but was not so good in judging the space needed for 4 people riding atop its back through the same thick brush and under hanging branches! Needless to say, my flip-flop came off at one point, going through a mess of branches, and probably the highlight of the whole trip for me was the driver turning the elephant around, giving her a command, then watching her pick up my flip-flop with her trunk, pass it over her head to the driver, who then handed it back to me!!! So amazing!! OK, so I've ridden a horse before, albeit a long time ago, and I've recently ridden a yak, but riding an elephant is a task that requires a certain style...the rhythm of an elephant's gait causes any passengers on its back, despite being on the saddle with an iron bar holding you in, to have the sensation of almost falling off with every step! So the whole ride through the jungle, we saw a couple of monkeys, and then we passed a watering hole where there was a one-horned rhinocerous, which they call a unicorn rhinocerous, the park being home to 50 of these animals whose numbers have been decimated recently by poachers, just chilling out in the water, watching us as we strolled by. We also saw a good number of birds, including peacocks, and then as we were headed back to the lodge, our driver pointed out a rotting tree to which we sidled up alongside, only to see the largest python curled up, thankfully sleeping, in the base of this hollowed out tree...it must have just eaten the biggest meal ever, since the diameter of it was just immense!! I was grateful when we started moving again, and shortly thereafter reached the platform and "disembarked." Absolutely incredible and the ride of a lifetime!

After breakfast we loaded into the vehicles to head back to Siliguri, making a couple of stops along the way, which helped to break up the 5-hour drive. We first stopped at a leopard refuge center, and took a short ride through their pen in an enclosed vehicle (imagine it getting even hotter than previously described), not even going a minute into the journey before we saw our first leopard, sauntering right down the path towards us! That one was followed by 2 more, who then broke off and headed into the jungle. We also saw one just hanging out in the shade, and he was probably the largest, his eyes the color of amber, just staring intently at us as we stopped not 15 feet from him! There were also some Bengal tigers that we were not able to get close enough to really see, they had just been rescued from a circus that had not treated them very well.

We made it back to Siliguri just fine and early to boot, which was good since it's a 3-hour drive from there to Darjeeling. Had no trouble finding a shared taxi, but things did not go so well, from the flat tire just outside of Siliguri that probably was the result of having 15 people in a 10-seat vehicle, but was fixed after a half hour. We were on our way again, but not for long, when the transmission blew and our vehicle became dead on a very steep hill...good thing for the emergency break! After getting some of our money back, we started walking, having another 2 hours (driving) to go, and it would soon be dark. We were able to get in touch with our volunteer coordinator and with her many contacts, she was able to arrange a taxi for us, which had to come from Darjeeling down to get us, but we had to meet it at a certain point and ended up having a nice stroll uphill about 10 km...actually felt good after sitting for so long in a jeep. Long story short, everything that could have wrong did on the trip back to Darjeeling, but it was well worth it and we ended up back at the hostel around 10 last night...having been up since 4:30 in the morning to ride elephants, we were quite exhausted! Can't quite believe I'm starting my 3rd week here, time is really flying!!

Big Day for Buddha...

2007-05-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

So today, Thursday, was very special in the Buddhist religion: Buddha was born, achieved enlightenment/nirvana, and died all on this date, not the same year, of course, as that would be pretty spectacular. I awoke this morning very early to chanting prayers, drums, and bells, and it has continued all day. I was curious and wanted in some way to participate/witness the goings-on of this momentous day in Buddhism, so after finding out a little more about it from my host family, I asked if I could go to the monastery just down the hill on the next street, which is the one I can hear from my window. (I have since talked with my host family and they provided more insight into all the questions I had, and even though it may sound like I knew exactly what was going on when it was happening, my enlightenment came later after I had talked with my host family and they answered the gazillion questions I had about everything I saw, so you reading this get the benefit of all the knowledge that I now have about Buddhism...all you ever wanted to know and more I'm sure...) They showed me the way to go and after a short walk I stepped inside to find a sort of fellowship area that had dozens of bowls of water with lighted candles in them, and people preparing a meal. I then ducked into the worship room, about 20 feet by 25 feet (small I'm told compared to some monasteries since it's located in the village), after slipping off my shoes and leaving them in the pile by the entrance, and quickly found a seat in the back corner of the room, assuming the cross-legged seated position (commonly referred to as "Indian-style" back home). I had a bench of older women seated to my left along the back wall, who were maintaining a continuous prayer and spinning their prayer wheels in a clockwise direction (as mentioned in a previous entry). There were about a dozen or so monks seated on low benches along the side walls, a group of 3 being the leaders of most of the praying and chanting, as well as operating the drums and the bell, again continuously. I sat next to one man who rolled out his piece of carpet for me to sit on! I was there for about half an hour, and just watched, initially completely out of my comfort zone, my heart beating a mile a minute, I guess because I felt I didn't belong there not believing in the same things as these people did, but I eventually relaxed and was able to take in most of what was happening. Most people were coming in to pay their respects and leaving, most likely on their way to work or other daily tasks, but I was struck at the age range of all those paying homage to their Lord Buddha. From 3 to 93 it seemed, there were whole families coming in together, teenagers coming in on their way to school. Everyone pretty much went through the same routine...entering, then bringing their hands together over their heads and then in front of their faces, which is a significant motion in and of itself I was told, and then performing several "salutations-to-the-sun"-like poses (even the older ones that came limping in with arthritic knees!) to the statue of Buddha located behind the altar, touching their foreheads to the ground, which symbolizes them touching the feet of Buddha, a sign of respect. Parents were helping the little ones do the proper motions, and the kids were following right along, the looks on their faces were matched to their parents' as they observed this serious and important ritual. They would then approach the altar, and some would fill the bowls of water or butter lamps that were burning with water and/or oil they had brought from home in plastic jugs or tea kettles. There are usually 7 bowls of water on every altar to symbolize the 7 steps Buddha took when he was born, a lotus flower growing out of each step he took, and since lotus flowers are usually found on the water, they use the bowls of water. There are also over 100 butter lamps on the altar, which are candles that burn oil...my host family was not sure of the significance of that number, but they said that the light burns away darkness. After this, they would receive a small amount of water in their right palm, poured by the head lama of the monastery, then take a sip and rub the rest over their heads, the women first touching each eyebrow before anointing their heads. Some people had brought white or cream-colored silk cloths to place on the altar, which are known as khada, and are an offering of respect. One older man went around the room handing out 10-Rupee bills to all those seated around the room praying, which was his offering, and I even got one! (which I left for the monastery as I didn't feel right in pocketing it). One woman brought her young son over to the one of the monks, who blessed him by tying a red string loosely around the boy's neck, which I was told had probably been blessed by the head lama of the monastery. I asked my host family if it means more if something is blessed by the Dalai Lama himself, which is supposed to be the reincarnation of Buddha himself, and my host family told me that a prayer is the same if it is said by the Dalai Lama or some common person, it doesn't matter who says it...whatever is prayed over becomes holy, whether it's a piece of string or water. The Dalai Lama is currently in exile in Dharamasala, and the Penchan Lama, "second in command," is under house arrest in Lhasa, Tibet, due to the fact that Tibet being occupied by China (a communist country), Buddhists are not allowed to practice their religion freely. My host family is native to Darjeeling, but is from Tibetan ancestry, so they were very helpful in explaining this bit of history...that Tibet was a prime target for China, chock full of natural resources and being inhabited by a defenseless, simple, religious-minded people. Most women I saw paying their respects were in traditional Tibetan dresses, called bhukus or chubas, only reiterating the presence in this region of so many Tibetan refugees, fleeing religious persecution. In Buddhism, the typical procedure is that when the Dalai Lama dies, Buddha is then reincarnated in a child being born, who then becomes the next Dalai Lama. The current Dalai Lama, who is number 14 I believe, has proclaimed that with his death, there will be no more reincarnation...whether this is to set up a concealment for the next dalai lama or if this will be a "dark time" for Buddhists around the world, one can only wonder. I had so many questions about this religion and its history as I left the monastery, but I was so glad I witnessed this, a day for Buddhists that has the same significance for Christians as Christmas, Jesus' baptism in the river, and Easter, all rolled into the same day.

Yak Riding in Sikkim...

2007-05-28T20:01:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend, a few of the other volunteers and I decided to head to Sikkim, the state just north of West Bengal and Darjeeling. Sikkim is known for it's beautiful mountain landscapes, as well as the best views of the Himalayas, however, it's location has been somewhat controversial due to the fact that when India was controlled by Britain and they took over Sikkim, Tibet (China) never fully recognized that move. As a result, to make Sikkim happy being a part of India, the government has since made it a tax-free state, and poured scores of rupees into roads, schools, and other general development projects to keep the state within its border. Foreigners are strictly monitored though, and we had to get special permits in order to cross the border into Sikkim, which lasts only 15 days and once you leave, you cannot return for 3 months after that, as well as additional permits to travel to certain parts of Sikkim, meaning more stamps in my passport and the loss of more precious space on its pages! Just a lot of red tape, but despite that, had a wonderful time!

The drive there took about 4-5 hours, leaving early Saturday morning and arriving just before lunch into Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. The drive was incredible, more winding and narrow roads as previously described in an earlier blog entry, and pretty much following the Teesta River all the way up, which is known for its white water rafting. The way the roads are laid out, it's one mountain at a time, as tunnels are few and far between. So we could be driving along on the side of one mountain looking down on the valley and the river, descend into that same valley, drive through a town that we had been looking down on from above 10 minutes before, and then head right back upwards again, then an hour later, be looking down on the same spot of the valley and the river, just from the other side of it, and on another mountain! Bridges were also an adventure in and of themselves...one in particular that was most memorable...a suspended bridge that was swaying at least a foot to one side and then the other as cars drove over it, as we sat waiting our turn as only one car was allowed at a time. The river rushing by only 30 feet below us was pretty hard to hear over the squeaking and clanking of the bridge as we drove over it...but I'm alive to tell this story, so we made it!! The fact that we were driving through the foothills of the Himalayas kept hitting me over and over again, and I found myself just awestruck by the beauty and sheer height of everything around me!

Gangtok is a great town...one main street and lots of tourists!! We were among the few of our skin color, and throughout the weekend, found ourselves being the focus of much attention and pictures, some people even asking if they could get their picture WITH us...I don't think I've ever held so many children that I didn't even know in my life before! Pretty amusing to say the least! We hadn't made reservations ahead of time, so the first hour after we arrived was spent looking for vacancies, finally finding 2 rooms at Hotel Golden Pagoda, which had pretty decent views of the surrounding mountains and the valley below, and a western-style toilet to our pleasant surprise! We spent the rest of the day exploring the town, and just an interesting side note...was able to watch the Miss USA pageant on our television that night...was so afraid I would miss that being in India ;) What was pretty neat about Gangtok is that the hustle and bustle of all the traffic during the day is completely absent at night, so we could wander the whole street as we moseyed along the various stores, restaurants, and hotels...it was such a nice small town atmosphere in the evening!

The next day, on Sunday, we started out by going to the Institute of Tibetology, which is a sort of museum dedicated to explaining the main principles of Buddhism and even has a display depicting the birth and enlightenment of Buddha. Most of the depictions are painted tapestries, which were absolutely beautiful. The first stone of the building was actually placed by the Dalai Lama himself! Later that morning, having booked a trip to Lake Chunga (which I've found has several spellings and an even greater number of different pronunciations), we piled in a taxi (jeep) again. The lake sits at 12,400 feet, and is about a 2-2 1/2 hour drive northeast from Gangtok, again more winding and narrow roads. There are lots of waterfalls along the way, some even spilling over the road before plunging into the valley below, and we stopped at one in particular, called Kyongnosla Falls--I couldn't get over how clear blue the water was! But then again, it's coming from the mountains and glaciers higher up, so it's definitely as pure as you can get. We even drove through the clouds at one point, and the temperature difference was amazing the higher up we went! Now, the army has a strong presence here, as the border with Tibet is so close, so pictures were not really allowed and if you did chance it, you had to be really discreet about the whole thing. Foreigners are not even allowed beyond a certain point around the lake, and we could only hike one path, which was closer to the south end of the lake, because of the vicinity to the border. The lake was absolutely gorgeous, and we hiked up to about 12,600 feet to an amazing view of the whole lake and surrounding mountains, being able to see the border very clearly at the north end of the lake (the mountain ridge in the clouds behind me in the picture)! Now, the highlight of the day and basically the whole trip to Sikkim, hence the title of this entry, was getting to ride a yak!! We had the option of taking yaks part-way around the lake to where we started hiking, and needless to say we didn't hesitate!! I climbed aboard Jacko the Yak, the other 3 volunteers I was with doing the same to their respective yaks, and with the yak operators leading us, had a lovely 10-minute meandering ride around the lake!! Yaks are about the size of a bull, with a lot more hair, and I have to say that the smell of a yak is quite...unique, and just seemed to add to the whole experience. The whole yak-riding aspect is quite the operation, as they have saddles and stirrups and even horn warmers, brightly-colored knitted sock-like apparatuses that adorned each of our yaks' horns! Again, this was an experience that I will not soon forget! Did not spot any yetis though, as this is the region known for one of the first sightings of these creatures.

After the 2-hour drive back to Gangtok, we quickly found another jeep taxi and began the 4-5 hour drive to Pelling, a small town on the western side of Sikkim, and known as having the best views of the Himalayas in the entire state. It was late afternoon at this point, and had been pretty cloudy all day, so as it got darker and started raining, the drive became even more adrenaline-filled on the narrow, steep, winding roads! We arrived just fine, a little after 8pm, and our hotel was absolutely lovely...we had called ahead so the staff had been expecting us, and were keeping the kitchen open so we could get some dinner before turning in! Now we had specifically asked for certain rooms based on previous volunteers' recommendations, and when morning came, we were not disappointed. Throwing open the curtains, and then bolting out the door onto the balcony, we were greeted with the bluest skies, the sun beaming down, and the most spectacular view...there in the distance was Kachenchunga, the highest mountain in all of India and the third highest mountain in the world, with 2 other snow-capped peaks flanking it on either side. Now, since this past week has been so cloudy in Darjeeling and while we were in Gangtok, I had not seen any of the high peaks yet, so to say this was absolutely awesome is quite the understatement...I was like a kid on Christmas morning, quite speechless really, just gaping at the beautiful snow-covered Himalayas rising up over the hills in the valley that seemed so close I could have walked to them in no time. Even thinking back on it now as I write this, I have trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that I just saw some of the highest mountains in the world over the weekend, and the fact that I'm in Asia, my 7th continent!!

So the rest of Monday, which we had all taken off from our placements for, we spent exploring Pelling. We traipsed up to Sangachoeling Monastery, the oldest in Sikkim, and the highest point in all of Pelling, to see the best view of the town laying far below us and the mountains surrounding us on all sides! The road leading up to the monastery is quite a trek in itself, and I found myself thinking I was on the Great Wall of China looking at the style of the retaining walls that had been built for the winding path up the side of the mountain, which took us about an hour to do. It was quite warm with the sun out, and we were glad to lounge in the shade of the pine trees on the grounds once we reached the monastery and the cool breeze felt so good! The few clouds that were in the sky just seemed to graze the top of the mountain, drifting right by us, given how high we were at that point. After taking off our shoes, we wandered inside the temple, where we saw the most beautiful painted murals, statues, and fabric prayer wheels suspended from the ceiling. I'm learning so much about Buddhism and the main religion of this culture. The monks that we saw there were quite young, and I made a mental note to learn why for future reference. Well, they were just as curious about us as we were about them, and loved having their pictures taken! The hike back down didn't take quite as long, and after checking out, we piled into the taxi again to head back to Darjeeling, stopping at another monastery, Pemayangste, on the way, which has the one of the largest and most well-known wooden sculptures depicting heaven and hell. The 4-5 hour drive back to Darj was again more winding, steep, and narrow roads, knowing we were getting close as the tea plantations became more plentiful. Even though it sounds like we spent most of the time in a jeep/land rover, we got some good hiking in and I felt like we really got to see and explore a lot of Sikkim.

So that was my weekend...close enough to Tibet I could taste it, my first glimpse of the snow-capped Himalayas, and of course, riding a yak!! I have discovered an internet cafe with broadband, so I am able to upload photos for the first time...wahoo!! Enjoy!

Running & Head Wobbling in the "Place of Thunderbolts"

2007-05-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

I'm running again!! Went running for the first time here on Wednesday morning, after finally getting a decent night's sleep! I did about 3 km, and it was about 2/3's of the way around the loop I was doing, when I hit an uphill, that I got really winded and had to walk, but I'm blaming it on the hills and the altitude...have no fear, I'll get there!! My route is through a part of town called the Chowrasta, which is a big market, then a loop around Observatory Hill on Bhanu Bhakta Sarani, with probably the best views in Darjeeling (again when it's clear). Others out and about at 6 in the morning (which I've come to realize as being late, since most have been up since 4:30 when the sun rises) were lots of people doing yoga along the route, interestingly enough only men, and a few other runners and a lot more walking, in their track suits no less! Now, being white in India draws enough attention, but a whole new level of gawking is attained by being white and running at the same time! At least I'm not having "Mzungu" shouted at me like in Africa by every other person on the street! Now, the second morning I went running, which was today (Friday), I happened to notice that I was the only one going around the loop in a counterclockwise direction. After I returned to the hostel, I told this observation to the major who runs the hostel and he informed me that the reason I'm the only one going in that direction is because the typical method of prayer and all things traditionally religious in India (prayer wheels, ceremonies, parades, etc.) move in a CLOCKWISE direction! So I felt like a complete maroon and will modify my route accordingly to better align myself with the culture here...come to think of it, maybe that's why there was so much staring occurring, and it will also be easier as it will be more downhill too. So there you have it...I'm continuing to learn as I go.

There are lots of Indian tourists up from the plains now, as it's much cooler here, and the shopkeepers and number of stalls along the streets have increased exponentially as a result. I have to share the interesting difference I've noticed between the native tourists and those from Darjeeling: mainly with regards to the concept of personal space and the above mentioned staring. Those from Darjeeling give you plenty of space and really don't give a second look, whereas it's the exact opposite coming from the plains-dwellers. The rest of India should be fun...this culture absolutely fascinates and intrigues me--I love it!!

Another cultural tidbit unique to this country and a concept I'm trying to become well-versed at...the art of the head wobble. Indians are adept at this gem of non-verbal communication. I will try to explain it as best I can: when a 'yes', 'ok', or 'maybe' or even an 'I completely agree with you' response is appropo, the person will bend their head laterally bringing one ear down slightly towards the ipsilateral shoulder, then bend their head the opposite way, usually repeating this twice or three times in quick fashion. I have gotten so used to this in a week's time that I don't even need a verbal response combined with the head wobble to know what the person's answer is...the head wobble itself is sufficient. Additionally, I have noticed that when I use the head wobble, it immediately assimilates me into the culture a bit more and I reach a new level of belonging, especially coming in handy when bartering...that's how much a part of the conversation it is here.

Now on to my last lesson of the week that I have learned...I was told when I first arrived here that Darjeeling means "Place of Thunderbolts"...in Nepali, I believe. I was curious as to why until the other night when I was laying awake staring at the ceiling (still trying to get over this jet lag). My room suddenly lit up like someone began flickering the lights, so I ran to the window and out over the valley spread before me and just over the far hills was the most terrific electrical storm...lightning bolt after lightning bolt, jumping from cloud to cloud so rapidly it was like someone was setting off fireworks in the clouds!! It was incredible to watch and I sat mesmerized for a good 15 minutes, the whole storm probably lasting about an hour and a half (I know since I was still staring at the ceiling until about 1 AM). It's far enough away that there is absolutely no sound of thunder accompanied with the lightning, so it makes it even more spectacular of a light show! I did get to see about the clearest view yet of those far hills during daylight hours yesterday (Thursday)...about 3 mountain ranges over!! Sometimes it feels like it's so close to clearing, and I've almost gone off the road or run into people trying so hard to catch a glimpse of the Himalayas sitting right there on the horizon instead of watching where I'm going. It will be incredible I'm sure when it does clear enough to see them!

So there we go...my first week in India on my 7th continent...can life get any better? I submit that it cannot!!

# 7!!! I made it!!!

2007-05-22T07:07:00.000-07:00

# 7 at last!!! Flights couldn't have been better...went so well and my luggage arrived intact, on time, and not soaked in detergent this time!! Quite a long haul though: 7 hours to London, then a 5-hour layover that I managed to find a "quiet seating area" and slept in Heathrow airport, then a 9 1/2-hour flight to Calcutta, where I had a whole row of 3 seats all to myself...more sleeping while stretched out!! (Don't worry...was moving every hour or so to keep the blood pumping!) After transferring to the domestic airport by foot despite the numerous taxi offers for the 300-meter distance between the two terminals, and then a 6-hour layover in Calcutta airport, it was only a 50-minute flight to Bagdogra, which is located near the town of Siliguri. Calcutta was pretty warm stepping off the plane and walking across the tarmac...about 90 degrees and very humid, and it was just as hot in Bagdogra. The airport was fairly cool as I got there about 5:30 in the morning thus there were not too many people around yet and the fans were going. Interesting side note...they have a separate security screening for women, a special curtained off stand with a female officer, so passengers automatically divide into two lines by sex just to go through the metal detectors. I was met at Bagdogra by my project coordinator, who is a lovely woman and whose husband has very big ties to the tea industry, which around here means about the equivalent of saying someone back home has close ties to the mob, minus the whole illegal aspect...you're that important! Two other volunteers had also just arrived, so we then piled into a Land Rover for a 3-hour drive from the airport to Darjeeling. Plenty of rickshaws, autorickshaws, taxis, and livestock congesting the roads in the city, and the same rules apply to driving here as they do in Africa...there are none. The roads are about the same condition as well. To say there's a temperature difference between "the plains" and "the hills" is the understatement of the century! At 2100 meters, Darjeeling was only about 60 degrees, rainy and misty, as it's perpetually in a cloud at that altitude most days. I'm told that when it clears you can see the Himalayas, but that's only on a good day, and by the sound of it, it doesn't happen very often. The road to Darjeeling is very windy, steep, and narrow...I marvelled at how 2 vehicles were able to pass each other without scraping sides each time there was an oncoming car, and there was minor slowing of both vehicles each time! You get pretty used to the sound of horns as well, both driving in a car and walking, which is another whole story indeed about taking your life in your own hands as you pretty much walk everywhere in town. Those who have heard about the "toy train" in Darjeeling, the tracks run right next to the road most of the time, and even cross it at certain points...it's not everywhere you can say you got stuck in rush hour on a train! The road is also precariously perched for most stretches, as it's literally cut out of the side of the mountains. Sometimes only a small concrete barrier separates the car you're going alarmingly fast around a turn in and the sudden drop off past the very thin or almost non-existent shoulder. Amazingly, I fell asleep during all this, and we stopped briefly halfway up at a restaurant in the town of Kurseong built right into the side of the mountain, which I've come to recognize as the main architectural style of Darjeeling, as most houses and buildings look like they've been cut right out of the hillsides! I had my first taste of Darjeeling tea, which was amazing, and some yummy vegetable dumplings called "mou-mous" with a spicy relish/"chutney", also very good. The old hill station town of Darjeeling is not as touristy as I expected, aka not as many beggars and touts, and it's definitely more contemporary. The signs are all in Sanskrit and/or English, and there is a very strong Nepali and Tibetan influence here as it's so close to the border. The main languages are actually Nepali and English, not Hindi. On another note but still relevant, I've never had jet lag this bad before, as I'm 9 1/2 hours ahead of EST (don't ask me why the extra half...there was a man on the plane to Calcutta that was very informative and tried to explain it to me, saying that there really should be two time zones in India, but they only have one and they average it by adding the 1/2 hour)...the sun rising at 4:30 am and setting at 6 pm doesn't help the jet lag either. This morning I was wide awake at 3:15 am and didn't go back to sleep until 6:30, my alarm going off at 7:20, which I was completely disgusted by!! However, they do say the days are getting longer here as summer and the monsoon season approaches.

I am staying at a ladies' hostel in town (those of you that wish to can say that with the lisp as I have come to ;) There are 3 floors, and I have a room all to myself on the ground floor, which should actually be the basement since it's the floor below street level, but the way the house sits on the mountainside, I have windows and supposedly a great view of the Himalayas (again when it's clear). There is one other volunteer currently staying there as well, but she is leaving next week after being here for almost 3 months. The hostel is run by a retired major and his wife, who are just lovely, and the other residents of the hostel attend one of the universities in Darjeeling. The food has been amazing so far, traditional Indian and 3 squares a day (bag lunch during the week for placement)! The bathroom I share with the other volunteer. Just like Tanzania, it's bucket showers again for me, with a temperamental hot water heater, and the adventure known as the "squat toilet"...which consists of a porcelain lined hole in the floor with two tiles on either side for you to place your feet on...kind of an 'x' marks the spot sort of thing. There is no flush, but a spicket on the wall next to it to run water down after you're done...for those that are planning a trip here...this is known as an "Indian-style toilet." Needless to say, between all the hills I climb every day walking around town and the squat toilet, I'm going to have killer quads and hamstrings by the time I'm finished here!

My placement is at the Hope School of Darjeeling, and I had my second day there today, after orientation yesterday. The "school" is located on the second-floor balcony of a temple in town, some of the balcony is open-air and exposed, so if it's raining or windy, then it's raining and windy in the "classroom." Since this is the only school of it's kind in the area, they simply rent the space. There is no running water, so the water they use has to be carried in and is therefore precious. There are tables and chairs and a mat for those that receive physical therapy, which they have a regular volunteer for. However, the positional aids they use for those with spasticity and scissoring for example, are simply padded seat cushions, and the games and educational materials they have (Legos, puzzles, etc.) have seen better days. They work with what they have though. All the teachers and aids are volunteers and there is about 1 teacher for every 6-7 kids, and although they are excellent with the students, they do not have any special education training or background. I am working with about 30 kids every day, although not the same ones every day, all with some sort of disability, most common being cerebral palsy and the general classification of "mental retardation," but also some with Down's Syndrome, developmental delays, and a few with autism. The youngest is about 3 and the oldest is in his late teens. I've been told that there are actually 300 students, but due to the expense of tuition and distance to get to the school, the majority only come once a week or once a month, and that is usually just for P.T., which the parents seem really into and have good follow-through with home programs. The students are dropped off by parents/family around 10 am, which is when I start, and then are picked up at 2 pm, which is when my day there ends. They also do prayers and a snack lunch at 12:30 every day. Routine is very important here if you couldn't tell. It's only my second day and I'm in love with all the kids, as they each have their own personality and are so warm and responsive to anything you do with them, even if it's just simply coloring. I am also so thankful for the special education system back home...even though it has it's flaws, at least it's a system. Kids are automatically put into it when they're born if they're deemed at risk or demonstrate early delays, and then are moved along as they grow up, receiving early intervention in their homes and then school-based services and everything that goes with that, including IEP's (Individual Education Plans) as they enter pre-school and elementary school. That is just totally unheard of here, and these kids are already counted out as being productive and contributing members of their community, as that is the general opinion of this culture--disabilities are not considered special by any means. If this school was not in existence, these kids' education would also be non-existent. So my occupational therapy background has kicked into high gear of course, and I'm going to focus on a lot of developmental components through craft activities with the younger ones, and then working with the groups they've already started with the older ones, such as augmentive communication and vocational skills groups. Four weeks may not be enough time!! Given that I have some downtime since my placement is finished so early in the day, I'm also planning on spending several hours at a local orphanage for girls run by monks, which I visited for the first time today. They were simply wonderful and just ate up the attention, and I had a blast playing cards with them...even learned a new game they taught me!

So that has been my first few days here...I'm absolutely loving it here and can't believe I'm in India!!

Ireland...

2007-05-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

I decided that my entry detailing my week in Ireland with my college friend Beth (see link to her blog: Beth to NOLA) to visit another friend from college and her husband (see link to their blog: Rinehimers In Ireland), aka "When Blogs Collide," would be done in all limericks, in honor of the land that this type of poem came from. The limerick is a 5-line poem, with the rhyming scheme of A-A-B-B-A for those non-English majors out there. Please also refer to the Rinehimers' blog for a quick vocabulary run-down in case of any confusion with the Irish lingo we used below. All limericks were authored by Steph, Beth, Mike and/or Yulo. CAUTION: The following limericks are for (im)mature audiences only and may or may not be true representations of the actual trip content, but rather what rhymed with the previous line :)

There once were two friends from the States,
Who went to Ireland to visit their mates.
They got there just fine,
But their bags fell behind,
So wearing the same dirty clothes were their fates.

There once were two girls who were sent,
To the land of gree and Guinness they were bent.
Their luggage got lost
So they went and got sauced...
Luck of the Irish out the window it went!

Travelling so much and filling up her passport book,
Steph started to get nervous at the space all these stamps took.
So she made a request,
"Please try your best,
To find room on a page that is almost filled up at one look!"

Trying to find a room in Dublin we felt like slouchers,
Having no luck using our vouchers.
"No room at our inn!"
We weren't in like Flynn...
So our third stop we became crouchers.

So those girls from the coast,

Now clean with their luggage to boast:
Book of Kells, Trinity College, Powerscourt waterfall,
Village antiquing they saw it all!
But they soon learned that walking was what they loved most!

Driving on the left,
You must be quite deft,
Traffic up the wazoo,
Overtaking on the right you must do...
Pedestrians and cyclists: look out for our heft!

There's a couple we know,
To Ireland they will soon go.
Here's one piece of advice:
For a marriage to stay nice,
Please walk in Dublin and leave the driving to Joe!
{Dedicated to our friends Tara & Arthur}

If you want to find some mighty troubles,
You may end up seeing doubles,
Going on a self-made scavenger hunt,
Our livers took most of the brunt,
On a pub tour of Dublin, the town of suds and bubbles.

No leprechauns here nor there.
The girls from the States, they looked everywhere.
Til they went to the Cafe of Hard Rock,
On the door they did knock,
Where they found a leprechaun teddy bear!

The girls tried a new way to get lacquered,
Were trying their darndest to find an "O'" on a placard.
Six pubs they had went,
Til they walked over bent.
And came home from their pub tour completely knackered.

The girls now driving through Youghal (pronounced incorrectly as Yugle for this limerick to work),
It was so beautiful they wanted to shout on a bugle.
The sights that they saw
Put them in awe,
Which is mighty for at Waterford they weren't so frugal!

Those same girls are now left to ponder...
"What goes into the making of crystal and Guinness?" they no longer wonder.
How amazing it is,
Behind the scenes of the biz,
In that land known as Eire over yonder.

The girls are in a vacation state,
They don't even remember the date.
The weather's been so nice,
What a lucky roll of the dice.
For tomorrow they can hardly wait!!

Driving the whole southeastern coast,
Those girls now know why "Irish eyes are smiling" is a popular toast.
With fields so green
And the emerald ocean's sheen,
This countryside is more beautiful than most.

So now on the subject of money...
Changing to Euros was not funny.

The dollar's so poor,
It was like watching money fly out the door.

But hey, at least the weather was sunny!

Those girls headed to Blarney with their cameras in tow,
Only to find those around them having hair the color of snow.
Years younger in age,
But at heart on the same page...
A similar future they hoped to one day know.

Upon Blarney the girls now set their sight,
Climbing stairs up and down with all their might.
Dizzying heights up above,
Upside down kissing the stone they did love.
The gift of gab would be theirs from this fortnight!

After Blarney those girls went on their way,
With advice from the hostess at the front desk who did say,
Stay clear of Limerick,
Or else you'll find yourself with a tic,
So girls go around it to have a better day!

Stunned by the beauty all around,
The girls on a road trip covering lots of ground.
Castles here, castles there,
Castles all around and everywhere...
Sheep, cows, and donkeys abound.

The Cliffs of Moher...
A sight that was definitely not a "boher".
The view they did like,
But now it's on to see Yulo and Mike.
Where they will excitedly knock on the "doher".

Driving through the Burren and on winding road,
The beauty of the ocean's shore was a repeating code.
Into Galway they crossed,
And got horribly lost,
The lady's directions at Land Rover helped to lighten the load.

Those same girls from the States,
With anticipation filling their plates,
Now on the right track,
They pulled into the cul-de-sac,
Where they finally met up with their mates!!!!!!!

Male capris were a plenty at the beach.

Fabric to the ankles we needed to teach.

We played Guillotine,
And caused a big scene,

At the end, delicious ice cream we did reach!

The fish and chips at McDonagh's are best!
You won't find better ones at any of the rest!
The chips and cod
Are a true gift from God,
To have eaten it we are truly blessed! [Amen.]

Now seated by the river filled up to their gills,

Counting male capris and noting the lack of windmills,

Catching up on limericks all day
That were lost along the way,

Tanned and refreshed from the beach, forgetting all ills.

They awoke shouting "Top o' the morning!"
"We better get going or miss the ferry!" was the warning.

With clouds in the sky,

Beth and Steph were realizing why,

People from Ireland had layers adorning.

The group headed to the Islands of Aran,

The landscape was certainly not barren.

Many layers they wore,

So they weren't chilled to the core.

And so excited were they, off the ferry they ran!

Pedalling over hill and vale on our bikes,

Their seats kept wobbling and falling except for Mike's.

They changed gears through it all,

Off the spoke the chain did fall.

Look out for the horse and carriage...yikes!

Up the hill to the lighthouse they did trek,

The highest point on the island, it took more than a sec.

They rode to the cliff,
The sea they did whiff.
Viewing the ruins they managed not to wreck.

There were horses and cows all around,

And of course poo scattered all over the ground.

They rode through a pile,

That made them lose their smile.

Whoa! Look out for that mound!

The wind off the ocean was sure whipping!

They had to fight hard to keep from tipping.

It made them desire,

The sheeps' wool they admire,

And from the sweater market they went skipping!

Steph rode ahead about a mile,

Yelling back, "Hey, give me a smile!"

She raised up her hand, which became her camera stand.

Clicking just for fun, exclaiming, "Oh, that was a good one!"

Taking pictures while riding her bike all the while!

The water in Galway they did have to boil,

So over the toilet they wouldn't coil.

Clostro Sporidium was its name,

Diarrhea was its game,

All because the drinking water the sheep's poo did spoil.

Beth & Steph couldn't help feeling old,

Headed to their beds to escape the cold,

When an 8-year-old popped into the room,

With the energy of a sonic boom,

They felt as though they had been told.

On the seventh day, the rains finally came,

But with gorgeous weather before, who could we really blame?

We got wet in the shower,
But that only increased our power!
So driving by car was the name of the game.

Steph's nail polish was thick as asphalt.

Beth & Yulo with Q-tips her fingers they did assault.

At the speed of lightning they did buff,

Sometimes getting quite rough.

With tears in her eyes she screamed halt!

With the elections around the candidates need luck.

Who will become our next taoseich? (Irish for prime minister and pronounced tea shuck)

There's signs on all the posts.

Who will get the most votes?

Weighing all our options we're still mighty stuck.

Steph drove them to the castle

So taking a bus wouldn't be a hassle.

They arrived just in time,

To dine on some honey mead wine.

With their dinner they didn't have to "rassle"!

The wine was a flowin'
& by candlelight we were glowin'

And soon we would be lit

On padded benches we did sit.

With friends that we've been a knowin'!

We dined on salmon and chicken.

The potato leak soup Yulo was a lickin'!

Good to the last drop,

And the entertainment definitely not a flop,

And the fun night kept on a tickin'!

Sighing they cleaned their plates,

Those girls from the States and their mates.
With smiles all around,
The lords and ladies full bellies they had found.
They giggled as they exited through the castle iron gates.

We had such great craic while ya'll were here,

From beaches to castles to beer.

We had the best time,

Counting male capris and making things rhyme,

We won't ever forget this visit or you, don't you fear! {by Mike & Yulo}

With heavy hearts and teary eyes, the group farewell they did bade.

Steph and Beth drove away as Galway in the distance did fade.

Laughing, Nutsy, hanging out,

Guillotine, Aran, drinking stout...

Nothing compares to the memories we made! {by Steph & Beth}

Welcome Home To Me!!!

2007-05-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

I know this is a lot late in getting posted, but...I'm home!! I arrived home on Sunday April 22nd, 10 minutes earlier than expected! The flights went beautifully...I guess in complement to the exact opposite of what I experienced flying into Africa! So my last hours in Tanzania went a little something like this:

Saying lots of goodbyes at the home base, packing up all my stuff, noticing that my bag was heavier than when I came, then realizing I'm trying to cram 13 weeks into one duffel bag! The drive to the airport it rained briefly, and I was unable to see Kili for one last time...oh well, I'll just have to come back :) Checking in, I was reminded once again how amazing the people are here...my bag was way over the weight limit, (32KG), and after about 2 minutes the supervisor said to me, "That's ok, sometimes we just get a feeling about some people" and waived the 50 USD charge! And they allowed me 2 pieces of carry-on instead of the limit of 1! Walking across the tarmac to the plane, I had felt so sure I was ready up until this point, but then realizing I wasn't...I hate to leave this place that has forever earned a special place in my heart. I am slowly realizing how confusing the next few days are going to be as I have to consciously think which language to speak in before saying even a simple "thank you" when the flight attendant handed me a glass of juice (that's not fresh-squeezed or mango mind you), or greeting the person I was seated next to on the plane...reverse culture shock is already setting in. There are things that I'm very sure of though and that are making it easier to come home. Picturing the reunions that will happen later in the day and thinking I've never looked forward to something this much before, and spending my 3-hour layover just reflecting on the past 3 months, trying to wrap my mind around the things I have been a part of for the last 13 weeks is pretty overwhelming, and I will have to keep reminding myself of the bigger picture when I get home--I hope I never let go of the beauty in simplicity and genuineness that is Africa...it has been a truly humbling experience.
One last reminding glow of Africa that gave me a warm fuzzy on the flight was a group of Maasai women (in Western clothes) seated across the aisle and ahead of me. I knew it as soon as I heard them speaking. I remained quiet until I noticed them looking at my jewelry and I started smiling and exchanged a brief greeting in Maa with them...we all started giggling after they got over their shock! It was so wonderful to hear that language again, the sound is so beautiful to me, and I hope I will always be able to identify it...I could even tell when they switched to Swahili! Seeing a beautiful sunrise over Europe, and then journaling once I landed in Amsterdam, and writing down the date, April 22nd, I didn't quite realize it until that moment, but I thought, I arrive home today!! Being picked up at the airport by the man who has become my compass, and then arriving to almost 80 people at my house to welcome me home...that day was probably one of the best of my life! It was just so amazing to feel the love and support so close that I knew was there and kept me going for the past 13 weeks!

The rest of the week that I was home flew by, and I definitely didn't get done near the number of things on my to-do list that I should have, but the quality time spent with loved ones was just right. Some other highlights: being treated to a manicure, pedicure and a haircut (that girl's probably going to need a vacation after working on me!), seeing the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute, and of course dinner at Panera's (although I was careful to avoid the rich stuff given the number that icee mocha did on my stomach the day I arrived home!). A trip to the doctor was also high on the to-do list, and everything looks pretty good as far as the blood clot is concerned. As I write this, I know I'm jumping ahead in the order of things but I just had a repeat doppler ultrasound done on my leg (May 10th) and there's no sign of a clot or residual scarring!! Big relief...God is good!! Looks like I'll be on blood thinners though until after India, given that it's such a long plane ride.

OK, so I was home for a week, then I headed to Ireland to spend some time with college friends!! Stay tuned for an entry on that trip, complete with pictures!! I am now home again for a week and a half and then I leave next Friday, May 18th for India!!!!! Can't remember if I'd put this in an earlier entry, but my volunteer placement is at the Darjeeling Hope School for mentally challenged kiddos, so I'm really looking forward to that.

And, drumroll please...I finally have pictures from Africa!!!! After some problems with the flash drive that I had stored all of my photos on, I was able to get about 1/3 of them recovered and you can see them on a separate site that I've posted links to on the side...enjoy!!

Almost home...

2007-04-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

My last week here has been incredible...and my legs are completely back to normal after the volcano summit, except for a new round of bruises! Tuesday was my last day at Eluai, the Maasai village I have been visiting once a week, that Kitumusote is based in. To say that it was the most perfect day would be an understatement. The weather was the best that I have had in the past 6 weeks here: beautiful sunshine and visibility for miles! Eluai is nestled on the side of a mountain as well, so you can see pretty far. Now my favorite way to travel the 2 1/2 hours to the village from Arusha has become what I lovingly call the "death ride," which is a rented pickup truck (picture a '57 Chevy that's been rusting for the better part of its lifespan and that requires a push to get started), in which we travel over hill and vale, past flat-topped acacia trees, herds of cattle and goats, waving Maasai warriors and kids that are tending to those same herds, holding on for dear life while standing in the bed of the truck, with all the bumps and ruts in the "road"...tough to fully describe the experience, but I tried. Once at the village, I had yet another intensive tutorial in Maa, waiting for the meeting to start, which basically turns into a laugh session every time as both they and myself get the biggest kick out of my feeble attempts at some of the pronunciations! I walked into the meeting to see my name last on the agenda. It was a fairly short meeting up to that point as they did not have much business to discuss, and even though I couldn't understand the language when they got to the last item of business, I couldn't keep the tears from spilling over as I knew it was to say goodbye and thank you. Crying is not very customary in their culture either, so I was very surprised and touched as they tried to comfort me with smiles, holding my hands, and hugs. They disappeared as a group, and then returned in a few minutes singing and dancing in unison as is their custom...the sound of their voices together singing a farewell is something I will not even attempt to describe as it is almost impossible to relate the effect the sound of African voices singing has on me! I could only sit and cry more as they broke out individually to shake my hand, give me a hug, and bestow either a necklace or bracelet from their own neck or wrist onto me as they continued to sing. I have never gotten so many gifts at once before in my life!! Then I got pulled into the dancing and singing!! Now, the Maasai jewelry has little metal doo-dads dangling from everything, which creates the most incredible jingle that I have also fallen in love with...hearing it in sort of a surround-sound effect every week is now one of my favorite sounds in the world. By the end of the meeting, there were smiles all around, I had pulled myself together, I was loaded to the hilt with so many tokens of their appreciation, and I was jingling too! After saying goodbye one more time, we loaded into the back of the death ride to head to the other side of the mountain to visit the director of Kitumusote's boma/village. Rounding the hillside my breath caught in the back of my throat as the Ngorongoro Crater spread out before us in the valley, the sun glinting off Lake Magadi in full glory!! I got to meet the whole family, and received a blessing from the Maasai "don" of the boma, which if I describe it here, would probably just gross people out, but at the time, it was one of the most incredible moments of acceptance and gratitude I have ever experienced! The ride back to Arusha was culminated by a beautiful sunset over the Maasai lands, and I tried to soak it all in as it would be the last time I would look out over it all (this trip).

I have since finished up all my project work at Kitumusote, met up with some friends from Nairobi here in Arusha, and also gotten to see my guide from Kili! After several trips to the market in town, one of which I was on the back of a motorcycle and a Maasai warrior was driving--still wish I'd gotten a picture of that one--I think I'm all set to leave here. All that's left to do is pack and then all I plan to do is relax by the pool at a nearby lodge until it's time to head to the airport. As of Thursday my blood was at it's thinnest ever, and after I put on my stylish compression hose, I should be good to go and spend the next 20 hours on a plane...have no fear, I will be doing ankle pumps and leg kicks till the cows come home, and sleeping is the last thing on my mind!! Really looking forward to seeing everyone when I get home...and please forgive me if I am a little late since my flight into Newark is now arriving an hour later...as they say here, "No hurry in Africa!"

So I picked the title of this entry for 2 reasons...first, I'm up at the crack of dawn writing this because I couldn't sleep due to the fact that I'm really excited to fly out this evening for home. Secondly, and on the other hand, I can't quite believe I'm leaving this place after 13 weeks here. It has become almost home for me, and I will miss it. To have the experiences that I have had, both in Kenya and here, has both reaffirmed what I believe in and also changed me in ways that I probably won't realize fully until long after I am home...it has been an incredible ride, filled with lots of ups and definitely some downs, but they all contributed to the most amazing journey and I wouldn't trade them for anything! Thank you all for your vigilance in keeping up with me through this blog...and for all the love, support, and prayers. I promise to post some pictures when I get home...tutaonana baadaye!!

Steph and the Volcano...

2007-04-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was amazing!! Three other volunteers and I decided to hike a volcano!! We left early Saturday morning, and after a 6-hour drive, the last 4 hours of which was basically offroad and the roughest ever, we arrived at the base of Oldoinyo Lengai, a ~3000-meter active volcano that's part of the Great Rift Valley mountain range. The last really big explosion was in 1961, but the most recent was 1999. We arrived in the late afternoon, and were told we had the option of doing a small hike to a waterfall near our campsite, which I'm so glad we did...to hike alongside a small river with towering canyon walls made of hardened lava on both sides, and then to round a corner and see the most beautiful waterfall that you've been hearing for the past 5 minutes on approach, then to jump into the water and swim underneath of it, have it rain down on you, and then to swim a little bit farther upstream and see a huge gushing torrent coming out of a crevice in the rock wall, that pushes you away from 10 feet downstream, it's so strong...it was the most impromptu hike ever, but it was the most incredible experience!! It was quite a bit hotter in Lengai than Arusha, so to cool off in the river and wash off all the dust and sweat from the long drive, was so refreshing!! After a delicious meal that we scarfed down we were so hungry, we turned in around 8 to sleep for 3 hours, which I was not so successful at because I was so excited!! We got up at 10:30 pm, drove for an hour to the base of the mountain, and started hiking at midnight. The night sky was the clearest ever, and the stars were just awesome!! Our headlamps helped to light the way, as it was pitch black. We took a break about every hour, passing by the different zones of vegetation, then rock and hardened lava, smelling sulfur at about 100 meters from the top, and after a very steep 50-meter section that I sort of felt like Spiderman while scaling it, we arrived at the top at about 5:30 am! As it was very chilly at the top and still dark, we huddled together around one of the steaming fumaroles to keep warm while we waited for the sunrise, even though the smell of sulfur was a little much at times. At about 6, we climbed over the top lip and down into the caldera, which was sort of like stepping onto the moon. There were several pyramid-like formations on the floor of the caldera, and we had to walk through the soft ash, giving a wide birth around the opening that drops down 25 meters, to the east lip of the mountain to watch the sunrise!! To see the sky lighten and get highlighted with pinks and light blues, and then see the huge pink ball of the African sun come over the horizon, cast bright oranges and pinks across the sky and over Lake Natron, the lowest point of the Rift Valley, then slip under the clouds again, while we made our way back over to the west side to climb back down, was incredible--"...as I look down from lofty mountain grandeur, and hear the birds, and feel the gentle breeze...how great Thou art, how great Thou art." Now, when I say it was steep coming up, I mean we were actually dreading going back down...so when we crested the lip to head back down, we were all a bit scared...and when I say we went pole pole sana, I mean the slowest possible pace. We made it back down though, even though my legs and knees were pretty much shot after the first 2 hours of the descent, and I had a few hard falls, but we did it!! To look back at the mountain on the way down in full daylight, we were pinching ourselves that we were even crazy enough to do it in the first place!! We met a couple from Israel back at the campsite that attempted it but had to turn back after a couple of hours due to the grade, but I don't think it even occurred to any of us that turning around was an option! The drive back to Arusha was pretty long and even dustier than the ride in...needless to say, a shower definitely felt pretty good when we got back to home base. I have a lot of scrapes and bruises, and my legs are still sore today and probably will be for the next few days...I look pretty funny doing stairs, standing up and sitting down, and almost fell off the toilet the first time I tried to sit down on it...squat toilets are pretty much out of the question for the rest of the week. For those people that I did Kili with...I'm so glad we didn't do the Breach, summit, and then come back down in the same day...little too much!

So this is my last week here in Tanzania...can't quite believe I've been away for 13 weeks, but I'm really looking forward to coming home. Will try to update everyone at least once more before I leave here...thank you all for your love, support, and prayers...it has truly meant the world to me!!

Easter in Africa...

2007-04-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful Holy Week here...from Palm Sunday where the street vendors that are usually selling batiks and bracelets were carrying around palm fronds instead, to Maundy Thursday when we went out to dinner as a house last supper style, to a drizzly and dreary Good Friday with cross walks being reenacted downtown and everything closing down at 3 pm, and then waking up on Easter Sunday with the bluest sky and lots of sunshine! I went to a community church in Arusha town on Sunday morning, and from the moment I walked in and heard “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” being played, to the time we processed out singing another familiar hymn, the tears didn't stop flowing! It was the most cleansing and renewing experiences, and I found myself reliving all the ups and downs of the past 12 weeks, knowing that God was with me through all of it, and feeling so blessed to be here, and to be living this dream and experiencing all the things that I have so far...it was awesome!
Some highlights from the past week...Thursday night, I got a glimpse of snow on Mount Meru after a severe thunderstorm rolled through the area, and then on Friday I got to see Mount Kilimanjaro at sunrise (yes, I was up for my daily run!) from our home base it was so clear!! I was able to make 2 trips to Eluai Village this week...one for the general meeting on Tuesday, and the other today! It was so amazing to hand out the indentification cards to each member that I had worked on, and I also got another bracelet as a “zawady” (gift)!! I think they're going to be up to my elbows by the time I come home!! We had a big group of volunteers go to the meeting on Tuesday, so we had a bigger vehicle, which was good, since it rained, and we were able to handle the mud better, not getting stuck—yeah!! I also got a hardcore Maa lesson on Tuesday, as there was nothing else to do because of the rain—I pretty much know all the body parts and pieces of jewelry now!! Today was a little bit more of an adventure, as it took 2 daladala trips, and then hitching a ride on the back of a truck, with 12 people jammed in the bed of the truck with 150 seedlings, 12 cases of soda for the store, and objects I couldn't even identify because there were too many people in the way. Driving 45 minutes from the village center like this was quite a trip!! The reason we had 150 seedlings was due to the fact that today Kitumusote had planned an “environmental day,” so we spent a few hours putting cages around each newly planted tree to protect them from the grazing livestock, and putting all 150 seedlings into the newly constructed nursery in the MWCS garden!! I definitely got a little too much sun today, but hey, we got a break from the rain! Another side note...I have been identified as “Hey Maasai!” on the streets twice now, and at the Maasai market yesterday, several people asked if I had married into the Maasai!! Don't ask me where that one came from, I think it may have to do with all the gifted bracelets that have become part of my wardrobe now!!

As for the blood, it's doing good...checked it this week and I should be good to go for my long flight home!! I had to refill my warfarin this week, as I had run out, which was another adventure...having to hit three different pharmacies just to find it took the whole afternoon!! So cheap here though, paying less than 2 USD for a month's supply of tablets, and I didn't even need a prescription!!

It's been a bit sad around the home base lately as more volunteers depart, however we're getting 14 newbies on Saturday! It's tough to say good-bye to people that have been your family for the past 6 weeks, and I find myself making a list of all the things I'm going to miss about this land that I hope to come back to some day...but on the other hand it's very exciting to think of the family and all those I love that I will be seeing in a week's time!! I'm also making a list of the things I'm mentally preparing myself to come back to when I get home...driving on the other side, cell phones, beef, just to name a few. As I experienced a culture shock when I first arrived here, I'm fully expecting another one when I get back home...I have become so accustomed to the “hakuna matata” way of life here!!

Rwanda in Arusha...

2007-04-05T05:26:00.000-07:00

I finally got in. Went to the Arusha International Conference Center (AICC) yesterday, the convention hall built specifically to house the International Criminal Tribunals of Rwanda, handed over my passport to get my visitor's badge, went through security, waited outside one of the courtrooms for about a half hour, and then sat and bore witness to history. To be in the actual town where these trials are taking place, and not far from the country where these atrocities were committed, and to be able to see the justice system in process, was an experience that I still have not quite fully grasped. For anyone that was alive during the Nuremberg trials and was able to sit in on those trials, I'm sure they would have similar sentiments. For me personally, I am not familiar with the specifics of the tribal war in Rwanda...all I basically know about is the genocide, which is what the world heard about in the media. Not sure how much detail I can go into about the actual case I saw, (it was an open session, and the testimony can be found on the web somewhere) but it was definitely one of the higher-ups on trial as the defense's witness that was being cross-examined was the district commander of a main village in Rwanda. He had himself already been on trial and was awaiting the remainder of that trial to be completed in a few months. It brought my knowledge of the genocide to a whole new level, and to hear someone being questioned about a meeting of the top military and government officials believed to be the masterminds, around the same time that the bodies of 200,000 Tutsis and 10 Belgian UN bodyguards were found not long after the Rwandan prime minister was murdered, was unfathomable. The headphones we all got were very helpful with the translation, as the witness only spoke French. Was a bit frustrated with the prosecutor, who was quite arrogant and pompous, and tended to ramble on a bit too much...I can see now why the trials are taking so long and are expected to go on for a while longer. I don't even know anything about law, and I could have summarized in 5 minutes what took him 2 hours of questioning regarding a previous witness' testimony. I was also surprised that the judges were not more prompt in cutting the witness off, who also tended to ramble and not really answer the questions, especially after they explained to him several times the simplicity and appropriatness of a yes or no response. I'm used to, as are most citizens of Western societies, thanks to modern television, seeing a trial take place in an hour, and bing, bang, it's resolved, there's some sort of an outcome. So sitting in on only one witness only being cross-examined, also gave me an appreciation for the process involved here. It was a bit difficult to wrap my mind around how many individuals are actually on trial, as well as the extent of their crimes, that resulted in the deaths of millions of Rwandans. There was some sort of relief and feeling of closure/vindication hearing the prosecutor ask a question regarding a general that had gone to trial, was convicted, and is now sentenced to life in prison. The cost that these tribunals are incurring to the UN as well, I can't even imagine, as I surveyed the courtroom full of translators, 3 judges, at least 2 attorneys on either side, court clerks, and at least 5 people that I had no idea what their purpose was. The whole "internationalness" of it was also something to behold, as so many nationalities were represented by the big players in the courtroom...the bigger picture that the whole world was represented somehow and was bringing this horrendous occurrence in a small African nation to light and to justice was made clear. So it was an amazing experience that I actually got in to the trial in the first place, but to also be able to see the case I did, was something I will not soon forget, and I hope to return next week.

Some other highlights...over the weekend I helped a few of the other volunteers paint two classrooms at the primary school they're teaching at. Now, when I say paint, I mean washing the walls down that were caked with mud, sanding, priming, and then painting...just so you have an idea of the process involved. It was a team effort though, and many hands got the job done in record time, and the rooms look amazing! They said the kids came in on Monday and were absolutely thrilled with their new, bright, clean surroundings! We hope to finish the second classroom this weekend...although I still haven't gotten all the paint off of me yet, so we'll see what saffron yellow looks like on top of ocean blue!

This past Sunday I went with some other volunteers to a Lutheran church in Ngaramtoni, on the other side of Arusha. One of the volunteers works with TUPO (Tumaini Positive Test Club), the same group that we had the soccer game with a few weeks ago. TUPO has a choir that had been invited to sing at the church for Palm Sunday. The church was beautiful...and had a lofty corrugated tin roof that created the most amazing acoustics! My eyes were filled with tears from the very first verse of their song, it was just the most beautiful sound--all of their voices together, and their faces beaming with pride and glowing with faith. The service may have been in Kiswahili, but it's amazing how much you can understand just from tone and voice inflection, and of course watching those around us to make sure we bowed our heads at the right times!

This past Tuesday I got a chance to return to the Eluai Maasai village for the Kitumusote general meeting. I was again blown away by these women, who were initially going to give out 5 interest-free loans to women for the purpose of starting their own small businesses starting in June 2007. The majority of the previous meeting and also this meeting was spent discussing the logistics of this process, and there was much debate, until the chairwoman made the suggestion to table the loans and instead save the money that would have been given out in order to purchase a machine that would allow them to make their own flour, saving them a 2-hour trek to the village center each week, and providing them with the opportunity to begin a small business and earn some income! I know this probably sounds so simplistic as you're reading this, but to sit in on this meeting, watching these women, who have never before been able to make decisions for themselves let alone earn an income, discuss the issues at hand for several hours, and then come to a unanimous decision that was met with applause by all present, was absolutely amazing and so humbling. It makes me so grateful for all the rights that I do have and enjoy, that I just assumed when I was born and didn't have to work for. I'm learning so much from these people, and I will forever be grateful.

Now to the big invitation...my arrival home is fast approaching (!!!!!!!!!!!!!). For all those that I hold near and dear to my heart (aka everyone reading this blog), I invite you all to an open house being put on by my very gracious and generous parents, the day I get home, that will be held at my house. So Sunday, April 22nd, from 3-6 pm, all are welcome to stop in and give me a hug, eat lots of food, and help keep me awake so I can stay up to a decent hour in my anticipated jet-lagged state!! Please contact my parents at paulvarnold@mindspring.com to RSVP, or with any questions or directions if needed. Again, anyone and everyone is welcome!!

Happy Easter to you all!! Hallelujah, He is risen!!

Maasai, Black Panthers, and Mud...

2007-03-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

I'm becoming Maasai!! This past weekend, I went on safari to a remote Maasai village, perched right on the Kenyan border of Tanzania, called Lesoiti...and I had an amazing experience!! Especially after Friday, when we didn't have water at the home base for a 24-hour period, it was so good to get away...but it sure makes you appreciate turning the handle on the faucet and have water come out of it all the more! Again I say, the staff here is amazing, carrying water in for us and doing 110% above the norm. But I digress...the safari began on Saturday, and was led by the Maasai warrior I work with at Kitumusote, as this safari is one of the small business projects he has started to bring income into the village and share Maasai culture at the same time. It took about 2 1/2 hours to reach the village, with a stop at a Maasai market along the way. We arrived to children running to greet us, and the women of the village singing and dancing, which we joined in with and boy, did they showed us how it's done, I'm here to tell ya! If you've ever seen pictures of Maasai women with the large beaded collars around their necks, and the way they dance sends the collars bouncing up and down...well, I learned how to do that, and the secret...it's all in the shoulders! So then we got a chance to sing and explain to them the significance of the songs in Western cultures...there has never been a better rendition of the first verse of "Amazing Grace" and "Happy Birthday" in the history of Maasai, I'm sure of it!! We also went on a hike with several Maasai warriors, got to try our hand at spear throwing, and tasted the most amazing berries...it was like fruit roll-ups growing on a bush! We came back to the village just as the sun was starting to go down, and the warriors prepared the highlight of the weekend...the ceremonial goat slaughter!! Yes, that's right, I witnessed a traditional goat slaughter (although I've never seen one before, so it's my best guess that this one was traditional). The goat is suffocated, then skinned, then the insides were taken out, leaving all the blood in the carcass, which acts as a bowl, from which the warriors dip into and partake of the blood, inviting us to do the same...only one in our group did so, and it was not me, let me assure all of you. I did opt for the goat skin bracelet, made for me by one of the warriors, which I'm still wearing as I type this. It's blessed and is supposed to bring good fortune...we'll see. After the sun set, we got to dance again, only this time with the warriors! I have never experienced anything like it in my life...the sound that all of them made, and seeing 21 silhouettes around the fire, under the clearest night sky and the brightest half moon...chanting and jumping, it was incredible, and they go until 2-3 in the morning!! (I only lasted until 10 mind you, when I crawled into my tent between the cow dung enkajis/houses). Sunday we got to go inside one of the enkajis, and once our eyes adjusted to the darkness inside, I was surprised how roomy they are! Right before we left, I got a chance to learn how to make a bracelet with beads Maasai style, and what each of the colors means in their culture, i.e. white symbolizes clouds and they wear mostly white ornamnentation during the dry season to bring on the rains. As we rolled away from the village on a dirt path only a Maasai could find, I was thrilled to be able to see and be a part of, if only for a weekend, the culture that I am working so closely with on my project.

So by now you're probably wondering when Black Panthers are going to come into the mix...Monday I got to hang with one of the prominent former leaders of the Black Panther Party. After being charged with the offense of carrying a shotgun across state lines in the U.S. in the late 60's, Pete O'Neal and his wife Charlotte fled the country, ending up in Arusha, Tanzania. They have continued the work they started in Kansas City (minus the gun-toting) by founding the United African Alliance Community Center, which teaches classes, sports, and arts, emphasizing free expression, to local students. The compound is absolutely beautiful, and we had a down-home cooked meal (BBQ chicken and the works)! It was almost surreal hearing him speak one minute in his southern drawl and the next speaking Swahili to the students. I don't necessarily agree with him politically or philosophically, but it was an amazing opportunity to meet him and discuss current affairs with him, one of the last leaders of the Party still alive, living in self-imposed exile for the last 32 years in Arusha. Even his dog "Blackie" has dredlocks (a sign of revolution)!!

OK, now for the mud...Tuesday I went on a fieldtrip!! Every week, Kitumusote has a general committee meeting in Eluai, which is the home village of the organization's director, located in Monduli District, about a 2-hour drive west-ish of Arusha. The village is nestled right into the hillside of Monduli mountain, and it was absolutely breathtaking, both the drive into the village and the views from the village itself looking down into the valley, which is basically Ngorongoro Crater on the other side of the mountain!! I got to see the store and classroom that has been built for the Maasai Women's Cooperative Society, as well as the vegetable garden and the 40-some new trees that have been planted as a result of the reforestation project. I also got to meet those in charge of the store, the garden, the tree-planting, and the teachers of the English, Swahili, and math classes. The meeting was well-attended, and the director translated/paraphrased everything for me. But the best moment was hearing all of the women in attendance introduce themselves in fluent Swahili, (and participate in the meeting in fluent Swahili), and then see 2 of the women absolutely beaming with pride as they introduced themselves in English!! I was happy to assume the role of photographer, snapping away like crazy to get pictures for the brochures, newsletter, and then came the identification card pictures. Kitumusote has agreed to produce ID cards for all members, which everyone was buzzing about as soon as that particular agenda item was introduced. To watch these women primp and pass around different pieces of jewelry, or get their large dangling beaded earrings just so, in order to have their picture taken, was absolutely wonderful, and I couldn't help but smile at their excitement! The pride that all of the members of the organization take in themselves and their community, wanting to learn and become educated, but maintaining their culture at the same time, is something I'm so grateful to witness and share with them. So the dirt road to the village is quite bumpy, but navigable, unless it rains, which it did during the meeting. We made it back down the mountain, getting about halfway to the main village of Monduli Juu, when we got hopelessly stuck in the mud. We did give a valiant effort to push the car along, for which I got sprayed with mud from the spinning tires, but it proved to be too much for us in the end. We had to abandon the car, and walk about an hour and a half to the village center, in mud the consistency of clay, having to stop and kick it off my shoes every 5 steps because it looked like I had platform or high-heeled shoes on. Once there, we hitchhiked a ride on the back of a pick-up truck, travelling at an alarmingly fast speed, weaving in and out of livestock being brought in from grazing for the day, gratefully disembarking at the depot where we could get a daladala (small bus) back to Arusha. The stares I encountered from nearly every person we drove past, with a white girl, a Maasai warrior, and 2 other Africans dressed in executive attire, riding in the back of this pickup into town, brought my experience as a minority in a foreign country to a whole new level, and was quite hysterical! I hope to return for the weekly meetings, as the women have guaranteed that under their tutelage, I'll be fluent in Maa by the time I leave next month. However, with the rainy season upon us, I think I'll also be the best mud hiker this side of the Great Rift Valley and will have a host of other tales to share with each trek to the village!!

So there you have it...my adventures thus far...can't believe I'm almost finished with my 3-week orientation period...my free afternoons are looking very good right now!!

Busy, busy, busy...

2007-03-23T01:44:00.000-07:00

OK, so I know it's been forever since I last blogged, and I apologize for the long hiatus. I had a few extra minutes after I was finished my placement this morning, so I thought I would take advantage of it and update you all on my first 2 weeks in Tanzania...Warning: please allow yourself some extra time to get through this one, as it's kinda long...

Home Base
I mentioned before that my new home is like a walled and gated compound, located in Tengeru, about 10 minutes from Arusha town center, and a short walk to the village center of Tengeru. The compound consists of the main house, an eating area under a lofty thatched roof structure connected to the kitchen, and then a 3-story building with 3 rooms on each floor, with all rooms opening out onto an open-air landing on each floor. Every room is able to house 4 people, and each has its own bathroom. The bathrooms have western-style facilities (toilets seats too!), however due to the frequent power cuts and water shortages, the water is usually cold and I have learned the art of the "bucket bath," which involves filling up a bucket and using that to wash yourself with. With the regularity of the power cuts, we usually have to run on generator in the home base about every other day for a couple of hours. I myself have 3 other roommates, and am currently residing on the top bunk, and let me tell you, I am the picture of grace trying to get in and out of my bed while maneuvering around the mosquito net...oh well, a couple more bruises never hurt anyone right? Home base sits in the foothills of Mount Meru, Kilimanjaro's sister mountain, and the views are incredible!! We're basically settled right in the middle of a tropical rain forest, everything is so lush and green. I've been told you can see Kili from the compound on really clear days, but I haven't spotted it yet from our compound. Sunsets and sunrises are absolutely amazing, which I'm up for every morning as I've been walking/running at 6 AM sharp with a few of the other volunteers! It's taken 2 weeks, but I'm able to keep up now without huffing and puffing too much, as the altitude is a little bit more here than it was in Nairobi. I'm still getting used to having my bed made every morning, buffet for each meal, and just the incredible staff that can't do enough for you. There are about 3-4 people working in the kitchen, 2 housekeepers, 2 drivers, and 3 office staff plus our project coordinator, but everyone can do and will do anything that needs to be done--truly the hardest working group of people I've ever met. I've never had so many "mamas" in my life either! Any sign of illness, they're on top of it, bringing food or just being present to hold a hand (hakuna matata--I haven't been sick yet, these are only observations). Although with 30+ people living in community, any cold or virus spreads like wildfire, as I did pick up a cold when I first got here. The staff are also so patient with us as we struggle to learn Swahili, so I'm learning more every day! Meals...let's just say my jaw drops three times a day!! The amount of food they set out, the variety...incredible after the last 7 weeks! Rice, potatoes, lots of vegetables, fish and chicken (no meat with the threat of Rift Valley Fever still in this area), fresh-squeezed juices, even salads because they have a sterilizer(!!), and the best part--baked goods because they have an oven...rolls, cobblers, just amazingly good eats all around! There is a 24-hour guard, and despite how it sounds, I feel completely safe, they just take every precaution. We started out at 36 volunteers by the time all of the new group arrived, maximum occupancy of the home base is 40, so it was pretty full. We currently have 33 volunteers now, with 3 more departing over the weekend, so we'll be down to 30 by Sunday. It has been a little difficult to find a quiet spot to myself, and it was a little overwhelming trying to get to know everyone the first 2 weeks, but I think I've settled into a routine. The other volunteers are from all over, Switzerland, Greece, Australia, UK, but mostly the U.S. and Canada. The oldest is in his 60's and the youngest just graduated from high school, so there's quite a range of ages as well as backgrounds...in my group alone we have a dog trainer that was a kickboxing world champion, all the way to a forensic art therapist, and a couple that's interested in starting a microfinancing agency in the area (giving loans out to people for independent small business development)! The shortest stay in our new group is 3 weeks, and the longest is 10 weeks. I'm considered one of the newbies, but I've been in Africa the same amount of time as the volunteers that have been here the longest, which took a little bit of time to adjust to, as the other members of my group were still getting accustomed to the "culture shock" when I have had 7 weeks to get used to the lifestyle here. Don't worry, for those of you that know the game...Nutsy has already been introduced and they absolutely love it here (and given the frequency and duration of the power cuts here, card games are a popular pasttime, just played by headlamp and flashlight)!! We even have 4 resident turtles roaming the compound...only one has a name, Eleanor, and she is the largest. The weather has fluctuated so much in the past 2 weeks that it's hard to identify a pattern...usually mostly cloudy at some point in the day with a shower or downpour in the late afternoon, nights are pretty clear and the stars are amazing...I didn't know they sat that far down on the horizon!! The rainy season is officially here, and it's been in the 80's pretty much every day, cooling down at night after the rain. I have also seen my first rainbow since arriving in Tanzania!! It was huge! The biggest I have ever seen--it didn't even fit in my camera lens!!

My Project
Cross Cultural Solutions, which is the company I'm volunteering with for the 6 weeks I'm here, is absolutely amazing!! They are the epitome of organization compared to what I came from in Nairobi. Our first 3 weeks are so scheduled that there's barely enough time to go to the bathroom (hence the long hiatus between blogs)! Every morning is spent on project, which we are transported to first thing in the morning, and then picked up and brought back to home base for lunch. The afternoons these first 3 weeks are then focused on some sort of orientation activity, which could be Swahili lessons, a lecture on medical issues and symptoms of malaria, traveller's diarrhea, etc., community discovery (where we're dropped off in the village and have to find different things like the post office or how to get a bus), team building and/or cultural learning activities. After these first 3 weeks are over, we'll have free time in the afternoon, which most people use to go back to work on various projects, usually at one of the orphanages, which I can't wait to visit. My particular project that I've been placed at is an absolutely incredible organization called Kitumusote, which means "we have discovered" in Maa, the language of the Maasai tribe. The Maasai culture is probably the most misunderstood in all Africa, but yet in Tanzania, is used the most often as an iconographical image for the country. The director and co-founder of the organization is a 26-year old Maasai warrior, a leader of his village, is trilingual, speaking English, Swahili, and obviously Maasai fluently, and is the only one in his village that speaks English fluently. Kitumusote was started in 2004 by him and a few other Maasai youths, and was just registered with the Tanzanian government as a non-governmental organization this February. Their main goal is to ensure the sustainability of the Maasai culture in Tanzania (as the Maasai tribe can only be found in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania) through teaching conservation of indigenous resources and enviromental awareness, as well as facilitating women's empowerment through skill-building for income earning, as women are the main work force in the Maasai boma/village. Kitumusote has started the Maasai Women's Cooperative Society (MWCS), does a number of things...one of which is to hold classes for Swahili currently and hopefully English in the future. They also have classes to educate villagers on health issues such as female genital mutilation and HIV/AIDS. 97% of Maasai women and 75% of Maasai men are illiterate, so the fact that they are learning to read and write one of the national languages of the country means a lot to their survival as a tribe. Maasai have historically been herders of cattle, but recent years has brought disease and herd numbers had decreased, which means depleted food and income. As a result, women had been cutting down trees and burning them to make charcoal and sell it at market for money. Tanzanian forests have been depleted by 30% in the last ten years. So Kitumusote and the MWCS have started a general goods store as well as a vegetable garden in the village not only to provide food for the community but also to raise money and teach business knowledge and simple agricultural techniques to the women for skill-building. Kitumusote has also started a reforestation program, to replenish the trees lost to the above mentioned practice. And last but not least, a previous CCS volunteer with a business background was key in developing the Maasai cultural safari, in order to increase awareness of the Maasai culture (huge tourism demand), but also to provide a source of income for the entire village. So this is an incredible organization, and I am placed there with one other volunteer, and we are only the second round of volunteers the organization has received from CCS, so it's a relatively brand new project. The Kitumusote office is just outside of Arusha town, and is basically a rented one-floor house. There is a small office with a computer which we spend most of the morning on. This week and last were spent working on the January-February newsletter, both an English and a Swahili version, and we have also started working on updating the brochure and business cards for the organization, now that they have attained NGO status. Next week we'll hopefully get to go to the actual villages of Lesoit and Eluai, to attend a Kitumusote general meeting as well as the first MWCS class to be held in the Lesoit village. Just to give an idea of how involved this is, both villages are about a 2-hour bus ride followed by a 2-hour hike just to get to them. On a lighter note, I'd just like to share how hilarious it is that I came into this placement with the predisposed notion that Maasai were mainly villagers out in the vast fields of Africa, far removed from all modernities, and how now I do a double take every time I see a Maasai warrior (easy to spot as they're dressed in customary red plaid robes, with the traditional earlobe holes and multiple beaded jewels) sitting at a computer in an internet cafe in town emailing, then fumbling in the folds of his robes, next to his machete and spear, for a ringing cell phone! Still getting used to that! I'd also like to note how proud I am of myself for learning some Maa, as with the frequent power cuts, we sometimes have a little time on our hands, and venture outside to hang with the guards (also Maasai), and any other tribe members that have stopped by on their way to town for a visit, so we have nothing else to do but learn their language in order to communicate. How funny it is now to walk down the street, greet a Maasai, and then watch their jaw drop and then break into a huge smile as they hear their mother tongue coming out from a white person...I love it!! There are so many projects the director has listed he wants to accomplish, so I will have my work cut out for me the next 4 weeks. If you would like to check out the website and within the next few weeks, my efforts on the January-February newsletter, feel free to do so at www.kitumusote.org

Extracurricular Activities
So a lot of the things I've been up to in the afternoons has been organized as part of our orientation, but have been soooo interesting and worthwhile. They have also been very humbling as well...one of our fieldtrips was to a "nursing home" that is another project that CCS places volunteers at. St. Lucia's was started as a home-visit program for those infected with the virus, and in 2004, the current facility was built to take in orphans and women afflicted with the disease. The home currently cares for about 14 orphans and 3 women with HIV/AIDS, one of which had just been taken to the hospital the night before so there were only 2 women there when we visited. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep the tears from spilling over as we walked into the women's room, to see one of them on a mattress on the floor, because she would roll out of an actual bed, and one of the caregivers sitting her up in bed so she could see us, as she was physically unable to, her body had been so ravaged by the disease, she was no longer able to feed herself or even speak, completely incontinent and unable to move. The other woman was bedridden as well, her legs so swollen she was no longer able to walk on them...the pain so bad she cannot sleep at night. The "tour" of the home continued to the girls' room, and then the boys' room, where as many as 4 children share a bunk. Then to see the shelves of plastic bins with a child's name on each one, that in a normal day care would hold toys or games or crafts, but in this case, were full of anti-retroviral drugs and other treatments the children were taking for the immunosuppressed disease of the month. All 14 have full-blown AIDS, but the only visual evidence you can find of the disease are what their bodies couldn't fight off...the scars of ulcers covering their backs, arms, faces, and legs, otherwise, they ran around, wanted to be held, loved to have their picture taken, and were just normal kids. Several fell asleep in our arms as we sat and talked about the cultural causes of AIDS, like the continued practice of polygamy, and how a woman will be beaten if she even suggests her husband use a condom, and how poverty is killing many more than the actual disease. Whether it's because those with the disease can't afford proper nutrition, or the woman who has to prostitute herself in order to make money after market day because she didn't sell enough wares to buy food for her children, or the young girl that is preyed on by the "pimps" in the village when she doesn't have enough money to buy lunch at school. We also discussed the stigma, and how important it is that the country's leaders not shy away from talking about the disease. As in Uganda, it was no secret what the last president died of, but the country decided to make it front page news and take the opportunity to educate its citizens about the disease. We finished by talking about the need for empowerment, and continued education. I was struck by the volunteers from the community at the facility...those people that worked a full-time job, earning so little and having a family to support at home, but were there regardless, spending a few hours doing whatever was necessary, whether it was to wash out a load of cloth diapers and clothes saturated with diarrhea, or holding a child down while his/her medication was given to her, or making a small purse out of banana leaves to sell and earn money for the facility. So honorable and I learned so much about service from them in just the few hours I was there. Good news though, a new facility is being built with funds that a previous volunteer had raised, and the new home will be much larger, with a field to grow vegetables to provide income and proper nutrition for those the home cares for. So several of our volunteers have been working hard to get the place ready so they can move into their new facility.
Last week we had a rather exciting thing happen...we actually got to go see the President of Tanzania address a crowd of several thousand at a nearby park. Word was that he was coming on Wednesday, but that got cancelled due to "national matters," but then on Friday morning, the community was buzzing with the news that he was coming that afternoon. He first stopped at a local hospital that was being built to lay some bricks down, then on to the park. After waiting for about 2 hours in the blistering hot sun, it was an amazing thing to watch hundreds of people lining the streets to wave at him as the motorcade of SUVs passed, then run across the field to get a good spot to see him deliver his message. I thought of the fact that if this were a presidential speech back home, it would definitely not be held in such a vulnerable location, there would be secret service all over the place, only supporters would be allowed in to the event, and there would be a line several hours long waiting to get through the metal detectors. No metal detectors here (the sound system was even housed on the back of a pick-up truck), and probably plenty of people in the crowd that disagreed with him and didn't vote for him, but everyone was so respectful and there was not one incident of disarray. One of the CCS office staff translated the whole speech for us, and as his excellency made his way back to his motorcade from the platform where he gave his speech, I almost got to shake hands with him I was so close!!
Not so exciting, but still has kept me busy, is exploring the town of Arusha, which in comparison to Nairobi, is like comparing Wilmington to Philadelphia. I have even found my oasis...a hotel lodge not far from the home base with an outdoor pool, with lounge chairs that look out at Mount Meru, and if you walk around the lodge to the other side, holds a spectacular view of Kilimanjaro on a clear day!! Kicking myself for not packing a swimsuit, but have improvised! This past Tuesday I participated in a football (soccer) game: CCS versus TUPO, another project that utilizes CCS volunteers. TUPO stands for Tumaini Positive Test Club, and is a support program for those that are HIV positive. There is quite a history I've been told with this rivalry, as TUPO has always cleaned the floor with the CCS team in the past, so we were headed into the game with the mantra of "Let's just have fun." Well, we beat them, 3-1, with the help of a few ringers, but all involved had a blast and in the end the score didn't matter so much, compared to the message they sent just by being out there and playing 110%...having AIDS doesn't mean you have to stop living and being active. The Arusha Times even covered the game, so we should be in tomorrow's (Saturday) paper!! Wednesday was an organized field trip to Moshi, and started with a beautiful hike to Ndogo waterfalls, in the heart of the Chagga tribe's land. The Chagga believe in what's called "zero-grazing" which involves keeping the livestock in pens all day to keep them from eating important crops that the Chagga use for food, so they will actually go out and cut grass and other plants and bring them back to the cows and goats to eat! We also visited a traditional Chagga house, where the livestock share sleeping areas with their owners, to protect them from raiding parties from other tribes. Can't imagine this happening in the farming communities of my hometown! The Chagga cows have it made!! We did get to see the Chagga tunnels, which were created years ago to hide out in when other tribes would conduct raids on them. I even got to crawl through one, and let me tell you, imagining 50 people plus all their livestock crowded into a space that I had to crawl through on my hands and knees at some points was pretty unbelieveable! Had a close encounter with a bat that promptly made us turn around and head out the way we came, and at a much faster pace, despite the fact that I couldn't see 2 inches in front of me it was so dark!! We did some shopping in the afternoon, and visited an actual batik artist's studio...fascinating how they're made by waxing the cloth and dying it in stages, starting with the lightest color. Driving home, the clouds that had been hanging around all day finally cleared just enough for us to see Kilimanjaro!! In a way, I'm kind of glad I didn't pick a placement in Moshi, because I wouldn't want the mystique and thrill I get every time I see that mountain to wear off due to familiarity. And I will close with what we did just yesterday, which was attempt to get in to the International Criminal Tribunals of the Rwandan genocide. The Tanzanian government specifically built a conference center to house these hearings that are expected to go on for years, and will later use as a convention center. Kind of sad to think that development like this has to come as a result of an atrocity committed against thousands of people. We were unable to get in to the hearings due to the fact that they had closed both sessions, which is what happens when the witness wants to maintain some shred of anonymity for fear of community or government rebuttal, and opts to close the hearing to the public. From what I hear, this happens pretty regularly and it is very difficult to get into a session, but we'll probably try again next week, as I think this is an important part of history that I have the chance to witness. I can only imagine how hard it is for these individuals to experience what they have, then get up the courage to do what they're doing in a system that doesn't protect them as well as what we're used to back home.
OK, I thank those of you that have stuck it out this far and have read my entire entry...sorry again for the hiatus and the length, but want to keep all of you updated on my latest Tanzanian experiences!!

I'm Back!!

2007-03-10T05:40:00.000-08:00

I'm back in Tanzania, and it's more beautiful than I remembered it!! My morning started early in Nairobi, still dark out, but made it to the airport, got through customs, security, and to the gate in less than 45 minutes. Amazing...wow how complicated we've made things in the rest of the world! So my flight was about 50 minutes, on a twin engine craft, only about 30 passengers, and no, I didn't have to hold a goat on my lap surprisingly! The highlight of the trip was descending into Kilimanjaro International Airport, still well above the clouds, with Mount Meru to my right, and Mount Kilimanjaro to my left. And we were only flying at about 17000 feet, 2000 below where I was standing on the roof of Africa almost 3 years ago now!! It was absolutely incredible to see the glacier fields glistening in the sun again on the highest mountain of the African continent just 5 degrees south of the equator...breathtaking!!
Got through customs after picking up my bag, which was not soaked in detergent this time, and was met by the CCS rep right outside the arrivals terminal...how wonderful it was not to have to spend 2 hours washing out my bag, and actually being picked up by the company I'm volunteering with...so far so good I'm thinking! Both the CCS rep and the driver were very impressed with my Kiswahili, and had a great time chatting with them on the 30 minute drive to the CCS home base in Arusha...they're the first Africans I've met from the Chaga tribe!! Kili has been shrouded in clouds all day, as it's pretty overcast, but the countryside surrounding Arusha is more beautiful than I remembered it.

Home base is amazing...I feel like I'm at the Ritz Carlton compared to the house I stayed at in Nairobi. Breakfast was waiting for me when I arrived this morning, and lunch was spectacular...chicken with rice, beans, guacamole, vegetables, and fresh juice. There will be a total of 36 volunteers by the time tomorrow rolls around, with new volunteers arriving every month. So it's basically like a compound you could say. The main city center of Arusha is about a 10 minute dale dale ride, which is comparative to the matatu of Nairobi, and I'm just here in the internet cafe with a few other volunteers who are showing me around town. Am sooo excited about getting started at my project the more I talk to the volunteers who have been here awhile, as it's a newer project and I will be one of the first placed there. Most of all I'm excited to experience Tanzania as a volunteer rather than a tourist here to climb the mountain and go on safari...the community here is just so amazing and I can't wait to get more into it!

Last week in Kenya...

2007-03-09T04:50:00.000-08:00

Can't believe that this is my last day in Kenya...(this trip). I can remember back to the first 2 weeks here, and how 7 weeks seemed like forever!! So an update on my last week here goes a little something like this...

Saturday was the first time I really got to play tourist. A few of the other volunteers and myself went to Karen, the posh suburb of Nairobi named after the famous author who wrote Out of Africa, and my goodness it was beautiful. Just imagine the most beautiful garden you've ever seen, then triple the size of all the plants, flowers, and trees, and then multiply it until you have one after the other, after the other, lining the quietest streets of Nairobi, and you've got it. Our goal of going to Karen was the Kazuri bead shop, which is the most wonderful place ever. It's a whole compound of clay pots, beads, and jewelry-making, from the processing of the clay that comes from the heart of Kenya, to the giant kiln rooms, to the glazing factory, to the jewelry making workshops. All employees are single mothers, and the working conditions were just amazing--so clean and well ventilated, lots of light, and everyone was more than happy to let us watch over their shoulders as they painted beads or threw a pot on the wheel (I was unsuccessful in getting them to let me try it--bummer). It was the best morning ever though!! I'm so glad I got to see it! That afternoon, we delivered the shoes to the orphanage that one of the other volunteers had raised the money for and we purchased from the Kawangware market. I have never seen children so happy to get new shoes before! They were absolutely ecstatic!! Their smiles went ear to ear, and they mobbed us trying to show off how smart they looked in their new shoes!

Sunday two of the other volunteers and I took the older kids at the orphanage out for a treat at the local restaurant. It was great fun and we taught them how to play some card games. I got most of my souvenir shopping done over the weekend as well...whew! Monday was community football at the orphanage, and we actually had 4 new people from the community there--the kids loved it!! Monday night was my first experience at the cinema here in Kenya: went to go see "The Last King of Scotland," which was about the corrupt and brutal presidency of Amin in the neighboring country of Uganda back in the 1970's. Very heavy film, but did an excellent job of portraying his rise and reign at the helm of the country. And it was only $5 (US) for the ticket, popcorn, soda, and a candy bar...unreal I know!!

Tuesday I got to teach English at Hidden Talents!! And it was the same class I had last week, so they shouted my name as soon as I walked in the door!! The lesson was on adjectives, so I started out by describing someone famous from the US, and they got it after the third adjective...Arnold Schwarzenegger!! It went sooo well, and gave me some much needed confidence about teaching, for which I have no real training, as I'm sure the bulk of the projects in Peru will involve some aspect of teaching English.

Wednesday was siku ya sharehe at the orphanage!!! Oh, that's "party day" for all those non-Swahili speakers out there :) All of the goodies I have received thus far via care packages were put to good use, as we did face painting, played with Play-Doh, had a sports day (three-legged races, sack races, every kind of relay imaginable), and two rounds of water balloon fights!! Filling 144 water balloons, and then gone in under 5 minutes, twice, was quite the experience! I was soaked by the end of the day, and it was awesome!! I have never heard these kids laugh like this before, and when we handed out candy and a prize to each one of them, you would have thought we gave them the world! It was the best day ever!! Boy was I tired that night...I think I was in bed mentally by 8 PM.

Yesterday, Thursday, was my final showdown with FedEx...I had placed numerous phone calls to them over the past few weeks and even made several trips into the city to their main office, as the package containing my INR self-test machine, which I will need for the rest of the year to keep track of my own blood levels since I don't know what the medical conditions will be in all of the places I am going this year, has been stuck in customs at Nairobi airport since February 18th. Long story short, after over an hour at their main office, a major breakdown complete with tears on my part, and basically demanding that I get the machine that night or else, it was delivered to me at 8 pm at the very nice Italian restaurant where the other volunteers and I went to celebrate my last week here. Again, I have a new appreciation for the United States Postal Service and the fact that pretty much any building in the US has an actual address to deliver things to, as the houses here have no physical address. I don't really lose my patience too often, but I think I definitely had God covering his ears and eyes yesterday...hopefully he was busy elsewhere at the time...

So last night I spent cramming on how to work my new blood machine, and after cringing the whole time I read the chapter on how to fingerstick yourself, and almost upchucking as I practiced operating the automatic lancer that has the most sickening clicking sound ever (for those of you not familiar with my absolute dread of needles going anywhere near my veins, now you know), I was 75% confident that I could do it! Today I got to try it out for real at the doctor's office, who said my hands weren't shaking too bad, as I had my follow-up appointment today. My numbers are good, and the ones the lab got matched the ones on my machine, and after picking up enough warfarin to last me for the next 6 weeks, I'm all set to go!! Tonight will be a packing frenzy, and tomorrow morning at 8 AM I will fly out of Nairobi, arriving in Arusha, Tanzania at 8:50 AM. I will keep you all posted once I get settled there, and hopefully I will write my next blog from an internet cafe that has a window with a direct view of Mount Kilimanjaro!!

Week #6...learn something new every day

2007-03-02T09:36:00.000-08:00

Six down, one more to go and I can't even believe that I move on to Tanzania a week from Saturday!! Time is really flying, but I just wanted to update you all on my past week and how much I learned these past couple of days...Community football (soccer) at the orphanage and swimming were both cancelled on Monday due to rain...football was instead held on Wednesday--had a blast...those kids really give you a run for your money!! The GI system is back to normal, thank goodness. Tuesday was the day I learned how grateful I am for the American postal service...picking up 2 packages in the city took pretty much all day, between customs, the bank, and waiting in several lines at the actual post office and getting numerous stamps on various forms and paperwork...aye caramba!! But the contents were well worth it...my housemates are loving American junk food between the Girl Scout cookies and Hershey's chocolate (as the packages were for Valentine's Day), and we're planning a whole carnival/party day at the orphanage for next week with the other goodies!! Wednesday I got my blood drawn at the hospital, and my levels are right where they should be...just have to keep plugging away with the daily warfarin, and I return to the doctor on Friday the 9th, right before I fly out to Tanzania, with a 6-week supply of blood thinners and hopefully an INR machine (which is still stuck at customs). Thursday I returned to Hidden Talents, the school I've been visiting once a week, and learned that I should stick to teaching science, as the art lesson we tried to teach did not go so well. Portraits can be a tricky thing sometimes...

Today was simply fantastic, wonderful, awesome, one of my best days here so far! I started the day at Dagoretti Youth Center, a school where one of our volunteers is currently teaching. On Friday mornings, they have what's called PPI, or pastoral programming initiative. Basically, each class has it's own praise and worship hour!! Picture 30 kids crammed into a 12 foot by 12 foot classroom, multiplied by 8, one room right after the other, singing "Awesome God" with African chanting, drumming, and dancing and you've got it!! We could hear the kids from the main street and as we walked the quarter mile to the school! It was awesome!! I have some great video I can't wait to share when I get home! We then met with one of the women from the community that lives not too far from the school, and it was just amazing to sit and have fresh mango juice with this woman who was so generous, gracious, and welcoming, teaching us some Kiswahili, and sharing her experiences and life story. She reminded me that even though not every African has AIDS, every African is affected by it. Both her sister and brother have died from the disease, and her sister's two children are both infected. She was so inspiring as she relayed to us her faith in God, and the fact that she has seen conditions improve as the media, schools, and churches all come together to educate society about the disease. I then went with another volunteer to the Bridgeway Centre, also in Dagoretti, which is a community-based organization whose main objective is to empower adults, orphans, and vulnerable children in the surrounding slum of Kawangware, through education on basic life skills, vocational training, income generating activities training, and HIV/AIDS education, focusing on behavior modification and capacity building. It was absolutely amazing to talk with the people in charge of this program, who have taken over at the grassroots level where the non-governmental organizations have failed to reach the communities most affected by poverty and AIDS. And then as we were leaving, we met one of the "beneficiaries" of the center, who started coming to the center as a teen-age orphan, and is now completing her degree in business management and administration with the help of a community sponsor, and hopes to land a good job with a bank, and then become a sponsor herself to another vulnerable child. The positive cycles created by this one young woman are incredible when I consider what I have seen here...the environment that she has come from where poverty and a viscious disease eat away at the souls, hopes and dreams of most of the people I pass by walking the streets of the slums each and every day. She is just one of many shining lights in this community as a result of this incredible center and I was blessed to have met her and the people at the center, even just briefly.

I finished the day by trying my hand at bargaining at the huge market in Kawangware, which is held every Tuesday and Friday. You name it, it's probably for sale...reminded me a great deal of Cowtown, for those folks at home, except for the huge tables piled high with sardines...? Another volunteer had raised funds from her coworkers back home, and had decided to purchase shoes for all the kids at the orphanage. Bartering for about 30 pairs of shoes was quite exhausting! Key points I learned: never appear too interested, always mention you don't want the "mzungu" or white person's price, as it's usually double, and finally, walking always helps to bring the price down by at least 200 shillings. But after 2 1/2 hours, we walked out of there Kikuyu style with the bags containing 30 pairs of shoes slung over our shoulders! It was great!!

And the big news of the week...I have received my placement for Arusha, Tanzania, where I will be going next, switching programs and going from i-to-i to Cross Cultural Solutions. I have been placed with an NGO (non-governmental organization) called Kitumosote, which means "we have discovered" in Kiswahili. I will be working with the Maasai people of Tanzania, the main objectives of the program being to facilitate women's empowerment and educational opportunities, as well as strengthening the Maasai people's capacity for self-determination through education and training, in the main tenets of their existing culture, which involve conserving indigenous resources and creating environmental awareness. Sounds like a lot, but I'm really excited to get started and learn more about this culture of tribal warriors!! This was also my first choice, and I will be among the first CCS volunteers at this placement!

When in Kenya...

2007-02-26T01:31:00.000-08:00

...CLIMB MOUNT KENYA!! This past weekend was fantastic!! Three of the other volunteers and I decided to head to Mount Kenya, which is about a 4-hour drive from Nairobi. We stayed at the Mount Kenya Hostel, located at the base of the second highest mountain in Africa, which was beautiful in it's simplicity, rural setting, and genuine hospitality of its owners. Saturday we hiked from the entrance gate to the national park, up to the Met Station, which is at 3000 meters. The scenery was amazing and the weather was perfect--lots of sunshine with cool breezes. Bamboo forests, towering pines, streams of glacier water running down them, hearing the birds and occasional monkey, and always on the lookout for an elephant to saunter out of the brush (never did see one though). After resting at the station, which is the first campsite for those on the summit route, we continued on the trail, which got considerably steeper, til about 3500 meters, when the altitude got a little too much and walking 5 feet seemed like a mile! Eating lunch with the view of the Rift Valley from 3500 meters up was incredible!! We then headed back to the park gate and ended our first day of hiking with a few Tuskers and a great dinner back at the hostel. On Sunday, we hiked around the park with our destination being the Mau Mau caves, the hideout for Kenyan rebels who faught for independence against Britain. Crouching as we walked through them, with our flashlights spanning over the rock shelf where the general slept and the separate cave where they cooked their meals, and hearing how the British tried to infiltrate the spot by bombing the caves, but realizing how futile that was upon seeing the precarious perch of the caves in the side of Mount Kenya, was incredible!! Walking back through fields and sharing the trail with numerous cows, goats, and sheep, all the time Mount Kenya providing the perfect backdrop, made for a beautiful hike. The president of Kenya has it pretty good, as his 500-acre ranch sits at the base of Mount Kenya as well. Driving the four hours home, I couldn't help but think about how surreal it is to have been on bedrest for fear of throwing a clot a few weeks ago, and then spending this weekend hiking on Mount Kenya. It was an amazing weekend, my first that far away from the city, and the fresh air was just what I needed!

Another first for me last week was teaching!! Yep, that's right...I went with two of our new volunteers to the school I had visited a few weeks ago, called Hidden Talents, and was going to help them teach math to class (grade) 7, but after realizing square roots of fractions were completely over my head without a calculator, and seeing there was no teacher for class 8 who were supposed to be learning science (all teachers there are volunteers, and thus are not regularly scheduled), I wandered over, asked to see the one textbook they had (for about 25 students), then spent the next 45 minutes teaching them about skin!! We talked about pores, pigment, hair follicles, the dermis, epidermis, oil & sweat glands, bruises, scabs, scars, and they just soaked it all up like sponges...it was great!! I hope to return this week and teach again...we shall see.

Alas, my first GI distress since I got here came to a head today (pun intended), but I'm blaming it on too much Blue Band over the weekend, which is the Kenyan substitute for butter, or as I now call it, the magic bullet or rocket. I have a new appreciation for Pepto Bismol now, and I'm sticking close to the loo as it works itself out of my system. For those that I climbed Kili with, I'm at a stage 3 currently (yeah!) and I have a new respect for those that were doing anal kegels all the way up the Western Breach!! Will try to get to the orphanage today for the community football (soccer) game, but only if my intestines cooperate...

Time is flying!!

2007-02-21T03:32:00.000-08:00

And it's definitely because I'm having a blast! So Monday of this week I spent most of the morning in the city trying to pick up some packages that have found their way to Kenya, and that have my name on them! Little bit of a hassle, but I should have them in my possession by Friday...hopefully. Later that morning, I helped another volunteer who is placed at a school in Kibera, the largest slum in all of Africa, teach swim class!! The pool is not far away, located on the grounds of one of the local universities. I had a blast! After the basics of freestyle, doggy paddle, and backstroke, we taught them handstands and how to play chicken!! It was great--they absolutely loved it and their giggles as they sat on our shoulders trying to push each other over was hysterical--I could hardly keep myself upright I was laughing so hard! Then I headed over to the orphanage, where they have a community football (soccer) game every Monday afternoon. Everyone from the community is invited to come, to play around with the kids for about an hour. So after going hardcore for the rest of the afternoon, I don't know where I found the energy to go for a run with another volunteer after we returned home, but that was an adventure in and of itself...I felt like I was training for the steeplechase due to the fact that the "sidewalks" here are basically rocky dirt paths with no less than 50 potholes in a 10 foot stretch, and you have to weave in and out of several types of obstacles...which could range from animals, people, bushes (with thorns), huge puddles that turn into small lakes when it rains...you get the picture. Running for 20 minutes felt like a marathon in a cross-country course! Tuesday I realized I might have overdone it with all the exercise from the day before, so I will try to do a better job of pacing myself the rest of this week. Today I have just returned from visiting another hospital, this one located in Kikuyu, about a 45-minute matatu ride outside of Nairobi. It was started by the Presbyterian Church of Eastern Africa, and the hospital campus itself is beautiful, the focal point being the first PCEA church to be built in all of Kenya. Then the hospital itself spreads out from there, with a different building for each ward and department, all connected by open breezeways and walkways lined with the most beautiful plants and flowers. I first visited the rehabilitation center which is a short 5-minute walk down a hill from the main hospital campus. The physical therapists there answered some questions and showed me around, then pointed me in the direction of the main campus, where I found the occupational therapist, who was busy attending to an outpatient that was coming in with a 3-week old transmetacarpal amputation of his dominant right hand due to a work injury--he got his hand stuck in a machine that is responsible for shearing hot pieces of metal into sections. We also saw a man in the ER that had fallen that morning and needed a wrist cock-up splint for his dislocated right wrist. I spent about 3 hours with this OT, who was so happy to show me her work and ask for my input on different things. She shared with me that the majority of the cases she sees are injuries from the local steel factory (amputations like the first patient I saw), as well as pediatric patients with cerebral palsy. She has been working at the hospital for a year and is still waiting on getting basic equipment, so she has been substituting what she can with the PT equipment. She would love to come to the US to get her masters degree, then return to Kenya, to her people, not forgetting her roots and where she came from, because as she told me, "Roots are what make you stand up." She was just the most amazing person to talk to about our shared profession, and see her in action with a few patients. Visiting these different hospitals and talking with the OTs has given me a much deeper insight into the culture here as well, so I'm going to try and visit one or two more before I leave.

I'm really starting to feel like a member of the community, too, not just a tourist with a cause. Being greeted on the street by people I've met by visiting the different projects i-to-i is involved with, as well as feeling like a regular at the places we frequent all the time, really makes a difference, as it took me a few weeks to get accustomed to the stares and attention my white skin tends to draw. I still can't believe this is my 5th week and I only have 2 more to go after this one! Still waiting to hear what my project will be in Tanzania, but I'll be sure to let you all know as soon as I find out. Oh, little promo here...be sure to check out my friends' blogs listed on the right side of this page, who will be travelling to New Orleans to help rebuild with Habitat for Humanity, and the others who have relocated to Ireland for the year!

Celebrated Fat Tuesday with a chocolate frosted donut and a chocolate milkshake last night--that was the most junk food I've had since I've been here...my system is still recuperating!! And for those of you that are familiar with it, I have introduced "Nutsy" to the other volunteers, and they love it--can't get enough of it!! For those of you that have no idea what I'm referring to, Nutsy is probably the best card game ever invented! So to all my friends and relatives that know and love the game...Nutsy has gone global!!

And I think I'll end with one of my favorite memories from when I was in Africa 2 years ago that I was reminded of Monday night...the night skies here are fabulous!! On top of the highest mountain on the continent, you feel like you could just reach up and grab a star! Well, back in Africa and not as high up this time, the stars are still spectacular!! I swear there are twice as many and they look so much brighter here! The moon was absolutely incredible the other night, just a sliver, but the whole of it was silhouetted, which I've never seen before!! Was pretty excited to see a shooting star as well! And yes, I made a wish...

Climb every mountain...

2007-02-18T05:47:00.000-08:00

What a weekend!!! Now that I'm able to get about and actually do things, using my muscles and not having to be afraid of dislodging a clot, I'm raring to go!!! On Saturday, one of the other volunteers who is placed teaching at a local school, rented a bus with funds she had raised before coming here, and took classes (grades) 6, 7, and 8, about 66 students total, plus a few teachers and some of the other volunteers (including me!) totaling about 10 adults, to Ngong Hills, just outside of Nairobi. There are 7 hills total, some as high as 1500-2000 meters, and we traversed about half of them after picking up our armed guard to take with us (the area is known for a high rate of robbery), then headed back to the bus. We had absolutely beautiful weather--lots of sunshine and a breeze the whole time, although it got a bit gusty at the top of each hill. Got a little too much sun, but the leg felt great and it was such a good feeling to get outside of the city and see some of the rural areas for the day. Being with the kids was awesome too, as for most of them, this was their first time outside of the city. Come to think of it...for both them and me (since I haven't seen anything but the inside of hospitals since I got here)!! It was a great day, and we had a blast! Some of the girls from class 8 even tought me a contemporary hip hop song in Swahili as we were trekking back down...and I have to say I mastered both the words and the dance by the time we reached the bottom...I have the music video to prove it! It was just amazing to hang out with this group, as they were taking it all in and looking down on their home city and seeing the surrounding countryside. Funny how the best moments in my life have been on mountaintops...so clear, with people that mean a lot to you, and everything in the world looks so small from your vantage point no matter what's been troubling you, reminding you of what's really important in life.

Today started with brunch at a delicious restaurant called Nairobi Java House...mostly western-style food, so I ordered the pancakes...they were amazing! Nice to have a taste of home! Then we spent the afternoon at the giraffe center, just outside the city. It's special center that houses about 20 giraffes, and they have built a special elevated platform that lets the giraffes come right up at eye level to you! A giraffe ate right out of my hand!! Have the pictures to prove that too! They have the most beautiful eyes--sort of like Jersey cow-amber brown, with the longest eyelashes ever! And did you know that giraffes have a special capillary system that runs the length of their necks to circulate the blood all that distance; if they had the same as ours, they would pass out every time they bent their heads down. And a giraffe only sleeps for about 15 minutes every day...amazing I know! Once I get home, I promise to post pictures so you too can experience all these adventures! The connection here is so slow that I am not able to upload anything in a reasonable amount of time.

So my first weekend that hasn't involved any medical care or recuperation!! Thought you would all like to hear about it! Stay tuned as I only have 3 weeks left!!

Week #4

2007-02-16T04:55:00.000-08:00

Well, a whole week has passed and no more hospitalizations...I'd say that's an accomplishment for me!! On Sunday I went to church with two other volunteers and our housekeeper, who had invited us to go with her. I definitely had a lot to be thankful for after the past two weeks. What an experience...the 3-hour service was held in the newly constructed church--corrugated tin walls and roof, and if you can just imagine the sounds of all those voices joining together to sing and worship resonating off the tin...it was incredible! I even recognized a few songs...Blessed Assurance and Oh Happy Day!! And God provided the perfect illustration for the pastor's sermon...there was a terrific downpour midway through his message on baptism!! He had to shout so we could hear him because the rain was coming down so hard against the tin! Since we were there visiting, they translated everything into English for us, so it was one sentence English, then repeated in Kiswahili, which we were very grateful for.

Monday was absolutely wonderful as I went back to the orphanage...I was so happy too see the kids. Tuesday I made a visit with some other volunteers to a school called Hidden Talents in Kawangware, the same slum the orphanage is located in. It was an amazing project and one we're trying to convince i-to-i to get involved with. The school was started by a pastor, who began his work back in 1993 feeding orphans on the streets of Nairobi. He then gathered the funds and ground necessary to build the school, which now houses about 1250 students. Since they only have less than an acre, they've just built upwards, and are also building additions to the primary (elementary) school across the street and working on acquiring funds to build satellite locations all over Kenya to send orphans to live and attend school. This man had probably one of the strongest visions of bettering his community that I have ever encountered...he was truly inspirational as he told us about his work and the center's motto: "We do everything by faith," and his belief that every child has a talent, it just needs to be nurtured. So they focus on both athletics and academics. The part that affected me the most though was seeing the line of people waiting outside the school, and learning that these were guardians waiting to be interviewed by the pastor in order to bring children to the school. Then seeing the files full of death certificates that the pastor has stacked in his office, stapled to the guardian certificates he's received from the government indicating that he is now responsible for the orphans the individuals have left behind. I couldn't stop the tears as I read certificate after certificate, and I was reminded that it never says "AIDS" as the cause of death, rather some form of immuno-suppression. It was a sobering reminder that this disease has far-reaching effects, never stopping at just one generation...even if the children are blessed enough not to be infected during birth or in infancy, they most likely will be orphaned at a very young age. The visit to the school ended with a stop in the pastor's office, who beamed as he showed us trophy after trophy of various graduates...the fastest runner in Kenya for the 100m dash, a football (soccer) player for the French World Cup team, and the list goes on and on. I hope to get involved with this school at least once a week for the remainder of my time here, as they have about 40 teachers, who are all volunteers.

Wednesday, I had a follow-up with the doctor after getting my blood checked. My numbers are stable and he was very pleased with my progress, not wanting to check me again for two weeks, and if those numbers are ok, he'll see me once more before I fly out to Tanzania and set me up with enough warfarin/blood thinners to last me the 6 weeks I'll be there, and then I'll be able to test myself while I'm in Tanzania with my portable INR/PT self-test machine that is on its way to me. Quite the set-up I know, but has to be done. I was reminded this week of how blessed I was that it wasn't worse, as another volunteer flew home early with typhoid and his fourth go-round with malaria, and another volunteer was hospitalized and had to undergo surgery to have his appendix out. My leg is almost back to normal, only aching when I find myself sitting with my legs down or standing for a long period of time, but it goes away if I start moving around, which the doctor said is completely normal. My muscles are getting stronger every day--the kids at the orphanage are seeing to that! As it was Valentine's Day on Wednesday, we brought in special heart stickers and a huge new set of markers, crayons, and colored pencils--and they just loved it--by the end of the morning, we were all covered in stickers!

Thursday I made a trip to Nairobi Hospital again, only this time it was to meet with the occupational therapists there!! I talked to them for about an hour, and it was neat to hear their work is very similar to mine back home--seeing patients bedside as well as on an outpatient basis. For all those OT's out there, cones are universal--they had a stack there in the outpatient gym! They also gave me a list of other hospitals and clinics in Nairobi that employed occupational therapists, so I hope to get to one or two a week and see what they do at each facility.

Friday has been the best day so far--I went along with one of the other volunteers to her project, which is a support center for women with HIV/AIDS. Their main focus is garment and accessories construction for these women to earn an income, and the other volunteer had ordered school uniforms for all the kids at the orphanage I'm volunteering at, purchasing them with funds she raised by doing an 8-mile run back home prior to coming here. Picking up the uniforms at the women's center, and seeing those women with huge smiles on their faces, so proud of the work they had done, and then getting to the orphanage and helping distribute the uniforms...the kids couldn't wait to put them on, not even bothering to take off what they were already wearing!! The girls twirled in their dresses and the boys were strutting all around in their shorts--it was fantastic!! The teacher just kept saying, "Now they look like a real class!" It was great!

As for expanding my cultural experiences, I tried Ethiopian food for the first time a few weeks ago--eating from a huge communal plate with our hands was definitely a highlight! As a house, the other volunteers and I went out for Indian on Valentine's Day. Really looking forward to having a nice juicy steak though when I get home, as the fear of Rift Valley Fever is limiting meat consumption in the whole region. My command of Swahili increases daily, as I learn new phrases and am reminded of those I've already learned, just forgot :)

The weather here has continued to be warm, with plenty of sunshine every day, although midday storms have been rolling in a few days a week, and the rain is a welcome refresher, cooling everything off and settling all the dust!

So that's what I've been up to...hard to believe I only have 3 weeks left here. And I find myself looking at my to-do list and wondering where the time went, as there's still so much I want to do!! Granted, 2 weeks were spent "sojourning," as one person put it when I shared that I felt I had wasted 2 weeks..."a little diversion the Lord provided to give you a new perspective."

Round 3...

2007-02-10T04:18:00.000-08:00

OK, I know it's been awhile since my last blog entry, but I have a pretty good excuse. Originally scheduled to follow-up with the doctor on Wednesday the 7th, after finishing my antibiotic course, I trekked into the city and returned to him on Monday the 5th instead, as my left leg was not getting any better and the stiffness & ache were persistent, despite elevation, hot compresses, and Cipro coming out of my ears. The good doctor ordered an x-ray, to rule out bone infection. Back down to the diagnostic imaging clinic I went, where I just was the week before for my doppler ultrasound (which I'll remind everyone showed no evidence of DVT). The x-ray was completely normal, and I trudged back up to the doctor, who then referred me to a general surgeon at Nairobi Hospital for a second opinion. Make my way over to the doctors' plaza there, and after taking my complete history and symptoms, tells me we have to rule out a clot indefinitely, as I have the classic symptoms and a doppler is not 100% accurate (a fact I did not know). He orders a venogram, makes a call to the radiologist, and gets me in the same day. Now, what I have related thus far probably sounds like it went very smoothly and progressed at a fairly quick pace. In reality, my Monday started at 9am and I found myself sitting in radiology around 4:30-5ish. My emotions at this point have been a roller coaster, and all the waiting has not helped slow down my brain that's moving at a million miles an hour. Just imagine, I have been assured twice now that I have no clot in my leg, relieved of my original suspicions, and now I am faced again with the possibility of having one. As I lay on the table, with the contrast dye being injected into my foot, the radiologist surveys the screen as the dye spreads up the veins in my left leg. I crane my neck to see what he's seeing. I can't quite explain in words my thoughts when the radiologist says to the tech operating the scan, "Stop it right there, I can see the thrombus." I can't stop the tears at this point, barely able to see the white strip in my distal femoral vein that appears about 2-3 inches in length, as I realize what this means--I have a DVT, deep vein thrombosis, that I've been walking all over Nairobi with for the past 2 weeks...the feeling of waste at being down and out for 2 weeks when I'm here to volunteer, how this is a black mark on my medical history forever--worse than getting an F on a school paper, but probably the most severe thoughts going through my head are the what if's, and that scares me more than anything--thinking of what could have happened. Everything is a blur until the general surgeon appears in front of me, saying things like "admission" "anticoagulation treatment" and "observation", as I am led to the admission desk, then up to the short stay or overflow ward, since the hospital is completely full. This place is a Hilton compared to the other hospital I was at...I'm told later that all the diplomats and VIP's are brought here for treatment--glad I have that travel insurance to cover this bill. One of the other volunteers has been great and has been with me through this whole process, contacting our in-country coordinator and getting a list of things I'd like to have brought back to have in the hospital. I am placed on strict bedrest, but bargain to have bathroom privileges (I refuse to use a bedpan!)...we compromise on a bedside commode. I am started on subcutaneous clexane (heparin) injections and oral warfarin. As the buzz of being admitted dies down and I'm left alone, I dissolve completely--yep, full BD (breakdown), finally letting all the frustration, anxiety, anger, being scared, unsure, out of my system. Relief starts to settle in after about an hour, just having a diagnosis and receiving the correct treatment. Prayer has been a constant the whole day, and I find myself thanking God that I didn't throw a clot...lose a leg...just to be alive! Three of the volunteers at the house stop by later to visit and bring me my stuff, along with some goodies. It's a good feeling to have a "family" being so far from home, something I come to appreciate even more as the week goes on--the volunteers are so good about coming to visit me, organizing shifts and bringing in contraband with each visit...I swear I'm going to weigh 100 pounds more eating all of it and being on bedrest--good thing they let me share with them. I'm given a sleep aid that first night (and every night after), as if I need it I'm so exhausted (later find out the sleep aid is none other than Rohypnol, or more commonly known as Rufies...). Tuesday morning the general surgeon gives my case over to a cardiologist, who then reviews my history and symptoms with me, then goes over the treatment plan. Late Tuesday I'm transferred to the MCF ward, with a private room to my surprise, making sure I still get to have a commode. Amazing how the things we do everyday without thinking become such an ordeal when you're on bedrest. Realize the irony of how I left my job working at a hospital to come volunteer, and now that I'm here to volunteer, I'm stuck in a hospital...getting a whole new appreciation what it's like to be a patient. Wednesday and Thursday pass by pretty much the same, except Thursday I get to go for an abdominal ultrasound to make sure a tumor wasn't the cause for the clot, with my history, which comes back completely normal. The cardiologist rounds every morning to review my INR from each morning's wake up call blood draw, and then again in the late afternoon to make sure I'm doing ok, assuring me from the very beginning that Friday is the latest he'll keep. But by Friday, the excitement of getting out of there is drowned out by 1) going out of my mind with boredom being on bedrest the whole week and 2) my discharge being held up by insurance issues. Finally get things straightened out, and as I WALK out of the hospital--have never felt better! Walking into the volunteer house and getting hugs all around, taking a shower, and sleeping in a familiar bed that night are just wonderful! So I have a few more bruises now since I'm on warfarin daily (for the next 6 months to a year), I get to wear these very sexy compression stockings during the day (not so comfortable in 80-degree temperatures), and I have a follow-up with the blood lab and the cardiologist on Wednesday the 14th, which will probably be a weekly occurence, then monthly until he's assured my blood levels are stabilized since this was a spontaneous clot. Also have to look into getting a self-test INR machine (sort of like diabetics have to do with their blood sugar) so that I can check my own levels once a month after I leave Kenya. Not the best thing to have to deal with from now on, especially with all the travelling I have ahead of me, but my leg finally feels better, and I can get on with what I came here to do. Today, Saturday the 10th, I went with some other volunteers to visit the orphanage, and just to have those kids that I haven't seen for 2 weeks and have only spent 1 week with so far yelling out my name and running up to me as I walked through the gate was the best medicine ever! Now I sit here in the internet cafe, with my leg elevated of course or constantly moving to keep the blood flowing, updating all of you back home. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the love and support--to be so lifted up by so many prayers through this whole ordeal has truly made all the difference.

Round 2...

2007-01-30T23:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I decided I hadn't fully experienced Kenya's medical system, so on Monday this week I returned to the good doctor's because my leg wasn't getting any better. After I finished the first round of antibiotics, my left leg was still stiff, but I just attributed it to having favored the leg for the previous 5 days. However, the stiffness progressed to my lower hamstring over the weekend, and my left calf became sorer and sorer, to the point where it was difficult for me to bear weight on the leg, I couldn't straighten my knee, it hurt to point and flex at the ankle, and I was basically limping around everywhere. The doctor ordered a doppler ultrasound to be done, which I had to return on Tuesday for. I don't think I have ever prayed harder in my life than I did Monday night and Tuesday morning...to say I was scared to death about having a blood clot at 27 and to have been dealing with this since I arrived in the country, is putting it minimally. I do have a story to share that pretty much sums up how much God is watching over me thanks to all your prayers at home: when I returned from the city after my appointment on Monday, I was sitting outside a cafe waiting for another volunteer who had also been to the doctor's, with thoughts of doubting my purpose here, anger, fear, anxiety, basically an emotional wreck inside, and I was trying so hard to keep it together, when a middle-aged woman who had been sitting at a table not far away approached me and asked if I was all right. Now, I'm one of those people that can hold it together until someone else expresses sympathy or emotion, and then I lose it, which is basically what happened. She sat down right there next to me as I poured my guts out to her my whole story thus far. She was so sympathetic and sweet, telling me she was a volunteer herself years ago. Then she told me, "I don't know if you believe in prayer or not, but I do, and I'd like to pray for you that this will all work out, which I'm sure it will." If it was possible, I started to cry even harder at that point, telling her that I had been sitting there that very minute asking God for a sign that everything would be ok and that I was meant to do this work here still, and that she was heaven sent! I don't think I have ever felt the Holy Spirit enveloping me more as she prayed with me outside that cafe. A lot calmer and with more peace, Tuesday afternoon I returned for the ultrasound, and there is no blood clot!! Hallelujah, God is good! I'm back on antibiotics for a week for the continued cellulitis/infection in my calf, of which I still have no idea where it came from. So I haven't been to the orphanage for 3 days now, per doctor's orders, and I'm keeping the leg elevated, and it does feel a little better today. So for those of you back home, keep the prayers coming so the antibiotics will work for good this time around, and that I can get on with what I came here for!

One week!

2007-01-27T01:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I've officially been here one week, and quite honestly am feeling comfortable getting around, using basic Swahili phrases, etc. I'm pretty much settled in--staying at the i-to-i house in Jamhuri estates, a "suburb" of Nairobi. There are about a dozen other volunteers staying there as well, so it's been great gleaning information from those that have been here quite some time, and sharing "newbie" experiences with those that have only just arrived. My start date coincided with two other volunteers in particular, so it's been fun learning the ropes with them. The house is fairly large, 3 levels, with about 7 bedrooms, 4 baths (complete with showers and toilets, although there are no toilet seats in all of Kenya!), a kitchen, dining room, and living area. We have a housekeeper who takes care of all the cooking and cleaning, which is great. I will definitely have an British accent by the end of my time here, as the other volunteers are mostly from England. "Brilliant" will probably be the new phrase for me when I return home, although my favorite so far has been "cheeky sod" (i.e. don't be such a cheeky sod). Getting around is always an adventure, and there are many options: taxi is a bit more expensive, so mostly I've been using the "citi hoppa" buses and the infamous "matatus," which are an experience in and of themselves. A typical matatu is a small van that seats about 14, although I've been in a couple with 17 bodies squished into them. They are usually equipped with a very extensive sound system, so picture hip-hop, Kenyan, or rap music blaring as loud as possible. Matatu drivers go as fast as possible, swerving in and out of traffic to get to their destinations in record time, so combined with the typical Kenyan road, this makes for a very bumpy and roller coaster-like ride. I've even gotten to ride in the "watch your death coming seat" as a previous volunteer here termed it, which is the front seat (explanation: the front of the matatus are flat, and since the operators like to ride as close to the car's bumper in front of them, so as to be completely unable to avoid an accident if the car in front should stop suddenly, and at the aforementioned high speeds, hence the term "watch your death coming seat")--surprisingly there is no extra charge for this seat of thrills! Food has been pretty good--meals mostly consist of starches (beans and rice) and vegetables, very rarely will meat be added, and only in small, like a stew. As of this week, we are actually not allowed to have any meat with the recent outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (the equivalent of our Mad Cow Disease), which has been one of the top stories on the news. I did try sugarcane for the first time the other day--pretty good! And last evening, one of the volunteers from Switzerland was feeling a bit homesick, so he suggested we go to a Swiss/French restaurant just down the road, and we feasted on cheese fondue and chocolate mousse for dessert!! It was amazing!! The owner is from Switzerland, and has been living in Nairobi for many years--he was so fascinating to talk to! Just when I was starting to get used to being in a 3rd world country, and then I go and have a gourmet meal at a fantastic restaurant!! Internet cafes are pretty much all over, however the connection speeds vary, depending on the system and weather. I did try to use two international call centers the other day, however the systems were down all over the area, so it can vary from day to day. Shopping for supplies has been quite interesting...the store of choice around here is called "Nakumatt" and is strikingly similar to our Wal-Mart back home, from the layout of the store (huge!) to the blue aprons all the employees wear with the store motto emblazoned on the back! My first laundry experience was this week--handwashing everything in a large basin! Mental note to self--do less more often!! I have gotten sunburned already--trying to keep covered up, but it's about 80 degrees here on average, and we haven't had a cloudy day yet!! Basically, I had to come to Africa to be a redneck! Trying to drink enough water so I don't get dehydrated again--which has got to be the worst feeling in the world! I had a follow-up doctor's visit in the city on Wednesday--he said the leg looks great and I finished taking my antibiotic, so I should be good to go. It basically just looks and feels like a bruise the size of an orange on my left calf. Still a bit stiff in the morning and I feel it at the end of the day if I overdo it with the kids at the orphanage, but I'm fine. I figured out this morning that for one night's hospitalization, bloodwork, a follow-up visit, and to get a prescription filled only cost me 105 U.S. dollars!!! Unbelievable!! This week at the orphanage was good--getting used to the kids and them getting used to me. It's hard to give enough attention to all of them--just sitting down to color a picture with them or playing a game of "football" (soccer--they love it here!) outside with them is just the best ever in their world! I've already introduced hangman and the dot square game--the older kids love both and it gives them a chance to use their English! Hopefully this week I'll be visiting a couple of other projects, and maybe even a pediatric orthodpedic hospital in nearby Kikuyu, which I'm really excited about. For those of you that have asked about sending care packages, I initially thought I wouldn't be able to receive any mail here, but I can! Just send it addressed to me, Stephanie Varnold, c/o Irene Wairimu, Sirona House Room 201, P.O. Box 1249-00100, G.P.O Nairobi - Kenya. Not sure how long it will take to get to me, so I'd say the cutoff for any mail to me should be sent about 3 weeks before I leave for Tanzania, which is on March 10. Love to all of you and I'll be in touch soon!

My first day...

2007-01-22T06:02:00.000-08:00

It's finally here...my first day volunteering!! Yesterday (Sunday) a few volunteers and myself actually took a trip to Kawangware (the slum we'll be working in), saw the orphanage and HIV clinic we'd be at specifically, then met with a local doctor and a few other residents of Kawangware who have begun an HIV/AIDS support network for those residents infected with the virus. What an experience to meet those on the frontlines and see where this is actually happening in Africa! How humbling and sad to see the endless rows of corrugated tin-roof shacks, but reinforcing at the same time to see the citizens of that community coming together to help those most affected by this disease.
So about my specific project...another volunteer and I are working together at Shade Orphanage right smack dab in the middle of Kawangware. There are currently 53 total children at the orphanage, however, in the morning (starting at around 9), we're working in the preschool with 2 teachers and about 20 children and who are too young to attend primary school yet. Most of them are orphans from HIV/AIDS, although we have no idea who has the virus and who does not, but some are merely there for the preschool while their parents go to work during the day. Around lunch time, the children in class levels 1-3 return from school for lunch and then we help them with homework, reading, or crafts, while the little ones nap, or just play! The rest of the kids return from school around 3:30, our day ends just after that around 4ish. Within the preschool group are so many different developmental and ability levels, and I was impressed with how the teacher handled each one but as a group (all the teachers I know out there are probably going, well, duh!). I hope to have a role as aiding the teachers whenever possible, as well as working on different developmentally appropriate activities. Some volunteers previous to us were working on getting a specific structure to the daily routines of the orphanage and helping it to become a little more self-sufficient, so we'll most likely continue that work as well. This morning was little overwhelming, but after talking to the other volunteers, I just have to keep telling myself, "whatever I can do will be helpful," as there's just so much to be done. The kids are amazing though and already have found a special place in my heart.

The complete Kenyan experience...

2007-01-22T05:45:00.000-08:00

...wouldn't be complete without a visit to the hospital. Yes everyone, I had to make a trip Saturday evening to the hospital because I believed I had a blood clot in my left leg...I had noticed what felt like a muscle ache after I got off the plane on Friday morning, then by Saturday morning, there was some increased swelling and redness on my left calf (for you medical people, I had a positive Homan's sign). So another volunteer accompanied me to Melchizedek Hospital, where they did a complete exam, took some blood (don't worry, was fully monitoring the use of sterile techniques) and decided to admit me to the ward. I got a private room, with a bed, a chair, and a table, with one window, and a mosquito net. I was then seen by the specialist who after looking at my coagulation results, which were normal, and my blood cell counts, determined I only had an infection in the leg, which I still have no idea where that came from. He ordered an infusion of IV antibiotics to be started, and some Ibuprofen, which I really didn't think I needed. However, after multiple (four) attempts to start a "canula" as they call an IV here in my wrist and hand, with what looked like a needle the size of a pipe cleaner, I welcomed the ibuprofen. Didn't get much sleep that night, but my leg did feel better the next morning and was less swollen. It was determined I could be discharged after I was seen by the doctor, who scheduled more bloodwork for Monday (which I just came from) and then a follow-up visit with him on Wednesday. I am taking the Cipro I brought from home as my antibiotic, as well as ibuprofen as needed. No need to worry--I am on the mend and I feel fine! Thank heaven it was only an infection and not a blood clot!! Although with my paranoia now I might never sleep on a plane again since I will be up and moving around so much!

Everything that could go wrong...

2007-01-19T05:08:00.000-08:00

...did, basically! My flight from Newark to Amsterdam was a beaut, arriving around 5 am after a 7 hour flight. Got a little sleep, wandered around, then spent the next 13 1/2 hours doing the same as my flight kept getting delayed due to some crazy windstorm Amsterdam was experiencing. We ended up finally departing at 6:30 pm, with an 8 hour flight to Nairobi, arriving at 3:30 in the morning on the 19th (almost being diverted to Mombasa due to heavy fog). I got through customs fine, however when I picked up my bag, which was soaked, I smelled nothing but detergent. I spent the next 2 hours in the wc at Nairobi airport washing out my bag and wiping down the contents (which were thankfully all in plastic bags!) Got to a hotel for my first overnight, thankful to take a shower before falling into bed, but discovering that my bottle of sunscreen had also exploded inside my ditty bag. At that point, I was so exhausted, I ignored it, got my shower, then fell into bed underneath my mosquito net. Was awakened about 10:30 this morning by my fellow volunteer, had some breakfast, then have been doing orientation stuff, seeing the sights of the city center of Nairobi, and now letting you all know I'm here...tired, with a bag full of things to wash out, but safe and sound and in one piece. There's 2 other volunteers here with the same length of project as me, so it's nice to have some peeps to stick with. It's been great so far--everyone's real nice, but still getting used to the laid-back Kenyan attitude. Love to all of you. Kwaheri (bye) for now!

The Great Departure!

2007-01-16T03:36:00.000-08:00

Well, it's finally (almost) here...I'm set to leave Wednesday, January 17th at 4:40 pm out of Newark airport, connecting in Amsterdam, then on to Nairobi, Kenya, arriving at 8:20 pm on the 18th. I found out a few weeks ago that my 7-week placement is at the Shade Orphanage near Nairobi. It was founded by a social worker from Nairobi and her husband, and currently accommodates 53 orphans from one of the slum areas of Nairobi called Kawangware who range from 3 years upwards, having lost their parents from HIV/AIDS. I'll be doing such things as teaching, cooking, cleaning, sports, and counseling. I will be staying in a volunteer "flat" with 2-3 other volunteers, pretty basic but with everything I will need.
It's been awhile since my last posting, so here's what I've been up to:
My last day of work was December 29th followed by happy hour. My coworkers gave me a great send-off with lots of covertly-collected and much-needed supplies (thanks again guys!). That same day a new baby arrived, and after spending New Year's down the shore, I drove up to Massachusetts to help the Lower Family get settled with their new addition. The 22-month old twins, one of which is my goddaughter, kept me busy, but the week and a half I spent up there I wouldn't trade for anything in the world! I arrived back home on Saturday, January 13th. On Sunday, I shared with my church what I would be doing this coming year, and I have never felt more sure about anything as they annointed me and sent me off with many hugs, prayers and tears...God is good, all the time! Sunday afternoon I spent with family--so good to see them before I go! So the past two days have been filled with last minute, loose-ends tying up. I'm getting through my list slowly but surely, will pack today, have dinner tonight with the girlz, then tomorrow my man is driving me to the airport. If the next 13 weeks go by as quickly as the last 3 have, then I'll be home before I know it! So for those of you marking your calendars, I will be in Kenya until March 10th, then I leave for Arusha, Tanzania, where I will spend 6 weeks there on project. I depart for home on April 21st, connect in Amsterdam again, then arrive back in Newark on the 22nd at 11:35 am. Should have pretty regular internet access, so I'll be sure to keep you all posted of my Africa adventures! Please keep me and those I'll be working with in your thoughts and prayers for safety and good health.

Planning, planning, and more planning...

2006-12-10T12:24:00.000-08:00

Ever try planning a whole year in one afternoon? Well, I did it!! After 2 years of praying and making sure this is God's plan for me, I've put in my notice at work--my last day is December 29th and I've decided to spend 2007 volunteering abroad!! Ever since I returned from my trip to Africa 2 years ago, I've wanted to go back, and ever since college, I've wanted to dedicate a year to volunteering, so there you have it!! I leave for Nairobi, Kenya on January 17th, and after spending 7 weeks there, I'll fly on to Arusha, Tanzania on March 10th for another 6 weeks on project, then I'll be home on April 21st. Beginning of May will hopefully find me in Ireland visiting friends, then off to India for 6 weeks on May 20th (4 weeks on project, ~2 weeks of touring/adventures!). Last but not least, I'll be heading to Peru on August 10th to work on 3 different projects, finishing up on November 30th and capping off my year with a trek to Machu Picchu!! I'll be working with 2 volunteer travel companies: i-to-i and Cross Cultural Solutions, which has a partnership with Care International. All of the projects I've chosen deal with community development, and involve mostly children (orphans, developmental disabilities) and women/girls. I could be working on things such as HIV/AIDS education, skill-building for individual income earning, basic hygiene, and providing normal sensory/play experiences, but mostly on whatever there is greatest need for once I arrive in community.
So December finds me busy taking care of flights, visas, health/travel insurance, budgeting, etc. I'm soooo excited to get started I can't hardly wait!!