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One thing here about the people of Peru that always makes me smile and even puts me deep into thought from time to time is their culture and traditions. They actually have culture and an appreciation for their history and all things Peruvian. The food, the art, the styles of dance, the clothing, the vibrant colors….it's almost as if there is a story and/or reason behind everything here. This is something that I am not accustomed to and that's because I am American. Sometimes people here ask me, “What are some customs from your country?” and sometimes I laugh as a response out of awkwardness and embarrassment because I can never actually think of valid american culture. This might not be the popular opinion, and some of you may disagree with me on this next statement that I am going to make and I want you to know that you disagreeing is OK :) so here it goes….are you ready? I, Mielan Barnes, full heartedly believe that Americans have no culture. Okay sure there's “Western Culture” but how do you express and appreciate western culture, and should it actually be appreciated? If you google the question “What is American Culture?” It describes the US as a “melting pot” of different cultures primarily influenced by African, Native American, Asian, Polynesian, and Latin American culture. That's a lot of culture if you ask me. To bring this back around to the idea of Peruvian culture Peruvians here also inherited their culture from other groups of people including the Natives (the Quechua and the Aymara are the two main native cultures of Peru and both are descendants of The Inca Empire), and the Spanish. Peruvians managed to preserve these traditions of the Natives even though globalization was a major factor. (many still lost the Native language thanks to the Spanish). So the majority of all of these wonderful traditions are from the Natives of Peru. So why is it so hard to find remnants of culture from the Indigenous people who once inhabited America? This question could be answered in an few pages or in a few words.

To make this a little bit more personal and more relatable I started to think about the culture of Afro-Peruvians here, and they also have A LOT. I am so inspired but yet jealous of how they have preserved their culture from Africa. It's interesting to compare Afro-Peruvians to African Americans. We are so similar yet so different. We both are descendants of Africa but we just happened to get separated on the journey. Only 6% of Africans were brought to “The New World” and the rest were taken to Latin America.  Here in Peru Afro-Peruvians have such a pride in their culture. Their traditional dances, food, and music is very important to them. You want to know what else? People who aren't of African descent also respect, appreciate, and honor the culture of Afro-Peruvians and they give credit where credit is due. Afro-Peruvians have shaped music, culture, and dance and have heavily influenced these things since they first arrived here. The Africans who were brought to America as slaves had the same Influence on dance, music, and culture. But the influence made a lot of white people upset, and at one point in time the african drum was even made illegal in the United States. Imagine your culture being illegal, how can one preserve it? Two indigenous African-American musical forms—the spiritual and the blues—were created by enslaved Africans during the slavery era, and we've all heard of “southern style cooking” and “soul food”, that's also thanks to the indigenous african americans. I just wish “black people loving fried chicken” didn't have to be a stereotype but instead we could all appreciate this delicious culture together (we can thank Birth of a Nation for this one).

This week marks one month of living in Lima, Peru. At times it feels like this month sped by, and at other times I thought that this month would never end. I arrived here on August 28th, 2017 not knowing what to expect, afraid of the unknown, and very stressed about the language barrier. It is now October 1st, 2017 and the language barrier is still present but my Spanish is a lot better than it was 2 weeks ago, and even a day ago, poco a poco (little by little). I am still afraid of the unknown, but without fear there is no room for faith. I am not the same person that I was when I got the plane, and I know that I won’t be the same person when I board the plane to go home. For the past month I lived in a hostale (similar to a hotel) with the other YAVs in Peru. This month was filled with intensive language classes every M-F., history and culture lessons, and field trips. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about colonialism, race, gender, and the economy here in Peru over the past few weeks, but I know we only scratched the surface. I have learned about the indigenous people of Peru, Pre-Incan society, the Inca Empire, and the arrival of the Spanish.  It is a very sad story, but all stories of colonization are tear jerking, and enraging in my opinion. Learning of the Indigenous people of Peru has really peaked my interest in finding more about the ingenious civilization in the United States. (Pre-Columbus).

Peru has one of the world’s fastest growing economy, but the distribution of wealth here is the problem. Peru is rich with silver and gold, but “the people” never see any of the wealth. It’s mind boggling and saddening. Here in Lima there are a lot of metropolitan areas, and big city scenes that put you to the mind of New York. But how is that there is a booming city thriving with malls, tour buses, parks, and restaurants but 30 minuets north you have thousands of people living in unbelievably poor conditions without the things that we would deem as a necessity. i.e: running water/indoor pluming and electricity. There are a lot of causes at the root of this problem, but one of the causes is colonization. With that being said one can not ignore the poverty here in Peru, not even the Peruvians. One of the customs that I have really taken notice to is the willingness to help others in need. Everyday I would take a bus (or two) to where I need to go whether it be class, or just to grab lunch. On every bus ride there is at least one individual with a story of need and they are looking for someone help. They use a few seconds to grab your attention, pour out their hearts in hopes that their honesty will reward them with a few soles (Peruvian currency). I have never been on a bus ride where at least one person didn’t give. They treat the poor a lot differently then we do in the United States.

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.