I leave Arequipa today...it´s definitely bittersweet. My last day of school was awesome...had my Desperdida (goodbye party) with my kids and it was pretty cool...something I´ll remember forever.
Heading to Lima tonight, there for a few days, then home next week. I can´t believe 6 weeks has gone by already...it´s been an awesome adventure...I will be thankful for this experience for the rest of my life.
Hope everyone´s well...I´ll be seeing all of you soon!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
The Craziest Trip I´ve Ever Taken
Cusco was amazing...life threatening...but amazing! The 4 days spent in Cusco, and specifically the 2 trying to get to Machu Picchu, are the craziest days I´ve spent traveling ever!
It all started out beautifully...we took this great double decker bus on the 10 hour journey to Cusco...leaving at 8PM Wednesday night and getting into Cusco at 6:30 Thursday morning. We get off of the bus to be greeted by dozens of eager cab drivers...everyone wanting our business, so we got into a cab with a guy named Lenin...who I might add was wearing a black leather jacket and carrying a suspicious looking briefcase...on our 10 minute drive to our hostel, we discover that he may have a way of getting us to Machu Picchu (something that, at this point, was unthinkable from everything we had heard). We get to the hostel, and within 30 minutes we´re driving to different train and bus stations to see if there´s any availability on tours...no dice. We offer to hire Lenin personally...for the right price of course...he makes some calls, and he´s able to personally take me and two of my friends on a 2 day, 1 night trip to Machu Picchu. We are psyched...we meet him outside of our hostel at 10:30AM (a meer 4 hours since getting off the bus)...Lenin shows up with a pimped out van, a 16 year old ¨guide¨(aka his girlfriend´s little brother), and a proper driver, David...we each had a guide to ourselves...things were looking good! The drive to Santa Theresa takes about 6 hours...and what would happen leading up to that and after, we had no idea. Because the next 48 hours may be tough to follow in paragraph form, I´m going to give it to you in bullet point format...so here we go...
*about 4 hours into the drive on Thursday we come across an avalanche that doesn´t allow us to cross the desired road, so we take the ¨very scary road of death¨and about 5 minutes up said road, we get stuck. We´re spinning wheels on a tight corner of a cliff, so for every time we don´t get enough traction to drive up, we slide back closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Two of the guides and an entire other van of people proceed to collect rocks to put under the tires to create traction. We are told to stay in the van for weight...I immediately tell the other two that we have to be on our A game in case we need to jump out for dear life. At one point, a Peruvian woman from the van below, starts to pray for us....awesome! After about 15 mintues, 6 guys are able to push us up the hill. We are scared sh**less, but thankful to be alive.
*We arrive in Santa Theresa around 6PM Thursday night...we´re too late to walk to the train that takes us to Aguas Calientes (the city at the foot of Machu Picchu), so we get a hostel for the night and get ready to wake up at 4AM to proceed on our journey.
*Wake up at 4AM, eat a questionable breakfast, and proceed to ¨walk¨to the train. The van takes us about 15 mintues up the mountain, and when it can´t go any further due to road conditions, we get out and walk.
*It´s 4AM, so we´re on a cliff with only moonlight to light our walk...we have to walk on the edge of the cliff (which leads down to a roaring river) because closer to the mountain isn´t safe due to possible avalanches...again, awesome.
*Come upon, what I have named, ¨mud river swamp¨...it´s a mud river about 4 feet deep at some points with no way to get across...our guides go find boulders to try and create steps...one wrong step, and you´re waste deep in mud. As our guides help us across, I take one of these wrong steps, and lose my shoe in about 5 inches of mud. The guides keep telling me to place my foot here or there, and for about 5 steps I keep saying ¨my shoe¨...they don´t hear me...finally one of the guides looks down and says, ¨Tu zapato¨...ha...so he goes back about 5 feet, and pulls out my shoe, dripping and filled with mud...I put it on and kept going. Once across the mud swamp river, I cleaned out the chunks of mud and tree branches and keep going.
*After mud swamp river we´re led down a cliff (still mostly in moonlight)...it was literally a downhill slope with jagged rocks.
*When we get to the bottom of ¨death cliff hike¨we can hear the river even better...the sun is starting to come up and I see a cable crossing over the water. That cable is attached to an over-sized toolbox of a trolley that takes people over the river...WHAT?!?!?!...I was scared at firt, but then became really excited...I get in the basket and the guide says ¨spread your legs¨...I´m sorry, what?...another guide jumped in and we took a romantic basket ride on a cable 100 feet above a raging river. Suffice it to say, when we reached the other side, we did a group hug and high five...little did we know the adventure had only just started.
*We hike for 2 1/2 hours in the most beautiful scenery I´ve ever seen...the hike was really dangerous, and was basically mountain climbing at points, but over some swinging bridges and planks of wood bridges (literally a plank of wood was a bridge over part of the river...no sides...just 8 inches of wood to walk on)...we get to the Perurail station...a couple of huts and some train tracks.
*The first train is at 8AM, which would give us a chance in seeing Machu Picchu, but the 8AM train is for locals only...the next train was 4 hours away, so we would have had to hike another 2 hours to possibly see Machu Picchu. Lenin, our awesome sketchy guide, slips the driver some money, and says that we can´t hike b/c we´re all sick...so we pretended to be sick (Oscar worthy performances I might say), got quaratined in a train car all by ourselves, and left the remainig pissed off tourists behind as we head to Aguas Calientes.
*A 25 minute train ride brings us to Aguas Calientes (a really cool town), we stand in line for 2 hours to buy our train tickets back to the questionable Perurail staion. While waiting in line, I overhear two Canadians talking about how they had gotten abandoned by their tour, hiked 6 hours in the pitch black dark, and now couldn´t get back to Cusco until Tuesday when their flight left on Sunday. I check with my peeps, and we pick up two Canadians for our journey back. You had to have a passport to buy a train ticket, which only one of us had, so Lenin, in his shady fashion, got all 3 of us return tickets without passports...but we did all end up being Irish due to the one friend from Ireland who had a passport copy...fine by me.
*Run to the bus, take the bus up to Machu Picchu, spend 25 mintues there...the best 25 minutes ever spent...it´s beyond amazing...heading back down the mountain to catch our train.
*Ran to catch train, made the hike back in 55 minutes (where it tooks us 2 1/2 hours before), waited in line for 2 hours for the ¨death buggy¨across the river, sprinted back up the ¨cliff of death¨, back over the ¨mud swamp river¨and into the van. Two Canadians and two Peruvians heavy, we headed back down ¨very scary road of death¨and enjoyed some beers and music to unwind.
We got back at 1AM Saturday morning...passed out and were pretty much worthless the next day. Did some more sightseeing in Cusco and then got back in at 6AM this morning. Sorry for the long post, but I didn´t want to leave anything out. Cusco was by far the craziest trip I´ve ever been on...and I´d do it again in a heart beat. Glad to be alive and amazed that I got to see Machu Picchu...unreal!
It all started out beautifully...we took this great double decker bus on the 10 hour journey to Cusco...leaving at 8PM Wednesday night and getting into Cusco at 6:30 Thursday morning. We get off of the bus to be greeted by dozens of eager cab drivers...everyone wanting our business, so we got into a cab with a guy named Lenin...who I might add was wearing a black leather jacket and carrying a suspicious looking briefcase...on our 10 minute drive to our hostel, we discover that he may have a way of getting us to Machu Picchu (something that, at this point, was unthinkable from everything we had heard). We get to the hostel, and within 30 minutes we´re driving to different train and bus stations to see if there´s any availability on tours...no dice. We offer to hire Lenin personally...for the right price of course...he makes some calls, and he´s able to personally take me and two of my friends on a 2 day, 1 night trip to Machu Picchu. We are psyched...we meet him outside of our hostel at 10:30AM (a meer 4 hours since getting off the bus)...Lenin shows up with a pimped out van, a 16 year old ¨guide¨(aka his girlfriend´s little brother), and a proper driver, David...we each had a guide to ourselves...things were looking good! The drive to Santa Theresa takes about 6 hours...and what would happen leading up to that and after, we had no idea. Because the next 48 hours may be tough to follow in paragraph form, I´m going to give it to you in bullet point format...so here we go...
*about 4 hours into the drive on Thursday we come across an avalanche that doesn´t allow us to cross the desired road, so we take the ¨very scary road of death¨and about 5 minutes up said road, we get stuck. We´re spinning wheels on a tight corner of a cliff, so for every time we don´t get enough traction to drive up, we slide back closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Two of the guides and an entire other van of people proceed to collect rocks to put under the tires to create traction. We are told to stay in the van for weight...I immediately tell the other two that we have to be on our A game in case we need to jump out for dear life. At one point, a Peruvian woman from the van below, starts to pray for us....awesome! After about 15 mintues, 6 guys are able to push us up the hill. We are scared sh**less, but thankful to be alive.
*We arrive in Santa Theresa around 6PM Thursday night...we´re too late to walk to the train that takes us to Aguas Calientes (the city at the foot of Machu Picchu), so we get a hostel for the night and get ready to wake up at 4AM to proceed on our journey.
*Wake up at 4AM, eat a questionable breakfast, and proceed to ¨walk¨to the train. The van takes us about 15 mintues up the mountain, and when it can´t go any further due to road conditions, we get out and walk.
*It´s 4AM, so we´re on a cliff with only moonlight to light our walk...we have to walk on the edge of the cliff (which leads down to a roaring river) because closer to the mountain isn´t safe due to possible avalanches...again, awesome.
*Come upon, what I have named, ¨mud river swamp¨...it´s a mud river about 4 feet deep at some points with no way to get across...our guides go find boulders to try and create steps...one wrong step, and you´re waste deep in mud. As our guides help us across, I take one of these wrong steps, and lose my shoe in about 5 inches of mud. The guides keep telling me to place my foot here or there, and for about 5 steps I keep saying ¨my shoe¨...they don´t hear me...finally one of the guides looks down and says, ¨Tu zapato¨...ha...so he goes back about 5 feet, and pulls out my shoe, dripping and filled with mud...I put it on and kept going. Once across the mud swamp river, I cleaned out the chunks of mud and tree branches and keep going.
*After mud swamp river we´re led down a cliff (still mostly in moonlight)...it was literally a downhill slope with jagged rocks.
*When we get to the bottom of ¨death cliff hike¨we can hear the river even better...the sun is starting to come up and I see a cable crossing over the water. That cable is attached to an over-sized toolbox of a trolley that takes people over the river...WHAT?!?!?!...I was scared at firt, but then became really excited...I get in the basket and the guide says ¨spread your legs¨...I´m sorry, what?...another guide jumped in and we took a romantic basket ride on a cable 100 feet above a raging river. Suffice it to say, when we reached the other side, we did a group hug and high five...little did we know the adventure had only just started.
*We hike for 2 1/2 hours in the most beautiful scenery I´ve ever seen...the hike was really dangerous, and was basically mountain climbing at points, but over some swinging bridges and planks of wood bridges (literally a plank of wood was a bridge over part of the river...no sides...just 8 inches of wood to walk on)...we get to the Perurail station...a couple of huts and some train tracks.
*The first train is at 8AM, which would give us a chance in seeing Machu Picchu, but the 8AM train is for locals only...the next train was 4 hours away, so we would have had to hike another 2 hours to possibly see Machu Picchu. Lenin, our awesome sketchy guide, slips the driver some money, and says that we can´t hike b/c we´re all sick...so we pretended to be sick (Oscar worthy performances I might say), got quaratined in a train car all by ourselves, and left the remainig pissed off tourists behind as we head to Aguas Calientes.
*A 25 minute train ride brings us to Aguas Calientes (a really cool town), we stand in line for 2 hours to buy our train tickets back to the questionable Perurail staion. While waiting in line, I overhear two Canadians talking about how they had gotten abandoned by their tour, hiked 6 hours in the pitch black dark, and now couldn´t get back to Cusco until Tuesday when their flight left on Sunday. I check with my peeps, and we pick up two Canadians for our journey back. You had to have a passport to buy a train ticket, which only one of us had, so Lenin, in his shady fashion, got all 3 of us return tickets without passports...but we did all end up being Irish due to the one friend from Ireland who had a passport copy...fine by me.
*Run to the bus, take the bus up to Machu Picchu, spend 25 mintues there...the best 25 minutes ever spent...it´s beyond amazing...heading back down the mountain to catch our train.
*Ran to catch train, made the hike back in 55 minutes (where it tooks us 2 1/2 hours before), waited in line for 2 hours for the ¨death buggy¨across the river, sprinted back up the ¨cliff of death¨, back over the ¨mud swamp river¨and into the van. Two Canadians and two Peruvians heavy, we headed back down ¨very scary road of death¨and enjoyed some beers and music to unwind.
We got back at 1AM Saturday morning...passed out and were pretty much worthless the next day. Did some more sightseeing in Cusco and then got back in at 6AM this morning. Sorry for the long post, but I didn´t want to leave anything out. Cusco was by far the craziest trip I´ve ever been on...and I´d do it again in a heart beat. Glad to be alive and amazed that I got to see Machu Picchu...unreal!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
C-C-C-Cusco!
This week was a short one with the Easter holiday (Semana Santa here), so the last few days have been good...I´m enjoying the kids a lot more...maybe there was just something crazy in the koolaid last week!
I´m off to Cusco tonight and I can´t wait! Machu Picchu re-opens tomorrow, but apparently all of the trains, buses, hikes, etc. are booked solid. You might be asking yourself, ´so why didn´t you reserve one of the above sooner´and the reason being the following: I was booked on a hike in June, so when I decided to cut my trip short I called the compnay about moving the deposit for an earlier hike, putting it towards a different hike, etc...well none of that is an option, so I´m out a $200 deposit and unable to take advantage of the reservation; so when we decided to go to Cusco earlier I was hesitant to put a deposit down, because the reality of Machu Picchu actually being re-opened wasn´t too good (it was supposed to re-open March 1st, and clearly that hasn´t happened). So to make a long over-detailed story short, I´m hopeful to see Machu Picchu, but it may not happen, which would be a total bummer, so fingers crossed.
There are a lot of ruins and different historical sights to see, so hopefully I´ll have enough time to do it all by Sunday night. Next week is my last full week, then I´m off to Lima for a bit, then back home! More about Cusco when I get back =) Happy Easter!!!
I´m off to Cusco tonight and I can´t wait! Machu Picchu re-opens tomorrow, but apparently all of the trains, buses, hikes, etc. are booked solid. You might be asking yourself, ´so why didn´t you reserve one of the above sooner´and the reason being the following: I was booked on a hike in June, so when I decided to cut my trip short I called the compnay about moving the deposit for an earlier hike, putting it towards a different hike, etc...well none of that is an option, so I´m out a $200 deposit and unable to take advantage of the reservation; so when we decided to go to Cusco earlier I was hesitant to put a deposit down, because the reality of Machu Picchu actually being re-opened wasn´t too good (it was supposed to re-open March 1st, and clearly that hasn´t happened). So to make a long over-detailed story short, I´m hopeful to see Machu Picchu, but it may not happen, which would be a total bummer, so fingers crossed.
There are a lot of ruins and different historical sights to see, so hopefully I´ll have enough time to do it all by Sunday night. Next week is my last full week, then I´m off to Lima for a bit, then back home! More about Cusco when I get back =) Happy Easter!!!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
La Escuela
The second week has been harder than the first...the kids are just as cute, but the realizations of their quality of life are heart breaking. The teachers went on strike, so I helped out with 2nd and 3rd yesterday, and it was maybe one of the hardest things I´ve ever done. Kids will be kids, but these kids are a whole different breed...they never listen, they call you bad names in Spanish, the hit/wrestle the other kids (most of the boys are obsessed with WWF, so that becomes fun), they don´t want to learn, so at the end of the day, you´re toast. I asked another volunteer if we could send one kid home because he clearly wasn´t here to learn or do anything school related (he wouldn´t even draw a picture...most the time you don´t even care if they´re doing the assignment you told them to as long as they´re keeping their hands to themselves and being somewhat quiet)...and the volunteer said no because he´s here for the food. That´s when it dawned on me...I already knew that the slums of Peru (and this town in particular) did not put anywhere near the same emphasis and importance on education as we do in the states, but what I hadn´t thought about was that these children weren´t sent here to learn...they were sent here to be fed a nutritious meal...something they wouldn´t get without the GVI program and support. I know that seems a bit dramatic, but it´s true...there are 2nd graders who still can´t write their names...our goal here is to provide a nutritious and filling meal and maybe some TLC to those being good that day.
It´s a really hard place to be in because you want so badly to walk away everyday feeling as though you´ve tought a child something or improved their day, and most days, you can´t get out of there soon enough. Again, I am so glad that I decided to come on this project and to be with these kids in this country, but it´s a lot harder than I had imagined. Everyday I am overwhelmed by how thankful I am for the circumstances I was born in...there´s a voluntter, Giddeon, who´s Peruvian, but his parents adopted him as a baby and he´s been living in England since then, and his sheer motivation for coming to volunteer with this project is that he could have, and without a lot of luck and fate, would have been one of the kids that we see everyday. It´s humbling, heart breaking, and somewhat rewarding all at the same time. I will have no regrets in my decision to be here, but everyday feels like a struggle to remember why I am here.
On to a less depressing topic...ha...sorry...I´m headed to Camana Beach this weekend! Camana is a small beach town about 3 hours outside of Peru, so we´ll head there Friday night and come back Sunday night. The hotel we´re staying at has a bar in the pool...I know that sounds fancy, but you wouldn´t think so if you saw the pictures...ha...our theory is that if we drink enough alcohol at the pool bar, we´ll kill any bacteria that we might be getting from the water...ha! Being in Arequipa was fun last weekend, but it´s nice to get away for a few days...split up the routine. I then have 3 days of school next week, Thursday and Friday off for Easter weekend where I´ll be headed to Cusco, then back for a few days of school, off to Lima for a few days, then headed back to home sweet home.
Sorry I haven´t posted many pictures...it´s just not safe to have my nice camera on me regularly, so since I´m headed home early, I figured I´d send them out in a few weeks when I get back. I hope everyone has been well! Have a great rest of the week and weekend! Chat soon!
It´s a really hard place to be in because you want so badly to walk away everyday feeling as though you´ve tought a child something or improved their day, and most days, you can´t get out of there soon enough. Again, I am so glad that I decided to come on this project and to be with these kids in this country, but it´s a lot harder than I had imagined. Everyday I am overwhelmed by how thankful I am for the circumstances I was born in...there´s a voluntter, Giddeon, who´s Peruvian, but his parents adopted him as a baby and he´s been living in England since then, and his sheer motivation for coming to volunteer with this project is that he could have, and without a lot of luck and fate, would have been one of the kids that we see everyday. It´s humbling, heart breaking, and somewhat rewarding all at the same time. I will have no regrets in my decision to be here, but everyday feels like a struggle to remember why I am here.
On to a less depressing topic...ha...sorry...I´m headed to Camana Beach this weekend! Camana is a small beach town about 3 hours outside of Peru, so we´ll head there Friday night and come back Sunday night. The hotel we´re staying at has a bar in the pool...I know that sounds fancy, but you wouldn´t think so if you saw the pictures...ha...our theory is that if we drink enough alcohol at the pool bar, we´ll kill any bacteria that we might be getting from the water...ha! Being in Arequipa was fun last weekend, but it´s nice to get away for a few days...split up the routine. I then have 3 days of school next week, Thursday and Friday off for Easter weekend where I´ll be headed to Cusco, then back for a few days of school, off to Lima for a few days, then headed back to home sweet home.
Sorry I haven´t posted many pictures...it´s just not safe to have my nice camera on me regularly, so since I´m headed home early, I figured I´d send them out in a few weeks when I get back. I hope everyone has been well! Have a great rest of the week and weekend! Chat soon!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
I Heart Tambourines
Sorry I seem to be writing once a week...I feel like I don´t have enough stuff to write about sometimes, so I´ll wait until I have more things to write about. Week two was great...working with the kids is a lot of fun...kindgartners are exhauting no matter what country they´re from! I have 19 kids in my class...they´re all sooo cute...there are two I want to trade in, but I guess I´ll have to cope...ha...one runs away from school, starts to walk home, and once you chase her down and physically bring her back to school, she kicks you in the shins...a real peach...the other one called me a gringoe and is the nastiest 5 year old I´ve ever met...other than that they´re all great...ha! In all seriousness, the children are beautiful and are so appreciative to have people to pay attention to them and care. The day usually consists of shapes (mostly squares for some reason), colors (mostly red), writing their names (which none of them can do), recess, maybe a rivetting game of duck-duck-goose or patto-patto-ganza in spanish (yeah, try teaching 5 year olds that when you don´t even speak their language...it was like rocket science), and then snack. I had to help out with 1st grade one day...that was scary...I´m definitely in the right place with the Kindy kids!
I´m adjusting more to the culture and all of the differences; some of the major differences are that you can´t flush TP down the toilet (you have to throw it in a bin...ewww); there´s no TP or paper towels in any bathroom, so most of us carry a roll in our backpacks; Peru is a very starch-heavy country, so every meal includes rice, potatoes, and bread...by lunch I´ve had 3 pieces of bread (thank goodness I can switch to a salad for lunch for the next 2 weeks or I´d be the size of a house); and the cars don´t stop at intersections, so I fear for my life while in a taxi as well as when crossing the street...just a few for now. You don´t realize how third world this country is until you visit it...it´s tough, dangerous, and really dirty...I´m very thankful to be experiencing it because it definitely makes me appreciate the states and my life so much more...it´s truly eye opening.
On to the title of this post...every Friday night we have a BBQ with all of the volunteers at the Casa (our homebase), so last night we cooked up some goodies and got to drinking. A few Americans and I thought it would be a good idea to teach the Europeans beer pong...it went well until we got our butts kicked by newbies...ha! We then went out to a really cool bar called Montreal...as soon as we walked in I heard live music...but it wasn´t just any live music...it involved a tambourine! For those of you who went to college with me, you´ve witnessed my bizarre attraction to the tambourine, and for those of you who didn´t, I successfully collected/stole 3 tambourines in college...don´t ask me why I choose that instrument when I´ve been drinking...but for some reason, I dig a good tambourine after a few glasses of wine! Without hesitation, I went over and started playing the tambourine with a local band...who spoke no english and were wearing Shakespearean-like clothing...I don´t think I ever got a clear answer as to why they were wearing that, but my friend Carly did borrow one of the guys´cloak for a bit...ha...random drinking stories from Peru! Gabriel, a very nice and handsome Peruvian guy helped teach me how to keep rhythm on the tambourine...apparently I lack the appropriate tambourine rhythm. Then we headed to the cheasiest discoteca I´ve ever been to called Deja Vu, where I requested some Michael Jackson and danced the night away (sans tambourine...bringing a tambourine back from Peru would have been my life´s greatest achievement). We´re going out again tonight, so we´ll see if there are more stories to tell after that! We all go out in a big group so it´s lots of fun and safe (for all you worriers).
Apparently the teachers are going on strike next week, so I may potentially be with 3rd and 4th graders...ahh...so I´m sure I´ll have intersting things to report back to you guys about that. Obviously the song of the moment is Bob Dylan´s ¨Tambourine Man¨. Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Chat soon!
I´m adjusting more to the culture and all of the differences; some of the major differences are that you can´t flush TP down the toilet (you have to throw it in a bin...ewww); there´s no TP or paper towels in any bathroom, so most of us carry a roll in our backpacks; Peru is a very starch-heavy country, so every meal includes rice, potatoes, and bread...by lunch I´ve had 3 pieces of bread (thank goodness I can switch to a salad for lunch for the next 2 weeks or I´d be the size of a house); and the cars don´t stop at intersections, so I fear for my life while in a taxi as well as when crossing the street...just a few for now. You don´t realize how third world this country is until you visit it...it´s tough, dangerous, and really dirty...I´m very thankful to be experiencing it because it definitely makes me appreciate the states and my life so much more...it´s truly eye opening.
On to the title of this post...every Friday night we have a BBQ with all of the volunteers at the Casa (our homebase), so last night we cooked up some goodies and got to drinking. A few Americans and I thought it would be a good idea to teach the Europeans beer pong...it went well until we got our butts kicked by newbies...ha! We then went out to a really cool bar called Montreal...as soon as we walked in I heard live music...but it wasn´t just any live music...it involved a tambourine! For those of you who went to college with me, you´ve witnessed my bizarre attraction to the tambourine, and for those of you who didn´t, I successfully collected/stole 3 tambourines in college...don´t ask me why I choose that instrument when I´ve been drinking...but for some reason, I dig a good tambourine after a few glasses of wine! Without hesitation, I went over and started playing the tambourine with a local band...who spoke no english and were wearing Shakespearean-like clothing...I don´t think I ever got a clear answer as to why they were wearing that, but my friend Carly did borrow one of the guys´cloak for a bit...ha...random drinking stories from Peru! Gabriel, a very nice and handsome Peruvian guy helped teach me how to keep rhythm on the tambourine...apparently I lack the appropriate tambourine rhythm. Then we headed to the cheasiest discoteca I´ve ever been to called Deja Vu, where I requested some Michael Jackson and danced the night away (sans tambourine...bringing a tambourine back from Peru would have been my life´s greatest achievement). We´re going out again tonight, so we´ll see if there are more stories to tell after that! We all go out in a big group so it´s lots of fun and safe (for all you worriers).
Apparently the teachers are going on strike next week, so I may potentially be with 3rd and 4th graders...ahh...so I´m sure I´ll have intersting things to report back to you guys about that. Obviously the song of the moment is Bob Dylan´s ¨Tambourine Man¨. Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Chat soon!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Tomar vs. Tocar
Hello! Sorry I haven´t been posting...so, the first week is down and I just finished my first day at the school. I settled into the program and in with my family lsat week...and then this past weekend we went to Colca Canyon (above). Colca Canyon is in Chivay, Peru...it was incredibly beautiful!
Last week consisted of Spanish tuturing, chilling with the other volunteers, and heading home. All of the volunteers are amazing...so far we have the UK, Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, Ireland, and USA represented...there are 23 volunteers which is almost five times as many as they´re used to...it´s a really diverse and fun crowd. Most of the volunteers are here to learn and become fluent in Spanish...not one of my motives, but I can already tell that my Spanish has gotten so much better in one week.
Arequipa is a really nice town...I can especially appreciate it more after visiting other parts of Peru. Chivay is a small town about 3 hours away from Arequipa and it´s smaller and more traditional than Arequipa, so it was cool to see people dressed in traditional clothes and doing traditional dances, etc. The weekend consisted of hiking around the Colca Canyone (the deepest canyon in the world) and visiting natural hot springs...it was an awesome way to spend my first weekend. I also made some friends, so that was a comfort!
After being to different hostels, hotels, houses, etc, my host family definitely has one of the nicest houses...the mom has a 40¨TV...she´s ballin´! My room is comfortable and every morning and night consists of awkward conversation...awkward b/c they speak no english and I speak very little Spanish. For example, all last week I would say, ¨Toco un duchar¨ which means I want to touch the shower...I couldnt figure out why she´d nod and look at me wierd...until I learned the verb ¨to take¨ which is tomar in my Spanish lesson...ha...oops! On a side note, Jesus is everywhere! To some of you, this may be true on a religious level, for me, it´s very literal...Jesus is literally everywhere...there´s a huge Jesus poster in my room, so I wake up and go to be bed to Jesus, then he´s also on all of the walls, the clocks, the dish towels etc...there´s even a baby Jesus doll that my house grandmother makes dresses for...hmmm...I´m not hear to question different cultures...it´s very interesting though. Obviously Peru is a Catholic country for the most part, so it makes sense, it´s just intersting where all JC will pop up.
First day of class was good...I´m with the Kindergarten kids...and yes, I have no idea what they´re saying. One girl keeps leaving the room and coming back with her pants down...I didn´t sign up for that so I let the teacher handle that...then there´s one girl who doesn´t speak ever...then the rest are pretty cute. We learned absolutely nothing today though...it´s so surreal the level that the teachers and students are at. Essentially, as a volunteer, your job is to be a friendly encouraging face because actual learing is very difficult...for example, there´s a 13 year old girl in 4th grade and they can´t keep her back any longer. Most kids in 1st or 2nd don´t know how to write their names still. It´s a great program b/c it provides sturcture where there wouldn´t be any, but it´s still very unrealistic to make any real changes...we also provide the kids with a meal (probably their only for the day). I work at Triunfo, and it´s surrounded by a town that looks like the towns you see on the ¨sponsor a child in Africa¨commercial...dirt houses the size of garages (maybe) and most of them house 6-8 people per family. Most of these children will be made to pick fruits and vegetables and help on farms, but for now, we´re trying to ensure that at least a handful move on and have a chance of a better life.
I´ve also changed my plans a little bit...everyone was right, as soon as those twins were born, I was hooked...I can´t stay away =) It´s not just that...3 months just became a little too long for me...when I booked the trip, 3 months was realistic, but now I just don´t want to be gone for that long, so I´ll be in Arequipa for 3 more weeks, then Cusco (to hopefully hike Machu Picchu) for a week and Lima for a week and then I´m heading back, so 6 weeks total. I´ve cut my trip in half, and I´m cool with that...sorry if anyone is disappointed, but it´s what feels right and realistic for me. I hope everyone has been well! I´ve attached a picture of the Colca Canyon...I took lots of pictures, but not this one...bringing my camera to the school (to later upload pictures) isn´t such a good idea, so I´ll email those out later.
My song dujuour for the first week is Iron and Wine´s ¨Freedom Hangs Like Heaven¨...check it out!
Monday, March 8, 2010
¡Hola!
Hello everyone!!! I am here in Arequipa! The full day of travel was tough...and sleeping in the Miami airport was very uncomfortable...there are 3 benched couches that kind of look like a starfish...not too comfy. I had to claim and re-check my bag three times...annoying and very difficult when you don´t know the language. I got in at 9PM on Saturday and then stayed in the hotel Sunday night...the hotel is nice, and it was a real relief to have American TV to watch that night.
I had orientation on Sunday...learned more about the school and children, and then I had my first Spanish lesson today...turns out I remember more than I thought from high school...yay! My host family is lovely...speak no enlgish, but they`re very nice. The home is about a 30 minute walk from the hotel (where I take my lessons and leave for the school), so that was a surprise...and the sun is rediculously hot...I have a serious farmer´s tan from my walk in this morning and from lunch yesterday...buying SPF stat!!! Everything is so different...not sure if I expected it to be this different...seriously, nothing is familiar, so am definitely feeling a bit homesick, and all of a sudden 10 weeks seems like a really long time. Hopefully I´ll be able to hack it, if not, you guys may get a ´returning home because I`m a weenie´ post =) Hopefully not though.
More later...15 minute max rule on the computers! Cioa!
I had orientation on Sunday...learned more about the school and children, and then I had my first Spanish lesson today...turns out I remember more than I thought from high school...yay! My host family is lovely...speak no enlgish, but they`re very nice. The home is about a 30 minute walk from the hotel (where I take my lessons and leave for the school), so that was a surprise...and the sun is rediculously hot...I have a serious farmer´s tan from my walk in this morning and from lunch yesterday...buying SPF stat!!! Everything is so different...not sure if I expected it to be this different...seriously, nothing is familiar, so am definitely feeling a bit homesick, and all of a sudden 10 weeks seems like a really long time. Hopefully I´ll be able to hack it, if not, you guys may get a ´returning home because I`m a weenie´ post =) Hopefully not though.
More later...15 minute max rule on the computers! Cioa!
Friday, March 5, 2010
"I'm freaking out man!...You are freaking out...man"
Super Troopers...one of my all time favorite movies! I'm definitely starting to freak out a little bit...it's totally pathetic, because I'm doing things like, 'this is the last time I'll make my bed at home for three months, or make toast, or play with the dog'...blah blah blah, right? I'm about to head out on a crazy once in a lifetime adventure and instead of being beyond stoked, I find myself a little sad and way anxious. I'm sure all of this is normal, but I promise that I will only allow myself the first night to be sad...from there on out, I will try my best to stay out of my own way and be as present as possible in this amazing experience. But until then, I'm a little freaking out!
I packed last night...and in doing so found a 6 page packet labeled "SPANISH VOCABULARY...PLEASE LEARN BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL"...here we go again...thank goodness I have some time to study on the way there...I'm always unprepared for class! I'm impressed with my packing skills...one large suitcase and one backpack...I feel like I maybe even under-packed. I think the ratio of clothes to medicine is probably equal...ha...I am prepared!
I leave at 10:30 tonight...then get to hang in Miami for about 6 hours, then I'll have a nice stint in Columbia (yes, am definitely nervous about this one), then to Lima, then I'll finally arrive in Arequipa around 9:00 Saturday night. I'll be spending my first night in the hotel that is GVI's headquarters so to speak, then I have orientation Sunday morning and then...well then I just don't know. As soon as I have some time, I'll post an "I survived my ridiculously long travel day" post, with what I'm sure will be some entertaining stories...the last really long trip I took, a 15 hour train ride from NYC (b/c of that big snow storm in December, my flight was cancelled for over a week), I had to spend almost the entire ride next to this ridiculously smelly/messy girl...she was covered in horse hair (and I'm so allergic to horses), she was wearing these filthy pink sweatpants that she would wipe the Cheeze-it residue off on, her fingernails were filthy, long, and curly, she hadn't washed her hair in what I imagine was over 2 weeks, therefore the dandruff was out of control...almost 15 hours next to this treat...I try not to judge a book by it's cover, so I feel that after 15 hours, I'm allowed my judgments...ha! Hopefully I'll have some less smelly people on my travels today and tomorrow.
Ok, so this is it! The next time I post, it will be from Peru!!! I hope everyone had a great week and I can't wait to chat with you all soon! "Time to move on...time to get going...what lies ahead I have no way of knowing", Mr. Tom Petty. Love ya'll!
I packed last night...and in doing so found a 6 page packet labeled "SPANISH VOCABULARY...PLEASE LEARN BEFORE YOUR ARRIVAL"...here we go again...thank goodness I have some time to study on the way there...I'm always unprepared for class! I'm impressed with my packing skills...one large suitcase and one backpack...I feel like I maybe even under-packed. I think the ratio of clothes to medicine is probably equal...ha...I am prepared!
I leave at 10:30 tonight...then get to hang in Miami for about 6 hours, then I'll have a nice stint in Columbia (yes, am definitely nervous about this one), then to Lima, then I'll finally arrive in Arequipa around 9:00 Saturday night. I'll be spending my first night in the hotel that is GVI's headquarters so to speak, then I have orientation Sunday morning and then...well then I just don't know. As soon as I have some time, I'll post an "I survived my ridiculously long travel day" post, with what I'm sure will be some entertaining stories...the last really long trip I took, a 15 hour train ride from NYC (b/c of that big snow storm in December, my flight was cancelled for over a week), I had to spend almost the entire ride next to this ridiculously smelly/messy girl...she was covered in horse hair (and I'm so allergic to horses), she was wearing these filthy pink sweatpants that she would wipe the Cheeze-it residue off on, her fingernails were filthy, long, and curly, she hadn't washed her hair in what I imagine was over 2 weeks, therefore the dandruff was out of control...almost 15 hours next to this treat...I try not to judge a book by it's cover, so I feel that after 15 hours, I'm allowed my judgments...ha! Hopefully I'll have some less smelly people on my travels today and tomorrow.
Ok, so this is it! The next time I post, it will be from Peru!!! I hope everyone had a great week and I can't wait to chat with you all soon! "Time to move on...time to get going...what lies ahead I have no way of knowing", Mr. Tom Petty. Love ya'll!
Friday, February 26, 2010
24 Page Packet
I was starting to get antsy and nervous because I had not received any information on the specifics of my arrival or information about what I'd be doing as a volunteer in the school. Until this Wednesday, I only had the description of my volunteership (not sure that's a word) from the snippet on the GVI website to go on. I emailed a guy who is at the site in Arequipa, and asked him to send me some specifics...he emailed me a 24 page packet...yikes. I'm a week out until I leave and I'm just now reading about my volunteership...I think, maybe I should have checked in sooner...nah, last minute information for international travel is always optimal...geez Hillary...ha.
The 24 page packet consists of teaching strategies and such...I come to find that I will be teaching kindergarten age children in a village about 20 miles outside of Arequipa. The first thought I had was, 'thank god...me and the kids will be on the same language level...'! I, like most people, took multiple years of a foreign language (Spanish) throughout high school and college...did I retain any of the said Spanish...NO...so, the first two weeks of my trip involve 1 on 1 Spanish tutoring (thank goodness), and then on the third week I'll be integrated into the school...and let's face it, these kindergarteners will be running circles around me when it comes to speaking Spanish no matter how much tutoring I have. Some of my work will involve lesson planning, craft ideas, creating teaching tools, etc. So then my second thought was, 'um, what?'...I thought I was going to be playing with them, not molding their minds! Mind molding is a large responsibility, especially when my Spanish speaking level will be not so good...for all I know I could think I'm teaching them 'the sky is blue' and really be saying 'my face is blue'. Nonetheless, after digesting all of the information, I was even more excited for my trip...I mean, how cute will Peruvian kindergarteners be?!?! And we'll get to learn the language together...ha!
Another portion of the packet discusses do's, don'ts, and be carefuls, of being a foreigner in Peru. Most of them were common sense things like, 'don't go down back alleys', 'do only drink bottled water or alcohol' (b/c they're bacteria free...I can deal with that), 'be respectful and non-judgmental of cultural differences', etc. One item that stuck out to me was...'be careful of visible tattoos', again, my thought was, 'um, what?' (for those of you who haven't seen me in a while, I have a visible tattoo...it's small, but visible)...evidently, visible tattoos are something only gang members sport in Arequipa...tremendous...I'll be drinking my bottled water, not in a back alley, and get jumped for having a tattoo...ha...not to make a joke out of gang member relations, but it made me laugh...this trip is going to be such an eye opener!
Just from what I've read in the packet, you guys should be in store for some pretty ridiculous 'Hillary' stories...it will be a new adventure everyday and I'm getting really excited!
The 24 page packet consists of teaching strategies and such...I come to find that I will be teaching kindergarten age children in a village about 20 miles outside of Arequipa. The first thought I had was, 'thank god...me and the kids will be on the same language level...'! I, like most people, took multiple years of a foreign language (Spanish) throughout high school and college...did I retain any of the said Spanish...NO...so, the first two weeks of my trip involve 1 on 1 Spanish tutoring (thank goodness), and then on the third week I'll be integrated into the school...and let's face it, these kindergarteners will be running circles around me when it comes to speaking Spanish no matter how much tutoring I have. Some of my work will involve lesson planning, craft ideas, creating teaching tools, etc. So then my second thought was, 'um, what?'...I thought I was going to be playing with them, not molding their minds! Mind molding is a large responsibility, especially when my Spanish speaking level will be not so good...for all I know I could think I'm teaching them 'the sky is blue' and really be saying 'my face is blue'. Nonetheless, after digesting all of the information, I was even more excited for my trip...I mean, how cute will Peruvian kindergarteners be?!?! And we'll get to learn the language together...ha!
Another portion of the packet discusses do's, don'ts, and be carefuls, of being a foreigner in Peru. Most of them were common sense things like, 'don't go down back alleys', 'do only drink bottled water or alcohol' (b/c they're bacteria free...I can deal with that), 'be respectful and non-judgmental of cultural differences', etc. One item that stuck out to me was...'be careful of visible tattoos', again, my thought was, 'um, what?' (for those of you who haven't seen me in a while, I have a visible tattoo...it's small, but visible)...evidently, visible tattoos are something only gang members sport in Arequipa...tremendous...I'll be drinking my bottled water, not in a back alley, and get jumped for having a tattoo...ha...not to make a joke out of gang member relations, but it made me laugh...this trip is going to be such an eye opener!
Just from what I've read in the packet, you guys should be in store for some pretty ridiculous 'Hillary' stories...it will be a new adventure everyday and I'm getting really excited!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
First off...
I'm not too much of a "techy" person, so forgive me if my blog isn't up to snuff with the possibilities of the blog world...I'm sure there are cooler templates, pictures, etc., but simpler is better for me. I figured that while I'm gone, rather than email the same update to multiple people, it might be easiest for people to drop by here and see what I've been up to...I'll probably be pretty lonely at times, so please feel free to comment or email...I'd appreciate the contact =)
It's T minus 9 days until I leave for Peru...I feel kind of like that part in Armageddon when Owen Wilson is getting strapped into the space shuttle before it leaves on it's mission to land on a killer asteroid heading for earth, and he says, "I got that "excited/scared" feeling. Like 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it's more - It could be two - it could be 98% scared, 2% excited but that's what makes it so intense, it's so - confused". Ok, so maybe that's a little dramatic, but I'm a normal amount excited and scared as the days count down to my departure. I've crossed my T's and dotted most of my lower case J's (a movie quote from Wayne's World 2, if you didn't pick up on it), so while I'm prepared, I'm getting antsy and nervous for all that's in store. And if you can't tell, I'm a bit of a movie lover/quoter...so get ready for some hopefully relevant/funny quotes throughout the posts.
Yesterday I bought a camera for my trip...a Nikon Coolpix P90 for any camera people...it's definitely out of my league, but I wanted a camera that not only would take incredible pictures, but I wanted a camera that would make me become a better photagrapher, so I hope I've accomplished this with an upgrade. AND it's easy to upload the pictures from any computer, so those of you who haven't seen any of my previous travel pictures b/c I couldn't figure out how to upload them to my computer, this should help too...a definite bonus!
I'll post more closer to when I leave...this is just to get something up. Thanks for reading!
It's T minus 9 days until I leave for Peru...I feel kind of like that part in Armageddon when Owen Wilson is getting strapped into the space shuttle before it leaves on it's mission to land on a killer asteroid heading for earth, and he says, "I got that "excited/scared" feeling. Like 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it's more - It could be two - it could be 98% scared, 2% excited but that's what makes it so intense, it's so - confused". Ok, so maybe that's a little dramatic, but I'm a normal amount excited and scared as the days count down to my departure. I've crossed my T's and dotted most of my lower case J's (a movie quote from Wayne's World 2, if you didn't pick up on it), so while I'm prepared, I'm getting antsy and nervous for all that's in store. And if you can't tell, I'm a bit of a movie lover/quoter...so get ready for some hopefully relevant/funny quotes throughout the posts.
Yesterday I bought a camera for my trip...a Nikon Coolpix P90 for any camera people...it's definitely out of my league, but I wanted a camera that not only would take incredible pictures, but I wanted a camera that would make me become a better photagrapher, so I hope I've accomplished this with an upgrade. AND it's easy to upload the pictures from any computer, so those of you who haven't seen any of my previous travel pictures b/c I couldn't figure out how to upload them to my computer, this should help too...a definite bonus!
I'll post more closer to when I leave...this is just to get something up. Thanks for reading!
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