After an arduous 39 hour journey, we are home again. I woke this morning at about 5am with a deep sense of loneliness. For more than three weeks, I had shared close quarters with the boys and Christin. In addition, the world outside our rooms was one that did not subscribe to quiet hours or curfews. People lived their lives loudly, continuously, and nearly on top of one another. The house in Santa Rosa Beach seems so big for just three people, and the silence outside is deafening. But I know that this feeling is only fleeting....too soon I will adapt to our separateness and the relative sterility that those with more means live in in the United States.
I am very glad to be home, for all the reasons I noted earlier, as well as because my last day in Peru was spent mainly in the airport restrooms. When we woke up in Arequipa on Friday morning, both Eddie and I were not feeling well. We had to be at the airport at 6:30am for our flight to Lima. Eddie was vomiting and continued to do so throughout the flight much to our fellow passengers dismay. I was fairly concerned for him at one point as he turned absolutely ghostly white before becoming a hideous shade of yellow. However, once we hit Lima, he had one more trip to the restroom and then made a miraculous recovery much to our relief. By the end of the day, he was making the most of my weakened state to drink Starbucks frappachinos and eat McDonald's hamburgers.
As quickly as Eddie got better, I got worse. We had been planning on using our fifteen hour layover in Lima to check out the local markets, do some shopping, and sample the ceviche that others had been raving about. But I was in no condition to go anywhere. At about 10am, we camped out in four overstuffed chairs in of all places, Starbucks. Some people will know of the utter revulsion I have for patronizing Starbucks, but at that point, Starbucks was my favorite place in the world. The chairs were big enough to sleep on, they had hot water, and they didn't care if we stayed there all day. So we did, listening to Jack Johnson and Nora Jones sing Christmas songs, which was the most comforting thing ever. I got to the point where I could barely stand up and definitely had a fever. I contemplated taking the antibiotics that we had brought for these kinds of cases, but I didn't think I could even keep one down. Christin was, as always, fantastic, bringing me water and soda crackers and entertaining the boys. We literally stayed in that Starbucks for 12 hours, not leaving until it was time to check in for our 12:20am flight.
The rest of our journey consisted of a six hour flight to Miami, an hour train ride to Ft. Lauderdale to pick up my truck, and 12 hours back to the Panhandle. By the time we got home, I think we were pretty much delirious with fatigue. I have made a full recovery, assisted by hot showers, drinkable tap water, and toilets that one can put toilet paper in. The kids are ready to explore their Legos and boardgames and be content to be at home for a bit. I am in homemaker mode, playing Christmas music and feeling the itch to bake something. Our time away has made us so much more content with our time here, as is often the case. My mom asked me what our favorite part of the trip had been when I spoke to her this morning. I considered it for a moment and then had two answers. The first was sandboarding in the desert. That was so much fun and the landscape was completely new to me. But the second was really more "my favorite". It was exploring people different from myself. Seeing how others chose (or are forced) to navigate the lives we are given. Traveling to other countries makes me feel that I have been given another piece of the puzzle-one that I hope to spend my life trying to construct. Because there are so many ways to go about living and so many angles to view the world from, we can never hope to know them all. But traveling gives me the opportunity to see many more than I would while staying at home. I took a philosophy class years ago where the teacher used an analogy of blind men describing an elephant. Where ever each man touched, that was their view of what an elephant looked like. An elephant was a trunk or an ear or a tail or a leg since that was the only part the men knew. Only by gaining their sight, stepping back from the elephant, and viewing the whole animal could these men ever hope to see what it was really like. Such a feat for them was most likely impossible, just as viewing the world in its entirety is most likely impossible for us. However, being aware that one is only touching the trunk or the ear and attempting to explore further is the first step. For me, traveling is a way to explore the elephant.
I wanted to trying blogging about our trip for several reasons. I think it is good for the kids to do some writing, we always keep a record of our trip anyway, and we could share our experiences with our friends and family. But secretly, I also hope that this blog can inspire and give courage to others to travel abroad. Particularly to those with children. I hope that by sharing our trip, someone might feel more comfortable taking their own child to another country. As anyone can see from this blog, there are certainly challenges, and it is definitely not always relaxing. But the benefits of traveling for anyone-if you go with an open mind and heart- are immeasurable. I started traveling with the kids when Wyatt was six and I was scared to death because I had only been out of the country once. But we picked Costa Rica, a fairly mild destination, and gave it a try. As my children and I gain confidence, I hope to spend time in every part of the world, learning about all the wonderful (and not so wonderful!) things out there while giving my children the most expansive view of the elephant that I can. Thank you to our friends and family for all their support and love, while we were gone, as well as everyday. You all are the source that I draw my energy and drive from. Happy Holidays and I look forward to hearing about all the travels we have inspired for the new year!
Love,
Jenny
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Canon del Colca
Thursday morning, the four of us were awakened at 6am by an air raid siren which sounded as though it were about a foot away from our door. The siren blast lasted for about ten minutes straight, but as no one seemed to be rushing about or panicking, we tried to calmly go about our business. When we went downstairs, I asked the desk clerk about the siren. She didn't speak any English and my limited Spanish caught only something about firemen in the main square and "No, of course they don't do this every day" which was a relief.
So with slightly frayed nerves, we joined a group of five other people on a tour headed for the Colca Canyon. I had no idea what to expect since our guide had arranged everything and given no details. I only knew that we were supposed to spend one night there and that any Ariquipena that you talked to would remind us that the Canon del Colca was more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. We were happy to be traveling with others as our own companionship was fine but could use some interesting people to spice things up. Our fellow travelers were a
Peruvnian couple from Lima, a Swiss-German couple, and an American man from Las Vegas. The Peruvian woman was on the tour so she could get photos of the dancing and dress typical of that area and then she was going to enter herself in a National Geographic contest. It was funny to me that the Peruvians, because they were from Lima, a world away from Colca Canyon, wanted to explore other Peruvians. That just shows my uneducated bias that all of Peru is inhabited by throwbacks to a different era when in fact, many Limenos are extremely sophisticated, wealthy, and cosmopolitan.
The Swiss-German couple were OK, but the woman was very abrupt and rude to several Peruvians during the course of our trip. And the guy from Las Vegas was a bit of a trip-he was "in" real estate and spends half his year wandering the world. He used the phrase "and I'm all like" way more than anyone who is not a 14-year-old valley girl should. I have found that generally (very generally) when I travel abroad, the people I like least are Americans. Which I find odd because in the United States, there are many, many Americans I like-those people need to start traveling abroad more.
Our trip to the canyon consisted of a four hour ride to the tiny town of Chivay. Once there, we were installed in our hostels and told we would be picked up in an hour to go to the local hot springs. However, by then it was around 5pm and extremely cold-on the way to Chivay at one point it had been snowing. As no one had briefed us on our trip and Arequipa was sunny and hot when we left, Christin and I were wearing flip-flops and tank tops. Needless to say, we put on every piece of clothing we could and once at the hot springs, decided it was way too cold to undress and get into the murky-looking spring water. Instead, we wandered around the mountainside and explored the river adjacent to the springs.
The next day saw us driving another two and a half hours to get to Canon del Condor where there is the most likelihood of seeing South American condors in their natural habitat. We did in fact see about a dozen of them, majestically riding the updrafts that come from the canyon. Colca Canyon itself was beautiful and definitely deep, but all four of us decided that it really can't touch the drama and grandeur of the Grand Canyon. Mostly, we enjoyed thawing out in the sunshine while condors soared next to us.
Next it was back to Chivay for a buffet lunch of traditional Peruvian food. The food was actually very good, but I had gotten a bit cavalier about watching what I ate since we had been in Peru for several weeks now. I had consumed salads and raw fruit on several occasions as well as our chicha experience, without ill effects for the most part. But Chivay is a very small-and I'll say it-dirty town without enough of a tourist flow to ensure a level of hygiene that visitors need to stay well. I ate my fill at the buffet which I would pay for later.
In the meantime, we spent an hour or so watching some traditional dancing in the tiny Plaza de Armas since Chivay happened to be holding a festival for some reason while we were there. The dress was beautiful with intricate embroidery from head to toe. It struck me that in these dreary and colorless surroundings of the high desert, the Peruvians had chosen to dress in a way which brought color to their lives. Sort of a survival adaptation if you will.
Back in Arequipa (four and a half very bumpy, dusty hours later) we packed our bags way beyond what they were meant to carry and headed out on the town for one last night in Peru. We ate again at the falafel house and spent several hours playing cards and laughing with each other. I reflected on how traveling together brings us so much closer and already I was starting to miss the enforced together time that we experience while in another country. Though meeting others and learning to adapt to a new culture is key to our travels, laying bare the cultural bonds that we as a family have is a wonderful side effect that I cherish. That last night, we sort of just took it all in, celebrating our triumph of three weeks in a foreign land. We talked about what our favorite moments and places were and what we were going to miss most. It was nice, very nice....
Jenny
So with slightly frayed nerves, we joined a group of five other people on a tour headed for the Colca Canyon. I had no idea what to expect since our guide had arranged everything and given no details. I only knew that we were supposed to spend one night there and that any Ariquipena that you talked to would remind us that the Canon del Colca was more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. We were happy to be traveling with others as our own companionship was fine but could use some interesting people to spice things up. Our fellow travelers were a
Peruvnian couple from Lima, a Swiss-German couple, and an American man from Las Vegas. The Peruvian woman was on the tour so she could get photos of the dancing and dress typical of that area and then she was going to enter herself in a National Geographic contest. It was funny to me that the Peruvians, because they were from Lima, a world away from Colca Canyon, wanted to explore other Peruvians. That just shows my uneducated bias that all of Peru is inhabited by throwbacks to a different era when in fact, many Limenos are extremely sophisticated, wealthy, and cosmopolitan.
The Swiss-German couple were OK, but the woman was very abrupt and rude to several Peruvians during the course of our trip. And the guy from Las Vegas was a bit of a trip-he was "in" real estate and spends half his year wandering the world. He used the phrase "and I'm all like" way more than anyone who is not a 14-year-old valley girl should. I have found that generally (very generally) when I travel abroad, the people I like least are Americans. Which I find odd because in the United States, there are many, many Americans I like-those people need to start traveling abroad more.
Our trip to the canyon consisted of a four hour ride to the tiny town of Chivay. Once there, we were installed in our hostels and told we would be picked up in an hour to go to the local hot springs. However, by then it was around 5pm and extremely cold-on the way to Chivay at one point it had been snowing. As no one had briefed us on our trip and Arequipa was sunny and hot when we left, Christin and I were wearing flip-flops and tank tops. Needless to say, we put on every piece of clothing we could and once at the hot springs, decided it was way too cold to undress and get into the murky-looking spring water. Instead, we wandered around the mountainside and explored the river adjacent to the springs.
The next day saw us driving another two and a half hours to get to Canon del Condor where there is the most likelihood of seeing South American condors in their natural habitat. We did in fact see about a dozen of them, majestically riding the updrafts that come from the canyon. Colca Canyon itself was beautiful and definitely deep, but all four of us decided that it really can't touch the drama and grandeur of the Grand Canyon. Mostly, we enjoyed thawing out in the sunshine while condors soared next to us.
Next it was back to Chivay for a buffet lunch of traditional Peruvian food. The food was actually very good, but I had gotten a bit cavalier about watching what I ate since we had been in Peru for several weeks now. I had consumed salads and raw fruit on several occasions as well as our chicha experience, without ill effects for the most part. But Chivay is a very small-and I'll say it-dirty town without enough of a tourist flow to ensure a level of hygiene that visitors need to stay well. I ate my fill at the buffet which I would pay for later.
In the meantime, we spent an hour or so watching some traditional dancing in the tiny Plaza de Armas since Chivay happened to be holding a festival for some reason while we were there. The dress was beautiful with intricate embroidery from head to toe. It struck me that in these dreary and colorless surroundings of the high desert, the Peruvians had chosen to dress in a way which brought color to their lives. Sort of a survival adaptation if you will.
Back in Arequipa (four and a half very bumpy, dusty hours later) we packed our bags way beyond what they were meant to carry and headed out on the town for one last night in Peru. We ate again at the falafel house and spent several hours playing cards and laughing with each other. I reflected on how traveling together brings us so much closer and already I was starting to miss the enforced together time that we experience while in another country. Though meeting others and learning to adapt to a new culture is key to our travels, laying bare the cultural bonds that we as a family have is a wonderful side effect that I cherish. That last night, we sort of just took it all in, celebrating our triumph of three weeks in a foreign land. We talked about what our favorite moments and places were and what we were going to miss most. It was nice, very nice....
Jenny
Friday, December 11, 2009
cheers!
So much time in between, but I know that Jenny and the kids have been keeping you up tp date. I won´t go over the same stuff, but I will touch upon a few momoents...
I think to be honest I am still trying to process Maccu Picchu. It´s a lot to take in! Not only the immense beauty and awe, but learning and seeing first hand the pure genius of the Incas...Not something I thought I would ever do, but feel so lucky to have witnessed...and, Mom, get ready! October 12, 2014...
So, today is Friday...I think´we´re all pretty ready...the last 24 hours were unexpectedly trying. We knew we were going to check out Colca Canyon (larger than the Grand Canyon), but I at least certainly did not know that we would be on a 5 hour drive to get there! I´m all about adventure, but the long bumpy, dusty drive wore me to the core. We were however lucky enough to see condors gliding through the air with presence and grace (but I think we decided the Grand Canyon is in fact more grand - the colors don´t compare).
I am looking forward to tomorrow - we get to be on our own again, explore at our own speed; we´re going to a Farmer´s Market outside of Lima...
Like Jenny mentioned, we have been going nonstop for 3 weeks staight, and going at a pace and style that we are not accustomed to...though it has been an incredible adventure! One that I am surely thankful for...I love traveling as the four of us. I love seeing things through all of our different eyes...we all add something ünique to the trip...certainly in some ways, this is the end of an era...
...as happy and as thrilled and as excited I am for the upcoming move to San Diego...it does mean not as much time spent as the crazy foursome that we have become!
ok, muy cansada, looking forward to my last (inside) shower for awhile...and don´t want to get too sappy in this strange office...
so, thnaks everyone for joining along - i´m sure we will probably add more even after we get home - pictures for sure, forgotten stories, silly moments...
until then,
mucho amore and many besos from Peru!
christin
I think to be honest I am still trying to process Maccu Picchu. It´s a lot to take in! Not only the immense beauty and awe, but learning and seeing first hand the pure genius of the Incas...Not something I thought I would ever do, but feel so lucky to have witnessed...and, Mom, get ready! October 12, 2014...
So, today is Friday...I think´we´re all pretty ready...the last 24 hours were unexpectedly trying. We knew we were going to check out Colca Canyon (larger than the Grand Canyon), but I at least certainly did not know that we would be on a 5 hour drive to get there! I´m all about adventure, but the long bumpy, dusty drive wore me to the core. We were however lucky enough to see condors gliding through the air with presence and grace (but I think we decided the Grand Canyon is in fact more grand - the colors don´t compare).
I am looking forward to tomorrow - we get to be on our own again, explore at our own speed; we´re going to a Farmer´s Market outside of Lima...
Like Jenny mentioned, we have been going nonstop for 3 weeks staight, and going at a pace and style that we are not accustomed to...though it has been an incredible adventure! One that I am surely thankful for...I love traveling as the four of us. I love seeing things through all of our different eyes...we all add something ünique to the trip...certainly in some ways, this is the end of an era...
...as happy and as thrilled and as excited I am for the upcoming move to San Diego...it does mean not as much time spent as the crazy foursome that we have become!
ok, muy cansada, looking forward to my last (inside) shower for awhile...and don´t want to get too sappy in this strange office...
so, thnaks everyone for joining along - i´m sure we will probably add more even after we get home - pictures for sure, forgotten stories, silly moments...
until then,
mucho amore and many besos from Peru!
christin
Oddly...
We made it from Cusco on Wednesday despite the rain, with no delays. We spent the evening orienting ourselves to Arequipa, visiting the beautiful Plaza de Armas and having dinner at a kebab/falafel-hole-in-the-wall. The four of us strolled the pedestrian-only streets lined with hundreds of years old buildings famously made from basalt. Then we spent a good chunk of time searching for Peruvian flavored ice cream. Turns out we shouldn't have wasted our time. Our first stop found us with cones of coconut, chocolate chip, manjar (carmel) and lucuma (a Peruvian fruit) ice cream. The consensus was that all of the flavors tasted the same....sort of like when you accidentally open your mouth while spraying perfume. On the way back to the hotel, we spotted another heladeria and thought we should give Peruvian ice cream a second chance. We chose canela (cinnamon) and (seperately) mango. No go with those either-the mango tasted like chewing on a bar of antibacterial soap. We will try not to judge Peru's sweet tooth by these two shops alone, but I can say that this is the first time I have ever seen my children throw ice cream away.
Christin and I had a long talk in our hostal room in Arequipa Wednesday night. Despite our pleasant evening, we were both feeling a bit road weary. Our thoughts had turned toward home and I think all of us could have easily stayed on the plane which was headed for Lima next. This feeling didn't set well with us as we are on the trip of a lifetime, right? But after a bit, I realized that for me at least, there were several other issues going on:
1. Realistically, we have been going nonstop for the last three weeks. With the exception of one day, we have had to be out of bed by 6:30 am or earlier every day. We're tired.
2. I can't emphasis enough how I would not change the company I am in for the world. But I am responsible for a lot as far as making sure the kids are up and ready, have clean (or semi-clean) clothes, we have all the wipes, sunblock, rain coats, gloves, books, passports, snacks and bottled water-always with the bottled water-that we need. This isn't extremely different than at home but more concentrated and more neccessary as we can't pull off to the Tom Thumb or 7-11 and grab what we forgot. Being ever vigilant that no one bites a fruit that hasn't been thouroughly washed or brushes their teeth with tap water gets a bit old after awhile. I don't usually do well when I am forced to keep super close tabs on the kids-part of the reason I have raised them to be as independent as they are comfortable with.
3. I have been finding it increasingly difficult to keep my head space wholly in Peru this last week. For me, I think it is because we have so much coming up in the near future. Christmas and all its attendant preperations, of course, but also our big move in February to San Diego. I certainly don't want to live my life looking to the next thing without enjoying the moment I am in, but I am happy that I have lots of good things coming up in the future.
4. Finally, my main purpose in coming to Peru was to experience the people, to learn about their political and economic situation and how their culture fits into that. And also to hopefully contribute something positive to someone (preferably many someones) life. We did that in Ayacucho. Of course we can't leave the country without exploring it further and seeing the world famous ruins of Macchu Picchu. But I think after our time in Ayacucho, it feels a bit superflous and extravegant to just galavant about entertaining ourselves at quite a bit of expense. Particularly how we are going about it is not Christin and my's favorite way to travel. Our guide's arrangements have been flawless and have made things go very smoothly, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of challenge in it. The challenges of traveling to a foreign country, and the thrill of overcoming those challenges, are for us, at least half the enjoyment. I think we are missing the frustration of having no idea how to get to the next destination, and the triumph of figuring it out anyway.
Anyway, now that I have catalouged why Wednesday in particular I was feeling apathetic, I am going to set my mind firmly back in the heart of Peru and make the most of our last few days....before we know it, we will be missing our perilous mototaxi drivers and our bread and hot water breakfasts.
Jenny
(Sorry for the spelling errors...spellcheck doesn't seem to work on this computer...)
Christin and I had a long talk in our hostal room in Arequipa Wednesday night. Despite our pleasant evening, we were both feeling a bit road weary. Our thoughts had turned toward home and I think all of us could have easily stayed on the plane which was headed for Lima next. This feeling didn't set well with us as we are on the trip of a lifetime, right? But after a bit, I realized that for me at least, there were several other issues going on:
1. Realistically, we have been going nonstop for the last three weeks. With the exception of one day, we have had to be out of bed by 6:30 am or earlier every day. We're tired.
2. I can't emphasis enough how I would not change the company I am in for the world. But I am responsible for a lot as far as making sure the kids are up and ready, have clean (or semi-clean) clothes, we have all the wipes, sunblock, rain coats, gloves, books, passports, snacks and bottled water-always with the bottled water-that we need. This isn't extremely different than at home but more concentrated and more neccessary as we can't pull off to the Tom Thumb or 7-11 and grab what we forgot. Being ever vigilant that no one bites a fruit that hasn't been thouroughly washed or brushes their teeth with tap water gets a bit old after awhile. I don't usually do well when I am forced to keep super close tabs on the kids-part of the reason I have raised them to be as independent as they are comfortable with.
3. I have been finding it increasingly difficult to keep my head space wholly in Peru this last week. For me, I think it is because we have so much coming up in the near future. Christmas and all its attendant preperations, of course, but also our big move in February to San Diego. I certainly don't want to live my life looking to the next thing without enjoying the moment I am in, but I am happy that I have lots of good things coming up in the future.
4. Finally, my main purpose in coming to Peru was to experience the people, to learn about their political and economic situation and how their culture fits into that. And also to hopefully contribute something positive to someone (preferably many someones) life. We did that in Ayacucho. Of course we can't leave the country without exploring it further and seeing the world famous ruins of Macchu Picchu. But I think after our time in Ayacucho, it feels a bit superflous and extravegant to just galavant about entertaining ourselves at quite a bit of expense. Particularly how we are going about it is not Christin and my's favorite way to travel. Our guide's arrangements have been flawless and have made things go very smoothly, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of challenge in it. The challenges of traveling to a foreign country, and the thrill of overcoming those challenges, are for us, at least half the enjoyment. I think we are missing the frustration of having no idea how to get to the next destination, and the triumph of figuring it out anyway.
Anyway, now that I have catalouged why Wednesday in particular I was feeling apathetic, I am going to set my mind firmly back in the heart of Peru and make the most of our last few days....before we know it, we will be missing our perilous mototaxi drivers and our bread and hot water breakfasts.
Jenny
(Sorry for the spelling errors...spellcheck doesn't seem to work on this computer...)
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
oposit of alot
Today we visited the market and walked up a lot of stairs. We had hot chocolate with Peruvian marshmallows for breakfast. Oh,and we packed bags.
Wyatt
Wyatt
Buenos Tardes Amigos!
lo siento for the long break - we´ve been away from the internet and i´ve been sick. Nothing in comparison to Wyatt´s ordeal, so an ear infection and a runny nose is no excuse! So, onward we trudge...I know Jenny has kept you posted on most of the daily adventures, but I haven´t had a chance to talk about my last day at school.
Emotional in many ways, but I left on such a positive note, it´s hard to be sad. I brought in an art project - they all had so much fun! Professora Maria even made one! I took pictures of each of them with their beautiful plates! After putting the plates way high up on the cubbies so they could dry (this was a chore - they all wanted to keep them close - I don´t know how many times I had to pull Harold down!) After this I had them sit on the floor so I could thank them for letting me come in and help out, took lots of silly pictures, and gave them each a piece of gum!
Maria had asked me a few days earlier if I would come to her house...not only was I not sure if this was "allowed" but I certainly didn´t know how to relate this to her...so, once the end of the day came she asked again and asked if Rudy the program director could come in so we could ask. Seemed like it was a go!
I think I was a little nervous, but once 3:oo came around and I was welcomed into her home...I realized I could have stayed forever and I knew 4:00 would come way too fast!
She has a beautiful home - one of her son´s, his wife and two daughters live upstairs while she and her parents live downstairs. (Maria´s huband lives and works in Lima)I felt so fortunate to meet her parents - it was reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - they were sweetly laying in beds in their room. As I held their hands, I told both of them what a pleasure it was to know and work with their daughter.
After this, Maria, her two grandaughters, and I sat on the couch and looked through pictures...We all had brought some from home to show thekids at school, so as I was going through, I came across one from Jenny´s graduation. Maria then excitedly got up andbrought back hers...she has just recently started teaching - at 48, she went back to school! Oh, how I wish I had known the word for PROUD.
After this, we retired to the cocina for tea and crackers. Maria asked when I would be back - she wanted to make sure I knew I was welcome to stay in her home...we made sure to exchange information - our birthdays are one day apart, so our emails are so very similiar!!!!
The knock on the door came as a jolt...we were just really getting comforytable, and I was feeling so lucky. It was hard to say goodbye...but truly how lucky I feel to have worked with her and her students. Maria is truly a wonderful teacher...
The rest of the afternoon was spent busily packing and doing last minute litle thin gs...but the sweet feeling of being in Maria´s home and our last hug lingers on...
Muchas Gracias...
lo siento for the long break - we´ve been away from the internet and i´ve been sick. Nothing in comparison to Wyatt´s ordeal, so an ear infection and a runny nose is no excuse! So, onward we trudge...I know Jenny has kept you posted on most of the daily adventures, but I haven´t had a chance to talk about my last day at school.
Emotional in many ways, but I left on such a positive note, it´s hard to be sad. I brought in an art project - they all had so much fun! Professora Maria even made one! I took pictures of each of them with their beautiful plates! After putting the plates way high up on the cubbies so they could dry (this was a chore - they all wanted to keep them close - I don´t know how many times I had to pull Harold down!) After this I had them sit on the floor so I could thank them for letting me come in and help out, took lots of silly pictures, and gave them each a piece of gum!
Maria had asked me a few days earlier if I would come to her house...not only was I not sure if this was "allowed" but I certainly didn´t know how to relate this to her...so, once the end of the day came she asked again and asked if Rudy the program director could come in so we could ask. Seemed like it was a go!
I think I was a little nervous, but once 3:oo came around and I was welcomed into her home...I realized I could have stayed forever and I knew 4:00 would come way too fast!
She has a beautiful home - one of her son´s, his wife and two daughters live upstairs while she and her parents live downstairs. (Maria´s huband lives and works in Lima)I felt so fortunate to meet her parents - it was reminiscent of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - they were sweetly laying in beds in their room. As I held their hands, I told both of them what a pleasure it was to know and work with their daughter.
After this, Maria, her two grandaughters, and I sat on the couch and looked through pictures...We all had brought some from home to show thekids at school, so as I was going through, I came across one from Jenny´s graduation. Maria then excitedly got up andbrought back hers...she has just recently started teaching - at 48, she went back to school! Oh, how I wish I had known the word for PROUD.
After this, we retired to the cocina for tea and crackers. Maria asked when I would be back - she wanted to make sure I knew I was welcome to stay in her home...we made sure to exchange information - our birthdays are one day apart, so our emails are so very similiar!!!!
The knock on the door came as a jolt...we were just really getting comforytable, and I was feeling so lucky. It was hard to say goodbye...but truly how lucky I feel to have worked with her and her students. Maria is truly a wonderful teacher...
The rest of the afternoon was spent busily packing and doing last minute litle thin gs...but the sweet feeling of being in Maria´s home and our last hug lingers on...
Muchas Gracias...
Just Kidding....Lots of Rain
Today we are supposed to fly from Cusco to Arequipa where we will spend the remainder of our time in Peru. Our plane leaves in about two hours but it is pouring which may mean no flight for us. It is the start of the rainy season (though the official start date is the 15th of December) and there is the definite possibility that we could spend the rest of our time here in Cusco-which wouldn't necessarily be bad.
To continue from my last post (we did indeed find pancakes) on our way to Macchu Picchu, we stopped at the Pisac market which is ultra touristy but also retains some authenticity as Quechua-speaking women are also there with their produce. The market is huge and one could spend hours on end there. We only got one hour but managed to do some damage. Just about anything you could want is available there, as well as a few things you don't. We also ran into some of our housemates who were trying to get to Macchu Picchu without much luck. We hooked them up with our guide who gave them instructions on the best method to get there. It is sort of ironic that we keep meeting up with people from the house, however, there is a definite path that most tourists follow called the "Gringo Trail". It is annoying in one way, but at least we had a bit of a more authentic experience by staying in Ayacucho for two weeks and of course by volunteering at our placements.
After the market, we drove to Ollantaytambo which is one of the most well-preserved examples of an Inca village. The little town was beautiful, with amazing stonework and the original drainage system still in tact. The Incas were very into straight lines and cleanliness....they would probably be diagnosed with OCD today. From Ollantaytambo, we took the Vistadome train to Aguas Calientes, also known as Macchu Picchu Pueblo, and the jumping off point to visit the ruins. The train ride wound down into the cloud forest of the jungle, following the Rio Urubamba all the way. At many points, we couldn't see the ground below us and it looked like the train was floating on mid-air. There were lots of great tunnels cut straight through the mountains and bromeliads contrasted with mile-high snow capped peaks. After about an hour and a half, we reached Aguas Calientes. The Lonely Planet guide had described this town as unpleasant with uncontrolled development, however, I found it one of the cutest little places we've been. There are no cars in Aguas Calientes, only the train tracks, and the Aguas Calientes river cuts through the main square before shortly meeting the Rio Urubamba in a raging torrent. We stayed at Gringo Bill's, a hostel run by Margarita and her son Lawrence as Gringo Bill is no longer in the picture. We loved the atmosphere and our rooms were the most comfortable so far. Unfortunately, we only had one night there.
The next morning we got up bright and early to take the bus to the ruins. The bus went through tropical scenery at break-neck speed, around switchbacks on the edge of the cliffs. We did, however, make it in one piece. I was disappointed when our guide strongly urged against hiking up Waynu Picchu, but once we started up just the basic trail to the ruins, I realized he was more than right. The Incas were obviously extremely healthy and fit people. Everywhere is stone steps and steep inclines. In fact, our guide said that the people in the Andean highlands today, Incan descendants, have more blood and larger hearts and lungs than those of us that live at reasonable altitudes. Macchu Picchu itself was beyond words. The shear immensity of the scenery surrounding the site is overwhelming. Wandering through the ruins and imagining what life was like here 500 years ago is something I could do all day. And here again one finds the attention to detail in the stonework and the ingenuity of a people that had their own "universities", sanitation systems, aqueducts, and hierarchy which allowed for the construction of these massive stone buildings. These are the same people that the Spanish felt were no better than animals-and treated them as such.
We spent about five hours at the ruins and by then we were sun burnt, out of water, and exhausted. We were only too happy to head back to the bus, then the train, then the private van back to Cusco for a good nights rest. Our guide bade us goodbye once we were back in Cusco as he needed to get back to his restaurant in Nazca. We consulted our guide books and chose to eat at Jack's Cafe in the San Blas district of Cusco. It was a fantastic meal, the first of several we have had here. I am always interested in trying the local foods, however, most Peruvian food seems to be spicy and laden with meat, two things that I am not fond of. So it has been a nice break to have some international choices while we are in Cusco. Touristy places do have some benefits, much as we hate to admit it.
Jenny
To continue from my last post (we did indeed find pancakes) on our way to Macchu Picchu, we stopped at the Pisac market which is ultra touristy but also retains some authenticity as Quechua-speaking women are also there with their produce. The market is huge and one could spend hours on end there. We only got one hour but managed to do some damage. Just about anything you could want is available there, as well as a few things you don't. We also ran into some of our housemates who were trying to get to Macchu Picchu without much luck. We hooked them up with our guide who gave them instructions on the best method to get there. It is sort of ironic that we keep meeting up with people from the house, however, there is a definite path that most tourists follow called the "Gringo Trail". It is annoying in one way, but at least we had a bit of a more authentic experience by staying in Ayacucho for two weeks and of course by volunteering at our placements.
After the market, we drove to Ollantaytambo which is one of the most well-preserved examples of an Inca village. The little town was beautiful, with amazing stonework and the original drainage system still in tact. The Incas were very into straight lines and cleanliness....they would probably be diagnosed with OCD today. From Ollantaytambo, we took the Vistadome train to Aguas Calientes, also known as Macchu Picchu Pueblo, and the jumping off point to visit the ruins. The train ride wound down into the cloud forest of the jungle, following the Rio Urubamba all the way. At many points, we couldn't see the ground below us and it looked like the train was floating on mid-air. There were lots of great tunnels cut straight through the mountains and bromeliads contrasted with mile-high snow capped peaks. After about an hour and a half, we reached Aguas Calientes. The Lonely Planet guide had described this town as unpleasant with uncontrolled development, however, I found it one of the cutest little places we've been. There are no cars in Aguas Calientes, only the train tracks, and the Aguas Calientes river cuts through the main square before shortly meeting the Rio Urubamba in a raging torrent. We stayed at Gringo Bill's, a hostel run by Margarita and her son Lawrence as Gringo Bill is no longer in the picture. We loved the atmosphere and our rooms were the most comfortable so far. Unfortunately, we only had one night there.
The next morning we got up bright and early to take the bus to the ruins. The bus went through tropical scenery at break-neck speed, around switchbacks on the edge of the cliffs. We did, however, make it in one piece. I was disappointed when our guide strongly urged against hiking up Waynu Picchu, but once we started up just the basic trail to the ruins, I realized he was more than right. The Incas were obviously extremely healthy and fit people. Everywhere is stone steps and steep inclines. In fact, our guide said that the people in the Andean highlands today, Incan descendants, have more blood and larger hearts and lungs than those of us that live at reasonable altitudes. Macchu Picchu itself was beyond words. The shear immensity of the scenery surrounding the site is overwhelming. Wandering through the ruins and imagining what life was like here 500 years ago is something I could do all day. And here again one finds the attention to detail in the stonework and the ingenuity of a people that had their own "universities", sanitation systems, aqueducts, and hierarchy which allowed for the construction of these massive stone buildings. These are the same people that the Spanish felt were no better than animals-and treated them as such.
We spent about five hours at the ruins and by then we were sun burnt, out of water, and exhausted. We were only too happy to head back to the bus, then the train, then the private van back to Cusco for a good nights rest. Our guide bade us goodbye once we were back in Cusco as he needed to get back to his restaurant in Nazca. We consulted our guide books and chose to eat at Jack's Cafe in the San Blas district of Cusco. It was a fantastic meal, the first of several we have had here. I am always interested in trying the local foods, however, most Peruvian food seems to be spicy and laden with meat, two things that I am not fond of. So it has been a nice break to have some international choices while we are in Cusco. Touristy places do have some benefits, much as we hate to admit it.
Jenny
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Lots to Tell
Today we got up really early to (it is cooler with a drum-role on your knees) go to Macchu-Picchu!!!! We went up the mount in by bus,and thanks to Poncho (our really,really helpful guide from the CCS house) we got there before all the other hordes of people.And MAN was it awesome to see it!!My favrite part was the alpakas eating grass.the rest I can't tell you about it in words, but we will post some pics later.
Today we did something sacred...we slept in.
wyatt
Today we did something sacred...we slept in.
wyatt
No Rain!
So now that we are away from the comforts of the CCS house, we have much less reliable access to the internet. But, we are in Cusco...we made it with no rain, no problems at all. Things went very smoothly from Ayacucho to Lima, dropped off two of our bags at storage to lighten our load, then Lima to Cusco. Our wonderful guide from our Ica trip (who had arranged this week for us) surprised us by being at the baggage claim in Cusco. He had taken a bus from Nazca, about an eight hour ride, so that he could be our personal guide to Macchu Picchu. I think part of it was that he was a little concerned about two women and two kids wandering around on their own, something that I know several other people will appreciate. He has five nearly grown children of his own so he definitely has that paternalistic air. The first night in Cusco, we checked out the lay of the land and found a little bar/restaurant called Norton's Rat owned by people originally from Arizona. Then we had dinner at Chez Maggy, one of the original and best pizza places in Cuzco. It was good, but the type of cheese they use hear is different than in the US (of course) and it seems to wreak havoc with my stomach so I think I will skip the pizza from now on. There were some interesting pizza combinations including our guide's which was banana and egg.....
We stayed at Hostal Saphi, close to the gorgeous main square, which is plain but decent except for being next door to the one room being remodeled with sledgehammers. At least no one complained about the boys being a bit rowdy....I don't think anyone could even hear them above the pounding and power tools. The next morning we got up bright and early to go through the Sacred Valley with our guide. We made several stops including the Inca ruins of Sacsaywaman, a wildlife refuge, a textile shop, and a chicheria. The wildlife refuge at first looked like a very dreary, depressing zoo, but we realized that this family was trying to rehabilitate animals that had been confiscated from the illegal international trade. There were South American condors that were being breed so the young could be released into the wild and pumas which had been kept, drugged, in Lima so that tourists could pet them. The owner told us that smugglers will take up to 100 macaws from the jungle and put them into tubes to transport to the United States. By the time they get there, only 9 or 10 will have survived but the smugglers will make around $1000 on each of them. The refuge just opened about a year ago and as is typical of Peru, no government funding is given to them. So we of course made a donation to them-an amount that we will never miss but is exhilarating for them. The "textile" workshop was really just an extremely touristy place that sold beautiful alpaca garments for exorbitant prices. Our guide told us this going in, also noting that the traditionally dressed "weavers" supposedly working the looms were only pretending to do so. But his main purpose in bringing us here was so that we could touch and feed the domesticated llamas and alpacas. Which we of course loved....little baby alpacas that were just adorable and others that looked like mops with eyes and hooves. At the chicheria, which was basically someones home on the side of the highway with a red flag on a stick to signify what they sell, we got to see (sort of) how chicha is made. Chicha is a fermented corn drink that has been around since before the Incas. Peruvians drink it like Americans drink Budweiser and we had to of course try it while we were here. However, there is some danger in drinking chicha from roadside homes as the sanitation there may not be up to our industrialized standards. Also, chicha was originally made by chewing the dried corn and spitting it into a pot of water to start the fermentation process. I know that some chicha served in restaurants is not begun this way but I can't really get a straight answer out of any locals as to whether the chicha in traditional chicherias is chewed or not. So we were a bit apprehensive but didn't want to offend our hostess and ......well, what the hell. So we tried a strawberry tinged chicha and it was actually pretty good. No ill effects seem to have followed so I think our stomachs must be acclimating to the various Peruvian bacteria.
Lots more to write but the kids are ready to go in search of some breakfast. In this most touristy of areas, they are sure that they can find some good buttermilk pancakes and also want to try Peruvian hot chocolate. More later.....
Jenny
We stayed at Hostal Saphi, close to the gorgeous main square, which is plain but decent except for being next door to the one room being remodeled with sledgehammers. At least no one complained about the boys being a bit rowdy....I don't think anyone could even hear them above the pounding and power tools. The next morning we got up bright and early to go through the Sacred Valley with our guide. We made several stops including the Inca ruins of Sacsaywaman, a wildlife refuge, a textile shop, and a chicheria. The wildlife refuge at first looked like a very dreary, depressing zoo, but we realized that this family was trying to rehabilitate animals that had been confiscated from the illegal international trade. There were South American condors that were being breed so the young could be released into the wild and pumas which had been kept, drugged, in Lima so that tourists could pet them. The owner told us that smugglers will take up to 100 macaws from the jungle and put them into tubes to transport to the United States. By the time they get there, only 9 or 10 will have survived but the smugglers will make around $1000 on each of them. The refuge just opened about a year ago and as is typical of Peru, no government funding is given to them. So we of course made a donation to them-an amount that we will never miss but is exhilarating for them. The "textile" workshop was really just an extremely touristy place that sold beautiful alpaca garments for exorbitant prices. Our guide told us this going in, also noting that the traditionally dressed "weavers" supposedly working the looms were only pretending to do so. But his main purpose in bringing us here was so that we could touch and feed the domesticated llamas and alpacas. Which we of course loved....little baby alpacas that were just adorable and others that looked like mops with eyes and hooves. At the chicheria, which was basically someones home on the side of the highway with a red flag on a stick to signify what they sell, we got to see (sort of) how chicha is made. Chicha is a fermented corn drink that has been around since before the Incas. Peruvians drink it like Americans drink Budweiser and we had to of course try it while we were here. However, there is some danger in drinking chicha from roadside homes as the sanitation there may not be up to our industrialized standards. Also, chicha was originally made by chewing the dried corn and spitting it into a pot of water to start the fermentation process. I know that some chicha served in restaurants is not begun this way but I can't really get a straight answer out of any locals as to whether the chicha in traditional chicherias is chewed or not. So we were a bit apprehensive but didn't want to offend our hostess and ......well, what the hell. So we tried a strawberry tinged chicha and it was actually pretty good. No ill effects seem to have followed so I think our stomachs must be acclimating to the various Peruvian bacteria.
Lots more to write but the kids are ready to go in search of some breakfast. In this most touristy of areas, they are sure that they can find some good buttermilk pancakes and also want to try Peruvian hot chocolate. More later.....
Jenny
Friday, December 4, 2009
Sad and Happy to Say Goodbye
Today was our last day at placements and our last day in Ayacucho. We will be flying out to Lima early tomorrow morning and if all goes well, continuing on to Cusco in the afternoon. The end of our time here elicits a mixture of emotions: I am so grateful to have had this experience, I have met some incredible people both in the house and out, and I have connected with some of the children at the school so that leaving them forever is difficult. But I also am sort of over communal living, am relieved to be done at the school which is incredibly draining, and ready to see other parts of Peru, most notably the incredible ruins of Macchu Picchu. The food at the homebase is good to a point, one can only be so creative when trying to please 20 very different palates. The trip has been eyeopening and unforgettable for the kids, but it has also taken a lot out of me as far as making sure everything is in order in general, and then the worry of Wyatt being sick. I think for me, I could give a bit more of myself to the placement if I were on my own (not something I wish to be for even a moment) as there is a finite amount of care that each of us can bestow on others before we run dry. One thing (among many) that I have taken from this is that I would like to go home and (after our move) volunteer in some of the more difficult schools in California on a regular basis. Though there are different circumstances and different reasons, there are schools in the US with many of the same issues I am facing here in Peru. And my only regret is that I can't be a positive influence for these children continuously, something I can definitely do in California.
Yesterday, we were given the chance to visit the prison where we picked up the toddlers that are jailed with their mothers and took them on an outing to the Plaza Mayor. This was a treat for me because I had really wanted to see firsthand what the prison system was all about. The men and women are kept separate for the most part though they are allowed some time together. The women sit in an open courtyard where they do their laundry, cook for themselves, and make beautiful handicrafts to sell. There is also a tiny store run by the women where they can buy snacks and drinks. I am always frustrated by my inability to speak Spanish fluently, but today it absolutely killed me. I so wanted to be able to have meaningful conversations with these women, many of whom seemed very willing to talk about their situations. But I really can't get much past the basic conversational niceties. Only more inspiration to practice when I am at home. We took eight children out with us, I got a three year old bundle of cuddles named Cheena. She just clung to me as most of the other children did to the other volunteers. I can only imagine how odd this must be for them. These children have seen nothing but the inside of the prison for the majority of their lives except when volunteers take them on weekly one hour trips out into the world. I look nothing like the people Cheena is used to seeing, and I couldn't speak her language very well. But all in all she was a pretty good sport, only trying to run away from me once and falling asleep on my lap on the way home.
That afternoon, we made up for missing our Monday placement by visiting the asilo, or old people's home, for a few hours. Actually, I only stayed for about a half hour because as some of you may be aware, that is not my favorite place to be. But it was interesting to see and the elderly women there were precious. The facility is run by nuns and the 60 women pay nothing to live there. The facility is gorgeous and immaculately clean. All the women looked very well cared for which was so nice to see. But Rudy told us later that the building was built with donations from congregations in various places and the nuns have no ongoing source of income to take care of the elderly men and women so the nuns have to beg on the street for food and money. How awful. Seems like a less extravagant building and more money for care would be in order.
This morning Eddie woke up with "the cleanse" so he missed his last day of placement which truthfully, I don't think he was too broken up about. He has had a hard time finding a niche for himself here though I think he has enjoyed the interaction with the other volunteers in the house. And I know his time at the various places has impacted him though exactly how may not be evident for awhile. He is spending his last hours here lounging in bed, eating soda crackers, and trying to gather strength for a last round of chess with the housemates. I think he'll make it.
Christin and I headed to the "real" market (the one where locals go) today to get a couple of things. I have to say, fun as it is in there, it smelled horrific. People are cooking who knows what next to stands of grains, fruit, and every sort of meat you could want to find (or not). I love it and I wish that I had the guts to go in and eat there like the locals, but I just can't quite do it. And that's OK. I think I will head back to the room and try to stuff six bags worth of gear and souvenirs into four bags and maybe write some notes about the school for the next set of volunteers. Hope for no rain for us tomorrow since if there is any, we will be spending quite a bit of time in the airport....
Jenny
P.S. We bought a pineapple and brought it back to the house for everyone to have for lunch today.....it was so good!
Yesterday, we were given the chance to visit the prison where we picked up the toddlers that are jailed with their mothers and took them on an outing to the Plaza Mayor. This was a treat for me because I had really wanted to see firsthand what the prison system was all about. The men and women are kept separate for the most part though they are allowed some time together. The women sit in an open courtyard where they do their laundry, cook for themselves, and make beautiful handicrafts to sell. There is also a tiny store run by the women where they can buy snacks and drinks. I am always frustrated by my inability to speak Spanish fluently, but today it absolutely killed me. I so wanted to be able to have meaningful conversations with these women, many of whom seemed very willing to talk about their situations. But I really can't get much past the basic conversational niceties. Only more inspiration to practice when I am at home. We took eight children out with us, I got a three year old bundle of cuddles named Cheena. She just clung to me as most of the other children did to the other volunteers. I can only imagine how odd this must be for them. These children have seen nothing but the inside of the prison for the majority of their lives except when volunteers take them on weekly one hour trips out into the world. I look nothing like the people Cheena is used to seeing, and I couldn't speak her language very well. But all in all she was a pretty good sport, only trying to run away from me once and falling asleep on my lap on the way home.
That afternoon, we made up for missing our Monday placement by visiting the asilo, or old people's home, for a few hours. Actually, I only stayed for about a half hour because as some of you may be aware, that is not my favorite place to be. But it was interesting to see and the elderly women there were precious. The facility is run by nuns and the 60 women pay nothing to live there. The facility is gorgeous and immaculately clean. All the women looked very well cared for which was so nice to see. But Rudy told us later that the building was built with donations from congregations in various places and the nuns have no ongoing source of income to take care of the elderly men and women so the nuns have to beg on the street for food and money. How awful. Seems like a less extravagant building and more money for care would be in order.
This morning Eddie woke up with "the cleanse" so he missed his last day of placement which truthfully, I don't think he was too broken up about. He has had a hard time finding a niche for himself here though I think he has enjoyed the interaction with the other volunteers in the house. And I know his time at the various places has impacted him though exactly how may not be evident for awhile. He is spending his last hours here lounging in bed, eating soda crackers, and trying to gather strength for a last round of chess with the housemates. I think he'll make it.
Christin and I headed to the "real" market (the one where locals go) today to get a couple of things. I have to say, fun as it is in there, it smelled horrific. People are cooking who knows what next to stands of grains, fruit, and every sort of meat you could want to find (or not). I love it and I wish that I had the guts to go in and eat there like the locals, but I just can't quite do it. And that's OK. I think I will head back to the room and try to stuff six bags worth of gear and souvenirs into four bags and maybe write some notes about the school for the next set of volunteers. Hope for no rain for us tomorrow since if there is any, we will be spending quite a bit of time in the airport....
Jenny
P.S. We bought a pineapple and brought it back to the house for everyone to have for lunch today.....it was so good!
Wyatt Wins
¡Hola! Well yesterday we went to the old prison market to get some souvenirs. I got a statue of the monument of the Battle of Ayacucho (long name I know) and Wyatt got a chessboard. We played five games over two days and Wyatt won three of them. I also played with Keith (one of the other volunteers) and he is really good. Each of us had a king and a queen left. I won by trading him in a lose-lose situation. The pieces are the Incas vs. the Spanish. We went down to the prison today to take the kids out for a little and to feed the pigeons in the Plaza. It was fun. Someone in the house is eating the volunteers food that they buy for themselves. They ate most of Keith's pizza and all of Wyatt's and my cereal while we were on the coast trip. Not nice. ¡Ciao!
Eddie
Eddie
Sickness
From Wednesday:
Today I am sick. Sadly, I could not go to the school. But at least I can still play ping-pong. Yesterday, at the end of the day, I did get to go to the hospital (not for emergency) to get a nebulizer treatment (ours doesn't work here). I felt a lot better.
Wyatt
Today I am sick. Sadly, I could not go to the school. But at least I can still play ping-pong. Yesterday, at the end of the day, I did get to go to the hospital (not for emergency) to get a nebulizer treatment (ours doesn't work here). I felt a lot better.
Wyatt
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Sandboaring!
(I am finally getting around to typing Wyatt's post from our Ica trip)
Today we did something awesome!! We went sandboarding in a desert! We drove f-a-r into it but then we got our boards out. When you sandboard, you go down on your stomach (on your feet is for pros only). By the way, it was almost vertical. It was very fun (very,very)! The dune buggy that we went in was fun, going down the dunes in it was awesome....like a roller coaster!
Wyatt
Today we did something awesome!! We went sandboarding in a desert! We drove f-a-r into it but then we got our boards out. When you sandboard, you go down on your stomach (on your feet is for pros only). By the way, it was almost vertical. It was very fun (very,very)! The dune buggy that we went in was fun, going down the dunes in it was awesome....like a roller coaster!
Wyatt
hi all!
let{s see where was I in the grand catching up game? I did see that miss jenny summed up our weekend prety well, but what{s fun is the different perspectives, right?
(wow, just realizd that apstrophes are actually brackets on this keyboard. that{s annoying. i
don{t think i can hang. please know that not only do i know when to use one, but it is in fact one of my pet peeves - i have actually based some pretty big decisions on when they are and are not properly used...(amber will attest to this, wont you?)
(I am also aware that it is many of your pet peeves when people do not capitolize their I,s)
OK - back on track, sorry for the tangent.
Saturday 11/28 continued...
Alive and well off the dunes! After having a bit of free time to relax, we were off to the wineries! Very cool. Jenny brought up the point that put into perspective that (someone/many) had to haul the water from somewhere for this incredible wine making process. the equiptment was a treat in itself...ceramic vats, copper pipes, cement holding tanks. Incredible. Besides the 8 different grape varietals, the winery also housed pecan trees and 3 different types of mango trees! After the tour and tasting (YUM!) we sat in the shade of the trees and had lunch; then off to Nasca! The two hour drive wasn{t bad. About 20 miles or so outside of Nasca we stopped at a (36ft?) tower so we could see two of the lines. Kinda scary - but pretty cool - got us excited for what was to come!
I think we all enjoyed the walk through town to Panchos restaraunt - and the food was fantastic! (so great in fact, you might be able to read about it in Lonely Planet - we{re all going to write in to give him the boost he needs!) Really excellent BBQ chicken served with a lovely fresh salad (yes - this is the one i ate).
Buenos Noches Saturday....
...Buenos Dias Sunday 11/29
no desayuno this morning - we{re headed bright and early to fly over the Nasca Lines! I think to be honest were all a little nervous ( i think Pancho thinks i might have another panic attack). Our housemates back in Ayacucho had warned us it was pretty tipsy turvy...when we saw the six seater, that was nerve-wracking enough! But honestly, it wasn{t bad at all - it was exciting and fascinating to be able to see such treasures! (i liked watching our little shadow). Funny Jenny and I were both interested in the lines that were not on our map.
after safely landing and eating breakfast - we stopped at this little house outside of town - come to find out, its the ceramic demo. very cool. the young man - Andreas - talked to us about the history of his family and the craft to which his grandfather had learned the secrets...all while creating a beautiful piece right before our eyes! We were able to touch, hold, and feel pieces of pottery that were over 2,000 years old. Andreas let us feel a piece he was working on - let us feel the gritiness of the paint on the clay, then proceeded to take a smooth stone - touch it to the oils on his face - and rub it on the design. We were then able to feel it again - it was not only smooth to the touch, but shiny, and amazingly enough, ready for use! This was something the Nasca people figured out - because they were having trouble keeping the vibrant colors after the pieces were re-fired. Pretty ingenius, huh?
Back in Ica we were given a free afternoon. The four of us attemped to have lunch - after the 3rd time the staff came to let us know there was a problwem in the kitchen, we opted to just pay for our waters, and have ice cream.
I went in to lay down and woke up to a fever and the beginning of my untimely "cleanse".
i didn{t want to be a party pooper (no pun intended), so i popped a little green pill, had a EmergenC, and headed out with the group to the witches village.
It was a exciting and a little spooky too. This was the real thing. I couldn{t get a grasp if I thought Sara would have been psyched or freaked. There are no (public) women witches anymore. They were all condemmed, the last one having died in the late eighties - would love to know a little more about that...
We all got our cards read - I appreciated the fact that he wouldn{t read for the boys. wanted them to have good full lives without his words being in the back of their minds...
I realized afterwords that maybe I should have gotten my palm read; only because I hadñt before...anyhow, it was interesting having the cards read and then translated...I wanted to make sure he knew that I was feeling pretty bad at that poiint and that I hoped that wouldn{t have too much bearing on my reading. He said that I was sick because I was always taking care of everyone else...nothing I didñt already know. Though he did say my aura looked weak...I{m hoping this trip is helping with that.
Not sure what everyone else{s take was...but I think this trip will be life changing in some way for everyone. How could it not?
I spent the rest of the evening either asleep in the car or hanging out in the gigantic grocery store bathroom. Very exciting and TMI, I know.
But for the record, once we got back to our rooms I had the most wonderful care giver ever:
Mr. Edward James Farmer, Jr. He even battled a cockaroach in the shower because that water was colder for my forehead washcloth! Thanks Eddie!
xoxo
Monday 11/30
VIOLA! Must have been the waashcloth - cause it was a brand new day, with not a gurgle on the horizon!!
The boat ride was great. Had a really nice conversation with my seat buddy (Justin from both Washintons) about the different ways different people travel. Was refreshing to hear I{m not the only one who enjoys getting lost in where i am...and holy *¨´" - we were on a boat in peru - can{t beat that! the rock formatyions were incredible - much like natural bridges...learned some interesting informationa bout guano and sea lions and even saw penguins! (yes, mom, i said hello!). A bit of a hard mix of emotions. Exciting to be that close to the animals, yet feeling so invasive to their space....and hating the fact that they hardly even noticed our presence...
after the boat we walked around town, shopped the little markets, and finally got to have ceviche!!!! it was fantastic!!!!
I was nervous about the ride home, and the lack of toilts. But besides for the slow, steady climb (pretend you are a balloon...that{s how we all felt), we all survived.
Never felt so good to be (not) home...
i think i might actually go lay my head down on the bottom bunk again...
signing off a few days closer to being caught up...
now all that matters is that we are all safe and healthy...
christin
let{s see where was I in the grand catching up game? I did see that miss jenny summed up our weekend prety well, but what{s fun is the different perspectives, right?
(wow, just realizd that apstrophes are actually brackets on this keyboard. that{s annoying. i
don{t think i can hang. please know that not only do i know when to use one, but it is in fact one of my pet peeves - i have actually based some pretty big decisions on when they are and are not properly used...(amber will attest to this, wont you?)
(I am also aware that it is many of your pet peeves when people do not capitolize their I,s)
OK - back on track, sorry for the tangent.
Saturday 11/28 continued...
Alive and well off the dunes! After having a bit of free time to relax, we were off to the wineries! Very cool. Jenny brought up the point that put into perspective that (someone/many) had to haul the water from somewhere for this incredible wine making process. the equiptment was a treat in itself...ceramic vats, copper pipes, cement holding tanks. Incredible. Besides the 8 different grape varietals, the winery also housed pecan trees and 3 different types of mango trees! After the tour and tasting (YUM!) we sat in the shade of the trees and had lunch; then off to Nasca! The two hour drive wasn{t bad. About 20 miles or so outside of Nasca we stopped at a (36ft?) tower so we could see two of the lines. Kinda scary - but pretty cool - got us excited for what was to come!
I think we all enjoyed the walk through town to Panchos restaraunt - and the food was fantastic! (so great in fact, you might be able to read about it in Lonely Planet - we{re all going to write in to give him the boost he needs!) Really excellent BBQ chicken served with a lovely fresh salad (yes - this is the one i ate).
Buenos Noches Saturday....
...Buenos Dias Sunday 11/29
no desayuno this morning - we{re headed bright and early to fly over the Nasca Lines! I think to be honest were all a little nervous ( i think Pancho thinks i might have another panic attack). Our housemates back in Ayacucho had warned us it was pretty tipsy turvy...when we saw the six seater, that was nerve-wracking enough! But honestly, it wasn{t bad at all - it was exciting and fascinating to be able to see such treasures! (i liked watching our little shadow). Funny Jenny and I were both interested in the lines that were not on our map.
after safely landing and eating breakfast - we stopped at this little house outside of town - come to find out, its the ceramic demo. very cool. the young man - Andreas - talked to us about the history of his family and the craft to which his grandfather had learned the secrets...all while creating a beautiful piece right before our eyes! We were able to touch, hold, and feel pieces of pottery that were over 2,000 years old. Andreas let us feel a piece he was working on - let us feel the gritiness of the paint on the clay, then proceeded to take a smooth stone - touch it to the oils on his face - and rub it on the design. We were then able to feel it again - it was not only smooth to the touch, but shiny, and amazingly enough, ready for use! This was something the Nasca people figured out - because they were having trouble keeping the vibrant colors after the pieces were re-fired. Pretty ingenius, huh?
Back in Ica we were given a free afternoon. The four of us attemped to have lunch - after the 3rd time the staff came to let us know there was a problwem in the kitchen, we opted to just pay for our waters, and have ice cream.
I went in to lay down and woke up to a fever and the beginning of my untimely "cleanse".
i didn{t want to be a party pooper (no pun intended), so i popped a little green pill, had a EmergenC, and headed out with the group to the witches village.
It was a exciting and a little spooky too. This was the real thing. I couldn{t get a grasp if I thought Sara would have been psyched or freaked. There are no (public) women witches anymore. They were all condemmed, the last one having died in the late eighties - would love to know a little more about that...
We all got our cards read - I appreciated the fact that he wouldn{t read for the boys. wanted them to have good full lives without his words being in the back of their minds...
I realized afterwords that maybe I should have gotten my palm read; only because I hadñt before...anyhow, it was interesting having the cards read and then translated...I wanted to make sure he knew that I was feeling pretty bad at that poiint and that I hoped that wouldn{t have too much bearing on my reading. He said that I was sick because I was always taking care of everyone else...nothing I didñt already know. Though he did say my aura looked weak...I{m hoping this trip is helping with that.
Not sure what everyone else{s take was...but I think this trip will be life changing in some way for everyone. How could it not?
I spent the rest of the evening either asleep in the car or hanging out in the gigantic grocery store bathroom. Very exciting and TMI, I know.
But for the record, once we got back to our rooms I had the most wonderful care giver ever:
Mr. Edward James Farmer, Jr. He even battled a cockaroach in the shower because that water was colder for my forehead washcloth! Thanks Eddie!
xoxo
Monday 11/30
VIOLA! Must have been the waashcloth - cause it was a brand new day, with not a gurgle on the horizon!!
The boat ride was great. Had a really nice conversation with my seat buddy (Justin from both Washintons) about the different ways different people travel. Was refreshing to hear I{m not the only one who enjoys getting lost in where i am...and holy *¨´" - we were on a boat in peru - can{t beat that! the rock formatyions were incredible - much like natural bridges...learned some interesting informationa bout guano and sea lions and even saw penguins! (yes, mom, i said hello!). A bit of a hard mix of emotions. Exciting to be that close to the animals, yet feeling so invasive to their space....and hating the fact that they hardly even noticed our presence...
after the boat we walked around town, shopped the little markets, and finally got to have ceviche!!!! it was fantastic!!!!
I was nervous about the ride home, and the lack of toilts. But besides for the slow, steady climb (pretend you are a balloon...that{s how we all felt), we all survived.
Never felt so good to be (not) home...
i think i might actually go lay my head down on the bottom bunk again...
signing off a few days closer to being caught up...
now all that matters is that we are all safe and healthy...
christin
Investigating the Peruvian Healthcare System
In the last day, we have had a little too much excitement on our trip for my taste. As I mentioned, Wyatt got himself a cold as one of his souvenirs in Ica. With his asthma, we always have to be particularly careful about staying on top of Wyatt's colds. I had brought decongestant, rescue inhalers, and a nebulizer just in case, however, I neglected to check the voltage on the nebulizer before we left on our trip. The voltage on it is 115, a sort of unusual type that no one had the correct converter for. The house staff managed to come up with a 110-120 V converter which seemed to work....for awhile. Around 5 p.m., the nebulizer quit working and nothing would persuade it to start again. The day had been fairly stressful as I felt like Wyatt was on the verge of developing bronchitis which of course then very easily leads to pneumonia. The night before, we had spent about two hours watching Looney Toons in Spanish while I tried to keep him in an upright position. Having the nebulizer had reassured me that things would get better, but when it stopped working, my heart just sank. Wyatt was already a little wheezy and night tends to be the worst time for him. We didn't even have any hot water to steam up the bathroom for him as we had done in Ica. I made the supreme decision to call our house director and have him take us to the hospital for a good nebulizer treatment. Around 7 p.m., the director, Wyatt, Christin (awesome, amazing friend that she always is) and I hailed a taxi to get us to the hospital. I had no idea what I was getting Wyatt into, not knowing what the Peruvian healthcare system looked like. That's not entirely true: on our first day here, we had toured a clinic in a poor neighborhood, so bereft of supplies, the workers did not even have gloves. So my apprehension was understandable.
All in all, I am so glad we went. Wyatt got his treatment, felt immensely better, and slept like a rock last night. The experience was definitely a unique one and I'd say that Peruvian healthcare has some advantages over healthcare in the States, but I'm not ready to switch systems quite yet. First off, we very obviously went to a clinic that caters to Peruvians with money. We were the only gringos in the place which earned us a lot of stares, but no one looked destitute. Our director explained what we were there for and then did some haggling over the price of the service which needed to be paid for before anything more could happen. I don't know what occurs if you can't pay for service. We were then taken into the room where Wyatt was hooked up to the nebulizer, given his treatment, and sent on his way. All told, it took us about 35 minutes from start to finish and cost a total of 15 soles, the equivalent of-get this-five US dollars. Our director gave me the receipts saying I could ask for reimbursement from my insurance when we got back home. I could only imagine if I tried to get my 5 dollars back for a service which would have cost close to $1000 at home, being in urgent care and all.
So those were the good parts. Disturbingly though, we never actually were seen by a doctor. I heard the nurse tell him what we were doing, but he didn't give Wyatt an examination. Having dealt with this so many times, I was pretty positive that there was no pneumonia going on but it would have been nice to have an educated opinion. Also, the nurses (I guess they were nurses) kept asking me what kind of medicine to give him which I guess makes some sense, but again, I was hoping a doctor could make that determination. No one took his temperature, rather relying on the old hand-on-the-forehead, and no one listened to his chest, instead giving him a few thumps on the back and telling us to have him drink hot water before sending us on our way. The clinic itself was fairly clean, but I didn't see anyone wearing gloves, though Wyatt's situation didn't necessarily warrant it.
Anyway, Wyatt is feeling much perkier now though I skipped out on our placement for the second day in a row to give his immune system some time to bulk back up. I am going to organize the supplies and books in the common room so I feel like I am contributing something. As much as I feel like I want to be here and help these less fortunate children, it's amazing how quickly that becomes such a non-issue when my own child needs something. I know kids here suffer through much more with much less medical attention, and I had the vague feeling that several Peruvians thought I was overreacting. But that's one of the realizations I have had here: when you have more, you expect more, and you become accustomed to more. And in some areas, such as education, safety, and healthcare, that's perfectly acceptable. But how to allow all people to have expectations like mine and those of the majority of developed countries? Can we give all people the best of schools, hospitals, and safe neighborhoods? Or do we need to compromise and allow everyone a modicum of comfort, but no one luxury? Or, most uncomfortable (for me anyway) is that just the way it is, "capitalism at work", "survival of the fittest", whatever cliche fits, some have at the expense of others? These are the questions we all should ask ourselves, whether it is in regards to the healthcare issue in the United States or when we decide whether to spend the extra money buying fair trade coffee. Because ultimately, we are all answering these questions with our actions, whether we are doing so consciously or not....
Jenny
All in all, I am so glad we went. Wyatt got his treatment, felt immensely better, and slept like a rock last night. The experience was definitely a unique one and I'd say that Peruvian healthcare has some advantages over healthcare in the States, but I'm not ready to switch systems quite yet. First off, we very obviously went to a clinic that caters to Peruvians with money. We were the only gringos in the place which earned us a lot of stares, but no one looked destitute. Our director explained what we were there for and then did some haggling over the price of the service which needed to be paid for before anything more could happen. I don't know what occurs if you can't pay for service. We were then taken into the room where Wyatt was hooked up to the nebulizer, given his treatment, and sent on his way. All told, it took us about 35 minutes from start to finish and cost a total of 15 soles, the equivalent of-get this-five US dollars. Our director gave me the receipts saying I could ask for reimbursement from my insurance when we got back home. I could only imagine if I tried to get my 5 dollars back for a service which would have cost close to $1000 at home, being in urgent care and all.
So those were the good parts. Disturbingly though, we never actually were seen by a doctor. I heard the nurse tell him what we were doing, but he didn't give Wyatt an examination. Having dealt with this so many times, I was pretty positive that there was no pneumonia going on but it would have been nice to have an educated opinion. Also, the nurses (I guess they were nurses) kept asking me what kind of medicine to give him which I guess makes some sense, but again, I was hoping a doctor could make that determination. No one took his temperature, rather relying on the old hand-on-the-forehead, and no one listened to his chest, instead giving him a few thumps on the back and telling us to have him drink hot water before sending us on our way. The clinic itself was fairly clean, but I didn't see anyone wearing gloves, though Wyatt's situation didn't necessarily warrant it.
Anyway, Wyatt is feeling much perkier now though I skipped out on our placement for the second day in a row to give his immune system some time to bulk back up. I am going to organize the supplies and books in the common room so I feel like I am contributing something. As much as I feel like I want to be here and help these less fortunate children, it's amazing how quickly that becomes such a non-issue when my own child needs something. I know kids here suffer through much more with much less medical attention, and I had the vague feeling that several Peruvians thought I was overreacting. But that's one of the realizations I have had here: when you have more, you expect more, and you become accustomed to more. And in some areas, such as education, safety, and healthcare, that's perfectly acceptable. But how to allow all people to have expectations like mine and those of the majority of developed countries? Can we give all people the best of schools, hospitals, and safe neighborhoods? Or do we need to compromise and allow everyone a modicum of comfort, but no one luxury? Or, most uncomfortable (for me anyway) is that just the way it is, "capitalism at work", "survival of the fittest", whatever cliche fits, some have at the expense of others? These are the questions we all should ask ourselves, whether it is in regards to the healthcare issue in the United States or when we decide whether to spend the extra money buying fair trade coffee. Because ultimately, we are all answering these questions with our actions, whether we are doing so consciously or not....
Jenny
Summary of the Coast Trip
Well, the coast trip was awesome. Sandboarding was really, really, really (etcetera, etcetera) fun. We were on dune buggy that went over things really fast which was fun and I got to sit in the front...awesome. When we went sandboarding, Raenelle was brave and went first, then Sophie, then Mom, then me, and then Wyatt. I won because I went the furthest.
After we were done at the oasis, we went for a two-hour drive to Nazca. We went up a tower to see tow of the Nazca lines, the hands and the tree. The hands are Taurus, which is Wyatt's sign, and the Condor is Libra, which is my sign. The next day we got to ride in a small airplane to see the lines. I was able to sit next to the pilot and watch what controls he used. It was pretty cool. We then went to our guide's new restaurant in Nazca to have a delicious meal.
To add to my list of souvenirs, I have an egg made from three types of stone, a pyramid made from six different types of stone, a necklace of the Nazca condor, a ceramic Andean pan flute, and I am planning to get a statue of the monument of the Battle of Ayacucho. I might get a chess board if I can bargain down enough.
Now we are back in Ayacucho to do our placements for the next three days, then on to Macchu Picchu which I have heard from some of the other volunteers is really amazing. Some of the volunteers have been here for a long time, two of them that are leaving Saturday have been volunteering for a total of ten weeks.
I forgot to mention that in Nazca, we went to the Witches' Village and everyone got their cards read except me and Wyatt because we weren't old enough.
Eddie
P.S. I fell off the bunk bed yesterday. It hurt.....a lot. But I'm fine now and my ankle isn't broken as I can walk on it.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
We Get a Vacation (after a week of work!)
I have quite a bit of catching up to do as we were gone to Ica until last night. Seven of us left after lunch to drive to the coast with our wonderful guide. The trip took about six and a half hours with roughly four of those ours spent on windy roads. The ride to Ica itself would have been enough to make for an amazing trip. We left Ayacucho at 9,000 feet and headed even higher up into the Andes. Our highest point was at 15,000 feet which we all could attest to with our shortness of breath and dizzying headaches. As we drove, the city slipped away and we found ourselves gazing alternately at sheer rock walls and tiny hovels perched precariously on the edges of cliffs. Llamas, alpacas, burros, pigs, sheep, and cows sparsely populated the mountainsides, grazing in places that looked impossible for them to get to. The huts in the area were made of mud brick, some roofed with corrugated tin while others were still attached with what my urbanite eyes assume to be straw.
The sheer immensity of the Andean highlands is difficult to describe. We went from forested areas to scrub brush, to bare rocks-some covered with snow. We passed waterfalls and mudslides, even going over one which had apparently just occurred hours before. The area we drove through seems untouched by time, something left over from the Incas. The ride was made all the more exciting by our guide' s desire to make up time. Evidently, traffic rules in Peru are quite a bit looser than in the States. For example, divider lines are mere suggestions rather than a device to insure one is not killed in a head-on collision with a semi on a 12,000 foot cliff. And our guide was one of the much more cautious drivers. An astonishing number of miniature concrete mausoleums exist on the sides of the highway, marking where people have been killed by motor accidents.
Our first stop on our coast trip was in Huacachina, a literal oasis in the middle of towering sand dunes. We arrived fairly late in the evening so after (oh so luxurious!) hot showers, we bedded down for the night. As it had been dark when we arrived, the next morning I was awed by the massive dunes rising 100s of feet tall in a circle all around our hotel. We ate breakfast where I confirmed that Peruvians do indeed "drink" their breakfast, and then we headed out to the dunes. Our vehicle of choice was a nine-seat red and yellow dune buggy which took off on a crazy ride through the dunes. Skidding over and around and sideways on the dunes made me lose all sense of what was up or down, but it was wicked fun. At various points, we stopped and our driver pulled out sandboards (really just pieces of wood with velcro attached) and we suicidally slid down near vertical slopes. The first time our driver stopped, I couldn't believe that he expected us to ride down the dune he was pointing to....and on our stomachs, head-first no less! But I irrationally figured that 1000s of people did this each year and I certainly wouldn't be the one to kill herself, right? Just to be on the safe side, I told the kids how much I loved them, much to their embarrassment, before I went. In fact, though it seemed like we were going down the dune at mach three, the bottom of the dune was a gentle slope . After I realized my neck wasn't going to be broken on landing, it was on. Sandboarding definitely ranks as one of the most exciting and fun activities I have done.
Other highlights of our packed weekend included a trip to a winery where we learned how Pisco is made. This Peruvian liquor is made into the famous Pisco sour which tasted vaguely like a really fantastic margarita (in my opinion). Of course we had to purchase some as well as several bottles of the local sweet wines. How to safely get these goodies home remains a mystery but they were too good to leave behind.
The next day took us to Nazca where we boarded an itty-bitty plane with seven seats for a 35 minute ride over the Nazca lines. The lines were discovered in the early 1900s when a crop duster was flying over the area. Estimated to have been etched into the ground by the Nazca peoples 1500 years ago, no one has yet come up with a completely satisfactory reason why they exist. The lines form geometrical shapes as well as various objects with significance to the Nazca people: monkey, falcon, spider, hummingbird, tree, and whale among others. The objects are generally several hundred feet across and they are only etched about twenty centimeters in to the sand. Our tiny plane took us over the lines, banking far right and left to give us good views below. Prudently, our guide had advised us all against eating before the trip so the plastic bags provided to all passengers remained mercifully unused.
A trip to a Nazca ceramic maker, one of only a handful that still practices the traditional form of pottery, a visit to the Witches' Village where we all had our cards read by a shaman, and a stop at Plaza Vea, the Peruvian equivalent of Wal-Mart, rounded out the day. Our last day on the coast took us on a boat ride to Islas Ballestas. The islands, off the coast of Paracas, are home to thousands of birds and sea lions. The birds produce copious amounts of guano (bird shit) high in nitrogen and therefore an excellent natural fertilizer. Every five to seven years, companies are allowed to harvest the guano from the islands and consequently, it is one of Peru's largest exports.
After all our fun on the coast, the ride home was a bit rough. By then, three people had been struck by the dreaded travelers' diarrhea and Wyatt had a juicy cold. As the bathrooms along the way are of the no-toilet-paper-no-toilet-seat-generally-no-flushing type, having an upset stomach was particularly unpleasant. Seven long hours and many bathroom stops later, we collapsed into our beds, grateful to be "home".
I ate a salad...
...and all I´m going to say is - Mark, I think I would definitely prefer your version of a cleanse!
So, I´ve been out of the loop for a bit...but, now that we´re back from our adventure, I have much to talk about. Forgive me (1) for the long upcoming post because (2) I don´t really know how to go back and post per day. (yes, I know - Eddie, I´m SURE you could tell me - but you´re upstairs!) and (3) the typos - I will do my best to corrrect them, but the keyboards are hard to use and take A LOT of time to fix!
so, here goes...
THURSAY 11/26
Well - I certainly hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving - as Wyatt let you know, we had guinea pig (cuey). VERY traditional - but only for lunch, and it´s a delicacy. It was tasty for sure!
Eddie went to school with me that day - glad to give them the opportunity to see that not all the school´s are like the onés that they were with Jenny - good perspective though - getting to see both sides becasuse to be honest, I have to wonder if I´m getting it easy??? I really like my teacher - she is kind and wants to be there, and wants to see the children succeed. I think the kid´s enjoyd Eddie´s presence - there wasn´t a lot for him to do (kindof a hard age... "is he a teacher, is he one of us?") but he did great and we made the best of it for sure - we placed the new name tags on the desk which they were so happy about and wrked on a bit of English.
Hard to see Jenny so upset - it´s pretty rare. But at the same time - it was really good. Really good for her to have her meltdown in front of others - get their perspective...and one of the tings I love best about Jenny is that she ALWAYS takes somethng from her experiences. More to fuel her fire with!
We spent out free afternoon exploring the town and finally finding the grocery store. quite the adventure - it´s one of my favorite things to do when traveling in other cou ntries. Makes me wonder if we´re paranoid in the US, or if that´s what the differnece between developed and deeloping counrty is...(eggs in a basket out on the counter, milk in a bag on the shelf - and we can´t forget the slaughtered chickens in pieces out in the street market...) (not to be mistaken for judgement - just letting you all see what we are seeing...mere differences.)
I made my first (of 4 that same day) money exchang at the bank. VERY EXCITING - and smooth! (my kindergarden spanish is coming in so so handy!)
Jenny and I also took a motor taxi. This is basically a covered motorized 3-wheeled motorcycle - there is room for 2-3 passengers in the back. strange, exciting, adventuous - and only uno sole (33 cents)!
Besides for ending the evening cutting letters out of magazines (and of course realizing that THESE are the kinds of things that jenny and i will miss about living 1/4 mile away from each other) I would say, all in all it was a lovely thursday...even with out the fresh cranberry sauce and pumkin chiffon cheesecke!
FRIDAY 11/27
woke up to cutting more letters...there really arent that many P´s, are there? Thank goodness for Rolling Stone! (don´t worry jason, i did not take any of yours)
Anyhow, Wyatt (my other sobrino) came to class with me today! To be honest, I think some of the kids were a little confused...¨"Hey, I thought you were taller, and where are your glasses?" But once they realized he was in fact Eddie´s brother - it was a great day! I wish I would have had my camera - Wyatt was the front of the train, and he had the kids following him (i don´t think this was his plan but it seemed to go pretty well!) We also worked on a lot of English - we brought in two posters...one with fruit and one with colores. (and thanks Jodi for sharing ´´share´´ with me - it´s coming in handy!!!!)
One little girl - Marysabel - tripped and hit her head really ard. i picked her up and followed profesora maria to the sink outside - she splashed water on it. no ice. use what you got. also, once back in the classroom - she handed her a coin to press to her (very large) bump. it was cold i´m sure but it also seemed like it was to weish any harm away. wyatt and i sat with her for awhile - wyatt rubbed her back and i just held her hand and touched her hair. man, i tell you what - in the states - she would have been rushed frantically to the nurse´s office, immediately with an ice pack, her mother calle, and maybe even a visit to the doctor - let a lone the screaming that would have ensued...
I think maria was very happy with us that day - she was sad to learn we would not be there monday - she of course was happy for our visit to the coast, but would miss us.
me too.
i realzed that i would only be in class 3 more days. wow.
yes, me too...
wow - never will a car ride seem long again. 7 hours....
but honestly - the way there was ok. I was chillin in the way back of the passenger van with Eddie and Wyatt. Jenny was in the front seat - i asked if she wanted to sit next to Pancho and apologize for how ASSININE our housemates had acted. how DISRESPECTFUL!!!! how humiliating for Pancho, nice way to strenghthen the stereotype of the elitist American, and sorry - but can anyone say, "REAL WORLD, PERU" ?
anyhow - what a way to see the truly amazing and beautiful diversity of landscape i n Peru. Along with seeing the countryside and the people who work the land, we were privvy to many alpaca, sheep, cows, dogs, and an INCREDIBLE sunset!
Once we finally arrived, (after of course Pancho telling us we had along our journey reached 15,500 feet!!!! WOW!!!) we raelized that "the Oasis" was not only the name of the hotll we were staying in, but we were in fact - at the oasis...in the midle of the desert. wow.
so, we dropped our stuff off, and walked through town to a restaurant and had our first pisco sours. the official drink of the counry. tasted like a sour margarita (cheers mark) which was yummy, but the recipe also calls for egg whites. ya, raw ones. I realized later that this was the beginning of my cleanse...
SATURDAY 11/28
Once waking, besides for feeling somewhat cleansed (KEY WORD {no colons in spanish/ on spanish keyboards¨{ SOMEWHAT) , we realized, we were in fact in the middle of the desert. We were srrounded by the most incredible sand dunes. HUGE. After desayuno (breakfast) it was time for the dune buggy adventure. on the HUGE sand dunes. we buckled ourselves in, I had ridden on plenty as a kid - i would be fine. (keep in mind friends - this as most adventures, i let jenny plan. I did not look into what we were in fact in for, she said it sounded like fun. what more did i need?)
It was pretty fun. Riding across the dunes (cover your ears, by the way all you environmentlists). seeing some stuff i hadn´t ever seen. cool. right on. í could do this. people do this everyday, right?
For about 10 minutes. Then - i realized after a small hill - we might in fact go not only up - but down - some biger ones. I started to freak out. Really. We got to the edge of a VERY VERY STEEP dune - teetering on the edge. I thought I was going to lose it. I asked if I could just get out - I didnt care if they picked me up later or I just sat - I just NEEDED to get OUT.
Jenny saw I was NOT kidding. She made sure the driver knew - as if my convulsions and sobbing werent enough. So, after barely being able to stumble out, sit down, and catch my breath - I realized that the driver had actually stopped to let (us) sandboard down this GINORMOUS dune. Need less to say, I volunteered to video. It was pretty cool to watch everyone have so much fun. I think the driver - Ricardo - thought i just needed to calm down, then i would be ready. I quickly made him realize this was NOT the case. Pancho, my personal savior, then basically walked me all the way aroiund this massive hill so ricardo could pick us up when they were all done. this, my friwnds - was no easy tsk. Picture this - southern hemisphere, blazin hot sun, middle of the desert, no water. Thank goodness we grabbed our hats! And thank goodness, not only does Pancho have agreat sense of humor ("oh, look there is a hammock righ over there, by those trees - maybe we could grab a couple of cold ones") but ricardo came to check on us and i was able to grab my water bottle. the group left - we walked a biut more, drank outr beers (ya right) , talked about life in Peru, and then finally decided to sit our butts down and wait for our taxi.
wow....that was quite the experience!
and wow, quite a lot for you all to read.
i think i will take a break and come back after dinner!
xoxo
ciao!
christin molly
So, I´ve been out of the loop for a bit...but, now that we´re back from our adventure, I have much to talk about. Forgive me (1) for the long upcoming post because (2) I don´t really know how to go back and post per day. (yes, I know - Eddie, I´m SURE you could tell me - but you´re upstairs!) and (3) the typos - I will do my best to corrrect them, but the keyboards are hard to use and take A LOT of time to fix!
so, here goes...
THURSAY 11/26
Well - I certainly hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving - as Wyatt let you know, we had guinea pig (cuey). VERY traditional - but only for lunch, and it´s a delicacy. It was tasty for sure!
Eddie went to school with me that day - glad to give them the opportunity to see that not all the school´s are like the onés that they were with Jenny - good perspective though - getting to see both sides becasuse to be honest, I have to wonder if I´m getting it easy??? I really like my teacher - she is kind and wants to be there, and wants to see the children succeed. I think the kid´s enjoyd Eddie´s presence - there wasn´t a lot for him to do (kindof a hard age... "is he a teacher, is he one of us?") but he did great and we made the best of it for sure - we placed the new name tags on the desk which they were so happy about and wrked on a bit of English.
Hard to see Jenny so upset - it´s pretty rare. But at the same time - it was really good. Really good for her to have her meltdown in front of others - get their perspective...and one of the tings I love best about Jenny is that she ALWAYS takes somethng from her experiences. More to fuel her fire with!
We spent out free afternoon exploring the town and finally finding the grocery store. quite the adventure - it´s one of my favorite things to do when traveling in other cou ntries. Makes me wonder if we´re paranoid in the US, or if that´s what the differnece between developed and deeloping counrty is...(eggs in a basket out on the counter, milk in a bag on the shelf - and we can´t forget the slaughtered chickens in pieces out in the street market...) (not to be mistaken for judgement - just letting you all see what we are seeing...mere differences.)
I made my first (of 4 that same day) money exchang at the bank. VERY EXCITING - and smooth! (my kindergarden spanish is coming in so so handy!)
Jenny and I also took a motor taxi. This is basically a covered motorized 3-wheeled motorcycle - there is room for 2-3 passengers in the back. strange, exciting, adventuous - and only uno sole (33 cents)!
Besides for ending the evening cutting letters out of magazines (and of course realizing that THESE are the kinds of things that jenny and i will miss about living 1/4 mile away from each other) I would say, all in all it was a lovely thursday...even with out the fresh cranberry sauce and pumkin chiffon cheesecke!
FRIDAY 11/27
woke up to cutting more letters...there really arent that many P´s, are there? Thank goodness for Rolling Stone! (don´t worry jason, i did not take any of yours)
Anyhow, Wyatt (my other sobrino) came to class with me today! To be honest, I think some of the kids were a little confused...¨"Hey, I thought you were taller, and where are your glasses?" But once they realized he was in fact Eddie´s brother - it was a great day! I wish I would have had my camera - Wyatt was the front of the train, and he had the kids following him (i don´t think this was his plan but it seemed to go pretty well!) We also worked on a lot of English - we brought in two posters...one with fruit and one with colores. (and thanks Jodi for sharing ´´share´´ with me - it´s coming in handy!!!!)
One little girl - Marysabel - tripped and hit her head really ard. i picked her up and followed profesora maria to the sink outside - she splashed water on it. no ice. use what you got. also, once back in the classroom - she handed her a coin to press to her (very large) bump. it was cold i´m sure but it also seemed like it was to weish any harm away. wyatt and i sat with her for awhile - wyatt rubbed her back and i just held her hand and touched her hair. man, i tell you what - in the states - she would have been rushed frantically to the nurse´s office, immediately with an ice pack, her mother calle, and maybe even a visit to the doctor - let a lone the screaming that would have ensued...
I think maria was very happy with us that day - she was sad to learn we would not be there monday - she of course was happy for our visit to the coast, but would miss us.
me too.
i realzed that i would only be in class 3 more days. wow.
yes, me too...
wow - never will a car ride seem long again. 7 hours....
but honestly - the way there was ok. I was chillin in the way back of the passenger van with Eddie and Wyatt. Jenny was in the front seat - i asked if she wanted to sit next to Pancho and apologize for how ASSININE our housemates had acted. how DISRESPECTFUL!!!! how humiliating for Pancho, nice way to strenghthen the stereotype of the elitist American, and sorry - but can anyone say, "REAL WORLD, PERU" ?
anyhow - what a way to see the truly amazing and beautiful diversity of landscape i n Peru. Along with seeing the countryside and the people who work the land, we were privvy to many alpaca, sheep, cows, dogs, and an INCREDIBLE sunset!
Once we finally arrived, (after of course Pancho telling us we had along our journey reached 15,500 feet!!!! WOW!!!) we raelized that "the Oasis" was not only the name of the hotll we were staying in, but we were in fact - at the oasis...in the midle of the desert. wow.
so, we dropped our stuff off, and walked through town to a restaurant and had our first pisco sours. the official drink of the counry. tasted like a sour margarita (cheers mark) which was yummy, but the recipe also calls for egg whites. ya, raw ones. I realized later that this was the beginning of my cleanse...
SATURDAY 11/28
Once waking, besides for feeling somewhat cleansed (KEY WORD {no colons in spanish/ on spanish keyboards¨{ SOMEWHAT) , we realized, we were in fact in the middle of the desert. We were srrounded by the most incredible sand dunes. HUGE. After desayuno (breakfast) it was time for the dune buggy adventure. on the HUGE sand dunes. we buckled ourselves in, I had ridden on plenty as a kid - i would be fine. (keep in mind friends - this as most adventures, i let jenny plan. I did not look into what we were in fact in for, she said it sounded like fun. what more did i need?)
It was pretty fun. Riding across the dunes (cover your ears, by the way all you environmentlists). seeing some stuff i hadn´t ever seen. cool. right on. í could do this. people do this everyday, right?
For about 10 minutes. Then - i realized after a small hill - we might in fact go not only up - but down - some biger ones. I started to freak out. Really. We got to the edge of a VERY VERY STEEP dune - teetering on the edge. I thought I was going to lose it. I asked if I could just get out - I didnt care if they picked me up later or I just sat - I just NEEDED to get OUT.
Jenny saw I was NOT kidding. She made sure the driver knew - as if my convulsions and sobbing werent enough. So, after barely being able to stumble out, sit down, and catch my breath - I realized that the driver had actually stopped to let (us) sandboard down this GINORMOUS dune. Need less to say, I volunteered to video. It was pretty cool to watch everyone have so much fun. I think the driver - Ricardo - thought i just needed to calm down, then i would be ready. I quickly made him realize this was NOT the case. Pancho, my personal savior, then basically walked me all the way aroiund this massive hill so ricardo could pick us up when they were all done. this, my friwnds - was no easy tsk. Picture this - southern hemisphere, blazin hot sun, middle of the desert, no water. Thank goodness we grabbed our hats! And thank goodness, not only does Pancho have agreat sense of humor ("oh, look there is a hammock righ over there, by those trees - maybe we could grab a couple of cold ones") but ricardo came to check on us and i was able to grab my water bottle. the group left - we walked a biut more, drank outr beers (ya right) , talked about life in Peru, and then finally decided to sit our butts down and wait for our taxi.
wow....that was quite the experience!
and wow, quite a lot for you all to read.
i think i will take a break and come back after dinner!
xoxo
ciao!
christin molly
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