One week down, 113 to look forward to!

September 27, 2010

It has been a full 9 days of life in Peru so far and my headed is just starting to stop its constant spin. Thanks to my great Spanish teacher Isa and my spending countless hours around the kitchen table with my host family my Spanish has improved greatly. Spanish class here is totally different here than in the US for a few reasons. Two of those reasons would be: NO INGLES!, Fun non-formal learning. We get involved and play games. We use our Spanish instead of just writing it in a little worksheet and forgetting about it. I’m not sure how much anyone else can tell, but I know that my vocabulary has at least tripled and I am actually starting to spit out more and more phrases with ease. I still get nervous when I talk to people completely in Spanish, especially authority figures at Cuerpo De Paz, but after I have had one or two conversations with them I feel considerably less stressed about the next one. Watching the news everyday helps with my language and I don’t mind watching cartoons (Spongebob/Timon and Pumba), dancing competitions, or Peru’s national volleyball team either. Our various assignments for Spanish class have taken us out into our villages to meet community members and practice there as well.

Along with our Spanish classes we go through about 4 hours of technical training everyday as well. The times switch but either way there is always 4 hours of technical training and 3 hours of Spanish. When we get done with day it’s a fight to decide what to do with my time. Do I go to the internet cafe for 2 hours or do I go for a run and work off all the potatoes and rice sitting in my stomach from almost every meal? I love potatoes and rice, but they do tend to pack on the lbs. Or I can try to work on homework and studying for 2 hours before dinner and conversation with my family which usually lasts for 2 or 3 hours. If I choose any of these that leaves little, if any, time to go out in the community or hang out with other trainees. There are some times that really make everything fit into place however. Thursday my mother and sister took me to a concert at my sister’s old high school. We danced and listened to music until 11:00 when we wandered back to the house. It was fun to hear American beats and old 80s and 90s music being played the whole night, but Miley and Lady Gaga were our cue to get out (they only played Peruvian music or reggae tone once every five songs or so). Just this Friday I hiked the hill/mini mountain overlooking my village again with another volunteer and this time took my camera for the great view. The days do drain me of all my energy, but I am happy I am getting the most out of each one.

Just as I thought I would sit down and rest, the first weekend in Huascáran turned out to be just as packed and fun as the week. Friday night I made my way into Chosica with a group of 6 other volunteers for dinner and a trip to the target like superstore. This difference here is that this super market happens to have an Elmo mascot, a big Barney mascot, dancing contests, and eating contests. I have only seen the Elmo and the dancing contests, but the others have been witnessed by other trainees at other random hours. Anyways, at Paul’s Pizzeria we celebrated our week with a great view of the central park of Chosica and few tasty cervezas. The Cuzqueṅa beer has to be one of my top 3 favorites of all time. The Cristal isn’t so bad either and the name just helps out its case that much more. The night was full of great storytelling and fun new experiences as well.

Saturday I finally got out on the fútbol court, yes court, and yes fútbol. My host sister and I played some volleyball and I taught her a few general tips for her fútbol skills also. After that I met up with another volunteer Kati for some fútbol and friendly conversation. If that plus speaking Spanish with my family all morning wasn’t enough I went to a birthday party for the little sister of one of the other Peace Corps trainees in Huascáran. I don’t have a little sibling but the people here are so welcoming that they immediately invited me in and I patiently waited for the surprise party guest of honor to arrive. Outside of my 21st birthday this was the most fun I have had at a birthday in years. There had to be over 50 people in this one medium size room with mostly moms on the outside in chairs and 4 Peace Corps volunteers joining them. The birthday girl was turning 8 I believe and she had over 20 friends in the middle of the room for the whole party joining in the festivities with her. The family hired a clown/entertainer who was a little creepy at first but turned out to be an amazing performer for the kids. He got the kids involved in singing, dancing, dance competitions, games and everything you could think of at a kid’s birthday party. Of course being the only gringos in the room the 4 of us stood out and the clown did his part to get us involved in the party as well. I laughed and sang more at this party than any other time on this adventure and by the end of the party I was done for Saturday, except for a little internet time at the café to top it off.

Sunday was my first day playing an actual game of fútbol. Kati and I were enjoying a little kick around when a couple of young local boys came up to the park. We invited them to play and our game went on for about an hour. Jose Luis and Piter (Peter probably?) are now added to my growing list of local acquaintances and I’m sure there are many more fútbol matches in the future for us. Besides a three hour game of monopoly with my sister, studying was the rest of my life Sunday.

Monday was another day in the routine now. Get up and have a cold shower, eat breakfast, watch the news, off to the centre and trying to manage my time again. I did make another trip back into Chosica. This was my first trip completely on my own and I ended up asking a few different people on the street where I could find another backpack to buy. I was proud of myself when it went very well and I was directed to a shopping mecca off the beaten path a little. My trip for a new backpack ended up taking me an hour and forty minutes, but it was well worth it. I got to see the mass amounts of stores and vendors there are here in Peru. Back home you might have an office next door to a business or maybe even a few apartments. Here there is a store, restaurant, or food vendor of some sort in every single open door look in. It was a great experience and now I’m just more excited to show it off to my Peace Corps amigos.

The rest of this week will be packed full of more TECH training and language, then it’s off to Agraria University in Lima on Saturday. With our group it is bound to be a great learning experience and more fun than I will probably have the energy for.

MY FIRST EARTHQUAKE!!!

Fuí chévere! (It was awesome!) I experienced my first ever earthquake the other night, but I will get to that in a bit. Since I last did this I have been busier than I ever expected. Monday was our first day of training and it was the most intense 8 hours of school that I have been through in years. My mom packed me a lunch and walked me to the Peace Corps center in true grade school style. All the other trainees followed in suite, and what made it even funnier was that all the little kids in Chaclacayo were going to their first day of school also, minus their mothers. Back home in college I chose my own schedule and now I have seen that my schedule for the next 2 years is more or less filled in and packed full of hard work. It is nice to see so much structure, but it can be a little daunting at the same time. The day consisted of safety lectures, medical lectures, getting 3 more shots, and finding out more about our future programs. Lunch was an entertaining part of the day, as all the trainees compared our lunches from home and tried to figure out what each dish consisted of. The mass amounts of information are very important and now it’s just a fun game to try to keep up with it all.

After our training it was back to the house for more conversation with my family over dinner. So far I have an iron stomach. I love all food and this is just a test of that love. I have eaten everything and anything that has crossed my plate. Tonight I found out that the brown chunks in my soup were híga de pollo (chicken liver). My vegetable and fruit intake has gone through the roof, as I get different soups every day with several vegetables and sometimes odd meats. I am amazed at the amount of food I receive here. I get to have tea with every meal which is one reason for my stomach being just fine and in general I think I could really get used to this tea thing.

Our second day of training was more practical as we started our Spanish classes. Three hours a day, three days a week. Outside of class all the trainees speak English to each other, but once we are away from one another it is Spanish for everything all the time and I find myself thinking how to say every thought I have in Spanish. Our class is kindergarten class if there was one, but it is necessary. I still have to face the fact that it’s a, “you have to learn to crawl before you walk type of thing.” The classes are very interactive and always non-formal learning style which I love. Half of our classes from now on are in the houses of the classmates. Our teacher Isabella (Isa) is 35 and is possibly the nicest and happiest teacher I have ever had.

The second day of my training was followed by a trip to Chosica, which is a ten minute ride by combi and an experience that I won’t soon forget because the combis will be our main mode of transportation while we are in Chaclacayo. Combis are these little buses that get packed full of people, smell like Peruvian food, and are extremely fun to ride. You have to throw yourself from the door or else you are going for a longer ride and they don’t care one bit. I went with my host sister to the market to grab a backpack and a few other supplies, all of which are extremely cheap compared to back home. On the ride back I listened to The Beatles and Guns and Roses with my sister during what turned out to be a great bonding experience in my eyes.

In Peru there are earthquakes all the time but it still doesn’t put everyone at ease. My host mom is very frightened by them while my dad and my sister don’t wake up at all and have no problem with them if they do. I happened to wake up ten minutes before the earthquake for a late night bathroom trip so I was lying in bed when I started to feel the shaking. I knew I was probably in the safest place I could be so I just laid there and enjoyed as the rumbling got stronger and stronger. It reminded me of one of those old beds you see in movies that you can put a coin in and have it shake (Vacation movie w/ Chevy Chase). The next day I asked my host parents about it and they said it was just a small little tremor. If that was a tremor bring on more of those! I loved it! The last really big destructive earthquake in Peru took place in 2008 or 2007 is what I’ve heard, but that was in the southern part of Peru hundreds and hundreds of miles away (in Pisco, I think is the name.)

The next day I hiked up my first Peruvian mountain. All the mountains surrounding us are incredibly steep, but you can really appreciate it when you try to scale the side of one. We climbed our way up to a path that took us to a cross at the top of a smaller mountain separating our village from the rest of Chaclacayo. The contrast between the house on one side of the mountain and the other side was staggering. Our village of Huascaran is still under construction and my house, along with many other houses, are considered class D houses. The houses on the other side of the mountain, just a five minute walk away are considered class B or class A houses (summer vacation houses in many cases. Almost every house on the wealthy side had a big green yard and nice pool. On my side there are no pools, no yards, no green, and in a lot of cases the houses have no roofs in many parts. I am more than happy with my family and my house, but just to see the contrast between the haves and the have-nots was an amazing eye opener.

We will be going to places in need of much more help than anyone here and the hike I went on with the other volunteer was a good reminder of why we are here. If I can help improve the lives of the community members at my site just a small amount hopefully that will start the progress for a healthy and more equal Peru.

The view from my window. Not exactly the highest mountain in Peru, (Huascaran) but I am in the town it is named after. All in all it´s a good view. I have a much better view from my roof but I haven´t had time for a lot of pictures yet.

My Family in Peru

September 18- We headed out from compound outside of Chosica and after a half hour ride we made it to the Peace Corps training site in Chaclacayo. Orientation seems like a process that will be going for the first few days of training if not longer. We met all of our teacher, doctors, secretaries, security staff, etc… But, the day in Chaclacayo was really about one thing, and that was meeting our new host families. I compare the feeling to the one I had before I went sky diving this summer, but this was that multiplied by 10. To calm down I just had to remind myself that everyone else was in the same boat as me. Alphabet be damned, I was the third person to be sent off with my new host mom.

My host mother walked up, we kissed each other’s cheeks and it seemed as though every word I knew in Spanish flew as fast as it could out my head. We exchanged the usual info on our ride back to our house in the moto and my next 3 months began. My family has 3 girls ages 16, 20, and 24. Alfredo  (52) is my host dad and my more than accommodating host mom is Ana Maria (52).  As soon as we got back to the house it was lunch time. This seems to be the biggest meal of the day, though no meals have disappointed at all yet. Chicken, rice, and potatoes with salada russo for an appetizer would be a feast for me in the US so I was happy as could be chatting with my family and enjoying great food. I managed to stumble my way through 2 hours of conversation with my family before I made it my room to unpack and take a quick break. My room has two large windows that open to a view of a roof top across the alleyway. I have a dresser, electricity, water, and a lot of privacy if I want it.  

After getting my room set up I decided to go for a walk and check out my surrounding community. I enjoyed a quick chat with an older local man and then another volunteer. On my search for a telephone to call home I stopped in at a local store for some change and there I met Hector. Hector is a 27 year old who worked and lived in the US for a small amount of time ten years ago. He knew less English than I know Spanish, but it was still great how hospitable he and his friends were with me. I decided I was going to buy one cerveza and then one little exchange about where I was from and why I am here turned into an hour and half of light social drinking and great conversation. There were a few older men in their 40s and 50s who didn’t speak any English and said only few lines to me here or there, but I couldn’t have asked for a better unplanned situation. Dinner with the family was great and the only little complaint with the whole day was that the king of the little annoying Scottish dogs was camped outside my window all night barking off and on, as he will be for many nights to come. With the large number of dogs on rooftops as guard dogs and the abundance of stray dogs in the community I felt like I was in the movie 101 Dalmatians and my friendly Scottie was rallying the troops.

There are ten or so other volunteers placed in the village of Huascaran but I have only seen where two others live as of right now. Our days will be packed full of training for 10 weeks as we prepare for a future assignments. The process is much more difficult than most people in the United States probably think. They don’t just drop us off in the jungle and say go. It is a trial period in which we have to demonstrate to them and to ourselves that we are ready to handle the challenge and responsibility that this job brings. The first day was more orientation with more vaccine shots, safety and health presentations, and group bonding experiences. We will be training at the Peace Corps center and in our villages 5-6 days a week usually from 8-5. This of course is never the end of your work. We represent the US and the Peace Corps at all times so you have to be aware of how you present yourself at any given moment. Integrating with your host family and with your community is just as hard and in most cases harder than going through the training at the center. At the center in our Spanish classes we are only allowed to speak Spanish, but the rest of the day is in English, including all other classes to a point and lunches with other health PCVs. In our villages it is shocking to find English speaking people. Besides my host sister Made and my new acquaintance Hector, nobody I have spoken to knows English. This is good for my learning, but it is certainly a new challenge for someone like me who likes to talk too much.

More training and more integration ahead but I’m loving every second of it, tough and easy. 

First Daze in Peru

Where to start!? Since leaving Helena my life has been a blurr and I am just now getting to sit down and realize where I am. I can confidently say that I will enjoy not flying for 2 1/2 years. After 12 hours of traveling on planes, trains, and automobiles I arrived in beautiful Washington DC. Meeting 2 other Peace corps volunteers right of the plane was a highlight of the day and then at night, dinner with an old friend started to put everything in perspective. If the new aquaintances and friendly dinner weren't enough, I got back to the hotel and met my temporary roomate and another couple of fun PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers). I waited for the morning and of course it didn't dissapoint.

The orientation day was one of the happiest moments in my life in a long time. I couldn't believe the enthusiam that flooded the room. Sharing my hopes and excitement with people back home was nice, but to be in a room with 35+ people who all really understood why I was there was a feeling I hadn't yet experienced. Everybody was excited and you could tell not only by the shit eating grins on their faces, but also by how passionate everyone was about what they were doing. Even when we all had no clue as to what we would specificaly be doing we were all ready to travel and experience the job of a lifetime. The orientation material itself wasn't anything to special. We went over what was expected of us and a few more in depth details, but many of same questions still remained in our heads (what rural area?, what kind of family are we staying with? things like this). If I hadn't yet completely commited my life to just going with the flow in most situations, this was the day I fully gave in. Another awesome side note was that the country director Sanjay Mathur happened to be in DC on Peace Corps business that day (very rare to be lined up like that) so at the end of our orientation he gave an unplanned speech to the entire 78 PCVs that are headed down. It was one of the most inspiring speeches that I've ever had directed towards me and it really was the icing on the cake.

We had to get up at 6:30 and get on a bus to the airport at 7:00 so of course it was time to go to bed right? Ha! Georgetown night life with 12 Peace Corps volunteers seemed like the better choice. In the end there were about 6 of us who kept it going till 2:00 AM or so to celebrate our last night in the United States. While my body wasn't so happy with me the next day, I am glad I was able to have the feel of one last US night out with a group of amazing new people.

A quick flight to Miami, a ten minute layover, and a bad Queen Latifa movie later I woke up just in time enjoy the view of Lima, Peru from the air (kinda, it's pretty much like LA so once we made it past the haze of pollution we could really respect how huge it is).

Peru 16 has 78 PCVs. This number is almost double that of the last group sent down and getting to our site required a full convoy of black vans packed with luggage and PCVs rockin out to Peruvian music and hits of the 80's. Our 1 day 2 night stay outside of Lima has flown by but I have loved every second of it. We seem to be at a compound because of the high walls and secured gated entrance, but all I could think is, this has to be one of the top five most beautiful and surreal places I have ever stayed. The place itself is not what you would expect from driving through Lima and seeing the broken down houses and incredibly dense population. There is a little pool, gazeebos, and futbol/basketball court. Oh, and of course, there are giant steep mountains surrounding on us on all sides that make me feel right at home.

Right away in the morning after breakfast I went into my Spanish interview, picture taking, and money distribution. Meetings for more details, meeting instructors, and ice breakers filled the rest of the day. These were all fun and inspiring and with 78 PCVs in one complex you get to meet someone new almost every half hour. Tonight, we took a trip to a huge community park across the street from our complex, played capture the flag, and jumped from our second story into the pool for a while. All-in-all a great day. The only dissapointment I can think of at this point is that I won't get to hang out with many of the people I've met and really gravitated to because half people volunteers are here for health and the other half are here for water/sanitation, environmental, or various other small groups. We will all get split up eventually, keeping in contact on possible vacation trips, but tomorrow seems very soon to separate from people I have really enjoyed spending time with from DC till now.

Besides that, we are meeting our host families tomorrow and I couldn't be more nervous. I know my Spanish will start to come easier, but right now I'm just hoping I can get through the day tomorrow and keep my family interested enough to keep me around. Excitement and anticipation awaits.

Goin with the flow....

Peace Corps address and info

The town I'll be in for the first 3 months is Chaclacayo, Peru (pop. 41,110). It's about 30 minutes from Lima (population 7.6 million). I don't have the exact address I'll be staying at yet, only my training facility address. When I arrive I will be going through crash courses and orientation with all that information. I'll post another quick blog after that so that if anyone wants to send anything down or get ahold of me another way that info will be available. I'll be moving to another location for my remaining 24 months and I'll update more info then. Can't wait to get to my new home!

PERU 2010!


 
BJ Biskupiak