Long Time No Blog

I’m back! So I realize I’ve been gone for such a long time that many of you have probably forgotten about my blog and me, but I still want to give an update so at least I have record of things going on in my life in Perú. It has gotten increasingly difficult to motivate myself to write blog entries. I don’t know exactly why this is, but I have some ideas. First of all, I’ve gotten very busy here with my work. As my projects gain momentum I have less and less time to sit down and write. Secondly, the things that used to be interesting and exciting and new (the things I liked to inform my American friends about) are no longer interesting, exciting or new. They are normal and they happen every day. Sometimes they bother me or make me smile for a second, but they no longer inspire deep thought about the deep cultural differences between the United States and Peru. At least not usually. The Peruvian way of life has become normal for me… now THAT’S a scary thought. Here’s what’s been going on:

Peruvian Wedding:
One of my host cousins got married in the beginning of August and I was lucky enough to score an invite. The invitation itself was really nice and basically what you would expect from a wedding invitation from an American couple. The only distinction was that there was a sketch of a Precious Moments character on it.
The wedding itself was in many ways similar to what we do in the States. This particular couple is from Lima so the wedding was probably a lot more modern than a wedding in Vice would be. One difference that I noted was that there weren’t bridesmaids or groomsmen in the wedding. The couple was accompanied at the alter by their padrinos, or godparents. These aren’t their godparents from baptism, but the godparents of their wedding, otherwise known as the people that help pay for a large part of the party. After mass everyone followed the bride and groom outside and took pictures with them and threw rice as they got in the car (the church officials were kind of kicking us out because they had another wedding directly afterwards). We then went to the reception where we waiting for a LONG time for the couple to get there. The reception was held in a hotel with a pool and it was outside underneath a kind of awning that had been constructed for the occasion. It was freezing out (August is a winter month here) so sitting and waiting around without moving was a bit painful but I got over it. When the couple entered they walked around the dance floor and we threw some more rice and then the parents, padrinos, and couple said some words. After this every single guest had to go dance with either the bride or the groom (I, a woman, danced with the groom). The funny part about this is that they just played one waltz song on repeat during the whole process instead of changing songs. It took almost a half hour. Then we finally got to sit down to eat (at about 11 at night). They threw the bouquet and the garter and also did another fun little game where the single girls all pulled a ribbon out of a champagne glass. At the end of one of the ribbons a silver ring was attached and the person who pulled that ribbon was supposedly going to be the next one to get married. Guess who won the ring? Don’t worry Mom, I’m not going to get married in Peru. Following all this, they cut the cake (there was no cake smashing), but they didn’t serve the cake to the guess. I kept looking at it and expecting my piece but it never came. Turns out they just take it home to serve to family the next day. What a let down. At about 2 in the morning the party was just getting started with the “Hora Loca” (crazy hour) which has become extremely popular here. If you don’t have an hora loca, it’s just not a party. The hora loca is just what it sounds like. There are clowns who force everyone to dance and do crazy things. There are masks and clown ties and hats and head bands and necklaces and confetti and silly string. At this wedding there were people walking around on stilts (they fell over several times to my personal entertainment, there were no serious injuries). It’s a lot of fun and everyone, young and old, let go of their inhibitions to dance to crazy music and have fun. It’s really ridiculous but you have to participate because the clowns make you! There is no getting out of the hora loca! I think we should advocate an hora loca in the States for sure.

Peruvian Funeral:
Recently the father of the president of the artisan association passed away and I went to the funeral to show my support. Since the majority of Peruvians are Catholic, it was a Catholic service. All the women wore black, from head to toe, and the men wore black with white shirts. The dress of the women is interesting because I had always seen women in all black walking around (black long-sleeve shirt or sweater, black skirt, black knee high socks or stockings, flip flops) but never understood the tradition. The custom here is to be “de luto” or in mourning and if a close family member dies the remaining relatives respect his or her memory by wearing black, sometimes for up to a full year after the death. You are also not allowed to have any fun during this time and in some cases you can’t even leave the house. The majority of people in the town don’t have very many black clothes so they basically end up wearing the same couple of things all year long. When I saw my artisan at the funeral she was wearing a tight black long sleeve shirt with the word “sexy” in silver letters across the chest. I did not think that this was very appropriate, but opted not to make a joke. Anyway, after the mass, the close male relatives or respected town leaders carry the coffin through town. Everyone follows, the band plays, other people who are in their houses join the procession, others salute the coffin and the family but taking off their hats or standing in their doorways as the procession passes. I have seen this many times in Vice when someone died and the unity and solidarity never ceases to move me. Imagine how you would feel if a parade of people and a band came to help you bury a loved one, if everyone in your community stood outside their houses to recognize your loss. The support in rural and traditional towns is incredible and something that should be cherished. After the procession we were all invited back to the house for food. The family of the deceased provides food for everyone (hundreds of people in this case) that come to their house. This is the exact opposite of what we do in the States – we bring food to the family. In this case, food is how they show their thankfulness for the support of the community. Now you would think that this is the end of the ceremony but it’s not. There is also a mass at the 8 day mark, the 3 month mark, and year mark, and every death anniversary after that. The family member will never be forgotten. I originally thought that when one of my artisans told me that she had to go to mass for a family member that she was just making an excuse (someone ALWAYS has a mass to go to) but now, after participating, I appreciate the tradition. I understand how important family is to them and that honoring someone’s memory may be slightly more important than coming to my marketing course. Fine Perú, you win this one.

Quinceñero:
The coming of age party for Peruvian girls, their version of our Sweet Sixteen, is quite the event. When girls here turn 15, they become señoritas, and this is cause for a HUGE celebration. I was recently invited with my host family to go to a quinceñero and got to experience it first hand. The first thing that surprised me was that it was VERY similar to the wedding I had just gone to. The birthday girl was dressed in a huge pink princess dress and made several costume changes throughout the night. All the men and boys present had to dance with her. They gave us lots of food and drinks. There was an hora loca. There were lots of gifts given, words spoken by padrinos, parents, etc. No cake was eaten. The birthday girl also had her entourage of ladies in waiting who wore coordinating pink dresses and each had a date who wore matching suits. They performed a choreographed number. Overall, lots of fun, a little awkward for me because I didn’t really fit in with the teenagers at the party or with the adults, but being used to awkward situation I had a good time. Lots of pink, that’s all I have to say.

Peruvian Elections:
On Octuber 3 Peru had its district elections. Districts all over the countries voted for new mayors and regidores, officials elected on the same ticket as the mayor. Vice was no different. Being an employee of the United States government, I was prohibited to participate in the elections or even give my opinion about them. As it turns out, this is a good rule, because things can get pretty nasty. In the month leading up to the election there were parades every day and all the supporters of a specific candidate would go out wearing their t-shirt and carrying their flags. There were also lots and lots of “meetings.” They use the English word meeting to describe a political event in which there is music and entertainment and the candidates all speak. From what I gathered from various people, there is no real difference between one campaign and another. In Vice, there were about 5 candidates in the running from both local and national parties. The candidates were doctors, professors and farmers, women and men. The candidates don’t actually have to be able to follow through on what they promise. They promise roads, light, internet for the whole district, a university here, a swimming pool. Where they would get the money from is no concern to anyone. Some of the population know when something is not achievable, but the rest of the people don’t understand and think that the candidates can actually do all of these things. These are the people that get used during elections. On voting day, all Peruvians are required to vote. You have to vote in person in your city of residence and if you don’t you will have to pay a fine. Some political parties give cell phones to people in exchange for votes, others just give straight up cash. There was talk that one group tried to throw away the ballots of one voting station. There is no confidence whatsoever in the system. The support of each person is deeply emotional. Most of the time a family supports one candidate together, someone they know or who is from their own family. However, when this doesn’t happen it creates a rift and bad feelings in the family that can last for months. At the end of it all, a new political party will be taking power in Vice, Obras + obras and we will have a new mayor, who I just recently met. It will be quite the change since I’ll have to get to know all the authorities again, but I am also excited for the change and the challenge it brings. I’m looking forward to working with a new group of leaders and being part of Vice’s future.

Other than those things, I got a taste of Peruvian health care up close and personal when we had quite the scare a few weeks ago with my host brother Dikson. At about 10:30 one night my host mom calls me into her room in a panic and Dikson is having a seizure. It was one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen. I ran to get help and his aunts and grandma came along with his uncle who is a doctor and some other men from the town who were going to help. He finally regained consciousness but was still out of it and we decided to take him to the hospital. We convinced someone in town who had a car to take us to Piura which is the city about an hour away. Long story short we ended up going to two emergency rooms and Dikson stayed the night. We waited two hours the next day to pay and then he had to go see specialists and get tests done. I just tried to be there for them, going with them to the hospitals, running errands, bringing them tootbrushes, standing in the endless lines. I felt helpless but did what I could. The whole process has been extremely expensive for my host family who does not have health insurance and for weeks my host mom has been extremely worried. The tests didn’t show anything wrong and Dikson is now taking preventative medicine, but I still have my doubts. Just keep him and the family in your prayers so that he recovers and doesn’t have to deal with this again.

As far as projects go, I recently finished up a 4 week self-esteem course for women and a 6 weeks sales course to train sales promoters for the artisans. My project with grant money from USAID is still pending, but I’m filling out the necessary documents to keep things moving along. We are working with NGOs to finance a designer for the artisan products. I have started two community banks (micro finance projects) whose members have collectively saved more than $2,000 and will continue working with them until the end of my service. This has been a huge success because I don’t even have to attend the meetings and the people will still come. In Chalaco (a suburb of Vice) 26 people (majority women) arrive to a meeting every single Friday at exactly 7:30pm. Exactly 7:30pm. They don’t wait at all to start the meeting. They pay fines for being one minute late. The punctuality alone is a huge achievement that I never would have dreamed of last year. I still teach computer classes and attend basically all meetings that I’m invited to. I have started planning summer English classes for the kids as well as volleyball camp which will start when I get back from Christmas vacation.

I will be in the United States for Christmas this year! I get into Cincinnati on December 24th in the morning and will leave on January 7th, the day after my brothers turn 21. I will keep you all updated on plans during this time to make sure I can meet up with and talk to everybody. I miss you all so much, thanks for following!

Saludos!
Steph

PS Pictures still coming soon!