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/