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.