Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Welcoming the Peru 22ers to Cajamarca.

You know when you walk into the ACE Hardware in the Eastgate Shopping Center in Missoula and they have free popcorn for you as a welcome gift... We started doing something similar in Cajamarca when the new volunteers arrive. Only instead of popcorn we give them each a live chicken in the Plaza de Armas of Cajamarca.
Usually a current Cajamarca volunteer gives a short speech (i.e. "let this chicken symbolizes the winds freedom you'll feel under your own wings during your service") as the new volunteer receives the chicken. 

Then they stand there hoping the chicken doesn't poop or escape while the rest receive their birds for the group shot. 


Cajamarca's Peru - 22ers: (L to R) Marc Anthony, Matt, Hannah, and Jeff. 


It's a fun ice breaker that caps off a day of a scavenger hunt around town (find 3 places with Wifi, find Brice's Appt., Find where to buy a cuy, etc.) and a group breakfast. It's also a great welcoming gift for them to share with their new host-families, as these health volunteers are generally placed in a very rural area where protein consumption isn't as common as it should be and families are of very humble resources.