Thoughts of Nothing

B3 and everything else in 2010...

2010-03-07T12:30:00.002-10:00

First of all, I want to apologize for not writing in three months. A lot has happened since my last entry. I went home for X-mas and New Year’s, and had the pleasant opportunity to hang out with family and friends. Those 13 days were a whirlwind of fun as I road tripped with my college roommates from San Francisco to San Diego, and back up again in six days. It also gave me the chance to hang out with my family, especially my brothers, who I’ve missed dearly. Although I didn’t get to visit everyone I wanted to see, the trip was a perfect send off to my second year of service.

I arrived back in Peru on January 3, and I had plenty of work to do, as I was preparing for my first big project at my site. The past four months or so, I’ve been working with an NGO “Builders Beyond Borders” on a water project in Coayllo. B3 is an NGO which raises money to do combination volunteer/tourism projects for high school students in Connecticut. Each year, they choose a country in Latin America, and make trips to these countries to look at possible construction projects the kids can work on during their spring vacations. This year, Peru was the lucky country, and three PCV’s including me received projects in the months of February, March, and April.

So on February 14, Valentine’s Day, the first batch of kids arrived at my site. My town, as most of you know, consists of about 500-600 people, and for that week, 35 students, 6 adults, and 10-12 PCV’s and Rotary scholars were going to be living at my site, helping out with this water project.

Coayllo receives potable drinking water optimally for an hour a day. B3 is helping with a project which will give 20 families new connections to the water system, put approximately 275 meters of new PVC tubes to the system, and provide my site an emergency water line, which is about 100 meters long. This emergency line will offer my town an opportunity to have water while maintenance is being done to the water system, or when there are malfunctions to present network.

For one week, the B3 kids, their adult advisors, some community members, and my friends picked and dug until the project was complete. Their effort was shown through the blisters on their hands and the dirt across their face, but in the end, they fulfilled their mission, and had a very lasting effect in my community. While they were here, they made friends with a lot of the kids, and their departure was sad, as it left my town in its normal quiet state, asking for their return.

The next group of B3 kids will be arriving in one week. Although I was stressed out the whole week for the first group, “Rhombo” was a pleasure to work with. The kids worked their tails off, and were very optimistic during the project. It was a delight being with them, and I hope “Esperanza” brings that same work ethic.

So this is what I’ve been doing the past 2-3 months. It feels good to get something concrete done at my site, and after this week, I can say that I increased access to potable water for my community, and did something worthwhile…with help, of course.
I can remember my first year of service, and how different an experience it was, not knowing what I was going to do here, and how uncomfortable I felt being at my site. Now, I feel at home, and I’m surrounded by five new PCV’s, who have changed my experience here ten-fold. It has given me the opportunity to share my community and service with them, while helping them adjust to their new homes for two years. They’ve helped me a lot already, and I look forward to what this second year of service will bring.

Again I’m sorry for not posting an entry for a while. My camera hasn’t been working, and I felt sad about not having any pictures to post, but it is finally working again, and I’ll be up and writing (and posting) in no time. Take care and I hope to hear from you guys soon. Chau!

Building Bathrooms

2009-11-06T10:43:00.003-10:00

It’s been a busy couple weeks. This past weekend, the WATSAN volunteers of Peru 12 in Lima and Ica, and the new WATSAN trainees of Peru 14 got together at another PCV’s site to build a series of bathrooms for several families. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. It gave us a chance to help some people out while also learning something new, since the majority of us had never built a composting bathroom or a pour flush latrine before. It was also fun getting to know the new WATSAN volunteers who will be swearing in soon.

I don’t really have much else to write, since most of my time at site is spent preparing for bigger projects ahead (boring budget stuff, emails, meetings), so there isn’t anything to show off. I’m also bummed that both LA teams lost in the MLB playoffs, and that USC got smashed by Oregon so I guess that’s it for now…until next time, hasta luego!

And if you want to check out some pics of our día de practica, the 6k run, and international hand washing day, you can check out these links.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2155363&id=19510535&l=094e6ee2f9

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2150784&id=19510535&l=59663079c4

Festival de Nispero

2009-10-16T10:04:00.001-10:00

My town celebrated the 13th Festival de Nispero two weeks ago. In any normal weekend, Coayllo as Karen put it ´´is like a ghost town.´´ It´s a very small town and people here keep themselves busy by working in the fields, doing household chores, or helping with the re-construction. So if you walked through the plaza during the day, there wouldn´t be much going on. When I first arrived, I didn´t think I would be able to last in this tranquility, and lack of movement, but of course like any PCV, you adjust, and you take pride in it.

During the festival, it was a different story. In the past year, I´ve had zero overnight visitors (other PCV´s) visit my town. Coayllo isn´t located near anything central, nor is it a must-see site, but it is one of the oldest towns in the region, but let´s face it, I wouldn´t break an appointment to see my town, except for the festival.

Megann and Rico came for the festival, and it was nice to have visitors. This festival was planned very quickly due to the H1N1 scare in Peru, so it wasn´t as extravagant as other years, but it was really cool to see my town in a festive atmosphere. There wasn´t anything particularly special about the festival compared to other celebrations I´ve been to in Peru, but it was in my town, and it was really awesome to see it full of people, and with a lot of movement.

Work at site has been steadily moving along. A little mishap with one of my water projects occurred recently, but hopefully with coordination, we can start preparing for it in a couple months. Recently, I´ve been working on this ´´intercambio´´ with my English classes here in Coayllo with some Spanish classes at my high school in the states, where letters and postcards will be sent back and forth between the students. My English students seem excited about it, so I hope it is something that lasts, and that they learn something about the states.

Along with this exchange, it gives me the opportunity to present my town to some students in Colton. I remember thinking in high school that I probably never would speak Spanish outside of those classes, but look who´s laughing now. Looking back, do you ever just wonder to yourself ´´how the hell did I get here?´´ If I went back in time, and talked to high school Mark that he would be a PCV after college, I would´ve bet my all the money I had for college that it wasn´t going to happen. Funny how things work out…

This week, we´re celebrating ´´International Day of Washing Hands,´´ which seems like is a Peace Corps initiative. Organizations like the Red Cross, and the United Nations are doing stuff all over the world for it, and by the time I post this, I´ll have pictures of this celebration in Coayllo also. We are working on this recycling fund for the colegio with the municipality (I have to design a logo and slogan for it) which should be done soon, and I can look forward to next month. Man time is flying. I will finally build a worm composting bin this November, and along with surveying the neighboring towns for composting bathroom interest, and Thanksgiving and our yearly med checks, looks like November will be pretty busy.
The end of October has cool stuff happening for me. I´m participating in this 6k run in Lima with a couple other volunteers, and all the proceeds go to breast cancer research on October 18, and our monthly meeting is on the 24th. Last week, I had the opportunity to visit the training group (Peru 14) and accompany Karen on her charla on working with community partners. It was weird to have people listen to us about our experiences at site. The group seems really cool, and it´ll be interesting to have more n00bs in our region. That´s it for Peru!

I´m glad to see that both the Dodgers and Angels swept through the Division Series, and I´m really hoping for an LA-LA World Series. It´ll be like the Bay Area in the 90´s except that the Warriors still sucked. With USC killing Cal 30-3, the Lakers winning the NBA championship, and none of the Bay Area teams making the playoffs again (you can count the Sharks if you want) it must suck to be a sports fan in the bay. I know I´m hating, but when you had a friend who rep´d the bay your whole college life, you have to enjoy it when it is absolutely miserable for them.

Anyway, I have to go. Take care guys.

Pretty much done....

2009-09-26T10:31:00.003-10:00

Yeah right. Anyway, I´ve spent one year in Peru, and to tell you the truth, it was hella fast, and I hear the second year is even faster, especially since work will be picking up. As far as future projects, an NGO called Builders Beyond Borders is coming in February and March. Working on a recycling fund for the colegio right now, and I will be working on getting a composting latrine project started on a neighboring town, so year 2 looks promising.

As most of you know, my friends from Hawaii were starting their South American adventure, as we hung out in Lima and Cusco. Phase 2 occured when they met me and my fellow PCV´s at our regional meeting in Ica. The meeting was productive as we are in the starting stages of planning a kids camp for May, and getting things prepared for the continuous growth of the number of volunteers who will be living in our region soon.

After, we ate some delicious panchamanca, and headed out to party. We were celebrating a birthday, my friends visiting, and breaking in the n00bs in our region, so it ended up having a crazy nite. As for work lately, have a meeting to prepare for the B3 project on Monday, and working with one of my English classes on maybe possibly having an intercambio with some Spanish classes in the states. We will see.

I have to go now. I encourage everybody to follow up on my friends´ adventure in this dear continent as they trek their way through Bolivia onto Argentina. Their blog is aptlymegapixeled.tumblr.com

Take care guys, and hasta pronto. Chaufa!

Here´s another reason I love my friends...

If you want to see pictures go this link
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2147334&id=19510535&l=ee2353b2e2Create an Ad

Some Old Inca Stuff

2009-09-11T08:44:00.003-10:00

I’m back from site from one of the coolest vacations I’ve ever had. Ten days ago, a trio of friends from Hawaii flew into Lima. After 24 hours of travelling (Honolulu to San Francisco, San Francisco to San Salvador, San Salvador to Lima) they finally made it to Peru. It’s good to have a little bit of home in South America, and it was a surreal feeling to be spending some of my service with these guys. We spent several days in Lima seeing El Centro, going out in Miraflores, and having a taste of Peruvian cuisine (ceviche, pollo a la brasa, anticucho, bisteck a la pobre) before we set foot on a plane to head to Cusco.

This trip had various early wake up times around 3:30 AM. Our flight to Cusco was at 5:45 AM, so some of us didn’t even close our eyes before we landed. Cusco is a very cool, yet very different than the rest of Peru. Their plaza de armas has many colonial buildings, yet if you venture off to other sites, you’ll see many examples of Incan architecture. Since it’s the tourist center of Peru, you can get away with not knowing Spanish as many of the places cater to tourists.

Cusco is a very fun town. You can pretty much eat whatever you want there, whether its pizza, Mexican food, or McDonald’s, they’ll probably have it. One thing I wanted to show my friends was the value of the Peruvian “menu” since they were going to be travelling for a while. Peru has these “menus” that are basically 2-course meals that can range from a dollar to up to four dollars depending on what kind of menu you are looking for. In a town like Cusco, it’s sometimes , very difficult to find these places that offer cheap menus, but after walking many blocks, we found a street where we can eat purely Peruvian dishes.

Cusco gave us the opportunity to eat guinea pig, ají de gallina, sopa de trigo, and chuleta de jugo. Writing this is making me hungry again. After Cusco, we set foot to our trip to Aguas Calientes to see Machu Picchu. We took a cab to this town called Ollantatambo, and had a very knowledgeable cab driver, Wilmer, who educated us about the surrounding area, and taught us a few words in Quechua. One of the cool things about the drive was seeing the landscape that surround Cusco. It’s beautiful, and the vistas from the top our breathtaking.

Finally arriving in Ollantatambo, we got on the train to Aguas Calientes. Another interesting thing about the trip was the chance to meet various people from different places doing different things. In our hostel, we met people from Canada, Scotland, and the states just staying in Cusco working before they set foot on their next trek. We met a couple from Ohio who celebrated their honeymoon doing the Inca trail, and a guy from Switzerland who was backpacking through South America the last four months.

Anyway, we spent the night in Aguas, and finally the time arrived to see Machu Picchu. We woke up at 3:30 AM, and walked down to the bus stop, where there were about 60 people in line already. Our plan was to board the first bus, so we could hike Huayna Picchu before it Machu Picchu was full of people. We boarded the third bus, and after a half hour ride, we were finally there.

It’s hard to describe what Machu Picchu is like without seeing it with your own eyes. The pictures are amazing, but experiencing it in real life is another story. I like describing this experience to the others I’ve had backpacking and seeing historical figures which are identified to the places I’ve been to (Sagrada Familia (Barcelona), Eiffel Tower (Paris), the Coliseum (Rome), and Sydney Opera House (Sydney)), so I’m not going to even attempt to describe Machu Picchu in my own words. Go and see it yourself, you won’t regret it.

So after taking a butt load of pictures, we hiked up Huayna Picchu and took some more pictures. The view from there makes you feel like you’re on top of the world, and the chance to see Machu Picchu from a different perspective. We then ate our snacks, trekked down the hike, and took a nap in one of the Seven Wonders of the World. We boarded a bus, and that was our trip. My friends stayed in Cusco for an extra day, while I took my flight back to Lima for work. While my life is definitely out of the ordinary, this trio of friends from Hawaii is on an adventure of their own. In a few words, they worked their butts off; quit their jobs, and are going to backpack Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina for 2 months. After that, they will be living in Buenos Aires indefinitely. If you want to see their travels, you can read their blog here.

aptlymegapixeled.tumblr.com

That was our trip in a few words. There are a lot of stories that haven’t been told, but I have to save stuff just in case we talk. All trips have stories, and I guess it’s one of the great things about travelling. You’ll never know who you’ll meet, and what’s going to happen next. Until next time, chau!

If you want to see pics, go to this link. Aloha!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2144342&id=19510535&l=d3cd98539a

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2144345&id=19510535&l=2dd7e13333

Stress...the good kind!

2009-08-31T09:14:00.002-10:00

First I want to start off by apologizing to everybody for the lack of blogging this past month. I’ve been kind of busy with work stuff, and will be looking forward to seeing the fruits of this labor within the next few months, and it’s also possible that a really big project will come to Coayllo within the first three months of next year. So we’ll cross our fingers, and see if we get chosen. I wish I could go into specifics of the project, but I’m still working on it, and hopefully I can tell you more about it in the future.

Last month has been spent going to different meetings and workshops, and being a host to several people who visited my town. A couple weeks ago, the WATSAN volunteers had IST (In-service Training) where we worked on latrine construction, project proposals, and water system maintenance. This month was also spent getting footage, and cutting a video for the incoming WATSAN trainees who will be coming to Peru in September. This little video will basically introduce what do in our own unique way.

After attending a workshop on solid waste management, several of us got the opportunity to meet two of the new volunteers who will be living in our region. It’s pretty exciting to meet new volunteers and see their progress as they get fully integrated to their sites. They seem to be really cool, and it seems like they are content on being there for the next couple years. I don’t envy them now, and it’s hard to remember being that new to my site. It’s kind of weird to go from a noob to a vet, but I guess it’ll be no time when I’m out of here, missing this place.
It looks like the month of September will be great as friends from Hawaii will be in Peru visiting, and we get the awesome opportunity to see one of the seven new wonders of the world, Machu Picchu. Ever since I received my Peace Corps nomination, I knew Cusco was going to be a destination for me while I backpacked through South America, but I was fortunate to be placed in this lovely country where I’m an hour flight away. This will also be a chance for my friends to see Coayllo, meet the other volunteers, and see the work I do.

On September 11th, Peru 12 will be celebrating our first year in Peru. Looking back, it was really fast and slow at the same time. Chunks of time go by real quick, but minutes and hours of the day go with the pace of the campo. I look forward to my second year of service because I feel like I really know where I fit in my site, and know what I want to do here. More importantly, the community members know too, and seem motivated to do so.

One last thing I want to say before I head to bed is how ill-equipped I feel writing this blog sometimes. With the encouragement of family and friends back home, I wrote this entry, but it’s weird to think that people actually read the words I type on this thing. With the realization that people refer other people to read my blog as they think about joining the Peace Corps, kind of frightens me. For some other people, it’s a relief to their mundane day, which is nice to know, but I guess what I’m trying to say is how hard it is to get the essence of what it’s like being here, doing development work in a foreign country as a PCV.

I don’t have the vocab to express every struggle that comes my way, or to express the joy I feel when a kid says that it’s going to suck when I leave. So for people who are interested in doing this, I encourage you to read the blogs of other PCV’s because every experience is different. If you want my opinion, I’m scared of the fact that my words might curb your opinion of going or not going. Apply and go through the process because it takes hella long. It’s difficult not to be idealistic, but as long as you are real with the reasons you are going, do it and have fun. It’s volunteer work, so you better WANT to do this stuff.

I love being here, and I’ll show you why in several weeks when I get to Cusco…until then, cuidense y chau-fa.

Here´s part of the video we worked on...enjoy!

So la gripe is coming, let’s move up Winter break

2009-07-17T10:31:00.000-10:00

Man, I have felt very useless this week. Due to the recent outbreak of H1N1 in Peru (and the rest of the Southern Hemisphere it seems) the government decided to move up winter break up a couple weeks. So expecting the normal week of English classes before I headed to In-Service Training (IST), the break left me being a hermit crab in my own little room. The break also made me finish my Community Diagnostic Survey (CDS), which was due in May. Although the brunt of the data gathering was done in my first three months of service, Peace Corps has their volunteers turn in formal reports of this survey to be read by the lucky people of Washington D.C. So just like my college days, I reluctantly typed the report, and realized that I still am not a fan of paperwork, or typing anything formally. It’s a good thing I want to grad school after this…

Not much to report though, besides the fact that I’m ending my one week at site for the month of July. The rest of the month, my socio and I will be in IST with my fellow WATSAN volunteers down here in the south along with their counterparts brushing up on workshops on latrine construction, solid waste management, and water system repair. After that is Fiestas Patrias, which includes Peru’s Independence Day. For that week, volunteers have vacation days to celebrate up to the end of the month. I’ll be spending my holiday in Ancash seeing the Cordillera Blanca, and seeing something a little different than the coast of Peru.

In the work front, the recycling campaign is going well in my school. It seems the little kids in primaria are really into the recycling, having doubled the amount of plastic bottles than the rest of the colegio. We’re storing the recyclables of the two month contest in a spare room, and it’s already pretty full, so it looks like I’ll have some work to do when I get back from vacation. I will probably present my CDS to the rest of the community in August, which will hopefully motivate the community to think of ideas for some projects that we may be able to do in the future. I’ve also been talking to my host dad about improving facilities for his church, and a possible project might be on its way with their support, as some members of the community are lacking of some well needed amenities in order to live in a clean, healthy environment. Either way, with all the possibilities, I’m just hoping for something to pop up. Coayllo is due for one.

With all this alone time, I’ve read two complete books this week: Bel Canto and Into the Wild. I recommend both books, as they were entertaining in different ways for me. Here are two excerpts that hit at home for me:

This is from Bel Canto, and to set up this part of the book, one guy tells an opera singer that he loves her through a translator, and here we go…

“And what if there is nothing for me to give you?” She seemed to be interested in Fyodorov’s argument.
He shook his head. “What a thing to say, after all that you have given to me. But it is never about who has given what. That is not the way to think of gifts. This is not a business we are conducting. Would I be pleased if you were to say you loved me as well…A beautiful thought, surely but my wife would not be pleased.
This is from Into the Wild, the main character, Chris McCandles writing to a letter to a friend…

“So many people live within happy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one piece of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each to have a new and different sun.…You are wrong if you think joy emanates only or principally from human experiences. God has placed it all around us. It is everything and anything we might experience. We just have to have courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living…Don’t hesitate or allow yourself to make excuses. Just get out and do it. Just get and out and do it. You will be very, very glad that you did.”

These books have awesome stories, but these particular excerpts kind of stuck with me the past week after I finished going through them. The part of Bel Canto hit me because I guess it’s the way I would like to show my love to things. I fall into the trap like others and sometimes am afraid of expressing love, but it shouldn’t be that way. Love should be something you feel, and show without thinking of the consequences. I like to think of love as one burning “hot potato” that once touched, has to be passed to someone else because it can’t be something you can hold and possess. You can’t “Bogart” it. You feel it, and you pass it. Repeat if necessary.

The Into the Wild part is the reason so many people travel. It’s the reason I’m here in this cold room typing this stupid blog right now. I don’t have anything remotely entertaining to say since I’ve been writing a 30 page report the past few days, yet I’m doing this blog because these words touch the core of me. I could never say I’m as adventurous as Chris McCandles, but I’d like to think I share his spirit of adventure and fearlessness at times. So many people are afraid to try new things, that it freezes them back to their security and safety.

You spend so much time “alone” as a Peace Corps Volunteer that sometimes you put yourself in a sour mood. What helps me is opening my eyes, and seeing the beauty in the things around me. I mean I’m not in Hawaii, or the sierras of Peru, truly beautiful places, but that deep breath I take before I take my run through the hills and desert of Coayllo, makes me feel alive. It’s not the things, the places or the people that make you feel happiness. I’ve seen a lot of depressed people in Hawaii during my college days. Yeah I know it’s hard to believe.

Joy comes from the entire experience. It’s the awkwardness. It’s the loneliness. It’s the hunger. It’s the frustration. It’s the new friendships. It’s the shared laughter. It’s the tears. I can’t imagine being in a better place right now than being cold and restless in Peru, waiting for the next adventure to begin. Why do I feel like I’m going to regret these words…?

So that´s what 21km feels like...

2009-07-11T04:21:00.003-10:00

Man it feels good to be back “home.” Usually I don’t mind being away from site for a few days, but I kind of missed “working” and seeing the idiosyncrasies of Coayllo the past couple days. Travel takes a toll on the psyche, and leaves the normal PCV exhausted as they return, adjusting to what happened. This week I, along with 80 other PCV’s participated in the 2nd annual Pacasmayo International Marathon. This event was organized by a fellow PCV, and was in my opinion, very successful. (I’m already looking forward to next year’s.) Since the Lima/Ica region hasn’t been developed as much as other regions, it was nice to see other volunteers from other training groups. We arrived in Pacasmayo on the 4th of July, and they had a parade to welcome the participants. The marathon consisted of PCV’s from Peru, RPCV’s from Panama, Bulgaria, and Dominican Republic, and citizens from Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico, Peru, and a couple other countries which I can’t remember at the moment. There were 4 different races (5km, 10km, 21km, and 42 km) and each had about 30 participants and a great group of volunteers that helped out motivating the runners during the race, and passing out water and fruit.

Since I never ran anything further than a 10 km race, a half marathon was going to be tough. I’ve never been a fan of running, mainly because I thought it was boring. There was no ball involved, nor creativity, nor style. It’s just you and your legs going, but one thing I’ve always wanted to do is finish an entire marathon, so you can say I’m half way to that goal.

So after all the training at site, and mental preparation to run this distance, the day finally arrived. Along with the other group of runners, we stretched, ate, hydrated, and did whatever was necessary to prepare for the race. At 8:25 AM, the gun sounded, and we were off. Then 2 hours later, I was done. (I don’t know my official time, it’s around 1:57, I believe) and I finished in pain, but with a smile in my face, knowing that I ran further than I ever had before without stopping to walk. I can honestly say that this was harder than anything I’ve done, and it was great to test my mind and body this way (with the help of Jay-Z and the Roots blaring in my headphones).

After the race, we ate, we rested, we partied, then we were off to work again, or so we thought. I travelled with 3 other PCV’s in my region, and before we boarded our overnight bus from Trujillo to Lima, we found out that we were one bag less than we arrived. When we arrived in Trujillo during lunch time from Pacasmayo, we paid the bus agency to watch and store our stuff as we went through the city. After a great lunch (ceviche, and steamed fish), a horrible movie (the new one with Nicholas Cage…I know what you’re thinking, but it was the only one in English), and an awesome dinner (French toast, for mi amigo, and a club sandwich for me), we got back looking at disappointment staring back at us.

Although my friend lost important stuff in value (an ipod, a nice backpack, clothes) and in sentimental value (he was 2nd place prize in the half marathon, a medal, marathon shirt) things could have been worse. I looked at it, as me dodging a bullet because I had my laptop and external hard drive in my bag, and would’ve been distraught because that would’ve been everything in value I have, which brings me to the point of the double edge sword travelers live. What the fuck can you do when you can’t even pay a guy to lock a door for you? You can’t lug your stuff around. Not only is it uncomfortable, but it puts a target on you for people who might want to rob you in the city. So caution to travelers out there, your stuff is never “safe”, and your options are few, so just be careful with your valuables.

We got to Lima, looking forward to going home, and found out there were strikes which blocked our way back to our sites. The strike gave us an extra day in Lima, and we took advantage of it by running errands (washing clothes, go to the PC Center) and hanging out with the rest of the PCV’s who were in Lima for different reasons. Sadly, we also said goodbye to two more volunteers from our training group. Its tough seeing them go, but they are happy with their decision, and I hope the best for them in the states. After a couple of days, I boarded a bus with a new cell phone (lost my other one), new books, clean clothes, and two movies to talk about (the other being Transformers 2), along with other news.

It was a good trip. It had its ups and downs, but all I can say is that it’s great being home. Trujillo and Huanchaco are awesome towns. We visited some ruins before the marathon, and now I’m enjoying the tranquility of Coayllo. I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July weekend. Enjoy the summer out there guys, and for the other PCV’s, hang in there. Cuidense and stay classy.

Here are some links to some pictures...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2132214&id=19510535&l=8aa75b293b

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2129453&id=19510535&l=fa587da61a

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2125076&id=19510535&l=d40851f984

More Cribs

2009-07-08T15:50:00.002-10:00

Here's videos of some more cribs of some of my fellow Lima/Ica folk...

Enjoy!!! New interesting blog later...

“Hay gringos aquí y no les entiendo”

2009-06-26T09:21:00.003-10:00

The words of one of my students as I just finished my 10 km run on Tuesday, and walked into town. I thought it was weird that the school was full of people at 5 PM, and the rumor of “gringos” being in my town made me curious. So I walked in, and there were lines of people waiting to get into a classroom, and the quad was sprinkled with kids who had little paintings of hearts and crosses on their arms. So being surprised by this, I had to figure out whether or not they spoke English. It probably was a safe assumption, but I’ve been to Lima many times to find out that Germans, Israelis, and French people like to visit Peru also.

The group of 7 Americans from Ohio was part of a church group who planned an alternative summer break to Peru through an organization called “Child Reach,” which apparently knew someone at my site, and decide to come on down. They donated clothes, toothbrushes, and toys to the people in my community. The group consisted of several nurses in their 40’s and 50’s, a middle school teacher, and one college student who all went to the same church. They came with workers of Child Reach here in Peru and in the states. They were helping a couple down here who came to Peru in September from the states to build an orphanage about 40 km north of my town (Chilca).

Although I was stoked on being a translator for them, and sharing what I was doing here as a PCV, the idea of coming to a developing country, and giving stuff away was in the back of my mind ever since the group left Coayllo. While I was there, people in the community were excited to receive clothing, and whatever gifts the group brought. These “giveaways” lead to a whole bunch of disorder, arguments over who has received stuff, and who hasn’t, and unfortunately makes people ask for more things. The director of the school even insisted on me asking on whether they could come and build a computer center for the kids. He later asked one of the workers, and they told him that they don’t do that kind of work, which led to disappointment.

I write this blog entry almost regretting the fact that I do it because it opens up a whole bunch of mixed/controversial feelings that come with development work. (Making sure I have the disclaimer) As a volunteer living in a rural community for a couple years, you make it a point to the citizens that you’re at site not to give stuff away, but to work with them in finding sustainable solutions to their problems that they may have. Being here for 10 months as a volunteer, made me realize why we are here for 27 months. What we do takes a long time, and more often than not, we probably won’t see the fruits of our labor by the time we are finished with our service. Getting a community to not be dependent on outside resources to survive and find solutions within town is our goal.

Whenever “we” bring up project ideas or just questions in general on what “we” need as a town, the subject of money comes about, and it should, but sometimes I get really frustrated with the answer, “we would, but we need more money.” Everyone has necesidades, and sometimes you have to be creative in getting around these obstacles. I know I’m venting and probably rambling on, but the point I’m trying to make is that I know as Americans or even just being a person blessed to be living with too much clothes, we all think that donating them is a great idea. I do also, but I’m just saying that sometimes “handouts” suck.

K now that I got that out of the way. This week was a busy week for me. Got a couple of co-workers that visited me at site, and they were there to witness a recycling campaign I started with the local colegio. Each class is collecting plastics, aluminum, and paper for this campaign, and there is a competition on who can bring in the most recyclables. Over the next two months of the campaign, I (hopefully along with other volunteers) will be giving workshops on Environmental education (compost, decomposition, worms, etc.) By the end of it, we will hopefully make a club for students which in turn, will develop leadership, and organizational skills that will help them in the future. Who would’ve thought that teaching English classes would’ve led to actual work?

It was nice to get something going, and get over that guilt most volunteers go through when projects don’t pan out. Hopefully other ideas for projects will begin to blossom to reality, and I can have the problem of having too much stuff to do. Anyway besides that, I have a half-marathon to run in two weeks, and I honestly can’t wait. Training for it has been very rigorous, and my last long run of 18 km will finally be done this Sunday. Hopefully I’ll be able to accomplish my goal of running it under two hours, but we will see.

I’m stoked for the fact that the US Men’s soccer team made 180 degree turn in quality of play, and made it to the finals of the Confederation’s Cup. I was asking my host dad what life is like during the Copa Mundial, and he said for that month, all you think and talk about is soccer. It’s a bummer that Peru won’t qualify, but I’m excited that the US is finally doing well in a big tournament. If we win against Brazil on Sunday, this will probably lead to huge expectations for our soccer team.

Lakers won! One more and we’ll catch up to those bastards in the green and white.

Other news, Michael Jackson passed away which sucks. His music has definitely kept me sane these 10 months. I know he has had problems recently, but his legacy as a performer, singer, and dancer will be remembered forever. So as I moonwalk my way out of this long ass entry, I want to thank my friends and family for the letters, and phone calls. If you got this far, God bless you, for your boredom, and your courage of getting through this horrible display of English grammar. Cuidense y muchos abrazitos. Chau!

Oh yeah one more thing...here is a cribs video we shot and edited for my site...enjoy!

F-you illiteracy…

2009-06-17T06:33:00.000-10:00

Man it’s great to be doing something at site besides be sick in my room. I spent last week trying to take care of my left ear, which was hurting when I got back from the states. I ignored the pain for several days after I returned, but a fellow volunteer said I should probably call the PC office for medical attention. I’ve never been a fan of going to the doctor since I’m a firm believer that my body will eventually just take care of itself, but this stupid reasoning came about due to not having health insurance for the last couple of years. So I did the smart thing, and called, received antibiotics and now feel a lot better. This is what it feels like to be insured, huh?

One thing I’ve been surprised about the past couple of weeks is the amount of random people who have read this blog. I started this blog really just to let my mom, some relatives, and some friends know that I was okay during my travels in Australia, and during my service in Peru. Lately I’ve been getting emails from other PCV’s from Africa and recent PC invitees who have found my blog by chance, and have sent me emails thanking me for my thoughts, and my work out here. It felt weird, especially knowing the fact that I’ve been here for six months, and haven’t really done anything huge. I hope this will change in the future, but I’m just being real. I’ve always written this blog thinking to myself that no one ACTUALLY reads this thing. I kind of feel embarrassed because I know I sound like a douche sometimes…but I do thank those PCV’s for the emails and I wish you guys luck in your service in your specific countries.

In a recent conversation with a friend from Hawaii, she asked me curiously, “How do you deal with all that alone time? ‘ It must be hard.” Although I’m lucky at my site because I have cell phone service, and as of last month, have internet access on weekdays (maintenance on electricity has cut internet this month), the time yourself is hard, and for some people, it’s the most difficult thing to deal with. I’ve stayed sane by listening to music (mainly hip-hop recently…The Roots, Common, and De La Soul), running, and a whole lot of reading. When I need to talk to someone, I usually just call another PCV. There are 150 of us in Peru, and if I miss home, I use a phone card and see what’s up in the states. I’m very thankful for this luxury, but this still doesn’t curb the fact that I’m “alone” at site. There’s the town which I love, and my host family, who is great also, but when it comes down to it, the most annoying person I deal with daily is me.

So I read, read, and read my ass off, and lately really good books.

Most recently I read “The Devil in the White City,” by Erik Larson, which I have to say, is my favorite book out of the 40+ I’ve read during the nine months I’ve been here. It’s about life in Chicago circa 1893 right before their legendary World’s Fair. It’s much more than that, but I don’t want to ruin it for anybody.

While I was reading this book in the plaza in my site, a couple of my English students asked me why I like reading so much. I tried to explain the best that I could that my mind races a thousand miles a minute, especially when I’m not doing anything productive, so I need to occupy my free time by doing different stuff to not go crazy. I later explained that’s why I run, I read, I teach English, I play volleyball, I write, and also edit video (since they have seen me do that also). I can lose myself doing those things. They were confused, so I later prestar’d the first Harry Potter book in Spanish to one of them, and after our English class, we talked about the story. He told me it was the first time he couldn’t put a book down. I told them there’s a lot more, and I’ll hopefully get the next two in a couple days (I’ve never read the books in English, nor saw the movies, so it’s pretty ironic) He later explained how he didn’t understand our last conversation about how being “lost” was a good thing, until he read the book. Funny how that worked out…

Chicago in 5 days...

2009-06-01T14:38:00.003-10:00

First of all I want to congratulate Manuel and Erin Deanda on getting married. I can’t imagine nicer people getting hitched, and spending the rest of their lives together. I’m so proud of you guys!

The trip went by in a blink of an eye, and I felt like a zombie for most of it, since I spent most nights staying up until 5 AM. The trip started with me going to the Lima airport at 4 AM for a 7 AM flight to Miami. I then I had a two hour layover which was barely enough time for me to get through US customs, re-check my baggage to my flight to O’Hare. I made last call and was on my way to Chi-town.

I arrived in Chicago around 5 PM, and was met by both Archie, and Manuel. First words I heard from Manuel were “Damn you look skinny and dirty!” I guess if I had to pick a couple words that described a male Peace Corps volunteer stationed in Peru…that would be it. I hopped on a car, and dropped off my baggage.

One of the numerous things I was looking forward to when I arrived in the States was using a laundry machine. I had avoided hand washing my clothes the last month in Peru, since I knew this trip was coming up. Erin offered to do my laundry for me, and I at first declined, but she didn’t take no for an answer, then I hoped that her sense of smell was lost, since she was going to be handling my clothing. She ended up washing everything, and even bought me new socks since the state of the ones I had were pretty horrible.

Anyway, after dropping off my bags at the bride’s place, Manuel, his friends, and I were off to Milwaukee to catch a concert of his favorite band, Taking Back Sunday. We were running late, and got to the Rave, right when TBS was 2 songs into their set. It was a surreal feeling finding myself in a pit surrounded by Manuel, Alex, Joe, and Raul; kids I hang out with when my brother is around in Colton. It was actually kind of weird not having him around during the past few days.

After the concert, we drove to our hotel and thought we were going to eat and call it a night, but the night took a turn for the better as a group of girls invited us to sing karaoke with them at a bar next door. So Manuel, his brother, his college buddies, and I sang karaoke until the bar closed, and the night was finished.
The following day was spent running errands before the wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I agreed to drive us back to Libertyville, and was happy to find fresh clean clothes in the morning I got back. I didn’t get much sleep, and agreed to go with Manuel to buy meat for the BBQ that night, and other things.

The rehearsal went fine and we got to see a picture slideshow of both Erin and Manuel. Then it was on to the BBQ. Until that moment, the only thing I had eaten was several things at several fast food joints such as Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Potbelly’s, and McDonald’s. Although that was delicious, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some freshly grilled burgers and carne asada burritos. It also gave us the chance to talk to Erin’s brothers and her friends that were bridesmaids. We then had another night of fun, and I again didn’t fall asleep until about 5 AM.

Wedding day started a bit late for us, since we didn’t wake up until about 11 AM. We picked up our tuxedos and headed to KFC to eat a lunch buffet. I was pretty much in heaven there since I’ve never seen one before in my life, and I love KFC chicken, which also included all the sides (biscuits, mashed potatoes, etc.) It’s amazing what you miss when you’re gone.

We then went to the church and put on our tuxes, then immediately headed to a park to take wedding photos. After that was a lot of waiting, but the ceremony was surprisingly quick. We did our thing, and the ceremony was executed without a hitch. (Alex the best man dropped the ring, but it made everyone laugh so it was cool.) The reception was in a barn, and it was beautiful. There was dancing, then the night ended.

After the wedding, I went into the city where I met Archie, Joe, and his g/f. They just moved into their new place, and it’s awesome. The house is in Bridgeport, which is down the street from US Cellular field, where the White Sox play. The rooms are very colorful and lively, a big change from where I live in Peru. That night, we ate some deep dish pizza, and took a stroll in Wrigleyville to watch the Lakers-Nuggets game. The Lakers pulled out game 3, which we were happy about, then we went to a couple dive bars to celebrate before the trip home.

Talking to Archie and Joe about the city of Chicago made me realize how much I need to think about where I want to be after my Peace Corps stint. My whole life, I’ve been near the coast where the weather is pretty much warm throughout the year. I’ve never spent any time in the Midwest or the East Coast. It’s actually a running joke with people in the West Coast to make fun of people who live in the Midwest, but after encountering a good amount of people from there in Peru and in Hawaii, I’ve come to the conclusion that it can’t be THAT bad. I’ve had a great time in Chicago the past 4 times I’ve been there, and Milwaukee looks like a pretty sweet city. Then again, Archie, Manuel, and Joe warned me about the winters, and how I should spend some time during that season before I make a decision.

My last day in Chicago was spent going to the University of Chicago campus to see President Obama’s house, and eating great food. We ate breakfast on campus at this place called Medici’s. I got the eggs benny which was delicious, and then at a blink of an eye, it was time to go. We made one last stop at a BBQ joint where I ordered a pull pork sandwich and fried catfish, and I boarded my flight home to Peru.

The flight was long, and I encountered a group of college students from Cali (Cal State Channel Islands) who were heading to Cusco. When we arrived at customs in Lima, I showed them a fake 20 sole note, and also informed them on what to look for when they receive money in Peru. After doing my good deed for the day, I headed to Cañete, and made it to our regional monthly meeting where I had gifts for my Peace Corps buddies from the states.

I can’t believe the trip is over already. I spent so much time thinking about this trip, and it was gone in a hurry. Three things come to my mind when I look back at this trip. One, seeing Manuel and Erin at the altar made me think about, well a lot of things… from all the stuff me and Manuel have went through over the years to reflecting over the decisions I’ve made to get me to where I am today, and how proud I was of Manuel. Two, it made me think about my future…where do I want to go to grad school, what I want to study, who I want to be around when Peace Corps is over, and eventually the type of girl I want to spend the rest of my life with. Three, how much time I have in Peru, and how much of an impact it has had on my life already.

Well now I’m back in Peru, trying to adjust to Peace Corps life again. I’m a little sick, and the weather has cooled down in the coast. Congratulations to Manuel and Erin again, also to Bryan and Nicole who got married on the same day. I’ll see you guys in Cali during Christmas hopefully. As for the rest of you guys, I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend. Take care of yourselves, and aloha!

List of things I didn’t realize I missed until I returned to the states:

1. Putting toilet paper in a toilet (a tear went down my cheek on my first flush)
2. Showers and water pressure
3. Sofas and beds
4. BBQ
5. Hot Sauce (Choula, in particular)
6. Throwing a baseball
7. Playing basketball
8. Laundry Machines
9. Concerts
10. Hip-hop music
11. Beer from American microbreweries (312 and Great Lakes were good choices)

Jungle Video

2009-05-21T12:37:00.000-10:00

Here is a jungle video I edited...enjoy! The quality kind of sucks because I had to dub it in a lower quality.

Surveying… No, the other kind….

2009-05-19T11:38:00.006-10:00

So the last month has kind of blown by pretty fast. I’ve spent a lot of time in my site, teaching English, and working on presentations on worm composting. The last week, I’ve been away from site helping another volunteer do some surveying. Fletcher didn’t have any experience with a theodilite, so I was more than happy to aid him in his work. One of his annexes has trouble with water pressure, so we’re doing a hydraulic analysis on the pipeline. It was fun playing surveyor for several days, what we didn’t know was that the pipeline was about 6 km long, and included some rugged terrain, so some of the stations took some creative thinking, but I thought we did a pretty good job. I guess we won’t know until all the data is gathered.

It was the first time in my service where it actually felt like a 9-5. We have about a couple more days to finish the profile, and gather the data needed for the analysis, but I’m glad my experience in engineering actually helped a bit. I’m also helping out in my colegio, teaching English to three different classes an hour and a half a day on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The classes vary from basic English to maybe not as basic English, but I’ve learned to enjoy it. For the high school kids, I taught them two songs “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles, and “It’s Friday, I’m in Love” by the Cure, to help out with vocabulary and pronunciation. I don’t really know if it helps any, but it breaks the monotony of listening to a teacher, and listening to music is fun.

This whole experience has been so great, and I can honestly say that I’ve made a good number of lifelong friends here in Peru, but our first group of volunteers from our region decided that it was time to take the next step, and start a family in the states. Although I did get to say goodbye to them, and sing some of our favorite tunes together, I didn’t really get to say how much I’ll miss them. My first month here at site was rough, since I was alone, and without a host family, but Amy and Preston were right there for support. They lived about 2 hours away from me, and 20 minutes from the beach, so whenever I had to get mail, buy some stuff at the market, or smell the Pacific…they were there. I can’t really say that I’m sad about them going since they are going to be future awesome padres, but they were doing great work at their site, and were people volunteers looked to for advice or needed someone to talk to. With Preston I’m going to miss basically all our conversations about the NBA, and with Amy, I’m going to miss talking about everything else, and her phone calls and messages to head to Cerro Azul. Looks like I’ll have to find some other beach buddies…

Anyway, I have a busy week ahead of me, and got a few errands done which I’ve meant to finish before I headed to the states. I finally bought a bike. It’s pretty cheap, and it’ll probably break on me within the first weeks of usage, but it’s my baby now. I can’t wait to get my helmet, and have people in my town stare at the “chino con su casco.”

It’s hard to believe that I will be in the states in two days. It’s a quick trip for 5 days to attend a wedding in Chicago. Everything is pretty much planned for me, so all I have to do is show up, look good, and be on time. Hopefully I’ll have some time to get some deep dish, see a Cubs game, and do all the things I won’t be able to do for a while (i.e. throw toilet paper in the toilet, drive a car, use a washing machine, watch an NBA playoff game, etc.)

I have to pack now, so I have to go. I think I’m going to pack all my dirty clothes and aprovechar the washing machines of my friends who live in Chicago. God I miss being home, but like I always said to my friends when I was in Hawaii, “home to me is the place wherever I’m not.” So I’ll be missing home wherever I go, whether it’s Peru, Spain, Hawaii, or Cali. I hope everyone enjoyed Mother’s day, and I’ll hopefully have some stories from the states when I update this thing in a few. Until then…cuidense y God bless!

You can see more pics at this link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2122520&id=19510535&l=c51a9ada50

So this is the Peace Corps, huh?

2009-04-30T10:38:00.003-10:00

How’s it going guys?? Sorry for not being able to update this thing for a while, but I’ve been pretty busy being out of site lately. But finally I’ll be able to stay in site, and hopefully start the steps necessary to get projects started within the next few months or so. This past weekend, the volunteers of the Lima/Ica region had their monthly meeting. It’s always nice to get to see and hang out with the rest of the volunteers even though I’ve seen the majority of them within the past two weeks. It was a very productive meeting in my opinion because it gave us a chance to talk about work, which when we haven’t been able to do with each other for a while.

Besides the monthly meeting, I also spent last week attending a baptism of two of a volunteer’s host siblings along with a couple of other volunteers. Going to this baptism was a great time because it gave a few of us a chance to meet a host family of another volunteer, and eat some great food, but also gave me the chance to go to mass, which I haven’t done in a really long time. Hearing mass in Spanish was a bit weird because, although I’ve been to a Catholic mass more than a thousand times, hearing the hymns and prayers in a different language had me on my heels. I knew what part of the mass I was in, but as I was trying to translate in my head how to say the prayers, we were off to another step.

So now the WATSAN volunteers here in the south are finally done with gauntlet of activities and vacations of the months of March and April, and now we can finally focus on getting stuff done at site. As for my work, I’ve been busy going to the colegio in my site helping out the professors who are teaching English on pronunciation, vocabulary, and forming sentences. It feels really good knowing that I’m the best at something, and can finally feel confident in teaching somebody something useful. I really thought I would hate teaching English here, but I’ve had a blast. It has given me the opportunity to get to know the kids more in an academic setting and also develop a relationship with the professors which will come in handy when I actually start giving talks and presentations related to projects in Water and Sanitation.

It’s really hard to believe that I’ve been here for eight months, and that another group of volunteers will be coming soon in June. We finally won’t be the noobs, which I have to say, I still enjoy, but it’ll be really cool at the same time to offer some knowledge to other volunteers who will be going through the same experiences we’ve went through as far as adjusting to living in a developing country. Looking back at my experience, I knew this experience would be hard, but actually going through the process, I’ve realized that it’s difficult in other ways. When a person joins the Peace Corps, one usually thinks that they’re going to be holed up in some shack, doing some physical labor, and hopefully do something that will help a community. Being in the campo, you realize that our job is to develop changes that can help our sites in a sustainable way.

Living here isn’t a big problem. You actually grow comfortable to it, and developing a routine helps out a lot. For everybody else, it isn’t weird anymore to have an American in the community, and you can pretty much go through your day like it’s a normal one, which in our daily lives back home, would be insanely not.
Which leads to the question I ask myself…what is the REAL reason I’m here? I had this conversation with other volunteers. One thing I dislike about development work is the attitude that we need to SAVE people. I read an article about Obama saying that he isn’t a miracle worker. He’s just getting Americans to realize with resilience and hard work, we as Americans can get back to our feet, and will probably be better for it. I’ve learned that coming to a developing community and thinking you’re going to be a savior is completely the wrong attitude. I’ve learned so much from being here. I’ve learned that I actually have a lot of patience, and that Hawaii has prepared me to not worry when people don’t arrive on time. I’ve also learned that I’m a decent English teacher. The most important thing I’ve learned is that I still have a lot to learn. Hopefully within the next few months I will be able to do something that the community can be proud of, which in turn will make you guys proud of me back home.

Well anyway, I have to go. I have a class in a few minutes. Take care of yourselves, and for my friends that our going through the grind of papers and finals…don’t worry, you’ll get through it. Hasta pronto! Chau!

P.S. Man how awesome is that Bulls/Celtics series? I’m so jealous….

Chasing Waterfalls

2009-04-14T05:58:00.003-10:00

I’m sorry I haven’t been able to update this thing for a while. I’ve been uber busy this whole month. I wasn’t able to find time to post the other blog entry I had for 3 weeks ago, so I guess you guys get two for the price of one. Ok so two weeks ago, WATSAN volunteers, a couple youth development volunteers, and I attended our Project Design workshop with our community partners. The workshop was 3 days and it was a great opportunity to work with someone from our site on a future project. It gave our partners a chance to meet our co-workers, and see how Peace Corps works at designing sustainable projects. The workshop was very useful on training people the process from beginning to end on preparing a project and will also be useful if we have to make proposals for funding, just in case our sites can’t fit the bill to fulfill what is needed.

After those three days, and passing a day in Lima, I returned to site for several days to take care of things at site before I went on vacation for Semana Santa. The trip was really fun, and gave us who live in the coast of Peru a chance to see the sierra of Lima, and the central jungle of Peru. The trip was a bit special since we also found out that we were the first group of volunteers who ever went to this part of Peru. The trip started with 5 of us heading to Yaoyos (sierra of Lima) on a bus at 7PM to meet another Peru 12 PCVand after 15 hours of travelling, finally getting to the jungle at 2 AM the next day. In one big swoop, we travelled from 100 meters of elevation to 4800 meters, and back down to 3500 meters in Huancayo, and a lot lower to the central selva.

Huancayo is a city of four hundred thousand people, and is also the department capital of Junin. It is known for having a great Semana Santa celebration. For a capital, it is a lot more tranquilo than the cities in the coast. I still get surprised about how you can really see the differences between how people live in Peru due to their geographical differences. People in the sierra are quiet, and a bit more standoffish while people on the coast are louder, and open.
Anyway we joined up with 3 other volunteers there, and after a bite for lunch and dinner, we were on our way down the hill to get to San Ramon. San Ramon is this laid back jungle town that is surrounded by a river and hills of pure greenery. This is region is also known for their coffee since the majority of Peru’s coffee is produced and cultivated here.

San Ramon reminded me a lot of Hawaii, especially the Windward side of Oahu. The jungle trip was basically spent relaxing, going on hikes to see some waterfalls, lathering of bug spray, and buying coffee and marmalade. It was great to be able to spend Holy Week with my new makeshift family. Although nothing about Peace Corps is normal, being able to see something new with other PCV’s, especially another part of this beautiful country, is something I will always remember.
Living in the coast where it is pure desert, you appreciate the color green. The central selva was so lush and alive, it was great to be in rain, and get to see this part of Peru. I was almost moved to tears on a hike where I just observed the volunteers in front of this waterfall, and the joy in their faces they had seeing this stream of water cascade down the cliff being surrounded by so much life…

Pure jubilation, which reminded me why Easter is such a great holiday.

Here are some links to some pics over the past month...enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2113140&id=19510535&l=da8bfbd90b

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2114634&id=19510535&l=f3e5815119

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2116467&id=19510535&l=c1744f119a

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2116463&id=19510535&l=325ce9d204

March Madness

2009-04-14T05:43:00.001-10:00

So it’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog, but I’ve been busy lately. This month has been filled with events where I’ve been away from my site. March has been a month a majority of the volunteers have been looking forward to because it ended our 3 month probation period where now PCV’s of Peru 12 can now go on legal vacations. We also just got done with our “Reconnect” where all the volunteers of my group got together in a beach town in the northern coast of Peru to give presentations of their sites, and to have fun.

Seeing everybody two weeks ago was awesome. The three days were filled with presentations, really bad haircuts, surfing, and a beach full of sunburnt gringos. The trip started with me and a couple of volunteers going to Chaclacayo to visit our host families during pre-service training. It has been a while since I’ve talked to them, but it was a great visit. Everybody is doing well, and they were surprised with the amount of weight I lost and the length of my hair. I also was surprised with the news that my old host sister is getting married in May, which means May will be a month of weddings since I already am going to one that month in the states.

After the visit, we went to Pacasmayo where our “Reconnect” was located. This was the first time I went north of Lima, so it was very exciting for me. Pacasmayo is a pretty cool beach town, which is surprisingly empty and lacking of tourists. Me and another volunteer were talking about how we have to judge all beach towns with a grain of salt since nothing here really compares to Cali or Hawaii. It was great seeing everybody again, and hearing all the new stories. We had a very enjoyable 4 days. I finally got the chance to surf out here (if you love lefts, you have to come to Peru), got a ridiculous haircut along w/ 3 other volunteers, and got second in our 3rd campeonato of RPS.

After saying our goodbyes, we went back to our sites. For me, and the other volunteers located in Lima and Ica, this meant going back to site for a couple days to unload and pack again to attend a 3 day workshop on Behavior Change. I just got back from this a couple days ago, and in a couple days from now, all WATSAN volunteers will be going back to Lurin to attend a workshop with their community partners on designing projects.

Being away from site for these long periods of time is a bit weird because it always takes a bit of time to adjust. I pretty much spent my time, checking mail, washing clothes, and sleeping. Travelling takes a toll, and I haven’t even taken a vacation day yet. Another weird thing about being a volunteer is that you don’t have that 9-5 that everyone else has. Our work day is however we make it. This means working nights and weekends when people usually aren’t working to going away for long periods of time.

So now, we are all in this transition period. Our diagnostic of our community should be coming to an end, and now we should be preparing ourselves to working on our projects which will hopefully be able to help our communities in a sustainable way.
That’s about it for me. I hope everyone is enjoying the NCAA tourney at home and enjoying the madness. I did get to see a couple games while I was in Lima, but it isn’t the same, especially because I haven’t watched any NCAA games this year, which also explains how busted my bracket is right now. I miss everyone at home, and hopefully I’ll hear from you soon. Enjoy the pictures of my ridiculous mullet. Take care and cuidense.

Out of Site...Out of Mind

2009-03-02T05:26:00.001-10:00

I’ve discussed this with other volunteers, but it is really weird to think that we’ve been in Peru for almost half a year. The normal changes occur such as loss of weight (I’ve lost 12 pounds since November), hair growth (I haven’t cut my hair since September), and how comfortable I am at site. Its difficult to go across the plaza of my town without some sort of greeting, which feels very nice. Although I couldn’t say that it feels like home, I’m feeling a lot more comfortable at my site.

Work is going okay for me so far. I’ve spent the majority of my time taking pictures of my site and my annexes for my presentation at Reconnect. I have to give a presentation along with the other volunteers on our communities. This presentation basically shows what our reality is living at our sites. Each site has its own strengths and weaknesses, and something that makes it unique. Hopefully I do a good job of displaying my community, and tie up all the loose ends of my community diagnostic.

The past week and a half, I’ve spent away from site. The good/bad thing about being at site is that there is a routine. Being Peace Corps Volunteers, you can say we are used to being comfortable in uncomfortable situations, but being in site allows us to develop some sort of routine. Although we can’t predict when a person isn’t going to show up for a meeting, or when the mayor is going to invite you for lunch out of the blue to discuss future projects, there are certain things volunteers do to pass the day. For me, it means waking up at 7, running my 6 miles, eating a breakfast (bread and peanut butter usually), and taking a shower (if water is available). After, I go to the health post or municipality for a morning meeting or to start surveys. If I don’t have someone accompanying me for surveys, I usually use the internet at the municipality’s computer lab (4 computers, 2 w/ LAN lines) or go around talking to people and take pictures. Integrating is our job, so this also means for me, playing pick up volleyball, and teaching kids how to play basketball.

One thing that surprised me about the Peace Corps was how dependent we are on technology. Knowing the fact that we were going to be in rural communities, volunteers still have to find ways to use the internet since the majority of our communication is done through email, cell phone, or a specific website. Monthly reports to vacation requests, all this stuff is done online. I don’t really mind though, since it also allows me to keep in touch with people at home.

Anyway, I kind of got carried away there…I spent 3 days last week with the volunteers of Lima doing surveys called BARRIER analysis. These surveys are new to Peace Corps and basically are supposed to be surveys that can judge behavioral change a little better than the surveys we have now. We spent these 3 days gathering data to see if this survey can work for us. If it is a success, it looks like we’ll be implementing these surveys for future volunteers in the future in other countries including Peru.

After the surveys, we had our monthly meeting in Ica. My friends from “home” can probably relate to this more than others, but I was just having one of those irritating days. Put that together with 15 people and you get me not in my best moments. Hopefully I can avoid these in the future because I love the volunteers in my region. We still ended up having a great night. Some people felt a little sick, and were not themselves, but a majority of the people enjoyed themselves.

The day after the meeting, a group of us went to Lake Huacachina. I can only speak for myself, but it seemed like it was a very enjoyable time for everyone and I can’t wait to go again. We spent the day sandboarding these massive sand dunes, and dunebuggying it up. If you guys are planning to visit Peru, this should definitely be something you should do. These include volunteers who might be reading this.

After, I spent the day with the Yaoyos peeps at the beach at Cerro Azul before they headed up to their site. I got to site and did some surveys and spent the day after going to the beach again. This time though, it was with my whole community. I can’t wait to post pictures up of this, but basically my whole town went to the beach. It reminded me of when football teams in small towns make the playoffs and the whole town follows the team by caravan. We fit our town in 4 huge buses and went down to Paracas to spend the day. It was a very enjoyable time, but to tell you the truth, it feels good to spend a day actually doing nothing at site.

That’s pretty much it for the last 3 weeks for me in Peru. I want to thank Angela, Heather, and my family for the mail and care packages. I’ll try to get back to you guys as soon as I can. It’ll be about three weeks until Reconnect, so hopefully I get my presentation done by then. It’ll be nice to see the rest of the volunteers, and get a haircut. Having long hair during the summer in the desert of Peru is not very comfortable, but a competition is a competition, and I really hate losing. Take care guys and for all you fellow Catholics out there…have a great Lenten season. Aloha y hasta pronto.

Here is a link for pictures of sandboarding...enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2108322&id=19510535&l=e05ab

I miss sports!

2009-02-09T06:56:00.000-10:00

Hey guys! I wish I could have more exciting stuff to write about, but not much new is happening in my site. I’m still going to door to door trying to get about 100 surveys done at my site, before the end of this month. By mid-March, I would like to get 15-25 surveys at the neighboring casarios, before I head to Reconnect.

I did get to watch the Super Bowl and I thought it was a great game. That interception return by Harrison was pretty much the turning point because it was at least a 10 point swing before the break, but there were a lot of great plays made. Warner had a great game, and so did Fitzgerald. That slant for the a touchdown could’ve been a deciding factor, but Big Ben came back with amazing throws, and their receivers made some great catches, especially that game winning one by the MVP. Very Cris Carter-esque.

As most of you know, I’m a sports-nerd. Its probably the one thing I miss the most about the states. Whenever I have time at the internet café, and I’m finished checking e-mail, I usually am reading about sports, and it could be anything. From tennis (with Nadal winning the Australian) to basketball (Kobe scoring 61 against the Knicks, and then beating the Celtics) to soccer (US vs. Mexico this Wednesday), I love everything about sports. Only a couple of people share my passion for it here in the Peace Corps, but as Amy can witness with Preston and I, it can go on for hours.

I really do miss “knowing what I’m talking about.” As volunteers out here, we received training on a lot of things which can definitely help with our communities, but I feel not as confident discussing these things in a foreign language. I feel comfortable with my Spanish as far as having discussions and learning new things, even having arguments and disagreements, but I just feel like when I’m discussing solutions or projects for the future, I don’t feel like the “expert” as people in my town make me out to be.

I guess that’s what I’m missing right now, the passion for it. I know this “confidence” thing will pass, probably once I post this blog entry, but this is how I’ve been feeling lately. I guess that’s why I look forward to talking to other volunteers because I can have discussions about American TV, or American sports. I’m trying to get into Peruvian comedy, but I guess I just don’t get it.

I’m trying to get into Peruvian soccer, but to tell you the truth I think it’s boring mainly because I don’t have anything riding on it. They have great players here like Farfán, but Peru hasn’t qualified for the World Cup since the 70’s I believe, and on Wednesday, they’ll be showing the qualifier when they play against Paraguay. They are in last place in South America right now. It is pretty ironic because Peruvians think we don’t know much about soccer, yet we’ve qualified for the World Cup every single time since 1994, and we’ve played well and beaten teams from South America also.

Wow that was a lot of rambling about nothing. As for site, I’m feeling really comfortable, but I guess this little thing has been bothering me lately. I received a new water filter, and its great having clean water, without waiting 6 hours for SODIS to work. On Sunday, I went to the concha, and watched a little soccer tournament. It seemed like everyone in town was there. It was great. It reminded me of Sundays at home, when people were out in the parks having BBQ’s, playing softball, and basketball. It also reminds me of how well things can go when there is an interest in something and things are organized. That’s pretty much our jobs…generate interest on our projects and getting things organized. We’ll see how that goes. Ok, I have to start encuestas, so I have to go. I hope things are going okay at home. Miss you guys, and thank you Liz and Vanna for your letters. Take care, and until next the one….chau!

30 Rock

2009-01-27T11:36:00.003-10:00

This was an interesting weekend, and by the end of it...I got hella sick for a 36 hour span, but it looks like I'm a-ok now. Weekend started off with our regional meeting in Canete. This was very exciting since it was the first time since we've been in Lima that all of the volunteers in our region have seen each other. We pretty much hung out, some peeps had some errands to run, we went to the beach, and then we were out.

Weird thing was that I was really looking forward to these few days for a while, and it went by so fast. The weekend ended with me having stomach problems on Saturday nite...to Sunday, and a little of Monday. The good thing was that Fletch prestar'd me the first season of 30 Rock, and I'm hooked now. So in between periods of going to the bathroom, and drinking loads of water...I was getting hooked on the life of Tracy Jordan, Liz Lemon, and the whole gang.

Work is pretty much the same, but it looks like it is going to get busier as our CDA is rounding to a close in a few months. Tomorrow I start 3 full days of surveys in my town. Goal is to do about 200 - 250 households in my town and my annexes by March. I pretty much already know what projects can help Coayllo, but its good to have conversations with community members to see what kind of improvements they would like to see and get involved in. That my friend is what people may call a sustainable solution.

Another weird thing is how much more comfortable people are approaching me and having conversations with me. I get called "Marquito" a lot now which is nice, but every once in a while I'll get "Chino" which still kind of hits a sore spot. If any people from elementary or junior high is reading this...this is your fault and I hate you for it!

Wow...that came out of nowhere.

Anyway, that is pretty much it. In the meeting, there was a discussion of the new administration, and how with President Obama being elected may effect the Peace Corps in Peru, and the world. It will be interesting to see what happens since he would like to double the amount of volunteers out here working in the campo.

Here are more pics on this link

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2104464&l=2c343&id=19510535

enjoy!

I love you,
Mark

Some old pictures

2009-01-21T11:20:00.003-10:00

No new news as far as my site is concerned. I´m just trekking along my encuestas, and talking to 5 or 6 different people about trash and water. I was able to post some pictures. You can take a look on these addy´s. Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2103569&l=83cdc&id=19510535

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2103572&l=896fc&id=19510535

Hi ho, Hi ho, and off to work we go!

2009-01-16T11:05:00.004-10:00

So 2009 has been a good start for me. After finishing the holiday festivities, I finally got the chance to start my encuestas in my town. For our first three months as PCV's, we have to do a community diagnostic to better observe what our site's strengths, weaknesses are, and see where we can help during our two years of service.

Walking door to door is a bit rough. Its hit or miss on whether a person is very interested in the themes of water, trash, and hygiene, and other times you get a door slammed in your face, or a "no puedo hacerla ahora, ven un poco tarde" which isn't as drastic. It also gives us the opportunity to gain trust within the community members here, and I've had plenty of great conversations with people the past few days.

That's basically it though. I've attended several meetings, and have done presenations about SODIS, but the majority of my time is spent talking to people about trash and water. I still haven't received any of my birthday mail either, but other volunteers have received X-mas stuff finally, so hopefully the next trip to the Serpost will be an enjoyable trip with arms full of gifts instead of a dusty, depressing, empty box. I did finally get a charger for my laptop thanks to our WATSAN third year volunteer Josh. Big ups to that guy...so now I can finally post this video...enjoy guys!

From Trainee to Volunteer

Happy Holidays from Peru

2008-12-30T06:58:00.003-10:00

It´s been an interesting few weeks spending the holidays in a foreign country. Before I start, I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas out in the states, and for some of my friends that are sharing the experience in other countries also. My first Christmas away from the states was very laid back. Since I´m not moving with my new host family until January, I spent the holidays with another volunteer and her host family. We were joined by another volunteer, and we spent Christmas eve eating pavo and causa rellena, and on Christmas morning, we ate some paneton...(which is like fruitcake, but way more enjoyable) and hot chocolate (which is kind of weird because its the beginning of summer here)

For Christmas day, we decided to make our own burgers and guacamole, and had our own little bbq. It was a bit different from celebrating Xmas at home, but I had a good time. As for work, I´ve just been spending time hanging out with my new host dad who is the treasurer of the organization who controls the water system here. Its pretty cool because he owns a little tienda, so plenty of people of the community come by. So after a slow December, it looks like January will be full of going around house to house getting to know the community, going to the casarios and doing the same, and going to a lot of community meetings.

The mayor wants to start a recycling, and trash program which is a big problem here since the majority of people burn their trash. As far as water, I´ve been hanging out at the health post, and set up meetings with the tecnicos to test our water, and find out more data about what we need to do to improve the system out here. We have a big meeting with the community on January 11th about the desague and the system in general. An NGO from Japan had a meeting with the community about a possibility of maybe building another reservior. So the meeting will be very interesting.

One of the casarios have started construction on improving connections to the acequia to improve farming, and rainy season up on the mountains is coming soon, so I actually won´t be able to cross the river to see the neighboring towns in a couple of months. Although I feel like not much has happened out here my first month at site...looking back, I guess there has, but a lot more work is coming ahead, which I look forward to.

So as 2009 approaches...its a habit of mine to look back and see what has happened personally this past year. 2008 was full of twist and turns. From my grandma passing away at the middle of my last semester, to seeing Aussie and New Zealand to being here in Peru. I can look back in 2008, and see how much I´ve grown. Going up on that stage when my family was in tears, and making them laugh with just funny story after funny story about my grandma, graduating college to get the piece of paper my parents always wanted, and lastly sitting in a computer lab alone in Peru typing this as a PCV...it still fathoms me how much change has happened this past year, and how blessed I feel, having this opportunity to do this. So thank you guys for a great 2008, and I look forward to a challenging 2009.

My site...and a birthday

2008-12-17T12:24:00.004-10:00

So it has been a couple weeks at my site, and all is working pretty well. I´m located a 100km south of Lima in a town called Coayllo. The town has about 500 people, and my main job will be working here and with the other 6 surrounding communities on improving access to running water, creating a trash/recycling program, and educating the communites on hygenic practices.

As of right now, I´ll be living with my new host family after the new year. There were some complications when I arrived here on the first day, and I´ve been living at a little hostel the municipality owns for workers who live out of town. It has a toilet, and a shower, so not many arguments from my side. As for my site, I like it a lot. Not much happens here, besides people working out in the fields. My town is surrounded by deserts, fields of corn, apples, tomatoes, and potatoes, and hills/mountains. The people are all nice and very welcoming, so I am looking forward to getting some projects going.

I also celebrated my 25th birthday out here. I spent the day at Cerro Azul, this little beach town south of Lima with 7 other PCV´s. We ate lunch, and pretty much relaxed on the beach. My day was also filled with my cell phone ringing a lot with birthday wishes, so it was a very enjoyable day.

Today was spent going to a neighboring town and witnessing a celebration of this canal being built. I kind of walked into the invitation, as I ran into my alcalde as I was going to put a candy wrapper into the trash. Long story short, he told me to get into the truck because we are going to eat...I followed, and I ate some pachamanca.

That´s pretty much the life of a PCV. You can´t really predict what the heck the day is going to bring. I´ve learned that you just have to go with the flow, and enjoy what´s going on. Whether its sitting on a beach with other volunteers, or eating a drumstick with 10 strangers wondering where you are from, pretty much anything and everything comes with the territory.

A lot of stuff has happened to me in the last 3 weeks, along with the other Peru 12 volunteers, and I can fill pages and pages of just the most hilarious things that have happened to us. But it looks like I gotta go since the municipality is closing shop. I just wanted to thank everyone for the birthday wishes. I miss everyone at home, and it'll be tough celebrating out here without you guys. Take care of yourselves, and I´ll talk to you soon.

It's official

2008-12-07T03:26:00.004-10:00

So as of a week ago, we are officially Peace Corps Volunteers. A lot has happened in the past week, since I'm actually at site, but I'm just going to recap the whole Thanksgiving, swear-in week since I'm pressed for time. So the day before Thanksgiving was a great nite, since most of the people from the group stayed at the TC, and exchanged music/pictures. A lot of us helped cook, and prepare for the family party, and Thanksgiving lunch. We also received our PC Peru 12 gear.

The next day was Thanksgiving, and it was a bit weird, since it was our last day of Training before swear-in. Celebrating it in Peru, in a foreign country was a bit weird also, but the food was great. We also did a video which I will soon put up whenever I have time to upload, but all I have to say is that it was a lot of fun, and I was relieved people enjoyed it.

After a busy day...we had to go home and spend our last nite with our host families, and pack. I hate packing, and of course I saved it for the very last minute, so hopefully I didn't forget anything. As of right now, all looks well.

The next day was swear-in. The morning was spent driving all our luggage to the TC for storage, and doing administration stuff. Then it was off to home for our last meal with our host families for Training. I'm not that far from Yanacoto, so I don't imagine it being my last meal with them, but I was a bit sad leaving them. They've made this transition for me so easy, and they made me feel really comfortable, at a time where things could be really hectic.

After that was the swear-in ceremony, and its just awesome to see everyone dressed up. The TC was all decorated in red, white, and blue, and an hour later, we said our oath, and that was that! I didn't know how I was going to feel that day, but I was ecstatic. Right after we took our oath, I yelled "yeah!" and was just thrilled to be part of this awesome group of people, and reflected on the long process just to be here right now, imagining what it would be like to be a PCV, all those damn medical tests, and paperwork...I was really proud.

After pictures, receiving our WATSAN vests, and goodbyes...we were off to Lima to celebrate.

The day after was a bit tough because it was a day of goodbyes. Being near Lima, we were the last group to leave, so it was pretty tough saying goodbye. It's hard to imagine how good of a relationship you can have with strangers in 11 weeks, but I've made so many good friends here.

I'll talk more about my site in the next post, but I'm going to post an album on swear-in on facebook, so if you want to see the pics, go to my page.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2096312&id=19510535

The next three months are going to be tough, but I look forward to the challenge, along with the other PCV's. I guess the real roller coaster ride begins.

REMINDER: I have a new mailing address...and a cell phone. I would love to hear from you guys...books, letters, pictures, and hand sanitizer are always welcome..

Almost there...

2008-11-24T13:06:00.003-10:00

So we have five days left until we leave for our sites, and I´m not going to lie, its getting pretty scary. The past week, we talked about our experiences at our sites, and finished up our language training. The next few days are going to be hectic for everybody because thanksgiving is coming up, and we also have to pack up our shit. All that stuff, plus swearing in, and saying goodbye to the fellow Peru 12 peeps, and our host families...its going to be kind of weird.
Its weird to think that I´ve almost been here for three months, and its been such a blast. I´ve made an awesome group of friends here, and its going to be tough to leave some of them, and be alone at our own sites, doing our thing.
Majority of the volunteers are feeling antsy now to move on to the next step, and be finished with training. I, in the other hand, don´t really know how I´m feeling. I´m going to be missing a lot of my friends, but I´ve felt easily frustrated with stuff lately, and don´t really want to show my lack of patience with anyone here, especially since I´m surrounded by tons of great people. We´ll see though...I really want to enjoy everyone´s company before we head out our separate ways. I guess we´ll see what happens...anyway, I gotta go. Take care peeps!

Site visits

2008-11-12T11:34:00.002-10:00

Irony is really funny. I finally have time to fill out a blog entry, and I´m in my site where I´ll be living for two years. It´s been a while since I´ve updated this thing, so I´ll give you guys a recap of what has happened the past two weeks. Two weeks ago, all volunteers went to various sites for Field Based Training. I, along with the other 15 WATSAN volunteers went to Paracas, a tourist town in the department of Ica, 3 hours south of Lima. For a week, we did several things such as interview families about hygiene, water and sanitation, construct latrines, dig ditches and holes to lay pipes for a water system, and basically get our hands dirty.
It was a great time until, me and 9 other volunteers got sick by eating something bad. The majority of the volunteers ended up having diahrea or vomiting. I personally couldnt crap anything solid for 3 days, and crapped about 10 times in an hour. Two more volunteers ended up getting sick later on, so it got all of us pretty bad. Despites the sicknesses, we all had a great time with each other, and its going to be sad to be separated when we are at our sites.
This past week, we also had a talent show amongst our spanish groups. That day was very entertaining because not only was everyone very funny, but we also finally got to figure out where we are going to be for the next two years.
So without further a due...I´m heading to a site in Cañete, which is in the department of Lima, in a town called Coayllo. The town is located 100 km south of Lima, and 16 km away from the coast. I´m near other volunteers also in WATSAN, which is great.
So this week, starting this past Sunday, all the volunteers went to their regional capitals to visit their sites. I along with the group of volunteers who will be in the departments of Lima and Ica went to Cañete for the nite to meet our community counterparts. On Monday, we had introductions and some icebreakers to present ourselves to each other. They also went over our roles to each other so everyone is informed about what we are actually doing, then at the end of the day, we went our separate ways, and I am now in Coayllo.
I slept pretty well despite the new surroundings. Today, we went through a gauntlet of meetings to introduce myself to the community. Everyone is so nice and friendly, but its hard to see the destruction and problems the earthquake caused, so I have a lot of work to do with the citizens of Coayllo to get this town back up and running.
Site visits in my opinion are the first actual experiences in Trainees where it kind of hits them in the mouth about Peace Corps life.
I´ve learned a lot during training, especially technical training, but as I´ve been going through meetings after meetings introducing what Peace Corps does, and my role as a volunteer in my new community, you see the faces you´re going to help, and you see the problems in person, and you see your new home for two years, it can be a pretty daunting task. So I wish all the Trainees and volunteers luck as we do our thing. For Peru 12, I hope everyone makes it home safe, with all of their belongings. For peeps at home, send me plenty of books, and hand sanitizers because I´m going to need plenty of both. Also for Trainees and volunteers, stay strong, be yourself, and be patient... this is what we´ve been waiting for. All those medical check ups and paper work is now going to actually going to lead to something. Take care guys and be safe.

The good stuff...

2008-10-25T18:10:00.002-10:00

This was a tough week to get through, but all is worth it in the end. This week, there were some hurdles we had to get over, before Field Based Training. It started with a little cultural fair of the departments of Peru. Our Spanish group had the department of Tumbes, which went ok...we had to follow the Advanced Spanish group, which pretty much kicked ass in their presentation...so that was definitely a tough act to follow. After everyone's presentations that day, a group of volunteers and I, along with a couple of the language teachers did this Afro-Peruvian dance, we've been preparing for. I messed up a couple times but all and all it was a good experience.

The next day me and Rich did our little charla on SODIS, and it went great. We did it in front of about 20 2nd graders, who were really intelligent and full of energy. The funnest thing about working with kids is the unpredicitability of the situation, and the realization of the amount of patience and sterness you need to work with them. Fletch and Ryan, a couple of other WATSAN volunteers did a presentation after us on the importance of keeping germs from your body. The day then continued with another fair on the departments of Peru.

Friday was pretty much the best day I've had in training. Its funny how things change when the weekend arrives. The day started with me and a couple people doing a practical joke on the group. To set the stage, I have to go back to Sunday nite at the internet cafe in Yanacoto. Me, and another Mark thought about how funny it would be if someone just went bazerk during a time when all 48 of us were in a room...and the more we thought about it, the more it made sense for us to do it.

So Tuesday came along, and we asked our Training Coordinator, Kathleen, who is pretty much the nicest person you'll ever meet whether or not we could pull it off, and have her in on the joke. She said yes and had the plan to do it, but we forgot to mention that in order to execute the joke, I had to cuss my f&%$ing mouth off.

Sorry to go off topic, but I just really want to say how thankful I am to have Kathleen in Peru as our coordinator. She has helped me so much in coping with me losing my stuff, and just any frustrations that have came about in Peru. She truly has been a blessing for me.

So anyway on Thursday, after the cultural fair, me, Mark, and Kathleen set it up. Friday came, and the day was scheduled to have all of us meet up that morning, and discuss the importance of being professional in our sites, and also a meeting with the Country Director on our Volunteer Handbook. I basically blew up and through an F-word brigade at Kathleen saying it was a waste of time, and I walked off quitting the Peace Corps.

Walked off with Mark, and had some people thinking it was true, came back to have people realize it was a joke...and the joke was executed as good as I hoped, with even some people in tears (I apologize sincerely though for those that did tear up) So after another day of training, and our weekly meeting out of the way, and knowing all the information about Field Based Training...I planned another event...the first annual RPS Campeonato.

I planned this two weeks ago, and people thought I wasnt serious, but we finally got a bracket filled with 32 volunteers, and we had a tournament of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Even though I lost in the first round...I couldn't have asked for a better atmosphere. It was loud and exciting, and I now can't wait to plan another one before we head out to our sites. Fletch ended up winning the thing, by barely beating E-loch, and Rico Dinero got third. We then ended the nite by going to the discoteca in Chosica.

Today was really chill. Spent the day with several of the volunteers before we head out to Field Based Training tomorrow. I can't say enough how cool people are here, and this has definitely been the best weekend I've had so far in Peru. I can't thank anyone enough on how lucky I am to be here.

So before I head out, I want people to pray for my co-workers in BankOH, as one of my former co-workers died last week in a really tragic and senseless crime. Pray for her family, her husband, her son, and her friends for their loss, and the ability to be there for one another at a time of tragedy. Lyola was an awesome woman, who helped me with this process of becoming a PCV. She lived in Palau as a kid and had great experiences with other former PCV's that served in the islands, and was really excited for me when I found out that I was going to Peru. So it was really sad for me to find out that she died. My thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family.

Take care of each other guys, and for Peru 12... have a ball in FBT and I'll see you in a week. Chau and Aloha!

Tired of being tired

2008-10-19T15:34:00.002-10:00

So halfway through with training, and it's kind of weird to realize that I´m going to be here for a while. I can´t say the past week was the best week for me. I said adios to my camera a week ago, and wont be able to take any pictures until I buy a new one. Left my ATM card last week in a machine in Lima that same day, and basically wait out in getting a new one. Its been tough making face, and feeling good about being my absent-minded self, but the hell can I do about it now?

So anyway, the past couple weeks have been a cup of the same ol stuff. Me and Rich are going to make a charla on SODIS and the importance of clean water to little kids. If you dont know what SODIS is, its this way of obtaining clean drinking water by only using the sun, a plastic bottle, and water. The infrared and UV rays heat up the water and kill all the parasites and bacteria, so its a cool way to get drinking water by just using the powers of mother nature. For our spanish class, we have to research the region of Tumbes. We have this culture fair about the different regions in Peru at the training center in a couple of days, and each class has to do a presentation on their specific region. I´ll also be doing some Afro-peruvian dance with several of the other trainees. Since my dancing skills always consist of just making people smile, and making a fool of myself, this will be very interesting.

I can´t wait for the change of scenery. We go on Field Base Training next week. The Water and Sanitation Trainees will be going to the region of Ica, in this city called Paracas. For that week, we´ll be out on the field building latrines, maintainence of water systems, doing interviews with families in Spanish, and other cool interesting stuff out on the field.

Being at the training center is nice, and the people are great here, but seeing the same 40 - 50 faces each day kind of wears down on you. So the change, is greatly needed, and its going to take every ounce of strength for me not to blow up this week because I can definitely feel that Im on edge. So hopefully I´ll be able to diverge some frustrations on laughs rather than blowing up on probably someone that will not deserve it. But fuck it...its gotta come out somehow.

So now I got that out of the way, this weekend was very interesting. I went out with my host sisters to the discotech with several of the volunteers. It was weird being the taller, but we ended up having an interesting time. Got back really late, and had to get dressed for a quinceñero. So after making a cameo there, I got a couple hours sleep and woke up to see our water system get cleaned with another group of volunteers. In Peru, they have these things called "Faenas" which basically consist of people within the opportunity getting together to do this huge projects like construct a roof on the municipality building, or a clean-up. This morning was their time for maintenance of the water system, and me, Meg, Tristan, and Karen woke up early to be a part of it. So that was definitely an educational experience.

That´s basically two weeks in a nutshell. Yesterday we also went to this farm where this couple runs it on cuy guano. This self-sustaining jewel also had a huge farm with native fruits, herbs, plants, and veggies that was really cool to see. Although I´m waiting to be energized, I can´t say enough how my fellow volunteers amaze me the more I get to know more about them. With that said, I´m missing home. I miss the comfortable, and I definitely miss my friends in Hawaii. At this time of frustration, I´m honestly just tired of being in control, and honestly want to just let loose on something. Fuck, I´m rambling...on to some research. Take care of yourselves. Hasta!

fiestas and compost

2008-10-05T12:28:00.002-10:00

I finally got some time to put an entry up. This weekend has been really awesome. Friday night, they are celebrating Chosica´s anniversary for the next 2 weekends. That night there was "Señorita Chosica" which is basically a beauty pageant for girls aged 15-22. Before I got there, I got to meet the mayor of our area. My host mom introduced me as her¨"new son." I, of course, didn´t know who he was except for the fact that he was a man a suit on. He asked me "how are you?" in English, and we talked about how great my host mom was. Then he had to judge the competition, which was in front of the big cristo blanco statue. One great thing about Peru is that everyone is short, so the crowds are easy to look over.

Anyway after that we had a soccer game which we won 3 nil. I´m having a blast playing goalie, which I found out I´m actually okay at. The irony is that those have been my first official soccer games in my life.

Saturdays, we spend at the University of La Guaria in La Molina, which is in Lima. We spend time learning how to tend gardens, which I never in my life thought I would see myself doing. That day, we got a huge lecture on the different kinds of gardening in Peru, then we learned how to do compost. It was fun getting our hands dirty, and doing some manual labor.

After we took the combi home, and spent lunch back in Chaclacayo. The other volunteers have been great getting to know. One of my greatest fears was that I wasn´t able to dick around during training, but everyone here has a great sense of humor. So I can be my stupid self, with all its goofiness and glory. We ate at this italian restaurant, which had 2 courses. I got Speghetti with a side of some sort of pork, and some crepes with spinach and something else. The food was great and the stories we shared were very entertaining.

So after that, got home, took a nap, and went to Chacrasana for dinner. Got the chance to eat some hamburgers at Mateo´s house finally, and they were awesome. We got to hang out with some of the volunteers before we headed to the fiesta, which was in barrio called "3 de octubre."

Being at the fiesta was a blast. Got to see some dances by the locals, and our Peace Corps soccer team was given jerseys, as a token of the town´s appreciation. Then there was drinking and dancing, and fireworks where people were getting sprayed by sparks. All and all, a great Peruvian nite. Got to shoot some shit to Ryan, who had to make a speech in front of the local barrio, thanking them for letting us play.

Reflecting about last nite made me realize how much I appreciate being where I am right now. Hopefully I will still enjoy my time in training before we head out to our sites and get down to the nitty gritty, but for now, its been a great experience.

The hardest thing about being here is being able to express myself in a foreign language. I feel like I have my nites where I´m on as far as expressing my sense of humor and sarcasm...and other times I feel like I´m retarded. I´m sure this will pass as time goes on being in Peru, but I dont want to lose my identity in translation.

Anyway, I´m heading out. Take care of yourselves, and make sure to read the blogs of my fellow PCT´s. They have much more entertaining posts than me because I write horribly in English. Chau and cuidate!

Una semana de Peru

2008-09-22T12:08:00.004-10:00

So we just got done with our first week of training, and it has been a very long week. Along with language class everyday for 4 hours, we also got an introduction to our Water and Sanitation Project, our first set of immunizations, and lectures on diarrhea and safety.
Training is a very intense period, and we still have another 11 weeks, so hopefully we get in some sort of routine, so it doesn’t seem so draining.

Anyway as far as Water and Sanitation goes, there are 14 volunteers in my program, which will be working on improving access to safe drinking water, promotion and education on proper hygiene, and strengthening organization of service. In classes, we have been looking at stats on the importance of our job, and the basic usage of a water system in a community. Our group is full of people with tremendous skills and knowledge, so it has been very interesting. The other volunteers have other goals that may overlap into ours in Enviornment and in Health.

As far as social activities, we’ve had a lot of fun getting to know each other and our families. Every break, we are usually playing hackie-sack, while others are chatting usually about events that occurred with their host families. If you’ve never been a situation where you live with a family in another country, it’s a trip. Luckily, I’ve had experience with studying abroad in Spain, but every experience is different.

Like I’ve said before, my host family has been great, and it has been a great tool into conversing in Spanish much more than I would have if I weren’t in one. In my family there are 4 hermanas, 1 hermano, a nephew, a niece, plus the parents. The oldest sister lives in another house with her son, so I’m basically in a houseful of girls, when Pops is gone. Its been a roller coaster as far as communicating goes. One day was really frustrating because I couldn’t understand nor speak well, while others have been great because I’ve been able to crack jokes, and express sarcasm. Its weird how much you can learn in a week when you are immersed in the language. After classes, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my sister and niece playing card games, and helping my sister with English class. I taught them “Crazy 8’s” and “Go-Fish.”

To become an effective PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer), you have to be able to communicate and be involved in the community. This means learning to talk to strangers to obtain information that you need. Peace Corps-Peru has put this in practice in two ways for us this week. One day with another volunteer, we had to obtain information about two things. One was usually a service offered in daily life, while the other was something involved in our working group.

For us specifically, we had to find an auto repair shop and ask them how much certain services cost such as an oil change, or to get your brakes serviced. The other was to find out where the dump was and how trashed is processed. So Karen and I, with our Spanish speaking skills had to go into town and find this information. I can go on and on about our adventure, but one important thing I learned is how we take infrastructure such as trash and water for granted in our country.

This past Saturday, we went to Lima. We all travelled in a three buses called “combis” there, and our objective was to be able to get back home, after they taught us how to pick a secure taxi, and other safety precautions. Lima is huge, and just like any other big city, it has its beautiful and relaxed parts, and of course there are dangerous parts in which you stay away from. On this trip, for a little barrio, I had to investigate the security in the area, and also the education centers, and health services offered there. When you are a Peace Corps volunteer, you cannot be timid or shy about anything, especially when you are trying to obtain information. After this, we walked around the main plaza of Lima. I bought a watch for 10 bucks, and had lunch there. Then we went home, which was about an hour and half long in a combi.

This was pretty much our week. We have Spanish classes in the houses that we are staying at which rotate amongst our Spanish group weekly. We also have a soccer team in a little tournament in one of the barrios we live in. Yoga is offered every other day, and I’ve been running with a group of volunteers after class every day around the Training Center, so we’ve set up ways to get ourselves out there to relieve stress. Peruvian food is phenomenal, especially if you like chicken, rice, and potatoes, which I do. I thought I was going to have to say adios to rice, but lo and behold, its as abundant in meals as it is in Hawaii. I can’t wait to get cebiche.

Well here are some pictures in Lima, Spanish class, and at the training center. Hope you guys are enjoying yourselves. Cuidate and God bless! Chaofa!

Estamos en Peru!!!

2008-09-13T18:14:00.002-10:00

So its pretty weird being here right now! So after staging we had to wake up hella early in the morning for our flight at 1 pm. The itenarary showed that we were supposed to leave Washington National at 1:30 pm but it got delayed all the way to 2:25 pm. We were at the airport at 9 am to make sure that all our bags and stuff were placed in the right plane and what not. With 47 PCV's, it makes travelling a lot more time consuming. So we waited at the DC airport for a while. People occupied their time by playing Yahtzee, some card games. One funny thing was me and group of 6 other people started a hackie sack game at our gate, and we actually got one of the aiport security guys to play with us. So that was pretty sick.

So before we flew to Peru, we were supposed to have a layover in Miami, but since our flight delayed, American Airlines held the plane up for us. It would've been hard to handle lodging and airplane tickets for 47 people, so I understand why the AA did that. So after 7 hours of flying and an hour bus ride through Lima, we finally got to the retreat center where we had orientation.

Orientation today was pretty relaxing actually. We introduced other and got separated by states. We had to describe what our hobbies were and had to say what our states were known for. We also got to meet the Peace Corps-Peru staff, and everyone seemed really nice and excited. Orientation consisted of introduction to what we are going to as Water and Sanitation people, a health check-up, a language placement interview, and a housing placement for the next three months for Service Training.

Through our introduction, the W & S peeps are going to be spread out through 3 regions north and south of Peru, but it looks like none of us will have to learn Quechua, which is disappointing, but a relief at the same time. Training seems like it is going to be intense. We work 7 days a week with classes in Cross-cultural training, technical training, safety, and language. From 8-5 we will be in classes, but some of the days consists of excursions and trips which will be exciting.

As far orientation concerns, we had a lot of downtime, which meant a lot of talking with the other PCV's and a lot of hackie sack. In our retreat center, there was a go-kart track, so me and 5 other PCV's paid and went go-karting. It was super fun and will definitely be something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

After we got done with the meetings, we headed to dinner, then had a bonfire. We then went to the discoteca. It feels good that we are in Peru, but I guess it hasn't hit me yet that we are actually here. One of the PCV's, Geoff, mentioned that it felt like we were in a dream. I had the same feeling. It took us so much time to get to this point, and we're still kind of this shelter. Peru hasn't hit us yet. We slip in and out of Spanish all the time since we are surrounded by each other, and we haven't experienced what Lima is like.

That was pretty much the last two days for me. We get to meet our host families tomorrow, and from now on, we will be responsible for getting ourselves to the training center, which is in the outer districts of Lima. Which means a lot of bus rides, and interesting experiences. I'm having a really good time here. Everyone has been really nice and open, and I almost got everyone's names down pat. I'm just really disappointed that I haven't been taking much pictures. But I got 27 months to work on that. Wish me luck and adios!

Adios EEUU!

2008-09-11T17:52:00.003-10:00

So today was our final day of staging in Washington D.C. I can't believe
the day has come where I'm actually going to be going to Peru. I can reflect back when I turned in my online application to do this, not really knowing what I was getting myself into, and now the day has come.

Just to tell you about the last two days. I finally got to meet the other PCV's in twelfth Peace Corps group that is going to Peru. There are 47 of us ranging from one married couple, a girl who hasn't ever been outside the US, and an old lady which for some reason I can't recall her age. The last two days were basically a chance for us to get to know each other a little bit, but also get to know what the Peace Corps is all about. We learned a lot about safety, cultural awareness, and our responsibility as an ambassador of our country. It was a bit long for my taste, but the energy, intelligence, and creativity the rest of the volunteers bring to the table has been mind-blowing. I'm surrounded by great people who I'm sure will form great relationships with during my two year stint in Peru.

So during breaks and dinner, I got the chance to hang out with several different people here from all over the US. From eating a sandwich, sharing a beer, to playing hackie-sack, the people have been awesome to get to know. We didn't have much free time yesterday, but today I got to sightseeing with some of the volunteers. Being here on September 11th is pretty surreal. I'm embarking on this journey, and the last day in America is in the nation's capital. It was pretty fucking cool to see the White House, the Washington Monument, the Vietnam Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial.

For our last meal, we ate at this BBQ place called Old Glory, which was very delicious, and now I'm getting ready to go to Peru. I haven't been able to sleep well the past few days because of the time adjustment I had to make from first to Oz to Hawaii to Cali to DC. It's been brutal, but I'm still stoked to be living the country. We have to check out of our hotel 6:15 am. We have a early flight which has us arrive to Peru at night. There we spend our first day of Service Training at a retareat center outside of Lima.

The day is finally here! Keep in touch, and I'll see you soon.

Here are some pics:

The waterfront with some PCV's

The White House

World War II Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

DC...word!

2008-09-09T19:08:00.002-10:00

Hey guys! I'm in our nation's capital, and its been a long ass day, but we'll start with my time in Cali. I spent the last couple days just packing and making sure I got everything. I forgot my Bose headphones in Hawaii, so I'm sure Riley will make good use of that. I also forgot my Spanish-English dictionary, and a watch. So for me, its pretty standard, at least I got boxers covered.

Today I flew at 10 am out of Ontario Airport, thank God because I pretty much hate LAX with a passion. That drive sucks balls from Colton. I had an hour layover at Dallas-Ft.Worth. Its the second time I've been there, and I actually had to take the Skylink this time to another terminal. The layout is pretty cool though, and unlike LAX...there's hella places to eat or drink after you get pass security.

Then I got into DC about 9PM. The wait for the shuttle took a while, but I finally got to the Holiday Inn at 10pm. The drive was pretty awesome as I got to see the White House, and the Washington Monument. I really hope we have time to go sightseeing before we head to Peru.

I was expecting to be myself in my room, but I saw some luggage in the doorway, and I met a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV). His name is James, he's Filipino, and he's from Fresno, California. So we traded stories, and went to get a drink at a bar down the street. Finally meeting a fellow PCV gets me pumped for tomorrow for orientation. I can't wait to meet our crew of people.

That's pretty much it for my first day in the capital. Tomorrow we got registration at 1 PM, so I plan to wake up early and take a jog, and see what the hell is around us. I also want to thank my family and friends for your guys support. Talking to you guys on AIM and reading your emails has helped me a lot in this journey. You guys mean the world to me, and I can't wait to see you guys again. Anyway, wish me luck tomorrow! Peace.

Home now!

2008-09-07T23:06:00.007-10:00

So after an awesome going away dinner, I made it home to Cali...Grand Terrace to be exact, and life is a little different. I arrived at LAX at about 11 PM, and we went to In-n-out. God I love that place. I got a numero uno with an extra chee. Then pretty much put my bags down and slept.

After was Friday nite. I got a hold of my friend Erica, and I went out with her and my friend Bobby. I ran into some of my high school friends, Amanda and Kelsey. Its crazy how much they haven't changed as far as looks goes from high school. We joked about how I used to hit Amanda all the time when I was asleep in the Econ class we were all together in. But they look like life is treating them well. Kelsey is in law school, and Amanda is busy raising her daughter, and they both hang out a lot like the best friends they are.

After that, Bobby, Erica, and I went to another bar, and ran into our friend Erin. We just talked about high school, and what people are doing now-a-days. It was weird being home at this time of year because the friends who I normally hang out with are busy working now, busy with their own families, or off playing sports in another state.

Yesterday, I hung out with Dauber, and watched the U-dub/BYU game since his brother Danny plays for BYU. I love that house, and just being with some Colton players talkin shit and enjoying the game. It was funny because Damien, who plays and is redshirting for UCLA, was there with us too, and they play BYU the week after. He was home since it was his bye week this week. So it was a pretty interesting. I wanted to catch Colton play this week but they had their scrimmage in Calabasas, so that plan was cut.

After that, just hung out at home, and talked to my friend Priscilla, and caught up on life. One thing I do enjoy about the friends at home is the funny stories we share. Me and Dauber have tons since we hung out forever and just being on the same teams. Me and PK is this weird kind of bond though. We dated in high school, and she enjoyed my dorkiness a lot. And the reason I called her was when I was unpacking my shit, I read a letter she wrote to me her senior year of high school, and I could vividly see myself reading it when I was at the dorms my freshman year at UH. I have an absolute blast talking to her, and its just one of those things where even if I haven't seen her in like 4 years, we just pick up where left off. Its a pretty awesome friendship we have.

Today, watched some NFL games, and ate dinner at Gyo-kaku, which is really funny since we have those on Oahu also. It was great. Now I'm spending my last days just packing, buying stuff for the trip, and tying loose ends. I have a lot of errands to do tomorrow, then I'm off to DC. It's been a crazy few weeks for me.

Before I head out, here are some pictures from my last few days in Hawaii. Enjoy!

A letter

2008-09-05T10:23:00.002-10:00

Dear Hawai'i,

Hey how is life going? Well I'm writing you this letter to tell you that I am really going to miss you. My mom told me when I left California that I was going to fall in love with you. I fought that feeling for a little over a year. I really missed Cali, but the brief times I left you, I always returned, wanting to come back to you more and more.

As time went on, you grew on me, and my mom was right, I did fall in love with you. Your beauty and grace fills every sense of my body, but that is what captures everyone's attention. Your personality is what captivatied me. Being with you, allowed me to become the best version of me. I grew up so much that I can't even recognize the person I was when I first met you. We had our ups and downs. I got homesick, but you kept at it. You even had a little Cali in you, when you shook everyone's world 2 years ago with that earthquake. A little reminder that home comes with you wherever you are.

My mom and dad talk about how much they miss you also when they left you 24 years ago, and that's what scares me the most. The fact that I'm leaving you, and not knowing when I'll come back. I've learned so much about you the last 6 years, but there's so much more to explore. In your presence, you gave me the chance to make mistakes. A lot of really, really stupid mistakes, but you were there to witness my growth as a person, and use a word I thought I would never use to describe myself...mature. I left you a few years ago to see other countries. To see Europe, and all her sites and sounds. Even other islands that are slightly similar to you. New Zealand and Australia say hi by the way. But I always knew that I was going to come back.

What worries me now, is I'm leaving you, and I don't know for how long. I'm going to Peru to grow some more. To be the person you want me to become. I know its going to be a huge change. I mean you guys are completely different. Peru is three times the size of California, yet 40% of it has no access to running water. So you have to understand that I'm not leaving you just for anybody. Some people believe that I can make a difference there. I don't know what kind of impact I will be able to have, but a lot of people believe that I can do something about it.

So I guess this is goodbye. I love you so much, and you'll always have a special place in my heart. I know that sounds cliche, but there's no better way to describe it. When I'm lost, or am having a hard time with Peru, I can look back at our adjustment period when we first started, and have a smile on my face. I'm just one person anyway, and a lot of people leave you, but I just wanted to let you know how much you mean to me. My mom and dad still talk about you a lot, and I feel like I'll do the same. Thanks for the memories, and I hope I will see you soon.

Con mucho amor,
Mark

Looking ahead ---------------->

2008-09-01T19:39:00.007-10:00

So today was pretty much the first day I had the chance to look towards my days in Peru, and there's a lot of stuff I have to do before I go. Packing, closing bank accounts, take care of other financial stuff (rent, phone, school loans), and saying goodbye is my agenda for the next couple days.

Today I went to Soane and Margaret's house for a barbecue. Its really another home to me since me and Riley used to live there, and the fact that Pat, Kim, and Angela live with them now. A bunch of people from Newman showed up, and it was really nice to see everyone. Margaret made a suggestion to have a little going away gig there on
Wednesday nite, before I head to Cali on Thursday.

I have a lot to do before I head out, but it was pretty funny showing Meagan, Shawn, and Ellie my Peace Corps Packet, and handbook. They read about the stuff I'll have to do in Peru, and asked a lot of questions. It made me think of the trip a lot, and how hard it will be to leave this place that I would never think I would call home.

I'm really nervous about the trip. I probably won't look like it, and be a little blase about it, but having my orientation be so close to now...I guess it finally hit me that I am actually leaving for 27 months. Today was the first day I looked at my itenarary to leave from Cali to D.C., and a whole string of feelings just kind of popped into me. My stomach churns, my brain occupied with so many thoughts, and my heart fills with so much emotion thinking about everything. It's all a big paradox. I feel sad, but I'm happy. I'm excited, yet concerned.

One thing I don't look forward to is packing. Packing leads to leaving, and I don't want to leave. I know in my head that this is right for me. To go to a place, and help the best I can. To learn about a new culture, and more importantly learn more about myself. To be a good Catholic, a good son, a good brother, a good friend, and to do the right thing.

It's weird. I blink and a tear runs down my face thinking about the things I want to say before I leave. Reassuring my mom that I will be okay, to tell my brothers to go out there and be confident in who they are and in what they do. To tell my dad that I miss him being there. To thank my friends in Hawaii for being my second family, and how I look forward to the days that I see them again.

I know this goodbye is ahead of schedule, but thats how quickly I want to get it over with. My friends from Cali can tell you how I skipped my own going away party at home when I left for Hawaii because I couldn't handle saying adios. In the book, "The Last Lecture" there is a chapter about thank you notes, and what kind of an impact they have had on the author's life. If I had to do it now, I can fill a whole house of thank you notes on the things I'm thankful for. Since no one reads this, I hope that the few people that do, know how grateful I am for being a part of my life.

So hopefully this is the last time I go through this sappy bullshit goodbye, but it probably won't be. So I hope to see you soon, whether its in Hawaii, in Cali, in Peru, or from my experience, anywhere else in the world. Hasta siempre...

Here are some more pictures on the trip....

Back in Honolulu

2008-09-01T00:17:00.004-10:00

So I finally have time to update this thing. We arrived here on Friday, which was weird because we left Sydney Airport on Friday at 5 pm, and arrived at Honolulu at 8:30 am on Friday.

The last couple of days we spent in New Zealand were a blast. After Travis and Frank went skydiving, we had lunch at this gourmet pizza place called Winnie's in Queenstown. It was a bit expensive, but it was really delicious. We hang out around the town after and decide to play hackie sack. After 20 minutes, Frank kicks the sack into the water and the game is over. Frank, Travis, and John decide to follow the sack, until it go to a pier. They eventually got the hackie sack back, but it was really wet and cold. Beggers can't be choosers! After that we pretty much got ready for our last nite there.

We went to the Buffalo Bar since our key chains gave us 2 for 1's the whole nite. We ran into a couple of girls from Northern Ireland who went skydiving with Frank and Travis. So we did the 2 for 1 drinks, and kind of got seperated from one another. Frank, Travis, and I decided to go back to Winnie's while John stayed. Winnie's turns into this crazy bar at night where tons of people are there having a good time. After that, we decide to go eat. Frank decides to walk home because he's super tired. Me and Trav decide to go to Fergburger, and ironically meet up with John there.

After eating, we decide to go back to the hostel. We arrive, and Frank is not there. So Travis and John go looking for Frank, while I stay just in case he walks in. So around 4 am, Travis and John can't find Frank, so we decide to head to bed.

I wake up in the middle of the night, and see that Frank actually makes it home. So around check out time, we ask Frank what the heck happened. On the way home, Frank made a wrong turn, and was at a different building. After failing and trying to get into this other building (climbing balconies, going into sheds and garages), he decides that he is going to find our car. So he goes to every car trying to open the door, and he finds one that is open and decides to sleep in it. He wakes up being hella cold, asks himself "where am I?" So he opens the door, goes back the hill, and ends up finding the hostel at 6am.

I couldn't make up a better story on my own, and will pretty much summarize our trip to Queenstown. After checking out of Hippo Lodge (Cool place by the way, I forgot the receptionst's name, but she is this asian girl from Socal who went to school in Berkeley, and her grandparents are from Hawaii) we took the car, and continued our trek to Christchurch. On the way there, we enjoyed the scenery. Its hard to describe the beauty of New Zealand, so I'll just simply put the pictures up, and you can see for yourself.

The only thing that sucked was the fact that we got pulled over by a cop and received a speeding ticket, right before we got to the Christchurch airport. After we dropped off the rental, and sleep in the Christchurch airport. The cool thing about Christchurch airport is that they have an arcade there. So Travis, Frank, and John, and I play this army weapon game which we almost passed, but ran out of money. I decided to go read and finish the book "Rising of a Thousand Suns" which was really good. Maybe I'll do some reviews on some of the books I read on this trip, but this book was really good. Travis and Frank ended up passing Time Crisis 2.

Our flight to Sydney was at 6 am, so that was the reason why we slept at the airport. One of the sucky things about New Zealand is the fact that they charge 25 NZD, in order for you to leave the damn country. So that really surpised us that morning.

So we fly to Sydney, store our shit, and pretty much head to Sydney Harbour again to hang out before our flight. We play some hackie sack in front of the Opera House, and go to the Rocks and eat. We drink a liter of beer at our same favorite German bar we went to before, take a peak into their Contemporary Art Museum, and take a train home. We also made a gelato run before that.

That was pretty much what happened in our trip.

The last two days have been very fun. I thought they were going to be relaxing, but when there are so many people you haven't seen a long time, you gotta hang out. Just to summarize that last few nights, Friday we ended up going to Bale then Magoos, and home. Night after, we play a game of kings at our place. We get too loud, and neighbors call landlord, who calls me twice about noise complaints. Today, we hiked some ridge in St. Louis Heights. I end up eating it, and sliding down a hill for about 15 feet. After that, took a great nap, and went to my last mass at Newman. We then played some ball at Manoa, and now I'm here while everyone else went to Magoo's. Its nice to finally have a relaxing night of doing nothing. I can finally do stuff like check email, and update this damn thing.

Sorry for the long post, but I was really busy the past few days, and there was a lot of stuff that I had to go over about our the trip. I'll kind of summarize the whole trip, and give some thoughts and reflections of it soon. Next post will have a buttload of pictures also. Anyway, I hope everyone has a pleasant long weekend. Take care!

Day 18 - Queenstown

2008-08-26T13:45:00.002-10:00

So today I ended up waking up at 11:30 AM. It feels awesome to sleep in. Yesterday, Frank and Travis booked their skydiving trip. That's where they actually are right now, as they come back in an hour or so.

Queenstown is a beautiful town. The town is near a huge lake surrounded by mountains. Its gorgeous. Again I know I'm lame by not having any pictures, but the computer in this hostel doesn't have any connections for a USB port or anything. I promise to put new pictures up later though.

After the booking, we ate lunch at this Japanese place, then we decided to go luging. Luging is not like the one in the Olympics, but basically its similar to soapbox racing and go-kart racing. Before that though, Travis, Frank, and I had this huge hike up this mountain. It took us an hour but we finally got there. The hike was similar to Mariner's Ridge, but hella colder. John took the Gondola up, which was about 20 New Zealand dollars, and only 3 minutes to cable up there.

If you are ever in Queenstown, you need to go luging. Its so much fun, and I can't imagine this happening in the US due to liability issues, and how dangerous it can be, picking up so much speed. In the luging area, there's also this observation deck of the mountain ranges around us. The weather was mostly sunny, with a few clouds. Its mindblowing how beautiful the sites are in this town.

After luging, me and Frank took the hike down the mountain, while Travis and John took the FREE ride down. Fuck if we knew the ride was free, we would've taken the ride. Oh well...I guess I got the exercise needed for the trip. For dinner, we ate at this Pub which served lamb shanks. Pretty awesome and very New Zealandish I guess.

Today, I guess after Trav and Frank come back from skydiving, we're just going to hang out in town, then go out at nite. Last nite was kind of dead, which was really weird because on Monday night, everybody was out. Two more days til we're back home. Then my REAL trip begins. Later!

Day 16 - Queenstown

2008-08-25T13:12:00.002-10:00

Well I don't have much time to type this, but we are at the last leg of our trip in New Zealand. We arrived in Christchurch two nights ago. We got in super late in our hostel, Jailhouse Accomodation. I'll put pictures up when I have more time, but its a pretty awesome set-up. They made this old prison into a hostel where people actually sleep and stuff. It's sick.

Anyway the day after, we cruised around Christchurch. Trav got a little sick, which kind of sucks because its the second time on the trip. It's rainy and cold there though. We went to the Canbury Museum to see their exhibit on Da Vinci's inventions. That man was a genius!

So anyway, we then made the 5 hour trek south to Queenstown. We got there at 10 and Travis pretty much just crashed, while Frank, John, and I went to this bar called the Buffalo Club. It was a pretty cool place because our keychains gives us 2 for 1 drinks the whole night before midnight.

Now we're just cruise the sights. I really want to do something extreme here, but I'm broke as crap. Frank and Travis are going whitewater rafting. We woke up and there was hella snow on the mountain, so their trip is going to super interesting. Anyway, I gotta go. Have fun in school for those who go to UH. Liz...have fun in your European adventure. Aloha!

Day 13 - Cairns

2008-08-23T02:37:00.002-10:00

Today was probably one of the most memorable experiences I'll ever have in my life. We went to snorkel and scubadiving in the Great Barrier Reef today off the coast of Cairns. The morning was a bit rough since we partied last night. The hostel we booked (Caravella Backpackers) included a free meal at this bar and grill in town. So thats where we went last nite, and pretty much partied. At the bar, I also got to see Team USA destroy Argentina in basketball, so that was pretty awesome.

Anyway so we got home super late last night, and had to wake up at 7am today for our trip to reef at 730. The ride there pretty much sucked, and several people got seasick. Once the boat stopped...we went snorkeling first, then we took our introductory dive into the reef.

Breathing underwater was a very weird thing for me, so it took me a while to get used to, but all that hassle, and dealing with other people throwing up all over the place was definitely worth the sites I saw at the reef. The tropical fish, and the vibrant coral reef is just a beautiful site to see. I was so stoked that I practically was breathless down there.

I felt really bad for John for not being able to come due to his injury because Frank, Trav, and I had a blast. The place we booked also offered free breakfast, lunch, and snack during the trip. They were also very hospitable to all the people aboard the ship. This was definitely the highlight of the trip so far, and I would definitely recommend this to anybody who travels to Oz. You need to see the Great Barrier Reef! Its just beautiful. It's so lively and beautiful. I can't believe we are killing it each day due to the whole global warming stuff. It's a shame if we really don't take care of it. I definitely regret not having an underwater camera out there. Sorry guys...no pictures.

We got back, showered, took a nap, and had dinner, and now we're getting packed for New Zealand. It's been a crazy trip. The weather is so awesome in Cairns, and its going to be crazy weather in New Zealand. But I really look forward to seeing this beautiful country. Take care guys!

day 12- Cairns

2008-08-21T22:26:00.002-10:00

Man what a long day!

Today we drove 16 hours from Brisbane to Cairns. To be honest, it didn't seem as long as the drive from Sydney to Brizzy, but it was still hella long. The weather is really nice here. We actually got to wear shorts and stuff. Kinda boring day today though. We just checked into our hostel and went to the beach. In our car ride though, as a homage to "How I Met Your Mother" we only listened to two songs the first nine hours of our drive. If you don't know what I'm talking about...watch the "Arrivderci, Fiero" episode of season 2 of the show.

Anyway we listened to "Down Under" by Men at Work and "500 Miles" by The Proclaimers. I chose "Hypnotize" by Notorious B.I.G., but our connector for the ipod crapped out, so we had to listen to the radio.

The drives here have been very tiring, but its a good way to see the different types of environments Australia has. Its a very beautiful country. I actually wouldn't mind living here for a while. People seem really friendly also. Nothing much to say today though. We have one more day in Cairns and we're off to New Zealand after. It's going to be freezing cold down there. Should be exciting.

Day 10 - Brisbane

2008-08-20T15:22:00.001-10:00

Day 10 – Brisbane

Yesterday, we spent all day and night driving to Brisbane from Sydney. I kind of underestimated the drive thinking it was going to be about five hours, when in reality, it was twelve hours. So the drive was really long, but it was nice to see a friend in a foreign environment.

Jadyn and her b/f have a really cool place. It’s this little house on the corner that looks like a souvenir store that should have displays at the window. She got the place ready for us with sleeping bags and an air mattress. I definitely feel very grateful to have awesome friends.

So today was Frank’s birthday, and he wanted to go to the beach. So we ended up going to Fingle Head, which is this beach near the Gold Coast of Australia. It was super nice, except for the fact that it was hella windy. So it kind of shortened our day at the beach. Today was Jadyn’s day off also, so she tagged along with us.

After we parked the car and just walked around the city. Then we had dinner with Jadyn and her b/f, Todd at this Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese food restaurant. The food was good, and we had this interesting conversation about showers.

After, we went out to drink. John’s friend from Arizona, Janet, ended up joining us to drink. Jadyn went home early that night because she had work the next day, so we pretty much partied until the bars closed. Then we went home.

I forgot to say earlier that I got an email from my mom about my itinerary for my trip to Peru. Since I’ve been in Australia the whole time, I had my staging kit sent to my place in Cali. I’ve been kind of busy with the trip, but in the back of my mind, I knew I had some Peace Corps stuff to deal with. Luckily, my mom received all the information, and took care of it for me. I actually have to fly into D.C. the day before, so I now only have four days in Cali to spend with my friends and family, so that kind of blows. I haven’t had time to really reflect on the whole Peace Corps experience and stuff, but that will come soon enough.

One thing that has been on my mind lately is how awesome my friends are. I know I say it a lot, but I’ll be forever grateful for the times my friends have helped me out. This time in Brisbane is just another example. I feel really thankful for Jadyn and Todd for welcoming us into their home, and giving us a place to stay.

I was telling the guys before how I was scared to death of Jadyn when I first started working at A&F. One of our co-workers did something stupid, and Jadyn put him in his place. I, of course, didn’t want any part of that, so I pretty much kept to myself for the first month I worked there. She was one of the first people I met in Hawaii, and weirdly got to know her for the 2 years we worked together. Just like the other guys in the stock room, we ended up developing friendships that have lasted.

We joke how we hated that place, but we know how awesome that dynamic was of working with really cool people, and more importantly, how we actually developed strong friendships. I guess there was a lot more going on during those 5 hours shifts when all we did was take clothing out of boxes and fold them.

Anyway, I guess one thing I’ve learned in my life is that you never know where you’ll meet your friends. It could be at some stupid retail store, or it can be in class. Love people for how they are, rather than what you want them to be, and I think people will learn to accept differences. Cheers guys! Summer is ending…so enjoy the break while you can!

Day 7 - Sydney

2008-08-17T02:37:00.004-10:00

Today was a gorgeous day to go to Sydney Harbour. We also finally got great sleep. So the first thing we did was see the Operahouse and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Both are architechtural marvels. Beautifully designed, and the harbor had a buzz to it. There were so many people out.

Me and the "hanger"

After that we went to the Australian Hotel Cafe. This is one of the coolest bars I've been to. They have over 150 Australian beers divided into the regions of Australia. We also got the chance to eat some pizza that had saltwater crocodile and kangaroo on it. We even ordered marinated emu wings. After that, we decided to the aquarium the next day, and go to this German bar instead. We each ordered a liter of beer, which definitely quenched the thirst.

Saltwater Crocodile

Kangaroo

Marinated Emu wings

4 liters of German delight

Me taking a sip

We finally got back to the hostel, just in time to watch some Aussie Rules Football. It's a very interesting game, which is hard to understand, but it was a lot of fun. The stadium was huge. A lot of the people in our hostel actually went, and it ended up being an interesting night. Unfortunately, the Sydney Swans got killed by Geelong by over 50 points.

Going to the stadium

Inside the stadium

After that, we went back to the hostel to get some drinks. Trav and John called it a night early, so me and Frank ended up partying the whole night. We even made some international calls to people that probably didn't appreciate calling them 4 AM. I apologize for the messages, and especially for one of my friends who actually answered. She probably doesn't know who called her...but if she actually reads this blog..I'm sorry.

In our hostel, Wake up! Sydney, there's a downstairs bar called the sidebar. We ended up spending a couple of nights there before we left to watch Liverpool play Sunderland. I left the bar during the second half, but Frank told me that Liverpool ended up winning 1-nil.

We are having a great time in Sydney, and we've been extremely lucky with awesome weather and very nice people. We are in a room with four sets of bunk beds. Our other "hostelmates" are great. Two girls are from Germany, and have been here for about 5 days. Matt is this Asian guy from London. He is in his final year of medical school before he becomes a doctor. He's an awesome guy who actually went to the football game with us, and invited me and Frank to watch his Liverpool team play at 2AM. Another good day ahead of us, so hopefully everything works out. Later!

Day 6 - Canberra

2008-08-15T21:29:00.001-10:00

Canberra is the capital of Australia. I always thought it was Sydney, but I guess you learn something new everyday. Canberra is a beautiful city, similar looking to Berlin and D.C. We went to Mt. Ansley, to see the vista from there that over looked the city. On the way there, we actually saw three kangaroos on the side of the road. So we stopped, and snapped away. After the kangaroos, we went to vista, and it was beautiful. The pictures can tell you better than I can.

After that, we went to the War Memorial. I didn’t know Oz was involved in so many wars, but they were. They played a big part in World War I, and a secondary part in World War II. They really take pride in their country, and the sacrifices their citizens in their armed forces make for their way of life. It was really cool to see.

We then went to the National Museum of Australia, and learned more about their history. The good thing about the Canberra was that we spent nothing on these sites. It was absolutely free. We drove around the capital and also got to see the embassy of the United States. After that, we took the drive to Sydney, and got here at about 3 hours after. I was hella tired due to the fact that I got no sleep in the car. So it was nice to finally sleep in a bed, and take a shower.

This trip was a good cultural experience, and we’re in an awesome hostel. I feel really good now and I’m ready to charge the day. Take care guys, and you’ll hear from me soon. Aloha!

Day 5 - Melbourne/Canberra

2008-08-15T21:12:00.004-10:00

So after an awesome night of sleep, at least for me and Frank, we went to the Otway Airwalk, about 2.5 hours away from Melbourne. Frank drove the whole way there. It was nice to go to these eco-tourism sites, and just enjoy nature at its best. So anyway, the Otway is this metallic walkway about 50 meters above the forest.

After that, instead of driving back to Melbourne, we decided to go see another site in the southern coast of Oz, called the 12 apostles. The twelve apostles are these limestone stacks off these seaside cliffs that are located on the shore of the beaches. They are beautiful, which the pictures will show.

Before the day started, we wanted to go to see penguins in Phillip Island, but we didn’t have enough time. So we made the 6 hour drive to Canberra, and arrived there in three in the morning. So we spent another night in a car. Good sleep is hard to
find for us!

Day 4 - Melbourne

2008-08-15T21:00:00.006-10:00

Melbourne was a beautiful city. I’m amazed of how clean these big cities are. The only thing that sucks is how confusing it is to get around. Anyway, so yesterday we went to City Centre to check the skyline out. Before the trip, we all planned to do a poker tourney, but the website forgot to mention that they were not having tournaments that day because they were having a really huge tournament. So we then decided to view the city. After that, we went back to Crown Casino. The guys went to the sports bar to watch the Olympics hoping they would show the US – Nigeria soccer game. I, of course, went to the poker room to play some poker.

Its been a while since I’ve played, but at the beginning, I was pretty nervous. We were playing 2-3 No Limit. Anyway, I played for about 3 hours. I was up about 65 dollars, and I got 2 red aces. Other guy had Kings, and of course I lost about 250 dollars in that hand when he spiked a King on the flop to give him trips. Being up 400 dollars up would’ve been awesome, but oh well, that’s poker. So I lost about a hundred that day.

After that, we went to the Eureka sky tower. Apparently, it’s the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. I think they were lying, but it was hella high. So this building is about 88 stories up, and we did it at night. So we got the chance to take some awesome pictures of the beautiful Melbourne skyline.

After that, we went back to our hostel and partied. Well at least Travis and John did. Frank and I were hella tired, and went to bed, while they partied the night away.

Federation Square in Melbourne

Eureka Skytower

Melbourne skyline

Me and Frank in the skytower

Me in Melbourne

2008-08-15T21:00:00.000-10:00

Day 3 - Tazzie/Melbourne

2008-08-12T15:23:00.002-10:00

Alright, so we are finally at our hostel in Melbourne. We got our rent-a-car for our crazy road trip. Ten days to experience the whole East Coast of Oz. Anyway, last night was pretty nuts. We went to the Cascade Caves and did a tour. It was pretty awesome to see. Then we went to swim in the Hot Springs right by it. After that, we went to this bar called "Republic Bar & Cafe." We played some trumps and listened to two Aussie singer/songwriters...Sam Cole & Johnny Coleman. They were really good, and we ended up closing the bar that nite.

Two great things occurred in the bar. One: We finally ate kangaroo. It was a kangaroo filet, and to me...it tasted like pork. It was a bit tough, but it was pretty good. Second: John was getting hit on by an Aussie cougar. She had to be 50+, but it was a good 50+. John had this great lie saying that we were a rock band called "The Cavaliers." Apparently, we were a great prog rock band with some incorporation of hip-hop in there. I was apparently the lead vocals, Frank was guitarist, Trav was DJ, and John was the drummer. She wanted to hear us play, but good thing John has a broken foot. No foot, no bass drum.

After that we left and decided that we were too drunk to drive. So we slept in the car on some residential street. Oh yeah..one more thing...it snowed out here, so driving was way way dangerous. So after a few hours sleep...(bar closed at 1, our flight was at 6am) We finally got to the airport.

So for a recap for the last few days...we slept on a tile floor of an airport, bunk-beds, and inside a rent-a-car when the temperture was 0 degrees Celsius. This is a crazy trip! I don't have time to upload pics for this entry, but I'll do it in the next. Cheers everybody!

Day 2 - Tazzie

2008-08-11T02:43:00.005-10:00

Today was pretty awesome. After last nite, just being on a bed in a warm room is icing on the cake, but today was a very busy day for us. So after a two hour flight and booking a hostel, we rented a car. For most of you guys that don't know, people in Oz drive on the left side of the road, and the driver's seat is on the right side also. So on the run, we had to fight our habits in the United States, and think backwards. It made for some intersting moments, such as turning on the windsheild wipers when you want to put a signal on for turning, and basically re-learning how to drive.

So today went went to a beer brewery in Hobart. Drank a few beers before we headed to the highest peak in Tazmania...Mt.Wellington. Hobart is a very clean town with a very small town feel. Too bad its hella cold right now. Anyway...that's about it. The pictures will tell more than I ever could. Cheers mates!

Travis playing doing a wheelie while our plane is delayed in Honolulu

Our sleeping spot in Sydney...you can see me, Frank, and John

Fountain in Kings Cross in Sydney where we played hackie sack

Tazzie from the plane

On land in Hobart

Me driving from the other side on the wrong side of the road

Cascade brewery in Hobart

Inside the brewery

Travis representin' Hawaii

It was hella cold!

Frank and Travis at Mt. Wellington

The top of Mt. Wellington

The view from the top

The platform at the top

Day 1 - Sydney

2008-08-11T02:41:00.001-10:00

What a crazy night! Today we had a 9:15 flight, so we had to be in the airport at 7:30ish. Jon and Jarrett both took us since we had about four pieces of luggage plus ourselves. Once we got there, we checked in and ended up checking in with this girl named Stephanie, who was Frank’s neighbor a couple years ago when he lived in the on-campus apartments. We found out our flight was delayed an hour so we just kind of called our family and friends about us leaving and stuff.

The flight was a bit shaky. There were hella kids on the flight, and one in particular bothered the crap out of Frank and John. It was pretty funny, but the whole flight was filled with kids crying and whining. I can’t wait to have kids someday…(note the sarcasm) I had a hard time sleeping on the flight, so I ended up starting and finishing the book The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. It was a good book that had a lot of insight on a person who had a few months to live. It is interesting to kind of throw that hypothetical, and see how you could deal with such news that you only had a few moments to live and figure out what kind of legacy, or what you wanted to say to your loved ones, before your loved ones.

So anyway we got to Sydney at about 6:00 PM Australian time. Since we had a flight to Tazzie the next morning at 9 AM, we decided to put our luggage in storage and have some fun in Sydney. So we took a cab to Kings Cross. If you haven’t been there, just think of a bunch of strip joints and restaurants on one strip of street, and there you have it. Trav’s cousin said we should go, and it ended up being an interesting night.

Anyway, we ate at this Mexican restaurant called Gomez y Guzman. Their burrito was pretty awesome, and I had a funny story. So I couldn’t really understand the girl at the register, so I answered in Spanish accidently, and we full on continued the convo in español. She asked me where I was from, and I answered that I was from California, but I live in Hawaii in Spanish, and she was like…”why are you speaking Spanish then?” It was pretty funny.

Pasteles and a wedding

2008-08-09T01:11:00.009-10:00

A busy day today. I slept for a total of about 2 hours last night, due to the combiniation of Woke up and finally packed for the trip. It was easier than I thought it was going to be. I guess travelling before has its benefits.

After that, Riley and I went to run some errands and buy some last minute things. It's kind of weird to not have a car. I had a good run with my car. "Barney" as one of my friends coined it, treated me well, even though I treated it like crap. Hopefully Pat will give it some TLC, and treat it with more respect than I did. I'm sorry "Barney."

Then we pretty much watched the first season of "How I Met Your Mother" until Frank arrived. After, we went to the Pastele Shop to eat. Frank, John, Riley, Aaron, Mika, and I ended up going there. Really good stuff. If you haven't ate pasteles, its a Puerto Rican dish similar to a tamale, with a softer exterior. The pastele shop is on School Street right past Likelike Hwy in Kalihi, if you haven't been. Nice hole in the wall.

After that, we went to wedding. Took some pictures, so hopefully it will tell the story better than I will...

So here is the Moana hotel in Waikiki where the wedding took place.

The groomsman.

James' mom and uncle

Flower girl

Anneranie and her dad

Bride and Groom

Mr. and Mrs. Sham

Travis and a bridesmaid

Partners in crime

Wedding party

So after the party, there was some pupus and open bar for about an hour. Taking advantage of the task...Jon, Frank, and I drank 6 beers in that hour span...moving on to the reception pictures...

Cake

James and his mom

The wedding was pretty sweet. They had a photo booth for all the invitees to take pictures, so they could remember their memorable night. This is what happens after an open bar and eating hella food does...

After that we went to the Yardhouse, and met up with some friends. Then we called it a night. Jon lost his validation for parking, so he cried in front of the valet...it worked and we only paid 8 bucks for parking. Tomorrow the adventure begins...See you down under, and here are some more pictures...

To help a buddy out...(I have no idea who reads this thing) but my friend Mokihana is in some sort of model search for the clothing company Local Motion, and she needs our votes. Go to localmotion.com and go to the link of the Wahine search, and vote for her. Hope she wins! Take care guys.

The Pineapple Express

2008-08-08T01:10:00.002-10:00

Saw the movie tonight. I loved it. Not the greatest storyline for me, but the dialogue is golden. Not much happened today. Cleaned the mess we made from the night before, and bought some Australian dollars for our trip to Oz.

Why does everyone have cooler looking currency than us? Frank's friend, John, arrived today with his broken foot and all. He's a really cool guy though. Its going to be interesting how he's going to deal with walking and stuff with crutches and a backpack on.

I have to get ready for our trip though. I haven't even started packing yet. It's crazy how fast time flies. 24 hours til we go, and its only a month until I head to Peru. The wedding tomorrow should be fun, then we're on a jet plane. No pictures today, but definitely going to be in the next blog. Stay classy!

USA 1 Japan 0

2008-08-07T10:47:00.005-10:00

Last night was uber-fun. So looking at my last entry, it is pretty funny because I did none of the things I said I was going to do like: watch Pineapple Express (doing that tonight), or watch the US play tonight (they played at midnight). It was an awesome night though. First we played beer pong. After talking a whole lot of mess to Vanna and Jon, they beat me and Frank twice, most of them coming back from 4-1. At one point I made 4 cups in a row and 8 out of our 10 cups, but we couldn't put the nail in the coffin. Jon sealed the deal both times, and I hate losing to him, and Vanna. I hate you guys!!!!

Anyway after that, we went to Murphy's to watch the US play Japan for their group stage game. We beat them 1-nil, as Stuey Holden squeaked a goal over the line, and gave us the victory. We made a deal with the bartender that we would take a shot everytime we scored...thank God we're not from Argentina or Italy or it would've been a crazy night. So we took a couple shots..one for the goal, and one for the victory, and then we went home.

Soccer is an awesome sport to watch in a bar with a group of friends. I didn't get it before because of the lack of scoring and the boredom of guys kicking a ball back and forth with no sense of urgency. When I was backpacking Europe, and saw the passion of the build-up of a goal, and the nifty runs and teamwork that is involved to do it, I was hooked. When a goal is scored, its just like a touchdown, but multiply it ten-fold because it doesn't happen often. You just go insane.

Anyway...two more days til take-off. Here are some pics finally. I haven't used my camera in a year, but enjoy.

An inspiration

2008-08-06T02:02:00.002-10:00

The past few days have been pretty productive for me. Sunday night after church, me and Jon cooked some dinner for a party of six at our place. Kaiili and Vanna came over and ate. It feels really nice to eat dinner together with a group of people, especially a home cooked meal. So that was pretty cool.

Monday I finally got my no-fee passport processed and fedex'd to D.C. After the last debacle, I didn't really want to head to the post office in Downtown, so I instead went to the Campus Center at UH to get my passport stuff done. It feels really good to finally get that stuff done. Monday was great in the fact that Liz hung out with me pretty much the whole afternoon and evening getting errands done. We even got to play some Rock Band for an hour, and eat dinner together. I wanted to take her to this pastele place in Kalihi, but it was closed, so we decided to eat at Mexico instead. Gosh, I miss mexican food so much. The food was there was good, but nothing like home though.

Anyway, Mexico has their liquor license now, so they finally have a fully stocked bar. I told Travis about that and we were both bummed because we definitely didn't take advantage of the BYOB, in the pre-license days. So after a pitcher of margaritas, I said good-bye to another dear old friend. Liz is heading for her own adventure through Europe in the end of this month, after she takes her licensing exam for nursing. She's going to be an awesome RN, and I have no doubt in my mind that her and Jenna will have a great trip. So everyone pray for Liz and Jenna as they have the time of their lives across the pond.

As for today, got a new daypack for my trip. I was kinda tired of the green jansport backpack I've had since my junior year, so I finally bought a new one. Hopefully it treats me as well as the other did before in my last trip. After that kinda just hung out until I ate dinner with Soane, Margaret, and Rita at Kim Chee II in Kaimuki. I had my first "this is a small island moment" with these three people because I worked with Rita at Abercrombie, and Soane and Margaret knew Rita from Youth Ministry back in the day. So it was awesome to catch up with everybody, especially since I don't see Rita much.

I can't imagine how my life would be like today if I didn't meet Soane and Margaret. The whole getting involved at Newman thing probably wouldn't have happened, and my spiritual life wouldn't have been the same. I thank God for having them for my life here in Hawaii. Two of the nicest people ever, and basically parental figures at a time of transition and growth for me.

Anyway, after that, I hung out with Travis and his family, who are here with for a wedding that is going to happen on Friday night. Jon and Vanna came also. Nice being around big families.

As far as plans for the next few days...I'm pretty stoked on watching Pineapple Express tomorrow afternoon, and pretty much looking forward to just hanging out until our trip down under, which starts on Saturday morning. My blog will finally have some life in it, as oppose to this lame, boring stuff that probably no one reads. Thursday night, Frank's friend arrives, and we're going to watch Olympic soccer, as the US hopefully beats Japan at 10 PM.

That's pretty much it. One more thing...Rita sent me this youtube clip, and it made me pumped to go out and travel and experience life at its best. Take a look, and prepare to be moved....Take care and God bless.

Embracing the unknown....

2008-08-02T02:27:00.002-10:00

Yesterday was my last day working at Bank of Hawaii. Even though I kind of hated working there the past 3 months or so, I had the chance to work with awesome co-workers and bosses for the year and a half I worked there. It was a weird feeling because I don't really feel like I'm leaving for a while, but in actuality, I will not see the majority of my co-workers after yesterday, so it was weird when people were feeling sad about me leaving.

I feel like people play it safe too much now-a-days. As I was telling my future plans to some of my co-workers, they always tell me how lucky I am to be able to travel, and wonder how I attain the oppportunity. The common denominator was that several of them said that they are afraid of change.

I can see why people dont want things to change. Most of them like what life is offering them today. They like the comfort of what today has to offer, and having not to adapt to things that are not native or uncomfortable.

So tonite, after another night of hanging out with friends in downtown Honolulu, several thoughts came to my head, and over the course of the night, some of those thoughts or questions were answered. Reiterating to some past blogs, I'm really really going to miss my friends here. The whole transition period after college is so dynamic, its scary. We literally have opportunities in our lives to do anything we want. So when people say, "I've always wanted to go....., or do this or that," it bothers me because, why don't you do it then. I understand there are cases that hold people back like marriage, or being a parent, but I encounter most people wishing to do things rather experiencing what they desire.

I was never a fan of planning ahead because we as humans tend to see things as checklists, and check events that happen in our lives and go on to the next thing, rather than appreciating the moment they were presented. I'm guilty of comparing things to the past, and wishing things to be what once was.

So my goal this week, since I'm unemployed is to get ready for our trip Down Under, but also to enjoy the company that's around me. That means some heart to hearts, and some heartfelt goodbyes, but one lesson I want other people to learn is to focus on the moments that are occurring to you personally NOW. Don't worry about the future because no one knows what heck is going on. It's what makes life exciting, and you won't miss that precious moment.

camping and farewells

2008-07-28T00:32:00.002-10:00

So this weekend was pretty busy. Yesterday I went to what I thought was a housewarming party, but ended up being a little surprise going away party thrown for me and Tania by the "church kids." I feel bad for saying "church kids" but its a way to identify a group of people who I love dearly. It was a good time hanging out, playing video games, and eating good food with friends of faith. After that, I picked up some stuff at home and treked on to Hau'ula (<----probabley wrong) with Mika.

On our way there, I had to go by Liz's to pick up my wallet. I swear, I think I am the most absentminded person who hasn't smoked weed that I know. I forget shit all the time, whether its my cell phone, wallet, or anything else, I've probably left it somewhere.

Anyway after that, went camping with Aaron, Frank, and Trav. Mika was the only girl there, but I'm sure she's used to that hanging out with us. It was a good time though eating some pull pork sandwiches, and being one with nature...even though there was a 7-11 across the street from where we were.

After an awesome breakfast, and laid back lunch at the beach, I got to see some awesome people who I haven't seen in forever. Carly and her friends hung out for a bit, and so did Amanda, which was very awesome, since she just arrived from LA today. It was good seeing Amanda, even though she trekked to all sides of Oahu today, since she is here to hang out with family friends before she heads out to Europe, and back to school in lala-land. Good stuff though.

After I left for home, and went to church. Then went to Noa's going away shin-dig. It was good to see the crew hang out, including Amanda. Made for some interesting stories and conversations. Then I went home, and now am typing this thing before I go to bed.

Good-byes are the weirdest things for me, especially now since I'm not leaving yet. But Noa is one of my best friends here, and its a real bummer to see him go. It still hasn't hit me that I won't see the guy for 27+ months, unless he comes visit me in Peru, but I guess its getting to that time. There are some of my other friends who I won't see when I come back from Australia because they'll be on their own adventures also.

But anyway, I think it is real important to see your friends before they leave. It just feels good to know that people are actually going to miss you when you're gone. They'll be the last impressions you see, possibley forever, and that's the scary thing about it. I guess we'll see though. Catch you on the flip side.

Aren't you scared?

2008-07-24T02:37:00.003-10:00

"Aren't you scared...?

That's the question I get asked the most out of anything about my future Peace Corps service, besides the where I'm going, what I will be doing, and for how long questions, but those questions don't really bring up as much feelings than the hypothetical fear that comes about.

I'm scared of a lot of things. Most of the stuff I'm scared of is really stupid because its the unknown. Like I don't really have a fear of dying, yet I'm ridiculously afraid of losing loved ones. I can jump from a 5 story building into a pool no problem, but ask me to talk to a 5'3" pretty girl somewhere, and I'm off running. It's a huge paradox.

Fear is a funny thing because it can be a driving force for people to do a lot of things, or it can be something that just cripples you. Peace Corps is not something I'm afraid of. I'm pumped to go out there and learn about a culture, and hopefully do something meaningful for the next two years. My goals aren't that lofty, just to learn about myself, and embrace everything new with an open heart and mind. It's going to be interesting to see who keeps in touch or actually reads up on this thing, and who is going to fall off the face of the earth when I'm gone.

So anyway I bring this up because fear is a part of everybody's lives. From the relationships we have to how we deal with certain people, fear plays a vital part.

Personally, I need to listen to myself more because the advice I give, I usually don't do. I believe we live life afraid to get hurt, rather than just living it, and dealing with aftermath when it occurs. I feel I've played it safe for a long time, and I regret it now.

Anyway nothing much happened today. Worked a crapload, got home, cooked, ate, and played poker. Vanna pretty much took everybody's money, which was pretty amazing. I made a few bucks, so I couldn't call it a bad nite.

the no-fee passport

2008-07-22T00:31:00.002-10:00

So I always wondered why there were so many shootings at post offices.

Today that question was answered when I went into 3 different post offices to try to get my no-fee passport for my service for the Peace Corps. This no-fee passport is a passport you get when you're abroad for government purposes, and can't be used for personal purpose.

So anyway I went into two different post offices that had no one in line. So I go in there and try to get a witness to sign this document for a passport, and they both asked, "Do you have an appointment?"

"Umm..no."

"Sorry, we can't help you unless you have an appointment."

So I look around me, and there is no one in line for a good ten minutes or so. So a I get a little frustrated.

I go to the one in downtown Honolulu like they suggest since they take walk-ins. Go to the passport window, and try to explain that I need this no-fee passport.

"Do you have a passport from before?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well I need that one to send away for your new passport."

"Ummm...I need that passport to travel to Australia in 3 weeks."

"Then why do you need passport?"

"I need it for the Peace Corps."

"Well I need your passport then."

"The Peace Corps says that I can have both."

"No, you can't...you can only have one."

So, anyway, after 5 minutes of "yes you can no you can't" bickering, I left, pretty pissed off because I fucking need this passport. So on the passports webpage online, one of the FAQ's states:

May I Hold Both a No-Fee and Regular Fee Tourist Passport?
You may have both a valid regular fee passport and a valid no-fee tourist passport at the same time. You may want to take both types of passports with you, especially if you plan to take personal travel while overseas. Please be sure that you have the appropriate visas in both your no-fee and tourist passports prior to your departure.

I hate the post office.

man i miss spain

2008-07-14T23:43:00.002-10:00

So today was an alrite day. Every time I work at the bank now, I seem to hate it more and more. Oh well, only a couple weeks more. For my class today, I presented the students with a powerpoint presentation on my assignment to Peru. Some were interested, some weren't. Pretty much the expected reaction when you are dealing with high school students. Hopefully the last five weeks, they learned something about Hispanic culture.

Anyway, it has been about 3 years since I went to Spain, but I miss it everyday I'm not there. So as I was twirling around listening to some music, I found this diamond in the rough video by Iron and Wine called "Boy with a Coin." Flamenco dancing is such a soulful view to the Spanish identity. It's a beautiful thing to watch. Enjoy!

Crazy Friday

2008-07-12T06:18:00.002-10:00

Wow what a crazy 24 hours or so. Let's do a recap. So Wednesday nite, Fun Word did it's filming for their next showdown in Chinatown film. It's going to be out of your mind funny. I can't wait to see it on Saturday nite. We were all up until about 4 AM filming. The movie is not in good taste at all, but it's going to make people laugh their asses off.

Thursday nite, pretty much chilled and did laundry. Then went to Aaron's and Mika's for dinner for some chili, rice, and cornbread. It was delish as always. Then went to bed.
Friday, woke up early to go to Satellite City Hall to get some camping permits. We got there at 6:30 in the morning, and we were like 19th in line. It sucked major balls to wait there for an hour and a half and find out that the spot you waited for is taken. So we ended up getting three camping spots in Hau'ula (<-----probably wrong) up in North Shore near Kahuku. Hopefully we can have some fun in that spot. We will see.

That morning I found out I was officially invited to the Peace Corps, so that was exciting news. I just had to wait to see where and when I left. I was thinking the packet would be sent to me sometime this week, so I knew I had to be patient. After that, went to work at the bank. Went home, and just chilled until the nite.

That nite was Jen's bday, so we decided to pre-game at Evin's, then go to the Yardhouse in Waikiki. So after Liz dropped by for a ride to Waikiki, we walked down the stairs, and noticed a Fedex package, in which I didn't notice before. It had my name on it and stuff, so I already knew what it was....it was my Invitation packet for the Peace Corps.
All this time of waiting, and being patient led to this package being in my hand. So it was quite a pleasant surprise to see it before we left for Evin's. I was thinking about not opening it until the end of the night, but Liz insisted on opening it. So I did and....

I'M GOING TO PERU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup, stationed to do Water and Sanitation Extension in Peru from Sept 10th, 2008 to November 28th, 2010. It's so crazy because that doesn't leave me a lot of time to get my all my crap together and go, especially since I leave for Aussie in less than a month. It still hasn't quite hit me yet that I'm leaving so soon, but after the nite of celebrating Jen's bday, and hanging out with my friends, I'm definitely nervous, anxious, and excited about the next two years of my life.

I couldn't sleep a lick last night because all I thought about was Machu Pichu, llamas, Lake Titicaca, and ceviche. I can't wait to do some research and find out more of the Peruvian culture. Anyway, that's life for me the past few days. Looks like it's going to be a race to the next chapter to my life, so hopefully I'll enjoy each page to this chapter before the new one starts.

Tonite, Showdown in Chinatown at 39 Hotel. The theme was Superhero movie, and the props that needed to be used were an alarm clock, and a compass. The line that needed to be said in the 5-7 minute short was "How do you like that?" Hopefully everyone enjoys the flick. It's a ten dollar cover at the door, so please come. It's our last one as a Fun Word productions.
Peace!

nice weekend

2008-07-06T01:47:00.002-10:00

This weekend was very fun. Spent the 4th at the kaneohe sandbar with liz and jenna and their nursing friends. If you haven't been there, its a must. It's awesome to just hang out in the middle of a bay with food and such. After 11 hours of that stuff though, it gets pretty draining.
Tonite was awesome. It was Sully's grad party, and the whole crew showed. Too bad my flip cup game didn't. So losing really sucked. Disappointing, but hopefully it comes back during the Olympics. Besides that, can't argue with friends, drink, and awesome Filipino food. Whenever this get togethers happens with huge families, I get kinda nostalgic and miss home, and the huge parties we had in the past.
As far as the Peace Corps goes, I got medically cleared a month ago, and it usually takes 4-6 weeks for them to send an invitation for staging. A lot of people ask me how I feel about going, but its hard to put into words because I don't know where and when I'm leaving. All I do know is that I'll really miss Hawaii, especially after nites like this one. Talking story and reminisicing about random memories is probley my favorite pass time hands down, and I won't really have that when I go.
As far as the week's concern, hopefully with our powers combined, we can create something that we and everybody else can enjoy. Its going to be tough with everybody's schedule. I guess we'll see.
Voy a dormir ahora. Adios amigos. Gracias por todos.

countdown begins...

2008-07-01T13:23:00.002-10:00

Australia in about 5 weeks, and a few people are leaving for Europe in about a month...hopefully this month will pack a fun loving punch for us. Just kind of realizing how I shouldn't worry about people who don't want to hang out, and just enjoy the company of the people who are around all the time.
I hear being persistant is a good thing, but hearing no all the time, or excuses is very disappointing. So a couple more tries, and I'll pretty much give up.
As far as life goes, handing out my first midterm today. Espana won one-nil, and me and Sully totally dominated Jon and Vanna 218-0 in cricket. Sunday nites have been pretty epic. Alrite gotta go. Peas and chicken grease!

Not sleeping in the weekends suck!

2008-06-28T08:01:00.003-10:00

The past three weekends I've had to wake up early for Saturday and Sunday. It sucks balls. So anyway, I was reading an e-mail the other day and came upon this. Thought it was a good philosophy to have in life. So here it is....

TWO GLASSES OF WINE
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 glasses of wine...
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."
The professor then produced two glasses of wine from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.The golf balls are the important things; your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions; things that if everything if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full."
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.The sand is everything else; the small stuff.
"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you."
"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. Do one more run down the ski slope. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first; the things that really matter.. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the wine represented.The professor smiled.
"I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of glasses of wine with a friend."

BOTTOMS UP AMIGOS!

11-0

2008-06-25T00:38:00.002-10:00

That's the score Noa's team lost today when we were playing basketball.

So random thoughts....

Short hair (butter thighs) should've gotten first place

Man summer's blowing by fast

Teaching is fun, kids and their gossip are hilarious

http://www. behance. net/Mogli <----- Some of my brosef's work...Noa's in his network too so take a looksie.

After attraction...timing is a close second.

Trying to enjoy the moment while it lasts....

Betrayal from a loved one is hard to swallow...but what can you do?

Tengas un buen dia errbody.

Mistakes...

2008-06-23T22:32:00.003-10:00

Man today I was hella tired. This weekend really tuckered me out. I had to work at the bank in the morning, and teach Spanish through the evening. I definitely enjoy teaching more than being a teller because teaching offers a different challenge everyday. Its f-in way better than handing out money which isn't mine to other people.
Well anyway, interesting thing I observed today in class. It's their second week now, and I think they know my teaching style, and how laid back it is. But the weird thing about today was the students were hella scared to make mistakes. In a language class, especially in a beginning class, you gotta be freewheelin, let all that shit hang loose, and not be scared to make mistakes because those specific mistakes are the best way to learn.
I guess it kinda hit me, but why the heck am I not living my life that way. I've spent the last 24 years of my life kind of just being careful, making sure other people were okay. But outside of normal circumstances, especially in competition, I'm all about taking chances, and having a say in your situation.
Mistakes are a natural thing, and should be seen as learning tools, not something you regret. Obviously if you're an engineer, those mistakes in the classroom help you avoid buildings falling in the future. Same thing in life...fuck up, realize your errors, move on, and grow. You don't live by playing it safe....that's delaying death. Living is being passionate, making decisions for yourself, and not being so dependent on how others affect you but being aware of what you can do yourself, and for others.
I need to rest, and if the rest of you haven't been keeping score in the Victory Shores Cup

Sharks are up on the Islanders 2-1. I was shocked too. The Islanders had the early lead in the morning, but the Sharks came up big at the end of the night. Final score will be interesting.

Take care kids!

Euro 2008

2008-06-22T12:38:00.002-10:00

So Spain beat Italy in PK's. Fuck I need to stop blogging when I'm drunk.

flat tires

2008-06-22T02:50:00.003-10:00

So I got a flat two days ago and Mika has been giving me rides from work to home, and vice-versa, so today, we decided to fix it. Our first idea was to jack the car and put my donut in. We were all settled, ready to go, and as I back out of the driveway, we heard a hissing sound, and at that point we knew that the donut failed. So we hopped in with Frank to Sam's club. After an hour, we finally got the tires onto the car. After that, we went to Jenna's graduation party. It was a joint thing, so it was kinda weird being outside of a group of people who were in high school for her sister's graduation.
I ate a crapload, and friends were there. We need a place where we can settle, and relax. So anyway, after Jenna's party, we decided to play a game where each person brought someting horrible to drink. We made a list of the drinks chosen, and have a raffle saying who is drinking what. So I had to drink Colt 45. So I definitely kept it street.
We played Kings right after, and it helped as far as making people go out, but not during your hours. Oh well. Anyway, this Peace Corps thing and leaving in a few months is pretty honorable, but horrible as far as relationships concern. My time is limited, so I need to take risks and chances, but most people don't want to be attached to someone that's leaving. I think its better for us to pray on somoene in real laife. It's good then. Take it easy guys!

Yardhouse...

2008-06-21T02:28:00.004-10:00

As I sit here early Saturday morning, five hours away from heading to work again, I realized that Friday was a very productive day for me. It started with a flat tire, but ended with a night hanging out with friends at the Yardhouse. Besides the place always being crowded, and beer being expensive, I always have a good time there because I love tasting new beers. Tonite was uber -productive to the sense that we actually planned a venue for the next Beer Olympics. It'll be on the weekend of July 19-20, at Sherwoods. We are going to try to reserve as many of the 10 spots as we can, but I can't wait for it to happen, especially since Team Philippines are the two time champs. (Hell yeah, bitches!)
Its just great seeing everybody. This summer is weird because it seems like everyone is pairing off. We'll see what happens as the summer plays out, but its definitely different than the past times. Anyway I'm heading to bed. Good times today. There were people that missed out on a lot, but there's always next time I guess. I think I need to start guilting people into coming to shit due to the fact that we're leaving soon. (Me, Riley, Noa, etc.) I can't wait to head to Aussie too. Peace.

Aaron's blog

2008-06-19T09:36:00.003-10:00

Well here's Aaron's blog: http://www.dalocalhawaiian.blogspot.com/

Have fun with that.

Once upon a time...

2008-06-19T08:44:00.000-10:00

Hello! So where do I start? Why blog? I have no idea, but my friend Aaron made it seem like it was a good idea to blog this stuff. I forgot his blog name, but I'll put it on here later.
My main reason to start a blog was to be able to have my friends and family see that I was okay while I was in the Peace Corps.
So I guess this would be a good time to show how I got here. I've been thinking about the Peace Corps ever since I got back from studying abroad in Spain in Spring 2005. At that time, my career aspirations were different. I wanted to be a Civil Engineer, travel the world, and build affordable homes. So I returned to Hawaii, became an intern for a construction company, and I didn't like it. I loved the people I worked with, but I couldn't see myself being a Project Manager or a Project Engineer anymore. I became disinterested, and decided...more I was forced to make a change. So after a semester off, and a lot of thinking, I decided to change my major to Spanish with the goal of becoming a professor later.
Knowing that I needed to improve my Spanish, I thought the Peace Corps would be an awesome choice, mainly because I wanted to learn about a new culture, help out a little for people that might need it, travel, and improve my language skills. So October of 2007, I applied for the Peace Corps and started the process. A week later you get this huge envelope with information they need. Three recommendations, hella questions...its definitely a process. So I turn that stuff in, and interview over the phone a week later. They talk to you about your life, how you'll be able to handle certain situations, those kind of questions. Then on December 21, 2007, I got nominated for the Water Sanitation and Extension for Central/South America program in September 2008. They sent me a Medical and Dental Packet that I needed to fill out, as soon as possible.
So of course I let that packet collect dust for about 3 months before I even look at the thing. Get a physical, dentist appt, blood work, and my shots done. This shit is hella expensive when you don't have insurance...So I finally get that stuff done around May, and I am now medically, legally, and dentally cleared to dig holes for two plus years as of June 3, 2008. Now I'm waiting to see where and when I go, which from Fran from the Placement office says will be about three weeks from now.
So in the mean time, I'm teaching high school kids Spanish for the Upward Bound program at Leeward Community College, working at a bank as a teller, and basically having as much fun as I can with my family of friends here in Oahu. So yeah...this was kinda long, but we'll see where this blog takes us in the future. Later.