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/