Munay (Love & Beauty): Stories of Life in Peru: Field Based Training in Ancash!

I returned home yesterday from a week in the Sierra with a group of ten volunteers for field based training. We had a great week! It was a very busy trip and was a bit stressful at times because we had to give a lot of sessions to students and we were always on the go, but we all learned so much and got a lot of practical experience and an idea of what our next two years will be like. We spent our week visiting different current Peace Corps volunteers in their sites and putting on activities and facilitating class sessions for the schools. There was a lot of late nights planning sessions to present and constantly running around to different sites, always on the go. But we truly all learned so much and it was so fun to get a sneak peak of the different Peace Corps sites in Ancash and to get a picture of what our lives could be like for the next two years. All of the sites we visited were smaller communities/towns which is definitely the size site that I would love to have. Some of the volunteers lived in adobe houses made of mud and straw with dirt floors with limited running water/electricity. I think I would love to live like that and have that kind of experience. We will see what kind of town and what type of living conditions I end up with!

Ancash is a BEAUTIFUL state. All of the towns that we visited were nestled in a valley between a stunning mountain range. The beauty of it all was breath taking at times and it felt really great to be out of dirty, polluted, crowded, dusty, Lima and in nature with all the fresh air, mountains, rivers and lakes. The Cordillera mountain range in Ancash is world famous among climbers and mountaineers so there are always a lot of mountaineering tourist staying in the capital city in Ancash during the high season.

My favorite part about Ancash was the high presence of the Andean indigenous culture. This culture is so beautiful and interesting to me in so many ways and I am so excited that I will get to be a part of it for the next two years. It was so fun to hear people speaking Quechua and to see them dressed in their beautiful traditional clothing. In a few of the communities we went to, the kids at school even spoke in Quechua amongst themselves and it was so awesome to see that.

Some highlights of the week included: taking a “fun day” to visit a beautiful turquoise colored lagoon at the base of Mt Huascaran, eating the traditional indigenous Sierra dish called “Pachamanca” which is when they surround chicken, corn and potatoes with scalding hot coals and bury it in the dirt to let it cook for hours, leading a group of about 50 indigenous woman and girl in an exercise class of stretching and dance aerobics (picture a big group of shy, indigenous women in their traditional dress laughing and giggling as we tried to get them to dance and work out-things they never do!), learning (or at least attempting to) some Quechua words and phrases from some students at a school where we gave sessions, and exploring the capital city Huaraz.

Ancash is a truly amazing state with the beauty of the mountains and all the nature, the Andean indigenous culture that I am so in love with, a great capital city, and a family of awesome Peace Corps volunteers already serving there that I would get to become a part of. I will be one lucky chica if my two year site ends up being in Ancash!!! We find out tomorrow where our two year sites will be!! I am really hoping that I will be in Ancash!!! I will make sure to let everyone know when I find out!!!