A while back, earlier in the month I had heard from my special Peruvian friend Carlos Gibaja Tapia. It was a quote of a caption from a Peruvian cartoon but without the cartoon. i looked it up (finally) yesterday and here it is. you can also go here: http://americaninlima.com/2009/06/02/needless-deaths-in-the-andes/ to read more in English. This is from a blog called An American in Lima, and is now on my favorites list.







Some Peruvians are outraged at the country’s indifference to the preventable deaths of children in the Andes, as this widely circulated cartoon shows. Others shrug their shoulders and say, “That’s Peru.”



Here is what Carlos sent me in regards to this cartoon: 'This year alone, 144 children under age 5 have died of respiratory disease brought on extreme cold in the high sierra, reported El Comercio. Thirty-five of the young victims were from Puno, where temperatures plummeted to -15 degrees C in the last 21 days. (Note that temperature extremes — winter getting colder, summer getting hotter and drier — are an expression of climate change, says Peru glacier expert Cesar Portocarrera.)'

And he asks: " There are many people in Peru (who) would like to do something to help and the world has plenty second use blanket and clothes that (they) would like to send them to Peru, but ironically our government doesn’t let them do that, it is just because those are second use. God, what we can do? "
Well, this is what he's doing:

Hola Laurita.
Gracias por interesarte en los niños de Perú y yo sé que tu eres una persona que le interesa mucho este tema.
Bueno ahora estamos en una nueva aventura, estamos recolectando fondos para comprar frazadas y ropas para los niños que están muriendo en las comunidades altas, esto es por el cambio de temperatura que esta pasando aquí, el frio es muy intenso.
Por favor reza por que todo salga bien, y si tú conoces a personas que estarían interesadas en este proyecto por favor contáctenos. Gracias. (in English: "Hi Laurie, Thanks for your interest in the Peruvian children. You are a person who is very interested in this topic. So good, now I am involved in a new adventure, I am collecting funds to buy blankets and clothes for the children that are dying in the high communitieis and this is because temperature changes are happening now and the cold very intense. Please pray that all will go well. I know you will be interested in this. Please contact me. Thank you.")

Blankets for the villagers, to support the cold weather.
We want to (give) gratitude to all of you for your support on rescue lives from the cold weather in the Andes. With this help we cover of warm blankets to the people of Socma. Also with the support of my spiritual sister Shannon we make hot Chocolate, to make feel them loved. But this is going to be the just beginning, we want to provide with warm blankets more villages, so we can stop the death. Please share this email with the people who would like support this project.

So today I am going to Western Union and sending some money from our las Vidas Mejoradas bank account to Carlos to help buy blankets. If you would like to contribute money to this cause please email me. (below more about the status of our 501c-3)

Other good news: Over the weekend Steve and I went to Portland to meet a fellow we became acquainted with by way of the Bioenergy list. His name is Richard and he is from Alberta, Canada. He too went to a Peruvian community (on the coast) to do a small stove project. and we had responded to an inquiry of his, hence the connection. it was great to meet him. he had just been to Mandorani to visit Tomas and he met some of our stove families! just a week or two before! it was heartwarming to hear of what Tomas had told him of us and our work there. we apparently left a foot print!

With our EIN number in hand, and name Las Vidas Mejoradas, it is now time to select board members. We want to employ Steve, one day a week to manage the paperwork and work with our attorney to set our nonprofit up correctly. So our first step is for me to write our attorney and inquire if we need the board and bylaws in existence before we can hire Steve.

Our garden grows. You can see new pictures of the progress on our flickr site.

Our foxglove! More pictures (as Ron requested) are on the flickr site here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stovesforperu

Well, in a spurt of energy, I am finally blogging and posting pictures. We've been busy since getting back with trips to visit friends, time with my sons, a house concert, getting married, painting, hauling and planting, a new job, a trip to the coast and time with friends. I am trying and am now quite frustrated with uploading photos to the blog, so i will direct you to the flickr site here http://www.flickr.com/photos/stovesforperu .

its been a sort of overcast week here--fine with us---much cooler and not as much watering required to our many beds outside! Steve is in the basement organizing the the stuff down there. Later today he and Janice will make some loads of brush and tree branches to Lane Forest products. i plan on getting caught up with our families and friends, cleaning my room, paying bills, and weeding. it's so nice to have a day off! work has been going well. i enjoy teaching patients. I'm not sure if all the walking i do is contributing to a bit of sciatica, like i had had briefly in Peru. it's like a charlie horse down the side of my leg that just won't let go. i've been keeping it to myself there as i don't want anything to come up as far as work goes that indicates in any way i can't do this job! i went to the doctor and am on some meds and its better today. better enough that i feel like i can get outside today!

on the Peru front , i soon will be opening an account in the name of las Vidas Mejoradas! i am waiting on the EIN number. then we will be forming a board and bylaws with our lawyers' help (so to get it right!) My son told me the other day we have sold two paintings in Eureka! I had dropped the price and continued advertising them as fundraisers for our organization. so more money will be going into the account!

We heard from a young woman interested in Quiquihana after she had written ellen and ron about their trip to peru. she had located their photo site and blog on-line (which i am going to add a link to today. there are some great pictures of Peru adventures!) anyway our sites were able to assist her in an upcoming trip she'll be making there in search of her biological family!

and specifically about stoves and Mandorani, a colleague we met on-line visited Tomas and the community not to long ago to see our stoves! He had written and we gave directions and he got there in spite of a bus strike! He talked to Victoria who is waiting for us to call (!) and Tomas about the stoves. I will copy his letters here:

Great, Laurie, I finally met up with Tomas today in Corao, and going again tomorrow to see how he builds and hopefully get my hands dirty. What a nice guy Tomas is. He talked about the great debt of gratitude he feels towards you in helping them to reduce the very serious problem of smoke related lung problems.
Victoria's son brought me to Tomas's house, where I saw my first sheep against people soccer match along the way, complete with 12 to 15 little piglets in the audience! Here are Victoria's phone numbers. 780091 and 835094. I guess she hopes you will call her some day. I told her I would send you an e- mail in Spanish if she wanted (but not sure if she writes?).
So again, thanks for all your help on this journey. If you have a message for Victoria, I'd be happy to relay it, but have no printer here at the hostal in Cusco.
Ciao
Richard

Hi Laurie,
While today's experience is still fresh in my mind ... I went to Corao agan, and finding Tomas stuffing potatoes into bags, and that in fact he was not building any stoves (contrary to my belief) just made the best of it. Tomas gave me a drawing and the dimensions and we shared ideas. I think the double lipped pot orifice is a great idea (as built only single pot holders in Chincha). The chimneys are more robust than those I installed, but I think the price of 80 S will be justified in longevity (as well as extra updraft). We also discussed the idea of using adobe set around a round form for future chimneys (much cheaper and recommended by some of the advanced people on the bioenergylists chat line). We also discussed the design I learned where the pot is submerged further into the plancha to maximize heat transfer to the pot sides (you will see this in the Aprovecho design including Rocket).
- On the last 2 stoves, what I get from Tomas is that he's waiting for plata (money) from them. So thats all I know on that (I guess they are not built).
- For Victoria, she wasn't there, but her husband, no guarantees will pass it on that you will contact her.
So we had a long chat with a woman on the street with a stove in front - (forget her name) and it was gratifying to know the depth of commitment to environmental health causes they had, as we discussed everything from stoves (adobe and solar) to plastic pollution, garbage, water and politics. I do believe you made quite a dent in this community!
So I can't stick around to the next building on June 8, but we parted with talk of a reunion in future.
All for now Laurie
I'll contact you when I come through Oregon.
Ciao
Richard

it was refreshing to read Richard's letters! I will be calling Victoria soon and am waiting for our first set of evaluations to arrive in the mail from Mandorani. steve and i are getting set to write up the experience, like we have done with our other projects. and word from ellen has been in regards to possibly coming up with funds to do more between the schools.

but admittedly, i am just now reaching a point where i can get back on track with the other half of our lives, now that the job is set, bills are getting paid, and steve and i have ourselves fairly caught up here at home. so all involved, please accept my apologies for dropping out of sight for a bit.

it's funny. i am reading a book called Three Cups of Tea. While Greg Mortenson's work has far surpassed ours, there have been parts that ring true. One was how he mentioned on getting back how it all becomes like a movie you saw. you can leave with all sorts of ideas and time can slip by...and you can feel ungrounded, misplaced and lonely.

"...On the flight out of Islambad he had felt so full of purpose, scheming a dozen different ways to raise money for the school. But back in Berkeley, California, Greg Mortensen couldn't orient himself. He felt blotted out under the relentlessly sunny skies, among prosperous college students strolling happily toward their next espresso, and his promise to Haji Ali felt more like a half-remembered movie he's dozed though on one of his three interminable flights..."

here's a quote speaking to the value of making relationships:

" 'That day, Haji Ali taught me the most important lesson I learned in my life,' Mortenson says. 'We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly. We're the country of thirty-minute power lunches and two-minute football drills. Our leaders thought their 'shock and awe' campaign could end the war in Iraq before it even started. Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them.' "

and something that speaks to the patience that exists "on the other side":

"Mortenson told them he'd spent most of his money already on the school and he'd have to return to America and try to raise more money for the bridge. He expected the Korphe men to act as crushed as he felt. But waiting was as much a part of their make-up as breathing the thin air at 10,000 feet. They waited half of each year, in rooms choked with smoke from yak duing fires, for the weather to become hospitiable enough for them to return outdoors...The people of the Braldu had been promised schools by the distant Pakistani government for decades, and they were waiting still. Pateince was thier greatest skill."

So on to posting pictures. All our best from Laurie and Steve~

Wedding photos! Thanks Jim and Taunia!

We're married!!

We will be taking a break from all of our work painting the kitchen, refinishing the cabinets, weeding, planting, and weed eating so to GET MARRIED tomorrow 1 May at 10;30 AM!!!!

well, i got the job! many, many thanks to the person who believed in me! three days a week with plenty of time to work in the yard and house on all the projects we have planned. and we got our marriage license! today kale, broccoli, lettuce, and garlic went in. we mulched the raspberries and potatoes. it needs to rain to weed out the beds near the firepit. but as long as one just uses selective viewing it is not quite as overwhelming.

the search for work goes on. while i am reasonably sure i qualify very well for this certain job, the remainder of the tasks in investigating my application by Human Resources are not completed. and so, another previous manager has raised concern over my ability to get along with others... yikes. i am grateful that one person in this process believes in me. none the less this process has felt ruthless and i walk around with a knot in my stomach. i am told i have apparently burned some bridges when my life drastically changed some 6 years ago now...well, it seems so. i just never realized until now and it leaves me feeling afraid to trust my own opinions on just who i am or have been, or to trust others in the position to judge me. i wish i could just start my own business.

It's time to check into the blogging world again. especially after that rather grim last entry. i have been coming and going and remain amongst the unemployed. I visited my two sons and girlfriends in northern california, of course all my old friends in astoria and then after a night in portland with steve went to visit my family in new york state for two weeks. whew. two weeks. all in all it was good to get a good idea of all that is happening there. (when its a few days folks can be on their best behavior!) so while things are changing there for my folks and i worry about them, my dad remains active in his antique car-world and happily, i did get my mom out driving again. to know that she isn't holed up in the house dependent on my dad gives me some solace. my son mica joined me there the last week or so and that shifted how i saw things a lot and oh, was that a welcome feeling. mica spurred me to try jogging a bit, especially since we could go down to the road to the banks of the Hudson River. so i began a little interval thing 5 minutes jogging, 5 walking until i got to the end of the road. even got to see a bald eagle nest with the help of my brother's friend Danny and his scope. now i am up to 10 minutes running, and 5 walking and it feels good.

so i am back home now and moving into steve's house! he painted my room for me while i was gone, white with lavender trim. it's so very nice. we wake up and say, "why, look who's living here with me?!" it really is wonderful. so, this weekend i hope to get a good chunk of the moving done.

Some exciting news is that on may 9th we're having a house concert! more will come on that as the date approaches. it'll be Michael Hurley and Alexa Wiley along with Forrest, a fiddle player from the Dalles and my friend Brigido from Astoria on the congas. they all played together up in astoria while i was there and miraculously due to connections we are lucky enough to have them play right here in eugene in our living room!

there is other good news on the non-profit front! i went to the attorney the day before yesterday to straighten out some misfiled papers that had been my attempt at getting our non-profit off the ground. i saw a wonderful man, David Atkin, a non-profit attorney, who took care of everything for us! for a small fee he is going to file the papers correctly and all it will require is a name change of our non-profit and for me to open a bank account in the name of the non-profit. we are trying "las Vidas Mejoradas" instead of "Vidas Mejoradas, Inc". Then we have 27 months to establish things like our board, bylaws, etc. and to file those documents with the IRS. He has offered to reduce his fee and help us with that! and my wonderful son has offered to loan me the money to do that. as to the misfiled papers they can (legally) die on the vine so to speak without repercussions! so, once i get moved, get a job, file my own taxes, and generally get caught up i will return to David's office and complete the process! the fact that went so smoothly is quite telling i have to say, especially when some things have been a rocky road for me as of late.

Which brings me to applying for jobs. it's been a bit harsh. I have put in for quite a few, all different nursing jobs...ie., office, home health, VA. my original position has been eliminated at my former place of employment and because i had taken a "personal" leave of absence, they have reminded me they have no obligation to provide me a job. it is possible once they have reorganized into only 12 hour shifts, and allow current employees to bid for them that at that point positions may surface, which if i qualify they would have to give me. but no one can give me any timeframe.

then what seemed a perfect position in all ways opened up at another location! i had all reason to believe i had the job until i sent my last two evaluations as requested. the comments made in my last evaluation under a heading "areas for growth" put up a big red flag in regards to my difficulty in accepting change and now obtaining what seemed the perfect job looks to be in question. and it involves a friend which to say the least is awkward, let alone i simply hate causing my friends any difficulty, especially when i know their intention was to help me and now to see she is placed in the middle. so i am trying to mitigate it but who knows what will happen. i can say how unfair it all is to be in essence blacklisted for what is my particular "area for growth" related to my standard of good patient care in a rapidly changing environment. all nurses have "areas for growth' as part of their annual evaluations and i would bet many involve when we are put in a position of compromising care. but as i was told change and adapting to it is the name of the game in this time of recession and financial constraint... in large ways i know i adapt. i have a resume illustrating nothing but adaptation. in my own defense i know my limits and when a patients' or persons' care or wellbeing can be affected i bristle. and to make it worse i have yet to been asked to even explain myself; everything at this point has been based on what can read about me. And one comment such as that has apparently overshadowed 23 years of positions requiring change at nearly every turn. ugh.

For ellen about this dang cough of mine: yes, i still have it. now i am on a short round of steroids to rule out if it's a bronchospasm. i tried probiotics once and they made me nauseous but i can try them again as nothing done so far seems to completely eliminate this cough. i am seeing an acupuncturist and that is simply nice for all my woes! i am jogging (yeah!!) and while it triggers the cough its no worse than one triggered by laughing.

it's the weekend and i so need to put this all away for awhile. my sons are visiting next week and the week after we are getting married!! so, i'm going to get dressed and get going and make a load to move over. and later we are going to a party.

love to all who are still keeping up with us.

i am sitting in a little place called the Coffee Girl on the end of Pier 39 in Astoria overlooking the grey and rocky Columbia River and a big ship anchored out there. The counter of the coffee shop is the original counter that the original coffee girl served coffee to all the cannery workers back in the day. outside it's blustery and the rain is going in all directions. Sleep did not come easy last night as i woke up off and on and thought about my job situation and former friend. both of which i could nothing about in the middle of the night. and no matter how many times i told myself that, my sleep was as choppy as the river is this morning.

Astoria is overcast today. i took a walk anyway. of all things my back is acting up, so i am exercising in some way everyday. i don't know exactly what i did; i'm thinking the stress of job-hunting, plus driving again, etc is part of it. i've been here for a few days visiting my girlfriends. the highlight was to hear Michael Hurley play at a little art gallery along with Alexa Wiley, a guy named Forrest, and my friend Claudia's husband, Brigido. Alexa sang and played guitar, Forrest played the violin and Brigido was on congas. of course Michael Hurley played guitar and banjo and sang. It was great. and even greater was the news from Claudia the next day that they wanted to do a house concert in Eugene and Claudia had suggested our place!! (Steve is thrilled!!) so it's been nice; and all about walking, talking, eating and soaking in Claudia's hot tub with her and Shelley. the only downside to the visit has been having a certain person again making it very clear they want no more to do with me. knowing this particular person wants no more to do with me has been worse than either of my two divorces. this may sound extreme, but it's the truth. i've missed her terribly.

last week while visiting my sons and Sue her name came up. i wish i had an explanation for Mica and Josiah as to why we don't talk. regardless whenever her name cames up it is always fondly. So, while in a thrift store, of all things Mica bought this wallet made of plastic meant to look like bacon, hence a bacon wallet. it reminded Mica of my friends potted meat collection. we all laughed and that afternoon l called and left a message of how nice it would be to see her. She never called me back. stupidly i decided i had nothing to lose if i stopped by her work with flowers. i received a cool brushoff. ouch. i fought back tears, thought all over again at just what had i done to cause this, and told myself to just let it go. i'll just say it's easier than it sounds.

i leave tomorrow for Portland to meet Steve! We will be spending the night there and then i am off to NYS to visit my family for two weeks. Mica, my son will be there on the 8th. it should be a good time or at least i am hoping so. i hope to do alot of walking, helping my mom with things and catching up with my dad and brother. and Mica hasn't been there in awhile and i know my parents look forward to seeing him.

the job hunt continues (even though i am away). i received news last week my old job is no more and they have no openings. they reminded me it was my choice to take the leave. ouch again. they're right, and while i did not expect my original position to be there i did think there would be something! so i am trying to not fret and have faith...i have applied at a few places i feel qualified for and will just need to hope for the best. we will see. i am almost afraid to feel too confident since i discovered the supervisory job i had applied for went to the other person. and as to the govt job i never made it to the list of applicants interviewed. i remind myself i do get myself into this position by leaving my work to do what i do in Peru. i don't know what to say besides that; we all have to live with our choices i guess and that means me too. realizing that does not help my anxiety though.

i have alot to keep me busy these next few weeks: the trip, then moving into Steve's, getting our garden in, more applications, seeing the lawyer about how to correct the Vidas Mejoradas paperwork, writing up the experience in Peru this time, doing my taxes , getting married...and what with no job, it is no wonder i am still waiting to feel settled down since getting back from Peru.

gosh, i am ready for it to be warmer! brrr! its colder than it was in cuzco, but here in my room there's heat! such a blessing. i really thought we would be coming home to milder weather. it seems we have been thinking the weather should be different than it is for months now! ha! fooled again! yesterday the sun came out and that made it better especially since i was on my bike for a bit while my car was in the shop. steve has been able to dig up blackberries and get some hauling done to Lane Forest Products. we are making plans for some painting at his house and for me to move in upstairs mid April after my trip to visit my family. i am nervous about all the changes.

job hunting continues and now i am up to three outfits to wear to interviews, but to wear one, it needs to warm up a bit. ellen says i should post a picture of the more "professional" Laurie alongside Steve with his suit. i still feel like halloween in my outfit though! so far i have applied for four jobs and i have been back less than one week! i had two interviews for one job and they will call me next week after meeting their one other candidate. i called about the gov't job and at this point they have 14 candidates of which they do not have to interview all. there is someone who will review the applications and make that decision. and they would not tell me if i was one of the 14! another job i had applied for from Peru and i was never contacted. and yesterday i put in for a home health nurse job. that would be nice! the back up plan is to return to ICU mid April or so should nothing else materialize. obviously i would rather do something else but thankfully there is something, even if it is the 12 hour torture night shifts. on the 23rd i am scheduled to go to human resources and see what posted openings there are and i'll take it from there.

well it seems i may have registered our non-profit in the wrong category. instead of "mutual benefit", it should have been "public benefit." oops. i visited with our friend Ken of the organization AidAfrica the other day to try to sort it all out. he advised seeing the nonprofit attorney here in town, as his brain was just not working. sadly he is not doing great, but as always he approaches it all honestly, his spirits are good and sense of humor intact. he explained i should even wait on my personal taxes until seeing the attorney and straightening this out. i talked to steve right away about it and he has decided to go ahead with doing his taxes. the way the papers are now it is in my name, or appears to be and that may all be in error anyway! so as it was explained to me, Vidas Mejoradas is it's own entity so it is separate from us as individuals. so i have an appointment with the attorney but not until the 16th of April. it seems best to take care of this now in spite of the fact ken also said for five years the government does not pay attention to you! (his words were something like our $4000 is nothing to them if $4 billion gets by them...) he went on to say especially in the first year because "they" figure you don't know what you're doing. (you would have to know ken to really appreciate his opinions!)

the other day i went for a hike to see what would happen with the cough. all the mud reminded me of Mandorani (except it did not smell!) and to see my dirty hiking boots, i thought of the horror that would be on the faces of the shoe cleaners in Cuzco! it was peaceful and nice on the Ridgeline trail. yesterday the sun came out and while the car was in the shop, i got to ride my bike and then spent the afternoon settling myself into the room i have for now. today is another beautiful sunny day! i am getting set for a trip, going to the doctor to follow up on this cough and then for a walk. maybe i will even visit Vivian, my friend. later we are going to a birthday party and then to hear a show by the Bad Mitten Orchestre. i am hoping this MD appt is not a waste of money...ie., no insurance...but my good Doctor Pinedo advised i follow-up so as always i will do what he says. i am thinking it's a bit better. the cold air and exertion continues to bring it on though and it remains an odd sort of cough. perhaps i just need some nice steady warm air to settle those cilia down in my bronchial tree? or maybe a prescription?! that's my theory!

soon i leave for california to visit my sons and old friend, Sue. the car is all set for a road trip and i plan on going down the coast saturday. just the thought of the driving down the pacific coast causes a nice sigh in me. then i come home and help get the kitchen ready for painting! then it's another little trip to Astoria, another one of my very favorite places where my old friends live, until i fly to NYS to see my folks for a long overdue visit. and then steve will have the upstairs painted and i can move in and get back to work (of some kind)! so, this first week back has been what is usually the case for me. there is the initial excitement of returning, giving the quick talk of what we did, then settling down to being here again, ie., going to the grocery store, driving, and now even taxes...steve says all i do is complain. re-entering is always the harder part for me while the opposite exists for steve. it all just seems so complicated, but maybe i make it that way? (just maybe given my schedule above..., let alone the move-in and May Day event! yikes.) none the less right now i feel like a fish out of water, i miss just simple living with steve in our own place, i miss walking and seeing people around me, (even if they are asking me if i want a massage). i feel lonely in a weird way. and i miss knocking around in my rubber boots in the stinky mud in Mandorani doing our work with all the folks who had grown to be familiar faces and friends.

We are home after an easy trip minus the fact it was near 24 hours counting airport wait times. i have to say i love Lan Peru, our airline from Lima to LA--good food, professional attention and the best--individual little TV screens for every seat. we watched a great coen flick, which of course i have completely forgotten the name of. typical of laurie's brain!

on return our first stop was to Sam Bonds for a decent microbrew and then to Papa's for a pulled pork sandwich. after that i passed out dead in my bed for a solid 10 hours! the next morning we went to the Wandering Goat for some great coffee and a yummy bagel. dinner was early and at Chao Pra Ya! dessert was a vanilla creme filled eclair at the Sweet Life! Then in the early evening it was off to a new place called The Rabbit Bistro where our best buddy manages the bar. Her spanish coffees are great! (for some time now each of these stops have been carefully planned and looked forward to). then we went out to hear Testface (great show!) at Lucky's and saw some friends. our evening ended with our best buddy at her place over a nice bottle of wine catching up on everything with us and with her. this morning it was yummy Nancy's yogurt and a croissant at the Sweet Life. and a hot bath this afternoon! so are we spoiled or what? good food, friends and things like a tubful of hot water.

news is sadly grim here with finding out the unemployment rate in Lane county is 11%. i am so lucky to be a nurse. many friends are without work. hard choices are having to be made. but as always in eugene, it is not always obvious. i will say again for some reason i am fortunate. has it been a roll of the dice or what? who knows? we for example have enjoyed the high life since being back just hours after leaving the Peruvian highlands. somehow i was not born an indigenous Quechua woman only eating potatoes, washing in black water, tending a fire as my eyes burn, or having children die of malnutrition, or an American denied an education or opportunity, or someone without the blessing of their health. it's why i do what i do. and here there are still cars on the roads, full grocery stores and expensive gourmet food and wines enjoyed. are the people struggling here somehow less visible to me here here or i am not looking closely enough? our responsibility to others continues though. I know we have Obama! and one of my best friends says the difference is we as a people are humbler and for that we are fortunate. so i need to just be quiet awhile and just look and listen.

so steve is home listening of course to his records which he ordered while in peru. he is in his own personal form of steve-heaven as i write. i am temporarily situated at my ex's where he has been always kind enough to give me a room to stay in while preparing to leave for peru and then on my return until i get back on my feet. typically i have a rough time reaccliminating more so to being back than while in Peru. its funny i make all my plans and it all seems straightforward enough from there, then i get here and go into some sort of anxiety/panic mode. in spite of enjoying all the ways in which i am spoiled, i take up residence in my car as opposed to walking places. more than getting through the day i fuss about getting through the week (or longer.) it is like i am both here and there and it is in a way like trying to mix oil and water. oh well, all we can do is our best. i am in process of applying for a new job. i continue to have my leave of absence. i want to see my sons, my folks and my best friends while i look for jobs. (the LOA is for a year and that just seems to be the policy rather than my request at the hospital work at.) i would love to have a day job and not be in a unit (or hospital) where there is so much stress either due to the patient acuity or number of people under my watch. and my back is done with lifting people really. at one point of my career i did work in an office. i had all the clothes and it was normal for me. now i have no office clothes and i am more comfortable in a dirty pair of rubber boots than heels. not to mention i was never good at heels in the first place! so i have spent the last couple days scavenging consignment shoppes attempting to remake myself into office nurse material. yikes. it is adding to the shock to my system!

so i have uploaded some final photos to Flickr, including Steve in his new suit made by his personal tailor in Peru! there are also shots also of our short run through Lima while waiting for our plane and seeing my friends.

so how can i thank everyone who has kept up with and encouraged us? our work down there means so much. the simplest things can and do change lives--and i am talking a mud stove with the most basic chimney--and to be part of what helps people to have that makes my life have so much more meaning. so thank you all for being part of making that happen because we couldn't have done it without your support.

well good god, we are packed.  a horrendous nightmare thanks to my buying at the last minute weavings from three of the families of my god children.  i located a scale that we could weigh the most likely culprit suitcase of being overweight, ie., mine.  so we flew through the house packing stuff we intend on storing with a friend here after getting everything else rammed into suitcases and backpacks.  much is up for donation as well at a party we are having tomorrow night to say good bye to a few friends.  i am hoping all things end up with homes and if not they will go out on the street to someone who likely needs them more than i.  our last chore is to get the stuff we are storing to our friend rosanna, and get my 90$ owed to me by our landlord which is annoyingly like pulling teeth.  always "manaña, manaña..."  it is sadly our experience of trying to get back money owed to us from folks here. 

so we leave tuesday for lima and will spend the afternoon with friends of mine from Trujillo who will meet us for lunch.  our flight out of peru is 1:40 AM on the 5th.  aargh.  we plan on taking a little something to make us sleepy so to survive the following day that will take us from LA to Seattle and then back down to arriving in Eugene at 5:30 PM.  see y'all soon! 

Update from Sleeve with a few comments by Laurie:

Here I am at the internet café, Laurie is pre-packing staff. (From Laurie: YIKES, I cannot believe how much shit i have!!) It’s Saturday. Last Monday I tried to go visit the Cusquena brewery. As I walked around it trying to find the visitor’s entrance I realized it was HUGE. First I found the truck/loading entrance but the guards wouldn’t let me in. Finally, after circling an area that was maybe 6-8 city blocks, I found the visitors’ entrance. Unfortunately, they wanted me to make an appointment and told me that photos were strictly prohibited. So I gave up. Sorry, brewer friends! Please note that Cusquena is the only Peruvian beer that follows the German Reinheitsgebot, the beer purity law that allows only barley, hops, water, and other natural ingredients like fruit flavors, spices, whatever. They have cheaper beers here, but they are vile hangover-inducing swill. There is a “craft beer” that they brew here in Cusco, but I tried it last time we were here and was not impressed.

On Monday night our friend Carlos came over, he postponed his work trip to Australia because he ran into some woman from Singapore who is financing a big project in a village called T’astayoc up above Ollantaytambo. As we talked, it became clear that he needed some help with the stove for the kitchen they were building. When it is a whole kitchen they call it a comedore. The stove needed to be double size, so we couldn’t just give him our plans. We decided to hire Tomas to come up there, and made plans to meet up early in the morning on Friday, come up to the village, and document the building process with photos (which we hadn’t had the opportunity to do yet).

Tuesday I was taking laundry to our lavenderia and walking through the plaza when I encountered Laurie’s old friend Oscar. I was delighted because he sells bootleg pisco which is exponentially better than the stuff you can buy in stores or bars. We had thought he was out of town in Ica, the part of Peru where the best pisco and wine is made. And we had run out of the bottle from last time. So I bought one full bottle to mail home and one half bottle for our last week. We went to his house and he poured it out for us out of a 5-gallon jug, into recycled bottles. (From Laurie: one would be amazed at how a room can turn into a real home here. people live so much simpler than we do.) I had some trepidation about mailing it because it was totally bootleg, no label on the bottle and no receipt. But the woman at the post office didn’t care as long as I paid the staggering sum of $40 to mail a package slightly over 1 kilo. Needless to say, it will be saved for special occasions. I’ve never tasted anything like it.

On Wednesday we had to go out to C’orao to see if Tomas could do this crazy stove thing we had decided on with Carlos. When we arrived bright and early at the Puputi station they told us there were no buses to Pisac that day?!? What the hell?!?! We got into a taxi with 3 other people and quickly learned that there was a strike on. The background here is that for at least two months there has been a major controversy brewing because of a border dispute between two regions of the Cusco Department (departments are like our states, regions are the next biggest entity and then provinces which are like counties, kind of, except regions are in between). Apparently the border between Calca and La Convencion has been redrawn for some reason, putting two and a half provinces that had been in Calca into the jurisdiction of La Convencion, and resulting in 29 schools being transferred. The Calca folks (Calqueños) are PISSED about this, and we can understand why. Not only the schools and students, but all the jobs and state money that come with them are being transferred.

Our time in C’orao was uneventful, Tomas agreed to do the T’astayoc trip and we also stopped by to see MaFre who had just had her eye operated on with money donated by Laurie and my mom. She was going to lose her vision otherwise and she is too smart to have that happen. Plus, we really like her and her family. So there she was, all bandaged up. Her brothers, who are 6, 7, and 10, all kept poking into the room and it was obvious they cared a lot. The middle one, Lenny, had a Pikachu doll and played with it in a most adorable fashion. Her folks boiled us up some fresh corn and it was delicious. We discovered that the doctors had, um, neglected to give her pain meds so we grumbled our way across the street to the Centro De Salud to buy ibuprofen.
On our way back, oh shit, here come the Calqueños! They were marching on Cusco in a huge procession of buses and cars and combis, all flying the blue and white Calca flag. We later learned there were around 8,000 of them. We gave MaFre her meds and caught a taxi back to Cusco.

When we approached the city, the Calqueños’ plan became apparent. They had blockaded the entire road up above Cusco heading to Pisac and Calca.The taxi had to stop, but we were able to walk through down the hill with no problem, it was a one-way blockade. We had to laugh as we saw several doomed tourist buses optimistically heading up the hill past us as we came down. Calca isn’t a tourist town and is proud of it. Later that day the main body of Calqueños came down and marched on the central plaza and the Municipal Palace. They also blockaded intersections in the streets. The next day, we read the same typical foam-at-the-mouth bullshit that you would have read in US papers about a boisterous protest. OH MY GOD SOMEBODY BROKE A WINDOW!!! Violencia injustificable!!! For a protest of 8,000 it was really quite calm from our point of view. The next day, Thursday, they called off their “huelga indefinida” (strike with no ending point), the roads returned to normal, and the relevant authorities agreed to hold talks between the two regions. I really don’t see how Calca can prevent this though, as Laurie noted it seemed more like a face-saving exercise to me – letting people know that Calca can’t be pushed around without a fight.

The rest of the day was uneventful although I must note that Laurie made some really really good pork chops for dinner, which we had been planning for a week or more. (From Laurie: What fun to buy pork chops at San Pedro market! huge sides of pork hanging from hooks, pigs' heads prominently displayed. and women swinging cleavers like no tomorrow. i got two big think chops!)

On Friday we were up at 5 AM. Carlos had told us about a street where there were cheap buses directly to Ollantaytambo, and he was right. Ten soles! We rode with three nuns and some other guys while the driver played a gruesome selection of the worst romantic ballads that the 80’s had to offer. You know it’s bad when Foreigner’s “Waiting For A Girl Like You” represents a distinct uptick in quality. In the plaza at Ollantaytambo we met Carlos’ “chauffeur” (i.e. friend with car) and Tomas showed up a little later. The chofer tied the double-size chimney on top, and up we went. And up, and up. This was new scenery to me and it was stunning. Native forests, cataracts rushing down steep mountain slopes, up into the clouds we went. At the very peak, we arrived at T’astayoc, which tops out at 4200 meters. From there it is downhill to the jungles of Quillabamba.

We met up with Carlos’ dad, Ismael, also his dad’s 2nd wife and two daughters who we were previously unaware of (Laurie has known the whole other side of the family, mom and five sons, for years now). They had finished a wide variety of impressive projects including a big greenhouse (too cold for vegetables otherwise) and solar powered lighting. About 75 people live there, and there are 30 kids. The houses are made of STONES, with thatch roofs. ( Comment from Laurie: these places are freezing cold at night! and as noted below they do not have the adobe we are accustomed to seeing everywhere else. the roofs are thatched with Paja.) I started taking pictures, and we will have them up on the Flickr site later tonight or tomorrow. Unfortunately, Laurie almost immediately became very sick with soroche (the Quechua word for altitude sickness). We hadn’t thought 13,000 feet would be much different from 11,000 feet, but we were very wrong. Within half an hour she was vomiting with a splitting headache (soroche causes edema, actual swelling of the brain, and you can die from it further up than where we were). So I alternated between taking photos and massaging her head. (Comment from Laurie. soroche is horrible. i have been told your body puts off less important functions when there isn't enough O2 to the vital organs. and the stomach is apparently less vital! so hours later after eating one can vomit and have it appear completely undigested. so, yeah i thought about the wonders of that as i laid on the floor where Ismael sleeps wishing i could be part of the fun. but in truth it was a big hassle and alot of jimmy-rigging as there wasn't enough adobe and the work space was full of others plastering. however as always Tomas came through smiling.) There were a bunch of other guys working on the comedore while Tomas built the stove, I’m pretty sure some of them weren’t from there. For lunch we were served a delicious soup of quinoa and alpaca meat, plus strong black coffee with sugar.

Carlos had mentioned earlier that he would be up to get us around 3 in the afternoon, and Laurie was ready to go by 1:30. Tomas, however, needed more time to complete the stove because Carlos had drastically understimated the amount of available adobe (we needed 40, they had 15 plus a bunch of broken pieces). As a result Tomas had to improvise and change the model to accomodate that. Ismael promised us that Carlos would be there to get us by 4 or 4:30. At 4:30, Tomas finished the stove and cleaned up. Laurie was still very sick. We walked up to the road to wait. (From Laurie: due to the walking, i started vomiting again, this time amazed that the quinoa was still intact!) We kept waiting. Once it hit 5 PM, the sun went behind the mountain and the rain kicked in. We had no gear at all for spending the night. We started trying to flag down cars and trucks, all of which refused to stop. If it had been a real emergency somebody could have died. Laurie vomited some more and was reduced to tears. Finally at 6 PM Carlos showed up with his friend and the car. Laurie is still pissed at him, he really didn’t acknowledge that there was any breach of contract or problem. (From Laurie: I think he was playing soccer!By the time we got back to Ollantaytambo it was pitch black and too late for Tomas’ bus home. We took him to Cusco with us on an empty tourist bus, and put him up at our house.

This morning we went out to Mandorani to say goodbye. There was a little party with cuy, potatoes, and orange soda. We also said goodbye to Andres, MaFre was in Cusco so we assume she is recovering just fine.

Laurie has just informed me that we have run out of room to pack stuff and are going to have to start triage. (Comment from Laurie: I bought things today from three of my godchildrens' families to sell for them at home. hence, one problem. the other? those wonderful rubber boots of ours. I think we should just leave them here with the stuff we are storing at Rosanna's. we'll sure need them! and otherwise i am just a hoarder, i guess.) We have leftover soup for dinner tonight, and if we are really lucky the crepe place will be open and we can have dessert crepes. It is like winter at the beach here, the absolute bottom point of tourism. The tour and restaurant hawkers sometimes walk a block to try and catch us. They are invariably disappointed. Fortunately Los Perros reopened after being closed for most of the month, so we plan on having a last meal there on Monday night before we head to Lima.

I may update from Lima, but it’s equally likely that I’ll wait until after our 16 hours of airplane/airport hell. We’ll see.