The Fiesta Experiance

I write this blog from my bed on Sunday morning at 3:07 am... why? You ask... there is a fiesta going on about 100 feet from my shack, and it wont be done till about 2 more hours. Today is the celbration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus here in Chacrasana... The fiesta began around 10 oclock after much of the town attended mass. There is a live band pumping out salsa and cumbia tunes while 150 from the community celebrate through dancing and slightly heavy drinking. Most of us volunteers hung around for a while, but most definitely could not make it past 2 oclock out there... we were there long enough to dance a bit and see this ---->

A gigantic tower of bamboo sticks loaded with different types of fireworks (beautifully timed)... there were three of these throughtout the duration of the night. While in the midst of the party, I realized how far away I still am from understanding this Peruvian culture. I feel I had a good grip on the culture I experianced in the US, and could communicate pretty wella number of different ways... learning this new culture is a very interesting process, definitley one of the most interesting endeavors Ive ever experianced. Here's one culture norm I've caught onto thus far... When offered something, a food, or a drink, it is common for the recipient to refuse at first, and to make the other person ask more than one time. When the person is forced to offer something more than once, it is a much more sincere interaction... this is a pretty cool custom to catch onto, and it can really help interactions here, but its HORRIBLE when you really dont want to accept something.

Training/home

Things have been going great. Im continually learning more and more about business and Spanish language. We will be reevaluating our Spanish skills at the end of this week and will be assigned new classes with new teachers (this makes me pretty sad, class has been amazing with my two buuuuds Mike and David and our wonderful teacher Sarah)

Sometimes I feel like my Spanish isnt improving at all!!! I will get pretty upset about it, and in the same day I will sit down with my family and communicate for 2 hours straight... it is after there 2 hours that I realize that my language is indeed improving... 2 hours is a long time to communicate clearly.... it feels good! My dad seems to be putting in some extra effort in helping me understand Spanish. The other night as I was sitting on the couch, he walked inand started pointing at things and made me repeat after him. It turned out to be a pretty usefull exercize, I learned alot of new living room vocab.

One day last week the Small Business Development crew took a trip to a technical institute for 17-25 year olds. Our only task for this trip was to sit in on a Charla (educational) given to a group of 30 Peruvian students. The Charla was a business simulatino that touched on small business promotion and marketing. It was given by our two small-business trainters Ivan and Dennis. The reason we did this was so that we would get a better idea of what our Field Based Training will look like in 2 weeks... The Charla went great, and so did the activities afterwards. We all worked in small groups with Peruvians and got a better understanding of what its like to work alongside them. It was encouraging. They were very sharpt and had many great ideas and thoughts throughout the simulation, it made our jobs easy. We were there simply as facilitators and to offer suggestions.

La Escuela Agrederia (this part of the blog is written at the much more reasonable time of 7pm on Sunday night)

This last saturday we took the first of 4 trips to a well known agricultural school in Lima. Here we broke up into groups and learned many basics about agriculture, since many of us will have the opportunity to work with farmers and even begin small gardens of our own. We walked around the schools property and learned about common planting techniques throughout Peru... we learned the early stages of making our biohuertos (small gardens with multiple crops). We even prepared a field and planted some seeds, which we will continue to reurn to throughout our next visits. We also got to try about 7 new fruits that were completely new to all of us N. Americans... they were all exotic and amazing--- we'll be making 3 more trips out there throughout the next 2 months --- afterwards, I went to central lima with 5 other volunteers. I put to use my semi-expertise in guitars and helped each of them buy guitars... about 1/3 of the volunteers have bought guitars, and I think only about 5 of them have past experiance. We hope to practice our skills individually for the next two years, then make a band of 15 peace corps guitar players and tour the world!

+other things

I spent the day with my family at a club for Marinas, which I think is equivalent to the US Navy. My brother has served as a marina for the past 15 years or so. We spent the day relaxing under the sun, surrounded by other peruvian families and cumbia music.

Grupo Cinco is a Peruvian boy band... and they are HUUGE in this country. It is impossible not to hear at least 5 songs by them daily, sometimes Ill get lucky and hear the exact same song 3 times in one day. Its kind of strange, but their music is growing on me, and I subconsciously get excited when I hear it come on the radio... Ive been learning about 3 of their songs on the guitar and playing them whenever I get the chance - its a sure-fire way to bring a smile to a peruvian's face...

Communicating with family and friends has been a challenge this past week. Its been hard for me to make it to the internet more than twice a week, which can be seen as a good thing as well... Ive been keeping busy around here. My telephone in my home hasnt been working for the past 3 days, so phone calls are very a rare. I hope to find a good balance of communcation with everyone somehow... this is easily one of the most frustrating parts of the PC experiance.
Us volunteers continue to pound down candy and ice-cream on a daily basis, I cant even begin to explain how wonderful this has been.

Some say my bearded friend Mike looks alot like Chuch Norris... though Im not completely convinced, the peruvians sure are! The other day, a whole slew of poeple stopped and started in awe as they thought the Texas Ranger himself were walking down their streets!

One day last week, the business group got to go to the mountains. It was niiiiice to see some mountains with green and heavy vegetation. We saw a trout farm and learned about its beginings and sustainability. We were also shown a few remains from the time of the Incas... Innnnnteresting...

I'm off into my 4th week here in Chacrasana! Not quite sure what we've got planned for the week, but Field Based Training is only 2 weeks away. Being away from the US for so long, Ive kinda forgotten what 4th of July even signifies... if someone could please fill me in, thatd be great. I hope you all enjoy your holliday!

Much LOVE and PEACE through Christ

James

GRRRR

I´ve got a full blog with pictures and all... ready to post, I wrote it last night and this evening...

Unfortunatly, I´m having some trouble with my USB memory stick... hopefully i can post tomorrow... (im kinda frustrated with it and sorta want to rip my hair out)

I did successfully post a few new pictures in my album though!

I´ll post asap! take care!

Solid

I’ve been here in Peru for, what seems to be months… 16 days and I’m feeling more and more accustomed to the culture almost daily. Day by day I’m feeling like more of an insider in these Peruvian communities. At training we have spent a few days out and about, getting to know a few communities close to where we are living. This has been an amazing booster for me and many other volunteers… Since the beginning of training we have heard over and over that we will spend many months getting to know our communities inside and out once we are at site. To my ears, this task has sounded daunting, especially since my Spanish skills remain at a mediocre level--- After the community activities, I was able to see the real possibility of getting familiar with a community and understanding the way things are run. We were all quickly able to recognize many strengths and weaknesses of the communities, which will be a huuuuge task once we get to site… I am also realizing that I will not be stranded out in a community for two years with no outside help, this brings me great comfort.
(I know many of you are still unsure as to what exactly I will be doing for my 2 years of service, I promise to write a more detailed description of what service will look like… I’m still trying to grasp it as well, but I will say that it is sounding beautiful yet challenging)

Today (6/21) we went to the city of Lima, which was a 1.5 hour ride in a combi (I will post a picture of one of these soon). We went with our language instructors to both practice Spanish and get more familiar with the city, since we will be taking many trips there during service (the PC center, and medical center is located here). It was a nice day… with a ridiculous amount of walking. Amazed at our first sight of American food such as McDonalds, BK, Starbucks, KFC, most volunteers rushed for their first taste of familiar food in weeks. I went with about 7 other volunteers for a gigantic personal pan pizza from PizzaHut! I was craving it all week. – here’s a quick funny story - We were given 5 soles (Peruvian currency) to figure out how to get home on our own (training purposes… I think). My friends Sal, Patty and I took a combi home… we stood crushed for the first 20 minutes of the ride, but thankfully, found a seat…we rested our legs and looked forward to riding home on our bums… about 15 minutes later, our combi cut someone off (which usually happens every 2 minutes or so) but this time, our driver was caught. His license was taken away from him, and we had to switch combis… We hopped on a different and had to ‘intimately stand’ for another 45 minutes till we arrived at home. It was hilarious, but be glad you weren’t there.

Guitar…

I know it would probably fit my character to spend a whole blog page about me buying a guitar, but I feel like keeping it simple. I bought a guitar about a week ago! It’s a nylon string classical guitar of pretty decent quality. Though I haven’t had the most time to pluck the ol’ strings, it has definitely helped me feel more at home.

Field Based Training…

In about 4 weeks, the Small Business Development group will be taking a weeklong trip to Cajamarca (16 hours north of Lima) to partake in Field Based Training, where we will be divided into groups and assigned to classes of business students. We will spend the week with them, teaching them different business and development related things… in strictly SPANISH! I heard that our bus is lux-u-rious, and we will be staying in a hotel with hot water!

Other things…

+I’ve experienced 2 minor earthquakes since I’ve been here. One was the first morning, during our retreat in Chaclacayo. The other was about 4 nights ago around 4 a.m. it woke me up, but I felt completely safe in my shack.

+It’s not uncommon for me to leave a bit of food on my plate at dinner, portions are pretty monstrous… the other night I was served crispy fried chicken on top of French fries and cut up hot dogs… with ketchup, mayonnaise and hot sauce sprinkled about… I slammed the meal in my stomach and smiled BIG at my family. They were surprised at my freshly polished plate, they knew I liked it, I am sure of this because I received the exact same thing the following night…haha. (this is a picture of a plate very similar to what theyve been serving me)

+ It seems many of the volunteers have rediscovered a deep, fiery passion for candy/ice cream/ sweets… it suddenly hit us all the same time a few days ago, all at once. We found ourselves rushing towards the shops on the way home. It’s been a real comfort, I mean it… I love candy.
+ I’ll end with some good news, which will better describe the title of this blog… my stomach is basically in tip-top shape! As some of you know, my sickness from last week went away with medicine, but quickly returned on Sunday morning. It was father’s day; I had a fever of 102 and no father… eeek. Since then my body has repaired itself without the help of medicine! I once again have confidence in my body’s abilities! We’ll see how long this lasts… but for now… solid

heres a picture of my sister Raquel, my mom and neice after a church service in Chaclacayo...

Much love to you all,
James

p.s. has anyone been to Peru before or South/Central America? if so, where? Any experiences you can relate to so far? I might need some people to sympathize with me some day…

Fathers Day

Father’s Day

My dad’s name is Randy, he was born in Texas… he grew up in Texas… he likes to visit Texas… he talks like a Texan. My dad is a man who takes an opportunity when he sees it, even if it means giving up something that means a lot to him… like Texas. My dad was been working for the same company for over 30 years (… I’m pretty sure) and has been transferred all throughout the Midwest. I believe he has done this because it’s what’s been best for our family. My dad is our provider, our safe haven, our strength. He is ambitious and determined, and at the same time loving and caring.

Sometimes I think back to the times when I saw my dad as the ultimate “Superman”… our family used to take 2 week long vacations in and out of the mountains of the west (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming). We would go the whole nine yards and camp the entire time! I still don’t know how we managed to do this and come out in one piece… for there was plenty of kicking and screaming amongst us pre-teen kids. My dad was for sure the glue that held us together through these vacations… It was through these vacations that our family endured many trials and tribulations (5+ van breakdowns/ sleeping in the same tent for two weeks/ the top of a 50 ft tree falling on the top of our car while we were still in it). Our family was tested and came out from these trips stronger than ever… I’m so thankful that he didn’t pamper us with a trip to Disneyworld, or the ocean… I think he knew what exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it.
Thanks dad, for continuing to be the Superman that I look up to.

Happy Fathers day

Your son, James

...fathers day is huge here in Peru... family family family

I went to a school celebration with one of my sisters and her family. Watched some traditional dances/games and tried to play on a soccer team for a mini-tourney.. they wouldnt let me, becuase Im not a father... I guess that makes sense...

a working photo album

I´ve finally figured out how to somewhat manage my photos... the link along the right side of the page should be up and running. There will be many many many more to come in the next months...

also... there is another blog below that I posted earlier today... written 2 nights ago... check it

Settling in

I’ve temporarily settled in!

I now live in the pueblo of Chacrasana, in the middle of two large dusty mountains. It is one of many pueblos that extend up into the mountains by one single main street. The weather is usually foggy yet sunny and conditions around the pueblo are constantly dusty. I am still located in Lima, which I have learned, is a gigantic city. Chacrasana is located about 15 minutes by bus from the PC training station. Daily, the other 7 volunteers in my community and I plan to take the combi (bus) to site around 7am.

Mi familia…

I belong to a household of 8. I have a mama (Nilza), a papa (Mariano), two sisters in their early thirties (Raquel y Rosillo), they both have husbands (Rennger y ???), each couple has a little girl (Alexandra, 3 y Aracele, 4)… they are wonderful and welcoming! Already they have said “you must never forget us!”. The two children already enjoy my presence in the house and call me Tio! (uncle... that’s uncle jimmy to you, haha) When my mom first picked me up, she had Alexandra at her side who was intensely staring at me and my luggage… not a peep… we have progressed very much!

Mi casa…

When I say mi casa, I mean it… I’ve got a place all to myself, although, it’s not so much a casa as it is a shack. My 8-member- family all live under one room, seemingly comfortable. They set me up with my own side room, which I access by walking out the back door, through the concrete backyard, passed a cat and a talking parrot named Aurora, into a quaint living space I call my home… in the room I have a double-sized bed (hard as a rock), a table and chair which is now nicely decorated with my books and belongings, a few drawers and a small portable cabinet where I can store my clothes. The roof is made of tin or aluminum? And the walls are most definitely constructed with wood. Nice colors! My bed is warm, which is nice because nights can get as cold as 50 degrees F. So far it’s been a bit of a struggle to get a decent complete night of sleep. Outside of my door there is a staircase leading to the roof where over 15 chickens and a couple chickens reside…they can be o so loud… also, about 50% of the time there are some kind of wild dogs fighting over chew toys or something… they are vicious (if I get unwanted attention from a wild n crazy dog I’ve been instructed to bend down and grab a rock… the dog will immediately run away and whimper… in fear that I’m gonna peg him in his doggy mouth, I hope I never have to!) There is one more essential piece to the puzzle of my room… it’s a simple bucket. You know… incase I have to pee in the middle of the night and don’t want to walk in the house, which was actually quite handy last night!

Monday…

I could tell you about all the wonderful days and experiences that I’ve been having throughout my time here in Peru… but I feel like I need to vent. Today could easily be classified as ‘horrible’. I woke up and read a bit of 1 John and felt pretty good about my first day of training. Ate a small breakfast and headed to the bus station with a group of volunteers and our mamas. On the bus was when I felt the first wave of queasiness. I wasn’t quite sure what was wrong, but pushed on strong. At site, we stood up and shared some funny experiences of our first night with our host families… I stood up and quickly told the entire group that it pained me to see everyone in such a joyful mood… I was feeling upset/impatient/completely unpeppy and wanted to see if anyone else could relate, thankfully one volunteer raised his hand and put my heart at ease. We have all been warned again and again that we will have up and down days, I found that out quick. The rest of the day was filled with increasing stomach pain and urgency to run to the bathroom. Diarrhea had quickly struck, and I was its first victim. Both the staff and fellow volunteers were nothing but kind, polite and giving. My friend Tim even traded me his rehydrating Sportorade for my water… thanks Tim. All I could eat for lunch was crackers. At 3 o’clock there was a charla (presentation) on diarrhea, put on by one of our wonderful Doctors Jorge… how fitting!
I can now say, the day has wound up pretty nice. I was able to eat a bit of dinner (chicken noodle soup), visit the internet café, and attend a small party for some Canadian students stopping by the town. My stomach feels a ‘tad bit’ better too!
I’m currently writing from ‘mi casa’ and will later post this when I head to the internet café again. Thanks for reading! -blessings


Also… if you plan on sending anything, it is suggested to make it less than 1 kilo (2 lbs) and large envelopes work wonderfully! If a package is much bigger, I will have to pay taxes like WOAH on it.

chaclacayo

this, by no means, will be the average blog post... Im sitting in an internet cafe in Chacalayo, Lima (staying at a retreat center with the other volunteers for 1 day and 2 nights) Its our after-orientation... orientation. We arrived here last night around 12 oclock. The flight was beautiful and surprisingly short. Already we have enjoyed two Peruvian meals (some eggs, chicken, potatoes, giant corn, and gigantic beans) We will soon eat dinner and then have a free night to scope out the retreat center village. Tomorrow we meet our host families that we will stay with for 3 months.

Word has been passed around that a fellow volunteer, Kelly, has been invited to a peruvian "folk dance" party, as well as the rest of the group! If this happens, be expecting a few hillarious photos...

some fun random happenings...
-last night I slept in the smallest room Ive ever been in - Ive been avoiding showers because of the lack of warm water- the airline unfortunatly lost a bag of a fellow volunteer- I stood next to a llama and got a picture with it - Glenn, a volunteer, was spit on by that very same lama - It was beautifully captured on video!!!- The trainers are amazing, personable, and hillarious! - Im exhaustd and I miss you all

I look forward to having more time to blog and get my photo book up and running...

a quick thanks

Thank you all very much for coming over and hanging out last night... it was easily one of the best nights of my life...

... this will be a quick post (with more details and highlights from the party to come later)

one important thing--- I forgot to gather everyone's e-mails last night... so PLEASE!!! click on 'comment' at the bottem of this blog entry and leave me your e-mail address so I can start up a mailing list for 'members only' emails (I'm completely kidding about the members only thing, that would be recidulous, but please, leave your e-mail and name!)

Thanks again.