Last days of Training!

My entire training group: Peru 24

I just swore in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru along with all 58 of the other volunteers. Yes we ALL made it through! Training went by so fast and yet it feels like I’ve known my fellow volunteers for a LONG time. We’ve shared so many tough times, happy times, boring times, and extremely busy/crazy times. Although I wasn’t able to get close to every single person, I have a solid group of people who I know have my back and I can go to for anything I need, as they can equally count on me. I’m sad that we’ve all parted ways but I am confident that I will be visiting the other regions to see my new friends!

After site visit, the last 2 weeks were such a blur. We wrapped up our language and tech trainings, I had my birthday, we had Thanksgiving, we said bye to host families, we became real life Peace Corps Volunteers.

My birthday was fun! We had all gotten back from site visit and spent most of the day in Lima, going out to lunch and exploring a chocolate factory. Back in Chacrasana, TJ’s host mom prepared a cake for me. All my friends went over to her house to celebrate with me, even though they were tired from the long trip that morning. I truly lucked out with this group of people. Each one of them is an incredible human being and I don’t know what I would have done without them. Luckily 4 of the 11 are coming to Amazonas with me!

Speaking of the amazing Chacrasana volunteers, we spent many hours during the last week preparing a dance to perform at the Going Away Party/ Goodbye to our families. This was totally our own idea, and no one else did anything like it! Although we were all busy with everything else that week, we committed to it and the result was awesome! Check my facebook for the video, it’s epic! We saw it performed during our visit to the Sierra early in training and were able to find a YouTube video to learn the choreography. We executed so well, and the response of the host families was incredible and so worth the time and effort. It was one of my proudest moments, for sure!

The Chacrasana crew after our dance!

After the host family Party, we had Thanksgiving dinner at the Training Center. We have some AWESOME cooks in this group! We all put in 10 soles and ate like kings! Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes (my favorite), sweet potatoes with marshmallow, and more! We shared what we were thankful for, reminisced, danced, and laughed a ton. Even though I missed home a lot that day, spending it with those crazy gringos made it bearable.

Thanksgiving dinner! ~notice the plate I licked clean ;)

The next morning we packed up all our belongings and headed to the Ambassador’s house where Swearing In takes place. It was was huge and gorgeous, and the day was beautiful. Swearing in was short and sweet with a few speeches, us all speaking the official oath, and receiving our certificates one by one. After, we socialized with Peace Corps staff and host families while eating snacks including chocolate chip cookies that were delicious! Then we said a final goodbye to host families and staff and headed to our hostel.

That night we all celebrated the ending of our long 11 week training and our last night all together! We went out for dinner and drinks at TJI Fridays (thought of you, Liz!). Afterwards we spent some time hanging out in the hostel and then hit a bar, then a discoteca. I usually am not a fan of discotecas because I’m not a good dancer, but this was amazing! There was a live “boy band” up on a stage that was high up on the second floor level looking down at us. They were so good with so much energy and I loved them! We danced till 3 in the morning and then made our way back to the hostel. The next morning we woke up, had breakfast, ran a few errands, and ate AMAZING burritos. After a few tearful goodbyes and good wishes, the Amazonas group headed to the bus stop to begin our 24 hour trip.

I’m now here in Chachapoyas and will head to Chocta in the morning. I am excited, nervous, and still a little bit in denial that this is real. I’m officially a Peace Corps Volunteer and am about to start what we’ve been training for all this time. I will no longer be in our bubble of training and will be out, on my own, working as a PCV in Peru. My two years of service starts now: ready (I think so…)- set (Can’t turn back now!)- go.

New (Permanant) Address

A post for my loved ones back home:

I love getting mail from you all, thank you so much to those of you who've sent letters and/ or packages!

If you do send a package please keep it under 3 lbs, a padded envelope gets through easiest, and use USPS only. Hints for what to send if you so choose: PHOTOS (thanks Aunt Karey!), tea bags, candies, home-made cookies wrapped really well for freshness, (cough cough mom- homemade christmas candies), incense sticks...

Simple letters really are the best treat though!

Thanks everyone! Love and miss you all back home :)

Alexis Halstenson
Cuerpo de Paz
Serpost Chachapoyas
Apartado 68
Chachapoyas, Amazonas, Perú

CHOCTA, Amazonas, Perú

I spent last week getting to know Chocta, my future home! It was an amazing week so here are some highlights:

View from my front door

The week started in Lima where we caught the 24 hour bus to our regional capital: Chachapoyas, Amazonas. Except unfortunately it took us just over 30 hours because we were stopped behind a landslide for 6 hours! After sweating in the hot bus and teetering on the edge of passing out from dehydration.... we made it to Chachapoyas! About 20 of the current Amazonas PCVs were there at the bus station waiting for us. They are all so great. They helped us get our bags, carry them to the hotel, where they had prepared a chili dinner for all of us! I'm so excited to get to know them better because they seem like an amazing group of people.

My PC Peru 24 Amazonas group!

Chachapoyas is beautiful! It's one of the smallest capital cities in all the regions of Peru. There are no corporations like Starbucks or McDonalds, nor movie theaters. There are tons of great restaurants, however, and we were able to try a few while we were there. There is also plenty of shopping so we'll be able to get anything we need there. In the hotel I took a hot shower for the first time since I've been here- it was magical! We spent 2 nights there. During the days we had workshops with community members as well as our new host families. These were to clarify to community members what Peace Corps is and why were are there, as well as address some cultural challenges that may arise.

On the second day in Chachapoyas, our host parents came to pick us up and bring us to our new homes! My first impression of my host mom is how tiny she is! She has to be under 4 feet. My host dad is about the same height as me. We left Chachapoyas with 2 other volunteers (Austin and TJ), because the three of us live in the district of Luya. They are in Luya Mismo, and I am in a annex (smaller sub-community) of Luya, called Chocta. Before I left for Chocta, the community of Luya had a small reception to welcome the three of us, as well as say goodbye to the current volunteers in Luya. It was very nice! Luya is beautiful. It's a pretty well established town (paved roads) in a valley with beautiful mountains surrounding it. Up one of those mountains was my future home, Chocta.

The drive up to Chocta was on a one-way, unpaved road for about 40 minutes. We drove by a few communities before we arrived in mine. Chocta is a small chacra (farm) town. So pretty much every house is on an acre or more of farm land. My parents have potato and corn farms as well as chickens, pigs, and sheep. Cows and horses are everywhere as well. It's a quiet mountain town of about 900 people. It's pretty chilly but theres strong sun during the day, and it rains frequently. There aren't any paved roads, but most houses sit on a cement foundation.

My host parents plus a host aunt with her kids

My house is near the center of town. It's big and white with wood doors and a view that will take your breath away! My room is very large with two doors: one to the inside of the house and another to outside. I have a dirt floor, two windows of cloudy glass, a bed, a desk with a chair, and benches along the walls. It used to be their living room. I'm so happy with it; I can't wait to decorate and make it feel like my own! The rest of the house consists of a few more bedrooms/ storage rooms, and a kitchen. There is no bathroom, only a latrine 20 yards from the house. Three people live there: my host parents and a 21 year old host brother. My host brother, Elder, is great! He's just your genuine, hard-working, polite guy who helps his parents run the farm all day. All their other sons have moved out, but now live close by; them and their wives/ children are running around the house all the time!

My shower is new! Before I got there, my family would bathe out in the open next to their only water spicket. For my privacy, my host dad built a nifty plastic enclosure, complete with door and soap shelf for me to use! I am very proud of my outdoor shower. There's something wonderful about showing in the outdoors overlooking a view like mine.

The next few days consisted of me getting to know the community. Amanda, the past volunteer who lived in Luya and worked a bit in Chocta, showed me around the first day. We met a few teachers, the nurse-Marina-who works in the Health Post, and the group of teenagers Amanda worked with. That was her last day in Chocta before leaving for the US, so when she left, she left me with a bunch of crying teenagers! It was a little awkward but they were happy to have me there for what little comfort I could give them. It's so awesome to see how much of a mark Amanda left on those kids and she was only in Chocta once a week! It makes me excited for future relationships I'll have here.

The next day (Friday) Austin came to visit and we both went to a meeting with Chocta's water committee. Austin is a Water and Sanitation volunteer and will be working with this group of community members. I'll be able to help out by coordinating, and standing in when Austin can't make it to meetings since I live in Chocta and he doesn't. After that meeting, I went to the elementary school. They were having an election for student government (so cute!) that day. The kids who weren't voting were in the courtyard dancing. So obviously I joined in, and ended up dancing with children for the next 2 hours! It was a blast, all the kids loved me and are so excited that I'll be living there for the next 2 years! After that, I spent an hour or so in the Health Post chatting with the nurse and getting some info about the health of the community. There are 3 employees in my Health Post, with lots to do. I'm excited to help out with anything they need!

Health Post- Chocta

I had dinner that night at my host aunt's house across the street- fried CUY (guinea pig)! I knew I would eat it soon and it finally happened and was delicious! The skin was a little tough and greasy but the meat was tastey! So fresh. I watched Senora Natividad and her daughter Denia catch the cuy, kill it, pick off the fur, gut it, chop it up, boil and fry it. All within an hour's time! Sorry if that was a little insensitive or too graphic, but asi es la vida!

Oh and another guinea pig story! My family knows I'm a little allergic to guinea pig hair. I've had a few minor allergic reactions (stuffy nose, sneezes, nothing too bad) at my Uncle Matt and Aunt B's house whenever I held/ touched Phenelope or Kiki... Well in my host family's kitchen, about 20 guinea pigs run free. This includes under the kitchen table where I eat. So understandably, I had an allergic reaction! Luckily I was able to explain it to my host parents and they took the cuy out of the kitchen, thank God. I can now sit in there without sneezing and clogging my sinuses. It's also great because guinea pig should not be roaming in the kitchen, where food it prepared and eaten, in the first place! So one day in and I already have made improvements in the health of my community! ;)

Overall, it was an overwhelming but incredible few days. I love Chocta: I love the people, I love the views, I love my host family, I love how I feel when I'm up there. It's the community that people say is going to change my life. It's the beautiful community that I'm so happy to soon call my home.

On Relationships and Development

Two things that make me excited to become a Peace Corps Volunteer: 

Meaningful Relationships and Sustainable Development

On Relationships: 
Today I had my last home visit with the mom I've been working with for training. This project started out so incredibly awkward as I asked a stranger if I could come into her home to practice giving educational sessions with her. I met Emilin and her baby Micaela when "Mica" was having her 9 month birthday. I left Mica today at 10.5 months. I honestly spent a total of < 5 hours with this lady over the past 6 weeks. However, I left her house today like I was saying bye to a friend. I left feeling like mutual learning took place. I left feeling like I made a difference.

Working with Emilin was incredibly valuable for me. First, it taught me that I can do this. I can teach parents of babies about nutrition, anemia, hygiene, early stimulation, etc. Not only can I teach this stuff but I can teach it in Spanish! How cool is that? Second, it taught be about relationships. It taught me that it is possible to form a strong bond with a woman from a different culture in such a short time. Not only was it possible, but it was relatively easy. To build "confianza" (confidence) with the people we work with, we are taught numerous tactics: dress nice, smell good, be punctual, spend time just talking, play with the baby, etc. All those things are completely valid. The number one thing, though: be genuine. If your heart is in the right place, people will recognize that. People will appreciate it and trust you. I will hold that close as I start my service in 3 weeks...

On Development:
We had a speech on Tuesday from our country director. The topic was "development." We spoke about Peace Corps mission: sustainable, capacity building, development. Those just sound like big fancy words. Let me explain to you what they mean. We, as Peace Corps Volunteers, are not here to complete projects, and improve the lives of people in our communities. We are here to train and support community members in THEIR projects to improve the lives of people in our communities.
When a Peruvian does the work from the beginning, they will be more invested, and the project becomes sustainable. This is an awesome part of our work but also one of the toughest parts. As young people from the United States, we want things done right in the quickest way possible. Development through the Peace Corps is never fast. It's excruciatingly slow most of the time. Many times we won't even get to see the result of a project. But if we do everything for the people we work with, they don't learn. If we do a project our way, they don't grow. When we leave after two years, nothing has changed.

During this training, I'm learning to be prepared for ups and downs, moments of frustrations and moments of pride. All I can say now is, bring it on! I'm ready, I got this :)

Dia de Cancion Criolla/ Halloween/ Dia de los Muertos

October 31st is the Dia de Cancion Criolla (Day of the Song) in Peru! This is a Peruvian holiday or festival that celebrates the traditional songs of Peru. Peru is an extremely diverse country resulting mainly from the various geographical areas. The people on the coast live very differently than those of the sierra (mountains) and the selva (jungle). Because of this, each region has different cultural norms from how they dress, what the eat, and the type of songs they enjoy. This day is to celebrate the diversity of the culture through song!

We had a celebration in the Training Center where each Spanish class presented and sang a song from Peru. We also got to dress up in traditional clothing (and hats!). After we all sang our individual songs, we sang "Este es mi tierra" all together. It's a very popular one that is super fun to sing: it was stuck in my head all weekend! The celebration ended with us all dancing impromptu for about 15 to 20 minutes as the teachers played back the Peruvian songs! It was a great time, I really enjoyed the music!

Although Lima doesn't celebrate Halloween as much as we do in the US, they do celebrate it to some extent! Many restaurants were decorated and on Friday we saw lots of children walking around in costumes. They trick or treat in the bigger pueblos. On our way home from the center, my friend Graham bought a bag of candy and was handing it out on the streets. It was very entertaining to see the people's reaction to a white man with a long beard handing candy to their kids on the side of the street! In the nighttime, the volunteers and I dressed up in our desfrazes (costumes) and went out dancing! It was nice to be able to celebrate a US tradition!

November 1st is also Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)! Many people in Peru spend the day at the cemeteries remembering their past loved ones. My host family didn't do that but they did light a candle next to a picture of an abuela who had passed. They also put fruit and pastries next to the candle. They told me it was a way to celebrate her. Overall, it was a fun weekend full of celebration!

My Spanish class before we sang our song, "Me llamo Peru"!

Cultural exchanges: Baseball and "Esto es Guerra"

I was able to watch the SF Giants win the World Series! I watched game 5 with my family as well. They had never seen a baseball game and were confused (and a little bored) by it. It was an adventure trying to explain the rules in Spanish! They still don't completely understand, but enjoyed learning. My host mom also pointed out the Giants players were good looking, so that's probably why she tolerated watching it! The coolest part was that I got to show them a bit of what San Francisco looks like. It was cool for them to see a place I had been on the TV! They enjoyed seeing the city when the camera panned out. Game 7 I watched at another volunteer's house with another "kinda fan" and a few other volunteers. They didn't share the same level of excitement and energy with me, but it was fun watching it together!

I have to tell you about my new favorite show: Esto es Guerra (This is War). Everyone in Lima seems to watch it and if not, they've seen it at least once. The players are all over advertisements, commercials, the news, etc. It's a huge deal. Many volunteers watch it with their families at night, and most can't stand it. But I am sooo into it! It's this game show where the contestants compete in physical or sometimes mental competitions. They are all super fit and extremely attractive. I have yet to see Peruvians in real life who look like the Peruvians in this show. It's also overly dramatic and pointless. However, I am super entertained by it! I look forward to watching it every weeknight, and I'm not ashamed to admit it! Hello, it's a cultural experience, people! Here's a picture for you're viewing pleasure: