Arequipa!

Hello all,

I´ve got some good news today. We were assigned our sites and I will be heading south to Madrigal, Arequipa. It is a small town high up (10,500 feet) and perched on the edge (or somewhat within- don´t know yet) of Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world. Apparently this town is more or less straight out of The Bridge of San Luis Rey. I will be working on tourism initiatives to capture some of the dollars that flow through the valley regularly because of its adventure sports/sightseeing reputation. I will also work with an artesan group that makes different types of clothes (the clothes the women wear have been described to me as the most beautiful traditional garb in the world) and an association of milk producers. My host family has a farm, so I´ll likely help out with that, which is exciting because they practice the terrace-style farming that one usually thinks of when/if they ever get around to thinking of farming in Peru.
I am going next week to check it out for a week and meet some folks before returning for the last two weeks of training. There is no internet and only rumors of cell coverage, so missives will be no more than once a week when I arrive permanently. I´m just flush with information, but I¨ll do more describing when I´ve experienced it for awhile. I´m definitely pleased, as this is what I´ve been asking for all along. Should be amazing...