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!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
A Few More Things I have Learned…
1. Sapos, the word for toad, also means creepy men who watch you while you use the restroom. I learned this when a security guard offered to watch for sapos while I used the ladies room and I freaked out thinking there were toads in the toilet.
2. Don't eat the popsicles in the poor section of town. They are most definitely made from untreated water and will give you a stomachache.
3. Wash anything and everything that has been sitting on the counter overnight. The rats most certainly have scurried across it.
4. Don't zone out too much while running or walking in the campo, a dead cow or a dying goat may be waiting by the side of the road to scare the shit out of you.
5. Make a point to ask for and remember names. Usually upon first meeting someone, they will be so curious why a "gringa" is there that they will forget to introduce themselves before launching into questioning. This provides for awkward second meetings when you are expected to know who they are.
2. Don't eat the popsicles in the poor section of town. They are most definitely made from untreated water and will give you a stomachache.
3. Wash anything and everything that has been sitting on the counter overnight. The rats most certainly have scurried across it.
4. Don't zone out too much while running or walking in the campo, a dead cow or a dying goat may be waiting by the side of the road to scare the shit out of you.
5. Make a point to ask for and remember names. Usually upon first meeting someone, they will be so curious why a "gringa" is there that they will forget to introduce themselves before launching into questioning. This provides for awkward second meetings when you are expected to know who they are.
Close Encounters and my Birthday
I have been in site for two months and in Peru for over four months! Before I know it my two years will be over. I am pretty sure that having completed the Peace Corps will be one of the most satisfying feelings possible but time moves so quickly that I am already nervous I won't be able to accomplish as much as I thought I could. This week I got the ball rolling on a couple of projects including the door to door hand washing campaign in the poorest section of town and a workshop for street vendors. After researching food handling guidelines on the USDA website, I realize that I violate most of them daily. This makes me nervous but I have gotten used to it. I will need to get creative to convince the women who sell meat on the street that they should invest in bleach for cleaning work areas and even coolers for refrigerating meat. After my relatively healthy four months in Peru, I am convinced that refrigeration is les important than I once thought. This is just one of the many attitudes that have been influenced since my arrival in Peru.
This past week I have had particularly interesting encounters with animals, both dead and alive. Although I live in an urban area, I am in much closer contact with critters than I was before. One inevitable result of daily contact with livestock is a closer look at where our food comes from. I no longer perceive meat as the tidy substance that comes from a package in the supermarket. After walking past so many jaw bones and even full heads in the supermarket, it is hard to ignore that what we eat comes from those cute, furry animals we see every day. One of my more graphic experiences with this was the other day when I was eating a tamale and got to the center where there is usually a nice piece of pork or chicken. What I found instead was a little piece of skin covered in hair. After nearly vomiting on my host, I pulled myself together and asked what it was. They proceeded to explain that one of the neighbor's piglets had died so the put its ears in the tamale. They insisted that I eat it so I discreetly scraped off the hair, chewed once or twice, and swallowed. Even thinking back on it now my stomach starts to turn. In every decision that I make, my first priority is not offending anyone, even if this means I have to eat pig's ears or, in a more pleasant example, down 3 popsicles.
Every day I find myself in situations that I would never have at home. For example, the other day after my run, I was chatting outside the house with my host cousin at the precise moment when the neighbor was bringing his livestock in from the field. I live on a paved city street but there are constantly herds of livestock roaming about nonetheless. On this particular evening, the bull was feeling a bit frisky so it started challenging the other young bull in the street. Immediately a panic broke out and my particularly vocal neighbor started yelling at the owner while everyone scurried into their houses to watch from the windows. Once safely behind my door, I started laughing as I watched my host cousin challenge the bull with his mototaxi as the neighbors yelled at each other. It was all quite comical and much less scary than when I am the first one to wake up in the morning only to find myself facing off with the giant rats that come out when no one is in the room. Due to our proximity to corn farmers, I think I am going to have to get over my rat phobia if I don't want to live in a panic.
This week was punctuated by my first Peruvian birthday celebration. I happen to have the same birthday as one of my Peruvian cousins, only she was turning ten to my 23. The age difference didn't matter as the entire family celebrates together regardless. I offered to help with the shopping and contribute the cake, little did I know this meant I would be buying the materials for putting on a party for 20 ten year olds and their entire families. I invited about four friends because I guess I did not understand what my Peruvian aunts had in mind. The evening mainly consisted of lots of candy, cake, and dancing followed by dinner and then more cake, some booze, and more dancing. Overall it was a nice birthday and I really appreciate the effort that my friends and family here put into making me feel important and welcome. The next festivities will come at the end of January and I look forward to another opportunity to practice my cumbia and raggaeton dancing skills.
This past week I have had particularly interesting encounters with animals, both dead and alive. Although I live in an urban area, I am in much closer contact with critters than I was before. One inevitable result of daily contact with livestock is a closer look at where our food comes from. I no longer perceive meat as the tidy substance that comes from a package in the supermarket. After walking past so many jaw bones and even full heads in the supermarket, it is hard to ignore that what we eat comes from those cute, furry animals we see every day. One of my more graphic experiences with this was the other day when I was eating a tamale and got to the center where there is usually a nice piece of pork or chicken. What I found instead was a little piece of skin covered in hair. After nearly vomiting on my host, I pulled myself together and asked what it was. They proceeded to explain that one of the neighbor's piglets had died so the put its ears in the tamale. They insisted that I eat it so I discreetly scraped off the hair, chewed once or twice, and swallowed. Even thinking back on it now my stomach starts to turn. In every decision that I make, my first priority is not offending anyone, even if this means I have to eat pig's ears or, in a more pleasant example, down 3 popsicles.
Every day I find myself in situations that I would never have at home. For example, the other day after my run, I was chatting outside the house with my host cousin at the precise moment when the neighbor was bringing his livestock in from the field. I live on a paved city street but there are constantly herds of livestock roaming about nonetheless. On this particular evening, the bull was feeling a bit frisky so it started challenging the other young bull in the street. Immediately a panic broke out and my particularly vocal neighbor started yelling at the owner while everyone scurried into their houses to watch from the windows. Once safely behind my door, I started laughing as I watched my host cousin challenge the bull with his mototaxi as the neighbors yelled at each other. It was all quite comical and much less scary than when I am the first one to wake up in the morning only to find myself facing off with the giant rats that come out when no one is in the room. Due to our proximity to corn farmers, I think I am going to have to get over my rat phobia if I don't want to live in a panic.
This week was punctuated by my first Peruvian birthday celebration. I happen to have the same birthday as one of my Peruvian cousins, only she was turning ten to my 23. The age difference didn't matter as the entire family celebrates together regardless. I offered to help with the shopping and contribute the cake, little did I know this meant I would be buying the materials for putting on a party for 20 ten year olds and their entire families. I invited about four friends because I guess I did not understand what my Peruvian aunts had in mind. The evening mainly consisted of lots of candy, cake, and dancing followed by dinner and then more cake, some booze, and more dancing. Overall it was a nice birthday and I really appreciate the effort that my friends and family here put into making me feel important and welcome. The next festivities will come at the end of January and I look forward to another opportunity to practice my cumbia and raggaeton dancing skills.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Reverting to my N'Sync Days
Now that the holidays are over it is time for me to squeeze in as much work until the next holiday season begins. Towards the end of January we have our mid year San Pablo festival. Apparently, this is a watered down version of the San Pablo celebration, which occurs in late June. As I found out over Christmas, even when you plan meetings during times of celebration they will not actually happen. I have learned to embrace the reverence for celebration, as I am sure this will make my next two years much less frustrating.
In my efforts to get going again with my projects, I have had many meetings at the health post to plan my upcoming hand washing campaign. I will be working with the OBGYN and health promoters to go door to door in the poorest section of town to teach the residents how to make "tippy-taps" (essentially a 2 liter bottle turned upside down and filled with water to act as a tap) so that they can wash their hands even during the hours when there is no water. We will also be showing them how to avoid creating mosquito breeding grounds in their house in an effort to eradicate Dengue Fever. I think the door to door approach will be more effective than other possible approaches because we will be able to address specific issues and answer individual questions. I will be involving various community leaders in this effort to make it more community based and to lessen the workload.
Another project I have on line is to establish a system to educate people who sell and serve food in the market about sanitary food handling techniques. We will also be trying to get the local police to monitor the sanitary conditions at the market because, quite frankly, I cannot even bring myself to enter the meat section of the market as it is now. There is already a law in place requiring monitoring of food safety but it has been left by the wayside. I hope that some education and pressure on the municipality will help Pacora improve the sanitary conditions at the market.
The main thing that is keeping me busy these days are my summer school English classes. I teach elementary school students five days a week for 2 hours a day. My classes tend to consist of a lot of repetition, the necessary evil when teaching a language. I am hoping to use these classes to build more confidence and develop a better relationship with the students, teachers, and principals so that I can do more environmental education in the upcoming school year.
With all this work, I have also made time for fun. Last night the neighboring town was having their "Three Kings Festival" so I went to check it out. The main square was surrounded by food vendors and carnival games and packed with people. It was quite a scene but nothing compared to the dance that started later that night. The band playing at the dance was Hermanos Yaipen, pretty much the Peruvian N'Sync. Since my arrival in Peru I have heard about four different songs on repeat in every house and building in every part of the country. Two of these songs are by the Hermanos Yaipen and the other two are by a group called Grupo Cinco. Hermanos Yaipen is a spinoff of Grupo Cinco, which was originally formed in the 1970's by the real Yaipen brothers. Since then, the Yaipen brothers have recruited young guys who have blond highlights and wear disgusting amounts of hair gel to do the actual performing while they rake in serious amounts of money. Not only is the music all over the radio but the Hermanos Yaipen are in every commercial on tv. The most popular tv show at the moment is a history of Grupo Cinco which follows the efforts of the original Yaipen brothers to establish the band. Their popularity is overwhelming so, as you may have guessed, I was thrilled to see them live. I went with my friend Marta, the president of the women's organization here in Pacora, and we pushed our way right up to the stage where we could (and did) literally touch the band members. I kept the touching to a cordial handshake while other crazed drunk women went all out trying to grope the overly groomed band members. I got caught up in the spirit and started talking to my friend about which one of them was the cutest but after I left the charged concert hall, I realized that none of them are really my type since they all probably spend infinitely more time preening than I do. I am not really interested in high maintenance but it was fun to feel like a preteen at a Jonas Brothers concert.
The best part of this concert was the dancing. We danced from 10:30 pm to 3am and the concert was still going strong when we left. I have really come to appreciate that everyone dances well. Men and women of all ages know how to dance Cumbia (the genre of the Hermanos Yaipen), Salsa, Merengue, Marinera, and Huaynos. Whenever they ask me how we dance in the US they get a kick out of my spastic arm waving and wiggling around. I try to explain that we pretty much move around however we want and don't have named steps but it works better just to show them my version. I think the freestyle US dancing may just have to come out at the upcoming San Pablo mid-year festival and then Carnival after that. I will consider this a "secondary project" to achieve the cultural interchange goal of the Peace Corps. Who knows, by Carnival I may even feel bold enough to bust out my MC Hammer dance.
In my efforts to get going again with my projects, I have had many meetings at the health post to plan my upcoming hand washing campaign. I will be working with the OBGYN and health promoters to go door to door in the poorest section of town to teach the residents how to make "tippy-taps" (essentially a 2 liter bottle turned upside down and filled with water to act as a tap) so that they can wash their hands even during the hours when there is no water. We will also be showing them how to avoid creating mosquito breeding grounds in their house in an effort to eradicate Dengue Fever. I think the door to door approach will be more effective than other possible approaches because we will be able to address specific issues and answer individual questions. I will be involving various community leaders in this effort to make it more community based and to lessen the workload.
Another project I have on line is to establish a system to educate people who sell and serve food in the market about sanitary food handling techniques. We will also be trying to get the local police to monitor the sanitary conditions at the market because, quite frankly, I cannot even bring myself to enter the meat section of the market as it is now. There is already a law in place requiring monitoring of food safety but it has been left by the wayside. I hope that some education and pressure on the municipality will help Pacora improve the sanitary conditions at the market.
The main thing that is keeping me busy these days are my summer school English classes. I teach elementary school students five days a week for 2 hours a day. My classes tend to consist of a lot of repetition, the necessary evil when teaching a language. I am hoping to use these classes to build more confidence and develop a better relationship with the students, teachers, and principals so that I can do more environmental education in the upcoming school year.
With all this work, I have also made time for fun. Last night the neighboring town was having their "Three Kings Festival" so I went to check it out. The main square was surrounded by food vendors and carnival games and packed with people. It was quite a scene but nothing compared to the dance that started later that night. The band playing at the dance was Hermanos Yaipen, pretty much the Peruvian N'Sync. Since my arrival in Peru I have heard about four different songs on repeat in every house and building in every part of the country. Two of these songs are by the Hermanos Yaipen and the other two are by a group called Grupo Cinco. Hermanos Yaipen is a spinoff of Grupo Cinco, which was originally formed in the 1970's by the real Yaipen brothers. Since then, the Yaipen brothers have recruited young guys who have blond highlights and wear disgusting amounts of hair gel to do the actual performing while they rake in serious amounts of money. Not only is the music all over the radio but the Hermanos Yaipen are in every commercial on tv. The most popular tv show at the moment is a history of Grupo Cinco which follows the efforts of the original Yaipen brothers to establish the band. Their popularity is overwhelming so, as you may have guessed, I was thrilled to see them live. I went with my friend Marta, the president of the women's organization here in Pacora, and we pushed our way right up to the stage where we could (and did) literally touch the band members. I kept the touching to a cordial handshake while other crazed drunk women went all out trying to grope the overly groomed band members. I got caught up in the spirit and started talking to my friend about which one of them was the cutest but after I left the charged concert hall, I realized that none of them are really my type since they all probably spend infinitely more time preening than I do. I am not really interested in high maintenance but it was fun to feel like a preteen at a Jonas Brothers concert.
The best part of this concert was the dancing. We danced from 10:30 pm to 3am and the concert was still going strong when we left. I have really come to appreciate that everyone dances well. Men and women of all ages know how to dance Cumbia (the genre of the Hermanos Yaipen), Salsa, Merengue, Marinera, and Huaynos. Whenever they ask me how we dance in the US they get a kick out of my spastic arm waving and wiggling around. I try to explain that we pretty much move around however we want and don't have named steps but it works better just to show them my version. I think the freestyle US dancing may just have to come out at the upcoming San Pablo mid-year festival and then Carnival after that. I will consider this a "secondary project" to achieve the cultural interchange goal of the Peace Corps. Who knows, by Carnival I may even feel bold enough to bust out my MC Hammer dance.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Happy New Year!
My sixth week in site started off exciting and unpredictable as usual. Saturday night as I sat on the couch watching my new bootleg copy of Sleeping Beauty the neighbor came over to inform us that she had just seen two men dressed all in black jump over the wall from her backyard into ours. Luckily my host dad had just gotten home and locked the back door because I had previously been home alone. Before I knew it the whole neighborhood had gathered outside our house including my extended host family who had been partying down the street. My host sister's husband entered shortly with his shotgun loaded and headed for the backyard. Luckily the intruders had left because the last thing I wanted was a shootout in my yard. After he came back in, all the little girls who had shown up to witness the action came in and demanded that I start the movie back up. Nothing calms the nerves like a good Disney princess movie. About twenty minutes later the whole crowd who had gathered outside my house took off yelling after the thieves who they had seen exit the neighbor's house empty handed. They didn't catch up to them but this is probably a good thing because violent vigilante justice is totally accepted here and I wasn't really in the mood to see anyone knifed. That would have ruined my holiday season.
The next night I got to attend my first Peruvian hair cutting ceremony. This is a tradition where everyone participates in giving a young child their first haircut.. Each guest presents the child with a small amount of money and is then allowed to cut a chunk of hair. This ceremony, in true Peruvian form, involves heavy drinking and multiple meals. The parties here are never simply dinner parties, they all last long enough to necessitate more than one meal being served. After eating a large amount of rice and duck (straight from the pen in the backyard-local and sustainable just the way I like it), we started passing the glass around and shortly thereafter the dancing begun. Everyone was very eager to see me dance so I humored them with a cross of my "raising the roof" move and my attempt at cumbia. As you can see, I take my community integration and cultural exchange very seriously.
I spent Monday at Starbucks taking a day to catch up on emails and skyping and, most importantly, download a couple of episodes of Gossip Girl since I recently finished season 3 of the West Wing that I had brought with me on DVD. Sometimes a long day of wireless internet and overpriced beverages is the best way to decompress after intense sessions of cultural exchange and home intrusions.
This week came to an end as we rang in 2010 in true Peruvian fashion. In fact, I shouldn't even be writing in the past tense because as I sit here typing, I hear the parties still going all around me and it is 2:30 pm New Years Day. The tradition here is to make a doll out of old clothes stuffed with straw and firecrackers and then burn it at midnight. It is supposed to represent burning away the negative of the old year and starting over. Our doll just happened to be wearing the Mets hat which my host cousins had received as a gift. I explained to them that we were burning away the failure of last season and giving the Mets a chance to start over in 2010 as well. After burning the doll, we ate dinner and started the party complete with dancing, the passing of the beer glass, and Peruvian moonshine. I was determined to stay until the sun came up because I failed to do so on Christmas. I got home a little after 6 AM feeling proud that I had survived Peruvian New Years. All this is not to say I came away completely unscathed. I busted my lip and bled a good amount after my host sister tried to teach me to open a beer bottle with my teeth. She made it look so easy and she is about a foot shorter than me and is usually quite reserved. I should know by now that people here are a lot tougher than me even if they don't appear that way. I'm just lucky I didn't mess up my expensive orthodontia. My parents would not have been pleased.
This morning I woke up after only 2 hours of sleep to my host sister and her husband starting a party upstairs. I decided to stay occupied by making guacamole and mango juice (it is avocado and mango season and we can't eat either fast enough). After completing my tasks, I went to the store to buy crackers so I could take the guacamole up to the party and I was accosted by lots of drunk people in the streets. I should know by now that going out alone on holidays, even if it is 9 AM is asking for trouble. After running the gauntlet of creepy old guys that had been drinking since 8 pm the day before, I finally got the guacamole and crackers to my very appreciative family and friends. At this point there was no choice but to join in the fun so I continued to ring in 2010 by dancing and passing the glass with my family. I only lasted for about half an hour but my appearance was greatly appreciated and did a lot for my host family integration. I am planning on spending the rest of the day in my room because I really don't think I can dance any more and I surely don't want anymore beer.
The next night I got to attend my first Peruvian hair cutting ceremony. This is a tradition where everyone participates in giving a young child their first haircut.. Each guest presents the child with a small amount of money and is then allowed to cut a chunk of hair. This ceremony, in true Peruvian form, involves heavy drinking and multiple meals. The parties here are never simply dinner parties, they all last long enough to necessitate more than one meal being served. After eating a large amount of rice and duck (straight from the pen in the backyard-local and sustainable just the way I like it), we started passing the glass around and shortly thereafter the dancing begun. Everyone was very eager to see me dance so I humored them with a cross of my "raising the roof" move and my attempt at cumbia. As you can see, I take my community integration and cultural exchange very seriously.
I spent Monday at Starbucks taking a day to catch up on emails and skyping and, most importantly, download a couple of episodes of Gossip Girl since I recently finished season 3 of the West Wing that I had brought with me on DVD. Sometimes a long day of wireless internet and overpriced beverages is the best way to decompress after intense sessions of cultural exchange and home intrusions.
This week came to an end as we rang in 2010 in true Peruvian fashion. In fact, I shouldn't even be writing in the past tense because as I sit here typing, I hear the parties still going all around me and it is 2:30 pm New Years Day. The tradition here is to make a doll out of old clothes stuffed with straw and firecrackers and then burn it at midnight. It is supposed to represent burning away the negative of the old year and starting over. Our doll just happened to be wearing the Mets hat which my host cousins had received as a gift. I explained to them that we were burning away the failure of last season and giving the Mets a chance to start over in 2010 as well. After burning the doll, we ate dinner and started the party complete with dancing, the passing of the beer glass, and Peruvian moonshine. I was determined to stay until the sun came up because I failed to do so on Christmas. I got home a little after 6 AM feeling proud that I had survived Peruvian New Years. All this is not to say I came away completely unscathed. I busted my lip and bled a good amount after my host sister tried to teach me to open a beer bottle with my teeth. She made it look so easy and she is about a foot shorter than me and is usually quite reserved. I should know by now that people here are a lot tougher than me even if they don't appear that way. I'm just lucky I didn't mess up my expensive orthodontia. My parents would not have been pleased.
This morning I woke up after only 2 hours of sleep to my host sister and her husband starting a party upstairs. I decided to stay occupied by making guacamole and mango juice (it is avocado and mango season and we can't eat either fast enough). After completing my tasks, I went to the store to buy crackers so I could take the guacamole up to the party and I was accosted by lots of drunk people in the streets. I should know by now that going out alone on holidays, even if it is 9 AM is asking for trouble. After running the gauntlet of creepy old guys that had been drinking since 8 pm the day before, I finally got the guacamole and crackers to my very appreciative family and friends. At this point there was no choice but to join in the fun so I continued to ring in 2010 by dancing and passing the glass with my family. I only lasted for about half an hour but my appearance was greatly appreciated and did a lot for my host family integration. I am planning on spending the rest of the day in my room because I really don't think I can dance any more and I surely don't want anymore beer.
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