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!