album 06\02\2010 (26 photos), by Thomas DeMarco

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The First Month in Lima

Arriving in Lima seemed like a treasure. Before leaving Chimbote I got very sick.. three days of fever, barfing on the neighbors roof (couldn't make it to floor one so upchucked over 3rd floor railing. oops) and I hadn´t really eaten in a few days. My directors took me to a nice italian restaurant as a part of orientation (as I am the only one in my program, they were very flexible)and I ate Pesto which seemed to cure me. I met my host family (an older couple with two kids married and one living at home still) and got situated in my very small, but comfortable room in my fancy looking apartment in a very safe part of town.

The first weekend, I went to the beach with the 25 other CIEE program students (Liberal Arts and Language/society). Then my intensive spanish course started. That was a good five hours of class every day. The second week, the program took a MiraBus Tour of Lima and saw the Plaza in the center of town and went to a crazy cool water-fountain park. The third week we visited Villa el Salvador, one of the towns outside of Lima that is still in the process of development. The limits of Lima continually grows because of what are called Invasiones. Basically in one day 3000 or so people will come down from the mountains and set up houses and move to the outskirts of Lima. They worry later about getting electricity and water and finding jobs. It was fascinating to see the older developed part of town versus the newer part of town where water is still driven in every day in truck and people fill their buckets to use for the cooking/cleaning/bathing for the day. We heard from community leaders about the economic and community development they have been organizing for three generations now.

After three weeks of intensive spanish was up and I passed the final exam with flying colors I thought I was prepared for when classes started. I was in for a surprise.

La Universidad del Pacifico, where I am studying, is the most famous and prestigous business/economics schools in all of Latin America. The undergrad degree lasts 5 years (10 semesters) but takes most peruvian students 5.5 or 6 years because it is typical to not pass all of your classes the first time around. Knowing that I signed up for the classes that I was most passionate about: International Business, Social Responsibility Stategic Management, and a community outreach class.

Lets just say I do not have a lot of time to go out salsa dancing like the first few weeks. Each class has multiple text books and articles to read each week. Two of my classes have weekly exams, and case studies, debates, group projects, etc. on top of that. Hopefully it will be worth it in the end. I will get the chance to work in the community advising a local entrepreneur, asisting him/her in the growth of thier small business. I will meet with an executive of an international business located here in Peru and analize/create recommendations for an NGO in Peru for how they can become more socially responsible. Amazing opportunities usually involve hard work.

I am Famous in Chimbote!

As it turns out, I did such outstanding work in Chimbote that they invited me to talk on the evening news!

... no just kidding. However, I really was on TV in Chimbote. As it turns out my boss at CHOI, where I was working in the microfinance program, also was a news reporter for Channel 35 MásDeportes, a sports channel like ESPN. I went with my boss to his office on our way to drop off some checks in the bank and he told me it wouldn´t take long if I wanted to wait outside. I asked him if I could come in with him to wait inside and see what he does at his other job.

When I walked in he was sitting at the newstable with a microphone in his hand and said "sit here". I said, "What?! Aren't you going on live to do the news?" He said, "Yes in 90 seconds. We are going to interview you.. you are swimmer in the US right?" I said, "Well yeah, but.." and he said "Call your host family to tell them to watch channel 35. We'll just ask you some simple questions. Don't worry." So I called my host family and the lights dropped and the news intro music came on.

They said they had a very special guest on the show, a famous American Swimmer that was in Chimbote to do community work. They asked me questions like "Where are you from? How long have you swam competitively?" I explained that I had swam for 10 years competitively in the US and then for half a year in the Dominican Republic where I competed in the Pan-American Championships. They then asked other questions like "Why is swimming the most healthy sport? Can everyone benefit from swimming?" and my personal favorite, "Are you best friends with Michael Phelps?" I had to admit I wasn't but said I looked forward to meeting him soon. Haha. Then they told me about a competition they have every spring in Chimbote from the Island to the shore and back again and they invited me to participate. Then I put in a plug for the business workshop we were putting on later that week. After that I gave a shout out to my host family and all my family and friends back home in MN (you were all mentioned on TV too- whether you knew it or not!).

After the interview ended, they resumed talking about the usual: soccer. I stepped outside to call my host family. They said that they had called the whole family in from outside (I live with three generations in my house) and they all crowded around the TV to watch me. They said they were very proud and that they actually understood everything I said. From then on my name was Tomás de la Tele (TV Tommy). I never would have dreamed that that would have happened... what experiences I get myself into in other countries!!

Experiencing Chimbote, Peru

I spent almost a month in the Northern coastal city of Chimbote, Peru. There I worked in a microfinance program, living with a host family and spending time in the parish Perpetuo Socorro.

I learned more about loans and business development than I ever thought I would. From the first day I was signing and officially stamping microloans. I also did visits to businesses to collect overdue bills as well as to hear the stories of the small business owners. At the end of my experiences of working in the community, my boss decided that we should have a training for all of the loan recipients on the benefits of CHOI (the organization that I was working for called Chimbote Oportunidades Ilimitadas) and the advantages of collaboration and teamwork in business. He asked that I would talk about my experiences in the Dominican Republic, helping to form an association of artisans. It was a nerve-racking experience talking in front of a room full of people, but everyone seemed to like what I had to say and overall it was a successfull workshop we put on. I was written up in the blog of Asset Based Community Development, Chimbote Peru. Check it out at: http://abcdchimbote.blogspot.com/2010/03/training-event-choi-1st-day.html#links

At the parish, I would spend time with those who worked there and we would hang out in the evenings. The people of Chimbote are a simple, caring people with huge corazones (hearts). To many visitors, Chimbote is dusty, smells of rotten fish (is an old fishing town) and has many people begging for money. (There were nights where I slept in my friends house with a dirt floor, straw walls and no water or electricity). I remember walking down the dark street to get home and noticing a bonfire in the middle of the road, although my heart skipped and I thought of home, I realized they were burning trash. One man told me another day that what he was living in was not poverty, it was misery. It is hard to keep a positive attitude in situations like that. On the other hand, my experiences with working in the community allowed me to see the beauty that lies within the people and the potential they have to make their community a better place.

It was in Chimbote where I tried my first Cuy (guinea pig) and to my suprise, my host mom said she had saved the best for last.. she ate the three heads of the guinae pigs. I also had my first Ceviche (the traditional lime-cooked peruvian fish dish) and pisco sour (famous peruvian drink). All of these foods were far too expensive for my host family, but they wanted to share their home and their culture with me. I felt very blessed. I went to the beach with the family and took the grandkids to the pool. I saw my first Peruvian soccer game with them (the team Jose Galvez) and my vocabulary of curse words cuadroupled! Soccer in Latin America involves flares and large flags in the stadium and riotous celebrations afterwards. I also had the chance to see one of the worlds most famous salsa groups, Niche from Colombia while I was there. All of these experiences mixed with long days (and sometimes nights) of community work made for a truly amazing learning experience.

I was able to see the Peruvian culture from a different perspective than other students studying abroad and I was glad that I had my own adventures before I stepped into the big city of Lima to start my CIEE Business and Society Program.

All of my Chimbote Pictures found at: (Click on Play Slideshow)
http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1236938027/a=2439520027/

Bienvenidos a Peru!

My trip started Wednesday at 4pm. I arrived in Lima Peru on Thursday at 5am. I then took a taxi to the bus station to by a ticket for Chimbote Peru. I called my CIEE program directors in Lima Peru to find out if we could meet but no one answered. So I decided to have an adventure since the bus didn{t leave until 12:30pm. I wanted to visit their office, or at least see the university where I will be studying. I hoped on a crowded public van that acts as a bus, called a combi. There I was squished in the back corner for a good half hour constantly asking where I should get off. I then walked around in search of the Universidad del Pacifico for a good hour until I finally realized it was really close to where I had been dropped off in the first place... dumb gringo! (Actually the guard who had pointed me in the wrong direction apologized..accident? Idk)

Anyways, I arrived and met the woman working in the international students office there and she called my program director and he came to pick me up to take me to the other program directors house. By this time I had to make it back to the bus on the opposite side of town. It was already noon and they told me it would take 40 minutes to get back there... oh oh. So I greeted her and she gave me a cell phone (all students get one when they program starts, but she made an exception for me) and I ran out the door to make it to the bus station just in time.

The bus I took had leather seats and air conditioning and tvs and leather footrests.. I felt like a king. They play bingo on the bus halfway through the ride for the chance to win a free return ticket. I was very close, but didn{t win.. better luck next time. I finally arrived and a man asked me if I was Tommy. I said yes, but how did you know? Turns out he had been waiting for me for a couple hours because they didn{t know what time the bus was going to get in. He was from the parish where I was going to stay. We took a taxi back and I met Father Jack and we talked about how Peggy was probably meeting with my family at the exact same time. The fed me chicken and rice and I left to meet my host family.

The whole family lives together.. grandparents, children, and grandchildren. They are all super happy and caring and we made jokes throughout the end of a game of futbol until I crashed in the third floor. I fell asleep overlooking the whole city of Chimbote from my window.

In the morning I went to morning prayer. Father Jack blessed me and everyone clapped. I already feel very accepted and a little bit of Spanish can go a long way I have realized because everyone is happy to greet me here. I took a tour of many of the programs that they have here in the parish of Nuestra Senora del Perpetuo Socorro. They have many many programs for kids, people with disabilities, drug addicts, single mothers, the sick and dying, etc. I am hoping to work with the economic development programs here which I will explain more about later. Now, I am about to go back and eat with my host family at noon. This afternoon I plan to help Father Jack write 800 handwritten letters and after that going to go to the place of the economic development program where they are having classes of computers and english for people there. I miss MN and sent you all warm wished from down South!

Goodbye Dominican Republic

What a wonderful trip to relax and catch up with old friend and family. I spent the first week with Miguel Angels family and the second with my previous host family. The first weekend I went to Cabarete, the windsurfing capital of the world, and stayed in an all inclusive hotel with Miguel Angel and we had a great time relaxing on the beach. I fell about a million times trying to windsurf, but eventually got it and then felt very chevere (cool). The second week I spent most of my time in the community with the artesanos of Arte a Mano, the association of artisans that I worked to start during my first study abroad experience. There are many new members and many changes being made. I worked to help orientate (is that a word in english?) the new CIEE student and to figure out together with our director what work needs to be done to most successfully and sustainably help the association grow.

The second weekend was spent one day in the Northern Playa called Sosua with Miguel Angels brother and the one day (Sunday) in La Vega, the country-s capital of Carnaval. Lets just say it is crazy there. People run around in huge elaborate costumes smacking people in the butt with a hard, filled cow bladder called a bejiga. Its like the MN state fair but with twice the amount of people and way better music blasting on every corner. It is something you have to experience if you ever visit this beautiful country.

The last couple of days I spent with my directors, one night writing a grant (one of their million side projects in the community) for an community organization called One Respe, which is expecting to have a huge influx of impoverished Haitian immigrants because of the earthquake. We watched the super bowl (in Spanish.. wierd) with all the other CIEE students and monday and tuesday I spend saying goodbye to all of my artisans, friends, and families with whom I stayed. I am going to miss this country very very much. But like they say here, only God knows (Solo Dios Sabe) if I will make my way back some day.

Check out pictures by going to the following and clicking ¨Play Slideshow¨:
http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1221711027/a=2439520027_2439520027/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

2 Degrees of Separation

January 27, 2010, 6:26pm

What an amazing start to my trip! I got off the plane and had to buy my tourist card and stood in line with an American who told me that she and a friend was going with their Haitian friend into Haiti to help. It was very interesting because just before I left my program director in the Dominican Republic sent me an article on Facebook entitled “Disaster Do-gooders can Actually Hinder Help”. Check out the artical (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34958965/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake/) to see why I promised my mom I wouldn’t go to Haiti this time. Meeting the woman made me wonder what she was going to do in Haiti.

After this I walked out of the airport and felt like a movie star with people lining the pathway looking for their loved ones. One woman in line with me said she hadn’t seen her mom in 18 years and there they were embracing for the first time. Que bonita fue. There was my friend Miguel and his dad waiting for me. I was so excited that I ran and gave them a big abrazo (hug). They took me home and Miguel’s mom had a hot meal waiting for me (a traditional meal of mangu y tortilla de huevos). His mom told me that they left their Christmas tree up until I arrived because they remembered the last time I was in their house (New Years Eve with Tori) I had said that I thought it was beautiful.. so they left it up to make me happy. Let’s just say- it worked.

Yesterday Miguel and I went to the pool and surprised all my old friends there when I just walked into practice and everyone was yelling “Tomas, Tomas!” while they were supposed to be practicing. So I talked to many of them after I jumped in the water. On the way home from the pool I was approached by a Haitian woman with a baby in her arms. She stopped me and asked if I had seen her friend’s son. He was missing and he used to go to school in Santiago. I told her I was sorry and that I wish I could help but that I did not know him. I felt her helplessness. No one is more that one or two degrees separated from what happened in Haiti. Everyone knows someone who lived there or worked there, or at least felt the tremer even in Santiago. Miguel’s mom told me that “solo dios sabe”, only God knows, what the future of Haiti will be. She prays that it will be better off after all of this is through. Amen.

We ate lunch back at Miguels house together like they always do at noon and I felt very much apart of their family. After a siesta, I visited my host family and was bien recibido again. Jackeline y Abel my old host parents gave me a huge hug and soon their daughter Jackie and her three kids showed up. The kids were very happy to see me and David screamed as he ran to give me a big hug! They said that David was asking where I was on his birthday this year because he remembered that I had decorated his cake with M&M’s last year in the shape of his name and he wanted the exact same thing this year.. that made me happy! The new student living with the family told me that I was famous in my neighborhood and in the community where I worked as well. She said that everyone still talks about Tomas. That made me smile that I am not forgotten.

I love being here! It is 80 degrees and sunny every day! (Sry for those in MN!) Everyone loves to just take time to sit and talk. La vida es mas tranquila aqui. Life is more relaxed here. My host parents and I talked until late into the night and they drove me back to Miguels house so I wouldn’t have to take a concho so late at night. My Spanish comes back quickly with them.

Today I woke up late and went to my old school, La PUCMM, with Miguel and then to visit my community. I saw three of my artesanos: Ana Griselda, Maria Griselda, and Lourdes. They were VERY surprised and they all wanted me to eat in their house. We talked for a while about what is happing with the association of artisans that I helped to create and there are many changes being made. There are many more people involved now and they are now a part of the larger federation of artisans that represent all of the art of the whole country. Now they have other artists coming to Arte a Mano to be able to become a part of the federation through which they may be able to sell their art internationally! We are all going to have a meeting next week to get together and see where things are at.

We ate together again today and after the traditional siesta, or nap, I came with Miguel’s dad to his work. He works programming with Oracle and/or PeopleSoft (shout out to the UGP again!) Who knew that there were people all over the world working to create and maintain that program! So it was kind of a bring your foreign exchange child to work day- haha! He told everyone that I was an external consultant there to test everyone. The younger workers looked scared.. it was funny.

Now I am on my way to visit my old program director and her family. K dios les bendiga (God Bless) y nos hablamos pronto (Talk to you soon!)