HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNI!!

February 2nd! Happy Birthday Jenni! I’ve been in Perú for more than four months now. It began to rain last week. Finally. The rainy season came late, but it sure came. It has been raining on and off for a week now, starting in the morning at 10 or 11am and continuing all day until evening. These “aguaceros” will last until March or April, and then the season will change to summer. Dry and hot during the day and cold at night. Meanwhile, I’ve decided to purchase rubber boots….

My mountain bike arrived this month. Peace Corps rents bikes to volunteers who live in areas where there is little transportation. It’s a great program, as the bike is free of charge, and after my two years of service I either return it or donate it to a replacement volunteer. Included was a bright red helmet. I am quite the eye-sore in town with my fancy American bike and flashy red helmet. Some of the country folk I’ve encountered on the road greet me with an open mouth and long face. Helmets do not exist in Peru. I may as well be an astronaut on earth in their eyes. lol

One afternoon, my host dad Juan and I were sitting in the dinning room. He was helping me with some grammar exercises. Our cook, Marta and her daughter, Merley and Jesus (Juan’s son) were out of the house. Hours later when the three of them came home, we watched some TV and waited for the rain to slow. Someone noticed that our chicken was gone. Sometimes they walk down from where they stay and come onto our patio, usually they stay there but they can walk as far as into the road as well. We were sure the chicken had escaped into the road and had taken off. Unfortunately no one had been around for several hours.

We looked everywhere for the chicken. Even I helped, knowing that chickens cost about 12 or 13 soles (and it would probably be my next meal) I was anxious to know its whereabouts. It began to get late and we ate dinner, pondering over the chicken. We came to the conclusion that it had escaped during the afternoon and was probably long gone or someone in town had brought it home for themselves. I went to bed.

Juan awoke early in the morning to a peculiar noise he claimed to be a rodent under his bed. The noise continued until he couldn’t stand it anymore and he got up. He saw a large white mass under his bed. Laughing, he managed to free the chicken and return it to home, up around the house. More laughable is the fact that Marta tells me she couldn’t sleep that night, because she was thinking about the chicken! She was so relieved to know that the meal had been spared and the mystery was solved!

This month I’m going to begin to work with two local farmers in town. They are both friend’s of Juan and trustworthy men. I’ve visited their fields and was impressed with their products and knowledge. They are growing potatoes (of course), corn, carrots, pura pura, lettuce, radishes, yucca, ocra, various herbs, apples, peaches, tomatoes, quiwicha, onions, and much much more. Many vegetables I’ve never even heard of. One of the farmers raises bees. Yeah, honey. I’m very excited about helping them out, learning how they work and the crop seasonal calendar. The more I can learn about what is grown in my community, the better. As I will be focusing on nutrition for many of my health presentations. I can’t expect people to prepare and eat food that isn’t available to them. This “internship” with the farmers will be very rewarding.

Anna, a volunteer from Peace Corps Dominican Republic arrived on the 25th. She is continuing her service in Peru and will complete her fourth year as a volunteer this year! She comes with tremendous experience, and a great understanding of Castellano. She lives a hour and half from me and is the closest volunteer to my site. We live in very similar towns, and we’ll be programming together over this next year. I’m delighted to have a volunteer close by, especially someone who speaks English and understands American culture!

ps Sunday night i will be celebrating the super bowl on a rooftop in Trujillo. GO PITTSBURGH, EAST COAST PRIDE!