In-Service-Training

This past week, all of the Health Volunteers in my group met up for our last training! This time it was in a beautiful region called Ancash and we all brought counterparts to participate in the training with us. So it was very different from any of the other trainings we’ve done, and my favorite one because of that!

            Ancash is a really cool and different region from Amazonas. The culture is very true to the “olden days.” The women all wear beautiful poufy skirts and tall full brimmed hats. Their “mantas”, or shawls used for carrying everything from their babies to their groceries, were beautiful with amazing textures and bright colors. The women in my site have the same shawl things but are either black or navy blue. I wish I took a pict

ure; I’m kicking myself that I didn’t! The altitude is more than we have here, so when there’s sun it’s baking hot and at night it’s cold. I’m always comfortable in my jeans and sweatshirts here even when the suns out. There I was uncomfortably hot in a T-shirt. The sun was soo strong. The hostel we stayed in had a great view of Huascaran, a famous and beautiful snow-capped mountain. It’s a great region, I’m a little jealous of the volunteers who live there!

            This training was especially interesting because we spent it with Peruvian counterparts. It was fun to see them get really into what we were learning. All of them came out of it with a lot to take back from technical knowledge to confidence! Some had never left their homes before, so it was a real once in a lifetime experience that most really appreciated. Although, for some reason, our four Amazonian counterparts were quite divas! The four of them bonded through our long travel days and developed an “Amazonas is better” mindset. It was actually quite funny and us four volunteers had some good laughs talking about it after the fact! They complained about food the whole time, we didn’t have water the first day and they never got over it… One lady threatened to stop eating and another told me she’s “willing to suffer because that’s how we learn.” Mind you these women are from poor communities where they often go without water, work long days in the farms, and have limited variety in their food that they cook. They were NOT suffering in a nice hostel with a delicious and varied menu of meals provided for them every day. Oh and did I mention it was all free for them!?

We as volunteers got a kick out of it. It really puts “suffering” into perspective. For people who’ve never left home, they are used to their beds, their routines, and the same 3 meals they cook everyday, even if, to us, those conditions are not ideal. For them, doing something new and different out of their comfort zone is overwhelming. Unlike them, I was fortunate enough to travel a lot growing up. Seeing new and different places teaches you not just how to tolerate living in a new place and eating different food, but to enjoy it! I love going to new places and trying new things because, from experience, I’ve enjoyed them! That’s probably why I decided to join the Peace Corps ;)

Fiestas Patronales

In Peru, every city, town, community, sometimes even neighborhood, has a patron saint. When it’s that saint’s feast day, they town celebrates for a week, called Fiestas Patronales. We’ve discovered Peruvians love to party and will take advantage of any reason to do so. My Aunt Karey also noted that their celebrations are hardly one family celbrating in the house; it always involves the whole community and is often out in the town plaza. I feel like that’s mostly true. If they’re going to celebrate something, they’re going to do it big! So this past week Cohechan (a neighboring town on the way down to Luya) and Luya had their fiestas because they have the same patron saint. They had sports, food festivals, battles of the bands, etc. for a week. Wednesday was the “central day of party” for both towns but Luya is bigger so I planned to go to Luya for that day. A lot of people in Chocta were planning on spending Tuesday night in Cohechan for a celebration of fireworks so I decided I’d do that too and call it good for my first experience of Fiestas Patronales.

Tuesday night was super fun. I walked 45 minutes down to Cohechan because by the time my host brother and I were ready to go there weren’t any cars. But we met up with a lady and her daughter and walked down together. When we got there we just saw the plaza full of people but no music or dancing. There was, however, a huge frame of a 10 story tower which they called “el Castillo” or “the castle,” which would be later lit on fire. So I found a friend, as did Elder (my host bro), and we split up agreeing to meet up again after the fireworks. Around 9:30pm a band came walking into the plaza and played while some people dance. A friend from Luya was there and we danced a couple times. Meanwhile, 5 or 6 huge hot air lanterns were lit and let go into the sky. They were each probably 7 ft tall and pretty wide. Then at 10:30ish someone came over to light the castle and I sat up close with some kids from Chocta to get a good view. BAM! sparklers come flying dangerously close to us and we all scream, stand up, and run to a safer spot. It was so cool! Each layer of the castle had spinning sparklers that lit one by one up until the top layer where the words “Municipalidad de Cohechan” lit up. Afterwards came fireworks in the sky that appeared way closer than any firework I’d ever seen. It literally felt like the sparks from the fireworks were going to fall on you and I definitely flinched and ducked a few times. As the show ended, a huge crowd of Chocta people start heading for the road. I join them as the crowd thins out from people hoping in cars or walking different speeds. A couple minutes in, an old lady offers me some hard liquor to  “warm my body for the walk” and just as I take the shot, a big livestock truck pulls up full of people. But there’s lots of room so all of us on the street pile in and stand like cattle in this truck as it makes it’s way back to Chocta.

The next morning, I shower and head down to Luya. The plaza is decorated and full of people at 10 in the morning. But first I head to Austin’s house to meet his mom, Cris, who was visiting from the US. She’s such a cool lady, older but really fit, grew up in the Bay Area, loves wine. Kinda reminded me a bit of my Aunt Katrine! The three of us head out to meet up with TJ who is already in the plaza preparing to go into the assembly in the Municipalidad. We meet up and find a place in the assembly hall. There are tons of speeches, music, and food is served complete with a typical way to sweet Peruvian wine. But then we get served Chica which is nice and tasty.

After lunch, we’re told to go home and change into typical Peruvian outfits and come back in an hour for the parade. I was unprepared but luckily Austin’s host mom had clothes for me and her brother was there and very enthusiastic about dressing me up! All the details we covered, from the sandal to the hat and braids. I felt (and looked ) like an old Peruvian lady. The boys got ready too and the three of us (with our photographer, Austin’s host uncle) headed to the plaza. While we stood around waiting for the parade to start, people were staring at us hard core. Multiple people came up and asked for a picture with us. A man even gave me his baby to hold as he took my picture. It was crazy! They loved us! Or thought we looked ridiculous, either way it was hilarious. We realize we should have a sign so we run to the elementary school and borrow a poster and some markers and whip up an ugly sign but does the job saying Cuerpo de Paz (Peace Corps)- Peru. We finally find the municipality people who are standing in the front of the mass of people we assume to be the parade. They have their Municipality sign and are facing a street lined on either side with people. We go up to them and they push us in front of them. We try to protest without luck and we find ourselves to be leading the parade, all eyes on us. An announcer announces us and calls for music. I guess we walk now? We start walking down the street lined with people but no one follows us. So we continue walking and as the crowds cheer, we really start to feel it. We start dancing and waving and the crowd gets louder. I look back- still no ones following. We are alone strutting down this never-ending catwalk. We do a spin- more cheers. Finally we get to the end of the street and the crowd. We wonder if we keep going but then the Municipality people start walking and we decide to wait for them. They tell us that’s it. That’s the end. We hang out and watch as groups of people take their turns walking. Story of our lives: We never seem to know what’s going on at first but we’ve become experts at going with the flow.

I go back to Austin’s house to change and by that time Sabrina, the volunteer in Molinopampa and my best girlfriend here, shows up. We have some coffee (with a splash of Irish Whiskey thanks to Cris) and chat. Then we walk to Austin’s host family’s garden to pick some veggies. Sabrina and I decide to go visit TJ so she can see his house. We of course get invited to a delicious meal and hang out for a bit. Around 8 we head back to Austin’s house where they’re all getting ready to go to someone’s house to dance. We go to this house to find a band playing and tons of people dancing. We join in for a few songs and are served more than a few glasses of Chica. All of a sudden everyone, including the band, leaves and a drunk guy with a huge belly grabs Sabrina’s and my arm and we start to skip down the street with the group. All the people from the party are following the band, arms linked, dancing, skipping, spinning, laughing. It was super fun! We arrive at the plaza and enter the assembly room where we continue to skip around in a huge circle with our arms linked. Finally the band stops playing and we take a second to strip our sweatshirts and scarves. Then the dancing starts right back up, but this time in the normal way with a partner.

After a few hours, we go outside to watch a castle of fireworks just like in Cohechan. Then we head back to Austin’s house to regroup a bit and drop of the older people we were with who couldn’t hang. Then the four volunteers, Austin’s host uncle, and TJ’s host sister head over to the big in-door sports arena where the bands “Fiestas Norteñas” and Robert Pacheco were performing. There we continued to dance till our feet bled.

The next morning I hung out with Austin and Cris for a bit and then headed back to Chocta where I took a much needed nap. Not bad for my first Fiestas Patronales. I can’t wait for August when we have ours in Chocta!

First Visit From Home

Last week my Grandma and Aunt Karey came to see me! It was so nice having them here. They were traveling in Cusco seeing Machu Picchu while I was in Training and then we met up north in Tarapoto. We all cried at the airport a bit and the guy from the hotel who came to pick us up was very concerned… We spent the afternoon in the jungle town eating Chinese food, seeing a waterfall, and hanging out. They got to experience first hand the brutal honestly of Peruvians as our moto-taxi driver commented that I’m much fatter then them. I’m used to it, but it was fun to see them crack up. The next day at 6am we boarded a “combi,” the minivan sized cars that I’ve gotten used to traveling in, and headed to Chachapoyas. I knew it wouldn’t be the most comfortable ride, as I knew this week wouldn’t be a relaxing vacay but rather an exciting adventure! I also knew Grams and Aunt Karey could handle it. And they did, with just a few comments that almost, but didn’t quite, brake their rule of “no complaining.”

In Chachapoyas we walked around and shopped a bit. They got to meet another volunteer, Pari, who’s also from the Bay Area and happened to be in the same hotel as us. We had dinner in a restaurant/bakery next to our hotel that I knew had decent food with a menu translated in English. We ended up eating all three of our dinners there! After long days, it’s nice to go to a place we knew we’d like. The second day in Chachapoyas Grams’ cold/cough was pretty bad so she decided to join us for breakfast (at my favorite spot) but skip the excursion to Kuelap. Aunt Karey and I hopped on the tour bus as the only foreigners tagging along with a big Peruvian family. Although that meant a lot of speaking in Spanish, it also meant an invitation to homemade tamales. They didn’t know I spoke Spanish at first until I overheard one asking “do you think the gringas want a tamale?” Then I introduced myself and told them I am living here in Amazonas and they warmed up to us! However we split up from them when we got to the ruins to go with an English speaking tour guide who had a group of Europeans and a couple from the USA with him. This tour guide recognized me from when he passes through my community, Chocta, to get to Karajia, another touristic site. He even observed that on Sundays I like to play volleyball! (I was only slightly creeped out and actually a little flattered). He took a liking to Aunt Karey and me, always making sure we were paying attention and offering to take our picture. It was nice. By the time we got back to Chachapoyas it was dark and we discovered Grams had survived the day quenching her hunger with water and cough drops! SO we headed to our trusty restaurant and showed her the pictures from our day.

The next morning we all went to breakfast at my second favorite breakfast spot where I got my waffle and they got scrambled eggs. Our breakfasts and dinners in Chachapoyas were pleasant times in an otherwise crazy few days! After breakfast we headed to the bus stop to get a car to Luya, the bigger town I spend a lot of time in. I was reminded of how scary that car ride is! I remember thinking it was a crazy road when I first got to site, but honestly I had become so used to it I didn’t even think to warn Aunt Karey and Grandma. I chuckled as Aunt Karey took Grandma’s advice to “just close your eyes and it’ll be over soon.” They were such troopers. We walked around Luya a bit to know where I go to get internet and groceries. Then we got back into a car to head up to Chocta. Of course it wasn’t a straight shot to Chocta. The driver circled around Luya a bit looking for passengers; on the way we stopped twice to pile in more people, including a women with a ton of chickens. It was fun seeing my Grandma’s eyes get wider every time more people managed to squeeze in. Then we took a detour up to another community for a passenger. I kinda wanted an uneventful ride up the mountain but was kinda happy they got to see what I have to deal with.

Finally we arrived in Chocta! As we got out of the car my host nephew and god-daughter Marlleli ran up to us. I hadn’t been back in 2 weeks so it was exciting to see them but especially exciting to see them meet my family. Marlleli was shy at first but by the end of the day was chatting with Aunt Karey and holding my grandma’s hand. We walked down to my house taking pictures. We found my host mom and sister-in-law Bremie in the kitchen and my host mom greeted them with her adorable bear hug and Bremie with a shy hand shake. The kitchen was of course filled with smoke because they don’t use their improved cook stove if they’re cooking a lot of food. So I gave Grams and Aunt Karey a tour of the house while we waited for dinner to be ready and the smoke to calm down. Lunch was what I expected. Soup (that would’ve been fine by itself) followed by a heaping plate of potatoes, noodles, rice, and a piece of chicken. I warned my host mom multiple times that they don’t eat very much so just a small plate is good. But we discovered they don’t listen very well. Food is love and no matter what I said, they were going to feed us with an insane amount or else it’d seem like they didn’t like us at all. They were also crushed at that fact that Grams and Aunt Karey didn’t stay the night. But we were tired from the traveling and Grandma’s cold wasn’t any better. So before leaving, we did a brief walk around town to show them where I work and spend my time. As we were heading back to the house, one of my favorite families started waving and calling me over. One lady pulled out a bench for us to sit on as I introduced my family members and said I’m sorry we’re on our way out we can’t stay. They were so friendly and chatty calling my grandma and aunt señoritas because of how young they looked. I jokingly said they’re leaving in the morning and I’ll be alone again. One of the moms said “no you won’t, you’ll have us. Come over tomorrow, we’ll make Chicha (alcoholic bev.) and you can cry with us.” It was so sweet. I remember first being here and how shy everyone was: we’ve come such a long way! I’m sure it was nice for my family to see that I’m welcomed and taken care of here. I’m glad they got to see that in case there was any doubt!

That night we had dinner at the same place in Chacha and watched some US news Grams managed to find. Hours and hours on a white woman who claims to identify as black. I was amazed at the air time a story like that got, and figured the US must be doing well if that’s the only news there was! In the morning we went to the terminal together and I left them at the bus stop for Tarapoto as I went over to the bus stop for Luya. I wiped my teary eyes and chuckled to myself as Javier, the craziest combi driver we have, greeted me. Thank god he wasn’t driving yesterday, Grams or Aunt Karey would’ve had a panic attack for sure.

Thinking back, it’s bizarre to think they were here with me in my room, but in that moment it wasn’t weird at all. It felt totally normal to have people I love be here with me. I thought it’d be strange to have my two worlds collide but it wasn’t. Because in the end I’m the same person who has family and friends that love me and will always be a part of this experience no matter if they’re here with me or not. I’m not living a different life, Peru isn’t a different world, it’s just a slightly different living circumstance for a while.

Six months in Site- check!

Yesterday I officially completed 6 months in site!! 9 months away from home. I obviously miss my friends and family more than you know, but I wanted to write a list of not obvious things I also miss:

Our old blue couch

            Melinda bought this amazing couch our sophomore year that we used until senior year. It was so comfy and I seriously really miss sitting on it. No one has couches here. When we gather we sit on benches with really pretty knitted, but not very comfortable, cushions. Maybe it was the company as well but oh how my body longs to curl up on that blue couch and watch Parenthood with my main chicas.

Lamps

In my room there’s only one outlet that has one plug and it’s on the other side of the room from my bed. It really hasn’t been an issue but sometimes I do miss a bedside lamp. Sometimes I just sit in my room at night to read or knit and I have to have my very bright ceiling light on. That made me think of lamps and the fact that no one has them here. Weird. Every once in a while I’ll use a flashlight, but it’s not the same. Maybe I’ll check out the possibility of a battery powered lamp…

Baking

            Very few people here have ovens and if they do they use them for storage! This weekend I’m buying ingredients to make cookies in a friend’s oven that’s never been used cause she doesn’t know how. I miss the taste of cookie dough or half-baked-fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. Also the convenience of heating up a pizza or meatballs. I never realized how much I relied on baking. Pretty much all my cooking skills involve baking; it’s hard to cook purely with a stovetop…

Drinks

            Hot water with sugar is not the same as a chai latte. A shot of traigo will never compare to Melinda’s margaritas. Pilsen beer tastes like pee water compared to Lagunitas’ Little Sumthin Sumthin. Give me that $2 Boba or a Strickland’s milkshake, I can’t drink “Inca Cola” anymore!

Breakfast

            - Soup of chopped up potatoes and noodles EVERY MORNING does not compare to the variety of cereal, toast, peanut butter, bagels, pancakes, scrambled eggs, and coffee. How I’d love to pop some whole wheat toast in a toaster or lather cold cream cheese on a hot everything bagel… I miss those simple breakfasts, their variety, and their convenience. When I don’t have time to eat hot soup, oh how I miss my quick stops at  Albertsons for my coffee and muffin before work. I should start a JavaHut business in our plaza for the people on their way to their farms and the students on their way to work!

Driving

            - It’s crazy to think I won’t be driving for 27 months! Am I going to remember how to drive? I miss the convenience of having my own car to go places, I miss driving buses at UCI, but also I just miss driving period. I’d drive that terribly boring stretch of I-5 or that dreaded 6am opening shift on Main Campus in a heartbeat if giving the chance! I also miss car rides with my friends. Not that I don’t enjoy awkward chats with the smelly man jammed in next to me practically on my lap, but I miss those road trips to Vegas or drives to go get tacos on Tuesdays. Melinda and Amy, I know we almost started WWIII deciding who’s turn it was to drive to Disneyland but when I get back, don’t worry, I’ll drive :)

Upgrades and Updates

I now have a bathroom complete with flushing toilet and shower! I have yet to use the shower but I have officially broken in the toilet and, surprisingly my favorite part, the sink! My make-shift sink, or “Tippy-Tap”, in my room has gotten old and it’s just so nice to wash my hands in a real life sink. So luxurious;) I can’t wait to buy little accessories for the bathroom like a mirror (they sell these nifty mirrors with a tray and slots to put toothbrushes) and a toilet paper holder. Another strange thing about Peru and toilets is that 80% of them, public and private, don’t have a seat. It’s weird. I guess they just don’t sit when they poop or don’t want to clean those extra layers? But yeah when they installed our toilet they just left the seat off. I asked them why they don’t put on the seat and cover that came with the toilet. It’s still sitting in my host parents room, I’ll get it on eventually! That and a few other details are still missing but I pooped on a toilet today in my own home and I couldn’t be happier!

I also got a puppy! His name is Lobo (means wolf) and he's the bomb. My host family fell in love with him so he's the family dog more than just mine but he still loves me the best;). This week I stopped letting him sleep in my bed to get him used to sleeping outside. It's so hard, I miss Toby and Bella keeping me company in bed, and Lobo was a nice replacement! I'm (most likely) leaving him here when I go home but for the next 18 months he'll be good company.

I know some people (my mom!) really want to know, “So it’s been 6 months, what the heck work have you done?!” Honestly, I also ask myself that question all the time. “Work” is such a general word. Peace Corps is “the hardest job you’ll ever love” not because we’re swamped with work 24/7 but rather the opposite: Our work is slow to start, hard to keep going, and will produce results that are often difficult if not impossible to see. We’re promoting behavior change, which, according to research, takes over 5 years to accomplish; therefore, in our 2 years here, we probably won’t see much. So when I say “I’m working” you have to keep in mind that this work is unlike any other “job” you’re probably thinking of.

And honestly it’s been tough. I have no one telling me what to do or where I’m needed, so I have to basically create work for myself. Often volunteers have a lot more institutions and authorities to work with who have ideas and tasks for them. For example, my closest colleagues have around 20 employees in their health center, with a department especially for public health outreach. On the other hand, I’m up here with 3 health employees who are swamped with work and have very little time to spend helping me with my ideas for projects. I’m realizing I’m not great at this kind of informal, independent, development work and it’s been a real challenge for me. Sometimes on my off days, like they warned us, I find myself wondering why I’m here, because the community seems to be doing just fine and I feel like I’m creating more work for people or just annoying people with my ideas. But on my good days I know that what I’m doing here will leave lasting imprints on lives and help Chocta to grow into a more thriving, healthy community that I know it has the potential to be. No one signs up for this job cause they think it’ll be easy. I welcome the struggles because getting through them is how I’ll be able to leave this experience with skills, knowledge and confidence I didn’t have before…

nutrition session

how can we make more balanced meals?

pretty rainbow with my host niece

LOBO!

We love learning English!!

Visit to the Chachapoyas hospital

I meant to spend a relaxed afternoon in Chachapoyas running errands, seeing friends, and eating good food. But instead, I had an unfortunate change of plans when I learned that my host brother Lucho was in the hospital in Chachapoyas with his wife Bremilda and Marlleli, my god-daughter. The last time I saw Marlleli was yesterday when she had a cough but was otherwise running around. I hoped they were overreacting bringing her here but nonetheless, hopped in a taxi to go to the hospital.

When I got there, Lucho was waiting outside and walked me to the ER. He told me she has bronchitis and possible pneumonia. In the ER room I greeted a tear-filled Bremie and a sobbing Marlleli with her oxygen mask. It was so sad, poor baby. But she had all the color in her face and besides looking scared, she looked alright. When the nurse came in to change her to nasal canula, Bremie asked how long she’d need it. The nurse impatiently replied “your baby needs this or she will die.” I’m not kidding. Bremie asked again. She replied “Senora, we don’t know how long.” And left the room. We all know that cranky and tired nurses exist everywhere, and for the amount of time I’ve spent with nurses, I of course know and understand the impatience. But this case was different. This time I knew that the patient hadn’t finished primary school. This time I knew that this was only the second time she’s left Chocta. This time I really understood how scary it must be to in a big new place with a sick child and without answers. This time I realized how valuable a little compassion can be.

My second rant is when a doctor and his resident came in to listen to Marlleli’s lungs. They mutter to each other “nada” after listening, ask Bremie again why she came in, and said Marlleli needs to be hospitalized for the night. Then left. No answers, no reassurance. Bremie looks at me with huge swollen eyes and asks why they kept saying “nada.” From the perspective of a hardly educated, scared mom, you can imagine how that sounds without explanation. I told her it’s a good thing. The doctors should hear clear breaths without any other sound. If they heard any other sound it would mean something is wrong. The tension left her face. How many times did I do that when I was working with another nurse? Probably a lot. With how many patients did I care enough about to get to know their personal back-story? Not a lot.

I was recently reflecting with a friend on how slow it is going starting our projects. We felt like after almost 6 months (in June) we have nothing to show for ourselves except for some Spanish skills and a bit of personal growth. I may not have birthed a baby or established behavior change (yet) but I feel like in 6 quick months I have learned so much about myself, gained invaluable perspective, and will not come back the same.

Semana Santa!

Semana Santa translates to Holy Week and it’s made up of Holy Thursday (Jueves Santo), Good Friday (Viernes Santo), ending with Easter Sunday (Domingo Gloria). The Catholic customs here were so beautiful as they celebrated the real meaning of those days. It made me feel, as a Catholic, almost a bit ashamed about the strange customs I have for Easter. I was asked frequently if I celebrate the same way in “my land”. At first I explained my Easter customs. After strange, perplexed looks, I just stopped explaining and would just say “no, we don’t celebrate like this”. Here in Chocta, they truly recognized the pain and suffering of Jesus on Thursday and Friday. Did nothing (no work, cleaning, nada) on Saturday when Jesus was in the grave. And then rejoiced with dancing, drinking, and celebrations when he rose on Sunday. At home we paint eggs, and eat lots of chocolate from a magic bunny. Don’t get me wrong, that’s all good and fun, but as a Catholic, myself, it truly made me think.

Mashing chickpea beans

so much food!

So what were these customs like? Let’s start with Thursday. My host brother, really my host family, was “majordomo” of the day. I’m not sure the exact translation, but it means they’re the ones who host the celebrations of the day. So starting a week earlier we began preparing. We had friends come over and help cook. One night at like 8pm a lady came over to make chicha (that sweet corn alcoholic beverage I mentioned before) and they stayed up all night taking turns sleeping and maintaining the fire to keep the drink boiling. I spent over an hour cranking a “molino” which is like a fine grater that turns whatever you want to grind, into a fine powder. You can use it to make corn tortillas and I really want to try to make peanut butter with it one day (stay tuned for how that turns out). In this case it was dried banana, which, with a little water and a TON of sugar would become masamora, a dark, yummy, sweet, liquid dessert. I guess it was the consistency of a thin pudding that you eat with a spoon. On the day of the event I was awoken by my nieces and nephews and a house full of people doing the final prepping and cleaning. It really felt like a holiday morning, which I wasn’t expecting as Christmas was so lame and uneventful. I got up and got dressed and was served a cup of chicha right away at 7am. From then on, the drinking did not stop until Sunday. (Luckily Chicha isn’t strong and I was at a comfortable buzz the whole weekend, never with a hangover). People were hanging out until 11ish when we went to church. After, we all came back to the house and had lunch. I think I explained the standard 5 plate meals of parties here, but as a refresher, the host serves 5 courses, way more than any mortal human could possibly consume (most people just eat the first), but that’s the way it is. Everyone goes home with their bags full of the plates they didn’t eat. Then we just hung out and drank chicha and traigo (much stronger, I didn’t indulge in that as much). I was relaxing in my room with some kiddos and without realizing it the sun had gone down and all of a sudden the house was packed with people! I’m talking every room, people sitting in the hallways, standing outside, it was crazy how many people came. We served a snack of ground up chickpea type beans mixed with garlic and salt with potatoes. Really tasty! Then the masamora, yum! Then at 10pm we went to church again. After the liturgy, we called it a night and I slept like a baby from all the socializing.

On our way up to the church

The altar for holy thursday

The altar for Friday and Saturday

Day 2: Friday. I woke up, once again to some family members and some more chicha. Followed by more church. The altar in the church was decorated in black with a black drape and dark purple flowers instead of the usual colorful array. After that, we hung out at my host brother’s house napping and watching Pasion de Cristo (The Passion of Christ) all day. Around 5 we went to church again. By that time I was feeling tired of sitting through liturgies. But actually the liturgy finished with a really beautiful ceremony. We sang beautiful, but sad sounding songs as we took the crucified Jesus off of the cross and put him in his coffin. Then we sat around for a while singing more sad songs to  “accompany the lord in his death.” Like a legit funeral. Then we called it a night.

Day 3: Saturday day was uneventful as we weren’t supposed to play, work, clean, dance, or anything because Jesus was dead. We did drink chicha though! I washed my poncho cause a dog had peed on it and I wanted to wear it that night and there was lots of strong sun so I knew it’d dry in time. I visited some friends. I bathed. I watched Elder, my host brother, make his sheep costume (he had a role to play later that night, keep reading!). We all napped a lot. Then at 11pm I was awoken from a nice sleep by Naidita, my 12 year old host niece. It was so cold out and I was so warm in beg plus I felt like I was coming down with something. But this was the night we’ve been waiting for! Jesus is going to rise from the dead! So I pulled myself out of bed and we walked to the church where a surprising amount of people showed up for a midnight service! I’d never seen the church more full! People I’d never seen in church before were there, I didn’t know there were this many Catholics here in Chocta! We started by standing out front of the doors. The majordomos of this day held candelabras and everyone else had our own lit candles. Then we sang as we walked into the church- it was really pretty! We sat in the dark lit by our candles through the liturgy. Then, near the end, a band started playing and the “animals” came in! So 5 or 6 guys from the community were chosen to portray animals: a bear, dear, sheep, etc. and a hunter. They danced into the church up to the altar as the hunter fought them. I’m not really sure why… That’s still as unclear as why we have an Easter bunny in the US.  But nonetheless, it was a hoot! Everyone was laughing. 

Then the animals left, we finished the liturgy, and went outside to see the animals putting on a performance of more dancing and fighting amongst themselves.  we all followed the dancing animals to the majordomo’s house. They danced some more and the band played outside. Then we all went inside to dance ourselves. The animals took off their costumes to reveal tipsy, sweaty men! The live band was really excellent and I had a great time dancing and getting sweaty myself! We called it a night well after 4 in the morning, knowing we all had to be at church at 9 that morning!

Day 4:9am came far too soon. By then, the cold that I had felt coming on was full throttle! I took some meds and drank my Emergen-C packets and lots of water. I felt a groggy but okay as we headed over to the church to the sound of that same band playing. There we found Elder, (my host brother) who had not come home that night, still tipsy and hanging out with the other animals. I don’t think they had slept at all… At the end of the liturgy, we all walked out to and around the plaza following the dancing animals and the band. A ton of people had gathered in the plaza to watch. Then we hung out as the animals (followed by a mob of children) ran off to “rob the stores.” I thought I heard them wrong, but later found out the animals had, indeed, left to go steal fruits and veggies from around town to bring to the majordomo’s house! As we were sitting down for lunch, in ran the animals with their arms full of melons, cucumbers, celery, you name it! It was hilarious. Lunch was yummy, but of course way to much food with way too much chicha and traigo. They served the chicha in soup bowls and offered shots of traigo all throughout lunch. Therefore, as was desired, we were all ready and willing to dance by the time lunch was over. As they say, “A votar vergüenza!” literally, “To get rid of embarrassment!”. So we danced. And we laughed. And had a really really really good time. The band, as I said, was awesome and I really love dancing Huayno, Cumbia, and Marinera, which I had just learned the night before! But by 3 or 4 in the afternoon I was so done. With thelack of sleep, abundance of dancing and socializing, plus my body fighting a cold, it was no surprise that I laid down to sleep at 5pm and hardly budged until 8am the next morning.

Sorry for the excruciating long post. If you were able to get through it, thank you for your attention! I hope you enjoyed reading about these different customs as much as I enjoyed experiencing them!