Cultural Difference #2 (Personal Space)

Whether it be a 3 hour trip or a 10 minute trip, all of us have ridden on a bus once in our lives. We board the bus, find the seat number we purchased or just an open seat and sit there. Likewise, we have all ridden in cars or vans. We find a seat and sit in the open seat. When there are no open seats left, we wait for the next van or try to find another means of transportation. This sort of behavior is natural to us and we really don’t think there is any other way. Well, in Peru, there is.

In Peru, the concept of personal space is really non-existent. If you were to board a van and sit in a seat, you should not be surprised if you have someone else practically sitting right on top of you. Also, there does not exist a maximum capacity for any car or bus here in Peru. Vans are like clown cars and buses are the same. From my site, I have to take about an hour or an hour and a half ride into the provincial capital. Never have a I been comfortable on one of these rides haha. Grandmas will fall asleep on top of you sometimes or kids will do the same. There just is no recognition of personal space. It’s natural and accepted to lean on people, sit on top of them, etc. Even on the buses there is no personal space. If you have an aisle seat you can be assured someone who is standing in the aisle will use your arm rest or back of your seat as their own perching place. It’s been rather difficult sometimes dealing with this aspect of the Peruvian culture. However, you really can’t say anything about it because it’s normal to everyone else.

Anyways, update on my life. The tourism association has been chugging along. It took us like 2 hours to give a name to the association but the name is Asociacion del Turismo Nacimiento del Rio Amazonas del Lari. It’s way too long in my opinion and I expressed this opinion but no one listened to me. The birth of the Amazon is located in Lari at the Nevada which is called Mismi. So, the other name of the association could have been Asociacion del Turismo El Mismi de Lari. I feel it has a smoother sound to it and everyone knows that the birth of the Amazon is at Mismi. However, I got shot down. Also, people in my town are looking to build hotels which I’ve already said is not feasible right now due to capital, demand, etc. However, most people just think hotels will bring lots of money. I’ve got a lot of things to try to sort out with the association. Other than that, tonight is what Peruvians like to call Noche Buena. All the Peruvians wait up until midnight and then open presents, light fireworks, etc. However, in my town no one really does anything. Those sort of events happen more within the cities. On Christmas Day, people really do nothing. They basically work on the chacra some more. It’s definitely going to be different for sure.

Soccer Update: So, we had a game on Sunday, our third. We started off the game pretty poorly. The other team scored three goals right away. Our goalie isn’t really too dependable. But then we scored a goal on a volley from like 20 yards away (that’s likeee 16 meters I guess???). Then, I scored one on a breakaway. But then the ref called a handball on us in the box which was crap. So the other team was winning 4-2 at halftime. In the second half I got pulled down in the box and I put in the penalty kick so we were down one. Then, this kid on our team had a nasty volley from like 25 yards out that went upper 90 (aka right underneath the cross bar). We ended up tying 4-4. The ref sucked haha. The defense kept on taking me down from behind which was pissing me off a lot. So I ended up pushing the one kid over and I got a yellow card hahahaha. Then, on Christmas day we played my brothers team and lost 5-4. It was pretty disappointing. Lets just say we need to buy our goalkeeper gloves so he can hang onto the ball. We ended up getting knocked out...grrrr. The thing I really can’t stand about playing with peruvians (I’m not saying all peruvians but pretty much everyone I’ve played football with) is how they cheat so much. It’s so annoying. I really can’t stand people who cheat. Anyways, also it annoys me that no one shakes hands at the end of the game. I’ve been here 4 months and every football game I play, at the end I run over and shake the players from the other team’s hands. But my team never does it. Hopefully by the end of two years the players here will start doing it.

That’s all. I hope everyone has a happy new year.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…or not.

So, up here in the middle of nowhere, it’s not that we lack the Christmas spirit. It’s just that society hasn’t gotten us revved up for Christmas like it does the big cities. We lack a place to get a picture with Santa Claus. We lack Christmas music playing on every radio station. We also lack money with which to splurge on presents (that includes me haha). To say the least, this year’s Christmas will be like no other in many ways. I’ve asked many people about what they do for Christmas and no one seems to really care. There are two chocolatadas where the kids get hot chocolate from the municipality and that’s about it. The people here actually go out to the chacra to work on Christmas. How depressing haha. But really most of Christmas is commercialized nonsense (kinda like how people celebrate their birthdays for a whole week, you know who you are). However, us volunteers are going to try to get together on Christmas so that we don’t go insane. It’s gonna be real different but Christmas is Christmas.

Another note: My neighbor just died today. A real surprise. I was not too close with him but every time I walked out of my house he’d say “Ingeniero!!!!” which means engineer. People get hung up on titles here in Peru but ingeniero is one of the best ones haha. He also used to root for me at football games and he’s helped my family out a lot with our chacras and moving the adobe bricks. He once was drunk at a soccer game and took my hand and kissed it haha. He was a light hearted guy and will surely be missed by the community.

Education

Imagine coming to school one day and finding that your professor did not show up to teach for the day and there were no substitutes. Imagine having your professor just leave the class for 30 minutes without explaining what he/she was doing or where he/she was going. Even imagine professors drinking after school in the director’s office. These things and many more greatly affect the education system in the campo of Peru.

While I was growing up, I took my education for granted. I came to school; everything functioned properly (for the most part) and efficiently. I ended up taking a lot of knowledge away from my years of schooling and had an opportunity to attend college. Part of this is due to the emphasis that is placed on education in the United States. Another part of this is due to my parents’ emphasis on education as well. Unfortunately, none of those things exist here. Even when education is stressed in households, only a select few can afford to attend a university. There only exist two scholarships for each grade which go to the students which receive the best grades of the class. Other than that, financial aid or more scholarships do not exist. As one can see, the lack of access to education and the lack of importance placed on education results in a poverty trap. The vast majority of the students graduating this year from high school will end up hanging around town and working in the chacra. A select few will seek work in Arequipa but without a college education under their belt. An even more select few, 2 or 3, will attend college but will most likely not return to their hometown. So, Lari will not reap the benefits of those who attend university.

It appears to be a rather grim situation for most campo towns in Peru and it is. Right now the school year is coming to a close. By the end of this week most kids will be done with school and out working in the chacra alongside their parents. Unfortunately, parents do not understand the importance of an education. Some do understand, like my host dad. However, even if they do understand, the parents lack the resources to send their kids off to college in the big city.
I hope to try to change the way things work in education here before I leave. I’m hoping to start a program next year which is almost like a guidance counselor program for the students. As of now, the students are provided zero guidance as far as what to do after high school. Furthermore, even if they had the desire to go to college, there is no information regarding their options as far as colleges or information regarding how to prepare for the entrance exam. I hope to augment those resources. In addition, I hope to provide guidance to those who are planning on searching for jobs in Arequipa right after high school. These students lack various skills including how to exactly search for a job and how to create a resume. Also, we are hoping to bring some professionals in from Arequipa to speak to the students about what is involved in becoming a doctor, dentist, etc. and what the job is like. Those are my ambitious plans. However, I do live in the campo of Peru, which most likely will hinder my plans greatly

wititi

me solo in wititi attire
our procession...we were out in front!
im in the red skirt or pullera...my friend chris is in the green...men in the olden days used to dress up like the women and wear hats covering their eyes so that they could sneak out and dance with women in their town
us at one of the many houses we went to to eat drink and dance
us again...this guy was drunkkkk

More Adobe...

These past two afternoon I’ve felt like I was in prison doing manual labor, haha. We have been transporting the adobe bricks we made about a month and a half ago to my house. In encompasses carrying about two adobe bricks about 50 ft to a tractor. Then, having the tractor transport about 300 of the bricks to the house. Then, all of us forming a line and passing brick by brick by hand into our “yard” I guess we would call it. Little did I know that the bricks were practically like cement. It wasn’t so much the weight of the bricks, although it was, it was the fact that all of them had jagged edges. So, my hands and arms are pretty much torn up from all the work haha. It’s curious why I would write “haha” after that statement. However, there is a little charm to going out and doing manual labor here in my town. Everyone has fun while doing it as I have mentioned before. Even though our arms were about to fall of a quarter of the way through, everyone put a smile on their face and made it somewhat fun to do.

Anyhow, my computer classes are dwindling right now down to only the basico level. The intermediate level is definitely done. However, the avanzado level was lacking last night due to a despedida for the seniors of high school. The funny thing about the despedida is that there are still two more weeks of school left which are composed of finals. Therefore, they still could fail and have to repeat. I think that is kind of amusing. Today, I’m heading out to do some irrigation (not like we think of it, but by hand and shovel). Tomorrow I’m planning on going over to Madrigal to work on a “how to manage your farm’s finances” charla with two other volunteers in my group. Next week I plan on heading into Chivay for the annual festival and in a week I’m back in Arequipa for another regional meeting. That’s all I got. Chao.

Deep thoughtssss

Doubt is a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction. To doubt is to feel uncertain about something. Many of the volunteers in Peace Corps deal with doubt almost daily. Doubting whether or not this job is the right job for them. Doubting whether or not their artisans are going to show up for the meeting that night. Doubting whether or not their cell phone is going to stay connected for that very important conversation with their best friend. Even doubting whether or not their intestine will ever produce anything solid. Doubt riddles the lives of volunteers sometimes to the point of no return. However, for those who have made it this far, doubt has failed to pierce our motivation or state of certainty. On the contrary, doubt seems to have made us even stronger. Now when one looks upon a doubtful situation, he or she looks deeper. Instead of giving up, he or she works harder. Because, really, who can predict the result of a doubtful situation.

Being on the verge of a half a year in Peru, I have doubted many things. However, I have come the revelation that when one faces a doubtful situation there are two choices: to push on through even though the result is not certain or to give up and turn around because the result is unknown. After almost six months in Peru, I believe one must work even harder and look even deeper at an uncertain situation. The easy way out is to give up and move back to something more comfortable, more certain. However, people can only grow and be made stronger when they are taken out of their element. Sports analysts identify the best players in history based on their performances in adverse conditions, or when there exists much uncertainty on the outcome of the game. Even if that player fails in that instance of uncertainty, the player comes away with much more knowledge and many lessons learned. This relates to the Peace Corps. All of us are in situations where the outcomes, among many things, are doubtful and uncertain. From time to time, we fail, and we fall hard. However, the skills and knowledge we draw from those experiences is what makes it all worth it.

What Am I Up To?
Jus thought I had to write something a little insightful at the half-year mark. It’s pretty crazy to think I’ve been here for a half a year, 6 months, 26 weeks, 182 days. However, I’m still here which is the important thing. Yesterday, I got back from Reconnect/Thanksgiving Vacation. It was definitely a much-needed break from my site. It was great to see everyone. We got to have a Thanksgiving lunch the day before Thanksgiving which was delicious. In addition, we were sitting on a porch overlooking the beach for this lunch which was cool, but didn’t really have that Thanksgiving charm of a cold Thanksgiving day. I must give Steve, the volunteer who organized reconnect a lot of credit. Pacasmayo was a great place to have reconnect and I plan to be back in July for the marathon. Reconnect was a great time to see what everyone else was up to and just to hang out with everyone once again. The coolest thing about Reconnect was how it seemed as though everyone still got along just as well even after three months. After reconnect we went to Huanchaco which is a beach town right outside of Trujillo. This town had a bit more to do and eat which was nice. All in All, reconnect was great and I feel more energized to work in my community again. I have already scheduled a meeting with the woman in charge of turismo vivencal. Since the tourism season starts in March or April, we really need to prepare and get organized. My classes are continuing as well. Right when I got back people were asking me about when the classes were going to start up again which was nice to see. It’s rather motivating when one sees people taking an interest in things because that doesn’t often happen here haha. Anyways, next week begins the ferias here in the canon. Basically, it starts in Chivay, the provincial capital and moves its way down the canyon through every town. We have ours the first week in January. It should be lots of fun.