Site Assignments!

I would have written this entry yesterday but apparently someone decided to steal our power lines. I was not aware that was plausible nor did I realize that anyone else was aware that it was plausible. Indeed it is.

Anyway, I have finally been divulged the location of my future site. My next two years will be spent in Huaca Rivera, Lambayeque, a small pueblo located in the dry forest. Actually it directly borders el Santuario Histórico Bosque de Pomac which is basically a forest reserve but also an important archeological site. It contains a number of pre-Incan pyramids constructed by the Sicán culture. For those of you bird fanatics I claim as friends, which is probably more than I should admit, you’ll be excited to know that there are more than 70 species of birds there, of which 22 are endemic. So even if my absence is not enough to draw you down to Peru, maybe the endangered Cortarrama Peruana will be enough to entice you. As the direct progeny of self-professed bird devotees (i.e. my parents) I suspect that it’s only a matter of time until I too join the world of the bird-obsessed.

I’ve actually already been to the Bosque de Pomac because it was one of the sites we visited during field based training. I cannot say that it was not a complete shock as indeed I am going to the last site I expected to be going to. In fact, I am headed for the one site I specifically told my director that I did not want. Regardless, I am now really content to be going there. I expect it to be challenging but I am eager to see what unfolds. As of now my work will center on dry forest conservation and sustainable development within the community. Interestingly enough, I am replacing a volunteer who will be completing his service at the end of November. I will be living with a 67 year old woman and her 16 year old granddaughter and, surprisingly, I will have both water and electricity.

My mentality is no longer that of a normal 23 year old which I realized yesterday while talking to my sister on the phone. After explaining the myriad of details of my site placement I proceeded to list off why I was excited….number one being that I will be living with a grandmother and number two being the capacity to use a blender. My sister interrupted saying, “Whoa…listen to what you just said.” What kind of 23 year old lists living with an old woman and having a blender as her top two priorities?

I would also like to add that I without a doubt accidentally insulted one of my relatives. However, in my defense she named her child Celery. She introduced me to said little girl and before I could stop myself the words, “Like the vegetable?!?!” had slipped out of my mouth. Evidently she heard the word celery on a telenovela and thought it was pretty. Just maybe she should have looked it up before she decided to permanently impose the name on her child. Later she asked me again if celery was indeed a vegetable and, while I couldn’t lie, I tried to pull of the “Don’t worry it’s a really pretty name.” Basically, it was awkward.