Apologies from the World^s Worst Blogger

I know I am awful at keeping this thing updated, and everyone has probably lost interest by now anyways. Just in case, here is an update of the last few months..

My family came down in January. It was so nice to be reunited after a year and a half of separation. We went to cusco-machu picchu, Lima, and Cajamarca

My recent projects include a radio show with kids, English classes, computer classes, a mermelada small business, and nutrition charlas.

In March I traveled to Arequipa-the colca canyon (worlds deepest canyon), Puno-Lake Titicaca (worlds highest navigable lake), Bolivia (bolivian side of titicaca isla del sol, la paz, and salt flats--complete with colored lakes, desert, and flamingos, Chile (the atacama desert where i swam in a crater and a salt lake that has 7 time more salt than the ocean...impossible to sink). I also went to the Amazon for a week where I got to see all kinds of animals in the wildlife reserve like monkeys, macaws, an anaconda, crocodiles, a tarantula, etc and had many other adventures on the side (such as eating grubs, surving numerous landslides, and enduring an 18 hour canoe ride in a mixture of pouring rain and fierce sun)

I am currently in the process of applying for a 3rd year in Peace Corps. I am hoping to be able to work in the capital city of Cajamarca to be able to work with more NGOs and professional organizations. I will keep you updated as to what comes of the application process.

Life is good in Peru. I would love visitors, and I finally feel ready to go home for a visit. I cannot believe almost 2 years have already passed without being back to the States. It is scary how fast time flies. Blessings and hugs for everyone back home....missing you all like always.

Campo Christmas

Wrote this back in January and never posted it.  If you're interested how I spent the holidays, read on....

 

What was Christmas like in the campo?  In one word, it was modest; in several words, it was a relief, simple, special, hot, lonely, and austere.  In the beginning of the month of December (summertime in La Grama), my hostmom, at my brother’s prodding, hung several simple paper decorations throughout the house.  There was no tree, but we did string colored lights in our two windows.  It was refreshing to see how excited my brother was for the holidays, being that I was rather apprehensive about the approaching date—would I be all right spending my first Christmas away from home?

 

Throughout the month, in preparation for the holiday, I was invited to several chocolotadas.  These are events in which rich hot chocolate and paneton are served.  The municipality, police, vocational school, etc all held chocolatadas in addition to private parties as well.  The mine—which I haven’t talked about much in my blog, but has a huge presence in Peru (the second largest gold mine in the world is in Cajamarca)—came to town with candy, paneton, hot chocolate, and toys. Every student in the primary school received a toy truck, a doll, or a ball depending on age and gender.  That week there was not a single little boy seen playing without his toy truck.  Unfortunately, the mine had announced they were coming to give toys to children, without specifying students, so many children (and there are many who don’t attend school) were left crying at the door of the school, watching longingly as the other kids played with their shiny new toys. 

 

The actual holiday was very tranquilo, after a great deal of build up to the date.  On Christmas Eve, I’m afraid I was touched by a bit of the blues, despite my determination to stay positive.  As it happened to fall on a Wednesday this year (the day the fishmonger passes through town) we were blessed to have fried fish and paneton for breakfast.  I then attacked the mountain of laundry that I had been putting off for weeks.  As the hours passed scrubbing, I became more and more glum.  Thoughts whirled through my brain as I indulged in my despondency…”right now, Dad is out picking up the lasagna from Riccardi’s, buying ice, and calling Mom every 3 minutes to ask questions about the to-do list she assigned him….Mom is slaving away in the kitchen, praying that she estimated correctly how many people will be stopping by the house so as to have enough food for everyone…and Kathleen is making herself look beautiful for 4:30 mass, trying on various outfits though she undoubtedly bought new clothes for the occasion; no matter what she picks she will surely look gorgeous to the bewitchment of every male in church.”  I imagined which decoration went where while I tried to remember what eggnog tastes like (I don’t even care for eggnog that much, it just doesn’t exist here and so I resented Peru for it).  Reflecting back, 4 hours of scrubbing laundry would probably make anyone blue, and after our feast of a lunch (guinea pig, rice, potatoes, and salad), my mood began to lift. 

 

In the afternoon, my host brother and I made a cake for my host mom while she took a nap.  The 24^th of December is her birthday, thus her name “natividad” or “nativity.”  The cake was supposed to be a surprise, but Diego kept waking her up to ask to use ingredients and where they were located despite my insistence on buying our own ingredients and letting her sleep in peace---he doesn’t always listen so well.

 

Around 9:30 we headed to the mass that was supposed to start at 8.  Outside the church, a herd of people was gathered in the plaza de armas.  I worried there would no longer be space inside the church due to our tardiness.  On the contrary, these people were just waiting in the plaza for mass to end so they could watch the shepherdess ceremony.  My mom and I easily found a seat and listened to mass while dogs from the street wandered around at our feet. After the service, the people outside drifted in to await the shepherdesses.  Little girls danced and sang to a squeaky fiddle and guitar for an hour.  The ceremony was beautiful despite the disappearing act I had to perform halfway through.  I’ll explain:

 

Peruvians love to elect godparents for everything imaginable—baptisms, school graduations, weddings, tape-cutting events, and even hazing events.  Benefactor is probably a more appropriate word than godparent because it typically involves spending money on something or someone. 

 

During the shepherdess ceremony it is customary to elect godparents for the following year.  While the godparent is respected and honored, enthusiasm to fulfill the role is waning.  It is a responsibility that entails purchasing props and costumes for all participants, contracting a band to play, leading and hosting rehearsals, feeding participants during rehearsals, etc.  As money is tight and free-time scarce (after all, one cannot be expected to sacrifice time spent gossiping or watching telenovelas), few are keen to volunteer for the position.  Therefore, on Christmas Eve, there is an election process that makes it very difficult to refuse the title if chosen.  Someone stands at the lectern and calls out names of prominent members of the community—those that are believed to have money, are enthusiastic and participative, or those that will be too embarrassed to decline.  If that person is present at the ceremony they must come forward and accept…it is seen as moderately humiliating to be present and not accept if called. (thus my reason for escaping…many people think I have lots of money because I’m a gringa and I did not want to be pressured into accepting this responsibility).  Volunteers for the role of godparent are welcomed but rare—for the sake of preserving tradition, guilt-laden community members at times come forward of their own accord.

 

After we returned from church, we feasted on more paneton, hot chocolate, beet salad and chicken.  My brother threw a fit because he was jealous of the attention my host mom was receiving for her birthday and because he didn’t want to listen to the Christmas music I asked to put on in the background.  At midnight, however, he came around when it was time to exchange gifts.  I gave him Monopoly in Spanish (which was really expensive, but my brother loves money so I figured a game centered around dinero would be appropriate) and he gifted me a photo of the two of us framed in popsicle sticks.  My mom gave me a handkerchief to practice marinera (a graceful dance performed on the coast that I’m dying to learn) and a crochet purse.  I made her a photo album with photos of her cakes to use as a portfolio for her business, as well as olives (she’s crazy about them and you can only find them in Cajamarca), and figurines to top her cakes.

 

Christmas day was very quiet.  There was no mass because the nuns that say mass serve in many communities and had to split them between Christmas Eve and day.  We ate stale paneton and napped. 

 

While Christmas was a bit lonely away from home, I admit I was sort of relieved to escape the hustle and bustle of Christmas season in the States.  It was very modest—I didn’t have to worry about buying presents for the whole world and could focus instead on my family here…the way Christmas ought to be.  If only my family and friends back home had been here, it would have been perfect…Plus hot chocolate is way more delicious here!

 

 

guilty of ignoring you

Does anyone still read this thing...? I will update it soon hopefully...

Some photos...but they take sooo long to load!

Isak, my favorite second grader! Never seen him without that grin on his face

Harvesting corn in the chacra with my grandma...(the lady laying down by the red sack), her sister (the lady next to her), my host mom (blue shirt), and the people hired to help out with the "cosecha"

Swine Flu

It has been determined that swine flu thrives in cold places, and thus all children in town have been prohibited from consuming popsicles. HA!

La Granja Porcon

La Granja Porcon is a coop community outside Cajamarca that attracts many tourists (mainly for its zoo).  Its inhabitants do not pay for food, electricity or water.  Most dedicate themselves to weaving, carpentry, and the production of dairy products.  They still dress very traditionally and are strict Evangelicals.  There is no alcohol or dancing allowed in Porcon.  I went to visit last month.  Here are some photos:

Wool waiting to be dyed

Dying the wool

Making fertilizer

They let you get really close to the animals in the zoo

Me overlooking the town

More photos will be posted to my facebook account...

Photos from Computer Class

Playing Simon Says

This is a video of my 4th grade class playing Simon says...except we say "Patty says"

Video from my English Class

Aren't they cute?  I never got them to actually sing it but they sure are proud of this song and beg me each week to let them sing.  I don't always feel like I'm getting anywhere with my English class but students certainly have dominated the parts of the body.

Some Quick updates..

I have been busy this past month.  I ran a half marathon in Pacasmayo, traveled to Lima to take care of some funky skin disease that's been plaguing me, worked at a girl's leadership camp, and had a week-long training session with the newly arrived volunteers (10 trainees, 2 trainers, and 4 volunteers all came to my site).

Running the half marathon was...interesting.  I have never been much of a runner so motivating myself to train for a 13-miler took a lot of discipline.  It was difficult to run in site because of all the dogs, the hot sun, and the altitude.  Fortunately on race day I didn't die and crossed the finish line still running, albeit slowly but running nevertheless--slow and steady wins the race (I didn't actually win, but completing the 13 miles without walking was a personal victory).

The new trainees are amazingggg.  Their sites will be announced next week and I cannot wait to find out who will be placed in Cajamarca.  I know they will all make fantastic volunteers.

Back in training I wrote a blog entry about how much I hate Lima.  That is no longer the case.  It has many charms and is slowly growing on me.  I have 5 days of vacation coming up at the end of the month for independence day and I plan to spend them exploring Lima with my friend Kat.

Kat and I celebrating the end of the Marathon

Kids from the preschool dancing for the dia del maestro

My girls at Camp ALMA, the 3 day leadership camp for adolescent girls that we held in Cajamarca

Birth of Seven

After all the fretting, false alarms, anxiety, fussing, and fawning, it seemed the moment had finally arrived. Though a bit skeptical (I cannot even recount the number of times I was told “it’s definite, today’s the day”), I E.T.ed my internet sesh and went running over to my grandparent’s house to witness the big event—only to be greeted by Grandpa Segundo’s stern gaze and admonishing tone.

“Hide,” he nervously barked, “la vaca doesn´t know you. She´s embarassed.”

Sheepishly I retreated to conceal myself in the bushes around the corner from her nook. Two hours passed, darkness set in, nothing. Taking pity on my obvious discomfort, my host mom finally called me out of hiding to watch our daily telenovela, promising we could check in on Chili during each commercial break. The novela came and went…still nothing. Chili appeared tranquila as can be. Beginning to believe that this was yet another false alarm and perhaps the darn creature wasn’t actually pregnant (despite the fact that her udder had now swollen to the size of a beach ball), I began to extend the intervals passed between vaca checks.

Around 10:30 pm (a half hour since my last check in) Grandma Maria knocked on the door.

“Ya,” she said.

Dashing across the street I expected to encounter cow moans, lots of gore, and excitement. Instead I found a serene mama cow tenderly licking clean her mucus-y newborn.

“Rats!” I thought. “That tricky little bugger had to go and give birth while I wasn’t there. How many more opportunities will I have to witness such an event?!”

Perceiving my disappointment, Grandma Maria did her best to console me.

“Don’t worry,” she said, “in about an hour the placenta will come out. It’s just like watching the real birth.” So, again I went off to hide, again I waited, and again, nothing. Certain Chili was intentionally trying to spite me, I left around 2 am, deciding my warm bed and a good night’s rest were not worth sacrificing for a placenta.

I awoke the next morning ready to befriend the no-longer slimy member of the family. Crossing the street to saludar the new ternera (hembra—yes! More milk will be making its way to the Sanchez family) I was beckoned by Grandma’s excited calls.

“Senorita, Senorita, come here. I want to show you something.” She proudly opened up a shopping bag in her hand to reveal the large, not-so-comely placental sack that she had saved so I wouldn’t feel like I had missed out—how amable of her.

The Sanchez family now has a mischievous calf with a perfect number seven on her forehead (they actually named her “seven” in honor of their friendly English-speaking guest from the States), more dairy products than it is able to consume, and one gringa with yet another Peace Corps anecdote to share.

Trials and Rewards

Since school vacation, I’ve managed to keep fairly busy with a number of unsustainable projects. Sustainability is a rather fickle thing. Generally speaking, projects are successful not when a big NGO pours money into a community, but when the community itself comes together and acquires the know-how to make its own progress forward. For this reason, Peace Corps encourages us to work side by side with community partners so that they might continue our projects once service ends. Community partners can be anyone enthusiastic, with an interest or passion for improving their community. They are typically persons already involved in the community. Ideally, we are not to go solo on projects and should think of ourselves more as a support or technical resource for our partners….easier said than done…

In La Grama there is no major NGO presence, leaving very few options for community partners. As a youth development volunteer, my principle partners work in the schools and health post. Collaboration has not proven easy. The health post staff is made up of a doctor, nurse, obstetric nurse and 2 techs. They serve the entire district, meaning that they rarely have time for extra projects. What’s more, they are unreliable. The health post is rarely opened at the hour it is supposed to be and I have found the staff on numerous occasions in the nurse’s office drinking soda and gossiping while patients wait patiently in the lobby to be attended to. When Kitty, my boss, came to visit my site in February, I organized a meeting with the doctor, nurse, and obstetric nurse—confirmed it 3 times—and in the moment of the meeting itself, Kitty and I encountered them strolling down the street in the opposite direction of the posta where the meeting was to be held. Then they had the nerve to say to my boss that they won’t be able to work with me unless I can provide soda for each one of the meetings we have and on occasion snacks…otherwise nobody will show up. HA!

Working with school faculty has not proven to be more promising. In the high school, half the faculty is contracted, meaning they too will be gone in a year and unable to continue my work. The other half, well don’t get me started on the other half. One of my favorites is notorious for sleeping through his first few classes then showing up hung over and sending his students out to buy water for him. The director is another peach. He supposedly held a meeting with the rest of the faculty last year advising them that I am here to spy on La Grama for the US government. Only recently have things improved with him (though I still hold a bit of a grudge) and I have been permitted to work there. In the primary school things are a bit better but not by much. The focus of my work is supposed to be on adolescents, but given the tense relations I have with the director of the high school, I have to work where work is available. When the primary school director approached me back in March to give computer and English classes to grades 1-6, I was excited at the prospect of taking on a regular schedule of work (though admittedly not thrilled about teaching English). I agreed on the condition the that the teachers teach alongside of me in the computer classes—if they didn’t know anything about computers they could help me control the class and learn along with the students so that next year they’d be able to take over the class. Sustainable, right? Fat chance. Things have definitely NOT gone according to plan, and guess how many teachers help me out instead of slinking out the door the moment I arrive..? I’m ashamed to answer that.

So what am I doing with my time? What does it feel like to be a Peace Corps volunteer? Hard to say because each and every day is so unique. One day I return home from my classes strayed out, frustrated, wondering why I bother. Then, that same afternoon, I’ll encounter my students in the street and they will greet me with a proud grin on their face and a bit of the English I’ve taught them, “good afternoon, teacher.” Or, I’ll go to the Internet and find someone practicing their typing skills instead of playing violent games on the web. Then there’s that group of shy girls in the high school who I encouraged to participate in a skit for the mother’s day celebration that came out of their shells for a moment to act ridiculous in front of a large group of people. Baby steps I suppose. So maybe computer classes won’t continue when I’m gone, and the self-esteem and leadership workshops will be few and far between, but I have to believe my time here is valuable. Maybe, just maybe, after spending 2 years here in this beautiful paradise, I will have gotten through to a few kids. Maybe the times we spent together will have meant something to them and they will look back on those moments fondly. Perhaps my 2 years of service to La Grama will give its people a more favorable impression of the United States. At a time when my country has fallen out of the good graces of so many in the international community, it can’t hurt to win a few more over to our side. If by chance another volunteer replaces me when I leave, I don’t want the director of the high school to believe he/she is a spy, but rather a bighearted American here to offer what modest knowledge he/she has to offer. That would make my time here (work wise) definitely worthwhile.

Collecting rocks by the river to make pachamanca. My hostmom and I.

Ayacuchoooo

I have arrived in Ayacucho, Peru..semana santa capital of Latin America!!! More to come!!!

oops can´t believe i forgot to mention...

My hermosa sister Kathleen just celebrated 21 years and I wasn´t there to celebrate it with her or to make sure she didn´t get into too much trouble ;-)

Kathaleeny, I love you so much. I can´t believe what a beautiful young lady you have become...just yesterday we were having contests to see who could jump off the highest step on High Street, singing to Santa Claus, and chasing Tobie around the neighborhood. I hope you had a wonderful birthday, hermana. I will treat you to a pisco sour when you make it down to peru.

Feliz Cumpleaños Kathleen!!!

All Smiles

I made a new friend today--female, which are few are far between here. They seem to disappear once they reach age 16...don´t ask me where to, but i think it involves having babies and slaving over a a wood-fired stove top. The new English teacher is awesome! She is 25, hip, and really outgoing. She has promised to teach me to dance in exchange for help with her english pronunciation. :)

I have yet to become jaded with my life here, though recently it has become a lot more, well, ¨Peace Corps¨. We no longer have running water in my site. The rains carried off the pipes and the whole town is without running water. They won´t be able to begin reconstruction until rainy season is completely over. This is the one time in my life that I wish I had a letrine like the rest of the community, because flush toilets that don´t flush, are rather disgusting. Bathing has become a luxury. I won´t divulge how often I enjoy said luxury, but lets just say it is not frequently. Three times a week the municipality delivers 3 buckets of water per household. The system isn´t ideal, as my family is just 3 people, while others have as many as 15 people living together. Also, the delivered water is from the thermal waters in the next town over and has a high sulfur content. It is useful for washing dishes, and bucket flushing the toilets, but not great for consumption. While we do have a river, we have to cross the chacras and then this swampy land and thorny brush to get to it..not the best conditions for hauling water. All that said, I am slowly getting used to life without running water. It is amazing how well you can live on such little water. You really don´t need that much to get clean or wash dishes. I can´t believe how much water I was wasting before all this happened.

Despite these minor hardships, life is good. I smile everyday at the beautiful landscape that surrounds me, the warm people I encounter, and the amazing experiences I have. I apologize for being out of touch with life back home, but that really just means that I am having the time of my life here. Please don´t worry. love you and miss you all.

Things Patty misses from the States (in no particular order):

Mom, Dad, and Kath-a-leeny

Food: Indian, falafel, Sushi, brown rice, and Thai

Jazz Clubs

Carpets

Couches

Autumn

Ice cubes in my beverages

Not having to boil my water before consuming it/the ability to order a free glass of water in a restaurant

Hot water

Not being eaten alive by insects

Coffee shops—Can’t say I was the biggest coffee drinker but I was a sucker for the coffee shop culture. I wish there was a Mirasols in Cajamarca.

Flea-free dogs that don’t run around the streets looking like mongrels—you never know which ones are safe to approach.

Punctuality

Apricots

Libraries

Not having to really focus and try with all my might to understand what people are saying—it can get exhausting, though I still relish the challenge and am determined to keep on. Hopefully it will eventually get easier.

Not being the tallest person in town (which I legit am in La Grama)

Bathrooms equipped with toilet paper, toilet seat, sink, and soap---and the ability to flush.

new blog to come

I´m alive and thriving here in Peru. I have been busy teaching English, ballet, self esteem, how to care for the environment and swimming lessons. Right now we are busy preparing for Carnaval. If anyone still reads this thing I apologize for the lack of updates. It is my goal to be better!

Fotos

Mi familia y yo. New Year´s

I am painting a world map on the wall in the high school

Mis amigitos

I live here :)

I apologize for not posting. There are so many anecdotes I want to share, I just have not had the time. Please do not worry, though...todo bien. I am the happiest I think I have ever been, and am certainly relishing being the only gringa in town. It is a really nice feeling to walk down the street and be greeted by everyone I pass. Projects and events just sort of create themselves for me. Recently I have been busy going to several primary/secondary school graduations, painting a world map, swimming in our hot water pool, and planning activities for school vacation (which begins next week). I will certainly miss everyone dearly on Christmas eve, though I must admit it is sort of a relief to be removed from the hectic hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Wishing everyone a feliz navidad and prosperous new year.