Introducing The Adventures of Benjamin and Libby II

Thank you to all who have followed our service as Peace Corps Volunteers in beautiful Musho, Peru. We're home now and have started another blog to document the next adventures of our lives... be sure to check it out.

But if you want to reminisce with us about our life in the high Andes of Peru, cozy up with your favorite tropical drink and track our travels with your reading glasses.

**Note: The contents of this site are ours and only ours, and do not reflect any position of the US government or the Peace Corps.

Day 728: On the way home!!!

A final photo with the community... That is a mountain that we will never forget. And friendships that are in our hearts forever.

To all of our faithful families, friends, and other readers,

So... that's it. Three days ago we celebrated 2 years as Peace Corps Volunteers in Peru and we are on our way home! The journey was challenging, impressionable, exciting, and full of cheek-muscle hurting smiles. We have grown as individuals and as a unit; we are stronger, more aware, and a bit more realistic than we were two years ago. Our stories are told in this weblog, but let's be honest, they are just the tip of iceberg. What I remember most, writing this, is the smell of toqush in the irrigation canals, the sound of a donkey braying to wake me up in the morning, the view of the mountain as I walk comfortably over the uneven pathways up the hill to Betty and Raul's, the sound of my godson calling out my name as soon as he sees me approaching, the hugs of the older women, and the smiles of the health promoters as they gained confidence in public speaking and led the project participants through nutrition sessions...

Our final improved stoves project was an ultimate success. We were able to successfully transfer our knowledge of the project and participants to our replacement volunteer, Mike, and were comfortable leaving him to finish things up and start projects of his own. Good luck, Mike, and keep in touch!

We will try to keep up with the blog... or perhaps a new iteration as our life changes and we return to the US of A. Many things will change in the upcoming months... we'll get jobs, move back into our house, probably get a car. We'll visit with friends and family, reconnect and start to tell our stories. We are looking forward to hot showers and pizza, delicious desserts and comfortable beds... but mostly seeing friends and family members.

We thank you all for your attention over the past two years and are eager to hear from you and hopefully see you sooner than later!

We'll be back, Peru. No te preocupes.

Day 715: Our Final Trek in the Andes - Huayhuash Circuit

Three cheers to the trek of a lifetime! Benj and I headed off on one final high Andean trek before making the journey back to the US of A... this time to the Cordillera Huayhuash. South of the Cordillera Blanca (where we lived), these mountains offered the chance for a 9 day wilderness adventure!

Day 710: Reflection in our final days as Peace Corps Volunteers

BENJAMIN'S MOMENT OF REFLECTION

Why your friends back home should join Peace Corps:
It gives you deeper and renewed pride in the U.S.

Why your department is obviously better than all the rest:
Ancash has the most compact chain of high peaks (27 over 6,000m and 200 over 5000m) in the world, including Peru’s tallest, Huascaran. Our 663 glaciers provide the coast with water. Without Ancash, cities along the coast dry up and wither away. Ancash is better.

Most random item(s) received in a care package:
Socks half-stuck to stinky aged-cheddar cheese and a melted chocolate bar. Thanks Nate!

Advice for the new Peace Corps Volunteers:
Do not bail in your first six months to a year for your purpose in your community will come into greater focus with more time.

Biggest surprise encountered during your service:
Locals burn natural grasslands in the National Park each June ridding sins and bringing good luck. When I called the Park, the Director wanted to come himself to put out the flames but couldn’t because they have no budget for transportation!

What´s your legacy?
Unintentionally, there is a dog, an infant child, and a street bearing my name.

Will you listen to huayno (Andean country music) in the US?
Oh, definitely. I secretly love it now. Plus, my town is the home of Sonia Morales. It would be treason not to.

How will you spend your PC readjustment allowance?
Chipotle, family size peanut M&Ms, cream cheese bagels, cereal and milk, Indian and Thai food, and a no-emissions, fuel efficient automobile.

Favorite discovery in Peru:
I saw a monkey-eating Harpy Eagle in Manu National Park.

Favorite hobby you’ve picked up since arriving in Peru:
Photography.

What made your site tolerable?
My nifty site mate, Libby – an amazing wife and companion. And the glorious view of Huascaran from our window.

Most idiotic thing you said in Quechua:
I flexed my bicep and yelled to my neighbor: “I am a strong dog!”

Most inspiring moment:
Our Little ahijado saw us coming and ran to wash his face and hands before giving us a bug hug. This is the same kid who whipped my wife with a beet when we first met.

Favorite Peruvian holiday:
Mustache March. All male PCVs should participate. Keeps you from taking yourself too seriously.

Most fulfilling accomplishment:
Assisting about half of the families in Musho (800 people and 200 families) improve their living environments through the installation of wood-burning stoves and other changes, like guinea pig cages.

Most uninformed thing that you have ever heard Peruvian say:
It’s a tie: “Are you from the U.S. or the country of New York?” and worse, “Eres de los E.E.U.U. o uno de sus caserios?”

Fullest that you have ever seen a mototaxi/combi/bus:
In my first three months I witnessed 29 people (some children) board a combi (small van) that then proceeded to race down the highway.

Favorite person in Peru:
Dr. Jorge Bazan (Peru's famous PCMO) without a doubt.

What wakes you up in the morning at site?
The sun shining through the door as it rises over the south face of Huascaran.

LIBBY'S MOMENT OF REFLECTION

Most useful thing you learned in training:
It was a story that Andrew Alspach told to us… about a study on dental hygiene in India. Apparently in one community some researchers found that people had really healthy teeth, few gum problems, and beautiful smiles. When the researchers approached a community member to inquire about the phenomenon they were told that “years ago this one white guy used to go down to the communal well and wash his mouth out, using this brush-thing to scrub his enamel.” And so now they do too. The white guy was a Peace Corps Volunteer. And when they looked up his DOS, it was brief… insinuating that he didn’t think he’d been able to accomplish anything during his service. So, see the little things.

Most random secondary project:
We did a two-hour session with the Global Library Project (http://www.realebooks.com/) in one of our caserios. A representative from the Project came up to Musho and we spent a couple of quick hours asking fun questions of the kids about their community and taking pictures… in celebration of Fiestas Patrias 2008. About a month later, 80 little books showed up in our Serpost box – 40 stories created by our kids, and 40 stories created by kids in Nepal. What a perfect way to work on cultural understanding.

Any interesting health-related anecdotes?
I had typhoid, dysentery, and a cast on my left hand from doing too many handstands.

Why the other Peru 8ers will always remember you:
I skinny dipped in 10 alpine lakes… once with 9 other Ancash Volunteers.

Why your host family made you want to run and hide in your room:
Because we had a room in a compound that included 6 other habitable rooms which were rented throughout our service by teachers, health post employees, missionaries, grandparents, screaming babies, & Andinistas. And we all shared the same rustic 'bathroom.'

Most share-worthy BATHROOM story:
It was a chilly March late afternoon. I had just showered… a breath taking experience, and had donned my fancy Patagonia long underwear and my orchid-colored Northface down jacket. Shivering, but clean, I realized that our pee bucket was full… of my husband’s pee. No problem, I thought. I slipped on his shoes, picked it up, and headed out of our room. Now, we live on the second floor and a set of narrow, concrete stairs separate our balcony from the downstairs bathroom. It was half way down these stairs, on the triangular, awkwardly shaped stair that I fell. Hard. Both feet out from under me. The pee bucket went up into the air. The pee came back down. All over me… and my down jacket… and my long undies… and my clean hair. I began to swear. To use every available cuss word. And in that minute, crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, and dowsed in my husband’s pee, 18 American Evangelical missionaries that were sharing our house with us, appeared, concerned about the unholy language. They asked me what happened. And I couldn’t answer. I was too humiliated. And Benjamin doubled over with laughter from behind the closed door to our room.

Why your friends back home should join Peace Corps:
To walk slower. To breathe deeper. To regain patience. To remember to see the little things.

Your most joyful moment:
Waking up in the blue room on a Sunday morning as the sun rose above the south peak of Huascaran at 8:07am and let dappled light filter through our windows. Pancakes, coffee, Newsweek. Feeling at home. Having Benjamin right there by my side.

Why your department is obviously better than all the rest:
Because Vishal, Jake, Frank, Ryan, Amanda, Rabbit, Ana Luz, Tim, Ariana, & Sophie live there. Shumaqlla nunacunapis warmicuna.

Any meal item you tolerate in Peru that you would never have eaten back in the States?
In June of 2007, I, Libby the life-long vegetarian, ate my first meat… guinea pig. It was just a bite. It made me nauseous. In August of 2007 I ate more than 10 entire guinea pigs during the M&E of our improved stoves project. Starting in January I ate my first cuarto of pollo. I now eat guinea pigs, chicken, and fish on a regular basis. Even at restaurants. I do this mostly for cultural reasons… I don’t like to refuse food offered to me in Musho. And if I eat it regularly, then I don’t feel sick. I will not continue to eat meat in the States... well, maybe Lola's delicious Dill Mayo Salmon...

Craziest meal you’ve thrown together in an effort to avoid yet another plate of rice and/or potatoes:
We eat well. We have our own stove and oven in our room… so chocolate chip cookies, pizzas, Thai curries, and banana bread are common in our diet.

Most random item(s) received in a care package:
My parents sent down a whole wheel of baby Swiss cheese and a huge triangle of Vermont sharp cheddar cheese. Life was good.

Peruvian cuisine that you’ll get a craving for when you’re back in the States:
Cancha, no doubt... popped corn kernels that taste kinda like glad corn.

Favorite coping mechanism:
Series. Grey’s anatomy. The Wire. House. Lost. Scrubs.

Advice for the new Peace Corps Volunteers:
Always go farther. It’s my personal motto… but it fits the job.

Funniest thing that a Peruvian told you in their best English:
Say this out loud… sound it out, Spanish-styles – Headache, Stomachache, Backache.

Best compliment you have received in Peru:
I was dressed up as Hermia, the sister in our Gringo’s Saludable gender equality show. My outfit included pretty typical Ancashina garb… and as I was walking the streets of Caraz, a group of Carazinos stopped and said to each other so that I could hear “Wow… parece Gringa!” Oh, yeah.

Most valued item from the States:
MVPs: Down jacket, Ipod, Ipod speakers, computer(s), duct tape.

Scariest insect/rat/animal run-in:
When we arrived at Barbara Nicolasa’s home to visit her beautiful ‘fogón mejorado’ for the M&E stage of our Improved Stoves project we encountered two crazy things – (1) Upon entering her house, she leading us, she stopped suddenly & looked back apologetically, shrugging her shoulders & nodding her 72-year old head. When I looked at her with a mildly confused expression, wondering why she didn’t continue on to the patio, I followed her gaze down to her foot where upon I found to my horror the struggling body of a rather large rat. Her food ground the rat’s head into the ground until it stopped struggling enough for her to grab it by the tail & fling it into her field. And (2) she was cooking on the floor, on a traditional, 3-rock ring, smoking, cooking fire. She then served us boiled oca from her pot on the ground with the same hand that had just grabbed the wiggling rat’s tail.

Most idiotic thing you said in Quechua:
My favorite phrase when initially learning Quechua was to tell people that they had beautiful donkeys or pigs… “Shumaq ashnu mamey… Shumaq kuchicuna tetey.” It got them laughing, but certainly demonstrated my lack of mastery of the language.

Did folks from home visit your site? What happened?
Yeah! We facilitated a medical campaign with my dad as one of the attending physicians and then taught a Wilderness First Responder-esque class to the youth and adult health promoters. Having the novelty of my family there really made the experience special for the community and new and exciting for me.

Time that a Peruvian pleasantly surprised you:
One of our health promoters called Benjamin for his birthday while we were on vacation in Cuzco. Remembered and used their credit to make the call.

Most uninformed thing that you have ever heard Peruvian say:
I was at the Serpost office in Huaraz trying to send a package to my brother-in-law in Mozambique, AFRICA. And she says, “Oh, Africa… that’s in Asia, right?” Apparently Geography 101 is not a requisite for being a postal worker.

Advice you received here that most inspired you:
Benjamin once told the governing body of one of our Improved Stove projects that “ser líder es sacrificarse sin condiciones.”

What you fear most about returning to States:
I hated the Peace Corps for my first year. But now, ironically, I am most afraid that I won’t find that job that challenges me the way that Peace Corps does. That makes me excited to get up every morning. That pushes me beyond my comfort zone. That gives me space to cry and laugh and work every day with people. A good friend once shared with me this quote: "Let the beauty you love be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth" --Rumi

Favorite Spanish word/phrase/dicho:
‘¿Onde bueno?' - it means 'where are you off to?'

Stinkiest place you encountered in your Peruvian experience:
Carretera Musho-Tumpa on Sunday and Tuesday nights when the Toqosh people put their rotten, fermented potatoes into plastic bags to take to market.

Most unfortunate fashion choice made by a Peruvian in your presence:
Camel toe. And a shirt too tight and too short on top.

Day 702: Celebrating 4 Years... At Gocta Falls, the Third Highest Waterfall in the World

Day 701: Kuelap Ruins Outside of Chachapoyas, Amazonas

Day 693: Oscar Teaches the Construction Methodology

Day 679: What did you do for Peru’s Fiestas Patrias (Independence Day)?

Along with an intrepid group of novice mountaineers, Benjamin penetrated the enormous white peaks that make up the Cordillera Blanca of Ancash. These mountains have been home for nearly two years, providing the outstanding backdrop of my backyard. Most of the time, I regard this dense series of 20,000 foot crags with awe and an ample amount of fear. Several evenings in late June, we awoke to the loud crash of avalanches and were reminded of the devastation and 100,000+ deaths past disasters have caused. Many times the summits stand serene like a real-life painting, calming and humbling me with their size and power. Occasionally, the glaciers beckon adventure to climbers aspiring for challenge and higher altitude. These individuals tend to be fit, well-outfitted, mentally prepared and young-enough-to-be-stupid. Hopefully, they are smart enough to hire a local guide who is familiar with the vastly changing conditions of this tropical mountain range. I was part of such a group of Peace Corps Volunteers: Jake, Frank, Vishal, Kevin and I.

The advantage to the Cordillera Blanca of Peru is the density of massive peaks, a virtual Baskin Robbins of climbing options. There are classic climbs of all levels of difficulty and one can choose a mountain appropriate to one’s skill and experience. We began on Yanapaqcha in the famed Llanganuco Valley, but were turned back due to heavy snow at 5500m, 150m below the summit. We descended quickly down the mountain the same day and spent the night camping and recovering near the trailhead. We decided, with the support of our guide, that we would try to climb the giant Chopicalqui with our remaining three days. At nearly 21,000ft (over 6,300m), it is the fourth tallest summit in the Blanca. We spent the next two days slowly gaining altitude, first sleeping at moraine camp (5,000m) and then high camp on the snow (5,600m). In celebration of Peru’s Independence, Frank, Vishal and I awoke at midnight to strap on our crampons and ice axes, beginning a twelve-hour vertical adventure up and then down Chopicalqui. Our headlamps blazed for six hours of steep, arduous snow-staircases. Many people climb this mountain and our going was surely made easier by the packed path of previous mountaineers. At several points the grade became so steep that our guide placed deep metal anchors and we ascended with greater caution. Of course, we were all attached to one rope for the duration of the time on the glacier; were one of us to fall, the guide and the rest of us would plant on our trusty ice axes to grip the snow and stop any momentum.

The cold, even on a mountain in the tropics, is intense. We called out “Toes!! Fingers!!” to remind one another to independently wiggle our digits. For the motion of walking in thick plastic boots and double, thick wool socks and the action of swinging ice axes in two pairs of mittens was not sufficient to keep warm. Urinating, drinking and eating become annoyances that require stopping, often shedding a glove and exposing one to the bitter cold. Frank began to slow his pace and take short breathers, complaining of a mild headache. The effects of altitude can present quickly, and suddenly the importance of urging Frank to eat and drink were obvious. With only one guide, we would all turn back if his symptoms became serious and nobody would have the chance to see the distant Amazon at sunrise.

We slowed our pace slightly but kept moving ever closer to the peak. Biting winds whipped at our earlobes, lips, cheeks and noses. The lights illuminating the capital city Huaraz and a large gold mine hovered like landing spacecraft in the Southern valley. Breathless and invigorated, we arrived on a shelf below the final coned summit. Directly to the west, lay the larger camellid cousin, Huascaran, whose two hump-shaped peaks floated loftily at a similar altitude. To be nearly equal with the tallest peak in Peru, Musho’s mountain, my daily inspiration, my humbling, picturesque backdrop to rural Peace Corps life…that view was perhaps my favorite moment of the trip. At such altitudes, indigenous beliefs in mountain spirits, or apus, become understandable. Literally, above the habitable terrestrial world, there I was in a place I should not be, in a place momentarily borrowed by the sheer stubbornness of human will and physical endurance, simultaneously fortunate to be an intrepid soul and lucky the mountain gods allowed passage above the clouds.

The clear weather was ephemeral, offering spectacular glimpses of the highest surrounding peaks, but covering the eastern lowlands and all the valleys below 5,000m in a blanket of white, fluffy clouds. As the winds picked up and sinewy clouds enveloped our perch, we suddenly wanted to leave as though shooed away by a bigger host. The descent was not difficult, except for the renewed cold as a giant, unforgiving mist encased us for the next three hours.

The main challenge on the way down was maintaining focus so as not to trip headlong into a crevasse or down the permanently precipitous terrain. Last on the ascent, I know found myself first moving downhill. The guide takes the rear for safety precaution if anyone tumbles. For some time I could only see a step or two ahead of me. The uniform whiteness of sky and mountain made me think of the tricks deserts play on weary travelers. I searched for footprints and the impressions left by our ice axes on the ascent and we soon arrived at high camp, where our two companions had stayed behind to wait for us.

Jake and Kevin joined us for the remaining two hours down to moraine camp where porters were boiling water and preparing a delicious meal. Just moments before stepping from the glacier, we heard a horrible crashing of rock behind us and turned to see large boulders spraying in all directions one hundred feet over our heads. There was no cover and each of us scrambled to avoid massive stones. Murphy’s Law would suggest an accident just as we depart the dangerous section of the journey. These are the dangers mountains present. Life presents the same irony. Many fear death by snakebite or terrorist attack, but we are more likely to die in a car crash. As though in agreement, my body tried to slip off the trail the next morning to meet the car. I nearly nose-dived off a minor cliff, but my bum somehow turned into a magnetic pancake and saved itself. A few hours car ride and we were safely grubbing on huge amounts of food in the capital city of Huaraz.

Kevin will forever be remembered for his classy poor-man’s garb, including a borrowed camouflage poncho as a rain/wind layer, his improvised cell-phone-tucked-below-his-hat flashlight, and the 1970’s ski pants he never changed. Jake goes down for his valiant ascent of an unplanned ice wall having never before used crampons or ice axes. Frank is now famous for losing a t-shirt, underwear, and ruining a borrowed jacket to cow attack and, thereafter, pretending to be homeless and beg cigarettes and money from his traveling companions. Vishal the novice mountaineer never mentioned discomfort or fatigue, even when placed in a two-person tent with two large men. I enjoyed making others laugh by singing the theme music to the badly needed Ballywood film series of Indiana Jones and Star Wars.

Some run marathons. Others choose to volunteer for two years in distant lands. And some aspire to stand in the sky to get a better view. Many of us do all these things because these activities make us feel more alive each day, pushing the boundaries of our existence.

Day 675: CARE Comes to Visit...

Today 2 representatives from CARE Peru came to Musho to visit with the beneficiaries of our newest Healthy Homes and Improved Stove Project. About 100 of the 130 members of the group showed up at just before 10am, excited to understand the process that is organizing a community project and asking for over $10,000 from an international NGO. At the assembly meeting the CARE representatives asked the group a number of questions about their project, praised them for their unity and hard work, and urged them to "seguir adelante."

Then we headed up to Pariantana to visit 7 of the healthy families and their improved stoves. CARE helped to finance buckets with taps for the families to store their boiled drinking water.
Here we are in one of the kitchens... note the natural light entering through the piece of transparent roofing.

Day 649: Assessing the Problematica

We were finishing up the Pariantana Cocinas Project and wondering what we were going to do for our final 5 months... when 3 health promoters from Musho knocked on our door and asked to speak with us. They wanted us to help them facilitate a similar project for Musho Centro... and they were willing to act as leaders, to sacrifice time and energy for their neighbors so that more people could benefit from the Improved Stove. So, we told them that they needed to call a community assembly to judge the interest of other community members. We also told them that in order to be successful the project would need to start on June 8 and include meetings EVERY SINGLE WEEK until our departure in the end of October.

On June 8th, after just 2 days of advertising the community assembly via voice and loud speakers, 60 Mushinos appeared at the Loza Deportiva for the first informational meeting and sign-up.

On June 15th, almost 120 community members participated. In this meeting we voted for the governing body, decided when and how often we would meet (every Sunday from 3-5pm) and set down the rules. The group elected 4 women to serve as president, secretary, and 2 treasurers. The rules were principally based on good attendance...

• People must arrive on time... Meetings will start at 3pm sharp. There will be 15 minutes of tolerance given, between 2:45pm and 3pm.
• 3 absences means that you lose the project.
• 4 tardies means that you lose the project.
• Families are responsible for putting in the manual labor and family funds for building the stove platforms in an adequate room (4 walls, roof that doesn't leak, sufficient air flow, cleanly and hygienic), guinnea pig cages, tables and shelves.

And, on June 22nd (the last meeting to sign up), almost 150 people were in attendance. We split the group up into 4 groups and discussed the "problematica" - What is problematic about our current lifestyles? And then we searched for solutions. Many peoples complaints pertained to the kitchen... too much smoke, respiratory illnesses, vision problems, discomfort in cooking on the ground, poor hygiene, a waste of firewood & time, etc. The Improved Stove was the major solution identified by the groups. In addition people mentioned whitewash and transparent roofing to improve the lighting in their kitchens, guinea pig cages to remove the small rodents from their kitchens - healthier for both humans and cuyes, and plastic buckets to store boiled water so that they can drink clean water and stay hydrated.

Here is the whole group listening to one of the groups share with the rest their findings.

Day 638: Ode to Barbara

Her name is Barbara Nicolasa. She is 74 years old. Her smile is captivating and her energy astouonding. She makes me glad to live in Musho, every day.

Day 636: Monitoring and Evaluation the Improved Stoves of Pariantana

Day 607: Our trip to Manu National Park

We spent seven days traveling through Manu National Park. It was an amazing adventure that took us from 4,000m to nearly sea level, deep in the lowland tropical rainforest. We observed tons of wildlife, including almost 200 species of birds (of the 1,000), a half-dozen species of monkeys, white-lipped peccaries (kind of like a wild boar) and caimans (alligator cousins). It was a great treat to visit this beautiful part of the world.

Andean Cock-of-th-Rock displaying in a lek for potential female mates

this is a male white-chinned sapphire hummingbird

this is a white caiman submerging its body in the Manu River

these are white winged swallows

Hoatzin in flight; this bird is a vegetarian, eating leaves full-time - totally weird and awesome!

Our group de-boating and preparing to enter the dense tropical forest to look for monkeys.
a typical tropical tree

Day 603: Our Family Trip to Cuzco... Land of the Inca

This is the famous rock wall!



Here we are in Cuzco's Plaza de Armas.

Day 597: The Bixby-Kane Family Reunion in Peru

In the Blue Room...
With the kids up in Cayoc after a long hike to Armapampa...

On our way to Armapampa with beautiful Huandoy in the distance...

On a hike up above Musho on Mae and Cole's first full day in Musho...

In the blue room...

Outside our house in Musho...

Day 596: First Aid Course with Health Promoters

With the expertise of visiting medic Mark Bixby (Lib's pop), we offered two short first aid courses to adult and youth health promoters, as well as a few local health post staff. The best part were the simulations of real accidents where participants had to apply the skills they had just learned.

Here we are in the Health Post giving our introductory Power Point... The course included about 4 hours of classroom material and 6 hours of simulations.



Here Rosa and Miriam are examining the "bleeding" leg of Elsa... in the simulation Elsa was pretending to have been hit by a drunk driver in the shin, resulting in heavy bleeding and requiring that her "First Responders" apply well-aimed, direct pressure to the wound and continuously check her distal circulation and movement.

Our friend Edgar (our number 1 English student) fills out a SOAP note on his victim... Norma was pretending to have fallen off the roof when the drunk driver crashed into her ladder. She was discovered "unconscious" at the scene of the "accident."

Here the youth health promoters examine the "drunk driver" who had died on impact after being thrown 5 meters from his taxi after crashing into the ladder. The First Responders had to first assess scene safety, then check the major body systems (circulatory, respiratory and nervous) to determine a methodology for treatment. This patient was unconscious, had no pulse, and no respirations upon discovery.

Day 595: Gringos Saludables in Musho

We're almost famous in the Callejon de Hualas now... a traveling troup of acting gringos out to teach the Ancash youth about the importance of gender equality. In the theme of the A Midsummer's Night Dream, Benjamin (or Puck) the magic dwarf transforms Libby the sister into her brother (Vishal). Through a series of funny clothing changes and great magic performed by the big mountain spirits Jake and Frank... the siblings finally realize just how hard the family expectations are for their sibling.

Mae helped us out and played the bird...

Here's Benj the magic dwarf helping me out in my time of need. My brother thinks that the woman's place is in the kitchen, taking care of the baby sibling (in this case played by Cole), or washing the laundry...

Day 594: We're Uncles and Aunts again!!!

Aliya Claire

Born at 11:13 am on April 29, 2008
6 lbs 14 oz, 20”, dark brown hair and eyes

Her beautiful family... Dad Ramon, Mom Shayna, Big Sis Sabina

Big Sister Sabina holds her new sister Aliya just after her birth!

Day 590: Laguna Paron

Today we awoke early to a beautiful morning in Caraz, hopped in a taxi and headed up into the Cordillera Blanca - 2 hours later we arrived at the tourquoise glacial fed "Laguna Paron." Here we are... the world looks better through Smith Optics as we always say.


Mom and Lib on the way up... what a gorge!

Here's Pop with just two of the nine snow caps that surround and feed this lake.

Day 587: The Big Health Campaign

During Mom and Pop's first week in Musho we helped the local health post staff and World Vision International in an integral health campaign. Each day we were up early, ate breakfast at Dona Albina's and then headed off to one of the 5 sectors of Musho.

Here is Dr. Mark Bixby, my dad, examining an elderly man. Dr. Bixby essentially performed a physical on each patient and then made a diagnosis based on his findings, followed by a suggestion for what meds might help calm the symptoms. I, Libby, served as the translator, and Dora, an intern at the Health Post, helped to make my dad's suggestions compatible with what was actually feasible in our setting, either at the Musho health post or at a bigger hospital. Many of the patients were elderly folks complaining of all-over body pain, a complaint that soon was referred to generally as "Peru Pain."

Meanwhile, Benjamin and Mom helped to administer a deparisitation campaign with each of the families participating in the health campaign. Each family member was required to participate, taking one pill, once a week, for four weeks... all with the goal of eliminating worms and other parasites from their intestinal systems.

And... to beat the issue into the ground, Mom and Benj also helped the kids to make recycled bottle handwashing stations and soap dishes for their homes - A Hygiene Corner, if you will. It was dirty work... and required a lot of patience. Mom was glad she had practiced her Spanish before coming down!

Day 585: Edgard the Chef Visits Musho for our Party!

Gracias a Edgard por su visita tan sorprendiente a Musho, justo para nuestra fiesta de celebracion de las cocinas nuevas en Pariantana! Y por las chaquetas de Chef! Y los parches de No Falling, Peace Corps, y Montserrat!

Y por los Crepes tan deliciosos hechos a mano en nuestro cuartito azul! Eres un Chef Fantastico!

Day 585: Big Party Celebrating the End of Our Stove Project

Benjamin and Libby presenting the certificates to the 38 participants before the band started to play!
Palmas for Pilar Blas! This young woman, 16 years old, is an up and coming Huayno singer native to the caserio of Pariantana. She agreed to sing for our party!

A photo taken from the roof of Ana's house, here one group of beneficiaries is finishing up the final details on the lunch meal the day of the party.

Here we are! 2 stars if you can find Libby and Benjamin!

We had a grand finale with the community Pariantana of Musho to celebrate the end of a six month Healthy Homes project. We helped 38 local families install improved wood-burning stoves, guinea pig cages, and cupboards.

Day 555: Shout out to our dear friend Lwell

Lwell, thanks for the visit. Please be careful on your travels in Patagonia!!!!

Watercolored boy ponders life as Lwell on the "other side"
Peru, a room with a view. Lwell's a great hiker, especially on sustained uphills.

Day 550: Condors and Spitting Llamas and Nature

One of the many reasons to visit the highlands of Peru is the opportunity to view one of the largest bird species on the planet. Unlike the nearly extinct California condor, this species has multiple strongholds throughout the Andes.
This guy looked like Ringo with his mop top.

Surly suri alpaca who spit at me (see below)
Like many animals I met during famed Mustache March, the Surly Suri alpaca didn't dig the facial styles. It's been snipped, grandma, don't worry.
Mmmm, a cactus in flower.

Day 542: Coastal fun

On a few precious days off, we visited Paracas Bay (Poor Man's Galapagos) and Huacachina oasis (sandboarding is flipping hilarious!).

Day 540: Earthquake Relief Work in Canete

Six months following the 8.9 scale earthquake, the coastal region of Peru most affected is still reeling from the devastation. We helped for two weeks, offering 5 health fairs to groups of families (about 150 people) who are receiving composting letrines from CARE International. We also accompanied CARE employees on house visits and donation campaigns, distributing plastic goods for cooking and storing water. In six months, CARE built over 6,000 letrines in the region. Other international relief efforts are present in abundance, but it seems the national government is still developing an appropriate response, including replacing sewage systems and schools. It was a powerful emotional and educational experience. Our hearts go out to the people reconstructing their lives.

Lib and Mustache man facilitating an engaging and educational game of homemade jeopardy with questions focused on health and letrine maintenance.

Two boys standing alongside an irrigation ditch and in front of a open-bottomed letrine that falls directly over the canal.

Six months after the quake, people are still living in the temporary relief tarps donated by other countries like the United States, Europe and Chile. All the adobe structures were decimated, so many people are saving up to rebuild with brick and cement (one of many reasons for the delay).

Letrines built by CARE are located on whatever land families have available, often alongside diary cows (a primary source of income besides laboring on cotton, yucca, feed corn, artichoke or asparagus fields).
Ella Ewart, our Peace Corps colleague, is sitting with an Andean immigrant who is originally from Ayacucho. She spoke little spanish, preferring her native form of Quechua. Like many, she immigrated to the coast as a teenager in search of work. She labors on large farms owned by the wealthy, planting, weeding and harvesting export crops she doesn't even know how to prepare. After decades of work with artichoke, she inquiried how to consume the plant. Mindblowing, really.

Here, we are prepping donations of various sized buckets and plasticware.

Libby, the hand-washing specialist, at it again.

A large storehouse completely destroyed by the august 15th, 2007 earthquake.

Coastal sunsets were a highlight after a year and half of mountain landscapes (not that we're complaining one bit).
Lib and lots of Franklin's gulls, among other wonderous seaside species.

Day 537: Celebrating Mustache March (Sorry Grandma, I know you hate facial hair!)

Here I am multi-tasking as I assist in the management overseeing the letrine-building project with CARE International.

Day 513: Micro-business Summer School

Here are the micro-business students receiving their certificates and heading off into the world of sales and profits!
Here we are playing 'The Human Knot' - Our business students learning some techniques on creativity!

Yosy, one of our students, presents her group's propaganda for selling juice in Musho at the 'Bank' in order to take out a loan of about $10 to purchase the fruits necessary.

PCVL Ryan and our good friend, LWell played the bankers for the kids to present their loan applications.

Libby and I developed a small course to offer to high school (secondary) students teaching the basics of running a small business. We had 12 student sign up (most kids leave Musho and visit family in other cities during the long break from school). Each kid paid 10 soles, which they receive again at the end of class if they attend regularly. With all the money we formed a bank fund that the kids could ¨borrow¨ from for their business start-up loan.

We had two competing juice businesses that sold enough to pay back their loans and earn a profit! As if this wasn´t exciting enough for us, one group decided to reinvest their profits to buy the ingredients for tamales. This group of 12 to 13 year olds made a bunch more money. It turns out we did not need tons of business experience to teach youth to manage a small one-day business. Hopefully, we will be able to keep something going with the kids. There is talk of forming an Environmental Business Club where the kids would make handicrafts out of recycled products and sell them with our guidance. We´ll keep ya posted...

As a celebration, we took a wonderful hike together to a nearby mountain lake and played Carnaval (throwing water at each other). Libby even taught the kids how to swim!

Day 510: A jaunt off to Armapampa

And so, we headed off into the hills with 7 of our micro-business students. We rose early, hiked about 3 hours to a lake called Armapampa, swam, ate, and hiked back again. The kids were great, full of energy, and excited to show us a new place. We can't believe that we didn't know about this hike before now, but are excited to share it with future visitors!

One of the boys brought along his horse...

Let the Carnaval celebrations begin! Immediately upon arrival at the lake, the kids kicked their shoes, rolled up their pants and forded the river out to a green pampa in the middle of the lake. And from then on, it was get soaked, or soak the others... Carnaval styes!

Day 504: English Class in the Plaza

Day 502: Balanced Meals in Pariantana! (aka Campo Cook-off 2008)

We split into teams in this rural neighborhood, called Pariantana, to cook on a few of the improved stoves that we installed last year. It was a big hit and everyone not only showed up, but they made tastey, nutritious dishes with local produce and ingredients. Wish you could have been there to try the amazing fruit salad! The presence of malnutrition is hard to believe after an experience like this.

Day 494: An email sent to the family...

Just wanted to send a quick note (ok, in retrospect, this is a long email... so print it out and make some tea!) of hello out into the world of wires and satellites. Benj and I are in Huaraz for the evening... just took HOT, BURNING, SCALDING, CLEANSING showers, got hair cuts, and are about to drink a dark beer and eat a veggie burrito. Life is good.

We've had some great last few days... last week we started a micro-business simulation course for summer school with a group of young (12-15 yrs old) and motivated youth. The course will last 6-weeks and take place Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9-1. Our work plan involves teaching them the basics of micro-businesses, including accounting, market studies, marketing and publicity, production, quality control, etc. Then the kids will divide up into small groups, take on the roles of general, finance, and production manager and make their own product. They've all contributed S/.10 (the equivalent of $3) to the group bank, from which they will be able to withdraw a loan to produce their good. After selling their product (hopefully with amazing success) they will pay back their loan and return to their homes at the end of the course with their S/.10 plus their profits. Should be cool. We talked about the characteristics of an entrepreneur last thursday using dynamic games to pound the ideas home. To impart the idea of risk-taking we decided to play the egg toss... you can only imagine how the kids clawed at the ground in uncontrollable laughter when the egg splattered into my chest and dribbled the orangey yolk that only a farm bred chicken can produce down my shirt and jeans. ;)

Wednesday and Friday saw us out in the community of HuamboMusho, nailing house numbers onto each and every structure in the community... The idea is a project called the Community Vigilance System and involves the health post identifying the risky zones in their area of intervention. To do this, each house gets a number, and each family completes a basic family survey with a member of the health post staff. It's basically a health-focused census. HuamboMusho is a huge community with over 120 houses, within a 4 mile circumference, and between 8 and 3pm yesterday we touched 80 houses! We were a team of 7. People welcomed us into their homes, fed us split pea soup with pop-corn and spicy pepper and boiled corn for breakfast, invited us into their strawberry patches to munch on the sweetness of the earth, grabbed my cheeks and squeezed, talked to us purely in quechua, gave us fleas, hugged us, gifted us apples and apricots and corn sugar stalks, we saw families in their fields working with their bull-drawn plows. It was muddy and sloppy along the paths, and the dark clouds threatened while we systematically covered a non-systematic community. We smiled and laughed our way from house to house. Unfortunately, the health post staff has a lot to learn about how to work with people... they rushed through the surveys, hardly stopping to greet their interview subject, they were more focused on answering the survey questions than observing the actual living conditions, and in some cases were straigh up rude. 3 of them didn't even come out into the community with us and then proceeded to take advantage of World Vision's offered lunch... one of them brought her boyfriend. Boo. I think this would be a great training with the health post staff... interpersonal relations with a touch of heart.

I imagine you remember the large group (30 americans) of evangelical missionaries that stayed in our living compound last year in March? Well, their leader is back, this time with a group of 9 peruvian youth missionaries from the jungle and his new peruvian wife. They moved in on the 16th of January and plan to stay for 2 months. Conveniently, as of now at least, most of them are living in the church... so we don't have quite the strain on our porcelain as we did last year.

We're also working up in Pariantana on two projects... one is a write-a-book project on literacy with 15 elementary-school age students. I purchased a book of fairy tales while in Lima in December, and we start each class with story time. The kids love it! Next week they will really start writing their books.

The other project is phase #2 of our Healthy Homes initiative, where we once again are promoting the Improved Stove. This project was started due to the extreme interest shown by the community, and we are already almost 2 months in. We are again complementing the stove implementation with a nutrition course, a training on how to raise improved guinnea pigs in healthy cages, and also implementing home-based native plant garden. While World Vision is not working in Pariantana this year, the health post is assisting in the nutrition course. The funds will come from a Small Projects Assistance grant through the Peace Corps, complemented by a few other local/regional donor agencies.

English class continues on Tuesday evenings from 5-7pm and Yoga on Wednesdays from 4-6. We have increased participation now that the kids are on summer vacation. Benj still has his radio program, Tres Leches, every wednesday, although the radio CPU has been in Lima for cleaning for at least 2 weeks now.

The rains have hit hard. We have only seen the mountain for about 4 hours all week, and the afternoons have been reserved for indoor activities, hot tea, cribbage, books, and work planning.

We are thinking about you all lots and missing you.

With love, L & B

Day 491: Community Vigilance System

We've been helping the local health post place wooden placards that designate house numbers in the communities of Musho. Benjamin does the hammering and Libby draws the map as the health post workers census the population in each home. It's been a cool way to learn all the local trails of Musho, plus we can proudly say we have visited each and every home in town. How many of you reading this can say that about your hometown. I know I am a good neighbor when living in the U.S. and I hardly know a small percent of the folks living within a mile radius of my home. Here's to being a Peace Corps volunteer.

Day 483: House Visits for the Healthy Homes Project

As Libby filled surveys at each home, Benjamin was able to work on his photography. People are extremely generous, letting us into their houses to assess where they will install the improved stove and guniea pig corals. We often leave with handful of local produce from backyard orchards and gardens. Enjoy the insider perspective about life in a rural Andean town.

Day 480: Pulgas

So folks... we've officially been out of touch. Happy New Year! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukah! Happy Solstice! Etc! I just wanted to say hi... via the blog.

I've got fleas. Have for basically 16 months now, but they've been especially rude and violating these past couple of weeks. My body is covered in big red welts that itch deep into the veins and bone marrow and muscle tissue. They keep me up at night, tickling my skin, reminiscent of a stray hair. Elusive. Unfindable. But there, oh so there. They are tiny, and black, and crunchy between unforgiving and angry fingernails. They feast upon my tired body, leaving me tired after a peace-corps volunteer's night's sleep. (that is to say a sleep that should be deep and restful.)

So, to fleas. Gotta wash the sheets. Put the matress in the sun. Spray with RAID PULGA. Day dream of night dreams.

Love, Libs

Day 472: Cookie Checkers (a la Shayna)

If you're as lucky as us, you have an artistic, loving sister who sends you delicious Melting Moment cookies that not only melt in the mouth, but also make a super-fun version of checkers.

Day 471: Adios 2007 and Hola queridos friends and fam

Happy holidays and New Year everybody!

We are saying goodbye to a year entirely spent abroad, in Peru. As much as our life has grown comfortable in our small mountain village called Musho, we think daily about how far away family, friends, and home are. Since our grand trip to Portugal in October to visit with Benjamin´s family, we have seen and done much. Our computer died again and we have struggled updating the blog, so excuse the dearth of recent photos.

We spent Thanksgiving getting to know the lowlands of eastern Peru, the foothills of the Amazon rainforest, Tarapoto with our good friend Laura Wellington. Bizarre, delicious fruits and monkeys were sure highlights, while the ungodly humidity and sun intensity made a short trip just fine with me.

Returning to the cool mountains, december has been filled with scheming for next year (our last). We have started another improved stoves project with an extremely rural neighborhood where the folks are primarily illiterate, Quechua speakers. It is a fantastic challenge and we are glad to have had the previous experience of implementing this type of project. Unlike many projects in rural places, participation has been outstanding due to the close relationships we have forged with these people over the last year. We have biweekly meetings where we do construction and nutrition workshops. Pictures to be posted…

The school year is ending here and we were invited to a bunch of celebrations which involved Huayno (local monotonous, but catchy folk music), beer, potatoes and guinea pig. Oddly, the parents celebrate more than the sixth graders, getting plastered and taking over the celebration completely.

One really nifty project we´ve been working on is a puppet theatre production in a small primary school of 30 students. We obtained a copy of ´´The Lorax¨ by Dr. Seuss in Spanish from a former PCV and have been using the story to create a show. The children made their own puppets and we just gave a performance to the parents at the school´s end-of-the-year party. The kids got certificates and native cherry tree seeds for their participation (the theme of the Lorax is environmental, of course, with tree conservation as a central topic).

We have lots of plans for the year to come and will be sure to post updates. Our nofalling email has been malfunctioning so we are making the move to our gmail account. It is identical ´benjandlib´ followed by the gmail.com tag. Thanks to you all for the continued long-distance, long-term love and support. Ten months and counting. We can´t wait to see you all next year for the holidays.

Benj & Lib

Day 470: Boxing Day in the Blanca

What did you do on Boxing Day? LWell, Benj and I headed off into the Cordillera Blanca to a lake called Laguna 69... A 5am departure from Musho, a quick ride down to Yungay and another ride all the way up past Llanganuco to the start of the hike by 7:30am. We reached the lake by 10am and spent a few hours relaxing, dipping in the icy glacial waters, and eating a yummy lunch. Check out LWell's blog for more photos! http://laurawellington.blogspot.com/2007/12/christmas-in-musho.html

Day 469: Christmas Day in Musho

Here we are making Christmas cookies! Ahh, the joys of having our own little oven!

And then we headed up to Betty and Raul's for a delicious x-mas dinner with our little god-children. We gifted them new shoes and kid's books, and a piece of clear roofing for the kitchen to let in more light. And now they ask us to read the books every time we visit with them!

Day 468: Christmas Eve Eats...

Day 464: World Wise Schools 6th Graders Graduate!

Day 461: Healthy Home Initiatives

Day 459: Kiwicha

The mountain is still enormous and impressive. Yet, many things about life in this Andean village have become normalized: spouting Quechua phrases, boiling water for drinking, passing mixed herds of donkeys, sheep, cows and pigs. And despite the proximity of the campo lifestyle that my neighbors lead, I have remained isolated from some of the more alarming or exotic customs: the entire family sleeping together in one or two beds, wearing recycled rubber tire sandals, or the arduous task of preparing and planting a small field by hand. Andean agruculture is renowned for its beautiful patchwork mosaic atop and along steep hillsides. I have observed, in awe, the dedicated labor my neighbors invest in plowing, seeding, weeding aporcando (placing more soild around each crop), spreading fertilizers and insecticides, and harvesting. The costs (not even including the many weeks of hard labor) do not often exceed breaking even. But this has more to do with macroeconomic forces and market access than the ability of these farmers. My neighbors are some of the most skilled workers I have seen. The subtelties and tricks required to nurture a full, profitable harvest are still beyond reckoning after one year here. I have have had several humbling, failed experiences growing vegetables, one of which was a school garden where children later explained exactly where I went wroing. It´s true the skill and often strength of the kids far exceed my own in the fields. With all of this in consideration, I have maintained a year of relative seclusion from the chacra - a blissfully ignorant biologist cointinuing to admire the mystery of an exotic, ancient Inca culture.

That was until today. I agreed to help my host mother, Elvina, plant Kiwicha (amaranth). I have long been fascinated, like many North Americans, with the miracle grain, cousin of quinua. ¨Planting¨ sounded innocuous enough, perhaps placing seeds in the ground while Elvina tossed lumps of fertilizer alongside. In fact, Libby and I recently did this with the corn in our backyard. The major difference were the two very large toros (bulls) pulling the wooden llunta (plow) and our host dad, Abraham, guiding what could easily be a dangerous, awkward process. No, today there would be no Abraham, just me and my 57 year old, iron, Inca-descended host mom.

The first task - my first hint at what I had got myself into - was to haul a huge sack of chicken gauno over-the-shoulder to the field ten minutes away. I nearly fell into the irrigation canal and almost lost my hat, but managed to arrive intact and excited for the upcoming planting. Two hours later, I was still tearing away at the ground with my pickax removing roots of invasive weeds that would prohibit our glorious grain´s growth. Were it not for Spike the 13 year old donkey and his hearty lawn mower mouth the day prior, I can only imagine how long the job would have taken. At this point my hand is wrapped in my long sleeve shirt because three blisters have sprung up. Despite the sweat and heavy breathing at 10,000 feet, and the difficulty lifting my tool above my head, I was in good humor. For I had weeded in rows, thinking ahead to when we would plant. Alas, Elvina needed deeper rows dug and my naivete burst like a dirty blister. Several hours later we were laughing having settled into the grueling toil of moving mounds of earth with our arms. It actually came to my mind the question: ¨who thought up agriculture, anyway?¨ I spent some time imaging inventive sedentary bicycles with shovels attached for excavating small chacras heavy machines couldn´t access. We finally culminated and broke for lunch, where she served me a delicious hot drink made exclusively with toasted amaranth from last year´s harvest.

My body will soon forget the pain of Andean farming, but my mind will unlikely lose this memory of working alongside an uncannily strong, aging woman. She believes we only eat canned food in the United States. She had a hearty laught at lunch calling me her ¨toro gringo¨. Ironically, I suppose, is that now having participated in the vigourous lifestyle of my neighbors, I find it even that much more mysterious, alamring and exotic.

Day 458: Pilar Blas helps 6th graders celebrate

Three 6th graders graduated from a small school up in Pariantana. They aged from 14 to 17 years old.

After the graduation celebration, a local Huayno singer, Pilar Blas, set up a stage and sang until 3 in the morning! How do 6th graders celebrate where you live?

Day 457: A kindergartner graduates!

Her name is Sheyla Villon Villar. She's 5 years old and has successfully graduated from kindergarten! Her mother asked us to be the godparents for her graduation, a role that involved attending the graduation party and getting her a little gift... a kid's book of popular fables.

Day 445: World AIDS Day in the Andes

Day 441: On One Year in Musho

Day 439: Playing Cribbage using Aunt Penny's Chocolate Chips as Pegs

Did you hear that Benj had 4 aces and pegged 14 points for 31? Wowie!

Day 415: Favorite things about Peru

1 - I've got my wife here with me (and I've got a nice camera to fool around with during down times)
2 - Little cute piggies


3 - Amazing smiles of people in our village

Day 407: Gringos Saludables

Check out these photos in the link below to see us in action as members of Gringos Saludables, a theater group made up of the Peace Corps Volunteers in Ancash. After deciding what theme we want to work on, we usually write a script (or use an existing script), design our costumes and have a practice session. During the practice session we read through the script, rehearse the actions a few times, and design a dance for the end of the show. We always make sure that we are teaching something, and that we do a 'check for learning' at the end of the performance.

http://picasaweb.google.com/VAshPatel/GringosSaludables

Day 398: Top Ten Vacation Highlights from Europe

view of Pena Palace from the surrounding gardens

We recently took a luxurious break from our PC service to travel in southern Portugal and Spain with the immediate Skolnik family. It was fantastic to catch up with everyone: Steve, Lola, Ramon, Shayna, Kevin and Sabina. Kev came all the way from Mozambique where he, too, is a PC volunteer (check out the link for his blog on the right-hand column of this page). We celebrated the end of our first year of service together, chatting at length about the similarities and differences of our experiences - contrasting Latin America and Africa...wow, and somehow Europe was an easy midway point. Sabina is a blast and speaking spanish like a Sevillana, where she currently resides. My family is spread across the globe, but we are still close as can be.

Top ten tasty tidbits:

10 - Delicious Olives

9 - Cork oak trees (don't buy wine without real cork; it helps sustain a unique agricultural, ecological landscape which supports many birds and animals)

8 - Portuguese bread and any and all cheeses

7 - Hackisack sessions any and everywhere (with integration)

6 - Seville's gazpacho (and Ramon's homemade)

5 - Columpios (swings) with niece Sabina

4 - Views from atop Castle walls that contain cute whitewashed towns atop hills

3 - Random, inventive music sessions with my bro

2 - Morning jogs in the Alentejo countryside

1 - Family meals (yes, food was a main theme of the vaca)!

Day 379: Wood Burning Stove Success

Many folks have heard that we've been installing improved wood-burning stoves in homes. Here are pictures of some of the 48 stoves we were able to install with the financial and technical support of World Vision International and the local health post.

Ines and Bianca in front of their new adobe stove

Here I am with Victor and his new cocina (note the black wall from smoke from the old fire pit)

Libby and Yiku testing out the results of a first run

Day 366: Did You Know We Eat Guinnea Pigs?

Please note: If you are queasy at the site of blood or death, please consider skipping this post. Though we are both vegetarians, (me for my whole life and Benj for the past 8 years) we have decided to eat guinnea pigs while living in Musho. The community still knows that we don't eat other forms of meat, but because the guinnea pig such a special meal for the people of Musho, we have given in. Guinnea pigs are often raised in the kitchens, running around the dark warm area, inbreeding and creating a dirty environment. We're excited to tell you that all of the families that have a new cocina have moved their guinnea pigs into cages out of the kitchen. They don't have very much meat on them usually... and are served with a pile of potatoes!

So, if you want to see a few pictures of the cooking process (from life to the fry pan), read on!

Day 365: On One Year in Peru

Wow! We've officially been in Peru for one year! Congrats to all you other Peru 8ers out there!

Days 349 & 350 - 30 Kilos of Trash on the Highest Mountain in the Tropics

with two park guards and the leader of the donkey drivers, we stockpile trash at base camp on Huascaran the Italian Catholic church built a nice stone refuge way up high on the mountain

at the refuge adjacent to the receding glaciers of Huascaran

intense tropical sun above the south peak of Huascaran

hard to believe mountaineers could be so selfish to dump their waste on the gorgeous mountain

Collecting and carrying trash is hard work; no wonder people choose not to take it down with them

it was a good day to be a PCV despite the yellow gloves

Day 343: Celebrating 3 Years of Blissful Marriage!!!

Days 333 - 339: Using Community Radio as a Tool for Development

Day 338: Earthquakes and birthdays

Hey everyone, thank you for all the email and phone calls. We are all OK here in Musho, and Peace Corps reports no injuries of staff or volunteers. Our hearts go out to all those on the coast who have lost homes. We do not know if we will be able to help in the relief effort there. I was doing my radio program and felt suddenly sick, walked outside and realized that I was experiencing an earthquake. I looked to the mountain, half expecting it to come tumbling down on top of us. Fortunately, five minutes of gelatin ripples later, the ground stopped moving, the trees stopped swaying, and I was back broadcasting the blues on my weekly radio show. Whew.

Happy birthday, Dad!!! Hope you had an excellent day of celebration.

Day 333: Hasta La Vista Peru 5

Day 331: Mapping Musho with the Community Health Promoters

Day 323: Days off and Mountain Summits

While Peru celebrated its anniversary as a nation, many of us PC volunteers were romping around the country with three days vacation. A few of us chose to climb the high mountains surrounding my village in the Cordillera Blanca. We were able to summit Ishinca, a peak just over 5,500m. Then Lib and I stayed on to hike several hours to 'high camp'. My guide awoke me at 11:3opm to prepare for a second summit, the much taller, Tocllaraju. I left Libby (who decided that her phobia of heights would keep her from joining me) in the warm tent. After a grueling, frigid 6 hour climb on sometimes extremely steep terrain, we reached the peak at just over 6,000m. I was nearly in tears as the sun rose over the distant Amazon in the east. Up to now the hardest thing I had ever done was working as a wilderness guide in northern Minnesota and Canada, occassionally portaging a canoe and heavy food pack simultaneously across uncertain terrain. Mountaineering at almost 20,000ft has officially become my greatest physical achievement. Here a some photos of our adventure:Arrival at base camp.
climbing Ishinca....the guide pointing out the peak....more or less there...just a few more steps
Summit of Ishinca with PCV pals Angela and Patrick.Hangin with the Apus, mountain spirit gods of the Andestent gear prep at high camp (5,ooom - note the snow in the background)
Practicing saving my guide (Lucho)'s life.At sunrise, we are just below the final steep ascent and above a nasty crevasse on Tocllaraju (unfortunately, you can't see either the steepness of the ascent above the my guide or the depth of the crevasse below the rope in this photo)Big, beautiful crevasse along the way.
Sunrise over the Amazon, east of the Cordillera Blanca.
the mountain man and the Bixby family reunion hat sitting pretty at about 20,000ftThe long path back down...looking north
holy pickax, I made it to the top!

Day 320: Mountain volleyball game at the Lodge

Peace Corps may not be all fun and games, but it sure feels great when we get a chance to relax. Here we are during Fiestas Patrias of Peru.


mountain service...
Nothing like mountain volley...this could be a great beer commercial.Volunteers have a whack at it, Lizzi and Olivia.

Day 305: Improved Stoves (a current project)

- a typical cooking scenario in Musho, a few rocks and a black wall -
- another photo of a pretty nice looking kitchen -

A quick skim of this blog may reveal an idyllic jaunt in the mountains of Peru, an extended vacation full of smiling faces and happy North Americans overseas. And although it does often feel this way, I have realized that we do a poor job sharing our ´work´ experiences. These are tough to define as a PC volunteer and often fleeting - I think up and plan a ´project´ only to false start. The list of potential projects tops twenty or so. The weekly radio program and english class a several of the projects that have been more less consistent.

A nifty project to improve the living conditions within Musho homes has been simmering for months and is just now hitting the streets. ´Cocinas mejoradas´ are improved stoves that are designed to alleviate several prominent health risks, including excessive smoke exposure and inhalation from cooking over an open fire. The new stove is covered and has a chimney, and is built on a platform so the cook is not bent over while cooking.

This is a common intervention among PC volunteers, NGOs and even Peruvian government. We have had a challenging experience coordinating this project with an NGO and the local health post. The NGO is providing the relatively expensive (40 USD) metal stovetop and chimney. The rest of the stove can be made from local materials, brick or adobe, and is not too costly. The key has been not only convincing families they want the new stove (who doesn´t want what appears to be a handout), but working with the community to build the cocinas themselves. This has involved forming small teams of neighbors within the distinct villages that make up rural Musho. Visiting remote houses, explaining the design requirements, such as ample light and airflow (in homes that more frequently lack both), and organizing folks has been...hard work.

The photos below show the process of teaching people about the stove, visiting their homes, and finally building examples in select homes in each neighborhood. The idea is that once one or two is built in each neighborhood neighbors can replicate the process themselves. Once they have their platforms constructed, we will give them their stovetop and chimney. There should be about sixty families receiving this support. Stay tuned for that final part...


- a training on stove making -

- drawing the outline for the stove (note the typical dirt floor) -
- laying the structure to fill in with a cement base -
- laying brick -
- eveyone helping out, including one of my favorite 12 year olds, Stalin (yep, that´s his name) -
- construction in process -
- the hole is where the ash will fall, and will be covered by a raised stovetop -

Day 295: Wishing Libby (and the US of A) a Happy Birthday

We shared a delicious meal with our Mushino neighbors. I made egg salad, what a novelty!
Yep, we had a cake fight with all the kids. Libby, the birthday girl, definetly won (hehe).

Day 290: Sending Chocolate-chip Cookies Internationally

I was recently informed of the correct way to send chocolate chip cookies through the international post. First, make sure that the package weighs less than one pound. That's right, just one pound of chocolate chip cookies folks. Actually, less than one pound, because the correct way involves placing two pita breads in the zip-lock baggie. This technique will keep the chocolate chip cookies from getting stale. While the pita will arrive dry, the cookies should arrive soft and delicious.

If anyone would be willing to try this experiment with me, I am certainly willing to check my mail box on a more regular basis. :).

So much love, Libs

An interesting article to read

Check it out... one of our PCV's sisters visited her in Peru and this is what she wrote. Always great to get another perspective.

http://www.oakseed.org/2007WinningEssay/MelissaSherry

Day 288: Everybody needs to get goofy sometimes...

Have we mentioned recently that we miss you? And when we miss you we sometimes just get a little silly, lost in memories if you will...

Photos (top to bottom and left to right):

• Inca Kola - If you are not familiar with this bright yellow, bubblegum-esque soda option, you are cordially invited to Peru to try it out.
• Libby in the kitchen - Here I am in our little kitchen, posing with our strainer on my head. The outfit I am wearing is one of my most common, jeans and tee-shirts are my favorite base layer, over which I usually always wear my 'pollera' (or big colorful skirt, see photo bottom left), and in place of the strainer- my sombrero (please see photos below featuring Benjamin in my hat.)
• Benjamin - If you know him, then you will probably be familiar with the goofy self-portrait series for which he is famous.
• Benjamin at his radio program - Giving a shout out to his family on 99.5 Sabor Mix, Musho
• Libby eating a small delicious banana - no explanation necessary.
• Benjamin - Self-portrait take 2.
• Benjamin and Libby - Self-portrait of the amazing duo, walking down the streets of Musho.
• Benjamin - Self-portrait take 3.
• Libby - Portrait taken by Benjamin of Libby with small delicious banana as moustache before consuming said banana (see center photo)

Links to Peru Peace Corps Blogs and Online Journals

Just click on the title to see a list of links to fellow Peru PCVs and read about their experiences.

Day 286: Celebrating Health on the School's Anniversary

From Monday to Friday (June 25-29, 2007), and for many weeks preceeding this special week, Mushinos focused on the celebration surrounding their school's 29th anniversary. Before the building of the Musho school (which includes kindergarten, elementary and secondary grades) students in Musho had to go down off the mountain to study in Mancos, Yungay or Caraz.

So, today, Benjamin, Nancy, Yanet, Dora, and I joined forces and headed up the hill to the school yard to host the anniversary Feria Integral de Salud, the second ever since my counterpart started working in Musho 5 years ago.

I dusted off my Mariquita Cochinita (Dirty little Mary) story to read to the little kids (last used during a handwashing campaign in April and at the World Health Day fair on April 9th). The story tells of a little girl who loves to get dirty. She doesn't wash her hands, or the fruit that she eats. She drinks water right out of the river, and poops in the fields. As a result, a terrible parasite named Valentin Matasanos (health-killer) climbs onboard her apple and enters her tummy, creating a yucky case of diarrhea. Her parents take her to the health post and she gets some medicine to make her better. She ends up learning the hard way that she should wash her hands after going to the bathroom and before eating, use a sanitary latrine, and wear shoes.

After reading the story we analyzed the cleanliness of our hands and ran off to the sinks with a bar of soap to learn a few best practices for hand washing... Sudz up, all around, clean out those fingernails, in between your grubby fingers, keep going, sing a song (pin pon :) ), and then do the air dry dance!

Nancy, our obstetrician, gathered up the adolescents and walked them through the trials and tribulations, causes and consequenses of teen-pregnancy.

Dora, a visiting nurse, played The Price is Right (kinda) with another group of students, asking them fun questions about nutrition, hygiene, mental health, and fun facts about the health post.

Yanet, the health post's technician, played a Jeapordy-type game with a bunch of students. Her categories were Diarrhea, Respiratory Infections, HIV/AIDS, Yellow Fever, Tuberculosis, and Bonus.

And Benjamin, our environmental health specialist, led the students in a game on solid waste management. In this game, students learn not only the terminology but also the importance of recycling and compost... and the dangers of burning plastics, the waste of burning crop waste, and the negative effects of throwing garbage in the river.

Day 280: Cocina Mejorada What?

IN THE FIELD- EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING TAKES A FIELD TRIP
Libby Skolnik
Musho, Ancash, Perú 8

The cocina mejorada (improved cook-stove) is a relatively simple idea. Using 42 adobe bricks, create a base for your new stove that is raised off the ground and includes a storage cupboard for pots, pans and other kitchen necessities. No longer will the family cook have to suffer back problems induced by stooping over the ground-level, campfire-style cooking ring. Sufficient air circulation and a brand new chimney will help to ensure that the smoke has an outlet, ideally reducing respiratory illnesses and vision problems. A metal stove top with three cooking surfaces, specifically fit to the family’s pots, helps to create a more efficient cooking system and, thus, reduces time spent cooking and the amount, and related costs, of firewood needed to cook each meal.

There are articles and manuals, websites and testimonies, all intending to inform interested parties on the benefits and practicalities of building a cocina mejorada in the home. When an international NGO working in the area asked us to join with them in a Healthy Homes initiative, including the installation of cocinas mejoradas, we were thrilled. Planning meetings and brainstorming sessions helped our multi-sector team (Peace Corps Volunteers, NGO, and the local health post) to work out a number of kinks, decide on our initial pilot project beneficiaries, and create an ambitious work plan.

Unfortunately, the differences in our visions created a fissure in our schedule of activities.
Our (Peace Corps) end goal: Work with the local 15 health promoters, spread amongst the five communities, in transforming their homes into ‘Healthy Homes.’ Installations in the health promoters’ homes would include cocinas mejoradas, sinks and faucets connected to the chlorinated water system, connection to the sewage system or a sanitary latrine, chicken coops, and guinea pig cages, among others. A series of open-houses would then allow the health promoters’ neighbors to visit the newly improved healthy homes, learn about the project and join a large version of Healthy Homes in the next NGO fiscal year. Their (NGO and health post) end goal: Successfully spend the available project budget by the 15th of August, a goal accomplished by installing 60 cocinas mejoradas in the community. In the end our Healthy Homes project will start by fulfilling their goal. We were, however, successful in convincing our team to consider a number of nonformal education techniques in the installation and learning processes.

Into the field…

It was a sunny Tuesday morning in Musho. After days of community walks to inform the invited families of our demonstration session, we walked down the hill to the specified meeting location. There, at a curve in the dusty, dirt road, stood almost 50 local women, all of whom had arrived at least 15-30 minutes early for our noon departure. In the next hour 15 more would arrive, making our participation rate almost 100%. And so, in two combis and two taxis, our group of almost 70 barreled down off the mountain, through the valley, and back up into another canyon. Nearly two hours later we arrived at our destination – a small town located at practically the same elevation (3000+ meters), sharing many of the same living conditions and traditions with the families of Musho.

Our combi ride had been a flurry of questions and concerns, complaints and excitements. But here, in this new village to which only one of our members had ever visited, we were introduced to the ‘cocina mejorada.’ We entitled the day ‘Sesión Demostrativa de las Viviendas Saludables y Cocinas Mejoradas.’ Met by several of the town’s members, Musho’s ‘cocina mejorada’ beneficiaries were invited into the homes, presented with the verbal testimony of families who already benefited from many of the Healthy Homes installations, and allowed to observe and ask questions. Concerns ranged from ease of cooking to building specifics. It made sense. It was no longer an unimaginable combination of words. Finally, the cocina mejorada was a reality.

Two days later, our multi-sector team invited the beneficiaries to their first training on the project. Again, with nearly 100% participation, we explained the various aspects of the project and the required responsibilities for the beneficiaries. Responsibilities include 100% participation in all technical trainings, attendance at nutrition and hygiene educational sessions, a pre and post survey to measure changes in behavior, and provision of manual labor in the building of their cocinas mejoradas. Additional installations include family vegetable gardens and animal cages for their guinea pigs, rabbits, and chickens.

Our next steps include a technical training on building the cocinas mejoradas and the beginning of a series of educational health sessions. While the challenges are varied and sometimes seemingly insurmountable, we will seek to teach in a manner that will open people’s eyes to new ideas, allowing them to personally decide to improve their lifestyles by providing the technical support necessary.

This is a picture of what Mushinos are cooking on currently. As you can see, the pot is balanced precariously on the rocks and there is no chimney for the smoke to escape. The walls are black, and you can only imagine their lungs.

Another cook-stove in Musho, this time made out of adobe. Again, note the black walls. Many Mushinos, especially the women, spend most of the day in the kitchen preparing food for their families (sometime more than 15 people eat in her home for every meal). And, as the sun sets and the air gets icy, the whole family migrates to the warmth of the kitchen... and so the lungs are blackened of all.

Ahh, the cocina mejorada (or improved stove). This is the stove model that we saw on our field trip (see article above). This stove is also made out of adobe, but has been covered by plaster to help maintain a cleaner kitchen, and maintain the integrity of the stove. The cupboards below help the family keep their pots and pans off the dirt floor. Also, the height of the stove allows the cook to stand and not hurt her back by bending over a floor level firering.

Here you can see the metal surface of the stove, fit with tops that help keep the stove hotter and more efficient, as well as keep the smoke flowing toward the chimney (see back right corner of the stove.) As a part of the Healthy Homes project, families can build cages for their guinea pigs to keep their kids from playing with them, avoiding the spread of disease for both the animal and the kids.

Same thing goes for the chickens. And this way the chickens don't eat their vegetables in the garden or lay their eggs in hidden nooks and crannies. More protien (chickens and eggs), and more vitamins and minerals (veggies!).

And finally... The latrine. Crucial. For all of the reasons you can think of and more.

Here one of our participants takes notes on the engineer's description of how to build the stove.

The day ended with one final question and answer session in which our Musho Moms got really excited to start up the project in Musho!

Day 274: Tres Leches - Wednesday Evenings from 6-8 on 99.5 Sabor Mix Musho

No day specifically

Here is an adorable picture of the Libster in her midget days. This is a shout out to Keelin and Mark, the Bixby/Kane padres who raised this little short-haired nugget into the great Peace Corps volunteering Libby we know and love today.

What a lil chunker.

Day 266: A visit to Campo Santo

Day 265: June email update

Dearests...

Wow, it's been forever since we've been in touch and I just wanted to send out a quick hello to you all to tell you how much I love you and think about you. I write to you from a dark, humming Internet cafe, hidden back in somebody's house and identified from the main street of Yungay by a red and white cocacola style painted sign 'INTERNET.' Ahh, you gotta love the obvious, but not-so-obvious things in life, eh?

Benjamin and I are moving along with our Peace Corps Service... hard to believe that we've been in Musho for just over 6 months now, and in Peru 9 months already. Today we had a great meeting with an international NGO working in the area, World Vision International, to present our Community Baseline Study. We've spent the past couple of months working hard to complete a series of family interviews and surveys, asking questions, and investigating life in Musho. The result was a 45 page document reporting on 'life in Musho' - topics include stats on frequent illnesses (the majority of which are preventable with a few key behavior changes like boiling your water, washing your hands, cooking on a stove with a chimney so that the smoke isn't causing respiratory illnesses, etc), trash management (they don't...people burn their plastics and throw the rest of the non-burnable trash in the rock fences around their fields or in the forest or river), sources of income (mostly agricultural, with a few miners and taxi drivers), religion (mostly catholic, some evangelicals and one israelite family), access to safe water (lots are connected to the water system, but lots don't boil their water and drink right out of the irrigation ditches), presence of a bathroom or connection to the sewage system (most aren't connected and many people don't even have a letrine and just poop in their fields), use of medicinal herbs (wow... lots, and mostly for stomach pain and diarreahs...), what they plant in their fields (corn and potatoes... just add rice and you've got a peruvian's favorite dish). And some other stuff, all leading to our conclusion that what is most needed in Musho is a change in behavior based in the home and hence a national program called 'Viviendas Saludables' or 'Healthy Homes.' We've convinced World Vision and the local health post to jump on board the implementation of the program and will start with informational sessions this week. We plan to work with a pilot community of 24 families, and then also work with 5-10 families in each of the other 4 neighborhoods to create what we will call 'show homes/casas de muestra.' Our first phase will focus on improved nutrition practices through a series of educational and demonstrative sessions, and will include building a 'cocina mejorada/improved stove' in each home. The key to the improved stove is that it has a chimney and holes appropriately sized for the pots used in the family's cooking, thus helping to eliminate smoke in the kitchen and ideally repiratory illnesses. The stove is also built off the ground so that the cook can stand in front of the stove, eliminating back problems created by stooping over a smokey fire all day long. The end result will be improved health, better eyesight, improved nutrition, and a host of other benefits. Other aspects of the project will include family gardens, cages for guinnea pigs and chickens, and sinks connected to the safe water system.

Benj also plans to start a radio program in the next week entitled 'Tres Leches' - named for the famous peruvian dessert and insinuating three languages... Quechua, English, and Spanish.

Libby will start a program called 'Como Planear mi Vida' - a six-month course on life-skills, she'll work with a small group of adolescents on life planning, thinking about the future, sex-ed, self-esteem, family values, communication skills, among many others.

We had a great 2 week vacation with Steve and Lola Skolnik... Our explorations led us from Huaraz to Musho, north to Caraz and up into the Cordillera Negra to see the huge 'puya raimondi' flowering pineapple plant. From there we headed off to the Santa Cruz Trek and spent 3 nights and 4 days of high-altitude hiking in the beautiful Cordillera Blanca. Good and tired after the trek, we headed up to a hostal above Huaraz to spend the last few nights... enjoying day hikes and treating ourselves to massages, cribbage and wine. Our days were mostly clear, cloudless and splendidly beautiful, affording constant views of the snow-capped peaks.

Ok, Please keep in touch, thanks for all the recent emails and snail-mails. We love the contact.

Day 263: On the importance of clean and accessible water

Day 251: Santa Cruz Trek... to the Punta Union Pass at 4750m

Here are some images taken from the popular Santa Cruz trek. It was tough because we opted to carry our things unlike most people who hire donkeys and local men to carry their things. We had exquisite weather as seen in these outstanding views.

Day 250: Happy Birthday Benj and Kev!

Here's to Kev (25) in Mozambique and Benj (28) in Peru on their shared birthday! Happy birthday!

For more info on Kev's Peace Corps experience, check out his blog! http://kevinskolnik.blogspot.com/

Day 247: 4200m on the Cordillera Negra

We visited the adjacent Cordillera Negra for a day and saw some beautiful high grassland plants. Mom bought a flower guide and we had fun photographing and identifying what we saw. Below is an outrageous Puya Raimundi, a century plant known to flower once its lifetime. They can grow up to 80m supposedly when in bloom.

Day 245: Skolnik Padres visit Musho

One of the first few days was spent wandering the hills of Musho, acclimatizing to the high altitude. Note Lola wearing her bright orange pollera. The older women of Musho adored this display of integration to local customs.

Day 242: Email is back up and running... No Falling Styles

To all of you who figured out my email code... you are amazing. We have gotten our No Falling email back up and running, so keep the notes flowing!

Day 235: Campamento ALMA

For three days, 12 Peace Corps Volunteers and a handful of Peruvian professional women hosted 36 adolescent Peruvian women at a leadership camp called ALMA, Actividades de Liderazgo para Mujeres Adolescentes. What an experience it was! We gathered early on a Friday morning with our 6 girls from Musho and headed south down the valley to the city of Carhuaz. There we met the other 30 girls, piled into 4 combis and slowly made our way up the 45 minute dirt road that would take us to a place called "El Mirador" or "The View." For the next two and a half days we kept extremely busy, doing everything from learning about women's health to making paper to holding an intensely competitive "olympics!"

Here is a picture of the whole group, looking out over the Cordillera Negra.

Friday was Family Planning day, and a day to think about personal and women's health issues, self-esteem, values, and just getting to know each other. Local obstetricians helped out with the educational sessions, helping us volunteers to address the local health challenges and culturally sensitive issues. In the afternoon we made recycled paper and were hoping to have an amazing session on the consequences of teenage pregnancy... but unfortunately the woman in charge of the session went into labor herself at about 11am :) She has a healthy baby boy, is happily married, and works as an HIV/AIDS specialist for World Vision International. She would have been an excellent example for the girls to look up to, but such is life! And then, Benj and I led the group in an evening of "Opening Night Campfire" activities, Widji styles. First, we entertained the girls with a theater presentation of "Gringos Saludables" or "Healthy White Folks" about a Macho teenage boy who thinks that women are meant to have babies, clean, and stay at home. Thankfully, three fairies help him understand the roles of women and men. We were visited by the Widji Midgies... two small dwarves who had participated in the first ALMA over 100 years ago and returned to tell us some funny stories. We did some funny improv games, including "First Date" and "Party Quirks" and then closed the evening with a couple of songs... "Amiga Mia" - a song about career choices adapted from a family favorite "Sabina the Peanut" - and then finally a rainstorm/HeyHo/Lalalalalala rendition to send the tired girls off to bed.

Here's Libby, dressed up as Verdecita, la hada encargada del cuidado del medio ambiente.... Greeny, the fairy in charge of protecting the environment!


Here, Benjamin and Mark get goofy in their roles as "Olympics judges' - Saturday we focused on Professional Planning, leading the girls through a series of exercises that would help them to think about their futures, their dreams, their goals. We talked budgets and the costs of starting a family, the steps necessary to go to college and to apply for jobs, opportunities available to the girls in their towns, and other plans in their futures. And then we split them up into 6 teams and had them compete in a crazy afternoon of Olympics! The sports represented included: Tug of War, The Egg Toss, Volley Ball, and Flip Cup (with water :) ).


A shout out to the volunteers who worked so hard to pull off an amazing weekend for 36 really special girls from Ancash!



For three days, 12 Peace Corps Volunteers and a handful of Peruvian professional women hosted 36 adolescent Peruvian women

Day 222: Laguna Churup

Ahh, to get out and see these mountains! A few of us Ancash volunteers took a Sunday to hike up to Laguna Churup a beautiful glacial lake just a couple of hours hike straight up off the road. Just a moment to breathe the fresh high altitude air. And think of the people we love!

Day 219: Email outage

Hello to all of our faithful blogreaders --

There's some sort of a glitch in our No Falling email, we're working on trying to get it figured out!

Anyways, we got ourselves an email account through google where the username is the first 4 letters of my husband's name, the word 'and', and the first 3 letters of my name. If you can figure this out you should send us an email because we are currently completely without all of our email addresses!

So much love. Sorry for the secretive nature of this blog entry, but I'm trying to avoid the spammers.

Love, Us

Day 213: The World Race (Sharing the love of Christ)

For more information about the US missionaries living in Musho, check out their website: http://www.theworldrace.org/. They have some really cool video footage that will help give you an idea about what it's like to live in Musho and be spreading the word of God in the developing world.

Day 210: Dave has fledged the Blue Nest (our room)

Dave moved to Greenbelt when he was 2 years old. Little did he know that he was in for such an adventurous friendship. Please check out his blog for some great photos of his journey to the base of the highest mountain in the tropics! Dave, you're amazing. Thanks for the Peanut M&Ms. One bag is officially already gone. We love you, Benj and Lib

http://daverothstravels.blogspot.com/

Day 209: World Health Day in Musho Peru

On a cloudy, rainy Monday in Musho, we celebrated World Health Day. World Vision International, an NGO working in the region collaborated with us by providing an integral medical attention service to Musho's youngsters, while the Health Post and Peace Corps lead games on solid waste management, common illnesses, and hygiene, nutrition, and mental health.

Here is Libby leading a big group of kids in a game of Jeopardy that included questions like "What are the symptoms of Yellow Fever?" and "How do you make a re-hydrating liquid in the case of bad diarrhea?" and "What are the names of the Peace Corps Volunteers living in Musho?" and "What is Libby's favorite food?"

At another station, Benjamin led a group of eager youth in a game of "Pin the Solid Waste." In this game, each kid was given a piece of his poster (plastic bottle, tin can, descriptive words, etc) and then asked to put them in the right place on the chain of managing solid waste.


All in all it was a very successful World Health Day. There is so very much to be done and we certainly have our work cut out for us.

Day 207: Hiking in Akillpo for Semana Santa

Our first vacation! We headed up into the gorge above the small town of Honkopampa (seen in the photo below), climbing from 3450 meters above sea level to 4700 meters! The weather was wonderful our first day and became rainier by the moment over the next three days.

In the photo below we are taking a water break in the old growth Polylepus (paper tree) forest. Please take a good look at Benjamin's large rice and potato belly. :)


This is the valley that we hiked up, looking back the way we came! Amazing view!


Keeping to tradition, a couple of handstands by the beautiful Akillpo Lake.


Catching our breath at 4700 meters!


Hardcore, immodest wife of mine dipping in the glacial-melt waters of Akillpo. Yeehaw! Check out her rice and potato thighs.

Day 206: Ode to our friend and mountain guru, David

David thought he was going to Miami... instead, he and his rolling suitcase ended up in an Andean glacial lake.

So, in anticipation of the trip, Dave loaded up on tasty breads.

Here you can see just how snugly the suitcase fits onto his back.


Thanks for your visit Dave! Happy trails on the rest of your round the world journey.
(if any of the rest of you feel like following the journey of the giant and the suitcase, please click on the following link: http://daverothstravels.blogspot.com)

Day 205: Libby and Benjamin as Bakers

We finally took a vacation! Here we are in Huaraz, learning how to bake multi-grain bread with our friend Edgard!

Day 203: Hand-washing charla

Here is Lib playing the story-teller role. We made a little theater show of 'Mariquita Cochinita' about the little dirty girl who played with dirt and pooped in the fields. She got sickened by the evil Valentin, a parasite, who grows on dirty hands and food. The moms and kids loved the whole thing and with some luck everyone will wash their hands appropriately!!

Day 199: Low budget Powerpoint

Here is an example of what one can do without a cumbersome computer-ready slideshow presentation. Well, maybe it takes just as long to prepare! These photos were taken at a nutrition workshop sponsored by the Ministry of Health.

Day 198: Workshop in Chiclayo

Benjamin attended a Peace Corps sponsored workshop in the northern city of Chiclayo with a local counterpart from Musho. We learned 'community project design' and developed our own community reforestation project! It was quite the experience accompanying an Andean native to the vastly different coastal culture. Hot, loud and fast-paced, we found ourselves a bit overwhelmed. The workshop presented western models of thought and presented unique challenges. Another hurdle was that the workshop was held in spanish, a second language for both me and my counterpart (a native Quechua speaker). I do hope to spread this idea of project planning and, perhaps, even implement our reforestation project.

Day 195: The Week of Gringos and God

Dona Florentina v. the Gringos

Last Sunday marked a rather drastic change in our relatively calm and comfortable lives in Musho, Ancash. In one day, Benjamin and I received our first guests – another Peace Corps volunteer and her friend Dave visited us to consume the specialty food of the day – cuyes (guinea pigs). Although the family knows that we are vegetarian and we have eaten some of the most delicious food (vegetarian styles) in Peru in their house.

On this day, Benjamin and I became “God Parents” for two children in Pariantana, the neighborhood above Musho.

I have to get my laundry now. I have ten minutes. So, I'll write the rest of this later. But just so you know, 27 evangelizing gringos from the United States arrived in Musho last Sunday. They will live there for 1 month and love on the people. They are living in our house. We are sharing one bathroom with them. I'll be sure to tell you more later.

Day 191: World Wise Schools Group Photo

Today I officially made contact with a great group of 6th grade students in Musho. Over the next couple of months these students will engage in a cultural exchange with a group of 6th graders in Edina, MN! My Musho students have already drawn maps of their town, pictures of their houses and families and written great letters to their new friends in the US. We wish them the best of new friendships!

Day 189: Dave's email account of Sunday's adventures

The gutting of a guinea pig by Betty...

"i set out for huaraz, peru, a town at around 3000 and some odd meters, which is more than 12,000 feet. i planned to do some hiking and relaxing here, but who needs plans?so my first day in huaraz i happen to mosey into a coffee shop that i heard was good, and run by a nice america guy. i wander in to look at the book shelves, its a thursday, and the american guy says to me, you wouldnt be interested in playing some ultimate frisbee tomorrow, would you? and
i was like, are you kidding? i love ultimate frisbee. so he says great, we have a game tomorrow at 11. so i say great, im in. so the next day i put off whatever plans i might have had a grab a taxi with all the other frisbee players to a beautiful playing field up in a small village outside of town. there were a lot of peace corp volunteers there, which are all american, so it looked like it was going to be interesting and fun. and if youve never seen peruvians playing frisbee, thats really fun too. so i was standing around before the game, talking to a nice jewish boy from maryland, when another female peace corp volunteer walked up to us, looked at me and said, dave? and i looked at her and said grace? low and behold, i had run into grace obuchowitz from west springfield high school, one class ahead of me but we shared mutual friends. so we caught up, she is in the peace corp in a small town outside of huaraz, and shed been here for about a year and a half. pretty crazy eh? coincideces are pretty wild.
so that night i went out for a lot of drinks and some dancing with the peace corp volunteers as they destressed over shots of tequila and american music.i guess i behaved myself because i was invited by the original nice jewish boy from greenbelt, ben and his wife libby, to attend a local baptism, where they would become the padrinos, or g-dparents, to some local tradition. the padrino thing is kinda common among peace corp volunteers. so you know me, i couldnt pass up that opportunity. and the other opportunity that arose was that at the baptism, for celebration, the family was going to serve the peruvian mountain delicacy, cuy, or guinea pig in english. por cuy, ¿por que no? or, for guinea pig, why not? so grace and i were invited into the traditional peruvian mountain house, made out of adobe bricks and usually a dirt floor, on a nice sunday afternoon and i did it. i ate half a guinea pig, im sorry ellen, i wanted to remember the name of the guinea pigs we had as kids but i couldnt. i wouldve said a prayer or something. i even ate some of the bones, thats what they do. it was pretty good, it did kinda taste like chicken but it was really good. im not
sure if this gets me kicked out of the vegetarian club or not, but well see.post
guinea pig feast i spent the night in libby and bens, quasi apartment, though quite homey, and we had a good ole time speaking in english and reading aloud to each other. the next day i did a tour of some of the other tiny tiny villages with grace and i got to see some other peace corp sites. we ended up, at graces host family´s house, who are super nice people, super hospitable, and have little guinea pigs running all over the place. it kind of made me hungry, jk, mom, jk.so that leads us up to the sort of present time of whenever you all will read this email, i guess im already in the past, but you can live literatureally whenever you want, past present or future."

Day 187: Our first Baptism in Musho

Today, Benjamin and I rose early, dressed up, and walked up the muddy path to the house of our new friends, Betty and Raul, where we had been invited to join them for breakfast. Early in our stay in Musho, these parents invited us to be the 'god parents' for their three children -- Inez, Jeynson, and Bianca. This role involves purchasing the clothes for the children's special day, signing a piece of paper for the priest and ideally being a role model for the kids. Sometimes this role can also mean taking the children back to the States with us when we leave and paying for the remainder of their secondary and university education. We were certain to make sure that the family understands that we will not take the children back to the States, but we will try hard to play a special role while we are here in their community!


As it turns out, we were unable to baptize all three children because the Priest requires the parents to be married in the eyes of God, not merely living together. The day was long and involved, but fun. The kids were really excited to get all dressed up and after the ceremony we headed back up the hill to their house where we ate food until our bellies were unhealthily distended on potatoes, rice, and pasta!

Day 186: The Poop Chart, for reference only

In case you ever need an official consult, please refer to the following chart.

Day 185: Garbage producers

Benj and I just wanted to share this photo with you all. Taken on January 21st, the plastic bag that Benjamin is holding represents all of the garbage that we produced during the first 7 weeks of our service (Nov. 27, 2006 - January 21st, 2007). This doesn't include 3 tin milk cans and 2 plastic yogurt bottles. Ahh, the benefits of eating the potatoes that come directly from the field to the pot to the mouth!

Day 177: Surfing lessons

The water was not warm, but it still felt good to be riding the waves! I have never surfed before, but there is always time to try new sports. I did manage to stand up on my board a few times during our 2 hour lesson, but mostly I just banged my feet on the rocky bottom and sucked in salty water. Our teachers held our boards and then told us when to stand up as they pushed the board up on the waves. We were never more than chest deep. Hilariously fun. I imagine that if I were a volunteer on the beach that I would want to turn this sport into a hobby. - Libby

Day 174: The Ruins of Chan Chan

Day 165: A shout out to Kev in Mozambique

For those of you who don't know, Benjamin's brother Kevin is serving in the Peace Corps in Mozambique. During our week of Quechua class this week we stayed in a hotel that had cable television and were shocked to see on BBC's world news that Mozambiqe was suffering from both severe flooding in the north near where Kevin is serving, as well as threatened by an approaching cyclone. It made me realize that sometimes we fail to think about all the world events that happen every day...

So, check out his blog for more details on his service. And let's remember the people we love in the world.

Day 164: Certified Quechua Speakers

This afternoon, in the company of chocolate cake, 5 Peace Corps volunteers in Ancash, Peru were certified as Quechua speakers at an official ceremony. The 5 volunteers live and work in rural villages in the high mountains of Peru's famous Huaraz region and will utilize their new language skills in their work in community health and environmental education and awareness.


This week is the second week of Quechua classes for this group of well-trained volunteers who are eager to return from the capital city of good food, cable tv, and hot showers, to their remote sites where they will be able to put the enormous vocabulary lists to use. These volunteers find that practicing the native language with their neighbors helps them to better integrate into the communities as well as asserting the value and importance of the local tongue to those who speak the language in their own homes.


Classes consisted of grammar, song, and field trips. The song above may have appeared in vocal-form on some of your answering machines during the past week. 'Puka Wayta' translates as 'Red Flower' and speaks to the natural beauty of local flora and fauna. Songs, poetry, and storytelling helped the group to practice their pronunciation and general comprehension of the language.


However, because of Quechua today is primarily a spoken language, the class field trip to the Thursday Huaraz market proved crucial to the learning curve. There the group practiced basic dialog with local vendors of everything from medicinal herbs to vegetables fresh from the cultivated land.

Day 162: Handstands and Frisbee in Huaraz

Our friend and Ancash pal, Amanda, catching the new frisbee! Thanks Mom & Pop!

Keeping with tradition... Benj and I try to practice our favorite hobby as much as possible. What a view, even upside down!

Day 159: World Map - In the final stages

Day 158: How many blondes...

Here I am putting the finishing 'blonde' touches on our World Map Project at the school in Musho! Thank goodness we had some left over ocean blue paint. :)

For those of you who didn't understand the blonde joke, first of all I want to know if you are blonde. :) Then I want to know if you can read and understand Spanish. :) If you are blonde and/or don't read Spanish with a certain level of comprehension, you are excused. For the rest of you "America del Sur" translates as "South America." If you then redirect your eyes to the bottom of the map, you will see America del Sur written in the Pacific Ocean near Peru, helping the map observer to understand that the southern continent is known as America del Sur. In an lapse of concentration, I accidentally stenciled in South America right next to the United States, where I meant to write America del Norte (North America). Whoops! Conveniently we had some extra blue paint and I was able to fix the mistake.

Day 154: Dancing the Shaqsha

Day 153: Is an Egg a Dairy Product?

Are eggs dairy products? Have you asked yourself this question before? Perhaps you have not delved into the confounding world of cataloging foods? No. Well then, perhaps you have not had the long, cloistered nights of an Andean rainy season to ponder such philosophical, scientific material. I know many people have wondered why a tomato is considered a vegetable. How can it be sold alongside green produce when it is so clearly full of seeds and brimming with robust red fruit juice? Is it because we eat it accompanying garden salads and inside sandwiches? Except for the occasional peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich, fruits rarely enter between two slices of bread. Maybe, then, tomatoes were forced to crossover because of their appeal accompanying certain other foods with disregard to its origins as a vegetable’s reproductive organ. I am sure there are many more examples of categorical confusion to consider. There is the in-between avocado, for example. It is green and, similarly to its tomato cousin, it is often found next to vegetables in the grocery aisle. I am fairly sure the enormous seed within the creamy avocado flesh is a fruiting structure and, therefore, should forever place this fruit far from the vegetable stand. Nuts and legumes just confuse me, personally. Cataloging food probably has a lot to do with history of human cuisine and migration and, no doubt, there are doctoral theses written on the origins of various food classification mishaps.

Our niece knows a box of fruit when she sees one.

There is a helpdesk group out of the University of Pennsylvania that claims to be able to locate the answer to any question within several minutes. I witnessed their brilliance once when a disbelieving rock climbing buddy at the University of Maryland called them up to ask the height of Maryland’s outdoor rock climbing wall. We were awed and ecstatic to hear the attendant at the Maryland gym’s front desk answer the phone moments later to deliver the correct response. If the U.Penn crew would, please, take my call tonight from Peru, I would have to ask this burning question: are eggs dairy products?

As an avid avifauna observer and vegetarian, this egg/dairy riddle is burning in my mind. Often I am asked if I eat ‘dairy’ and I confidently reply in the affirmative without ever feeling the need to list the names of these foods. Milk, eggs, butter, cream, cheese, etc are all classically lumped together, no. Dairy has always been easy unlike the frequent confusion with ‘meat’ classification. As a vegetarian, who draws and defends this line daily in a meat-eating world, I would know. In Peru and southern U.S. states like North Carolina, chicken and fish are definitely not considered meat. Meat is restricted to pork and beef, and sometimes lamb. Chicken is just chicken, I guess. Fish is almost a vegetable, just with protein. To a carnivore this may seem clear and maybe even a pointless discussion. To a student of biology these animal products are nearly indistinguishable as hunks of vertebrate muscle. Pork, beef, and lamb can at least be set aside in the sub-category of mammalian flesh. From the vegetarian perspective, all these forms of flesh can remain one large grouping, thank you. North of South America and some southern states, this basic vegetarian-friendly and biologically appropriate classification is gaining acceptance. I find it easier with each passing experience to say, “I don’t eat meat,” and to be understood. Notice there are no tomato examples in the meat category: no fruits confounded with sweetmeats, grains disguised as lambchops, or worse, dairy products masquerading as animal organs. This is unfortunate for me because it means I cannot on occasion slyly order from the carne section on the menu to avoid the inevitable explanation of my dietary restrictions. “Why are you ordering three side dishes?,” they’ll ask curiously, or, “You’re only going to eat appetizers for your meal?” “I do not eat meat,” I’ll say, and launch into the usual mini-oratory on philosophical, political and moral reasoning as well as, oh yes, the aforementioned classification of what exactly I consider to be ‘meat.’

The truth is, as a vegetarian, dairy has always been a fine line. Milk, eggs and cheese are shown together commonly on breakfast cereal boxes, food chart pyramids and just about everywhere I can think. Are they really the same? Biologically speaking they are quite different. Milk, and its associated dairy-vates, cheese and cream, come from cows. Eggs are unformed avian offspring. Both are related to the reproduction of each species, but aren’t they altogether different? Milk is the nourishment mama cows offer to their calves. Birds, of course, do not have mammary glands and feed their young on foraged food. Baby birds develop much more rapidly and need less parental care than mammals as a rule. But the albumen, or white of an egg, is also nourishment for pre-hatchling birds. Thus, mammalian milk and egg whites may be vaguely relative. Yolks are undeveloped embryos, however, and bear no resemblance to other dairy products. How, then, are eggs considered dairy? My two guesses: dairy is any food derived from animals’ reproductive efforts that avoid killing the animal itself; and/or unlike meats, vegetables and fruits these dairy foods are all the color white!

Strict vegetarians and vegans will eagerly explain the close animal origins of dairy foods. Anything produced by animals is out-of-the-question, including the honey gathered by hard-working bees. Honey is eaten by the busy bee colony to help it grow, or reproduce. So, if you’ll permit, I propose honey be classified as a dairy product. Oh wait! It is yellow and not white. Forget it. Anyway, honey is insect food. Do we even eat anything else derived from insects, except the occasional stowaway sandwich ant or unfortunate fly landed in the gawking mouth? Once, I ate ‘lemon’ ants in the rainforest of Ecuador that really tasted like lemons due to the acid content in their bodies. Hmm, don’t they eat termites and beetles in exotic Pacific islands? Perhaps, we just need a new food category for human-palatable insect cuisine. Any ideas?

In conclusion, vegetables are things that are green or go in salads. Fruits are sweet, colorful and anything with seeds not already claimed by the vegetables. Meats are chunks of any dead animal. And dairy is any edible animal product that does not kill the animal, and coincidentally, mostly white in color. This effort in unraveling the mysteries of dairy classification is admittedly going to be an additional annoyance in my vegetarian explanation at the dinner table. Hey, but at least I justified to myself the continued consumption of eggs. And possibly the more widely practical result of all this delving is the discovery that lactose intolerance does not mean avoiding all dairy, just milk products.

Day 150: A Dance Competition in Mancos

Today, Benj and I invited the high school students in our summer school program to join us on a hike down off the mountain to cheer on the elementary students who were competing in a World Vision organized dance/theater/song/math competition as a part of their summer school curriculum. 11 students decided to join us at 6:30 am for our hour and a half hike from Musho to Mancos. We carried boiled ears of corn as a snack and wore blue bandannas with our names on them in support of Musho students.


Here we are with our high school cheering squad in the Mancos Plaza. If you look closely you will see mighty Huascaran rising up behind us. We arrived early enough to greet the rest of the Musho students who rode down in a combi provided by World Vision.


Our favorite cheer is: "Musho... Are you Ready?" And since this was our cheer throughout the summer school to get kids ready to sing the alphabet or play redlight-greenlight, the elementary students would peer excitedly up at us and scream out "YEEESSSS!"



These are three of Musho's star dancers! Musho won first place in the dance competition by dancing a dance native to Peru's high Andes called the Shaqshaa.


Musho's youngest students, the first and second graders, sang a song in Quechua about the importance of mothers and fathers for their piece.


After what turned out to be a pretty long day, Benj and I headed back up the mountain. It was our first time hiking back up the hill, as we usually choose to pay the 50 cents to ride in a collective taxi. But because we couldn't offer to pay for all of the high school students taxi fares, we made the hike. Ice cream cones in hand, 8 girls decided to join us (the rest backed out and paid their way up the hill or snuck onto the World Vision transportation).

In this picture, everyone decided to climb to the top of an enormous rock to gain a little more perspective and a view of the valley.

Day 150: Our World Map Project in Musho

As one of our required Peace Corps projects during our first three months, Benj and I worked with Musho's high school kids to paint a map of the world on an outside wall of their public school. We worked with around 40 students, 4 days a week, for almost two months, to clean and prepare the wall, decide how big to make the ocean's rectangle and start the actual map creation.


After prepping the surface of the wall and throwing a quick layer of white paint on the orange-y wall, the next step was to pain the rectangle ocean blue. The girls in this photo were truly dedicated to our project and helped us to ready the map for our artistic venture. First we had to draw 1568 6.5 square inch squares onto our blue wall. To do this, we used straight edges, pencils, erasers, yarn and a lot of patience...

One of our major goals during the map project was to make sure that the students did all the work! This project is a global Peace Corps initiative aimed at opening people's eyes to the size of the world. When we were first discussing this project in Musho we were asked a number of interesting questions, including; "Is the United States near Czechoslovakia?" Even after we finished drawing and painting the countries of our great big world, only few people could immediately point out the location of their own nation, Peru.


Once we had completed the squaring process, we used a series of 14 sheets to divide up the drawing of the world's land masses. The idea was to transfer the smaller sheets' map sections onto our enormous blue wall. To prepare the students for this task we walked them through a number of practice exercises, teaching mapping skills, math skills, and urging confidence in both drawing and following directions.

As you can see, only about 4 students at a time could work on the map. So, meanwhile, the rest of the students participated in English and/or classes in an upstairs classroom. One of our initial ideas was to assign each student to a country and to teach then internet searching skills to learn more information about their country. This particular idea was essentially impossible given the availability of only 4 computers, the fact that the Internet didn't always work, the fact that many of the students had never even touched a computer (meaning we had to start at the very beginning... turn on/turn off...), and the fact that the very notion of computers was almost more than their frantic energy could deal with.

And then... we painted! This was especially exciting and frustrating at the same time. Painting 'within the lines' is not every student's priority. But it was fun to be talking about country names and locations, gaining a better idea about this beautiful world in which we live. Until the finishing touches, Benj and I didn't do any of the work! Yeah Musho!

Day 146: Benjamin’s Short, Comic Essay on Peruvian Public Transportation

Peruvian car rides provide unexpected amusement. Our way from Mancos to Yungay, in what is normally a ten minute colectivo (a four-door, most often Toyota, form of public transport) ride, was feeling brief and uneventful. We passed Campo Santo, a site to reflect on grief and mass devastation following the 1970 landslide, when the car suddenly stopped. Our driver yelled out the window to a fellow colectivo chofer traveling in the opposite direction, who was also slowing to a halt. “Tu carro [your car],” he shouted and proceeded to leave the vehicle and his five passengers, squished and silent in anticipation (read more on the ‘squished’ part later). The two drivers scooted across the highway at the same moment and the men changed vehicles. We continued on and the two men at my side continued their conversation as if to forget about the bizarre scenario. Perhaps the ‘Chinese Firedrill’ has been locally adapted by Peruvian colectivo drivers who developed the game as a sort of reprieve from the monotonous inter-city route. They have one-upped their Asian counterparts, I thought, for these guys not only get out and run around their own vehicles in the middle of the highway, but they switch cars, too. I thought this event would fulfill the daily quota of curious deeds (it usually averages one per day), until the saturating experience of our journey from Caraz to Yungay in a combi (a small VW bus used for stuffing and shipping the public from one location to the next).

Through the open window on the driver’s side, a Carnaval (month of February celebration of unknown origin) enthusiast equipped with an entire bucket of water managed to wet the faces of most passengers (and driver) on board. Somehow traveling in the opposite direction at 55mph down the highway our assailant, with undoubtedly well-rehearsed skill, nailed a dozen people. Indeed, from a young age here in Peru citizens learn the craft of chucking water, be it via balloons from a balcony or buckets from a combi. Before today I thought my male gender and lack of blond hair would protect me from a sopping month of February. In Ecuador during Carnaval, I recall the young women in tight jeans and white tee-shirts receiving the brunt of the spray. Now I’m left to ponder Carnaval’s apparent indiscrimination, an equal soaking for all, and the benefits of rolling up the window while cruising down the highway.

The idiosyncrasies of Peruvian transportation could be expounded for hours. My personal favorite is the half-an-hour colectivo ride from Mancos to Musho on a bumpy dirt road. Of course, one could opt to pay more and take a taxi (your private colectivo) up the hill, but then you miss out on the following predictable schedule of events. I arrive at the paradero, shush the offers for taxis to Musho, and approach the first colectivo in a long line of cars and drivers. If it is unclear which car this may be, the eager drivers will be sure to usher me in their direction.

Next comes the now-famous period of awaiting more passengers. Depending on the time of day, this could be a ten minute delay to what can feel like an hour or two. First the back seat fills up: one, two…then three. Great, we will be on our way shortly, I think. Another person comes and occupies the front seat. Super, the car’s seatbelts have been claimed; it is time to roll! But the driver is still standing outside the vehicle looking lazily towards the mammoth mountains in the distance. Is he possibly waiting for more passengers? “Gas is expensive, you know,” he may say. “No alcanza con menos pasajeros,” he may claim. So we sit for a long while, breathing the same, stale, full-car air. I recall suddenly that seatbelts can not be the determining factor in the maximum number of passengers, for no one actually uses them. Once, while traveling in the front seat of a combi, I remember the chubby driver asking me to lay my seatbelt across my lap (“no need to actually plug it in,” he chortled) as we passed a police checkpoint. I continue to wonder how a national law could share such an indifferent national consciousness. A fourth finally squeezes into the back seat and our departure seems imminent. But, there is a little butt room atop the parking break, behind the stick shift and between the friendly driver and fellow front seat passenger. To protect against the parking break and unbuckled seatbelt clasp, the driver will hopefully have provided a cushy piece of cloth, for some reason often leopard print. I have the enormous privilege of entering Peace Corps married and, thus, traveling with a companion. We often claim the front seat of an empty car, knowing the painful consequences of our backseat companions’ portly dimensions. Perhaps most amusing, however, is the denial of passengers upon seeing a mostly full car. Sometimes a pair arrives, and they both quizzically gaze at the front seat as if wondering how long it will be until another car will be along to take them up the hill. These people seem incapable of understanding that a car will only leave with a minimum six passengers. Oh yes, there can be more.

It costs fifty cents less if you are willing to climb into the trunk. Children are prime for the maletero; they can increase the passenger load almost twofold. I frequently chose to pop open the trunk rather than waiting for another ride. As a North American new to Musho, I have been mostly oblivious to the implicit social status of different locations in the colectivo. Cars are fairly novel to many campesinos and the road from Mancos to Musho has been accessible to small cars for only about five years. Unfortunately, the oldest community members – who often don’t speak Spanish – are made, like children, to ride in the trunk. I combat this ageist-indio discrimination by taking my place with the bags of vegetables in back. One nice aspect of being foreign is the head shake. Nationals perform a particular back and forth wobbling of the head, perhaps in confusion or dismay, when we foreigners do something uncharacteristic. I sort of pride myself in eliciting the head shake because it means I’m breaking barriers, and in the case of the maletero, maybe even helping to change social norms. So I gladly take my turn in the trunk.

So now we are ten including the driver. Please, roll up the windows and let’s cruise! And we do. The ride becomes a social gathering of sorts. I recognize faces, despite barely being able to turn my head in the claustrophobic vehicle, and we talk. I explain what Peace Corps is all about and they teach me a bit of Quechua. Big bumps occasionally jar the ribs and maintaining circulation in the posterior limbs is nearly impossible. My first trip up the hill was the first time in my life my groin fell asleep. It hasn’t happened since, so maybe this whole thing is something to which one can adapt. Soon, I arrive at my door, flushed, sore of neck and spine if I rode in the trunk and almost always with a plastered ribcage. Hopefully, I made the trip from Mancos in half an hour, and for only one sol and fifty cents!

The irony of this story is that I recently discovered the hike off the mountain takes about the same amount of time. What I suffer in waiting, I suppose I save in sweat. And, I must admit, the whole Peruvian colectivo experience is pretty amusing and oddly worthwhile.

Day 138: Quechua Class

Dear all... Sunday morning in Huaraz. Benjamin and I have just finished an intensive week in the departmental capital city attending full days of Quechua class, the native languange in the high mountains of Ancash. We learned that there are more than 120 dialects of Quechua in Ancash alone, and this doesn't include the dialects of Quechua spoken in the Cuzco region in southern Peru, or those dialects spoken from La Paz to Quito.

Quechua is a language based in suffixes. So, to create a sentence you simply add a series of endings to the base word, leaving you with a long and hard to understand combination of sounds that actually mean something. The alphabet consists of 17 consonants and 6 vowels. My favorite sentence thus far is:

Kuyakuynintsikraykur waytaykikunata qampaq rantimurqaa.

This translates as: Because of our love, I bought you flowers.

Benjamin realized how much it felt like high school when the room burst into uncontrollable laughter as the professor taught us how to say underwear in Quechua. Let's just say that the direct translation is: vagina or penis wrap. :) It had been 8 hours of intensive language training and all we could imagine was a little butt turban.

We find the sounds to be different and hard to understand, though the class certainly helped to increase our vocabulary. We hope that this will help us to better understand the gist of the conversations, even if it takes us a while to actually be able to speak back to anybody.

In Musho, almost everyone understands Quechua. The differences between generations are stark... The elderly of Musho speak Quechua almost exclusively and often don't understand Spanish. The 2nd generation both speak and understand Quechua and Spanish - though we find community meetings especially challenging as they tend to resort to Quechua. Children, however, speak almost exclusively Spanish. It seems that they understand their parents and grandparents, but respond in Spanish and have difficulty translating for us.

This is another interesting point about the transition from Quechua to Spanish in Musho. While Benjamin and I have spent years of our lives learning and studying languages, for the people in Musho the translation between the two languages is fluid and not academic. So when we ask people how to say, for example, where is the bath room? in Quechua.... they respond in one of three ways. 1) Ohhhh, en Quechua... : this is not helpful, but alerts us to the fact that they might not speak Spanish. 2) Yes, where is the bathroom? That means that you are asking where the bathroom is located... : also not helpful, in this case because the person doesn't understand what it means to translante one phrase into an equal phrase in another language. 3) Oh, the bathroom is over there behind that plastic sheet... : this one always makes me laugh every time.

We will have another week-long course in the end of February so we've got three weeks to practice up.

Day 132: Medical Update

There was a lot of talk about confidentiality during our medical training in Lima, but I feel obligated to keep you up to date with my medical diagnoses as they continue to aflict my unaccustomed body. Mae I know you love this...

For the docs in the room: Symptoms were as follows -- mild, low-grade fever on and off for the past week or so. Around Friday I started to have a bad head ache. You have to understand that I didn't think anything of it because my hair was greasy and I was desperate to wait for the hot shower in Huaraz. We were due to arrive on Sunday afternoon. Saturday the headache was worse... The hike down to the Comedor Sonia Morales (see entry) didn't help. And my fever was pretty constant at this point. It was a muscular fever, down to my toe muscles. On Sunday morning I woke up, turned to Benj and said "I have the wierdest symptoms right now. My head hurts really badly, I feel like my glands are swollen at the back of my neck and the back of my head hurts to the touch. And this fever..." He glared at me lovingly, and told me to suck it up and take the cold shower; I'd surely feel better when my hair was clean.

We arrived in Huaraz, higher elevation and more contamination, that afternoon. I still felt yucky, but blamed it on being exhausted from summer school the week before and the travel involved in getting ourselves to Huaraz.

Monday morning I sat in our first hours of Quechua class rocking out the fever, stiff in every corner of my body. I called the Peace Corps doc because I feared that I had Meningitis. I didn't, she assured me, and sent me to the Emergency room. Blood was drawn and I received a shot for the fever... was told that I couldn't leave until the fever went down.

Docs...any guesses?

About an hour later the doc came back with my results...

Typhoid Fever.

Common worldwide, it is transmitted by ingestion of food or water contaminated with feces from an infected person. Yum.

Boo. 10 days of antibiotics and 3 days of heavy duty fever meds. And rest.

Typhoid Fever is a food borne illness and there is a vaccine.

We had received the vaccine during training - this is one reason why my symptoms aren't too strong. Apparently it's not 100%. Please don't worry about me (mom) -- this is all just a part of adjusting to life and eating in another part of the world. And we've got great medical attention.

I'll keep you posted!

Day 130: Comedor Sonia Morales

I guess that I shouldn't have expected the meeting to start on time, or even for people to show up at all... but while the bubbling dark storm clouds built up to the South, over Mt. Hualcan, I donned my rain jacket and headed down the hill. Passing the afternoon soccer game, a bunch of my students yelled out 'good afternoon Libby' in English, and smiling I kept on walking down the steep dirt road. A couple of collective taxis (stationwagon styles) passed me, filled with at least 9 people, and mounds of potatoes and other vegetables. As they passed the drivers waved and honked... a way of greeting me and acknowledging me as someone that they knew from Musho. Rewarding, the smile was starting to make my cheeks hurt.

Because it was Saturday afternoon, everyone was busy gathering up their recently harvested crops (potatoes, corn, hot peppers, cabbage, lettuce, brocolli, green onion) into sturdy thick plastic sacks to take to the Sunday market. Families take turns sitting by the market goods on the side of the road, while waiting for the big truck to make the rounds of the mountain towns. Around midnight the families will choose a member or two to accompany the goods down to the city (Caraz, Carhuaz, Yungay, or Huaraz) in the covered truck. Market day really starts for them around 2 or 3 am when the middlemen from Lima buy enormous quantities of vegetables for resale in Lima. Throughout the next day, before the rains start, many people will attend the markets, making family size purchases...and then everyone will head back up the hills to their homes.

My destination, however, was the small elementary school in the neighborhood called Piscuy. I was running a little late and arrived at about 4:03pm when the meeting was supposed to start at 4pm. I was not surprised to find noone there and asked a women that I had recently met if indeed the meeting would happen. She looked off to the cloudy southern sky and said 'yes, it's supposed to start at 4pm.' Apparently she had decided that the rains would be prohibiting...and she not only knew about the meeting, but knew what time it was scheduled for. She smiled and kept walking. She would eventually show up, closer to 5pm than 4pm...but there nonetheless.

I began by chatting with one of my students from summer school... it was a fun way to wait. Next time I am going to bring a hacky sack. Gradually women began to show up, and the conversation shifted to a comparison of life in the US and Peru. We talked about everything from terrorism to family planning, from marriage to daily eating habits. They helped me with a few Quechua questions that I had, and I taught them some greetings in English. And then, at around 6pm, when only 9 of the expected 36 members of the community soup kitchen had appeared, they canceled the meeting.

I bid them adeiu and headed back up the hill, promising to come to their next meeting. During my walk a man preparing his potatoes for market gifted me a huge, and heavy bag of delicious potatoes... and another women offered me a piece of hot corn just out of the pot. The sun was setting behind me and the sky was pink. My smile hadn't yet been erased, and Benjamin was waiting for me in our room with freshly boiled corn, picked from the back yard, bread baked down the street, and some steamy hot chocolate all the way from MN (thanks Mom & Pop!).

Day 129: Get your hands green

Here are some images from our Summer School organic gardening project on fridays. We had great fortune involving two engineers from the Department of Agriculture. They helped us construct a nursery and plant 800 native capulí (a small berry similar to a cherry) seeds. Of course, it was the amazing effort of over one hundred kids that makes it possible. Their enthusiasm and participation has been excellent. The garden is currently planted with lettuce and radish. Due to daily rains, we haven´t even needed to water!

Day 128: Reflecting on Summer School

We have proudly named our summer school program Club Huacarán, hoping that the children of Musho will associate the soaring grandeur of their protector peak with our brief, but ambitious curriculum. Along with three local teachers, hired by the NGO World Vision, we have been busy teaching 180 excited kids, ages 5 - 16. In fact, we have had so much interest from the community that hopefully will get two more teachers. The teachers focus on math and writing with the youngst kids, while Libby and I work on English, computer, geography, and organic gardening. We spend almost no time in the classroom, preferring to play dynamic games with the kids. Hey, it is summer break!! Below is a picture of one of the kids stamping his finger on the ´rules of the game´as they have come to be called. We are trying to combat some basic behavior issues, such as arriving late. For example, students receive stars for arriving early or on time.

Day 126: International Packages Arrive!!!

A big hug and thanks to the Aoki Perretz and the Bixby Kane Families for fulfilling all of the desires expressed in Day 51s blog entry entitled 'care packages.' You are amazing! It's hard to express the perma-smile that accompanies the receipt of a package with treats from the US. We are hardly wanting in our lives in Musho... we eat fresh veggies out of the garden, get to gaze up at an unbelievable mountain, and we have electricity and a flushable toilet. But there is something more than special about a package in the post office. Thanks for all your love!!!

Libs & Benj

Day 125: Restaurant Musho

For those of you who were concerned that we hadn't yet found a place to eat, we've got good news! We decided last week that it wasn't going to be worth it to wait for Doña Elvina to return from her journey to Lima to cook for us, mostly because we were so tired and hungry by the end of summer school classes at 1pm every day. So we went looking around the community to try to convince someone that it would be worth it for them to cook for us and that our vegetarianism isn't really that big of a deal. Doña Natalia told us that she wanted to but was on her way to her son's house on the coast for a couple of months to help him roof a new property. But she offered to introduce us to another women, Doña Yola, who was the women who cooks for the men who work to rebuild Musho's Plaza de Armas. As it turns out she is also the woman who offers what is called a 'pension' (cooking service) to the teachers when school is in session. I am not clear how it is that noone mentioned her name during the past two months. :)

In any case, she was willing. After a number of questions about what kinds of food we could possibly eat as vegetarians, she agreed to let us come at give it a try. If we liked it we could eat with her. People in Musho seem to think that a 'vegetarian' diet must meant that we eat ENTIRELY differend foods, which is of course not the case. She kept saying things like, cheese?, beans?, rice?, potatoes?...each time more surprised that they were foods that we could eat.

We LOVED it! For our first lunch we were served an ear of corn, a big bowl of vegetable semola soup, and a heaping plate of rice and potatoes. The lunch also comes with a cool-aid type drink, and is always accompanied by a hot pepper salsa. And the best part is that all this food costs somewhere around .75 cents per lunch!

Day 121: The Day of the Perfect Rainbow

Today, while on the phone with Shayna and Sabina, mid-afternoon styles, Benjamin and I were blessed with the perfect rainbow. It was plastered up against the dark grey clouds that masked Huasacarn from view, complete and sometimes double. We'll try to post a photo up here soon!

Day 120: A sad day

We listened to an entire book on tape today (finding caruso) and played su-do-ku. I guess we just needed to recharge. It's a rollercoaster. They said it would be and they were right.

Day 112: Change of Personnel & Expectations

I learned today that my counterpart (see entry on hugging counterparts) will be quitting her work in Musho at the end of January for personal reasons. It also seems like the health professional that we live with is also looking for other work outside of Musho. I guess that I had expected that after two years of working together on amazing projects we would be fast friends.

This was a hit to my idealism and my expectations. It threw me for a loop. It knocked me off my horse. I guess that I am just going to wait and see what happens... meanwhile we'll leap into Summer School and the days will pass quickly, I'm sure.

Day 109 : A World of Perspective

From a perch above Musho, still the base of the might Huascarán ...

Day 108: Feliz Año Nuevo y Happy Holidays

The passage of another holiday season and new year are upon us, and we feel so far away from our loved ones!!! We passed Hanukah and Chrismtas in Musho. Libby was feverish from consuming lamb stew (although she had taken out the shankbone of meat). Benjamin dressed up as Papa Noel for a big party with children. The major custom is to stay up until midnight for Christ´s birth and celebrate by eating hot chocolate and hunks of fruitcake, called panetón. We plan to pass the new year in Musho as well so that we can get to know the people and their traditions better. Apparently, they build puppets with old clothing (the more the better) and burn them for good fortune in the coming year. We were also just informed of the yellow underwear tradition. That is, new underwear, not the ones I´ve been wearing for the past four days.

Hope you all are brilliant and enthused for the possibilities of another year of Life and lovin´.

b & L

Day 104: A Christmas trek around the Musho Plaza

Benjamin is dressed up as Santa Claus...you can only imagine the implications this has on his relationship with the community when the gifts are given by the local municipality and not everyone gets what they want... Merry Christmas!

Day 100: We needed to get out...so we headed up!

Day 87: A hike up the hill with Matlyn, AnaClaudia, and Christopher

Day 85: Top 8 tidbits of our Life in Musho

1. When the moon's full and the sky's clear we can see Huascarán rising into the starry darkness, her snowcaps glowing in the moonlight.

2. We sleep in a bug net over our mattress on the floor - just to feel like we're in a separate room.

3. To go down the stairs from our room you have to start with your right food in order to be able to make the turn without sqeezing both feet onto one small step.

4. I've now grown used to ducking my head in a swooping motion at the entrance to our room to avaid crashing into the top of our doorway.

5. I am asked at least once a day, but usually more like 5 or 6 times a day what kind of financial contribution we'll be making in the town of Musho.

6. Gladiolas, iris, blackberries, and capuli, lemons, apples & passion fruit all grow along the pathways we walk each day.

7. Women here just knit. The don't use pattern books.

8. I officially think baby pigs (piglets) are cute.

Day 83: My first handstand in Musho

"There's something amazing that happens in those seemingly brief and forgetable hours in between when my tired, discouraged head nestles into my perfect pillow underneath my three heavy wool blankets and when the sounds of Don Abraham and Jessica rustling about downstairs causes me to peel open my eyes and look at the new day.

Today I felt more confident in my role (although a moment of serious wavering gave me reason to reconsider when the director of the school said he'd be honored to have me teach English to 60-80 students during their summer vacation...) I carried my knitting with me to evade that uneasy, anxious feeling of waiting without anything to do. I made sure to smile as much as possible and greet all passersby with good diction. I even agreed to a handstand contest in the middle of the school's gym class, surely creating some sort of reputation for myself.

It felt good to be busy. Our room is comfortable and homey, safe and private. The moon is full. And sometimes, when the moon is full, I know that my mom and pop are looking up at the same moon and telling me that they love me. ( Mara... this is a distant memory from a glistening lake in the BWCA ...) " Libby

Day 79: Hugging Counterparts

Gracie told me yesterday, "Libby, having a counterpart will make all the difference in your work as a Peace Corps volunteer."

Today my counterpart and I participated in an HIV/AIDS training focused on Prevention and No Discrimination of AIDS, and in so doing reached a new level of work counterpart relationship. Iris, the facilitator from World Vision warned us that by agreeing to participate in her dinámica that we must be willing to share personal parts of our lives, that it might be hard...that we might cry.

She asked us to think about and write down on 16 pieces of colored paper our 'most importants' (people, dreams, hobbies, & material objects). And then one-by-one she took them away from us - insinuating that this is what an AIDS patient would also be going through.

By the end of the exercise I was left with LWell in a Seliga canoe, knitting, and a job that I truly loved, not bad considering that the virus had stripped the rest from me. But I cried. I was holding it in pretty successfully until the facilitator asked my counterpart what AIDS had taken from her and she replied through her tears, 'mi hija' (my daughter). At that point the dams were lifted and the river flowed.

To close the exercise, we were asked to take the hands of someone who inspired compassion within us. And although it is only my third day in this community and I hardly know my counterpart, I felt comfortable taking her hands and committing myself to this relationship.

But then the facilitator told us of the importance of the bear hug - how it makes people feel good, inspires trust and confianza, and raises self-esteem. She asked us to close our eyes and hug our partner for the duration of a song played on computer speakers. Oh to be a fly on that wall... I'm at least a head taller than my counterpart, my snotty nose was running into her hair, we were swaying to the music partly because of the difficulty to balance in the hug position. Not only that, the hug lasted over 5 minutes.

I hugged my counterpart for over 5 minutes on my 3rd day in site. What an adventure this will be.

Day 78: SR=f (T,H,S,R,C,W,A) + D

"The smoothness of the ride depends on the driver and a number of other conditions including time of day (T), hours already driven by the driver (H), the state of the shocks (S squared), radio programs available (R), condition of the road (C), hours without rain or dryness of the road (W), quantity of other traffic/animals determining driving/swerving options for the driving (A) ... and I'm sure a host of other factors I'll be sure to discover during my many trips op the 7.2 Km dirt (or mud) road that leads from Mancos to Musho, and higher still.

This morning the great double peak of Huascarán and her snow capped sisters to the south and north rose clearly into the bright blue sky, drawing the breath from my chest and leading Benjamin to the camera to attempt to capture our view. It was the clearest yet. After running down to the Posta to pick up the frest bread that Nancy had brought for us from the Panaderia in Yungay, Benj and I took two chairs out to the patio to enjoy our bread and jam under the powerful and watchful eye of the enormous mountain. From there we headed down to Yungay to explore the market and buy some food to get us through the next couple of days until Sra. Elvina returns from Lima - banana, mandarin oranges, mango, pepino dulce, tomato, sweet potato, onion, beans and lentils, and a few other necessities like toilet paper, matches, dish soap, and a pee bucket (turns out it's just too cold at night to climb the steep steps down tot he bathroom :) )" Libby

Day 76: Our arrival in Musho - Nidito Azul

"Tonight I wished I were an artist that could successfully capture a nighttime scene in black and white and grayscale. Because the sun was setting when we finally departed Huaraz for Musho, three of us, Benjamin, Nancy (my counterpart), and me, watched the sun dip away to the west, sinking behind the cordillera negra, rain clouds simultaneously swelling throughout the valley.
In the left over light from the truck's headlamps all things green glistened in the moisture that hung in the air. As we approached Musho, the ride got bumpier, and I began to recognize some of the areas wher we will certainly be working - ApaGrande, Piscuy, and finally Musho. Marked by the three story house belonging to Sonia Morales, the famous Huaino singer who hails from Musho, and a mountaineering sign welcoming climbers of Huascarán and other visitors to the National Park. We soon passed the fútbol cancha (soccer field) and the empty health post. The sillohuettes of the mountains deceivingly rose and disappeared into the darkening horizon, their soft edges made more magical by the white clouds drifting along." Libby

"I love that everything is my size. The small colchos that we purchased today fits almost exactly head to toe. I hit my head on the door jam if I don´t bow my neck. The chairs and desk are squat, the ceiling low, with an exposed bulb glowing bright at forehead height. The next two years will be comfortable from this perch, this room painted blue, our little blue nest - nidito azul. There is electricity and wqter and desague for a toilet. The floor is wooden planks as is the blacony with an iron railing. From our doorway we can see Huascarán on a clear day. Now it is rainy season. Our arrival in the evening precluded us from the mountain view. We will have time." Benjamin

Day 74: Remembering Jake

"We learned this afternoon, in an email from Vera entitled 'Jake,' that Maipo's (our husky) best friend in Greenbelt died on Saturday following an emergency surgery for a diagnosis called 'bloat.'

Jake was an energetic, more than friendly, buddy to us over the past two yeras. He spent hours, days, and a couple of weeks playing with Maipo - a friendship that began the week Benj and I were married in MN, August of 2004. Thanks to Vera, Herb, & Susie (and Liz when home from med school) Jake and Maipo endlessly tired each other out, romping in the Reed's backyard, yearning to go on walks together - both getting excited at the mention of the other's name.

We referred to Jake as Maipo's boyfriend, and even started to buy Maipo's food and leave it at the Reed's because she so enjoyed sharing a meal under the competition of another dog - her Jake. We will miss Jake dearly - he was a very important part of our last two years.

He will be missed. Our hugs are with you..." Libby

11/24/06 (Day 73): Swearing in as Peace Corps Volunteers

Today, in an auditorium filled with our trainers, teachers, mentors, instructors and each of our Host Families, 35 of us stood on a stage, placed our right hand in the air, oath styles, and repeated our swearing-in oath after the Charge d' Affairs, US Embassy. The applause was mighty, followed by a host of congratulatory hugs and photos. Tears were shed as the despedidas rolled by and we piled our bags onto 3 combis and drove away from Sta. Eulalia -- Lima Bound. We are officially Volunteers today.

Let the adventure begin.

Libby

11/23/06 (Day 72): Closure activities

Last night, surrounded by the 19 other health volunteers that have made it through 10 weeks of training, Tonie Taft, our tech trainer, offered us some moments of closure and reflection. Two roads divered in a yellow wood and I took the one less traveled by. Robert Frost.

She reminded us that we are adventurers, that we are strong and capable forces, that we will feel emotions we've never felt before,t hat we will struggle and be lost, that we will impact lives and that our lives will be impacted. We are ready-to-serve. In the comfort of her home (a rockslab, multi-tiered, big windowed, bathroom included, house on a hill in a gated community where x-mas lights decorated the deck and coconut curried portabello mushrooms filled our hungry stomachs and waffles with strawberries and whipped cream gave us the final lasting tastes of memories while red wine poured smoothly across our liberal tongues) Tonie gathered us in a circle for two last dinamicas. I was transported north, along the high mountain ridges, dipping over parts of both Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, across the border and north. And suddenly I was sitting around a big wooden table in Kirby dining hall, or perched on a rock on Chapel Point, or dangling my toes off the TB dock, or sitting, sweating, in the dim light of a sauna on Burntside. Of course it was different -- our adventure will be one of service to the people not escape tot he wilderness, it will last over two years instead of 40 short days, we may never reach that silent comfort that is paddling up to a flat orangy bed of tundra, seamlessly unloading two canoes, setting up tents and cooking a meal in a system that has become practiced, routine, easy. We will always look different, we will always speak another language womewhere within, we will never have grown up in the campo of Peru.

11/19/06 (Day 68): Overwhelmed.

I've let the days pass me by at a breathless rate. Tonight marks our last Sunday night in Sta. Eulalia - this next week is packed to the brim with final training sessions, a thanksgiving dinner coupled with a ceremony to thank our host families, and finally, on Friday, we will officially swear in as Peace Corps Volunteers. Immediately, on Saturday, we'll depart Lima for our respective sites, leave the relative comfort of the country's capital city region and the new friendships that we've formed over the past intense 10 weeks. They've warned us about the 1st three months... exhausting, numb, fish bowl, lack of structure, no idea what to do each day, constantly explaining ourselves and Peace Corps, etc.

I think I've left off writing for the past two weeks because of the onset of some of these feelings - overwhelmed! We've seen it, we've beent here, to Musho. We've met a lot of the people in the community. We've seen the big mountain raising up above the town. My counterpart, Nancy, was amazing. Benjamin's didn't really exist.

It's going to be hard. We'll learn. We will certainly love life wven when it's hard sometimes. I'm not quite ready to go there yet. I miss Love Lake. I miss the Arctic. I miss good friends. I miss Greenbelt.

Libby

No email access right now...

Hey dudes... so, um, we can't seem to sign onto our email right now, so if you check this and wonder why you haven't heard from us recently this is why. We'll send an update soon! With love, libs and benj del sur

11/13/06 (Day 62): Benjamin's Readiness to Serve Essay

Readiness to Serve Essay
By: Benjamin Skolnik
Due: Monday, November 13, 2006

Much of what I wrote in my original Aspiration Statement remains accurate. However, I was impressed by how much my statement focused on me and my role. That is to say, the language I used centered, or revolved, around me as a volunteer as though I hold the power of development and change. One important aspect of pre-service training new to me is the Peace Corps paradigm that the volunteer is an ‘agent’ of change. The volunteer can act as a catalyst of activity by identifying leaders and ideas and connecting people and resources for a given community. As a foreigner, building bridges at a local or grassroots level would have seemed ironic and paradoxical eight weeks ago. In my graduate training and prior experience, foreigners are viewed as effective sources of funding and technical expertise. Yet, now I appreciate the power of the novel role of the North American to excite people to share ideas and engage in new projects. Whereas my Aspiration Statement suggested I held the power to affect change, now I might state it otherwise; the potential for positive change or development lies in the community and is invigorated by the volunteer. For me this subtle difference has realigned the planets of my theoretical mind and will, I believe, be even more paramount in practice as I engage with my community.

I believe development is a complicated term that is ultimately defined locally just as a Peace Corps Volunteer’s site changes significantly throughout the country and even within departments. In the case of Peace Corps, development, then, is a discussion of desired outcomes between the community and the volunteer. Communities may always be changing, but the notion of Peace Corps is that a volunteer can help guide this change in a positive direction. Positivity is ultimately determined by the values of both the individuals in the community and the volunteer. That is to say, a project will not likely commence or be sustained if all parties cannot agree it is desirable. Development may be stated, in summary, as the positive change resulting from an inclusive, continual discourse between communities and external agencies.

The host of diagnostic tools will be a combination of individual scientific rigor on my part to deduce community needs and desires but also the information and activity of people in my community. Furthermore, the development discourse will involve ideas from community members and me. The aim of our PACA tools is to objectively state, among other things, the resources and sentiments in the community. Yet, as a trained scientist, much of what I have taken from my pre-service training is that development is a subjective experience, a two-year journey of inter-cultural dialogue, that is exciting, a little dangerous, and certainly challenging. I am ready!

11/13/06 (Day 62): Libby's Readiness to Serve Essay

Readiness to Serve Essay
By: Susan “Libby” Skolnik
Due: Monday, November 13, 2006

Exactly six months have passed since I flipped my graduation tassel from one side to the other and proudly walked off the University of Maryland Campus. My degree read “Public Policy: International Security and Economic Policy,” focused on development more specifically. The concept of development had haunted me through my years as an undergraduate Anthropology student, and even more so interwoven into each of my graduate classes; development was sexy, included in text book titles, sneakily presented on syllabi – it was a catchall for this century’s fad profession: “development work.” I was drawn to it because it was real, it represented real people and their problems, and the future that lay ahead of me… a life time career aimed at promoting the dignity of a people and their capacity to improve their own lives.

Still, though, the reality of development lay hidden behind heavy textbook hard covers, buried in theory and statistical studies, billowing around an academic palace. My options were lofty and numerous – I could write grants for big comprehensive programs intended to cure aids or alleviate hunger and poverty. But I was safe, healthy, comfortable, and surrounded by friends and family. And then, the very next day, a big packet arrived in our mailbox inviting us to join the Peace Corps in Peru. My training would be in Community Health and my job, should I choose to accept it, would be to live rurally and work within a Peruvian community to improve the quality of life of community members through the promotion of healthy lifestyle practices. We said yes, and headed off to the Arctic Ocean to contemplate life’s wonders and this new adventure before us.

In mid September, while in Staging in Washington, one of our instructors informed us that patience, flexibility, and humor would be the three most important attributes during our lives as Peace Corps volunteers. To be effective volunteers we would need to see development as focused on a long-term, sustainable, human capacity-building process in which we would undertake the varied roles of learner, trainer, co-facilitator, change agent, project co-planner, and mentor.

Now, 8 weeks through training as a Peace Corps Trainee, I have been inundated with a steady flow of knowledge, skills and attitudes that will help me to be an effective volunteer. Technical training has focused on pressing health needs in Peru, the role of the Ministry of Health, how to effectively capture the attention of community members and instigate behavior changes that challenge basic centuries-old life styles. We have discussed sustainability, the importance of stepping back and ensuring that both the ideas and the follow through derive from the community level and not from the volunteer. We have practiced the local language and lived in its culture, discussing challenging differences, and how these insights will aide us in our integration into our future community. We have learned adult education techniques, presentation and facilitation skills, methods to complete community diagnoses, participatory techniques to involve the community in our integration and understanding, and the importance of strategic planning.

But, it was yesterday, standing on a steep hillside with Mt. Huascaran, the highest mountain in the tropics, reaching into the heavens behind me, and green cultivated fields stretching in front of me down the valley, that I knew I was ready to serve. The town is Musho. I will be part of their family. I will live by their sides. I will work hard to be the nutritionist they are looking for. I am ready.

11/12/06 (Day 61) Site Visit: Musho, Ancash

What a week it was! Benj and I headed off on a crazy bus into the mountains in Ancash to meet our town where we'll be living for the next two years. Just 7.2 km off the main hwy and about an hour and a half from the capital city of Huaraz, Musho is a small town of just over 600 families and 1800 people, more or less.

This is a photo of the family with whom we stayed during our visit. Their landrover used to be the town's ambulance :)



This is a photo of Lib and Benj outside the Health Post where Libby will surely spend a bunch of her time during the next two years. The view up the hill shows the central plaza and the steep hill behind is the base of Huascaran!









We showered here using a hose and water warmed on the wood stove...














This is our host mom for the week and her 11 year old daughter in front of their stove.














This is Benj in front of the Catholic Church in Musho's Plaza!

11/03/06 (Day 52): We are going to Ancash!!!

Hey world - We are pretty much sitting on top of it all right now. A town called Musho, located amongst the world's highest tropical mountain range, awaits our arrival. You will have to Google Earth it, baby!! We will be there next week and in the capital city, Huaraz.

Here are some more links so you can see what it looks like... and maybe get excited about joining us for a hike or two!!! And if you can't find Musho on Google Earth, you might try Mancos - this is the town located just down off the hill from Musho.

http://www.cuscotravel.net/peru/ancash.htm
http://www.perucontact.com/turismo/en_tour/Climbing-the-Huascaran-22.html
http://www.amazingperu.com/peru/peru_tours/peru_climbing_and_trekking/climbing_huascaran_mountain.asp
http://www.alpineascents.com/peru.asp
http://www.chavintours.com.pe/

A note from Libby's journal...

Musho, Ancash it is! We depart 11pm on Sunday evening on a MovilTours omnibus -- bound once again for Huaraz, the capital city of Ancash, for a week of meeting our community, our counterparts, and our new host families. So much is still unknown, but I certainly feel more at ease -- especially because we will be spending the next two years at hte base of Huascaran and the Cordillera Blanca, the highest tropical mountain range int he world. I'll be working with the local health post working to improve nutrition, hygience and prenatal care amongst Musho and the five surrounding little towns. Benj will be working on a GEF/TWB project in reforestation and human wildlife conflict.
Today was exhausting to, mentally at least. Around 10:30am we were summoned to Misti our favorite open air classroom. Balloons marked with each of our names decorated the countertop and one-by-one we were called up by our APCDs. Instructed to pop the balloon and seek out the paper strip with our name and site printed on it, each aspirante (trainee) then read aloud the name of their department, received a folder of introductory information and proceeded to stand by the map of each respective department. This successfully split is into new cohorts where we compared site details and exact locations. Benj and I will be at 3020 meters above sea level, 1.5 hours north of Huaraz, in a 100% rural community that has permanent electricity and water and excellent cellular service, around which 1800 community members dwell. We're unsure still about our host family... either we'll have a small room in a house where we have to walk to a letrine located on another of the family's properties, or we'll have a big room with a flush toilet downstairs. Should be quite the trip!"

11/2/06 (Day 51): On the eve of site assignments

"Tonight the air in Santa Eulalia is cool, a breeze is whipping throught he valley, the stars are bright and the moon is half full. Our clothes are hung on the roof, soaking up the odor of 100 sleeping chickens, 2 turkeys and 26 guinnea pigs. I'm perched on our bed in my orange felted slippers (thanks Sarah Bix!). My feet, thighs, midwaist and bra line itch and burn from flea bites, or detergent allergy, or mosquitos... I have the pleasure of Benjamin's inspired guitar-picking fingers providing a much preferable background music to the usual buzz of the family television.

According to the trainer's chart, we trainees should be feeling low energy this week, frustrated , tired of training, ready to go...

Tonight we have no idea where we'll be spending our next two years -- no idea what kind of a house we'll live in, what kind of family we'll live with, what kid of food we'll be ablet oe at, what kid of view we'll have when we walk outside every morning, what our projects will be what kind of people our counterparts will be who our mentors will be, what smells and sounds will soon become every day norms.

I write tonight because I imagine it will be hard, if not impossible, to remember what I feel like right now. Because tomorrow, at 10am, our group of now only 36 will gather together in Misti, our open air classroom in the Santa Eulalia Peace Corps Training Center where we've spent most of our all-group training sessions, for our site placement ceremony.

I am pensive and eager. I feel awake, like tomorrow I am going to summer camp and I'm all packed but I don't knowwho I'll be sitting next to on the bus or who my couselor will be. I'm excited -- but in all honesty I wish it were a bit more unknown. We are almost certain of our placement in Ancash, and Benjamin feels sure that we'll be on the Cordillera Blanca side of the Callejon de Huaylas at the base of Huascaran, Peru's highest mountain towering some 6,768 meters into the heavens. And I was just there for my field based training last week. So I know what it looks like - my mind isn't that blank slate that I know some people are experiencing right now.

Tomorrow we'll also receive all of the info about our site visits for which we will leave sometime this weekend. By early next week we'll have seen it. We'll be in a new phase, a totally different place from where we are now. And so will end our training - just a few more days and we'll be on our way. Andt he next adventure will begin."

by: Libby

11/2/06 (Day 51): Care Packages...

If you were to be so inclinded to send us a padded envelope with a little something-something, weighing under 1.1 pounds and valued at under $US 100, please consider the following cravings...

• trident original gum
• dried/powdered coconut milk
• thai curry paste
• good pens
• nummy spices... i'm thinking indian
• dark chocolate from trader joe's
• spicy nut mixes
• chocolate chips
• markers
• colored pencils
• water colors
• crayons
• good books
• target tee-shirts
• socks (black liner socks or striped fun socks)
• colgate sensitive toothpaste
• toothbrushes (green or purple...soft)
• photos of you
• postcards for our postcard wall
• dried fruits
• mitchum for men mountain air deoderant
• cliff bars
• emergen-C
• undies
• peanut m&ms
• chapstick
• magazines (like New Yorker, Economist, National Geo, etc)
• crossword puzzles
• sudoku
• stickers
• fun bandaids for first aid talks with kids

11/1/06 (Day 50): Señor de los Milagros and the Plaza Mayor, Lima

Today was a day off. Our first day off since arriving in country nearly 7.5 weeks ago. It was wonderful. Seeing as last night was Halloween and Dia de la Cancion Criollo, our host mom let us sleep in a little. We rose, bathed, ate, and headed out. A quick combi ride down off the Sta. Eulalia hill to Chosica and a 24 sol (approx. $US7) taxi ride to the center of Lima, and we arrived into a sea of faithful worshipers. For today was the final day of celebration for Sr. de los Milagros. The basic and very brief version of the reason for reverence is that one day a long time ago there was an earthquake in Lima. The only thing to survive was a painting of this Señor... thereafter refered to as Sr. de los Milagros (miracles) and worshiped every October by Peruvians around the world. Celebratory activities include dressing in purple, eating mazamora morada (like purple gelatin) and arroz con leche (sweet milky rice with raisins & cinnamon), and having lots of parades. The photo below shows the original Sr. de los Milagros being trouped around the city by a hoarde of 36 strong men. It is made out of pure gold.


Here we are in the Plaza Mayor in front of the President's Palace.

10/31/06 (Day 49): A gringo's halloween

Melissa Minnie Mouse, Libby the Abuelita, & Benj the Policia

10/30/06 (Day 48): Field based training in Piura & Lambayeque

As Libby head north to Ancash, I traveled via overnight bus further north to the departments of Piura and, later in the week, Lambayeque. We visited several volunteers at their sites and they shared their trials and tribulations. Traveling in small buses and three-wheeled moto-taxis, we spread out to small pueblos where these volunteers work day-to-day. We learned how to: raise bees, organize a micro-enterprise of women weavers, create a trash collection program, and build improved adobe stoves.
One paticularly moving experience was our visit to the tropical dry forest. As one of the most threatened ecosystems worldwide, I was keen to see what activities Peace Corps volunteers were doing to stop logging. We stayed for several days with families in the buffer zone of a protected forest. These people subsist off the wood (to cook) within the forest. Illegal logging for sale of charcoal and wood has been curbed through the association of volunteer park guards. Volunteers are helping to promote economic alternatives for these people in the long term. One project seems to be having success. Families can get a loan to build improved adobe stoves that - among other benefits - decreased the wood consumption (limbs of trees not trunks). The loan is four female ducks and one male. No kidding. After two years of breeding ducks, these families can pay back their stove costs and perhaps also a spacious latrine or sheep or cuyes (guinea pigs) that are also part of the program. By diversifying their economic activities, the hope is that families will be able to resist cutting wood when tourism is scarce or when El Niño destroys all of their crops. It was quite inspiring visiting homes with these improvements. The new stoves have a chimney and, therefore, the smoke does not blacken the pots, the straw ceiling or the women's eyes and lungs. These small projects change lives and preserve the adjacent natural heritage.
Although the forest has been heavily logged and devastated, we saw some incredible things including a thousand year old mesquite (algarobbo) tree, archaelogical sites of the Sipan cultures which had large adobe pyramid burial tombs, and some great birds. The best bird was undoubtedly the endemic and quite endangered (Park officials haven't been able to find a nest) Peruvian Plantcutter, a bizarre bird that strips leaves for food.
We have one more week of training before finding out our site placements. We will then actually visit the sites the following week. Hope all is well in your lives. Please write. We love you and love hearing from you!

Benjamin

10/30/06 (Day 48): Field based training in Ancash

Here are a few photos from my journey to the high andes of Peru... the Callejon de Huaylas, the Cordillera Blanca and Negra, the department of Ancash. We were just 7 hours northeast of Lima, but truly entered into a different world. Five of us trainees traveled with our Community Health Director, Emilia, for the past week. From Sunday the 22nd until early yesterday morning, we visited 6 different Ancash sites and got the chance to ask some questions about what it's like to actually be a volunteer in Peru. Patience, flexibility & humor were their major bits of advice... at this we were not surprised.

Here's thinking of our dear Maipo and remembering when she was just a puppy back in Chile. We met this cute little puppy, his brother and mother at a Quechua speaking site where the volunteer was known as Don Martin de Perros. Don't worry...we're not going to get another dog :)
Part of our experience included eating the food of the communities in which we were visiting. Here a group of women cooked us rice, peas, carrots, and brocolli at the community soup kitchen (comedor popular). It was delicious. I was sick for the next 4 days.


The beautiful cordillera blanca guided us on our way...when it wasn't raining. The rainy season is expected to start now and go for the next 3-4 months.
This is the improved stove that we built!

10/20/06 (Day 38): The infamous 'combi'

You just stand anywhere on the street and look for a guy hanging out the door calling out the names of streets or neighborhoods. They stop for you, you pile in, you fly down the road and pay the equivalent of around 30 cents around town...and then you get off and walk the dusty streets to your destination. This is... the combi.

10/11/06 (Day 29): Dia de Diversidad "Libby"

They told us to explain ourselves according to the groups to which we belonged...

I am a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a grand-daughter, daughter-in-law, host daughter, a wife.
I am a woman.
I am a friend.
I am a Minnesotan.
I am a Wheaton Lyon and a UMD Terp.
I am a swimmer, a cross-country skier, a paddler, a mountain climber.
I am a graduate of public policy, anthropology, and Latin American Studi