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!!!

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!

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!

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!

¡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!