ALMA Actividades Liderazgo para Mujeres Adolescentes (Leadership Activities for Young Women)

  all the campers in a photo

all the volunteers

This is a photo of Ana Melva and Zulyza, the girls that Kerry and I brought from Narihaula and La Campina to the camp on their last day.  They had such a wonderful time. This 4 day camp hosted speakers to present on important topics for the young women of Peru including, women’s health, sex-ed, Vocational Training, Higher education materials, the importance of volunteering in the communities, and also a panel of 5 highly successful peruvian women to answer questions about their struggles and successes along their career path.  We held the camp at a retreat center about 49 minutes from where I live. For many of the girls this is their first night away from home or first time to leave their hometown.  So it is a big honor for them to be asked and to participate.  Though handling a 4 day camp with 30 teenage girls can present difficulties regardless if these girls were chosen for their leadership and responsibility traits. I won’t go into the petty issues that happened during the weekend because they would only tarnish the otherwise fantastic camp.

There is one important thing I should mention about the camp, it rained.  Not only did it rain, but it POURED.  For 30 hours straight there was no let up.  On record, that was the most it rained in Bajo Piura (desert region) since I lived here and I know for one year previous (bc Karrie told me).  Though you might think what is the big deal, the east coast has just been hammered with snow and storms, 30 hours of rain is nothing. Au contraire. Because this region rarely receives rain, it is ill-equipped to deal with the copious amount. Therefore when we exited the camp on sunday, not to my surprise but to many who live in the sierra (which receives rain quite frequently), the streets were rivers or mud pits. Cars were functioning at their half speed and cutting out ever couple blocks. When we arrived in Catacaos, I sent Zuly with Kerry and Ana because I take a different car stop to get to Pedregal. Puttering its way through water filled streets, the car made its way into Pedregal (+ a couple gallons of water on the floor).  I arrived to find that the streets are up to my calves and my sister out with a push broom trying to get the water out into a hole that was dug on the side streets.  So I rolled up my pants and begun to help.  For the next 3 hours I spent pushing water out of the street into a mud hole.  I guess they dealt with the hole later. haha

  out front of my house looking own my street

looking left out my door

Afterwards I took a long nap. But I should mention that my room was… moist. Since the roof doesn’t attach directly to the walls (leaving gaps for rain water to enter) all the walls were wet and sicne they are triplay (a thin wood) the wood is now all water marked. Thank god I had my laptop covered in a dry bag my mom sent me from my jungle journey in November.

Since I woke up in my community sans electricity since the day before, I headed into the city to watch the Superbowl with some of the other volunteers who were in CB.  It is now Wednesday and we just got power back in town about 1 hour ago, hence why I am writing my blog for you people right now! So next time your lights go out for a second or an hour during your favorite tv program remember that i have been living in a desert without electricity (no fan) since Sunday.  I have full proof that I am not a witch since I have yet to melt in this god-awful weather.

Hope you all enjoyed this entry! Will write soon.

Also, on facebook is an album with lots more photos from ALMA. <3

Scenery on the way to bigote

Here is a video of on our way to Bigote



this is the turkey that attacks everytime you come to the corral door! lol he wasn't as instense this time i think hes camera shy.

22 de enero 2010

First week of classes is coming to an end.  They went surprisingly well.  First time we had more people than computers in our beginners course.  We ended up going back to the original schedule of 2 classes 2x a week instead of 1 class 2x a week.  Figures that since we cut the hours down more pple would show up.  We shall see who chooses to stick the course out this time around. 

Business English went well also.  We had 14 people show up. 4 more than Kerry and I wanted in the class, but as records show, some will drop out within the first week or so.  I just rode my bike over to Kerry's house to go over the lesson plan for today.  We basically set up English classes to be a day of vocab and grammar and then 2nd day of classes to be full practice and pronunciation.  Today is practice and pronunciation.  The students will be given an exam with some of the vocab from the first class (basic fill in the blanks) then we’ll grade/review the exams as a class.  From there we have prepared several dialogues using the vocab from the first lesson.  In pairs they will first translate the dialogue then present the dialogue to the class.  Then we are planning to explain mathematical terminology (we taught numbers last class) followed by a flash card exercise.  Each student gets a flash card and they have to stand in front of the class and say the equation in English and give the answer.  Then we are going to teach them the alphabet song.  And if we have time our grand finale will be bob barker style price is right guess the price of the product competition!! (If we do not have time we shall do this activity first in class next week!!)  I can’t wait I basically wrote this whole class plan out so that I could tell everyone that we are planning on doing the price is right activity.  I’m so pumped!! I think we are planning on video taping it too.  Oh how the little things excite us.

Happenings of the barrio…

3 girls within the past 7 months have gotten pregnant and 2 just in the past 2 weeks have run off w their boyfriend pregnant. These girls are people from the same block I live on, so a pretty high percentage of run-aways.  Apparently this is culturally how Peruvians form where I live deal with illegitimate babies.  The girls run off with the father of the child, normally to a relative of the boy’s house.  They stay for about a week or so until things have calmed down at their house.  Then they come back with not only the father of the child but the parents of the father.  Both sets of parents will sit down and discuss when the kids will marry and where they will live.  Then they do a brindis (cheers) and wa-la, everything is settled.  RIDICULOUS.  One of the girls is actually a good friend of mine and I’m totally bumbed that she let herself get pregnant.  I reminded her several times to keep it covered and to be careful.  She's only 22.  But as we like to say here, its like a prize to get pregnant and have trapped a guy.  That way you get to stay at home and pop babies out.  Another reason that fathers and other machista men think its a waste to educate their daughters.  BC when they send them to superior education, the men claim, the girls only go to meet other cholos and have babies.  About 50%, I believe, end up dropping out bc of pregnancy. 

Its just sad.  But also the reason for Kerry’s reaction to the following story.

We were at computer class yesterday and Kerry exclaimed, “Guess what I found in my back yard!?… A USED condom!” My initial reaction “uck”, was followed quickly by a “SWEET! Someone used a condom!” and such my friends is the life of a volunteer. We both started laughing as Kerry revealed, “That was EXACTLY my reaction!!” haha

Now onto Jan/Feb games aka CARNIVAL!

Sorry for jumping topics, though you should be glad you’re getting something at all!! lol

Anyway Carnival started on Monday.  Carnival will continue for 3 weeks till a week which culminates all activities of an all out paint war throughout Catacaos. For a more in depth description of carnival, please google the term.  If not  you will have to suffice with my brief synopsis.  Carnival is celebrated all over latin american countries, the biggest party is in Rio de Janero.  Catacaos celebrates carnival by dividing up the whole town into different barrios/ neighborhoods or bandillas/gangs.  I participate with the bandera (flag) roja (red).  My sister and her family live in that section of catacaos. All during the next month the kids throw water balloons and also buckets of water at passer Byers.    Making it extremely dangerous to walk home from teaching class at night to the colectivo paredero.  So last night, carnival in full swing, I warned Kerry to keep an eye open just in case.  Poor Segunda (nickname meaning second, since she is the 2nd karrie).  Anyway she just didn’t heed my advice and on the walk home, we got attacked not once, but twice!! The first time a group of little kids with water balloons filled with water dyed blue attached one of the alumnos from our class and the genius hid behind us.  I quickly dodged the attackers by stealthily entering a tienda.  Kerry just stopped and she got hit.  Then after I reminded her she should prob run, they play what we call no mercy during carnival.  So shortly after this attack from the corner of my eye i see a moto with a bunch of young kids on it armed and dangerous.  I yell run and kerry just starts running down the street as our attackers follow.  With my colin farrell liek moves I slipped away into another shop.  While kerry stays exposed running down the street.  The kids end up getting her full frontal with a bucket of water.  Pobrecita.  I couldn’t help but laugh, though that def only encourages them.  I decided it would be best to split up so I walked to the other side of the street so I would be able to see cars coming at me with water and thus be better prepared.

So those are recent events of my life. 

Chao.

2010 here we go again...

First off, Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a wonderful time ringing in 2010. I quite enjoyed a quiet new years at my house in Piura with my host mom Naqui (Angelica) and we ate some roasted chicken and french fries then at about 11:30 we woke up to watch the clock turn midnight then I went to bed and got a wonderful phone call from my parents who were celebrating down the shore with my aunt diane and uncle al.

Since New Years I’ve been working hard with my site mate, Kerry, in order to set up our next courses that start this monday. We have Basic Computers 2x a week (but if we have more inscriptions for the course than computers we´ll incorporate a 2nd class during the week) and on Tuesday we start beginners English business course. This is what I’m most nervous about and not because I’ve never taught English but because I don’t know what the success or the completion rate will be for those who want to learn. It is very hard to learn a language and sometimes ppl don’t understand that you need more time those 6 weeks to learn. Its daily practice and study. I fear that they will have high expectations and will be let down.

On top of the courses, I’ve been preparing nutrition taller for my community to go over the basic food groups and to explain balanced meals. Just today is an example I had fish, beans and rice. This is a normal ¨balanced¨ plate for people in my community. They are unaware that beans are not a veggie so therefore the taller! I don’t know when I will start the taller prob in the next week just a 3 day mini taller. And I’m hoping with the interest in the taller I can get some interest from the community in doing cocinas mejoradas. This is basically building a safer and healthier stove for cooking in the house that emits less smoke inside, damaging the lungs of the family.

Okay well I have to get back to site I feel like I am about to have heat stroke in the internet cabina!

Chao xoxo
Elizabeth

Christmas in the states!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and God bless you and your family!!

Im down in Sea Isle celebrating with my family!

Jungle videos

Heres a video i took- among many- of the amazingly gorgeous surroundings throughout our time on the Samiria river in the national reserve of iquitos!

Grant takes voer the paddle from Klever! annnd look what happens

Random videos on the viaje

This video is a random parade that local school kinds were involved in on the streets of tarapoto.. i have no clue about what tho. but I have long ago stopped asking

This is a video from one of the 2 times it rained thru our journey, lucky for us!!! We were on a boat from Yurimuaguas to Lagunas. we decided to play some cards and drink to pass the time. it was glorious! The rain storm lasted a total of 5 minutes