Mid-Year Ponderings

Arequipa by night

Hi friends!
I hope you're all enjoying the summertime up in the Northern Hemisphere. I've been a little jealous lately looking at all your pictures of summer BBQ's, beach days, the 4th of July, etc, but I can't complain too much about winter in Tacna-it's definitely not nearly as bad as Worcester. Time continues to amaze me as it flies by. It's really hard for me to believe that it's already August...JVI orientation ended yesterday for all the new volunteers that will be joining us this year, most of my friends that did JVC after graduation are already finishing up their year of service and heading home in the next week or

two, and here in Tacna we just hit the halfway

mark of the 2010 school year. Being a JV in another country thousands of miles from home, living in community, being a first-time teacher, teaching in a culture, language, and educational system that are not my own, and being without my family and friends continue to challenge me in ways I'd never experienced before, but also bring me so many blessings that have absolutely enriched and changed my life for the better.

Just about 9 months into my JV experience, I can easily say that I am exactly where I'm supposed to be right now. I've definitely struggled over the past couple months, at work and in community, but in general this experience has been so

overwhelmingly positive for me. The people I've met here at Miguel Pro, in Habitat, and throughout Tacna have brought so much joy and meaning to my life, especially as I've settled in and really cultivated those relationships over the past few months. One of the best feelings after coming back from my mid-year vacation to Arequipa last week (my first extended time away from Tacna since February) was getting off that bus in Habitat, walking into D-10 (the JV house) and feeling truly at home. I almost immediately starting making the rounds to visit all of my neighbors, call my host family and close friends so that I could see them all and catch up after my week away. It's nice to feel so comfortable here, and to be able to share in this experience with so many wonderful people.

Now, about my vacation...Seamus and I spent our week off in and around Arequipa (the 2nd biggest city in Peru, about 6 hours from Tacna). I absolutely loved it there, being in a big city surrounded by so much natural beauty. One of Arequipa's claims to fame is Misti, the 5000m volcano that towers over the whole city. It's also famous for Santa Catalina, a beautiful 400+year-old monastery for cloistered nuns, and the mummy Juanita (aka the "Ice Maiden"), an almost perfectly intact Incan princess found in the Andes in 1995. Arequipa is also known for its delicious food and chocolate, so needless to say I had a wonderful time. After a weekend exploring the city, we hopped on a tour bus to Colca Canyon, the 2nd deepest canyon in the world, about a 5 hour drive from Arequipa. Our tour took us first to the condor lookout where we watched the impressively huge birds coast above the canyon, and then to the small town of Cabanaconde where we started our 12km trek down to the bottom. The second day we hiked through the valley, where I drank chicha beer (a typical Andean corn beer fermented by people's spit-yummy) and chewed coca leaves for the first time. They're supposed to help with altitude sickness and increase your stamina, but all it did for me was make my tongue really numb. We spent the rest of that day lounging in the pool at the beautifully green and relaxing oasis, and at 5 the next morning we started the hike back up to the top. It was pretty steep, and a lot harder than I was expecting, but we made it up in under 3 hours and all before the sun got too hot which was my only saving grace. (The picture of me above is while I'm on my way up the canyon.) Once at the top we had breakfast, drove to the town of Chivay where we enjoyed the beautiful natural hot springs, then headed back to Arequipa. I had a lot of fun with our tour group, a mix of 9 people from the States, Australia, New Zealand and France, as well as our Peruvian guide Diego. Our hostel booked the all-inclusive tour for us (transportation, guide, food, and lodging for the 3 days) for only $40 usd, so I'd say it was a pretty good deal.

After that week off we went back to school for 2 days, then had the rest of last week off for Fiestas Patrias (Peru's big national holiday). I think I enjoyed that time almost as much as my vacation in Arequipa, just hanging out in Habitat with all my neighbors, visiting my host family, and catching up with people I hadn't seen in a while. Highlights of those days include starting a rendition of the Peruvian national anthem in a crowded bar at midnight the night before July 28th, visits from Cara's sister and former JV Dan Robb, learning how to make aji de gallina (my favorite Peruvian dish), and being invited to SO MANY delicious meals! I've also been working a lot with the choir lately and we've been doing some exciting stuff. I translated one of my favorite Paul Melley songs into Spanish (my choir director at Holy Cross who also composes liturgical music) and Cara and I taught it to our kids for a mass we sang at last week. It came out so beautifully, and now Carlos the music teacher is teaching it to all the music classes in primary! I have lots of videos of the kids singing but these computers are way too slow to put them on here so I'm still working on a way to get them online.

So overall life is great here. I'm missing you all a lot and thinking of you all the time, but I am very very happy here in Tacna and so grateful to have another full year ahead of me. I look forward to hearing updates from all of you and hope all is well wherever you are. Here are a few pictures from my trip too-enjoy!

Mucho amor y paz de Tacna,

Mo

At the condor lookout in Colca. It was freezing if you can't tell (-2ºC). I'm wearing every shirt that I brought under that sweatshirt.

At the hot springs in Chivay; beautiful landscapes in the canyon; our group after reaching the top of the canyon; Drew (a Santa Clara student who volunteered here for a month), Seamus and me posing with Misti in Arequipa; in Arequipa's Plaza de Armas; inside Santa Catalina Monastery