In this episode of Peru, eh?:

• Pictures (Chacrasana), Lima, Training places
• Definition of Dog Rocks
• 3 de Octubre Fiesta (including the famous/infamous Toro Loco)
• My family
• Other things I may remember
• Also I’m going on a shadowing trip so there will be a post (or something) about that

Dog Rock

/dôg/ /räk/ - noun­- 1: A rock found on the street, ranging in size from a pebble to a baseball that is used to scare away street dogs.  Typically only used as an intimidation factor when confronted by a dog, however it may be used to “fire a warning shot across their bow.”  When thrown the goal is to not hit the dog, rather it is to impose your dominance by throwing near the dog. 2: A type of rock & roll genre music that is enjoyed by canines.

3 de Octubre Festival

In the neighborhoods of Chaclacayo is a quaint, beautiful little town called 3 de Octubre (named for the day it was founded).  We are fortunate enough to have aspirantes living in 3 de Octubre and they invited us to their community for a party.  The party was to celebrate a virgin.  I am not sure what form she took, but apparently when an image of a woman is seen in a religious context that is enough cause for an annual celebration.

This was a fantastic way the day: live music, good people, dancing, cheap beer, and fireworks.  Lots and lots of fireworks lit off from everywhere imaginable.  Lit from rooftops by mothers.  Lit from the center of the dance floor (outdoor basketball court).  Lit from hoods of cars.  And most impressively, the toro loco.

In the estados unidos there is constant worrying about losing fingers, eyes, noses, ears, and pretty much every other body part that could be lost to fireworks.  In Peru this doesn’t seem to be the case, and it makes for one of the most spectacular sights imaginable: the toro loco.  Imagine a device about 4 feet long and 3 feet wide that is equal parts metal and flammable materials.  Now draw a bulls face on it.  Now cover it with fireworks.  Finally put this contraption on the shoulders of a man, light the fireworks, and have the man trot around the dance floor showering everything in a 15 foot radius with sparks.  Sounds cool, right?  That is the toro loco.  It is a spectacular spectacle that is quite possibly the greatest thing I have ever seen be socially acceptable, and I am sincerely hoping this catches on in the States.

My Family

My host family is pretty sweet.  In Peru it is common for many generations to live under one roof, and it is unfathomable why anyone would move out at the age of 18.  My house consists the following people:

Maximo (Father): Retired military, super chill dude, from the mountains

Cecilia (Mother): Ama de casa (cares for the house), incredible cook, from the jungle

Johanna (Sister): Works somewhere, loves dancing, super helpful for all the things I don’t know how to do.

Tonio (Brother): Works somewhere, plays soccer

Fiorella (Married to Tonio): Works somewhere, sometimes helps me with my homework

Melisa (I think she is married to Dante, the third child): Here on the weekends and sometimes during the 

week, laughs at me a lot, but in a good way

Kiara (Daughter of Tonio and Fiorella): 4 year old girl, turning 5 soon, goes to school, likes to be twrilled in the air

It is a super fun place to live, but it would be way better if I could speak more Spanish.  We have gotten pretty good at me guessing what they are saying, however it could be much better.  I don’t talk much (pretty much when spoken to or when I have something super important to say) and mostly listen.  Conversations at breakfast typically consist of me talking about which volunteers are sick, and which volunteers are healthy.  Conversations at dinner typically consist of lighting fast Spanish from the native speakers and a gringo looking thoroughly bewildered.

Still a fun time.

Shadowing Trip

Part of training consists of a shadowing trip of another volunteer’s sight.  I shadowed Jacob in Sausal, La Libertad with Mark and Deborah, two other aspirantes in my program.  Shown in the photo below is a huge pile of corn that is left out to dry before it is shipped around Peru.  This was a common sight during our trip.

Our trip started on Tuesday afternoon when the 11 people going to La Libertad ventured to Lima for dinner.  After a fantastic dinner of cow heart (incredible) and a round of free pisco sours (used to lure us into the restaurant) we headed for the bus station.  We were told that because this was our first time traveling in Peru we would be given first class bus transportation for our trip.  I was initially skeptical having never traveled by bus and thinking that first class bus travel would be a similar experience to riding in the back seat of a fully equipped Toyota Camry.  However, I was mistake.  ITSA Bus travel features double-decker busses with fully reclining seats and more than enough leg room for the average Peruvian (6’6” Americans need look elsewhere for sufficient leg room; however it was significantly better than I anticipated).  We departed at 9:45pm and were given a meal and a movie before we all fell asleep.

Sleep sucked, that is all I have to say on that subject.

We arrived in Trujillo, La Libertad two hours later that scheduled.  This was news to us, as many of us had no idea what time it was, what time we were supposed to arrive, or were drowsy from sleeping.  After a quick trip to the hardware store for toilet seats, Jacob took us to a Starbucks where we feasted on breakfast sandwiches he brought and coffee (also taking advantage of, what seems like, one of the finest bathrooms I have ever used).  Following Starbucks our journey began.

We commandeered a taxi to take us 45minutes to Sausal.  There we quickly ate lunch and headed out to the field to build latrines.  In Sausal, at least for us, the main mode of transportation was mototaxis.  Imagine a huge, rickety, three-wheeled motorcycle that seats 3-4 with standing room on the back.  This took us out of the city and into the desert farmland where Jacob was building his latrines.  Cool latrines, but nothing to special to report.

The next day (Thursday) was 9ish hours of working/watching Jacob work.  Again, nothing to exciting, but great experience.

Friday we climbed a mountain outside of Sausal.  Much steeper with sketchier footing than the mountain in Chacrasana, but we all survived and were treated to fantastic views of the surrounding desert/agriculture areas.  Following our mountaineering we ate lunch and celebrated his sisters bday (the big 16!).  After we hopped on a series of mototaxies/taxies/buses and heated to Huanchaco for a day and a half at the beach (if anyone asks we were working).

Friday and Saturday were pretty chill.  We watched the final rounds of the World Longboard Championships (surfing).  This was a super cool event and a great excuse to hang out on the beach, eat ice cream, and drink a beer.  This is a super glossed over version of the day, but essentially it consisted of the beach (we were completely unprepared, sporting hiking boots, long pants, and long sleeve shirts), sea food, ice cream, and a beer or two.  Then the bus ride home (see several paragraphs earlier, except in reverse).

What you can look forward to in the future:

• Bus driver strikes
• Tres de Octubre Part 2
• Chosica
• Peru Country Clubs
• Hopefully more picture (it takes a long time for them to upload)