Community Integration

February 24th, 2007 Chulucanas, Peru

Peruvian National Team

There is an upcoming basketball tournament in Chulucanas and in Piura. There have been all these rumors that I have told such and such teams that I will be playing with them. I have only agreed to play with my counterpart, Mario. There is also a tournament in the regional city about an hour and a half away every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I had to explain them I couldn’t play in that tournament because actually it’s not my job to play basketball. Some of the guys were telling me that if I got hitched to a Peruvian national, I’d be eligible for the Peruvian National Team. I am nowhere near good enough to play for the National Team, but I figure I should at least check the validity of the statement.

February 11th to 23rd, 2007 La Encantada, Peru

Community Integration

I feel a lot more integrated into my community the last two months. Teaching computers has introduced me to many of the teenagers in town and they are fun to hang out with. Playing with the kids is refreshing. And the garden project is going well. We planted some seeds in half-cut plastic 2-liter bottles. Later we’ll transplant the infantile plants to the main garden. These first 6 months in site have just flown by. It’s crazy to think I have been here almost 9 months total. It’s going to be an exciting 2 years.