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Life in Chimbote, Peru |
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Written by Jennifer Lay
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Thursday, 17 September 2009 |
Jennifer is a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and a 2009 graduate of Saint Louis University. She is currently serving with the Incarnate Word Missionaries in Chimbote, Peru. Her main mission work will be with St. Francis Parish, where she will be assisting with a number of youth programs at the parish, as well as exploring other ministry opportunities.
 I have now been living in Chimbote, Peru for just over two weeks and there is certainly a lot to learn about this new city and culture. Every day is filled with new surprises and insights into the varied life and customs of Chimboteans. I have divided these paragraphs by subject in order to share some of these different realities of daily life for many in Chimbote.
Environment:
Chimbote is on the Pacific Coast of Peru in an area known as the coastal desert. There is almost zero precipitation year round, leaving the ground very dry and spreading dust everywhere. Many of the streets are unpaved, including the one on which I live. Because of the abundance of dust, throughout the day one can see people outside their homes sweeping the dust in front of their house and throwing water onto the street in front of their homes in order to help control the dust. There is also a distinct smell of fish in the air, as Chimbote is home to the largest fishing port and industry in Peru, although the factories are mainly in operation only about 3-4 months a year. Garbage cans in the streets are non-existent, and the streets are littered with trash, bags, and wrappers from candy and snacks that can be bought on almost any street from little house front stores. The garbage truck comes around every few days, you never know exactly when, and honks its horn to alert us to run outside with our trash and have them take it. If you have a garbage can and leave it outside it is almost guaranteed to be stolen.
Food:
Peruvian cuisine is said to be one of the most varied in the world. In Chimbote, the most popular dish is probably Ceviche, usually made as raw fish marinated in limejuice, served with onions and potatoes or yucca. I’ve had this dish a few times now and it is quite delicious. Fresh and local are accurate descriptions of almost all the food in Chimbote, bought from any one of a number of markets. The largest market closest to my house is about a 10-minute walk. They have a wide variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, and fish. Many fruits and vegetables are unfamiliar, but delicious. There are also live animals sold at the market, and some are killed and hung up for sale before your eyes. Nothing is wasted as hearts, lungs, livers, innards, and more are sold to be consumed in soups or fried up on sticks like shishcabob. The schedule of daily life revolves around lunch, the largest and most important meal of the day. While for breakfast and dinner one eats a light meal of bread (bought fresh twice a day), maybe fruit, and a few spreads, lunch is the main meal and everything in the city pretty much stops from 1pm-4pm. Everyone, both business workers and school children, return home to eat lunch and maybe take a siesta (nap). Then activity starts back up again around 4pm and goes into all hours of the night.
Water:
Most houses have a water well/container on their property that is filled twice a day by the city. In our house, this water is pumped into a large cistern on top of our house that feeds water to the rest of the house. We are lucky to have indoor plumbing, as there are many families in Chimbote that do not have indoor plumbing and have to use buckets to transport water as needed. A few of my fellow IWM’s are nurses who work in hospice, and they have mentioned a number of times families run out of water and they are unable to give the needed baths or proper wound care due to lack of resources. We do not have hot water, so showers stay pretty short and when it’s particularly cold I prefer to heat up water on the stove and just take bucket showers. Water is boiled every morning and throughout the day as needed for drinking and cooking. There is no dishwasher so all dishes are washed by hand, usually by those who did not cook in order to share chores (at least in our house).
Houses:
The houses are varied and all shapes and sizes. Many are painted bright colors, but many are also just stone or wood. Houses are built right next to each other, sharing walls in between. Most are one or two stories, with flat roofs on top used for storage and laundry. All laundry is also done by hand and hung up to dry. Walking down the streets you are almost always guaranteed to see laundry hanging on the roofs as well as dogs hanging out on the roofs. Yes, dogs. They are everywhere in Chimbote, including on the roofs of many houses, barking at anyone and everyone who walks by. In our house we are also blessed to have a fridge, which many homes do not have. Many make daily trips to the market to buy food for the day since they do not have a place to store it long term. We have a gas stove in the house that has to be lighted by matches each time you want to turn on the oven or a burner.
Transportation:
There are four main forms of transportation in Chimbote, not including one’s own two feet: motocars, taxis, comvees, collectivos. Motocars look like motorcycles that have a buggy attached on back for 1-3 people to grab a ride. These act like taxis, but are cheaper, and can take you anywhere in the city. Taxis are actual cars that can take you wherever you want to go, and are a little more expensive. Comvees are microbuses, basically large vans that travel a set route and act like buses. They are the largest transportation vehicle although still quite a tight fit when full, holding maybe a dozen people or so. Collectivos look like taxis but they also always travel a set route, usually based out of the downtown (Centro) area.
Mail:
There is a post office in Chimbote, but there is no mail service. There are maybe about 100 or so mailboxes for the entire city of over 300,000. From talking with people it seems that about 95% of the population will never receive nor send a letter in their lifetime. The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word have a mailbox, which we missionaries use as well to receive mail from the U.S. To send a letter it is quite expensive costing 6 soles, just over $2 a letter.
Communication:
Many houses do not have phones in their house, but there are a number of payphones available on almost any street. There are also people around downtown that work for phone companies and you can pay to borrow a cell phone they have on them to make a call. While phone service was unavailable for a long time, with the emergence of cell phones most families now have at least one cell phone, especially the younger generation. Calls are costly though so most conversations are kept to under a minute. Most houses also do not have computers or Internet, and so Internet cafes (locutorios) can be found on nearly every block as well. The missionary house does not have Internet, but the sister’s house does and so when we need to we go over there to borrow their Internet.
Noise:
I thought is was worth mentioning since it is a big difference from many of the neighborhoods in the U.S. that there is constant noise in Chimbote, all day and all night. Whether it be animals barking, meowing, crowing, or music blaring across the street at the social/cultural center, or cars driving by, the background is a constant symphony of the many sounds of life in Chimbote.
Hopefully this gives everyone reading a taste of life in Chimbote and the reality of the people. Sometimes it’s hard to picture, even with so many words, so I will try and get a few pictures to put up as well. I would like to end by encouraging each of you to give thanks for the many blessings and amenities you might have that make life easier or more comfortable. Be aware that many around the world do not have running water, or electricity, or pantries stocked with food, or means of communication or transportation. Try to see if you can do your part to help ensure everyone’s basic needs are met, in your own communities and around the world.
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Archdiocese of St. Louis: Mission Office
20 Archbishop May Drive, Saint Louis, MO 63119 • missions@archstl.org
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