pigeons = brain food

Yesterday I walked home from school to a situation I wasn´t expecting. I was about to put my backpack down in my room (which is pink and accented with Barbie themed curtains) when my mom beckoned me to the kitchen table. All I saw was a carboard box. "Mira! Mira! Abrelo!" (look! look! open it!) Apprehensively yet curiously, I opened the box to find two pigeons hanging out inside. "Bonita!" I said, "Where did you get these"? The response was that the neighbors had caught them on their roof that morning and gave them to my family as a gift. "But we already have Pilli (who LOVES his bed and won´t leave it by the way)! Why do we need more pets!?" How naive could I be? My sister then informed my oblivious self that the pigeons in fact, were not for pleasure purposes, they were BRAIN FOOD FOR MY LITTLE BROTHER! Nonchalantly, my mom continued that pigeons are rumored to increase the size of a child´s brain and make them smarter, so little brother Jeremy was getting pigeon soup for lunch the next day. My grandmother was planning on giving them the ax outside (which is where my bedroom is) that night. I almost convulsed in sheer terror for the poor little guys. Then of course, I was served a chicken leg for dinner and had to eat it sitting next to Jeremy´s soon to be, yet still living, lunch. Things can not get worse than that. I hope.

Today I thought would hopefully be a new, peaceful, pigeon-free day. Of course, that was not the case. I had my first run-in with the revenge of Montezuma. While my sickness only lasted a few hours, I can tell you that it has had a lasting effect on my memory. No more papaya juice for a few days because all it reminds me of now the fire I harbored in my stomach this morning.

The Peace Corps Theme of the Week is Community Diagnostics. Our project surrounding that was to go around our neighborhood communities and ask random people their thoughts / opinions about the strengths, weaknesses, threats of their community as well as the health, political, economical, education and religious situations they encounter in their day to day lives. My six friends and I broke up into groups this afternoon and prowled around (like Jehovah´s witnesses or anyone that knocks on doors in a neighborhood and is maybe a little bit annoying) and asked questions regarding these topics to anyone that was willing to answer them. We all just got a crash course in the happenings around here. We learned that none of the water is chlorinated, mudslides can be a problem during the rainy season, I live next door to a government- funded soup kitchen and school, and the kids here love Michael Jackson. It was pretty cool hearing what people´s opinions were about their President (Alan Garcia), their medical care/health insurance (if they had any), and their views on education for men, women and children. Tomorrow we will present our findings!

Tomorrow I am also venturing into Lima for the first time with my spanish class. I´m pretty pumped and I will let you all know how it goes! And for Uncle Benny, Uncle Joe, Aidan, Andrew, Maggie, Dutchie, Daddy Lew and Mom and Dad... THANK YOU FOR YOUR CARDS, CD, AND PEANUT BUTTER!!!! I was the happiest girl in Chaclacayo when I got my package and card today. Keep ém coming!