Check it, I have a site

What you can look forward to if you read this post:

• Combi driver strikes
• Tres de Octubre Part 2
• Chosica
• Peru Country Clubs
• More pictures
• Peace Corps elections
• MY SITE!!! (more exciting than it sounds, as I know very little about it)

Combi Driver Strikes

Combis, remember those bus like things filled to the brim with people that race down the highway at breakneck speeds that I told you about several episodes ago?  Combis are the main form of transportation for the working men and women in this region of Peru (and possibly other regions but I can’t speak with certainty on that), and as such are relied upon for transportation to and from work, the market, schools, and any other institutions that a person might be interested in attending.  Well based on their extreme importance and necessity, it is only logical that the drivers would go on strike for a day.

From what we understand (which is very little and based on extreme speculation) there are 2-3 main combi companies.  Think of a combi company like a cab company where they have a bunch of vehicles that people drive.  One of the main combi companies has a history of traffic violations, infractions, recklessness, and various other wrong doings.  Additionally they have a history of never paying their fines, rather they accumulate them and then protest for a day or two by blocking main roads to show that they are a needed service to this region and, as such, won’t be paying their tickets. 

We were lucky enough to be here for one of these protest times.  Sights to be seen include large numbers of people standing on corners trying to find transportation, large groups of gringos thoroughly confused, combis arguing with other combis in the middle of intersections, transportation fairs that are 10x the standard amount, and various other sights that one might expect to see during a combi protest. 

I make it sound worse than it actually was. 

In reality, we didn’t really know what was going on except for the fact that every combi we saw was empty and people were trying to hail other forms of transportation.  We in turn call upon the U.S. Government to round up 27 gringos stranded in two barrios.  How does Uncle Sam respond, you ask?  With a combi of his own, of course.  Well actually more of a huge van that we crammed 27 people inside of.  So I guess it was exactly like a combi.  Similar to the Post Office, neither rain, nor sleet, nor combi protest will stop Cuerpo de Paz (Peace Corps in Spanish) training. 

Tres de Octubre Pt. 2

Tres de Octubre, celebrates its anniversary every year on the weekend of October 3.  If you think it is a funny coincidence that they just so happen to celebrate their town’s birthday on a day that is strikingly similar to their town name (more like exactly similar), well you are entirely wrong.  Tres de Octubre (Spanish for the 3^rd of October) was name for the day it was founded.

Again, we were invited to partake in the festivities.  9 out of the 10 aspirantes that live in Chacrasana (if you haven’t been following my blog religiously, Chacrasana is the town I live in.  I also recommend you follow my blog religiously) got together, split a beer or two, then hopped on the combi to go towards Tres.  Little did we know, Tres is one of those magical cities where, if you don’t know how to get there you will miss your combi stop, argue a bunch, then wander the streets for an hour and a half until you find it.  Truly magical.

We ended up finding Tres de Octubre and had a splendid time dancing and socializing with the folks until late into the night.  Sadly, no toro loco (see the previous post for the reference). 

Little town festivals are a great place to spend all of your money.  There is great street food to be had and beverages to hydrate yourself with.  Is there a better way to spend your paycheck?  I think not (also, our paychecks are super small.  I live on 10 Soles/day, or the equivalent of $2.20-ish depending on the exchange rate of the day.)

Chosica

There is a regional city near us called Chosica, and it is here that many weekend nights are spent.  Chosica contains a lovely park, numerous restaurants and bars, and several discotecas.  If you walk into any of the discotecas on a Friday or Saturday night, it is a safe bet that you will find a group of gringos dancing like fools.

Training is hard.  We wake up around 6am everyday through various methods.  Some wake up to roosters, some wake up to dogs, others wake up to dog fights in the street.  After leaving the house we cram on combis (referenced in a previous post) and head to the training center.  There we are “talked at” for 8-9 hours.  Never in my life have I seen so many PowerPoint presentations in such a short amount of time.  This happens 5-6 days a week.

After such a hard week, it is only natural that one would want to go somewhere to relax and that place is Chosica.

Peruvian Country Clubs

When you think of a country club, what comes to your mind?  Polos?  Golf courses?  Fancy dinners?  Well in Peru, at least near Chacrasana, these clubs look a little different.  At the bottom of our hill, we have a club called Portada del Sol (Portada del Sol is also what you yell on a combi to express your intent to exit at this stop) and this club features some incredible amenities including, but not limited to a large grass field with holes and cracks everywhere, a river that features a surprisingly small amount of trash, paddle boats, dirty pools, a dirty looking jungle-gym, and several menacing guard dogs.  All this can be yours for the admission price of 5 Soles (about $1.80).

While it may not sound like a great place to be, it is actually a incredibly fun time.  Picnics, swimming, soccer, Frisbee, rock hopping on the river, and basking in the endless sunlight, what more could a Peace Corps aspirante living on a budget want.  While we have only been to Portada del Sol one time we make endless plans about returning to this charming place. 

Peace Corps Elections

In Peru (and possibly other Spanish speaking countries) a committee or governing group is called a junta (pronounced hoonta).  Think along the lines of the P.T.A. (Parent Teacher Association for those who find themselves disconnected with the topic of parent involvement in the education system).  Not surprisingly, each group of Peace Corps aspirantes elects a junta to govern them throughout training, and possibly into the future, however I am unsure if this is entirely true.  Nonetheless, we had an election for our junta.  We elected a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, fiscal (a person responsible for making sure all other people are doing their jobs correctly and various things related to discipline, typically the most trustworthy person on the council and above corruption), and a vocal for each of the three programs (water & sanitation, health, and environment).

After a week of heated campaigning (one poster was hung up by one person) the votes were cast, and can you guess which fine young aspirante was elected fiscal?  If you guessed any other person besides me, you are entirely wrong and should be ashamed.  I am the fiscal of the 22nd Peace Corps Peru junta, and although I am not president, I rule with an iron fist. 

MY SITE (where you will find me for the next 2 years)

After much anticipation and speculation the time came to receive our site placements for the next two years.  This is an event that holds significant meaning for an aspirante, for this is the moment that you will finally know where you will be, who you will spend your time with, and whether you brought the right clothes with you.  Despite all the anticipation, I arrived to the training center on this day and forgot that all of this was happening.  Meanwhile my friends sat around anxiously chatting, speculating, and hoping about placements.

Between two trees were strung ~52 balloons.  The significance of these balloons was explained to us during a brief assembly describing the course of the next hour.  Each balloon contained the site information for an aspirante.  The balloons were popped with a “magic wand” (really a broken piece of ¼” PCV pipe painted black with a small orange balloon attached to it.  When your balloon was popped you received your assignment and the wand, then you popped the next balloon and handed off the wand. 

To make a long story short, my site is the town of Pomacochas in the Amazonas region of Peru.  I know very little about this site except that I have a site mate from the health program, there is a big lake, I am about ~30minutes from monkeys, and my host dad says there is a lot of fish in the lake.  Oh yeah, my site is on a lake.  Also it rains a lot.  According to numerous sources on the internet, the temperature ranges from 8-20 C, which I estimate to be 40-70 F, although I haven’t actually converted it.  If you have free time and are interested in my next home I would greatly appreciate your research skills/internet access as my access to the World Wide Web is extremely limited.

Pictures Section (only 2, the internet is slow today)

We rode around in that little van for like 6 hours that day on bumpy dirt roads.  Super dry desert.  In the two years that the volunteer we shadowed lived there it never rained.

This is our valley from the top of our mountain.  This picture features 10-15 neighborhoods between Chacrasana and Chosica.  Super pretty during the night time.

Next time on Oh Hey, Peru (hopefully posted soon, but based on my track record it will probably be a while)

• Field Based Training
• Hat shopping in Lima
• Probably more pictures
• My typical day

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)

On the ground in Peru

This post was written in a hurry and contains no pictures, only information.  I am sorry, I glossed over many of the incredible details of this life so far.

We landed in Lima about 45 minutes behind schedule, and in the middle of an intense game of checkers between me and my flight mate, Ashley, although I am pretty sure I was going to win.  Getting through customs with 56 people is surprisingly smooth when your foreign development organization claims 4 custom’s booths for you.  Equally smooth was the baggage claim due to the fact that ~70% of the luggage was ours (is is pretty easy to tell Peace Corps luggage apart from other international travelers, simply look for backpacking packs or pretty much any beat up piece of baggage that is filled to capacity).  The squad of bomb sniffing, drug searching, Spanish speaking dogs may have slowed us down slightly due to rubbernecking, however we were soon out into the brisk (65°F) Lima winter. 

After a 90ish minute bus ride we arrived at our new home for the next two days: A resort in the foothills of the Andes (see pictures).  This place was fully equipped with the following: pools (2) (although we never had time for them), dogs (1), Koi ponds (1), dorm style bedrooms (~40), classrooms (quantity unknown), soccer(futbol)/basketball/handball facilities (1), and anis tea (enough to sink a ship).  Here we had our first two days of orientation where we discussed safety and medical issues, money matters, and survival Spanish.  After two days we piled (literally) into 5 vans and drove to our training center in Chaclacayo where we further discussed things (I forget what they were) and learned where we were to be living during training.

Chacrasana

Chacrasana is my new home for the next 10 weeks.  It is described by my family as “tranquillo” and it lives up to this description.  There is something like 4 roads leading up the hill that the town is built on (pictures to follow) and 2/4 of the roads are paved.  The other roads are a dirt/gravel combo that provides ample selection for finding the perfect dog rock (explanations to follow).  Chacrasana is built in a valley between two mountains that contain approximately 0% vegetation (we have seen one cactus on our mountains).  They are strikingly beautiful/eerie and have a few hiking trails that are super fun to run/hike on.

Chacrasana houses 10 aspirantes (volunteers before we are real volunteers), and contains about 500-800 year round residents (estimate performed by a super under-qualified estimator).  Chacrasana contains a large number of street dogs which bark at all hours of the day and night and frequently run at me in the street (see the aforementioned “dog rock” and look for the definition in coming posts).  Additionally, I live with 2 rabbits, ~10ish roosters/chickens, and a parrot. 

My family is really fun, and although I can’t really speak with them I greatly enjoy listening to their conversations and contributing when I can.  More on my family in later posts, but essentially I play giraffe with my 4 year old (soon to be 5) sister.  If your imagination is poor and can’t picture what playing giraffe looks like, imagine a 6’6” gringo with red hair running around with a 4 year old ~35-40lb Peruvian girl on his back.

Peace Corps School

Training is exactly like school, except longer.  We arrive at 8am and leave at 5pm.  We get lunch and 5-10minute recesses where we play foosball, ping pong, and volleyball.  A typical day consists of 4 hours of Spanish in the morning followed by an hour lunch.  The afternoon is 4 hours of various trainings related to our individual sectors (water & sanitation, health, or environment) or Peace Corps in general.  Following school some of the lower language groups (me) have tutoring for an additional 45-60 minutes.  When we don’t have training many of us go for a run through the town. 

Getting to and from school is super exciting every morning.  We ride a combi which is a small bus sort of thing that the cobrador (doorman/money man/guy who yells things) crams people in to.  The combi then drives sporadically and quickly to the next stop approximately 0.25-0.5 miles down the road, weaving in and out of traffic.  Even though I can’t completely stand up on the combi, it is one of the highlights of my days. 

For language, we occasionally take field trips around the area.  We went to a larger city in our vicinity called Chosica and interviewed people in the park.  Some interviews went super well, while others we incredibly poorly and had to be ended by purchasing something from the person.  This past weekend we took a trip to Lima for the day.  Lima is an incredibly large city where approximately 1/3 of the population in Peru lives.  We toured the presidential palace, the Museum of the Inquisition (where they tried and tortured non-Catholics or people not following the “Catholic Code”) and rode a bus up a mountain for an incredible (but slightly smoggy) view of the city.  Lima was incredible, but I much prefer the feel of Chacrasana.  Pictures of Lima to come in the future.

Upcoming Posts

Super good stuff to come (see the following list).  Most of this stuff is glossed over super quickly just to get it out into the web, but if you have any questions or want more details on something I am pretty sure there is a place where comments can be put.  Simply address your wants, needs, questions, comments, and desires, and I will do my best to address them. 

I have promised, and intend to follow through with the following:

• 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
• Birthday party I went to
• The breadman

tl;dr Peru is awesome, I love it.  I am having a splendid time.

Airplane Writings

Here I sit, 35,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean with an airplane-sized bag of carrots in my lap.  Already this has been the most productive flight of my life; I have watched two movies, The Internship (mediocre) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (INCREDIBLE movie starring film legends Paul Newman and Robert Redford), played two games of checkers, and created a quality music playlist featuring the likes of B.B. King, David Bowie, Earth Wind & Fire, etc., etc.  And with 46 minutes left before our wheels touch the ground, I have decided to write my first ever post for, quite arguably one of the most culturally important blogs accessible on the World Wide Web, Peru, eh?©

The last two days have been a whirl wind of activities, ranging from almond stuffed, bacon wrapped prunes, to Bud Heavys with bikers from Cleveland in the luxurious lobby of the Capital Skyline Hotel.  Extracurricular activities include a brief 2 hour registration, a 5 hour staging event, and squeezing 56 of America’s youth through security in Ronald Regan’s airport.  Additional highlights in the near future include squeezing the aforementioned 56 through customs in Peru, navigating the airport, and making our way to our retreat that we occupy for the first two nights in Peru (Thursday and Friday) before meeting our host families for training on Saturday.

This season on Peru, eh? we will most likely incredible highs as well as devastating lows as Brad serves in the United States Peace Corps in Peru.  Things to look forward to include pictures, videos (maybe) recipes (maybe), travel tips (again, maybe), and the historically significant ramblings of a 23 year old.  Tune in to find out more.