Here and there and up and down I go...well, I went anyway. The past month has recurrently kept me out of site. Some of it was at my discretion, some at the Peace Corps, and a little at Peru in general. Anyway you cut it, I spent about half the month out of site. Although the time away from projects can damper progress, I enjoyed having the wandering shoes laced up.
I spent another week in the departments capital (Huaraz) wrapping up the second (and last) session of Quechua classes. Unfortunately, I'm nowhere close to having a solid grasp on the language. It's pretty tricky.
When was the last time you tried to learn an indigenous language through a second language? Nonetheless, I'm making progress...little by little. In fact, I even overheard one of the old ladies in the market telling her friend how good my Quechua was the other day. If only she knew that besides the "hello, how are you?" and the "how much for a kilo of tomatoes?" I know not much more than infinitive words and a few well-rehearsed phrases. I suppose that's the true measure of intelligence anyway; fool everybody into thinking that you know what you're doing. But, I'll get there...poco a poco.
I also went down to Lima again for the Peer Support Network
meeting. That too was a positive experience. We met again for brief training and to see just how the rookie program is holding up. It seems like all the representatives are doing a good job. Whats more, I will continue to be the committee coordinator through the next six months, sharing the responsibility with another volunteer. As you may predict, I'm very hopeful that this program will fulfill its goal of helping other Peace Corps Volunteers deal with issues they face throughout their service. Afterall, a happy volunteer is one who will stay in the country and cultivate their communities and projects. We have already seen seven volunteers from my training group alone return to the US for one reason or another; I would hate to lose another.
On another note, I also spent a few days (the Easter Holiday) at a beach with a few friends. It was a very relaxing little vacation. Peace Corps gave us a few days of free vacation in which we could leave our sites. I figured I ought to check out a new part of the country. There, I did nothing. It was great!
Here in site, things have been very mellow, as well. The big recycli
ng campaign has wrapped up, and school has resumed session. The project seems to have maintained its sustainability and is holding up well. I hope it stays this way! More so, before we concluded the project, I help get the local Mountain Rescue Brigade to come in and teach a few classes on first-aid, CPR, and rescue techniques. Like most things, I think that some kids got more out of it than others. But, it was worth a shot.
Now, I'm busy planning a whole new project! I'm hoping to enter schools in the local area and conduct vocational courses with the seniors in high school. Of course, I'm looking at a few roadblocks with this. However, the local municipality has already approved the funding for all photocopies; that was a big one. With that out of the way, my biggest issue will be the coordinating of the actual classes.
One of the reasons that the coordination will be an issue is that I will be taking a trip BACK TO THE U-S-of-A! Yes, that's right! I'll be back in the Minneapolis area in the end of April through the first week of May. I will be attending the wedding of two good friends. I'm very happy for them. Family, friends, dancing, food! Yeah, I'm pumped! And, let's not forget about the warm showers!
