2007 September « Festina Lente

Half Birthday

September 10, 2007 at 8:02 pm | In Peru, party, pictures, religion, tourism, travel | 2 Comments

There are two things I remember doing when I was little that seem really silly now (okay there are a lot of things, but I’m going to mention two): one is the way I used to say my age to the quarter of a year; I’m four and three quarters, or five and a quarter. Why do little kids do that? I guess it is because every month counts when you’ve only put a handful behind you. The other is I remember talking with friends about half-birthdays, and mine rolls around in December. I don’t know when these lost their significance, but they definitely were important for a couple of years there.

Do I have a point? Yes (not really). This weekend Tucume celebrated what would be equivalent to its half-birthday. Carlos the fifth from Spain sent a representation of the Virgin Mary to Tucume as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to the indigenous tribes for raping the people of their land and livelihoods. In any case, the Virgin arrived in February, so every year there is a HUGE celebration here in February, basically for the entire month, with lots of games and dancing and drinking and dancing and drinking. NOTE: If you are thinking of coming to visit, and want to visit Lambayeque and my site (as opposed to the typical trip to Machu Picchu), February would be a really cool time to be here. Anyways, we recently celebrated the half year anniversary with, you guessed it, drinking and dancing. What was lacking this time were the hordes of people that apparently show up for the big fiesta in February. I put up some pictures of the daytime and nighttime processions for you to check out.

Something I hope to keep with me always is the Peruvian ability, no matter the time of year, to find a reason to fiesta. When I first heard that there was a week long (as opposed to month-long) party to celebrate the *half* year of a particular event, it brought me back to those kindergarten conversations about half-birthdays and I chuckled at the thought. I’m digging it though, and I can’t wait for the next fiesta. My salsa improves with every baile.

Mail update (for the few who care)

September 9, 2007 at 7:35 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

So I can receive mail to the address I posted under ‘temporary address’. In a week or two I’m probably going to change mailboxes, because *all* the Lambayeque volunteers use the one I referred to and I think the Peru 9 group is going to get our own mailbox, but if you send something to box #208, I’ll still be able to access it after I change boxes.

So for now if you want to send something (no anthrax pls), go ahead and use the ‘temporary address’ I posted a few weeks ago, and I’ll let you know when I get the new mailbox.

GO SKINS!!!

September 8, 2007 at 6:59 pm | In futbol | 2 Comments

Baruch atah adonai, please let me find a place in Chiclayo to watch my team. Amen.

Would you like some cheese with that…

September 8, 2007 at 6:50 pm | In dogs, espanol, sick | Leave a Comment

It is not my style to use my weblog as a medium through which I can complain or get things off my chest. BUT, I have gotten several comments about wanting to know all the depressing, sad, or otherwise unhappy details of my life here in Peru. So, here goes (don’t judge me):

The noise for one: sometimes, I just want to have peace and quiet, but ever since electricity arrived (I’m guessing), stereos have been blasting Salsa, Nectar, or Grupo Cinco all day every day loud enough to make your ears bleed. If it is not the stereos, it is the dogs barking, or the chickens caw-cawing, or the horns blasting. Most intersections lack stoplights, so cars and trucks just honk before they get to every intersection – or pretty much non-stop. I still haven’t seen two cars arrive at the same time, but I guess whoever has the louder horn wins (?). Anyways, if you are thinking of joining the Peace Corps in Latin America, might I suggest an industrial sized box of earplugs – it is my most valuable possession here in Peru. I am 100% serious.

The language for two: I don’t think I ever posted the results of my final language exam. I was bumped up two levels again to advanced medium which is one spot below fluent (advanced high, then superior, or fluent). Hooray! I was really surprised and excited. So my Spanish is the bomb at present, but still, sometimes it is so wearing to speak in another language all of the time. Moving to Lambayeque meant (means) getting used to a whole new accent and new slang. Sometimes I get so excited about the stuff I’m talking about and I JUST WANT TO TALK IN ENGLISH, but no one understands it. Another bummer is sometimes I really feel like I hit these plateaus with my language level and it is frustrating to not be able to express myself exactly the way I want to. An additional gripe is the accent; now that my grammar and sentence structure is better, I’ve been trying to perfect my pronunciation with little success. In particular, words with ‘rd’ in them such as guardaropas or tarde are difficult for me to say. My little 8 year old brother always asks me to say those words, so I’ll say them and then he will point and laugh at me. This wouldn’t be so bad if the rest of the family did not also start laughing.

The efficiency (or lack thereof): things get done a lot slower here, and while in most circumstances I really am embracing this new pace of life, in others it can be frustrating. Case in point; I lost my bank card my first day in site (super smart, Danielle) and right away called the Peace Corps office to get events set into motion so I could get a new one. This was almost two weeks ago now, and I was told it would take up to a week to get a new one. I’ve called several different people and keep getting the same response: we’ll let you know when you can go pick it up. Grrr.

Lastly, and most important, the getting sick. I haven’t talked about this a lot in my blog, but since my site visit I have been having on and off stomach problems for almost a month now. It is not bad or serious, mostly just annoying. I’ll be fine for three or four or even five days, and then have between an hour up to an entire day of really bad stomach cramps accompanied by the big ‘D’ and the big ‘V’ (that is diarrhea and vomiting). Again it is not debilitating, mostly just bothersome, but I’m almost getting used to it. AND, it is definitely tapering off (I HOPE I PRAY!). I’m pretty sure what is going on here is there is something in the water that wasn’t in Lima, and I’m just getting accustomed to it. Such is life, but some days it can definitely be a downer, especially when I have to put on a happy face when meeting new people.

So, the worst it can get: I’m feeling really sick, and there are stereos blasting all around, and dogs-a-barking, and horns honking, and I have to explain to my Mom or whoever in espanol why I keep running to the bathroom (I guess it is a little worse if there doesn’t happen to be toilet paper).

Okay, now back to the peppy, fun-loving, dreadlock-growing* Peace Corps volunteer you all know and love!

*just kidding!!!

Growin’ Up

September 3, 2007 at 9:31 pm | In Peru, US of A, deep (shallow) thoughts, family, friends, kids | Leave a Comment

Most of the Peruvians I’ve become friends with here have been under the age of 21. Emotionally, mentally, and otherwise I felt like a young adult back in the states, but here I’m still trying to figure out if that ‘age’ exists in a persons life. I’m referring to the time when you finish school and get a job and if you can afford it, an apartment. You are on your own to feed yourself, pay bills, and you can do with your time and money exactly what you want, and can be as responsible or irresponsible as you want. A lot of young twenty-somethings here already have a kid (or kids!). Depending on the socioeconomic strata in which they are living, (pre)teenagers start having babies as young as the age of 12 or 13 (this happens mostly in the jungle). But even in the more developed areas, people at 18,19, or 20 are having kids and it is not rare to start younger. I talked about this in an earlier entry and about the lack of sex education, but what I’ve been mulling over lately is more that period of time between graduation and getting married, settling down, and popping out young ones. For me, the last three years have been some of my favorites; I had a great job that I loved, friends that I loved, and for the first time in my life a disposable income. I want to live in a dozen different countries if only to see what people between the ages of 20-30 are doing with their lives. From what I remember in Italy, people live with their parents until their mid-late twenties and continue to study or get jobs. The break between life with Mom and Dad and independence is much more nuanced than it is in the states (Sonia, back me up on this).

From what I’ve seen in Peru, people get knocked up at a young age, get hitched, and the new family either moves in with the girl’s parents or the boy’s parents. The proud new parents and their babe all bunk up together. Depending on the economic situation, they will continue to bunk up until the kid is up to ten or eleven years old. I’m definitely basing this on anecdotal evidence and only a half dozen cases or so at that. My immediate list of contacts has spread outward starting with family members, and back in Yanacoto that began with a 20 year old boy, and here in Tucume it begins with a 16 year old girl. So perhaps this little investigation of mine warrants more time and effort. Aside from family members, I have had the opportunity to spend time with some of the older and more established citizens of Tucume, but those people are nearing retirement and have grown kids of their own. I’ve yet to tap the middle-ground, and it would be nice to befriend some people my age or even a little older, to see what we might have in common or what parts of our lives greatly diverge.

It is interesting trying to figure out where I fit in, or where I will fit in socially here in Peru. I purposely use the word ‘interesting’ as opposed to something with more negative connotations because, at least for the moment, I’m perfectly content strolling around with my 16 year old sister and her friends at night, or chilling with my 8 year old bro watching the Simpsons (pronounced los seensons). The beginnings of my community analysis here have uncovered that work is valued over education here in Tucume, and (I quote) that people live for the moment, for today and tomorrow, and not the future. So maybe all the people my age are working, or at home taking care of their kids? Today I have my first meeting with the artisan association I’m going to be working with and it will be interesting to see what the age/gender dynamic of the group is. I do think a lot of these questions will be answered as I spend more and more time here and get to know more and more people. Nevertheless, my short stay here in Peru has really made me appreciate the freedom and independence I was able to enjoy back in the states after graduating from school…not in the sense that I’m not enjoying myself, but more in comparison to what might have been had I been born here. So, to all you yuppies out there, yup it up.

Skype

September 1, 2007 at 10:37 pm | In correspondence | 4 Comments

I just downloaded it. Let me know if you have it!

Get Your Desfile On

September 1, 2007 at 2:22 am | In family, friends, kids, party, pictures | Leave a Comment

I’ve been told over and over again that you have your good days and your bad days in Peru as a PCVolunteer. The last two have been great ones; woke up early to go for a run with my little brother who, incidentally, runs faster than me. Had some eats and made a really nice necklace with some beads I bought in Chiclayo; the tiny and mostly subdued artsy/creative side of me has really blossomed here. I had a lunch invitation with one of the professors/directors of the local high school which was really enjoyable. I was able to maintain a two hour long conversation about politics, religion, history, food, everything imaginable with an intelligent Peruvian. Hooray! I went on a short hike thereafter with one of the artisans named Cesar and one of his friends, Neil, to a great spot where you can see all of Tucume. Dinnered with the family and then headed over to one of the futbol fields where they put on something called a Serenata which is sort of a preamble to a day of fiesta. Kids from local schools as well as local dance groups performed various regional dances of Peru, from the jungle to the sierra and back. Today is the anniversary of the birth of Federico Villareal who is a famous Tucumenean and was born 157 years ago. There was a parade and kids from schools from all over Tucume and beyond came to march, or desfilar. I am not certain on this, but I think the Germans were here back in the 30s and while (LUCKILY) none of the anti-Semitism remains, I believe that is where the marching comes from. It was really cool to watch kids of all ages do their marches and there was even a competition for best marchers. I didn’t take any shots of the marching today but have plenty from the dancing last night and will try to post some videos so be sure to check out all the phat pictures on my picasa site as well as those from graduation.

One other interesting tidbit; there is a girl here named Jessica who is German and is working with the Parish. She arrived last month and is staying for a year. From what I’ve gathered, her Dad is friends with the priest here, and she is working with the church in community development. She also teaches German in the Parish school. We met briefly last night and talked today about developing some sort of curriculum to teach out in the much poorer casarios (small communities outside of Tucume) which would be really exciting. It is really odd to converse with someone in a second language when it is also their second language. She knows a little English, but we pretty much just speak in Spanish. As you can imagine, it is hard to manage another second language here; I have trouble remembering English sometimes and my Italian is abysmal at present. So for her, it is easier to speak in Spanish than English, even though she knows both. In any case, this was an unexpected but VERY welcome development. I’m really excited she is here and I can’t wait to work together. While we are from different organizations we have pretty similar goals for our time in Peru (she will stay for one year, I’ll stay for two).

Tonight we both were invited to a twenty-fifth reunion of the high school here by the professor I lunched with, named Oscar. It was really cool to attend a high school reunion in Peru! There were lots of speeches and lots of dancing, which makes it impossible to distinguish this fiesta from every other one I’ve attended. Nevertheless, people were really happy to see each-other and really emotional, and I feel lucky to have been a part of it. I spent a good fifteen minutes in front of my house tonight banging on the door trying to wake someone up to let me in, I do not feel lucky to have been a part of that but I think my host Mom was cool with it anyways.

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