The Tall White Chick

WARNING: This may not be the most entertaining post, but it will give you a good idea of what I've been working on. I have to get up to date, so here it goes...

So yes, I am the tall white chick that people whisper about here. I've heard it a couple times. Not only do I stick out because I'm white, but also because I'm tall; much taller than Peruvians. Piura is not touristy at all so it is very rare to see white people walking around. People whistle and blow kisses at the girls in our group all the time. A man last week even asked if he could take a picture with me (after we watched his kids brake dancing in the street). He proceeded to point to the sky referencing to the fact that I was super tall. It just makes me laugh. At least I can make people happy, right? That's what I'm here for.

So I've been here for almost 2 weeks now and it blows my mind! We have done so much already which is why it has taken me so long to blog...no time! I've been trying to keep a journal, but let's be honest, there has never actually been a time in my life where I was consistent with a journal, and we all know I'm not going to be able to keep up with that AND a blog so I chose the blog as my first priority since they are pretty much the same thing but more fun. 

We're getting settled in all of our projects. Some of them haven't started yet, and some are still trying to get off the ground, but we've definitely made some progress. Here's what we have already done:

• We partnered up with the Liahona Foundation and held Health Screenings in Catacaos, Sechura, la Unión, and Castilla for local kids under the age of 5 and pregnant women. We will be doing this again either this weekend or next weekend in Ecuador! Boom. Add that to the list of places I've been! The Liahona Foundation is working to get an assistant in each of these areas to provide health plans for the kids and women as well as do follow ups with each family every so often to make sure they are staying healthy.
• We worked with the Red Cross and held a Health Clinic down the street from where we live. At the health clinic we did physical therapy, and taught the locals about Dengue Fever, which comes from mosquitos and is very prevalent in the area. Some of the adults were actually frustrated that the government hadn't told them anything about it, only tested them, so they were very grateful that we were willing to help their community and advise them about the dangers of this disease. 
• We have started teaching English, Piano, and Zumba at an LDS Stake Building nearby! We weren't exactly sure what to expect attendance wise the first couple classes, but to our surprise, attendance has been awesome! We do this every T/Th evening. I have really enjoyed teaching so far because it forces me to practice my Spanish more. The student are super fast learners and are so excited to work with us!

We've got some amazing things going on so far, and many more new projects starting this week! I'm loving it here and look forward to the next 2 1/2 months. Days have been flying by! Here's my review in photos:

The English Institution where we will be helping at starting in June.
(separate from the classes in the church)

These kids live in a small pueblo called Noe which is basically in the middle of
nowhere. They never see white people and some even cried when they saw us.

In awe of Cecilia's cell phone.

El  Parque Ecológico de la Urbanización

Red Cross Health Clinic

Isn't he adorable?? One of the boys at the Health Screenings with the
Liahona Foundation in Sechura.

Weekend dancing crew.

A small restaurant/house where we ate after purchasing pottery in Chulucanas.

Something I love about Peru is that each city we've been to is extremely different even though they are relatively close to each other. So here are some of my favorite photos solely to show to beauty of Peru:

Not a great photo but this is the street we live on.

On the drive to Chulucanas.

A beach near Paita.

This is a common sight in a lot of places we've been to.

Paita, a great spot for fishing!

Found a lucky seahorse on the beach! Apparently people search their whole lives
for these because they bring you the best luck.

As always, if you would like to donate towards the projects we are currently working on, it is much appreciated! The people here are extremely appreciative towards our efforts to help them and I can promise your donation is going to good use! Click Here and make sure you select "Support a Volunteer or Intern" and put "Zoe Theobald" in the memo line like the photo below! 

If you prefer not to donate online, you can also mail in a check to the following address and make sure you designate it as well or else donations will be sent to other locations:

455 North University Parkway

Provo, Utah 84606

Chao!

Estoy aquí!

Well, its crazy to say, but I am FINALLY here. I've been planning this trip for months and can now say that I live in Piura, Peru! It's been quite an adventure already. I flew out of Phoenix because I spent a week there with my family. I had a layover in Dallas, and then Lima, and now I'm here in Piura. On the flight from Lima to Piura, we had to walk up a thing of stairs from outside like they do in the movies. I don't know why I thought that was cool because I guess people do it all the time, but I liked it! The flight to Peru gave me plenty of time to think about everything that was about to hit me. I didn't sign up with anyone I knew because I wanted it to be an adventure of my own, similar to when people serve missions. I know this is going to be a huge learning experience for me. When I lived in Hawaii, I learned a lot about myself and my personality. I learned about culture, found new hobbies, and made goals for myself. I hope to come to similar realizations while I'm here in Peru, that will expand my knowledge of the world, and open up more opportunities for me later in life. I have met a lot of amazing people already that I know are going to challenge me in a good way. I'm looking forward to learning the language better. It's hard to not be able to say what I want, whenever I want! 

We are living in a house owned by Mary and Pedro. They have 4 young boys that I have already fallen in love with. They are hilarious and are going to teach me some of their sweet dance moves. I stole this picture of their family from my director Angela.

One hard thing about being here is knowing when it's ok to whip out a camera and when it's totally not. My mind just see's things like it's a photograph and there have been so many times that I wanted to stop and take a photo, but I don't want anything bad to happen! I did put myself on a limb today and walked around with some friends to take a few photos. I probably make it sound like a super sketchy place, but its not. We just have to be careful because we already are a target because they think we are rich white people. Little do they know I'm just a broke college student. I like taking photos of people. Im not very good at composition of landscape, so here is one I took today! -->

Once I nail the language down, things will become much easier. I understand most things people say, which is an awesome feeling, but I cant keep up and speak just as fast yet! I've realized that Spanish has opened up a whole other world for me. There is so much for me to learn, and so much more I can do for these people because I speak their language.

Yesterday we met with some people around town that have projects for us to do once everyone is here. I'm excited to get started on them! After meeting with several people, we had lunch with the home owners. Mary made us aguacate relleno con camarones, which is shrimp stuffed avocados. It was so good! Last night we stopped by the YSA stake center here and said hi to some people and then went to dinner with Mary and Pedro. When we got back, we played soccer with the little boys and some of the neighbors for an hour or two. I can definitely get used to that. I haven't played in a while but I love soccer and want to get back into it. I would not mind playing street soccer every night! Today has been chill too because some of the people in our group are still arriving. We walked around a lot and stopped by some markets. I'm beginning to get a good idea of the lifestyle here. The people don't have very much but are happy and very lively. There are people and moto taxi's everywhere you look. Its fun to cruise around because there are literally no traffic rules, but somehow theres a pattern that everyone follows because amongst all the craziness, all the drivers know what their doing.

I've only been here 2 days and I feel like I've already been through half of the clothes I brought...probably because I kind of have. The next three months will be something I will never forget! Im excited to get to know the people and the language more. Next month we are spending a couple days in Trujillo, a couple days in Lima, and 6 days in Cusco to see Machu Picchu!

As always, if you would like to donate towards the projects we will be doing, click here and make sure you select "Support a Volunteer or Intern" and put "Zoe Theobald" in the memo line like the photo below! I will post more updates on projects soon so you know what it's going towards!

If you prefer not to donate online, you can also mail in a check to the following address and make sure you designate it as well:

455 North University Parkway
Provo, Utah 84606

Muchas gracias! Adiós!

10

It's hard to believe that I will be leaving for Peru in 10 DAYS. 

I want to thank those that have contributed towards the programs I will be working on this summer! Thank you for being supportive in my journey. I literally would not be able to do this without you all! When I started seeing all the donations come in under my name, it was such a humbling experience. There are so many good people in this world and I hope that one day I can be as generous as you all have been.  

Thank you to the following:

Kelly Jennings

Steve and Joni Smit

Tom and Katie Kauffman

Russ and Melody Berg

Kirk and Toby Guthrie

Carlos and Kathleen Rojas

Ed and Laura Packard

Geoffrey and Susan Waldrom

Ernie and Gina Baird

Ben and Meg Tahyar
Ryan and Katie Millar

Thank you again! I hope to continue adding names to this list, but I wanted to make sure these people were recognized!