Some pictures to brighten up my blog...

On Sunday, I worked the midnight market shift with Angelica, my host mom... 1am to 9am. It was amazing and intense. I can't believe she sells like this 3x a week. She works haaaarrd.

Host mama Angelica on the left packing up
some chives and cilantro for her customer.

My site mate Rabbit came over for lunch - ceviche -
to talk about the cocina mejorada he's putting in our kitchen.
A cocina mejorada is a kitchen made out of adobe, bricks and tin...
with one of these, your Peruvian kitchen won't fill with smoke!

Angelica and Maria teaching me to dance like a Peruvian.

Impromptu field-trip to Llanganuco,
one of the most beautiful glacier lagunas in Ancash.

October 11, 2008

Saturday evening. I just finished eating dinner with my host family – a very underrated meal which, in the campo, consists of sugar water with a pinch of insta-coffee, a loaf or two of bread and occasionally the leftovers from lunch. Lunch time is where it’s at here – a 2 course meal with fruit, bread and desert involved. So, if any of you know me, you know that my eating patters have undergone an adjustment in this country. Anyhow, I’ve begun this blog with a tangent.

I realize through talking to you that many of you have no clue what I’m doing out here in the wild! So let me explain. The first 3 months at site, a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) like myself spends his or her time completing what is called a Community Diagnostic Activity. The CDA is a comprehensive project designed to increase the PCVs awareness and understanding of his or her community, so that the work done over the 2 years of service can be meaningful. This is done through informal interactions – just talking to people on the street - to surveys and interviews with leaders within my community. My goal is to learn about family structure, gender roles, religion, other forms of social structure, the education and health systems, the municipality, the history of my town, folklore, local beliefs, the state of the youth, local and external organizations active in the community, among other things. Essentially, I am doing a comprehensive research project on this little mountain town that I will call home for the next 2 years.

At the end of my first 3 months in site, I will present my findings to the Peace Corps authorities and my training class at Reconnect on the coast of Peru. During these few days of heaven that I’ll spend with the 37 people I trained with in Lima, we will “reconnect” by sharing our experiences of our first months at site. Other things we’ll be sharing will be the hot Peruvian sunshine, the cool Pacific waves, Thanksgiving turkey, ceviche, and a maybe a cold beer or two. I’m looking forward to it.

So now to describe an average day at my site. Ha! As if! I have willingly relinquished the idea of a “schedule” and live life to the beat of my own drum these days. Right now, I’m in the middle of a 2-week project at the school. The Peruvian school system is divided into Inicial (Kindergarten), Primaria (Lower School) and Secundaria (Middle and Upper School). My target youth age is from 12-18, so I am spending most of my first days and months in the Secundaria. Each grade is divided into sections A and B, so of the 5 grades, there are 10 sections. Every week, each section is governmentally mandated to have 1 hour of Tutoria, an hour where a teacher leads discussions on adolescent themes like decision-making, sexuality, communication, self-esteem, etc. As a youth development volunteer, this hour is highly appealing to me for several reasons. The topics discussed during Tutoria fall under my goals as a PC volunteer of developing a healthy lifestyle, developing vocational skills and developing leadership and community involvement within the youth. Also, if I can work together with the teachers during this hour by developing meaningful workshops, then my work has the potential of sustainability once I’m gone. Hopefully, the teachers I’ll work with will continue these workshops with the kids. By attending every section of Tutoria over the next 2 weeks, I’m getting to know all the Tutors, the other teachers, the kids, and the school administration. It’s a beautiful thing. Memories of GFA definitely run through my head. I feel really fortunate to work with a school system that is not so developed as a way to give back for my awesome New England prep-school education. These days it’s all about contrast.

I’ve also identified a few other projects I’ll probably work on during my service. My town does not have a trash collector – the trash is either burned or thrown in the river. Given that my town is at the base of one of the most important glacial mountains in the world, I would like to initiate an environmental education / recycling campaign with the long-term goal of getting a trash collection truck up here. The road from the main highway to my town (a 30 minute drive up the mountain), was created only 5 years ago, so I think there’s hope in this project. I also plan to create a community garden behind the health post as a way to promote nutrition while involving the nurses in the community. Over summer vacation, the health post nurse and I plan to create a teen social theatre group. She and I, both very experience in theatre, recently attended a Peace Corps workshop on the utility of teen social theatre groups. Besides increasing self-esteem and leadership skills in the youth involved, teen social theatre groups have proved to be an excellent method in sending social messages to developing communities in need. Through these plays, we’ll cover themes like gender roles, nutrition, environmental awareness, and alcohol and drug use. I’m thinking of starting an early morning running club (yes, I said it), a yoga club, and definitely an English club… or else I’ll probably be kicked out of this town. So many adults want to learn English, and if I can figure out how to tie in this club with youth development issues, then it could be great. I’m also going to make them teach me Quechua in return.

Other than that, I cook for myself, I do yoga almost every day, I read for hours, I go on beautiful hikes and runs, I’m taking lots of pictures, catching up on the occasional episode of Gossip Girl, and hoping that you haven’t yet forgotten about me! If you ar so inclined to send me a care package, Triscuts, Sour Patch Kids, US Weekly, and any sort of chocolate is greatly appreciated. If you want more ideas, let me know. ;)

Love,
Sophie

I wrote thi a couple weeks ago...

Today the rain came. It started around 3 in the afternoon when I heard thunder rolling in. The sky went from it’s usual piercing-blue to a tumultuous mix of grey hues and down came the drops, watering the parched earth beneath me. There are many reasons why La Epoca de Lluvia is well loved by the campesinos in this mountain town. The pattering of the raindrops on the mud-turned streets is symphonic, and the already stunning countryside will turn lushly green with each subsequent afternoon downpour. And coming from a girl from small-town New England, I have absolutely no idea what I’m in for. Sure, I’ve experienced my fair share of ‘Nor Easters or the occasional power-outage. But from what I understand, La Epoca de Lluvia is a whole other ball game. It’s an excellent conversation starter or filler. “They say the rain is coming… what’s it like?” “Oh yes, it’s going to rain. It rains hard. Sometimes for weeks on end.” Well, like everything else over the past 4 months, I’m jumping into this proverbial pool of rain… headfirst.

Site

So since I’ve come to site, I’ve been struggling to find a way to make a blog flow the same way as the ones I wrote during training. The truth is since I arrived at my site in Ancash just over 2 weeks ago, my experiences have been intense, random, curious, wonderful, challenging, and above all, totally fragmented. Coming out of training – 3 months of non-stop structure – and finally landing at my site – well the 2 worlds couldn’t be further apart. (Read: And this girl couldn’t be happier).
So I’ll do like I’ve been told in the past: write what I know. I know that I spent the past 2 weeks without a door to my room, and therefore absolutely no privacy. I woke up at 5am every day to wood chopping, crows crowing, family chatting (very loudly), music, and occasionally my host mom standing over my straw-mattress bed – Sophia! - letting me know her plans for the day, or whatever.
And the changes don’t end at the lack of doors and locks. I took my first (of two so far) showers like everybody else - with a big bucket in the middle of the patio in broad daylight. It was a slightly scary and very humbling experience, but at least I caught some rays. When you join the Peace Corps, things change.
I am one of the lucky volunteers with cell phone service, although spotty. I get a signal, but only when I’m on my tippy-toes hanging half-way outside my adobe kitchen window, so if you call and I don’t pick up, it’s because I’m currently not on my tippy-toes hanging outside my kitchen window. Leave a message, I’ll call you back. Actually, I probably won’t, my pocket’s a little light these days.
Lets see… more changes. I now eat guinea pig on a fairly regular basis. If deep-dish is to Chicago, guinea pig is to Ancash. And lucky me – that thing is packed with protein and kind of tasty. Seriously. While we’re on the topic of eating pets… I’m told there is an annual festival on the other side of the mountain where the townspeople slaughter and eat...cats. My host family is playfully threatening to prepare me cat but pretend it’s chicken or duck, and once I’m finished eating my meal, well, the joke will be on me. Mountain humor is somethin’ else.
One of the best parts of these past 2 weeks has simply been catching my breath and letting it all sink in. I’m starting to have those moments – “Oh my god, I’m in the Peace Corps, I’m in Ancash, I’m actually doing this!” – I finally have the time to let these realities sink in. And it feels great.
My host family is wonderful, funny and protective. My host sister is adorable. And my neighbors all seem really nice too. I am primarily partnered with a nurse, Feliciana, a modern and smart young woman – and she’s already really involved in community development. She’s full of ideas for youth development and we have some exciting activities lined up for this month. At the end of this month, we’re going to attend a Peace Corps Training Workshop on youth theatre groups as a way to reinforce leadership and community participation. Obviously I’m thrilled. Things are going well.
It’s one step at a time, and I’m slowly getting integrated – and acclimatized – in this beautiful mountain community that I am so lucky to call my home for the next couple of years.
I joined the Peace Corps because I wanted to experience something radically different than my life in Connecticut and DC, to gain a new perspective, and I’m embracing the changes.
Well, most of them.
Did I mention I have fleas?
Hasta la proxima!

Closer to the Sun

One beautiful day during June of last year, I stepped into the elevator after my very first interview at Peace Corps headquarters in DC, waited until the doors slid shut, and did a little dance for joy. Ever since that first point of contact with Peace Corps, I’ve been imagining – dreaming – of what my site would look like. Would I be in Africa weaving baskets with native tribal women? Would I be living on a remote island in the South Pacific learning an entirely new language? Or would I be on Playa Hermosa in Costa Rica? After 14 months of waiting, my site placement was fished out of my training center’s pool. You heard me. Now lets just back this truck up for one hot minute and clarify a few things. My site was typed on a small piece of paper, rolled up, and tucked inside a blown-up balloon by the controllers of my destiny. The same was done for all 37 of my Peace Corps friends. After these months of anticipations, the Site Placement Ceremony began. One by one we approached the pool and fished out the balloons containing the sites of our friends, and one my one the stars aligned as we discovered our placements throughout Peru. It was a very emotional day in all the best possible ways. Now let me tell you a little bit about my site.

It’s paradise.

For the next 2 years I’ll be a resident in the department of Ancash in the sierra of Peru. Ancash is home to over 70 snow-capped mountains, over 100 crystal blue glacier lagoons, and all the extreme hiking and mountain sports you can dream of. My town is located at the base of Huascaran, the largest snow-capped mountain… in the tropics… in the world. The view is nothing less than spectacular. Less than 3,000 people live in my site, and they all speak Spanish and Quechua, the language of the Incas. The women wear traditional dress – bright colorful skirts paired with stylin’ sombreros. (Pictures to come, I’m totally buying an outfit!)

As a Youth Development Volunteer, I will work with the Health Post, the Municipality and the secondary school in my site on themes like healthy lifestyle development, vocational skills, community involvement and leadership. My work partner is a motivated young nurse who already works with kids in the schools and has tons of great ideas.

I visited my site last week and met a few leaders in the community and spent time with my new family. My host parents Angelica and Alberto are a young couple – younger than my siblings! – with a 19 year old son who trains for the military in Lima and a 12 year old daughter who lives with them and attends the school where I’ll work. Her name is Maria, and when I told her she has the same name as my real sister, she was very excited. She is beautiful and sweet and pure and I know she will become a very important part of my life here in Peru. My family is quiet, sentimental, traditional, funny and wonderful. At one point during the week I became pretty sick (totally normal for this job), and they cared for me like one of their own with that one Peruvian remedy of fresh oregano and mint tea, and that other Peruvian remedy of good old-fashioned TLC. The people in these mountain communities are shy, but with time and trust, I think I’ll be welcomed as a part of the greater community family.

Now lets get to the most important topic… food! It is Peruvian custom to welcome guests with a good meal(s). My family had a special afternoon planned for me when I arrived, starting at my host grandparent’s house. They have about 10,000 guinea pigs. Guess what I had for lunch? After slitting the throats of two of the fattest guinea pigs right there on the table at which I was seated, my grandmother Margarita proceeded to prepare one of the most memorable meals of my life (No offense, mom!). Let me tell you what – watching 2 little guys be drained of the blood, dehaired and cooked up might not get your mouth watering – but lets just say I was thankful I skipped breakfast that day. Lunch started out with a big bowl of soup. Then came the main course. On top of a mountain of rice and accompanied by E I G H T large potatoes, my spiced guinea pig took its throne. Lunch was followed up with an orange and a glass of soda. I ate every last bite. And it was pretty tasty, but it was the most I’ve ever eaten in one sitting. I definitely felt nothing less than victorious after I cleaned my plate (clean plate club has a whole new meaning). And if that doesn’t sound impressive, I dare you to visit me and see if you can handle it.
So the running joke of the week was that I’d eaten my mascota, or pet. My host family is very excited for my real family to come visit so they can serve them guinea pig too, and then they’ll love it and then they’ll return to the States and prepare the dish for all their gringo friends! Book your tickets and Get ready, family!!!

I’m thrilled to be living in a traditional and more conservative Peruvian society, and I think I’m going to have a very unique and rich experience in my site. The sun sets over the Cordillera Negra, a seemingly never-ending mountain range that I overlook from my small mountain town set high up in the sky.

On August 22, 2008, I will swear in as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer, and I’ll move to Ancash to start my service. I can’t believe training is almost over. I couldn’t have imagined this experience in my wildest dreams. I hope you enjoy the pictures and stories. Thank you to my family and friends for your continued support, and I wish you all LOTS of Peruvian love. XO.

Field-Based Training

Field-Based Training
I just returned to Lima after a week out in the field – experiencing the real Peru. 10 of us Youth Development trainees boarded the cheapest and most luxurious bus you’ve ever imagined – Peruvians do it right – and headed 16 hours north to beautiful Cajamarca. This department is in the Sierra of Peru – beautiful green mountains of all sizes are reminiscent of the Spanish or Italian countryside. During the dry season the weather is perfect – clear and crisp air, hot sunshine, and cool nights. The rainy season, of course, is rainy… but everything gets even greener. It’s pretty dreamy. I visited 4 surrounding pueblos in the campo, from about 300 (tiny!) to 7,000 residents in population and worked with the volunteers in their classrooms and youth groups. I gave a workshop on values and self-esteem, taught an English class and lead some ice-breaking dinamicas with some really cool youth groups. People in the Sierra are very different from those on the coast – more conservative, traditional, and timid… so this made classroom interactions interesting! Most of the time the kids just blink at you – they aren’t used to answering questions or providing their own opinions. And gender roles are accentuated so that if there is participation, the boys talk and talk, and the girls sit quietly whispering among one another and don’t participate. It would be amazing to work with this population and see if they open up a little over the next 2 years. During my visit in San Marcos, this beautiful pueblo of 7000pop with a Plaza and fountain, paved streets, surrounded by gorgeous mountains (I digress), we visited the radio station where one of the PCVs had a monthly radio show discussing themes like self-esteem, sexual abuse, nutrition, etc. This was really effective in her community because most of the population in her town is illiterate. I listened to one of her broadcasts, and it honestly sounded just like NPR… very cool. Visiting the tiny pueblo was amazing – I’ve never seen anything like it. Forget paved roads, forget municipalities, forget health posts… think 1 small school and a couple homes scattered on a lush hillside, think farm animals everywhere, think latrines (actually, think peeing in a salad bowl in your room), think wood burning stoves and semi-roofed homes. The women wear traditional Cajamarcan dress and they are very proud of their hats. We had an amazing picnic at Lindsey’s host sister’s house in her yard overlooking the countryside. We prepared tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers – treated them with bleach – and made good old-fashioned turkey sandwiches. Life in the campo is slow and beautiful. In Cajamarca city, we talked with one PCV and the NGO he works with which aims to eradicate illegal child labor, one kid at a time. They target kids under 14 years old selling candy in the streets or carrying wheelbarrows in the markets. Shockingly, Peruvian NGO’s exist actually encouraging these youth to work, providing them with wheelbarrows and teaching them how to lift them properly. The adversity is great, but this PCV has remarkable accomplishments within this city. Talking and learning from the PCVs this week has made everything so much more real. During my last afternoon we did all the typical Cajamarcan touristy things. I checked out a few museums housing colonial-era Friar-run hospitals and Pre-Incan artifacts dating around 1000 BC, visited beautiful churches made of volcanic rock, tasted and bought some Cajamarcan cheese, and had one last ice cream – it competes with Italian gelato. After this trip to the mountains, I feel reminded of my original intent in joining the Peace Corps. I want to experience a culture totally different from mine, I want to be free of material and modern influences, and I want to live among the traditional people of Peru, and learn and grow from it all. Overall, I feel pumped and ready to go. Be well, and stay in touch!
Sophie

July 4th, 2008

I can’t believe I am about to write this… but today marks the completion of 1 month in Cuerpo de Paz Peru. I truly feel like I got here yesterday… the days go by slowly, but the weeks just fly. I have learned more in the past month than ever before, experiencing the highest of highs while I navigate through this new chapter: Volunteering in Peru. Not that it’s been all roses; there have been hard moments and difficult realizations too, although few and far between. But did I mention my group is fantastic? We’re in this together, we’re going to support each other throughout this adventure, and I have complete confidence in this support.
I've spent the morning playing the greatest field games with my PC group - in full out in-it-to-win-it mode - and yes we won many activities. Dizzy bat, wheelbarrow races, water balloon throws, cracker eating contests, etc. Happy 4th!!!
So in the past month I have… Felt very much at home. Taken glacier-cold (not exaggerating) showers. Actually communicated with my family, in conversational Spanish, on a regular basis! I mean, we totally understand each other! Eaten rice and potatoes EVERY day, multiple times a day …and kind of liked it. Watched a chick flick in Spanish, and cried. Ran for President, and lost (I’ll get ‘em next time!). Had 2 really successful meetings with my youth group at the school in my town. Played more self-esteem building games than I can remember, and gotten completely in touch with my inner-child. Become really close with my host family. Experienced an earthquake. Played soccer with Peruvians. Shopped for food with my Mama in a wild outdoor market: think Peruvian Mamas poking, prodding, handling whole raw chickens. Taken the most crowded “bus” in the world, everyday. Craved coffee. Been visited by lots of awesome PC Volunteers. Conquered my fear of shots. Accepted giant flying crickets as my permanent roommates – they’re no Courtney and Nina! (Haven’t had any spider-sightings lately, but word on the street is Tarantulas are big here). Learned how to plant vegetables and make my own garden at Lima’s Agriculture University… can’t picture me with a rake and hoe? Guess again! Seen, breathed, felt, loved the Pacific Ocean. Fallen in love with the Spanish language again. Realized a Nuevo appreciation for chocolate… cake (as you can imagine, it’s becoming a problem). Changed my US dollars for Peruvian soles with a yellow-shirt-wearing person on the street. Dreamed big and held high hopes in the midst of poverty. Had some small victories in the gastro-intestinal department, emphasis on small. Attended the Corazon de Jesus Fiesta in my pueblo and danced… and watched in absolute amazement as the giant wooden float-like structures exploded with fireworks and sparklers. Loved the popularity of American 80’s and early 90’s music in Peru. Been SO excited to hear that LOST is sold on dirt-cheap pirated DVDs in absolutely every major city in this country (There is a God). Adopted the nickname “Mamita” gladly. Had a serious gossip session with 3 fabulous ladies in the back of a crowded bus on the way home from Lima. Lived off of $3.00 a day easily. Missed my mama. And my papa. And whoever is reading this, I’ve missed you too. (And Rose too!!!) Experienced some serious self-discovery. Been gently lulled to sleep by the sound of 10-20 dogs barking/fighting, ducks quacking, crickets (I mean, my roommates) singing, roosters crowing (my neighbor has 10 roosters, and they DO wake up at 4:30). Tasted cow intestine and stomach… and not liked it so much. Danced “sexy” and discussed Peruvian pick-up lines with my Spanish teacher… and she’s a woman… and she was a nun for 10 years. Woken up at 6 and gone to bed at 9 pretty much everyday. Learned how to teach and manage a classroom of 38 kids when I was expecting only 12... in Spanish. Explored, explored, explored. Soaked it all in. And loved every minute of it.
PAZ Y MUCHOS ABRAZOS.