Pensamientos

Part of my work here in Peru is to open people´s minds to new cultures. I feel like I´ve accomplished that goal with the 6 men with whom I was working yesterday. In starting this library project, we want to use a space in the municipality that was previously a storage room. Yesterday was designated to clean out the storage and move it to the warehouse down the road, so I showed up bright and early to help out. ¨Oh no,¨ they told me, ¨don´t worry yourself¨. But I insisted, then the 7 of us, with an occasional extra pair of hands, worked for at lest 4 hours straight, carrying boxes, old engine parts and god knows what else from the storage room to the truck, driving down the road, unloading, and coming back . . . 5 times. It was heavy stuff, but we worked through it together. Afterwards they admitted to me they had been shocked I was willing to do manual labor like that, carrying boxes and whatnot, and I didn´t even complain about how heavy it was. Shock and amazement, women sometimes are competent. It´s been really fun working on the construction of the library with all these gruff old men. They´ve started making fun of some of the guys who have slacked off the job, saying how much better this gringa is. I´m taking off for a few weeks to finish my Quechua workshop and to meet up with the other volunteers for reconnect to talk about our projects and experiences thus far, and I´m sad not to be able to keep up the pace and motivation on construction. I trust Don Pepe to be in charge in the meantime, continuing to get things set. When I get back we´ll finish painting, and be able to open up for the community.