It was back in 1997 on one fine christmas eve when my obsession started. Mr. and Mrs. Santa had given me my first camera and my first scrapbook to display all my photos in. Little did they know, this would spark a new obsessive, not to mention costly hobby.
There's something about taking the photos and getting them developed, then...going to find fun paper, stickers...then arranging them all on paper. Some may think it's a bit boring and meticulous, but it's this very craft that has allowed both my Type-A and creative side to match up to create one giant masterpiece that is called a scrapbook.
Now, we can all deduce there aren't many scrapbooking stores or Michael's Arts and Crafts lying around where I live, so scrapbooking would simply have to wait...or so I thought....
With the new digital age in the Peace Corps, volunteers no longer sit in their rooms by candle light and write letters home. Instead they are playing on their macs and making movies! While I don't have a mac (or at least yet), I decided one rainy afternoon that I should finally do something with all the videos I've taken while being in Peru. And the rest is history...
What I soon discovered was that movie making took the same amount of detail and creativity that scrapbooking required only less messy! What I love about videos is that they can tell so much more about a story than a photo can. And when I think about how I'm going to describe my time in Peru, I don't even know where to start...so at least the videos can help a little...
So far I've only made two, but I have many more ideas to go...If you would care to view my videos online, I've made a YouTube account (Search for AnnieBopannie85).
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
You know you are a campesina when...
1. You start choosing your pee pot over your latrine even when it's pure day light…
2. You think that taking a shower is over-rated…
3. You fight with your family over who gets the cuy head…
4. You haven't looked at yourself in a mirror bigger than your hand in over two month…
5. You spot a pile of wood in town and the first thing you think about is how to get it up to your mountain…
6. You have no qualms about throwing food from your plate to the ground during meal time…
7. A strange lady grabs your inner thigh in the back of the camioneta so as you don't fall off, and instead of thinking it awkward, you smile and thank her…
8. Every other sentence ends in either "di" or "pues”…
9. Aji is your only saving grace for your plate of rice, noodles, and potatoes…
10. You sweep your dirt floor…
11. You are able to cut a steak with a spoon…
12. When you meet your friend's rabbit and you have stopped seeing it as a pet and stared seeing it as dinner...
13. When you order ribs at a restaurant, you have to consciously restrain yourself from picking up the ribs and gnawing at the leftovers…
14. You've ridden on every possible surface of a camioneta minus the hood of the car (at least not while moving)…
15. Your friend doesn't finish his dinner and as he turns his back, you hurry back and put his food in a bag to go…
16. You've actually drunk milk straight from the teet and liked it…
17. You think something is not right, when you don’t have to walk at least an hour a day
19. A mouse crawls across your floor and you just hope it doesn’t keep you awake during the night…
20. You've become the master of hayno by literally knocking your competition down to the floor (enserio)...
21. You find that your index finger unconsciously finds its own way to your nose no matter the time or place...
2. You think that taking a shower is over-rated…
3. You fight with your family over who gets the cuy head…
4. You haven't looked at yourself in a mirror bigger than your hand in over two month…
5. You spot a pile of wood in town and the first thing you think about is how to get it up to your mountain…
6. You have no qualms about throwing food from your plate to the ground during meal time…
7. A strange lady grabs your inner thigh in the back of the camioneta so as you don't fall off, and instead of thinking it awkward, you smile and thank her…
8. Every other sentence ends in either "di" or "pues”…
9. Aji is your only saving grace for your plate of rice, noodles, and potatoes…
10. You sweep your dirt floor…
11. You are able to cut a steak with a spoon…
12. When you meet your friend's rabbit and you have stopped seeing it as a pet and stared seeing it as dinner...
13. When you order ribs at a restaurant, you have to consciously restrain yourself from picking up the ribs and gnawing at the leftovers…
14. You've ridden on every possible surface of a camioneta minus the hood of the car (at least not while moving)…
15. Your friend doesn't finish his dinner and as he turns his back, you hurry back and put his food in a bag to go…
16. You've actually drunk milk straight from the teet and liked it…
17. You think something is not right, when you don’t have to walk at least an hour a day
19. A mouse crawls across your floor and you just hope it doesn’t keep you awake during the night…
20. You've become the master of hayno by literally knocking your competition down to the floor (enserio)...
21. You find that your index finger unconsciously finds its own way to your nose no matter the time or place...
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
"Living Poor" in Peru
Having finally finished the television series The Wire (McNulty, you will be missed), I have turned to books once more. I was recently handed a book called “Living Poor” by Maritz Thomsen, about Maritz’s time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador back in the 60’s, right when Peace Corps was getting started.
Peace Corps was very different back then, or so I am told. For starters, they had language and program training in the U.S. They also were basically dropped off in their country and never heard from Peace Corps until their service was up. They also got to choose their sites back then, drive cars, and even buy property! Obviously, a lot of things have changed since then.
As with any institution, and especially a government institution, there is a lot of bureaucracy these days. We have had 10 weeks of training in country along with 3 separate workshops after training, not including monthly regional meetings and reports to fill out periodically. We also have cell phones, computers, and that lovely thing called the world-wide-web.
So yes, a lot of things have changed. But the surprising thing is that even if Peace corps itself has changed and obviously we are 50 years after Mr. Thomen’s service…a lot of things he wrote are still applicable even today.
When talking about my Peace Corps experience in general, there are a lot of things that I just can’t put into words, which is pretty much everything, but thankfully Maritz has hit a lot of those issues right on the button.
Here are some examples:
“After listening for hours to a language which is badly understood, the brain goes into a paralysis; it closes the doors and shuts up shop”
This was truer in the beginning of my service, but it still is valid today. It takes so much strength to continuously follow a 4 hour meeting that afterwards all you can do is drool and stare out the window. Your brain is fried.
“I began to walk around town trying to get acquainted. But what an effort of the will it was in those first days to open the door of that sweet familiar room and go down into the street. A month later, to leave my tight little world of books, letters, pots, and pans, and walk into the country still required the one conscious decision to do it, like deciding to jump from a twelve-foot board into icy water”
This pertains to the beginning, once you first arrive at your site. I remember those days when it took every ounce of strength and courage to leave my nice, warm, cozy bed and to go out into the world and make myself known. This was especially made harder by my lack of Spanish skills and a lack of direction of what I was supposed to be doing. I used to make goals like “Meet a new person each day” or “go to the plaza and read.” Simple tasks and goals were what kept me going in the early days.
“Peace Corps Volunteers enter their new country so well briefed by their doctors on the hazards of the local foods that their first meals are terror-stricken experiences, gastronomic tightrope performances balanced between starvation and revulsion”
While I haven’t had it as bad as some volunteers, this is still partially true. I remember distinctly the day in training when Dr. Jorge talked solely on diarrhea: the different types, how often you will have it, and even the chance that you might go in your pants. I try to pay attention to cooking hygiene and seeing if the food has been washed before hand, etc. But it’s kind of hard when the custom here is to NOT refuse food, even if you think it’s been prepared poorly. I’ve also learned the hard way to avoid street food, but then again, time and again, I have a craving for it anyway.
“I think anyone who has not lived the wholly public life of a foreigner in a small town, where every scratch and belch is noted with fascinated curiosity, cannot realize how essential it is to have a place of refuge where you can hide from time to time and reform yourself”
I used to feel guilty (and sometimes still do), when I spend a lot of time in my room. But the truth of the matter is I’m on display 24/7. My house is surrounded by the road and the walkway path behind it. So if I want to just go outside and read, I’m either going to be honked at or hear someone calling out “gringa” riding past or be interrupted every 5 minutes to saludar the passerby-ers. While I admit, some of the shiny-new-car-smell has faded away, but then again, I usually meet at least one person a day that asks me “where are you from”, “what are you doing here”, and yes,” are you going to marry a Peruvian.”
“Along with everyone else I had been under the spell of Washington Peace Corps propaganda, which reports on the experiences of Volunteers in their different jobs. They are all reports of success-how Volunteer W comes to the high, arid town of A and leaves it two years later with running water, a chlorination system, and communal showers; …As a volunteer, you are orientated toward this kind of success; you want it desperately, unashamedly. When you make a mess of a project, it shakes you to the roots. It makes you feel, in fact, like the highly unpublicized cased of Volunteer Z working in the mountain village of C. All his projects had gone to hell, and his girl had written him that she was getting married that week to friend Q. Volunteer Z lay on his bed without moving for three days and, when the old Indian selling ice cream stuck his head through the window and yelled “helados,” suddenly jumped out of bed, ran outside, and bit the overeager salesman. Of course, the truth is that some days running outside and biting someone is probably the only rational move left to the volunteer.”
Just so you all know I haven’t bitten anyone yet. Ha. This quote to me is very funny as it describes a little of the insanity that we go through on a day-to-day basis. When I first got here, I wanted to effect a real change in the community. I wanted to be like Volunteer W. But my service is practically half way over and I haven’t really gotten much to show for it yet. So like always, my goals have changed a bit. Now, all I want is to have a successful project, something to be proud of, and something to be remembered by. There are times when I think it is possible, but once again, it depends on the people in the community…if they are motivated, if they are cooperative, if they are responsible. In the end, it’s up to them to see that a project continues for years…and overall, I think that is the biggest dream of a volunteer.
“They work only to eat today. There is no refrigeration, no way to store or save again that tomorrow that never comes”
I think this is true, especially when it comes to saving money. Many people live off the land, and if they need money, they’ll sell a pig or sell some produce. If they do come upon some money, they usually spend it on frivolous things. I’m not saying I’m above this by any means, but when, for instance, your cement floors aren’t finished or you don’t have vegetables on the table, I think they shouldn’t be going out and buying an s/80 encyclopedia or s/90 face cream.
“I began getting furious letters from my friends and family asking what was wrong, why didn’t I keep in touch?...It wasn’t only that I couldn’t think of anything to say; writing a letter also involved finding the envelope, steaming it open, addressing it, stamping it, getting it into the mailbox. The whole thing was impossibly complicated.”
I liked this quote, not so much as I have received furious letters from family members, but that this is a good example of how such a simple task in the states is so complicated and tiresome here. Just take today, for example: watering the garden. I recently planted a garden that is probably about 20 meters from the nearest faucet. At first, I was going to bring buckets of water down the hill, but realized that this wasn’t going to work as the garden was much too big. So then, we borrowed a hose from a neighbor. Perfect, I thought. But, there was a catch. There was no way to connect the hose to the faucet, so somehow, you had to basically attach a string from the hose to the faucet and then tie a plastic bag over that, hoping that you’ve got a good seal. Then your next problem was seeing if there was even water that day. What I’m basically saying is that nothing is easy. And that I will never again take things for granted it the states.
“There is no single way to smash out and be freed [of poverty]. A man has to break out in a dozen places at once. Most important, perhaps, he should start breaking out before he is six years old, for by then a typical child of poverty in a tropical nation is probably crippled by protein starvation, his brain dulled and his insides eaten up by worms and amoebas. No, more brutally true; if he is a typical child, an average child, by six he is dead.”
This pretty much sums up my philosophy about nutrition and also the reason for why I’m here. I was always left disappointed in college when the biggest nutritional problem we face as a nation is obesity, meanwhile other people are simply struggling to survive on the food that they have. I’ve had a good long time to think about the problem of malnutrition, as it is very prevalent in my community. And what it comes down to…what everything in fact comes down to, is good nutrition. Those first 3 years are the most important of a person’s life as that is when the body and mind are developing. If a person does not receive good nutrition, they are left stunted, under-developed, and not reaching their full potential. Someone once joked that reason why Peruvians aren’t tall is because they were all malnourished as children. While I don’t believe that at all to be true, it does have a grain of truth in it.
“When you start bringing about change you often wonder what you’ve set in motion. I had been so anxious to get new money into the town, to get families earning more that I had scarcely thought about the new problems that new money might bring.”
I’ve thought about this a lot and have seen it first hand in my community and the surrounding communities. We often think that having more money is automatically going to bring about happiness and better health to the family, but as I stated before, when there is no such thing as money-management, things sometimes can get worse for the family. I’ve also been torn between the benefits and consequences of globalization. As more and more people gain more money, and hence, a larger view of the world, what normally is sacrificed is culture. How do you come to terms with that?
“As a peace corps volunteer we come to give of ourselves, but we are almost all a part of the Puritan ethic, and we make rules and set limits as to what we will give and on what terms, and what it is legitimate to ask of us. We want to be loved because we’re lovable, not because we’re rich gringos. But the people in the town don’t know the rules. “
While I’m not sure about what he means by the Puritan ethic, it is true about setting limits and what you are willing to give the people. When first coming to my community, I didn’t want the people to see me as Miss Moneybags, so I made it clear that I didn’t have any funds to give, but rather knowledge and information, while that is clearly not the case, as I make more money than most professionals and am able to receive grant funding. Now that I am entering into my second year, I’m more okay to giving of my own funds to certain projects because now the people see me for what I really have to offer and not just money.
“After years in Rio Verde it was like a fresh wind blowing through the mind to hear the names of books again”
While I’ve only been here a year, I still crave intellectual conversations with people as they are hard to come by. There isn’t a cultural norm of reading for fun or staying informed, as we would call it in the states, so it’s quite the find when you see a Peruvian reading a book…any book for that matter. However, I have been presently surprised by one of my neighbors that stays quite informed. He actually asked me my opinion about the oil spills in the gulf! Something I had just heard about a few days before him…increible!
Peace Corps was very different back then, or so I am told. For starters, they had language and program training in the U.S. They also were basically dropped off in their country and never heard from Peace Corps until their service was up. They also got to choose their sites back then, drive cars, and even buy property! Obviously, a lot of things have changed since then.
As with any institution, and especially a government institution, there is a lot of bureaucracy these days. We have had 10 weeks of training in country along with 3 separate workshops after training, not including monthly regional meetings and reports to fill out periodically. We also have cell phones, computers, and that lovely thing called the world-wide-web.
So yes, a lot of things have changed. But the surprising thing is that even if Peace corps itself has changed and obviously we are 50 years after Mr. Thomen’s service…a lot of things he wrote are still applicable even today.
When talking about my Peace Corps experience in general, there are a lot of things that I just can’t put into words, which is pretty much everything, but thankfully Maritz has hit a lot of those issues right on the button.
Here are some examples:
“After listening for hours to a language which is badly understood, the brain goes into a paralysis; it closes the doors and shuts up shop”
This was truer in the beginning of my service, but it still is valid today. It takes so much strength to continuously follow a 4 hour meeting that afterwards all you can do is drool and stare out the window. Your brain is fried.
“I began to walk around town trying to get acquainted. But what an effort of the will it was in those first days to open the door of that sweet familiar room and go down into the street. A month later, to leave my tight little world of books, letters, pots, and pans, and walk into the country still required the one conscious decision to do it, like deciding to jump from a twelve-foot board into icy water”
This pertains to the beginning, once you first arrive at your site. I remember those days when it took every ounce of strength and courage to leave my nice, warm, cozy bed and to go out into the world and make myself known. This was especially made harder by my lack of Spanish skills and a lack of direction of what I was supposed to be doing. I used to make goals like “Meet a new person each day” or “go to the plaza and read.” Simple tasks and goals were what kept me going in the early days.
“Peace Corps Volunteers enter their new country so well briefed by their doctors on the hazards of the local foods that their first meals are terror-stricken experiences, gastronomic tightrope performances balanced between starvation and revulsion”
While I haven’t had it as bad as some volunteers, this is still partially true. I remember distinctly the day in training when Dr. Jorge talked solely on diarrhea: the different types, how often you will have it, and even the chance that you might go in your pants. I try to pay attention to cooking hygiene and seeing if the food has been washed before hand, etc. But it’s kind of hard when the custom here is to NOT refuse food, even if you think it’s been prepared poorly. I’ve also learned the hard way to avoid street food, but then again, time and again, I have a craving for it anyway.
“I think anyone who has not lived the wholly public life of a foreigner in a small town, where every scratch and belch is noted with fascinated curiosity, cannot realize how essential it is to have a place of refuge where you can hide from time to time and reform yourself”
I used to feel guilty (and sometimes still do), when I spend a lot of time in my room. But the truth of the matter is I’m on display 24/7. My house is surrounded by the road and the walkway path behind it. So if I want to just go outside and read, I’m either going to be honked at or hear someone calling out “gringa” riding past or be interrupted every 5 minutes to saludar the passerby-ers. While I admit, some of the shiny-new-car-smell has faded away, but then again, I usually meet at least one person a day that asks me “where are you from”, “what are you doing here”, and yes,” are you going to marry a Peruvian.”
“Along with everyone else I had been under the spell of Washington Peace Corps propaganda, which reports on the experiences of Volunteers in their different jobs. They are all reports of success-how Volunteer W comes to the high, arid town of A and leaves it two years later with running water, a chlorination system, and communal showers; …As a volunteer, you are orientated toward this kind of success; you want it desperately, unashamedly. When you make a mess of a project, it shakes you to the roots. It makes you feel, in fact, like the highly unpublicized cased of Volunteer Z working in the mountain village of C. All his projects had gone to hell, and his girl had written him that she was getting married that week to friend Q. Volunteer Z lay on his bed without moving for three days and, when the old Indian selling ice cream stuck his head through the window and yelled “helados,” suddenly jumped out of bed, ran outside, and bit the overeager salesman. Of course, the truth is that some days running outside and biting someone is probably the only rational move left to the volunteer.”
Just so you all know I haven’t bitten anyone yet. Ha. This quote to me is very funny as it describes a little of the insanity that we go through on a day-to-day basis. When I first got here, I wanted to effect a real change in the community. I wanted to be like Volunteer W. But my service is practically half way over and I haven’t really gotten much to show for it yet. So like always, my goals have changed a bit. Now, all I want is to have a successful project, something to be proud of, and something to be remembered by. There are times when I think it is possible, but once again, it depends on the people in the community…if they are motivated, if they are cooperative, if they are responsible. In the end, it’s up to them to see that a project continues for years…and overall, I think that is the biggest dream of a volunteer.
“They work only to eat today. There is no refrigeration, no way to store or save again that tomorrow that never comes”
I think this is true, especially when it comes to saving money. Many people live off the land, and if they need money, they’ll sell a pig or sell some produce. If they do come upon some money, they usually spend it on frivolous things. I’m not saying I’m above this by any means, but when, for instance, your cement floors aren’t finished or you don’t have vegetables on the table, I think they shouldn’t be going out and buying an s/80 encyclopedia or s/90 face cream.
“I began getting furious letters from my friends and family asking what was wrong, why didn’t I keep in touch?...It wasn’t only that I couldn’t think of anything to say; writing a letter also involved finding the envelope, steaming it open, addressing it, stamping it, getting it into the mailbox. The whole thing was impossibly complicated.”
I liked this quote, not so much as I have received furious letters from family members, but that this is a good example of how such a simple task in the states is so complicated and tiresome here. Just take today, for example: watering the garden. I recently planted a garden that is probably about 20 meters from the nearest faucet. At first, I was going to bring buckets of water down the hill, but realized that this wasn’t going to work as the garden was much too big. So then, we borrowed a hose from a neighbor. Perfect, I thought. But, there was a catch. There was no way to connect the hose to the faucet, so somehow, you had to basically attach a string from the hose to the faucet and then tie a plastic bag over that, hoping that you’ve got a good seal. Then your next problem was seeing if there was even water that day. What I’m basically saying is that nothing is easy. And that I will never again take things for granted it the states.
“There is no single way to smash out and be freed [of poverty]. A man has to break out in a dozen places at once. Most important, perhaps, he should start breaking out before he is six years old, for by then a typical child of poverty in a tropical nation is probably crippled by protein starvation, his brain dulled and his insides eaten up by worms and amoebas. No, more brutally true; if he is a typical child, an average child, by six he is dead.”
This pretty much sums up my philosophy about nutrition and also the reason for why I’m here. I was always left disappointed in college when the biggest nutritional problem we face as a nation is obesity, meanwhile other people are simply struggling to survive on the food that they have. I’ve had a good long time to think about the problem of malnutrition, as it is very prevalent in my community. And what it comes down to…what everything in fact comes down to, is good nutrition. Those first 3 years are the most important of a person’s life as that is when the body and mind are developing. If a person does not receive good nutrition, they are left stunted, under-developed, and not reaching their full potential. Someone once joked that reason why Peruvians aren’t tall is because they were all malnourished as children. While I don’t believe that at all to be true, it does have a grain of truth in it.
“When you start bringing about change you often wonder what you’ve set in motion. I had been so anxious to get new money into the town, to get families earning more that I had scarcely thought about the new problems that new money might bring.”
I’ve thought about this a lot and have seen it first hand in my community and the surrounding communities. We often think that having more money is automatically going to bring about happiness and better health to the family, but as I stated before, when there is no such thing as money-management, things sometimes can get worse for the family. I’ve also been torn between the benefits and consequences of globalization. As more and more people gain more money, and hence, a larger view of the world, what normally is sacrificed is culture. How do you come to terms with that?
“As a peace corps volunteer we come to give of ourselves, but we are almost all a part of the Puritan ethic, and we make rules and set limits as to what we will give and on what terms, and what it is legitimate to ask of us. We want to be loved because we’re lovable, not because we’re rich gringos. But the people in the town don’t know the rules. “
While I’m not sure about what he means by the Puritan ethic, it is true about setting limits and what you are willing to give the people. When first coming to my community, I didn’t want the people to see me as Miss Moneybags, so I made it clear that I didn’t have any funds to give, but rather knowledge and information, while that is clearly not the case, as I make more money than most professionals and am able to receive grant funding. Now that I am entering into my second year, I’m more okay to giving of my own funds to certain projects because now the people see me for what I really have to offer and not just money.
“After years in Rio Verde it was like a fresh wind blowing through the mind to hear the names of books again”
While I’ve only been here a year, I still crave intellectual conversations with people as they are hard to come by. There isn’t a cultural norm of reading for fun or staying informed, as we would call it in the states, so it’s quite the find when you see a Peruvian reading a book…any book for that matter. However, I have been presently surprised by one of my neighbors that stays quite informed. He actually asked me my opinion about the oil spills in the gulf! Something I had just heard about a few days before him…increible!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
My "Work" Week
A typical day of a Peace Corps volunteer is as hard to describe as it is to pin down a cloud (Freulein Maria anyone??) Therefore, this coming week I’m documenting my comings-and-goings to you all, so you might get an idea of what a typical work week looks like for me. Gone are the days of 9-to-5 and instead, anything goes…Usually I wake up and there is nothing to do (or so it seems)…and before I know it I’m being invited to a ladies house, going to a meeting that I just found out about, or playing basketball with some kids…Like I said, anything goes…
Monday: Having nothing set in stone to do, I took my sweet time getting out of bed this morning having finally emerged from my dungeon around 8:30 ready for some soup and cow milk for breakfast! Yum! Another reason to take my time is the fact that I have been “distancing” myself from my health post lately, do to personality clashes. But since my social told me I needed to find a list of mom’s, there was no choice. But first, I dabbled a bit on my computer and read a manual before finally heading to the health post. My socia Doli and I are starting house visits in a community, so we need a complete list of mom’s with kids under 3 years old and I needed to make a house visit survey.
So I took my 10 steps from my house to the health post, started my work day. Much to my surprise and delight, I was greeted by some of the nurses who both had stuff to discuss with me. I had a brief meeting with Sonia, the head nurse of health promotion, about possible projects in the future: Sessiones Demonstrativas (Nutrition Sessions) in San Juan, Early Stimulation classes, and possible garden project at the health post. Next up, was another meeting with Jessica, the nurse in charge of adolescent and women’s health. I’ve been trying to get this youth center up and going for a while, but nothing has been happening in the community, so I’ve let it be. But much to my amaze, Jessica said she wanted to meet with the committee formed and start a work plan! Hallelujah! Afterwards, I did some office work and typed up my list of mom’s and the survey.
Lunch came and went, and back to the health post I went to finish the survey. My nurse told me about a meeting at 3:00, so I tagged along to help coordinate the nutrition session we’re having. Having daylight to burn still, I started to get to work on making a fence for my garden. With the help of my host dad and mom, we dug the holes and put in tree branches. While digging, my mom screamed and backed away. I looked down and what did I find? A dog’s skull. Apparently, I’m making my garden on top of an old pet cemetery of my aunt. Still wanting to play in the dirt, I dug up dying onion plants in my almacigo in order to indirectly plant some other vegetable tomorrow. The onion had been there since March and still hadn’t been transplanted, so best to make room for another delicious vegetable…I’m thinking cabbage.
Tuesday: My morning got off with a jolt as I received a call from Doli during breakfast at 7:30 saying she was waiting for me in the plaza. This morning we were planning on doing house visits in one of our caserios, Tucopampa. But as it turns out, there happened to be a Juntos meeting at 8:00 in which all of our moms would be at…so I was basically going up to this community to sit around and not do house visits. Oh well. I got some good reading in and relaxed with the nurses. The one productive thing we got out of the meeting was that we grouped the mothers according to where they lived, so that we won’t have to go up and down searching for everyone. We re-scheduled house visits for next week, in which Doli wants to go visit all the houses…We’ll see how that one goes. Having been in Peru almost a year now, I now know that things take longer than they seem.
Having walked a lot in the morning and not able to drink my daily coffee, I decided to take a little nap. I cranked out two collages for upcoming friends’ birthday while watching movie and later helped my family put up the fence for my garden. My host dad says the plastic will only last three days, so this is definitely an experiment. I’m planning on using my youth group to help me plant tomorrow…nothing like child labor to help things along…
Lights went out at night. This happens from time to time, but no matter, it’s still a big inconvenience always. My host mom didn’t have a flash light while cooking, so I lent her one of mine. What is a person to do past sun down when there is no light? My town has had light for 7 years, but before that…I can only imagine. Thank goodness though; I had enough battery in my lap top to watch one more episode of The Wire…
Wednesday: When I woke up this morning, I had every intention of going to my primary school this morning to talk about my Kids-to-Kids grant project and others (tree nursery, English classes, youth center…), but like life, things happen. Today happened to be a national earthquake drill, which I didn’t think was a big idea, but my nurse said it pretty much takes all day, so there was no point of going to the school. Huh. How do you figure that one out? Anyway, so I went back to my room and since it was so early, thought why not just polish off one more episode of The Wire. After that, I sat down on my bed and wrote out my Kids-to-Kids grant proposal in Spanish, so that I can present it to the school and school district, as well as a timeline of activities. The plan is to start in September, but I’m still waiting on the money.
Today is Wednesday, and every Wednesday I have my youth group from 3-5. My youth group has 8 members, but the main members are: My brother, Kalin, and Elly, my next door neighbor. The rest of the kids, we usually have to go door-to-door to round them up. Today though, no one was able to come, so it was just us three. I decided to have them help me with my garden. We made rows, watered the soil (which is a chore in itself…), and planted the following: zucchini, beets, radishes, swiss chard, spinach, rosemary, carrots, cilantro, and broccoli. Phew. And more is on its way in the almacigo: lettuce, cabbage or cauliflower (couldn’t tell the difference between the seeds), and basil. This whole garden is an experiment since I’ve never really grown anything in my life, but I figure I might as well try since I am the one promoting gardens around here.
Again, the lights went out. This time at 6:30. One night was fine, but two?! I had to dig around the dark looking for my head lamp, and read for a while before being called to another dinner in darkness. The lights came on again and then off again for a while. But for right now, they are back on. And with that, the blaring sounds of the hayno on the radio in the other room.
Thursday: I got to sleep in a little bit this morning (8:30ish), since I had nothing pressing. But soon enough my day was about to change, as right after breakfast started to feel nauseous and actually ended up throwing up my recently devoured breakfast of oatmeal, bread, and egg. This isn’t a typical thing for me, so called the Peace Corps doctor. The doctors, while great as they are, really can’t do much to help us except prescribe medicine. Since I have been having on and off again issues with diarrhea as well (nothing out of the ordinary though) they suggested I take Cipro, the miracle tonic for any-and-all intestinal problems in the Peace Corps. I’ve only had to take once before, but it couldn’t hurt. Since I wasn’t feeling good in the morning and the health post was closed, I decided to relax and read in the morning. Hopefully in three days, I’ll be as good as new or at least in mint-condition.
The afternoon was a little bit more eventful. My mom left early to go cook lunch at a neighbor’s house, so my host brother and I went to find her. What I thought was just going to be lunch turned out to be a full-blown campo wedding. This was my first legit campo wedding, so was interesting to watch, and yet, the one-track traditional wedding song that was repeated over-and-over again was starting to get on my nerves. We all sat outside, since there wasn’t enough room in the house and merely watched the procession, as we couldn’t hear anything. What is different about a Peruvian wedding, at least where I am, is that the whole town is invited, so the couple’s family has to feed everyone; the reason of why my mom went down earlier. They ended up cooking an entire bull, 3 huge sacks of rice, and 20 buckets of potatoes. My host mom said they cooked for almost 400 people! I’m just thankful we have guest lists in the states. After about three hours of sitting in the blazing sun, we were served our food, and soon after everyone left. The party is continuing tonight with a “banda tipica” (local band) to the wee-morning (or so they say), but I’m going to have to sit this one out.
Oh, and the lights went out…again. That’s starting to really get on my nerves now…
Friday: GDHDEV! (¡Gracias a Dios hoy día es Viernes!) Today’s agenda consists of going to my school finally and coordinating a whole laundry-list of activities. First off, my Kids-to-Kids grant. I wrote up the proposal in Spanish and also made a schedule of activities in order to give to the school. After talking, we discussed meeting the following Monday with all the professors. Next up, tree nursery. For the past several months, we’ve been trying to finish a tree nursery project from the last volunteer by planting the trees. Last I left, we had asked a local NGO to give us wire to protect the plants. Honestly, I didn’t have much hope as this NGO doesn’t work in our town. But much to my surprise and amazement, we actually got what we asked for! This, ladies and gentlemen, is a first! We are going to coordinate the planting with the high school on Monday. After that was CAID, the youth center we are trying to get started. Jessica, the nurse in charge, told me to set up a meeting. So once again, Monday we are going to find the committee together and spread the word about an upcoming planning session. And last, but not least, the community library, I’m trying to get started. We have a location in the plaza, but lack much needed organization and interest from the community. I’m hoping by the end of my service, we will finally have one. All and all, my meeting with the director was very productive, and now I have a whole lot to do on Monday.
I went from one school to the next, as I continued on the road down to another primary school in Capuli, about 30 minutes away. I’ve been working there for a few months giving health charlas to the kids. I needed to coordinate my next charla and also my world map project I’m about to start. I got there in what I thought was enough time to spare before school let out, but the director left early. No matter, I talked to the still remaining teachers and scheduled the talks for the beginning of September.
After that brief stop-over, I continued on my walk down to Bambamarca, where the glorious world-wide-web awaited me. When I first got to site, I checked my email probably three times a week, but now it’s down to one time…if I’m lucky. I look forward to checking my email because I’m almost guaranteed a full inbox and it’s a small glimpse back into the land of amazing. I got to Bamba right during lunch time, so I thought I would have my pick of computers. Instead, my favorite cabina was closed, which was weird as they are never closed. So chose another one nearby, and came to find out that the internet was down today. Of course it is…To cure my bad luck, I decided to do some retail therapy and finally buy a cardigan I’ve been eyeing for some time.
My day winded down as I finished another book and started a new one. I also decided to make a carrot cake. Two in fact. One for the fam and another for my friend’s birthday coming up. This was officially my third attempt at making a cake, but this time I had the advantage of having an actual oven. Before we tried using our cocina mejorada, which needless to say, didn’t turn out too well as we ended up eating the cake mix uncooked both times. But this time, the cake turned out beautifully and delicious, I might add.
Oh, and I found out that the reason why the lights have been going on and off lately is because of a fire started in Bambamarca. Now I can rest easy...
---------
And that lady's and gent's is a typical and yet non-typical week. As from the look of things, nothing is ever typical in the Peace Corps.
Monday: Having nothing set in stone to do, I took my sweet time getting out of bed this morning having finally emerged from my dungeon around 8:30 ready for some soup and cow milk for breakfast! Yum! Another reason to take my time is the fact that I have been “distancing” myself from my health post lately, do to personality clashes. But since my social told me I needed to find a list of mom’s, there was no choice. But first, I dabbled a bit on my computer and read a manual before finally heading to the health post. My socia Doli and I are starting house visits in a community, so we need a complete list of mom’s with kids under 3 years old and I needed to make a house visit survey.
So I took my 10 steps from my house to the health post, started my work day. Much to my surprise and delight, I was greeted by some of the nurses who both had stuff to discuss with me. I had a brief meeting with Sonia, the head nurse of health promotion, about possible projects in the future: Sessiones Demonstrativas (Nutrition Sessions) in San Juan, Early Stimulation classes, and possible garden project at the health post. Next up, was another meeting with Jessica, the nurse in charge of adolescent and women’s health. I’ve been trying to get this youth center up and going for a while, but nothing has been happening in the community, so I’ve let it be. But much to my amaze, Jessica said she wanted to meet with the committee formed and start a work plan! Hallelujah! Afterwards, I did some office work and typed up my list of mom’s and the survey.
Lunch came and went, and back to the health post I went to finish the survey. My nurse told me about a meeting at 3:00, so I tagged along to help coordinate the nutrition session we’re having. Having daylight to burn still, I started to get to work on making a fence for my garden. With the help of my host dad and mom, we dug the holes and put in tree branches. While digging, my mom screamed and backed away. I looked down and what did I find? A dog’s skull. Apparently, I’m making my garden on top of an old pet cemetery of my aunt. Still wanting to play in the dirt, I dug up dying onion plants in my almacigo in order to indirectly plant some other vegetable tomorrow. The onion had been there since March and still hadn’t been transplanted, so best to make room for another delicious vegetable…I’m thinking cabbage.
Tuesday: My morning got off with a jolt as I received a call from Doli during breakfast at 7:30 saying she was waiting for me in the plaza. This morning we were planning on doing house visits in one of our caserios, Tucopampa. But as it turns out, there happened to be a Juntos meeting at 8:00 in which all of our moms would be at…so I was basically going up to this community to sit around and not do house visits. Oh well. I got some good reading in and relaxed with the nurses. The one productive thing we got out of the meeting was that we grouped the mothers according to where they lived, so that we won’t have to go up and down searching for everyone. We re-scheduled house visits for next week, in which Doli wants to go visit all the houses…We’ll see how that one goes. Having been in Peru almost a year now, I now know that things take longer than they seem.
Having walked a lot in the morning and not able to drink my daily coffee, I decided to take a little nap. I cranked out two collages for upcoming friends’ birthday while watching movie and later helped my family put up the fence for my garden. My host dad says the plastic will only last three days, so this is definitely an experiment. I’m planning on using my youth group to help me plant tomorrow…nothing like child labor to help things along…
Lights went out at night. This happens from time to time, but no matter, it’s still a big inconvenience always. My host mom didn’t have a flash light while cooking, so I lent her one of mine. What is a person to do past sun down when there is no light? My town has had light for 7 years, but before that…I can only imagine. Thank goodness though; I had enough battery in my lap top to watch one more episode of The Wire…
Wednesday: When I woke up this morning, I had every intention of going to my primary school this morning to talk about my Kids-to-Kids grant project and others (tree nursery, English classes, youth center…), but like life, things happen. Today happened to be a national earthquake drill, which I didn’t think was a big idea, but my nurse said it pretty much takes all day, so there was no point of going to the school. Huh. How do you figure that one out? Anyway, so I went back to my room and since it was so early, thought why not just polish off one more episode of The Wire. After that, I sat down on my bed and wrote out my Kids-to-Kids grant proposal in Spanish, so that I can present it to the school and school district, as well as a timeline of activities. The plan is to start in September, but I’m still waiting on the money.
Today is Wednesday, and every Wednesday I have my youth group from 3-5. My youth group has 8 members, but the main members are: My brother, Kalin, and Elly, my next door neighbor. The rest of the kids, we usually have to go door-to-door to round them up. Today though, no one was able to come, so it was just us three. I decided to have them help me with my garden. We made rows, watered the soil (which is a chore in itself…), and planted the following: zucchini, beets, radishes, swiss chard, spinach, rosemary, carrots, cilantro, and broccoli. Phew. And more is on its way in the almacigo: lettuce, cabbage or cauliflower (couldn’t tell the difference between the seeds), and basil. This whole garden is an experiment since I’ve never really grown anything in my life, but I figure I might as well try since I am the one promoting gardens around here.
Again, the lights went out. This time at 6:30. One night was fine, but two?! I had to dig around the dark looking for my head lamp, and read for a while before being called to another dinner in darkness. The lights came on again and then off again for a while. But for right now, they are back on. And with that, the blaring sounds of the hayno on the radio in the other room.
Thursday: I got to sleep in a little bit this morning (8:30ish), since I had nothing pressing. But soon enough my day was about to change, as right after breakfast started to feel nauseous and actually ended up throwing up my recently devoured breakfast of oatmeal, bread, and egg. This isn’t a typical thing for me, so called the Peace Corps doctor. The doctors, while great as they are, really can’t do much to help us except prescribe medicine. Since I have been having on and off again issues with diarrhea as well (nothing out of the ordinary though) they suggested I take Cipro, the miracle tonic for any-and-all intestinal problems in the Peace Corps. I’ve only had to take once before, but it couldn’t hurt. Since I wasn’t feeling good in the morning and the health post was closed, I decided to relax and read in the morning. Hopefully in three days, I’ll be as good as new or at least in mint-condition.
The afternoon was a little bit more eventful. My mom left early to go cook lunch at a neighbor’s house, so my host brother and I went to find her. What I thought was just going to be lunch turned out to be a full-blown campo wedding. This was my first legit campo wedding, so was interesting to watch, and yet, the one-track traditional wedding song that was repeated over-and-over again was starting to get on my nerves. We all sat outside, since there wasn’t enough room in the house and merely watched the procession, as we couldn’t hear anything. What is different about a Peruvian wedding, at least where I am, is that the whole town is invited, so the couple’s family has to feed everyone; the reason of why my mom went down earlier. They ended up cooking an entire bull, 3 huge sacks of rice, and 20 buckets of potatoes. My host mom said they cooked for almost 400 people! I’m just thankful we have guest lists in the states. After about three hours of sitting in the blazing sun, we were served our food, and soon after everyone left. The party is continuing tonight with a “banda tipica” (local band) to the wee-morning (or so they say), but I’m going to have to sit this one out.
Oh, and the lights went out…again. That’s starting to really get on my nerves now…
Friday: GDHDEV! (¡Gracias a Dios hoy día es Viernes!) Today’s agenda consists of going to my school finally and coordinating a whole laundry-list of activities. First off, my Kids-to-Kids grant. I wrote up the proposal in Spanish and also made a schedule of activities in order to give to the school. After talking, we discussed meeting the following Monday with all the professors. Next up, tree nursery. For the past several months, we’ve been trying to finish a tree nursery project from the last volunteer by planting the trees. Last I left, we had asked a local NGO to give us wire to protect the plants. Honestly, I didn’t have much hope as this NGO doesn’t work in our town. But much to my surprise and amazement, we actually got what we asked for! This, ladies and gentlemen, is a first! We are going to coordinate the planting with the high school on Monday. After that was CAID, the youth center we are trying to get started. Jessica, the nurse in charge, told me to set up a meeting. So once again, Monday we are going to find the committee together and spread the word about an upcoming planning session. And last, but not least, the community library, I’m trying to get started. We have a location in the plaza, but lack much needed organization and interest from the community. I’m hoping by the end of my service, we will finally have one. All and all, my meeting with the director was very productive, and now I have a whole lot to do on Monday.
I went from one school to the next, as I continued on the road down to another primary school in Capuli, about 30 minutes away. I’ve been working there for a few months giving health charlas to the kids. I needed to coordinate my next charla and also my world map project I’m about to start. I got there in what I thought was enough time to spare before school let out, but the director left early. No matter, I talked to the still remaining teachers and scheduled the talks for the beginning of September.
After that brief stop-over, I continued on my walk down to Bambamarca, where the glorious world-wide-web awaited me. When I first got to site, I checked my email probably three times a week, but now it’s down to one time…if I’m lucky. I look forward to checking my email because I’m almost guaranteed a full inbox and it’s a small glimpse back into the land of amazing. I got to Bamba right during lunch time, so I thought I would have my pick of computers. Instead, my favorite cabina was closed, which was weird as they are never closed. So chose another one nearby, and came to find out that the internet was down today. Of course it is…To cure my bad luck, I decided to do some retail therapy and finally buy a cardigan I’ve been eyeing for some time.
My day winded down as I finished another book and started a new one. I also decided to make a carrot cake. Two in fact. One for the fam and another for my friend’s birthday coming up. This was officially my third attempt at making a cake, but this time I had the advantage of having an actual oven. Before we tried using our cocina mejorada, which needless to say, didn’t turn out too well as we ended up eating the cake mix uncooked both times. But this time, the cake turned out beautifully and delicious, I might add.
Oh, and I found out that the reason why the lights have been going on and off lately is because of a fire started in Bambamarca. Now I can rest easy...
---------
And that lady's and gent's is a typical and yet non-typical week. As from the look of things, nothing is ever typical in the Peace Corps.
Friday, August 06, 2010
The Art of Small Talk
Repetition is a part of my life here. I eat the same food day in and day out. I walk the same path to the school every day. Better yet, even my conversations are even set on repeat. Most the time I don’t mind these mundane conversations as I have them pretty well rehearsed and therefore, seem better acostumbrar-ed by the locals. Now, I’m sure you are thinking “I can chit chat with a Peruvian, no problem!” But before you start flapping your lips, there are a few things to know first. Read these 7 easy rules and you’ll be on your way to mastering the art of small talk in Peru in no time.
Rule #1: Greet every person you come across, even if you don’t know them
While this can be quite the task someday, for the most part, I enjoy it as it brightens my mood every time. Now if you are lazy, like I get some times, you can shorten the normal “Buenos Dias” to just “Buenos”. This works for both “Buenas Tardes” and “Buenas Noches.” With that said, a normal 15 minute walk might take up to 30 minutes. So if you are in a rush to get to a meeting on time, don’t be, as we all know this is Peru and meetings never start on time anyway.
Rule #2: We are family!
When approached by an elderly person, it’s best to refer to them as “Tia” and “Tio,” which is aunt and uncle, respectively. When I first arrived here, I was astonished at how big my family was as every person right and left was my aunt and uncle. Then my oh-so-smart -12-year-old brother enlightened me. In Peru, referring to someone as aunt or uncle is a term of endearment usually reserved for the elderly.
Rule #3: Do the campo-pat
The normal greeting in Peru and other Latin American countries is the kiss-on-the-cheek greeting. In the sierra though, this is not always the case. Many a times, I have gone in for the cheek kiss when the person obviously is pulling back, so then you are left with just an awkward pat on the shoulder way…way…too close (Quite the rookie mistake). It’s best to gauge the situation by first going in for the campo pat, which is just a slap on the back or on the shoulder, sometimes even a squeeze of an arm. Once you are in, you can view the reaction of the recipient to see whether a kiss is warranted or not. But if ever in doubt, just do the campo-pat.
Rule #4: State the obvious
When I say state the obvious, I mean state the obvious. Example: You meet a man walking up the hill as you are going down and you say “walking up?” to which she replies “Yes, you walking down?” “Yes.” Done and done. This can be applied to any and all action verbs with some of the more common ones being: walking up, walking down, resting, working, knitting, drinking, celebrating, eating, milking cows, and passing by.
Rule #5: Use jerga
In order to sound like a true local, you’ve got to throw in some jargon (jerga) every now and then. The favorite around my neck of the woods is “pues,” which is directly translates to “well,” but is basically a filler word used after every other sentence. Example: Someone asks you for aji with your rice and potatoes, you reply “Si pues!”
Rule #6: Weather
While bringing up the weather in the states may seem like the bottom of the barrel when it comes to conversation topics, but here in Peru, its number one on people’s list. Whether you are trying to stay dry in the sierra or seeking refuge in the heat of the coast, weather is always a great topic of conversation. Sometimes this goes hand in hand with rule #4, as it is sometimes the most obvious statement. Example: Talking with an old man in the plaza “It’s been raining a lot” “Yes, a lot of rain” “Yes, and a lot of mud” “Yes, lots of mud.”
Rule #7: Don’t forget to say goodbye
Even if you will never see this person again, it’s best to close the conversation with a “see you soon” (“nos vemos”) or “see you tomorrow” (“hasta mañana”). Chances are yes, you won’t ever see this person, but why smash the hopes of your new friend? If warranted, you may also close the conversation with another campo pat, just for good measure.
Now let’s put it all together… Here’s an example conversation with a local Peruvian (directly translated):
Old Lady: Good Morning
Me: Good Aunt. How are you?
Old Lady: Just here.
Me: You going up?
Old Lady: Yes. You going down?
Me: Yes.
Old Lady: That’s good. That’s good.
Me: Yes, it’s good.
Old Lady: Lots of rain, no?
Me: Yes, lots of rain. Very cold.
Old Lady: Yes, very cold.
(Silence)
Old Lady: See you soon.
Me: Yes, see you soon.
So there you have it folks! You’re very own guide to chit chatting it up with the locals in Peru. If you are hesitant at all or forget one of the rules, don’t sweat it. Never underestimate the power of a smile. Use this guide the next time you are passing through the market or waiting for your bus. With this guide, the locals will think you’ve acostumbrar-ed in no time!
Rule #1: Greet every person you come across, even if you don’t know them
While this can be quite the task someday, for the most part, I enjoy it as it brightens my mood every time. Now if you are lazy, like I get some times, you can shorten the normal “Buenos Dias” to just “Buenos”. This works for both “Buenas Tardes” and “Buenas Noches.” With that said, a normal 15 minute walk might take up to 30 minutes. So if you are in a rush to get to a meeting on time, don’t be, as we all know this is Peru and meetings never start on time anyway.
Rule #2: We are family!
When approached by an elderly person, it’s best to refer to them as “Tia” and “Tio,” which is aunt and uncle, respectively. When I first arrived here, I was astonished at how big my family was as every person right and left was my aunt and uncle. Then my oh-so-smart -12-year-old brother enlightened me. In Peru, referring to someone as aunt or uncle is a term of endearment usually reserved for the elderly.
Rule #3: Do the campo-pat
The normal greeting in Peru and other Latin American countries is the kiss-on-the-cheek greeting. In the sierra though, this is not always the case. Many a times, I have gone in for the cheek kiss when the person obviously is pulling back, so then you are left with just an awkward pat on the shoulder way…way…too close (Quite the rookie mistake). It’s best to gauge the situation by first going in for the campo pat, which is just a slap on the back or on the shoulder, sometimes even a squeeze of an arm. Once you are in, you can view the reaction of the recipient to see whether a kiss is warranted or not. But if ever in doubt, just do the campo-pat.
Rule #4: State the obvious
When I say state the obvious, I mean state the obvious. Example: You meet a man walking up the hill as you are going down and you say “walking up?” to which she replies “Yes, you walking down?” “Yes.” Done and done. This can be applied to any and all action verbs with some of the more common ones being: walking up, walking down, resting, working, knitting, drinking, celebrating, eating, milking cows, and passing by.
Rule #5: Use jerga
In order to sound like a true local, you’ve got to throw in some jargon (jerga) every now and then. The favorite around my neck of the woods is “pues,” which is directly translates to “well,” but is basically a filler word used after every other sentence. Example: Someone asks you for aji with your rice and potatoes, you reply “Si pues!”
Rule #6: Weather
While bringing up the weather in the states may seem like the bottom of the barrel when it comes to conversation topics, but here in Peru, its number one on people’s list. Whether you are trying to stay dry in the sierra or seeking refuge in the heat of the coast, weather is always a great topic of conversation. Sometimes this goes hand in hand with rule #4, as it is sometimes the most obvious statement. Example: Talking with an old man in the plaza “It’s been raining a lot” “Yes, a lot of rain” “Yes, and a lot of mud” “Yes, lots of mud.”
Rule #7: Don’t forget to say goodbye
Even if you will never see this person again, it’s best to close the conversation with a “see you soon” (“nos vemos”) or “see you tomorrow” (“hasta mañana”). Chances are yes, you won’t ever see this person, but why smash the hopes of your new friend? If warranted, you may also close the conversation with another campo pat, just for good measure.
Now let’s put it all together… Here’s an example conversation with a local Peruvian (directly translated):
Old Lady: Good Morning
Me: Good Aunt. How are you?
Old Lady: Just here.
Me: You going up?
Old Lady: Yes. You going down?
Me: Yes.
Old Lady: That’s good. That’s good.
Me: Yes, it’s good.
Old Lady: Lots of rain, no?
Me: Yes, lots of rain. Very cold.
Old Lady: Yes, very cold.
(Silence)
Old Lady: See you soon.
Me: Yes, see you soon.
So there you have it folks! You’re very own guide to chit chatting it up with the locals in Peru. If you are hesitant at all or forget one of the rules, don’t sweat it. Never underestimate the power of a smile. Use this guide the next time you are passing through the market or waiting for your bus. With this guide, the locals will think you’ve acostumbrar-ed in no time!
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