Crossing Cultures

Peru through the Eyes of Peace Corps Volunteers

From time to time, I like to check in with the blogs of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers working in Peru. The volunteers are mainly young, single people who are both idealistic and pragmatic, and their blogs provide fascinating glimpses into volunteer life in the provinces.

The blogs also are useful roadmaps for armchair adventurers who daydream about “someday” making a difference in Peru. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to live in an isolated village two days’ walk from the nearest road, with no running water or electricity, helping locals run a cooperative or improve their sanitation, these blogs are eye-opening resources.

About the Peace Corps: The Peace Corps was active in Peru from 1962 to 1967, and returned to Peru in 2002 after an absence of 27 years. It has now grown to 160 volunteers, according to the Peace Corps’ Welcome Book. (Note: The Wecome Book is a massive 90+ page PDF download.) The volunteers complete an 11-week training session outside of Lima before being dispatched the various communities in Peru, where they live with local families and work on community projects. These projects focus on health, sanitation, agriculture and community development, among other areas.

Peruvian PC volunteers have been blogging about their experiences since at least March 2006, according to a list of online Peru PC journals. That page provides links to 108 blogs, listed in descending chronological order. Some blogs are no longer active, just archives, but many others are in full swing.

Some of the posts are detailed, carefully crafted essays; others read like late-night ramblings. Feelings range from excitement and joy, to loneliness, sadness and weariness. All the blogs include a prominent disclaimer: “This blog does not reflect the opinions of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.”

Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find:

Peace Corps volunteer Frank dressed as the wise mountain Huascaran

Frank in Ancash (The World through Frank’s Eyes) works in youth development programs. He and fellow volunteers are attempting to educate locals about gender equality, a new concept in the Cordillera Huayhuash. In April he and some fellow volunteers dressed up as local apus (mountain spirits) in a theatrical production that showed how men have much to learn from women and vice versa.

Kondrath in Peru (since Oct. 2007) is a blog by Michael Kondrath, who notes: “I am currently living in the second highest mountain range in the world as a Peace Corps health volunteer. I get sick a lot and have fleas, but I still have fun.” That droll humor informs a lot of Kondrath’s entries, including “Wanna Live in a Mansion? OK“:

“Things keep on getting better and better here. Yesterday I was invited to a guinea pig lunch, and then invited to live in a three story house. The new place on the plaza in town, and will serve as a hotel in a few years when it is ready. But for the next year, I will have free reign. I now have the luxury of choosing which bedroom I will sleep in and which toilet I will puke in. I actually will probably designate a toilet for each bodily function. But the best part about the new place is the huge meeting halls, which I have been given permission to use for my meetings. This is a huge deal because there is no town hall and my big project has sixty members. The new house has a huge open roof that I can set up a hammock and grill, and has an incredible view of Huascaran and the cordillera negra. I will have one roommate though, a puppy. While I really want a monkey, it is just too cold here and it would suffer. So instead I opted for a dog. There is a lady in the market that is going to give me it for free tomorrow. I think I am supposed to marry her daughter too, so we’ll see how that goes.” 

Peace Corp volunteer Patty Synnott details her time in Cajamarca in Jump on the Patty Wagon (since Sept. 2008). Last month she experienced the onslaught of rainy season, went to the jungle for a week with the high-school graduating class and taught ballet to grade school girls:

Last week we held our first formal class in an empty room in the escuela. The girls all met at my house first, where they waited while I gathered up my music and water bottle. Unfortunately, I forgot to gather up a belt for my loose pants. About 10 minutes into class, (I think we had just finished with plies), I yanked my pants up higher on my waist and continued demonstrating the next combination of steps. To my amusement, every girl in the class (about 11 little girls) yanked up their pants as well. I chuckled to myself and continued on with the combination. Ten minutes later, as I was demonstrating another movement, I was impelled to push my glasses up on my nose. Every single girl pretended to adjust a pair of imaginary glasses. This was just weird. Turns out my host mom had had a talk with them about being attentive and following my every move during class so that they could learn to be beautiful ballerinas. Must have sunk in.

While I realize teaching ballet is not going to save my community from its poverty or develop the girls into prima-ballerinas, it has thus far been a beautiful experience. One of the focuses of Peace Corps is cross-cultural exchange, and ballet for me is what I have to offer. As dance is such an integral part of cultures across the globe, I think it is appropriate.

After our class got out that first day, the girls began to whisper amongst themselves. When I asked what was up, they timidly approached me and said ¨senorita patty, do you know how to dance huayno? We would like to teach you a Peruvian dance next time.¨ I really liked that.

(Huayno is a local folkloric dance)

Katherine Perez (Kat en Perú) is one of two Peace Corps volunteers who works with the disabled in Peru. In an interesting post, she describes her complicated dealings with a religious NGO, which gives a wheelchair to one of her elderly clients and then tries to convert both him and Kat.

Jake DeBerry (MyPeru Adventure) is a business volunteer who works with artisan associations in the Cordillera Blanca. He’s written on water shortages, celebrating Obama’s election, and learning Quechua, among other topics.

Karen Peterson is the author of Peacin’ in Peru, which details her experiences as a community environmental manager in Lambayeque, in northern Peru. In the last month, she’s posted on helping locals start a reforestation project, taking four Lambayeque girls to a Peace Corps leadership camp, and surviving an attack by a Peruvian hair stylist, who attempted to give her a mullet.

I’ll close with this quote and image from Frank’s blog:

Oh, Peace Corps!  You never cease to send me down previously unexplored personal paths!  I’ve determined that development work is best conducted when one steps outside-of-the-box in order to help others step out of theirs.

Visit more Peace Corps blogs at Peru Peace Corps Journals.

I am an American writer who lived in Lima for seven years (2007-2014), where I covered Andean traditions, melting glaciers and daily life in the capital for Miami Herald, MSNBC and Huffington Post. I now live and work in northern Florida where I champion climate change advocacy and compassionate, affordable eldercare.

One Comment

  • Matt Rosen

    There is absolutely no reason you did not contact the volunteers before this publication to ask permission to quote them extensively, legal or not, as it seems properly cited, many volunteers blogs are intended for a more personal audience than for broadcast on your own blog. Its kinda offensive. Matt Rosen, PC Peru 11, Cajamarca.