Jequetepeqecano Livin’

So after the long awaited site selection I have found out that I will be going to Jequetepeque in the district of Pacosmayo, in the department of La Libertad. So to be a little clearer I’ll be in Northern part of Peru along the coast in a town of about 3300 people. I’m pretty sure I won the contest for coolest name even if takes me the next two years to figure out how to say it. But anyways I, like the rest of the trainees, got the chance to visit my site this past week. We traveled this past Saturday and took an overnight bus to Trujillo which is the departmental capital of the La Libertad, and I have to say it’s my favorite city I’ve seen so far here. It’s not too big with a population of a 1 to 1.3 million, but it’s a nice size and it’s got a nice feel to it from what I got to see. The Plaza de Armas, which is the main square in any town, is really nice and clean and the buildings around are also nice and vibrant and it seems a little more colonial than the other places I’ve seen. There is also a lot of commercial activity all around, but not too overwhelming with street vendors every 3 feet like Lima. The first day we got there we had some time to meet up with some current volunteers and got to explore a little bit. We took a combi to a nearby beach called Huanchaco that was pretty nice. It’s not the best beach I’ve seen but it was relaxed and had a little variety of restaurants and stores.

After our time in Trujillo on Monday we had our Socio (like a community partner) day on Tuesday. This is where we all got to meet 1 or 2 of the people that Peace Corps found to work directly with us the next two years, provided everything works out between us. I say that last part because in the past I’ve heard some stories of Socios never calling, or making meetings and never showing up or bothering to call. However, I believe I’ve gotten a stroke of luck and found my Socio to be really nice and outgoing, maybe even too much so. But he was nice and friendly and seems to be really connected in the community I’ll be staying in. So on Tuesday we headed out for Jequetepeque and got in a little later in the night. Its only about two hours from Trujillo pretty close to the highway, which is a little farther than some volunteer’s travel but also a lot better than others who are more like 5-6 hours from the capital city. So I arrived in the evening and got to meet the new host family. My host dad is 66 and a retired high school teacher from my town and my mom is 58 and currently works at the high school in administration, strikingly similar to my Mom and Dad at home which I thought was really coincidental and kind of nice. So my house is a nice little two bedroom with running water, electricity, and even TV. After hearing about some of the other volunteers who have latrines and shotty bathrooms and whatnot I knew that I lucked out and don’t think I’ll ever be able to complain about my housing situation. They also have 2 sons and a daughter, all which live outside the house, one in Lima, one in Trujillo and one in the nearest city Pacasmayo.

The day after I got there I met up with my socio and got to meeting some of the people in the town. We went around some of the various parts of the small town and I got to meet some people I’ll be working with. First I got to meet an artisan group who has a little workshop and some great artwork but lacks some of the necessary resources to really get off the ground such as a actual kiln, right now they are using wood and a haphazardly constructed one. Next I got to meet a group of mothers and daughters who also have a workshop where they make various handmade items from pillows to dolls to costumes. They were nice but really timid and I’m sure it will take them a while for them to warm up to me. Then I swung by the Municipality where I got to meet some of the workers and even the mayor for a little bit. Then on Thursday we got to take around a Municipality truck and explore the rest of the little surrounding towns they call caserios. These little towns have a lot more improvement needed, including running water and electricity but it appears as though the town is helping, little by little. I then got to see some of the chacras where they grow a lot of rice, corn, sugar cane, and other vegetables. Then we went to the beach, which is only about a 30 minute walk from me. It’s called the boca del rio because the river empties out into the ocean but right now it isn’t rainy season so it was a little low. I found out that the area used to be pretty nice with some houses and restaurants but it’s pretty much abandoned now and only really gets people during the summer months of December through March. I then got to meet a group of young and adolescent workers, who has a workshop donated to them by an NGO not too long ago, and need some help organizing and finding some markets to sell their t-shirts and other clothes they make.

On Friday I spent the morning visiting a farm where they produce milk for some of the larger companies in Peru including Nestle and got a tour from the head engineer where I learned the whole process of it all as well. There is also a yogurt company in the town and I think I’m going to be able to get a tour of it when I get back as well. Then in the afternoon, I was formally presented to the community in the municipality with about 20 of the various leaders invited to hear exactly why I was there and what I would be doing. My socio did most of the talking but I got the chance to introduce myself and explain exactly why I was there and what I had in mind to start working on, definitely a little nerve racking at first but I think it went well overall. They asked me to write my name and contact info on the board and I thought it was funny when they didn’t have the slightest idea how to say my name. They could get, ha mes eslayter, out more or less and in the end we settled on Jim to make things easier. After the meeting I traveled back to Trujillo to meet up with the trainees and spend the night there and have relax before we went back to Lima the next day. I think it was a pretty great site visit though and I’m anxious to start working. Right now I have one more week of training in Lima, we swear in officially at the embassy on Friday, spend the night in Lima one last time together and then on Saturday we’re off once again where we’ll be some bona fide Peace Corps Volunteer’s.