VDay Love

Love from the KIDS, that is, hehe.

Today I grabbed 3 of my nearby PCV friends and presented 2 skits/plays in a nearby town. First, we did a skit I wrote up really quickly this weekend about a balanced diet. Perú uses 3 food groups. I pretended to be a news reporter. Using my fake mic made out of toilet paper rolls and a black plastic bag, I interviewed Prima, who pretended to be a nutritionist. Then, we had the audience "feed" Bad Girl and Good Boy. Good Boy grew, felt like he could run a lot and had a shield that warded off the toilet paper roles we threw at him that said "gripe," which is the flu (or a cold). Bad Girl didn´t grow, felt weak, got sick when we threw the toilet paper rolls at her, and even though she ate corn, nothing happened since she didn´t eat a balanced diet. It went pretty well. We improvised a lot, which was fun and made them laugh.

Then we did the handwashing skit, AGAIN. However, I changed roles and was the parasite. I ran around with my snorkeling mask and laundry gloves on. I think everyone laughed more at the fact that it was really foggy with my sweat rather than what I was doing. At least they laughed! And most importantly, I think they learned.

I don´t fool myself into thinking that they´re going to eat well and wash their hands now. Behavior changes take months or years or effort. However, I have to trust that some good came out of it...it lifted all of our spirits and we fulfilled the cultural exchange part of the Peace Corps mission, at least. After we presented our skits to the women, we talked to them about our work as well as what they do. It´s really rewarding to do development work in a community that probably has never had another American work there previously. The regidora (a political appointee, powerful) who organized the event is really interested in getting a youth development volunteer there in the future. No matter what happens, it probably won´t be the last time I work there now that they know I´m 10 minutes away.

All in all, a good date with the kids and mothers. I cherish any chance I get to actually do development work rather than writing official documents! Plus, I got to meet really sweet people from a nearby town while hanging out with really good friends. What more could I ask for?