Barrio Santa Anna

Barrio Santa Anna is four blocks above my house. It is an artesinia community. I read about it in a travel book. The book talked about taking a bus from the corner, but when I asked my host family Rosa said Ït is just right up there, past the park¨as she pointed. So on Saturday I thought I would check it out, especially becasue I could walk. Barrio Santa Anna is built around a large main square with a cathedral in the middle. Their appeared to be a wedding going on. I noticed that a lot of the shops an stores were closed. I did see two open doors though, so that is where I went. The people were quite friendly and invited me in to look at their work and were glad to tell me about it, show me their workshops. I think they were hoping I would buy something too. I explained that I would be here a while, so maybe I could come back. First, was the workshop of Alfonzo Sulca. His daughter Fabiola showed me around. Alfonzo was honored as a major craftsman on the national level. His work is quite good. Fabiola said her father carries a notebook and when an image comes to him he puts it in the notebook, and he makes it into a woven design, but only once so that all of his work is unique. She also said that the price of the item depends on the time involved in making it, the size, and the type of wool used. Alpaca being more expensive than sheep´s wool. Alfonzo and his brother Gregorio who´s shop is next door work in textiles or weaving, like their father before them.

They use alpaca and sheeps wool, that is dyed using flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

The other workshop I visited was Rocio and her husbands on the corner. They work in what is known piedra Huamanga or Alabaster. They are sculptors of everything from intricate ornaments and earrings to large nativity scenes. They also make scultptures of the Virgen Andina, which is the Virgen Mary as seen through the eyes of the Andean or indigenous people here. She wears the Andean hat and clothes, and carries a spool of Alapaca yarn in her hands.

La Mejor Mascota de Peru

Mascotas are pets or literally translated mascots. At the Paz y Esperanza (PyE) Office in Ayacucho we have our very own Öffice Dog¨or mascota. His name is Goffie or it is more like Goofy said with a fast spanish accent. He follows you in and out of the main door and hangs out at the bottom and first landing of the stairs. He seems pretty placid, but the otherday I was standing outside and found that Goffie was protecting me. He placed himself between me and anyone or thing else that came up. He likes for you to say hello and pat him on the head, then he returns to his post. Goffie is a good one, but they tell me he is getting on in years. I think Goffie still has game left. I am not totally sure if Goffie belongs to the PyE Office or to the family who owns the building we are staying in. They live on the third floor, and our offices occupy the first two. Eitherway, Goffie is a fixture here at PyE Ayacucho.

Incaraqay

Incaraqay is a rural pueblo in Ayacucho. The people are farmers who grow potatoes, and raise sheep and cattle in the rolling hills and mountain pastures nearby. Milagros, Roxanna, and I took the PyE SUV driven by Raul out there last week. This is one of the pueblos where Milagros and Amanda have been working on mental health issues. This is also one of the few pueblos where men are a part of the small groups. There were about 11 people in the group. We started with a little ice breaker in which you had to pay attention. You told yours and then passed the yarn ball. At the end we wnet in reverse saying what the person ahead of us had said reiterating that the group was not just about us as an individual, but also the collective group. We had to tell our favorite food, and how we were feeling which is something that is ALWAYs integrated into the workshop. There was a moment when Milagros took out a piece a foam. She passed it to the members of the group and asked them to talk about what makes them or has made them mad or sad, and then instructed them to take it out on the foam as they talked. REALLY HIT IT she said. I watched these Peruvians try to get mad on the outside, but it was like they couldn´t do it. They could talk about their feelings, but were not quick redy to grasp the taking out of negative energy part. They couldn´t hit the foam hard, they just tapped it, and even got a little giggle out of it.
Toward the end of the meeting the women took off their mantas, which are the colorful pieces of cloth the wear around their back, and seem to use to carry everything from children to lunch and firewood. Two of them reached inside and pulled out bags of potatoes. Each person had brought something to offer for the meal. The meetings rotate to different houses. We usually only travel to Incaraqay once a month becasue it is a little further out. At the end of the meeting we all sat around eating trout, onion and tomatoe relish, and potatoes.

Fish Market Ayacucho, Home of Trucha

Trucha is trout. They either farm raise it or catch it in mountain lakes and then send it the short distance to the fish market to be sold. The stink is powerful and sometimes overwhelming, but the product is usually pretty good and a crowd favorite. The fish market is full service they will fillet it right there for you. Everytime I pass it I think of eating fish and potatoes in Incaraqay. They also sell other meats there too, remember the alpaca? The chicken, lamb, and beef are in a different part.

Rules of the Game

In honor of the 18th anniversary of the El Buen Pastor School in Ayacucho where my family works as administrators and the 3 kids attend, they have been celebrating all week with a variety of festivities and frankly competitions. I have found Peruvians to be very competitive in everything they do. There must be a winner and a prize or money always seems to come up even if it does not actually change hands, not really my flavor. I like playing for fun and the honor of representing my school or group. So yesterday in the inter colegio volleyball game at Colegio Buen Pastor the winning point was made by a young boy using his feet. He lifted the ball up across the net using a soccer like move. How strange is that I thought.
I was standing on the side line thinking Äre you kidding me? He used his feet. You play volleyball with your hands, don´t you?¨ I asked my host mom Rosa about it. I said is that in the rule book. I never learned to play using my feet. My host mom said it is in the rules of the game, just Google it. I was thinking Google is not my go to first source of information, I would rather see an official rule book. Perhaps Saturday at the soccer game we can all use our hands? I mean this really opened a wierd dorr for me as far as sport. Maybe I am wrong, but any volleyball afficionados out there please weigh in. I do not recall seeing Olympians or collegiate atheletes using their hands.
Maybe using your feet in volleyball is just a Peruvian rule....hmmm, I am on a quest now especially because they always want me to play volleyball with them. If I can use my feet then by golly I might just become champion of the world becasue I will have elevated my game to a whole different level. They still won´t let me play soceer though...even though I saw a group of organized women playing on a field in Carmen Alto, with uniforms and everything, just sayin, again!

Benjamin ha Llegado!!

At 10:30 a.m. yesterday, October 21, 2010 the Paz Y Esperanza (PyE) team in Ayacucho grew by , well two feet. Benjamin Bengoa Gomez was born to his parents Omar Bengoa and Noemi Gomez here at the hospital in Ayacucho, Peru. Omar is my companero in communications, and Noemi works downstairs in administration at PyE.
I did not get to see Benjamin, but I made first hospital visit in Peru. Just like old chaplain times in Winston-Salem, NC. I was a little unsure about visiting a woman who had just given birth four and half hours ago, but the PyE team was insistent. They said come, come this is what we do. Yanet, Noemi´s counterpart in administration even squealed with delight about the thought of visiting so I thought well when in Peru...do as the Peruvians do!!
When we arrived there were two security guards at the door to the maternity unit monitoring numbers of visitors so we had to go one at a time.
When my turn came, Omar and Noemi´s mom were already in the room. I stayed for just a minute, even though they pulled out an extra chair, because I knew there was a fan club gathering outside. Hugs and congratulations all around. Noemi was sitting up smiling and eating lunch. She said Benjamin was average size...¨He is not to big, and not too small.¨ She said Benjamin had been taken by the doctors to examen him again so he was not there.

Beinvenidos little Benjamin!

Retreating for a Peruvian Wedding - Jed and Jeny

On October 9th the other volunteers, Debbie, Harry, and I traveled to Moyobamba, Peru which is nestled in the jungle. It is only a 24-29 hour bus ride. Good thing I was in an airplane. I have discovered that traveling by ground in Peru can be decieving whether you are in a large city like Lima or the countryside of the departamento (state) of Ayacucho. On a map it can look like a short distance, but driving time is usually hours more than it would be elswhere because of our friends the Andes Mountains.
My presence in Moyobamba was for two reasons. Number one was our first volunteer retreat, the second was the wedding of Jed, a PC(USA) mission co-worker and Jeny, a fabulous Peruvian woman who works in the Joining Hands Office in Lima. Jeny is originally from Moyobamba so that is why the wedding was there. Jed and Jeny got married with the mountainous jungle and tropical orchids and other flowers as the back drop, breathtaking.

It was funny because for the night I was like Cher, Bono, or Madonna becasue on the guest list I was just listed by my first name, so when I came to the door they said ¨You are Lisa!?¨
It was also nice to have our first retreat in the jungle because that is where James, one of the other volunteers is living and working, also with Paz y Esperanza. He is doing environmental education, and seems to be focusing right now on helping the coffee farms

stave off brocha or an insect whose presence can be bad news for coffee growers. It was neat to hear about his work, and use of organic fertilizers and traps to help stave of this pesky insect.
This adventure into the jungle included not only the privilege of attending a wedding, but also a trip to the cold spring fed river for a picnic, an ambulance ride even though no one was injured (it was the only vehicle available), Peruvian pizza, and tacacho which is mushed up fried plantains and chicharrones (or pork rinds). Also the weather when we got off the plane was a balmy 99 degrees F at the Tarapoto airport, and only got nicer as we headed further into the jungle toward Moyobamba and her ¨tropicalness.¨

Rainy Season in Ayacucho..No, not yet I am Told.

Last night it rained here in Ayacucho, Peru as it has for the past two weeks. Every afternoon or evening like clockwork...a shower. Some are stronger than others, and have been accompanied by lightning and thunder. I was thinking to myself this must be the rainy season in Ayacucho, when my host family corrected me and said ¨This is nothing just wait until February or March when it gets really good.¨ Ayacucho is a colonial city with narrow streets and frankly inproper drainage, but so is Charleston, SC (USA) so who is counting. When it rains the cobble stone streets collect about 2 to 3 inches of water so that your feet and socks get just wet enough to make you cringe, and the damp weather makes it to cold to go in Chaco sandals (My Chacos have touched four continents now by the way!) , which means barefoot without socks.
So this morning I knew that I had to get across the city to the Paz y Esperanza Office, even though it was a mix of down pour and sprinkles. This water from the sky also seems to make the air outside cold. I had to breakout my heavier coat and wore four layers as I headed out. I peeled them off one by one. I decided that I would still try to use the bus system, why not, I am already wet. I walked to the corner by the Mercado Choro and spotted a doorway that was free. This nice Peruvian woman and I shared the doorway to stay as dry as we could until my bus came. We struck up a conversation about where I was from and what I was doing here. I told her I was ¨Learning from the Peruvians about building relationships among church communities and accompanying victims of long term trauma.¨ The woman was intrigued.
We both noticed that the Mercado (market) Choro was considerably less active this morning. We were standing in one of the many doorways to the fish and meat market. Usually, I try to avoid these doorways becasue they smell like a wet foot, but it seems that the rain outside was supressing the smell. I admit to being a carnivore adapting to living with a 95% vegetarian family (that is because the host dad is the only vegetarian, the rest of the family follows along). I noticed that the smell of the meat and fish market was not so powerful today so I split my vision. I watched for my bus with one eye, and scanned the meat market with the other just to checkit out. Wouldn´t you know it right up front instead of chicken or hamburgers was a chica selling Alpaca meat for 7 soles per kilo. I wish I had paid more attention in 8th grade science class when we were doing metric convesrions to pounds. Darn it!! Alpaca is Llama (the Ll here is ¨Ya¨). It is supposed to have less cholesterol and fat than beef.
So back to the rain. Sorry I always get distracted by Llamas. It is a work in progress. What can I say?
The rain is always a concern in a colonial city. We are in a mountain valley for Pete´s sake. When it rains it is just steady. The merchants that are open near the mercado roll out these little awnings that divert the water away from their doors.
Last year, I remember hearing about the unseasonable amount of rains that were coming down in Ayacucho and Cuzco regions of Peru, even all the way back in the States. It is probably becasue the train to Maccu Piccu had to be shut down because of flooding and mudslides. In Ayacucho, last year, apparently the deluge of rain and other forces caused a resvoir to give way and the water plunged down a main street in the form of a flashflood. The street had no drainage system, and is a downhill run. Some 6-11 people were killed (numbers not confirmed)and all the cars and other things on the street were wiped out as well. Reactionary of course (like most governemt action anywhere), that main street which stretches pretty much across the city, is now closed and under going a complete overhaul including the creating of an underground drainage system of pipes and resvoirs to collect an abundance of water if needed. I think the people of Ayachucho, including the regional government, are learning to adapt their beautiful colonial city to the weather patterns and expanding habitation and activity of the modern world, without sacrificing its charm. Stay tuned for February and March, and by the way...I did find my raincoat, right in my bag where I packed it two months ago.

Introducing the Sulca-Tucno Kids

These are the kids in my family. Sulca is Habacuc's name and Tucno is Rosa's name. So here are the Sulca-Tucno kids:

Penuel is in the 5th grade and loves transformers, cars, and yogis - the street food that is most like a corn dog. He is very good at sharing, with everyone except Eunice.

Eunice is in the second grade and loves to harass Penuel (well they do a good job together) and likes her braids, but hates having her hair brushed, and loves ice cream.

Sherida is the oldest. She is in the tenth grade. She will turn 15 in December so she is excited about having her quincinera party. She is very active in her church youth group as a leader, and the Fraternity of Christian Youth, which is an ecumenical youth group in Ayacucho. She likes English class and History. Her mom told me she wants to be an exchange student somewhere or travel to another country to work with children affected by HIV/AIDS crisis.

Over the River and through the Woods to Grandmother's House We Go!

On Saturday the Sulca-Gomez Family loaded up, yes the Peruvian station wagon (I am not lying it is a small white station wagon) and headed for the hills. Literally we went over the river and through the woods to Grandma and Grandpa Sulca-Gomez's house. It is in the hills that over look Ayacucho. This is where my host dad Habacuc grew up with his 10 brothers and sisters. Habacuc told me that he was number six, his twin brother Micais is number five. Habacuc's parents are Victor Sulca and Julia Gomez. That is where Sulca-Gomez comes from. Victor is a farmer. Their house is in parts. One building was the kitchen and the other was for sleeping.

When we arrived we tried to find a shady spot (good luck on top of a mountain!). As we turned the corner on the dirt road that lead to the house...wouldn't you know it...right in the middle of a crop field/cow pasture...there it was ...a soccer field, complete with cow pies, an irrigation ditch for the field down below, and a manure pile!! Only in Latin America my friends.

So we spent the afternoon at the grandparents' house (abuelos in spanish). We even had a picnic. The men played soccer (I was told women here do not play soccer. For those of you who know me, can feel my inner pain at hearing that!). The women play volleyball, and are quite good. I am well average. They tell me I try to kill the ball everytime I hit it or I try to grab it like a goalie?! Hmmm wonder why?!!

So in order for us to play volleyball we needed a court. We had the net. The women were not about to ask the men to sacrifice a portion of their precious field so they drew one out right next to the manure pile. They said "All we need to do is move a little of this." They had one shovel and a burlap sack. I looked at my host Rosa when she said "Lisa, just use your hands." I looked back and said "To move this?" Ahhhh the things we do for relationship building.

I was thinking this had better be one fabulous volleyball game. Cows, guinea pigs (aka Cuy), and dirt. The worst smelling compost pile this side of the equator.
...and what visit to Grandma Julia's house wouldn't be complete without a picnic. Chicken, salad, and of course POTATOES. Julia's sister had some canchita's she was selling. They are liked puffed corn with a little sugar added right before they PUFF!! They are more like Honey Smacks (remember Dig 'um) than popcorn, and are more healthy or so the Peruvians say. The corn kernals here are bigger too.

This trip to the Abuelos happens about twice a month if not more. Alot of the people there were from the church, and some from Rosa's family.