Vegetarians, Stop Reading

Before we embarked on this adventure, we all had rules that we wanted to follow. Don´t drink the tap water. Don´t eat fruit or vegetables that aren´t peeled or boiled. Wear a seatbelt. Things like that.

Personally, every rule that I set for myself was broken within 24 hours of arriving in Peru, including avoidance of meat. In the United States, I´m a vegetarian, as is Molly and Maria. Both Maria and I have broken down and eaten meat, although I think life-long vegetarian Molly is still going strong.

In the interests of experiencing the full culinary heritage of our host culture, Gabriella and I decided to try cuy for lunch today. (If you´re a vegetarian, here´s the part where you should stop reading.)

Cuy is guinea pig. Cuy is surprisingly delicious. Cuy is a traditional Andean meat. Yesterday, as we were touring some ruins, we saw two people bathing a large bag of cuy (you read that right). The meat tastes a little like chicken, but with more flavor. The texture is tender. It´s almost like combining the flavor of dark meat with the leanness of white meat. Our Rotarian host, Alfredo, told us that cuy are best when they´re young, around three months. After six months, they´re too tough.

Other traditional Andean foods include potatoes, corn (maiz), potatoes, trout, potatoes, cheese, potatoes, chicken, potatoes, eggs, and potatoes. We have been fortunate to eat in several Andean restaurants since we´ve arrived in order to sample all the local dishes. Peruvian food is delicious! Everything seems much fresher, with more flavor, than in the United States. I want to put a few chickens in my backpack to bring to the U.S. for their delicious eggs, but I think I might have a problem getting through customs...

EDIT (7 mayo 2009): I forgot to say that Nancy also tried the cuy! What adventurous ladies!

Thankfulness

"Blessed are those who give without remembering. And blessed are those who take without forgetting."

This afternoon, the District 7170 team met at Cornell Cooperative Extension for final preparations. We discussed our presentation, packing, attire, travel plans, and a million other details. It seems that there is so much to happen over the next four days for all of us!

Even though last minute preparations are occupying our thoughts, we took a moment to reflect on the generosity of the many organizations and individuals who have helped us get this far. We would especially like to recognize the following:

• Gary Herzig and the District 7170 GSE Committee: thank you for this amazing opportunity and all of the guidance you've given us!
• The Ithaca Cayuga Club (especially Chuck Broadhead & Doug Armstrong), Ithaca Sunrise Club (especially Christine Hausse), and the Ithaca Rotary Club "Noon Club" (especially Rich Spingarn): thank you for your endorsement and your sponsorship!
  
• Sergio Pedro, Department of Modern Languages & Literatures, Ithaca College: thank you for your crash course in español--you did a great job of presenting helpful and relevant topics!
• Museum of the Earth/ PRI (especially Warren Allmon, Executive Director): thank you for the fossils for sharing with our hosts!
• Ed Forman: thank you so much for graciously printing our team business cards!
• Gina Gammage-Sikora and Rebecca Heller-Steinberg, our talented team alternates: your involvement and support every step of the way has been invaluable!
• Nancy would like to thank George Gull and Bill Cadwallader.
  
• Gabriella would like to thank Ann Hales and Nicole would like to thank Charlie Brundza & Sue Willcox. We learned about Group Study Exchange through you, and without your advocacy we wouldn't be here!
  
• We would all like to thank our employers & colleagues for their support and for allowing us to take time away from Ithaca to develop professionally and personally. Thank you to the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures at Ithaca College, Cornell Cooperative Extension, John Snyder Architects, Ithaca Youth Bureau, and Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit.
• Finally, we would all like to thank our families and friends. Your love and support goes with us on our adventure!

We depart at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 2. Perhaps our next dispatch will be posted from PERU!

Team 7170 Group Presentation

Here is the presentation that we'll share with our host Rotary District.

Condolences

Yesterday, the team received very sad news: the Governor of our host District, Antonio Garcia Angulo, passed away in the morning of Sunday, April 19, 2009.

We are very sorry to hear of his passing. We understand he worked very hard on our group study exchange experience, and we were looking forward to meeting him.

We would like to send our deep condolences to Antonio Garcia Angulo's family, friends, and Rotary colleagues in District 4460.