Happy thanksgiving everyone!
i hope this finds you well and enjoying the holiday! eat some sweet potatoes for me!!!
mom, you will be happy this year that you don´t need to make vegetarian stuffing!
marc and i celebrate this fine north american holiday today in cusco. we will be visiting four different archeological sites (inca ruins) around the cusco area. This evening we will celebrate the holiday with friends we have met along the way. marc has two friends from his volunteer position currently in cusco, so we will meet up with them. my roomate stephanie from atlanta will join us and we will all find a spot to have "thanksgiving dinner.."
this trip has been many "firsts" for both of us, this included. a holiday in another country. today it is sunny and temps in the 60´s. not a trace of holiday decorations anywhere! i find it funny that i´ll be coming home to snow after spending this time in such a sunny, warm (sometimes hot) climate!
marc and i leave for the big daddy tomorrow-machu pichu! we are looking forward to seeing this once in a lifetime destination. the weekend is spent exploring that area and we return to cusco sunday night. on tuesday, we both depart peru for argentina. i will say goodbye to cusco with mixed feelings, it has been really difficult at times and really wonderful at times. needless to say we´re both really looking forward to a change.. we will spend two weeks in argentina and at that point i will return to the states. marc will then head to the southern tip of the continent and work his way up chile where in santiago, three weeks after me, he departs for home.
we will keep writing as there are more adventures ahead!
love and happy thanksgiving,
jess and marc
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
hello!
my turn to update, it´s been a while! greetings from cusco, peru, week 3.
marc should be joining me by the end of this weekend. i look forward to reuniting with my traveling partner!
i find myself approaching the end of my public health clinic days, which i´m ready for.. i have enjoyed the opportunity but am ready for a change. the one thing i see over and over again that i grow tired of are the YOUNG, very poor pregnant girls. abortion is illegal in this country, and there is no real sex education to speak of. new and expecting mothers occupy about 70% of the patients. i realize that in america we have the same problem, but there seems to be government assistance, what little amount it is. these girls get nothing. strangely most of them are so excited. sometimes mothers with their young pregnant daughters come in for the consult and they are both giddy. i do not understand this. i think this is my biggest frustration at the clinic.
the other faces at the clinic. some so foreign and some so familiar. a homeless nine year old. a pregnant fifteen year old. an old woman carried into the clinic in a blanket by her two sons because they could not afford a wheelchair. a man with a finger almost detached. a woman yelling at her child as he crouches in a corner. women coming into pediatrics with 21 day old babies, admiring them with awe and touching them like they will break. butts. butts. butts. old men who shuffle in with their old wives, to stand by them and hold their hand during the office visit. men and women whose sandals have become part of their bodies with age, dirt, and wear. kids with rotten teeth. kids discovering that old, discarded plastic water bottles are the best new find. children with baby teeth drinking coke. four year olds being breastfed by their mothers. the list goes on. my favorite are the elderly people who look at me through milky eyes and don´t judge me but greet me or thank me warmly. i also love how the staff refer to the elderly in the affectionate terms of "momie" and "papie." i wish we had terms like that. it´s like they´ve earned them with age. i love it.
the challenging things i´ve witnessed have also been matched with positive things. it is only based on my judgement, through my eyes, that any of these are negative or positive to begin with.
this weekend i will travel to lake titicaca with my roomates. we will visit a native family on one of the islands for a homestay. i´m looking forward to it! i have no idea what to expect.
in my peruvian family house this week a member of the family was lost. gloria and pepe, with their son diego, have been my "family." pepe lost his mother this week. she died of old age, she was 86. it was both sad and interesting to witness how another culture grieves of their loss. i found it interesting that what we refer to as the "wake," or "visitation," was held in the deceased´s home. all family gathered in that home to pray, laugh, cry, tell stories, and eat food. the funeral was then similar to what we do in america.
it´s been touching to see gloria and pepe´s friends come into their home to each take their turn "running" it. witnessing this reminded me of all of you and what we would do for one another. last night for example, one of gloria´s oldest friends from high school was in our "home" to prepare our dinner, serve us, and clean up after us while gloria had the chance to sit with her friend, giggle, wear lipstick, and reminisce. i loved it. today a completely different woman was in the house, cleaning. i loved it.
well, i wind this up to head home for dinner. i will write again soon, and will have marc with me in the same room! yea!!
love to you,
jess
my turn to update, it´s been a while! greetings from cusco, peru, week 3.
marc should be joining me by the end of this weekend. i look forward to reuniting with my traveling partner!
i find myself approaching the end of my public health clinic days, which i´m ready for.. i have enjoyed the opportunity but am ready for a change. the one thing i see over and over again that i grow tired of are the YOUNG, very poor pregnant girls. abortion is illegal in this country, and there is no real sex education to speak of. new and expecting mothers occupy about 70% of the patients. i realize that in america we have the same problem, but there seems to be government assistance, what little amount it is. these girls get nothing. strangely most of them are so excited. sometimes mothers with their young pregnant daughters come in for the consult and they are both giddy. i do not understand this. i think this is my biggest frustration at the clinic.
the other faces at the clinic. some so foreign and some so familiar. a homeless nine year old. a pregnant fifteen year old. an old woman carried into the clinic in a blanket by her two sons because they could not afford a wheelchair. a man with a finger almost detached. a woman yelling at her child as he crouches in a corner. women coming into pediatrics with 21 day old babies, admiring them with awe and touching them like they will break. butts. butts. butts. old men who shuffle in with their old wives, to stand by them and hold their hand during the office visit. men and women whose sandals have become part of their bodies with age, dirt, and wear. kids with rotten teeth. kids discovering that old, discarded plastic water bottles are the best new find. children with baby teeth drinking coke. four year olds being breastfed by their mothers. the list goes on. my favorite are the elderly people who look at me through milky eyes and don´t judge me but greet me or thank me warmly. i also love how the staff refer to the elderly in the affectionate terms of "momie" and "papie." i wish we had terms like that. it´s like they´ve earned them with age. i love it.
the challenging things i´ve witnessed have also been matched with positive things. it is only based on my judgement, through my eyes, that any of these are negative or positive to begin with.
this weekend i will travel to lake titicaca with my roomates. we will visit a native family on one of the islands for a homestay. i´m looking forward to it! i have no idea what to expect.
in my peruvian family house this week a member of the family was lost. gloria and pepe, with their son diego, have been my "family." pepe lost his mother this week. she died of old age, she was 86. it was both sad and interesting to witness how another culture grieves of their loss. i found it interesting that what we refer to as the "wake," or "visitation," was held in the deceased´s home. all family gathered in that home to pray, laugh, cry, tell stories, and eat food. the funeral was then similar to what we do in america.
it´s been touching to see gloria and pepe´s friends come into their home to each take their turn "running" it. witnessing this reminded me of all of you and what we would do for one another. last night for example, one of gloria´s oldest friends from high school was in our "home" to prepare our dinner, serve us, and clean up after us while gloria had the chance to sit with her friend, giggle, wear lipstick, and reminisce. i loved it. today a completely different woman was in the house, cleaning. i loved it.
well, i wind this up to head home for dinner. i will write again soon, and will have marc with me in the same room! yea!!
love to you,
jess
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
a stolen story and the next attempt
hello all,
i believe what i am about to do is against the blog ethic, but i was told by the author that it was ok. i am very busy and getting ready for a very crazy endeavor. so a girl that went on our guided trip to colca canyon wrote a very well worded story about the colca canyon trip that i just went on. it is entirely more elaborate than i would have given you and i would not have time to write anything worth while right now...so, i will cut and past it. here name is ashleigh vogstad from vancouver british columbia. just so i gave my correct copy right credits.
other than that,...i cant beleive this one,..it might be very painful. but i am going to attempt to climb a 19,222 ft active volcano called el misti tomorrow and will potentially summit on friday at about noon eastern time. it is one day of hiking 4000 ft with a full pack. we start at about 11,000 ft and we climb to base camp at about 15,000 ft. then the next morning at midnight we wake and with head lamps start the last 4,000 ft with a day pack. everyone i know who has done it has vomited on the summit from altitude sickness. that is the worst of it though. for all the moms out there, it is very straight forward. nothing but a walk on loose gravel up a enormous hill. but a really enormous hill. so, i am at peace either way, summit or no. i just could not be in peru and in my hiking days of my life and not attempt it. just so everyone knows, there is nothing in the lower 48 that is over 14,500 ft. so, this is by far uncharted territory. so that is it, i am going to go pack and get a good night sleep.
here is the poached story about colca canyon...much love, marc
Hola mis amigos y mi familia!
Time for another update from your far flung (and hopefully much missed) traveller.
Colca Canyon. Dropping 11,000 feet it is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. We hiked down and back up the bottom 4,500 ft of the canyon from out start and end point. . Desolate yet cultivated, impervious yet permeable. One of the worlds deepest canyons cuts through the Arequipian desert on the Western most side of the Andes where it is home to a lively, colorful, and hardy Quecha culture.
Peering from our lookout into the depths of this laceration, the stratified browns and beiges turn lush with green where the life-giving Colca river is able to support myriad growth. Green bananas, hibiscus and prickly pears (the national flower of Peru) abound and aloe vera grows wild. A plethora of cacti flourish including the spiritually important San Pedro which local Shamans use to induce a healing, hallucinogenic state.
The local people continue the ancestral tradition of maintaining the pre-Inca step terraces along the less percipitous canyon walls making for a landscape that is at once unkempt and yet profoundly ordered. Local women return home in their hand-woven traditional dresses and matching bowler hats, sturdy sandals made from car tires strapped to their feet, a harness of coca leaves slung over their backs. After an early 4am start much work is still to be done from hand grinding semolina into flour to preparing traditional cuy dishes.
The villages that dot the Canyon walls are inaccessible accept by foot or donkey along a percipitous cliff-hugging trail. Formally horses were the dominant mode of transportation but their less robust stature caused them to jump into the canyon from fatigue on occasion. (Watch out!) As we pass through each village a Chrisitian cross stands grim against the stark landscape, reminant of the Spanish conquesition, protecting inhabitants from evil spirits passing by. Many crosses are adorned with red roses, each flower representing a married woman from the village, with occasional white ones encouraging suitors to come find their future wives.
It is a five hour walk to collect salt, six hours for some children to attend highschool and about four days to pack in something the size and weight of a refrigerator. Solar energy is predominant though electricity was brought through the mountains 9 months ago.
Over the course of three days a group of 11 of us treked this canyon and witnessed its beauty and vitality. The Andean condor, largest bird of flight in the world, soared overhead its black coat a shadow of warning to weary travellers against clear blue skies. Part of the vulture family the Andean condor is a formidable carrion eater, friend of the fox, enemy of the eagle.
Another member of the bird family (but at the other end of the size spectrum) was the "burro qentis" or Giant Hummingbirds which are only found 2000-3000 meters above sea level in the Andes and measure about 8 1/2 inches in length. We were lucky enough to spot several.
Alright loved ones, hope thats enough adventure for a little while. I am back to volunteering all this week and nursing a slight cold. Miss you all lots and Ill continue to do my best to keep you updated.
i believe what i am about to do is against the blog ethic, but i was told by the author that it was ok. i am very busy and getting ready for a very crazy endeavor. so a girl that went on our guided trip to colca canyon wrote a very well worded story about the colca canyon trip that i just went on. it is entirely more elaborate than i would have given you and i would not have time to write anything worth while right now...so, i will cut and past it. here name is ashleigh vogstad from vancouver british columbia. just so i gave my correct copy right credits.
other than that,...i cant beleive this one,..it might be very painful. but i am going to attempt to climb a 19,222 ft active volcano called el misti tomorrow and will potentially summit on friday at about noon eastern time. it is one day of hiking 4000 ft with a full pack. we start at about 11,000 ft and we climb to base camp at about 15,000 ft. then the next morning at midnight we wake and with head lamps start the last 4,000 ft with a day pack. everyone i know who has done it has vomited on the summit from altitude sickness. that is the worst of it though. for all the moms out there, it is very straight forward. nothing but a walk on loose gravel up a enormous hill. but a really enormous hill. so, i am at peace either way, summit or no. i just could not be in peru and in my hiking days of my life and not attempt it. just so everyone knows, there is nothing in the lower 48 that is over 14,500 ft. so, this is by far uncharted territory. so that is it, i am going to go pack and get a good night sleep.
here is the poached story about colca canyon...much love, marc
Hola mis amigos y mi familia!
Time for another update from your far flung (and hopefully much missed) traveller.
Colca Canyon. Dropping 11,000 feet it is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. We hiked down and back up the bottom 4,500 ft of the canyon from out start and end point. . Desolate yet cultivated, impervious yet permeable. One of the worlds deepest canyons cuts through the Arequipian desert on the Western most side of the Andes where it is home to a lively, colorful, and hardy Quecha culture.
Peering from our lookout into the depths of this laceration, the stratified browns and beiges turn lush with green where the life-giving Colca river is able to support myriad growth. Green bananas, hibiscus and prickly pears (the national flower of Peru) abound and aloe vera grows wild. A plethora of cacti flourish including the spiritually important San Pedro which local Shamans use to induce a healing, hallucinogenic state.
The local people continue the ancestral tradition of maintaining the pre-Inca step terraces along the less percipitous canyon walls making for a landscape that is at once unkempt and yet profoundly ordered. Local women return home in their hand-woven traditional dresses and matching bowler hats, sturdy sandals made from car tires strapped to their feet, a harness of coca leaves slung over their backs. After an early 4am start much work is still to be done from hand grinding semolina into flour to preparing traditional cuy dishes.
The villages that dot the Canyon walls are inaccessible accept by foot or donkey along a percipitous cliff-hugging trail. Formally horses were the dominant mode of transportation but their less robust stature caused them to jump into the canyon from fatigue on occasion. (Watch out!) As we pass through each village a Chrisitian cross stands grim against the stark landscape, reminant of the Spanish conquesition, protecting inhabitants from evil spirits passing by. Many crosses are adorned with red roses, each flower representing a married woman from the village, with occasional white ones encouraging suitors to come find their future wives.
It is a five hour walk to collect salt, six hours for some children to attend highschool and about four days to pack in something the size and weight of a refrigerator. Solar energy is predominant though electricity was brought through the mountains 9 months ago.
Over the course of three days a group of 11 of us treked this canyon and witnessed its beauty and vitality. The Andean condor, largest bird of flight in the world, soared overhead its black coat a shadow of warning to weary travellers against clear blue skies. Part of the vulture family the Andean condor is a formidable carrion eater, friend of the fox, enemy of the eagle.
Another member of the bird family (but at the other end of the size spectrum) was the "burro qentis" or Giant Hummingbirds which are only found 2000-3000 meters above sea level in the Andes and measure about 8 1/2 inches in length. We were lucky enough to spot several.
Alright loved ones, hope thats enough adventure for a little while. I am back to volunteering all this week and nursing a slight cold. Miss you all lots and Ill continue to do my best to keep you updated.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
a toast to Ron Sieg.
today was quite wonderful.
i did not teach. i went to my spanish class first off. after doing half way well with getting the taxi driver there using my obviously steller spanish. i did try and get him to drive down a wrong way..but i regrouped and told him no problem, that i would just get out and walk the two blocks to the house...
the spanish classes are good. freakin overwhelming but good. my teacher is so helpful. we are working on irregular verbs. i am having trouble remembering them. not really having trouble working through the verb tenses or concept of them...just simply remembering them. virtually everthing that is told to me about the language. i understand...but then when it comes to having no paper in front of me, to remember the words is tough.
especially keeping in mind that i have two weeks to try and retain as much as i could about an elaborate topic. if i tried to learn quantum physics in two weeks. the broad concept might make sense,..i may enjoy the lectures...but i certainly would not walk away having retained more than 10 percent of what was told to me...it is a practice thing.
but i then headed to the job site..which is the same as the school site. an hour combi-bus ride up to the outskirts of town. today was cement the floor of a small school building day. i mean small...12 foot by 12 foot. but that is all you could do with such conditions.
they were waiting on the man with the concrete mixer to show up when i arrived. when he did it was a small concete mixer,..not a truck or anything...the engine started like one of those crank engine cars from like a hundred years ago. he got it started and left us to our devices. we used filthy water, cement bags and the gravel that was on the ground to make concrete.
there is one volunteer named andrew from the uk that has been the main construction force at the school. he does constructon for a living in the uk. there was a few other volunteers there to assist. i told him that i worked for a concrete company back in the late 90s. that officially made me the main cement finisher.
he had a thousand jobs..he had to make sure concete was being made properly, pointing folks in the right directions, over see the whole situation and not to slight the idea that he is the only one with a firm grasp of spanish...so everything falls on him....
well, being the main finisher and organizer of when the concrete is laid down was mine.
i would like to raise a toast to one Mr. Ron Sieg. he was the man whos company i worked for and the man who taught me how to finish concrete. although it was with large scale driveway concrete tools, a cement truck, american oranization and he still was the one who did most everything.
today, i finished my first concrete floor in a school building at the base of a mountain in peru with ultra subpar conditions. he was toasted this evening.
Ron past away a couple years ago of lung cancer. he was a good family friend and a wonderful person. he would be proud that such a humble skill to teach was used in such a way as today.
i am very proud of the whole experience. there is something tangible in ariquipa peru that marc ankenbauer made and would not be there if i did not show up to this country. or at least it would not have a nice M in the corner scratched in the floor with a trowel.
to ron,
be well all,
marc
i did not teach. i went to my spanish class first off. after doing half way well with getting the taxi driver there using my obviously steller spanish. i did try and get him to drive down a wrong way..but i regrouped and told him no problem, that i would just get out and walk the two blocks to the house...
the spanish classes are good. freakin overwhelming but good. my teacher is so helpful. we are working on irregular verbs. i am having trouble remembering them. not really having trouble working through the verb tenses or concept of them...just simply remembering them. virtually everthing that is told to me about the language. i understand...but then when it comes to having no paper in front of me, to remember the words is tough.
especially keeping in mind that i have two weeks to try and retain as much as i could about an elaborate topic. if i tried to learn quantum physics in two weeks. the broad concept might make sense,..i may enjoy the lectures...but i certainly would not walk away having retained more than 10 percent of what was told to me...it is a practice thing.
but i then headed to the job site..which is the same as the school site. an hour combi-bus ride up to the outskirts of town. today was cement the floor of a small school building day. i mean small...12 foot by 12 foot. but that is all you could do with such conditions.
they were waiting on the man with the concrete mixer to show up when i arrived. when he did it was a small concete mixer,..not a truck or anything...the engine started like one of those crank engine cars from like a hundred years ago. he got it started and left us to our devices. we used filthy water, cement bags and the gravel that was on the ground to make concrete.
there is one volunteer named andrew from the uk that has been the main construction force at the school. he does constructon for a living in the uk. there was a few other volunteers there to assist. i told him that i worked for a concrete company back in the late 90s. that officially made me the main cement finisher.
he had a thousand jobs..he had to make sure concete was being made properly, pointing folks in the right directions, over see the whole situation and not to slight the idea that he is the only one with a firm grasp of spanish...so everything falls on him....
well, being the main finisher and organizer of when the concrete is laid down was mine.
i would like to raise a toast to one Mr. Ron Sieg. he was the man whos company i worked for and the man who taught me how to finish concrete. although it was with large scale driveway concrete tools, a cement truck, american oranization and he still was the one who did most everything.
today, i finished my first concrete floor in a school building at the base of a mountain in peru with ultra subpar conditions. he was toasted this evening.
Ron past away a couple years ago of lung cancer. he was a good family friend and a wonderful person. he would be proud that such a humble skill to teach was used in such a way as today.
i am very proud of the whole experience. there is something tangible in ariquipa peru that marc ankenbauer made and would not be there if i did not show up to this country. or at least it would not have a nice M in the corner scratched in the floor with a trowel.
to ron,
be well all,
marc
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Hello everyone. greetings from cusco, peru. day 10, week 2. wait that doesn´t make sense. oh well.
where to begin? i´m keeping extremely busy every day! i would like to walk you through a typical day being jessi adams in cusco, peru. for your reading pleasure.
the alarm goes off and i sprint to the bathroom. (can any of you actually believe that? i know.) i do this because i share this bathroom with 4 other people. (it is a race to beat out three other shower seekers.) i then dart downstairs for my coffee, and my house mom Gloria can´t believe i´m so crazy and late and unorganized. it makes her laugh. she has now just gotten out of the way of the tornado that blows through her kitchen seeking REALLY BAD, and i do not use that term lightly, really bad coffee. i believe it´s like some sort of scoop powder stuff. i bought a "to go" mug in a local market this past weekend. it is like a child´s thermos, only cheaper. like it should have scooby doo on it. i think i really shouldn`t put hot liquid in it. oh well.
Now it´s time for the bus. let me explain. i rush down the street about 3 blocks and stand at the bus stop. there are "combi´s" which marc explained, (picture mini vans with a few extra benches for good measure.) so the morning commute involves being packed like a pickle between a child going to school and a wierd old man who´s trying to sit real close to you and smells funny. oh and you have to yell "baha" really loud when you think it´s your stop. if you don´t, they won´t stop. then you´ll go on a nice tour of the city.
i go to one stop and change combis and hop on another for the ride up the hill to the clinic. the road is cobblestone, but rises above cusco to reveal the entire valley. it reminds me of missoula. this is the most peaceful part of my next 4 hours. and i did explain what riding the combi is like, for some perspective.
i go into the public clinic where you are first faced with wading through a long line of people waiting for triage, where i worked last week. patients need height, weight, blood pressure taken before proceeding upstairs. it costs 3 soles 50 centiminos, which equals a little over a dollar, to enter the clinic. beyond that, every service is free.
i have survived the line, and head upstairs. this is where the waiting room is. it is a circus. there are at any time 40 patients with wailing babies or extremely old parents waiting to be seen.
the waiting room is packed with people, and smells bad.
i would like to briefly mention breast feeding. the reason i mention it is because i witness four year olds toddling up to their mothers, lifting their mother´s shirts and going to town. i do not understand this. there is much breast feeding going on, fun for the whole family.
i now go into my new room, "topico," which i refer to as the "stitches and shots" room. this room is a trip. we have to keep the door closed while working with one patient at a time while others knock and try to bust in. Picture a famous singer trying to get away from crazy fans and the security guard is fighting with arms, legs, hands, etc. to close the door. that´s how it feels! i´m serious! i am not, however, a famous singer, and i hardly suppose they´re seeking me... anyway, i digress.
i´ve seen so many butts in the last two days, giving shots. it has been a festival of butts, if you will. keep in mind that as all of this unfolds before me, i hardly understand the language. i have never experimented with hard drugs, but this must be its equivalent.
so, the 4 hours at the clinic come to an end as i hop on the combi to go to my school. i meet with a local girl who wants to learn english as i want to learn spanish. her name is kelly and we talk for an hour. she is very good at english, i a dullard at spanish. kelly finds it helpful to correct my "tenses." (i feel a major victory when the point of what i´m trying to say is understood, needless to say what tense i say it in.) whatever.
i proceed throughout my day, and finish with my two hour spanish class taught by my new friend george, pronounced "horhay." we had some drinks last weekend and he is a hoot. needless to say i know way too much about horhay. anyway, my spanish class is fun. it is fun only because horhay is extremely patient and has a good sense of humor.
i end my day by rushing home for dinner. dinner is a formal affair. my housemates, gloria, pepe, their son diego, and joe cocker. joe cocker is their cocker spaniel, and pepe is very proud of that name. every time he says the dog´s name he looks at me, waiting for a reaction, because the first time i heard it i just bust out laughing, loudly, at the table. there are 7 of us eating dinner. they all chit chat away the hours while i play with my food. i see how many small bites i can take just to kill time...sure i understand what they are saying.
then there is dessert. dessert varies on how much time gloria had to go for it. last night, for example, was cherry jello with fruit. it was not set. so it was like jello soup. very interesting.
my treat is being able to watch "friends" with spanish subtitles in the evening. then i go to bed, only to start the whole cycle over in the morning.
i hope i have amused you. i am now at the section of my schedule where i pack into a combi and head home for dinner and hopefully a repeat of the jello...
love,
jess
where to begin? i´m keeping extremely busy every day! i would like to walk you through a typical day being jessi adams in cusco, peru. for your reading pleasure.
the alarm goes off and i sprint to the bathroom. (can any of you actually believe that? i know.) i do this because i share this bathroom with 4 other people. (it is a race to beat out three other shower seekers.) i then dart downstairs for my coffee, and my house mom Gloria can´t believe i´m so crazy and late and unorganized. it makes her laugh. she has now just gotten out of the way of the tornado that blows through her kitchen seeking REALLY BAD, and i do not use that term lightly, really bad coffee. i believe it´s like some sort of scoop powder stuff. i bought a "to go" mug in a local market this past weekend. it is like a child´s thermos, only cheaper. like it should have scooby doo on it. i think i really shouldn`t put hot liquid in it. oh well.
Now it´s time for the bus. let me explain. i rush down the street about 3 blocks and stand at the bus stop. there are "combi´s" which marc explained, (picture mini vans with a few extra benches for good measure.) so the morning commute involves being packed like a pickle between a child going to school and a wierd old man who´s trying to sit real close to you and smells funny. oh and you have to yell "baha" really loud when you think it´s your stop. if you don´t, they won´t stop. then you´ll go on a nice tour of the city.
i go to one stop and change combis and hop on another for the ride up the hill to the clinic. the road is cobblestone, but rises above cusco to reveal the entire valley. it reminds me of missoula. this is the most peaceful part of my next 4 hours. and i did explain what riding the combi is like, for some perspective.
i go into the public clinic where you are first faced with wading through a long line of people waiting for triage, where i worked last week. patients need height, weight, blood pressure taken before proceeding upstairs. it costs 3 soles 50 centiminos, which equals a little over a dollar, to enter the clinic. beyond that, every service is free.
i have survived the line, and head upstairs. this is where the waiting room is. it is a circus. there are at any time 40 patients with wailing babies or extremely old parents waiting to be seen.
the waiting room is packed with people, and smells bad.
i would like to briefly mention breast feeding. the reason i mention it is because i witness four year olds toddling up to their mothers, lifting their mother´s shirts and going to town. i do not understand this. there is much breast feeding going on, fun for the whole family.
i now go into my new room, "topico," which i refer to as the "stitches and shots" room. this room is a trip. we have to keep the door closed while working with one patient at a time while others knock and try to bust in. Picture a famous singer trying to get away from crazy fans and the security guard is fighting with arms, legs, hands, etc. to close the door. that´s how it feels! i´m serious! i am not, however, a famous singer, and i hardly suppose they´re seeking me... anyway, i digress.
i´ve seen so many butts in the last two days, giving shots. it has been a festival of butts, if you will. keep in mind that as all of this unfolds before me, i hardly understand the language. i have never experimented with hard drugs, but this must be its equivalent.
so, the 4 hours at the clinic come to an end as i hop on the combi to go to my school. i meet with a local girl who wants to learn english as i want to learn spanish. her name is kelly and we talk for an hour. she is very good at english, i a dullard at spanish. kelly finds it helpful to correct my "tenses." (i feel a major victory when the point of what i´m trying to say is understood, needless to say what tense i say it in.) whatever.
i proceed throughout my day, and finish with my two hour spanish class taught by my new friend george, pronounced "horhay." we had some drinks last weekend and he is a hoot. needless to say i know way too much about horhay. anyway, my spanish class is fun. it is fun only because horhay is extremely patient and has a good sense of humor.
i end my day by rushing home for dinner. dinner is a formal affair. my housemates, gloria, pepe, their son diego, and joe cocker. joe cocker is their cocker spaniel, and pepe is very proud of that name. every time he says the dog´s name he looks at me, waiting for a reaction, because the first time i heard it i just bust out laughing, loudly, at the table. there are 7 of us eating dinner. they all chit chat away the hours while i play with my food. i see how many small bites i can take just to kill time...sure i understand what they are saying.
then there is dessert. dessert varies on how much time gloria had to go for it. last night, for example, was cherry jello with fruit. it was not set. so it was like jello soup. very interesting.
my treat is being able to watch "friends" with spanish subtitles in the evening. then i go to bed, only to start the whole cycle over in the morning.
i hope i have amused you. i am now at the section of my schedule where i pack into a combi and head home for dinner and hopefully a repeat of the jello...
love,
jess
Saturday, November 8, 2008
the volunteer haps and tuesday aftermath in peru.
hola, que tal?
i am enjoying a well deserved lazy morning at the hostel. a few coworkers and i were going to try and get off work, pack packs and get picked up by a bus at 1am to be shuttled to a three day trek to colca canyon. the second deepest canyon in the world, next to the one that is right next to it. we decided we would do it next week, as it was a complete rush and stressing us all out.
so instead we all got to gether for a girls birthday from the house. played drinking games around a big table. about 80 percent brits. they are so entertaining to listen to. i love it.
so now i pulled a jess and slept till 11 and am drinking coffee at my leisure and going to go see one of the tourist destinations in town. a slow weekend up ahead, maybe a day hike somewhere tomorrow.
as for my day to day. it is wonderful i am going to easily see these couple or few weeks as the best part of my trip. i dont care where i go or what we see. this just feels great. it feels so good to have a purpose. traveling is often aimless, which is wonderful also, but to have such a defined purpose obviously is great. and to know where i am at, to take left hand turns through ally ways with purpose and with out consulting the map in the travel book..etc...
so, i officially have two crushes. or i should say i am the focus of two crushes. two 9 year old peruvian girls, stephanie and something like marliana or the like... it is "teacher" this, and "teacher" that.
i have to hold both of their hands on the way from the school to the playground. we were all dividing up for our daily soccer match. they walked up to one of the captains and explained in spanish to them that if they pick me they are picking all three of us. so i come as a package deal on the soccer field now.
i was goalie because i have been beating the hell out of myself everyday trying to keep up with these little peruvian kids at 9000 feet. (though, for a huge gringo, i think i hold my own). but, i was sitting in goal and they just stood back there and talked to me, asked me questions. kinda good for my spanish really. it is funny.
the kids in general are really taking to me. jess told me to be goofy. that they would love it. well it worked...
the word, "piscado" is fish. and we were playing word bingo and my terets syndrome (i dont really have terrets for those that dont know) kicked in and i kept singing this soulful version of piscado. you would have to be there. but they had me keep doing it...piscado...yeah...
what else. i taught them to hit the rock and yell bamm when they do it. i feel like i have already written this, but it is worth mentioning again. our friend, wes would be proud. that is one of his trade marks, in missoula.
so, when we score a goal, they all run back to me and hit my rock and we yell bamm. they ask me what in the world it means and i have to explain in terrible spanish that it is not even a "polabra" or word. they dont understand, but they still like it.
they also are completely taken by my bald head. keeping in mind that we have 9 year olds and we have 2 year olds. little kids have no issue with just walking up to you and rubbing your bald head. it is quite easy for them as i have to pile my entire 6 foot 4 frame onto a 12 inch high wooded childrens stool while we teach.
but in the world of everyone having dense, thick, never ending black hair. a huge, bald, white guy is an attraction that is not to be missed. one needs to reach up and just wrench on my head to touch it in wonder.
so in turn i taught them bald is beautiful. they think that is funny. "calvo es bonito". that one gets me pretty far.
the way to the school is about a 45 minute combi ride. the classic chicken bus, although in the city we have yet to have chickens...but in concept it is absolutly the same. i have gotten stuck standing a few times and the top of the bus is probably 2 feet shorter than i am so i am this enormous bent over gringo. they feel bad for me and try and find a spot to stash me. at least they tend to try.
what an experience the transit is in this country. the taxis are nuts and so are the busses. five minutes in the streets of a peruvian city is like a life time of bad driving in the states. it is not bad, it is just completely and utterly without rules. and what rules there are, certainly do not favor the pedestrian.
jess and i were writing each other about the concept of just blanking on our spanish. during class, my teacher and i are back and forth and i try to force myself out of my comfort level. tell a story in spanish and allow her to critique it. she laughs as i am animated with my attempts. but it helps. but when, i get out of the house and dont have a thousand note books and pieces of paper around me...i blank on the most basic things. but it is coming along. we are working on verbs and they just blew my mind yesterday with the most important 10 or so irregular verbs. i can work with rules but just memorizing every single version as they follow no rules is hard. welcome to english, we make language rules and shatter them within the same sentance. the kids tell me that espanal is "mui facile" but to me "es mui difficile". i am sure jess would agree.
on a completly different note. every american i have met has been floating along on a cloud of pride for the last few days. not even just americans as i have had 100 conversations or interactions with people from around the world who feel as for the first time in 8 years we have something absolutly good to look forward to. i would have loved to be in the states to celebrate with my peers, but that was not to be. i even have a friend who was at obamas acceptance speech in chicago,...what a moment that would have been.
i would also like to give a unexpected lot of credit.
john mccains speech was everything i could have asked for. he stepped out of his parties bias and anger and pleeded for his contingent to melt with the rest of america and make it whole again. he expounded upon obamas accolaids and asked for respect to be shown to a man who undoubtedly deserves it. for that he gained my respect. dont get me wrong, i am beside my self with happiness that the man did not win, but that was a respectful plea for bipartisan politics.
so, i will continue to explain our pride as a country to those from around the world who ask for my insight into the situation and there are many who do.
i am proud of all of you who changed the world on tuesday. we should be proud of ourselves as a country. we made truth and good prevail,..that is all we can ask for in this world.
to brighter days,
be well,
marc
i am enjoying a well deserved lazy morning at the hostel. a few coworkers and i were going to try and get off work, pack packs and get picked up by a bus at 1am to be shuttled to a three day trek to colca canyon. the second deepest canyon in the world, next to the one that is right next to it. we decided we would do it next week, as it was a complete rush and stressing us all out.
so instead we all got to gether for a girls birthday from the house. played drinking games around a big table. about 80 percent brits. they are so entertaining to listen to. i love it.
so now i pulled a jess and slept till 11 and am drinking coffee at my leisure and going to go see one of the tourist destinations in town. a slow weekend up ahead, maybe a day hike somewhere tomorrow.
as for my day to day. it is wonderful i am going to easily see these couple or few weeks as the best part of my trip. i dont care where i go or what we see. this just feels great. it feels so good to have a purpose. traveling is often aimless, which is wonderful also, but to have such a defined purpose obviously is great. and to know where i am at, to take left hand turns through ally ways with purpose and with out consulting the map in the travel book..etc...
so, i officially have two crushes. or i should say i am the focus of two crushes. two 9 year old peruvian girls, stephanie and something like marliana or the like... it is "teacher" this, and "teacher" that.
i have to hold both of their hands on the way from the school to the playground. we were all dividing up for our daily soccer match. they walked up to one of the captains and explained in spanish to them that if they pick me they are picking all three of us. so i come as a package deal on the soccer field now.
i was goalie because i have been beating the hell out of myself everyday trying to keep up with these little peruvian kids at 9000 feet. (though, for a huge gringo, i think i hold my own). but, i was sitting in goal and they just stood back there and talked to me, asked me questions. kinda good for my spanish really. it is funny.
the kids in general are really taking to me. jess told me to be goofy. that they would love it. well it worked...
the word, "piscado" is fish. and we were playing word bingo and my terets syndrome (i dont really have terrets for those that dont know) kicked in and i kept singing this soulful version of piscado. you would have to be there. but they had me keep doing it...piscado...yeah...
what else. i taught them to hit the rock and yell bamm when they do it. i feel like i have already written this, but it is worth mentioning again. our friend, wes would be proud. that is one of his trade marks, in missoula.
so, when we score a goal, they all run back to me and hit my rock and we yell bamm. they ask me what in the world it means and i have to explain in terrible spanish that it is not even a "polabra" or word. they dont understand, but they still like it.
they also are completely taken by my bald head. keeping in mind that we have 9 year olds and we have 2 year olds. little kids have no issue with just walking up to you and rubbing your bald head. it is quite easy for them as i have to pile my entire 6 foot 4 frame onto a 12 inch high wooded childrens stool while we teach.
but in the world of everyone having dense, thick, never ending black hair. a huge, bald, white guy is an attraction that is not to be missed. one needs to reach up and just wrench on my head to touch it in wonder.
so in turn i taught them bald is beautiful. they think that is funny. "calvo es bonito". that one gets me pretty far.
the way to the school is about a 45 minute combi ride. the classic chicken bus, although in the city we have yet to have chickens...but in concept it is absolutly the same. i have gotten stuck standing a few times and the top of the bus is probably 2 feet shorter than i am so i am this enormous bent over gringo. they feel bad for me and try and find a spot to stash me. at least they tend to try.
what an experience the transit is in this country. the taxis are nuts and so are the busses. five minutes in the streets of a peruvian city is like a life time of bad driving in the states. it is not bad, it is just completely and utterly without rules. and what rules there are, certainly do not favor the pedestrian.
jess and i were writing each other about the concept of just blanking on our spanish. during class, my teacher and i are back and forth and i try to force myself out of my comfort level. tell a story in spanish and allow her to critique it. she laughs as i am animated with my attempts. but it helps. but when, i get out of the house and dont have a thousand note books and pieces of paper around me...i blank on the most basic things. but it is coming along. we are working on verbs and they just blew my mind yesterday with the most important 10 or so irregular verbs. i can work with rules but just memorizing every single version as they follow no rules is hard. welcome to english, we make language rules and shatter them within the same sentance. the kids tell me that espanal is "mui facile" but to me "es mui difficile". i am sure jess would agree.
on a completly different note. every american i have met has been floating along on a cloud of pride for the last few days. not even just americans as i have had 100 conversations or interactions with people from around the world who feel as for the first time in 8 years we have something absolutly good to look forward to. i would have loved to be in the states to celebrate with my peers, but that was not to be. i even have a friend who was at obamas acceptance speech in chicago,...what a moment that would have been.
i would also like to give a unexpected lot of credit.
john mccains speech was everything i could have asked for. he stepped out of his parties bias and anger and pleeded for his contingent to melt with the rest of america and make it whole again. he expounded upon obamas accolaids and asked for respect to be shown to a man who undoubtedly deserves it. for that he gained my respect. dont get me wrong, i am beside my self with happiness that the man did not win, but that was a respectful plea for bipartisan politics.
so, i will continue to explain our pride as a country to those from around the world who ask for my insight into the situation and there are many who do.
i am proud of all of you who changed the world on tuesday. we should be proud of ourselves as a country. we made truth and good prevail,..that is all we can ask for in this world.
to brighter days,
be well,
marc
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Good day from Cusco!
This is a quick one, I just want to make sure we all keep track of my rapid grasp of spanish...Yesterday my supervisor was asking me for something, did I have "blahblahblah?" It seemed like she was in a hurry. I was digging through my pockets in front of the whole waiting room and got excited as I realized she must want the crumpled up toilet paper in my pocket! (Why I thought this I have no idea.) So, I pulled out my stash of toilet paper and handed it to her, proudly! She laughed so loud as she explained to me that she was asking for a pen..
Then today, I tried writing with a thermometer. What? It looked like a pen. I´m glad that was infront of my supervisor as well. I am making an absolutely stellar impression. I know it.
On an exciting note though, I got to work with patients all morning. I got to observe a young mother breast feed for the first time, with a team of "mothers" (nurses) around her. At one point my supervisor must´ve been talking about her own experience, because the next thing I know she´s decided to show all of us her breast. So she just took it out and showed us.
The End.
Love,
Jess
This is a quick one, I just want to make sure we all keep track of my rapid grasp of spanish...Yesterday my supervisor was asking me for something, did I have "blahblahblah?" It seemed like she was in a hurry. I was digging through my pockets in front of the whole waiting room and got excited as I realized she must want the crumpled up toilet paper in my pocket! (Why I thought this I have no idea.) So, I pulled out my stash of toilet paper and handed it to her, proudly! She laughed so loud as she explained to me that she was asking for a pen..
Then today, I tried writing with a thermometer. What? It looked like a pen. I´m glad that was infront of my supervisor as well. I am making an absolutely stellar impression. I know it.
On an exciting note though, I got to work with patients all morning. I got to observe a young mother breast feed for the first time, with a team of "mothers" (nurses) around her. At one point my supervisor must´ve been talking about her own experience, because the next thing I know she´s decided to show all of us her breast. So she just took it out and showed us.
The End.
Love,
Jess
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