November 19th, 2006- My Homecoming

After some political tension arose surrounding the most recent elections (which occurred today), it became necessary for me to move sites permanently. I am now residing in a rural town called Huambocancha. Luckily, I did not have to move departments within Peru, so my new site is a mere hour away from my old site and only 20 minutes away from Cajamarca city, arguably the most beautiful city in all of Peru. While the last couple of weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind, what with my supervisor developing a new site for me with very little notice, I am finally settled in with my new family. We live in a modest farmhouse that is very reminiscent of the two I grew up in, except minus all of the amenities. My new host family consists of a couple in their fifties, their niece who is in her mid twenties, and the niece´s baby daughter who can be described as nothing less than cute as a button. They welcomed me immediately, and fortunate for me, they have housed two other Peace Corps volunteers in the past so they understand the organization´s goals and what living with a gringa is all about. While I thought that the other two Peace Corps volunteers might lessen their excitement about me, I was mistaken. They are exceptionally caring and attentive people, demonstrated to me by my host mom holding my hand for about two hours today while we were in the city together. She didn´t do this is an overly protective or belittling way, but instead in a cute, compassionate one, so I gladly accepted the status of hija gringita being led around the city by her new mama peruana. I feel at ease with them already, after only two days, and I am confident that they will help to provide me with the experience that I hoped for down here.

I have to admit that the move (luxury-wise) was a bit of a shock to my system. I moved from a house with a private bathroom, linoleum floors, hot water, and DirecTV to a house with mud floors, an outhouse, roaming and unruly livestock, and no stable source of water. Let´s just say that I used one whole container of hand sanitizer today alone, and unfortunately, I only brought one to Peru and it is not sold here. Let´s also say that I (in a half asleep state at about 2am) pissed in my host mom´s pitcher last night instead of venturing to the outhouse in the pitch blackness of the night. I convinced myself and my pestering bladder that I could just purchase the exact same pitcher for her in the market since that one CLEARLY can no longer be used for jugo, leche, agua, whatever beverage you prefer. In scouring just about every store in the city today, though, my hopes were shattered, so as usual, I have a ridiculous, self-imposed predicament on my hands. Sometimes I wonder how to fit work into the mix when I could easily spend a lifetime learning how to adjust to campo life. Some questions that persist are: How do I shower when water and an enclosed area cease to exist?, How do I stop thinking that every tiny spider that greets me in my bedroom is a venomous brown recluse inching towards me for the kill?, and If I stop drinking water because visits to the outhouse nauseate me, how many weeks will it take me to die of dehydration? So many riddles to solve, eh?

The holiday season is about to begin, which makes me nervous. If I am to ever get depressed here, I anticipate it being over the next few months. I can pretty much bet my bottom dollar, or Nuevo Sol here in Peru, that Peruvians do not get as festive or amped about the holidays as I do which might provide me with a bit of a let down. Since Thanksgiving is obviously not celebrated here, our training group has planned a trip to the coast to celebrate. We will be staying in a quaint hostel adjacent to one of Peru´s nicest surf spots, and we have plans to recreate a Thanksgiving feast to the best of our ability. I am responsible for sweet potato pudding and pineapple stuffing, and since there is no shortage of potatoes here in Peru, I am sure that first dish will be a breeze. I am looking forward to a few days of sheer relaxation and pigging out with people who I have grown very fond of over the last five months. More updates to come!