Buenas tardes from Peru! Yet another week of Peace Corps training has flown by. This week went especially quickly because it was packed with opportunities for practical experience and field trips. I also got to spend a significant amount of time bonding with my host family and getting used to daily life in Peru. For the most part this was fun but, as in any adventure, not everything was smooth sailing. On Sunday night while I was preparing for bed, I felt a slight shaking and heard a rattle. At first thought that it was a chicken on my tin roof or a truck going by but within seconds my heart started racing and I realized that I was experiencing my first tremor. I ran out into the hallway barefoot and by the time I got there it had already ended but my entire family was in the hall in time to make fun of me for coming out with no shoes on. Apparently the protocol is to run out into an open space but I was having flashbacks to climbing under desks during earthquake drills at Ainsworth Elementary. Now I know what to do which is good since apparently I will be experiencing at least one tremor if not an earthquake every time the seasons change. I don't know if this is something that I will get used to.
On Monday I went to the local library for my usually volunteering but this week was particularly exciting because we facilitated a self-esteem building exercise rather than just playing games. We asked all the kids, age 6-16, to draw what they want to be when they grow up and, of course, we did the same. Even though these kids come from difficult home situations, they overcame their initial hesitation and drew excellent pictures of themselves as singers, doctors, accountants, veterinarians, fishermen, and other ambitious professions. All of them were proud that their drawings were better than my stick figure of an environmental lawyer. This was a great activity that I will definitely be using at my site to get kids to think about their future and their dreams.
On Tuesday, I also got to work with local children as an activity for my environmental education training. My friend Peter and I designed a lesson about different types of pollution and delivered it to the 14 and 15 year olds in the community colegio (school). The lesson went very well because the kids were knowledgeable and engaged. At the end we wrote up a list of things that we would do to help stop pollution in our communities and we all signed it. It was an incredibly successful activity and I look forward to using it in my site.
On Thursday, we got to go on a field trip to Lomas de Lachay national protected area about 3.5 hours from the training center. This protected area is a pocket of vegetation on the otherwise arid coast. This phenomenon occurs because the hills capture the fog that rolls up off the Pacific Ocean. There is enough fog that these hills are completely green during the wet season while everything around them stays sandy and dry. After hiking the perimeter of the park, we helped in their reforestation efforts by planting about a hundred seedlings. This was excellent practice for our task of planting a thousand trees once we get to our permanent sites.
On Friday we went on another field trip to a protected area called Pantanos de Villa which is a wetland located on the outskirts of Lima. It is an interesting protected space because it is surrounded by young communities where poor people have recently invaded and built houses without any legal claim to the land. Any land that is not directly being used in Peru is at risk of being invaded due to property laws that are less than clear. This concept has been incredibly difficult for all of the trainees to wrap our heads around because we are so used to every inch of land being accounted for by a legal contract. Despite the problems that face this protected area, it is the home to many species of beautiful birds, some of which we got to see during our short visit. It was wonderful to get to see some of the wildlife and get a first hand look at the challenges that Peru faces in protecting the important ecosystems that exist here.
Overall, it has been a wonderful week. I got to go on adventures, meet new people, see a variety of ecosystems, work with children, and I even got mail from home (thanks to mom, dad, and grandma Betty). Next week I will be heading up into the Andes for field based training and I will even be staying at the site of a current volunteer! These experiences should be very eye opening as I look ahead from my very well supported life as a trainee into the more rugged lifestyle of an actual Peace Corps Volunteer. I hope all is well back in the states! Eat some extra pizza for me!
P.S. I am reading the most incredible book right now that I would recommend to all of you. It is called Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder and it is the true story of Paul Farmer, a doctor who worked extensively in Haiti and Peru
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Half Way Through Training
Hola todos! I just finished week 5 of training which means that I am exactly half way through Peace Corps training and well on my way to becoming an actual Peace Corps volunteer. As a side note, I am currently sitting in my dining room with my dad and brother watching WWF on TV. They have no idea that it is staged and are, therefore, shocked that the guy wasn't quick enough to get out of the way before the chair came down on his head. I am a little bit embarrassed by the cultural exports of my country at the moment.
This week, we made the transition from more language oriented training into the technical, practical experience oriented phase of training. Since it was more hands on, the week was a lot more fun than past weeks have been. We had a trash management practicum on Thursday, which consisted of every student bringing a day's worth of trash to the center to be sorted. As if our host families and communities already didn't think we were weird, now we ask to bring their trash to the center and then take it with us on public transportation. Between this and WWF, I can't imagine what they think of the US. Once we got our trash to the center, we spent the day digging through it, sorting it, weighing it, and talking about it in order to find out what people are throwing away and how this could be reduced by implementing a recycling system. This is a tool some volunteers use to have numbers to back up waste management plans that they propose once they get to site.
On Friday, we went to a small rural town, which was supposed to be similar to a site we might encounter. The original plan was to walk around and talk to the local people about natural resources in order to practice doing a community diagnostic (our fancy term for getting to know a community). We got in the Peace Corps van and started our slow and steady drive up the Carretera Central to an altitude of about 8,000 ft. We only had to stop once along the way to wait for our overheated engine to cool off. Once we got there, things did not go exactly as planned because everyone in the community was working on remodeling the community center so no one could really talk to us. We ended up going on an amazing hike up into the hills to a waterfall. Since we live in a desert type ecosystem, it was great to get up into an area where there is vegetation.
One of the highlights of my week was returning home to find that my sister had been given a new kitten. I was immediately deemed the godmother of the kitten and asked to name it. I decided to name it Vampiro (I would be lying if I said this has nothing to do with my current obsession with Twilight). The name then got extended to Chucky (named after the doll from the horror movie) Vampiro Vazquez Zevallos (my family's last name).
Today, Sunday I woke up and went to teach English at the grade school in my small town. Two friends and I ended up teaching about ten kids some of whom were more excited to be there than others. After English class, I cooked French toast and an omelet for my family. It wasn't amazing but they definitely enjoyed it, especially the mango-strawberry topping I made for the French toast. After lunch I did laundry with my host mom which is great because we get to chat and laugh while she watches me struggle to scrub spots out of my old socks. I am definitely not as much of a perfectionist as she is when it comes to getting whites their whitest by hand. I got some great pictures of my mom, abuelita, and I drinking beers over the wash tub which I will put up once I find a fast enough internet connection.
I hope all is well!! Please keep me updated on your lives! Also, if you have a different email that you would like me to email you at, please let me know. I want to keep in touch with everyone for the next two years. Keep it real for me in the states, miss you all!!
This week, we made the transition from more language oriented training into the technical, practical experience oriented phase of training. Since it was more hands on, the week was a lot more fun than past weeks have been. We had a trash management practicum on Thursday, which consisted of every student bringing a day's worth of trash to the center to be sorted. As if our host families and communities already didn't think we were weird, now we ask to bring their trash to the center and then take it with us on public transportation. Between this and WWF, I can't imagine what they think of the US. Once we got our trash to the center, we spent the day digging through it, sorting it, weighing it, and talking about it in order to find out what people are throwing away and how this could be reduced by implementing a recycling system. This is a tool some volunteers use to have numbers to back up waste management plans that they propose once they get to site.
On Friday, we went to a small rural town, which was supposed to be similar to a site we might encounter. The original plan was to walk around and talk to the local people about natural resources in order to practice doing a community diagnostic (our fancy term for getting to know a community). We got in the Peace Corps van and started our slow and steady drive up the Carretera Central to an altitude of about 8,000 ft. We only had to stop once along the way to wait for our overheated engine to cool off. Once we got there, things did not go exactly as planned because everyone in the community was working on remodeling the community center so no one could really talk to us. We ended up going on an amazing hike up into the hills to a waterfall. Since we live in a desert type ecosystem, it was great to get up into an area where there is vegetation.
One of the highlights of my week was returning home to find that my sister had been given a new kitten. I was immediately deemed the godmother of the kitten and asked to name it. I decided to name it Vampiro (I would be lying if I said this has nothing to do with my current obsession with Twilight). The name then got extended to Chucky (named after the doll from the horror movie) Vampiro Vazquez Zevallos (my family's last name).
Today, Sunday I woke up and went to teach English at the grade school in my small town. Two friends and I ended up teaching about ten kids some of whom were more excited to be there than others. After English class, I cooked French toast and an omelet for my family. It wasn't amazing but they definitely enjoyed it, especially the mango-strawberry topping I made for the French toast. After lunch I did laundry with my host mom which is great because we get to chat and laugh while she watches me struggle to scrub spots out of my old socks. I am definitely not as much of a perfectionist as she is when it comes to getting whites their whitest by hand. I got some great pictures of my mom, abuelita, and I drinking beers over the wash tub which I will put up once I find a fast enough internet connection.
I hope all is well!! Please keep me updated on your lives! Also, if you have a different email that you would like me to email you at, please let me know. I want to keep in touch with everyone for the next two years. Keep it real for me in the states, miss you all!!
Life is Misky Misky (delicious in Quechua)
Hola todos! It has been a crazy and eventful week here in Peru. It started off last Saturday night with a wild party in my neighborhood celebrating the saint of this region. The festivities started around 10:30 pm and consisted of local food, beer, and dancing. I even got to participate in the traditional passing of the vaso, which is where everyone passes around a glass and fills it with beer for themselves. You hardly ever see anyone drinking out of the bottle here because it is a communal activity right down to the shared germs. I was honored that my host dad included me in the activity. The party didn't really get started until about 12 when they started lighting the toros locos which, are towers covered in fireworks that spray sparks in every direction. This got to be a bit nerve wracking when I was standing within 15 feet of one and the sparks headed in my direction. There is not the same healthy respect for fireworks here as there is in the United States. After dancing (rather comically) until 2:30 my younger siblings and I headed home while my host parents continued to party until 5 am! It was quite an experience.
After the fiesta the night before, I assumed that the community had gotten their fill of fireworks but I grossly underestimated Yanacoto's appreciation for explosions. The next day I attended the 32nd anniversary of the local grade school. Prior to the fireworks display, each class performed a traditional Peruvian dance. Interspersed among the traditional dances were routines choreographed by the student's themselves including a Michael Jackson tribute, a breakdance routine, and a routine set to a techno version of the Titanic theme song. The last two dances included some amateur stunt work resulting in two unconscious students. I was pretty unnerved watching one student after the other dragged off the dance floor while the others continued dancing. As if this wasn't enough excitement, the graduating class then proceeded to light the toro loco and frolic in the sparks. My gringo friends and I were unsure what to do with ourselves but we were the only ones who seemed very concerned. Attending community events like this one has been my best strategy in getting accustomed to the culture and enjoying myself.
On Monday and Wednesday after training, I had the opportunity to volunteer at the community library with some other trainees. The director of the library is an amazing woman who invites local children, many of whom have alcoholic or drug addicted parents, to spend time after school socializing, doing homework, and just relaxing. Her goal is to take their minds off of their difficult circumstances for a few hours and hopefully build some self-esteem. The children range in age from 6-16 and were incredibly excited to see us. This week our activities included lots of introduction games but my favorite activity was drawing with them. We asked them to draw their favorite thing about Peru and then we drew our favorite things about the United States. From their reactions to the questions, it seemed as if they had never been asked this type of question before. Many of the kids ended up drawing the Andes Mountains ,which, as an environmental education volunteer, was a very satisfying result.
Thursday of this week was a holiday and my host mother's birthday. We had a half-day of training so I returned home to celebrate with my family. We ate a very special, traditional dish called Pachamanca which consists of pork, chicken, multiple kinds of potatoes, and beans all placed in a pit of hot rocks, covered in more hot rocks and leaves, and then buried in dirt to cook under ground for 45 minutes. The result is an incredibly flavorful mix of traditional Peruvian meats and vegetables. During the process of cooking and eating the Pachamanca, I sat around with my family and passed the vaso of cerveza, all around a great way to spend a Thursday afternoon.
On Saturday, after our visit to the Agrarian University I headed into Lima to meet up with my host sister and get my camera fixed. The good news is that it now works but the bad news is that I spent 2 weeks allowance to get it fixed. I just hope that it lasts me my entire time here. Although I am a bit frustrated by having to spend so much, I got to spend an excellent day walking around Lima with someone that lives there and now I will be able to document my adventures.
So far I have spent all of my Sundays with my family going to the market, cooking lunch, and relaxing. This week, I decided to go on a short hike about an hour away from the town I live in with my friend Raija. The plan was to get there early, hike up to the ruins and the waterfall, and get home for lunch. The hike was beautiful. It wound up through an arid hillside along a stream passing by a rather disappointing and fake looking ruin and then ending at a picturesque waterfall. We soaked our feet in the water and chatted for a while and then were about to head out when we met a group of friends who had come in from Lima the night before and set up camp. They invited us to join them for snacks and beer at the base of the waterfall and we couldn’t refuse the offer. After an excellent conversation about what we are doing here and environmental issues in Peru, we thanked them for their hospitality and once again attempted to head down the hill and back to Yanacoto. This time, we were intercepted by a man, his daughter, and his 6 year-old grandson who all spoke English and were familiar with the Peace Corps. We ended up hiking out with them and, as it turns out, they had traveled extensively both within Peru and around the world. They invited us back for lunch at the family compound they are building where we met the rest of the family and hung out for hours. This family had such an interesting background completely distinct from what we have seen thus far. The matriarch of the family had even spent time at Middlebury and in Raija's home state of Indiana. They were equally interested in us and we even managed to teach them to make their own compost!
Overall, my day spent chatting with Peruvians that we met on the hiking trail is one of my favorites so far. The hospitality and approachability these people demonstrated gave me a much needed confidence boost in my ability to strike up conversations with strangers in Spanish and develop friendships and confianza (Spanish word meaning trust, the key to the Peace Corps community integration strategy. I hope to have many more experiences like this and I'm sure I will because the Peruvian people are so gracious and approachable.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Time is Starting to Move Quickly
Hey everyone! It was an eventful week in Peace Corps training. Some days were more boring than others but we definitely had some exciting moments. We had our first two volunteer birthdays and the group went above and beyond to help our friends celebrate. On Monday, we started the week off well when a very serious lecture about STDs in Peru (complete with graphic pictures) was interrupted by a full mariachi performance in honor of one of the volunteers to celebrate his birthday. All of the girls danced around him while the band proceeded to serenade him. We all agreed that it would be hard to live up to the bar that had been set for birthday surprises. On Thursday, we used the creativity and enthusiasm that got us into the Peace Corps to live up to expectations on another volunteer's birthday. We had the usual cake and singing but we added a ukelele serenade to the mix. At the last minute we found a Barney the dinosaur costume which one of the boys dressed up in and proceeded to perform a rather ridiculous (and mildly disturbing) dance. All of the thought and effort that went into these gestures made me somewhat sad that my birthday doesn't fall during training but I'm sure that my host family at my site will help me to celebrate in January.
Perhaps the most exciting thing that happened this week was when the US ambassador to Peru visited our center for lunch and a question and answer session. He requested to meet us because he believes strongly in the Peace Corps as a tool for sustainable development. People asked about all different aspects of his life including his background, his opinion on the challenges we will face as volunteers, and those faced by the Peruvian people. I came away motivated to work in international development in some capacity after I finish here in Peru.
Today we went to the Universidad Agraria for the second in a 6 part workshop. We learned how to build miniature greenhouses which I look forward to doing when I get to my site. From now on our training will be comprised of more hands on, technical training rather than the theoretical and background classes that we have focused on so far. I can't wait for this because I love to be out working with my hands!
Tonight, all the local neighborhoods are hosting parties to celebrate a saint's day. I can't wait to participate in my community! My host family was telling me that last year all the gringos danced really funny. I'm sure my group will uphold this stereotype of Americans considering that none of us have even half the rhythm of the people here who grow up dancing. I have been attending dance classes once a week after school but it hasn't really made any difference. I'm hoping to be at least competent in one or two of the popular dances before I leave here.
Perhaps the most exciting thing that happened this week was when the US ambassador to Peru visited our center for lunch and a question and answer session. He requested to meet us because he believes strongly in the Peace Corps as a tool for sustainable development. People asked about all different aspects of his life including his background, his opinion on the challenges we will face as volunteers, and those faced by the Peruvian people. I came away motivated to work in international development in some capacity after I finish here in Peru.
Today we went to the Universidad Agraria for the second in a 6 part workshop. We learned how to build miniature greenhouses which I look forward to doing when I get to my site. From now on our training will be comprised of more hands on, technical training rather than the theoretical and background classes that we have focused on so far. I can't wait for this because I love to be out working with my hands!
Tonight, all the local neighborhoods are hosting parties to celebrate a saint's day. I can't wait to participate in my community! My host family was telling me that last year all the gringos danced really funny. I'm sure my group will uphold this stereotype of Americans considering that none of us have even half the rhythm of the people here who grow up dancing. I have been attending dance classes once a week after school but it hasn't really made any difference. I'm hoping to be at least competent in one or two of the popular dances before I leave here.
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