Leaving Peru

Now I have finished my second week in Lima and getting ready to fly to Colombia. The second week at the school was more meaningful because I got to know the students and teachers better. I think all the students were very appreciative of our help. I often found that they could express themselves if given time but not always the correct accent or grammar. One student, Marco, got a scholarship to Colorado State Univ. and is flying there Monday. He will be there until December, so for one term.




One class was particularly meaningful to me. They always thought my jokes were funny and took very good notes. On the last day, they brought lots of small gifts to give to me, even though if I had known, I would have encouraged them not too. Some of the gifts were some typical Peruvian food of milk rice and purple corn which you eat together and it is very sweet. Some other gifts were Peruvian refrigerator magnet, key rings, coasters, small note pads and box of Arequipa Chocolate(famous in Arequipa). It was very moving and touching. Marco, who is very busy packing and doing last minute details before he flies to the US, couldn't stay for class so just came on Friday to bring his gift. I hope to stay in touch with some of these students via email now. On the last day of class we played Scrabble.







The school took us to a special place for lunch on Friday. We walked about 4 blocks to a small commercial area. This is where the school sells different things that they grow or raise. They had a fantastic butcher shop where you could buy alpaca, goat, beef, and cuy-guinea pig. The shop was like one I would see in the US, very clean and professional looking. They also had a great nursery for buying plants and flowers. At the restaurant, we were served a great lunch. I think I had alpaca grilled meat, very tender and quite good. The favorite thing to drink in Peru is Pisco Sours. I am not sure what is in this but the alcohol seems quite strong. I only had one even though the Pisco tastes great because they wanted me to try another drink, which I did, but only half. The other drink was sweeter and I guess a popular drink here too. The teachers all complimented me on my teaching and how much they learned from me, which I don't quite understand but I am very appreciative. They also said they will remember me because I always smiled. I thought that was nice. One of the teachers I worked with has a sister in Oregon, so I might keep in contact with her.




Now, almost everyone on the team has left. I don't leave for Colombia until 5:30 pm tonight so will stay at the hotel until about 2 pm. Only two other volunteers are here now, and they are from the Miami area.

Good trip so far, and nice to work with some young people who are trying to make a good life themselves and are good representatives of Peru.


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Weekend

This weekend I went to the Zoological gardens on Saturday with Jack, Elaine and Adam. We shared a taxi and were some of the first ones at the Zoo. I wasn't sure it was even open when we arrived. The sign said admission was 9 sols for the weekend, which is less than $3 dollars so not expensive, but when I tried to pay, she keep pushing my money back and telling me something. Finally, Elaine, who knows some Spanish, figured out that we were free. I guess, then don't change senior citizens, because Adam was charged.






Inside, everything is in Spanish but you can figure out some of the information about the animals even from the Spanish. The Zoo was divided into 3 areas: Costal, International, and Jungle. Some animals I had not seen before up close and the nice part was most were visible around when we were walking around. The zoo didn't get crowded until about noon. Then lots of families came. The families often brought their own food and picnicked on the lawn. They all seem to be enjoying the day. The zoo also has a huge play area with different activities like rock climbing, bungee jumping, and many more. You pay extra for this. We left about 2 pm but managed to see most of it.





On Sunday, I decided to take the local bus to the Plaza de Armes. This is in the center of Lima and I had been there once before in 2005. I got some direction from the hostel here so off I went. I walked a few blocks and waited. Soon, I saw No. 03 which was my bus. Once seated, the "barker" came to collect my money. It cost less than 2 sols, so less than $1. I tried to tell the barker where I wanted to get off. The bus was nice and not that crowded. I could tell I was attracting some attention but thankful other things soon took their attention elsewhere. Like the rap singer that got on with his ghetto blaster and began to rap for all of us to hear. Then, of course, he passed the hat but few contributed. Later, a young woman got on selling candy and small pastries. She got some takers. Then a older man and young man got on dressed in native type clothing. The older man a wooden harmonica attached to his neck so he could play his guitar at the same time. They sang and played loudly and sounded pretty good. Then he tried to engage me in conversation. Others on the bus tried to tell me that he wanted money, which I said, I knew. I didn't have much money on me but decided to give him what I had because I could go to the ATM at the Plaza. Then, he was very happy so I took a photo of him.






After this, a young woman, comes and sits by me. She shows me a map she had drawn because she wanted to make sure I got off at the right place. She explained in perfect English the route and how I would know if I had gone too far. In giving this information, she missed her stop and I felt bad that I had caused it.





At the Plaza, I could see lots of people milling around, some like me, tourists but many local people too. A few vendors tried to sell me things but not that many. I am not sure how they can spot me so quickly. haha! One man, who I bought a map from, because he runs a school for orphan children north of Lima. He had lots of photos of the children at the school and how he helped them. There were some people playing music and dancing in the street too. The police were at the corners of the plaza with their riot shields ready incase something got out of hand. I asked to take their photos and the one policeman quickly responded with $5! Then, I said, no thanks but he immediately gestured that he was joking and offered to take a photo of me with the police. I thought that was very nice. People warned me about possible crime in this area but I felt perfectly safe. I did go though some very different neighborhoods as I rode the bus and probably wouldn't want to do this at night.





I took the bus back to the hostel. Everything went smoothly. I also went to a local church today. Behind the altar, the whole wall was painted beautifully. Mostly older people in the church but they were very friendly too. They had the young children, maybe about 12 yrs. old, collect the money during the Mass which was different but I liked it.






All in all, a good weekend, except for my aching foot. Keep hoping for improvement but can't really complain. Take care everyone.


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Location:Av de la Aviación,Lima District,Peru

Finished Week One

I am sure you thought I given up writing but it is just that once the program starts there is no time to do much of anything else. Now, on the weekend, I have some free time, so I will try to give you a little update.




Every day this week, a team of 5 or 6 volunteers, were driven to the LaMolina Unversity by taxi. We leave the hotel at 8:15 am and get to the university about 9 am, so about a 45 minute drive. The first day at the university we met the director of the Language Center and were given a tour of the campus. This is an Agricultural and Forestry university which has a good reputation and is well known.




The facilities at the school are very plush compared to other places I have worked. The library at the school has wifi and lot so teaching materials from other Global Volunteers even though the volunteers have been only coming here for two other previous times. The cafeteria or cafe at the university gives us different choices every day. On the menu there is mostly chicken, potatoes and rice, but it is always good. I got a salad the the other day and wondered if would make me sick but it seemed to pass the test. There are a lot of flies that hover around the food which makes it somewhat annoying. The only thing that is a minor problem is, even though we order a head of time, they never get the order right. So, the waitress always asks us again and again what we ordered, then bringing sometime different.

The first day of class, we were given class lists with about 25-28 students, so that is how I prepared. My co-teacher is Marianne who is from San Francisco. She has done two other GV programs before and she is retired from a job with a pharmaceutical company. Another Teacher/volunteer, Sara, is from Kent State and will graduate in one year. She has been in So. Am. all summer and is a Spanish major. The other two teaching volunteers are Jack and Elaine, both 83 years young and a couple, from Madison, WI. They are both retired many years from the school. Jack was a school counselor and Elaine taught ESL. They are a lot of fun to work with and bring a wealth of ideas.


Reality set in with our first class. We worried about our lessons and the material that we had prepared. The class ended up being about 7 students, none of which were on the list. Also, our classes were divided into intermediate and advanced but the students just decided themselves where they wanted to go, so then each class had a full range of English abilities. There seemed to be no reason why the signed up students were a no-show but this is how somethings work in Peru. haha!





Some of the students want to come to the U.S. to study but I am not sure that will happen because they don't seem to have much money. Most of the students are about 20-24 years old. Some have graduated and are now working on their masters and they speak basic English but often their accents or grammar has some problem. Some teachers have been sitting in our classes too. Their English is better. One teacher got his Masters in Mississippi. He told me that he didn't understand anything when he first arrived in Mississippi. I think I would have trouble too. ha! The students are all friendly and enjoyable to work with.

I have not have any problems so far other than my heel is still giving my fits!! So that limits my walking which is a real bummer for me. I doubt now that this will improve on this trip. It might be planter fasciitis. Peru is not the No. 1 producer of coca and they have a new president. The country is not sure if he will be good or not but he seems to be aligning himself with Chavez and Moralas.



All for now... Cool here again and it seems to be the same everyday. About 65 degrees but lots of humidity. Cloudy sky, never see the sun.

Take care all.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Lima Peru

Finished Week One

I am sure you thought I given up writing but it is just that once the program starts there is no time to do much of anything else. Now, on the weekend, I have some free time, so I will try to give you a little update.




Every day this week, a team of 5 or 6 volunteers, were driven to the LaMolina Unversity by taxi. We leave the hotel at 8:15 am and get to the university about 9 am, so about a 45 minute drive. The first day at the university we met the director of the Language Center and were given a tour of the campus. This is an Agricultural and Forestry university which has a good reputation and is well known.




The facilities at the school are very plush compared to other places I have worked. The library at the school has wifi and lot so teaching materials from other Global Volunteers even though the volunteers have been only coming here for two other previous times. The cafeteria or cafe at the university gives us different choices every day. On the menu there is mostly chicken, potatoes and rice, but it is always good. I got a salad the the other day and wondered if would make me sick but it seemed to pass the test. There are a lot of flies that hover around the food which makes it somewhat annoying. The only thing that is a minor problem is, even though we order a head of time, they never get the order right. So, the waitress always asks us again and again what we ordered, then bringing sometime different.

The first day of class, we were given class lists with about 25-28 students, so that is how I prepared. My co-teacher is Marianne who is from San Francisco. She has done two other GV programs before and she is retired from a job with a pharmaceutical company. Another Teacher/volunteer, Sara, is from Kent State and will graduate in one year. She has been in So. Am. all summer and is a Spanish major. The other two teaching volunteers are Jack and Elaine, both 83 years young and a couple, from Madison, WI. They are both retired many years from the school. Jack was a school counselor and Elaine taught ESL. They are a lot of fun to work with and bring a wealth of ideas.


Reality set in with our first class. We worried about our lessons and the material that we had prepared. The class ended up being about 7 students, none of which were on the list. Also, our classes were divided into intermediate and advanced but the students just decided themselves where they wanted to go, so then each class had a full range of English abilities. There seemed to be no reason why the signed up students were a no-show but this is how somethings work in Peru. haha!





Some of the students want to come to the U.S. to study but I am not sure that will happen because they don't seem to have much money. Most of the students are about 20-24 years old. Some have graduated and are now working on their masters and they speak basic English but often their accents or grammar has some problem. Some teachers have been sitting in our classes too. Their English is better. One teacher got his Masters in Mississippi. He told me that he didn't understand anything when he first arrived in Mississippi. I think I would have trouble too. ha! The students are all friendly and enjoyable to work with.

I have not have any problems so far other than my heel is still giving my fits!! So that limits my walking which is a real bummer for me. I doubt now that this will improve on this trip. It might be planter fasciitis. Peru is not the No. 1 producer of coca and they have a new president. The country is not sure if he will be good or not but he seems to be aligning himself with Chavez and Moralas.



All for now... Cool here again and it seems to be the same everyday. About 65 degrees but lots of humidity. Cloudy sky, never see the sun.

Take care all.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Lima Peru

Meeting Day

I still haven't managed to get a good night's sleep but I seem to be functioning somehow. The hotel provides a light breakfast and I was the first one in the dinning area at 7:30 am. MMMM? Maybe this group doesn't have any early risers. After breakfast, we gathered in the lobby/living rom area for our first meeting. There are 19 volunteers on this team. Five are from one family: a grandmother, son and wife and two daughters. The youngest daughter is a freshman in high school and the other daughter has one more year of college. Another family has four members: husband & wife and two children. The one son is in college and the daughter is a sophomore in hi school. Then there is a mother and 16 year old son, and a father with his 13 year old son. This is the most family groups I have seen on any Global Volunteer team that I have been involved in. All of these families will be working in the PPA, which is an orphanage about 15 minutes from the hostel.

I and four others will be volunteering at La Molina Language center of University Agararia. I will be team teaching conversational English with another volunteer from San Francisco. We also will be helping the students with some English writing. I will have a better idea how this works once we get through the first day.


The first day is always a meeting filled with establishing team goals,
introductions, and Q & A's. We did also walk around the neighborhood. There is one very nice grocery store not far from here. Today, we all ate a a very nice local restaurant. Potatoes are a common farm product, with over 400 varieties, so at the restaurant I was served french fries and a great roasted chicken. I also had a local drink made from purple corn called "chichi morass" . It was very sweet so I think they had sugar too.







Last night, most of us went to the "Parkque de la Resseva". This is a huge park that has lots of different water fountains. The fountains are the kind that spray out water in different ways to make some sort of artistic display. In One fountain, you could see different figures in the water that were set to music. It must have been computer generated but I don't know how. Hordes of local people were there watching it with us. I did something like this in Xi'an, China too.

The weather today is another gray and gloomy sky. It has been the same for the last two days. According to locals, this time of year, the weather is like this. The temperature is about 64 degrees F. for a high and 50 something at night, so maybe a little on the cool side, but very tolerable.




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Photos

Very upscale area of Lima.



Local street fruit cart.



My lunch today but I don't know how much it cost. Haha!



Not sure why they have this posted. I wonder if its is actually followed.



My two Chinese friends that I met at the hostel.


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Day One

I managed to get to bed by 11 PM Thursday night, relaxed enough to fall asleep for a several hours, four hours to be exact. I woke up a little after 3 AM which was ok as I had set the alarm for 3:30 AM. My good neighbor LeRoy had agreed to take me to the airport at 4 AM, a ghastly hour. At the Delta check-in counter, even though I was still groggy and half awake, things went smoothly so on to the gate. Flight 28 left only a few minutes late and full. Flight 28 to Atlanta was a little over 4 hours which is just enough time to become restless but without frustration. ha! All the Delta crew seemed to have a certain southern drawl and call everyone "honey" which sounds funny to me but endearing.

My Delta connection to Lima was several concourses away but I had a 3+ hour layover. I have only been in the Atlanta airport one other time and I almost missed my flight due to my own miscalculation of time. (Eloise, do you remember?). So this time, I just went to the gate and waited.












Guess what? I could have made $600 + meals and a free night in a hotel if I had chosen to get bumped. I might have done it but that would have put me into Lima late Saturday night and one day later and GV probably would not have been to thrilled with me coming late, so I passed. The flight was overbooked by about 10% I think. I see lots of school groups and some Japanese tourists or students on this flight, besides many Peruvians. The boarding and adjusting the luggage took a while so our flight left 30 minutes late. My two seat mates were men. One man was raised in Peru but now lives with his family in Raleigh North Carolina. He has family in Peru too and is coming here for vacation. His wife and children came a week earlier. The other man was from South Africa and is head of the Humanities Dept. of some International school in Peru that is involved in gold mining. This man also had ties to England and Wales and his ex-wife is from Bogota. He was quite the talker and I didn't get it all as I felt like he was somewhat of a braggart too, so it turned me off. The flight took about 7 hours flying over Cuba and Panama.












In the baggage area, i think my bag was the last one Delta put on the conveyer belt. I was beginning to think that it had not be transferred. It is amazing as to how much luggage that plane actually can carry besides the passengers. Walking outside, I immediately saw a sign with Global Volunteers. It was then that I learned that there were 3 other volunteers on my flight who were now going with me to the hotel. One was a woman from California and another was a couple from Madison, WI. It took us about 30 minutes to get to the hotel in Miraflores which is called TorreBlanca. By 2 am, I was in bed, my mind racing and my body exhausted from a long day.

Good night. .


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Location:En Route