paseo con las cabras

This past week, as I was walking to the neighboring town of Chipillico, I ran into a señora and her 12 goats. She was taking her goats on a walk from her house to her chakra (farm) so that they could graze. Usually I find that I walk a lot faster than most of the local people (which might be due to having 10 extra inches of legs and not being accustomed to the slow-moving culture that doesn’t believe in time constraints). But on that particular day, I decided to walk leisurely to share a conversation with the woman; and she walked pretty fast in order to keep up with me and her dozen goats. She told me about how excited and proud she was that her cow just gave birth to two calves earlier that day. We talked about our families, the rain, the new harvesting season. She asked me questions about my parents (my “papicitos,” as she called them) and what my land is like. Even though it was only a conversation that lasted a half hour, conversations like these are ones I will always remember.
People ask me if I get lonely here. It would be a lie to say I never get lonely. But getting to know my community members and immersing into their culture and way of life keeps me happy and reminds me why I am here and why I truly do love it. The people of my community have taught me so much and changed my perspective about happiness. Despite facing conditions of poverty, in their day-to-day lives they are content and appreciative with what they have. When I decided to do Peace Corps and come to Peru, I thought I was coming to teach and help a community in need. What I didn't realize was how much I would be learning from my community.

Here are some pictures from our “paseo.” Right after we snapped the picture where she is posing, we had to run after and herd the goats back together (a 15 minute process) because they saw the photo op as a great opportunity for them to run off and graze in some rice paddies. After this walk, I have newfound respect for herding. It was remarkable how this little old woman could keep these goats all together on her 3 mile walk.