This morning we were introduced to our community partners from our towns who we will be working with for the next two years. Each volunteer had a representative from their town attend this meeting, which explained some of the goals of Peace Corps and how the community can work with us to promote development and make a positive impact through our partnership. A teacher and psychologist came from my town to greet me and participate in the meeting, and both of them seem pretty involved in the town and willing to help connect me to some community contacts. There were 14 of us volunteers at the session and each was paired with at least one community partner, so it was pretty interesting to see the dynamic between everyone.

After our conference one of my community partners, Johan, accompanied me back to Poroto. We took a little combi van that was full of people and a perfect introductory ride to my Peruvian Peace Corps site. I was sitting on a little bench seat in the front, interlocking knees with the four people directly facing me. The man sitting directly in front of me had a floral arrangement that spanned the entire width of the van and the woman to my left had a massive bag of potatoes resting under her feet. There was a woman sitting in the middle of the combi wearing traditional attire with defined wrinkles etched into her coffee colored skin, telling silent stories of her life. A toddler with enormous deep brown eyes stared at me for the duration of the trip, as her orange juice trickled down her neck. We passed small dusty mountains and then fields of bright green sugar cane before entering into some of the small towns that line the outskirts of Trujillo. Fresh produce lined the streets and dogs curiously approached the combi as passengers boarded. As we came closer to Poroto, the dusty mountains slowly transformed into more defined mountains and the scenery became increasingly green. My level of excitement continued to climb as we passed some beautiful scenery and drew closer to Poroto. After about an hour and 15 minutes in the combi we pulled in to the center of town and I was immediately introduced to some of the community members. My host family owns the local restaurant and store, so they were busy working when I arrived. I was nonchalantly greeted by my host sisters, who guided me to my tiny bedroom in the hallway between the store and restaurant.

I have two sisters, Maria Alejandra (Alejandra) who is 13 and Maria Ernestina (Maria) who is 15. Alejandra was pretty shy, and initially tried hiding behind the store counter before introducing herself to me, but Maria was outgoing and immediately agreed to show me around town. My host Dad, Richard, looks like Santa Claus and my host Mom, Ernestina (Tina) was busily preparing dinner as I arrived, so our introduction was brief. Poroto seems like a very small town, but there were people milling around the center until well after 9pm. There is so much to take in, so I’m trying to calm my thoughts and give myself time to process this whole experience. It is really surreal to be in the location that will be home for the next two years. I’m meeting with some of the community leaders tomorrow, and I’m excited to see the town during the day.