Upon my return to Pacora, I found that it can be very detrimental to leave fragile Peace Corps projects in the hands of busy community members during harvest season. I came back to a community garden that had been left unwatered and eaten by chickens and two recycling projects that had not been started as we had agreed prior to my trip. Since I have gotten back it has been pure catch-up (with a short break for the world cup final with fellow Peace Corps volunteers). I have been running recycling campaigns in two elementary schools, starting to plan a garden with my ecological brigades at the high school, getting a proposal together for the participatory budget for 2011, and, in the midst of all this, taking 4 high school boys to a weekend leadership camp. WHEW!
The leadership camp happened this weekend and turned out amazingly thanks to our fearless leaders who planned the whole thing. The camp consisted of lectures about effective communication, self-esteem, leadership, project design, environmental topics, and health, and activities ranging from a soccer tournament to a s'more making workshop. For the health lecture we brought in our Peace Corps doctor from Lima and sent away the girls to facilitate an open discussion about risks and challenges facing young boys particularly having to do with sexual health. Even though I wasn't present at this particular talk, I have seen the same presentation given to girls and Peace Corps volunteers and I can tell you that it includes incredibly graphic real-life photos of genitals infected with the nastiest of diseases. The culmination of this talk is a condom relay, which I found hilarious. Each boy got to go through all of the steps of using a condom starting with discussing it with their "partner" (i.e. a male peace corps volunteer). It was a great way to take the pressure off of the one on one sex talks.
My responsibility at this camp was to give the solid waste management talk, which, due to the lack of enlarged photos of genitals, was a little less exciting than the health talk. Little did the boys know that after my talk they would get to participate in the building of a micro-landfill, translation digging in the hot sun while I watched and kept talking about the benefits of burying trash as opposed to throwing it in the river or burning it in the back yard. My main point was that it is important to minimize the amount of trash by reducing, reusing, and recycling so that you don't have to dig many holes. I think they got that point after busting their asses and getting about a foot into a meter deep hole.
Camp VALOR was a success and now I have a core group of boys to help me in any project that I do with the high school. We have discussed doing recycling collection, building a solar oven, and building a garden and I am really excited to take advantage of the newfound motivation that has been generated in these kids.
Since coming back from camp I have been replanting the community garden that got eaten by chickens and sorting recycling. My campaigns with the elementary schools are going very well aside from the fact that I have to figure out how to keep them recycling in their houses once I quit giving them stickers for bringing it into school. We always talk about tangible results versus behavior change in the Peace Corps and I am working on my strategy for making the jump from the former to the latter with my school children. I must say that these campaigns are so rewarding that they become an invaluable way to bond with the students, teachers, and parents, and to get people thinking about waste management and recycling if not actually changing their behavior…yet.
In health related news, I had my first experience with exciting third world parasites since coming back to site. THIS PARAGRAPH IS NOT FOR THOSE WHO ARE EATING OR FAINT OF HEART. I noticed a small sore under the end of the toenail of my second toe and I attributed it to my new running shoes that my parents had brought me and forgot about it. One night, while sitting in my room and watching the Sopranos as I usually do after dinner, I noticed that my toe was a little swollen and hurt a bit. After poking at the sore, I squeezed out the usual puss along with the egg sack of the pique, a small insect that makes its home in pig shit and burrows into the flesh of unsuspecting victims to lay its eggs. Even though this was a particularly disgusting experience, at least I caught it before the eggs hatched. One of my good friends let hers go too long (also thinking it was a running shoe issue) and her toe yielded a whole batch of maggots instead of just an egg sack. Of course, like an idiot, yesterday I went out into the rural area again in flip-flops but this time I remembered to do a thorough check before going to bed. I ended up finding at least four piques burrowing into my skin and I just hope that I got them all.
Aside from being the host to some unwelcome friends in my toe, life has been pretty good here. I feel successful as a Peace Corps volunteer and I look forward to seeing my projects through. I have found some motivated counterparts who are always willing to work with me and I have gained a good amount of respect in my community. Now if only I could get the chickens to stop eating my plants and the kids to recycle for the sake of the environment instead of the stickers, candy, and pencils that I hand out. If anyone has any potential prizes lying around, feel free to send them (along with dark chocolate, trashy magazines, and hand written letters). My address is:
Dani Rueter
Cuerpo de Paz
Casilla Postal 208
Serpost Chiclayo
Peru, S.A.
I miss everyone! Keep in touch!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Critters
In the third grade I did a project on birds and, through my research, I across the blue-footed booby. Aside from the particularly hilarious name, what drew my attention were the beautiful photographs of enormous colonies performing unique mating dances in some far off place called the Galapagos Islands. This was a turning point in my life where I held this place as a vacation ideal above all others. When I found out that I would be in Peru, just an overnight bus ride from the jump off point for a Galapagos adventure, I set my mind to making this vacation happen when my parents came to visit me. Since my family prioritizes wildlife watching over most other activities when we go on vacation, they weren't too difficult to convince that this was the perfect vacation idea to follow up their visit to my Peace Corps site. In fact, I cannot think of a better motivation for working on environmental education and management in South America than seeing such a surreal example of the human/nature interface and the potential for generating appreciation for the unique qualities of each place.
The trip started off with a long, somewhat daunting bus ride from Northern Peru to Guayaquil, Ecuador for our departure to the Galapagos. I had planned this part of the journey with the mindset of bringing my parents into my world of backpacker traveling. The bus was okay but not the "super VIP" overnight bus that I had introduced them to on our trip from Lima to my site. We were awoken at 3 in the morning for customs, 4 in the morning for Ecuadorian immigration, and 4:30 for a passport check by armed Ecuadorian soldiers. Needless to say, we were all a little on edge after being awoken in a creepy border town by men with automatic weapons. Once we got to Guayaquil, we finally left the world of a Peace Corps volunteer and checked into the Sheraton complete with high thread count sheets, a spa/gym, and as much complimentary wine and coffee as we could drink. At this point in the vacation I was thinking that I could just stay there for the 9 days and be content but we had a dream vacation to embark on.
We flew into the Baltra airport, the main entrance to the Galapagos and immediately I was in awe at the variety of landscapes and ecosystems that we passed through just in the half hour we were on the bus to the main port of Santa Cruz. The combination of my own expectations, the intense excitement reflected on the faces of all my fellow bus passengers, and the beauty surrounding us made me want to jump out of the bus and start exploring immediately. The complimentary coffee at the hotel and on the plane didn't help but I was almost literally peeing my pants in anticipation.
We had decided to do a land-based tour of the islands in part because of my mom's susceptibility to seasickness. This turned out to be the right choice as we watched from our hotel balcony as the boats in the bay rocked all night long. That first afternoon we hiked out to the Charles Darwin Research Station, the home of Lonesome George, the last giant tortoise of his population who is currently refusing to interbreed with tortoises of other populations. On our way there we started to get a dose of what the Galapagos is really all about when we saw sea lions lounging on park benches and marine iguanas sunning themselves on every rock. After seeing tortoises of all ages and sizes in an area that felt somewhat like Jurassic Park, we explored some nearby lagoons where we saw a variety of birds including the famed Darwinian finches. I couldn't wait to get started on the serious wildlife search the next day.
Our second day was jammed with activity as we headed out to Tortuga bay. In order to access the pristine beaches we had to watch our step so as not to step on marine iguanas and baby sea lions awaiting the return of the mothers who had headed out to hunt. On this hike we saw our first blue-footed boobies diving from way up in the air to catch fish. Their blue feet are even more strangely comical in person than they are in pictures. One of our main goals on this hike was to get to the kayak rentals so we could head out into the bay and look for the sea turtles. The kayak rental guy never showed up so my dad and I waded out to try and see the turtles. As we saw their little heads popping up to take breaths, we were frustrated by our inability to get any closer. It all turned out alright as we ended up seeing quite a few sea turtles throughout our trip.
While we were still on Santa Cruz we took a boat tour out around some of the bays nearby. I snorkeled with incredibly playful sea lions while dad and grandma watched from the boat. My mom made the correct decision to stay behind for this one as many of the passengers were vomiting off the side within a few minutes of leaving the bay. Winter in the Galapagos is not fun for those prone to motion sickness. On this tour we also saw tons of sea turtles hanging out in the waves and, of course, marine iguanas.
The next stop on our journey was Isabella, an incredible island partly because it is the largest and has very little development compared with the other populated islands. During our stay on Isabella we saw flamingoes, sea turtles, LOTS of sea lions, penguins, and sharks. On our first day, my dad and I took a very vigorous hike up to the highlands to see the Sierra Negra volcanic crater. The lava field landscape added another otherworldly ecosystem to our list of experiences. This crater last erupted in 2005 so the newly cooled lava was a rainbow of colors and minerals that ended at the sea on one side and a huge hill covered in vegetation on the other side. The extremes and contrasts left little doubt as to why this place is considered such a biological miracle.
The highlight of my entire Galapagos trip was probably the bay tour we took on Isabella. This tour started out with a snorkel through a grotto where the white tipped sharks go to rest. These sharks are docile but imposing at up to 2 meters long. As I floated on top of the water, tons of sharks rested below me and a playful sea lion scooted along underneath me. This sea lion made me nervous at first as it swam ahead and then swam at my face at full speed only to dive deeper and go under me at the last second. From the shark grotto, we continued on to a little island where we got out and walked along another grotto with tons of sharks and puffer fish. This grotto happened to be next to a well populated bay. I got giddy when I realized that the dilemma I faced was whether to watch the sharks, the penguins, the sea turtles, or the manta ray. I had never been around so much incredible wildlife at one time.
When we tried to walk around this small island to get to the rock that the local penguin colony calls home, we found a large, aggressive sea lion in our path and had to get back on our boat to continue to the other side of island. When we got there we were not disappointed. The penguins were jumping in and out of the water and waddling around just as I had always imagined them but, obviously, much cooler in person. After this tour I was sold on Isabella Island as the best and I was disappointed that our boat left for San Cristobal Island the next morning. I could have spent a good amount of time exploring all that Isabella has to offer.
The last stop on our adventure was San Cristobal, the capitol of the Galapagos Islands and our point of departure. After a grueling boat ride where I thought I was going to have to run out and vomit even though I have never experienced seasickness in my life, we landed in what is rightfully referred to as the sea lion capitol. There were so many sea lions everywhere that it was impossible to walk down city streets without watching where you stepped. Our favorite activity in this town was to sit on the boardwalk overlooking the bay and watch the sea lion mothers come in from their daily hunts and reunite with their babies. The reunions were full of barking and embracing followed by the babies nuzzling in to nurse off of their newly fed mothers. This activity turned from joyous to heart-wrenching when we started to notice that some of the babies waiting on the beach and barking for their mothers were never answered and, letting natural selection take its course, were left to starve. Some of the more emaciated looking babies seemed to be on their second or third day of waiting and I became too emotional to watch any longer.
Our trip to the Galapagos lived up to expectations and then some. The end of the trip was particularly difficult because the next time I see my parents will be next July for my little sister's wedding. Reaching the end of a dream vacation is hard enough without saying goodbye to the family for the next year. Even though the adjustment has been difficult, it has been good to get back to the projects I had neglected and, now that I am keeping pretty busy, I know this year will fly! I can take some of the inspiration of the Galapagos back to Pacora and use it to generate excitement about our own special ecosystem and national protected area. I am also finding myself with a new enthusiasm about traveling because there are so many unbelievable things to see here in Peru and I will be heading back to the USA before I know it.
Check out pictures of my parents' visit and our Galapagos trip at www.picasa.com. The album is called Peru and Galapagos Trip. I will have Facebook pictures up soon.
The trip started off with a long, somewhat daunting bus ride from Northern Peru to Guayaquil, Ecuador for our departure to the Galapagos. I had planned this part of the journey with the mindset of bringing my parents into my world of backpacker traveling. The bus was okay but not the "super VIP" overnight bus that I had introduced them to on our trip from Lima to my site. We were awoken at 3 in the morning for customs, 4 in the morning for Ecuadorian immigration, and 4:30 for a passport check by armed Ecuadorian soldiers. Needless to say, we were all a little on edge after being awoken in a creepy border town by men with automatic weapons. Once we got to Guayaquil, we finally left the world of a Peace Corps volunteer and checked into the Sheraton complete with high thread count sheets, a spa/gym, and as much complimentary wine and coffee as we could drink. At this point in the vacation I was thinking that I could just stay there for the 9 days and be content but we had a dream vacation to embark on.
We flew into the Baltra airport, the main entrance to the Galapagos and immediately I was in awe at the variety of landscapes and ecosystems that we passed through just in the half hour we were on the bus to the main port of Santa Cruz. The combination of my own expectations, the intense excitement reflected on the faces of all my fellow bus passengers, and the beauty surrounding us made me want to jump out of the bus and start exploring immediately. The complimentary coffee at the hotel and on the plane didn't help but I was almost literally peeing my pants in anticipation.
We had decided to do a land-based tour of the islands in part because of my mom's susceptibility to seasickness. This turned out to be the right choice as we watched from our hotel balcony as the boats in the bay rocked all night long. That first afternoon we hiked out to the Charles Darwin Research Station, the home of Lonesome George, the last giant tortoise of his population who is currently refusing to interbreed with tortoises of other populations. On our way there we started to get a dose of what the Galapagos is really all about when we saw sea lions lounging on park benches and marine iguanas sunning themselves on every rock. After seeing tortoises of all ages and sizes in an area that felt somewhat like Jurassic Park, we explored some nearby lagoons where we saw a variety of birds including the famed Darwinian finches. I couldn't wait to get started on the serious wildlife search the next day.
Our second day was jammed with activity as we headed out to Tortuga bay. In order to access the pristine beaches we had to watch our step so as not to step on marine iguanas and baby sea lions awaiting the return of the mothers who had headed out to hunt. On this hike we saw our first blue-footed boobies diving from way up in the air to catch fish. Their blue feet are even more strangely comical in person than they are in pictures. One of our main goals on this hike was to get to the kayak rentals so we could head out into the bay and look for the sea turtles. The kayak rental guy never showed up so my dad and I waded out to try and see the turtles. As we saw their little heads popping up to take breaths, we were frustrated by our inability to get any closer. It all turned out alright as we ended up seeing quite a few sea turtles throughout our trip.
While we were still on Santa Cruz we took a boat tour out around some of the bays nearby. I snorkeled with incredibly playful sea lions while dad and grandma watched from the boat. My mom made the correct decision to stay behind for this one as many of the passengers were vomiting off the side within a few minutes of leaving the bay. Winter in the Galapagos is not fun for those prone to motion sickness. On this tour we also saw tons of sea turtles hanging out in the waves and, of course, marine iguanas.
The next stop on our journey was Isabella, an incredible island partly because it is the largest and has very little development compared with the other populated islands. During our stay on Isabella we saw flamingoes, sea turtles, LOTS of sea lions, penguins, and sharks. On our first day, my dad and I took a very vigorous hike up to the highlands to see the Sierra Negra volcanic crater. The lava field landscape added another otherworldly ecosystem to our list of experiences. This crater last erupted in 2005 so the newly cooled lava was a rainbow of colors and minerals that ended at the sea on one side and a huge hill covered in vegetation on the other side. The extremes and contrasts left little doubt as to why this place is considered such a biological miracle.
The highlight of my entire Galapagos trip was probably the bay tour we took on Isabella. This tour started out with a snorkel through a grotto where the white tipped sharks go to rest. These sharks are docile but imposing at up to 2 meters long. As I floated on top of the water, tons of sharks rested below me and a playful sea lion scooted along underneath me. This sea lion made me nervous at first as it swam ahead and then swam at my face at full speed only to dive deeper and go under me at the last second. From the shark grotto, we continued on to a little island where we got out and walked along another grotto with tons of sharks and puffer fish. This grotto happened to be next to a well populated bay. I got giddy when I realized that the dilemma I faced was whether to watch the sharks, the penguins, the sea turtles, or the manta ray. I had never been around so much incredible wildlife at one time.
When we tried to walk around this small island to get to the rock that the local penguin colony calls home, we found a large, aggressive sea lion in our path and had to get back on our boat to continue to the other side of island. When we got there we were not disappointed. The penguins were jumping in and out of the water and waddling around just as I had always imagined them but, obviously, much cooler in person. After this tour I was sold on Isabella Island as the best and I was disappointed that our boat left for San Cristobal Island the next morning. I could have spent a good amount of time exploring all that Isabella has to offer.
The last stop on our adventure was San Cristobal, the capitol of the Galapagos Islands and our point of departure. After a grueling boat ride where I thought I was going to have to run out and vomit even though I have never experienced seasickness in my life, we landed in what is rightfully referred to as the sea lion capitol. There were so many sea lions everywhere that it was impossible to walk down city streets without watching where you stepped. Our favorite activity in this town was to sit on the boardwalk overlooking the bay and watch the sea lion mothers come in from their daily hunts and reunite with their babies. The reunions were full of barking and embracing followed by the babies nuzzling in to nurse off of their newly fed mothers. This activity turned from joyous to heart-wrenching when we started to notice that some of the babies waiting on the beach and barking for their mothers were never answered and, letting natural selection take its course, were left to starve. Some of the more emaciated looking babies seemed to be on their second or third day of waiting and I became too emotional to watch any longer.
Our trip to the Galapagos lived up to expectations and then some. The end of the trip was particularly difficult because the next time I see my parents will be next July for my little sister's wedding. Reaching the end of a dream vacation is hard enough without saying goodbye to the family for the next year. Even though the adjustment has been difficult, it has been good to get back to the projects I had neglected and, now that I am keeping pretty busy, I know this year will fly! I can take some of the inspiration of the Galapagos back to Pacora and use it to generate excitement about our own special ecosystem and national protected area. I am also finding myself with a new enthusiasm about traveling because there are so many unbelievable things to see here in Peru and I will be heading back to the USA before I know it.
Check out pictures of my parents' visit and our Galapagos trip at www.picasa.com. The album is called Peru and Galapagos Trip. I will have Facebook pictures up soon.
Huntley-Rueter's Peace Corps Vacation
I spent the last couple of weeks with my parents and my grandmother, which allowed me to take a little vacation from my work and share my life here with people from home. I met my parents in Lima where we spent a nice first day exploring Lima and catching up. The highlights included eating typical foods overlooking the ocean and watching part of a world cup game on a giant screen in the main square. That first night we began the mini-Peace Corps experience that I had planned for my family before heading off on our Galapagos dream vacation. The adventure began with an overnight bus ride to my site, a very typical Peace Corps experience. Although this sounds rugged, the bus actually turned out to be more comfortable than the mattresses at the hotel that I had set my parents up in. We traveled bus-cama (bus-bed), which, in my opinion, is the only way to go. The seats are like super comfy recliners that lean back to 180 degrees.
Once we got to Chiclayo we rented a room at the hostal where volunteers always stay and took our last hot showers for the week before heading off into the countryside (campo). I also showed my parents around the usual Peace Corps hangouts in Chiclayo and took them to the grocery store to stock up on necessities like peanut butter just in case we were only served intestines or chicken foot soup at any point.
After saying goodbye to the big city we jumped in a combi (15 passenger van generally used to move 20+ people) and made our way up to Pacora. I had set up a very full 5 days in Pacora since everyone that I know and work with was dying to meet my parents. On our first evening we explored, met my host family, and then headed to dinner at one of my friends' houses. I figured out pretty quickly that facilitating this visit was going to be exhausting because I had to repeat every conversation in two languages. I also found myself extra popular with the Pacorans due to their curiosity about the other tall white people who were with me all the time. I had to be extra careful to greet and introduce everyone I ran into to my parents. Although it was exhausting, it was amazingly rewarding to finally share the life I am living with my family from home.
Over the course of the five days, we rode horses in the forest, climbed pre-Incan ruins, got a private tour of an archeological dig, attended various lunches with my friends, went to a local museum, threw a party, and planted a community garden. The last two activities that I have mentioned were definitely my favorites. It was so great to see my biological family interact with my new family and friends. My parents went to work on the community garden and my mom even found some very animated ways of communicating with the little kids. At the party, we invited a few of my closest friends and family members to the typical Peruvian party food, goat. It was delicious although my American family was a little hesitant to dig into the bony meat with their hands (the only effective strategy for tackling cuts of meat here). My parents and my grandma even danced to the Peruvian folk music provided by a local band! I have only seen my dad dance one time at his brother's wedding about 10 years ago and he claims that before that the last time was at his own wedding. When my mom got tired of dancing she put her competitive edge to work deflating machismo. She beat every guy in the house at arm wrestling with her right and left hands and then finally after about 6 rounds she lost to my host brother in law (who hadn't wrestled yet and, therefore had quite an advantage). Everyone was very impressed. I was amazed by how quickly my families integrated even without speaking the same language.
Overall, the visit was an incredible opportunity for my family from home to relate to my new life a little better and my family here to get a little better idea where I come from. I really hope that more people will come visit me while I am down here because it is so special for me to share this amazing new life that I have fallen into.
Once we got to Chiclayo we rented a room at the hostal where volunteers always stay and took our last hot showers for the week before heading off into the countryside (campo). I also showed my parents around the usual Peace Corps hangouts in Chiclayo and took them to the grocery store to stock up on necessities like peanut butter just in case we were only served intestines or chicken foot soup at any point.
After saying goodbye to the big city we jumped in a combi (15 passenger van generally used to move 20+ people) and made our way up to Pacora. I had set up a very full 5 days in Pacora since everyone that I know and work with was dying to meet my parents. On our first evening we explored, met my host family, and then headed to dinner at one of my friends' houses. I figured out pretty quickly that facilitating this visit was going to be exhausting because I had to repeat every conversation in two languages. I also found myself extra popular with the Pacorans due to their curiosity about the other tall white people who were with me all the time. I had to be extra careful to greet and introduce everyone I ran into to my parents. Although it was exhausting, it was amazingly rewarding to finally share the life I am living with my family from home.
Over the course of the five days, we rode horses in the forest, climbed pre-Incan ruins, got a private tour of an archeological dig, attended various lunches with my friends, went to a local museum, threw a party, and planted a community garden. The last two activities that I have mentioned were definitely my favorites. It was so great to see my biological family interact with my new family and friends. My parents went to work on the community garden and my mom even found some very animated ways of communicating with the little kids. At the party, we invited a few of my closest friends and family members to the typical Peruvian party food, goat. It was delicious although my American family was a little hesitant to dig into the bony meat with their hands (the only effective strategy for tackling cuts of meat here). My parents and my grandma even danced to the Peruvian folk music provided by a local band! I have only seen my dad dance one time at his brother's wedding about 10 years ago and he claims that before that the last time was at his own wedding. When my mom got tired of dancing she put her competitive edge to work deflating machismo. She beat every guy in the house at arm wrestling with her right and left hands and then finally after about 6 rounds she lost to my host brother in law (who hadn't wrestled yet and, therefore had quite an advantage). Everyone was very impressed. I was amazed by how quickly my families integrated even without speaking the same language.
Overall, the visit was an incredible opportunity for my family from home to relate to my new life a little better and my family here to get a little better idea where I come from. I really hope that more people will come visit me while I am down here because it is so special for me to share this amazing new life that I have fallen into.
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