Photo problems and Lima visit!

I've heard/read comments from several people that my pictures are not working.  I signed up for a Picasa account through gmail before I left, but I am somewhat computer challenged.  I sent out an email through my Picasa to 'share' my album thus far and if anyone didn't get emailed and wants to be-please leave a comment on this post.

Yesterday my training class went on our first field trip to Lima.  We didn’t get to see downtown.  The University was probably around an hour away, but it was still definitely the big city.  Just a little different from big cities I have been to in the U.S.  Our field trip was to the Universidad Agraria to learn about organic gardening.  As a health volunteer I have three primary goals; 1. rural health promotion, 2. rural environmental health promotion, 2. healthy sexual behavior promotion.  There are several very general formulaic projects to use as a guideline and one of them is promoting family gardens.  Gardens are relatively cheap for families and they introduce a lot of nutrition.  It was really fun to get dirty and furiously try to memorized names of different vegetables in Spanish. 

On weekdays training is 8am to 5pm.  These first two weeks have primarily been 8-12 language training classes and afternoons for what PC calls technical training.  We have also had some sessions with the Peace Corps doctor about topics such as Malaria, diarrhea, Rabies, Dengue, and more.  A couple of afternoons we had lecture style classes on Peruvian history.  Tech training is preparation for projects in site.  So this organic gardening class yesterday was really nice, because I felt like I got some substantial information on something that I will actually be implementing in my site.  Thus far we have had a lot of very generalized tech training-with that being said I need to keep reminding myself that it has only been two weeks.

In Peru the water is not potable.  People have to boil their water-which is what my family does, or they can add 3 drops of bleach per liter of water.  This water is fine for bathing, washing clothes, even for brushing teeth, but you can never just grab a glass of water from the sink.  Also where I live there is only running water for a couple hours a day.  So homes have cisterns on the roof to collect water during the hours that the water is running.  My family uses the tank on the roof and they keep two large plastic barrels as well; one in the shower and the other by a certain sink that is just bailed out for dishes or laundry whenever the tank runs out.  Showering in Peru is very cold.  Running water is cold and very low water pressure.  I prefer the stop and go method; I get a little wet soap up as much as possible and rinse as fast as possible.  Then there are the days when I shower after the tank is empty-then I use a Tupperware container to scoop water from the barrel in the shower.  Bucket bathes are not so bad-and since I will probably be bucket bathing for my two years at site I am glad to have conquered at least that fear.

Before I left for Peru I was really worried about toilet paper.  However toilet paper is not a big deal-there is plenty available.  It is just that the plumbing here isn’t built to handle all the paper so when you use the restroom you have to through dirty paper into little trash cans next to the toilet.  I did notice this weekend at the Universidad Agraria that there is not toilet Paper or papel higenico (PH) in public restrooms.  Luckily before I left Jessie, Mom and I unrolled and rerolled some travel sized toilet paper for me to take.

In Chaclacayo I live close enough to the training center to walk to class most days.  There are a couple of other transportation options; taxis, moto-taxis, and combe.  I haven’t used a taxi or moto-taxi, but a moto-taxi is a motorcycle with a little 3 wheeled hutch attached to the back.  They look kind of fun, but I don’t have a clue how much they cost.  I have primarily used combes which are public buses.  The combes drive up and down the main highway and they don’t have any particular schedule for stopping.  If you stand on the side of the road you just stick an arm out and flag one down for the direction you are going.  Combes were a little unnerving at first for me.  Sometimes the cobrador (this is the person that hustles people on and off the combe as well as collecting the fare money) tries to overcharge gringos like myself, but usually if I insist on sencillo or change they’ll give me my money.  Combes are really crowded and the drivers are very forceful with their brakes.  They are pretty uncomfortable, but quick transportation and very cheap.

Today we had a special lunch and Miller’s father came over to eat with us.  Charo and Karina grilled chicken, pork, and possibly some other type of meat on the roof.  Mama Vicky made a salad and boiled potatoes with spicy mustard.  It was the first salad I have had in Peru and I hope that it doesn’t make me sick.  I didn’t see how she washed the raw vegetables and I’m praying she used the bleach water, because if not I may be getting a little sick.  It was definitely one of my favorite things we have eaten thus far!  For desert my host dad Miller grilled plantains inside the peel, which was delicious.  There are several types of bananas here in Peru.  I’m not sure if plantain is just a type of banana or it’s own separate fruit, because they don’t call normal bananas ‘banana’ just ‘platano.’  After lunch we played Pass the Pigs, but we call it ‘chanchitos’ or ‘little pigs.’  Whenever Miller plays there is a prize for the winner or the looser has to do something embarrassing.  My first day with the family I was the looser and I had to dance for everyone.  Today the looser had to do the dishes from lunch.  At the very end I beat Miller and he ended up having to do the dishes.  The women and Miller’s father thought this was hilarious, because it was his first time washing dishes in his life they said.  At mama Vicky’s request I took a picture of Miller doing the dishes for the first time.

Yes, we ate at a Chilis out of desperation.  We were all embarrassed though.

This is the space we have to crawl through to get to the roof.

Charo and Miller doing dishes after the fateful pass the chanchitos game.

Roof laundry

picture from an intersection we walked through in 'Lima', but really about an hour away from downtown.  It looks much less impressive in my pictures...


More pictures to come I promise my hour is up at the cafe!