Traditions for good luck

What do you do in the U.S. for new years? Everyone asks me this question. Eat little weiners and stay up watching TV - watching how others celebrate and bring in the new year. I felt a little silly sharing this with others. Here there are more than enough traditions here to go around. I started with green herb soup this morning, brings good luck. It has herbs, egg, cheese and potatoe (if you wish, you add aji - green spicy flavoring). I was also told that I need to eat 12 grapes at midnight (make a wish for everyone), bath with grounded up cinnamon to bring good luck in love, put this lemon spelling plant in the corner of my room for good health, put a vase of yellow flowers in my bedroom and also wear yellow underwear (for general good luck), and carry a small bag of lentils and rice with me when I go out, and at midnight, throw them up in the air for good luck with money. That's a lot of work for good luck, no? Whatever your traditions are today or in the future, may they be filled with good luck, too. Cheers to 2008!

Touched

I met an amazing women today, well I meet amazing women everyday, but today I especially felt touched. She is the mother of 6, all children (including the oldest 25 yr. - studying to be a lawyer) still live with her in her 3 bedroom house. She is the secretary in her village bank, which has existed for the past 4 yrs! She complains of a machismo husband that won't let her do everything she wants. She stays up most nights until 2am knitting, so she can sell a sweater for 5 soles (almost $2). She makes up her own patterns of something that she thinks will look good. She is a health promoter and likes helping out her poor neighbors, and this is a women who lives in a dirt floor house. Her family just moved into this house because in her previous house one of the walls collapsed. She told me how she loves to help new, young moms. "If you don't have money for pants for your kid, then you take your old pants, cut them and make pants for your child, here...I'll show you." She has all kinds of animals in her patio (rabbits, ducks, chickens, etc..) and would love to have some land again. Her family use to live out of town, but they moved into town so that they wouldn't spend so much money on travel expenses for the kids going to and from school. She visits the mayor's office to ask for help for the poor, shoe-less kids in her neighbor. The last mayor gave christmas gifts to the kids in her neighbor, but this year the new mayor won't spend a dime. What can I offer this woman? She is empowered, beautiful, knowledgeable, savvy, kind, giving, surviving, and thankful. I am left to re-evaluate myself here once again.

Augh! Mail, Where?

I finally found the post office. I only had to ask a dozen people; and the common response was a deer-in-headlights look and then a slight, non-confident point in a random direction. When I stumbled into the post office after doing circles around multiple blocks from the random directions I got, the lady working there very confidently told me I had no mail. I asked her to please check. Viola! One piece of mail (Thanks cousin Laura!) So despite constant questions from friends and fam, you can send mail to me:
Nora Bedard
Serpost, Cajamarca
Cajamarca, Peru
South America

Some little helpful tidbits about mailing:
-all packages should be able to fit in a padded envelope
-on the green/white customs form you fill out and stick to the package: write “gift”, so to be declared as “non-commercial stuff”
- Writing "Dios te bendiga" or adding crosses on the outside of the envelope is encouraged.
-if it asks for the value, no matter what, put less $ (than $100).

Noche Buena

I did get to celebrate Christmas Eve, twice actually. I ate a turkey dinner with my landlords, which included paneton, hot cocoa, and peruvian wine. It was a joyous dinner with stories and laughs. I then had to rest up for my second Christmas eve dinner with Paola and her family. I met Paola at 11pm in the central plaza, where it felt like there was a street party going on. Food, gifts, music, barbies, you could find it all on the street. Some people were carrying their baby jesus that they had just gotten blessed at mass. We walked through the chaotic streets to get to her sister's house and waited until midnight to toast and eat. Her dad dressed up as Santa Clause for the two little kiddos in the house. We drank more wine, shared stories, kissed the baby jesus at midnight and put him in his place in the nativity scene, and finally put on some dance music so we could truely celebrate. Today I am feeling a little under the weather, too much dance music maybe? I am planning on staying in and reading ''Cosmo" and resting up so that I can celebrate again on New Years.
Blessing to all today and beyond- far in distance, close in heart!

Windows and Water

It doesn't feel like Christmas here, partly because of the 70 degree weather, and because I am not stuffin my face with x-mas cookies. Truely, I am a little bummed, but am making the most
of this beautiful part of the world. Yesterday, my new friend Kenny Richards, a peruvian who is in the mining business, took me to "las ventanillas." They are literally little windows that were used by the Incas as tombs. It is amazing that from far away a mountain can look like it has windows. Then this morning I didn't want to fight with my shower and the lack of hot water, so I went to Banos de Inca, these thermal baths just outside of town. These baths were the location of the beginning of the fall of the northern Inca empire at the hands of the Spainards. It was a toasty hot, egg smelly bath; it was absolutely perfect.

Chocolatadas

You ask, isn't Nora working yet? I have been visiting a number of village banks in order to meet the women I will be supporting this year. Many of the bank meetings turn into "Chocolatadas," a hot cocoa and massive bread eating party for Christmas. It is a great way to meet the women and just chat, explain myself, ask them about their businesses, families, hopes and dreams. However, with that being said I will be glad when the holiday season is over and I don't need to stuff myself with paneton (the holiday bread of choice here). The women are animated and have great ideas of things they would like to be doing, so I have included some pictures of them here (and a picture of the office staff I am working with). In the meantime, I am reading an inspirational book on microcredit, "Ripples from the Zambezi." There is a great quote from it that I am cradling... "Everywhere people ask,'What can I actually do?' The answer is as simple as it is disconcerting; we can each of us, put our inner house in order. The guidance we need for this work cannot be found in science or technology, the value of which utterly depends on the ends they serve; but it can still be found in the traditional wisdom of mankind."

Food, Poverty and Peace

I ate my first meal in the market. 2.5 soles, a little less than $1 and I got a plate of yummy food. The cook offered me "sopa de cabeza," roughly translated as soup of parts of the head of a cow. I declined, but took more lentils. I hear that sopa de cabeza is a favorite here, especially for breakfast because it gives you energy for the day.

I had a completely different eating experience the next day, and it has caused a bit of an internal dilemma. After a morning of soccer I wanted to chow down on some chicken. So, logically, I went to "Super Chicken." I got a plate of fried chicken, fries, salad and the typical sweet chicha drink. I am sitting by the door, enjoying my feast, as I witness a string of people with hard, rough faces make their way into the restaurant with begging hands. The waiter gives them the scrap leftovers, bones, a few pieces of carrot, and then hurrys them on their way. Although the food was delicious, the experience left me with an empty feeling. I know my mission here is to serve and listen to those in poverty, but somehow my super chicken experience made me feel like that isn't enough. I am struggling now with how to find peace with doing what I can, knowing and feeling the pain and suffering that is in my surroundings, and still be Nora. We live in a world where peace and pain exist simultaneously. I need to re-figure out how to live with these two extremes, but I guess that is also the human condition, no?

Make-out capital

I swear that Cajamarca is the make-out capital of the world. Well, maybe Peru in general (see Lima pic of Lovers Park). People here are so affectionate, day, night, young, old, everywhere you see couples going at it. In fact from my beautiful mountain view apartment window I also get front row seats to "Mother´s park," the park that rarely has a park bench open. In order to be culturally competent, I should participate, no?
On an unrelated note, I have also witnessed donkeys grazing from the little grass they can find outside of my house and I found an empty gas container!

Cumbe de Mayo

I had to celebrate the settling in the apartment by taking a trip out of town. With some friends I went to cumbe de mayo, a national protected inca heritage site up the mountain from cajamarca. I was in absolute awe. It is this series of majestic rock mountains that contain an ancient water canal system throughout. The aqueduct water canal system had perfect right angles, though it was made 1,200 BC. Originally, I thought we might see one rock formation, but it turned into an all afternoon hike with a stunning views at every turn. If my stomach hadn´t been grumbling I would have absorbed more of the history that our guide and friend, Paola, was explaining. But, I am not too worried, as I am planning on visiting again, with a picnic and warm sweater next time. This was a mind clearing and peaceful space to just be in, especially considering the spiritual history that it holds. I needed that - the past couple of days I have been running around looking for an empty gas container to give to my neighbor who borrowed me one. Everyone sells full gas containers, but nobody sells empty ones. The search continues...

Mountain and Rebar apartment

I can finally say that I am "somewhat" settled into my apartment that will be my home and refuge for this coming year. It took a whole lot of patience and uncertainity and paint fumes before I actually moved my suitcases and furniture there, but it is all in. I am living in a 2nd floor apartment that has windows that stretch the length of walls, which make the mountains seem larger than life. Besides the mts., I also get a great view of all the rebar metal sticking up from neighbors unfinished rooftops - the sense of optimism that the house is going to grow. I´ve got the works: kitchen, patio overlooking the downstairs garden, bathroom complete with a luke warm water shower, and internet soon. It feels a little more grounding to be in a place of my own. There is a sweet family that lives downstairs, although during the whole moving process, they continued to tell me something would be done and then come to find out it wasn´t. For example, the apartment wasn´t clean when I was going to move in. I have much to learn about Peruvian communication.

Something I do appreciate about Peruvian culture is that as soon as you meet someone, they are your friend. No matter if there are differences, peruvians have extended their friendship invitation to me only moments after meeting them. Now it is a matter of growing those friendships. Pictured here are my friends Maggie (Director of Discover Hope), me, and Elizabeth at a swanky karaoke bar in town.

Llacanora

This morning I went out of town to hike with a new friend, Elizabeth, who is Cajamarca for awhile. We took a minivan out to Llacanora and I immediately felt like the air was cleaner as we entered this little village on the base of the mountains. In the middle of the park there was a andean music band dressed in colorful clothes with their video man - they were recording a video for carnival. We found out they were hiking up to the waterfalls too, so there we were with the band in this beautiful countryside. The women in the band were hiking with their high heels, so I wasn´t complaining about being a little winded. I was picturing this peaceful hike to the waterfalls, but we were also joined by about 100 little kids on a field trip. The band did a performance alongside the waterfalls and I felt like we were witnessing live Peruvian MTV at it´s finest. The band, the kids, and the countryside, it was all a great get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Movin' and Shakin'

Maggie in market with all my housewares & our taxi driver carrying bed to apartment & Nora in the middle of the furniture section of the market.

BBQ Heart and other treats

My highlight of the past 24 hours was BBQ cow heart, yummy! My lowlight was remembering that I am on Peruvian time and things don´t always work out as planned. I was suppose to move into my apartment today, but when we arrived at the apartment with my kitchenware and some furniture, I was told, "mañana" (tomorrow, for sure). But tomorrow doesn't really mean tomorrow. It means at some point in the not-so-near future.

On the topic of food, I have also tried the local ceviche here, which is unlike ceviche in other latin american countries. It is more chewy. See picture. I like the BBQ heart better.

First week in Cajamarca

I woke up again this morning to the sound of trumpets. There has been a parade every other day outside of our hotel, conveniently located on the corner of the main square in town. Yesterday after I hiked up above cajamarca, when I came back into town there was a army gun parade, complete with bombs shooting up from the park. No one was hurt, everyone seemed to think it was a good time.
There are new noises to get use to - and on top of that I have to keep remembering not to put toilet paper in the toilet, look both ways twice before crossing the street because pedestrians don't have rights, prepare myself for past 3 am disco nights and watch my starch intake. Other than that, cajamarca has been treating me well and my heart is comfortable and happy here.

Safe landing

I have arrived in my new home for the year, after an uncomfortable 15 hr. night bus ride and some altitude adjustment I am soaking in cajamarca. Maggie has been a phenomenal guide, and I feel like I immediately have a ton of friends. The mountains are majestic, Guatemalan mountains feel like hills compared to the Andes. The people are beautiful; there is a mix of modern and ancient here. The mercado is like a piece of heaven, I will be getting fat this year, guaranteed.
Today I went out to the "campo," or countryside, to meet some of the women I will be working with. I went with one of my new coworkers, Vanessa. She told me as I got on the moto, "I don´t have my license (to drive), but I will drive safe." What else could I do, but let the wind brush my hair as I sat in awe of the mountains and surroundings that were a feast for my new eyes?

Leaving for the unknown

The countdown has begun to leave the known and prepare for the unknown. Wanted to share the website of the organization I'll be working with in Peru. Check it out: www.discoverhopefund.org