Saturday, December 4, 2010

Last month in Lima

It’s been over a month since my last blog and more has happened during this time than all of my time here in Peru, much more than I can really fit into a little blog. We did site visits in Piura and our other respective departments, we have gone through more intensive training, and we have experienced more of the social life in Lima/Chosica. I write this blog, for the first time from my room in Potrerillo. I am writing now because it is the first time in many weeks in which my time is my own. I finally have a chance to sit down and not worry about where I have to be in an hour.

Highlights from the last month:
Site visits were emotionally and physically exhausting but I couldn’t have asked for a better site placement. My house is a 20 minute walk up a steep hill which provides me with a raised view of the vibrant green farms below and the gargantuan Andes Mountains that surround our valley and lead to the high sierra. Within the first fifteen minutes of meeting y host family my host dad gathered to roosters together and held a mini cock fight in front of our house. My room has a dirt floor, adobe walls, no door, a light, and a hard straw mattress bed. We don’t have running water, but we do have a latrine, but nowhere private to bucket bathe yet. I spent three days meeting over 50 people from my community and the surrounding caserillos on a round-about tour given by the previous site’s volunteer Douglas. I enjoyed welcome parties and chatted with my family as much as my language would provide and one of the nights the 4 volunteers of Chipillico valley got together to share their exciting new experiences.
As well as our time in site we spent time in another site giving presentations and small non-formal education lessons to mothers and health promoters in the site of a current volunteer in Piura. After all of our site visits we came back to the Piura City where we enjoyed normal food, hot showers, and cable television in our hostel rooms. I love Piura City. Another 15 hour bus ride and we were back in Lima ready for more training.
Harry Potter midnight premier was a great chance to dress up and have some fun. I have never dressed up for a movie in my life, but I figure the Peace Corps is a great place for firsts so I cut out my glasses, made my shirt into a Quiditch jersey, and we arrived at the premier on our brooms an hour later. The problem with a midnight premier of Harry Potter in Spanish during training is that my brain doesn’t exactly function in Spanish past 9:00 at night. These factors lead to me falling asleep for over half the movie. To make up for my little nap we went to Harry Potter in Lima in English, which is hundred times better, the jokes just don’t translate into Spanish and maintain any of their joviality.
Thanksgiving was a little out of the ordinary this year, but the trainers at the center gave a us a small slice of home by preparing a large buffet breakfast with sandwiches, empanadas, and yogurt. Later that day was the host family celebration. The afternoon was filled with dance performances, music duets and solos, food prepared by the trainees, and gift giving to our families. The day was a success in my mind because I only rarely thought about hunting, Cowboys football, and the usual thanksgiving feast.
The next day was our swearing in ceremony at the other training center. The ambassador of the United States to Peru came for our ceremony and we were able to take pictures with her before commencement and receive her inspirational words of wisdom. The day gave me a chance to dress up in my suit for the first and probably last time in Peru. My host family came to both events which meant more to me than I thought it would. My host family from Chaclacayo was very accommodating, but I didn’t realize how much they cared for me until the day I was leaving and my host mom started to tear up when we were saying goodbye. These tears were intermixed with her calling me a hijo (son). I remember the first day I met my host mom; I was terrified of a little 5’2 woman and all I could spit out was my name and some random facts about my family back home. If my relationship with my first host family grew so much in 3 months I have a lot to look forward to with my host family in Potrerillo.
When we arrived in Piura we were one less in the Health program. Joanne made the choice to go home and she was a much happier person when she did so. I’m jealous at times because I think of the things she is enjoying; driving a car, seeing family and friends, eating any food you want, the list go on and on. Joanne has one much in her life already and I wish the best for her.
Before we made it the Chipillico valley another girl from our group decided to go home as well. This was especially hard for me because this girl was probably my favorite girl in the Health program and she was going to be living 30 minutes away from me. It was the right choice for her because of personal reasons but it doesn’t make it any easier and the valley and I will miss her for the next two years. She will do great things back home and I can’t wait to hear from my new friends back stateside. At the end of the day we are “Volunteers” and we can leave at any point, but the test is to push yourself and make it through all the hardships and I just hope I have the strength to get to the finish line. It’s only the first week here and I think the best way to go about it is to take it one week at a time.