Yesterday I was talking with some of the teenage girls here in Poroto who noticed I go running most every day. Interested, they inquired more about it so I invited them to come with me sometime. To my surprise they agreed and decided that today at 5am would be a perfect time to go for a run with me. I was thrilled that they would be interested, but I didn´t think they were completely serious about the 5am business (especially given Peruvian concepts of time). Sure enough though, at 5am this morning I hear a knock on my door and three teenage girls are waiting for me, ready to run. I threw on my sneakers and jumped around for a second to wake up, and we were out the door in no time. The sky was still pitch black, but the air was cool and refreshing and the girls were quite lively. We ran along the windy road to Mochal, dodging pot holes and barking dogs. As the sky became lighter we could see the farmers entering their fields on donkeys. I was pretty impressed with the girls´running ability, but after about 2 miles their interest started to waver as they began wondering into the surrounding fields to pick flower boquets. We ran awhile longer and then one of the girls invited us into her family´s chacra (large field/farm). The sky was pink behind the mountains as the sun rouse and we snacked on sweet limes we picked from her family´s trees. It was a pretty incredible way to start the day.
All week my host sister and her friend have been talking about a ¨camineta¨they wanted me to join them on today. They explained they would show me some of the surrounding towns and we could see more of the district, so I agreed. However, when I met up with the girls, all ready for the day with my sunscreen and jacket, I realized they were about to take me on a huge campaigning trip through the entire district with one of the candidates for mayor. They had a giant pick up truck with the candidates face plastered all over it, huge megaphones and speakers, and an army of supporters proudly wearing the candidate´s t-shirts. I panicked because I obviously can´t parade around Poroto in a campaign truck, but they were all waiting for me to join them. I had to quickly explain that I couldn´t be seen as supporting any particular political party, so I´d have to sit this out. I don´t think they completely understood, but luckily I escaped without causing too much trouble.
Tomorrow is the holiday of Santa Rosa de Lima, who is the patron saint of the police, so today was a pre-party of sorts here in Poroto. After escaping my close-call political campaign, I wondered around town and found a group of people preparing a huge quantity of food for a ¨pollada¨which is essentially a party where a family or organization prepares an enormous supply of chicken and sells tickets for plates to help raise money for a special event, a town necessity, or a family in need. I hung out on the porch as the chicken cooked and celebratory firecrackers echoed in the background.
In the evening I attended a meeting of the Junta Directiva to talk about the new water system. It was a long meeting, but provided a lot of relevant insight into town issues and dynamics between the main town and surrounding caserios. I even got a shout-out from Don Willi as the ¨gringita Kelsi¨who helped him generate support for attendance at the town meeting.
All week my host sister and her friend have been talking about a ¨camineta¨they wanted me to join them on today. They explained they would show me some of the surrounding towns and we could see more of the district, so I agreed. However, when I met up with the girls, all ready for the day with my sunscreen and jacket, I realized they were about to take me on a huge campaigning trip through the entire district with one of the candidates for mayor. They had a giant pick up truck with the candidates face plastered all over it, huge megaphones and speakers, and an army of supporters proudly wearing the candidate´s t-shirts. I panicked because I obviously can´t parade around Poroto in a campaign truck, but they were all waiting for me to join them. I had to quickly explain that I couldn´t be seen as supporting any particular political party, so I´d have to sit this out. I don´t think they completely understood, but luckily I escaped without causing too much trouble.
Tomorrow is the holiday of Santa Rosa de Lima, who is the patron saint of the police, so today was a pre-party of sorts here in Poroto. After escaping my close-call political campaign, I wondered around town and found a group of people preparing a huge quantity of food for a ¨pollada¨which is essentially a party where a family or organization prepares an enormous supply of chicken and sells tickets for plates to help raise money for a special event, a town necessity, or a family in need. I hung out on the porch as the chicken cooked and celebratory firecrackers echoed in the background.
In the evening I attended a meeting of the Junta Directiva to talk about the new water system. It was a long meeting, but provided a lot of relevant insight into town issues and dynamics between the main town and surrounding caserios. I even got a shout-out from Don Willi as the ¨gringita Kelsi¨who helped him generate support for attendance at the town meeting.
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