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.

Ancash Trip and Site Placement

This is my first blog that has been hard to write. Not because it is deep and personal and not because something intense has happened, but it is hard because I am starting to only think about Peru and my tasks at hand. The last few weeks have been indescribable and so amazing that I have a hard time believing that this is my job. After another week of training and more experience at a high school in 3 de Octubre I was feeling pretty proud of myself for the progress I have made. I feel like my Spanish has grown enough to teach a short lesson in Spanish on the aspects of good and bad relationships, but I have so much more to learn before the students won’t laugh at me for my little mistakes here and there.
The next week consisted of more training with much needed Spanish classes and technical training. Sometimes it is hard to keep your eyes open in the afternoon tech session, but hopefully my brain is absorbing all the valuable information I will need in three weeks.

On Wednesday we left for Ancash, a department in Peru that is just above Lima and contains the highest point in the country, the summit of Huascaran (over 18,500 ft). I plan to summit this mountain before I leave Peru. The views here are some that most people I know will never see. The mountains are bigger and steeper than any in Montana and the fields that blanket the slopes of many hills are a welcome site to any visitor. We made our way up the mountain on hours of switchback roads that in United States would only be suitable for ATVs and motorcycles. After we passed through a tunnel at 14,000+ feet we took a long trip back down into a valley of Chavin. Chavin was a site to remember. It was a small city, but it had little tiendas and restarauntes throughout the whole the place. I stayed in the dude room with the five other guys and had a great time finally bonding with the other guys over guy conversations and World Series baseball. The first day in town was an acclimation day so we took a trip to the Chavin ruins on the edge of town and spent a couple hours wandering through old tunnels and ancient buildings. The thing that stood out the most is that some of these buildings were built thousands of years before Christ and also the Incas. The Chavin culture is unique and rich and our group was lucky to get to see the great link to the past.
In the morning we separated into groups and took off into the mountains for our field based training projects. Our groups met up at a school in the small community of Hauntar, a current site of one volunteer and the future site for a Peru 16er. We listened to power point lessons and received more tips on working with kids. Socio dramas with the youth health promoters followed and we had a couple of small group critical thinking sessions about what the kids want to do in a year. The leaked out more valuable information but on the part of the kids it was a lost cause because there happened to be a 3 day sporting tournament taking place at their school. Every student in the school either played in the few games that were going at a time or surrounded the courtyard for the whole day. Try getting any child to listen when they are missing their teams’ semifinal volleyball match.

Our second day we hoofed it up the mountain to a set of houses that in which the families were building latrines. On the side I worked on we spent the day digging through rock saturated ground taking turns between six or seven volunteers. Doing this work, I finally felt happy about what I was doing. Teaching in the classroom and giving informal charlas is ok and it’s something I will have to do hundreds of times during my service, but actually working with my hands and helping the family with the manual labor is much more rewarding to me. It gives you an instant level of satisfaction for helping to improve the lives of the family you are helping. In my mind it also earns more respect from the family as well. My work in construction and in other general manual labor around Montana prepared me for the dig, because digging a hole manually is the same no matter what country you are in.
My favorite project of the week was building the cocinas mejoradas in Challhuayaco. I was thrilled having another manual labor project where I was able put previous learned skills to work. The man who built the majority of the improved kitchen was so proud and excited that he wouldn’t let anyone else really get in on the work for much of the morning. For me it was better to learn the terms and the process first and also to see the beaming sierran man as helped to improve his living situation for his whole family. This man was another example of how amiable Peruvian people are. He opened his home to 7 strange gringos and showed us the ropes because he had met and worked with one volunteer during her two years of service in the area. When I got the chance to jump in and help I started by measuring off adobe bricks and placing them in the barro (barro is type of mud similar to cement used to retain heat which contains broken glass, straw, special mud, and sand) on top of the already well constructed base. Breaking an adobe with a machete and a hammer was my favorite part. Later I got to use my trowel skills to smooth out the barro inside and outside of the cocina to make it streamline and functional for the lucky family. At the end of project our APCD (associate program country director) Emilia came and had a quick chat with the man about how to use the improved kitchen and when they could start using it. This is part is possibly the most important because without good maintenance, proper use, and cleaning the purpose of having the improved stove would be lost.

Our plans for the last day of the trip were kept hidden from us until we arrived at a small community 3 hours from Huaraz deep in the mountains. The best way I can describe this place to people in the states is to call it what it seemed like and that would be a hippy commune. I mean no disrespect by saying this and in fact I really enjoyed the entire day. The people there spoke to us about learning to feel our through situations instead of always being stuck in your head and weighing yourself down with stress. In new community where I can’t always express my thoughts and feelings with my language it is important to keep a calm and loving demeanor. Body language is going to be the strongest tool I have for a few weeks or months in my community and the day retreat was a good reminder of this. Our activities included walking around the complex blindfolded to better listen to our other senses, leading blindfolded groups around the complex grounds without speaking (2 words for danger or slow down), and leading a partner through a mud pit that came up to our knees also without speaking. The hardest task of the day was crossing a beam suspended over the mud pit four feet below while of course blindfolded. Crossing the log represented taking the step to fully integrate into our new communities and let go of all the things holding us back in our old ones. If the experience itself wasn’t spiritual for some people they couldn’t complain about the beautiful view of snow capped mountains and farm quilted hillsides that continued into the horizon. It was a tranquil day by anyone’s standards and I’m glad I was able to share this time with the staff and other volunteers.

Our trip home brought us back to Lima at 6:30 the next morning on the holiday Día de Muerte. Thousands of people poured into the cemetery to put flowers on graves, to drink and eat, and enjoy the company of their families while remembering those who have passed. It didn’t seem nearly as reverent as thought it would be, but it’s a different culture and a different holiday that I don’t really know enough about to understand just yet.

Tuesday was site placement day!!! After being told most likely Cajamarca and being instructed to research to provinces in Cajamarca for possible future sites I was almost positive that’s was where I was going. I received a huge surprise and I am instead going to be living in Potrerilla, Las Lomas Piura. The beach is 3 hours away and I am tucked in the highland mountains. With me in Piura are 6 other health volunteers, four of which are within 2-4 miles of my small town of 1,500. I leave on the 3rd of November to visit my site for ten days and now I am out of time to write this because I have to finish packing before I leave in an hour.
More in a couple weeks,
Cuídate!

Out and about in Lima District-- Cajamarca!!! My new home!??!

October 6th-17^th

I’ve done so much the last couple weeks and now I have been living in Peru for a month. Sometimes I have to take a step back and let that sink in because here everything has just become so routine. There are tough times when I miss people back home, hot showers, internet access at my house, and a list of other things, but overall the days are still great. Emotions are much more up and down here. I can go from having a frustrating morning where my Spanish isn’t exactly on target, but then in a couple hours I am in another type of session almost jumping out of my seat at the new techniques and technical info we are learning. Then I might go out with other trainees and have an amazing night and my Spanish will be back on at home with my family. The order isn’t exactly a pattern like this and everyday is different. The routine and all the random events thrown in here and there has made the last 4 weeks fly by.

Early on a couple of weeks ago we were introduced to SharePoint. SharePoint is an online resource and social networking site for Peace Corps Peru. All volunteers that have served in Peru since the site has been started have had access to SharePoint and have been able to upload helpful resources as well as smaller information, like what concert may be coming to Lima and soon and who would like to go, or maybe they are putting on an event in there province and need to get the word out to other interested volunteers. The amount of techniques and teaching resources is astonishing and beats any site I have ever seen like this and been a part of. I found out this week that I will be able to purchase a USB adapter that will give me wireless internet anywhere, all the way down to my room at my site. This will run a good 100 soles a month, but all things considered $35/month for internet in the middle of the Peruvian mountains will be worth it. I can’t pass up having SharePoint at my fingertips as well as the ability to communicate with people back home, and of course Google and Facebook.

I enjoyed another great night out in Chosica with a large group of PC trainees Wednesday and Saturday we got the group together again for Cubano Fest. After a couple hours of pregame hang out at the local bodegas in Santa Eulalia we all made it to an outdoor discoteca where we danced the night away even making it on stage to sing with the live band for a song or two. I also met a new Peruvian friend on the way to Santa Eulalia, a 26 year old writer named Diego who lives in Lima. It is nice to have a friend in Lima now like many other volunteers. When I make it in to Lima during service and need a friend to show me the town I know who I can call now. There are a few benefits of my room not being inside the main part of my house here. Being able to come home at 4:30 in the morning without waking up my host parents would be one of those benefits. It’s comforting to know that I know my surroundings well enough down here that at night and perhaps a little buzzed still I can make it home without a problem.

Saturday was also the first trip to Agraria University in Lima. We spent the day learning about different Peruvian vegetables and fruits among other things. We were taught how to make our own planters, how to make compost, what plants grow where and how, and we were able to do hands on work seeding plants and planting seeds as well. I knew a good portion of the gardening material, but in the end it really takes a long time and a lot of practice to know how each plant should be planted and the different care each specific plant needs.

For the first two days of the next week we had language training at my house. My parents went all out preparing snacks for my class and the convenience of sleeping in longer made the experience very easy and enjoyable.

We always have current volunteers come in from their sites to give presentations on their work and their specific areas of service and this week the youth and development volunteers came in and I was immediately interested. Working with kids has always been easy for me and once you get past their scared phase where they are awkwardly trying to figure you out it can be the most rewarding experiences out there in my opinion. There are a lot of clichés thrown around like children are the future, but down here in the work we might do it can often be much clearer truth. I sat on the edge of my seat listening for new techniques as well as initiatives that I could possibly be a part of in the not so distant future.

This last Thursday we went to the main offices in Lima for Peace Corps Peru. I had a meeting with the country director of Peace Corps Peru and we were given a tour of the whole site including introductions to every single staff member. After meeting the staff, other trainees and I are convinced that the Peace Corps has found the nicest, most helpful people in Peru to fill out their team. That night was the most anxious night for me over the last few weeks. I had my second language interview and my second interview with the Associate Program in Country Director (APCD) for the health program.

The interviews both turned out better than I could have hoped for. My language interview could have gone a tiny bit better, but it was leaps and bounds better than my first interview. In this interview I could actually have a conversation and not just throw random words together about the weather. My interview with my APCD was reviled incredible news. It’s not 100% official just yet, the Peace Corps always tends to have this game of suspense and ambiguity that they play from the very beginning, but with that said it’s looking like I am going to the department of Cajamarca. Cajamarca is north of Lima and Ancash, but it isn’t right next to Ecuador like some other possible sites for volunteers. It has hills and mountains in the two sites I may be going to and the beach is also relatively close. I might replace a volunteer who is in a site there now or I would be placed in brand new site. Peru’s largest Carnaval is in Cajamarca and the HIV/AIDS rates are much lower than all the other departments where volunteers are being placed. I don’t know my possible work still, but knowing a site and having two provinces to research in the next two weeks before I hear officially has given me a great goal to prepare for. Now that I know where I might be living for the next two years it can be a little hard to stay focused sometimes and not drift off thinking about how amazing it will be during classes. I was given much more information than most other volunteers, but everything is subject to change. We go to Ancash in a week and a half and after our five day trip in the Sierra many minds could change and many people could be mixed up again, who knows with Peace Corps.

Another trip to Agraria University topped off the great week of news and learning as we observed how to raise small birds like chickens, ducks, and turkeys. Not a big deal to people in the states, but here these birds can be the best source of food for your family or your community at site. The real fun started when we went to Mira Flores after Agraria and checked out the beach. It was my first ocean view in Peru and it didn’t disappoint at all. We were offered surf lesson and spoke with a very personable older vendor who had lived in the U.S. for two years 12 years ago. The beach trip put us all in a good mood for our next stop at OKTOBERFEST. I wasn’t sure if my brain was ready to handle three different cultures at the same time, but the night was a huge success and I now know why we are called poor Peace Corps volunteers, we always spend all of our money going out. While expensive, Oktoberfest was a blast. I went with different people than I have usually been out with and the entertainment and Cusqueṅa kept us going strong for hours before a few of us made our way out of the party to find some Chinese food and the way home.

 My first taste of cuy in Peru!

Mira Flores-Savage Garden-Combi/Sardine Can

Last weekend was pretty laid back compared to most days in Peru. On Saturday I helped my host mom wash my clothes after breakfast. I felt bad bringing in a large bag of clothes and just taking off, but as I helped it seemed like I just got in her way more than I helped. It was nice to see how to wash certain clothes by hand but half way through the session ended as she shooed me out of the room towards my host dad. Alejandro and my sister Made took me over to the Chaclacayo cemetery on the hillside in Huascaran. I’d wanted to go over and see how the layout and art is different from that of American cemeteries and I was very surprised at how normal and easy it was for us to walk around in the cemetery and see all the different structures. I felt a little strange taking pictures, but it not like it hasn’t been done before. In many cases the tombs were just above ground with maybe a foot or so of cement closing them in a small area. Some had little houses for decorations and others had somewhat traditional headstones. The most striking thing to me was the large walls standing row after row 15 feet tall with at least 75 graves in each large wall. All the tombs are cemented in and have decorations on the outside. This trip revealed to me what my host dad does also. He creates his own intricate stencils and transfers his beautiful work onto the equivalent of gravestones in the cemetery. I believe he also owned a small hardware/paint store at one point because I noticed a large store sign partially uncovered in the house with many small supplies in one room as well. I haven’t brought it up because it isn’t functional at the moment and I don’t want to bring up bad feelings if there are any.

Sunday, I watched “The Incredibles” with my sister and I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the movie was animated in Spanish and I didn’t have to sit through two hours of dubbed over cartoons. After lunch, I spent the rest of the day in Chosica with another volunteer Kati, looking for more cheap movies, enjoying street vendor food, and playing cards in the park while taking in the Sunday scene. What I will remember the most about the Sunday trip to Chosica is the combi rides. Sunday was Election Day in Peru and if you think politics in the US get crazy, you wouldn’t believe what you see down here. Voting is mandatory in Peru and if you don’t vote you can’t travel outside of your province, you can’t get simple licenses for identification or for opening businesses, and you are basically limited to off grid life unless you want to pay the steep fine that comes with not doing your civic duty. Because voting is mandatory everybody is trying to get into town all day, from 8:00AM to 4:00PM. The first combi (small busses with seating for 22-24 people) we took had at least 50 people packed in it. This wasn’t terrible if you can stand hot recycled air and a different appalling smell for 15-20 minutes. The ride back was another fun experience because on this combi we managed to shove in at least 60 people. If we hit a big enough bump the guy pressed up against the front of me would have landed one right on my lips and the two people behind me would have surpassed their second base status that they had already achieved. I remember a project I did in middle school were we had to through an egg in a container off the roof of the school. The egg had to remain intact if you were to receive an A grade. I recall using a sort of bedding foam and a little plastic sack for a parachute. I have never felt more like that egg than when I was on that combi and I couldn’t move 4 inches in any direction. Anyways, it was a learning experience….don’t go anywhere on Election Day in Peru if you can help it.

Monday was our first trip to Lima, our first time back to the mega-metropolis since we were whisked away from the airport three weeks ago. Every level language class went to Mira Flores for different projects and practice. Mira Flores is hardly the real Peru and I have trouble calling it Lima because it is gringo central and the spot where we were dropped off was a beautiful park named John F. Kennedy Park. Don’t get me wrong, Mira Flores is beautiful but when my Spanish class decided to eat at Pizza Hut and Burger King across the street from the McDonalds I felt like I was not embracing Peru and the new places I haven’t experienced yet. I ate Pizza Hut in the US three weeks ago and to do it here would have just been too early for me to give in and want American food. I made my way to a local deli which I’m sure is just a Mira Flores tourist trap anyways, but I had to order in Spanish still, from a menu I didn’t recognize and I avoided going the American fast food route that I was so used to back home. Mira Flores will definately be a fun time to come back to, but I want to explore some more night life and different parts of Lima too. Our trip back took over 3 hours in two different combis, even with our driver bypassing numerous red lights with lines of cars at them by driving off road or on the sidewalk.

Wednesday was another installment of Charla Time in Chosica with the environment group and a surprisingly large number of health program trainees. We accomplished the feat of drinking the little restaurant out of all their beer while we shared more great stories and hopes for the following weeks and years. I had my first chicken sandwich from a street vendor and it was better even better than I expected it to be, and for two soles it was a steal! No sickness either, I’m starting to think I have an iron stomach down here. This goes for things I can actually get down. I have had almost every part of the chicken now and I have only been incapable of eating one part. For me this part was las patas de pollo (chicken feet). I came home for lunch after language class one day this week and I was greeted with a chicken feet soup and then the second course of rice and potatoes interspersed with more chicken toes. I’ve been able to stomach chicken liver, heart, and other odd organs and tendons here and there, but I could I only get one little toe down before I knew my gag reflex was not having it (no chewing option available, not a good idea). When I go to site I will have to eat way worse food and my mom’s cooking here is great so I’m not complaining, but it is another part of training yourself that you don’t think of until you go through it.

More technical training this week has provided mass amounts of information and useful tools/techniques that I can’t wait to use when I get to site. Working on homework with my sister is becoming more and more fun as my Spanish gets better. I also enjoy seeing her do well in her English. One night this week we were working on her English homework when she pulled out an assignment where she had to fill in certain parts of lyrics to a song. I was taken aback when I glanced at the song and immediately middle school and high school dances popped into head. They are using Savage Garden’s, “I Knew I Loved You before I Met You” as a learning tool. It killed me inside a little, but I admitted I knew every word and found myself humming the tune as I helped her fill in the document. No matter the exact assignment I enjoy teaching and trading off my language knowledge from English to get more help in Spanish.

We only have a half day of training Friday because of the holiday to remember the La Guerra del Pacifico with Chile. This was a war in which Chile invaded Peru in the late 1800s and early 1900s with the help of the British and many atrocities were committed against Peruvian women and children as well and many men as well. The relationship with Chile is still very shaky to say the least. I didn’t know much of Peru’s history before this experience, but my eyes have been opened and it is clear to see why certain parts of Peru are the way they are and why they feel the way the way they do. There is anger towards Spain of course because of hundreds of years of colonialism, but there are many Spanish descendants here and after a few generations there are also large numbers of people who are descendants of Peruvian and Spanish heritage. This doesn’t even cover all the indigenous people in the Sierra (mountains) or in the Selva (jungle).

This weekend we go back to a different a part of Lima to learn about organic farming and small animal husbandry at the Agraria University. Both topics are high on my list of things I want to learn and both can be very useful for better nutrition and improving other aspects of health like: mental health-due to self esteem, income generation for better nutrition and other improvements, and learning better ways to prevent illness through better sanitation and food prep practices.

After Lima it’s Cubano Fest in a town 45 minutes away and right next door to a handful of volunteers from the WatSan/Environment program. If we stay in Lima or make the long trip back for Cubano Fest, this weekend should be full of excitement. Oh, I almost forgot about the late night soccer game Friday night that I might get to play in and a possible cockfight Saturday I could go watch down the street from my house.

Out in Chosica

October 2^nd

The week of field experience

Tuesday and Wednesday were consumed by more classed but the best thing about the training in Peace Corps is that they try to make it fun and non-formal at least half of the time. We split up into small groups on Wednesday and participated in a mock debate between different types of aide organizations in Peru (International NGOs/National NGOs/Peru gov). The debate gave us a good luck at how we can work with other organizations and what the Peace Corps has to offer.

The real highlight Wednesday was meeting up with the other group of trainees from environment and water sanitation in Chosica. The other group of trainees came out with a group of almost 20 people and we ended up sharing stories over a few cervezas and pesco sours. It seems easier to bond with that group and you can tell there is a little more closeness within the group than in the health group. My only guess to why this would be is that we have 30 females, many of which have strong ties back home. I’m just speculating but I could see that being a factor in the process of opening up and being real with the whole group. We also have four women who are 5-8 years older than the average age of our group. These women are all awesome people and great leaders as well, but it does seem harder to close the friendship gap for me. The other group is a little more evenly spread with guys and girls and on top of that they talk about hanging out every day after class and just relaxing over a couple drinks. You can see the jokes flying back and forth like they have known each other for much longer than 2 weeks. I really enjoy the people in the health group, but I just have to realize that it’s going to be a different type of group. It was exactly what I needed to get past that midweek mark and I hope we can make it a permanent event for the next 8 weeks until we are spread out across the country.

On Thursday we got out of the classroom and made our way to a health center in the morning. The center was on the lower end of health centers and the difference was very obvious. It was interesting to actually see the difference between this local health center and the ones back home. Even with the difference in facilities and tools the staff seems to care for their patience just as much as any good health care provider would do. Our main goal was to see what kind of facilities the people have and what treatment is available in the Chaclacayo community, but while we were there we gained important vocabulary that we should know for our work coming up in the near future.

The afternoon was a little more upbeat as we took the whole health group to a high school in the town of 3 de Octubre. We got great practice in working our different community diagnostics with the classes. My teaching group of 4 worked with a group of 8-10 kids to map out there community how they know it now and then how they see it in ten years. The kids we worked with were very cooperative and I was very happy with the Spanish I was able to use to help with activity. All the community diagnostic tools worked really well in the classroom and I can’t wait to actually use them in the field two months from now.

Thursday was an exhausting day for me and Friday brought a very welcomed slow morning of technical training. We received our ATM cards and cell phones are on their way soon. It seems like a strange joke to give us these objects of normalcy and then a month later put us somewhere where we won’t really use either. For the time being I can’t complain though, it will be nice to be able to contact other volunteers and my family without going to a pay phone or street vendor and dropping a couple soles every time. Friday afternoon we went into Chosica as a class. For a few people this was their first trip, but I consider myself close to a local in Chosica at this point. I have made the trip close to ten times now and it’s just another easy trip to me now. The giant white Jesus statue, the central park, and the hundreds of little stores and restaurants that line the streets make Chosica my favorite place to go as of yet. My objectives changed a little on this trip, as we had three pages of interview questions we had to get out and put to use. At first I still had my nervous voice when asking people more than two or three quick questions, but as I did more and more interviews the practice brought more confidence to the process and by the end I was able to joke around with a few of my interviewees and I really loved the assignment.

Side note: I went to Chosica the previous night with my sister and bought Shrek 4, The Other Guys, and Get Him to the Greek for a grand total of 9 soles (3.25$). A deal I could get used to!!

Elections are this weekend so the entire country is dry from Friday to Monday morning. No going out and partying, but with everything basically shut down I will have a lot of time to get in some much needed sleep and studying. Other things will come up, but down here I never plan for anything too concrete because schedules are always changing on a dime. Visiting a cool cemetery in my town, doing homework, and hanging out with my host sister are on my to-do list.

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