comma,

Within the first few months I was here I painted a comma on my wall. A comma?

( Sorry you have to turn your head.)
I remember sitting in my concrete kitchen, retro-pondering the fragments of my life that make up my journey and those moments which are separated by transitions, conscious pauses or metahorical commas. I decided I must embrace the commas however they evolve and transcend.

Life as a Peace Corps volunteer has already awarded me with loads of intraspection, questions, social challenges, expressions of suffering and celebration...all adding perspective on what it means to be human.

I feel I´m leaving behind a comma as the potential to act on growing relationships has come. Nine months as the `newbie´has dissipated wherein my recent days have been more socially oriented as doors are opening for opportunities to serve.
Here´s a small photo journal of my New Year:

Minga (Group work day)- Planting corn for the local church to eventually sell for profit. P.s. I love wearing the big goofy sombrero!Dude- my new pup who tries to catch a wink before we head off on another walk.

Kichwa class-I go every Wednesday and in return teach English on Mondays. (Dude is napping on my lap!)
Ñuka runa shimira yachani. (I´m learning kichwa.)

Recently a four month old baby passed away due to heart troubles. It is custom to stay all night and accompany the family. Candles were burning around the coffin as people cried, told stories, drank wayusa, played cards, watched movies and just showed up to just be together. It was really a beautiful, endearing experience.

My counterpart Angel and I recently promoted the idea of starting a community bank. Angel went to a workshop on community banks a few months back. This is of the first informative meeting- he did all the talking and people seemed keen to the idea. The name is Wakachik Runa or `One who guards´.

Many of my afternoons involve a soccer ball, swinging kids in circles and frollicking around the field with rambunctious kids like Oscar!

There´s more to come-poco a poco.

I´ve recently been encouraged by this:

The Serenity Prayer

God, give us the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,

courage to change the things which should be changed,

and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

-Reinhold Niebuhr