Happy 2010! I apologize to my faithful followers for the long absence; I’ve been surprisingly busy over the past month. Mainly due to travel, but hey, busy is busy. So my first Peruvian Christmas has come and gone. It was…interesting. I’m glad I was here and experienced something new but it was definitely hard to be away from my family and friends. My host family was, as usual, wonderful about including me in the celebrations, limited though they were. Peruvians celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, so we had a traditional dinner of turkey, cheese, empanadas and panetón (dry Peruvian fruitcake. I’ll be happy to never eat another piece again) at midnight on Christmas Eve. At the stroke of 12 everyone jumps around yelling, toasting, hugging and setting off fireworks. Papy made a sweet toast about welcoming a new member to their family. I think I held on a little too long during the round of Christmas hugs – it just felt so good to be wanted and loved. After dinner the celebrations started full swing…sort of. There was to be a DJ dance party in the plazuela outside my house. The music started on time (about 1.30am) but no one seemed ready to leave their houses and start dancing. So we waited and waited and waited. Finally at about 3am people started entering the dance. Exhausted after all that waiting (plus the pre- and post-dinner drinking circles), I slipped into my room to use the bathroom, lay down in my bed and never returned. I could hear the party going until about 7am and when I emerged from my room at 9 on Christmas morning there were still several drinking circles going strong.
Christmas Day was kind of a bummer. Everyone was either still incredibly wasted or passed out from the previous night’s revelry. I did a lot of reading that day. They literally don’t do anything for Christmas Day, at least not here in Huaca Rajada. Luckily I had a few days at the beach with all my friends for New Years to look forward to, otherwise I think I might have snapped. New Years was incredible – I spent a few days at a beach town near the Ecuadorian border with some of my favorite people. Sun, sand, tropical drinks and lots of laughs – what more could you ask for. It was the perfect antidote to the lonely Christmas week. It’s crazy to think that people I didn’t even know a year ago have become so important to me in such a short time. I wouldn’t be having near as much fun without them.
Christmas dinner table
The fam at Christmas dinner
Some friends with their nativity scene
I also spent a week in Lima recently for an in-service training event. The trainings were…how do you say...dull? But it was great to see all the other business volunteers from my group and hear about their sites. The highlight was definitely spending time with them and exchanging stories about all our crazy Peruvian adventures. That and Papa Johns. Oh, Lima, you tease me with your delicious U.S. delicacies.
Arriving back in site I was quickly reminded that Lima is not the real Peru. No, no, the essence of Peru lies in the desert campo town of Huaca Rajada. Where pigs roam the town on their afternoon walk, where you’re just as likely to see a goat outside your window as a dog, where children climb through your window as you’re changing, where you’re served French fry omelets for dinner, and where everybody knows your name. I was repeatedly greeted with “Oh, Jessica, where have you been? Are you leaving us? We miss you. Please don’t leave. We miss you.” Peruvians have turned guilt trips into an art form. You don’t even realize they’re doing it until you walk away feeling sad and ashamed.
Pigs out for an afternoon stroll
I got back to my house early one Sunday morning after a long, hot, uncomfortable overnight bus ride. Wanting nothing more than to sleep in my own bed, I quickly greeted my family and headed to my room. They told me they were headed to Pacherrez (a town about 45 min away) for lunch with my mom’s family and I was to meet them over there when I got up. This is a typical Sunday activity so when I finally roused myself from my bed (driven out mainly by the heat as opposed to any actual motivation to be active) at 3pm, I figured it wasn’t worth it to make the trek over there since they usually come back around dinner time anyway. A couple hours later I start receiving frantic calls from my host brother. Explaining, for the fifth time, that I was tired and resting, I was a bit confused by the ruckus in the background. Finally I agree to head over there. I wait for the combi for half an hour, all the while being attacked by the vicious evening mosquitoes, get on a nearly empty car, freak out when it pulls over in the middle of nowhere, drops off the driver, leaving me alone with the 15-year-old cobrador-turned-driver. Luckily we made it safely and I rolled up into a full-swing pollada party. Seriously, my family leaves out the most important details. If I’d known it was a party, I would have been there hours ago! As it were, the party was entering hour seven and I was the only sober person to be found. It was my first experience at a real Peruvian party stone cold sober. Not as much fun. The party broke up about an hour after I got there because all the drunks were throwing bottles at each other. This is usually how and why parties break up here. So we pile into the back of the DJ’s pick-up truck wedged between the speakers for the bumpy midnight rides back to Huaca Rajada. Welcome back to site, Jess!
It’s summer vacation here, so I’m doing a lot of mini-projects with the kids in my town. We’ve formed a culture club and are learning about the U.S. right now (feel free to email me any photos or stories I could share with them about life in the States). I’m still teaching a few English classes a week. And I’m preparing for a leadership camp for girls with some young ladies in my site. And playing a lot of hide-and-seek with my neighborhood posse. Ah, the rough life of a Peace Corps volunteer.
Hope you’re all well and enjoying the new year. I miss you all! Stay in touch!
