3 semanas

I’ve been in my site now for over 3 weeks. I am still getting adjusted; there is a lot to get used to! But my family and all of the Julacaneros are all very nice, and I am beginning to accept that this is my home for the next two years.

It is definitely pretty hard to come into a new community as an outsider and establish yourself. Right now everyone here thinks of me as the new “psicologa” in town (just because I have a BA in psychology, to them means I’m a true professional who can cure everything). I’m trying to establish myself as the new peace corps volunteer here who will be doing other things besides giving therapy to their teenage boys who like to drink. I will be planning educational sessions and other activities on health issues such as nutrition, development, maternal healthcare, self-esteem, communication, hygiene, domestic abuse, etc. I will start working in the schools (although for the next two months, the kids are out on summer vacation), work more in the health center, visit families, as well as get to know the other organizations in the community.

I’ve heard that the first 3 months of Peace Corps service are the hardest, and I definitely believe that. Right now, I am just the tall white girl who walks around Julcán. People are nice to me, but they are still not quite sure what I’m doing here. To tell you the truth, I’m still not quite sure what I’m doing here either. But hopefully after a couple of months, we’ll all have that figured out.

promoción

This past week, I attended 3 promociones in and around Julcán. Promociones are essentially a combination of prom and graduation. After completing elementary school and high school, the students get really dressed up (in their rented prom-sytle attire) and participate in a huge party with their families and teachers. These parties include a large meal (goat head included), lots of speeches, gifts, cake, and dancing, a lot of dancing. The most interesting aspect for me is the aspect of parejas and padrinos. For elementary school, each student has a padrino (godparent) who accompanies them and escorts them to the promocion. The high schoolers have parejas (kind of like a prom date?) to escort them to the promocion. I was asked by parents of both a high schooler and elementary schooler to be a pareja and madrina. Not really knowing what I was getting myself into, I accepted. I had to get dressed up (but not as dressed up as the Peruvian girls, who even got their hair styled for these events!), get a gift for my “godson” and “prom date” for the two events. Both of them were quite interesting, and didn’t end till about 4 in the morning. Needless to say, I was exhausted this week from my promocion parties. Here are some pictures from the promocion for high school, with my pareja, John.

chugurpampa

Chugurpampa is a small town about a 2 hour walk away from Julcán (there are no cars here, so walking or riding a donkey is how we get there). Jason, one of the other volunteers is living and working in Chugurpampa. This town is even more rural and isolated than mine. We accompanied Jason to visit his new community of Chugurpampa for the first time and we experienced one of the most incredible welcomes I think anyone could ever imagine. Let me preface this by explaining that Chugurpampa is a tiny little community with about 100 families, no electricity, and even less contact with the outside world than Julcán. Not much goes on there, people work on the farm, eat, sleep, and spend time with their families. With that said, three gringos showing up in their community is a pretty big deal.

As we approached, fireworks literally started shooting off. A marching band approached us, as well as a group of 10 men, who we found out were the town leaders. The all shook our hands and led us to the front of the band. We were then instructed to start dancing the traditional dance of the area, Huayno (although the three of us were clueless about how to do this). Then, we were led to the school, where a stage was set up with loud speakers. We sat on stage while the band continued to play. A man in a suit started praising us and explaining how wonderful it was to have us in their town. We were then instructed to start dancing on stage. Two women came up to dance with Chris and Jason and a man came to dance with me. While we awkwardly attempted to dance Huayno on stage, the entire town watched us in awe (or confusion). The band played on while the man with a microphone praised the dancing of the three awkward tall white people (“¡Eso Rebequita!” he would say). When the music finally stopped, the entire audience was given a little glass of Inca Cola and everyone made a toast to the arrival of the newcomers. Then, we were handed the microphone and each of us had to introduce ourselves (and show off our broken Spanish with our strong accents) and explain our goals. It was wonderfully uncomfortable, but at the same time, we all felt very welcome. And of course, after the toast, we were instructed to dance in front of everyone on stage again.

The celebration at the school was followed by a town soccer game, a huge meal, and, of course, more dancing. These welcome festivities literally lasted 12 hours until Jason, Chris, and I practically had to beg them to stop the music, as we were exhausted from hours of dancing. I will remember the day probably for the rest of my life, partly for the awkwardness, but mostly for how open and kind these Peruvians were towards us. I have never felt so welcome.

We’ve visited Chugurpampa several times since our initial visit, and are always greeted with a warm welcome. Jason will hopefully be very happy there.

mi nueva hogar

Here are some pictures of my new home in Julcán. I live in a little house behind my family’s main house. The living conditions are definitely something I will have to get used to. But my new family is very kind and welcoming; and hopefully before long, I will be comfortable in my new home.

gringuita

As I walk the streets of Julcán, I hear “¡hola gringita!” coming from little kids or grandmothers sitting on their doorsteps. Gringuita (or “little gringa,” or “little white girl”) is apparently my new nickname here. News spread fast that a new gringa is in town. As much of an adjustment it is for me to be in this new Andean community, I realize that having a new white girl in town is also a change for the people of Julcán.

julcán: mi comunidad nueva

I am finally an official Peace Corps Volunteer! I arrived in my new community, Julcán, La Libertad. At an altitude of 3500 meters (over 10,000 ft), Julcán is a beautiful site in the Andes Mountains. It is very rural: donkeys, pigs, chickens, and little children running around everywhere. (There is also no internet access, which means I have even more limited time to update this blog! So, I apologize for the short entries). Practically everyone in my community is a potato farmer. The people have been very welcoming, but also a little shy towards me. The population of Julcán itself is about 4,000 people. I will also be working in caserios (smaller communities) surrounding the town of Julcán.
There are two other Peace Corps Volunteers in Julcan with me. Jason and Chris will be working in the Water and Sanitation program, while I’m working in the Health Program. During my first three months here, I will be working on a community diagnostic to get to know the community and assess its needs.

enjuramiento

On Friday, we had our official Peace Corps swearing-in ceremony. All 48 of us made it through training and were sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers. The ceremony was very nice. Guests included members of the US Embassy, Michael Hirsh, the Peace Corps Country Director, Peace Corps Peru Staff, and our host families.
The day itself was agri-dulce (bitter-sweet) because while it was exciting to become an official volunteer, we also had to say goodbye to our host families. After the celebration, we were all bussed away to Lima.

despedidas

Last week, as training came to a close, I had to say goodbye to my host family and community. To show our gratitude for our families in Huascaran, all of the Huascaran volunteers planned a fiesta de helado (ice-cream social). Our families loved it!
In return, the host mothers of Huascaran planned a fiesta for the trainees. We had dinner, vino, cake, and dancing. It was a great way to celebrate all together as a community before the volunteers left for their sites.