So I have arrived in Piura and I am about to head to site for my first actual day and let’s just say all of this isn’t playing out the way I anticipated.
For starters, my friend Amy has decided to head back to the States so we are one more person less for Piura. The next bit of news is I woke up feeling deathly ill. It feels like my intestines are being ripped into pieces and I am nauseated. I also went to the post office to get my kindle I have been dying to receive and I open the package to find out it’s broken. Then I talk to my mom and she informs me my great grandmother has died. So basically I am a complete mess and I haven’t even made it to site. Please keep me and my family in your prayers because times are super tough right now.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Saying goodbye
The time has finally come for me to say goodbye to my family, local friends, trainers and other volunteers. I honestly didn’t think it would be that hard because I have only known them for 10 weeks, but boy was I wrong. Talk about some waterworks.
The first set of goodbyes happened at the swearing-in ceremony and I was fine until the freakin national anthem was sung and then I just cried. I had to say bye to my Spanish teachers and other tech trainers and it was 10X harder than I expected. The second set came at the bar-turned-discotech-by-volunteers place we went to and that was even harder because it’s going to be months if not longer before I see any of these people.
These volunteers and trainers are my family. They are all I have here and saying goodbye to them is like leaving the USA to come to Peru alone again…just this time I am leaving one city in Peru and going to another one. It’s tough!
After all of those goodbyes I had to say goodbye to Rigel. That was SUPER tough because he lives in Chaclacayo and who knows if I will be able to make it back anytime soon to see him. I know I will be seeing the volunteers and most of the trainers again…just a long time from now. I know Rigel and I are going to try to visit each other, but it’s difficult when we both have jobs. He has been so good to me and was the first person outside of PC that I met. He will always hold a special place with me. He helped me with my language, culture things and kept me sane when I needed a break from all things Peace Corps.
I didn’t think I would be that emotional when I said goodbye to my family. I love them dearly, but I didn’t think it would be hard. I basically broke down in sobbing cries and even thinking about it is making me cry. They have been SO good to me and I feel like they are my parents and I don’t want to leave them. They had to put up with my lack of Spanish from day 1, all my culture shock/mass confusion and I just feel like I know them so well. I will most defiantly be back to see them before I leave. I bought them some Panatone (Christmas bread that is disgusting that Peruvians LOVE…except me and Rigel). I also printed out 7 pictures from my times with them for them to have. They were super excited about it and my gift was a can of peaches. I don’t really like peaches that much, but I bet one day when I am lonely sitting in my room, a can of peaches might just do the trick. I can also use the can afterwards too for a pencil thingy.
Anyway, saying goodbye always sucks. If I end up having a strong relationship with the people of Pambarumbe I can’t imagine how hard goodbye will be at the close of my service in two years. Right now I need to focus of my hellos and my Spanish because my world is about to be rocked!
The first set of goodbyes happened at the swearing-in ceremony and I was fine until the freakin national anthem was sung and then I just cried. I had to say bye to my Spanish teachers and other tech trainers and it was 10X harder than I expected. The second set came at the bar-turned-discotech-by-volunteers place we went to and that was even harder because it’s going to be months if not longer before I see any of these people.
These volunteers and trainers are my family. They are all I have here and saying goodbye to them is like leaving the USA to come to Peru alone again…just this time I am leaving one city in Peru and going to another one. It’s tough!
After all of those goodbyes I had to say goodbye to Rigel. That was SUPER tough because he lives in Chaclacayo and who knows if I will be able to make it back anytime soon to see him. I know I will be seeing the volunteers and most of the trainers again…just a long time from now. I know Rigel and I are going to try to visit each other, but it’s difficult when we both have jobs. He has been so good to me and was the first person outside of PC that I met. He will always hold a special place with me. He helped me with my language, culture things and kept me sane when I needed a break from all things Peace Corps.
I didn’t think I would be that emotional when I said goodbye to my family. I love them dearly, but I didn’t think it would be hard. I basically broke down in sobbing cries and even thinking about it is making me cry. They have been SO good to me and I feel like they are my parents and I don’t want to leave them. They had to put up with my lack of Spanish from day 1, all my culture shock/mass confusion and I just feel like I know them so well. I will most defiantly be back to see them before I leave. I bought them some Panatone (Christmas bread that is disgusting that Peruvians LOVE…except me and Rigel). I also printed out 7 pictures from my times with them for them to have. They were super excited about it and my gift was a can of peaches. I don’t really like peaches that much, but I bet one day when I am lonely sitting in my room, a can of peaches might just do the trick. I can also use the can afterwards too for a pencil thingy.
Anyway, saying goodbye always sucks. If I end up having a strong relationship with the people of Pambarumbe I can’t imagine how hard goodbye will be at the close of my service in two years. Right now I need to focus of my hellos and my Spanish because my world is about to be rocked!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thanking and Swearing
This was definitely a different type of Thanksgiving. I am going to guess that I was thankful for things usually those in America forget to be thankful for.
For example, I am thankful for: knowing cold showers are only temporary in my life, Cracker Barrel, Cipro, a day where I haven’t eaten rice or potatoes, my family and friends in the USA, my family and friends in Peru, chocolate, toilets that flush, cell phone service, washer’s and driers, the moments when I feel clean, for being American, Peace Corps, the culture and people of Peru, not having diarrhea, bananas, nice dogs, wireless (even though I don’t have it), organized traffic, comfortable beds, knowing that roosters will not always destroy my life, rocks, Wal-Mart, mosquito nets and a lot more random things.
For Thanksgiving our trainers had a breakfast for us. We had fruit bowls, bread with cheese and coffee. It was delicious and we all went around and said what we were thankful for. After that we had a cute slideshow of a ton of funny pictures from the last 10 weeks of training. (It’s possible it might make a YouTube appearance…I will let you know). Then we prepared for a dinner and show for our families. All the families were invited to the training center and we served them American and Peruvian food. I made my Reece’s chocolate cake and they devoured it in a second (thank you Grandma)! It was a time trying to make that cake because I had to literally make the sour cream, but since they loved it who cares. After eating we had a show for them. We did dances, songs and all kinds of weird interpretations. I think they enjoyed themselves.
After the show a group of us went to the plaza and celebrated Thanksgiving ourselves. We shared some beverages and just enjoyed what little time we had together. Once people split off I went and spent some time with Rigel. We did the typical Peruvian thing and watched Al Fond Hay Sitio. It was a different kind of Thanksgiving, but I still loved it. I miss my friends and family in the States, but I was able to share it with new friends and family.
My “black Friday” was not spent fighting crowds and shopping…this year it was the most important day of my PC life. I officially was sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I am not longer a trainee….but a volunteer. FINALLY! The US Ambassador to Peru was there and she gave a nice speech to us. We actually have the same oath as the military. There was tons of food, speeches and people at our ceremony, but it was bittersweet. We said our tearful goodbyes to our trainers and I pretended I knew exactly what to do when I get to site. Lol. Fear not, it was not out last time to say goodbye to everyone. Being it was a Friday night and not just any Friday night, but the last Friday night, we went to celebrate. About 40 out of 70 of us went to Chosica and fled to the roof of a bar that had an awesome jukebox. We danced to American and Peruvian songs until the sun came up. The goodbyes were tearful, but I know that because we are Peru 16 we will always be connected. I said my goodbyes slightly before sunrise and went to spend time in Chaclacayo with my local friends I have made. I feel like those goodbyes were harder because it’s a possibility I won’t being seeing them anytime soon, if at all.
Now the training part of my PCV life has closed and it’s time to put this knowledge to work. I am so thankful for my PC family and everything they do for me. I hate leaving my family and friends in Chaclacayo, but I will always plan to come back and visit. Part of my heart will always stay in Chaclacayo.
I will say I am scared, nervous, anxious, excited, happy and sad about leaving. I want to go to Piura, but I don’t want to leave Chaclacayo. I am sure Pambarumbe will become a nice home to me as well, but I just hate leaving the home I have already made.
I have tried to keep this blog updated as often as possible, but I should warn you that there isn’t internet in my site so therefore; this blog will be updated less and less. Stay tuned though because I will do my best to tell you what’s going on. Say some prayers and wish me luck because now it’s time for the real PCV life!
For example, I am thankful for: knowing cold showers are only temporary in my life, Cracker Barrel, Cipro, a day where I haven’t eaten rice or potatoes, my family and friends in the USA, my family and friends in Peru, chocolate, toilets that flush, cell phone service, washer’s and driers, the moments when I feel clean, for being American, Peace Corps, the culture and people of Peru, not having diarrhea, bananas, nice dogs, wireless (even though I don’t have it), organized traffic, comfortable beds, knowing that roosters will not always destroy my life, rocks, Wal-Mart, mosquito nets and a lot more random things.
For Thanksgiving our trainers had a breakfast for us. We had fruit bowls, bread with cheese and coffee. It was delicious and we all went around and said what we were thankful for. After that we had a cute slideshow of a ton of funny pictures from the last 10 weeks of training. (It’s possible it might make a YouTube appearance…I will let you know). Then we prepared for a dinner and show for our families. All the families were invited to the training center and we served them American and Peruvian food. I made my Reece’s chocolate cake and they devoured it in a second (thank you Grandma)! It was a time trying to make that cake because I had to literally make the sour cream, but since they loved it who cares. After eating we had a show for them. We did dances, songs and all kinds of weird interpretations. I think they enjoyed themselves.
After the show a group of us went to the plaza and celebrated Thanksgiving ourselves. We shared some beverages and just enjoyed what little time we had together. Once people split off I went and spent some time with Rigel. We did the typical Peruvian thing and watched Al Fond Hay Sitio. It was a different kind of Thanksgiving, but I still loved it. I miss my friends and family in the States, but I was able to share it with new friends and family.
My “black Friday” was not spent fighting crowds and shopping…this year it was the most important day of my PC life. I officially was sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I am not longer a trainee….but a volunteer. FINALLY! The US Ambassador to Peru was there and she gave a nice speech to us. We actually have the same oath as the military. There was tons of food, speeches and people at our ceremony, but it was bittersweet. We said our tearful goodbyes to our trainers and I pretended I knew exactly what to do when I get to site. Lol. Fear not, it was not out last time to say goodbye to everyone. Being it was a Friday night and not just any Friday night, but the last Friday night, we went to celebrate. About 40 out of 70 of us went to Chosica and fled to the roof of a bar that had an awesome jukebox. We danced to American and Peruvian songs until the sun came up. The goodbyes were tearful, but I know that because we are Peru 16 we will always be connected. I said my goodbyes slightly before sunrise and went to spend time in Chaclacayo with my local friends I have made. I feel like those goodbyes were harder because it’s a possibility I won’t being seeing them anytime soon, if at all.
Now the training part of my PCV life has closed and it’s time to put this knowledge to work. I am so thankful for my PC family and everything they do for me. I hate leaving my family and friends in Chaclacayo, but I will always plan to come back and visit. Part of my heart will always stay in Chaclacayo.
I will say I am scared, nervous, anxious, excited, happy and sad about leaving. I want to go to Piura, but I don’t want to leave Chaclacayo. I am sure Pambarumbe will become a nice home to me as well, but I just hate leaving the home I have already made.
I have tried to keep this blog updated as often as possible, but I should warn you that there isn’t internet in my site so therefore; this blog will be updated less and less. Stay tuned though because I will do my best to tell you what’s going on. Say some prayers and wish me luck because now it’s time for the real PCV life!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
I have a boyfriend
I have a boyfriend and his name is Peru and we are slowing falling in love. I have only known him since September 17 and we did not like each other at all the first day we met. I thought he was strange and different in a bad way, but with time I am falling head over heels for him.
He is very kind to me and always knows how to keep me entertained. We like to watch pirated movies together and sometimes even go to the theatre. He really likes to listen to music and dance which are my favorite things too. We listen to a lot of different types of music together and dance to them as well. We listen to rap, rock, country, cumbia, salsa, meringue, reggaton, classic rock and we especially love the hits of the 1980’s. Our favorite dance to rock out at the clubs is meringue or salsa. We love to go out on weekends and socialize. It’s what we do best.
We like some of the same food, but he eats way to much rice and potatoes in my opinion. Sometimes the food he fixes for me really upsets my stomach, but I forgive him for it because it’s not like he can personally ask my stomach if it’s ok to eat certain foods. We love eating bread together. It’s one of our favorite foods. I wish he liked to eat more sweets, but that may just be a blessing in disguise.
He likes different types of weather too. For example, we like to go to the sierra, mountains, beach and jungle together. Usually the best places we go together it’s hot during the day and cold at night. I hate all the bug bites I get when we go out, but I can’t help it I have such sweet blood
He is very sweet to me. All the time he is sharing his food and making sure I am safe. Anytime I have questions about anything, he is there to answer or find the answer for me. The way he drives reminds me of Egypt. It’s life-threatening, dangerous, but all the adventure just makes it fun.
Some days though he really pisses me off. Is it too much to ask for to just throw my toilet paper in his toilet and not a trashcan? Is it really too much to ask for to just have running water for at least 10 hours a day? Sometimes I want to tell him something so bad, but every now and then we have a “lost in translation” moment and I just give up.
Our biggest fights are usually about how he always gets me dirty. Since we live together, his shower is super cold and I never feel clean after it. I don’t have any appliances so I never feel pretty even when I am trying to look my Sunday best. He tells me I look just fine and to get over, but sometimes I just wish I had a hair dryer, straightener, some high heels and a little black dress, but that would look silly in our town of 235. But again, this could be a blessing in disguise because he is teaching me I don’t need these things to survive. They just make me feel comfortable and I am learning to deal without. He is really good about looking at the positive side of things. He has also taught me how to just laugh at a long of things. He is very relaxed and easy going. My favorite thing about him, he loves trying new things.
I love him dearly because of who he is and how he can make me laugh. I have a feeling this is about to turn into a serious relationship, most likely something along the lines of two years…if not more.
He is very kind to me and always knows how to keep me entertained. We like to watch pirated movies together and sometimes even go to the theatre. He really likes to listen to music and dance which are my favorite things too. We listen to a lot of different types of music together and dance to them as well. We listen to rap, rock, country, cumbia, salsa, meringue, reggaton, classic rock and we especially love the hits of the 1980’s. Our favorite dance to rock out at the clubs is meringue or salsa. We love to go out on weekends and socialize. It’s what we do best.
We like some of the same food, but he eats way to much rice and potatoes in my opinion. Sometimes the food he fixes for me really upsets my stomach, but I forgive him for it because it’s not like he can personally ask my stomach if it’s ok to eat certain foods. We love eating bread together. It’s one of our favorite foods. I wish he liked to eat more sweets, but that may just be a blessing in disguise.
He likes different types of weather too. For example, we like to go to the sierra, mountains, beach and jungle together. Usually the best places we go together it’s hot during the day and cold at night. I hate all the bug bites I get when we go out, but I can’t help it I have such sweet blood
He is very sweet to me. All the time he is sharing his food and making sure I am safe. Anytime I have questions about anything, he is there to answer or find the answer for me. The way he drives reminds me of Egypt. It’s life-threatening, dangerous, but all the adventure just makes it fun.
Some days though he really pisses me off. Is it too much to ask for to just throw my toilet paper in his toilet and not a trashcan? Is it really too much to ask for to just have running water for at least 10 hours a day? Sometimes I want to tell him something so bad, but every now and then we have a “lost in translation” moment and I just give up.
Our biggest fights are usually about how he always gets me dirty. Since we live together, his shower is super cold and I never feel clean after it. I don’t have any appliances so I never feel pretty even when I am trying to look my Sunday best. He tells me I look just fine and to get over, but sometimes I just wish I had a hair dryer, straightener, some high heels and a little black dress, but that would look silly in our town of 235. But again, this could be a blessing in disguise because he is teaching me I don’t need these things to survive. They just make me feel comfortable and I am learning to deal without. He is really good about looking at the positive side of things. He has also taught me how to just laugh at a long of things. He is very relaxed and easy going. My favorite thing about him, he loves trying new things.
I love him dearly because of who he is and how he can make me laugh. I have a feeling this is about to turn into a serious relationship, most likely something along the lines of two years…if not more.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
A lil Culture
I think I need to talk more about the Peruvian culture because it is VERY different than the culture of the United States. First things first, you have to be an open-minded person to fully understand and accept another culture. Many Americans, especially in small cities, are closed-minded. They believe that everything they do is correct, but they don’t realize their system may not work for other places.
For example, in Peru (and Egypt for that matter) it is common to use a hose and spray down the streets of dirt and areas of dirt or dust around the house so it doesn’t blow around all day. The combi’s in Peru don’t have a schedule. They just run all day and night and they only stop if you flag them down. When I go from Chaclacayo to Chosica, the combi may stop 20 times or 50 times, but they don’t stop for long. That system of transportation works for Peru perfectly, but it wouldn’t work in the USA.
When you are open-minded to new things you can honestly learn more about yourself. I have learned a few things about myself in Peru so far. One thing I have learned about myself is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE salsa dancing. I go out and salsa dance as often as I can and with as many people as I can. I can’t explain it, but I love the music and I love the dance. It’s a very emotional dance and it’s just so much fun and the people can teach you so well. I’ve also learned that I really love being alone sometimes and just taking time out to relax. In the States I loved being on the go, but people in Peru are more relaxed and it’s important to be tranqila.
Another thing to keep in mind, what is normal? No one can define what “normal” is because it’s different for everyone. What is normal to Paris Hilton is not normal to your average American. What is normal to the average American is not normal to the typical Peruvian, German, Egyptian or Cambodian. We all have our ideas of what normal is and it’s wrong to judge others based on what they think it is.
In Peru, PDA (public display of affection) is normal. It’s “normal” to go to a park and people of all ages are making out on park benches like it’s a contest. It’s a VERY affectionate culture and I LOVE it. In the USA, a small amount of PDA is “normal.” A park in the USA has people holding hands and walking around, maybe a small kiss or two. In Egypt, it’s not “normal” to see PDA. People of opposite sexes don’t show much affection in public because in their culture, affection is more of a private thing.
People here usually don’t have a lot of offer, but the one thing they will always do their best to offer you is food. Every time I had Spanish class at another trainee’s house their family always brought out snacks for us. One family didn’t even have a living room or paint in their house, but you better believe they went out of their way to give us the best snack ever. She made hamburgers for everyone and those aren’t common here at all! Part of the culture here is that it’s rude to decline any food or drinks, and yes that includes beer. People want to give you everything to show appreciation and it’s such a smack in the face to decline. I have been advised to always keep Tupperware with me because I will be invited to so many meals I won’t have the time or space to eat it all. The solution is to have Tupperware and tell them how I can’t wait to eat it later! It’s even rude not to clean your plate here. People want to make sure you are fed and when they offer, you better take it. I have even had people apologize to ME for being poor. What the heck??
One thing I would also like to bring up is the lack of things for trainee’s to do. Keep in mind that there isn’t a lot of things for us PCT’s to do in our free time. The closest mall is over 2 hours away because you have to take a combi. The closest movie theatre is 20-30 minutes away, but it’s expensive. I make 8 soles a day which is about $3.50 in American dollars. To go to the movies it is 5 soles and 2 soles for travel expenses. It’s too expensive to go to the movies. If we go to a restaurant we have to buy food and we are fed too much to begin with. We all live with families so we can’t just invite a group of people over to our houses to hang out. Therefore we are left to just go to the parks and find things to do. The most culturally accepted and fun thing to do is just grab a beer and all sit around and enjoy each other’s company before we all have to split off at dark and go to our houses. We aren’t alcoholics; there just aren’t tons of things for us to do in forms of entertainment so we gotta make it.
Drinking in Peru is a very common, normal and important way to socialize. People drink in what is called a beer circle. They all share the same beer and glass, because sharing is so important here. I have had a women break a freakin peanut in half just to share it with me. There is no law either about drinking in public. Beer here is very cheap and one of the most affordable things. In some stores milk is more expensive. It’s weird, but it’s the culture. People shouldn’t judge the way people do things in other countries before they find out why they do those things. That’s what makes the world beautiful and different because we all have different cultures and customs…and that’s why I want to see the world. Viva Peru!
For example, in Peru (and Egypt for that matter) it is common to use a hose and spray down the streets of dirt and areas of dirt or dust around the house so it doesn’t blow around all day. The combi’s in Peru don’t have a schedule. They just run all day and night and they only stop if you flag them down. When I go from Chaclacayo to Chosica, the combi may stop 20 times or 50 times, but they don’t stop for long. That system of transportation works for Peru perfectly, but it wouldn’t work in the USA.
When you are open-minded to new things you can honestly learn more about yourself. I have learned a few things about myself in Peru so far. One thing I have learned about myself is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE salsa dancing. I go out and salsa dance as often as I can and with as many people as I can. I can’t explain it, but I love the music and I love the dance. It’s a very emotional dance and it’s just so much fun and the people can teach you so well. I’ve also learned that I really love being alone sometimes and just taking time out to relax. In the States I loved being on the go, but people in Peru are more relaxed and it’s important to be tranqila.
Another thing to keep in mind, what is normal? No one can define what “normal” is because it’s different for everyone. What is normal to Paris Hilton is not normal to your average American. What is normal to the average American is not normal to the typical Peruvian, German, Egyptian or Cambodian. We all have our ideas of what normal is and it’s wrong to judge others based on what they think it is.
In Peru, PDA (public display of affection) is normal. It’s “normal” to go to a park and people of all ages are making out on park benches like it’s a contest. It’s a VERY affectionate culture and I LOVE it. In the USA, a small amount of PDA is “normal.” A park in the USA has people holding hands and walking around, maybe a small kiss or two. In Egypt, it’s not “normal” to see PDA. People of opposite sexes don’t show much affection in public because in their culture, affection is more of a private thing.
People here usually don’t have a lot of offer, but the one thing they will always do their best to offer you is food. Every time I had Spanish class at another trainee’s house their family always brought out snacks for us. One family didn’t even have a living room or paint in their house, but you better believe they went out of their way to give us the best snack ever. She made hamburgers for everyone and those aren’t common here at all! Part of the culture here is that it’s rude to decline any food or drinks, and yes that includes beer. People want to give you everything to show appreciation and it’s such a smack in the face to decline. I have been advised to always keep Tupperware with me because I will be invited to so many meals I won’t have the time or space to eat it all. The solution is to have Tupperware and tell them how I can’t wait to eat it later! It’s even rude not to clean your plate here. People want to make sure you are fed and when they offer, you better take it. I have even had people apologize to ME for being poor. What the heck??
One thing I would also like to bring up is the lack of things for trainee’s to do. Keep in mind that there isn’t a lot of things for us PCT’s to do in our free time. The closest mall is over 2 hours away because you have to take a combi. The closest movie theatre is 20-30 minutes away, but it’s expensive. I make 8 soles a day which is about $3.50 in American dollars. To go to the movies it is 5 soles and 2 soles for travel expenses. It’s too expensive to go to the movies. If we go to a restaurant we have to buy food and we are fed too much to begin with. We all live with families so we can’t just invite a group of people over to our houses to hang out. Therefore we are left to just go to the parks and find things to do. The most culturally accepted and fun thing to do is just grab a beer and all sit around and enjoy each other’s company before we all have to split off at dark and go to our houses. We aren’t alcoholics; there just aren’t tons of things for us to do in forms of entertainment so we gotta make it.
Drinking in Peru is a very common, normal and important way to socialize. People drink in what is called a beer circle. They all share the same beer and glass, because sharing is so important here. I have had a women break a freakin peanut in half just to share it with me. There is no law either about drinking in public. Beer here is very cheap and one of the most affordable things. In some stores milk is more expensive. It’s weird, but it’s the culture. People shouldn’t judge the way people do things in other countries before they find out why they do those things. That’s what makes the world beautiful and different because we all have different cultures and customs…and that’s why I want to see the world. Viva Peru!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Last Chacla weekend
This last weekend was my last weekend in Chaclacayo and it sure was a good one too. Friday night I learned a type of Peruvian traditional dance because I am going to have to perform this dance at our big going away party. I love dancing to my own beat, but I am terrible at actually learning a dance. I think I might be able to perfect it though! After dancing for a few hours I went to my friend Chelsea’s house and we had hamburgers again. This time her mom even put the French fries inside my hamburger. It was actually pretty good.
Saturday afternoon was the last class at Agraria University. It was horribly boring, but afterwards a group of us went to a big market in Lima to shop. I bought some toe nail polish and a new backpack. This guy kept trying to mark the price of these sheets Lindsey wanted to a ridiculous price and we basically fought with him. It was the first time I have really cussed a person to their face in Spanish. It was a good feeling to know I have the ability to haggle in Spanish and be snippy too. Ha. After that we went to the big fancy area called Jockey Plaza. The mall is one of the nicest malls I have seen in my life and it was slowly getting decorated for Christmas. I forget Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up because there aren’t decorations or music, it’s hot and no one is rushing to get presents around it. It’s kinda sad, but at the same time nice. We went to Chili’s to eat and I got a margarita. I haven’t had a Chili’s margarita in two months and this margarita made any form of blues go away. It was beyond expensive, but soooo worth it. After a life-threatening 1 hour taxi ride back to Chaclacayo, Lindsey and I prepared ourselves for our final Saturday night in Chaclacayo.
We started the night off going to Nancy’s house with a ton of other volunteers. Nancy’s mom was throwing a huge party for her host dad’s birthday. There was music, drinks, cakes and snack foods. We got there around 10 and started the party. Things didn’t really pick up until we left which was around midnight. Lindsey, Heather, Heather’s host sister and her friends and I all decided to go to the club in Chosica. We piled all 9 of us into a 5 person car and took off with the music playing and the breeze blowing in the air. Things were just getting started at Aquisito when we got there and they started getting better. Aquisito plays all types of music. There all types of Peruvian and American music which makes it fun for everyone! Without going into too many unnecessary details, more people from our group and the other showed up, Rigel and his friends came and we all danced the night away together until the sun was almost coming up. It was one of the best nights I have had here.
Sunday my family surprised me with lunch to Chosica. My family has never taken me anywhere in public with them. I am telling myself they aren’t ashamed of me, it’s just that they just don’t have the money and time to really go out and do things. We went to this really nice restaurant and all had giant pieces of chicken with French fries. It was super filling and delicious. After that we wondered around the plaza and my sister Diana played a lot of the carnival like games. My mom and I took a break from all that excitement and went to the fruit market and got bananas and strawberries. Diana cried and pitched a fit because we had to leave, but it was kinda funny to watch because my parents were making fun of her.
This was also my last dinner with my uncle. We all watched Hay Fondo Al Sitio and shared some laughs. They also taught me how to “de-ratify” my future room. I just need some nails and some plastic and then I will be good to go. We also played with my mosquito net and they showed me how I can hang it up. I was given the places to go buy the things and how much they should cost! I am ready to get to work!
I can’t believe my time in Chaclacayo is almost up. I’m not sure if I am ready for it. Some days I am ready to get out and others I dread leaving. Whether I am ready or not, Saturday is when I pack up and head out. Friday I swear in to become an OFFICIAL volunteer!!!
Saturday afternoon was the last class at Agraria University. It was horribly boring, but afterwards a group of us went to a big market in Lima to shop. I bought some toe nail polish and a new backpack. This guy kept trying to mark the price of these sheets Lindsey wanted to a ridiculous price and we basically fought with him. It was the first time I have really cussed a person to their face in Spanish. It was a good feeling to know I have the ability to haggle in Spanish and be snippy too. Ha. After that we went to the big fancy area called Jockey Plaza. The mall is one of the nicest malls I have seen in my life and it was slowly getting decorated for Christmas. I forget Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up because there aren’t decorations or music, it’s hot and no one is rushing to get presents around it. It’s kinda sad, but at the same time nice. We went to Chili’s to eat and I got a margarita. I haven’t had a Chili’s margarita in two months and this margarita made any form of blues go away. It was beyond expensive, but soooo worth it. After a life-threatening 1 hour taxi ride back to Chaclacayo, Lindsey and I prepared ourselves for our final Saturday night in Chaclacayo.
We started the night off going to Nancy’s house with a ton of other volunteers. Nancy’s mom was throwing a huge party for her host dad’s birthday. There was music, drinks, cakes and snack foods. We got there around 10 and started the party. Things didn’t really pick up until we left which was around midnight. Lindsey, Heather, Heather’s host sister and her friends and I all decided to go to the club in Chosica. We piled all 9 of us into a 5 person car and took off with the music playing and the breeze blowing in the air. Things were just getting started at Aquisito when we got there and they started getting better. Aquisito plays all types of music. There all types of Peruvian and American music which makes it fun for everyone! Without going into too many unnecessary details, more people from our group and the other showed up, Rigel and his friends came and we all danced the night away together until the sun was almost coming up. It was one of the best nights I have had here.
Sunday my family surprised me with lunch to Chosica. My family has never taken me anywhere in public with them. I am telling myself they aren’t ashamed of me, it’s just that they just don’t have the money and time to really go out and do things. We went to this really nice restaurant and all had giant pieces of chicken with French fries. It was super filling and delicious. After that we wondered around the plaza and my sister Diana played a lot of the carnival like games. My mom and I took a break from all that excitement and went to the fruit market and got bananas and strawberries. Diana cried and pitched a fit because we had to leave, but it was kinda funny to watch because my parents were making fun of her.
This was also my last dinner with my uncle. We all watched Hay Fondo Al Sitio and shared some laughs. They also taught me how to “de-ratify” my future room. I just need some nails and some plastic and then I will be good to go. We also played with my mosquito net and they showed me how I can hang it up. I was given the places to go buy the things and how much they should cost! I am ready to get to work!
I can’t believe my time in Chaclacayo is almost up. I’m not sure if I am ready for it. Some days I am ready to get out and others I dread leaving. Whether I am ready or not, Saturday is when I pack up and head out. Friday I swear in to become an OFFICIAL volunteer!!!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Harry, Doctor Visits and Pachamanca
Not too much has happened since I have returned from Piura. We have had more classes as usual and talked about our sites as well. We also had some very entertaining health sessions too. I received lots of special advice from my doctors. The best advice I was given was when I poop my pants (not if, when) to just laugh and send my doctors a picture. I can’t remember if I have mentioned it or not, but we have a, if you will, “poo chart.” It has pictures of types of poo so when I call my doctor about my poo I will have a good description.
One doctor, Sunni, told us a story of how a volunteer called her and said, “Sunni, I was hit by a car.” She replied, “Are you ok?!”
“Yes,” replied the volunteer. “Ok tell me again so I can laugh.” I have the best doctors ever.
We also had a conversation about what type of worm parasites most volunteers get. The presentation included not on only pictures, but an actual stool sample for us to pass around and see a worm. They say every group has volunteers with worms and at the same time we all screamed, “Not it!!!” Then we all took a bet and paid 1 sol and whoever gets the first worm/parasite in our group wins all the money. I haven’t decided if I want to be a winner in this or not. I feel like I might be aiming too high too soon.
I also received my first issue of Pasa La Voz. Pasa La Voz is the Peace Corps Peru magazine that is written by volunteers and for volunteers. It contains articles such as, “The Rules of Naked Glacial Jumping in Peru,” complete with who has the highest amount of counts. There are also articles about the highest number of days volunteers have gone without a shower and why some people smell worse than others. Our doctors did some research on this and found out it depends on the climate and types of food served. There was also a “sanitary quiz.” Don’t worry, I took it and received an ok score. There is room for improvement, but I don’t see that happening soon considering the rainy season is about to start.
A side note on my sanitary habits. I have only been here for two months and I am shocked at myself. Be disgusted if you want, but you don’t live here so you can’t judge fairly. I usually shower about 2 times a week because it’s torture. (Remember…freezing water). I have stopped caring for my hair because I have come to realize it will never look cute, combed, or decent in the country of Peru. I haven’t decided if it has more of a hippie look or gypsy. Rigel seems to think more of a hippie feel…which makes me have a little more attitude when I walk down the street with Led Zeppelin playing on my iPod. As for make-up, just a little eye make-up because my face is now brown from all the sun. Win. My hair is also getting some golden highlights too which really freaks me out. I have a feeling I am going to look like I have fallen out of the jungle if I don’t watch out. Haha. It’s integration right?
Anyway, last night I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and it was awesome. I didn’t realize it was coming out in Peru before the USA so I felt a little extra special. Side note though, it was in Spanish, but I didn’t have any trouble understanding. Before the movie me, Kelsey, Nate and Bj made costumes. We all had brooms made out of bamboo with giant leaves taped to it. I won’t lie, they actually looked pretty dang good. It was interesting to see the looks on people’s faces when we strolled on the combi with those. Stupid gringos.
Today for lunch at the training center the WatSan and Environment group came over and we all had Pachamanca. Pachamanca is a type of food here that is delicious and popular. Basically you dig a hole, put some rocks on the bottom and start a fire, throw in some chicken, potatoes and beans, cover the hole with the dirt in an “organized” way and let it cook. Then you undig the hole and eat. It was sooooo good. We also had real corn bread that rocked my world. I have a little over a week left in the good ole Chaclacayo. I am sad to leave this city, my volunteer friends, local friends and family, but at the same time I am ready for more freedom and independence. I am ready to go and start nesting with my rats, chickens, dogs, roosters, pigs and cats in my new home. I am ready to start working and creating my schedule. But, I will rock Chaclavayo out while I am still here!
One doctor, Sunni, told us a story of how a volunteer called her and said, “Sunni, I was hit by a car.” She replied, “Are you ok?!”
“Yes,” replied the volunteer. “Ok tell me again so I can laugh.” I have the best doctors ever.
We also had a conversation about what type of worm parasites most volunteers get. The presentation included not on only pictures, but an actual stool sample for us to pass around and see a worm. They say every group has volunteers with worms and at the same time we all screamed, “Not it!!!” Then we all took a bet and paid 1 sol and whoever gets the first worm/parasite in our group wins all the money. I haven’t decided if I want to be a winner in this or not. I feel like I might be aiming too high too soon.
I also received my first issue of Pasa La Voz. Pasa La Voz is the Peace Corps Peru magazine that is written by volunteers and for volunteers. It contains articles such as, “The Rules of Naked Glacial Jumping in Peru,” complete with who has the highest amount of counts. There are also articles about the highest number of days volunteers have gone without a shower and why some people smell worse than others. Our doctors did some research on this and found out it depends on the climate and types of food served. There was also a “sanitary quiz.” Don’t worry, I took it and received an ok score. There is room for improvement, but I don’t see that happening soon considering the rainy season is about to start.
A side note on my sanitary habits. I have only been here for two months and I am shocked at myself. Be disgusted if you want, but you don’t live here so you can’t judge fairly. I usually shower about 2 times a week because it’s torture. (Remember…freezing water). I have stopped caring for my hair because I have come to realize it will never look cute, combed, or decent in the country of Peru. I haven’t decided if it has more of a hippie look or gypsy. Rigel seems to think more of a hippie feel…which makes me have a little more attitude when I walk down the street with Led Zeppelin playing on my iPod. As for make-up, just a little eye make-up because my face is now brown from all the sun. Win. My hair is also getting some golden highlights too which really freaks me out. I have a feeling I am going to look like I have fallen out of the jungle if I don’t watch out. Haha. It’s integration right?
Anyway, last night I went to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and it was awesome. I didn’t realize it was coming out in Peru before the USA so I felt a little extra special. Side note though, it was in Spanish, but I didn’t have any trouble understanding. Before the movie me, Kelsey, Nate and Bj made costumes. We all had brooms made out of bamboo with giant leaves taped to it. I won’t lie, they actually looked pretty dang good. It was interesting to see the looks on people’s faces when we strolled on the combi with those. Stupid gringos.
Today for lunch at the training center the WatSan and Environment group came over and we all had Pachamanca. Pachamanca is a type of food here that is delicious and popular. Basically you dig a hole, put some rocks on the bottom and start a fire, throw in some chicken, potatoes and beans, cover the hole with the dirt in an “organized” way and let it cook. Then you undig the hole and eat. It was sooooo good. We also had real corn bread that rocked my world. I have a little over a week left in the good ole Chaclacayo. I am sad to leave this city, my volunteer friends, local friends and family, but at the same time I am ready for more freedom and independence. I am ready to go and start nesting with my rats, chickens, dogs, roosters, pigs and cats in my new home. I am ready to start working and creating my schedule. But, I will rock Chaclavayo out while I am still here!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Site Visit and trip to Sicchez
Sorry, but prepare for another long post. This one is about my work in Sicchez and my first visit to my future home for the next 2 years! I suggest the days of Nov 7, Nov 10 and Nov 12 because those seem to be the most interesting and entertaining.
Nov 3 and Nov 4
Before I left for Lima Rigel and I hung out for a little bit. Now that I have a cell phone it’s easier to coordinate times and places. The bus ride to Piura was 15 hours, but since we left at 5pm it wasn’t as bad because most of the traveling I was sleeping. The people from the health group in the same department as me are Jillian, Bj, Joann, Amy and Aman. Once in Piura we got to Piura we had a 6 hour bus ride to a city called Sicchez where we would meet the current volunteers Emma and Chris for more training.
Our bus looked like it was made from spare parts. There wasn’t glass in my window so they were kind enough to tape some plastic over it for me. The engine was loud enough it could have competed with a Boeing 747. We stopped half way to let the engine cool down a little bit. Once we got there we went to the hostel and all 6 of us girls were in the same room. It felt a lot like an orphanage. The mattresses were made out of hay so they had the same comfort as curling up in a pile of concrete. Since there isn’t running water after 4:30pm you have to use a bucket of water to flush everything. Fun fun at 3AM.
Nov 5
I woke up at 3AM to thousands of roosters. It felt like they were on the opposite side of my wall. I hate roosters. We all woke up at 6AM to a loudspeaker announcing that they found a woman’s donkey. That morning we went to a school and did a strength tree to help them build up self-esteem. We drew a tree on the board and then gave them leaves. They had to write one of their strengths on the leaf and then tape it too the tree. The point was to show all the strengths on the tree and how working together will make them all stronger. Then we had extra time and they sang the Peruvian national anthem and then they wanted us to sing the American national anthem. It was pretty awesome.
We all went to the plaza and while sitting there a girl walked up selling raffle tickets. The winning ticket gets a chicken! Fingers crossed! We also started building water filters for the schools and worked in the community garden too. We had to break up the ground and add some fertilizer. I guess you know you’re starting to adapt when you see poop in the street and your first thought is, “Oh. Do I need that for the garden?” After all of that we started planting some veggies! Dinner I found out was some kind of fish and wait for it…it was good!! Poco-a-poco. Let’s hope my stomach agrees!
Nov 6
Breakfast was kinda gross so I basically fed it to the cat, who is now my best friend. We loaded up in the ambulance and headed to a city near Sicchez. On the way we almost crashed into a motorcycle, but no one went off the mountain so we were good to keep on trucking. Once we got to the health post we divided the moms into 3 groups and started working on our charlas. In my group we taught them how to make mobiles out of plastic drink bottles and fabric. The moms went crazy and loved it. The purpose is to get the moms stimulating their kids. When people have babies here they usually think of them more as objects and don’t play with them a lot which leaves a lot of their motor skills under-developed so mobiles will help! Kids develop the most when they are 5 years and under so these are critical years.
Nov 7
Alright. It’s well known between the volunteers and I that I hate roosters. They make horrible noises at ungodly hours and they’re ugly. Roosters serve no purpose. Let’s set the scene. I’m at the hostel and my room is on the second floor. Across from the door is the first floor tin roof and when you turn right there are steps that are beyond steep. Everything is wooden and super loud. So I walk out of my room around 3AM and it’s pitch black. I take my first step and a rooster crows and flaps up in the air at what seemed to be a few feet from my face. I basically did a round off backhand-spring down the steps and finished in a perfect landing. Luckily I didn’t pee on myself, but when I opened the door to the bathroom I found an old man with a sombrero the size of the bathroom on his head. I could only see him by the light of my flashlight so it was super awkward. I just gave up on going to the bathroom and headed back to bed.
Once I finally got up I met up with Emma and we headed to a lady’s house to learn how to make tortillas. It was super easy and they were super delicious. I can’t wait to try them on my own. Then we all headed to the health post to meet up with the workers and help them learn how to make a sustainable plan for projects. There was a lot of confusions, but I think they eventually figured it out.
We went to pack our bags and head back to Piura when we noticed that our drivers were drunk. We made a plan that if Jorge (our director) drove then we would go back that day. After a few hours of thinking about it they agreed. We stuck the drunks in the back of the van and took off on the 6 hour journey. It’s crazy how often the people here drive drunk. The hostel in Piura is where all the PCV’s stay and it’s super nice. There is an exchange library and movie area. There is also free wifi and hot showers! That night I went to this amazing pizza place with Emma and a guy who is about to finish his service.
Nov 8
Eric is the Piura 3rd year volunteer who kinda helps us with our projects and other things in our community. He is amazing and today took us on a mini tour of the city of Piura. We saw the hospital PC uses for PCV’s, the pharmacy and also a touristy market that oddly enough had a lot of penis shaped items. For lunch we went to a place that only has seafood. Now if you know me, you know I hate seafood, but it’s a personal goal to start eating it. Poco-a-poco. I tried shrimp and fish and actually kinda like it! It was way better fried though. We also had some type of chichcimori type drink which is like an alcohol. It comes in a clay pot and you drink it out of this wooden bowl. It was pretty good and not too strong. For dinner me Chris, Chelsey, Anna and David all went to the supermarket to get food to make the best sandwiches in the world!!
Nov 9
Today I met both of my socios. Socios are the people from my community who are supposed to help me meet people in my community and also help me with my projects. My first socio works at the health post and her name is Rocío. She is super fun and chatty. My other socio is Beto and he is the director of the secondaria school. He is ready to work and can’t wait for me to start on projects. We had meetings all day about our different roles and how PC is involved in each. For dinner a huge group of us went to a place called Cappuccinos. I had a REAL salad and a delicious cappuccino. Best dinner in a while.
Nov 10
I met up with Rocío in the lobby of the hostel and everyone who was headed in my general direction loaded up on a bus for our sites. On the bus there was a guy who was rattling off riddles and Rocío knew the answer to one of them and won me a mini llama necklace charm. We rocked and rolled our way up the mountains swaying to the left and swaying to the right. These roads are by far the worst I have traveled on so far. We floored it over pot holes the size of mini craters. I know insanely dangerous this is, but all I can do is laugh because this is my life now. The higher we climbed the hotter it got and you would be a fool to think this bus had AC because it hardly had an engine. When I finally got to town the entire city was at church. All 234 people were in the church and when I walked in I tried my best to blend it, but for some reason that just didn’t work. After the service and being sprinkled with holy water I started meeting EVERYONE. We all went to the main plaza and started the party. There were tons of songs, dances and speeches. In the speech they would greet the mayor, priest, director of the school and me. Some girls from the school even drew me a picture! After the speeches they passed around these mini glasses with what I thought was this popular drink of Peru I call mud water. Mud water looks like, well mud water and it has a weird corn flavor. I don’t really care for it so when it was time to drink I threw it back like I would a glass of water to find out it was alcohol. Talk about being surprised …not to mention the look on people’s faces when I killed that drink in one swig. Whoops.
After all of that fun I hung out with Beto and his friends talking about everything. They were a fun group of people and seemed super excited to have me in their city. Needing a breaking from all the celebrating I went to my bedroom and plopped down on my bed to catch eyes with a rat in the rafters of my ceiling. We both had the same look on our faces like, “What are you doing here?” Unless rats can spiderman their way up and down 10 foot walls then I have nothing to worry about. I have a tin roof, but under that there are rafters and then blue tarps. I wonder what the rainy season will brink? Hopefully I won’t get flooded. There is also a giant beam that goes across my room and it sure does look perfect for a hammock. Win! My house is two stories and has a normal bathroom, but it’s not attached to the back of the house. Sometimes the water doesn’t work so you have to use a pitcher of water to flush. My mom owns a restaurant and a store. Jackpot! After the rat incident when I went to the bathroom I realized the priest lives in my house and is my brother! He is moving to Lima this week to work. He is 26 and the oldest. I also have one other brother and 3 sisters. Only one of the sisters, Etel, will be living with us and she is only 14. All of the other siblings study and work in Lima. Etel and I bonded over Jonas Brothers, Justin Beiber and Twilight. I am going to buy her the movies so we can watch them when I return. Also, the cat in my mom’s restaurant is sooo sweet. It loves to just lay in my lap. I think this is a good sign.
Nov 11
I slept pretty well. The bed I have is super comfy, but I still was woken up by the wretched roosters right outside of my window. Maybe he will be killed soon. Today I went to the primaria (elementary school) and secondaria (high school) schools and met the teachers and kids. I also went to the puesto de salud (health post) and met the people there. The puesto de salud is like a health clinic. It’s the only medical place in town, but I think about an hour away is a hospital. When going around the city a lady invited me to some tortillas and cheese with coffee. It was super delicious. Later I was talking to some guy about how I love bananas and he went to his house and gave me two bananas from his banana trees. YES! They were perfectly rip and delicious. Another lady invited me into her little tienda (store) and let me have a soda. Luckily I had all of that food because lunch with my family was horrible. It was the traditional Peruvian dish, ceviche. That is raw fish soaked in pepper and lemon. I almost puked on myself. Wasn’t quite ready for that. I went back to my room afterwards and ate the bananas and watched some House. That night for dinner about 15 people met up at my mom’s restaurant for a dinner. It seemed to be the group of people that I am with the most and will most likely be working with the most. They included, Velalo, Rocío and her husband, my family, Jluis, Dante and a lot more people. It was a good dinner and we had more of the mud water alcohol, but this time I didn’t kill it instantly. I forgot to mention that the town police officer’s name is Jesus. How convenient. After dinner I went to the most boring town meeting ever. I hardly stayed awake.
Nov 12
Today had soo many ups and downs. Rocío said to be ready to leave at 7AM because I was going with her, her husband and another lady, Betty, from the health post to another community called Tunyale. I woke up around 6AM to find the shower didn’t have running water yet so I just got ready and went to breakfast. To make it short, Rocío wasn’t ready to leave until 9AM. I was slightly pissed because that meant two things. The first being, I could have had more time to sleep and the second, I could have had time to wait for the water to kick on. Oh well. They told me this Tunyale was only about an hour away (walking because there isn’t a road for cars) and that it was an easy walk. They lied. I didn’t know that a one hour easy walk meant, “Let’s go kill ourselves and walk 3 hours in the jungle-like area up and the biggest mountains around.” We had to walk up and down some of the steepest dirt paths, climb up rocks, walk through creeks and grass taller than me. I wish they would have at least said bring some crackers, water oh and a freaking backpack, not a purse. On the way we found a 15 foot snake that was a silver color and black. As soon as I saw it I almost vomited on my own feet while standing in donkey crap. We finally got to this hell hole city to give a charla on what types of food to feed kids and how to wash your hands. It went really well and I mostly observed, but I was distracted by a 2 year old girl beside me named Claudia. At first she didn’t really care for me, but by the end of the 2 hour charla we were best friends. I fed her peaches and bananas at the end and she was so excited to share her dirt covered sucker with me. (Yes I licked on a dirt covered sucker and it was delicious). After all that excitement a mom had us over for lunch. It was rice, chicken and potatoes, go figure. I asked to use the bathroom and she took me out back and said to just go anywhere. I had to pee in the field and for some reason all the chickens started surrounding me. It’s kinda hard to squat in a field in the open to pee, keep your balance and not pee on yourself while chickens are coming around you.
After lunch we had that wretched hike back, but once we finally got there a lady and husband served us this flan mixed with some type of jello and it was actually cold! It was super delicious and afterwards I just wanted to go home and shower, but yet again, there wasn’t water so I went to my family’s restaurant and took a bucket bath there. Once I finally got to my house I went to the bathroom and as I walked back I realized I left the door to the house open and 3 chickens had wondered into my bedroom. I spent the next 10 minutes shooing them out of the house and feathers were going everywhere. I hate chickens. For dinner we just hung around and didn’t do much. I spent a lot of time with my brother and sister listening to music. When I went to bed it started raining on my tin roof and it was awesome!! Tomorrow I leave at 3AM and head to Piura to go to Lima!
Also, here are the questions I was asked most often…in order…
1. What is your name
2. What religion are you?
3. Do you have a boyfriend
4. How old are you?
I also accidently overheard people talking about me and this is what was said, “She likes cats.” Then another lady chimed in and said, “She likes tortillas too.” Awesome.
Nov 3 and Nov 4
Before I left for Lima Rigel and I hung out for a little bit. Now that I have a cell phone it’s easier to coordinate times and places. The bus ride to Piura was 15 hours, but since we left at 5pm it wasn’t as bad because most of the traveling I was sleeping. The people from the health group in the same department as me are Jillian, Bj, Joann, Amy and Aman. Once in Piura we got to Piura we had a 6 hour bus ride to a city called Sicchez where we would meet the current volunteers Emma and Chris for more training.
Our bus looked like it was made from spare parts. There wasn’t glass in my window so they were kind enough to tape some plastic over it for me. The engine was loud enough it could have competed with a Boeing 747. We stopped half way to let the engine cool down a little bit. Once we got there we went to the hostel and all 6 of us girls were in the same room. It felt a lot like an orphanage. The mattresses were made out of hay so they had the same comfort as curling up in a pile of concrete. Since there isn’t running water after 4:30pm you have to use a bucket of water to flush everything. Fun fun at 3AM.
Nov 5
I woke up at 3AM to thousands of roosters. It felt like they were on the opposite side of my wall. I hate roosters. We all woke up at 6AM to a loudspeaker announcing that they found a woman’s donkey. That morning we went to a school and did a strength tree to help them build up self-esteem. We drew a tree on the board and then gave them leaves. They had to write one of their strengths on the leaf and then tape it too the tree. The point was to show all the strengths on the tree and how working together will make them all stronger. Then we had extra time and they sang the Peruvian national anthem and then they wanted us to sing the American national anthem. It was pretty awesome.
We all went to the plaza and while sitting there a girl walked up selling raffle tickets. The winning ticket gets a chicken! Fingers crossed! We also started building water filters for the schools and worked in the community garden too. We had to break up the ground and add some fertilizer. I guess you know you’re starting to adapt when you see poop in the street and your first thought is, “Oh. Do I need that for the garden?” After all of that we started planting some veggies! Dinner I found out was some kind of fish and wait for it…it was good!! Poco-a-poco. Let’s hope my stomach agrees!
Nov 6
Breakfast was kinda gross so I basically fed it to the cat, who is now my best friend. We loaded up in the ambulance and headed to a city near Sicchez. On the way we almost crashed into a motorcycle, but no one went off the mountain so we were good to keep on trucking. Once we got to the health post we divided the moms into 3 groups and started working on our charlas. In my group we taught them how to make mobiles out of plastic drink bottles and fabric. The moms went crazy and loved it. The purpose is to get the moms stimulating their kids. When people have babies here they usually think of them more as objects and don’t play with them a lot which leaves a lot of their motor skills under-developed so mobiles will help! Kids develop the most when they are 5 years and under so these are critical years.
Nov 7
Alright. It’s well known between the volunteers and I that I hate roosters. They make horrible noises at ungodly hours and they’re ugly. Roosters serve no purpose. Let’s set the scene. I’m at the hostel and my room is on the second floor. Across from the door is the first floor tin roof and when you turn right there are steps that are beyond steep. Everything is wooden and super loud. So I walk out of my room around 3AM and it’s pitch black. I take my first step and a rooster crows and flaps up in the air at what seemed to be a few feet from my face. I basically did a round off backhand-spring down the steps and finished in a perfect landing. Luckily I didn’t pee on myself, but when I opened the door to the bathroom I found an old man with a sombrero the size of the bathroom on his head. I could only see him by the light of my flashlight so it was super awkward. I just gave up on going to the bathroom and headed back to bed.
Once I finally got up I met up with Emma and we headed to a lady’s house to learn how to make tortillas. It was super easy and they were super delicious. I can’t wait to try them on my own. Then we all headed to the health post to meet up with the workers and help them learn how to make a sustainable plan for projects. There was a lot of confusions, but I think they eventually figured it out.
We went to pack our bags and head back to Piura when we noticed that our drivers were drunk. We made a plan that if Jorge (our director) drove then we would go back that day. After a few hours of thinking about it they agreed. We stuck the drunks in the back of the van and took off on the 6 hour journey. It’s crazy how often the people here drive drunk. The hostel in Piura is where all the PCV’s stay and it’s super nice. There is an exchange library and movie area. There is also free wifi and hot showers! That night I went to this amazing pizza place with Emma and a guy who is about to finish his service.
Nov 8
Eric is the Piura 3rd year volunteer who kinda helps us with our projects and other things in our community. He is amazing and today took us on a mini tour of the city of Piura. We saw the hospital PC uses for PCV’s, the pharmacy and also a touristy market that oddly enough had a lot of penis shaped items. For lunch we went to a place that only has seafood. Now if you know me, you know I hate seafood, but it’s a personal goal to start eating it. Poco-a-poco. I tried shrimp and fish and actually kinda like it! It was way better fried though. We also had some type of chichcimori type drink which is like an alcohol. It comes in a clay pot and you drink it out of this wooden bowl. It was pretty good and not too strong. For dinner me Chris, Chelsey, Anna and David all went to the supermarket to get food to make the best sandwiches in the world!!
Nov 9
Today I met both of my socios. Socios are the people from my community who are supposed to help me meet people in my community and also help me with my projects. My first socio works at the health post and her name is Rocío. She is super fun and chatty. My other socio is Beto and he is the director of the secondaria school. He is ready to work and can’t wait for me to start on projects. We had meetings all day about our different roles and how PC is involved in each. For dinner a huge group of us went to a place called Cappuccinos. I had a REAL salad and a delicious cappuccino. Best dinner in a while.
Nov 10
I met up with Rocío in the lobby of the hostel and everyone who was headed in my general direction loaded up on a bus for our sites. On the bus there was a guy who was rattling off riddles and Rocío knew the answer to one of them and won me a mini llama necklace charm. We rocked and rolled our way up the mountains swaying to the left and swaying to the right. These roads are by far the worst I have traveled on so far. We floored it over pot holes the size of mini craters. I know insanely dangerous this is, but all I can do is laugh because this is my life now. The higher we climbed the hotter it got and you would be a fool to think this bus had AC because it hardly had an engine. When I finally got to town the entire city was at church. All 234 people were in the church and when I walked in I tried my best to blend it, but for some reason that just didn’t work. After the service and being sprinkled with holy water I started meeting EVERYONE. We all went to the main plaza and started the party. There were tons of songs, dances and speeches. In the speech they would greet the mayor, priest, director of the school and me. Some girls from the school even drew me a picture! After the speeches they passed around these mini glasses with what I thought was this popular drink of Peru I call mud water. Mud water looks like, well mud water and it has a weird corn flavor. I don’t really care for it so when it was time to drink I threw it back like I would a glass of water to find out it was alcohol. Talk about being surprised …not to mention the look on people’s faces when I killed that drink in one swig. Whoops.
After all of that fun I hung out with Beto and his friends talking about everything. They were a fun group of people and seemed super excited to have me in their city. Needing a breaking from all the celebrating I went to my bedroom and plopped down on my bed to catch eyes with a rat in the rafters of my ceiling. We both had the same look on our faces like, “What are you doing here?” Unless rats can spiderman their way up and down 10 foot walls then I have nothing to worry about. I have a tin roof, but under that there are rafters and then blue tarps. I wonder what the rainy season will brink? Hopefully I won’t get flooded. There is also a giant beam that goes across my room and it sure does look perfect for a hammock. Win! My house is two stories and has a normal bathroom, but it’s not attached to the back of the house. Sometimes the water doesn’t work so you have to use a pitcher of water to flush. My mom owns a restaurant and a store. Jackpot! After the rat incident when I went to the bathroom I realized the priest lives in my house and is my brother! He is moving to Lima this week to work. He is 26 and the oldest. I also have one other brother and 3 sisters. Only one of the sisters, Etel, will be living with us and she is only 14. All of the other siblings study and work in Lima. Etel and I bonded over Jonas Brothers, Justin Beiber and Twilight. I am going to buy her the movies so we can watch them when I return. Also, the cat in my mom’s restaurant is sooo sweet. It loves to just lay in my lap. I think this is a good sign.
Nov 11
I slept pretty well. The bed I have is super comfy, but I still was woken up by the wretched roosters right outside of my window. Maybe he will be killed soon. Today I went to the primaria (elementary school) and secondaria (high school) schools and met the teachers and kids. I also went to the puesto de salud (health post) and met the people there. The puesto de salud is like a health clinic. It’s the only medical place in town, but I think about an hour away is a hospital. When going around the city a lady invited me to some tortillas and cheese with coffee. It was super delicious. Later I was talking to some guy about how I love bananas and he went to his house and gave me two bananas from his banana trees. YES! They were perfectly rip and delicious. Another lady invited me into her little tienda (store) and let me have a soda. Luckily I had all of that food because lunch with my family was horrible. It was the traditional Peruvian dish, ceviche. That is raw fish soaked in pepper and lemon. I almost puked on myself. Wasn’t quite ready for that. I went back to my room afterwards and ate the bananas and watched some House. That night for dinner about 15 people met up at my mom’s restaurant for a dinner. It seemed to be the group of people that I am with the most and will most likely be working with the most. They included, Velalo, Rocío and her husband, my family, Jluis, Dante and a lot more people. It was a good dinner and we had more of the mud water alcohol, but this time I didn’t kill it instantly. I forgot to mention that the town police officer’s name is Jesus. How convenient. After dinner I went to the most boring town meeting ever. I hardly stayed awake.
Nov 12
Today had soo many ups and downs. Rocío said to be ready to leave at 7AM because I was going with her, her husband and another lady, Betty, from the health post to another community called Tunyale. I woke up around 6AM to find the shower didn’t have running water yet so I just got ready and went to breakfast. To make it short, Rocío wasn’t ready to leave until 9AM. I was slightly pissed because that meant two things. The first being, I could have had more time to sleep and the second, I could have had time to wait for the water to kick on. Oh well. They told me this Tunyale was only about an hour away (walking because there isn’t a road for cars) and that it was an easy walk. They lied. I didn’t know that a one hour easy walk meant, “Let’s go kill ourselves and walk 3 hours in the jungle-like area up and the biggest mountains around.” We had to walk up and down some of the steepest dirt paths, climb up rocks, walk through creeks and grass taller than me. I wish they would have at least said bring some crackers, water oh and a freaking backpack, not a purse. On the way we found a 15 foot snake that was a silver color and black. As soon as I saw it I almost vomited on my own feet while standing in donkey crap. We finally got to this hell hole city to give a charla on what types of food to feed kids and how to wash your hands. It went really well and I mostly observed, but I was distracted by a 2 year old girl beside me named Claudia. At first she didn’t really care for me, but by the end of the 2 hour charla we were best friends. I fed her peaches and bananas at the end and she was so excited to share her dirt covered sucker with me. (Yes I licked on a dirt covered sucker and it was delicious). After all that excitement a mom had us over for lunch. It was rice, chicken and potatoes, go figure. I asked to use the bathroom and she took me out back and said to just go anywhere. I had to pee in the field and for some reason all the chickens started surrounding me. It’s kinda hard to squat in a field in the open to pee, keep your balance and not pee on yourself while chickens are coming around you.
After lunch we had that wretched hike back, but once we finally got there a lady and husband served us this flan mixed with some type of jello and it was actually cold! It was super delicious and afterwards I just wanted to go home and shower, but yet again, there wasn’t water so I went to my family’s restaurant and took a bucket bath there. Once I finally got to my house I went to the bathroom and as I walked back I realized I left the door to the house open and 3 chickens had wondered into my bedroom. I spent the next 10 minutes shooing them out of the house and feathers were going everywhere. I hate chickens. For dinner we just hung around and didn’t do much. I spent a lot of time with my brother and sister listening to music. When I went to bed it started raining on my tin roof and it was awesome!! Tomorrow I leave at 3AM and head to Piura to go to Lima!
Also, here are the questions I was asked most often…in order…
1. What is your name
2. What religion are you?
3. Do you have a boyfriend
4. How old are you?
I also accidently overheard people talking about me and this is what was said, “She likes cats.” Then another lady chimed in and said, “She likes tortillas too.” Awesome.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Site Assignment!
Quick update! I got my site assignment today! I am going to live in the Department of Piura and in the providence of Morropon. My community is called Pamparumbe and it has a grand total of 234 people. My assignment says that I have a mom, dad and sister who is 14 years old. I don’t have a lot of clear details about my city, family and living situations, but I am headed there tomorrow night for 10 days so I doubt I will have internet until I come back to Chaclacayo, but stay tuned and wish me luck! (I also get my cell phone tomorrow!!)
Monday, November 1, 2010
Ancash: Field Base Training
Alright I am finally back from my field base training in Ancash. If you want to know everything I did, prepare for a long and entertaining read.
First let me give details about Ancash: Ancash is a department (kinda like a state) north of Lima (where I am now). Ancash is mostly mountains…to be exact, the Andes Mountains. In the morning and late at night it usually stays pretty dang cold, but in the afternoon it’s warm. Keep in mind I am already close to the equator and being an extra 10,000 ft up calls for more sun. In the late afternoon it sprinkles for about 10 minutes and then just stays cloudy. In many areas of Ancash the people not only speak Spanish, but Quechan too. Quecha is the language traditional to the Incans and actually, some of the older people don’t even speak Spanish. Ok now let’s dive into my Ancash experience!
Tuesday and Wednesday:
I got out of class early to go home and pack. I was already mostly done so I spent my day with Rigel in the park. After he walked me home I spent time with the family until Nate and Kelsey came to get me for the taxi ride to the Lima bus station. While in the cab we almost got into 4 wrecks. FYI: In Peru cabs/taxis don’t have meters…you negotiate the price in advance. Therefore, when you are in the cab, he hauls ass to get you there so he can find his next victim. Your driver will drive on sidewalks, run lights, and even go around the cars who are stopped at lights, but by golly if you aren’t killed in route you will get there as fast as humanly possible.
All of Peru 16 Health climbed aboard a nice double decker bus for our 10 hour ride to Ancash. There was a movie, food and a drink. The seats were comfortable and reclined well too. We left Lima around 10:30PM and arrived at Ancash around 6AM. The bust drove in an “S” shape the entire way climbing higher and higher up the mountains. I don’t know if you have ever tried to pee in a bus driving in an “S” shape up a mountain, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You might as well pee on yourself. Once we got there we all had breakfast and relaxed a little in the park. I found a little Quecha lady with a llama and had to get a picture with her. Then we all boarded another bus for a 3 hour drive to our final destination. On the way we climbed higher into the mountains and even stopped to take a few pics. There was another lady with a llama and a 3 day old lamb! The mountains look like cupcakes sprinkled with rocks.
We finally got to Chavín and went to our hostel. I stayed with Brit and Nichole. Our toilet doesn’t flush, but the room seems nice! After lunch we went to these ruins that actually predate the Incas all the way to 800 B.C. They were pretty interesting and beautiful with the mountains behind them. We were able to go in and around all of them while it thundered a little.
Thursday:
Breakfast was bright and early at 7:30AM and we had strawberry jam and butter with bread. There was also juice and coffee with milk to drink. I loved the coffee to the point that I had 3 cups. Peru is making me a coffee drinker. After that we loaded up and headed to a volunteers current site a little outside of Chavín. We had a combi with 20 people and we were headed to the top of another mountain. Two different times we had to get out of the combi and walk part of the way because it was so steep and the road was so little (and we were top heavy). At one point our combi even started rolling backwards…that was interesting. No one wants to fall off of a mountain in a combi! The school we went too sits at 11,000 ft, but yesterday while driving we hit an area of 15,000ft. At the school we did socio dramas in three groups with the kids and performed them for everyone. Before my lunch got there me and 8 other gringos played soccer against the kids and it was awesome. The main problem was the altitude because we would run 15 steps and be out of breath. Plus it felt like we were playing on a ray of the sun. I haven’t had altitude sickness, but I did get a tan in five minutes tops.
After lunch we rounded up what kids were left and started to paint a mural for HIV/AIDS. The picture was a giant white hand with the red ribbon in the middle and handprints all around it. It turned out really well, but we had a hard time getting the paint off our hands. For dinner we could go where we wanted and I headed with a group to this little restaurant that seemed to have almost everything. I had two sandwiches of cheese and two with jam. I also had coca tea, which I should explain. Coca tea is made from coca leaves…which are used to make cocaine. The tea is really good for your stomach and altitude sickness and it tastes really well too. You can also chew on the leaves to help as well and if you do that, you can make your mouth numb. Also while eating dinner a cat came into the restaurant and pooped under Juliet’s chair. After dinner we learned how to make super cute wallets out of empty juice boxes. It is super easy and fun. Once I was done with that I went back to my room and took a HOT shower. It was the best feeling ever! It’s really the little things in life. I pooped in a toilet that flushed (it’s fixed now), used toilet paper AND had a hot shower. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Friday:
Breakfast was the same as yesterday, but we went to a different community about an hour away in the opposite direction. This time we built latrines!! My house was a 40 minute walk up the mountain in the middle of a forest. We had to climb up walls of dirt, hop over creeks and try to dodge all the animal crap in the path. The hole was already dug and there weren’t many tools so we all took turns. First we had to level the area around the hole so we could put the base down. It was fun to finally get down and dirty, but I didn’t realize how long it could take to even build a latrine. The mother of the guy we were building for fixed us lunch and it was an ok meal. If there would have been 50 less flies then it might have been more relaxing to eat. I didn’t eat too much because considering they didn’t even have a bathroom I wasn’t sure how the food is prepared so I didn’t want to chance getting sick. Then after all that I had to pee and since we were building the bathroom I went out in the field to take care of business like a real Peruvian! After lunch we hiked down the mountain to help another group with their “shit pit” as we started calling it. There were too many of us so my group was able to lay back and watch the pigs have sex. There are only so many ways to keep entertained while in the Andes Mountains. I took another hot shower and it was yet again, it was amazing. I can’t tell if I am tan or it’s just a mix of dirt and dust. I think it’s both. Our friend Michael had to stay with me, Brit and Nichole because he was sexiled. I won’t go into detail, but we had a girl’s night!! Haha.
Saturday:
We left the hotel at 5:30AM to go to another community called Huantar that is yet again, on top of another mountain. I’ve decided that driving up or down a mountain here is basically like a rollercoaster ride. There is rapid speed, on one side of the car is a cliff and you are packed inside the combi too. The road is usually gravel too which allows for the car to slide around…lots of adventure. Once we arrived in the city we split into groups of two and went with local health promoters to head to four houses and check out how their cocinas mejorades (health kitchens) were working. We were making sure they were keeping animals out of the kitchen, organizing their pots, pans and dishes and keeping all things neat and clean. Two of the houses I went too didn’t have anyone there, but the other two did and their kitchens were perfect. One lady served us this stuff called mazamora de trigo which is like a wheat soup with water and sugar. It was sooooo good. I can’t wait to learn how to make it. It made my stomach feel so good. On a side note: I think there were bugs in my bed last night because I woke up with four new bites that itch like crazy. Anyway, you have to make the site visits early because around 8 or 9 in the morning everyone leaves to go and work in their field and they don’t return until 8 or 9 at night.
After breakfast we went to a guy’s house and to help him build his health kitchen. He was in the process of building his house so we had to level the room the kitchen was going to be in. We cleared the trash, leveled the floor and started building. In the back of his house he has a place for the barro. Barro is a mud/dirt mixed with water and mule poop. Every now and then you add sugar and salt so the sun doesn’t dry it out. We used the already adobe made bricks and stuck them together with the barro. It’s hard to explain the whole process, but you used your hands for it all. We finished almost everything except the chimney and the top part which has to dry first. It was pretty fun and I think Will and I were the best “shit shovelers” there were. We gave each other “crappy” high fives a lot. For lunch we headed to the plaza and I had some star fruit/chitimoya (a green fruit here) ice cream for desert. One lick of mine and the whole thing hit the ground. Michael licked some of it off the ground, but I just went to buy more. Once we got back to Chavín we loaded up again to head back to Huaraz. This was the worst drive of my life because I was sitting in the back. I never get car sickness and I never got altitude sickness, but the ride was so bumpy and weavy I thought I was going to get sick. With each bump I wasn’t sure if I was going to vomit or poop my pants. Luckily neither happened by the time we got to our hostel. About 25 of us went to this bar/restaurant for food and drinks. It was an awesome bar because they had flags hung everywhere and lots of classic rock posters and music playing. Justin, Josh and I had a Hawaiian pizza with a coca sour. A coca sour is like a pisco sour, but with coca. A pisco sour is like a margarita with eggs so the coca sour was the same thing, but with a coca flavor and coca leaves in it.
Sunday…Halloween:
We had breakfast on our own today and we left the hostel at 730AM for an unknown destination. They decided to make today’s adventure a surprise, but they warned us we would get dirty and to bring more clothes. We all decided it would either be a mass baptism, water park or snow-boarding. We drove back up into the mountains and on the way encountered a few problems. First, the road was made for one car at a time and we ended up meeting another car who had to reverse all the way until we could squeeze by on this cliff. Every time we went around a corner our bus blew the horn as loud as he could to warn other cars if they were close so we didn’t crash. I don’t get scared of heights or anything, but this road was so little and so high up…and we were going so fast I was a little nervous at times. We finally got to this house and we all unloaded and went to sit in this area made for us. A man name Oscar and a woman (forgot her name) had us sit around and take our shoes and socks off. They basically talked about finding our “inner selves” and being spiritual and how to be leaders and still trust others. It was interesting, but I didn’t take too much away from it. We learned how to hug properly which is heart to heart and then they put us in groups and blindfolded us. We took turns in our groups on who was leading the rest of the group around the house area blindfolded and barefooted. We weren’t allowed to talk, but only make noises. It was weird. Then we had to cross this tiny piece of tree over a mud pit blindfolded and barefooted. It was symbolic of going from the USA to Peru and etc etc. I liked all of this, but I was sleepy and hungry. Then we all got in the mud pit and had our partners lead us around the mud pit blindfolded. Everyone was laughing hysterically at me because I was so short the mud came up to my mid thigh. We had lunch there and then washed all the mud off. One of the rooms our stuff was in had a wild tarantula spider. I almost threw up at the site of that thing. We drove back and then went to get dinner at the same place again before heading to the bus station for Lima. We left Ancash at 10:30PM and I ended up getting back to my house at 7:30AM. Happy Halloween.
First let me give details about Ancash: Ancash is a department (kinda like a state) north of Lima (where I am now). Ancash is mostly mountains…to be exact, the Andes Mountains. In the morning and late at night it usually stays pretty dang cold, but in the afternoon it’s warm. Keep in mind I am already close to the equator and being an extra 10,000 ft up calls for more sun. In the late afternoon it sprinkles for about 10 minutes and then just stays cloudy. In many areas of Ancash the people not only speak Spanish, but Quechan too. Quecha is the language traditional to the Incans and actually, some of the older people don’t even speak Spanish. Ok now let’s dive into my Ancash experience!
Tuesday and Wednesday:
I got out of class early to go home and pack. I was already mostly done so I spent my day with Rigel in the park. After he walked me home I spent time with the family until Nate and Kelsey came to get me for the taxi ride to the Lima bus station. While in the cab we almost got into 4 wrecks. FYI: In Peru cabs/taxis don’t have meters…you negotiate the price in advance. Therefore, when you are in the cab, he hauls ass to get you there so he can find his next victim. Your driver will drive on sidewalks, run lights, and even go around the cars who are stopped at lights, but by golly if you aren’t killed in route you will get there as fast as humanly possible.
All of Peru 16 Health climbed aboard a nice double decker bus for our 10 hour ride to Ancash. There was a movie, food and a drink. The seats were comfortable and reclined well too. We left Lima around 10:30PM and arrived at Ancash around 6AM. The bust drove in an “S” shape the entire way climbing higher and higher up the mountains. I don’t know if you have ever tried to pee in a bus driving in an “S” shape up a mountain, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You might as well pee on yourself. Once we got there we all had breakfast and relaxed a little in the park. I found a little Quecha lady with a llama and had to get a picture with her. Then we all boarded another bus for a 3 hour drive to our final destination. On the way we climbed higher into the mountains and even stopped to take a few pics. There was another lady with a llama and a 3 day old lamb! The mountains look like cupcakes sprinkled with rocks.
We finally got to Chavín and went to our hostel. I stayed with Brit and Nichole. Our toilet doesn’t flush, but the room seems nice! After lunch we went to these ruins that actually predate the Incas all the way to 800 B.C. They were pretty interesting and beautiful with the mountains behind them. We were able to go in and around all of them while it thundered a little.
Thursday:
Breakfast was bright and early at 7:30AM and we had strawberry jam and butter with bread. There was also juice and coffee with milk to drink. I loved the coffee to the point that I had 3 cups. Peru is making me a coffee drinker. After that we loaded up and headed to a volunteers current site a little outside of Chavín. We had a combi with 20 people and we were headed to the top of another mountain. Two different times we had to get out of the combi and walk part of the way because it was so steep and the road was so little (and we were top heavy). At one point our combi even started rolling backwards…that was interesting. No one wants to fall off of a mountain in a combi! The school we went too sits at 11,000 ft, but yesterday while driving we hit an area of 15,000ft. At the school we did socio dramas in three groups with the kids and performed them for everyone. Before my lunch got there me and 8 other gringos played soccer against the kids and it was awesome. The main problem was the altitude because we would run 15 steps and be out of breath. Plus it felt like we were playing on a ray of the sun. I haven’t had altitude sickness, but I did get a tan in five minutes tops.
After lunch we rounded up what kids were left and started to paint a mural for HIV/AIDS. The picture was a giant white hand with the red ribbon in the middle and handprints all around it. It turned out really well, but we had a hard time getting the paint off our hands. For dinner we could go where we wanted and I headed with a group to this little restaurant that seemed to have almost everything. I had two sandwiches of cheese and two with jam. I also had coca tea, which I should explain. Coca tea is made from coca leaves…which are used to make cocaine. The tea is really good for your stomach and altitude sickness and it tastes really well too. You can also chew on the leaves to help as well and if you do that, you can make your mouth numb. Also while eating dinner a cat came into the restaurant and pooped under Juliet’s chair. After dinner we learned how to make super cute wallets out of empty juice boxes. It is super easy and fun. Once I was done with that I went back to my room and took a HOT shower. It was the best feeling ever! It’s really the little things in life. I pooped in a toilet that flushed (it’s fixed now), used toilet paper AND had a hot shower. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Friday:
Breakfast was the same as yesterday, but we went to a different community about an hour away in the opposite direction. This time we built latrines!! My house was a 40 minute walk up the mountain in the middle of a forest. We had to climb up walls of dirt, hop over creeks and try to dodge all the animal crap in the path. The hole was already dug and there weren’t many tools so we all took turns. First we had to level the area around the hole so we could put the base down. It was fun to finally get down and dirty, but I didn’t realize how long it could take to even build a latrine. The mother of the guy we were building for fixed us lunch and it was an ok meal. If there would have been 50 less flies then it might have been more relaxing to eat. I didn’t eat too much because considering they didn’t even have a bathroom I wasn’t sure how the food is prepared so I didn’t want to chance getting sick. Then after all that I had to pee and since we were building the bathroom I went out in the field to take care of business like a real Peruvian! After lunch we hiked down the mountain to help another group with their “shit pit” as we started calling it. There were too many of us so my group was able to lay back and watch the pigs have sex. There are only so many ways to keep entertained while in the Andes Mountains. I took another hot shower and it was yet again, it was amazing. I can’t tell if I am tan or it’s just a mix of dirt and dust. I think it’s both. Our friend Michael had to stay with me, Brit and Nichole because he was sexiled. I won’t go into detail, but we had a girl’s night!! Haha.
Saturday:
We left the hotel at 5:30AM to go to another community called Huantar that is yet again, on top of another mountain. I’ve decided that driving up or down a mountain here is basically like a rollercoaster ride. There is rapid speed, on one side of the car is a cliff and you are packed inside the combi too. The road is usually gravel too which allows for the car to slide around…lots of adventure. Once we arrived in the city we split into groups of two and went with local health promoters to head to four houses and check out how their cocinas mejorades (health kitchens) were working. We were making sure they were keeping animals out of the kitchen, organizing their pots, pans and dishes and keeping all things neat and clean. Two of the houses I went too didn’t have anyone there, but the other two did and their kitchens were perfect. One lady served us this stuff called mazamora de trigo which is like a wheat soup with water and sugar. It was sooooo good. I can’t wait to learn how to make it. It made my stomach feel so good. On a side note: I think there were bugs in my bed last night because I woke up with four new bites that itch like crazy. Anyway, you have to make the site visits early because around 8 or 9 in the morning everyone leaves to go and work in their field and they don’t return until 8 or 9 at night.
After breakfast we went to a guy’s house and to help him build his health kitchen. He was in the process of building his house so we had to level the room the kitchen was going to be in. We cleared the trash, leveled the floor and started building. In the back of his house he has a place for the barro. Barro is a mud/dirt mixed with water and mule poop. Every now and then you add sugar and salt so the sun doesn’t dry it out. We used the already adobe made bricks and stuck them together with the barro. It’s hard to explain the whole process, but you used your hands for it all. We finished almost everything except the chimney and the top part which has to dry first. It was pretty fun and I think Will and I were the best “shit shovelers” there were. We gave each other “crappy” high fives a lot. For lunch we headed to the plaza and I had some star fruit/chitimoya (a green fruit here) ice cream for desert. One lick of mine and the whole thing hit the ground. Michael licked some of it off the ground, but I just went to buy more. Once we got back to Chavín we loaded up again to head back to Huaraz. This was the worst drive of my life because I was sitting in the back. I never get car sickness and I never got altitude sickness, but the ride was so bumpy and weavy I thought I was going to get sick. With each bump I wasn’t sure if I was going to vomit or poop my pants. Luckily neither happened by the time we got to our hostel. About 25 of us went to this bar/restaurant for food and drinks. It was an awesome bar because they had flags hung everywhere and lots of classic rock posters and music playing. Justin, Josh and I had a Hawaiian pizza with a coca sour. A coca sour is like a pisco sour, but with coca. A pisco sour is like a margarita with eggs so the coca sour was the same thing, but with a coca flavor and coca leaves in it.
Sunday…Halloween:
We had breakfast on our own today and we left the hostel at 730AM for an unknown destination. They decided to make today’s adventure a surprise, but they warned us we would get dirty and to bring more clothes. We all decided it would either be a mass baptism, water park or snow-boarding. We drove back up into the mountains and on the way encountered a few problems. First, the road was made for one car at a time and we ended up meeting another car who had to reverse all the way until we could squeeze by on this cliff. Every time we went around a corner our bus blew the horn as loud as he could to warn other cars if they were close so we didn’t crash. I don’t get scared of heights or anything, but this road was so little and so high up…and we were going so fast I was a little nervous at times. We finally got to this house and we all unloaded and went to sit in this area made for us. A man name Oscar and a woman (forgot her name) had us sit around and take our shoes and socks off. They basically talked about finding our “inner selves” and being spiritual and how to be leaders and still trust others. It was interesting, but I didn’t take too much away from it. We learned how to hug properly which is heart to heart and then they put us in groups and blindfolded us. We took turns in our groups on who was leading the rest of the group around the house area blindfolded and barefooted. We weren’t allowed to talk, but only make noises. It was weird. Then we had to cross this tiny piece of tree over a mud pit blindfolded and barefooted. It was symbolic of going from the USA to Peru and etc etc. I liked all of this, but I was sleepy and hungry. Then we all got in the mud pit and had our partners lead us around the mud pit blindfolded. Everyone was laughing hysterically at me because I was so short the mud came up to my mid thigh. We had lunch there and then washed all the mud off. One of the rooms our stuff was in had a wild tarantula spider. I almost threw up at the site of that thing. We drove back and then went to get dinner at the same place again before heading to the bus station for Lima. We left Ancash at 10:30PM and I ended up getting back to my house at 7:30AM. Happy Halloween.
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