Integrándome

I don’t need an alarm clock. I wake up to a real sound of a rooster every morning. I still don’t know where he is but it is coming from one of the neighbors. The best part about waking up is walking through my hallway and looking outside; there is a really heavy fog that comes over the mountain I live in every single morning. It is so gloomy and chilly. Most of my friends don’t like it but I personally love it. The winter here is not that bad. Most days it is about 70 degrees. After getting dressed in the mornings I head downstairs for breakfast. They consist of bread with either oatmeal or papaya juice. If I’m lucky I’ll have an egg, too. I am always starving by 10 a.m. and eat some of my lunch! I have tried making it a point to eat a lot of fruit since it’s so delicious and cheap here.

I have been pretty busy these past two weeks. Training has only gotten more overwhelming. For our language classes we have visited several sites including the Museum of Anthropology, Catacumbas (over 20,000 human bones found here), and Parque de la Muralla. We have learned about the Independence of Peru, the time of terrorism here and a lot of history to become more culturally integrated.

Prior to being sworn in, we have to complete what is called Field Base Training. I found out I’m going to Cajamarca (northern Peru). Depending on the trainee their tasks are different. Mine will consist of traveling to this town and with a team of three trainees create a week agenda for a group of 25 students, ranging from 18-24 yeas old. We will split them up into groups and go through an intense but exciting week! The base of it all is small business development. Day one we will teach them all about entrepreneurship, community analysis and a SWAT Analysis. Day two will consist of them choosing a business idea, and learning about marketing and finance to apply to their business idea. Day three we will present the basics on accounting and apply it to their business idea. Also, we are going to have them fill out real forms to take out a Peace Corps Loan of up to S/120 with a 2% interest rate and requiring each group to leave a valuable item for security that they will pay it back. They will be submitting this application at the town bank. This is all a summary of it. So, in other words, we will be teaching these students the basic concepts of how to start their own business. We leave this Saturday and get back next Saturday. I’m excited to share this experience when I get back!

I have felt so integrated into the community these past few days. Some friends and I went to Universitat vs. Alianza game (biggest rival soccer game in Peru). We were warned that it would be really dangerous. It was quite the experience! There was police with armor and shields, and horses! It felt like there was a civil rights movement going on. They had swat cars; you had to go through four security sections to get into the game. Once we were in there it was so much fun! The atmosphere, the energy, the spirit…I had never seen anything like it.

Another thing I did this weekend was the circus. It was really different and small. I went with my host sister, niece and sister-in-law. The circus consisted of two comedians who were not really funny, unfortunately. A dog wearing a dress that could walk on two legs for about 10 seconds and a clown that made fun of everyone. Quite interesting I must say.

So, I must confess, I already had Pizza Hut in Lima. I could not control myself. I never thought I would say this but OMG I miss American Food so much; hamburgers, fries, hot wings, pizza, nuggets, and the list goes on. It’s OK, though--I have my rice and potatoes that I eat every single day with every single meal. That is one great thing about this experience: integrating into a new culture. It has been really challenging to find a balance between my eating habits and Peruvians’ eating habits. First of all, they hardly drink water. I have never seen my family drink a glass of water since I arrived. I drink the whole pitcher in the fridge by myself. Also, the portions of rice in every meal are extreme. I do not know how to say, “please do not serve me so much rice” in a polite way. I am afraid I will offend my host mom, so what I started doing is leaving half the rice on the plate and saying I am full (which I never am—one of my friends already called me hungry hippo because of the amount of food I eat).

These are just a few of the things that have gone on these past few days. I’m happy and healthy--what more could I ask for?