Un Mes

WTF California?!?! I suppose I owe you some credit for having the common sense to elect the only real viable ticket for President, but what’s up with passing the marriage ban? Stop acting like a bunch of Texans for Christ’s sake. We’re supposed to set a good example for the red(neck) states, not act like one ourselves. Come on, it’s not the 50’s anymore. (...and please no gibberish about protecting the "institution" of marriage -- like it has any integrity left. And for the record, the states that allow gay marriage have the lowest divorce rates.) …Ughh! …at least the barrage of political hype (a.k.a lies) is over with for a while.

Oh yeah… Peru.

Peru still here and carrying on as it always has – very slowly. The concept of time has somehow completely missed this part of the world. As my Dad says, “everything in Latin America is merely a suggestion.” Be it a stoplight, school attendance, appointment, whatever. IF someone actually shows up, it will surely be at least half an hour late. …but more often then not they just won’t show. The country’s got serious issues if I’m the most punctual person here. I’ve gone from lowering my expectations to just having none at all. … and I always bring a book. However, sometimes I think maybe time is not absent, just very abstract. Maybe the people here believe that time is more than the ridgid linear theory that we subscribe to? Maybe to them it’s a multidimensional entity beyond human control, foretold to them centuries ago by aliens at Nasca? (Or maybe I’m giving too much credit to a people who think cleaning their floors with gasoline is a good idea?)

So the big news in Yantaló is the construction of a new bridge – el Puente de Los Angeles. They’ve been fighting it out with the neighboring city of Moyobamba for a while now, which prefers the bridge within the city limits. However, Yantalo and the surrounding communities (casitas) want the bridge closer to them because it would bring an abundance of new business and commercial development through their region. It would be a tremendous benefit to the area and its struggling economy. Anyway, last week we marched from Yantaló to the Government Offices in Moyo. (Moyobamba, by the way, is the capital of the Department of San Martin -- which would equal a state in the US). So, we walked about 8 kms, until met by a line of police at the gates of our destination. Then a large group of folks from Moyobamba showed up as well. It was kind of exciting. Both groups were yelling at each other, over the police blockade. For a moment I thought it might end up like the Latin version of The Warriors, but ended up more like West Side Story – anticlimactic. I just stood in the middle, and took as many pictures as I could. It was obvious the police didn’t know what to make of the crazy gringo who ignored their orders to get back. But they had bigger problems to deal with and left me alone. After all was said and done however, a few important peeps from the government came out and spoke with the leaders of each party. Apparently we won, so now we just wait for the proper bureaucratic approval before construction begins. Lord knows how long that will be. (See paragraph above.)

Work here is sporadic at best for now. Most of the time my students don’t show up for their English lessons. But the ones that do are improving and very appreciative. I think word is spreading also, as I’m getting more people asking if they can attend. Since most people are working during the day, I’ve had the best luck with my night classes, which I prefer anyway. I’m still way more productive after the sun goes down. Even the roosters, screaming niños, and blaring cumbia at 6AM have not broken my ability to sleep in. Of course they think I’m crazy for going to sleep at midnight or one, but they don’t know how peaceful it is when it all winds down for the night. It’s just me and the sounds of the jungle. The solitude is truly beautiful.

I was delighted to get some new assignments this past week from Luis, our Foundation’s President. Fortunately they're all construction related, as I’m presently working at my maximum limit of child exposure. Like the dogs and chickens, kids run wild in the streets here. (Kinda like shopping at Walmart or Target in the ghetto. …without the chickens.) Luckily I’m only teaching English to adults, but I’m at the school everyday for a while too -- either observing a class or answering questions before volleyball practice. But I’m excited about undertaking the remodeling of the bathrooms and building a kitchen at each of the two schools. In addition, we are putting a live-fence around the perimeter of the new clinic site. I certainly enjoy the freedom and time I have now, but look forward to more tangible tasks to work on.

I’ve also recently discovered the hip discotheque in Moyobamba -- Papillon. Contrary to relative spots in the US, this place is both popular and actually pretty cool. Of course anyone who knows me knows that I will surely die without music. And that I’m also very much an elitist when it comes to judging the crap that passes for music in the US. However I really like the music here so far. I’ve always loved the Latin beats and percussion. Granted they have their favorites, which are overplayed, but are for the most part tolerable. Papillon plays a mixture of cumbia, meringue, reggaeton, and house music, with an occasional 80’s classic. The DJ’s mix ‘em pretty well too. What’s best is that the people actually go there to dance and have fun, not to just to be seen standing there in their fancy clothes. And people are nice. What a shocker. It’s like stepping through some time-portal that sends me back to the good ol’ San Francisco raver days. Better yet, it’s $1 to get in and $2 for a liter of beer. For what it costs to park downtown in SD, I can drink and dance ‘til 3 plus get a decent hotel room. It doesn’t suck either that all the pretty girls want to dance with the gringo.

After a month, all is still very enjoyable. My ticket says I come back on April 16th, but I can’t say I’m committed to that time-line by any means. I really want to work on the clinic, but I can’t fight mother nature (or the Peruvian “mañana” syndrome). We’ll start when we start and I’ll figure it all out later I suppose. Regardless, it’s nice to know that, whenever it is, I’ll at least be returning to a country that is on a much better path then when I left.

Oh… one more thing: Please occasionally check out www.yantalo.org. I’ll be doing a short weekly blog for the foundation there too. It will help to get us a better Internet presence and thus (hopefully) more volunteers.

Muchas gracias.

Ciao!