Tis the season to by crying???

I’m not sure if I’m punishing myself or not by listening to Christmas music. Every time Josh Groban’s “I’ll be home for Christmas” comes on, the water works start up. But at the same time, I can’t resist since the thought of NOT listening to Christmas music is almost worse than listening to it and missing home.

This is going to be my first Christmas away from home…My first Christmas away from my family…One day more than I’ve ever spent away from the U.S…My first Christmas without presents, Christmas lights, and Christmas trees…You get the picture.

It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that in less than 5 days, Christmas will have come and gone and will officially mark my one-month anniversary of being in site. But, with everything that I do here, I try to look at in a positive light and be grateful for the experiences that I get to have, and the people I get to share them with.

For starters, Christmas is done a bit differently in Peru, of which, I’m not surprised, as almost everything is different here than from the states, Christmas not being the exception. Here are a few ways that Peruvians celebrate Christmas:

Paneton and Hot Chocolate: I don’t want to make any generalizations, but I’m pretty sure that almost every Peruvian follows this custom. Paneton (Pronounced Pan-i-tone) is a type of Christmas bread that has fruit jellies inside and it is accompanied by hot chocolate before, during, or after Christmas. I’ve had Paneton a few times and it’s not bad, but I’m a little suspicious since Paneton first started appearing in stores when I first arrived to Peru in September. And any bread product that can last on the shelves for more than 3 months makes me stop and wonder what kind of chemicals are inside.

Nacimiento (Nativity): Starting around the first of the month, stores start brimming with Nativity figurines since here in Peru, people put up Nativity scenes in their houses to mark the Christmas season. There of course the angels, the wise men, and all the barnyard animals you want, but Baby Jesus is not put out until Christmas day. It reminds me a lot about my advent calendar back in the states when my sister and I used to fight over who would get to put up baby Jesus. Usually the Nativity scenes are accompanied by little Charlie Brown Christmas trees, but not always. In the case of my family, we have neither a Christmas tree nor a nativity scene, but we do have a string of Christmas lights so there is at least some acknowledgement of Christmas in the house.

Gift Exchange: Having grown up with THE Mrs. Santa, it’s going to be a bit weird not exchanging gifts. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is not all about the presents, but being the gift-person that I am, it is a bit weird. To amend this problem, I purchased socks at the market and decorated them, so as my family can have Christmas stockings (Christmas Gym-Socks more likely…). I got a few sweets and trinkets to put inside Christmas day, but I thought it would be a fun thing for them.

Amigos Secretos (Secret Friends): This is just like Secret Santas, only it plays out a bit differently. We exchanged names in my Health Micro-Red, of which I found out about only 2-hours before. The way in which you find out is by having a scarf tied around your eyes and having to pat down the mystery person in front of you while everyone laughs. Ha. People seem to really get into the “patting-down” part, so things get a bit exciting. I come to find out later that Amigos Secretos wasn’t down this way with my friend’s health post, so I’m pretty sure my Micro-Red is just extra special (and a bit weird).

So those are some of the customs I have seen so far, but I’m sure there is more to come. I’m going to be celebrating with my new host family and some family friends my site, so I’m not sure what’s in store, but it should be fun.

As always, and maybe even more, I miss you all very dearly and will be thinking of you all come Christmas Day.

A Walk in the Clouds

So it’s come under my understanding that a lot of people have no idea what I’ve been up to lately, so I’m going to try to answer that question as difficult as it is. It’s complicated since I myself am trying to figure that out as well…

So basically for the first three months in site, we are supposed to be doing a “Community Diagnostic,” which is basically a way for us to get to know our communities and for our communities to get to know us. At this point, I’m just the strange “gringa” in town and most people have no idea why I’m here. The diagnostic is also a chance for me to find out what the needs of my community are and what they want help with. So it’s really a win-win.

To help me integrate and get to know my community, I’ve been saying “yes” to any opportunity that presents itself. Not sure if this was a smart or stupid idea, but it has led to some interesting days for sure…

Just the other day, my day started out accompanying one of my aunts to the soup kitchen in town and ending up agreeing to accompany my other aunt to a “caserio” later in the day. I’ve been trying to make it to all the “caserios”, basically small towns nearby, since there are about 15, so I was excited to go.

After lunch I met up with her and she asked me if I was sure I wanted to walk with her since she said we were going to be walking up-hill, which I replied “I love to walk.” She just laughed at my response, which should have been an indicator to me of what lied ahead. But soon enough, I discovered that indeed we walked up-hill….walked up a mountain more like it.

My community is at the base of a huge mountain, and our destination was actually up and over the other side of the mountain. I don’t know if it was the fact that I am out of shape or we were at a high altitude, but I was huffing and puffing for sure. To make matters worse, my aunt was charging up the hill while knitting! Way to make me look bad….ha.

After about 2 hours, we reached the crest of the mountain and continued to the other side, when we eventually reached our destination….the field where my aunt had planted potatoes and her cows. My cousin Roxanna and I rested our legs while my aunt pulled up some potatoes, and then we headed back down the mountain.

Throughout this whole hike, we were in the clouds, which was probably a good thing since I’m a bit scared of heights. So on the way down, I didn’t have to think about what would happen if I took a wrong step…There were a couple close calls as I kept on slipping on the muddy stones while my aunt kept shouting at me “Bonito bajo! Bonito bajo.” I finally made it back to my house in one piece, but almost a week later my body still aches. And to think, my aunt hikes that path everyday to milk her cows. Geeeez!

So little by little, I’m figuring out what I’m going to be doing in my community, as my first couple months are a lot like walking in a cloud. I’m only focusing on what’s directly ahead of me, as I can’t see very much ahead. I have to keep reminding myself that things take a while in the sierra and that I’m here for 2 years, so to just take things slow. I’m hoping after a few months, I will start to see my role in my community take form, but until then, I will keep on taking one step at a time and hope I don’t fall...

Old Miss Annie had a farm…

eeee…iii….eeee….iiii….oooohh…..

So having grown up in Roseburg, while it is known for its country-folk, I didn’t exactly grow up on a farm. In fact, I pretty much grew up in Suburbia, and going to the farm meant going to Kruse Farm to pick out our pumpkins. That’s about as close as I’ve ever gotten, yet here I am today, living the true farm life.

My family, including most of the families in San Juan de Lacamaca, own farm land either beside their houses or close by. The rainy season is about to start and this past week we have been blessed with minimal rain, so many of the men in town are working the land to get ready to plant. What I have noticed in my town is that most people’s jobs consist of working the land and raising animals. The few professionals in town, like the nurses and teachers, live in Bambamarca, the nearest big city, and commute to and from everyday. My family plants cabbage, carrots, corn, and beets and from what I’ve heard, most of the families sell their produce instead of keep it. So I’m hoping to persuade my family to keep some, as I’d hate to see fresh veggies leave.

In addition to farm land, we also have animals, and quite a few I might add. We have 2 cows (shared with my Aunt and Grandma), 3 pigs, 2 turkeys and 9 baby turkeys, 5 guinea pigs, 3 dogs, 1 cat, and 1 laying hen (and a partridge in a pear tree!) I usually wake up to the turkeys gobbling and the dogs barking (not far off from Lima), and we constantly are battling with our mischievous chicken, who likes to sneak into the kitchen. Just the other day, it snuck into the kitchen and found the bag of corn and dumped it all over the floor! That’s either one smart chicken or one very stupid chicken.

So far I have not killed any animals, but I’m pretty sure my pigs have it in for me. As I think I’ve mentioned before, my pigs are by the latrines out back and every day I have to find a way around them or else they like to attack me. My friend told me pigs like to bite and I don’t want to be on the receiving end of their dirty schnauzers. There was a close call the other day when one of the pigs came up behind me and head-butted me. I’m just glad that it wasn’t raining or I would have fallen flat on my butt.

Having just mentioned my latrine, I have also made the discovery of just how annoying it is to have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. My mom used to tell me stories of her and her sisters having to brave the snow to make it to the outhouse while at grandma’s farm. Well I think I now feel their pain, and for that reason I have bought myself my very own “bucket” or as my mom likes to call it “a chamber pot.” I have yet to use it, and am saving it for a rainy day (literally). Ha.

Overall though, life in the “campo” is good. It’s great to wake up to the fresh air, and glimpse at the mountains overshadowing me. It reminds me of where I am everyday and to appreciate it for what it is. Because when else am I going to have a chance to have fresh eggs and milk for breakfast or have to battle pigs just to go to the bathroom…

That´s right...probably never...

Rain, rain, go away...

So it’s been about a week and a half since I’ve been in site and I am slowly “acostumbrar-ing” as they say in my site. About every conversation starts with “Have you become accostumed yet?” which is then followed up by “lots of rain today, no?.”

While living in hot, dry, dusty Lima, there wasn’t anything I wanted more than rain, and it looks like I got my wish and then some. Being from Oregon, I thought I knew a thing or two about rain, but I have been sorely mistaken. In my site, there are only two seasons, Rainy season and NOT-rainy season. Rainy season starts in December and doesn’t let up until about April, which means I’m going to have a lot of time on my hands since it’s pretty difficult to really do anything while it rains, atleast that's what people have told me, and I'm starting to believe it.

While my friends on the beach are soaking up the sun, I’m hunkering down in my jacket, trying not to fall in the mud that appears to be everywhere. I suppose one thing I took advantage of in Oregon was the paved roads and the central heating systems. In my site, I have neither. Ha. So rain becomes more of an obstacle here. One of my first purchases in my site were rain boats, which have become probably my most important clothing item as my latrine is through a field of mud and past two very big pigs. I’ve come close to falling and think it’s only a matter of time when I do.

So until April, it’s just me and the rain….so bring it.