This week is Fiestas Patrias in Peru, so the streets are proudly lined with the red and white Peruvian flag and most students are free from school. Tuesday at the training center we had a display of typical Peruvian festivities, including dance demonstrations, singing, and Peruvian treats. All the trainees gathered in the center with our language facilitators who donned traditional Peruvian dress and we proudly belted out the Peruvian National Anthem in bold unison.

My host family and I went to Lima for the night to celebrate Fiestas Patrias as well as their friends’ 25^th Anniversary. The night was complete with mountains of Peruvian food, drinks, and dancing until 2:30 in the morning. The 80 year old grandparents in attendance had more energy than I did as the party wore on. Typically when I tell a Peruvian that I’m from Pennsylvania they don’t really know where that is, but when I told one of the old men in attendance at the party that I am from Pennsylvania, he just loved it. The entire night he would yell, “Pennsylvania!” and look expectedly at me to come and dance with him. He could barely stand up, but he somehow managed to dance with enthusiasm all night.

The following day we had a vacation day from the training center, so Adam’s host family invited us all to take part in their Fiestas Patrias celebration. It was another day full of eating and dancing. Peruvians truly show their love through food, and there seems to be generous helpings of food for all attendance at any social gathering. One of my host family’s favorite phrases is, “Barriga llena, Corazón contenta”, or “Full belly, Happy heart” which is definitely an appropriate cultural axiom.

Today we were back at the center for the final celebratory day of Fiestas Patrias. One of the most popular celebratory feasts here in Peru is called Panchamanca, which is prepared in a hole in the ground on festival days. We made our own Panchamanca during training, complete with a giant hole in the ground lined with hot rocks and fire. We put potatoes, chicken, sweet potatoes, and huge branches of spices inside the hole and then covered it up with piles of dirt as it cooked. A few hours later the medley was cooked to perfection, so we all gathered around and performed a traditional blessing to Mother Earth before we ate.

Yesterday in La Grama it seemed like no more than a few hundred people lived in the town, but when we woke up this morning the entire center was filled with movement and energy. Every Saturday the town hosts a huge farmer’s market, complete with fresh produce, baked goods, artensania, and even a huge section of live cattle. After exploring the market, we caught a bus back to Cajamarca City where we took advantage of the region’s famous dairy products. We had delicious ice cream and sampled different types of cheese, fresh yogurt, and manjar blanco (a sweet milky-caramel spread). We also climbed to the top of the city to where a small chapel and plaza overlooks the entire city and surrounding mountains, which was beautiful. Cajamarca has a rich history involving the Incas, and the famous Inca Atahuallpa was abducted and killed by the Spanish in the city. Apparently the Spanish captured Atahuallpa and demanded a ransom of valuable Inca treasures to fill a room in Cajamarca, but after receiving their payment of silver and gold from the Incas, the Spanish killed Atahuallpa anyway.

Overall, the week in Cajamarca for field based training was an awesome experience. It was so refreshing to get out of the routine of training and finally see some more of Peru. It is such a beautiful country, and it is so exciting to see all of the projects that are currently being facilitated by Peace Corps volunteers. Seeing the volunteers integrated into their communities made me so ready to find out where I’ll be for the next two years!

This morning we departed bright and early for a town called La Grama, which is where a volunteer named Patty lives. Her site is nestled in the mountains and is definitely one of the smallest sites we saw. We were scheduled to host a field day and teach computer classes at the local school, but in true Peruvian fashion school was unexpectedly cancelled for the day. Luckily, the students love Patty so the entire school agreed to come in anyway so we could continue with our planned events. Because it is such a small site, every single person in town knows Patty, so she is greeted by choruses of “hola senorita Patty” everywhere she goes. When we visited her school, the kids were incredibly excited about visitors, and I was nearly tackled by a sea of primaria students who all decided to hug me at one time.

After working at the school for awhile, we returned to Patty’s house and made lunch with her host mom. Patty’s host mom is a baker, so we got to sample some of her homemade treats which were all delicious. For lunch we made vegetarian lentil burgers, which turned out really well. After lunch, the current volunteers came up with a scavenger hunt so we could meet some of the locals and have some truly “Peruvian” experiences. Among other tasks, we were able to ride donkeys through the fields, meet some of the local cows, help bake bread in the local bakery, try on traditional dress, and learn cultural dances. All of these tasks were accomplished by ourselves, just wondering around, knocking on doors, and hanging out on the farms. People were incredibly generous, and welcomed us into their homes without reservation. When I was looking for somewhere to find traditional dress, someone pointed me to the home of “Senora Gladis.” When I knocked on her door, she immediately invited me inside, braided my hair, and gladly let me try on her “fiesta dress.” Similarly, we followed the sweet smell of baking bread to a local bakery, where they invited us in and let us roll out our own sweet bread, bake it in the huge clay oven, and sample the results. We wondered through acres of farms, and found some farmers harvesting garlic and they gladly agreed to let us ride their donkeys.

Throughout Cajamarca there are various hot springs, and in La Grama there is a place where they pump the hot springs into thermal baths. After our long week, we were all excited to test them out. The thermal bath was really just a giant swimming pool, but the water was completely natural and really warm despite the cool night, so it was really cool to swim around and enjoy the hot water. Afterwards we made a bonfire behind our hostel to celebrate the end of field based training, complete with marshmallows and a rousing game of catchphrase.

Another beautiful day in Cajamarca! This morning we went to an all-boys school to deliver education sessions about leadership. As soon as we walked in the doors of the school, we were swarmed with students who were completely fascinated by the influx of “gringos” in their school. An all-boys school was definitely interesting, but our session ended up going pretty well. Leadership development is one of the main goals of Peace Corps, and even this brief interaction with these Peruvian students indicated the drastic difference in the idea of “leadership” between here and back home. We began our session asking for volunteers to explain what their personal definition of leadership was and what adjectives described a leader. Nearly every student in the class defined a leader as someone who “controls others” or “orders people”. When asked if any of them consider themselves to be leaders, no one raised their hands. They explained that presidents, governors, police, principals, etc. are leaders, but could not identify leaders among their peers.

Although the idea of leadership can be complicated, I think as Americans we are encouraged to take leadership positions from an early age. It was interesting that the Peruvian students’ idea of leaders were limited only to those with official power to control others and make decisions. I think empowering youth as leaders will give them more autonomy in the decisions they make and help them learn to shape the community and environment around them. We stressed the importance of leading by example, and helped facilitate a discussion about embodying quality traits of a leader, which may be honesty, integrity, teamwork, ambition, fairness, etc.

Following this presentation, we visited a local all-girls school where many of the students from rural mountain villages attend. Many of the students at this school walk more than four hours in their round-trip commute to school every day. Schools do not typically provide lunches, so many of the students at this school do not eat anything between 4am and 4pm. Teachers commented that some of the students are so famished that they can barely stay awake during their class sessions. One of the current Peace Corps volunteers in this site is working to develop a “comedor estudiantil” at this particular school in an effort to combat the prevalent issue of hunger for many students. This project involves setting up a lunch program at the school that provides low-cost meals for students which would be run by the parents and community. Limited funding is available, so the volunteer has developed various creative plans to acquire cooking equipment, food, and people to prepare and serve lunches. The school principal and local municipality have become involved in this program, so it should hopefully be up and running soon. For less than 1 sole per day (which equates to about 35 cents) a student can receive a full meal, which may in turn improve their attentiveness in class and thus their overall academic success.

After spending some time in this school, we had the afternoon to enjoy Cajabamba. We ate lunch at the restaurant owned by Virginia’s host parents, and I tried goat for the first time. It was pretty good, I think I prefer goat to guinea pig. The longer I am in Peru the more I realize that you really can’t be a picky eater. After lunch, we went on a beautiful hike to surrounding waterfalls. We followed a small river that turned through rocky gorges and provided incredible views of the surrounding mountains. We ended at the waterfalls, which we could climb up because the type of rocks that composed the waterfall were completely different than anything else I’ve seen. Regardless of how wet or muddy the rocks were they somehow provided awesome traction, so we could literally climb right up on the waterfall.

Later that evening I was walking through Cajabamba with Libby, another girl in my training group who also happens to be blonde. Especially in smaller towns, very few people have seen many Americans, so being white, tall, and blonde (which we both are) attracts lots of interesting looks. As we were walking through the center of town, a group of little girls came running up to us and asking us all kind of questions about America and why we were visiting Cajabamba. Before long, the group of girls was joined by their mothers, who were dressed in the traditional “Sierra” clothing of braids, large hats, and full skirts. Libby and I were standing in the middle of the growing circle of Peruvians who were incredibly warm, welcoming, and interested in our presence in their community. After a few more minutes, even more people had joined the circle around us and soon entire families were listening to us explain why we were visiting and what we would be doing in Peru for the next two years. Our audience grew to about 30 people before we left, but it was such an encouraging sign that people were so receptive (or at least interested) to our presence and anxious to hear our impression of Peru and its people. It made me really excited to become a part of my own Peruvian community in a few weeks.

This morning we took a combi to Cauday, which was absolutely one of the most beautiful rides I have ever experienced. The narrow dirt and rock road was precariously situated on the edges of mountain cliffs overlooking expansive green fields, crystal blue skies, and jagged mountain tops. The serpentine road led us to Cauday, which is Evan’s site (another current volunteer). It was definitively one o f those moments where I stepped back and really thought about where I was and what I was doing. What an incredible opportunity; to be in the middle of rural Peru, surrounded by incredible sights, and an endless amount of fulfilling work to be done with kind, humble, interesting people.

When we arrived in Cauday, we dropped off a passenger in the local marketplace that was bustling with activity. Cauday is a small site, so a combi full of gringos definitely captured the attention of the local people. After arriving we headed to a local school where we played a soccer game before giving our prepared education session. We were talking about the importance of communication and had prepared a talk for about 20 older students, but ended up having a room full of fifty 11 year olds which was initially a little overwhelming. Luckily our planned activities went really well, and we managed to maintain their interest for the duration of our lesson. Students here are definitely more timid than they are in more urban/coastal areas. Self-esteem and confidence appear to be extremely low, so engaging with these students was a really meaningful experience.

Later, we went to a “primaria” or elementary school to meet some of the students, and as soon as we arrived they poured out of their classrooms without any kind of structure or appearance of rules. We were able to meet most of the students at this small school and they were completely fascinated by all of us visitors. Everyone in the town knows Evan, so multiple children asked if we were all his family members. A group of little girls were talking to Evan and when they saw me they shyly asked him what my name was, so I went over to introduce myself. As soon as I sat down they skittered away giggling and covering their faces, but within minutes I had a huge group surrounding me and asking me all about myself and the United States.

Lunch was definitely an experience. We went to Evan’s house, which was humbly constructed with mostly mud floors and basic cooking equipment over a fire. His host mom graciously volunteered to cook all of us “cuy” or guinea pig, which is a delicacy reserved for special guests and occasions. We all saw the guinea pigs in the cage earlier that morning, so seeing her prepare them as lunch made my stomach turn a little bit. Everyone in our group was brave enough to try the guinea pig, and it wasn’t bad. Not something I would want to eat every day, but a necessary Peruvian cultural experience for sure.

Following lunch we toured the municipality and the health post that Evan works with, both of which have exciting projects going on and seem to be excellent community partners. When we finished for the day we decided we would hike home instead of taking the 45 minute combi ride. It was a gorgeous walk through the narrow roads and mountain short-cuts, and luckily almost all downhill. We could see for miles, and the entire walk only took about an hour and a half.

Last night we took a late night combi to Cajabamba and woke up early this morning to observe a “charla” or education session in the local school by two current volunteers. Cajabamba is a beautiful mid-sized town in the mountains where a current volunteer works. It has several existing NGOs, schools, a health post and hospital, as well as multiple schools. After observing a charla, we planned our own about the importance of gender equality and delivered it to a high school class. We tried doing skits and engaging the students in our lesson, but it was somewhat disastrous trying to explain sex and gender roles in a large classroom with our limited Spanish abilities in a short period of time. Luckily, we were quickly able to recognize how to adapt and salvage the lesson.

Later, we conducted a mini community-diagnostic of Cajabamba by interviewing local citizens, organizations, and students. It was interesting talking to the locals about issues currently facing their town, and imagining what kinds of projects may be effective in combating these issues. Mining is prevalent in the Cajamarca region, and although some of the mining is sanctioned and legal, illegal mining is also common and presents various problems for the surrounding communities. Not only does mining present environmental consequences, but also labor issues. Children as young as 12 are employed by these mines and work for up to 15 days at a time in harsh conditions.

Virginia, the volunteer who works in Cajabamba, lives with a host family who has a huge farm which we were able to explore during the afternoon. We walked down to the farm and were able to see sheep, cows, pigs, and other animals. The animals weren’t afraid of us, and we were able to pet baby cows that were wondering lazily around the open fields with a picturesque mountain scene behind them.

We woke up early and piled into a combi to travel to a neighboring town called San Marcos where a current business volunteer lives. The ride followed the mountain roads, and we were interrupted several times by crossing cows, donkeys, and sheep. San Marcos is in a valley, and although the town itself is somewhat rough, the surrounding beauty is distracting. We had the opportunity to teach English in a local elementary school, which was a great experience. We decided to focus on learning numbers and body-parts so we could incorporate some fun and interactive games into a short session. The students were pretty well behaved, and we managed to play Simon Says and teach them the lyrics and motions to Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, which was priceless.

After our English lessons we explored San Marcos and had Trucha for lunch, which is a delicious salmon-type fish found in local mountain rivers. Following lunch, we observed a youth entrepreneurship class that was formed by two business volunteers living in the area. The class consists of a 2-3 month weekly seminar that focuses on basic business principles and how to form a small business enterprise. The students involved are the highest achieving upper level high school students, and they are responsible for forming and carrying out an entrepreneurial activity in their community. The students start their small business, advertise, and sell their product in local markets as part of a class-wide competition. It was awesome to see how well developed this program was and how engaged the students seemed. Vocational and business development is something I will definitely want to do as part of my service if it fits into my community’s need.

The bus we took to FBT was a giant charter bus and we rode in the VIP section, which has cushy reclining chairs that made the 16 hour ride seem much more manageable. We winded through narrow mountain roads that curved to the form of the cliffs. The ride was absolutely beautiful- terraced patches of green and tan, gorges carved into the mountain sides, and sharp peaks contrasting with the intensely blue sky. When I looked out the window, I couldn’t see the road but only plummeting valley below.

Cajamarca city is beautiful; although it is the regional capital, it maintains a definite sense of tradition and history that is evident in the intricate architecture of churches, red tile roofs, and stone lined walkways as well as campesinos in traditional dress with large skirts and knit hats. We checked into our hostel, which had an awesome view of the surrounding mountains and rooftops, and then had lunch at a local restaurant. Afterward, we were met with current volunteers and the Cajamarca regional coordinator. Hearing anecdotes and advice from their service was beneficial and helped me get a better grasp of what to expect in the upcoming 2 years. It was a strange sensation as we faced the panel of volunteers who were about to head back to the US as we are preparing to begin our service. Almost all of the commentary was positive, and many seemed as though they would have happily switched places with us and done it all over again. Later, we wondered around Cajamarca and enjoyed dinner before planning the following day’s English lesson.

Last night we had a huge group go into Chosica to sing some karaoke, which was absolutely hilarious. Our group was somewhat overpowering, but I think the locals were quite entertained by both our English and Spanish singing skills. We passed around the microphone all night, and the combination of the Backstreet Boys, Journey, the Beatles etc. was ridiculous enough for everyone to join in.

Today we left for Field Based Training from Lima. We departed Chaclacayo early so as to have the day to enjoy Lima. Mario, Beth, John William, and I were loaded up with our overstuffed backpacks and looked like true Peace Corps volunteers. We had to go through Jockey Plaza, a huge commercial center/mall complete with every American store you could imagine, and we were definitely a site to see- “climbing” up the escalators with our backpacking gear. We dropped off our stuff at the Peace Corps office and asked Sandro, one of the staff members, where we could find a good Ceviche restaurant. Not only did he suggest an awesome place, but we piled in his classic 1960 Volkswagen Bug and got a tour of Lima as he drove us to his favorite Cevicheria, Punto Azul.

An outdoor patio offers seating to enjoy dining Al Fresco and enjoy the bright ambiance. We ordered a Ceviche Mixto and a Ceviche Punto Azul, which featured raw white fish, squid, shrimp, and other seafood “cooked” in lime juice with onions and juicy choclo accompanied by glistening sweet potatoes and a spicy red sauce. We somehow managed to inadvertently claim another table’s tacu-tacu in addition to our mixed seafood Chaufa, so we had an overwhelming amount of food. None of could stop smiling as we sipped on our frozen marcumbya juice and devoured the incredible food, and we all decided that life as a Peace Corps trainee was pretty tough.

After lunch we made our way to the center of Lima and entered Polvos Azules, which sells thousands of pirated DVDs, mountains of counterfeit jerseys, and just about anything else you could ever want. I don’t think you can go there without being completely over stimulated; thousands of vendors, endless options, and people throwing tons of things you really don’t need but begin to think you might after being there for more than a few minutes. Afterwards we wondered around Lima for awhile and caught our bus for FBT.

Today we were visited by representatives of the US Embassy and USAID who are working here in Peru. Their presentation was incredibly interesting, and not only echoed some of the trends and issues we’ve been learning about, but provided more political insight about the current state of Peru and America’s role in its development. Although we won’t be working within the political realm as Peace Corps volunteers, political events and leaders undoubtedly influence the needs of the country.

Democracy can be difficult to maintain in a country that was under an authoritative regime before 1980 and had several periods of turmoil since then. Many Peruvians have a negative view of politics in general, as they have been let down repeatedly in the past. There is a very weak political party system, with over 20 national political parties and only 3-4 percent of the population supporting a particular political party.

The integration of the indigenous and rural population into political, administrative, and economic decision-making through decentralization is a current push here in Peru. However, this process can be complicated, and with 1/3 of the population in Lima, the power is naturally concentrated in this urban area. Efforts are currently being made to distribute power to regional authorities who previously had very little control. As Peace Corps volunteers, we will be working directly with the rural population and helping empower them through access to education, health, business development, etc. Additionally, we will have the opportunity to work with local municipalities to help develop programs and carry out projects that meet the needs of the local population. We will also be present in the country for local elections this October and the presidential elections in 2011, which should be an interesting experience.

Despite the long days training continues to pass quickly; I can’t believe I’ve been here for a month. We’ve learned so much about hypothetical situations and details about Peru, I’m incredibly excited to get out there and experience it for myself. We have Field Based Training next week, and I will be going to Cajamarca, which is supposed to be a beautiful mountainous region up North. Everyone will be traveling throughout Peru to see different volunteer sites and conduct some hands-on practice, which will be awesome.

We have new language groups for the second half of training, and we went to Chacrasana today for our classes, which is one of the neighboring communities where a lot of my friends live. Chacrasana is divided into 2 sections, the formalized lower section which has electricity, water, and lights, and the “invasion” section, which is not legally recognized and does not have these amenities. Evidently, many communities built into the small dusty mountains outside of Lima started as “invasion” towns. When people move from the mountains or jungle into the more urban areas of Peru, they often do not have housing or resources to provide for themselves.
Because of this, they’ll look for uninhabited land and begin constructing make-shift shelters. The small Cerros (mountains) around Chaclacayo are high, dusty, and rocky, so few people live in the highest sections. However, many neighborhoods are built into the lower sections of the mountains where many of the other Peace Corps trainees are staying. Above these areas several smaller communities are beginning to develop illegally on un-owned land, which has created significant tension between those who paid for their land and amenities and those who are essentially “invading” space and sometimes stealing lines for electric or lights.

After a substantial amount of time, politicians will sometimes formally recognize these communities and even provide basic amenities as part of their campaigning. In fact, many of the existing communities in the area began as invasion towns but now function as legally owned and recognized districts. Especially during the era of terrorism, many rural Peruvians were forcibly relocated out of their homes and migrated to more urban areas into temporary housing and invasion cities.

Fútbol is definitely the nation’s favorite sport here in Peru. Youth seem to have a football attached to their feet in most of the local communities and when you ask a boy what their favorite hobby is, fútbol is the answer 9 times out of 10. For me, this weekend was definitely the weekend of fútbol. In Lima there are two big soccer teams with an incredibly fierce history of rivalry, Alianza and La U. We heard the games were quite an experience, and since we were here for the rival match we decided we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see the two teams go head-to-head. Peruvian soccer games are unlike anything else I have ever been a part of. Before leaving we received cautionary guidance from everyone here who insisted games have a tendency to get quite rowdy.

A group of us left for Lima on Saturday afternoon, some decked out in their chosen team’s jersey. We luckily had some Peruvians with us to help navigate our way to the game. When we arrived close to the stadium, the surrounding area was swarmed with fans. As we approached the road to the stadium, a local storekeeper ran out and insisted all those wearing La U jerseys put on a jacket to cover up. As we continued we saw a massive parade of Alianza fans marching the streets accompanied by police on horseback. We took a detour to avoid this group and finally entered the long walkway leading to the stadium. For at least ¼ mile away from the stadium there were fences separating the entrances for each team so as to avoid any confrontation between fans.

Security was taken quite seriously, and 4000 police were dedicated solely to this game (which made me wonder what Lima was doing without 4000 police). Each police member had giant plastic shields and helmets with plastic covers over their faces. There were hundreds of police on horses walking along the perimeter of the stadium. As we entered the stadium we went through 4 separate security checkpoints with more stringent guidelines than the airport. No belts, earrings, or even bobby pins were allowed within the game, so the nearby trees were strewn with abandoned accessories.

We were sitting in the “safe” Western section where we had our own seats, but the North and South sections of the stadium were filled with the diehard fans that were reminiscent of the most intense student sections at a huge state university rival game. As we anticipated the beginning of the game we were thrown giant bags of paper confetti, huge blow up balloons, and rolls of receipt paper to throw onto the field when the players entered the field. Our section also had a huge tarp labeled with La U insignia that had to be over 150 by 150 feet that we tossed over our heads like a giant tent before the game started. There were smoke bombs, chants, and vendors selling any kind of La U paraphernalia you could ever desire. When the game actually started there were still remnants of streamers, confetti, and balloons on the field that posed an additional hazard to the players.

The game itself wasn’t particularly dramatic, and Alianza defeated la U 1-0. We decided to leave a few minutes early as a precaution, and as we exited people were running out of the stadium into the streets. We managed to hop on a crowded combi and made it home safely after our adventurous day at the soccer game.

To continue our soccer-filled weekend, a big group of us celebrated the World Cu p together on Sunday. Ryan’s host family managed to project the game on a giant white sheet, and even had “stadium seating” comprised of milk crates and wooden planks to accommodate all of us, which was pretty awesome. My host dad and I made a bet on the game, pollo a la brasa for the winner, and I am proud to say I won the bet. I was pulling for Espana and was super excited when they won. I can only imagine how incredible it would have been to be in Spain for the post-game celebrations. When I studied abroad in Barcelona my host dad and host sister were soccer fanatics, so I am sure they were both thrilled.

After watching soccer all weekend we decided it was time we actively participate, so we headed to the community of Chacrasana to play some fútbol. I was definitely unprepared in my flip-flops, but luckily everyone else’s soccer skills made up for it. We even held our own against the Peruvian teens who challenged us gringos to a game.

Peruvian history is incredibly dynamic and full of fascinating eras and leaders. Today our Spanish language group visited the Museo de la Nación in Lima, which featured exhibits from every period of Peruvian history. The exhibit began with pottery and textiles still intact from 200 AD and earlier; it’s amazing to think about an artifact that has been around 1800 years longer than I have. Anytime I see artifacts like that, I love to imagine who first crafted it and what their life might have been like. Displays also featured the Inca dynasty and then led to the Colonial period and eventually to a really poignant photography exhibit highlighting the terrorism that was prevalent in Peru in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

After returning from our trip to Lima some of us went over to Libby’s house for a campfire. Her host family has an awesome back patio complete with a real fire pit where we roasted marshmallows and listened to those who play guitar. I felt like I was back at home sitting around a campfire in my backyard.

The Youth Development program in Peru seeks to address a wide variety of youth-related issues in the fields of education, health, vocational and economic development, among others. One of the most interesting youth populations to consider in our work will be students with special education needs. Although a few of the volunteers in the Youth Development program will be focusing primarily on special ed students, we will all surely incorporate these youth into each of our programs. For me, special ed students are especially interesting, primarily because of my parent’s work and experiences. Because they have both worked with special ed students in some capacity for over 30 years, I think I am especially sensitive to the needs of this population.

In Peru, students with special needs are frequently marginalized and often isolated from the rest of the population. The Peru government recently mandated the inclusion of special needs students into regular classroom settings, and seems to have experienced relative success with this movement. However, a huge percent of special needs youth do not receive any sort of education or services. Especially in rural areas, individuals with disabilities are often perceived to be completely incompetent and often hidden within their houses.

Current youth volunteers with special ed focuses shared their stories with us, and although some of their antidotes were quite heartbreaking, it seems like they’ve helped make a marked difference in the lives of many students with special needs. One of the most powerful Peace Corps stories I’ve heard is that of a current Peru youth development volunteer (who actually lived with my current host family during his training!). This volunteer has a disability that limits his physical mobility, but is able to make adaptations to get around. Considering the intensive medical selection process required by the Peace Corps, it is amazing to me that he had the perseverance to receive medical clearance. However, any physical challenges this volunteer may face don’t seem to phase him, and he has already made amazing progress for youth with disabilities within Peru. The simple fact that someone with a disability is well educated, travels, and works is earth shattering to many Peruvians, and this in itself is inspiring. My family consistently remarks on his ambition and positive attitude, which truly becomes evident even after a short conversation with him.

“Más que nos pegan, más que nos aman”

This phrase, which translates to “The more they hit us, the more we love them”, is a Peruvian saying that indicates the tumultuous relationship between the Peruvian people and their government. Our Spanish facilitator explained this saying to us after we learned about the history of the most recent presidents and the effect they’ve had on current relations within Peru. In order to explain why many Peruvians may exhibit lacking confidence in their presidential system, I’ll explain a little about what I found to be most interesting about their most recent presidents.

1985-1990 Alan Garcia
Center/left movement from the political party, APRA. Economic policies were enacted but ultimately failed, and under Alan’s presidency the national debt increased from $13 billion to $20 billion. Poverty rates increased from 16 percent to 45 percent, and there was immense job loss and frequent strikes that were poorly handled by the government. Perhaps most impressive was the rate of inflation during this era; prices increased by 22,000. One of our Peruvian facilitators remembers his mom carrying bags and bags of money to the market to purchase basic staples. Terrorism by the Sendero Luminoso and MRTA began to have a significant impact on the Peruvian people. In an effort to combat terrorism in the Campos, the Peruvian military was also responsible for many deaths. Confusion and chaos was prevalent within the rural areas of Peru, and both terror and economic decline were major issues during this presidency.

1990-2000 Alberto Fujimori
First off, this previous president is currently in jail on account of his human rights record. However, Fujimori is still heralded as the president who was able to successfully decrease terrorism and bring Peru out of the economic crisis. Terrorism came to Lima during Fujimori’s presidency, so the government was finally forced to react. Fujimori’s autocratic measures, which included dissolving both the constitution and the Congress, ultimately allowed the implementation of counter-terrorism measures and economic shocks. Fujimori sold state agencies and encouraged privatization, which helped improve the economy. However, he later bribed the media and committed fraud in the 2000 election. When this was uncovered, he fled to Japan and sent a fax indicating his resignation before he was sent to jail for human rights abuses. His presidency remains a duel legacy of economic recovery and anti-terrorism as well as fraud and criminal activity. Interestingly enough, his daughter is now campaigning for the 2011 presidency.

2000-2001 Valentín Paniagua Corazao
This president of congress served as interim president after Fujimori’s resignation and arrest. He started the Truth Commission, which was created to collect information about the terrorism that occurred within Peru.

2001-2005 Alejandro Toledo
Perhaps the most interesting fact about this president (for me, at least) was that he grew up in a family that hosted a Peace Corps volunteer. He came from a humble background and apparently was influenced strongly by the presence of the Peace Corps volunteer in his early childhood. One of his first actions as president was to invite Peace Corps back into Peru after their absence during the tumultuous terrorism years. His presidency was fairly stable without any huge improvements or disasters.

2006-Today Alan Garcia (Round 2)
Despite the economic downfall and terrorism activity that grew under Garcia’s first presidency, he managed to be reelected in the 2006 elections under the APRA political party. He is currently implementing a variety of social programs and construction projects. Decentralization is also a huge issue in Peru because a significant portion of resources are tied up in Lima and it is difficult for those living in more rural areas to access political power or economic resources. Garcia’s term will be up in 2011 and the legacy of his presidency is yet to be determined.

Food is a huge part of Peruvian culture, so as part of our language class today we cooked one of the most well-known Peruvian dishes, Aji de Gallina , which is a creamy slightly spicy chicken dish with rice and/or potatoes. We also made a delicious salad with some of the popular vegetables here. I’m putting the recipe below so you can get an idea of some traditional Peruvian cuisine!

· 3 Chicken Breasts
· 1 Chopped Onion
· 3 Teaspoons Garlic
· 4 Teaspoons of Aji Paste (Aji is a type of spicy pepper)
· 6 Pieces of Crusty Bread
· 200 Grams of Olives
· 2 Cups of Chicken Broth
· 1 ½ Cups of Evaporated Milk
· 1/3 Cup of Vegetable Oil
· 6-8 Yellow Potatoes
· 3 Boiled Eggs
· Salt and Pepper

1. Boil the chicken breasts with salt and shred when cool.
2. Boil yellow potatoes and rice if desired.
3. Rip the bread in pieces and add milk. Liquefy in blender.
4. Fry the onions, garlic, and aji in a little bit of oil.
5. Add the liquefied bread/milk combo and then the chicken broth.
6. Simmer and then add chicken breast.
7. Serve the hot chicken mixture over the yellow potatoes and decorate with olives and egg.


Soltero de Queso
· 2 Red Onions
· 3 Tomaotes
· 1 Large Block of Fresh Cheese
· 3 Choclos (Large White Corn Cobs)
· 200 Grams of Black Olives
· 2 Cups of Habas (Giant Lima-Bean type things)
· 1 Small Rocoto (Hot Red Pepper)
· Bunch of Parsley
· Oregano, Salt, and Pepper
· Oil and Vinegar
Boil and peel habas and choclos. Chop other ingredients and mix together, adding salt, pepper, oregano, oil and vinegar to taste.

Happy 4th of July! I wasn’t sure what kind of celebration we would have here in Peru, but we were all feeling quite patriotic and my host Dad generously agreed to have a party at our house for America’s Independence Day. Everyone brought food and drinks to share and we had quite an impressive array. Juliane and I managed to learn how to use Peruvian kitchenware/ovens and successfully made pasta salad and brownies. Our house is the perfect party spot- lots of space and a pretty outdoor garden. We celebrated what turned out to be a wonderful fusion of American and Peruvian traditions, complete with dancing and cajas of cerveza. I certainly missed fireworks and couldn’t help but think about everything going out on their boats in Charleston, but I couldn’t have asked for a better foreign Fourth of July.

This morning we visited Aldeas Infantiles, an organization that assists abandoned, orphaned, or mistreated children. This organization bares some semblance to our foster care system, but on a much smaller scale. Children who are cared for by this organization are placed in families that all live together in the same community/compound. Each house has somewhere between 7 and 10 children who are cared for by a “mama” and a “tia” (aunt) who are hired to serve as the foster mothers to these 7-10 children. The women are almost always single and without children of their own (or have grown, independent children) and live almost entirely in this community. I found it amazing that these women dedicated their lives to raising these children, with very little compensation.

In the center we visited there were two close communities that each had 12 houses. The houses were very well maintained and the mini-communities were complete with recreation areas and gardens. One of the projects they had going on was a greenhouse where they grew and distributed lettuce to local grocery stores to help generate funding for their organization. The children were extremely friendly, and were excited to entertain their American visitors. I was greeted by several little handshakes, kisses, and hugs. Each of us was able to go to a separate house to interact with the children and talk with the house mother about the organization and their experiences. The woman who I spoke with has been working for Aldeas Infantiles since it was founded over 30 years ago. She has served as a foster mother for countless children, all of whom she remains in touch with. She also proudly told me she now has 8 grandchildren. The children she has fostered have become everything from doctors, stay at home mothers, nurses, engineers, etc. and I could tell she had a true sense of maternal pride in each one of the children who lived with her.

As I was sitting at the table sharing a freshly squeezed limonada, her children were bouncing around and happily interjecting in our conversation. One of the young girls living with this woman was abandoned shortly after birth, so her only memory of a mother is this woman. The children are given various networks of support and opportunities, but the organization is funded entirely by private donations and sponsors and not the government.

We’ve been spending the last week of training in a local school. As youth development facilitators, we’ll be working with community partners to help improve opportunities available to youth. This may mean job and vocational training, health promotion, improving educational experiences, or business/ economic development for young adults. We’ll work not only with youth, but also with community organizations including the local government, health posts, and schools to help achieve our goals and empower local entities in development efforts.

Today’s training focused on the importance of non-formal education tactics, so our morning was filled with examples of how we could facilitate hands-on learning in fun and informational ways. This segment of training was a welcome change, and we were quite entertained. One of the highlights of the training was definitely learning how to build a fire and construct an improvised oven. We made banana bread using a fire and placing our pan inside a large pot on the fire. Evidently the first pot that was used was poorly made, because the fire burned right through the pan and led to very smoky banana bread. After this failure, we coated the pot in mud and the rest of the batches turned out pretty well. I’ll definitely be interested to see how cooking at site turns out. I love cooking, but I’m not sure how well my recipes would work in a fire-oven like that! Regardless, it would be an adventure.

In the afternoon we had a first-aid session, complete with firemen and CPR dolls. All firefighters here are volunteers, and don’t receive any sort of payment for their service. In fact, they don’t even have health insurance, which seems crazy. The firefighter who came to do first-aid with us informed us that there are only about 20 firefighters in Lima, which is a huge city. All firefighters work a regular job and volunteer only part time, so response to disasters is a huge issue because so few people are available at any given time. I can only imagine what would happen in the case of a national emergency.

The weather has been absolutely beautiful here, especially considering it is technically their winter. Most days start off a little chilly and cloudy, but it is almost always high 60s and sunny by midday. After training today we had a little running brigade around Chaclacayo. I think the locals are somewhat used to having gringos invade their town, but we still managed to get some interesting looks. When we got back we had yoga in the back lawn and an impromptu soccer game.