Merry Christmas in Peru!

This Christmas happens to be my sixth outside of the United States -- fifth consecutive.  For whatever reason, I don't think it has occurred to me until now, that I have spent so many Christmases away from where I was born.  It has never felt like that big of a deal, but I can somehow notice it this year.  Maybe I will go home for Christmas next year.

For now, I will focus on Peru.  They have a belief here in Peru, that Jesus was born exactly at midnight, on Christmas day.  So the big celebration for the people here, comes on Christmas Eve, leading into the night.  Fireworks are everywhere, and everyone is out.

I spent my Christmas eve, in the hostel, with my new family of international travels, and it was enjoyed quite well.

Today is Christmas day, and all feels calm in the world.  The gas for the stove isn't working, so we cannot cook today, and the hot water in the shower wasn't working, so I had to wake up with a cold shower.  I was happy to find that not all the shops were closed, and was able to buy a sandwich for breakfast.  Walking through the streets, people were out, everywhere.  It is the southern hemisphere, and quite warm outside, people are everywhere.  Something about Christmas feels so very different this year.

In another week, I will be leaving for the mountainous jungle village of Chachapoyas, where I will teach for a few months.  Until next time, I will leave you with pictures from my first week in Peru:

Busy street in Lima.

Zen tower at the beach.

Peruvian dish Ceviche.

Kids playing with cardboard boxes at the park.  Reminiscent of sleds in the winter!

Huaca - ancient burial site / pyramid in Lima.

One town we went through on our way to Cusco was filled with these tiny little cars.

 The desert roads along the way.

 Villages in the mountains.

 And we ride through.

 The city of Cusco.

 Has amazing parks indeed.

 Where Sunflower children roam.

 So bright.

 And then so dark.

 In the Sacred Valley - Ollantaytambo

 There are bull roaming freely - Toro

 Ane the tracks lead deep...

.. deep into the woods

 Into the towns beyond.

 The mountains are vast.

 And suddenly, there it is.

 The city of Machu Picchu.

 Ancient civilization.

 With llama and all.

 Follow the path.

 To the bridge below.

 Mountains and valleys.

 With peaks to show.

 And there we stand.

 In civilizations gone past.

 One hundred years.

 Into the houses.

 With mortar of clay.

 Secrets lay hidden.

 And water flowers deep.

 Flowers still growing.

 The streets are so clear.

 Cultivation, in the sun.

 The creatures down below.

 Life still thrives here.

 And three doors will show you the way.

 To unexpected friends.

 And towers beyond.

 They lurk in all corners.

 And through all paths.

 Some much larger.

 They choose to flee!

 And so we sit, and wait.

 Until a sign appears.

 And then we search below.

 Systems from the past.

 Oh lovely city.

 We bid you farewell.

 From the jungle below.

 And further back down to the valley.

 Town square says hello.

 Where friendship remains true.

 Others wander along too.

 And so we all find a way.

 To swim and have fun.

 Or sometimes march on.

 Bridges so weak.

 We need a guinea pig feast.

 The doors stand tall.

And lead us to the monastery in the morning. 

Merry Christmas to all!

Life in America!

Adventures in the states again!

So as this year is coming to an end, I want to talk a little bit about the adventures that did ensue, and those that did not.  This is about my trip back to the United States.  I had my intentions with the artwork, and did not get nearly as much done as I had intended, however I am still content with the progress in my life.  For my bicycle trip, I went up to Maine with my bike.  Took it on a bus up to New York and my good friend was nice enough to drive it up to Maine with me. 

Before headed to Maine, I spent a few days in New York city, and decided it would be a great place to start with the mission.  I bicycled around Queens to a few different shops that friends had recommended... coffee shops and frame shops -- they all had similar responces along the lines of: "The owner isn't in now"  or "We can't hang pieces permanently to show preference on an artist"  I was about to say that my first day of the mission wasn't coming through as easily as I'd hoped it might, when I looked down the street and saw a place called "John's Pizzeria."  It didn't have the standard vibes of a place that would hang art, but it certainly had the feel of a locally owned business, and I decided there'd be no  harm in at least asking. 
I walked in and very awkwardly asked if the owner of the shop was in -- to whom I just happened to be talking to!  I told him my story, and he said he'd take a look, and chose a painting!  First painting hung in New York city, before most of the bicycling had begun.  Go check out John's Pizzeria ( http://johnspizzaqueens.com/)  to see the first piece hung!
The next day, we went up to Maine, and hung out with friends and went to a convention.  Life was good, and I was happy to see friends.  I decided to stick aroud a bit longer in Maine, and hang out with some friends there.

After about a week or so in Maine,  my friends introduced me to a lovely little apothecary in Portland Maine, where I explained my story, and they decided to hang a piece of the work!  The second in the American Ongaeshi series is hanging at HOMEGROWN ( http://homegrownherbandtea.com/ ), feel free to go check it out if you are in the area!

I decided it was about time to head on my way, and suddenly I was off on my bicycle!  I made a goal for how far I wanted to go, and managed to accomplish it.  50 miles from Biddeford Maine down to Epping, New Hampshire ( http://www.yelp.co.jp/biz/brothers-meathouse-and-marketplace-epping) !  First state line crossed on a bicycle! 

I set up tent and stealth camped in a small park, and woke up early in the morning, only to find that moving was such a difficult thing.  When doing a long bicycle trek, it is good to build up your muscles before starting long days.  I was certainly doing at least 10-20 mile days back in Baltimore, but it was not enough to jump to a 50 mile day. 

On my second day bicycling, I went through the small town of Ebbing, Nw Hampshire where I ran into Brothers Meat Market, and stopped to get breakfast.  What an ironic place for a vegetarian. I actually greatly enjoyed the feel in there, and the owner was very nice, as I was quite tired, and he checked to see if I was alright,  I decided to tell them my story, and there you have it, a third piece hung at Brothers Meat Market, definitely worth checking out!

I managed to bicycle another 50 miles on that second day, into Haverhall, Massechuessetts.  My second state line crossed, and first time completely crossing one state from one side to another on a bicycle!  I was very tired.

Some pictures from the journey:

 John's Pizzeria, stop one!

 Another tea shop in Maine.

Lovely shot around Portland, Maine.

 My bicycle for the trip.

 Crossing the line out of Maine.. this was the side of the road I was on, haha.

Brother's Meat Market.

It was June 30th when I had managed to accomplish this, just a day or two before my mom's birthday.  There are so many reasons I could say for why I decided not to conitnue on my journey -- I certaily let that one be the deciding factor for where I wanted to be, when.  Aside from that, as amazing as it is to be on a bicycle and have such a mission,  my past heart surgery just often made me wonder how well I would really be able to stand up to it.  I felt pretty happy about my new accomplishments, and decided to call my progress good enough.  I hopped on a train to Boston, and then the buses back home just in time for my mum's birthday. 

  I went back to Baltimore, and decided that my accomplishments were good enough.  The ride was fun, but I don't think it's for me to do such a long bicycle ride.  Perhaps the journey will take another shape some day.  I decided I wanted to spend some time with friends and family back home. 

  It was a weird transition to imagine that I was basically just hanging out in the United States for a while, to imagine that that was where I wanted to be for the time.  After about 6 months there, I look back, and I don't regret being there at all.  I was so glad to see everyone again, and I gained so many new experiences.  I ended up working at the Renaissance festival, and doing library research on the history of Baltimore.  I met a super awesome Japanese study group, and got to meet the Japanese folk that come to the states!  I still went on many adventures, a few cons, made new friends and saw old ones.  Spending quality time with my mum and grandmum and other folk about.  It was something special that continues to shape me as I figure out what to do from here on out.

I wanted to say something big and profound here in this post, but I suppose all there is to say is that I am so grateful for everyone in my life, everyone that helped make such a  wonderful adventure while I was back in the United States - I thank you dearly. There are no words that can truly express how it feels in my heart, please keep living the good life.

A few more pictures from life back in Baltimore and around:

 Took up kayaking, and managed to get this lovely shot one day.

 Dear traveling companion Annie was in the area for a brief visit and we had a lovely meeting in the rainy woods.

 Good friends Monika and Tyler got married.

 Made friends with a goat.

 

Graffiti alley.

  DOUBLE RAINBOW!

This train rides once a month for free in Leakin' Park, second Sunday of the month.

Amazing little Beetle Wasp, completely harmless and hung out with me for about an hour.

Sunset over Canton.

Kayaking is grand.

Took my dear friend Cheshi sky diving for her birthday, here she is sky diving, something I have decided I will not do in this life time, haha.

Met some professional traveling falconers that live on the road educating people about falcons and owls.

The secret in the woods.

Dear friends Matt and Alex hanging at the PA Renaissance Festival.

So much more happened, but alas this is just a glimpse.  Up next: Adventures in Peru Part one!

10 years and a day - the passage of time.

Yesterday was the 10 year anniversary of my father's death.  It is a sentence that is just resonating in my head today. 

Yesterday, just like that faithful day 10 years ago, was a beautiful day as if nothing was wrong in the world.  Certainly good enough to believe so.   I worked all day.  I saw many friends, I had some laughs, I even made some moneys!  It was indeed a beautiful day.  I had decided not to really mention that it was the 10 year D-day, and I made that decision because I didn't want to be the bearer of darkness, the cursed one. 

I can remember that feeling after my father had died, for months on it lingered.   The girl that was left behind.  I couldn't even stand to look at myself in the mirror.  I couldn't bare to think that I was the same person anymore.  Something had fundamentally changed.

I decided to share with a few people that it had happened, and I also didn't share with one, but it was shared with me. 

One truly amazing human being was pro-active on the event.  She called me in the day, with no warning at all... I hadn't even mentioned it to her that it was the anniversary, she just had it down.  She called to wish me well in remembrance of him.  She wasn't even in my life when he was alive, but she knew how much he meant to me.   She took a breath like any other and said the words without a flinch in her voice, "Happy anniversary day!"  It made my day just to know that she was thinking about it.  I knew right then, I was not alone in the universe, not by a long shot.  I could feel everything in me just dropping into the moment, to appreciate how grandeur life can be when shared in just the right way - and that was it.   Thank you truly my dear friend.

Two others I shared with responded in a way that upset me.  I told them about the anniversary, because it was something I wanted to share with them.  Both of them offered me this idea of "celebration."  One offered it as a piece of advice, and one offered it as a question in the form of: "would you like to mourn, or would you like to celebrate?" 

Some of my readers now may understand why this was upsetting, and some may be confused.  So here is a bit of my thought process: 

For anyone that has loved, lost, and learned, we have realized that every day we are alive is a celebration in the memory of those that have flown.   We have learned that it is possible to be held down by the changes in our lives, or that we can use it as an opportunity to change even greater, it is a state of transformation, that is what life is, in my opinion. 

Now also in my opinion, an anniversary of a death, is something that can be quite different. 

It is for me, a remembrance day where I can place a pretty exactly measured amount of time passed over an event that transformed me in some of the harshest ways that I have known, to this day.  It is the 10 year anniversary to the day that I came home, and saw my father - the man that solely took care of me for all 18 years of my existence to that point, dead. 

He was the one that I came home to almost every day for those 18 years.  He was the one that listened to all my stories with the utmost of interest, and encouraged me to learn and grow in any and every way available.  He was this soaring spirit in the depths of poverty, because he truly believed that we have a system not worth supporting, and he found his own ways to survive without that system, even with me around, and he always found a way to make the universe work.  He made me believe that dreams come true every day, and thanks to him, I made my dreams come true, and I am finding my way through this crazy winding journey that we call life. 


I didn't need to be reminded to celebrate, because I have already been celebrating.  The memory of that day for me is a memory of a traumatic event.  It is a type of pain that doesn't need celebrating, like if you were raped or attacked.   It is just nice to know that you are not alone in the world, and that others are willing to be right there with you, even though it may not always be the most pleasant experience.  That in itself has a way of healing. 

As a friend of someone with an event of trauma, you might be sensitive to know that your friend is going through a rough time.  And if you have been through that place before, by all means offer advice.  But my suggestion is:  do it based on experience, please don't just try to pretend you can make a biologist's problem feel better by offering them advice, if you are a chemist.  Sure there may be some deep over lap in some experiences... maybe you will even get lucky and really hit upon a good idea.  But if you can't relate to something directly, chances are it is better to just be willing to be there for a person and hear them out than to offer advice.  Spend time with them, and learn together. 

The other two people I mentioned it to had done exactly that.  They offered to spend time with me.  I had one more just say "that's really hard to believe,"  and that was a great response too.   I am sure there are many ways to deal with each individual situation.  But I just figured I'd share mine about this topic.

Regardless, it is now ten years and one day since I have seen my father alive, and there is no amount of words I can spread out to cover the depth of what that means.  I love you, I miss you, I remember you, dad.

American Ongaeshi - the lesson in the learning.

So I posted a while ago about my trip around America by bicycle to hang my father's artwork.  Since then, and since my last post in general, it has been a long time.  Today I depart from Biddeford, Maine in attempt to go bicycling back down to Baltimore.  I have already hung two paintings, the first in New York City -- a shop called John's Pizzeria in Queens, that was a story alright.
New York is a big city with many places, but not much in the way of wall space.  I have quite a few friends there, so I asked for some recommendations on where to hang.  My friends gave me three places where I could possibly hang a piece.  One art framing shop, and two cafes.  I first tried the framing shop, but they said they do not hang because then their customers would ask "Why not hang my work?"  I then wandered on my way to cafe #1, which had full wall space, though I figured I would ask anyway.  The owner wasn't in though, so that was a no go!  On to my third place!  A halal cultist cafe, and the owners did not speak English~!  Alas, so much for New York.  I went to get on my bicycle, when across the street I saw a pizzeria that looked just cute enough.  I went over and asked, and to my delight, was able to hang a piece! Picture will be provided later!
After New York I came up to Maine, to hang out with friends, and go to a cute little convention called Portcon.  I had a super fun time hanging out with friends, playing games, and my friend magically knew just the place to hang a piece!  No problem at all, the piece found a new home, and we found tea for our bellies!  Today starts the fun adventure by bicycle back down.  I feel a little terrified, and also excited.  I honestly don't know if I can do this trip, but I'm going to try anyway.  I figure, I came up with the idea, so I have to at least try.  But like with any journey, I expect it to be enjoyable.  So this is my test run to see how I do, and how much fun I have.  As cool as a goal it is, if I'm not enjoying it, then I'm not going to force myself to do it.  So today I set out on a journey of a new kind! Here's to a safe and fun trip!

Today's school lunch!

Alright, just a random short post for you!

Today's school lunch was:

金魚飯（kingyomeshi)  - Goldfish food:

Which has it's name because it has bit of carrots in it, which makes it look like a goldfish.  I'll post a recipe for this one maybe.


 And切り干し大根（kiriboshidaikon)  dried and cut Japanese radish.

Maybe not quite as exciting in name, but just as tasty!  Of course with this was also served miso soup, and a tamago yaki (fried egg) with two strawberries for desert and milk to go with! 

School lunch in Japan is both incredibly healthy for the body and the town.  All foods (with exception of the meats/dairies, this could be worked on)  are raised locally and prepared on the day of serving by the town school lunch center (給食センター）If you aren't eating healthy at home, you can be sure to get a truly well balanced and delicious meal at school!
I have read some articles about various debates on payment for school lunch.. because students families are expected to pay for school lunch (usually about $2-3 per meal).  Though there are some difficult debates about what to do with families that cannot afford it... how to treat the matter/the student.  Should the school confront the student in front of the class? Or at home?  Should this law be heavily enforced, even when the family can't afford it?  Well if you have any opinions, thoughts, feel free to let me know, and I'll post a bit more about this next time!

Three more pictures of Nepal.

My friend took these three shots (and a few of the others as well), I just wanted to share them.

Walking through the layerous hills and mountains of Nepal.

The final sunset of 2013.

The mountains and the town of Kande.