Dile NO a la Violencia Familiar (Say NO to Domestic Violence)

Arriving to my site on the northern coast of Peru, I was no stranger to Latin American culture: the good, the bad, and the machismo. It did not take long for me to witness the negative impacts of machismo culture in the lives of my students and their families. Male dominance and power is manifested in the division of household labor, decision-making, personal expression, and overall freedom and liberty for the women. Perhaps the most frustrating and extreme example of machismo in my community is domestic violence. Rumors of men abusing their wives and children are a daily occurrence in my volunteer life. However, the men are not the only aggressors; I overhear mothers screaming obscenities and calling their children terrible names. My students tell me horror stories about parents pulling their hair until they bleed and plastic pitchers hurled at their heads. My biggest challenge as a Peace Corps volunteer is watching my beloved community members hurt and batter each other physically, emotionally, and psychologically.

            After witnessing and observing these disturbing behaviors, I struggled to understand how and why people can hurt the people they love. I came to understand that for some families, these occurrences are generational and considered normal. Children observe their mothers endure physical and emotional abuse doled out by their father, and they do the same with their own families later in life, becoming either aggressors or victims. For lack of better instruction and example, abuse is considered to be an effective form of discipline. Children are subjected to violence when they misbehave or fail to succeed in school. Finally, alcoholism is rampant among men and it is not uncommon for spouses to arrive home and become violent after a long afternoon and night of drinking.

            I refused to stand by and watch my students and their families suffer; I decided to dedicate my work for the month of November to awareness and prevention of domestic violence.  My community partner, a professor from the local high school, and I worked with the mayor of the municipality, who agreed to fund and host a campaign against domestic violence.  We began with a parent workshop led by a psychologist and lawyer, who described the psychological and legal consequences of domestic violence, and possible solutions and treatment. The high school students also received workshops, and participated in an art contest to create informational pamphlets to pass out during the final town parade. We took advantage of the annual town fair and the students performed domestic violence-themed skits with the entire town in attendance. My community counterpart and I wrote and performed four “episodes” over the town loudspeakers. Finally, the students and staff from the high school, staff from the health posts, and town officials gathered for a town parade, touting posters, banners, and loudspeakers demanding an end to domestic violence and peace and harmony among families and community members.

            I consider this project to be one of my most successful endeavors during my Peace Corps service. For my students that are victims of domestic violence, it was an empowering experience because they were able to express their frustration and speak out against the aggression. Surveys and commentary indicate that people are better informed and are less afraid to expose and draw attention to cases of domestic abuse. Multiple women and students have requested information and advice on how to denounce the aggressors in their household. Finally, I was amazed at the level of support received from the community members and town officials to complete this project; ultimately, it must be the community who will demand change and make domestic violence unacceptable.  

1 yEaR dOwN

Hey Amigos y Familia,

Sorry I’m a busy Peace Corps volunteer and haven’t updated my blog in a bazillion! I’ll just go ahead and get down to business. My host mom gave birth to a gorgeous little girl named Angeles Valentina, and I had the pleasure/shock of being in the delivery room at the time. We’re talking pushing exercises, breathing coaching, and relaxation techniques… I did all of it but the birthing. That precious bundle of joy came out purple and screaming and I was crying instantaneously. You may ask, and I will answer: Yes I am now TERRIFIED of giving birth. Yes, I have considered adoption. No, I can’t imagine having six children like my mother did. And yes, an epidural could be a woman’s greatest friend. Angeles Valentina is now 4 months old and she’s the fattest, happiest joy in my life. She’s learning to sit up on her own. She wants to taste everything she touches. She’s smiley and giggly and makes my host parents, host brother, and myself go limp with love. She has us all wrapped around her fat little finger. 

My brothers Rafael and Enrique came to visit me in June for 10 days. We explored the touristy spots of Lima, tried all the typical Peruvian dishes at swanky restaurants and street vender carts, and then found our way to the bohemian area of Barranco where we indulged in our first experience with Absinth. No worries, we didn’t hallucinate, but we did have the time of our lives. Next we headed up to the Andes to the city of Hauraz, in the department of Ancash. We climbed a mountain to get to the amazing glacial lake Laguna Churup. After a 4 hour hike up and 2 hour descent, our lungs were burning, our legs were trembling, and we were so hungry we could have eaten a herd of cuyes (guinea pigs). The photos prove how awesome it was. Following our badass hiking in Ancash, I brought the brothers to my slice of life in Peru: San Clemente, Piura; where the sun is always shining, the crops are fruitful, as are the women, and “pescado” (fish) is the word in everyone’s mouth. My little brothers (I say this jokingly because they both tower over me) loved my host family and they loved them back. My host mom cried when they left. The little kids still ask me where my brothers are. The girls are faint at the thought of them. They called them “The Chon Brothers”, like the Jonas brothers and they were pushing each other out of the way to get a photo with one of them, or sigh…. BOTH! To finish out the trip, we bussed our way to Mancora, a beach town where foreigners and Peruvians alike flock to for good ceviche, good surf, and better dancing. You could ask them, but I’m pretty sure they’ll both tell you that Peru showed them a good time.

Skipping ahead to August, my best friend Juliane and I took a 7 day trip into the Amazon jungle. I managed to find a cheap tourist package ($35 for transportation, 3 excursions a day, and meals!!!) and we spent 4 days in a lodge with no electricity, giant tarantulas, and a pet duck named Piki. But first we had to experience the jungle city of Iquitos, known for its grilled crocodile dish, other-worldly markets, and loose women. Well, I tried the crocodile and it was delicious, better than chicken.  At the market of Belen (located in a “floating” village that is accessed only by boat during the rainy season), we discovered exotic fruits and enormous fish. And the women were not loose. They were beautiful. Is there a supposed correlation between the two? Perhaps Peruvian women from other places are just jealous. For dinner, we found ourselves at the Yellow Rose of Texas, the most American establishment I’ve found in Peru, even better than Kentucky Fried Chicken. We were served up buttermilk pancakes, chili cheese fries, and chicken fried steak. Now, off to the Jungle Wolf Lodge located deep (4 hours by canoe) into the jungle. With 3 excursions per day, our jungle guide kept us occupied, and ripe and ready to fall into bed at 7:30 pm, when the sunlight disappeared behind the trees and we were left to ourselves in the dark. Excursions included: swimming with pink dolphins, monkey scouting, caiman hunting (Amazon alligators), moonlight search for nocturnal insects, baby sloth hugging, raw larva eating, and tarzan vine-swingin’. You can check out these photos on my facebook: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100480976226682.2784471.10124973

Just because I’ve gushed about all my vacations doesn’t mean that I’ve been slacking off at work, quite the contrary. Let’s start with Club L.E.E.R (READ) “Reading with Enthusiasm, Energy, and Regularity”, a literacy program designed to promote a love of reading and improve reading comprehension skills. The International Book Project, Darien Book Project, and private donors donated over 750 books. A private donor donated 500 of the same 5 books, with the express wish that these be distributed to the children of San Clemente. I use those books as prizes.

 This is easily one of my best projects, if only because my kids come to all the meetings, show up early, and jump up and down to get in the door, pretty much making it a Peace Corps Volunteer's dream. Anyway, my club is pretty basic because I've got about 30 kids coming and I'm usually alone. It is hard to keep kids 6-11 years old and all reading levels entertained and under control. I've gone with the old "sit down and read" approach, with lots of incentive to keep them sitting. My kids love to read, but it helps that we have a sticker/prize system to keep them interested.

 We meet 3 times a week for a little over an hour. Each kid chooses a book and sits down to read it. Once he/she is finished, which I've attached for you, and they fill that out. The books that I received from International Book Project have comprehension questions in the back of the book for the upper reading levels, so the older kids have to answer the questions on the back of the sheet. For each book/sheet completed, they get a sticker by their name on the sticker poster. After getting 3 stickers they get a book to take home for their personal library.

My last claim to fame is the Career Fair that I organized with my host parents for the youth and parents of San Clemente. The objectives of this project were to provide information to youth and their parents about different careers, help students decide which vocation most appealed to them, and start a dialogue between students and their parents about their futures. About 90 students and 40 parents attended! Three universities and twelve professionals presented on a career panel: policewoman, military officer, doctor, teacher, accountant, director of a the school board, obstetric nurse, lawyer, civil engineer, industrial engineer, engineer of fishing industries, and a psychologist. Following the panel, students and their parents were given time to visit personally with the professionals to ask questions and hear their stories. The universities attempted to seduce them with colorful folders, light-up pens, and attractive stationary. The students were euphoric as they passed room to room to hear about all the different career options. I overheard conversations between parents and their children, perhaps the first of its kind: “Son, what do you want to be when you grow up?” or “Honey, do you want to be a police woman?”

It was a beautiful moment for everyone involved. To put it into perspective, most people in San Clemente subsist on 600 soles per month, or about $250 US dollars. Most merely manage to survive. Savings is non-existent and a college education is an unattainable dream. Most people have never met a professional, aside from the nurse at the health post or the teachers of their children. Don’t fret! Fortunately, times are changing in Peru. There are more and more scholarships being made available by colleges and the government. One can also work while studying. There are dozens of technical schools all over Piura that offer 1, 2, or 3 year programs. Unlike their parents and grandparents, San Clemente’s youth has the opportunity to become the leaders and professionals that they so admire. I can’t wait to see what my kids do with their dreams.

PS. Here’s a video that my friends and I made while on our 1 year annual meeting trip in Lima. By the way, I’ll be finishing the Peace Corps in just over 10 months! And my next blog will be about me applying to grad school…. YIKES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXUdz9VcTGI&feature=related

Please help promote literacy in San Clemente, Peru

Hello Friends! As you may know, my big project for 2011 is the improvement of the community library and the creation of a youth center. Fortunately, the municipality has provided a great building and some help with furnishing, but we need help filling our library with books! I am in contact with several NGOs and Tucson schools that are willing to help with books donations and book drives. The International Book Project is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that will provide the books; they only ask that people donate to fund the cost of shipping, which works out to about $200 for 32 pounds of books.

Please consider donating to this cause.

1) Here is the link: www.internationalbookproject.org

2) Please include "Elizabeth Salerno, Peace Corp Volunteer" in the notes section.

Thank you very much on behalf of the children of San Clemente.

Summertime and the livin's easy

These are the little babies that hang out outside my window. At any time of the day, I can hear "Senorita Libby! Un ratito..." (give me just a minute of your time). They come to borrow the basketballs that Lee left or to play puzzles or to borrow a book.

It is summer time in San Clemente and I think I could fry an egg on the pavement and then put it on a flavorless, styrofoam-like piece of bread with a bit of avocado and salt to spice it up. Breakfast anyone? But seriously, HOT and with no relief because air conditioning just doesn't exist. I have a little fan that I carry from room to room with me. The women say it will get cooler by the end of March and I am counting the days. For the first time in my life, I am wishing for winter and scarves and sweaters and layers. Despite the heat, I notice that this place comes alive in summer. The heat keeps people inside their homes from 12 to 5 pm, but then everyone comes outside and people sit in front of their houses chatting until 10 p.m. Ice cream men come with their obnoxious horns and women set up little snow cone tables. They have parties every weekend with "junses", which are an activity where someone pays to have plastic products like bowls and tupperwear hung from a tree and the kids come and climb the tree to take the prizes back to their mothers. And no... I haven't quite figured it out yet. In March begins Carnival with water balloon fights and paint smearing competitions. It is all anybody talks about. I'll report back as soon as I find out what all the fuss is about.

Like I said, summer time is party time. I was a invited to the 46^th anniversary of the town of Bellavista, about a 20 minute walk from my site. The night was celebrated with entertainment for the entire community, which included singers, dancers, and artists from the region. Two clowns came and told nearly harmless dirty jokes to the crowd. I was proud to note that I understood about 90% of the jokes, a long way from the blank stare I used to wear when I watched Chilean movies or saw comedians when I was first learning Spanish in Chile; and even later in Guatemala and Mexico, I had trouble with jokes and troublesome cultural innuendos. Now, I can understand a lot of the babble over the town loudspeakers and on the radio. I remember thinking “I’ll REALLY know Spanish when I can listen to it on the radio or watch the telenovelas on TV and understand.” Well…I’m there!

Anyway, back to Bellavista. After the clowns came the famous comedian. He spoke in voices, imitating perfectly a small girl child, a silly little boy, and an angry housewife. Being the only gringa for miles and sitting in the front row I knew instantaneously I would be part of the show. Sure enough, in less than 10 minutes, he’d plucked me from the crowd and started asking me questions, swearing to me he’d marry me one day and off we’d go to the United States. He set me up in a little skit with other participants from the audience. I was to be the wife who finds out about the other woman. He whispers for me to slap him when I find out, and I do exactly as instructed. With exaggeration he stumbles away from my “slap” and blubbers to the audience that he had told me to simply push him and that I had slapped him. The crowd is delightedly shocked by the gringa’s crazy antics (are you noticing a pattern here?!). For days all I’ve heard is “Senorita Libby is it true you slapped the comedian?!”

I had a really hard time after Lee left. I thought I’d be fine, but being that my host mom and brother had left for the south indefinitely and my host dad is always in the city, I’ve been left alone in this little house to fend for myself. For a girl from a family of 8 who lived in a sorority house with 50 other girls and has had multiple roommates at a time, living in a little house in Peru with myself was quite an adjustment. Worse yet, it is summer here and without school in session, I had very little to occupy my time. Thankfully, I’ve more or less adjusted and things have picked up a lot. I’m working in the summer school program in 2 other communities, plus San Clemente, teaching little kids how to like themselves (self-esteem building). I’m also facilitating a youth group.After trying my hand at different topics and finding my teenagers incredibly bored, I tried the sex topic. Within seconds, I had my kids on the edge of their seats and hanging on my every word. Needless to say, I think I’ve found our niche. These kids are anxious to learn about puberty, menstruation, STDs, and birth control. I will gladly facilitate that learning if it means keeping these girls and boys from being teenage parents or getting venereal diseases.

Despite missing my host family, it is nice to be able to cook for myself. I haven’t eaten rice in weeks! I cook with lots of different vegetables and I’ve been filling my extra time with cooking experiments. I know how to cook with eggplant and pumpkin now J I’m also teaching a local woman to bake and sell cakes; call it my own small business project. Being lonely has pushed me out into the community even more. I’ve been visiting more families and making new friends. I still hang out with my same little kids. I really adore them. I swear 10 year olds are my favorite. They are just discovering who they are and they love to participate in activities and answer questions. The girls are still willing to fight with the boys, aka they haven’t succumbed to that machismo inferiority complex as yet and they don’t care if the boys like them or not.

I'll be home in May! Ticket is officially purchased for May 9th through the 19th. Please feel free to take me out to breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. I prefer Mexican food. Just kidding, but seriously, I want to see everyone! Love you all

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