El tiempo se va volando (Time flies)

AY Yay Yay… it has been quite a while, hasn’t it?! Take it as good news that I’ve been soooo busy that I have been unable to keep up my blog. I’ve been hanging out here in San Clemente, Peru for about 4 months now. In that time, I have eaten pounds of raw fish (ceviche), watched little kids poop in the street, seen a woman breastfeed her baby on the back of a motorcycle, and fed a starving dog one quarter of a raw chicken in front of 3 women (which means that within 24 hours every single inhabitant of San Clemente had heard the story about the crazy gringa who loves animals more than people, because if she didn’t, she’d have given that chicken to a human…not a lowly mutt). But to be fair, that dog is actually a puppy who has the biggest, droopiest ears, and I just couldn’t watch him starve to death. To add to my list of cool things I do in Peru, my students and I used clay to mold female and male genitalia and stick it to the chalkboard.

My children’s English class and I got in front of the entire town (2000 peeps) during the annual Fair del Senor de Los Milagros and sang the hokey pokey, head shoulders knees and toes, and A Tootie Ta. Again, the crazy gringa is caught making a fool of herself. But you all must understand that there is a method to my madness. Every day I encounter timid, embarrassed young women who don’t want to participate in class or jog around town in front of other people. They let men talk down to them and truly believe that men are strong while women are weak, that men are more intelligent than they are, and that they have been created to serve the men in their lives: fathers, uncles, brothers, and husbands. It does not matter how many workshops I give on gender equality, these things are intrinsic in their culture and I can say little to change that. BUT I can DO plenty: I can run for miles and show my strength. I can give my opinions and back them up. I can tell them about all the goals I’ve met and the dreams I aspire to achieve. I can look a man in the eye. Most importantly, I can give these young women a good example of a woman that is strong in every sense of the word. Is that enough feminism for one day? I think not.

Another thing that I am supremely proud of is my community’s World AIDS Day activities. 2 months of planning and stressing culminated in one hell of a show. The entire school had a parade around town, singing and carrying their signs declaring the importance of condom use and HIV prevention.

Then we all came back to the school for a competition between the high school classes. Each grade had to present their HIV/AIDS theme in a creative way in front of the rest of the school. We saw VIH (HIV) and SIDA (AIDS) spelled out with bodies, social theater about condom use, and a choreographed song regarding discrimination. It was awesome! But what made it even more awesome was that the marketing team from Kimberly Clark (makers of toilet paper and menstrual pads) came to give the Hora Loca party. The kids sang and danced with balloons and confetti. It was an unforgettable experience for them and for me.

Currently, I am in the process of writing my work plan for 2011. Top priority is a library and youth center. The building is there but my dream is to fill it with books and chairs, bring internet to the computers, and paint a nice mural on the wall. This project will most likely continue until the day I leave Peru. Let me know if you want to donate books or dinero to further my project. I’m extremely excited about the coming year and all the great youth I get to work with.

Important update: Lee arrives in exactly 1 week and will be spending 3 glorious weeks with me, first in Lima, then the beach for New Years, and 10 days at my site. We’re planning a hand washing campaign and some other exciting adventures.

The Gringa Show

Hello there! 3 weeks since my last post and I’ve been busy busy busy. I teach 3 hours a week in the schools on themes such as alcoholism, communication, drug addiction, and family violence. I attend a baking club with 4 teenage girls. I’ve been teaching 2 English classes, 3 nights a week with kids ages 3-14. The kids really enjoy it and always come back. By now, they all know my name; I can’t walk outside without getting a mini parade following me. The little girls love to hold my hands and play with my hair. The women around town now recognize me and typical of Peruvian culture, we always greet each other with a Buenos dias, Buenas tardes, or buenas tardes.

Elections are being held October 3 and I cannot freaking wait for them to be over. Because our town is so small, we don’t have a newspaper, but instead, 6 loudspeakers are set up at the edges and center of town. These loudspeakers start around 5:45 am and continue off and on throughout the day. When it’s not election season, the loudspeakers are used to make announcements about town meetings, the various sales and specials at the tiendas (stores), talks and seminars, and fundraising lunches (families will make lunch and sell them to the community to raise money for family member with medical problems, etc…). During election season, those hated loudspeakers blare with political propaganda from the various political candidates for hours. Loud, obnoxious, and they interrupt my naps. I hate them. HATE is the word. That coupled with the ridiculously loud radio and TV in my house, I’ve come to realize that Peruvians do not appreciate the value of silence. When anyone else is in this little house, something is always blaring. I cherish my quiet, alone time.

I went to my capital city of Piura this weekend. We have the choice to come and relax and see other volunteers twice a month. I've already eaten a cheese burger and a brownie today :) The food at my site consists of differing variations of rice, chicken fish, potatoes, and some veggies. No cheese, no coffee, no pizza, and very few options. I just spent a large portion of my monthly salary on snacks to bring back to my site, like roasted peanuts, golden raisins, gummy bears, and (SCORE!!!!) granola bars and (OMG!!!) Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix- yes I paid the equivalent of $6 for that bag lol. But totally worthy it because sometimes you just really need to feel good in a strange environment, and nothing does that more than food.

Yesterday I went to to visit my fellow volunteer Juliane in her site of La Paccha. Her family was incredibly warm and welcoming. Much like every other Peruvian I know, they offered me everything in their kitchen, the most comfortable chair in the house, and sent me off with a snack, a big hug, and an invitation to come back whenever I want: “this house is your house and you are part of our family.” I always feel so blessed when I leave a Peruvian household.

Anyway, so the whole family and I went off to the Agua Marina concert, a famous Peruvian cumbia band. About 2000 people were present, but we were the only blond women and the only women over 5’5”. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this yet, but it seems wherever we go, we get what Peace Corps calls “star power.” We stick out like sore thumbs, and the attention can be overwhelming at times. The Agua Marina concert was the perfect example of this: 2 American girls spotted dancing at the edge of the crowd, near the stage. Band members invite the “girls from the United States” onto the stage... over the loud speakers. 2 American girls approach the stage apprehensively (what the heck are we going to have to do up there???). Agua Marina begins a song and urges them to dance “manos por arriba, arriba… por abajo, abajo.” Yes, 2 blushing American girls go with the flow and dance (more than a little uncomfortably) on stage in front of 2000 people. THEN, it becomes apparent that these 2 American girls are participating in a dance contest. 2 Peruvian girls are invited up to show the Americans “how it’s done” and booty shake their scantily-clad booties all over the place. The Americans looked like church girls up there on stage with their shuffling feet and barely moving hips. They rushed down from the stage after the contest (clearly having lost) only to have a crowd rush them to take pictures.

Projects are popping up all over the place. As I mentioned before, I’ve been running 4-5 per week since I arrived. People stared at me like I had 14 heads. Those who had never seen it would approach me and question me if I was actually running (rumors fly around this little town). I invited people numerous times to accompany me but no one took me seriously. The mayor also commented on my running and proposed a community run. We sent out the announcement over those hated loud speakers and over 25 women came that Saturday morning at 6 am. After the 30 minute run, I asked them if they’d like to do it again. The overwhelming response was “YES! Every day!” I was more that a little surprised but it seems many of the women in town want to get healthy and lose weight. I had noted that one of the more obvious health problems in the town is obesity, so I quickly jumped on this opportunity and offered to provide nutrition talks with tips on losing weight. We’re also going to try a Biggest Loser Competition.

For nearly 2 weeks, between 12-15 women, teenage girls, and kids run 4 days a week at 5:45 am. I gave the first nutrition talk on Saturday and it was a huge success, though I was saddened when I realized most of these women had never heard of the most basic nutrition facts, like how many calories should be consumed per day, or how the body uses food. Even the food pyramid was new to a few of them. I asked the women what has been the hardest thing to adapt and they told me it was getting their kids to eat vegetables. Peruvians eat very few veggies, eating mostly rice, potatoes, corn, and meat. One woman in particular said that her kids didn’t want to eat their broccoli until her 10 year old daughter said, “Senorita Libby says broccoli is good so it must be!” and they all ate their broccoli. How incredible is that?!

I’m really excited because this seems like this will be a sustainable project and can really make a difference in their lives. The running not only gets them moving and gets them healthy, but it gives these women something for themselves. So many of them sacrifice everything to their children and husbands and have nothing that makes them feel good. I can already tell a difference in the way they feel about themselves. They are proud! Part of Youth Development Goal #1 is promoting self-esteem and healthy lifestyle. I’ve only been here a month but I can see this is exactly the kind of work I’ve always wanted to do and I’m feeling very motivated and happy.

A few announcements:

My host mom is 5 weeks pregnant and we are all super thrilled. Lee is coming for Christmas and I’m literally counting the days (92). I got really sick one day and my host mom blamed it on the kitten that I had played with the day before. Peruvians think that cats are relatively evil creatures and never touch them. They think their fur has the ability to make you violently ill, even going as far as to believe that breathing too much of it could make you stop breathing. But that doesn’t stop me from running after every cat I see and playing with it. They gawk at me. That gringa girl and her crazy antics.

I miss home a lot. I’m missing all of you and I would greatly appreciate it if you got on Skype more often. My name is libbysml. Much love,

Libby

my new life: week 1

Exactly one week ago, I arrived in San Clemente, Peru. Let’s just say, it feels like a lot longer… Since I’ve been here, I’ve met with the mayor, the school principle, the women from the soup kitchen, taught English, attended 3 sexual health seminars given by a Spanish NGO, met swarms of children, read fairytales to little kids, and helped lead over 100 kindergarteners through the streets of San Clemente while carrying posters proclaiming the importance of breastfeeding.

I’m continually asked if I’m adjusting well to the climate, to the food, to the people. If all of this is “agreeable” to me. My fellow community members are so caring and welcoming and they just want me to be happy. They are very proud people and they love their community. I tell all of them that I’m fine, that I’m adjusting nicely, and that I love the food (true most of the time) and the weather (true all of the time!). To those of you who know me, I’ll tell you the truth. I was a little overwhelmed at first. I have 2 years to work here but it doesn’t really feel like that. I feel like there is so much work to do and I can’t wait to get my hands dirty. When I’m relaxing or napping, I fee like I should maybe be doing something else far more productive. Speaking of napping, apparently, it is normal for PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers) to sleep A LOT that first week. Well true to form, I slept over 9 hours per night and would still walk around all day feeling utterly exhausted. One day I took 2 naps! But things are leveling out now. I’m feeling much more active. I think my body was just trying to acclimate. Apparently, moving to a new town in the middle of a foreign country away from family and friends and anything even remotely familiar is DIFFICULT. I must comment here, though, that I’m quite happy.

Probably the coolest thing I’ve done since I’ve been here is hold children’s reading hour. I was helping kids with their English homework in the community library (think 1 room with 1 small bookshelf), when I noticed the little ones fighting over some ragged children’s stories. There are only a handful of kid’s books for this entire town! Anyway, I offered to read to them. Over the next few nights, my little group of 4 or 5 turned to about 20-25 kids circled around me for 30 minutes while I read aloud, changing up the voices and getting silly. They absolutely love it. Now I just want to make it a little more official. I’m going to start asking them interactive questions and maybe provide some incentive for attendance, like gold stars and cookies. I need to get some more story books because we’ll breeze through the ones in the library really fast. Also, I’m going to ask the municipality about buying a carpet to roll out, because we’ve been reading with their little butts on the concrete. I’m thinking this will turn into a great little literacy project.

Today someone hosted a party after mass. A typical event, it goes a little like this: the family spends a whopping amount of money on food enough to feed the entire community for a whole day. Scores of women show up to cook all day long. The men come and eat the food and start in on the drinking of chicha (a kind of moonshine made of fermented corn). First they prepare soup to be served before lunch, then lunch is served, and then the women just keep on cookin’ and serve up dinner! They’re like the freaking energizer Conejas (bunnies)or something! To get all kinds of involved in my community, I offered my superior serving skills. I made rounds serving food, collecting plates, distributing spoons, and being the random Gringa serving girl. The women were merely amused, but the men whistled at me the minute I turned my back on them after collecting a stray spoon from the ground. All the women were parading their sons in front of me, the potential “candidates” for the position of Libby’s novio. They were more than a little saddened when I informed them that I already have one. Long story short, this is going to take some getting used to.

Friends and family, I just ate a huge avocado mashed into my rice for dinner. Meanwhile, there’s a fiesta outside my house and the band is playing so loud they could be sitting in my living room, if we had a couch.. which we don’t. A few hours ago they set off a huge tower of fireworks, jerry-rigged between two posts, in the middle of town, . This is my life J

A little blurb on HIV prevention

As far as HIV education, Peru offers quite a few challenges. First of all, it is a culture dominated by catholicism and machismo. Catholicism looks poorly on any kind of obstruction to baby-making, because children are a "gift from God," even if they are brought into the world by a single 14 year old girl without education or the hope of getting a job that would secure the future of her child. As far as machismo goes, men hate condoms and men control the world down here. So.. most men won't wear them, are embarrassed to wear them, and criticize the woman that expects them to wear them. Well the woman will bow down to that man being that he is superior to her and she is obligated to obey. Also, most men will get enraged when you question their cleanliness, i.e. no one gets tested because they are convinced they are clean or because they are in denial and don't want to know one way or the other. Entonces... no one wears condoms.As far as fidelity goes, it is quite the interesting oxymoron. Despite the fact that Catholicism promotes the sanctity of marriage, the concept of marriage is a little different here than in the states. Unfortunately, I am not exaggerating when I say that almost all men cheat on the their wives. It is a natural course of events, especially in the rural areas, for a man to create a family, then leave his family to start another one in the same town or neighboring village. Or, men will maintain their families and cheat with other women. The women know, and contributing to a vicious cycle, let it slide. So, if you pair that with the absence of condoms, you can see why STDs and HIV are on a steady rise here in Peru. In Peace Corps, we opt for the ABC motto to deal with HIV prevention: Abstinence (for the Catholics but we all know kids still have sex), Boda (wedding in Spanish, meant to mean Fidelity), and Condoms. We get groups together and give interactive talks about HIV prevention, crossing our fingers that it sticks. There is also an option to get a youth leadership group together and teach them, and in turn have them become health promoters who go into their schools and teach their peers. Let me know if you any questions!

Site Visit

Friends and Fam,

I´m writing from San Clemente, Sechura, Piura. I arrived Sunday morning in Piura City, the capital city of the department (think State). Piura was beautiful, warm, and welcoming. I dont know the exact population, but it is a fairly large city with a department store, 3 large supermarkets, a mall, and movie theater. I got to see Inception (great movie, by the way) for less than 3 dollars! I´ll probably be going there every 2 weeks to catch up with other volunteers, eat delicious ice cream, and shop at a real supermarket... that sells peanut butter!!!

However, the best part of Piura is the hostel that has hot water, great water pressure, wireless internet, and the best peace corps library known to man. The library has some awesome reads and I cant wait to get started. The peace corps library is typical of all capital cities. It is a place where peace corps volunteers exchange books. You might not know this yet, but whereas they say our job is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the typical Peace Corps volunteer has plenty of free time on her hands. I was told to bring many, many books. I opted for the technologically brilliant option and brought my Kindle, a very special birthday gift from my dear Leeward. In the weeks leading up to my departure, I downloaded 87 books to my Kindle. Ive been hoarding them and havent read even one, knowing that I would be desperate for them once I arrived at site. BUT now i have the peace corps library!!!

Anyway, back to business. On Monday, I arrived at my site. San Clemente is a darling little town... all 6 blocks of it. The population size is only 2000 people. There is one restaurant, no grocery stores or markets, and some of the kindest people I´ve ever met. Tuesday morning, there was a celebration held in my honor at the town hall. They had announced my arrival on the radio, over the town´s loudspeaker, and the town bulletin board. They sat me out in front of everyone. The mayor, school principal, town doctor, and the director of the soup kitchen all spoke in my honor. I was then asked to give a speech... in front of the whole town. It went well... I almost peed myself out of nervousness. Then, the kids dance group performed 2 dances. Afterward, the whole town was treated to a sandwich and some nasty purple corn drink. After a two hour nap, I was then escorted by two 10 year olds on a tour of the town.

I cant wait to start working with everyone. The kids are the most welcoming, of course. They just cant wait to play with me. Ive already been asked to teach english, hold a homework hour, plan the Day of the Childhood, and hold youth group 3 times a week. There is a lot of work to be done here. I´ve only been here 3 days and I already the adults are telling me about all the problems that need to be worked on: HIV prevention, teen pregnancy, malnutrition in children, slef esteem in children, goal achievement, leadership, etc...

Today was another crazy day. I was told to be at the town hall at 11 am with virtually no explanation. I was then taken to nearby Sechura, the district capital. Sechura is 20 minutes from my site and much, much larger. Melissa, one of my fellow trainees is placed in Sechura. We will probably be doing plenty of work together. The city council of sechura invited me to Melissa´s ceremony. I was also greeted within the ceremony, presented with two books about the province of Sechura, and fed a typical peruvian lunch of escabeche de pescado. On that plate lay every kind of starch you can think of: corn, sweet potato, mashed potato, rice, yucca, and banana... oh and a piece of fish. Next we were taken on a tour of all the special places in and around the city of sechura (Sechuranos are very proud people and I love that) with staff from the city hall. We started with a museum depicting the history of Sechura, followed by the beach (lovely!!!), then a huge, unexplainable sand dune in the middle of the desert, about 4 miles from the coast. The sand is beautiful and fine, just like beach sand, but the location just doesnt make sense. We climbed to the top, which was quite a challenge. Then we slid down. Now comes the crazy part. as you slide down, there is a rumble that come up from the sand that sounds like a plan is taking off. NOt to mention, there is a rumbling under your butt. The weight of all that sand shifting at once makes it seem like you are inside a drum! The next place we went to was a kind of zoo, with animals from all over Piura. There we were interviewed to be on National Public Access Peru!!! I´m going to be on TV tomorrow! AHHHH

My site is just beautiful and I´m so excited to be here. I thought it would be more like a desert, because SEchura is known for being a hot, dusty desert. However, apparently San Clemente is located in a valley and it looks more like San Diego. There are grass, plants, and trees everywhere. It is not as hot as I expected either, although this season is considered winter. The temperature right now ranges between 65 and 80... quite pleasant really. I´m so pleased to be living so close to the beach as well. I thought it was an hour away because of the information I recieved, but the beach is really only like 20 to 30 minutes from my site. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Piura Vida!!! SURPRISE!!

7-29-10

Hello everyone!

It has been a few weeks since I last wrote. I can’t believe I’ve already been here for 2 months. The days are just flying by. I have several projects to complete before I leave and Spanish homework nearly every night so… sorry for taking so long.

I went away for Field Base Training for one week to Cajamarca. Cajamarca is in the sierra, characterized by blue skies, high altitudes, and gorgeous vistas. My group and I were sent to Cajamarca to observe the sites of four current Peace Corps volunteers. We went to 4 different towns, ranging from large to mid-size to small. We had the opportunity to give talks to schoolchildren about self-esteem, reaching your goals, and being respectable leaders in the community. It also gave us the chance to see how real volunteers live within their communities: getting along with host families, working with community partners, and completing projects. Seeing the different site sizes was helpful because it gave us a better idea of the sites we might be living in. I know that I am going to the coast so my experience will be different from that of someone living in the sierra. People in the sierra tend to be more timid, conservative, and traditional. This has to do with the isolation of being in the mountains and away from Lima, and with the war against terrorism that occurred in Peru during the 80s and 90s. If you are interested, just Wikipedia “Sendero Luminoso” for a quick dose of Peruvian history.

Three other trainees and myself are working to finish a project that we started with youth in the community. We decided to clean the community park and paint the playground. The playground is rusted and dirty and really needs some work. First we met with some community members to discuss potential fundraising techniques to raise money to buy the paint. My host dad generously donated a bottle of whisky to raffle off. Additionally, we went house-to-house requesting food donations to make several large food baskets to raffle. We also made apple pies and banana pies to sell to the other trainees and the training staff. On the 7^th of August, we’ll clean and paint and then on the 8^th we have invited the entire community to come celebrate. On this day we will announce the raffle, play games, and women in the community have offered to sell food. I’m crossing my fingers for a successful day. I’m a little stressed because all of the preparations have to be completed by Saturday so we can paint. Sunday is the party, and Monday I leave to visit my site.

Training is coming to an end. I FOUND OUT MY SITE!!! The staff planned a scavenger hunt and prolonged the anxiety, but after 10 months of the application process, 10 weeks of training, and a million hours spent agonizing about 2 years in the Peace Corps I know that I will be living in San Clemente, Piura on the northern coast. I will be living in a small town with 2000 people. Mom, Dad, and Lee:I will have internet and cell phone service! Also, I'm only 1 hour from the beach and 1 hour and 30 minutes from the capital city of Piura. I have 2 parents and a 6 year old brother. My host mom is a teacher and will likely be an excellent resource. I will be replacing a former volunteer who already has a theater group, youth group, and HIV education in place. I couldn't really ask for more. I am ecstatic about my location and very grateful that my superiors listened and adhered to my preferences. Sunday night I will leave for my site visit. I’ll stay there for 1 week, get to know my surroundings and host family, and meet my community partners. I will have 3 community partners: the school, the municipality, and the health post. After I return from my site visit, I’ll have 1 week to get all my stuff packed, say goodbye to some great friends, and exchange big bear hugs with my wonderful host family. Before I move to site permanently, my group will be sworn in as official Peace Corps volunteers. We will be the first group to ever be sworn in at the US embassy in Lima. It is a really fabulous honor and I am extremely excited for it.

Another story worth telling is the events of this past weekend. Saturday was my host mom’s birthday so I offered to make my delicious Mexican tacos. Mid-purchase, my host dad told me that perhaps more people would come to the house last night. Peruvians don’t like to scare and/or offend anyone so they tend to pussy-foot around the subject at hand. I finally got it out of him that 15 people would be arriving and could I maybe make enough tacos. Fortunately, I come from a huge family and between the eight of us, JC (mary’s boyfriend), Lee, and Alyssa (Enrique’s girlfriend), there is always a need to prepare mountains of food. Once all of the other ingredients had been purchased, I set out to finding tortillas. Now you all may be surprised by this, but there are no tortillas to be found in Peru. If you are really lucky, you can find white rubbery Bimbo brand tortillas. I was not so lucky. After going to 4 grocery stores with no success, I declared that I would make my own damn tortillas. I remember making tortillas with my Nana Chon and her tortilla song she would sing to us. I tried to remember how exactly my Nana would mix the dough, roll the balls, and roll out the tortillas. I bought flour, salt, baking powder, and lard and made some of the most delicious tortillas known to the Peruvian people (if not the only tortillas). It goes without saying that I was covered in flour and that my host siblings and I had a wonderful time. The party was a smash hit and everyone licked their plates clean. They were shocked that I, being a gringa, could cook and actually enjoy doing it. The night continued with my host family pulling apart the living room to create a dance floor. We danced Peruvian dances until 2 in the morning… but that is when I went to bed. They stayed up until 4 chatting and dancing. Peruvians certainly know how to party.

Finally, yesterday I took my entire host family to the movies for my host mom’s birthday present. She had NEVER been to the movie theater. We went to see Shrek at a theater that had opened only one week prior. I realized very soon that that had its consequences. The people in that area were new to movie theaters and therefore were not aware of certain movie theater rules of etiquette. For example, all of the kids and the adults talked in normal voices throughout the whole movie, asking each other what was happening or just to comment. Also, the kids behind me and my host siblings were fascinated by the way the seats moved back and forth so they kicked the back of our seats until I turned around and told them to shhh and please stop. Then, a woman answered the phone in the middle of the movie and had an entire conversation without bothering to whisper. Throughout the whole movie I waffled between furious and mesmerized. I just couldn’t believe that people didn’t know how to behave in the movie theater. When people ask me what I miss from the states, movie theater etiquette will be pretty high on the list. Some others you might be interested in (in no particular order): peanut butter, real napkins (the ones here are as thin as toilet paper), real ketchup, Q-tip brand ear swabs (you think they’re all the same until you have to use crappy ones that just serve to break your ear drum because there’s but a tiny dab of cotton on the end… oh! And your ears stay filthy), central heating, cheddar, Colby jack, brownies, clean cars, a lack of tacky clutter (all the houses are full of knick-knacks with virtually no sentimental value), Lee, my friends, and my family.

3 weeks and counting

Hello friends and family!

I’m feeling really proud of myself for being so punctual and up to date with my blog entries. I doubt that will be the case when I’m at site and potentially 3 hours from the nearest Ethernet cable. Please forgive me in advance. I’m rapidly approaching my 4^th week here in Peru. I’m feeling well-adjusted and content. Most days I’m very positive, although yesterday was extremely cold and I got a little moody. I miss my family, my Lee, and my friends very much. The days are passing quickly and I’m learning a lot. We are finally getting into the meat of training and I’m able to apply some of the training into assignments that we have to complete within our host communities. For example, for the next week, three other trainees and myself will be facilitating a youth group, which will focus on fostering high self esteem and self realization. Our first session is tomorrow and we are hoping to have at least 5 girls and boys attend.

I had the opportunity to go to Lima for the first time this weekend. Lima, much like many cities I’ve seen, is dirty, crowded, and kind of sketchy. It’s winter here in Peru and Lima is notorious for not seeing sun for several months during the winter months. It was dark, gloomy, and gray ALL day. It was also very cold. I don’t now if you all have caught onto this yet… but I hate the cold. Yuck. Thanks a lot Arizona. The upside of Lima was the Miraflores district. Of course, this was the ritzy area right on the beautiful coast, equipped with tall buildings, Starbucks, the Marriott, Chilis, Applebees, and Tony Romas all in one block. Clearly, it is where all the gringos go and we took advantage. We had some delicious Pizza Hut. I was lucky enough to meet some local people about our age that belong to the upper class. This just means that I’ll be going again to Lima soon to dance and shop and eat. But let me be honest and tell you that I’ll probably only go once more because the Peace Corps budget is sparse.

I wanted to touch on some interesting cultural norms and facts about Peru. Most of the community uses public transportation, mainly the combis (buses) that I mentioned earlier. I thought it really awesome that men and women always give up seats for pregnant women, old ladies, and the handicapped.

Public education is really lacking. 7% are uneducated, 23% complete only primary school, 38% complete high school, 31% of that 38% earn a certificate of higher education, and 15% of that 31% earn a bachelor’s degree. The public schools are not well funded. I was surprised to see that the public school that I went to, which has been called a “model” school, had no books or textbooks. All of the children have notebooks with handouts pasted into them. The private schools are quite advanced but only the wealthy can attend them. All Peruvians have the opportunity to test into the National University, which is free to attend. Acceptance is based purely on the results of one government issued exam. I would consider it to be the equivalent of the SATs, but the enrollment process is much more competitive. The test is very difficult and most students do not earn the necessary score to enroll that year. There are limited places in the university. Most of the educated people live within or around Lima, which means that most of the other states are undereducated, rural, and underdeveloped. This would explain why Peace Corps volunteers don’t work in the department of Lima and are sent to other, more isolated areas.

Gender roles here are extremely obvious. Women generally don’t work in the formal job market, unless they are educated. Many will wash clothing, sell lunches out of their homes, sew, or open little shops in the front room of the their homes. In my town, many women want to host Peace Corps volunteers because they can earn some extra money (though not much), to supplement the family income. Our host families receive the equivalent of $7 per day to provide 3 meals and a place to sleep and shower. You’re really lucky if your host mom washed your laundry for you (I’m one of the lucky ones!). Most women wash all the family’s clothing by hand; few have washing machines.

Peru has a distinctly machismo culture. Women do all of the cooking and the work around the house and the men are responsible for bring home the money. Even my host father, who I consider to be more liberal than most, won’t fix himself a plate or fetch a thing from the kitchen. The oldest daughter Singui is always told to answer the phone or to do this or that around the house. She left in the middle of dinner tonight to buy mayonnaise at the store down the street because her dad wanted some and there wasn’t any in the house.

Another little gem: kids pee on the street here… and so do adults. It is perfectly normal to see a grown man or little boy peeing on the side of a building in the middle of the day. So much for indecent exposure

Gem #2: A very intelligent, modern woman told me a story which really surprised me and taught me that old wives tales still prevail. While this woman was pregnant she owned a goose. This goose, like all geese, was loud and obnoxious. She told me that she had to give it away because she was almost to term. Now, I thought she had to give it away because it was too much work or something. She informed me, however, that she had to give it away because when an animal nears your pregnant belly and makes sounds, that when your baby is born it will come out making those sounds and behave like that animal for the duration of its life. I must have looked a little skeptical because she gave me an example of a man that sits in the park with a pet iguana on his fat belly. This man makes sounds and moves his tongue like an iguana. She explained to me that this was because he had been exposed to an iguana when he was still in the womb. WHAT?!!

Week 1 of Training

Hello all!

I’ve been in training for about a week now. I live in a little town named Chacrasana, about 15 minutes away from Chaclacayo, where the training center is located. Chaclacayo is about 45 minutes from Lima. Each day I wake up and either jog or climb the hill behind my house, eat some yummy breakfast (lately it’s been eggs and fried hot dogs, take a combi (bus) to the training center, sit through what seems like a gazillion hours of classes, combi my butt back home, eat again, and fall into bed. I live with an incredible Peruvian family. Marino, my host father is an exceptional man with a big heart for those in need. He truly values Peace Corps volunteers and the work that we do here. He has a project of his own this he is working on. He plans to build a huge cancha (soccer field) and little cabins for people to rent. The profit will go directly to impoverished families in the Andean Sierra. His motto in life is “what little I have, I share it.” He’s a chatty, friendly man and an excellent father to his 3 children. Singui is 14, Elena is 8, and Andre is 6. They are sweet little rascals that love to follow me around, hold my hand, and play with my gringo electronics. My fellow trainees joke about my little leeches. Interestingly enough, much like my real sisters in the States, my host sisters and mother LOVE Justin Bieber. My host mother is sweet and very attentive. She and I talk a lot about the education system and many other social norms and issues in Peru. Luckily, I am blessed to have both internet (WHAT!!!) and hot water (AWESOME!!!) in my house. Also, because my family has hosted many other volunteers, I get to eat lots of vegetables. Peruvians don’t eat many vegetables and many trainees are having a hard time adjusting. I’m really lucky to be getting lots of GREEN! Not to mention, my host father loves it when all the volunteers come over and hang out and drink around the fire pit in the back yard. My fellow trainees are already chomping at the bit to “party at Libby’s house. “

Entrenamiento, or training, has been quite interesting, not to mention exhausting. We have language class from 8-12 and technical training from 1-5. Obviously, it is a very long day. By Friday night we all just want to have a beer (or in my case, a glass of Peruvian wine) and go to bed. The Spanish classes are helpful. I really needed the review and there are lots of jergas (slang) that I need to learn that are unique to Peru. For example, the term for bus here is “combi.” In Chile it was “micro” and in Guatemala it was “camion.” I am continually learning new words for things I thought I was familiar with. Anyway, the technical training is what I most look forward to. In the coming weeks, we will learn all about our potential sites, programs that we can implement in our sites, safety and security in Peru, nutrition, and a plethora of other topics. I am most excited about visiting real Peace Corps sites to see how REAL volunteers live.

Site placement has been on everyone’s mind. Because of Peru’s vast size, there are many geographic regions that we could be placed in: desert in the south, coast to the west, Sierra to the east, and cloud forest to the north. Over the next few weeks, we will have the opportunity to talk with our APCD (Assistant Peace Corps Director) to explain our preferences. Most sites are rural and we will most likely by placed within an hour to three hours of the nearest volunteer. It is interesting what only one week has done to my personal flexibility. Initially, I was apprehensive about living somewhere rural or in a very small town, not having Internet, or living somewhere without the amenities of home. However, Peace Corps is about self- sacrifice and you have to be willing to go where you will be the most effective. I realize now I can live without a toilet or Internet. I would actually prefer to live in a very small town because people tend to be much more receptive and I feel that I will be more effective with the youth there. I think my most inflexible request is that I REALLY want to be somewhere warm. It is pretty chilly here in Chacrasana and I don’t like having to bundle up all the time.

Everyone back home wants to know about the food here in Peru. Well, the food is absolutely not what I expected, but extremely delicious. There is a large Chinese influence here, so it common to eat Chifa, a mix of Chinese and Peruvian food. Unfortunately, tortillas are uncommon here, which is truly a travesty because I love love love me some comida Mexicana. Anyway, the food of choice here in Peru is rice… rice and potatoes. Fortunately, they have created about 400 ways to prepare the 400 different types of potatoes. We eat a lot of chicken and plenty of fresh fruit. The fruit and vegetables here are incredible. Nothing is imported from abroad and so all the produce is picked ripe and delicious. It’s like American produce on speed... Freakin’ Awesome.

Finally, I’ll contarles (tell you all) a fun little Peruvian fiesta story. Yesterday was the day of the heart of Jesus. Everyone attended mass and brought their pictures of Jesus for the priest to bless. Inside the church were beautiful religious icons bedecked with flowers and sparkling LED lights. The icons became part of a parade, which also included a live band and members of the community. The parade started in front of the home of a certain family, who provided food for the community. The parade ended in front of the school, where the band continued to play. At this point, the whole town showed up and started drinking (around 9 pm). The crowd got rowdier as the night went on, really taking off at about 1 am, at which time the toro loco (crazy bull) went off. A man placed a huge paper bull made up of fireworks on his back, lit the thing on fire, and proceeded to run around the middle of the party. It was quite possibly the most unsafe and crazy thing I’ve ever seen. It was awesome. All the trainees from neighboring communities came out to Chacrasana for our party. We were all pretty amazed by the spectacle. Not to mention, we were all a little embarrassed that we were tired by 1 am and wanted to go to bed, while the rest of the town, including the 75 year old ladies stayed out until 5 am. Peru is a crazy place. I’m really getting to like it here.

First few days of training= utter exhaustion

After 12 hours of travel, 2 nights in a hotel , 7 hours of orientation, another 20 hours of travel, and approximately 12 hours of sleep (total) in the last 72 hours, Libby Salerno has arrived in Peru. I’m exhausted. On a lighter note, I am officially a PCT or Peace Corps Trainee. At the end of my 10 week training period, I will be sworn in as a Peace Corps volunteer. The busy schedule listed above has a very specific purpose: keep the newbies too occupied to think/worry/cry over home. There are a few tears every once in a while, but for the most part, the constant movement and information overload keeps us all focused on Peace Corps and our purpose here.

I’m really excited about my fellow Peace Corps trainees. There are 56 of us and we come from more than 10 states. Strangely enough, my roommate on the first night informed me that she was from Nogales, Arizona. For those of you who don’t know, Nogales is only 40 minutes from Sierra Vista. Of all the cities and town and counties and states we could come from, it is pretty wild that we’re both from Cochise County. Understandably, we discovered that we have several mutual friends on Facebook ;). Everyone is extremely nice and easy going. Despite differences in education and career backgrounds, we all joined the Peace Corps for more or less the same reasons. It is really nice to be with so many like-minded people. We are a chatty group and all very excited to get on with the next 2 years.

Here are some slogans I’ve heard regarding Peace Corps that I’ve found to be personally motivating:

-The toughest job you’ll ever love.

-Life is calling.

-How far will you go?

-Never say “I should have”