I woke up early this morning as the breakfast preparations began and helped my host Dad roll some silverware before eating my “caldo de gallina” or hen soup for breakfast with coffee. After breakfast I wondered around town for awhile, introducing myself to some of the people sitting outside their houses or in the plaza. Most seem mildly confused by my presence, but are really sweet once I smile and say “buenas dias.” I walked up to the mirador again and enjoyed the incredibly beautiful day. Everyone comments about Poroto’s climate, and it really does seem amazing. It was sunny and about 70 degrees every day, and apparently that’s pretty typical for the land of the eternal spring. Afterwards I ate lunch with Susana, who is one of the adolescent girls who is involved in the youth health promoter’s club. She’s learning English, so we talked forever about the intricacies and obstacles of learning each other’s languages and played a word game involving Spanish and English. She was really soft-spoken, but really sweet and quite obviously a good student. She definitely won me over when she asked if everyone from the US was as nice as I was. When we finished lunch we went on a short walk and headed to the Health Post for their health promoter meeting. I met about 10 of the youth who participate in this group and then we all shared chocolate cake to celebrate Johan’s birthday (who is one of my community partners). We all gave toasts, which was sufficiently awkward, entertaining, and endearing. I was formally presented to the group and we talked about their involvements and ideas. Afterwards the girls walked me up to the mirador and we chatted for awhile about themselves, which was a lot of fun. They all seem like they’re anxious to be involved and have taken leadership roles among their peers.

When I got my site assignment it indicated that 30% of teens become pregnant in Poroto, but I didn’t think the problem would be so glaringly evident. There are several extremely young mothers I’ve seen around town and others who are currently pregnant. It is so heartbreaking to see 14 year olds with infants in their arms and very little means to support them, but it reminded me of the severe need for education and support. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some insight into this trend as I spend my time here and I pray I’ll be able to begin meaningful projects and support to combat this trend. Teens here definitely seem to grow up much faster, have more responsibility at an early age, and lack general supervision.

When I got back home from the youth group meeting and town tour I relaxed for a little and then saw some of my counterparts meeting in the restaurant, so they invited me join them at the table. I was introduced to one of the candidates for mayor as well as several of the other men in the community who have leadership positions. It was pretty cool to be included in their meeting and sit down to discuss their town. It turned into a discussion about the upcoming elections, and it was valuable to hear their opinions about Poroto, the surrounding caserios, and effective campaigning tactics. There are 9 candidates for mayor and only 1200 members of the town (many of whom are obviously not of voting age) and the vote in Peru is obligatory, so each conversation and appearance must carry significant weight. There are political signs throughout the town, and my two main community partners are campaigning as mayor and town representative under different parties. I’m curious to see how political interactions affect the town dynamic and if tensions arise in such a small town.

Peruvians can talk forever, so I was pretty grateful when my host sister finally pulled me away from the meeting at 10pm to see if I was hungry. My host mom threw some more food on our kitchen fire and prepared some fried eggs, rice, and coffee for me for dinner. I ate with her, Maria, and a town police officer who also had some interesting insights to share about the town. I’m still not quite used to the incredibly blunt manner in which many Peruvians talk. They tend to have no problem saying exactly what is on their mind, rarely holding anything back. This is evident in their descriptions of others, perceptions of events and trends, and general sentiments and reflections. Sometimes I can appreciate their honesty while other times I think having some sort of filter is a positive trait.