Virtual Site Visit

Welcome to your virtual tour of the various work sites of the new Tacna volunteers as well as the community.

First of all Tacna makes Rock Springs look lush! Scary, huh?! It is just so incredibly dry and to be honest quite desolate looking! I went on a run the other day and we passed these little shacks out in the desert where there was clearly no access to water so a little bit further down a bunch of people were in this trench getting out buckets of water. This idea was a bit foreign to me since I´ve always had access to running water. It sounds like water is a pretty big problem here, which makes sense considering the fact that Tacna is in the middle of one of the driest deserts. The issues related to water are intensified by the growth of this city. The city has experienced incredible growth in its recent history. Because Tacna is on the border with Chile it offers more opportunities for work so a lot of people that might not have as many job opportunities in other parts of Peru such as the highlands will migrate down to Tacna. This seems to give the city an interesting dynamic in terms of the various groups of people that converge in this city.

Habitat is located about 15ish minutes from the center of the city, which seems to have its pros and cons. Transportation at night especially can be a little tricky, because you have to rely on collectivos which are basically shared taxis. They´re reasonably priced (about 40ish cents), especially for people that sit in what is essentially the trunk- that´s half the price! But it´s nice being a bit away from the city because it´s much quieter and a pretty safe area. The area has a really interesting history. Almost all of the houses here were built by Habitat for Humanity, starting in 1989. The land had been donated by the mayor who was a friend of Father Fred. Everyone worked on all of the houses not knowing which house would actually be theirs. Then, depending on how many hours the people put into it they chose their house. Thus, those people that put in more hours chose first. In all, 474 houses were built. At first there were no lights or water, but now the houses here have both.

Last week the volunteers spent time at each different work site, which was a really great opportunity to get to know the different places and I think it will be really helpful in understanding what my housemates are dealing with in their own jobs to see it first hand. I will be working at Miguel Pro, which is located right here in Habitat. The school just celebrated their 18th anniversary last week, so it is still fairly new. The school is Jesuit and follows the principal that the students are here not just for academic formation, but equally important is the formation of the person. The emphasis on Jesuit principals such as being men and women for others is a critical part of this formation. These ideas don´t always play out in the classroom, but it´s an ideal to strive for. In terms of the population that is served here at Miguel Pro, many obviously come from Habitat although some kids commute here from other communities. A study found that approximately 25% of the students are chronically malnourished so the school offers a health program with fortified bread to try and address this issue. About 70% of the Miguel Pro students come from families with a monthly income of $160, which works out to be a little over $5 a day. We heard a story about a taxi driver that works about 11 hours a day for a total of $5. This number was really shocking to me, because although I´ve seen that a little money can go a long way here, for a family to survive on just over $5 a day must be incredibly difficult. It challenges me to think about my own lifestyle and how little I think of spending $5. The tuition at the school is about $6 for one kid $10 for two and then the price decreases if there are more kids in the family, although there are scholarships available for those who cannot pay the cost of tuition.

One of the other sites is Colegio Cristo Rey (primary-high school) where my housemate, Greg will be working. The school seems to serve a different population as evidenced by their tuition of over $100 a month, although they also have scholarships available. The day we spent there was really impressive. They have a lot of resources, and a lot of great opportunities. It is really seen as one of the premiere schools here, and has an awesome reputation. I´m excited to see the ways in which Greg will really be able to push the kids to move beyond their comfort zones and live out the Jesuit values of the school.

Rose, another newbie like me will be working at a school, called Fe y Alegria (Faith and Happiness) that serves the most in need. It´s a part of a network of schools by the same name that serve those on the margins of communities. They really try to reach out to the people that might otherwise not get an education. The cost to attend the school is about $25 per year per family although many people cannot pay. The majority of the failies have migrated from other parts of Peru. The students at Fe y Alegria face a lot of unique circumstances due to often unstable home lives. For example, a lot of them are alone in the houses for maybe a week at a time while their parents work in Chile, and many more are alone all day while their families work. So although a lot of the kids are intelligent and have a lot of potential, it´s challenging because they might not get the support they need. They´re very skilled though, especially since many have been essentially on their own for many years. At Fe y Alegria though they learn various trades to hopefully help them and give them more work opportunities for the future since few go on to college from the school.

As you can tell, the three different sites are all very different! I´m really looking forward to seeing what each of us can contribute at our schools, and the different lessons we can take away from our positions. I think there is a place for all of us at our sites, and I hope we can each find that place in the coming months.

A view of Habitat from the rooftop of a friend´s house.

The other side of Habitat...in the distance are the Andes mountains that look awesome on a clear day! On the right side of the photo is the Pan-American highway that passes by Habitat.

Miguel Pro

Life Update...

For obvious reasons Peru does not celebrate Thanksgiving, but nevertheless we celebrated it anyway...twice actually! Last week was the annual Thanksgiving dinner with the professors of Miguel Pro. Father Fred said mass (which closed with dancing...I think it would be fabulous if every mass ended like that!) and then we had a Thanksgiving feast...with a Peruvian twist. Then Thursday night the volunteers gathered at the house to share a meal with a few other friends. Both occassions were a great opportunity to give thanks and reflect on some of those things I´m thankful for especially my family, friends, this opportunity to be in Peru and the hospitality and love that the people here have shown me.

Speaking of the love people have shown me, I recently moved in with a host family where I will be until mid-December, and that I will ideally be able to maintain a connection with for the next two years. They are a really great family! It´s a lot different than my own in the sense that there are always soo many people in the house! The parents live there with 4 kids ages 27, 25, 23, and 13 along with 3 dogs, a cat, a hamster, some birds and then tons of roosters at the farm. Unlike in the U.S. it´s not unusual to have older kids still living in the house when their in their 20s. It seems like people only really move out after they get married or if they go to Lima for college for example. So there are always people around whether it´s family, the kids´ boyfriends/girlfriends, neighbors, etc. It´s a really fun environment and they have really made me feel welcome. The kids call me their sister and the parents introduce me as their 5th kid. It´s really sweet and a real blessing to have that so far from my own family and home that I definitely miss.

This week Miguel Pro celebrated their 18th anniversary as a school, which coincided with the Dia Familiar this past Sunday, which was an opportunity for the families of the students to gather at the school to celebrate with food and lots of dancing!! Each class prepares a dance to perform for the event. They were incredible to see! Almost all of the dances were typical dances so the costumes and music were fabulous! Many of the dances were stories too, which displayed various aspects of life here or history...really fascinating! It´s a competition too so a lot of the kids got really into it. Not only did the kids dance, but so too did the professors! woot woot! We were decked out in a less-than flattering bright orange shirt with puffy sleeves, skirts, shalls, hats, and scarves. It was tons of fun getting to participate!! There will be pictures to come...as soon as I have access to a computer that won´t freeze as soon as I plug something into it!

In response to some questions that people might be wondering in regards to daily life:

The food- DELICIOUS!! Thus far I have liked the vast majority of the food I have eaten. The diet is quite different than what I´m used to though. For one, they eat a lot of meat! Sometimes the first course will be some sort of meat, followed by more meat in the main course! Plus, they eat an incredible amount of carbs in one meal. It´s not unsual for there to be potatoes on top of rice served with bread. eek! Tasty but maaayybe not so healthy! I´ve actually been feeling guilty lately thinking about how I´m concerned about gaining weight while a lot of people are not getting enough food. The schools for example offer meals to the kids that include a certain fortified bread to try and get the kids the nourishment that they might not be getting at home.

The Laundry- Wow...I have sooo much respect for people that do laundry all the time by hand...what a process! I seriously have a new appreciation for washing machines. As it is, laundry is not one of my favorite chores, but by hand...even worse! Luckily I had a friend (that has had lots of years of experience doing laundry by hand) as my laundry mentor! :) Right now I´m staying with a host family though that has a washing machine, so I´ll have to take advantage of that!

The Cuy- Yes I have tried cuy (guinea pig)! I was under the impression that it was something that a lot of people eat, but it´s actually pretty expensive to order in a restaurant so I tried a bite of one of the other teacher´s at a luncheon the other day. It didn´t taste bad, but I couldn´t get over the way it was served...it´s little arms and legs spread out and it´s head there with it´s teeth and all. I swear it was looking at me...

The Stipend- As you know, the challenge for Jesuit Volunteers is to live simply in an effort to be more in solidarity with the people we are working with. As such, we have a stipend of a little over $2 a day. I have been surprised though at how easy it is to live within that stipend. We have a place to live and also a separate stipend for food so really the main thing I have spent money on thus far is transportation. The bus to the center of town from my school is approximately 17 cents so even that isn´t too much of my stipend, which is good because I want to save up for a little bit of travelling in the future and also to maybe treat myself to a coffee or something like that! It is a little bit bizarre though, to try to change my mindset to not just getting things I want (mmm that piece of cake looks delish or ooohhh I want a coffee), but really limiting my purchases to necessities.

The weather- the sun is sooo strong here! I feel like if I don´t put on sunscreen my skin is just going to sizzle!! Sunglasses are a MUST! It´s kind of strange to be seeing all these Christmas decorations as I´m bracing myself for the heat rather than snow like at home!

Poco a poco I think I´ll start feeling a little bit more at home, but as for now it still feels sort of like an immersion trip of sorts. It still hasn´t quite settled in that this is where I´m going to be for the next two years!

Los Nuevos

I entitled this post ¨Los Nuevos¨ because that is a phrase that I have been hearing over and over since arriving here in Tacna. When we are introduced to various people we are described as Los Nuevos...the new volunteers. Usually this description is enough because there is basically a legacy of volunteers here in this community. There have been individuals coming from the United States to volunteer here for the past 18 years.  I´ve already realized that there are advantages and disadvantages to being one of many volunteers in this community. It is nice that we don´t get too many weird looks when we´re here in Habitat, since they are very used to having gringos wandering about. Plus, we have sort of inherited a whole bunch of friends and contacts. There are people here that have been friends with almost all of the volunteers so it is sort of assumed that you too will hang out with those people. Fortunately all those people have been extremely nice so far!

Of course being one of many volunteers has its downside though too. For one, because there have been so many volunteers I foresee it being challenging trying to separate myself from those that have come before me. I do not know how many times I have been asked where this one teacher is that left last year. She left a huge mark on this school, and the kids are thus constantly asking for her. I´m obviously going to have my own style and I hope to also leave my own mark on the school, but it is certainly difficult feeling like you have such huge shoes to fill and that you might not live up to those expectations. This is probably my insecurities about teaching talking, now! I observed two classes today and to be honest it was a bit terrifying! I know that classroom management is going to be extremely challenging. Hopefully I can learn a few tricks for that while observing the classes!

The structure of the JVC program in Tacna is really effective in my opinion. The new volunteers (Greg, Rose, and I) overlap with the volunteers that have been here for two years and are getting ready to finish their time here in Tacna. It is so nice though to have this opportunity though to learn from them and to really learn a lot from the collective wisdom that is in the house! So here is the plan for the next little bit...we are doing site visits at the different locations in Tacna that have volunteers as well as a few other places such as a center for young boys and adolescents that typically work in the streets. After that I will spend the next three weeks observing classes at Miguel Pro (where I will be teaching for the next 2 years).This orientation period is a little bit different this year, because we are doing it alongside the volunteers that will then go on to Andahuaylillas. So we are a group of 12 right now! It´s a big group, but so much fun! In December, three of the volunteers will be returning to the U.S. (although one will be returning to do a third year in Andahaylillas). That means that nine of us will be going on Mes de Mision, which is a month long service trip that the incoming 10th graders go on in January. Following that we have the month of February off so the plan is to use that month to figure everything out with our visas in Lima as well as attend a retreat for teachers, and then school starts in March, but phew...I´m getting ahead of myself...I´ve only been here for a week!

This week has truly been an incredible week, though! I have been so overwhelmed with how welcoming, hospitable and loving so many of the people are that we have met so far! We have been pretty busy with various meetings and chats as well as some social things like birthday and going away parties. I have found that I am quite exhausted a lot of the time! All this Spanish is tiring! There is so much more to say, but I don´t want this to go on too long! In my next entry I will tell you more about Habitat as well as Miguel Pro. For your viewing pleasure though I am including a picture of one of the other volunteers and I in typical Peruvian dresses that they use while dancing the Marinera. This was one of the activities that we had to complete for the scavenger hunt that got us out in the city of Tacna exploring it and chatting with the people! It made for a very interesting and entertaining day! There have already been lots of laughs and bright moments...I´m feeling very excited about the prospects of these next two years! :)

Be.

So I have had a lot of time to consider what I would like to be the title of my blog. I was sitting at Starbucks one day pondering this question and reading a poem they have painted on the wall at the shop in Rock Springs. The last few lines say: "Linger, daydream, talk, meet, sit, think, work, be". The last word caught my eye not just because it is bold-faced, but also because this is something I struggle with. As you know, I tend to maintain a pretty busy lifestyle, and I usually like being busy but sometimes having a hectic schedule can hinder my ability to pursue meaningful relationships. On more than one occasion I have sacrificed spending time with friends for a date with my book in the library. Or even if I am with someone, at times my mind is not fully there but thinking about the things I need to do. The idea of just "being" rather than always "doing" is appealing...but a goal that has been difficult for me to achieve.


There is a line of a Julieta Venegas song that says "El presente es lo único que tengo, el presente es lo único que hay" meaning- the present is all that I have and all that there is. I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about this, and it has been a good reminder for me.It can be easy to fall into the trap of living for something in the future. It was almost a year ago that I began my application for JVC and after waiting to find out I had been accepted in the late spring, thus began another period of waiting. I have known that I will be leaving in November for quite some time, and there were moments where I felt like I was just hanging in limbo here at home, waiting to depart. This type of mindset however, is problematic both for me and for those around me. If we are merely living for a different time or moment in our lives then we are missing the beauty and possibility that lies in the present.

I have given a valient effort to just "be" at home and live in this present moment instead of simply waiting to depart and it has made this time better than I could have ever imagined. I have had the opportunity to relax, to have fun, to read something other than a textbook, to research Peru, to reconnect with people in Rock Springs, and most importantly- to bond with my parents. This time of being at home has been a blessing, and I am grateful for it!

So this is my goal for the next two years...to learn to just Be. To appreciate the present moment and recognize (as one of the speakers explained to us during orientation) that our mission is to be fully present to the person in front of us...at that moment we should treat them as if they are the most important person in the world and thus deserving of our undivided attention. I know that home and all those back in the U.S. will be constantly on my mind, but I also want to be present to those around me...my future students, my community mates, my neighbors and anyone else I come in contact with. To live in the present moment....to just Be.