I'm hereeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Helloooooooooooooooo/Holaaaaaaaaaaaaa a todos.  Here I am in Perú in the middle of my fifth week.  I am staying in a small neighborhood about an hour away from the center of Lima.  It is called 3 de octubre (3rd of October).  Every weekday (and some Sundays) we go to the Peace Corps training center in Chaclacayo (about 15 minutes away from my house by combi).  My fellow volunteer Lindsay picks me up at 7.45am and we arrive at 8am or shortly thereafter.  At the training center, we have between 2 and 4 sessions per day—language/culture class, classes on small business concepts, safety and security sessions, and medical sessions (sometimes we are lucky enough to get shots, too!).

I live with a Peruvian family with a mother (Trinidad), her two sons (Enrique y Gustavo), and one of her son’s esposas.  I see Trinidad’s son Carlos, his wife Rebecca, and their two daughters almost every day (Yanela y Yerlin).  I have a lot of fun with my family and I think they have a lot of fun with me.  They get a big kick out of my Porteño dejo and like to make fun of me for it (much like the other volunteers do), but it’s all good.  It’s kind of sad that in another 5 weeks, I’ll be in another part of the country probably a few hours away from my host family.  (Volunteers from this group are going to be sent to Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, Cajamarca y Arequipa).  Arequipa is supposed to be a beautiful mountainous department south of Lima.  The other four departamentos are to the north of Lima.

This weekend in fact, we are heading to Cajamarca for “Field Based Training”.  We will be teaching a three-day class (apparently from 4pm to 10pm) on entrepreneurship to students studying in a technical institute.  On the fourth day, the plan is that they will simulate a business of their choice using a loan from el banco del Cuerpo de Paz.  Should be a lot of fun!

The following week will be a short one (Fiestas Patrias are celebrated on Thursday and Friday—the 28^th and 29^th).  However, I should note that that week I will find out where the Peace Corps will be sending me for the remainder of my service.  Wish me luck!