Rustic Peru

A knot of conflicting emotions, I boarded a shuttle at 2:30am for the Seattle Airport.  Although I was more prepared than I ever have been before, I guess Im getting good at this moving thing ;), I felt somewhat less prepared mentally.  I hit the ground running after India, never really getting out of a backpack, spending time in more than eight different towns and three states and while these reunions were so needed and they did charge my batteries in a way, I just never had time to stop and breath, reset.

I plodded through the all too familiar airport routine, check-in, throw out the remainder of my drink, take off my shoes, scan and shuffle slowly to the gate, sleep deprived and scrolling through thoughts and ideas and questions and memories...

Both flights went smoothly and around 11pm (Peru is on central time), I collected my bags and witnessed my first evidence of the swine flu scare, as every employee of an airline or an airport was wearing a face-mask.  An eery first impression of Peru.  I met my new boss, Gabe, got a couple hours sleep, before we turned right back around and boarded a plane from Lima to Cuzco.

At slighty more than 10,000ft, training began and over the course of the week, myself and another summer staff, along with the country director and program manager, became oriented with the towns and villages that we'd be working in for the next 10 weeks.  We had an official meeting with the Mayor of the Sacred Valley, which was interesting and I visited Socma, the village that I would be bringing students to (the project involves three villages in the valley).  As a wonderful surprise, the villagers had prepared a "pachamanca" for us (a traditional meal for special occasions).  They gathered in the town square (where we will be camping) and uncovered the goat and potatoes that had been roasting under hot stones and earth.  We each received a heaping plate full and as an 'aperitif' a glass of chicha, a drink of fermented corn (not much of a fan).  Afterwards, we introduced ourselves and a couple of the women sprinkled freshly plucked flower petals over our heads - such a humbling honor.

Later that night, we met with the heads of the village to discuss the logistics and goals of the project.  My spanish comprehension is holding up surprisingly well, but I need a vast improvement in my speaking abilities.  Many of the villagers only speak Quechua, for which we have a translator, but I have made it a goal to learn some of that as well.  There were several moments in which speakers became emotional either because this project is going to mean so much to the community or more often because we are unfortunately lacking the funds to complete the project as planned.  We have had to scale back our original proposal and therefore some of the families will not be getting their guinea pig coops this year.  I was so incredibly touched that I have decided to raise funds for the project, so please stay tuned for more information on ways you may be able to help!

This weekend, we finally had a free evening and so after a delicious dinner and a fantastic display of fireworks and crackers strung up on rickety bamboo towers (and of course its the first time that I, for whatever reason, decided to leave my camera at home), I ventured into Cuzco for some long awaited salsa dancing and reggaeton, bringing back very pleasant memories of my life in Guatemala.

Next, we flew back to Lima, will check out the site of the "Dolphins in the Desert" program tomorrow (did you know that Peru has one of the largest dolphin populations in the world?) and the kiddies arrive late on the 9th!  Phew, wish me luck!

Check out my itinerary and information regarding the other programs being run here in Peru!

https://www.rusticpathways.com/2009/peru/psv.html