Some of mine and Other Peoples PICTURES :)

Photo Cred: Amanda M. Right after a Perú win at our favorite hangout!

The most amusing game of musical chairs that ended with bloody knees. 

Photo Credit: Tina Mosteller, Hangin' on the roof in Piura.

Photo Credit: Tina Mosteller, The youthie girls before swearing in.

Peru 17 YD's favorite dinamica- CHICKEN IN THE HENHOUSE

Photo Credit: Britt Nigon, Jeff and I in ANCASH for FBT!

Photo Credit: Britt Nigon, The very beautiful Ancash!

Photo Credit: Tina Mosteller, SITE ASSIGNMENT DAY!

Photo Credit: Tina Mosteller, Katy and I on Site Assignment Day!

Photo Credit: Lindsay Buck, Best Friends finding out SITES! ANCASH AND PIURA!

Photo Credit: Lindsay Buck, SITE DAY GLEE!

First time since 2004 all volunteers made it through training!

My photo: My first Peruvian family. Love 'em.

My very pregnant mom and her gringo children.

Perú has the best Medical Officers! Jorge!

Luis Ly, also known as Law Dog.

Lindsay, the gremlin, tech trainer. Miss you!

Ashley, another Tech Trainer :)

My girl Gato. Swear in day.

My neighbor in El Arenal for the next 2 years!

Basically neighbors, Tamarindo and Talara

Perú 17- PIURA VIDA!

Perú 17 comin' at ya.

Silly Youth Development :) I miss you all.

All of Perú 17. Good luck to all of you :)

Life is truly a ride. We're all strapped in, and no one can stop it. As you make your way from youth to adulthood to maturity, sometimes you put your arms up and scream; sometimes you just hang onto the bar in front of you. But the ride is the thing. I think the most you can hope for at the end of life is that your hair is messed up, you're out of breath, and you didn't throw up. -Jerry Seinfeld 

Until next time,
Ana

Yo soy Ana.

I have been meaning to tell this part of my story for awhile, and I seemed to forget until I just heard someone scream for me. They didn´t call me Brielle or Bri for that matter.


In my sweet and tiny pueblo of Tamarindo I´m the token gringita, but my name is Ana. When I was living in Lima it was really easy for most people to say my name. I had to roll the r for them when I said it, but I ended up thinking it sounded better that way. I was happy that Peruvians were able to say my name because I can see it being difficult to say. 


However, when I arrived in Tamarindo... I realized that Brielle was going to be a stretch for some people. So I began stating my full name to them: Brielle Ann Colby. Most people would attempt the Brielle and then just raise their hands and say ¨no, Ana es mas facil¨. 
So now... yo soy Ana. 


My host mom started screaming Ana and I wouldn´t come to dinner because I thought she was calling for someone else and socios were trying to get my attention and I wouldn´t respond. Then one day it just clicked. A girl from my town screamed ANA!!!!!!!!!! down the street and I turned on the first attempt. 


Living in the campo has been quite the adjustment from my life in the States and my life during training, but poco a poco I´m getting acostumbardo. The campo is a much more slow paced life...but slowly and surely I´m beginning to love it. 


I appreciate the woman down the dirt road who hand makes her own yogurt and makes unbelievable fruit salads. 
I enjoy sitting in the plaza reading my kindle for hours in the sun.
 I´m getting used to the sound of the farm animals in the morning.  
I look forward to hearing more and more people screaming for Ana during  the next two years.


It´s only day 3 in site. Poco a Poco....




Out of respect for things that I was never destined to do, I have learned that my strengths are a result of my weaknesses, my success is due to my failures and my style is directly related to my limitations. - Billy Joel 


Until next time
Brielle

Site Visits, Swearing in, here we go!

First off. Please listen to this song while reading my post. It is a new favorite of mine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zp1TbLFPp8




I´ve decided just to post a blog entry from the municipality in my site because I have no idea when I will be getting on my own computer. So please excuse any typos because I´m on a computer with a really different keyboard. Pictures will be available later. 


Site Visits


I arrived in Piura City, Piura on Sunday and got to meet different Peru 15ers and our regional coordinator. We had a small meeting in the hostel then spent the rest of the day conocering Piura.
The next day was socio communitario day where I finally got to meet my community partners that I will be working with in site. Juan, my socio that works in the muncipality and Mariela, who works in the health post came to get me. We spent the day going over our roles and a work plan. After, I got into a truck and was headed off to my new humble abode. 
I spent the week conocering my new family and the town. I had to make a speech in my municpiality to the alcade (mayor) and a bunch of other towns people. I did an interview wtih the local journalist who was pleased to find out that I also majored in periodismo (journalism) in the states. I got to visit my friend Kelsey´s site and attended her little getting to know you party. I went on a hiking tour with my jovenes and also swam in the river that runs in front of my town. Apparently that is where you go in the summer when you feel like your skin is flying off and you are getting attacked by mosquitos. Can´t wait for summer time in Tamarindo.I visited the port town of Patia and had some awesome food with the mayor and I got to spend some time watching a volleyball game in Kelsey´s town of El Arenal. My site visit was filled with tons of events and by the time we all came back to Piura City we were mentally and physically drained. Thankfully.. Piura City has a Starbucks and a really awesome store with Brownie and Peanut Butter milkshakes. 


Last Week and Swearing IN!


The last week in Lima was one filled with happiness and saddness. I was sad to be leaving my amazing friends and family in Lima, but I was happy to finally become a Peace Corps Volunteer. The last week was filled with last minute surveys, medical charlas and tech training chats. We had our host family party the night before swearing in and it was amazing. Special shout out goes to the three man group of Jon Bibb, Matteo and Zack for their awesome rendition of Baby Got Back and the animal song. I got to spend some time laughing and enjoying food some 17ers prepared with my host family. Bryanna wouldn´t leave my side all night and I knew then it was going to be really hard having to leave her that Saturday morning. 


Friday was awesome. The Ambassador came to swear us in and everyone dressed in their best. All the staff was there and representatives from our host families came. Afterwards everyone took pictures and went back to their families for their last dinner. A bunch of the 17ers had their last night out and said their goodbyes. It was a night filled with laughter and tears for sure. After 10 weeks of training you really do become like one big family... family that talks about their bowel movements a little too often. Shout out to Kyle, one of my site buddies, for his awesome rapping skills and last performance for a few months of Baby Got Back. The song is 17´s new theme song for sure. 


I woke up the next morning dreading having to say goodbye to my family. My host sister took off work to be able to have breakfast with me and see me off. I had my last breakfast with the family and spent the morning talking about how I would come visit at Christmas and that I couldn´t have been more grateful for everything. I really do feel like the Colonia family took me in as one of their own. I told Carmen she would always been mi mama peruana and I left with a new brother and two sisters.. and a little baby sister on the way! Finally, my cab to Lima showed up and it was time to say goodbye. Bryanna, my three old, was blocking the door saying ¨ no te vayas, Brielle¨... and my host mom wouldn´t let me go when she hugged me. I thought leaving my family in the States was going to be the last hard goodbye... I was wrong.I finally got in the car and headed to Lima. I can say one thing about living with my host family during training... I got to experience the amazing patience and love that Peruvians have for their children and for their families. Those ten weeks were unforgettable. 


So, here I am. I´m about 48 hours into living at site in my humble little town of  Tamarindo.
I have 100 guinea pigs, 50 rabbits, 100 birds, 6 pigs, 20 goats a dog and many other different animals. I´m not exaggerating on the numbers. I also have a cow, but I haven´t seen it yet. Im living with my socio that is 25 and his brother. My host mom is older and lives in the house with us, but her husband died many years ago. She wakes up at 5am to work in the chakras farther away from my house and returns around lunch. She is normally alone for dinner.. but now that she has a crazy gringa in the house... I´m able to sit and eat with her most nights. I can´t tell if she loves it or is dealing with it yet.  She is pretty awesome and cracks me up on a regular basis because she thinks I´m crazy. I told her I didn´t like soup and she responded in the typical Peruvian whine that she did not either. TWINS!


My host sisters live in houses in the back of my house with their kids, and one of my host sisters, Rosita... just found out she is 2 months pregnant! So we will be welcoming a new little one into the home next year. My house is semi filled with flies because of the farm animal situation, but I´m coping. I now have a roof and a secure door, which means I´m finally sleeping through the night. We only have running water in the morning, so if I want to shower in the afternoon I have to do it with a bucket. Luckily, I became pro at bucket bathing in Lima because we barely ever had running water. The heat is out of control and it´s only winter... apparently when December comes I´m going to love cold showers. I´m also going to be covered in bug repellent because of the rice field around me. Can´t wait to be eaten alive. 


  I´m experiencing those extremely high highs and low lows that most PCV´s talk about. It´s finally sinking in that I will be living here for 2 years. In the next two weeks I´ll be painting my room with my jovenes and buying a rug and dresser for my room to make it feel more homey. This week is the anniversary of Tamarindo so there are events going. I´ve already witness a pageant where one of my jovenes won Queen of Tamarindo... it was interesting to say the least. I watched kids take a test in a park for 3 hours... I´m not exaggerating. La Hora Peruana is in full swing here. I watched the mayor perform three weddings yesterday. And today I spent some time in the health post with my socio and later will be watching the first round of volleyball games. We have a huge baile (dance) on Friday and a day long fiesta on Sunday. 


I will be returning to the regional capital for our meeting on the 2nd and 3rd where I´ll get to decompress with other PCV´s and see my beloved 17er´s! Peace Corps life has finally begun. Here´s to the next 2 years in the blistering sun :) Bring on the cold showers. 




Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength. 


Until Next TIME!
please check out my new address on the side of this page. start sending your goodies... maybe some bug repellent and baked lays chips. 


-Brielle

new address!

really sorry i´ve not been able to update on here. my computer charger is no longer functional... so until i get one mailed to me, this won´t be updated. i will update all my blog posts at once when i can turn my computer on. however on a better note... i got my new address. im alive at site. the anniversary of tamarindo is on sunday. huge fiesta! miss everyone so much! 

Brielle Colby, Cuerpo de Paz

AP Postal, 823

Piura, Perú

PIURA VIDA

I will be spending the next two years of my life in  Tamarindo, Piura-Peru. (Look near the coast of Piura.. above La Huaca)

This was probably one of the coolest days of training we have had so far. The day started off with 3 hours of language training- where basically everyone wasn't paying attention because we knew our fates would be decided later that day. Business and Youth were brought together in Santa Eulalia for the day- and around 1pm the fun began.

The great tech trainer- Lindsay- made a great scavenger hunt for us to find out our sites. At the end of it all I found out I ended up exactly where I wanted- Piura, Peru! It is in the North of Peru (where it's always hot) and it borders Ecuador. It also borders the other regions of Tumbes, Lambayeque and Cajamarca.

Tamarindo is a site VERY close to the beach and has about 3,000 people in it. I am about 1 hour and 30 minutes from the regional capital (that contains a Starbucks, and about 20 minutes walking distance from another Peru 17er, Kelsey, and a little farther away from another Peru 17er named Kyle. I will have an opportunity to work with special education students, which I'm really excited about. 

My host family has a mom, dad and 2 sisters: one that is 23 and one that is 14. I can't wait to meet them! I will be visiting my site on Sunday for the week. I'll be meeting my socios (counterparts that helps volunteers with their projects) and hanging out with the host family. 

After all of Peru 17 found out where they would be living for the next two years- we went to an amazing Italian dinner together. It was nice to have the Business and Youthies celebrate such an important day of training. 

The slogan for Piura is "Piura Vida" and I've only heard great things: one being that it is SUPER HOT all the time. :)I'm also really close to a tourist beach called Mancora- where I'll be spending my birthday in March!

I've been thinking a lot lately about taking chances. And how it's really just about overcoming your fears. Because the truth is, every time you take a big risk in your life, no matter how it ends up, you're always glad you took it. -Scrubs

-Brielle

The Baby Goat I Had for 2 Days...

Rest in Peace

This is how I know I'm starting to really get my sea legs in Peru. I woke up one morning, opened my door that leads in to the kitchen, and found this creature walking around. My host family was going about their normal business... like it was completely normal to have a goat just out the womb walking around the house. I proceeded to get dressed and eat breakfast; also acting like this is completely normal because I'm no longer suprised to wake up to new animals. We got rid of all the ducks and accumulated 2 new bunnies along with the baby goat. 

I brought the goat on skype for my parents and for my friend Amanda back home. Amanda made it clear to me that it is not normal to be holding a baby goat in my bedroom on Skype. Really? That's not normal? Who knew? 

I went about enjoying my 2 days off for Fiestas Patrias (Peru independence day and the swear in of the new president Ollanta). A day later... I walked up to the roof to find the baby goat gasping for air in the heat. I asked my mom what was wrong and she very blatantly said "oh it's dying". Oh, ok. I'm just going to sit here and watch this animal die. I'm not quite sure why it died... but I'm sure it has something to do with maybe a new goat shouldn't be living on the roof of a house in Peru. Just a thought. As you can tell, I didn't mention the name of this goat. It started out as Lucas and a few hours later it changed to a girl name. But whatever the name. RIP little goat.

Anyways. On a happier note... I FIND OUT WHERE I'M GOING TO BE LIVING AND WORK FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS IN 2 DAYS. Wednesday is a big day here in Santa Eulalia and I can't wait to share the news with all of you. This weekend I will be traveling to my site to visit it for a week. After site visits, we have a week before swearing in! Training is literally flying.

Stuff your eyes with wonder, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories. Ask no guarantees, ask for no security, there never was such an animal. And if there were, it would be related to the great sloth which hangs upside down in a tree all day every day, sleeping its life away. To hell with that. Shake the tree and knock the great sloth down on his ass. - Fahrenheit 451

-Brielle