Quick 3 Observations from Atlanta Airport..

And as leaving the USA once again I can’t help but notice a couple things that might be pretty unique and have yet to see in Peru..

1. College guys sound like complete stoners

2. Every man, woman and child has there head down in a smartphone or tablet

3. Lot of people w sweatpants walking around

Seaside Parks of Miraflores..

The cliff-rich coastline at Lima/Miraflores is often cloudy and gloomy, but the expensive area around town has managed to fancy the coastline parks up a bit with free Wifi (very slow), skate and BMX parks, security patrol on segways, and plenty of odd rustic exercise equipment (like this one that sways your feet side to side)..

Palm trees are a nice effect as well..

Happy 94th Grandma..

Hope I’m as energetic and witty as my grandmother when I get to her age. Good time with balloons, music, dinner, jokes, and singing Happy Birthday a couple times..

– E.g.

Ubicación:Via De Luna Dr,Gulf Breeze,Estados Unidos

10 Ways Peace Corps is a lot like running a small business..

1. No one tells u when to wake up.

2. Daily you need to convince colleagues to want to work with you, even those you are paying.

3. Don’t make any money at first, and even after over a year in; you still aren’t making money.

4. You are ‘working’ basically 24/7 and every day is a bit different from the next.

5. You still need to file taxes, but there are benefits avaiable to make them low.

6. Everyday you learn vauable lessons to make the time go smoother.

7. Though many have tried. there’s no real manual for how to succeed; and when you have, it’s hard to realize you have because they’re always much more to do.

8. You can go 2 or 3 days without a shower and it won’t bother anyone.

9. Creativity, Humility and Persistence

10. Many days while in the depths of it, you severely question if the overall pursuit was really worth it, but in the end you realize it is one of the most valuable y rewarding experiences you’ve had.

Items I really missed from the USA and will miss from Peru..

Obviously friends and family are number one, but these are the physical items that separate our two great nations and things that you can and do, buy in a store or receive that I quite miss about the USA; for instance:

1. Indoor Carpeting – Oh how it’s nice to scroll around on a carpet with socks on..  funny this element of indoor construction hasn’t made it to rural Peru where most houses have concrete floors or just get by on earth or packed dirt floors under one’s feet.

Carpet

2. Amber Ales and a Cigar – Such a tragedy that the people of Peru are kept blind from these varieties of taste and flavor.  I realize that some churches worldwide forbid their practitioners from consumption of these treats and I’m not going to criticize any lifestyle decisions others think is right.

One of best ambers out there, Peru is really missing out.

3. Concrete Sidewalks – So easy, soo easy to just scroll around town or the neighborhoods when everything is paved.  Why is it that these sidewalks aren’t even more used in the USA.

Concrete jungle

And vice-versa, with a little perspective there will be items I’ll grow to miss that are common in Peru:

1. Machetes and Barettas – Tools of the trade for working around the house or walking out to the farmlands and pasture lands.  Machete is just that, a handy blade for cutting, chopping and breaking/bending stuff; baretta is a heavy steel rod that is about 5 feet long and with an angle or small wedge at the bottom; folks can use this to dig any type of hole in any type of soil or move any type of rock.

Large knife is life, and death in some instances.

2. Utility Bills – Super simple and lower then most could ever image.  We’re talking $1 to $2 for water service and garbage collection, and $3 to $10 for ones electric bill, $20 for internet and $0 to $30 for cell phone service, depending on use..  that’s it, that’s all the monthly costs to comfortably live.

Bills, bills and taxes..

3. Quinoa and Cachanga – The night just feels right when you can sip on a hot quinoa drink and enjoy the fried bread that is cachanga.

Just cannot eat one, though most people do eat just one at a time.

Andrea feeding then clubbing to death trout..

Actually the process went the other way around: we grabbed 2 1/2 kilos for ceviche then helped toss food in the ponds for feeding of the rest.

The following is actually safe for work..

Warm Welcome When Coming Stateside..

And really impressed at how thick Aimees cookies can bake up too, being at altitude for awhile we’ve gotten used to thin cookies. Tired from an overnight flight to come visit quickly, but well worth back seeing family. No real reverse culture shock at this point, just nice to not have a phone or car or stateside job to be busy with.

– E.g.

Ubicación:Bluffton Ln,Katy,Estados Unidos

I promise to be forever faithful to Andrea..

Don’t get the wrong idea from this photo from the Yachaywasi Center in Huancano, Ica; me and the baby alpaca are just good friends.

– E.g.

Ubicación:Libertadores,,Perú

Handwashing: Not your hands but rather your clothes..

I realize this might be one of the most boring posts ever, but I was thinking today: How many people spend time over a bucket scrubbing and scrubbing and rinsing and rinsing to get their cloths clean?  I really had very little experience living without the convenience of a washing machine, but am pretty accustomed now and kinda forget how easy the machine makes the process.  Nonetheless, should you find yourself without electricity for several days or want to ditch all appliances from your household; it might be best to know how to wash clothes correctly with only a bucket, a source of running water and a line to dry on.  Here are the steps that we’ve discovered work best (after much experimentation and advice from Peruvian professionals):

Step 1: Put a cup full of detergent and a cap full of color-safe bleach (if you can find it) in a wide basin. Fill basin with water and mix by hand to make sure detergent is dissolved.

Step 2: Add dirty/smelly clothes and mix around in bath for 30sec; then let this stew sit for about 10 to 20min to let soup do its thing.

Step 3: Now take piece by piece of clothing and rub it together to remove stains as best as you can. What works best is a palm to palm rubbing motion with the item. Sort of like you are crushing something by rubbing your fists together. (Esp. watch out for the collars, the armpit and crotch areas) If you can find a brush, this also works decently well.

Step 4: Use another bucket and start the rinse cycles.. Squeeze out the clothes that you’ve been rubbing and through them into another vat of clean water. When filled with water, knead the clothes a bit to work out soap.. then repeat this step 2 or 3 times until the rinse water stays clean.

Step 5: Squeeze out the water from each article.. I hope I don’t need to put up a YouTube video on all of this..

Step 6: Then hang things up to dry like the old days.. Or like people still probably do in areas with plenty of sun and clean air.. (have seen also it’s a good idea to whip down the dust from the drying line before hanging clothes). But anyhow, clothing pins are optional.. I’m sometimes too lazy to use them and have been okay.

This brought to you as part of the “Peruvian Instructional Series” which includes the other how to guides such as: milking cows, slingshots, castration, artificial insemination, majas prep, etc.

February was Cocina Mejorada Month..

Or improved cookstove, and finally all the materials and families and masons and transport is coming together to get these built in the houses.  As mentioned prior, the point of the improved cookstoves is to give an alternative to cooking directly off the ground with log after log of wood.  It helps the family in the kitchen by containing the fire and burning about 1/2 the wood of open flames, and by piping most fumes out of the kitchen through a chimney cut into the roof.  A little slow starting due to logistical hang-ups but generally the additions to kitchens around here are a hit.

Laying bricks with special mud mix holding it all together. Cement doesn’t work well because there’ll be direct heat on this surface: rather we use a mix of mud, straw, cow poop, melted sugarcane sugar, ash, sand, and a little bit of wood glue.

Poured the losa, or cement slab a few days before installing in the houses. Turns out pretty nice with a topper of ocre. The holes will be where the pots will go, and they are supported by rebar underneath.

When finished it looks a bit nicer when topped with a layer of cement. We throw in a bit of a shelf at the front to make it easier to put wood in the burn-hole.

Installing the chimney tube takes patience to make sure it goes in straight. That and a special cement mix with a waterproof additive to put on the roof and make sure rainwater doesn’t drip inside the kitchen.

Oh look, it’s me from the side putting some final touches on the stove. Here you can see tops or plugs that we created so that families can cook with only one or two of the burners if needed.

Jarey is happy with her family’s new stove.