It's been going pretty well down here in Lambayeque, Peru. The other day the high school at which I worked held a big event for our health promoters who won a contest in which they presented a skit on the dangers of teen pregnancy (see earlier posts). The event was a huge success and ended with the adults drinking sangria in the school's library (any excuse to have a drink in Peru). The celebrity who was connected to the contest, the 16 year old Peruvian singing sensation Kevin, was also in attendance. He sang a nice little song about not getting pregnant and all the girls fell into hysterics and swooned. A hundred hormonal little girls literally plowed over me as they rushed Kevin for his autograph. I guess the only gringo in town just doesn't cut it for them anymore. I also met a TV producer who interviewed us and said he would like to come back to my town to document an upcoming recycling project I have in mind for the kids. The event was really fun and got me excited to do more at the school.
The day after that, I traveled up to Zaña and Cayalti to help to fellow volunteers with a job/college fair they held for the kids up their way. I had been to these two towns before on an earlier visit while I was still in training and it was nice to go back and see the volunteers up there and their host families. I had to take a 20 minute car ride to Chiclayo and then take a combi (which is like a little van that they pack to the brim with people. I got a nice seat up front so I was relatively comfortable.) for the hour-long ride up to Cayalti.
Something funny happened when I first got on the combi. As I approached it a nice older lady welcomed me and helped me with some of my things. For some reason I thought she was the cobrador (which is the person who stands in the van with the passengers and collects their money and calls the stops) even though I have never seen a elderly female cobrador. So I wasn't thinking and after we had a conversation about where I was from and what I was doing in Peru, I went to sit up front. After a couple of minutes I noticed that some people had given her money. For some reason, although they never ask for the money up front, I thought she was the cobrador and that she was collecting our money. The trip cost S./3.50 (about $1.25) so I thought I would give her S./5.50 and get a nice shiney S./2.00 piece back. Well as most of you have probably figured out, she wasn't the cobrador and was actually just asking for money. After I gave her my money I realized that I made a mistake and had to awkwardly ask her for the 5 soles that I had just given her. I figured I should let her keep the 50 cents. She understood and gave it back and wished me luck on my trip.
I finally got to Cayalti and Zaña and the fair that my friends put on was a huge success. They really worked hard to get it down and it showed. A ton of universities and institutes came in to present the 500 kids or show who showed up with their options for the future. After talking with some of the kids I think this was the first time some of them had actually thought about what to do after high school. It was nice talking to them because I could relate to that overwhelming feeling of cluelessness that just about all high school seniors face.
This week coming up I have my host mom's birthday and a visit from some of the office personnel from Lima. I'll also be planning a series of classes about sexual and mental health for the young ones. I'll keep everyone updated on how all of that goes.
No comments:
Post a Comment