Last Day as an Aspirante

Tomorrow around 3 in the afternoon I will swear in and become an official Peace Corps volunteer. A dream a long time in the making will finally be actualized. While I´m admittedly terrified to ship off to site and begin a new life unlike I´ve ever experienced, I am also ECSTATIC. Training has taken me as far as it will; now it is time to become more independent, more self sufficient, more brave than i have ever had to be. I´m ready. There will most certainly be bumps along the road and moments when I question what I´m doing here, but if all fails, I have to admit that I´m pretty stinkin proud to have given it a shot. In just three months I have adjusted to a simpler, more austere way of life. I have immersed myself in a new culture. I have achieved a quasi-advanced level of Spanish. I have learned to depend on myself. I have made new and lasting friendships with both gringos and Peruvians alike. Most importantly, I have been really happy (But I don´t mean to brag). I know this is where I am supposed to be right now at this point in my life.

Tonight is my last night with my host family in Yanacoto. It is bittersweet. I am eager to move on despite the beautiful times I shared with Jesusa and Alfredo. I will miss them dearly but take comfort in knowing that my next family is equally amazing and that I will always be welcomed back. Thanks for all the mail, emails and encouraging words. I appreciate your support.

The Grass is Actually Greener on My Side

How do I love my site? Let me count the ways.
1. It is in a valley: This means hot but not scorching weather all year long.

2. It is very green. Everything is pristine. We have a beautiful river and all around are fruit trees abounding with mango, papaya, platano, etc.

3. Life is very simple and slow paced. This suits me. During the three days of visiting La Grama everything was tranquilo. Every night at sunset (a sunset like I´ve never seen before) I went to the chacra (or field) to chop alfalfa for our guinea pigs. On my second day, I enjoyed a picnic lunch with my host family under a mango tree before skipping stones at the river. After, I painted some of those river stones with my host brother. We had no appointments, no schedule. It was wonderful.

4. The food. As mentioned in number 2, the valley is teeming with fresh fruits and vegetables. We also have a lot of cows which makes for great dairy products. My family has 3 of its own cows (yes, I did try my hand at milking them. I´d say I´m still a novice but poco a poco). My host mom makes and sells homemade yogurt, cheese, ice cream, and cakes. What´s more, the last volunteer who was at my site three years ago trained my host mom in vegetarian cooking. She knows how to make hummus, lentil burgers, salads, and pretty much anything you can imagine. I think I will be eating better than I did in the States. As you can imagine, this makes me pretty miserable. Ha!

5. My family!! I will be living with a host mom, Naty, and her 9 year old son, Diego. They are very sweet, educated, and generous. When I arrived they greeted me with hand-picked flowers from their garden and a huge hug. I cannot even begin to describe how attentive, generous and
caring they were to me during site visit. Naty gave me a new pair of slippers so I would be comfortable in the house, Diego gave me some of his glow in the dark pokemon toys so I wouldn´t be afraid of the dark, they went out their way to cook foods I would like, etc. Also, Diego is a little entrepreneur. He makes and sells jewelry and was able to buy his own cell phone with the money he earned. I was the lucky recipient of a beautiful bracelet and two pairs of earrings. I think we will be very happy together.

I cannot believe there is just one week of training to go. Next Friday I will swear in and become an official volunteer. The following day I will move to site. Everything is moving very fast, and while it can be overwhelming, I am very excited for what´s to come. My life will slow down drastically when I get to site, so hopefully I can be better about blogging.

dun dun dun

I have been absolutely terrible about posting. I have much to catch everyone up on but big news takes precedence. Today I found out my site for the next two years.....La Grama, Cajamarca!!! The town is situated in a valley (which makes for warm weather during the day) and boasts a population of 1500 people. The last volunteer, who left three years ago and who is often referred to as ¨Patty Peace Corps¨--no joke--, started up organic farming projects, yoga, etc and so as you can imagine I am more than thrilled. There is a
farmers market every weekend, and oh yeah my host mom knows how to make veggie burgers!! This might mean that I can get through my two years consuming more than just potatoes and guinea pig. I am ecstatic. Still not sure what the bathroom and electricity situation will be like but I will be leaving Sunday for a week long visit to meet my future host family and community partners.

More news to come (photo is from my hiking trip to markahuasi with zach. we got up to watch the sunrise)

Sorry I haven't updated in a while.  New post in the works...  Here are some pictures to enjoy in the meantime!

A Down Moment

I´m lonely today. It´s really hard to make new friends when you´re being pulled in a million different directions by host families, training, other aspirantes, and connections back home. . . I guess I´m still trying to find that right balance. Also, some killer insects ate my ankle and now it is swollen, purple, and ugly. I´m sure in ten minutes my mood will turn but for now it´s good to vent.

Missing everyone back home like crazy :)

Patty

Lima the Horrible: Some Grievances

Sebastian Salazar once described his native city as “Lima the Horrible.” Herman Melville cited Lima as the “saddest city on earth.” I’m afraid I also detest Lima. The past three Saturdays I have traveled to Peru’s capital, and returned home exhausted, cold, and miserable.

Despite its elegant Spanish colonial architecture, its rich history, culture, and sophistication, I cannot bring myself to conjure up warm feelings for the metropolis. Among the graceful churches, balconies, and palaces one may find Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut, McDonalds and any number of gastronomic “treasures” that we both cherish and abhor in the United States. When walking around the city, I constantly feel like I’m going to be robbed—if not by the pickpockets that skulk around the Plaza de Armas, then by the temptation of a 14 soles cup of coffee at Starbucks where many of the other aspirantes have taken distinct pleasure in purchasing some java goodness. Additionally, Lima is currently experiencing winter, which translates to chilly, foggy, and gray days. When one arrives in Lima, they immediately become enshrouded in a misty dullness that is so far from cheery that it’s no wonder nobody smiles. To top off all this misery, one is faced with the daunting task of returning home, where there are two main options: taxi or combi. The taxi offers a quicker, more comfortable option. However, one must find a driver willing to drive to Chaclacayo, negotiate the price of the journey, and make sure the car has proper markings before getting into the vehicle. While this might not seem so bad, it is not easy. I have heard horror stories of taxi drivers robbing their passengers or driving to remote locations where others have held up the passengers. What’s more, the simple crime of being a gringo makes the negotiation process exponentially more difficult. The first time a group of us attempted it, we were told the trip to Chaclacayo would cost 80 soles (it should be between 25 and 35). Thus, I am not too fond of the taxi option. To take the combi, one has only to climb on and pay 2.5 soles...yes, it seems easy, but please read on. The trip takes just under two hours to get to Chaclacayo, possibly standing the whole way. The combis are jammed so tight with people that the risk of being robbed is just as great, only it will most likely be less overt—think artful dodger: better than having a gun rammed into your temple, but either way you lose your cell phone, wallet and ipod. One becomes intimately acquainted with the body odors and curves of those pressed up against them, and as the vehicle comes to a screeching halt to squeeze more passengers on, it becomes necessary multitask like one has never multitasked before: suck in your stomach to make two more inches of space for people, protect your backpack under your right armpit, clench the railing with your left hand (this can take a great deal of strength, particularly if you are toward the front of the combi, because everyone else is launched into you and in most instances the rails are remarkably greasy), remain alert/keep your eyes darting in every direction, and pray that those who are breathing down your neck and grasping the same railings are not passing on some funky disease. Finally, taking the combi does not ensure that you will reach your destination. On my first trip home from Lima, the driver lost his license half way through the journey and everyone had to get off the vehicle and find another combi home. I loathe making the trip to Lima.

I´ve been in Peru for over a month

Life in Peru as a PCT (that’s Peace Corps lingo for Peace Corps Trainee) has had its charms. There is a redundancy and steadiness to my days; yet new twists are constantly being thrown into the mix. To explain, my schedule last week was pretty regular: wake up at 6:20, take a bucket bath (ever since I came down with a cold, my host mom has been heating water on the stove for me and has had it waiting for me when I get up), eat breakfast, take a crazy combi ride to the training center or another aspirante’s house for language class, end training around five, return home, have dinner/possibly use the internet, go to bed between 9:30 and 10:00. Somehow the regularity of it all still manages to yield to all kinds of adventures and life lessons.

Last Monday started off with a bang. The cobrador (the guy who collects the money on the combi) ripped me off. The trip from Yanacoto to the training center costs 50 cents. On this particular day, I only had 1 sol. These guys have tried to pull fast ones on me before so I asked 50 cents? He nodded, I handed over my money and then he said 70 cents and gave me 30 cents back. I politely said “Senor, I take the combi every day and I know it costs 50 cents.” He shook his head and moved on. So I mustered up some more courage and called after him “Senor, you owe me 20 more cents. I want my change back.” Still nothing. (For those of you who know me well, you probably realize how big a deal this is. I hate conflict, and I hate confronting people…but I especially hate being the victim of injustice) At this point, the woman sitting in front of me decided to get involved and shouted “Give the senorita back her money.” His wickedness ignored the woman. She lost it and went off on a rant about how he is bringing shame to Peru by ripping off the gringa, etc, etc. With my weak language skills, I tried to forcefully throw my two cents in every time the woman took a breath. All I could utter here and there was “thief,” “robber,” “I want my money back.” I didn’t get my money back, but I was proud of myself for putting up a good fight and standing up for myself…and you can bet that I have had exact change every time I’ve taken the combi since.

On Wednesday, I made my first trip to the mountains for a day trip. In true Peace Corps fashion, I wasn’t given any information about what I should do upon arrival. I think they like withholding stuff from us. 5 of us were driven to a quaint town called Callahuanca and left to our own devices for the day. We did some exploring and did a small community analysis, but to be quite frank, we really just enjoyed the warm sun and the beautiful view. This town is known for its trout farm, avocado, and chirimoya (a fruit that varies in size, is green on the outside, and white inside with large black seeds). You can bet I bought a kilo of chirimoyas and my share of avocados.

The following day I had my first youth group session with three other aspirantes. We are working at a retreat center for nuns where physically disabled children go to live while recuperating from corrective surgery. As with everything else I’ve done this far, things ran anything but smoothly or according to plan. It turns out that these kids have non-negotiable physical therapy every Thursday at the exact same time we are scheduled to have our sessions. Just as with all the other setbacks, our only option has been to roll with the punches, be accommodating and flexible. On this particular Thursday, the kids were able to participate for an hour. We decorated nametags together, had them interview each other, then present their friends to the rest of the group. Our main focus of the group is going to be self-esteem building/development of healthy lifestyles but the first day was meant mainly to start getting to know the kids while getting a feel for their abilities. I have never met a more outgoing and polite group. I am very excited to continue our sessions there.