Cutra

Nothing too exciting has happened to me recently here in Perú. So I´ll write about an event that I notice is ocurring more often as Nelson and I travel between the house here in San Martín de Porres and Lomas de Carabayllo. It is called "cutra" and is slang for an action similar to what we would call a bribe in the States. The police set themselves up along certain parts of the Pan Americana Highway (and other areas all over the city, but in our case we are frequently stopped on the highway). We always travel home from Lomas in a Combis since it is the most available transportation at that time of night. So there are many combis and taxis pulling up to bus stops along the side of the road and then taking off again during the route and it is not uncommon to be drawn into one of the police traps. I sometimes feel like I can sense everyone in the combis holding their breath as we approach the band of police; we are all waiting to see if our combis will be called out. So on those occaisions when we are called out the police simply blow their whistles and wave their hands to us in a "pull over" motion which the driver acknowledges (or doesn´t and dashes away behind some giant truck placed perfectly between the police and us as we pass) and we come to a stop at the side of the road. Usually a male officer approaches and is sometimes demanding although most of the time he is not. The driver presents his papers, the cop may search the vehicle where the passengers are, on rare occaisions he asks the passengers for their documents (although he only selects certain passengers), and eventually we are allowed to pass. Not, however, before the driver slips the cop a little money (usually the equivalent of $1-$5). I think everybody hates it when this happens because of the inconvenience it causes more than for any other reason. The first few times I witnessed this "cutra" process I felt angry at the police for acting in a way that seemed to do nothing for the people they are suppose to be protecting. Back then I assumed that the other passengers in the van felt the same way. However, I now view the "cutra" as a time wasting event that usually takes place at an inconvinient hour of the night. To put a positive spin on the "cutra", I simply think of it as an effective speed bump placed somewhere in the middle of an oftentimes too speedy van ride home. Perhaps in that way, the police really are protecting us all (they just need a little bonus for doing so)!

On an entirely unrelated note, I just purchased a "surtido" across the street and I´m pretty sure the lady put beets in it. I thought a "surtido" was made only with fruit (a fruit juice) but I know there was beets in that one because you never forget a taste like that of beets!

Thanksgiving and Paracas

Last Wednesday night the six Peru YAVs met at Debbie´s house to begin our November retreat during which we would celebrate Thanksgiving together . We started off the long weekend the right way by going out to eat at a Chili´s restaurant here in Lima. It was a much needed meal for all of us, especially Sean, and after some delicious Fajitas, guacamole, chips, black beans, cooked onions, and NO rice, (it´s really hard to find Mexican food here) I think it´s safe to say we were all feeling pretty satisfied. During the retreat we stayed at the home of the Barreda family where Lynn lived during the first two weeks of orientation here in Lima. Thursday, Thanksgiving day, the six of us returned to Debbie´s to begin cooking our dishes. The three male YAVs (Alex, Sean, and I) decided we would try to combine our powers in the hopes of successfully creating one simple favorite, greenbean cassarole. We soon learned that the local grocercy store did not sell green beans in a can, cream of mushroom soup in a can, or french fried onions in a can. Needless to say we were going to have to use a bit of creativity and extra skill in order to pull it off. And believe it or not, we did! We purchased fresh green beans at the local market, along with some potatos for a garlic mashed potato dish. Alex found a package of powder mushroom soup that we mixed with some milk to make a cream of mushroom substitute. Sean "french cut" the green beans we used for the cassarole, giving the impression that we were more than inexperienced chefs. I deep fried some onions and after an hour or so everything was beginning to look pretty good. Harry Horne, Debbie´s husband, was having the time of his life watching the three of us huddled around the stove trying to figure things out and meanwhile watching onions fry. We all had some good laughs but were soon becoming more and more convinced that this dish was not going to be a total failure. We missed one step that one may or may not consider crucial for a green bean cassarole, that is, we forgot to cook the beans before mixing everything together and baking the thing. So our cassarole was a bit crunchy. I personally liked the crunchiness (maybe only because I felt like I had invested my time and energy into it). The rest of the meal was delicious as well. Leslie prepared an incredible spinach cassarole using ingredients brought from the United States, Lynn found a way to make a variation of pumkin pie using the calabaza (which is a pumkin like vegetable here). So it was like having a squash pie, and it was delicious! Of course there was stuffing, Turkey, mashed potatos, sweet potato cassarole, and other delicious foods as well (I wonder how many times I will use the word delicious in this entry). One of the highlights of the weekend was the food really. I don´t think I ate anything really Peruvian (except for breakfast and some ceviche in Paracas). Speaking of Paracas, that was a whole element of our retreat that was incredible. We took a four hour bus ride south of Lima to Paracas Friday morning and that day went on a boat tour of the islands off the coast of Paracas. The islands are host to sea lions, penguins, whales (I think), turtles, and various different kinds of birds. Check out the photos I posted of this tour since they can do a better job of describing the beauty of the place than I can with words. We also visted a reserve containing beaches of red sand, the location where the Catedral once stood (now gone due to an earthquake that ocurred a little more than a year ago), and heaps of seashells and fossils that clued us in to the fact that part of the area was once under water. If you ever make it to Peru, you should definitely try to visit Paracas.

After rereading this post I realize that food was a priority this weekend.

Trujillo

Greetings,
It has been awhile since my last post and there is much to say so I will begin right away. This weekend APEC (Asian Pacific Economic something or another) was hosted in Lima which prompted the government to declare three days of holdiay for the Limeños (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday). My host brother Nelson and I took advantage of this time to visit some relatives of his that live in the city of Trujillo about eight hours to the north of Lima by bus. We left Wednesday at noon and returned Sunday morning. Trujillo is an incredible place with some of the friendliest people I have ever met (even the taxi drivers were unusually cheery and helpful). We stayed with Nelson´s tía Coqui, tío Pedro and cousin Liz who were all exceptional hosts. They introduced us to Trujillo, taking us to the center square, various restaurants where we ate some delicious Chifa (Peruvian style Chinese food), Turkey sandwichs, and other various plates. At the limits of the city are two ruins that date back to pre-incan times. One is known as Chan-Chan and the other is called La Waca (Huaca) de la Luna y del Sol (there is a temple dedicated to the moon and one to the sun, however the sun temple is currently off limits to tourists). On Thursday we set out (Nelson, I, another cousin Diana, her boyfriend Tito, and a friend Rosanna) to see the ruins at Chan-Chan. The tour occurred in four parts because the ruins are located in different areas far from each other. I will try to post pictures of the weekend soon. The temples were void of color but did contain an array of designs and patterns featuring ocean waves, birds representing man and woman, dragon-like creatures, and more. La Waca differed in that color (yellow, red and black) was used in the designs. Also, the temple of La Waca itself was designed more like the Mayan pyramids with levels upon levels where as the Chan-Chan ruins were built in differing locations but never one upon the other. Our tour guide was a student of Tía Coqui´s and he was really knowledgeable and friendly.
In addition to exploring the ruins and the city of Trujillo, we also spent a day visiting the small town of Samne located in the mountains where Nelson´s Grandfather lived while he was growing up. We ate a lunch there of duck and yucca root with, of course, plenty of rice. While in the mountains we also explored the town of Ortusco and attended a church service there. We also stopped by a small bakery and ate some of the most delicious sweets I have ever tasted. Nelson and I bought a ton of these little postres to carry back with us to Lima where no one makes them. We encountered a llama in the town square as well.
That evening (Saturday, our final evening) the group of us took a short taxi ride to Huanchaco (the ocean side town ten minutes from Trujillo). We made it just in time for sunset. The entire trip was enough to make me want to move there, or at least to retire to Trujillo. That night Nelson, Coqui, Liz and I were invited to a dinner (a birthday celebration of the sister of a friend of the family, Isabel). We ate some excellent tasting chicken with onions and avacado (and a salad made of beets which I personally hate). Right now I am homesick for Trujillo. I´m just sitting here thinking of ways to go back. That is the impression Trujillo (and the people I got to know there) left on me.

Halloween, El Día de Los Muertos, Earthquakes, etc.

Greetings,

Yesterday marks two months that I have been in Lima and today marks the final day of campaigning for Barack Obama and John McCain! That means, for most of the readers of this blog, that you won’t have to suffer through any more campaign TV ads! Personally, I miss seeing those ads and feeling the intensity from the campaigns as we near the close tomorrow. Being so far removed from the States means that I have to be proactive and search out news about the candidates, the polls, their slogans, ads, strategies, etc. Anyway, I am very excited to see how things turn out tomorrow!

Friday was Halloween and I missed it. However, I got to see the way that the Limeñas do Halloween. The kids dress up in costumes just like in the U.S. only instead of going door to door the parents take their kids to the malls where the stores give out candy. It’s really a win-win because it is safer and the stores get a lot people coming to shop there while their kids take candy (plus it creates a party atmosphere at the mall which was fun).

This weekend Perú celebrated El Día de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). The actual day was Saturday, and is marked by people going out of their homes to visit their dead loved ones in the cemetery. Because the holiday fell on Saturday, it provided us with a true (American style) two day weekend (in Perú the only day of rest is Sunday). So the family and I travelled to Chosica to celebrate this event with Eliza´s extended family. We left early Saturday morning to arrive in time for breakfast in Chosica (they prepared tamales that were so good that I now like tamales). In the afternoon Nelson, Tía Adela, my Abuelita (Grandmother) and I went to the cemetery to visit the grave site of my Abuelita´s brother. I noticed by the dates that he had died when he was only seven years old. The cemetery was unlike any cemetery I’ve ever visited. The tombs were vertical and made of cement. They appeared like walls marked with uniform indentations where the names of the dead are written and where flowers are left each year on this day. We too purchased flowers to place on the ledge of the tomb where Gregorio lies.

We returned to the house to eat lunch (cabrito, baby goat, again) and about half way through the meal the house started to shake a little bit. I thought it must have been a large truck passing by on the street in front of the house. Nelsito, my host brother, knew better and was the first one up from the table ready to take action (though I´m still not sure exactly what are the procedures for earthquake safety. I understand that door frames are safer places). The earthquake (more of a strong tremor really) was pretty much over before it began. It lasted only a few seconds but was string enough to rattle the chandelier above the table which was what clued me into this event being more than just a large truck passing by. Everyone began talking about earthquakes after this. They were asking me if it was the first I had ever experienced (it was) and whether or not I was afraid (not really). One of my many Tías called someone back in Lima to ask if they had felt it. They said that in Lima it was felt much stronger but that it still was not quite strong enough to cause people to leave the house. We turned on the news which confirmed that the epicenter had been in Lima. The earthquake might have been the best part of the whole weekend really (and it was a super fun weekend)! The reason is because, according to Peruvians, an earthquake like that signals the end of one season and the start of another (in our case, the end of winter/spring and the beginning of summer). I have to admit that at first I thought that was completely unscientific and therefore not at all a valid statement. However, the very next day in Chosica (we spent the night there Saturday and then headed back to Lima Sunday afternoon) the weather changed. About one in the afternoon a little bit of fog rolled in to the city and it became cold (the kind of cold that has been Lima these past two months). Then, to my great pleasure, I woke up this morning around six with the brightest sunshine coming through my windows. I wanted to sleep more and it was difficult with this morning light that had been foreign to me for quite awhile. So, thank God for that earthquake because according to my family (who I now believe on these sorts of issues) the days will be like this or even stronger from now until May or early June! I love the sun.

A few other highlights of my weekend include: getting to play tennis with my brother, sister and Aunt, Swimming with my brother, cousin, and his parents ( one set of my aunt and uncle), entering our dog (Legolas) into a dog contest on Sunday afternoon and getting to see (and pet) a wide variety of cute dogs, and just having some really funny and interesting conversations with members of the family who treat me really well.

I´m going to post more pictures of some of these events described. Until my next entry take care!

Huánuco

Friday night I left my home in San Martín and travelled to the home of my site coordinator Debbie Horne and her husband Harry. There I met with Alex, my fellow YAV who lives in Comas, and together the four of us had dinner before taking a bus to Huánuco for a weekend retreat. The bus (actually referred to a bus cama, which means the chairs recline almost into a bed) made the eight hour journey by night and I was fortunately able to sleep most of the way their. In the morning we arrived and were greeted by Lynn and her host father at the bus station. The other YAVs were already there and it was so great to be together again. We left the bus station and headed for La Granja (literally the farm) where Lynn works once every month with victims of sexual abuse. The change of scenery was incredible. There were mountains surrounding us on all sides and a hot sun shining down. There was also a lot of vegetation and farm country that created a very peaceful atmosphere. La Granja itself was wonderful. There were dairy cows, chickens, guinea pigs (they raise those to eat here), rabbits, a large garden, and green pastures. The highlight of the weekend may have been the dairy. We ate fresh cheese and yogurt and we drank fresh milk every morning for breakfast. It was the first time I had drank milk in about seven weeks! Needless to say I was in love with La Granja! During the retreat the six of us Peru YAVs along with Debbie and Harry, all spent time together sharing our thoughts and feelings about the time we´ve already spent here. I think talking about our issues was theraputic and helped us to understand one another really well. Unfortunately it also caused me to feel a bit homesick while we were there. I realized that time passes more quickly for me while I am in Lima.

During one day of our retreat we spent the afternoon with three girls and their babies who are living at La Granja. We took a walk to a small body of water that surrounded a little island and there under some trees we sang songs together and took turns holding/photographing the babies. I think the girls really loved this because they don´t have photos (or not many) of their babies. I was surprised by how open and willing they were to let us hold and play with their kids but it was great to see them enjoying themselves and getting to show us around the place. In the evening we showed them how to play spoons which was really fun because they were very competetive and got really into it.

On Monday we headed to Tingo Maria, a town located on the edge of the Selva (jungle). There we spent the day hiking up a large series of waterfalls, some of which we climbed straight up with rope and a harness as water cascaded down over us. It felt so good to swim right under the falls, especially since I hadn´t showered in days.

El Bosque Seco

Yesterday Nelson and I travelled to Lomas early in the morning to meet the JESHENI kids. We had made plans last week to travel to the Bosque Seco (dry forest) on Monday morning as a field trip. I had seen a few photos of the bosque before we visited, but I was still in awe when we actually arrived there. Upon ascending into the forst, we were sort of swept up by a layer of clouds/fog that felt really clean compared with the constant smell of disel fumes in the inner city. I listened to the youth talk to one another as we climbed and they were sure to show me the most dangerous spots (aka slippery spots, Nelson fell three times) and together we made it to a place where we stopped for a snack of bread and soda. The climbing was more difficult than I had expected, and I was surprised that it took us less time to come down even though it felt more treacherous. I was also surprised by the diversity of plant and animal life that existed in the Bosque Seco. The most common plant there was a very green, broad leafed species that released a lot of water if stepped on (which we were careful not to do as it makes things more difficult when climbing). There were cactus growing there and some different colored flowers as well. We never did make it to the top of whatever mountain or hill we were climbing. Some of the girls were disappointed that we didn´t go further, but we had been hiking for an hour or more. Before we left Lomas to go to the Bosque (which is only about 20 minutes away) Nelson has us all circle up so that he could share some good news with us. He had attended a meeting last week with the Uniendo Manos people in Lima and there he learned of an opportunity that is being presented to JESHENI to restore the Bosque and create a means of tourism to the area. By doing this we might also be able to claim the area as a nature reserve which could prevent the area from being vulnerable to destruction or misuse by companies wishing to use the area as a trash dump (landfill). Check out the new photos I posted of the Bosque Seco!

At the end of this week the YAVs have our first retreat together. We are going to Huánuco for some rest and relaxation over the weekend. I will be sure to take my camera.

Last Week

On Sunday I travelled to Chosica with the family once again, this time for the birthday of my host grandmother. Chosica seemed to have become more beautiful between visits which Nelsito (host brother) assurred me was because there was more sunlight this time. More of the extended family showed up for this birthday celebration and a singer had been hired to perform as well. There was a huge variety of food served (including ceviche, cau cau, arroz con pollo, frijoles, cabrito, yucca, camote, a lot of food anyway). There was also a lot of dancing that followed the eating and I´m pretty sure I have never felt so out of place. Nelsito and I decided to take a walk around the town (see the pics to get an idea of what it was like). We visited a fountain with a Christ statue on top of it at one end of the main square. I learned that the Rimac river also runs nearby and we visited that as well (this time we were accompanied by Alfredo, my host cousin, as well). After dark we went out to walk around some more which was very interesting. There were fountains and lights and people just strolling around enjoying the evening. The place next to the river had turned into a lover´s lane (in fact, many places in the square had become this way in the evening). Alfredo and Nelsito explained to me the river´s contamination from mining operations up in the mountains.

Tuesday I travelled to Lomas with my host father, Nelson, to once again teach my English class. On the bus ride up to Lomas a mom and her children boarded, and before long, her son was puking into a plastic bag that she held up for him. I felt really bad for him because as miserable as it can be to ride the bus, doing it while you´re sick would just be awful. The English class went well but I am going to buy a book here to help me (one of the other YAV´s found a good one in Miraflores).

Wednesday I rested for the the first half of the day and was very excited to receive my absentee ballot to vote in the general election! I was also excited just to have received some mail (now I know that the system works)! I got to work on the ballot and spent the rest of the afternoon reading all about the economic disaster going on in the US and around the world. At around 4:00 PM I took the bus with Nelsito to his University here in Lima. I was blown away by the size and beauty of the campus! From the outside it is difficult to tell how large it is. It is a private school and is ranked one of the best (if not the number one) schools in Peru. We passed by a café where I saw some Gringas speaking English (Nelsito and I have this thing going where whenever I see someone who I think looks white enough to be a Gringo/Gringa, I point him or her out and ask his opinion. He almost always responds with a "No! There are people that are from here that are whiter than you!" But this time I got him because they were speaking very American English). I met some of Nelsito´s friends who we met up with so that they could work on a group project together. I tried to keep up but they were speaking pretty fast. At 6 I went with Nelsito to his Labor Law class and sat in with him until it got out at 7:30. It was easier to follow the professor who spoke more slowly and often repeated the ideas he was teaching. He talked about a recent strike that has been going on here with the medical professionals. After class we walked from the University to Plaza San Miguel where we met Tanya (host sister) and Eric (her enomorado). We went to this sandwich place called Pasquale that was deliscious.

Thursday morning Nelson and I stopped by the Red on out way into the office. My site coordinator, Debbie, reminded me that the VP debate would be happening that night which was unfortunate because I would be in Lomas. She said she would tape it for me and I ended up watching some clips the next morning on Youtube as well. I am going to work on a letter this week, that I will send to someone at Westminster, so that those who are unable to follow my blog will have a way of knowing how I am doing here in Peru!

Crash

Riding home from Lomas late last night (10:30 or so) I witnessed a car accident. Nelson and I were in a combis (remember those are the little vans that take people around the city) and as it was approaching a stop (where several other combis´ and buses fight for curb side position to grab more passengers), I heard a very loud sound of tires screeching on pavement. Next, there was a bright light that shone through the side windows into the combis followed immediately by the passing of a dark object (car), very close to the van. I tried to keep my eyes on the car as it flew past, however, so was everyone else and my view was sporatically blocked. It appeared as though the car first swerved left into the median (we were on a highway/freeway) and then spun out of control as it moved back across all four lanes, hitting another car in the process. At this point I became a little bit panicked because I realized the duration of the events unfolding and just wanted to know what was happening. There were more loud crashes and finally we were again hit by the bright lights of the car. This time they were at a distance and were skewed, revealing that the car had flipped and was now on its hood and facing us many feet away. Nelson pointed out to me that the other car that had been hit had slid or spun to the right side of the road but was facing forward and still on its wheels. The car that had caused the accident was not so fortunate. As we slowly approached the vehicle I began to see that the car had indeed flipped and was now lying tilted somewhat forward (hood end) and towards the driver´s side. I also noticed that I was unable to see into any of the car windows. I didn´t think that they were tinted because they had a very strange metallic dust appearance to them and I was very confused by that. They also were not broken. Though the street was lit it was still very dark out at this time of the night and I thought I saw (and Nelson confirmed) a woman peering into an open back door of the upsiedown vehicle. I don´t know if she had just come from out of the car through that door, or was merely a witness of the wreck trying to help out (or possibly from the other car that was hit). At this point our combis was humming with nervous murmurs and from the back came shouts of "Avanza" (advance, or let´s go/get out of here). We rolled forward, still quite slowly, and eventually regained speed (though we never did move quite as fast as we had been before the wreck). Not five minutes later there was a fire truck roaring at full speed in the opposite direction. Two additional remarks about what happened that night:
First of all, about ten or fifteen minutes before the accident I had just finished saying a small, silent prayer about how grateful I was for being safe thus far in my travels.
Second, the way that I remember the events that unfolded with the accident is like watching a movie. I used to think that people sounded stupid or overly dramatic when they would say things like this but now I really understand what they mean. Remembering what happended is like watching one of those movies that is filmed with a hand held camera, where all of the action feels more chaotic and the lense zooms in and out of focus and the picture bounces all around. Every loud crash is more intense and seems to rattle your vision a little bit too.

On a lighter note, I was asked to teach English classes again last night even though Thursdays are supposed to be for the discussion of current events. The class was much smaller, about ten or so, because apparently the teacher of one of the schools had given a bunch of the other kids detention or something equivalent to that (that´s how I understood it anyway). This class was much more successful than the first, partly because it was my second time, the class size was smaller, and I could tell that everyone in the room wanted to learn (even my host dad Nelson)! It was a great experience and I am very excited to be going back tomorrow morning to play some basketball/volleyball/soccer with the JESHENI kids. I´ll try to get some pictures for the blog while I´m there too.

Weekend

Nelson and I didn´t go to Lomas on Saturday morning after all. The Jesheni kids were busy with other activities (work) and couldn´t be there. Eliza (my host mom) and Nelson (host dad) still went to work while I stayed at home and caught up on some sleep. Later in the afternoon Tanya (my host sister) arrived at the house and asked me if I wanted to go with her to pick up Eric (her amor). We met him at a mall in San Miguel and decided to go shop for a birthday gift for Nelson. We found a pretty nice sweater to buy for him and then we got a call that Nelson jr. was coming to meet us at the mall. We looked around some more, got some ice cream, and then left to pick up Eliza and Nelson from work. Once all six of us were packed into the car (plus all of the things we bought) we went out to a restaurant to celebrate Nelson´s birthday. Yesterday I went with Tanya and my host mom and dad to Port Callao here in Lima. It was a beautiful day because the sun came out and burned off almost all of the marine layer. The homes near the port were very beautiful and old looking. As we walked, Nelson told me stories about pirates that used to sack the port over and over again until one day an unnamed pastor took it upon himself to shoot and kill the leader of the pirates. The way this story was described made it sound like the pastor took aim at the pirate leader from the shore and essentially sniped him as he stood on his ship waiting in the port. It is known as the miracle of Santa Rosa because Santa Rosa went inside of a church close to the port to pray while most of the other townspeople fled to the mountains. The story says that she prayed that a miracle would occur and the pirates would leave once and for all. I guess it worked. Today I worked on some more articles for the Uniendo Manos folks and now I´m spending the rest of the day preparing for my first English class tomorrow in Lomas. I have never taught English before so I am a little nervous about it but I also think that it will be a lot of fun.

Correction

With regards to what I ate on Wednesday afternoon, the chanfanita dish is actually made with the lungs of the cow, not the stomach as I previously stated. There is another dish here called Cau Cau, which I ate last week, that is made with the cow´s stomach (and the dish really is pronounced cow cow). Of course at the time I was unaware of what I was eating and I did enjoy the cau cau (I don´t know if I will still like it if we eat it again though). So that´s it for the corrections with the Peruvian cuisine. For the most part, the food here is really good. There are a variety of different fruits and vegetables that I have never before seen or tasted and so it is a lot of fun getting to know some new flavors.

Yesterday Nelson and I left the office around 3:30 to go to Lomas. Two hours later we arrived and it was still light out. That was the first time I have seen Lomas during the day and as poor as it seemed on the first night I was there, yesterday I was able to see with more clarity the extreme poverty that exists there. We began by going to on of the schools that several of the Jesheni kids attend. There are two schools in Lomas and our objective yesterday was to speak with the teachers of one of these schools (I assume that we´ll probably do the same at the other school too). Our discussion was supposed to be about how we could support the teachers by talking with the Jesheni kids about what they learn, and the importance of being good students etc. Some of the kids in the group are a little rebellious which is affecting their ability to graduate on time and succeed in their studies (but there is a lot of hope for these kids because even though some are rebellious, they are the kind of youth that have an interest in getting better). Anyway, once we were inside the school grounds I was basically useless to our discussions. I stuck out a lot there and so a number of kids rushed over to me to start practicing the English that they are learning. I imagine that seeing a gringo is pretty rare and I was happy to be there so that they could practice. As far as the discussions with the professors went, I didn´t get the impression that there was a lot of success. They looked pretty busy with the students and everything was kind of chaotic anyway. We left the school and walked through the neighborhood which is sort of built along the side of a hill/mountain. Nelson told me that about eight years ago a group from Germany came to Lomas with a project to provide the town with running water. We climbed to the top of a hill where there was a great water tank and Nelson described to me that the Europeans had installed this tank as well as a system of pipes throughout the town. I noticed that each dwelling had a green cement structure outside with a little spiget on it (I am going to take pictures of all of this tomorrow morning when we return and then I will post them for you to see). Most of these spigets, and some of the cement structures, were broken. The idea was that the people of the town could tap this supply of running water whenever they wanted and only pay for whatever amount they used. I´m not sure how the tank would be replenished (it almost never rains here) but I assumed that the Europeans would refill the tank using the funds that people paid to have the water. Well that was eight years ago and now the project has been abandoned. There are broken PVC pipes laying on the ground (in some places you can see where the water lines ran). Next we visited the park where we will be planting trees and cleaning up the trash littered throughout the area. Nelson told me that six months ago the Jesheni kids had cleaned up this park and planted several trees and small plants. Several of these trees had died and there were some others that are on their way. These trees and plants are of course native to the area and require little water but still they are dying because they have no water at all (no one is watering them, even slightly). Others decide to uproot the plants just for the sake of destroying something. These were frustrating things to see because they demonstrated the failures of community projects. Oh and now the community receives water from a truck that drives around delivering it to big plastic barrels that sit outside of each home. I received one final descouraging sight. As Nelson and I climbed higher into the neighborhood, we came along the edge of a small rock valley that sloped the other way down away from the village. Piles and piles of trash littered the area below as well as some loosely held together wooden pigpens. The pigs were being fed this toxic garbage and there were kids down in the trash heaps working to sort through plastics, metals, cardboard, etc. Nelson told me that they work from eight in the morning until as late as ten at night only to make 4 soles. The garbage is sifted through and separated by the kids who often suffer from asthma and other respiratory illness due to the toxic chemicals and plastics. The people also eat the pork from the contaminated pigs living down there which adds to their maladies. After seeing all of this we returned to the small room where Jesheni meets to have a charla (discussion). We talked about current events (there was a strike, I think, of doctors or medical professionals) and at around 9 in the evening we left Lomas and returned home at about 10:30. Today I am resting. It´s my host dad´s birthday.

Lomas de Carabayllo

Last night I made my first trip into Lomas de Carabayllo (which I will from here on refer to as Lomas) with my host father to see the youth group there that I will be working with this year. We left the office here in Lima at about 5:30 in the evening and arrived in Lomas around 7:00. Once in Lomas we bought some fruit at a local open air market and then got inside of a micro that took us up a dark, winding hill which was the neighborhood. The place was simultaneously peaceful and eerie. There was very little light since there were no street lights; in fact there weren´t really even streets, just dirt roads. The air here felt cleaner and for the first time since I´ve been in Lima there was total silence. We approached a small building on the side of the road where a door was open and two boys were standing around talking. Nelson (my host dad) told me that this was the place and so I was introduced to Jefferson and someone else whose name I´ve already forgotten. The first room of the building is small and bare. The floor is cement and there is one light in the center of the ceiling. The walls are a blueish gray color. Behind this front room is another which likely used to be a kitchen. There are counter tops with a stereo sitting on one, and the same color of walls and same single light bulb in the ceiling. Outside of this kitchen room is what could be called a backyard area of sorts. It is enclosed by short walls and there is not much there except for earth and some rocks. The backyard is divided into two areas, one of which is enclosed with a ceiling so it is more like an outside room since the floor is still of earth. I think that I will be using this room at times to teach math and English to the kids on Tuesdays. On Thursdays we will be working upstairs (the staris are located outside of the building and I have not yet been up there). The name of the youth group is Jesheni (which stands for Juntos Estarémos por Siempre Hasta Encontrar Nuestros Ideales = Together we will be forever until we reach our ideas) and they operate a radio station that broadcasts on topics like environmental and human rights issues. Saturday mornings are fun days when the youth and I will play futbol and have other activities to do. There is a bosque seco (literally dry forest) nearby where we will be planting trees and trying to make the area more park like and beautiful for the community. I am excited about the time that I will spend in Lomas and the improvements that can be made. The youth are all really interested in improving their futures and that is what makes me the most sad about their current standards of living. We left Lomas at 9:30 and took three different buses to get back home. They were all packed tight but the last was packed so tightly that at one point my host father was halfway hanging out of the door.

Today I stayed home and finished a translation for The Joining Hands Network Peru here in Lima which is closely connected to El Dia del Pueblo. The translated article will go on their web page. Nelson went into the office late in the morning but said that I could work from home and rest all day. It has been nice because my host brother (also Nelson) and I have had time to hang out now since he did not have classes today. One thing I could have done without today is what we had for lunch. It was cow stomach with potatos and rice. I finally had to stop eating it and say that I couldn´t continue because it was so nauseating. My host brother was happy about this I think because he hates it too and now maybe we can use that as an excuse never to have it again while I´m here (majority usually rules in this family so now with Tanya we out number the parents, plus I´m the guest). Haha! By the way the dish was called Chanfanita and if you ever go to Peru, I wouldn´t recommend it.

Chosica

I´ll begin this post by giving you the short version of everything that happened over the past week and a half (orientation here in Lima). Well, first we went to some ruins called Pachacamác which were pretty interesting. They were built sometime between 1100 and 1500 AD I think. That was our first trip that took us outside of the districts where I am living and working in Lima and it was nice to get to see more of the city (and the ocean too). The next morning we were introduced to the folks at Paz y Esperanza (Peace and Hope) NGO through a game of futbol. It was pretty intense (two of the three male YAVs were injured on this day) and the games were faster since they were played on cement courts (smaller than regular fields). Sunday morning the YAVs plus our site coordinator Debbie and her husband attended church at the Iglesia IEP (its a type of church that seems pretty similar to Presbyterian). Monday through Thursday we had Peruvian culture and history classes in the mornings and in the afternoons we listened to testimonies from some of the leaders of the various organizations we are working with here in Peru. One afternoon we visited a couple of different groups of women artisans in Chorrillos outsied of Lima. There they were crafting many of the items sold through the Fair Trade organization. Friday was our last day of school here in Lima so we took a field trip to the Museo Nacional to visit their exhibit on the twenty years of internal violence that took place between 1980 and 2000 here in Peru. It was horrifying to see some of the events that unfolded as a result of both the actions of the government as well as those of the two main terrorist groups opperating in Peru at the time (Shining Path and Tupac Amaru). Saturday was our last day together before the six of us split up and began our work. We met at Debbie and Harry´s apartment for lunch and some conversation, then later the five of us YAVs (Alex had a wedding in his host family to attend) plus Debbie travelled to Comas (a northern district of Lima) where we participated in an event somewhat similar to Westminster´s version of a WW (Westminster Wednesday). There were songs and games and snacks and we got to know some of the youth of this church where Alex will be working as a youth pastor. Sunday, yesterday, Lynn and Sean left for the provinces (Huanuco and Huancayo respectively). I went with my family to a town called Chosica where my host mother´s parents live and where she is originally from. It was her birthday and she has eight brothers and sisters so of course there was a lot of family there. Chosica is a nice place, it was the first time I saw the sun for more than an hour or two straight (Chosica is east of Lima about an hour or so). We ate goat and boiled yucca root and then watched the futbol game in the afternoon. It was a game between two college teams that are big rivals here (similar to watching an Iowa v Iowa State game at home) and of course different memebers of the family supported differnt teams and were trying to get me to side with their team. There was also an open air market in Chosica where my host father took me to try several new fruits and vegetables that I have never before eaten. Today I had my first day of work and El Dia Del Pueblo. I translated a news story about an earthquake so that it can be posted to the web and read in English.

Roosters

The six of us YAVs arrived in Lima late Tuesday night the 2nd of September. We were warmly welcomed by our host families and site coordinator Debbie Horn. We fit ourselves into my family´s Nissan pickup truck and on the ride to my new house I got to know my new family: my father Nelson, mother Eliza, sister Tanya, and brother Nelson jr. I talked some awhile longer with the family and tried some Peruvian candy when we arrived at the house. They told me that Peruvians are known for loving sweets. It was getting late (around 1:30 am) so I went to bed. The next morning I was awoke early to an unexpected sound. There was barely a trace of light coming through the window when I heard several roosters crowing! I have since gotten used to them and am able to sleep through their noise.