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 1.5 hours away from my permanent site, so I know what to expect, more or less. My new community is much MUCH smaller, though, so I’m sure that will be a culture shock.

In 3 days, I will actually travel to Ancash for 2 weeks of “Site Exploration”. I’ll spend the first 2 days in the regional capital of Huaraz (population 118,000), then will split off from the other Ancash volunteers (there are 8 of us in total), for 10 days in Pueblo Libre, which is about 2.5 hours away from the capital via bus. The 10 days are full of activities – I’ll meet my new host family, meet my socios (main peeps I’ll be working with) within the health center, school, and municipality, and just get to know where I’ll be spending the next two years. I am so, so excited for these next couple of weeks. When I met with my program manager, I gave him one concrete desire – I didn’t want a big town. And he sure did respect those wishes.

Naturally, I have done an immense amount of research about Pueblo Libre. The temperatures will range from 4-20 degrees C, so about 40-70 degrees F. The rainy season is October-Feburary. When I visited a couple of weeks ago, it poured for about 30 minutes each night … stay tuned whether that is the norm, or if it’ll get worse. This year is an El Niño year, which happens every 7ish years and hits parts of Peru pretty hard. So, I am fully expecting to gear up in my rain jacket and purchase a pair of rain boots shortly after arriving. On the bright side, that’ll hopefully mean lots of greenery!

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In other news, I hiked to my highest altitude the other day – 11,500 feet! The hike started at 8,000ft, so we put in a good 3,500. The trek went through a tiny mountain community, with sparsely placed fields, donkeys, sheep, and locals farming the land. I felt like I was level with the clouds, looking out at far away mountainous communities and the famous, tiered mountain-side farming that you’ll find sprinkled across Peru’s landscape. The hike is called Lagunas Gemalas de Marachanca, meaning the “Twin Lagoons of Marachanca”. At the top were two green-blue bodies of water surrounded by shrubbery that had turned hues of white from the water’s minerals. As much as we wanted to swim – the coloring was enough to ensure we just admired from the water line.

My final update – Halloween! This was a huge day, as it was also site placement day. About half the population here celebrates Halloween, while the other (Catholic) half believes the whole celebration is a sin. Anywho, the training center had a party with all of the host families, full of anticucho (cow heart which is actually super delicious), picarrones (donuts), desserts made by volunteers, dancing, and costume/pumpkin carving contests. I tried my best to dress up as a cuy (guinea pig), which was a hit once people actually realized I wasn’t just a cat :/ Either way, the whole event was such a nice touch of home <3

The next day, November 1st, is a bigger deal here. It’s called Día de Todos Los Santos, also know as Día de los Muertos in other parts of the world. I went with my family to a cemetery where my host mother’s mother, father, and other family members are buried. I sat there as they passed around beer and remembered their loved ones. Such a nice tradition … I wish there was more of that in the US. I think it would make death a lot less scary.