These past weeks I have been visiting different volunteer sites with my boss. It is always a fun and funny adventure driving around the country side with my comical boss´s commentary.
I went to La Libertad, where we have a volunteer working on the beach, while another works over 3,000 meters high up in the mountains, a 6 hour windy bus ride on scary roads from the capital city. Right now it is rainy season in Peru so everything is turning green and its beautiful! This time in the mountains we stayed in a hotel in a little town called Cachicadón and in each room there were giant natural water hot tubs. The water comes from thermal mountain pools, and it was super hot and probably the most relaxing bath I´ve ever had. Mixed with the tranquility of the mountains, the quiet and the altitude messing with my brain, it was a great experience.
After visiting the La Libertad volunteers and being endlessly impressed with their enthusiasm and hard work, despite the isolation of the mountains, I headed off to Lambayeque. It felt so great arriving in my old stomping ground! My night in Chiclayo was interesting because the electricity went out in the entire city for most of the night. So, I found some friends and sat out on the patio of the hotel, enjoying the warm night and seeing the stars. The next day it was off to my old town to celebrate my host Dad and sister´s birthdays. But fist, I met up with volunteers in the area to have a meeting with a new manager of a mining operation. He is interested in making a good image for his company and wanted to help with environmental projects. It ended up being an interesting day of driving around in the hills, good food and lots of laughs. That night and danced and laughed with my host family for the birthday party. I listened to all the Sensual Karicia (sensual caress) songs I used to hear on a daily basis and felt as though my family was really happy and in a good place. My host brother chatted with me for a while and my married host sister was even around for an appearance! The next day I made sure to play a lot of cards with the younger ones. One thing I found funny about being at the house was how many babies there were! Babies galore, it was adorable.
In Lambayeque the volunteer projects amaze me. We have one helping to increase the amount of trash collection in their town, they have new garbage trucks and encourage recycling. It is going to make a big difference in the city´s cleanliness! Another volunteer had organized a community effort to build a library/community center out of plastic bottles stuffed with trash!! Talk about trash management. It is an incredible idea and the community is really behind it, they stuff bottles with trash weekly and at the very least, it is raising awareness about trash management and pollution. Others continually educate Peruvian youth about environmental protection and self esteem. One volunteer even got a kids drawing put up on a giant billboard outside of the city! The message says to keep their city clean, don´t throw trash in the streets. Another is working with a local zoo that protects some endangered species endemic to the region, like the white winged guan (paca aliblanca) and varios kinds of monkeys. Others run classes, put up solar panels and organize the community to build local parks.
I have the best job in the world. I get to see all of these projects, feel inspired, spread the word about their work and support them in the continuing goals. It makes me so happy to see volunteers at work with hopes and dreams and goals and ambition. I continue to feel proud of the Peace Corps mission and the difference volunteers make in people´s lives, and the changes they find within themselves throughout their service.
I made a slide show video of my visits in Lambayeque (where I did my service). You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIiv5xed4fA&context=C3bbbff4ADOEgsToPDskLFzloHfrswkHfzO5Vb-Exn
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