My site!

Hi guys. Sorry that I haven’t written in awhile. Two weeks ago I finally got to go to the place where I’ll be spending the next two years. My site is Malval, Tumbes, and it’s going to be a great time.

Tumbes is the smallest department in Peru, and also the farthest North on the coast. We joke that it’s really Peace Corps Ecuador, but apparently we should be careful about that because much of Tumbes was once disputed territory, and it’s still a sore subject. I found that out the hard way when I asked my host dad, “Tumbes was part of Ecuador until the 1940s- right?” He gave me an impassioned lecture about how Tumbes has always been part of Peru, but the Ecuadorans didn’t think so and so we had to have a war to sort it out, but it had ALWAYS been part of Peru. Okay, okay.

Tumbes is famous for its beaches and its seafood. Are you feeling sorry for me yet? Just during the five or so days I was in Tumbes I had amazing ceviche twice, shrimp chowder, a shrimp aji curry, some sort of white fish, and fried seafood. The main jobs in Tumbes are fishing and growing rice, bananas, and mangoes. Right now is the beginning of mango season, so you can think of me gorging on mangoes too once I get back to site.

Malval is a community of 1200 people about 20 minutes south-east of Tumbes the city. (The capital of Tumbes is Tumbes). I will be working with the health post there, which serves Malval and the surrounding casarillos, for a total of 4000 people. Malval is also about 20 minutes from the beach. It’s about 1.5 hours from Mancora, which is one of the most famous beaches in Peru.

I got a great reception from the health post staff in Malval. They all seem very nice and motivated to work, and they seem excited to work with me for the next two years. Unfortunately, my host family was not there during my site visit, so although I’ve been to my house, I still don’t know my family.

Tumbes is very hot and tropical. My site is flat and hot. Did I mention that it’s hot? That’s pretty much what I know so far. Obviously I will gather more and more information as I live there for two years. I’ll keep you updated.