So a while back, I wrote a quick blurb about being at Starbucks in Trujillo and how it really seemed ‘American’ and how I was a bit in shock at how it was the same type of ‘Starbucks culture’ here in Peru as in the states, and also the difference/disparity of wealth from where I was that evening (Starbucks) and during the day (my town).
I didn’t mean to vilify Starbucks or the people there, or even really imply that there’s anything wrong with Starbucks. Hell, I purposely went there that night and another time after that for a few hours and bought a drink and used the wireless internet). It can be a good symbol of the disparity, especially between rural and urban: for the same cost as a large frappachino drink, I can buy lunch for a week at a restaurant in my town, clearly the calorie cost is different.
But at the same time, Starbucks can be a good sign. With the prices the way they are (For the same price, I can either buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks or two weeks worth of fresh ground coffee in the grocery store), obviously there needs to be some level of clientele to support the business. And indeed there is. It shows, in a very unscientific way, a growing semi-professional youth culture working/networking and having disposable income. Quite possibly the patrons you might see at this Starbucks are going to be part of the ‘Perú advanza’ model, which won’t be cocinas mejoradas, but larger scale domestic businesses and innovations.
What could be said, for example, if there was the Starbucks and it was filled with ex-patriot workers or European/American tourists? Truly more of a divide or even cultural imperialism, maybe. Or is it cultural imperialism to see Peruvians do something ‘American’? I think not as they seem to gravitate to it on there own…there’s no mass media campaigns I can tell to get people into Starbucks.
Being A Mercenary Volunteer
So I’ve been fortunate in that during my first four months of service, I wasn’t chained to my site (not that you ever really are, but still). In February and March, I was invited to journey down to the south of Peru for a week and work with a group called Builders Beyond Borders (B3). In short, they’re a non-profit group that brings between 20-40 high schoolers from the Connecticut area down to a developing country to do a bunch of manual labor. They fund raise around $2,500 to cover for travel, meals, supplies, etc. and take a week out of school or their Spring Break to attend this project. And through the glories of networking and past experiences with Peace Corps, B3 hooked up with some of our Water and Sanitation 12’ers (the group before me) to assist on their bathroom and water system projects. And they were kind enough to invite other volunteers down (like me!) and feed/lodge us, plus let us go with the kids to local activities such as sandboarding and white water rafting (Peace Corps is hard!!!).
In February, I worked with a group in the province of Canyette, which is already ripe with Peace Corps volunteers due to the effects of the 2007 earthquake. This particular group’s mission was dig a ridiculous amount of trenches in various parts of this remote agricultural town and install main water lines, which would later be connected to houses. This was really the thankless part of the project because the kids wouldn’t really get to see anything ‘completed’; just pipes laid and if all went well, no leaks. My job in this instance was to be a point person for technical advice (or talk with the town plumber), translate, and be a ‘role model’. After a week, I was really impressed with the kids and their work ethic. Most of them kept on going strong until quitting time, and even past that. Digging ditches in the hot Peruvian sun is not really a fun way to spend your winter break, especially when $2,500 could be used for so much sweeter stuff (like 2/3 of a Peace Corps volunteer’s living allowance!) but the kids never really complained and really liked the experience of manual labor and getting dirty (probably two things they never really get to do up in Connecticut).
In March, it was more or less the same routine except I was working on a bathroom project in the south of Ica, where the earthquake really took it’s toll. Most of the communities were rebuilt with thatch housing and people were just starting to rebuild with adobe. I worked with two different teams of kids during the week, with two trained maestros (campo handymen/masons/carpenters/etc) to build pour flush bathrooms. This project was a little different because the teams would finish a bathroom in about two days, and therefore just restart from scratch. But they persevered throughout the week and hit the number of bathrooms they aimed for. They all got on really well, and what was interesting is that the maestros really liked the kids, even if they couldn’t fully communicate with them. The kids wound up leaving on Saturday morning, while the PC volunteers and the maestros worked during the morning to finish up some loose ends, and some of the maestros were generally sad that the kids were gone. I was talking with one of them and asked why he looked a little sleepy (it was Saturday morning), and he said he wasn’t sleepy but sad that the kids were gone.
And I think that’s part of what B3 aims for, especially with organizations who just jump in, do a quick project, and leave. B3 really aims for the cultural and emotional experience for their kids, who largely grew up in privilege or at the very least with most of their needs met. These trips allow the kids to see a different way of living, and poverty, and reflect on that as an individual however they want to interpret it. To be honest, I was a little skeptical of these trips…’volunteer tourism’, where you jump in for a week, get to slum it, and then go back to your comfortable living condition. But what I personally hope for with these trips is that the kids hold this experience with them and use it as a bit of a spark to either serve abroad or at home in the United States to help and work people achieve better means and levels of living. And I also benefitted from the trips as well by working with the maestros and seeing what the more experienced volunteers were doing and how their work went from the first couple months like where I’m at, to over a year in and actually doing projects.
In February, I worked with a group in the province of Canyette, which is already ripe with Peace Corps volunteers due to the effects of the 2007 earthquake. This particular group’s mission was dig a ridiculous amount of trenches in various parts of this remote agricultural town and install main water lines, which would later be connected to houses. This was really the thankless part of the project because the kids wouldn’t really get to see anything ‘completed’; just pipes laid and if all went well, no leaks. My job in this instance was to be a point person for technical advice (or talk with the town plumber), translate, and be a ‘role model’. After a week, I was really impressed with the kids and their work ethic. Most of them kept on going strong until quitting time, and even past that. Digging ditches in the hot Peruvian sun is not really a fun way to spend your winter break, especially when $2,500 could be used for so much sweeter stuff (like 2/3 of a Peace Corps volunteer’s living allowance!) but the kids never really complained and really liked the experience of manual labor and getting dirty (probably two things they never really get to do up in Connecticut).
In March, it was more or less the same routine except I was working on a bathroom project in the south of Ica, where the earthquake really took it’s toll. Most of the communities were rebuilt with thatch housing and people were just starting to rebuild with adobe. I worked with two different teams of kids during the week, with two trained maestros (campo handymen/masons/carpenters/etc) to build pour flush bathrooms. This project was a little different because the teams would finish a bathroom in about two days, and therefore just restart from scratch. But they persevered throughout the week and hit the number of bathrooms they aimed for. They all got on really well, and what was interesting is that the maestros really liked the kids, even if they couldn’t fully communicate with them. The kids wound up leaving on Saturday morning, while the PC volunteers and the maestros worked during the morning to finish up some loose ends, and some of the maestros were generally sad that the kids were gone. I was talking with one of them and asked why he looked a little sleepy (it was Saturday morning), and he said he wasn’t sleepy but sad that the kids were gone.
And I think that’s part of what B3 aims for, especially with organizations who just jump in, do a quick project, and leave. B3 really aims for the cultural and emotional experience for their kids, who largely grew up in privilege or at the very least with most of their needs met. These trips allow the kids to see a different way of living, and poverty, and reflect on that as an individual however they want to interpret it. To be honest, I was a little skeptical of these trips…’volunteer tourism’, where you jump in for a week, get to slum it, and then go back to your comfortable living condition. But what I personally hope for with these trips is that the kids hold this experience with them and use it as a bit of a spark to either serve abroad or at home in the United States to help and work people achieve better means and levels of living. And I also benefitted from the trips as well by working with the maestros and seeing what the more experienced volunteers were doing and how their work went from the first couple months like where I’m at, to over a year in and actually doing projects.
Starbucks
So I'm at the Starbucks in Trujillo. 9PM on a Thursday night. It is crowded. A few teenagers meeting, some people reading. Groups of 20-somethings dressed nicely and conversing over coffee, young professionals hunched over laptops. Weird. And to think earlier this afternoon (and a 90 minute bus ride) I was talking with families who didn't have light, running water and lived with dirt floors and an elementary school education....
Microwaves and Dishwashers...
So I live in a Posh Corps house; electricity, TV with cable, running water, furnished bathroom (complete with urinal even though I live with all women…), microwave and washing machine. It’s a pretty sweet life, and really I make no apologies for it. I’d rather live here, than in a cave in the mountains like some of the other volunteers (NOTE: nobody actually lives in caves). But the funny thing is, while all of this does seem natural to me, some of the luxuries aren’t utilized by my family.
For example, the microwave. Virginia just doesn’t use it. The fifteen year old has a limited concept of how and why to use the microwave (that it’s better to heat up food than cook it through) but still hasn’t quite mastered it and calls me for help. Same thing with the washing machine, which was a recent addition. Virginia still washes her clothes by hand, even though I tell her we can use the machine. The fifteen year old uses it every now and then, but still mostly by hand. I, of course, use the thing to my full advantage. But why don’t they adapt?
Partly because the technology (washing machine and microwave) is just so new and unknown to them, that they don’t know how to take advantage and are slightly intimidated to use it. The other is that since they were getting by alright using the stove and washing by hand, that using the machines aren’t part of day to day life for them whereas it is for me. And especially regards to the washing machine, they’re also just used to washing a little bit here and a little bit there, whereas I’m used to stockpiling laundry until the last possible minute (hence why I’ve worn swim trunks on laundry day back in college).
And maybe I’m overanalyzing, and maybe I just have a little too much free time but I think this does say something. First, just having something doesn’t mean it will be used. The washing machine sits right next to the sink, and they still go for the sink. Second, cultural and social practices will always hold strong. When you grew up cooking with firewood, and then recently used gas, so a microwave is just unheard of (and unnecessary?). Third, maybe these devices weren’t necessary (for them, for me necessary for sure) and the resources could have been better used for something else (new TV, paint for the house). I’m pretty sure that Virginia or the fifteen year old never actually asked for the microwave or the washing machine, the other family members just bought it and brought it over. And while they could definitely help in day-to-day life here, without adaptation they just take up space. Hmmm…this seemingly sounds like behavior change model and ‘white elephant projects’….
For example, the microwave. Virginia just doesn’t use it. The fifteen year old has a limited concept of how and why to use the microwave (that it’s better to heat up food than cook it through) but still hasn’t quite mastered it and calls me for help. Same thing with the washing machine, which was a recent addition. Virginia still washes her clothes by hand, even though I tell her we can use the machine. The fifteen year old uses it every now and then, but still mostly by hand. I, of course, use the thing to my full advantage. But why don’t they adapt?
Partly because the technology (washing machine and microwave) is just so new and unknown to them, that they don’t know how to take advantage and are slightly intimidated to use it. The other is that since they were getting by alright using the stove and washing by hand, that using the machines aren’t part of day to day life for them whereas it is for me. And especially regards to the washing machine, they’re also just used to washing a little bit here and a little bit there, whereas I’m used to stockpiling laundry until the last possible minute (hence why I’ve worn swim trunks on laundry day back in college).
And maybe I’m overanalyzing, and maybe I just have a little too much free time but I think this does say something. First, just having something doesn’t mean it will be used. The washing machine sits right next to the sink, and they still go for the sink. Second, cultural and social practices will always hold strong. When you grew up cooking with firewood, and then recently used gas, so a microwave is just unheard of (and unnecessary?). Third, maybe these devices weren’t necessary (for them, for me necessary for sure) and the resources could have been better used for something else (new TV, paint for the house). I’m pretty sure that Virginia or the fifteen year old never actually asked for the microwave or the washing machine, the other family members just bought it and brought it over. And while they could definitely help in day-to-day life here, without adaptation they just take up space. Hmmm…this seemingly sounds like behavior change model and ‘white elephant projects’….
White Elephant in Development
One of the things plaguing development, especially local development is the proliferation of ‘white elephant projects’. ‘White elephant projects’ are ones that are constructed with the best intentions and for the simplest reasons (bathrooms or wells for instance), but are not utilized by the community after the project is completed. Obviously, this is a waste of resources for human capital, financial capital, and time.
Largely, white elephant projects come about when not enough research is done in the community beforehand. Research and conversations and the community needs, customs, behaviors, and beliefs. I am often reminded of a story passed onto me from a Wooster grad about a white elephant project in Africa. An NGO saw that women in the community had to walk an hour to the river to get water, and then carry it back. Therefore, it only made sense to build a well close by as to cut down on the transportation time. Well, the NGO successfully built the well but it was never used. The women continued their hour walk down to the river with their buckets and ignored the well. When asking why the women did not use the well and continued with what seemed a slightly absurd practice, the women commented that collecting water was a social event. The time spent collecting water was time spent outside the house and time with their neighbors and friends. While collecting water, the women would chat, pass gossip and news, and just socialize. By using the well, an important part of the women’s social life was being reduced. Perhaps if the NGO took this into account, they may have planned differently or included a project or initiative to make up for the lost social gains of water collecting.
One of the things that Peace Corps in Peru presses is a behavioral evaluation model, which seeks to examine why people do certain practices (not use condoms, use campo abierto) and then to examine how these practices can be changed. This is part of the reason why the first three months at site, we actually don’t do any projects. Instead, we do community diagnostic work such as interviews, community mapping, FREESOP, and seasonal calendars to better understand how the community works. These create conversations between the volunteer and the community to exchange information about the community but also about the volunteer and allow both to get comfortable with each other. The idea is, with community information and community input, the volunteer and the community can formulate plans and projects that the community sees as necessary and wants.
Largely, white elephant projects come about when not enough research is done in the community beforehand. Research and conversations and the community needs, customs, behaviors, and beliefs. I am often reminded of a story passed onto me from a Wooster grad about a white elephant project in Africa. An NGO saw that women in the community had to walk an hour to the river to get water, and then carry it back. Therefore, it only made sense to build a well close by as to cut down on the transportation time. Well, the NGO successfully built the well but it was never used. The women continued their hour walk down to the river with their buckets and ignored the well. When asking why the women did not use the well and continued with what seemed a slightly absurd practice, the women commented that collecting water was a social event. The time spent collecting water was time spent outside the house and time with their neighbors and friends. While collecting water, the women would chat, pass gossip and news, and just socialize. By using the well, an important part of the women’s social life was being reduced. Perhaps if the NGO took this into account, they may have planned differently or included a project or initiative to make up for the lost social gains of water collecting.
One of the things that Peace Corps in Peru presses is a behavioral evaluation model, which seeks to examine why people do certain practices (not use condoms, use campo abierto) and then to examine how these practices can be changed. This is part of the reason why the first three months at site, we actually don’t do any projects. Instead, we do community diagnostic work such as interviews, community mapping, FREESOP, and seasonal calendars to better understand how the community works. These create conversations between the volunteer and the community to exchange information about the community but also about the volunteer and allow both to get comfortable with each other. The idea is, with community information and community input, the volunteer and the community can formulate plans and projects that the community sees as necessary and wants.
Development
It’s been interesting to think about my role in development and what really is development. Is development formalizing a national banking sector and stabilizing currency fluctuation? Or on the other side: bathrooms, clean water, and cocinas mejoradas?
Development can and most likely should be all these things; they all signal different levels of faults in the country for different peoples. At the top down approach, having banks can help investment (both foreign and domestic) grow and lead to more job, advancing industries, and more opportunity for unique growth. Currency stabilization allows for assurance in the higher levels of the banks, but also the government and allows people to have confidence that their investments will not devalue or skyrocket too soon. Bathrooms/clean water/cocinas mejoradas signal a lacking for society in a different perspective. But at both ends of the spectrum, it’s not enough to simply creature these things. Rather, much training and convincing is required in order for people to want to use these things. And that’s a large part of the job in the Peace Corps.
You see, many people are used to living more or less the same for generations. They’ve had the same water, crapped in the same spots in the fields (and consequently had the same illnesses) for generations. So why does that need to change? And in developing countries, banks have never been too stable, so confidence is low. And what’s the point of saving money in a bank when you can do it at home [Note: several investigations have pointed to the fact that ‘poor people’ do want to save and, in fact, can save some money but do not have the channels to do so]?
So maybe a big part of development is changing attitudes? Not necessarily cultural and societal beliefs (but then again, maybe to an extent), but understanding the root causes of the repetitive actions and beliefs. From there, it’s necessary how to figure out how to adapt and change these beliefs to compliment this development, whether it’s changing attitudes about why they should use a bank or why a latrine (or better yet, an eco-baño!) is a better and healthy option than the fields. I really think this is a major part of development that is strongly overlooked. It’s the old saying, you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. People hate changes, because many times it signals instability. If people do not trust and have confidence in the changes, the projects will become the infamous white elephants of development; such as latrines used as storage sheds or for animals.
This is also why not only economists and politicians should be involved in development, but other types of professions. Health promoters, sociologists, psychologists, communicators, scientists or whomever really. Development is a multi-step process, and really if anyone knew ‘what worked’, it would have been done. But rather, things work but more often they fail in development. And that’s why new approaches, such as more instruction and understanding, must be explored.
Development can and most likely should be all these things; they all signal different levels of faults in the country for different peoples. At the top down approach, having banks can help investment (both foreign and domestic) grow and lead to more job, advancing industries, and more opportunity for unique growth. Currency stabilization allows for assurance in the higher levels of the banks, but also the government and allows people to have confidence that their investments will not devalue or skyrocket too soon. Bathrooms/clean water/cocinas mejoradas signal a lacking for society in a different perspective. But at both ends of the spectrum, it’s not enough to simply creature these things. Rather, much training and convincing is required in order for people to want to use these things. And that’s a large part of the job in the Peace Corps.
You see, many people are used to living more or less the same for generations. They’ve had the same water, crapped in the same spots in the fields (and consequently had the same illnesses) for generations. So why does that need to change? And in developing countries, banks have never been too stable, so confidence is low. And what’s the point of saving money in a bank when you can do it at home [Note: several investigations have pointed to the fact that ‘poor people’ do want to save and, in fact, can save some money but do not have the channels to do so]?
So maybe a big part of development is changing attitudes? Not necessarily cultural and societal beliefs (but then again, maybe to an extent), but understanding the root causes of the repetitive actions and beliefs. From there, it’s necessary how to figure out how to adapt and change these beliefs to compliment this development, whether it’s changing attitudes about why they should use a bank or why a latrine (or better yet, an eco-baño!) is a better and healthy option than the fields. I really think this is a major part of development that is strongly overlooked. It’s the old saying, you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. People hate changes, because many times it signals instability. If people do not trust and have confidence in the changes, the projects will become the infamous white elephants of development; such as latrines used as storage sheds or for animals.
This is also why not only economists and politicians should be involved in development, but other types of professions. Health promoters, sociologists, psychologists, communicators, scientists or whomever really. Development is a multi-step process, and really if anyone knew ‘what worked’, it would have been done. But rather, things work but more often they fail in development. And that’s why new approaches, such as more instruction and understanding, must be explored.
A Campo Christmas
“Campo Christmas”
So much like the USA and around the world, Christmas has come and gone. And while it definitely wasn’t the same as passing Christmas with the family (including missing the annual cousin’s breakfast and gift exchange), it did pass bonita y linda for sure. The days leading up to Christmas, people put up decorations to various degrees. Some had lights in the windows, with others had garland hanging around their house. Most houses had small artificial trees, but every house had their version of the manger scene. Usually it’s multi-level and filled with a wide variety of plastic animals that may or may not have been hanging around the manger roughly 2030 years ago. The town square had a small manger scene similar to one that you might find in front of a church in the states.
So how do you celebrate Christmas in these parts? Well, Christmas Eve, everyone works regularly until around noon or so. And the big hullaballoo happens at midnight, where families gather in their houses and toast to health and love and a happy Christmas. Then out comes the paneton (think fruitcake, except everyone loves it here) and hot chocolate. After that is turkey, chicken and whatever else the family has prepared is served and enjoyed. Then usually the family will stay up partying and talking until the early morning. I stayed up with the family until around 5am on Xmas eve, now knowing what to expect the next day.
So I wake up around 11am on Christmas Day, and most of the family is up at the farm preparing lunch. I have a cup of coffee, shower and walk on up to the farm saying Merry Christmas to friends in the community. I show up, and more family had shown up for Christmas Day and had already started eating Ceviche and cracking open some beers. Wanting the full cultural experience, I dived into both. Next up was the chicken, rice and Peruvian potato salad (potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas with mayo). And we just sat around and ate like any normal day really. The men got hammered while the women sat around, talked and did all the work. I didn’t get hammered that day as I just wasn’t feeling it…that and I just couldn’t bring myself to bring more of the same beer I had been drinking since I arrived last month. If anyone wants to send me some Great Lakes Christmas Ale, that would be fantastic!
Christmas Day was different as it was kind of quiet, but also passed like any other day for the most part. The big show is the midnight meal, and the party that follows after it (whether it’s in the community or your house). The other very different part is that gifts are only given to the children, which took a lot of pressure off of Christmas here. Although, I did receive a gift from my good Peruvian friend…he got my a Lima Alianza soccer jersey, which is really cool.
While I wouldn’t call it the best Christmas ever, it was really nice to pass it with all of the (Peruvian) family and in a different way. I really liked the midnight dinner and the celebration that ensued afterwards, but having Christmas Day being more or less a normal day was weird for me.
So much like the USA and around the world, Christmas has come and gone. And while it definitely wasn’t the same as passing Christmas with the family (including missing the annual cousin’s breakfast and gift exchange), it did pass bonita y linda for sure. The days leading up to Christmas, people put up decorations to various degrees. Some had lights in the windows, with others had garland hanging around their house. Most houses had small artificial trees, but every house had their version of the manger scene. Usually it’s multi-level and filled with a wide variety of plastic animals that may or may not have been hanging around the manger roughly 2030 years ago. The town square had a small manger scene similar to one that you might find in front of a church in the states.
So how do you celebrate Christmas in these parts? Well, Christmas Eve, everyone works regularly until around noon or so. And the big hullaballoo happens at midnight, where families gather in their houses and toast to health and love and a happy Christmas. Then out comes the paneton (think fruitcake, except everyone loves it here) and hot chocolate. After that is turkey, chicken and whatever else the family has prepared is served and enjoyed. Then usually the family will stay up partying and talking until the early morning. I stayed up with the family until around 5am on Xmas eve, now knowing what to expect the next day.
So I wake up around 11am on Christmas Day, and most of the family is up at the farm preparing lunch. I have a cup of coffee, shower and walk on up to the farm saying Merry Christmas to friends in the community. I show up, and more family had shown up for Christmas Day and had already started eating Ceviche and cracking open some beers. Wanting the full cultural experience, I dived into both. Next up was the chicken, rice and Peruvian potato salad (potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas with mayo). And we just sat around and ate like any normal day really. The men got hammered while the women sat around, talked and did all the work. I didn’t get hammered that day as I just wasn’t feeling it…that and I just couldn’t bring myself to bring more of the same beer I had been drinking since I arrived last month. If anyone wants to send me some Great Lakes Christmas Ale, that would be fantastic!
Christmas Day was different as it was kind of quiet, but also passed like any other day for the most part. The big show is the midnight meal, and the party that follows after it (whether it’s in the community or your house). The other very different part is that gifts are only given to the children, which took a lot of pressure off of Christmas here. Although, I did receive a gift from my good Peruvian friend…he got my a Lima Alianza soccer jersey, which is really cool.
While I wouldn’t call it the best Christmas ever, it was really nice to pass it with all of the (Peruvian) family and in a different way. I really liked the midnight dinner and the celebration that ensued afterwards, but having Christmas Day being more or less a normal day was weird for me.
Posts
