Waiting

As I write this I sit at the carretera (the main road) that runs from Chivay to Tuti, to Sibayo, and through Callalli. It is the one road of transportation, but more like an extremely long gravel road filled with assorted large rocks and plenty of dips and bumps. I am watching 2 cows stand in the middle of it about 10 feet from me, staring at me (I’m starting to notice a consistency of cows and I staring at each other) as they wait for their owners who are loading bulky bag after bag on their donkey whose legs are actually buckling from the weight. There is an old Incan trail that one can take from Tuti, through Canocota to Chivay, but it is only walk able for people. Thus the carretera is not only filled with rocks, dips, and bumps, but with sheep, donkeys, cows, the herders of the likes, bicyclists, taxi collectivos and combis packed with people, and the local farmer.
The farmers take their livestock up and down this road to graze on their land outside of town, and then return them to the security of the city limits before nightfall. Going to Chivay is not a problem for me since it is the provincial capital. If it is a market day (Monday and Thursday) and I am out by the plaza by 7:30am, I can usually find a ride in a half hour. On non-market days it can be about 2 hours of waiting, and nearly impossible to find a ride to Chivay from 10am to 4pm, and you can forget about going to Chivay after 6pm. Today I am going to Sibayo to go celebrate a volunteer’s birthday. Sibayo is not on the way to the provincial capital and thus is much more difficult to find a ride to. So here I sit waiting at the main road for a collectivo or a mini-combi to drive by with passengers from Chivay. Since it is Friday, I have no idea how many hours I could be waiting. Now going into my fifth month in Peru, waiting has become apart of my daily routine. I wait for collectivos, combis, delayed buses from Chivay to Arequipa City, delayed flights in Lima and Arequipa City airport, I wait for meetings to start at 8pm in the municipalidad when they were scheduled at 6 pm, I wait in collectivos and combis until every possible inch of sitting space is taken up and then we wait for 2 more passengers, I wait 2 weeks until I am outside of Tuti and in a place with a cell phone signal and/or internet to be able to receive information for projects and to be able to contact family and friends, I wait 3 weeks to go to a Arequipa City and get my mail. To go from Tuti to Arequipa City I spend 5 hours sitting, and for my future bus trip to La Libertad I will spend about 45 hours on a bus round trip. Not only do I spend a lot time in buses, combis, and collectivos, but the time spent in them is in a very uncomfortable position where I reach the threshold of discomfort and I have to find a happy place in mind which is usually a wide open space with my legs stretched out.
My patience has reached new levels, and to sit anywhere waiting for hours and hours becomes a treat if my legs have room. Especially being in a different country waiting to go to Chivay, Arequipa City, or anywhere else in Peru never gives me the feeling of waiting to be somewhere else because in my reality I am already there, I am in Peru.

Dogs in Peru

The dogs in Peru are of a different culture. It is somewhat of a dogs’ heaven where they are able to run free, there are no leash laws. In Chaclacayo and the cities closer to Lima, it is common to see dogs on the roof tops, and they even run and jump from rooftop to rooftop barking at the passerby. The one thing that is not heavenly about the dogs in Chaclacayo is that they are aggressive and they will bite you. You do not go over to a dog and say “hey buddy, how’s it going there fella?” and stick your fleshy and meaty hand in the dog’s face. The real fun part is when you are going to go visit a neighbor and when you get close to their house, their dog charges at you while barking and bearing its teeth. No way do you turn around and run, or you are already doomed, you have to act like you are supposed to be going where you are going and walk casually while thinking, “I’m going to get bit!” I fortunately have not gotten bit, but have had two close calls. Several volunteers in my group were on the receiving ends of dog bites and for this is why it is Peace Corps protocol for us to receive several rabies shots throughout our stay in Peru. Dogs are everywhere; roaming the streets, digging through trash, getting shooed out of the local restaurant, pretty much going wherever they want until somebody tries to kick them. That’s the thing, as much as it is a dogs’ heaven here you would assume that the people here like dogs, but the people do not pet dogs. There is a common understanding between the two about their living together relationship and people maintain their position of dominance in the relationship by throwing rocks, and feinting a smack or kick at the dog. The dogs do serve as loyal property protectors of their owners and also fight for their property against other dogs on a continual basis.
In the mountains where I am living the dogs are not as aggressive, and are definitely different from the dogs closer to the coast. I do not feel threatened around them and I almost feel bad for them because nobody ever gives them any affection. I felt comfortable enough to pet 2 of them and the one wolf that I encountered in the plaza. Once I started petting, the muscles in their face completely slumped and they did not want me to stop, I am sure it was an experience like no other for them. When the locals saw me petting the dogs they looked at me like I was strange, and either laughed, or asked me why I was doing that. Last Wednesday I was petting one of the dogs in the plaza and even playing with him a little bit since he is about 8 months old, and the caretaker of the plaza asked me if that was my dog. I answered, “No”, and she said with a smile, “I’m going to kill that dog because he is always in my plaza”. This is not a joke, if a dog bites a local or a tourist, or roams around the plaza too much, they will poison him. In Chosica, one of the bigger cities close to Chaclacayo, I was told that the municipalidad puts poison in the park all the time to get rid of stray dogs (although owned dogs roam like stray dogs). One of the volunteers in Sibayo told me that a dog was killed two weeks ago in Sibayo for roaming around the plaza too much. Teaching a dog here to ‘Sit’, ‘Stay’, and ‘Heel’ is hard enough; I wonder if it is possible to teach ‘DON’T GO TO THE PLAZA!’

Plaza in Callalli

A church in the plaza, there's one in every town no matter how big the town is

Streets of Callalli

Paha Roofs (Thatched rooves)

Sibayo is labeled a national tourist site by the government so the municipalidad has rules that the houses must be made of stone and thatched rooves to maintain a touristy look. Here is a photo of the locals redoing the roof. It is definately not the most durable roof but they figure the gain from tourism is worth more then the expense of maintaining the style.

By Hot Springs in Yanque

Colca Baskets

Due to popular request, and questions about what things are in the caves overlooking Tuti I have uploaded my photo of the baskets that are imbedded in the grounds of the caves. This type of basket in Quechua is known as Colca. It translates to something like a refrigerator, where these baskets were used as storage units for food and since the Colca baskets probably sit at an altitude of about 12,800 feet and out of the sunlight, they stay cool enough to preserve food. From these baskets derives the name of the cold, windy, and sometimes feels like a refrigerator valley that I live in, Colca Valley. Food storage was the primary use of these caves, and there is ample drinkable mineral water trickling down the cave walls. Of course some of the locals had scribbled their names on the walls, but other than that the majority of the caves looked untouched and Colca baskets worn down by the age of time sat in each cave we visited.

The Godfather of Champions

I’m in the middle of my forth week in Tuti, Arequipa, which is a small mountain town (about 800 people) which sits at about 12,450ft above sea level. That’s at least 1000ft higher then the biggest mountain in Oregon, Mt.Hood. I was a little lethargic my first few days here but I have adjusted to the altitude and I’m enjoying the crisp, clean air of the mountains. I have been asked several times by the locals why am I being punished by having to live in Tuti for 2 years. They talk about how cold it gets (10 to 20 degrees at night during fall and winter), how there is no summer (it rains the 3 months of summer, but I explain to them how we get rain in 8 months of our year in Portland), and that it’s a small town (800 people which is less then half the size of my high school) with not much to do.
For me the site is the perfect work environment for my 2 year Peace Corps service. The town is Ley Seca which means alcohol is not permitted to be sold in the stores. They had a problem with alcoholism years ago, so now they have a town of early risers and motivated people. Everything shuts down early, each night I’m in my room by 8 which gives me at least a hour to practice my Spanish and keep my project/daily journals up to date. The town gets up around 5, sometimes earlier, which gives me about a hour in the morning to exercise. Tuti is small enough that I can make a visible difference in my projects, of which I already got a list of 8 potential projects for me to do during my time here.
The culture here is much different then the cities close to the coast. I was sitting in the plaza in Tuti for over a hour sketching an outline of the plaza, and only one person (who works for the local NGO and who I know well) asked me what I was doing. It is definitely a culture much more reserved, you can pretty much pick your time for conversations, which I enjoy being able to have times to relax and look at the beautiful landscape around me. Tuti is located in the Colca Valley, which is listed by most travel guides as one the top natural sites in the world. Anytime I travel from one city to the next in Colca Valley, I get stuck staring at the terrain, the hills, and the canon that I’m living in.
If I ever get antsy to get away, I live about 40 minutes away from Chivay, the provincial capital. They have hot baths with a steam room there, and tourist restaurants to satisfy my hunger for pizza. If I need to really get out and have a wild time, I live 4 hours away from the best big city in Peru, Arequipa City. Arequipa City is the 2nd biggest city in Peru, behind Lima which has all the things you don’t like from major American cities: pollution, expensive tourist restaurants and things to buy, dirty, the potential of getting robbed which includes areas you CANNOT go into without the expectancy of something violent happening to you, and nothing much to look at except buildings. If you ask Peruvians, and Peace Corps volunteers what is the best city in all of Peru, the majority of them would say Arequipa City. Its got some Spanish influence in its design, European style streets with buildings built with no space in between them, a lot of 80s American pop music, it has more of a really big town look instead of skyscrapers, lots of good restaurants with scenic views, places to play pool and darts, a variety of shops, nice hotels at decent rates, and things to keep you entertained at night without running into a bunch of club hoppers.
I just got done giving the fifth graders at the Colegio (High School) in Tuti a small lecture during English class about why it is not possible for them to just sit there and learn English; that it takes hard work, writing better notes, and doing it out of the sheer appreciation of having the opportunity of receiving an education let alone learn English. I’m fitting into my new role just fine as THE professor of English at the Colegio. They haven’t had a legitimate English teacher for a year now, and the current teacher is actually a math teacher. Me being the professor just happened, I thought I was going to go sit in on class, but then when class had started is when the other teacher told me that she was the actually the math teacher and she knew very little English. So there I was teaching the whole class, and I ended up really enjoying my interactions with the students. I had already thought about the possibility of teaching in a classroom setting during my time Tuti, and after my first day I decided that this was a perfect opportunity of me to learn how to teach English. I am the best person for the job here, I will learn classroom management, I have a set schedule with the students, they already have notebooks for me to base my instruction off of yet I am still free to teach how I want, I do have the math teacher there at times to be an authority figure to keep them under control, and the students like me being there because I am a volunteer and relatively young. I still don’t know exactly what I want to when I get out of Peace Corps but I do know that if I have 2 years of teaching English experience on my resume I will have many options of what I can do and where I can go.
I’m also the Padrino (Godfather) of the second grade volleyball team of the Colegio. That kind of fell in my lap too. I was eating dinner at the local restaurant that I frequent and I noticed that the daughter of the restaurant owner was printing out something. I asked what it was and she showed me an official document that said her team was trying to find a Padrino to show support for their team in the Colegio’s intergrado championship taking place the next day. Of course since I had the document in my hands, she asked me if I would be the Padrino. I knew accepting this would be mean I would have to give some type of gift or monetary support, but I was a little flattered that she asked and I didn’t have the heart to turn her down. I explained to her how I was Doble Pelado (Doble-Double, Pelado-Bald, and I have no money which makes the inside of my wallet bald, thus I am Double Bald) and joked with her that I would buy her a cookie, but in seriousness let her know that they would have to wait until the first of October for me to buy anything. She had no problem with that so I signed on the dotted line, my future forever intertwined with the destiny of the second grade volleyball team of Tuti.
I went to the Colegio the next day to show my support, and watch MY team put on a display of determination and will to win for their Padrino. I had let every student that sat down next to me know that my team was going to win. I could see the doubt in their eyes, it was not possible for the second graders to beat the third, fourth, and fifth graders. Apparently the fourth graders always win, and that was who my team was up against first. My team lost the first set against the fourth graders, but halfway through the second set, a wind of hope and confidence cascaded down the hills of Colca and through the valley until it rested on that very volleyball court which my eyes where set on. My team had taken the lead in the second set, and I could see belief twinkling in their eyes and an extra spring in their step. Not only did they win the second set, but they rolled the former champions into a ball, and spiked them right out of the tournament. My team jumped with glee, cheered with elation, and served their Padrino a sandwich and cups of FANTA! Oh what a special moment it was to learn that the taste of victory tastes like orange pop and a ham sandwich with cheese, tomatoes, light mayo, and mini crunchy Peruvian fries. Que Rico it was (Tasted Great). With the former champs out of the tournament, nobody could stop us, NOBODY! BWAHAHAHAHA!! I then continued to sit there for the next 3 hours, nodding my head in approval as I watched my team annihilate the remaining third and fifth grade teams. That’s right, James is not just a Padrino, he’s the Padrino of the Volleyball Championship Team of Tuti. I guess there goes my idea about giving them a cookie, a championship team deserves kneepads to protect their champion knees, and a brand new volleyball.
Well that’s pretty much the gist of my current Peace Corps experience. I have a Peace Corps cellphone but of course I don’t get a signal where I’m at, and the internet is not operating in Tuti. My outside communication, email writing, and blog updating is limited to whenever I venture out of Tuti, and only Arequipa City has fast enough internet for me to upload photos. I’ll do my best to keep all of you up to date when I am somewhere with internet access.