MIZPERU SAYS:
I’m not an ageist, but I do have to say I liked that they made a film about Peru once upon a time. Even though there were things in it that bugged me. In the end….LOL!
Fighting with No Resolution
There I was with mentors and mentees playing a ninja game on the grass and enjoying the sun —- when all of a sudden from the corner of my eye I hear yelling. Kids from the high school down the street start collecting on one side of the park. This boy and his (what it seemed to be) girlfriend come from around the corner and start yelling.
The other boy sits on the wall and responds, not backing down. Their exchange is mixed in with the tone of teenager voices and it’s hard to know who is speaking.
Here are the words I understand: Hey you! Got something to say? I’ve been looking for you. Fight! Fight! I’m calling you out _____! Come out here, and I’m going to kick your ____.
The argument continues until the flying fist comes up.
We are mesmerized.
My mentee and I don’t know what to do. Of course, being the weirdo that I am, I start picking up my backpack and our pizza mess and slowly walking it towards the trash can…which may or may not have been to get a better look at the fight.
Mind you there’s about 20-30 high school kids collecting around us by now. I can’t stop looking. It’s like a train wreck. Some one says, should we call the cops? But the Police Station is right in the corner—ON THE SAME STREET.
They punch each other real good, still no one is backing down. An elder from the center comes out and stops the fight. It was like a scene from DO THE RIGHT THING. He managed to break it up, and the cops were still nowhere to be found.
The kids moved the fight to the other side of the park, and ten minutes too late the sirens blared and about ten to fifteen cop cars arrived.
* *
Later, I walked with my mentee to get some gelato. We wondered how much pain those boys were in, to make them think that violence was the only way to resolve their issue.
If you need to let out some steam here are some solutions to stress: punch a pillow, take karate, meditate with some yummy yoga, or go for a swim. There are countless ways to let out aggression, not to mention —- communication.
It seemed pointless watching these kids fight. And it was sad to see the one who didn’t start the fight sitting in the back seat of the cop car, while the other one (unseen by us) probably got away.
My LA buddies always bring the sunshine to Berkeley.
Cal Day 2012.
Short and Sweet
It’s been a while, pals.
I have nothing much to say, except today kind of sucked. Yes…I’m being a downer. HOWEVER (in caps if you must notice), tonight I just got back from BDP (Berkeley Dance Project) rehearsals, and I am pumped and ready for the weekend—super excited for the show and the wonderful things we will develop on stage.
But if I have to be honest, it was probably the birthday cake our teachers bought for a birthday girl tonight that really put things into perspective.
Life is short and sweet. Enjoy it while you can.
* * * Quote of the Day from a stranger who saw me looking at my graded English Paper: “If you put a smile on your face, you will feel a lot better.” * * *
I replied, “Thank you,” and kept walking. He was right. Seconds later, I felt a little better.
MIZPERU SAYS:
Yes.
MIZPERU SAYS:
Don’t be a weenie.
MIZPERU SAYS:
One of the reasons I love the 90’s, oh Devon Sawa.
You must understand, back in those days — films were also my English lessons. I was getting out of ESL slowly but surely. What better way to learn than through the language of tween love?
Thank you CASPER.
The one thing I can depend on when I arrive in L.A. is good Peruvian reception from my family. Spinach spaghetti with papa a la huancaina, Inca Kola, and good source of Peruvian chocolate treats! Nothing says I love you like Doña Pepas’s, Sublime, and Yo-yo’s.
Dear Paris,
I can’t wait to reunite with you this summer.
Love,
Rosa
The Inca Kola Shirt
Sometimes I pretend this shirt holds all my Peruvian qualities and culture—past and present. I think about plywood on my grandmother’s roof, baby chicks and plump ducks by an open kitchen stove, butterfly chasing in the backyard of a grape garden that no longer is there due to the market around the corner, and their vermin problem.
I think of all the papa a la huancainas, lomo saltados, aji de gallinas y tallarines verdes I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. I pretend I can stuff them all in this shirt. Lovely food for a lovely mouth that grows ever so tired of meantime food; good enough only for filling but never for pleasure/flavor. I should make the time to make something tasty, but a las the books come first.
I hide inside this shirt when I forget why I work hard. I hide in it to feel a cocoon of love. It allows me to meditate and hear the whispers of my past mothers tell me: “You can do it. You are almost there.” I wonder how they might have acted in my place, my other mothers and how they would have behaved.
I wonder if my daughter will feel this way someday, tired at times due to stress and pressure put upon herself (mostly because she is her own worst enemy). Confused about who she is as a girl, woman, person, human being…I wonder if she will think about how she will contribute to society and how that contribution will take place. I wonder if her mixed race (because more than likely she will be mixed) will affect her, and I hope that she can someday have a shirt to help her hide at times from things that might bring her down. A space for her to think.
An oversized shirt that might help her remember who she is, where she comes from, and why she has to keep going. Why she has to keep trying. I wonder if she will imagine my mother, and say to herself — “This ones for you,” the way I do about my grandmothers.
Hiding but not running away forever. No, you can’t hide forever, daughter. You have to pull yourself out and figure it out. Keep the good, let go of the bad. The journey is more about going deep inside yourself to find your voice. It’s always there, screaming at you. You just have to shut up and listen. It’s always refreshing to hear that voice after a stressful day.
Once you start listening, you might discover you are already everything you want to be. You might be strong, funny, proud, generous…all those things combined maybe. Take the time to get to know you and that voice. Soon you will see, you are pretty amazing.
Self-Love.
