Getting The Basics

As much as I desire and strive to open the eyes of the communities here, I believe the opposite is happening right now. Living and working day in and day out in a developing country such as Peru has completely picked apart, scrambled up, and then thrown on the wall all that I thought I knew about the world. Before I came here, I considered myself a pretty well-educated, well-experienced, open-minded young woman. I’ve travelled the world, studied in a well-acknowledged University, and had many educational experiences growing up; however, there is nothing that could have prepared me for the life that I find myself living here. I never knew I had so much to learn.

First off, everything I am writing about is my personal thoughts and opinions. It does not reflect that of any other institution or entity.

Second, AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, now that I got that out I can begin. To be honest with you, the longer I am here the deeper I find myself getting into this culture and the system of things here. In one sense- it’s scary and depressing. In the other- it’s exciting and motivating. Living in a foreign country is a complete 180 degree turn in lifestyle. The people here deal with issues that us as Americans rarely ever even think about in our lives. The basics of life- shelter (safe and sound), water, food, wastes deposit. These are the basic essentials to human life. These very essentials are the daily struggle for a large portion of the world; the people I work with included.

Shelter: Many of the people I work with live in a “house” that is essentially several straw mats placed together to form walls with a tarp as a roof. Cook over wood-burning fire that fills their lungs day in and day out. The floor is dirt, flies fill the house, one bed is enough for the entire family, electricity is often not an option. Many mothers are single (because their husband have left them) with 3 or 4 children running around- while the mother has to leave them at home all day while she works in the farm fields. Of the mothers that do have husbands, the majority are beaten on a regular basis. Domestic violence is unfortunately a very common thing here. Why don’t the women try to stop it? Because if they stand up for themselves, often time the husband will withhold giving them money for food (because he is in charge of the money) or will just leave them for an “obedient” woman, leaving the wife alone to fend for all the children.


*Photo1: A view of one of the pueblos I am working with "Cajuca".

Water: As the saying goes “El agua es la vida”—Water is life. This statement holds true in every respect, too bad it’s easier said than done here in the desert. Many of the homes in the pueblos do not have water connection. They purchase the water every few days from a water truck that comes by. And for the homes that do have water connections, they receive water for only 30 minutes per day. The water they receive is contaminated and if they do not boil the water before drinking (which a lot of them don’t) then they and their growing kids get sicknesses such as parasites and diarrhea (the leading cause of malnutrition within children). Asi es.


*Photo2: An example of the containers that some families keep their water in.

Food: Their food mainly consists of white rice and potatoes. For many kids, the mothers give them whatever amounts of sugar they want so they will stop whining- sodas, cookies, ice cream. That’s pretty much what goes on.

Waste deposit: First off, I want you to imagine your bathroom situation right now: complete privacy (well, unless you live in the college residence halls…), clean porcelain throne, a nice clean tiled floor, sometimes even a nice little mat to put your clean barefeet on. *siiiiigh* Oh how nice! Now take a moment to imagine the a large portion of the rest of the world: no bathroom whatsoever. Having to duck into the shadows of the fields to lay your piece in peace. Flies everywhere. The same flies that enjoy their lunch on your shit are the same ones that bring your shit onto your lunch. Yet again, causing sicknesses in many people. Open defecation is a serious problem. It’s low, embarrassing, dirty, the cause of a lot of contamination.

Another part of waste deposit is the trash. Solid waste. Basura. Residuos sólidos. It is surely one thing that is not lacking in this place. It is everywhere. In the streets, in the rivers, around the houses… everywhere. There’s a trash system, but it comes sporadically and doesn’t hit everywhere. The people have a dirty habit of just throwing their trash wherever they may be. “The world is your trashcan” someone once said. Well, unfortunately, it just doesn’t work that way. The trash that is collected is brought to an area a few miles outside the city. There is a bunch of people that go out there and sort through it all (with no sort of body protection) collecting the recyclable goods so they can sell them and make money. All the rest of the trash they burn right there. This is the trash system here.


*Photo3: River bed of Tierras Blancas that runs through Nasca. Most of the year there is no water in the river bed, so many people here use it as their personal trash dump.



So these are some of the situations going on where I am at. This is just the beginning, but this is enough to express right now. I can only hope to improve some of these situations, even just a little bit. But for now, I am the student. Learning little by little. Making mistakes and stumbling a bit, but a toddler doesn’t learn how to walk in just one day.

¡Las fiestas!

It isn't a secret that Peruvians love to celebrate. They have celebrations for just about everything- birthdays, deaths, hundreds of saints, various types of foods, you name it! But the time of the year they love to celebrate the most is Christmas. I have recently gotten the pleasure to pass Christmas here in Peru, and I would love to share my experience.
Christmas. The birthday of Jesus. In Peru, this time of year lasts from December 1st until the around beginning of January. First it starts with the Paneton and the hot chocolate (which they just call “chocolate”... which was very confusing for me at first). Paneton is essentially this huge cylindrical loaf of very sweet bread with all these gummy “fruit” pieces inside. The “Chocolate” is essentially hot chocolate on steroids-- loads of sugar, spices, and well, chocolate! And Peruvians don't like to just give you a little slice of Paneton. No. They give you like a fourth of the loaf on your plate. You pick it up and it's literally bigger than your face. And being culturally sensitive, you have to eat it ALL. And the several cups of liquid sugar that they give you... I mean hot chocolate. 0;-) Let's be honest here, I like my sweets! But for some extremely unfortunate reason----- I hate Paneton. I hate the smell, the taste, the texture, the stupid gummy pieces that get stuck to every part of your mouth. But, unfortunately... whether I like it or not, it really doesn't matter here. They're still going to serve it to you at every single gathering and you are still going to eat it. And with a smile!
So, if you can learn to manage the Paneton and the hot chocolate, you're off to a good start for the entire month of Diciembre. Next comes the music. Usually when Christmas comes around, I really look forward to my family popping in some Joni Mitchell Christmas classics or even the country versions of the same songs; however, for some reason this town of Nasca only has ONE Christmas CD. They play it in their houses, on the radio, in the streets, at mass, in the taxis, on the news, in the restaurants. It is everywhere. I try to be really culturally understanding, and for the most part I do pretty well with that here, but for the life of me I cannot understand why they like this one CD so much. It is literally a bunch of 10 year old kids screaming into a microphone in really high pitches singing words that I can't comprehend. After 2 weeks of it I thought I was going to run up the walls. Eventually, I asked my host family if we could switch it up a bit and play a Christmas CD that I had (thanks mom!). And that scheme worked............ for half a day. HAHAHAHA. It's a very interesting feeling to be counting down the days until Christmas, not so that Santa will come to give you presents, but so it can be over.
Besides these unusual experiences, there were also a lot of really chevre (cool) things about this time of year. One thing that really struck me was the dances. They have this certain type of dance that is very typical of this region they call “Negritos” (it stems from various types of dances from African slaves many years ago). Think of the dance style “step” back home... but with incredible Peruvian flair. It is a fun and enrapturing dance style that I grew to appreciate a lot. You may even find me practicing it in my room from time to time!
Another activity that the jovenes (younger crowd) participates in aside from the dances is the Nacimientos (Nativity scenes). I don't know if it's just Nasca, or Peru in general... but they are obsessed with Nacimientos. They is at least one in EVERY single building in the entire city. And it's not just the typical scene that one may think of with Mary, Joseph and the 3 wise men in a manger... but they have waterfall scenes, christmas lights, and an entire spread of about 15 different types of animal flocks. It's intense! Aside from this, every colegio (school) in the entire district has a Nacimiento competition. This consists of creating a real live Nacimiento scene (with the students as the various actors) and then acting out the entire Bible passage leading up to the birth of Jesus, acting out Mary's birthing pains and all. The donkeys, chickens, cows, ducks, and dogs played an integral role in the realization of this scene. ;D I enjoyed going to the various colegios to watch their plays. One time I even got to hold crying baby Jesus!
Speaking of baby Jesus...................... baby Jesus dolls are incredibly sacred here. They love them. At Christmas mass, all the girls, women, and even old ladies brought their individual plastic baby Jesus dolls in a cradle in order to be blessed by the priest with a shower of hold water. One time I went to mass with some Peruvians and after the service they all stood in a huge line in order to go up and kiss the plastic baby Jesus doll that the priest had. While standing in line I was kind of looking around for someone that was about to giggle too, but to my surprise everyone was extremely serious and anxious to kiss the plastic Jesus doll. (Also, what interests me even further is that all the baby Jesus dolls are white skin, blonde hair, blue eyes. It's not very difficult to realize the most respected race around here... but that is a topic for another time.)
So after you eat your Paneton, drink your Chocolate, dance with the Negritos, fix your Nacimiento, and get your baby Jesus doll blessed... you are ready for the festivities! When the clock strikes 12 midnight greeting the morning of the 25th the entire country is all out in the streets. Fireworks are everywhere- in front of every household, in the skies, everywhere. They are so loud that it sounds like a war of some sorts is going on. Kids are throwing them at each other, at the street lights, and into the skies. It's fun, exciting, and loco to say the least!
Overall, I am so glad I have gotten to experience this time of year here in Peru. There were a lot of things very different than what us Americans are used to, but I love how they have their own rendition. Although, because of this incredibly different Christmas atmosphere, I can't help but wonder what Christmas celebrations are like for other countries in the world. I'm so curious so if you have had a Christmas adventure in another country send me an email and let me know!
Hasta luego amigos~~ PS- I love your comments on this blog. I want to know your thoughts and questions and ideas! So please feel free......

Real World: Nazca

After three weeks of being at site, the real world has begun to hit. Keep in mind that each Peace Corps representative has a completely different site with a completely different story. A good majority of my fellow volunteer companions are living in conditions very different from mine: very small communities (sometimes 300 people), pooping in cockroach-ridden latrines, bathing with 1L of water per day (just think: one nalgene full per day. Thats IT.) because their town only gets water every 2 weeks, hours away from urban life, or even without cell-phone service (*gasp* How can they ever survive?!). I, on the other hand, have somehow wound up in a tourist-ridden city (of a zone of over 50,000 people), in a house with running water, sewage system, and access to internet and phone service. But each has their ups and downs- we all carry burdens of the job, but in different ways.
For these first three months, we as PCVs spend our time gathering information in order to prepare our Community Diagnostic. Essentially, a Community Diagnostic is a really long compiled report about our specific community- the culture, the people, the problems, the instituations, the workings of it... everything! In order for us to do beneficial, sustainable projects we need to first make sure we understand what the community needs. This includes doing interviews, surveys (with over 100 people), meetings, collaborations-- anything we can think of in order to learn about the people's needs here. At the end of the 3 months we have to present our Diagnostic to our entire community and to the PC staff. Quite a load! Yes, it is a lot of work, but at the same time I really appreciate that they make us do these because it allows us to understand our community more before we begin working with them, which is essential. Since I am the first PCV to ever step her little foot into Nazca, I am the first to find out all of this information for the volunteers to follow after I leave. It sure is never boring!
These last three weeks have been intense, exciting, scary, fun, frustrating, challenging, and overall a good start to the rest of my life here in Nazca for the next few years. The thing about working in a big city here in Peru is that in order to make progress I have to make myself known by all the bigwigs. I need the town's recognition, respect, and support in order for me to move forward with projects. SO basically I have spent my first three weeks meeting as many higher-ups as I can to let them in on what I am doing. Also, speaking with these different people allows me to learn a lot more about the runnings of the city- how things function, who does what, what problems are there. There are a lot of things for a person to learn about a new city. My goal is to try to understand as much as I possibly can so that I can best approach the projects I have in mind. So far I have been in working with: the mayor of the province of Nazca, the Nazca water-systems company (se llama EMAPAVIGSSA), the Office of Environmental Health in the Hospital, the Red Cross, the Office of Environmental Health in the Municipality, the Ministry of Women and Social Development, several local reach-out groups (Vaso de Leche y Comedor Popular), the director of the school-systems of Nazca, Rotary Club International, the Madre of the Catholic Church (who does a lot of outreach), and several directors of various schools and pueblos outside of the city. As much information I begin to learn, I feel like there is so much more to know. This is the beginning base of my Diagnostic. A little over two-months more and hopefully I will have a better grasp on things... but between you and me- I think I'm going to need a lot more than 3 months to understand this community. It's a whole new world here. A whole new world.
Por eso, every day is a new surprise of things to come.
It's kind of funny: since I am still learning Spanish, I sometimes don't understand what is going on... so when I trust the person I am working with I kind of just go along with it... and honestly, those are the times where the coolest stuff happens! It usually happens when I'm working with some business man and he mumbles something to me in Spanish really fast (that I don't understand) and then makes a phone call and then something happens-- whether it be jumping into the seat of a garbage truck to see how the garbage system works, being taken in a Municipality vehicle to the middle of nowhere to witness where they burn all their trash, being herded into the middle of a huge crowd to watch a Peruvian dance competition for 2 hours, taxi ride to a nearby town on the beach for an event on wind energy in Peru, climbing to the top of a really high hill so we can inspect a certain well-water system, or even one time I wound up at a Nazquenian hand-crafted pottery event. The opportunities are limitless for random lost-in-translation moments... I wonder what is to come!
As for now, I hear some Peruvian music blaring through the window from the main plaza so I am going to see what all the noise is about. *10 Soles says there's a school-wide dance going on!

*side note: Nuevo Sol is their currency here! 3 soles=1 dollar. (a.k.a. I bet you'll owe me $3)

Week 1 of Nasca-ness

So after 10 weeks of intense training and Peruvian adventures, I finally got sworn-in as una voluntaria del Cuerpo de Paz. A big moment for sure, as on the horizon all we can see is the mysterious unknown. No more classes, no more instructors, no more speaking English, no more friends close at hand, no more pre-made schedules. We were then at that moment left to our own devices for the next few years. We are essentially dropped off at site and are left to our own devices to not only survive, but to inspire positive change and health within the community. Honestly, what I have been going through here at site for this first week of service has been so intense and different, no amount of training could have ever prepared me for what I was about to jump into. It was as if I jumped into the middle of the ocean accompanied with only a fun-noodle and was expected to survive. Well, fortunately for me-- I love to swim.
Nasca, Peru. The home to many world-famous sites including the Nasca Lines, El Cerro Blanco (the biggest sand dune in South America), Los Aqueductos (aqueducts created by pre-Incan civilizations- some that still function), various cemeteries with mummified bodies, and now ME!
I thought that by living in Peru for 11 weeks already that I would be accustomed to the culture here... well was I wrong! Moving here I have encountered an entire new life. There are a lot of changes I have been experiencing. I will share a few with you...
-I began a new diet. It's called "the runs". I don't even have to do anything, just sit on the toilet and boombam all the food I ate has magically gone through me! It's not on the market yet but if you'd like to begin this diet I'll let you try some of the water here and you'll be on "the runs" in no time!
-I have also changed perfumes. Instead of dousing myself religiously with bug repellent, I now spend a good portion of the morning applying the Peace Corps provided sunblock all over. The reason? Well, let's just say I completely understand where the saying "it's hot as hell" comes from. I'm in the desert!
-The parties I have been experiencing here are surely like no other. For example, the other day I went to a party for a 97 year old woman complete with her being spoon-fed papaya by her daughter, a table full of still living friends and family (that had to yell at each other so the other person could hear), tea cups, and me........ HAHAHA! A little different than the typical college party I guess. I'll find some friends here soon I'm sure...
-Also, I got a name change. I am "Catalina" here. It's much easier than the awkward language sessions I could continuously have with how to pronounce my actual name... every single time I met someone. Si entonces for simplicity's sake: Catalina.
-I've been getting a lot of action here in the kissing department. Every single time there is a greeting or departure... there is kissing. So essentially the barriers are automatically broken down at an initial meeting because, well, you just kissed them! Quite an ice-breaker I'd say.
-I have a new nightly fashion. Compliments of UGA Student Learning Center (it's always going to be the SLC for me... givin' a holler out there to my dawgs!) these green ear plugs have gotten me far. They allow me to fall asleep despite the nightly war of dogs outside my window and they allow me to sleep past 4am because of the rooster concerts that go on every single morning outside my window. Thanks SLC!
-The other day I turned on the TV and there was my face. The truth is that not a lot goes on here thats exciting so when something happens (it could be anything!) their going to talk about it. just so happens that I am that "something" right now.
-I've picked up a new hobby! Making speeches. hahaha. Essentially I meet new people every single day and they are all curious about what I am doing here and who I am so I give them my speech. I must say, after the 100th one I think I've been able to do it backwards in my sleep!
-And this is always the question that follows it: "Are you single?" ...And then I say "yes" and then they say that I will definitely end up staying here longer than 2 years because I'm going to meet un Peruano. (this exact convo happens like 5 times a day) At first I felt uncomfortable when people always asked me that because in the States we don't commonly speak about relationships until a little later in conversations. However, I have grown to understand that Peruvians love their relationship drama and that their women have babies so I have now just grown to expect this convo.
-I got my desk space in the Municipality. Never had an "office" before! Right next to a window so thats nice too.
-My typical emotion here is a mix of confused/lost/uncomfortable... but you learn how to accept that and move on. A sense of humor is essential for this job. It's a whole new culture and a whole new place that I do not know... I am positive I unknowingly do probably 20 things per day that is not typical of this culture- but that is just how it is. In time I will understand more. But for now, laughing at my blunders is the only way to stay sane.

There is so much more to say about my job here, about the culture, and various thoughts. Every day is a new battle and a new adventure. This is just the beginning. Stay tuned!

The gringa is here!

Finally, after 7 weeks of training, we were set loose upon our sites. (We were all given three to four days to explore our future sites, meet our new host families, and get acquainted with the town before we completed our last two weeks of training.) Each volunteer is given a different pueblo or town throughout Peru (mostly in districts along the Western coast). My site is Nazca. Yes, as in the Nazca Lines! I live about 10 minutes from them, and with the tour planes flying overhead every day. Nazca is also the site of many pre-Incan archeological sites... which I love. Also home of the Cerro Blanco, which is the biggest sand dune in all of South America. Oh yeah, sand dune- did I mention that Nazca is in the center of the desert..? Yeah. Summer temps averaging over 100 deg F. A lil toasty. BUT- that makes for perfect climate for some awesome foods. Mangos, grapes (therefore wine and Pisco), oranges, pecans, corn, papas to name a few. I am the very first volunteer to this site, so everything is new and ground-breaking... just how I like it.
Most volunteers are placed in a pueblo or city ranging from around 300-3,000 people. I, on the other hand, for some reason or another have been assigned a city with 30,000 people (and covering a district with about 70,000 people). Big task. So where do I begin? Well, first thing is to meet as many of the community leaders as possible to get the word out there of who I am and what I'm doing. I want as many big guns on my side as possible (but not real guns! we're PEACE corps. wink) So my socio comunitario (the person I will be working with a lot on my various projects) Flor made sure I not waste time and set up appointments for me right away. After my morning bucket bath and my 3-day old crunchy bread, Flor came to come pick me up. We visited the school of which she is the director. I oh-so-naively thought that I was just going there to see where she works. Little did I know, I was soon greeting teacher after teacher in the office, explaining to them all what I would be doing in their town for 2 years and answering every question under the sun. Furthermore, Flor soon began taking me to every single classroom where I had to stand in front of the classes and introduce myself to all of the students. Four hundred and fifty of them. With my broken-Spanish and no preparation, mind you. Being an RA in college led me to feel pretty comfortable to speaking in front of crowds, but nothing could have prepared me for something like that! Well, I somehow got through it and felt so good that I had accomplished it. So, what was next? Flor said she was going to take me to the Municipality. Alright, I said, I can handle that meeting a few workers in there.
After meeting the Director of the Municipality and several other key figures, I found myself sitting really close face to face, knees touching with some man. I just kind of took it as normal because here there's often not much “personal space boundaries”... that is until he whipped out two voice recorders. Turned out he was wanting to interview me for the radio show. Right there on the spot! I only had time to internally freak out, come to acceptance of this, and recollect myself all in a matter of 20 seconds before he began recording. I used every single ounce of my power to compose myself at that moment. Adrenaline rushing to the max, still to this moment I don't remember a single thing that he asked me, or what I said. All I know was that I could feel the beads of sweat on my face from nervousness and that I had never spoken better Spanish than at that moment in my entire life. It's amazing what a little pressure can do. Okay, so I somehow get through 10 minutes of that and afterwards I feel like a champ. Like I had just beat a long-time opponent in a well-fought soccer match. Grateful that I did not faint afterwards, I cheerfully asked Flor what was next, assuming that nothing could come close to being more difficult than that.
“Vamos a conocer el elcalde.” “El alcalde?!?!” We were on our way to meet the mayor of the city. By this time a few other leaders in the community had joined us on the mission to speak with the mayor. We had to get as much Umph as we could to get the mayor on our side to agree and succeed with accepting me into the community. This was a big deal. This is the man of the city. For quick example, there were two guards outside the restaurant we were in making sure that the crowd of people outside didn't come in and disturb us. Yeah. So after 20 minutes of the leaders and I speaking of my job as a member of Cuerpo de Paz, he finally accepted my presence there and even offered me an office in the Municipality building! Wow, success. At that moment I felt as if anything else I did from then on would be a piece of cake. That was yet another huge moment in my acceptance into the community and I somehow swung through it with success... nothing could possibly be harder. But sister, was I wrong.
The most intense part of this day didn't happen until the 7:00pm that night... on the Karibena news. That's right, the news. They wanted to interview me live on their district news channel 15. I seriously thought they were kidding at first when they told me this. Not until I got to the news station and saw the machines, cameras, and setup did I really believe what I was doing. I sweated buckets, made mistakes and was looking into the wrong camera half the time, but in the end it all worked out really well. By 8pm that night, (the first day of me being there in their town) the entire town knew me.
After all was said and done that day, I fell onto my bed with the biggest smile on my face. If I could get through that day, one of the most challenging days of my life, I could get through anything. And that is where I stand.

La vida de una aspirante

Catalina, que estas haciendo?! ...Buen pregunta.
Caitlin, what are you doing?! ...Good question.

Well, a lot!

Besides eloquently fumbling about with my Spanish, becoming steadily accustomed with a whole new culture, enjoying the local dance scenes, and thoroughly enjoying Peruvian delicacies such as cow hearts and sheep stomach, I have been going through the Peace Corps Pre-Service Training. These first 10 weeks to prepare us for our near future missions. Every Lunes-Viernes from 8AM-5PM I venture to the Peace Corps Center where we are being intensely trained on a variety of different subjects.
For 2-4 hours a day we have language training where we... learn the language. ;) Los profesores son increible. They are Peruvian, but are very well educated and know English as well. My teacher for the Intermediano Medio group is Karina. She studied to be a lawyer here in Peru then went to the States to work where she soon realized she loved to teach! She somehow found her way back through school to become a teacher and is now doing great. We have a lot of interactive learning with games, exercises, songs, worksheets, acting out, stories... each of which focuses on a certain aspect of vocabulario or grammar what we are learning at the time. I love it. Not only do we learn the basics of how to communicate, but we are also learning job-specific language (i.e. water systems vocabulary), which will come in handy when I'm trying to explain to an entire town of adults how to construct a latrine system..
On top of language learning, we learn a lot of safety and security aspects of being here in Peru. We cover it all- from how to safely take a taxi, venture around town, and determine fraud money to more serious subjects of STI's and instances of assault. They want to prepare us as much as possible for the unknown. We are in a whole new world over here where we are the aliens, and therefore often the targets. The more informed we are on this information, the better prepared we will be.
Another portion of the information that we learn is on the Peruvian culture. They're culture here is very different. The food, how to drink, how to greet each other, how to catch a taxi, how to be friends with people, how to say no, how share everything, what to wear... it's so interesting to learn! There are some things that I like very much and some things that definitely take some getting used to. One thing I really like is the customary greeting. Everyone here hugs (abrazos) and kisses(besos) on the cheek when they greet and when they say goodbye. I must get 100 besos a day... it's awesome! Jajaja. It's such an open and kind way of welcoming someone's presence. I feel it makes people closer just simply by breaking down that initial barrier. Well, we've already hugged and kissed upon meeting the first time... I guess we're friends now! :D Also, another thing I really appreciate/like/enjoy is the sharing of everything. In a previous blog I explained the “Invitame” rule where basically any food that someone has is automatically everyone's tambien. Again, another kind and open gesture.
One of the cultural traditions that I will have a more difficult time with is the separation of genders. What it boils down to basically is that in the Peruvian culture, women and men simply are not friends. They are either dating or do not converse in any way. Gestures even as simple as eating ice cream together or even TALKING between men and women is seen as dating the other person. If they show any interest at all, it is taken as they want something more. It may sound extreme, but I'm not even stretching it. Sometimes in bigger cities women and men can be friends, but elsewhere there is no such thing. I can see this being a challenge for us volunteers in the near future as we are used to having a wide variety of friends of both genders.
In addition to all the culture mind-blowing adventures we are preparing for, we spend a large portion of our time preparing for the work I came here to do: agua y saneamiento (water and sanitation). This is probably my favorite part of the learning. We have learned a variety of different things: all about water pump systems, how to construct various gray water systems, microrellenas (mini landfills), biodigesters, lumbriculturas (I forget the word in english, but essentially breaking down organic matter by using worms to assist in the process), creating successful compost, slow trickle sand filters, SODIS sun decontamination of water, specific chlorination techniques, and all the in's and out's of caca and it's negative effects on humans. We will soon be learning to build latrine systems which I am really excited about. Our grupo (consisting of about 20 young adults ages 22-28, with backgrounds as varying as engineering, sociology, environmeantal management, microbiology, international affairs, and even religion to name a few) has also been traveling to various water systems around this area to get a view about what different systems look like. It's very eye-opening to say the least. Some of these systems you just look at with mouth wide-open in disbelief that it is actually exists and that it's acceptable.
Overall, I have learned more in these last 5 weeks than I have ever learned in that time-span. Probably because this stuff is essential for my survival for the next 2 years. Also, it helps learning in a room with 19 other highly motivated individuals. Finally I'm not the only one asking questions and making the class stay overtime just to understand the subject better. It also makes group projects run a lot smoother and in class competitions a lot more interesting. We have such an amazing group of people. We each have so much to share and it's just such a blast when we are together. Everyone just has a certain life to them that makes every encounter so exciting. I sure am going to miss everyone once we all split off to our sites. After spending at LEAST 8 hours with each other every single day, it's going to be a definite challenge not being able to see anyone very often.
Needless to say, I go to bed exhausted every night; however, it's one of those tired playful puppy exhaustion's... one of the best kinds. :)

Also, I have big news! I found my site assignment today. I will be living for the next 2 years in............. (drum roll please!)

Nazca, Ica, Peru

My next blog will be explaining more about this setup so stay tuned. There´s a lot to explain. Beginning tomorrow I will be out of town on some work-related training, so I will write when I can!

I hope all is well in the States! Whenever you think of it, please inform me of news thats going on because we don´t get newspapers here and I sparingly get internet access. Also, I miss the comics section.. so send the good ones! ;) Until next time...

Pensamientos en un combi (Thoughts on a busride)

“You don't want to hear the story
of my life, and anyway
I don't want to tell it, I want to listen

to the enormous waterfalls of the sun.

And anyway it's the same old story-
a few people just trying,
one way or another,
to survive.
… …
And nobody gets out of it, having to
swim through the fires to stay in
this world.”

-excerpt from “Dogfish” by Mary Oliver
(currently my favorite poem)


It can be undoubtedly stated that the United States of America is one of the most wealthiest countries in the entire world. Even our poorest of the poor most often can find means to have daily food, shelter, and in many cases even cell phones. Being such a wealthy country, our standard of living and our expectations for everything are extremely high. Our most common problems often stem from OVER consumption. [One of our biggest causes of death and disease is from obesity. We run into debt because what we have just isn't enough. Our environment, our Earth, is being torn apart because we want more “things”.] Our battle is often for perfection, not simply just management. We strive to thrive in the States. This is how life is for the wealthy. However, we are in the verrry distinct minority. The truth is, this is not the reality for the majority of the world. Most of the world strives to just merely SURVIVE. Most of the world instead doesn't even have the means to be able to over-consume in any way. Finding the means to merely get by is the key. For the most part, we as Americans never have to go through the pain and strife that most of the world does. We cannot even begin to relate to the struggles of daily life of these people. How things have gotten this way, I am not entirely sure. All I know is that is the reality.

These thoughts have been on my mind for quite some time now, but not until today was I swept away with passion on this subject. Today (Sabado, 10/16/2010) we took a field trip to Lima to check out a certain water treatment system and also view this place called Kallpa Wasi – Casa de Energia. It is the first and only plant of renewable energy in Peru. Please understand, when I say “plant” I mean tiny building with a backyard. This place had a compost area, a solar panel, a biodigestor area, a windmill (with 1.5 foot blades, might I add), and a small biodiesel converter. ...That's it. Honestly, it blew me away at first. Not because of the novelty, but rather the exact opposite. This was Peru's renewable energy plant? Simply paling in comparison to the US. [We must not forget to rewind time in American history to remember when our society was once there too. It is not until just recently when parts of our society have slowly started becoming more conscious of our actions. Of course that's not to say we're a sustainable country by any means, but we have enough wealth and stability to begin dabbling into it.] Through college I had studied and been exposed to an infinite amount of “green living” systems, ideas, and technology. I used to spend my free time reading articles, going to fairs, supporting local movements, recycling at football games, alternative transportation, putting on programs... all focused around “green conscious” living. But for the most part, none of that has any place here whatsoever. They are too busy just trying to get enough Soles ($) to survive the day. Why would they care about a windmill or solar panel if it does not directly assist them in survival today? How can they even begin to relate to that when they're cooking over a fire for their 7 kids in their tiny one-room thatched house? Here, it is completely irrelevant.

Again, most of the world is just striving to survive; the USA is a unique and very minute population in our world. Living in a developing country and seeing & experiencing a taste of what people go through has made this point all too obvious. The world is not always nice, the world is not clean, paved streets, happy faces, super-stores, fappuccinos, personal cars, fancy phones, clean water, green grass, more-or-less stable government, educated population, environmental activism. It is often difficult for us in the States to realize our wealth because wealth has been all we've ever known. Our expectations are set much higher and because of this, anything lower is often outrageous or unacceptable. Above anything else, I wish that more gratefulness would exist in heart of the American society. After all, it is just by pure luck that we have been born into the situations we have been born into. As I'm sitting there in the combi (bus) watching the Peru sites pass by, witnessing all the poverty, I can't help but think: What if I was dealt the hand of that Peruvian child?