Sunday ended up being one of the best days. That morning after I did my laundry I met up with my fellow Huascaran people at Lindsey’s house. We invited numerous kids from the neighborhood over and practiced community mapping with them. It was pretty fun and we all learned some do’s and don’ts. Now that I think about it, I guess I should explain community mapping.
Community mapping is a technique I will use at site with kids or adolescents to get a better understanding of my community. I will grab some markers and a giant sheet of paper and split the boys in one group and girls in the other. I will just ask them to draw/design a map of their neighborhood. What I learn from this is not only what types of places are in my neighborhood, but what the girls focus on that the boys don’t and vice versa. For instance, girls are more likely to drop out of school here and therefore may not really know where the school is. Boys on the other hand may know where the school is, but maybe they don’t know certain markets. It’s a good tool to use to get to know the kids, community and see what needs might need to be met.
Later that afternoon I met up with Rigel and we hung out in the park for a few hours listening to music. While in the park, Felix and his girlfriend, who is German, dropped by and we all decided to go met up with some of their other friends at this fancy Italian restaurant. (Felix and his girlfriend and brother were at Aquicito last night as well). At the restaurant there was a girl in from Chile and she had brought some wine with her. Our table was representing the world! We had a girl from Chile, a girl from Germany, I was from the USA, a girl from Peru and then 3 guys from Peru. It was amazing. We all had wine and some amazing pizza and just enjoyed the evening. After eating we all went to the lounge that is close by and shared some more drinks, but it was getting late so Rigel walked me home.
When I got home my parents were returning from a birthday party. They were good and toasty to say the least so we all sat around and laughed and hung out. When my dad drinks he looooves to speak some English. He even turned the tv to CNN English just for me.
Today I went to the US Embassy with the whole group. We were introduced to people who deal with our security and also had a few classes on how to teach English in Peru. Then we had a meeting with the US Ambassador here. She is super sweet and plans to come to visit us at our sites. She also gave hope that Clinton or Obama may be making a visit next summer after the new President of Peru is elected. I would die if I could meet Obama. It’s funny how all of us volunteers are GIANT Obama fans.
We all went to lunch at the restaurant down the road and they served us giant pieces of chicken with fries, salads and Inca Cola. It was the best big meal I have had in a while. After lunch we had a meeting about our safety and security while in Peru. The session gave us information on different types of emergency evacuation plans or just any type of emergency plan. I even received the personal phone emergency phone number to the Marines if “I get into some deep shit,” as they put it.
Tomorrow I head to Ancash until Sunday!!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Chicken heads and salsa dancing
Normally on Saturday’s I go to Agraria University which is right outside of Lima. Yesterday when we pulled up to Agraria we picked up some guy and then drove for 40 more minutes. We ended up in some small little town called Pachamarca…I think. We ended up going to multiple houses and seeing people’s “animal husbandry.” It’s basically people who “farm” animals in their backyard and the details of how they do it so when we go to site we will know how. People had pigs, chickens, ducks, coy (guinea pig), goats, sheep, roosters and plenty of fruits and veggies as well. The first home had a bowl of chicken heads right at the front door which was nicely placed next to the chicken killing station. It really lit up the room, if you will. I almost threw up in the pig pen because the smell was so horrible. Plus, those were the biggest pigs I have ever seen in my entire life…I made sure to tell them, in Spanish, that their bacon is delicious. After all the houses we went to one last place and they fed us so much food! We first got some kinds of potato that had veggies and a cream all mixed in together that was pretty tasty. Next they gave us this hot soup like meal that had pumpkin seeds, milk, sugar, cabbage and pepper all grounded up together. I could have eaten more of that, but it wasn’t my favorite. Then they brought out chicken sandwiches and after that they brought us some type of strawberry juice. It was DELICIOUS! It reminded me of the mix for a strawberry margarita. I had two servings of that. Haha. When we left there we drove all the way back to the PC Office and me, Bj and Brittany went to the mall and had Pizza Hut and Dunkin Donuts.
Side note: While I was gone my mom changed my bedspread and this one has a picture of a llama. J Win.
Another side note: When I came home my dad had Tracey Chapman playing and my mom made me my favorite fresca con leche drink (strawberry with milk). Win. Win.
Saturday night was pretty fun too. First me, Lindsey and her sister went to Chacrasana to a party at our friend Amman’s house. It was her birthday a few days ago and her brother’s birthday so their family was having a big party at their house and invited all of us. It was pretty fun because there were about 15 of us all dancing and having a good time. There was a good mix of gringos and Peruvians too, but as usual, we were the center of attention. Haha. It’s like we live in a fish bowl. We left Amman’s house around 11:30 and headed to Chosica to go to a club called Aquicito. This club has about 4 floors and they all play different music. Some of the music is American; some of it is reggaton, salsa and etc. It was pretty packed, but still fun. I ran into Rigel’s, aka La Bamba, friend Felix and joined him and some of their friends to salsa dance and to share drinks. It was a pretty calm evening for salsa dancing, but none the less fun.
These are a few of my favorite things: sitting on my roof and washing/hanging my laundry and listening to the salsa music bounce off houses, salsa dancing, my mom’s fruits with milk drinks, my pillow and new llama bedspread, talking to random people in the street, laying the park reading, not being barked at by a dog in the street, not being woken up by dog fights or roosters, nice combi drivers, learning slang words in Spanish, and just wondering around in markets in general.
These are things I miss: hot showers, feeling clean, having a variety of food, living by myself, having a closet full of clothes/shoes, washing machine/dryer, wifi, Oreos, hair appliances, speaking English, sleeping in, being able to drink water from a faucet
Side note: While I was gone my mom changed my bedspread and this one has a picture of a llama. J Win.
Another side note: When I came home my dad had Tracey Chapman playing and my mom made me my favorite fresca con leche drink (strawberry with milk). Win. Win.
Saturday night was pretty fun too. First me, Lindsey and her sister went to Chacrasana to a party at our friend Amman’s house. It was her birthday a few days ago and her brother’s birthday so their family was having a big party at their house and invited all of us. It was pretty fun because there were about 15 of us all dancing and having a good time. There was a good mix of gringos and Peruvians too, but as usual, we were the center of attention. Haha. It’s like we live in a fish bowl. We left Amman’s house around 11:30 and headed to Chosica to go to a club called Aquicito. This club has about 4 floors and they all play different music. Some of the music is American; some of it is reggaton, salsa and etc. It was pretty packed, but still fun. I ran into Rigel’s, aka La Bamba, friend Felix and joined him and some of their friends to salsa dance and to share drinks. It was a pretty calm evening for salsa dancing, but none the less fun.
These are a few of my favorite things: sitting on my roof and washing/hanging my laundry and listening to the salsa music bounce off houses, salsa dancing, my mom’s fruits with milk drinks, my pillow and new llama bedspread, talking to random people in the street, laying the park reading, not being barked at by a dog in the street, not being woken up by dog fights or roosters, nice combi drivers, learning slang words in Spanish, and just wondering around in markets in general.
These are things I miss: hot showers, feeling clean, having a variety of food, living by myself, having a closet full of clothes/shoes, washing machine/dryer, wifi, Oreos, hair appliances, speaking English, sleeping in, being able to drink water from a faucet
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Centro de Salud
Friday was a “good” Friday, if you will. I went to another Centro de Salud to watch and listen to a typical day. I listened to a lady give information about proper nutrients to give children and another lady gave two HIV tests. It’s interesting to see how these health clinics work because keep in mind, computers aren’t used for anything and there is no HIPA law. For instance, a girl came in to see the result of her HIV test and she was handed a book where it had the results of everyone who was ever given a HIV test there…she just needed to skim the names until she found her own. Kids are running around this place and there really isn’t privacy at all. I was with my friends Nate and Lindsey and we were asked to give a lecture on HIV/AIDS to a group of women who were there. With about 5 minutes of preparation we did pretty well. They appeared to have learned a lot too because we gave them a pre and post test to test their knowledge. It’s interesting to see what questions people have about certain topics here. One lady asked me if there was a cure for HIV or AIDS and most people think they are the same thing too.
Later that day I went to a school with Amy and Jo Ann and we taught HIV/AIDS to a group of kids who were in their early teens. It was very similar to the lecture that I gave earlier in the day. We played some games with them and they seemed to listen somewhat. I just don’t care too much for that age group because they are SO shy and don’t want to do anything, but after telling them jokes and using a lot of slang with them, we were able to get things a goin.
I finished my class early and ended up getting home early to find no one at my house at all. I just sit down by the front door and worked on my tan while listening to some salsa music. While bronzing my skin so I can blend in with the local a bit more, lady from across the street, who I don’t know, walked up and gave me a key to my house and just walked away. It was very strange, but I was happy to go inside and just be alone.
I left before my family got home because I went to grab dinner with Rigel aka La Bamba. Once I got back to my house I told my mom about the strange women she already knew. She told me to just keep the key that way I won’t have to wait again. When I was at the school the zipper on my new purse broke again and I was ticked. I went to ask my mom here if she could fix it and she sent me to my dad and called him an expert. I didn’t quite understand the explanation of why he is an expert at fixing clothing, but he is. He took a sewing machine and a pair of pliers to that purse and it’s better than before I bought it! I swear there is NO machismo in my family here! Weird!
Advice of the day: I learned how to insult/cuss a guy out if he is making cat calls at me. It happens daily and some days I just can’t stand it.
Best moment ever: I was walking to my house alone after class and lately I have started keeping a few cute silly bands on my wrist. Well today I had an airplane one on and while walking, this little girl who looked to be 2 or 3 years old saw me and got the BIGGEST smile on her face. I waved at her and said hello. She waved back and kept staring and grinning big. Her mom appeared to be from the sierra because she had the giant sombrero on. When the mom saw me talking to the little girl she smiled as well so I bent down and pulled the silly band off to show the little girl. I showed her how it’s an airplane when you take it off and I put it on her wrist. She was SO excited. Her mom said thanks and I kept going. That little girl made my day.
In other news that’s not quite so sweet, I am going to kill a dog. The dogs in my community are becoming overly annoying. In the last week I have almost been attacked over 3 times. I walk in the middle of the street because if you are on the sidewalk (if there is on) then they think you want a piece of them…which isn’t true. I have had one dog come to the other sidewalk just to bark at me. I keep rocks with me now so if I have to peg one I am ready. The dang dogs wake me up in the middle of the night barking too. My friend Lindsey and I decided when it’s daytime and the dogs are sleeping we are going to go bark and scream at them so they can’t sleep. Gah I hate the dogs here. They are so mean!!
Later that day I went to a school with Amy and Jo Ann and we taught HIV/AIDS to a group of kids who were in their early teens. It was very similar to the lecture that I gave earlier in the day. We played some games with them and they seemed to listen somewhat. I just don’t care too much for that age group because they are SO shy and don’t want to do anything, but after telling them jokes and using a lot of slang with them, we were able to get things a goin.
I finished my class early and ended up getting home early to find no one at my house at all. I just sit down by the front door and worked on my tan while listening to some salsa music. While bronzing my skin so I can blend in with the local a bit more, lady from across the street, who I don’t know, walked up and gave me a key to my house and just walked away. It was very strange, but I was happy to go inside and just be alone.
I left before my family got home because I went to grab dinner with Rigel aka La Bamba. Once I got back to my house I told my mom about the strange women she already knew. She told me to just keep the key that way I won’t have to wait again. When I was at the school the zipper on my new purse broke again and I was ticked. I went to ask my mom here if she could fix it and she sent me to my dad and called him an expert. I didn’t quite understand the explanation of why he is an expert at fixing clothing, but he is. He took a sewing machine and a pair of pliers to that purse and it’s better than before I bought it! I swear there is NO machismo in my family here! Weird!
Advice of the day: I learned how to insult/cuss a guy out if he is making cat calls at me. It happens daily and some days I just can’t stand it.
Best moment ever: I was walking to my house alone after class and lately I have started keeping a few cute silly bands on my wrist. Well today I had an airplane one on and while walking, this little girl who looked to be 2 or 3 years old saw me and got the BIGGEST smile on her face. I waved at her and said hello. She waved back and kept staring and grinning big. Her mom appeared to be from the sierra because she had the giant sombrero on. When the mom saw me talking to the little girl she smiled as well so I bent down and pulled the silly band off to show the little girl. I showed her how it’s an airplane when you take it off and I put it on her wrist. She was SO excited. Her mom said thanks and I kept going. That little girl made my day.
In other news that’s not quite so sweet, I am going to kill a dog. The dogs in my community are becoming overly annoying. In the last week I have almost been attacked over 3 times. I walk in the middle of the street because if you are on the sidewalk (if there is on) then they think you want a piece of them…which isn’t true. I have had one dog come to the other sidewalk just to bark at me. I keep rocks with me now so if I have to peg one I am ready. The dang dogs wake me up in the middle of the night barking too. My friend Lindsey and I decided when it’s daytime and the dogs are sleeping we are going to go bark and scream at them so they can’t sleep. Gah I hate the dogs here. They are so mean!!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Insect Policy
We have new language classes now. I have officially moved from basic to intermediate! Yahoo! On another note: In my house I have a live and let live policy. The other tenants in my house know this policy too, the other tenants being the bugs of my house. There is this invisible line and if a bug crosses it, there is capital punishment. In the last week there seems to be a misunderstanding. I have had to terminate the lives of two cockroaches the size of a small dog. At first I trapped them under a bucket, but I decided if I set them free they will most likely take revenge so I killed them with my sisters shoe (I don’t want bug guts on my shoe..). The Wednesday morning on the sheet that plays the part of the door from the living room to the bedrooms are, there was a scorpion chilling. For the fear of being stabbed to death by this creature, I alarmed my papa who casually scooped him up in a pan and set him free. So future warning to my other tenants and bugs, if you cross the line, I will kill you or have you killed. Consider this a fair warning.
Last night was a good time. It was the first time I didn’t make it to the Wednesday night outing in Chosica. I didn’t go for two reasons. First reason, I wanted to be home early and wasn’t in the mood to go. The second reason, I went out with my local friend Rigel, aka La Bamba. He showed me around some new places in Chaclacayo and we shared some beverages and just hung out. Since the last place we went was a good hour walk in the dark from my house he walked me to my road. The start of my road is beyond steep so I didn’t ask him to hike that bit with me. Haha.
Today I had no run in with bugs, but I did go to Centro de Salud in Chosica and went on house visits. My group wondered around the city going to certain people’s homes who had scheduled appointments. It was interesting to see the different houses and how they looked. One lady had cancer and a dog who hated my trainers. Another lady, I’m not sure why she needed a house visit because I was too busy gawking at the 2 week old kittens learning to walk. It was an interesting time today and since I was outside so much I did get a little sun. If I don’t be careful this gringa may not look too gringa. Or maybe it’s just all dirt and dust…
Tomorrow I am going to teach a class of 10-15 students all about HIV/AIDS…or in Spanish…VIH/SIDA! I have so many awesome activities planned and I hope it goes well and this time around I have students who want to interact.
Here is an interesting play by play I had today too. My Granny sent me these Halloween decorations and since they are a gel like material I thought I would put them on my wall. After they were all on I decided I would move them and when I started to pull them off, the paint came with them or they stained the walls orange and black in pumpkin and spider shapes. I thought I would use my towel to easily rub of the gel, but the towel rubbed the paint off. Now I have 4 places in my room where it looks horrible. Hopefully they won’t notice? Maybe since calendars are the big thing here and it’s “cool” to cover your walls in them I will just hang calendars all over the place…
Another little bit of information, someone has given my little sister a whistle and I am about to stomp on it. I haven’t talked about my little sister too much on my blog, but let’s just say, I’m not a fan. Also, a shout out to Stacey, the skittles are amazing and I am eating them right now! Thank you!!
Last night was a good time. It was the first time I didn’t make it to the Wednesday night outing in Chosica. I didn’t go for two reasons. First reason, I wanted to be home early and wasn’t in the mood to go. The second reason, I went out with my local friend Rigel, aka La Bamba. He showed me around some new places in Chaclacayo and we shared some beverages and just hung out. Since the last place we went was a good hour walk in the dark from my house he walked me to my road. The start of my road is beyond steep so I didn’t ask him to hike that bit with me. Haha.
Today I had no run in with bugs, but I did go to Centro de Salud in Chosica and went on house visits. My group wondered around the city going to certain people’s homes who had scheduled appointments. It was interesting to see the different houses and how they looked. One lady had cancer and a dog who hated my trainers. Another lady, I’m not sure why she needed a house visit because I was too busy gawking at the 2 week old kittens learning to walk. It was an interesting time today and since I was outside so much I did get a little sun. If I don’t be careful this gringa may not look too gringa. Or maybe it’s just all dirt and dust…
Tomorrow I am going to teach a class of 10-15 students all about HIV/AIDS…or in Spanish…VIH/SIDA! I have so many awesome activities planned and I hope it goes well and this time around I have students who want to interact.
Here is an interesting play by play I had today too. My Granny sent me these Halloween decorations and since they are a gel like material I thought I would put them on my wall. After they were all on I decided I would move them and when I started to pull them off, the paint came with them or they stained the walls orange and black in pumpkin and spider shapes. I thought I would use my towel to easily rub of the gel, but the towel rubbed the paint off. Now I have 4 places in my room where it looks horrible. Hopefully they won’t notice? Maybe since calendars are the big thing here and it’s “cool” to cover your walls in them I will just hang calendars all over the place…
Another little bit of information, someone has given my little sister a whistle and I am about to stomp on it. I haven’t talked about my little sister too much on my blog, but let’s just say, I’m not a fan. Also, a shout out to Stacey, the skittles are amazing and I am eating them right now! Thank you!!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Kaitlyn vs. Peru and the identity crisis
This last weekend I had a little identity crisis. I was an American in Peru celebrating a German drinking holiday, October Fest. But first, I had class at Agraria University and I learned all about chickens. I learned what foods to feed them at what age and what age is best to eat them. We went to all the chicken and turkey houses and they showed us what type of housing they need. It was pretty interesting, but after, friends and I went to Miraflores. This time in Miraflores I went to the beach and talked to some locals who offered to teach me to surf, but I didn’t have enough time. We spent an hour in this park and just enjoyed relaxing. After that we met up with others at Starbucks and took a cab to celebrate October Fest.
On the way there we passed by a Peruvian parade that looked like it was celebrating different departments of Peru. Once we got to October fest we all grabbed a table and some beer. The music was already loud and the people were drinking. The popular Peruvian beer, Cusquena, came out with a special red lager beer just for this and it was delicious. They had drinking contests on the stage, played German drinking music and everyone was having a blast. They also had this lady come around and give everyone a chance to sniff this tobacco stuff. It was weird and made a loud noise when she hit this button, but it smelled very fresh and minty. Eventually the people sitting beside me I got to know. They asked if we were tourists and when I told them we were PCV’s they thanked us over and over. I told them about PC and they were all from Piura and were doctors in Lima. We talked for a while and they said my Spanish was great. Around 7pm we decided to get food and head home. I can’t remember what the name of the food was, but it was typical: rice and chicken. Once our plates were cleared we tried to find a cab who would take us all to Chaclacayo, but no one wanted to go that far. Finally we found a small taxi and all 5 of us crammed in for the good hour drive.
On a side note, I would give anything right now to actually feel clean. I need a date with Mr. Clean bad. My feet look like they belong in Jurassic Park. I can scrub my feet and ten minutes later they look just as gross as they did before. I never feel fully clean after my ice showers. Even if I clean myself with wet wipes and body cleaners, I don’t feel clean!
Another side note, the Japanese population in Peru is at large. You wouldn’t think so, but there is a strong and growing Japanese population here. If I remember correctly, we have even had a Japanese president. Don’t quote me on that.
One more thing, I love coming home from class or for lunch and my family has salsa music blaring as loud as they can. It just puts me in the right mood. I love the music and the dance!
Sunday was my “me” day. It was Kaitlyn vs. Peru. I went on my first solo mission around my surrounding cities. The mission: buy a new purse, find the movie Eat. Pray. Love., and go to the ATM to pay my family.
First, I hopped on the combi and headed to Chosica. After I arrived I went to this pharmacy and had them knock my bills down because you can’t shop at the market with a S50. Then I walked the market high and low asking everyone and looking everywhere for Eat. Pray. Love. I guess that is a highly pirated film because no one knew what I was talking about. I did find a porno with a similar title in Spanish, but I passed. I did end up buying “Going the Distance.” While in the market I found the ATM and had to shoo a lady away who wanted me to take out money for her, but then I went to my favorite Chosica market and found a purse! I bought my purse for almost 10 soles cheaper too! The zipper is a little shady, but I think it will hold up for a good bit. Distance traveled: 15-20K. Time it took: 2 hours. Bought a purse: check. Went to the ATM: check. Found Eat. Pray. Love: No, but bought another move sooo: check. Mission Accomplished. Kaitlyn 1 Peru 0.
Once I went back home and dropped my stuff off I was meeting up with my friend Rigel aka La Bamba. Rigel had his friend with him (forgot his name) and we all went to my favorite panadaria (pastry shop/coffee shop) and had coffee with milk. We all split a piece of lemon pie too! It was fun because although they spoke English, I asked if we could only talk in Spanish to help me practice. After the panadaria the friend went back to Lima and Rigel and I went to a lounge nearby and split a beer. The lounge was playing MTV music videos and was one of the best places I have found to just relax and hang out. It was a little pricey, but still nice. Rigel is a guitar playing surfer so we had plenty to talk about. Last time when we were at the club called Kis Kas it was hard to talk, especially since we were salsa dancing too. My house is a good 20-30 minute walk from the lounge and he walked me half way home because he lives in the opposite direction. Sunday was the best “chill” day I have had in a while. Next week I am going to Ancash for 5 days! Whooo hooo! My first trip out of Lima and into the highlands!
On the way there we passed by a Peruvian parade that looked like it was celebrating different departments of Peru. Once we got to October fest we all grabbed a table and some beer. The music was already loud and the people were drinking. The popular Peruvian beer, Cusquena, came out with a special red lager beer just for this and it was delicious. They had drinking contests on the stage, played German drinking music and everyone was having a blast. They also had this lady come around and give everyone a chance to sniff this tobacco stuff. It was weird and made a loud noise when she hit this button, but it smelled very fresh and minty. Eventually the people sitting beside me I got to know. They asked if we were tourists and when I told them we were PCV’s they thanked us over and over. I told them about PC and they were all from Piura and were doctors in Lima. We talked for a while and they said my Spanish was great. Around 7pm we decided to get food and head home. I can’t remember what the name of the food was, but it was typical: rice and chicken. Once our plates were cleared we tried to find a cab who would take us all to Chaclacayo, but no one wanted to go that far. Finally we found a small taxi and all 5 of us crammed in for the good hour drive.
On a side note, I would give anything right now to actually feel clean. I need a date with Mr. Clean bad. My feet look like they belong in Jurassic Park. I can scrub my feet and ten minutes later they look just as gross as they did before. I never feel fully clean after my ice showers. Even if I clean myself with wet wipes and body cleaners, I don’t feel clean!
Another side note, the Japanese population in Peru is at large. You wouldn’t think so, but there is a strong and growing Japanese population here. If I remember correctly, we have even had a Japanese president. Don’t quote me on that.
One more thing, I love coming home from class or for lunch and my family has salsa music blaring as loud as they can. It just puts me in the right mood. I love the music and the dance!
Sunday was my “me” day. It was Kaitlyn vs. Peru. I went on my first solo mission around my surrounding cities. The mission: buy a new purse, find the movie Eat. Pray. Love., and go to the ATM to pay my family.
First, I hopped on the combi and headed to Chosica. After I arrived I went to this pharmacy and had them knock my bills down because you can’t shop at the market with a S50. Then I walked the market high and low asking everyone and looking everywhere for Eat. Pray. Love. I guess that is a highly pirated film because no one knew what I was talking about. I did find a porno with a similar title in Spanish, but I passed. I did end up buying “Going the Distance.” While in the market I found the ATM and had to shoo a lady away who wanted me to take out money for her, but then I went to my favorite Chosica market and found a purse! I bought my purse for almost 10 soles cheaper too! The zipper is a little shady, but I think it will hold up for a good bit. Distance traveled: 15-20K. Time it took: 2 hours. Bought a purse: check. Went to the ATM: check. Found Eat. Pray. Love: No, but bought another move sooo: check. Mission Accomplished. Kaitlyn 1 Peru 0.
Once I went back home and dropped my stuff off I was meeting up with my friend Rigel aka La Bamba. Rigel had his friend with him (forgot his name) and we all went to my favorite panadaria (pastry shop/coffee shop) and had coffee with milk. We all split a piece of lemon pie too! It was fun because although they spoke English, I asked if we could only talk in Spanish to help me practice. After the panadaria the friend went back to Lima and Rigel and I went to a lounge nearby and split a beer. The lounge was playing MTV music videos and was one of the best places I have found to just relax and hang out. It was a little pricey, but still nice. Rigel is a guitar playing surfer so we had plenty to talk about. Last time when we were at the club called Kis Kas it was hard to talk, especially since we were salsa dancing too. My house is a good 20-30 minute walk from the lounge and he walked me half way home because he lives in the opposite direction. Sunday was the best “chill” day I have had in a while. Next week I am going to Ancash for 5 days! Whooo hooo! My first trip out of Lima and into the highlands!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Condom race and interviews!
Sunday ended up being a pretty cool day. Bj, his sister and I attempted to hike the biggest mountain in our area, but because of Saturday night’s shenanigans I was far too dehydrated and tired to finish it. We were so close! He really wanted to keep going, but I think next Sunday I could do it if I had my backpack filled with water and fruit. I’m also going to bring my ipod so when we get to the top we can eat some fruit and just sit on the rocks and hang out listening to music. It will be a good 2-4 hour hike. I was also wearing a tank top and I could feel the sunburn coming my way. Once we went back to the bottom I ran home real quick and my brother was there so he joined the three of us and we went to a juice bar. Lucho and I had a strawberry, banana and milk blend. Es muy rico!! Me gusta mucho. Once we were done there we all headed back to our homes and just visited. Lucho invited me to play some soccer, but I was far too tired for that. Pero quiero bailar la salsa mas! Me gusta bailar la salsa ahora que vivo in Peru!
Tuesday in my Spanish class, Bj’s mom fixed us the best hamburgers ever. It has been so long since I have had one of those and dang it was good. In our class we also made a fruit salad with mangos, apples, bananas, strawberry yogurt, oranges and mandarins. It was pretty awesome. In my tech class we learned how to make toys of out trash and recyclable material. My toy was a women rocket like thing and I basically failed. It was nice and colorful and made sounds, but it wasn’t anything special compared to the others. Haha.
For dinner on Tuesday night I had a nice big plate of potatoes, corn on the cob and tons of chicken heart. I honestly didn’t know what it was until after I ate it all. I was dipping the chicken heart in ketchup and it was pretty good. It had lots of flavor and I won’t lie, I liked it! So now I have basically eaten all parts of a chicken. I have had the blood, liver, heart, legs, breast and potentially etc.
Wednesday was pretty entertaining as well. We had tons of sessions about the do’s and don’ts of dating locals. PC brought in a ton of current volunteers to talk to us about their stories and their friends stories. I won’t go into detail, but it was fun and interesting. Then that night I went back to Chosica with the typical Wednesday night crew. I only stayed for about 2 hours because I needed to head home to finish my laundry and work on some studying and homework type things.
When I got home my mom had folded all my laundry for me which was awesome AND she had bought me some chocolate. I feel like there is a chocolate battle happening right now. Sometimes when I go out places I will buy them a chocolate bar or something just because I want too and they are awesome. Well now it seems as if they are doing the same thing, but they are giving me a little more each time so I feel l need to return the favor. I like this kind of battle though because I get them the same kind every time because I know it’s awesome, but they switch theirs up. (Btw, my favorite chocolate bar here is called Sublime and it’s amazing….pronounced sub-leam-ay…..not sub-lime like the band)
Also I noticed that my mom switched the calendar in my room. My old one had a bus, but this one has a girl showing me her backside with skin tight pants on and a dress hat. Not sure why I needed a new one, but oh well, I don’t mind a sexy girl above my bed I guess. Maybe she is like my Peruvian dream catcher.
Thursday I went to the official PC office in Surco/Lima. We toured it and met everyone who works there. They told us what part they play in our life whether it deals with our security, reimbursements for money or vacations. I had another interview with my APCD who is basically the person I check in with and turn my work into for the next 2 years. The interview went really well and I think the next one is in Spanish. I also had an interview with the country director named Sanjay. He is in charge of everything and even knows a lot about Paducah! Whoot whoot!! We basically just talked about everything in my Peruvian life. We talked if I had been sick, my family here and in the USA, my Spanish, my studies and etc. We also talked about how I plan to incorporate my degree (Music Business) into my work. I gave them my idea which is:
To start a youth group and have a trash pick-up day. Then I want us to keep the recyclable materials and make instruments out of them. After that we can teach each other songs from the USA and Peru. This will allow for me to work on the environmental health (trash pick-up/recyclable materials), integrate both cultures (learning songs and English), and help me with my community diagnostic (talking about FREESTOP)!! Win! (I hope…haha).
To do that is a goal of mine, but that will be a long time from now. Right now I have to focus on what I need to be doing now. This week has been one of my busiest weeks.
Friday was amazing because we learned all about sex!!! 40% of volunteers in Peru are sexually active and 90% of those will eventually get an STD during service! Whoo hooo! Today’s session was all about how to not get an STD and what to do if we get one. The main focus of the day: use a condom! We split up into 3 groups and had a condom race in the yard. My group lost so we everyone told us we would be the first to get the STD since we couldn’t put the condom on our penis the quickest. Don’t worry, there are pictures. It was a fun day, but filled with information as usual. When I give the sex talk in my site I get to do the same thing. The PC gives me a penis and I have my students do a condom race, but a lot more accurate than today’s.
Friday night I went to Chacrasana with a ton of friends because my friend Chelsey’s mom was making hamburgers for everyone for 1.50S each. Everyone got fries, a burger and a beer and we all hung out. There were about 20 of us there and it was a good time all around. Before I went there, I went to the market in Chosica and bought some earrings, a new bracelet, a headband and a notebook for super cheap. My notebook is nice and tiny for my purse, but has a huge picture of baby Jesus in the back of it. No worries though, the inside cover has the silhouette of a naked woman too. Hmmm. I also got a water bottle since mine was stolen on the combi one day. Tomorrow marks one month of being in Peru. Only 26 more to go!
Tuesday in my Spanish class, Bj’s mom fixed us the best hamburgers ever. It has been so long since I have had one of those and dang it was good. In our class we also made a fruit salad with mangos, apples, bananas, strawberry yogurt, oranges and mandarins. It was pretty awesome. In my tech class we learned how to make toys of out trash and recyclable material. My toy was a women rocket like thing and I basically failed. It was nice and colorful and made sounds, but it wasn’t anything special compared to the others. Haha.
For dinner on Tuesday night I had a nice big plate of potatoes, corn on the cob and tons of chicken heart. I honestly didn’t know what it was until after I ate it all. I was dipping the chicken heart in ketchup and it was pretty good. It had lots of flavor and I won’t lie, I liked it! So now I have basically eaten all parts of a chicken. I have had the blood, liver, heart, legs, breast and potentially etc.
Wednesday was pretty entertaining as well. We had tons of sessions about the do’s and don’ts of dating locals. PC brought in a ton of current volunteers to talk to us about their stories and their friends stories. I won’t go into detail, but it was fun and interesting. Then that night I went back to Chosica with the typical Wednesday night crew. I only stayed for about 2 hours because I needed to head home to finish my laundry and work on some studying and homework type things.
When I got home my mom had folded all my laundry for me which was awesome AND she had bought me some chocolate. I feel like there is a chocolate battle happening right now. Sometimes when I go out places I will buy them a chocolate bar or something just because I want too and they are awesome. Well now it seems as if they are doing the same thing, but they are giving me a little more each time so I feel l need to return the favor. I like this kind of battle though because I get them the same kind every time because I know it’s awesome, but they switch theirs up. (Btw, my favorite chocolate bar here is called Sublime and it’s amazing….pronounced sub-leam-ay…..not sub-lime like the band)
Also I noticed that my mom switched the calendar in my room. My old one had a bus, but this one has a girl showing me her backside with skin tight pants on and a dress hat. Not sure why I needed a new one, but oh well, I don’t mind a sexy girl above my bed I guess. Maybe she is like my Peruvian dream catcher.
Thursday I went to the official PC office in Surco/Lima. We toured it and met everyone who works there. They told us what part they play in our life whether it deals with our security, reimbursements for money or vacations. I had another interview with my APCD who is basically the person I check in with and turn my work into for the next 2 years. The interview went really well and I think the next one is in Spanish. I also had an interview with the country director named Sanjay. He is in charge of everything and even knows a lot about Paducah! Whoot whoot!! We basically just talked about everything in my Peruvian life. We talked if I had been sick, my family here and in the USA, my Spanish, my studies and etc. We also talked about how I plan to incorporate my degree (Music Business) into my work. I gave them my idea which is:
To start a youth group and have a trash pick-up day. Then I want us to keep the recyclable materials and make instruments out of them. After that we can teach each other songs from the USA and Peru. This will allow for me to work on the environmental health (trash pick-up/recyclable materials), integrate both cultures (learning songs and English), and help me with my community diagnostic (talking about FREESTOP)!! Win! (I hope…haha).
To do that is a goal of mine, but that will be a long time from now. Right now I have to focus on what I need to be doing now. This week has been one of my busiest weeks.
Friday was amazing because we learned all about sex!!! 40% of volunteers in Peru are sexually active and 90% of those will eventually get an STD during service! Whoo hooo! Today’s session was all about how to not get an STD and what to do if we get one. The main focus of the day: use a condom! We split up into 3 groups and had a condom race in the yard. My group lost so we everyone told us we would be the first to get the STD since we couldn’t put the condom on our penis the quickest. Don’t worry, there are pictures. It was a fun day, but filled with information as usual. When I give the sex talk in my site I get to do the same thing. The PC gives me a penis and I have my students do a condom race, but a lot more accurate than today’s.
Friday night I went to Chacrasana with a ton of friends because my friend Chelsey’s mom was making hamburgers for everyone for 1.50S each. Everyone got fries, a burger and a beer and we all hung out. There were about 20 of us there and it was a good time all around. Before I went there, I went to the market in Chosica and bought some earrings, a new bracelet, a headband and a notebook for super cheap. My notebook is nice and tiny for my purse, but has a huge picture of baby Jesus in the back of it. No worries though, the inside cover has the silhouette of a naked woman too. Hmmm. I also got a water bottle since mine was stolen on the combi one day. Tomorrow marks one month of being in Peru. Only 26 more to go!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Typical training day
I thought I would write a blog about what type of things I do in training. We have Spanish class for four hours a day and in class everything is taught orally. We hardly ever have papers, except for homework, but it’s a very involved style of teaching. For instance, the day we learned how to formally and informally greet people, our teacher sent us out into the street to talk to people. When we learned how to tell people our daily routines and who we are, we went to the street to tell random people and ask who they are and what they do all day. Spanish is very different every day.
In my other training classes we focus on a lot of informal education. That means we are teaching class, but it is hands on. You can tell children all day how to wash their hands, but it is more fun and interesting if you are teaching them while having them do it or you show them how to do it. We learn different things like that every day and lately it has been about how to get information from people about their community. We have learned how to do FODA analysis…in English it’s a SWOT analysis. It is the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a community. I have talked about FREESTOP before and that is basically you just conversing with people asking them random questions out of FREESTOP, but at the same time you are learning a lot of information about the community. Another thing that is a lot of fun is to get kids to all work together on a map of their community, that way you can ask them about certain places in town or see what they really know about their town. Since not a girls go to school, they may not have a school listed in their city, but they may know where all the stores are. One other thing we do is draw a big yearly calendar and ask them questions about certain times of the year. What time of the year are certain foods more popular…what type of sickness do you get during this time of the year…when are you most sick…etc.
Other things we are taught during those four hours are about our safety and security. For example, how to report offenses, how to avoid them, what offenses are most common (in Peru it is said that every volunteer will have some type of theft or robber) and etc. We are also taught about our health. For example, the most common type of sickness (diarrhea in Peru), how to have proper nutrition when all you eat is rice, chicken and potatoes, how to not get sick, what to do when you are sick and etc.
What we do every day is different, but it’s always pretty interesting and fun. They know how to keep our attention here and everything is pretty easy to catch on to.
In my other training classes we focus on a lot of informal education. That means we are teaching class, but it is hands on. You can tell children all day how to wash their hands, but it is more fun and interesting if you are teaching them while having them do it or you show them how to do it. We learn different things like that every day and lately it has been about how to get information from people about their community. We have learned how to do FODA analysis…in English it’s a SWOT analysis. It is the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of a community. I have talked about FREESTOP before and that is basically you just conversing with people asking them random questions out of FREESTOP, but at the same time you are learning a lot of information about the community. Another thing that is a lot of fun is to get kids to all work together on a map of their community, that way you can ask them about certain places in town or see what they really know about their town. Since not a girls go to school, they may not have a school listed in their city, but they may know where all the stores are. One other thing we do is draw a big yearly calendar and ask them questions about certain times of the year. What time of the year are certain foods more popular…what type of sickness do you get during this time of the year…when are you most sick…etc.
Other things we are taught during those four hours are about our safety and security. For example, how to report offenses, how to avoid them, what offenses are most common (in Peru it is said that every volunteer will have some type of theft or robber) and etc. We are also taught about our health. For example, the most common type of sickness (diarrhea in Peru), how to have proper nutrition when all you eat is rice, chicken and potatoes, how to not get sick, what to do when you are sick and etc.
What we do every day is different, but it’s always pretty interesting and fun. They know how to keep our attention here and everything is pretty easy to catch on to.
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