Día de la Canción Criolla

Sorry you highness, Jack the Pumpkin King, this isn't Halloween. It's the Creole song day in Peru. Criolla (creole) culture in Peru has a heavy Spanish influence (the criollos were Spanish descended natives of Peru). It's most present in the coast. Don't tell anyone here in the sierra this, but I think that the criolla food is the best in Peru. 

If you're interested, you can celebrate el día del a canción criolla by listening to DJ Gian's (pronounced "John") mix of criolla songs from last year. Maybe it'll inspire you to whip up a delicious plate of adobo.

Noted with Translation - Grandparents' House Rules

For a constant supply of sugary cereal, jelly beans, grilled cheese sandwiches, pineapple, ice cream for breakfast, and so much more. this post is dedicated to my two favorite Anns.

Rules of...
Grandparents' House
The kitchen is open 24 hours a day
Dessert is first

Parents not allowed

Play whenever you want

Welcome to pijama parties

Cookies for breakfast

Tell stories

Bedtime is negotiable

What happens here

STAYS HERE

Pope Francis' Five Finger Prayer

You may have been wondering why I had children painting their hands last week. It's because we were studying Pope Francis' five finger prayer. I don't remember how I bumped into it, but it's been one of the most fun lessons I've taught (and I think the kids learned something too!). Two weeks ago we overviewed the prayer and practiced it. This week they painted their hands into their notebooks and practiced it again.Working with paints was a big hit with the kids (maybe not so much with all the teachers). I was also humbled to read each child's prayer as I graded their work and got some insights into the struggles they see in their lives, the generosity and kindness in their hearts, and the hopes they have for themselves and their families.

If you want to try out the five finger prayer, here's a simple guide:

Source (if you want to see the image larger)

Based on my research, the bishop formerly known as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was teaching this prayer long before he came Pope Kick Ass I. It's a beautiful way to pray and remember various people in your life. For me I find it especially helpful to be reminded to pray for our leaders. Just the other night I found myself prayer for Paul Ryan!

Sunday Song - Yo Canto al Señor

I looked for other Quechua covers of American pop songs but it seems that "The Way You Make Me Feel" is the only American pop song ever recorded in Quechua.

Siembra (the andean catholic music group that sang at FyA 44's anniversary mass) is back singing "Yo Canto al Señor" (I sing to the Lord). It's a joyful of song of praise and gratitude. We have life, and that life demands to live. Praises be!

Translation after the jump.

My quinua eating habits

Having discussed the ethics of consuming quinua in the US/UK yesterday, I thought it would make

sense to talk about the reality of eating quinua in Andahuaylillas.

Quinua is a fantastically cheap protein here. It costs 7 soles a kilo. In Tacna (the other JVC site which is on the coast) it costs 16 soles. It's so much cheaper here because quinua is produced here. I don't mean it's produced here the way that people in Massachusetts can say “cranberries are produced here.” I mean quinua is grown right here in this valley. The picture of quinoa to the right was taken less than a mile from our house. So quinua is cheap because people here in Andahuaylillas grow it.

Quinoa and Food Justice

You've probably heard of Quinoa. Maybe one of your earthy-crunchy friends told you about it. Or maybe you're the earthy-crunchy friend who buys it at Whole Foods. Even if you don't know Spanish, you probably know that it's pronounced “keen-wa” and not “kwin-oh-ah.” It's a big hit with lots of people for all sorts of reasons. It's gluten free, which is a big plus if you have Celiac's disease. It's a complete protein, which is good news for vegetarians, and fantastic news for vegans.* And it's from South America, which automatically makes you more cultured if you eat it.

There's so many plusses about quinoa, it's almost too good to be true. And in the last two years, a number of media sources have pushed the idea that eating quinoa may actually be evil.

Hand painting

We're painting our hands today in religion class with 6th grade. Imagine the trouble that arose when there was no running water to wash hands. 

Noted with Translation: Back to the Future

Alan became a candidate for the presidency
shit Doc, we're still in 1985

Yesterday was the day that Doc Brown and Marty McFly arrived in 2015 after hitting 88mph in their flying delorean and creating 1.21 jigawatts of electricity to power the flux capicitor. It seems they were confused by the news that former Peruvian president Alan Garcia (1985-1990 and 2006-2011) is running again.

Paro!!!

Yesterday I received the most welcome news since my family and my friend told me they bought their tickets to visit me in December – no school today or tomorrow. The reason is a paro (general strike) that is happening across the Cusco region because the government is thinking of privatizing archaeological sites. Yes, you read that right. The Peruvian ministry of culture is thinking of handing over administration of ancient archaeological sites to private companies.

School isn't canceled because the teachers are taking part in the strike. Neither is it canceled because FyA 44 morally opposes the privatization of Incan and pre-Incan ruins and the teachers are deciding not to cross strike lines to get to work. School is cancelled because it will probably be impossible to for staff members who live in Cusco, which is almost all the staff, to get to work during the paro.

Strikes are taken very seriously in Peru. And Cusco is perhaps region of the country most committed to strikes. In Turn Right at Machu Picchu, Mark Adams writes that “strikes [are] the only events in Peru that [begin] in accordance with Greenwich Mean Time.” He goes on to elaborate on the paro that almost stopped him from making it to Machu Picchu in time for the solistice.

“A group of farmers outside of Cusco, angered by the price of cooking gas, was calling for a paro, or general strike, on the day we were scheduled to leave town. In New York, the word 'strike' conjures up a picture of people with picket signs parading in front of an office building, slightly inconveniencing any smokers who stepped outside to light up. If things get serious, the strikers might bring along a giant inflatable rat to express their displeasure with nonunion laborers. Evidently the words has a somewhat stronger meaning in Peru. All roads inside and outside of Cusco were blockaded by farmers, who rolled rocks into every throughway wider than a mule path and then sat sentry over those barricades, fortifying their political convictions by drinking heavily all day. Schools were closed during general strikes. All trains, including those to Machu Picchu, were canceled. Attempts to sneak through a checkpoint were generally frowned upon.”

page 261

Today and tomorrow's paro is more like having snow days than anything, a time to stay home, watch movies, and maybe venture out into the neighborhood to see some friends. It's also two days off in a row, with absolutely zero other commitments. I think I might just sleep till Friday!

Boss' Day

According to Mountain House's guinea pig calendar*, last Friday was Boss' Day. So I thought it would be fitting to take some time to talk about my boss, and the peculiarities of the JV-boss relationship.

My boss is Padre Eddy. He's a Jesuit from Lima who just this year was installed as the general director of FyA 44 and PERFAL (remember from Sunday's post LINK that PERFAL is the network of 22 rural schools). Before coming to the Quispicanchi valley he taught at San Marcos (a college in Lima). That's really all I know about his biography.

Eddy is a lot of fun. We see him outside of work at Thursday masses, and occasion outings for pizza in Urcos (two towns over, where the Jesuit residence is). Last week he brought a projector and a copy of The Godfather to show after Thursday mass.* He is easy to hang out with. Which is different from most boss-worker relationships.

The difference here is that Eddy is a Jesuit and we are Jesuit Volunteers. The relationship is deeper than just free labor-boss. I think it's safe to say I know Eddy better than most of the teachers I work with. It's one of the special benefits of being a JV, that we get to know the Jesuits we work for as more than just superiors, but as people.

Eddy continues in the trend of good bosses that I've had. He is always ready to listen to reflections, frustrations, or new ideas. He has made it clear that he wants to hear my input about what my role could look like next year. It's clear that he cares about both the education of the students and the development of the teachers. I think FyA 44/PERFAL are lucky to have him. I know I am blessed to work with him.

*If you're looking for a simple, useful gift for the volunteers who have already have everything, a fun 2016 wall calendar is a great idea.

*Despite it being dubbed, I really enjoyed it. But I was disappointed to hear famous lines like “an offer he couldn't refuse” or “sleeping with the fishes” in Spanish.

Sunday Song - The Way You Make Me Feel

Why is this week's song a Michael Jackson song? Because this is a cover. The first rule of cover songs is that you have to bring something new to it. Quechua, the official language of the Incan empire, isn't new in its own right, but as far as I know no one has ever sung anything by Michael Jackson in Quechua. That is until 14 year old Renata Flores Rivera recorded this video:

Flores* recorded this for a project called "Las juventudes también hablamos Quechua" (We youth speak Quechua too). Quechua is one of Peru's two official languages, and it's the largest (in terms of current speakers) indigenous language in the Americas. But it's shrinking. Quechua isn't nearly as useful as Spanish. And since lanugage is a tool for communication, a lot of people - especially young people moving from the country to the city - are leaving Quechua behind for Spanish. Of course, people can be bilingual. I think that part of Rivera's point is that Quechua doesn't have to die off.

I would also be remiss if I didn't offer once correction on the fusion.net article about this video - Quechua is taught in some schools, because many of the 22 schools in the PERFAL** network offer a completely bilingual Spanish/Quechua education.

If you liked this, you might also enjoy her cover of House of the Rising Sun

*Flores is her paternal last name, Rivera is her maternal last name. When using only one of the last names, the paternal last name is used.

**Proyecto de Educación Rural, Fé y ALegría. I may have mentioned this before, but there is a network of 22 rural schools connected to FyA 44. They are located farther up into the mountains, where Spanish hasn't yet overcome Quechua as a major language.

Quarterly Review 3

On the wall near the spirituality space on the second floor of our home is a post it with a quote from Pedro Arrupe, SJ . It reads “una experiencia no reflexionada es una experiencia no vivida” - “an experience that is not reflected upon is an experience that is not lived.” Part of my nightly prayer involves review and reflection on the day, but a broader perspective can reveal themes that are missed. Sometimes we need to step back from examining the trees that make up the days and take in the forest of our lives. So every three months I'm stepping back, looking back, and mulling it all over.

It seems that being a month late with these quarterly reviews is becoming standard. Two Sundays ago I completed 10 months since arrival in Andahuaylillas. Looking back on the last three months, these are the big themes I see:

• Danza mi país
• Real Friends

JV Life - Replacing ink in the printer

Even dealing with the simple problem of the printer needing ink is different here. Instead of a new cartridge,  we refill this thing on the side from ink bottles. It can be very messy. 

What is El Niño?

El Niño is a weather phenomonenon that happens every 2-7 years. It was named El Niño by Peruvian fisherman who noticed that every couple years around Christmas there were no fish to catch (El Niño means the child, like baby Jesus).

Basically what happens is that the waters in the eastern Pacific by the equator get too warm. That means more clouds form. And that means more rain. Usually the warm of surface waters is picked up by the dominant East-West winds that are a result of the Earth's rotation, and then the resulting clouds are carried West.* But in an El Niño year there's just too much warmth to be taken away by the waves.

The resulting effects are hard to predict beyond "things get weird." There's usually torrential rain in the northern parts of Peru. But other parts of Peru (and the world) see droughts instead. It might mean a lot of rain in California, which could be good in terms of bringing some water, but bad in terms of possible mudslides.

That's about all I understand. If you want to know more, check out this article which compares El Niño to a "'mini' global warming event." Something to think about as you ponder the potential effects of global warming.

Travelers to Peru during the coming months are advised to bring a rain coat.

*Which is why you see worse storms on the Western sides of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Pope in Disguise

Because we had an extra mustache. 

Sunday Song - Solo le Pido a Dios

To continue the theme of using songs from ReO/DisO, here is the song that the soon to be outgoing JVs brought to the closing ceremony. "I only ask God, that I not be indifferent." There's not really much more to say than that. 

Translation after the jump. And yes, the Boss has recorded himself singing this song. 

Stone Oven Pizza

This is also old news at this point. Our friend María, a Spaniard who started as a volunteer and now works full time for the parish in Andahuaylillas, has a stone oven in her backyard. Last month we got together one weekend and tried making pizza in the oven. Unfortunately the bottom of the oven isn't flat, so the first two pizzas got wrecked when we tried to slide them out on the peel. We wised up and baked the other two on trays. 

Baking in this oven was tough because none of us have ever worked with a wood-fired oven before. You can't just set the temperature and wait, you have to constantly monitor it. We still have lots to learn before we can do it well.

The view from María's backyard

Pro-baker Victor hard at work.

These two pizzas looked more like calzones by the time we got them out of the oven.

Volunteers in the White City

ReO/DisO was held in the costal town Mejía. To get there, we had to go through Arequipa “la ciudad blanca” (the white city). It's a city that definitely deserves its nickname. Check out the pics from both Arequipa and Mejia after the jump.

Happy Belated Birthday Erin

Erin's Birthday was in early September. But I fell way behind on blogging last month, so the pictures are only just going up today. We had a fun night with the entire volunteer community of Andahuaylillas, plus Billy. We celebrated in style with mustaches, and two kinds of cake.

Noted with Translation - Spiritually Concerning Quotation marks edition

Seen in a church in Arequipa

Turn off your cellphone

"the Lord" wants to talk with you

Sunday Song - Something Beautiful

It's not a Peruvian mass song, you got me there. We used this at the closing ceremony of ReO/DisO. I thought is was nice. And using it as this week's Sunday Song is a reminder that being a JV isn't just an experience of cultural immersion.

Change in the Calendar

Did you know 2015 is an El Niño year? All the reports say that it is going to be strong this year. What that means exactly, I don't know. One or two El Niño cycles ago, the lake in the valley next to ours overflowed and people had to live in tents for a while. But no one I've talked to seems too concerned about it. The Ministry of Education, on the other hand, is very concerned. They're so concerned, that for much of Peru the school year is ending two weeks early. So instead of ending December 18, we end December 4.

What does that mean?

1. Saturday School. Those lost classroom hours have to be made up somehow, and having school on Saturday is one way to it. That means 6 day workweeks for students and teachers. It means families here in Andahuaylillas won't be able to rely on the support of their children in fieldwork on Saturdays.
2. As a result of Saturday school, First Communion and Confirmation classes will have to be rescheduled. That means there will be no day of the week where many students, not to mention I, will have the day off the entire day.
3. New JVS have to arrive sooner. New JVs arrive in Andahuaylillas before the school year ends so that they can observe a bit of the rhythm of life at their worksites. Both the school and the parish shut down for summer vacation, so if JVs don't get to observe in December, they start work in March without having seen what that job looks like. The original dat ewe proposed for their arrival, December 10, is no good, so they will probably be arriving at the start of the month.
4. Outgoing JVs have to leave sooner. It's a necessary part of the cycle that JVC has to fund 3 years worth of volunteers for a few weeks in December. But since the work-year is ending sooner, the necessary time for overlap will be finished sooner. So our 3 outgoing JVs may be leaving a few weeks sooner than they had been thinking. And if they stay, they will be off JVC's budget.

As you can see, lot's of changes. We'll see how the next two months go as we race to finish the school year before the rains get bad. I also expect I'll have less time and energy for blogging. I promise to do the best I can to keep things up to date and interesting, but I ask your patience. And if you're thinking about visiting this winter, you'll want to pack a raincoat.

Noted with Translation: I can do it!

This is written in Quechua, btw.