Saturday, June 20, 2009

“Today was a Peace Corps Day!”

(written 06-14-09)

This is my new phrase for every time I do something so utterly Peace Corps, like catch a ride in the back of a pickup truck 25 mins out to the middle of the mountains and then hike over rock walls and across rivers (somewhat successfully) for another 25 mins, asking passersby “Do you know where Don/Doña so and so lives?” until I finally arrive, sweating like a beast, to a house to talk to someone who is interested in working with the new volunteer. And so far so great! This past week I spent 4 days going to surrounding aldeas (villages) to learn a little more about my community and to investigate future projects with community members. It was so great to be able to go out and meet more of the people I will be working with and to see the beautiful countryside surrounding Orocuina.

Community integration is going really well. I get a lot of compliments on my Spanish, my friendliness and how nicely I dress everyday which I guess means I am doing some things right. Now when I am walking through the streets people are beginning to recognize me and wave or stop to chat which makes me feel more at home. In fact, I already have a small group of friends from work and just from being seen around town who invite me on trips and over to their house for dinner (my favorite haha). My site mate, another Peace Corps volunteer named Miguel, returned from his vacation in the states so I was finally able to meet him. He works in the Youth Development Project and is super nice. Even though I didn’t initially want a site mate, I feel like it is going to be really nice to live here with Miguel. He is well integrated in the community, especially with the kids, and has a lot of great projects going. He has already made me feel so at home and helped me out a lot so I am really grateful to have him here. Aside from Miguel there are also two Mormon volunteers living here who are pretty friendly and don’t preach to me so it’s nice to talk with them as well.

As far as projects go, I have had meetings with the water board in a nearby aldea called Los Sanchez and with the president of Sueños Sueños, the women’s group that makes hammocks, to discuss future projects and begin to make plans. I have also found a place to start my English for International Business classes with students from the local high school which I hope to start next week. I also have heard about two more groups, one women’s group that make spices and a group that make jelly who also are interested in working with me so I am hoping to meet with them soon as well. More than anything its really nice to have so much interest from the community and to feel like I have some concrete projects to begin working on.
And what do I do for fun you ask? Well right now I spend a lot of time hiking around, talking for hours in hammocks, READING (I am on my sixth book since getting to Orocuina haha), taking trips to the nearby city when I can and swimming in the river. It may not sound like a lot based on how crazy my life always was at home but believe me I am loving life’s slower pace here.

More than anything, every day I am here I learn something new about my site and love it more and more. Sure my days are far from anything I’ve ever experienced before which means I usually run through a wide variety of emotions in any given day but more than anything I am happy to be here and excited to wake up each day and start again. I know you are probably thinking, “Who is the positive person writing in Katie’s blog?” but it’s true. Right now I am on the hunt for furniture for my new home and I am so excited to make lists of what I need! (I’m a nerd I know) Hopefully I can find some good stuff for cheap!