7 Hours

Today, we (meaning me and Christin) went to a different school. It was not as crazy. When we got home, we went on a van for 7 HOURS!! We drove non-stop (except for one stop at a hut/bathroom where I peed in a ravine) to Ica (check a map) to a hotel with hot water for showers! And it even has a pool!

Wyatt

SNOW

We are well on our way to the coast. We are riding to the area that the coast trip will be at. As I write this, I am listening to Steady As She Goes by the Rancouteers. Since the ride is seven hours long, Mom has let Wyatt and I use our iPods for the trip. We saw snow along the way to the coast. It was amazing to see snow again. I'm looking forward to sandboarding (like snowboarding but with sand). Today at the house I found a ping-pong ball (yes!) and played ping-pong with Wyatt (no scoring) and were not really glad to see the holes in the walls (windows with no glass as it's on a roof) because we were hitting the ball pretty crazily. The road is windy here so I think I will end this post.

Eddie

The Ugly American is NOT Just a Myth

Missed my post yesterday asswe were driving seven hours to the coast of Peru to spend the weekend. Friday was a much better day emotionally for me. Both Eddie and Wyatt spent time at other placements which gave me the opportunity to concentrate fully on the students without having to help my boys defend themselves. Christin and I stayed up late Thursday night cutting out capital Ms, Ps, Rs, Ls, and Ss as those are the letters the kids are learning right now. I never realized how few capital Ps are used in magazines...I took the letters and a new bottle of paste to the class so the kids could glue the magazine pieces onto appropriate spots on the paper. I purposely made each child their own pile of letters, each with the same number of Ps, Rs, Ms, Ls, and Ss so as to reduce the amount of fighting. The kids did surprisingly well with the project. For the most part, they all sat and happily glued away for a good half hour or so. It frustrated me a bit that la profesora would occasionally come around and shame a child by yelling at them that I had brought this beautiful project to them and they needed to do better work. I really wanted to keep this a positive experience so I tried to get to everyone before she did. I think we ended on a good note so I was satisfied with that.

Besides that, I spent some time stumbling my way through the Wizard of Oz in Spanish, a book I had brought from home. I read the book twice to a small group of interested kids before struggling through my tongue-tiededness wore me out. We also did numbers in English and Spanish and as I brought my camera with me, quite a bit of time was spent taking pictures and then showing them to all the kids. Each student wanted a picture of themselves doing several activities: eating, swinging, gluing, climbing over the eight foot fence to escape from the play yard....stuff like that. La profesora was just as intrigued by the camera as everyone else. She asked to have her picture taken and to see the results several times. I promised that when I got back to the United States, I would send copies of the pictures to her via CCS's homebase.


La profesora asked me to bring some supplies for her next week which I can't do as it is against CCS policy. I know she is aware of the policy, but I really can't blame her for trying. It may seem rude and impolite by our standards, but I can only imagine that if my children did not have what they needed as far as basic necessities go, I most likely would not worry too much about manners either. The CCS policy, at first blush, seems rather harsh. However, the goal of the program is to assist these organizations in becoming self-sustaining and self-improving. If we come in as these sort of saviors that bestow supplies and money, we make them dependent on charity, a position that never improves anyone's self-image.


The first day I was in the kindergarten, one of the little girls had nothing to eat for lunch. When she saw my granola bar, she pitifully asked if she could have some. I couldn't say no, something that I was reprimanded for when I checked with CCS staff later. As our director said, if parents in this poorest of schools got wind of the fact that a gringa was giving out food there, many of them would stop sending lunch to school so that their children could be fed by the gringa too. And as I don't have enough granola bars to feed the whole class for an extended period of time, I instead now don't bring anything to eat. At least then we can both be hungry, though I am sure our hunger is very different from one another's. Disturbingly, Friday, la profesora was "sharing" the children's lunches, explaining when she caught me watching her, that she was "very hungry". Which might be the case, though I noticed she was only hungry for sweet cookies and cakes.


After our placement, we headed back to the house for our final lunch with the Insight group. CCS has several programs of varying lengths to choose from, one of which is a week long trip that gives sort of an overview of the volunteer opportunities by spending time at a different placement every day. The afternoons are packed with tours such as the one we took to the Wari ruins, and lessons in Spanish and salsa dancing among other things. I enjoyed several of the people we met in the Insight program, particularly a 13 year old girl from Alaska and several people from Canada (I now have an understanding of Canadian politics and a renewed sense of embarrassment about my ignorance of world events in general). Unfortunately, there were also some people that I didn't really understand why they were there as they seemed much more interested in vacationing than volunteering. As we were packing for our coast trip, two of them decided to do a very convincing production of the Ugly American. Our guide for this coast trip is also the person who arranges trips for any CCS houseguest if they so desire. He has worked with CCS for nine years and goes above and beyond to give fabulous service. These two women took it upon themselves to degrade and humiliate our guide very publicly over a trivial matter that could easily have been taken care of with a civilized conversation. Every person in the house, all 22 volunteers and six or seven employees, was privy to what was going on. I, as well as just about everyone else in the house, felt terrible about the incident. I just can't believe how incredibly entitled some people feel, so much so that it is nothing to be demeaning and disrespectful (yeah, I said it) to another human being. On the bright side, the Insight volunteers flew back to Lima this morning so though I am disappointed that these women and I will not get a chance to have a philosophical discussion on proper etiquette when visiting a country not your own, the house will be a bit quieter and more cohesive in the coming week.

Jenny

9000 ft. and Counting

Well I got altitude sickness , wrote a comic and got transfered to Christin's school and had a good time. Things in the school I went to were much better then the other school I was at. Way more orderly than the other one. In my comic, I brought back the Jet Cat and Helli-mice (Grandma). I also find ginger to have wonderful health benefits toward altitude sickness. See I had some coffee today and the caffeine just killed me. I wanted to throw up on the floor. But all in all I had fun.

Eddie

A Day to Give Thanks in So Many Ways

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back home. I spent the day being thankful for the ability to have this experience and for the fact that we are so fortunate enjoys the lives we do. That sounds so cliché but today was intense. I want to go get my law degree and to work in the field of human rights so that I can make a significant impact in the lives of those who are not able to speak for themselves. Getting my degree and putting myself in a position to access those with the power to make changes is central to achieving my goal. But just as crucial is that I have a decent understanding of the issues facing those at the lowest rungs of society and that I know realistically, what is keeping them from changing their situation. My placement in this particular kindergarten is giving me that experience, something that I was not necessarily expecting when I booked my plane ticket. I had prepared myself for the language barrier, for the culture shock, for living with 20 strangers, for food that doesn´t sit well with your stomach, but naively, I had thought that a kindergarten would be a breeze. After all, I have worked with kids in classroom settings since I was 14. But this is different. I am in the midst of children who are not getting the attention that they so rightly deserve to reach even 1/10th of their potential, let alone any more than that. There are children with obvious learning disabilities which will never be addressed. Some of these kindergartners already hate, and I mean hate school. And who can blame them as screaming and slapping abound when answers are not correct. La profesora frustrates me and my urge is to be angry with her, but when I look at the lack of supplies, the lack of support, the obvious reality that many of these children have home lives which don´t allow them to come to school prepared to learn, I can understand her frustration and impatience. She is teaching what she knows, what she has been taught, what these children will teach others. She is the embodiment of the principal that the key to improving lives is education. Good education which teaches her to keep order in her class, how to address social issues that her students are having, how to work with dyslexic and autistic children. What an incredible difference in these kids lives a teacher like that would make.

Today I sat with a little girl who obviously has some fine motor issues as she is one of the older ones in the class and she is unable to even begin to form her letters. She was in tears within five minutes of beginning the lesson in which the students were supposed to right words that the teacher put on the board. La profesora came over and screamed at her, telling her not to be so lazy and other things that I didn´t fully understand but certainly got the drift of. This girl, such a sweet, tender soul, was just crushed. And to make matters worse, the other girls were making fun of her. I helped her to practice some letters, not really caring whether she actually formed the words but just desperately wanting her to know that she was a good child, that she was worth something and that her inability to write didn´t make her trash. It was absolutely heartbreaking.

At another point in the day, as the class had once again descended into chaos, I began to randomly write letters on the whiteboard and have children copy them for me. I know it was always a treat to get a chance to write on the chalkboard when I was in school and I think the same was true for these kids. I was able to regain some semblance of order with the threat that students who did not behave would not get a turn at the board. Two of the boys that present the greatest challenge in the class wrote their names on the board when there was not another activity that they had participated in all day. I gave them both a smile and a "muy bueno" and they just beamed....and came back to write their names over and over and over again. That was the first time I had seen one of them act like anything but an animal-literally.

When our driver picked us up at noon, one of the other volunteers that worked in a government sponsored daycare told us of something that happened that day that just chilled my blood. I won´t repeat it here because it is not my place to tell the tale, but it just sort of pushed me over the edge and I spent about ten minutes crying in the bathroom when we got back to the house. To say that is rare for me is an understatement. I guess that being faced with the things that I have long read about, heard about, known existed in the world but never experienced first-hand, was overwhelming. But I actually treasure being able to go through this process so that I can better know how to change these things. And absolutely, today of all days, I am so incredibly thankful for the life we are so blessed to lead, the life that means that though my children will face challenges, they will never be the kind which automatically destin (sp.?) them for a future filled with failure, the kind of life which gives opportunities and choices. Thanksgiving indeed.

After I composed myself from my little crying jag, we had lunch which in Peru as most other Latin cultures, is considered the main meal of the day. As a special treat, the cooks prepared the local delicacy cuy for us......also known as guinea pig. I made an exception to my no-meat rule to try a piece-a leg I think-and it was actually pretty good. Wyatt devoured his portion and then went around scavenging leftovers he liked it so much. The cooks also gave a nod to our Thanksgiving holiday by cooking turkey for dinner which I did not partake in. It looked nothing like our traditional turkey and it was accompanied by hot applesauce and iceberg salad, but the effort was appreciated.

Some of the volunteers that work with the jail held a sale of handicrafts after lunch which was a fantastic opportunity to get the "feel good while shopping" juices going. The jail here in Ayacucho holds about 1400 men and women though the buildings capacity is supposed to be closer to 700. A great majority of the women, probably around 80%, are jailed for drug trafficking. From what I have been told, rather than being hardened criminals, these are generally women who desperately needed money and accepted a load of cocaine for transport, then being not particularly practiced at what they do, were caught. Since these women obviously had no money to pay off the appropriate authorities, they were incarcerated with sentenced generally in the range of 12-20 years. The women are jailed with their children until the kids are three at which time they must be sent to live with relatives or barring that, to an orphanage. It is not uncommon for both a husband and wife to be jailed at the same time as they are often together when trying to transport the cocaine. This leaves a great many children with no one to care for them and the orphanage is another popular placement for CCS volunteers. Though they are behind bars, the women must still provide for themselves and their children out in the world, so they create beautiful handicrafts which they sell....well, basically anywhere that they can. They have been working overtime creating things which they think the volunteers will like and therefore buy. The detail in these creations is amazing and I did indeed spend quite a few soles on handicrafts. Next week I have been promised that I can go to the jail and meet some of these women for myself which is fantastic as I had been hoping to be placed there originally.

To everyone´s relief I am sure, the internet cafe is about to close so I will head back to the house. Happy Thanksgiving everyone and lets all count our blessings tonight....

Jenny

Fun-O-Lisious

Today we (minus Eddie) went to-you guessed it-the kindergarten. It was fun and we FINALLY found the grocery store. And the bank. By the way, Happy Thanksgiving! Did you eat turkey? I didn´t....instead, I ate guinea pig! Yes, I said guinea pig. It tasted GREAT. Yes it did.

Wyatt

Day Dos (Two) of Kindergarten

Today the kids were worse than yesterday. They found, and used, some brick chunks on me. It didn´t hurt and they were definitely holding back because they only hit my legs. I took the bricks from the kids and threw them in the corner outside. They then got a broom and hit me with it. The term "No le peges" came in handy today. But we did get a chance to teach them about our lives and they got a chance to learn where Peru was. At least I think they learned where Peru was because they colored it in...along with everything else on the paper. There´s not a lot for me to do there so I might jump around to some of the other spots with other volunteers.

After the school, we explored the Wari ruins and the site of the Battle of Ayacucho. The monument has a viewing platform of sorts so Wyatt and I went up-it cost one sole each. Wyatt and Mom went horseback riding while I stayed at the viewing platform. Going up the stairs there will seriously kill you because the altitude is over 10,000 feet up. That is 1,000 feet higher than Ayacucho, and of course, much higher than sea level where Florida is. Then it started pouring on us which made us all soaked and was not exactly fun. Well that´s all folks. Goodbye or as they say in Peru "¡Adios!"

Eddie
P.S. Please feel free to comment.

Wow, what a day, and man - am I wiped!!!!
Anyhow - what a difference a day can make - I had such an incredibly positive day in my class...
to start out, right when we arrivd at the school, my partner and I decided it would be a good idea and much more useful if we split up - I stayed with the same teacher - and what a differnce it made for sure.
Earlier this morning I had gone downstairs to make some notes and wrote some very simple things in English and Spanish that I could hang on the wall (window, bookshelf etc) and brought some paper to write more- I also thought it would be a good idea to redo the name tags on the desk...(thanks for the tape Jason!). Profesora Maria was delighted. She was happy to learn some English, I could learn some Spanish - AND we could teach the kids together!!! Iwas also able to help her with some of the activities today - cutting, glueing, dancing, singing - and then when the kids went to lunch I swept - plus wrote all the translations in her notebook so she could study!!! I felt really really good about our communication!!! Even as I was leaving for the day, Profesora Maria gave me a hug!!!! I can´t wait for tomorrow! Maybe I´ll go make a fruit poster too (Jenny just finished hers)
Anyhow, I´m sure the rest of our day is in Jenny´s post. This computer is making me very very tired.
Feliz Compleaños Jen! (I wore my shirt today in honor)
And Happy Turkey Day to all...we have much to be thankful for!
Off to the coast on Friday...
until then,
christin molly

Reality Sets In....And We Get to Ride a Horse

I stayed up late last night creating a mini-lesson plan to share with the kindergartners today. Basically, I assumed that they would find our lives interesting so I told them a bit about us and passed pictures around. I´m not sure that they were exactly riveted though the girls did seem to take to the picture of our cat Sami. There was quite a bit of yelling and hitting as the kids ripped the photos out of each other´s hands. However, I think that was more indicative of their usual mode of communication rather than a sign of their thirst to learn more.

For me, today was an interesting mix of emotions. I am very happy that I can be in the classroom and contribute anything positive for these children. However, today was very sobering in that the reality of what these children experience every day is setting in. La profesora is fairly impatient and her method of teaching is not one that I have come across in ten years of classroom participation. I would like to reserve judgement, however, my initial impression is that her style is extremely ineffective. I spent a good chunk of my day attempting to get to each child and help them with their assignment before la profesora came to them and screamed at them for getting it wrong. I soon realized that though the children have memorized many English words, the majority of them do not know their alphabet in Spanish.

Supplies in the classroom are pitiful so I purchased my own whiteboard pen and copied a map of South America for each of the students. After my fascinating discussion of our lives in Florida and showing where that is on a tiny world map, I passed out the South America map and had the kids color in the country of Peru. It was at that point that I realized that none of them know they live in Peru much less South America. Even more perplexing, I´m pretty sure la profesora was on about the same level as the kids though she could at least pinpoint Peru.

Even more disturbing for me is the fact that the children are very violent. They hit and kick and throw things on a regular basis. And when I say hit, I mean as hard as they can, repeatedly. La profesora ignores the activity until it gets in her way and then she comes down hard, sometimes hitting as well. I have decided that I cannot stand for the boys to hit the girls, it´s just not tolerable. In a culture where machismo is still alive and well, I won´t be witness to the sowing of the seeds of violence against women. I am not naive enough to believe that my stance will make much of a lasting impact on the children but even if it is only my own boys that see such behavior is not tolerated, that´s fine.

At several points in the morning, I did manage to communicate that we are not to hit, we share, we say please and thank you, and we use our words to solve problems-generally with encouraging results. I guess the most depressing thing is knowing that with no reinforcement, things will go back to more of the same as soon as I am gone. The reality is, I will be the one most touched by this "selfless" volunteer trip.

On a brighter note, this afternoon, we went to visit some ruins from the Wari period, a pre-Inca empire which lasted from 500-1100 A.D. I was so appreciative that we were able to do this as there is so much emphasis on the Incas yet they were only in existence for 100 years. The Waris were the ones that wore boards on their heads to mold the skull so that the forehead was like a ski slope. They were an advanced society that had aqueducts and even mastered (sort of) brain surgery. With our trip to the ruins, Wyatt and I also got a chance to go horseback riding while Christin and Eddie perused the traditional Wari-style ceramics in the town of Quinoa. Now we are back home and I am trying to scam some laundry soap off of one of the other housemates so I don´t have to head out to la tienda in the rain. So far no luck. I think I will try to teach the kids the Hokey Pokey in Spanish tomorrow even though I am well aware that it will descend into chaos in short order. But at least I will know the song in Spanish, something that I am sure will shine up the law school applications a bit.....

Jenny

TODAY IN PERU (I KNOW,CAPS)

Today we went to the kindergarten again. It was fun(see kids x 15). We taught them about Florida. After that, we went horse back riding! It was also fun. Further after that we went to the best of all...the Wari ruins. It´s awesome. Mostly because if you find a gem (I found 3) you can keep it!!! I found turquoise. Like I said, very cool.

Wyatt

I Get a Job

Today was the first day of work. Me, Wyatt, and Mom were at a kindergarten. It was crazy...two of the kids were the troublemakers. The toilet was a bucket on the floor and there was a fair amount of missing to be had. Also, the teacher (la profesora) did a lot of yelling. We taught some basic English and played catch with an old plastic ball left over from a former ball pit. From what Christin´s experience sounded like, we got one of the more orderly classrooms but through it all, it was fun. Today I also locked myself out of our room. Just thought you´d like to know.

Eddie

the truth comes out!

ok, so i thought i would write just a bit more...
i am not really much of a writer and certainly not as articulate as jenny...wantin to really let you see what we are seeing though...
walked into the classroom and it is indeed a small room. two tables with maybe 8 chairs around each then the teacher´s desk at the front. cubbies in the back a couple of shelves close to miss maria´s desk with some supplies - coloring books, some puzzles, and travel boxes of soap. a table for the kids packs. normal kindergarden class honestly. numbers, letters, words, pictures up on the wall.
it was indeed a bit chaotic. kids not sitting, coming in as late as 8:30 (we arrived at 8:05)...yelling and screaming and of course checking out the visitors. they got up all the time to go grab a bite or seven of their lunches.
lots of coloring.
sure, they could use some fresh sheets to color on...but no one seemed to mind. i do need to learn the word 'share' in spanish.
my whole pencil sharpener experience was perfectly humbling. maybe a glimpse of sadness at first that they didn´t have more - but they were super happy - maria is a great teacher - they are safe from the elements during the day, they are fed and clothed, and they even have enough soap to wash their hands - not nearly as much as (we) would like...also they have not only a bathroom with running water - but 2, one for the boys, one for the girls!!! (jenny´s class has a bucket in the corner).
maria also used and reused her rolls of tape to put her story board up...
makes me want to get up and scream at all of us for complaining about not having THINGS. that´s all they are. also - use your imagination!!!!!
oh ya - one other thing i wnted to share that i saw this afternoon as jenny, wyatt , and i werewalking about town... thought it was a couple because all i saw was a mn and a woman waling together (sorry for all the typos) then i saw the man grab the woman´s behind - thninking he was just being silly / affectinate - next thing i know she turns around and beats him up side the head with her hand then her purse! YOU GO GIRL!!!!
ok, now i feel better....
i really am looking forwad to tomorrow!!!
hope all is well on your side of the equator!!!
xoxo
cmg

¡hola¡
Wow, what a day...not even quite sure where to begin...kind of a roller coaster of emotions. Started at our sites this morning. I am in a kindergarden class close to our neighborhood. Language barrier for sure, though was partenered with a girl that was almost fluent. Had no expectations, wasn´t sure what our roles were to be. So, I just sat down and started coloring with the kids - can´t go wrong wth that right? Talked about colors and then my magical moment happened; I was handed the pencil sharpener. Amazing how important this little tool made me feel...I had all the kids crowded around me excitedly waiting for their pencil´s turn. Keep in mind there is only ONE PENCIL SHARPENER - it is the teacher´s, and it is kept in her apron. I felt very important. All I could think about is how annoyed any one of us at home might become with this little plastic sharpener, but this was like gold to them. My fingers were getting sore, but there was no way I was stopping! Then, I was able to give them the job of putting the shavings in the basuda por favor (trash please). It was like I was giving them magical fairy dust in their hands! Throughout the day I also joined in some games - singing, dancing, clapping. I even was able to help Professoria Maria wiht some English pronounciation that I wrote on the board.
A good portion of the day however I think I felt very well, unuseful, in the way, and very very lost. Wasn´t sure what their 'normal' routine was and I certainly didn´t want to step on any toes. I felt like I was an observer. I do have to keep in mind - it was only the first day.
Once we were picked up and came back 'home' to eat lunch we had a little de-brief. I think my partner was very unhappy - says she´s not going back. She´s a teacher back home and even though she says she as well had no expectations, I think she was hoping she could have more of a direct impact...I just feel lucky to be able to hang out. I talked tonight with another volunteer that was placed there for awhile - she gave me some pointers. That was helpful. I have some ideas - I look forward to tomorrow...
adios for now (this time spelled properly!)
christin

The Language Barrier Strikes Again

Today was absolutely jam-packed with activities which seemed to be conducted mainly in Spanish. This is wonderful as one of my goals is to really see some improvement in my language skills. However, my brain is absolutely fried from the effort of straining to understand and then attempting to formulate responses that don´t make me look like the dull tool in the shed. It is an amazingly humbling experience to travel in a country where you are not fluent. I highly recommend it to everyone as a way to more realistically view one´s place in the universe. After such an journey, no one would ever think to ignore (foreign) tourists looking for directions again. Knowing a foreign language is just such an incredible gift and I curse (once again) the American school system that believes reading by the time you enter 1st grade is more important than eventually being bi- or even trilingual. When I very haltingly explained to the kindergarten teacher today that I did not know much Spanish, she looked deflated. I could only imagine that she was incredulous that this obviously rich (by their standards), educated woman could not speak Spanish while the 4 and 5 year olds in her class, many without even a pencil, could tell me the alphabet, colors, numbers, body parts, and animals all in English. Her disappointment may have largely been in my mind, but only in so much as it reflected my own disappointment at not being able to easily communicate.

Of course, that did not stop la profesora from asking me to teach the class about 15 minutes in. I used what little vocabulary I do know to explain that I would help them with their English and in return, they could help me with my Spanish. The kids were delighted with this arrangement and as my Spanish is on about the level of a kindergartner, things went fairly well. The school is one room divided by a partition with a "playground" in back smaller than my bedroom. The 16 children sit at three tables on tiny plastic lawn chairs. The only bathroom I saw was the buckets against the wall which the children would intermittently get up to use-not very accurately I might add. The playground consists of a decrepit swing set which I forbade Eddie and Wyatt to use as I was terrified they might inadvertently break the only item of play equipment available to the kids. There are no balls but several broken plastic toys and handily, an old toilet seat which some of the kids so creatively used as a hat. The boys tend to be extremely physical and adored hanging all over, playing with, and sometimes terrorizing Eddie and Wyatt. Since Peruvians tend to run small in stature anyway, and these children most likely were not suffering from over nutrition, I didn´t worry too much about my boys being overwhelmed by the students. I did teach them how to say "Don´t hit" and "No throwing chairs at people" just to give them a bit more of an edge tomorrow.

Our day at the kindergarten was exhausting, sobering, confusing, but also, a lot of fun. It has been awhile since I have spent time in a kindergarten classroom (4 years to be exact) and I forgot how the littlest things can make them so excited and happy. But I definitely want to have a bit more of a game plan when I go in tomorrow as colors and numbers will only carry me so far.

After our morning at the school, we came home to a fantastic lunch and I must give our ladies props for doing an excellent job with all of our particular dietary needs: vegetarian, vegan, lactose-free, gluten-free. I also learned that Peruvians say in Spanish that they "drink" their breakfast rather than eat it which is because it tends to be a very light affair with lots of coffee, tea, and juice....which explains the hard biscuits for breakfast again. Got to find a tienda with some cereal soon. We looked for a place again today but got a bit turned around (not exactly lost, thank you Wyatt) and ran out of time. On the way back we stopped in a little place to grab sodas but I forgot that in Latin America, you don´t leave an establishment with the glass bottle because the owner can get the deposit back for it. So we very lamely stood in this minuscule shop sucking down our sodas while the woman probably pondered whether all gringos are so obtuse.

Back at the house, we were given an incredibly informative lecture on the coca crops of Peru. 50% of the coca leaves grown in Peru are done so not far from the city we are in and the coca trade has greatly influenced the economy and structure of Ayacucho (Huamanga). El profesor explained the legal uses of the coca leaves, some of which we have already experienced, as coca tea is excellent for reducing the affects of altitude sickness. He then delineated the cocaine trade in South America and explained the intricacies that surround any attempts to drive the drug trade out of Peru. As residents in the U.S., we have a particular take on the issue of cocaine and this was a wonderful opportunity to see the same issue from another viewpoint. Things are just never as simplistic as they seem.

Overall, the day was taxing, but in that good way that lets you fall asleep the minute your head hits the pillow and not wake until morning, refreshed and ready to do it again. It´s a good feeling for sure. I look forward to the challenges that my little rambunctious Peruvian friends will have for me tomorrow....the freezing cold shower I will be taking in a few minutes, not so much.

Jenny

Kids x 15

Today we taught fifteen kids English for four hours in a kindergarten. They were kind of chaotic. And to define chaotic, I´ll state the play activities:

1. The screaming banshee
2. The over-the-head plastic chair
3. The hair pull
4. The multiple slap attack
5. The blow-out table flip

It was altogether pretty fun (not sarcasm) and I liked it (not sarcasm again). It was pretty fun to play with the kids.

After that we walked in the city looking for the grocery store and got lost. But we did take some soda from a market. I got a soda called Inka Cola and it tastes great.

Wyatt :-)

I love BEDS!!

Man I spent a good 27 hours awake due to plane rides. After we got to our home base we got a tour of it. I tried to be polite by not falling asleep. As soon as we got to the room the first thing I saw were the 2 bunk beds in the room. Wyatt and I took the tops and instantly fell asleep and LOVED IT!!! We missed lunch and breakfast but it was worth it. The altitude will wind you going up the stairs. I look forward to going back to kindergarten... not as a student but as a teacher this time. The food is good among other things. Every thing is clean. But you can't use the tap to brush your teeth... but there is bottled water and containers to refill them. I guess that's it. Till next time.

Eddie

hola¡ amigos y familia!
new experiences all over the place!
who really ever thought i would write a blog! HA!
so -we made it safely for those that were the least bit worried...after being up for 27 hours (except of course for our nap on the airport floor in Lima) we were very very happy to make it to the home base and meet not only the wonderful kind staff and other volunteers, but our bunk beds were a welcome sight!
We seem to be all doing ok with the altitude...sometimes a little rest after climbing the stairs is necesary, but with how good we´ve all been with water consumption - we´re making it!
today we had our orientation - learned much of the history of the region , learned that there are over 3,000 varieties of potatoes, and talked about where we would be working.
While visiting 4 of the placements today, we learned that many of the programs are gov´t funded and have been beneficail to the communities...essentially a day care, the soup kitchen that feeds the neighborhood day cares, a medical clinic, and at least the outside f the prison...we at least won´t go in blindly tomorrow...
jenny brought up a good point...this is certainly more of a way that we will be able to catch even a glimpse of life here...more of an opportunity tha we might not have otherwise...
so, wish us well on our adventures, we will do our best to keep you updated...
addios!
christin

Off to a Bueno Beginning

We arrived safe and sound at the Lima airport on Saturday then spent the night on the floor outside the domestic flight check-in counter. The airport is very modern and clean, a nice surprise since we were, as I said, on the floor. 4 a.m. saw us checking in for our flight to Ayacucho. The flight was an hour long and took us over some amazing Andean peaks that seemed to be only a few feet below the aircraft. Upon arrival at our home base, we immediately took to our beds between just our general exhaustion and the altitude, over 9000 feet above sea level. We missed breakfast and lunch but did manage to clean ourselves up with a predictably cold shower before heading down to meet our housemates. There are currently 24 people in the house staying from 1 to 4 weeks, some having been there for 2 months already.

When I have told people back home about our trip to Peru, I have felt quite adventurous, like I am such a brave person to be going on a (gasp!) 3 week trip to a developing country. But the moment I started talking to our housemates, that feeling completely disappeared. These people have traveled all over the world, for months at a time. Some have been working in the clinics and the jail for weeks on end, while others have done time providing medical care in some of the world´s poorest areas. It is awe-inspiring as well as humbling to be with such a group of people.

Today we visited several of the sites where volunteers work, getting a feel for our placements and what is expected of us. I had a chance to learn about the political and economic situation in the Ayacucho region from locals as well as see some of the social programs that have been implemented by the current president. Though the services here would appall us if they were in the United States, compared to my experience in Guatemala, I was actually fairly impressed. At least things such as maternal health, vocational training, and child nutrition are on the radar and there is an attempt to address the needs of the community. Tomorrow we will start our placement in the kindergarten which should be a lot of fun.

So far we have not made it out on the town, but that will change as soon as the post is up. We are in desperate need of cereal apparently. Breakfast this morning was a hard biscuit with jam-OK but not quite sufficient for the day. I suspect that the cooks are used to the volunteers that have been here longer and are quite comfortable shopping for their own food at the market. Hopefully we will feel the same very soon. In the meantime....Nature Valley granola bars to the rescue again. And yes, the brown sugar ones are delicious. Other than that, the only other inconvenience, this one a bit more irritating, is that I cannot seem to log onto my mac account as Apple has so helpfully "improved" their services and now one must use only particular browsers to access email. Particular browsers which do not seem to be commonly found in internet cafes in the Andean highlands of Peru. So any suggestions are certainly welcome and that is also my excuse for not emailing anyone back home.....

Off to the tienda to purchase cocoa pops or something equally nutritious as it seems that the Latin world is obsessed with high fructose corn syrup products. A social commentary much too intricate to delve into at the moment....Hasta luego from the Andes!

Jenny

It is 11:00 somwhare

We got to peru...and I'm lifting weights keeping my eyes open! We were in Lima airport waiting for the plane to take us to Ayacucho. Now that we are there we saw our room...with 2 bunk-beds! Me and Eddie scrambled to the top and finally..peacefully..slept.

Today, we saw lots of Punch-bugs, pigs, dogs and above all mud.

Wyatt

'Twas the Night Before.....Our Big Trip

So we are immunized, passported, packed, and ready to hit the road. We made it out the door about 5 a.m. this morning on our way to Stuart to visit Erin and the boys. We enjoyed a last all-American meal of wings and hamburgers (salad for pescatarian me) before settling down for the night. Tomorrow we head to Miami where we will fly non-stop on LAN airlines to Lima, Peru. The last two days have seen me frantically attempting to fit a large dining room table full of stuff into two manageable backpacks. I think I have finally given up and will add a duffel bag to the mix. Between a nebulizer for Wyatt, several pounds of trail mix, and a jar of peanut butter, among other things, two backpacks just isn't going to cut it.

It is a unique challenge to pack for an international, non-luxury trip with two children. Clothing is the least of what we have packed. In fact, as has happened each time we have traveled abroad before, I am quite sure that several days into the trip we will decide that we don't have nearly enough clothes to make it through. Then several days later, after we have ineptly attempted to hand wash several items, we will decide that we can live with a vague waft of funk swirling about us for the remainder of the trip. Though this sounds sort of horrible when one is sitting in a home equipped with a Maytag front loader, it is actually a very liberating experience and one that is sort of synonymous with eating things that you would never even consider if you were home.

More than clothing, the "just in case" stuff is what gets me. Headlamps, duct tape, baby wipes, diarrhea medicine, rain ponchos, clothespins, zipties, work gloves......the list goes on and on. We aren't positive exactly what the situation is going to be in Ayacucho and theses types of things prove to be invaluable more often than not. In addition we have two water bottles apiece as it is essential to keep hydrated at all times due to the high altitude. Ayacucho sits at 9000 ft. and some of the areas we will travel to reach up to 13,000 ft. Altitude sickness is a common occurrence, leaving those struck by it with headaches and nausea. There doesn't seem to be a lot of rhyme or reason to who gets hit the worst by this...hopefully it is not women and children under the age of 14.

I can honestly say that I am very excited about our trip. This is my fourth (or fifth, depending on how you count it) time out of the country and I feel like I really have an idea of what to expect with regards to culture shock and challenges such as language barriers. Though a lot of the details are still a mystery to us, I am confident that the kids and I can successfully face the challenges of traveling internationally. I look forward to the exhilaration that comes with doing so. But first, just one last French fry....

Jenny

Blogger

This blog is about blogging. Soon, I will be blogging in Peru. I am looking forward to that......blog. It will be very fun......blog. I will miss my friends as blogs must go there separate ways. My group will help me through it. Please blog responsibly.

Wyatt :] ;] :D X[ :*[ :..{ :I :() !:) :>)

Writer's Block

Tomorrow we start our big adventure and I have no idea what to write! Except this. Hopefully I can think of some thing to write instead of trying to get down a couple of sentences of filler. I will think of something. It would be very disappointing to my fans if all I could come up with is "It's me again. Nothing exciting happened. Again." for 3 weeks. No, no that wouldn't do.

Eddie

Getting Ready (Or Not!) to Go

We now are officially one week out from our big trip....though you'd never guess by the lack of preparations going on in our house. I just finished the new book I picked up in the Dallas airport yesterday, Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley. I tend to seek solace in reading marathons or some equally unproductive task when I am feeling most overwhelmed by my to do list. Then, after I have accomplished absolutely nothing for a few hours, sometimes even a day, I am able to face what really needs to be done. A little pressure just helps to light a fire under me....

The boys have diligently been using our Rosetta Stone program. At this point I am pretty sure they will be able to say hello and goodbye, ask the names of other children, and tell everyone that they are wearing purple socks. Other than that, the boys will have to rely on mediocre miming skills as well as the goodwill and patience of the Peruvian children. My own Spanish is not stellar, but I am hoping that I can have a decent, though in all likelihood short, conversation with the Spanish speakers we meet. The kids and I traveled to Guatemala for ten days last spring and I felt very comfortable with the language by the end of our trip. However, for some reason, when I get back into the United States, I lose all ability to coherently speak Spanish. This is a hurdle I am trying to overcome by spending more and more time in Spanish-speaking areas. To that extent, our upcoming move to San Diego will, I am sure, prove extremely helpful.

So my goal with this blog is three-fold: to have a record of our trip in real time, to let our friends and family share in our experiences, and to get the kids to feel more comfortable sharing their writing with others. Hopefully we will be able to post once a day but since we don't know exactly what we are going into, that may not happen. Whether we post or not, we look forward to sharing memories and (hours upon endless hours) of photos with, most likely, anyone who will sit still long enough to listen to us. In the meantime, we wish all of our friends and family could be with us on this exciting and amazing journey. Now, I wonder if I have any cross stitch patterns lying around......
Jenny