Vamos a Ver

I can’t believe that I’ve only been in Peru for a week! It seems like I’ve been here for at least a month. We’ve done so much and covered so much ground so far that it’s hard to find a good place to start. The past few days I’ve been going to classes from 8-5 then hanging out in my community. I’ve played several games of soccer with the kids and I absolutely suck but they still want me to play – I usually just end up chillin by the goal. I have also watched the women play a game of volleyball. They play 3 times a week and are actually really good! Their average height is probably 5’2” but they’re scrappy and I’m excited to play with them! One woman who plays is around 60 years old and is less than 5 feet tall. She wears sweaters with windbreakers with a knitted winter hat, and has a serious underhand serve - it is a sight to see. I also watched the Peruvian women’s national volleyball team play Cuba on TV (and lose), but it’s great to see so many volleyball fans around here! If there’s one way to connect with people, it’s sports. It’s so easy to play a game of something or to root for the same team and it’s really helped me get closer with the people here.

Wednesday we went with our language and culture groups to Huascata, another community where trainees are living and we had to go up to someone and start talking to them and asking them basic questions. I was so nervous about this because I thought it would be awkward, but it ended up being the highlight of the day. The guy we talked to was Renzo, a pharmaceutical salesman who had just as many questions for us as we did for him! I was so surprised by how nice open he was. If some random foreigner tried to stop me on the street in the U.S. and ask me questions about myself I would run in the other direction. People here are just different.

On Thursday we did not have training sessions because there were protests going on in Lima. There is a conflict going on in the north of Peru between the government and the indigenous people who live in the selva (Amazon). We weren’t supposed to use public transportation or anything all day so Keenan and Christie (the two other trainees living in my community) decided to walk to Huascaran, another town where PCTs (PC trainees) are living to hike. After about an hour long walk we hiked up one of the mountains/hills there to a shrine and took some awesome pictures. On one side of the hill was Huascaran, it doesn’t have paved roads and some of the houses definitely look like they are falling apart. On the other side there were houses with gated yards and pools, it was interesting to see these two different lifestyles in such close proximity.

My hermanos are doing really well, they are so much fun to hang out with. They love my camera and my computer (and the Swedish Fish that I brought) and are kind of like my translators when we go outside and talk to other people. They know what I can understand and how to explain things to me if I’m not getting something. Mario drew a picture for me that had two people on it holding hands (one of them with curly hair, the other one much smaller) and labeled it “tu eres estefani” and “yo soy Mario” – “you are estefani” and “I am Mario” with a heart – haha, so cute. They are helping my Spanish so much, and even if I can’t speak much better, I can understand so much more.

General Information:
My average shower time is 2 minutes. The water is freezing cold.
We are allotted 8 soles per day for spending money and our family is given 20 soles per day to cover expenses for us. That means about 28 soles per day is our living allowance during training. I’m living on less than $10 per day – impressive, I know.
I brought body lotion, face moisturizer, face cream, nail polish, body wash, 4 types of hair gels and sprays, and conditioner. I did not bring a water bottle.
The PC Training Center has a pool that we are not allowed to swim in. It’s for decoration only.
Toilet paper here does not go in the toilet, but in the trash can next to the toilet.
I’ve had two shots so far: typhoid fever and rabies. There are tons of stray dogs that wander around here, some of them are so cute! But I never touch them don’t worry!

What I wish I had brought:
An extra towel
Hair brush (I forgot it)
Water bottle
Map of the world to hang on my wall and also to show my family where Ohio and South Carolina are

Today (Saturday) all of the PCTs had to go out in Chaclacayo and interview people. We had to go to a hair salon and ask questions about the business and also find and observe an informal business. It was meant to get us out in the community like we´ll have to be for our sights, but it was kind of awkward haha. Nevertheless, we got it done and I´ve had the chance to be on the internet for a while catching up with emails and other people´s blogs and whatnot! I´m going to be playing in my first volleyball game tonight so I´m really excited about that and looking forward to the exercise. Thanks to everyone who has been sending emails! I love to hear about what´s going on at home!

Hasta luego,

Steph