Rental car day trip

I had a three day weekend this weekend, due to summer school ending and regular school scheduled to start this Monday.  So, I asked all the other volunteers if they wanted to go view the petraglyphs at Toro Muerto, about 2-3 hours from here. (Here's a tour website explaining about them: http://www.peruadventurestours.com/en/arequipa/toro_muerto.html )
 Ben and Megan wanted to go, so we decided to rent a car so we could do it on our own time.  The cost of the rental car was only $45 for the day, much cheaper than renting a taxi for the day.  Ben agreed to drive out of the city, and I agreed to drive the rest of the time.  Ben is from England, so besides the city driving, he had to deal with driving on the right side of the road and sitting on the left side of the car and shifting with his right hand.

We got the car around 9am and headed out of the city.  Ben did quite well with the traffic, knowing where we were, etc.  The car gas tank was on empty, so we filled it up - 80 soles or around $28.  We got about a half hour away when there was a fork in the road, with the sign showing the pan americana highway to the right, so of course we took it....well, it ended at a tunnel construction site!  So, back down to the fork and up the left side...until we came to some kind of a toll-booth that wasn't a toll booth, but a security check point for a mining company, Cerra Verde! - yes, they confirmed we were in the wrong place and needed to have taken the right hand fork. (Here's a link to info about the mine: http://www.mindat.org/loc-55597.html ) So off we went, back there...only to pass a truck which was stopped, so we talked to them.  The highway was closed as they were painting the tunnel!  Mind you, this is the main road from Arequipa to the coast, and there were NO SIGNS saying the highway was closed!  We back-tracked to a little pueblo and asked around.  A police officer explained there was another route and pointed and explained.  We didn't have a good map though, so decided it was best we not try to find this other way.  The landscape in this area was quite dry and deserty and although we saw signs for vicuna, (a smaller wild alpaca), we didn't see any in this area. 

Since it was only around 11am and we had a full tank of gas, we didn't want to return the car and totally give up.  So, we decided to head out of the city in the other direction towards Colca Canyon and the town of Chivay, where Megan had volunteered for a month.  Ben knew the way from where we were, back through the one side of the city and out again. So, away we went.  The landscape was quite different again: very dry and deserty, but as we gained altitude, there were a few more plants.  We were just enjoying the scenery and being in our own car.  This time we did see the vicunas.

We came to a toll booth right before a Y in the road and we stopped and got snacks and walked around.  Again. so nice to be in our own car and not having someone else drive us. I finally took over the driving at this point, and the weather started to deteriorate as well.  First a bit of fog, then rain.  Then the fun began.  I drove over a railroad track, a bit too fast apparently, and there was a huge pothole...AND...I hit it with the left tires....yep, both went flat! 

The rain was pouring and we weren't sure what to do.  We had a spare, but only one.  Should we change the one and take the flat tire back to the toll booth area to see if we could get the tire fixed, or should we call the rental company for help.  Ben had his cell phone, but there was no reception where we were. Our delima was resolved when a police vehicle came by.  Ben and Megan went with the police officers back to the toll booth area to call the rental car company, and I was to stay with the car.  They left at 2:10pm.  By 5:30pm, I knew I couldn't sit there any longer.  I needed to get off the highway before it got dark.  So, I wrote a note, collected Ben's wallet and Megans Ipod and my miscellaneous things, took a deep breath and got out of the car.  Along came a bus, followed by a company double-cabbed truck.  I flagged down the truck, explained in broken spanish that my 2 friends had gone for help 3 hours ago, but had not returned, and I needed to go to the police station at the toll booth area.  The two guys were very nice and offered me a ride all the way back to Arequipa but since I had written the note saying I would be at the police station, I didn't think I had better go. 

At the police station, they knew exactly who I was, and why I was there.  I found out that Ben and Megan had tried to call the rental car company from there, and the police tried also, but they couldn't get through.  So, the police flagged down a car and sent Ben and Megan back into Arequipa to the rental car company.  I called into the Casa de Avila and talked to Alton (GVI Project manager) and found out that Ben had just left the rental car company with the mechanic and two tires coming my way.  By this time it was 6:30ish at night and pitch black and raining.  I left the keys for the car with the police officer and caught a bus back into Arequipa.  I got to the GVI Friday night bbq around 8:30 and was immediately offered a glass of wine and found out they had been worried about me!  I had done fine sitting in the car, reading the history of Peru in my Lonely Planet guide book!   

Around 10pm, Megan and I walked up to the rental car office and found out that they had made it to the car just fine, changed both tires, and then drove about 5 km when the car died!  They were towing the car in and would be back in a few hours.  Ben ended up getting back to the casa around 1:30 in the morning!  I went to the car rental company the next morning, and got off what I considered pretty easy.  For the rental, two tires, the towing and all their hours, I paid a total of $215 for the day!  They even deducted the 1/2 tank of gas that we left in the car!

We were just so lucky in many ways.  Ben didn't mean to leave his wallet in the car, and they both realized after the left that they had no money on them. I just happened to see it in the pocket in the driver's side door.  I was dressed for the desert we had been going to, but luckily I had brought my clothes with me for the evening: long pants, socks, a fleece pullover and my raincoat!  I had spent almost all of my cash on the gas and the snacks and then on coffee and a phone card at the police station.  And when I got on the bus, I didn't ask how much it would be.  I worried I was going to have to make a run for it when I got off the bus, but it turned out to cost 4.50 soles and I had 6 soles on me. 

To see all the photos of our trip, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/margie510/DayTrip#

This and that

I woke up early the other morning, like I always do when I don't have to, and stood looking out my bedroom window for awhile.  The window slides open, so I can hang out my second story window and watch the world go by.  This morning there was a guy walking along this residential sidewalk and it looked like he was rolling a cigarette.  Then I realized he wasn't rolling a cigarette, but snorting cocoaine!  Just walking along, snorting....!

The other night I asked Cesar what the whistle is that I am always hearing in the evening.  Appraently the neighborhood pays for private security and the watchman blows the whistle to let the people know he is on patrol!

It seems that female constuction workers are pretty common here.  At least on the drive up to the school and at the school.  There is a crew of women working hauling rocks from one part of the school yard to another to build a wall behind it.  They use a piece of cloth loaded with rocks and two women grab the ends and carry it between them!  Apparently they are municipal workers and there are a lot of them!  At the school grounds there are at least 20 women working. 

For a couple of miles before the school, the construction is on retaining walls, sidewalks, and the park-like meridian.  Most of the workers are women, but I noticed that most of the workers putting in  the cement forms and pouring the cement are men.  The women do the picking and shovelng of dirt, laying the cobblestone sidewalks, etc.  It's such a disportionate number of women to men, that it made me wonder where all the men are.  I asked Patrick, the intern who has been here twice before, and he said he has noticed this before but isn't sure what is going on; whether the men have adandoned their families, or are working away, or what.  He did say he saw a sign on a bus that said, "Remember, you have a family at home"!

I saw a sign posted on a number of walls, advertising for a "senorita" to work in a shop.  Wonder what they would do if a "senor" applied.

Out my bedroom window, I can see Mt Chachani  (6075 meters, about 3650 meters (or over 11,000 feet  -  higher than the city), which I look to each morning to check out the weather.  Yesterday morning, after we had a cloudy  afternoon the day before, there was fresh snow on the top.  I can't get a good picture from my window due to power lines, and by the time we head to school, there are usually clouds sitting atop it.  Volcano Misti is to the right of Mt. Chachani, and is a perfectly conical shaped volcano of 5822 meters.  We head to the right of Misti to get to our school.

When guys get together and drink beer, they don't all have their own beer, rather there is one beer and one small glass.  The beer bottle gets passed, the person pours out what they want in the glass, passes on the bottle to the next person who holds the bottle until the first person finishes with the glass, and on and on.

Last weekend after being attacked with water balloons for carnival, my cold seemed to come back.  I spent my time taking it pretty easy.  Now, this weekend, I've got the runs and was unable to go to the beach with my host family!  I'm going to take it really easy, and end all of this sickness!  Next weekend will be a three day weekend, and I plan on doing something, just don't know what yet.

Spanish language frustrations

I feel like I have come a long way with my Spanish, and it's improving every day.  I speak with my host family in spanish, and Cesar will clarify in English if necessary.  I like my spanish teacher here, and we also spend a lot of time just talking, and especially me listening, as I can know a word when it is written, but not always recognize it when someone else says it.  But, I am still having major misunderstandings.

Last night Isabelle asked me about my lunch - she used both the english and spanish words for lunch.  I told her that I had had 2 ham & cheese sandwiches - they are on very small rolls - and grapes and then when I returned to the GVI casa, I had a small salad with lettuce and tomato.  Well, when she called me down to dinner - cena - there was a salad of lettuce and tomato, ham and cheese on the table, and bread!  I was quite surprised and realized that Isabelle thought I was asking for those things for dinner!  Dinner is usually either a bit of left over lunch, which is the largest meal of the day, or just bread and tea.  Cesar was not there, but the neighbor girl was.  It took a bit, but I explained that I had had that for lunch, and was not asking for it for dinner! I felt terrible, because she had had Cesar stop at the store on the way home to get the lettuce and tomato!

I have a cold AGAIN, playing "carnival" with water balloons.  On Saturday, I stopped at a pharmacy and asked if they had a decongestant.  I didn't know the spanish word, but used the english word and pointed to my sinuses.  I bought the pills, asked a 2nd time about how many to take and when, and I thought her answer was a bit strange that I should take them before each meal.  But, off I went, took one and went to bed, and woke hours later still totally congested.  Isabelle came to check on me, and I told her I had bought and taken a decongestant.  She asked to see them, and then started laughing...they were for diarhea!  The medicine name for both of these ailments is quite similar!  They  got me some decongestant and I was doing better (but this morning, I am totally congested again and need more meds I think to clear it up).

The other day I was telling Isabelle that I like to have time to write as I am writing a blog.  A few nights later Cesar commented that Isabelle told him that I was writting a book and he was quite impressed!  Unfortunately, I had to tell him it was a blog and not a book. 

In spanish class yesterday, I found out that words that I have been using to tell the kids what to do - that I was taught by someone (probably not a spanish teacher) - are wrong.  I need to conjugate them first before adding the suffixes.  Argh... now I have to relearn them! 

Someday.......

I have the BEST host family!

I love my host family!  After Ecuador, I deserve this!   Yesterday when I came home in the afternoon to change, I opened my bedroom door and found my bedroom decorated and "Feliz Cumpleanos" written on the wall!!!  I had not told my family it was my birthday on Monday, because it was my first day here in their house.  But yesterday morning I had left the birthday card Janine left me sitting out on my nightstand and the cleaning woman saw it when she came into the room to clean!  Not only was my room decorated, but Cesar and Isabelle came in with a birthday cake and sang Happy Birthday!

Last night we went to Isabelle's Aunt and Uncle's home for a family get together for their new home to be blessed and to celebrate their new home. It was awesome to be included and to meet the relatives who were so welcoming.  They danced in the living room and a family friend stood up and sang a couple of songs as well!  The kids were upstairs most of the time, which just goes to show that people are the same everywhere!

Very few of the people spoke Enlgish, although two of her cousins spoke a little.  I made it through the evening not too bad. I understood most of what was going on, but only about 50% of the words.  It's interesting to hear all the different accents and how rapidly some people speak!

On Tuesday when I got home, there were two of Isabelle's neices here.  The whole family is here from Lima (for the house blessing).  The older one, Claudia, about 11 or 12, helped me to prepare for school by listening to me read a book and helping me to understand it and pronounce the words correctly.  The other neice is 5 or 6 , named Nicole, and she reminded me of Nicki because of her long, curly hair!  Both of them were "delightful". (I know I sound like an old lady when I use that word, but it is the perfect way to describe them.

The other really good thing about this family is the food!  The woman who comes to clean, also does the cooking!  And, it's good!  The other night we had little peppers stuffed with chopped meat and veggies, a mushroom soup, and dessert - it contained rice of course since there was no rice in the main course. But it was good - rice with milk and a plum sauce. Another night we had scalloped potatoes, and another night something like a beef stir-fry.  So different than the lousy food I got in Ecuador.

Must run to school, but I wanted to make sure I wrote about yesterday before it blurs with the other days of the week!

Awesome weekend and first day of school

The last couple of days have been awesome. On Saturday I explored the food market and miscellaneous markets –love the enterprising folks selling little of this and a little of that out of tiny spaces. Even found an olive guy in a small hallway! Found a couple of movies and watched “Gran Torino” with Clint Eastwood. It’s been awhile since I’ve just sat back and watched a movie! As we were walking down the street, a parade went by!  It is the start of carnival celebrations even though Ash Wednesday is more than a week away.  The dancers looked like they were dying from the heat and dancing for so long, but they looked good.  We saw the parade two times - the second time all the men had beers in their hands and the women had bottles of water! 

On Saturday night I went with 6 other volunteers to dinner at a really nice restaurant called Zig Zag. There specialty is Peruvian meats and Andean foods. Janine and I started with their Pisco Sour sampler. Pisco Sours are made from pisco grape brandy among other things.

The three that I got were fruits, blueberry and coca and they were served on a tray with the sprinkles of dried fruits, blueberries and coca leaves. For dinner I had the 3 meats served sizzling on a hot stone. Not sure if I want to tell you what two of the meats were, but one was beef. Ok, the other two were alpaca and ostrich and I liked the ostrich better of the two! We had bibs put on us since the meat was still sizzling on the hot stone and after you could see the grease splatters, so I was real happy they put those on us. Since this was not only my birthday dinner, but also another volunteer’s, we splurged on dessert. We both had a dessert with vanilla ice cream, fresh raspberry sauce – flambéed with gran marnier – delicious of course, and everyone else tried other things!

Sunday then was my first day officially back with GVI. In the morning we had an orientation to the project here in Peru. It ended up taking 3 hours! I quit asking questions early on when I realized how long it was going to take to get through all the material! There were three of us for the orientation: myself, Janine, and another gal who will be here 3 or 4 weeks, and was here last summer as well. After the orientation we went out to lunch with the interns and other intern trainees. We then headed back to the market for supplies for the lunch at my school.

After a bit of lesson planning, our host families picked us up at 5pm. I was pretty nervous about this; all I was told was that it was maybe a 5 minute walk from my homestay to Casa de Avilla – the GVI headquarters. My family is Cesar and Isabelle and their almost two year old, Diego (or Diegito for a nickname). Cesar speaks English and Isabelle is learning. Cesar is a closer in age to me, while Isabelle I would guess to be in her late 20’s or early 30’s. He is an “economist” (I think this means accountant or comptroller) for a health clinic and Isabelle is a full-time mom. My room is plenty large and I am supposed to have wi-fi right here! Oh, I hope so! It is such a great deal to have it right in my room and be able to do lesson planning or lesson exploring and skype at whatever time I would like! Diegito seems to be a pretty tranquil little boy, so I am not too worried about him screaming and carrying on! There is something about limited hours of hot water, but I didn’t fully understand it, so will try to figure that out tonight.

Ok, so, about my school. First, it is about a 20 minute ride from Casa de Avilla. It is summer here, so we are putting on a summer school. Last week was the first week GVI was at the school, so the program is brand new and is being adjusted. Regular school will start at the beginning of March. There is no kitchen there, so we bring up fruit for a morning snack and then give out jam sandwiches at the end of the day. The name of the place is Chiguata and is on the mountain side, to the east I think, of Arequipa. The land here is definitely desert. It’s all just plain grey. The buildings are made of cement blocks, the rocks have been gathered and built into walls and it’s all the same color. The only thing with color is the school which is painted the regulation blue!

I worked with the “initials” – kindergartens, first, second and third grades with two other volunteers. Between these four levels we had close to 30 students! It’s quite a spread in age and ability, so we are working on splitting them out, but we are still not sure how to split them. They have a pretty good routine going: the volunteers start the day by reading aloud - each one reading one book. Then free reading time for the kids – or picture-looking as the case may be. On to one more activity before fruit break and then an hour and a half for the 2nd half of the day. We finish by about 12:45 and clean up and then the van comes to pick us up. We are going to change it up just a little this week, with an art activity following the story time – and hopefully the art activity will be related to one of the books! This is really nice to have other people to work with – definitely different than Ecuador. Also, the kids here are more advanced – their ability is more closely aligned to their grade level. I fell in love today with “Freddie”. He is one of the youngest kids, probably 3, cute as a button, and very independent.

Following school today, a number of us went to celebrate at a cake shop. I can’t believe how many there are here! It was the first day of school for 4 of us, so we had a lot of notes to compare. I'm looking forward to the  new challenge here and seeing the differences between the schools and the kids.

Oh, and a huge THANK YOU to all for the wonderful birthday wishes.

Juanita the Ice Maiden

The last few days in Arequipa have been great. The temperature has dropped a little (it was in the 80’s, not the 70’s like I thought, earlier in the week), and I have moved hotels to the one used by GVI.

On Wednesday I took a two and a half hour bus tour around Arequipa on a double decker, open top bus. I got a better idea of the layout of the city beyond the historical center that I had been focused on. The city is divided by the Rio Chile, flowing towards the Pacific Ocean. There is old pre-Incan terracing at places along the river which is still actively used. I got a couple of good pictures of the river, the terracing and Misti Volcano in the background. The tour guide was a young woman who did the whole tour in both Spanish and English. At one of the stops she came up to me and said she had been looking for me and had a tray with a few things on it. She explained each of the items: two different fruits that are popular here, the coca tea and a couple of other things. I thought it was really nice of her to find me to explain it all in English!

On Thursday I moved over to the Casa de Avila which is the headquarters for GVI here in Arequipa. This means that the Program Coordinator, Alton Germain (cousin?), and the interns and intern trainees all live here, the rest of the volunteers meet here for their pick-up to schools, and there is a classroom and a prep room for lesson planning. This is also a Spanish school, so all the Spanish classes are held out on the beautiful lawn. The owner of the hotel is a partner in the project and handles the Spanish classes (obviously), arranges the home stays, the transportation to the schools, and the weekend tour activities. Check out the photos on their website of the beautiful garden: http://www.casadeavila.com/ There are about 20 volunteers here right now! Again, most are from Europe, but there are still quite a few from the US. And again, I am the oldest, and there are also quite a few people under 20! There are about 7 more volunteers coming this week! – so many more than in Ecuador.

Right now is summer in Peru, so the schools are on vacation and GVI is providing summer school at three schools. I have been assigned to a school which is new to GVI this week. There are just over 50 kids and when I start there, there will be 6 of us working there! The community is of about 10,000 people and is about a half hour away on the eastern flanks of Mt. Misti. I will go up to the school for the first time on Monday.

There seems to be a real differentiation here between the volunteers, the intern trainees, and the interns. I am in the intern trainee program, and in Ecuador we were just considered the same as any of the other volunteers. So, I will begin with some of the training, and will have additional duties besides the work in the classroom, such as helping to mentor the new volunteers in lesson planning and coordination of activities at the school. I’m looking forward to learning more about the operations of a program that runs on volunteer service and how it is managed.

Yesterday Janine and I played tourist. We started by going to a museum that contains artifact and objects that were part of Inca human sacrifice offerings high up in the mountains. In the late 1990’s a number of bodies were discovered, including one that is named Juanita, the “frozen ice maiden”. Some of you may remember a cover photo and big article on this finding in the National Geographic, Time Magazine and others. (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983667,00.html ) The bodies are just over 500 years old and there were 4 girls and 1 boy that were found. The museum display was very tastefully done: it started with a (rather dramatic) movie of the discoveries filmed by National G, and then a guided tour through the displays of the artifacts. The final display was of one of the frozen bodies – not Juanita, but another one that was found at the same time. They rotate the display so that DNA and other testing can be done on the bodies. After the museum we figured we need to talk about it, so we found a coffee shop and sat for awhile. I have to kind of wonder why “we” think we have the right to be grave robbers…..

After our deep thoughts, we headed off to wander around a bit as Janine hadn’t seen any of Arequipa yet. We found a poster for a weekend of Yoga classes and decided we would sign up for the beginner’s classes which are two hours each next Saturday and Sunday! We also headed to the market and found the clothing market, and then the fruit and veg and other things market. This was a big indoor market, which reminded me of the ones in Budapest. Apparently there are at least two more of these markets here, of which one is bigger than the one we went to. We got lots of veggies and made a huge salad for the weekly GVI Friday night BBQ.

So last night was fun, with a number of people in the communal kitchen getting their potluck dishes made and prepping for the bbq. Alton grills chicken each week and then who knows what else will be there. We had a huge spread and actually quite a bit of leftover food. Janine and I will be eating salad for a few more meals! There is another gal here, Meghan, whose birthday is the same day as mine, so we had a birthday cake as well. She also had her ipod with speakers on, so we had nice music. It was interesting that quite a bit of the music was older of my generation or before!

Tomorrow many of the volunteers are heading to Puno on Lake Titicaca, but most of the interns and trainees are staying here. We plan a day of shopping for pirate movies and books – apparently you can buy paperback books that have been copied! The movies run about 3 soles - $1 and the books are also quite cheap. In the bookstores, a paperback in English will run over $10! We are also planning a nice dinner at Zig Zag, an upscale restaurant that serves Alpaca meat, amongst many other things of course. I plan on trying the national drink, a Pisco Sour!

On Sunday, I will officially start on the project, with an orientation and then moving to my homestay around 5pm. All I know at this point about my homestay is that it is about a 5 minute walk from Casa de Avila, which will be very convenient.

First days in Arequipa

I have a week before needing to report to the GVI project in Peru, and at first I thought I would go to Machu Pichu during the week. But then when I started having difficulties making airline reservations, and when I continued to feel crappy from the cold/sinus infection, I decided I would just go straight to Arequipa, find a hotel with some nice amenities, and just take it easy. I didn’t hear back from my first hotel selection, but I found another with a rooftop terrace, breakfast included, and willing to let me use the kitchen for a few things, and wireless in my room, all for $30. (This is not a cheap hotel/hostal here, but I decided it was worth it to have my own room, bathroom and wireless.)  There's an unexpected benefit: there is a music school nearby and every evening I've heard beautiful choral music!  The church bells of the city also ring every morning and at noon and can be heard all over.

I spent my first two days basically in my room. I slept; drank a lot of water; took antibiotics and vitamins; caught up on skype phone calls; worked on my blog and photos; and read books. I made it out for a walk each day, and saw some of the city. From the hotel terrace, I can see three volcanoes close by when they don’t have a cloud cover. Although this is the rainy season, and other parts of Peru are suffering from rain and flood damage, there has been no rain here since I arrived. The weather has been sunny and in the low 70’s according to the internet, but I think it must be hotter. Arequipa is at a lower elevation by a few hundred feet than Otavalo, and thankfully, I am not going up and down in elevation each day while I try to beat this crude. I am feeling much better, although I still have some congestion.

On Sunday I went to the main plaza, Plaza de Armas, and it was like a party! It was crowded with people, sitting and standing in little groups talking. There is a lot of greenery and gardens in the plaza and the buildings surrounding it have long arched covered walkways. I then had lunch at a place behind the cathedral and had a traditional dish: stuffed pepper with potatoes with a creamy cheese sauce.  I only ate the peper because I had a wonderful salad first.

Yesterday I got out and played tourist. I went to the Plaza de Armas again and visited two churches nearby. The main cathedral has had extensive damage in a number of earthquakes, but it is fully restored. After viewing the churches, I went off to a travel book-recommended restaurant for lunch. They have set menus here, which are usually a 3 course meal for a very low price. They had three different ones listed and I didn’t have a menu translator with me, but I saw a couple of local business men with huge bowls of soup, so I told the waitress that I wanted the same one that they were having. After about the second or third spoonful of the lightly spiced soup, I became suspicious of the contents and started eating mainly just the broth, and the few things I could identify: potato, cabbage, carrot. When I got the broth down low, I started inspecting the contents a bit closer and started seeing some white tubular shaped things. Remember the soup I didn’t want to try in Huayrapungo because it had chicken innards? Well, this one was similar: it had beef tripe! I ate the rest of the soup broth and left the bits and pieces. The second course was a squash and potato chunky sauce over rice which was quite good until I discovered a hair in it! The final course was a small dish of tropical fruit and it was quite good and had no surprises for me. The meal cost 8 Peruvian Soles – or around $3 US. I actually left quite full and am willing to try the restaurant again, despite the hair.

After lunch I went to the St Catalina convent which was established in the 1600’s and still has cloistered nuns living in a section of it. This convent takes up a whole city block and is a city within a city. For most of the time, the nuns lived in their own, very simple and basic houses within the convent, and then later, lived dormitory style with shared cooking facilities. As with the main cathedral, the convent has been damaged by numerous earthquakes, and most of it has been restored using the original paint colors and designs. The salvaged furniture and art are nicely displayed throughout. I had a guide take me through which I found out a long time ago that having a guide can really provide so much more information than what you can get from travel books and brochures.

I wandered around some more and then went to a café operated by an organization that helps needy children. All the profits go toward the education and programs of the organization, and apparently some of the older kids help out in the café and hostel that they operate as well.

The historical center of Arequipa is really quite beautiful and the architecture is Spanish colonial. I’m back in a land of beautiful wood doors and love it!

Today I spent countless hours organizing and uploading photos before I ventured out. I took a nice walk again, looked for mani pasta (peanut butter) at a grocery store, had a fantastic salad and part of a small pizza for lunch (the rest will be for dinner), and got my hair cut! I had it cut really, really short before I left Juneau, so this is the first cut I’ve had since I’ve been gone! He basically just trimmed it and cleaned it up…hope it will work for me tomorrow!

Last week in Otavalo

The first two days of the week, I worked with Bronwen in the classroom, turning over the students to her capable hands. Bronwen is quite artistic and I am sure she will have fun with the kids and they will definitely learn from her. I realized how comfortable I had gotten with the kids and the operations of the school, and how I wasn't fazed my much anymore when something didn't go as planned either in the classroom or with the food for breakfast and lunch or with the keys!  Making puppets was one of our last projects together -- I brought a kit with me, and they kids had fun with them.

On Tuesday when we entered the classroom building and started setting up, Bronwen looked at one of the work tables and asked what on earth was on the table! I walked over to it, and saw that it looked like bird doo, so I looked up to see if there was a whole in the roof, or a bird in the rafters. There wasn't, and then I saw that there were little piles around on the floor and on top of a book on another table! It was chicken shit! The bird must have gotten in through the hole in the back wall! Had a good laugh about and tried to get some of the older kids to clean up for us, to no avail!

Wednesday and Thursday were my days to help build a stove. Well, as with many things here, it didn't go quite as planned, but we did get off to a good start and I got to do a little bit! All of the materials for two stoves had been delivered to the two locations where the community wanted the first two stoves to be built. The first problem was that they wanted to build one outside of one of the school buildings, where they hoped someday to extend the building! After a bit of discussion, Tracey was able to convince the community leader that the intent was for them to be built in an existing house, and not outside somewhere where it might take years before they got a building built around it. So, off we went to the second site where work began. All of the materials: bricks, cement blocks, the sand, cement and gravel, along with the cook top and pipe for the chimney had to be carried up from the road to the house. Again there was discussion about exactly where to build and the position of the stove. The location was determined and work began: things had to be moved out of the way, the earth had to be leveled off, and a cement block wall had to be relocated. Once these guys determined everything was right, I got to spread some of the cement between the bricks --- my contribution to the building!

I think I might have mentioned that the food at the homestay was pretty basic and for lunch I usually had a roll with something inside of it, and two pieces of fruit. The roll most often was dry and might have had caramel or jam or guacamole in it, or be plain. I usually carried a bag of peanuts with me to supplement the lunch or add to the jam sandwich. On a really good day it might be tuna or sandwich ham. Well, later in the week when returning to Otavalo, Bronwen said she was starving --- her roll was so dry and plain that she hadn't been able to eat it, so had feed it to the chickens! I had a good laugh about that too. I hope she is either able to suggest other food to the homestay mom, or come to terms with the food!

For our usual Wednesday GVI get together, we went to a nice fish restuarant for our goodbye dinner.  Janine, Jordy and I were all leaving.  Janine is on the same program as I, so I will work with her again in Peru. On Thursday, immediately after school, I finished packing and was driven into Quito by my homestay parents. I spent all of Friday traveling from Quito to Arequipa, with a long layover in Lima. Here I am with Janine and Tracey:

I am quite pleased with the work I was able to do with Huayrapungo and will miss the kids. However, the long, long days including an hour ride on a bumpy road every morning and afternoon won't be missed!