So I had a lot of trouble uploading the photos (to me it just showed up as text but you should be able to see them), so I wrote the photo number where the photo should be and just scroll back up to see what I'm talking about.

THANKSGIVING Peruvian style
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Hope you had a good time! We celebrated T-day in our site with our Peruvian host families and the people at the health center. We decided to do it this past Tuesday, instead of Thursday, to have time to prepare and so everyone could come, which was more important to us than the actual date. There were 15 of us and a ton of food! Just like the old days back in Thornton when we would have 20-40 people come to our house every year!

(Photos 1, 2, 3)

To add a little “southern tradition”, I made a sweet potato pie. The coolest part was that we baked it in this big adobe oven. You heat it up with fire wood, remove the wood, and put your goods in and wait. It takes a little longer than a regular 350 degree oven, but sure did the trick! I wish I had gotten a picture of my little grandma shoveling the pans out of the oven with that long flat spatula-thing on the right! Pretty cool, huh?

(Photos 4 -Sweet potato pie, 5 -adobe oven)

I was also very proud of myself for the delicious Thanksgiving stuffing I made entirely from scratch. Bread, shredded carrots, apples, raisins and a little chicken broth…delicious! I had never really thought about it before, but that stuffing really made it all come together as “Thanksgiving” for Chris and I. Stuffing is the taste of home, the taste of tradition, the taste of Thanksgiving…and we really did feel at home. The Peruvians thought the stuffing was strange, but eventually came around to liking it. Whatever…it made my day! And it’s all about sharing cultures. There are plenty of their foods I eat that I find strange, but eat without complaint.

We also had chicken (b/c turkey is difficult to get), mashed potatoes, rice with some veggies in it (of course we had to have rice, it’s Peru!), another dessert made of rice, milk, cinnamon, another dessert called Budin that’s kind of like flan and (of course) the purple-corn drink: Chicha Morada. All in all, it was fantastic!

OTHER WORK:
We are already busy in our site. There is plenty to do in the theme of health, and we are also continuing the work of the previous volunteers in environment/recycling. The director of the high school has already roped us into teaching English 4 days a week!! Wow! Schools are called colegios here and there is: Inicial (K-1), Primaria (2nd-6th), Secundaria (1st-5th which is actually 7th-11th in the US). We are only teaching at the Secundaria right now, I have grades 2 and 4 (8th and 10th in the US) and Chris has grades 1,3,5. The kids are fun and excited to have us there. I have no idea what I’m doing as an English teacher, but I my goal is just going to be to try to make it fun. I decided on a points system to keep the peace. If they maintain 5 stars/points each class, we will have a party on the last day and I will make brownies or something. They love it and really shape up if they lose a star and get really excited when they earn it back!

HOUSE AND FAMILY:
I’m still getting adjusted to my host family. It is an interesting dynamic b/c I don’t really know where I fit. There’s grandma who is 80, her two daughters (50 and 40) and one of them has a daughter who is 9. But technically, grandma is really my mom, the others are technically sisters but feel like moms, and the little one is my niece but feels like little sister…it’s weird.
But they are nice and feed me a lot. They also already painted my room for me before I arrived (yellow, which is exactly what I wanted!) and they’re helping me get the concrete floor put in.
The one thing I don’t like is that they keep trying to convince me to eat pork, aka: CHANCHO. Just the word “Chancho” sounds disgusting. The explanation for my unyielding avoidance of eating delicious bacon, ham, and pork chop in this country is because, in Peru, pigs are not raised in the cleanest of conditions and you can get some really weird diseases from it. So, no thank you!!!

FUN STUFF:
I’m in the capital city right now for our regional meeting and we had a cookout last night on the roof. We bought the chicken and (beef) hot dogs at a supermarket, and the veggies, charcoal and lighter fluid (which the sell in varying quantities in used water bottles) at the outdoor market. In some towns people sell gasoline on the side of the road in glass Coca-cola bottles. I never cease to be surprised with something new and unusual here.

(Photo 6, the group on the roof)

One of the volunteers has a little grill that he brought, as well as barbecue sauce for the chicken. I cannot tell you how delicious it was to have a BBQ chicken sandwich and a hot dog. It really made me miss a pulled pork sandwich from JIM N’ NICKS!!!

(Photo 7, grilling food)

The grill that we cooked 15 hotdogs, 4 chicken breasts, and 25 veggie kabobs on!!

(photo 8, Brian with his grill)

YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN THE PEACE CORPS WHEN:
• You use a Swiss Army knife, a head lamp and a Frisbee to cut your veggies
• You can feed 8 people that much food for only $16 US…$2 each!!
• You are getting the hang of being able to haggle down the price of the avocados (or whatever) you buy at the outdoor market

(photo 9, me holding the frisbee with kabobs)

YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN PERU WHEN:
• You ride on a bus for 8 hours and see a variety of chickens and birds come along, as passengers –the owner just holds on to them, no cage!
• 6-8 people get on the bus, for about 2 minutes, at every stop to sell mangos, home-made breads, empanadas, and Chicha-morada or home-made soy milk refilled in Gatorade bottles.
• You are prepared with earplugs to block out the ear-piercing Cumbia that is played on the bus
(that’s how my ride in to the capital went)

So far things are going really well. I really love my site because it’s beautiful, relaxed and the people are so nice.
Also, good news….we found out that there is 1 computer in our town with internet! How exciting! (It’s amazing the simple things we get excited about here, like hot showers). So I can use the internet more, but we still have to search out the guy who has the key to the room it is kept in, which is not always an easy thing to do.

That's all for now. Hope all is well back home!

IT's OFFICIAL....

I’m a PCV! (and I cut my hair!)

We had our swearing-in ceremony this past Saturday and I am now officially not a trainee anymore, I’m a Peace Corps Volunteer! It’s a big deal to make it through training…especially since we’ve had 3 people go back to the US already. And good news….one of my friends was kind enough to let me use her old camera, so I have pictures, too! Thanks, Naomi!

Graduation day! Swearing-in . This is my site mate, Chris. We will be in the same town, working on health projects.

Graduating class of Peru 14 - these are all the health volunteers.

CAKES & MORE:

On Friday, we had a party for our host families at the training center. The girls in charge of party planning asked me to bake the cake! So I collaborated with another girl, Kate, and she baked and I decorated. We did a Thanksgiving theme, since ‘tis the season and we were thanking our host-families. It was perfect! I was so happy, too, to be in my element, doing my thing, making a fabulous cake! Applesauce spice cake (Kate’s creation) with cinnamon buttercream icing and a cake-turkey on top (my creation). Everyone loved it!!!! Baking is definitely one of the keys to my happiness and sanity–I also baked a pineapple pie with my host sister last week. I’m hoping to bake in my site, too.

SITE ASSIGNMENTS:

On Friday the 6^th we learned our permanent site assignments, then the next day we left to visit them!! No time to pack (b/c we didn’t know if we would be going north to the heat, or south to the cold), all the anticipation…it was pretty stressful. But I got the perfect site placement! It is in the north part of Peru in the department of Piura. Piura City is our capital city, and is 15 hrs north of Lima. We travel there on this gigantic bus that has reclining seats, meals, and movies. My actual town is in the Sierra (the mountains). However, unlike most of the mountain areas that are drier and colder, my site is this unusual mix of tropical and mountain. The Serranos (which are what mountain folks are called) are not as traditional as in the department Ancash, for example. They don’t wear the traditional skirts, hats, or speak Quechua. So, in that sense it is not as culturally rich as I was hoping, but the good thing is that they are more open and less shy than other Serranos. And, for all of you out there in Denver and Ned, there is a famous Cumbia band called Corazon Serrano (Heart of the Sierra), and I think of all of you every time I hear their songs…which is a lot, thanks to the musical preferences of every bus driver in Peru.

MY TOWN:

The name of my little town is Sicchez. It is small (about 500 people) with 10 surrounding casa rios (aka: villages) and very “tranquilo” which means safe and calm and tranquil. It is hot during the day but cool at night, with just enough humidity to keep your skin nice! We have mango, orange, banana, and cherimoya (a deliciously sweet fruit) trees in town and in the back yard and one of the last remaining cloud forests in the mountains! It is beautiful. It is 7 hours in bus from Piura city, which makes it close to the border of Ecuador. It’s amazing…I can see another country from my front door! My host family is all women ages 75 down to 9 years old. We have running water during the day, but not at night. I also have to put a concrete floor in my room, b/c right now it is dirt. It’s amazing how they pack the dirt down so well. It is livable, but not preferable, and PC requires a cement floor. And there are fleas I have to get rid of somehow. (If anyone wants to send some flea collars, I would be eternally grateful and bake you the best chocolate, or apple, or whatever cake you wanted, every week for a year!!) These are just a few of the challenges of adjusting to Peace Corps life. But I have a flushing toilet, which is awesome! and I am there with another guy from my training group, Chris. We are replacing a married couple who are done with their service, which is really nice b/c we can continue their work, and they were there to show us around.

FUNNY STORY:

I will be working at the health post, and the staff there are wonderful! So wonderful in fact, that on the day we were coming back from the site visit, I missed the one and only bus down from Sicchez to Piura b/c I didn’t hear the alarm and the bus left early (6:10 instead of 6:30am)!!! …Since when did anything ever happen early in Peru?!! Luckily, I ran into one of the nurses in the town plaza and she said “Don’t worry! I am going down too, and you can come with me in the ambulance!!” The ambulance also had to get a patient from another town that day! Thank you, God, is all I have to say! Otherwise, I would have had to stay another night and buy another bus ticket from Piura to Lima. On the way down, we took a different route, drove along the river which borders Ecuador (gorgeous!) and actually caught up to the bus that I missed!! We flagged them down, I jumped out of the ambulance and ran with my stuff to the bus, where I saw the 3 other volunteers staring at me in disbelief! It was so great, like a scene from a movie!

NEW CHAPTER:

Our schedules have been so crazy….I’m looking forward to chilling in site for a bit. Only 4 hours after the swearing in ceremony Saturday, I was off to the bus station to head back up to Piura. They really give us no time. Right now we are in the capital city, hanging out at a hostel, resting and getting stuff we need before going to site. Soon, it will be like a new life…again. Lots of new adjustments, which is kind of scary, but I’m really looking forward to starting this new chapter…!

I’m also looking forward to starting to finally do some productive work, as well as some unproductive work. There are certainly a lot of projects we will be busy with at site, however I hear that not a lot happens during the rainy season (it gets REALLY rainy here) which means a lot of time to catch up on any good books, some movies, and perhaps….learn to play guitar! We will see, but I think that would be so cool.

I also have a new PO BOX! Yay! I will be sending it in an email, with my phone #, too.

Megan Dicken, PCV

Apartado # 823

Serpost Piura

Piura, Peru

America del Sur

I will be coming to the city to check it about once a month. If anyone feels compelled to send a care package I won’t object. I would in fact love it sooooo much. It really means a lot to get your mail. It is hard to mail stuff from here (it costs $3.00 (7.20 soles) just to send a postcard!) and we are “volunteers” after all. So while we do get paid, postage is a luxury – sorry L Plus, now I’m 7 hrs from the post office. But I will have some phone and occasional internet. So please continue to write emails and facebook (b/c it’s free) and call and send mail if you can. I also have a new cell #.

Your support means so much to me, you have no idea. It can be really tough when you’re sick (which I was during the site visit), frustrated, missing home, attempting to not eat something bad, hoping to vary your potatoes and rice every day, and trying to work to do a good thing, all at the same time.

Things that would be great to send (under 1 lb):

Flea collars

Sugar free gum (Extra or Trident)

Cookies

Snickers or Twix

Gummy Bears

Magazines

Good books

Photos of you

A phone call is always nice

An email

Lots of Love!

-thanks, love you all!

Week 8...almost done with training!

The line up of moto-taxis at the bottom of my hill. Sometimes it's nice to take one after a long day.
You'd be surprised how many people you can fit in this thing.
Ohh, delicious, flaky, caramel-y Alfajor (al-fa-HOR). Sooooo good!

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for keeping in touch! I haven’t posted anything in a while, but all is well. We’ve been traveling and busy with training. I am feeling good, got over the cold, no stomach issues lately, doing well in training. I do have to report that, regrettably, there will be no photos after this posted for a while. Unfortunately, my camera was stolen and a few other volunteers were pick-pocketed in a big crowd. Over the past few weeks, I have been reminded that, while Peru is a great country, with lots of new developments, it is still exactly that…a developing country.

With that said, I’m seeing that living life in a state of change and growth can also mean living in a state of minor chaos. A situation in which a person who may see hope in the future of the country, thanks to things like the controversial yet inspiring male and female presidential candidates and a possible legalization of abortion (in a conservative and traditionally very Catholic society), is the same person who is unavoidably more concerned with the hope of having enough Nuevo Soles (the local currency) to buy bread and bus fare the next day.

Basically, what I’m saying is that, when there is not enough to go around, crime happens and it is something to be prepared for. Although, in my opinion, you can never be fully prepared for the feelings of intrusion and violation you feel when any kind of offense or transgression happens to you, no matter what country you are in. But I am not discouraged, because I know that the Peruvian people are overall kind, helpful, and strong. In our training we’ve learned the country’s history and how the people have overcome the terrorism of the 1980’s-90’s, the poverty that reigned after the rise and fall of Alberto Fujimori’s presidency, natural disasters, and the way they continue to fight to make things better. That’s why we’re here, the Peace Corps, and I definitely believe that I’m here for a reason and will do plenty of good works.

On a lighter note:

FUN THINGS:

Bees!!! My host family has bees in a hive/box in the garden and the other day I got to eat light, sweet, fresh honey straight from the honeycomb!! Delicious! The best honey ever! The other day, my padre opened the beehive, with me at a distance, and showed me how the bees make the honey. Amazing! I am inspired to have bees at my site. What’s even more inspiring is that I just started reading “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd. Very good by the way. Its’ a sign. And if anyone has some other good books to suggest…please do. Feel free to send one, too ;)

Baking and Food:

I baked a cheesecake last week! I’ve really been missing baking and decorating cakes, so one of my host sisters and I decided to make a cheesecake. We searched all over town to find the cream cheese, and finally, to my great delight, we found real, fresh, authentic Philadelphia Cream Cheese in the last stand of the market!!! It came out delicious! It’s funny how excited we get about little luxuries. It can be hard to find things you would think are “common”. We are back to popping corn in a pot, due to lack of microwaveable popcorn, and the un-abundance of microwaves here. And you wouldn’t believe how proud we are of ourselves! Cereal and milk are not eaten for breakfast like in the US. Wheat bread is rarely eaten. It’s available, but the culture just doesn’t eat it much. Most breakfasts consist of something like liquidy oatmeal, or evaporated milk from a can (heated up), or maybe an egg accompanied by white “French bread” rolls that you can eat with jam or avocado if you’re lucky. White rolls every day. White rolls. Every day. Pan de Francais. Every…single…day. It’s not too friendly on the tummy, especially with all the white rice and white potatoes we have, too. I usually buy some multigrain wheat bread at this bakery close to the training center, some raisins, peanuts (and make PB) too. Luckily we eat a lot of fruit and veggies, which is a lifesaver.

Traveling:

We went to the department of Ancash this weekend to do field work. We traveled 8 hours north, luckily it was on a huge comfy bus. This is the typical Sierra/Mountains and it was really beautiful!! It actually reminded me of parts of Colorado and I felt at home. The towns were small, the people were so nice and we had good weather. The volunteer we visited lives at the base of a snow capped mountain! I’ve never seen anything like it! Called Mount Huascaran (was-ka-RAhN), famous for hiking and trekking, it is over 22,000 feet. This week we will learn where our permanent sites will be! I’m so excited. I want to be somewhere warm, like the beach, but the coast here is like a desert. I have a hunch that I might be close to Cajamarca, which is also the Sierra Mountains. I think I would like it there.

REALLY FUNNY THINGS:

I literally went on a wild goose chase the other afternoon. It was actually a rooster chase, but same thing, right? One of the roosters got out of the coop and was in the garden, at the edge of the cliff, looking absolutely frightened out of his little mind. My sister and I tried to grab it, but since I have never even touched a chicken, I was afraid it would peck me or I would hurt it if I grabbed it too hard. Needless to say we ended up running around like 2 chickens with our heads cut off trying to catch the darn thing! At one point it was so scared, it flew off the little cliff (like 30 feet) to the street below, and I thought it was a gonner, because chickens don’t really fly. It was ridiculous! We ran down the stairs, chased it around and around until my sister finally grabbed its tail, then its wings, and told me to grab the neck …gently! (oops). Poor guy. He’s fine now. I think.

THINGS I MISS:

I miss all of you back home!! I’ve gotten some amazing care packages so far. My first was from Jamie all the way in Fiji! Cards, candy, essentials like facewash, my yoga journal, and letters. Thanks Carol, Linda, Mom, Amalia, Coco! It’s such a good feeling to get stuff!

I definitely miss salsa dancing at Pablo’s (or the latest spot), with all my friends. Even though salsa is played here on every bus, in every house, everywhere all day, there is definitely no spontaneous dancing in the street. And the dancing in the disco tecs is not as lively either, as far as I’ve seen. I’m going to have to go to Argentina or something while I’m here. To get some tango in and see it just happen in the streets.

I also miss:

cereal and milk

PBJ sandwiches on wheat (Fortunately, I learned to make my own PB)

Just driving to Walmart or Target for whatever

Variety of clothing (and I thought I had “nothing to wear” back home!)

Cooking for myself

THINGS I HAVE GOTTEN USED TO…almost:

Cold showers (I know, right?!)

Dirt and dust everywhere. Always. Even after you sweep and mop – which I do every week.

Washing everything by hand (even the sheets) –but then I give myself a little manicure after. It’s perfect.

Carrying my own TP around. The bathrooms never have TP.

Roosters crowing at 5 am

Slower pace of life… This has it’s ups and downs

Having a short to-do list. LOVE IT!!

OTHER THINGS I LOVE HERE:

the white cheese (queso fresco)

Fruit

Delicious desserts

The mountains

Finding humor in the most random things (like moto-taxis that look like clown cars, being called gringa (affectionately, of course) by little kids, loud speaker announcements at 6 am on Saturday morning)

3 weeks left of training….I can’t believe it. I’m looking forwarding to settling in at my site, but will really miss my host family. They are amazing people and I really love them. Please pray for the best with the new transition coming up.

Hope all is well with you back home! Abrazos (hugs) to all!

Week 3

The first PC Trainee Birthday!! I need to learn how to make these cakes!

Aji de Gallina. My favorite dish! Chicken in yellow aji sauce , served on rice and potatoes (of course)!Yellow Aji peppers...the seeds are spicy, but the rest is not!My Oregano Plant!

This week and a half was really interesting.

ACTIVITIES:

We went to Lima on Friday (an hour ride on the “combi” bus through crazy traffic). Luckily the Peace Corps rented a whole combi just for us, then we took taxi’s home. We went to China Town to eat chinese food, called “Chifa”, which is very popular here, for some reason. I will tell you that it is no different than in the US. Then we took taxi’s to Miraflores which is the “nice” district, asking people random questions about the city. We walked to the mall on the beach, but it wasn’t as exciting as I hoped, because Lima is super cloudy and COLD right now. Also, I went to the bathroom in the nicest KFC I have ever seen in my life!!

Saturday we went (again on the rented combi) to the Agraria which is a university for agriculture. We learned about trees, planted some beets, and got to take a plant home. I chose Oregano because it can be used, obviously, in sauces (I’m thinking of making Lasagna for my host family) and it can be made into tea for stomach discomfort and to help the ladies with their PMS pains…!

FOOD:

So, I’m definitely not lacking for food here. I’m always pretty full and I usually kind of wonder if I’ll acutually be able to eat at the next meal. Like today, I ate lunch at a friends house and her mom served me a huge piece of cake before lunch, a huge serving of rice and this hot veggie salad she made with lime mayonnaise (all the mayo has Lime in it and is delicious) …then more salad to “help me finish off the rice”…I thought I would explode!!!! A blessing, indeed! I’ve had some other really great food this week. The first is like a chili relleno, with ground beef, egg and raisins. So good!! Then my mama taught me how to make my favorite Peruvian dish…Aji de Gallina!!! Pronounced a-HEE de Guy-EE-na. Aji is a yellow pepper that is not spicy, it is made into a sauce with milk, water, cumin and the Gallina is shredded chicken breast. I was so excited! It was my favorite at Sabor Latino restaurant in Birmingham, and now I know how to make it myself! (Photo above)

I’ve had some delicious sweets, too. Alfajores are my new favorite cookies. I tried to make them in the US, but the real thing is incredible here! Like a sugar cookie sandwich, with dulce de leche in the middle. I also bought a chocolate covered donut. With real, melt in your mouth chocolate…like a chocolate bar was melted, poured just right over the top then hardened back into a chocolate bar, on a soft donut with a subtle cinnamon flavor….oooohh yeah!!

I also bought peanuts to make peanut butter- I found a recipe in a PC Volunteer cookbook. PBJ is not a common phenomenon here, at all, and I kind of miss it already!

FUN STUFF:

The first birthday of our group was celebrated on Monday. It was pretty cool, b/c we chipped in and bought a cake (see photo) and other of us arranged for Mariachi’s to come serenade the birthday-boy! Picture this: we are all sitting in the main room listening to a depressing talk about HIV/AIDS from our medical officer. After about an hour, it's the end of the day, just when we are starting to squirm in our seats with restlessness, in comes a trumpet blasting Rancheros de Mexico and 4 Mariachis, completely decked out in their flashy traditional Mexican Mariachi suits! It was awesome, and a much needed reprieve! (photos above)

Update 2 - One Week in Peru

These are photos of my town and house: We have guniea pigs (cuy - pronounced coo-wee) and is a delicacy, chickens, roosters, ducks and have a great vegetable garden.

We also have a paypaya tree! How awesome!

The next pic is the new house my padres are building, with their bare hands.

The next is the yellow stairs that I climb up to my house. Everything is steep.

Next is a view of the town, the dirt road, part of the school (on the right) from my window.

Then a pic of my house (it is white and green with a flat roof). We have 2 dogs. There are alot of stray dogs around though, which can be a little scary if they look mangy and unkempt.

So a week has flown by! It actually feels like more, but because I feel comfortable here. It's great! My host family really makes a difference in that. It doesn't feel like I'm that far from home. I guess because I've lived on my own for several years and already have 3 homes (CO, AL, GA) so this is just my 4th new home (for the next 2 years, at least). I miss you all, wish you could see all this in person, but am not feeling homesick or anything. It helps to remember that this is my choice and I expect that it will not be easy, but I expect that I will get through the tough and enjoy the rest.

My Assistant Peace Corps Director said something interesting the other day. Something like:

"We are adults, so if you need to vent...vent. If you need to cry...cry. I have 2 ears and 2 shoulders for you. And then...let's get back to work". She is pretty cool. She will be helping decide where my permanent site will be.

LANGUAGE CLASSES:

We are busy all day at the training center. I am in the advanced spanish class...which is pretty cool, because we get to do activities, go out in to the community and talk to random Peruvians about the area (which is kinda weird sometimes), but at least we aren't doing language drills all day. However, sometimes I wonder how I got placed advanced b/c half the time I don't understand what my teacher is saying. I got really frustrated about it the other day, but my teacher is great and said she is super confident in my spanish ability and will work with me extra.

Because we are in advanced spanish, we are supposed to do a mini-project in our community. I imagine to prepare us for doing more at our permanent sites. I live really close to an elementary school. One of my neighbors is a teacher and they suggested doing something on nutrition, b/c all the kids want to be professional futbol (soccer) and volley ball players, but don't know how to eat well. So, I'm thinking of doing something like that at the school.

HEALTH CLASSES:

My work area is health. We are learning about how to use Non formal education techniques.

Our medical officer (PCMO) also came last week and gave us the Poop talk. Yes, we are very comfortable talking about things like that here. There are even seven classifications of it. Luckily the PCMO has a great sense of humor and said to call him anytime we have any problems.

NEW FRIENDS:

Walking home the other day, past the elementary, I was suddenly surrounded by a big bunch of adorable, curious 10 year olds. They were very interested in my backpack, jacket, everything. 3 Little girls decided they needed to escort me home. So we arrived at my house, played a little volley and counted in English. They are really precious. Now everytime they see me the run up, "May-GAAAHN" (is how they how they say my name) and give me a huge hug! It's super cute!

OTHER FUN:

Last night 10 of us PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) went out, in the town next to us. We jumped on the combi ,which is a little bus (I take one to the training center every day) and is ALWAYS crammed with people -even at midnight. On it is a man called the Cobrador -which means the Charger- who is not the driver, he just opens the door of the bus and yells "Baja, baja, baja!!! (get down, get down, get down) and Sube, sube, sube!!!!" (get up, get up, get up) to the passengers getting on and off and collects the money. Sometimes you can negotiate your bus fare with him.

We found a bar/dance club and had a great time, just dancing as a bunch of gringos! It was hilarious to see the locals watching us, wondering what the heck we were doing there. Luckily there are a couple of guys in our group how know how to salsa, merengue, etc. I'm definitely getting my salsa fix down here. There is always salsa playing in the street.

That's it for now...we are still in winter here, going to be spring soon. Lots of temp changes. It's interestingly dry and dusty, yet humid enough to not need lotion all the time, but not wet like Alabama...all at the same time! And thankfully with plenty of sun.

Hope all is well in the northern hemisphere!

Mucho amor!

Details about the photos on the previos blog

Yay, internet! It's actually nice not to use it everyday. And I haven't used a phone in a week either!! Amazing, how much busy-ness we deal with day to day just communicating. I don't know if I would be able to handle it here, because they keep us prett busy in training. But it is reassuring and refreshing to be able to have it available. It would be difficult without any access.

Okay, a few details about the pics on the previous blog that I didn't put:

-The picture of the orange house is of the retreat we stayed at.

-The picture of us with the drinks is (from right to left) my host madre, me, another volunteer, one of my sisters, another vol and a grandma (my madre's madre) who came down to visit from the Sierra mountains. The mother of my host dad came the other day and she ONLY speaks Quechua!!

-We are drinking a chi-cha which is a juice made from purple corn. Some chi-chas are fermented, but this wasn't. Very tasty!

-The last pic is the view of a country club in tthe valley from a high point of my little town. You can see how hazy it is....I think it's a mix of dust, clouds and pollution.

Finally, an update!

Okay, so it's been a while since an update. First of all, I had the most incredible going away parties ever!!!! Thanks so much to everyone for coming, for sending well wishes and for your contributions of food, gifts and money! I was able to buy a small computer that I'm now able to use here in Peru!!! yay!!

It seems to take a while to add photos, so we will see what I can do.

What has happened so far:

STAGING:

We had staging in Washington DC where I got to see my brother Eric, Courtney and their babies and my friend Aba! We were in a hotel conference room all day and got an overview of Peace Corps and Grandpa Kevin came! They interviewed him on video for the PC archives (as he is a former PC director) and then they videoed me, as a 3rd generation PCV. Very exciting! I was extremely honored!

We flew to Lima on 9/11 and everything went great! All the volunteers have been really cool and interesting!! Very diverse group of 57!!

LIMA:

We arrived late at night, PC had buses waiting at the airport. We drove 45 min outside Lima to a retreat to start with. 6 girls to a room. Hot running water; don't drink the water. We did a lot of "getting to know you activities".

HOST FAMILIES/HOUSING:

Saturday we went to the Training Center where we spend most of our time. In the afternoon our host families came to get us! and my host family is AWESOME! They are so fun and loving! I have my own room, they feed me really well, and we have electricity, running water and internet. There are about 18 other PCV's in my town and are in a tiny town 10 min on bus from the Training Center. It is very safe. Probably b/c we have to walk up this incredible steep hill to get from the bus stop to the house! Good exercise! We take the bus to the TC every day, and have language and skills training from 8-5. It's awesome b/c my mama packs my lunch, helped us catch the bus the first 2 days and says we are back in Kinder! They take care of me a lot. I brought some of the other PCV's to my house to meet my family and my mama prepared chicha, a purple corn drink for us. She is awesome. The best part is they love to dance SALSA!!!!!!!!!!

CLASSES and LANGUAGE/CULTURE:

I am in the advanced spanish class (wow!) so we do a lot of interactive activities and will do a small project in the community instead of language drills. We are still doing getting to know you activities in our skills training (health training) but it will advance. I may learn Quechua....I don't know yet. But my family is from the Sierra (mountains) and they speak Quechua. I met the grandmas and they wear the traditional skirts and hats! Pretty cool! We are busy all day, and it's hard to get to the internet cafe's or do anything after the day b/c we are pretty tired. I have also not asked my family until now, to spend time getting to know them.

CLIMATE:

It is spring here, and very cool in the mornings and evenings. But very dusty. My roads are paved to a point then just dirt. It is very hazy in the area, and sometime can't see the mountains. I don't know if it's because polliution or dust.

HEATH/FOOD:

So far, doing well. Have a bit of a sore throat b/c of the climate I think. But otherwise, it's very pretty here! The mountains are impressive. My tummy hurt yesterday but is better today. I think it might be b/c the food is different. Starchy...potatoes, rice, meat, yuca, some veggies and fruits. But rice a lot, which is delicious!!! but maybe hard on the tummy??? I can't wait to try more fruits. But the cafe con leche we had in the retreat was amazing!! A tiny bit of cafe and a ton of thick milk!

SO........

I will be in this site for 10 weeks. Then I will move to my permanent site, which is to be determined.

I hope you all are doing well! Please email me or leave comments. Send mail, too! Much love- from Lima (sort of) :)

Accepted, and still applying...

Just when you think you can kick back, enjoy the pinnacle moment of accomplishment and just breathe a sigh of relief...
Since I received my official Peace Corps invitation and accepted the assignment, I've had to apply for a visa, apply for a government passport, write ANOTHER essay and re-format my resume to tailor it to the position in Peru. Apparently the Peru office receives NONE of our original application materials, therefore we must send another resume (in the format they specify), and write an aspiration statement/essay. Not that I'm complaining. I was just looking forward to a bit of breather. But I think this is a sign...I better get used to it.

But now that that's all done and in the mail, I can concentrate on the fun stuff. Parties, prioritizing, and packing, packing, packing! What will I pack for 2 years? Luckily, there are people in Peru which means there will be stores, which means there will be clothes, shoes, toiletries and yes, food, for purchase. It's funny how easily your mind can run away from you with thoughts of living in a foreign country, thinking that you need to pack EVERYthing you'll need for 2 years in only 2 suitcases. I hope this thought is comforting to friends and family who have asked me that very question. And yes, I will get paid so that I can purchase said items in country (which I know was your next question).

The Invitation; Lucky Thursdays

Are Thursdays known for being auspicious? I think I will make it my new lucky day. Last Thursday I got a great job offer...today (now yesterday) I got the GREATEST job offer!

Yep, yesterday the official Invitation for Peace Corps service finally arrived on my doorstep! Last week I even called PC headquarters to ask the ETA of the invite, and they said 2-3 weeks. Then Monday, they teased me with an email, saying it was in the mail and would arrive in 7-10 days! Thank God it came early! And I mean it. It was so hard to wait! I just have to laugh!

But I do seriously want to take a minute to thank the Lord for orchestrating this whole thing.
From pushing me over the fence to take the plunge and apply last July, to pulling a nomination out of thin air in November when there was nothing available, to passing screenings/exams, guiding my decisions, putting all the right people in my life, coordinating several other miracles, and giving me the best assignment (I wanted to go to Peru from the start, but I didn't get to choose), and even sending it earlier than expected! I have no idea if it really is the "best" assignment, but I believe that God will continue to do great things and it will be great.

So, Peru it is! See you at Machu Picchu!

Oh, the Irony!

Last Thursday the most ironic of all things happened. While awaiting my "job offer" from the Peace Corps (only weeks away), and wondering when I would be leaving my current job, I got another totally different, completely unexpected job offer...from the exact place I work! A new doctor is joining the clinic, and he needs a clinic coordinator/medical assistant/athletic trainer. Basically, a "right hand (wo)man". Very flattering! Prestigious clinic, important job, getting to help start up a practice. Was it a test? Was it a sign? It really made me examine what I want and what I'm doing. It was hard to turn down b/c it would be great if I was planning to stay in Birmingham, and I didn't want to disappoint the docs who I love. But, I knew I could never pass up this hard-earned opportunity and do something amazing!

And the worst part of all? The whole day, I couldn't get Alanis Morisette out of my head!! "Isn't it ironic...don't ya think? A little toooooo ironic. Yeah, I really do think." :)

July

It's July. .. This whole time Peace Corps has said I should be leaving in mid-September. That is 10 weeks away!! It seems long but short. And, if they wait to give me the minimum notice, that won't be until August! Then 6 weeks to pack my life up for 2 years. Exciting! and a little nerve wracking.

I'm hoping that the situation in Honduras won't affect my placement. If you're interested in hearing the first-hand perspective on the situation from a volunteer in Honduras there is a good blog at bryanlemos.blogspot.com.

I'm also working on planning a going away party, and trying to get everything I need. Someone suggested getting a smaller, lighter laptop to take b/c mine is older, slower, and heavy (>8lbs!) That might not be a bad idea, since I can only take 80lbs with me and Peace Corps insures all your stuff. It would definitely be easier to carry, hide and use to keep in touch with everyone. That's the most important part! The challenge will be to find high quality, low cost. After all, it's the Peace Corps and I'm not going to be making much $$ the next couple years. Any suggestions?

Answering the call...

Have you ever had that undeniable feeling that you are supposed to be doing something, but you you just don't know what? Or you do know, but you just can't do it? No, I'm not talking about the dishes or the laundry or homework...I mean something BIG! Like a CALLING. Like your LIFE.

I had that feeling for about 4 years, maybe more. That ceaseless, nagging thought; knowing what I should do, but being too afraid to do it. Then last summer I answered "the call".

In August 2008, after years of evading the signs and the itch to do it, I applied to the US Peace Corps. With a little (actually a LOT!) of encouragement and support from family and friends, I've made it this far in the application process. It's been exciting, frustrating, and sometimes discouraging, when you have to wait so long. But, today I received medical clearance! Finally! Yay!! Which means I'm almost to the last step: receiving an invitation.

Usually they call to invite you/offer you the position, and also tell you the location, and the date you leave. It's been a long, suspenseful process. I'm excited and nervous, but I definitely can't wait to answer THIS call!

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My Peace Corps Timeline (so far):

Aug 2008 : Submitted Application online
Sept 2008: Interviewed
Oct 2008: Spanish proficiency test (with an A+)
Nov 2008: Nominated for "Health Extension worker in Latin America, leaving in September"
How vague
Dec 2008: Doctor's appointments to get medical clearance
Jan 2009: Dentist appointments & vaccinations
Feb 2009: Mailed in all that Medical information
Mar 2009: waiting............
April 2009: waiting..................................
May 2009: WAITING!!!................................................................
June 2009: Medical Clearance!
?????????: Invitation

I hope to hear something before August!