Well then. It certainly has been a while. The past two months have seen quite a lot of relaxation and vacation so I'll have to catch you up on that. And proving that it isn't all play here in Urubamba, we've also launched a few new projects. So we'll be talking about that too.
On Work:
New projects! We spent a good chunk of our first half here working on an extensive needs diagnostic that resulted in a great big pile of data (and several dog scares-- the dogs in some of those houses are nothing more than hair and fury). That data was in turn refined into a list of feasible projects, which the communities then voted on. And finally, after endless hours of polling, questioning, listening, and smearing antibiotic cream on dog bites, we had our new projects:
PARK!! We'll be building a little playground in the village of Chicon.
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| While technically not a picture of the Chicon playground, this is an adorable picture of me with Pedro, a kid from Chicon who will be using the playground. |
YOUTH GROUP!! We'll be starting a youth group in each community, Chicon and Media Luna. We're thinking art projects, games, and possibly small bombs made of baking soda and vinegar-- assuming nobody responsible reads this post and intervenes.
ANIMAL CAGES!! No, not for the dogs. We're actually making cages for the cuys. The little guys usually just run around the floors of houses, and we want them to be safe and sound in comfy pens. Until they're eaten. Seriously though, the pens will make the houses more sanitary, the cuys more healthy, and the families more money. A sick cuy doesn't sell, and a cuy that runs around on the floor all day is at risk.
In my internal project (the project that is coordinated directly through ProPeru) I've moved out of filter production and into some evaluation work. I spend my filter days going to houses to check up on the filters therein. It has been an interesting experience. I've had a few low moments, mainly when we come across houses that just don't care about the filters and refuse to use them. There was a man who said he planned to start using his filter when he found a good table for it-- a bit of a flimsy excuse considering that he'd had it for a year. There was the woman who just didn't really think anyone in her family needed filtered water. There was the man who wouldn't let his wife even touch the filter out of some type of machismo pride. Those moments have been a bit hard to reconcile. After enough of them, it can be tempting to ask why we even go to the trouble. Fortunately, all doubt is washed away the second we come to a house that has a sparkling clean filter in a place of honor at the diner table, or a house where kids come up and serve themselves water as we talk to the owner. We've had tiny ladies rant giddily about how they no longer have to spend all their time boiling water, or how they no longer have to worry about what their kids are drinking. We've had people show off the salads that they've washed with disease-free water, or their clever systems for storing the filtered water so that they have something to drink out in the fields. One lady had been using her filter to remove the dirt from water-- but them would go on to boil it. When we explained that the filter removes parasites and bacteria as well as dirt, she looked as though Bob Barker himself had popped out to award her a BRAND NEW CAR. So there have been some high points too.
On Play:
Well, we visited Lake Titikaka. That was fun. More specifically, we visited the city of Puno on the shores of Lake Titikaka. In Puno we watched some traditional dances for two very fun, very cultural hours. And two more slightly-less-fun-but-equally-cultural hours. I've come to the conclusion that traditional dances viewed from hard concrete seating are like churros, chicha, or the music of Ke$ha-- best enjoyed in moderation. But all cynicism (and soreness) aside, the dances were truly spectacular both in scale and intricacy. I do wish I had the opportunity to enjoy more of them, perhaps in smaller chunks.
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| My favorite dance: It had some impressive flag work, and benefited from an early slot in the program |
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| Just some mature Princeton types enjoying a dance. With hats |
From Puno, we headed out onto the Lake (that would be Lake Titikaka for those of you needing another chuckle). We visited the floating islands of Uros, where villagers work tirelessly to layer reads into an incredibly elaborate tourist trap. Seriously. You are dropped off on a floating island in the middle of the Lake and are subject to intense guilt rays until you purchase artisan goods. Then, and only then, the boat comes to pick you up. It was loads of fun though, and the islanders were both fascinating and warm.
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| Those would be the floating islands |
From there, we boated deeper in the Lake (that would be TITIKAKA for those of you who forgot) to the Island of Amantine. We spend the night there with a sweet widow. If anyone wants to spend the night on the lovely island of Amantine, let me put in a plug for Fernanda. She's sweet, her house is flowerful and bright, and she makes a mean quinoa soup. Also the Island is staggeringly beautiful.
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| This is the Island |
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| And this is Fernanda (She's the one on the right) |
Even growing up in Alaska, I'd be hard pressed to name many views that were better than these.
I'll leave you with a few more shots from our Puno trip:
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| On the Lake |
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| From a set of ruins on the top of the Island |
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| The checkered fields of the island |
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| This is a herd of Llamas in a set of funeral ruins near Puno |
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| And this is me trying to look contemplative. I believe that I was actually pondering lunch. |
