Off To Colombia

I'm headed off to travel around Colombia with Jade, one of the girls I met in the house here in Lima. I arrive in cartagena tomorrow at 4:20pm. We're flying to Cartagena first, where we're going to stay in a hostel. There are some a lot of cool day trips we can do from there and the city is awesome. On the 30th we're going to fly to Medellin, the city Jade has been staying since she left Lima. She's been staying with a family for the past few weeks, and they have been gracious enough to say I can stay there as well. We will be in Medellin for Halloween and then Jade's birthday. While we're in Medellin, we're going to go see the city and do a few day trips. I am the most excited about going to the mud volcano (the picture's not me..those will come! I just wanted to give you an idea of what it is). I'll be returning to Lima on the 10th. Once I get back I will have one more month of volunteering!

One of the other volunteers here is teaching my 6th and 5th grade classes for me. I've made lesson plans and written out all the tests and homework for her, so all she has to do is teach. I feel like a real teacher, making sub plans. I'm a bit sad that I'm leaving my classes and the girls at La Punta, but this is a once in a lifetime chance. I'm going to keep in touch with the girls at La Punta by email!

I'm sure that when you red that first sentence, you thought of how unsafe Colombia is. I know my mom and dad have had their worries. From what I've read, and what someone told my mom a few days ago, Colombia is ten times safer than it was 5 years ago. As long as you stay out of the mountains (which I am planning on doing), and in populated areas you will be fine. Jade has been there for a while now, and she says there are a ton of police around, and that it looks/feels safer than Lima because they actually care. Lima's police are commonly found with their phones in their helmets so they cant talk on them without looking like they are. Even more commonly, you can find them with all their equipment on the ground at a snack cart buying food. Oh how I love Peruvians. Jade also said that there are a lot of blonds in Colombia, so I won't stand out s much as I do here. In Peru, I have seen zip blonds other than the volunteers who stay in the house with me.

Hasta luego Lima, I'll see you in 23 days!

Plans...

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain

Ok so I didn't find this quote on my own…I got it off of one of one of the other volunteer's blogs. But it's great isn't it? It fits rather nicely with this post. My mom might have emailed you already, but for those of you that haven't heard yet, I changed my plans for when I return home. I've decided to come home and work for a few months and then travel Europe for a month or two. I've thought about school a lot, and I think that I would be better off starting in the beginning of the year. That way I can rush and go to welcome week which will help me meet people. I'm really sad that I'm not going to be able be at school with everyone this year. I figure though that it won't make a difference once I'm there wether we're in the same class or not.

You might say I've caught the travel bug. I love being in Peru, meeting new people, and learning about the culture. I've met people from all over the world, from all different backgrounds. I've made some friends that I will probably stay in touch with for years. I've found that, at least with the volunteers here from other countries, that there's not as big of a push to go straight to college. Maybe it's because they have to decide what their going to major in before they go, but its really common to take a year or two off and work and travel. It seems like such a smart idea too. When else am I going to have this much freedom. I have no school to worry about, no family I'm taking care of, no job I need to keep. Why not go see the world? So yes, I'd have to agree with you, I have caught the travel bug…it must be contagious.

My plans at this moment are to work and save my money. Then I'll travel Europe with one or two of the girls I have met here. Lindsey lives in St. Louis (close!), and has traveled there before. She's already been planning and getting ideas ready. Jade is from New Zealand, and is the other girl who might be coming. She's been traveling South America for a few months, and in December she's going to go stay with her family In England. Hopefully we can convince her to stay there and work and then travel with us too! I'm thinking about finding a place to volunteer for a few weeks also, depending on how the time and money works out.

I've been looking into jobs for while I'm home. I haven't come up with anything concrete yet. My mom wants me to wait tables, which I think would be a great job. I know that I'm going to buckle down for a few months and work as much as I can. We'll see as the time gets closer what I can find. I've also been looking into places where I can get involved volunteering. I don't want to come home and do nothing. I would love to continue to volunteer just because it has taught me so much. I think that continuing will help to keep me grounded and not forget the things I have learned here. I would love to find a place where I can go regularly. I think it helps when you can build a relationship with the people your working with. It just makes for a better experience. If anybody has any good ideas, I would love to hear them…I'm coming up with a blank as of right now.

I've Been Busy in Peru

It's been nonstop since I last blogged. We have been busy doing our normal projects: the orphanages, Pachacutec, and La Punta. On top of this, we have had some opportunities to do some really cool things!

Sunday was Canadian Thanksgiving. Since our house has been overrun by Canadians recently, we decided to celebrate. We had the traditional foods with a bit of a Peruvian twist in some cases. Turkey with amazing stuffing, beets, carrots, RICE!, and macaroni and cheese (that the boys cooked all by themselves). For dessert we had pumpkin pie (Saludad being the amazing woman that she is, managed to track down a pumpkin!) and bread pudding. I can easily say that the bread pudding is one of the top ten foods I have ever tasted.

I started the week off on Monday at Semillitos. I had a great day working with the older group of kids. I took a boy, named Isaías, outside to play. I love to see how the kids react to being outside. They don't get to go out very often, because there needs to be someone watching them all the time. Many of them are in wheelchairs, so they have to be pushed everywhere. Isaías can walk, he is probably about 6 or 7 years old. First, we went on the trampoline. He loved being bounced while he was sitting in my lap. He also loved to lay on his back or stomach and be bounced. Then, he wanted to swing. This was by far his favorite activity. I must have pushed him for an hour. He never grew tired of it.

Tuesday started off as a normal day. We began by teaching English up at Pachacutec. On Tuesdays I have the 6th grade. The lesson I had planned was a review of the last three lessons I have taught them; classroom objects, the concept of inside and outside, and the words this/that/these/those. Then after we reviewed these three things, we put them all together and learned how to make a sentence saying something like: "This workbook is inside." All in all, the lesson went very well, and they caught on quickly. After Pachacutec, we went up to on of the Wawa Wasis and helped put a concrete floor in. The floor that the kids had been playing in before was sand, and was always damp and moldy. The concrete will keep them healthier, cleaner, and safer. Mixing the concrete and watching the floor come together was a ton of fun. We got to meet the babies before we left. They were just as cute as the ones at the orphanage, little Peruvian kids are just so precious.

After Pachacutec, Miranda and I went to see the girls at La Punta. That has easily become my favorite place we volunteer. The girls seem like little sisters, they call us their sisters too. It's hard to imagine that at home they would be freshmen, sophomores, and sometime juniors in high school. They have all been through so much, but still have such a positive outlook on life. It's my favorite place, but it's also the hardest place to go. There are three girls who I have grown really close to, and two of them could leave any day (they were already supposed to have left). I never know if it's my last goodbye, or if they will be there when I walk in the door the next time. A lot of the girls really miss their home. We get to deal with a lot of tears and sad faces, it is especially hard to comfort them when you can't speak their language very well.

On Wednesday, I went to San Antonio and had a normal day. I played with all the kids, and gave lots of hugs and kisses. A few of the boys will give kisses on the cheek now when you ask them for one. One of the girls in my room graduated up to the next age group and we got a girl from the younger group. Her name is Melina, and she has the cutest head fully of curly hair. She is still in that stage where she totters around and falls down quite often. The bright spot of Wednesday was in the morning. We got there a bit earlier than usual, so I was in the room as the kids came in one by one from the bathroom where they were being washed up from breakfast (no sticky hands). Ss each one came in and saw me their little eyes lit up and they ran over and gave me a big hug. It made my day! Jonie is my favorite (shhhh), and he always gives the best hugs in the morning with his huge smile. I want to bring him home with me!

Thursday, we didn't go to Pachacutec because there was a march at Semillitos. Saturday is national special needs day, so they had a march to get ready. We got there at our normal time…just in time to see the moms start getting the kids ready. They probably spent 2 hours changing every kid into a costume, painting their faces, and decorating their wheelchairs with balloons. I got to push around a cheerleader named Maria. Once they were all ready we got lined up for the big march! In lines of four we set off. We thought that we would be marching at least for thirty minutes, but it turned that we were just going around the block. All the volunteers got a good laugh out of this. We prepared for 2 hours and walked for ten minutes. Either way though, it was fun and the kids had a blast. After we were done walking we got to go to the cafeteria for music, dancing, and food! We were also allowed to take pictures since it was a special day! That night a few of us went to see a water show (fountains with lights and music)…it was pretty cool. But, the pictures we got out of it ended up being the best part.

Friday was a normal one again, I went to San Antonio and played with all my little babies! After we got home we went to the Inca Markets and Plaza San Miguel, the mall near our house. I also went running! Yay for working off all those carbs!

I almost forgot last Saturday was the 75th Anniversary of Inca Kola, the lime yellow bubble gum flavored fizzy drink that Peruvians are obsessed with. One packed taxi ride later and we were at the park to join the festivities like a true Peruvian would. To celebrate, they had a HUGE Inca Kola bottle filled with balloons that they released on 10/10/10 at 10:00. It was pretty cool, there were fireworks, dancers, announcers in flashy dresses, and live music. So Peruvian! They also managed to lock all the gates but one to the park. So, everyone that had come into the park though multiple entrances had to squish through one or climb the fence to get out. Both seemed to viable options, I saw many people I thought would never make it over a fence hop it. Also very typical Peru.

Te Amo Perú

Peru won the fútbol game 2-0! We scored twice in the first five minutes! It was a great game...

Fiesta!

I haven't blogged since I got back from my visit with my family..Machu Picchu was absolutely amazing! I can't wait to go back! My family loved Cuzco a lot more that Lima. Cuzco is a lot more picturesque than Lima. The building are pretty, the setting is gorgeous, and there is a lot of Americanized food. We stayed in the nicest hotel up a very narrow road. The fact that they manages to get a car up to our door still amazes me. We spent our first day walking around Cuzco, seeing some beautiful churches. Then next day we woke up early and took a taxi to teh bus station in Poroy. The train was so nice, we saw some great scenery in the 3 hour ride up to Aguas Calientes. From there we took a bus up to Machu Picchu. This bus ride was one of the scariest so far..the only other contender for first place would be the one back from Canta. We had a few hours to explore Machu Picchu and then headed back. It ended working out perfectly. The next day, we walked around Cuzco a bit more and then headed to the airport to fly bak to Lima. I had a great time with my family, and I can't wait for my grammy and pawapw to come see me!

This past week was a really good one. On Tuesday we taught at Pachacutec. I think that almost half of them did their homework which is a HUGE improvement! Wednesday I went to th orpahange for normal children. We got to take some of the kids out to play, so the day flew by. I have been trying to teach some of the 2 year olds how to give a kiss on the cheek..and they finally understood! I was so happy. It's so cure, when you can say "dar me un beso" and they give you a little peck on the cheek. Their so pleased with themselves! On Thursday we went to Pachautec, and Miranda, one of the other volunteers, taught my classes. I had pretty much lost my voice, and she has been wanting to teach them by herself for a while. She did great, and it was nice to be able to just help and not yell over them for 3 hours.

La Punta is probably my favorite place that we go work at. On Tuesday, I was excited to go, but also kinda sad because the girl who I have gotten really close to was supposed to have gone home with her mom. Her name is Jocelyn, and she had told me the last time we were there that she didn't want to go home with her mom. She wanted to stay at the home because she was happy and loved all the girls. I didn't want to go see all the girls and have to think of how unhappy she probably was at home. When we got there though, she was there! I turns out that she couldn't go home for some reason. Yesterday, we had a party for them. We brought two big cakes, fizzy drinks, candy, marshmallows, chips, and cookies. We had told them on Tuesday that we had a surprise for them, but didn't actually tell them what it was. When we came in with the cakes sand food they were so excited! We also gave them a picture with a frame that we had decorated. We ate, danced, and they put on some dances for us. It was a great day!

Today is a holiday, but in true Peruvian style, no one can tell us what the holiday is for. Someone told me that it was made a holiday in their last government, and was kept when the government changes hands. We're going to a futbol game later..Peru vs Costa Rica. It's going to be a lot of fun.

See you all soon!

Dear First Grade...

Dear 1^st graders,

Thank you so much for your letters. Reading them made me so happy. I also loved your pictures. I can’t wait to show them to all the other volunteers!

My family at the airport with me right before I left Nashville.

I have been in Lima, Peru for 2 months now, and I will be here for 2 more. I will be here for 4 months at all. I got here by traveling on three different planes. The first one went from Nashville to Chicago. The second one went from Chicago to San Salvador, and the third one went from San Salvador to Lima. I have had so much fun here so far! I get to work in four different places here so far. I work in an orphanage for children with special needs on Mondays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I teach the 5^th and 6^th graders in a school in Pachacutec. I also go work with teenage girls on Thursday and Friday afternoons. On Wednesdays and Fridays I work in an orphanage for normal children.

Two girls who go to school in Pachacutec.

This is Pachacutec. The blue building are their school rooms, they do not have any glass in their windows. The pavement is their playground, they do not have any swings or slides to play on.

Some more students.

This type of top is a very popular toy in Peru, all the boys can do tricks with their tops.

I have been lucky enough to be able to travel around Lima on the weekends. One weekend, I went on a boat to see sea lions, went to a farm to milk cows, and flew over the Nazca lines. The Nazca lines are huge pictures drawn in the desert by people thousand of years ago. The only way you can see the pictures are to fly over them! I also went to a city called Canta and went horseback riding to the top of a mountain to see ruins. Ruins are buildings that were built thousands of years ago, and are now falling down because no one lives there now. I have also gone to some really cool museums in Lima.

Horseback riding in Canta.

Learning to milk a cow!

The sea lions.

One of the Nazca lines called the waving man. Look closely…

The weather was very cold when I first got here, but it’s starting to get warm now! The seasons here are opposite than ours at home. When it is summer for you all in Nashville, it is winter here. During Christmas time, when it is very cold for us, it is their summer time so it is hot. Isn’t that cool? They don’t get snow on Christmas, but they can wear shorts outside!

I’m staying in Peruvian family’s house. Their family has a mom, dad, grandmother, aunt, 2 brothers, and a sister. There are also 14 volunteers that are staying in the house. They work in the orphanages with me. All of the volunteers are very nice. Since I have been living in the house, we have had volunteers from Germany, Australia, England, America, Canada, Scotland, and New Zealand! I’ve gotten to meet people form all over the world! I share a room with one other girl. Her name is Katryna. She has the top bunk, and I sleep on the bottom.

This is the view if you look outside my window. The houses are all connected, and people hang the clean laundry on the roof because no one had a dryer.

This is my bedroom. The bottom bunk is mine!

Our house is very nice. We are very lucky to have running hot water. Many people in Peru live in shacks and don’t have running or hot water. All of the kids who are in my 5^th and 6^th grade classes live in shacks without running hot water. They have to buy their water from big trucks.

This is what the houses that my students live in look like.

Our food is very good. In Peru we usually eat potatoes, rice, and meat for lunch and dinner. We have bread, cereal, yogurt, and fruit for breakfast. One of the traditional dishes of Peru is cuy. Cuy is guinea pig. They cook the whole guinea pig, and then bring it out to you to eat with the head still on. It looks really gross, but taste pretty good! They also eat anticuchos, which are traditionally made from cow heart. I really loved these when I tried it!

Anticuchos

My family does not have any pets. But, there are a lot of dogs in peru. Many families have dogs as pets. There are also a ton of stray dogs.

I wear normal clothes here. Most Peruvians dress just like you and me, in jeans and a shirt. There are some Peruvians who dress in traditional dress which is very colorful.

Girls in Cuzco wearing traditional Peruvian clothing.

Thanks you all again for all of your letters. They were so much fun to read! I hope you all enjoyed reading my letter and looking at the pictures! I would love to come talk to your class when I get back and share some of the cool souvenirs I got with you!

Heaps of love from Peru,

Maemie

FAMILY!

My mom, dad, and Eamonn got here yesterday morning, and we have been on the go since then. Yesterday, my mom and Eamonn go here at five in the morning. I met them at the airport and then we went to the hotel. They took a nap, and then they got to go with me to teach at Pachacutec. My classes loved them, they tough it was so funny that my "mamma" was in class with me. They also got to meet the class that I'm going to sponsor for graduation. After that we went to my house so they could see it, and we could pick up a few thing I forgot. We ate lunch in Mireflores at Monolos, a restaurant which supposedly has the best sandwiches in Lima! Then we went shopping in the Inka Markets. My mom got a lot of souvenirs and presents. The Inka markets are huge, and keep winding back for ages. YOu could spend heaps of time in them without even noticing. We ate at the anticuchos restaurant for dinner, and then waited for my dad to arrive.

The next day we got up and went into Central Lima to see the sights. First we went to the Plaza de Armas and saw all the buildings around there. Then we went and toured the catacombs at the Iglesia de San Francisco. We ate at Norky's for lunch, I swear it's the Peruvians favorite restaurant because there is one on almost every block. After lunch we went to the Iglesia de Santo Domingo and took a bus up to see the cross on the top of San Cristobal. We went to Mireflores to eat pizza for dinner on Pizza Street. and got Churros at Monolos afterwards.

Today, we got up at 2:30 and flew to Cuzco. We spent the day walking around the city and touring some of the churches. The churches here are beautiful. Cuzco is set in the middle of the mountains and looks like a postcard. Many of the women here dress in traditional clothing and carry animals around so you can get a picture with them. We saw some sights that were not beautiful either. There were many people begging, and one child in particular was very young and was selling food on the side of the road by himself.

If you compare Lima and Cuzco, you will find hardly anything in common. Lima is an urban city center. Cuzco is very touristy. Even in the "touristy" parts of Lima, there are never many tourists. One of the big difference I noticed was that the churches in Lima are used by the people all the time. The huge cathedrals are their churches. In Cuzco, the churches are more for show, and they do not feel lived in or as well taken care of.

My mom brought a book of letters that the 1st graders wrote me. I wrote them a letter back, but I'm going to put it on my blog so I can put pictures with it. Enjoy!