Monos y Mercados

Oh...the days are very long and I am forgetting which day that I left off on. So, I have decided that since I have gotten the daily routine here pretty much established that I will just tell about daily adventures now and surely they will all meld together....

First, let´s start by saying that I am feeling much more comfortable here, by means of safety. I am finally able to understand most of what is being talked about around/to me and continue to struggle with getting my thoughts/responses across to others. "Poco a poco" is what they all keep patiently telling me. Everyone certainly seems pleased with my progress which is nice and I think that they respect the fact that I am trying very hard to learn the language. Such patience with me....

I try to sit with the women and older girls here at the refugio during their seemingly endless sessions of crocheting purses of all sizes, hair wraps, bracelets, sandals, etc. and just listen to them speak trying to add in when I can, it has been very helpful. While sitting with them one day, Lucy the house mother here, gave me a lesson in crocheting and, in one day, I managed to turn out my first little purse, though Lucy finished it off with a lovely button and strap. She presented it to me that evening telling me that my work was good and that in the morning we would get more thread for a larger one, my first was the size of a small change purse!

The little girls make bracelets out of the smaller scraps and simpler items like the headbands, I was adorned with a few lovely bracelets as well. It yanks my heart out that these people have so little yet give in every way that they can. The products that they create, these purses, hand painted cards, calendars, etc., are then shipped to England and then sold at much higher prices, the proceeds of which are then funneled back into Project Peru. I will try to bring back a bunch of them so that I can attempt to distribute them in the States, though I fear that it may prove difficult to bring them into the States in large quantities.

I find myself near tears everyday as a new story unfolds about a child. It is very difficult to hear and more difficult to talk about. I will be taking a trip to see where many of these children have been living....in shelters made of cardboard, plywood, etc....tiny boxes crowding the hillsides. I hear stories of how children didn´t eat if their families weren´t successful at collecting enough glass or metal bottles to exchange for money, the corruption of the local schools, the abuse of all the children, the abuse to the girls...there lovely little bodies are often laden with awful scars. Food was so scarce to most of them that no one leaves a crumb on their plate...quite literally. Here they have three meals a day, several outfits of clothing, a good pair of shoes for school and one for play, a small library of books, and a roof over there heads...and perhaps most importantly several people around them that love them immensely.

Yesterday morning I was sitting with two of the little monkies here, we were all swinging and they wanted me to watch how high they were swinging. I laughed at them and called them Superman at which point the younger of the two Antony (5) said to me that Superman better, himself, watch out for HIM!

Yesterday I was sitting and speaking to another volunteer, Daniel, and one of the little ones that I have been eyeballing as a potential smuggle back into the States came up behind me and threw his arms around my neck and just held me. Though he didn´t understand me, I spoke to him in English, telling him that I wanted to take him home and snuggle up to him at night like a teddy bear...then I said to Daniel that I couldn´t tell him that in Spanish because I would most likely scare him. Daniel responded by saying that wouldn´t be true but rather that the little one would probably be waiting in my bed for me once I retired.

I try so hard not to cry each day here. Yes, there are many sad things around me, but mostly because of the extreme beauty surrounding me, the kids, the people in general, the culture, the pride, the kindness...I could go on forever.

I went to the market with Lucy and one of the older senoritas yesterday morning after breakfast. I love the markets here, though slightly disturbing to a vegan once in a while. My favorite....the spice markets, where you just pretend to be standing there for something or another and soak in the amazing smells of herbs and various exotic spices....lovely. Then there are sections of the markets for vegetables, meat, eggs, sweets, toys, and other products...Lucy seems to have her preferred vendors. Say the person that sells eggs for example. Lucy hands them a large basket, tells them that she wants to buy three dozen eggs, pays for them, and says she will pick them up on the way out of the market. She does the same at the vegetable vendor, the meat vendor, etc...Once she has purchased all of the items, we collects them all and we head out. I try to purchase many of the vegetables and fruits for the refuge to alleviate some of the expense of feeding me and I also bring back sweets and lollies for the children.

I insisted on carrying most of the items we purchased, as there were so many and Lucy hasn´t been feeling well. Kilos and Kilos of potatoes, huge bags of vegetables and fruits, baskets of eggs, crates of meat, pasta, etc. Overall a lovely experience.

At the market, Lucy also brought me to purchase some string for my first "real" purse, helped me to pick out lovely colors and appropriate clasps etc. I will begin work on it on Monday as she has today off.
Yesterday evening, Daniel, Ibar and I went into Lima as Daniel was to collect a couple of gentleman from the airport to bring them back to the refuge this evening. From what I understand, they are somehow associated with further development of the site and the architecture of additional buildings. I will be meeting with them on Monday to discuss plans for the site and to hopefully get a copy of their draft versions of proposed buildings so that I can begin to prepare a site design for the refuge.

There is an overwhelmingly positive response to me being a Landscape Architect and creating a plan for the site. Everyone keeps telling me the things that they would like to have here and what their needs are, it makes me unbelievably happy that I can be helpful to them in any way.

Back in Lima, we purchased bus tickets for a 20 hour ride to Cusco via Nasca for next Friday. At which point we will spend a few days acclimating to the high elevations and touring around the area then begin our trek of the Inca Trail and on to Machu Picchu. I am thrilled to undertake this next adventure, glad to have dos amigos to accompany me, and heart broken already to be leaving the children for several days. I hope with all my heart that this is a successful fundraiser as these children are in such need and really the best thing that I could provide them with from the States comes in a monetary form.

In Lima, we went to a local bar/restaurant and ate cheap plates of fried yucca and drank what is referred to as Inca Cola here, an ultra sweet and carbonated beverage that tastes like bubblegum and is the color of radiator fluid, overall, bueno.

On our return to the refugio by bus last night, an older Peruvian gentleman struck up a conversation with me. We chatted for nearly the entire hour long bus ride back, a much appreciated exercise for me! I love how people just chat each other up here, you never see that at home.

Okay, over and out here for now, back to the little monkies. Love to all of you, and special hotdog schnuggles and tickle fests for my favorite people in the whole wide world, Austin and Jordan...I love you both and will see you soon.