Coming back to Peru was rough. It probably didn’t help that the trip back up
to my site from Lima is exhausting. I
immediately felt very alone and I was alone for those 2 days traveling to
Tacabamba. Right now it is summer
vacation from school in Peru. Where I live in
Cajamarca a lot of people leave their communities to make extra money as
migrant workers during the coffee harvest in the jungle. So there is not a lot of project work to look
forward to during January and February, because people just aren’t around.
When I got home to Tacabamba on Tuesday night I was
surprised to find 3 new kids at my house.
My host mom Rosa’s nephews and niece are staying with us for
vacations. They are a pretty
rambunctious group and immediately showered me with questions. My favorite was ‘are you a man or a woman?’
which I thought was uncalled for, but 5 year old Jesus just wasn’t sure about
me. He also asked me if I was married or
if I have kids; pretty typical I get that a lot from adults too.
The next day I hiked up to Ayaque with Diamond and
Marta. Marta works for a Peruvian NGO
that has a lot of the same goals as Peace Corps health and we work together a
lot. Marta took over for the promoter
who was in charge of Ayaque last year and she needed someone to show her
around. I did not want to hike up to
Ayaque the community where Diamond and I spent so much time developing a
project only to have it flop in early December, but I figured it would be good
for me not to wallow alone in my room.
And it was, good for me.
Showing Marta around really made me realize what a big deal
it is that Diamond and I put in all those hours visiting houses and getting to
know that community. I knew names,
faces, where the worst dogs live, and the people there knew me too. So it really sucks that our project didn’t
work out and it won’t count towards anything, but I did successfully get to
know this community that is so isolated that it seems to often get passed over. And although my project didn’t work out, I
will still be able to advocate on behalf of the community throughout this
Municipality project. Maybe I can keep
them honest and make sure that Ayaque doesn’t get forgotten again.
So far our plan for an adult exercise class is not coming
together so well, but I’m sure we’ll wear the municipality down. We aren’t asking for any funding just a space
to do the class, so I’m crossing my fingers that we get all the documents
signed and stamped soon. In the meantime
the search is on for a new community to work in this year. In December Diamond and I made a list of all
the communities in the district that have a secondary school and a health
post. Now we need to find one that fits
for a healthy homes project.
I’m trying to keep busy.
I’m trying not to worry about med school stuff too much. I’m trying to not let the rainy season bum me
out too much.
Chau for now,
kb
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