5 months in Peru

Disclaimer: There is no cohesiveness to this entry, I’ve just had a word document open while my pictures are uploading and when I remember something I stuff it in here.

October FLEW by. I can’t believe it is November already and that I have been in Peru for 5 months!

There were a couple times I got reallllly homesick this last month: UNI’s homecoming and Halloween; however I ended up having really fun experiences here that helped me miss them less. On UNI’s homecoming weekend, I went into it really bummed out; I saw everyone’s facebook updates about being in CF and I felt pretty low but then on that Saturday we had going away festivities for Peru 16 and I had a fucking blast!!!! We learned the ganam style dance on the rooftop of the PC hostel and then we went out into the Chiclayo (our department’s capitol city) and performed the dance in the plaza, on the street, in a restaurant, it was pretty great. I still can’t dance but I was having so much fun I wasn't embarrassed at all! You can view these performances here: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTuCX3CetVI

here we are in the hostel post filming our awesome dance moves

On Halloween I wanted to host a “Celebración de Halloween” and play games like bobbing for apples, mummy wrap, pin the nose on the Jack-O-lantern, make some masks, and the best part: show Hocus Pocus (in Spanish) in the main plaza in Pimentel. Unfortunately in Peru things don’t always work out the way you want them too so I had a small group of students from one school (out of all the students from about 10 schools in the community) and they showed up late (of course) and the teachers couldn’t stay late enough for us to watch the movie so the games went pretty well but I was pretty bummed about not being able to show Hocus Pocus, oh well hopefully next year!!!!  But that wasn’t what made Halloween awesome, I actually went to visit another volunteer’s site and some of the volunteers came too and we had a BLAST. We danced, drank some beers, and then in the morning we went to Chongoyape which is a B-E-A-UUUtiful part of Lambayeque; I saw a monkey!!!! I got to hold its leash and it tried drinking out of my water bottle, I wish I had my camera on me but another volunteer snapped this:

Seriously, if you know me at all, you know that is like a dream come true! Can’t wait to go to Iquitos-Monkey Island, it’ll be magical.

Still running!!! I had to stop for about a week because I was sickly but I’m feeling better so I’m starting up again and it feels so great!!! I’ve also added some ab work outs and yoga so I’m hoping to look hot for Mancora come New Year’s!!!!  

One reason why October went by so fast was because it was Pimentel’s anniversary and in Peru, town anniversaries are a BIG DEAL. It’s like a two week celebration, they didn’t completely stop working for the whole two weeks but they had a lot of activities going on during those two weeks so it was hard to get work done at the municipality which I think is partly why my Halloween plans weren’t very successful because the anniversary festivities had just ended. Anyways here are some pictures from Pimentel’s serenata; it was pretty fun Marisol was there and apparently they are a big deal in Peru. I was also pretty stoked to see fireworks since I missed out on them for 4^th of July.

This is called a castillo, it shoots of fireworks

this is a dance that represents the Legend of Naylamp, don't ask me what the Legend was I have no idea but the dance was cool

OK I have two stories about how small this world is. First one, in transit to visit another volunteer I met a little girl from Iowa!!! She spent the first 8 years of her life in Oskalooska and her family is Peruvian and recently moved back to Chiclayo. Craziness. Second one, a few weeks ago Sam (volunteer in the community next to mine) and I were in my super market and this girl calls out his name and they start talking and she is from his hometown of San Antonio but they haven’t seen each other for like 7 years because she went away to study in Spain and is now living in Pimentel with her husband teaching in Chiclayo!!!! Mind blown.

I’ve started reading Harry Potter in Spanish, I’m only one chapter in but I LOVE it!!!! There are so many words I don’t recognize but I am able to decipher what they mean because I know the book so well. I got all 7 in Spanish and English downloaded on my Kindle so if I’m really stumped in the Spanish version I can do a quick check for meaning in my English version! Yay. Weird translation side note: “He-Who-Must-Not be-Named” becomes “Quien usted sabe” in Spanish which directly translated means “You know who”.  

Election day is almost here, I hope you guys are getting out there and voting!!! I’m pretty bummed I didn’t get my absentee ballot back in time L Hopefully Obama will get another 4 years!

When I eat food it is not uncommon for me to find that my food still has a face, skin, bones, and yes hair. By face, skin, and bones I’m referring to being served an entire fish- head, scales, and its insides; I can’t bring myself to eat the head or skin but I the meat on the bones is YUMMY! By hair I don’t necessarily mean that there is human hair found in my food (that does happen) but I’m more referring to when I get a piece of meat with animal hair still on it *shudder* I just took my spoon (Peruvians eat with spoons not forks, I’m the only one who uses the one and only fork in my house) and ate around the hairy parts.  Also when I eat food I’ve come across an ant or two, you know what I do then? I shrug/sigh and pick the little guy out of my food and keep eating. Can you imagine? Life has a changed.

Thanksgiving is coming up and there is sooo much to be thankful for this year! I will probably make an entire blog post about everything I’m thankful for next!!! Keep it weird guys, love you!

Betty did my nails, aren't they pretty???

homemade pineapple salsa, cost me less than $1.00 be jealous

Below are the pictures of my Celebracion de Halloween, kind of entertaining for me hope you like them too!

Where your treasure is there will your heart be also

This is going to be short one, I just wanted to give a few updates and share some pictures (sorry I haven’t uploaded any for a while it takes forever!)

I think I’ve mentioned this previously but I’ll say it again. Packing all 10 seasons of Friends was one of my better decisions; I hadn’t watched since training and I decided to start it up again and I love it; it’s very cathartic. However since I’ve started watching it again thoughts like this have been going through my mind, “Am I like David the Scientist Guy who left and loses the one he loves?” or “Maybe I’m more like Ross who waits and waits to be with the person he loves but eventually he gets the girl.” Could I BE more pathetic?

I’m pretty certain I’m going to get diabetes from being here. I try to avoid sugar but it’s pretty much unavoidable; I’ve discovered these delicious trufas which are basically cake balls- nom nom nom.  A few weeks ago one of my host nieces had a birthday party and I swear it was the gateway party to diabetes. A 5 ft table complete with 8 trays of candy, 2 cakes, 2 trays of jell-O, masamora, and pop. We were all sitting around in a circle listening to the same 3 songs and eating the contents on the table- I still have a small pile of the party candy stashed away in my room ya know…in case of emergencies.

I have recently received two letters in the mail thank you Aunt Kae and Honor Heindl. It was like Christmas.

I’m going to fucking miss Halloween. They celebrate it here but I don't think it'll be like how we do in the states, I'm trying to find out if I can get some pumpkins to carve! 

Remember when I said I was running every day? Scratch that- I’m jogging every day; I realized the difference the other day when I tried to actually run not jog. But still I’m proud of me! Next up: biking!

Enjoy my pics!

my host family making a sugary dessert alfenique

my host sisters making cebiche

a guy in Pimentel was demonstrating some of his artwork, I thought this was  cool lookin

table of diabetes

birthday girl

me and some of the little uns in my host fam

my host mom, one of my brothers and I

isn't she adorable!?

there are like 30 more people in the family but here are some of them

I painted the walls in my room!

I think this is my favorite

"Today you are you that is truer than true, there is no one alive who is youer than you." 

I pretty much spent all Friday doing this, it was really cathartic and I feel like  my room is more mine now, def not done more to follow!

Gringa says what?

I may not look like a gringa but I sure sound like one; people assume before they here me speak that I'm Peruvian until I start speaking and then they are like, "oh where are you from?" That being said communication is probably my biggest challenge here. I am constantly repeating myself-I am more frustrated by not being understood than not understanding others. One of my socios talks very fast and he is impatient-not a good combination for me trying to understand him. He knows a little English so sometimes he tries explain in English but his English is worse than my Spanish so that rarely works.

Also, I think I’m being punished for being late all the time in my United States life.  Hora Peruana-is a term which signifies NOTHING, I mean NOTHING starts at the time it is scheduled. If Hora Peruana was a person I’d punch them in the face; ok maybe that’s a bit harsh but it gets frustrating arriving on time (which honestly isn’t something I really did in the states) and just waiting until things actually start.   I’ll give three examples of three completely different situations so you see what I mean:

1)I was invited to a meeting at the municipality, it was scheuled at 7pm; it didn’t begin until after 8pm. I actually got guffawed at when I arrived at 6:55pm.

2)My host family told me they were going to start selling cebiche at 10 yesterday morning-it started around 11.

3) I was told to be at my colegio at 8:30am one morning for an event; the event didn’t start until about 10:30am.

There are many more examples I could give you but then I don’t want to bitch too much about it. Just vent a bit. Maybe they have it right and us gringos in the states have it wrong being slaves to the clock. Peruvians enjoy the time they have together instead of staring at the clock waiting for the next thing to happen.  Just some food for thought.  

Love you all!!! I'll put pictures up for my next post, I don't have time now it takes like an hour for them to load!

Cheeze-its, Sriracha, and Starbucks

What? A blog entry less than a month later? Crazy I know. I really want to make it a habit of updating my blog, for your sake of course.

So as I had mentioned in my previous blog I have started running daily and I am proud of myself I’m on my 3^rd week of running every day minus 3 days this last weekend because I was really sick on Friday and decided it was best to wait a couple days to make sure it passed before running again. I feel pretty lucky my sickness only kept me bed ridden for 1 day, I remember the last time I was bed ridden was Thanksgiving last year and that was for about a week! Even though it’ll be the second year in a row I won’t be with my family during Thanksgiving, I will be hanging out with one of my best fellow volunteers and we will be going to see LADY GAGA!!! I’m so excited. Our plan is for me to travel down to Trujilo (capital city of La Libertad, a neighboring department) and spend Thanksgiving day with Ms. Brittany; that night we will travel to Lima on the overnight bus (probably going to spring for Super VIP- those chairs recline all the way back!) and then arrive Friday morning in Lima and head to see Gaga later at night!

I feel like I have been more productive lately so I’m not mentally kicking myself in the gonads. I started handing out surveys to the students at school and have begun conducting surveys with people in my neighborhood. From my observations I can see there is a huge need for prevention of adolescent mothers and mejorar-ing (that’s Spanglish for bettering) sexual education. I have a huge interest in doing projects in these areas so I’m excited for these opportunities. However I have also learned from just talking to people and from some surveys that there is also problem with delinquency in Pimentel. This is a problem that makes me weary due to my previous experience with delinquency when I worked at LSI. I don’t have any huge ideas yet about what to do about this particular problem however I figure that if I create fun programs for the youth to participate in, hopefully that in itself will deter some youth from going down the wrong path. That may be too optimistic but I’ll go with that for now.

On Sunday night I had the pleasure of skyping with some of my favorite book club ladies and Danny. Before we started chatting, Sommer asked me to open my email first and there in my inbox was an email from Amazon.com announcing my $100 gift card!!!!!! Sommer had gone around threatening to stab people at Soho to chip in for a gift card so I could buy books for my Kindle! Sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me, I nearly cried!!!! Made me really miss you my Soho friends, love you guys <3

On Monday I went to Chiclayo to see if I had anything for me at the post office and alas! I had two packages from my sweet mother. Not really a surprise I’ve been nagging her since I arrived from Peru to send me a bottle of siracha :p She also sent me some baggies of cheeze-its; it seriously took ALL the will power I have in my body to not eat all three Ziploc baggies right there in Starbucks. (I hung out in Starbucks for a bit and opened my packages there while I waited for a fellow volunteer.)  Peace Corps has a changed my friends. If you thought I was going to be living in a grass hut in the middle of nowhere, with no electricity, and complete isolation-then you would be mistaken. There are definitely volunteers that live in these kinds of conditions but less than there were in the past. That being said, when I say things like” I was hanging out at Starbucks”- I hope that doesn’t change your view of the meaning and importance of Peace Corps. Even though I live pretty comfortably it doesn’t make my experience that much easier. I am away from my home, my family, my friends. I struggle every day with communicating with every person I encounter.  I still cry at night because I miss people from home. I cry when none of the kids in my class seem interested in all in what I am trying to teach them. Sometimes I feel a little lost and useless but I’m pushing through. They say Peace Corps is the hardest job you’ll ever love-and even though I’m a newb I believe in it whole-heartedly. Peru is a great country; I love my host family and the people here are generally caring. Yes it’s going to be a hard two years but I’m very exciting for what is to come and I hope you will continue to read these blogs to help share these experiences. 

Words of Wisdom

·  On the morning of swearing in we all sat in a circle and wrote down "words of wisdom" on a piece of paper tossed it into a hat; then we went around the circle drew one from the hat and we all had to guess who wrote each one. Here are the words of wisdom from Peru Group 19. Love you guys, training was an amazing 10 weeks!  

--When you have the D, just go – Kaeli

 -Be happy and enjoy the adventure! – Samuel

· -Between something happening to you and the reaction you have, there is space for you to choose your own

    perceptions. Choose wisely – Mike

·      -Allow the simple things to bring you joy and laughter which you can spread to others. Laugh like you mean it J - Kendra

·       -  “The best way to find yourself…is to lose it  in the service of others” - Gandhi  - Connor

     -No one expects you to be 100% all the time – Jaime

·         -When you are feeling down on yourself and feel like you are not being a good volunteer, remember that when you talk to you family, socios, and Peruvian friends you are fulfilling goals 2 & 3. Stay happy & Stay strong! J  - Heidi

·        - Stay calm & rock on… you all are beautiful people!!! J - Emily

·         -Think of the people you admire most in life & when you run into difficult times, just imagine what they would do – Kyle

·       - Ain’t no mountain high enough, ain’t no valley low, ain’t no river wide enough baby, if you need me, call me, no matter where you are no matter how far – me 

·      -  “The utility of a vase is in its emptiness”, “Don’t fear silence”, “Don’t fear inactivity” – Lao Tzu – Niko

·       -  Stay calm and enjoy the ride – Brad

·         -You are dynamite, don’t mess with dynamite, cuz when you mess with dynamite it goes tic tic tic tic tic BOOM! dynamite ba boom dynamite! Good luck! I’ll miss you! – Brittany

·        - Every one of us is fully capable to be an excellent Peace Corps Volunteer. If you are ever feeling down remember why you wanted to join Peace Corps and nothing worth having in life comes easy. I love you – Andrea

·         -As we embark on this new adventure, let remember the important things in life, wahtever that may be for you. Change is an awkward turtle so take time to step back and breath.  “Hang loose and let the ocean worry about being blue” – Carlhey

·       -  Be real, don’t get boogie and be nice - Michelle

·         -Through the ups and downs, remember to find joy, and of course, keep it good. – Esteban

·       -  When it can’t any worse… remember: At least you’re not in Africa! – Mandy

·      -  Take a little trip to the east every seven or so months and treat yourself to a day or two in a hammock reading short stories, sipping something exotic, eating something spicy and listening to Matown. Relax man! – Zach

·        - Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky- forces you to have first hand encounters wth the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of human kind – and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. --This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black and white – Mark Jenkins – KG

·       -  Keep your bracelet on always (the one the doctors gave you). Lindsey

·        - Be proud of yourself everyday – Liz

·        - When things start to get weird just remember that time is always the thing. Be patient with yourself, there is a reason you’re there - Kim

·         -Don’t take life too seriously – Tyler

·         -We are all in this together – Zac Effron, Hogh School Musical – Christopher

·         -Dress for success – Jesse

·         -I LOVE YOU – Casey

·        - Smile – Brad

·        - Giggle at it – Leland

·        - Love and accept yourself – Nanda

·         -You guys are extreme! – Roberto

·         -When you feel down, or you’re having a difficult day: call me. & I will be there to listen. J - Morgan

·        - Don’t hold back… act with your whole heart – Starla

·        - If there is no happy ending, make one out of cookie dough – Tekela

·         -Be patient and “Just keep swimming” – Meghan

·         -Vulgar is good Smart is sexy – Anel

·         -Embrace how awkward everything is. Just laugh! – Betty

·         -When reflecting upon the past dwell only on the things and memories that show you how great your life was, is and can be. – Kallan

·         -Keep seeking until you find the Truth – Jackie

·       - You cannot know joy without also knowing pain – Erin

·        - “Be the change in the world that you wish to see” - Mahatma Gandhi - Sandy