What a lovely little change of events.
Today was empowering.
I woke up with my host sister in the kitchen preparing omelets (known here as 'tortillas'). Delicious! We were interrupted by 3 little ladies pounding on the door (10 minutes EARLY- unheard of in Peru culture). Our youth group had their trash bags and were ready to go pick up trash in the neighborhood before the 'basurero' - 'trashcollector' came. When they saw I was still eating they insisted I relax and finish my food, they would collect the other neighborhood girls for me. They returned promptly in 10 minutes with the rest of the crew. My counterparts and I announced the rules (no touching glass and such), and explained the competition: The girls had 15 minutes to fill their trash bag, and the person with the most full bag at the end won a prize. The girls could not contain their excitement. We had to hold them back and count down from three... they were off, literally running and laughing. I couldn't believe it. It reminded me of a youth group event I had with St. Marks a good 10 years ago. On a ski trip, we paid our lodging in a church by cleaning out expired cans of food for recycling. It was disgusting, and we laughed every minute. I know I will never forget that night. How long will these girls remember today? We encountered the trashcollector and he promised he wouldn't leave the neighborhood without collecting our bags (there is no where to put trash if you don't give it directly to the trashcollector or put it in the container in your kitchen), so this was a relief. The girls filled their bags quickly and emptied them into the dumptruck. The trash collector said he had 10 more minutes worth of pick-ups to do, and the girls were still so full of energy they wanted a second round. 3...2...1... they were off, and I have to say they collected twice as much the second time, and they all won a sweet little dessert in the end.
Through the past week I have been doing some snooping. There are a lot of street dogs, but they are all male. I have not yet figured out why there are no female street dogs. Perhaps Peruvians are more likely to keep females as pets, or they just don't survive on the street due to the rapings.
Anyways, there is one family that decided they don't want a dog anymore. They put a sweet little 2-3 year old black spaniel looking mix on the street. Being so young and inexperienced she started losing weight immediately, and fighting the dogs that wanted to inseminate her, leaving here very wounded and more and more sick by the week. Every time I see her it breaks my heart. Sometimes so hungry she can't walk, other times bloody and dirty. What can I do? The house I live in is not mine to offer, nor do I have connections or funding enough here to take her to a vet. I saw the dog again today, her nose and eyes almost completely caked shut with snot and dirt, she recognized my voice and struggled to come to me. She wouldn't take water or food. Today was the day I had had enough. I started talking around. My house mom told me Marino's family dog is old and they might want a new dog. I went to their house and they said they can't afford a sick dog, but told me the daughter of one of the bodega owners is a veterinarian. I know the niece of this young woman is in my youth group. So I went over to her house and explained everything to my little Julisa. She got her aunt to come outside and talk to me. Sylvia is her name, and with her huge heart she explained to me that she had seen this dog in the street and had tended to her wounds a couple weeks ago, and last week saw that she was having trouble breathing and gave her antibiotics out of her own pocket. The dog had followed me to her house today, and one look at this dogs pitiful little face sent her into the house for supplies, no questions asked.
I took to washing the sweet dogs nose, eyes, and ears while Sylvia tended to 3 injections, an oral antibiotic, and flea/tick prevention application. This took us a good hour, so we chatted away. She is an AMAZING young woman. Probably the most educated person I have met in the neighborhood, and so kind. She explained to me what the dog needs in the week to come, and we split the duty. She cannot take the dog in as she has pets, nor can I, but we both are on the lookout. She would not accept money from me to pay for the medications, so I offered her a language exchange. The dog ate and drank after we cleaned her up, and the language exchange is scheduled for Monday night. How beautiful this happenstance!
When I got home my host parents had packed a picnic lunch! We put on our swimsuits and sun dresses and headed to a private club about 45 minutes outside town.
***club photo*** The club is owned by the government and is for military families. This relaxation I received was what the doctor prescribed. I put on my house mom's big floppy sun hat and stuck my nose in a book. It was such a nice day for everyone. Today, I consider myself integrated. When my house mom laid her head on my lap and asked me to put sunscreen on her face for her, I took that as a representation of our comfort level with each other. acculturation: check.
We have returned home for 'lonche' -'light dinner' and I think we are going over to the neighbors for dessert later.
feelings of refreshment and exuberation will roll me into tomorrow
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