While adjusting to the chernobyl air quality in Yanacoto has been tough to say the least (many residents burn their trash creating a fog of toxins that would make even lance armstrong weeze after walking 2o feet) there have been many aspects of my Yanacoto living experience that have dramatically improved since I last blogged. For instance I finally took the plunge into my everest cold shower the other day after realizing that I could no longer continue to disregard my personal hygiene. Although I have been great about brushing my teeth and washing my hands (in fear that i either would begin to have nasty brown teeth or suffer severe diarrahea which is a major problem among peace corps volunteers in Peru) the thought of a cold shower seemed too overwhelming to overcome. However after days of contemplation and sweaty armpits I finally decided that enough was enough... While the rush of the freezing cold water made me act like a person performing in dances with the stars it was nice to finally smell good again.
Since arriving in Yanacoto I have had a steady diet of rice, rice and more rice. Although I have yet to have rice in the morning it seems that it is only a matter of time before they put rice on my plate with eggs and bread. I know that once i get back to the states i will definitely not have rice for probably a year...The great thing about it is all the volunteers are having the same diet and during lunch we essentially compare the amounts of rice we have in our prepared lunches. I cannot complain too much though due to the fact that all the families resources are severely limited and my host mother does everything possible to make sure that I at least have something else to supplement the rice and potatoes.
Although I have been having a great time since arriving in Peru last thursday was an incredible experience. Some volunteers and I decided to go to the closest city, Chosica, after training in order to play soccer at this amazing turf soccer field. Although it was quite small (big enough for a 6 on 6 game for Peruvians) we had enough room to play 4 on 4 and then 5 on 5 when two peruvians decided to join our game. While my soccer abilities don´t remind most people of cristiano ronaldo I was able to muster a few goals and some respect from the local players. After finishing our set of soccer games the owner of the stadium demanded we take a picture with his camera to put in his office...lets just say we thought we were pretty cool or as the people in peru say pensamos que fuimos la cagada...we thought we were the shit.
After going to training friday we finally had the weekend to relax, hang out, complete a few peace corps assigments and go out at night...Although friday was not worth talking about due to the fact that everyone felt too tired to go out, saturday was filled with noteworthy events. First my buddy Nate and I went to Chosica to talk to the local health administrators about viviendas saludables (healthy living areas) in Peru. After finishing our assignment we went back to Yanacoto where I had lunch with my family and then had the opportunity to participate in a local soccer match at the nearby high school. Although it was not as fun as our game in chosica it was great to be out in the community and meet some of the people who live in my cerro. Moreover, my buddy tyler and I impressed quite a few people with our double header connection for a goal...although it was quite impressive we still lost the game 3-1. While peruvians are notoriously bad at soccer, they are still better than a gringo who is finally beginning to learn and play the game...After finishing the game all the pc volunteers had dinner and got ready for the night upcoming. While it was hard to connect with everyone in our volunteer group (due to the fact that peace corps does not give us phones during training) about 12 volunteers from my community, yanacoto, went to chosica for the night. Although the night started off a bit strange with the dance floor being traded between the peruvians and us.. it finally got better when i decided to run onto the dance floor during a lull and basically do my best impersonation of ben stiller in along came polly. Lets just say the dancing pistols were out of the holster!
After saturday nights dancing fest i woke up sunday morning at 830 to go out to the "famous" hieroglyphics nearby. Lets just say there is a huge drawing of a snake and a head in the sand and my parents dont even think it was incan or pre-incan but in fact just some old residents from Yanacoto who decided to draw some images in the sand. Whatever the case may be it was definitely not what I thought it was going to be...After my expedition I went with my family to a birthday/christian event that was full of child games with religious overtones. What turned from a different experience turned very noteworthy when my family made me present myself in front of the entire group and explain who I was...in spanish...Moreover, I was later asked to talk in front of the entire group about my experience that day and how I met the birthday man...i met him last week (it was a 50th birthday party without alcohol and full of games like el baile de los patos...the dancing duck game...lets just say its been a little different then my experience at U of A or anywhere else I have been in my life!)
