CARNAVAL!

This week I had my first Carnaval experience. Never having celebrated Mardi Gras or Carnaval, I have been looking forward to engaging in the debauchery inherent in this holiday. Courtney had spent the previous weekend in Venice at their Carnaval so after hearing about her experiences I got even more excited to celebrate . Since I arrived at my site, every conversation has been guaranteed to include three topics, my opinion of Pacora, the weather, and which "bando" I will join for carnaval. Everyone in town either belongs to the Bando Rojo or the Bando Verde (red and green) and they take these affiliations very seriously. The majority of my friends here belong to the red band but my host mother was once queen of the green band so I always said that I would participate in both. On the day of carnaval I ended up wearing a red dress (by chance, not having to do with my affiliation), and a green lei in order to show my support of both teams.
The festivities began with a parade for each band complete with giant floats and marching bands. After the parade, I had lunch with my family. I refrained from drinking during the day but I was the only one. After a few beers the lunchtime conversation turned to creationism as the reason for different races. I held my tongue for a while but when my host mom started talking about a "crazy theory where humans came from monkeys" I couldn't keep it in any longer. She started telling everyone that some people believe that monkeys walked into the ocean one day and the water made their hair fall out and that is where humans come from. I politely interjected that science shows us that over generations, natural and sexual selection for desirable traits has led to development of different species. This concept was difficult to explain in Spanish so I probably just left them thinking I am a crazy person. I often worry about my reputation as my true opinions and beliefs emerge. I usually express that I am not Catholic but I am Christian and then smile and nod as they explain to me the importance of having God in our hearts and souls. These talks only get more intense as the level of alcohol involved increases. Probably my favorite example is an old man who chases me down every time he sees me to ask when he can baptize me and, thereby, become my godfather. I think his main motive is so that I can marry his grandson (who is already married with a child) in the Catholic Church.
After my very interesting lunch, it was time to go out and start dancing the day and night away. The different bandos had concerts going simultaneously so I bounced between them but eventually settled into the red concert because I liked the music better. The Ivan Roberts Orchestra is essentially a glorified cover band that plays everything from Cumbia and Salsa to American 80's pop favorites. There is little I enjoy more than seeing grown men from a very machista culture jumping around like mad to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." I ended up dancing all afternoon until midnight with my host mom, her sister, and various other family members. I figured out that the secrets to the Peruvian party endurance are drinking slowly due to passing one glass around, and taking mid party naps. It is perfectly acceptable to sit down on the curb, bench or floor and take a twenty-minute nap while the party rages around you. I can't see myself doing this but my host family has mastered this skill.

RIP IPOD

This week my host mom came home and I developed a serious fear of vector borne diseases and contact with animals in general. These events had nothing to do with one another but I think that first sentence pretty much sums up the variety of emotions that I felt over the course of the week. The daily challenges tend to create an emotional rollercoaster which inevitably leads mini-outburst over insignificant things. I have heard of friends crying over things like pasta that was supposed to come with marinara arriving at the table with green sauce. My outburst this week came when my ipod broke. This actually makes a significant difference in my life as I use it to keep me motivated while I run and to escape into a "happy place" when things aren't going as planned. I even use it as an excuse not to answer the children who chase me down the streets as I run. I have often found myself cranking up the volume and running faster when I hear a drunk man or a young child screaming "SEÑORITA DANI!!" I guess I will have to be a bit more social when I run now.
The extremely positive part of my week was that my host mom came back from Lima! She had been away since mid December because her daughter gave birth. Due to some complications she stayed a few more weeks than she had anticipated until everyone was happy and healthy. I have a very strong connection with my host mom and now I finally feel content and comfortable in my house again. My host mother, Ludi, is a member of the solid waste committee I work with and a well loved and respected member of the community. A couple of years back she was even the queen of Carnaval! Now that she is back we spend lots of time chatting, eating, and watching telenovelas. She introduced me to her new favorite, Muñecas de la mafia, and now I am hooked. Picture The Real Housewives of Medellín (except fictional because I don't think drug lords in Colombia let their wives do reality tv). The women in this show smuggle cocaine in the platforms of their stilettos, way more badass than anything the Desperate Housewives do. As you can see, my host mom is a pretty great lady and I'm glad to have her back.
The paranoia about diseased and poisonous animals stemmed from a conversation with fellow volunteers who were talking about venomous snakes in their bedrooms and cases of the Bubonic Plague in towns not so far from mine. My nightly encounter with rats just brought a whole new level of danger. I would like to avoid the Plague if at all possible. The day after having this conversation, I became aware that there has recently been an outbreak of Dengue fever, a mosquito borne illness, in the next town over from mine. This disease is known as the bone breaking disease because it is flu-like with aches and pains so bad that one feels as if all the bones in their body are breaking. Needless to say, I went to put on repellent immediately after learning of this outbreak. As if this wasn't enough, while turning the compost at the nursery I work at, I came in contact with both a tarantula and another venomous species of spider. I scooped both out of the compost with my shovel and whacked them. I never knew how hard tarantulas are to kill!
Overall, I had a pretty typical week in the Peace Corps but I did realize that I need to be much more cautious about insects and animals here. The ones that aren't poisonous probably carry some crazy disease that could put me in the hospital. As far as the ipod goes, I got over it and I think that it will actually be good for me to run without it for a bit, maybe I'll even find that I don't even need TI, Lady Gaga, and Nelly to motivate me. For now though, I'm learning a lot about the powerful (and of course very good looking and scantily clad) women behind the Colombian drug cartels, all thanks to my very awesome 65 year old host mother. Now I'm off to Ash Wednesday mass. Wish me luck!

Camping!

This week I headed out to the stunning Chaparri nature reserve here in the department of Lambayeque for Camp ALMA, a leadership camp for adolescent girls. The camp touched on a wide variety of themes ranging from sexual health to volunteerism and project planning. Since the park focuses on rehabilitation of spectacled bears and breeding of the Pava Ala Blanca, an incredibly endangered species of bird. The girls, many of whom had never left their hometowns, were excited to sleep in tents, eat s'mores, and partake in other summer camp type activities. This concept was completely foreign and absurd to most parents, therefore it was difficult to find girls who's parents would allow them to attend. Since I am a new volunteer, I did not bring girls from my town but I learned a lot from observing and I am looking forward to helping run the camp next year and even bringing some young, motivated Pacoran ladies.
Aside from the natural beauty, the highlight of the camp came when one of our Peace Corps doctors came to give a talk on sexual and reproductive health. The girls proved to be incredibly mature and asked enlightened questions about pregnancy, STDs, condom use, and tampons. Most of the girls had never seen a tampon before and most were thrilled that there is a way for them to go swimming and exercise while they are on their periods. This presentation served as an open forum where the doctor was able to clear up a few myths that these girls believe. One girl cited the instance in which her cousin's friend got pregnant from taking a bath after a guy and another brought up her cousin who had been pregnant for 14 months. The bathtub conception situation was telling of a culture that expects girls to remain virgins until marriage. After showing the girls some rather offensive photos of sex organs infected with STDs, we began the condom relay. The mere fact that these girls were willing to touch a condom was a breakthrough. I strongly believe that empowering these girls to take control of their own reproductive and sexual health will be an effective means to promote sustainable development. Most women here have little to no say in their futures and are completely dependent on their husbands. I recently read a Hilary Clinton quote saying "women's rights are human rights." I completely agree and I intend to work diligently to give the young ladies of Pacora the confidence to pursue a destiny of their choosing. I feel fortunate every day that I have not been limited by my sex and I hope that I can serve not only as a source of information but as a role model for the next generation of Peruvian women. The most wonderful part of this camp was that it created a safe space for these girls to ask questions, express doubts, and dream about futures that do not depend upon the wills of the men in their lives.
I ended this week with a nice walk/run into the campo. I have decided to train for the marathon that the Peace Corps hosts every July in a local beach town. Even though I am pretty sure my parents and grandma will be visiting on the date of the marathon, I am going to train as if I were running so that I will have a head start for next year's marathon. My runs have been my relaxation and therapy time where I leave the populated area and just observe. There are frustrating moments but they tend to be more of the comical variety. Today for example, as I approached one of the pyramids in the national park, I noticed a heard of very large, horned cows watching me. They started walking towards me and I decided to proceed calmly along my path. When they quickened their pace towards me, I quickly veered off the trail and found a tree to climb. I heard their footsteps trotting up behind my so I put my phone and Ipod in my sports bra and grabbed the lowest branches. At this point the footsteps stopped so I proceeded very quickly towards the main access road to avoid a running of the bulls situation. When working with the park on management strategies maybe I should tell them that not only does grazing in the forest destroy the ecosystem but it has the potential to scare away all the tourists.
On my way home from the forest, I passed my fellow Peace Corps volunteer Tyler's house and stopped for a glass of boiled water and some English conversation. After chatting for a few minutes his extended Peruvian family showed up indicating that a big, special lunch was around the corner. Being a spoiled, urban Peace Corps volunteer, I did not catch on to what was about to occur until I heard the screaming pig being dragged around the corner. Tyler laughed a little and asked me if I was ready to see this (in a previous encounter he explained to me that the pig slaughter involves slitting the throat and the draining all the blood into a receptacle to be used in a typical dish). I immediately said goodbye and took off running down the road. The screaming pig behind me served as excellent motivation for my marathon training.

My Hands are Very Clean

I am ten weeks into my Peace Corps service which means that I have been in my permanent site for as long as I was in training. This is an important landmark because my site is officially my Peruvian home. I have settled in for the most part but I am still encountering new cultural quirks and minute differences in daily life that remind me that I am far from home. Sometimes, these departures from what I would consider "normal" give me a bit of comic relief. At other times the slight differences are the ones that trigger the most intense spells of homesickness. So far, the times that I have felt homesick have been few and far between and are easily remedied with a nap or by watching Elf on my laptop. This week I also purchased a fan and a hammock for the garden, both of which will be instrumental in my quest to stay relaxed and comfortable amid all the craziness.
The crazy roosters that we keep in a pen behind the house are one of those differences between life here and life in the States that I actually find infuriating. These roosters crow at all hours of the day and night causing me to wake up every few hours. The roosters have even infiltrated my dreams! One night I woke up completely disoriented because I was dreaming that a friend was playing the trumpet very poorly and I was yelling at him to stop. When I awoke, I realized that the offensive "trumpets" in my dream were actually roosters. At least this dream interruption is less abrasive than the firecrackers, which tend to manifest themselves as gunshots in my dreams. Every morning around six the roosters increase the frequency of their calls and I give in and get out of bed. It is nice to spend the whole morning reading, writing, washing clothes, and eating breakfast but there are days when all I want to do is sleep in until eight. It is probably better that I don't sleep so late because if I did, I would get a reputation as being lazy. If eight am is lazy, I don't even want to know what my host family and friends would think of my schedule during college.
This past week I was able to take my first mini-trip to a workshop in the northern department of Piura. The topic of the workshop was AIDS project monitoring and evaluation. I was one of only two new volunteers invited because my predecessors in this site had a grant to work on AIDS education. Although I am an environment volunteer, my main ally in Pacora has been the health post so I have gotten involved in many public health causes. After my two full days in a VERY HOT classroom in Piura, I feel ready to dive into designing and executing large scale projects and in getting involved in AIDS prevention in Pacora. I hope that I get invited to a lot more workshops like this because I was able to meet other volunteers and their counterparts and get ideas for projects that I can work on. I was also able to bring my counterpart (the obstetrician from the health post, Rosio) who has proven to be incredibly motivated and passionate about public health.
Perhaps the most satisfying part of my week was the completion of the first phase of a hand washing campaign that I designed and worked on with Rosio. We enlisted the help of the health promoters and went door to door in the poorest neighborhood of Pacora to teach them to make tipi-taps and wash their hands. It was satisfying work because the tipi-taps will give these people the means to properly wash their hands even though none of them actually have taps. We posted banners all over the neighborhood including around the community spigot to remind them to fill their new tipi-taps whenever they go to collect water for the day. This project was incredibly simple but it seems like it will be an effective and efficient way to decrease some of the most common diseases including diarrhea and pink-eye. As I move on the second phase of this project, a hand washing campaign in the market, I am dreading doing any more demonstrations because after the first round my hands are dry and cracked. I even had to put off laundry last week because of the open wounds on my knuckles.