teach us to be one

Cusco sometimes seems like a place of extremes...or maybe extremes isn´t the word. Alot here is centered around tourism. If you walk around the Plaza de Armas at night you can plan on being bombarded by fliers for massage parlors, fancy shmancy restaurants, discotecas, and bars. Then there are also those who stay out until late vending anything from arroz con leche to crocheted Michael Jackson finger puppets. Even still, some sit out in the cold Cusco night with their hands held together and extended to anyone who might stop to give them some money. Weaving through it all every night are tourists...usually on their way to a club.

A while ago, Meghan and I began discussing the idea of walking around the plaza with hot tea and bread in hopes of offering some warmth and a sense of connectedness to what many times seems like Cusco´s cold and chaotic nights. On a Friday about a month ago at around 8:30pm Meghan and I filled up two thermoses with Canela y Clavo Tea and headed toward the plaza with a bag of 20 pieces of bread. This past Friday we were joined by four friends and with four thermoses and 50 pieces of bread, we walked around Cusco´s lively streets.

Most likely, tea and some bread on a Friday night will not change anyone´s circumstances in the grand scheme of things. But it is a step...an action towards...recognizing our brothers and sisters? Or at least it is an attempt at that.

As I walk down dusty roads or
busy concrete boulevards
help me God to take the time to see in the eyes of the other,
to recognize the other, in order to respect.

As I encounter many peoples, many races,
help me to appreciate the hand of the other,
to recognize those hands that create and build, in order to work together.

As my path calls me to various places,
help me to learn to walk together with others on paths that lead to peace,
recognizing that by walking with others, in working together,
we learn to recognize ourself in the other,
to recognize and appreciate our differences.

And begin to recognize what love is about.

-Jennifer Jag Jivan in Pakistan

the beat goes on

Tomorrow will complete the first week back in school for the girls. It´s weird to think that they just had their big summer vacation. I am starting to see the season change. The heavy rain is starting to fade woohoo! The mornings have been very warm and sunny and then around early evening it starts to get icy cold. But I am enjoying both extremes over rain...for now.

Things have been going pretty goooood here. I´m still on the 8am-4:30pm schedule but lately I´ve been spending some more time at the bakery where Meghan works. I´ve been hanging out there a good couple of hours a day. Today I snuck in to the kitchen while the guys were making empenaditas for Semana Santa...the dough kept sticking to the rolling pin and driving me crazy! But I learned some and got to enjoy hanging out with the bakery crew.

The girls back in school means that I get to walk with those who go to colegio at Chachaqomayoc. This year there are 17 girls that go in the afternoon so we make for a pretty good size mob. On Monday we ran into some marchers in the street for Dia de la Mujer. They were all chanting. The group of 17 girls looked up at me and Nancy started chanting, ¨Viva la mami Tasi.¨ Soon they all joined in...it was a little awkward haha. I felt like Oprah.

I have some more to write about but my afternoon workshop is supposed to start soon. I hope you are all doing well and enjoying spring! Allimpúnchai katchu (Have a beautiful day).

The picture is of (from left to right) Yhoni, Yanet, Reina, and Bety who are in my English/computer workshop in the afternoon.