Thanks for keeping up with me during my time in Lima, Peru through this blog.
For those of you who don't know, I'm here in Lima volunteering with a nonprofit organization called SOLAC (www.asociacionsolac.org). Right now, I'm working alongside 3 girls who recently earned degrees at a school in England. Since January, they have been living in Lima trying to organize a microfinance project in a poor community on the outskirts of the city called Huachipa. I've joined their team and will be here at least until December helping with the project.
The journey thus far has been well...exhausting. I arrived late on Monday night and was warmly greated at the airport by my new friend Francisco and two of the girls. And as we headed to the exit doors, I would quickly pass into a new world, a place I didn't know, and would call home for several months.
I was excited...I also had no idea what to expect. As we exited the airport, tons of taxi drivers start yelling at you, offering rides. I quickly learned that here in Lima, when taking a taxi always get a price quote before hopping in the cab, otherwise they can charge whatever they want. That's basically the rule of thumb anywhere here, always ask before buying. After a fairly tame night of introductions and a tour around my new house (which is quite nice) it was time to konk out. The next day is when my head started to hurt.
It was my first morning in Lima and my first day of work. I was quickly briefed by my colleagues on the community in which we would be working. It's called Huachipa and it's located on the outskirts of the city (about an hour bus ride each way). Our work for the next few weeks would consist of implementing a questionnaire in the area of Huachipa. What that means is many trips out there going house to house talking with the residents. I went to bed that night feeling overwhelmed, uncomfortable, unprepared, and out of place. And oddly enough, that´s exactly what I wanted to get out of this experience. Because it´s through those experiences that I think I learn the most. When I´m challenged to somewhat blindly trust that the Lord wants me here, doing this work, working through these trials, and will work it all together for my good.
Over the next 5 days, my colleagues and I went to work on site in Huachipa. It´s a very dusty, rocky, mountaneous area. And I´d say the dog to person ratio is about 1:1. The people certainly live a rough lifestyle, many employed by the local brick making company. They live rough lives for sure, but very admirably too. They all work their butts off and don´t complain about anything. Right now, there´s a lot of stuff I´m processing in my mind about the situation there and will have more to report next time I write.
So I quickly realized I knew A LOT less Spanish that I thought I did. I felt humilated that I couldn´t converse and do the work effectively I was here to do. I felt like I couldn´t contribute to this project right away in the way I wanted to. It was very very frustrating and I didn´t want to feel like I was letting down my colleagues on top of that. After discussing with them and others back home, I´ve been encouraged to be patient about the whole thing. Of course, I need to work my butt off, talk, read, write, and listen to as much Spanish as I can. And I´m not going to be fluent in the language overnight, but it´s going to be a process that takes time. So in the meantime, I will continue to contribute as much as I can to the project, even if that doesn´t mean personally implementing questionnaires. I´ve been playing with the idea of forming some kind of sports league with the kids there. We shall see; but overall, I´m happy to say that I´m looking forward to seeing what happens. In the next week or two we should have a blog up dedicated solely to updates for the microfinance project. I will be sure to notify everyone when it´s available.
Life outside of work has been quite eventful thus far. My new friend Francisco invited me to join a local basketball league, consisting mostly of middle-aged Peruvian men. And yes, I was the tallest on the court. Also, there´s been plenty of exploring the city. I had no idea Lima was so huge (8 million people) so there´s always something interesting going on. For instance, tonight my roommates and I are going to a book fair followed by a concert.
And I couldn´t finish my first blog without talking about cuisine. The food and drink here is so delicious, fresh, and affordable. It´s definitely something I look forward to everyday. I´ve been able to try yummy new delicasies such as Antichuchos (grilled cow heart on a stick) and Ceviche (piles of different varieties of fish and seafood marinated in lime juice). I also highly recommend Pisco (a liquor made from grapes).
Thanks for keeping up with me here in Peru. I will try to make a post each week, documenting my adventures here. Pictures coming too!
Until next time...
