A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a lotta laundry

Sorry for the long period of time in between posts.  I have been focusing all of my attention on my Human Trafficking paper so I can finally go out with my training teammates, spend time with my family, learn spanish... basically, be a Peace Corps volunteer.  As of tonight I have finally finished that paper!  If anyone would like to read and edit it for me, I will be forever in your debt.  I have one month to perfect it.

As for training, it has been dragging on a bit long.  I hear everyone has the same complaint around this time.  We sit through a lot of presentations, do a team building activity every 10 minutes, and find little time to ourselves.  Most of the material is over theoretical methodology.  For example, we did one of those long surveys to find out what kind of teaching style you prefer (what I deem as equivalent to astrology for the social sciences).  Most of my frustration is just my wish to get to site as soon as possible and get started doing some work.

Of course, it is not all frustrating.  I have been working with a couple of other volunteers to do some youth activities with some young children here in my town of Chacrasana.  Our first week we made bracelets with string and played some names games.  Last week we taught the kids how to make sorbet using bags, ice, salt, and fruit juice.  It didn't work as planned (too much juice and not enough ice) but we all had fun dancing to pop music while shaking the bags.  This week we intend to do a movie night, hopefully with the movie Pay It Forward if I can find it in spanish, and then discuss it afterwards.  The group practically doubled between week one and two so I hope, and expect, for more this week.  It feel great working with them.  Some of the children live in really sparse conditions in a makeshift town above Chacrasana - living in fiberboard housing without running water, electricity, or gas.

Last weekend we had the opportunity to head to Lima and check out the sites and sounds... We had fun and the best part was watching a world cup game while we had some pizza.  This weekend we visited a shelter close to Chosica and I had the opportunity to play soccer and tag with a bunch of kids.  I was having so much fun I actually missed meeting up with my group for another presentation.

Besides training and small group excursions, I have been spending an unusual amount of time doing laundry.  I think I will probably miss two things the most while here. 1) cold showers and 2) washers.  It is a ridiculously complicated process to wash your clothing by hand.  You have to make sure you don't wash socks in the same water as a towel (so you don't put your foor crud on your face) and you have to rinse everything twice, which involves draining and refilling the sink a million times.  My hands were raw and hurt the whole next day but I have clean clothes... I can say this... I am now wearing my clothes a lot lot longer than before!

 Until next time! Nos Vemos!

Fog, Mountains, and Guinea Pig... I must be in Peru.

So our plane was delayed and we ended up getting to the retreat center in Chaclacayo at 2 am.  I was groggy as we stepped off the bus and I was faintly aware of the smell of burning leaves, cold air, and thick fog.  As we walked into the center we passed a dog... wearing a tattered t-shirt?... the whole thing felt so surreal.  I snapped a photo as the gate squeaked shut behind us.

The first days of training have been long and exhausting.  We spent a lot of time sitting through presentations about what we would be learning later.  I suppose the extremely structured schedule is so that we don't have time to freak out about our 2 year commitment.  Personally I feel great to be here and I am chomping at the bit to get things rolling.

I met my host family for the next 10 weeks and they are very generous and nice people.  They have had four volunteers before me so things are pretty smooth at home.  They gave me my own room but I feel a bit bad because it is huge.  The rest of the family (six kids, one boyfriend, two grandparents, and two parents) all live in the other three rooms of the house.  So I obviously feel like a jerk for taking up so much space.  But it is rude to say anything and I appreciate their generosity.  They are great cooks and have been very willing to help me with my spanish and homework.  We have had a some great conversations and I am sure I am in a great environment for learning the language quickly.

My first day here they were having a birthday party for their 83 year old and made something called pachamanca.  This consists of putting a bunch of meat (guinea pig, rabbit, chicken, and pork) and potatoes and fava beans in a hole in the ground (which is called pachamama).  They throw in some coals and hot rocks and cover it for an hour to cook.  It was really good and I was totally stuffed by the end.  I was surprised to try guinea pig so soon.  check out the photo of the plate of food they gave me.

One of the more interesting things we have done during training is something they call "Mission Impossible."  Elke (an advanced speaker and pictured below) and I went around my community of Chacrasana and asked shop owners, community members, teachers, and kids about the area.  This forced us to be social - get messy and make mistakes.  It was a lot of fun and it resulted in quite a few people recognizing me in the streets.  It is great practice for when I arrive in my smaller site and need to integrate into my new home.  We then had to use a local pay phone and call the training center to get the password to enter the next day.  We, however had a bad connection and could not hear the password.  The next day I had to explain all this for about 5 minutes until the tech trainer had pity and let me pass.

Everything is great here.  I am having a blast and working hard.  I can't wait to get out of Chaclacayo and see a bit more of Peru but I guess I need to remember that I have a very long time to do all that... as they say here "Poco a poco."

And I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...

I am going to miss Denver.  I am going to miss school (maybe).  I am going to miss my Katie and my friends and my family.  But I am also going to have the experience of a lifetime.  I am going to have adventures and hardships and plenty of memories to bring back with me.  With a little luck and hard work I might even have the opportunity and success of helping others.  I will bring that all back with me in two years and hopefully *gasp* find a job!

It is kind of funny but the closer my time to leave approached, the more time I spent getting to know, then love, the city I lived in: Denver.  I went all over trying new restaurants, street vendors, coffee shops, bike trails...  And I realized that I had been traveling a lot without really exploring my own home town.  Luckily I had my wonderful girlfriend to show me around and help me see what a fantastic place I am leaving -thanks! I think...

Here are some fun photos of things I discovered during my adventures!

Now I am sitting in my hotel room waiting for tomorrow's training and thinking about all the good times I have had over the past two years down in Denver.  Thank you to everyone for the wonderful times and the amazing send off I received.  If there is a secret to happiness it is probably found in the company you keep.



Now onto the business portion of this whole blog.  I will give everyone a run down of what I know and what you need to know... as far as I know.

MAIL

Peruvian post can take about two weeks to and from... but I will love receiving packages... especially once the home sickness kicks in!  This address will work for the first three months while I am in training.

Chris Huey, PCT
Cuerpo de Paz
Calle Vía Láctea 132
Urb. Los Granados, Surco
Lima 33, Peru

Keep it under a pound people... otherwise it can be assessed duty fees.  Also, keep the expensive stuff for when I get back... cus it WILL disappear, probably.  I will update the address as it changes.

PHONE


I might have a cell phone... I will get a calling card and be able to chat once in a while.  However, I think that using Skype (a free online video chat program) is probably the best option if I have access to...

INTERNET

While I will mostly likely not have constant access to the internet there is a possibility I will be in a city that has internet cafés and will have daily access.  If not that, then I should be near enough to such a city to get weekly access.  If not, then I will be out in the middle of nowhere and you can pretty much write me off as a lost cause... (just kidding - I still want packages).

SAFETY

I will do my best to be safe.  Peru is a safe country and has the typical type of crime.  Lots of pick-pockets in crowded areas and whatnot.  I know not to walk alone and night...etc.  I will stick with friendly locals when I travel.  Honestly, my laptop is at more risk than I am... and I am smart enough to let someone have it who threatens me for it.  Don't worry about me :).... but DO send packages.

IN CONCLUSION

I will miss you all.  Send Packages.

Ignorance is bliss my ass...

Almost three years ago I made a decision that I hoped would change my life.  I decided that joining the Peace Corps would be right for me.  I based this decision on a plethora of information, most of which still holds true today.  First and foremost, I wanted more opportunities to travel.  I wanted to experience something different from my pampered life here in the states; grasping for something real in a world full of fake.  I believed that reality must be most attainable on an empty stomach.  In a way I was right -- I doubt anyone has ever fretted over who America's next top model is going to be while at the same time deciding which of their children will have to go without food for the day.  I have always been attempting to escape my own hypocrisy.  However, in my travels I have become increasingly aware of the same hypocrisy and, frankly, silliness within all cultures.  If anything I have learned to see people more as the complex creatures we are, as opposed to the simple rational beings we wish to believe... but I digress...

My undergraduate studies in human rights and political science stripped me of my ignorance about many of the tragic issues in the world (everything from civil rights abuses to crimes against humanity).  I had the amazing opportunity to work with the Southern Ute Community Actions Program right out of college.  It was there that I discovered the real value of helping others.  I worked with at-risk youth, kids who had dropped out of high school and were having trouble finding jobs.  A few attained GEDs, a few kept down a job, and a few have found themselves in a more stable living environment than before the program.  I have never felt like I have been doing more meaningful work in my life.  It was easy for me to make the decision to go to graduate school for development after that.  I was lucky enough to find a program that actually included Peace Corps services as part of that degree.

After nearly two years of waiting, having perfected the art of giving an excuse to those who asked "so, where are you headed?", I can finally answer that question.  I am headed to PERU!  I can't quite describe how excited I am about my assignment.  I have wanted to go to Peru ever since I first saw a documentary about Machu Picchu on the travel channel.  It was bumped up to first on my travel priority list after I visited Guatemala and saw the giant temples of the ancient Mayan's.  It only seemed natural to go to Peru next.  Not only will I be going to my first choice but I will be working with youth.  Needless to say, the wait was well worth it.  I leave June 10th, 2010.  I will not know where in Peru and exactly what kind of youth development until I have already been there for three months of training.

The wait was hell.  I had begun to think I might never leave for an assignment.  Now that I am only two months away I have so much to do I can hardly keep my sanity.  Every time I finish something on my to-do list I find three more things sprout up in its place.  I hope to see everyone before I leave for 27 months.

I will keep a regular blog but cannot be sure of my access to internet so the posts might be as long as one month apart.  I will post photos here and on my flicker account.  If I can get over my irrational hatred of facebook, you might even find posts and photos there... but it's not likely ;)  If internet access ends up being too big of a problem I will just have to keep regular mail with a lot of you... which I am sure I will need with 27 months abroad.

Wish me luck!