Peru's Earthquake

We were so sad to hear about the devastating earthquake that rocked Peru 2 days ago. It measured a 7.9 on the Richter scale and there are over 500 dead and rising, and over 800 injured. We were in the area just 3 weeks ago and can still picture it perfectly. In fact, Pisco was our last stop (this is the town the suffered the most casualties). That was the jumping off point for the Islas Ballestras. We're closing our eyes and remembering that place and all the beautiful faces we passed there. We are thankful to be safe and hope the area and people will heal quickly. Here's a link to a recent update from NPR and you can listen to the details there.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12903552

Mud Island and Massachusetts

The crew at Mud 2007

After some kayaking days in Richmond, we hopped in the tiny Ford Focus hatchback (pinenut) laden with two longboats and 2 bikes (we came back with 3 bikes- thanks dad!) and headed north to Buffalo. There we got to see a few sorely missed friends and hung out with them late into the evening (this is the Buffalo way of course). Then it was off to the Johnson's annual family reunion up on Wolfe Island in Canada (right smack in the middle of the St. Lawrence River which makes for kayaking heaven). (I'm in a parenthesis mood). Most of us still call it Mud Island even though we stay on Wolfe because the venue used to be right across the water on a teeny tiny island (Mud). It was a festival of eating gourmet meals, sailing, kayaking, biking, camping, water skiing (go Luke!), wakeboarding (I stink and had sore forearms for the week), playing Patty's well crafted game of whip golf aka thunder horseshoes (no sorry I forgot the real name), fishing, covering fish with ink and making fishprints, relaxing, becoming immersed in the swarms of swallows at sunset, daytripping into Kingston, korkling (damien's new found love for flipping upside down in his kayak with a scuba mask on, gazing at the fish unil his breath runs out, and then uprighting himself with his perfected roll technique), and being together with wonderful people.

A field of Sunflowers on the island

Damien takes me out in the Adirondack Guideboat aka the "Romantic Boat" made by the hands of his father and grandfather

Then we were off to meet my folks in the beautiful Adirondacks where we picnicked on their land, kayaked, and caught up with each other. In the morning we rushed down to see my grandparents- grama Jane had been admitted to the hospital the night before and thankfully we found her doing better than we expected. That being said, she still was in enough danger to need to remain in the ICU for a few days. I'm glad I was close enough in the area to be with her. When we were sure she'd be OK, we headed back to Agawam and had a few days to enjoy the company of one another and snuck in a few quick but wonderful visits with some peeps. To celebrate my parents 30th wedding anniversary and my mom's birthday, Aunt Di took us all out to Max Downtown in Hartford and we all agree that it was one of the most exquisite and amazing dining experiences we've ever had. Thank you Dianne! We played lots of music togther, and we got to play with Danielle's boyfriend Andy who is a great guitar player. We belted out a few of our favorites! We went moutnain biking with Marc in Robinson, hung out by the pool with a whole crew of fantastic people, and tried to spy some falling meteors. The time flew by.

The Schlaffs perform in the playroom

Now we are home in VA and it's like a sauna down here. It was a great trip! We meant to see more people than we actually did, but we had a ball and if we missed you this time, let's make sure we see you at x-mas! Missing everyone and so thankful for all of the wonderful people in our lives. Mwaa!

Adios S. America

Goodbye South America

After La Paz, Bolivia, we cut across the northern tip of Chile and had the chance to explore an area of vast desert and snow-covered volcanoes. We stayed with a family in Parinacota, the most beautiful village that consisted of only ten families, and was the coldest place we had been yet. The area was full of vicunas, llamas, condors, and even flamingoes. We took a few long and rambling walks in the area and discovered a lake (all of this is in Lauca National Park) that was truly an oasis, so the wildlife viewing was incredible.

Vicunas grazing in Lauca National Park, Chile

The church in the center of Parinacota

We traveled through the driest desert in the world called the Atacama and found ourselves in a very pleasing beach town named Arica (I kept thinking everyone was talking about me) where we frolicked around for an afternoon. The next day we crossed back into Peru. Our next stop was the jumping off point for what are known as "poor man's Galopagus islands," more likely to be found on a map under the name of Islas Ballestras. A boat helped us view the beautiful area and we spotted Humbolt Penguins, Peruvian Boobies (these are birds of course!), Peruvian Pelicans, Inca Terns, 3 kinds of Cormorants, sea lions, and dolphins.

He tried to eat D's shoe

Then it was back to Lima to explore the bustling streets, a monastary with catacombs, and the grand squares of crumbling colonialism.

Now we are back home, kayaking and relaxing in the lush beauty of the humid summer we have found here!

The Mountains and La Paz

We took a harrowing boatride on Lake Titicaca to the Isla del Sol in Bolivia to find a magical place where people live an amazingly tranquil lifestyle. There had been a snow storm the night before with thunder and lightning and the lake had monsterous waves on it. By the time we got the the island, the sun came out and all was peaceful.

A view of Lake Titicaca from Isla del Sol

We then headed to the village of Sorata, where the Cordillera Real portion of the Andes tower overhead. We hired a guide and set off on a three day trek. We slept at a green lagoon, and then wheezed our way up to 16,650 ft up to a glacier lake. It was amazing. There was snow, and much awe in mother nature found there.

Damien and our guide Pablo have a snack on day 2 of our trek

Relaxing at our final destination- Laguna Glacial

After some well deserved showers and sleep back in town, we headed to the capital of Bolivia- La Paz which is where I write from now. It is a vibrant city, one of the most colorful, exciting, and fascinating cities I can remember. We stay in the ¨witchcraft¨market area, where herbs and all sorts of strange concoctions are ready to be offered to pachamama, including dried llama fetuses that you are supposed to bury under the corner of your house for good luck. The markets are incredible, the architecture is beautiful and the people are so very interesting. THe city literally has its own heartbeat.

In the morning we head to the northern tip of Chile, as it proves to be the easiest border crossing back into Peru, as there are protests directly from here that have the roads blocked. We figure we´ll take advantage of our detour and explore a National Park there that is supposed to be one of the finest in all of Chile. Much love coming at you from South America!

From Peru to Bolivia

After Machu Picchu we both came down with some kind of flu thing which held us up for a couple of days, but finally we headed to the southeast to the world´s highest lake- Titicaca. En route we drove through the remnants of a major protest and for miles there were boulders of every size thrown in the road to thrwart travel and we even spied an overturned car. Our bus driver was an excellent swerver. We found out that the citizens were protesting against some major company in the area that was polluting their river to such an extent that the people could not eat the fish in it any more.
When we arrived in the town Puno, we had the chance to take a boatride out into the vast lake. The destination was these traditional floating islands made out of lake reeds that people actually live on. They use the lake reeds to build their boats, their houses, and literally to build the ground they walk on! It was fascinating.

We seemed to become instant friends with a particular family there, and I spent a long time singing songs with them (twinkle twinkle little star was a big hit, and I had to sing it like 10 times so they could get the pronunciation just perfect), while Damien hung out with grandma in the kitchen discussing pollo de lago (chicken of the lake) - his and her own personal joke about a certain duck the locals enjoy eating. Hanging out on the floating islands
After that it was another dramatically beautiful busride around the lake, past intermingled herds of alpaca and sheep grazing in the treeless, windswept highlands of the Andes, past adobe villages, and miles of potatoes of every variey. We reached the Bolivian border and crossed over (sketchy policia there asking if our money was fake) to find another beautiful little town on Lake Titicaca- Copacabana (not the one from that song) which is situated at 12,600 feet and leaves you breathless the moment you walk out of your door. Bolivia is known as the most culturally traditional country in S. America, and we are enamoured already. Bolivians believe that they are all direct descendants of Pachamama (mother earth).
This morning in front of the church in the central plaza, the people were decorating cars and buses with flowers, garlands, ribbons, bows, praying with incense under the hoods, and sprinkling wine on the tires all in an effort to please the spirits that protect travelers. I like it here.

Need anything to decorate your car with?

Hola de Peru

Exploring the streets of Cusco

Well, we have been in Peru now for a little over one week, and we´re quickly falling in love with this country. We first explored Cusco and Pisac where impressive ancient Inca foundations are overlapped with Spanish colonialist architecture and the effect is some of the most stunning places I have ever seen. It´s winding cobblestone streets, adobe walls, terricotta rooves, and ruins everywhere. The locals are quite friendly, and they may have an adorned alpaca in tow. The markets are full of colorful textiles. One night in Pisac we didn´t sleep because of the festival celebrating July 1st, and there was the infinite ringing of church bells and horns and drums and dancing.

Market day in Pisac

Then we were off to two more places in the Sacred Valley- the first was Ollantaytambo which is a thriving town that remains the same as the original Inca design. It is truly a magical experience to wander through that town of thatched rooves, impeccable stonework, and ruins looming on every hillside. Rumor has it that there was one hell of a battle there between the Incas and the gold-thirsty conquistadors. The mountains are huge, and there the climate is actually a mountainous desert. Cacti and orchids growing side by side. White capped mountains jutting up in the background in every direction.

Enjoying an afternoon in Ollantaytambo

Next we decended down a little bit into a lush climate known as a cloud forest to make our way to the most famous Inca ruins in South America-Machu Picchu. It was never even discovered by the Spanish because it was in such a precarious location. We woke up at dawn and made our way there, and our 1st glimpse literally took our breath away. We spent the whole day there in awe of it´s prisine beauty and how in the world they could build such an asthetic and complex city literally on cliffsides. Phenomenal. I think its impressiveness is due to the combination of unbelievable stonework and the dramatic green mountains jutting up all around it. We have been climbing mountains every day and are becoming accustomed to the altitude, and now we are back in higher elevations. Next destination: Lake Titicaca. There is so much more to say, and I am still working on uploading pictures from our camera so that I can pair images with my lacking descriptions. Adios!

Machupicchu early in the morning

Damien looks out over the sacred valley

Off to Peru

Damien naps in a sublime spot in Shenandoah NP

With the school year being over, and us feeling a lot lighter, we got in the car and drove to Shenandoah National Park to compliment our peaceful state of being and do some more exploring. This was after some extensive celebrating with fellow teachers who every so often would bust out with a passionate rendition of "School's Out for Summer." Damien's department head told him, "Congratulations, you just made it through the hardest year of your life," while the rest ask if we are really really really coming back next year. We assure them that we will not be adding to the high turnover rate of inner city school faculty just yet.


Back to the vacation part! We had reserved a cabin about 1/2 a mile off the Appalachian Trail and right in the middle of the park. We saw lots of deer and one especially clumsy spotted fawn, but the wildlife highlight was certainly creatures who had been fairly elusive to me in the past: bears. We saw 6 bears in 2 days! The first 2 were spotted right off the Doyles River Trail on the way to and from the waterfall you see in the picture. On our second day, we completed an 8-mile hike (sore calves- need more training for our Andean trek!) and saw a huge mama bear and her three cubs right behind our cabin! They went running up the hill and the big one stopped about 75 yards away while the three little ones climbed up to the top of a tree above her. We had binoculars so we could see their baby faces and they were beautiful. Mama was not moving and staring at us. Every so often she would clap her lips together to make this loud noise and we're pretty sure she was telling us not to come any closer. There was a little gnashing of the teeth as well. We admired them for about 20 minutes and were awed by her size. We were ready to run if necessary. We decided to get out of her line of sight so that they could make a move to leave. But we couldn't leave either because that's where we were sleeping and it was around 8:30 pm. So we stayed quiet and out of view and after quite some time we saw them come down and move on. It was incredible!

We found out that mice like licking olive oil too.

There are massive Tulip trees in the park

So now it's packing mania over here. Our flight into Lima is on Tuesday. We're bringing all of our gear for cold mountain weather and a crazy idea that maybe we should go to Bolivia too. Trying to fit all we need into our 2 backpacks. Thank god for zip lock bags.

9 months of torture is worth 9 weeks off

Bwa ha ha! We're on Summer vacation. We can't believe we have completed our first year of teaching. All I want to know is why didn't they have ninja vs. pirate pillow fights when we lived in Buffalo?

Mom's Visit

We had a wonderful visit with mama Kay when she flew down here last weekend. We kayaked the Mattaponi, shopped, went out to eat, frolicked all over Richmond, cooked, relaxed, saw Spiderman on a rainy afternoon, wore pretty dresses (not D of course), took her to watch us in some rapids and Damien surf river waves, played rummy at night and played hooky in the morning, made friends with a turtle, missed dad, and enjoyed each other's company. Love you!

Trevor the Wonderdog

It was a very sad day for the Schlaffers 5/31/07. Our beloved little house beast, our Trevor, aka Trevor the Wonderdog, aka Captain Fall Dog, aka Crimp Ears, died. He was 16 years old and so very elderly. We are all thankful to have had our little free-spirited guy for so long as part of our family. This is a picture of him when he still loved to climb the mountains in New Hampshire.

Mountain Rendevous

We certainly are very fortunate to be able to have a beautiful getaway close to home. We got a chance to see our homies for a weekend in the mountains of West Virginia, where Jimmy Lisowski and his friends (who now have become our friends too) own a gorgeous cabin. Chris was there and even Bob Klug and Bella came for a side trip on their move from Buffalo to Hudson, NY. It was marvelous to be able to be with such awesome people (and dogs)! The picture above is the view we got on what was definitely the most adventurous portion of our weekend. Damien, Chris, Bob, Jimmy, and I went on a crazy 12 mile mountain biking excursion. It was steep and treacherous. It was difficult and exhilarating. It was so rocky, wildly exhausting, and the views were brilliant! When we finally had arrived at the expansive vista, our tired bodies and spirits were uplifted and we knew we'd actually survive the journey. This was after we met the thunder and lightening storm and torrential downpours as we rode along the highest point on the ridge. The last two miles were amazing single track through blooming Mountain Laurel, purple slate, and mossy switchbacks. We all had wounds, stories of flying through the air with our bikes left behind us, scars from timber-bashing, sore wrists from maneuvering over large boulders, and giant grins on our faces. It was truly great.

We spent the rest of our time together relaxing, swimming, eating, and enjoying each other's company.

When we got home, Damien helped me build some brick planters for my little garden and we added some potted jade and peat moss. Sure feels like summer down here.

Bringing the Wicked to Virginia

Ed & Juliette, our dear sweet peas, drove down here from Northampton MA, and brought the "wicked" with them. I easily fell back into using my native Mass lingo and we really did have a wicked awesome time together. We went to the bald cypress swamp out by Virginia beach, rode our bikes around Bell Isle here in Richmond, ate lots of wicked delicious vegan food together (including Ethiopian mmmm), explored the city, clotheslined a few coffees, and just enjoyed each other's good company. We miss you wicked bad!

For my birthday (which is the same day as my dad's) Damien got me a beautiful whitewater kayak paddle. I thought that was it. I was so excited I said I wanted to go look online right then for whitewater kayaks (we only had 1 whitewater boat, in case you're wondering our other boats are for flatwater- so the paddle was the perfect impetus to finally go ahead and buy a 2nd whitewater boat). We ran inside to get to the computer, and I took a step backward when I saw a beautiful kayak sitting on the kitchen floor! It had a giant pink bow on it. What an amazing present. Here's a picture of me using it on the James River after a set of rapids you can't really see in the distance. I've named her Clementine.

There is officially only one month left in the school year!

Happy Mother's Day too to our extradordinary mothers.

The Butter Lamb Goes to Chincoteague

The Butter Lamb takes a ride on the kayak to enjoy the sunset.

Spring Break was wonderful with our families in Chincoteague. Our rental house was right on the water and Damien, Kay, Joe, Patty, David, Tullis and I kayaked and biked every day. Assateague National Seashore was right around the corner, and the bird life was incredible. We ate like maniacs, played music, enjoyed each other's company, cooked, read, made some collaborative art, and relaxed. The only bummer was the chilly weather. Often I found myself kayaking in my winter coat and hat thinking, "this just doesn't seem right for April in Virginia, no?" (Today it's 87 degrees here in Richmond). But despite the unusual brisk weather, we managed to have a wonderful time. It was truly beautiful there. We had a Polish Easter celebration which included Perogis and Butter Lambs, and Patty's famous Easter Breakfast. We also got very close to the wild ponies of Chincoteague, who looked so noble with their manes blowing in the wind.

David glides over the smooth waters of the tidal channels by our place.

The Schlaffers line up according to height.

The Johnsons enjoy the end of beautiful day.

Damien and Tully work on our collaborative piece featuring many birds including the "Sparrow De Dios."

Wild wild ponies, couldn't drag me away...

It was a wonderful vacation. We miss you all so much!

30 in the Blue Ridge Mts.

I took D on a surprise birthday getaway weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The cabin was built in the 1700's and is a magical spot in the universe. We did a whole lot of hiking, relaxing, bird-watching, and eating. The Redbuds were blooming in their purple splendor and the mountains were huge! We also saw a bazillion deer, got up close and personal with a vulture eating a dead racoon, had a strange encounter with some cows with staring problems, found the greenest river, hiked next to a tall waterfall, explored the quaint town of Lexington, and pretended we lived 200 years ago in our dreamy cabin.

Poem

I wanted to post this beautiful poem that our friend Yang You wrote for us. She is a dear friend and an amazing poet. We miss her because she's all the way in Taiwan. Hope you enjoy!

Farmers
white snow
quiet and Acceptance.
silver mirror
reflect and whole come back to true image.

Diversity of seeds.
waiting for changes.
Farmer! Farmer!
Please come.
I want to grow up and become mature.

Many words in my soul.
Haven't come out.
Maybe a poem?
Maybe a song?
Maybe a golden apple?
who knows?

After being cared by teacher farmer.
A great nature forest of students.
A beautiful garden of students.
A wonderful clear sky will be there.

A fruitful life will come!!

Beware the Ides of March!

The title of this post was chosen because we are now diving into Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, a play in which Caesar is betrayed and assassinated on the 15th of March. My students read Shakespeare's lines as if they are riddles with meanings they can't quite decipher, but they seem to enjoy the concept of murder, betrayal, and dictatorship. Everyone is eager to play the role of dictator even though they disagree with the concept. Oh how power influences... We can't believe that there are just 4 teaching months left in our first year. We are certainly busy, but this new world for us is, at least a little bit, more comfortable now. I must admit my frustration however; the standardized test mania that my students and I have been enduring is outrageous. I feel that I can now confidently testify that the art of teaching resides under a heavy dictatorship of scores, accreditation, and performance which measures nothing in the realm of critical thinking, the love of literature, or ways to be practically successful in the world! Even Caesar might have objected!
We've been having some fun lately, which was largely due to some wonderful visits from some wonderful people including my mama one weekend and Danielle and her sweet pea Andy the next. What a pleasure it was to have such dear guests grace us with their presence! We went to Jamestown, the original settlement that was established 400 years ago, with my mom. The picture is a statue of Pocahontis that was erected there. It was so great to have good friends and family around. Thank you for you; we miss you very much and are so grateful to have you in our lives.
We've been out mountain biking and have had some amazingly warm days. Virginia is gorgeous! We are now trying to figure out our summer plans and I think something abroad may be in store for us again. We are itching for a good trip. I'll let you know what we decide, because weighing our options this time has proven difficult. There are just so many fascinating places to see...and of course the price of a plane ticket makes an immeasurable difference too.
Damien is turning 30 on March 30th! Certainly it will be a celebration of sorts. Another orbit around the sun. We are thankful for every beautiful day of our lives, which are accented with challenges, 5:30 am alarms, police presence at school, the reality that success depends on the circumstances of what situation you are born into, moments of unexplainable beauty and compassion, and of course, without exception, the amount of love that we can bear to give which seems to exponentially come back at us in disguise.

The Many Faces of the James

This is the foggy, gray, and contemplation-inducing side of the James' personality. Damien sits in this very spot almost every day on his way home from work. I think his peaceful outlook is enhanced through his relationships with nature.

We had a fantastic weekend in West Virginia with the Lisowski brothers. We had Jimmy's cabin which is perched on top of a mountain and overlooks a breathtaking valley full of trees. We spent our days hiking, exploring, biking, eating, reading, and making various paper mache birds for Chris' art show, which we hear was a great success in Pittsburgh!

We also went snowboarding on a 50 degree sunny day in the Blue Ridge mountains last weekend. And this weekend we went mountain biking at Pochahontas State Park. Being outside in the winter here is less frigid, and the temperatures certainly make it easier to enjoy the outdoors.

Teaching is going well for us. It is utterly exhausting, both physically and mentally, and it's rewarding beyond explanation. We typically work either at school or at home on school stuff, on average, for 12-14 hours a day. I constantly feel overwhelmed, but I also feel nourished in a way I have never experienced before. The high schools here are a bit insane and totally stressful, but they are also a source of joy for us. Sometimes I forget who I am during the week, and on Saturdays I breathe in the world and notice things like clouds and can actually here my inner voice saying, "hey!" I'm still searching for the right balance.

Well enough of that. The Superbowl is this evening and I'm rooting for the Patriots! Go New England! Bwa ha ha...

My Beautiful Dining Room Table

Well, our beautiful dining room table of course. Our apartment has been graced by the workmanship of an extraordinarily talented woodworker. His name is Norman Johnson and he is Damien's amazing Grandpa. He has given us a gift that will be cherished by our family for the rest of our lives, and likely longer than that too. This is a big thank you to him and Ozzie (D's Grandma), who worked so hard and so carefully to give us a table made out of equal parts Red Oak, love, and fine skill. Thank you also to our parents who both splurged and bought us gorgeous matching chairs, which were stained by Norm to go with the table. Lastly, we now have a beautiful set of place mats & napkins to compliment our stunning dining room (the perfect x-mas present, thank you n&o). Here's to many meals remembering your kindness and elegant talent- we are honored. P.S. And of course thank you David and Tully for driving all the way to Virginia to deliver the goods! What a pleasure to have you here...

A Low Carbon Emissions New Year

We both had the typical resolutions in mind: more exercise, worry less etc., but ultimately, Damien and I have resolved to try and reduce our personal carbon emissions this year. We hope that perhaps you will, or already have, embarked on the same path to attempt to be a part of the movement to curb the urgent climate crisis. If you have any questions, watch Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, or National Geographic's State of the Earth (thanks Klug!) You can stream 5 excerpts of this film at www.nationalgeographic.com. It's interesting to see your own impact on the state of the earth: calculate your footprint in terms of your carbon emissions at this website: http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/

or at this website:

http://www.bestfootforward.com/footprintlife.htm

There cannot be anything possibly more important than this. But, as you may already know, there's hope if we all work together. Wanna know some simple changes that can help? Go to: http://www.nativeenergy.com/more_you_can_do.html#1 Let's be guardians of the very near future.

I Heart New York

Aww shucks. 12 beautiful days in Buffalo. We spent our time with our friends and families, (once again the Schlaffs and Johnsons were together for another unforgettable Schlonson experience). We gathered from all the corners of the country, we cooked, we hiked in the Niagara River Gorge, we went to Jamestown, we played lots of music, we spoiled each other, we learned how to recover a hard drive, we took care of Trevor the Wonderdog, we read books, we crocheted, we ached with laughter, we smelled the earthy aroma of Norm's woodworking studio, we watched Rudolph with three little boys in pajamas awaiting Santa, we ate ice cream for breakfast for our first snowfall this year (which certainly wasn't Buffalo's first), we held Pete & Alie's new baby, we painted ornaments, we danced to Babik in a crowded bar, we stayed up until 4 in the morning, we ate chicken wings, we threw parties, we went to other peoples parties, we were caroled to, we cheered for the Sabres, we were thankful, we saw Fred Slacks play, we made cookies, we hopped around waterfalls at Chestnut Ridge, we told stories, we were cold, we were cozy, we felt so lucky. Thanks everybody! We miss you!