Call for help in La Oroya

As many of you know, I have been working on a project in La Oroya for quite some time, but now we would love you to join in if you can.  If you are a teacher, student, youth leader or just work with kids, please read this blog entry by my team member Anna Gray and consider joining up.  Also, below there is lots of data explaining more of why we are doing what we are doing.

http://annainhuancayo.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/la-oroya-needs-your-attention/#comments

The Doe Run Plant in La Oroya

Holy Week

Baja holding a Cuy

I have now had the opportunity to spend 2 Holy Weeks in countries catholic countries.  In 2008, I was in San Jose, Costa Rica with CASP and then this year here in Peru and both have been experiences that are so completly different than the way that I have grown up celebrating the holiday.

Alissa and her host sister Pricila

On Tuesday night we all piled back into a bus on our way to Huanta to see Alissa's placement and town.  When I say "pile" I do mean that we ride these 2 story buses and sit on the first floor in veritable lazy boys all night.  I usually sleep the entire time.  It is quite wonderful.  After a long ride, we arrived in Huanta which is home to Radio AMAUTA (a partner of the Red Uniendo Manos Peru) and Alissa King (YAV).  Our first day was actually her birthday and so we celebrated by seeing the sights of Huanta.  We climbed up to the Cristo Blanco, went out to pizza, saw a procession of the virgin Mary coming to meet Jesus and then had her not so "surprise" birthday party.  It was a really great day.

The fair at Pampa de Quinoa

Thursday we went to more traditional "tourist" locations around the Huanta/Ayacucho area.  We visited the Pampa de Quinoa which is where the Battle of Ayacucho was held.  This battle was extremely important because it was the last battle between the South Americans and the Spanish and basically gave freedom to the entire region.  It kinda blew my mind to stand in a place that was so decisive for the history of so many people.  I have never visited any of the battlegrounds from the US Revolutionary War, but it was interesting to stand in a place where this country and region had stood up and owned their independence.  At the site there is a huge monument to the battle made of a white stone and it stands out from wherever you are in the Ayacucho valley.  Also being as it was Holy Week, there was an artisan fair.  I recommend visiting.  We made a few more stops that afternoon and then took a nap for the record books.

making an Alfombra

Friday morning, we left Huanta for Ayacucho itself.  The city has been declared the Latin American Capital for Holy Week.  We missed the morning processions of Jesus.  So had a leasurely morning of looking at the mirador of the city, doing a little shopping, lunch, drinks, etc.  Then we went to the main square where people were making Alfombras.  These are elaborate pieces of art that are done on the streets with tinted sawdust, sand, and flowers.  Then in the evening, Jesus and Mary are carried in a procession over them and thus blessing the makers.  These alfombras were AMAZING.  The detail and the skill absolutly blew my mind.  Then in the evening we came back to see the procession.  All the lights in the square were turned off and as Jesus (in a glass coffin) and Mary and their hundreds of assistants with candles through the square.  It was truly amazing to see the emotion, the intricacy and beauty of the moment.  Everyone was there for a reason.  Many argue that it is a show or political or whatever, but if you stand in that park that night, it is a beautiful moment that I will never forget.

a high school makes an Alfombra

That night we headed back to Lima and spend Saturday with former YAV and fellow CASPer Emily Fletcher and a '05 CASPer Chelsea Peterson.  It was really fun to see the city and show off my home.

Then Sunday morning, the YAVs went to Catholic Mass at a church near my house.  It was a nice service and the joy of the resurrection was definitely there (something that I did not feel at the national cathedral in San Jose 2 years ago).  We sang songs of justice, peace and of a God that is working in our world.  So now as I look back at this week that defines the christian faith, I am so thankful for the experiences I had and more thankful for the one that we are celebrating.

Spoon

Spoon, originally uploaded by jtobiason08.

On our way from Lima, Peru to Sucre, Bolivia, one of the many stops we had to make was in Desaguadero, the border town between Peru and Bolivia. In order to leave Peru, we had to stand in line forever to get exit stamps for our passports (and for the peruvians to get some form). while we were waiting, I saw this woman taking a break from her money changing job and had to take the picture. I was a little disappointed that the background didn´t defocus quite as much as I would have liked, but I love her face and just the reality of the moment.

11th SuSanA meeting in Rio

The park of Catete

I have lived in Latin America long enough to learn that when you are a foreigner here, odd things tend to happen to you that are completely unexpected.  In the past I have written about the time that I was just sitting in the main square of San Salvador and ended up at a lucha libre (Latin professional wrestling) event or the time that I was hanging out in another main square in Guatemala and ended up having dinner at a Mormon family´s house.  So when I walked into CENCA one morning and immediately swung into a meeting and was asked if I wanted to go to Brazil for a ecological sanitation (EcoSan) conference, I was not not surprised because that is how my life so often seems to fall.

Most of the South Americans

So only a couple days of resting up after being in La Oroya, I was at CENCA getting ready to fly off to Brazil.  If you have ever spent time with Latins, you will find them to be very relaxed about time schedules.  And in 99% of the Latin world, that is completely fine, unfortunately international airports run on a tighter schedule.  So, after a meeting ran late, stopping at 2 banks and arriving at the airport 45 minutes before takeoff, we got through security, customs, and meandering through the duty free stores and to the gate right as boarding began.  This was far from the end of the travel confusion.  Upon arriving at our layover in Sao Paulo,  Jose Luis and I accidentally went through customs only to find out that our flight was in fact an international one (because the plane would continue on to Paris).  So I have an extra set of stamps in my passport and now have seen lots of the Sao Paulo airport.  Be prepared, if you go there, IT IS A CONFUSING AIRPORT.  But after a long day of travel, we did arrive at our hostel at around 1am local time.

My Coworker at CENCA Jose Luis

In the morning, we awoke to the world of Rio.  It was hot.  I am just finishing a summer in Lima and Rio was hotter.  I think that had I been coming from the northern hemisphere to this event, I would have died, but instead, I wore long pants and close toed shoes all weekend (I was also sporting my new knock off Lacoste polos that I got for 23 soles a piece).  The part of town we were in is called Catate.  It is a nice little part of town with cobblestone streets and the metro right there.  Pretty cool.

A bar in Lapa

The event took up the majority of our time in Rio (I guess that is how it is supposed to be, right?).  3 long days of discussing poop, but in reality it was very good.  We had presentations by various experts on the subject of EcoSan from all around the world, long discussions on the future of EcoSan in Latin America, and lots of coffee breaks (where we received the smallest coffee cups ever, like being given shots of normal coffee).  It was a great time to work with other sanitation workers from around the region and world to see what is being done and how it affects the populations with whom we are working.  I learned a lot and hopefully will be able to find ways to better incorporate some of the ideas into our processes at CENCA and in the way I live.  If you want to know more about the specifics of the conference send me an email or click this link to see the wrap up of the event.

At the conference

One thing that really struck me during this event was the general desires of those attending to have the local populations be involved in the process.  I think that everyone there very strongly believed that it was not our job to push this form of sanitation onto the population, but rather to enable them to make the decision.  This is extremely difficult because the technology that we are trying to promote takes a little more work than conventional systems that simply flush away the your problems and make someone else deal with it.  Everyone is taught that feces and urine are dirty and that they are scary.  In many cases this is the case.  Human feces is a extremely dangerous carrier of many pathogens, but at the same time these deposits are so full of usable nutrients that are being completely lost because of our fear of what comes out of our own bodies.  It doesn't help that every single government in the world still puts flushing, piping and dumping away waste as the highest form of sanitation.  In many situations, EcoSan is an impossible or at least difficult goal because of the structures of the zone, but as with so many other issues in the world, it is necessary that everyone looks at other options and seeks ways to deal with problems that is not conventional, but rather is sustainable and looks toward the future.

Our Metro station

Aside from the conference, I did get the wonderful opportunity to see much more of what Rio has to offer.  I attended a concert of Seu Jorge at a fantastic venue in the district of Lapa.  Jose Luis and I saw early morning swimmers (we think training for triathlons) at the famous Copacabana beach.  We rode up to Sugar Loaf.  We stood below Cristo el Redenor.  We saw a fútbol match between Flamengo and Botafogo (2 of the biggest Rio teams) and we swam at the famous Leblon and Impanema beaches.  So look at the following pictures and know that when the Olympics are there in 2016, it is going to be one great party.

Flamengo fans light flares

View from Sugar Loaf (Pão de Açúcar)

Graffiti

Seu Jorge Concert

Cristo el Redenor (being refurbished in preparation for the Olympics and World Cup)

La Oroya with Colorado College

After returning from Mancora, I turned in a series of 4 long days at CENCA translating a 54 page book on ecological sanitation from English to Spanish.  If you´re interested let me know and I´ll send it to you.  You will know more than you ever thought necessary about poop.

First Day Mixers

Then, another group came, this time from Colorado College.  They came through their schools annual work study trip (I forget the actual title, but something along those lines).  They came with two main purposes, one to get to know La Oroya and the people that live there and two to aid in a study of the levels of toxins in and around the city.  Due to my preparations to go to Brazil, I was only with the group for the weekend, but it was a great experience.  I am so glad to see a world where there are more and more people who are interested in working to better the lives of others. 

Shirly leads a dynamic

Every time that I enter La Oroya (from now on, just LO), I have such a strange feeling.  It is always amazing to see this city that has been some utterly disrespected and trashed by man but then to enter the office and to meet people who are so filled with love and caring.  Every time that I am welcomed by the enormous smiles and great laughter of Esther (the director of the NGO with whom we work in La Oroya) never ceases to make me so glad to be there and it was most definetly no different when we walked in with 17 instead of just Jed and I.

Matt (our expert) sets up the sampling equipment

Our first day in LO was basically just a day to get acclimated.  No matter if you live at sea level (like me) or in the Rockies (like the CC kids) it takes a little bit to get used to the cold and complete lack of air up there.  This also gave us a great opportunity just to be with our hosts.  We played games, did little dynamics and really laid the foundations for real relationships that were going to be formed during the time there.

2 kids from La Oroya take samples

On saturday, we did our study.  3 groups were sent out throughout LO and the surrounding areas to take samples of water and soil.  One of the faculty of CC that was with the group is a world leading lead expert and was conducting a small experiment on the contamination in the region.  My group took various samples from a special center for children with elivated lead levels, the source of LO's water, a playground, a soccer field, a clothes washing center, and a few others.  As the peliminary results have come back, the levels were most definetly above what they should be and will require further study to really see what is going on and then how those toxins are entering and affecting human bodies.  But during our day of sampling, it was a great time for gringos and peruvians alike to come together to enjoy the process and look for a brighter future for us all.

Some of the Doe Run company housing

On sunday, we took a day to go to the Rock Forrest near the city of Cerro de Pasco in the state of Junin.  It was a great day to see the amazing rock formations, see the various shapes that had come out of them (ranging from a praying bear to a turtle to snoopy).  Our guide was a local who was very proud of his land and his culture.  He showed us the aincent rock paintings that were in caves and explained how the men of that period had killed llamas.  Then we ran across a herd of llamas and realized that if they are that hard to take picures of, then they must have been really hard to kill.

Early the next morning, I had to return to Lima to prepare for my next trip, but I am so thankful for my time with the CC people and I know that the rest of their time in Peru was fruitful.  I hope that as they left they had strong connections with this wonderful country and city and will seek justice in whatever means they can.

Mancora

So, since we were halfway through the year, the 6 YAVs and Debbie had to deal with the trying and very job of spending a week in the beach town of Los Organos so that visas could be renewed.  It was a rough life, but it needed to be done.  So we loaded up for the 16hr bus ride up north and then a little moto-taxi ride to what turned out to be heaven on earth.  The location truly felt like we were on a reality TV show because the quality of everything.  It was a fantastic 2 story house and I (being the only male) got a master bedroom that pointed straight out toward the ocean (which was only 20m away).  There was the pool, the green grass, hammocks, a bbq, and of course, the continual crash of the pacific ocean. We also developed a sport of crab catching.  Anna was by far the most excited and best, but nothing like watching a bunch of college graduates running around after animals smaller than your cell phone to make you laugh.

Like I said, there was a purpose, we had to go up to Ecuador for a day to renew visas (Peruvian tourist visas are good for 183 days, so we needed new ones to last the rest of the year).  We woke up each morning to devotionals given by us YAVs.  All were rooted in biblical texts and concepts that were impacting the presenter at that point.  For mine, we focused on peace and justice.  For years, I have done a type of yoga/stretching/meditation/prayer kind of activity.  So for my reflection, we started out with 15 minutes of a series of yoga moves I learned by watching podcasts (I know that is not the best way to learn it, but if you´re interested, look up some good videos that can be downloaded from the itunes music store, just search "yoga podcast," I like Yoga Download).  My mind usually wanders during prayers, so in order to maintain focus I had us focus on a mantra "God is justice (breathing in), God is peace (out), teach me justice (in), teach me peace (out)."  So as we worked our way through the movements, I felt myself focusing on these two concepts and how they can be found but still need searching.  Then we relaxed into a time of meditation on the verses peace: Zec 7:9-10 and justice: 1 Peter 3:11.  So we laid there, ignoring the wind blowing through the palms, the waves crashing, and an ant or two crawling over our legs to search within ourselves what justice and peace really meant in our lives and where we wanted to go with it.  I really do feel that these are some of the most important elements of our lives as Christians.  So give it a try or at least think about the concepts and let me know what you think.

For the rest of our time together we enjoyed cooking for ourselves (mon: creamy pasta and cookie dough, wed: curry vegetables, thurs: fajitas and "queso", fri: Sushi and stir fry), getting sunburnt, spending a day in Mancora itself, laughing, playing way too much "nerts" and just enjoying being a team.  It will be a week that will stick with me for a long time.

I don´t really live here

The month of March has been the craziest, busiest month that I can remember.  This means that I have so much that I want to share with the world, but also understand a little bit about attention spans.  So in order to help you the reader to not be overwhelmed by a dissertation on my life and to hopefully keep me from just blowing through events, I am going to write a series of blog entries over the next days and week to catch up, but have each one be on only one subject/event.  So enjoy and please let me know what you think as we go along.

Also, I have tried to minimize how much I talk about fundraising on this blog, but we are approaching benchmarks and if you can help out, that would be more than fantastic.  If not, I still love you.  To donate, just click here, scroll down to my name and then follow the instructions.  Thanks!