So now its time to describe how my life has been for the last 4 weeks more or less. We have been staying in on of the community centers, or Locales, right next to the soccer field. The building is usually used for visiting sports teams for games. We have one big common room, three rooms to sleep in (guys and girls separate,) and some bathrooms and showers. The showers only have one knob, cold. It doesn´t try and give you any false hope, you see exactly what you are getting. A cold shower really isn´t that bad, you just have to sike yourself up for it. Our building is actually the only building in town to some form of a septic system and I imagine one of few to have western style toilets. We have mattresses to sleep on and the only real bug problem is oversized beatles that fly all over the place.
A normal day starts off with breakfast around 7. In the beginning of the trip we organized ourselves into three groups for meal times: fetching the food, setting the table, and doing dishes. We have about a 5-10 minute walk to pick up our food at Señora Cela´s house. The setting the table group also gets the privilage of getting to burn paper as well as used toilet paper, since you are not allowed to flush it town the toilet in Peru. Burning poo is one of those things I can finally cross of my bucket list, glad I finally was able to do that one. Everyone morning as we walk to pick up the food, without fail, a little girl yells hi to us. Normally this is a very sweet and friendly gesture, but when you hear "HOLA GRINGITAAAA" at 645 in the morning constantly it makes you want to take action. Personally, I´ve though of putting her into one of our giant soup pots, but the plan is still in the works.
After breakfast we head to the worksite which happens to be a whole 100 meters from our casa. We work from 8-1 and then have lunch. A lot of the teenagers in the town have come and helped us out with the project as well. All of them know how to do the work 10 times faster than any of us. I swear all of them were born with the ability to mix cement, saw, and dig holes. I imagine its genetically passed down from the Incas, but I´m no anthropologist.
The afternoons have have involved a wide variety of activies. Some days we have different speakers come to talk to us about life in Lurinchincha or different non-profits. Other days we do AJWS learning sessions about social justice or just get the afternoons free. Lurinchincha, and Peru in general turned out to be a perfect place for me. Their favorite sports are soccer and volleyball. I have been playing lots of both with the younger kids as well as the older teens. As well, we have been helping out at the Ludoteca in the afternoons. I got to help with math homework as well as paint pictures. I made a lion, it was award winning.
After dinner at 7 we usually have an evening activity. Monday and Wednesday have been our cultural/language exchanges with the teens and other kids in the community. We have had a game night, to help facilitate learning languages as well as a bonfire on top of an ancient ruin for the 4th of July. The other nights we either have an AJWS learning session or have a different speaker. Fridays are different for shabbat. We usually have the whole afternoon free to hang out and prep. After that we have a brief kabbalat shabbat service with a planned oneg afterwards. My session included would you rather and crab soccer. Before shabbat started a few weeks ago we went down to the beach and watched the sun set. I had never seen a sun set before on the pacific, it was absolutely gorgeous. On sundays we have been going to different places around the area. We went to Chincha, the closest town, and also went to a majority afro-peruvian town called El Carmen.
So the computer froze and deleted the other part of what I wrote. To be continued....
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Lurinchincha
Hola!
So after 3 weeks in Peru, I finally get a chance to sit down and write a post. It´s very calming not having internet, tv, and a cellphone. To start, its best to describe the town Im living in. Lurinchincha is 20 minutes outside of Chincha, 3 hours south of Lima. 300 meters or so to the west is the Pacific and about 3 kilometers east lies the mountains. It has been gray about 75% of the time, but on a clear day you can see the surrounding area completely. To get into the town, you take a 10 minutes drive down a dirt road flanked on either sides by cotton, corn, and artichoke fields. Once you reach Lurinchincha, you are greeted by the only paved street. 4 years ago, an earthquake devasted this area and leveled most of the town. From the people that we have talked to, Lurinchincha was a very beautiful city. It is now a compilation of new cement and brick homes alongside houses with walls made of woven leaves (possible sugarcane?). The effects of the earthquake can still be seen as you take a 10 minute walk along the dirt roads of the town. There are no street signs, no restaurants or any communal gathering places. The church along the main paved road provides one location as well as the rotunda in the center of the street where most of the youth and men congregate. The focal point, at least in my opinion, is the soccer field. The field is in decent condition despite the hordes of trash spread throughout the grass and fields.
Lurinchincha recieved 24 hour electricity in 1997 and currently the water shuts off after 7pm. The town lacks a septic system and the water is not fully safe to drink. The town rises at 4 in the morning as the men prepare to work in the fields and factories as the women take care of the household. Some women do work, but the peruvian culture still seems to reflect a male dominated family life. Families have on average 4-6 kids but we have met many others that exceed ten. Teenagers usually do not finish secondary school as many have to drop out and work in the fields or stay at home to help provide for the family. Many teenagers get married around ages 15-16 and start having children.
The program I am on focuses helping a nonprofit that is very active in the town. Asociación Civil Pro Niño Intimo (ACPNI) helps youth in low income and high risk areas by using futbol as a means of education. In Lurinchincha, ACPNI has had a very profound and positive effect. Last year a group from AJWS came to the town and built a community center for the kids(La Ludoteca). Since ACPNI is based out of Lima, the local teenagers run the programs within the town. Throughout the week, the teens organize various programs ranging from arts and crafts, dance, volleyball, and futbol. The futbol is played not by competing to see who wins but by reinforcing postive values. One of the teens had a sheet of different ways to score points during the game, be it sportsmanship, cheering for the other team, or helping people up when get hurt. What is really amazing about the Ludoteca is that is provides the kids in the town a place to call their own. The outside of the building is painted in a variety of colors that I cannot see and is the brightest building in the faded and dusty street. The building has written on it Somos Lurinchincha, which means We Are Lurinchincha. There is nothing else to do in the town. No restaurants, movie theaters, or any other stores for that matter besides small conveniance stores. The Ludoteca gives the youth a place to act exactly how they are supposed to act, as teens. Its creates an environment that fosters the growth for all the youth in the town and helps to educate a new generation.
Another amazing program that is run by the teens is a radio show. The show has been put on for the past three years and has been made possible by ACPNI. The teens produce the show out of someones living room in the town of San Valentin, about a 25 minute walk from Lurinchincha. The teens write the script, which is edited by one of the directors of ACPNI. The show is then recorded on their equipment and broadcasted on sundays in a radius of 8 km. Originally it was recorded onto a cell phone and brought to Lima for ACPNI to help produce. The radio show gives the teens a voice within the community and opens up a door for a new generation to be heard.
This summer, my group traveled to Peru to add on to the Ludoteca. We are in the process of building 2 radio rooms, 2 bathrooms, and a fence to surround the area. Most of us in the group had never done construction before as pick axing does not really run in my family. Initially, we had to pick axe, shovel, and wheelbarrow out the foundations for the building. Never underestimate construction workers. Digging a hole a meter deep is no easy task. It was heartbreaking once we had to then fill in our immaculate holes with concrete. Never also take for granted cement(pronounced see-ment in our group) trucks. It looks so easy just spinning around! Mixing it by shovel was another fun task. First you take 10-15 wheelbarrows of sand, throw some cemement on top. You mix that all together, make a volcano looking thing, add water, and mix again. After that you can then add it into a hole. Wheelbarrowing was not inherent to me, as I fell in a couple times trying to empty the cement into the hole. After all of that we added bamboo into the cement for the surrounding fence. I am also now skilled with a saw, which I will somehow work into my study routine this upcoming year. Thats all I have for now, life in Lurinchincha soon.
So after 3 weeks in Peru, I finally get a chance to sit down and write a post. It´s very calming not having internet, tv, and a cellphone. To start, its best to describe the town Im living in. Lurinchincha is 20 minutes outside of Chincha, 3 hours south of Lima. 300 meters or so to the west is the Pacific and about 3 kilometers east lies the mountains. It has been gray about 75% of the time, but on a clear day you can see the surrounding area completely. To get into the town, you take a 10 minutes drive down a dirt road flanked on either sides by cotton, corn, and artichoke fields. Once you reach Lurinchincha, you are greeted by the only paved street. 4 years ago, an earthquake devasted this area and leveled most of the town. From the people that we have talked to, Lurinchincha was a very beautiful city. It is now a compilation of new cement and brick homes alongside houses with walls made of woven leaves (possible sugarcane?). The effects of the earthquake can still be seen as you take a 10 minute walk along the dirt roads of the town. There are no street signs, no restaurants or any communal gathering places. The church along the main paved road provides one location as well as the rotunda in the center of the street where most of the youth and men congregate. The focal point, at least in my opinion, is the soccer field. The field is in decent condition despite the hordes of trash spread throughout the grass and fields.
Lurinchincha recieved 24 hour electricity in 1997 and currently the water shuts off after 7pm. The town lacks a septic system and the water is not fully safe to drink. The town rises at 4 in the morning as the men prepare to work in the fields and factories as the women take care of the household. Some women do work, but the peruvian culture still seems to reflect a male dominated family life. Families have on average 4-6 kids but we have met many others that exceed ten. Teenagers usually do not finish secondary school as many have to drop out and work in the fields or stay at home to help provide for the family. Many teenagers get married around ages 15-16 and start having children.
The program I am on focuses helping a nonprofit that is very active in the town. Asociación Civil Pro Niño Intimo (ACPNI) helps youth in low income and high risk areas by using futbol as a means of education. In Lurinchincha, ACPNI has had a very profound and positive effect. Last year a group from AJWS came to the town and built a community center for the kids(La Ludoteca). Since ACPNI is based out of Lima, the local teenagers run the programs within the town. Throughout the week, the teens organize various programs ranging from arts and crafts, dance, volleyball, and futbol. The futbol is played not by competing to see who wins but by reinforcing postive values. One of the teens had a sheet of different ways to score points during the game, be it sportsmanship, cheering for the other team, or helping people up when get hurt. What is really amazing about the Ludoteca is that is provides the kids in the town a place to call their own. The outside of the building is painted in a variety of colors that I cannot see and is the brightest building in the faded and dusty street. The building has written on it Somos Lurinchincha, which means We Are Lurinchincha. There is nothing else to do in the town. No restaurants, movie theaters, or any other stores for that matter besides small conveniance stores. The Ludoteca gives the youth a place to act exactly how they are supposed to act, as teens. Its creates an environment that fosters the growth for all the youth in the town and helps to educate a new generation.
Another amazing program that is run by the teens is a radio show. The show has been put on for the past three years and has been made possible by ACPNI. The teens produce the show out of someones living room in the town of San Valentin, about a 25 minute walk from Lurinchincha. The teens write the script, which is edited by one of the directors of ACPNI. The show is then recorded on their equipment and broadcasted on sundays in a radius of 8 km. Originally it was recorded onto a cell phone and brought to Lima for ACPNI to help produce. The radio show gives the teens a voice within the community and opens up a door for a new generation to be heard.
This summer, my group traveled to Peru to add on to the Ludoteca. We are in the process of building 2 radio rooms, 2 bathrooms, and a fence to surround the area. Most of us in the group had never done construction before as pick axing does not really run in my family. Initially, we had to pick axe, shovel, and wheelbarrow out the foundations for the building. Never underestimate construction workers. Digging a hole a meter deep is no easy task. It was heartbreaking once we had to then fill in our immaculate holes with concrete. Never also take for granted cement(pronounced see-ment in our group) trucks. It looks so easy just spinning around! Mixing it by shovel was another fun task. First you take 10-15 wheelbarrows of sand, throw some cemement on top. You mix that all together, make a volcano looking thing, add water, and mix again. After that you can then add it into a hole. Wheelbarrowing was not inherent to me, as I fell in a couple times trying to empty the cement into the hole. After all of that we added bamboo into the cement for the surrounding fence. I am also now skilled with a saw, which I will somehow work into my study routine this upcoming year. Thats all I have for now, life in Lurinchincha soon.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
El Mundo Pequeño
So I made it to the big city via bus and metro and found my way to Columbia University. Upon meeting my group, we all started to introduce ourselves and get acquainted. This one girl, Amy Schmidt, was telling me how her parents are mexican and how she is from Los Angeles. During another group session her interesting fact was that all of her siblings have names that start with the letter A. Thats when the lightbulb went on. I went over to her after words and in as much of a non creepy was as possible told her that her parents were named Ichay and Susie. She responded with "what the hell?!" to which I replied that our dad's worked in Israel doing orthopedics together and that our families have been friends for the past 30 odd years or so. Once I said my last name was Rockower we immediately hugged, realizing that we had actually met last year at this time and called our parents to them the news. A small world indeed.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Off to Peru
Tis the night before another trip, and here I sit pondering life's metaphysical questions. Why did I succumb to my brothers peer pressure and make a blog? Will I actually get to bring a llama home from Peru? What does cuy taste like? These and other deep questions will permeate through my dreams as tomorrow the Big Apple awaits; and then, Peru.
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