एंड सो आईटी बेगिंस...

Hello to everyone from San Pablo!

*Note--for those of you who want to skip all of the writing, I've uploaded a lot of photos, including my host family in Lima and my new hometown! Check them out at: http://s431.photobucket.com/albums/qq34/sjkerr08/

I am proud to say that I´ve completed my first official week as a true and blue Peace Corps Volunteer. After my site visit two weeks ago I certainly had some trepidations, but I´m happy to report that things have improved significantly since then. Now, I can definitely envision myself living and working here for two years, which is an incredible feeling. Two years doesn´t make a whole lot of sense to my mind right now, but the good thing about being in the Peace Corps is that you are often living in the moment, whether you want to or not. A walk down the street can turn into a project, or result in a life-long friend. It´s about losing all of your fears and inhibitions (or most of them anyway) and looking for the ways in which you can leave your mark on the world, fun times!

Backtracking a bit, the last week of training was a whirlwind of emotions and events. Last Friday we had our swearing-in ceremony, which was a beautiful event. We all showered and dressed nicely, hardly looking like Peace Corps volunteers at all. All of the important people gave a few words, but all were overshadowed by one of our own, Doug, who gave an incredibly inspiring speech about the journey we are beginning. Afterwards, we hugged, we took a million photos, we ate a delicious catered lunch, and we danced with our host families. My host dad danced for the first time in twenty years, showing me all of his classic moves. Everyone was having a wonderful time until about 7, when the buses arrived. Then, all of the families lined up as we proceeded to walk the longest walk to the buses. I gave my host family that one last hug, and they began sobbing, which naturally, caused me to do the same. It´s incredible the bond we´ve built in just three months. The bus ride to Lima was very sobering, all of us were feeling sad at leaving the families we had become a part of, and more than a little scared at beginning our new lives in the middle of nowhere, away from people who understand our version of Spanish. However, we made the most of our last night together and celebrated until 6 in the morning. I´ll leave the details to your imagination.

I arrived in San Pablo Sunday evening after a very smooth bus ride, no throwing up this time! My family greeted me with open arms and delicious food. After about 10 trips up and down the stairs, I managed to get all of my luggage in my room, and am now settled in quite nicely. However, I was definitely still nervous about how the week would go. While our training was great, it´s rare that a volunteer arrives in site with projects ready to go. Rather, the first three months are a time for integrating, doing our diagnostic, and searching for the needs of the community. While this is all well and good, it also leaves us with a disproportionate amount of free time, which for me, is a difficult thing. Thus, I woke up Monday morning with a little bit of panic. What would I do with myself all day? However, as I mentioned before, going for a walk is one of the best things you can do as a volunteer. I´ll give you an example...

Last Wednesday I was walking with my coworker to visit a group of elderly persons who meet once a month to do various things in the community. While we were there, she introduced me to someone who worked at the church doing a variety of social programs. He mentioned that he was doing a charla on AIDS the next day in a rural community about an hour away. I told him that we´d received a lot of training on AIDS education, and before I knew what happened, I had agreed to do the charla (lecture) the next day. The next morning, we met at the bus stop at 6:30AM, waiting for the one car that sometimes takes people to the place we wanted to go. At last, around 7:30, we were on our way. Somehow, I had managed to prepare a few activities the night before. I was a little nervous, especially about my shaky Spanish, but also excited for my first real volunteer experience. Amazingly, it went very well, and the kids seemed to understand most of the major points. Afterwards, it just so happened that it was the day to celebrate the graduation of the seniors. Because it was also a celebration of Christmas vacation beginning, they invited me to participate in something called a chocolatada.

A chocolatada is a traditional event here in December where they make a giant pot of hot chocolate. (though usually they have to use something that resembles a chocolate powder called Cocoa, which isn't cocoa at all but rather a chocolate substitute...I haven't actually figured out what's really in it, but it's good.) They also serve slices of cheese (which are amazing since the department of Cajamarca is a big exporter of dairy products) and an awful thing called Pandeton, which is like a dry fruitcake that everyone loves. I've learned to graciously choke it down, but it isn't easy! After the chocolatada, they put on a great mix of Peruvian music played through an awesome sound system, which every rural school seems to have despite a lack of desks and books. (Another mystery...) However, despite the many encouragements of the professors, the kids were too shy to dance. So, an idea struck them. "Why don't we have the gringa (affectionate term for foreigners) dance? That will surely motivate the others!"

Now, you have to understand that while others may havce nightmares about being naked in front of a class, I have nightmares about having to dance in front of people. Thus, I was faced with a dilemma. However, this dilemma was short lived, because really the Peace Corps is all about overcoming inhibitions and being in uncomfortable situations. It could be worse--other volunteers have to hike a quarter mile to use their latrines, and some don't have electricity. So, I apologize for poorly representing the dancing abilities of the people of my country, but dance I did. Slowly but surely the others joined in, and we had a great time. At the end of the day we packed the ususual seven people in the taxi and drove home, tired, but happy.

And so, the journey continues! During another walk through the town, I met a woman named Margarita who hosted a Peace Corps Volunteer from Peru 8 (I'm Peru 12). She invited me to go hiking, and we climed over 500 meters to the top of the valley and took some amazing photos. She told me that a lot of people think she's crazy because she likes to go running and hiking, but I told her that they'll have to call me crazy too. She introduced me to several friends of hers, an archeologist and engineer who are working on the new highway that will save us two hours of transit to the capital city. We had a great conversation about the history of Cajamarca and the influence of mining. (I won't bore you with the details, look it up on Wikipedia if interested, haha.) More importantly, we shared an amazing dessert of spiced peaches, an absolute delight.

Today, as I am finishing this email a week after beginning it (in true Peruvian fashion) we celebrated the anniversary of San Pablo. There was a huge parade, with all of the schools, institutes, and organizations represented. Afterwards, I took my host sisters out for ice cream, and we met up with my host parents for a delicious lunch of chicken and rice. Later, I'm meeting up with the volunteer who I replaced, as she is in town for a visit. I'm eager to compare stories.

While there are a hundred other moments I would love to write down, unfortunately, I don't have the memory or the time to do so. However, I'll try to update my blog whenever I think of something that's not big enough to send out on the group email list, so check there for small updates. As for contact info, I do have a cell phone but it is ridiculously expensive to call it. Also, sadly, my post office box is in the capital about 4 hours away, so I won't be able to check it more than once or twice a month. Thus, please continue emailing me, I've so enjoyed all of the emails you've been sending! Feel free to send any questions or thoughts, also, I always love to see pictures from home. Love you all, hope you are enjoying the holiday season.

Until next time!

Love,
Sam