Ancash!

Today! Woohoo! Today was not that exciting, but I shall talk about it anyway. First though, a commentary on Colectivos. I don’t think I’ve introduced this concept yet. These are the taxis in Peru. They are cars with five seats in them, as most cars have. But when you get in one to go somewhere, you will not be the only that the taxi picks up on it’s way to your destination. It will pick up as many people as it can fit into the cab. Oh, this is my favorite part: you don’t really have to say where you are going. The colectivo has a sign that says the neighborhood, so obviously you have to be going somewhere in that vicinity but people just hop in, don’t say a word and then randomly they pipe up and say, “over on that corner, pleas” and they’re off. I’ve done this a few times as well, and my favorite by far was when I was the only one left in the cab, as we were wandering around the hills of Quirio, I had no idea how this guy decided where he was going to turn because I had given him one clue as to where I might be headed. But, we turned onto a street and I recognized the corner so I said, “here please” and of course he didn’t understand, such a complicated phrase, you know, so anyway it was fun times. I usually tell them where I’m going anyway, but it’s quite fun to let them figure it out too, and it costs the same.
Ok, today. I went to Quirio again to the health posts where I went to the quinta zona, past the health post and up a very large hill, small mountain, if you will, to the kindergarten. We had not gotten the chance to talk to the professor of the kindergarten class and we wanted to do a presentation about washing hands, well, tomorrow. So, you see the importance and urgency of me figuring out what was going on ASAP. Ok, so I walk up the mountain and took a wrong turn (but refuse to turn around… no need to be a spectacle in the town AND look lost while carrying a backpack, robbery, anyone?). So I see the kindergarten and the church, which was my landmark, and the only thing in the way is a very, very, very large ditch / river bed / valley / thing that I should not be on the other side of. I actually found a levy, kind of, more like a small wall that they build every twenty feet or so to slow down the flood of water and debris that comes down whenever it rains in the mountains. I walk across this and climb some rocks and make it on to the main road, pick up my travel mug and I’m off and trying to look as normal as possible. I make it to the kindergarten building following a path right next to the site of the new sewage system that is going to be put in one day. Right now they just have a big ditch dug where the pipe is going to go. In other words, watch your step.
Ok, so I arrive to a building that looks pretty empty but has a nice room inside that I can see through the window and appears to be a classroom. Super. I’ll just make an appointment with the …. where is teacher… Jeez. I walk around like a retard until I find some ladies who grudgingly return my good morning and I ask them what time the kindergarten opens, they say nine and tell me it is 8:30. (PS-it was 8:35 when I left the post, before I got lost and climbed around on the hill/mountain-like thing….oh, and definitely the first day that I forgot my watch) Ok, well I can’t leave because we want to do the presentation tomorrow so I camp out on the steps and do some homework and sure enough, 9:20 rolls around and here comes a teacher. From then on, it was surprisingly wonderful. She had been told, just as we had been told she would have been and we figured out an hour to start the presentation, some logistics about water availability, met the kids, met some moms, all in all, a successful and Peruvian morning.
Got to the training center 15 minutes late but class started about 25 minutes late, which doesn’t happen that often so I was excited. We did an activity on Group Dynamics. We split up into two groups and my group got the basketball court so when we arrived there was a broken and rusted bike in the middle of the court. The rules where that we were to not ask the staff for help, not leave the court, and “figure it out.” So, we identified the bicycle as a tetanus hazard, moved it to the side, and played volleyball and then a few games of tag. Aaah, what a morning. Then we analyzed the process of group dynamics and how it is important to recognize and handle accordingly the different phases that a group goes through at our site. Then we had lunch, my refresco (they aren’t a big fan of water with food here, more the fruit-like refreshments) today was chicha. This is traditionally made out of blue corn, and oddly enough has a flavor similar to bubble gum, which is the flavor of Inca Kola, originally made from blue corn as well. Now, it just takes like syrupy bubble gum. Inca Kola is also the coolest soft drink ever made because it is the only local soft drink that out sells Coca-Cola.)
Then we had two hours of language class, so I sat and tried to do my homework. At three we had “Peru Hoy” which was really cool as it went through the economic recent history of Peru and the past five presidents. This is a highly interesting history and I shall review it succinctly some day as a blog entry, but not today. It will be well marked as “a little History of Peru” so that all disinterested parties may skip over aforementioned blog entry.
After class, I met with my CDA group and we planned a schedule of events for our presentation that we are giving on Friday evening on pediatric nutrition and fitness to parents and children that are in the low income day care program.
Next stop home – where I ate dinner which was rice, some meat, egg with something, I think carrots, in it, two dinner rolls, and coffee with evaporated milk. A little telenovela and off to my room for blog time.
PS – It’s about 11pm and I just received a phone call. It was friend Juana from Quirio! I’m meeting with the market people on Wednesday at 4pm to discuss what they want to learn from my presentations and any ideas they have. I think they were expecting my first presentation… I don’t know, maybe I should just give a really informal one. Hmm…

OH! NEWS! FBT (Field Based Training) is next week. I just found out today where I am going! This is not my site, and according to the Peace Corps there is no rhyme or reason to where I’m going. But, I’m going to Ancash!! The department (“state”) where Huascarán, the highest peak in Peru is! It also brings a possibility of being a local of more Quechua speaking sites. Anyway, it’s really pretty and I’m really excited. Ok, that’s all. :)