Vacation and what's ahead

24 June
These pics are from Sam's Throne Arkansas, yesterday. Julian Carrier, my childhood neighbor from Kirkwood, MO is featured. We used to play together EVERY DAY, but we haven't seen each other in 20 years! Turns out we've got some things in common...
I feel like this blog is supposed to be about Aramasí, but I'm not there right now and don't really have anything to write about it.
But I can say this; I have been talking constantly about what I've been 'doing' in Bolivia and explaining in simple terms what my purpose is, and it's helped crystallize my vision. I have come to terms with the necessity of my time in Aramasí and Cochabamba without accomplishing anything measurable. There were some personal issues I had to work through, for one, but also, I had to establish myself as a normal guy, an average human that people can understand and relate to and laugh at with no ulterior motives. So now that I'm known as I am, I can start working, as me, not an agent for Amistad or the USA or anything else. Just Diego doing what he came to do for the community. Anyway, that's what I am hoping.
So the next part is going to be a lot of work. I will stop by the home of Father William, the founder of Amistad, to have a chat about it's inception and vision and purpose and reflections on how that went, is going, could have been better. I will research and write a brief history of the organization's 26 years of work. I also will survey and interview the folks in Aramasí and the surrounding communities affected by Amistad (as well as a 'normal' community not affected by Amistad) interview the staff in Aramasí and the administration, write an evaluation, and finally a projection of the time and steps it will take for Aramasí to achieve sustainable independence from Amistad. Whooph. That's what I've got on my mind. And being here helps me gain a broader view of the process and work before me. It's all set-up, now it's just gotta get done.

So, I have been on the road for four days straight, driving south and west from Summit, NJ. It took two full days before I was really in the zone. My rout took me to Washington D.C., Greenville SC, Nashville and Memphis TN, and finally, Lampe MO. I stayed with friends and friends of friends my three nights on the road. When I got to our lake house in Lampe, I met up with my childhood neighbor who had come down from St. Louis. The next day, we went out to Sam's Throne, my favorite climbing spot. These pictures are from Sam's. We had a good time, topped our a few routs, took unnecessary risks, and ate tons of wild blueberries.
I start work at summer camp tomorrow. I'm a little nervous, but I'm sure I'll get into the swing of things in no time; Summer camp style.