So this is Christmas

By Alisha

Our first Christmas in Peru has come and gone without some of the usual fanfare that we are accustomed to in the States. It was my first Christmas without snow, Christmas music and decorations were sparse, and gift giving wasn't a focus. Micah and I traveled to Lima and spent Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day with our host-family from training. All of the celebrating happens at midnight of the 25th and includes dinner, gift giving, and fireworks. Also very popular is hot chocolate and panetón (a sweet bread with dried fruits) at midnight. Our host brothers and sisters were pretty excited for midnight and probably asked what time it was every fifteen minutes until it was time to celebrate. Once the clock struck midnight we were simultaneously opening gifts, shooting off fire works, and eating a meal of duck, chicken, panetón, and, of course, potatoes. The kids went nuts at this point and stayed up until past 4am playing with their new toys. Micah and I were pretty tired from our bus ride and went to bed "early" at around 2am. Somehow the kids were up again at 6am playing and continuing to go nuts with their toys. We had a great time celebrating with the family. We are now gearing up for the New Year's celebrations in Chota.

Extreme excitment and anticipation!

The three youngest in their new outfits.
The much celebrated panetón
All good things must come to an end/coming down from a sugar high

I had to also include the lyrics to one of my favorite Christmas songs. Happy Holidays!

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
And so happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
And what have we done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young
A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
War is over over
If you want it
War is over

¡Que vivan los derechos humanos!

By Alisha & Micah

In commemoration of this month's 60th anniversary of the UN's Human Rights Declaration, we had a parade! There is a NGO in Chota that works to promote human rights and access to the justice system in rural areas. This organization along with other organizations in Chota sponsored the parade.

The slogan on the poster (pictured above) is "I can't wait 60 more years for my rights," so we wanted to share some information about human rights in Peru.

• The country as a whole is still coming to terms with the violence of the internal conflict between the Maoist terrorist group Shining Path and government military forces. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission found evidence of human rights violations on both sides of the conflict.
  
• Access to quality public education, especially in rural areas, is severely lacking.
• 15% of children and adolescents don't have any form of identification documents .
• Indigenous communities are constantly marginalized and ignored by the government, especially in terms of land rights as mining is taking on more importance in mountainous regions. This is a very controversial issue because while mining creates economic opportunities and stimulation, many rural and indigenous populations argue that the mines are detrimental to the environment and traditional ways of life.

Boys Meet World

By Alisha

The world map is complete! Micah and I started this project the beginning of October with 12 students and two professors at the largest high school (over 1400 students) in Chota. While the group dwindled down to 5 boys and the professors disappeared, we managed to finish up with a great looking map. Along the way we did presentations on the continents (students here are taught that there are five continents: America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania). The process was tedious at times, but I really feel like the youth that stuck it out learned a lot.

Patron Saint of Chota Day

By Alisha

For the past week or so Chota has been celebrating its' Patron Saint, Mary the Virgin Mother. The streets are decorated and people set up small shrines outside their homes that are lighted at night by candles and Christmas lights. Today is the day of the Immaculate Conception, which is a national holiday in Perú. Micah and I went to check out the celebrations this morning.



Decorating the streets
The view on our way to the church
We arrived a little bit early
Almost two hours latter and everyone has arrivedGetting ready for the procession following the mass

Reconnect & Thanksgiving

By Alisha & Micah

Last week we headed down the mountainside to the beach! We spent three days in Pacasmayo, a beach town in the department of La Libertad.
We met up with the volunteers from our training group for Reconnect, which is more or less a conference that occurs three months after swearing in as volunteers. We had workshops in which we talked about our experiences thus far in site and all of us had the opportunity to present about our communities. It was great to see pictures of the other volunteers' sites and see their different work opportunities. We even had a Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey and pumpkin pie.

After Reconnect we spent a few days in Trujillo (capital of La Libertad) and Huanchaco (a popular beach town close to Trujillo). We spent time with friends, relaxed, and ate to our hearts content.
Ruins at Chan Chan outside of Trujillo

Now we are back in Chota and are gearing up for summer vacation projects. School will be finishing up here in the next couple of weeks, and we are planning to have some youth groups as well as sports and arts workshops.