Full Circle

Since arriving back to Minnesota my blog radar has been turned off. Have I lost you?

Well, I am only back to bid farewell. I started this blog to document my adventures in micro fiance and explore Peru with new eyes. However, now that I am back in MN, I am doing none of the above. My blog started with my leaving Minnesota and now ends with my return. I have reunited with family and dear friends in these past weeks. I have rested (on beds of snow!) and have started to explore this new world that Hugo and I are discovering together in the Cities. Looking for jobs and summer art fairs just isn't as exciting as changing lives and witnessing women take small steps to move themselves out of poverty through artisan classes or literacy classes.

My reunion and homecoming has been wonderful and tasty. Our adventures now are on a different road. I hope to return here someday to share more with you. But, for now, the future is calling.

Thank you for visiting me here and sharing in my stories and struggles and joys.
My best, and do stay in touch.
Saludos, Nora

Sacred Valley, last stop

We have made it back to Minnesota and Peru already feels so far away. Close in heart and memory, but distance in physical distance. And, it is a whole other world here in the land of ice and snow. I just wanted to share with all you readers the last stop of our travels, after Machu Picchu, was roaming around the Sacred Valley. The Sacred Valley is filled with little towns, generous and friendly people, and incan ruins scattered throughout the mountains and alongside rivers. We spent last week hotel hopping and walking through the mountain passes to discover what was around the corner. Our favorite stops were a native town outside of Pisac, where we were invited into houses with handmade tejidos and played soccer with some kiddos on the dirt, cold streets. Then we stayed in Chincero (a place full of energy and colorful dress) and walked down a mountain pass on an old Incan trail that often doesn't get visitors.

I would highly recommend roaming around the Sacred Valley on your next trip to Peru. There is beauty and magic around every mountain pass and river curve.

This weekend we are celebrating with family and next week the transition into U.S. life really begins. Come back next week, as I wrap up the 3 year Peruvian adventure blog.

Machu Picchu!!

Finally, 3 years later! Machu Picchu!

It was well worth the wait and absolutely amazing. 100 times better than the postcards you see. Hugo and I got in the early 5:30am line to try our luck at one of the 400 passes into Huayno Picchu (the famous mountain in the background of all the M.P. photos). We were numbers 370 and 371. We climbed the steep mountain to get a 30 second glimpse (in between the cloud cover) of M.P. from above. Spectacular!

There is an energy and beauty about Machu Picchu that you just can´t express with words. Magical, Spiritual, Uplifting. After our all morning hike up and down and up and down Huayno Picchu we wondered around M.P. until our hunger just couldn´t take it anymore. We out stayed the crowds and spent a good part of our afternoon just sitting and enjoying the magic of the ruins from up above. And, we took a bunch of photos, of course. You choose which one wins....

Amazonas Selva

Pictures from the selva, amazonas jungle. We didn´t see a whole lot of animals in the wild, mosquitos were the most prevelant animal that we saw. And Hugo has the proof. All over his body.

There were beautiful butterflys, birds and monkeys everwhere. In the neighboring town we got to play with sloths, as a family has rescued three baby sloths that had lost their mother. That was definitely a highlight.

We are flying out today and very happy to leave the heat. Tomorrow we are flying to Cusco to start the 2nd part of our travel-venture. Machu Picchu....finally!

The regular stuff: Dr. visit and a zoo trip

Just a quick little blog, before Hugo and I head out to our jungle accomodations tomorrow. So many tour agencies here in Iquitos, you feel like the travel jungle agencies are fishing for fresh blood when you walk down the river boardwalk. We decided to spend 3 days in a simple thatched roof wooden lodge to get the know the jungle up close. There will be a post next week, don´t worry.

These past couple of days we have been doing what you normally do on a vacation. Besides exploring the town of Iquitos and eating lots of really cold ice cream we have been doing some just plain regular stuff. I went to the doctor´s office (see chair above) to get my ears cleaned. Then, the following day we went to the jungle zoo. Saw butterflys, monkeys and really big snakes.

River Trip to Iquitos

We survived the river trip. Yurimagus to Iquitos. The famous three story boat that takes 3 days. With Hugo we pitched our hammocks on the 3rd floor, above the cows and mountains of plantains that were traveling below us. We were squeezed (I mean this boat was more than filled to capacity with hammock dwellers) into an open air room, two sides that had walls, and two sides that had plastic curtains that went down at night. Our trip consisted of hanging out in our hammocks, making new friends with our neighbors and watching the jungle pass us by. The boat stopped periodically to pick up passengers and more plantains, and when the people missed the boat, little wooden canoes would bring passengers to the boat and they would board as if the middle of the river was their boarding spot. As we stopped in little jungle towns to pick up passengers and cargo, kids and women would get on the boat to offer fruits and sodas. Hugo and I had a delicious coconut half way through the trip; it was the last thing we ate before we both got a little sick in the stomach.

Our boat route hugged the pacaya.samiria nature reserve. We did not see much wildlife, but the sunset on the river was spectacular.

The trip was unforgettable. Uncomfortable. Hot. Beautiful. Fun. If you had never tried sleeping in a hammock, I wouldn´t recommend it. It is hard to do in extreme heat. We are happy to have a bed in Iquitos tonight.

The 2nd Family Moon

The trip before the trip (to Minnesota) has started. Hugo and I are on our 2nd Family Moon this year (not to be confused with the January Family Moon) We have been traveling with his family in and around Chachapoyas. It is absolutely beautiful here. A touch of jungle, but still a little chilly. Today we are heading to Tarapoto, which is real jungle. We say good bye to our 3 day Family Moon. We still have all of January to travel, so there is much to see.

We have done some cool things to end 2010. We visited the 3rd largest waterfall in the world and the hike to visit it kicked our butt. We visited ancient pre-Incan sculptures placed high up in a mountain that make you ponder the world before ours. For New Years Eve we witnessed the ¨burn the old year doll¨contest here in Chachapoyas.

Happy New Year to all. Happiness and Peace to all in 2011!

Feliz Navidad

Live Light, Spread Light!

I hope you all had a peaceful and wonderful Christmas. My last Christmas (for awhile) in Cajamarca was peaceful and wonderful. I went to an amazing mass on Christmas eve where there were christmas light everywhere and the drama came to life of the birth of Jesus. When the theater came to live and He was born the church burst into screams and hollers, as if we were at a football game. It was pretty cool. I had brought my little baby Jesus, from our manager scene at home, to the mass, to receive the blessing for the long trip back to Minnesota. We had a yummy turkey dinner at midnight and gifts for all the kiddos (Sebastian, Javier and Anita). The next day it was more turkey and fruit cake, turkey and fruit cake, all day long. The kids played with the dogs, we reimienced with photos and had some of Dad's strong strega to wash all the food down.

The day after Christmas we had a nice lunch with Vicky and her family. One of our last despididias. Tomorrow we are on the night bus headed to the jungle. It has been an emotional rollercoaster. Leaving 3 years of work, growth, friendship and family behind is difficult. I know Minnesota awaits us with open arms, but that doesn't make the goobyes any less difficult.


Stay tuned for jungle adventures!

Signing Off from the DiscoverHope Office

I can´t believe it.
December 23, 2010.
More than 3 years ago I landed in Cajamarca, Peru full of ideas, hopes and dreams to do great things for women in poverty.
3 years later I leave Cajamarca with a full heart and still more ideas, hopes and dreams for the women I have come to know and cherish.

My work here was my life and passion. I think forward to the life I will return to in Minnesota, full of comforts (despite the winter snow) and so much access to things, places and dreams right at my fingertips. I am longing to spend time with my dear friends and family. I look forward to hot showers and my own car. But, there is a part of me that is very sad to leave the simple life, this corner of the world that has allowed me to live my dream job. Yes, I am leaving the life where things don't always work, the streets aren't always clean, and the "hora Peruana" ( 1-2 hours later than planned) is the norm. The life where people say thank you and mean it with their whole body, where noboby knows the word materialism, and where the simple smiles of determined, humble women give me energy for the week.

I will miss the chats on wooden benches in the countryside, witnessing our women learn the alphabet, visiting women's businesses on dirt streets, walking into a classroom of students at the Hope House, and the genuine feeling of doing good in the world in a place where there is a lot of good to be done.

I came here with the idea to help women lift themselves up, and I can say with full certainity, I have never done exactly that in any other job more than I have here in Cajamarca. I am so proud to have helped DiscoverHope Fund grow into the organization it is today. I know DHF will continue to grow and do good work, as DHF was born out of the beautiful spirit that Maggie created and instills in the organization still today. I am so excited to continue to witness the growth and energy that DHF spreads into the new year and beyond. My footsteps today go in a different direction, but part of my heart and soul will always be with DiscoverHope.

Thank you DiscoverHope Fund for this wonderful oppportunity and journey! Keep up the Good Work!

Red Jackets

Today was the last coffee and cake evaluation time with the final class this year. For other courses that have already finished, literacy and computer classes, I held a 'coffee talk' where each student reflected about their experiences in the class and talked about - What was new for them? How are they going to use their new knowledge? while we enjoyed some yummy sweet treats. I did the same thing for our sewing class this afternoon. Our sewing class has been meeting twice a week since April. These dedicated students boast making great strides in learning many new styles and models of clothing. In our coffee talk, the women repeated that before sewing classes they were scared to use the electric sewing machine (many have foot pedal machines in their homes), but now they feel confident that they can use those machines. Also, many women expressed that they had a base of sewing knowledge, but mainly creating one style of skirts. Now they know more than 10 styles of skirts, pants, vests, and jackets. Their sewing repertoire has more than doubled.

The women repeated over and over again that they didn't want sewing class to end. If it was up to them they wouldn't take a break and they would keep going strong through the holidays. I encouraged the women to keep practicing at home, not to lose their new knowledge and to come back next year for classes. The last project this year was a red polo jacket, as you can see pictured above. Projects for next year: new styles, models and projects not yet seen!

Year End Evaluation in progress...

This week is purely dedicated to compiling the year end report and reviewing the successes and examining challenges in the Social Program piece of our village banking project. It is a lot of work, but so rewarding to review numbers and stories that tell OUR STORY of changing lives in our loan recipients. Above you can see the Math test results of our basic literacy students. They moved mountains and, in some cases, double their percentage test score. The same is true for their reading skills. I am so, so very proud of this group of determined and dedicate women. Congrats to all!

The HAIRCUT

After our all bank event on Friday, I woke up on Saturday to prepare for another big event. The Haircut. I was asked to be the Godmother of the hair cutting ceremony of the son of one of our loan recipients. It is a strong tradition in the countryside to save the first haircut for the selected 'Godmother,' although do take note the Madrina (Godmother) does not need to have experience cutting hair or even have to be good at it. We went with Hugo and his parents and the kiddos to join my co-padres in their simple adobe house for a guinea pig lunch followed by the hair cutting ceremony. The cuy was actually quite good; I might have enjoyed it more than usual knowing it might be the last time I eat guinea pig for awhile.

The ceremony was simple. I brought scissors and cut a little piece of Christian's hair. Then I put a "tip" on the plate where the cut hair was placed. I passed around the scissors and the "tip" plate so that all the invitees could cut Christian's hair and also put a little bit of money on the plate. Once everyone had a turn with the scissors, I finished the haircut. It wasn't my best work, but it will grow. There was then music, dancing and drinking. Jovita, Christan's mom, gave us 3 whole cuyes to take home and eat for dinner.

It was an honor to be with Jovita's family yesterday and be a part of something so special. It was a wonderful reminder of how in the humblest of homes there can be gratitude and love so wide and full.

Celebrating a year of Success!

Yesterday we celebrated the completion of our successful year working with village banks together with our local partner Multicredit. It was a lot of prep and hard work up until our start time, which of course was 40 minutes later then planned, but worth all the effort. To give you a small re-cap, I will highlight some of my favorite moments, and let the pictures tell the rest.

The idea of our gathering was to invite all the loan recipients from all 12 village banks in the same room, so we could share their successes with everyone and at the same time motivate the women to continue working hard in the coming year. We had outstanding attendance, out of 100 active loan recipients I would estimate that more than 80 women were present. Each village bank was invited to participate in the "Best Table" Competition where the women put on display their works and were then judged by 4 criteria: presentation, creativity, unity, and quality of works. In the morning when the women came to set up their tables I was in complete awe. They were taking the competition very seriously. 3 of our village banks went above and beyond. "United Women" all came in red shirts that had their village bank name on the front and then their individual names on the back of their shirts. That says TEAM to me. "Strength and Blessings" had each crochet purple vests (and also made my purple crochet cape for the occasion) and arrived in complete unison. Finally, the winner, "Start of Belen" put up a starry night backdrop for their table and every loan recipient had a star filled t-shirt. The competition brought out the best out in some of our banks, and was such a joy to see the unity that our banks have come to grow into.

Certificates were given all afternoon. I was especially filled with pride as our literacy students stood in front of the crowd and received recognition for not only for their hard work and dedication, but their personal decision to invest in themselves with a tool as basic (for many of us) as literacy. Near the end of the event I introduced the crowd to our 2011 village banking team: Desiree, Ahidee, Jheny and Oswaldo. It was an emotional moment, symbolically 'passing on the torch' and giving my blessing to our incredible team to continue the good work into next year.

We finished the event with a raffle and prizes; our friends and collaborators at GyC, as well at the head nun Sor Reyna, helped us throw numbers in the air to select our winners. Then the room turned into chaos as the drinking hot chocolate and eating fruit cake time began. All in all, Success. As I compile information for our Year End report next week I will make sure to share it here on the blog, so you all can get a better idea of specific successes, as there are many. But, now it is time for me to relax and regain strength for the coming week. Enjoy the photos!