Around the House

Amir getting oatmeal from Goyo in the morning

Last of Mango Madness for the season

New washer will make life easier (and cleaner)

The week started out with a nice surprise, in the form of a washing machine. It was used, but seems to work OK. It should (hopefully) cut down on the piles of kids clothes that pile up around here. Margarita is not much of a house-keeper (or Mom for that matter). She initiated the machine with a 2 day washing marathon, piling the clean clothes on top of dirty ones when she ran out of clothes-line space. I had to wait for a turn later in the week. The machine pales compared to the standard US version. The agitator is very small and only gently nudges the clothes around. Pre-treating and pre-washing heavily stained areas is required. It saves a little effort, but not much. The only function that really works is the spin. It squeezes out more water than my feeble hands can and with less wrinkles. The bright Peruvian sun then dries almost instantly.

Sunday’s bike ride was long and wonderful. I headed off to explore some of the more inland ruins in the area. The Old Ones seemed to like the high ground. Or at least, the only pieces remaining are on the high ground. I’m still blown away by the quality of the adobe they produced. It is much harder than the adobe made today. Modern adobe is so soft that many insects bore holes in it. Not so, with the ancient stuff. What knowledge has been forgotten? And the size of the blocks is imposing. Were these blocks made in place or moved into place and if so, How? These ruins were mostly just building outlines or a couple of adobes high walls.

Well, we got rain. In this coastal desert, the average annual rainfall is just 0.6”. It only rained for a few hours and the ad-hoc rain gauge (an open pail) in the back yard, showed less than ¼”. But that was enough to trickle through the mud roof and into the house – little muddy puddles. Fernando says it’s a good thing, since all the little cracks will now seal up. However, it made for a morning of mopping and washing. Most single floor construction here uses the mud-over-bamboo roof, so mops were out all around town. Post rain roof inspection did confirm that the roof has a “like new” mud surface and the shade tarp is clean, except in the middle. The rain also washed accumulated dust of off all the leaves around, revealing an emerald green in the local fields. The poincianas look especially bright and brilliant. The crimson blooms shouted with glee, now free from their dusty prisons.

I had to make a bus trip to Lima. Maybe ‘got to’ is more true. It always feels like a vacation to another planet when I go in to the Big Lime. And the Peace Corps HQ is always so very welcoming and comfortable. Time to thank all the kind folks who take such good care of our needs. Had a good meet with my Volunteer supervisor (PCVL in PC-speak) and time left over to visit John Cardenas (Princeton ’89) with USAID in the US Embassy (aka The Palace). No matter where I encounter other Alums, there is an ease and welcoming, for which I am most grateful. Always nice to have a friend in the Palace. I also got to meet the guy who was responsible for deploying all the USAID temporary shelters in the Canete area after the 2007 earthquake. He was delighted to hear how well they have stood up. He wanted photos, which I was able to download on the spot from Facebook and a sample of the weathered material, which I foolishly agreed to send him. Finding a discrete spot to cut a 4”x4” patch out of somebody’s house, may take some doing.

The main reason for the trip was medical. During my first months here, I worked 8-10 hour days, digging in rocky ground, mixing concrete, lifting adobe block and carting a full wheel-barrow all over Goyo’s Little Hectare. Yes, I was sore every morning, but I worked through it. At some point, I noticed that the range of motion in my right shoulder really sucked. Can’t even reach around behind my back or high overhead, without pain. I gave it a month to heal and tried to rehab it with a bungee cord, but to no avail. So, decided to get help from the Peace Corps Medical folks (PCMOs). We get 100% health care, which is nice. We get all care and meds free, like the vitamins they just sent me: Geriatric Tabs for “over 60”, but, I digress. They sent me to a trauma specialist in a large clinic, which was well run and as nice as any HMO I’ve ever seen. He quickly concluded that I’ve done some damage to one or more tendons in my shoulder and arranged for an MRI next week. He also talked about surgery to resolve the issue, which I’m not wild about. Anybody have experience or alternatives ?

One thing that I notice, while traveling on busses here, is that most all the Peruvians fall asleep VERY quickly. Five minutes out of the terminal, when we hit the PanAmerican, they’re all out cold. Even in the middle of the day. They get woken up a few times by the conductor and the guy who checks on the conductor and the sandwich/soda lady, but fall right back to Dreamland – quite striking. Either everyone here is in sleep deficit or it’s a genetic response to humming motor. For me, there’s always something to notice or ponder out the window or across the aisle. There is always a Spanish-dubbed American movie on, but they’re mostly “action” flicks with car crashes and explosions or lots of gunfire – not my cup of tea. The sandwiches are fair.

Fernando had his 57^th birthday this week. In a country where the average life expectancy is just 69.9 (US is 77.6), that’s pretty good. His birthday celebration was nothing like the blow-out, “Hora Loca” bash we enjoyed in Buenos Aires for Crisanto’s 69^th. But Pisco Sours, Paneton and good cheers were in abundant supply. I was struck by the fact that he has lived his entire life thus far, in San Luis. He was born 3 blocks away and has lived in only 2 other houses. There have been times when he’s had to travel as far away as Lima and Ica for work, but this has always been “home”. He says it’s the same for most of his friends, though the next generation seems much more mobile. All but one of his children have moved to Lima, Arequipa, Tumbes and even Italy.

It was also a treat to have an iced drink. While many families have refrigerators with perfectly good freezers, ice is seldom seen. Even “cold” drinks are more like “cool”. Room temperature beverages and cool showers are a way of life here. It might have something to do with the popular notion that cold drinks, especially when consumed at night, are unhealthy. There is a similar aversion to cool breezes and open windows. When I caught a cold from Fernando a while back, I was told it was due to my Gringo affinity for drinking cold water and sleeping with open window and fan. I have totally gotten acclimated to the cold showers, though. I fact, I somewhat eagerly anticipate that cool refreshing jolt every morning and most definitely appreciate it in the afternoon, after a long day in the sunny, warm and dusty ‘burbs.

Mango Madness is over – the price is back to “normal” (US$ 0.50 cents/lb) – still a bargain. But a new taste treat has taken its place: sweet corn is in season. Many street vendors are selling steamy hot corn from sidewalk stands, served with a wedge of fresh cheese and mild aji sauce. The kernels are much bigger than the US norm and the corn is not as sweet. But, it is still a tasty lunch or dinner or snack. I have to say that the “elotes” roasted corn I enjoyed in Mexico is still my preference.

“Soccer” morning, little Amir (4), rolled into my room at 6am, all sleepy-eyed, hugging his soccer ball. Soccer clinic wasn’t until 9, but he is SO excited – it gave me a huge smile. He curled up in my spare chair and went back to sleep, only to come awake and ask about a million times “What time is it? Time to go?”. When the appointed hour finally arrived, “Mamita” Camila (8) packed water bottles for both. Amir pulled on my arm all the way to the stadium, while clutching his ball tightly. Once again, he played with great energy and heart, easily keeping up with the 6-8 year-olds. His brother Santi only wanted to go for the snow cone treat. When we got home, Camila kindly listened to Amir’s long, rambling and excited description of the adventure. I couldn’t understand half of what he was saying, but the enthusiasm came through loud and clear. I really hope I can do something to give these kids and the others in town more space to play.

I had a nice lunch in Canete with some of the other “local” PCVs. The tribe feeling is intense among Volunteers. We rely on and support each other for information and advice and company. We all bring such diverse talents to the table, there is a huge buffet from which to choose. It’s nice to know that 170 other Vols (and a great staff) have my back. And I’ve got theirs.

Also, I spent time getting set-up for my big workshop next week. I am organizer, host and leader, so lots of details and logistics to work out. The basic plan is to build a complete Improved Cook Stove, using my new manual. After that, we’ll have lunch – cooked over a bio-gas flame from the biodigester. Then view and inspect the digester itself, with my commentary. Finally, we’ll open the back of an eco-bano and remove a load of compost. Nothing like real world, hands-on experience as a teaching tool. So far, 20 of my fellow PCVs have signed up.

And in final edit stage of my Diagnostic. Next step is translating the whole thing into Spanish. Yeah, that’ll be fun…