paseo en piura con mayra y gloria

Once or twice a month, I travel 4 hours to Piura, my capital city, to take a break from my site, take a shower, use the internet, grocery shop, and eat at my favorite vegetarian restaurant. Few people from my town have been to the city. It is relatively expensive to get there ($5) and city life does not seem to appeal to most of the older people. They say that there are too many cars, crime, and people in the city. They prefer the “tranquilo” lifestyle of the campo. I agree with them for the most part, I prefer being in my beautiful site where I know everyone. But, for me, it is nice to have running water and other amenities that I’m accustomed to every once in a while. Also, coming to the city means communicate with and accessing the outside world via internet. Not to mention, how would I update you all on la vida peruana blog if it weren’t for my visits to the city?

The two little seven year old girls in my host family, Mayra Tatiana and Gloria Marina always seem very curious when I leave home for the city. For months, I have been promising that we’ll take a trip together to the city. So, right now, as I type, little Mayra and Gloria are here amazed by the internet. We are staying at the hostal where I always stay, and I’m sure if any of you saw this place you would be less than amazed. But, Gloria and Mayra feel like they are in a luxurious palace. They are calling it “el castillo” (the castle). In the first place, this is literally the first time that they have ever walked up a flight of stairs. I had to hold their hands as we walked up to the fourth floor of the hostal. Taking a shower (and seeing running water!) was quite an experience as well. When we brushed our teeth the first night they asked me where to spit their toothpaste because they are used to spitting on the ground. They were surprised that they were allowed to spit in the sink! I took them to a pool, the movie theater, the mall, and different parks. We all have had a great time together and I am hoping that this will remind them that there is a world outside of our little village and maybe one day they will want to come here to study.

bibiloteca

One of the big projects I have been working on down here is constructing a community library and implementing a literacy program for the children and youth of the community. I had no idea what I was getting into when I decided to start this project. I am essentially the general contractor of construction of a building. This would be hard for me as it is; and I’m doing this in another culture and language. We have finally started construction of the building after many months of planning and fundraising. I will continue to post updates about the progress of this project.

I would like to especially thank Elaine, Katherine, Caroline Knight and their family and friends who made a large donation to the library in honor of their husband and father Dr. Jim Knight. Jim was a wonderful man committed to humanitarian work in the developing world. I feel honored to be doing the work in the library in Jim’s name.

ancash

Huaraz is definitely on of the most beautiful places in Peru. In the middle of the snow-capped Andes mountains, the town and surrounding areas is an interesting combination of pre-Spanish conquest and western culture. There are a lot of tourists there for the treking and outdoor activies in the Cordillera Blanca and Huascaran National Park. The indigenous people there walk around in their traditional garb and speak Quechua, the pre-Spanish indigenous language.
Mollie and I had a great time touring around the city and going on hikes in the National Park. The area is covered in amazing glacial lakes and snow capped mountains. We hiked to altitudes above 15,000 feet (and definitely felt the effects!) and were astonished by the spectacular views.
I’m so happy that Mollie had the opportunity to come down and see me down here. It is always so nice to have someone from home see my life in my new (temporary) home. We had a great time together and I’m glad I’ll get to see her again in Charlottesville in a little over 4 months!

visita de mollie

At the end of June, my good friend Mollie from Charlottesville visited me in Peru. She came into Piura, the capital city and we toured around the city for the day. Then, we went off to my site for a few days. It was so nice to have her experience the ups and downs of living in Pampa Elera. She understood that even though it all is certainly not glamorous (the pigs, the dirt floor, the “latrine”, etc), I am having an experience of a lifetime down here. After meeting my friends and family down here, we travel about 24 hours to Huaraz, Ancash.

fin de construcción de las cocinas

After a lot of unexpected obstacles and stress, the community and I have FINALLY finished constructing 51 stoves in the community! It is so rewarding to see 51 little chimneys popped out of houses around the community. When I walk down the street people call out to me asking me when more stoves will arive to the community (hopefully my replacement volunteer can also do a project). But the mothers who do have the stoves are very appreciative and excited about all of the benefits of their new stoves. It is nice to have this load lifted off my back to have this project semi-completed. Now, I am just working on monitoring and evaluation of the project. I am continuing to visit the 51 families with my health promoters to ensure that they are still practicing healthy habits and using their stoves correctly.

valor

The Peace Corps volunteers of Piura organize leadership camps for youth two times a year. In February, we organized a camp for adolescent women and in June we organized a camp for adoloscent men. The three day camp aims to strengthen leadership abilities, community awareness in the youth to prevent machismo, alcoholism, domestic abuse, etc, as well as explore options for the future after high school. Each volunteer brings young leaders from his or her community so that they can meet other kids from around the area. The camps are definitely one of my favorite projects that I work on here because I get to see real changes in the kids that I work with. I took Deyvi and Andy, two kids that I have worked with in past projects. Neither of them had thought much about career options or university options after high school. On the way home from the camp, all they were talking about was how much fun they had at the camp and how they actually do want to succeed after high school, rather than stay in their community for the rest of their lives, get married at 18, and work on the farm.

cumpleaños de jesica

It is hard to believe that my little host cousin Jesica just had her 1st birthday in the end of June. Jesica is the daughter of Raul, the youngest son in the Garcia family of 9 children, and his wife, Roxana. Jessica was born when my parents and sister visited last year. She was named after my sister, Jessica, who everyone STILL talks about all of the time. Little Jesica is cute as can be and just started walking! The first birthday is a big deal in this culture and if the family has enough resources, they will throw a party. The parties are really cute because they have the exact same traditions for every party. My favorite is when the dancing starts. The little kids dancing cumbia and salsa is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.