Wednesday Things

May 29, 2013

¡Buenas tardes! ¡Tenemos internet en nuestra oficina!

It’s hard to believe I’ve already been here a full week, but we are now in the middle of our first week of work in Junín. As many of you know, geography is not my strong suit, but I can try to explain how Peru works and approximately what we’re going to be doing these next nine weeks.

Junín is one of Peru’s 25 regions, and also the name of one of the region of Junín’s nine provinces. We are staying in Junín, Junín, Peru, which is home to Lago Chinchaycocha (also called Lago Junín) and the Junín National Reserve. The Reserve is approximately 50,000 hectares and contains the entirety of the lake. There is a huge amount of biodiversity in and around the lake, and one of our contacts in Junín works for the organization whose job deals with preserving the many species native to the area. To the north of the lake, in Cerro de Pasco, are a number of mining operations (Peru is known for its mineral wealth), which are contaminating the river that runs into the northwest part of Lago Junín, depositing all sorts of pollutants. This river then continues from that point in the lago and flows south(ish) – I’m not exactly sure where it goes much beyond that, but I do know that it is a problem, because, as I understand it, that water then provides irrigation for the farmers of the (primarily agricultural) region.

So. Our project. Proyecto, if you will.

Obviously, we’re not exactly qualified as experts in any sort of water sampling or much of the hard science that is inherent in this project. However, as social scientists and generalists, we are qualified to do other things (or so I keep telling myself – I’d much rather stick with the math and hard science, but this isn’t about me!). We’ve developed some tools – a household survey as well as questions for interviews and focus groups – to get the input of the various communities said to be most affected by the water contamination. If you’ve looked at the map of Junín and the lake, you can tell we’re not exactly rocking beachfront property. We are also at the far end of the lake from the mines in Cerro de Pasco, meaning the cleaner side of the lake. Our work will be not only in Junín, but also in a couple of small pueblos along the west side of the lake. As far as I can tell, people in our community are aware of the problem, but not necessarily as acutely as those in closer proximity to the lake.

It’s hard to know exactly how much we’ll be able to accomplish in eight and a half more weeks, but I think we have some reasonable and reachable goals. I’ll for sure keep this blog as updated as possible since it also helps me process what is going on.

Tonight we’re apparently giving an interview. I’m not sure if it will be broadcast on both radio and television or just radio. Needless to say, we’re all a bit jittery. When we spoke with the mayor on Monday, he spoke so fast that none of us really understood what he was saying, so hopefully he’s not the one who will be asking questions! My speaking skills are by far the weakest in the group, so I’ll likely defer much of the speaking to my teammates. Still, it’s pretty exciting to be getting media attention (first time for everything, right?), even if it is in rural Peru – hopefully it will help with our work!

On a more personal level:

It is really, really cold here. Sure, a “summer” in Peru sounds fantastically tropical, but for one, we’re in the southern hemisphere where it is, in fact, winter. Also, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned, we’re at upwards of 13,000 feet above sea level (which is somewhere around 4,000 meters I’m told). This means that nights are incredibly cold (well below freezing I would say) and days don’t warm up until the sun has been up for a little while. To put it into perspective: I sleep in long wool socks, flannel pants and two shirts, on top of two blankets and underneath five or six (depending), hugging a hot water bottle. I’m incredibly lucky to have a “hot” shower in my (own, private) bathroom. It’s an electric shower, so I have to get up maybe 10-15 minutes before I want to shower in order for it to actually heat up, and then I have to switch between the “hot” and “warm” settings so as not to freeze or scald myself. Showers are fewer and farther between than they are in Minneapolis; I’ll leave it at that!

Food has been pretty good, if a little starch-heavy. Lots and lots of hot beverages and soup. Lots of meat (much more than my semi-vegetarian stomach has digested in a long time), though I think we’re fairly privileged to even have that option. More potatoes and rice than I could ever hope to appreciate. For example, the other day, our lunch consisted of: some sort of meat/potato/weird thing soup, then a plate with a pile of white rice with mashed potatoes and some kind of meat thing (I believe it was chicken). I think there might have been some sort of mayonnaise-y salad as well. There is absolutely no shortage of food, and we’re incredibly lucky that the Parroquia cooks for us! Apparently every Tuesday is a huge market day – tons of market stalls all up and down the streets with fruits, vegetables, eggs, dried goods, clothes, live animals (ducks, chickens, gallinas (hens), rabbits, guinea pigs)… anything you can imagine, basically. I bought some fruit and a pair of knit tights to wear under my jeans. The funny thing about clothes made here though, is that they’re made for the people here, and the people here are short, like a foot or a foot and a half shorter than me. So the “tights” I bought actually fit me as capris, and the waistband is up well past my bellybutton. Super stylish :) but if I’m going to be here until the end of July, at least I’ll be warm!

I haven’t tried running yet. Every day gets easier (I didn’t have to take advil for my head this morning!), but I still find myself winded and slightly lightheaded just walking around. Everyone tells me I’m crazy to want to run here, but I really need it. (I will say that it has been nice to have a legitimate excuse to take several days in a row completely off, though I do wish I could choose when to start up again, and do my normal mileage!) Maybe tomorrow, maybe Friday… For sure sometime next week!

This weekend, Jose is bringing us on an adventure to Huancayo, a town several hours (I’m guessing) southeast of Junín and capital of the Junín region. Wikipedia says it is 10,692 feet above sea level, which should be a nice relief from our current altitude, if only for a couple days. I’m not exactly sure what’s on our agenda, but we do have a contact there with the Autoridad Nacional del Agua (National Water Authority), so we may try to meet up with him for an interview and to get more background information on the science behind the contamination.

On a more (strictly) cultural (but still fairly personal) level:

For some reason, I was especially tired yesterday. Even after an afternoon nap, by the time dinner rolled around, I was still drowsy and my reaction time was slow(-er than usual – I blame the cold). There was an especially large crowd at dinner, several of the boys who live at the Parroquia, several visiting nuns, as well as the usual crowd. The Padre asked one of the boys to serve him some meat and rice, and as the boy was scooping into the dish containing meat and potatoes, I saw a head, complete with teeth, tongue and nose. They served cuy last night at dinner, and (as in Africa) the head is not discarded. I was so shocked I nearly choked. I don’t remember exactly what I said, but it was definitely in very fast English, which prompted a lot of laughter and jokes about what other animals Peruvians eat (and don’t eat). At this point in my life, I know when to just laugh at myself, and this was definitely one of those times.

Well, it’s 5pm and time to go home (for more tea and another meal)! More updates to come, feel free to email :)

-k

Junín

May 26, 2013

We reached Junín this morning at about 5am after a long (but not too terribly uncomfortable) bus ride. As we got off the bus, I think the cold shocked me more than the altitude – definitely not the weather in Lima and nothing close to the summer I’d been anticipating in MN. Several small motorcycle taxi things met us at the bus stop and brought us to La Parroquia, a sort of Catholic Church boarding hostel and our home for the summer.

We had several hours of rest before breakfast and I think that was when I first realized the change in altitude. I’m used to breathing at a certain frequency, but that same frequency wasn’t going to cut it here. I felt winded after a few minutes and had to try to convince myself to breathe more frequently. Does that make any sense? Strange.

We had breakfast with the Padre and several other people who live and work here – Nancy and Pochita, the women who help in the office and kitchen, and David and Dennis, the young men (early 20s) who sing and play guitar at Mass. Everyone at la Parroquia has been incredibly warm, welcoming and accommodating. Initially they had the three of us in two rooms but after lunch insisted on giving us each our own rooms (which, I imagine, will help our sanities a ton since we’ll be working together all other hours of the day). I definitely landed the nice room – I have a small window to the outside (which must face North since the sun has been coming in all day so far, southern hemisphere and all), a comfy double bed, a television (that I don’t actually plan on watching, but maybe I will if there are telenovelas or partidos de futbol on in the evenings), and my own bathroom! Visitors are welcome anytime… :)

The climate reminds me of Lesotho winters. It’s not too bad outside when the sun is up, but none of the buildings have heat, so we each have a ton of blankets on our beds and everyone walks around in jackets. The sun is powerful though; I’m sure I’ll come home with an awesome tan on my face (and nowhere else).

We also walked around town a bit – up to the central market, greeting people and taking in the sights. The sun felt absolutely glorious when it was out! Most of the streets seem to be one-way, though I don’t think they get much traffic. As we walked south, we went uphill, and coming back north was downhill. Lago Junín (also called Chinchaycocha, and the one contaminated by the mines) is to our northwest, and I’m hoping we’ll be able to see it sometime this week. We’re situated not too far from la municipalidad – the municipal building where I’m guessing we’ll be meeting with the mayor tomorrow or sometime early this week.

After being here several hours, I can definitely feel the altitude. I’m thankful to be in such good shape and am very much hoping to be able to run at some point this week, but for now I’m a bit dizzy and my head hurts; running can wait a few days. Right before lunch, Nancy also brought us a vial of some sort of strong-smelling thing. She instructed us to put several drops in our hands, rub them together and inhale deeply several times, then rub the rest on our forehead. I was hesitant to take a whiff at first (for obvious reasons), but it did help a bit with my headache. Then again, warm soup, potatoes and hot tea also helped tremendously. At lunch, they also served us “agua de coca” – a tea made with coca leaves, which was supposed to help calm our stomachs and heads.

It’s incredibly heartwarming to see how much these people care for us already. They know so little of us (they weren’t sure if we would be men or women and how many would be here until this morning when we arrived!) and yet everyone here has bent over backwards to make sure we’re comfortable and taken care of; already it feels a lot like a family.

Hasta luego,

-k

Lima, Peru

May 25, 2013
Today I paid $6 for a thing of peanut butter. Off-brand peanut butter! Not even a big container of it, just the standard container size (whatever that is) of crunchy peanut butter. I’m not someone to skimp on peanut butter (I have been known to eat it with a spoon), but $6 was definitely a new low (or high).

As you may have guessed, I am no longer in Africa. I am also no longer in America...

¡Saludos de Lima, Peru! This summer, a couple classmates and I will be in Junín, Peru, for ten weeks for the field work that is required as part of my degree. There are several mining operations near the lake that have been polluting it for years, so our plan is to conduct an assessment of how the water contamination is affecting the peoples' lives and livelihoods. As of right now, it's still fairly fluid, so I'll keep you posted as things become clearer.

In the meantime, I can give an update of the past few days! I made my way down to Lima (via Chicago and Atlanta) on Tuesday, and managed to score a first-row seat in Business Elite from Atlanta to Lima (thank you, Delta!) - talk about luxury. I watched the stand-by list for quite a while, texting Brian to see if the numbers he saw were any different from what I could see, and with a few minutes to take-off, I approached the counter. They called my name not even 3 minutes before departure so I hustled onto the plane. I apparently missed the champagne they serve at the very beginning of flights since I was the last one to board, but I was still treated like a princess. A nice flight attendant brought me a menu as I was texting family and friends back home (and crying, as is my tradition before international flights) and asked me what I wanted for dinner. Apparently in Business Class, there's a menu. Not one or two choices with a soda, but an entire menu! And the meal comes in courses! I got a bowl of mixed nuts with a glass of wine, then a salad, a (warm) dinner roll (that the flight attendant told me he had baked that morning, ha), and finally some sort of squash risotto. Oh, and dessert. Did I mention wine? I tried several kinds of wine with my meal and by the time we'd been in the air an hour, I was absolutely stuffed.

After arriving in Lima at almost 11pm, I made my way to baggage and through customs, mustering up as much energy as I could manage in order to understand everything (my Spanish was a bit rusty and I was exhausted – sitting first class is hard work!). 

I found my way out into the main receiving area of the Lima airport and somehow managed to locate a small Peruano who did not look particularly enthused to be holding a sign that said “Kaytee Shepare, Delta.” He (my taxi driver) brought me to a small hotel and shortly after midnight, I crawled into my (incredibly firm) bed and fell asleep.

Janelle (teammate) was to arrive on the same flight the next evening, so my Wednesday was a day alone in Lima. I woke up to a phone call (telling me that I had a phone call) from one of our contacts here, Jose. He was absolutely instrumental in arranging arrivals, hotel rooms and transportation. He wanted to make sure I had arrived and that all was well. After breakfast, I received another similar call from a different contact, Dilma (equally helpful), who also wanted to hear “todo bien.”

I’ll spare you all the details of my days in Lima, but suffice it to say, they’ve been good. Zoila (teammate) also made it to Lima safely. Temperatures have been around 70, mostly cloudy skies and incredibly humid. Our hotel was located right on a sort of park in the (very wide) median of the road, so I managed to run every day – one of my favorite ways to get to know a new place. My Spanish still has a ways to go, but listening and understanding has gotten easier; it’s returning slowly but surely, and I will, without a doubt, continue to learn over the next 9-10 weeks.

Jose and Dilma both were wonderful too; Jose took me/us to lunch three of my four days in Lima and acted as our own private chauffeur as we ran errands and bought everything from water bottles to cell phone SIM cards to peanut butter – turns out he knows a guy who knows a guy (actually he just knows the right store in Chinatown). He’s originally from the region of Junín, though not necessarily where we’ll be, and has connections there, as well as plans to visit and show us around more. Dilma helped in arranging a tour of Lima atop one of those obnoxiously touristy double-decker buses. I had never been on one of those tours before, but it was pretty entertaining. The tour guide must have had too much caffeine pre-tour because she was overly theatrical in both English and Spanish (sort of dizzying listening to her flip flop between the two languages). It was a fantastic excuse to bring out the big guns: my nice camera and new lens. I looked like a serious tourist carrying that thing around, but it was totally worth it.

Today (Saturday) was one last day of shopping and lunch with Jose, and then a good chunk of time to relax and repack our bags. The three of us are currently sitting “bus-cama” (sort of like first class, but on a bus I guess?), en route to Junín; we’re scheduled to arrive somewhere between 4 and 5am (5+ hours from now). I have no problem with overnight buses (especially when I have a seat that reclines as much as mine does, even if the bus does smell a bit like urine). The real kicker is that Lima is at sea level and Junín is at upwards of 13,000 feet above sea level. The only other time I’ve been at serious altitude was when climbing Kilimajaro, and yes, that was 19,000+ feet, but only for a short while, and I had been living at probably 5,000 feet for over a year at that point. Plus we had several days to reach and adjust to those altitudes instead of several hours. I guess I’m anticipating feeling sort of sick for a day or so?

Even though I feel like I have plenty more to write, there will be time for that. I’d better wrap this up and try to sleep a bit.

Abrazos de Lima,

-k