Rediscovering Peru

Hello again and welcome to another episode of “PEACE CORPS ADVENTURES... FROM SPACE!” I'm just kidding... I am technically not in space but I thought it sounded cooler. It has been a wild ride since I last wrote. With the holidays whipping by faster than I can account for, I have been preparing and participating in dinners, events, travels, training, and work at what feels like a break-neck speed and I am loving every minute of it.

During camp VALOR in Cajamarca, I made the decision to travel to Ancash and share thanksgiving with my volunteer friends surrounded by snow capped Andean mountains and glacial lakes. As you can imagine, it did not take too much convincing to get me there. Before leaving I had to cancel or move a lot of workshops and meetings to the week when I would be back. The school year ends this week so I had no choice but to overload myself. Luckily, when I got back one of the volunteers living close to me asked if she can help out because she lives in a smaller site with less to keep her occupied. I readily agreed and I am looking forward to working with her.

Travel from Cutervo to anywhere is an adventure in itself. Just to get to the bus that would take us to the Peruvian Coast and Panamerican Highway was a 4.5 hour trip (usually 2) because of construction on the rough dirt roads. As with most travel between sites, we use local station wagons that cram two people in the front with the driver (the middle person quite literally getting the shaft) and four in the back seat (usually with someone sitting on a lap or two) and the cargo area is usually full of luggage and bags filled with business wares. It is not a very comfortable ride and your hair and lungs are filled with road dust by the end but it gets the job done. Once we arrived in Chota we bought tickets on a not-so-reliable bus company to get to the coastal capital of Chiclayo. I say it is not reliable because it takes a very scary route through one lane dirt roads with sheer drops to a sure death and the drivers are known for drinking a local alcohol made from sugar cane called cañaso. There were no other options as we were meeting a friend along the way but from the stories I hear, it does not really matter what agency we use and tales of buses going off the high cliffs reach Cutervo gossip circles on a regular basis.

As we pulled into Chiclayo my jaw steadily dropped more and more with every passing city block. I had just come from my site, which I consider to be a very modern city with all the amenities and here I was, transported into what looked like a modern US metropolis. The size and modernity of it all was not what shocked me so much as the sheer diversity of the businesses, architecture, and people. I have gotten so used to my life in Cutervo that I was quickly overwhelmed while standing in a seemingly endless isle at the supermarket trying to decide what type of coffee I wanted to buy. I had forgotten what sensory overload of that kind feels like and I ended up leaving without buying any at all. As I slowly reoriented myself to life in a real city, we took another 4 hour bus (along paved roads!) to the city of Trujillo (called the city of eternal spring by locals). This is perhaps my favorite of all the cities in look and feel. It has beautiful colonial architecture with a large cathedral or church on what feels like every corner. It has a european flare with outdoor cafes and antique book stores and I had a blast just exploring. Unfortunately, we had only hours to experience what Trujillo has to offer and we were once again on another bus to Huaraz, Ancash ten hours inland.

The city of Huaraz itself is small but what it lacks in scale it makes up for in character. Huaraz sits in a valley surrounded by the tall snow-capped peaks of the Andes, shadowed by the tallest mountain in Peru named Huazcaran. A stroll through the streets reveals a strong economic focus on tourism, with local artisans selling their wares on street corners and every block containing at least one hostal and internet cafe. The resturaunts are my favorite part and add much to a very bohemian feel in the city. Almost all of them have book exchanges, hiking maps, couches, and cappuccinos. The night life, too, is fueled by the presence of young tourists looking to unwind from a day of hiking and exploring and it is not uncommon to find two different scenes in the same club/bar – one with up to date US club music and one with local Peruvian dance tunes. It is almost silly how polarized these two scenes are; you can almost delineate Peruvians and foreigners with a pole.

Thanksgiving in Ancash was fantastic. I made a banana pudding and had to learn to make homemade whipped cream to go on top. The morning of our thanksgiving day extravaganza there was a 5k turkey trot charity run. It was so beautiful running through those mountains – at least it was beautiful until I was huffing and puffing to remain conscious for the rest of the race. I am proud to say that I did not come in last... which is good enough for me! The rest of the day was spent joking around in the kitchen while we prepared sweet potatoes (camote), mashed potatoes and gravy, pies, veggies, and fruit salads. Two big turkeys were placed in a local baker's adobe oven and were cooked to perfection. I would say that by the time we sat down to the amazing meal with many of our new Peruvian friends, I had decided this was the best thanksgiving of my life. We started the meal with a couple of speeches from our hosts about what thanksgiving means to us and we ended the meal with a dance party (unfortunately only the volunteers participated).

The next day a group of us woke up early to go hiking to Chuirup, a glacial lake at 14,500 feet. The hike was not all that hard but I ended up paying for not eating a subtantial breakfast and dizziness set in during some of the more dangerous parts. I took a rest to eat something and we made it to the lake while the cloud cover was still low. The photos I have may not do it justice but this lake is on my top five list of the most amazing places I have seen in my life. It was absolutely gorgeous. We stayed long enough to take photos, eat lunch, and let one of our crazy friends swim in the lake as part of a dare with another volunteer (see who can swim in the most glacial lakes). He was shivering for most of the time we remained and we headed back down to get some warmth. It was by far one of the coolest things I have done since arriving in Peru.

After all that I still had a week of training in another very beautiful part of Ancash. I had the opportunity to see old friends and we had a blast catching up on each other's lives. Many of them helped me realize that I am not here in Peru just to work but to learn about and experience the culture as well. Now that I am back in site and I am more energized and optimistic than ever, I realize that I must take small trips outside my site if I am to avoid burn out and keep doing the best work I can do. I am hoping to go to Chiclayo again soon and take a dip in the ocean. I will also plan a trip with some students to go see some ruins close by – we might even get a local expert to come along and explain it to us. I heard there are some really cool cave systems in the San Andres National Park near us too... so let the adventures begin!

Kickin' It With the Kids!

Hello and welcome back to my little part of the digital world!  So much has happened since we last met... I ate about 3 guinea pigs (actually I just kind of moved them around the plate and picked at them a little), my whole town was without phone or internet service for about a week, I travelled to Cajamarca city for a youth camp, and I learned how to say "no!"

First up I think we should all take a look at this monkey:

Isn't he cute!?

So I have been pretty darn busy but the good thing is that almost every moment has been a blast.  I would love to find a way to make this kind of work my career.  I met the little fella above in Sócota:

Pretty right?

This is the site of my friend and fellow volunteer, Annalise:

I look good!

Together we went to a small campo called Laguna Shita (we still giggle about this) to do some workshops on self-esteem and leadership with all of the kids of the newly established school there.  I got to watch poor blindfolded children try to make it through a field of trash without touching a piece while about 50 other children screamed out directions... they seemed amused so I don't feel too bad

My workshop was on leadership.

Annalise was doing something along the lines of self-esteem.  I have to say I feel I got the better end of the deal because I got to work with the secondaria while she had to work with the tiny ones.  She laughed at me when I asked if kids that age know how to read...

Who knows what Annalise's workshop was...

I made some friends from her group though!

Apparently I cannot get enough of these kids because the following week I was in Cajamarca city for a boy's youth camp.  (where Incan Emperor Atahualpa was captured by Pizarro - they have some really nice hot springs there so I can't really blame the dude for chilling out there while Pizarro marched through conquering his empire).

We played games, I gave a charla on trash and the environment, we ate ice cream, and hung out in the hot springs -  no, really, my job is a lot harder than it sounds ;)

Trust Falls!  Oh man this takes me back...

A tour of the University of Cajamarca's green houses.

It was a great trip and we will be doing one for the female youth in a few more months.  Right now I am finishing up my community diagnostic and making preparations for my trip to Ancash, where I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with some friends, do some hiking, and attend a week long training.  It will be a much needed break and a great chance to recharge.  To be honest I have kind of forgotten I am even in Peru, it just feels like home now -  getting out and seeing the sites will get my excitement up.

I hope you enjoyed sharing a little bit of my experience with me, but before you go I would like to show you part of my host home that you have not seen yet.

This is our back yard.

My host dad has put up a grill (behind the photo) and a beautiful flower bed (to the right of the photo) and plans on putting up a vegetable garden and a table for picnics.

It is certainly hard to think that it is fall out there in the states right now... I really miss the halloween/thanksgiving/christmas atmosphere but, on the other hand, I most certainly cannot complain.

Remember that you are always welcome to visit!

It's All About the Comida Baby

Hey everyone! I think a blog is long over due. I kept planning on writing on the topic of Peruvian food but kept forgetting to take photos of what I was eating... because, let's face it, whats a food blog without photos?

First off I would like to send a shout out to the wonderful friends and family who have sent me letters or packages over the last couple of months. My mom sent me a really great package with some peanut butter (which you can't find here) and post cards of Colorado. The latter went over a little better than the former but my host mom said she liked the peanut butter. The love of my life, Katie, has also been sending me some really great letters and small items from Japan (where she is currently studying). And also, thank you to Danny Lambert for the awesome letter in spanish as well as the articles. As a returned Peace Corps volunteer, he knows we don't often get too much good intellectually challenging reading material out in the field.

For those of you who have asked what you can send me in a package, here is a list of things I would like for my work as well as a few comfort items for good measure ;) Oddly enough I can't find these items here (except the books of course)...

• Duct Tape
• Zip Lock Bags (sandwich size)
• Any books in Spanish (Katie and I are starting a public library)
• Sharpies (fine tip – any colors but black is always king)
• Frisbees
• US Candy Bars (cus I miss them)
• Peanut Butter
• Dodge balls

In case you need my address again, it is:

Chris Huey

Pasaje YoYo Flores 180

Cutevo, Cajamarca

Peru

That should do it. I am putting together a youth development activities kit that will allow me to do pretty much any team-builder or leadership game upon request. I hope to incorporate non-formal education in the youth center as well.

Now onto the main point of this post – the food.

Before getting into my newfound love for Peruvian food I need to point out that I do not eat as the majority of Peruvian families (and by extension, my colleagues in the field) do. The typical lunch of a Peruvian living here in the sierra consists of boiled or fried potatoes, rice, and a small portion of meat (usually chicken and sometimes beef or pork). This is due to the extreme poverty (potatoes and rice being very cheap and filling), but I am still unsure as to why the cheap vegetables are not popular (maybe just a cultural aversion). This leads to a very carbohydrate heavy and nutrient poor diet for the majority of the sierran population. I am currently working with the ministry of health in a campaign to educate people about the importance and benefit of a nutritionally diverse diet.

Because of this reality, many Peace Corps volunteers must take multi-vitamins and travel to nearby cities to buy vegetables to supplement their diets. I have the great fortune to live with a very progressive family that understands the value of eating vegetables. More than that, I am lucky to live with the best chef in the city (this is indisputable) who enjoys experimenting with any new foods she can get her hands on. I have been compiling photos of my meals (hence the long time since a post) to show you all what some famous – and delicious – Peruvian dishes are. It took me a little longer than I expected because I kept forgetting to take the pictures when the food was set down in front of me. I became so excited at meal time that often the camera would sit on the table forgotten while I dug into the food with the fervor of a rabid wolverine.

First, allow me to educate you on one of the Peruvian staples you might be familiar with: the potato. Experts can actually trace the origins of all potatoes to the Andes mountains – having only been introduced outside this region a mere four centuries ago. According to the American Association for the Advancement of Science “over 99% of all cultivated potatoes worldwide are descendants of a subspecies indigenous to south-central Chile.” This important food was first domesticated in Peru between 3000 BC and 2000 BC and has always been the principle carbohydrate source in the area (from the Incans to the Spanish to the modern Peruvian). One can expect that the folks living in the birth place of the potato have perfected its culinary preparation and, indeed, the things that my host mother can do with a potato are magical – for lack of a better word.

Perhaps on of the most typical and famous potato dishes here is Peru is one called papa a la huancaína. This is an appetizer of lettuce, boiled potatoes, and a thick cheesy ají chili sauce – garnished with olives and hard boiled egg slices. This was one of the first dishes I tried upon arriving in Peru and was my first step in a long discovery of great food. While this is a really good dish, for me nothing beats a Peruvian sweet potato (called camote), boiled and served plain... sooo good.

Camote is often served with yucca as a side to the delicious food known as ceviche. Ask anyone here who invented the popular seafood dish and they will proudly insist that it is Peruvian. While there is some argument as to whether this is true, archaeological records show that raw fish cooked only with citrus juice (the basis for ceviche) was eaten by the Moche civilization of Northern Peru as far back as 2000 years ago. This is an amazing, probably my new favorite, plate consisting of onion, ají chilies, lime juice, and white fish... anything else is overkill – or so I am told by the ceviche cooks. Since arriving here, ceviche has become my seafood of choice – winning out over even the best sushi I have tasted.

In general, lunch is the biggest meal of the day (which is healthier than a huge meal before bed). I had to acclimate myself to the huge afternoon meal that usually consists of a large soup, plate of food, and dessert. Usually I have to lay down after trying, and often failing, to fit all that wonderful food into my stomach. I absolutely have a better understanding of the siestas of Mexico and often jealously wish we could sleep in the afternoons here as well. The soups are... well, super (yeah, I said it). They always consist of a real slow cooked chicken or beef stock packed with veggies, meats, and pastas and rices. It is often that I am almost full just after the great soup!

The real magic here is in the local fresh food supply, lacking long travel times, tons of pesticide, or any genetic modification. I think I can count the number of times I have eaten a packaged food item in my house on one hand. I could never have said that in the US. I have a much greater appreciation for the health and flavor benefits of this kind of food chain. Sure, the variety is lacking in comparison to the United States, but the whole lifestyle is more sustainable, healthy, and fresh – something we North Americans lost a long time ago.

Also, food hold strong sway within the Peruvian culture. The poor may not have much but what they do have is access to cheap food staples such as rice and potatoes. What they can do with just a few simple ingredients is often nothing short of miraculous and a gift of food is always the first thing to greet a guest – be they family or stranger. It is considered a grave insult to not eat everything offered and this is not made easy by the fact that the food is plentiful and often followed up with seconds (I challenge anyone to come out here and try and finish a campo meal and walk upright immediately afterwards... I posit that it cannot be done).

And of course as good as the food is, that does not mean I do not miss my own comfort foods from home. I would give almost anything for something with cheddar cheese on it. I cannot say I am really all that thrilled with the cheese selections here – no matter how fresh and local they may be. I can't help but dream about a Anthony's pepperoni pizza with extra cheese every once in a while. Luckily my cravings almost always pass when I arrive home from work to the smells of my madre's fantastic cooking.

Peace Corps: The Hardest Job You'll Ever Love

Fear not loyal tax-payer!  You are most certainly getting your money's worth in me.  I find it only slightly ironic that it is in my volunteer job that I find myself working harder, being more dedicated, and feeling more passionate in my efforts than ever before in my life.  I have been so busy that I have mixed up a few meetings, dedicated myself foolhardily to a few too many projects, and mistaken a few of my socios (counterparts) for others.  But despite these speed bumps, my work continues to soldier on at a lightning pace.  So for you're benefit, to make you feel better about your hard earned cash funding my trip to Peru, I will detail some of my work here.

First of all, I have been working on my community diagnostic. This alone has taken up a good amount of my time because I have to translate the spanish of the reports I receive from the Hospital, Health Center, Municipality, and professors into usable data.  Of course, this means that I am getting plenty of spanish practice.  I have been told by my family that I have noticeably improved since arriving - although I have to admit I don't feel the same way.  I have been using spare moments to make flash cards of new vocabulary and work through my advanced spanish text book I was given during training.

Also I have been travelling to the local caserios (small rural communities with few resources) around Cutervo to learn the reality of life for the majority of people living here.  I have also done charlas about a ton of topics like health, environment, leadership, self-esteem, and english classes.  My main socios for these trips have been Victor Medina (director of the Association for Cutervo Youth), Professor Oscar Castillo (english professor at Colegio Casanova), and Professor Rodolfo Diaz (professor at Colegio Cristo Rey).  So far I have given charlas at two schools here in the city, at a catholic church youth group, and in two different rural communities (Chiguirip and La Conga).  To date I have given charlas to close to 750 children.

Can't leave town without gas!

Charla on self-esteem in Chiguirip, Chota, Cajamarca

Doing a team-builder in Chiguirip, Chota, Cajamarca

With DISA (the health center in charge of all the health posts in the province) I have been planning some larger projects.  On October 6th-8th, we will be travelling to the district of Querocotillo in the north in order to ascertain the effectiveness of the health posts there.  I will have the opportunity to talk with health professionals throughout the province about the strengths and weaknesses they face working with the area's youth.  We are also going to have a multi-sectorial meeting on the 11th to discuss the planning of a youth center.  At this facility we hope to give children a place to go after school (other than the streets) where they can get help with homework, be involved in planned activities and field trips, and have access to a whole range of educational opportunities and professional help (from police, psychologists, doctors, educators, and social workers).  I am working on a similar project for a community out in the campo that is central enough for a few other communities to utilize.  I hope to give charlas in both as well as help with administrative work.

On the 15th, I am working with Victor and two other volunteers close by to head to the community of Palo Solo to give a presentation of ourselves and a demonstration of our work.  We will give small charlas over topics of healthy living, leadership, and self-esteem for a group of 200 people from about 7 different communities.

Last but certainly not least, I have been making friends, hanging out with the family, and enjoying the culture.  It is still taking a lot of work simply to feel like a part of the community but I definitely feel like part of my family already.  Local elections were held this weekend and the whole family was finally under the same roof long enough for us to enjoy each other's company.  My brother Kike is getting a degree in human rights (so we have a lot to talk about) and my sister Madoli is getting her degree in tourism and we spent a couple hours talking in english and studying vocab together.  It was a bit sad to see them go but I will be heading through their city on my way back for my early IST (in service training) in two months.

From Left to Right: Lilia, Madoli, Kike, Andrea, Jimena, and Raul

When the goin' gets tough...

So imagine giving a presentation about sex and STDs to a group of 16 years olds when you realize that they seem to already know everything you came to teach them, nay, they know more than you do on the subject.  Combine that horror with the fact that you have rolled a condom halfway down your finger only to realize that you don't have the proper vocabulary to describe what you are doing or why you are doing it.  To top it all off you look down and realize you aren't wearing any pants!!!

Well, all or part of the scenario above happened to me today during my class on sex education.  At first I was really worried about giving a charla (talk) on sex to a group of catholic students.  I worried that their parents would be furious when they found out I was teaching them about condoms and whatnot but my counter part assured me that there was nothing to worry about.  He also told me that they were well versed in what sex was and I would not have to give them a rudimentary, and frankly embarrassing, description of the mechanics of how sex works - I'm 27 and I still haven't figured it out!

So I showed up with a set of cue cards thinking, "just stick to the cards and all will be fine."  Well I didn't have time to rehears the cards.  I worried about them laughing at the sex parts... but I was wrong.  What they found hilarious was my dismal attempt at pronouncing medical terms and my occasional desperate glance at the teacher for help.  They first uncovered my charade when I asked them if they knew what an STD is - to which they all shouted out in unison the meaning of the letters and a brief but accurate description.
"Wow!" I said, "You guys are really smart!"
"So who can name a few for me?"

The answers came flying back at me as if they were in a game show in a race for time.  I realized I was screwed when I didn't know what almost any of them were.  I had to turn to the professor, hoping he would give me an answer like "that is just the term here for genital herpes."  Instead he started explaining the symptoms and I realized how deep I had gotten myself.  I nodded in agreement as if what he was saying was being understood while really my mind was screaming at me to run, flee, find shelter, or cower in a corner.

Perhaps the most embarrassing part for me was when I was trying to show them how to use a condom (most of them had never even seen one and were not sure what it was really for).  I realized I could explain to check the expiration date, check for air to make sure the package was sealed, how to open it... then I didn't have the vocabulary to finish.  How do you say "make sure there is a reservoir of space at the end for the semen then roll the condom down the penis"?  I had to resort to sort of grunting, pointing, and repeating the words "do it like this" - which is not a very easy task in itself while trying to roll it down your finger....

Eventually I finished my charla and even did an activity to explain how HIV works and what the difference is between it and AIDS.  They seemed to enjoy themselves, and got a lot of giggles in at well. I am sure my foolishness was not as bad as it felt and the exuberant goodbye was more than enough to lift my spirits.

But if you are interested in seeing how it all played out, I saw a couple boys in back filming the whole thing on their cameras - so I may be coming to an internet near you...

I should also point out that I had the opportunity to get my hands dirty during our regional meeting in Chota.  We volunteered to help a health center plant a garden of spinach and then I watched as they gave them a charla on the benefits of growing their own food to meeting nutritional gaps (they lack a lot of nutrients and most children in the campo are malnourished).  Below are some photos of how it went!

The Real Deal

Often I try not to think of the differences between my new home and my old. This is perhaps a survival technique as it allows me to avoid much of the disorientation and home-sickness which accompanies the culture shock of moving to a new environment. I realize that, while protecting myself from these consequences of admitting my new surroundings, it also prevents me from appreciating those new surroundings – and perhaps lessens the very experience of being in Peru. I realize that I have been writing my blogs more in the manner of a visitor than a volunteer living here and I hope to give you all a better visual of what my experience actually is.


I make it sound in my blogs and emails as if becoming integrated here has been an easy task for me. In fact I must constantly pep-talk myself to even work up the motivation to walk out the door of my host home. It is exhausting trying to understand and be understood in a place where I a) barely speak the language, b) must constantly be observant of the local customs so as not to offend, and c) have to explain almost everything about myself to everyone I meet – often repeating the same things to the same people every day. Sometimes, I am very tempted to stay in my room and just watch movies on my laptop to escape the awkwardness of integration.

Luckily for me, I have the amazing fortune of living with a very progressive, loving, and tight-nit host family who have adopted me into their home and lives without even knowing me. My family here has been my rock upon which all work here seems not only possible but inevitably successful. My father Raul is a professor of communication and has chosen to focus his career on traveling between the small rural farming communities to ensure that even the children there receive an education. He is faced with a hard task because the parents in those communities value their children's labor over their education and he must constantly battle with them to provide those children with the best of possible futures. Raul has been invaluable to me as a counterpart here in Cutervo. On several different occasions he has shown me around the community and introduced me to some of the most influential people within the development system (health posts, schools, police, priests, and municipality officials).

My mother, Lilia, is a professor at a pedagogical college right next to our home. She has taken me in as one of her own and shows a great deal of concern for my safety, integration, and professional success. She is an amazing cook (in fact, the lower level of the house is a restaurant). When she heard that I like to cook she excitedly starting making plans for us to teach each other recipes and I have been a dedicated student ever since. Often times, after dinner, we sit around at the table for a hour or more talking about everything from philosophy and religion to popular culture. These kinds of conversations have gone a long way in keeping me sane and happy here - I know that many volunteers often go a little bit stir crazy when faced with the reality that conversations often don't go in any greater depth than current local gossip.

My uncle, Willy Castro, is – you guessed it – a professor of history and an avid bird watcher. He has been my best professional counterpart by far. He began by setting me up with a slot in his environmental sustainability and eco-tourism conference for youth. I had the opportunity to speak to 150 youth from various colegios (secondary schools) in Cutervo about their habits and attitudes towards trash and how to change those habits. I set up a sign up sheet for anyone interested in being in a youth-leader group focusing on environment issues and got over 80 email addresses. I hope to take this group out to the rural areas and give workshops, skits, and activities to the youth out there. Willy has also set me up with a camping trip every weekend to a different rural area to see the realities of the poverty stricken majority of Peru. It is hard coming to terms with the dichotomy of being in an area so beautiful as to warrant the name of paradise and yet observe the local population literally struggle to survive – often on nothing more than rice and sugar.

As you can guess, mine is not your average Peruvian family. As my host father points out, in Peru there is not a very distinguished middle class, you are either elite and rich or starving without resources. With better-than-average food, access to internet, constant potable running water, 24 hour electricity, and a network of motivated and ambitious counterparts, I do not live the quintessential Peace Corps experience that I imagined I would. And while I often feel guilty that I am living in such a comfortable environment, I must remind myself that I am not here on a personal development mission seeking inner-perspective on the realities of life. I am here to help people less fortunate than I have been, not to share in their suffering. I am lucky to be connected in such an intimate way to the elite of Cutervo because, through them, I have access to the power, influence, and resources necessary to bring about some changes that are so obviously needed.

Right now I am feeling very confident that together with my counterparts, we can provide a catalyst for sustainable positive change in the lives of youth within and around Cutervo. With each meeting we are gathering more interested community leaders into our multi-sectorial group called the “Civic Committee to Favor Cutervian Adolescents and Youth”. We are going to spend the first three months garnering support, carrying out a full community diagnostic, presenting those findings to the community, asking for suggestions of citizens, and waiting for the current election cycle to finish. After that, we will begin planning and implementing projects based on the diagnostic and community ideas. We are hoping to focus on at-risk-youth in the areas of drug/alcohol abuse, prostitution, teen pregnancy, and crime.

As my own personal side project, I would like to set up a group of youth leaders that are trained to start, plan, and lead their own groups (focusing on giving educational workshops to the rural youth). I believe that the important thing here is less about what topic they choose to focus on (ie: life skills, education, job skills, leadership, self-esteem, environment...etc) and more about building social capital. I believe that building those networks of empowered youth and allowing them to find connections with others is what will create a system for sustainable long-term change. Yes I am idealistic – but change always begins with the dreamers. I can only hope the enthusiasm of myself and my counterparts can rub off on enough people to get things started in a big way.

Now all I have to do is learn Spanish!... Just Kidding ;)

Feelin' the Love in Cajamazing

It doesn't get much better than this. I have a host family that is very supportive, a great living environment, community counterparts who are excited and actively working with me, and a city full of youth eager to get started.

I have only been here for a week and a half and I have already done so much. While setting up my room and buying the things I need to make it feel like home, I decided I could better motivate myself to gather and organize my community diagnostic information if I turned my walls into a decorated excel sheet of sorts. Every time I learn something new about my community I write it on a note card and stick it to the wall under its appropriate heading. It helped me decorate my very bare walls. I also bought a portable fabric closet and posted up photos of friends and family to make it feel more like home.

Hanging with the locals.

I have a host uncle names Willy Castro... how cool of a name is that? He is a historian/biologist/professor here in Cutervo and is well known in and around town. While talking over dinner one night he learned about how much I love camping, hiking, and the outdoors and asked me to join him on a camping trip out to a small farming community in the mountains named San Pedro. I jumped at the opportunity and was not disappointed. I saw some amazingly gorgeous views, met some really generous and friendly people, and drank a good portion of the local rum (called ayunque). It is always an eye opener to see the difference between how people in the cities live from those in the surrounding country side.

 

These very nice people may not have much, but what they
do have, they are more than happy (insist even) in sharing.

While out on that trip, I was telling Willy about an idea I had to start an environmental sustainability youth group that we can train as promotors to go around education others. In this group we can do workshops, movie and discussion nights, camping trips, and trips to the countryside to give classes on the environment. He sounded interested in the idea and then invited me to fill a 30 minute spot in his upcoming environment and eco-tourism conference later in the week. I was a little (read a lot) nervous after hearing that over 150 youth would be in attendance and experts from England, New Zealand, and Spain would also be giving talks on their areas of interest.

San Pedro

Never-the-less, I put together a segment about the need for changing attitudes and behavior about trash in Cutervo. The mountains around the city are literally covered in trash and it is very depressing – especially given the abundance of natural beauty being ruined in the area. The kids seemed to like my presentation and lined up afterwards to ask some very insightful questions and give some ingenious solutions. They also filled my sign up list for starting a youth group! I will be asking the municipality for space and materials and then begin the process of planning and contacting all of the youth. (Photos of the conference). I also plan on doing every step with at least two counterparts from the community in the hope that the group is sustainable after I leave.

One rarely gets to tell 150 kids what to do all at once.
PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR AND SMILE FOR THE CAMERA!

I was put in contact with a professor who also helps run one of the local radio stations, Radio Cutervo. He interviewed me about my experience, motivations for volunteering, what Cuerpo de Paz is, and what my goals are for my two years here. I am psyched about that interview because now people are beginning to recognize me and approach me with ideas for projects. One young man, Christian, came up to me and asked me if I would be interested in working with an already existing youth group at his school! Also, I have begun working with a Catholic youth group focusing on capacity building for young people in Cutervo. I gave a charla (small informal workshop) on self-esteem and we played a few games along that theme. I love my job.

Needless to say, I have been keeping busy. This week I will be meeting with as many city and organization leaders as possible and then we will plan that televised conference I keep telling you all about. I am almost done with the presentation for that as well.

Kicking butt in Cutervo, Cajamarca, Peru,

This is Chris Huey (Cris Way as they pronounce it here) signing off.

So it's official

as of Friday, August 20th, 2010 I am now a Peace Corps Volunteer (as opposed to my previous status of 'trainee'). We all had to pack up and be at the center by 8am to go over some logistics and pick up our mosquito nets (no joke – they made us all grab one). We were given an hour lunch to spend with our families but since it takes 20 mins to get to and from my house I said my goodbyes the night before – and made them dinner as a thank you.

My sad last night with the Chacrasana family.

We all packed into two big buses and headed to the U.S. Embassy in central Lima for a swearing in ceremony. The whole thing started with us singing the national anthems of both Peru and the US. I have to admit it was a little awkward when neither group could properly sing the other's anthem – not that we did our own any justice. The ceremony was short and sweet with five minute speeches from a trainee, host family father, business representative of the Embassy, and our program directors. We were called up to the stage to take an oath of allegiance to the US government (some people were a bit put off by the whole “defend against all enemies foreign and domestic bit” and I can't blame them we are called the Peace Corps for goodness sake). We finished by taking a group photo and gorging ourselves on the awesome snacks provided.

Swearing in Ceremony at the Embassy.  I am with two of our doctors here.. very cool people.

That was it. We headed back to the hostel in Lima and were left to our own devices at that point. Most of us went and had US style meals. I went with a huge group to TGI Fridays and had Fajitas and a Margarita – and paid the same amount as I would in the US for it. I won't be doing that again. Sure the food was good but when you were making only 8 Soles a day (about $2.50) it is hard to justify spending that much. I am making a little bit more now (about 11 bucks a day) but I also have to pay rent, food, transportation...etc. Since I live in a larger city where the cost of living is more, that leaves me with little breathing room as far as spending money goes. I expect to learn and grow a lot for it. Here is the only scary thing – my school debt will be growing rapidly while I am here.

Found some colorado license plates in a karaoke bar...
yes, we made our signs backwards...

After three days of travel and shopping for things I will need I have finally arrived back in Cutervo. My family picked me up at the corner I was dropped off on and showed me to my room. They did a lot of work while I was gone by adding another light, fixing outlets, giving me some more furniture, and moving their daughter's personal items out (yes I am the jerk that took her room and I feel awful about it). Then we sat and joked around about Peruvian transportation for a while before bed.

While I have heard a lot of volunteers say they arrived at site and said “now what?” I woke up this morning feeling inundated with things to do. I need to buy items for my room (like a dresser and lamps), finish editing my Human Trafficking paper (A.K.A. the never ending paper), write blogs and emails, unpack and set up my room, finish my power point for our televised conference coming up soon, and begin the long process of gathering, organizing, and recording the information for our three month community diagnostic. This is good, I like to stay busy and would not be comfortable if I were just sitting around – of course even then I have spanish to study, guitar to practice, books to read, exercise to do, and people to meet.

If you are still with me here is the boring logistical part of the blog. I have a cell phone that anyone can contact me on. It is free for me to receive calls but I assume that means you will be paying quite a bit. Here is the formula for calling me:

011 + 51 + 76 + 970913716

We are discussing getting internet in the house, but until that happens I will have to go to a local internet cafe to check emails and skype with people. This means we will have to decide by email or phone when to skype. I am one hour ahead of those of you in Colorado.
Also, here is my new address so I can receive mail and packages. The original address you all have for Lima will make it so I have to either wait two more weeks or, if it is a larger package, physically go down to Lima to pick it up... which will only happen about 3 times in my two years.

Chris Huey
Pasaje Yoyo Flores 180
Cutervo, Cajamarca, Peru

I am excited to get started with my work here. And I am lucky that my community partners seem excited as well. I am still not sure exactly what I will be doing but I know that the community diagnostic combined with just meeting and talking with people will turn up quite a few opportunities for me to stay busy and, with a little luck, help someone.

As always, I miss you all. I expect to go through a hump by month two, when I realize what I got myself into ;) Please send me your photos and emails about your lives.


PS - I will edit with pictures when I get a better internet connection...

My New Home: Cutervo, Cajamarca, Perú

Hello everyone!

First of all, I want to thank all of you that sent me those wonderful birthday wishes. I also received calls from all of my training buddies and my host family opened up a nice bottle of wine for me during lunch to celebrate. Because of all that I was able to avoid the home-sickness that inevitably accompanies a birthday abroad.

Also, many of you may have already read this post in an email I sent but I got a lot of errors because your email addresses would not receive such a large file.  I am still trying to work out the kinks of how to best communicate with everyone.

I am just now finishing up my site visit to Cutervo, Cajamarca, Peru... they call it Cajamazing for a reason. There are rolling green hills for miles punctuated by high jagged mountains. Honestly, none of my photos come near doing it justice so I guess you will have to make a trip out to visit me to see what I mean.

Cutervo, Cajamarca, Perú

Incan ruins on the mountain overlooking Cutervo

Cutervo is a provincial capital with a population of  36,000 people. I asked for a larger site so I could work on a project for my masters degree (I would like to focus on the exploited child labor problem in the cities of Cajamarca). I will be spending the first three months doing a community diagnostic which will cover everything from religion and politics to food and annual festivals. Together with my local counterparts, we will be focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of current youth development efforts in the city and surrounding countryside.

It looks like I have my work cut out for me because when I met my first counterpart (called a socio comunitario) she informed me that the city has planned a conference for me and my socios to attend which will be covered by the local reporters, tv station, and radio station. I need to get up to speed on my spanish and present a powerpoint about my purpose, goals, and resume. No pressure there! I was able to sit down with that socio, a professor at a women's pedagogical college and also my new host mom, and we hammered out a solid plan for the first three months. We will be holding community meetings to examine the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of Cutervo. We will also have several meetings with the leaders of the community to plan a large scale youth program, using the space provided by the catholic church, and spanning the city limits and surrounding 81 farming communities. They have made it clear that they are serious about doing it, with or without me, as a multi-sectorial effort (police, municipality, schools, church, peace corps, and health centers). I am definitely in over my head but I am excited to get started.

As for my family and living arrangements, I definitely got the cream of the crop. I am living in a very modern house with hot running water, gas, electricity, washing machine, cable, and internet (coming soon). My family owns a restaurant, which takes up half of the first floor and has a cool bull fighting theme (my host brother is a matador – how cool is that!?) Cutervo is all about the bull fighting. I can't stress enough how fat I will probably get living here. The food is amazing and the afternoon meal is huge! I am sure all the walking I will be doing between the farming communities will help though.

I will be living with my two younger host siblings (13 and 15 year old girls) and the mom named Lilia (also my socio). The father, who is very excited about me being here, works as a professor in the farming communities and will be here on the weekends. The other two siblings (19 year old boy and 20 year old girl) live in the big city 10 hours away to attend university. I have already been introduced to a lot of the extended family and they seems to hold a pretty high place of esteem here in Cutervo – the uncle is a scholar who literally wrote the book on Cutervo (should be useful while writing my community diagnostic). They are all amazing and extremely welcoming. It is easy for me to see myself living with them for the next two years.

Plaza de Armas, Cutervo

Campesinos waiting for monthly government stipend

Mi Familia Anfitriona - left to right: Ximena, Raul, Madoli, Kike

I have been told that Cutervo is a very safe city and although I attract a lot of attention being the only gringo in town I should be perfectly safe traveling around alone. Also, my spanish has improved to a point where I can communicate easily with strangers – which makes traveling in a new country much safer.

After a bunch of meetings and tours of the town I had the opportunity to climb the largest mountain with my host brother. It took us two hours to get the top and it was quite a trek but it was completely worth it. On our way up I saw white sand pits (made me forget I was on a mountain far from the ocean for a second) and we came across this funny looking rock where my brother started throwing rocks and yelling at it. He explained that the rock is believed to be a witch (called la vieja) and you need to throw a rock at her for each thing you are lacking in your household – because its her fault. I yelled at her for taking my reeses peanut butter cups...

Apparently it used to look a lot more like an old woman and a lot less like a random boulder... And you would see the photos if the internet connection was better.... *sigh*

So that is what I have been up to. I have to start my return trip to Lima today (26 hours in total) and then I will be officially sworn in as a volunteer. Then I have to head back! I wish I could just stay here since everything is ready to go. The plus side is that I will get to see my friends from training one last time. I am sure we will end up spending most of our time looking at photos and swapping stories. I wish I could share everything that has happened here but I just don't have the space or time. However, I will have access to the internet every night when I get back and will keep my skype up and running!

I miss you all so much. Even though everything here is going great it doesn't make it any easier that I am away from the ones I love. I definitely have moments where I realize what I am about to do and freak out a little bit... a lotta bit. I love hearing from all of you so please write emails and send photos of what is going on back in the States.

I hope all is well in your lives.

Chris

Contacting me – I have a cell phone now! I can receive calls from you all for free (its on your dime) but I cannot call out cheaply. My current number is going to change because it was programmed for Lima but I will be sure to give it out to all of you when it does.

Sending packages – I will not be at the address you currently have for Lima. I will send you all my new contact information after I get back here to Cutervo.

Field Based Training: Cajamarca

Im Back!  I haven't posted in a while because there is not much to say about training other than "I get up at 7, attend technical and language classes, and go to bed around 10."

The monotony finally broke when we headed to our Field Based Training.  My group headed to Cajamarca - the northern mountains of Peru.  There we travelled to various sites to see where current volunteers live and what kind of work they are doing.  We went everywhere from a huge district capital (Cajamarca City), to medium provincial capitals (Cajabamba and San Marcos), and a couple of small towns (La Grama and Cauday).

In each we had the opportunity to plan and teach classes to all kinds of different schools with lots of different ages and mixes of kids.  We taught classes on healthy lifestyles, leadership, community involvement, and job skills.  We also watched current volunteers give classes to students.  One of my favorites was a business class on entrepreneurial endeavors where the volunteers gave an inspiring and active talk about how to be creative and start your own business.  At one point the volunteer asked the class what would happen if they didn't show up for all the classes - in which he then ripped up a certificate of completion and threw it out at them... the class loved it.

My group of four gave several presentations (charlas) to lots of different classes.  I felt most of them were very successful.  One of the greatest things we learned was that things will rarely turn out how they were described to us or planned.  At one point we were told we would have 15 older students to do a leadership charla with.  It turned out to be 30 much younger kids and we had to change almost everything on the fly to make it work.  It was a bit of an adrenaline rush and gave me a lot of confidence in our abilities.

Playing the Human Knot in San Marcos

Teaching English in Cajamarca

Popularity Abounds

Some of these communities have never seen so many gringos in one spot and they get a bit crazy.  At one site they literally would not let us leave until we had put our autograph in all their notebooks.  At lots of other sites I found myself posing in a lot of photos with complete strangers.  And the kids love my arm hair oddly enough.  One time I was trying to talk to one of the teachers and looked down to find two kids, one on each arm, mesmerized by petting me.  I have been asked by a couple of adults if they can touch it too... wild.  At least I know I can make a quick buck if things get tough.

I sincerely hope my site ends up being in the mountains.  I am just a mountain kinda guy and I love cold weather... that and anyone who has ever seen a picture of Machu Picchu can understand my wish to live there.  Here are some photos of Cajamarca:

Cajamarca City is Gorgeous

Awesome right?

Who wouldn't want to live here?

One of our last activities while out in a small town called La Grama was a "mission impossible" where we had to run around the town and complete tasks for points.  Whoever gained the most points won.  The tasks were silly - like ride a donkey, wear a traditional outfit, or play soccer with kids - and led to one of the best days of my life.  My buddy Curtis (in the photo below) and I teamed up with some local kids who quickly invested themselves in our cause and led us all around town knocking on doors, talking to people, and taking photos of us completing tasks.  We ended up forgoing most of the other tasks to find a burro because Curtis wanted to ride one.  We finally found one! We were even gifted three huge pieces of sugar cane by the guy who let us ride it.  At the end of the day I really felt confident about going around and just meeting and talking with people - an invaluable skill for when I go to site.

We shared some refreshing beverages with our guides!

This was the culmination of our efforts...