Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry May 13, 2009

It’s nighttime in the big city… a drunken security guard drops his flashlight, three homeless men share a bottle around a trashcan inferno, and somewhere a car alarm goes off. The noise is as deafening as the silence. And suddenly I’m back. Back in the land of empty carbs, where people call pigeons doves (they’re not the same bird), and think it’s acceptable to lick your face in greeting. Oh, how I’ve missed it.
In the past two months (since my last update) I have lived and died five lifetimes. I’ve learned the true meaning of incompetence and injustice, of betrayal and loss, of anger and pain and hatred. And I’ve learned that among all that darkness, love always prevails. Beauty, friendship, healing, inner strength, and LOVE (healing, gorgeous, intense, unforgettable love). When the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me…  and I have learned to let it be.
I’ve traveled from Peru’s border with Bolivia to the border with Ecuador. I’ve seen Lake Titicaca, Machu Picchu, the largest reservoir in Peru, and the mangroves furthest South on the Pacific coast.
I’ve hiked, climbed, swam, ran, fallen on barbed wire (I’m an idiot), gotten in a car accident, hit a cow with a car (different incident), and gently nudged a donkey with the same car.
I’ve lost a friend (Rest easy, Steve – you are missed, buddy), and I’ve made new ones.
I’ve spent nearly a week in the trunk of a Peace Corps vehicle, I’ve witnessed a mini-social-uprising in the most dangerous city in Piura, which left the road blocked and impassable (they didn’t have water for 4 months), I’ve learned that even in 3 months it is possible to create sustainable projects, and I’ve gotten yelled at in public (some things never change).
I’ve learned that laughing is easier than crying, that music is magic healing goodness, that having too many orgasms at extremely high altitude can cause one to lose consciousness (hi mom and dad), that I have the best friends in the world, and that life is truly about balance, in every sense of the word.
On a side note: a 15 year old girl was walking home from school last week in Sto. Domingo and slipped on some of that ridiculous green moss that covers the roads because of all the rain and fell backwards, hit her head, and died instantly. Ain’t that some shit.
Ok. well, it’s obvious that I’m going to be incapable of writing anything in depth about the last two months right now. It’s been an adventure, a wild ride… and man.. I’ve got stories.
For now, I’m trying to reacclimate to site. Reintegrate and start my projects back up. There is a Project Design and Management workshop at the beginning of June that I need to prepare for in Chiclayo (more travel… yay). I’m also planning a trip to the jungle for Fiestas Patrias.
I went around with the garbagemen today and to my absolute delight, the medical waste program continues to run perfectly, which means this is the last wednesday that I need to go around with the workers… sustainable project number 1 completed.
Tomorrow, the kids and I are going around and putting up their “why it’s important to protect the environment” posters around town. There are 16 so far from the one school and we need the second school to finish theirs and then that will be sustainable project number 2 completed I call it a sustainable project because a lot of the work was done while I was away and I was told “sasha, you put so much work into this project, I thought it would be unfair not to complete it”. That’s what I’m talking about!! I’m just here to facilitate, people! Get it done. Eso!
Until next time,
un fuerte abrazo y un monton de besos,
Sasha