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…
As to be expected, my first few weeks in Peru have been full of firsts, which I thought deserved its own post. As you’ll soon find out, they mostly have to do with water. First, cold showers. The first day I arrived in my host home and said I was headed to shower, my host mom (Isabel) made a “brrr” motion, rubbing the sides of her arms and said something along the lines of “Mucho frio”. On the outside, I…
It seems like with every day, adjusting to this new life goes faster and faster. The other day, I woke up and said something to my host mom in Spanish without even thinking about it, and thought to myself, “Wow, I would not have been able to say that in perfect grammar a week ago.” The Spanish classes here are better than any school-based course I’ve taken in the past. Day 3, my instructor (who only teaches 5 of us,…
Throughout the first week of training, they’ve drilled one thing into our minds: being a Peace Corps Volunteer is more than just working in our respective sectors. Over the last few days, I’ve realized how much I didn’t know about Peace Corps, and truly breaking down its mission and goals has made me even more proud to be a part of it. Essentially, Peace Corps’s main mission is to promote friendship and peace (amistad y paz) around the world. Next,…
It’s been 5 days since I arrived in Peru. The climate is exactly what Kim, my mother, would die for. Cool, dry, and not even the slightest chance of humidity. My first few days were insanely foggy, though. That seems to be a norm for this time of year. By day 4, the skies were completely clear and I can see the mountains that surround us on all sides. The mountains here are nothing like the Blue Ridge. They’re tall,…
I’ve heard about the Peace Corps for the entirety of my 23 year old life. My dad served in Mauritania from 1987-89, and I grew up hearing the stories of the life-long connections he made in Garly, his host village, the life-long friendships he made with fellow PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers), and the epic stories of adventuring, learning a new language, and simply doing something that felt a bit greater than yourself. It was the summer of 2017 when I…