A little description

Sorry for being so vauge about my surroundings here. Heres a little description.

My room is normal sized with one bed, a table, and three hooks and a bench for my clothes. The floor, walls -the entire house for that matter- is concrete. Concrete is one of the cheapest building materials, so most, if not all houses around here are brick and concrete. Most houses have one or two completed floors with an open roof and unfinished concrete pillars so they can keep expanding thier house as they save up money; its actually a nice physical representation of hope and planning. Most people have an ugly mutt and chickens on thier roofs, and like in my house, the sink to wash clothes in and the clothes lines are up there too.
Chaclacayo is in a valley, so all houses start at the river and dramatically climb up the steep mountains; they´ve literally terraced thier houses right on top of each other in some areas. See, in the 80´s and 90´s when the terrorism in Peru was really bad, many people fled the country side and went to the cities. The cities had no room so the people had to build on the steep hills that were once considered un-inhabitable. Your best visualization is to think about steep, grey, rocky hills, covered with colorful matchboxes! Of course there are central areas and parks which are always a nice get-away, and like all neighborhoods you have the upper classes and lower classes usually seperated by walls and/or mountains!
I eat some variation of rice, potatoes, eggs, chicken, meat everyday; definitly rice and potatoes everyday. Its interesting because Peruvians have always had an aversion to eating anything animals eat, so there is a big emphasis on harvested cerals, meats and potatoes. The interesting part is that rice is one of the hardest crops to grow in Peru, and they actually waste millions of dollars to grow rice in near desert conditions or import the stuff...gotta´love cultural cunundrums. I´ve had cuy (guinea pig), Cua Cua (intestines), and Ceveche´ (raw fish in lime, onion, garlic juice to kill the bad stuff) Pulmones (cow lungs), and Anticucho (heart and liver,) and i´ve enjoyed it all. I think the only dish I won´t try is the i´ll-prepared, fried chicken anus that they sell in the streets! But then again they say ketchup can cover all!

Half-way done with training

I would say learning Spanish has been like learning to snowboard, and anyone that has tried the latter will be able to relate to the pain involved. Granted with snowboarding it usually takes 3 days, not 5 weeks, but the theory is about the same. That theory is that you eventually fall down enough while learning to snowboard you literally learn to snowboard because you’re tired of hurting your ass. I would say the same for Spanish, it hasn’t completely clicked and there is definitely two more years worth of learning, but I’ve accepted the general idea of just allowing myself to speak the phrases and sentences and tenses I do know, simply because I was tired of the painful process of speaking it wrong. For example, when we had to arrange and teach a class in a school in our neighborhoods for our environmental training, I could totally comprehend and respond to the teachers and the kids of the school we picked…of course it was kindergarten, and the teachers were used to working with little non-Spanish speaking creatures, like myself, but you’ve got to take your wins when you can get em’!
We’ve also started going on field trips. We went on a hike last week to a waterfall at around 2800m, and had the Mayor of the town teach us about the plants we encountered along the trail. There were several species-especially the desert-like plants- that many of us had had experience with in the states, but there were so many more that seemed like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. When then descended back towards earth with an amazing view of a cloud filled valley of towering-terraced mountains, and after running into a tarantula well over the size of a child’s out-spread hand, we all made it safely down the mountain for lunch hosted by the local town. This week we are going to a nearby “loma,” which is most easily compared to a watershed or even an oasis; like a random patch of natural area that’s much more vegetated and populated with animals then the rest of the area around it. And on Friday we are traveling to a wild-life refuge in Lima that I think specializes in protecting birds. Of course I wish I could remember the names of these places, I think the first one is called Ayas or Aryas which is East of Chaclacayo, and the others (I think are spelled,) Lomas de Lachay, and Pantanos de Villa.
As for the practical side of my life, I’ve been sick for at least 75% of the last 3 weeks, ranging from bad stomach problems (which will happen to everyone), cold-like symptoms (which will happen, and is happening, to everyone here), and even just overall fatigue (mentally and physically, which will happen to everyone as well.) So for these I just reminded myself that this is one big process. It’s a process to learn Spanish, to discover Peru, and overall it’s a process to let your body adapt to a new continent! Nothing that I’ve had, or that anyone else has had, has taken us down for the count to where we couldn’t attend or function in classes. So I recommend just keep the fluids coming, allow your body to strengthen itself by not taking medicine if you don’t have to, and realize that you can’t enjoy the sweet times unless you’ve overcome the bitter ones. As for equipment, a thumb drive has been a nice accessory I threw in at the last minute. Simply because I’ve been able to share files with others and download some entertainment from the web; when I actually get around to using the internet cafés. Also a recommendation when you are packing is to remember to leave space in your bags for at least a shoe box size of extra stuff. We’ve received several manuals and books along the way and I’m glad I left extra room in my bags so I can easily carry them to my site.
Lastly, I’d like to wax philosophically for a spell if you’ll allow me. I really look at all of this as; 1). An exercise-an actual and literal exercise-like in the gym, when you plan on running a marathon you can’t do 26.2 on the first day, a runner needs to build his/her runs, there will be days when you feel like you could have run 10 more miles without pain, and there are days when the simplest runs feel like the Devil is plotting against you the entire time, the same rule applies in training and learning Spanish, there are days when you can run, and there are days when you really just want to crawl, the point of it all is to just keep moving forward, if you maintain your forward momentum eventually the 3 or 4 miles that kicked your butt in the first weeks will eventually be your warm-ups in the end weeks, and 2). I feel that adapting to a new culture is a test in one’s ability to “hold on tightly, but let go lightly,” what I mean is the person most able to adapt to a completely new situation is one that is able to let go of their past habits and being humble and patient enough to be pleasantly surprised when you’ve obtained new ones….With that being said, overall I find myself using patience the most when customizing myself to Peruvian culture. Patience in my Spanish classes because I know it’s an exercise, and patience with the random cultural encounters I could have never planned for. Like a full week of going to church every night with my host family and not understanding one word from the pastor, or why the congregation has literally sang the exact same song 3 times a service, at every service!? I’m glad I did this when I was old enough to have gained a hint of patience, and young enough to not be so stubborn I couldn’t “let go lightly.” Do you ever get those feelings that everything you did in the past is somehow culminating for what you’re doing in the present….?

My first true post in Peru

So as many of you know, I’ve arrived to Peru. The initial landing here and even the bus ride through the city the first night, were all oddly reminiscent of my first night in Kuwait; me sitting in the same type of tour bus, surrounded by strangers, tired as hell, holding my trusty Blackhawk backpack on my knees. But as I soon realized, this place meets none of the very few expectations I allowed myself to indulge in and I could never begin to compare any of these new experiences with anything I’ve done before. We were lodged in a “retreat” to kind-of decompress for the first few days to get our paperwork and introductions out of the way and to have our first Spanish interview. The interview went about as well as trying to breathe underwater, and not surprisingly I was placed in the lowest level Spanish class. But like my remedial math class I had to take in college, I really needed to be placed where I was simply because I had all the rules and vocab memorized but all of that flys out the window when faced with a true Spanish conversation. So as far as Spanish is concerned, my first few weeks here have definitely made me feel pretty elementary at times, but I’m improving in leaps in bounds because I’m learning what works and what doesn’t in conversations. After the retreat we finally saw the Peace Corps Center where we will be spending our next few weeks of training. We met our host families, and I couldn’t have asked for a better placement. My host family has had 5 other volunteers so they totally know what to expect. They are really patient when I whip out questions like, “is there a bathroom in the church” or “how do I wash my clothes.” I have a 10 year old host brother and 17 year old host sister, and like my host mom and dad, they aren’t expecting too much of me. I just keep smiling and nodding “yes” to most of the conversation, but I’m getting there. To say the least it’s a truly humbling experience and a person needs to have a lot of patience. My daily routine is typically Spanish classes all morning and technical classes in the afternoon. Granted, there are always those much beloved governmental briefings on sexual harassment, health and safety, etc, but its all part of training. My program is in environmental management and I truly think we’ve got a great program to work with since it will undoubtedly take me to the most scenic places of Peru. Most environmental folks get placed near some sort of protected national reserve and have a pretty defined set of expectations. Everyone in my program, all 57 of us, are all very motivated and positive which makes for a great working environment. I’m living in a small suburb of Chaclacayo during training, and I will probably find out later in training exactly where I’ll be placed for the remainder of my time in Peru. For now, all week is spent training and the weekends are spent trying to find the next neat religious festival to attend. I went to one street dance so far and was able to see a marching band that started in one part of Chaclacayo in the morning and marched to the other side by sundown, marching and playing the entire time! The music was all traditional tunes played with saxophones and guitars, which made for an interesting spectacle to say the least. I had some kids try and teach me to Cumbia, but when that failed I tried to teach them the Two-Step, but that ultimately failed as well; not really a good start to a first attempt at a cross-cultural experience. We’ve actually had some classes on the different dance styles in Peru, but since I can’t seem to get the lead outta’ my feet It’s going to take some practice before I rip up the dance floors at the local disco-tecas! We went to Lima and an Agriculture University last week, which was a welcome break. I saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time since I was little, and though the sky was overcast and the ocean was pretty grey, I thought it was amazing. I’ve had Cuy (guinea pig) and Ceveche (raw fish in onions, garlic, and lime) and this weekend my host mom has promised to show me another Peruvian delicacy surprise. Today we had a visit from the US Ambassador to Peru and we got to ask a lot of questions about the diplomatic situation between the two countries. It was pretty neat to see someone that has had a successful career in international development, which is where I think all of the Peace Corp volunteers here are interested in going in future careers.
As for keeping it real to my original, practical purpose of my blog I want to say I packed pretty well. The duffel bags worked well, and being able to carry what you bring is a good rule-of-thumb to try and pack by. As for clothes, I know I’m not the snappiest dresser here, but after spending an hour and a half hand washing only a couple pairs of pants, some shirts, and socks, I can’t say I would really want my wardrobe to be much more intricate; but then again I’ve accepted that I’ll probably be wearing some form of cargo pants and t-shirts for the rest of my life. Volunteers receive a pretty thorough first aid kit when they arrive in Peru, but I still think a person should definitely bring a personalized one. An extra mirror was a good item to bring as well since the bathroom isn’t always available and I sometimes have to shave in the sink upstairs. Other than that, I would say bring at least one or two good books to read since there aren’t many bookstores around, and its kind of nice to have a relaxing read in English every once and awhile. And even though most of your toiletries can be bought at the several markets or cities near-by the selection is a little limited so bring enough to last for about a month while you get accustomed to what you can and can’t live without. Several people brought their workout gear which has definitely been used since most of the volunteers are pretty health conscious, and you never know when a random b-ball game gets brought up and you might want your sneakers. I’ve been working out with a few other volunteers in my neighborhood in the mornings and we’ve been able to use the park nearby or the mountain trails all around us to utilize for a nice functional fitness regime. All-in-all, Its still all so overwhelming when you stop and think that the birds you hear are Peruvian birds and the trees and mountains that surround Chaclacayo are all part of South America. This experience is truly rewarding when you remind yourself that each day you spend, whether in good health or bad, is all part of the most memorable thing any of us has ever done. Buenos noches. No hay problema en Peru!