Today I write this as a proud Uncle to my newly born niece, Bethany Wood Harrington, born May 28, 2009 – 8lbs 8oz, 21in.
I couldn´t be happier for the Harrington family and their new addition. Bethany is blessed with two incredible parents who have already proven that they have what it takes to raise a great family. I can´t wait to meet the little one when I return, and I look forward to intimidating lots of future boyfriends to come.
As for life in Peru, things continue to go well for me here in Urubamba. My environmental work with the Municipality has continued to maintain a focus on organizing the various media campaigns – radio shows, TV shows, and movie nights. Due to typical Peruvian circumstances, I have yet to film our first short play with the kids. Protests, holidays, and uncommitted teachers bare the responsibility for such shortcomings. It can be frustrating, but I knew before coming here that these would be some of the challenges I would face. I´m learning to accept that accomplishing things here takes a bit more persistence and motivation than what I´m generally used to in the U.S. When something does get completed, however, there is a definite sense of accomplishment.
Additionally for my environmental work here, JG and I prepared and presented a presentation on climate change last week at a meeting of the various ecological clubs that have been organized at the schools. It was a bit challenging since my pronunciation of many of the scientific terms in Spanish is questionable at best, but I am extremely happy with how it went. It is clear to me that this is a topic known little about here in rural Peru. Many of the kids (and teachers that were present) seemed pretty surprised by what we had to say, particularly about the current and near-future consequences for their community here in the sierra region of Peru. For me, that presentation was the single most important thing I have done since being here. I´m hoping to put together a sort of school tour of the various institutions here in Urubamba (and possibly other surrounding communities) to bring this presentation around. I think that with Peru being one of the countries most affected by the effects of climate change, with the consequences getting significantly worse in the coming decades, educating the kids here about it now is extremely important. In their lifetime they will see many, if not most, of the glaciers disappear on their mountains which will create serious problems for agriculture, potable water, and other areas. As the climate continues to warm here, infectious diseases such as Malaria will creep to higher and higher altitudes like Urubamba and other mountainous regions previously not exposed. These are just a few of the many catastrophic changes that are inevitably on their way. But anyways, I don´t mean for this to be a completely pessimistic entry – just pointing out some of the reasons why I feel this work is so important.
My work at the school has been pretty steady. We´re currently on the topic of self esteem, self perception, etc. Week by week I´ve been growing slightly more comfortable with speaking and having a dialogue with the kids. I still have trouble understanding everything they say, but I do feel like I´m improving bit by bit. I´m really grateful for having been placed into Victoriano´s (the teacher I work with) class. We work really well together, filling in the gaps that the other leaves. He´s a great guy and has since introduced me to Urubamba´s best ceviche restaurant as well as chicha (Peruvian home-brewed corn beer). A good man for sure.
As for other random/cool things, I made a ring a couple weeks ago with the help of a local artisan here. He came to the house for one of our ¨Cultural Friday´s¨ and showed us how to do everything. This included the use of a blow torch, sulfuric acid, and raw silver. It was incredibly interesting to see how the whole process works from start to finish, especially since I was under the impression that all of these types of jewelry that you see at local markets here are mass-manufactured somewhere else. I have a whole new respect for the work ethic of these artisans. For a different activity last week we went to the Pre-Columbian Art Museum in Cusco. It was definitely one of the nicer museums I´ve seen here and I was really impressed by how well so many of the pieces have been preserved (some for 2,000+ years). This past Friday we went on a nice long hike, starting at the ruins of Moray. Moray is still a bit of a mystery here. It was a natural indentation in the landscape that was carved into layers for some type of agricultural production. Many think that this was a sort of Incan greenhouse where they experimented with different crops to determine what they could grow best, and at which times of year, etc. But from above it apparently looks like two eyes with a teardrop, so some people hypothesize that it has further meaning than just agricultural production. Who knows. It was cool though. From there we walked to Moras, a small town where we stopped for a picnic and had the opportunity of seeing two bulls sparring in the middle of the courtyard for unknown reasons. We continued on to Salineras which is home to the famous salt pans which I had the opportunity to see several weeks back during my time in Taray. It was a long day of hiking, and a satisfying one.
A couple of weekends ago we were graced with the presence of Maricarmen, the general volunteer coordinator of NeVo. Mari is probably the biggest reason I chose NeVo in the end because of her willingness to help me with the overall process, taking time to speak with me directly over Skype, etc. She cares greatly for the communities of Peru and works hard to make a difference here. It was her Birthday when she arrived so we had a little party for her with wine, cakes, and some homemade tortilla chips/guacamole that I somehow managed to put together. JG and I played lots of music with the sons of Conny and Grit which was a lot of fun. We gave them some quick lessons and before not too long we had the whole house rocking out to The Cranberries ¨Zombie¨. Yes. The next day a group of us decided to hike Tanta Marca, the little mountain behind our house here. So off we went with the volunteers, Mari, and the kids. After about 10 minutes, I found myself trekking up the mountain with Grit´s 3-year old daughter, Nina, on my shoulders. All the way up 2 hours and back down. It was exhausting but a funny experience.
This weekend here is the biggest festival of the year in Urubamba, celebrating Señor de Torrechayoc. I couldn´t tell you the full story of this religious figure because I don´t know it, but the people here certainly seem to hold him in high esteem. Yesterday (Saturday) there was an all-day dancing festival at the local stadium, featuring over 30 different groups and their traditional dances. Lots of wild, colorful costumes and equally wild dances. It was extremely ¨Peruvian.¨ I´m pretty certain you would never see anything like this outside of Latin America. The party didn´t really stop after that as there were constant parades in the streets, followed by multiple live, traditional bands lining one of the streets (actually, the street that I live on) with dancing, drinks, food, you name it. We volunteers were quickly welcomed into countless dancing circles with complete strangers and had a really fun time. Judging by the explosions and music I´ve been hearing all morning from the house, I think it´s safe to assume that this party will continue straight through tonight, and quite possibly into Monday.
Ok, no more writing for this guy today. I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying the nice weather back home. I´ll see you all in exactly 2 months (except for the 3 troopers making it down here in 1 month).
Scott
