Watch out for Stray Fireworks

These months of June - August have been a very interesting time of transition for me, as I marked 1 year in country on June 10th and approach 1 year in-site on August 21st.  I have been traveling a lot for both work and play, so haven't taken on any new, big projects- have just been finishing up  those already en camino, and working on updates to our business plan manual.  And, there are other signs that the time are a-changing for me:

• Two weeks ago, I hosted a group of 8 new business volunteers in Monsefú, where they completed their field-based training (FBT).  Hosting FBT has been something I've wanted to do since I completed it as a trainee, so it was a lot of fun having fresh, bright-eyed trainees in my site, and so excited to teach in the Institute (vocational college).  And they did a great job, the students had a great time and have been creating small food businesses all over the place since the training! Those trainees have since gotten their site assignments, so four of them will be in my region.

Renato, our Regional Coordinator, taking on the role of banker in the loan application part of the training (the most exciting and useful part for the participants, I think)

• This past weekend, the Artisan Council that I organized put on the same kind of fashion show as I did for Mother's Day, this time for the big Independence Day celebrations here.  This made me so happy - they all worked together, although not without some arguments, and a great product turned out.  And I did essentially none of the organizing.  Yay for sustainable projects!!  And yay for unity of the artisans!!  Also, a huge thanks to the group of Peace Corps Volunteers that came to the show and stayed for the whole thing :)

Me and all the artisans who participated, on stage together 

• I may not have mentioned this, but Monsefú also hosts a German volunteer, from a pre-university one year program.  Dominik and I arrived within a week of each other, and I remember our first introduction like it was yesterday.  Last night I attended his goodbye-party; it feels really weird to say goodbye to someone who arrived the same time I did.

Having a grand old time with his mama

• At the party last night, I was informed that the radio in Monsefú had announced the birth of a baby named Kimberly... the parents liked my name and used it for their child!  It's spreading!
• Next week, my future SITE-MATE is visiting!  I asked Peace Corps to place a Youth Volunteer in Monsefú, because there is plenty of work for the two of us and Monsefú needs more support in the area of youth development and health.  She's going to be living with some of my dear friends.  And guess what her name is... Kimberly.  Monsefú is going to think that all American girls are named Kimberly.  She'll be here to stay at the end of August.

• In one of my two upcoming work trips to Lima in August, I'm considering getting a tattoo!  For the last four years, I've been thinking about getting one on my foot, and while in Peace Corps I've figured out exactly what I want.  I want to put "Love Saves Us," with a little Peace Corps dove.  The meaning for me is essentially the same as Lesson #10 of Things I Learned in Year 1.  What do you all think?

• One thing that isn't changing that should be is the weather.  It has gotten colder at night, but we've had very few days that feel like the coastal "winter" that I arrived in... although keep in mind that winter here in the north means like 65-70 during the day, vs. 90-100 in the summer.  It has been unusually warm for all but a few weeks, which has a lot of people really worried because a warm winter is a sign of a coming El Niño.  Forecasters are predicting it too, but can't say when it will be, between now and next April.  Although it's supposed to be comparably mild, it will still be disastrous for Monsefú and other towns in northern Peru, because it will bring mosquitoes and disease, destroy crops, flood the streets that have no drainage system, and wreck the old houses and buildings that are built out of sticks and adobe mud bricks... that includes the huge public market. 

This is storage room of our house, in the middle of being patched with cement.  Half of our house (not where I sleep) is still made out of sticks and adobe.  In the last El Niño, the roof of the living room collapsed.  That night, because of the heat, my family had considered sleeping in the living room where it is cooler, and they would have been killed if they did.

I end this post with a story that will likely turn into one of my strongest memories of my Peace Corps experience.  In the Artisan Fashion Show (Fextimoda) this weekend, I was asked to help MC the event with the radio guy (yes, the same one who publicly criticized the first fashion show.  Anyway...).  So, as I was talking, some municipality workers decided to set off a firework, ridiculously close to the stage.  A piece hit me right in the neck, burning my hair, neck, and (borrowed) blouse!  It hurt for a second but I thought the worst was over.  Apparently, my hair and blouse kept burning, so the radio guy started slapping me in the back to put it out, while the crowd was screaming because apparently my hair on fire was visible to all.  I was pretty unaware of everything that was going on, so the Volunteers in the audience said my completely-calm face was incredibly weird and funny, in retrospect.

I was forced off stage in all the mayhem and it caused quite the scene backstage... the artisan whose blouse had been burned was super pissed and the municipality workers came running to do their best to save face, telling the artisan that it wasn't a big deal and could be paid for, which only made him more mad.  Others were doing their best to help me (or get in on the excitement), clipping my singed and knotted hair off to the side so it didn't get mixed in my neck wound.  My hair still smells funky, but overall I came out completely fine.

My neck- sounded a lot more dramatic than the injury actually was.  And while I lost a significant amount of hair, I don't think it's noticeable.

While I find the whole thing pretty funny, my Regional Coordinator was not happy and wants to talk to my mayor about it.  I just hope the blouse gets paid for!  I'll try to get a picture of that too.