The morning was a lazy one - we watched TV, did SuDoku, and went out to the park. I went out with Veronica briefly to the supermarket - there I bought the last-minute things I wanted to bring home, and a few things that I hadn't expected to buy but were too good to resist (e.g. 100% bee's honey - we saw it in a health shop, I couldn't help myself).
Then in the afternoon, Tia Gloria's friends Jessie and Carmen took me out for lonche - we chatted, reminisced about Tia, and laughed. That was good fun. Carmen gave me a notebook she'd designed herself, it's amazing - she's very creative. All three friends were creative - Jessie's a great cook, Carmen's a great artist, and Tia Gloria designed jewellery - they told me about their weekly trips to buy supplies followed by a pastry, that was lovely to hear about.
When I got back to the house, Abuelo and Mamamama were in bed, and Veronica was locking up. Silvia and Annabelle weren't around - they came in a bit later, saying that we'd been invited to dinner by Zari. First, though, we went to Church for the Maunday Thursday - unfortunately the Chruch was very crowded, and we ended up in a side-room watching the priest on a projector. The sound was terrible - Tia Silvia said she had huge trouble understanding what was being said, Annabelle and I didn't understand a word, so we left early and went straight to Zari's. She took us out for lomo saltado, it's a beef dish with rice and soy sauce. Even though I'm not a huge soy sauce fan, it tasted brilliant - I had a great evening.
When we got back to the house, I was still relatively awake, so I started my packing. Soon I was almost done, so I decided to finish the rest tomorrow.
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Day 32: Lima and visiting
I was woken this morning by Tia Silvia saying that there was a phone call for me - I ran downstairs and chatted on the phone to Pilar, a good friend of my mum's. She came to pick me up at 10am and we went to a cafe in the Jesus Maria district - we laughed over juice and cake, thus passed a fun morning with her.
I got back to the house for lunch, then we watched more TV and did more SuDokus. At 4pm my aunts Rossi and Ruth were due to come over, so we went to the living room to wait. By 4.45 we wondered where they were, so Tia Silvia phoned - there was some misunderstanding in that they didn't think that they were to come over then, but Tia Ruth came over anyway. So we chatted, then watched the slideshow that Annabelle had made for Tia Gloria's Mass (the projector was broken in the church, so she couldn't show it in the end), then Ruth went home.
I went over to visit my mum's friend Rosanna, with whom I'd did work experience back in Year 9 (she teaches in a British school in Lima - many lessons are in English), and spent a while with her and her little children. Angelina and Gustavo are now 6 and 5, they're so sweet! We chatted, then played a game with the children while they ate - each person around the table had to sing a song, so they were treated to my rendition of 'Mary Mary Quite Contrary'. Lucky them?
When I got back to Mamamama's house (it's only a 3 minute walk to Rosanna's, she lives on the other side of the next-door park), I waited for my friend Fiorella to come over. She got a bit lost when she arrived in Pueblo Libre, but eventually she arrived with her aunt Norita - the three of us had gone to the rainforest two years ago with Nora's late sister Maye, and a Swedish volunteer called Emma. So we spent the rest of the evening reminiscing, laughing, chatting, and generally having a great time. Ah, it was lovely seeing Fiorella again - she's the daughter of the host family I stayed with in Huancayo two years ago, she's now studying in Lima and lives in Jesus Maria with her cousin. They had to leave eventually because Nora's mum was waiting for her back in Comas, which is about an hour's drive away, so we said our goodbyes, then I went up to bed.
I got back to the house for lunch, then we watched more TV and did more SuDokus. At 4pm my aunts Rossi and Ruth were due to come over, so we went to the living room to wait. By 4.45 we wondered where they were, so Tia Silvia phoned - there was some misunderstanding in that they didn't think that they were to come over then, but Tia Ruth came over anyway. So we chatted, then watched the slideshow that Annabelle had made for Tia Gloria's Mass (the projector was broken in the church, so she couldn't show it in the end), then Ruth went home.
I went over to visit my mum's friend Rosanna, with whom I'd did work experience back in Year 9 (she teaches in a British school in Lima - many lessons are in English), and spent a while with her and her little children. Angelina and Gustavo are now 6 and 5, they're so sweet! We chatted, then played a game with the children while they ate - each person around the table had to sing a song, so they were treated to my rendition of 'Mary Mary Quite Contrary'. Lucky them?
When I got back to Mamamama's house (it's only a 3 minute walk to Rosanna's, she lives on the other side of the next-door park), I waited for my friend Fiorella to come over. She got a bit lost when she arrived in Pueblo Libre, but eventually she arrived with her aunt Norita - the three of us had gone to the rainforest two years ago with Nora's late sister Maye, and a Swedish volunteer called Emma. So we spent the rest of the evening reminiscing, laughing, chatting, and generally having a great time. Ah, it was lovely seeing Fiorella again - she's the daughter of the host family I stayed with in Huancayo two years ago, she's now studying in Lima and lives in Jesus Maria with her cousin. They had to leave eventually because Nora's mum was waiting for her back in Comas, which is about an hour's drive away, so we said our goodbyes, then I went up to bed.
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Day 31: Lima and Mass
When I woke up this morning, it felt as though I'd never left Lima, and I sleepily wondered if the last three weeks had been a dream. Then I got up and started my day.
The day was largely a calm one - we all had breakfast, then watched TV, then had lunch, then moved to the living room where I did some SuDoku. I admit it was hard to get used to this, having spent my time in Huancayo moving about and not being sat in one place for too long.
In the evening was the Mass held for my Tia Gloria, who'd died exactly one year ago. Tio Mañuco picked us up and took us to the church (Tia Silvia had given me a beautiful dress to wear, so I wore that with a jumper of hers and my 'ceilidh-dancing' shoes), then the Mass began. I did the first reading - I hadn't realised quite how long it was, and after what seemed like an age of trying to not trip over words, I reached the end. My cousin Maria Gracia read the psalm, then Tia Silvia read the petitions before Maria Gracia and I did the collection. It all went really well. At the end of Mass the priest blessed me and Maria Gracia when we went to take the collection to him, then we stood in the entrance of the church while family and friends lined up to speak to us. I admit that I recognised some faces but not others, and by the 40th "Thank you, Tia" I was getting a little tired. Still, it was lovely that my mum's friends came to pay their respects.
Tia Silvia, Annabelle and I got a lift back with Tia's friends, then a neighbour Srta. Christina came over to talk. An hour later she went home, so we said our goodnights and went to bed.
The day was largely a calm one - we all had breakfast, then watched TV, then had lunch, then moved to the living room where I did some SuDoku. I admit it was hard to get used to this, having spent my time in Huancayo moving about and not being sat in one place for too long.
In the evening was the Mass held for my Tia Gloria, who'd died exactly one year ago. Tio Mañuco picked us up and took us to the church (Tia Silvia had given me a beautiful dress to wear, so I wore that with a jumper of hers and my 'ceilidh-dancing' shoes), then the Mass began. I did the first reading - I hadn't realised quite how long it was, and after what seemed like an age of trying to not trip over words, I reached the end. My cousin Maria Gracia read the psalm, then Tia Silvia read the petitions before Maria Gracia and I did the collection. It all went really well. At the end of Mass the priest blessed me and Maria Gracia when we went to take the collection to him, then we stood in the entrance of the church while family and friends lined up to speak to us. I admit that I recognised some faces but not others, and by the 40th "Thank you, Tia" I was getting a little tired. Still, it was lovely that my mum's friends came to pay their respects.
Tia Silvia, Annabelle and I got a lift back with Tia's friends, then a neighbour Srta. Christina came over to talk. An hour later she went home, so we said our goodnights and went to bed.
Monday, 18 April 2011
Day 30: Huancayo/Lima and family
I slept fairly badly, so I was quite glad when my alarm finally went off. I threw my last few things in my suitcase, then took my stuff downstairs and waited for Juliana. She arrived at 7am - it was hard saying bye to Hilda and Yesy, who's been like family for the last 3 and a half weeks. Then Juliana and I got in a taxi, and arrived ten minutes later at the street corner where the cars to Lima were. There was one leaving in two minutes' time, so we put my stuff in, then I said bye to Juliana - she'd been a mix of friend and aunt to me, so that was hard too. Then the car was full (two men, two women - I sat between the other woman and the door), and we set off.
This journey was slightly more eventful - as we drove through the mountains, when we reached 3800m above sea level, I got hit by altitude sickness. So... on the plus side, the view at that height was wonderful. On the minus side, we had to stop for a few minutes so my stomach could leave its mark on the roadside. One of the other passengers got me some herbs to smell, that helped a bit, and the driver cleaned me up with an alcoholic rag (I briefly wondered if the line of 'appropriate contact' was blurred here, but by this point I was past caring), then he gave me a bag to throw up in and we carried on.
Five hours and three more throw-ups after leaving Huancayo, we pulled up in Lima. Tio Alejandro was there to meet me - one of Tio Mañuco's workers drove us back to the house. It was lovely seeing the family again, and seeing Tia Silvia and Annabelle, who'd come over from London. After a wonderful shower (Hilda's 'hot water' was very temperamental, and more often than not was cold - Mamamama's shower was amazingly warm), we ate lunch - Tio Alejandro and Yessica had brought over pollo a la brasa for me. Then I stayed with Mamamama for the rest of the afternoon.
In the evening, Tia Silvia took me and Annabelle out to Lima - we took the city bus tour, that was a wonderful three hours seeing the sights of Lima by night. We stopped off for a snack in the Hotel Sheraton, I felt rather posh! Then we carried on our tour, which included walking over a bridge without breathing so that your wish would come true, driving past the Palace of Justice, and seeing the sea. I had a wonderful time. Then we went back - Abuelo was waiting for us, and invited us for panetonne. I was quite hungry so I had a little, then went straight to bed.
This journey was slightly more eventful - as we drove through the mountains, when we reached 3800m above sea level, I got hit by altitude sickness. So... on the plus side, the view at that height was wonderful. On the minus side, we had to stop for a few minutes so my stomach could leave its mark on the roadside. One of the other passengers got me some herbs to smell, that helped a bit, and the driver cleaned me up with an alcoholic rag (I briefly wondered if the line of 'appropriate contact' was blurred here, but by this point I was past caring), then he gave me a bag to throw up in and we carried on.
Five hours and three more throw-ups after leaving Huancayo, we pulled up in Lima. Tio Alejandro was there to meet me - one of Tio Mañuco's workers drove us back to the house. It was lovely seeing the family again, and seeing Tia Silvia and Annabelle, who'd come over from London. After a wonderful shower (Hilda's 'hot water' was very temperamental, and more often than not was cold - Mamamama's shower was amazingly warm), we ate lunch - Tio Alejandro and Yessica had brought over pollo a la brasa for me. Then I stayed with Mamamama for the rest of the afternoon.
In the evening, Tia Silvia took me and Annabelle out to Lima - we took the city bus tour, that was a wonderful three hours seeing the sights of Lima by night. We stopped off for a snack in the Hotel Sheraton, I felt rather posh! Then we carried on our tour, which included walking over a bridge without breathing so that your wish would come true, driving past the Palace of Justice, and seeing the sea. I had a wonderful time. Then we went back - Abuelo was waiting for us, and invited us for panetonne. I was quite hungry so I had a little, then went straight to bed.
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Day 29: Huancayo/Ingenio and packing
I got to Juliana's house just before 10, and once all of the other volunteers but John had turned up (he was staying in this morning), we and Juliana got a taxi to Ingenio. It's about 10 minutes further than Concepcion, so it was quite nice seeing the familiar scenery. We stopped off briefly at Concepcion for ice cream - there's a dairy farm there where they make ice cream with just the cream from the milk, so that was an interesting but nice taste.
When we arrived at Ingenio, we walked around a trout farm. I'd seen one before in La Merced two years ago, but this one was a lot larger, and the size of trout ranged from the eggs and babies to ones as long as my arm. I fed them some pieces of my ice cream cone, they jumped up crazily trying to eat them. Then we found a stall selling pure honey, so we got some free tasters. I bought a honey chocoteja there to see what that was like - a prune covered in honey with nuts floating it, coated in chocolate. Heaven - later on I realised that eating chocolate was probably a very foolish idea, but hopefully walking and drinking lots of water would stop there being any bad effects. We then walked around a restaurant which offered views of some natural springs - unfortunately the path was closed for wet season, but the little that we could see was spectacular. Then we went to the restaurant next door to eat trout. It was great laughing with the other volunteers - Jesse joked that we should form a band, our first hits being "Straight from the Cow" (re. the ice cream from earlier) and "Canchis Canchis", a quechua term which Juliana told us translates as 'Hanky Panky' (I can add that to my quechua vocab, which currently has about 5 words in it). Afterwards we got a taxi back to Huancayo.
John, Danny and I went to the market in the afternoon - the Huancavelica market is about 1km long, this time we walked to the very end. We saw artesanal goods, and nearer the end there were animals (1 guinea pig for 20 soles) and computer games - I had a look, and bought a few gifts before we turned back. Then I wandered to the internet cafe while John and Danny went back to their house, then walked about town for a little.
At about 6-ish I went back to Juliana's - she wasn't in at first, so I waited about in her kitchen until she got back. I watched some TV until Jesse and Jenny came over, then John and Danny, then we all went out for pollo a la brasa to ccelebrate my last night in Huancayo. Juliana paid for me - she said that it was a gift from her mum, who was too ill to come tonight. Nelly came along too, with her brother Mario and her nephew Miguel. Hilda and Yesy joined us there (Juan Jose was with his dad for the evening), I had a really lovely evening seeing everyone together. We took photos, and exchanged gifts - Juliana got me a typically-patterned bag, her mum had gotten me a typically-patterned purse, and Hilda gave me a wall-hanging with an image of Huancayo on it. That was really lovely, I wasn't expecting that! I gave Juliana a 'Royal Wedding' mug and some earrings for her mum; for Hilda and Yesy, Mum had packed chocolates. Those went down really well.
Soon it was 9pm, and it was time to say goodbye. Bye to Nelly and her family, who'd been my family last time. Bye to Jenny, Jesse, Danny and John, the new friends who I'd have to leave so soon. Juliana said that she'd come over tomorrow to take me to where the cars leave for Lima, so I took a taxi back with Hilda and Yesy.
The next hour was spent frantically trying to pack everything - I hadn't even begun packing beforehand, but I'm generally a fast packer. Soon my suitcase and rucksack were bursting, but the room was empty apart from my pyjamas, clothes for the next day, and the doll I'd named Jaiyo was sitting on the bed where he'd been that first day. I said goodbye to Juan Jose in case he wasn't up in the morning - I'd be leaving just before 7am - then went to bed myself, praying that the journey tomorrow would be a safe one.
When we arrived at Ingenio, we walked around a trout farm. I'd seen one before in La Merced two years ago, but this one was a lot larger, and the size of trout ranged from the eggs and babies to ones as long as my arm. I fed them some pieces of my ice cream cone, they jumped up crazily trying to eat them. Then we found a stall selling pure honey, so we got some free tasters. I bought a honey chocoteja there to see what that was like - a prune covered in honey with nuts floating it, coated in chocolate. Heaven - later on I realised that eating chocolate was probably a very foolish idea, but hopefully walking and drinking lots of water would stop there being any bad effects. We then walked around a restaurant which offered views of some natural springs - unfortunately the path was closed for wet season, but the little that we could see was spectacular. Then we went to the restaurant next door to eat trout. It was great laughing with the other volunteers - Jesse joked that we should form a band, our first hits being "Straight from the Cow" (re. the ice cream from earlier) and "Canchis Canchis", a quechua term which Juliana told us translates as 'Hanky Panky' (I can add that to my quechua vocab, which currently has about 5 words in it). Afterwards we got a taxi back to Huancayo.
John, Danny and I went to the market in the afternoon - the Huancavelica market is about 1km long, this time we walked to the very end. We saw artesanal goods, and nearer the end there were animals (1 guinea pig for 20 soles) and computer games - I had a look, and bought a few gifts before we turned back. Then I wandered to the internet cafe while John and Danny went back to their house, then walked about town for a little.
At about 6-ish I went back to Juliana's - she wasn't in at first, so I waited about in her kitchen until she got back. I watched some TV until Jesse and Jenny came over, then John and Danny, then we all went out for pollo a la brasa to ccelebrate my last night in Huancayo. Juliana paid for me - she said that it was a gift from her mum, who was too ill to come tonight. Nelly came along too, with her brother Mario and her nephew Miguel. Hilda and Yesy joined us there (Juan Jose was with his dad for the evening), I had a really lovely evening seeing everyone together. We took photos, and exchanged gifts - Juliana got me a typically-patterned bag, her mum had gotten me a typically-patterned purse, and Hilda gave me a wall-hanging with an image of Huancayo on it. That was really lovely, I wasn't expecting that! I gave Juliana a 'Royal Wedding' mug and some earrings for her mum; for Hilda and Yesy, Mum had packed chocolates. Those went down really well.
Soon it was 9pm, and it was time to say goodbye. Bye to Nelly and her family, who'd been my family last time. Bye to Jenny, Jesse, Danny and John, the new friends who I'd have to leave so soon. Juliana said that she'd come over tomorrow to take me to where the cars leave for Lima, so I took a taxi back with Hilda and Yesy.
The next hour was spent frantically trying to pack everything - I hadn't even begun packing beforehand, but I'm generally a fast packer. Soon my suitcase and rucksack were bursting, but the room was empty apart from my pyjamas, clothes for the next day, and the doll I'd named Jaiyo was sitting on the bed where he'd been that first day. I said goodbye to Juan Jose in case he wasn't up in the morning - I'd be leaving just before 7am - then went to bed myself, praying that the journey tomorrow would be a safe one.
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Day 28: Huancayo/Concepcion and concert
In the morning I went to the hairdressers, and 3 hours later walked out with slightly shorter partly-curled hair (the curls have now fallen out, but such is life). I stopped by John and Danny's on the way back - Juliana was there too, so we chatted until midday. Then we three volunteers walked into town and I bought a watch, then got a bus back for lunch at Hilda's.
After lunch, we'd arranged to meet up outside Juliana's house to go to Concepcion. I asked Yesy if Juan Jose could come too, so he came along. Jesse didn't come in the end because he felt ill, so only five of us went. After waiting for a while on the streetcorner for the bus, we ended up catching a taxi. Juan Jose and I ended up squished in the front seat for the half hour drive to Concepcion, but there was at least some lovely mountain scenery out of the window.
When we got to Concepcion, we waited a while for another taxi, which took us up to where there was a giant statue of the Virgin Mary. It was absolutely beautiful, we walked around and climbed up to the top of the statue, coming out of the top of her head. From there the view of the mountains was just stunning. We climbed down and saw small figurines of a battle fought here when the Spaniards came, then took a taxi back to Huancayo.
In the evening I went with John and Danny to the internet cafe, then John stayed there a while longer while Danny and I went out for coffee and juice respectively (the fruit juice with beetroot tasted as good as ever). Then all of us volunteers went round to Juliana's, and from there walked to the Plaza de Armas. There was a concert there, protesting against the planned construction of a mine in the glacier Huaytapallana (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Salvemos-el-Huaytapallana/181917309322), so we stayed for a while to watch. After that Juliana took us to a pub where a live band sang in English - that was good fun. I had a drink containing pisco sour (a national type of alcohol), lemon and aniseed tea - even though there wasn't much pisco sour in the drink, it was strong enough to result in me going red and constantly swaying to the music. Then Danny, Juliana and I got a plate of yuca to share, that was great. We left about two hours later - by the time my taxi got back to Hilda's it was nearly midnight, so I locked up as quietly as I could and went straight to sleep.
Friday, 15 April 2011
Day 27: Huancayo and "God is love"
I woke up feeling quite sad that today would be the last time I'd be with my littlies. We had a wonderful day though - first we played with jigsaws, then wooden bricks, then some of them rushed up to show me their toys and give me hugs. Then after breakfast, some special visitors came and we sang songs about how God is love, then they collected up all the yellow toys in their classroom, then a yellow glove puppet told us that God loves us very much. Then we had our next lesson of the day, rectangles, and played matching games of all the shapes we'd learned that week. Then came lunch, and after that Jenny went to talk to some of the parents while we stayed in the dining room and watched the Teletubbies. I spent most of the time with at least one child on my lap, and I was quite sad when the day ended. Edwin and Jenny had made me a card, and inside were printed all of the children's names. That was lovely! Ah, I'll miss my littlies.
In the afternoon I met up with Jesse and Jenny, and we mentioned the possibility of going to Concepcion the next day. Then we went round to see Danny (John was out), and the four of us visited Parque de la Identitad. That was good fun. On the way back we stopped by the shopping centre so Danny could get money out, then took a taxi back to Juliana's. The taxi driver took us by a complete different route, and I wondered for a moment if he was going to rob us, then he tried to drop us off on a different streetcorner. So I told him no, and gave him directions as to exactly how to get to Juliana's from where we were. I very much hope that this doesn't happen to the new volunteers while they don't know their whereabouts so well!
When Juliana came back from work, the other volunteers went out to eat, and Juliana and I went to run some errands in town. Afterwards, the two of us went out for broaster chicken (kind-of like southern fried chicken?) before heading back to our houses. That was a fun evening.
In the afternoon I met up with Jesse and Jenny, and we mentioned the possibility of going to Concepcion the next day. Then we went round to see Danny (John was out), and the four of us visited Parque de la Identitad. That was good fun. On the way back we stopped by the shopping centre so Danny could get money out, then took a taxi back to Juliana's. The taxi driver took us by a complete different route, and I wondered for a moment if he was going to rob us, then he tried to drop us off on a different streetcorner. So I told him no, and gave him directions as to exactly how to get to Juliana's from where we were. I very much hope that this doesn't happen to the new volunteers while they don't know their whereabouts so well!
When Juliana came back from work, the other volunteers went out to eat, and Juliana and I went to run some errands in town. Afterwards, the two of us went out for broaster chicken (kind-of like southern fried chicken?) before heading back to our houses. That was a fun evening.
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