Last Day

A year has come full circle. Excited. Disbelief. Exhausted. Extremely happy. I am on the verge of leaving Cajamarca tomorrow and just filled with lots of emotion. I am ready to venture to another part of Peru, but not ready to close this chapter in my life. I am ready for a break, a good, long break, which is what is happening starting this very minute. For those of you (all 5 of you still reading this blog) that are unclear about my future village bank work; I am taking a rest the month of December and will be stuffing my face and putting smiles on my face at home in MN and then returning to Cajamarca in January for another year of work (aka providing educational and training opportunities to village banks loan recipients in and around town). I am excited about what may be accomplished in the coming year with women I have grown to support this year. I won't have to come back to Cajamarca and start from scratch. The foundation has been laid and now we build the house, or businesses in this case. No doubt I will be a cheerleader again next year, rooting and supporting the women loan recipients in any way possible, but now I know who I am rooting for.

Next year?! There are still days to fill this year. Jen, my old Guatemala peace corps bud, was here this week. We went to visit one of the groups in the countryside and see all their newly born spring animals (including a day old piggie - love at first sight). It was our own little personal, live zoo. We ran errands, went to good-bye eating engagements and wandered around town like tourists. There is still one last event tonight - an Andean music fusion rock concert. So we won't leave Cajamarca on a quiet note. This week we are heading to Huaraz, Ancash: snow-capped mountains, crystal blue lagoons, artisans towns, etc....I will get my week of full Peruvian tourism in before I touch U.S. soil. Hope to share some last Peruvian photos this coming week before all the midwest family and friend reunions begin. Do stay tuned and in touch. See you soon!
Chao (for a little bit) Cajamarca!

Despidida

Hugo's mom threw a little BBQ good bye party for me in the countryside on Sunday. I tried to turn it into a potluck, but the concept of potlucks doesn't translate very easy into Peruvian language. Anyways, we had some good food, weather, conversation and dance. And, of course I had to give a little speech on the fly.


Jen, my last visitor for 2008, made it safely into town today and so the few days I have left in Cajamarca I will drag her with me to run errands, buy things, and wrap up my literacy test documents and do some fun things in between. Speaking of literacy tests: 7 out of the 9 women that took the test on Saturday passed and therefore will receive a certificate in January from the Department of Education stating that they are literate! Yeah for Andrea, Elena, Precila, Casimira, Maria Cruz, Sebastiana and Angelica!!!! Good work to all.

Many, many cups of tea

Let sorrowful longing dwell in your heart.
Never give up, never lose hope.
Allah says, "The broken ones are my beloved."
Crush your heart. Be broken.
-Shaikh abu Saeed Abil Kheir

Maybe you all have already heard of the book, Three Cups of Tea, but way down here in the Andes we don't get the newest (2007!) New York Times releases. I finished it this month and thought it had an extremely powerful message about creating peace in this world. If you are looking for your next book read, check it out. You will not be disappointed. Or, at least check out the website:
http://www.threecupsoftea.com/

Finishing...

I don't know where to start as I share my final thoughts about Discover Hope work that is unofficially finishing today. I don't want to bore you, but there were many computer glitches that made the week eventful and turned yours truly into a spaz. I have actually become more of a spaz in these past couple of months than I have in all my life. It takes a lot of energy to be a spaz and I don't especially enjoy it. Maybe it is cultural differences, huge work load, feeling burned out, any number of little things. Yesterday I was on the verge of finishing my 20 page year end report when I realized I accidentally erased microsoft word from my computer. Why would I do something like this? There is no good answer, because I surely didn't do it for the adventure and thrill to see how long it would take me to replace the program.

After my no-good, very bad morning I had a complete change of heart in the afternoon. A group of some of our loan recipients organized a small surprise little going away party for me in the office. There were speeches, a toast, singing, poems, gifts and let's not forget the food and dancing. I was thrilled that the women I have been working with actually organized themselves enough to pull this off. And, it was so nice to show up and not do a thing. Although I was feeling tired and defeated earlier in the day, the women lifted my spirit and put me in very tranquil state. They showed me that among all the classes and activities that were held this year, there has been a spark of love, caring, and confidence that has grown between all of us. So I leave my Discover Hope work this year exhausted, but proud and extremely happy - with more hope for next year.
Last jewelry class this year with loan recipients from various village banks. The women insisted I be in the middle of all of them. Why? So that they could use my camera memory to develop this picture for me, frame it and present it to me.

P.S. Keep checking back at this blog - as there are still the final literacy exams to report and travel in Peru to post, among other surprise along the way...

Clarin competition

What a great start to a difficult day. We went to witness a musical event unlike any I have ever seen before. The Clarin is an ancient instrument that is used throughout Peru, but with origins here in Cajamarca. It sounds a bit like the saxophone and requires a serious amount of strength and balance as the instrument easily is longer than 6 meters (if I am doing my conversion right). It has a deep, resonating sound that is so fun to listen to. There was a Clarin competition this morning in front of the old, famous Belen church where more than 20 musicians came to boast their talents. All ages, similar songs, but good, wholesome entertainment. To top it off a Cajamarcan rock band (that also uses the Clarin, among other native instruments) rocked the crowd with a fusion of Andean beats and electric guitar sounds. Very cool is kinda an understatement.



So that was the great part of the day. Afterwards I found out some bad news that the highway that leads from Lima to Cajamarca was filled with protesters yesterday. The Peruvian government hasn't repaired the rocky and bump highway for who knows how long. So the protesters decided to make a statement and they destroyed a bridge that connects us in Cajamarca to the rest of the world. I guess buses can go to the bridge, you can get off with your luggage, cross the river and get another bus. Of course this happens as I am on the verge of buying my good friend Jen a bus ticket to come to Cajamarca in exactly a week. Augh!

So since it is Sunday and I can't buy any tickets or communicate with Jen, who is in a small village in Mexico right now with no internet, ... so with Hugo's family we decided to venture into the countryside on this beautiful sunny afternoon. We went to this holy hill that holds petroglyph's and a beautiful view of the countryside. Because we didn't bring an offering to the holy hill we were cursed for the afternoon. Both yours truly and Hugo's little bro., Sebastian, got the runs. Imagine leaving that on the holy hill. It only resulted in an accident for Hugo's little brother, I was saved the humiliation. Poor Sebastian also fell into a cactus plant that scarred his hand. I got home anxious for a shower, but alas there is no hot water. And, I can't even make a cup of tea because my cooking gas just ran out. Double Augh!

goodbye lunches

Yes, my time (this year) in Cajamarca is down to it's last days. As of yesterday I had two weeks in Cajamarca left on my calendar. I can hardly believe that a year has passed since I arrived in this beautiful and strange city in the Andes. Kinda like my Peace Corps site back in the day, I feel like Cajamarca has made a mark on me and even the annoying things have become so familiar that I think I will miss this little city come December. But, don't worry, those of you who are reading this in MN or WI, I am so excited to get on the plane on Dec. 6 and spend the month with all of you. I just realize I have come to this comfortable, weird place where I feel like home is not only St.Paul, MN. Home is (I am not trying to be cheesy) where the heart is. And at this point I feel like my heart is all over the place.

I have had a couple goodbye lunches with my women and it has been very humbling. Let me try to paint a picture: I arrive in an adobe kitchen with smoke escaping from the small windows. Women are gathered around clay pots cooking on the floor. I sit at the table alone catching up on the updates of animals, weaving projects and sick kids. I receive a heaping plate of rice and chicken while the women hurry to serve all the little brown faces that come running into the kitchen. We must have been 20 people in that smoky kitchen. If I don't finish my food they will place the plate of left-over food over my poor little head (a well-known custom in the countryside). I finish. There is no room for a sweet, warm cup of arroz con leche, but I make room anyway. We continue to chat, there is some yelling, kids asking for more, a little piggy that runs into the kitchen. It is a happy chaos, feeling like I have been invited to participate in an ordinary family event, that to me feels so very un-ordinary. It felt like the most special moment I could have experienced right then and there in an old, dirt house with a group of women that are united by family ties, but also the desire to better themselves. This group that lives in the most humble conditions presented me with a small gift before our lunch came to an end. Like I said, my heart is all over the place - excited for my reunion with family and friends in the midwest and also touched by the grace and gratefulness of my women's groups here in Cajamarca.

Momma Madrina

Yes, yours truely is a Madrina. What is a Madrina you ask? The woman that holds a candle and touches the child's shoulder during her baptism and then buys 50 guinea pig for the feast afterwards. Roughly translated = Godmother. Aida, one of our loan recipients in an active village bank asked me to be the Madrina for her middle child, Catalin Stephanie, a couple of weeks ago. At first I was a little hesitant about the great task, but after some deep thought and conversation with Aida I came to the conclusion that it is a honor and job I am up for. Catalin getting baptized at age 10 is symbolic because I was baptized only recently as an adult in college. Aida and her village bank (many who are family also) have been very supported of me and DHF work and this is an amazing way for me to remain connected to them. Never in the states could I become a Godmother to a client I was working with - conflict of interest. But I am not in the states. In Peru my life is work and work is my life, boundaries that we create in the U.S. do not exist in the same form here in this beautiful and sometimes annoying country. So yesterday I entered more deeply into the life of a Peruvian family that had already entered into mine.
As a Peruvian Madrina one of your most important tasks is to buy cuys (guinea pigs ) for the celebration feast. I told Aida I would help out with the dinner costs, but wasn't especially excited about buying 50 guinea pigs. No problem, we had steak. But, I did complete my other task as a Madrina - I danced to typical "wino" countryside music all night with just about every guest.

A world away, A world connected.

Shattering news that the U.S. and the World felt yesterday with Presidential Elections was also felt in my little mountain apartment in Cajamarca. I was glued to my laptop - listening and anxiously waiting as state after state announced Obama on NPR. I stayed up, like probably many of you, to hear the speech, cry with joy, and lay in bed with my eyes wide awake with no sleep to be had. I was alone, but didn't very lonely. I felt very much connected to other (North) Americans and the frenzy of political and national excitement. Of course it would have been fun to have a little toast with another English-speaker, but I raised my cup of tea and shouted in tune with the Chicago crowd nonetheless.

In the past people have asked me, "why do you work abroad when there is so much work to do at home?" Good question. I feel like I have a duty to represent the U.S in positive light; our country has done so much damage to other cultures and nations I feel the need to repair. Or in other words, as you might say in the green and energy conscious world, instead of carbon offsetting, caring offsetting. And Obama said last night "we are one people, with singular stories yet a common destiny." The good that one person does in one place in the world doesn't stay put. It ripples. Even across country lines. I am hopeful after Obama's victory that there might be less of a need for "caring offsetting." And, I am hopeful for many more things beyond that.

To the coast and back

A fast, furious and tiring weekend to the Coast and back. Hugo and I went with Kirsten and Erica to Chiclayo (my officially least favorite city in Peru). We went to get Hugo's passport and make sure the girls were set to go on their way to Ecuador. The passport trip was unsuccessful as Hugo was missing some paperwork and the guy at the front door was trying to bribe Hugo into paying him a tip to get the deal done. No deal. The sad part of the whole thing is that I guess the bribing is common place here and, well, there is no other town that is closer to Cajamarca that he can get his passport. After getting pretty visibly frustrating we left feeling defeating and totally unsuccessful.
We didn't let this little blooper get in the way of enjoying all that Chiclayo has to offer. We all headed out to Pimentel beach, just outside of town, to watch fisherman bring in their fresh fishes on homemade straw canoes. We got to the beach just in time to see the fish frenzy. We had a fresh seafood lunch accompanied by the one and only Inca Kola. The restaurant didn't understand the term "vegetarian" and Kirsten waited a good bit for them to figure out how they were going to make her lunch. Erica had already gotten sick in Cajamarca and now it was Kirsten's turn.

We happened to be staying in a cheap, dark hotel in Chiclayo. This didn't help make Kirsten feel any better. In fact some problems in the bathroom make the situation all the more annoying and difficult. She rested that night and then rallied all her energy to join us to visit pre-Inca pyramids. The pyramids are nothing like you would imagine. The pyramids were constructed out of adobe (mud and dirt) and have eroded with the rain. So it is interesting because you can see the skeleton of the structure, but there is no fully erect pyramid in sight. We didn't hire a guide, so beyond the beauty of the desert, I can't share any fun facts with you about Tucume pyramids or culture.
I think the sun and desert walking did us some good. We all returned to Chiclayo tired and hungry and in good spirits and health. The girls were on their way to Ecuador today and Hugo and I returned to rainy Cajamarca, ending my little va-ca with the Madison crew.