Swanning Along...

Well, I find myself back in Peru after my Aussie-American vacation this the fall. Although I’m glad to be back it’s been a tough landing. I have to admit, I was getting used the various conveniences and indulges that are the “West” but all good things must come to an end. Iquitos hasn’t changed much. A few new stores opened, a few closed, the sewer project continues to vex everyone, the weather is great, the beer is cold, wish you were here!!

Things at CONAPAC “swanned” along beautifully while I was gone—not sure they need me but don’t say that to my boss, Pamela. She’d faint with fear of my leaving. But it does pay to work with committed professionals who have a passion and love for the rainforest and the Peruvian culture. In my absence, four new water plants were built followed by four water education workshops in the communities. This year we completed seven new water plants and our pilot project in one community to provide individual mini-clean water systems in river houses. Along with Adopt-A-School, the Las Malvinas garden project, teacher and communities workshops and evaluations, 16 tourist/community service projects and the incorporation of the Amazon Jungle Library, it’s been a particularly busy year. While I was in the States, I met donors and wrote a number of grant requests. Folks continue to be very supportive and generous of our programs and 2012 is shaping up to be another positive and productive year.

Christmas will be spent around town. I’ll be doing quite a bit of cooking and a bit of entertaining. My American friends, Pamela and Megan, who live here, will be part of this along with a number of Peruvians who never miss a party. With the weather so hot it’s not much like a Michigan Christmas. It feels silly when I play Christmas music so generally I don’t. The kids certainly get into it here, like all kids, and it’s fun to watch them be thrilled over the cheapest little trinket as their needs and expectations are so small. Christmas Eve around midnight brings everyone out into the streets and the plaza square downtown. There is more of a carnival feel to it than a sacred season but the next day, everyone seems to be more low-keyed and the streets are quiet. I look forward to Christmas coming then going. I always like the New Year. It makes for fresh starts and a feeling of accomplishment for the current year and hope and enthusiasm for the next.

My guy, James will be here for the month of March then in April, I’m anticipating one, possibly two friends from Brighton to join the Adopt-A-School volunteer expedition for 2012. They’ll come a few days before we head to the jungle and stay at my place. As you can imagine I don’t get too much company so it’s a thrill to have “out of town” guests! After that I head back to Michigan for June and beyond some special travel is being planned for me and James. It’s going to be a very good year. Live well, love deeply, sing loudly and enjoy your life! Best wishes in 2012 and beyond!

Hello & Goodbye--Again!

It’s been almost 3 ½ months since I left my home in Iquitos, Perú to make this long-awaited trip back to “civilization”. It’s been a particularly good visit, both here in the States and on my stopover to Australia along the way. I’m seen old friends and lots of family, as well as, visited many sights while being a tourist here and in Oz. As expected, I’ve gained a few pounds as the food is just sooooo good! And I’ve done a bit of shopping, finding those simple, everyday items which are impossible in the jungle to obtain. Overall, I’ve slipped back into my Western way of life with little effort. However, no matter how long I’m here, I doubt I will ever get used to all the incredible levels of choice one finds in the stores—particularly the grocery store. I find it overwhelming, to the say the least. On the other hand, so frustrating as the opposite is true in Perú where there is very little choice. Somewhere there has to be a happy medium but thus far I’ve not found it. I did again stock up on Thanksgiving fixings. Although I’ll be in Michigan for Turkey Day and eating at my Dad’s house—YUMMY!—I’ll be back for Christmas in Iquitos and I’ll make a turkey dinner at Pam’s house in her new stove—yeah! And once again, pumpkin pie will be on the menu ☺

Tonight I was scrolling through the endless channel choices on my friend's big, flat screen HDTV where I came across the Discovery Channel. They were showing the program “Walking the Amazon” with explorer Ed Stafford, the first man to walk along the Amazon River--from its beginnings in the Andes of Perú to the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil--in 860 days. What a trek!! It was fascinating but what it really did for me was made me homesick and long to be in the jungle that I love. Although it’s a harsh and unforgiving place, I have the luxury of living and working near it enough to thoroughly enjoy it but at a safer, more observant distance. However you look at it, it’s the most fascinating and fragile of places. I’m so glad I live in Perú, where much less primary rainforest has been cut, unlike Brazil where the destruction seems endless. There is only one Amazon rainforest—let’s hang on to this precious environmental treasure, shall we?

So the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, I’m off again for Perú. I’ve done some public speaking while here and met with donors. I’ve also kept in close contact with the staff at CONAPAC and written funding requests and letters of introduction about our NGO in the Amazon. Whether here or in Perú, the work continues. I consider this now the next chapter of my journey in my new and different life. The last three years have been about learning the job, the culture and the language. I’ve come a long way but there is much yet to learn and more to accomplish. I’ll be working with CONAPAC for the foreseeable future as I’m eager to continue the work I’ve started. I plan to continue my blog and keep the conversation going about the happenings in the rainforest. To all my readers and followers--whoever you may be--thanks for coming along on this wide and wonderful ride!

The jungle continues its stately ebb and flow with few variations on a theme. Unlike North America, which just six short months ago was suffering from a historic deep freeze, has now recently suffered a debilitating heat wave! I always found that a wee bit schizophrenic and constantly needed to know what to wear each day--but here things are just the same most days. The river is quickly receding and it takes longer to climb up steps and hills in order to arrive at communities but residents carrying on--whether in flood stage or dry season, they roll with it all!

June found me very busy with service projects and other donor groups. As I had mentioned earlier, we have a donor out of Denver who funded a pilot project to install individual water systems in jungle homes. This was accomplished in April and the donor arrived in June to see the results. We had a great visit, the feedback from residents was very positive, and our donor shows strong signs of continuing his help with more mini-water treatment systems. We are considering the idea of installing them in classrooms, especially for smaller communities where there is no clean water system. When I’m in Denver this fall, I’ll be speaking to my donor’s church congregation with more details. This should be fun and the best part of my job—when I get to talk!! CONAPAC also hosted the annual water project review where a third party comes in and evaluates our systems. Our partnership with the University of Colorado, Boulder, has proven to be invaluable in accessing the effectiveness of our water program. Four grad students and their professor were here for a month making many visits to our communities and executing in-depth interviews with the residents. We are eagerly awaiting their final and full report sometime in August but preliminarily, we have been encouraged by the anecdotal observations which the team made before departing. However, as always, we still look forward to more suggestions for improvement!

July brought changes as CONAPAC took over the CCC Amazon Library, adding one more major project to the CONAPAC family. Started 13 years ago by Dr Nancy Dunn, the library boasts over 4,000 titles, computers, music programs, and after school instruction. There is a second branch in a community down river about 30 minutes so things are growing and we hope to add more branches soon. Dr. Dunn decided it was time to move on in her life so she gave CONAPAC the library as a gift and we have now taken full responsibility to keep it running. Megan Thomas, a former Peace Corps volunteer, who also originates from Michigan, has taken the reins and the transition is complete. In July we hosted our first Rotary water workshop. CONAPAC’s reputation for education has spread and although Rotary International does a great job building water treatment plants, they don’t have an education piece. We were hired to facilitate the first one in the jungle. It went very well and we expect to be doing more very soon. Also, in July I had the honor of a visit from one of our most committed water project donors—Janice Lee, who is the Director of the SAGA Charitable Trust from the UK. Janice’s organization has consistently funded more water projects for CONAPAC than any other entity. She was here 2 ½ year ago and thought it was time to return and see the work we are doing. She and I made several community visits and we both had a chance to really chat with folks and hear their feedback about the value of drinking clean water. Overall, a very positive and productive visit! And finally, the 28th of July was the 190th year of independence for Peru from Spain and Inauguration Day for a new president, Ollanta Humala. Peru continues to show strong economic growth and the citizens expect no less from their new president. Folks out there in the West, it’s a great time to visit Peru. If it’s not on our radar screen, it should be! And, as always, if you want a highly personalized, behind the scenes visit to the jungle and jungle communities, I’m here to be your guide!!

In Iquitos, the truly crazy process of installing a city-wide waste disposal treatment system continues. I suppose there’s some method to their madness but thus far I’ve not figured it out. Streets seem to be closed a random, but barely. Gaping holes are left for days; piles of sand and dirt are in a crazy patch work of locations; the workers make huge cement pipe transitions right in the street where they’re working; then bulldozers and backhoes freely go to work around motorcars, buses, trucks, cars and pedestrians—all of which have to jockey for an opening in which to cross the street or continue on. Western attorneys would have a field day with these non-safety minded workers and their bosses. However, somehow in Iquitos it all works as do so many other seemingly incongruent activities of everyday life. Hmmm—solution? Well, when in doubt, a cold beer!

So, this current phase of my time in Peru is quickly coming to a close. In a little over three weeks, I'll be on my way to Sydney, Perth and Cairns, Australia followed by my return to the US, mainly Michigan and Colorado. My time in Peru has been priceless and I have no regrets about the various choices I've made and the time spent in this beautiful land. Since I'll be returning here in December to continue the work I stated three years ago, I'm not leaving on any kind of bittersweet note. This is pleasing and I'm thrilled to know I'll be home again soon—namely Iquitos, Peru! But it's now time to re-connect with my family--especially Erin, Samantha and Jack--and my incredibly supportive network of friends. It's amazing how small the world really is. Email, Facebook and Skype have made my time away seem more like a trip across the country than to another hemisphere. And then there's James in Australia who has been patiently waiting five months for us to see each other again! Without technology this long distance relationship would be unlikely but with it the world is a smaller place and I'm taking full advantage of its many little joys. So watch for my postings on FB--once the TSA lets me back in the US of A--and let's make some dates to get together. I look forward to seeing each of you very soon!

A Season of Changes

For those of you who have followed my blog since I started it in November of 2008—first, thank you so much for your support! But second, do you remember why I started this blog? I was heading to a posting in the Peace Corps, somewhere in Africa, but then got detoured here in Perú--and what a blessing it’s been! You may also recall that this was a 27 month commitment? Well, unbelievably, the commitment will be completed at the end of this month. It’s flown by for me and now I’m at a crossroads—what to do next? Well, once again I’m blessed. I’ve heard stories of many PC volunteers, who at the end of their commitment are simply not ready to leave. But, alas, they have no choice as they must move on. Well, I can tell you that I’m not ready to leave here yet either. I feel like I’m just now coming into my own with all the programs which we’ve managing. Also, the language barrier (which is still there but much improved) has slowed me down. However, more and more I can conduct meetings and get things done in Spanish plus write and read items which come across my desk. I love the climate, the lifestyle, the people, the music, the jungle, the beer—ah! How can I leave just yet? Well, I’m not as I’ve signed on for another year and told my boss I’ll take it a year at a time but with more time off to travel. So, before things start for 2012, I will be coming back to the States for a three month visit. I do hope to see as many of you as possible when I’m in Michigan from September through November. But if not, remember Iquitos is not that far away, my home is open, my couch is free, my beer is cold and the Amazon Rainforest of Perú beckons!

In my time here, I’ve gotten accustomed to the sort of insanity that is Iquitos. I no longer look at it will fresh eyes and I take the strangest sights as just another day here. Sometimes I think nothing really changes but in the last three years, I think a lot has. There are more “regular” stores and restaurants with more to come (this is a little difficult to explain but if you ever come here you’ll understand the remark). The Internet connection here keeps getting better although by Western standards is more like dial up—but I’m thankful for any connection at all. However, I still see plenty of naked locals walking down the street, kids doing their business in the nearest gutter, live pigs and chickens being carried around for sale and motorcars bearing the weight and size of unimaginable loads of cargo. The latest, and maybe most exciting thing going on here is the whole city of Iquitos and surrounding suburbs are getting sewers! That’s right, every single home and business is going to be hooked up to a waste disposal treatment plant which will be built in the Port of Nanay. So, now every street---most of which are paved—is being dug up and sewer lines laid. How long this will all take is anyone’s guess and it makes for some very tricky detours. But in the end, Iquitos will finally step into the 21^st Century and no longer be dumping its waste into the Amazon River. Do you realize how many small towns and large cities around the world still dump all their raw sewage directly into nearby lakes, streams and oceans? The majority! This will be a real feather in the cap of Iquitos, smack in the middle of the rainforest to finally become a bit more “environmentally correct”. A group of Chinese investors are making this possible. Not sure what their motivation is but hopefully it’s win-win for all. As for Belen and other floating houses on the river—well that’s a story for another day, as my photo shows!

Well, Peru has a new president—Señor Ollanta Humala. It’s been a neck and neck race and in the end, a very close call with his competitor, Kieko Fujimori. Humala has ties to Hugo Chavez from Venezuela and he’s an ex-military guy who leans quite far left with lots of populist promises. He’s not the choice of anyone with a business or major investments in Perú. The day after the elections the Peruvian stock market dropped 12.5%....hmmm…we shall see! But the good thing is the whole process was done in a very democratic way. Everyone votes (it’s mandatory) so everyone has their say. The campaign was run over the last few months with political ads and marches—all very peacefully—and in the end, the vote outcome was accepted, the peaceful transfer of power will take place later this summer, and life will go on. I’m very proud to see Perú continue forward into the future with as little fuss and muss as possible, using solid democratic principles. I’m happy to be here during this process—seeing the people of this emerging nation handle themselves in such a mature and thoughtful way is a rare opportunity.

Little Joys--Part II

• Not having to set the alarm—only exception: Catching a plane
• Bonnie’s cards
• Getting personal email
• A fast Internet connection
• Waking or falling asleep to heavy rain
• Nights with no disco music
• My long distance love affair
• High water season
• Mornings which always start with a glass of passion fruit juice
• The arrival of M & M’s and Girl Scout cookies
• When things actually go as planned—the first time
• Frasier re-runs on twice a day—7 AM and 8:30 PM
• My new couch
• Dead mosquitoes
• A good Skype video and audio connection—all at the same time
• Finding breakfast cereal for anyone over 10 years old
• Friendly, happy, helpful customer service—Anywhere!
• My boss, Pamela
• Completing a grammatically correct sentence (or two) in Spanish

Ah! Another year—the 18th—of Adopt-A-School has come and gone. Two great groups of volunteers came this April to help with deliveries and a pilot project building and installing new clean water treatment systems. So many old friends and new passed through the jungle during April. And, once again, they were generous with their time, their gifts and their praise of CONAPAC’s programs. So many people make CONAPAC what it is that it’s hard to single any one person but in particular I’d like to thank Nancy Kopf—AKA Pachita—for her tireless funding raising efforts and her endless enthusiasm for the program. Plus her laugh—which we all want to bottle and sell! Also Dave and Dottie Bonnet who never tire of the Amazon and always want to find a way to help in any project we seem to have cooking. Claire Lannoye, my buddy at the Detroit Zoo who recruits all these wonderful volunteers for our programs. Then there’s Ron Rossi who teaches at Sacred Heart HS in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He has come twice a year for 12 years in a roll with groups of students and teachers to share with them the joy of the rainforest. And so it goes--won’t you be next??

You’ve all either read about or know my wonderful boss and owner of Explorama Lodges, Pamela Bucur. If you knew her very well, you would also know she has eyes in the back of her head and ears that can hear through walls. In other words, NOTHING gets by this woman. Well, in 1986 Pam was a middle school science teacher who came to the Amazon with a group of friends and a couple of students. What happened next is history. She gave up her teaching position to come live and work fulltime in Peru at Explorama, invited by owner, Peter Jensen. Now, 25 years later, Pam is married to a Peruvian and she has two children and four step children. She is also now owner and general manager of Explorama after Peter’s passing last June. It seemed the perfect time to host a surprise anniversary party for Pam—but how to pull it off when she sees and knows all? Well, with a few lucky breaks and perhaps too many distractions on her part the week before the party, we actually made the surprise happen. Pam was completely taken aback by the big cake coming into the dining room, with everyone starting to sing as she looked around to see whose birthday it was and why didn’t she know about it? After warm speeches and fond sentiments, the party really got started with “la hora loca”, which cannot be explained only experienced—enough said, so one day come and see for yourself! A hardbound book of memories was presented holding photos and testimonials in both Spanish and English. I told her I wouldn’t surprise her again for another 25 years. She told me, no, the next surprise party will be for your 25th anniversary. Let’s see, that would be 2030 which makes me 74 years old—hmmm, I doubt it, but never say never!

For those of you who know me well, you know I love to bake cookies. I’ve talked for years about one day having a “cookie ministry”—whatever that meant? I figured I’d know it when it happened. Well, I think it did. Last week, I met the most delightful gals--two young women, Saskia and Claire, from London, England. They are here in Iquitos volunteering at a government orphanage, Santa Monica. They’ve been here about six months and although enjoying the experience, they are extremely tired of their regular diet of chicken, beans and rice. I figured who better to enjoy some comfort food than these two? Several friends have recently brought bags of M & M’s—milk and dark chocolate—as gifts. I decided this was the perfect combo so I made chocolate chip cookies with dark chocolate M & M’s. When I went to the orphanage with a surprise delivery, the girls weren’t there. It seemed earlier in the day they had all their money and debit cards stolen. At the time of my attempted delivery, they were trying to report it to the police but no luck. When they came back and heard about the cookies, they told me it restored their faith in humanity—we’ll not really but you get the idea. :) We rendezvoused yesterday and they said they were the best cookies they’d ever had—well at least in the last eight months, I'm sure!

Peruvian Magic

Yes, there's dengue fever in the air. Well, there was but the city of Iquitos and surrounding municipalities have done an outstanding job of raising awareness, fumigating each and every house and business (no matter how humble) and increasing education about the risks of this mosquito-borne disease. It seems to have run its course and although several folks have died, I remind family, friends and visiting tourists that this is a city problem not a jungle threat. There have been some funny stories of people wanting to be whisked through the city from the airport to the boats hoping to avoid bites. Of course, if you are familiar with the traffic and lack of road rules in Iquitos, anyone with some common sense might surmise there's a bigger risk in a traffic accident than a mosquito. But, none the less, folks can find fear where they want. The upside to all this has been the intensive fumigation which not only killed mosquitoes of all types but, it seems to me, reduced the number of spiders and ants around the house. It's been a bonus and frankly the last few weeks have been practically mosquito-free! It's a wonderful feeling to sit out after dark, eat dinner, and have a conversation without the fuss of bug spray. I don't think anyone in Michigan in the summer could sit out after dark without being driven completely mad by the little buggers! So don't let any news from outside stop you from coming to the most beautiful and tranquil place on earth~it certainly tops blizzards, earthquakes, floods and tsunamis!

Things are going well at Conapac. Adopt A School is right around the corner with deliveries starting on Monday, April 4th. A little early this year due to a late Easter but all should be ready by the appropriate day. This year we have the largest number of volunteers ever, who (through great recruiting by the Detroit Zoo) will help for two weeks handing delivery of books and school supplies then work in a river community installing clean water systems. We have a generous donor from Denver who is funding a pilot project in which we will place individual mini-water treatment plants for personal use. The community will actually have three different types of systems with families broken into zones. We will study the usage rates, ease of use, and general feedback by the population for one year. In our goal to provide access to clean water for our AAS participating communities, not every village is a candidate for a centralized system as they are small and don't warrant the investment. We hope the use of individual systems will augment the larger ones where appropriate. Our volunteers will assist in this project and become emotionally invested partners in this important work.

Probably the most exciting thing happening at Conapac right now is the addition of a new volunteer. Megan Thomas, who hales from Fremont, Michigan, had come on board for an undetermined amount of time. She first came to Peru at 17, traveling with a student group. She fall in love with the rainforest and always hoped to find her way back to Iquitos. But first she earned her degree in natural science at the University of Michigan then she fulfilled a 2 ½ year stint for the Peace Corps in Honduras. She is fluent in Spanish and brings tremendous gifts to the table of Conapac. She has been working with the students in the garden at Las Malvinas School; facilitating student service projects; and handling data collection for our donors. Shortly, she will help manage the jungle library which Conapac will soon take over; she will cover my job responsibilities when I'm in the States this fall; and in general, she has become a very good and fun friend to have around! She seems intent on making a long-term commitment to Conapac by living and working here for the next few years. We will work toward getting here a “green card” later this year. With the addition of her talents and enthusiasm, Conapac can only grow and improve thus providing the services, support and environmental education Conapac strives to bring to the residents of the Peruvian rainforest. Here in Peru, the right person always seems to come along at the right time--Welcome Megan!

Have you ever been stalked by a cat? Well, I have not until recently and at times it was almost spooky but here's the story. As I've mentioned before, dogs and cats are quite the “throw away” items here. People rarely care appropriately for these animals. Sterilization is rare and abandonment common. About four months ago a white cat would periodically mosey through my house and often cry to be fed. Since my doors are always open this is not unusual as cats, dogs, frogs, rats, etc. sometimes pass through. This cat kept coming back and the only course I had to be rid of it was to use a spray bottle of water and squirt it out the door. I did this for weeks but she kept coming back and would not take no for an answer. Then about 3 weeks ago my friend, James, arrived for a visit and he and she (the cat) took to each other right away. She was in his lap and purring and he enjoyed and encouraged this. Ugh! I was thinking, now I'll never be rid of this cat! She was very skinny and underfed but you know what happens when you start to feed a cat---I resisted but found it difficult. The tide turned when I found her under my bed in a box starting to have a litter of kittens. To add insult to injury, this poor, abandoned, malnourished cat was now knocked up and having to deal with babies. Ah, what to do? We made her comfortable in a new box and let her do her thing by leaving the box just outside my door. In the morning? No cat, no kittens, no afterbirth, nothing! I can only surmise that she ate the babies and such since she was near starving. Those of you who know me are aware that I can be a bit hardhearted when it comes to animals. I simply can't be bothered but this time I just decided it was enough and something had to be done. I bought some cat food and made a decision, with Megan's great help, to start feeding this cat, have it spayed and find it a new home. We got her healthy, AmazonCares (which I wrote about last month) handled the surgery at a reduced price, got rid of her parasites, worms and other pests then we asked around for a new owner. We found a lovely woman who works at Explorama to take the cat. So now to get her there?! Have you ever tried to take a cat in a box in a motokar in the streets of Iquitos? And to top it off, on our way there, a HUGH thunder storm kicked up so that by the time we arrived, we were soaking wet and freezing cold as the wind raised and the temperature dropped. But that sweet little cat—so trusting of me for so long—was removed from the box and easily at home in her new environment. Lesson: Persistence pays whether human or animal. I've learned something from this little cat—not to take no for an answer. But do make sure your target (victim?) is ultimately as much of a softy as I am given enough time to break down my walls :)

So, speaking of “walls”, my final comments are about my personal life. I don't often write about this in my blog but I think it's time. My life here in Iquitos has been completely different than what I call my “previous life”. I was married for 32 years, raised two children, ran a small business and generally lead a nice if somewhat boring life. Although those years were important and pleasing, at 50-something it was time for me to rock the boat and upend my life. You all know the rest of the story. Since coming to Peru to live and work, I've enjoyed a completely fun and fulfilling life on my own. I have not been looking, expecting or even wanting a love-interest let alone a “relationship”. For me it seemed to be too much work, responsibility and obligation—something I had wanted to avoid by keeping up the “walls”. But, it seems, sometimes these things find you anyway. Out of nowhere, I met James last August. He was an Australian tourist passing through the jungle for two nights. I've met many such tourists over the years, which is a great opportunity to meet folks from around the world and have some pleasant conversation in English. However, I do not ever expect to see them again. But this man, not unlike my stalking cat, would not take no for an answer. From the start, he has pursued me in the most romantic way yet kept an appropriate space for me to decide if this was want I wanted, too. Since August we've had wonderful and regular email correspondence, which is a great way to get to know someone. He has returned to Iquitos from Perth for two extended visits since. We've enjoyed each others company very much and he seems taken with me, the jungle and the possibilities that Peru affords. I will be traveling to Australia in August to meet his family and friends then he will join me in Michigan in October to meet mine.

So in the most unexpected and unforeseen way, I have fallen in love. Once more, my cup is filled beyond overflowing and I rejoice! What a wonderful life. My dear family and friends, please welcome James into my life!

Westerners are so caught up in numbers and calculating time, costs, etc. Not that this is all bad as it certainly has created unheard of levels in our standard of living. Numbers and charts gauge accountability and performance—also important. But at what point is the focus so much on the bottom line that one can’t see up let alone forward and beyond? I had a nice conversation with Samantha the other night. She is working at a horse farm and reproduction facility in Ocala, Florida for a six-month internship. For those of you who know Sam, she has been in love with horses since she was a child and to say this is her passion is an understatement. But off to college she went after high school in a completely different career direction, which her father and I could never figure out. But now at the ripe old age of 27, she is back doing what she loves and working toward a second BA but this time in equine science. She commented to me how happy she was just being with the horses again full time but that it was a little late to finally come to it. I reminded her that it has taken me more than 30 years to finally find and follow my passion. And her sister, Erin, who is in beauty school at 33, is finally doing the thing she loves best, too. In other words, it’s never too late to find and follow your passion. However, all three of these passions will not bear much fruit in the area of money. By any Western standard, these three choices might look unwise for long-term financial reasons—and maybe they are? But thus far, I’ve not seen a gauge, chart, or graph for measuring happiness, contentment and love of life. Some things you just can’t measure nor should you even try. They will bear their own fruit in unseen and uncountable ways yet, none the less, they will make their owners some of the richest people on earth.

I just got back from Coya, Perú where I again volunteered my time with a VOSH team from Michigan. Lead by Dr. Mark Cook, our team of 20 volunteers examined 944 patients for eye care, most of whom received new glasses. The Kausay Wasi Clinic is run by two retired Americans, Guido and Sandy Del Prado. Their commitment is awe-inspiring! Check it out online at: www.kausaywasi.org. I believe this is the 6th time I’ve been to the clinic with this group—which continuously evolves with new faces coming and going but always some core friends. And over the years, the ex-pats in Coya who live and work there have become old friends, too. For me it’s like a homecoming in Perú. How lucky to have two—one here and back home in Michigan. Ah, abundant blessings—Que rico!

So in my neck of the woods (Iquitos) I live among a variety of social-economic levels—but frankly, all poor and mostly living in huts on the river or in the street. They all have chickens roaming free-range plus a sprinkling of roosters. Generally, I’ve gotten used to the roosters which start crowing around 4-4:30 each morning. It’s like a snooze alarm. When I hear them, I know I have a couple more hours to sleep. But next door to me there has been a “rogue rooster” which thinks 3:30 in the morning is not unreasonable to begin his day. Monday morning he woke me out of a sound sleep--grrrrrr! So later in the day when I saw the owner, I mentioned how much “I’d like to kill that chicken”. However, I failed to use the right words –ah, the joys of a second language—and actually said, “I’d like to die that chicken”. But apparently I got my message across as she laughed and showed me the correct body language of wringing one’s neck which I heartily agreed. The next morning?--nothing!! Not a peep from my old friend. Once again the neighborhood is at peace and the smell of chicken soup waifs through the air!

FOR RENT: Many of you know I’m heading back to Michigan for 3 months this year. I’ll be there September-November. I want to keep my fabulous apartment here in Iquitos but would love to sub-let it while I’m away. Some of you have expressed a desire to experience living somewhere like Iquitos for a few months. Let me know if there’s interest out there or pass on the word to your adventuresome friends. The cost is very low by Western standards and everything is included except your food and, of course, the beer! Give it some thought—you’ll never regret the experience.

2011~Ring It In...Bring It On!

Another year working for CONAPAC and living in Perú has come and gone. In February it will be three years since I first arrived and thought I might volunteer for a few months. Now it's my life and so it seems, my life's work. Keeping Adopt-A-School on track and building more clean water systems seems to have taken on a life its own. Much was accomplished last year and our donors continue to generously respond. As I see what's on the horizon of 2011, I'm already tired--but a day at a time, right? :) December was a great month. The first part of it I spent in the jungle doing student and teacher evaluations. As expected it's a mixed bag of results—some schools are just awesome and some barely function. But there's always hope and our team continues to search for new ideas and refinements of what works. The water plants are doing well and we continue to encourage communities to make the care and maintenance of the systems a top priority. This year we plan to build eight more—little by little, our goal of providing access to clean water for all our AAS communities will be a reality.

The end of December brought my daughter, Samantha, here for an eight day visit! She had been here in June of 2009 so this was a nice follow up visit. We had no particular plans but quickly filled the time with conversation, Christmas activities, excursions and a short visit to the jungle. Lots of tears were shed when she left town as she was not yet ready to leave her “mumzie” however, some good news awaited her. Out of Lima, her plane was late leaving the country by two hours thus she missed her connection in Newark back to Denver. This was when the great Christmas snow storm was just sorting itself out. She could not get a flight out until the next day plus she needed to get to La Guardia where her connection would be made. She knows no one in the area and had never been to New York City. Using her SmartPhone and Facebook, she put out the word and found someone who offered her an apartment in Manhattan for the night. Then she learned that her best friend and college roommate, Christina, (who lives in Cleveland) was going to be in the city for the night on business! They connected later in the day and hung out, caught up on news and generally enjoyed the unexpected visit together. To top all this off, when she got to the airport the next day, she found that the airline had bumped her up to first class! What a treat and an unexpected bonus—although I told her not to get used to it! She couldn't have written a better script for a nice way to end her vacation. She was able to make it home in time to get to work—she tends bar in downtown Denver and certainly New Year's Eve is the best night of the year for tips so it all turned out great. Thanks to social networking and a PMA, she rang in the New Year in a most delightful way! :)

While Samantha was here we checked out a really interesting NGO working in Iquitos. It's called AmazonCares. They pick up street dogs and bring them back to health. Stray street dogs with mange, injuries and severe illnesses run rampant here. Sterilization is almost unheard of and puppies are regularly turned out to fend for themselves. Internationally recognized AmazonCares, brings in vet volunteers to help with the process of neutering dogs and accessing care. Sam and I visited the remote shelter site where about 35-40 dogs are cared for and brought back to health while looking for a new home. Interestingly, here in the Iquitos, the stray dogs are as laid back as the people. They run in packs and sometimes fight among themselves but I've never felt threatened or uncomfortable around any of them. Many of the dogs at the shelter—all which are mutts of some kind—were so nice! I'm not much of a dog person but I could see they were just starving for a little love and attention now that they're regularly fed and cared for. Sam and I went in the common area with about 15 dogs at once. They were all over us but surprisingly well-behaved for street dogs. There are many needs here in Iquitos, human and animal. CONAPAC is looking for ways to assist AmazonCares in what its trying to accomplish. For more info check out: www.amazoncares.org

Thanks to everyone out there who continue to follow my blog posts. It's fun to do but sometimes I think I'm only doing it for myself--but when someone leaves a comment, I know I'm connecting somewhere! As I posted on Facebook, if 2011 is even the slightest bit better than 2010, my cup will not only run over but it will threaten to flood the floor! Thank you, life, for all the blessings you have bestowed upon me and know that I do not take any of them for granted—each day is a gift that I wake up to with joy, enthusiasm and acceptance. I wish nothing less for each and every one of my readers. Embrace 2011 for what it is—another year in your glorious life!