Why hello there, friends! It's time for another on-the-ground report from Peru! The land of the Cuy. I have had some pretty amazing experiences over the past few weeks. I'll tell you about them:
First, I attended my first wedding ever. It was fitting that it should be a Peruvian wedding, because I don't think anything could top it. The bride was the host sister of one of the volunteers in my deparment. She became kinda pregnant one day and, well, being good Catholics and such, decided to get married. They were a really sweet couple and they looked good together.
After they signed the necessary legal documents at the municipality, we all left in the back of a pick-up truck to go the party. The party was at the house of the bride and my friend. Her house is quite different than mine. Whereas I have electricity, running water, an indoor toilet, she has neither of those things. It was good to see her situation, and although she couldn't be happier at her site, I felt lucky to have what I do at mine.
Peruvians are very convivial people. I chatted with one of the groom's relatives for a while before the party started. He told me about the crops that his family plants and how long it took him to get to the party (Peruvians love small talk). Then everything got under way. The bride and groom arrived, performed the perfunctory dances with family and friends (Myself and other volunteers were invited to dance with them, being the honorary gringos and all, but my friends declined, and I wasn't listening when the MC asked us).
Then came the food. We ate some pretty good lamb and tamal for the first course. Then the specialty of the north of Peru, goat was served for the main course. I devoured all of this food and a guest bought an Inka Cola (bubble gum flavored soda - I think I'm the only volunteer who considers it delicious) for the other 5 gringos and myself.
Once we ate, the chelas (cervezas) came out. We all danced, drank, and laughed for a good 7 hours until about 5AM. That's when the fights broke out. Some friends and I watched from the safety of a bedroom as the groom and one of his friends exchanged punches in the house, two groups of drunk guys rumbled outside, and a new mom beat down a guy with an empty beer bottle in one hand and her baby in the other. Though there was some blood, I don't think anyone got seriously hurt and I awoke a couple of hours later to find a few of the guys who had been fighting drinking champagne and playing guitar on the front porch. All-in-all, it was a great first wedding for me.
A few days later (or before; I can't really remember. The days just kinda blur together.) My dad mentioned that he had met some archeologists from the University of Utah who were digging around some ruins just outside of my site. Him and I went there to the ruins the next day to say "hi." The ruins are of a church built about 100 years ago. They sit right on the edge of the beach about 100 meters from the ocean. The church was built on top of an older structure laid down by Spanish colonists. The colonists in-turn built their structure over that of one of the Mochica people. The Mochica leaved in this area before the Inca and their language is still spoken by some native Etenanos (Ciudad Eten Native = Etenano).
It was interesting to see some gringos in my site and speak English. There are about 8 of them here for the semester and they will be returning in December. I'll probably go visit them again, because they are finding some really interesting stuff. They uncovered about 6 grave sites and still have lots more digging to do.
To top off my interesting couple of weeks, I got to attend a conference of the regional health department and help give a PowerPoint presentation (I hate PowerPoint, but that's how they do things here so I had to go along) on the work that my community partners and I are doing.
To my delight, the meeting took place at a Lebanese restaraunt! Unfortunately (predictably) we were served regular Peruvian fare, but I asked the owner, and he told me that they do indeed serve Lebanese food. I will definitely be returning to try it out.
My two partners, Rebeca, the obstetrician, and Glenny, the professora, have been working on health issues in the schools here for the past 3 years. I was really lucky to inheret such a strong project from them and the previous volunteers with whom they have been working.
We spent all day yesterday putting together the presentation. It was split into three sections. Rebeca spoke first about the past projects they have been doing over the years. They entailed an artisan class for young mothers, a group of mothers who made papa rellenas (a dumpling-like dish) to sell, and a student march to mark World AIDS Day (December 1st if you're wondering). Then Glenny took over and spoke about some of the health classes they have been giving various themes like AIDS, teen pregnancy, and mental health/self-esteem issues. I finished it off by talking about our latest project that will combine all of the past themes and try to measure the how much the kids have learned through a serious of surveys.
I actually like speaking infront of large groups of people. I find that my Spanish is better when I have to project my voice and keep the attention of an audience. There were about 50 nurses and obstetricians and I had a lot of fun speaking to them. Because some of them had worked with other volunteers, they knew about the Peace Corps and were more than welcoming to me. This experience really made me grateful for what I get to do down here in Peru. These people work everyday with health issues in often dire conditions and here I am, some 23 year old kid who studied polisci in college and has no professional public health training, let alone in a developing country. Yet, they wanted to hear what I had to say and treated me as an equal in their field.
It's so cool meeting new people and living in a completely different culture. I'm extremely lucky to get an opportunity like this and I wish everyone could do it.
Chau!
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