blood, sweat, and sandboarding

A lot has gone down this week. After arriving in Pisco, I went to a rural community a few hours away to work on a water filtration system, only to walk through the host family´s door and lie down in a fetal position for almost two days. It´s the worst being sick in a house with no running water(the toilet doesnt flush). Luckily, I sucked it up before I got here and overpaid for some anti-biotics, which took care of whatever was causing chaos and violence within my stomach. It was that bad. As seven or eight other group members would soon find out.SSSSoorrry. On the second day, while bathing in the river and recouperating, I coasted down with the tide underwater only to head face first into a large rock and bust up my nose. Andrew, theres blood coming from your nose, a lot of blood. But the end the week left me down in a good way. charging down a giant sand dune on a snowboard. Get down, or go home.

I´m back in the crowded bunk room at HODR´s headquarters and I´ll spend most of the week on the rubble crew, bringing down the cracked brick walls of former households and adding more debris to the street. I spent my day off, yesterday, at an oasis nearby and took a dune buggy tour of the sand dunes. This is like taking a small boat through a choppy ocean, only sand. The beauty of the dunes is accentuated by the absolute silence, but of course I just cant be happy until I rip through the natural landscape on a board. The sunset, I took in on its own.

I dont have much time to write. No more wit or satire. Ive been in south america for nearly two months and Ive been on the planet for nearly 23 years. I dont want sentimenality to turn off faithful readers, but I will note one simple, obvious, realization. I believe its most important to be where you are entirely, content and with passion. This only seems possible when you make the decision to turn time from a restriction to an absolute freedom. I wont make any difference to myself or anyone else, waiting for the right amount of money, the right degree, or the right circumstance to indulge in everything Ive been brought up to desire. Ive been lucky enough to find enough encouragement to take off, feet first, eyes closed--and yes it feels like dreaming.

´´We are here on Earth to fart around. Dont let anybody tell you different.´´

PS, If anyone is ever interested in visiting, or traveling together in the future, do as the aussies here say- GET IN THERE!