tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34895434411818127762024-03-21T05:58:00.000-07:00A Peru-tiful LifeStasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-20745234611862706992014-01-05T20:13:00.002-08:002014-01-05T20:13:23.256-08:00PC Solutions in the First World<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My mom, dog, and I are slowly making our way to Montana. I'm beyond excited to get there, but we've been stymied by a series of weather events that have the Weather Channel in hysterics. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Delightful. And this girl doesn't have anything to protect her feet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My mom made a trip to Walmart to look for doggie booties. They didn't have any, but she came back with these genius supplies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Baby socks and duct tape. Now, such high quality tape would be hard to find in my Peruvian town, but my mom demonstrates stellar PC volunteer qualities of creativity, resourcefulness, and willingness for something to look dumb if it functions well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Stay tuned for more stateside posts in the coming weeks. Cuidense!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-29079863704832603172013-12-07T21:27:00.000-08:002013-12-07T21:27:42.646-08:00Home<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I sent Elka the dog to the states 2 weeks ahead of me so I didn't have to take her and move all my worldly possessions at the same time. My lovely mom took great care of her. We took this video when I first surprised Elka in the back yard. She didn't recognize me for a second. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's good to be in America home. </span>Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-9921103353740010752013-12-07T21:20:00.000-08:002013-12-07T21:28:20.931-08:00Chau chau<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After some last weeks of scrambling to get cocinas mejoradas done (didn't fully succeed), saying goodbye to folks, and taking my replacement around town, it was time to leave.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the last day, we went around to some of my favorite schools. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Quilcacancha was first, and they did an adorable little presentation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then, all the kids lined up for hugs. It was great. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hannah and I ambled over to San Francisco where there was a play about plants, a poetry reading, and a song.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This little girl recited a poem that was a few minutes long. Impressive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They're singing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" in Spanish. I'm vaguely suspicious that they prepared it for another occasion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A teacher got up and sang a traditional Quechua song, so naturally, huayno had to be danced.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This time, instead of an orderly hug line, I was mobbed and knocked to the ground.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And it was actually pretty wonderful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The hug line reformed, and Hannah, my replacement, got some squeezes as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I went home to pack up two years of a Peruvian life, play one last game of family poker, and get ready for the bus to Lima in the morning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everybody who was at the house came to walk Hannah and I to the bus station. (Jenny took the picture)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There were lots of hugs and tears and I said goodbye to my wonderful second family. I was impossibly lucky to have them and my service would'nt have happened without their kindness and hot tea to come home to every day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I got on the bus and had a fun few days with my Peace Corps family. That's my third in this post, if you're counting. We had ice cream for breakfast, haircuts, and lots of time hanging out, drinking beer, and chatting about life and how much we love each other. We even got to see Jane Freaking Goodall speak! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">"About to see Jane Goodall" faces</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now I'm done. I did it. I'm in my America home. The Peace Corps had me challenged, sad, lonely, vomiting, and occasionally murderous. It was also full of gratefullness that I've never before experienced, friendship, and deep appreciation and joy for the smallest successes. I've been a few places, and in every one, I've encountered an enormous amount of love that crosses backgrounds, ethnicity, and language. I'm so lucky.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-28451093168629360132013-10-21T08:42:00.002-07:002013-10-21T08:42:59.110-07:00Ducky<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had some extra money in a SPA grant, and asked the directora at escuela Quilcacancha if she had any more projects she wanted to do. She immediately said that the school has been wanting to raise ducks for the longest time to improve the quality of the kids' school lunches, but they haven't had the money for the setup. I was thrilled by the idea: not only do I love me some ducks, but the SPA grant is designed around climate change, and local, climatically appropriate food fits in with resilience and adaptation for the community.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">First, I bought them the materials they'd need to build the ducks' corral. I can't believe it all fit on a moto.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I sent the supplies to the school, and was busy with other projects, so I couldn't help them build. The amazing thing was they had everything set up on the day they said they would! Incredible!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I went to the Friday market and picked up a box of 12 ducks, 10 females and 2 males, and brought them to the school.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wanted a nice photo of me, the ducks, and the kids, but naturally this is what happened the second I opened the box. I'm saying, "no no, don't grab their necks!" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Realizing my mistake, I let them go in their corral.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Which is actually a sweet setup. When they get bigger, they'll be able to wander the ample grounds that even have a stream!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everybody was excited.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We went about cutting ichu grass for their bed, and some pre-schoolers were sent into the duck house to plug up any holes where cold drafts could get in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then it was time for a drink/bath! Hopefully, having these ducks will improve the diets of the students and teach them how to care for animals. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They will also be super cute!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-19370328264112113912013-10-21T07:39:00.000-07:002013-10-21T07:39:40.872-07:00Just Eat It<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've had some interesting food experiences lately.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. Fish eyeballs are surprisingly tasty. I found one floating in my soup and popped it in my mouth rather than passing it off to a host brother. Pleasantly chewy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. A friend shared a pile of trashy magazines and one of the ads was for sex cereal, a breakfast cereal that supposedly ramps up your sex drive. First, it seems inconvenient to be horny all day. Secondly and most importantly, the main ingredient in the cereal is maca, apparently an aphrodisiac. Just what I need all the campo ladies to be feeding me on the daily, thanks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. I was bored one day and inventorying my things in preparation for my not-too-distant departure. I have a box on top of my dresser where all things not immediately useful go. Way back in the beginning, my college friends sent me a package that included silly condoms as a joke (though none of us could know how much of a joke). I was rifling through them, wondering if they were still ok to save for the next volunteer or give away, when I came across a strawberry flavored one. I'd never used a flavored condom before, and honestly it doesn't seem like something I'd want to be putting in my body. But in my bored, 3pm with nothing to do state, I decided I had to see what it tasted like. I opened the package and gave it a tiny lick. It has a very artificial sweet, slighty berry-like flavor. Probably better than plain latex, but I can't recommend them as a gum or snacking substitute. </span>Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-19981947023127276772013-10-20T19:55:00.001-07:002013-10-20T19:55:40.471-07:00Never Too Late for a First <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I though I'd experienced all the possible Peace Corps mishaps after being in Peru for over two years, but I was gravely mistaken. The idea reeks of hubris anyway. Today, for the first time ever, I vomited blood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I'm in Huancayo, our regional capital, after a meeting in the selva. I came by to pick up some food and water attchments for Elka's crate. I was walking about, started to feel strange, and went to the hostal to take a break. Before I knew it, my breakfast was trying to escape from my body with great force, and by any outlet possible. A popular phrase among volunteers is , "peeing out my butt." It's graphic, but damn accurate for the situation. I also vomited every 10 minutes for many hours, apparently bursting blood vessels in my stomach from the strain, hence the blood. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I feel slightly better now. If I sit completely still and take tiny sips of ginger ale, the nausea isn't overwhelming. You probably would've been better off not reading about this (sorry bout that), but it can be comforting to share traumatic experiences. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />I'm just hoping that was the last new gastrointestinal experience I have in my remaining few weeks here. </span>Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-29568970035248666222013-09-29T21:12:00.000-07:002013-09-29T21:12:40.011-07:00World Map<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The World Map is a hallowed Peace Corps tradition. Volunteers all over the planet are painting maps in their communities. It seemed like an awesome, fun project that would spread the PC message, so I decided to do one during my second year of vacaciones utiles, or summer school. It turned out that was ambitious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I started with three high school classes. We began with some basic geography and ecology lessons so they'd have a better understanding of what they were working on. Initially, I had wanted to project an image of the map onto the wall to trace, but our equipment wasn't powerful enough. We went to the tried and true, but much slower grid method.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thankfully, I still had my highschoolers to set it up. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCt_0NCB5k5_G9UfVmiTUIGXOEEZ0HTulpga24go1iyTamIeBc88WIEJiNcwnqQbD62NsNm0PcCyAHp9osZnE4KHMJx2dHmAQwQkVJvB3vXzym7tRjrtMqNKYQRYOUM4AVQWXL6dD78BD6/s1600/IMG_0110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCt_0NCB5k5_G9UfVmiTUIGXOEEZ0HTulpga24go1iyTamIeBc88WIEJiNcwnqQbD62NsNm0PcCyAHp9osZnE4KHMJx2dHmAQwQkVJvB3vXzym7tRjrtMqNKYQRYOUM4AVQWXL6dD78BD6/s400/IMG_0110.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Mw-OlGd3C16XNm_-69suHrFAfho8zRhTMDd6yh5KVKhoNkfYZ7c6ULEvg5f4_EeRI5Eu8s_SBXvE5LCtAYQJuqQ9J42qc7CykEayUvOutU5usPFxO01Stkk_b1zzXaxb89miEwze96nr/s1600/IMG_0111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Mw-OlGd3C16XNm_-69suHrFAfho8zRhTMDd6yh5KVKhoNkfYZ7c6ULEvg5f4_EeRI5Eu8s_SBXvE5LCtAYQJuqQ9J42qc7CykEayUvOutU5usPFxO01Stkk_b1zzXaxb89miEwze96nr/s400/IMG_0111.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sadly, vacaciones utiles ended at that point, which makes it right on schedule for a PC project, so I needed to do the rest with the sixth graders that went to the school. We started over with some more geography classes to learn the cardinal directions, how to read a map, and all that good stuff. Then it was time to draw the map on the grid following print-outs. Most of Peruvian primary education is based on rote memorization and copying, so I thought they'd be awesome at copying from the paper to the wall. It turned out to be much more of a challenge than I thought. After a few more white hairs, I was able to help my students figure out what they were up to.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCeSLpK1w65KYUXqxQV7XIUHeUWl2n4cHfivofups7AysCdqKj0mdZ6akrfOGbix_Y7z_Y87ZmozM8QBISHhnbd5zheWtRSxrjM5rF_1TOBpYuNFaKCgqVC4FN8SvAqwU79OSL_OJxqqF_/s1600/IMG_0442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCeSLpK1w65KYUXqxQV7XIUHeUWl2n4cHfivofups7AysCdqKj0mdZ6akrfOGbix_Y7z_Y87ZmozM8QBISHhnbd5zheWtRSxrjM5rF_1TOBpYuNFaKCgqVC4FN8SvAqwU79OSL_OJxqqF_/s400/IMG_0442.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQM9DgjuCfowj1tgXK1MyJ_7IpDiK6l4_RWX36yJrpvjZFcluy4YtMvEgabp2ETlR6XbvAaOe_x-t_hg2jw32pRfTWg20MKg2gilVQVGNFHeNyvD7_lq-ig1XtJxSKV2QaTwyUR7PArwG/s1600/IMG_0576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQM9DgjuCfowj1tgXK1MyJ_7IpDiK6l4_RWX36yJrpvjZFcluy4YtMvEgabp2ETlR6XbvAaOe_x-t_hg2jw32pRfTWg20MKg2gilVQVGNFHeNyvD7_lq-ig1XtJxSKV2QaTwyUR7PArwG/s400/IMG_0576.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then it was time to paint! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGUILOcLCa3Mh4-cb1spKalrta2IqrLhnTG_4KcktLsd943U3cUdFFe7H87RMCyLWyWkE1_W-pqM2iLmSJD9T_tjbkPoQdCXZSyqUkGcwQJrT_zIV51ycE1Fk_UTPfdyqmnC2kyKAP6XXg/s1600/IMG_0584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGUILOcLCa3Mh4-cb1spKalrta2IqrLhnTG_4KcktLsd943U3cUdFFe7H87RMCyLWyWkE1_W-pqM2iLmSJD9T_tjbkPoQdCXZSyqUkGcwQJrT_zIV51ycE1Fk_UTPfdyqmnC2kyKAP6XXg/s400/IMG_0584.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Aside from some difficulty staying inside the lines, this part was fun. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qSmAnemr1RoJBt9pZc7EE5LY2x0WgBS-odGvFkHu0EgfW28r9bxxE1LC9YL6dQjpPWctylkH6XaDySL6Wb99iR1jgj8cPiC0QbkEmGQGBh5wsNfH7SbzFRogSSoF8zT6Ixxsv5pZagH2/s1600/IMG_0589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qSmAnemr1RoJBt9pZc7EE5LY2x0WgBS-odGvFkHu0EgfW28r9bxxE1LC9YL6dQjpPWctylkH6XaDySL6Wb99iR1jgj8cPiC0QbkEmGQGBh5wsNfH7SbzFRogSSoF8zT6Ixxsv5pZagH2/s400/IMG_0589.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimIgX5lxtYC5nShuIzU9FdbpNXFQwIYeSqHGSgtfmNJVLN5oML2fH2Q-WqrhHu0Odx34yJ69-DQqKK__Ym1ns-HenbMTvKhyIwZp19E68WuS4k5XlfZlpcX8LDs6JGxjwq-Yafss-NfQNb/s1600/IMG_0592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimIgX5lxtYC5nShuIzU9FdbpNXFQwIYeSqHGSgtfmNJVLN5oML2fH2Q-WqrhHu0Odx34yJ69-DQqKK__Ym1ns-HenbMTvKhyIwZp19E68WuS4k5XlfZlpcX8LDs6JGxjwq-Yafss-NfQNb/s400/IMG_0592.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After the main countries were painted, we needed to fill in all the tiny islands and territories, which quickly became the bane of my existence. With the difficulty of correctly placing all the -nesias, the rainy season getting drunk and sticking around way after the party was over, and fiesta upon fiesta, we somehow made it to late September with work still to be done. I needed to call in the heavy artillery.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7GYa0-RWXbbnvTh-3uXnnyTcLurOzIVAJLi1MJ_h3JWrmoevuEwzDjOzIvH_O9PXJX4AKwksf3Vxu8R5cMrXtoN4oV4OTk8LXQCz2OHYioF3ZxE16GHLP0d8JwY93D_eSpGkVjx4jdWiR/s1600/IMG_2507.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7GYa0-RWXbbnvTh-3uXnnyTcLurOzIVAJLi1MJ_h3JWrmoevuEwzDjOzIvH_O9PXJX4AKwksf3Vxu8R5cMrXtoN4oV4OTk8LXQCz2OHYioF3ZxE16GHLP0d8JwY93D_eSpGkVjx4jdWiR/s400/IMG_2507.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My friends Laura and Nicole came to visit and I put them to work labeling the last countries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The next week, a few kids and I cleaned up some borders and repainted the ocean, and we were done!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6roPi-8vg8b2XoOX6OMD5bMfJ8JTmWk_gNzvGTKZsFROlyDc77lq6fBPaXZjcp-x7ZpIpirwGIp8ThcdpIbst_XOD0Oj80lTgCASocj4jTZrJfCb-TCs852hXzFW68zQU1_7wzy69tNE7/s1600/IMG_2537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6roPi-8vg8b2XoOX6OMD5bMfJ8JTmWk_gNzvGTKZsFROlyDc77lq6fBPaXZjcp-x7ZpIpirwGIp8ThcdpIbst_XOD0Oj80lTgCASocj4jTZrJfCb-TCs852hXzFW68zQU1_7wzy69tNE7/s400/IMG_2537.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's missing islands and some of the smaller European countries, but it's way better than no map at all and another good learning opportunity. I had to let go of a lot of expectations, and as Voltaire would say, not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. </span>Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-230182421234386612013-09-29T18:01:00.003-07:002013-09-29T21:17:17.583-07:00Such Great Heights<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s been confirmed in an official-like manner that I’m the
highest PCV in the whole world. One of
our doctors here took it upon himself to ask the doctors in Nepal if they had
anyone over 4,000 meters. The Nepalese
doctors responded with something like, “No, that’s crazy!” so at 4,125 meters
(13,500 ft.), I officially hold the title. Pretty cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was a little embarrassed when Dr. Jorge sent out a note
with the news all of Peace Corps Peru, but, I’m used to infamy and being made a
spectacle by Peruvians by now, so I’ll go with it. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's not so bad living at the top of the world, once you get used to it.</span></div>
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Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-67383880426713932152013-09-29T17:57:00.001-07:002013-09-29T21:16:26.511-07:00A Garden Party<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Every night, I heat up some oil in a pan, add onion and
garlic, then whatever other vegetables I bought at the market that week. Spinach, bell pepper, tomatoes, broccoli, sometimes
that one that looks like a cactus. Once
that’s going, I add the protein. Usually
an egg (from our duck if I’m lucky), or some chicken or alpaca if I was feeling
fancy. Then the seasoning. Some salt, oregano, or maybe some of my
closely guarded curry powder. And that’s
it. I eat it out of the pan (because who
am I putting on airs for?) with my only fork.
This is what it usually looks like.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2TyvDZBIIBnBABlIdpvwYl1bNvCDSKoudR_68FT0q9kG0wOGO_L5ZxjHTu9rA1MXmQmk3Z29X2C5amFoZUFshjitroCiFP_LtnNbuWFR26gseua9-cwz1ufWAmIVyenXQ45Iq63WT22b/s1600/IMG_2500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS2TyvDZBIIBnBABlIdpvwYl1bNvCDSKoudR_68FT0q9kG0wOGO_L5ZxjHTu9rA1MXmQmk3Z29X2C5amFoZUFshjitroCiFP_LtnNbuWFR26gseua9-cwz1ufWAmIVyenXQ45Iq63WT22b/s400/IMG_2500.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s a functional meal.
It tastes good enough and is the most meaningful amount of vegetables I
encounter every day. That particular
duck egg was awesome. But until last
week, I had forgotten how wonderful it can be to cook when you invest time,
money, and have more people to feed than your own self. Let me back up. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We have a successful little veggie garden at a primary
school called Quilcacancha. I recently wrote
a post about our lettuce harvest. That
was a precursor to our big harvest party, which we had in the middle of
September. I wanted to celebrate that we
were actually able to grow vegetables at 13,500 feet. The plan was to make a bunch of food with the
vegetables and invite the parents over to share the meal and learn about the
garden.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After it took my students over an hour to put a salad
together, I abandoned any ideas of us cooking together and made most of the
food at home ahead of time. When I got
to the school the day of the party, we harvested a bunch of spinach and made a
lovely salad with strawberries and cheese. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When everything was set up, we played a little frisbee while
we waited for parents to show up.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We had 9 moms come to the party. I was happy since it’s a school of only 35
kids and it’s rare to have anybody show up for anything, whether or not
there’ll be free food. I had some time
to sit and chat with them about recipes, why it’s good to cook with veggies,
and growing them ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was happy with how all the food turned out. We had garlic beets<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Coleslaw<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our spinach salad.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Quinoa with veggies<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And ginger carrot soup, which was my personal favorite. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everything was made from ingredients grown in our garden our
bought in town, and the kids ate a surprising amount of food for being children
who rarely encounter veggies. The moms
were more into it and were excited to try similar things at home. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At the end of the meal, the principal of the school stood up
and gave a nice talk about nutrition and the role of parents in feeding their
children well. She also said some really
nice things about me and my work at the school.
A lot of times, I feel like people have no idea what I’m doing here or
that I’m putting upon them to work with me.
It was wonderful to be thanked and appreciated for a little while. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All in all, it was a big success. Everyone ate and had a good time, which is
all I could ask for. The next time I go
to the school, I’m going to send all the kids home with starts to plant at
their houses and a list of recipes for all the dishes we ate. Hooray for vegetables! </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-49152909460958065992013-09-29T16:20:00.001-07:002013-09-29T16:20:30.801-07:00Mistura<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We were lucky enough to have our COS conference overlap with
the Mistura food festival in Lima.
Mistura is a world-reknowned gathering of all the best Peruvian food
from the jungle, mountains, and coast.
The diversity of Peruvian environments and cultures creates some
kick-ass food. I know I complain about
what I eat with my host family, but this wasn’t the cuisine of poor people at
the upper altitudes of possible human existence. This was the best each region had to
offer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our strategy was to go as a team so we could split up the
cost and taste as many things as possible.
I even planned my outfit for the occasion and it was one of the few
times in Peru I’ve worn a dress. Looking
chic was a bonus, the main utility was to avoid any pants restrictions on belly
expansion. We all spent a bunch of money
and ended up with healthy food babies.
I’m normally exasperated by people taking pictures of food they ate and
putting it on the internet, but I’m going to do it anyway today. I think this is a legit uploading of food
pictures situation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We started in the chocolate tent, which was obviously my
favorite and merited another visit on the way out. Peru has wonderful local chocolate. Some of it organic, some basic, some very
fancy. The vendors were liberal with their
samples and made me wish I had brought a fake moustache so I could immediately
revisit my favorites. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjASDbkszaf5E-ueqf-MQeoQwlBl3-1ZwCurO7I4sG1-NFoXzt69sZqNdqquJuibYT15ZXqMj7sM33-_rx8gTvhs6bLBAf3PNKcKPes5_dpl50s0whPsPaiO4S2E4GAqO18P8aMyKtVTYk/s1600/IMG_2389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjASDbkszaf5E-ueqf-MQeoQwlBl3-1ZwCurO7I4sG1-NFoXzt69sZqNdqquJuibYT15ZXqMj7sM33-_rx8gTvhs6bLBAf3PNKcKPes5_dpl50s0whPsPaiO4S2E4GAqO18P8aMyKtVTYk/s400/IMG_2389.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Whatever this pudding thing was was the best thing I ate all
day, despite what the lady standing behind my friends thinks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbX5Hqe_ksEtRZ4m0NFw_MXqYcYdTtwLRScK2ZiXh_U0OFLUyYwFd2duTJVf9Hyq77diFmO7ZIj9MzOen9KLPxaQBnTzCGWSyE2ZxbTCzrTmK91U4olz-p1UrQORTtWJAX8hkIINXD2cAv/s1600/IMG_2387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbX5Hqe_ksEtRZ4m0NFw_MXqYcYdTtwLRScK2ZiXh_U0OFLUyYwFd2duTJVf9Hyq77diFmO7ZIj9MzOen9KLPxaQBnTzCGWSyE2ZxbTCzrTmK91U4olz-p1UrQORTtWJAX8hkIINXD2cAv/s400/IMG_2387.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fancy truffles. They
did not want to give me one of these for free.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkqc6sgrwwwszrTAggVyCiQsR9j1-j-SaCP_x0N_nb5oeyf5Ec-5P48Dqj15GLpZIXwIG3t0ABgVd3hAyrmU39kQssNumun_NTGqFIfxuMst8k8yry_gcevmw8hcwrq8cH1HsMQpsPYMp/s1600/IMG_2393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkqc6sgrwwwszrTAggVyCiQsR9j1-j-SaCP_x0N_nb5oeyf5Ec-5P48Dqj15GLpZIXwIG3t0ABgVd3hAyrmU39kQssNumun_NTGqFIfxuMst8k8yry_gcevmw8hcwrq8cH1HsMQpsPYMp/s400/IMG_2393.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chocolate sushi!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8sMTXPeTp2yQMXn-6OBPWRzuoKibGAjPr1LxX-2Tpv5_DDelWVC50RqXOZpplhhwAFVfAvQQd7Rzg3FIL88Oipl_c6_TvftRu11WZF_eAVVOH50P0uo9TaYpxGQEkgz8xQAiURHpy8idL/s1600/IMG_2394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8sMTXPeTp2yQMXn-6OBPWRzuoKibGAjPr1LxX-2Tpv5_DDelWVC50RqXOZpplhhwAFVfAvQQd7Rzg3FIL88Oipl_c6_TvftRu11WZF_eAVVOH50P0uo9TaYpxGQEkgz8xQAiURHpy8idL/s400/IMG_2394.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We then meandered over to the coffee tent, where we sampled
the most expensive coffee in the world. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKzzb5SZkqEu_jSXrEz7i_EHtKNDh7QWCo3MIDaB84RrktIx09ucMDQFUDHSY8lH6IQuSCNluCasSrdQPL7aV8SAIUyOonLtRKfG64oPc4Jub1bYeeduVrbwSsAhcvSr5hSg9VxdY06Ub/s1600/IMG_2402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKzzb5SZkqEu_jSXrEz7i_EHtKNDh7QWCo3MIDaB84RrktIx09ucMDQFUDHSY8lH6IQuSCNluCasSrdQPL7aV8SAIUyOonLtRKfG64oPc4Jub1bYeeduVrbwSsAhcvSr5hSg9VxdY06Ub/s400/IMG_2402.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why the most expensive, you ask?
Well, my friend, there’s a premium because each bean is eaten and then
pooped out by a coati before it’s roasted, which apparently does amazing things
for the boquet. I am not sophisticated
enough to detect the subtle notes of giant rodent intestines. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There was this lovely mural showing how awesome coffee
is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GQXU554tMIXW0l8-KtwSZLsTYEilgiMnXDc5u5z050p2BpDNYKiV8n4YQ0AcL6lfWIImgrY_BDEM8JT_AbVhLzGKPvNQM5r4kiL5hhzDjq8KTWdwvqd9Xlr7EFhWLvh3CD6VdSZdh9Ec/s1600/IMG_2406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GQXU554tMIXW0l8-KtwSZLsTYEilgiMnXDc5u5z050p2BpDNYKiV8n4YQ0AcL6lfWIImgrY_BDEM8JT_AbVhLzGKPvNQM5r4kiL5hhzDjq8KTWdwvqd9Xlr7EFhWLvh3CD6VdSZdh9Ec/s400/IMG_2406.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We moved over to the quinoa tent where we tried a quinoa
tamale, quinoa apple jam, and admired all the colors the grain comes in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ttcIl0PGxh_LJX3VZ4TiFETS5Ba6EudzBDDhNG5ic6AxljNDHy2yNd7rkWlEl1U-ktNHM95OXX4ByVbXB6kRaGxBzK07o2kADL5wZ5zqOKVZ2GMcELM3BtvnFns8PW21gWdwRMwsXAdj/s1600/IMG_2409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ttcIl0PGxh_LJX3VZ4TiFETS5Ba6EudzBDDhNG5ic6AxljNDHy2yNd7rkWlEl1U-ktNHM95OXX4ByVbXB6kRaGxBzK07o2kADL5wZ5zqOKVZ2GMcELM3BtvnFns8PW21gWdwRMwsXAdj/s400/IMG_2409.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There was a market where a lot of the produce was available
to buy. Tubers, my old friends, made an
impressive showing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMHIeTVlqqPprzDnHUGkl6h66a92GNFN4OPEiMe1EZowJPT0TkicIGuyS2OOt40fbt6ph3D5CuPdcwaannP9p16PnjEQjUKBEb6MAGz-Xv9lgD9W3lcrDC8KxiQ60eGRCp499_rnLW58e/s1600/IMG_2411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMHIeTVlqqPprzDnHUGkl6h66a92GNFN4OPEiMe1EZowJPT0TkicIGuyS2OOt40fbt6ph3D5CuPdcwaannP9p16PnjEQjUKBEb6MAGz-Xv9lgD9W3lcrDC8KxiQ60eGRCp499_rnLW58e/s400/IMG_2411.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBQ4V2hkE1fasSdQcC_Up_P4OYG2SQd2rV4yrkPgoZrOUYLo3TqraghXtPjmBhg-o9hq35sYF7TxDcA1WeEhStSz-gaBtH87NTywtoyLyFVqQMS-A00HwtlIKzK-rgN38hLO-7aZlqzui/s1600/IMG_2413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxBQ4V2hkE1fasSdQcC_Up_P4OYG2SQd2rV4yrkPgoZrOUYLo3TqraghXtPjmBhg-o9hq35sYF7TxDcA1WeEhStSz-gaBtH87NTywtoyLyFVqQMS-A00HwtlIKzK-rgN38hLO-7aZlqzui/s400/IMG_2413.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not even the flower arrangements were left unpotatoed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2uJTCCW0T8a0T5d7ZTzM_HroSXZaIqRAKID15-070v5NfO21AehaZEXepdzGUFAysOPAUaeUQGJz4Nw_hOktOoGEcUhqjG7m0SoS7jIHbGafsrTuQ6KnlocLd5stKoHYaExlC1U6r5Fw/s1600/IMG_2410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2uJTCCW0T8a0T5d7ZTzM_HroSXZaIqRAKID15-070v5NfO21AehaZEXepdzGUFAysOPAUaeUQGJz4Nw_hOktOoGEcUhqjG7m0SoS7jIHbGafsrTuQ6KnlocLd5stKoHYaExlC1U6r5Fw/s400/IMG_2410.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Of course, there were more samples of honey, cheese,
chorizo, hot sauce, and exotic liqueurs.
We mixed them all in our bellies with abandon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We just looked around the bread tent. It was pretty, but you can't go filling up on it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiQZ89ddE0isAxKdObGB2TkR8WckpWEg0RJKpOXn75prW04UCMzLF1uCEId8a3BGuX2GR6sib-i6iV5m1dEcQNRWtBvQ26ISZs_GEXVjLUNfvaGLDzmksmPBNGMpizy233u-1UOC2yrYT/s1600/IMG_2414.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSiQZ89ddE0isAxKdObGB2TkR8WckpWEg0RJKpOXn75prW04UCMzLF1uCEId8a3BGuX2GR6sib-i6iV5m1dEcQNRWtBvQ26ISZs_GEXVjLUNfvaGLDzmksmPBNGMpizy233u-1UOC2yrYT/s400/IMG_2414.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We stopped by the costal section for a really cheesy
sandwich and some excellent anticuchos, or beef heart kebabs. Here are the cooks doing their magic and my
friend Joseph bravely double fisting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSwvU5kFSC3ooZBRr0AhmzMuQTkfQcjEHSi7iu6EDoKBjejAikZF56wmvG2nbnqUxDh7tjpnMVU6qrMQ476oIZkdN6GaMNdg9CgPbRye8-0UMHxyZR_mQh9R3iE6-dbk-hQbUdYsOm53Q/s1600/IMG_2415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxSwvU5kFSC3ooZBRr0AhmzMuQTkfQcjEHSi7iu6EDoKBjejAikZF56wmvG2nbnqUxDh7tjpnMVU6qrMQ476oIZkdN6GaMNdg9CgPbRye8-0UMHxyZR_mQh9R3iE6-dbk-hQbUdYsOm53Q/s400/IMG_2415.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipGa1ZNJ7OHW5ThGYvEoOupBbDM_9PlOwEO2nt15bCNC3dmDLNiJe7kpNETKxMZcW1FysxH26Rl5_yk-2S27K3-7vXOP9yD7KaEW74fRXnO3UyAerBJ8jD3D7nBwp8L1RAAsfA2CxvoYDf/s1600/IMG_2416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipGa1ZNJ7OHW5ThGYvEoOupBbDM_9PlOwEO2nt15bCNC3dmDLNiJe7kpNETKxMZcW1FysxH26Rl5_yk-2S27K3-7vXOP9yD7KaEW74fRXnO3UyAerBJ8jD3D7nBwp8L1RAAsfA2CxvoYDf/s400/IMG_2416.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By then we needed some liquid, so thankfully there was a
whole pisco section. We shared pisco
cocktails with lemongrass and passionfruit with mango. They got us just tipsy enough to be able to
eat more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUzBMTtBXRm9FdRilUxDcetaS0YA8I0-c1qL1d63ByLRzxTeZpmaCJl0UCTp8t-ngGrHmkdXxIVHVYyZaaOd0YDq8OktBHingm53ot-qomlkSXUBwJNaBk07MiuFwhb_tGhtNkd9GFLZX/s1600/IMG_2422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUzBMTtBXRm9FdRilUxDcetaS0YA8I0-c1qL1d63ByLRzxTeZpmaCJl0UCTp8t-ngGrHmkdXxIVHVYyZaaOd0YDq8OktBHingm53ot-qomlkSXUBwJNaBk07MiuFwhb_tGhtNkd9GFLZX/s400/IMG_2422.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg7r_Cvgcg1XrEVB3nu3J24Z50ijPzC1Z4pRRm3RKNiw8ywNPCUYW9ps54Bm4CR5ZfuNBUqSptE6wsc4ytaeffZgabG-UXL0qhHCQj_l5gJA1DKU4slqU85PX5dZxoocbAwn8n2KHxm9HU/s1600/IMG_2423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg7r_Cvgcg1XrEVB3nu3J24Z50ijPzC1Z4pRRm3RKNiw8ywNPCUYW9ps54Bm4CR5ZfuNBUqSptE6wsc4ytaeffZgabG-UXL0qhHCQj_l5gJA1DKU4slqU85PX5dZxoocbAwn8n2KHxm9HU/s400/IMG_2423.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We headed to the southern tent where we tried chupe de
camarrones, which is a seafood soup from Arequipa, and queso helado, which is
like cream cheese frosting ice cream with cinnamon on top. Happy times. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3vNsBz7i7X4Oo6N1lpzVuiP8ontrsVNZ83x7NW3Ws3ykHdkRrgAc5HTxAW8GAU60zpAU6gE_bGuQ-oQfMiS1dsDm-dn1FIHSLGUjBM-OQOjylfdzA-qKq3l9kDb0kPe_GDa1KvwHtAoT/s1600/IMG_2429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3vNsBz7i7X4Oo6N1lpzVuiP8ontrsVNZ83x7NW3Ws3ykHdkRrgAc5HTxAW8GAU60zpAU6gE_bGuQ-oQfMiS1dsDm-dn1FIHSLGUjBM-OQOjylfdzA-qKq3l9kDb0kPe_GDa1KvwHtAoT/s400/IMG_2429.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Folks in Arequipan dress making queso helado. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWs7qpVvKsS2MTr7Zm3k1bMrtoEyWQSUxbqWDz8WJGtFSkVVCm0rFLSYRv2BJU5cubNuMcL18R18CZlo_5witJ9sl8ffdfsPWtX2jtygo7Y9tiK_4-Mz8d7WEOWhYhU-mRu02rhhqasve/s1600/IMG_2427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWs7qpVvKsS2MTr7Zm3k1bMrtoEyWQSUxbqWDz8WJGtFSkVVCm0rFLSYRv2BJU5cubNuMcL18R18CZlo_5witJ9sl8ffdfsPWtX2jtygo7Y9tiK_4-Mz8d7WEOWhYhU-mRu02rhhqasve/s400/IMG_2427.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mmm, brains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWyGIRMV7c6XQrDfrDsnxSfHoqZrPfaHPJXsHXn5vT-tUlaobRtVegPAEFQjh2dq1fGF-zFsSaORHfRvYUnEqhKfMUAme8pm0GGx7u0rNL0GuSVoyThUxMcFqhrbTf40i7-uJx3ImaBi8D/s1600/IMG_2430.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWyGIRMV7c6XQrDfrDsnxSfHoqZrPfaHPJXsHXn5vT-tUlaobRtVegPAEFQjh2dq1fGF-zFsSaORHfRvYUnEqhKfMUAme8pm0GGx7u0rNL0GuSVoyThUxMcFqhrbTf40i7-uJx3ImaBi8D/s400/IMG_2430.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We meandered to the northern tent where we got cabrito con
tamal verde (goat with a green tamale).
I’d never had goat before and was surprised how it fell off the
bone. There was also a delicious duck
dish that I only got a scrap of. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We waddled over to the jungle tent, and regretted saving it
for last. We split cecina con tacacho,
which is a dish from the Amazonas department.
Cecina is like really awesome, smoky, thick bacon, and tacacho is mashed
potatoes if you made it with plantains. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97PhAwSknZpEEcPeb5TudBDAaExZ_7bKyloUf3pAoS_MsMagfD90t2mpIAmWuJtP4_YDRLu9qjpbgbJOV6ETLCHO2Y8y1l1df0NFY45YZEt3NzJBRxCg0lb0si72Ty8awBw4BkBSfh2-F/s1600/IMG_2432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97PhAwSknZpEEcPeb5TudBDAaExZ_7bKyloUf3pAoS_MsMagfD90t2mpIAmWuJtP4_YDRLu9qjpbgbJOV6ETLCHO2Y8y1l1df0NFY45YZEt3NzJBRxCg0lb0si72Ty8awBw4BkBSfh2-F/s400/IMG_2432.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We also tried paiche, a giant Amazon river fish with fresh
mushrooms. The last thing we had was a
juane de pescado, which is mashed yucca around fish cooked in a banana
leaf. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghF0A8EcAQfK4-aOGb07RgDeYoa3Dglea76QT4oeugUhyphenhyphenhLqvLCqCJsopMpXubvK8DCZqpiI8c6LCx2qy1MFejv4xotw2gdidOyJmTaxShBh60Dyz74dgVQ_9SoXFpU6LJ6wrGXE9mM__2/s1600/IMG_2436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghF0A8EcAQfK4-aOGb07RgDeYoa3Dglea76QT4oeugUhyphenhyphenhLqvLCqCJsopMpXubvK8DCZqpiI8c6LCx2qy1MFejv4xotw2gdidOyJmTaxShBh60Dyz74dgVQ_9SoXFpU6LJ6wrGXE9mM__2/s400/IMG_2436.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After a brief swing through the
market and chocolate tents to buy things to take home, we went to the hostel
and succumbed to food comas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This culinary adventure was a testament to the power of
friendship. Alone, I never would’ve been
able to try so many remarkable dishes; my belly and wallet just aren’t powerful
enough. But with friends, you can try a
bite of everything at the food festival without dire digestive or economic
consequences. Hurrah for friendship! </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-18380977036152040892013-09-29T15:53:00.004-07:002013-09-29T15:53:37.293-07:00COS<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">During the first week of September, Peru 18, which consists
of Environment, Water and Sanitation, and Health volunteers had our final medical
checks and Close of Service conference. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The medical checks were intense. I was poked, prodded, drained, swabbed,
drilled, measured, and injected. At one
point, I was walking to the local lab with a purse full of my friends’ stool
samples and thought that if I ever were to get robbed, that would be the
time. Despite the invasiveness of those
two days, it felt good to be thoroughly checked out after two years of poor
nutrition, questionable decision-making, and the touchiest digestive system
this side of the equator. It turns out
that I’m almost perfectly healthy. The
only noteworthy discoveries were a slightly concave sternum, hemoglobin levels
of a sherpa, and naturally, some resident giardia. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The conference itself was unremarkable. Lots of information about paperwork,
logistics of getting home, and most importantly, how and when I’ll be getting
my fat stacks of a readjustment allowance.
In true sierra lady style, I brought my knitting to keep from falling
asleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For some reason, it didn’t occur to me before the trip that
this would be the last time I’d see many of my friends, and it would certainly
be the last time we were all together. We
stayed up late every night catching up, sharing stories and crappy beer and
boxes of wine. When the week ended and
folks started to trickle away to their sites, it hit me right in my dented
sternum that this was the end of a singular experience in my life. I didn’t see my volunteer friends all the
time. Some I hadn’t seen since the
previous December when we were all in Lima.
But, those rare times when we were together, it was like we’d never been
apart. We’ve only known each other two
years, but we’ve formed intimate and understanding relationships the likes of
which I don’t know if I’ll have again.
They saw me miserably sick, dismayed, furious, frustrated, bitter, and
elated. We speak the same atrocious
Spanglish with a dab of Quechua thrown in to each other. They’re the people I call when something
falls apart despite my best efforts, or succeeds beyond all reason. They reflect my every idea and emotion back
at me because they’ve had them, too.
We’ve created the kind of friendships that are formed when people go
through hardships together and support each other. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now it’s almost over.
I looked forlornly out the window, alone on my bus ride back to
site. I’m excited to get home to my
family, my old friends, and all the comforts of America. But I won’t be going back the same, and even
though my service has been difficult beyond imagining at times, there are
irreplaceable things I’ll be leaving behind.
So it goes. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-33446764503665249632013-09-29T15:52:00.002-07:002013-09-29T15:52:36.344-07:00Trienta de Agosto<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My town has a big fiesta from the 28<sup>th</sup> of August
to the 3<sup>rd</sup> of September to celebrate Santa Rosa de Lima, or Saint
Rose of Lima. There are 11 guys called
Mayordomos who are in charge of the party that year. They hire the bands, organize dance troupes,
and cook enough food to invite the whole town over between all of them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It all starts with the pishtapacuy at the Mayordomos’ houses
where animals are slaughtered in preparation for the hordes that will descend
as the fiesta gets going. Thankfully,
I’ve been able to busy myself with other things on that day. Afterwards, there are many days of dancing
huayno, eating meat, and public drunkenness.
It’s pretty fun for a little while.
I like to go check out the dancing in the plaza in the middle of the
day, before people are too rambunctious, then hide in my house outside of town
when things get going at night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first day of dancing was for all the schoolkids. It was pretty freaking cute.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I took this video walking down the street where all the
groups were cueing to dance. </span></div>
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<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxlJg1poNtHLlVyWTqgqpP-ig5a9Uvho3IJBbPmlZCCFH0IFileJAPv37Ey0NtVhcw9A7784zRM6TWjP-cElw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You’ll
notice how I ignored the jackass high school students shouting the only English
they know in my direction. Hilarious
every time, you guys. Also, it was
4pm. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here are all the mamalitas waiting for the show to
start. I love how they all have a buddy
to talk to.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNo5KyU2vNA5vTeKwyv8jqNv5mAbFyVjGDezm8n7cRA59WIL0X6joAYzNyjwI2J5gwoM45kf2EwBE6RNKNnwgGO5nXAFpNUKLFV8g7xVhy6OSgCMXvTgpLjdoxpv3dJJmWqYB-1pKnK41/s1600/IMG_2318.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNo5KyU2vNA5vTeKwyv8jqNv5mAbFyVjGDezm8n7cRA59WIL0X6joAYzNyjwI2J5gwoM45kf2EwBE6RNKNnwgGO5nXAFpNUKLFV8g7xVhy6OSgCMXvTgpLjdoxpv3dJJmWqYB-1pKnK41/s400/IMG_2318.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was crowded.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGm5kRobEfb0UmTMIPnv8DxJB-m2nIkyimCJGYnmf_wsMr93ZyyUCRET4XG03e0qH3nuiG8k4cTHD6m1ppWutWgHHpT5xUpGDPqJvOpGGs2m3eK61KwfHs2ZsiWC44Lw0cuArrLDL9QooN/s1600/IMG_2319.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGm5kRobEfb0UmTMIPnv8DxJB-m2nIkyimCJGYnmf_wsMr93ZyyUCRET4XG03e0qH3nuiG8k4cTHD6m1ppWutWgHHpT5xUpGDPqJvOpGGs2m3eK61KwfHs2ZsiWC44Lw0cuArrLDL9QooN/s400/IMG_2319.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sometimes it’s awesome to be a giant among mere
mortals. I’ll never get such a good view
at parades or concerts when I go back to the states.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qBwRU2C8FeT6obVifuv0WJZa_RXON5XVXxCQ_A6x6icP7xlHtdgnRC8O6O0_W_exfWZZ5C10QWtmNspgFyiNh8wjlGu4xakoPHCgYMh-uUymKzZzmLT88QA8MgagA9VjsDVwmBgpHsW7/s1600/IMG_2329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qBwRU2C8FeT6obVifuv0WJZa_RXON5XVXxCQ_A6x6icP7xlHtdgnRC8O6O0_W_exfWZZ5C10QWtmNspgFyiNh8wjlGu4xakoPHCgYMh-uUymKzZzmLT88QA8MgagA9VjsDVwmBgpHsW7/s400/IMG_2329.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here’s David looking super cute and ready to be part of the
parade. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNuOLP0HzEziXln6ZWDchnuu6IptLKwXnNAEe8JHTBwqcPrywG6rsajSdr9wy8MwHXka9QRBzyO7kGby7BACexHxAF6ZDY_Px2sX4KURp-4KGQQYHiegw-jq4QE6qf1kj0noJfhMsaH45u/s1600/IMG_2320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNuOLP0HzEziXln6ZWDchnuu6IptLKwXnNAEe8JHTBwqcPrywG6rsajSdr9wy8MwHXka9QRBzyO7kGby7BACexHxAF6ZDY_Px2sX4KURp-4KGQQYHiegw-jq4QE6qf1kj0noJfhMsaH45u/s400/IMG_2320.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was super cold, so I went to get an emoliente, which is a
hot tea like drink made with the stuff from all those colored bottles. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzKuXOCBFDayGsIkU1fD8IMMFGTz43eM24LYgLLgya81cWUU4Yeq9pHBqiF2EUXPCTfFgGCd1AnUaRdUZV3UgjXt9-syWsqDGLqP93GjadMWEIPBmDp31C_Eka9zcBWZGfMf7-g0Vo7To/s1600/IMG_2340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglzKuXOCBFDayGsIkU1fD8IMMFGTz43eM24LYgLLgya81cWUU4Yeq9pHBqiF2EUXPCTfFgGCd1AnUaRdUZV3UgjXt9-syWsqDGLqP93GjadMWEIPBmDp31C_Eka9zcBWZGfMf7-g0Vo7To/s400/IMG_2340.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The brownish one is flaxseed extract, which makes it thick,
the green one is alfalfa, the red is a medicinal herb, light green is lime
juice, and you’ve got me on the orange bottle.
The lady mixes it all up with hot water and honey and it’s just the
ticket when the umbles of hypothermia start to set in.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRlauj2l_lVDWwZ0Dwed5GBQDpkT5HQ9fY8Mf9DOAFmbWAWgZApkIu6y-B19IAtUfaYVNjTD67wJY2JgZ-YdJmhqlwqe5ISJUiaZ6vHy-vMua7efG1dYR8StZaHq_4rVmypCBylyDJaCz/s1600/IMG_2341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRlauj2l_lVDWwZ0Dwed5GBQDpkT5HQ9fY8Mf9DOAFmbWAWgZApkIu6y-B19IAtUfaYVNjTD67wJY2JgZ-YdJmhqlwqe5ISJUiaZ6vHy-vMua7efG1dYR8StZaHq_4rVmypCBylyDJaCz/s400/IMG_2341.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Refreshed, I went and found some of my students.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1QFg4XADUItoex-neidqQxRdMQqkBrAMyvloxnqVJxpPPnn5CibiXwOMDQPlCC8oeyZpJlgKdDZUL3_Q4wokYRr1zsbvcbreUkSQpoBeMj3SuXZ-pKDyGHpIS4-L-UnRZHJJqTIz7pGf/s1600/IMG_2350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1QFg4XADUItoex-neidqQxRdMQqkBrAMyvloxnqVJxpPPnn5CibiXwOMDQPlCC8oeyZpJlgKdDZUL3_Q4wokYRr1zsbvcbreUkSQpoBeMj3SuXZ-pKDyGHpIS4-L-UnRZHJJqTIz7pGf/s400/IMG_2350.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOyezqrZ_A91i3zUWXCmosPV1QPtS5UHZHifhjpL90ZQmc-4q309LsYVpYzKqA7tJDKW3ufLFdIFV2BI-WE3ep5HNLUpwObjoLiBfd-sFt6RpUXzV1XLQcLLiZVCUJ-rhR4EUDy3u4Twq/s1600/IMG_2353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOOyezqrZ_A91i3zUWXCmosPV1QPtS5UHZHifhjpL90ZQmc-4q309LsYVpYzKqA7tJDKW3ufLFdIFV2BI-WE3ep5HNLUpwObjoLiBfd-sFt6RpUXzV1XLQcLLiZVCUJ-rhR4EUDy3u4Twq/s400/IMG_2353.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have no explanation for this.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1mHP6A91OncPk-vO8-2KLjUmnJfRj-dDNXFSohTlMFtDzbvn6CONfTisNdnBEqo6GvQuouuMvNm8c0V34y_G3rlnRzF7PXU9XXPdlOBsXIb8SD2PGBDeHZTfSkjyc9cUNHuIYcctl8ZF/s1600/IMG_2351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1mHP6A91OncPk-vO8-2KLjUmnJfRj-dDNXFSohTlMFtDzbvn6CONfTisNdnBEqo6GvQuouuMvNm8c0V34y_G3rlnRzF7PXU9XXPdlOBsXIb8SD2PGBDeHZTfSkjyc9cUNHuIYcctl8ZF/s400/IMG_2351.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Or this.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkPgnOFmaGwfUSNevPtgEMT-d2-HaRo7g7jK-gYNLFJ7cUH8vWe65iaETud5AVppIRwfUhV2dVFX5sCAFhW2KYpy7AGdYjly6rOTdgNr7rI3p7F-Vid97mJK12KwgCDfw_OOOUlI1LtRlV/s1600/IMG_2354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkPgnOFmaGwfUSNevPtgEMT-d2-HaRo7g7jK-gYNLFJ7cUH8vWe65iaETud5AVppIRwfUhV2dVFX5sCAFhW2KYpy7AGdYjly6rOTdgNr7rI3p7F-Vid97mJK12KwgCDfw_OOOUlI1LtRlV/s400/IMG_2354.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day two was for parading around the idol of Santa Rosa de
Lima. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNeQ16X8yxFVR3jpn65H0KzqbYLNh7c93to1FJ5J6xNz6M8jktXV8J6gHfxSd0UhB2zDf_GAs60Yvs7jpfCG2qWpAhC7Zc2G19n_ZoGTRra9q-Ddq5NCBl-5FdNtuAehOgnI4FGIalfFr/s1600/IMG_2378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNeQ16X8yxFVR3jpn65H0KzqbYLNh7c93to1FJ5J6xNz6M8jktXV8J6gHfxSd0UhB2zDf_GAs60Yvs7jpfCG2qWpAhC7Zc2G19n_ZoGTRra9q-Ddq5NCBl-5FdNtuAehOgnI4FGIalfFr/s400/IMG_2378.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The next day of dancing was for all the Mayordomos’ dance
troupes to compete. Each group had hired
a band, and they all played and danced right next to each other in the plaza,
creating a competing saxophone ruckus you wouldn’t believe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No really, can we talk about the number of saxophones? </span><o:p></o:p><br />
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Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-49237002011962540492013-09-03T16:22:00.002-07:002013-09-03T16:22:50.350-07:00Snow Day<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On August 27<sup>th</sup>, in the middle of the supposed dry
season, we had the first real snow I’ve seen in Carhuamayo. Not thunder hail, not crazy frost, for real
flaky fluffy snow. I got Elka out on an
early morning dog walk.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mWTWKCqgGxLOv2i7ctFM1Z3Uq975yV6_qaHQeQm0TFtKouMZhmxlP54NPOtQYvvMfCn7gSJ5V8hflv07ikUnGb1mcBtzcfZ3NqD3IDQHwsoic4i2mOy5aFqxJyE-ucW8Vaq3RLUfGDzh/s1600/IMG_2292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mWTWKCqgGxLOv2i7ctFM1Z3Uq975yV6_qaHQeQm0TFtKouMZhmxlP54NPOtQYvvMfCn7gSJ5V8hflv07ikUnGb1mcBtzcfZ3NqD3IDQHwsoic4i2mOy5aFqxJyE-ucW8Vaq3RLUfGDzh/s400/IMG_2292.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, as the day went on it got to 32.1 degrees and
began to pour the coldest rain imaginable.
I had to go out to do some work with the health post, and this is how I
dressed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwiHfwz8l7flVdCvmGw1W3dc5DPQZBIZtGkhXich7z6-ERcvYhRxYYdAd4GI2ZBqTcspDUMKlfQAJHC4b1Tz1u_JTJm7S3foYUzT9j1hL-rNdhSG0MWiVPOyGVxwnc3v8K8Wq7loXpQL0/s1600/IMG_2307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwiHfwz8l7flVdCvmGw1W3dc5DPQZBIZtGkhXich7z6-ERcvYhRxYYdAd4GI2ZBqTcspDUMKlfQAJHC4b1Tz1u_JTJm7S3foYUzT9j1hL-rNdhSG0MWiVPOyGVxwnc3v8K8Wq7loXpQL0/s400/IMG_2307.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I had on a tshirt, thermal, heavy fleece, raincoat, scarf,
hat, and two pairs of pants. It looks
like I stuck my head in Predator’s mouth.
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-46006742258997574112013-09-03T16:11:00.002-07:002013-09-03T22:20:14.326-07:00Poop Soup<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I recently went to help my volunteer friend Grant install a
biodigestor in his site. I traveled down
to Ulcumayo, we walked the half out outside of town to an agricultural outpost
of the high school, and started the installation with the middling help of a
group of high school kids. For those of
you not in the know, a biodigestor is essentially a big balloon that you fill
up with animal poop to produce natural gas for cooking. The excrement ferments and creates gas that
flows through a tube to the stove. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">First, we had to clean and fix the sophisticated plastic and
Styrofoam lining. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tiOzCaGogq-pj149ytLy9TD2W8iIAtP9bDqQCs6LEnHeXvEC3uSvIR8_TfT9qZ8_jMJDh20fPsNaZWS0QonX1krzi9Ucfx94FgueVyexku-wuRwvdCwE_bjwQ1aLWFnf8nSaUaazF6Pr/s1600/IMG_2245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tiOzCaGogq-pj149ytLy9TD2W8iIAtP9bDqQCs6LEnHeXvEC3uSvIR8_TfT9qZ8_jMJDh20fPsNaZWS0QonX1krzi9Ucfx94FgueVyexku-wuRwvdCwE_bjwQ1aLWFnf8nSaUaazF6Pr/s400/IMG_2245.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The guy posing like a nude on a daybed is the teacher. He was exactly as helpful as he looks.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8YOibMv3c2JpEW5OUpqskwgYznJsub_zRm8hH5ytFWAwVulUWeFLX29otwiviW-Spik63ltZ8S9hoHIiUVmmrKw66l0kRhEqSSGKrbZHlnpi9e7DfV4Nu35-lUWmI7jIDfUkTGzkKHCJ/s1600/IMG_2248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8YOibMv3c2JpEW5OUpqskwgYznJsub_zRm8hH5ytFWAwVulUWeFLX29otwiviW-Spik63ltZ8S9hoHIiUVmmrKw66l0kRhEqSSGKrbZHlnpi9e7DfV4Nu35-lUWmI7jIDfUkTGzkKHCJ/s400/IMG_2248.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We rolled out the biodigestor and filled it with air. That was a fun process that involved filling
another plastic tube with air and then squeezing it into the biodigestor. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qFcbCjXO_osJ4gKGdeWKhcCgiRj8xuk7hMR4NhAoSB1ciLnbJQ3f3h_PeOyulJ8k8YMVX71Ja2qct4e93TId8W5-iowgRnG-NCyEvpAuEpYv8SZQXNtSyBTp4xDljGnhzKp9fST3Ynun/s1600/IMG_2257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qFcbCjXO_osJ4gKGdeWKhcCgiRj8xuk7hMR4NhAoSB1ciLnbJQ3f3h_PeOyulJ8k8YMVX71Ja2qct4e93TId8W5-iowgRnG-NCyEvpAuEpYv8SZQXNtSyBTp4xDljGnhzKp9fST3Ynun/s400/IMG_2257.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Next, we put the inflated biodigestor in its bed. During the move, the kids dropped it and it
was the closest I’ve ever seen Grant come to having an aneurysm. It’s understandable since he made it very
clear that they had to be careful and it’s essentially a many hundred dollar
balloon.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then, we attached PVC pipe for the input and outflow.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The last thing to do was mix up a nice poo cocktail and feed
it into the biodigestor. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This also
involved lots of carting of water and bags of crap that wasn’t pictured.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Herbi and Antony were helper superstars and really the only
kids worth their salt.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There were also some cute little guys who were entertaining
and way too interested in our poop soup. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvap5A_xcR0xJL5IgPf-nvDwiPFgXB0dcy-P9RF3xEEbNPhtMU_jKR9iDJot4s621TZsrShFTeQEuJ49_gHCA7vwLfcfOckgnBZBGue2VrFrdUHxG6rmRufesO1VAWuM6vbSoOzhgZNljB/s1600/IMG_2272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvap5A_xcR0xJL5IgPf-nvDwiPFgXB0dcy-P9RF3xEEbNPhtMU_jKR9iDJot4s621TZsrShFTeQEuJ49_gHCA7vwLfcfOckgnBZBGue2VrFrdUHxG6rmRufesO1VAWuM6vbSoOzhgZNljB/s400/IMG_2272.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don’t have any more pictures because it started to pour. It was a wet, exhausting, dirty day, of accomplishments. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-69472653575477963502013-09-03T09:40:00.000-07:002013-09-03T09:40:23.528-07:00Like A Prayer<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They reminded me of Buddhist prayer flags, though it’s
actually my underpants and socks drying on the line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Inspiring, no?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-38424357336349050572013-09-02T17:25:00.001-07:002013-09-02T17:25:31.932-07:00A Murder Most Foul<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Last week, two of our dogs were poisoned and died. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Balto.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXw3Njk5Jl3QvnWpgg65YJfWkmrDvrHb1LxJhF3B4HBUBZL_mgAyrQf8ffTdjWKX4VPXmXW9qiGTpOzpAJPm-anSe4OGjR0XqTx0p1Qb8I2Aero3kb9atuFmvalArAnqAZbT9ewPd9_2b/s1600/IMG_1636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXw3Njk5Jl3QvnWpgg65YJfWkmrDvrHb1LxJhF3B4HBUBZL_mgAyrQf8ffTdjWKX4VPXmXW9qiGTpOzpAJPm-anSe4OGjR0XqTx0p1Qb8I2Aero3kb9atuFmvalArAnqAZbT9ewPd9_2b/s400/IMG_1636.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And Princesa, who was obviously the terror of the neighborhood. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC6AThHdFpf9M0h1ZV2bLy_0Gef8hAVplTNu5T64I3Hv8kNJbtZdWrHMzByJ4WW9SC9CcdoN4Lv20IY0LqBggai38bJiZzmnlxnxEfAgqFEw4BFI107-SgeFmUA_4iA9mQC8JOYxpl8zvg/s1600/IMG_1543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC6AThHdFpf9M0h1ZV2bLy_0Gef8hAVplTNu5T64I3Hv8kNJbtZdWrHMzByJ4WW9SC9CcdoN4Lv20IY0LqBggai38bJiZzmnlxnxEfAgqFEw4BFI107-SgeFmUA_4iA9mQC8JOYxpl8zvg/s400/IMG_1543.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Poisoning dogs is a common practice in the Peruvian
campo. My host mom said that it was for
“envidia” (jealousy), but who can know for sure. Balto would act aggressive to people passing
by the house, but he never bit anyone and that was his job, anyway. In reality, he was a very sweet boy who loved
affection and would come with Elka and I on our morning walks. It was a sad day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s stuff like this that makes me want to get the hell out
of this place sometimes. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-31339090352809174792013-09-02T16:19:00.001-07:002013-09-02T16:19:42.385-07:00My Salad Days<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We just harvested the lettuce from our little cold frame
garden at Primaria Quilcacancha. We’re
going to have a big harvest party with the parents later in September, but the
lettuces weren’t going to wait that long.
I wanted to share our first pickings.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyu1imzpNWoDJz3MejfjWx6Gvulav2N8uHL4FryufJUBwSkEsuxlCBRb3Ny0TPXsyGK4Ie5FWH-LVujnwvK0Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We made two salads to mixed results. One was with Peruvian flavors and was just
lettuce with tomato, avocado, salt, and lime and most of the kids ate that
up. The other was with Asian flavors and
I thought the kids would go for the clementine slices, crushed peanuts, and soy
sauce based dressing, but I made the mistake of adding garlic and ginger and it
was a bit much for them. Anyway, they
were helpful, it was fun, and the kids ate some greens. It was a success considering some had never
seen a salad before. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-62842327757251504412013-09-02T13:55:00.000-07:002013-09-02T13:55:58.568-07:00Just A Moment<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A few Saturdays ago, my friend Shannon, who lives in Junin
mismo, and I spent an afternoon sitting in the pampa, sharing a beer, knitting,
and chatting. It was truly lovely and I
think it’s those odd moments that I’ll hold onto in the years to come.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-39285941078265623892013-09-02T12:52:00.001-07:002013-09-02T12:52:52.700-07:00Flower Power<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here are the rest of the photos of the preschoolers planting
their flowers. Overall, it was a good
day and they’re too cute to completely bury in a story about abuse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don’t know what was up with this kid, but he was staring
at me like that for a good 45 seconds before I took the photo. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-53413699980955311882013-09-02T10:40:00.001-07:002013-09-02T10:41:15.438-07:00Domestic Violence<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A little while ago, I finished up the vertical garden
planting with the preschool kids. This
guy was very into his flower, helpful, sweet, and attentive, which are all
remarkable qualities in a 4 year old. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I noticed that he was putting dirt into his bottle very
gingerly and I asked him if everything was ok.
He said, “When I get my clothes dirty, my mom hits me.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That broke my heart, and it took me a moment to recover and
say, “Ok, then we’ll be very careful.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, hitting kids is a common form of discipline here in
Peru. It creates problems later because
violence becomes the only discipline that kids pay attention to. I encounter more classroom management issues
than the average Peruvian teacher because I won’t hit my students with a
stick. I won’t lie, some demonic 15 year
olds have sorely tempted me, but I ultimately don’t have it in me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Putting a sweet, 4 year old face on the problem is the
saddest part. I hope that getting hit at
home won’t make him angry or cruel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I brought the conversation back home to my host family. I was sitting in the kitchen with my host mom
and dad and my mamita told me that papito had only hit her once. It was early in their marriage, my host mom
had her first baby and she couldn’t get him to stop crying and started crying
herself, so my host dad hit her. She
said that she threatened to leave him and the baby, and it never happened
again. I was surprised that it had
happened because my host dad is an inherently nice and gentle guy and I’d never
ever want to cross my host mom. Once is
still too many times for me, but it’s better than a lot of other Peruvian
marriages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Luckily, the ubiquity of domestic violence is diminishing
with the generations. My host brother,
Percy, has a longtime girlfriend named Yessie.
Yessie’s mom tells Percy that he should hit her if she isn’t subservient
enough, doesn’t have his lunch ready on time, etc. Thankfully, Percy thinks that’s crazy. He loves Yessie, a strong woman who would
never put up with that. Even my host mom
found the idea laughable. It’s becoming
less acceptable to beat your wife or children as society modernizes and human
rights become more important.
Westernization and acculturation have many negative effects, but getting
rid of some cultural baggage is the silver lining. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-41389499405234551402013-08-20T08:08:00.001-07:002013-08-20T08:08:45.964-07:00Egghead<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I have many quarrels with the Peruvian
education system. The one we’re going to
explore today is the manner in which kids enter university. Everything is based on one exam, high school
grades and activities are not considered.
It’s like if every university had its own SAT, threw some SAT II
material in there, and then based all of its admissions decisions on how well a
student does on that harrowing test. I
think I’d be more likely to throw up on it out of anxiety than to pass.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This leads to obvious issues. There is little incentive to apply oneself in
high school since performance there isn’t considered afterward. Students who aren’t skilled test takers are
inherently hosed. The tests are also
expensive, and many can’t afford to re-take it if they don’t do well the first
time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the things I really love about my
host family is that my mamita and papito encourage all of their 9 kids to
pursue higher education and support them however than can in that
endeavor. The girls are encouraged and
expected to achieve as much as the boys.
This isn’t the philosophy I would expect from parents who had nine kids,
but if there’s two things the Peace Corps teaches you, they’re that your ideas
about the world are fallacious and while it’s great to learn, it’s unlikely you
actually know much of anything.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The kids range from 30’s to 13 years old.
None have married yet and instead are focused on their careers and
studies. The more miraculous thing is
that there aren’t any grandkids. They
are a singular and remarkable family.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My host brother Andy is 18 and had been
adrift for the past year. He didn’t pass
the university exam right after high school and afterward spent his time
listlessly studying to retake it and working for his dad. After a few months of purgatory, he decided
to really try again and enrolled in a test-prep course that the university
offers. He studied hard and took the
test again the other day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">He arrived home after the exam and hid
upstairs. Normally, Andy is chatting
everyone up and good-naturedly terrorizing the cat or his younger
siblings. Instead, he was quiet, sullen,
and couldn’t eat. The test results were
posted online in the evening when we were all in the kitchen having tea. My host sister scrolled through her
smartphone and we waited the agonizing moments while the page loaded and she
looked for her brother’s name. After a
long silence, she yelled, “Entr</span><span lang="EN-US">ó</span><span lang="EN-US">!” (He got
in) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The whole family sprang up and pounced on
Andy. There was hollering and hugs all
around. My host mom cried because she
was so proud and happy. Andy cried from
relief. When the ruckus died down a bit,
the hair cutting started. This was a new
cultural experience for me, but apparently to celebrate a success, you cut the
succeeder’s hair and crack some eggs on their head if you’re feeling extra
exuberant and proud. This is poor Andy
after everyone finished congratulating him.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You may have thought the real reason I
haven’t had any paradigm-shifting achievements here was due to the inherent
difficulty of community development work or cultural differences. Nope.
It’s because that’s what happens to you when you do something awesome.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Well done, Andy! You’re going to be the best geologist
ever! </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-36079313975765376662013-08-20T08:01:00.001-07:002013-08-20T08:01:45.142-07:00Digital Love<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before starting the Peace Corps, I heard a
lot of stories about people who met their husbands or wives during their
service. I came into it with a sense of
optimism and even packed a few pairs of nice underwear. Maybe I wouldn’t meet my future spouse, but
there were bound to lots of bearded, service-minded men to get to know. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Was I ever wrong. It hasn’t been just a dry spell. I’m that lost legionnaire you see at the
beginning of the movie, crawling through the desert, hallucinating oases. First, the Peace Corps is female dominated,
which is great for girl-power, but not so much for finding someone nice to make
out with. Second, I live in an isolated
region and don’t get to mix with other volunteers. Third, most of my daily male interactions
make me want to either hide in my room or kick the guy in the face (which would
be easy, because there’s a significant height differential). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I gave up, at least for the short term. The reasonable thing seemed to be to batten
down the hatches on that part of my heart and ride it out. I turned my sights on my return to Montana,
planning to beguile and prey on first year grad students until I met someone I
liked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then, a volunteer friend showed me her
OkCupid profile. There, beautiful men in
San Francisco paraded before my eyes.
Men who could cook and had favorite books. It was like this website was telling me that
unicorns are real, and they’re just out there waiting to be oogled by me. It was incredible. Naturally, I couldn’t say no to this kind of
high level entertainment, so I made my own profile for Missoula, writing the
normal things like my favorite movies and foods and admitting my handicap of
temporary residence 5,000 miles away. My
main goal was to check out hot guys from the comfort of my crappy internet café
while Peruvian children play World of Warcraft around me. If you’re not in the Peace Corps, that will
seem really creepy and sad. If you are,
you will be on board with this excellent activity. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, it quickly lost its
luster. Online dating involved a whole
new set of social rules and expectations that I was unprepared for. I didn’t actually want to chat up the 40 year
old who has a moustache like my dad and spends his weekends on his 4x4, but
what was I to do? Ignore him? That seems mean. Just say I’m not interested? A little heartless. I’d get messages asking if I wanted to share
a bottle of vodka that Saturday night or if I was into polyamory. That’s how these dudes would lead off. It started to seem like many of the men
trying to date online were there for obvious reasons, so I quit. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The thing is, during that brief window, I
met someone. I didn’t expect to find
anyone I really liked, but he snuck up on me.
It was innocuous enough at first. He was handsome, thoughtful, and able
to carry on a conversation without immediately offending me. And it just kept going. I started to look forward to his emails. We’ve discussed thoughts on God and death,
Relativity and reality, Ninja turtles and the best breakfast foods (runny egg
yolk), and being continually outsmarted by our poorly behaved mutts. I’ve
found myself becoming prone to long fits of daydreaming with a stupid smile on
my face and listening to a lot of Rufus Wainwright and Coldplay. You know you’re not fully in control of your
faculties if you’re drawn to Coldplay. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before I knew it, I was being inexorably sucked
into the black hole of emotional vulnerability.
I really liked the man. I had
never tried to have a remote relationship, and had no idea how I’d keep
interest going until January when I could actually meet him. But, I’ve never been one to let good judgment
get in the way of romance, so after the briefest periods of doubt, I said the
hell with it and am giving it a real shot. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-US">I’ve decided that the pudgy little angel
who represents love isn’t blind. He’s
just an ass. I haven’t had a reasonable
or convenient relationship in recent memory, so I see no reason to start
now. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The comforting thing is that he’s just as
in it as I am. We both smile like idiots
when we Skype, greatly look forward to every communication, and have been
reciprocally creeped on by each other’s families online. It’s a little daunting to think of starting a
relationship the moment I get back to America, but the reality is that it’s
already begun and I rarely meet someone I really like. I’m optimistic. Instead of saying, “if we…then we could…”,
we’re saying, “when we…”, which is a remarkable thing. I feel really lucky to have this strange
relationship with this wonderful man be a part of the end of my Peace Corps
experience. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everyone loves a good romance story, so
I’ll keep you posted. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*Disclaimer: Though it’s entertaining to complain, I
actually met a few awesome fellows online that I’ve formed pen-pal
relationships with. They’ve become
supportive and interesting friends and have even gone so far to mail me things
way down here. They’re great, and they
read this (hey guys!), and I didn’t want them to get left out or lumped in with
all the wackadoos out there. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-70984316813450102402013-08-04T15:28:00.000-07:002013-08-04T15:28:16.097-07:00Vertical Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For the past several weeks, I've been working on a vertical garden in escuela San Francisco. It's a small school with a concrete patio, so there isn't a lot of green stuff. We decided to spruce it up by having each kid plant a flower in a plastic bottle and hang them all around. Planting plants, recycling, and personal responsibility. Bam! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The kiddos brought a bottle and dirt and I helped them plant.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLiePPDR-xBqliLkWxUyn_j5goUSum8K8Uc8PXX3FKCV1ueF79TilE1gCQ-H8ikBHz1Hu1zMk8gh7mCFCbVWyqYgQRAYW8melMLm23cEnnYsWa_lP_kqosvmc3AuN5Qp3RTFhBDO9Mxkp2/s1600/IMG_1589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLiePPDR-xBqliLkWxUyn_j5goUSum8K8Uc8PXX3FKCV1ueF79TilE1gCQ-H8ikBHz1Hu1zMk8gh7mCFCbVWyqYgQRAYW8melMLm23cEnnYsWa_lP_kqosvmc3AuN5Qp3RTFhBDO9Mxkp2/s400/IMG_1589.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They had a great time, though they weren't super capable. Luckily, they're cute enough for me to do anything for them.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL2TuWWdouTgAOusTAWp2HiHk6-cD-SNDl3CeCDWFzmmL7jo7pFCSZb9X6jPxtYvVfj1HTO9fdCz19Bn18OFcL2QCavbrAbaT4oaJoqS8x1oOBD8tcYSVBEWlBAl11T5lc24HwNOTJlLit/s1600/IMG_1597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL2TuWWdouTgAOusTAWp2HiHk6-cD-SNDl3CeCDWFzmmL7jo7pFCSZb9X6jPxtYvVfj1HTO9fdCz19Bn18OFcL2QCavbrAbaT4oaJoqS8x1oOBD8tcYSVBEWlBAl11T5lc24HwNOTJlLit/s400/IMG_1597.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just look at them! It's not even fair.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvjfq7xD3mN1iBqyKGZEJ2hyplznNyG6HYC5PmydlzbbIq3WsvUv4qi79k2yW3CP-3kjTUZ_eDCgBF_nl-_J_gAmZzBDD0ZO7DXgHk4zq5C6LD52JMp-3p0NGKAo4XckfyfCPmcEfrj-M/s1600/IMG_1592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBvjfq7xD3mN1iBqyKGZEJ2hyplznNyG6HYC5PmydlzbbIq3WsvUv4qi79k2yW3CP-3kjTUZ_eDCgBF_nl-_J_gAmZzBDD0ZO7DXgHk4zq5C6LD52JMp-3p0NGKAo4XckfyfCPmcEfrj-M/s400/IMG_1592.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Little man, I just can't have you look at me like that.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd868Rm3QOoOubrNvC0i9wLjhh0l2-nepHF-81iW2ojEkoPuLgsczZ2ppICKuu9spRDf-RidzT5B9C9YDXvTF8IOk97t7xsbD0vRMDoEaALERZ2pQ4AZqHe6YK2FV9EofYJ23ze0TU3obZ/s1600/IMG_1593.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd868Rm3QOoOubrNvC0i9wLjhh0l2-nepHF-81iW2ojEkoPuLgsczZ2ppICKuu9spRDf-RidzT5B9C9YDXvTF8IOk97t7xsbD0vRMDoEaALERZ2pQ4AZqHe6YK2FV9EofYJ23ze0TU3obZ/s400/IMG_1593.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I swear they had a good time. You should know about Peruivan photo smiling habits by now.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3b6xXREn8T5qV3ZVeO5_xYKxcl-nJ0HCl_BqwsCi6RUn1HnGZ96AFVnohdgv2qsUbXl4yS08H9NzpLTXyfUVPmxOSRbWhpTOUbcqR5Oyxg8FpwyBqrKquQq_FDOsZGXglX4QwL0XOFi6r/s1600/IMG_1609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3b6xXREn8T5qV3ZVeO5_xYKxcl-nJ0HCl_BqwsCi6RUn1HnGZ96AFVnohdgv2qsUbXl4yS08H9NzpLTXyfUVPmxOSRbWhpTOUbcqR5Oyxg8FpwyBqrKquQq_FDOsZGXglX4QwL0XOFi6r/s400/IMG_1609.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Soon after, all the environment volunteers who arrived in 2012 came to visit my site and help out.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMN4jr5vW-5WwMuSMEw6EgVNzbUMkRid34cQcbThk12CUi1QLetvmFM4JFxM2CY1pa9tmTBFKq0oh-aqVWUCYSOLe5b8HvZMPisvKZzVL1rqTqGCjXXz6gAEUehm6yIoix8fhl1hOjKVSs/s1600/IMG_2168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMN4jr5vW-5WwMuSMEw6EgVNzbUMkRid34cQcbThk12CUi1QLetvmFM4JFxM2CY1pa9tmTBFKq0oh-aqVWUCYSOLe5b8HvZMPisvKZzVL1rqTqGCjXXz6gAEUehm6yIoix8fhl1hOjKVSs/s400/IMG_2168.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some were very helpful, others just made it look good.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCtaKcJ63Jje-pYdBv5F4Ln0LjBdhBWFWL7oCIO-0pGUwBZMm5Vtl6Kyy9oJ11aL17sRg_xet7PUGUZn0X8wBGz-O15K75aDXI4YRr7o-jklhyphenhyphen-BflQOcOOWRa_F92Sd82ow4TGPXzpwGv/s1600/IMG_2171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCtaKcJ63Jje-pYdBv5F4Ln0LjBdhBWFWL7oCIO-0pGUwBZMm5Vtl6Kyy9oJ11aL17sRg_xet7PUGUZn0X8wBGz-O15K75aDXI4YRr7o-jklhyphenhyphen-BflQOcOOWRa_F92Sd82ow4TGPXzpwGv/s400/IMG_2171.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There was quite an audience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is the basic idea. There are also bottles hanging from balconies.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUMWq4bMRMRc1By6A8WzHHExr2fYFua5LaQFLSUQ2gpCuHehRODK5fah9M8xAODZOjWrNk-o-7HVqlfYrrY2NwJd7ZRO8zhfVBFz6v4tG0SJsQlufQla4KbbJLMABxVFLBcecigdXUPNJ/s1600/IMG_2177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUMWq4bMRMRc1By6A8WzHHExr2fYFua5LaQFLSUQ2gpCuHehRODK5fah9M8xAODZOjWrNk-o-7HVqlfYrrY2NwJd7ZRO8zhfVBFz6v4tG0SJsQlufQla4KbbJLMABxVFLBcecigdXUPNJ/s320/IMG_2177.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The garden will be more impressive once the flowers have gotten a chance to fill out, so I'll share photos of the whole shebang in a month or so. We're also planting 30 or so more with the preschoolers, so if you thought this was cute, just start bracing yourself now. Maybe look up some photos of baby bunnies to build up your tolerance.</span></div>
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<br />Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-8454414809195869302013-07-21T16:53:00.002-07:002013-07-21T16:53:25.142-07:00It's A Bad Sign, Clothing Edition<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It’s good to make sure you’ve got your similes covered.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJpaPHbl4tVQBzUh9YdaOZBYqYlGo3GnKlTU9yJeNQkcHetaxvXtkYNZ5jPWZgnTxhnnqGQWFmmtxOP5qbNkeZYcSxMCtrQl6uWyvwqY28_rrZbEBlJhPh0wcZihb7jYLPZjjEx5J687HV/s1600/IMG_1586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJpaPHbl4tVQBzUh9YdaOZBYqYlGo3GnKlTU9yJeNQkcHetaxvXtkYNZ5jPWZgnTxhnnqGQWFmmtxOP5qbNkeZYcSxMCtrQl6uWyvwqY28_rrZbEBlJhPh0wcZihb7jYLPZjjEx5J687HV/s320/IMG_1586.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kristi, indeed, is the bad.
Ask anyone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLqENroDt1DXoQY7DoyQu4sNJXp_Our47OdnC7wrYtfKhrqBRgNmevu_y9HoQT3jEb038EVVMahsP9E5l7w_s0UKS8C46Js7r_pQHgBmQaNWurG2eoRdzmLiF0ejk_j3v-en0LpHKbY6EG/s1600/IMG_1587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLqENroDt1DXoQY7DoyQu4sNJXp_Our47OdnC7wrYtfKhrqBRgNmevu_y9HoQT3jEb038EVVMahsP9E5l7w_s0UKS8C46Js7r_pQHgBmQaNWurG2eoRdzmLiF0ejk_j3v-en0LpHKbY6EG/s400/IMG_1587.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Turns out Predator is good with kids.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYVl5ui7Qi6KX-aRVyaIWyyYXwN4WNg0hAn0a9vR7O-xTD3a8kBz6_jowrOf8BViLoCcSfFz38ng9LIUju5nA8mdd25TjX2-IYHEy3yVWLOaLDPrDmuSCetC2ru5rP33mpwEAkMXMpexw/s1600/IMG_1588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilYVl5ui7Qi6KX-aRVyaIWyyYXwN4WNg0hAn0a9vR7O-xTD3a8kBz6_jowrOf8BViLoCcSfFz38ng9LIUju5nA8mdd25TjX2-IYHEy3yVWLOaLDPrDmuSCetC2ru5rP33mpwEAkMXMpexw/s400/IMG_1588.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Spiderman walking around selling smaller spiderman
outfits. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSB2y3aJpmpffMjJvNxupC1SzyzOQ-P9xzeTdlOatZl2qTluEMC3Bc4JdlETEpI4KecHAHEi65orsMNVzpcRP3t1ci7aJ8PJ0IWaQ8fk5OdaAhODx7P01FKBDA1masRytYUqBiG3AQQ_2B/s1600/IMG_2121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSB2y3aJpmpffMjJvNxupC1SzyzOQ-P9xzeTdlOatZl2qTluEMC3Bc4JdlETEpI4KecHAHEi65orsMNVzpcRP3t1ci7aJ8PJ0IWaQ8fk5OdaAhODx7P01FKBDA1masRytYUqBiG3AQQ_2B/s400/IMG_2121.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's how they reproduce, dontcha know? </span></div>
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Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489543441181812776.post-58862577482948615472013-07-21T16:46:00.000-07:002013-07-21T16:46:38.977-07:00It's A Bad Sign, Part 2<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> If you pee here, bad things will happen, guaranteed. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX13cgVk_jE_iWDfqMjQLUftT_twW_D-iC-ck1KlgECDimamiYiYCBdBgsynrtnCPxuj3qpLhihuokEb-x0RV_GSxm4UVmDMmXN5R8ZsvzRZ7IhyCuf2d7o2vCDjYCTbkTyI82Gbkv_Y1j/s1600/IMG_0436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX13cgVk_jE_iWDfqMjQLUftT_twW_D-iC-ck1KlgECDimamiYiYCBdBgsynrtnCPxuj3qpLhihuokEb-x0RV_GSxm4UVmDMmXN5R8ZsvzRZ7IhyCuf2d7o2vCDjYCTbkTyI82Gbkv_Y1j/s400/IMG_0436.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">These people seem oblivious to giant coming up behind them. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7niNcAo08Ybm_ySBLi3sFOVdE0XzssuDpdAy7TcQkxcFr1Jjy-U9WWRdoz6OiNwuZga-TnyRNUCawubhF2B-0xLvHrhxSwo03XZzAZvT8JhiLTpvLUFGfklwBDHOyeqcyXTcjGWOAwh1v/s1600/IMG_1546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7niNcAo08Ybm_ySBLi3sFOVdE0XzssuDpdAy7TcQkxcFr1Jjy-U9WWRdoz6OiNwuZga-TnyRNUCawubhF2B-0xLvHrhxSwo03XZzAZvT8JhiLTpvLUFGfklwBDHOyeqcyXTcjGWOAwh1v/s400/IMG_1546.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Also, this sign is white enough to be in Connecticut. What’s with the self-loathing, Peru? Do you know what I would give to not instantly become a cinder under the high altitude sun or to have those flowing black locks? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After we escape the giant, we could get high and wash our hands.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxVNRSg6SVtOp_1MWI4Ry1r7JgUx1RKPDcp05AuT2cgP90WQO3DPJrBX0G8hTsY3q-OuzSNxf_cxFN4enObeWi5iSeK-yGqpRJDDmAgeDHUEgBynZSAwlXROGq2DejAmR9PSR_6jqEDyN/s1600/IMG_1583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizxVNRSg6SVtOp_1MWI4Ry1r7JgUx1RKPDcp05AuT2cgP90WQO3DPJrBX0G8hTsY3q-OuzSNxf_cxFN4enObeWi5iSeK-yGqpRJDDmAgeDHUEgBynZSAwlXROGq2DejAmR9PSR_6jqEDyN/s400/IMG_1583.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Or brush our teeth, then murder everyone. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lXwtlTkZMPyPtdj4_AtjM5GKdn8ms4GWndZDjUhpc7pc5TYV07A3fM-TpClSaC2a9sXLjCJNAP8EIicKrpRlCHgxJKl03_4ub5vgBIAumULK9jIK-tsqzJJS8hD7giWOwYb_MSqFT8Kb/s1600/IMG_1584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lXwtlTkZMPyPtdj4_AtjM5GKdn8ms4GWndZDjUhpc7pc5TYV07A3fM-TpClSaC2a9sXLjCJNAP8EIicKrpRlCHgxJKl03_4ub5vgBIAumULK9jIK-tsqzJJS8hD7giWOwYb_MSqFT8Kb/s400/IMG_1584.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This man was on another ice cream cart.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGzUHdCqtucvLp2LfAwxH7gARJXpXSGOec7r7IGrcdUS4DZb2lKYjI3NGHT2LtLmaDOcJsxaYX-bSb5hZijiI2Z8mp-T4l1BOkRCM2n0SQMCZeLZbhj5IcfR5c9XsMWk9mI8s5ITRQ6WX/s1600/IMG_2120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGzUHdCqtucvLp2LfAwxH7gARJXpXSGOec7r7IGrcdUS4DZb2lKYjI3NGHT2LtLmaDOcJsxaYX-bSb5hZijiI2Z8mp-T4l1BOkRCM2n0SQMCZeLZbhj5IcfR5c9XsMWk9mI8s5ITRQ6WX/s400/IMG_2120.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Why in God’s name is everyone representing ice cream furious and wearing a giant hat?</span> <br />
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Stasia Orkwiszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04479504554754234639noreply@blogger.com0