Trapiche
Although Trapiche is only 30 miles from downtown Lima, it feels like a world away from anywhere else I´ve lived.
It´s a rocky, crowded, 45-minute ride in a colectivo (bus) or combi (shared taxi) from the edge of Lima north to Trapiche. I´m not totally sure what the geography is, but we´re amidst many large hills and partway up a highway to the mountains. The hills are a dusty, greyish color (reflective of the minerals and other materials being mined from them) and all day long trucks drive up and down the mountain roads, and through Trapiche, with loads of material from the mines.
At first, it was overwhelming to figure out what bus or taxi to take to Trapiche and where to get off, but everything is starting to look more familiar now as I adjust to the surroundings. Trapiche itself is quite small, with probably about 10-15 stores, restaurants, and homes making up the town. Every morning, we go to one of the two panaderias to buy bread for breakfast. Many other needed items, from laundry detergent to candles to food, is available at the different stores. It´s amazing how much they can fit into such small spaces!
The biggest adjustment of being the farm so far has been getting used to no electricity. In the evenings, the family sometimes runs a motor so they can have electricity, but that´s mainly used watch television and not for lights around the house or hot water. I actually enjoy having the waking hours of my day be more dictated by the hours of sunlight...but it is great to have headlamps and candles at night! Because we don´t have electricity, I am also getting used to everything being dirtier than usual. Yesterday I washed my sheets--they are currently hanging on the clothesline to dry--but I´m not sure if they will end up being much cleaner than they were before. From soaking them in soap in a large bucket, to rinsing them at a relatively small sink, to hanging them on a clothesline (close to a dusty stone wall), there are many times during the process of washing that sheets and clothes can get dirty. (But at least I feel like I cleaned them.) Also, since houses and other buildings often don´t have doors or windows or have many openings, it´s impossible to keep dirt and insects from getting inside.
In terms of farmwork, we´ve been doing a LOT of weeding. Some of it has been to clear fields so they are ready to be tilled and seeded, while the rest of it has been to clear a stream surrounding most of the fields that is used as an irrigation channel for the fields. In one part, there were vicious vinelike weeds covering the entire area, and as soon as you thought you had found the end of the root, you´d realize that it was only just another section of it and the root was still a foot away. My hamstrings were very sore (although not too sore to play soccer with the family on Saturday afternoon) but I feel like I´m already getting stronger from all of the weeding.
More details to follow next week...about the farm itself, the family, and more!
At first, it was overwhelming to figure out what bus or taxi to take to Trapiche and where to get off, but everything is starting to look more familiar now as I adjust to the surroundings. Trapiche itself is quite small, with probably about 10-15 stores, restaurants, and homes making up the town. Every morning, we go to one of the two panaderias to buy bread for breakfast. Many other needed items, from laundry detergent to candles to food, is available at the different stores. It´s amazing how much they can fit into such small spaces!
The biggest adjustment of being the farm so far has been getting used to no electricity. In the evenings, the family sometimes runs a motor so they can have electricity, but that´s mainly used watch television and not for lights around the house or hot water. I actually enjoy having the waking hours of my day be more dictated by the hours of sunlight...but it is great to have headlamps and candles at night! Because we don´t have electricity, I am also getting used to everything being dirtier than usual. Yesterday I washed my sheets--they are currently hanging on the clothesline to dry--but I´m not sure if they will end up being much cleaner than they were before. From soaking them in soap in a large bucket, to rinsing them at a relatively small sink, to hanging them on a clothesline (close to a dusty stone wall), there are many times during the process of washing that sheets and clothes can get dirty. (But at least I feel like I cleaned them.) Also, since houses and other buildings often don´t have doors or windows or have many openings, it´s impossible to keep dirt and insects from getting inside.
In terms of farmwork, we´ve been doing a LOT of weeding. Some of it has been to clear fields so they are ready to be tilled and seeded, while the rest of it has been to clear a stream surrounding most of the fields that is used as an irrigation channel for the fields. In one part, there were vicious vinelike weeds covering the entire area, and as soon as you thought you had found the end of the root, you´d realize that it was only just another section of it and the root was still a foot away. My hamstrings were very sore (although not too sore to play soccer with the family on Saturday afternoon) but I feel like I´m already getting stronger from all of the weeding.
More details to follow next week...about the farm itself, the family, and more!
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