Tuti

Tuti right before sunset.

The ninth week of our training all the volunteers were scheduled to go on future site visits. 1 or 2 days before leaving (depending on the site) was when we actually found out where we were going. In my last interview with my director of micro-business I got to see a list of potential sites. None of the names meant anything to me except Arequipa. I did not have an initial response as he read off the list, because how could I give an opinion when I did not know anything about the different departments of Peru. I only had knowledge about Ancash because our Field Based Training was there, and knowledge about Arequipa because another volunteer at length had explained its beauty and the diversity of activities to do in Arequipa, and that from what he knew he thought Arequipa would be a perfect fit for me. Having respect for the other volunteer’s opinions, who has become a good friend, I told my director that I would of have liked to be placed in Arequipa, but that either way I knew he by far had more knowledge than I do about the sites, and that I trusted his decision.
Following the interview though, I heard everyday prior to our site selection that 2 other business volunteers had already been selected to go to Arequipa, and I knew there were only 2 available spots for business volunteers. The morning of the day we were to find out about site placement, a Spanish professor even told me the names of the 2 volunteers who were supposedly going to Arequipa. To this, I had absolutely no clue about where I was going, I just guessed Ancash because it was a mountain region, and the mountains have more Machismo so it was less likely for a woman volunteer to go there.
For finding out about where we were placed, the staff had put the names of future sites on foam fish and placed them in the training center pool. The volunteers then had to fish out the site names one by one, and then the directors would announce who is going to that sight. I was actually a little down going into our site placement. I was certain that when Ancash came up, it would be me, but I really did not want to go there only because I had already been there for Field Based Training and I wanted to see a new part of Peru. If any of the other names came up, I would probably have had to fake a reaction because I did not know any anything about the site, like faking that you are happy about a Christmas present after opening it and yet you are not sure what it is. So when Tuti, Arequipa was fished out and my director announced my name, I was stunned and elated. I had completely ruled out the possibility, which had me grinning ear to ear about getting placed there. Not only did that have me happy, but when I saw what 3 other volunteers we going to Arequipa with me (a married couple: 1 business, 1 youth development, and another youth volunteer), I was completely satisfied to know that I would get to share my 2 year experience with people I enjoyed being around during training, and whose personalities seemed to mesh together.