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.