My First Peruvian Family Vacation

A few weeks ago my host family invited me to with them on a trip to Trujillo. Trujillo is a northern costal town and is the third largest in Peru. Eager for a chance to escape the cold and rain (it's summer on the coast and winter in the mountains), I hastily called my director to ask if I could go. Most fortunately, Peace Corps encouraged me to go under the policy that trips with family are considered "family intregration" rather than "vacation." (Have I mentioned that I love the Peace Corps?) However, as I dusted off my warm weather clothes and eagerly loaded my suitcase with as much sunscreen and insect repellant as I could find, I began thinking about what I was getting myself into. I had just agreed to travel over six hours with two young children to a house full of unfamiliar family members and no escape to solitude. Yet, as I felt the humidity permeating through my two layers of clothing, I reminded myself to keep an open mind and that a dry heat was waiting six hours to the west. I was going no matter what.

The day of our departure began at four in the morning with my host sister Milagros shouting "Samantha, estas despierta?" from the other side of my door. I mumbled something to indicate that I was awake and stumbled about my room trying to figure out what I was forgetting. My family was all dressed in their Sunday best, while I had opted for the shabbier, yet infinitely more comfortable attire. This is just one of those inate cultural differences we have come to accept about each other. At 4:30 the taxi pulled up into the front and we loaded our luggage, my shoes and pants becoming thouroughly coated in mud in the process. Even though the taxi was already full with the four of us and one more in front, the taxi driver insisted on waiting for one more person. An hour later, after defying the laws of physics, we filled the taxi and proceeded one hour to the south to a town called Chilete where we could catch the car to La Cruce where we could find the bus to Trujillo. (Welcome to the Peruvian transportation system.) The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful apart from half of the passengers having to yell at the driver to slow down unless he wanted to get us all killed. (That didn't deter him.) We arrived in Trujillo more or less in one piece, at about 11AM.

The first few hours were filled with hugs, kisses, and stories. They welcomed me just like another member of the family, ocassionally throwing in a few questions about the U.S. and asking me if I was getting used to things in Peru. I was given a cozy little spot in a room just big enough for a twin bed and a nightstand. There was a window to let the warm breeze in and promising holes with protruding wires where electricity would arrive one day. A yellow silk sheet served nicely as the door. Throughout the week the house served as home to no less than twenty people. I helped out where I could with the cooking and we ate in shifts to give everyone a spot at the table. In order to temper the heat, we made a variety of delicious fresh juices from local fruits including pinneapple, maracuya, and verenjena. At night we made ice cream from the national fruit lucuma and for the first time in two months, I slept with just one sheet.

With all of the excitement, the week flew by. We went on a shopping spree at the outdoor mall, world famous for its selection of cheap and adorable shoes. I rode the bumpercars with my host sister and I think we both had a bit of whiplash by the end of the ride. However, the best part by far was the beach. I never tire of going to the beach and for me the first peek at the ocean is always invigorating. It was so exciting to come around the bend after about half an hour by combi and to see miles of untainted coast stretching before us. While it was a bit unfortunate that we had chosen to go on the only day that was overcast and chilly, this did not deter me in the slightest from going in the water. I lasted a good thirty minutes before the numbness turned to cold. After unsuccessfuly trying to teach a few of the kids to swim, we headed for the warm sand. My host dad rounded up a group of people to play volleyball, and to my great surprise, I had improved and could hold my own in the game. Finally, after all of my newly discovered muscles were aching and sand had covered every inch of my body, my host mom and her sisters arrived with a giant seafood picnic. We feasted on rice, fish, potatoes, and salad, possibly one of the most delicious dishes I've ever eaten. It was one of those moments where I was truly in the moment, utterly content to be exactly where I was.

And so, I am now back in San Pablo where the rainy season is in full swing. Today it is about 40 degrees with around two feet of visibility and two feet of mud. My laundry has been wet for three days and counting. But you know what, I love it here. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

On the work front (Yeah, Peace Corps isn't ALL about vacations...) I've been making some progress on finding donations for our "Casa de Espera," where pregnant women will be able to come from the farther neighborhoods to give birth and to learn about child nutrition and development. My English class is going very well and I'm very happy with their progress. I'm also in the process of beginning a training program for health promoters, both for adolescents and the rural areas. It's a slow process as these are very large undertakings, but I'm excited for the possibilities. For those of you who know me fairly well this will come as a surprise, but I also accepted an invitation to join a running group! We were taught as a part of Peace Corps training that we should always say "yes" when we're invited to participate in activities, so with this in mind I agreed, despite hating to run and being terrible at it. (Curse you, training...) Today was actually my first day. We left at 5:30AM (Ahh!) about 45 minutes before sunrise. While I'm now pretty sore, I have to say that I could see myself getting into this running thing. It was energizing in a way, and I also had the chance to make a new friend, always a valued comodity here. The Peace Corps always says that the biggest influences we have are often the way we live our lives in our communities, so perhaps my newfound activity will serve a dual purpose.

So! I think that just about covers it for now. I'll be uploading the Trujillo pics to the website soon, I'll post a link on my blog (saminperu.blogspot.com) when I've finished. Even more exciting, I now have a Skype account! What does this mean? This means that if you have Skype (and a headset with a microphone) and you're online at the same time, we can chat for free! My headset came with a webcam, so we can even talk in person. My skype name is sjkerr08.

Until next time!

Love always,

--Sam