June 25, 2004
I took my time getting ready this morning. Probably shouldn’t record this but I am going to write it anyway. I have not taken a shower since I left the hotel 3 weeks ago. I know that sounds disgusting. To clarify my hygiene habits: it is too cold to stand under that freezing water! So, I take a sponge bath every morning. Needless to say… no shaving.
At work, my counterpart took me for a walk around El Milagro. We walked by the state penitentiary that is next door, the only jail in Trujillo where both men and women are housed. She explained that innocent people are held in prison until they are proven guilty; opposite of the system we have in the USA. (Yet, another reason to be thankful!) Also, if you want to visit a prisoner, women must wear a skirt and they give every person a full-body check to prevent someone bringing in weapons, etc. I am assuming that means that they can’t afford a metal detector. We ventured on our way, down streets of pure sand, filled with garbage. You can see personal ‘landfills’ where the families bring their collectibles to their homes to guard them; if not their things will be robbed. Robbery is extremely common. Each family has a pack of dogs that protects their property, whether that means their houses, their pigs, or their garbage. I have to be extremely careful with my things while I am in El Milagro, for at any moment a kid might decide they want it. But as a way for me to understand this lack of values, I must remember that these children and families are struggling to survive. I believe I might steal too under those conditions. We continued on our walk and talked of many subjects. She explained that there are 3 types of families that live in El Milagro: families that live in the landfill in plastic houses, those that live in plastic/whatever material outside the landfill and work in the landfill, and those that live in cement houses outside the landfill. Those families with the cement houses mostly raise pigs; pigs that graze freely in the landfill. Another problem she mentioned (which I have noticed by working with the kids) is that many of the kids are developmentally delayed, a side effect of their lack of nutrition and stimulation as babies/children.
I had lunch with my family, and then returned to El Milagro where I played and drew with my favorite group of girls. After work we visited some of the ladies of the communities who had developed a couple of small businesses, one selling ducks and the other has opened a small market. YMCA encouraged them to start these projects.
June 24, 2004
Around 9:00 this morning the carpenter came to hang a curtain on my bedroom window. This entire house is made out of cement, so to get a nail into the wall it takes a big drill. My mom sewed me a cute little blue curtain for my window, so now I can take the piece of construction paper down I was using for privacy. Tuesday night, I moved down to a room on the second floor. It is a bit warmer in this room and I have my personal bathroom. I am slowing getting it organized. I bought a new wooden table for 30 soles, which is less than $10 bucks. You can’t beat it.
I got to El Milagro at about 11:00. We cleaned up the office a bit and reorganized the kid’s library. I was back home by 2:00 for lunch. I am still getting lots of veggies and fish. Yeah!
Tonight, my brother and I went to town to shop for me a bookcase. He also had to buy his bus ticket to Lima, he goes there every weekend to attend classes; he is working on his masters in engineering. The market is dangerous to visit at night and that is where the cheapest furniture is, so we are going to come back this weekend. For supper, we ate ‘antecucho’ – cow’s heart. It was fantastic. Tasted like a great steak! We also stopped by the supermarket then we headed home.
Still haven’t paid a dime to live here or to eat lunch here. Who knows?
June 23, 2004
I made my way to work around 9:30. I am supposed to be there at 9:00 or at least that is when they say the center opens, but nobody is ever there before 9:30, so that is when I show up. Suits me fine, I am always late. I played a game called ‘leader of the band’ with the kids after a workshop on how to care for guinea pigs. They seemed to enjoy it. I also announced that I would be starting English classes next Friday. The kids are constantly asking me how to say various words in English. I hope to be able to incorporate some other activities into my English classes, like team building, songs, games, and sports.
I didn’t make it home for lunch until 2:00 today and my family was worried. I had told them 1:00, so they had already called my cell phone and was getting ready to come looking for me. That brings me to a good topic: my family. They are so great! I eat lunch with them everyday and they love to show me around Trujillo. What impresses me is that when they say they are going to do something, they really follow through with what they say they are going to do. I had the impression that Peruvians were bad to be the opposite. They also seem to really care about me and take good care of me. I feel like we have a lot in common and that I can relate to them. They really value education. My dad has two jobs: he is a professor at a night school for adults who want to continue their education and an economist at a sugar factory. My mom stays home, cooks, and is a great seamstress. She makes all my dad’s clothing.
At 5:00 this afternoon, I met my coworkers in downtown to buy a baby gift for my counterpart. She just had a new baby girl on Saturday and we bought her a gift then visited with them.
June 22, 2004
I went into town to check my mail and received 3 packages. This makes my day!
My dad invited me to his sister’s house for lunch. It’s her birthday. I felt a little like I was intruding, but the family was super nice. My dad always looks out for me – he introduced me to everyone, keep my glass filled with coke and made me take a photo with him and his sister. He is such a funny guy, too. He is always teaching me new slang or telling me a joke.
I headed to El Milagro for the afternoon session.
June 21, 2004
I got up late this morning. It was great to sleep in. I went with my mom and dad to see their house that they have in downtown Trujillo. It is in a really cute area and is very nice, 6 bedrooms all with bathrooms, 3 floors, and ceilings with chair railing that is gorgeous. My family is definitely doing ok financially, they don’t have many modern conveniences like cable tv, hot water, their own car, but they are comfortable.
At 3:00, Angela and I took the combi into town again for the weekly meeting at the YMCA office. Except that we couldn’t find it and had to call them to get us. I told the group that I would like to organize some kind of sports activity in El Milagro, like a soccer tournament or mini Olympics and also I would like to start English classes. They were excited to hear about my ideas.
Angela and I had dinner in town at the supermarket (they have a pseudo-Starbucks upstairs) and returned to our houses. When I got home, my sister and neighbors were on the front patio chatting. I asked my sister about accompanying me to the university library and she said that there is going to be a protest by the students tomorrow, so we will have to wait. I ended up talking with them until 2:00 in the morning. They were teaching me Peruvian slang and I told them all about the states. It is crazy how Peruvians are under the impression that the USA is a utopia, where there’s no violence, no corruption, no poverty. Granted I would have to agree our situation is better, but we have our share of problems too.
June 20, 2004
I did some great shopping today. My site mate and I headed to Trujillo for some great things like a blanket and a table. We ate lunch at a typical Peruvian restaurant, where I had some indistinguishable meat that was very tasty. We went to a very shady area of town for shopping. Someone told us that is where to get the best blankets, we went. In fact, while we were there I think I witnessed a pick pocking incident. A kid just ran up to this guy and grabbed what he had his hand. The lady with the guy screamed ‘robber’ but nobody even flinched. It happened so quick I wasn’t really sure that was what I had seen.
I have heard that you can compare being a volunteer to wearing a bunny suit everywhere you go. People look at you, some laugh, and others think you are crazy. That is how I feel here. Living in a fish bowl where everyone watches what you do. Good points, people remember you. If I visit a store more than once, they mention it. Others know my route home better than me and tell me where to get off the combi. Bad points, a million questions from everyone when you just want to continue on your way, the money changers who hang out in the streets haggle you for dollars, and you just can’t blend in, even though you want to so bad.
We returned to my house and my dad invited us to tea and bread. He is so sweet. He just loves to talk with us. My whole family walked Angela home. They had never been to Winchanzao, how crazy is that? So, we all took the walk there. After we got back home, my dad sat me down and told me he wanted me to feel at home and to come to the family with any problem/doubt I encountered. He said on Tuesday we could sign the lease. So far, I still haven’t paid anything for my rent. I feel so lucky to be here, in a home that is so welcoming and protecting. God is looking out for me.
June 19, 2004
Thought I would start this entry with a description of my daily routine, just to take note of it, because it is quite different from my previous life at home in the states.
I wake up at about 7:30 am, I still let my alarm go off at least 5 times and I just continue to push snooze. I plug in my water boiler for my bath. (Picture a plastic pitcher with a plug-in that boils water.) I grab my shower caddy with all my essentials, my hot water, and head to the bathroom. I first wash my hair with the shower, but only get my head wet, because the water is freezing. I bucket bath with the hot water. Brush my teeth (with the water out of the tap, they tell us not to…), return to my room to iron my clothes on my bed, and then get dressed. Then I boil more water for my instant coffee/tea. As I wait for this to cool, I head downstairs and across the way for some fresh bread for my breakfast. There is a little old lady who sits daily with her fresh bread, just on the corner. I return to my room, for some jelly and butter sandwiches and maybe some fruit.
Around 9:00, I head to the street to catch the combi for my ride to El Milagro, $.50 and it takes about 5 minutes to get there. I walk the couple of blocks from the highway to the YMCA center and inevitable there are a couple of kids who meet to walk with me. At the center, the first thing we all do is greet each other with a ‘buenos dias’ and a kiss on the cheek. You greet each and every person in this manner, young and old. We then open up the office and get things ready for the day’s activities; that may mean sweeping the center or rearranging the tables to make room.
Around 1:00, we start to close the center for ‘siesta’; it usually takes until 1:30 to get out of there. I return to my house for lunch. I eat with my family and my mom is a great cook. After lunch, sometimes I may return to El Milagro for the afternoon activities from 3:00-6:00. If not, I may head into Trujillo for groceries or hang out with my family or visit my site mate.
Around dark, I head to the internet café. Afterwards, I head to my room for the evening. I have bought several DVDs, which I may watch, read, or listen to music. For supper, I usually just eat something in my room or in the park where they sell some really great fried chicken and fried potatoes (I can’t do that too often, but it sure is good!) My volunteer pals in Piura may call and we’ll chat for a while. Around 9:00, I am usually beat. Speaking Spanish all day is very mentally exhausting, so I turn in.
That’s a day in the life of this volunteer serving in Trujillo, Peru.
June 18, 2004
I went this morning with my family to their other house inside the city of Trujillo. The father says that they have been planning on moving there for 2 years now. He says that I can live in either place. I told him I would live where I am for the time being. I ate lunch with my family. The meals are much more balanced here. I have at least 2 servings of vegetables and one meat, which is so much better than before. The dad has been so nice to me; he is very interested in my culture and continues to praise my Spanish. He is a professor at a high school and works a second job at a sugar factory. All the kids of the family attend the university and the mom stays at home. There is a 92 year old grandmother living next door too; she is so cute, but can’t hear a thing.
It is really crazy how everyone just wants to go the USA. Everyone I talk with has a friend or family member that is living there. Even my dad here can’t imagine that jobs are hard to come by in my home too. I have to admit, things aren’t nearly as bad in the USA, as they are here. I am so lucky.
As for my work in El Milagro, I am learning more about how things run. My counterpart gave the same workshop that we gave at the town meeting to the mother’s group. The mother’s group calls themselves the ‘Dream Recyclers’, which is catchy since they also work as recyclers in the land fill. I mostly just hung out with the kids and talked with the mothers.
