Keep your comments to yourself

Well, I think every part of my body is sore. You get all sorts of bitter thoughts in this kind of environment, almost as bitter as having a section full of Spaniards at Jaleo. But, what really gets me peeved is while you are digging a 30 yard trench for Señor ¨Ay, ay, ay!¨ his neighbors across the street are hangin´out with nothing else to do but to yell out at us ¨mas rapido!¨ (¨faster¨) and laugh. I already work with three lazy Peruvians in DC; I really don´t need your jive talk here! I should say that the gentleman for whom we were working today was in his seventies and helped us every step of the way. So I included him in our late-afternoon Coca Cola toast, which gave us the bump we needed to finish the project. (We tossed our rubbish on the spirited neighbors´ lawns on our way out... no not really.)



I am part of a very interesting, eclectic, and amazing group of volunteers here in Pisco. Most are travelers out and about in South America for a few months, and some have come with this as their purpose. We all work from 8 to 5 every day, except Sundays, for no pay. We do get a free hostel-style place to stay and meals cooked for us. I am proud to say there are a great deal of Americans in the crew, but there are plenty of travelers from Australia, Canada, the UK, and elsewhere. So everyone speaks English, except for a few Peruvians who have joined as well. I´ll leave you with something fun I learned yesterday. Evidently the Aussies and Canadians have a wonderful term of endearment for the Brits: ¨POMs¨ (Prisoners Of her Majesty)