Peace Corps: Tarica, Peru

Creepy

2008-09-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

The halls in my building are usually empty and quiet, so last week it was good to see someone else on my floor. I passed by a petite blond girl who was headed towards the garbage cans. Two days later as I was leaving, I noticed that this girl's door had been forced open and then newly repaired. In addition to that there was a notice from the Cook County Medical Examiner that sealed the door...

David St. Hubbins

2008-09-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

The other day I was exiting Jane's building and opened the door for a man that I immediately recognized. Michael McKean, who has been in dozens of movies and shows and was on the SNL cast of 1994, is starring in a production called "Superior Donuts" at the Steppenwolf Theatre down the street.

International Travel without Basic English??

2008-04-20T02:26:00.000-07:00

Technically, I am bilingual. And Spanish can be quite useful in the US and south thereof. Obviously it is always ideal to speak the local language while traveling and when I was making my way through Central America and Mexico, speaking Spanish made things much easier. As for across the pond, however, Spanish is going to be of very little use. Thankfully for me, English seems to be the universal go to language for international travelers. To communicate with people I have to depend on the sometimes very basic, but surprisingly common, English skills of the locals, as well as the recommendations of fellow travelers who do the same whatever their first language. The point being: I speak English. But what if I didn’t? How would I approach the prospect of going around the world?

Example: you’re from Sri Lanka, you speak absolutely no English, and you have the desire and the means to travel internationally. Awesome. But, without a basic knowledge of English, how will you manage? As it is, some countries around the world struggle to cater to the wealth of foreigners who speak English well. And forget the remote chance of meeting fellow countrymen as you go. Assume that no guidebooks have been published in your language, and consider that even if one is available, many things are going to become outdated in just a few years. Think about crucial information like transport details. How do you get to a foreign country and actually do what it takes to get around and make it worth it? You can try to get by on non-verbal communication, but this will be extremely challenging and many topics will prove too complicated. What if the one language you know isn’t even represented on the internet?

Surely traveling under these circumstances is possible- it would certainly make for a hell of an adventure. Maybe this whole idea underscores the importance of not only knowing a bit of English when going abroad, but more important, having the foresight and the respect of the country you’re visiting to learn a bit of the local language before heading out. I would love to talk to the incredibly resourceful guy who has actually done this, but I guess I'd have to find a way to communicate with him first.

Oh, How I Love Budget Accommodation, Let Me Count the Stains

2008-04-12T01:38:00.000-07:00

Dirt Cheap (and not so) Hotel Rooms

When I arrived in Morocco I got the first taste of the kind of dumps I was going to experience during this trip. Thankfully, though, options since then have proven much better in every other country. In Morocco you can find a room for $5 if you want it and I definitely stayed in a few of these gems. There are no hostels, so it is harder to meet other travelers and rail the customs of the local culture. The rooms usually have sinks, but the showers and toilets/latrines are shared. The really funny thing about Morocco was that even when bathrooms facilities were shared, the rooms usually included a bidet in the corner. I’d like to talk to the guy that started that trend.

Spain had an abundance of hostels and these are almost always filled with young 20 somethings just out of school. The dorm rooms can sleep as many as 12 and each room shares a bathroom. If you look you can find locations with many conveniences like wi-fi, towels, meals and even in-house bars. Beds are much expensive than Morocco, though, with the currency change to Euros- $25 to $30.

In Greece the hostels were similar to Spain, if not a bit calmer. Wi-fi was nice to find and finding single beds instead of bunk beds was always a welcome surprise. They were more reasonable as well at $18-25.

The U.A.E. is where things changed a lot. I wasn't able to find any evidence of backpacker accommodation, or even a room for under $100 for that matter. Upon arrival in the airport, I found numerous help desks available for travelers looking to book a room, tour, ect. I mentioned the possibility of a $40-50 range room and the guy looked he was trying to keep from laughing. After speaking to some guys doing business in Dubai, I found out that these "help" desks are there to help those who are interested in the $300+ range. I ended up staying in 3* for $140 a night. Nice break from dirty rooms and dorms during the midpoint of the trip. There is one youth hostel on the edge of the city, but it was full of African merchants and proved to be a pretty rough place. In Dubai, because they house mostly foreigners, hotels were the place to party. I think my hotel had three disco techs, but I stayed on a high enough floor so that it wasn’t a problem for me.

Oman was much more reasonable than the U.A.E. I found a great place for something like $40 a night in Muscat right on the wharf next to the fish market. The huge yellow fin tuna were impressive and it was a great area.

India, unsurprisingly, was another really inexpensive place to find accommodation. Checking into my room in Mumbai was when I felt the tourniquet on the cash flow hemorrhage tighten. Like Morocco, India seemed totally void of hostels and dorm rooms. The rooms were about as cheap as the ones in Morocco, but a bit better on average. The most interesting thing here was that the bathrooms had no shower stall so that essentially the entire bathroom was the shower with the toilet and sink just kind of thrown in. Singles were uncommon and TVs seemed to be included no matter the region.

China has been great so far. There are loads of cheap hostels and single rooms are usually only around $10-12 when get you need a night to yourself. There are many backpackers here and the hostels always seem ready at the helm to take care of them. Incredibly, most places have their own tour operators, bars, and restaurants.

Final Leg

2008-04-08T00:36:00.000-07:00

I've been in Beijing for 4 or 5 days now and have been really surprised how great it is here. I really needed some recovery time after being in India for almost a month and Beijing turned out to be a great place to find that. The people here seem to be so happy. They're incredibly friendly and very patient with the language barrier. Religion is not in your face constantly and it's not taboo to drink beer in public. Of course the food has been good also. Great duck. Yesterday I hiked along a 6 mile strch of an upper section of the Great Wall. Definitely one of the most amazing things I've ever done. Tonight I'm taking a train to Pingyao for a couple of days and then will continue on to Xian where the Terracotta Warriors stand. The train should be an experience in itself.

Homesick

2008-04-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

I’ve been homesick for a number of days now and I can’t seem to shake it. India is an incredibly diverse country and different from the U.S. in almost every way imaginable and therefore has much to offer the visitor who is eager to stick around for a while and really soak it in. I am tired because what it has to offer is unrelenting on the senses almost every single moment. Unlike Morocco, India is not reserved about “bearing it’s soul”. I’m really glad that I came here for the experience, but it has really worn me down as a single traveler. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't come back on a shoestring budget. Moreover, I’ve been out of the U.S., off and on, for over 3 years now and I think after 3 and half weeks in India my cultural sensitivity is starting to wane. The most patience-draining things here include car horns and noise in general, ubiquitous filth and the ever confusing Indian head wobble- which can mean almost anything from yes to maybe to I don’t know. When I get a head wobble response to a very straight forward question I usually say, “so… yes?” Of course as an answer I will surely get another fun and entertaining head wobble equal to the first one.

I’m in the state of Punjab now witnessing the ways of the subculture of the Sikhs and going to see their holiest shrine, the Golden Temple. Next, I’m headed up to the home of the Dali Lama in Dharamsala. Should be a nice change of pace up in the foothills of the Himalayas. There’s no way I’ll make it to Tibet now with all the protests and police blockades, but hopefully the exile refuge of the Dali Lama will prove an interesting alternative. And it should definitely be a peaceful respite to the loud and relentless cities that I’ve known so far.

Tomorrow I’m taking a 3 hour train and then a 3 hour bus to Dharamsala. Turns out I’ll be able to stay there for 2 days. Then I’m taking a 16 hour train down to Corbett Tiger Reserve to get a glimpse of some nature/wildlife in India- which should be awesome.

The Dabawallahs

2008-03-21T03:32:00.000-07:00

Everyday, these guys go to 200,000 suburban households and pick up hot meals prepared by mothers and wives and deliver them to office workers throughout Mumbai. With the grueling traffic and overflowing trains that most commuters face everyday, getting lunch delivered to your workspace from home has got to be a nice thing. The lunches are carried in cylindrical aluminum tins that stack on top of one another. And because many of the dabawallahs are illiterate, they use a sophisticated system of numbers and colors to indicate where the meal must be delivered. The really impressive aspect of their work is the level of efficiency that they attain. According to Forbes, only one tin in 6 million does not arrive safely to the correct son or husband.

Mumbai (Bombay)

2008-03-21T03:24:00.000-07:00

In many ways Mumbai is a pretty typical metropolis- loud and filthy. With 17 million people is not small and being situated on an island (60% of which is reclaimed), it is very densely populated- something like 30,000 people per sq. km. Hundreds of refugees from the rural areas of the state come to Mumbai daily looking for a better life and it seems few find it. The level of poverty is mind-boggling. One third of the entire population lives on the streets and it is an incredible sight to behold. I, for one, have never seen so much poverty in one place. I saw some really sad things. It was jarring at first, but there is so much going on in the city as far as smells and noises and crazy traffic, that it is easy to divert your attention elsewhere and just keep walking. My second day I witnessed some unfortunate old guy get mowed over by a taxi in a busy street. People rushed in to help him, so I just turned around and tried not to let it affect me too much.

There isn’t much reason for a traveler to come here, but because this is where I entered the country, I hung out for a few days to get my bearings and arrange my train tickets before hitting the road again. There were a few fun things to see downtown, mostly stuff left over from the British Raj. The gothic architecture of the High Court and the University of Mumbai really stand out among the contemporary offices and apartments. And placed right in front of these two buildings is the Oval Maidan which is just a huge field where hundreds of Indians get together to play cricket everyday. It makes for a nice place to sit and hang out for a while.

Essentially what I took away from Mumbai was merely a set of general realizations about India- lots of people, lots of filth, and the fact that this was going to be a unique and really interesting experience.

From Mumbai I took the train east to the caves of Allora and then up to an isolated little town called Orchha. Since then I’ve been through Khajuraho and Varanasi. Before I leave on the 1^st of April, I’d like to get up to the Himalayan foothills and hopefully to a wildlife reserve to see a little Indian nature.

I was able to upload a few photos from India. Please feel free to check them out at: www.kodakgallery.com/douglegrand

Dubai

2008-03-08T22:12:00.000-08:00

I feel as though I’ve been fairly tight lipped blog-wise during my trip up until now and while it’s not been for a lack of internet access or even inspiration, there are always a number of factors that can take priority, at the end of a day, over sitting down and logging an entry here and there. That said, as I am about to begin the second and most probably the more culturally interesting half of my journey through India (26 days) and China (31 days), I believe the real adventure has only just begun…
Upon arrival in Dubai, I was not at all sure what I should expect to find. With all the buzz about the insane levels of growth and development (the tax-free port being the fulcrum for the enormous expansion) I was really looking forward to seeing it for myself. An illustration of Dubai’s more ostentatious building plans can be seen in an email forward that has been circling around lately (www.sensiblyeclectic.com/news/index.php?/archives/6007-And-now-we-know-where-the-3gallon-goes....html). And amid the crazy accounts the BBC has broadcasted over the last year detailing the hard line, zero-tolerance policy of U.A.E. customs officials, I was a bit on edge about the over–the-counter meds I was carrying. Probably the most outlandish example being the case of a British national having a poppy seed muffin at London Heathrow just before his flight to Dubai and being detained for the possession of 3 poppy seeds that were found on his jacket. The man was convicted and sentenced to 4 years in prison. Moral of the story, be very aware of the laws and regulations of a country to which you’re traveling and how strictly they’re enforcing those laws.
After passing through airport security “undetected”, I went to my 3 star hotel as there are no budget accommodation options in Dubai other than the youth hostel and it was fully booked. It was a nice excuse to stay in a room with a TV and AC and not have to pop in the ‘ole earplugs when someone stumbles into the dorm room from the bar at 3 am. After walking around and getting my bearings I realized that I felt very relaxed, but very lucid at the same time. It was a good feeling.
Businesses in Dubai really cater to their clientele and by treating every visitor like a VIP, it seems people are much more likely to spend like a VIP. The shopping scene in Dubai, with its many modern malls and more traditional souks, is immense. Surprisingly, it is not oil that is fueling the economy so voraciously. Knowing that their reserves will not last forever, the oil in the country only accounts for 6% of GDP and by 2010, with the billions in foreign investment and massive economic boom, is proposed to be only 1%.
While I was there all I really did was walk around for a couple of days and soak in the atmosphere of the city. The massive creek makes for great place to kick back and enjoy the views. Walking down the beach to the west you’ll find the 7-star Burj al-Arab hotel. It is designed to resemble the sail of a traditional boat and is built on its own manmade island that juts into the surf. The Burj Dubai building is the really tall and slender skyscraper in the photos. It may already be the tallest building in the world, but as they are still constructing upward, no one really knows yet. They don’t want to challenge competitors with measurement numbers.
Without a fat bank account and a car, it’s difficult to experience everything in Dubai. With all the shopping, horse and camel races and the indoor ski mountain, you kind of feel like you’ve left without doing much when you’re on a tight budget. But being able to see the city first hand and get to know the culture of the UAE a little bit was definitely an awesome experience.

Coming Full Circle

2008-02-21T05:58:00.000-08:00

After busing through the south of Morocco and spending a few days in Marrakech, which proved very taxing on the senses, I stopped to relax and do nothing for a day in the southern coastal town of Ouarzazate. This was a good place to walk around in the sea breeze and check out the old ramparts that surround the port. Scattered around the fortifications remained many of the old canons that dated back to the 18th century and were made in Madrid and Barcelona, although I'm not positive the Spanish occupied the area during that time. Best of all was the fresh-caught seafood at the docks. Being one of Morocco's biggest fishing ports, Ouarzazate has been able to attract a respectable amount of tourism with its' rows of fish-grilling shacks located right next to the dock. This stuff couldn't get any fresher as the men bring the early morning's catch straight from the nets to the big ice-filled trays that stand next to the grills and tables. If it hadn't been cleaned yet, it was still moving. You pick out your prey, negotiate a price and chow.
After recouping in Ouarzazate I decided that I needed a change of pace and culture. And while Morocco turned out to be a very interesting experience that I really did enjoy, I realized at that point I had an opportunity to spend more time in Spain than I expected. It seemed like the right move. I took a bus all the way up the Atlantic coast, through Casablanca, to Tangier. After making ferry arrangements I went to the port and crossed the Straight of Gibraltar the next morning.

Fes

2008-01-26T08:37:00.000-08:00

Fes seemed to me to be the quintessential Moroccan city. While Marrakech attracts more tourism, Fes is the oldest imperial city and has always been the religious and cultural epicenter. Typical of the imperial cities, there three general areas of the city- the new town (French built), the Jewish quarter (Mullah) and the old town, or fortified medina. The medina is what makes Fes the authentic experience that it is. It's the largest living Islamic medieval city in the world. And while there is a certain amount of tourism, for the most part people live and work within the ancient city walls in much the same way as they have for centuries. For an outsider the medina is a huge labyrinth and at every turn the path ahead looks exactly the same. So you have to go into it planning on being lost and bewildered before you find your way out. The first day that I went, I focused on trying not to veer off the main alley, just to get a feeling for the whole scene. It's an onslaught on the senses. Sounds and smells and sights coming from all directions. Most people are working their daily lives; guiding donkey carts or doing their craft in their workshops. But everyone else is aggressively trying to get your attention. In the bazaars and souks, the shopkeepers want to sell you their wares (they always say, "Just to look, no to buy!") and the restaurants and cafes want you to sit and eat or at least take a cup of mint tea (commonly known as Moroccan whiskey).
Other than just walking around and checking things out, there are a number of sites to see within the medina walls. The Koranic universities, or medersas, are really interesting. Most were built during medieval times and the more ornate ones have very elaborate tile work and woodcarving. There are numerous mosques as well, although in Morocco non-believers are not welcome. While the religious sites are impressive, I enjoyed seeing the tanneries. Moroccans have been tanning leather in the same way for centuries and are known for a soft goat leather made for binding books.
The worst part of the medina experience, and indeed much of Morocco, are the faux or unofficial guides. Law enforcement has cracked down on this practice recently, but it is still very present. These hustlers are shameless in their pursuit of your obligatory "tip". They always pose as "students" or "friends" who are eager to show you whatever you want to see. And if you're not sure, they will happily provide numerous suggestions until something sounds interesting. The annoying part of these encounters is that they don't take no for an answer. You can politely decline their assistance and many times they will still follow you around trying to talk you into letting them guide you somewhere. At times, for the really persistent ones, it was easier to just tip them a few dirham to move on to someone else. I do feel for these guys, though, as they are just trying to get by. And while a third of Morocco's population is under fifteen and unemployment is soaring, getting by is becoming increasingly more difficult.
Hanging out in Fes is an experience to say the least. Its intensity makes it very difficult to sit idly by and observe Moroccan life. I doubt many tourists that are just passing through get a good grasp on the intricacies of the people. The culture does not seem to reveal it's soul easily, and with the combination of sensory overload and culture shock, it can be hard to see the Moroccan forest through it's trees.

Getting Started

2008-01-18T09:55:00.001-08:00

I arrived in Casablanca just after midnight on the 5th of January and just after the airport train, that makes the 35 km trip into the city, had stopped running for the evening. Taking a cab to town, I got a room and began to sleep of the jetlag and reset my body clock. Casablanca holds very little for the visitor who has come looking to experience the traditional or cultural aspects of Morocco and has very few attractions. It is Morocco’s commercial center and seems very much like a large, modern European city.
I got out of town as soon as I felt rested and boarded a train to Meknes, one of the four imperial cities. In stark contrast to “Casa”, Meknes is a small and more relaxed city that continues to maintain a great deal of its colonial atmosphere. Most of the other travelers I’ve spoken with had not planned to include Meknes in their itineraries, preferring instead to go on to Fes. I had read, however, that Meknes could provide a more easy going introduction to the medina, and traditional Moroccan life in general, compared to the very lively and intense experience that can be found in Fes.
Volubilis is the primary reason I decided to stop and spend the night in Meknes. One of the Roman Empire’s farthest and most remote outposts, it is Morocco’s best preserved archaeological site. The Romans occupied this area just north of Meknes from about 40 to 280AD and in doing so, allowed Claudius to say he had penetrated the Atlas Mountains. The site’s points of interest include a capital, triumphant arch, baths and a basilica. It was also a key location for "The Last Temptation of Christ". What I appreciated most were the mosaics.
To Moroccans Meknes is known for one figure more than any other. The Sultan Moulay Ismail ruled from 1672 to 1727 and Meknes was the location of his imperial complex. A direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed, a pedigree that the current monarchy shares, he ruled in this period that was to be Morocco’s last golden age. Building Morocco’s strongest ever army, Moulay Ismail began a military campaign that would eventually bring all of present-day Morocco under his control by pushing back the Berber tribes to the south and relieving the British and Spanish of their territories in the north. It is the building achievements of Moulay Ismail that are of interest in this small imperial city. His architectural achievements include the cities’ palaces, gardens, and stables located below the winding medina. And his palace quarters are introduced by the country’s grandest gateway, Bab el- Mansour, which is framed by huge marble columns plundered from Volubilis.
From Meknes I took a bus about an hour east to Fes…

I should have my pictures online in 24 hours at www.kodakgallery.com/douglegrand

Costa Rica

2007-10-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

Costa Rica seems to be the country that everyone thinks of when Central America comes up in a conversation. It has been more stable than its neighbors with a long history of free elections and also has the highest rate of literacy and life expectancy in Central America. But more than that, its popularity is probably due to its many national parks and wildlife refuges and the eco-tourism and adventure-tourism industries that these places make possible.

When we crossed the border from Panama, we got a bus to San Jose. This was the first time that we found ourselves with no other option other than using an 80´s era Canada Blue Bird bus. If you already know what I´m talking about, you know how awesome these are. They´re more commonly known as ¨chicken buses¨, although they usually don´t have too many chickens on them. Anyway, the ride from the far eastern border of Panama to San Jose was not too bad. We got to the capital and headed northwest directly to a little town about 30 minutes further down the road. Apparently, although it is supposed to have some nice points of interest, most travelers just pass on through and never spend much time there. We stopped in a town called Alejuela to hang out for a day and visit a coffee plantation that Jane had looked into. It was fun with explanations of the history of coffee, as well as, their growth and production processes. And just like any tour of that kind, you get fed way too much of whatever the product is. So we left pretty loaded on caffeine and very enthusiastic about wherever our next stop was- which was probably just the hostel. At some point during this time, I started having some skin problems under my arm and we had no idea what it could be. After becoming somewhat painful I went to a clinic and talked to a doctor. He said that the lymphnodes were swollen and it was nothing serious, and thereby squashed all talk of armpit cancer.

Our next destination was the Arenal volcano, which is supposed to be the most active in Central America. It is in the middle of the jungle and attracts enough tourists to support a nice town. Of course, the jungle itself attracts tourists as well that come to take wildlife viewing walks, raft and horseback ride. Arenal smokes a lot during the day and when the fog lifts you´re able to see lava come down the side at night. We took a tour that included a jungle hike and a chance to watch the lava. On the hike, they split us up into English and Spanish groups and we got a few awkward looks of betrayal as we chose the Spanish group because it was smaller. The walk was really interesting and we were able to see howler monkeys and many species of birds. Watching the lava come down the volcano was great as well, but it only lasted a few minutes before they herded everyone into the bus to head off to an area of hot springs created by the underground activity of the volcano. A local hotel has a huge hot springs park where you go and try out tubs of varying degrees. They ranged from something like 95 to 156 Fahrenheit. Yeah 156. We were happy in the 105 and hit a few other pools. We tried the 113 and it was way too hot. The 156 must just be a sick joke.

From Arenal we went by boat and jeep to the Monteverde Cloudforest Reserve that protects the last sizeable tracts of primary cloudforest in Mesoamerica. Other than taking a guided jungle walk and seeing the legendary quetzal (long tailed bird in the pictures), we did a canopy tour. These are made up of a network of suspension bridges streching from the ground to different hights up in the tree tops. From up there you´re able to get really good views and see many species that only live higher up in the trees. The agency that we went with also had a zip line course that allowed you to harness up and slide down cables from platform to platform in the canopy. It was a real experience and I think the pictures are able to capture it to some degree.

While we enjoyed Costa Rica a lot, it definitely put a dent in ole budget. The exchange rate from dollars is around 500 colones, but you´re still usually paying 4000 colones for lunch. Also, Costa Ricans seemed to have much more drive and vision than we ever saw in Peru and that was really refreshing. I have been able to upload a few photos, so go to ofoto.com and sign in with my gmail address and then the password is legrand01. Hope you enjoy them.

Total bus hours- 32.3

Panama

2007-09-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

Initially I didn't think Panama would be one the highlights of our trip and while that remains to be seen, we definitely underestimated it. In the six days we were there we planned to see Panama City, take a train to the Atlantic coast and tour the main locks of the Panama Canal and spend three days at the Caribbean town of Bocas del Toro to snorkel and scuba dive.

Panama City was a lively, diverse area of about a million people who are supposed to be among the sharpest and most sophisticated in Central America. Located on one of the greatest crossroads in the world, it resembles a booming industrial area of south east Asia more than the typical, traditional urban centers in the rest of Central America. With scores of cranes and half constructed skyscrapers, its skyline looks more like Hong Kong´s probably does. Next to the city we were able to visit the remains of Panama viejo, the original town founded in 1519, and explore the city grid as well as a few ruins. It was very interesting to be able to take pictures of an ancient cathedral with so much modern construction in the background.

From Panama City we took a train ride next to the canal to the Caribbean coastal town of Colon to watch the mega container ships pass through the stages of the Gatun Locks. The best way to view the canal is supposed to be by boat, but tours are expensive and are only offered a few times a month. It would be much easier to let pictures describe what this process looks like, but basically the ships are brought up from sea level in three stages where they are able to continue on to the locks on the pacific side through the man-made Gatun Lake. Many of these ships are able to carry up to 5,000 containers and pay according to type of cargo. The ship we saw go through was hauling cars from Korea and was charged about $190,000. It was a very cool experience. The town of Colon hosts the second biggest duty-free zone in the world after Hong Kong. Otherwise it's a dump. It has a reputation for violent crime and even broad-daylight muggings are not uncommon. After seeing the canal, we took a tour of the city and as our tour guide was telling us how Colon gets a bad rap, he instictively pulled out a nine-millimeter and set it on the dash.

Bocas del Toro is a very relaxing spot on the Caribbean next to the border of Costa Rica. We hung out for three days while snorkeling and drinking the local beer called ¨Soberana¨. I got to scuba for the first time in salt water and really enjoyed it. Amongst the coral, we saw a nurse shark, lobsters and an eel.

So far everything is going really well and when I get a chance I want to post a few pics. We´re looking forward to Costa Rica for an active volcano, a coffee plantation and a jungle canopy walk.

Total bus hours: 11.0

Why Peru might always be poor

2007-07-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, I just tried to leave the internet and once again ran into a huge protest with flying rocks and clouds of tear gas, so I came back inside. Since Peru has the second worst school system in the Americas behind Haiti, the president has issued standardized tests for all teachers. Obviously they don't like it.
Let me explain a little bit about the teachers in Peru because it's very sad. The situation is pretty much the opposite of the states. Teaching is very well respected and brings a nice salary as well. This seems very illogical to me because in most of my experience observing the local teachers here, I have always been very disappointed. Generally, they don't take their professions seriously at all. This is apparent through skipping school days, heavy drinking and constant protests and strikes demanding more money and more holidays.
Now on top of that, these bums have a huge problem taking a test that insures they know the material they're supposed to be teaching. I feel like the state of the educational system here might be the saddest part of the local culture. Sometimes these protests seem reasonable, but this is ridiculous.
Anyway, I getting back to Austin on the morning of the 4th of August and am more than ready.

Low Point of Peace Corps

2007-06-14T15:29:00.001-07:00

The other day Jane and I were coming back from her site, Chavin, which is a small community situated next to some of the best-reserved and most mysterious ruins in Peru. They are 2500-3000 years old and are interesting because there is no evidence of fortifications of any kind. The Stanford scholars who come down every year report that they believe it had no use for any defensive structures because any would be attackers were kept at bay by the enormous respect they must have had for the religious rituals that went on there. According to the Stanford researchers, Chavin priests controlled the people by giving them a strong hallucinogen soup called San Pedro which is a cactus that still grows all over the mountains today. While under the influence of the mind-bending chemicals, the priests guided their subjects through a series of corridors and staircases in complete darkness while the sound of rushing water echoed all around from the underground canals they had constructed within the foundation of the four story temple. With the help of the San Pedro, the villagers were said to be able to see clearly in the light stricken halls and were overwhelmed by euphoria created by the ubiquitous echoes of water. This procession ultimately led to a room where a solitary stone idol stood illuminated by a single beam of moonlight. The statue was carved with various animals, almost like a totem pole in disarray, and was highlighted by a cat-like bust with bulging eyes, exaggerated fangs and copious amounts of mucus draining from nose to mouth. It is thought that because of the spiritual power of this temple, the civilization never had a need for defense or military. This is an interesting place to see if you’re in to archaeology.
Anyway… this is where my lowest point in Peace Corps started. Chavin is in the middle of nowhere and on the other side of highest area of the Peruvian Andes. We left one morning, about two weeks ago, in a Toyota Camary staion wagon on our way to Huaraz, the departmental capital. We were in the back seat with a lady from Chavin and her two young kids. Behind us were two campesinos- peasants that are from remote areas and live very traditionally.
As we started up the hills toward the tunnel that sits on a saddle at about 16,000 ft, the campesina lady behind us started yaking in a plastic bag. This happens all the time with the Peruvians, but normally we take a bus converted from an old Mac truck that has a fake Mercedes emblem on it. On the bus, there is plenty of interior space so that when someone gets sick, you can open your window and it’s not a very big deal. You just have to pick up your backpack off the floor so the half-digested sheep-head stew doesn’t get all over it. In the station wagon, especially as you get closer to the snow and an open window is no longer an option, the odor is a bit more pungent.
So right as the campesina seemed to slow down, the kid to our left starts to barf everywhere. Even though she did manage to get her head out the window almost in time, some of the spill ended up on the armrest and her shoes. Even a small amount of campesino up chuck begins to fester before long in a confined space, so at this point, we were ready to get over the pass as soon as possible. Well, right as the tunnel was in sight the lady starts up again and as I look back, I notice that her plastic bag was starting to look like a large breast implant as she held the top together.
This is when the fateful decision occurred. Instead of letting her not realize that her meal was about to overflow soil everything in the back, including our bags, I handed her another plastic bag and told her to give me her vomit. Intending to make a quick grab and eject it out the window, I torque myself 180 degrees and grasp the bag with one hand. This is when I found out just how full it really was. With what I think is a firm grip, I didn’t feel like we were going to have to stop the cab to do this thing. Right as I’m passing the bag over the seat we are sitting in, it began to feel slightly unsteady. Carefully, getting a better grip on the top of the bag, I felt something moist. In hindsight, I’m guessing it was puke. Just then, that very part of the bag slipped down and like an opening floodgate, the lumpy contents spilled absolutely all over us and in our worst-nightmare-like panic, it went all over everyone else as well. At that point you can imagine the rest. Drenched in other-end sewage, we had no choice but to roll down the windows and shiver for 90 more minutes all the way to Huaraz.

Day after Mother's Day

2007-05-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

The rain, after four months, has stopped. The rainy season usually runs from Dec. to Apr. and when it finally clears up the weather is amazing. I’ve got a buddy staying with me who came up from the coast (Trujillo) that is going on the Huaywash trek, which is supposed to be in the top three extended hiking trips in the world. I haven’t done it yet and regretfully I can’t go this time. As much as I feel like I should take the opportunity to go on such an incredible excursion, at this point I’ve only got three months left. I think I’ll leave Peru with a much better sense of accomplishment if I keep doing everything I can with the association before I leave on August 5th.
Fortunately, I was fated to become that rare volunteer that had the opportunity to change sites during mid service because of a serious work problem in their original site. And the site change was a god-send because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be here if it were not for a change of community/project. It wasn’t that I had work problems in my first site, I just didn’t have any work. What this means, however, is that I have only been working with my current job for less than a year and am still playing catch up.
My current project is small business development with a group of local pottery makers. I have been helping them with basic organizational development, marketing and many random other things. They are a group of 16 and on any given day about half of them show up. The association is a secondary source of income for just about the entire group, so keeping all of them focused and motivated is half the job by itself.
Today, I am in Huaraz, which is the departmental capital and I am looking into a phone connection for the center that we work in. Until now we have depended on the cell phone of the president of the association for orders, questions from clients, ect. Yeah well, usually he’s working potatoes in the field, or getting drunk, or just doing his own thing. So that’s my job today…

hamburger juice stinks

2007-04-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

In Peru many strange/entertaining/annoying things happen on the buses. Stories road blocks and armed robberies, wheels coming off the axles, and even people taking too many sleeping pills and getting their shoes stolen straight off their feet are not surprising anymore. I arrived in Lima this morning to find my backpack soaked with juice from a lady's ground beef that had leaked all over the floor for a three seat radius. This stuff smells really bad. So while I'm waiting for the backpack to get washed I'm carrying everything in big plastic bag. Good times.

For Easter we have four days of vacation I'm going south of Lima to a coastal national park and to an area famous for their vineyards and grape stomping. More on this soon...