New Year

Yes, I wore my yellow undies for NYE

There’s a new calendar on the wall – not as pretty as the 2012 and it’s in Spanish. Not much on it, right now, but that will fill in shortly. Peruvians sure do have a lot of holidays and Holy days. A fresh start after the holiday blur. I’ve said some recent hard Good-Byes - to exiting PCVs, Popi, Christina, my kids moving out and finally to my friend Franklin, Kindra’s husband, who took his life Christmas Eve. There were 12 panetones and 6 liters of pisco given, though thankfully I avoided consuming near that amount. Christmas eve dinner, at midnight, with the extended family reminded me of how welcome I am here and how much I enjoy the simple world of San Luis. Several tours of the goat farm and Cerro de Oro burial ground were given. Some progress was made on the playgrounds. All the equipment is ready and the site is measured and marked. Wonderful Christmas concerts, countless aerial bombs and an art show rounded out the celebrations here in San Luis.

New Year’s Eve was celebrated in Lima at the upscale (think Architectural Digest) home of Viviane Fort-Brescia, sister of my classmate Bernardo. Lavish decorations, white jacketed waiters serving drinks, tinkling with ice and hors d' oeuvres, a prime rib dinner and a cadre of elegant guests was a world away from my life in San Luis. But, that is something I’ve always been grateful for – an ability to mix with and enjoy the whole range of people on this planet. I'm glad that I've known all the different people I've known; glad I didn't get trapped into knowing just one kind.

I've known a Queen and a queen

And some folks in between

A Senator, shoe shine; a bum.

I say CHEERS to them all,

As I walked down life’s hall

And learned from every one.

Having said all that, it was an uneasy night in some ways. I sat next to a young Limonian at dinner, who laughed when I said I was with the Peace Corps. He said “That’s funny, that the most violent country in the World would have a ‘Peace’ corps.” My initial shock and anger turned thoughtful, as he rattled off all of last year’s shootings and stats on the enormous size of the US military and war(s) record. “You are like the little boy , who hits the hornet nest with a stick and then has to kill all the hornets that attack him.” Let that sink in a bit….. He did add that US does make the best movies, video games, music and technology and that he and his sister were both educated in the US. From the looks on the faces of those watching my smack-down, this may, sadly, be a widely held view of America. I tried to explain that the American people, in general, are not violent; that it is our leaders who take us to war. But, don’t we elect those leaders ? So, how does this happen ? A lot to ponder on the bus ride home.

At midnight, the bus was passing through the southern edges of Lima. It was like being in a war zone, with a sudden crescendo of explosions, on the ground and in the air, lasting a good half hour. Horns were blowing on all sides, including long bursts from the bus. By the time I got home, it was peaceful and quiet in my little town, though I could hear some loud music in the distance. It was next year already. What adventure will 2013 bring ?