If the little starts aren't clobbered by a hailstorm, we'll have the makings of some darn fine local coleslaw.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Plant Your Garden and Watch it Grow
One of my nascent projects is a vegetable garden in a little school for pastoral kids. Since we live so high up in the atmosphere, nothing really grows besides sheep and potatoes. As an experiment, I built a little cold frame at my house and planted a bunch of seeds, and not everything died! The other day, my host mom and I transplanted some cabbage, onion, and carrots into a tiny garden. I'm hoping that with more care and some inside windowsill germination, we can have better survival rates and get some lettuce and beets going.
If the little starts aren't clobbered by a hailstorm, we'll have the makings of some darn fine local coleslaw.
If the little starts aren't clobbered by a hailstorm, we'll have the makings of some darn fine local coleslaw.
Body Language Barrier
A new Peace Corps volunteer in the sierra of Peru has a lot to learn in order to communicate with any kind of success with her community. First there's Spanish, then likely a bit of regionally hyper-specific Quechua sprinkled into that Spanish, then slang, swears, and innuendo. Even though I thought my language skills were pretty solid when I arrived at site, I had to deal with a whole new sort of body language. Folks were sticking their tongues out and flapping their arms and being mystified that I was mystified. Thankfully, after a year, I've decoded some of it and have created this handy picture-guide.
1.
"Ven aqui" or hailing a cab. Hold arm out straight and flap wrist up and down like a dead fish. The more violently the mom's wrist is flapping, the more trouble the kid is in.
2.
"No." Say in no uncertain terms that you will not pay that ridiculous price for that watermelon. Make a fist, point index finger to the sky, and pivot the wrist back and forth rapidly at as great an angle as is comfortable.
3.
"It's hot out, no?" When Peruvian men are overheated, lifting up the shirt to air out the belly is the preferred method of cooling off. My host siblings were embarrassed to do it for the camera, so we only have a blurry shot.
4.
"That girl, over there." To surreptitiously indicate/incriminate the person next to you, stick your tongue in your cheek to be less obvious than pointing with your finger.
5. You would think that after all this time, I'd be used to being a sideshow, but my cultural sensitivity is getting a bit careworn and frayed at the seams. Especially when being gaped at, especially in the town where I've been living for a year, especially by adult men with better things to do. I used to put my head down and walk by faster, but now some days I hit them with one of these bad boys.
They usually get the point after 30 seconds or so of this. I just hope my face doesn't stick that way.
1.
"Ven aqui" or hailing a cab. Hold arm out straight and flap wrist up and down like a dead fish. The more violently the mom's wrist is flapping, the more trouble the kid is in.
2.
"No." Say in no uncertain terms that you will not pay that ridiculous price for that watermelon. Make a fist, point index finger to the sky, and pivot the wrist back and forth rapidly at as great an angle as is comfortable.
3.
"It's hot out, no?" When Peruvian men are overheated, lifting up the shirt to air out the belly is the preferred method of cooling off. My host siblings were embarrassed to do it for the camera, so we only have a blurry shot.
4.
"That girl, over there." To surreptitiously indicate/incriminate the person next to you, stick your tongue in your cheek to be less obvious than pointing with your finger.
5. You would think that after all this time, I'd be used to being a sideshow, but my cultural sensitivity is getting a bit careworn and frayed at the seams. Especially when being gaped at, especially in the town where I've been living for a year, especially by adult men with better things to do. I used to put my head down and walk by faster, but now some days I hit them with one of these bad boys.
They usually get the point after 30 seconds or so of this. I just hope my face doesn't stick that way.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Pretty Bird
I just stumbled off the bus back in my site after 10 days in Lima for medical checks and a Youth Initiative Committee meeting. Since there wasn´t much to do, all us volunteers recessed into hedonism. Expensive dinners, long hot showers, gay discoteca until 4am, and the slightly better brand of boxed wine. From a glass. But the best part by far was being able to spend that amount of time with my fellow volunteers again. I wasn´t tired of them even after a week of almost constant togetherness. I suppose all the alone time at site builds up social capacity.
That week was also a bicycle pump attached to my self-esteem balloon. As I´ve said before, I got out of my way to be frumpy at site to deflect creepy male attention. It´s also cold and impossible to stay clean, so the hair is braided and layers are piled on. I think it´s a factor of contrast, but I got a shower, put on some eyeliner and jeans that fit and walked down the street like a parade float. I got lots of compliments on my long hair and my PCVC said that it looked like I had been working out. At my checkup, the scale said 142, and I came to Peace Corps at 138, so not bad! I wonder how much of my feelings of chubbiness are mental. I was also really popular at the gay club and the men would come salsa with me. I´m taking it as a compliment, because otherwise it´s too confusing.
I think the Peace Corps is helping me be more of the person I want to be. I´ve always been kinda self-conscious and reserved, but service is beating it out of me. I have so little time with my peers that I can´t waste it holding back. I´m always wierd looking and stared at, so self-consciousness needs to go out the window if I´m to leave my house. Might as well put on a rainbow hat and a giant feather earring. Because, as my favorite quote of the week went, "Life is wierd, now so am I."
That week was also a bicycle pump attached to my self-esteem balloon. As I´ve said before, I got out of my way to be frumpy at site to deflect creepy male attention. It´s also cold and impossible to stay clean, so the hair is braided and layers are piled on. I think it´s a factor of contrast, but I got a shower, put on some eyeliner and jeans that fit and walked down the street like a parade float. I got lots of compliments on my long hair and my PCVC said that it looked like I had been working out. At my checkup, the scale said 142, and I came to Peace Corps at 138, so not bad! I wonder how much of my feelings of chubbiness are mental. I was also really popular at the gay club and the men would come salsa with me. I´m taking it as a compliment, because otherwise it´s too confusing.
I think the Peace Corps is helping me be more of the person I want to be. I´ve always been kinda self-conscious and reserved, but service is beating it out of me. I have so little time with my peers that I can´t waste it holding back. I´m always wierd looking and stared at, so self-consciousness needs to go out the window if I´m to leave my house. Might as well put on a rainbow hat and a giant feather earring. Because, as my favorite quote of the week went, "Life is wierd, now so am I."
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