Ok!! Here I am in Peru, finally!! It was about 21 hours of traveling total to arrive at our final destination for the next 10 weeks! It´s a town called Chaclacayo (spelling??) which is an hour east of Lima. It more less in the mountains…looks more like giant mounds of dirt, and definitely has a very deep Peruvian culture throughout. We usually have about 2-3 hours a day of actual sunlight. The rest of the day the town is covered in a thick fog. Taking in the mountains, the people, the fog, and the language creates this ambiance so unique and foreign to me! I can´t believe I`m here right now!
We had a day of orientation to meet all the staff members, meet the other volunteers, and learn a little more about what we´re doing here. There are 54 volunteers with me, 13 of which are in the Small Business Development program. After learning about what I am really about to embark on, I feel like I´ve made a serious transition from an eager traveler to a more serious dedicated volunteer. I really want to work hard to make a difference here and I´m getting antsy to start my project!!
Today was the next step to my full integration into the Peruvian culture…meeting the host family. We had our language proficiency interviews then waited in the back yard of the Peace Corps Training facility (which is incredible by the way!! huge back yard, swimming pool, kitchen, computers, you name it!) until our families came to pick us up. I live with a lady named Julia and her son Pablo who is 29. Julia´s niece lives next door with her two kids (7 and 2) and grandmother. Apparently I still have yet to meet Julia’s other niece and daughter who also have children, so it´s a big family. My house is not really a house, but more of a cement dungeon, haha. I honestly love it though!! I wouldn´t want to be anywhere else! Julia and her family were soooo accepting! today the entire neighborhood came to see me and a few other volunteers who ended up living with families on the same street. Any sort of anxiety or concern I had before is gone now. I feel comfortable here and I can´t wait until my first day of language classes! We had the chance to talk with some current volunteers here stationed in different places around Peru and all of them told us that the training is the most difficult part of Peace Corps, so we´ll see how it goes.
Paths of Peru 