Special Request

Hello, Everyone.

I've been in Peru for a little over a week now. I've had next to no online access after work. I wrote this last Tuesday...I wanted to get it out to you all...if you recall, there was an earthquake that hit basically in my hotel's backyard about 4 weeks ago here in Peru...

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I just visited a part of Chincha that I never new existed. Even if the walls and "houses" were still standing and there were no signs of the 8.0 M earthquake 4 weeks ago, I would still be shaking my head.

There are three friendly gals that help keep the office area at the jobsite neat and clean. Their names are Luisa, Marta and Melchorita. Everyday they smile and offer to help us engineering types out by tidying up our desk areas and to give us a short break from the pencil pushing or emailing. Each of them lost their homes in the earthquake. I talked to Luisa during the day today and asked if there was anything she needed...anything I could help her out with. She said she needed water. I recalled seeing some 5-gallon jugs at the store yesterday and told her that I would be happy to bring some water by after work tonight.


Eder and I picked up a jug and made our way towards Gracio Prado, a section of Chincha. We met Luisa and her oldest daughter, Leslie, near a central park in town and proceeded to drive to places I never knew existed in Chincha. We all jumped into the truck and Leslie was our navigator as she sat on top of her mother's lap in the passenger's seat. A left turn here, followed by two rights, than another right around a wall that appeared to lead to a dead end...through a cluttered, bumpy dirt road maze lined with low-ceiling (if the buildings still had ceilings) brick and mud homes...maybe two rooms complete with dirt floors and a latrine next to the house. We came to a stop and were invited in. I grabbed the water jug and watched my step along the narrow footpath leading to a few dim lights up the way...my eyes trying to gather as much light from the full moon shining down through the trees to see where I was going.


I was greet with "Hellos" and "Thank yous" and then chuckles as I bumped my head on the top of the short doorway of a makeshift shelter as I stepped in. Reeded curtain walls and a tarp for a roof formed the five sides of the shelter; everything salvageable from the debris jammed in to a 10' x 15' room...for 6 people. One bed, a few chairs. A pungent odor dashing through the air near the entrance. Luisa's house is just one of many...I can't imagine. As I put the jug of water on a chair, it felt so inadequate...a lake-full of water is what was needed...water to drink, clean, wash away the rubble and spring new life, yet all I had to offer was 5 gallons.


This is how it is. Then comes along an angry shift in the earth's crust that causes so many people, with so little as it is, to lose what small bit of comfort they were able to build over the years and hold onto. How will a single mother of three young children, who works 60 hours a week rebuild her house? It puts me at a loss for words.

Nihal saw a glimpse of this in the direct aftermath of the earthquake...Eder saw it in Pisco (where there is more widespread destruction than Chincha) as he drove rescue crews from place to place to help search for victims in the rubble...And now I got my first glimpse of what will unfortunately be a familiar scene for many months to come.


Nihal and I talked this afternoon and both of us agreed to start a collection so we can help folks like Lusia...people who we know and have become friends with...and who lost so much. There were folks who comforted and helped Nihal amidst their homes collapsing. These same people make me smile everyday.


I'm taking up a collection starting today. I will use the money to buy goods/supplies/food and distribute to those who need a hand, especially those folks that Nihal and I know. We're asking for a few bucks to help these folks out. I'll keep a running total of the donations, and will buy the items and distribute accordingly. All purchases and donations will be accounted for and you will all be informed of how much/what/for whom. The only way I know how to collect funds being in Peru is for you all to write a check made out to me and send it to my mom and dad's house...I'll pay for the goods on my own and will then cash the checks upon my arrival back to IN in October.

I set up a new email account just for this. If you would like to donate send me an email with the dollar amount to: helpingchincha@gmail.com

Once you send me an email, I'll reply with my folks' address. I gurantee every dollar will go towards helping someone out who needs it. If you can't swing a donation, please consider a daily prayer for the victims of the earthquake and those folks who seem to be forgotten amidst it all. I'll keep you posted and if you have any questions, send me a line.

Thanks and God bless,


Scotty

What a weekend!

What's the good word up yonder?

It's Sunday afternoon now. I'm munchin on some sort of a cold-cut sando that I picked up from the supermarket...pretty tasty, but I have no idea as to what I'm eating. It looked good and figured what the heck.

This weekend has probably been one of the wildest and most fun I've experienced in Peru thus far. I'll roll it out for you...

24 August 2007...19:00 to 22:00 Zulu hours:
After spending a good part of the day at the jobsite getting organized and situated, I made my way back to Lima because a.) there is little marine work going on at the site and b.) There weren't any hotel rooms available until Saturday afternoon. I did not go into Chincha, but from what I understand, there is only one hotel up and fully online. I'll find out more this upcoming week.

Back in Lima, I popped into the office looking to get a few reports out and to touch base with some folks but I wound up getting invited to join a gaggle of my fellow Golderites in a few games of volleyball and some cervesas afterwards. Couldn't pass that up. I had a few good digs and a couple decent volleys, but I'm sticking with cycling. While drinking a beer I mentioned that the professional soccer team "Universitario" or just "U" (pronounced "-00") was staying in the hotel I'm staying at and that they had a game on Saturday. One of the fellas from the office, Max, said he'd meet up with me at one o'clock on Saturday at the hotel and that we'd head out to the game together. So as I drifted off to sleep, I got to think about what my first Peruvian soccer experience was going to be like...I never could have imagined a better story...

25 August 2007...13:00 to 18:30 hours:
After waking up, grabbing a bite and picking a few chords, I danced my way down the brick-lined stairwell to meet up with Max...sporting my "U" shirt and fired up to catch the game. When I entered the hotel lobby, I saw the team getting ready to file into the double decker team bus parked outside and was greeted with a bunch of smiles and nodding heads from the team and staff happy to see their colors on my shoulders. After about 10 or so minutes the team was loaded up and Max was nowhere to be found. As I poked my head around the corner to see if Max was close by, the hotel manager asked if I was going with the team. I said with a chuckle, "No, sir. I'm just waiting for my friend, and then we'll go to the game," as the manager scurried around the front desk towards me. "No. no. no. Come with me. Come. Your friend is not here? Come with me." After talking to one of the older gentlemen sporting the team warmup outfit and a few head nods and smiles, I found myself jumping into the team bus and grabbed a seat next to what looked like a mix of coaches, managers and fans. I was going to the game!

As I sat on that bus, traces of memories came back to my mind of going to my first college football game with my dad...it was a late season game in 1985...it was cool, overcast. Notre Dame was playing Ole Miss. I remember the excitement and the hustle and bustle of getting to the stadium. Yesterday, I sort of felt like that little kid again.

The bus pulled into a police station to make a pit stop. We all unloaded and then we jumped into police SUVs "for security reasons." I helped carry a few bags of water and supplies from the bus to one of the cars and then afterwards I was asked to remove my "U" shirt (for my own safety). I was hastily loaded into the back hatch of a Jeep Cherokees (jacking my head on the door overhang in the process) and sat on a spare tire; the back hatch opening and closing over every bump as the young deputy screamed down the street. There was a whole line of cop cars full of soccer players and other team staff flying down the back roads of Lima.

When we get to the stadium, I'm escorted through the hallway with some other friends of the team and before too long, find myself on the playing field. We got there about two hours prior to game time so I chatted with a few of the fellas, trying my best to stay out of the way and not be a nuisance. I still didn't know how the hell I wound up where I was, but it was pretty awesome.

The fellas took care of me out there, and didn't let me get too far away or walk in dangerous water. The soccer fans out here are rabid, especially the fans from "U's" rival that day, the Sport Boys. I'd be a rabid fan too if my favorite teams colors were pink! Anyway, we pretty much strutted through the front gate, sat at midfield seats and watched the game. I didn't drop a single sole! The fans were wild and crazy. Boos, shouts, yells, chants. Really impressive. It wasn't a full house, but it was super loud, nonetheless. Here's an example of how it sounded (just click the picture then the play arrow):




The game would be going on, normal chants or songs being sung in the background...then all of a sudden...BOOOM! You'd look and see the smoke of an M80 or other improvised explosive device bellowing out of the stands. Total savages! After the game, we all made our way back towards the locker room. Before the game, we hung chilly outside the locker room, but this time, they invited me into the locker room and I shot the bull with a few of the staff. One of the equipment managers asked me for my shirt and he went and got it signed by most of the players on the team. That was really cool.

Once everyone got cleaned up, we filed out and loaded into a police vehicle...not your typical squad car, or SUV this time...but this thing...

I'm standing in the back of this beast with the players, the head coach, the team doctor...everyone. It was truly wild. Maybe 30 of us packed in this thing. I felt like saying "Hut...hut hut...hut...hut". Unreal. I've never heard of such a thing. Keep in mind, I'm still trying to figure out how I wound up on this trip...what a ride! Could you imagine the Chicago Bears or New York Yankees tooling around town in this thing because the opposing team's fans might blast them?

As we pulled out of the lot, we closed all the windows for fear of broken glass or other unfriendly projectiles flying in. Right after we started to move, we hit something big and BAAAM! A few guys fell to the floor inside the truck and we were all trying to figure out what happened. Turns out that the driver took the wrong line through the exit gate and the top of the truck slammed into a barricade (sort of how I drove my bike into the parking garage). After we all came to, we made our way back to the Police station to get back in the bus, but the little encounter with the barricade screwed up the back door spring, so we were temporarily stuck int he back of the truck until they could get the door unjammed! Completely unbelievable. I was laughing my arse off in that truck. All the players were razzing each other. It was hilarious. They slid a pick-axe through one of the windows and after jimmying around with the spring, they finally got us out.

When we got back to the hotel, I bought a round of beers for all the fellas that help me out during my adventure. I got a thumbs up and an invite to do it again next time! A few more pix from the game are posted on the photo site...click the link on the right.

25/26 August 2007...22:00 to 04:00 Hours!!!!
And if that wasn't enough excitement for the day, I met up with a group of kids for some beers, Pisco sours and dancing. One of the gals from the Lima office is getting hitched next weekend and this was a last hurrah for her. I had a real good time. I got out and cut a rug, and one of the gals taught me the basics to Latin dancing. That hip movin/swervin stuff ain't easy, but after a few minutes, I started to get the hang of it. I found myself chatting and dancing with one of the girls, Marleny, quite a bit last night. After awhile of not really getting out and chatting socially and all, it was nice to mingle and do a little dancing and smiling again.

At about, oh, 3:30 am, I had had enough and I offered to make sure Marleny got home safely. In the states, I'm used to driving a gal home, walking her to the door, yaddi, yaddi...but here in Peru, there are nothing but taxis. The fact that I don't know my way around town all that well didn't help my chivalrous attempt either. I lobbied for the cabbie to take her home first and then for him to drive me back to my hotel, but that was a battle I could not win (nor fully understand, for that matter!). An amiable "goodnight" capped the end to a great day(s).

26 August 2007...Currently
Today I'm enjoying the chance to rest up and prepare for work back at the site tomorrow. I'll probably meet up with Eder and a friend Milind for some dinny tonight, then call it a day. I hope your weekend was great and you got to enjoy family, friends and good times. I'll catch you all on the flipside.


Scotty

Couldn't Get Much Better...

(written on a plane somewhere over Central America)

What a trip back home. It truly feels like I left Peru months ago. That must be a sign of a good vacation. I did quite a bit and got to see many friends and family along the way. A bonus stop over in Houston was the perfect way to end my temporary visit in the U.S. of A. Great weather, waaayyy to much good food, lots of laughing and the occasional lounging around (though very very brief) made it a wonderful trip.

Work on the pile driving front is slow. I flew down here on Thursday night and made it to the site yesterday based on the possible start date of some pile testing today (Saturday). Not so much. Fortunately, the site, though 10 miles or so away from the M 8.0 earthquake, did not experience any catastrophic failures. The site responded to the event in much the same way as the project team (predominately Golder and specifically a very bright engineer named Rodolfo) predicted.

There have been numerous (over 40) aftershocks since last Wednesday evening's event. Many of the aftershocks would be considered significant events in their own right elsewhere in the world, with magnitudes approaching 5.0 and 6.0. Keep in mind that the Peruvian coast near the project site is one of the most seismically volatile areas in the world. I have never felt the earth shake before, but I am convinced that I felt the bed and floor shake a bit Thursday night as I drifted off to sleep. Maybe I was dreaming. It felt real!

To help make the rest of my stay in Peru feel more like home, I brought down my geetar. The fingers came alive once or twice when I was back in the states and hopefully that'll inspire me to come up with some new music. I've had "writer's block" for what seems to be 3 years when it comes to my "music" and it will be nice to experiment playing new ways and creating new sounds.

I'll be in touch. Till next time, take care.


Scotty

Chaos in Peru...

Hello, friends and family.

First of all, I'm safe and sound in Seattle right now. I work my way back towards Peru this weekend...more on that down below...Nihal, my friend and colleague was caught in the middle of the earthquake...living in the same room I do...his story:

16 August 2007
Lima, Peru

Yesterday was my luckiest day. Like many others, I did not die in the dusty town of Chincha, when everything shook so violently under an 8.0 magnitude earthquake.

I was back from work in Hotel Columbus at about 6:00 p.m. Hotel Columbus is a 5-story, 2-year-old building, which is the tallest building in Chincha. I told the driver that we will be going out for dinner after a quick shower. At about 6:30 p.m., I stepped into the shower on my fifth floor room and felt the whole room shaking. I immediately stepped out of the shower.

With no clothes and wet, I ran out of the room into the hallway and realized that I was the only one on the top floor. The whole building was shaking more and more violently as if some giant monster has lifted it up with the outer columns and decided to rock it. I was not sure if I should stay on the fifth floor and have the roof collapse on me or attempt to go downstairs and risk getting crushed under five floors. I went back into the room and managed to get a pair of jeans on me. Everything in the room was either shaking or moving on the floor.

Balancing myself in the hallway, I was hoping that someone somehow could stop twisting this building. I knew I was going to die. I was looking for a place where I could hide my head to prevent injury. I did not want to die because it will be hard to explain to the kids why I did not come home from Peru this time. Then again, I wanted to die instantly by getting hit hard and smacked rather than getting trapped in the rubbles. I was waiting in eternity for the roof to collapse on me. After about two minutes, it stopped. I ran down as fast as I could.

I want to kiss the mother Earth for sparing me this time. On the second thought, I want to wait for a few days to make sure that she is not shaking.

Not much to say after reading that. Nihal is back in Texas and with his family...all is well. As far as I know, no one on the project got hurt. The main destruction has been south of Chincha.

I was supposed to be in Peru this Sunday night, but the Peruvian Consulate pulled a shenanigan and so now, I'm staying overnight in Houston to renew my visa down there for at least 1 day. There's a chance I'll work in the Houston office for most of next week since there is little work going on at the site right now...I'll learn more on Monday afternoon.

My trip to FL and WA has been great. Horsed around with the nephews, caught a few fish, lots of sun, some solid bike rides...very good trip. Oh yeah...when I tossed my nephew Josh in the swimming pool my last night in FL, he didn't let go and I wound up tossing myself into the pool as well...fried my celly. If you have my email, please send me your number one more time. Thanks!

I'll get back into the blogging. I'll upload some pix soon. Until next time, take care and say a prayer or two for the folks in Peru if you could...there's a lot of work to be done down there.

Scotty