PERU:

April 20, 2001 – Holy Week in Huaraz, Participating in Procession,

Helping The Bleeding Man in the Street

April 7, 2001 – Filmstrip, Br. Domingo getting sick, “marathon”

April 1, 2001 – Visit of Steve, Machu Picchu, reunion with Dave and Greg

March 13, 2001 – Who is my community and a

 reflection on what has been great here in Perú

Feb. 5, 2001 – Working with the Special Children (Retarded Kids) in Monsefu

January 10, 2001 - Monsefu – Teaching the Third Graders

January 8,2001 Perpetuo Socorro –

                        The poorest place in Chimbote, Kid in the clinic

January 4, 2001 – Mi Premier Navidad y Año Nuevo

Dec. 20, 2000 – Fiesta Weekend

Dec. 2-12, 2000, many topics – Passing of my Aunt Angie,

                        “Missionaries of Charity – the mother Teresa sisters.”

                        Description of Chimbote, No water in the house

November 28, 2000 – First week in Chimbote, Poverty in Lima area,

Thanksgiving in Peru

November 21, 2000 – First days in Peru (Lima), Political crisis in two countries,

Last Days in Mexico “Dia de los Muertos” –

Party with “Los Machismos”

MÉXICO:

October 7, 2000, La playa de (The beach of) México

September 15, 2000 - A slice of Humility and winning the Ping-pong tourney

September 2, 2000 – My birthday, Dancing and the power of Napping (thanks dad)

August 22, 2000 – First note, Baby Spanish, Cuernavaca

 

START OF THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS UPDATES:…

MOST RECENT FIRST

 

April 21, 2001

Holy Week in Huaraz, Participating in Procession, Helping The Bleeding Man in the Street

Dear Family and Friends,

 

I hope everyone had a great Easter, I know I did.  Many things have happened since last week.  So, it is a long note, in two parts, the first, shorter and tells what happened, the second part, two descriptive stories. 

 

First, for Holy week, Gerardo (the other volunteer) and I met David (Lima volunteer) in Huaraz, a city close to the highest mountain in Peru, located 6 hrs from Chimbote and 8 from Lima.  The events from there could fill 5 pages, but I will give you the short highlights.  Also, I ran an experiment for the science club yesterday (one of two that I will direct this year) and it went well.  It was a competition bounce a laser beam off mirrors and hit a target.  Not one group hit the target, but the kids had fun and we talked about light and it went well.

 

Concerning holy week, it was a great experience with the other volunteers, with nature, with Peruvians and with God.  The first day, we went on a tour which included a very descriptive story about the 1970 earthquake which killed 40,000 people, 8,000 in this one town which we overlooked and heard the horrifying tale of how it occurred.  This whole town was buried by a mud slide from the mountain while people on the hill (which was a cemetery, strangely enough) watched.  Later, we went to a national park which was as beautiful as any place on earth that I have visited, equaling the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Sri Lanka and Machu Picchu.  The three of us mountain-climbed for a day (with ropes, don´t worry mom) which was really an experience of confronting fears I didn´t know I had.  And, the next day (Easter), we hiked-climbed up a mountain that was 3 miles high, being the first to arrive after 4 hrs on the trail and seeing a lagoon reflecting a snow capped mountain.  Incredible.  However, I got what is called altitude sickness, headache and nausea, and did not enjoy the three hr hike down.  Thankfully, my buddies took care of me.

 

Concerning the religious experience, we saw processions through town (on Good Friday, for example) which included an incredible murals made of flower pedals and colored saw dust covering more than a mile of the streets of the town, where later the procession went right over them.  Amazing colors, beautiful flowers and a huge effort was there.  And at night, there was a long mass (2+ hrs) which was a deep experience for me and we then participated in a procession, including helping to carry the statue of Jesus, which was similar to carrying a casket as a pole barer, except we went on a street and down a bunch of blocks and then returned, all taking 1 1-2 to 2 hrs.  The whole time, we prayed the rosary and reflected on readings, very devotional and spiritual for me and others, I´m sure.  Easter vigil on Sat. night included a surprise concert afterwards by an excellent choir that was full of lots of spirit and joy - interesting to watch a seemingly conservative priest do some of the gestures that the youth choir were leading, waving hand like the holy spirit, bumping another priest, etc., really wonderful to be a part of.

 

And, there was the whole encountering of God in Nature.  Gracias Dios por una fin de semana excelente.

 

Two stories I want to specifically share, one about the procession, the other a more serious incident involving an injured man.

 

So, during the procession, I was suddenly in a spot to help carry the statue (laying down, in a box), which I wanted to do for a little bit.  Now, remember, I am not extraordinarily tall, about 6 feet (1 meter 80cm for those on my list who only know metric), but here, that height makes me “tower” over most people. (love to watch things over the crowds, nice benefit).  Fortunately, I found another guy there who was about 3 inches shorter, and in this world, that is the same.  So he and I rotated into the back two slots (there were people at the 4 corners and, at times, people helped carry the middle of the box that had the statue of Jesus).  Well, I had to kind of bend my legs and carry it in a scrunched manner.  What else happened is the two people that were helping in the middle bailed out because there shoulders didn´t touch, I was too tall even all scrunched up, so it got even heavier.  So, after some time of that, rotating at times with the short twosome that developed with me and the other tall guy, I saw a third tall guy.  He must have heard my thought of “there´s another tall guy that could help” and he was nearly my height.  Well, he came over and relieved me, the problem was, he threw off the rotation, and the other tall guy, who was set (and ready) to switch was in a tough spot.  So, it being a time of sacrifice, I offered to rotate in to the other spot, even though I was tired, figuring I had a little time to rest first.  Wrong!  This guy took one more part of the walk, then smiled and issued me in for another five or so parts.  So, there I was, scrunching away on a new side of the statue, hughing and puffing.  Maybe the Peruvians thought that is how northamericans breath, don´t know.  But, now I was an expert, and the people that were helping in the middle on this side did not desert me.  At that point, it was God giving me a break.  In any case, it was really a good experience and not something that was too tough, just enough to remind me how lucky I am with my body and health.

 

Speaking of which, Thursday night, when Gerardo and I were on a way to pizza and making big plans about the weekend ahead, he noticed a man who seemed to be hurt in the street.  Upon investigation, indeed, a shorter, older man, who had what is best described as having a classic peasant face, with skin of leather and traditional clothes from the sierra, was badly cut and bleeding a lot from his head.  Four foreigners and three Peruvian women were kind of helping this guy and his brother, who was pouring water over the wound.  One of the Australians (I think that was the country they came from) was telling everyone, properly, that we need to apply pressure on the cut.  We asked the stores in the immediate area for a towel, but didn´t get one.  Everyone seemed confused at what to do next, so, I decided to go on what turned out to be a little adventure to try and find one.  The first restaurant sent me to a pizza place, which I thought a bit odd, but off I went to a second place (a pizza place).  They wouldn´t give me (nor sell me) a towel, but told me to go to another pizza place (even after explaining that there is a person in grave danger in the street).  Again, an odd request but I followed it.  Finally, upon getting to the “correct” pizza place, I walked in and found it owned by an “extranjero” from Switzerland, who quickly gave me a towel after a brief explanation. 

 

I returned and put the towel on the guys head and had the bother hold it in place (which he accomplished by using the man´s hat).  This was not the best solution, but much improved over what was happening before.  The three Peruvian ladies, in the meantime, argued with the ambulance to come get this guy.  The brother wanted no part of ambulance or hospital or anything, only to bring the guy home.  He kept telling us that he had no money.  We finally convinced the brother to walk with us and the injured man to a clinic, which we didn´t make, due to the fact that the ambulance came, rather quickly (20 minutes later), fortunately.  Ironically, when the drivers got out of the ambulance, they just opened the door and stepped back, the brother had to lift the guy into the ambulance, which was, as you can imagine, not very well equipped.  So, off they went and I´m assuming, to get helped.  Upon returning, Gerardo and I (and the three ladies) saw some guy polluting the street with no shame, an ironic image to experience at that moment.  Afterwards, the two of us had a big dinner at the Swiss pizza place.  It was the least we could do (thanks for treating me Gerardo, I appreciate it).

 

So, several things occurred to me out of this event.  One was that I was careful about not contacting the blood, which is very frustrating when trying to help a bleeding man.  Second, that for the second time recently in a medical response situation, I was very aware that I am not in my country, there is no “9-1-1” and that my response training has to be modified.  This makes me uncomfortable.  Third, that I am blessed to be born in a place where the facilities and responses are good, in comparison, very good, and that money is not the first question asked when it comes to first aid (I am sure that USA is not perfect and that the rich get it better, but it doesn´t seem to be the same as it is here, for sure).  And, they way it seems to me is that our culture is trained with the attitude to respond to help, immediately.  Maybe I had bad luck here, but it seemed that there was a lot of skepticism here when I was asking for help, more resistance to getting involved (well, there were three Peruvian ladies who saw it through to the end, so maybe I am too critical).  So, me and my family are blessed in where we were born and I thank my family teaching me how to act towards these things. 

 

And finally, I also discovered a darker reaction in myself, at times, wanting to just leave and say, “Damn-it, let somebody else handle this, I don´t want to do this.”  I overcame that, but it was a bit of a revelation to realize this reaction.  Maybe that was the most important part of it all, a lesson for lent, on what type of sacrifices do I really want to (or don´t want to) make for other people.  I think I like my comforts more than I realized and in a strange way, this brought it out.  Unfortunately, I have a limit to my charity, as I guess we all do.  And, this was the weekend that we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus, who, as the gospels say, did not have that limit.  Great ideal and example for us.

 

In any case, the weekend, as you now, spoiled me with beauty and Grace, even when things were not pleasant, so it was a wonderful completion to a very spiritual lent for me, a lent that was “vale le pena” or “worth it” when it comes to my decision to come to Peru.

 

Your constant prayers and thoughts serve me well, thank you all,

Love,

Gary

 

April 7, 2001

Filmstrip, Br. Domingo getting sick, “marathon”

Hello Family and Friends,

 

Palm Sunday means two things, elections for the presidency and a very early mass, out of the house at 5:40AM (the law says that everything closes at 8, and we will have our palm Sunday procession).  So, look forward to that email soon.

 

I have been having trouble with email, so thanks everyone for patience.

 

So, I haven't written to everyone about school and what is the latest here in Chimbote.  Well, as mentioned briefly before, things are going great.  The hot project this month is that the kids are singing - in English.  It's really interesting, entertaining and at times inspiring.  And sometimes, I even understand the words.  So, I will be helping the students with that.  And, we'll have "The Grammy's" in a month.  After that, theater…

 

With the science department, along with continuing to help in the labs, I recently did some translating of a filmstrip.  Remember those?  Filmstrips, a real walk down memory lane for me.  Well, we have the old projector and I got to both translate AND flip the pictures.  For those of you born in the 70's and later, this is an ancient visual aid that has pictures and words, kind of like a black and white (or in this case, dull green) PowerPoint presentation without animation.  So, 1^st, people here in Peru can really appreciate the humor in the fact that the head of the department asked me to translate, because I have a limited vocab in Spanish (lot's of improvising and asking the better English student to "practice translating" - always use your resources).  2^nd and more important, Alberto (it was his "Natural Sciences" class we were in) did a great job in filling in a lot of other info (about Earth, the topic of the strip) and we worked great as a team, really enjoyable class, lots of participation.  3^rd, this filmstrip was made before I was born and the information was even older.  For example, I quote "not much is known about gravity…" and then it changed the subject.  Fortunately, the teacher filled in a lot. 

 

This got me thinking about the fact that when I am home, I will be getting some newer audio/visual aids for the school in sciences in particular.  For those of you who can help, have access or ideas, I will be in the states from May 22 to June 11, we will talk before then.  Please reply with your thoughts.  We have a VCR and I can rig powerpoint presentations as well.  I will also be looking at fund raising.  At the moment, I am putting together an inventory of items (from lab equipment to white board markers to some "pet projects" I have).  Be expecting more information on that.  Some of you have specifically asked to help, I will be contacting you soon.

 

Concerning the house, Brother Domingo, who heads our house here as well as directs the three schools the brothers guide here, got a stomach infection and needs rest and your prayers.  I really count on Brother Domingo and he's made a big difference in how good this experience has been for me.  Also, we have a new brother living with us, Chris, a 50+ guy who has already "schooled" me in soccer (I wonder what happened to that "be nice to the volunteer theme" that we tried to develop here).  I can see great things continuing to develop for me living in this community.  Problem is, he speaks this funny language he calls real English, but it sounds more like a leprechaun language, close to English, but not quit.

 

And, finally, when my friend Steve was here, we helped at a "marathon" - which was a 3 KM (or so) of the street kids in Chimbote.  It was set up as an activity for the street kids as well as raise awareness of the local programs.  Notably, a fair number of the kids ran in footwear that I call "flipflops", the cheap rubber sandals.  And, it barely phased me now that I have been here for a while.  Don't know what that means.

 

When there, the leader of the group asked me to organize it.  I wasn't sure if I understood his request and it surprised me.  Well, I realized that it had very little organization, not uncommon here for this type of thing and "language fear" limited how much I was willing to help.  But, I did say "ready, go" and waved the start and finish flag and helped note the winners.  It was a fun activity, except I didn't understand the awards ceremony and accidentally helped the major politician that was there to present first prize (I was scheduled to present third prize, but didn't quit figure that out until after I stepped in front of the politician).  Fortunately, it was not a big deal.

 

Well, that's all, thanks for your prayers and support.

 

Love,

Gary

 

April 1, 2001

Visit of Steve, Machu Picchu, Reunion with Dave and Greg

Hello Family and Friends,

 

Well, things continue to be exciting.  I had many events that will stay with me for a lifetime since I last wrote you.  I am incredibly behind in my emails and may or may not respond.  I pray this doesn´t discourage you from sending me updates, I enjoy them very much. And, this is only one page long.  If you want more details, reply and let me know…

 

First of all, my friend Steve came to visit and we, among other things, went to see Machu Picchu, arguably the most profound site in all South America.  When I decided to come to Peru, this week was one of the reasons I did it.  And, it did not disappoint me.  These ancient ruins which were discovered in 1912, have not been ravaged as all other ruins of this type have been by earlier explorers-plunderers.  Every time I looked at it, it was a marvel and took my breath away.

 

And, it is not necessary to be at a place like Machu Picchu to experience that.  My time with Steve was greater than where we were.

 

Other memorable events included seeing the remarkable architecture of Cusco, where there were rocks that were put together thousands of years ago that still today, you cannot fit a piece of paper in between.  Incredible.  At a beach near my house, Steve and I not only enjoyed the waves for body surfing, but saw some dolphins swimming in those same waves after we got out (glad they waited, there are beautiful, but intimidating, too).  Steve helped during a few English classes at school and had to hold back a laugh when asked “How was saqsawaman (an interesting set of ruins near Cusco)?” which sounded, especially with these accents, like “How was sexy woman?”  We also enjoyed some hot springs, for 4 hrs. and Steve experienced the “smell of Chimbote” – which he did not understand how I could take every day (Steve, you wonder why my prayer life has increased?). 

 

Most important, I got to realize once again that I have been blessed with Steve as a friend in my life, that our experiences together were the reason I was able to choose Perú for this life adventure, and that no matter what happens in this world, he will be there to support me.  And people ask me if there is a God.  Easy answer.  Yes.

 

Also, I reconnected with the two volunteers that I trained with in preparing to come to Perú.  Dave and Greg.  We shared our at times very different experiences and at times, similar experiences.  It was the first time we all got together in Peru.  We have a unique bond, us three, and it was good to revive it, feel the things we have in common as well as our differences.

 

AND, Greg and I went to see the leading candidate in the presidential election, TOLEDO.  We were the only gringos at the rally and it was an amazing experience to live a part of this historic election.  Next Sunday (April 8) is the day.  So, listen to the news, and I will keep you posted on the elections as well as holy week after that.

 

Never a dull moment…

 

And, I will be returning to the states at the end of May, early June. 

 

Love and God Bless,

Gary

 

March 13, 2001

 

Hello Family and Friends,

Who is my community and website info

Wow, it has been a month since my last update, and what a month it has been.  We started class, I have been in front of both science classes and English classes and have had some great experiences with the people I live with here in Peru.  I live with a brother from Brooklyn who has been here for 26 years (he´s about 60), a visiting Irish Brother complete with foreign insights as well as accent (he´s about 50), a conservative, yet open minded Texan with Mexican parents who just graduated from Texas A&M (23 years old), and me, a 36 year old catholic who likes to talk about Buddhism.  Quit a group, and we all get a lot out of each other´s perspectives.

 

And, there are still days where I wonder, “What the heck am I doing here?” Fortunately, my spiritual life has been great, praying has enhanced my life, and I really like getting in front of students to instruct.  So, these insights and all that is to come make it worthwhile and remind me the value in staying here.

 

 

For more of an update, the volunteers have a web page.  It is informal but has photos and other things. It is at

http://www.geocities.com/cfcperu/gary

 

And, to those of you who have been helping me with ideas for science class, thanks a lot, you have been great.  Now, all I have to do is the work of preparing things.

 

The other great news is that my friend Steven is going to be here and we will experiencing Peru as well as he will meet my new friends.  First contact with an old friend in many months for me, and I can´t wait. 

 

That´s all for now, I will be slow in response, traveling until the 25th.

 

Love,

Gary

 

Reflection sent to the Christian Brothers for a news letter concerning the volunteers.

March 13, 2001

Reflection: Community Experience, the Gold of Peru.

I guess the biggest thing that has struck me so far in my experience of Peru (since last December) has been the powerful experience that living in community can offer.  When I decided to volunteer, I was attracted to both the service and community aspect of being a volunteer with the Christian Brothers.  However, I realize that I had a limited definition of community at that time – I thought a community as more something that helped me serve more powerfully.  I see now it is that and so much more. A lot of this has to do with the prayer aspect of the community (prayer with the community in the morning and evening), even though at times, 6AM is very early.  Still, allowing time for community prayer twice a day has really opened up a new peace in my life.  It has enhanced my spiritual journey.

 

Also, during one of my reflections, I became very clear that I like very much the influence of the Christian Brothers in my life.  This includes the Brothers I live with and also those that visit or that I have had contact with in the past.  I chose them as part of my experience, and have discovered that it is a good group of guys.  For that, I am thankful.

 

There are so many rich experiences that could be shared here, but this is the one that I really see as a great gift I´ve received from my commitment to the amazing work of Edmund Rice.  And to think, I didn´t even know who Edmund was before Aug., 2000.  You just never know what will happen in life, how great is that?

 

Gary

 

Feb. 5, 2001

Working with the Special Children (Retarded Children) in Monsefu

Hello Family and Friends,

How are you all doing as the winter moves into Feb.  I

am doing fine here as the summer moves into Feb.  The

mercury is rising more every day.  I now can

appreciate everyone who lives in the desert, it can

get hot.  But, not so bad yet. 

I am in the planning stage with the school teachers

and will be working with (AT LEAST) the science

department and the English department.  I am very

excited about the project we are coming up with, but I

will save details for another letter.  I WILL ASK,

however, and this is how you can help, if anyone has

any ideas about experiments for high school kids, let

me know.  I will be getting kids excited about

science, so the field is wide open, I will make the

idea work, whatever it is.

The other purpose of this letter is to tell a bit

about the final week in Monsefu, the town I was in for

2 weeks. I worked with the “niños especiales” the

second week.  These kids had emotional problems or

were slow or didn´t fit into the mainstream.  One

thing I discovered right away was that the were

“special kids” when it came to love.  One of the kids,

named Pedro, would give you the biggest hug every time

you saw him, and it was just a joyous expression that

warmed me up.  It was great.

Of course, usually that was followed by Christian, a

tall skinny kid, screaming and then jumping on your

back wanting to wrestle or play or just see if your

ears were working (remember, quite is never the theme

in this country).  I have often told people that I can

be a little hyperactive, well, dealing with him was

God´s challenge for me.  But, even though he could be

a bit much, he did not want to hurt you and he was

great. (Dave, I have a great picture of you and

Christian during one of his attacks on you).

One of the great moment was when we were doing

athletics (they have special Olympics down here and

there are a few champions in this group), so we lined

them up to take foul shots at the basketball hoop (I

will convert this country from soccer to basketball,

yet) and everyone missed for about three rotations. 

But they kept going.  Eventually, one kid put it in

and they all went crazy happy.  Then, Christian put it

in, so he screamed and ran around the whole schoolyard

while everyone cheered.  Eventually, incredibly, they

all put in at least one and it was really fun.

One of the kids named Michael was really good at the

things we were doing, and as I paid more attention to

him, I actually noticed that he seemed smart.  Dave,

the other volunteer and I talked about it and he

noticed the same thing.  Then we realized that he

could not hear, and that there are no real programs

available in this remote area to handle a kid who cannot 

hear well.  So, he got put with the special

children.  After talking with Br. Vincent, the brother in charge, 

he changed the plan and was going to try him in the classes 

with the other kids.  I mean, Michael could multiply

(remember the last story, where kids in the third

grade had difficulty with their name, Michael is

younger than they are).  So, that is a good thing.

So, the last day I was there, we decided to do some

dancing.  Pedro got up and started to boogie and

really move great.  I immediately gave him some extra

bread that was around so he would sit down and stop

showing me up (just kidding) (kidding  about the bread

that is, in truth, he was showing me up, which was

great).  I showed the kids the difference between

North American dancing and Latino dancing, the former

involved moving every part of your body EXCEPT the

hips, the Latin version is all driven from the hip

movement (I had a little more trouble with that type).

 My apologies to all those people that really do know

how to dance with their hips, I took some liberties

for the entertainment aspect.  At one point, everyone

was laughing and I turned around to see Christian

imitating me, so I got a good dose of humility, always

a good thing for me.

Well, that is all for now.  Hope these letters are not

too long, and I thank those of you who made it to the

end of another one.

Love you and God Bless you,

Gary

 

 

January 10, 2001, update:

Monsefu – Teaching the Third Graders 

Well, last week I had an insight into the poverty of

Peru (and the world, for that matter). This week I had

an insight into education.  We are working here in

Montsefu with 3rd – 5th graders.  I ended up helping

in the third grade class.  So, we had a test on the

first day to evaluate where the kids were at.  Good

thing.  I don’t know how these kids passed third

grade, because two were unable to write their names

and the others (about 12 of them) could only write

their names.  They were unable to write a sentence

with the word “professor” or any other word for that

matter.  Simple addition couldn’t be done, much less

multiplication.  Basically, I sat there with four kids

and tried to get them to answer one question on the

entire test.  This was for one hour.  So, I

immediately found out that I am not as patient as I

thought I was, so that will be another lesson for me,

I am sure.  (I think you get a sense of the

frustration from my note.)  

So, the good news is – any progress we make will be

more than they have.  Also, the good news is,

tomorrow, we work on vowels, a weak point for me in my

language, so I should be less critical, I think.

Gary

January 8,2001

Perpetuo Socorro – The poorest place in Chimbote, Kid in the clinic

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello from Monsefu.  This is a nice, small town in a

hotter part of Peru and it is summer.  However, it is

not too hot, especially when I think of all you in the

north who are freezing this year.  The town has no

internet connection, so I am not sure when I’ll get to

send this, I have to visit a bigger city (Chicalyo) to

do that.

So, a couple of special stories for you.  As promised

earlier, I am going to tell you about some more

interesting experiences.  I don’t know whether to say

they are bad or good, but I will tell you they both

inspired and gave me clearer vision of what I am doing

here.

First, I went to a place called “Perpetuo Socorro”

meaning Perpetual Hope.  This is a church and mission

house started by a priest from The States.  His name

is John Davis and what he has done in Chimbote is

amazing.  If there is no book written, they will be or

at least should be.  For twenty years he has been

transforming an incredibly poor section of Chimbote. 

I had the good fortune, or rather, for those of us

that believe that God creates coincidences, I

coincidentally met another person (Tanya) from the USA

who is not associated with the Brothers, rather with

John Davis.  Having heard of his work, I arranged to

visit some houses in the barrios of Chimbote with her

and my friend David (who was visiting my house here). 

Well, this was the experience that I had in my head of

what it would be like encountering the very poor.  Not

that the people I am dealing with everyday are not

poor, but at school, I am not seeing it in my face.  I

have seen pictures of these poor places, watched

people describe this on TV (Sally Struthers, anyone),

and imagined it as I prepared for this experience. 

All that being said, it was different actually being

in the houses where there are dirt floors and many

people and animals inside.  One house with three

rooms, a kitchen and a common room, had two families,

6 people in a room with two small beds, and we counted

13 kids.  On room had a 1 year old sleeping in it.  He

was very dirty and shared his bed with a new litter of

rabbits right next to him.  Don’t get me wrong, I

really like rabbits and the child’s mother even gave

me one to hold, but there were many opportunities for

dirt and disease.  What really struck me about the

animals was the fact that there were dropping from

rabbits, chickens, guinea pigs and other various

sorts, in the halls (if that’s what you would call the

dirt passageways).  It gave me pause.

The woman who worked with Father Juanito (as he is

called here) had some donated clothes that she was

giving to various families if the social worker

recommended it and if the woman of that house kept the

place clean.  Now, I say woman not out of prejudice,

but because I never saw a man in any of these houses. 

When asked about the father of the kids, usually the

response was “he will be returning,” but I think that

many times that was a story that was only a hope, not

a reality, judging by the comments and reactions of

the social worker and my friend.

Well, that is the background.  First, a story about

something David did that was both touching and a

little funny.  When we got to one area, there were

about 15 kids outside.  They were from 5 – 12 years

old or so.  David immediately started to play

“Monster” with them and acting like a monster and the

kids would chase him until he growled, then they would

run away.  It was a great thing to see 15 kids

screaming and laughing in that neighborhood.  It was

something I hadn’t observed all day.  Later, Tonya

told us that those 15 minutes were probably the

highlight of their day, which I believe.  I made a

mental note to look for those chances to make a kid’s

day.  Well, the funny part of the story is when David

growled at one of the kids, one of the dogs from the

block ran from behind and jumped on Dave’s back.  It

wasn’t dangerous, but Dave didn’t know that and stood

up with a look on his face like “oh, no, this is it,

just what I need, a crazy dog hunting me down in this

strange country.”  Well, along with things that I’ll

remember from this experience is that expression on

Dave’s face.

Well, while Dave was with the kids, I went into one of

the houses.  This house was typical, except that the

mother was not home and only a kid of about 8 year’s

old was there.  The mom and kid were in the hospital

because the kid was sick.  Tanya had told me on the

walk that this kid was sick last time they were there,

having had kidney stones for two weeks.  Well, as they

were looking around the house, I noticed that the kid

that was there had what looked like some jewelry

pierced in his shoulder.  I thought, that is odd, I

wonder if that is a new Peruvian trend.  Well, upon

closer inspection, I realized that it was a fishhook

in the kid’s shoulder.  We tried to remove it, but to

use the spanish cognate for deep, it was PROFOUNDLY

deep.  So, I got to see the clinic (which ironically

was closed for inventory, but we opened it).  Well, I

tried to help by being in the room to support

everyone, but after this kid was screaming in pain and

bleeding, Tonya (thankfully she is a nurse) looked at

me and said that I am turning white.  Fortunately, she

knew the difference between normal white and white

white.  So I was no help and decided to leave before

there were two patients.  I realized in that moment

that God did not call me to be a doctor or anything

like that.  

So this kid had to survive a half-hour of tugging and

pulling without painkillers.  Man, I thought I had

some pain when I was injured a lot growing up (most

accident prone of the class of ’82), but what he had

to deal with was really bad.  What struck me from the

whole ordeal was that he would have probably had that

thing in his arm for some time and infection was sure

to follow.  And I thought of the lack of medical

facilities that I always take for granted.  If it

wasn’t for the Father’s work (the clinic was created

and funded largely from his organization), who knows

how that would have played out.  Also, it was funny to

be in the waiting room where the prices were listed, 3

soles for a visit (a little less than $1), 5 soles for

a tooth extraction and 10 soles for a birth (that is

about three dollars, for a birth!).  After, I

questioned Tanya about that, she explained it was for

the papers for proof of birth.  Then she explained

that most of the births around here take place in the

houses with what is the Peruvian equivalent of a

midwife.

So, a very interesting day, to say the least.

Last story. I am in Monsefu at the moment and it is a

very nice, peaceful town.  I have been able to

meditate at night.  Well, a group of the teenagers

invited me to see some fireworks, so I decided to give

up my meditation and go, but in discussions with the

brother who is running this mission program, he said

it’s better to stay in.  Great, so I invited the kids

to meditate and thought, this will be the last thing

that active teenagers will want to substitute for

fireworks.  But to my surprise, they said yes (3 of

them).  After 8 minutes, the bell rang for prayer

(ironically), so we stopped.  I expected them to say

great, that seemed like an hour, see you later. 

Rather, they were so excited that after prayer, they

recruited a total of seven kids and one of the guys

that is in formation to become a Christian Brother to

join us.  So the 9 of us meditated and it was a room

full of amazing love and energy from the enthusiasm of

the kids (who were quite and meditative).  So, I got a

little bonus from that and now, a group of us meditate

every night.  Ironically, I also got to practice my

Spanish explanation of meditation (for the prisoners)

and found out what phrases work and don’t work.

So, the lesson there was not to make assumptions and

to invite people into what is special for me.

Well, that’s all for now.  Things are going great. 

And my Spanish is getting better.

Love,

Gary

January 4, 2001

Mi Premier Navidad y Año Nuevo

Hello Family and Friends in the beginning of the new

millennium,

I hope that the holidays boosted everyone´s spirits

and gave them something positive to remember.

First, I am behind on my emails and do not anticipate

catching up for a little bit.  I want to thank

everyone for sending me some wonderful notes, believe

me – I got them and was touched by them.  I will

respond.

I will be going to a city called Monsefu.  This will be for two weeks

with my friend David, one of the other volunteers – he

is working out of Lima.  I understand this is a poorer place than

around here, but after some of my recent experiences,

can not imagine that.  There are between 20 – 25 of us

living in a space that is made for much less than 20,

so should be very interesting and the toughest living

i have done here.  

Much to share so I will be efficient.  It is also

late, so I do not have the energy to be too long

winded.

Christmas:

I miss my family and friends very much.  Let me

repeat, I miss my family and friends very much.

For Christmas here, as is typical with Latin-American

culture, the real holiday is the day before the

holiday.  The holiday itself is called “un dia de

descansado” or, in English, “a day to take a break.” 

In fact, sometimes, the party the night before spills

into the next day, the holiday.  For example, when I

went out to run at 9 AM on Christmas, a group of young

guys got the biggest  kick out of the fact that there

was this crazy foreigner out in shorts with his

walkman over his head (a strange enough sight in this

country) hitting the road while they sat there with

their beers in front of them, not having slept all

night, still celebrating xmas.  The real party started

at midnight with bunches of kids having fireworks that

they went crazy with for about a half hour, but it

kept going all night.

So, xmas eve, Sunday, the holiday -  for me, I really enjoyed

the mass at 8 PM (ironically, this day broke my record

for praying times, with two masses, two community

prayer sessions and a meditation thrown in for good

measure).  During the mass, the children´s choir sang

Faliz Navidad, not a religious based hymn, so some of

the people who appreciate, as they say “old time

religion” were not excited by that so much.  But, I

did not mind, and is was not my call.  There was some

theater during the mass (which was a bit dramatic,

with the canonization of Joseph by having the guy who

was “playing” the role introduce himself as “San Jose”

(Saint Joseph), but that is another one of those small

details) that took place during the liturgy.  It had

the general feel of it being a celebration and that

really appealed to me.  On of the books I am reading

(Gracias by Henry Nouwen) tells how when he learned

the language (Spanish, in order to do missionary work

in Peru, ironically), the opportunity that occurred

for him was to be a child again, not understanding all

the words of the “adults” around him.  So, I took that

approach for mass (and in general, it replaces the

frustration of not getting the full meaning of many of

the conversations) and it was a joy. 

After mass, we came back and enjoyed a dinner of

salad, apple sauce, other veggies and chicken (without

the chicken for me).  Then we exchanged gifts which

was nice.  Then, the fireworks mentioned above (it was

great to go to the roof for that – the irony was I

kind of rushed up at 12:03 thinking I might miss some

of them, but half hour later, I realized that rushing

is a sarcastic activity in this country).

Christmas day, after my run, we went to a residence

for a group of sisters where we ate with about 20

people.  Nice community and I enjoyed the day.

New Year´s Eve.

Well, as you all know from previous emails, fiesta is

a word that cannot be translated by the mere word

“party.”  And, if there ever is a day for a fiesta, it

is NY eve.  So, without boring you with details, I

left at 7 AM under a bright sun with about 100 people

still dancing to very load music.  Remember, there are

no roofs in these discos, so I wish I had brought my

sunglasses.

So the tradition of new year´s eve is to take twelve

grapes and right at midnight, eat them one by one.  As

you do, make one wish or hope for the new year.  Nice

tradition.  But the ironic event for me, the moment

where I knew things have really changed in my life,

was the moment I started to count down – ten, nine,

eight…  Well, everyone else was saying diez, nueve,

ocho.  It really stopped me – when something that is

ingrained in you is changed, I realized that “I was

not in Kansas, anymore” – even if I can click my heals

three times and come home.

So, I realized that one year ago, I would never

imagined spending the whole evening of the next year

speaking a foreign language with people who I have yet

to meet, very far from home.  (Steve, missed your

party this year).

One great thing is that my friend david came to

Chimbote for the week.  It is great having him here,

he really has given me some great insights in ways

that he may not even realize.  Something about having

a friend from your own country give his thoughts –

makes a great difference.  We had some amazing

experiences visiting some homes that were very poor. 

I will save that for later, right now, I can see I am

typing more as a reporter, which is not bad, but will

not do justice to the experiences we have had.

So, hope that everyone looked at the year they had,

the good, the bad and reflected on that.  Hope

everyone has created at least one thing that they want

to have happen in their life this year.  It makes life

interesting.  Last year, my wish was to wake up every

day with a smile.  There are times during the year

where that happened every day, and times where it has

not.  Right now, I wake up knowing that this

experience is very much in line with what activities

work in my life, so if I am not smiling, it is because

I forgot to, not because I do not feel like it.

My love and prayers are still with you all, even after

the holidays,

Gary

 

December 20, 2000

Fiesta Weekend

Well, I had a fiesta filled weekend. First, Friday at

the school was an activity where all the kids

practiced for the ceremony to close out the school

year on Monday (today)  At the end of the day, we

exchanged gifts like a “Secret Santa” – except I had

to speak spanish in front of the teachers.  No me

gusto (I didn’t like that).  Then, we went out and

drank with the teachers, of course, it being the last

Friday of classes and right around xmas.  So, I got to

sit next to a guy who was enjoying a popular local

dish called Ceviche, Raw fish with lemon and onions (I

hear it is good).  Another popular favorite

(especially for those of us that don’t eat meat,

chicken or fish) is called cuye.  This is a cooked

guinea pig.  And it is just picture perfect, a nice

size animal for the whole thing to fit on a plate. 

Nice photo op for me.  So, I confused the poor

waitress by asking for anything “sin carne” like

French fries or corn or rice and beans.  Well, they

had all of those as well as a salad, and because they

were so put off by a vegetarian, they served all three

to me.  I am not sure if they charged me anything

because none of it was on the menu and none of it was

what they consider food.  As an additional note

concerning food, I went to a Chinese place, a usual

safe bastion for a vegetarian, and they got all

confused, also, and ended up serving me soup without

chicken (but with a tortellini type of soup, with meat

in the middle) as well as a vegetable plate with rice.

 It was very tasty with the meat (steak) sauce that it

was drowned in.  But, I knew going into this that

there would be days like this, so I either improve my

Spanish, eat a bit of meat or go hungry, and I do not

choose the last.  

So, of course, getting back to the party with the

teachers, we drank beers.  And the custom is to start

a glass and pass it to the guy (or gal) next to you

along with saluting them.  So, the glass (or at times,

glasses) go around and you are expected to drink.  But

neither my friend Jon nor I can ever figure out when

the beer stops.  Once, it stopped and I breathed a

sigh of relieve figuring that I had a lot to do that

day along with the whole weekend.  However, after 5

minutes, somebody’s hand went up to order more, good

for another 12 or so beers.  

So, when we returned home at about 4PM, we had to get

ready for another party (Hot chocolate with fruit

bread, very popular around xmas) with the associates

(they do all kinds of charitable work here, as I

mentioned in previous letters).  So preparation for me

was to nap.  So, there was a huge turnout because

everyone was saying goodbye to Jon (who had even more

activities than me this weekend, he was remarkable on

his last weekend.  The admiration and love he was

shown and that he showed really was an example for me,

he really accomplished a lot and people really cared

for him).  It went longer than usual for all the

obvious reasons.  After that, the real fun began for

Jon and I.

We had some parties to go to.

 The first one was right after the hot chocolate and

was for jon, who, as mentioned left this weekend.  All

his friends threw a party.  I remember him writing

that these parties go until 5AM.  I figured that I

would bow out at 2 or 3 in order to let them all say

goodbye without another gringo around.  Well, that

excuse didn’t fly, especially because the woman who

was bringing us didn’t get there until 11 or 11:30PM,

and I was there until 5:30.  During the party, Jon and

I taught the Peruvians the very important ritual of

“Quarters” – American style, including one game called

“Baseball” (which Jon had to teach me also).  “As you

can imagine, baseball gives you the opportunity to

drink 1,2,3 or 4 times the normal amount of beer,

thanks for the lesson, Jon. Someone borrowed a video

camera, so all of this, including my unique “cerveza

-aided spanish” was recorded, it was not pretty. Upon

returning home, I did some computer work (a good time

to be on the net, of which I received a bunch of new

messages, thanks all).  I was only able to download a

certain number of them.  Two of the brothers got up

between 5 and 6 to say both good morning and good

night to me in two different languages.  At least I

think that’s what they said, I’m not sure because the

party was pretty good. Didn’t sleep that much because

I had something to do, what, I forget now.

So, that next night was the big party.  It was

“promotion” or, for lack of a better term was a

combination of graduation and a prom for the students,

with teachers and parents in attendance.  All I heard

was that last year the lights went out and the party

was on hold from 11 – 2 in the AM, only to start up

again when the lights return, ending at around 5AM (a

popular time in this country).  But upon getting

there, I heard we had a generator.  Well, the lights

went out again and the generator was more of something

to have on display, because, upon finally starting,

gave a strange half glow to the place.  I thought, you

couldn’t pay for a greater ambience, but somehow, I

think I was in the minority with that thought.

So, the lights finally came on again and we watched

every student introduces and who their parents were

and what they are going to do in the future.  Then,

they had special dances with their dates along with

their parents.  It was really nice and I was able to

remember how I felt when I was going through

graduation and prom (those on my list that were there

I am sure remember the drum solo at our prom, along

with the fall-out from that).  So, I figured there was

no way I was lasting, especially because there were

many cervezas (beer) for the adults.  But somehow,

when I looked around near the end of the party (note,

the sun had already risen), I was the only person from

our house there.  Well, I did like dancing as the sun

came through the open roof; it definitely was a first

for me.  Upon returning home, as a response to a joke

one of the Brothers I live with made the morning

before, I bought our bread for the day.  The bread man

took advantage of this poor speaking, “dizzy”

foreigner, and I bought twice the normal amount.  I

found out that the brother was not joking when he

mentioned I should have bought the bread, and he was

happy to see it fresh and being put on the table, as I

walked in to another “good morning, good night”

exchange.

So, Sunday the house had a lunch to say goodbye to

Jon.  I will really miss him, as will many around

here.  By the way, the lunch was at the Chinese place

mentioned earlier.

So, some of you mentioned you like the stories, so I

decided to give you a Christmas bonus telling how my

weekend went.  I had not been going to any fiestas

here in Peru, but somehow they found me.  I don’t know

how that happened.  But, I have learned to embrace all

new experiences.  Sometimes, it’s a stretch, but I’ll

manage…

Thanks for your prayers.  A lot of people have a lot

on their minds, so this Christmas, I’ll be praying for

peace.  But this peace is peace in our hearts, no

matter what craziness is going on.  It may be hard to

see the blessings, but I’ll be looking for mine, and

you all are really my biggest blessing.  I miss you

all at this time of year – the preparation for

Christmas is a special time.

Take care and God Bless,

Gary

 

December 2-12, 2000

“Missionaries of Charity – the mother Teresa sisters.” 

Description Of Chimbote, No water in the house 

Aunt Angie passing away.

Hello Family and Friends,

3 things, one is that I have had a lot of trouble with

the internet lately., which is why I have several

dates on this note.

 Second, my Aunt Angela died, the wife of my uncle

Fran on my mothers side.  She was bravely battling

cancer and was the inspiration for me for the

“Simond´s for the Century Mallalieu´s for the

Millennium” book that, when finally completed, has the

stories of each person in both my families.  AND she

continues to be an inspiration for me to seize the

moment and live life to the fullest.  AND, she was an

absolute gem of a person with a big heart. 

Ironically, I was praying for her at morning prayer

about the time she passed away, and I believe her

spirit was strong and with God at that moment.

Third, as I explain later, my very good friend Wayne

has cancer and was recently operated on.  He has an

85% chance of survival, last I heard, but any time one

calculates survival, it gives you pause to think.

So, keep these people and their families in your

prayers.Thanks.

4 December 2000,

Hello Family and Friends,

I wrote a note this last Sat., but had a little

trouble getting it out, at times the net can be slow

down here.  As an update, I took a shower today at

about 4 o’clock.  If you are wondering why that is

noteworthy, read on…

2 December 2000

Hello Family and Friends,

With the idea that everything is so new, here’s

another update.  Things went well for my first week in

Chimbote.  And, to answer a common question, the

Christian Brothers, the group I am living with and

working with, are a catholic group.  

All week I have been in school and yesterday i visited

an orphanage run by the “Missionaries of Charity – the

mother Teresa sisters.”  It was a good experience, I

was not sure what to do, so I trusted God and ended up

watching the students perform some special dances for

the orphans and mentally challenged people that were

there.  Well, a woman came up to me and just wanted to

be touched and have a little attention, so that was

easy to hold her hand and just be with her.  She spoke

to me, but I think it was gibberish, and she didn’t

seem to understand my Spanish, so I’m not sure about

that, but it’s OK.  Then a kid in a wheelchair was put

next to me.  I ended up feeding him some cookies and

soda.  Then another, small kid kept coming up to me a

sitting on me, then leaving, then sitting on me, etc. 

He was a great little kid who made sure that I knew

how he liked to be held.  Great.  One thing that was

interesting was that the kid in the wheelchair Drooled

a lot and I ended up never knowing if he was going to

drink the soda as I placed it by his mouth, or spit

into the cup, or spit on my pants.  It was a fun game,

even if a little disconcerting for an anal retentive

guy like me.

Concerning my work in the school, there are many

opportunities.  One is to continue the work of Jon

Gray, he has helped the English dept do some great

things.  They have developed some of the same types of

educational systems as in the US, for example, they

put the quicker learners in the same class, and those

who benefit from a slower pace into another class. 

Being someone who has recently learned a language, I

now the value of having the correct pace, there were

students quicker at language than I as, and some that

were slower, and being separated made a huge

difference in both the learning as well as the

interest.  Congratulations Jon Gray for making a

difference.

Another opportunity is to help the science dept, but I

am worried because I do not remember some of my

chemistry – it has been a long time since I balanced a

reaction or worked with nomenclature.  Third, I could

get creative and do some theater, either through the

English dept or in Spanish (imagine that?).  I am most

excited by doing something in theater, so that will

happen, even if on a small scale.  The biggest

challenge is chemistry and it is possibly the biggest

contribution.  And, it can benefit me to relearn all

those equations in two languages.  However, the other

day I listened to all the ideas of the head of the

science dept for next year, and I did not know what

the heck he was saying.  Poco a poco (o loco a loco).

And next week, I’m visiting more locations such as the

orphanage and a prison and working with the street

kids.  One of the Peruvians that is working with the

prisoners (we have a great group of Peruvians that are

up to great charitable work here in Peru) asked if I

was interested in guiding a group through meditation

starting in Jan.  That sounds great, and it will also

give me more chances to meditate.  If anyone knows the

proper Spanish words to use for meditation, please

write back!

Well, I was asked to describe more about my

surroundings.  As mentioned, Chimbote is a fishing

port in the desert.  As I was running the other day, I

observed that if I’m not on pavement, I’m running on

the beach, so to speak.  So, that is a good

description of the place, beach or road.  Not a lot of

grass, a few trees, and lots of dust.  Also mentioned

was the pollution from the fish factories. At time,

this creates a cloud in the air that is gray.  The

temperature is pretty good, 85 in the day, cool at

night.  I live in a house with 6 bedrooms, so it is

relatively a big house.  Right now, 5 of the bedrooms

are occupied by three brothers (a Peruvian, Irishman

and one from the USA) and the other by the other

volunteer.  Oh, I forgot, there are two rooms on the

roof, too.  We have a chapel, which each morning at 6

AM we have morning prayer.  I know Freddy, my former

boss, has a hard time believing that I get up at 6AM

every morning and am out the door early, but God is a

powerful motivator.  One thing I love about this house

(and houses in Peru in general) is that one of the

rooms is open air with no roof.  So I often walk from

one room to another and have the pleasure of going

outside while still being in the house.  I love it

(except when the previous aforementioned cloud is over

the house).  By the way, my prayer request didn’t get

out there quick enough, the fish smell invaded the

house the other day and has been visiting more

frequently lately.

Speaking of the house, along with the cockroaches in

the kitchen (they like Christmas indoors, I guess) we

do not have water in the house. Did not take long for

that experience, gracias Dios. It has been more than

24 hours and something tells me that we will be happy

to get water Monday (this all started Friday).  I do

not know.  Right now it is ok, but my pants from

yesterday have been put out of commission (see above)

and my only other non-jean pants have a big stain on

them after I unsuccessfully tried to use the very

dirty iron.  And, I think I may want to wash my body

soon, I avoided running Sat AM for that reason.  The

problem is that we are at the end of the street and it

is on an incline (up, of course).  The person 4 houses

down has water.  Normally, I would ask everyone to

pray for rain, but this is a desert, and I do not want

to press my luck, and we saw how the fish request

prayer went.

Well, other than that, I realized that I kind of just

did things this week, not really “being” with people

(only a little, on Friday).  I am getting to know the

people here, but not as much as I would like.  I think

the real value of my experience is in that

observation, to really enjoy time with people, and not

worry about the things that have to be “done”.  When

we die, it’s not the stuff people remember, it’s the

emotions and memories.  Think of a good friend.  What

do you remember?  Is it a thing or an emotion?

Speaking of good friends, I ask for your prayers for

my good friend Wayne (some of you know him as my buddy

who is friends with the Dalai Lama).  He just had an

operation to remove cancer from his palate in his

mouth.  They are checking to see I fit spread to the

lymph nodes.  He has a high probability of survival

(85%).  Wayne is the person most like Christ than any

other person that I know on this earth. I cannot visit

him because I am here (well I will not visit him at

this moment).  So that really makes me think about how

precious time is when I’m in the same room with the

people I love (or anyone, for that matter).

I’d like to thank all you that get this note for being

a part of my life.  Each has contributed to me, either

in a small way or a big way.  The funny thing is you

may think you’ve only done a small thing, but

sometimes, those small things have the biggest impact,

so don’t diminish what you contribute to other people.

Love and prayers,

Gary

November 28, 2000

First week in Chimbote, Poverty in Lima area, Thanksgiving in Peru

Hello Everybody,

Well, I’m in Peru and made it to Chimbote where I plan

on being for a year.  

First, to let everyone know, I celebrated Thanksgiving

with the Christian Brothers in a section of  Lima,

Peru called “Las Floras” – this is a different house

than the house in “Canto Grande” where David will be

working.  We had 10 people there from the countries of

the US, Ireland as well as Peru.  Yes, there was a

turkey served, and even some imported cranberry sauce

that one of the brothers brought from the US (thanks

Kevin).  As usual, I had to explain that vegetarians

love Thanksgiving because there are s many vegetable

dishes to choose from, and not having turkey (only the

turkey smell) is fine.  And, I was thankful that I

have my health as well as the freedom to choose what

to do with my life.

Last week, we also visited “Canto Grande” where people

are very poor and the children in the school are

incredible.  During our visit, the kids would flock to

me and Dave and hug us and talk to us, truly a

touching experience.  You see this on TV in

advertisements for charities, but it was very

different when I experienced it first hand.  I can

clearly see God in these children.  

We also went into one of the poorer sections to see

the houses.  Well, that would be an overstatement, we

went to see the shacks that these families live in. 

Amazingly enough, there were “richer” sections to

these areas (“richer” being a very, very relative term

here).  For example, there was one section with bricks

and no roofs, but had been there for maybe 10-15

years.  They had gotten together with the other people

at that time and eventually built drainage systems. 

The next section had bricks or mud bricks (lower

quality), no roofs and no drainage.  Those had been

around for maybe 5-10 years.  Finally, the third

section had rooms that were made of a material similar

to what you see in “wicker” chairs like the lawn

furniture, or the walls/roofs were made of cardboard

(a popular building material even in areas of the

“richer” section).  I guess the ironic thing is that

these three sections all were in an area about the

size of a city block.  The poorer section was build on

the side of a steep hill.  The description could be

more graphic, but I prefer not to write more.

There is a lot to do in Peru.

So, last Monday was my first day in Chimbote and the

brothers wasted no time in getting me involved with

the high school here in chimbote.  And I thought the

Provincial Leader was joking when he kept telling me

to get ready for “work” on Monday.  Well, the first

day I helped the other volunteer (who is completing

here in Dec.) to give oral exams to about 50 students

(in English, a new idea in the school here) as well as

help write an exam for one of the classes.  I found

that switching back and forth from English to Spanish

to writing English to asking questions in English,

etc. to be very tiring.  So, I implemented my newfound

- talent of “Napping” and did that before we had a

reception for the “Associates” here in Chimbote.  This

is a group of lay people who do amazing work with

street kids as well as going to prisons, etc.  I know

that a lot of what I will do – will involve this great

group of people who are doing a lot for this area.

Anyhow, that’s the update.  There are a lot of things

here in Chimbote, some of what I have seen and some of

which I will discover in the future, but whatever

happens, the ride has begun.  And, I heard that

Chimbote smells really bad when the fish factories are

going (it’s a port that has one industry, processing

the fish that are caught in the ocean).  Well, I can

confirm that – at times, the smell of rotten or

processed fish really is powerful.  Please pray for

friendly wind patterns for me (don’t pray that the

wind is at my back, please pray that the house is

always UPWIND from the factories, thank you very

much).

And lastly, at times this week, I know that I am in

the perfect spot, and at times, I wonder what the hell

I’m doing in this strange place listening to a strange

language with people who I don’t know.  I think that

may never change, but I know that this experience will

really be great in my life.

Take care, enjoy preparing for the holidays,

Love, 

Gary

 

 

November 21, 2000,

First Days in Peru, Political crisis in two countries,

Last Days in Mexico “Dia de los Muertos” – Party with “Los Machismos”

Hello Family and Friends,

So, for those of you in the US, what’s it like to be

in a political crisis?  For those of you in Peru,

what’s it like to be in a political crisis? 

I’m trying to figure out the symbolism of the two

countries of which I am most associated are in huge

political upheaval concerning the president.  It’s

amazing to turn on the TV and get analysis of “El

Presidente” and not know which of my two countries is

being refered to.

More on all this later.

OK, I am fine, Peru is calm, but a very exciting

place to be in this moment.  I will be going to a

place called Chimbote, 6 hrs. north of Lima for my

year of service.  I loved my experience in Mexico and

am very excited about Peru.

First, the semi-short version on my last days in

Mexico and my trip to Peru and events in Peru.  Then,

for those of you who really have nothing to do but

check e-mail at work, a longer, slightly more

“embellished” version of the story.

Short:

It was with mixed emotions I left Cuernavaca because

after 3 months, I had some friends and enjoyed the

country of Mexico very much.  In November, I

experienced an amazing “holiday” called “El Dia de los

muertos” – an amazingly rich holiday celebrating the

greatness of those (especially in your family) who

have died.  On my last Friday in Mexico, I was invited

to a party with at a Mexican house with a group of

guys who were all in the same family.   I really

experienced both the differences and similarities of

“Male Bonding” in another language.  Incredible

experience that seemed to be enhanced by much beer and

tequila.  Got back to my house at about 4:30 or 5AM.  At

about 11AM, I was invited to day in Mexico City to a

casino with a friend and her family.  Another, totally

different experience where I was the only person who

was not only not family, but not Mexican. However, we

got back late and I was packing until 4:00 AM (an

early night compared to the night before). 

“Gracias Dios” for those experiences and all that

happened in Mexico.

Given all that I was still (and am) very excited about

Peru.  

Well, Dave and I were delayed in Panama and got to

spend several hours in a hotel in another country

(Panama).  After boarding the plane at about 1:30 in

the morning, it was a nice flight and we arrived in

Peru at 5AM.  We got to the house here in Lima at

about 8 and after breakfast, I realized that I had

been awake for 24 hrs straight – after two nights of

3-4 hrs sleep.  All in Spanish, too.

Well, after my nap, I woke up and that’s when things

got interesting.

For those of you who have only been watching the

Florida court TV, the news from Peru is that Fujimori

resigned.  The political situation is in a short term

crisis which will lead to a long term improvement

(it’s believed by many in Spanish and English) for

democracy in the government and for the economy. 

Unfortunately, many of the people here (and, from what

I’m told and can deduce) are feeling bad about how

Fujimore resigned and other things that have become

international news about Peru. 

Basically, the military is calm, the people are

listening to the news here (much like the US, it is

like the day after the election when there was this

collective “What?” asked by the citizens after the

election wasn’t decided).  No one is “taking to the

streets” and the whole country is watching and talking

politics.  My first day in Peru is the first day after

the “Fujimore Era” – what it symbolizes, I don’t know

(yet).

So, now for the “richer” version (hold on, this is the

most English I’ve gotten to experience in a long time,

so I may never end)…

OK “El Dia de Los Meurtos” – this explanation will not

do this holiday justice (for more info, those of you

who know Patrick Laine or anyone Mexican, ask them). 

One the first evening that I actively participated in

(Nov. 1, which is also right after and kind of

concurrent with Holloween in the USA), the have a

tradition of “Offerings” to people in their family who

have died.  I went to a town called “Ocotepec”, which

must be famous for this event, because houses there

were prepared in an incredible way.  First of all,

during this whole ritual (which comes from the Mexican

Indian traditions), food and drink is put on a table

along with a picture of the family member(s) who are

being remembered and honored.  The night I went to the

town, we visited a church which had flowers and bread

and drinks near the alter along with candles (bread

and candles and flowers are really everywhere during

this celebration) and was just an amazing thing to

see, very moving for me.  Afterwards, we visited

several houses, where we offered (gave) a candle to

the family (after following a long line of probably 50

people, this which continued for many hours during the

night), we were offered sweet bread (a special type)

and drink (including at times, tequila).  The

procession through the house was by a table with the

similar situation as we saw in the church, very

elaborate with anywhere from 20 to maybe 100 loafs of

bread, famous Mexican dished (such as Molé –

pronounced “molee” – a sauce – a particular favorite

of mine, except my stomach can’t handle it), chicken,

water, beer, tequila, incredible display.  This were

not o be consumed by us, rather, at that time a

display.  The following day, we went to the cemetery

(of the same town) and found it packed with people who

were making the graves of their relatives into another

grand display with flowers and colors everywhere.  We

celebrated mass at noon and it was more like a fiesta

than a visit to a cemetery (for me, that is).  The

long and the short of this holiday is that it showed

me a culture which celebrates the live of someone who

has died, rather than make it a very depressing event.

 It was another experience which tought me to respect

Mexicans.

I side note, I realized that I had prejudices about

Mexicans from their use of bright colors and how they

decorated their cars and all kinds of things.  I

realized that this prevented me, at times, from really

trying to understand the culture.  Now, I really think

that there is a lot to be learned from Mexicans about

culture and family and many different things.

The party with the mexican men.

As I said, male bonding is something that takes place

in more than one culture and more than one language. 

I found that it is not a problem for a Mexican to open

up their house to you and treat you like a family

member.  How great is that.  So, at this party, I

wasn’t sure of all the relations, but there were two

sets of families with dads and kids and cousins and

all kinds of relatives that I haven’t learned the

Spanish word for yet.  I learned (very badly) how to

do a Mexican scream.  It got worse, not better as the

night wore on.  I think at one point I heard the

Spanish equivelent of the famous phrase “I Love You,

Man” – for those of you who remember the Budweiser

(from the USA) commercial that was a sarcastic

representation of how men, after many beers (and/or

tequila) can sometimes show much more emotion towards

other men.  Well, that was great, but it left me with

a “crudo” – also known as a hangover (I found out

there is another word for that wonderful experience

here in Peru, I don’t want to know or find out…).  

So, that would be the perfect time for my friend

(woman who I have been meeting with every week since

Sep. and practicing Spanish (she also was practicing

her English, it’s what we call an “intercambio”) to

call me and invite me to go with her family to Mexico

D.F. (Mexico City).  Well, I knew that it would be

interesting and I figured that I still had 24 hours to

do this and pack, and maybe sleep.  So, off to D.F. 

to a casino where I found out that if you need to

practice numbers, gambling at the game BINGO (yes,

it’s the same word in Spanish, just said slightly

differently but with the same enthusiasm) is an

incredible way to pactice.  One time, after about 189

times writing numbers after hearing them, I wrote “61”

when the said “55” – but I attribute that to my

hangover.  So, there were about 7 people in this group

which was a tiny potion of her family (even if you

include the other table of in-laws of one of her

sisters that had about the same number of people). 

This is because she is the last child of a family of

12 children (and the mom was still able to laugh). 

So, the family talked at what I’m sure they considered

a normal speed.  I did a lot of nodding and praying

they didn’t ask me too many questions. It was actually

a great experience, even if we returned to Cuernavaca

late.  So, after packing until 4AM and a little sleep,

I said goodbye to my mexican mother (a tough thing to

do after all our talks about spirituality and food,

two of her favorite topics).  I now know more about

the different kinds of Chilies (peppers) in Mexico

than I ever thought existed.

So, Dave and I (and the other volunteers going to

Chile) took the same flight to Panama.  The flight to

Chile (not the same as the vegetable mentioned above)

for the others was fine and we had a rushed, but nice

goodbye.  Well, we noticed that our flight wasn’t

listed on the monitor.  Not a good sign in any

situation, especially Central America.  Well, we got

to go to a nice hotel, got a free dinner and were

herded back to the airport.  We never really checked

into the country (for example, they took copies of our

passports, but didn’t stamp them), which avoided the

hassles of immigration (which probably would have been

easier than the hassles of the airport people).  I did

get to Watch Sunday night (American) Football and saw

Fred Taylor have what must have been the highest

scoring fantasy football night that I’ve ever seen (I

do miss fantasy football).  My friend Greg, I know is

yelling at the computer – why didn’t you go to the

canal???  Well, see the previous nights activities and

you may understand that “Tranquilo” was on my mind,

not Panama Canal.  So, during this whole experience,

somebody said – did you hear, Fujimore resigned

(remember, he did it on Japanese time, so I figure at

about 1AM Eastern Standard Time, that was pretty

current news.  So, given the history of Peru, I was

curious to see what awaited us in Peru when we landed,

fully refreshed from this night’s experience (maybe I

shouldn’t have watched the movie X-men, but I really

like Sci-Fi).  Anyhow, we were told, correctly, that

there wasn’t a problem here.

So – the final stage in this saga of epic proportion –

WHAT’S UP IN PERU.  Well, Jon Gray (the previous

volunteer, who’s spot, more or less, I’m taking in

Peru) told me that the news out there (in the world,

especially in the US) is not the same as reality. 

Don’t know, but it is an amazing time here in Peru

and, as one of the brothers puts it – it’s like a

“Novela” (also know as “soap opera” in English).  If

you are not sure what that is like, imagine the

reaction if Gore actually gets a higher count in one

of these recounts – “WHAT THEN?” – Well every event

turns into a “WHAT’S NEXT? situation.

First, a discliamer.  I’m ignorant in the matters I

about to write about, they are my interpretation with

a little bit of entertainment involved. If I’m quoted

in the paper, I will deny it all (unless I like what

is printed or  get paid, then, well, let’s talk…).

So, background.  

The leading man – Alberto Fujimori.

Even his critics give credit to Fujimori for stopping

hyperinflation (which was at 7000 percent when he took

office) and reducing the terrorism greatly (remember

the stories about the terrible group called the

Shining Path – they are no longer a common threat her

in Peru.  Well, most Peruvians are not pleased that he

left the country and quit while in Japan.  It really

makes the citizens feel betrayed.  Right now, the

congress is debating whether or not to accept the

resignation, or reject it and then fire him.  That

indicates that people are not happy with the way he

did this.

The bad guy – Mr. Montesinos.  He’s the guy who, from

what I understand, basically ran the country while

Fujimori was president.  He’s also the guy who was

shown bribing a congressman from the opposition party.

 This single event is what catalyzed the government to

fall apart like the proverbial “House of Cards.” 

Speaking of video tapes, it’s been reported that

Montesinos has thousands of these on everybody who is

anybody (including business people, etc.) that he used

to control many, if not every aspect of Peruvian

politics.  He must have studied American history,

specifically the history of a certain head of the CIA

some decades ago.  So, he’s been running around to

Panama and back to Peru and he’s now disappeared.  

The dark horse – Mr. Toledo.  This is the guy that

nearly beat Fujimori last summer in an election. 

Well, it is supposed that the election was rigged and

a lot of people weren’t sure if Fujimore is (or was,

in this story, it gets confusing what tense is being

used, much like the reaction that people have when I

speak Spanish to them – for you linguists out there,

you know what I mean due to the conjugation of verbs

in Spanish) the legitimate president.  Well, it seems

that after he announced that he will run in the next

elections (April for those of you who want a fun time

to visit), people weren’t as excited about him.  He

also did this announcement from France, not a great

political move considering the sensitivity about

people making major political announcements from

places other than Peru.  We’ll see what happens in the

next election for him, although some that voted for

him may have been more excited by voting against

Fujimori, I’m not sure.  

Other people – The first vice president, well he

resigned because he didn’t like the stink around the

government.  Well, he aslo said today that he doesn’t

want to be the interim president and he will not run

in April.  Interesting, he said that everyone is

jumping into the election and he wants to stay clear

for now.  So, the congress voted today to accept his

resignation from a month ago (what was an informality

– this acceptance – became a little more important in

this situation).

The second vice president – well, everyone in the

press was telling everyone that this guy is not fit to

run te country, so he got tired of his kids hearing

that, and he resigned from his spot.  That leaves…

My paniagua (bread and water for those who listen to

spanish) – the head of the congress.  Well, once the

congress gets to that point, he may be, by he

constitution, the next president.  

The wife of Fujimori – or should I say ex-wife.  Well,

she’d been saying a lot of hings (imagine that)

including Mr. F. was not born in Peru ( he now has

used his Japanes passport to go back to Japan, so I’m

not sure what that means).

The first lady – the daughter of Fujimore (named the

first lady after the divorce)  Well, she took all her

stuff and moved out of he palace last night or 2

nights ago.  Then there is the guy who got 11 of the

thousand or so tapes and showed one on the air.  Well,

he has 10 more, and we saw what one does.  He’s

running for president April.

There are other people too.  But, what I found

interesting is that we watched the “changing of the

Guard” at the presidential palace, but for the first

time, there was no president of the country.  Truly a

historic time to be in this country.

Well, a couple of things are for sure.  Economically,

things will get worse here, so it is a great time to

be volunteering in the country.  And, as the Chinese

proverb says – May you live in interesting times. 

Well, the way things are in both my countries, it

really is interesting.

Who would have thought I’d get so interested in

politics.

Thanks for actually getting to the end of this. 

Take care and God Bless,

Gary

 

Letters from Mexico

October 7, 2000,

La playa de (The beach of) México

 

I just ended a week away from school, a vacation that

is designed into the program after 6 weeks.  And,

after 6 weeks, I’m generally happy with my progress in

Spanish, but realize that there are a lot of words

(palabras) that I don’t know.  And, I’ve learned that

listening and understanding are going to be ongoing

challenges for me.

Speaking of enjoying life, I have often felt that it

is usually the people you are with not the places you

go that makes all the difference in life.  Well, as I

wrote before, Pauline came to visit me from CT for my

week off and we had a wonderful experience that I will

remember for my entire life.  We spent one day in

Cuernavaca where we met a few of the Mexican friends I

have here (including some nice Spanish conversation

with my “mama mexicana”).  (I was able to realize that

Pauline was my equal at Spanish, especially toward the

end of the week, very smart woman.)  We decided to

combine the way I prefer traveling with how she

prefers traveling, so following my suggestion, we

took an overnight, 8-hr. us trip to the shore.  It was

a great trip, we got to see 15 minutes of a movie

where Will Smith was speaking Spanish in the “Wild,

Wild West” (a singularly unique visual and audio

experience) and between the two of us, got maybe three

hrs sleep (unfortunately for Pauline, I got about 2 ¾

hrs, she got maybe 15 minutes).  We landed in a

deserted bus station in the middle of nowhere at 5 AM

in the morning – and I finally figured out when the

Olympics are live in this time zone, the closing

ceremonies were on.  Being a veteran of this type of

travel, I was calm even though we had no place to

stay.  I also realized that at 5 AM, there really is

no place to go, so I sat and enjoyed the Olympics. 

This was a bit cruel to Pauline, who, as many of you

can relate, preferred a little more security our

plans, being in a strange country speaking a different

language.  So, off to the taxi stand where we drove to

a deserted hotel (except for the security guy who told

us to come back and check in at 6 PM.  After asking

him if it was OK to come back at 2 PM, he then told us

to come back in a half hr.  I’m sure of two things,

this guy never had to answer these questions before

and that his shift was ending at 6 AM, which was in

about 10 minutes.  Anyhow, I knew that food would be a

good thing (it always is in these moments, so we

sought out this town’s equivalent of “Denny’s” all

night restaurant.  Well, the taxi guy knew it, but it

was closed because (Remember God’s sense of humor), it

was Sunday!  Well, after finding out where all the

taxi guys hang out (in the street) at 6:15 on Sunday,

we were directed to a place to eat.  Well, I won’t go

into detail, but imagine the characters at this place.

 I was sure that we were the only people who

considered this time “morning” and not the continuation

of Sat. night.  This brought more peace to me but was

still not the paradise I promised Pauline.  (She

actually was great throughout this whole experience.) 

Well the sun finally came up at 7:30AM and we ventured

out to another place she read about in our guide book

(did I mention that we left that in Cuernavaca, a lot

of help it was there) called “Villa De Sol.”  They let

us have a room at 8 AM and the next three days were so

beautiful and wonderful that I understood why people

go to the beach instead of going to ruins.

It was really a beautiful place and the waves were

great and Pauline and I spent a lot of wonderful

moments together.  I’ve been converted to liking the beach.

We also went to a small church that was really only an alter 

with an area that had a large piece of plastic covering an

area with plastic chairs that you find in outdoor

beach cafés, complete with the beer advertisements on

some of them.  We were at mass in the rain (I’m not a

big fan of wet or rain) and it was touching because

God was really there in the mass and in the people. 

It was once again a reminder of how much God has given

me and how much more can be gotten in the world.  

And, I even understood some of the Padre’s Spanish,

really inspirational about how God does not exist only

on Sundays in Church, but in every person regardless

of their beliefs and every day. 

We then returned to Mexico City and spend a day there

walking around some of the city and having a nice

dinner.  Parting was difficult and I realized

blatantly some of the things I gave up to go to Peru,

both in relationships and lifestyle.  And, in talking

with Pauline, I also was reminded of the great things

I will experience in the future.  

I decided not to be a tourist over the weekend and

return to Cuernavaca (my heart was not in the mood to

be a wanderer, rather to take some time to just rest

and reflect).  Well, in another event of God’s

mysterious plan, I found the bus and it was scheduled

to leave for Cuern. in 10 minutes.  An English speaking

chap asked me how ling the trip is and I remembered

about 1 ½ hrs, but my mind was still thinking about

the fact that Pauline just got on the plane to go

home.  Well, as it turns out, he is from Hong Kong.  I

said that’s remarkable, I know one other person from

Hong-Kong in Cuernavaca, but she is actually a fellow

student who is Swedish.  Oh, he said, that would be my

girlfriend who I am here to visit.  Incredible!  Well,

it turned out that I helped him get situated and this

was really important because when we got to the bus

station, her phone was not working (this happened

sometimes in Mexico sometimes – PS – the phone number

I typed before in an earlier note was incorrect, sorry

about that).  So, we got a taxi, but the taxi guy told

us that there are many streets by this name in this

area and there was much confusion with all the people

we asked.  I got to practice every bit of both my

Spanish and knowledge of the area.  Finally (remember

God?), a NUN showed up and introduced me to two of her

companions (two other nuns who will be talking classes

at my school next week) and then as we walked by a

door on the street that we thought was the right on, a

light got turned on and the door said, 321, the number

we were looking for.  It was really interesting and

amazing.

So, there are a couple of stories from my week.  There

are many more, snorkeling, the market with many dead

animals for sale, meeting 5 couples on their honeymoon

and talking with them about life and love, talks with

Pauline about life and love, and all the different

people we met.  But, this is a long note anyway, so

best to leave some to the imagination.

I am looking forward to see what is possible with 6

more weeks of Spanish and what communicating will be

like then.  And, so much has happened at this ½

waypoint in school, so I look forward to more time

here.  I’m also glad that God decided to get a little

stronger in his messages to me, it gives me some

peace.

Take care and enjoy this day,

God Bless,

Gary

 

September 15, 2000

A slice of Humility and winning the Ping-pong tourney

 

Hello Family and friends,

Well, Cuernavaca is going well.  Have I told you all

yet that God has a sense of humor?  Well, if I

haven’t, it’s true.  For example, I finally stopped

being the student who knew the least amount of Spanish

by speaking better than this guy from Australia who

liked fiestas more than studying.  So I got a little

judgmental and stared to hope he would study more so

that we could have a faster pace in class.  Well, he

ended his stay last week, so this week, two new people

joined my class.  Well, one is a master in languages

who is Suisse.  She speaks fluent Italian, so she

understands most of what is said (I’m told that if you

know one of those languages, you can understand a lot

in the other).  The other is a guy who has taken two

months of another language school and also happens to

be married to a Mexican woman and all his children

speak perfect Spanish (he lives in Mexico half the

year, half the year in TX).  So, this week has been

tough because I’m the one who is struggling to keep

up.  So, God likes these little jokes for me. 

Fortunately, this week is structured differently and I

get a personal instructor for two hours at the end of

the day while the woman goes to a class that is about

3 levels higher than the one we are in (for

discussions), so it is all working out well. In fact,

it may be a compliment that after only three (now

four) weeks of Spanish, I’m able to even sit in the

same class with these people.  However, next week is a

new week and I think that things are going to be

changed around (more new students and these other two

are really at a level higher than me).

On another interesting note, we had a Ping-Pong

tournament at the school (during breaks, we would play

a game) and I won.  I had a lucky draw due to the fact

that the two best players were workers from the school

wiped out the real competition before the final

rounds, in which they had to loose to a student (which

happened to be me!).  See, all that praying is paying

off after all.  

On a more serious note, my friend Greg (who is another

one of the guys going to Peru with the Christian

Brothers) had some bad luck with his foot.  At Notre

Dame, he broke his foot in a basketball game and the

specialist there told him that he didn’t need a cast

or anything, it’ll heal.  Well, it didn’t and he was

forced into having an operation on it here in Mexico. 

Fortunately, the military hospital is very new and

there is a specialist here in Cuarnevaca, so

everything went well (yesterday).  For those of you

who pray, please include a prayer for him.

Also, part of the language program is to take a week

off from the school after 6 weeks, the return for

another 6 weeks (this I can understand because the

studying can be intense and there are times where it

wears you out).  And (remember all those prayers), my

friend Pauline is coming down to visit and enjoy

Mexico with me for part of the week.  So I’m very

excited about that, a new friend to speak Spanish with

as well as enjoy Mexico and reconnect with home.

Also, some of the things sent to me that I know about

haven’t arrived, so things take some time to get here

or may not even reach me.  This is a bummer, but part

of life. 

Well, that’s all for now, there are plenty of stories

(like eight of us piling into the back of a truck

carrying 10 drums of water, balancing on those drums

to get somewhere and almost being decapitated by an

arbol (tree) or two – and the good fortune I had to

see a World Cup Qualifying match between Mex and

Panama), but this round was an update.   And, I’m off

to celebrate Mexico’s Independence tonight (“Viva

Mexico” at 11 PM!!!).  Thanks for the e-mails and

prayers; they make a difference to me.

Love,

Gary

 

September 2, 2000,

My birthday, Dancing and the power of Napping (thanks dad)

 

Well Hello Family and friends,

First, I've revised my distribution, so welcome some

of the new people (I'd say goodbye to those who wanted

off the general distribution, but that would be silly

on this page, wouldn't it).

Well, I’ve loosened up a little since my first few

days in mexico and it’s made a huge difference with

both my enjoyment of the days as well as my ability to

learn Spanish.  For a while, I was unable to

communicate and for the “Most Talkative Person in the

Class of 82”(am I really that old?), it was nearly

torture.  No, it was torture, or God’s way of having

me appreciate being able to speak, and more

importantly appreciate listening.

One of the activities in the school is “clase de

biale” – dance class.  We learned a few steps of

marange, some other type of dance (cerombe?), and

watched the teacher dance a mean salsa (OK, so I can

spell the condiment but not the dance).  So, everyone

had the great idea to go to a “salon de biale” (for

those of you who refuse to speculate, it’s a dance

hall) because we now knew so much.  So, can you all

see what’s coming?  Yes, we went out and had a great

time, except the “Chicas Mexicanas” (women) that

danced with us “two-left-feet” gringos were quit

entertained.  (I’m pretty sure that Chicas is a slang

term that is not derogatory, but I was also sure I

ordered tea three times last week and then enjoyed

coffee, yes, three times -  hope that people

understand my Spanish word for vegetarian.)  In any

case, we all agreed that night that the women

definitely laughed WITH us the whole night.  And

nobody was in disagreement (luckily, my Spanish isn’t

good enough to translate “chica-talk,” so my ego is

still intact).  Actually, it wasn’t all that bad and I

was able (as were a couple of my colleagues) to spin

the women in actual moves we learned.  And the live

band was great and it was a wonderful evening.

One important note, before the last few nights, all

that I was up to was eating, going to class, and

sleeping.  It is incredibly draining to concentrate in

a different language for hours and hours.  Thankfully,

my father has given me a wonderful insight – the power

of a nap.  Wow, works wonders.  Now, if I could only

learn to do it when I’m not in class (just kidding, I

do it at Fiesta-time – very important to learn all

aspects of the wonderful cultures I run into).

As a final note, many of you have written me and I

thank you very much.  Your words, advice and

compliments kept me going through some times when I

didn’t feel so good.  And, I’m working on my schedule

to get responses, but numero uno es epsanol, so there

are times when it’ll take me a little bit of time to

get back to you.  If this is a problem, let me now and

I’ll put you at the bottom , uh, I mean top, of my

list.

 

August 22, 2000

First Note, Baby Spanish, Cuernavaca

Hello Family and friends,

My first update from a foreign land (foreign to the

USA, that is).  I am in Cuernavaca, Mexico.  It is a

beautiful place known s the land of eternal spring -

it is usually about 70 - 75 degrees (21 - 25 for those

fans of Celcius).  The sun shines and today as I

walked p to my Spanish school, we could see a

beautiful mountain/volcano in the distance.  Muy

bonita (very beautiful).  

I am in the "baby-Spanish" class.  One other guy and I

are battling it out for the "knows the least of the

local language" award.  His name is Karl (not from

Germany) from Australia.  He cheats more with English,

 but has a better vocabulary.  He is doing a

documentary on Mexico for DVD distribution in

Australia (I think, between his speaking Spanish and

my understanding, he could have said that he likes to

watch documentaries on DVD distribution in Mexico, who

knows for sure).  Which brings us to the lesson of the

day - no English!!!   As you all know, I enjoy

conversation (no revelation) - well, I have never been

so frustrated in all my life, not even in Germany when

I had a local German swearing at me about my driving

(at least there, I could drive away).   I listen,

listen again, ask them to repeat, slow down and it

only gets worse.  

For example, today, we (my friend David and I - PS

David Speaks the language relatively well) had a very

difficult time figuring out which bus to take home

instead of a 20-30 min. walk.  As you could guess, it

took 2 hrs. to get the right bus.  4 people had 5

opinions, all in a language I don't know.  The actual

bus took about 10 minutes, the different directions

and watching the bus go by without stopping was 1 hr.,

50 minutes.  But this is part of the learning process

in both the country and the language - it just hurts

my head sometimes.

Enough complaints, it is a beautiful place here and

the family I live with is wonderful.  Sara y Roberto. 

They are very punctual (which I enjoy and is great). 

My room is nice (very nice considering the location,

etc.).  It is separated from the house (I think it is

a servants room or something like that).  My own bano

(bathroom), two desks, full size bed etc.  I want for

nothing (except some of you all to be here).  I live

about 15 minutes walk to school and 20 minutes from

the center (2 hrs by bus).  One of my amigos (David)

lives next door with two other Spanish students (Rolf

from Germany and Dominic from Sweden).  We all hike in

and back.  Classes are 8 - 1, studying after that. 

The big meal is at 3, so it is different to manage

food with only bread and tea at night.  Hopefully,

I'll loose some weight (just kidding!!!).

OK - it's starting to sound like Karl's documentary,

so I'll close now.  For those that have responded

back, thank you for telling me if you want to be on

this distribution list.  For those that did not,

please let me know if you want to be taken off the

distribution list - I promise  will still write,

especially if you send me an e-mail.  And that goes

for everyone.

August 23, 2000

One more story of my Spanish exploits - after class, I

attended a history lesson on Mexico.  Well, as you can

imagine, it was a little deep for someone who is three

days into learning the language, but to hear the words

and try to get a few was good practice, so I sat in

the back and listened, hoping not to be noticed.  Well

that look of concentration combined with bewilderment

drew the teacher's attention at which point she looked

directly at me and fired a question my way (PS - not

in English).  I panicked, heard "entiendas…" (meaning

understand) and guessed that she asked me if I

understood, so I answered "un pequeto" meaning "a

little."  Well, after the class stopped laughing, my

friend told me she asked me if I understood the word

for chocolate.  Oh, well, it was not a good day for me

anyway, so that was just one event.  PS - when I eat

(have I mentioned that the food is incredible - and no

meat - spinach and cheese and potato and many other

thins whose words I haven't translated yet) I get to

practice my Spanish with my "mama Mexicano" - who

doesn't speak English, of course.  Well, I do a lot of

nodding and agreeing - who knows, I may have even

agreed that I should pay double my rent (I'll find out

next week).  Well, playtime is over, time to do some

extra credit work in Spanish.

Take care and God bless,

Gary

End of these notes.