10 Reasons Why Ayacucho Easter > USA Easter

The route

Peru being a predominately Catholic country, they take Easter very seriously here and in Ayacucho you will want for nothing when it comes to their Easter celebrations, here are the reasons more or less in the order that they happened.

1. The view

nuff said

courtesy of Mike Kowalick-fellow PCV

2. Time off

In the United States people with office jobs rarely work on Sundays so Easter is not an extra day off but in Peru, schools and most office jobs get  Holy Thursday, Holy Friday, and the weekend off to celebrate.

3. Running with the bulls
This year we heard rumors that this particular activity would be cancelled; I later found out that the municipality of Ayacucho had actually prohibited the event but like many safety regulations in Peru (i.e. stop signs and traffic lights) it was ignored and I got to see this interesting event take place. I didn't see the beginning when they first released the bulls but I saw three run down the street one by one, attached by rope to a man on a horse. I was holding the hand of a fellow volunteer and we were getting ready to join the crowd to be chased by the bull but we both chickened out; I was honestly more scared of being trampled by the hordes of people more than the bull, we just stayed on the side hoping the bull wouldn't run towards us. I really wish I had video to share but I was in awe and didn't want to get distracted by my camera. Here is a picture I took off of google. I was standing farther down on the left side of the right street of the picture.

courtesy of Google images

4. Sexy fire men 
After the running with the bulls excitment we stood in the plaza and watched as a firetruck drove by; we were worried that someone had gotten injured but when the truck stopped and two firemen began to unravel the hose, we realized we were all about to get sprayed down...which was a relief because Ayacucho is a lot closer to the sun than Pimentel, I was gettin' crispy.

Photo courtesy of Mike Kowalick-fellow PCV

As I have told many of you back home, it is rare for me to be attracted to a Peruvian man. I don't know if this particular case was because he was a fireman but the other Peace Corps gals who were around also commented on this guy's good looks but alas we have been here a long time... anyways after the cool down we continued to hang out in the plaza to wach the human towers.....

5. Human Towers

When I first heard of this tradition I pictured human pyramids-groups of people on their hands and knees piling onto each others' backs. However the reality was people standing on each others' shoulders and the person at the top taking off their shirt. I decided I didn't want to risk concussion so I just enjoyed watching the toppling towers of drunk people and proceeded to nap at this point of the day.

6. The fireworks 

There aren't many words I can say to describe to you how amazing the fireworks were this night, I do have a short video to try to paint the picture but ya still kinda had to be there, but please watch anyway!

7. Food

The food in Peru is magnificent, I do have complaints sometimes about the way it is prepared and the amount of oil used and lack of variety but gosh darn it if it isn't some of the tastiest foods on the planet. It's not just the tastiness either, I will be missing the accessibility to food in Peru. Walking down the street amoungst celebrations, getting the drunkie munchies and women are selling bags of freshly popped popcorn, candy covered apples, hand made ice cream (sooo rico), anticuchos, and other goodies! 

this lady is about to serve me delicious handmade ice cream 

8. Dancing

Never have I ever stayed out til 5 in the morning.,. until coming to Peru. Without bar closing times and when I have the ganas it is pretty easy to stay out dancing until sunrise. During these celebrations there is no lack of discotecas full of swaying people or bands in the plaza playing huayno until your feet hurt. 

9. Procession

Hours were spent arreglando this arc (that might be the word, I honestly don't know) for the procession,
it is so huge that it takes a few dozen people to carry it out on their shoulders through the plaza. Honestly I didn't stay up to watch the whole procession, my eyes refused to stay open any longer as they were bringing this huge thing out of the church at 5am!

10. Friends
This trip would not have been the same if it hadn't been for the awesome people I was with. 19ers-you are an amazing group of people, all vacations are made better when I'm around them. So happy I got to see my friend Sam after such a long separation.

love these ladies! Photo courtesy of Mike Kowalick. 

 Sam and Garrett, my new awesome buddy  who accompanied Sam on this trip from Austin

Samuelllll 

Carlhey posing with the penis face masks in a pizza restaurant....so classy

Look how tired I am, this was on our last day in Ayacucho with this beautiful babe, my fellow 19er Andrea

Can't believe how fast the time the time has gone, look out for my next blog post most likely featuring me freaking out about how close I am to finishing  my service!

P.S. Please please please donate to our girls leadership camp this year taking place June 27-29; follow this link to see a description, all donations are tax deductible and EVERY single penny is used towards this camp, you'd be surprised how much we could buy for 5 dollars... if you cannot donate at least post the link to your facebook so others may see it!

Posh Corps

I can’t tell you how many times volunteers have come to my site and have asked incredulously “THIS IS YOUR SITE?!” I consider myself very lucky, I live on the beach, I have a supermarket in my town that sells luxury items like Coke Zero, Doritos and boxes of Mac & Cheese, my host mom doesn’t yell at me to get out of the kitchen and I am also accustomed to running water 3 times a day, in the early morning, around lunchtime and in the evening for two hours each. Well, on Sunday I found myself taken out of the “Posh Corps” and put in a very unsavory position in which I went 2.5 days without running water. To write this is very trivial because half of the people who read this (Americans) will gasp at that number while many volunteers do not have running water in their site or it often comes out a murky brown color. Alas, I still am writing about it. For the past 2 days I have run to the faucet at the allotted times when water usually leaves, apprehensively waiting, hoping that glorious mixture of hydrogen and oxygen would come spilling into the sink. I went for a run on Sunday and cleaned myself with baby wipes; yesterday I resigned myself to skipping the exercising as to not add to my rank smell.

This morning I woke up early, nervously made my way into the kitchen and YES! I had never been so happy to see running water, I nearly did a cartwheel, except it was not the clear, clean water I was used to.  Plop. At midday today, the water did not come at it prescheduled time. Frack. Water is a whore, a tease who I previously thought I could count on but then leaves me for days and comes back but only to show up for a quickie. WAIT. Ten minutes before they shut off the water I decided to try it again. YIPEE! Here is it is again, this time it is renewed, pure. I rushed to the bathroom to grab a bucket and filled it until the last drop fell so I could bucket bathe this afternoon. Never have I ever been so excited to bucket bathe. It was luxurious. I didn’t have enough of the clean water for a complete cleanse so I began with the murky brown h20 and ended with the good stuff. I feel human again.

This blog post is an ode to volunteers in Peru and around the world who often goes days, months, and even the whole 2 years without running water, taking baths in the river or carrying buckets from the well. You are strong souls. 

That time my host mom turned 80

 The 80th birthday is basically a sweet 16 for the eldery. It is a big blow out and my host family threw my host mother a great big 8-0 celebration. They asked me to invite one of my volunteer friends and we had a great time. Here are some pictures from that paaarty.

Betty (one of favorite PCVs) with my host mama

que lindas

The Entrance

mmmm cake

mariachi band seranading my mother

host bro and ma

one of those occasions when there is no birthday cake in the face

bonitaaas

hermanitaas

love this lady, one of host brother's daughters

my beautiful host niece Claudia but she's more like a sister 

 Don't have too much to say about this event. It was a lot of dancing and yummy food. Betty and I were pretty exhausted by 2am and went to sleep but many of them were up til 5am and continued to party all the next day! Peruvians know how to raise the roof!

Bajada de Reyes

Following my wonderful trip to Ecuador I was whisked into the festivities of Three Kings Day (January 6th) in Pimentel. Last year I played the Virgin Mary and one of my best friends played my Joseph. Before leaving for the states my host family approached me to ask if I would once again be their Virgin Mary. To be completely honest I really didn't want to, with my friend gone and lack of male volunteers to fill the role, I just didn't feel like being the token gringa for the day but I told my family I would think about. Well I did just that and I realized it would have been very selfish of me to not proceed as Virgin Mary, this event is very important to my host family, they spend months planning and I knew that they really wanted me for the part so right before leaving I shared the news with them that I would be their Mary. For the days leading up to January 6th, the dancers rehearsed in the street outside of my host mother's home far into the night. Here's a little clip of them rehearsing.

My host family arranged for the band involved in the parade and our skit to eat breakfast and lunch with a few members of the family and me. Here we are post breakfast-the band members doing a short number for those working in the restaurant. 

One of my host brothers dancing with one of the servers

After returning home, I relaxed in my room for a little while before we ventured out again with the band to eat lunch. I recall enjoying what I ate but I remember the most is the amount of beers they served us and per Peruvian culture it is rude to turn down drinks, needless to say I was a little tipsy at lunchtime that day, thankfully it wore off quickly-it was hot that day and I was guzzling water so I wouldn't fry in my Mary costume.

host family dancing at lunch

Shortly after lunch we began to walk the parade route around Pimentel. This year I was not asked to carry the baby around (thank God-my arms hurt so bad last year!) and the route was shorter.

Joseph and I

dancers leaded by Three Kings

rock star Virgin Mary

 We arrived at the end of the route to be judged on our skit, we had to wait a couple hours because there were other groups ahead of us.

hanging out with my host mom before the judging

waiting...

getting ready for the skit

When the skit began, the lead male dancer attempted a  fire breathing trick. He lit a piece of cloth at the end of stick on fire then his mask caught fire and it took him a disturbing amount of time to put it out, I looked around the crowd-some people looked jovial and others worried, those who with smiles on their faces assumed that it was part of the trick and I asked "Joseph" (brother in law of one of my host nieces)  who was standing next to me if that was supposed to happen and he claimed it was but I remained skeptical.

crowd watching botched fire breathing trick

While we waited for the results I stood with my host mother and my host sisters; the moment the judges announced our street "Calle Santa Rosa" as the winner there was an explosion of cheers from all around me, I wish I could bottle up all the energy that happened at that single moment and keep it with me as a talisman forever-it felt that wonderful. I watched as tears streamed from my host mother's face and the dancers jumped up and down with joy, all of the participants and host family, gleefully danced our way back to my host mother's home to celebrate. What's the big deal you ask? Well, in the whole wide range of things it really isn't but I think Peruvians understand more than Americans that it's the little things that count and in that moment it did. Later I saw the dancer the who's mask caught fire, he had some minor burns on his face but he was in as good as mood as every one else. 

banner presented to my host family for being the winner of the competition

celebrating in front of my host mom's home

out of the Virgin Mary costume ready to celebrate with my host family 

host mom getting ready to pass of el niño on to a new family, this was my host family's third and final year in participating in the event

What I Wish Americans Knew about my Peace Corps Country

Check out this video I made for the video challenge in honor of Peace Corps week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZSiNQ_FOzU&feature=youtu.be

abrazos

P.S. I will try to get a new post up here soon-ish, I honestly just haven't been motivated to write anything

Reblog from What I Learned in the Peace Corps

This is a blog post I came across on my Facebook newsfeed, it is from a volunteer I don't know who served in a different country but her words are well written and I thought it was worth the share. Enjoy.

Don't Join the Peace Corps

You heard me. Don’t do it. I’m telling you, it’s going to break your heart.The Core Expectations for Volunteers states you are expected to “serve where the Peace Corps asks you to go, under conditions of hardship, if necessary…” What it doesn’t state however is just what hardship means.Right now you’re thinking, “Oh. There’ll be no flush toilets or showers. I can handle that. I might have to squash a few spiders, but for the high calling of changing the world, I think I can put up with those things.”But the truth is, hardship isn’t the quirky and fun hardship you’re expecting, where each new day brings adventure upon crazy adventure, more wonderful than the next. True hardship is much more sobering.During your service you might have to bury a neighbor. Or watch helplessly as your host family is torn to pieces by corruption. You might show up to school to learn one of your students was killed by a classmate. Your host sister could be kidnapped and forced to marry a man she’s never met. You might witness abuse, violence and mistreatment. You may see your best student lose to a kid from another school because his bribe was the biggest. Your dog might be fed a needle, just to quiet it down, forever.And if none of that happens, then something else will. There’s just no knowing how hard it will be or it what way. It could be dealing with other volunteers is your biggest challenge. Or that you can never live up to the expectations of your host organization. Or that the Internet is so accessible you spend your entire day trolling Facebook, jealous of all the lives continuing on back home.And what about all the things you’ll give up? Your boyfriend might not wait two years for you. You’ll put your career on hold. Your familiar support networks probably won’t be around – there’ll be no gym, no fast food joint, no car to drive, no family to visit. The stress and diet could make you lose thirty pounds—or gain thirty—whichever you don’t want.The Peace Corps uses phrases like, “Life is calling. How far will you go?” and in a breath you’re ready to sign your name on the line. But two years is a long, long time and in the middle you find the world you wanted to change is a confusing and complex puzzle of which you are just one, tiny piece.So please, if you’re not ready for the heartbreak in the hardship, don’t join the Peace Corps.Or do.Because you might just find that all your blood, sweat and tears are worth it – worth the pain, worth the time and worth the investment in the people for whom your heart breaks. Because you might learn some of the most important lessons of your life – that a broken heart can heal stronger than it was before, that a softened heart has more compassion for the world, and that in between its cracks and fissures is the only place where true beauty and grace can grow. 

Original post: Don't join the Peace Corps

6 months to go

“Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go.”

I counted down the days, and finally it came and went, swiftly and pleasantly.  My hat is tipped to the volunteers who manage a full two years without once making a trip to the land of Star Spangled Banner. 

There were so many things about America that I did not appreciate until returning there after a year and half in Peru. For instance, running water- never will I ever again take for granted having clean, hot, running water 24/7, I happily did my laundry WITH a dryer at any hour of the day that was convenient for me, did dishes by hand under wonderful hot water, and with much gusto drank water from the tap. I stood in the aisle at Walgreens for about 15 minutes just staring at the wall of face products searching for a face moisturizer, there were just soooo many kinds! Something about Peru completely and utterly blows my mind: costumer service, or lack of, I should say. Do you know why this boggles me? These people are among the kindest people I have ever met, they refuse a “no” when they offer you food in their home, they always greet each other on the street, “buenas días/tardes/noches/ como estas?” are things I here several times a day, you can’t walk into a room without kissing someone on the cheek to greet them politely but for some crazy frustrating reason, generally the customer service here is TERRIBLE! If I am in a restaurant I could easily wait 10-15 minutes before a waiter comes to my table, usually without a smile or greeting,  9 times out of 10 they will bring you 1 menu for the table, there are no free refills and just a list too long to revisit here but it’s so interesting to have such a kind hearted culture to have such bad service. So when I was at the Atlanta airport, getting my grub on, and received such pleasant service from the waitress, I was so happy! I left her a very merry tip.  I used to be a waitress so I was already grateful for good service at a restaurant but now I have a special place in my heart for the bartender who served me my first bloody mary on US soil after being away for 18 months and for the woman who brought me a delicious high calorie platter of fried food to my table at Buffalo Wild Wings, the first restaurant I stepped foot into at the Atlanta airport.  My mind boggled at all the flavors of vodka, Salty Watermelon, really?  I stood in the aisle in Hy-Vee and I counted 15 different types of bloody mary mix on the shelf. I could go on and on detailing all the things I will not take for granted when I return home for good but I’d like to end there with things and go on to people; my favorite part about my trip to the US was seeing my friends and family, getting to put my arms around my mom, dad, brother, sister, and nieces/nephews was incredible.

Christmas Day

 Spending time with my friends in Des Moines and especially Cedar Falls was like a dream.

these girls are like my sisters, first time all 5 of us were together in about 3 years, and the first time we were all at a bar together...legally

There were indeed aspects of my relationships that were different but those differences were such that did not affect our friendship; like they had grown up, gotten real jobs and acted like adults but we still shared the same inside jokes and felt so comfortable together. I consider these relationships, the ones I’ve really held onto the past 20 months to be really very special.  If you are one of those friends reading this (you know who you are) I am so incredibly thankful for you.  Some people are afraid to go home because they believe they would not be able to get on the return flight to Peru after seeing their friends and family but I felt the opposite, I felt like wow, my relationships rule, if we can make it 18 months apart then I can make it the next 7 months because I know that I have so much support and love from home-again, thank you.

Most things become easier with the passage of time. It is not so with Peace Corps. There is a quote from one of the many books I have read in my free time “I had proof that not all days are the same length, not all time has the same weight.” I have definitely found that proof here in my time as a Peace Corps volunteer; some days are fleeting, blinks of the eye other days are long, grueling, exhausting, especially boring days, those days are the hardest.  My first 6 months in Peru were filled with those miserable days but I convinced myself that if my language level improved everything else would eventually fall into place; eventually my language did improve and things did fall into place and I rode that wave for 6 months and I was genuinely happy to be here but unfortunately the past couple months have been rough. I made it through November because I knew that I would be going home to visit soon and I would get the reboot I needed. Now I’ve been back in Peru for a couple weeks and it has not been easy; I’m not saying I’m ready to jump onto a plane back to the comforts of the United States right now but it has been a thought that has crossed my mind. However I will be staying, not just because there is so little time left but because I really do think there are things I could still do here to benefit my community, I hope I am not eating my words. I also know that I will miss it here, when I am back home in my Queen sized bed and eating all the wonderful varities of cheese that exist in the USA, I will miss my sweet blessed host mother, I will miss going to Peruvian parties or holding children while their parents “joke” that I could take their baby back to the US with me, I will miss the beach, I will miss the other amazing volunteers I serve with, nonetheless I’ll be needing lots of love from back home and from my awesome fellow volunteers for the next 6 months and I do not doubt on your delivery. Abrazo fuerte.