Sunday, January 2, 2011

December in Peru

One month into service and to a large majority of my town I am no longer referred to as gringo. I walk around now and hear William, another normal buenas dias or que tal, or something about if I will be playing soccer next Sunday and how many goals I will score. I see this as a huge success and it has been a great month getting to this point. A very important aspect of me gaining trust with my community has come through playing on the town soccer team and playing smaller games throughout the week as well. We are through three games with a record of 1-1-1 with two goals netted by me so far. I love getting out and playing, but the game is completely different than US soccer at times. In the US there seems to be much more strategy and ground play. In Peru 75% of the game the ball is in the air. There is a kick it long and over the top approach that is ensuring that I get all the exercise I can handle as a striker/mid. Every Sunday it’s a whole day event in the valley of Chipillico. There are at least six teams and there is enough time for three games a day. There are food carts set up for the crowds that come in from the surrounding communities. After our game we usually stick around to check out the competition and shoot the breeze. I forgot to mention I also have my own jersey and new pair of dirt soccer shoes, life is good.
My first week here consisted of me walking around the valley and handing out letters of who I am and what I’m doing here to leaders of the community. I have to thank our APCD for that idea. It was a great way to automatically make connections with important people in the community without having to spend too much time searching for them. When I met all the people I could find in one day I had the opportunity to sit under a tree by the river and read a book/take a nap for a few hours while I waited for people to return from the fields. I get these chunks of time quite often in site right now. It seems like everything just moves a little slower here and this is especially true around the holiday/summer season. People go away to Piura, Lima, or wherever they may have family taking a significant portion of the population with them. When I have times to relax in the valley I couldn’t be happier with the views I have of the surrounding mountains and the endless chacras of rice, corn, and mangos.
My house, like everything else in Peru, is under construction at the moment, but things have improved since I first arrived. I have a beautiful wood door with a nice gold painted lock on my room now. The door compliments my desk, new mattress and my kitchen table quite nicely. This said, nothing can really make my suitcases full of clothes laying on the ground look any better, especially not the ants that have made their home under the bags. The outside of our adobe house is being cemented over and painted along with the cement floor in my room. With my shower area destroyed because of the wall work I now get to enjoy bathing in the canal at our field further down on the mountain. Yes, this canal is the same canal that I get my water out of to cook, drink, and wash my clothes in as well. It is also the same canal that pigs grunt around in during the day trying to avoid all the chickens and ducks waddling through the same water. My latrine is fully functional with a nice porcelain toilet. One thing I never really appreciated in the states were porcelain toilets, but seeing what some other volunteers are using has made my thankfulness for this luxury sky rocket.
I lucked out to be placed with a family as caring and easy going as my host family here. There have been two small drinking sessions with my dad on two very deserving occasions and both times provided to be great entertainment. The first time I drank with my host dad was the night after he gashed his leg with a rice cutter the day before and was having a little pain medication. The other time was around the holidays and we were just celebrating with friends. Both times we ended up back at the house providing entertainment for the rest of the family. There are times when we are just sitting around the house that deserve pictures and these tipsy moments were a must.
Some of the best times have been hanging out with my little brother and little sister taking pictures and goofing off for the camera. Almost every other night we break out my other remaining piece of technology and watch a movie as a family until my parents drift off to their bedroom calling it a night. Other bonding moments with the family include playing Mancala with my sister, using my binoculars to look around the neighborhood, doing laundry with my mom in the canal, playing games with my siblings every day, and simply chatting with them all the time.
Having a site mate has been another great part of my placement in the valley. I got lucky with a good site mate and it is going to be a great 2 years working with her. Jillian and I see each other at least twice a week and live only an hour walk apart. Thursday night chill out is a tradition that will continue for the next two years and keep me sane I’m sure. A tranquil couple of hours relaxing in a field by a creek with a sunset view does your system some good. Whenever we have needed to go into Las Lomas or into our capital city Piura, it is usually a combined decision and it gives me someone to travel with as well. We did make our way back to the capital city 3 times this month and every time was a great stay. We buy all the things we need for back at site and get to see other volunteers from the department that happen to be in town at the same time. Piura has everything you could ask for in semi-large city. There is a movie theater, bars, clubs, restaurants, malls, markets, supermarkets, hostels/hotels with hot water and internet, and an endless supply of clothing stores and pharmacies. As amazing as Piura is it’s getting tougher to miss time at site. I want to be at site more after a month because I have made those connections, I have responsibilities in site, and I have work to be getting done.
Christmas was a little different down here but I can’t complain. Christmas Eve we put a cement wall on the side of our house and at night we had some great hot cocoa and watched a movie as a family. Presents were non-existent and there were no suspicions of Santa Claus, but it still felt like Christmas is supposed to. We put up Christmas lights I bought for the family and we even had a little manger up on the wall next to a green thread and popsicle-stick x-mass tree. That night after our festivities I headed out to a dance I was invited to a week earlier by a couple of local girls. The dance was a pricey ten soles but it didn’t disappoint. I danced until 2:00 in the morning and spent Christmas day making up for lost sleep and rest.
As for work goes, I have a few things started, but everything seems to be more in the planning stage for another week or two. The first three months in site are for getting to know the community through our diagnostic and any other tools we choose to use. I have helped give two charlas, one about early stimulation and the other about safe water. In January with my site mate I start vacation classes four days a week for the youth in the communities of Potrerillo and Chipillico. Are classes will be whatever we want them to be so we chose the topics of Art, English, Health, and Sports. I will be starting my community diagnostic in January and I’m sure I will have more opportunities to give charlas to members of the community. I also plan to start a youth health promoters club soon in to February. When my first three months are up, I want to move into the beginning stages of a larger project Health Homes. Healthy Homes will include many small subprojects and education sessions but the project will all be building up to an improved kitchen building project that will get women away from cooking on the ground in a room filled with smoke and give them an easier and healthier way to cook for their family. More projects will come up as time goes on and I look forward to any of these new work opportunities.
In the beginning I had these feelings at least once a day where I would just stop and realize how amazing it is that I am getting paid to live here and work with these people in the beautiful place. It may be when I step out of my front door to the view I have or it may be right after a great day of meetings and conversation followed by a nap by the river. I still get those feelings now and I hope they continue throughout all of service.
Spanish is sometimes still a frustration for me at times, but I am speaking much better than I ever thought I could. Since I lost my Ipod I haven’t really had any music to listen to while I walk so my walk have just been filled with time for practicing Spanish and going over it in my head. It may have been one of the best things to happen to me for my Spanish, but it still stings a little especially when my hard drive crashed on me too.