northern peru- piura, chulucanas

Hola hola,

Life is hectic as it has even been before. There is so much going on right now that it is hard to even grasp. On tuesday november 2nd, a fellow volunteer sarah and myself took a seventeen hour bus ride up to a town in the North West of Peru to a city called Piura, then proceeded to a smaller town, Chulucanas where we are now helping at an orphanage.  The bus ride up was long, but not unbearable. For a little under thirty bucks I bought a 17 hour bus ride with two meals, reclining seats, movies, and a scenic view of the desert. Ha the landscape on the way up was flat and vegetation far and in between. As far as my eyes could see, it was a smooth layer of dirt and sand with a tree here and there. It was a sight to see. We took a night bus ride up so we slept for a good chunk of the bus ride making it much easier.

We are staying at a religious compound kind of thing, where a bishop, three priests, a nun, and much staff live. It is very nice. Comparatively high class for my standards at the moment. I have my own room. Food is great. Hot water. Life is not to shabby. The orphanage we are working at is in much worse condition than the Hogar San Francisco I was previously working at. For nearly twenty kids, they live in a small warehouse building with a kitchen, and three rooms. The floor is concrete and the walls are bland, but not for long, because we are painting nine giant murals to spice the atmosphere up for the kids. We are painting murals of the alphabet, numbers, an ocean scene, a tree with their handprints as the leaves, the solar system, and a few more. It is amazing to see the smiles on the children here. It is primarily just girls ranging in age from 1.5 years up to 16 yrs, but there is one little boy named Tulio who is the cutest kid in the whole world. He is only a year and a half, but he is running all over the place all the time, and has the best smile and laugh I have ever witnessed. I have only been here since wednesday, and he is my favorite by far. Tulio is a wonderful, happy little child even though he lives in crap conditions. The moment that made my day today was when he called me Papa. He just wants to be picked up, and held and loved just like any child, just like any person. It's moments like these that brighten the world for me and remind me that there is good in a world filled with bad. You only have to look to see the light. And believe me, life is much better in light than dark.

On a different subject entirely, one of deep sadness. One of my friends, one of the hogar volunteers, Lily Cantu, died in a tragic accident on thursday evening. She was only twenty years old and had unmeasurable potential to do good in this world and change lives people all over the world. Sadly her time was cut short. I only share this to honor her wonderful life she lived, by telling you all to live your lives to the absolute fullest every moment of every waking hour because you honestly never know when you time will come. I have been a witness to death frequently over the past year and I used to always tell myself that it would never happen to me or anyone of my family members, or friends, but that changed. One of my dearest friends, Thomas Goettelmann, died this past summer, a family member came startling close to the other side, my best friends mom came about as close to death as your can get, and now Lily past away on Thursday. I say this to bring attention to the preciousness of human life; to its brief beauty and sacredness. So be aware and be mindful in your life and do not take anything for granted because the are millions of people who do not share your luck and have your blessings in all the privileges and opportunities you were given. Open your eyes and see the world for its goodness because if everyone did this and started to care, the world would turn upside down in change. If people started to get rid of their indifference, cast away their apathy; and realized that we are all equals of the same earth. We live on the same ground and breath the same air. There is nothing, no skin color, no nationality, no belief, that marks one individual superior than the next. And if you think you are better than someone, then f@$k you, you're wrong. Get equality into you head and flip your views upside down and care for people like you care for yourself, because honestly we are all connected with everything that happens in this world. While you sit on your sofa with junk food surrounding you as you watch your favorite crap tv show, and switch to the news on a commercial break and see a story about the genocide happening in Africa, or malnutrition and shit medical treatment in places like haiti, peru, african countries, laos, cambodia, and so so many more issues, and you think for a second about doing something, about trying to make a change and help those helpless people, and then you realize your show is probably back on, and plus hey those countries are so far away its practically a different world right?? WRONG, this is your world, this is my world, this is their world, and it is damn surely OUR world. and we have a right to help those people. Because the world is a lot smaller than you think and people are not that different. Just because their skin is a different color or they speak a different language is absolutely not a reason to sit on your ass while these people fight for their lives every day. While these children have to become adults at absurdly young ages because they have no parents. While young girls are raped and killed. While the world falls apart...  It is not somebody else's job to fix these problems, it is YOUR duty to your fellow humans to do everything in your power to help them. Because when everyone else thinks someone else with do that thing and make that change and that it is okay for them to continue their live in blissful ignorance, not a goddamn thing will get done, and that my friends is bullshit. So get off your couch, put away the bag of chips, turn off the tv, and stand up for these people who need saviors!!! before its too late...

mom I apologize for the swearing, I get more and more worked up every time I talk about this stuff. Just censor it for your class when you show it to them. Please show it to them because it is these children, these youngsters, that are going to change the world. It is their turn, so have them read it or read it to them, and then turn off the lights and have them sit in silence for at least a good 5 minutes and let them reflect on their thoughts. And then at the end of the time, have a discussion on how they plan to change their world, because it is their world, OUR WORLD. start with small changes and light the spark to the fire to make great changes.

I want to say to all of my family and my friends, that I love you so very dearly and you make me able to stay happy while I see suffering. Without you I would be nothing. I wish I could sit down with each and every one of you and tell you in person how much you mean to me and that I love you more than you know, but sadly I cannot so please know that I think the world of you!! and will never forget any one of you because you are a part of me. Please count your blessings as often as you can, and try to not take anything for granted and most importantly live your life and love as many people as you can!!

mo