This morning, the children had fish soup for breakfast - very few of them needed encouragement to eat, which was great to see! When we got back to class, I was given the honour of holding up a clown face with holes in the eyes and mouth, while the children aimed balls through the holes. I'm glad in a way that their aim tended to be off by a long shot: consequently few of the balls managed to hit me! After that was more playtime (i.e. tying shawls and putting baby dolls in them, pretending to eat the girl who was hiding in the toy oven while she squealed with laughter, telling the little ones that we don't hit our friends, etc etc), then came work of drawing over jagged lines, then cutting along different jagged lines - today I truly learned that 3 year olds have very very short attention spans, and a few times their eyes were watching the windows while their pencils went straight off the paper and onto the table. Bless them. We stayed in the classroom for lunch - one girl was very stubborn and refused to eat her fruit, so I tried the aeroplane trick - it didn't work. I then found something that did make her open her mouth: the theme from 'Jaws'. Goodness knows why that came in my head, but she opened her mouth and finished her fruit eventually. We live and learn.
In the afternoon after a lunch of lamb steak with potato and rice, Hilda and I went to town and bought wool and knitting needles. I'm trying to take up knitting again (bearing in mind I've given up a fair few times, to say the least), hopefully this time I'll stick with it for a while longer. We met one of Hilda's friends on the bus back to the house, and she later came round with knitting annuals from the 80's to lend to me - some of the patterns seem quite nice, others I could tell were before my time (writing that, I feel almost old!). The rest of the evening was spent with Hilda teaching me and Yesy, then over some bread and milk I kept going, and soon it was 10pm, the latest I've been awake while in Huancayo (apart from when we volunteers went to see 127 Hours), and I had to stop and sleep at that point.
On the bus back to my house, Juliana told me that she'd been to observe Sonia at work - she does physio on children too ill to leave their houses. Juliana said that many of the children she'd seen were practically feral, neglected by their parents and consequently not growing well. One boy, she said, had been locked in a dark room for much of his life. Couldn't the government do something, I asked? They could give help and assistance to the families, such as Sonia being there. But the children still lived in the same house? Couldn't they live somewhere else? Only if the parents were ill or dead, came the answer, otherwise it was the parents' responsibility to raise their children. I nearly cried at hearing that. Can this change? How?
Thursday 31 March 2011
Wednesday 30 March 2011
Day 11: Huancayo and rabbit/chicken dances
The little ones were celebrating birthdays today. After their breakfast (some eat faster when they're spoonfed, others insist on feeding themselves, some are so stubborn that I make noises - they laugh, mouth opens, food goes in, they chew), we all went back to class, then all the other classes joined us - there were the babies in their high chairs, and the other two younger classes and their teachers joined us. There were five children celebrating their birthdays that week, so the morning was full of games and songs and jumping like rabbits and watching the parents of the birthday-children dance like chickens - we all laughed at that. Then there was a piñata, and finally the cake - I went mad with my camera while two of the little ones clung to me (taking photos while your elbow is being grasped by a 3 year old boy is not the easiest thing, I learned today!). Then it was time for lunch, and everyone went back to their own classes to eat, then Juliana came to pick me up - I was quite sad to leave!
After lunch of causa (cold chicken and veg mixed with mayonnaise, in between two slabs of mashed potato), I stayed near the house - Juliana had told me that there wasn't really anything for me to do this week. I whittled away the time thinking about my project report, reading a little, then deciding that answering emails might be more interesting (I'm not the greatest student in this respect...).
When I got back, Juan Jose and I went to the cinema. Juliana'd suggested we all go, but when we got there Juliana phoned to say that she was just too busy to come. At this point I ran out of credit, and couldn't take up her suggestion to ring Oscar and Sonia and see if they wanted to come. In the end it was just me and Juan Jose - we had a great time watching Rango, laughing and munching popcorn, and by the time we got home just after 9, we were friends.
After lunch of causa (cold chicken and veg mixed with mayonnaise, in between two slabs of mashed potato), I stayed near the house - Juliana had told me that there wasn't really anything for me to do this week. I whittled away the time thinking about my project report, reading a little, then deciding that answering emails might be more interesting (I'm not the greatest student in this respect...).
When I got back, Juan Jose and I went to the cinema. Juliana'd suggested we all go, but when we got there Juliana phoned to say that she was just too busy to come. At this point I ran out of credit, and couldn't take up her suggestion to ring Oscar and Sonia and see if they wanted to come. In the end it was just me and Juan Jose - we had a great time watching Rango, laughing and munching popcorn, and by the time we got home just after 9, we were friends.
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Day 10: Huancayo and Jazmin Class
I had an early breakfast, then Juliana came to pick me up just before 8. She came with me on the bus to the playschool (my class, Jazmin Class, are 3-4 year olds) - she'll show me how to take the bus this week, then from next week I'm on my own.
I'll take a short pause here to describe the bus service as I've experienced it. There are no bus stops or timetables, at least not in the small towns. You wait at a specific corner for a bus to turn up, and ask the conductor (usually a young man or woman) if the bus goes the way you're going. Then in the bus, you're either lucky enough to get a front-facing seat, or you get a rear-facing seat (it's a nightmare trying to hang on while the bus speeds down the road, or goes uphill), or you stand up with your head brushing the ceiling, and holding on to the rail - I'm always conscious of the doors of the bus being open all the time, so I hold on extra tightly. The conductor jumps in and out of the bus, sometimes while the bus is moving (I'm in awe), and hangs out of the door and shouts the bus's destination. Still, for 70 centimos each way (about 16p?), I won't complain!
When we got to the playschool, there were only three children there - the rest came in gradually through the next half hour. Sasha was leaving today, so the teacher Jenny was making a card for her, and all the children had their hands painted yellow (I got to help, and met most of the children through handprints) and pressed them on the card. I thought that was lovely! Sasha was really touched. Then the children got in their 'trains' to go to the dining room, then we sang songs and prayed, then the children received their potato breakfast - I spent most of the time cutting up the potato into smaller bits and trying to coax the children to eat. Some of them are so cute when they're stubborn! Then we went back to class and played (I got to help making a house, tying shawls with dolls in them so that the girls could be like their mothers with their babies, and sometimes just jumping with the little ones), then there was a 'lesson' where Jenny and the other teacher Edwin led the children in making tiny balls from pieces of crepe paper, then putting them in bottles and letting the children blow into the bottles with straws to make the balls fly. Naturally a lot of the children got bored, or started pinching each other's paper - I just ended up smiling as I separated the squabbling children. After that, there was lunch - back to the dining room for songs, a prayer, then food. The children all brought their own lunch, then commenced much peeling of oranges (I feel okay, hopefully I'm not contact allergic), mashing of sweet potatoes, spoon-feeding of the stubbornest ones, and much coaxing and soothing tears and endless toilet trips. It took a fair while for most of the children to finish their lunch! We went back to the classroom after that for more playing, and Jenny read 'The Ugly Duckling' to those who listened, then the parents started turning up to collect their children. Juliana turned up not long after, so I said goodbye to the children and to Jenny and Edwin, then Juliana and I took the bus back. Ah, what a fun but tiring morning!
I met Hilda's mother at lunch (she's living with us for a while now - she alternates one month between Hilda and Hilda's sister), she's very talkative and very forgetful - thrice she asked me where I was from, and twice if I was Peruvian. I like her. It was quite nice seeing Hilda, her mother and Yesy at the same table, the three generations of women together. We chatted over soup, then over rice and potato and chicken (most dishes here consist of rice and potato on the same plate), then I hung about for a bit searching for my keys (I couldn't find them when I got back to the house after the nursery - Yesy had to unlock my room for me to have a look in there, and sure enough there they were next to my hairbrush) and petting cats, then I headed over to Juliana's.
The afternoon was a quiet one - there was nothing for me to do! So I stayed at Juliana's house watching Shrek 3, then I went to the internet for a bit. By the time I left, it was chucking it down and there was lightning - I practically ran back to Juliana's, and was grateful more than ever for my raincoat which has a permanent home in my bag. When I got there, I chatted to her her mother for a bit, then Juliana came back from work, then the other volunteers turned up. Juliana bought us pollo a la brasa as a goodbye-party for Sasha, then we hung about chatting until it was time to go. Juliana ordered me a taxi, but 15 minutes later it still hadn't turned up, so I ended up taking the bus back.
It was about 9 by the time I got off the bus, still relatively safe, but all the same I ran back to Hilda's house (and got slightly wheezy, thank goodness for asthma inhalers). By this time I wanted nothing more than to sleep, so after a quick hello to Hilda, I went to bed.
I'll take a short pause here to describe the bus service as I've experienced it. There are no bus stops or timetables, at least not in the small towns. You wait at a specific corner for a bus to turn up, and ask the conductor (usually a young man or woman) if the bus goes the way you're going. Then in the bus, you're either lucky enough to get a front-facing seat, or you get a rear-facing seat (it's a nightmare trying to hang on while the bus speeds down the road, or goes uphill), or you stand up with your head brushing the ceiling, and holding on to the rail - I'm always conscious of the doors of the bus being open all the time, so I hold on extra tightly. The conductor jumps in and out of the bus, sometimes while the bus is moving (I'm in awe), and hangs out of the door and shouts the bus's destination. Still, for 70 centimos each way (about 16p?), I won't complain!
When we got to the playschool, there were only three children there - the rest came in gradually through the next half hour. Sasha was leaving today, so the teacher Jenny was making a card for her, and all the children had their hands painted yellow (I got to help, and met most of the children through handprints) and pressed them on the card. I thought that was lovely! Sasha was really touched. Then the children got in their 'trains' to go to the dining room, then we sang songs and prayed, then the children received their potato breakfast - I spent most of the time cutting up the potato into smaller bits and trying to coax the children to eat. Some of them are so cute when they're stubborn! Then we went back to class and played (I got to help making a house, tying shawls with dolls in them so that the girls could be like their mothers with their babies, and sometimes just jumping with the little ones), then there was a 'lesson' where Jenny and the other teacher Edwin led the children in making tiny balls from pieces of crepe paper, then putting them in bottles and letting the children blow into the bottles with straws to make the balls fly. Naturally a lot of the children got bored, or started pinching each other's paper - I just ended up smiling as I separated the squabbling children. After that, there was lunch - back to the dining room for songs, a prayer, then food. The children all brought their own lunch, then commenced much peeling of oranges (I feel okay, hopefully I'm not contact allergic), mashing of sweet potatoes, spoon-feeding of the stubbornest ones, and much coaxing and soothing tears and endless toilet trips. It took a fair while for most of the children to finish their lunch! We went back to the classroom after that for more playing, and Jenny read 'The Ugly Duckling' to those who listened, then the parents started turning up to collect their children. Juliana turned up not long after, so I said goodbye to the children and to Jenny and Edwin, then Juliana and I took the bus back. Ah, what a fun but tiring morning!
I met Hilda's mother at lunch (she's living with us for a while now - she alternates one month between Hilda and Hilda's sister), she's very talkative and very forgetful - thrice she asked me where I was from, and twice if I was Peruvian. I like her. It was quite nice seeing Hilda, her mother and Yesy at the same table, the three generations of women together. We chatted over soup, then over rice and potato and chicken (most dishes here consist of rice and potato on the same plate), then I hung about for a bit searching for my keys (I couldn't find them when I got back to the house after the nursery - Yesy had to unlock my room for me to have a look in there, and sure enough there they were next to my hairbrush) and petting cats, then I headed over to Juliana's.
The afternoon was a quiet one - there was nothing for me to do! So I stayed at Juliana's house watching Shrek 3, then I went to the internet for a bit. By the time I left, it was chucking it down and there was lightning - I practically ran back to Juliana's, and was grateful more than ever for my raincoat which has a permanent home in my bag. When I got there, I chatted to her her mother for a bit, then Juliana came back from work, then the other volunteers turned up. Juliana bought us pollo a la brasa as a goodbye-party for Sasha, then we hung about chatting until it was time to go. Juliana ordered me a taxi, but 15 minutes later it still hadn't turned up, so I ended up taking the bus back.
It was about 9 by the time I got off the bus, still relatively safe, but all the same I ran back to Hilda's house (and got slightly wheezy, thank goodness for asthma inhalers). By this time I wanted nothing more than to sleep, so after a quick hello to Hilda, I went to bed.
Monday 28 March 2011
Day 9: Huancayo and children's songs
Juliana took me to two places this morning. The first was the playschool where Sasha volunteers - this is hidden away in the market place, so you have to walk through the stalls and among piles of rotting fruit at the back of the market to get there. At this point you reach some stairs, and upstairs there's the playschool (the building's quite nice once you get inside) divided into age groups. Sasha's with the 3-4 year olds, so we went to watch for a bit. The children are so adorable! They played for a bit, then they were made to get into lines and, like a train, go to the dining room where they'd get their free breakfast after a few songs. It was so lovely to watch! And a little strange hearing the children's songs, some of which I'd heard when I was little.
Afterwards, Juliana took me to the orphanage again - there we waited for Gonzalez, and chatted to two ofthe boys. One of them, Victor, is 24, and strictly speaking has left by now, but since he has learning difficulties he's kept on to work in the garden. Juliana explained that once the boys reached 18, there was no more help for them from the government - the orphanage does what they can to help, for example they're supporting the boy who paints in considering university, and they let Victor work there. When Gonzalez arrived, he took us to the school 15 minutes away where the boys and some of the local children go - the school is currently in the form of long tables and chairs, with canvas sheeting separating each year group. They're hoping to move into a new building in July, but until then this is all they can get. Juliana then said that this week we'll take over the notebooks and pencils that people have donated. It was quite inspiring to see the children doing their work, though, despite not being in a proper building.
I went back for a lunch of potatoes, rice and chicken in a yellow-pepper sauce (Hilda did tell me the name, but I can't remember it right now), then after a quick spell in the internet cafe (there's one opposite the supermarket which has skype, so I haunt this one now) I went back to Juliana's house. We went into town and met up with Sasha, and went with her as she bought storybooks and dolls for the playschool, then Juliana went to work and Sasha and I went back. I stayed at Juliana's a while longer talking to her mum, who's very sweet (I'd only met her briefly on my last visit), and sharpening pencils to give as donations (I thought that the youngsters would refer sharpened pencils). Soon I saw that it was getting dark, so I took a bus back - I stayed for a while talking to Hilda over a cup of coca tea, then I went straight to bed.
Juliana and I now have a plan as to what I'll do: starting tomorrow, in the mornings I'll go to the playschool (Sasha leaves us on Wednesday morning, so I'll take over from her) and in the afternoon I'll be a general dogsbody, helping Juliana with admin stuff such as sorting out the donations. This should be good!
Sunday 27 March 2011
Day 8: Huancayo/Ahuac and eating cuy again
This morning I got to Juliana's house at 9.30am - we plus the other volunteers Oscar, Sasha and Sonia would be taking a day trip! We waited for a bus, then after a while gave up and took a taxi (taxis pass every two seconds here, if that) to Chupaca, about twenty minutes outside of Huancayo. From there we took a second cab to Ahuac, where our day would begin. We were dropped off next to some steps, and we climbed - for about twenty minutes or so we climbed, taking in the view of the fields and the mountains and cows and small houses. It was quite a sunny day, so the view was gorgeous. At the top of the steps (about 50m higher than our starting point) was our destination: the ruins of Arwaturo. The name's Quechua for 'burned bones' - Juliana explained that burned bones were found in the ruins, and that the ruins were supposedly used for food storage and as a watchtower. We stayed there a while, walking round the ruins, then lay in the sun - Sasha regretted that we hadn't brought a picnic lunch with us, it was that sort of day.
We walked back down the steps, then through some very soggy and marhy ground to the lake, where we waited for a cab. A man came up to us and gave us some drink made from corn - I think it was slightly alcoholic, and he looked delighted to have visitors from so far away. We then took a cab back to Chupaca (at one point a peasant and her daughter jumped in the boot - the lady looked at us, smiled, and said delightedly "Gringos!"), and from there a bus to a restaurant near Huancayo. Juliana said that it did really good food - I ended up eating pachamanca (meat cooked in a ground oven) with pork and cuy (guinea pig). It tasted great :) We were also served humitas (Sasha compared them to corndough - I can't stand humitas, Oscar was happy to take them off my hands). So that was a great lunch.
When we got back, I went with Sonia and Sasha to the weekly market - it's over 1km long, so we only managed to see a fraction of the stalls! I couldn't find much that I liked though, so I'll have another look next week, or maybe go to the artesans' market in town. It was wonderful browsing though. After that, Sasha and I did a bit more shopping in the town centre (I had a quick look in the artesans' market, but I was running low on money by this time), then we headed back. I hung about for a while at Juliana's, then walked back to Hilda's house.
I only stayed up a short while - Yesy's friend was visiting, so we all chatted for a while, then i started to get tired and took an early-ish night.
Saturday 26 March 2011
Day 7: Huancayo and beetroot juice
When I woke up this morning, I really didn't feel like getting up. I just wanted to stay in bed. So I slept some more, then woke up and slept more, then woke up and lay in bed for what seemed like ages, trying to get myself out of bed. Eventually I felt guilty that Hilda would be waiting with my breakfast, so I got up and got dressed. Then I looked at the time - 8.45am. and here I was thinking that it must be at least 10am.
After a breakfast of bread rolls and eggs, I stayed in the house for a bit, then helped Hilda make lunch - she taught me how to make a bolognese sauce, I hope that Hilda can keep teaching me.
After lunch, I went to visit Juliana - none of the other volunteers were there yet, so I chatted to Juliana for a while and used her computer - I now have some free space on my camera, so I'll take more photos. Sasha dropped by, then she had her Spanish lesson. Juliana came by a little later, and asked if she could use the office for a while, so I sat in the living room, where Sasha and her teacher were. I just sat there looking through photo albums - ahh, the memories...
Juliana and Sasha finished at about the same time - Sasha went out into town, and Juliana and I went with her friend Daniel to get some supper. I had a hamburger and a huge glass of juice - pineapple, papaya... and beetroot. I hate beetroot (I only learned that it had beetroot after we'd ordered), but this juice tasted really really good. It was great!
I was quite tired by this point, so I just went back to Hilda's - the whole family was out (they were at the wedding of one of Yesy's friends), so I played with cats a bit, then read before going to sleep.
Friday 25 March 2011
Day 6: Huancayo and a notebook-hunt
I'd set my alarm for half 7 this morning, but found myself wide awake at about 6.45. I certainly never wake this early at home! I felt a bit grimy from the car journey yesterday, so I thought I'd have a shower. Hilda showed me where it was and how to use it, so I had a nice shower (apart from when I twice got large static shocks from the tap). Then I wrapped myself in my towels, put on my sandals, opened the door - and there sat a dog and six cats, staring up at me, while I was dripping wet and wrapped just in a towel. We blinked at each other, then I walked fairly awkwardly to my room while they continued to sit, watching me. That was slightly odd...
After a breakfast of bread and milk, Hilda showed me where the nearby internet cafe was, so I stayed there a while phoning Mum and checking my emails. Then Hilda showed me how to use the washing machine, and soon my clothes were clean and hanging on the line. Unfortunately it's not terribly sunny here - it's very cloudy, so the sun and rain come and go - but since it's very dry, the clothes were done quite soon.
Juliana picked me up at half ten, and we went to the office first to drop off the other donations I'd brought with me - there hadn't been enough room in my rucksack yesterday to bring them all! We went to the nearby orphanage first - there I met the program coordinator, Gonzalez, since the director was away. He seems very friendly, the plan is that Juliana'll bring me here on Monday and we'll take it from there. The orphanage is for boys aged 10-18 - I met a 16 year old who's very talented at painted, and very courteous - and as long as the director isn't there, I should be able to stay. When I asked why, Gonzalez explained that the director is very strict with volunteers, making sure that they work for no less than a month (I'll only be here 24 days more), and that they first have blood tests (and apparently medical exams of mental health, said Juliana? I wonder if I mistranslated, though) to make sure that they don't bring in contagious diseases. While I don't object to a blood test (though I find it a little odd), it's more the being here for less than a month thing. Still, we'll see how things go on Monday.
After that, I went with Juliana to the centre of town to buy notebooks - she explained that a new school for streetchildren has been set up, however the children can't afford to buy their own equipment - she went on to say that it's not uncommon here for families to have ten or more children, and while there's just about enough for food, money for uniforms and books and pencils and travel to the school (some children have to come in from different parts of town) is a luxury. So we browsed, but didn't decide on any just yet - Juliana wanted to buy each child at least one notebook, but that would've come to about 400 soles in most of the shops we went into, so we're continuing to browse.
I went back to Hilda's for a lunch of soup and corn, followed by Papas Huancaina (potatoes in a yellow sauce - Hilda later said that it was made from yellow peppers), then some jelly. I could barely eat half of each plate - this happened to me last time I was here, Mum reckoned that it's probably the effects of the altitude and the new food when I spoke to her. Yesy came home for lunch too - there we talked about London, about university, about her job as a blood analysist in a lab. She could only stay half an hour, since she needed to return to work, which was 15 minutes away.
I spent the first part of the afternoon reading, then Juliana picked me up and we continued notebook-browsing in town. It felt quite strange, walking through the town, recognising bits and pieces of it and finding that I could remember where certain places where. It's quite dry (apart from a few puddles when it rains, and even those dry up quickly), but still fairly warm - the barometer in the Plaza de Armas (town square) said that it was about 23C when we passed it, which felt about right. The people here are a mix - there're beggars on the street, there're those who play instruments or sell biscuits in the street for money, there're those dressed in stereotypical clothing (women with plaits and hats, and shawls of traditionally patterned wool), there're those dressed in typical shop-bought clothes who carry their babies in patterned shawls on their backs, and there're those dressed like me. Many of the people in Huancayo are quite dark, and there's quite a range - I'm very very pale in comparison, but I've seen a few people who look just a tiny bit darker than me, and there're plenty in between. One glance at me and one could tell that I'm not from here - I might just be able to pass for someone from Lima, where there're more pale people, until I speak. A couple of people asked me where I was from, I always say Miami. My aunt suggested this to me on one of my earliest trips to Peru: for Peruvian people to move to Miami and live their lives there, isn't too uncommon a thing. To go to Europe, furthermore to England, shows that the family is very very rich. To come from England back to Peru, denotes even more wealth, and those with wealth are the best to rob. I don't particularly want to be robbed, hence I say I'm from Miami (when I was younger, I was taught to stay silent in Peruvian taxis and buses for the same reason). As for sometimes giving a different name when I talk to people I meet briefly on my travels, I find it quite fun to come up with a new story about myself. I sometimes do this while at home, too - if someone talks to me on the bus then I'll change my name and a few things about myself (I remember once 'being' Carla from Wimbledon studying sociology). I think it's quite fun. I'm digressing here.
Juliana and I took the bus back to the office (we sat opposite a 3 year old playing with pieces of wool, talking to herself and looking up at us as if for confirmation of what she'd said every now and then - she was absolutely adorable), then she went to work at the radio station (she has a talk show every evening) while I went to an internet cafe and skyped. When I'd finished, I tried to enter the volunteer residence - Juliana had given me the key earlier - but couldn't get it in. Odd. I wandered about a bit and drifted into another internet cafe (there're very many of them here - from the house I'm in to the volunteer house, which is a twenty minute walk, I got as far as about 20 before losing count) until Juliana got back. She then told me that it's a fairly stiff lock, and I had to really push the key in to get it in the lock. Eventually I got the hang of it, and we went inside.
Oscar, the volunteer from Sheffield, was there - he and the other volunteers were going to the cinema that evening, would I like to go? After a quick call to Hilda, the plan was set - we'd wait until Sasha got back to her house and pick her up, then meet Sonia at the cinema. So Oscar and I watched House for a bit (boxsets are incredibly cheap here), then went to the house where Sasha's staying to collect her. She's in the same house I was in last time, I'll stop by another day to see the family. When we got to the cinema, I met Sonia for the first time - she's from Cornwall and lives in the 'new' residence - and we also met up with Miguel, a cousin of the family I was with last time, who I'd met briefly before. It was nice to catch up with him, and he told me about what the rest of the family were up to.
After some discussion over film (Sasha and Sonia don't speak much Spanish, so they wanted something that wasn't dubbed), we went for 127 Hours - for 9 soles each, we thought that this was really good. The popcorn and drinks, at 6.50 each (we each had Inka Kola, and shared a giant bucket between the five of us), cost almost as much as the film did! So we settled down to watch the film. Sasha and I are squeamish, and spent quite a bit of the film covering our eyes. By then end, I have to say that it was a good film, but I was still a bit shaken. We got a taxi back afterwards - we dropped off Miguel and Sasha first, then I was dropped off before Oscar and Sonia went back. It was about 11.15pm by this time - Hilda was waiting for me, which was lovely, so we talked a tiny bit and then went to bed.
There, in the dark with just my thoughts and still a bit shaken from the film, I started feeling a bit homesick. What was I doing, alone in this country, away from much of what I know and love? Then, I reasoned, I am safe here: there're Juliana and Hilda watching over me in Huancayo, and I have my grandparents and uncles and aunts in Lima. And I can send an email or phone call back home pretty much when I like. And there was nothing stopping me from going back to Lima, or indeed to London if I wanted to - but I didn't want to. I wanted to stay here, and see the children, and be 'Miss Catty' to them. I didn't want to go home just yet. I still felt a little anxious, so I tried to settle down to sleep, knowing that I'd feel much better in the morning.
After a breakfast of bread and milk, Hilda showed me where the nearby internet cafe was, so I stayed there a while phoning Mum and checking my emails. Then Hilda showed me how to use the washing machine, and soon my clothes were clean and hanging on the line. Unfortunately it's not terribly sunny here - it's very cloudy, so the sun and rain come and go - but since it's very dry, the clothes were done quite soon.
Juliana picked me up at half ten, and we went to the office first to drop off the other donations I'd brought with me - there hadn't been enough room in my rucksack yesterday to bring them all! We went to the nearby orphanage first - there I met the program coordinator, Gonzalez, since the director was away. He seems very friendly, the plan is that Juliana'll bring me here on Monday and we'll take it from there. The orphanage is for boys aged 10-18 - I met a 16 year old who's very talented at painted, and very courteous - and as long as the director isn't there, I should be able to stay. When I asked why, Gonzalez explained that the director is very strict with volunteers, making sure that they work for no less than a month (I'll only be here 24 days more), and that they first have blood tests (and apparently medical exams of mental health, said Juliana? I wonder if I mistranslated, though) to make sure that they don't bring in contagious diseases. While I don't object to a blood test (though I find it a little odd), it's more the being here for less than a month thing. Still, we'll see how things go on Monday.
After that, I went with Juliana to the centre of town to buy notebooks - she explained that a new school for streetchildren has been set up, however the children can't afford to buy their own equipment - she went on to say that it's not uncommon here for families to have ten or more children, and while there's just about enough for food, money for uniforms and books and pencils and travel to the school (some children have to come in from different parts of town) is a luxury. So we browsed, but didn't decide on any just yet - Juliana wanted to buy each child at least one notebook, but that would've come to about 400 soles in most of the shops we went into, so we're continuing to browse.
I went back to Hilda's for a lunch of soup and corn, followed by Papas Huancaina (potatoes in a yellow sauce - Hilda later said that it was made from yellow peppers), then some jelly. I could barely eat half of each plate - this happened to me last time I was here, Mum reckoned that it's probably the effects of the altitude and the new food when I spoke to her. Yesy came home for lunch too - there we talked about London, about university, about her job as a blood analysist in a lab. She could only stay half an hour, since she needed to return to work, which was 15 minutes away.
I spent the first part of the afternoon reading, then Juliana picked me up and we continued notebook-browsing in town. It felt quite strange, walking through the town, recognising bits and pieces of it and finding that I could remember where certain places where. It's quite dry (apart from a few puddles when it rains, and even those dry up quickly), but still fairly warm - the barometer in the Plaza de Armas (town square) said that it was about 23C when we passed it, which felt about right. The people here are a mix - there're beggars on the street, there're those who play instruments or sell biscuits in the street for money, there're those dressed in stereotypical clothing (women with plaits and hats, and shawls of traditionally patterned wool), there're those dressed in typical shop-bought clothes who carry their babies in patterned shawls on their backs, and there're those dressed like me. Many of the people in Huancayo are quite dark, and there's quite a range - I'm very very pale in comparison, but I've seen a few people who look just a tiny bit darker than me, and there're plenty in between. One glance at me and one could tell that I'm not from here - I might just be able to pass for someone from Lima, where there're more pale people, until I speak. A couple of people asked me where I was from, I always say Miami. My aunt suggested this to me on one of my earliest trips to Peru: for Peruvian people to move to Miami and live their lives there, isn't too uncommon a thing. To go to Europe, furthermore to England, shows that the family is very very rich. To come from England back to Peru, denotes even more wealth, and those with wealth are the best to rob. I don't particularly want to be robbed, hence I say I'm from Miami (when I was younger, I was taught to stay silent in Peruvian taxis and buses for the same reason). As for sometimes giving a different name when I talk to people I meet briefly on my travels, I find it quite fun to come up with a new story about myself. I sometimes do this while at home, too - if someone talks to me on the bus then I'll change my name and a few things about myself (I remember once 'being' Carla from Wimbledon studying sociology). I think it's quite fun. I'm digressing here.
Juliana and I took the bus back to the office (we sat opposite a 3 year old playing with pieces of wool, talking to herself and looking up at us as if for confirmation of what she'd said every now and then - she was absolutely adorable), then she went to work at the radio station (she has a talk show every evening) while I went to an internet cafe and skyped. When I'd finished, I tried to enter the volunteer residence - Juliana had given me the key earlier - but couldn't get it in. Odd. I wandered about a bit and drifted into another internet cafe (there're very many of them here - from the house I'm in to the volunteer house, which is a twenty minute walk, I got as far as about 20 before losing count) until Juliana got back. She then told me that it's a fairly stiff lock, and I had to really push the key in to get it in the lock. Eventually I got the hang of it, and we went inside.
Oscar, the volunteer from Sheffield, was there - he and the other volunteers were going to the cinema that evening, would I like to go? After a quick call to Hilda, the plan was set - we'd wait until Sasha got back to her house and pick her up, then meet Sonia at the cinema. So Oscar and I watched House for a bit (boxsets are incredibly cheap here), then went to the house where Sasha's staying to collect her. She's in the same house I was in last time, I'll stop by another day to see the family. When we got to the cinema, I met Sonia for the first time - she's from Cornwall and lives in the 'new' residence - and we also met up with Miguel, a cousin of the family I was with last time, who I'd met briefly before. It was nice to catch up with him, and he told me about what the rest of the family were up to.
After some discussion over film (Sasha and Sonia don't speak much Spanish, so they wanted something that wasn't dubbed), we went for 127 Hours - for 9 soles each, we thought that this was really good. The popcorn and drinks, at 6.50 each (we each had Inka Kola, and shared a giant bucket between the five of us), cost almost as much as the film did! So we settled down to watch the film. Sasha and I are squeamish, and spent quite a bit of the film covering our eyes. By then end, I have to say that it was a good film, but I was still a bit shaken. We got a taxi back afterwards - we dropped off Miguel and Sasha first, then I was dropped off before Oscar and Sonia went back. It was about 11.15pm by this time - Hilda was waiting for me, which was lovely, so we talked a tiny bit and then went to bed.
There, in the dark with just my thoughts and still a bit shaken from the film, I started feeling a bit homesick. What was I doing, alone in this country, away from much of what I know and love? Then, I reasoned, I am safe here: there're Juliana and Hilda watching over me in Huancayo, and I have my grandparents and uncles and aunts in Lima. And I can send an email or phone call back home pretty much when I like. And there was nothing stopping me from going back to Lima, or indeed to London if I wanted to - but I didn't want to. I wanted to stay here, and see the children, and be 'Miss Catty' to them. I didn't want to go home just yet. I still felt a little anxious, so I tried to settle down to sleep, knowing that I'd feel much better in the morning.
Thursday 24 March 2011
Day 5: Lima/Huancayo and cats
Today I woke up at 6am, excited but somewhat nervous about travelling. For one thing, I'd be completely on my own in a car full of strangers, travelling along roads where cars overtake at 100kph, while I could instead just stay in Lima safe with my grandparents. That though lasted about 3 seconds - I love my grandparents dearly, but I'd come to Peru on a different mission. So after some last-minute packing of nightgown and forgotten socks (I think there's still one hiding under the bed...), I had breakfast with Mamamama and Abuelo. Tio Alejandro turned up just as we were about to eat, saying that we had to hurry, so I wolfed down my bread and juice, said loving goodbyes to my grandparents, then we went with Veronica to get a taxi. Once Tio and I were in the taxi, Veronica said goodbye and went back.
I'll take a short break to write briefly about what I've encountered regarding taxis. Normally there are no complete seatbelts, or the rules regarding them are very relaxed (I was surprised when the driver insisted we put our belts on). There is little regard for other drivers - while Peru drives on the right, taxis overtake each other and drive in the left lane like nobody's business. Many drivers have a small figurine or picture of Jesus or Mary, I sometimes find myself praying for a safe journey. I think it sums it up when Tio suggested a different route, and the taxi driver asked "Do you want the quick route, or the safe route?"
After about 20 minutes, there we were at the bus station in Lima. Instead of taking a bus like last time to Huancayo, I'd be taking a 'collectivo', a car with four other passengers. Tio and the driver squeezed my bags into the boot, then I sat in the back beside two old ladies, and behind a young man who spent the whole journey listening to his music. Then at about 8.20am, I said goodbye to Tio, and we were on our way.
The journey was, thankfully, uneventful - I watched the landscape change as we drove further out of Lima, from urban housing to shanty towns to fields to mountains, and could feel my ears popping and my breathing change as we steadily went higher. At one point I dozed, and woke up when we stopped briefly for a toilet break in La Oroya. Other than that, I read my book, and politely answered the ladies' questions about me (I'm Marta, I'm from Miami, yes it is very sunny there, I'm visiting my aunt and uncle in Huancayo. I usually make up a story when I travel.)
Four and a half relatively short hours later, there we were in Huancayo. Rather than being dropped off at a bus station, as I'd originally thought, we were just dropped off on a street corner. I tried to call Juliana, the program director, but no luck. I texted her to tell her where I was, she texted back to say that she was in a taxi. So I waited. One of the ladies waited with me, since she was worried that my bags would be stolen (I'm so much paler than most people over here, anyone can tell that I'm not local, and foreigners are often rich). After 15 minutes she said that she had to go, so I waited a while on my own. I wasn't worried though, I knew that Juliana would come. I was slightly anxious about my bags, but I was opposite a bank, so I reasoned that I could wait in there more safely. Just as I considered this, a taxi drew up and Juliana came out. It was wonderful to see her again! She was so apologetic, she's been taking a volunteer to the bus station to go home just as she got my text, and came as quickly as she could, and her phone had run out of credit so she couldn't call me back. It didn't matter, I was just glad that she was there.
A few minutes later, we got out of the taxi, in a small quiet neighbourhood, and we rang the doorbell of the house where I'd be staying. I'd chosen to stay with a family, since then I'd get meals, have more opportunity to practise Spanish, and learn more about the culture.
The family with whom I'm staying seem lovely. Hilda is about 60 years old, very friendly, she told me to treat her as I would my mum, and her home as if it were my own. Her daughter Yesenia (Yesy) looks about 30 or so, I only met her briefly since she was on her way to collect her son from school. I later met her son, Juan-Jose, who's 12 years old. The family have a dog called Caramelo, two birds in a cage, and nine cats. I first saw two, then another, and when I asked Hilda how many she had, she said nine. Wow. It's a good thing that I like cats!
Hilda gave me some coca tea to help with adjusting to the altitude (I feel okay, though), then we had lunch of chicken soup, then some fish and chips and rice, and some corn on the cob that her sister had grown in her field, washed down with maracuya (passionfruit) juice. It was wonderful. Afterward I went to rest and unpack for a while, then Juliana came to take me to the office. There I gave her the donations - she's certain that the children who loved them (to all readers who donated, thanks so much! I'll put some pictures up when I get back to the UK, since I don't have my card reader here) - then I paid for my lodging, then she took me to the new volunteer house. She showed me around, then we went and bought cake before returning to the office. While munching on cake, I met two of the other volunteers - Sasha's from the US, and is staying with the family I stayed with last time (I'd have stayed with them again, but since most of them now live in Lima, I wanted to see what staying with another family would be like. I'll be sure to visit them, though!), and Oscar's from Sheffield. I gave him his ipod (he'd been robbed in Lima, his mum wanted to send him a new ipod, so she sent it to my parents' address and I brought it with me, since that would be more reliable than airmail), then we all chatted, then Juliana and I took a bus back to my new house.
I stayed a while talking with Hilda and Yesy (Juan-Jose was in his room - his room's right next to mine), then some visitors came over with their little girl. She has the exact same facial features and mannerisms as the character Karen from Outnumbered, she was adorable and made us all laugh. We all had some tea and bread rolls, then at about half 8 I started feeling tired, so I went upstairs to read for a bit before bed. I have a room on the second floor to myself, between Juan Jose's room and Yesy's room. There was a dool on the bed when I arrived, Hilda joked that he was my roommate. He's now sitting on a table in the corner of the room, in my mind I've named him Jaiyo.
I phoned Tia China for her birthday, it was lovely to speak to her. I phoned the house in Lima and my mum to say that I'd arrived safely, that I was with the family, and that I was happy. I'm really glad to be here again, I'm sure things will go well. I can't wait to see the children soon!
I'll take a short break to write briefly about what I've encountered regarding taxis. Normally there are no complete seatbelts, or the rules regarding them are very relaxed (I was surprised when the driver insisted we put our belts on). There is little regard for other drivers - while Peru drives on the right, taxis overtake each other and drive in the left lane like nobody's business. Many drivers have a small figurine or picture of Jesus or Mary, I sometimes find myself praying for a safe journey. I think it sums it up when Tio suggested a different route, and the taxi driver asked "Do you want the quick route, or the safe route?"
After about 20 minutes, there we were at the bus station in Lima. Instead of taking a bus like last time to Huancayo, I'd be taking a 'collectivo', a car with four other passengers. Tio and the driver squeezed my bags into the boot, then I sat in the back beside two old ladies, and behind a young man who spent the whole journey listening to his music. Then at about 8.20am, I said goodbye to Tio, and we were on our way.
The journey was, thankfully, uneventful - I watched the landscape change as we drove further out of Lima, from urban housing to shanty towns to fields to mountains, and could feel my ears popping and my breathing change as we steadily went higher. At one point I dozed, and woke up when we stopped briefly for a toilet break in La Oroya. Other than that, I read my book, and politely answered the ladies' questions about me (I'm Marta, I'm from Miami, yes it is very sunny there, I'm visiting my aunt and uncle in Huancayo. I usually make up a story when I travel.)
Four and a half relatively short hours later, there we were in Huancayo. Rather than being dropped off at a bus station, as I'd originally thought, we were just dropped off on a street corner. I tried to call Juliana, the program director, but no luck. I texted her to tell her where I was, she texted back to say that she was in a taxi. So I waited. One of the ladies waited with me, since she was worried that my bags would be stolen (I'm so much paler than most people over here, anyone can tell that I'm not local, and foreigners are often rich). After 15 minutes she said that she had to go, so I waited a while on my own. I wasn't worried though, I knew that Juliana would come. I was slightly anxious about my bags, but I was opposite a bank, so I reasoned that I could wait in there more safely. Just as I considered this, a taxi drew up and Juliana came out. It was wonderful to see her again! She was so apologetic, she's been taking a volunteer to the bus station to go home just as she got my text, and came as quickly as she could, and her phone had run out of credit so she couldn't call me back. It didn't matter, I was just glad that she was there.
A few minutes later, we got out of the taxi, in a small quiet neighbourhood, and we rang the doorbell of the house where I'd be staying. I'd chosen to stay with a family, since then I'd get meals, have more opportunity to practise Spanish, and learn more about the culture.
The family with whom I'm staying seem lovely. Hilda is about 60 years old, very friendly, she told me to treat her as I would my mum, and her home as if it were my own. Her daughter Yesenia (Yesy) looks about 30 or so, I only met her briefly since she was on her way to collect her son from school. I later met her son, Juan-Jose, who's 12 years old. The family have a dog called Caramelo, two birds in a cage, and nine cats. I first saw two, then another, and when I asked Hilda how many she had, she said nine. Wow. It's a good thing that I like cats!
Hilda gave me some coca tea to help with adjusting to the altitude (I feel okay, though), then we had lunch of chicken soup, then some fish and chips and rice, and some corn on the cob that her sister had grown in her field, washed down with maracuya (passionfruit) juice. It was wonderful. Afterward I went to rest and unpack for a while, then Juliana came to take me to the office. There I gave her the donations - she's certain that the children who loved them (to all readers who donated, thanks so much! I'll put some pictures up when I get back to the UK, since I don't have my card reader here) - then I paid for my lodging, then she took me to the new volunteer house. She showed me around, then we went and bought cake before returning to the office. While munching on cake, I met two of the other volunteers - Sasha's from the US, and is staying with the family I stayed with last time (I'd have stayed with them again, but since most of them now live in Lima, I wanted to see what staying with another family would be like. I'll be sure to visit them, though!), and Oscar's from Sheffield. I gave him his ipod (he'd been robbed in Lima, his mum wanted to send him a new ipod, so she sent it to my parents' address and I brought it with me, since that would be more reliable than airmail), then we all chatted, then Juliana and I took a bus back to my new house.
I stayed a while talking with Hilda and Yesy (Juan-Jose was in his room - his room's right next to mine), then some visitors came over with their little girl. She has the exact same facial features and mannerisms as the character Karen from Outnumbered, she was adorable and made us all laugh. We all had some tea and bread rolls, then at about half 8 I started feeling tired, so I went upstairs to read for a bit before bed. I have a room on the second floor to myself, between Juan Jose's room and Yesy's room. There was a dool on the bed when I arrived, Hilda joked that he was my roommate. He's now sitting on a table in the corner of the room, in my mind I've named him Jaiyo.
I phoned Tia China for her birthday, it was lovely to speak to her. I phoned the house in Lima and my mum to say that I'd arrived safely, that I was with the family, and that I was happy. I'm really glad to be here again, I'm sure things will go well. I can't wait to see the children soon!
Wednesday 23 March 2011
Day 4: Lima and birthday
Today was Tio Mañuco's birthday. I woke up at 6.30, had a shower, then joined Mamamama for True Breakfast (see previous post). We watched some TV, chatted some more, I Skyped a few friends while she watched TV, and so passed a pleasant morning. Abuelo stayed home, and invited us for pollo a la brasa for lunch. I went out with Veronica to the nearby supermarket, Metro, to buy some - I do like watching the rows of chickens on mechanical spits, plus it was nice to walk for a bit. We passed Zari on the way and catted for a little, before she went back to the salon and we carried on to the shop. We passed some nuns wearing brown on the way out, and Veronica told me about how she'd like to be a nun - who knew?
When we got back, Tio Mañuco and Tio Alejandro were both there, along with Tia Marite - I gave Mañuco his birthday present, and we all ate some birthday cake. The cakes in the pastelerias over here tend to be very ornately decorated, full of flavour, and melt in the mouth. Unfortunately, since they're made without preservatives, it's quite difficult to bring an edible one back to the UK! We munched on cake, drank Inka Kola (the national fizzy drink - it's yellow and tastes kind-of sweet, but not sickly), and Abuelo let me have a small bt of wine. Then Mañuco and Marite had to go home, and the rest of us ate our pollo a la brasa. 'twas wonderful.
We stayed in during the afternoon - Mamamama's holistic therapist came to do some reflexology on her feet (I do a little on her hands, but since I'm not trained I don't know how much good that does), then afterwards we sat in the house. At one point I realised that I needed to change my money from dollars to the local currency, Nuevo Sol (1 sol, 2 soles, half a sol is 50 centimos just as half a pound is 50 pence). 1 dollar is 2.75 soles, I learned today, so since 1 pound is 1.62 dollars, 1 pound is about 4.45 soles. That makes sense. Anyway, so I went with Veronica to change my money into soles, so I should be okay now. I'll stop by the supermarket in Huancayo to get some change, though, to make things easier.
We got back, and I had leftover pollo a la brasa and cake, while Mamamama and Abuelo had soup. Then we watched a bit of TV, and my grandparents went to bed.
It's 7.45pm now, and I'm staying in tonight. After rounding off this blog entry I'll pack my bags for tomorrow, then read a bit before sleeping. I hope I don't leave anything important behind! I'm really looking forward to Huancayo - while I've loved spending this time with my grandparents, I'm looking forward to seeing Juliana the program director again, and meeting the host family, and seeing the mountains - and above all, seeing the children. I really have missed them.
When we got back, Tio Mañuco and Tio Alejandro were both there, along with Tia Marite - I gave Mañuco his birthday present, and we all ate some birthday cake. The cakes in the pastelerias over here tend to be very ornately decorated, full of flavour, and melt in the mouth. Unfortunately, since they're made without preservatives, it's quite difficult to bring an edible one back to the UK! We munched on cake, drank Inka Kola (the national fizzy drink - it's yellow and tastes kind-of sweet, but not sickly), and Abuelo let me have a small bt of wine. Then Mañuco and Marite had to go home, and the rest of us ate our pollo a la brasa. 'twas wonderful.
We stayed in during the afternoon - Mamamama's holistic therapist came to do some reflexology on her feet (I do a little on her hands, but since I'm not trained I don't know how much good that does), then afterwards we sat in the house. At one point I realised that I needed to change my money from dollars to the local currency, Nuevo Sol (1 sol, 2 soles, half a sol is 50 centimos just as half a pound is 50 pence). 1 dollar is 2.75 soles, I learned today, so since 1 pound is 1.62 dollars, 1 pound is about 4.45 soles. That makes sense. Anyway, so I went with Veronica to change my money into soles, so I should be okay now. I'll stop by the supermarket in Huancayo to get some change, though, to make things easier.
We got back, and I had leftover pollo a la brasa and cake, while Mamamama and Abuelo had soup. Then we watched a bit of TV, and my grandparents went to bed.
It's 7.45pm now, and I'm staying in tonight. After rounding off this blog entry I'll pack my bags for tomorrow, then read a bit before sleeping. I hope I don't leave anything important behind! I'm really looking forward to Huancayo - while I've loved spending this time with my grandparents, I'm looking forward to seeing Juliana the program director again, and meeting the host family, and seeing the mountains - and above all, seeing the children. I really have missed them.
Day 3: Lima and the true breakfast
For breakfast this morning, there was what I like to think of as True Bread and True Milk. True Bread consists of little bread rolls, so soft that it feels like I'm eating clouds, no preservatives, and a tiny bit of butter is all that's needed for that perfect taste. True Milk is evaporated milk, topped up with boiling water - warm, creamy, full of flavour. I was in heaven.
It was quite sunny, so Mamamama and I stayed indoors. We watched TV, chatted on the sofa, I did some light reflexology on her hands. Tio Mañuco came over with Tia Marite at one point, but they only stayed a short while. Lunch was a starter of yuca, which is like a tastier version of potato, then there was rice and potato and chicken, followed by jelly and a drink of chicha morada (it's a sweet purple drink, I can't think of anything to compare it to). When Abuelo came back in the aftenoon, Veronica took me to visit Zari, a very dear family friend who lives nearby. Unfortunately she was busy working when we called by - she runs a hairdressing salon - but we managed to chat for a few minutes. Then I phoned Tia Juanita - I think she's coming over tomorrow - and Tia China and Tia Dora, I'll most likely see them when I come back from Huancayo.
In the evening, Tio Alejandro took me out for pollo a la brasa. Read: 'best meal in the world'. A specially prepared chicken, cooked over a spit, served with chips and salad. It was wonderful, then we went for a short walk to digest before heading back to the house. By this point it was coming up to 11pm - we got back to the house, I read for a little, then went to bed.
When we got back from Zari, I noticed that my arm was itching and there was a slight bump - I imagine an insect found me tasty. I'm getting a slight cold too - Abuelo and Mamamama have had colds for a few days, I think I'm catching it off them. Hopefully it'll go soon, but at least I don't have to worry now about being too ill to fly, which was my main worry when I started getting the sniffles back in Coventry. I'm sure it'll pass in a day or two.
It was quite sunny, so Mamamama and I stayed indoors. We watched TV, chatted on the sofa, I did some light reflexology on her hands. Tio Mañuco came over with Tia Marite at one point, but they only stayed a short while. Lunch was a starter of yuca, which is like a tastier version of potato, then there was rice and potato and chicken, followed by jelly and a drink of chicha morada (it's a sweet purple drink, I can't think of anything to compare it to). When Abuelo came back in the aftenoon, Veronica took me to visit Zari, a very dear family friend who lives nearby. Unfortunately she was busy working when we called by - she runs a hairdressing salon - but we managed to chat for a few minutes. Then I phoned Tia Juanita - I think she's coming over tomorrow - and Tia China and Tia Dora, I'll most likely see them when I come back from Huancayo.
In the evening, Tio Alejandro took me out for pollo a la brasa. Read: 'best meal in the world'. A specially prepared chicken, cooked over a spit, served with chips and salad. It was wonderful, then we went for a short walk to digest before heading back to the house. By this point it was coming up to 11pm - we got back to the house, I read for a little, then went to bed.
When we got back from Zari, I noticed that my arm was itching and there was a slight bump - I imagine an insect found me tasty. I'm getting a slight cold too - Abuelo and Mamamama have had colds for a few days, I think I'm catching it off them. Hopefully it'll go soon, but at least I don't have to worry now about being too ill to fly, which was my main worry when I started getting the sniffles back in Coventry. I'm sure it'll pass in a day or two.
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Day 2: Lima and family
I woke up this morning at 7am, to the sun giving the room a soft glow, and the sound of the panadero on his bike, beeping his horn and selling bread. After getting changed, Veronica the maid came to fetch me for breakfast. It was great to see her again. Abuelo and Mamamama were already downstairs, so we ate breakfast of fruit, toasted bread, and juice. After that, Mamamama and I went out with Veronica to the park and around the block, stopping at my favourite statue of the Virgin for a short prayer (there's a lot of veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary here).
When we got back, Tio Alejandro stopped by for a bit before heading off to the university where he lectures. Then I went on the computer for a while, watched novelas with Mamamama (kind of like TV soaps, but more romantic and dramatic), and did a few logic puzzles. It's nice having company while I do my puzzles - Mamamama watches her TV, I puzzle away in the chair next to her: it's brilliant. Mum phoned at one point, it was great speaking to her - it felt a little strange to speak English, though!
Lunch arrived sometime after - every day the food is ordered from a menu, and delivered. I had salad with rice and lentils (I do love lentils) followed by jelly, washed down with cold Hierba Luisa tea. Simply lovely. The rest of the afternoon passed watching TV and puzzling. My uncle Mañuco and my cousin Alvaro stopped by for a while - Alvaro's grown a lot (he's about the same age and height as Christopher), it was quite fun talking to him. Tio Mañuco stayed for a while talking to me and Mamamama, then he and Alvaro went back, and we stayed watching TV. Abuelo came back home in the afternoon, then the three of us had dinner (Veronica made me some pasta) and watched a game show where players had to manually push a car, have their hair cut, and pop balloons by putting them between a man and woman and thrusting. Very bizarre.
Just before 7pm, Tio Alejandro came to take me out. His girlfriend Jessica originally planned to join us, but she phoned to say that she was exhausted after a reunion earlier in the evening, and would be going straight home. We went to Plaza San Miguel, a nearby plaza with many shops - we wandered around, I mentally compared prices (I saw some cushion stuffing for 4 soles, roughly 1 pound, if I have some space in my suitcase I'll try and remember to buy some), and Tio and I played with the ipads in the Apple store. We bought a sim card for my phone - there was a bit of hassle since I had to first register the card, which involved giving the operator my passport number since I don't have a DNI number (a DNI card is an ID card). Eventually we got it working though, and now I have a working phone to use in Peru. Then Tio and I stopped off in the Zugatti ice cream parlour - Mum and I had a tradition of going there whenever we were in the Plaza. It was wonderful having lucuma ice cream again - I love lucuma, it's kind of like peach, unfortunately I don't think we have it back in the UK.
Tio took me back to my grandparent's house at 10pm, by which point I was absolutely exhausted and wanted nothing more but to sleep. So that is exactly what I did.
When we got back, Tio Alejandro stopped by for a bit before heading off to the university where he lectures. Then I went on the computer for a while, watched novelas with Mamamama (kind of like TV soaps, but more romantic and dramatic), and did a few logic puzzles. It's nice having company while I do my puzzles - Mamamama watches her TV, I puzzle away in the chair next to her: it's brilliant. Mum phoned at one point, it was great speaking to her - it felt a little strange to speak English, though!
Lunch arrived sometime after - every day the food is ordered from a menu, and delivered. I had salad with rice and lentils (I do love lentils) followed by jelly, washed down with cold Hierba Luisa tea. Simply lovely. The rest of the afternoon passed watching TV and puzzling. My uncle Mañuco and my cousin Alvaro stopped by for a while - Alvaro's grown a lot (he's about the same age and height as Christopher), it was quite fun talking to him. Tio Mañuco stayed for a while talking to me and Mamamama, then he and Alvaro went back, and we stayed watching TV. Abuelo came back home in the afternoon, then the three of us had dinner (Veronica made me some pasta) and watched a game show where players had to manually push a car, have their hair cut, and pop balloons by putting them between a man and woman and thrusting. Very bizarre.
Just before 7pm, Tio Alejandro came to take me out. His girlfriend Jessica originally planned to join us, but she phoned to say that she was exhausted after a reunion earlier in the evening, and would be going straight home. We went to Plaza San Miguel, a nearby plaza with many shops - we wandered around, I mentally compared prices (I saw some cushion stuffing for 4 soles, roughly 1 pound, if I have some space in my suitcase I'll try and remember to buy some), and Tio and I played with the ipads in the Apple store. We bought a sim card for my phone - there was a bit of hassle since I had to first register the card, which involved giving the operator my passport number since I don't have a DNI number (a DNI card is an ID card). Eventually we got it working though, and now I have a working phone to use in Peru. Then Tio and I stopped off in the Zugatti ice cream parlour - Mum and I had a tradition of going there whenever we were in the Plaza. It was wonderful having lucuma ice cream again - I love lucuma, it's kind of like peach, unfortunately I don't think we have it back in the UK.
Tio took me back to my grandparent's house at 10pm, by which point I was absolutely exhausted and wanted nothing more but to sleep. So that is exactly what I did.
Monday 21 March 2011
Day 1: London/Madrid/Lima
I left home on Sunday, and arrived at my grandparents' house in Lima on Sunday - that hasn't happened for a fair while!
I woke up at 5.29am - given that my alarm was set for 5.30, I thought that it made sense to get up there and then, plus I wouldn't have to worry about my alarm waking up Christopher (I'd said goodbye to him the night before), who was asleep in the next room. Mum was already awake when I came downstairs - I had a banana, double-checked that I had everything, then we took my things out to the car. Dad was awake by now, so I went to say goodbye to him, then to Sammy the dog, then Mum and I set off to the airport.
Once we got to Gatwick, things were plain sailing from there on - checked in, sent the luggage off, lavender oil and hand gel in a clear bag, then it was time to say goodbye to Mum, the through customs. I had two hours before my flight was due to leave, so I bought a Logic Puzzles book and worked on that until my flight was called.
The first leg of the journey was a flight to Madrid - I read 'The Subtle Knife' on the plane (Sumaiya had given me the His Dark Materials trilogy), then 2 and a half short hours later, there we were landing in Madrid. A short internal bus from the plane to the airport, and with only 50 minutes until the plane to Lima was due to leave, I dashed through the airport, rucksack bouncing on my back, made it through customs - then found myself at the back of a long queue for the Lima flight. It was 45 minutes before I even reached the plane, and we ended up leaving about 40 minutes late.
That plane journey was fairly uneventful - the seat next to me started off empty, then a teenage girl came over and only turned to me to ask if this plane was going straight to Lima. I got relatively excited when the stewards brought over headphones - then I learned that they were charging 3 euros for them, and that we'd have to return them at the end of the flight. There was a very small range of films, so I turned them down, and 'watched' the films in silence. I finished 'The Subtle Knife' and made a start on 'The Amber Spyglass', did some more logic puzzles, followed the path of the plane on the screen of somebody in front of me, went on a short walk, dozed for about an hour, munched on Haribo and potatoes, wrote up my Language and Thought notes - and so passed the next 12 hours. It's a fairly long flight across the ocean, then across Brazil and the Amazon!
Finally at 9.15pm (2.15am GMT), we arrived in Peru. I had an aisle seat, but could just about see out of the window at the lights of Lima, the boats by the coast, the ridge of the mountains - and then we landed. As soon as I could I got my things, texted Mum to let her know I'd arrived, filled in the immigration form, made it through border control, then waited for the suitcases. And waited. Eventually after about 25 minutes, my suitcases appeared on the belt, with only 2 cases between them - since I was surrounded by other travellers, it was a bit of a struggle to quickly whip the first suitcase off without bashing it into people, then to grab the other one before it zoomed off. Once I had all my luggage, I went through - and there was my uncle Alejandro waiting for me. It was wonderful seeing him again!
A 25-minute taxi drive later, there we were outside my grandparents' house, in the district of Pueblo Libre. My granddad Abuelo was there at the door, it was lovely to see him, then I went to see my grandma Mamamama, we were so happy to see each other. Tio Alejandro helped me move my things upstairs to the room I'd be staying in, then I munched a little on soda crackers on fruit, then I said goodnight and we all went to our rooms. The first thing I did was shower - the hot water was off, but it was very hot and humid so I welcomed the cold water, then had a drink of water and went straight to bed, tired but ever so happy that I'd arrived with no problems.
I woke up at 5.29am - given that my alarm was set for 5.30, I thought that it made sense to get up there and then, plus I wouldn't have to worry about my alarm waking up Christopher (I'd said goodbye to him the night before), who was asleep in the next room. Mum was already awake when I came downstairs - I had a banana, double-checked that I had everything, then we took my things out to the car. Dad was awake by now, so I went to say goodbye to him, then to Sammy the dog, then Mum and I set off to the airport.
Once we got to Gatwick, things were plain sailing from there on - checked in, sent the luggage off, lavender oil and hand gel in a clear bag, then it was time to say goodbye to Mum, the through customs. I had two hours before my flight was due to leave, so I bought a Logic Puzzles book and worked on that until my flight was called.
The first leg of the journey was a flight to Madrid - I read 'The Subtle Knife' on the plane (Sumaiya had given me the His Dark Materials trilogy), then 2 and a half short hours later, there we were landing in Madrid. A short internal bus from the plane to the airport, and with only 50 minutes until the plane to Lima was due to leave, I dashed through the airport, rucksack bouncing on my back, made it through customs - then found myself at the back of a long queue for the Lima flight. It was 45 minutes before I even reached the plane, and we ended up leaving about 40 minutes late.
That plane journey was fairly uneventful - the seat next to me started off empty, then a teenage girl came over and only turned to me to ask if this plane was going straight to Lima. I got relatively excited when the stewards brought over headphones - then I learned that they were charging 3 euros for them, and that we'd have to return them at the end of the flight. There was a very small range of films, so I turned them down, and 'watched' the films in silence. I finished 'The Subtle Knife' and made a start on 'The Amber Spyglass', did some more logic puzzles, followed the path of the plane on the screen of somebody in front of me, went on a short walk, dozed for about an hour, munched on Haribo and potatoes, wrote up my Language and Thought notes - and so passed the next 12 hours. It's a fairly long flight across the ocean, then across Brazil and the Amazon!
Finally at 9.15pm (2.15am GMT), we arrived in Peru. I had an aisle seat, but could just about see out of the window at the lights of Lima, the boats by the coast, the ridge of the mountains - and then we landed. As soon as I could I got my things, texted Mum to let her know I'd arrived, filled in the immigration form, made it through border control, then waited for the suitcases. And waited. Eventually after about 25 minutes, my suitcases appeared on the belt, with only 2 cases between them - since I was surrounded by other travellers, it was a bit of a struggle to quickly whip the first suitcase off without bashing it into people, then to grab the other one before it zoomed off. Once I had all my luggage, I went through - and there was my uncle Alejandro waiting for me. It was wonderful seeing him again!
A 25-minute taxi drive later, there we were outside my grandparents' house, in the district of Pueblo Libre. My granddad Abuelo was there at the door, it was lovely to see him, then I went to see my grandma Mamamama, we were so happy to see each other. Tio Alejandro helped me move my things upstairs to the room I'd be staying in, then I munched a little on soda crackers on fruit, then I said goodnight and we all went to our rooms. The first thing I did was shower - the hot water was off, but it was very hot and humid so I welcomed the cold water, then had a drink of water and went straight to bed, tired but ever so happy that I'd arrived with no problems.
Sunday 20 March 2011
Preparing to leave
It still hasn't quite sunk in that I'm off to Peru tomorrow. My bags are packed and ready to go, my alarm's set for 5.30am, and my passport's in the travel-belt that's currently sitting on top of my suitcase. I'm hugely excited about going, but it doesn't feel like I'm nearly on my way just yet!
After the fiasco with the suitcases last time I went to Peru (story short, one suitcase got lost for a few days and I was left with no underwear), I was a little more careful when packing. My stuff's give-or-take evenly distributed, with gifts for my family, £50 worth of toys, books, paints and school supplies, and some more donations for the children from friends and family - thank you all so much!
My plan is as follows: I leave Gatwick at 10, stopover in Madrid for a couple of hours, then a long-haul flight to Lima. When I get there I'll most likely stay over at my uncle's flat, since my grandparents would be sleeping (I should arrive at 8.30pm local time, so about 1.30am on Monday over here in the UK), then go over to my grandparents' in the morning. I'll stay with them until Thursday, then I'll make the 5-hour trip up to Huancayo, where I'll be volunteering for 3 weeks. When my time's up there, I'll come back to Lima for 4 days before flying back home.
... writing this up now, I feel quite excited! I just can't wait to see the children again. Fingers crossed that tomorrow's travelling all goes well!
After the fiasco with the suitcases last time I went to Peru (story short, one suitcase got lost for a few days and I was left with no underwear), I was a little more careful when packing. My stuff's give-or-take evenly distributed, with gifts for my family, £50 worth of toys, books, paints and school supplies, and some more donations for the children from friends and family - thank you all so much!
My plan is as follows: I leave Gatwick at 10, stopover in Madrid for a couple of hours, then a long-haul flight to Lima. When I get there I'll most likely stay over at my uncle's flat, since my grandparents would be sleeping (I should arrive at 8.30pm local time, so about 1.30am on Monday over here in the UK), then go over to my grandparents' in the morning. I'll stay with them until Thursday, then I'll make the 5-hour trip up to Huancayo, where I'll be volunteering for 3 weeks. When my time's up there, I'll come back to Lima for 4 days before flying back home.
... writing this up now, I feel quite excited! I just can't wait to see the children again. Fingers crossed that tomorrow's travelling all goes well!
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