Hi All, Last time I updated this blog I was just home from Peru, and was preparing for many changes in my life, one of those being a new job opportunity that I was extremely nervous about and very much looking forward to. Well, that job opportunity went down the tubes quickly...I lost interest about a month ago, and got laid off when the company crumbled last week. I learned a lot during the last four months at MetiLinx...number one, don't trust people and get everything in writing. The one thing good that came out of this is that I am unemployed for the first time in 10 years and in a situation to take some time off. So I am off on another adventure. I have been going back and forth about how I'm going ... read more

I am here. I am tired. I am going to sleep. The End.... read more

Back in the U.S.A.! But not quite home. I am now in Islandia, New York. I am sitting in the Marriott Hotel across the street from my office. It was been a long day! And it is not over yet. I woke up at 5:00am yesterday morning and said goodbye to Ayacucho. It was sad to leave, but I did have a nice last night. The girls made S'mores in the microwave (because we were too tired to make a fire), then we all gathered in the common room and watched the Director's Cut of Donnie Darko on my laptop, while I drank my last Cristal beer. It was a nice, relaxing evening. A perfect way to end the trip. Alejandro drove me to the airport at around 5:45am and I caught my flight to Lima. ... read more

Almost forgot, yesterday I was at a boy´s home. Not too much to say about it, except that it really seemed like a clean, healthy, positive place. All the boys seemed pretty happy. I spent most of the day with a kid named Freddy, teaching him geography. Freddy´s parents come and see him, but can´t afford the take care of him and his 4 sisters. So they put him in the home. There is also an albino kid there who had 20/100 vision. He had glasses, but would never wear them. So, Dick and Lynn took him to the optometrist and got him new prescription sunglasses. They only improved his vision to 20/50...but still! He is so happy, and it only cost $35USD. Here are some pictures of the kids. ... read more

One thing I have forgot to mention about this trip is the food, and people getting sick. This was a major theme to the Africa trip, but here it´s not really a big subject. The food is boring. That´s about the only way I can explain it. Not bad, not good, just food. For example, last night we had white rice (which we have with every meal), some veggie dish, and this potato-based dumpling with some kind of meat and egg white in it. Eatable, but definitely not delicious. A lot of nights there is only vegatable dishes, and on those nights I find myself at Magic Negra ordering a Calzone with Ham, Charizo, and Cheese. Not too bad. The stable dishes here are meat (cow or alpaca) which tastes a little gamey, chicken (which we ... read more