The weather, money, and cookies!

Has Spring sprung in the north? It's always difficult for me to determine this since I only get international news, thus it seems I know more about the weather in Australia or Germany than I do in the good old Midwest! Of course, the weather is basically the same here every day but recently it has gotten a little cooler in the mornings--maybe 78 degrees. I still don't own or think I'll ever need an actual blanket. A single bed sheet seems to do the trick. I haven't been to the jungle in almost two months. Today I took a ride in our new CONAPAC boat for its first test-run! It was great and it reminded me that I'm ready for a "jungle fix" which is kind of like needing to go north on the weekends when you live in Michigan...you just gotta' get out of town! So next week, I'm heading to the Lodge for about 5 or 6 days. It's always a pleasure to be there and certainly helps clear my mind.

Since the main topic of news I hear is about the financial crutch and world-wide recession, you may be wondering what's happening in Peru? It appears to me that Iquitos and Peru generally are not suffering as the more developed countries are. Tourism seems to be holding steady and in fact, Explorama hosted more guests in January and February this year than last. Maybe some folks who were thinking about China or Africa are opting for South America instead? The weather is good, the time zone is virtually the same as the States, and the dollar exchange is quite strong right now. As for business activity in Iquitos, I see people doing the same things I've always seen--the markets are full of fresh fish, meat, fruits and veggies; new storefronts for things like motorcycles and generators seem to open every week; and the moto-taxis are running all over town at the same rate as I've always seen. Prices here are a little high since Iquitos is so isolated and everything must come here either by airplane or boat 2,000 miles up the Amazon from the Pacific Ocean! Gasoline is running about $2.25 a gallon, a medium size box of whole grain cereal is about $3.35, and a six-pack of my favorite beer, Pilsen, is $4.35! Anything that is imported is not a bargain but going to the market for locally growth produce is a treat. I can buy a whole week's worth of fresh fruits and veggies for about $10! I rarely eat out and instead buy and make three meals a day. At the moment, I spend about $35 a week plus beer. Of course, for the locals that is a lot of money but I think they are holding their own with their diet of chicken, rice, potatoes and fresh fruit. Perhaps because most people here do not have access to credit (or if they do, it's very little), they have not found themselves to be "over leveraged" or more bluntly, up to their eyeballs in debt! Nor is the country yet a big exporter of manufactured goods. Thus, their lives and lifestyles haven't changed much, if at all? Of course, jobs here can be fairly menial--like every night a hoard of workers goes into the streets of Iquitos to clean and sweep the streets, removing all the trash and making the place look quite spiffy. I don't know what they're paid but I have a feeling it's less than the cost of bins for litter all over town so why not keep more folks employed? That way, everyone seems to eat and the level of homelessness is fairly minimal. I only see a handful of sleeping bodies on the street in the mornings or late at night...really not more than any city in the States. And at least here, it's always warm :) So the financial weather report here is pretty darn good! Come on down...the flights are really cheap right now and I'd love to have the company :)

As you know, my last posting was about cookies. I've told some of you that someday I want to have a "cookie ministry". Now, I don't know what that means and it's not meant to be religious in nature but only that I want to make or share cookies in a unique way in order to connect with people. I have found that cookies always bring a smile to every one's face and what could be lovelier than that? As you know, every day I walk to work. On the way, I see the same people and slowly I have started to make some connections. Well, one of these connections was a man who hangs outside the window of a restaurant everyday watching the world go by. I started to acknowledge him and he would smile and wave back. It was clear he was mentally challenged in some way but always happy and smiling. One day, I offered him a leftover pack of cookies I had in my bag. He took them and seemed absolutely delighted. So then each day I started to give him my cookies, either in the morning or on the way home from work. I realized I was thinking about this in the store as I was shopping and reminding myself that I needed to buy extra cookies--kind of like having a pet at home! So one day, I stepped inside the restaurant and asked the waitress what the man's name was? Since he couldn't talk but only wave his arms to try to express himself, I wanted to have something to call him. His name is Orlando and he lives there with his family who reside in the back behind the restaurant. I don't know his whole story but he can understand me in Spanish (maybe the only person who can!) and each day I get a big hug and kiss from him. He hangs out the window looking for me, rain or shine, and I find myself happy to see him, too. Last week, as I walked past, I was invited in by an older woman, Orlando's sister. She took me all the way to the back where she lives and introduced me to Orlando's mother (his mamita) and the rest of the family. One person was a young boy, maybe 10 years old, who is Orlando's nephew. I still can't quite figure out his name but everyday now he, too, comes to the window and I am give him cookies along with other little odds and ends I don't need but he seems to enjoy receiving. One day, I was invited back to eat lunch with the family and share more conversation. I really don't know what they were saying, but it was certainly fun to be part of their world and have them welcome me with such open arms. [For those of you who are on Facebook, I posted a photo of Orlando's mamita and another of me, Orlando, his sister and his nephew. For those of you who are not on Facebook, scroll down to the very bottom of this blog to see a photo of Orlando sitting on his bed (a hammock)] I guess the bottom line is, my cookie ministry has begun! Although the cookies I share with Orlando are not homemade, it has broken down barriers. On the weekends, I bake batches of oatmeal-raisin cookies or Snickerdoodles. On Mondays, I bring them into the office and share them with the guys who work here. They all speak Spanish and since I still can't yet carry on much of a conversation, I don't think they quite know what to make of me? But when I pass out cookies, there's "love" in the air, that's for sure! :)

Other "goings-on" in the last few weeks include my excitement over receiving a $19,200 grant which I wrote an application for from a foundation out of the UK. They have funded three water treatment plants and six community workshops. I continue looking for more grant money and hope for more success in this area for the programs CONAPAC is working on in the rainforest. Last weekend, I met some "friends of a friend", three guys from the States. They were passing through Iquitos on their way home from the jungle. We had dinner, drinks and got acquainted. Needless to say, it was a thrill for me to have an evening's worth of interesting conversation in English. I didn't want the night to end but they were fried from the heat and travel so headed for bed somewhat early but I'm sure we'll connect the next time they pass through. Of course, we became friends on Facebook right away so that will certainly help maintain the communication. I've been doing more cooking and I have come up with a fairly decent pizza, a pretty good tuna-noodle casserole and a kick-butt chili! The egg salad is very tasty, I made quesadillas (which I had to make my own re-fried beans), and the best guacamole ever!! Since there are no nacho chips or salsa, I use límon-flavored Pringles to dip and nixed the salsa. Quite a combination and the Pringles cost over $3.00 a can but what can I say? You gotta' do what you gotta' do!! :) Absolutely everything here has límon in it, even the mayonnaise, but nothing is terribly spicy. You can buy límons everywhere and very cheaply. They are a cross between a lemon and lime with excellent flavor and juice quality. I will miss them in the States. So despite a limited amount of choices in the stores and markets for me to create food with which I am familiar, I seem to come up with something new each week. It's really kind of fun to create something to eat out of similar but not quite the same ingredients as back home. Perhaps some day I'll get some lessons on how to cook Peruvian food then when I return to live in the States I'll have the opposite problem--I won't be able to buy just the right ingredients to make my favorite Peruvian food! Oh well, I guess I'll just have to return here again :) Until next time......

Finally...Cookies!

So for any of you who really know me, you know that I LOVE to bake cookies! Well, when I found out that my new apartment had an oven, I was delighted to think that possibly I could do one of the things I love to do the most. This weekend I made my first batch of peanut butter cookies and they came out great! But let me tell you about the round about way that I had to take to arrive at my final destination.

First, I had to find a cookie sheet to buy--not easy. The one I found cost me almost $10.00--but what are you going to do? Then mixing bowls, measuring cups and measuring spoons, all of which added up to quite a bit of money for something so simple. Next, as I've told you before, finding ingredients to prepare anything familiar to me is often a challenge in the stores here. Another challenge has been the fact that everything is in metric so I'm dealing with grams, liters, etc. I was able to go on-line and find recipes that will convert from Imperial to Metric so that that was a start. Anyway, to make cookies you need flour, sugar, butter, salt and then baking soda or baking powder, minimally to start. Well interestingly, I found baking powder (although I didn't know it at the time) but I couldn't find baking soda in the market. Turns out you have to go the pharmacy for this sort of thing. What they offer is the tiniest box of baking soda (maybe 1/4 cup) and it cost 2 soles (about 60 cents). Doesn't sound like much but think about what a big box of Arm & Hammer baking soda costs--maybe 79 cents!? And think about how much baking soda we all go through for one thing and another? I had been worried the butter and other ingredients were going to be very expensive but it turns out to be something so basic to us as baking soda! Anyway, finally I got all the parts to make my first masterpiece. It was only this week that I figured out how to light my stove (with a match) and because there’s no temperature control, I had to wing it there. I think on maximum, the temperature is about 375 degrees which is just about right for cookies (when I come back to the States, I will need to buy an oven thermometer to be a little more accurate). My stove is a LP gas with the tank is under the sink. It's great and very hot but it often runs out at the most inopportund time. I was concerned that my gas would run out in the middle of baking as it usually takes a day or two to get another tank from the landlord. But the stars were in my favor and I completed my baking with no trouble. Instead, the power went out for awhile as I was baking but with gas, no worries--I only lost my radio. I completed 5 dozen peanut butter cookies and they were a work of art! I did have to quickly bag them, though, because as they were cooling, the ants were marching right in!

I took them to the office the next day and, needless to say, they were devoured. Good quality baked goods, especially cookies, are rare here due to the humidity so it was really a treat. This weekend I am shooting for oatmeal-raisin cookies or Snickerdoodles. Unfortunately, I can't buy chocolate chips here but when I go back to the States in the fall, I will buy some and bring them back. If anyone is ever heading this way, a bag or two of Tollhouse chocolate chips would be great! One thing that is curious here, and I think thought-provoking, is the fact that everything in the grocery stores come in plastic bags or boxes, even things like milk and mayonnaise. The only things you find in cans or glass jars are imported items from the States or Europe. The point being that things in bags and boxes pack much tighter and weigh less, thereby using less space and energy to pack and ship. However, I can't speak to how much energy it takes to create all this plastic??

Let’s see…what else is new? Well, you may remember me lamenting about my IPOD that got stuck on pause and that I was having withdraw pains for over a month? Well, long story short, I was able to reset it and now I'm back in business. I finally bought my "mesedora" or Peruvian rocking chair. It's difficult to describe but tacky comes to mind. However, it's cool and comfortable and perfect for this part of the world. Now, how to get it in my suitcase when I come home?? For those of you who are on Facebook, you can check out my photos of the rocking chair and me sitting in it listening to my working IPOD, too!

Not much is happening at work these days. I think it's the calm before the storm as Adopt-A-School will be heating up soon and then there will be no time to think! Next month a group of high school students are coming from Michigan (Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills). They will be helping me pack a couple hundred large rice bags filled with school supplies, so that begins the start of the action. We will have a larger number of volunteers here this year for AAS, as one week will be for deliveries and one week for service projects. Conapac and Explorama won an award this past week ($1000) from the Board of Responsible Tourism for its work in the area of environmental sustainable and all they are doing in the rainforest. I have submitted another grant proposal for three new mini-water treatment plants to provide clean drinking water to the remote villages we work with, plus some educational workshops to go along with the new water plants. Keep your fingers crossed for me and the program!!

As you know, I have been trying to find a Spanish class or tutor to work with here but with no luck. And although there are opportunities to speak with any number of people, it's not the same as having a regular date to practice and discuss questions. One of the guides at Explorama has a daughter who is studying English. Her name is Wendy, she's about 23 years old, a college student, and wants to practice English with someone. So we've met and agreed to meet once a week for practice in both languages. I have also found a very nice cultural center that has a reading program each evening for street children. I plan to go once a week to listen to the stories and to take the opportunity to read more books in Spanish. Little by little, I WILL conquer this new language :)

People often ask me what I miss while living here? Besides the obvious of family and good friends, I can't say there's much. But right now, I'd love to have a weekly news magazine (Time, Newsweek or US News & World Report) delivered each week; I definitely miss chips and salsa; and since we're so close to the Equator, there are no intense, lingering sunsets--I'd like to linger over one very soon! Thanks, again, for all of who are following my blog. And if you're not on Facebook, consider giving it a try! I'd love to have more friends!

¡Sies meses más!

Well, my most current news is that I have just returned from the Peruvian border with Colombia and Brazil. It was an interesting trip, to say the least. I went with two of Pam's daughters, Gina, who speaks no English and Arianna, who is bi-lingual, but we had a great time together despite the usual struggle to communicate. We started on a transport boat (like a Greyhound bus) about 5:30 AM and headed down river. The trip took 10 hours but it wasn't too bad of a ride, with breakfast and lunch served on board. The ride back was 12 hours as we were coming up river but that boat was a little nicer--it had drop down video screens which played a lot of 80´s American music videos! Made me want to peg my pants, grow some Farrah Fawcett hair, and get up and dance! The food wasn't bad but the usual fare of chicken and rice for breakfast and lunch. We did have to share our space with a few cockroaches but none in my food--at least that I found!

Getting where we needed to go was interesting. We landed in a small village in Peru, found the immigration office, got our passports stamped, and then took a small, wooden boat across the Amazon to a town called Tabatinga in Brazil. There we had to walk to the border town of Leticia in Columbia and find the airport (about 5 miles away) to have our passports stamped that we were entering another country. (Tabatinga does not have a customs office) It's all quite informal as no one looked at or checked any bags coming or going. Then we had to have money exchanged. I had with me dollars and soles but in Brazil its reales and in Colombia its pesos. Each has a different exchange rate and some places took one thing and some took the other, etc. It was all very confusing and I never really could figure it all out. I just know how much money we went with and what we had when we returned. We had to stay four days because there was no boat back to Iquitos right away. Not much to do but we walked a lot, bought some shoes and ate out, although the food was not great. One day we found a moto-taxi and drove out to the "beach" which turned out to be something more like a watering hole. But it was cold and clean and 90-something degrees out so it wasn't a bad diversion. We took the closest thing to what I've seen here as a highway and actually, it was in pretty good shape--probably about 7-8 miles from Leticia so it was a nice ride. There is quite a large, attractive and well-built military base in this town in Colombia. It's the nicest facility of any kind I've seen here. As everyone knows there is a huge American presence in Colombia it made me wonder whose tax dollars paid for this base?? I will say though, that Colombia is a nice place and I think it's not as scary as it sounds from the States.

The boat back to Iquitos was leaving at 4 AM. We got up at 2:30, in the rain and dark, crossed the river again in a small boat, loaded with people and cargo, to reach the loading dock. It was pitch dark and no lights as we headed back up to the immigration building. We knocked on the door and clearly the guy was still sleeping so we waited while he dressed. By candle light he stamped our passports and asked me how many days I wanted? I said 90 at first (which is supposed to be the maximum) but then Gina piped up and asked if I could have more? He shrugged and then gave me 180 days!! I'm not sure why--maybe he's unhappy with his superiors because he's stuck in this border town in the middle of nowhere!? All I know is I got out of there ASAP and got on the boat before something changed. Who knows what will happen when I get to Lima in July but I suppose they'll let me out of the country, so no worries!

Lots of work at the office with much catching up to do. I've starting researching and writing for grant possibilities for CONAPC. I'm finding that I rather like grant writing and I hope to pull in more money this year from alternative sources for the programs CONAPAC is doing. I was asked to do the voice-overs for a promotional video that Explorama produced to be used for travel agents and other interested groups. It's about a 12-minute video of all the lodges and other sights in the Amazon region. They have two versions, one in Spanish and one in English. It was kind of fun to do but I kept tripping over the pronunciations of the words that are common to both languages. I hope to bring a copy or two of the video home with me in the summer to share a little more about the place I now work and live.

I had a few more animal encounters this past week. I have found several interesting toads and tree frogs in my apartment plus some rather humongous moths and spiders. One morning I got up and was finishing some dishes I had left in the sink overnight. They were soaking and as I scooped out the final pieces of silverware, I also found in my hand a dead mouse! Apparently he had drowned overnight. I felt bad for him but what an interesting way to catch mice--less messy than a trap. Later that same day, I was at work and out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement in the tall waste basket under the desk. There was this mouse jumping up and down trying to get out of the bin! He was exactly the same size, type and color as the one I found earlier in the day. It was a little eerie, like my morning mouse had been reincarnated! Alex, in the office, took him outside and let him go but a couple of days later, he returned again. This time Pam was alone in the office and she had to handle it. Oh, well. I've been trying to buy a mousetrap here. Apparently they have them but so far I haven't found a store that carries them. I finally got some screening up on one of my windows so now at night I can leave one large window open and that should keep any unwanted guests out.

I've had a lot of opportunities to speak in Spanish and I continue to work on it daily. I have several books (novels and non-fiction) that I am plowing through. They are at about the 3rd grade level and I'm finding them extremely difficult. I guess a third grader can read a lot more than I remember! I've done a bit of entertaining this week with several local friends. All of them primarily speak Spanish so it's very helpful to just have casual conversation about everyday things to pick up useful vocabulary--and, of course, some more slang :) Scroll down to the bottom of this site as I posted a new photo. This was from last month as I was coming or going from some village. It's a great way to commute. I know many of you who follow my blog are also on Facebook. I am going to start posting more photos on that site rather than this one for ease and accessibility. For those of you not yet on Facebook, you really should try it. It's tons of fun and quite additive but a great way to stay connected with family and friends, especially when you are many miles apart. Saludos de Iquitos!

So Much Life to Live...So Little Time!

It’s been so long since my last posting and so much has happened that I don't know where to begin? I left off the last posting getting ready to bag 900 packages of soap, toothpaste, etc. for delivery with our wonderful Conapac friend and long-time supporter, Linda Lownds from Canada. All went well as she, her daughter, and two of her daughter's friends joined the trip to make deliveries to seven different villages over a five day period. We also purchased 3600 pieces of bread from our new community bakery in Timicuro Grande which bakes the bread in a brick oven/furnace, fueled by burning wood only. I had a chance to watch the process and it is quite lengthy but the finished product is great. This is the first bakery in the rainforest region where Conapac services communities. We soon expect to have another one as Linda has indicated her willingness to support a second bakery in the village of Irlanda. Thank you Linda for all you do and all you've done over the years!

During my two weeks in the jungle, I met a number of interesting people and in that process realized how starved I am of thoughtful, stimulating, and engaging conversation in English. Along with Linda’s gang (all young female, practicing attorneys) I also met Joe Krupp and his son, Tyler, as well as, Jon Holstrom. These two gentlemen were here to plan for the new clinic that is being built near the Lodge to replace the old one, which is falling in the river. Jon was the original architect and is now back to do it again. Dr. Linnea Smith (La Doctora), who runs the clinic, was there as well, and many good and interesting conversations were had over our various meals together. In February, about 40 Rotarians from Wisconsin are coming to the jungle to do a "barn raising" and get the clinic built in about three weeks. I hope to have an opportunity to get back out to the Lodge for a couple of days and watch the show! Also in these last two weeks I met a number of really nice folks from the Midwest and, really, from all parts of the country. One group was on a National Geographic trip around the world, touching on all seven continents! They were a wonderful group of people and I got an opportunity to meet many of them. They were very generous and several gave donations to the Adopt-A-School program. I hope to maintain contact with some of them as they were very interested in all the happenings in the rainforest. One gal I met, the advance person for the tour group, was very interesting. It turns out she was born and raised on the east side of Detroit and now splits her time between Florida and Gaylord, Michigan! We plan to connect again this summer when we're both in Michigan and get a little better acquainted...a truly small world! And another fun encounter was with two representatives from a tour company out of England called SAGA. (Similar sort of thing as AARP) They service the over-50 crowd and are looking for ways to add new programs in the area of "voluntourism", which appears to be quite a growing market. Together we hope to place well-qualified, Spanish speaking, professional teachers in various schools for 4-6 week commitments. This area of tourism continues to grow and Explorama and Conapac will be at the forefront by placing these committed and motivated volunteers for service.

On a more personal note, my friends from Michigan arrived, though a day late due to a nation-wide strike which shut down the airport in Cuzco. But, none the less, they made it here and it was a wonderful treat to see friends from home. Mark and Becky Cook, Heidi Shefferly, Norm and Lorna Souve, along with several other team members were here as VOSH volunteers. VOSH is a volunteer group of eye doctors and this team returns each year to set up a week-long clinic in Coya, Peru. Once they completed their work, they came to the jungle for a little R & R. And along with bringing themselves, they brought a big bag of goodies for me! My daughter, Erin, had graciously gone shopping for me back home, running around town to several different stores to fill my order. It was just great to get some things that I simply can't get here and thus far haven't quite been ready to give up! Anyway, we all had a chance to catch up on a variety of topics and again my intellectual plate was filled. It's going to be difficult to beat the last two weeks for an abundance of good friends, good conversation and, of course, good beer!

This last week at the Lodge was a good one for funny animals. In the bar one night a bug was flying around the bar that even spooked the guys. It was some kind of wasp, which was so big that I had to take a photo (once it was almost dead). I put a stapler along side it for a point of reference to its size...yikes! Glad I wasn't alone with it. One day my toilet was running so I lifted the lid and out of the water came a lovely frog! Who knows how long he'd been living there but I did rescue him and sent him on his way. Another night, I was walking along the boardwalk to my room and thought I saw a big pile of mud. It turned out to be the biggest, most wonderful tree frog with those big padded feet. I had no camera at that moment but it was a treat to see him (or her) without having to hike through the rainforest. Last week, as you know, was the inauguration. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to see it as I was going to be out of the city. But at the Lodge they now have cable TV for the workers but it only runs at certain hours. Well, the power came on right at noon and the guys indulged me by allowing me watch the swearing-in ceremonies during their lunch hour (the TV is in their lunchroom). It was great to see BUT, it was dubbed in Spanish. It kind of lost its deep emotional effect but later that night one of the guides let me use his laptop and I went on line to read the speech. I know there are many challenges ahead for our country but if anybody can do it, Americans can!

Well, as always, my blogs get rather long. There is so much happening and I know I can only touch on a few things but thank you for indulging me. You may remember from one of my earlier blogs that I had lost my ATM card a week after I arrived here. It's been quite a challenge working this out but I was able to borrow money here and so far I haven't starved. Back home, I had to connect with my bank, Erin had to get the card, PIN the number, then go to various stores and banks to make sure it worked. I was concerned that my bank wouldn't let me process it once I got the new one so there were many emails back and forth to my contact at the bank. Then Erin had to get the card to Becky Cook to bring it to me this month when she came. Well, it turns out Becky and Mark got the airport (Metro) and she realized she had forgotten the card! What to do? Well, she got a hold of Rick (my former husband) and he graciously stopped working, drove to Becky's house, found the house key, found the ATM card, then drove to the airport from Brighton (a good 45 minutes one way) to meet with the Cooks and give them my card. What a fiasco! Once again, I know I could not live here without the help and support of my family and friends back home. And I am very, very happy to report that finally returned to Iquitos and went to the bank. My card worked perfectly and I was able to get money for the first time in three months. Thank you everyone for all your help and follow through!

Before I sign off, I thought I'd throw something out there for my regular readers. Since I write what I find interesting it gets to be a bit one-sided. I would like to invite you all to send me questions you may have about what I'm doing here or some other aspect of living in the rainforest which interests you! Please send these questions through the comment section below and I will follow up on them as the opportunity presents itself. Well-wishes to all and remember the days are getting longer. :)

¡¡ Feliz Dos Mil Nueve or Happy 2009!!

¡Hola de la selva!..well, not the jungle technically, but Iquitos for now! I've just celebrated my first Christmas and New Year's Eve south of the Equator. I can't say it felt much like Christmas with palm trees and extreme heat but the hustle and bustle was definitely in force everywhere you went. Then right after Christmas, the streets were quiet and everyone slowed way down, so in that regard, it wasn't much different. I enjoyed Christmas day with Pam and Ari's family, opening gifts and enjoying a Christmas brunch. I had gifts for several people in the office and all the staff at La Casona. I enjoyed my time shopping for these things in the much same way I do at home as it was about thinking of others and finding just the right gift. I can't say there was much in the way of decorating here. There were some things out in the streets and in stores but not the "over the top" sort of thing you see in the States. On Christmas Eve, it felt more like New Year's Eve with people waiting for midnight to happen, hundreds of people in the town square and the neighborhoods out and about enjoying the lovely night. New Year's Eve was a little more wild, however, with lots of firecrackers and fireworks. Also, earlier in the evening as I was riding through town, there were all these stuffed bodies (like effigies for lack of a better description) laying by houses and in the road. I had no idea what this was about but I found out at midnight...they light them all on fire!! So, all over town there were these burning fake bodies, which was kind of spooky and pretty but very smoky. I understand this to be a tradition to burn up the old and bring in the new!..or something like that? Not sure that would pass any fire safety codes or air pollution regulations back home so don't try this at home!

I went to my first "chocolatada" as I reported earlier in my blog I was planning to do. However, it was at a different place and with a different person than I had orignally expected. The owner of La Casona, Fabiola and her family, hosted this event. We arrived about 4 PM on the outskirts of town. The event was hosted at the home of one of her employees who had a rather large back yard. There were already families waiting when we got there and by the time it was over, we had served just over 300 children! There was a clown, music, hot chocolate cooked over a wood fire, special bread called panetones with butter, gifts for all the kids and used clothes to pass out to those who needed them. Also, lots and lots of candy which I spent most of the afternoon passing out, one piece at a time to avoid a riot. Unfortunately, I completely forgot to bring a camera so I have no photos to share but needless to say, it was well-received and I was very happy to be a part of it!!

Well, a couple of new purchases recently. The laundra-mat I use not only lost one, but two pairs of my best pants. Of course, they claim they never received them in the first place (as best as I could make out with my limited Spanish) but I don't have that many clothes with me here so I know when something is missing. This meant having to find pants to buy that fit me in Iquitos. Now most of the styles here are for VERY young girls, e.g. tight, low hipped, sequined and embroidered on the legs and pockets. Definitely not my style (although I do loosen up a bit when I'm here when it comes to fashion). But anyway, finally, I found a place that is sort of like an Old Navy. Way in the back corner of the store were these very plain, very basic capris in khaki and jean material, so I lucked out there and now I have enough pants to wear. I have also continued to lose weight which is another problem with my old clothes fitting. I find the heat really limits my appetite except for a cold beer. But with my new apartment and its kitchen, I imagine I'll be cooking more and picking the weight back up so never fear! Another new item in my life, other than my new apartment, is a cell phone! Can you imagine? I could barely operate or handle a cell phone in the States and now I have one here and it's in Spanish! I could change the language menu but it only changes for the most basic words which I already know so I might as well get used to it. It's very expensive to have a phone here. There are a couple of options but what I did was I bought the phone (about $30 US) and then I buy minutes. Well, if I use the same network (Claro) then it's about .10 cents a minute but if I call out of my network (Movistar) it's about .45 cents a minute. I can assure you the minutes go by fast. But you don't get charged if someone calls you so I guess that's a bonus. As I mentioned, I moved in over the weekend into my new apartment. It's absolutely lovely and better than I ever imagined I could find here. It didn't take me long to move as all I had was a couple of suitcases and a few extra bags of food and books. I walked the two blocks from where I was to the new place so it was the easiest move of my life. The new place has most of the furniture I need although I do intend to buy a type of rocking chair that I've only seen in Iquitos. It's made out of re-rod and some kind of plastic mesh. Everyone seems to have them here. Really, they're kind of tacky but very, very comfortable and cool to sit in, so I must have one while I'm here!! Maybe I can order a "tasteful" neutral plastic color weaving like beige or taupe and avoid that "alien green" or "landlord brown" everyone else seems to favor?! And my favorite discovery about my new home is I have a wonderful rooster who lives right next door so every morning about 4 AM he starts crowing. I don't mind and I know I will get used to it (like living next to train tracks). It's a wonderful, natural backdrop to the start of my day. :)

This week I started to do my running around getting together all the things I need to create 900 gift bags of detergent, bar soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste to be ready for delivery to seven different villages next week. We have a very generous donor who not only sends us the money to buy these things but also comes and delivers them herself. She was here in May of 2008 doing the same thing and it was a project I had coordinated just before I left for the States. Even though I did it once, the logistics in this are still daunting and I do hope to pull it off. I went with another staff member today to help find what was needed. We ran into the fact that some places are doing inventory and others are low on product due to the holidays having just passed. I still need to find over 400 toothbrushes somewhere in the city at the right price by tomorrow afternoon. Pam is leaving for Chicago this week so I am on my own to make sure everything gets to the right place at the right time in the right amounts. No easy task when you're delivering by boat and need to get it right the first time! Also, I need to have 3600 pieces of bread baked in the new village bakery of Timicuro Grande and then have that ready to be delivered to the right lodge at the right time. Pray for me, won't you!!?? I'll report about the results in my next posting as I'm sure it will be an adventure.

Well, I'm off to the jungle for the next 2 to 3 weeks. I hope to be able to post something during that time but if not, I will when I return. While I'm gone, I'll be doing inventory at the medical clinic, a couple of service projects with Marcos, meeting with prospective donors and seeing some friends from the States who will be here for R & R after they work at an eye clinic in the southern part of Peru. At the end of the month, I will also be heading to Columbia for a 10 hour trip, one way, by riverboat to spend the night and have my passport stamped so I can stay in the country another 90 days. As I often say, it's always an adventure here! Thanks to everyone who has sent me well-wishes for a Happy New Year and as always, thank you for staying in touch!

Peace, love and rock & roll! Sintia

¡Feliz Navidad!

Well, I’m back from my week in the jungle, as I tagged along with the CONAPAC team. There were about 15 people doing year-end school and community evaluations for those villages in the Adopt-A-School program (AAS). I had an opportunity to visit several communities which have had special projects completed or service project groups working in their village sometime this past year. Many communities appear to be thriving and pushing forward to improve their lives, while others are clearly struggling. But I think the opportunity to meet with educators from Iquitos and members of CONAPAC to discuss their concerns and hopes for the future is always a good thing. People like it when someone listens! I took several photos while I was visiting and have a number of donors to contact this next week, telling them about the projects they've funded this year and bringing them up-to-date on the villagers' lives. Some of the regular donors have actually visited these communities in the past, so the connection is even stronger and more meaningful when fresh news and photographs are sent their way. Check below on the blog as I posted a new picture of myself with students from the community of Nuevo San Juan de Amazona. This school is sponsored each year by the Brighton Rotary Club and I've visited there in the past. Recently my step-father, Harry Wheaton, supported them with enough money to build two new "baños", of which I took advantage while I was there. :) There’s nothing in the world like a clean toilet in the middle of the jungle...thanks, Harry!!

Besides returning from the jungle with photos and news of the villages, I also brought back another souvenir....chiggers!! Now I've heard the stories about how bad chiggers can be both here and in the States. But I have to believe, like everything else here, they grow 'em bigger and badder in "la selva"!! Locally they're called "izangos" and when I told anyone what I had, they gave me very grave and sympathetic smiles. One of the team members on the trip, Judy, offered to do the job of digging out the little buggers from their cozy beds under my skin. She came to my room one night and, by gas light, went over my body from head to toe prying them out. And for any of you who have had chiggers, you know they don't just settle in and around your ankles...NO! They crawl up into that warm, moist cozy place that is your underwear area, front and back. Soooooooooo, Judy was a Godsend as she went over my body and found all the little critters, digging them out one at a time. It's been a little over a week now. I still have scabs and they still itch but it’s manageable. One of my friends here, Nancy, tells me "the first time is the worse"...Does there have to be a second time? But I suppose I know the answer.

I've been learning a bit more jungle slang in the past week. In fact, I feel that I have to learn two new languages, not just Spanish. When I speak in my more formal Spanish, people here can understand me. But when they speak, it's full of all kinds of local words that I have no idea their meanings. But one way or the other, I will learn these things although it's going to take some time. Actually, the sounds of these words are fun and not too difficult to say. In fact, I think easier than many Spanish words that turn my tongue in knots. A sampling: "chamba" is your job; "chacra" is a small farm or piece of land; "choche" is a close friend, as is "pata"; "chibolo" or "chibola" are small children; "cocha" is a small lake; "leba" is sugar cane rum (but I think more like moonshine than Bacardi) and, of course, "baracho" means drunk. I learned a few other words, too, but nothing I would care to post on line :)

Next weekend I head back to the jungle to participate in my first service project. I'm not too sure where or what we'll be doing. It's with a large family group of 14 people who are visiting the jungle over the holidays and wanted to do something a little different. We will probably paint schools or replant some trees, maybe build a fence or two. Hopefully, no more chiggers but I have no DEET with me so it might just happen again...Yikes! I continue to enjoy each and every day here, no matter what it brings. I'm neither bored nor lonely and find each day to be pure joy. I pray your lives can be as satisfactory and fulfilling. I do notice however, that every person who writes me from the States, whether family, friends, or my donor network from around the country, they seem to want to send me a weather report! But when I think back, I know whenever I wrote to Pam or any other friend here in Peru when I was back in Michigan, I did the same. Weather is a big part of our lives in the States, I suppose as it's constantly changing. No one here ever comments about it as every day some part of the day will be hot, sunny, cloudy and rainy. Now and then there's a breeze. I know some of you would be bored with this constancy but as I've said before, thus far it hasn't happened to me. So don't hurt yourself shoveling snow...it's not worth it!!

As I close, a quick "shout out" to all my family and friends to have a very Merry Christmas and, hopefully, a more positive and prosperous New Year. I won't name you all individually for fear of missing someone but I can't leave without especially sending greetings to Erin and Samantha, the two most wonderful, beautiful, kind and loving daughters any mother could want or have!

Peace be with you all!

More new beginnings...

As of my last posting, I was looking for a new place to live. Not that I don´t love the La Casona and all the folks who work there--but living in a hotel full time feels a little too "communal" for me. I think the thing I want most again in my life is my own kitchen. No matter how small, having a cooking space of my own will be a delight. Frankly, I'd rather share a bathroom than a kitchen! Well, after a couple of false starts with either unacceptable or unavailable apartments, I have found the apartment of my dreams! It´s right in the downtown area, two blocks from where I live right now but a world away. It´s tucked where you can´t find it unless you know it´s there and it´s surrounded by a beautiful, tropical garden. I won´t have to go to the jungle as much to get my "fix" as it will be something I can enjoy each day. I actually haven´t seen the inside yet (only peeked through the windows) but I saw enough to know I want to live there for as long as possible. The owner is a Brit who lives on site, which is great and, of course, speaks English so I was able to fully get all my many questions answered. I will take possession the 1st of January and will start moving in my things. At the moment, I don't have much "stuff" so it should be one, short moto-kar drive away. I was doing a little shopping this weekend for pots and pans, dishes, glasses etc. The apartment does come with a stove, fridge and bed so I won't need to purchase a lot. All in all, I´m eager to really get settled here and start hosting some friends....and I hope that includes friends and family from the States,too!!

This week we experienced a number of power outages each day. One day, it was city-wide and lasted anywhere from 3-8 hours depending on the area. In Iquitos, there are no emergency lights, exit signs, separate city light systems, etc. to rely on. It was quite dark in the streets going home from work that night but somehow, as with most power outages, a bit of an adventure. That day happened to the one that the "rat patrol" was put into action at Explorama. In the morning, four of the critters were apprehended and disposed of. We expect more soon but for now, everyone in the office is a little relieved. I did see a big one, however, running along the streets of Iquitos Friday night, right in the town square. (You know, even though I grew up in Detroit and lived on Academy Drive for many years, I've never actually seen a rat in person!) Anyway, the rat was going quite crazy running all around with cars, moto-kars and motorcycles trying to avoid getting killed. But as luck would have it, at least for the rat, he was able to miss all this traffic safely and find his way home to the gutter. I don´t think there were any tourists around to see this so I am reporting it for their amusement and benefit--Keep your eyes open for the unexpected action you might find in the streets of Iquitos!

I spent a bit more time this week with Arianna, Pam´s 11 year old daughter. In fact, Monday was her birthday and I was invited to her class birthday party, as well as dinner back home with the family. An absolutely beautiful cake was provided by Mom at school and then another back home after dinner. Arianna is a hoot and it´s been fun once again to spend time with a pre-teen niña...it´s been a long time since Erin and Sam were at that stage and I had forgotten how charming and silly they could be. Friday, Arianna and I went to the cinema and we saw Madagascar 2, in Spanish, of course. After which, we did pizza and Ari spent the night in my room. In the morning we did a bit of shopping and roaming the streets after we had watched Saturday morning cartoons and played UNO on my IPOD. I think she enjoyed the adult time away from her younger sister and several young cousins who are in the house a great deal. She was, and is, a delight and I´m glad to have the opportunity to spend time wiht her.

Another first this week was I finally got my hair cut in a salon! All the time I´ve been here, I´ve always cut my own hair as it´s such a strange cut. I just wasn´t ready to try and deal with someone new plus the language barrier. But my wonderful friend Luis told me about "Juan" (pronounced as it´s written in English with a hard J sound). Juan, it turns out, happens to be Pam´s guy, too, so I was reassured. Luis and his brother, Christian, took me to the salon which was about the size of a small bedroom. It´s on sort of a residential street, with no door or window, just an opening to enter. No running water only big water-filled buckets for washing and rinsing. Outside was the usual suspects--kids hanging around, dogs loping by, three or four guys sitting on the sidewalk playing cars, moto-kars turned sideways to be repaired, old ladies rocking and fanning themselves in the heat, in otherwords, daily life on the steet. The salon was packed with clients along with three other guys who work there, all of whom have a certain flair!! Luis, and his brother patiently sat with me as Luis talked Juan throught the process and explained what I wanted. I took my own hair product and scissors and when all was said an done, I got a great hair cut. I guess when you´re a professional and know what you are doing, the language difference doesn´t matter. He could see what I was after and carried it off with great results. And did I say how much this great hair cut cost? Ten soles which is about $3.50--I will be back again!

I´m off now to the jungle for a little over a week so I won´t be doing a posting for awhile. I´ll let you know the lastest news from the communities and how things are going. The CONAPAC staff, along with other education representatives, will be visiting all the schools which are in the AAS program for year-end evaluations. I am going along to take photos of as many special projects that have been completed this year as possible. I´ll be sending these photos to the donors and some of the participates when I return on December 17th. It´s starting to look a bit like Christmas here with decorations and music but it certainly doesn´t feel like it. As much as I dislike snow and cold weather, you can´t beat it as a backdrop to the holiday season. Have a good couple of weeks as you prepare and enjoy this time of year....