Yikes, so last night I got the scare of my life. To explain though, we have to start a few days back. I was headed to bed and I heard crickets in my room. Of course, I had to go hunt them because I can´t sleep if they´re chirping all over the place. In the process of looking, I discovered instead a little mouse living in my room. I heroically held back the scream, as it was the middle of the night, and only let out a little squeak. I tried to chase it out of the room but it managed to hide. Well, in the next few days, I kept finding little "presents" from the mouse, despite my thorough cleaning and the removal of any and all food items from my room.
Yesterday, I had had enough, so Meg and I put out poison to kill the little buggers. Unfortunately, the mouse has not yet gone after the bait, but our dog Missy got into the back rooms (where she is not allowed!) and ate some of the poison. Last night, I was sure I´d killed the dog (granted, it´s not like I fed her the poison, but it´s my fault we had poison out in the first place). She sounded awful and just looked like she was in pain, and of course, we couldn´t get a hold of the vet on the phone. Thankfully, she´s improved a lot and is up and moving around, so I have high hopes that she´s going to make. Scared the crap out of me though, and then, after all of that, I went back to my room and found mouse poo all over my bed. Stupid little....
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
A Very Good Month
Wow, so I fully meant to update the blog several times during June, but the month just flew by! For all those of you who were worried about me in May, you´ll be happy to hear that June was a much better month. Let me run through a few highlights.
1. Native English Speakers
I´ve started hanging out with Rachel (far left) , a Peace Corps volunteer from California, who lives across the river from me. I can´t tell you how nice it is to have a standing dinner date once a week with someone my age who speaks English. I also tagged along with her to Piura and stayed at the hostel which seems to be a common retreat for Peace Corps folks in this region. It was wonderful. Being in a group where English is spoken freely for the first time in five months was nice on its own, but the conversation was the best part. There´s tons of Spanglish and commentary about everything from the lunacy of growing rice in the desert to that one annoying guy in the Tambo Grande bus station who apparently irritates all gringas, not just me.
We also had some visitors in from Ohio, working with an internship program for engineering students. The students come to developing countries to assist with appropriate technology, i.e. water purification, kitchen modifications, etc. I got to play tour guide, which was fun. They also affirmed for me that the crickets here are disgusting, it´s not just me.
2. Miercoles Culturales
I know I´ve mentioned before that I´m splitting my time here between sites, a therapy center and a secondary school. Well, at the secondary school, we started the Cultural Wednesday program, which happens in the afternoon. (One big plus, I get to sleep in on Wednesdays!). So now on Wednesdays, I go to the school in the afternoon and help run the program. It´s kids from primary and secondary school, and they have a half hour of catechism followed by an hour of class. They can choose from classes in volleyball, soccer, handicrafts, music, dance, and thanks to me, gymnastics (see a few of the kids from my class above).
Teaching gymnastics in Peru is really interesting, since I have a grand total of two mats and no other equipment, I have no idea what any of the skills are called in Spanish (despite multiple internet searches), and the kids tend to take one idea and run with it. For example, if one girl decides to try walking down the wall into a bridge, the rest follow suit, without thinking about that fact that if they mess up they´re going to gall headfirst into a brick wall. It´s a lot of fun though, and I like getting to see the kids in a different environment.
3. Getting Out and About
At the end of June, I had the opportunity to go to Trujillo on a retreat with the teachers and staff of the school. We had one day of coordinated retreat activities and one free day to explore Trujillo. Traveling with Peruvians was an adventure in itself, as some of the things I consider basic travel amenities are definitely not regarded in the same light. For example, who knew you had to bring enough toilet paper to last the entire weekend with you? I´m used to carrying a roll in my purse, since only the very rare public toilet will have paper, but for the whole weekend? Trujillo´s cool place to visit though, since people have lived on that coastal plain for over 2000 years and have left some pretty cool ruins behind. I went on a tour of the ruins on Sunday with two of the teachers and the pre-Incan temples are fascinating. Also loved visiting the beach in Huanchaco, where they still use the same types of fishing boats the Chimu people used over 1000 years ago.
Those are some of the highlights of June, but there are a few issues coming to light in early July to keep in your thoughts and prayers.
-- Our therapy center is in trouble. The sister who started the center three years ago left in April, leaving a new sister in charge. Sr. Meg came it at a time when the center is very low on attendance, which means we may not be able to keep both therapists. It´s made for a lot of tension in the center, which came to a head with the new contracts that were given out on Friday. The therapists are threatening to quit, which would be a real blow.
-- I talked with the coordinator of the Notre Dame Mission Volunteers program today, and she let me know that the volunteers in Nigeria, two amazing girls who were with me for training in Baltimore, are having visa issues. If they can´t get a visa extension, they have to leave Nigeria by the 11th of July to come back to the States. Kerry and Malika already had a rough time getting started this year, as they were supposed to go to Kenya but weren´t able to because of the violence there earlier this year. Tomorrow they find out whether or not their visa extension has been approved, so keep you fingers crossed for them.
1. Native English Speakers
I´ve started hanging out with Rachel (far left) , a Peace Corps volunteer from California, who lives across the river from me. I can´t tell you how nice it is to have a standing dinner date once a week with someone my age who speaks English. I also tagged along with her to Piura and stayed at the hostel which seems to be a common retreat for Peace Corps folks in this region. It was wonderful. Being in a group where English is spoken freely for the first time in five months was nice on its own, but the conversation was the best part. There´s tons of Spanglish and commentary about everything from the lunacy of growing rice in the desert to that one annoying guy in the Tambo Grande bus station who apparently irritates all gringas, not just me.We also had some visitors in from Ohio, working with an internship program for engineering students. The students come to developing countries to assist with appropriate technology, i.e. water purification, kitchen modifications, etc. I got to play tour guide, which was fun. They also affirmed for me that the crickets here are disgusting, it´s not just me.
2. Miercoles Culturales
I know I´ve mentioned before that I´m splitting my time here between sites, a therapy center and a secondary school. Well, at the secondary school, we started the Cultural Wednesday program, which happens in the afternoon. (One big plus, I get to sleep in on Wednesdays!). So now on Wednesdays, I go to the school in the afternoon and help run the program. It´s kids from primary and secondary school, and they have a half hour of catechism followed by an hour of class. They can choose from classes in volleyball, soccer, handicrafts, music, dance, and thanks to me, gymnastics (see a few of the kids from my class above).Teaching gymnastics in Peru is really interesting, since I have a grand total of two mats and no other equipment, I have no idea what any of the skills are called in Spanish (despite multiple internet searches), and the kids tend to take one idea and run with it. For example, if one girl decides to try walking down the wall into a bridge, the rest follow suit, without thinking about that fact that if they mess up they´re going to gall headfirst into a brick wall. It´s a lot of fun though, and I like getting to see the kids in a different environment.
3. Getting Out and About
At the end of June, I had the opportunity to go to Trujillo on a retreat with the teachers and staff of the school. We had one day of coordinated retreat activities and one free day to explore Trujillo. Traveling with Peruvians was an adventure in itself, as some of the things I consider basic travel amenities are definitely not regarded in the same light. For example, who knew you had to bring enough toilet paper to last the entire weekend with you? I´m used to carrying a roll in my purse, since only the very rare public toilet will have paper, but for the whole weekend? Trujillo´s cool place to visit though, since people have lived on that coastal plain for over 2000 years and have left some pretty cool ruins behind. I went on a tour of the ruins on Sunday with two of the teachers and the pre-Incan temples are fascinating. Also loved visiting the beach in Huanchaco, where they still use the same types of fishing boats the Chimu people used over 1000 years ago.Those are some of the highlights of June, but there are a few issues coming to light in early July to keep in your thoughts and prayers.
-- Our therapy center is in trouble. The sister who started the center three years ago left in April, leaving a new sister in charge. Sr. Meg came it at a time when the center is very low on attendance, which means we may not be able to keep both therapists. It´s made for a lot of tension in the center, which came to a head with the new contracts that were given out on Friday. The therapists are threatening to quit, which would be a real blow.
-- I talked with the coordinator of the Notre Dame Mission Volunteers program today, and she let me know that the volunteers in Nigeria, two amazing girls who were with me for training in Baltimore, are having visa issues. If they can´t get a visa extension, they have to leave Nigeria by the 11th of July to come back to the States. Kerry and Malika already had a rough time getting started this year, as they were supposed to go to Kenya but weren´t able to because of the violence there earlier this year. Tomorrow they find out whether or not their visa extension has been approved, so keep you fingers crossed for them.
Photographic Evidence
Okay, in case you were wondering, here is some photographic evidence:
1. Of the disgusting nature of the crickets that have infested Tambo Grande for most of the time that I´ve been here
2. Of the most interesting mode of travel I´ve encountered here, the cámara, a set of innertubes pulled by manpower. My favorite moment was watching them bring a mototaxi across the river on two cámaras.
1. Of the disgusting nature of the crickets that have infested Tambo Grande for most of the time that I´ve been here
2. Of the most interesting mode of travel I´ve encountered here, the cámara, a set of innertubes pulled by manpower. My favorite moment was watching them bring a mototaxi across the river on two cámaras.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Got Keys?
The latest in cultural differences: independence. Anyone who has ever studied cultural differences knows that Americans tend to value independence, much more so than Latin American cultures. Boy, am I ever finding out that this is true.
In general, in the States, most young people move out in their late teens or twenties -- going to college, getting jobs, moving to new cities, etc. etc. Now, of course, I know people who have spent time back at home with Mom and Dad (as I am going to be doing come December) but most young people seem to prefer the independence of their own place.
In Peru, not so much. If you´re not married, you live with your parents. Even if you are married, you still might live with your parents (or in-laws). People I´ve met here who are in their late twenties still live at home and so do all their siblings. Apparently, the idea that someone at 20 would say, "Okay, I have a good job, now I´m going to get my own apartment" is just scandalous. So when I try to explain that yes, I´m far from home, but I´ve been living in California and Colorado for the past two and a half years, it´s a bit difficult to understand.
Taking it to the next level, Peruvian kids usually don´t even get keys to their own homes until they´re over twenty, and sometimes not even then. Marleny, one of the sisters here, had keys to her house at 15 and all the neighbors thought her mother was an unfit parent. The therapists at the center didn´t get keys until after they graduated from college. I´m pretty sure I had keys to the house by 5th grade and the only reason I didn´t have them ealier was my tendency to misplace important things.
It´s a pretty extreme cultural difference, as I can´t see American parents or children standing for that kind of mutual dependence. I love my parents, but I don´t want to be living with them in my thirties, and I´m pretty sure that´s the last thing they want as well. Just one of those interesting observations about life here in Peru that I thought you all might appreciate.
In general, in the States, most young people move out in their late teens or twenties -- going to college, getting jobs, moving to new cities, etc. etc. Now, of course, I know people who have spent time back at home with Mom and Dad (as I am going to be doing come December) but most young people seem to prefer the independence of their own place.
In Peru, not so much. If you´re not married, you live with your parents. Even if you are married, you still might live with your parents (or in-laws). People I´ve met here who are in their late twenties still live at home and so do all their siblings. Apparently, the idea that someone at 20 would say, "Okay, I have a good job, now I´m going to get my own apartment" is just scandalous. So when I try to explain that yes, I´m far from home, but I´ve been living in California and Colorado for the past two and a half years, it´s a bit difficult to understand.
Taking it to the next level, Peruvian kids usually don´t even get keys to their own homes until they´re over twenty, and sometimes not even then. Marleny, one of the sisters here, had keys to her house at 15 and all the neighbors thought her mother was an unfit parent. The therapists at the center didn´t get keys until after they graduated from college. I´m pretty sure I had keys to the house by 5th grade and the only reason I didn´t have them ealier was my tendency to misplace important things.
It´s a pretty extreme cultural difference, as I can´t see American parents or children standing for that kind of mutual dependence. I love my parents, but I don´t want to be living with them in my thirties, and I´m pretty sure that´s the last thing they want as well. Just one of those interesting observations about life here in Peru that I thought you all might appreciate.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Quick Notes
Two quick things that I just have to share:
1. I have discovered what true happiness is. While we technically have a system for heating the water, that system has been out of commission since March. Last night, I took my first hot shower in over two months and it was bliss.
2. So I said I was getting used to the crickets. I lied. Today, one managed to crawl up my pant leg and I only realized it when it´s creepy little whiskers tickled my knee. Good thing no one was around the see the spastic fit I threw trying to get the things out of my pants.
1. I have discovered what true happiness is. While we technically have a system for heating the water, that system has been out of commission since March. Last night, I took my first hot shower in over two months and it was bliss.
2. So I said I was getting used to the crickets. I lied. Today, one managed to crawl up my pant leg and I only realized it when it´s creepy little whiskers tickled my knee. Good thing no one was around the see the spastic fit I threw trying to get the things out of my pants.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
To Add to my Paranoia
I´ve sort of gotten used to the bugs. I still freak out when they land on me, and I still have to hunt down any chirping crickets hiding in my room before I can go to sleep, but it´s not quite the level of freak out that I was at two months ago. So now, of course, Peru has to give me something else to get freaked out about. This morning, I was getting ready to head off to Piura for the day, when I thought I´d found a stray cricket. I looked up my bag to see better, and NO, not a cricket...instead a very small (1 inch long) scorpion was calmly sitting on the floor right next to my bed. The same floor I often step on barefoot in the middle of the night. Meg told me they apparently often come in pairs, so I have made a full search of the room and sprayed it down with Raid to hopefully poison any family members this little guy was consorting with. I´m never going to be able to put my bare feet on the floor again...
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Gender Stereotypes
Well, I managed to hold my tongue yesterday, so now I get to vent to any and all who may be reading this here blog. Yesterday, I went to Maicole, the afterschool program in Locuto, a small town across the river from Tambo Grande. I go once a week to be a support to the teacher and volunteers who run the program. Yesterday the theme was the family...and I have not wanted to yeall at someone so much since a man I hardly met asked Sr. Meg whether or not she was going to put me on a diet.
To clarify, the teacher was talking about family members and roles that each family member has. So he went on (and on and on) about how the men go and work in the chakra and plant and harvest and the women cook and clean and raise the children. And he spoke about families, about how a family is made up (only) of a man and woman who are married and then have children. Apparently before they have children, they´re not actually a family.
Sigh. Hopefully you can see why I was so upset. I can´t stand it when people teach children that men and women have these predetermined roles that they must fit in. Granted, those gender roles are more or less the norm here in Peru, but nothing is ever going to change if little girls don´t realize that they have the option and even the right to do something else if they so desire. When these girls are told that their only option is to cook and clean and raise a family, of course they´re not going to be motivated to continue their education and try for something more. Don´t get me wrong, I think it´s wonderful for women to be stay-at-home moms if that´s what they want, but girls need to be taught that they have options! Ugh! Obviously, I went on a class-A rant as soon as I got back to the convent. Here´s hoping Meg and I can find ways to at least subtly contradict this in the future (when I´m not quite so inclined to yell out "You are so WRONG!").
To clarify, the teacher was talking about family members and roles that each family member has. So he went on (and on and on) about how the men go and work in the chakra and plant and harvest and the women cook and clean and raise the children. And he spoke about families, about how a family is made up (only) of a man and woman who are married and then have children. Apparently before they have children, they´re not actually a family.
Sigh. Hopefully you can see why I was so upset. I can´t stand it when people teach children that men and women have these predetermined roles that they must fit in. Granted, those gender roles are more or less the norm here in Peru, but nothing is ever going to change if little girls don´t realize that they have the option and even the right to do something else if they so desire. When these girls are told that their only option is to cook and clean and raise a family, of course they´re not going to be motivated to continue their education and try for something more. Don´t get me wrong, I think it´s wonderful for women to be stay-at-home moms if that´s what they want, but girls need to be taught that they have options! Ugh! Obviously, I went on a class-A rant as soon as I got back to the convent. Here´s hoping Meg and I can find ways to at least subtly contradict this in the future (when I´m not quite so inclined to yell out "You are so WRONG!").
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