Hello all! Glad to say that after two rather difficult days getting a new passport for one of my students and getting him on the plane, my last 10 days in Lima have been fun and interesting. It's a city of many contrasts - incredible wealth and beauty along the coast and serious slums on the outskirts with middle class neighborhoods in between. And incredibly HUGE!
I pretty much ended up with just one faithful student - Beto, and a couple of others for just two lessons - but that's ok - it was just an excuse to stay longer!
I also have had a very positive experience getting some major dental work done here - super professional like a Beverly Hills dentist for one tenth the cost! Apparently coming to Lima and Buenos Aires, as well, is quite a popular thing to do nowadays because of the oppressive costs of dental care and medical care in the the USA.
I also visited two wonderful schools - one tiny one for street kids in Comas, shown to me by my friend Francisco, and another huge Albergue run by the Catholic Church for the poorest of kids, where a friend of Sergio's from Idaho is working for a year and a half. So many people doing wonderful work outside of government auspices - which seems to be the only way things work well here.
Tony arrives on Monday night and we have the adventure of traveling north on Wednesday to Trujillo and Chiclayo with our friend David.
I know by August 4th I will definitely be ready to be home. See you all soon!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Homeward Bound
We finished our whirlwind visit to this area of Peru with our Machu Picchu excursion! Wow! Hopefully pictures will do it justice, because words certainly will not. We had to take a 1.5 hour bus ride, a 2 hour train ride, and then a 20 minute bus ride that wound up the side of the mountain to reach Machu Picchu, but it was well, well worth it. Unbelievable - a once in a lifetime experience for most of us.
As I type there are fireworks going off (to signal the start of mass or some sort of holiday?) and everyone is slowly waking up and getting moving. We had a long day yesterday, and today will be filled with travel, too - flight to Lima, tour Lima, shop a little bit more, back to the Lima airport, fly to Houston, layover, then finally fly home. We are all so excited to be home, but we will miss this group and this amazing country.
Thanks for following along with us. I hope that despite our lack of consistent internet availability (and 30 or so people sharing one computer here in Cuzco) you were able to get a picture of our trip. We´ll continue to update and add pictures once we get back to reliable internet and a little more free time. See you soon!
As I type there are fireworks going off (to signal the start of mass or some sort of holiday?) and everyone is slowly waking up and getting moving. We had a long day yesterday, and today will be filled with travel, too - flight to Lima, tour Lima, shop a little bit more, back to the Lima airport, fly to Houston, layover, then finally fly home. We are all so excited to be home, but we will miss this group and this amazing country.
Thanks for following along with us. I hope that despite our lack of consistent internet availability (and 30 or so people sharing one computer here in Cuzco) you were able to get a picture of our trip. We´ll continue to update and add pictures once we get back to reliable internet and a little more free time. See you soon!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Mas Fotos
We´ve finally had a minute to sit down and upload a few more pictures. I will try to tell you what´s going on in most of them. The three in the previous post were all taken at the school in Grocio Prado, Chincha.
The pictures are below and the descriptions come first. Enjoy!
The pictures are below and the descriptions come first. Enjoy!
1.) Here are all the kids in front of the bus we were in from Lima to Chincha, all over Chincha, and then back to Lima. Our driver, Jorge, who we all called Coco at his request, was the best! The kids loved him and he truly was an entertainer, a bodyguard, our driver, and became a kind friend.
2.) Here is Kami dancing a traditional Afro-Peruviann dance with one of 3 girls who entertained us at the school.
3.) This is the first day we headed out to Paracas and Islas de Ballestas, but it was too foggy so the Peruvian Navy wouldn´t permit us to go to the islands by boat. Instead, we walked around on the beaches, found shells and watched the waves crash on the shore. Everyone loved the low-key stroll along the interesting rock beaches of Paracas.
4.) Here is the group at the Plaza de Armas in Pisco.
5.) Carly, Jada and Alex hanging out at Nelly´s house. Jada and Alex just bought those fun hats they have on.
6.) Happy Birthday, Carly! Carly´s cake was beautiful, as was the songs we sung Spanish for her birthday. What a great place to spend your special day!
7.) The second try, we were finally able to get to Islas de Ballestas and boy was it worth it! This was one of the most spectacular things I think any of us had ever seen. And for good measure, the flag was included to say, Happy 4th of July!!!
8.) The kids passed out books to the 5th-grade pen pal class, and then read them to the students. Most of the books were in Spanish so we were very proud of the effort it took for the Aspire kids. They did an awesome job! This is Thea and Alex´s group.
9.) We had a local artisan come in to the school and show us how to weave. He let some of the students try it out. Here is Jordan taking her hand at weaving on his hand-made loom. She was a natural!
10.) While we were at the school, the male students took a real liking to Edward! He was absolutely the group celebrity and they would even chant, ¨Chino, Chino, Chino,¨as he got off the bus. They adored him and were always asking him to play soccer with them, or just talk to them. Even though we tried many times to explain he was Korean and not Chinese, the nickname stuck and he was ¨Chino¨until we left the school. Here he is doing the funky chicken as we taught the students American dances.
11.) Saying goodbye to the students at the school in Grocio Prado was extremely emotional. Here is Kami giving her pen pal a big hug. They were instant friends as soon as they saw each other for the first time.
12.) What a perfect picture to end on. This is Duvan. He is a student at the school and one of the 5th graders in the pen pal program. He was precious; a complete gentleman, who loved us so much. The feeling was mutual. He stood outside the school as we left and waved, and made heart shapes with his fingers, and said I love you in sign language. Then, as the bus pulled away, he ran as long as he could beside it. What a treasure it is to have met him.
Well, it´s an early morning tomorrow as we make our way to more Incan ruins and some shopping! Ciao!!
4.) Here is the group at the Plaza de Armas in Pisco.
5.) Carly, Jada and Alex hanging out at Nelly´s house. Jada and Alex just bought those fun hats they have on.
6.) Happy Birthday, Carly! Carly´s cake was beautiful, as was the songs we sung Spanish for her birthday. What a great place to spend your special day!
7.) The second try, we were finally able to get to Islas de Ballestas and boy was it worth it! This was one of the most spectacular things I think any of us had ever seen. And for good measure, the flag was included to say, Happy 4th of July!!!
8.) The kids passed out books to the 5th-grade pen pal class, and then read them to the students. Most of the books were in Spanish so we were very proud of the effort it took for the Aspire kids. They did an awesome job! This is Thea and Alex´s group.
9.) We had a local artisan come in to the school and show us how to weave. He let some of the students try it out. Here is Jordan taking her hand at weaving on his hand-made loom. She was a natural!
10.) While we were at the school, the male students took a real liking to Edward! He was absolutely the group celebrity and they would even chant, ¨Chino, Chino, Chino,¨as he got off the bus. They adored him and were always asking him to play soccer with them, or just talk to them. Even though we tried many times to explain he was Korean and not Chinese, the nickname stuck and he was ¨Chino¨until we left the school. Here he is doing the funky chicken as we taught the students American dances.
11.) Saying goodbye to the students at the school in Grocio Prado was extremely emotional. Here is Kami giving her pen pal a big hug. They were instant friends as soon as they saw each other for the first time.
12.) What a perfect picture to end on. This is Duvan. He is a student at the school and one of the 5th graders in the pen pal program. He was precious; a complete gentleman, who loved us so much. The feeling was mutual. He stood outside the school as we left and waved, and made heart shapes with his fingers, and said I love you in sign language. Then, as the bus pulled away, he ran as long as he could beside it. What a treasure it is to have met him.
Well, it´s an early morning tomorrow as we make our way to more Incan ruins and some shopping! Ciao!!
Pictures of Some of the Adventures So Far
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Lima, Round 2
Our last two full days in Chincha were spent at the school and in the area of Grocio Prado. We LOVE these kids! We played games, listened to speaches, learned about a few of their local artisans, saw pictures of the earthquake´s aftermath, and did a lot of simply trying to communicate. Our kids were so patient (kids from our group and from the school here) - watching them try to understand each other was priceless, and they were able to form an even tighter bond with their little brothers and sisters. We´ll blog more about these two days when we have more time.
We just arrived to Lima last night, and we are already about to leave for Cuzco! Yesterday morning we enjoyed our last breakfast with Pedro´s family - his mom made chicharrones, a sort of fried pork chop, which we ate with the now ubiquitous rolls, butter, and jam. The good-byes that followed breakfast were hard...Pedro´s family has become our family, and his home our home.
We had a little time to rest yesterday afternoon (very little) and then we boarded the bus to tour Lima at night. This is a beautiful city. I wish we had more time to explore, but Cuzco calls. We were able to go into San Francisco church, walk around the Plaza de Armas, see the San Martin square, and eat Chifa (Chinese food). We had two more birthdays today - happy birthday Kelsey and Edward! (Also, Amanda´s daughters at home had a birthday yesterday - happy birthday Sage and Sienna, Alexis´s younger sisters!).
Hope this finds you well. We are looking forward to getting more rest time today as we acclimate to the altitude. Here´s hoping for a great internet cafe close to our hotel! We´re off!
We just arrived to Lima last night, and we are already about to leave for Cuzco! Yesterday morning we enjoyed our last breakfast with Pedro´s family - his mom made chicharrones, a sort of fried pork chop, which we ate with the now ubiquitous rolls, butter, and jam. The good-byes that followed breakfast were hard...Pedro´s family has become our family, and his home our home.
We had a little time to rest yesterday afternoon (very little) and then we boarded the bus to tour Lima at night. This is a beautiful city. I wish we had more time to explore, but Cuzco calls. We were able to go into San Francisco church, walk around the Plaza de Armas, see the San Martin square, and eat Chifa (Chinese food). We had two more birthdays today - happy birthday Kelsey and Edward! (Also, Amanda´s daughters at home had a birthday yesterday - happy birthday Sage and Sienna, Alexis´s younger sisters!).
Hope this finds you well. We are looking forward to getting more rest time today as we acclimate to the altitude. Here´s hoping for a great internet cafe close to our hotel! We´re off!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Weekend in Paracas
Although we are staying in Chincha, we are close to the ¨resort town¨of Paracas. Saturday morning we boarded the bus (after a breakfast of rolls with very strong cheese and palta, which is what they call avocado here in Peru). Our drive to Paracas took us through other parts of Chincha Alta, and Pisco, the town that shares a name with the famous grape brandy-like drink. We stopped off at a bus stop sort of thing that is right in Paracas. It had a very nice bathroom and an ATM, both are things of high value to these American travelers!!!
A guide named Juan joined us on the bus and we set off for the Paracas National Reserve. We drove all over the reserve to view rock formations (the most famous being the Cathedral - part of it fell during the earthquake but it was still incredible and impressive). We got out and walked along the shoreline at a few places, picked up shells, and tried to avoid the huge waves that occasionally took us by surprise. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate - it was overcast, misty, and a little bit chilly. The navy would not allow boats out to the Ballestas Islands, so we had to postpone our trip until Sunday.
After the reserve we stopped again at the bus stop (run by the company of one of our guides) and then had lunch at the restaurant in a nice hotel. We all started with a salad of peas, corn, and peppers in a mayonnaise sauce, served in an avocado half. Most of us had the fish dish that was served with french fries. We were given vanilla ice cream for dessert and it started to sink in that this mid-day meal is the largest of the day, and it´s usually way too much food for us!
On the way back to Chincha, we stopped in Pisco to take a stroll around the Plaza de Armas (what they call all town squares here in Peru). This was a beautiful square, but Pisco was nearly completely destroyed in the earthquake, so there were areas of nothingness where beautiful historic buildings once stood. It´s really amazing to see the level of devastation that earthquake caused all over this region.
Back at Pedro´s parents´house we had fried chicken and sweet potato fries for dinner - all of this fried food and not many veggies! I can tell you for sure that all of the adults on this trip are craving salads and veggies...
We ended our meal with a diversion dessert of a flan-like custard...the diversion was to get Carly at the table so that we could unveil her birthday cake! Happy birthday, Carly! We sang in two languages, and Edward played ¨Happy Birthday¨for her on his new Peruvian wooden flute.
On Sunday we boarded the bus (breakfast was sandwiches with a type of ham and lettuce) and headed back to Paracas for the Ballestas Islands boat tour. I am going to have to sum this up by saying it was truly unbelievable and the pictures will have to explain it. We spent a little less than two hours on the boat viewing an incredible, incredible amount of birds in migration as well as the beautiful (albeit a bit stinky - they are covered with guano) Ballestas Islands. A once in a lifetime experience for most of us. Pictures should be up in a few days when we get back to Lima, and that will help explain better.
Lunch was in a town called El Carmen, the most Afro-Peruvian town in the country. We ate at the house of a famous family, the Ballumbrosio family who are famous for their dancing and music. We dined on a delicious cold salad of broccoli, peas, carrots and ham in a lime dressing, chicken and beef dishes served with rice, potatoes, and beans, and candied sweet potatoes for dessert. YUM. After lunch the family cleared out the furniture and performed music and dances for us - they were amazing and the show was such an authentic experience here. Again, it is this type of experience that makes this trip so much more of a cultural exchange (mostly us learning about their culture) than simply a vacation.
Back at Pedro´s parents´ house we relaxed for a bit, while Norma, Amy, Janice and Pedro went to Chincha to buy a washing machine as a surprise for Nelly. It fit in a taxi for the ride home - with all four passengers! Nelly was so surprised and excited when we unveiled the gift that she cried, making most of the rest of us tear up, too. This has been an emotional trip, but so, so good. Sometime last night or early this morning they were able to hook up the washing machine and did a load of laundry...in Nelly´s typical selfless fashion, her first load in her new washer was of our clothes.
Today was spent at the school again, but the stories will have to wait for another day. There is a line waiting at the internet cafe. We´re hoping this finds you well...again, if you leave comments for your ninos we will certainly pass them on! Love to all.
A guide named Juan joined us on the bus and we set off for the Paracas National Reserve. We drove all over the reserve to view rock formations (the most famous being the Cathedral - part of it fell during the earthquake but it was still incredible and impressive). We got out and walked along the shoreline at a few places, picked up shells, and tried to avoid the huge waves that occasionally took us by surprise. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate - it was overcast, misty, and a little bit chilly. The navy would not allow boats out to the Ballestas Islands, so we had to postpone our trip until Sunday.
After the reserve we stopped again at the bus stop (run by the company of one of our guides) and then had lunch at the restaurant in a nice hotel. We all started with a salad of peas, corn, and peppers in a mayonnaise sauce, served in an avocado half. Most of us had the fish dish that was served with french fries. We were given vanilla ice cream for dessert and it started to sink in that this mid-day meal is the largest of the day, and it´s usually way too much food for us!
On the way back to Chincha, we stopped in Pisco to take a stroll around the Plaza de Armas (what they call all town squares here in Peru). This was a beautiful square, but Pisco was nearly completely destroyed in the earthquake, so there were areas of nothingness where beautiful historic buildings once stood. It´s really amazing to see the level of devastation that earthquake caused all over this region.
Back at Pedro´s parents´house we had fried chicken and sweet potato fries for dinner - all of this fried food and not many veggies! I can tell you for sure that all of the adults on this trip are craving salads and veggies...
We ended our meal with a diversion dessert of a flan-like custard...the diversion was to get Carly at the table so that we could unveil her birthday cake! Happy birthday, Carly! We sang in two languages, and Edward played ¨Happy Birthday¨for her on his new Peruvian wooden flute.
On Sunday we boarded the bus (breakfast was sandwiches with a type of ham and lettuce) and headed back to Paracas for the Ballestas Islands boat tour. I am going to have to sum this up by saying it was truly unbelievable and the pictures will have to explain it. We spent a little less than two hours on the boat viewing an incredible, incredible amount of birds in migration as well as the beautiful (albeit a bit stinky - they are covered with guano) Ballestas Islands. A once in a lifetime experience for most of us. Pictures should be up in a few days when we get back to Lima, and that will help explain better.
Lunch was in a town called El Carmen, the most Afro-Peruvian town in the country. We ate at the house of a famous family, the Ballumbrosio family who are famous for their dancing and music. We dined on a delicious cold salad of broccoli, peas, carrots and ham in a lime dressing, chicken and beef dishes served with rice, potatoes, and beans, and candied sweet potatoes for dessert. YUM. After lunch the family cleared out the furniture and performed music and dances for us - they were amazing and the show was such an authentic experience here. Again, it is this type of experience that makes this trip so much more of a cultural exchange (mostly us learning about their culture) than simply a vacation.
Back at Pedro´s parents´ house we relaxed for a bit, while Norma, Amy, Janice and Pedro went to Chincha to buy a washing machine as a surprise for Nelly. It fit in a taxi for the ride home - with all four passengers! Nelly was so surprised and excited when we unveiled the gift that she cried, making most of the rest of us tear up, too. This has been an emotional trip, but so, so good. Sometime last night or early this morning they were able to hook up the washing machine and did a load of laundry...in Nelly´s typical selfless fashion, her first load in her new washer was of our clothes.
Today was spent at the school again, but the stories will have to wait for another day. There is a line waiting at the internet cafe. We´re hoping this finds you well...again, if you leave comments for your ninos we will certainly pass them on! Love to all.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Estamos aqui
Well, we made it safe and sound all the way to Chincha! But, I am typing this from the internet cafe located in the plaza (town square), and this is the third computer I have tried (wiggly screen, sticky keys...) so here´s hoping it works!
Our first night was spent in Lima at the aptly named Casa Bella. We enjoyed a good night´s sleep, hot showers, and breakfast of pan (bread), frutas (fruit), and cafe con leche (coffee with milk). Several of us were able to use the computers, so hopefully you have received communication from your family/kids/friends. We left around 9 am on Thursday to visit Pachacama en route to Chincha. The ruins were our first taste of Inca culture and we were amazed at the depth of knowledge of our guide (as well as her excellent English - she was able to answer all of our questions and we learned so much about the Inca as well as four previous empires).
We arrived in Chincha and enjoyed lunch at Pedro´s parents´ house. After a bowl of delicious soup (sopa de pollo) we had our first taste of sopa seca (noodles with seasonings) and papas huacainas (potatoes with a cheese sauce), as well as a boiled egg and an olive (garnish?). We got settled in to our three houses - 10 are staying at la casa de los padres de Pedro, 11 at Pedro´s brother-in-law´s, and 3 at a neighbor´s house. We are all adjusting to our accomodations and are so thankful that these families took us in - the sacrifices they have made are hard to wrap our heads around, and we are still processing the emotions of receiving such hospitality from people whose situations are so dire compared to ours. Some of us practiced our dancing and we practiced our teaching skills on Pedro´s mother, Nelly. She is such a sweet, kind woman, but she did give us some crazy looks (and laughed at us a bit) as we taught her to square dance! Ha!
After a light dinner of bread and tea we headed to our respective casas and tried to get some sleep. Most of us slept well after the long day of travel and practicing Spanish (I know my brain was TIRED!).
This morning we had breakfast at Pedro´s parents´ house - tamal y pan (with instant coffee or tea). At 8 we headed to la escuela (the school) to meet our amigos! We were not expecting such a welcome - they had the entire day planned with presentations, a trip to a farm, lunch, and dancing. The ceremony at the beginning of the day left most of us (adults, at least) misty-eyed. There were signs all over the school welcoming us, the entire school was there to applaud as we unloaded from the bus into their courtyard. The principal of their school gave a speech and invited Norma to speak - she gave a beautiful speech that communicated just how grateful we are to know these kids and be a part of this school. After the speeches we enjoyed a groupo Afro-Peruviano - they played music and had three awesome dancers. At a few points in their presentation they grabbed our kids/teachers/adults and we danced right along with them! Out of the comfort zone of some of us, but so much fun! I think a lot of us are experiencing things we never dreamed of, including overwhelming emotion at finally meeting the kids from our letter-writing. Un gran, gran dia. A great day.
The trip to the farm was interesting and we got to see the sun (it has been cloudy and misty the whole time so far, not much different from home). The farm was more of an organic research center with mostly citrus fruits. The man who runs the farm is a Peruvian-born German man, Klaus, who gave us the tour in English (much-needed rest for our minds). We sampled mandarins, grapefruit, and pecans. This farm was a beautiful oasis in the middle of the desert - it took us an hour to get there from the school, and the entire drive was dirt and then sand roads.
After returning to the school we had lunch - caldo de gallina, sopa seca, carapulcra (a kind of stew), and pork. We were given a sweet, hot drink called chicha (very close to the name of the town, Chincha - it tastes like Christmas with cloves, cinnamon, lemon, and purple corn juice) and later we had an amazing dessert of arroz con leche (rice with milk, a hot rice pudding with cloves, cinnamon, prunes and raisins) topped with masamorra morada (a purple, very thick syrup made from purple corn and spices). After lunch our amigos taught us a dance and performed a few for us. There was a lot of laughing going on as we tried to move our hips and bodies like they do - for most of us it just wasn´t happening. Next, we moved into a classroom to divide up the goodies - each of our 5th graders was able to take a book home for the weekend, and the teachers divided all of the classroom supplies and toys between their three classes. We all felt like celebrities when the kids asked us to autograph their books! Again, what an emotional, moving experience that made today so, so special.
As we loaded the bus to go home, the kids waved and hollered and were sad to see us go. We assured them we would be back again Monday!
Tonight we will all get a few minutes at this internet cafe (hopefully) and then get to bed early - we have an early morning tomorrow, leaving at 5:30 am to head to the Ballestras Islands.
Unfortunately, we have no way right now to upload pictures or videos, but rest assured we have plenty of both (including videos of the dancing!). We will get those up as soon as we can.
Please understand that where we are is very remote - the internet cafe is accessible, but we have a lot planned with our host families, site seeing, and visiting the school. We will update as often as possible. If you have time to leave a comment, I´ll try to pass those along the next time I log on to post an update!
We miss our family (and our beds, and showers, and bathrooms...) but we are having an amazing, fulfilling time here in Peru. What stories we will have to tell upon our return (I´ve had to leave out so many details as the clock is ticking on my internet time)!
Much, much love - and we wish you a very happy 4th of July! We will try to celebrate here (along with the few birthdays we have, starting tomorrow with Carly).
P.S. - Please excuse any spelling/grammar errors...I may be an English teacher, but I´m under pressure to get this down and free up the computer! :-)
Our first night was spent in Lima at the aptly named Casa Bella. We enjoyed a good night´s sleep, hot showers, and breakfast of pan (bread), frutas (fruit), and cafe con leche (coffee with milk). Several of us were able to use the computers, so hopefully you have received communication from your family/kids/friends. We left around 9 am on Thursday to visit Pachacama en route to Chincha. The ruins were our first taste of Inca culture and we were amazed at the depth of knowledge of our guide (as well as her excellent English - she was able to answer all of our questions and we learned so much about the Inca as well as four previous empires).
We arrived in Chincha and enjoyed lunch at Pedro´s parents´ house. After a bowl of delicious soup (sopa de pollo) we had our first taste of sopa seca (noodles with seasonings) and papas huacainas (potatoes with a cheese sauce), as well as a boiled egg and an olive (garnish?). We got settled in to our three houses - 10 are staying at la casa de los padres de Pedro, 11 at Pedro´s brother-in-law´s, and 3 at a neighbor´s house. We are all adjusting to our accomodations and are so thankful that these families took us in - the sacrifices they have made are hard to wrap our heads around, and we are still processing the emotions of receiving such hospitality from people whose situations are so dire compared to ours. Some of us practiced our dancing and we practiced our teaching skills on Pedro´s mother, Nelly. She is such a sweet, kind woman, but she did give us some crazy looks (and laughed at us a bit) as we taught her to square dance! Ha!
After a light dinner of bread and tea we headed to our respective casas and tried to get some sleep. Most of us slept well after the long day of travel and practicing Spanish (I know my brain was TIRED!).
This morning we had breakfast at Pedro´s parents´ house - tamal y pan (with instant coffee or tea). At 8 we headed to la escuela (the school) to meet our amigos! We were not expecting such a welcome - they had the entire day planned with presentations, a trip to a farm, lunch, and dancing. The ceremony at the beginning of the day left most of us (adults, at least) misty-eyed. There were signs all over the school welcoming us, the entire school was there to applaud as we unloaded from the bus into their courtyard. The principal of their school gave a speech and invited Norma to speak - she gave a beautiful speech that communicated just how grateful we are to know these kids and be a part of this school. After the speeches we enjoyed a groupo Afro-Peruviano - they played music and had three awesome dancers. At a few points in their presentation they grabbed our kids/teachers/adults and we danced right along with them! Out of the comfort zone of some of us, but so much fun! I think a lot of us are experiencing things we never dreamed of, including overwhelming emotion at finally meeting the kids from our letter-writing. Un gran, gran dia. A great day.
The trip to the farm was interesting and we got to see the sun (it has been cloudy and misty the whole time so far, not much different from home). The farm was more of an organic research center with mostly citrus fruits. The man who runs the farm is a Peruvian-born German man, Klaus, who gave us the tour in English (much-needed rest for our minds). We sampled mandarins, grapefruit, and pecans. This farm was a beautiful oasis in the middle of the desert - it took us an hour to get there from the school, and the entire drive was dirt and then sand roads.
After returning to the school we had lunch - caldo de gallina, sopa seca, carapulcra (a kind of stew), and pork. We were given a sweet, hot drink called chicha (very close to the name of the town, Chincha - it tastes like Christmas with cloves, cinnamon, lemon, and purple corn juice) and later we had an amazing dessert of arroz con leche (rice with milk, a hot rice pudding with cloves, cinnamon, prunes and raisins) topped with masamorra morada (a purple, very thick syrup made from purple corn and spices). After lunch our amigos taught us a dance and performed a few for us. There was a lot of laughing going on as we tried to move our hips and bodies like they do - for most of us it just wasn´t happening. Next, we moved into a classroom to divide up the goodies - each of our 5th graders was able to take a book home for the weekend, and the teachers divided all of the classroom supplies and toys between their three classes. We all felt like celebrities when the kids asked us to autograph their books! Again, what an emotional, moving experience that made today so, so special.
As we loaded the bus to go home, the kids waved and hollered and were sad to see us go. We assured them we would be back again Monday!
Tonight we will all get a few minutes at this internet cafe (hopefully) and then get to bed early - we have an early morning tomorrow, leaving at 5:30 am to head to the Ballestras Islands.
Unfortunately, we have no way right now to upload pictures or videos, but rest assured we have plenty of both (including videos of the dancing!). We will get those up as soon as we can.
Please understand that where we are is very remote - the internet cafe is accessible, but we have a lot planned with our host families, site seeing, and visiting the school. We will update as often as possible. If you have time to leave a comment, I´ll try to pass those along the next time I log on to post an update!
We miss our family (and our beds, and showers, and bathrooms...) but we are having an amazing, fulfilling time here in Peru. What stories we will have to tell upon our return (I´ve had to leave out so many details as the clock is ticking on my internet time)!
Much, much love - and we wish you a very happy 4th of July! We will try to celebrate here (along with the few birthdays we have, starting tomorrow with Carly).
P.S. - Please excuse any spelling/grammar errors...I may be an English teacher, but I´m under pressure to get this down and free up the computer! :-)
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