Cumpleaños

I have hit my two-month mark at site. What a better way to celebrate than with my birthday? Actually, I was not thinking it would be a big deal. I had my day planned out with my work; little did I know. Word spreads quickly here in town. After a nice breakfast with my family, I had to run errands and make a quick trip to the municipality to finalize some meetings. They had a huge bottle of Inca Cola and crackers waiting for me. They gave a toast and I ended up staying there for an hour talking with everyone. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch. I came home to my favorite meal, Pollo a la Brasa, Everyone from the professors to the priest were here. The priest ended up bringing a bottle of wine from church and we had another toast. My host mom got so excited about the wine that when I finished my first glass she had already finished her second. They made me my favorite dessert ever—Arroz con Leche. I opened gifts and thanked everyone. I had to go give a presentation at the high school at 3 p.m. right after. So, I showed up and they decided we weren’t going to have it because it was my birthday. I come home and my sister had a picnic set up for me in the “garden” of the house. There was a blanket with flowers in the middle, peaches, mandarins, cheese & crackers, arroz con leche, and popcorn. We ate everything, laughed, and talked. She taught me how to sew, too. We got up when the ants started showing up. In the evening, my host mom made me my favorite dinner--Pollo a la Brasa. After that there was chocolate cake w/Arroz con Leche.

By this time, I don’t think I could breathe from what I had eaten. As soon as I was done with dinner, the artisan group I started working with surprised me at the door, sang me happy birthday and gave me a beautiful hand made purse. They then invited me to dinner to a restaurant where they sell my favorite food. I show up and there it was…Pollo a la Brasa. I was mentally and physically prepared to do this: one more meal to go. I forgot to mention, in the Peruvian culture, even if you politely say you are full or can’t make it somewhere for whatever reason, they take it to offense. So, I couldn’t say no to their sweet invitation. I successfully finished my plate and drank my glass of soda. Plus, it is not a meal I get everyday so I had to take advantage.

The top of the day, I was so blown away by all the amazing emails, facebook messages, calls, and letters I got from ALL OF YOU. It was unbelievable and I was so GRATEFUL for the love and support. It’s really encouraging.

On a different note, things are going really well here! I have seen about 10 parades since I arrived, experienced about 5 holidays and got to see how crazy elections were in my town. I am starting to teach English to a group of high school students, a group of 3rd grade girls and at the Kindergarten level. I was dreading this but it is a really great way to integrate into the community. I’m also working with a group of artisans and hosting meetings every Wednesday. I’m starting off by teaching them basic business classes in order to strengthen their association. Also, I’m preparing them for a great market opportunity the beginning of November--an artisan fair at the U.S. Embassy. The project I have spent most time on is focusing on strengthening the Chamber of Commerce that was formalized a few months ago. To summarize, I started off by doing a business survey to every single business in San Pablo; formal or informal. This was with the help of 8 volunteers from the Institute. We asked basic business question and what they would be interested in learning to strengthen their business. Putting together the results was long and tedious but well worth it. We are going to move forward with a strategic plan to see how the Chamber of Commerce can help develop, strengthen and expand businesses here. There is so much potential in this town. I have so many ideas but I need take things slow and continue to take my time in getting to know my community and integrating.

It completely makes sense to me why the Peace Corps is a 27-month commitment and not a 3-4 month one or even a year. Sustainability is key and in order to accomplish this, it takes time. It is definitely not something that is going to happen from one month to the next. I want to continue learning about the culture here and vise versa. They love learning about mine. I want to help with sustainable projects. Weather it is from teaching English at an early age to figuring out how to start a library, to helping small businesses grow, to teaching entrepreneurship classes to young adults. This is what I love about my job, the endless possibilities with the challenge of you being the only person that can take initiative.

I believe that is it for now. Until next time! :) xoxo