Chapter 2: Feeling the Motions

I am sitting in the dining/living room of my house, Alex at my left, Luis at my right, looking curiously at these English words I type. They ask me what every single word says, and I now discover how hard it is to type in English and speak in Spanish at the same time. What a strange feeling, like a brain teaser. A telenovela (soap opera) plays on the TV, and I can hear our eggs frying for dinner in the next room. Soon Alex and Luis are bored of translations and want to explore this cool computer for games. Three solitaire games later, and dinner is served. Fried egg, fried potato, and what else, rice. Always rice.

I am slowly adjusting to life here in rural Peru. I am actually starting to enjoy the bucket baths (they’re quick and easy!), and I did laundry for my first time today, also done in a bucket, by hand. I did this as one part of an effort to rid my bed of the fleas that have infested it, and left at least 12 very itchy swells on my left hand alone. These fairly common little insects have been living in my bed and biting me since I arrived. Knowing a fair amount about bugs in beds (see previous entry entitled “The Invaders”), I thought that by tucking long-sleeved shirt into sweatpants, into ski socks, that I could handle them. But when I found a bite on my chin last night, I knew the buggers had to go. My homestay mom refuses to put the toxic powder used to kill them on the blankets on my bed, so I wait doubtfully for the morning verdict.

Since my first entry, there has been quite the swarm of social activity. I quite logically, I think, assumed that I would be lonely and bored here in this small town. Far from it. I find that the hour or two I get to myself before bed I treasure, rather than dread. Last Thursday was a festival up in the mountains called Compadres. I went with my family up to this tiny little village about an hour from Ollanta. Indigenous Quechua Peruvians were abundant, dressed in their normal, but quite festive garb, which often includes an infant slung in a blanket wrapped around the mother. (Fun Fact: 50% of Peru’s population is under the age of 15. I have never seen so many babies in my whole life.) They served chunks of tough beef, beet and carrot salad, and chicha (Peruvian corn beer) to everyone in attendance. I was thankfully warned to steer clear of the chicha lest I spend the week in bed, and I was grateful when my homestay dad helped me politely refuse a very persistent old lady with a glass of the stuff. A very comedic “bull fight” topped off the afternoon, with drunken villagers taking turns getting chased down by the annoyed bulls. Without a question, the bulls won that fight.

Sunday, I went on a 5-hour hike with three new volunteers (Michelle, Keri, and Alison), Eliana my host sister, and Luis, host brother and hiking guide extraordinaire. The hike was to a mountaintop quarry where the Incas shaped and carried their stones to build from. It was difficult, but I made three new friends in the process, well worth the three hours of uphill.

Sunday night, we luckily convinced the owner of a new English pub to play the Super Bowl. All the volunteers met and I was happy to feel unabashedly American for a night. This bar will undoubted show up in the coming entries as the sight of many a social event. In fact, it reappeared only two nights later, last night, when Awamaki U.S. hosted its first Pub Quiz Night to great applause.

Rising on the social horizon: yoga tomorrow morning in the Inca ruins at sunrise, 7+ hour group hike on Friday, Olympics Opening Ceremonies at unnamed English Pub on Friday night, flood relief community clean-up day on Saturday, BBQ and bull fight to benefit those affected by the floods on Sunday afternoon, and Wine Mesh Valentine’s Day later that night. I daresay my social calendar is busier than it was in Duluth!

All is well on the job front. I have finished a volunteer handbook, arrival and departure volunteer surveys, assisted with creating a budget for 2010 (yes, Dad, you read that right. AND it included spreadsheets!), and now I am starting a project to reorganize and rewrite content for Awamaki’s new website.

To sum up, things are looking good. I can see how before long days will fly and weeks will blur, and all too soon, it will be over. But not yet!

P.S. My attempts to upload pictures has so far been unsuccessful on our spotty internet. Stay tuned...