#perusingperuconcatherine

Hello friends,

In case you do not know I am back in the United States, specifically in my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Unfortunately my time as a Young Adult Volunteer in Peru came to an end when I developed pancreatitis due to a gallstone blocking my pancreatic duct whilst still in Lima. Fortunately for me, my case of acute pancreatitis was very mild. After reading about my illness and talking to gastroenterologists here in Atlanta I realized that some people with pancreatitis can be hospitalized for 3-6 weeks. I am thankful that I was able to have access to wonderful medical care in Lima and that my hospital stay there was a little over one week.

The weekend before being admitted to the hospital I met some wonderful new friends at an intercambio (language exchange) at the National Museum of Archaelogy, Anthropology, and History of Peru. It was such a delight to learn some Peruvian history from people my own age. They had all of the fun annecdotes that you learn in history class when you're in high school. 

My last month or so in Peru was riddled with personal problems. For example, the loss of my Peruvian phone or the crashing of my laptop seemed like the biggest problems that I could face. And I did face them! I was able to recover my phone and navigate the process of getting a new hard drive installed all in Spanish thanks to the advice of friends and perseverance. But then my body decided to not cooperate with me and I ended up in the hospital one Wednesday, and then two Wednesdays later I was headed home to the U.S.

I must say that I am very very very grateful for not only my doctor, nurses, nurse techs, lab techs etc in Peru, but for my emotional support system. Each day while in the hospital either Jenny (my site coordinator) or her husband Jed (PCUSA mission co-worker) or a lot of the time both of them managed to come visit me and make sure that I knew exactly what was going on. Though my Spanish was good I definitely did not have all of the medical vocabulary that I needed to understand each and every thing that the doctors or nurses were saying.  They were both a wonderful presence to have in my hospital room. They would either get me to laugh or laugh at my jokes. Also both Jenny and Jed made sure my parents were in the know through the whole process.

A lot of people I talk to these days always ask me about hospitals in Peru. Here’s where I was in Lima. It was a wonderful place to be sick even though being sick is no fun! When I was feeling better I started walking “laps” around my floor. This picture was taken by Jenny :)  

My friends from CEDEMUNEP Ada and Narda would come to see me and talk with me and make sure that I was being seen too. Our executive director, Cecilia, and her husband brought me flowers and visited with me. Even my friend Rosita who I’d met through my work with CEDEMUNEP stopped by to visit me on her way to class. Also my friend Karin from the Red came to visit me with Jenny one afternoon.

My host mom came by and brought me fresh clothes- actually, my host mom was the true MVP and did so much laundry for me while I was in the hospital which made packing to go back to the U.S. so much easier. My host mom’s niece came to visit me a couple of times and kept me company. Other PCUSA co-workers Sara and Rusty came to visit and brought me magazines.

Here are the flowers that my boss brought me! Aren't they beautiful?! Also here is a picture of my coworker Narda visiting me! 

I also had several visits from fellow church members, Robin and Gerda, and our lay minister Penny came to check on me. Robin and Gerda made sure I had more than enough books to read and even some wordsearches to do. Penny, our lay minister, even emailed my mom and dad to let them know what my hospital was like which truly put them at ease.

Kristen and Emily, my fellow Peru volunteers, also kept up with me via phone or Facebook during my time in the hospital and on my way home. Friends in Atlanta and friends from around the U.S. and the world also kept me upbeat and entertained from many miles away. This was very helpful when I was feeling lonely, which only truly happened once during my time in the hospital. It was also wonderful to return to Atlanta with cards, messages, and emails from all of my different communities: my university, my church, the YAV community, my fellow Presbyterian Women board members.

Kristen, myself, and Emily having an afternoon at the beach on our retreat in Lima a month before I ended up in the hospital. 

A picture of my cousin, my sister and myself at Easter dinner. My cousin has since moved to LA so I was thankful to get to see her before she moved away.

Me with some friends that went to UGA. My friend Laura graduated from med school this year (I may or may have not texted her for a diagnosis in March) and I was able to attend her graduation party a week or two after getting my gallbladder removed at Emory Hospital in Atlanta. 

Sydney, Alex, and Julia came to visit me in Peru the day I got out of the hospital. We were all planning to go to Machu PIchu together and their flight got in late on Friday night and they left on a bus at 6 am the next day so we missed each other completely! But they took me along with them! Here we are in the desert near Huacachina. 

Coming back to the U.S., while being the optimal choice in terms of recovering from being sick and then being able to have surgery with the support of my family, was not easy. I did not get to say goodbye to everyone that I worked with or that I met during my time in Peru. And even saying goodbye to those I could say goodbye to was sooo hard! But Jenny has assured me that Peru and my friends will be there when I get the chance to come back, so I can’t wait to get back!

The top view is leaving Lima and the bottom photograph is when I knew I was home! After living in a desert for so long, I was happy to see all of that green!

So I would like to close this post by saying gracias to those of my friends and family in Peru for being there for me throughout my whole time there. Muchas gracias a mi amig@s y mi familiares. Voy a volver.

As you know I work with an Afroperuvian NGO here in Lima. When I first tell foreigners that are visiting/have visited or live in Peru that I work with Afroperuvians they are generally confused. A lot of them claim not to have seen any Afroperuvians. Little do they know afro-descendents are walking amongst them all over Peru but they may not realize that someone is of African descent. I’m paraphrasing here from my intro to anthropology I took 5.5 years ago so I may be incorrect, but this is due to the way the Spanish set up their new societies in colonies all the way back in their “Golden Age.” Mixing in with other populations like native populations or slave populations was very common in Nueva España or New Spain and also in Portuguese colonies like Brazil. Those in power created a hierarchical system and within that system; those native to Spain were on top. Those born in New Spain and of Spanish descent followed, then native peoples of New Spain, then African slaves enslaved or free. But when different people mixed with each other they created this huge dichotomy of what each mix is called, pictured below:

For example, if a Spaniard had a child with a native, their child would be a mestizo. If the mestizo had a child with another Spaniard their kid would be castizo. If a Spaniard had a child with a slave they would be a mulato and if that mulato had a child with a Spaniard it would be a morisco. If that morisco had a child with with a Spaniard it would be a chino. The list of names for different mixtures goes on.

[A historical note from my historian friend Missy: mestizo doesn’t always mean the same thing in the same place (ie. city, country, continent.) How convenient right? However I am using mestizo in accordance with the diagram above.]

While the Spanish followed this general scheme of socio-racial hierarchy, I have been taught the racial construct of the United States followed the idea of hypodescent. Hypodescent is the idea that no matter if you have blood of the people that are dominant in society, if you have blood of those that are not superior then you belong to that race/class of people  So if you have one drop of black blood in the United States you’re considered black.  While the Spanish were in charge of New Spain there was a lot more mixing between people and “races.” From this intermingling came different names for different mixtures. As the diagram shows there were more nuanced levels to their dominance and the idea of “race.” These more nuanced levels to dominance and race are more convoluted than our own idea of race in the United States. Now, I am not saying that one idea hierarchy or idea of how to divide and classify people according to the color of their skin is better than the other, because they were both terrible, and they both have lasting effects to this day. However there are differences in how people view themselves because of the system imposed by Spanish colonialism. This system makes it possible for foreigners to walk around and not realize the Peruvians of African descent walking amongst them and it also makes it possible for Peruvians to tell me there’s no racism/discrimination in Peru because it is only people of color discriminating against people of color (real story).

Anyways that’s all to say that I was a little surprised that people don’t realize that there are Afroperuvians walking amongst them when one of the most famous canonized saints from Peru was of African descent. Martín de Porres was the son of a Spanish noble and a Panamanian slave (one of more than ten thousand slaves brought to Peru in the 100 years after the conquest). San Martín de Porres is everywhere in Peru. I’ve seen his statues in Cañete’s town hall a couple hours south of Lima. There’s a statue of him in the Amazonian city of Iquitos in one of their main plazas. I have also seen statues of him in people's yards in the neighborhoods that I have lived as well as on the walls of churches. Lastly, one of Lima’s forty three districts is named after him.

San Martín in the municipalidad or town hall of San Luis Cañete, a city south of Lima on the coast. 

San Martín de Porres has an interesting story as the illegitimate son of a Spaniard and a slave.His father took him in and sent him to school where he learned to read and write. [A historical note from my historian friend Missy: In North America (aka the USA) your freedom as a slave was determined by your mother. Enslaved women gave birth to enslaved children, even if the father was the master of the plantation. However in Latin American, (so countries like Peru) there are a few cases where the sons of enslaved women were claimed by their father.] He learned the valuable skills of cutting hair and bloodletting from apprenticing in a barbershop. That career move didn’t click exactly, so at twenty-one years of age he joined the Dominican monastery. As an African descendent he could not become a full member of their order but eventually he was made a lay brother. SMP was an interesting fellow. He performed lots of miracles like suspending a fellow brother who’d fallen from a scaffolding in mid-air, or washing unprocessed raw sugar and turning it into fine white, refined sugar.

SMP was a friend of animals and was fond of the mice that made their way into the convent. When traps were set for these mice and a trap caught one, SMP, being his diplomatic self, told the mouse that he could be free if he would tell his other mice friends to go live in the garden and he would make sure they got fed.

He also had a dog and cat and they got along and even ate from the same bowl. One day a mouse joined them and SMP calmed his cat and dog and encouraged them to share their food with the mouse by saying: “Calm down, creatures of God, calm down.” And to the mouse saying, “Advance without fear, brother mouse. It seems to me that you must be hungry; come forward and no one will hurt you.” And he said to the dog and cat again, “Come on children, make a little room for the guest from now on, since God gives enough for the three of you.” And the mouse, cat, and dog learned to love each other and share their food together.

***

After learning of San Martín, his stories, and his miracles, it’s incredible to me that foreigners don’t really learn the history of Afroperuvians in Peru since one of their most famous saints is everywhere that I look. But I think that just goes to show that, like in most countries, whether it’s Peru or the United States there’s a ton of history that is skimmed over or overlooked completely and it’s important to bring those stories to life.

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Hi there again from Lima and Feliz Año Nuevo (Happy New Year)!

It has been a fun month or so here in Peru since I last updated you on my life here. I have always loved the week of Thanksgiving then the following weeks leading to Christmas and then New Year’s, which includes my birthday on the second of December. While this year was no exception to the love I have for the holidays, I definitely noted difference.

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Peru. I am sure that this will not surprise you, as the fabled story of the settlers from the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock and not on the Costa Verde (Green Coast) in Lima. However, I did find different ways to give thanks during that week in November. First, our site coordinator, Jenny, had us send her five things that we are grateful for on our weekly email, so that really helped to put things in perspective in the coming weeks, which of course were a little difficult to watch from social media, seeing my family/friends gathering together without me. I knew and still know that I have a lot to be grateful for in Lima or elsewhere in Peru, as well as back home.

Second, at the Red we had a staff retreat that was opened with a liturgy of gratitude and thanksgiving, and we all shared three things that we’re thankful for which was a positive note to begin our retreat.

(The view from our hike during our staff retreat and then my Thanksgiving dinner.)

Third, an American family from my church (I attended an Anglican church full of foreigners and Peruvians alike) invited me over for a Thanksgiving dinner. I shared turkey with Americans, Britons, Dutch, Peruvians, Mexicans, etc.

Though Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Peru, I had a wonderful Thanksgiving experience here and it made me realize all for which I am thankful.

MY BIRTHDAY

My first birthday outside of the US was celebrated fully and it included three cakes. On Thursday (the 1st of December) with my colleagues from the Red Uniendo Manos Peru, I was surprised by the biggest birthday card I’ve ever received on the whiteboard over my desk. I was treated to a lunch out, my choice of food. I chose Italian because I hadn’t had pasta in a while. We had wonderful conversation at the table and when we returned to the office we had cake (tres leches).

(My birthday card on the whiteboard made by my friend Karla.)

(Me and my first birthday cake, the flavor was tres leches.)

On Friday, the 2nd, my real birthday, I was told that we would be going to my boss Cecilia’s house to work on things for CEDEMUNEP, but really Cecilia had prepared a birthday lunch for us to enjoy together.After lunch we were talking in her living room when all of a sudden there was a cake (mocha) in my face with candles to be blown out. It was a very sweet celebration. That evening I made it home to my host family for more cake (carrot, but the best carrot cake I’ve ever had in my life). It was a great ending to my birthday.

(Top: Me with my boss Cecilia (holding cake) her husband, her daughter (in the pink dragon once) and my colleagues while they sing me happy birthday. Bottom: Me with my host mom, her mom, and in the stripes Haydea, a friend of my host mom who rents a room in our house.)

WEEKS LEADING UP TO CHRISTMAS

December was a very busy month as it is everywhere else in the world. At CEDEMUNEP we attended several community Christmas parties held for children called “chocolatadas” because they include hot chocolate and this Italian sweet bread with candied fruits and raisin called paneton. They also included a clown or magician show for the kids as well as presents from Santa or one of his elves. A very awesome experience to be a part of.

In my office at the Red Uniendo Manos we had a Christmas potluck in which everyone brought a delicious dish to share and we dined at our conference room table with villancicos, or Peruvian Christmas songs, playing in the background. My site coordinator’s husband Jed made mac and cheese and sweet potato casserole which was very exciting for my American taste buds.

(Jed and Jenny at the conference room table. Jed is putting a spoon in the mac and cheese so that we can serve ourselves.)

(Toasting to la navidad in the office as Jed snaps our picture in the office. Next to me is Jenny, at the head of the table Sr. Conrado, Karin, and Ysabel. Not pictured Karla or Daniela.)

Around Lima, the whole city and all of its neighborhoods and districts were ready for Christmas. Every district’s main plaza had a nacimiento, or nativity scene, and a Christmas tree. Some plazas had more, some had Santa Clauses or multiple Christmas trees. Apartment terraces and houses were lit up and blinking and sometimes singing the electronic songs. In my house I helped my host mom put up her tree and decorate her yard, and put up her huge nacimiento (nativity scene). I’m not kidding, it takes up her whole built-in bookshelf in the living room.

(Three of our trees two are in the garden.)

(The nativity scene from far away and unfocused and a close up of the Mary and Joseph or Maria and Jose waiting for the birth of their son, Jesus.)

(The tree in the plaza near our house.)

(The nativity scene in Iquitos, Peru located in the Amazon region of Peru.)

DECEMBER 23RD

December 23rd isn’t a special holiday celebrated in Peru by any means, but it is remembered in my host family because it is the day that my host mom’s father and my host grandmother’s husband died 37 years ago. In the Catholic tradition, if I am understanding correctly, families hold mass for their passed love ones on the anniversaries of their deaths. So on December 23rd I attended mass with my host grandmother and mother and her four out of five siblings (one lives in Spain). It was definitely a somber morning walking to and from the church. But once we returned to the house for hot chocolate and paneton after, the family was a lively bunch.

I had already met all of my host grandmother’s children individually or with their spouses, so it was a joy to see them sit together at one table with their mom. It reminded me of sitting with my own family at the dinner table. They talked about their kids and what they’re doing, what’s the “problem” with kids today etc. Then, Pepe, my host-grandmother’s oldest son brought out his keyboard and played songs and everyone sang along. It really was a merry time.

NOCHE BUENA

Christmas Eve in most hispanic countries is called Noche Buena or “Good Night.” It is celebrated with a dinner usually beginning at midnight while fireworks echo throughout Lima. But since I live in a house with older adults we began our dinner around nine-thirty. We had a turkey, sweet potatoes, different kinds of salads, apple sauce, and champagne. It was all very delicious and I was ready to welcome the coming of baby Jesus with my family. Around 10:30 or 11 my host mom and her mother went to bed, but I stayed up with my host mom’s son, David, watching the mass in Rome on TV. At midnight fireworks began to go off and we went outside to watch from the garden. It wasn’t the best view because we were so low and buildings were in the way but it was still pretty cool. After watching the fireworks, I went ahead and went to bed because I had a flight the next day.

Traditionally presents are usually opened at midnight on Christmas so I do not believe that every Peruvian has the tradition of Santa Claus. Some do, but not all. We didn’t stay up all night to exchange presents. I’d given my host family their presents the day before because I bought them plants and my host mom gave me my present on Christmas Eve: a super cute pair of earrings.

CHRISTMAS DAY

Christmas Day is observed as a holiday in Peru, but most of the fun stuff is all done on Christmas Eve. I spent my Christmas Day in the Lima airport heading to Iquitos, Peru.  More on that later.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

New Year’s Eve has some fun quirks in Peru. There is also an evening family dinner. We had our dinner early again. My host-mom’s brother brought over some pollo a la brasa which is a great rotisserie chicken usually served with french fries. My host-mom made a couple of salads to go with our meal. And of course we had some champagne to toast to the New Year. You also eat twelve grapes, one for each month in the coming year. My host mom added that while chewing the grapes individually you think of a wish or desire that you want for each month. Then our grapes were not seedless because the more seeds you get in your grapes the more money you will make. I think that’s a little funny because I know that for at least half of 2017 my income will continue to be pretty low. So maybe my grape seeds will bring me wealth in experiences over the New Year. You’re supposed to carry the grape seeds around in your purse or wallet with you for the next year as a good omen. My fellow Peru YAV Kristen was visiting Lima for a bit so she had dinner with us and my host-mom actually bagged up her grape seeds for her to take with her.  

Around 11 after dinner and after washing and drying the dishes we headed over to my host-mom’s son’s apartment. David’s building has about 7 floors so we were able to go up to the roof for our New Year’s toast and to watch the fireworks which we could see all up and down the coast and towards the center of Lima. It was an incredible view and I didn’t want to leave the roof until the last firework had burnt out.

One last funny thing about New Year is that the color of underwear you’re wearing at New Year is supposed to determine your year. Yellow is the color of wealth and prosperity or plata (literally silver, but slang for money).  So yellow is the most popular color and everyone sells yellow underwear and everyone buys yellow underwear. I missed out on this yellow underwear thing but I was wearing blue underwear and that’s supposed to bring you good health and wellness in the New Year, so I’m not complaining.

(Fireworks from David’s roof. I didn’t save the videos I took that night, hindsight is 20/20.)