cultural divides

I read an article last night about a gringo (american) living in nicaragua who was convicted of a murder that seems impossible for him to have committed. he is to spend 30 years in prison in nicaragua. his name is eric volz. the people of the town insulted and shouted awful obscenities at him, but not at the other 3 native nicaraguans who were also brought to trial (one of whom was also convicted). Such things as ¨die gringo¨ and ¨he´s so rich his parents will probably buy his way out of it¨and ¨justice to the gringo, killer of innocent women,¨it brought so much to my mind...

i love people of other cultures as is well documented. i also have a very high view of humanity (i think people are beautiful and capable of tremendous beauty). but am constantly brought to my depths when i hear and read of people who hate other people based on something that seems so arbitrary, like nation of birth, native language, and color of skin.

it has happened and happens everywhere, throughout history, with all peoples. why are we so afraid of what is different? why do different cultures and customs and languages cause so much fear in us? just think.

what is your view of middle easterners?
and what about those that profess the muslim religion?
what about the illegal latin american immigrants who enable us to eat out so frequently and cheaply by working shit wages and hours in our restaurants?
what about asian immigrants?
what about african americans?

REMEMBER all of our parents were at one time immigrants and strangers in a foreign land. i want to challenge us to not only act with kindness and love towards those of other ¨races¨ (which is, by the way, a complete bogus concept invented by whites) but also to think good thoughts about them, afterall they are human just like you.

i have lots of amazing friends, but most of us, myself included, need to check ourselves with respect to peoples of other cultures. if we don´t, if we let hostile or even negative attitudes prosper within us, then the same thing could happen in middle america as happened in nicaragua. pointless, brutal, disgusting, hatred based on misunderstandings and ignorance.

love

Cuzco on the way to Machu Picchu

Cuzco was the capital center of one of the biggest pre-colonial empires this side of the world--the Incas. Though there were many Andean peoples and empires before them it was the Incas who seemed to have mastered the difficult landscape enough to make a lasting impact--with the remains of beautiful stone structures that boggle the mind.

It is located in the middle of marvelous and gigantic mountains in the Andes mountains in Eastern Peru. Every time I turn around I see landscapes that previously only existed in my dreams. Mountains that tower above everything. Small towns with ancient churches and cobblestoned streets. Rivers that cut through valleys as if they are still creating them. Ancients ruins that are built so masterfully that it seems impossible for a people with no knowledge of iron or steel.

I stare out the windows on the bus rides and when I am in the town center my eyes constantly wander to the snow peaks so many thousands of feet above. We went to Pisac, a site near Cuzco and did a 2 hour climb/hike up the mountainside to view the ancient ruins. My mind kept wandering to this point: It is no wonder these people worshipped Mother Earth and Father Sun, they were surrounded by absolute beauty. Besides the magnificent landscapes there were plenty of ancient ruins to see. The ruins made up religious and cultural centers but I´m not sure what else...Anyways, the building were made of gigantic stones that fit together like a puzzle. With no iron or steel to shape the stones and no mechanized equipment to drag the stones up the mountainside it seems miraculous that they even exist. And what craftsmanship! I stared and stared at their beauty...

Well that was Pisac. Tomorrow (wednesday) we leave for a 5 day/4 night hiking and camping trip throughout the valley on our way to view the splendors of one of the newest 7 wonders of the world--Machu Picchu. We are going in a group of 6 and we hear the trip is quite difficult. But it is an extraordinary opportunity to be hiking along the same trail the Incas used, seeing the same beautiful landscapes that captured their minds so many years ago. On the 5th day we leave our camping site at 4 in the morning so that we might catch a glimpse of the first rays of the sun as it peaks over the tall mountains and into the bowl-shaped home of the ruins...Check my facebook profile for pictures in the next couple of weeks.

love

Festia de la Patria en Lima, Peru

I ate cow tongue. And it was delicious. I was a bit weirded out at first but after the first bite (reminds of finely roasted beef) I couldn´t wait for the second. We spent most of the two days in Lima doing what the rest of the country was doing--celebrating Peru´s independence day. We took a city tour and went atop this marvelous mountain...but it was so cloudy that you could only see about 20 feet in front of you, so we missed out on the spectacular view that Lima provides, nestled between mountains. We went to the national parade and I was a bit surprised to see that the only participants in the parade were military. The country must be particularly proud to show off its military, people cheered and loved the display, though it seemed a bit gloomy to me. We went to a cool chinese restaurant and ate a feast for about 2 bucks each. Everything is sooo cheap here that it is laughable!

I eat full meals (much better than what you could get in the US) for 2 bucks. What else?
Hotels for 5 bucks a piece.
Taxi rides for about a dollar.
Bottles of water for 30 cents.
Beautiful Alpaca wool sweaters for 13 dollars.
Freshly squeezed juice slushies for 1 dollar.

It´s nice because I´m quite broke and poor.

Anyways, I wrote last time about the deplorable conditions in the rural areas of Peru. Well the following day I picked up a newspaper and read about the President´s anual speech he gave the night before. One of the main issues he wanted to address was the disgusting rate of poverty (some stats suggest it is over 50%), he wants to lower it to about 30% during his term (until 2011). I was so happy to see that this was such a point of concern for the nation and I hope he follows through with his promises and that his term isn´t characterized by corruption and mismanagement like every other term seems to have been in Peru´s history.

Though the government has its faults the people are warm and friendly (aside from the constant begging and offering to seel something). I got money out of an ATM in Chimbote (6 hours north of Lima) and was so mad when the machine gave me dollars. I stormed off in search of a bank that would change my money. Well, I had forgotten my bank card!!! Much to my surprise a woman came running after me with it in her hand shouting that I had forgotten it. Wow, that incident made my heart jump a few beats. The hostal and restaurant service have been excellent and we´ve encountered some very kind people (friends of Leah´s) that have put us up in their homes, fed us gorgeous peruvian cuisine, and taken us around the city.

I love Ecuador and am starting to like Peru as well, the language is a bit different but the food is delicious! We are in Cuzco now...which will be the subject of my next entry. Until then,

love

peru, more on the andeans

the religion of the andean is called animism by some. that is, they "worship" the sun, the celestial beings, and in general the created order. but i do not think "worship" should be taken in the same sense as we, inheritors of judeo-christian practices, worship God, the Son, and Spirit. there are definitely similiarities...

we sing songs to God, they sing songs. we offer prayers of petition and thanksgiving as do they. we offer tributes and payments (tithe) and they offer similar material gifts. but one thing i noticed that we could take a hint to pick up on, and that is the sincerity with which they respect and pay homage to that which sustains them.

often i have seen that in our churches and places of worship things seem forced. that is, it is no longer worship in the true sense of the word (adoration, respect, love) but mere ritual. however, the andean seems to worship the created order because he must. he is so thankful for the sustenance nature provides while he is in awe of her majesty. so his prayers, songs, and offerings are a direct outpouring of his inner state and relationship to nature. it is a very interesting and attractive character quality, and i hope to apply its sincerity and depth to my own life.... but that is a whole nother story.

now i am in peru and have been shocked at the poverty here! people live in nothing but looks like flimsy wooded boxes in the midst of barren deserts... i am dismayed at how a people can live in conditions like this and am outraged! the government here seems to be too mired in corruption and self-interest to help its people.

anyways......so tired now, will arrive in lima tomorrow after 36 straight hours of buses and bus stations, tired, hungry, dirty, stinky. i long for a hot shower and a cozy bed! check out leah´s blog (under the skies) for a better tale of our adventures.

love

saraguro

i just spent 3 of the most amazing days of my life in a small indigenous community in southern ecuador, called saraguro after the name of the people that live there.

i stayed with don miguel and anita for the better part of it and enjoyed their excellent cooking and 4 children (andres, marlene, amawta, yara) among other cousins and nephews and nieces. they truly opened their home to leah and i. the children played with us and asked us many questions about our homes and customs. anita shared laughter and her phenomenal foods with us. miguel taught us the way of the andean.

the andean lives in equilibrium with the land, he does not abuse it nor take it for granted. instead, he takes what the land offers and promises respect. he lives in harmony with others because of the excellent relationship he possesses with the natural order, which gives life to all. he eats only what he grows. his animals are cared for and not a thing goes to waste! he believes that man is most alive when he is living in equilibrium with the land--that is, when he respects, cares for, and prospers the natural order around him by offering his honest work and words of petition and affirmation. to the andean, everything around him possesses energy--endowed by the Creator. everything that is natural is sacred and to be respected. this is the real life, the only way to really live.

i love nature and i feel so peaceful in it, but never before have i met a people that gave such due respect and love for the earth and for the cosmos which sustains man. it impacted me in a mighty way. i can no longer see food, or a tree, or the sky, or a rock in the same way. everything that God has created is alive in a sense, because it lives in mother earth and sustains life therein.

what impact has this? every time we eat, we must first ask questions. where does this food come from? do those who grew this food respect the earth? did they mistreat the animals or the workers in the field? if i eat it will i remain in harmony with the cosmos or will it cause the natural order harm and so cause a disequilibrium within me? even more so, do the things we buy, things we do, places we go, harm the creation that is alive and sustains us?

to really understand what i am saying is to be shocked out of your pants, it is to cause a total re-evaluation of every aspect of our life. and it begs the question--just how progressed is the american society?

i will write more later about the indigenous life, but please post your comments so i know at least someone is reading!

love

Time and space

So....

the concept of time and space here is so different. they are not one´s own. that is, what you perceive of as your space and your time really isn´t. instead both space and time belong to everyone and no one. this is so antithetical to the american culture of super individualism.

just think. when you get home from work do you stop and share your day full of small stories and happenings for 20 minutes or do you go right to the computer or tv. when you eat and are finished do you stay and sit, talking and laughing, or do you go upstairs to your bedroom? and when you go somewhere with someone are you worried about what you will do or what time you will get home? here time just flows and you must flow along with it or feel terribly uncomfortable.

im not saying one way is better than another. but it has refreshed me quite a bit to not have to worry about what time i need to be where and with who, or worrying that im "wasting" time by not doing work, or what´s on my to-do list.

with that said, think about every aspect of your day and how much of it is consumed by the need to "get things done" on time. try sharing every minute detail of your day without worrying about what you´re going to do tonight. it might be very rewarding!

miss and love.

first week in Latin America

my good friend cindy and her family have been very gracious and have opened their home to me and it is like my own, i am blessed to be able to stay there, eat great food and have a family. also, my old host family has been very eager to invite me to almuerzos and other social gatherings. how good it is as a stranger to be welcomed in a foreign land!

one thing that is truly amazing about life here is the family culture. all the kids live with the parents until they get married and all the extended family lives in the vicinity so everyone is always always spending time together. its really really neat. well, so far i´ve played soccer, went off-roading, salsa dancing, to a bar, worked in a beautiful farm in the mountains, ate pig skins (soo good!), and ate lunch with 2 different families! oh, and i have a cellphone and ipod here (cindy´s family loaned them to me).



so saturday night was the salsa dancing event. it was actually just a family party but here family parties are a bit different. we got there at 9 o´clock and everyone was there--aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends, etc. well, everyone danced, drank, ate until 2 in the morning! it was incredible to have people from so many different generations all dancing together! even though i did dance with some younger women the older aunts and grandma´s were the best! ha!

i am going to a place near the coast on friday for an overnight vacation with cindy's brother and then off to a small village comprised of mostly indigenous folks, where we'll stay with a family and then off to peru and macchu pichu!

will write more later.

love