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