Channeling McGyver

Merry Christmas And happy holidays everyone! I am experiencing the Southern Hemisphere summer Christmas here and it is quite odd. The 90 degree weather made it difficult for me to really get into the Xmas spirit but because of the importance of the holiday here, I have gotten my fix of hot chocolate and blinking lights. On multiple occasions I have explained to my new friends that Santa wears a jacket because in some parts of the world it is winter. We came to the agreement that Peruvian "Papa Noel" should be dressed in shorts and sunglasses. My host mother went to Lima for the next month because her daughter is giving birth so I will be spending Christmas Eve with my host sister and her in-laws. From what I have heard, Christmas here is celebrated with mass then a midnight dinner on Christmas Eve followed by partying and dancing until the next day then nursing hangovers on Christmas day. When I inquired about gifts, the response was always the same, "when there is enough money, we buy gifts but this year there is not enough." I think that this approach to Christmas is something people in the United States should think about implementing. I discussed with my host sister how the holidays are stressful in the United States because gifts are expected whether there is money or not. Visa is more than willing to help out in the short term.
Alter a month in my site I am settling in and I am beginning to see the reality of life in Peru. I feel like I have passed the "honeymoon stage" of my Peace Corps experience and I am moving into reality. Everything I do is still thrilling, intriguing, or otherwise exciting purely because it is new but I have also had a lot of time to analyze my role here and the reality doesn't always exactly coincide with my idealistic expectations for Peace Corps service. I live in a town where there are a lot of motivated individuals who want to work with me which makes my job as a facilitator much easier but as reality comes into view, it is daunting to feel responsible for implementing all of the projects that people expect me to become involved in using methods that will be sustainable beyond my service. This week I continued my quest for potential projects within the community and came out with many ideas. Along the way I developed a better understanding of the political climate here and learned the importance of distancing myself from local politics if I hope to be a successful Peace Corps volunteer.
One of my biggest adventures was a trip with one of my new associates in the municipality to a site he wants to reforest using zapote, a bizarre fruit that is used to feed livestock. Some might call my new friend a visionary due to his drive to plant zapote but around town he is more commonly known as loco zapote. He has a nursery that, at its peak, housed 25,000 zapote trees but has fallen into disarray and he wants my help in restarting his project. I will definitely be involved because it seems that this is an appropriate plant to grow here due to its affinity for dry climates. The issue will be avoiding committing my life to growing zapote and thus becoming labeled as a political crony of loco zapote. Our trip out into the countryside was a three-hour tour of an area devastated by desertification due to deforestation. I heard my new friend's opinions on topics including American politics, the English language, Peruvian history, and pretty much any topic that crossed his mind. Many of the ideas that he presented as fact I knew to be false however, I appreciated his wide variety of interests and his frankness. I look forward to having an ally within the municipality but after listening to him talk about the people he is not fond of, I realize that it is very important for me to stay on his good side.
The highlight of our field trip was when we came across an archeological dig that seemed to be straight out of Indiana Jones. The archeologists had come across a Pre-Incan pyramid which they were in the process of uncovering. We got to come right up to the excavation and see the paintings left on the adobe walls by the Mochica culture, which inhabited this area around 500 AD. It is incredible that this type of discovery is still being made despite the continuous search for treasures that has continued since the Spanish arrived. As recently as 1997 huge quantities of gold were taken out of the pyramids in the Bosque de Pomac, right next to where I live.
I spent Tuesday of this week getting to know the lifestyle in Huaca Rivera, the small rural community where I work with the volunteer park guards on a tree nursery. At 8 am I arrived at my friend Soledad's house and accompanied her on her daily activities. First we went to her chacra (plot of farmland) where we picked what seemed like 400 mangoes, avocadoes, lentils, limes, and tamarindo (an amazing fruit that tastes like sour warheads). When we got back we ate mangoes until I felt sick and then started making lunch using firewood that we collected from the forest. After lunch Soledad filled my backpack as full as possible with our treasures from the chacra and we went to work in the nursery. The day was an interesting glimpse into what my life might have been like had I been assigned to a more rural site in the district where I live. My next project is to find recipes that use mangoes so that I can eat some of these before they rot.
This week was not without its glitches. After returning from my long day in the countryside I accidentally locked my keys in my room, which would not have been a problem except my host mother had just left for Lima with the spare key in her pocket. I spent the evening tearing the house apart looking for another spare key until I realized it was no use and went to bed in another room. The next morning I went in search of a locksmith or a criminal with experience at breaking and entering. The closest I found was a carpenter who turned out to be overly eager to break the window over my door and climb in. I should have known when his first idea for getting into the room was unlocking the door from the inside…I don't think he fully understood the situation. My best option was to go in search of my inner McGyver. I finally got into my room after spending an hour with a long pole that had a wire loop and a plastic bottle on the end. Despite the frustration throughout the process, I am pretty proud of my ingenuity.
As I figure out my role here, I am keeping in mind that no matter what happens, I will have an amazing experience. The first two goals of the Peace Corps that were drilled into our heads throughout training are to help Peruvians better understand American culture and to foster a better understanding of Peruvian culture once I return to the United States. I will have no problem accomplishing these two goals. The third goal of bringing technical assistance to developing countries will not be an issue if I continue teaching, working on tree nurseries, and supporting the efforts of the solid waste management committee but it is becoming difficult not to expect long-term, sustainable solutions to big problems. I have come to realize that the biggest thing I could possibly do here is get a few people to be passionate enough about their local environment that they will carry on my efforts after I leave. In my short time here I have already met multiple people who could potentially fill this role. I have a few projects that I will be starting in the New Year but for now, it is time to focus on the holidays and community integration (translation: attending parties and eating).