Real. Strong. Women.

Interesting foods I have tried:

-Alligator: tastes like fishy chicken!

-Fried cheese, as in cheese in a frying pan with bread and jelly

-Turron: A dessert only found in October made of honey bread, honey, and sprinkles (delicious)

Real. Strong. Women. This was the motto I lived by in college. It was the motto of my sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, and something that I really tried to identify with. Back then being a real, strong, woman meant giving 100% to school, golf, and friends. It meant doing the right thing, giving back to the community, and creating opportunities for my future. After being in Peru for two months now, I have seen many different, but equally important definitions. One of the most powerful images I have seen is the women who carry a baby on their backs, a sack of potatoes in one hand, and hold the hand of their other child as they walk down the street. I can barely walk down the street with a sack of potatoes, let alone with two children. But that is what she needs to do in order to provide for her family, so she does it. To me, that’s a real, strong, woman.

My days at work have become incredibly busy! Which of course is a good thing for me. I am designing and preparing Christmas cards so that they girls on Saturdays can put them together. We then sell the cards so that the girls learn how to work hard and earn money. It’s a fun project for me that definitely challenges my creative abilities. My desk is constantly covered with paper trees and ornaments, and my fingers always have glue on them. But I get to listen to music or talk with the girls in the office while I make them, so I enjoy the challenge.

The other main project I have taken on is teaching the young girl who comes to our office three days a week, to read. She was working with Carol, a teacher from Brazil, but when Carol returned to Brazil, they asked if I would help her. Yep, that’s right, me the one who is still learning Spanish and has no teaching experience whatsoever, is teaching a young girl to read. However, it has been a really good experience so far! Luckily she is far enough along that she can read syllables, so we slowly read stories and poems. She also draws pictures for me, and writes a few words every lesson. Carol told me that progress would be slow, but poco a poco is the theme of my life here, so that is nothing new to me. The great thing about teaching is that I am learning more Spanish words and how to pronounce them correctly. What a good learning experience for us both!

As I work on all of these projects and continue to learn more about the Peruvian culture and the language, I sometimes feel like the woman I described earlier. I feel as if I am carrying too much, I am being challenged to the max, and I’m learning skills that I didn’t know I had. At the end of the day I am exhausted, but I am also extremely happy. Though sometimes is feels hard to do, I know I am doing something important. I am helping, growing, and learning. I am also creating a new definition of a real, strong, woman, for myself, while appreciating all the examples of a real, strong, woman that they women here give me daily.  

 "Greatness lies, not in being strong, but in the right using of strength; 
 and strength is not used rightly when it serves only to
 carry a man above his fellows for his own solitary glory. 
 He is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts by the attraction of his own." - Henry Ward Beecher

                                          Christmas Cards! 

The Physical Therapist in Me

When I first arrived in Huánuco, Becky asked me what I studied in college and what I wanted to be. I told her I studied Biology, but that my goal was to become a physical therapist. Her eyes lit up the minute I said this because they had been praying for a way to help a 14 year girl who had become paralyzed about a year ago. This little girl is a victim of sexual abuse and was either pushed off or fell off a cliff, breaking her spine. After spending a good bit of time in Lima receiving therapy and care, she was doing better. However, since returning home she hasn’t received any physical therapy, and desperately needs it to improve her quality of life. Becky and I were able to track down a physical therapist here in Huánuco who was willing to make the 4-hour trip with us. He and I met a few times before to go over potential exercises, a potential diagnosis, and medical supplies that she would need.

On Tuesday, Becky, Elmer (the physical therapist), Carol (teacher from Brazil), and I left at 5:30 am to visit her. After doing the trip, I can understand why it would be hard for a physical therapist to visit her regularly. For those 4 hours I bounced up, down and sideways around multiple sharp curves in order to pass over three mountains. Let’s put it this way, if shake weights actually work, I may have lost 10 pounds… too soon to tell. When we finally arrived, we had to walk another 15 minutes up the mountain carrying all of our own bags, as well as all of the necessities that we had brought for the family.

Now it’s important to understand that this family speaks Quecha, and they only understand some Spanish, so most of our conversation was through hand motions and examples. We began by examining the girl, asking for pain and sensation in which she had none below the bellybutton. We then began to notice how flaccid and weak her legs had become, and tried to explain to the family how important exercises were for her muscles. Her sister then sat with us and observed all the exercises that we wanted the family to help her with including leg raises, pushups, and sit ups. I was even able to show and explain some of the exercises, which was incredibly fun for me! After her physical therapy session, Carol gave the girl an hour lesson on reading. Carol also provided her with games that would require her to use her arms and fingers. We then left and began the four-hour trip home, but promised to return and check in on the family.

For me this is an exciting project because I get to think like a physical therapist, and I also get to compare the differences in physical therapy here in Peru to everything I have observed in the United States. I have always thought about doing medical mission trips after I have become a physical therapist, so this gave me a great idea of what that work would be like. I also need to make a book for the family with pictures and drawings of all of the exercises, so that if they don’t remember, they will have a guide close by. This will keep me busy until we visit her again, hopefully, in early December.

                                                                The view

                                            Me being a Physical Therapist!

Then on Friday night all of the other Peru YAV volunteers arrived in Huánuco for our first official retreat! I don’t know if I have ever been more excited for three buses to arrive. We stayed at La Granja (the farm) where we could hear nothing but nature for 4 days. The food was incredible; lots of fresh yogurt and cheese along with Pachamanca and of course rice and potatoes. The first two days consisted of sharing our experiences; the good, the bad, and the ugly. We also took frequent walks around the farm, visited the cows, and learned how to make the yogurt and cheese. On Monday we all woke up bright and early to catch our ride to Tingo Maria at 5 am. In Tingo Maria we spent approximately 4 hours climbing waterfalls. Some waterfalls required harnesses and ropes to climb bit by bit, and others were more like actual rock climbing. Tired and sore we finally reached the top where we were able to swim under the last waterfall. Maybe it is because I am from Oregon, but there is nothing I love more than being completely surrounded by nature, muddy, wet, and tired from an outdoor adventure.

While hiking down the waterfalls, I couldn’t help but think how much rock climbing could teach you about life. At first the mountain seems impossible, but you find your footing, go poco a poco (bit by bit), and all of a sudden you find yourself at the top enjoying the view.

“God never promised that it would be easy, he just promised that it would be worth it.”

Love from a very sore, but happy me!

P.s. I would like to publicly thank my mom for my great balance, it saved me from a few potentially muddy falls <3 

Home With A View

Things I have learned:

- Ecco is a popular drink in the morning. It tastes like coffee, but it’s made of wheat. They normally mix it with a little bit of hot water, a lot of cold water, milk and sugar.

- The Happy Birthday song in Portuguese is officially my favorite version of the song.

- I need about 10 soles every two weeks to recharge my phone, equivalent to about $3.50

Illiteracy surrounds me. It’s something that I am not even aware of most of the time. Paz y Esperanza requires signatures for all the help they provide, but a good majority of the people have to use ink to make a fingerprint instead. I feel incredibly guilty every time I ask for a firma (signature) and the person says “no puedo” (I can’t). I feel guilty because I have taken for granted my ability to not only read and write in English, but also in Spanish. I crave time to read, it’s my time to just escape and be totally immersed in a book, but do I really need the escape? If anyone needs an escape from their daily lives, it is these women and children who suffer, the ones who are unable.

On Monday through Wednesday every week a young girl comes to our office to receive extra help in her classes. She is 11 years old and can’t even tell you the alphabet. This is not due to anything but the fact that the education in her small town is not the best. She has gone to school her whole life and never learned how to read or write. For an hour a day she is taught by a private tutor and receives homework to take home with her. She lives about 30 minutes or so from Huánuco, so her mother drops her off on Monday mornings and picks her up on Wednesday afternoons. During those few days she stays with Kurtis and Teresa Smith, missionaries from Louisiana, who have four young kids to help entertain her. She spends all of her extra time in my office with Medali, Becky, Doris and I. It was her birthday on Friday, so we all decided to make the trek to her house to celebrate with her.

Early Friday morning we left the office and drove to the girl’s school to pick her up and take her home. While giving us directions to her house she said, “Stop here, we have to walk from here.” I was shocked; we were on the side of a highway… where exactly were we going to walk to? When we asked her, she pointed up the mountain and said, “Up there.” Her house was so far up the mountain that I couldn’t even see it from where we were, but I could see the little trail that they had made to climb the hill. So we grabbed her presents, food for her family, our own bags and started the 20-minute hike straight UP the mountain. I like to think I am in pretty good shape, but this walk had me panting and sweating. How they do that everyday is unimaginable to me. When we finally reached the top, not only were we welcomed with smiling faces from her family, but also with one of the most incredible views I had ever seen. Mountains surrounded us, and the view of the valley and town below was breathtaking.

Her father and uncle were making Pachamanca for her birthday. This is the dish I had mentioned earlier in which they make it in the ground, using hot rocks to cook the meat and potatoes. While waiting for the food to be ready we rested on the hill and talked with her family. Then Doris, my boss, decided we needed more cookies. That meant that Medali and I were going to have to make the trek back down the hill, buy cookies at a little tienda, and climb back up the mountain. Let’s just say it was a good thing that I hadn’t run that morning!

When we returned, the little girl smiled at me and asked, “Does your house look like mine?” Now how exactly do you tell an 11-year-old girl that your house has windows and doors to keep the cold out at night? How do you tell an 11 year old girl that you don’t have to sleep in the same room as your family, in fact you have a room all to yourself? How do you also explain that to bathe, you don’t have to climb down a hill to the creek, but that your bathroom has a shower that produces hot water? I had no idea how to approach this question, so I simply told her, “Yes, my house looks like yours, but you have a better view that I do.”

Her family then graciously provided us with lunch. We were first given a soup made of noodles, potatoes, and cilantro that was delicious. Next we were given a huge bowl of rice, caramelized onions, potatoes, and chicken. Mind you this family doesn’t have much money, but made sure that we were fed well. We all struggled to finish the plate given to us, and just kept saying, “Muy rico,”(very delicious), knowing that if we ate another bite we might die. We then sang Happy Birthday to the little girl; first in Spanish, then in English, and finally in Portuguese because her tutor is from Brazil. Then as we tried to say our goodbyes, her mother insisted we stay for Pachamanca, which would be done soon. Doris, being wonderful in these situations and knowing we couldn’t possibly eat more, simply said, “We would be happy to stay, but can we take it to go?” Her mother happily agreed and after about half an hour sent us back down the hill with bags of Pachamanca, full stomachs, and smiles on our faces.

On the way back to Huánuco, I kept thinking about how little the family had, but how incredibly happy they were. It also made me think of the people I knew who had so much more, but who were unsatisfied, myself included. It reminded me of the quote I frequently see that says, “Rich people are not ones who have the most, but the ones that need the least.” This family might not have much, but they work hard, love each other, and get to wake up to an incredible view every morning. That seems like more than enough to me.

               Jonathan in traditional dance costume for a school anniversary celebration

                                            Me wearing his traditional hat

God gave me you for the ups and downs

Things I have learned:

- Hot showers are a luxury. My “hot” showers usually consist of cold water with spurts of warm water. Needless to say, I have become excellent at taking 3 minute showers.

-Lucuma is a common flavor here in Huanuco. It’s a fruit but the ice cream flavor tastes exactly like birthday cake ice cream.

- Fireworks are very common to hear throughout the day, no idea why, but they are beautiful to watch at night.

I have learned in the past couple weeks that I was incredibly lucky to be given the family that I did. Though progress has been slow, I am starting to find my place. Almost every night I help Jonathan with his English homework (more for my benefit that his), and the girls are definitely opening up more. I even got them to laugh a few times, which for me, means success. My host mom has been incredible, not only will she sit and talk with me multiple times throughout the day, but also whenever she is going somewhere she asks me to tag along.

           Another picture of my family: Joana, Luis, Cathy, Ingrid, and Jonathan in front :)

However, I think the thing I am most grateful for is my family’s eating habits (strange, I know), but in Peru, the people eat some form of potato, white rice, and meat, everyday, all day. In my house we eat all those things but we also eat lots of vegetables, which is very uncommon. Another thing that I love is that the fruit plate is always full with a variety of fruits to choose from. For those who know me well, this is a dream come true. Another interesting fact is that in most houses they pre-make all the plates of food for everyone. This means that the guests sometimes have to eat more than they are comfortable with in order to not offend anyone (because it is in fact very offensive to not eat what is given to you). However, in my family everyone serves themselves, which is an amazing blessing for me. Every now and then my host mom will ask me why I didn’t eat much? Did I not like it? Do I want something else? But I have found that I can simply tell her that I wasn’t very hungry because of this or that reason and she doesn’t mind at all. I must also clarify that by not “eating much,” that means I only ate one big plate of food, instead of two. I’ve also found that my host mom buys me one mango a week (my favorite) and will also buy me wheat bread if she stops by a specific panadaria (bread shop), an incredibly sweet gesture. This may seem like a silly thing to be grateful for, but I have heard over and over again that the food situation can often be the most difficult thing to deal with. Site coordinators are constantly challenged to explain to the families the need for smaller portions or more fruits and vegetables without offending anyone. Therefore, I have been incredibly lucky.

On Saturdays, I get to help Medali with a small group of adolescents who have been sexually abused; most have children from the abuse. Each Saturday we do something different with the girls including dances, games, and art projects. This past Saturday we went to a remote camp about 30 minutes outside of Huanuco. After taking a bus, we all walked another 20 minutes away from the main highway to reach our destination. When we were almost there we realized that we would have to cross the river to get to the camp. I, being the silly gringa, thought “we’ll we can’t cross the river with three children and all of our stuff, so we are going to have to stop here.” To my surprise the girls all started taking off their shoes and before I knew it all the girls had crossed, children and all. At the camp we played a few games, had an apple-eating race and let the girls take pictures by the river. Afterwards most of the girls wanted to bathe in the water. All of them were prepared with soap and shampoo. I sat there stunned realizing that I complain about not having a hot shower, but most of these girls don’t have a shower at all. It is quite an experience to watch a teenage girl bathe herself and her son in a freezing cold, brown colored river and be blissfully happy about it. How incredibly blessed I have been my whole life and not even realized it. 

                                             A view from the camp we went to

                       Another view to give you the idea of what the farms look like in Peru

While most of Saturday was a wonderful day, it also was a hard day for me. Not only was I not feeling well, but I was not informed that we were going to be out in the sun for six hours (darn language barrier). Needless to say I got burnt, which is something that I try to prevent at all times because I am so pale. When I came home my host mom could tell that I was upset and simply listened as I explained that I was mad at myself for not thinking to bring sunscreen. As I started to cry, she gently reminded me that I didn’t know where we were going, how could I have known. She then promised to have Luis talk to the girls at work and make sure that they inform me whenever we are going somewhere so that I can be more prepared.

 It’s a very humbling thing to be vulnerable and have to ask for help. It’s something that I am not very good at, and something I need to work on. I prefer to help others and brush my own feelings aside, but being here for about a month now has taught me that at some point we are all going to cry, no matter how strong we try to be. It is just important to realize you are being helped, be incredibly gracious for the help, and return the favor when the time comes.

The quote that gets me through the tough days:

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, I will try again tomorrow.”-Mary anne Radmacher

Besos a todos, Love a lobster red Hannah