Sound

It's much more than noise. Sound waves are collected by the external ear and funneled to the eardrum where they vibrate. Hair cells convert the mechanical vibration to electrical signals, which excite 30,000 fibers. The auditory nerve then delivers the signals to the brainstem. From there, nerve fibers send the information to the part of the brain involved in perceiving sound. Gosh, the human body is fascinating!

I write this entry sitting on my mini stool listening to the ceiling fan oscillate. Drivers are yelling at pedestrians, birds are gossiping, bells are ringing, sirens are roaring, and incessant honks are herded through my corner window.

View of the Miraflores city from my window

My flight arrived at 8 am on January 1st. The moment I stepped onto Lima soil I heard the thundering City. I prefer the constant construction work and honking to fireworks any day! The city commotion never quits, day or night, but over time it seems to lower in volume.

My 8am-5pm Monday-Friday office job at UNLIREC has been an adjustment in terms of language. Accents from Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, and even Peru are beautifully captivating. While attending school at Monterey, I would be surrounded by jargon such as organizational sustainability, innovation, indicators, values, development, and culture. Whereas, now I hear SDG 16, Resolution 1540, nonproliferation, weapons of mass destruction, small arms control, ending conflict, and forensics ballistics. Determination, focus, and research have no expiration date. I am here to learn, serve and grow. Recent google searches include what is headstamp, crime scene evidence to the court process, and anatomy of a handgun.

United Nations Complex in Magdalena del Mar, Lima

While listening in on a conference meeting with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, representatives in NY, Geneva, Vienna, and the Regional Centres in Togo and Nepal, a wave of honor and glory soared through my soul. Hearing Ban Kin-moon say "We welcome Adrianna to UNLIREC, say something", made my heart jump to my throat. Thankfully I didn't freeze and kept it brief; mentally high fiving myself for keeping my cool.

Currently, my most advantageous tool is not the ability to speak Spanish or the fact that I know the Peruvian culture well, nor my degree. My most valuable playing card is Listening. It is through listening that I am able to file new knowledge into my long term memory, exercise the disarmament nomenclature, and am able to get to know my team.

Happy New Year! I am so grateful for my auditory system and will end with a quote from Helen Keller: "Blindness cuts us off from things, but deafness cuts us off from people".

Sources: hearing, UNLIREC.