Orocuina

(Written 05/27/09)

Buenas, que onda! Well I am finally here, in my new home for the next two years! After spending over a year waiting and imagining what my site would be like it was truly a surreal experience to finally get here. I arrived here on Saturday afternoon, the 16th, after a blissfully uneventful 3 hour trip from the capital in my counterpart’s car! I will admit that at first when I got here I was a little nervous due to the extreme heat (it’s really intense, I have literally not stopped sweating once since getting here) and also because of the extreme poverty of the people living on the outskirts of my town. However, after 2 weeks, I am feeling much better, though still sweating, and excited to be working in the type of atmosphere that I imagined while back at home in the states. In fact I am feeling luckier everyday because Orocuina is actually very pretty. It sits in a valley, surrounded by mountains on almost all sides and now that rainy season has started the entire countryside is colored beautiful shades of green. There is also a river that runs alongside my town which I am told I can swim in so I am really looking forward to that! There are also some tourist attractions here which I had no idea about before coming such as a waterfall, caves, a lookout, and indigenous hieroglyphics painted on mountain walls. So I am definitely looking forward to exploring those.

My new host family is a very nice older couple named Don Balbino (yes like the nickname for Babe Ruth which is how I always remember his name) and Dona Rosaura. They have 4 girls who are all grown and out of the house so it is just us 3 living here. However, less than a month ago one of their daughters, Sulema, had her first baby and my new nephew José Julian so they have been staying here at the house with us so that grandma can help out. In addition I have 2 dogs, a cat, and a loud bird that talks more than most humans do. The house is big and pretty, built in a hacienda style with an open court yard in the center of the house where there are lime trees and a hammock to hang out in. I have a nice large room in the back of the house, close both to the bathroom and the kitchen (just how I like it haha) with its own door to the street so I don’t have to tramp through the house when I want to leave which is really nice. I also have full access to the kitchen and have been shopping and cooking for myself since moving in. Adventures in the unknown for sure because everyone who knows me knows that I can’t exactly cook, but poco a poco (little by little) I am learning and I am definitely not going hungry due to my survival cooking skills of cereal, salad, and eggs as well as the generosity of my new friends who give me free delicious meals.

As for work, right now my community counterparts include two women’s’ groups, one that makes Hammocks and another that makes spices, the project manager at the municipality (Mayra), the local high school, water board and radio. However, I am sure this will change as projects get added and completed throughout my service. I’ve sent the last 2 weeks just contacted them and having a few meet and greets so I learn a little more about what they do and in what areas there are opportunities for me to work with them. So little by little I hope to start gaining the confidence of my new community and beginning some projects with them. One thing is for certain, my counterpart Mayra and I are like two peas in a pod so it is really nice being able to not only get to work with her but also have her as a friend to hang out with.

Right now though I am just happy to be here and ready to start feeling like this is my new home. Everyone has been so welcoming which really helps a lot. So now I am just trying to adjust to my new life and the pace of things here. So hopefully I will continue making friends and be able to get some people behind some projects soon! Poco a Poco, little by little....