spring
Yesterday was the first day of spring and the sun actually came out! That was exciting. It wasn't too warm but there was a bit of sun. (In case you don't know, Lima is overcast for the entirety of winter. Gray clouds. No sun, generally. The light, though not direct, can be bright...but no sun) I think the weather will continue getting better and better.
This week with the boys was not normal. While our time together went fine and I got to love them all a bit more everyday, I encountered serious frustration with the home itself. Last week one boy ran away. He went to live with a neighboor and aparently told her that they don't feed him in the home, they hit him, they keep him in a dark room, and other such lies. This is not the first time he's run away. He's done it quite a bit, actually. The women came to see the home and when they saw that the things he said couldn't possibly be true, they didn't know what to do. I believe originally they were going to go to a judge and tyr to get custody of him. NOw, who knows. I asked one of the directors what'll happen to him if they decide not to try to get custody. 'He'll go to a center run by the police' he told me. He can't come to the home. It's sad. Very sad. I respect this decision. THat place is a community and this boy obviously can't be part of the community. The reason I got upset with the director was becuase he never stopped to think about why the boy may have run away. Yes, all the boys have food, a bed, a shower, school...their basic needs are met..more than. THat's a great thing, something the boys wouldn't have otherwise, but that place is supposed to be their home and it's more like a holding cell or prison...at least it feels that way sometimes. THat director just yells and yells. He never smiles. He has so many rules that it's no wonder one of the boys is always 'doing something wrong.' THey have to finishall their food. THey have to eat a a certain pace. ON Monday they're all going to get their hair cut the same way. They have no liberty. THeir reasoning skills are not being cultivated. More than this, though, these boysare victims of violence and they not only are not reciving regular psychiartric care (because of lack of money, i believe) but they're not even being treated with the respect and love a normal child would be. I can harldy stand to be in the same room when that director talks to the boys. They don't want to be bad, but that environment is so rigid, even I want to break all the rules. He talks to them like they're adults. 'You need to change. You've been here three years and u still haven't changed. If u don't change, you know what'll happen.' He also said, 'I'm not oging back tot he school foryou. No more.' (there are some problems getting them into school because they'renaughty.) IF U DON'T WANT TO GO BACK,IF U DON'T WANT TO DO THE THINGSTHAT THESE BOYS NEED...LEAVE!!! He lives there with them. He needs a vacation. He needs a life of his own. I got really upset. I have to think abouthow i want to approach this sitiuation and what i wantto do...waht i can do.
on a lighter note, a funn sotry. ONe of the political parites of the region has an officeon the ground floor of our building. ON friday they set up a stage and it looked like they were going ot have a manifestation of some sort. I was sititng with the family at about 8 or 9 at night in the apartment and we decided to go down to have a look at what was going on. My family joked that I should hurry and take a picture with the canditate, that way he'll get elected for sure. All u needis a blonde, evidently. Well, we arrived too late. THere was already a blonde on thescene. SHe was dancing in 7 in. heels, wearing a gold glittery two piece almost nothing. SHe pulled a few guys out of the crowd to grind with her and a little later, pulled up one of the candidates. After her short show (show of short shorts) a male singer entered the stage and sang a few salsa songs quite poorly. He wore black pants and a black long sleeve button down shirt with sequins on the chest. AFter him, another woman appeared. She was wearing a green sequin dress straight form the 80's and danced moderately well to a song. My family kept laughing and laughing but I was too busy taking pictures to notice the detail that they had found so funny. Right at the end of the song,I saw it: her dress had a huge gape in the back, totally open. Poor girl, I said. After her song was over, she waltzed over to the edge of teh stage and, with the help of some man, managed to take off her dress, exposing her 'interior clothing'. The gap wasn't a mistake, but a result of the fact that that dress wasn't designed to be on for very long. She rentered the stage wearing two green sequined circles over her part of her breasts, a green sequined triangle down below, and a tail like object in the back. Yea. She danced again. Ohmy god. This was for a political party, remember. NOne of uscould believe it. I took some pictures, but unfortuntately, I can't get them to download onto this computer. I'm sure ur all completely dissappointed. After her, the candidates got up on stage and gave a pledge of somesort....to be honest and moral.....hm. Well, they certianly managed to gain a few dozen votes of the guys in the audience.
Today, I returned to the house of the woman from the airport. It nice and very relaxing. I don't know if she's trying ot set me up with her son, ornot, but it didn't seemlike it today, and therefore I was more relaxed. We drove around looking for plots her daughter could buy and wow...it was so so nice to be in a personal car again. THe sun was out and we were, of course, in a part of town with less traffic, pollution, noise, and people. I just loved breathing air that wasn't completely contaminated. Honestly, I felt like I was in Italy...but that may be because the sun in Italy was fabulous and whenever I feel fabulous in the sun, I think of the UWC. But, it very lovely and I hope that the sun continues to shine. I also hope that the people who actually live in the shanty towns in this part of LIma get to breathe clean air someday too.
how do u like it?
No yet can I say I'm used to it here. THe language barrier is too strong and honestly, I stick out like a sore thumb. It's insane how much attention I get, even in situations when u'd think I wouldn't (like walking with the boys from their school back to the house...holding their hands) Well, that's just part of life here.
When people ask me if I like it here, I don't know what to say right away. I'm really happy I'm here. This decision was a great one, but the question is, do I like LIma?
There is tons of pollution and no sun. COmbes and traffic everywhere and I can't go anywhere without someone saying something. It's noisy and dangerous. There's tons of poverty: people selling sweets in the streets, kids everwhere begging for money-on the street corners, doing cartwheels in the street, jumping and jumping to wipe the front windsheild off for a few cents. It's very sad. Trash on the street. Rubble from old buildings. Shanty towns. Stray dogs. It's the 3rd world....at least where I live and work. The other thing is, the discrepancy between rich and poor is enormous! I went to visit this woman from the airport (my friends were very concerned for me going alone...everything was fine) She's completely loaded. Lives in a secure neighborhood, has two servants, two cars...etc etc. SHe gave me a lovely necklace. Very generous and nice to me. ...she has a son who's about 30ish years old. My family here keeps joking that the only reason she invited me is because she wants a blonde wife for her son. COuldbe, could be. This woman, though kind, seemed to have no clue about what an average Peruvian life is. We don't have water from 10pm-3am because the community is trying to conserve it. WE don't get fresh milk,but use evaporated. We can't use the phone in teh day unless we have a special card. She grimiced and shook her head whenever I mentioned something.
I have that, she'd say. HOw ridiculous that your Peruvian family doesn't! And my Peruvian family has a lot: like this internet connection, for example. The other issue is race. Last night I went straight from a failed birthday party for one of the chicos at Posada Belen to Miraflores: the bar section of town. Riding in the bus through Callao, I saw dark people-black people and darker hispanics who, perhaps, have recently moved from the mountains to LIma. I was definitely the only blonde. Once arriving in Miraflores, the palate changed drastically. Skin lighter and lots more blondes :) There are clubs here that won't allow darker skinned Peruvians in. Bull Shit. These things get to me everyday. This place certainly has its problems.
But, I love my boys. I love working with them even though it's very hard sometimes because they all have problems and the place is idiotically strict. I'm still trying to figure out what the need from me...I think, more than anything, they simply need some love and cushion in their lives. Less rules more compassion. My family is great. THe food is very yummy, but not super healthy. :) Learing Spanish, though tiring, is great and something I really want to do. All the people I've met have been amazingly nice to me. THey give kisses on the cheek. I like that. ALso, having this experience. Stretching myself. Trying new new, different things, that I like too.
So, do I like it here? I have no idea. COuld I live here forever? I have no idea. Am I glad I came? Hell yes. Hell yes. HOnestly, I don't think I have enough time here.
Well that's it.
this week
Hello all. Almost an entire week has passed. I guess a week isn't that much. Bit by bit I've been getting used to life here, which is helllllla different than anywhere I've ever been before. I take a taxi to see the boys everday and a "combe" back. It gets dark here around 6pm (and is totally overcast the rest of the day) and so when I leave the home at around 630, it feels like 9 or 10. One or two of the boys stands with me on the street as I wait because the area where the home is is kind of dangerous. The first night I took a combe home alone, the combe driver did something very strange. On my way home there's a toll road and a non toll road. COmbes take both depending on whether or not they want to pay the toll or not. This night not only did my combe not go on the toll road, but it turned down a back street, and turned off the lights insidet he bus! I had no idea where we were going or if they weregoing to stop and make us all pay them a bizzillion dollars or what. I realized then that I always have to be aware of where I am and what's going on because not only is this city pretty dangerous, I'm a pretty obvious target.
The majorityof my week has been pretty tranquil (sp). I've gone to see the boys every day and every day I learn a bit more about them and about how to interact with them. The time I spendwith them during the week si for homework. THey have to sit pretty quietly and work for 3 or 4 hours. The men who run the home say the at school they play more than study. Myjob is to makesure that the ones who don't have homework have something to do. I come home everynight and think andthink about activities I can do with them. But, it's great. THe boys are very sweet (at least with me) and I'm very happy I get to spend 4 months with them. I have to figure out how much a firend, sister, mother-figure, and authority figure I need to be. The two menthat run the home are very invested in the boys. ONeis great and affectionate and...normal. The other is really authoritarian and raises his voice a lot and put ridiculous limits on the boys. For example, they were doing an art project and he made it into a sort of competition about who could finish first. He was saying "hurry up" and "that's not nice" and stupid stuff. i had a hard timesitting there watch him be such a bastard to them. That, too, is something I'm going to have to figure out.
Religion: The home is very religious. THey have a chapel there that they use everyday for a service or two. I've sat in on two. They're Catholic. I go to learn aobut them and support the boys but sometimes it's hard for my to stand it. Yesterday in prayer, one ofthe men who leads the home talked baout the sin of abortion and homosexuality....I can't pray to that. I also went to a real mass with the boys yesterday. Apparently yesterday was the birthdya of the virgen Mary, so there was a special mass. I sat there, didn't take communion and I think that confused some of the boys. THe church was gorgeous, though. It's a comunity of Fransican Monks and the monks had painted the church themselves. Very impressive. At the end we all sang Happy Bday (in both english and spansih) to the Virgen Mary and had a cake in her honor :)
THis week I went out with a friend form the UWC commitee. We went to 'miraflores' which is the area thathas a lot of bars and restaurants. we walkeddown tothe sea. very nice. TOnight I'm going to a concert. Itshould be fun;a chance to make some more friends. tomorrow i'm going to the home of one of the women i met in the airport. cool,eh?
well, that's it.
paz....señorita, como se dice paz en inglés? señorita, como se dice loco en inglés? how are you...es cómo estás no? :)
titulo
Let's see...what day is it? Sunday. 5 days. Lots and lots has happened. I really don't feel like I've been here just 5 days. It's always like that in the beginning, though.
I've been out to markets and houses and bars, which means I'm getting used to the combes (combies), which are the vans that pass for public transportation and actually move the majority of the population around the city. They're so small.....I hardly fit. :) Honestly, in the market I was about a head taller than everyone. This city is soooo busy. Very stressful. No breaks. There are people everywehre, cars everywhere, noise and pollution everywhere. It's kind of overwhelming, but I'm learning the ropes and having a really good time.
Last night we went out with the UWC commitee of Peru. Fiorella is part of it and I think she organized the night 'cause she's leaving tomorrow. The people are really wonderful. We stayed out until 5 (no the bars and clubs do not close) and I got to dance salsa in a latin american country. :) THis morning we roused ourselves out of bed to go to a meeting. Apparetnly they haven't had a UWC meeting for a long time (you realize this committe is responsible for all the happenings with UWC in the country: selection, advertising, scholarships, etc) THey had tons to talk about and it took a really long time. I understood a lot of what they were rapid firing out, but not everything. My Spanish is coming along. I can feel the difference from the first day. I understand a lot. Speaking is different.
Here's the big news: I met the boys. I went to Posada Belen today!!!!!! Oh, they're so
sweet. Very affectionate. THere is no other woman in the house, and since they don't really have parents, at least no contact, I think I'll be filling that hole for the next few months. So, I'll be working with them everyday from 3-6 (monday-friday) on school/thinking/educational type activies - which I have to figure out.....I don't have to go on the weekends but I may sometimes. They're so sweet and they seemed really happy to meet me. They had read the letter I sent them and had memorized my name and little bits about me. This is going to be pretty amazing.
Baci
