PC-Peru FAQ's for Family and Friends

idea for this post shamelessly stolen from my PC-blog friend Sherlie.

I have NO idea how June 9th is only 10 days way. WHAT.  So, for those of you that I haven't talked to in person recently, here's what I've got ahead of me.  Thank you to my wonderful friends that I don't deserve, that are somehow still interested enough in my life to ask me these questions.

Are you excited?
Yes, definitely.  Since I applied October 2009 and was pretty sure from that point onward that this is what I wanted to do, I'd say I'm pretty well mentally prepared.

Are you nervous?
Less so that I thought I might be.  I definitely have jitters but I think most of them are like starting any new job... will I make good friends? Will I like my work?  The biggest thing I'm 'nervous' about is what I will miss at home.  It's scary thinking that many of my good friends may be settled into totally different lives by the time I get back, and I might come back a somewhat different person too. Basically, I'm most nervous for what I don't see coming.  I see the bugs, bucket showers, food illnesses, and language frustrations coming so I feel pretty settled with that.

Where exactly are you going to be in Peru?
I don't know yet.  I'll be in training about 1 1/2 hrs outside of the city of Lima (still in the 'department' of Lima) for the first 10 weeks, and I'll find out my 2-year site placement towards the end of training.  This allows time for the staff to scope out specific host families and work sites, and supposedly I get some level of participation in the placement, but no promises.  I'll be somewhere in the western half of Peru, either on the coast on in the mountainous areas (the Andes).  No Amazon or George of the Jungle for me.

So you know Spanish already?
I've studied it since 8th grade and have spent some helpful times abroad so when I'm in 'Spanish mode' I am maybe almost fluent, but definitely have LOTS of room for improvement.  If anything, my times abroad (Argentina, Spain, and Nicaragua) have taught me that there are always plenty of more accents and topics I can't understand or express well.  My level of comprehension can range from 100% to 30% depending on the source, accent, topic, my level of fatigue, etc. so I am bound for lots of trying times in Peru.  However, thinking back on how much my comprehension improved during my 5-week homestay in Spain, I am confident that I will have enough skills to do my job after 10 weeks of training (which includes language training and a homestay).  My speaking ability is definitely rusty and in need of some practice.

Do you get to come home at all?
Yes, after getting on site (mid-August) I start accruing 2 days of vacation a month.  I can't leave or have visitors during training or the first 3 months on site, so I will probably do a week-long trip home around Christmas (when I think I'll have 8 days accrued, maybe 6).  I have to pay for all that travel though, so it will probably be 2 trips home total, maybe 3 if something big like a wedding or funeral comes up.

Do you get paid at all?
My travel to and from Peru at the beginning and end of service is covered, I get full health insurance coverage including any prescriptions and procedures, living situation is arranged for me, and I get a stipend of about $300 a month, which will be enough for meals and incidentals.  I also get other small amounts for "resettling" at site and about $6000 when I get back to the States.  Basically, I'll be breaking about even, which is what I think I'd be doing living in DC or NYC, if you think about it!

What kind of living situation are you going to be in? Are you going to be near a city? You'll have other Peace Corps Volunteers close by, right?
All of Peace Corps Peru involves living with a family.  During my 10 weeks of training I will be with a host family that has probably hosted other Trainees before.  There are something like 53 people in my training group (Peru 17), and total Volunteers in country are around 270.  But no, I won't be living with other Volunteers after training.  I will live at my 2-year site with a host family, which will be very helpful in terms of community integration and safety.

In terms of rural vs. city expectations, supposedly they are moving Small Business Development Volunteers (me) into more populated areas this time than they did last time (a year ago).  From what I hear, they thought SBD Volunteers could make a big impact in rural assignments, but in reality they haven't had enough to do, so they are moving us the other direction (more populated) now.  However, I've been warned that my idea of what constitutes a "town" or "small city" is going to vastly change in Peru.  So I might not be in a rural assignment, but I definitely won't be in Lima.  Peru has a ton of smaller cities located in all regions of the country though, so I won't be out of touch with the 'outside world' for more than 2-3 weeks at a time.  I hear that Volunteers & staff meet in our regional capital every 2-3 weeks and I will frequently (maybe every 2 weeks or so) travel to see other Volunteers on weekends.

Do you know what exactly you are going to be doing?
I have a vague idea, yes.  You can check out My Assignment description for details.  The specifics will of course depend on my site placement.  I'm really pumped about the Small Business program, especially in an emerging market as interesting as Peru.

Will you have internet? A cell phone? Electricity? Running water?
According to my Volunteer Assignment Description, it is "very likely" that my site with have electricity and "at least one source of running water."  All PC-Peru Volunteers can buy into a cheap cell phone plan that allows us to call each other for free and call internationally or text cheaply.  I may or may not have cell service at my site, although it sounds like many Volunteers do.  If I do, I will be able to use a cheaply-provided wireless card to get internet. At a minimum, I will be checking into my regional capital every 2-3 weeks where I will have all the amenities my heart desires.

So what made you want to do this?
For a number of years I've been interested in a career in global development work (more specifically, social enterprise work).  I would only feel comfortable speaking on behalf of the developing world's people and their needs if I had lived and worked along side them for a significant amount of time.  So while I am giving up some creature comforts of living in the States, I definitely do not feel like I am "sacrificing" two years of my life- this experience is very much a mandatory (and exciting) stepping stone to my life/career goals.

What do you plan on doing after Peace Corps?
My plan for now is an MBA, at a school that has a strong social enterprise program.  I've taken the GMAT so that if I'm still wanting this route after Peru, I might be able to go straight into school upon my return (my service is schedule to end mid-August 2013).  At the same time, social enterprise is a field that definitely encourages innovation and 'out the box' approaches, so I'm not tied to the idea of business school if it doesn't seem necessary for my next steps into the field.  It's also very possibly that my point of view will change radically enough over the next two years that I completely change career/life goals, so only time will tell!

Why I Love DC and the USA

On my walk home from work today, I decided I would write a post tonight about some of the American and Washingtonian (I know, vomit, sorry, it's just how it came out) things I am going to miss.  And then as if Big Brother Internet read my mind, this was one of today's posts on Thought Catalog:

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2011/how-to-live-in-washington-dc/

I'll let you chuckle and "aw" through that, and then here's my list that I had been mentally preparing.

Some of the Things I Will Miss About DC and the USA

• Bathrooms large enough to hold a shower/tub, full sink with cabinets, toilet, and room to walk
• Pillowtop mattresses
• TiVo
• Hearing Chinese, some African language, Spanglish, and something I couldn't recognize on my commute home (happened today, although definitely could have been Korean instead of Chinese and I'd be none the wiser)
• Tree-lined, trashless sidewalks
• Blaring "Extraterrestrial" after an inappropriately timed deep conversation about our childhoods at Clarendon pregames
• The monuments at night
• Runs to the White House
• Sweetgreen Bondi Beach salad with sriracha
• Chipotle
• Happy Hours
• Homeless men singing mirror-cracking karaoke "Brown Eyed Girl" outside of Starbucks
• Hippie white college students playing chess with homeless men in Dupont Circle
• U Street Music Hall
• Playing country music and driving to Charlottesville or Great Falls whenever I need something different
• Mad Hatter .... JUST KIDDING!!

UVA Alum turned PCV's Do It Big!

Two national media features on UVA friends and their experience with Peace Corps!

Jia, a sorority sister of mine and great source of advice on the challenges of Peace Corps- op-ed featured in the NY Times discussing her experience with Peace Corps in Kyrgyzstan and her stance on Peace Corps' response to Volunteer victims of assault and rape

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/14/opinion/14tolentino.html

Jia writes more on the topic on her blog: http://bestlittlebookshelf.wordpress.com/ 

Katie Pollack, just sworn in as Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal.  Amazingly smart friend of mine and classmate in Research Ethics at UVA. 


Katie is blogging here: http://kpinthepc.blogspot.com/

Very proud of both of my friends! They are both very articulate and witty people, so I encourage you to check out their blogs.

Creeping Up Real Fast

Through the wonderful world of Facebook, about 25 members of Peru 17 (my group) have found each other, and what's even better, current volunteers (Peru 13-16 I think) have found us and have been SO helpful in answering questions.  From packing, to how assignment works, to what training is like, to receiving mail...so incredibly helpful.  I also got to meet two other 17-ers who live in the DC area- a quick coffee turned in to dinner after 4 hours!

I sold my car on Wednesday, which was a big deal to me.  I didn't want to be stressed about it in my last weeks so was glad to have it gone, but I've had that car since I got my license- so many memories from high school and college...

Before I sold my car I took care of my major Peace Corps shopping at REI and the outlets, which also was a big relief.  Main purchases were:

• compact, quick-drying, anti-microbial towels
• headlamp and lantern
• quick-drying, anti-microbial underwear and new bras
• good everyday backpack with cool hidden safety features for when I'm in the city
• waterless shampoo and conditioner
• electrical transformer
• Swiss Army knife
• big rolling duffel bag

I ended up doing a packing test run last weekend because I'm having a bit of a dilemma about which bags to take.  My plan is to check a roller duffel (either the new one or an older, smaller one) and big hiking pack (choosing between two I own) and carry-on my regular back pack.  The trick is I'm supposed to be able to carry all this myself.  I ended up with 50 lbs of clothes and 30 lbs of... books.  Well, books with a few photo albums, electronics, and toiletries, but wow that made me consider a Kindle.  And apparently receiving packages in Peru is a huge pain, so not sure what I'm going to do there.  I really want to bring my favorite books to re-read/trade and books I've been planning to read, and I don't want to buy them for a second time on Kindle...and I really prefer the experience of physical books... but 25ish pounds is pretty significant!

Can't believe I'm less than 7 weeks out.  Especially since I'm traveling to Charlottesville next weekend for Foxfield, its really starting to dawn on me how little time at home I have left!

Lastly, I'm leaving this in the back of my mind but the results of the first round of the Peruvian election were pretty surprising to me.  The two most extreme candidates (right and left) will advance to the second round on June 5th, a mere 4 days before my staging.  Some are concerned about what will happen to Peace Corps Peru if the leftist, Ollanta Humala, wins, but no one really knows what to expect from him.  Peace Corps left Bolivia in 2008, although I don't know if it was on the initiative of the Peace Corps or leftist President Evo Morales... but on the other hand, Peace Corps continues to have a strong program in Nicaragua, where leftist Daniel Ortega has been the controversial president since 2006.  I guess it will really depend on how hostile Humala could become to the United States, if at all, and how the Peace Corps feels about our safety.  I don't like that the election is so close to my departure date, but hopefully we will all be at training and in close contact with PC Staff while any decisions are being made.

On a better note, my new, discounted Chacos should be coming in the mail tomorrow!  The consensus from current Volunteers has created this priority list for packing for Peru:

1. laptop + external hard drive (for movies, tv shows, etc)
2. iPod
3. Chacos and other good quality shoes
4. favorite books and more to trade
5. clothes that layer
6. pocket/Swiss Army knife
7. good sunglasses

Well, this post was longer than intended.  That seems to always happen.  I'm going to work on making my posts short and entertaining when I actually get to Peru!

Peer Pressure for the Win!

Really good, short article from livinginperu.com, also alludes to an article from the Economist... gives a broad idea of the electoral race in Peru right now, five days until election.  If no candidate has an official majority, it will go to a runoff a month later.

Also, I got two very exciting pieces of mail today! One, my electronic Spanish-English translator.  Its bigger than I hoped (not truly pocket-sized) but I think it'll do.  It's not like I'm going to bring it out in casual conversations, but will be helpful when reading or trying to learn new vocab.  Other piece of mail was a book, Tina Rosenberg's Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World.

I heard her speaking on NPR and was beyond excited, because this is exactly the kind of social development work that I'm interested in.  My psychologist parents have always commented on my sensitivity to "community" and its importance, and I think that's very true about myself.  For one, I saw it as a very important and valid factor in my search for a religious identity.  I became even more interested in the topic over the past year, between reading the Tipping Point and seeing the Social Network.  Combining the two, I got the idea that an awesome tool for youth development, or really any global development projects, would be to create "prestigious" groups that encourage positive lifestyles and choices.  And I don't mean the "you're so cool for living above the influence!" campaigns.  What I am referring to is tapping into the unbeatable human need for belonging, in structured, hierarchical, and exclusive groups.  These adjectives are generally seen as negative, similar to the word "peer pressure."  Of course they are.  Together, those words suggest a gang or cult.  But think about what a gang or cult provides to people- a sense of belonging.  a sense of purpose in your role and your life.  a mission.  role models. pride.  identity.


These are some of the most powerful drivers of human behavior, and in some ways it's amazing that we haven't done more in social programs to tap into their power!  I am really interested in the possibility of creating "anti-gangs," organizations that provide the same motivators but towards positive ends, like social activism, education, alcoholism prevention, and entrepreneurship.  Tina Rosenberg covers some examples from around the world that show how we can use the power of peer pressure for good.

As a caveat, as much as I loved the Tipping Point, I think its important to take books like these with a grain of salt because the authors clearly make an argument that they are trying to prove throughout the book.  They interpret data in untraditional ways, which often leads to important findings, but sometimes the statistical support just still isn't there.  I believe her basic theory is right so I want to read it, but I won't automatically believe that every example shows the correct relationship between causes and effects.

Peace Corps and President, continued

Below is a video I found on the PC website.  It is from a few years ago, when Alejandro Toledo, the subject of an earlier post, was president of Peru.

I also want to add a few caveats to my previous biographical sketch of Mr. Toledo and his rise from shoeshine boy to President.

First, he did not become who he was because of the Peace Corps volunteers he met.  Clearly, he is a man of unusual drive and intellect, and he made his own destiny.  He sought out the PC volunteers in his town, and he is simply fortunate that the volunteers who he became so close with were able to help him begin an education in the United States.  From my understanding, he financed most of his education by himself, working a number of odd jobs and obtaining soccer scholarships.

Second, I hope that this story does not come across as a too-perfect pretty picture of what Peace Corps service achieves.  I am confident that most if not all of PC volunteers have a mature sense of their purpose, and that purpose is often "quieter" than this story would suggest.  Still, this story shows that Peace Corps volunteers really do make a difference in many ways, some "louder" than others.

Last, I think it is inappropriate for me to give a political opinion on Toledo and the upcoming election in Peru, because of my position as a future PCV in Peru.  Moreover, I haven't followed Peruvian politics long enough to have a confident understanding of the candidates' abilities and platforms.  From both of these reasons, I have given the biographical sketch of Alejandro Toledo simply as a unique story that Peace Corps Volunteers can be inspired by and proud of.

Enjoy!

Una vez más

Finally decided to acknowledge the fact that I need to brush up on my Spanish, and pulled this review book out of the few high school materials that I saved.

Since using this book senior year in AP Spanish, the only significant grammar work that I have done was Spanish 411- Grammar and Composition, my spring semester of first year of college (2007).

My Spanish has taken leaps and bounds since high school, thanks #1 to my host mother in Spain, #2 to the patient and polite migrant workers that I tutored in English, #3 to the superficial confidence that comes from using Spanish in Dominican, Spanish, Argentinian, and Nicaraguan nightlife, and #4 to Spanish movies (cinema class), radio, and passersby in DC.  These experiences have been incredible for increasing my fluency, especially in comprehension.

However, my Spanish has been ruthlessly corrupted.  For all that I have gained in comprehension, I feel that my ability to speak grammatically correct Spanish has not improve much over the past four/five years.  I've learned a few vocab words, have more informal phrases to use, and definitely have less of an accent, but I still find myself completely at a loss of how to say some seemingly basic things.  I joke with friends who took French as their second language that it is much more difficult to improve your everyday Spanish, because of the different attitudes of French-speakers from Spanish-speakers.  As a vast generalization, the French are known for their pickyness in how foreigners (especially Americans) use and pronounce their language.  But either as part of Latino culture or the fact that Spanish has become so bastardized with English words (probably both), Spanish-speakers seem to have the complete opposite reaction to hearing someone try their language.  Almost every time (with the exception of my host madre) that I have stumbled over something in Spanish and asked someone how I would express that thought correctly, the response is something like, "¡Sí, claro, es perfecto! ¡Qué bien hablas!"  Come on, amigos.  I know what I said was completely wrong, it didn't even make sense in English, so please don't worry about being polite and just help me say this correctly!


Some examples of grammar topics I need to practice:

• Commands (positive and negative, irregulars)
• What follows after "Hace ___ años que..."  -what verb form is used after this phrase? Just regular present?
• Vocab.  Good God, I have no vocabulary.  Volunteer work in Spanish has created some bad habits for me, especially pointing to a lot of things and calling them "eso/este."  The only word I remember learning in volunteer work is trapo (rag).  No chance I will ever remember how to say "spackle."  I also really need to brush up on kitchen/home vocabulary.

Clearly I will learn plenty of new slang and informal phrases when I get to Peru, but hopefully I can erase some of my bad habits before I get there!

Good habits my host mother in Spain instilled in me:

• A reliable farewell greeting is "Que lo pases bien," (loosely, "have a good time") or a slight variation thereof.  Adds to the perception that I am more fluent than I actually am, since it's more colloquial than adios, hasta luego, or ciao.  Only problem is that it might be slightly different in South America, like I think "Que te vayas bien" is used more in Mexico.
• I have a horrible habit in English of using "uuuummm" too much to fill in the empty spaces when I'm talking (I've gotten much better, thanks to a job where I have to bullshit with intimidating consultants on a regular basis).  That habit carried over into Spanish, of course.  My wonderful host mother said that if I'm going to make noises like that, I at least have to do it with Spanish sounds, so whenever I said "uumm" in her house, she literally corrected me until I said "eehhh" or "eeehmmm," like a Spanish-speaker.  Hilarious and extremely useful.
• Learned the word 'brindar," to toast, from her.  Every time we refilled a glass in her house, we had to make a formal toast.  And of course Spain also taught me the toast "¡Arriba, abajo, al centro, adentro!"

Very excited to take on a new set of colloquialisms and accents in Peru.  Hopefully I'll find some Peruvian movies on my Netflix to start getting used to the accents!

Oh, and if any native Spanish speakers are reading, por favor deje un comentario con correciones, consejos, o cualquiera cosa!