Birthweek Adventure

What a way to welcome a new year of life! In effect, I've had a birthweek rather than a birthday and I could not have felt more loved! It began with the stomach flipping flight in Nasca, followed by a dune skipping afternoon in Huacachina. Ponytail like a windsock, flapping straight behind me, my competetive little 4 person buggy racing the larger buggies, crashing it's way over moguls and clawing up 80 degree inclines - in sand remember - phew! What a rush! It was a good thing that I borrowed glasses to protect my eyes - my chapstick however seemed to be enjoying collecting little grains as momentos (my hair, ears, nose and clothes had already tucked away more than their fair share) and my shoes no longer seemed to fit as they must have been harboring a dune each!

My last run was by far the highest and steepest and I followed those before me by going straight down on my belly. Fresh wax aided my mach speed decent which was exhilerating until I hit the solid bumps at the end. They came out of nowhere and you know that tradition of birthday spanks? Well, I'm pretty sure that's what they were going for. I got beat. A couple nice bruises and enough sand packed in one ear that I heard static for hours.

As night fell, we were treated with a sparkling view of the lagoon and the drivers invited me out for a night of dancing. But of course! Dancin' shoes (eg flipflops) on, I headed to the local salsa bar. I ended up being one of a handful of girls the whole night, so needless to say I could barely catch my breath between songs. The bar tender had studied salsa in cuba, which made him a great partner and once he found out that I was celebrating my birthday, he made me my first 'Pisco Sour', a Peruvian specialty, bien fuerte and wrote a public invitation on his whiteboard outside to my birthday fiesta!

In bed by 4 and up at 6am, I took a boat tour of a group of islands that are home to masses of birds, including penguins, giant red crabs, and sea lions which was fun and then hopped a couple busses back up to Lima. It's nice to have a 'home' to go to and relax a little before my third group arrived.

Soon enough, I was back out at the Lima airport meeting my new kids. A group of 8, 6 girls and 2 boys that I could tell were going to be a handfull (just kidding compañeros!). A flight to Cusco the next morning, shopping for piñatas and plenty o' stuffing, taking care of a sickling student coming from another trip (there's your shoutout Ann :) and then off to Pisac for the evening where we were met with festivities in full swing - for my birthday eve of course (or possibly in celebration of San Carmen?) Our hotel's balcony overlooks the main square so we were treated with a fantastic view of men trotting horses around in circles with bottles of beer raised high, random groups of people in matching outfits marching through and bunches of revelers dancing to flutes and harps and panpipes! One particularly disturbing aspect was the live chickens they would string up like piñatas, twisting and pulling them every which way as the horsemen reached and tried to yank them down! Fireworks capped off our evening but the music and parades lasted throughout the night and I was awakened every hour by marching bands and hoots and hollars... usually not ideal, but I could only smile - it was a great way to start my birthday! My new hotpink birthday underwear (thanks Mom), a couple birthday hugs from the kids and a couple calls from my parents and a friend made the morning even better!

The ruins, the meeting with the mayor, a short tour of Ollantaytambo and then, the moment I'd been really waiting for... my return to Socma! As we approached, the village kids came running from different nooks and crannies and I received more hugs and wishes of 'Feliz Cumpleaños Yessi'! We played a little volleyball and when dinner time rolled around, our cooks had prepared a special stacked pancake birthday cake as a surprise since I'd planned the party for the coming Saturday so that all the kids could attend. What a happy day! The next morning I noticed Max, my fellow guide, meeting with about 15 villagers that we had already worked with. Later, I find out that they had called Max in and not the other way around, to tell him that they wanted to do something special for my birthday - cook a special meal perhaps. Luckily he convinced them that because we would have guineapig, the usual birthday meal in a couple days for the inauguration, that trout would be a better option. How special that not only did they somehow find out and remember, but also wanted to make me something!

I will save the actual birthday party for my next entry. It was such an incredible, exciting and touching day - truly beyond words! I was also the recipient of the most intricately beautiful and unique hat from Max's family and more than 150 notifications on facebook! THANK YOU SO MUCH! As any of you that read my blog regularly, I could not love my friends more and it really means so much to hear from so many of you, in different languages even, when I am clear across the world! I am still smiling from all the warm wishes!

I must head to bed now. I promise I am trying to catch up on blog writing and photo uploading whenever I get a decent enough computer and connection! So many exciting things happening down here!

Rustic Fundraising

Buenos dias de Peru! I hope this message finds you well and enjoying your summer in contrast to the chilly winter down here. Rather than regale you with tales of adventure, I'm writing to extend a philanthropic request.

As many of you know, I've been working for a company called Rustic Pathways (www.rusticpathways.com) which provides opportunities of travel, cultural exchange and service work for highschool students from around the world. This is the same company that I worked for in New Orleans and India. Having a chance to guide these kids at a pivotal time in their lives has been both a challenge and one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

In Peru's Sacred Valley, you'll find another smaller hidden valley with several tiny villages such as Camicancha and Socma, where Rustic Pathways is currently based. These villages are home to 20-50 families each and they are tight-knit communities that live off the land, use the barter system in the markets for life's necessities and, if the families are lucky enough to sell any additional goods, they may have enough to send a child or two to school. The village schoolhouses only serve children until about the age of 8.

Rustic Pathways is a fantastic program that it is an honor to be a part of. This year however, I've discovered a need for assistance. As we all know, the economy has affected everybody and Rustic Pathways has also been impacted with registration for most programs falling significantly. As a result, the project which was designed based on the success of building bathrooms for each family last year, is simply not possible.

This year’s project was designed to help develop a sustainable income and improve the quality of life. Each family that chose to participate would work in conjunction with students to build a guinea pig coop (the domestication of which has been in Peru for more than 4000 years). From start to finish they’d work together, overcoming language and cultural barriers, mixing adobe mud with their bare feet, making and placing the bricks to form walls, peeling bamboo to lay across the roof and finally using the mud mortar to attach the roof tiles. The students would also shuck corn in the community fields and cut the first alfalfa to be fed to their guinea pigs, not to mention play soccer and other games with the children, learn Quechua and sometimes teach English. Both sides benefit greatly, not only for the 8 work days, but through a long lasting impression of the power of one person, the difference you can make no matter your age, juxtaposed with the power of many, of community, of humanity.

The idea to provide a means of income for these families through the building of a coop, purchasing 7 guinea pigs, and alfalfa seed for each, was received so well by the municipality that they joined us in partnership and promised to provide the doors and windows for every coop that we built! We had more than 45 families ask to participate; they need only lay the foundation.

Since Rustic Pathways received fewer students and, thus, less funding than expected, we had to scale back the plan, only building a coop for every family that had already prepared their foundation. After a warm reception and a special pachamanca meal, I attended the meeting with the village heads at which the news was broken. Although they understood that is was out of our control, it was impossible to mask their disappointment. Even worse, when they came up with a list of 19 families, anxiously awaiting the students, we found we only had funding for 16. Three families had to be cut from the list and tears were shed in drawing the fateful line through those names.

It was that moment, my heart so profoundly touched, that I was determined to help.

The cost of an entire coop, building supplies, tools, bamboo rods, support poles, roof tiles, the skylight and of course the guinea pigs is a mere $200usd. Once built, the municipality will not only supply the doors and windows, but continue to provide veterinary support for the animals as well as alfalfa seed. The gestation period of a guinea pig is 3 months and the she is ready to impregnate again just 2 hours after giving birth (to 2-5 babies)! Again, we are not introducing anything new and invasive to these communities. There is evidence to the raising of guinea pigs in Peru since at least 2000 BC and it is now even more practical since the tourist industry places such high demand for guinea pigs - it's a must have on every menu, which means there is even a future potential for export! I am asking you my friends, from the bottom of my heart, for a donation of any amount towards this worthy project. Whether it be $5 or $50, to be able to build those three remaining coops would mean so much to me and this community. If you would like to donate, the easiest way is to do so directly through the Rustic Pathways foundation (www.rusticpathways.org), which is tax deductable (for those in the states :). No amount is too small and anything left over will either be used to build more coops next summer or for the sister project that Rustic is working on - that of bringing electricity to Socma. Eventually we would like to get a couple of computers for the school to improve the education of the little Socmans. Thank you so much for taking the time to read through this. Let me know if you have any questions and I send a big hug from South America!

Can you imagine?

Imagine teaching a 10 year old salsa steps. Now set yourself in a poor rural village, late at night where the boy's giant grin radiates the starlight and his eyes sparkle with excitement and the recognition that he's learning something from outside his small world. Now add an American student next to you, simultaneously learning from you, teaching another young child and getting an invaluable cultural experience.

Imagine living in a tiny community of 30 or so families, of whom a few speak a foriegn language that you understand and most only speak a truly foreign language that you are slowing picking up phrase by phrase. Imagine the moment that these generally polite, quiet and somewhat shy women gift you a nonverbal sign of acceptance by allowing you to help them cook a special meal. They hand you an unrecognized red vegetable to grate into a gourd as well as many approving smiles, while the guinea pig roasts on the spit next to you.

Ahh, the suprises! Imagine a makeshift fourth of July celebration, surprising the kids in front of a jungle waterfall at the base of Machu Picchu with firecrackers and confetti. How about surprising a student who came for her first time to Peru after having been adopted from the country as a baby, with a special role in the coop inauguration ceremony - breaking a clay pot of chicha with the mayor over the first doorway. Try a birthday surprise for one of the students of a candled cake, a card and clanging pot and plans! Even I get surprises when a couple students decide to replace my half-dead headphones with a new set - how sweet!

Can you imagine me giving an interview on the radio, being broadcast to the entire Urubamba valley, speaking about the project and such subjects as sustainable development, cultural exchange, construction of guinea pig coops and our partnership with the municipality... all en español !!? Well, I did! :)

This last group of kids were an awesome bunch. A diverse set of personalities that, for the most part, worked well together. It makes all the difference in the world to have kids that are aware of the impact that they are making, are interested in learning about where they are, the history, the future, simply put, they care. I'm sending another big thanks y un abrazo fuerte de Peru to each of them!

I'm writing this entry from Huacachina, an honest to goodness oasis. A blue lagoon surrounded by mountainous sand dunes, beckoning to be played on... and so I shall :) If bungee jumping off the highest jump in the Americas was not enough of a birthday adventure (although I must say it was quite possible the most thrilling and frightful moment of my life - more than skydiving!), then I thought I'd try a flight over the enigmatic nasca lines (sitting as co-pilot :) coupled with an afternoon of sandboarding! I know this year I am a little early, but I'll be spending my actual birthday back in Socma with the next group, perhaps not an adventure, but nevertheless with the potential of being one of my best bithdays ever! We're throwing un gran fiesta for the village, replete with confetti, music, cake and I'm hoping to track down a piñata as well! All the trappings to usher in my 28th... ach, I can't believe it!!