La Fiesta de Jesus y El Dia de Los Padres

Last weekend was Father's day and a Catholic celebration for Jesus. I'm not sure what the holiday was exactly because I could not understand the full explanation, but it was my first experience attending a mass that Saturday night. Mass was as everyone who has been describes with a lot of standing, sitting, singing, and more involved, except it was in Spanish, as one might expect, and I caught about every other word. It was a very neat experience overall. I'm sure most of the people in the iglesia looked at me as I walked in fifteen or more minutes late with my abuela thinking "Who is this gringa?" Pero, I watched and did what everyone around me did. After the sermon, if that is the correct word, there were four men carrying a large, heavy wooden pillar contraption with a miniature statue of Jesus in the middle. The entire congregation, myself included, followed the priest and these men with the pillar around our neighborhood until we landed in an area with a stage and set for a party. There were other people nearer the main road who worked on two massive pyro structures, stacking pieces five feet tall each on top of each other. They seemed to be ever-growing with piece after piece being assembled each time I walked by. In the main area a mariachi band played and people danced in circular groups. I had vivid flashbacks from my Greek Festival experiences in San Antonio when my abuelita grabbed me to join her group for a few songs. It was all smiles and laughs and improvised footwork, much as most of my life here has been to now. Especially in the time spent with my host family.

Late in the night - which literally never ended considering the fiesta lasted well into the following night and possibly even that Monday - a man wore another smaller pyro structure called "The Mad Cow," lit it on fire, and ran around the crowd with extensive sparklers flying out in all directions. Regardless of the potential detriment to my safety (I did get a small burn on my foot), I managed to capture some video of the Mad Cow, which can be viewed below. I missed the massive structures being lit because I am a grandma who likes to sleep before 1:00am most days.

However, there was still plenty to experience the next day. I stood in my kitchen watching as my abuelo kept bringing in mas y mas pan. I asked why there was so much, but did not understand anything in the response except for "sesenta," meaning 60. I know my eyes went wide, but I still did not understand what was happening. I use exaggerated expressions to appear like I understand sometimes when I know I'll figure it out soon enough. Well, I did figure it out. About noon or later, I can't be sure since my sense of time has been completely skewed since coming to Peru, I walked outside with my abuela. We saw a large group of people walking up our hill on the other side of the road with the pillar of Jesus and the mariachi band. They played music and danced hiking up to a house across the street. It appears they did not get what they came for there, because shortly after arriving they turned around, went down the road and across the bridge. Then their direction changed and they were walking toward us.

At this time, my abuela grabbed her large, beautiful photo of Jesus and placed it on a table she had moved outside of the house. It was adorned with three vases of flowers. My abuela was in a buzz about the people, she ran back inside and I followed, slowly unsure of what was happening. It started becoming clear that these people were coming up to see us. I worked it out that they were visiting people's houses in the neighborhood who had a photo of Jesus or some other possible sign to symbolize they were welcoming the procession. Inside the house, my tia (aunt) furiously put together sandwiches, while my abuelo set up the beer and sodas outside. They handed me a stack of small cups to hand out and I stood there a bit dumbfounded as my sister and cousin ran in and out of the house passing out the sandwiches and refueling their trays with more. The pillar with Jesus sat in front of the house and people stood around eating their sandwiches, drinking cerveza and/or Siete Arriba (which they call 7 Up, but I like to call "Siete Arriba"), talking and sometimes dancing. This went on for mas o menos 30 minutes. Again, my concept of time is totally off since I seemed to have forgotten what it means from living here for two weeks. 

It was a whirlwind of glee, cheer, and satisfaction on the part of the procession and my family. I stood by with the cups in my hand, not distributing much of anything, in awe at the entire situation. This fiesta, which fell on Father's Day, was quite endearing. I was a bit torn since I felt they had likely been traveling around the neighborhood for the full morning. On the one hand, it is beautiful and cheerful to see how community and a common purpose brings people together to help one another and share happy moments like this. On the other, I couldn't help thinking about this country's problem with alcohol and how this could be one of those enabling instances for people to drink without guilt and with a purpose. Anyway, I didn't give it much mind, but it did make me curious. One of the main objectives we have in my PC program is the prevention of alcohol and substance abuse, so it is definitely something to consider, but I'm not sure from what context I ought to consider it. It was another interesting moment of trying to work through my understanding of the world through North American eyes and not knowing when to shed my preconceptions of how life should and does operate. Overall, the fiesta was a lot of fun. Everyone seemed to have a great time and my family was very content with themselves for their accommodations, as I feel they should be. It is perfectly amazing to watch community organization and assistance in action. What a beautiful world we live in :).

The Mad Cow

The Mad Cow :O

El Agua Catastrophe

The first week of training has passed and the second is quickly coming to an end. For how long last week felt, I'm quite surprised at how this week has flown by. We have already met a number of current volunteers. It is really helpful to have them around, hearing their stories and very useful insight - though it seems the most appropriate and applicable phrase in the PC is "it depends..." or "depende." Since the start of this whole ride when I talked with a recruiter, my attitude about life in the PC has made major adjustments in my perspective. I feel much more lax and patient in just the nearly two years that I've been in this whole thing. I'm glad to see some things are already being to change within me for the better.

I have an amazing host family. They love showing me around the area and taking me to the next town over. In my house, I have a host mama, a host papa, una hermana (Ivanna), mi abuelita, y mi abuelo. My host parents are younger and very down to Earth people. We all giggle with and at each other, especially when we have to talk things out with grand gestures and charades. Things definitely get lost in translation and I'm sure fall through the cracks as I nod my head and smile. I do wish I had a more extensive vocabulary and could speak better because I know there is so much more we could share. Alas, with their constant help, my vocabulary is developing little by little each day. Poco a poco! Also a very popular phrase in my life :).

This morning was rather humorous and humiliating for me. This infamous "agua catastrophe" was quite ridiculous. My family bought a large box of water, much like boxed wine if you'd like a visual, and I asked where I could get more water from. My abuelita, the sweetest and most giving woman in the world, told me to help myself to the boxed water, which had not been opened. I attempted to push in the cardboard cutout around the foil bladder, but the damn thing couldn't budge. I read the instructions on the side and it said "Corta" so I figured "What the hell!" Man was I wrong! Luckily, I only cut a small hole in the bladder with the knife, but it began flowing out a little at a time and I was the only one around. I had no idea what to do. The bag was very large and rather heavy so I could not move it very easily. Plus, we do not have a sink in the kitchen. Our sink is out behind the bathroom which is not directly connected to the house. Finally, I looked at this thing and thought to myself how expensive it probably was and that I had to plug up that hole as quickly as possible.

With a spontaneous thought, I pushed a rag over the hole and ran into my room, scrambling through my hiking backpack to find my knife and Gorilla tape. To be honest, I have so much stuff and so many bags, I had no clue which bag it could possibly be in. Thank goodness it turned out that both items were in the first place I looked. I snatched them up, ran back into the kitchen (all of 15 feet away, maximum), and began cutting small slivers to put on top of the hole. About this time my grandmother, abuelita, came in from the bathroom/sink outside. I half-yell "Tengo un problema!!" and she comes to me with a quizzical look. I try to explain that I've put a hole in the bag, but it is not translating well and she is trying to stand the bag/box back upward after I had just laid it down and placed tape over the hole. The hole was covered, so I ran into my room, shuffled through my backpack, and came up with my dicionario to try and find a way to convey what had happened. I looked up "hole" and tried to act out the whole scene. It was pretty much complete chaos and a lot of misunderstanding. After what felt like ages, we were on the same page and my abuelo was called in to help displace some of the water so that the bag would not have too much to spill out. My family keeps their clean water, at least the water they boil, in a couple of pitchers in the kitchen area so we used those and a bucket to hold some of this clean water. I felt terrible and kept repeating "Lo siento!" while giggling because that is my natural and inappropriate reaction to awkward/uncomfortable situations. They probably thought I was stark mad. It was more or less cleared up when I looked down and realized I needed to leave the house for training (escuela as I call it because my vocab is so limited, and it in many ways is similar to school).

I stuffed my dicionario back into my backpack, threw it onto my back, and ran out the door yelling over my shoulder "Necesito ir! Nos Vemos! Chao! Lo siento!!" It was quite the experience. My host parents came home this weekend and asked what the bag was and then why it was laying out on the counter. I felt another wave of anxiety while awaiting their reaction, but I am grateful that they simply laughed with/at me while I tried to explain what happened. The charades made it very funny. Thank goodness for Google translate and somewhat working Internet! It was quite ridiculous and became very humorous. I am lucky to have such good sports. They truly are great people who help me so much with my cultural understanding and are very patient with the language barrier. Thanks to them, I feel my Spanish and cultural knowledge are growing even faster than I can imagine. 

I will work on providing you all with more stories of this crazy time. It truly has been the most interesting experience I've been through to date. My orientation and understanding of life as a collective have been completely turned upside-down. I think my brain has been doing a pretty good job of reevaluating itself constantly. Plus, we are incredibly busy without much time at all to really think about all of the changes we're experiencing - though Lima and the coast are really rather progressive compared to la sierra. Going to site will really be a trip! The countdown is already here! 

I hope you're doing well! Que tengas/tenga un buen dia! :)

-Allie

First Post Ever

Hola from Peru! I'd like to start this by saying I wasn't sure if I would start a blog, but I think it will be a really helpful for myself and others, as well as a productive use of my time while I'm here. So far, I haven't had much time to even think. I'm certain my volunteer friends can agree! I am so pleased to be here with such an excellent, diverse, and an altogether unique group of individuals. I am really excited to learn with and from them and to experience this crazy roller coaster ride together.

(This section may more relevant to future/prospective volunteers.) There is so much to say, I can't decide where to begin. Thus far, this experience has been a whirlwind filled with a mixture of emotions and new experiences. In fact, "New Experiences" should probably be the title of my blog. I have to say, this has already been the neatest and most exhausting ordeal I've been through to date. There has been so much going on since day one. We got to D.C. and immediately checked into Staging, had an hour break, and then Staging began. From the moment Brooklynn and my plane touched down in D.C., we've been constantly busy in some form. Staging was a nice way to introduce everyone and get a better feel for what we're getting involved in, though it truly started to feel real upon landing in Lima. 

Our flight got into D.C. at 11:00 a.m. and Staging registration was at 12:00 p.m. Staging began around 1:00 p.m. until that evening. Brooklynn and I ate out that night and then went straight to sleep, already tired beyond belief thanks to nervous, restless sleep the night before. We woke up early the next morning and got on the bus at 7:00 a.m. for the D.C. airport, then got to sit at our gate for three hours and watch numerous other groups board. Though I figured that time would seem to take ages, it was really great to chat with people and open up a bit more. We flew out to Miami, had a layover for a few hours, then we were on our way to Lima on a nice five-plus hour flight. Again, the time was spent talking to one another, learning about each other and sharing our excitement and nerves about what was to come.

  

Then we landed in Lima. It was pretty wild to suddenly be in a place where I spoke and understand very little of the most common language and needed to quickly navigate and orient myself. I followed the group - thank goodness for those who know Spanish! - and made it out just fine. We went straight to the retreat center at 11:00 p.m. that same night. Yet another late night. The retreat was a great way to become oriented with the staff and other trainees. I say trainees because we have not yet been sworn in and aren't considered volunteers until then, at the end of training in August. I may have already mentioned this, but it's worth reiterating, the people in this group are truly fantasticos. I have enjoyed getting to know many of them already and look forward to forging even stronger bonds throughout training.

After the weekend retreat, we moved in with our training host family. My host family is absolutely lovely. This could not be a better match. They are so kind, generous, and very patient with my limited vocabulary. We have fun with trying to understand each other, acting things out in an exaggerated manner with "Como se dice?" attached to the action. I am amazed by the connection that can be forged by what were complete strangers, which is true for the other volunteers and myself, but even moreso for my family who comes from an entirely different country and with different perspectives on life. They are incredibly accepting of our differences and I am absolutely grateful for that.

An interesting observation to me is that throughout this process our proximity to each other is becomes more distant, our relationships grow deeper. You develop fast friends in the Peace Corps because you are brought into very real (honest), and sometimes very serious discussions about what to expect for these next 27 months. Today completes my third day of training, which is mind-boggling to me because it seems it should be much longer. We have eight-hour days with multiple tasks and goals to complete each day. I am learning a lot already. I know that what's ahead will be a crazy road of ups and downs, but I believe that with a strong will and a wonderful support system, everything will be all right :).

A little more about  me:

My  name is Allie. Tienes 26 anos y soy de Tejas. I studied sociology in school and received my Master's of Science in December. Currently, I am in training to become a Youth Development Volunteer here in the beautiful country of Peru. I studied Spanish as an undergraduate, but forgot most of it. I look forward to using my Spanish skills further down the road. I was vegan for over two years but integrated pescado y pollo into my diet to make the transition to Peru easier. I made this decision, which was very importante para mi, so that I could assimilate into the culture better and hopefully reduce my chances of being sick more than necessary - jury is out on that one! *Knock on wood* I love to write, practice yoga and meditation, read, watch movies, and take in cultural experiences. Peru is probably the best place I could have been placed for its history, culture, various climates, and so many more remarkable things. And by the way, it was difficult when I first began eating meat again a few months ago because of moral reasons and health concerns, but the food here is positively rico.

I have every intention of keeping up with this site as much as possible, which may be dificil during training, but I look forward to writing my next entry and hope you all can enjoy this ride with me. I will post videos and pictures as much as possible to keep you posted.

Three groups of adolescents were in the park practicing Traditional Inca dances. I felt like a complete tourist, but I had to record it.

 My Gerber-Bear Grylls Survival Knife complete with an actual knife, fire starter, whistle, and blade sharpener. I also have a Swiss Army knife. You know, just in cases...(Love Actually shoutout!)

 This "just in cases" notion will get me into trouble. I packed so much stuff! So much. This is what my bed looked like the night before I packed it all into two checked bags (one Army duffle and one REI hiking backpack) and two carry on backpacks. I'll post a packing list at some point.

 Too many cosas (things)! One of my checked bags weighed in right at 50lbs, thank goodness! 

 Oh, you know, just flying to Lima.

 At the retreat.

 Hanging out with my new friends at training.

 Spending time with the family es muy importante. Estas son mi hermana y mi prima.

 What a great gift from mi abuelita! :) So warm!

 Mi abuelita, mama, y yo en el parque!

 Mi hermana y yo en el parque.

Beautiful statue of Jesus Christ in the park.