I’m currently bundled up, sitting
on my bed (under all the blankets), listening to the frozen precipitation fall on
my roof (I’m not exactly sure which type it is since I haven’t looked outside
in a while, and there are so many
names for it here)… Happy June!
Work has been going well. As I’ve
mentioned, we have a lot of great contacts here already. Everyone in the
municipal government has been hugely helpful in everything we’ve been working
on. I’m actually sort of surprised at how easily some of these projects have
come about (knock on wood!); I’d been expecting more hurdles and a lot more
waiting around, so it’s been a pleasant surprise.
We’ve started interviews and
“finalized” household surveys and focus group questions. I’m sure they’ll all
be revised slightly at least once more before too long, but we’re content with
progress. I actually just finished transcribing our first interview – a task
that is definitely more challenging in Spanish! I remember doing transcriptions
for class and thinking it wasn’t too bad, but that it might be more difficult
if English wasn’t my first language. Now I can totally relate to my classmates’
experiences. Language aside, I would have loved a foot pedal… We have another
interview tonight, one tomorrow, and our first focus group tomorrow afternoon
(fingers crossed enough people show up), so there will be plenty of
transcribing to keep us busy for a while!
We’re hoping to also begin surveys
in Junín soon, but finding a map of the streets and houses has been a
challenge… Luckily, we’ll have somebody to go around house-by-house with us to
provide a little extra credibility and language expertise.
Next week, we’ll start our trips to
various pueblos around the lake to speak with the mayors and town
representatives, and eventually to do more in-depth research at the household
level. I’m excited to actually see the lake; the Minnesotan in me has definitely
missed being near open water. I’ve heard that the northern part of the lake is
actually almost red in color from all the contaminants. That part (the visible
effects of greed and carelessness) gives me a really uneasy feeling in the pit
of my stomach. The first time someone here referred to areas of the lake as
“red” and “yellow,” I thought it was just code words for the levels of
pollution, but I guess the mineral runoff has actually colored the water
(copper, etc). Photos to come – I’ll bring my camera for sure.
Last weekend we took a trip to
Huancayo, the capital of the Region of Junín. Getting a seat on the bus was an
adventure in and of itself – there was no real line to get on the bus. The bus
stopped and everyone scurried into a mob by the door. A handful of people got
off the bus, and then we all crowded to try to get on and nab a seat before it
was standing room only. I’m not opposed to standing, but the idea of being on
my feet for 4 hours of Peruvian driving was not something I wanted to try.
Huancayo was big, almost like a
cross between Lima and Junín. It had some of Lima’s bustle, busy streets,
people, cement, pollution and noise, but Junín’s hills, elevation (lower
though, only 10,000 feet) and more of the traditional potato dishes than I cared
to eat. Oh, and it was warmer. I only needed one pair of pants during the day
and a normal blanket cover at night.
Initially, I’d thought we would get
some work done, but after arriving (and showering), all I wanted to do was nap
and relax. I got to run Saturday morning (Jose was also there and he had
arranged for a car to take us to a park – a big par, he assured me, so I could
run), which was amazing. The park was definitely not very big. Something like
20 laps later, I’d banked 5 miles. Breathing was much less a problem than in
Junín, though I was definitely huffing and puffing.
In the afternoon we went on an
adventure to a nearby town called Concepción (check out the photos!) to see the
trucha (trout) farms and have lunch at a cute little touristy restaurant. We
had the traditional “papa a la huancaina” – potatoes in a creamy, cheesy sauce
that had a tiny bit of zip (Peruvian food is not spicy at all), and I
had grilled trucha in a garlic sauce, served with potatoes and rice
(naturally).
It may be too soon to say this, and
I might not be in any position to place judgment (being a poor student and
all), but I’m not super impressed
with Peruvian food. Most things in Lima were fried, and most things in Junín
have been potato. Some of the soups have been good, though most of that may be
because they’re warm… I will say, the natural fruit juices we have at breakfast
have been fantastic – papaya and banana, pineapple and lime, papaya and orange…
definitely tasty. We’ve also had pureed maca (a tuber, sort of like a potato,
but supposedly with all sorts of amazing health benefits), which, as Janelle
put it, tasted like the earth. Very earthy, pulpy, but it definitely tasted
like a health food.
Side note: apparently maca (which
only grows at certain altitudes) completely saps the ground of almost all its
nutrients. This is both a good thing and a bad thing; obviously, if the maca is
absorbing those nutrients and people are consuming the maca, people are
receiving those nutrients. On the other hand, it leaves the ground pretty
useless for a number of years, so even though it sells (really) well,
domestically and abroad, it’s not necessarily a viable option for any extended
period of time. Interesting stuff.
Not too much else is new, really. I
went running again yesterday, this time in the morning as students were walking
to school. I try to be polite and smile or greet most people, but breathing is
enough of a challenge that naturally I can’t do that for everyone. Possibly my
favorite encounter yesterday was a man who was walking toward me, looking at
the ground. Either he heard my footsteps or he saw my (bright orange!) shoes,
looked up, and stated very matter-of-factly, “Gringa.” Why yes, sir, I am
white. Good morning to you, too.
Time for a snack before our interview
tonight…
Love (and cuy) from Peru!
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