So I have now been in Peru for 10 days, and in Trujillo for exactly a week, and I have so much to write about that I don't know where to begin! Let me start with a few thoughts on how I want to approach the next six months.
First of all, I know from studying abroad in college (in Florence, Italy) that many Americans can spend significant time abroad and learn almost no language, make no local friends and absorb almost no culture. It's not so easy to fit in as a foreigner, especially if you have an American community to "fall back" on, as I have here (4 families and 12 interns, all of them really great smart idealistic people by the way).
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a pastor in Berkeley, CA who said one should always live as if one is going to spend the rest of their life in a place, even if it's only for a few months. Then you will take the time to invest in relationships, learn as much as you can about it, and basically spend your time in a meaningful way. So one of my goals is basically to approach my time abroad as if I were an immigrant to Peru. Less like an aid worker and more like a citizen - someone who has chosen to live here because I enjoy and care about the country and its people (fortunately not hard to do, once you get past the outward problems and inconveniences of living here. Yes the traffic, pollution, microbes and other dangers take quite a bit of getting used to, but the landscapes are gorgeous, the food is great, the people incredibly warm. And this being my fourth trip here, I should be used to some of those inconveniences by now!)
Which leads me to another related piece of advice, which I got this Friday from Burt Elliot (best known as the brother of Jim Elliot of "End of the Spear" fame) and his wife, who have been missionaries in Peru for nearly 60 years. (Note: they are not part of the mission I am with, but I got to meet them at a lunch I was invited to. An inspiring way to start my time in Peru!) ie, Do not constantly compare your new country with your old. Accept it as is, learn from and adapt to it instead of finding fault with everything. Aside from getting rid of superiority, it makes for a much happier stay abroad.
Another important piece of advice, from many sources including the recent book "The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good" (by former World Bank-er and NYU professor William Easterly) is, do not go abroad with a Grand Plan of how you will Save The World. Instead, do your homework - find out what the real problems are, what people think about them, what works and doesn't work. Then, be entrepreneurial in finding solutions to problems. I think I basically aspire to be a social entrepreneur. :-)
And finally, at the very least I hope to follow the timeless advice, "First do no harm." Of course, everyone is ethnocentric and a jerk on some level, so I will probably fail at all of the above at some point during the next six months. Good thing our faith requires that we give each other grace.
Pictures from my first week:
colonial style balconies in Lima
chicharron de mariscos - fried seafood
The Elliots (center), a teacher at a school they founded (left), and me (right).
