Photos

Fun from my birthday party with the Cubas´, the students coming over to wish me a happy happy, and a little first communion baptism in the host family. We had the despedida last night and though I did not get emotional, it is starting to hit home more that I am leaving in two weeks. Very very soon. But I am absolutely loving the present and am enjoying every moment I am spending with the wonderful people of Peru.

730 Mark

I don´t have much time to write with all the craziness going on with new volunteers coming tomorrow and Maureen´s birthday as well (we have a few good surprises in store). Nevertheless, I felt like noting that it is indeed my two year anniversary from stepping off the plane in humble ole Tacna, Peru. Everyone always said it would fly by, and it has, but don´t forget, there are still two months of fun to go!

Halloween Weekend

Halloween weekend was a blast down here in Peru - and in retrospect, a great mix of cultures. Interestingly, in order to combat the external cultural influence of Halloween, the government here made October 31st Day of the Cancion Criolla. It didn´t stop us - and many businesses, nightclubs, and little kids - from having a little spooky fun though.

To start, despite high expectations from last year´s successful Haunted House (the students have been asking about it all year round), we pulled off a great one this year. We raised money for the upcoming Mes de Mision by turning our house into a dark, spiderweb-filled, scary graveyard (thanks partly to a neighbor who set up some dark lights and strobe lights that he usually rents out for parties). I took on the role of a dead person who the crazy scientist (Mo) was operating on. My guts spilling out were made of red food dye, oatmeal and spaggeti - and after the three hours of kids coming through and having this goop just sitting on my stomach, I was very much ready for a nice shower. Nate was a gravedigger, Cara a mummy, and Seamus some sort of goblin-like character that everyone joked looked like a tomato. The kids were very scared and enjoyed their little american candies we gave them at the end (some came through many times just to get more).

Sunday itself was more tranquilo as we went to the Dia Familiar for Cristo Rey (basically the big school celebration). There was good food, some good dances (the best were definitely the traditional ones, instead of the moderny Hip Hop types), good company (we went with Martin, Edith, Carmen Rosa and ran into many friends there), and good relaxation.

Monday - and All Saints´Day - was another impactful cultural experience for me. I went to accompany Martin and Edith to the cementary to visit Jason´s grave. Usually, it has been a very peaceful trip for me personally, but on Monday, the cementary had almost a party feel to it as many people (especially those from the highlands) were visiting and celebrating the life of those in their family who have passed on. Many of these groups (some of which had upwards of twenty people) were putting flowers, manna (a sweet kind of popped corn), a special kind of ¨dead¨ bread, and other trinkets on the grave while drinking and chatting around it. I think it sort of disturbed Martin and Edith because for them it interrupted the tranquility and sacredness of the cementary, but I at least enjoyed seeing what it was like and being able to be there with them.

Now, in less than one week we have the seven new volunteers descending on Tacna (a little gringo invasion) and life is planning and preparing for that. It will be another great time and really make this next month and a half fly by as I say goodbye to Tacna and its wonderful people.

October Vacations

So, although my vacation week started off a bit slowly (though not in a bad way, I very much enjoy just spending time with my host family and friends here in Peru), it ended with a whole lot of movement.

On Thursday, I took a trip with Seamus and my host mother up one region to Moquegua to visit its capital. Known for its avocado and hot sun, we spent a wonderful day walking around, taking silly photos, talking about why we are volunteers, and enjoying the good craziness that is my host mother Carmen Rosa.






If you do not believe me, check out her poses in each picture and then keep in mind that at least three random dance parties broke out during the day.
















After that, we returned to find our house flooded (though a neighbor had seen water pouring out under the door and had turned it off from outside) because a tube going into the bathroom sink had broken. The cleanup left Seamus and I quite tired and with little ganas the next day for an adventure. But, in the afternoon, after calling the son of the local store owner and finding out that he was planning to make the pilgrimage to a statue of the Virgen Mary called Virgen de las Peñas in northern Chile, we got ourselves up for the challenge.

After a couple hour bus ride, crossing the border, visiting the Walmart-like megastore and being astounded in Arica, then hiking for over three hours in the dark, we finally arrived. Though the trip was tough, the walk was especially enjoyable for a number of reasons. For one, it was neat having to find our way along with hundreds of other Chileans in the dark (it was like a giant treasure hunt). I was also really blown away to arrive at 3 in the morning to dancing and music and lots of energy in the little town (which is not accessible by road and celebrates - soberly, since alcohol is forbidden - for three days straight). Lastly, people of all shapes, sizes, and kinds made the trek; along the way, we saw elderly people, overweight people, babies being carried, and even a group of what our friend called ¨chico chicas¨- flamboyantly gay Chileans. These other photos show where we slept for four hours after waiting an hour and a half to saludar the Virgen when we arrived (a must), the church with the dancing at 4 something in the morning - including the people sleeping on the floor, and Seamus and Nate waiting on the line and partaking in a snack of Chocolate Cheerios that we had been saving for a special occasion every since my mom brought them down. Sorry that the photo is sideways.

Anyway, it was a hectic (we only spent 10 hours in the town, and so in the matter of around 36 hours did the whole bus trip there, the hike up, slept for four or five hours and then came all the way back to Tacna) last few days of vacation, as it will be a hectic and fun-filled October, November, December and January. But life is good - so who am I to make any complaints?
Also, bought my ticket and February 4th will be the end of the wild ride as I set foot on American soil once again. Woohoo.

Elections

So it turned out that all of the guys tryng to run for reelection lost out. Our new mayor of Tacna was symbolized by a little drop of water (but all dressed up as superman). Ironically, since Sunday, water has been cut up in the center. Everyone claims its the ousted mayor´s revenge, which is funny and possibly true. It seems like democracy worked out quite well for the most part, as there is little discussion of any disenfranchisement or issues here with the voting. The lines were very long and slow, but if that is the worst there is, then one cannot complain too much, right?

It was actually a really exciting experience to be with some Peruvians as the polls closed at 4 pm. The radio kept playing dramatic sound effects and throbbing the word ¨flash¨ over and over again. They did that for about 45 minutes with lots of filler talk before finally anouncing the results. I don´t know if the results mean any particularly drastic in terms of changes for Tacna, but one of the neat developments on a national scale is that a woman won the mayor race in Lima, and she is the first female mayor in Peruvian history. I will miss some of the loud music, parades and general excitement a bit, but I hope the fact that Fidel Carita won here in Tacna means that we will still get to see the gotita (little water drop), all over the place.

A Short Update

As the month of Halloween, the unofficial start of the Christmas season down here (I only say this because the delicious dessert of panetone - like a good fruitcake - has made its reappearance on store shelves) begins, there are many updates to bring. Right now, we have a week of vacation between our third and fourth bimester, which I am taking advantage of to visit many people, reconnect a bit with the school I taught at last year, and share some photos with you all.




So, firstly, in the middle of September, I went on a camping trip with Seamus, Maureen, and my homeroom of 27 16-year-old kids. It actually ended up being a whole lot of fun, though it was a little rough because we were sleeping in our sleeping bags on cement and trying to get that many kids to do stuff is always a bit of a struggle. I am putting up a couple photos so you all can see what the town was like (its called Locumba, and was actually celebrating its feast day, when lots of people do a walking pilgrimmage there to touch the state of Nuestro Señor de Locumba. That is why there are lots of tents). There are shots of how the kids cooked our food (on an open fire on the side of a street) and how we slept too.
One funny moment - at least in retrospect - was when the students pulled out boxing gloves on Friday night. As soon as I told them I was going to take them away, they started whinning and complaining and trying to tell me that I was sucking all the fun out of their campamento. They also made the argument that they would just end up fighting anyway and hurt each other much worse (that reason almost made me laugh). But outside of that, there were very little problems and some of the kids came up like champions (one was out in a blazing sun for three hours frying all the chicken over an open fire on Saturday for lunch). I think it really is those outside of class moments, especially when certain ones really shine, that hold the most meaning for me with the kids.















This shot is of the Cubas family, who I have become really close with over me time here. One weekend, they took me to the bosque - basically like a big municipal park (and really the only one in Tacna) - to see the zoo and pasear (which basically means hang out). They are very special to me and it will certainly be very hard for me to say goodbye to them in December, though I know we will remain in touch.











As part of the celebration of Dia de la Juventud (youth day), my school did a kite contest with elementary school kids that I was able to judge. It was a blast to see all the families out there in the sandy pampa trying to get their kites up. Some really suceeded, though a lot of the best ones ended up losing the kite as it flew off into the wild blue yonder.

Physical Education in Peru

So, right now, all the rage in our school is the drill routines that all the classes of secondary and 4th, 5th, and 6th grade of primary have been preparing. Drill is basically rhythmic gymnastics and is absolutely hilarious to watch: http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoYr-p1Y67A. I don´t mean to mock it at all (especially considering I do step areobics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmqZ_okcTfM with Edith - the mother of Jason, the student who died last year - at least once a week), but it is quite funny to watch.

I think the best part of it is how into the kids get. Their final performance on Monday will pretty much determine their physical education grade, but whole classes of students have been out on the streets of Habitat for hours after school practicing. It really has taken over here at school.

On a wider scope, the October 3rd elections have really come to dominate local discussions and local radio. Besides the flags and posters up all over the place, many of the campaign songs (simple remixes of all the current big hits) can be constantly heard and very often their are parades of the different canidates going through the center.

Elections here are very interesting - on the ballot, for example, they do not even put the canidates name, but simply their party´s symbol. These symbols range from a single letter to a number to a characterture of the canidate himself (the guy running for re-election as mayor of Tacna simply runs on his personality and so is known as the Gordito Simpaticon. He doesn´t really have any other platform than a subtle ¨you can´t help liking me, can you.¨ Check out his video, which has many shots of Tacna. Also, the big guy dancing in the background is the canidate: http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=2cJBO8k3QOs).

As a volunteer and foreigner, I don´t take any stance or support any canidate, but it is a little disheartening to hear the way many Peruvians see their political system: as one of corruption, manipulation of the voting procedures, and the buying of elections. Additionally, there is not any stable political party system. One interesting point, however, is that everyone must vote (if you don´t, one of the ways that get you besides a fine is not allowing you to make any bank transactions). I haven´t decided yet if I feel like that is good to make voting obligatory, but I definitely feel that it has wide ranging effects, especially when there is such confusion with a plethora of canidates.

Any thoughts from those out there?