Moments

There are many moments in the Peace Corps that fit the stereotype of Peace Corps - small villages, disconnected from the world, very organic, etc. However, Peace Corps has grown with the times quite a bit since its initial founding in 1961 by President Kennedy as the world is marked by more and more “globalization” and television bringing images of far off worlds. Some volunteers in Peru, for instance, live in cities, have internet in their house, and can go to a movie theater or McDonald’s whenever they like (if they can afford it). All the volunteers in Peru have cell phones. The internet has made communication much faster with instant gratification (picture: not a peace corps moment, I enjoy cooking and can´t really ¨cook¨ where I live since I don´t have a typical kitchen. A friend teaches in the mining community and he has a decent kitchen...so we took advantage of that recently).

My Peace Corps experience is a little more rustic and fitting to the traditional stereotype of Peace Corps – though it’s nothing like it would have been in the first 4 decades of the organization. So, I feel a little luckier with my experience because it’s what I wanted when I initially came here – the feel of isolation, being disconnected and the idea that there are still some places that haven’t been converted to “Americanism” with most concerned about their possessions defining who they are and eating food processed in laboratories wrapped in plastic with shelf lives of 5 years. Although, a forced cash economy and technology is certainly affecting the life here now as more computers, televisions, phones, and processed food arrive and are cheaper.

But, there are times, here and there, where I can’t help but smile at something and think that this moment, is stereotypical “Peace Corps” (but I smile at a lot of things). For instance, I printed out some pictures of the recent baptism I was part of and gave them to the family in one of the zip lock bags that my parents sent. It’s one of those ziplocks that have a small blue plastic handle that you pull back and forth to open/close the bag. At first, the family didn’t know how to open it and they were just as intrigued by the ziplock as they were the pictures – moving the blue “one-zip” back and forth with a perplexed look on their face and saying to me that it’s like a zipper on your pants.

This next moment isn’t really ‘Peace Corps’ but it’s too funny not to mention. When I first got here, I met a girl at a bar and we started hanging out – but she had a very latin-idea of a relationship, which I couldn’t deal with (lots of drama and calling me, literally 10 to 20 times a day). I broke that up promptly. Anyhow, we’re still friends and she’s in school studying art. I mentioned one time that I would like to see her drawings. She came out to where I live with a framed charcoal drawing of...Rod Stewart. I did my best not to laugh, simply because, well, it’s Rod Stewart – though it’s a very talented drawing. It’s hanging up in my room now, so I’m never really alone anymore…always have Rod there looking at me with his, “Do you think I’m sexy” grin? (And no, Rod, I don’t think you’re sexy).

Anytime I ask someone where I live to take a picture with my camera, I have to explain how to do it. Many people get confused and end up taking close-ups of their face. There is a lot of old beliefs that are completely ridiculous, passed down from generation to generation with no basis other than that’s what they were told (like drinking something cold at night will make you sick). Last night I was helping a 9-year old kid with his homework and I asked him what he wants to be when he grows up – he had never been asked that question before and he didn’t have an answer (there don’t seem to be too many choices around here). I walked into a store the other day and saw these lovely calendars of nude girls and right next to that was a picture of Jesus (I put black squares over the breasts to keep this PG).

My neighbor has an open part of her house, which is normal, and I can see into it from the stairs. I’m not much into voyeurism but the best signal for my cell phone is outside on the stairs – one time I saw she had a turkey, 3 or 4 chickens, 2 dogs, a cat, and a bunch of guinea pigs running around inside – all seemed to be living in relative harmony. At a town party once, there was a line of girls and the mayor told me and two other gringos to pick one (to dance). Everyone’s sense of geography is horrible. Most live simple lives – indulging in the basics and that’s it – lots of time to sit around and chat about the same things, and most seem quite content to do just that. I´ve mentioned this before, but everyone still plows their fields with cows. To get the wheat off the stalk, they have a donkey or two walk around in circles for hours, then throw it all in the air, the stalks get carried away by the wind and the wheat falls back down. Then, of course, we sift through the wheat for rocks, etc.

Anyhow – there are countless “Peace Corps” moments – those are just a few interesting ones. The ziplock incident just happened yesterday, which gave me the idea to write this. Hope everyone is doing well and still enjoying bacon (after all, this swine flu isn´t the pigs´ fault).
Thanks for reading.
Much love,
Jake

Time...there she goes

Since I was fortunate to know a few returned peace corps volunteers, I got a very accurate assessment of what service would be like before arriving. One of the things all of them mentioned, was just how fast the last year goes...especially the last 6 months.

Now, I have about 4 months left of the journey that began, what feels like, quite a long time ago. It's still too far out to really write the reflection piece to it all - though around now you start thinking, "What have I really done here?" "Am I happy with what I/We have accomplished?" The answer to that, with regards to the job, is yes and no. I've been pondering what I've accomplished recently and will write more about it later. Just completing 2 years of service though is something to be proud of...as one Marine at the embassy told me, "You guys are hardcore."

In a month, I'll be traveling to Lima for our "Close of Service" conference. Of course, it will be one big meeting of reflection and ambiguous anticipation for what comes next. The next 4 months though will be quite busy. I'll be trying to finish up with the job, getting ready for the next stage of life, and planning my way back home. I'll be going home by land...from Peru to San Diego. Should be quite a time. If anyone wants to pick me up in San Diego and road trip across the States, let me know.

Here are some pictures of a few of the fun times over the past couple months.
Much love,
Jake
This is the view from up the hill where I live. The one of the valley, if you look closely you can see the airport.


That's the tripod of Anca$h having a slumber party, drinking lots of wine and making chili. Somehow we got our hands on a spice packet for chili. It was amazing.

A Godfather...part 1...no sequels

At the beginning of March, two of the artisans I work with came to my door to ask if I would be the godfather for their 13 year old daughter. They are not technically married because that costs too much money to do, but they’ve been living together for 15 years. Usually I say no outright, but I felt bad doing that so I tried to scare them off first.

My opening tactic was that I’m a volunteer and don’t have much money and the whole baptism thing usually costs some money. They are relatively poor as well, but they assured me I wouldn’t have to pay for a big party or anything. They laid out the costs that I would have to pay, which I could do…I just wouldn’t be able to have any fun in March.

Next I mentioned that I’ll be leaving at the end of August and I have no idea if I’ll ever be able to visit again. Of course I hope to visit at some point in the future, but it won’t be for a long time. If I were the godfather, I wouldn’t be able to take a large part in her life. Plus, I didn’t really know their daughter at all. They said, that’s okay. No big deal. In general, I think they just feel like baptism is something they are supposed to do, but not that vital, more of the Pascal’s Wager thing.

The last topic I mentioned was that I’m not catholic. In fact, I don’t have a religion. I was baptized when I was a baby but I do not subscribe to the ideas and principles of that church. This caused them to pause and look at each other uncertainly. But then Hugo, the dad, told me I could just say I’m catholic if someone at the church asks.

So, after discussing those things, I decided to go ahead and say yes. The parents probably didn’t have another choice for a possible godfather. Their daughter is already 13, a little older than most and if I didn’t say yes, she would have to wait till the next year probably. The parents considered it an honor and the girl probably felt special that a blue-eyed gringo would be her godfather. I was also intrigued at the experience. So, those aren’t the right reasons to be someone’s godfather, but if it sufficed for the parents, I was fine with it also.

The process involved three Sundays in a row. The first was a lecture about baptism. We were asked why we were going to be the godfather/mother. Most repeated the example the leader of the discussion gave, “to be better Christians”. I said to help lead a life of love, forgiveness, and peace, which I meant. Even though I don’t think Jesus was born of a virgin or was the son of god or that if you don’t believe in him you spend eternity in pain and anguish or that I am born with sin from the very beginning of my life, I completely embrace the idea of living peacefully with compassion and understanding and I don’t need any ridiculous dogma to practice that in my life. (In the picture, I was doing everything I could to try and get them to smile...but that doesn't really happen much here)

The second Sunday was the baptism. There were a bunch of people getting baptized because of the time of year. The preacher went around doing a cross on their foreheads, then after him I had to do a cross with my thumb on her head. Then one by one we went up to the bowl to get some water taken from the faucet but now magically holy, poured on her head, meanwhile I had my left hand on her right shoulder. That’s it! Now I’m a godfather.

After the baptism, the adults party, which I wasn’t all that excited about. We went back and had a traditional meal, soup and then guinea pig with potatoes. Usually you get a quarter of a guinea pig and a mountain of potatoes, but because I was the godfather, I got a whole one and a mountain of potatoes. Basically, it’s just a fried dead animal over a bunch of potatoes with a delicious spicy sauce. The animal was intact and I was given a spoon to eat it with. Other members of the family come to the party and we drink and dance to traditional Andean music, there was about 12 people altogether. But, the dancing has to be started by the godfather dancing with the mother of the daughter while everyone watches. I was able to put up with it for a few hours, then I got out of there.

The third Sunday is the first communion. There were tons of kids there for their first communion that had been baptized over the previous months. That was it. Done deal. Now, I actually hope to spend some time with my goddaughter before I leave but she is so shy around me I can’t get anything out of her other than one word answers. But, maybe that’s still helpful for her that someone else is showing an interest.

Thanks for reading,
Much love,
jake