Happy 2008

I rang in 2008 at the famous Loser's Party at Bob and Maggie McCartys house outside of DC. It was great fun! Wonderful food, fun people...a good time had by all. The McCarty's have generously allowed me to be a houseguest for a week or so as I prepared for my South America trip. They are great people with a gift for hospitility. I have throughly appreciated and enjoyed my time here. Not to mention the glorious gift of the hot tub and great wine. A very tough life indeed. It has indeed been a great blessing to have such generous friends.

So for the past week, I've been gearing up for the next phase of my adventure. Tomorrow morning I leave for S. America.

Below is my general outline:

· Jan 9th –, stay night Lima- Hostel Pay Purix - Tlf.: +(511) 4849118 www.paypurix.com
· Jan 10th – fly from Lima to Cusco, stay at Loki Hostel - Cusco: (51-84)243705 www.lokihostel.com
· Jan 11th – bus to Sacred Valley stay night in Aguas Calientes
· Jan 12th – morning train to Machu Picchu and back to somewhere near Cusco
· Jan 13th – Sacred Valley to Cusco
· Jan 14th – Fly from Cusco to Arequipa
· Jan 15th – Arequipa, language school until 18th
· Jan 19th – Cola Canyon bus to Tacna
· Jan 22 - bus to Ilo
· Jan 26th meet up with Christy??
· Jan 31st ish take bus to Bolivia via Arica, Chile
· Feb 1st -9th – Cochabamba, Bolivia with Limbert Zapata family
· Feb 10th – depart via bus to Lake Titicaca, Puno
· Feb 15th – fly back from Juliaca to Lima stay until flight out Feb 17th to USA

Of course things are subject to change, but this is the general gist of my plan. I will not be volunteering in Pisco with Hands on Relief. They closed down the site early due to a lot of robberies etc. It seems it has become a very unsafe area so that is out. It works out great because I decided to do some 1 on 1 tutoring for my Spanish.

Africa is still on, but the situation in Kenya is very sad. It is such a setback for the country on many fronts. I pray the violence subsides and I am able to go. One step at a time.

I hope that this entry finds you well as I am up late again going through the pains of packing. It is always a great chore to decide what stays and what goes. I keep thinking it will get easier, but alas that is not the case. I keep wanting to take less and less and things have found their way out of my bag, but I always desire to have even less with me. It's an endless cycle. I am sure to have it perfected sometime this year.

Again, thanks for all the support, care and calls. It has been great to catch up with people and I very much appreciate the emails. It is so important to stay connected and I love to know how others are doing. Life goes on, no matter our location. I am still staying faithful to living in the moment. I do not have any huge revelations, just to keep on keeping on and trusting in the unfolding of each day. So far so good.