El Primer Año

June 23rd, 2007 La Encantada, Peru

One Year Anniversary

As of today, I have awakened every morning for exactly a whole year in this foreign country called Peru. Yet everyday it seems to grow less foreign. That is not to say that I do not have strange new encounters daily. They just have become such a familiar part of the weekly routine that their shock value has dwindled.

I´d say it is safe to say that I have learned more in the past year than any other year of my life. I have learned a tremendous amount about myself and life in general. Learning another language has taught me more about communication than any college communications course ever could. Immersing myself in a third world culture has taught me more about recognizing cultural differences than any high school sociology class ever did. Nothing will teach you that patience is a virtue better than struggling through a society that demonstrates its lack of organization and efficiency with practically every daily transaction.

I didn´t realize it was the one year anniversary until now, so I don´t really have anything prepared. I´ll try to write a "what I learned the first year in Peace Corps" article soon. Or at least something just as cheesy but insightful nevertheless.

Water Update

June 20th, 2007 La Encantada, Peru

I Forgot We Used to Have Water

We haven´t had water for over 6 weeks now. I have become so accustomed to life without water, that I forgot what it was like when we had. Its just one more example that with the right attitude you can pretty must adapt to just about anything. Now let me explain what I mean by the fact that we don´t have water because you are probably thinking, "Brent, man can´t live 3 days without water."

About 25 years ago, La Encantada had water pipes installed. This means that each house has a, as in one, spicket that gets water for 2 hours every morning. About 6 weeks ago, the motor, that pumps the water throughout the town to every house, broke. Therefore, there is still water, you just have to truck out to the source to have it. Thus, everyone morning donkey carts sell buckets of water for about the equivalent of $.07. There is also an unwritten rule that you don´t ask to buy more than a half tank. That isn´t very many buckets, so the family is on super conservation mode.

The new motor costs something like S/. 10,000 to replace. The municipality offered to pay for half. That means the town has to come up with the other S/. 5,000. So far we have raised half of that. That means we need approximately another sole per person to buy the new motor. Everyone is arguing about how they have paid such and such and so and so hasn´t paid at all. Before the motor broke, people were paying S/. 4 per month for water service. Now they are backing about a sole every other day. That is S/. 15 per month. If each family would just pony up S/. 10 that would get the motor running and everyone would save the first month. Plus, think the convenience. The electric company has the ability to cut off people´s electricity by the individual basis. People don´t seem to have a problem paying that bill. Nor do they seem to have a problem buying at least 1 round of beer every weekend. Some things I just never seem able to comprehend. By the way, the cost of that round of beer…….S/. 10.

Enosa: Spanish for Enron

June 13th, 2007 La Encantada, Peru

Enosa: Spanish for Enron

So the energy bills came two days ago, and mysteriously everyone’s bill had doubled or tripled. After a short analysis, I noticed that Enosa (the electric company) had doubled the rate charged per kilowatt hour. I also noticed that nearly everyone had consumed between 1.5 to double the amount of power they normally consumed in a month. Needless to say, people were outraged.
I walked by the Local Communal on my way to the Local Artesenal to do some work on the computer. It was bustling with angry people. I wandered in to see what all the commotion was about. The Town Leader was sitting at a table with someone from the nearby municipality. Everyone was trying to convince everyone else that their bill was more of an outrage than their fellow mans although, the bills were almost uniformly double across the board. Now I’m thinking there must be some kind of mistake and that perhaps someone should contact Enosa and see what the deal is. The Town Leader is having everyone leave their John Hancock and DNI number in order to state a reclaim. People are getting chaotic though. Some are talking about strapping the next energy technician to the top of the lamppost. When I asked "dead or alive?" they calmly replied, "Alive! Were not that cruel." That is when I realized they were serious.
I curiously inquired to the Town Leader, "What did Enosa say when you talked to them?"
"Oh we haven’t talked to them."
"Well, don’t you think all this could be a simple error and that maybe we should talk to them?"
"Well, I called them once this morning and the manager was in a meeting."
Ok, sweet. Back to the witch hunt. I am starting to get scared that I might be considered part of the bourgeois and decide to get the heck away from here before I am burned at the stake. I sit down at the computer to do some work when an elderly woman comes in asking for a copy. I smile while I copy her DNI and last 6 months receipts from Enosa. Minutes later my smile turns to a frown as a line develops behind me. It’s over 50 people long. The glorious Town Leader is having everyone copy the former.
Although I have had people form a peaceful line, every time I turn around for the next persons receipts, the line extends about 6 wide and everyone shoves their items in my face. I am thinking of announcing to the group the next person who sticks something in my face is going to get a rude awakening. I am using the paper cutter when a woman sticks her hand across to get her DNI, "Señora, if you like your stubby little fingers I wouldn’t recommend doing that again."
Now, this is no industrial copier but rather a 3-in-1 designed for personal use. It’s overheating and stops working. "Señor, can’t you fix it." Well, it’s kind of like a car, when it overheats you have just leave it for a few minutes. Wait, what I am thinking. People start asking me questions that could only be answered by the power company. Sorry folks, I know the owners of Enosa are probably a bunch of WASPs who have been oppressing you for years, but I don’t actually work for the power company.
After the whole ordeal is over, I realized only 2 out of 50 people even said thank you.

International Game

May 26th, 2007 Chulucanas, Peru

Chulucanas vs. USA

A group of students from a prep school in Pennsylvania is in Chulucanas doing a service project before graduating from high school next week. They came to watch the basketball games the night before and told me they were playing in a game Sunday afternoon sponsored by the local church as a fund raiser. They asked me to play with their team as it was being advertised as a States vs. Chulucanas game. I soon found out why they were so desperate to have me play with them. I didn’t think you could find a group of 15 American seniors in high school this bad. They had one guy who played for their high school team. The Peruvians thought they were going to smoke us. I thought so too.

Until this guy named Mack went unconscious. He ended up shooting 9 for 14 from the 3 point line. His 31 points coupled with my 15 allowed us to squeak by with a 6 point win.

Cajamarca Trip

May 25th, 2007 Cajamarca, Peru

PDM Conference

Wednesday through Friday we attended the conference from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM. It was pretty well done and I think everyone’s counterparts really learned a good deal. Porfirio and I were able to plan the bulk of the dried mango project. We are planning to meet with the local mango farmers when we return and finish the planning phase of the project.

Time Likes These

Stories like the following are what make enduring the hardships so worthwhile. Understanding that the volunteers really wanted to catch up and talk English, our Peruvian counterparts offered to head back to the hostel and watch cable while we stayed and talked after dinner the first night. Later, I came back to the hostel to find Porfirio surfing the internet searching for design ideas for his pottery. He is a former computer student of mine and I taught him how to use Google to search for designs. It made me real proud to see him utilizing his new skills without me having to prompt him to do so.

Dairy Products

In Piura we have almost no dairy projects. I never get cheese and the only milk I drink is canned. The ice cream in La Encantada is well….alright. Cajamarca on the other hand is the dairy capital of Peru. All the fields raise dairy cows. Therefore, we ate some pretty decent cheese. We also ate some great ice cream. It was a lot smoother than the kind we have in Piura. I was happy. We brought back some Swiss cheese and something called manjar blanco which is like a smoother caramel spread to share with the family.

May 22nd, 2007 Cajamarca, Peru

Exploring Cajamarca

We arrived this morning in Cajamarca. This department is one of the more historical because it was one of the main stations of the great Inca civilization. The conquistadors were also fond of the scenery it offered and set up camp as well. Therefore, many beautiful cathedrals were constructed hundreds of years ago. The city has a very colonial and historical feel and by far the most beautiful city I have visited in Peru to this day. It is set in the mountains and reminds me of parts of New Mexico.

We visited several cathedrals including Santa Apolonia which hosts the Chair of the Inca which is a natural rock formation in the shape of a king’s throne. The last day we visited the Baños del Inca which is an area used by the Incas. They are natural hot spring baths. You can enter a private tub for only $1.50. The water is naturally so hot that you have to add cold water to your tub or you wouldn’t last more than 2 minutes. It was very relaxing especially in the 60 degree cold weather.

May 21st, 2007 Chiclayo, Peru

A First Time Experience

This week I am going to a Project Design and Management conference in the beautiful department of Cajamarca. The objective is to learn how to write goal and vision statements and design successful projects. Although it was a slightly repetitive for me, it was great for my counterpart who had never really learned how to organize a project. I brought my host brother who is going to be my right hand man during the upcoming dried mango project this coming mango season.

Porfirio lived in Lima during high school but has never made more than $3 to $6 a day and therefore has never had the chance to really vacation or anything like that. My goal was to spoil him this week. Sometimes Pizza Hut commercials are on and he comments that he really liked the $.66 a slice pizza in Lima. I made him a pizza for his birthday but it was pretty sketch.

When we arrived in Chiclayo we headed to the mall. When we walked into Pizza Hut, his eyes lit up. The whole time he was smiling profusely, exclaiming the incredible flavors partying in his mouth. This was only the second time I have ate real pizza in 11 months now, and I was very satisfied myself.

We later went to see a movie and although it only cost $1.50, it was his first time. He really enjoyed it. All in all for the week, it was his first time eating Chinese food, Mexican food, and Italian food. Unfortunately, we are returning to La Encantada soon and it will be rice and chicken again. At least he had a week of indulgence.

Sports Updates

May 20th, 2007 Chulucanas, Peru

Sport Liberal reaches Copal Peru

La Encantada has a soccer team which plays in the league in Chulucanas. Peru has a competition called Copal Peru (Peru Cup). The teams begin as little town teams and keep playing until the championship which takes the winner into the national professional league. Our team beat out 7 other teams in from Chulucanas to advance to the next round. This is a big deal because La Encantada is a poor village of 3,500 people while Chulucanas is mostly a middle income town of 40,000.

Today we played the first game of the round robin and won 3-2. Everyone is pretty excited but we still have to win one or two more to advance to the next round robin.



May 19th, 2007 Chulucanas, Peru

Host Family Attends the Big Game

I have been playing in a basketball league in Chulucanas on Wednesdays and Saturdays. A couple of Saturdays my host sister and her husband attended my game and had a good time, although we won 104 to 24. This time I promised them a more competitive game because we lost the first time by 6 points. This time around, my host parents, sister and her husband and 3 other friends came to watch. This is slightly a big deal for them because they have to pay to get to La Encantada and contract a mototaxi because we wouldn’t be returning until 1 AM.

The intensity was fierce because there is a huge rival between us and our opponents. We have a new post player, which is great because it means I get to play guard like I did in high school. Although I only scored 8 points after 40 minutes of straight playing time, I ended up with 11 assists and we won by more than 30 points. Everyone from La Encantada had a really good time and we all traveled back to town after midnight.