3 years ago
Thursday, September 25, 2008
la dama de la primavera
September 23 was the first day of spring in Peru (weird for you North Americans experiencing Autumn, huh?). In Ana’s fifth grade classroom, this is a big deal and they have a big party. All of the schools also have a big tradition of having, what I can only compare to something like prom/homecoming court. The class votes on the “mejora amiga” and “damas de la mejora amiga.” Ana’s class voted her “the first lady” of the class for the first day of spring party. This was a very big ordeal in our house for the past couple of days. Diosabel rented Ana a really fancy dress and shoes and curled her hair. Check out the pictures, they’re really cute!
partido de fútbol
The 47 PC volunteers are divided among tour towns: Huascaran, 3 de Octubre, Chacrasana, and Yanacoto. In 3 de Octubre, there is a fútbol tournament currently going on. The PC volunteers were invited to form a team for the tournament. However they were warned that the “gringo team” never wins. In fact, they usually lose pretty badly. The other night I went to one of the games to cheer on the fellow gringos. We heard that girls can’t really play because these games are really aggressive and intense. When we got to 3 de Octumbre, we saw that this was in fact true. Our gringo team was playing the taxistas (cab drivers) of the town. It was a great game, and, as forewarned, very aggressive and intense. Unfortunately, we lost (but we won the next night!). Afterwards, a group of us went over to a fellow trainee, James’, family’s house to hang out. Here are some pictures of the fútbol game and hanging out on James’ roof after the game…
Sunday, September 21, 2008
¡cumpleaños!
Today is Anita´s eleventh birthday. It is also my first free day since the start of training (we will always have Sundays off to spend time with our families). This morning Carlito, Anita, Diosabel and I went to Chosica, the neighboring town, which is a little bit bigger than Chaclacayo. We went to the market, which was quite an experience. Definitely a little different than your average Harris Teeter visit.
In Chosica´s market, practically anything you´d ever want you can get. From underwear, to black market Dark Knight DVDs, to kittens, to all types of Peruvian fruits, vegetables, spices, and.... meats (I´ll get to the carne later on...). People from all of the neighboring communities come to the market in Chosica to do their shopping. Today, because it is Ana´s birthday, we catered our shopping trip to her favorite foods. We bought strawberries, palta (avacado), and many other fruits and veggies that I can´t remember the names of. All of this was a fun experience for me. But then....
I found out that the family´s favorite food was ayacuchos, or... cow heart. I have been trying to do a good job eating the chicken I get every day, and so far I have been surviving being a non-vegetarian (I told my madre that I didn´t eat red meat. When she told me about cow heart, she explained that its not red meat...). The problem was not only would I have to face eating the cow heart, I´d also have to experience buying the raw, fresh, bloody cow heart.
For those of you who have been to a Latin American market, you know all about the meat section (Mom, remember our semi-anxiety attack in Guatemala?). Dead animal bodies are everywhere. You pass by dirty feathery chickens hanging upside down. Sometimes a guy comes by rolling a wheel barrow with an entire pig. And every part of the animals are available. After being a vegetarian for over half of my life, you can understand that this was difficult for me. Diosabel, trying to be nice and educate me about the market, pointed out the tripe, the intestines, the brain, the tounge, the hoof, and, of course, the heart. I politely nodded and smiled, while I tried to keep my breakfast down.
Sorry for being overly dramatic. I obviously survived and tried to be a big girl in the meat section. When we got home, we started making Ana´s birthdy lunch. Ana explained to me that this meal was very special (and I think pretty expensive for them) and they don´t get to eat this delicacy often, but it was a special occasion. Although it was not my favorite meal, I politely ate it. Not sure how my stomach is going to be doing later...
Today I also gave Ana the birthday gift I got for her. We always play in the park across the street (see picture below) with her friends. They play a game with a torn up piece of string. The game involves jumping over the string and singing ¨Inca Cola, Inca Cola¨. It reminded me of jump rope, so I decided to get her a jump rope for her birthday. Yesterday we went to Lima and I searched the streets for hours trying to find una cuedra de saltar. I was so happy when I finally found one. When I gave jump rope to Ana today, she was very excited. She´ll definitely be the quite popular on the playground now!
In Chosica´s market, practically anything you´d ever want you can get. From underwear, to black market Dark Knight DVDs, to kittens, to all types of Peruvian fruits, vegetables, spices, and.... meats (I´ll get to the carne later on...). People from all of the neighboring communities come to the market in Chosica to do their shopping. Today, because it is Ana´s birthday, we catered our shopping trip to her favorite foods. We bought strawberries, palta (avacado), and many other fruits and veggies that I can´t remember the names of. All of this was a fun experience for me. But then....
I found out that the family´s favorite food was ayacuchos, or... cow heart. I have been trying to do a good job eating the chicken I get every day, and so far I have been surviving being a non-vegetarian (I told my madre that I didn´t eat red meat. When she told me about cow heart, she explained that its not red meat...). The problem was not only would I have to face eating the cow heart, I´d also have to experience buying the raw, fresh, bloody cow heart.
For those of you who have been to a Latin American market, you know all about the meat section (Mom, remember our semi-anxiety attack in Guatemala?). Dead animal bodies are everywhere. You pass by dirty feathery chickens hanging upside down. Sometimes a guy comes by rolling a wheel barrow with an entire pig. And every part of the animals are available. After being a vegetarian for over half of my life, you can understand that this was difficult for me. Diosabel, trying to be nice and educate me about the market, pointed out the tripe, the intestines, the brain, the tounge, the hoof, and, of course, the heart. I politely nodded and smiled, while I tried to keep my breakfast down.
Sorry for being overly dramatic. I obviously survived and tried to be a big girl in the meat section. When we got home, we started making Ana´s birthdy lunch. Ana explained to me that this meal was very special (and I think pretty expensive for them) and they don´t get to eat this delicacy often, but it was a special occasion. Although it was not my favorite meal, I politely ate it. Not sure how my stomach is going to be doing later...
Today I also gave Ana the birthday gift I got for her. We always play in the park across the street (see picture below) with her friends. They play a game with a torn up piece of string. The game involves jumping over the string and singing ¨Inca Cola, Inca Cola¨. It reminded me of jump rope, so I decided to get her a jump rope for her birthday. Yesterday we went to Lima and I searched the streets for hours trying to find una cuedra de saltar. I was so happy when I finally found one. When I gave jump rope to Ana today, she was very excited. She´ll definitely be the quite popular on the playground now!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
mi nueva familia y comunidad
I think living with a family seems like the best part of the three months of training. It will be the a great way to acculturate and figure out the norms and behaviors of every day life in Peru. I met my new family on Sunday. Diosabel, Carlito, and Anita Humpire picked me up from the training center and we schlepped all of my luggage to the nearby town of Huascaran.
The Humpire family consists of:
Carlos, my padre, is a police officer in Lima. Carlos works a lot during the night and often is not at the house. I actually have only met him once. I still haven’t quite figured out his schedule, so I’m not sure how much I’ll actually be seeing of him.
Diosabel, my madre, recently got her university degree in nutrition. As a newly converted carnivore (well, actually just poultry-vore for now), I feel like I am in good hands with my nutritionist mom. For the past few days that I’ve lived under her roof, I have felt very welcome and at home. While there is a lot to get used to, I feel like I’ve really lucked out with my new madre. For example, when I’ve expressed my concern and anxiety about getting lost and navigating the scary combis (buses), Diosabel sat me down and drew a detailed map of our town and reassured me I´ll be ok getting around. While Diosabel certainly won’t replace Marcia, she seems like she’ll do a good job fulfilling the matronly position in my new Peruvian life.
Carlos, or Carlito, is my 14 year old brother. Carlos attends military school in Lima, where he stays during the week. So, like his father Carlos, I won’t be seeing him a lot. But from the time we spent together on Sunday, he seems very nice. He likes the Simpsons a lot, so I know I’ll be able to bond with him about Bart and Lisa.
Ana, or Anita, is my 10 year old sister. I was soo excited when I saw her pick me up with her brother and mother. Kids are definitely the best and easiest way for me to feel comfortable and build a connection. As soon as I got to my new home, Anita and I were best friends. She asked me when my birthday was and has already started planning a fiesta in November. She wants to make me a chocolate cake and play lots of games. Anita and I have been playing cards a lot. She rocked me in Gin; but the tables were turned when I taught her Ochos Locos (crazy eights), and I beat her.
My abuela (grandmother) and tío (uncle) live next door to us. The grandmother is very sweet, and also very funny. She has made me feel right at home. Like any other grandmother, Abuelita makes sure Ana and I are eating enough and that we are safe out on the street, and that we do our homework. She’s great. And finally, Jesús, Diosabel’s brother, is 21 years old. He loves Eminem and 50 Cent and wants to know everything about America. We made a deal that if I became his English professor, he would help me with my Spanish and also show me the ropes around Chaclacayo. I’m looking forward to having a local friend my age.
The Humpire family consists of:
Carlos, my padre, is a police officer in Lima. Carlos works a lot during the night and often is not at the house. I actually have only met him once. I still haven’t quite figured out his schedule, so I’m not sure how much I’ll actually be seeing of him.
Diosabel, my madre, recently got her university degree in nutrition. As a newly converted carnivore (well, actually just poultry-vore for now), I feel like I am in good hands with my nutritionist mom. For the past few days that I’ve lived under her roof, I have felt very welcome and at home. While there is a lot to get used to, I feel like I’ve really lucked out with my new madre. For example, when I’ve expressed my concern and anxiety about getting lost and navigating the scary combis (buses), Diosabel sat me down and drew a detailed map of our town and reassured me I´ll be ok getting around. While Diosabel certainly won’t replace Marcia, she seems like she’ll do a good job fulfilling the matronly position in my new Peruvian life.
Carlos, or Carlito, is my 14 year old brother. Carlos attends military school in Lima, where he stays during the week. So, like his father Carlos, I won’t be seeing him a lot. But from the time we spent together on Sunday, he seems very nice. He likes the Simpsons a lot, so I know I’ll be able to bond with him about Bart and Lisa.
Ana, or Anita, is my 10 year old sister. I was soo excited when I saw her pick me up with her brother and mother. Kids are definitely the best and easiest way for me to feel comfortable and build a connection. As soon as I got to my new home, Anita and I were best friends. She asked me when my birthday was and has already started planning a fiesta in November. She wants to make me a chocolate cake and play lots of games. Anita and I have been playing cards a lot. She rocked me in Gin; but the tables were turned when I taught her Ochos Locos (crazy eights), and I beat her.
My abuela (grandmother) and tío (uncle) live next door to us. The grandmother is very sweet, and also very funny. She has made me feel right at home. Like any other grandmother, Abuelita makes sure Ana and I are eating enough and that we are safe out on the street, and that we do our homework. She’s great. And finally, Jesús, Diosabel’s brother, is 21 years old. He loves Eminem and 50 Cent and wants to know everything about America. We made a deal that if I became his English professor, he would help me with my Spanish and also show me the ropes around Chaclacayo. I’m looking forward to having a local friend my age.
visitadores
As of Monday, we have 113 additional Americans with us in Chaclacayo. Because of political unrest in our neighboring country, Bolivia, the US government decided to evacuate all of the Peace Corps Bolivia volunteers. Bolivian President Evo Morales, a good friend of Hugo Chávez, asked the US ambassador to leave Bolivia earlier this week. The US government then decided it was not safe for the PC volunteers to remain in Bolivia, as they are associated with the government. The last PC group to be evacuated was the group of volunteers in Georgia.
It’s been great to get to know these volunteers and learn about their experiences in the PC. However they all seem very stressed out right now with their current situation. It sounds like most of them will terminate their service early, although some are planning on returning to their sites and completing their projects on their own (without the support of the US government).
Here’s a link for more information (thanks aislinn!) :
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/09/16/bolivia.peace.corps/index.html
It’s been great to get to know these volunteers and learn about their experiences in the PC. However they all seem very stressed out right now with their current situation. It sounds like most of them will terminate their service early, although some are planning on returning to their sites and completing their projects on their own (without the support of the US government).
Here’s a link for more information (thanks aislinn!) :
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/09/16/bolivia.peace.corps/index.html
¡estoy aquí!
The past few days have been very hectic, but I have finally settled down in my new home. I apologize for the delay of updating the blog, but this is the first chance I’ve gotten to sit down and write. We arrived in Lima late on Friday night and took a bus to a retreat center. We spent the next day in orientation and getting to know the Peace Corps Peru staff. All of the staff gave us a very warm welcome. It seems like they will all be great resources for us.
The retreat also gave us the opportunity to get to know all of the other trainees better. Everyone seems very nice and I’m excited to get to know everyone. We come from all over the US: from California to Nebraska to Hawaii to Puerto Rico to New York to Virginia (I have 4 fellow Virginians in my group!). There are a lot of us who are right out of college or grad school or a few years out of school. There is also a married couple as well as a 65 year old woman who has been a nurse for many years. All of us seem to get along well. The next 3 months of training will give us a chance to share our experiences as well as grow as a team in order to serve the Peruvian communities as best as we can.
On Sunday, we were taken to the Training Center in Chaclacayo, a town about an hour away from Lima. The Center is a beautiful house that has been converted into a place for us to train as well as office space for some of the PC staff (check out the pics!). We will be spending some of our days in the next 3 months at the center with the Peace Corps staff, while we’ll spend other days in our neighboring communities. We have been separated into 5 nearby towns. I live in Huascaran with 11 other trainees. Huascaran is about a 15 minute walk to the training center. Some days I will walk to the training center, other days I’ll take a combi (mini-bus) to a nearby community to do training at a fellow trainee’s house, and other days fellow trainees will come to my host family’s house for training. I think it will be a great experience to have some of the training in the home, as we will be immersed in the Peruvian culture and language.
In addition to intensive language training, the pre-service training will focus on increasing our abilities to (1) facilitate participative community development, (2) build the capacity as a co-facilitator, learner, mentor and change agent, (3) integrate into a Peruvian community, (4) practice personal safety and wellness as a volunteer in Peru, and (5) participate as a professional in the Peace Corps Peru mission and focus.
The retreat also gave us the opportunity to get to know all of the other trainees better. Everyone seems very nice and I’m excited to get to know everyone. We come from all over the US: from California to Nebraska to Hawaii to Puerto Rico to New York to Virginia (I have 4 fellow Virginians in my group!). There are a lot of us who are right out of college or grad school or a few years out of school. There is also a married couple as well as a 65 year old woman who has been a nurse for many years. All of us seem to get along well. The next 3 months of training will give us a chance to share our experiences as well as grow as a team in order to serve the Peruvian communities as best as we can.
On Sunday, we were taken to the Training Center in Chaclacayo, a town about an hour away from Lima. The Center is a beautiful house that has been converted into a place for us to train as well as office space for some of the PC staff (check out the pics!). We will be spending some of our days in the next 3 months at the center with the Peace Corps staff, while we’ll spend other days in our neighboring communities. We have been separated into 5 nearby towns. I live in Huascaran with 11 other trainees. Huascaran is about a 15 minute walk to the training center. Some days I will walk to the training center, other days I’ll take a combi (mini-bus) to a nearby community to do training at a fellow trainee’s house, and other days fellow trainees will come to my host family’s house for training. I think it will be a great experience to have some of the training in the home, as we will be immersed in the Peruvian culture and language.
In addition to intensive language training, the pre-service training will focus on increasing our abilities to (1) facilitate participative community development, (2) build the capacity as a co-facilitator, learner, mentor and change agent, (3) integrate into a Peruvian community, (4) practice personal safety and wellness as a volunteer in Peru, and (5) participate as a professional in the Peace Corps Peru mission and focus.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
finalmente!
The day has finally arrived. After much anticipating, packing (and unpacking and repacking), I have started with the Peace Corps! I am currently in Washington DC for Staging. I have met the 46 other PC volunteers and everyone seems very nice. I can't wait to get to know everyone. The other volunteers are either doing community health promotion with me, environmental education and awareness, or water sanitation. We will be here in DC doing pre-training until Friday and then we'll fly to Lima!
Saying my goodbyes was pretty hard. I feel very lucky to have so many supportive and caring people in my life. Thank you to everyone! I know that I am going to miss everyone a lot; but I also know that you all will be enjoying yourselves in the States (or Colombia... or Ireland... or Thailand...or wherever you are!) while I'm away. And I look forward to coming back and seeing you all again! I hope you all will also be reading the blog and staying in touch with me ;-)
Next time I write I'll be in Peru! Yay!
Saying my goodbyes was pretty hard. I feel very lucky to have so many supportive and caring people in my life. Thank you to everyone! I know that I am going to miss everyone a lot; but I also know that you all will be enjoying yourselves in the States (or Colombia... or Ireland... or Thailand...or wherever you are!) while I'm away. And I look forward to coming back and seeing you all again! I hope you all will also be reading the blog and staying in touch with me ;-)
Next time I write I'll be in Peru! Yay!
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