Injustice

Who decides where the injustice lies? How can I walk past someone who needs everything, and give nothing? Why do I look more fondly on those who work for their money, than those who simply ask for it? Is grace not lost in the moment that I expect some return on my investment? Surely I know better. Still, I cannot save everyone. Better yet, I cannot truly save anyone, nor can my money.

Why was I born into a life of affluence if not to help those that know nothing more than the street curb they belong to? What makes me so different from them anyway? Don’t we want the same things in life? A warm place to sleep, clean water, and fresh food…what if even those things are even beyond their imagination? What if all they need now is someone to take a moment out of their day and offer companionship? What if amidst the thousands of people that pass each day, there is one that can spare a moment. Spare a jacket. Spare a dollar. Spare more than the concern of tripping themselves up on whoever lies beneath them.

Still, what if my perception of need is warped. What if the need I see is not the need that actually exists. Why must I always weigh up what I know, with what I see? Is my perception not riddled with prejudice if I aim to fulfill a need that does not even exist? If I see what isn’t even there, how can I be sure that I can see what is?

What matters in the end anyway? Should I obey the law and let my fellow man wither, whilst others profit from his exploitation? Will anyone agree with my decision to support an illegal trade if it means feeding someone’s family for one more night? Again, who decides where the injustice lies? I hope it not me, for all I know is of the need. I know not how to fill it, or even of where my first step must be to try. Simply of its existence.

I think I have always known of what is happening. I think I have always known of what is not happening that should be happening. I think everyone has. I think it much easier to change the channel, turn the page, or click another link, than to actually acknowledge what is going on. I may not know everything, but I know that of the two great P’s, Profit and People, our concern should primarily be on the latter before we even consider anything else.

I find it remarkable that when I write of injustice I can only surface questions. Of most other things I am sure. Of most I know a little. Of this; not an answer. Not an attempt nor effort. I know not how I can be so drawn to something that doesn’t even involve me yet. I don’t know anyone that has died of hunger. I have not met anyone in urgent need. What if my thinking is backwards though, what if I have always been involved? What if this urge is not as large as a life calling, but as small as a required change in attitude. What if all this surmounts to simply being more generous…to the rich and poor alike. What if my purpose in life is simply showing everyone how to give more. Imagine that. A life surrounded by generosity that swings both ways. That’s what I want. I don’t want to escape the life I know, but embrace it, and change it. I don’t want to be remembered in the future, but in eternity.

That guy who not only gives money, but also stops to spend some time with the person who doesn’t have anywhere to stay tonight…

…Yeah, I want to be that guy. 

Well Hello!!

I hope my last post didn’t scare too many of you. Before I left to come here, people who knew Peru only told me two things of it…its poverty, and its danger. So with that in mind, I was fully expectant of the recent happenings (tough as they might be), and count everyday I get into bed safely a blessing.

So what has been happening!?!? Well, seeing as I am here for the Orphanage, I thought I should probably start on that topic right? Fair enough. So this new orphanage I have been at…I’m still not sure what to make of it. Peru as it is, is a country that almost seems content within itself. Although there is a minimum wage of 3 Soles p/hour (about NZ$1.50), and an astounding 70% unemployment rate who don’t even see that amount money, it has been surprisingly hard to find a specific need to fill. The new orphanage that promised the construction of new rooms, and storage areas has left much to be desired. I spent my first 4 days shelling beans in an open field for the entirety of each shift. When I commented to my supervisor that I felt I could contribute different ways, the ‘different’ that followed involved separating peas from the hay that they lay in. I couldn’t help but laugh. Construction? Kids? Painting rooms? Nope, more vegetables!! Everyone has heard of finding a needle in a haystack…well, although I didn’t come across any of them, I sure saw my fair share of peas in my numerous haystacks. After a few more days in the field I went again to my supervisor and made a further attempt to share my desire to fulfill any number of needs. Now, although I’m still unsure what my calling is in life, I can say for sure that it has nothing to do with the painting of window frames. The amount of streaks, painted glass, and missed edges I have left has made it fairly obvious that I should pursue other avenues. The guys I am working with are choice though. They speak no English, so my with my limited Spanish our conversations are limited to about four things…futbol, music, painting, and futbol. We have heaps of fun, and are laughing all the time, though half the time I don’t even know what we are laughing at…I just join in.

Last weekend a group of girls and I (I say girls only to highlight that I am the only male volunteer with 12 females…anywho…) went to the jungle. We arrived in La Merced late on Friday night, and promptly found a guide to take us on a tour the following day. Our guides, two 16 year old boys armed with one rope between them, met us Saturday morning and we were off. Our tour consisted of a bunch of information I didn’t understand and hiking along a stream that contained significant waterfalls that we scaled throughout. We got absolutely soaked, rock filled shoes, and many good photos (see my Facebook page). The national day is 28th July, so the following day incorporated many warm up marches in the square. After dancing for hours the night before at a club we found, all we wanted to do was sit an enjoy the culture. Eventually we made our way to a zoo that has been set up taking in all sorts of injured animals. Some I have never seen before…and some I never want to see again!!

The toughest part right now is the goodbyes. For whatever reason, there was an influx of volunteers around the same time I arrived, though most people only signed up for 3-4 weeks, and now their time is up. I made particularly good friends with the other new people when I arrived, and so seeing them go is like losing some of the memories my time here. Still, I’m sure I will make many other good friends throughout my stay in Peru, and I have been known to rave on about how great my friends and family are back home.
So that’s it for another entrance! Phew, that came out a bit longer than I had expected. Thanks for the read, I’m off to the sauna. We only get cold showers in our house, so I figured treating myself once in a while to some warmth is not too excessive. Cold showers, at 7am when its 5 degrees outside…priceless. It’s a brilliant water saving mechanism though, no one showers for more than a minute anymore.

So with that in mind... Phil out!

Crazy times!!

What probably hasn’t even caused a ripple back home has brought this nation to a complete standstill. The main road between Lima and Huancayo has been blocked for the last two weeks by angry farmers that are protesting to the Governments selling of Peruvian land to Chile. This means that the usual bus trip (taking 6-7 hours) has been extended to over 17 hours in some cases as only trickles of traffic are allowed through. As well as this, today has unofficially been declared a public holiday by all workers in a strike against the Government that is doing nothing about minimum wages, and increasing cost of living. This means no cars on the roads, though if caught driving, be expectant to see rocks hurled in your direction. No shops are open (officially), but some are still doing business under the table. Because no buses or taxis are around, it is nearly impossible to make it to the orphanage today, in what is normally a 20-minute trip across town by car, so they told me not to bother going in today.

The glacier was amazing. We left at 6am on Saturday morning, and got taken to the drop off point by around 7:30, ordered some lunch, and then set off on the hike. Imagine how difficult exercise is at 3200m in Huancayo. Now add another 2000m on top of that. Yup, almost died. We had to break the trek into about 94 sections, as our group stopped in what seemed like every hundred metres or so. But the view? Priceless. Photos don’t do justice. About half way up the glacier we were given a plastic bag, and allowed to slide down a couple of hundred metres. Me and my naivety didn’t expect the ‘snow’ to hurt if you fell off. It probably wouldn’t of if it were snow. Let me tell you…ICE HURTS!. I decided to push the limits are started at a near vertical point to maximize speed, and certainly paid the price for it when I came off the bag and got my own personal henna tattoo in the form of ice rash down my forearm.

On Sunday we went to a football game, finally! Lima vs Huancayo in what I understand as the national league…sort of. The standard of the game, not fantastic, but enjoyable nonetheless. The attitude of the players, nothing short of the stereotypical pre-Madonnas that South America is known for. The atmosphere, ish. Because there was only 10,000 in the crowd, it wasn’t amazing. Sadly, the game got out of hand, and quite dangerous. Team Lima took a 20 minute half time so when they walked out of the tunnel, they were met with an angry crowd that decided to show their disgust with the throwing of fruit, and rocks. This continued throughout the 2nd half with fans bombarding the away bench with anything they could lay their hands on. The worst part? Our seats were right in front of their dugout, so we were directly in the firing line. When a rock missed one of the girls heads by a matter of inches we decided to leave. It was 0-0 at that stage, though I don’t know how it finished.

The new orphanage is a joy. The kids are lovely, and I played with them for hours on my first couple of days. Volleyball with the girls, and who would of thought, football with the boys. This was in between shelling beans for 3 hours each day for what becomes lunch the following day. Construction was meant to start today, but with the strike, I will start tomorrow hopefully. Turns out I will be rebuilding the food storage areas. The food stored? Guinea Pig.

Safety is now a serious concern within the house. One volunteer was beaten last week, and has been sent back to Lima because the hospital here cannot treat his fractured skull. Our homestay Dad had an attempted mugging a couple of days ago, and though he is a trained Karate instructor and fought them off, he broke his hand in the process. On top of this, a group of us were at the out the other night, and 4 girls decided to walk home…and although nothing serious happened, there were chased by a drunkard. Needless to say, times here are getting a little dodgy, and appropriate steps have been implemented to ensure our safety…curfews, no solo journeys, etc.

I forgot to mention last time about the dogs. They are everywhere. Literally every street you turn down you are guaranteed to see a couple of stray ‘perros’ walking around. I think nothing of it now, but I remember when I first got here I was amazed. Rarely do people have pets here, because its hard enough to make enough money to get by as it is.

Interesting times ahead I am sure. A group of us are trekking into the Amazon this weekend for 3 days. I mainly want to be able to claim that I have been into the jungle, because I don’t know if I will make it down to Machu Piccu on this trip, and all other tourism is days on a bus away.

Thanks for the read. Hope you are enjoying the posts as much as I am enjoying writing them. I should probably get outside and work on my tan now, or roll in some dirt. People still stare and call me gringo, so I gotta do something about that…kind of like growing a beard so you don’t get ID’d getting into a pub I guess.

Random way to finish, anyways…

Sermana dos

I hope this update finds you well. So much has happened in the last week, each day bringing with it a new challenges, opportunities, and experiences.

Peru time, rather South American time I am told, is a novelty in itself. Coming from a first world nation where I am held accountable to being punctual, I am finding this area requiring some of the largest adjustments. If I am late for a lecture at university, no one waits for me, and I miss out. Late for work, and I am disciplined. My Spanish classes here are scheduled between 3-5 each day, and even though they always run for the full 2 hours, they usually start closer to 3:30, than the scheduled time. Usually there is no reason, though one time my teacher didn’t want to get out of bed from siesta, and another time she was enjoying her book at home, and didn’t want to put it down. Its hard not to impose my thinking or attitudes here, because this is not my country. This is part of their culture, which I have to embrace.

A couple of days ago we went to a place called Chupuka, which sounds like the creature from Star Wars, though spelt differently. We climbed to some ruins, and got up to 3500 metres at the top. We then got lunch at a little restaurant laid out on acres of open ground. I was feeling brave, so ordered the cobaya and pecho, what I thought was guinea pig and the local drink. After much laughter from the group, and some embarrassment from the waitress, it turns out I had in fact asked for guinea pig…and breast for the drink. It was then that I laughed, and changed the order to Inca Cola- a Peruvian drink owned by Coca Cola, tasting somewhat like creaming soda. Probably safer to drink, and pronounce. We catch taxis everywhere, because not many people own their own cars here, and taxis are incredibly cheap. Imagine a 1990 station wagon of some sort if you will. Now place 11 people in it. Now picture it driving over the barely existent roads between this town and Huancayo where I am living. The driver effectively had someone on his lap, I was so far out the passenger window I had to dodge oncoming trees. Obviously seat belts, and road safety for that matter are not held with the highest regard here.

I was lucky enough to be able to watch the Euro final on Sunday afternoon, which was a real treat. After the final whistle, I was feeling rather enthusiastic, so I borrowed a ball from a friend, and went out to the local field for a kick around. By field, I mean a concrete slab about 30mx15m in length with 2 large rocks at each end for goals. There is usually people playing on it, but when I got there, everyone was having a break, so I just started to play with the ball. After a couple of minutes a 10 year old boy came up and said “Gringo, quieres jugar?”. Roughly translated, “White boy, wanna play?”. That was all it took, and that’s how I spent my afternoon, playing with dozens of local kids. Was so much fun, and though I was double the age of any of them and we barely spoke during the game, I still had a ball…sorry, terrible pun.

It was only a few hours before that I had gone to the Sunday markets. Streets lined with little stalls trying to sell you everything under the sun. Prices- negotiable. Obviously being white, nothing gets offered cheap first up, but with a little know how, and acting like you know what you are doing, some things are offered at decent prices eventually. I pretty much used the morning to practice my Spanish. I got HEAPS of blank stares. Haha.

As for the orphanage work, Karen and I have decided to ask for a different placement due to a simple lack of need there. Although we have both built good relations with the children and staff, there are 25 children in total, only 9-10 who we regularly see as the older kids are at school. There are 5 full time workers, and then 2 volunteers and it has quickly become obvious that we are only expected to watch the kids in between meals, and although we have tried to implement some activities and games throughout our time there, the language barrier at the moment makes things too difficult for both the children and us. We decided together that the orphanage is already well catered for, and now with the blessing from the workers there, have been directed to a larger orphanage on the far side of town, where I will be doing construction for the next couple of weeks. Building new bedrooms for the kids, and helping Karen out feeding the babies during meals. We start tomorrow. I hope our choice makes sense. I know I don’t need to justify it, though I didn’t fly thousand of kilometers to sit around for three months, and although the existence of altruism may still be debatable, I came to make a difference, and plan to fly out with the intention of leaving Peru in a better condition than I found it.

Anywho, that’s it for today. Im off to climb a glacier on Saturday which will be primo. Will be sure to let you know how it all turns out with the new orphanage, and anything else as it unfolds.

Till then…