Festejo

My little friend all dressed up to do a traditional dance called Festejo for her school program as part of the elementary school´s anniversary celebration.

Drowning my Sorrows in Cajamarca

Me in Cajamarca



Ug some days it's so lonely in Peru and it really shouldn't be. People have been amazingly generous here and truly kind but I still feel so disconnected. Why? I guess it's still the cultural difference. I'll never be a cotton farming, chicha lovin' chola and I'll always be the gordita gringa to folks in my town. Most days that's fine but it has been harder lately. I really want to connect with people on a level that I haven't really achieved yet. Poco a poco, I hope.

I have also decided that I miss my ex-boyfriend in New York and want to talk about rekindling that relationship. There's nothing like sitting around in the campo where people put the ultimate value in their families and their religion to help you remember what's important in life. Sadly the idea was not as warmly reciprocated as I hoped. Perhaps the prospect of a potential, future, possibility of a maybe relationship with someone who ran off to Peru to join the Peace Corps is less attractive than I estimated :) He didn't say, "No." He said, "I need time to think about it." But since 1. I live in Peru and he lives in NY and that won't be changing for a long time, and 2. I haven't seen him in nearly a year. I'm not really sure how more distance could possibly change his mind.

So in a futile attempt to deal with rejection return to my "happy place" I'm going to offer you some really gorgeous photos of Cajamarca. Cajamarca is a department (Peruvian equivalent of state) south and east of Piura, in the mountains. It is so green and gorgeous. I was there last month for a conference with Elmer, my Peruvian counterpart who is a Technician at the Health Post in my town. He is still on strike lately but is generally great to work with and really committed to improving the public health in Rinconada Llicuar. Also, in attendance were other Peace Corps volunteers adn their counterparts, all of us learning to plan and execute our grand schemes. These photos are courtesy of my fellow Peace Corps Volunteer Aaron since I forgot my camera on this particular adventure.

I Am the Light of the World

We went to visit a 7th Day Adventist dairy product commune called Granja Porcone. It is an amazing place. The evangelical church that I'm usually so down on the the US has really done amazing development work in Peru. Every house in this community has a latrine and they look used and cared for. The chickens are in coops. The pigs have corrals. And, the community makes very high quality products that they sell in Cajamarca City. They also do beautiful weaving and carpentry that they export. This is my friend Cynthia and me in front of their hydro-electric generator. It has the quote from the gospel of Mark "I am the light of the world," painted on the side.

Fellow Peace Corps folks and counterparts on a hill overlooking Cajamarca

We went on a little hike outside of the city and at the end of the trail this man's family has their house. They sell stuff to the tourists who hike out there. He is weaving in the traditional way to sell in Cajamarca City and to sell to the tourists on the trail.

Okay, so this one is not in Cajamarca. It's at the hostel where we always stay in Piura but we're just so darn cute. These are my girls from Piura and Tumbes. From the top left, Lizzy, me, Kate and Tania.

Unfortuante policy choices, cuy and why I have too much time on my hands

More news today. I promise to put my own photos up soon.

It will probably not surprise you that women tend to start having children at a younger age here in Peru. It stands to reason that young people are having sex at a young age. Often (or at least sometimes) young women partner with much older men. This leads some young women to avoid the free national prenatal care for fear that their partners will be charged with statutory rape. Peru's response to this problem today is to lower the age of consent to 14. This article says that the vote in congress was overwhelming. It's at best disturbing that the answer to this problem is protecting the predator and not offering more education or life options to youth, especially girls.

Guinea Pig cuisine or cuy is popular here in the mountain areas. I tried it myself when I was in Cuzco and again in Cajamarca. I'm glad that I tried it twice because I thought that it was pretty gross the first time around. The cuy in Cajamarca was much cheaper and far superior. In fact it was free. I was at a conference and one of the attendees had some. His wife had packed him a lunch of two fried guinea pigs (whole) and a bunch of fried corn kernels called canchas in a plastic bag. He shared it with us and it was delicious. In Cuzco I went to a fancy tourist restaurant to have it. It was just the leg and hind quarter portion and it was baked but still managed to be greasy. Yuck. My advice, fried whole cuy is the way to go, especially with the canchas.

Finally, the reason that I have a lot of time on my hands is that everyone with whom I usually work seems to be on strike. The health workers want more pay and the nontenured ones want tenure. The teachers are also on strike. School is closed today and tomorrow for the strike. The teachers want more pay. Then Thursday and Friday are the Saint's Days for St. Peter and St. Paul, patrons of fishermen. Usually, this would be a holiday but I think that they're having school late in the afternoon (after the normal school day hours) to make up for the missed classes. Honestly, the details are still a bit unclear to me.

Special thanks to Ed for keeping me up to date on the Peruvian news circuit.

News in Peru and Vision Health International

Cameron Diaz didn't know about Shining Path... An interesting debacle.

5 foot tall penguins once roamed the Peruvian cost. Whoever wrote this article doesn't seem to know that there still are species of hot weather loving penguins that live in southern Peru, in Ica, where the Nazca Lines are. I don't think that they're very big. I gotta get down there. It's supposed to be beautiful. The penguins live on a few islands off the coast that Peace Corps volunteers call the Poor Man's Galapagos. I think they're really called Islas Ballestas.

In my own life I was helping out a bit yesterday at a free health campaign in Piura at the Ministry of Health Hospital. A group of eye doctors was down from the US to do operations on children with crossed eyes and adults with cataracts. It's called Vision Health International. These campaigns are always so crazy, mobs of people each with a heart wrenching story and each patient with at least one family member lobbying really hard to make sure that their loved one gets to see the doctor and gets care. I have never seem so many cross eyed kids, and blind elderly people in one place before. The folks were amazing. They had a system. Everyone got to see the doctor and I think everyone made it on the surgery schedule- with respectful, kind, and language appropriate communication to boot. And they're working with the Ministry of Health which many NGO's don't do because the bureaucracy makes it difficult but, it's the best way to reach the people who need the help the most. They're the ones who can't afford anything besides the Peruvian national free public health care system which only offers limited benefits. If you're interested in giving someone money or helping out as an eye doctor (John and Larry) these are good folks.

I actually went with Dora, the mom from my former host family. She really cannot see that it's her brother coming in the door of her house and I went to try to get her some glasses. Come to find out that the plan in the campaign is just surgery. Fortunately, a couple of the doctors took pity on us and promised us a pair. I'll post a picture of her in her new glasses when she gets them. Assuming she'll let me take a picture! She says that glasses are for old ladies.

Chiclayo

Yesterday, I hopped on a bus and rode down to a city 3 hours south of Piura called Chiclayo. I came to say goodbye to a friend who decided to pack it in and go back to the states. I'm really going to miss her. It's hard when people leave here. It's scary to see Lauren head home because I hope that I can make it. I hope that I can really do this like I want to.

I'm certainly have a hard time sometimes, struggling with the depression that seems to ebb and flow though my life and just feeling isolated. On the other hand, the hand that holds me here, I I'm learning so much about relationships, myself, and last but not least about global economics and the mechanics of poverty.

I'm heading back to Rinconada Llicuar today. We're having the first meeting of the new health committee tomorrow morning and the goal is to get everyone on board for the solid waste project. The mayor seems committed with a budget but the catch is- it's one thing to say it and another to do it.

Wish Rinconada Llicuar recycling and a sanitary landfill, and wish Lauren safe home.

Home Sweet Home

Home


I have moved and it is wonderful. My new house is made of cement and has recently acquired running water. It's really quite the palace. In addition, it is home to 1 very lovely actual toilet, a stove with 4 burners, and 4 other inhabitants above the back door: 2 doves and 2 newly hatched baby doves. This is mom dove sitting on her eggs and eyeing me suspiciously. Now that they have hatched they're much more active and have taken to sitting on the electrical wire in the bathroom leaving their droppings on my cement bathroom floor. Admittedly, this behavior is less endearing than when it was a mom dove sitting on her eggs, but I appreciate the company.




Momma Dove



Home improvement is the name of my game lately. Since moving in on May 30 I have installed a bathroom sink, and a few windows. Most of the windows have wooden boards instead of glass so the light and general aesthetic leaves something to be desired and I'm working on changing it. I also bought paint because it sure needs a paint job and I'm looking to hire someone to help me. It is rice harvest time in Rinconada Llicuar and everyone is working 12 hour days cutting rice by hand, beating it to shake out the individual rice grains, drying it, and then carting it all to the mill. They're not looking for odd jobs right at the moment but, in about a month it will be nice to remove the "I love China" grafiti from the front wall. China is apparently the nickname of the lady who lived there prior to me.



In other news I have managed to take a group of 11 people including: the city council member in charge of health/lieutenant mayor, a technician from the Ministry of Health, teachers from the 3 local schools, and 6 students on a trip to see a solid waste project in a small town in the mountains called Santo Domingo. They had a blast and are all very excited about starting a trash project in Rinconada Llicuar. This is thrilling in large part because the mayor of Rinconada Llicuar is really into it. I think he might support funding a sanitary landfill with this years budget! Would be amazing. Here's us on a rock at the river in Santo Domingo. The girl in yellow is Pilar, then Professora Mercedes, Katy, Ana, Eduardo, next to me is Ruth and behind me is Felix. Aren't we cute?



Sto. Domingo Crew


Finally, I think that being a freaky gringa in Peru is damaging my already delicate social skills. I have managed a row with my former boyfriend. I know: How many miles and how many months apart? Surely I did not achieve this development alone, but I do have to take at least half the responsibility. He's still very angry that I left to join the Peace Corps and didn't include him in my decision making process. He can be mean when he's angry. I can be needy when I'm lonely. It's a rough combination. On a positive relationships note, the kind-of-scary police chief who was consistently lewdly flirting with me in front of large numbers of people and followed me on a couple of morning runs stopped these unfortunate behaviors. I was complaining about him to a teacher who I work with. She immediately called over a co-teacher who is also the offending officer's cousin. Suprise. The cousin/teacher was embarrassed, apologized profusely and promised to talk to their fathers. I never heard another word about it and haven't wanted to bring it up but, no more inappropriate behavior from sketchy cop guy. Gotta love small town fixes.