ahh summer time...

It’s been a little while since my last update so there is a lot to fill everyone in on. The month of December is just about to end and a few weeks back I passed the one-month mark in site. I know, not a huge accomplishment on the grand scale of things but it was “high-five” worthy for me and the other Peru 14-ers in Ancash…it’s all about the little steps.

Things here in Huashcao have been going well. No large sustainable project plan yet, but I have been keeping busy. This coming week (the last in December) marks the official end of the school year here in Peru. Starting in January the kids go on a two-month summer vacation until March. The summer here is going to be great!... The whether channel is calling for two months of rain and colder temperatures. What an awesome time to be on vacation huh?

The next few months should be an interesting part of my service. Due to the above factors of no school and constant rain I am going to use this time to hunker down and write/work on my community diagnostic. It will be a lot of interviewing, talking, and shadowing of various people and it should keep me relatively busy during the rainy season. Other than working on my diagnostic I have been teaching in the schools. It has been a good few weeks to get to know the kids and teachers and I have been able to line up some more “permanent” teaching opportunities for the upcoming school year. For now this part of the job will go on hold when school lets out this week. I will still continue teaching a bit during the summer vacation with my weekly English class in the community center. I hope to add another day of class during the vacation period and dedicate half of each class period to environmental education and the other half English. I think I can lure them in for a second day with the idea of English classes and a weekly viewing of the Planet Earth series. Not that they won’t enjoy my (sure to be) fascinating environmental classes, but right now these aren’t on the front of their minds. That’s where the DVDs come in. So with any luck I will be teaching a little English and environment class as well as working more seriously on my diagnostic. When all else fails I can always head to the chacra (field) with my dad and put in a good days work.

That’s the “job” side of things for now. Christmas came and went a little differently this year. There weren’t any carols or Christmas trees but I did find myself eating a mountain of hot chocolate and panetón. The latter being a very sweet fruitcake that every single person here loves. I didn’t learn to love it but it was a nice treat the first few times I ate it. Then I ate it a lot more. The week leading up to Christmas and on Christmas itself we had the panetón/hot chocolate combo at least once a day. Some were at the schools, others in the health post, and on Chirstmas eve/day at my house. I’m ready for a break until next year. I spent the majority of Christmas day playing board games like chess and checkers with the host family (I’m still undefeated in chess and humiliated in my checkers ability). We had a big lunch with some more of the pig (yeah he’s still around after a month…) and relaxed. Not the typical Christmas, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. The Ancash volunteers had a chance to celebrate the holidays our own way the week before Christmas in Huaraz. We all got together and made dinner that was followed by a gift exchange, Christmas music, and wine. It was a good way to unwind for the holidays with our own traditions.

This is also the time of year for school graduations. The Peruvians enjoy celebrating kindergarten, primary school, and high school graduations in style. I had the privilege of being invited to the secondary school promoción as it is called. The festivities included a huge meal of picante de cuy (guinea pig/my new favorite dish), dancing to cumbia and huayno music (youtube those), and lots of warm cheap beer (ah, remember freshman year?). A good time was had by all and soon into the dance portion I was pulled up to show off the gringo skills. Don’t worry if you weren’t there to watch, there is plenty of video footage that I am sure will eventually make its way to youtube. The word is already drifting around town. For now just use your imagination: Peter awkwardly dancing amongst Peruvian high school graduates. That’s to help you get started. The promoción raged on long after I left, but it was fun while it lasted.
That’s the quick update from the Andes. This week for new years me, Alex, Kaitlyn, and Jess (my fellow 14-ers in Ancash) plan to take a new years day hike up to a lake in Huascaran National Park. It is about an hour away from me and right up the road from Jess’ site. That should be fun if we can sneak it in before the rain comes. Other than that things have been going well. I have been learning a bit more Quechua, realizing how many boiled potatoes I can eat in one sitting (the number is rising well over 15), introducing my host brother to the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel, reading, working in the fields, and countless of other activities with my family and the community. Things are all good down south!

I hope everyone enjoyed/is enjoying the holidays. Whenever you get a chance fill me in on how things are going wherever you may be. More updates to come…

Cheers,
Pete