The Anticipation Is Finally Over!

After waiting for what seemed like FOREVER, I finally got to visit my site and get a taste for where I'll be spending the next two years of my life. For the most part, I'd say it was a great experience, but as I've quickly learned here, you have to be prepared for the unexpected here and that was definitely the case!

As I mentioned in the last entry, we took an overnight bus from Chiclayo to Cajamarca city and arrived at 4:15 in the morning. Our coordinator was there to meet us at the bus and take us to our hostel. Thank goodness because we were all completely delirious and couldn't do anything but laugh. We probably would have slept on the street that night if he weren't there to get us because we were pretty helpless considering the incredible lack of sleep we were all feeling. My friend Jessica was having such a hard time sleeping on the bus that she decided to make the best of it and have a little feast at 3 am. So right there on the bus she opened a can of tuna (yes tuna) and a carrot that she peeled with her swiss army knife. She also had a headlamp on to do this so you can imagine how much the people on our bus loved us (not to mention we were talking and laughing a lot at how crazy this whole situation was). At least we weren't crying.

Anyway, José picked us up and brought us to our hostel. However, when we arrived, they told us they only had one of the three rooms they had promised him. He got really upset because he had purposely cancelled our reservation somewhere else because they told him we'd have to be out of the rooms by 10 am. This place promised him three rooms and said we could stay in them as long as we wanted. Oh boy. So at 4:45 am we left to find another hostel. We actually really lucked out in the deal because we got to stay in this beautiful hostel right on the Plaza de Armas. We woke up in the morning (well I guess I should say afternoon) and stepped outside to see that we were right next to this beautiful old church. It was pretty incredible. Not to mention the fact that it had HOT showers and cable TV - honestly, what more could we ask for. We were living large in Cajamarca!

As for the city itself - incredible doesn't even begin to describe it. Based on the different places we visited on Field Based Training, I can honestly say we will be living in the best department. Don't get me wrong, I love the beach, but there is something so charming and quaint about life in the sierra that you can't replace. Even in my delirious state, I knew from the moment I arrived that I was going to love it here. The city is much cleaner than others I've been too (we actually saw trash cans on the streets and people using them, not to mention people cleaning the streets at 4 am!!) and has a bit of a European feel to it. Perhaps it's because it was the first place the Spanish arrived during the Inquisition (I think I got that right). Whatever it is, I love it. The city is also surrounded my mountains, and not just any mountains, green ones! I've had a great time living in Santa Eulalia, but I've really missed seeing green vegetation. I didn't realize how important it was for my happiness and well-being until I arrived in Cajamarca and felt a huge sense of relief. I'm so glad I was placed in the sierra. I think I'm really going to love it here.

After getting in so late (or early depending on how you look at it), we slept until noon and then met up in the early afternoon with José and two current volunteers who live right near the city. We all went out to lunch and toured a little bit of the city (visited the market, a great lookout point, and Baños del Inca - some hotbaths I'll be frequenting often). Before dinner, some of us had to get bus tickets out to our sites for the next day. So while some of our friends got to lie down or check internet (for FREE at our hostel!), Jessica and I went on a wild goose chase with José in try to buy our tickets. Somehow the office had changed locations in one day so we drove all over the place trying to figure out where to buy our tickets. After a loooong two hours, we finally had the tickets. We went to dinner at a delicious restaurant that night that must cater to gringos. They had things like vegetable fettucini alfredo, hamburgers, greek salad, and BLTs on the menu. Everything was incredible and we were all so excited to be eating vegetables and foods we love! After dinner, Lindsay, Jessica and I went on a mission to find some good desserts. You'd think this would be an easy task, but the cakes here are very deceiving. They all look delicious, but then you take a bite and they're incredibly dry on the inside. We call them PCs (Peruvian cakes - I know, really original). We were determined to find something that lived up to our standards. We had heard of this excellent ice cream place, but they were already closed (10 pm on Sunday night) so we took the risk and went to a place that sold pies and cakes. We got a slice of cheesecake, chocolate cake, and pecan pie and I'm happy to report they were all three excellent. It was a great way to top off the evening and get ready for our departures to our sites the next day.

Jessica and I were supposed to leave on a bus for Bambamarca at 11 am. José didn't pick us up from the hostel until 10:50 so we were obviously getting a little worried, but we were forgetting that we now have to live by "la hora peruana". Of course our bus didn't actually leave until about 11:45 so we had plenty of time. We traveled to Bambamarca with two other volunteers, Rory and Heidi (who incidentally was my roomate our first two days in DC) because they will be living near a town called Chota about an hour and a half north of us. The bus ride isn't so bad - it could definitely be a lot worse. The scenery is absolutely beautiful, but you can definitely tell we are way out there. I think on the whole 4 hour ride from Cajamarca city, we pass by a few mines and only one or two towns before Bambamarca. The road also starts out paved, gradually turns into gravel, and ends up in a bumpy, narrow, dirt road. After seeing few signs of civilzation for most of the trip, Bambamarca appears to be quite the bustling metropolis. I've heard there are anywhere from 80 to 200 casarios (surrounding towns or communities) around Bambamarca so a lot of people come into the "city" (of 12,000) to do their shopping, etc. Other than agriculture, I'd say the principal business in the city is just having a tienda (store) to sell goods to the people from the campo (countryside). The good thing is that because there is so much traffic from the surrounding areas, it looks like I'll be able to buy a lot of stuff I need right in Bambamarca (without having to go all the way into Cajamarca).

There were two women waiting for us when we arrived in Bambamarca around 3:30 pm. One was Jessica's counterpart, Isabel, and the other was a woman named Carol, who works at the Centro de Salud with me, but isn't my counterpart. They took us to the Centro de Salud to meet the doctor who is our overall supervisor. I think we have the same supervisor because I'm going to be working with the Centro de Salud that is in charge of the Puesto de Salud (Health Post) that Jessica will be working with (about 30 minutes away). The doctor, Martín, is hillarious and really nice. He seems to be a very caring man and took a lot of interest in getting to know us and find out what we studied and why we're here. I'll be honest, I definitely some a few pangs of, "oh lord what have I gotten myself into," but for the most part, I had a really good feeling from them. It didn't help that we were both starving (we hadn't eaten lunch) and feeling very overwhelmed about the whole situation in general. I think we both kept thinking, what are we doing here?

While walking to the health center we ran into three women and a little 3 year old boy. I thought they said it was my host family, but then I asked the oldest woman where she lives and she said she lives in the campo about 45 minutes away. However, she later brought us to a house to set our stuff down and when I asked whose house it was they said mine and that I'd be living there with her and her family. Apparently the other two women and little boy live there too. I don't know, I was really confused and overwhelmed. Then, poor Jessica was told she had to sleep in Bambamarca that night because there was no car up to her site at that hour (even though it was only 5 pm) and that she shouldn't live there anyway because no one lives there and they don't even have electricity (although she was told by Peace Corps that they do have it - how you miss a detail like that beats me). I felt so bad for her because we had all been really looking forward to this day to finally know where we'd be living and she still had to wait another day.

We returned to the house where I had left my stuff and found out that it was definitely my new host family. We went up to my room and I quickly noticed I didn't have a door to my room. However, no less than 30 seconds after I had this thought, some men came and installed a door (without a doorknob). I was getting a little sad because I wasn't feeling that comfortable in my room - it just didn't feel cozy, didn't feel like home - but tried not to think about it too much. We were able to go to dinner early at a restaurant in town. It was a little strange because they didn't have a menu, they just told us to request something and they'd cook it. Perhaps a tofu and vegetable stir fry served over some organic brown rice, please (haha, yeah right)? When I asked if they had any vegetables he said no, they only have them at lunch time. Okay then, I'll stick with grilled chicken and rice - don't want to get too crazy here. I did see him come out with a plate of grilled onions and tomatoes though so asked for some of those. Don't ask me why they don't qualify as vegetables, but I was excited to get a little color onto my plate. Of course I had to pay extra for them, but it was well worth it.

Jessica had been invited to sleep over at my house that night, but we decided not to because we figured we'd just spend the night crying together and being nervous. It was time to finally separate and start integrating into our community. My family was eating dinner when I got home and asked me to join them. I sat in the kitchen with my host mom and another woman who turns out to be a daughter-in-law. I still haven't figured out whether or not she lives in the house, but she does eat dinner with us every night. I told them I had already eaten, but I still tried a little bit of what they were eating. It was some stew with potatoes that tasted like beets to me and I don't like beets at all so I was really glad I had already eaten. My host mom is really nice, but kind of quiet. She and the rest of the women all sit on the floor in the kitchen (they had me sit on a bag of potatoes so I wouldn't be on the floor) while the men and I eat in the dining room. I felt really awkward every time we ate like that and wished they'd just let all of the women eat in the dining room. It's a perfect example of all of the machismo that exists here in this country. There is a little window in the wall between the dining room and the kitchen and when the men want more they just go up to the window and hand their plate to my host mom. I felt so bad for her. I asked my counterpart why they do it like this and she said many of the women here feel like it's their duty to serve their family so they sit in the kitchen on the floor to serve everyone. She said I should invite her in to eat with us or ask the men why they let the women eat in the other room on the floor and tell them I'd enjoy their company. I thought it was a really good idea and I'd like to do that someday, but I didn't think my first few nights with them were appropriate.

The next morning (and all the others to follow) we had soup for breakfast. It wasn't that great, and I was already missing my quaker and eggs from home. Santa Eulalia was feeling more and more like home and I really missed my family there. I was told to be at the Centro de Salud at 8 am, but of course the doctor didn't show up until 9:30 (even though he lives right behind it). While I was waiting for him to arrive, I met a woman who had just finished school in Lima and was trying to get a job at the Centro de Salud, and another woman from one of the caserios. They were both really sweet and nice to talk to. It was really interesting because the one woman was there with her son for his 2 year check up. They told her e was really under weight and too small for his age. The other woman was saying that she needs to feed him a more balanced diet and then started asking me about what I eat in the States. At first she said everyone in the States eats fried food all the time, but I told her that wasn't true, that I rarely eat fried food and instead I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. She started talking about nutrition a little and then said that's the difference between a developed country and an underdeveloped country - that we eat fruits and vegetables and they eat rice and potatoes. I felt badly when she was saying that because they have an abundance of fruits and vegetables here and they aren't that expensive. They could eat them too, but most of them just choose not to or don't know they should because they were never raised on eating fruits and vegetables and they aren't educated about it either. Nutrition is definitely a topic I'd like to address while I'm here.

After the doctor arrived I met Rita and Araceli who will be my main counterparts. Araceli is an obstratrice (sp?) and Rita is the coordinator for all of the Health Posts around us that belong to our health network. We had a little meeting about our expectations and goals for my two years and what we're hoping to achieve with the kids. It was fun to talk with them because we have a lot of the same goals. They've wanted to have a program with adolescents for a long time, but they are so short staffed, that they haven't been able to do so in the past. However, now that I'm here to help them, they can start with this program. They want to use the two secondary schools (like high school) in our town as a pilot program for our project and then branch out to the caserios from there. We'll begin by covering basic topics like hygene and cleaning up trash, etc. and then go into self-esteem, values, and leadership. After that we'll touch on heavier topics like sex ed and HIV/AIDS training because they don't receive any of this in their schools and teen pregnancy is a huge problem. There are apparently a lot of girls getting pregnant around 13 or 14 years old! They also would eventually like to set up a program where adolescents can come into the health center and get free counseling. It sounds like a really great program we're going to be doing at the schools so I'm really excited to work with them.

I was definitely getting a little overwhelmed because I feel like they are so excited about this that they want to start on it day one when I get back to the community. However, Peace Corps really recommends that we spend our first 3 months or so just really getting to know the community, analyzing its needs, and integrating ourselves into everyday life. I tried to explain this to Rita and tell her also that I'm a community volunteer, not just a volunteer for the Centro de Salud, but I'm not quite sure if she got it. When I told her I wanted to spend the majority of my time at the beginning building confianza (trust) in the community, and more importantly, the adolescents, she just kept saying, "me too, me too" so I'm not sure what that means. After I thought we got that all cleared up, we went to the schools and talked to the principals about when we can meet with their teachers to pitch our idea and get the program started. Oh boy. I decided that wasn't something I should worry about in the two days I was visiting, we'd get it figured out.

They introduced me to everyone at the health center and I already have a great feeling from them. They are all really nice and very excited that I'm there to help them. I can really see myself becoming good friends with some of them so that was a great feeling. I basically spent the whole day (until 8 pm) with them at the health center because I really like the people and feel very comfortable with them. I did go home for lunch, but left to use the internet after I ate because I just don't feel comfortable. I had a little mental breakdown at the internet because I was feeling so overwhelmed and uneasy about my family. They are really nice, but there is definitely an issue with hygene and security in the house that don't make me feel comfortable. I just kept telling myself though that if it doesn't work out then I don't have to stay there. Tons of people change host families and it's no big deal.

Jessica came half way through the day because she had come to town with her family to buy a mattress. She came to see if I wanted to go along. I couldn't have been happier to see her face. After having a little breakdown at the internet cafe (in front of the doctor's children by the way), I really needed to talk to her. She admitted she had had two so far so it made me feel like I wasn't being completely unreasonable. We were going through a lot of changes and it's completely normal to feel overwhelmed and sad. When I got back to the health center they were all sitting in the conference room having hot chocolate and little cheese sandwiches. It was so cute and something I really needed. They were all so welcoming of me and I felt like I was coming home to a family.

I think I had guinea pig for dinner that night. It was a big plate of rice and the potato stew from the night before (that I had also had for lunch) and some paw of an animal. There was a tiny little leg attached to it that I tried to eat some of the meat off of, but I started gagging because I could see the toenails of the animal starting up at me and I got really grossed out. My stomach had been acting funny anyway for the past few days (I think from trying to adjust to all of the traveling and changes) so I didn't want to push it even further. I know that it can be very offensive to families, especially in the mountains, if you don't eat their food, but I'm sorry. Everyone has to draw their line somewhere and that was the line for me. The next night I wasn't feeling well either and heard them say it was going to be rabit for dinner. Instead of being served the food and not eating it, I decided to just ask for a plate without any meat on it from the beginning. They said yes, of course, but then still served me one with meat. Luckily when I asked the second time I did get it without meat. So that night for dinner I ate boiled potatoes and a huge chunk of cheese. Because of my IBS, I'm not really supposed to eat that much cheese, but since I had already asked for no meat, I figured I better lick my plate clean so they don't think I'm completely disrespectful. Did I mention they served me cow heart for lunch with the potato stew? Needless to say, I didn't eat that either. I'm sure they were offended, but I couldn't do it. I knew I would get sick. I've already requested that I'd like to cook my own meals when I get back because I love to cook and I'm a vegetarian and I don't want them to have to cook differently for the whole family just because of me. My host mom was really nice about it and said it was no problem, but that I could cook for the entire family (13 people ate the other night!) because she's sure they'd love my food. It was really sweet, but I don't want to cook for 13 people for 3 meals a day. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

My family invited me to their aunt's birthday party that night. It was a surprise and we didn't go over there until about 10 pm. When we arrived she was upstairs and we were downstairs. They turned up the music to the maximum volume and we waited until she came down. Her husband had to finally go up and get her because she wasn't coming, but it was cute because she was definitely surprised. The best part is that her 6 and 8 year old kids knew about it and didn't ruin the secret! Then they turned off the lights and sang to her (but not happy birthday yet). Afterwards her husband said something really nice about her and how they recognize this day as being so special because she was born and we all hope she has a great day, etc. Then anyone else in the room who wanted to say something nice about her stood up and did so. It was such a nice tradition. I loved listening to all of the nice things everyone had to say. Her daughter, the 6 year old, didn't want to say anything because she was too shy, but at the end she stood up and said, "Mom, I just wanted to say I love you very much and Happy Birthday and you're the most perfect mom in the whole world."! It was so adorable. Then we were served another dinner. Luckily since I didn't eat my claw for dinner, I was still hungry. I was really scared it would be guinea pig again, but it was rotisserie chicken. Even though I don't particularly like eating chicken on the bone, I've never been happier to have it in my life! After we ate there was a toast and then some dancing. Their kids were incredible dancers and so adorable. The little boy asked me to dance with him. It was really funny because it was a traditional dance from Peru so I had no idea what to do and he was dancing in circles around me. The whole time I was thinking we were just having a birthday party really late because they do everything late here in Peru, but then at midnight they sang Happy Birthday to her (in English! - apparently that's the norm, but I thought they were just doing it because I was there) and cut the cake. I finally figured out that they have the celebration so late because it's the eve of the person's birthday and it starts the day out in a very special way for them! It was a really nice party and I was so glad to have been able to particpate. I'm sure there will be many more to come!

The next day a lot of people from the health center had gone to a conference in Chota so Rita and I went to Apan Bajo to visit Jessica in her site and talk with the people she'll be working with at the Puesto de Salud. Rita wanted to tell them about our program and coordinate with them so we'll all be on the same page. It'll be fun because Jessica and I will have the opportunity to work together sometimes when we do our projects out in the caserios. Martín also told us that we're going to be getting two health volunteers in December! We had no idea about this, but that would be really fun to do cross-sectoral projects with them. Anyway, Apan Bajo is like a whole other world. It's absolutely gorgeous and very calm and quiet. The air is so fresh and clean out there. It reminded me of Little House on the Prarie even though I've never read the books or watched the show - this is how I'd imagine it to be! It'll be nice to escape to visit Jessica when I feel like I need to get out of my city for a night. It felt really peaceful and relaxing to be out there.

Jessica's host grandma had invited us all over for lunch. She served us lentils and rice with fried chicken. It was much better than any of the food I've had at my house, but sooooo much! Rita and I were joking afterwards that it was a monton (mountain) of food. I tried to eat as much as I could, but I don't physically have enough space in my body to fit that much food. She seemed really sad that we weren't eating it all (because Jessica couldn't finish either) so we did our best to explain that we're not used to eating so much, but we loved the food. She kept insisting that we must not have liked it so I finally asked for a bag to take the rest of it home and eat it for dinner (a trick my host family in Santa Eulalia taught me). She was satisfied with that so I felt much better! I didn't think it would be a good idea to bring it home to my family there and tell them I already had dinner so I gave it to a woman with two young kids who looked like they could use the food. It took a while to convince her that it was just a gift and I didn't want anything for it, but she was very grateful in the end and I felt really good that I could make her so happy with just that little gesture. Oh by the way, since Jessica lives in the country, they don't have an actual kitchen, they cook on something called leña (over a fire) that is just in the corner of the dining room. It's so rustic - I loved it! There were also tons of guinea pigs running around the room and under our feet the entire time we were eating. I'm sure you can imagine I wasn't so fond of that.

Rita and I returned to Bambamarca after lunch and spent the afternoon together. I really wanted to meet her 7 year old daughter and she let me use her phone to call my parents. It was really nice to hear their voices, especially since I was feeling pretty homesick. I started crying to them on the phone when I was talking about my home situation. I absolutely love the community and the staff at the health center, but I'm feeling really uneasy about the family. My parents helped me realize that it's not permanent and we'll get it figured out. After my conversation, Rita had made us a snack (she's so sweet) and we started talking about my living situation. I was trying not to tell anyone in my community about it because I didn't want to start any chisme (gossip), but she brought it up. She said she could tell how well Jessica had adapted to her new family and how much she loves life out there in the campo, but she can tell that I still don't feel that comfortable and wanted to know if she could help in any way. I really felt relieved when she asked me that and felt like I could open up about it. After explaining the whole situation to her, she thought I should probably not live in that house and said she wished I could live with her, but she doesn't have any room. She has lived in Bambamarca for 15 years though and her husband is from the city so she said she'd ask him and they'd look for a new family for me. That was really reassuring and made me feel really good that she was that concerned about me.

It was a pretty relaxed night at my house. There were 13 people over for dinner and another woman and I were the only women who ate with the men. It was so awkward because no one talked to me the entire meal. They act like they think I don't speak Spanish even though they know I do. It's frustrating because if it's just me, one-on-one with one of the men in the house then they'll talk to me, but if there is just one other person, then they don't talk to me. After I ate I went downstairs and watched a little TV with my host sisters, but then went to bed early because I was exhausted from all of these changes and adjustments I was making.

I left around 8:30 the next morning to return to Cajamarca city because we were going back to Lima on a bus that left that night. Of course the bus left about 45 minutes late so I made friends with the two men who work for the bus company and was having some deep conversations with them about stereotypes and how we're all human and that people should give outsiders more of a chance. It was a really interesting conversation and when I was leaving, the guys asked me when I'd be back to finish our conversation. I also had an interesting conversation with a woman I met on the bus. She said she had seen the doctor talking about me on TV the other day (because they came to do an interview, but I told them I can't be on the news so he talked about me). She started telling me how her son is 17 and wants to be an elementary school teacher (by 17 they've normally already graduated from high school here). He has the opportunity to get this scholarship to go study in Venezuela and she was asking me if I thought she should let him go. Of course I said yes and just kept talking about what an incredible opportunity it is for him. She showed me her gray hairs she's gotten from worrying about it. I told her that my parents are worried about me too, but that Peace Corps is responsible for me and they take care of me as well as the Peruvians I've met, like her. She was so sweet and really seemed to trust what I was telling her. She said when I come back in Bambamarca in two weeks she's going to go look for me at the health center so she can invite me over to see her house and eat lunch with her family!

Jessica got on in her town and we talked the whole way back to Cajamarca. We'd both been through a lot in the past few days, but are so happy to have each other near by for those really tough days. It was nice to walk around in Cajamarca and be able to stretch our legs before our 14 hour bus ride back to Lima. We ate lunch at the good gringo restaurant again and it felt like it was the best meal I had ever had after the meals I had in my site. We also went to the ice cream store that we had heard about last time, but hadn't been able to visit. The ice cream definitely lived up to its hype and I'm sure it'll be the first place I go to everytime I go into Cajamarca city.

The bus ride back to Lima was really long, but it was fun to catch up with Lindsay about her site visit. We also talked about how much we missed Hana so we choreographed a dance to a song for her. It was so funny - we couldn't wait to show her! We didn't get back home until almost 12 pm that day and were supposed to be in the center for an afternoon session at 1 pm. After not showering for 4 days, I decided I was going to take my time getting ready and eating my lunch. I felt rude running in and out of the house without talking to my abuelita since I had been gone for so long. She was so adorable when I got home and scurried over to answer the door after she saw it was me and gave me the biggest hug telling me how much she missed me! What a great welcome home!

I've been home now for a week and can't believe I have less than a week left here with my family. It's going to be really sad to leave my family here. I've been running around like crazy since I got back so I feel like I've barely seen them at all and now I'm about to leave. OH boy. Anyway, keep checking back because I have lots more to update you on. Love you and miss you tons! Thanks for all of the mail and packages. I had 11 pieces of mail when I got back from the trip! I felt so loved!!