Well, on April 18th I passed the first of two birthdays in Peru. The big 2-4, and the farthest I’ve ever been from home during a birthday. When I look back on my 24th year, I’ll always think of Peru – it is the only age where I will be 100% in Peru. Half of 23 was spent here, and I’ll pass half of 25 here, but all of 24 will be dedicated to this adventure. I want to shed…
During training, most of the volunteers were hoping to get placed in Ancash. There were 5 potential regions – Ancash, Junín, La Libertad, Cajamarca, Amazonas – and we didn’t get to choose. Word (and photos) got around that Ancash was full of snow-capped mountains (called ‘nevados), turquoise glacier lakes (called ‘lagunas’), and hikes to your heart’s desire. The rumors were not wrong. In the 4 months I’ve been here in Ancash (to the day), I’ve experienced a number of breath-taking sights that…
After 3 months in site, all of the health volunteers were reunited once again. There are 40 volunteers in total (started at 44), though half of the crew are Youth Development volunteers, while the rest of us are focused on health. Since arriving Dec. 4, I have been able to see those within my region, though I got to reunite with everyone else over the past week in Lima for Early In-Service Training, or EIST. Unfortunately, it was a training…
It’s been a month since my last post, and many-a-thing has begun. Let’s start where we left off – New Years. New Years consisted of eating 12 grapes at midnight and making a wish after each one, while standing on the road outside our house and watching fireworks go off all around us. Catucancha, my village, is high up and surrounded by lower pueblos, so while we didn’t have a firework show of our own, we got to watch dozens…
To all my friends and family out there … Merry Christmas! Miss you all more than you know. Today, the 24th, is what Peruvians call Buena Noche. It’ll start out with a visit to a religious image up in the mountains (I think, not 100% clear on that one), followed by a huge turkey dinner. We ended up killing the turkey of an extended family member, so the one in my back yard will live to see another day. At…
First things first: my address has changed! If you ever feel inclined to send me a card, send it to my new P.O. box in the regional capital, which I’ll visit at least once a month: LUCIE RUTHERFORD OFICINA SERPOST CASILLA Nº64 AV. LUZURIAGA NRO 714 HUARAZ – ANCASH – PERU COD. POST. D2001 And just like that, 11 weeks of training is up. Since Site Exploration, life and training has been a blur. More than anything, volunteers used these…
Hello, everyone! Long time no talk. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks. From November 6-17, I was in my permanent site, Pueblo Libre. I lived with my future host family, visited the health post, K-12 school, municipality, and even talked to random ladies as they lugged alfalfa back and forth to their homes. My town is indeed tiny. There are about 250 people there, and when I walk out of the house I can easily look up the street…
It’s official people, I found out where I’ll be living for the next two years! Sitting at 9,500 feet, my new home (starting Dec. 4) is a small community of 300 people within the province of Huaylas, and the department of Ancash. If you recognize that name, it’s because that is where I went 2 weeks ago for field-based training – yes, the beautiful region full of mountains and lakes (you’re welcome, Eric). Where I stayed during FBT is about…
To say that Ancash is beautiful is an understatement. I just got back from a week of Field-Based Training in that region, which sits north of Lima. I stayed in Carhuaz, a town of about 7,000 people sitting at 9,000 feet (and didn’t even take my altitude meds, holla). Each day, I traveled 30 minutes to Jangas, a smaller pueblo home to about 5,000 people, where I led activities similar to what I’ll be doing once in my permanent site….
I’m glad you asked. Right now, I am in what Peace Corps calls “Pre-Service Training” or PST. It’s basically 11 weeks of intensive, Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm (and most Saturdays for a couple hours), training. My sessions are split into different parts, which you’ll find below: Health This is the bulk of my training, and is focused on maternal, baby, and adolescent health. We have sessions on exclusive breast-feeding (for the first 6 months of life), complimentary feeding (incorporation of food between…