FINISHED!



The finished exhibit! Complete with four display cases with artifacts and crafts, two mannequins, a carved rock model of the andenes, two posters in English, Spanish and Quechua, and an oral history exhibit.

 Yes, that's right! I finished mounting the exhibit! Doesn't mean that the entire project is done, but it does mean that I can finally move on from all the hands on work to other things, like promotion and school visits. YES!

But wait, it's been a few months since my last entry, so let me catch you up on what I've been doing!

First, we finally got to see some rain here in dessert Arequipa. I think it even surprised the Arequipians, they were saying it didn't rain at all last year. Well, this year made up for it! We had a few days equivalent to what a good thunderstorm would be in Kentucky, and the sewers got backed up. The street outside our house was a river, and water started to come through a crack in the wall! We spent the next five hours moving furniture and sweeping the water across our studio apartment, out the front door. Luckily, the landlord came down to help us. Besides a few wet books, we didn't lose anything, so I'm very, very happy.

The raining season also made for some interesting visits to Colca Valley. Every day it rains at about 2pm, and if you get caught in it, you're bound for a cold night unless you have some dry clothes tucked away. I usually travel light, so you can imagine I'm always trying to stay indoors in the afternoon!

One weekend I stayed a few nights in Chivay, hoping to get a meeting with an archaeologist in the valley, who unfortunately did not have time in the end. Nevertheless, I was able to do something I have been putting off for quite some time: seeing the ruins that hover just above Chivay (the capital about 1/2 hour from Tuti). Below you can see the pictures. There were a few towers that may have been chullpas (funerary towers) on the top of a hills overseeing the city. Unfortunately, people had covered many rocks with grafitti, but it was still a beautiful view. Especially with the storm clouds coming down around me.



One of the towers on the hill overlooking Chivay.



Another tower in Chivay.

I also got a chance to see my professor from the University of Louisville in Tuti! She had done her dissertation research in Callalli, about an hour northeast of Tuti. She comes back to Peru frequently to continue her research on alpaca herds and organic farming.  I was lucky that she decided to rent a car for the day and invited me to join her! I had not ventured up farther into the valley than Tuti, being nervous about the state of the roads and not wanting to get stuck an extra night up in an unknown town. It was great being able to tag along with her; I got to see a professional anthropologist in action :), and I got to feel like a tourist for a day, not just working on my own project. I took lots of pictures of Sibayo and Callalli. What surprised me the most was how open they are. Tuti is wedged between two mountains, so you are always looking up. But Sibayo and Callalli both have higher and more open areas where you can see the mountains farther away. It was a breath of fresh air. We visited a woman's tent where she dries the alpaca meat to sell. My professor laughed that now I've seen where they raise the alpaca, where they dry the meat, and the restaurants where they eat it; all that's left is to see the slaughterhouse, and I'll have a complete view of the cycle! I admitted, though, that I had cut up a skinned alpaca already, trying to help one of the regidores prepare for a feast back in December. That was as close as I feel I need to go!



Overlooking Callalli.



Natural  rock formations they call El Castillo for their resemblance to a medeival castle.

A decorated llama sits atop the fountain in Sibayo's main plaza. See the oncoming rain? We got out of town just when it started, before the dirt roads turned to mud!

A beautiful rock formation just outside Callalli. This was on the road my professor used to take on the way to her field site.

Senora Narcisa and my professor outside the museum in Tuti!

This past week the Nobel Prize winning author and Arequipa native, Mario Vargas Llosa, visited Arequipa. It was one of those surprise events (to me) that just happens and I was fortunate enough to take advantage of! I was walking through the plaza and noticed crowds of people standing around in front of the municipality . Coincidentally, I ran into a tour guide who I had met up in Tuti, and during our chat, he explained that the author would be walking through the plaza in about half an hour! I ran home and got Juan, but by the time we got back, the whole parade had already passed. So we started searching through the nearby streets, finally coming across a crowd in front of the Municipal Theatre. There were plenty of police around so we knew it had to be the right place! There were dozens of Peruvians with tickets to enter, people who worked at different Arequipa institutions who had been formally invited. We stuck near them tyring to see if we could get in the front door. No good. Suddenly, a security guard announces, "Those that want to enter, follow me!" We went around the corner to the back entrance, but even then, they wouldn't open the doors to us. The people with tickets were particuarly frustrated, having to run around from here to there just to try to get in. After five minutes, the same security guard announces that it seems the back entrance is closed too, and it'd be better for everyone to go back to the front.
As the crowd started to leave, I grabbed Juan and said,  "What if it's a game? What if they're sending everyone away right now just so they can open the back door???" Sure enough, as soon as the line dissipated, a second back entrance, which looked like any tiny, inconspicuous metal door opened, and those that hung around started to squat down and go in. We laughed and went in with them! Turns out, that entrance led up to the third floor. As you can see from the pictures, we didn't have a great view, but I'm still proud to say I attended part of Mario Vargas Llosa's ceremony! Even better, we got to sneak in!

Juan on the banister in the Municipal Theatre.



Me, with the ceremony for Mario Vargas Llosa in the background.




Mario Vargas Llosa is in the middle.


Finally, as I've already mentioned, I got to finish the exhibit in Tuti. Phew! I had a rough time trying to get the printer to print out my posters. First I was told to make the design in Corel Draw, then I had to save it in an older version of Corel Draw, then when they opened the older version, all the text alignment was off and I had to sit there in their office and fix each one! But at least they were printed. I also wasn't able to find foam board of the thickness I wanted, to be able to tape the posters to and slide the inside the wooden frames. (That's what I get for assuming, again, that'd I'd be able to find the same kinds of materials here as I would in the US). Luckily, with enough rubber cement and tape, I got the posters to stay on the fronts and backs of the frames, which worked out just as well.

The oral history exhibit, with a list of the tracks and photos of each narrator.

One of the informative panels, discussing the history of the Collagua and Cabana tribes in the region. Spanish and Quechua in front, with English on the back. The frames move because they are attached to hinges.

View of the right side of the museum, with the female mannequin wearing her polleras, and two display cases with ceramic artifacts and woven crafts in the back.

Close up of some of the ceramic keros, identified as coming from the Chuquibamba and Churrajon cultures. 

View of the other texts, discussing the history of the Inka domination of the region.

The credit panel, thanking all the institutions who have helped the mounting of this exhibition, including Fulbright and my alma mater, UofL!

Monday morning the kids from the elementary school came over to see the place. They were excited to see new things, especially the 4th graders. The funniest thing was seeing how excited they were not by the artifacts, but by the huge mannequins! The boys took pictures of themselves next to the 6 1/2 foot male, and the girls kept jumping to try and tap the female mannequin's hat brim! It was great. Even though it wasn't as 'structured' a visit as you might expect, I was ecstatic when I overheard some 5th graders standing around the carved rock model of irrigation canals talking about a legend of how 'the waters on Pumunuta mountain had dried up'.  That is exactly what I had been dreaming of, that a casual encounter with an artifact would spark some memories or interest in histories that the kids had heard about before. Score!

Members of the Heritage committee visited the museum after our meeting Sunday night.

Students from the local elementary school, looking at the carved rock that represents the  terraced fields on the mountainsides.

Fourth and fifth graders visited the museum Monday morning...

And were impressed by how tall the mannequins were!



Even their teachers came in to look around.


I also got a meeting with the local Heritage committee, headed by Senora Narcissa. I've been preoccupied trying to figure out who exactly is going to take responsibility for maintaining the museum when I leave. I met with the mayor, and he had mentioned leaving everything to the tourism councilman. Later, however, the same mayor mentioned I could leave the key with the municipality live-in security, a woman who is always there. So I quickly got the impression that this wansn't going to be an organized 'handing over of the key' but rather a jumbled 'just drop it off with someone and we'll figure it out.' Eek. Also, from talks with Narcissa, I got the feeling she and the Heritage committee were worried that the new mayor might someday ransack the space, or try to take credit for its foundation. Since the Heritage committe seemed more interested than the municipality in taking over the museum, I gladly met with the Heritage committee and we talked about our plans. Seems they could organize themselves into month-long rotations, with each person responsible during their months for the opening and closing of the museum, cleaning and passing out info, etc. Nice idea, even though it was only a brainstorming session.

The real success of that meeting was deciding that we should all meet later with the mayor on April 20th to officially write an act/contract leaving the museum in the Heritage committee's hands. I hope it works out!
Then we will celebrate the inauguration of the museum on April 25th, which is Tourism Day during their week long Agricultural Festival.  There should be plenty of attendence from the community and from the town officials that week: the festival leads up to the town's anniversary on May 2-3. I know the patrons of this year's festival, so I've already promised to come in that week and celebrate. Senora Florencia, who owns the hostel where I stay, even said she'll look for some polleras to have me wear that weekend, so I can dance in the plaza with her! I was wary of dancing back in December's festival, but since May will be my last month in Tuti, I might make an exception. Look for photos!

Speaking of May and beyond, I have to start thinking about looking for my first post-Fulbright job. Hmmmm. We've already been to the immigration office. I first have to find a company that wants to hire me for a year (the minimum to get a work visa). That in itself involves updating my resume in Spanish, dropping it off to several schools, getting interviews, and a job offer. Then I have to go back to immigration, and get a legal document giving me permssion to sign the contract, which takes 2-3 days. Then, I have to sign the contract, and work along with my employer to get all the right paperwork signed in the Ministry of Employment. Once that paperwork is done, its another 2 months of processing in Lima before I have my work visa and can start.

Yikes!

My husband is going through the same thing. Please send your thoughts and prayers that we're able to get through this process quickly. If we don't have work by June, we're going to have to cut Juan's masters in half and come back, which would be a real shame.

I think that about covers most of what we've been up to. We found a new group of friends through our other friends, the Brits, which has been nice. More people to go out with, drink coffee with, gossip with haha! Can't say I don't miss home at all, but it makes it a lot easier now that we're building a little family of friends here.

See you soon!