That's the Peruvian expression for 'very sweet/cool/fantastic' and what would sum up my time here so far. It's the end of my second week of training and has just flown by! Training has been a compilation of health sessions, technical training sessions for my Water and Sanitation (WatSan) group, and Spanish classes (which are 4 hours a day).
The first health session was one to remember. It was an hour about kaka (poop), and the little kid inside all of us was trying to stifle our laughter. The novelty of hearing the word didn't provoke the same giddy response, but since it was talked about in a technical manner - using graphs and charts to define the 7 different the types and qualities - the humor is revived. Apparently how the kaka changes, so does the health. So during the next two years, kaka apparently has potential to be the main topic of conversation. Here is a fun fact we were told at our last health session: 70% of volunteers are eventually doomed to poop in their pants. Sounds like something to really look forward to!
Spanish classes are going well. At first they were frustrating and it seemed as though I was only understanding part of what I was hearing, but now things are picking up pace. Each morning my group of 4 of us meet for 4 hours at someone's house. Guess it's all paying off because it's becoming easier to talk with people! Yesterday my group and I went to a nearby community, Chosica, to venture on a scavenger hunt. We had to talk with people, take mototaxi rides places, and bargain for fruit. Two weeks ago I would've had no confidence in my ability to do this. Yesterday it was great though. We looked for the state engineer for water distribution and purification and asked him a list of questions about the water systems in Chosica. After getting a thorough answer, he offered to give us copies of documents and AutoCAD drawings of all the canals, pipes and hydroelectric systems that the community uses. It was certainly interesting, but also quite much for the little scavenger hunt with the only real purpose of getting us comfortable talking with anyone.
After that I had lunch in with friends which consisted of chicken, rice and salad - three of the staple foods in a Peruvian's diet. I have had more rice here than I probably have had in my life. At every meal there is rice. At about every lunch and dinner there is chicken, with the occasional hamburger or hotdog instead. My family is really good at including vegetables which I think they understand American's enjoy eating because they have hosted 5 volunteers prior to myself. Breakfast is normally friend sweet potatoes and bananas; sometimes an egg, sometimes oatmeal, and sometimes yogurt. Not quite the variety that is offered in the states, but it's sufficient. As for now I haven't grown bored with the repetition, and hopefully that won't come for a while since it looks like this will be what I'm eating for 2 years.
The technical sessions are such a blast! Our first mini project was to make "tippy-taps." these are small hand washing devices made from 3 L plastic bottles. Quite simple. You just need to turn the bottle upside down and cut the bottom. Then rotate the cut piece and place it back into the bottle, poke two holes to loop a string through it and hang it up. The body of it is filled with water and the top part is for putting soap. Vualah! You have a hand washing sink! We were supposed to work our creativity juices and tweak the design. I transformed mine into the "camel-back tippy-tap" meant to be carried as a back pack. It becomes as easy to function water bottle with a straw to sip potable water from, or a hand washing sink. The possible applications for it are endless! :) We made a compost pile next with another group (environmental education), and are going to make vermiculture chambers tomorrow. I am greatful to have a background in construction through working with ASP, and am excited to start have hands-on time mixing cement and constructing the design.
At the end of each day there are organized things that happen at the center - yoga, running, dance classes, soccer...So I normally don't get home until after 6:30. Then comes the much dreaded hike up the mountain of Yanacoto to my home. Yanacoto is a neighborhood built into the mountain. The main road is asphalt and all the side roads are dirt. That's an understatement - the entire mountain is a pile of dust/dirt. There is always a layer of dust on my stuff when I leave the windows open, and the only green things are green in yards and the grass people decide to grow if they can spare their water. Mototaxies are always driving up and down the hill at an amazingly fast speed, and if there weren't speed bumps in the road I think they would easily reach 50 mph on the way down. After climbing up the mountain to my house (and luckily I don't live too far up the hill) I always get the best greeting home from my 5 year-old- sister who runs from wherever she's at yelling my name to give me a hug and kiss. Then I normally read book with her which is fabulous practice for me as well at practicing Spanish. Dinner is around 8 or 9, and after that I try to put in homework before slipping to bed at midnight with the sound of the creak outside my window.
Que chevere, que chevere.
