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