Our goal is to expose these children to modern technological advances like personal computers and most importantly the information supper highway. We feel this opportunity will expand the context in which they live and enrich their overall life experience. This objective is not without it’s opposition.

In the most suffering regions of undeveloped countries, education is not the most paramount of concerns. Rather often times the need for nourishment trumps the luxury of an education. Often times the whole idea of “community” in general is overlooked as those families in the most dire situations turn away from education to focus on survival. This is not with out merit but we believe that when looking at education vs. nourishment, each hand feeds the other. Living with only one of these directives is unbalanced, unhealthy and unsustainable.

How we got Started? Liberar La Mente was launched in 2009 by husband-and-wife team, W. Dylan Dawson and Lizbeth Cayro. After meeting many underprivileged children living in the Peruvian Sierra country. The Rhetoric co-founders were inspired by missed opportunities in exposing these growing minds to technology, which could enrich their eager minds if only provided the opportunity.

Phase One: Our visit to Nor Yauyos Reserva was an eye opening experience. We spent a week traveling in this region of Peru, which is in the developing stages protection as becoming a national park. Today only a single lane mining road exists as the sole entry or exit point to the outside world. Those living in the small mountain pueblos are for good or bad underexposed to the modern world. Those that have visited the soon to be national park understand why no one who lives there would have any reason to leave. A brief description of this place would not do it justice, it’s ripe with majestic waterfalls and native walking trails which have been used for centuries by Inca and older native tribes, it’s paradise. In short the people living here are not prepared to act on behalf their own interests in the inevitable influx of tourism and capitalism to this region.

Rhetoric is seeking donations of functioning laptops which can be donated to the school systems in Huancayo and Yauyos. In addition we are asking for any networking devices which may no longer be needed by you or your office. Rhetoric will be handling the costs of the importation taxes , delivery freight, and coordinating the integration into the classrooms. So please don’t send us your paperweights. Equipment which is in good shape but has lost it’s value here in the states could have a long useful life in Peru.

Here is what we need:

• Windows platform laptops with capability to run Windows XP or higher

• Modems, Wireless Routers, and any useful networking equipment.

• Linux or windows based servers (a long shot I know but it would be great).

The Big Picture: Our long-term goal is to provide a link (via video stream) between both of these school systems with an American classroom. Which we think will nurture a bond of understanding, charity, and friendship, which will be mutually beneficial.

I say this because he immediately began doing all the things that dogs are supposed to be trained not to do; he barked endlessly, ate some of our favorite shoes, aggressively introduced himself to the neighbors and their dogs – so much so that the local dog park had to change some of the rules. The final straw was the day I noticed my missing alpaca sock emerging from a steaming pile in the front yard.

We immediately sought help and found it in Cesar, a fat man with one eye who puttered his puke green 70’s VW beetle over to our park twice a week. Cesar operates on a different level and was worth every penny. Some kind of a spell was cast over Simon, at least for the hour that Cesar was there. We began to see improvement in his behavior both in public and at home. His commands are all in Spanish (which does get some looks) but he responds about 80% of the time to his commands all except for ven (or come). He has a spirit for exploring that cannot be tamed.

Enter “Mosita” a 2 month old toy poodle. My mother named her after a childhood pet, a pig she shared with her sister while my grandpa was stationed in the jungle building roads. The pig not surprisingly went missing and my mom believes it became dinner for some of the workers, but ask my aunt and she tells of a python that was lurking around the property. Anyway, the name fits because Mosita is a little piggy. Simon was angry when she arrived which transitioned into annoyance as she crawls on him all day. We try and keep their food separate as each prefers the others’ food. Mosita has put on too much weight, mostly because Simon lets her share his bowl as he eats. Simon, last time we flew, was right at 100 lbs and of course does not have to share his food with any dog but does so because he has a kind nature about him.

Weeks ago we went to visit some friends in the country and we brought both Simon and Mosita with us. To our surprise we found that another couple had brought their Dalmatian. Things were fine at first; the big dogs kept to them selves and Mosita played with both individually. Just before dinner we fed the dogs. Mosita made the mistake of wandering over to the Dalmatian’s food and tried to eat with him as she is accustomed to doing with Simon. Brandy (the Dalmatian) growled viciously and did everything but bite her. Simon rose up from his dinner and confronted the other dog.

What ensued was indescribable, the sights and sounds of a dog fight made my heart sink and I was in shock trying to scream at them to stop. I tried to separate them but my hands were shaking too much. My husband was able to separate the two dogs but not before the damage was done. There was blood all over both animals. The Dalmatian had a gash on her neck and face while Simon was bleeding from the mouth. We took Simon straight to the 24 hour vet. He looked him over and pointed out that the whites of his eyes were now a burgundy red. We were advised later by our regular veterinarian that this was a serious issue and that Simon could not go outside or bark for a few weeks.

Simon has fully recovered, but I can’t stop worrying about him. I am definitely spoiling he and Mosita with attention and treats but I think that’s what makes me feel good returning the love they gives us. They are our watchdog, co-pilots, bodyguards, and our best friends, I’m unlikely to stop spoiling them anytime soon.

I’ve heard this story before. Some people use SBUX (the Starbucks stock symbol) as a market indicator, predicting that expensive coffee is one of the first things to be cut out of a personal budget and one of the last things to return. I used to think that it was an American condition (to want and afford $3 cups of coffee.) But after watching Starbucks open in my native country of Peru, I was sure it would go the way of Tony Roma’s, Taco Bell, and Blockbuster (all of which opened and closed within a year) but, I was surprised to see it grow.

For me this is not an issue of SBUX, rather that of the whole elitist café movement. In fact I’m not convinced that SBUX is really all that great. My favorite coffee shop in the US is Intelligencia in Chicago. It seems that the idea of coffee houses is here to stay but how can that be in this time of economic change? If you listen closely to President Obama you can pick up on the subtle subtext of his message: the days of excess are over. What says excess more than an overpriced ground coffee bean filtered through hot water, garnished, mixed with steamed milk and served for $3 a cup?

Maybe the coffee shop is the new corner bar. I read a story last week about a topless coffee shop opening in Maine. All jokes aside, this is a phenomenon. While it’s unlikely I will be meeting my girlfriends down at the topless coffee shop (ok one joke) or maybe I will, depends on the atmosphere and quality of the beans. It seems too culturally significant not to point out. Either way I’m not likely to give up my SBUX habit any time soon and in my opinion it’s only going to become a global standard of living.

Flash forward 18 hours. It’s 3:00 in the morning; Lish and I are pounding beers named “Antarctica” driving through the Brazilian countryside in the pouring rain in the shittiest car ever built. I felt reborn, 5 years younger and more alive than I could remember. Well, needless to say, it was an incredible trip – one that we will never forget. I’m left looking back and thinking who was this person that didn’t want to go on vacation?

For my own edification I have decided to compile the top five reasons for taking a holiday in hopes that I can look back on this blog post and remind my self what it is I learned in Brazil. Maybe there is something in here you can relate to?

1.) New sights, sounds and people spark creativity. If you feel creatively exhausted, it may have something to do with your environment. If you’re in the grind, (grinding away) you may have put the blinders on and lost that precious opportunity to see and feel new things. A vacation forces this on you. Being emerged in a new environment will spark the inner desire for outside stimulus, which leads to exploration. Exploration leads to creativity, or rather the desire to create.

2.) You are starting to get boring to be around. “Yes, we’ve heard that story before” is what your friends will say politely. Your wife and family will be more blunt, “Dude, you are boring the hell out of me. No, I don’t want to hear more about your week at work.” It may be time to gather up a few more anecdotes by going on holiday. It always comes to the surface when someone decides to work for a living rather than live for a living. Don’t be that guy.

3.) You need to reconnect. The core times of my days are spent at work doing work things, which leaves grumpy mornings and tired evenings with my wife. The weekends are sometimes so crammed with errands, and obligations, I can’t even make a phone call to my brother or parents. Use vacations to reconnect with wife, family and friends. Plan vacations far enough in advance to coordinate with people that you want to invite along and reconnect with.

4.) Vacations are fun. They may be a hassle to plan but they are supposed to be fun. If you can’t remember the last time you had fun, take a vacation. The point is to have and extended period of time in which you don’t have to keep a hundred things in the air. If you can take some time and let loose, you are going to have fun no matter what it is or where you go.

5.) You need fresh air. You may think you get out of the city enough, but you don’t. When you do get out it doesn’t really average out against all the daylight hours you spend in the office. Fresh air and sunlight are often undervalued and this is one of the great things about vacationing. If you’re not getting ample amounts of fresh air and sunlight on your holidays, it’s time to get a new travel agent.