Our New Home

Our 14 hour roundabout journey to Huanchaco went off without a hitch. Albert had ample opportunities to interfere with our plans as we had no idea where our bus station was before arriving in Lima. But alas he had other plans and we easfully made it to our new home. The location couldn't be better. We are staying above a surf school about a 1 minute walk from la playa (the beach). We have our own rooms and access to a kitchen, wifi, warm showers, an flushing toilets! One big step up from Eco Truly. We christened our kitchen by making fresh guacamole on homemade tortillas! The fresh marcado (market) is only two blocks down and fufilled all of our fresh fruit and veggie dreams. 

We are planning to stay here for two months and have already met members of our new familia who have welcomed us and given us tips for the beach life we are living. We have a week before we art volunteering and will be taking Spanish classes and getting comfortable with our new location. Hasta luego, enjoy these pics of our guacamole fiesta!! 

My Marin men's group�:�Jim Benson.net

My Marin men's group�:�Jim Benson.net
Jim Benson has a great reputation as a mens group leader and has been influenced in a positive way by David Deida and his book The Way of the Superior Man.  While I don't know Jim personally , several of my associates do and speak highly of his dedication and integrety.  I am David Kest, a somatic Psychotherapist myself, seeking to start a peer mens group in 2013 in Marin County utilizing similar principles in supporting, awaking and challenging our brethern to maximize their human potential and to unleash their gifts upon the world!  Call me at 415-455-9020 or visit my website at : Couplesdialogue.com to contact me if this work interests you.  Here's to an awesome 2013!couplesdialogue.com

Kest Post 5

I believe story's have played a huge role throughout the course of human history. Storys give us a way to pass information from generation to generation. They allow us to  teach each other, and share experiences in an exciting way. Over the years, the word "Story" has become used in a more fictional sense Story's have also impacted humans with their therapeutic ability. Story's take our minds off of current events and open of windows to the past or imaginary worlds.

In the book Sold, Lakshmi uses the book given to her by Harish to escape her terrible surroundings. Even though it is in English, its simple story is more than anything else she has. The book her here ignore what is real, and gives here a way to block out what is going on around here. All around the world people use the power of Story's to escape from reality and experience situations they would normally never come across.

Elena Woodside Post 5

Stories are one of the most important aspects of our life. We have told stories since the beginning of time, whether through drawings, actions, or word of mouth. We are told stories of things that really happened, and we may embellish them over time, but thats what makes it so special. The fact that it has been told from person to person and over many generations, gives them a rich history. Stories have been told for many reasons. They also give us advice for the future.

Patricia McCormick’s novel Sold, is a deep, gut-wrenching story about a young girl being sold into prostitution. This story not only tells a tale from the point of view of the girl who is being forced to live in a brothel, but it shows emotion and the terror of being so young and yet so exposed to the things that really go on in the world. Patricia McCormick tells a great story that can teach many lessons to young girls. To be thankful for what you have, and to put yourself first. At least that is the lesson that I got out of it. Lakshmi stays there because she is forced too, but her family is the ones getting the money for her labor and suffering. She finally gets tired of suffering, and when she realizes that she needs to do things that are in her best interest, she escapes. This story shows that even in the darkest of times there is still hope. That is one of the best things that stories can do. They can inspire us, and just like they did for Lakshmi, they can help set us free

Kate Anderson post #5

Stories are an outlet, a way for people to be creative and a way for life lessons to be passed on from generation to generation. Stories allow you to learn from past mistakes and be able to interpret what may happen as a result of your actions. Stories are a way for people to escape their lives, escape into a world that is one completely unlike their own. Stories are a very critical and positive thing for humans, however they do have the ability to be used negatively, as we see in Sold.

In Sold, by Patricia McCormick, you can see the positive and negative aspects of stories. For example, in the beginning, Lakshmi heard wonderful stories of the city and how much promise it held, therefor she didn't hesitate at the opportunity to go there. Those stories she had heard, in the end, hurt her because she had no apprehension over leaving her nice life with her family and in turn, unknowingly entered the trade of sex slavery. Also, when Lakshmi is at the sex slavery place called "Happiness House," he hears stories of things that had happened to the other girls, such as how Anita's face got the way it was. These stories scared Lakshmi and made her very afraid. Those are examples of how stories can effect you negatively, however in Sold, you also see how stories can help people. When Lakshmi hears stories about the outside world and how life is outside of Happiness House it fills her with hope and a determination to escape. In that way stories are very positive because they are a way to instill hope in someone who once felt completely hopeless.

Stories are extremely important to humans and rightfully so. They are able to help, hurt, but most of all pass on knowledge from years past and years to come.

James Day post #5

Stories are to me in the same category as myths. Some people say that some stories are real and some are fake. What makes a story a story is that no one really know what exactly happened except the person who tells it and they can twist it however they want. Not all stories are like myths, some could be like what you did last week but whoever tells the story almost always changes the facts a little bit.

In Sold, by Patricia McCormick, Lakshmi knew only what was told to her about the city. Her step father told her a story that Lakshmi wanted to about how going to the city could pay for everything she wanted and they'd all be happy except she got tricked. He changed the facts and lied.

Robinson Blog 5

Telling stories has been a way of life for thousands of years. From the elders to the families around the fires, people are always telling stories. The Indians live their lives on stories. The times when a hunter took down a mammoth on his own, those are stories. That girl Sally, she kissed Timmy. Those are all stories as well as rumors. Stories sometimes give us an impression on a person. If you hear something from someone about someone you have that thought about them. Stories are very important because they give us an imagination. With stories we can imagine what we do or don't want in them. Stories are one of our outlets that have no limits. Everything we do or write about is because of stories. This gives us ideas with what we want to do. We try to copy stories that we hear, or try to create our own. Our whole life is a story. The simple things that happen to us that we don't expect are the plot twists. Stories are apart of our lives that is why they are so important.

In Sold, Lakshmi, is told about the city by her friends that it is painted with gold. She had the picture in her head with what that looked like because of the story. When she arrived to the city she was looking around for the gold on the cities and even asked "auntie" if they were painted with gold. Of coarse they weren't, but since Lakshmi had been told that story she expected it to be true. You can't always trust someone with stories. Lakshmi's story experienced a dramatic plot twist. She thought she was going maid, she was wrong. She was sent to a whore house. This is all one story. She also was told stories from the Beckham boy. This gave her ideas of what it is like out in the real world. She had been so caught up with the life of filth that she forgot what it was like to be free.