August 21, 2007 - Festival de Urkupiña

Hey all,
Had a great time at the Festival of Urkupiña last week. I'm gonna send you to an article/blog that I translated & helped write with my fabulous co-worker Leny by way of telling you what the festival is all about ( http://www.democracyctr.org/blog/ ). In terms of my experience of Urkipiña this year, I went to a party of some of the autoctonous music groups (Leny helped found one of the only women's autoctonous music groups in Bolivia), in addition to watching the parade. I went on Tuesday - lots of fun - but was back at work the next day.

Other updates: Still the only person in my house. My friend Vanesa gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Her mom came home from Barcelona to be with her. I didn't dance cueca chapaca for Urkupiña because I was in Peru then was sick then went to Sucre then came back and only knew two of the dances, had three days to practice, and my dance partner (Andres) hurt his foot indefinitely. Maybe for Carnaval (February). Am back to teaching English lessons this week. Jammed my ring finger playing basketball last weekend, made myself a really funny-looking splint with half a plastic spoon and some duct tape. Glad to not be travelling anymore. Happy at work.

Spanish Words of the day - Guide to Bolivian Beverages (Craig, this section is for you - wait 'til August 31 though =) )
Chicha - a common Cochabambino alcoholic drink made with fermented corn. Best chicha is found in the campo (country). This is Bolivia's take on good country moonshine. Definitely not as strong as liquor, but stronger than the light beer you generally get here. Served with a...
Tutuma - a half-gourd used to serve chicha. Deceptively large. Before you drink from a tutuma, you have to say "salud" to someone else and they have to acknowledge it (meaning they will be the next to drink). Otherwise, you have to drink again (party foul). A tutuma is not to be confused with a ...
Tullma - hair tie? nicely ornamented ribbon or yarn to be braided into your hair and used to tie off the braid(s). What I've been using to pull my hair back since my last liga broke.
Ligas - rubber band-ish hair ties, also
Uva - Grape. Not University of Virginia.
Durazno - Peach.
Guarapo - sweet alcoholic beverage made from uva or durazno. Not to be confused with garapiña.
Helado - ice cream (also sorbet)
Canela - cinnamon
Helado de canela - sorbet made with cinnamon and sugar. Deep pink color. Delicious.
Garapiña - chicha mixed with helado de canela
Singani - like brandy I've heard? Alcohol made from grape skins. Only found in Bolivia. Good for mixing for..
Chuflay - Singani + Sprite + lime
Pisco - A town in Peru that was one of the hardest hit by the earthquake. Scroll down for an update from Oxfam... and to help the relief effort! Pisco is also an alcoholic beverage similar to Singani, but Peruvian. Famous for Pisco sours.

I'm all out of Spanish Words of the Day. Email me if there's anything you want to know how to say.

Abrazos
Lily

PS
First, if you haven't seen this yet, check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YENbElb5-xY&eurl=

Second, just days after I sent out the last email, my very talented father had a letter to the editor published in the Washington Post. I think he got jealous that my mom was getting all the attention in my last email =) Seriously, though - he's been doing heavy duty research on the climate since he retired from his economist life last year, and he will have a paper published in the coming year on a proposal for what he's writing on here. Whoever said old dogs can't learn new tricks hasn't met my dad. (Happy birthday Dad!)

THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE

The proposal by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John W. Warner (R-Va.) to establish a Federal Reserve-style climate board ["2 Senators to Unveil Climate Bill," Business, Aug. 2] falls short of the major step needed. Prominent leaders would not serve on such a board if its purpose were only to "loosen rules for companies" when CO2 prices spike.
The Federal Reserve determines overnight interest rates using "open market" auctions. A meaningful climate board, under a cap-and-trade system, should set annual ranges for carbon dioxide prices and achieve them with allowance auctions. A nonpartisan, expert climate board and associated staff would be less political and more responsive than the legislative process to new research and technological developments as it adjusted the path of carbon dioxide prices, year by year, and coordinated with overseas climate agencies.
WILLIAM WHITESELL
The writer was a deputy associate director of the Federal Reserve Board from 2001 to 2006.

PPS Here's the update from Oxfam on the devastating impacts of the earthquake on towns like Pisco. Please take a look.

Dear friend,

I'm writing to pass along some reports I've received from our staff members in Peru. I hope these will give you a sense of the scale of the devastation and the importance of relief efforts in the wake of last week's 7.9-magnitude earthquake.

The death toll has now climbed to 560, with 1,500 people injured and more 250,000 whose homes are destroyed or unsafe. Water and food are scarce.

Oxfam's supporters have sprung into action, donating over $200,000 and enabling us to begin providing clean water, sanitation services, and shelter to thousands of families in remote regions.

To help right now, donate to Oxfam's Peru Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund.

Oxfam's humanitarian officer in Peru, Sergio Alvarez, traveled to the worst hit zone immediately after the quake – including rural areas which he could only reach on foot, which he described as "virtually stranded by the outside world."

"The urban areas are being better attended but the rural areas and the city's outskirts have received very little attention so far," said Sergio. Only 120,000 of a total 665,000 inhabitants of the affected region live in Pisco.

That's why Oxfam is concentrating its efforts on rural areas that are less visible and face difficulties in reaching out to the media and authorities. These include Independencia and Humay, where 40% of the inhabitants have had their homes severely damaged. We are also providing aid in the city of Pisco, where all the adobe houses were destroyed – that's 70% of the buildings – leaving only the modern structures standing.

Many communities are cut off completely by collapsed bridges or landslides that have made roads impassable. People are living on the streets in terrible conditions; if their homes aren't destroyed, they fear the constant aftershocks – over 450 of them so far.

Access to food and water are major issues. Sergio reports: "Only a few communities have water wells, which means they will not have water even when electricity comes back. The other main concern is that these villages are running out of food, and as of now, they are receiving very little or no aid at all."

You can help us respond more effectively by donating today.

We anticipate the recovery from this disaster will take months, not weeks. So Oxfam is in it for the long haul, not just providing immediate aid but planning for long-term recovery and building local capacity to respond to the ongoing needs of affected families.

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Raymond C. Offenheiser
President
Oxfam America

P.S. The destruction caused by Hurricane Dean in the Caribbean this week is also of paramount concern to Oxfam America. We are closely monitoring the situation, and we will keep you updated on Oxfam's response as events progress.