Carnaval

Well last year it was paint fights this year was a bit different we went to Huancavelica it was a very sad place if you ask me. It was freezing they had hot springs that did not were not even hot and rain and we would go to bed at like 8 pm because it would just be too cold to stay out. We had specifically come to this place as a means to participate in their traditional carnaval celebration only to arrive and find out that because of the rains they had recently had the celebration had been canceled. Mind you I thought that was impossible to have happen because it is like sacred party season. So my friend Emma and I decided to travel to another small town even higher up on a windy road. This department was know for being one of the coldest and highest at 3800 meters above the sea. And you definitely feel it walking up a hill as you begin to sweat profusely and your heart feels like it is going to jump out of your chest. So we are on this road to this small town and I am figuring that it is going to be rainy because we are in the rainy season but as we pass through these windy hillsides full of llamas it starts to SNOW. It is the first time I have seen snow in all my travels and I start laughing because neither of us have brought clothes for this kind of weather. We get there and have a lovely meal at the gastronomic fair they are having and then hang out in the plaza waiting for the parades to start. People are throwing buckets of water and water balloons and flour all over the place. Within an hour we are drenched in both and surely able to make cookies later with our coatings. Then there is the rain and dancing in the rain and hours of singing and dancing and merriment in the streets. There is a tradition where a group of people dance around a tree that is strung up with prizes and each couple gets a chance to chop it down and then everyone runs in and rips off all the prizes it is questionably dangerous but super fun to watch. By 8 pm we are once again in bed trying not to freeze to death. It proceeds to rain all through the night which means we had to leave because if it kept raining the roads would have been in too bad of shape to travel out on. We are in the car and the road that yesterday was smooth and in good shape is now filled with huge pot holes and slippery. We get to a tunnel and the mud is shin deep the car slips and we have the front right tire hanging over the cliff, you could feel the balancing point I swing open the door and my friend is literally on my lap trying to jump out I grab her because otherwise the shift in weight would have made the car go over. I have never been so terrified she begins to cry I am laughing as a nervous reaction. We make it down fine though shaken. We go to a different department called Huancayo to be able to avoid the risk of landslides on the roads blocking us into Huancavelica. It is raining again but we are on highway so no big deal. There is this beautiful park we spend the afternoon at it taking pics and then try on the traditional wear. After dinner we run into a Marinera dance competition of adults and youth. Amazing to watch. The following day we take a tour of the surrounding towns some ruins, a lagoon, and pass through some towns that are celebrating carnaval there is a huaylas dance competition so the majority of people are dressed out in these elaborately sewen with bright yarn of greens, yellows, and hot pinks. We visit an archeology museum and drink out of some supposed fountain of youth. Then it is back to Lima I moved into my own room now it is nice to have my own space decorated my own way and more than anything my own bed. Work is in full madness as we have one training after another coming up session planning, budgeting, coordinating, buying and organizing the necessary materials. And in my other job in San Juan de Lurigancho we are planning their work for the year in health promotion which entails designing the sessions or intervention they will being doing in schools and getting their people trained on a more effective style of teaching as well as developing monitoring and evaluation tools for their healthy families projects. Even though my vacation was not the best I have ever had it was still a good time to get some perspective on life and to give my brain a break. I will be trying to dedicate more time to myself reading books I like and building some friendships I started exercising again trying to get ready for this Mixed Martial Arts class I would like to take but realistically I am so out of shape right now for that, not overweight but just no endurance and pretty little strength since I almost never workout in this country. It felt great training the other day even though I am still sore. Long way to go. Perhaps at the end of March I will be able to start those classes. I am a bit sick right now so I spent all day doing nothing. It was nice actually. I think I will have at least one day each month of not working or doing chores or doing necessarily anything or leaving the house just me my bed, pjs, books, naps and snacks. Tomorrow I think I am going to try Parasailing or something of that sort. That's all for now.

Life in Lima

Well it has certainly been a large changing living here in Lima, everything is faster, noisier, lots of traffic, contamination, filth and people are not so kindly as they were in the countryside. The days at work here require punctuality and having to work on the computer all day long. There are constant deadlines and upcoming events. But so far I think I a fairing pretty well, I found a cute apartment that is nearby a bunch of parks and on the bus lines to get to work. I have been editing and reviewing grants that will soon be funded, read through and given advice to volunteers on their work progress, done phone interviews, and a constant flow of developing materials for trainings that will be held next month. It is a lot of emails, answering questions, providing resources, getting people in touch with the right people, and making critiques. All around I feel confident in my abilities and am doing a pretty good job. Then I also have to work 2 days a week in a district that has 1 million people high rates of HIV, Tuberculosis, Anemia, teen pregnancy, domestic violence, etc. My work there I feel is more useful because if I succeed with only 1% of the population I have the opportunity to affect 10,000 people. Anyways, I work as a consultant for the in charges of all the health posts and centers on health promotion. It entails me going to meetings, evaluating their policies and promotion programs or techniques and giving suggestions on how to change their formats and trainings to be more effective. I am very hopeful with the work because I am working at an administrative and management level of the health system and whatever suggestions I have made thus far have been ready accepted and implemented. So basically up until now my whole life is work long hours, coming home fairly brain dead and exhausted but feeling still satisfied with what I am doing because I sincerely believe it is changing a much larger percentage of people's lives. The work that I do with the volunteers allows me to influence and improve the work that they are doing and that means that I have influence over up to 60 communities and in terms of the other job I am doing well that is the largest district in all of latin america so I would say things are definitely stepping up. I feel happy with the relationship so far with my boss in the office I can tell that she purposefully gives me certain responsibilities as a means to develop me further as a professional. My social life is slowly developing itself yet there is little time that I can or want to dedicate to going out I hope to find some cultural events to attend. Though on the weekends my roommate and I have made it to the beach every week as a means to sunbathe and relax and read books. And soon we will be headed to celebrate carnaval in a different department called Huancavelica. It seems so weird to me that within an hour you can be in a place of such dire poverty and an hour in the other direction you are in million dollar apartment facilities. Or in the beach towns it is a million dollar home on one side of the highway and a shanty house on the other side of the highway. It is so frustrating to see this inequality I cannot imagine how it makes those people that are living in poverty feel. Anywho, seems like it will be a year of personal and more so professional development there are many trips and vacations and concerts planned for the future. These first months I think have just been a big adapting phase. But a good news was I received a phone call from my old town and they are continuing this year the nutrition project I designed and implemented last year so there is still hope that the southern part of my old district will recover all the malnourished kids. I am so proud. Things I have to say are going really well and challenging without a doubt but so worth while. Hope all is well.