Are you from the Jungle?

So, the title of this blogs leads me into a story from this past week involving 90 six and seven year-olds. Amparo is pursuing her master's degree in Environmental Education and runs a small business with 9 other women which  provides hands-on learning experiences for grade-school children. The women don their matching outdoor vests and hats and look ready to lead these chicos on a wild adventure through the back-country of Peru. However, considering that we are located in a city with 11 million people, our teaching locations are a little less primeval. On this day we met the children at El Parque de los Anillos (Park of the Rings) where there were various exhibits with alpaca, peacocks, free-ranging Peruvian chickens, and raucous Macaws. The guides (of all ages and backgrounds) would lead the children through the park telling them about the animals and encouraging them to ask questions. Most of the time I observed, took pictures, and helped "herd" the little ones in the right direction.

Obviously when I talked with the children, I didn't quite sound like a Peruvian. In fact, I think my origins were a greater point of curiosity for them than the animals most of the time. It was always fun for me to answer the question: "where are you from?" with a "where do you think?" Occasionally a child would venture to guess the United States but often the answers were more amusing. My favorites include England, Spain, France, Cusco (a Peruvian city in the mountains) and yes, the jungle. So there you have it, I may not be a native but, I am still a little exotic. 

There is no real routine to my days here but it keeps each day interesting. Some days I will go with Amparo to help the women teach children about the environment. Some days I will be visiting the lomas with Jose Luis from A Rocha and figuring out my independent research project. Some days I will be visiting with the neighbors and learning how to make Peruvian dishes. Cooking has become one of the best ways to connect with Esteban, my new 11-year old friend. This weekend both of his parents were gone for various reasons and it was just the two of us at home. Of course we made all of his favorite foods including taquenas which are chunks of cheese wrapped up in Wonton wrappers, fried, and eaten with guacamole. In my family we call these delicious and unhealthy treats "lumpias". He also made what he referred to as a "super ensalada" with bananas, yogurt, cornflakes, and algarrobina (kind of like honey). Not quite a "salad" but it was still pretty tasty.

Today at church the pastor introduced me to the congregation and had me stand-up and give everyone a wave. After the service I received muchos saludos from everyone which meant lots of kisses on the cheek. The pastor told me to consider the church as my home and family for the next four months. On Saturday, I attended a service for the youth and met quite a few people my age. I exchanged telephone numbers with some of the girls and will probably see them more this week. The service went for nearly four hours and since it ended at 11:30pm, I had to be escorted home even though the church was only a couple of blocks away. Safety on the streets seems to be a real concern for many of the women here and it takes some adjusting for me, Ms. Independent. I am learning to consider my constant escort as traveling companions and to patiently await the day when I may be able to explore some of the city myself (of course always in the daylight).  

One final comment on Peruvian life; there are fiestas for everything. Every day I can hear some band playing on the street corner and many nights there are firecrackers. Usually I enjoy watching all the commotion and observing the Catholic rituals celebrating sainthood. It just so happens that one of our neighbors is having quite the party right now and it is expect to last for three days straight. The traditional music of Peru is pretty catchy but I think my earplugs are going to come in handy tonight. 

Me and the Environmental Educators

One of my curious 6 year-olds

Teaching children at the Park

Place of Justice in downtown Lima. They had a free exhibit on one of the
ancient civilizations of Peru so we were able to go inside!
  

Life from the Southern Hemisphere

Well, I am going on my 6th day in Lima, Peru and as with any new place, I am full to the brim with new sights, smells, words, and faces. As I engage my surroundings every day, my eyes begin to see new things as the macro-impressions of "the city" of Lima become more refined and detailed. I have begun to recognize the names of my neighbors, the relative locations of the surrounding districts, the streets that run around my neighborhood, and the landmarks which  help me know when to get off the bus (my little casita is across from the red Pesca gas station). As I begin to see this place more fully, the beauty and the brokenness will no doubt become more poignant. I will say, however, that they people I have met so far, including my host family, and their extended family and friends, have extended a warm hospitality to me and express a precious and overflowing joy. 

I live with Ronald, Amparo and their 11-year-old son Esteban in a suburb or district of Lima. I was asked to bring a couple of X-box games for Esteban (I know, video games right?!) and so we have been playing a couple of them together. Actually one of them is a sports game in which you have to move in front of the screen like you were actually playing the game. You get more exercise than you might think, especially when playing the Track & Field part of the game where you have to sprint and jump hurdles. This basically involves running very fast in place and then jumping as high as you can. I can't say I have spent much time playing video games before now but, all things considered, this is at least a little more active and actually kind of fun! Regardless, it is an initial venue for building a relationship with Esteban. He seems like a sweet kid and I am looking forward to getting to know him better. 

Right now Ronald is away in Bolivia leading a seminar for World Relief so it has given me a chance to talk with Amparo one-on-one and get to know her pretty well. She is a biologist who volunteers with A Rocha and has a passion for creation care and encouraging other Christians to take initiative in supporting and leading conservation efforts around the country. She is by nature a teacher and especially loves children. Every Wednesday, she and a couple of professors from a nearby university take students on "field trips" to rivers, wildlife areas and other natural reserves around Lima to aid their learning experience and help them engage with the natural world around them. She says I will be able to join her this week! During my first couple of days in Lima, I went with Amparo to a conference on sustainable development and was introduced to some of most active environmental professionals in Peru. What a way to begin this whole adventure. I even met the new Minister of the Environment! I also met many women who were professors or organizational heads doing some amazing work in the jungle, the mountains and along the coast. I hope to be able to talk more with them in the future and ask them lots of questions about their work and life.  

I don't start my work with A Rocha until Thursday but we will be working in los lomas or literally, the hills, surrounding Lima. I actually saw them for the first time the other day when we were walking to the bus stop.  The weather here is remarkably like Seattle and is often very overcast but, the sun had burned off the clouds just enough for me to see vibrant green hills in the distance. The Lomas seem to have both ecological and cultural significance and face quite a few challenges in their conservation. During the winter, which is from July to September here, the hills receive the mist/moisture from the trade winds that come across the Pacific and are stopped by the Andes. This provides an explosion of life in an otherwise dry desert. Despite the rich biodiversity of these unique ecosystems, the lomas have been plagued by deforestation and overgrazing by the cattle brought by Europeans during colonization. Traditionally these hills were also home to many native peoples including the Inca. I hope that during my internship I will be able to engage both the hard science of conservation efforts in the lomas as well as help determine strategies for understanding the social, economic, and political constraints of their protection.  

I have ridden the "bus" multiple times now and each time is a wild ride. There are rules to the road but I haven't quite figured them out yet. I also find it somewhat amusing to see how many people they try to pack into one little van. It isn't really that expensive to ride around on it and it is the primary form of transportation that my family uses. There are very few private cars and those that exist are often owned only by the rich. Amparo has been helping me learn to navigate the system by asking me to tell the driver where we are going and when to stop. I can probably get to two or three different places by myself if I had to but, I think it will become a little easier and more comfortable with time. That brings me to the biggest challenge: the language! Yes, I have been able to communicate fairly well and I have been able to understand more as the days go by. But, it is a little tiring to be engaged in Spanish conversation all day long and as was the case with church yesterday, my brain seems to check out at a certain point. Amparo is a patient teacher and has been faithfully teaching me Peruvian slang. As Ryan in the HNGR office says, laughter and risk are two excellent ingredients for improving language skills.  I have had plenty of opportunities to use both of these in the last week! 

I think this week will continue to be one of "firsts." I ate chicken liver for the first time today and apparently cow heart is on the menu in the near future. I guess we will have to see what is next :)

Please continue to pray for this time of transition and that I would be open to taking risks and stepping out of my comfort zone. God has faithfully brought me this far and I know he will continue to reshape my preconceptions of the world in order to teach me more about Himself and what it means to live as his disciple in this world. Today was a full day of rest which I so desperately needed. I was able to read, write, process and just enjoy my new family here. I pray for more of these along the way. 

Rachel  

A handful of photos from my house: 

This is the view from the rooftop

This is the view from my front window, we live on the second floor with the in-laws below us. 

Street vendors in our neighborhood cooking Antecucho and Picarones (cow heart and fried donuts)

Esteban with the fresh and hot picarones we bought from the street vendor!

Amparo cooking in the kitchen. The houses have no heat so everyone wears their winter coats inside.

The Grand Rapids Sprint

Well, this morning I ran to board my plane with 5 minutes to spare (thank you Delta for moving my flight up an hour earlier and failing to notify me) and then left my Seattle home. Last night Erin, Billy and I read our final bedtime story together and I said goodbye to the Le family. It has been wonderful getting to know them and I am so glad they invited me to stay with them back in May. Leaving is bittersweet indeed. 

I also finished up my project at work and "published" it. If you are interested in seeing what I have been working on you can access it on the EPA's webpage at http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/tribal.NSF under Links and Resources. The document is entitled Promoting Generations of Self-Reliance: Stories and Examples of Tribal Adaptation to Change. It was written to Tribal leadership and Tribal environmental managers in our Region: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, & Idaho. I had a Tribal council review the document and I received a lot of positive feedback indicating that it would actually be very helpful to Tribes. It took a lot of synthesizing and was challenging trying to write in a way that was sensitive to Native language and culture. But, it was a great project and I made many good relationships and contacts through this work.  Most importantly, the project may provide Tribes with ideas, resources, or a vision for fighting the effects of climate change currently plaguing their communities. 

What a rich and exciting 3 months of my life. I have made some great new friends who I will continue to keep up with and have a whole new set of stories to share. When I think of all the cool places I have been this summer, I can only shake my head with amazement. It has been a blast hiking, kayaking, and exploring the PNW, Alaska, and Hawaii with friends and family. I already have close to 2000 pictures from the summer alone! But, beyond the pictures, I have the memories and the journal entries which often tend to make me smile. 

As I drove back from the GR airport with my family tonight I was struck by how accustomed I had become to being surrounded by mountains and a vibrant green landscape. I only wonder what the coastal desert of Peru will be like! The title of this blog is aptly named a "sprint" because I have only 3 days at home. In these 3 days I will try to love on the friends and family I haven't really seen since the beginning of May, or in some cases since January. I will be trying to re-pack all of my bags and make sure not to over pack. I will be trying to make sure all my applications are in order so it is one less thing on my plate. And, most of all, I will begin to mentally prepare to enter into fellowship with my new Peruvian host family. What an adventure! So many new stories, places and faces ahead. Transitions, transitions, transitions.    

Some snapshots of my last 2 weeks in Seattle:

Vancouver B.C. with the Le Family!

Erin & me in Stanley Park, B.C. 

At Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park with Sarah Gossman!

Brave Acrtic Lilies fighting the late snow

Our first glimpse of the majestic mountain through the fog...

We could see Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams from Panorama Point

Last Community Group with the girls - took the ferry to Bainbridge Island!

My "surprise" late night visit from the lovely Annika & Abby

Learn how to Learn

As I finish-up my time here at the EPA I feel so incredibly blessed by the people I have met, the relationships I have built, and the conversations which have challenged and expanded my worldview. These relationships have come from all directions  including my co-workers, my community group girls, and the many people who have helped me with my project.

In all of this I have found that the most growth happens when you truly invite people to speak into your life and when you are willing to see a much broader world. This means you first have to acknowledge that although your own perspective is valuable, it is limited.  Secondly, it requires you to be open to learning from all kinds of people and in all types of circumstances. Especially in situations where your own assumptions about people and places have caused you to be blind to what they can teach you. This process is difficult because it requires  you to be willing to change or adjust your thinking when you may be wrong.  However, if you are willing to open yourself up, it sure can bring a lot of joy.

I have found that my smile is  especially broad after speaking with Tribal Elders. I absolutely loved talking with Larry Meculiff and Wilson Justin this summer as they shared with me a part of their wisdom and life experience. They are so gentle, good humored, and encouraging, providing a perspective on this world which is unique and in some ways different from my own. They are teachers who want to help future generations remember their heritage and to embrace the core values which create thriving communities. They are aware that the spiritual and the material are not always separate and they soberly reflect on conventional thought which suggests that western science alone can solve all problems. They think big-picture but are ultimately concerned with the family unit, not the individual. They receive respect from their communities because they give significant respect to the people and world around them. In native communities one does not just become an elder because of their age, they are given that title because the community recognizes the wisdom that they have to share. 

I have a high level of respect for these native men and women, and I have been privileged to enter into fellowship with them because I plainly admit that I do not have everything figured out. They have something very valuable to teach me. I was talking to Wilson Justin today, an Athabaskan elder, and he said it is rare to find someone with a research/science background that truly asks for his perspective because he or she means to honor it. You may not always agree with what you hear, but be someone who can respect and learn from people who are very different from you.

Warning: The more you learn, the more you will realize how much you don't know. It also means the world you thought you understood, may seem even more complex and complicated than you ever realized. But, if it teaches you a little more humilty and even more about our God through the rich world he has created, I think it is worth it. 

Don't worry, I have a whole lot more learning to do.