Heartbreaking Happiness

"...broke his heart again and again with happiness..." -- the novel Divisiadero by Michael Ondaatje

I am obviously not much of a blogger-- it's been awhile! A lot has happened over the last few weeks! First, I spent a couple weeks and one weekend in Lima. It was a busy time with midterms, volunteering, a half-marathon, and a birthday party with my friends! The half-marathon was half-fun and half-pain as my right knee seemed to quit on me at about kilometer 13 of 21. Luckily, I still managed to finish in under 2 hours and James and Ava were waiting for me at the finish line! I recovered that evening by going out for an "early-birthday/post-half marathon/engagement celebration ice cream crawl" with most of the IFSA group! Ice cream seems to make everything better :) 

On Friday, May 25, Ava and I headed to the little town of Yantaló in the Peruvian Amazon. We spent 8 days in Yantaló doing volunteer work and getting to know the people who live there. I primarily helped with computer and English classes, spending a bit of time helping with the construction of a new clinic and organizing patient histories in the current clinic as well. 

Helping with a 3rd grade English class! 

The new clinic that's being built. 

On Saturday, we went to an orchid nursery, thermal baths, a karaoke bar, and a discoteca in Moyobamba to celebrate my birthday! It was a great time-- a good mix of Americanisms (singing "Party in the USA" at the karaoke bar was a highlight) and meeting new Peruvian friends and, attempting, to learn more salsa! The rest of the week we spent in the quiet little town of Yantaló-- volunteering, running on dirt roads, playing with the kids, reading, and journalling. I don't think I realized how much I needed the fresh air and quiet time to just think! 

Some of the things I thought about during our week in Yantaló were: 

• As we have talked about 8 zillion times in my international development classes, it's soooo important to actually ask the people living in a place what they need before trying to implement something! I don't think that idea hit home for me (it just seemed kind of common sense) until I saw some of what they were doing in Yantaló. None of what the foundation was doing was bad, but most of the people actually living in Yantaló would probably have chosen to have a well-stocked supply of medicine, a functional infant incubator, or new supplies at the school rather than a fancy new clinic specializing in neonatal medicine. With some carefully asked questions, the money and effort that the foundation has could maybe be used more effectively. 
• I would really like to learn some more practical skills that I can use to help in places like Yantaló. I enjoy teaching, but I would also love to learn some handyman skills or something else so that I could help out in other ways! 
• I am without any doubt a country girl!
• How little things or money count towards my happiness. I mean, sure they count a little, but being in a place with fresh air, sunshine, green fields, and smiling kids made me about as happy as I could possibly be. And the people in Yantaló (and countless other places the world over) manage to be so happy with so little. I think we sometimes assume that MORE will make us happier, but I don't think it usually works that way. 
• Observing and helping teach the English classes in Yantaló as compared to Villa El Salvador was really interesting! The teacher in Yantaló was much, much better and I learned a lot of great techniques from him! 
• Just thinking about the whole idea of privilege. I am so very privileged to be able to travel and take photos and skip classes for a week to volunteer. I need to always keep in mind how lucky I am! 
• It was a little strange to read through the volunteer journal in Yantaló and see how much people idealize and stereotype the people of Yantaló as well. Don't get me wrong, I met some amazing people and some wonderful kids on my trip! But many people used words like "innocent" and "pure" to describe people in Yantaló and, while it may be true of some of the people there, I think it's important to realize that there is good and bad and everything in between in just about every place on this planet. One of the biggest things I've realized in my traveling is how inherently similar people are despite our many differences. There are drunks, abusive parents, bad teachers, thieves, and liars in Yantaló just like there are in Lima and just like there are in the U.S. There are also happy kids, helpful strangers, and people with big hearts all over the world. I think stereotypes just lead us to ignore the problems that do exist, thereby ignoring potential solutions, and ignore all of our many commonalities-- all the things that make us wonderfully, imperfectly human! 

Yikes! Sorry for such a long one! Like I said, I had a lot of time to think! Since being back, I've had a wonderful birthday party with my host family (including the most delicious triple chocolate cheesecake in the world!), classes, and volunteering. I'm finally about to get into my independent research-- I have interviews set up for next week!-- and am headed to Iquitos in the wee hours of the morning Friday for some more rainforest adventures! It's crazy how fast the end of the semester is creeping up. I only have a few more weeks of classes and am trying to decided how to spend my last free week here in Peru-- deciding between a trek through the deepest canyon in the world or spending some time with those little girls I fell in love with in Pampamarca, Cusco! 

Missing & loving you all lots!