HEY FRIENDS!
LEAP YEAR!
WOO!
Alright, got that out of my system. So tomorrow is March, which is super exciting for a number of reasons, the most super duper bit is that SCHOOL'S STARTING AGAIN!
What does that mean for me? WORK! FINALLY. Not having any kids around is great and all for me-time. Everything's super chill, I get my workouts done, I go to Trujillo for personal time/fun more so than running around trying to get things done, and I spend a lot of time reading and watching movies (friend me on Goodreads if you like!).
It gets kind of boring after a while.
Mind, I'm really great at doing nothing. But after a while you start realizing that doing nothing, leads to nothing. That- I'm not a fan of that. So, I gotta start pushing the people around in my site a bit harder; gotta start accessing the inner bully and making people move.
Actually, what I find kind of funny is that there are people in my site who have presented me really legit documents and plans and whatnots about projects and activities that have been planned- none of which they have actually DONE. The lawyer I'm working with has had 2 meetings written in his work plans that were supposed to happen this month. They did not happen. I called him to ask him about it. He had no idea what I was talking about.
Facepalm.
Ah well, we'll just see how far that one goes.
In entirely other news, my little brother has come to visit me! He had to leave Brazil to get his volunteer visa set up, so instead of the states he came to Perú to travel and see meeeeee <3 He was in my site for a day or two before he realized exactly how boring it can get around here, so now he's in Huanchaco- surfing and enjoying faster internet service... He leaves for Brazil again this Saturday D:
Uhm. That's all for now. Oh, wait- LENT! I'm not doing anything for lent this year. Never mind.
Yup, nothing.
Sorry. Boring post. I'll write again when something actually happens!
Love and Peace, always.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
day 247: CARNAVAAAALLL
Amigitos.
I have to tell you something. It's very important that all of you pay attention. Please take out your calendars and mark the following days in 2013 as "MUST TRAVEL TO PERU" because you will NOT regret it.
What days? you ask... well, CARNAVAL OBVIOUSLY.
So for those of you who don't know, I was in Cajamarca the past few days, vacationing in this gorgeous department in celebration of Carnaval. Let me just tell you a few of the things I did in Cajamarca.
My first day there was spent simply relaxing, getting used to the climate (COLD, especially in comparison to my hot as hellfire site. I did not pack adequately for this weather, but managed to make do with what I brought). A few of the volunteers mentioned Cumbe Mayo to see the aqueducts and the bosque de piedras (rock forest). I figured, I'm not doing much else- of course I'll go!
Turned out to be the greatest decision ever.
This is one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Peru. The rolling fog that would come and go added this hint of eerie splendor, and the absolute quiet (minus our laughing and chatting and exclamations of delight) was just awesome, in the truest sense of the word.
After much more hiking and fun, looking at a few rock carvings and aqueducts and more gorgeous (and very wonderfully cold) scenery, we left to head back to the capital city (for more pics, check out my fb page!)
That night was spent at a bar with other volunteers, wishing some of them happy birthdays, and then later at the plaza del armas, joining drinking circles and enjoying the general merriment.
The next day was PAINT DAY. I have no pictures to describe the insanity and absolute fun of this day, because my camera would have been destroyed by the gallons of paint and water that was being constantly flung throughout the day.
Later that night, we went to celebrate one of our own's birthday! After not being able to find where anyone was, however, we went instead to an outdoor rave party and danced until morning. Literally. It was some of the greatest dancing I've ever done. Macarena a billion times? Enough times to convince a number of people on the ground (yes, we were on a fountain) that it was a legit dance they should be attempting throughout the night. Rodeo, elevator, cat walk, sprinkler, shopping cart, you name it- we danced it.
Next morning, I woke up with a voice that was just GONE from laughing and shouting from the night before. Thankfully, it was just parade day. There was a lot of water fights still going on, but we were out on the grass and just enjoying the sun and the atmosphere- until the dark, ominous clouds rolled in and the torrential rains came pouring down. Then it just got waaaaay cold.
Still, we continued to enjoy ourselves, eating and drinking and walking about for some elusive pizza.
Finally, I left to head back to site- but not without a lot of wishing that I could stay for just another day.
I'm now better prepared for Carnaval 2013 (what to wear, what to bring, how to get the right consistency of paint, etc.) and I really hope you just don't take my word for it. It really was a super fantastic awesome couple of days and definitely some that I am going to remember for the rest of my life.
Now I'm back in site, working again. My lil brosef will be visiting me for a few days (once the paro/bus strike ends down in Lima) and classes are going to start soon in March, so all my papers and plans need to be approved and put into some sort of order.
Until next time, dearest readers.
Peace and Love.
I have to tell you something. It's very important that all of you pay attention. Please take out your calendars and mark the following days in 2013 as "MUST TRAVEL TO PERU" because you will NOT regret it.
What days? you ask... well, CARNAVAL OBVIOUSLY.
So for those of you who don't know, I was in Cajamarca the past few days, vacationing in this gorgeous department in celebration of Carnaval. Let me just tell you a few of the things I did in Cajamarca.
My first day there was spent simply relaxing, getting used to the climate (COLD, especially in comparison to my hot as hellfire site. I did not pack adequately for this weather, but managed to make do with what I brought). A few of the volunteers mentioned Cumbe Mayo to see the aqueducts and the bosque de piedras (rock forest). I figured, I'm not doing much else- of course I'll go!
Turned out to be the greatest decision ever.
 |
| The view as we get off the van to being our hike through Cumbe Mayo |
 |
| like Jurassic Park, yo. |
 |
| Rocks! So gorgeous.. |
This is one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Peru. The rolling fog that would come and go added this hint of eerie splendor, and the absolute quiet (minus our laughing and chatting and exclamations of delight) was just awesome, in the truest sense of the word.
After much more hiking and fun, looking at a few rock carvings and aqueducts and more gorgeous (and very wonderfully cold) scenery, we left to head back to the capital city (for more pics, check out my fb page!)
That night was spent at a bar with other volunteers, wishing some of them happy birthdays, and then later at the plaza del armas, joining drinking circles and enjoying the general merriment.
The next day was PAINT DAY. I have no pictures to describe the insanity and absolute fun of this day, because my camera would have been destroyed by the gallons of paint and water that was being constantly flung throughout the day.
 |
| Here's the end of the paint parade though: hundreds mobbing the plaza del armas and swarming the historical landmark fountain. This was probably a bad idea, but gives you a hint of what the cray cray fray was like! |
Later that night, we went to celebrate one of our own's birthday! After not being able to find where anyone was, however, we went instead to an outdoor rave party and danced until morning. Literally. It was some of the greatest dancing I've ever done. Macarena a billion times? Enough times to convince a number of people on the ground (yes, we were on a fountain) that it was a legit dance they should be attempting throughout the night. Rodeo, elevator, cat walk, sprinkler, shopping cart, you name it- we danced it.
Next morning, I woke up with a voice that was just GONE from laughing and shouting from the night before. Thankfully, it was just parade day. There was a lot of water fights still going on, but we were out on the grass and just enjoying the sun and the atmosphere- until the dark, ominous clouds rolled in and the torrential rains came pouring down. Then it just got waaaaay cold.
Still, we continued to enjoy ourselves, eating and drinking and walking about for some elusive pizza.
Finally, I left to head back to site- but not without a lot of wishing that I could stay for just another day.
I'm now better prepared for Carnaval 2013 (what to wear, what to bring, how to get the right consistency of paint, etc.) and I really hope you just don't take my word for it. It really was a super fantastic awesome couple of days and definitely some that I am going to remember for the rest of my life.
Now I'm back in site, working again. My lil brosef will be visiting me for a few days (once the paro/bus strike ends down in Lima) and classes are going to start soon in March, so all my papers and plans need to be approved and put into some sort of order.
Until next time, dearest readers.
Peace and Love.
Friday, February 3, 2012
day 238: list of things i miss from the states
Sup friends,
So, I've been in Peru for what...8 months now? Wow. It feels like I just got here.
But in any case, there have been a few things that I do miss from the states that have been starting to become noticeable absences in my life here.
First and foremost, my family and friends. Obvy. Thankfully, I have good enough internet access that it's not too much of an issue. Also, my lil bro is in Peru right now! Plus, I love my 17ers like no other. For serious.
Now, in no particular order, here are some objects that I miss from the states. You will notice, it is predominately food related:
1. Asian food. Not just chifa, chifa, chifa (chinese food). I want pho, shrimp and basil spring rolls, thai iced tea, pad thai, red curry, kimchi jjigae, kalbi, bulgogi, sashimi, sushi rolls, good japanese ramen, and all the delicious sweets as well.
2. Speaking of sweets, I miss american snacks like big time. I was never a big snacker, but now that I'm constantly surrounded by snacks here, I do miss them. Like kettle corn, doritos cool ranch, marshmallow fluff, good chocolate (hershey's cookies and cream? ghiradelli caramel squares? lindt orange dark chocolate? omg, bacon chocolate...), almonds (so expensive here!), red vines, jerky (all forms. i love jerky.), swedish fish, hot fries, sun chips garden, pocky!, etc... if I were to ever go back to the states between now and the end of my service, my first stop (after eating, of course) would probably be costco and my suitcase on the return trip would be 50 lbs of snackage.
3. Gym. I've completed phase 1 of p90x, but in the words of my lil bro: I miss picking up heavy things and then putting them down. Plus, the gym has a pool, row machines, ellipticals, free weights, bench presses, and yoga mats. I don't have these things in my room. I should really invest in a yoga mat. I probably will once I save up enough? We'll see. I'd rather go travel with any cash I save up, but I do enjoy yoga...
4. Good coffee and tea. Coffee is predominately instant, or not even coffee (there's some brand called 'echo' or 'ecco' or something like that, and it's like fake coffee. Whatever it is, I don't like it.) and the tea is limited to just a few types (I did buy some green tea at the market, but it's not very good... I'm mostly drinking it now just because I bought it.) so I'm now at this point in my life where I consider Starbucks coffee, good. Yea. It's not instant. There is a coffee shop next door to a hostal we stay at that does have some wickedly delicious coffee, and I do make it a point to go there whenever I'm in, but nothing makes me feel more pampered and guilty as being able to get my favorite starbucks (soy iced grande sugar free caramel macchiato) to go. Whatevs.
5. Driving and organized streets. Getting into a colectivo is putting my life in the hands of a man who very likely paid a nominal fee and nothing more to get his license and drives a stick shift (although shifting gears may or may not be something he understands) of a car that should not be allowed on the road (exposed wires, all gauges not functioning, smell of gasoline very prominent, etc.). Then they cram 5 or more people into the car and hope to not run into any policemen (we usually never do).
6. Privacy and personal space. They don't exist. I'm pretty good about shutting my door and not talking to my family for hours at a time, and my family is very good at respecting my need for solitude. Anyone outside of my family thinks of this as very strange, and no one knows what a personal bubble is (made obvious by the number of times random people have sat on me or leaned against me or played with my clothes or hair while waiting to get off a bus. Like, seriously? Don't touch me). I have a very large personal bubble, or so I thought. That idea was destroyed pretty quickly and replaced with the idea that I have a very high tolerance for things I used to not tolerate before. I'm learning patience. It isn't really fun.
7. Having someplace to go when I get bored. There was always something to entertain me back in the states. Sometimes it was the park, the library, Six Flags, Disneyland, the mall, movie theaters, observatory, friends' places, or just walking around. Nowadays, if I'm bored (and I do get bored fairly often), I sit in my room and tumblr/facebook/youtube, read, watch tv on my laptop, and not much else. I suppose I could go to the library (so boring cause there aren't much in terms of books! I'm working on that, though), or just sit around outside somewhere (it's summer and hot and the air is full of buzzing insects. This is not my favorite idea), and sometimes I go to the market and just walk around (although people find me strange since I'm clearly just perusing, not intent on buying much).
8. Air conditioning. IT'S SO DAMN HOT. I visit the ATM in my site, because the small room it is in is usually air conditioned. I actually make it a point to pull out only a few bills because then I will have to return. So worth it.
Anywho, those are just some thoughts I had on the subject right now. It mostly came up because I can't fall asleep, since I'm going to make a quick trip to Trujillo tomorrow to buy somethings I am in desperate need of (toiletries, food things, etc.) and am super pumped cause I'll be making a stop at Starbucks... heh.
It's the small things in life that get you through it all, really.
Love and Peace, my friends.
Love and Peace.
So, I've been in Peru for what...8 months now? Wow. It feels like I just got here.
But in any case, there have been a few things that I do miss from the states that have been starting to become noticeable absences in my life here.
First and foremost, my family and friends. Obvy. Thankfully, I have good enough internet access that it's not too much of an issue. Also, my lil bro is in Peru right now! Plus, I love my 17ers like no other. For serious.
Now, in no particular order, here are some objects that I miss from the states. You will notice, it is predominately food related:
1. Asian food. Not just chifa, chifa, chifa (chinese food). I want pho, shrimp and basil spring rolls, thai iced tea, pad thai, red curry, kimchi jjigae, kalbi, bulgogi, sashimi, sushi rolls, good japanese ramen, and all the delicious sweets as well.
2. Speaking of sweets, I miss american snacks like big time. I was never a big snacker, but now that I'm constantly surrounded by snacks here, I do miss them. Like kettle corn, doritos cool ranch, marshmallow fluff, good chocolate (hershey's cookies and cream? ghiradelli caramel squares? lindt orange dark chocolate? omg, bacon chocolate...), almonds (so expensive here!), red vines, jerky (all forms. i love jerky.), swedish fish, hot fries, sun chips garden, pocky!, etc... if I were to ever go back to the states between now and the end of my service, my first stop (after eating, of course) would probably be costco and my suitcase on the return trip would be 50 lbs of snackage.
3. Gym. I've completed phase 1 of p90x, but in the words of my lil bro: I miss picking up heavy things and then putting them down. Plus, the gym has a pool, row machines, ellipticals, free weights, bench presses, and yoga mats. I don't have these things in my room. I should really invest in a yoga mat. I probably will once I save up enough? We'll see. I'd rather go travel with any cash I save up, but I do enjoy yoga...
4. Good coffee and tea. Coffee is predominately instant, or not even coffee (there's some brand called 'echo' or 'ecco' or something like that, and it's like fake coffee. Whatever it is, I don't like it.) and the tea is limited to just a few types (I did buy some green tea at the market, but it's not very good... I'm mostly drinking it now just because I bought it.) so I'm now at this point in my life where I consider Starbucks coffee, good. Yea. It's not instant. There is a coffee shop next door to a hostal we stay at that does have some wickedly delicious coffee, and I do make it a point to go there whenever I'm in, but nothing makes me feel more pampered and guilty as being able to get my favorite starbucks (soy iced grande sugar free caramel macchiato) to go. Whatevs.
5. Driving and organized streets. Getting into a colectivo is putting my life in the hands of a man who very likely paid a nominal fee and nothing more to get his license and drives a stick shift (although shifting gears may or may not be something he understands) of a car that should not be allowed on the road (exposed wires, all gauges not functioning, smell of gasoline very prominent, etc.). Then they cram 5 or more people into the car and hope to not run into any policemen (we usually never do).
6. Privacy and personal space. They don't exist. I'm pretty good about shutting my door and not talking to my family for hours at a time, and my family is very good at respecting my need for solitude. Anyone outside of my family thinks of this as very strange, and no one knows what a personal bubble is (made obvious by the number of times random people have sat on me or leaned against me or played with my clothes or hair while waiting to get off a bus. Like, seriously? Don't touch me). I have a very large personal bubble, or so I thought. That idea was destroyed pretty quickly and replaced with the idea that I have a very high tolerance for things I used to not tolerate before. I'm learning patience. It isn't really fun.
7. Having someplace to go when I get bored. There was always something to entertain me back in the states. Sometimes it was the park, the library, Six Flags, Disneyland, the mall, movie theaters, observatory, friends' places, or just walking around. Nowadays, if I'm bored (and I do get bored fairly often), I sit in my room and tumblr/facebook/youtube, read, watch tv on my laptop, and not much else. I suppose I could go to the library (so boring cause there aren't much in terms of books! I'm working on that, though), or just sit around outside somewhere (it's summer and hot and the air is full of buzzing insects. This is not my favorite idea), and sometimes I go to the market and just walk around (although people find me strange since I'm clearly just perusing, not intent on buying much).
8. Air conditioning. IT'S SO DAMN HOT. I visit the ATM in my site, because the small room it is in is usually air conditioned. I actually make it a point to pull out only a few bills because then I will have to return. So worth it.
Anywho, those are just some thoughts I had on the subject right now. It mostly came up because I can't fall asleep, since I'm going to make a quick trip to Trujillo tomorrow to buy somethings I am in desperate need of (toiletries, food things, etc.) and am super pumped cause I'll be making a stop at Starbucks... heh.
It's the small things in life that get you through it all, really.
Love and Peace, my friends.
Love and Peace.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
day 231: i know what a burning eye smells like, but besides that, I LOVE PERU!
Hello Friends!!
I am bubbling and brimming with JOY and EXUBERANCE! Today was such an amazing day, I can't help but feel absolutely gleeful!
Yesterday, I went to my health post to chat with a nurse there who mentioned that there would be a campaign today against cataracts. I wasn't quite sure what she was talking about, and she seemed confused since my host mom was going to be an integral part of all this. I assumed, as I do for most things here, that my host mom would inform me about all of this just moments before the actual event.
I was right.
So this morning, I roll out of bed later than usual, since I had nothing planned for today except working on my work plan for my Monday class. I walk outside to see if breakfast is ready and lo and behold! There's my host mom, scrambling to finish washing laundry, put on her shoes, apply makeup, and get her kids up- all at the same time, of course.
"Suzi!" she calls, "Hoy, ¿qué haces? (What're you doing today?)"
"Yo? pues, no tengo nada, ¿por qué? (Me? nothing, why?)"
"¿Puedes apoyarme en el centro de salud? (Can you help me at the health post?)"
"Por supuesto! ¿Cuando me necesitas? (Of course! when do you need me?)"
"Ahorita! (Now!)"
So with that bit of exchange, I grab an apple and devour it as I get ready.
The health post is roughly 5 minutes away from my house, and I get there not really knowing what to expect. The first thing I run into is a mob of old people and their family members. All of them are there to get a consultation for their eye problems (determining whether or not they have cataracts or something else). I dance through them, ducking and dodging, and walk into the clinic where my host mom is running back in forth in her usual business like manner. She sees me, beckons me over, and then tell me to basically just stand there until she figures out what to do with me.
It's kind of boring, but I do as I'm told.
Finally, a doctor's assistant (actually named Suzi... It got kind of confusing because of course the doctors are calling her, not me, but I kept answering them anyway) puts me in charge of dolling out medicine to patients who needed it, as well as acting as an escort for patients to take them to the waiting room after the consult. At first, I'm not sure what to do but eventually, I get into the rhythm of it all. An hour and a half later, all the patients have been seen. I'm down to one pill remaining and there's no one around... what to do, what to do?
There are some nurses sitting at a desk that I've been making eye contact with the entire time, wondering if there's anything I can do to help them. So, I just saunter over and have a seat. The two ladies are cutting up gauze and folding them into thirds. Rather than ask if I can help or join, I just grab some gauze, watch what they're doing and follow suite. Eventually, one lady asks me if I work there. I tell her no, that I'm a volunteer and we get into discussing what I'm doing, who I am, etc. (the usual). I start asking them about the health post, what they do, etc. (striking conversation) and we soon become quick friends.
How do I know we're friends?
Because one of the nurses has a bad leg and she had to get a shot for it. She told me she didn't need any help getting to the room and such, but I went in with her anyway and stayed with her as she took off her pants, got the shot, talked to her about the pain and such, and then helped her walk back to the desk.
Yea, so we're buddies. I don't really remember her name. Whatever.
Anyway, I'm now wrapping the gauze pads into packages, still helping the two nurses, when one of the doctors at the hospital starts chatting with me and tells me of americans he's known- one of whom stayed at his place just a few years ago while she was studying (she was from New York). I tell him a bit more about myself (I feel like I talk about myself a lot. I've gotten pretty good at it), and then he looks at me and goes...
"¿Quieres ver? (You want to see?)"
UHHHH HELLZ YEA.
He gives me a smile, walks over to where they have been operating on the patients with cataracts, and calls one of the nurses. Then he beckons me over and points to some scrubs in a room and tells me to change. I put on some orange scrubs, don covers for my hair and feet, and grab a mask for my face before I enter the room.
It is blazing hot in here. The humidity from people and the heat from both people and the environment are stifling. I don't care, however, because there are two people lying down with their eyes being forced open by a metal prong. The doctor is super amazing. He watches me come in and immediately starts chatting, joking around, asking me questions, and just being awesome. The entire time he's doing this, I'm standing behind him, watching him poke and prod and cut and inject and scrape this elderly woman's eye.
It's freakin epic.
In the beginning, he uses this hot wire thing. I don't know what it's for, but I can smell it burning the eye. It's not a bad smell, just fairly unpleasant because I know where it's coming from. Next thing I know, he's got needles and things in both (super steady) hands and POP out comes a lens! It looks like a flattened, round crystal rock thing and I really want to touch it, just because, but I don't because even I'm well aware how weird that would be. He puts in an artificial one of these things (clear and smaller, as opposed to the big, orangish rough thing he pulled out), squirts in some antibiotics, cleans it all out and tapes some gauze over the eye.
Each operation takes maybe 30 minutes or so, although it felt like less time. He's super efficient, his assistants are super efficient, and overall, I'm super happy and elated to be there. The doctor has a camera and asks me to shoot a bunch of photos, which I do. Patient confidentiality is sort of nonexistent here, and no one cares that I'm taking pictures of everyone and everything. The local newspaper photographers had been there before me, as well as a guy with a video camera for the local news. Again, no one asks if it's okay or signs any papers, they just start filming and questioning and it's all totally fine.
Eventually, the room gets way too damn hot and I have to leave. I change out of my scrubs, put on my street clothes, and wait outside where a lady is pacing anxiously. I give her a smile and she asks me how her father is doing. He had arrived in a wheelchair and I had spent a few minutes trying to comfort him (just talking to him, holding his arm and such). She explains that he had suffered from a stroke and she was worried because she knew he would be afraid. I spend a few minutes chatting with her, assuring her that the man inside really was a wonderful doctor and that he would be out soon. Soon enough, she's called inside to help him back into his wheelchair and he comes out with a big smile on his face.
This actually happens a few times while I'm waiting for my host mom to finish walking with the teniente alcalde (like, the vice-mayor?) around the health post, giving their speeches to waiting family members and patients. When we're just about to leave, I can see another lady is freaking out by the door. Her mother (grandmother?) suffers from Alzheimer's and has a difficult time when she's in another room, let alone outside the room where her grand/mother is now isolated, staring into a white light, and getting surgery done on her eye. Again, I listen to her talk and do my best to help calm her down.
Sometimes I think families freak out more than patients, even though it's the patient going through the ordeal. It's really interesting.
After a bit, the lady is called inside and walks out with an older lady. The lady is in tears- it seems the older lady was quite confused through the entire ordeal and didn't quite understand what was going on. However, the operation was a success. I imagine how difficult these next few days are going to be for the lady, not only taking care of her grand/mother, but adding this task of making sure she doesn't mess with her eye. Surprisingly, the older lady sees me and I give her a big, congratulatory smile. She walks over and gives me a hug, thanking me for being with her grand/daughter through it all. I'm surprised that she knew this but I return the hug.
I finally leave to get lunch and afterwards, return to the hospital to see if there's anything else I can do to help. The surgeries are still going on and people who have been there since 8 that morning are still waiting (it's now around 4pm). Peruvian patience is definitely something I hope to learn. I have nothing to do since all the patients know my face by now and don't really care what I'm doing, so I start chatting with this older gentleman who had been asking me questions that only a doctor would know. When I explain to him that I'm not a doctor, he is genuinely shocked and says it's because I look like someone who knows what I'm talking about.
Self Esteem BOOST.
We get to talking about my site, where he's from, and various things that I just must see while I'm in Peru. It was a lovely chat, but I'm eventually whisked away to help a lady put on her surgery gown, then I get side tracked on how to keep this door open, etc. Eventually, I lose sight of this man and I get bored. I walk over to my host mom, let her know I'm leaving, and I go home to watch some Wall-E.
My host mom comes home and asks me about that man I had been chatting with. I tell her that yes, we had been talking and she looks at me and goes, "he was searching for you! He went to go buy you some ice cream and when he came back, I had to tell him that you left!" Apparently, I lost track of him because he wanted to go get me a treat and when he returned, he ran around the hospital with a half melted popsicle to give to the "nice little chinita, the one with japanese eyes"
I don't really care about the asian remarks anymore (7 months here, you get used to it), but I thought it was so sweet of this man to not only get me a treat, but also try so hard to find me to give it to! I felt like such a jerk, having left without saying goodbye, especially because I know he lives in another region of my province and I'll probably never see him again :c
But today was such a glorious day! I just felt so pumped and happy afterwards, that I was giddy. Not giddy enough to do more work, mind, but giddy enough to draw up some plans for a secondary activity that I might try to do here with my health post (to eradicate cataracts in my site. It's going to be hard work and I'll need a lot of support, but the doctor I was chatting with seems to believe that a year or 2 of house checks and such might make this totally possible. I'm not going to say no until I try it! It's too bad the doc is from Piura, so I'll have to check around La Libertad for another doc to offer me some advice on this)
I also, as I mentioned, watched Wall- E. I'm hoping to get a projector, sound system, and the auditorium so I can show it to some kids as an intro to my health/nutrition/environment charlas. We'll see about those.
Anyway, that's a really long post. I wish I had taken some pictures to intersperse the words in it, but ah well. I shall repost again when the next awesome/awful thing happens!
Until next time,
Love and Peace
<3
I am bubbling and brimming with JOY and EXUBERANCE! Today was such an amazing day, I can't help but feel absolutely gleeful!
Yesterday, I went to my health post to chat with a nurse there who mentioned that there would be a campaign today against cataracts. I wasn't quite sure what she was talking about, and she seemed confused since my host mom was going to be an integral part of all this. I assumed, as I do for most things here, that my host mom would inform me about all of this just moments before the actual event.
I was right.
So this morning, I roll out of bed later than usual, since I had nothing planned for today except working on my work plan for my Monday class. I walk outside to see if breakfast is ready and lo and behold! There's my host mom, scrambling to finish washing laundry, put on her shoes, apply makeup, and get her kids up- all at the same time, of course.
"Suzi!" she calls, "Hoy, ¿qué haces? (What're you doing today?)"
"Yo? pues, no tengo nada, ¿por qué? (Me? nothing, why?)"
"¿Puedes apoyarme en el centro de salud? (Can you help me at the health post?)"
"Por supuesto! ¿Cuando me necesitas? (Of course! when do you need me?)"
"Ahorita! (Now!)"
So with that bit of exchange, I grab an apple and devour it as I get ready.
The health post is roughly 5 minutes away from my house, and I get there not really knowing what to expect. The first thing I run into is a mob of old people and their family members. All of them are there to get a consultation for their eye problems (determining whether or not they have cataracts or something else). I dance through them, ducking and dodging, and walk into the clinic where my host mom is running back in forth in her usual business like manner. She sees me, beckons me over, and then tell me to basically just stand there until she figures out what to do with me.
It's kind of boring, but I do as I'm told.
Finally, a doctor's assistant (actually named Suzi... It got kind of confusing because of course the doctors are calling her, not me, but I kept answering them anyway) puts me in charge of dolling out medicine to patients who needed it, as well as acting as an escort for patients to take them to the waiting room after the consult. At first, I'm not sure what to do but eventually, I get into the rhythm of it all. An hour and a half later, all the patients have been seen. I'm down to one pill remaining and there's no one around... what to do, what to do?
There are some nurses sitting at a desk that I've been making eye contact with the entire time, wondering if there's anything I can do to help them. So, I just saunter over and have a seat. The two ladies are cutting up gauze and folding them into thirds. Rather than ask if I can help or join, I just grab some gauze, watch what they're doing and follow suite. Eventually, one lady asks me if I work there. I tell her no, that I'm a volunteer and we get into discussing what I'm doing, who I am, etc. (the usual). I start asking them about the health post, what they do, etc. (striking conversation) and we soon become quick friends.
How do I know we're friends?
Because one of the nurses has a bad leg and she had to get a shot for it. She told me she didn't need any help getting to the room and such, but I went in with her anyway and stayed with her as she took off her pants, got the shot, talked to her about the pain and such, and then helped her walk back to the desk.
Yea, so we're buddies. I don't really remember her name. Whatever.
Anyway, I'm now wrapping the gauze pads into packages, still helping the two nurses, when one of the doctors at the hospital starts chatting with me and tells me of americans he's known- one of whom stayed at his place just a few years ago while she was studying (she was from New York). I tell him a bit more about myself (I feel like I talk about myself a lot. I've gotten pretty good at it), and then he looks at me and goes...
"¿Quieres ver? (You want to see?)"
UHHHH HELLZ YEA.
He gives me a smile, walks over to where they have been operating on the patients with cataracts, and calls one of the nurses. Then he beckons me over and points to some scrubs in a room and tells me to change. I put on some orange scrubs, don covers for my hair and feet, and grab a mask for my face before I enter the room.
It is blazing hot in here. The humidity from people and the heat from both people and the environment are stifling. I don't care, however, because there are two people lying down with their eyes being forced open by a metal prong. The doctor is super amazing. He watches me come in and immediately starts chatting, joking around, asking me questions, and just being awesome. The entire time he's doing this, I'm standing behind him, watching him poke and prod and cut and inject and scrape this elderly woman's eye.
It's freakin epic.
In the beginning, he uses this hot wire thing. I don't know what it's for, but I can smell it burning the eye. It's not a bad smell, just fairly unpleasant because I know where it's coming from. Next thing I know, he's got needles and things in both (super steady) hands and POP out comes a lens! It looks like a flattened, round crystal rock thing and I really want to touch it, just because, but I don't because even I'm well aware how weird that would be. He puts in an artificial one of these things (clear and smaller, as opposed to the big, orangish rough thing he pulled out), squirts in some antibiotics, cleans it all out and tapes some gauze over the eye.
Each operation takes maybe 30 minutes or so, although it felt like less time. He's super efficient, his assistants are super efficient, and overall, I'm super happy and elated to be there. The doctor has a camera and asks me to shoot a bunch of photos, which I do. Patient confidentiality is sort of nonexistent here, and no one cares that I'm taking pictures of everyone and everything. The local newspaper photographers had been there before me, as well as a guy with a video camera for the local news. Again, no one asks if it's okay or signs any papers, they just start filming and questioning and it's all totally fine.
Eventually, the room gets way too damn hot and I have to leave. I change out of my scrubs, put on my street clothes, and wait outside where a lady is pacing anxiously. I give her a smile and she asks me how her father is doing. He had arrived in a wheelchair and I had spent a few minutes trying to comfort him (just talking to him, holding his arm and such). She explains that he had suffered from a stroke and she was worried because she knew he would be afraid. I spend a few minutes chatting with her, assuring her that the man inside really was a wonderful doctor and that he would be out soon. Soon enough, she's called inside to help him back into his wheelchair and he comes out with a big smile on his face.
This actually happens a few times while I'm waiting for my host mom to finish walking with the teniente alcalde (like, the vice-mayor?) around the health post, giving their speeches to waiting family members and patients. When we're just about to leave, I can see another lady is freaking out by the door. Her mother (grandmother?) suffers from Alzheimer's and has a difficult time when she's in another room, let alone outside the room where her grand/mother is now isolated, staring into a white light, and getting surgery done on her eye. Again, I listen to her talk and do my best to help calm her down.
Sometimes I think families freak out more than patients, even though it's the patient going through the ordeal. It's really interesting.
After a bit, the lady is called inside and walks out with an older lady. The lady is in tears- it seems the older lady was quite confused through the entire ordeal and didn't quite understand what was going on. However, the operation was a success. I imagine how difficult these next few days are going to be for the lady, not only taking care of her grand/mother, but adding this task of making sure she doesn't mess with her eye. Surprisingly, the older lady sees me and I give her a big, congratulatory smile. She walks over and gives me a hug, thanking me for being with her grand/daughter through it all. I'm surprised that she knew this but I return the hug.
I finally leave to get lunch and afterwards, return to the hospital to see if there's anything else I can do to help. The surgeries are still going on and people who have been there since 8 that morning are still waiting (it's now around 4pm). Peruvian patience is definitely something I hope to learn. I have nothing to do since all the patients know my face by now and don't really care what I'm doing, so I start chatting with this older gentleman who had been asking me questions that only a doctor would know. When I explain to him that I'm not a doctor, he is genuinely shocked and says it's because I look like someone who knows what I'm talking about.
Self Esteem BOOST.
We get to talking about my site, where he's from, and various things that I just must see while I'm in Peru. It was a lovely chat, but I'm eventually whisked away to help a lady put on her surgery gown, then I get side tracked on how to keep this door open, etc. Eventually, I lose sight of this man and I get bored. I walk over to my host mom, let her know I'm leaving, and I go home to watch some Wall-E.
My host mom comes home and asks me about that man I had been chatting with. I tell her that yes, we had been talking and she looks at me and goes, "he was searching for you! He went to go buy you some ice cream and when he came back, I had to tell him that you left!" Apparently, I lost track of him because he wanted to go get me a treat and when he returned, he ran around the hospital with a half melted popsicle to give to the "nice little chinita, the one with japanese eyes"
I don't really care about the asian remarks anymore (7 months here, you get used to it), but I thought it was so sweet of this man to not only get me a treat, but also try so hard to find me to give it to! I felt like such a jerk, having left without saying goodbye, especially because I know he lives in another region of my province and I'll probably never see him again :c
But today was such a glorious day! I just felt so pumped and happy afterwards, that I was giddy. Not giddy enough to do more work, mind, but giddy enough to draw up some plans for a secondary activity that I might try to do here with my health post (to eradicate cataracts in my site. It's going to be hard work and I'll need a lot of support, but the doctor I was chatting with seems to believe that a year or 2 of house checks and such might make this totally possible. I'm not going to say no until I try it! It's too bad the doc is from Piura, so I'll have to check around La Libertad for another doc to offer me some advice on this)
I also, as I mentioned, watched Wall- E. I'm hoping to get a projector, sound system, and the auditorium so I can show it to some kids as an intro to my health/nutrition/environment charlas. We'll see about those.
Anyway, that's a really long post. I wish I had taken some pictures to intersperse the words in it, but ah well. I shall repost again when the next awesome/awful thing happens!
Until next time,
Love and Peace
<3
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
day 227: i grabbed a cactus today. no, i didn't mean to.
'Sup friends.
So do I have a story to share with you!
Last Friday was my department's regional meeting, wherein all members of the department are encouraged to show up to the regional capital (i.e. Trujillo) to partake in a meeting that covers the basics of things that concern all volunteers (the big camp projects, committees, etc.)
Since a few volunteers live rather far from the capital (they live in the mountains and it takes about 6 or so hours, I believe, to travel for a few of them), we decided that it might be a nice idea to set up a hike for all those who are interested to partake in. The day of the hike was set for the day after the regional meeting- we would be heading out at 6:30am to the bus terminal to Viru, where a combi had been hired to take us on an hour long ride to a small village before we hiked up to see a waterfall that had been estimated to be somewhere between 40min to 1.5hours away...
The mornings starts off rather well. Although we were running a few minutes late (because honestly, when do we not?) our late departure had been calculated into the plans. We arrived in Viru without a hitch and stopped at a lovely bakery for some noms. I wish I had taken a picture of this absolutely heavenly ball of fluffy, buttery dough that enclosed a soft, sweet, warm apple inside. Instead, I devoured the most delicious apple turnover I've ever had, EVER, in a few bites and with a tummy full of yummy, we waited for the combi and taxi to arrive.
During this time, I slathered myself with sunblock and copious amounts of bugspray.
I did this three times while waiting for the bus to show. The sun here is FIERCE and the bugs/mosquitoes that were now swarming at us made me want to scream. I don't deal well with bugs that fly and bite, and for most of my life, I have been what I refer to as a "lightning rod" for these very bugs. While friends around me are ignored, mosquitoes and other bitey things seem to zoom into the deliciousness of my exposed skin, as if I were the apple turnover to them :c
HOWEVER having now applied what would be 1/2 of the bottle of bug spray (literally) that I had been given, I walked away with only a handful of bites here and there. Other volunteers were not so lucky...
Anyway, the combi shows up and we're still waiting for the car when finally the taxi rolls up and the driver steps out...
The driver has no left arm, and his right arm ends at his elbow.
Interestingly enough, I'm not worried about his ability to drive. I mean, this is his car and his route- he must've been doing this for some time, so whatevs. I was, however, intrigued by how he drove the car. Sadly, I was in the combi and not the taxi so I couldn't observe but the other volunteers mentioned that he'd modified it to meet his needs.
Legit.
So we're on this combi/car ride for a bit when the combi's going up this dirt hill aaannndddd boom. Apparently, something is broken and they need to take the car back to Viru to get the part. What did that mean? It meant, the hike started earlier than planned.
All of us get out of the combi and car, and get to walking. It's an easy walk up some dirt roads so I decide that a good idea would be to run the uphills, just because. The hike reminded me of the ones I used to do in cali with my mom, up Rocky Peak.
About an hour or so later, my mouth coated in dust, we show up to the village where the hike was originally going to start and TA DAAAH! The taxi shows up right then and there. I go buy some water, only to find that the only store there only has carbonated water, and start snacking on some trail mix I had brought with me before heading back out to actually start the hike.
The trail is pretty simple and easy, meandering in a generally upward incline, until we start to hit some tougher patches- scrambling over rocks and more dirt. I take the time to reapply more and more sunscreen and bug spray throughout this time, while trying to race after the "guide" who is booking it like he wants to lose all of us behind him. In the end, he actually does- except for a few of us who managed to trail him (more or less). We're now climbing up a lot of greenery- a lot of plants with super sharp spikes hidden in leaves, prickly things that are grabbing onto my clothes and embedding me with their splinter like appendages, longs blades of plants whipping at my legs and face, etc. We don't seem to be following a trail anymore, having scaled up this slippery, dangerous bit of mountain, and I am finding myself walking on less than an inch wide rocks, running water on one end and a cliff drop on the other. I feel pretty BAMF, hopping around and managing to catch myself a number of times when I step on what appears to be grass, only for it to turn out to be a hidden soft hole, and narrowly escaping a fall off the edge of a cliff to what may be my death.
Sadly, this is starting to build up a rather cocky attitude and at this point, I am exhausted. Running up the hills was probably not a good idea. I'm rather dehydrated, but doggedly chasing after this horrible "guide" or ours, who is walking through this entire thing without a glance back at anyone and booking it like he's in a race against the world. In any case, I hop off a rock to land on another rock, but my ankle rolls when I land and I slip. Rather than fall to my untimely death, I grab for something to stop myself, anything to keep me from rolling down all that I had climbed up.
I grab at and manage to hold on to a cactus.
A. Cactus.
Needless to say, once I find that I am not falling anymore, I let go of the cactus and bolt up to take a look at my hands.
It ain't pretty.
There are tons of thorny things sticking out of all the fingers of my left hand. The giant ones (about 3 inches long) are the most BAMF looking things ever, but also the easiest ones to immediately remove. They leave a bloody mess, but nothing compares to the teeny tiny ones that I can feel but cannot get out. Thankfully, one of the other volunteers had a mutlitool and with some quick thinking from another volunteer, I am handed a small pair of pliers to remove as many of these awful things as possible.
The good news was that we were pretty close to the waterfall by then. The bad news is that it's the height of rainy season and this waterfall is a torrent of immense power. There is no way we can swim in that (it was less pretty than the gorges in Ithaca, but reminded me of them during rainy days), but the sun is nice so we sunbathe, snack, nap, and just chill out. I manage to pull out most, if not all, of the things in my hand. An hour goes by and we all decide to head back.
At one point, I got lost and separated from the group on the way back. That was kind of scary, but I used my super sleuthing sherlock skillz and managed to find my way out of the desert mountains of Peru so go me! If you want the whole story on that, you can chat with me. We got back to Viru and headed back to site a bit later than planned, whereupon I took a shower (a layer of dust on me that felt an inch thick) and immediately passed out in my bed. I was exhausted.
I got back to site the next day and have resumed my daily life here.
What a crazy awesome weekend! I have now added 2 things to my list of "things that I've never done before Peru" (grab a cactus, get legit lost and figure my way out of it) and even though I slipped on a chunk of my resolutions this weekend (didn't get my p90x workout in, had some beers, etc.) I will definitely get back on track.
Well, that's all I wanted to share with you for now! I just did my p90x workout and am now officially on week 3 of phase 1. I have a meeting set up with a nurse at the health post (see? told you I'd do it!), a socio at the benificencia, and the lawyer at the CEM. All I need to do now is make an appointment with the alcalde and someone at the police station, and my month of January will be satisfactory to me.
Hope things work out.
And I hope there are more new experiences! So far, all of them have been very interesting, so here's to hoping for more~ Happy Lunar New Year everyone! Year of the RABBIT (aka, best year ever) is coming to an end, but the year of the dragon will hopefully offer much excitement!
Until next time,
Love and Peace <3
So do I have a story to share with you!
Last Friday was my department's regional meeting, wherein all members of the department are encouraged to show up to the regional capital (i.e. Trujillo) to partake in a meeting that covers the basics of things that concern all volunteers (the big camp projects, committees, etc.)
Since a few volunteers live rather far from the capital (they live in the mountains and it takes about 6 or so hours, I believe, to travel for a few of them), we decided that it might be a nice idea to set up a hike for all those who are interested to partake in. The day of the hike was set for the day after the regional meeting- we would be heading out at 6:30am to the bus terminal to Viru, where a combi had been hired to take us on an hour long ride to a small village before we hiked up to see a waterfall that had been estimated to be somewhere between 40min to 1.5hours away...
The mornings starts off rather well. Although we were running a few minutes late (because honestly, when do we not?) our late departure had been calculated into the plans. We arrived in Viru without a hitch and stopped at a lovely bakery for some noms. I wish I had taken a picture of this absolutely heavenly ball of fluffy, buttery dough that enclosed a soft, sweet, warm apple inside. Instead, I devoured the most delicious apple turnover I've ever had, EVER, in a few bites and with a tummy full of yummy, we waited for the combi and taxi to arrive.
During this time, I slathered myself with sunblock and copious amounts of bugspray.
I did this three times while waiting for the bus to show. The sun here is FIERCE and the bugs/mosquitoes that were now swarming at us made me want to scream. I don't deal well with bugs that fly and bite, and for most of my life, I have been what I refer to as a "lightning rod" for these very bugs. While friends around me are ignored, mosquitoes and other bitey things seem to zoom into the deliciousness of my exposed skin, as if I were the apple turnover to them :c
HOWEVER having now applied what would be 1/2 of the bottle of bug spray (literally) that I had been given, I walked away with only a handful of bites here and there. Other volunteers were not so lucky...
Anyway, the combi shows up and we're still waiting for the car when finally the taxi rolls up and the driver steps out...
The driver has no left arm, and his right arm ends at his elbow.
Interestingly enough, I'm not worried about his ability to drive. I mean, this is his car and his route- he must've been doing this for some time, so whatevs. I was, however, intrigued by how he drove the car. Sadly, I was in the combi and not the taxi so I couldn't observe but the other volunteers mentioned that he'd modified it to meet his needs.
Legit.
So we're on this combi/car ride for a bit when the combi's going up this dirt hill aaannndddd boom. Apparently, something is broken and they need to take the car back to Viru to get the part. What did that mean? It meant, the hike started earlier than planned.
All of us get out of the combi and car, and get to walking. It's an easy walk up some dirt roads so I decide that a good idea would be to run the uphills, just because. The hike reminded me of the ones I used to do in cali with my mom, up Rocky Peak.
About an hour or so later, my mouth coated in dust, we show up to the village where the hike was originally going to start and TA DAAAH! The taxi shows up right then and there. I go buy some water, only to find that the only store there only has carbonated water, and start snacking on some trail mix I had brought with me before heading back out to actually start the hike.
The trail is pretty simple and easy, meandering in a generally upward incline, until we start to hit some tougher patches- scrambling over rocks and more dirt. I take the time to reapply more and more sunscreen and bug spray throughout this time, while trying to race after the "guide" who is booking it like he wants to lose all of us behind him. In the end, he actually does- except for a few of us who managed to trail him (more or less). We're now climbing up a lot of greenery- a lot of plants with super sharp spikes hidden in leaves, prickly things that are grabbing onto my clothes and embedding me with their splinter like appendages, longs blades of plants whipping at my legs and face, etc. We don't seem to be following a trail anymore, having scaled up this slippery, dangerous bit of mountain, and I am finding myself walking on less than an inch wide rocks, running water on one end and a cliff drop on the other. I feel pretty BAMF, hopping around and managing to catch myself a number of times when I step on what appears to be grass, only for it to turn out to be a hidden soft hole, and narrowly escaping a fall off the edge of a cliff to what may be my death.
Sadly, this is starting to build up a rather cocky attitude and at this point, I am exhausted. Running up the hills was probably not a good idea. I'm rather dehydrated, but doggedly chasing after this horrible "guide" or ours, who is walking through this entire thing without a glance back at anyone and booking it like he's in a race against the world. In any case, I hop off a rock to land on another rock, but my ankle rolls when I land and I slip. Rather than fall to my untimely death, I grab for something to stop myself, anything to keep me from rolling down all that I had climbed up.
I grab at and manage to hold on to a cactus.
A. Cactus.
Needless to say, once I find that I am not falling anymore, I let go of the cactus and bolt up to take a look at my hands.
It ain't pretty.
There are tons of thorny things sticking out of all the fingers of my left hand. The giant ones (about 3 inches long) are the most BAMF looking things ever, but also the easiest ones to immediately remove. They leave a bloody mess, but nothing compares to the teeny tiny ones that I can feel but cannot get out. Thankfully, one of the other volunteers had a mutlitool and with some quick thinking from another volunteer, I am handed a small pair of pliers to remove as many of these awful things as possible.
The good news was that we were pretty close to the waterfall by then. The bad news is that it's the height of rainy season and this waterfall is a torrent of immense power. There is no way we can swim in that (it was less pretty than the gorges in Ithaca, but reminded me of them during rainy days), but the sun is nice so we sunbathe, snack, nap, and just chill out. I manage to pull out most, if not all, of the things in my hand. An hour goes by and we all decide to head back.
At one point, I got lost and separated from the group on the way back. That was kind of scary, but I used my super sleuthing sherlock skillz and managed to find my way out of the desert mountains of Peru so go me! If you want the whole story on that, you can chat with me. We got back to Viru and headed back to site a bit later than planned, whereupon I took a shower (a layer of dust on me that felt an inch thick) and immediately passed out in my bed. I was exhausted.
I got back to site the next day and have resumed my daily life here.
What a crazy awesome weekend! I have now added 2 things to my list of "things that I've never done before Peru" (grab a cactus, get legit lost and figure my way out of it) and even though I slipped on a chunk of my resolutions this weekend (didn't get my p90x workout in, had some beers, etc.) I will definitely get back on track.
Well, that's all I wanted to share with you for now! I just did my p90x workout and am now officially on week 3 of phase 1. I have a meeting set up with a nurse at the health post (see? told you I'd do it!), a socio at the benificencia, and the lawyer at the CEM. All I need to do now is make an appointment with the alcalde and someone at the police station, and my month of January will be satisfactory to me.
Hope things work out.
And I hope there are more new experiences! So far, all of them have been very interesting, so here's to hoping for more~ Happy Lunar New Year everyone! Year of the RABBIT (aka, best year ever) is coming to an end, but the year of the dragon will hopefully offer much excitement!
Until next time,
Love and Peace <3
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
day 220: clearing my cluttered brain by actually writing out a schedule
Hello friends!
This is just me writing thoughts floating up in my noggin. Lately, it's gotten pretty cluttered up there so I'm trying to sort a few things out..
The p90x training lasts for 90 days. The Pacasmayo Marathon is July 1st... How am I going to train for this marathon as well as do the p90x program? From what I can tell, I should complete the 12 week p90x program in April (to be completed April 7, 2012). The running schedule that I want to follow for the half marathon is also a 12 week program... So if I start training for the marathon immediately after I do the p90x, that should mean I can just manage to get the whole training in. However, this program is based on the belief that I have been running 3 miles, at least 3-4 times a week, which won't be true because I'll be doing p90x instead of running (there just isn't time in my day to do both!)... HRM. Whatever, I'll do it anyway. And if I can't run the whole 13.1 miles? Then I'll walk it, damn it.
I WILL COMPLETE THIS HALF MARATHON. No matter what. The end.
Let's seeee, what else, what else.
Oh! I taught my first vacaciones utiles course (think summer school) yesterday and it went super duper! The first class of older students was pretty small, but once I joked around and did my thing, some of them were more inclined to talk and express their opinions (still, it was a mofo trying to get this one girl to participate... she wouldn't even look at me! And she didn't speak at all, even when I tried my darndest to get her to... I'll work on that one. I think I'm going to teach "participation" at some point...). The second class I had were younger (2 grades lower) but there were more of them and these kids were superstars. Still had the group of kids who didn't want to talk, but there's power in numbers and the chatty ones definitely stepped up! I'm going to have to figure out how to draw out the quieter ones and ease the talkative ones down, but wow! Great class! Came out of that one feeling awesome.
I have a meeting coming up with the vacaciones utiles group in my site and I'll be teaching health and nutrition here. Yea, it's a topic I'm rather pumped about but I have no idea how many students will want to go. I'm hoping to give away free stuff every class (for participation, showing up on time, etc, I'm going to let them write their names on tickets and raffle off little things at the end of class) so that'll hopefully draw in a larger crowd. My host mom wants me working with a lawyer here on this, but I don't understand why. We're working on another project together, but it has nothing to do with vacaciones utiles. Weird.
Speaking of that other project, I need to figure out how to talk to the directors of the two high schools that are in my site. We want to start clubs in both (drawing awareness to family and sexual violence, working on projects to prevent it, etc.) and he asked me today if I talked to them. I had no idea that was my job.
Communication around here is getting kind of frustrating.
Anywho, I gotta do that.
Aiya... meetings, meetings, meetings. I still haven't set up my meetings at the benificencia, the health post, the police station, OR with the alcalde.
FAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. It's ok, I'll get on it.
Besides that, guess what I did today?
P90x plyometrics.
And guess what else?
Didn't have to pause the video to suppress a desire to puke.
SUCCESS.
Also, it's so damn hot so I froze some bananas, mashed them up and poured some honey that I bought yesterday (from a lady at the market who had a ginormous slab of honeycomb on hand to show me where honey comes from... then she sold me a recycled plastic soda bottle of honey. It's damn good honey.) and OMG SO GOOD. It was like banana flavored ice cream with delicious chewy honey bits.
I want MOAARRRR but we are out of bananas... I can't decide if I should just go to the market and buy some, or wait until my host mom brings more. Considering how many bananas I've eaten these past few days (my host mom hadn't gone shopping in some time and this was the first time in a week or two that there's been fruit in the house), I should go buy some...
I do have some grapes in the freezer now. Maybe I'll dip those in honey and nom on those tomorrow.
Alright, my windows open cause of the heat but now the bugs have discovered it and I'm being eaten alive. I'll write again later.
Chau amigitos!
Love and Peace <3
This is just me writing thoughts floating up in my noggin. Lately, it's gotten pretty cluttered up there so I'm trying to sort a few things out..
The p90x training lasts for 90 days. The Pacasmayo Marathon is July 1st... How am I going to train for this marathon as well as do the p90x program? From what I can tell, I should complete the 12 week p90x program in April (to be completed April 7, 2012). The running schedule that I want to follow for the half marathon is also a 12 week program... So if I start training for the marathon immediately after I do the p90x, that should mean I can just manage to get the whole training in. However, this program is based on the belief that I have been running 3 miles, at least 3-4 times a week, which won't be true because I'll be doing p90x instead of running (there just isn't time in my day to do both!)... HRM. Whatever, I'll do it anyway. And if I can't run the whole 13.1 miles? Then I'll walk it, damn it.
I WILL COMPLETE THIS HALF MARATHON. No matter what. The end.
Let's seeee, what else, what else.
Oh! I taught my first vacaciones utiles course (think summer school) yesterday and it went super duper! The first class of older students was pretty small, but once I joked around and did my thing, some of them were more inclined to talk and express their opinions (still, it was a mofo trying to get this one girl to participate... she wouldn't even look at me! And she didn't speak at all, even when I tried my darndest to get her to... I'll work on that one. I think I'm going to teach "participation" at some point...). The second class I had were younger (2 grades lower) but there were more of them and these kids were superstars. Still had the group of kids who didn't want to talk, but there's power in numbers and the chatty ones definitely stepped up! I'm going to have to figure out how to draw out the quieter ones and ease the talkative ones down, but wow! Great class! Came out of that one feeling awesome.
I have a meeting coming up with the vacaciones utiles group in my site and I'll be teaching health and nutrition here. Yea, it's a topic I'm rather pumped about but I have no idea how many students will want to go. I'm hoping to give away free stuff every class (for participation, showing up on time, etc, I'm going to let them write their names on tickets and raffle off little things at the end of class) so that'll hopefully draw in a larger crowd. My host mom wants me working with a lawyer here on this, but I don't understand why. We're working on another project together, but it has nothing to do with vacaciones utiles. Weird.
Speaking of that other project, I need to figure out how to talk to the directors of the two high schools that are in my site. We want to start clubs in both (drawing awareness to family and sexual violence, working on projects to prevent it, etc.) and he asked me today if I talked to them. I had no idea that was my job.
Communication around here is getting kind of frustrating.
Anywho, I gotta do that.
Aiya... meetings, meetings, meetings. I still haven't set up my meetings at the benificencia, the health post, the police station, OR with the alcalde.
FAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. It's ok, I'll get on it.
Besides that, guess what I did today?
P90x plyometrics.
And guess what else?
Didn't have to pause the video to suppress a desire to puke.
SUCCESS.
Also, it's so damn hot so I froze some bananas, mashed them up and poured some honey that I bought yesterday (from a lady at the market who had a ginormous slab of honeycomb on hand to show me where honey comes from... then she sold me a recycled plastic soda bottle of honey. It's damn good honey.) and OMG SO GOOD. It was like banana flavored ice cream with delicious chewy honey bits.
I want MOAARRRR but we are out of bananas... I can't decide if I should just go to the market and buy some, or wait until my host mom brings more. Considering how many bananas I've eaten these past few days (my host mom hadn't gone shopping in some time and this was the first time in a week or two that there's been fruit in the house), I should go buy some...
I do have some grapes in the freezer now. Maybe I'll dip those in honey and nom on those tomorrow.
Alright, my windows open cause of the heat but now the bugs have discovered it and I'm being eaten alive. I'll write again later.
Chau amigitos!
Love and Peace <3
Friday, January 13, 2012
day 216: it's 13 days into 2012 and i'm still keeping my resolutions. go me.
Buenos mi amigitos!
So yea, it's been a mixed bag of pain and pain but hey! good is coming out of it! My body HURTS so good... love that feeling. I've also been taking my vitamins pretty religiously and staying well hydrated like in the good ol' days.
Health wise, I'm getting better! Sadly, I'm still snacking, but that should end soon. I started a food journal like I did back in college to remind myself that I can't just forget the stuff I eat, so hopefully that'll keep acting as a reminder to watch it.
As for my projects, they're moving. I'm going to be teaching valores in Pacasmayo at a school for vacaciones útiles (fun fact: I had no idea I was going to teach until I just decided, on whim, to show up... this is going to be interesting) and I'll be teaching health and nutrition in my site (not sure when or where yet, these classes don't start for another week). I'm going to be acting as sort of a teacher's aid for the vacaciones útiles courses as well. What this means is getting to know more students, and maybe getting myself into the pool to help teach the littlest ones how to swim. That's more for me than anything, because I'll make any excuse I can to get into that pool.
It's so damn hot. (okgo anyone?)
So it's Friday (Friday, gotta get down on Friday) and Friday the 13th no less. My bff up in Zaña just told me that a bus exploded this morning and killed 8 people. Sadly, this kind of thing isn't as uncommon as you would wish it to be. The roads here are NOT safe. Not only are they generally just really crappy roads (although the panamerican is, for the most part, pretty alright), but the drivers are insane.
Insane in the membrane.
A large chunk of them are very young, having received their license in some sort of shady manner, and do not know what the road symbols that exist mean. A number of drivers have had some drink, especially in areas that are cold (to keep them warm, obvy). And I would probably go ahead and say more than half of these cars are not fit for the road. Let's just say, when I get into a car that is literally held together by duct tape and twine, both rear view mirrors are now just a view of exposed wiring, and it takes the driver a few tries to get the damn thing to shift gears... well, let's just say I say a very long and desperate prayer the entire ride.
I've also seen a number of smashed messes of metal and glass next to the police station, blood dried but painting what would have been windows and doors, as well as the charred remains of vehicles by the side of the road, where they exploded into flames or had the unfortunate accident of crashing into vehicles marked "gasoline"
: /
Never, ever, in my life, will I ever drive in Peru. NEVER. Not only is it illegal for volunteers to do so, but even if it were allowed? Nope. Hells to the no.
Anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about it.
I wanted to BRAG about how it's been 13 days into the new year and I'm still working on my resolutions! Usually, I just forget it all by now because really, resolutions aren't any fun. BUT this time I did something different- I made actual, concrete goals! Instead of "lose like a million pounds this year," I decided on "finish the p90x program, from start to finish" and "run the half marathon in Pacasmayo this July"
I have no idea if I actually wrote that in my blog, but guess what. That's what it is now.
My thoughts on p90x? Well, here's a list of my facebook status updates relating to those:
Monday- think i'm going to cry. just did p90x chest back and abs this morning and stuff that i used to do without too much issue in the days before peru have become disastrously difficult... I AM SO OUT OF SHAAAPPEE DAAAMMMN ITTTTT!!!! guess all i can do now is grit my teeth and get back into it! ggrrrrr......
Tuesday- p90x plyometrics this morning... made it half way before pausing the video b/c i thought i was going to puke my guts out... thankfully i hadn't had anything to eat yet... also note: you should wear shoes for this stuff. ouchies.
Wednesday- p90x shoulders and arms: DO NOT DO LAUNDRY AFTERWARDS. hand washing laundry is an arm/shoulder/back workout on its own... trying to do it after working out shoulder and arms means my laundry is still dirty, but now wet...
Thursday- p90x yoga: the guy says "clear your lead, live in the moment" and all i can think is "this moment is VERY PAINFUL" ... dunno if that's what he was going for, but that's what i got.
Friday- today was cloudy with very light drizzle so i thought, hey! i'll go for a run after p90x legs/back... first of all, oh my god i thought my legs were going to give out on me... second of all, tons of people saw me run and i think i may have involuntarily formed a running group...? we'll see how many people show up tomorrow morning!
So yea, it's been a mixed bag of pain and pain but hey! good is coming out of it! My body HURTS so good... love that feeling. I've also been taking my vitamins pretty religiously and staying well hydrated like in the good ol' days.
Health wise, I'm getting better! Sadly, I'm still snacking, but that should end soon. I started a food journal like I did back in college to remind myself that I can't just forget the stuff I eat, so hopefully that'll keep acting as a reminder to watch it.
As for my projects, they're moving. I'm going to be teaching valores in Pacasmayo at a school for vacaciones útiles (fun fact: I had no idea I was going to teach until I just decided, on whim, to show up... this is going to be interesting) and I'll be teaching health and nutrition in my site (not sure when or where yet, these classes don't start for another week). I'm going to be acting as sort of a teacher's aid for the vacaciones útiles courses as well. What this means is getting to know more students, and maybe getting myself into the pool to help teach the littlest ones how to swim. That's more for me than anything, because I'll make any excuse I can to get into that pool.
It's so damn hot. (okgo anyone?)
Oh, and of course there was a parade with all the students interested in vacaciones útiles. Of course. And I was in this one too. Of course. Oh parades. But actually, this was a good way to advertise the classes and things (there were signs) and remind people of the fact that the municipality here will be starting their classes (and they're all FREE! I love my municipality!)
What else, what else... I have a million and one meetings for next week, when I'm not teaching, to see if I can get some of my programs underway with the health post as well as with the CEM (that's Centro Emergencia Mujer, which is a place for men, women and children to go to when there is violence in the home and such). I'm actually really hoping that my health and nutrition classes continue throughout the year and sort of extend themselves into other things kids might be interested in doing (running club anyone? yoga group? anyone? anyone?) but mostly, I'm just pumped because I'm hoping the nutrition class means I GET TO COOK AGAIN.
oh, wouldn't that just be so lovely??
SIGH, but I dream...
I still haven't had the courage to get myself to the police station to talk about the prison... I know, I know, there's a 2% chance of me getting it to convert into a youth center... but a girl can dream.
Plus, if I don't ask, I've already failed. We can't have that now, can we?
I WILL ASK. Just hold your horses. First things first, I want to talk to the health post. I also want to plant a garden in the benificencia. They have this space in the back. It's just dirt and trash. Wouldn't it be better as a garden? I need to find some resources on how to start a garden... I'm pretty sure that they'd be alright with me converting it into something useful. Plus, I might extend those nutrition classes there so that we can grow and then EAT the things we grow! THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
What else, what else... I have a million and one meetings for next week, when I'm not teaching, to see if I can get some of my programs underway with the health post as well as with the CEM (that's Centro Emergencia Mujer, which is a place for men, women and children to go to when there is violence in the home and such). I'm actually really hoping that my health and nutrition classes continue throughout the year and sort of extend themselves into other things kids might be interested in doing (running club anyone? yoga group? anyone? anyone?) but mostly, I'm just pumped because I'm hoping the nutrition class means I GET TO COOK AGAIN.
oh, wouldn't that just be so lovely??
I still haven't had the courage to get myself to the police station to talk about the prison... I know, I know, there's a 2% chance of me getting it to convert into a youth center... but a girl can dream.
Plus, if I don't ask, I've already failed. We can't have that now, can we?
I WILL ASK. Just hold your horses. First things first, I want to talk to the health post. I also want to plant a garden in the benificencia. They have this space in the back. It's just dirt and trash. Wouldn't it be better as a garden? I need to find some resources on how to start a garden... I'm pretty sure that they'd be alright with me converting it into something useful. Plus, I might extend those nutrition classes there so that we can grow and then EAT the things we grow! THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
So here we go, here's to hoping I get a move on these projects and make awesome happen in my site!
And yes, yes, yes. I will talk to the popo. Maybe next month. I am such a coward sometimes...
Until there's something more to report,
Love and Peace <3
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