It's Been a While

Umm... hi. I guess I've kinda neglected this thing lately (lately = like 5 months). Whoops. Well I honestly have no idea how to summarize all the crazy,inexplicable, halarious, confusing, interesting, and fun events that have passed since then, but I'll try to remember a few; at least the interesting ones.

----ADVISORY: After reading this over, I realize there is a lot of complaining in this entry, so beware, and try not to judge me too much... I think this entry helped to diffuse some embedded frusteration (which should probably be saved for a journal instead of a blog).

First, an update in my work and general life. I guess this will provide for some necessary background. I just got back from a trip home to New Mexico for Christmas! It was very much what I wanted and needed. I think it also helped me to appreciate Peruvian culture more when I returned. Before I left I was getting a little frusterated with the slowness and ineffciencies in the culture here. I feel like you want me to insert an example here so:

The other day I needed to buy an in-country plane ticket for an upcoming trip. I went to the LAN office to to buy my ticket. I selected all the necessary information and then was told that I needed to go to a bank to pay them (w/ my credit card). Once waiting in the line at the bank for about 30-40 mins, I finally get my turn to speak to the bank attendent only to realize that no, in fact they do not accept credit cards there. Right. Okay. So then, knowing that I cannot make my purchase without cash (which I did not have, which is another story in inefficiency), I decided to go back the hotel and rest since it was late and I was tired from running errands all day. The next day, I was able to borrow cash from a friend, and then went back to the LAN office to repeat the process since I was aware that whatever takes place in the system when buying a ticket goes invalid the following day. So then it was time to wait in line at the bank again, but this time, paying with cash was thankfully not a problem. I then went back to the LAN office with my reciept showing that I paid and to see if there was any fun tasks ahead of me. My favorite part is what follows:


Me: Hi, I just paid and here's my reciept. Now, what do I need to do?
Lady: That's it, you're all done.

My friend: So is there not any type of validation you have to do on your end to prove that we paid?

Lady: Oh yeah! Hold on (going back to the computer to enter in the reciept information).

Me: Thinking: riiiight... so what would have happened if I would have just walked away without knowing that she had to do that?

Moving back to excuses why I haven't kept up my blog, I was also super busy the months before with scheduled activities EVERYDAY of the week, which gets really tiring when there aren't any days of descansa and you have to cook most of your own meals, and people continually want to get you drunk and keep you up forever and everything runs behind schedule and people take advantage of your time and you should spend time with your host family and family friends and you don't sleep much and your shower doesn't work and you have to walk around your house and downstairs to collect water. -Sorry for the unprovoked tangent-. I would travel most of the days to the campo meeting with JASS's (Junta Administradoras de los Servicios de Saneamiento), or water and sanitation committees and teaching disinfection methods and clorination processes. This consists of organizing the meeting by sending out invitations (convocatorios) and/or radio announcements, collecting materials to take like chloro, a bucket, a venonuclisis hose and dropper, brushes, and most importantly transportation and people to go with you! The organization part is usually the most difficult and most challenging. When we get there, we usually have to walk another 10 mins - 1 hour to the meeting center and wait another hour for people to start showing up. After we make small talk for 20 mins, we start a meeting and then head to look at the water system. The system can be anywhere from 10 mins away to 1.5 hours away, always uphill. Here are a few pics of the nice views we get to see though.

Speaking about some of the work I've done in the meantime:

I organized a Healthy Living project along with the Municipality and the Health Post in a nearby caserio after completing surveys about the needs and wants of the community. The project included various educative sessions and a few hands-on workships to help promote health in the home. The themes hit on aspects from personal hygiene to family well-being, family trash management, safe water use, nutriction, and went over the common illneses that the families face. The families that completed the necessary requirements are receieving materials to build better stoves, which relocate the smoke from the wood outside the house therefore not contaminating the air inside house which can affect various health aspects for the family members among other benefits (preventing lung disease, eye problems, back problems, and is overall a healther way to keep food away from animals and bugs on the floor).

Now that I'm back and it's rainy season, I have a lot more time. Most of the people here head to the city because it can be a miserable season to be here. First offi, hardly any people are here; secondly, it rains all the time; thirs, the mud is terrible and the raods become dangerous. Sweet right? Actually, I am enjoying it. I'm teaching math to 3rd and 4th graders at the summer school that the municipality puts on. I am also enjoying meeting with the tourism committee that I got invited to be on.

Well I think I've mostly caught up on where I'm at. I'll try to think of better stories for the next time. I think the issue is that after dealing with some situations, nothing really stands out anymore as unusual. I'll try to keep better track! (and keep my complaining to my journal).