Hello Friends and Fam!

Wow, so much has happened since I last wrote! Most recently, we had our swearing in ceremony last Friday at the Ambassador’s residence in Lima. It was b-e-a-utiful! I felt very proud and honored. Afterwards the country Director had a party for us at his house with lots of food and dancing, very fun. The day before, we had a celebration for our host families at our training center in Chaclacayo. We put on a fashion show and a talent show for them, and made food and decorations…the works! I led the group in performing the Thriller dance J

I miss my host family in Lima already, they were so sweet! I can’t wait to visit them in January since we will be back there for our first in-service training. I also miss everyone back in the states, especially my family. I tear up when I people ask me about them. Mom, dad and Jay I can’t wait until you come visit me in April!!

Now I’m at my site in beautiful San Pablo, Cajamarca. To get here you can either fly an hour or take an overnight (very comfy) bus ride- 15.5 hrs. Then from Cajamarca city I’m an hour and a half, and you can take a group taxi or a bus.

The weather is very nice here- the sun is super strong and comes up over the mountains at about 8am every day and its warm all day (except in the shade). It does get pretty chilly at night, though! And there is a rainy season that lasts about 4 months or so, starting in Decemeber….I’m planning on learning to knit and reading a lot.

At first when I visited my site 2 weeks ago I was very unsure if I even wanted to stay here. It’s very small (about 3,000 people) and I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough work/find community. Part of the difficulty was that we all had to leave everything and everyone we got to know and love in Lima. After ten weeks, I had some solid relationships and was very comfortable there. But this is part of the journey, and life is not about being comfortable- especially a life inspired to honor God.

My site is already growing on me as I get to know people and explore it more. There are ruins here that date back to 3000 bc and a monument to the only battle Peru ever won against Chile. And I’m starting to make friends and acquaintances. I’ve hit it off with a French girl who is interning with a company that grows and exports a fruit called “aguaymento” and the products made with it, like salsa and marmalade. She is here about 5 more weeks.

There is SO much more to say, but I think that will do for now. I’m going put my new address to the right so you will all have it next time I can get on. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

A Little Thing we call…Field Based Training

This week was amazing, in fact I’m gonna go ahead and say it was the best week so far. We started our journey in Trujillo, the capital city of La Libertad (the Department we traveled to). We had a bunch of current volunteers come visit and give a panel on their experiences. It was fun meeting them and helpful to hear some reassuring words and get some questions answered. Then we headed up to Otusco where we spent the week in the mountains. The ride up was beautiful but a bit frightening (haha). I sat in the front seat because I get motion sick, but that meant I had a full view of everything… apparently it’s not dangerous to pass people around blind turns as long as you beep first. Needless to say I was doing some praying and closing my eyes, but we made it there in one piece. When we arrived there- 6 prospective volunteers with our trainer- we were warmly greeted by the only gringa in site, our host Nicole. She is super sweet and laid back, making our whole trip smoother. The altitude took some getting used to, but the air up there was so pure!

We taught a three day session about business concepts and entrepreneurship to students at the institute, which is an alternative for university since many can’t afford it here. They were only a bit younger than us, and were pretty surprised to hear our ages. At first it was difficult to get the class participating since they were very shy, but after a little while (and some icebreakers) we got them going. It was definitely a challenging experience teaching in another language in a different cultural context, so I’m glad we did it in groups of 3 and not on our own. On the last day, they ran their own businesses and competed for profit. The winning group made these amazing chocolates with nuts and raisins and sold all of them- they were so excited! Afterwards, we gave them certificates (a big deal here) and took pictures. They all wanted pictures with us…it’s fun feeling like a celebrity for a little bit J

Some memorable experiences from the week:

• Our egg sandwich lady- every morning without fail we would stop in at our favorite breakfast spot- fresh egg sandwiches, coffee, muffins, mmmm I miss it already. They lady was so sweet and it was so cheap too!
• The yogurt/cheese store- more tasty treats, all fresh, and the store had some really cool marketing as well
• Visiting Trigo Pampa (nearby farm)- half an hour walk through the beautiful, mountainous landscape took us to one of the coolest farms I’ve been to. They really have their act together- everything is farmed organically, with the crops positioned along the hillside according to the amount of water needed. No organic chemicals used at all. And the farm is practically run by the students at the Institute where we taught, the ones who are studying agriculture/animal raising.
• The recycling lady- we couldn’t understand what she was saying most of the time, but she was the sweetest little lady with the biggest smile, and was ecstatic to receive our empty bottles so she could resell them for recycling.
• Trying Cuy (Guinea Pig) for the first time...veeeery interesting. I still want to try it fried cuz I think it'd taste better :)

Overall, this trip made me even more excited to get to my site and form relationships and start my life there. We find out on Tuesday where we will be going!!!! Thanks for reading, and I’ll be writing back soon with the news!

Hi All! I only have a few minutes but wanted to give some updates:

-I'm going to the Mountains!!!! Not sure where yet, but somwhere North of Lima :) SO stoked.

-Connected with some great girls here who share the same faith and we've started meeting together. Refreshing for my soul for sure.

-Lots of stuff going on right now- trying to learn the language, the business material in english and spanish, and keep strengthening relationships with my host fam, the staff, my PC friends. 3 have left our class already :/ It is really hard- the best way I can describe it is with a game we played where we stood in a circle and started by passing one ball around- then one more, and one more, until there were 10 balls flying around and we had to be looking in all directions and constantly on the move. I know this is really important for us and I also know I will miss the training atmosphere when I leave, but sometimes I just want to be at site and be able to establish my own schedule, relationships, etc. But it will come before I know it!

-I did advance a spanish level which was exciting...small victories :)

-This week, we will be traveling to the Sierra (Mountains) to visit a volunteer and have our FBT- Field Based Training. We will be facilitating our own classes in Spanish (groups of 3) to students in an institute. 4 hours each day for 3 days!! Lots of prepping this week, and still more to do when we get there, but its good pratice and I'm excited.

Ok- signing off for now, more to come! Thanks for reading, your support helps more than you know!
Chao!
Me :0)

Where to start…well it has certainly been an adventure so far. Below is where I live and my wonderful host family whom I adore already. I live in Yanacoto, which is about an hour outside the city of Lima, but is in the Departamento of Lima (departamentos are like states in the U.S.). My typical day: 6:30am wake up, language classes from 8am to noon, an hour lunch, business classes with my group/sessions with the whole training class until 4:30 or 5. Then I either go running or head home to do homework, help cook/hang out with my siblings, and head to bed around 10. Each day differs, but it is definitely intense.

My Spanish is much, much better already. The first week was frustrating just getting accustomed to being in a new place, speaking a new language, etc. It’s hard to find a new normal, and the week went by super slow. But this week has been better (and has flown by). I am making friends and slowly figuring out what it means to live out my faith in this context.

Now I’m writing from a cabina, or internet café by my house. These are common around here and are an example of the informal sector in Peru, which many Peruvians take part in…more to come on this later. For now, I just wanted to share that I am happy and well. This is tough, but it will prepare me well for my 2 years of service.

Some Highlights:

-My host mom was blown away by my soccer pump. We pumped up one of the balls I brought and she thought it was amazing J

-Last Sunday, spending Father’s day with my extended host family. We ate duck with rice and they took me in right away and spoke about how I was now a part of their family. I only knew them a few hours…the people are so warm here!

-My host siblings are SO cute. My sisters just hang on me and love on me (theyre 3 and 6 ). And my mom is so sweet and loves taking care of me and helping me learn Spanish. This has helped ease the transition, as I definitely miss my family back home.

OK that’s bastante (too much)!

Talk soon,

Jackie aka La Rubia

Hi Everyone! I am officially a blogger now :) I can't believe I report to staging in two days and will be arriving in Lima in three! I can't wait to meet the others in my Peru 19 training class. While things have been crazy, I have really been enjoying my last few weeks here. I'm glad to have gotten some warm weather and time outside as well.

I've put my address through August on the right side of this page. While in training, we are only supposed to receive letters for some reason, but if you're a writer I'd love to hear from you! The next time I write I'll be in Peru!!! Here is a map of the country- as a small business volunteer I could be in Piura, Lambayeque, Cajamarca, La Libertad, Ica, Arequipa or Lima. We shall see!

Thank you all for your support in getting me to this point. I appreciate you!

Talk soon,
Jackie
La Rubia (the blonde)

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Hi It's Jackie!