That Christmas Feel

I'm not the biggest mall fan in the world, and so I find my current location extremely depressing. I'm sitting in a Starbucks at a mall in Trujillo (8 hours to the west of Caraz, on the coast), using their wifi, and waiting for a 1:00pm bus to Lambayeque (all of Peru 17 youth Volunteers are going there for our Early In Service Training). To compound the depressing factors, there is a giant plastic Christmas tree outside and pop versions of Christmas carols in English blaring on the speakers. Just to share the joy, here's a video (P.S. Jeff is being a Debi Downer right now because of a little stomach issue):

Baby Steps

My little host-brother, Yordan, is on the fast track to going places. He has graduated from being a quick knee scooter to a clumsy walker. Soon he and Yefferson will being racing around the house with the greatest of ease. Here a video documenting his first big steps with the encouragement of his father.

Pachacamac Roofing Inc.

The rain has to be the key dictating factor in a roofer's life. Your work is paced by incoming weather, and the final product is tested by a good down pour. At least that's what I observed in Montana, and it doesn't appear to be much different here in Peru. With the rainy season upon us, Roger was out doing some last minute patch work on our roof above the kitchen.

I've had the pleasure of working for two different father-son type roofing outfits. Here's a video of the latest.

Meeting the Basic Requirements

In addition to being a US citizen, above the age of 18, and having a college degree (or significant work experience), I have been truly slacking on meeting the last basic requirement for Peace Corps service, I didn't have a hammock. However, I can now proudly report that this minor flaw has been remedied. Due to Jeff, a volunteer living 2 hours away (my site mate), needing a place to crash when he passes through my site, I purchased a hammock. Now Jeff doesn't need to borrow my host father's mattress and sleep on the floor with the spiders, he can dangle in style.   

It's hung from the logs/sticks supporting my roof. I was trying to think of a different method (i.e. building a frame from wood or metal) but it was too costly, and Roger is confident that the roof beams can hold the weight; however, he added that if they bend or we hear any cracking noises, we should move quickly. That's the kind of confidence that insures a good night's sleep. I didn't tell Jeff this (hopefully he doesn't read my blog... but shout out to Jeff if does, you'll be a great test pilot).

Here's the Y-man testing it out (Don't worry I tested it before he got on... while wearing my bike helmet).

CAT/griz Satellite Party - Peru

For the 111th "Brawl of the Wild" (Montana State University vs University of Montana), I find myself further away from the action then I've ever been before. But have no fear, I've started my own Cat-Griz Satellite Party here in Ancash, Peru. Thanks to the KTVQ.com live stream (which is pretty choppy), the Bozeman Chronicle's Live Blog, and the California Cafe (the internet cafe here in the capital city), I can still feel the excitement. Unfortunately, as I write this, the Cats are down 22-7 in the middle of the 3rd. Gotta love them Cats.

If any of you are in the neighborhood and want to watch the hometown boys duke it out, stop in and pull up a couch. I'm the sure the kids playing Wii next to me won't mind.

How about we make it a Biblioteca?

Roger and his father (who came down from the alturas/highlands for a couple of days) have begun to construct an new addition to the house: a room for the gringo. I´m really happy where I´m at, I have a huge room, privacy, and a window that lets in the morning sun, so really can´t ask for more; nor do I want anything different. So I´ve started pitching the idea of a biblioteca (library) for Yeferson and I to read in. At first this idea took off like a lead balloon; however, after explaining how it would be advantageous for Yefer to have quiet and consistant place to study, my host-parents are starting to show a little more buy-in on the plan.

...Also a month back I got sick of my bed rocking like I was a riding a bucking bronco everytime I moved, so one night I nailed it to the adobe wall (using a brick and some nails I had in my room). Nine nails and a less than mint-condition head board later, my bed doesn´t move, but´s it going to be a real pain to take down.

Here´s a video of the construction crew working on the new library that may soon outshine the Library of Congress:

Arachnophobia

Have you ever seen a spider big enough to require a large caliber rifle to hunt, and a packboard or a few mules, if you were so lucky to steady your nerves and get a off a clean shot before it attacked?* Not counting the one in the Harry Potter movies, me neither, but the spider in the following video was pretty big. Easily, the biggest spider I´ve seen (and Roger says that this was a small one!?).

In rewatching this video, I feel bad for my host-grandfather who was in his wheelchair watching the gringo film the spider as it stalked towards him. Oops. I don´t know Quechua yet, but I´m pretty sure he´s saying to my host mom ¨What´s he doing?¨ (or something to that effect). Hopefully he doesn´t hold a grudge and slip a spider in my bed as a pay-back.


* The heavy hunting reference is a shout out to Adam, THE big brother, who is surely honing his advanced military/pioneering  hunting tecniques in the Seeley-Swan Valley as we speak. Those of you who haven´t had the pleasure to observe or see pictures of this art form, think: cross country skis with special wax, hot chocolate, knit sweaters, ironic facial hair, and a notebok to meticulously record windage, trajectory and other ballistics. Good luck out there, be safe.  

Hauling adobe.

Roger's got a dream: build two more rooms onto the main house; one for the gringo, and one to be used as a chicken pen. So to accomplish this goal, Roger uses  his spare time to haul adobe (mixing mud and setting them into forms) and then setting the bricks in the driveway to dry. (In one day he hauled 300 bricks, pretty impressive as each brick probably weighs around 60 pounds). Then after the bricks have dried, he stacks them under a shed so the fast approaching rainy season does ruin them. However, since his time is limited he often has to stack the bricks after his normal jobs, in the dark.

While I like the room where I'm at, who am I to stand in the way of a man's dream? So to help pull my own weight, I spent one afternoon stacking the bricks for him while he has work. Heck, it's the least I can do if I get a room in their house, right?

Adobe being dried in our driveway. 

Getting my workout for the day.

This adobe brick was vandalized by Negra our family dog during the drying phase. 

An interesting side note might be that the chicken in the background of photos 1 and 3 was on his last legs... he was dying, and just like elephants to the mythical elephant graveyards, my room is apparently the chicken graveyard of Yuracoto. He spent 3 days hanging outside my room trying to get in, and according to my host mom, that means he was looking for his final resting spot.

And finally, as follow-up to this possibly interesting side note. My host mom made arroz con pollo (chicken and rice) two days ago, and I haven't seen any poultry hanging around my room lately. RIP little guy. 

Child Find Peru

In Anchorage every year, the school staff is trained that they have an obligation to report any students with a possible disabilities that may require specialized support. This is called "Child Find", and specifically it requires states to identify, locate, and evaluate all children with disabilities, aged birth to 21, who are in need of early intervention or special education services. (I'd like to mention that my home state of Montana is one of six states recognized by the US Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) for their performance in this area. Way to go MT).

In Peru, special education is done a little different. Here they do perform Child Find; however, its literally performed. Due to the fact that children with disabilities are sometimes seen as a burden or a source shame for a family, they are hidden in their homes (son ninos escondidos/ they're hidden children) and do not receive any educational support. To remedy this, the teachers and staff of the special education school  have to go out into the community twice a year in search of  these children. Meaning, they go door to door, and ask "do you know of any hidden children with disabilities". So when they asked if I wanted to go with them, I felt like it was something I needed to see.

We left early one Saturday morning (the 22nd) and we walked through 4 different suburbs of Caraz. It took about 6 hours, and the day was considered to be a success. We found 5 children, all of whom displayed what appeared to be significant disabilities. We also took the time to talk to the mothers, or other family members, to explain why the student should be attending the special education school, and more importantly way these children shouldn't be considered a burden.

Generally when I leave from working with the special education school, I have a drained, but satisfied feeling. However, I have to admit seeing some of these kids' home environments and hearing the families' stories was a little too heavy for one day. One mother shared how her husband had left her and their 13 children after the last child was born with a disability (and how since this child's birth 4 of her older children had died). It was rough to hear, and difficult to convince her that bringing her child to the special education school should be a priority (cutting into her house chores, the raising of her other children, and earning enough money to put food on the table). She was prettied convinced she had been cursed.

On the up side, every child we found seemed so happy to see us, and the parents or family seemed to show a great amount of gratitude that strangers were so accepting of their child, no matter their disability.

The director taking notes during a home visit on our Child Find. The chico (boy) on the  left is hopefully a future student at the special education school. 

March in Honor of People with Disabilities

On October 14th there was a sensitization march in Caraz to draw awareness for people with disabilities. Of course the students from the CEBE asistieron (attended), and Kelly the volunteer from Mancos, Ancash (Peru 17) also came along. The march was huge success and lots of school and town folk showed up to support the kids.

Here are a few pictures and a video from the march:

Kelly making some signs for the march.

The CEBE kids lining up to leave. 

The marchers outside the municipality. 

A father with his daughter who received a pair of crutches. 

Bonus:
After the march the municipalidad (municipality) hosted a lunch at a local restaurant (we ate cuy) and I had the pleasure of being seated across from two ladies that happened to be in town because they work for a dog circus based out of Lima. Right now is the temprada del circos/ circus season in Ancash. We've had three circuses come through Caraz in the last month. This particular circus hosts dogs with magic tricks and is loosely based on Snow White and the seven dwarfs. The two ladies (who I regrettably forget their names) happened to be little people, and asked me some very interesting questions about the little person sub-culture in the United States (which proved to be a subject where I'm painfully ignorant). In addition to being a great source of conversation during lunch, they were also very persistent in getting pictures taking with me before I left.

Here's my favorite of those pictures:

"X Me"

With no reasonable gyms* within a 2 hour radius of my site, a favorite pass-time and healthy stress reliever is not currently an option to me here in Peru; however, determined not to get too soft, I began p90x (again for the nth time). Tony Horton has become both a constant companion and a serious thorn in my side, as I've seen his videos a surfeit of times. Even Yeferson has started to memorize the moves meant to ensure your own personal beach body (provided that you just keep pressing play).

Here's a video of Yeferson "Bringing It":

* There are two gyms in Caraz, but they host a bad combination of unsafe 80's home gym equipment and machismo guys trying to do too much... making it a very unsatisfying experience. 

Oven Work

You know those points of contention that are well known in a family to cause a row? Well in my host family, an empty tank of gas for cooking is that trigger. Buying a tank of gas costs my host family 40S/. So when the gas runs out, my host mom often has to cook with wood until my host father can buy another tank (which sometimes takes a month in time). That means that she has to start cooking at least an hour sooner, and diligently watch the fire to make sure the meal cooks. It also means that since we don't have a chimney, the smoke fills the room, and our lungs whenever its meal time. In Roger's defense, he has to wait to be paid before a new tank can be bought. In my opinion, both have reasonable arguments.

So what can I do to help? My host mom currently uses a double burner system that cooks with high gas pressure. A system she started using after the used oven they bought for their wedding (400S/.) started leaking. The double burners cooks quickly, but consumes gas at about a tank every two to three weeks (which is crazy since some PC volunteers report having had their gas tanks last for up to 8 months). I think there is something wrong with the burners or the valve, but instead of trying to fix it, I decided to take a closer look at the old oven (which was being stored in their bedroom ever since it stopped working)*. 

A closer look at the older oven suggested that the tube that connects the tank to the oven was cracking, and the valve that connects to the tank had some leaky connections (both two things I felt comfortable fixing). So after two trips to Caraz and buying a tank of gas (which I took out of my rent cost), the old oven is back working, and I'm proud to report no explosions or house fires (which after the first 48 hours, if a catastrophic event would have occurred,  I felt confident it could blamed on user error instead of the plumbing). 

*I also feel obligated to note that the idea sharing the joys of fresh baked brownies with my host family may have provided me some additional motivation.  

Here's a short video I made before going to work. Please note the nice yellow t-shirt Yordan is wearing. It's from Seeley Lake, Montana and a gift he received for his 1st birthday, which occurred on October 8th.  

Erratic Behaviors of Caraz.

I love walking in the woods and stumbling upon a big ol' glacial erratic. A huge rock, so out of place, in the middle of nowhere, seems so entertaining to me. I can waste lots of time wondering where it came from, how it got there, and what all it's seen (if rocks could see).  Now Caraz is definately not the woods, but they do have few resident erratics. So whenever I walk to Caraz, I always try to pass by these two big guys: One is so big that they just built a park around it, and the other forms a nice privacy barrier for two neighbors. Here are a few pictures that don't quite do them justice.

Highs and Lows

Peaks and valleys, strikes and gutters, brown trout and foul hooked whitefish... there is always a good and a bad. While the following are not great examples of how high the highs are, or how low the lows are, I just thought they gave a little insight to my PC life.

This busted shoe was the capstone to a horrible week. It really was almost the straw that broke the Montanan's back. But how pissed can you really be when you sit on a rock by your latrine and catch a sunset like this with you little host brother?

The "Y-man" being a big ham. 

 2 days and 3S/. later that shoe was back in action and was as good as new.

Here is another example of the little things getting to me. Polladas (chicken feed) are often used to raise money in Peru.  So when the APAFA (PTA) at the school held one, they mandated that every family HAS to buy two plates (definitely taking out all the guess work of the pollada's success). So to save my host mother from having to drag Yordan to school and buy her two plates, I offered to buy them for her. The end result was me standing in the none moving line for 2 hours, during the heat of the day, not enjoying life. Here is the resulting video made from frustration:

Pollada Frustration Video

However, not to be outdone, this low was soon matched by the high of having all my health promoters take the time to come to Caraz on Friday after school to listen to a Charla presented by the municipality. I was so happy that they all showed up, and where so respectful during the 2 hour charla, that I found myself enjoying their game of tag, almost as much as they were, as we made the 30 minute walk back to Yurocoto. Here's the video:

Having fun in the streets of Caraz

Snuggle-up there big guy.

There's something about the combination of zooming combi packed to the hilt while serving around cars and stopping abruptly to pick up more passengers, and my shoulder, that makes Peruvian men loose all inhibition and just snuggle in for the two hour drive from Huaraz to Caraz. Here was my last cuddle buddy, and he wasn't my first... it's just that this time I was able to reach my camera without waking him:

Yurocoto School Aniverasio

The Yurocoto Colegio celebrated it’s 38^th anniversary this last week, which also coincided with the first day of Spring (the 23^rd of Sept), the Dia de Paz (Day of Peace, the 21^st), and the Dia del Nino (Day of the Child, the 23^rd). Obviously there were plenty of excuses to celebrate (and not have class).  To save you from a complete list of the week’s events, I’ll just state the highlights: trash pick-up, crowning of the spring queen, dance competition, paseo de faroles (paper lantern parade).

Each has is it’s distinct story, and so I’ve decided to dedicate a post to each one.

School Dance Competition

Competition could be a misnomer, as it seemed to be more of a show or concert put on by each grade level. It reminded me of being invited to you're neighbor's kid's Christmas recital. However, the town was excited, and since very few people have cameras (or least ones that take decent pictures), I was asked by a lot of parents to take a picture of their kids. On a related note, a lot of people know me as the gringo with the camera; however, I on the other hand do not have the luxury of so easily identifying the rest of my community. Needless to say, I don't know half the people that asked me to film their kid, or their kid. So what I ended up with is 84 pictures of random kids dancing.

To save you somewhat from the tedium, I'll only present this 10 minute video of the kids dancing. Feel free to skip through it, there won't be a test. However, if you have time, check out the Neil Diamond-isc fellow dressed in green at 3:05 into the video. Yep, that's our hero Yeferson, showing a few of the ol' family dance moves.

School Dance Video

San Miguel's Party

The Sra. Betty (the owner of the restaurant where Roger works) had family in town this week to celebrate the Fiesta of San Miguel. I'm not sure the exact reason why her family celebrates this saint, but I do know that I was invited, or more appropriate, demanded to attend.
It was a Catholic affair, so there were somethings I recognized from my schooling, but beside being able to predict the next prayer, there wasn't too much that was similar to what I have seen at Saint Francis. For starters, there was a guy with a firework rockets... and any time there was a transition in the mass, a prayer offered up, or priest breathed, a rocket was shot up. Then there was the shrine of San Miguel, this was bigger than the alter, and was promptly ushered out into the streets where the people dance and prayed to tunes provided by a full marching band. Oh, I may have forgot to mention that there was a band. This band sat a the back of the church in matching blue and white Hawaiian shirts and talked loudly to amongst themselves during the mass. Occasionally they would play 6 or 7 notes of a song, but this was without rhyme or reason, and I suspect it was mostly them practicing for their next gig.

Here is a picture of the precession, and a video I made following the mass (I don't know what to say about the first 20 seconds of this video. I just found it interesting that a Toyota that size could carry that much weight) :

San Miguel Video


After the procession, my skills honed from 13 years of Catholic schooling then came in useful, as I was soon able to detect that the ceremony had shifted it's focus to distributing efficiently large amounts of music, food, and beer. So the rest of the celebration looked no different than the tailgate area of the Washington-Grizzly stadium in Missoula, only it was inside of a rural church in Peru.

In all honestly, I didn't find the party too much fun. There is a point when a party is lively and exciting, and then there is a point when there are too many people spilling things on you and speaking to you in a unwelcoming combination spiting while yelling two inches from your face. This tipping point, appears to sneak up on people very quickly here, as I was more than ready to retreat home at 7:00PM.  Moreover, my Spanish skills are horrible if there is background noise, and trust me there was plenty of background noise.

The day wasn't a complete loss as I got to spend some quality time with a few of the teachers I work with at the school. I also got to hear Sra. Betty's brother (Keke) and cousin (Raul) both play live music. Keke plays the harp, scratch that, rocks the harp. While Raul (also a teacher at my school) sings romantic ballets.

Paseo de Faroles

One thing that I've always loved about latinamerican culture is the custom of nighttime strolls (paseos). I have some good memories from various countries of walking around in the evening, eating street food, chatting, or just people watching. However, living in Yurocoto, where there is no nightlife or central plaza to draw people out their houses, I haven't really got to experience that here. So when there was a paseo of faroles (stroll with paper lanterns) planned, I got excited.
Each kid made a lantern (usually using colored paper and making into the form of a animal or object, then using a candle to light it)*. Then everyone met at the school to organize and the then stroll down the main street of town. It turned out nice, although it only lasted for about 20-30 minutes.


Here's a couple of videos:

Parade Video

The final moments of the paseo.




*Roger being the master of salvaging things, found Yeferson's bee farole in the garbage outside of a church in Caraz (undoubtedly trashed after some other school paseo de faroles in Caraz). With a little tape and TLC, the bee was back in action for Yurocoto's paseo. Yeferson can be seen above holding his yellow bee.

Viva la Queen!!! (Crowning of the Spring Queen)

Spring is celebrated here on the 23rd of September, with a ton of activities, but none with more pomp and circumstance than the Crowning of the Spring Queen. From my perspective, it was exactly like class president, home coming queen, and prom all wrapped-up into one event. And so when I found out one the girls in my health promoters group (Rose Mari) was in the running (she told me that day), and that she wanted me to be her padrino (the guy that sponsors her and places the crown on her), I had to bring my "A" game.

After asking many annoying questions (and probably dumb ones too) I finally figured out what is the Spring Queen was, how it worked, and more importantly what the Padrino has to do. This is what I got: Each class nominates a girl to represent them. Then the girl has to go around and sell tickets at .20 cents each. The tickets act as votes, and the money goes towards paying for the dresses. There are 7 girls in the running, and the top 3 win spots (Queen, Princess, and Dama). To win, you need to bring in the most money. The winner is announced on Wednesday, the dresses with accessories are rented on Thursday, and on Friday, the school is presented their queen, the court is paraded around Caraz in a truck, and the dresses are returned that night. As for the padrino, this honor is usually reserved for a male in the family (like a uncle or grandfather), you are asked to put money in behind your candidate's votes (mainly because selling .20 cent tickets to school kids in Yurocoto will never pay for a dress), and if your candidate win's, you get to put the crown on her.

Pretty simple. But what do you do if you're the Padrino, were asked the morning the money was due to be counted, and your kid has sold about 88% less the leading competitor. One option is to say: "Well, its was nice just to be nominated". But remember Rose Mari, had just spent the morning working her tail off (as the only representative for Yurocoto, and a favor to me) to make sure the kids with disabilities could enjoy the March of Peace (see previous post) in Caraz. Furthermore, what do you do when you check your wallet and you're down to 10S/.

Here's what I did. I asked the pageant coordinator for time to walk to my house and tell my host mom that I wouldn't be home for lunch. Then I ran home and dug to the bottom of my dresser where I keep a pair a pants I rarely use, and more importantly, 60S/. in the pocket of the before mentioned pants. Then I ran back to the school. Dripping in sweat, I gave the coordinator the cash, and they began the final "vote" counting process.

As you can see from the tallies below, Rose Mari made a dramatic surge at the end to beat Damaris and seal her bid for the crown. I instantly felt like a jack-ass watching Damaris (someone who obviously took time to sell tickets) loose, but felt better watching Damaris and Rose Mari hug. Both being graceful and humble in their respective rights. It also made me happy thinking that I helped make Rose Mari's day, as I'm sure this on her list of "tops" in her short 16 years.

Here are some pictures and videos to document the Queen's rise to power and her subsequent reign. Viva la reina!

This is a picture of the vote tally prior to the Padrino's contribution.

This is the aftermath of me way over shooting on my contribution.

The royal subjects lined up to be presented the Queen.

Here's me crowning the Queen.

Here is the Queen on parade around Caraz.

And finally, here is a video of the Queen signing to her subjects (sorry it's so jerky):

The queen sings