End of the Road

Well, my Peace Corps service has come to an end. It's been sad to have to say goodbye to all of the friends I made while in Arequipa, but I know that I will be back to visit some day.

Rather than head straight home, I'll be traveling around south america, getting home just in time for Christmas. It's strange to be leaving the Peace Corps and starting a new stage of my life. In the words of Bob Dylan, "The line it is drawn / The curse it is cast / The slow one now / Will later be fast / As the present now / Will later be past / The order is / Rapidly fadin' / And the first one now / Will later be last / For the times they are a'changin'."

Halloween!

This year for halloween, the Peace Corps - Arequipa volunteers dressed up in the typical peruvian outfits from the department of Ayacucho, and we were a huge hit. People were asking to take photos with us all night, and Shannon and I gathered a crowd of over 100 people when we started dancing in the Plaza de Armas, and even made some tips doing it!

Marinera

During the week of our town anniversary different schools and organizations perform cultural dances. This video is of two kids that have been dancing the marinera together for a few years, which at their age is pretty significant. A lot of the longer videos I have take too long to upload, but I'll keep trying. Enjoy!

Winding Down

Time is moving fast. It's hard to believe that the 2 years are coming to an end, and that I'll have to re-learn how to follow american social customs and be politically correct. I doubt people will take kindly to me saying "hey fatty, how are you?", my inflection showing how happy I am to see the person, but the words seeming to contradict my good intentions. People will also probably think I'm racist when the first language that comes out of my mouth when I try to order something in a restaurant is spanish. In fact, maybe even that sentence was inappropriate to write. I'm a fast learner . . . I'll re-adapt quickly, I hope.

News: We had the yearly Pisco, Wine and Shrimp festival in my site a few weeks ago, which was a bla

st. Held down by the river, it's a full weekend of eating shrimp, dancing, and watching races, such as those riding bikes or those riding donkeys. A few days la

ter was my town anniversary, for which the hold town closes it's businesses to go march in and watch the parade during the day, and then watch/bet on cock fights and go to the concert at night. This year Armonia 10 came a played in the stadium, and it was really fun dancing until 5 am.

Work stuff: The hydraulic engineers are here full time now, having started construction of the new water tank/reservoir and installation of a water treatment system. It's too bad I won't be here when they finish to benefit from the cleaner water . . . it would have been nice to wash my face and teeth with water that doesn't smell like waste water. I've also been teaching a lot of health classes with a nurse, Maria. I much prefer to work with the 15-16 year olds rather than the middle school aged kids. Even though the older kids act like they're too cool sometimes, they get into the activities and stop worrying about what their friends will think of them, while the younger kids can't get over their self-consciousness and are horrified at the thought of being different from their classmates.

Other than that, I've just been trying to enjoy the rest of my time here and get everything that I need to done. I have quite a few reports to finish up for the Peace Corps, but I've turned in drafts and am just waiting to hear what revisions need to made. I also have to finish up grad school applications - I'd like to have them done before I start my travels to have my shoulders free of any extra weight, that is to say, apart from my overstuffed backpack. I'm really excited about my travel plans after I finish my Peace Corps service in mid-November. I'll be heading to Buenos Aires to meet up with Jill and I can't wait to see her. We're planning to spend a few days exploring the city, and then visit Iguazu Falls before her thanksgiving break is up and she has to go back to work. Fortunately for me, Ali Conte is looking for an adventure, and will meet me in Buenos Aires, then we'll go to Santiago, Chile, Easter Island, swing through bolivia, hopefully seeing the salt flats, and end up in cochabamba for Dan and Dari's wedding! The wedding is going to be so much fun, and I can't wait to see my family! I'm looking forward to finally having christmas with my parents, and then going west for new years, when all the pasadena people will be home, and i'll be able to catch up with a lot of friends I haven't seen in a long time.

New Stage

The new volunteers arrived this morning to Arequipa. There is a married couple, a boy and a girl. While all their sites are far from mine, I'm excited to have them here. They all seem like really good people, and I feel like we'll get along well. It's exciting to have new friends, even if they have to be my friends just because we're all PCVs in the same department, haha.

Last week the volunteers from Arequipa were invited to meet with a Congressional delegation that was traveling through the city. There were 9 representatives, as well as wives, marines, and members of the Library of Congress. It was really interesting to sit and talk with then, exchanging ideas and perspectives, for the time we were allowed before they were whisked off to their next engagement.

Next week I have my Close of Service conference in Lima, and it'll be good to reconnect with a lot of the other volunteers that I haven't seen since 3 months into my service. Being so far south means that we are quite isolated from what's going on with volunteers in the north. Should be an interesting few days!

With only a few months left of my Peace Corps service, I've started to think about all the things I'll miss about Peru. It's strange how accustomed I've become to certain aspects of the lifestyle here, the very basics being life without hot water, a washing machine, an oven, nor a refrigerator. Apart from that, I realized this weekend that all I expect from a Sunday is a day of rest and time to watch a soccer game. I stop on the streetcorner and have a 10 minute conversation about the weather, without realizing it. I'm definitely going to miss the dancing. There is no party if people aren't dancing. And every party has family and friends from age 5 to 75 who come, and all dance. The focus on the family, while overwhelming at times, has made me realize how much more I'd like to be able to spend time with my extended family. I very much value my independence, and more so now, after seeing the more conservative, close to home lifestyle of many peruvians, and I'm glad to have been able to demonstrate to them that independence can be beneficial, but I've also learned that a little more dependence on family and friends can help maintain those relationships for years to come. I know I'll be really excited to be home, but I'm also glad that I have a few more months to enjoy my time in Peru, soaking up as much cumbia music and culture as possible.

Work has been slow the past few weeks because schools let out for Fiestas Patrias, the

peruvian celebration of independence, and then

vacations were extended because of the swine

flu. Before school let out I was working with Maria, a nurse,

with a group of teenagers,

training them as peer health promotors. We have also been teachin

g classes in both high schools, a few each week, working with younger students on self-esteem and good hygienic practices, and with older students on self-esteem, changes in adolescence and sexual education. Working with the teenagers is really interesting, and they have participated a lot and given us some great feedback. The community library, in the municipa

lity, is also working well. We have gotten a few more donations of books, and many kids come after school to do their homework or assigned reading, or use the computers to research an assignment. I'm trying to train the librarian as much as I can in using the computer software to organize the books etc to make sure that the project continues to function well after I'm gone.

Back to Work!

I must say I've been surprisingly productive in my time back in site after a really nice vacation.  My parents came to see me for a few weeks and treat me to my new version of luxury: hot showers.  It was really awesome to be able to spend time with them and travel around a bit.  We started out in my town so they could say hello to my host family, then we headed off to Cusco.  We spent a few days in the city, then seeing the incan ruins in the sacred valley before heading off on the Inca Trail.  From were we started it was a trek of about 55 kilometers, crossing over Dead Woman's Pass at 4,215 meters.  It was pretty cool to arrive at Machu Picchu by foot, even though the view through the fog from Intipunku was not ideal.  After finishing seeing the cusco sights, we flew to Puerto Maldonado, in the Madre de Dios jungle, to spend my birthday just over the border in Bolivia, at the Heath River Lodge.  The jungle was humid, and we were hours and hours from any form of telephone, cell phone signal, or internet access.  Our cabins were even lit by candlelight, which would have been much more romantic if I hadn't been staying in a cabin by myself!  In the mornings we took a boat down the river to the Macaw Clay Lick, and saw quite an array of birds come to eat the clay, which they do to balance out their diets of unripe fruit.  All in all it was a fantastic vacation, and maybe it's nerdy but I really like spending time with my parents.

Since getting back, I've been super busy.  There is a new nurse and a new doctor in the EsSalud health post, and they have been really excited to work with me and get started visiting schools and getting to know the community.  I've been teaching classes to adolescents and young adults, and getting a close-by community ready to receive the next peace corps volunteer in december.  Now I just need to find time to go for a run!

Water Project

This is what the reservoir that my water comes from looks like.  It's really disgusting.  They put chlorine into the blue tank to 'clean' the water, but no traces of chlorine actually enter the water in the houses, so the system is not terribly effective.  There are plants growing in the water inside, and it turns out that the accumulation of debris and residuals has caused an excess of free radicals to be present in the water, not to mention the over-the-limit level of fecal matter.  Delicious.

One of my current projects is working with some hydraulic engineers on a profile of the current system and a proposal for a new reservoir and some sections of new piping to increase the quality and water pressure throughout the network.  It's been interesting to survey the topography of the whole town and it's surrounding small communities, and I've been administering a survey to find out the opinions of the people about their water quality.  So here's to making a better system and not getting cancer!

Sad Stuff

Being summertime, and having the schools closed, work has been a little slow in the last few weeks.  The good news is that I’ve had more time to work in the library, and will be picking up the next set of books from Promolibro at the end of the week to supplement our collection.  

We had a really scary and tragic incident in my town last week.  A large attraction here are the crawdads, which are served almost year round.  Right now they are in their time of reproduction, or “veda” and it’s illegal to harvest them.  However, people do it anyway.  Two men approached 2 15-year-old boys and offered them 100 soles if they would pick a certain amount of camarones.  The kids said sure, and went to the river with the men.  Once there, the men pulled out huge knives and cut the boys.  One got a cut from his wrist up to his elbow, but managed to escape, ran home, then jumped on the first bus to Arequipa.  His friend was not so lucky.  The men cut up his arm, cut off one hand and one foot, slit his throat, then removed his kidneys, small intestine, heart and eyes. They covered him with large rocks on the low bank of the river, where he was uncovered and found 7 days later by some people working in the area, and, overcome by the stench, looked for the source.  The boy who escaped came back after 3 days and has been working with the police, giving as much detail as possible about the incident.  It seems to be illegal organ trafficking, and further analysis is being done on the corpse in Lima to determine better the time-span of the crime.  I was in the municipality yesterday when the mother came in, trying to file the papers for her murdered son.  She is so overwhelmed with all the paperwork coming from the government, police, lawyers, and hospitals, and barely seems to know what to do.  This was one of my students, and it’s really hard to digest what happened to him.  It’s really scary that illegal organ trafficking has been brought to this small town, as well.  Parents are right: Don’t talk to strangers.

Keepin on

     Things are going pretty well this week.  It's summer vacation and there is a group of 6 kids that come to the library every morning for a few hours to read, and they come because they actually want to sit quietly and read.  It's amazing.  With those kids as a base of users and the occasional other person that wanders in to check it out, it's looking like a success.  Promolibro has been pleased with our library management and is going to send another loan of books to augment our selection in a few weeks.     

Last November I started working on an International Art Exchange with OneWorld Classrooms.  I sent artwork from local high school students to the organization in mid-december, and I got news today that the organization loved the art.  They are based in Massachusetts, and are putting our artwork on display in a few high schools before sending it off to the final recipient school.  We were also awarded a grant of $50 for art supplies for the school, which is fantastic.  While that may not be an overwhelming sum in the states, it will go far to help the students here. We'll be receiving artwork from other students in april I think, so it will be fun to set up a 'gallery show' at the school to show it off.  

     Another highlight is that today I met 2 hydraulic engineers who are creating a project plan for a new water system in my community.  Our water is terrible, and is the cause of a lot of malnutrition because of the parasites and bacterial infections that the kids get when their water isn't treated properly.  To go to the source and fix the water will help the health of this community immensely.  The engineers were very interested in my job with Peace Corps and said they would love help with the organization and creation of a feasible project proposal.  I'm really excited about working on this project.

A New Year

   They past few months have been busy, and full of travels.  For Thanksgiving I went to visit some volunteers in Ancash, just above Lima.  Hiking in the Cordillera Blanca was gorgeous, and it was great to celebrate the day of thanks with some good friends.

   In December we had medical checks and year-in program meetings in Lima, which was fun because we got to see all the volunteers from our training group; it had been since March when we were all together last.  Thankfully I'm healthy and had fun presenting about my projects, most notably the Library progress.  It's summer here, and there are a lot of kids who come to the library to read everyday during their summer vacations - it's a lot of fun recommending books and encouraging them to keep it up.  I'll be back in site for a solid period of time, now, and am looking forward to some interesting projects, such as a youth group of health promoters to teach about healthy sexual practices with the goal of AIDS prevention.  My parents are coming to visit in April, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them and traveling around a little.