Climbing the hill in our backyard

So a few weeks ago Kendra, my host brothers (Antony and Mauricio) and I climbed the hill in our back yard. That's pretty much the entire story; we didn't run into any ghosts; nobody fell off; Bob Vila didn't show filming an episode of This Old House; so I'll just post some pictures and be done with it.

Mauricio, Antony, and I. Huallanca in the background.

My home: Huallanca

Heading back down the hill.

Mauricio being a ham as usual.

I'll (hopefully) be posting again before long. So have a Merry Christmas and I should be back on here in a few days!

Guess who I dressed up as for Halloween

Nevado Chaupijanca

A few weeks ago I got my first real taste of the Andes. Some parents organized a caminata (trek) for one of the classes at my school out to a nevado (snow-capped mountain) about an hour from Huallanca called Nevado Chaupijanca. It was 5 hours to climb the mountain and about 3 more to come back down. Needless to say, for a rookie trekker like myself, it was a bit of a workout. Plus I had to get up at 6 am to catch the bus up there (which is disgustingly early by my standards). And finally I'd had diarrhea for the previous few days. So I had mixed emotions going into the trek.

We started off from the little lake above and weaved our way over and around countless hills...

 And countless other hills...

And all the way up this valley...

The problem with going “over” hills is that after you climb one side you have to go down the other...

We went all the way down to where you can see trees in that picture.

But eventually the end was in site...

Unfortunately we were still hours away, haha. But I still needed to take pictures of me with snow in the background, since I haven't had enough opportunities in my life to get pictures with snow.

We found some cool lakes up towards the top of the mountain as well.

And in the end I had a phenomenal time. It was fun. I got a chance to hang out with the students that I work with, getting to know them a lot better (dare I use the word “friends”?). Once we had climbed to the higher elevation it snowed a little bit. And even better I didn't poop my pants the entire time. I'd have to say after a couple more months in Huallanca, that was still my best day since moving here. The organizers treating us to dinner afterward topped off the day nicely. Especially since any good day for me, as you all probably know, must involve eating ;-)

FAQs 2

Why do you have a blog post called “FAQs 2”?

Because I already had one called “FAQs” so I wanted to differentiate between the two.

Well I kind of assumed that. Let me rephrase my question: Why do you think you need a second blog post with FAQs?

Because there're that many frequently asked questions, duh? Ok, I'll stop being a jerk (for now).

My first blog post was FAQs, because I had just arrived in Peru and a lot of people had similar questions about what life was like down here. I'm doing another one because I've now moved from Lima (where my training was) to Huallanca (where I'll be working for the next two years). A lot in my life has changed because of this. So, ask away!

So what's this new town, Hu-...Hu-...Hual-...Gahhh! I can't even pronounce that!

Well I can't really blame you for having a difficult time pronouncing it. Its a Quechua word with Spanish spelling. Anyway, Huallanca (why-YAHNK-uh) is a town of about 4000 in the middle of the mountains of Peru with an elevation of about 2 miles. There are two colegios (High Schools) where Kendra and I will be doing a lot of work. But we'll also be working with just about anyone who wants to help the youth in Huallanca.

Mauricio and Daniela with Huallanca in the background.

Who's Kenrda? Your sister? Your wife? Your...

Hahaha, no, no, no! But its funny you ask that, because everyone in Huallanca asks the exact same things. Kendra is another Peace Corps - Youth Development volunteer from my training group who will be living and working in Huallanca for the next two years. I usually tell them that she's my daughter.

Kenrda and I on swear-in day.

So are you finally working now?

Well my first three months at site (in Huallanca) I am doing a “community diagnostic”, research on the resources, capacities, needs, problems, etc. in the community. After I'm done with this, the community and I will be able to identify projects that are needed, useful, practical, and doable for the community. But I already have two successful projects under my belt since I got here! (1) I downloaded anti-virus on a few computers at the Health Center. (2) I helped pick dead leaves off of plants in the garden at the Alternative High School in preparation for festivities for “The Week of the Adult Student”.

The staff of the CEBA (Alternative High School) and I on Literacy Day.

When I was listening to Peruvian radio the other day I heard someone talking about the Peace Corps. Was that you?

Well, it might have been! Kendra and I had a radio interview on one of the two local Huallanca radio stations. I know at least two households listened to it, because when I got home my host family was all excited about having heard me on the radio and the next day in the plaza a lady approached us with a youth development idea because she'd heard us on the radio. One of the advantages of being the only two gringos (Spanish word for foreigner or white person) in town is that even if someone has only heard you on the radio they'll still recognize you when they see you for the first time!

Radio celebrities

So you live with a host family in Huallanca?

Yes, I live with a local family. I think I've mentioned them some in other blog posts, but I'll go over it again real quick. My host-mom, Lizzy, is huallanquina (means she from Huallanca), but my host-dad, Marco, is originally from Tujillo (a coastal city). Lizzy is a primary school teacher and Marco is a policeman. I also have three host-siblings. Antony, 13, Mauricio, 8, and Daniela, 2. Our tia (aunt) also lives with us.

My host dad, sister, and I. I'll add more pics of family in the future.

What's the climate like?

The weather is an interesting combination of being near the equator and being at an altitude of about 2 miles. There's 12 hours of daylight because we're near the equator, but the weather is far from tropical. The sun is pretty hot and burns really fast (especially a gringo like me, haha), but in the shade it's actually pretty cold (I haven't actually checked temperatures but in the shade I'm guessing it can get down into the 40's). I'm getting used to the air being thinner at the higher altitude, but trying to keep up with my little brothers playing soccer is still difficult. There's also a rainy season which starts in full force decemberish, but its already starting to rain more now (almost every day). There's also been hail a few times since I got here (which incidentally is extremely loud on a tin roof).

Why don't you have any FAQs about food in this post?

I plan on having a blog post exclusively about food in the future. (Notice what I did there? Increased the anticipation about future blog posts. Increasing the likelihood that people will keep watching it. Yeah, I know...pretty slick.)

Back from Huaraz

I just spent a week in the departmental capital, Huaraz. While the week there was fun, coming back from Huaraz was the real adventure. Our bus left at 1 pm, but Kendra (my site mate) and I both tried to fit too much into the morning. After doing some shopping and getting packed, I ate a hurried lunch (which I didn't have time to finish...so I was obviously already in a bad mood). I got back to the hostel just in time to pick up my stuff and run to the bus station so that I could get there late. But I also realized that I needed to use the bathroom, since I didn't want to poop my pants in the middle of a 3 ½ hour bus ride. And after that I decided to read War and Peace and The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Unfortunately Kendra had also done (too much) shopping in Huaraz so we needed to rent a mule caravan to carry the stuff to the bus station. But since we had no idea where, or if, we could rent those in Huaraz we decided to take a taxi. After lugging bags down a couple streets we did find a taxi which had to drive around town about three times to get us to the bus station since there is road construction everywhere in Huaraz right now.

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with my blog post today, but I felt like I shouldn't post something without pictures. Don't want to bore ya'll ;-) Btw, this is my host brother Mauricio, 7, and sister Daniela, 2.

Anyway, back to the story. When we finally arrived at the bus station in the taxi, we saw a bus leaving. We of course took the precaution of crossing our fingers, hoping it wasn't ours. Apparently we hadn't crossed our fingers hard enough though, because it was our bus. After unloading all of our stuff, paying the cab, and telling the people at the bus station our dilemma (there wasn't another bus for 5 hours) they told us we should just grab another cab and chase down the bus. Before we had time to say, “Seriously?” they were already out front looking to flag down a cab for us. They found one, explained to the cab driver where the bus was going and we climbed in and started our car chase (got to admit, kinda felt like I was in a movie if it wasn't for the fact that the chase involved a station wagon taxi pursuing an extremely slow dinosaur-esque bus to a soundtrack of uninspiring Quechua music in the taxi). When we caught up to it after about 5 minutes (yeah, those buses never make good time) the taxi passed the bus and pulled over along side the road so we could flag it down. They stopped to pick us up and even let us put our bags down underneath with the checked luggage. After the amazing service I received from the employees of the Paraiso bus company I was convinced that I would only use that bus line to go to Huallanca. Granted its the only bus line so I already knew that, but nonetheless I was still convinced ;-)

Peru defeats USA 11-5

 Well I knew this was going to happen eventually.

But there was no way to prepare myself psychologically to get beat at soccer by a 7-year-old.

Maybe at the end of two years, I'll have improved enough to keep up with the 7-year-olds in Huallanca. I think that's a reasonable and acheivable goal to set for myself. Then again the images burned into my memory of Mauricio (my host brother) schooling me over and over again might just convince me to go into an early retirement from the sport. (Yes, this is me retrieving the ball after being scored on by Mauricio)

Although we were using a random little plastic ball here, we do have an actual soccer to use (and since then I have used it in games with Mauricio and my other host brother, Antony, 13 years old). If I decide to continue beating my head against the wall, trying to learn to play soccer, and other extremely painful hobbies I do have a nice cultural exchange plan set up. I gave Antony an (American) football for his birthday last week. So now I can teach him American football and he can teach me soccer. We've already played some backyard football with him and some other teenagers who helped my tia (aunt) move. Therefore I already consider myself a successful Peace Corps Volunteer; Goal 2 of the Peace Corps: Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.

Reminder

By now I've just started to assume that this is true when I'm standing in front of a sink in Peru.

But I guess I can't complain about the warning. If there was one of these signs above every sink that it was true about I'd go into the sign-making business.

Daniela

My host sister, Daniela (2 years old).

Me: Cual es mi nombre? (What is my name?)
Daniela: Dallas
Wait! I think that's what she said. Try listening to it again and tell me. She actually always calls me something that sounds a lot more like "Dallas" than "Tyler." I think she's geographically closer to my name than she is phonetically.

Peruvian food

Lot's of people have asked me what the food is like in Peru. Well, frankly...krap. Or Kraps to be more accurate.

They're basically Peruvian Ritz crackers. And they're much tastier than the name would suggest.

I'M A VOLUNTEER!!!!!

I'm officially a volunteer. Swore in on Friday :-)

Here we are celebrating the end of training.

Preparing for Peruvian life

Since I'm not around for you guys to make fun of me to my face I thought I'd post this picture so you all can laugh at me :-)
Me learning to wash my clothes by hand.

Not looking forward to that aspect of the next 2 years.

Site Visit

I visited my site, Huallanca, for the first time, but I'm back in Lima now for my last week of training. After that I'll move to Huallanca for good. I had already visited Ancash (the department, or state as we'd say in the US, where my site is located) a couple weeks ago for Field-Based Training (see last blog post for more on that). So for my site visit we started by returning to Huaraz, the capital of Ancash. I'll probably be visiting Huaraz a couple times a month over the next couple years because the bank the Peace Corps uses doesn't have a branch in Huallanca.

We climbed a hill outside of Huaraz to get a look at the city...

After making sure I was thoroughly sun burned I walked back down to Huaraz.

Once we'd spent a couple days in Huaraz, Kendra (another Peace Corps volunteer who will be my site mate for the next two years) and I headed down to visit our site in Huallanca. It's a 3 ½ hour bus ride from Huaraz.

After we got to Huallanca I was being lazy and didn't take very many pictures, but I'll have a couple years to post some good ones so ya'll will just have to be patient ;-)

Here's Kendra. Not sure what she was doing...probably looking for ice cream. We found some eventually and it was awesome.

As you can see in the background of that picture there are a few mountains around Huallanca. If you noticed, though, it looks quite different from Huaraz. There are two halves to the Andes in Peru. The Cordillera Blanca (“The White Mountain Range” or snow capped mountains) and the Cordillera Negra (“The Black Mountain Range” or non-snow capped mountains). The two Cordilleras run parallel to each other north to south through Peru. The Cordillera Blanca is very visible from Huaraz (if you check out the background in that first picture or the pictures from my previous blog post), but Huallanca is located in the Cordillera Negra, so its a little less scenic. Huallanca does have a higher elevation, though, about 3,500 meters (translates roughly to 11,500 feet). Because of the elevation its pretty cold in the shade, but the sun is scalding hot. That means wearing clothes that can be layered and changed depending on if you're in the sun or not, haha.

The economy of Huallanca is based mainly on a nearby mine and additionally on agriculture. The altitude is too high to grow much more than potatoes, but pastoralism is pretty common...cows, goats, sheep, pigs. In fact, Kendra lives across the street from the slaughter house. It gives her a nice view from her bedroom window. Her host sister mentioned that there are always lots of flies around her house because of the slaughter house. Good luck, Kendra! ;-)

This farmer was transporting his livestock by hand when Kendra and I met him in the street.

Well, before I wrap up this blog post, one last note. To all of you who had been hoping to get a postcard or guinea pig in the mail, I haven't forgotten you. Unfortunately Serpost, the Peruvian postal service, has not been cooperating...

Props to them on knowing enough English to make their sign understandable. I'm not going to hate on their English grammar because I butcher the grammar in their language on a daily basis. Chau!

Recap of the last few weeks

I'm still trying to figure out if it was three weeks that just flew past or one realllllly long day. I really intended to post on my blog more often, but the last three weeks have been crazy hectic. So, since my last blog post....

I spent a week in Ancash (a department in the sierra) for Field-Based Training; so I got my first look at what my actual site might be like. Almost every minute of the trip had some specific activity assigned to it. I actually think I held it for seven days straight because there wasn't time to stop and use a bathroom. But I got to see some amazing scenery....

And I do have some proof that I was actually there...

And I got to eat my favorite Peruvian dish, Pachamanca, again (please see previous blog post for more on that)...

And I made friends with a llama...

All in all, it was a great trip. But then I spent the entire next week sick (don't worry, I'm not posting any pictures). I'm just glad that week is over. The following weekend I visited Chimbote (a coastal town) with my host family. We staid with my host mom's sister and brother-in-law. It was my first taste of the Peruvian coast and fortunately it was a little more laid back trip.

Me and my host dad standing in front of a ship we sunk...

This picture was too cute not to post. A couple of my host-cousins taking pictures of the dog.

This burro asked me to take his picture in front of the hills. We both thought it turned out pretty nice....

And I made it to the ocean...

Some of the pelicans in Peru are successful enough fisherman that they can afford their own boats....

This week I've been crazy busy with my Quechua classes (an indigenous language from the Andes spoken where I'll be living for the next couple years). Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I'll be living in Huallanca, Bolognesi, Ancash, Peru for the next two years. If you actually have time to google it (which I haven't) and you find something interesting, let me know. But if not, no worries...I'm headed there for a site visit next week, so hopefully I'll have some interesting things to share.

Party...Peruvian Style

My first weekend in Peru I got to check out a community party. I went with my host sister, Ana, and sister-in-law, Maria. In my pueblo, Chacrasana, there was the fiesta (party) for El Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (The Sacred Heart of Jesus). A religious holiday with religious festivities, but Peruvians also see that as another reason to have a party. So after attending mass some of the locals carried a shrine down to the area that had been prepared for the celebration. A dance troupe added to the festivities.

But the dancers weren't the only entertainment. There was a large stage constructed for a band too.

Yup, the band and....Wait! Is that a scantily clad go-go dancer I see in front of the picture of Jesus??? Why, yes! There was a dancer who participated in the musical performance as well! Apparently, Peruvians, who definitely can take their religion seriously, can also be blind to some very American sensitivities, lol.

Oh, but the party was only getting started. It alternated between music and fireworks. But not fireworks like we'd expect on the 4^th of July. They had constructed a large tower (they called it a castillo) which was loaded with fireworks complete with spinning wheels (which periodically went flying off the tower) and fireworks exploding directly above our heads. Needless to say, I was impressed. When I told my sister, Ana, that it was so impressive because I'd never be able to see fireworks from that angle and that close in the US due to rules there, she chuckled and responded, “No hay reglas aquí.” (There aren't rules here).

Think the story ends here? Heck no! We're just getting to the good part: the toro loco!!! (translation: crazy bull, although I don't think the word crazy does it justice.) A toro loco is basically a guy in a weird looking “bull” costume.

Apparently this guy is a Holstein. What are all those things on top of the costume? Well they need something to attach the fireworks to!!! Duh! So in action the toro loco looked something more like this...

When I was at the national museum in Lima, I saw a toro loco on display, so I asked the guide about it. She said that it was a tradition brought by the Spaniards. They originally put fireworks on actual bulls and had them fight, but this was logistically dificult in Peru because they had to import the bulls. And thus was born the toro loco. Admittedly these human fireworks dressed like cows were pretty entertaining. When they started spraying firework directly into the crowd it got a little more exciting if not just a little scary. The festivities alternated between music, castillos, and toros locos, culminating with two toros locos simultaneously for a grand finale (I have a sneaking suspicion that the 4^th of July just won't be as exciting anymore). All-in-all, I have to admit Peruvians know how to celebrate.

A few days ago I noticed a hole in my sweat shirt. It took me a second to figure how the heck I got a small burn hole in my shirt. Apparently, the word “fire” in fireworks is no joke. So please, boys and girls, don't play with toros locos at home, but if you do, at least make sure you're wearing clothes that you wouldn't mind turning into a bonfire!

Pachamanca

On Fathers' Day I got to have a special Peruvian meal: Pachamanca. It's a traditional meal from the sierra (mountains) and is named after the Inca god of the earth, Pachacamac. The food (first wrapped) is put on top of hot coals and then covered in dirt and allowed to cook for an hour or so. My host family has a small fire pit/grill in their back yard so we used that to make the Pachamanca. We had chicken, pork, choclo (a variety of corn with large kernels), potatoes, sweet potatoes, habas (they look like large lima beans), and humitas (sweet tamales). We also had crema de rocoto (a homemade hot sauce) on the side.

Below we're getting the fire going and the pit ready for the food.

Below my host brother, Fran, is covering the buried food in a tarp. My host dad is in the fore ground. And I'm helping by staying behind my camera.

Below, one of my other host brothers, Joey, has joined the fun starting to dig the food out. I'm still helping out behind the camera.

And the feast we dug out....

And finally the fire pit after we'd taken everything but a few habas out. (It's also kind of what the table looked like once I was done eating).

It was one heck of a feast. I learned a Peruvian saying at that meal. “Yo soy Juan Orozco. Cuando como, no conozco.” It roughly translates to, “I'm Juan Orozco (that name is in there because it makes the saying rhyme in Spanish), when I'm eating I forget that I know anyone.” Anyone who knows me probably won't be surprised that my host family used that one on me ;-)