Speed Taste Testing...

Anniversaries of towns are a big deal in Perú. This weekend was the anniversary of Vice, the district I live in. So for its anniversary, they had 10 days full of events, things like soccer games, volleyball games, educational talks on environment, small business, domestic violence, they also have dances and artesans exhibits. But my favorite event is the ¨Concurso de Platos Tipicos¨. This is an event where organizations from all over the district make a typical food dish from Perú and bring it to Vice for a food competition. This past Saturday, there were about 18 different organizations. Now the public gets really excited about this bc first, Judges go around and taste the food, but then, its time for everyone else to go out and sample.

It sounds pretty organized, doesn´t it? Well I am sorry if I am giving you the wrong impression bc it is the furthest from being organized! My ¨sitemate¨and I decided to each make a dish from our culture, as sort of an ¨intercambio¨, exchange of culture. I made Mac & Cheese (not just from a box, homemade Mac & Cheese) and my ¨sitemate¨ Brett made some turkish dish called Menemen.

Well as soon as we arrived, the entire crowd swarmed our table. They all wanted to see our food, they wanted to taste it, they wanted to smell it, they wanted to learn how to make it even though they had no clue what it was yet! And then they tricked us. The judges were tasting the last food and about 1/2 of the crowd, 25 people or so, kept asking us to begin. They said it was time to begin. No one else had started letting people taste their food, but the people were telling us it was time. So we said okay and uncovered our dishes. People starting pushing and shoving and killing each other to get in to grab a spoon (there are only 3 or 4 spoons at each table and you grab a spoon, take a bite, then put the spoon down for the next stranger to use, and you move on to the next table). Then the lady next me says its not time yet bc the judges have to make another round. Of course!! Thats how Peruvian culture is. They tell you what you want to hear, they tell you what you need to hear in order for them to get what they want. Its so annoying! Especially when you are working with business. You get nothing productive done.

So finally it was time to begin ( oh, for that 1 minute I uncovered my food for the tasting, they devoured about 1/4 or it, thats impressive). As soon as the director said ¨Okay¨ the people were at, and I split. I wasnt about to be there for all the mayham with my food. I wanted to try the rest of the food. There is supposed to be a line that starts at the first table, but that didnt happen. Half of the crowd was at our table, which was GREAT bc it freed up everyone else´s food so I wouldn´t have to wait in line or knock someone out to get some food. Let me tell you, it gets rowdy! Brett was trying to hand out crackers to people tasting his food but eventually gave up bc they just mauled him. Within about 10 minutes, my food was gone. They loved it! I had about 10 people afterwards ask me for the recipe. So I guess it was a success!

From Money to Kisses

The cutest thing happened the other day. It is extremely common for kids, adults, babies to ask you for money. You`ll be walking down the street and someone will come up to you and say ¨Give me 10¨. They want $10. Or you can be carrying some eggs and they will say ¨Give me an egg¨. They are programmed to beg from their youngest days. Not everyone, but a lot of them.

Well there is one kid in my town who always asked for ¨10¨ whenever I see him. I used to feel bad telling him no, even though I am this ¨rich¨gringa who can afford to give him that and so much more. So instead, I tell HIM to give ME ten and I hold up both my hands for high fives. After a while, he caught on and started loving giving me fives. He would come up to me asking for ten, but this time wanting me to give him a high five. Kids here LOVE getting high fives. You always have to initiate it, and sometimes explain to them how to do it, but they LOVE it. You are giving them attention, and thats what they want most of all.

One day, about a week ago, this little boy comes running up to me and I am thinking he is going to ask for ten. He does, I give it to him. Then he asks ME if I want some of HIS bread, and its rude to say no, so I say of course. He tears off this little tiny piece, and hands me about 3/4 of his roll! I couldnt except the bigger piece, so I trade him for the littler one. Then, right as I am walking off, he smiles with his two black holes where his two front teeth should be, and asks me for a kiss. My heart melted then and there. Here is this little boy, who used to be a begger to me, who is now not asking for money, but for kisses. If we could have that same affect on the rest of Peru, our work here would be complete.

Why don´t they understand me?!

Here is my question: Why can I go into Piura or travel to Lima, even Ecquador, and people understand me just fine, but then I am in site and no one has any idea of what I am saying! Agh, its so frustrating! No wonder I am so self consious about my spanish. Its because people in my site make me feel like I am bajo bajo. They make me feel like I know nothing! And trust me, there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to communicate. And there isnt a bigger insult than when they tell you your friend´s spanish is better than yours. They are trying to insult you, they are just being honest. Its like the whole thing where they call bigger people ¨gordo/a¨ and thinner people ¨flaco/a¨. Its not an insult, thats just what they do in their culture. But us Americans do take it as insult, or not as lightly as we should.

Like i was with my friend the other weekend and we met this guy that worked at this restaurant. He was talking to me and my friend and then later asked if I wanted to go out and get ice cream. I was like sure, that´ll be cool. So then he goes on to say ¨Your friend speaks better spanish than you, doesnt she?¨ WHAT! You just ask me to go out on a little ¨date¨ and then go on to insult me and tell me my friend is better/smarter than me. Yes, that is something to tell a lady when you just asked her out!

Mother´s Day

One weird thing about Perú is that they show dead bodies on the news. It is very disturbing. I was eating lunch the other day and it was really hard to eat while watching this news story with a woman screaming and crying while holding her dead husband. And its not a quick glance either. Its a ¨lets get 30 seconds from this angle, 30 seconds on a close up of the face, another 15 seconds from the top...¨ and so on. The word ¨privacy¨does not exist in the Peruvian language. And who the heck would want to see a dead body anyways?

Mother´s Day was a couple of weekends ago and they throw a big celebration for it. There is a variety show in which the all the moms in the towns come too and a bunch of their kids perform on a big stage. They also give out prizes to the 50 oldest moms in the town. But what does the word ¨prizes¨mean? It means pots and pans, tubberware, cups, mixing bowls, etc. You can tell the role of the women in the Peruvian culture. They are there to keep the house under control, keep food on the table, make sure the home is clean, make sure the laundry is always done, etc. Its interesting to me because my mom talks badly of my sister at times, saying that she is never home cooking and cleaning. But in reality, I see her cook and clean the most out of everyone. I think my mom is angry at my sister because she is going to school. Because she isn´t following the norm of graduating high school and coming home to take care of the family. My sister is studying at the university and after that, will be off to get a real job. Which is great! Its part of the advancement that Perú needs! Perú needs the women to get out in society more to help dissolve this machistic culture. But my mom doesn´t understand that. She is one of the very poorly educated women whom know nothing but being a housewife.

Okay, back to my story. For the Mothers Day celebration, my sister and myself recited a poem for my mom. I was soooo nervous! I am horrible about speaking spanish in front of people I do not know, and here I was speaking spanish infront of 400 people! But it went really well! I like speaking in front of people, and for some reason, its a lot easier to do things in spanish that would be more difficult to do in english. I feel as though the words do not hold as much weight, to me, as they do in english. It was alot of fun. And I am not going to lie, I kinda expected people to clap really loud for me, but that didnt happen. They were just like whatever. Thats how Peruvians are though. They do not get real excited for events like that, or at least do not show it. My mom liked it though, so that matters to me!

Lima to Piura

I just returned from Lima yesterday and it was so hard to leave! The family I was staying with was so great and it was super nice to get outside of the campo mentality. It really surprises me how different and how much further developed the mentality of the people are from places like Lima are from those in the campo and even capitol cities like Piura. I went to chosica to visit my old host family from training and just speaking with them I could tell such a big difference. It makes me grateful to know them, but also brings me back to reality and lets me know I am not as dumb as I feel SO OFTEN while in site and Piura. I didn´t expect this part of PC life would be so difficult.

I think I am going to try to switch houses in my site (if my APCD allows it). I love my host family, but it is just too much to take sometimes. I can deal with it, yes. But I am not going to be the most productive I can be if I stay. I need privacy, I need quietness, I need to feel like I have my own life and routine and living with 7-9 other people makes that extremely difficult. I hardly ever have the privacy to do work, let alone the privacy to just THINK. If I cannot switch houses, I am at least going to try to rent a room somewhere that can be my office. You guys would not believe how hard it is to have privacy here. Its almost impossible. And for some one as private as myself, you can imagine the problems with that.

Its back to site in a couple of hours. I had to stay in Piura for an adjustment day, to get myself ready to back to the campo...Oh yea, the campo. I cant wait (can you sense the sarcasm??)

Word of Caution

I hardly use the written english language anymore, so I know my spelling is horrible! Disculpame!

So I know its been 5 months, but...

I am finally posting an entry, and probably would not be doing it if it weren't for numerous people getting on my case about not updating. I am sorry everyone, but finally here it is!

I am currently in Lima on official business with PC. That sounds cool, right? I was given the option of staying with a host family (American) or staying in a hostel while I was here and choose the host family. Goodness its so nice! I feel very comfortable with this family, its like they are my real family! I guess thats the way it goes when you are in a foriegn country, when you are with your own kind theres that automatic bond. Its so crazy though, they have capt'n crunch in their pantry, raisan bran, hunts ketchup...all these things that I haven't seen in someone's house since I have arrived in Peru! But I am so Peruvian now, I totally perfer a Pervian meal over an American, packaged and processed meal. It just taste so much better. I returned from the states a good two weeks ago and brought back a can of Ravioli. I opened it up and cooked it on the stove, all excited that it was going to be amazing. Yet it was so bland, and I hate to say it, but gross! It was tasteless. But thats a good thing though, learning to like natural and un processed foods.

I have a horror story that didnt happen to me, but to my friend Karrie. I am sure a bunch of PCV's have similar ones. But Karrie called me one day and was freaking out about this tarantula that was just creeping outside her bathroom one day that was the size of her hand! Now, Karrie lives about 30 minutes away from me, so I am thinking if there are trantulas in her neck of the woods, there can very well be tarantulas in my neck of the woods. So the next 3 nights, I was SO paranoid about trantulas being in my room. I had to sleep with the lights on, make sure my mosquito net was tucked into every crack and crevice in my bed, and was completely on edge and jumpy for the entire night. I am still scared I am going to wake up to a huge tarantula just sitting on my chest, staring me down. I think I would probably scream really loud, freak out, and in the process make the tarantula freak out and it would then jump on my face and sink its juicy, poisen filled fangs into my face, leaving me scarred for the rest of my life. Yes, that is my biggest nightmare.

Alright, now that I have scared myself to almost tears, I am going to bed. I will wake up tomorrow to some real, fresh brewed coffee, make small talk in ENGLISH with my temp host family,will take a run in civilization, hop in a real shower with hot water, and head on my way to a starbucks that overlooks the ocean in Mira Flores. Anyone jealous??

Chao y'all!