I have one week left of school. Then two weeks of final exams. I am done with econ and Spanish. So this upcoming week I only have class on Monday from 6-9 where I have to make a presentation and on Wednesday 9-1. So I have a very easy week. I am going to try and visit the last of the museums of Lima and see all the places that I havnt seen in a while or never visited. Basically, I am finishing up Lima haha.
So update on the violence in Peru. The government drove one of the organizers of the protest into refuge, there was huge coverage of his car leaving for the airport. Basically, the government under the leadership of Alan Garcia wants to sell land owned by many native groups to oil companies...I think we would be pissed to. My host mom is convinced Alan Garcia is mentally ill because it makes no sense at all. Many congresspeople are beginning a dialoge that Alan Garcia is avoiding with the groups involved, so there appears some hope of fixing this. The courts are also becomming an option because the federal government has no right to sell land that is under the authority of regional governments. The violence has taken a toll though, busses werent running, trains were stopped, mines shut down. The country exploaded very quickly. In econ, we discussed how Peru has gone from the 6th fastest growing economy to their GDP numbers falling for the first time in over 80 months. The same conficts are appearing from 1980...Lima holds the power of the country, human rights are not respects, there is no political expression of dissent, and the economic opportunities are not equally offered. From 1980-2000, close to 70,000 people died in a long conflict based in communist terrorism...I pray that Peru solves its centries old problems.
So on a more individualistic note...this has changed my travel plans. I will not be going to Cajamarca like I planned. I will not be returning to Cusco and visiting Puno nor entering Bolivia. This upcoming weekend, I am traveling to Huanaco with a Peruvian friend as my guide. (its said to have the best climate in Peru). Then my friend Laura will visit on the 12th of July. We are going to Huaraz and hanging out in Lima. In Huaraz, there are several glaciers that if I see them now, I will be one of the last people to see them in my lifetime due to Global Warming. The glaciers will be completly gone by 2011. Laura leaves on July 20th, which is the same day that I will fly to BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA. I am very excited to visit Buenos Aires. It is about the same size as Chicago in population but very European. At one point around the turn of the centry, Buenos Aires was the richest city in the Americas (yes, more rich than New York). And today, it is a city in decline that has struggled since the 1960s (Peron? dont cry for me?) But, everyone says that hands down it is the best place to be in South America. I will meet up with Peruvian friends from the 20th-24th and then will be flying solo until the 26th when i return to Lima. I will have 10 hours to say good-bye to my host family and catch my flight home.
This is the question I am getting asked a lot...Are u ready to go home? This response is complicated, I am very ready to be done with classes, it was a long semester that went from me not understanding my professors to making jokes with them. A lot of ups and downs, late nights, long projects, group work, and early classes. I am ready for a break. However, do I want to leave Peru? Hell no! I have made this a my home and it feels like I have to leave my home. I have no clue what the transition back to the US will be like, all of you have lived your lives without me as I have you. I am gonna want to tell the stories of my days on convis and the first time I saw a condor and everyone is gonna be like "what the f*** is a convi? why is a condor so cool?" but to me, it is my life. The meaning of the daily convi ride fighting not to get robbed, buying my movies on the bus, having to twist arms for my 20 cent change. How they break down, they transfer you, you get standed in random areas with no taxis, etc. My life. Or how a condor is considers a holy creature, how when you die it carries your soul to God. When you see it tower above your mouth just drops. These things sometimes have a 30 foof wing span. The understanding of the condor in culture, stories, and the feeling of being in the same sphere as one. I am going to return to a fast food culture, where we comute in the comfort of our own cars, air conditioning is normal, u dont have to account for protests in your daily comute, we speak politically correct (and in English), and i am sorry but Robins do not have the same effect. So needless to say, this is going to be interesting...I am already dreading it.
So tonight, I am invited to a Reggae-Hip Hop party. Not sure how this will go not listening to salsa, marange, or regaetone and hearing my favorites from the US...Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Akon, etc. The party starts at 7...Ill get there around 9 (going to be super difficult to be on time in the US...Ill have to join the Miller time crowd) and will go till the convis start up tomorrow morning around 5-6. I am going to miss Peru haha.
I have a lot more time in my remaining days, so I will probably continue to post...however in the case that I run out of time...I tried to sum most things up now. Either way, I will send out my usual email if I post again. Also, have you notices how my English is going downhill? I am not sure if I am happy or sad about that considering I just got a really hight grade on a Spanish paper. (Senora recibí 18/20 en el "Juana la Mujer" escrito que usualmente es impossible para extraneros) Chau todo hasta mas tarde!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
things just got interesting
So I have been informed that American news isnt covering what is going on in Peru...which is sad cause the rest the world is watching. So here is the low-down...
Last week, there was a huge march in the jungle for indiginious people's rights. The police decided to open fire on the crowd. 47 people have been reported dead. The protesters decided to fight back, 17 police officers have gone missing since then. There is evidence of burned bodies along roads, and people claim to have witnessed bodies being dropped from helicopters into rivers from the military. There were two huge protests in Lima with tens of thousands of people, they were mostly peaceful. However, the government is denying everything. Alan Garcia (the idiot president of Peru) is claiming no wrongdoing, which he really should be doing.
The entire country is in a state of emergency which was last declared in 1992 during the internal conflict. I probably will not get to Cajamarca considering that is in the North where most the trouble is. Cusco-Puno-Bolivia is still safe right now. It is amazing how in such a short time, a conflict can go from nothing to something huge.
I have spent a lot of time studying the social problems of peru and needless to say cannot sum up a semester in my blog, but would love to talk about them when I get home. But here is the digest on that...from 1980-2000 nearly 70,000 people died in a communist terrorism struggle in peru that ended with a dictator taking power in 1990 by creating a state of fear with military control. The dictatorship fell apart in 2000 and democracy is very young here. The problem lies in that the same issues from 1980 still exist today and the president from 1985-1990 was Alan Garcia (ring a bell).
Peru might very well be on the edge of something big. In any case, I feel very safe. The nation is not falling apart, they just have some huge complications to deal with. They have mastered how to keep people not involved safe. My host mom spent the last week in the heart of it all and returned today, she said that she was fine, the police really know what they are doing (even if they show no mercy for human rights against the minority here).
So nothing to be worried about if American news decides to get on the global bandwagon, but I do ask that you keep the people of Peru in your prayers as they figure out how to reconcile the problems of the past with the realities of now.
Last week, there was a huge march in the jungle for indiginious people's rights. The police decided to open fire on the crowd. 47 people have been reported dead. The protesters decided to fight back, 17 police officers have gone missing since then. There is evidence of burned bodies along roads, and people claim to have witnessed bodies being dropped from helicopters into rivers from the military. There were two huge protests in Lima with tens of thousands of people, they were mostly peaceful. However, the government is denying everything. Alan Garcia (the idiot president of Peru) is claiming no wrongdoing, which he really should be doing.
The entire country is in a state of emergency which was last declared in 1992 during the internal conflict. I probably will not get to Cajamarca considering that is in the North where most the trouble is. Cusco-Puno-Bolivia is still safe right now. It is amazing how in such a short time, a conflict can go from nothing to something huge.
I have spent a lot of time studying the social problems of peru and needless to say cannot sum up a semester in my blog, but would love to talk about them when I get home. But here is the digest on that...from 1980-2000 nearly 70,000 people died in a communist terrorism struggle in peru that ended with a dictator taking power in 1990 by creating a state of fear with military control. The dictatorship fell apart in 2000 and democracy is very young here. The problem lies in that the same issues from 1980 still exist today and the president from 1985-1990 was Alan Garcia (ring a bell).
Peru might very well be on the edge of something big. In any case, I feel very safe. The nation is not falling apart, they just have some huge complications to deal with. They have mastered how to keep people not involved safe. My host mom spent the last week in the heart of it all and returned today, she said that she was fine, the police really know what they are doing (even if they show no mercy for human rights against the minority here).
So nothing to be worried about if American news decides to get on the global bandwagon, but I do ask that you keep the people of Peru in your prayers as they figure out how to reconcile the problems of the past with the realities of now.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
jungle and life
So i posted once on the jungle...it didnt save and i have not had the time/energy to post it again.
Jungle- I went to Iquitos with three other people from the program. Iquitos is the point in the old computer game Amazon Trail that you got to when you won the game...some of you are like OH Yeah and some of you have no clue what i am talking about haha. I spent one day in the city and 3 days in the jungle. I did not get malaria :) so life is good. I got to see anacondas, monkeys, lotsa spiders, and made a friend with a parrot named Pirata...he would wait outside my door waiting for me to play...super cute. I was sad to leave, the beautiful oxygen full smog free air was great. I cant wait to return to the jungle again someday.
So life since the jungle...I am continuing my research of health conditions in the poorer areas of peru. It has been a lot of work and have recently been seeing a lot of pig farms...which smell really bad. But the work i am doing is enabling authorities to improve these areas. My other research is now over and is less serious about a lot of underground life in Peru as part of a Spanish class project.
The end of the semester is coming closer and my final works are all coming to a close. Today I wrote 10 pages over how important a very unimportant movie called "Joan the Woman (1917)" is in the development of film. Needless to say my BS skills do translate into Spanish. One more 10 page paper to write and a lot of final exams left.
I want to travel to Cajamarca in the north. I will travel to Huanaco in the mountains with a Peruvian as my guide. And after my studies are done on the 12th, my friend Laura comes to visit me and we are going to Huaraz. She leaves on the 20th and I will return to Cusco to meet with old friends, bus to Puno and see the highest elevation lake in the world, and then travel to Bolivia and return in time to say good-bye to the host family and friends in Lima before heading home on July 27th. I am kinda dreading returning to the US I will not lie...I have created a life that I like here and hate to give it up. My goal upon returning to create a life that I like in the US and not a life that I have simply inherited or had cast upon me. I have always been unique but in a very beaten path manner...now my life is more of the roughing it though the jungle type without a path in site.
I have heard recently from a few people that they are actually reading this...makes me feel good that I dont just come on here and write to myself. Also, always humbling to put my political opinion out in the open and get the debate back. While heated minds create controversy, open minds create understanding and thats all I have to say about that.
Anyone that has a facebook is much more up to date on my life...I highly recomend that you guys get on that haha.
My level of Spanish...not sure how to say this without sounding arrogant...its good! I can shout my head off if a car almost hits me or get a number at a bar without a struggle. My econ professor likes me and I am one of the best students in the class among a lot of peruvians. My host family jokes with me and treats me like the son theyve always had. I get invited by peruvians to parties and among the loud music still understand the convo. I have no help, few people speak english. I feel like I have gotten to a point few spanish majors ever will with the language and when I get home and definatly going to my school's spanish convo hour every week for the only purpose of having the best white boy spanish in the room. I also speak like a peruvian...i use a french gargle on my "J"s and dont say half my "S"s i call my friends pucha and am not afraid to tell someone to cojate. Its very liberating, I am opened to a world that is closed to people that do not know the language and can move among a much greater part of the world without fear of communication. Speaches from Che have great moral meaning to me, I understand why Castro won the hearts of so many...and I see how Chavez is not the right path for South America. I love this soo much, that I might consider learning another language and placing myself out of my element in the future...french has always been interesting to me, german society is the most evolved in the world...u never know...to be continued haha
Also, the Star Trek movie was great...I bought it on DVD already and I loved it...just want to clarify...I was a Trekkie long before it was cool!
Also, my host mom is gone for the week to the jungle for a huge traditional medicine outting. Not sure if I have mentioned this before. My host mom is now publishing her 3rd book about medicinal plants. She is considered an expert on traditional plants and medical usage and is one of the world's leading experts on the issue...which is really cool that she is my host mom haha. On Friday, she had all of her hippy friends over and we make coca leaf offerings for them to take with her to the jungle...they were singing and dancing in my lil apartment...good times. But now she is gone to the jungle and the hostbro and I are living together for the week alone. He is busy a lot with his new girlfriend, and I am hardly home. We see each other at dinner at 8 and breakfast every morning. He keeps me up to date on soccer haha btw Peru lost to Ecuador tonight. Peru has a horrible team
While nice writing to you all, would love to hear back some news on the family and the lives of all of you guys. Will be home before I can believe it. Chau todo!
Jungle- I went to Iquitos with three other people from the program. Iquitos is the point in the old computer game Amazon Trail that you got to when you won the game...some of you are like OH Yeah and some of you have no clue what i am talking about haha. I spent one day in the city and 3 days in the jungle. I did not get malaria :) so life is good. I got to see anacondas, monkeys, lotsa spiders, and made a friend with a parrot named Pirata...he would wait outside my door waiting for me to play...super cute. I was sad to leave, the beautiful oxygen full smog free air was great. I cant wait to return to the jungle again someday.
So life since the jungle...I am continuing my research of health conditions in the poorer areas of peru. It has been a lot of work and have recently been seeing a lot of pig farms...which smell really bad. But the work i am doing is enabling authorities to improve these areas. My other research is now over and is less serious about a lot of underground life in Peru as part of a Spanish class project.
The end of the semester is coming closer and my final works are all coming to a close. Today I wrote 10 pages over how important a very unimportant movie called "Joan the Woman (1917)" is in the development of film. Needless to say my BS skills do translate into Spanish. One more 10 page paper to write and a lot of final exams left.
I want to travel to Cajamarca in the north. I will travel to Huanaco in the mountains with a Peruvian as my guide. And after my studies are done on the 12th, my friend Laura comes to visit me and we are going to Huaraz. She leaves on the 20th and I will return to Cusco to meet with old friends, bus to Puno and see the highest elevation lake in the world, and then travel to Bolivia and return in time to say good-bye to the host family and friends in Lima before heading home on July 27th. I am kinda dreading returning to the US I will not lie...I have created a life that I like here and hate to give it up. My goal upon returning to create a life that I like in the US and not a life that I have simply inherited or had cast upon me. I have always been unique but in a very beaten path manner...now my life is more of the roughing it though the jungle type without a path in site.
I have heard recently from a few people that they are actually reading this...makes me feel good that I dont just come on here and write to myself. Also, always humbling to put my political opinion out in the open and get the debate back. While heated minds create controversy, open minds create understanding and thats all I have to say about that.
Anyone that has a facebook is much more up to date on my life...I highly recomend that you guys get on that haha.
My level of Spanish...not sure how to say this without sounding arrogant...its good! I can shout my head off if a car almost hits me or get a number at a bar without a struggle. My econ professor likes me and I am one of the best students in the class among a lot of peruvians. My host family jokes with me and treats me like the son theyve always had. I get invited by peruvians to parties and among the loud music still understand the convo. I have no help, few people speak english. I feel like I have gotten to a point few spanish majors ever will with the language and when I get home and definatly going to my school's spanish convo hour every week for the only purpose of having the best white boy spanish in the room. I also speak like a peruvian...i use a french gargle on my "J"s and dont say half my "S"s i call my friends pucha and am not afraid to tell someone to cojate. Its very liberating, I am opened to a world that is closed to people that do not know the language and can move among a much greater part of the world without fear of communication. Speaches from Che have great moral meaning to me, I understand why Castro won the hearts of so many...and I see how Chavez is not the right path for South America. I love this soo much, that I might consider learning another language and placing myself out of my element in the future...french has always been interesting to me, german society is the most evolved in the world...u never know...to be continued haha
Also, the Star Trek movie was great...I bought it on DVD already and I loved it...just want to clarify...I was a Trekkie long before it was cool!
Also, my host mom is gone for the week to the jungle for a huge traditional medicine outting. Not sure if I have mentioned this before. My host mom is now publishing her 3rd book about medicinal plants. She is considered an expert on traditional plants and medical usage and is one of the world's leading experts on the issue...which is really cool that she is my host mom haha. On Friday, she had all of her hippy friends over and we make coca leaf offerings for them to take with her to the jungle...they were singing and dancing in my lil apartment...good times. But now she is gone to the jungle and the hostbro and I are living together for the week alone. He is busy a lot with his new girlfriend, and I am hardly home. We see each other at dinner at 8 and breakfast every morning. He keeps me up to date on soccer haha btw Peru lost to Ecuador tonight. Peru has a horrible team
While nice writing to you all, would love to hear back some news on the family and the lives of all of you guys. Will be home before I can believe it. Chau todo!
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