September to Remember

September was a very full month. 

It started with the Fiesta Patronal here in Tantará.  My little town suddenly became filled to the brim with people, fireworks, and giant pots cooking over fires.  It was a week of family, food, and music.  There were soccer games, a band playing almost constantly, and even running with the bulls.

And then there was the parade (to which Captain America and Rambo made appearances). 

Right after the party, it was off to Iquitos. 

Iquitos is the largest city in the world that cannot be accessed by car.  The only way there is by air or by boat. 

We spent the first few days there visiting a butterfly sanctuary, a manatee rehabilitation center, and a seasonal animal care facility where we got to hold all sorts of jungle animals. 

Then the main event: the raft race. 

Thursday we went to Nauta where we were given materials to build a raft.  Of course, we knew nothing about building a raft, so we left that to the locals. 

Friday morning, we climbed onto our boat and started paddling. 

In 3 days, we paddled 112 miles down the Amazon, for a total of about 23 hours. 

The Amazon is the most astonishingly large river I have ever seen.  During the many times we had to cross, it seemed to go on forever and ever.  It is so large that our perspective was constantly playing tricks on us.  At times, the shore would seem close, but then we would notice the tiniest speck near the trees that was another boat.

Sun burnt and exhausted, we arrived in Iquitos on Sunday and stumbled onto shore.  After all that, we won 2^nd place in the all-women category, which came along with a very nice trophy and little extra cash for our pockets. 

We were more or less adopted by a Peruvian team who helped us fix our boat on the first day.  They also won 2^nd in their category. 

And in the end, they told us that this year, the race was accepted into the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest raft race in the world.    So that’s pretty cool. 

While maybe not the most restful vacation, it was a wonderful way to spend a week with friends in the jungle.  And if we can row a water-logged, half-sinking, balsawood raft 112 miles down the Amazon, we can do almost anything.

It was an exciting month, but I am back now, and gearing up to work hard for the next few months before my next vacation: the US of A!

Work Hard, Play Hard

Eight months in site have come and gone, and I’ve recently realized that I have yet to write anything about the work that I’m doing. 

I have two primary projects: working with moms, and working with teens. 

Moms:

I work with moms who have children under 3 years old and pregnant women in two different districts: Tantará, where I live, and Huamatambo, which is about a 2 hour walk.  The goal is to educate them on nutrition, early childhood stimulation, and prevention of diseases, while promoting healthy habits within the household.  The way to achieve this is through house visits, house visits, and more house visits.

A nutrition session in Huamatambo

First, with my Health Center, we elected and trained Health Promoters so that they can also visit moms to reinforce healthy practices.

My Health Promoters

I have just finished visiting houses with my Health Promoters to do a baseline survey.  This month, we’ll start teaching on an individual basis how they can have healthier, happier kids. 

Demonstrating proper hand-washing

Teens:

I have a group of 8 teens (between 12 and 16 years old) doing a program called Pasos Adelante (Steps Forward).  Pasos focuses on sexual and reproductive health, but also covers self-esteem, values, future plans, etc.  With the obstetrician in my Health Center, we meet about two times a month after school and talk about different themes.  The plan is that next year, they will act as leaders in their community and go into classrooms to teach their peers. 

Playing games

In addition to all that, I also find plenty of time to relax.  Here are some photos of other things that have been happening:

Denis' visit:

Ollantaytambo

Machu Picchu

Salineras

Town parade for Fiestas Patrias (Peruvian Independence Day) 

A trip over the mountains:

We found snow!

Obligatory landscape shot

Black Forest Fire

Sometimes, it is hard being far from home.  Birthday, holidays, special events.  I can hardly believe that for the first time since I can remember, I didn’t ski a single day this winter.  But with seasons being not only backwards, but also simply different, ski season passed by and I hardly noticed.  It’s no wonder, then, that when I first heard of the Black Forest Fire, my initial reaction was How strange that there’s a fire in the middle of winter. 

Growing up in Colorado, forest fires are a way of life.  I remember the Hayman Fire like it was yesterday, and 8 years after it burned, I worked at a summer camp where the damage was still incredibly evident.  Last summer, the Waldo Canyon Fire became Colorado’s most destructive fire, and we sat in the living room glued to the television, and watched the eerie glow on the mountainside from our porch for days.  This year, the Black Forest Fire blew that record out of the water.

2012's Waldo Canyon Fire from our back porch

I first heard about the fire Wednesday morning when I got an email from my mom.  The email told me that there was a fire, some family friends had been evacuated, and there were some pictures.  Unfortunately, the internet in my community is frustratingly slow, and all I could read was the subject line: Black Forest Fire.  My imagination went wild.  I immediately called a friend in Lima who looked up information online, while I anxiously waited for my emails to load. 

The hardest part for me was lack of information.  In the age of multimedia that we live in, most news updates were videos, which my internet can’t load.  It also wasn’t possible for me to sit in my Municipality checking for updates all day.  Most of the time, I found myself imagining the worst and wishing I knew more between scattered texts from my mom saying things like We are on mandatory evac, packing the house now.  Got your stuff as much as I could.

Black Forest Fire from the front door

Even stranger was when the fire made it onto Peruvian news.  Suddenly a large number of people have seen videos of where I live, but under the worst circumstances.

 Lack of connectedness is always a struggle.  It is hard hearing about major life events like cousins getting pregnant or friends getting engaged, and knowing that I will still be in Peru when the baby is born or the wedding takes place.  But  through all the stress of hearing about the Black Forest Fire from very far away, there was one incredibly amazing consequence.

People who I work with saw my face during those days and asked me what was wrong.  By Thursday morning, everyone who I saw (from Health Center staff to the woman who cleans the Municipality) stopped me to ask how things were going.  I got daily calls from a few different Volunteers to check how I was doing, and everyone who works for the local NGO stopped to give me a hug whenever they passed.  

Helicopters dipping buckets into the pond

Sometimes, it is hard being far from home.  But the Black Forest Fire showed to me the number of people here who care for me and are concerned for my wellbeing.  It reminded me that I may be missing some things back in the States, but I am also gaining so much by being here in Peru.  It made me truly feel that maybe I’m not that far from home after all.

I am incredibly grateful that my parents are back at home, and that thanks to the hard work of many, the fire is now 85% contained.  My heart goes out to those who lost homes in this terrible fire.  Know that tucked in the  mountains of Peru, there is a tiny little community filled with wonderful people who have you in their prayers.  

Hammocks and showers and cute baby horses

After spending much of last week in bed with a pretty rough head cold, I wasn’t feeling the most optimistic.  So, this week, I’ve decided to compile a list of things that make me feel happy, the little things that keep me up when I’m down.  Things I love. 

These are a few of my favorite things…

The night sky

When the moon is new, the stars are the most amazing sight.

When the moon is full, it lights the way around my house, and is like a giant nightlight shining through my window. 

Waking up every morning to this:

Baby horses

There’s just something about their knobby knees.

 Kids calling me Profesora Jenny

Just about all the little kids know my name, and it makes me smile.

Getting greeted in English

I have no real desire to teach English, but I have managed to get most of the students over the age of 8 greet me in English when I see them (they’re all really good at “Good Morning” and “Good Afternoon”, we’re working on “Good Evening” and “What’s up?”)

Goats

What’s not to love?

Reading in my hammock

After lunch, I generally take about an hour to myself, sit in my hammock, read a bit, take a 15 minute nap, and I’m ready for the afternoon.

Opera

Recently, I’ve been really into Otello.

Solar Showers

The winter means really cold nights, but the days are really sunny.  This means that the solar shower my parents brought me actually gets honestly hot.  I don’t think I ever fully appreciated the therapeutic value of a hot shower before.

Alphabet Soup

It’s only happened twice since I’ve been here, but nothing quite brings out the inner child like alphabet soup.

My bike

On mornings when I can’t seem to motivate myself to go on a run, a bike ride is always a wonderful alternative. 

Finding insects in my room that aren’t scorpions

Dislike:

Like:

(Apparently they’re also good luck)

Getting dressed up

My Health Center Staff

They are a wonderful group of people, and my closest friends in site.

LICAH

Our region (Lima, Ica, Huancavelica)

Just Keep Running

It has been a week of physical activities.

First, Tantará hosted the Juegos Escolares.  15 high schools from the area came with their best athletes for two days of athletic events.  There was a high jump, long jump, various sprinting events, soccer, and volleyball.  Tantará was filled to the brim with students, and alive with an atmosphere of competition.

Juegos Escolares were the perfect way to get excited for the Lima Half-Marathon.  12 of us from the LIcaH Region (Lima, Ica, Huancavelica) made our way to Lima and to run the Marathon, Half-Marathon, and 10K.  Everyone finished their race with flying colors, and this morning we had our names in the newspaper (along with 14,000 other runners).

The ladies of LIcaH with our new medals!

Toothbrushes

One of the many wonderful things that my parents brought when they visited was a bag full of toothbrushes (many thanks to those who donated).  Together with my town’s dentist, Haydee, I planned a tooth brushing activity with the Kindergarten.

Last week was a little rough for me, so when Haydee got pulled away to a last-minute meeting the same day we had planned to go to the Kindergarten, I decided to do it alone, thinking a little time with children would cheer me up. 

Little did I know, that same day there was a earthquake drill scheduled.  Peru, being a seismic zone, has incredibly elaborate earthquake drills at all education institutions, complete with nursing outfits, rescuers, and at least one person who gets “trapped” inside, in need of rescue.

"Is everyone here?"

Making a rescue plan

Found her!

Getting patched up

After everyone was accounted for, and eating a snack provided by the Parent’s Association, all the kids anxiously awaited what Profesora Jenny (as they call me) had to say.  I pulled out my giant mouth and toothbrush models and we talked about the parts of the mouth, why we want to keep it clean, and how too many sweets are bad for your teeth (to which one girl responded “Profesora Jenny, I’m never going to eat candy again”… a promise which I’m sure lasted less than an hour, but it’s the thought that counts).  Then, with new toothbrushes in hand, we all brushed our teeth.

Showing off their clean teeth

Spending a morning with the Kindergarten did indeed cheer me up, but like many things, the true satisfaction didn’t come until later.  I recently ran into one of the moms, who told me that her son taught her the proper technique for tooth brushing, and never forgets to clean his tongue.  One of endless examples of why little kids are the best.