Food for Thought

Hey y'all.

Clearly I suck at blogging.  It's been a busy month of December...a trip to Trujillo and Lima and the beach (!), teaching English in Chicon, working on a world map mural in a school in Media Luna, planning for the start of our projects in 2011, and lots of cooking!

Recently, at a Friday session, we revisited several different cultural spectra which we had discussed during orientation.  I thought it was really interesting to reflect on my time in Peru so far with those spectra in mind.  I am by no means in a position to speak for Peruvian society, but I have some interesting anecdotes that provide indications one way or the other.  Maybe you'll find it interesting too.

The Concept of Self: This spectrum ranges from Individualist to Collectivist.  In societies that lie to the Individualist side of things, people identify primarily with self, seeking to meet personal needs before those of a group.   The philosophy is that looking after and taking after oneself, being self-sufficient, guarantees the well being of the group.  On the collectivist side, societies believe that one finds identity in his or her membership/role in a group.  The survival and success of the group is believed to ensure the well-being of the individual...so one considers the needs and feelings of others, and by default, those of him or herself.

While teaching English in Chicon, we had the kids partake in various activities in which individuals had to do something in front of the group; usually it was as simple as asking students to answer questions individually.   But whenever we'd call on a student, and that student took more than a second to answer, the others around him or her would immediately start helping.  "No les ayuden!" we'd say at least a hundred times a day [don't help!], but our efforts were more or less for naught.  It just seemed natural that the students should work together to come up with the answers.  Could this be a collectivist trait?  Maybe.

We also took a glance at the Concept of Time spectrum.  This one ranges from Monochronic to Polychronic.  In Monochronic societies, time is perceived as a limited, quantifiable thing, which must be worked around through schedules, deadlines, etc.  Time is given and people must change to suit its demands.  Polychronic societies, on the other hand, believe that time is adjusted to meet the needs of the people.  There is the feeling that there is always more time; you are never too busy.

Well I have to say that I certainly feel that sense of "you-are-never-too-busy" here in Peru.  In reality, I am pretty busy.  My schedule is full, mas o menos, and sometimes I don't have enough time to do everything I want to do.  But I have the perpetual feeling that "there's time!"  And I find that to be extremely liberating.  Unlike my life in high school, I don't find myself constantly rushing around to finish what needs to be done.  It's like I said in one of my first posts upon arriving to Urubamba.  Tranquiiiiilo.  


Considering we're on the brink of implementing our new projects (women's groups and English classes in both communities, as per the results of the vote), I remind myself how important it is to keep these spectra in mind, in order to prevent imposition and preserve cultural values.   Alex brought up a great point in our discussion that really got me thinking.   As part of our community diagnostic, we conducted "focus group" discussion sessions, to which we invited members of the communities whom we'd deemed "positive deviators."  They were people who had done something particularly credible, like sending all of their children to college or starting their own business.  We thought it would be helpful to get their opinions on what projects would be best for the community.  But as Alex noted, we were using a Western definition of "positive deviators."  Would the Peruvian definition be in accordance?  Positive deviance is, after all, somewhat subjective.  It depends on your perspective, which depends on your values.  Which often vary by culture.  If nothing else, these values are what I am most eager to understand about Peruvian culture...and really any culture I have the opportunity to conocer (get to know).

Food for thought.

Peace.