Sooo many things happening all at once. I can't really write about them all. The big thing is that early in-service training starts tomorrow. I have to go home and do laundry and be ready to leave for more than a week (thinking I'll just re-wear some clothes to save on space and time). Who is gonna really care if I smell anyway? I've been frantically finishing my community diagnostic this week. It's a report on my community - what it is like, what needs to be done, what I can possibly do in the next two years. Yeah. Kinda intimidating. Nevertheless, I'm excited to say that I've pretty much finished the report and just need to make some signs for my presentation.
I've got about 10 possible projects in mind. I'm trying to use my creativity and passions to make projects my own. I want to do an "Ama Tu Peru" campaign modeled after "Don't Mess With Texas". The campaign will focus on the various aspects of trash management. I want to coordinate with volunteers to put on events, radio shows, and paint murals to spread the word. Maybe people will think twice about littering or burning their trash. Only time will tell. We did the first part of this campaign in a radio spot (have I mentioned I'm on the radio twice a month as of now?). The Olmos girls have a radio program. A couple weeks ago, I issued a challenged to the Olmos girls to write songs about trash using popular music (i.e. raggaeton and Shakira).
Sara Lev, Sara Bulla and I wrote this song to the tune of "Tu Angelito soy yo" entitled "La Basurita de Yo" (the little trash of mine). The song talked about a guy who was eating an ice cream in the park and then threw the trash on the ground when he was done. I sang that song on the radio and it was tough. The song is at a fast pace, but I think it worked out nicely. People said they could understand us clearly. Then my song gets interrupted with a song sung by Sara Bulla and written by the lovely Sara Lev. We took the Waka Waka song from Shakira and Sara Lev made it about caring for the earth and the different ways you should or shouldn't dispose of trash. The "Waka Waka eh eh" was changed to "Lambayeque eh eh". And "this time for Afrika" was changed to "porque es tu pais" (because this is your country). My favorite line was about how you shouldn't burn trash because it will give you cancer "hey oh". Haha. Hilarious. Not the cancer part. The "hey oh" just cracks me up every time.
And Sara Bulla tore it up on the radio as one would expect. Bulla means louds in Spanish, and she had just the right voice and enthusiasm for the job.
I'm still running. I can call myself a six mile runner, hopefully I'm be close to a 9 mile runner tomorrow. I didn't train very hard this week with all the stress...not to mention we found out no one is in charge of planning the marathon. There isn't a volunteer in Pacasmayo anymore. I am pushing for us to put one on in Olmos. Carolyn and Dani want to do the half marathon in Lima scheduled for May. We shall see. I kinda like the idea of doing a marathon just before my 25th birthday. I ain't old yet. And we could maybe even make it an "envirothon". I just learned of this word today.
I had some great moments in my community this month. It is starting to feel like home and I miss it when I'm gone. I've been traveling a lot this month for anniversary celebrations and visits to the capital to get things done...like try to find out if I have a parasite. Only in Peace Corps could the sentence be uttered "oh, I think I'll go drop of my poop and then catch a movie" without anyone batting an eye.
Keep me in your prayers as I make some important decisions this year. Here is a link to the Waka Waka video. This song just makes my day. Hopefully we can make a music video with our environmental, Peru version.
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