When I Grow Up Project--DONATE!

The "When I Grow Up Project" is officially up and running! Well, half way there--working on setting up an an account in Colombia/with my high school so that Colombians can donate (in the end, this is maybe the most important aspect). The ultimate goal is to get more low-income students to attend and graduate from university. I believe 100% in this project. 

I work at Soledad Roman de Nunez, a large, public high school in Cartagena, Colombia. Most of my students come from the lowest socio-economic conditions of extreme poverty. However, despite challenges and temptations (gangs, racism, displacement, malnutrition, violence, and a struggling school system, among others), there are students who rise above these circumstances. They define “inspirational”. Highly intelligent and driven, they will excel in higher education. They want to attend university, not just for personal profit, but also to help their families and communities, confronting issues that they understand and are empowered to change. However, regardless of overcoming so much, many capable students do not even apply to university because the entrance exam fee alone is too expensive. Furthermore, if they do enroll, many will not be able to pay for transportation, new clothes, or lunch in order to save money for school supplies and tuition. In the end, lack of money is what stops them from reaching their "When I Grow Up" dreams, nothing else. The cycle of poverty endures. 

After months of designing the project with teachers, social workers, and university professors, we have partnered with NBC Children's Fund, an NGO started by a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Carolyn Carpenter.

Together, we hope to give these children the opportunity they deserve and to stop the cycle of poverty by funding the following:

1. To offer a preparatory course to help students pass the University of Cartagena entrance exam. (Cost per student: $20)

2. To cover the cost of the entrance exam fee for those students who pass the preparatory course described above. (Cost per student: $50).

3. To finance 75% of the first year’s tuition at the University of Cartagena. (Cost per student: $500).

To donate:
1. Visit NBC Children’s Fund’s website and donate via pal-pal.
http://nbcchildrensfund.org

2. Send a check to NBC Children’s Fund, specifying the “When I Grow Up Project”, to the following address (therefore 3% of donations will not be lost to credit cardcompanies):

NBC Children’s Fund
211 Roslindale Ave. #2
Boston, MA 02131

The goal of the project is to have 20-25 students from my school take the preparatory course and apply to the University of Cartagena in addition to financing 75% of the first year’s tuition for 2-4 students. Only students from the lowest socio-economic classes are eligible. At least 50% of participants will be female and 20% of Afro-Colombian descent.

If sufficient funds are raised and the goals described above are met, additional public high schools in Cartagena where a Peace Corps volunteer is present may also receive funding, therefore incorporating additional students and making an impact throughout the city.

Finally, the “When I Grow Up Project” and all its donations are in honor of my mom, Joan Kuntz. Passion, altruism and determination are traits possessed by Joan and many students at Soledad Roman de Nunez. People with these qualities have the potential for positive impact, whatever their nationality, socio-economic status or culture. Joan exemplifies that taking the risk to be the change she wishes to see in the world can make all the difference in one’s own life and that of others. She embodies the importance of education and, like many students at Soledad Roman de Nunez, is an inspiration to her family, friends, colleagues, and students.

Make sure to check out our video on the NBC Children’s Fund website or on youtube:

http://nbcchildrensfund.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6zkTkr1hlg&feature=youtu.be 

*Make sure to click CC for English subtitles*

Also, if you have facebook, like and join our cause:

http://www.causes.com/causes/808401-when-i-grow-up-project?fb_action_ids=696277053218&fb_action_types=causes:recruit&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map={%22696277053218%22:461230690607258}&action_type_map={%22696277053218%22:%22causes:recruit%22}&action_ref_map=[]

The holiday season in particular is a time to realize how fortunate we are and to give back. Want to give a gift that can truly change a life?—Please donate to the “When I Grow Up Project” and share it with other family and friends.

SPA Grant Proposal Approved!

SPA, or Small Project Assistance, is a grant available to Peace Corps volunteers. Seems pretty simple: come up with an awesome, sustainable project that addresses a community needs, gain community support, write up a grant, present the proposal, and waaala… money in da bank. What’s not to love…?

Well, I tell ya. 

Seventeen pages of Spanish essays and graphs, countless drafts, trying (fairly unsuccessfully) to get people at my school to help me write it, a presentation in front of PC Colombia staff, re-writing essays in English, getting a new bank account, and on and on and on… it wasn’t so simple. Furthermore, being the “guiney-pig” is never easy and as the first volunteer to apply for and receive a SPA grant in Colombia since the program reopened, it has been a learning process for the office staff as well as me, note the extra re-writes/corrections and last minute details or trips to Barranquilla.

But, needless to say, it is FINISHED! Kaput! Chicas Lideres INEDSORistas, a girls empowerment and leadership project in my school/neighborhood, has been going on since May, 2012, but it is about to get a new makeover with the couple thousand dollars we now have thanks to the SPA grant and community contribution. I couldn't be more pumped about the need and potential for a program like this! 

We plan to start next school year, so end of January 2013 with 20-25 girls from 10^th and 11^th grade (the oldest students). We will continue learning about topics regarding sexual, emotional, and physical health every week for two hours. Now, in addition, we will be bring in professionals to talk to the girls about their jobs, thus hopefully opening the girls' minds to career possibilities other than what they know: selling phone minutes on the street, making empanadas, or unemployment, for example. Furthermore, we will bring them to universities and help them to understand the application process and eventually to apply. Finally, the girls will analyze their school and neighborhood’s’ needs and, with our help, design community service projects that they will later and carry-out in the school and outside in their neighborhoods.

On a final note: to end this school year, the girls presented to all of 10^th grade (about 230 students) about HIV/AIDS prevention. It takes guts to put a condom on a dildo in front of all of your classmates, and they did it, not only with confidence, but correctly! I’m so proud. Amazing girls.  

Cartagena Carnival: Disorder. Debauchery. Dancing.

November 11^th is Cartagena’s Independence Day. But why celebrate for one day when you could for two weeks?

Beauty pageants are one of Cartagena's most infamous events. There are two. The"Reyna Nacional" includes ladies from around Colombia, usually from very affluent families, and the winner continues onto the Miss Universe pageant. The second is the "Reyna Popular," where ladies from Cartagena's various neighborhoods and socio-economic strata compete. Gorgeous people takin’ over!

I think that pictures describe my experience best. I, however, managed to take zero photos, naturally. Photo credit: Random neighbors, Kristy Ellis, Samantha Merkle

In October, as queens were selected for the "Reyna Popular" pageant, neighborhoods threw massive parties with hundreds of people, concerts, fireworks, and drinks.

So, for Halloween Nicole and I represented winners from our respective neighborhoods: Miss Los Calamares and Miss Escallon Villa. We borrowed a neighbor's dresses, found crowns and fake eyelashes, made sashes... and BAM!--after caking on some make-up and molding some fake boobs and badonkadunks, the resemblance was uncanny. Needless to say, I received more cat-calls that night than any prior thanks to the 15-odd tshirts I shoved into the back of my shorts.

Yes, we did consider "political correctness"; however, all fears were put to rest when the host family/neighbors thought it was hysterical. 

We also celebrated Halloween in several of my classes, although I opted to not come as Senorita Escallon Villa. One can only do so much cultural integration at a time...

Classes were out the week of Carnival (November 2-12). In the days prior students came to school, but classes were replaced by pre-carnival celebrations.  

Teachers in Colombia colors

Carnival season begins at school

For the "Reyna Nacional" pageant, events were underway the entire week.

There were parades

Getting interviewed on TV with my partner in crime for the week, Kristy. Check out her Cartagena tourism website: ticartagena.com. It's fantastic! Needless to say, Kristy knows everyone and everything about the city and let me tag along as her +1 to some pretty awesome gigs. 

Fancy dinners

Nightlife and dancing

Sammy came all the way from Santa Marta to celebrate my birthday/carnival! 

Costumes galore

Fireworks, foam and water being thrown AT people (seriously scary--I do not like this aspect of Cartagena's carnival). In my neighborhood this also included urine, paint, and bags of water. Gross.

And finally... turning 25! 

I spent the day at my house with Colombian and ex-pat friends and family...ate some food, plowed our way through 3 cakes, drank some beers, and watched a parade pass by. That night we went out of dinner, avoided "busca-pies" or the firecrackers that explode at people's feet as we meandered our way through crowded streets, and eventually ended up at a salsa bar. 

The cake Lila, a teacher from school, brought over

Some of the family/neighbors

Three US friends and Edith, one of my Colombian grandmas... welcome to my world

In all: great people, great times. I caught myself laughing as the Peace Corps, jungle, hut-dweller image I initially envisioned faded as I took another bite of shrimp and looked out from the rooftop onto the beauty pageant parade below. However, writing this from the comfort of my little neighborhood, I can say it's good to be back. As crazy and disorganized as my Peace Corps lifestyle is, Cartagena's carnival just raised the bar. It's all about getting a new perspective anyways, right?

A Cartagenian Funeral

Jairo, a very close friend, lost his brother Jorge this week. It was a confusing and terrible loss. Jorge was a adored, happy and considerate man. Jairo has, yet again, has astounded me with his selflessness, always prioritizing others' needs first.

This is my second funeral since arriving in Cartagena, although I am closer with this family. How a community deals with death is indicative of its culture, Colombia as no exception. The Colombian strong sense of community and interpersonal reliance has been particularly noticeable this week.

The day he died, the vigil was in a “funeralia”, or building where families rent one of 16 rooms. While in the US this usually happens at home or at a small funeral house with only the close family and friends, hundreds of people came throughout the day to be with the family and cried openly in front of strangers. The following day was the funeral service at the cemetery, which was overall pretty similar. After the funeral, the family continues to morn for seven days. Of course in the US people visit with the family, call, send cards and flowers, and cook dinners, among other gestures; however, we also give the grieving family space and don't “bother” them too much. On the contrary, people here continue to call every day and the house is full with guests.

Differences in "family life" also create contrasts in how people deal with death. In Cartagena, families are large, and all members live in the same city, if not in the same house or right next door. People spend time with their parents, siblings, nephews/neces, children, aunts/uncles, and grandparents daily; few have to fly or drive in from other locations. Dealing with death during and after the nine day morning period together seems only natural. 

Celebrating ONE YEAR!

That’s right, folks... 365 days of pure Colombian living. Read it and weep. 

Volunteers reunite! The first 2-year Peace Corps group in Colombia since 1981, I am so fortunate to be a part of such a diverse, supportive, intelligent, and fun mix of people! Volunteers from near and far joined us Cartageneros on our home-turf to celebrate the occasion!

ONE YEAR!

 Mike's family friends hooked us up with their too-good-to-be-true apartment in the middle of Cartagena, complete with rooftop pool and all. Love me my "posh corps" moments!

To start out the week, some of us visited near-by Palenque, the first, free, ex-slave colony in the New World, founded some 400 years ago. Today, Palenque still maintains its own language (a creole mix of various African languages, Portuguese, Spanish...), its own religious beliefs (mixture of Christianity and African religions), traditional herbal medicines, its own social organization (no need for police, for example), and music/instruments brought over from Africa. The feat of creating and defending a tiny colony against the Spanish army and slave owners is inspiring. Seeing the preservation and pride of their African heritage is equally incredible. 

Pelenquero language

I may still be abroad, but my previous year in Turkey couldn't contrast my new-found Costeno ways more. I no longer teach at school with a plethora of resources and to students from the wealthiest families. Instead, my classrooms now often lack desks not to mention textbooks and free photocopies, and my students come from some cases of extreme poverty. What was once Allah is now the Virgin Mary. Pleated khakis and conservative turtlenecks have been replaced by see-through spandex and cleavage. I live with three grandmothers. Whereas I traveled to 16 countries the year before, I have not left Colombia once. Another stark difference: travel costs are not well sustained on my new-found volunteer salary. I got everything I wanted to out of Turkey: met amazing people, gained professional experience and traveled immensely. But now, finally back in Latin America, I’m getting those cloud 9/”life high” feelings, smiling to myself randomly on a crowded bus because I realize how awesome my life is 

I love this place. 

My job is to create as much positive change as I can. Pretty awesome. I interact with genuine people, dance with my neighbors, speak Spanish, and completely make my own schedule. Feeling frustrated is a daily occurrence: waiting for 3 hours to do a 30 lesson plan, sleeping without a fan in 100 degrees temperatures because the power is out yet again, trying to teach students who don't come to school with a pencil or notebook, or having a five day work week never, ever, ever happen. But, at the end of the day, I feel energized and motivated by a job that challenges me and where I am my own boss rather than going through the motions, waiting for the next weekend or vacation. 

Yes, excitement abounds at the thought of being home over Christmas break (CAN’T FREAKING WAIT!!) and seeing people I love and miss immensely. As much as I try to remind myself that I have the rest of my life to “settle down”, to have a family, to be responsible for other people, and to not eat rice for the seventh time this week, being away from loved ones is undoubtedly the hardest part and my lows here have always been centered on feeling isolated (remind me again, why the hell did I move away from everything familiar and comfortable?).

I'll be home for Christmas! 

(And snow... haven't experienced temperatures below 80 degrees in over a year)

To end on, I have been able to read so much since I arrived in Colombia. Life is good. Here are some that I can remember...

 “The Power of One” by Bryce Courtenay

“The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” by Alexander McCall Smith

“The Unbearable Lightness of Being” by Milan Kundera

“Little Bee” by Chris Cleave

“The World According to Garp” by John Irving

“Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal” by J.K. Rowling

“Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World’s Greatest Outlaw” by Mark Bowden

“Banker to the Poor” by Muhammed Yunus

“The Reader” by Berhard Schlink

“The Help” by Kathryn Stockett

“Velocity” by Dean Koontz

“Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do” by Michael J. Sandel

“The Hunter Games” by Suzanne Collins

“Open Veins of Latin America” by Educardo Galeano

“Relato de un Naufrago” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

“Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins

“The Kitchen God’s Wife” by Amy Tan

“El General en su Laberinto” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

“The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd

“The Psychopath Test” by Jon Ronson

“The Hangman’s Daughter” by Oliver Potzsch

“La Casa de Dostoievsky” by Jorge Edwards

“Blindness” by Jose Saramago  

Tackling Teenage Pregnancy with CLI

Saying that teen pregnancy is a big issue where I live is an understatement. Students as young as 12 years old are pregnant and rates only increase with age.

Girls here become teen mom for various reasons, although as far as I can tell there are 3 main ones:

1. Culture. The girls’ moms, aunts and neighbors were also teenage moms. Family sizes are big; there are little, naked babies running allll over the place. Social stigmas prevent girls from using birth control or getting tested. Machismo manifests not only the men’s lack of respect for women, but it also perpetuates traditionalist female roles of housework and raising children.
2. Poverty. A girl who knows that she is able to attend higher education and has dreams of becoming, say, a doctor, waits to get pregnant more often than a girl who plans to sell phone minutes on the street after graduating from high school.
3. Lack of knowledge. There is no sex education, and so although condoms, medical clinics and the internet are at students’ disposal, they know nothing. Students learn appropriate sex behaviors not from reliable sources but based on what they hear on the streets.

How to even begin to tackling teen pregnancy when it is so prevalent and so intertwined with other issues? With “Chicas Lideres INEDSORistas,” or CLI (the girls’ leadership and empowerment group that I started for girls at my school), we started with the basics. First we discussed "sexuality" followed by reproductive parts and functions. Right from the get-go, I was blown away by the girls’ lack of knowledge. Not only did they know next to nothing, what they thought they knew usually was incorrect. There is no sexual health education offered to youth in my school or neighborhood.

Labeling female reproductive parts

The following weeks we learned about menstruation and fertilization. Again, background knowledge was next to nothing. The girls literally shrieked as they put tampons in cups of water and watched them expand. Hilarious. Tampons do exists here, but women exclusively use pads. Now the girls at least know how to use one and therefore can go swimming or do other activities when they are on their period that they couldn't before.

The next week we capitalized on the fact that Olga, Peace Corps' project manager, was in town by holding a guest speaker presentation. Along with Olga (who was a teenage mom), Jairo (a teacher at my school who had his daughter at 14) spoke to the group from a male’s perspective about the realities of being a teen parent. In addition, Gabriella, a current, pregnant 11^th grade student spoke to the group about her experience. 

Gabriella, Jairo and Olga talking about their teenage pregnancy experiences

Finally, it was time for pregnancy prevention methods. But again, how...? Realistically condom use is not a likely option. Sure, the supermarket next to my school sells condoms, but at 15.000 pesos, or around US $7, for a pack of 6 condoms. Not happening; waaay too expensive. More influential however is machismo. Men don't want to wear them and although cheating and having multiple significant-others is widespread, if a women asks to use a condom, it means she must be sleeping with others or doesn't trust her husband. 

So we started with pregnancy prevention methods currently popular in the neighborhood. I compiled a list of common practices that people from school and in my neighborhood told me about and gave it to the girls. 

Here are some examples:
Women cannot get pregnant the first time they have sex or on their period. Washing out your vagina, drinking hot beer, drinking excess water and urinating, “pulling out” before ejaculation, taking a bath, and drinking plant juice with lemon are all effective methods of preventing pregnancy. Furthermore, if a girl does not bleed the first time she has sex she is not a virgin and people who are sexually active commonly have curved legs.
All are false (to a ridiculous extent for those of us who didn’t grow up in poor Cartagena, yes?), but nevertheless to girls in CLI, many were thought to be true. Some even protested when we told them a particular practice was ineffective, saying they knew of people who did the method and swore by it. (High teen-pregnancy rates are much more understandable after realizing that people think that they cannot get pregnant if they drink coke mixed with wine afterwards...)

Although condom use is a difficult behavior to implement, I thought it still a valid topic due to its effectiveness in pregnancy and STD prevention. The following week we learned the seven steps of how to put on a condom, with the help of 30 condoms and seven wooden dildos borrowed from the Peace Corps office. None of the girls had ever touched a condom before. The US drinking game “flip cup” was recreated where girls got in two teams and raced putting on and taking off a condom. Furthermore, the multifunctional dildos were made into microphones to judge the condom races and even a little karaoke-esque singing.

This week we are moving onto other types of birth control, such a pills and injections. Although not as effective in protecting the girls against STDs, realistically these seem to be what the girls may actually use. Moreover, these forms of birth control give women more control. To finish off the sexual health unit, the plan is to learn about STDs and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Teen pregnancy, lack of education, poverty, violence, gangs and drug use in my neighborhood will continue with or without my presence. It drives me crazy to see a woman take back a homeless, inept man who she knows has other wives and girlfriends and who has provided nothing but an abusive, alcoholic image of men to her children. It is overwhelming and daunting at times, especially with so much need but no pre-existing programs in place to educate people about these issues. Empowering girls and women may be one of the best ways to make my neighborhood, and the world really, a better place. Girls become moms who head families and pass their beliefs onto future generations. A woman who understands the value of an education will see to it that her children study hard. A mom who knows the importance of nutrition will find a way to feed her kids a healthier diet.

As a group, CLI has already gone through some trying situations. I am awed by the actions some girls took to protect the others. More than just a way to gain knowledge, the group is a support system. Especially when there are very few organized activities outside of school for youth (especially girls) to partake in, the group gives them something constructive and fun to do. The girls come back to school every Thursday night not because someone else makes them or gives them extra credit. They come because they want to be there. This has been one huge factor in the group’s success—the girls who do show up are truly motivated to change themselves and their neighborhoods for the better.

Candy's Quinceanea

A girl’s 15^th birthday, or quinceanera, in many parts of Latin America, including Colombia, is a big, big deal. While a boy’s 15^th birthday is also celebration-worthy, for girls, turning 15 is serious, quasi wedding-esque business. We’re talking the whole shebang: full-blown reception, gowns and tiaras, dinner, professional photographers and videographers, cake, dancing, bands, and guest list. Wealthier families can afford bigger, more lavish parties, but even those with economic strains go big and pride themselves on throwing their daughter an amazing party. 

I have been to three 15^th birthday parties in Colombia, but this last one was extra special. Candy lives next door to me and is a part of the big family that has adopted me into theirs. She is one of my favorites and many a night we sit in rocking chairs as she explains the intricate happenings of scandalous Colombian reality TV shows to me. 

Guests (140 of them) arrived and one-by-one male friends and family took turns dancing with the birthday girl. 

Next guests watched a slide show complete with lots of Celine Dion music, ate cake and drank champagne until the Mariachi band arrived (Mariachi bands are originally from Mexico but appear at all quinceaneras I’ve been to...?).

 Candy with the Mariachi band

Back to more talking and champaine until… “La Hora Loca!” My favorite! “The Crazy Hour” is a 60 minute dance-fest upon the arrival of another band, complete with booming drums and trumpets. Everyone, from infants to grandmas gets their groove on. And I mean everyone--the neighbor with terrible arthritis was even hoisted up in her chair. Being the "gringa", I pulled into middle and forced to “sacalo, metelo”, aka partake in awkward hip thrusting movements that no white-girl can pull off. 

 The three ladies I live with: Aura, me, Celia, and Edith

 Candy and cousins

 I live with a bunch of party animals...

Gringa getting down during "la hora loca"

The next day/night, about 40 family members made their way (usually just down the street) to my house where we prepared sancoho soup. Sancocho is a common, traditional soup of potatoes, corn, yucca, yam, beef, chicken, and carrots (whatever's in the pantry, really) that was created by throwing together scraps of extra food and leftover animal parts to make a hardy meal for African slaves.