Monday, June 26, 2006

My Home

Picture: Main city plaza of Piura. In the night, the plaza lights up and fills up with lively people. On the plaza there is a post office, ice cream parlor, colonial hotel, and a cathedral.

Piura City, ¨The City of Eternal Heat¨, not a good motto to attract tourisim unless your sick of the winter. I like Piura because we don´t have many tourists come through and I still remain the center of attention unlike other cities where you might feel like ¨another tourist¨ while trying to fit in and feel part of a community. Piura is a city of about 350,000 people though it feels like a small town. I´ve never experienced living in a medium size city where just about everyone knows who everyone else is. This phenomenon is especially true among the middle and upper class families. One thing that really annoys me is the amount of gossip that occurs here. Sometimes I have people tell me up to 10 times a day that they saw me at a restaurant or I did this or I did that. It´s annoying to me because the things are so ordinary and uninteresting yet people find a way to make it their highlight of the day. Yes its very hard to be anonymous in city, especially if you look like a ¨gringo¨. As much as it annoys me, I do find some pleasure feeling like what I do is seen and people are watching my every move. Like I said in one of my past blogs, I really feel like a semi-famous movie star. I really have no problem getting people to listen to me, I usually get better treatment at restuarants or bars, and people always love to learn about where I come from. The children, especially love to ask me all kinds of questions. Like what is the United States like? I try to make U.S. sound like it is not that special so they don´t feel like there is nicer places than where they live. These kids live in the most impoverished communities in the outskirts of town. Places that resemble camping grounds than neighborhoods. I try to tell people that the US has poverty like Peru and that there are people that go to bed hungery and without homes or family. Though I know the problem is nothing compared to Peru. When I think of the States I usually think how lucky we are and how good we really do have it. But one thing I have learned working in poverty is that most of the people I know that have little are very happy and have pride. They may be a little more ignorant about certain things but they are happy and want the best for their kids. On the contrary, I know a lot of people in the US and in Peru that have many possesions but somehow are miserable. There definately is some kind of cosmic relationship between wanting more and being happy with what you have. One interesting thing I have noticed about Piura is there is a huge division between the rich and poor. It is almost like the Indian social cast system. The rich bar up their houses with iron and steel and have little communication with their neighbors. There is no such thing as neigborhood parties or BBQs. The poor are unfortunately often labeled as beggars or thieves while the rich are known as the elitists around the town. It is true that in Peru there is little racism but a tremendous amount of discrimination and elitism. The rich control most of buisnesses and government entities. Even when a ¨native looking poor Peruvian¨ works his or her way up to the social ladder they are often not respected by the wealthy affluent community. One example is Alexander Toledo, Peru´s first ¨indigenous¨ President who just finished his term last month, was very unpopular among the wealthy. Well, see how our new president Alan Garcia does as he will start his new term this July after more than a decade absence since his presidency in Peru in the 80s. I hope I remember to write more about Peru´s politics in the future. It is incredibly interesting and crazy. Anything can happen in Peru!

Monday, June 19, 2006

The Hardest Part...Adjusting to a new culture

After living almost a year in Peru I often reflect on my experience here and how I have changed. One thing I know of for sure is that my English has gone down hill. I find it hard to write and of course I forgotten a lot of vocabulary that I once knew. On the other hand, my Spanish has improved to the point where I can say just about anything I want plus I can understand when people talk to me given they speak Spanish well and don´t use a lot of slang (Jerga).

I remember when I first arrived to Peru that everything was exciting and new. Peace Corps volunteers often talked about how lucky we were to be in such a cool country and not some other country. I remember the day we left training to go visit our future sites and meet our new Peruvian families that were assigned to us. It was a very exciting time but also very scary for me because I had grown very close to my host family in training and had got accostomed to the simple life in the small town where I lived. I would now start my Peace Corps service in the big city 14 hours away with a new family.

Well now I am here with almost a year behind me. I can´t imagine going home in a year. I am not ready yet but think I will be in a year or so. It will be hard to adjust to the new life in the states after adjusting to a completely different culture.

Coming from an individualistic culture I was use to having my independence at an early age. In Peru, and other Latin American countries the cultures are collectivist and the people shun independence. I think that is the hardest part about my Peace Corps experience. I struggle with maintaining my personal space, my independence, and privacy daily.

In Peru the idea of personal space doesn´t exist. The idea of walking to the corner store alone is definately odd. Most people like for someone to accompany them wherever they go. The other thing I struggle with is the gossip. I live in a city of 350,000 but that isn´t big enough be anonymous. I hear from friends around town what I did weeks ago and it could be things as simple as I saw you go to the store the other day and you bought some apples. ¨Who cares what I do, especially when I go to the store! Don´t you have better things to be concearned about!¨ Believe me it gets very annoying to have talk about you.

I know Peruvian´s see me differently. I walk down the street and people look at me like I am an alien. Though at first I was really bothered by the stares and whistles I am now use to it and prefer it. I feel like I am a B rated movie star (famous but not famous enough to have mobs of people take my picture). I know when I get back to the states I won´t get attention like that. I think that will be hard. After adjusting to the collectivist lifestyle and how challenging it is being for me I imagine that adjusting back to the individualistic lifestyle in the states will be challenging as well. I know the things I complain about now I will probably miss when I go home.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Welcoming friends from Equador

The Peruvian kids from my work are welcoming their neighbors from Ecuador. The group came down to play soccer against some Peruvian soccer clubs.
The children welcomed their friends by singing and chanting ¨Peru and Ecuador are Friends for Life¨The kids learned in this activity about Self-esteem and how self-esteem is delicate and we should treat people with love and respect.
Psychology Interns, Jorge, and Gladys, from the University that help me do workshops with the kids.
I´m giving a speech to dozens of kids about how we are humans but each one of us is different. Peru is a very collectivist society and sometimes it is hard for the children to think on their own and use their own creativity.
This is our new volleyball court thanks to supporters back home who donated money to purchase new sports equipment and supplies. I´m the referee.