Soy una Cajamarqueña

Move over Ancash...Helloooooooo Cajamarca! San Juan de Lacamaca to be exact!

After 8 long-strenuous weeks of speculating about our future whereabouts, we finally found out our site assignments, and everything is now becoming a reality! I am happy to say that I am living in the land of cows, cheese, and green hills, which I couldn’t be happier about.

Finding out our sites involved lots of emotions: excitement to be finally doing what I came here to do, sadness to be leaving my new friends, and anxiety of not knowing where I will be put....so needless to say, those emotions all came out in the form of tears! ha. Not as bad as at Jen and Ben´s wedding (those that were witness...) but still quite the show. There is even a video of it somewhere...which I may or may not show people. ha. How we found out was by throwing a javelin at a bunch of balloons each containing a small slip of paper with our names and sites on it. It was very nerve-racking wondering when my name was going to be called, but luckily I didn’t have to wait long as I was the second one to find out. Having not prepared myself well enough in advance, my heart nearly stopped as they read my name. I had to ask my friend where I was going because I didn’t even catch my site, I was too nervous! But after my small bout of tears, it was fun to see everyone else’s excitement. There are two other lucky health volunteers coming with me to Cajamarca, Barbara and Katie…and I’m sure you will all get to know them very well through my blog. ha

In true peace corps style, we had another jammed pack day which included meeting our regional coordinators, taking our official D.N.I. pictures (Peru’s version of SSN card), and filling out paper work for the following week because the very next day we hopped on buses the for another FBT (Field Based Training) in our regional departments AND our first visits to our sites.

This FBT was very similar to the last in that we hung out with current volunteers and helped with projects; although this time we were more in charge. In my group, we helped paint murals with some local kids, helped/mainly watched another “cocina mejorada” being built, and then took a stab at giving our first “charla” (Discussion) about HIV/AIDS to some primary school teachers.

In between all that fun, I had some exciting “firsts” take place. For one, I got to milk my first cow. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as good as it my first go-round (I thought I was hurting the poor cow), but I hope to change that very soon. I also witnessed my first cuy killing. At another health volunteer’s house, her host mom came out with a bag of guinea pigs. She asked if we like cuy, which of course, I answered with a big YES. So I figured she was going to go out back to kill them, but I was sadly mistaken. Instead, she reached into her bag and began to kill the cuys right in front of our eyes. I will spare you the gory details, but if you are curious…I did happen to make a video of it. ha. My friends were too grossed out to eat them at lunch, but my true Viking heritage came out and I went to town on my cuy at lunch. And boy was it delicious….claw and everything! Ha.

The other great part about our FBT was that we got a chance to meet all the other volunteers around our area and scope out Chota, which is going to basically be home-base for me as far as my bank and mailing address goes. Cajamarca actually has the most PC volunteers than any other department in Peru (36!), so it’s kind of like marrying into a big family. There are a lot of great, supportive people near me, so I’m looking forward to making even more new friends.

After our FBT, we finally got to see our homes for the next 2 years. My town, San Juan de Lacamaca, is about 1.5 hours from Chota, and another 20 minutes in car from Bambamarca, my regional capital. It is up in the hills, about 2500 meters, and looks down at Bambamarca. The view is breathtaking as I am surrounded my green hills and mist all around. I am the second volunteer in my site, and I even got to meet the volunteer, David, that I am replacing….which was great because I got a chance to really pick his brain.

When first arriving to my site, I was greeted with a going away/welcoming ceremony at one of the primary schools in town. The director of the school along with other members of the communities stepped up to the mic and told how much David meant to them, while also adding on how happy they were to have me in their community. This happened at least a dozen more times through my visit that I couldn’t help but feel humble and honored to live in a place so caring and loving to a complete stranger! There is a stereotype about people of the sierra in that they are cold and closed off, but I found that to be the exact opposite. They couldn’t have been nicer or more welcoming to me, so I know I’m going to be well taken care of at my new home.

My new host family are also very nice and were so welcoming towards me. My host parents are in their thirties, so it’s sort of like they are my siblings almost, but they also have a 12-year old son, who I know I’m going to become good friends with. We spent about 3 hours one day playing chess and listening to Peruvian mariachi music. Ha. I’m proud to say that I even won a few games, having not played since elementary school. More of my relatives live next door, including my cousin, aunt, and my grandma. We also have quite the zoo at my house: cows, pigs, chickens, guinea pigs, chickens, dogs, and cats (Oh my!). I know I used to say I had a zoo back home in the states, but this is way different. Ha. I’m excited to learn how to milk cows and plant in their fields! My house is pretty rustic, as in dirt floors, cooking over wood, and latrines by the pigs, but it is something I’m looking forward to at the same time.

It’s weird having to pack up my things and say goodbye to people again. It’s almost like living the states again, since I’ve become so accustomed to life in Chaclacayo and everything with training. It will definitely be a big adjustment, but I’m ready for my REAL adventure to begin…

On a side note:
As of right now, I don’t think there are any land line phones in my site, therefore in order for me to make a call to the states, I have to go to the nearest town, Bambamarca. On the flip side, anyone is welcome to call me on my cell phone (hint, hint). It’s best to buy a phone card or call my cell using skype. Both are relatively inexpensive and are guarenteed to make my day!

Also, as I said earlier, my mail box is in Chota, and so I updated my address on my blog. Please feel free to keeping the letters coming. I am going to try to be better about mailing letters myself, but I sadly have to budget the pennies that I make a day. Ha.

As always, I miss everyone. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Be sure to eat an extra helping of turkey with CANNED cranberry sauce for me! Yum Yum!