Just wanted to update that this will be the last official post until I decide to go traveling in January... if that happens.....
Until then.. for those who know of my other blog.. feel free to go there instead :)
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Finally some fotos!!
So, I've uploaded some photos, but I've gotten a bit lazy in my weeks back here as far as blogging my last few weeks of traveling/living in Peru..
So instead of blogging long stories, I'll post a few pictures and links and you can put together the story =)
1. My despidida (farewell week)
2. Week at the Shamanism and Plant Medicine conference
3. Last few days in Lima 1
Last few days in Lima 2
4. Plane ride home (had an interesting incident in my stop over in Columbia heh)
Long story short, apparently they were suspicious about something in my bag (not random check, but actually suspicious)... I had a few questional things in there, I guess, but most noteably, the bottle of washing soap i had in there that appeared to be a suspicious white powder.. after explaining what it was .. (washing soap) and then him asking me what i do with it (washing clothes)...and he'd ask me several times... i told him i could demonstrate it as well hah.. anyway, he let me go... :)
5. So, the big question is .. what am i doing next.. right now I'm living in Monrovia, east of Pasadena with Brentt, my boyfriend. As it looks now, and it's been about a month.. There doesn't seem to be any jobs out here on the east side.. Apparently there are a few contract social work job options on the Westside.. So it looks like unless i can stand the anxiety of being unemployed and uninsured (health), then I'm going to need to move to the Westside... I've really began to enjoy living in the nature'y, quiet, traffic-free, pleasant living on the Eastside... but it's too expensive to live unemployed in this town...
So plans are as follows:
1. If I dont find a good job and it continues to be contract work until January 2010.. I will again leave on Part 2 of my travels which is Patagonia to Central America .. approximately 6 months.. likely less as it is exhausting being on the road...
2. If i find a good stable well-paying job that I like ... I will stay and not quit, because it's quite foolish to quit a job right now...
So..
So instead of blogging long stories, I'll post a few pictures and links and you can put together the story =)
1. My despidida (farewell week)
2. Week at the Shamanism and Plant Medicine conference
3. Last few days in Lima 1
Last few days in Lima 2
4. Plane ride home (had an interesting incident in my stop over in Columbia heh)
Long story short, apparently they were suspicious about something in my bag (not random check, but actually suspicious)... I had a few questional things in there, I guess, but most noteably, the bottle of washing soap i had in there that appeared to be a suspicious white powder.. after explaining what it was .. (washing soap) and then him asking me what i do with it (washing clothes)...and he'd ask me several times... i told him i could demonstrate it as well hah.. anyway, he let me go... :)
5. So, the big question is .. what am i doing next.. right now I'm living in Monrovia, east of Pasadena with Brentt, my boyfriend. As it looks now, and it's been about a month.. There doesn't seem to be any jobs out here on the east side.. Apparently there are a few contract social work job options on the Westside.. So it looks like unless i can stand the anxiety of being unemployed and uninsured (health), then I'm going to need to move to the Westside... I've really began to enjoy living in the nature'y, quiet, traffic-free, pleasant living on the Eastside... but it's too expensive to live unemployed in this town...
So plans are as follows:
1. If I dont find a good job and it continues to be contract work until January 2010.. I will again leave on Part 2 of my travels which is Patagonia to Central America .. approximately 6 months.. likely less as it is exhausting being on the road...
2. If i find a good stable well-paying job that I like ... I will stay and not quit, because it's quite foolish to quit a job right now...
So..
Friday, July 24, 2009
Back home!! And trying to catch up.
I'm back in my mother's home in Torrance! I'm feeling a bit disorganized, but after i get a chance to move my stuff to Monrovia (moving in with Brentt) and organize some things, I plan to update on:
1. My despidida (farewell week)
2. Week at the Shamanism and Plant Medicine conference
3. Last few days in Lima
4. Plane ride home (had an interesting incident in my stop over in Columbia heh)
5. Probably other random things i cant' think of right now.
See you all soon!
1. My despidida (farewell week)
2. Week at the Shamanism and Plant Medicine conference
3. Last few days in Lima
4. Plane ride home (had an interesting incident in my stop over in Columbia heh)
5. Probably other random things i cant' think of right now.
See you all soon!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
another mugging.....
Guess Peru is as unsafe as people make it out to be.. however like i've mentioned in previous posts, if you take certain precautions you can stay safe.. I really can't recall anytime that i've been unsafe (though i'm generally very careful and in general while walking i carry a "don't mess with me" sort of face heh)... so from how it looks, of our volunteers we've had some sort of theft incident at least once a month.. though it coudl be worse.. once a month kidnappings would be worse...
So yet another one of our volunteers got mugged.. this time it was pretty involved but at the same time nothin was taken... I wasn't there at the time, but from what she explains, she had left the bar to get something to eat.. (already #1.. don't walk around alone at night)... she went down a street that she did happen to notice was quite empty (so #2.. don't walk down empty streets)... and then some guy came up and started chatting her up.. which she figured was fine to have some extra company while walking.. then all of a sudden, in a mass confusion, she found her self flat on her face being dragged by her purse.. the guy had grabbed it and started running, but in her confusion she held on tight and then realized what was happening and began to scream... eventually the guy ran off because she was screaming so loud the neighbors came out.. police were called and gave her a ride home...
so she was left with a pretty dark bruise on her face, scratches up the side of her leg and on her shoulder... and bruises all over her arms.. from the looks of it, the guy must have wrestled with her a bit to get her purse away...
anyway, the guy didn't get any of her belongings.. and thank goodness it wasn't a worse situation...
So yet another one of our volunteers got mugged.. this time it was pretty involved but at the same time nothin was taken... I wasn't there at the time, but from what she explains, she had left the bar to get something to eat.. (already #1.. don't walk around alone at night)... she went down a street that she did happen to notice was quite empty (so #2.. don't walk down empty streets)... and then some guy came up and started chatting her up.. which she figured was fine to have some extra company while walking.. then all of a sudden, in a mass confusion, she found her self flat on her face being dragged by her purse.. the guy had grabbed it and started running, but in her confusion she held on tight and then realized what was happening and began to scream... eventually the guy ran off because she was screaming so loud the neighbors came out.. police were called and gave her a ride home...
so she was left with a pretty dark bruise on her face, scratches up the side of her leg and on her shoulder... and bruises all over her arms.. from the looks of it, the guy must have wrestled with her a bit to get her purse away...
anyway, the guy didn't get any of her belongings.. and thank goodness it wasn't a worse situation...
Saturday, July 4, 2009
One week left with SKIP....
...and 18 days left in Perú...
The time went just about as you'd expect... time flew at certain points... and time seemed very slow at others...it definitely feels like it's been 9 months and although I'm going to miss being here, I'm quite ready to come back home.
Generally with just about everything that's happened in my life, there have been subtle changes within myself, though I'm really just the same person who came. I definitely feel a bit more confidence in myself, less fear of the unknown, and a bit more cynicism about certain things after having seen the level of poverty here (and it's not even as bad here as it is in many other countries)... The homelessness I have seen in our country is quite the luxury compared to what homelessness is here... in fact, i should say that quite a chunk of the population here that HAS a "home" has it worse off than the homeless in the U.S...
I've learned a new language which is quite awesome and has given me the appreciation of knowing more than one language (which i never quite appreciated with korean) and the amazing relationships that are discovered as a result ... (although I took 3 yrs spanish in high school, i learned less then than my first two weeks here)
Who knew it would take traveling +3000 miles away to another country (after living in southern california coast my entire life) to learn and love surfing...
I've learned that there is a time and place for planning and knowing and it's not necessary all the time.. :)
There are so many more places I want to explore in the world.. though this desire conflicts with my continued desire to have a stable, secure life near to family and friends... I want to hike through patagonia... visit the salt flats in bolivia... volunteer at the sloth sanctuary in costa rica... ..i still want to go to belize, honduras, columbia, brazil... so that's still the plan (to go back out in January), though leaving home again will be difficult despite knowing the amazing adventures that are out there...
So its possible to quit a stable, very secure, well-paying job, leave a great group of friends, and leave a life that was going really well to discover another life in a country where you don't know the language and come to live in with only a backpack... I could never have imagined the experience that I had here.. though, I have to say that I didn't come with many expectation... I've been blown away by my experience here...
I'll be coming back to the states unemployed, without health insurance and needing to start life all over again... wish me good luck!!
The time went just about as you'd expect... time flew at certain points... and time seemed very slow at others...it definitely feels like it's been 9 months and although I'm going to miss being here, I'm quite ready to come back home.
Generally with just about everything that's happened in my life, there have been subtle changes within myself, though I'm really just the same person who came. I definitely feel a bit more confidence in myself, less fear of the unknown, and a bit more cynicism about certain things after having seen the level of poverty here (and it's not even as bad here as it is in many other countries)... The homelessness I have seen in our country is quite the luxury compared to what homelessness is here... in fact, i should say that quite a chunk of the population here that HAS a "home" has it worse off than the homeless in the U.S...
I've learned a new language which is quite awesome and has given me the appreciation of knowing more than one language (which i never quite appreciated with korean) and the amazing relationships that are discovered as a result ... (although I took 3 yrs spanish in high school, i learned less then than my first two weeks here)
Who knew it would take traveling +3000 miles away to another country (after living in southern california coast my entire life) to learn and love surfing...
I've learned that there is a time and place for planning and knowing and it's not necessary all the time.. :)
There are so many more places I want to explore in the world.. though this desire conflicts with my continued desire to have a stable, secure life near to family and friends... I want to hike through patagonia... visit the salt flats in bolivia... volunteer at the sloth sanctuary in costa rica... ..i still want to go to belize, honduras, columbia, brazil... so that's still the plan (to go back out in January), though leaving home again will be difficult despite knowing the amazing adventures that are out there...
So its possible to quit a stable, very secure, well-paying job, leave a great group of friends, and leave a life that was going really well to discover another life in a country where you don't know the language and come to live in with only a backpack... I could never have imagined the experience that I had here.. though, I have to say that I didn't come with many expectation... I've been blown away by my experience here...
I'll be coming back to the states unemployed, without health insurance and needing to start life all over again... wish me good luck!!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Transportation system
I'm going to really miss the transportation system here.... If it was like this in Los Angeles, I wouldn't have purchased a car.. or maybe I would have, but would only drive it once a month or so, which isn't really that worth it... but anyway.. it's very entertaining and at the same time efficient and cheap...
Basically how it works is that there are two sorts of buses.. micros (large buses) and combis (minivans)... in their window they have a letter (and sometimes #).. from the type of bus it is and the letter in the window, you know what the route the bus goes (well, this is known just from asking people and personal experience)... from there, all you have to do is go anywhere on their route and you flag then down when they drive by, they pick you up and then you get dropped off anywhere on the route you want (you don't even have to walk to a bus stop or bus station...).. in fact, you could get dropped off just 10 feet from the person who just got off before you.. though that's obnoxious... it costs 1 sole or 1.5 soles depending on the distance which is pretty much 33-45 cents... its half price for students.. and if you have a kid, as long as their sitting on your lap, the kid doesn't get charged...
The buses themselves have to be the most rattiest vehicles i've ever seen.. I imagine they would be awesome to take to burningman... a couple times i've been in ones that the cobrador (the guy you give your fare to) was sat there holding the door closed!... once the top of the door fell out of it's socket and they spent 5 minutes putting it back in...
in the combis (minivans) they squeeze about 16 passengers (plus the driver and the cobrador; making 18).. and then they usually will squeeze in two more people who are standing there bent over.. of course no ones wearing a seat belt.. but these cars are so ratty that a crash would probably not save you with a seatbelt anyway.. HOWEVER the passenger(s) do need to wear a seatbelt or at least appear to be wearing one...
This is true of the taxis as well... in a station wagon, we've fit about 9 people before.. which is fine, and we don't get pulled over as long as the front passenger has their seatbelt on...
Pretty much anywhere within the main part of Trujillo costs about 4 soles ($1.33)... going all the way out to huanchaco in a taxi which is about 20 minutes in taxi is about 10 soles ($3.33)... the taxis are often just as ratty as the micros/combis...
The other cool thing is that there are always some sort decorations in the taxis (and micros) ... it's usually men taxi drivers (though i've had a couple women taxistas)... who have the ever popular bobble head dogs... sometimes mickey mouse characters stuck/hanging from the front windshield... lots of stickers all over the inside of their car saying anything from "no escupa" (no spitting)... to stickers about not accepting fake money...
some photos of a micro.. our trip to the zoo with the kids... actually the seats don't usually look this nice...
Basically how it works is that there are two sorts of buses.. micros (large buses) and combis (minivans)... in their window they have a letter (and sometimes #).. from the type of bus it is and the letter in the window, you know what the route the bus goes (well, this is known just from asking people and personal experience)... from there, all you have to do is go anywhere on their route and you flag then down when they drive by, they pick you up and then you get dropped off anywhere on the route you want (you don't even have to walk to a bus stop or bus station...).. in fact, you could get dropped off just 10 feet from the person who just got off before you.. though that's obnoxious... it costs 1 sole or 1.5 soles depending on the distance which is pretty much 33-45 cents... its half price for students.. and if you have a kid, as long as their sitting on your lap, the kid doesn't get charged...
The buses themselves have to be the most rattiest vehicles i've ever seen.. I imagine they would be awesome to take to burningman... a couple times i've been in ones that the cobrador (the guy you give your fare to) was sat there holding the door closed!... once the top of the door fell out of it's socket and they spent 5 minutes putting it back in...
in the combis (minivans) they squeeze about 16 passengers (plus the driver and the cobrador; making 18).. and then they usually will squeeze in two more people who are standing there bent over.. of course no ones wearing a seat belt.. but these cars are so ratty that a crash would probably not save you with a seatbelt anyway.. HOWEVER the passenger(s) do need to wear a seatbelt or at least appear to be wearing one...
This is true of the taxis as well... in a station wagon, we've fit about 9 people before.. which is fine, and we don't get pulled over as long as the front passenger has their seatbelt on...
Pretty much anywhere within the main part of Trujillo costs about 4 soles ($1.33)... going all the way out to huanchaco in a taxi which is about 20 minutes in taxi is about 10 soles ($3.33)... the taxis are often just as ratty as the micros/combis...
The other cool thing is that there are always some sort decorations in the taxis (and micros) ... it's usually men taxi drivers (though i've had a couple women taxistas)... who have the ever popular bobble head dogs... sometimes mickey mouse characters stuck/hanging from the front windshield... lots of stickers all over the inside of their car saying anything from "no escupa" (no spitting)... to stickers about not accepting fake money...
some photos of a micro.. our trip to the zoo with the kids... actually the seats don't usually look this nice...
Friday, June 12, 2009
Pictures up (Lima/Cusco/Machu Picchu, Nursery, Surf competition)
Pictures up.Here
A very thorough summary written by Nadia here:
http://livelaughlove365.blogspot.com.
Heres some pictures to keep you company:
I'll keep my summary very brief as Nadia's is very thorough..
Basically spent a few days in Cusco, then went to Agua Caliente, Macchu Pichu, Ollantaytambo, then back to Cusco.. with a couple day trips to Tibón and Pisac... Cusco is sooooooo incredibly different than living in Trujillo... it's even a different sort of touristy than Mancora and Mantanitas, Ecuador was... There's international food (like Korean food?!? and Indian... mmmmmmmMMmmmm) and so many tourists, I was not used to seeing so many non Peruvians... I was also not used to spending so much money. I can get a 2 course meal and a drink for 4 soles.. and we were going to restaurants where the plates were 40+ soles... All I thought was that I could eat lunch for 2 weeks on the cost of this one meal!!! But I really had to get over it, cuz it was just one week and I was treated for a few meals, so it wasn't breaking the bank so much. For Macchu Pichu, we didn't do a 4 day trek.. we took the train there and the bus to the entrance... Overall I think this was nice to save some days to hang out in Cusco more and have a more mellow unrushed time... plus gave us the extra energy to make it up Wayna Picchu which is a bit exhausting with the altitude.. and Britta and I did the extra Gran Caverna loop, which was sort of like climbing WP again... I was super spent after that and ready to pass out. I had alot of difficulty with the altitude and consumed quite a bit of coca products (tea, chocolate, candy, etc) while I was here because otherwise I had a horrible headache and lightheadedness (which I took tylenol every day as well to cope)... Learned i have great bargaining skills and can tell someone off in the worst way in spanish if i really needed to.. (which I almost needed to because,... well long story, but they redeemed themself, so I didn't).
Oh.. and i got really sick at the end of my trip... had nausea for 2 days before the 'runs' started (and lasted for about 5 days) and immodium wasn't helping.. at one point when i got back to trujillo, the nausea left and I hate a huge meal which immediately exited keeping me up until 2am... I went to work the next morning (waking up at 6:30am)... It was gone and came back for another go for a few days.. strange thing.. it was the sort that didn't give you stomach cramps before hand, it was just a constant run to the bathroom.. sorry probably not something you want to know details about, but it's a part of living here I think.. Hadn't had it this bad before though.. wonder what was in Cusco....
It was suuuuuuuuuuuuper cool to see everyone...
What else... Well I'm on my way out tonight to someone's farewell party, so I'll leave it at that... for now.
A very thorough summary written by Nadia here:
http://livelaughlove365.blogspot.com.
Heres some pictures to keep you company:
I'll keep my summary very brief as Nadia's is very thorough..
Basically spent a few days in Cusco, then went to Agua Caliente, Macchu Pichu, Ollantaytambo, then back to Cusco.. with a couple day trips to Tibón and Pisac... Cusco is sooooooo incredibly different than living in Trujillo... it's even a different sort of touristy than Mancora and Mantanitas, Ecuador was... There's international food (like Korean food?!? and Indian... mmmmmmmMMmmmm) and so many tourists, I was not used to seeing so many non Peruvians... I was also not used to spending so much money. I can get a 2 course meal and a drink for 4 soles.. and we were going to restaurants where the plates were 40+ soles... All I thought was that I could eat lunch for 2 weeks on the cost of this one meal!!! But I really had to get over it, cuz it was just one week and I was treated for a few meals, so it wasn't breaking the bank so much. For Macchu Pichu, we didn't do a 4 day trek.. we took the train there and the bus to the entrance... Overall I think this was nice to save some days to hang out in Cusco more and have a more mellow unrushed time... plus gave us the extra energy to make it up Wayna Picchu which is a bit exhausting with the altitude.. and Britta and I did the extra Gran Caverna loop, which was sort of like climbing WP again... I was super spent after that and ready to pass out. I had alot of difficulty with the altitude and consumed quite a bit of coca products (tea, chocolate, candy, etc) while I was here because otherwise I had a horrible headache and lightheadedness (which I took tylenol every day as well to cope)... Learned i have great bargaining skills and can tell someone off in the worst way in spanish if i really needed to.. (which I almost needed to because,... well long story, but they redeemed themself, so I didn't).
Oh.. and i got really sick at the end of my trip... had nausea for 2 days before the 'runs' started (and lasted for about 5 days) and immodium wasn't helping.. at one point when i got back to trujillo, the nausea left and I hate a huge meal which immediately exited keeping me up until 2am... I went to work the next morning (waking up at 6:30am)... It was gone and came back for another go for a few days.. strange thing.. it was the sort that didn't give you stomach cramps before hand, it was just a constant run to the bathroom.. sorry probably not something you want to know details about, but it's a part of living here I think.. Hadn't had it this bad before though.. wonder what was in Cusco....
It was suuuuuuuuuuuuper cool to see everyone...
What else... Well I'm on my way out tonight to someone's farewell party, so I'll leave it at that... for now.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Things i will miss in Peru......
My nursery kids, riding the micros/combies, surfing in huanchaco, liz (but will see her new years!!), the other SKIP volunteers, cebiche, 4.50 sole menús (like $1.50 for a drink and 2 large course), potatoes gallore (the best french fries, fresh not frozen), carts on street (to buy watermelon, papa relleno, meals, marcianos, acuñas, etc), dance class @ the gym, speaking spanish all the time, Grupo 5 and cumbia (hehe it grew on me), tortillas (egg kind), farmacias (don't have to go to the doctor for every little thing), chinita (grew to like this nickname that folks gave me here :)), traveling, exploring all that is Peru...
What I won't miss:
having a bad infestation of lice, talking on skype w/ brentt (and not having him in person), tons and tons of random bug bites all the time, whistling and cat calling (and taxis honking and waiting for you even though you DIDNT wave for them), unavoidable tanner/freckled skin (so much sun despite being caked on with sunblock all the time), coming home from work with dirty feet (though the flip side is going to work every day in flip flops was very cool!), so many meat options, 'the runs' every other day (tho i think it kept the weight down! heh)...
What I won't miss:
having a bad infestation of lice, talking on skype w/ brentt (and not having him in person), tons and tons of random bug bites all the time, whistling and cat calling (and taxis honking and waiting for you even though you DIDNT wave for them), unavoidable tanner/freckled skin (so much sun despite being caked on with sunblock all the time), coming home from work with dirty feet (though the flip side is going to work every day in flip flops was very cool!), so many meat options, 'the runs' every other day (tho i think it kept the weight down! heh)...
My future plans
So, I plan to come back to the states for about 6 months before heading out for part 2 of my travels. Which means I will be in the states just long enough for the holidays and New Years and then the first week of January I plan to head out to Patagonia with Brentt and work my way up through Central America. At that point, I plan to sort of "settle down" somewhere and travels from there are will be 2 weeks here and there as vacation time allows from wherever I'm working permanently.
For the 6 months I'm here, I'm trying to decide if I am going to live in near Pasadena (Where Brentt is going to school and lives) or on the West Side (if job prospects are more over on that side)... I am going to sign up with a temp agency that I have known several social workers to use and have liked. I'm slightly concerned about the bad economy and being able to find a job, but at the same time, feeling confident that there has to be some sort of social work job out there... Just hope I can also get myself some good health insurance (since I will have NONE the minute I step on US soil). I'm looking at this as an opportunity to work with a different population... maybe with children? I would like to stay in Mental Health.
For the 6 months I'm here, I'm trying to decide if I am going to live in near Pasadena (Where Brentt is going to school and lives) or on the West Side (if job prospects are more over on that side)... I am going to sign up with a temp agency that I have known several social workers to use and have liked. I'm slightly concerned about the bad economy and being able to find a job, but at the same time, feeling confident that there has to be some sort of social work job out there... Just hope I can also get myself some good health insurance (since I will have NONE the minute I step on US soil). I'm looking at this as an opportunity to work with a different population... maybe with children? I would like to stay in Mental Health.
Moving to huanchaco
I have moved to the cute beach down of Trujillo, called Huanchaco. Though this adds about 30 minutes each way to my commute, I thought it would be a nice move for my last month here so I can surf as much as I want and have a bit of a slower paced lifestyle on the beach. The volunteer house is now about 16 people, and although I miss the always-something-happening in the house and getting to know the other volunteers more, I am also enjoying the privacy of living with only 2 other people.
Thank you for DONATIONS!
It'll take me a bit to catch up on blogging on Cusco/Machu Pichu, but I wanted to send out a thank you to all that donated stuff for SKIP. A majority of it was from Nadia and her coworkers (THANK YOU!!!) we received baby clothes, memory games, tracing paper, markers, kids scissors, toothbrushes (btw, the kids looooooooooooooove their new toothbrushes, they were so excited to get them), frisbee, and some adult clothes and a super nice camera donated by Britta (thanks!!).
Thanks to my friends who also brought down yummy gifts for me =) choc covered blueberries and other trader joe treats from A, music goodies (cds and an mp3 player!) from the terrakroma folks (my ipod had stopped working too so this was great!), chai tea from michael/britta, chocolate from brentt...
hope i'm not forgetting anyone/anything...
Thanks to my friends who also brought down yummy gifts for me =) choc covered blueberries and other trader joe treats from A, music goodies (cds and an mp3 player!) from the terrakroma folks (my ipod had stopped working too so this was great!), chai tea from michael/britta, chocolate from brentt...
hope i'm not forgetting anyone/anything...
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Long time no blog...
Hey folks,
Sorry my Peru blog has been quiet for a while... I´ve been in Cusco for the past week and half..
In the aiport right now on my way back to Trujillo, just trying to hold it together!! I´ve had 4 days of nausea, 2-3 days of "bicicleta" (or the runs as they say in the states), a stomach ache like someone has punched me... and probably collectively have eaten about 3 meals in the last 4 days since everything i look at or smell makes me want to throw up... and therefore feeling quite lightheaded and delirious at the moment... fortunately this happened after Machu Picchu so I was able to enjoythat... I´m still able to walk around, so I don´t think i need to go to the doctor quite yet, but Im thinking if i can´t hold more food down or if the immodium doesn´t start working soon, Ill need to take a few more days off of work and see the doc... haven´t been this sick yet in Peru... my only other bad case of sickness was just like a half day of tummy ache and was gone...
Hopefully in the next week I will be able to update on:
1. My move to Huanchaco Beach (I´m no longer in the SKIP volunteer house). Though still working for SKIP of course.
2. Vacation in Cusco with A, E, Britta, Michael, Nadia, Anthony, and Misty!
- Plus generous SKIP donations from Nadia and Britta!
3. Future plans back in the states!
4. Things I will miss here in Peru (already have started a list!!!)
off to run to the bathroom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry my Peru blog has been quiet for a while... I´ve been in Cusco for the past week and half..
In the aiport right now on my way back to Trujillo, just trying to hold it together!! I´ve had 4 days of nausea, 2-3 days of "bicicleta" (or the runs as they say in the states), a stomach ache like someone has punched me... and probably collectively have eaten about 3 meals in the last 4 days since everything i look at or smell makes me want to throw up... and therefore feeling quite lightheaded and delirious at the moment... fortunately this happened after Machu Picchu so I was able to enjoythat... I´m still able to walk around, so I don´t think i need to go to the doctor quite yet, but Im thinking if i can´t hold more food down or if the immodium doesn´t start working soon, Ill need to take a few more days off of work and see the doc... haven´t been this sick yet in Peru... my only other bad case of sickness was just like a half day of tummy ache and was gone...
Hopefully in the next week I will be able to update on:
1. My move to Huanchaco Beach (I´m no longer in the SKIP volunteer house). Though still working for SKIP of course.
2. Vacation in Cusco with A, E, Britta, Michael, Nadia, Anthony, and Misty!
- Plus generous SKIP donations from Nadia and Britta!
3. Future plans back in the states!
4. Things I will miss here in Peru (already have started a list!!!)
off to run to the bathroom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
More Nursery updates cuz it's my life right now
Hey folks..
Decided to blog more about the nursery.. but this could potentially be very boring.. just sort of describing how it's structured...
so basically the day is split up between 20 minute segments.. each segment having a direct purpose.. even "free toy play" promotes preference and autonomy... Also each week has a letter, number, color and shape of the week. I had attempted to ahve a theme of the week as well. but it was way too complicated for me to try and incorporate that heh...
So we start the day with organizing the classroom, putting the alphabet mat out, chairs/tables, etc... and then they have free toy play (which all the toys also have some sort of educational purpose)...
then we start the morning gathering.. with these three songs "si estas feliz" (if you're happy and you know it), buenos dias (good morning) and dias de la semana (days of the week).. then we review the behavioral board (this 3 light system, everyone is on green, there are 4 simple rules.. no fighting, listen while the teacher is talking, walk in a line together (when going outside), and ask to go to the bathroom one at a time)... if you break one of the rules you move to yellow and this involves a discussion, then if it happens again, you move to red and this involves timeout)... on the flip side, there is the "star" chart, where if they have good behavior for first half or second half of the morning, they have opportunities to get a star, and after 5 stars they get to choose something from the prize box (sticker/card/other)..... then we go into talking about "what day/date/climate/season is it", who my helper of the day is, and review again the #/letter/shape/color of the week... then we read a story and do a language activity (for example reviewing the letters and writing 'Dd' like 8 times), then it's sport (there are two outdoor sections of the day) this is a directed sport/game that i teach them.. then we come back wash hands for snacktime and they brush their teeth after eating, then it's storytime.. relaxation/quiet time (to start learning to calm self, stress/emotional management, etc).. then we do a maths activity (using numbers, shapes, or other concept), then english (songs, alphabet, face/body, emotions, etc.), then art and personal development (personal development is sort of just learning the role of things in the world; self awareness and awareness of others)... then 'recess' for free outdoor play.. then back inside for music before putting all the classroom stuff away again for the end of the day.
Quite a full day, activities seem to work out pretty nicely to fill out the 4 hours.
So.. originally we had called "time out" "the corner"... but unbeknownst to me, one of our boys has "the corner" in house being a dark scary corner where there are rats that he is terrified of... so in addition to already not be used to our discipline techniques, he was terrified that we were sending him to "the corner"... which was when we changed it to "time out"... alot of times our kids are used to just being spanked when they do something bad.. so that's been predictable for them.. since we dont do that at the nursery, it seems they have gotten a bit afraid of the unpreditability of that and a few of them have sort of regressed into crying when their mothers leave (when previously they were fine)... hopefully that will improve as they see it's just time outside of participating when they do something wrong..
It's been really fun to see what works and doesn't work for games and activities. Something as easy as follow the leader and having them copy me as various animals is one of their favorite games.. they also love the "london bridge" game (este puente va a caer, va a caer, va a caer.....)
Decided to blog more about the nursery.. but this could potentially be very boring.. just sort of describing how it's structured...
so basically the day is split up between 20 minute segments.. each segment having a direct purpose.. even "free toy play" promotes preference and autonomy... Also each week has a letter, number, color and shape of the week. I had attempted to ahve a theme of the week as well. but it was way too complicated for me to try and incorporate that heh...
So we start the day with organizing the classroom, putting the alphabet mat out, chairs/tables, etc... and then they have free toy play (which all the toys also have some sort of educational purpose)...
then we start the morning gathering.. with these three songs "si estas feliz" (if you're happy and you know it), buenos dias (good morning) and dias de la semana (days of the week).. then we review the behavioral board (this 3 light system, everyone is on green, there are 4 simple rules.. no fighting, listen while the teacher is talking, walk in a line together (when going outside), and ask to go to the bathroom one at a time)... if you break one of the rules you move to yellow and this involves a discussion, then if it happens again, you move to red and this involves timeout)... on the flip side, there is the "star" chart, where if they have good behavior for first half or second half of the morning, they have opportunities to get a star, and after 5 stars they get to choose something from the prize box (sticker/card/other)..... then we go into talking about "what day/date/climate/season is it", who my helper of the day is, and review again the #/letter/shape/color of the week... then we read a story and do a language activity (for example reviewing the letters and writing 'Dd' like 8 times), then it's sport (there are two outdoor sections of the day) this is a directed sport/game that i teach them.. then we come back wash hands for snacktime and they brush their teeth after eating, then it's storytime.. relaxation/quiet time (to start learning to calm self, stress/emotional management, etc).. then we do a maths activity (using numbers, shapes, or other concept), then english (songs, alphabet, face/body, emotions, etc.), then art and personal development (personal development is sort of just learning the role of things in the world; self awareness and awareness of others)... then 'recess' for free outdoor play.. then back inside for music before putting all the classroom stuff away again for the end of the day.
Quite a full day, activities seem to work out pretty nicely to fill out the 4 hours.
So.. originally we had called "time out" "the corner"... but unbeknownst to me, one of our boys has "the corner" in house being a dark scary corner where there are rats that he is terrified of... so in addition to already not be used to our discipline techniques, he was terrified that we were sending him to "the corner"... which was when we changed it to "time out"... alot of times our kids are used to just being spanked when they do something bad.. so that's been predictable for them.. since we dont do that at the nursery, it seems they have gotten a bit afraid of the unpreditability of that and a few of them have sort of regressed into crying when their mothers leave (when previously they were fine)... hopefully that will improve as they see it's just time outside of participating when they do something wrong..
It's been really fun to see what works and doesn't work for games and activities. Something as easy as follow the leader and having them copy me as various animals is one of their favorite games.. they also love the "london bridge" game (este puente va a caer, va a caer, va a caer.....)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The ups and downs of nursery life...
So, I'm having a heck of a time balancing the administrative aspects of coordination and then on top of that doing all the teaching and lesson planning. And then having to explain to the volunteers that are assisting me, what their role is in the classroom, as well as the mothers who we have each one volunteer one day a week (sort of as a parenting class sort of thing)...
It is not your role to watch me try and control 10 kids on my own. It is your role to assist me in maintaining order!! Grr.. I'm not a teacher, and even that seems common sense to me. When I'm having difficulty getting the kids to pay attention, you don't sit back and just watch me. But OK.. i understand that maybe these are all things I need to explain very explicitly... The folks helping me, have been a huge help in other areas... I'm not ungrateful... 'cuz I wouldn't have been able to keep my sanity this far if it wasn't for their help. Though, they could be of more use.. So yeah, apparently I'm also training volunteers as well. Oh, though I should mention that one of my mates, Jean Claire, has been super awesome in helping in the nursery.. taking on teaching some of the lessons, super great with discipline and helping with everything else without any sort of prompt... Elliot has been great too and the only difficulty has been his lack of spanish, but he's good with discipline and paraticipating in the nursery :)
In my state of frenzy of trying to start the morning and talk to 2 mothers at the same time (since the volunteers i had assisting me that morning didn't speak any spanish, I couldn't leave it up to them to lead the class), I allowed two more children into the program, just making things much more difficult, but my head was spinning at the time and it didn't come mind that:
1. It was going to make things more difficult for myself by adding two more kids.
2. It's better for the mothers to know and learn that if they want to participate in a program, they must follow the rules, which included going to several meetings, and having attended from the beginning of the program.
But oh well.. One of the new girls who came today is very ready for school and wasn't difficult to integrate into the class. The other family came, but just to let us know she couldn't attend because she had very bad tooth problems (her cheek was very swollen). Hopefully, she'll be easy to integrate into the class....
Whew..
On the flip side (yay, there's a flip side or I'd be having a nervous breakdown and ready to come back to the states right now)... the kids are absolutely adorable... They already have been copying things I say often... For those who have spent time with me long enough, you know i say "OOPS!" all the time. When I've done something, when someone else does something, an "OOPS!" comes out. Well one of my kids has decided to do the same hahah... It was adorable too because it was out of no where.. he came and tapped me on the shoulder and said "OOPS!"
The kids are real sponges and have been learning things really fast. The other day we sang a color song that included spanish and english (sing with me! to the tune of: Fere Jacques) Red is rojo, green is verde, blue- azul, negro-black, Yellow-amarillo, purple is morado, Brown-café, gray is gris.... So anyway, today I showed them some colors and they remembered the song from yesterday and were saying "blue azul!" and "rojo red!".... yay! that's exciting for me hehe... today we read a book that had sentences in english and spanish, and they were very eager to repeat the english words after me. Probably more so because they see the amusement in my face of them speaking english.... so adorable!!
But alas, they seem to be in the storming phase and in addition to all the stress I've mentioned above, they have begun to stop listening to me, and doing things to test my patience... which i generally have alot of, but will likely turn into an ulcer if i dont figure out how to manage it soon!! :P
Any tips welcome. As I've said, I've never worked with kids 3 & 4 before, so I need all the help i can get. Oh and if anyone's curious.. the budget for the nursery is $350. All the supplies it took to start it up was about $300.. ongoing budget is the rest...
Oh, and BTW, my knee is still F'd... continues to look like a fat, swollen knee.. can go upstairs properly now, but with extra support from railings when on that leg, but can't go downstairs without taking each step slowly and not bending my knee (cuz it doesn't support my weight going down). However, don't think it's anything a doctor can do anything about, so I'm just ace bandaging it and waiting for it to heal. Aleve helps.
It is not your role to watch me try and control 10 kids on my own. It is your role to assist me in maintaining order!! Grr.. I'm not a teacher, and even that seems common sense to me. When I'm having difficulty getting the kids to pay attention, you don't sit back and just watch me. But OK.. i understand that maybe these are all things I need to explain very explicitly... The folks helping me, have been a huge help in other areas... I'm not ungrateful... 'cuz I wouldn't have been able to keep my sanity this far if it wasn't for their help. Though, they could be of more use.. So yeah, apparently I'm also training volunteers as well. Oh, though I should mention that one of my mates, Jean Claire, has been super awesome in helping in the nursery.. taking on teaching some of the lessons, super great with discipline and helping with everything else without any sort of prompt... Elliot has been great too and the only difficulty has been his lack of spanish, but he's good with discipline and paraticipating in the nursery :)
In my state of frenzy of trying to start the morning and talk to 2 mothers at the same time (since the volunteers i had assisting me that morning didn't speak any spanish, I couldn't leave it up to them to lead the class), I allowed two more children into the program, just making things much more difficult, but my head was spinning at the time and it didn't come mind that:
1. It was going to make things more difficult for myself by adding two more kids.
2. It's better for the mothers to know and learn that if they want to participate in a program, they must follow the rules, which included going to several meetings, and having attended from the beginning of the program.
But oh well.. One of the new girls who came today is very ready for school and wasn't difficult to integrate into the class. The other family came, but just to let us know she couldn't attend because she had very bad tooth problems (her cheek was very swollen). Hopefully, she'll be easy to integrate into the class....
Whew..
On the flip side (yay, there's a flip side or I'd be having a nervous breakdown and ready to come back to the states right now)... the kids are absolutely adorable... They already have been copying things I say often... For those who have spent time with me long enough, you know i say "OOPS!" all the time. When I've done something, when someone else does something, an "OOPS!" comes out. Well one of my kids has decided to do the same hahah... It was adorable too because it was out of no where.. he came and tapped me on the shoulder and said "OOPS!"
The kids are real sponges and have been learning things really fast. The other day we sang a color song that included spanish and english (sing with me! to the tune of: Fere Jacques) Red is rojo, green is verde, blue- azul, negro-black, Yellow-amarillo, purple is morado, Brown-café, gray is gris.... So anyway, today I showed them some colors and they remembered the song from yesterday and were saying "blue azul!" and "rojo red!".... yay! that's exciting for me hehe... today we read a book that had sentences in english and spanish, and they were very eager to repeat the english words after me. Probably more so because they see the amusement in my face of them speaking english.... so adorable!!
But alas, they seem to be in the storming phase and in addition to all the stress I've mentioned above, they have begun to stop listening to me, and doing things to test my patience... which i generally have alot of, but will likely turn into an ulcer if i dont figure out how to manage it soon!! :P
Any tips welcome. As I've said, I've never worked with kids 3 & 4 before, so I need all the help i can get. Oh and if anyone's curious.. the budget for the nursery is $350. All the supplies it took to start it up was about $300.. ongoing budget is the rest...
Oh, and BTW, my knee is still F'd... continues to look like a fat, swollen knee.. can go upstairs properly now, but with extra support from railings when on that leg, but can't go downstairs without taking each step slowly and not bending my knee (cuz it doesn't support my weight going down). However, don't think it's anything a doctor can do anything about, so I'm just ace bandaging it and waiting for it to heal. Aleve helps.
Monday, April 13, 2009
is it karma?
Well, I dont believe in 'karma' per se... my beliefs are more taoist.. but just for kicks we can call it karma...
After my little bragging session, I've very much screwed up my knee (however, I remind myself that it could be worse, like the peace corp volunteer here who broke his back in several places and had it treated here and fortunately is still standing/walking!)..
it's very big, fat and has a nice little cut on it.
I think a few posts back, I posted about my bad knee... well... Basically just fell down some stairs and because i was holding my computer i didn't have my hands to balance nor stop my fall and i landed on a corner (like pointed) edge of concrete against the side of the knee cap of my bad knee... i have a nasty cut and the knee is very fat and swollen now.. i can barely bend my knee, though i can somewhat tolerate the pain if i just keep the leg straight and keep total weight off of it. it was one of those injuries that instantly you know you've done something very wrong to it.. not just a scrape or bruise, but something has been damaged. was very close to tears heh.. and i can tolerate quite a bit of pain... after it happened i had to sit there for a while cuz basically my mind went black and couldn't do anything else... i'm goign to see if the swelling goes down tomorrow and how things are in the next few days and hopefully it'll start to heal without having to see a doc... right now i've got quite a headache; feels like the pain has sort of dulled and my brain is tired of numbing it... took an aleve... hopefully that helps...
will keep you posted heh....
After my little bragging session, I've very much screwed up my knee (however, I remind myself that it could be worse, like the peace corp volunteer here who broke his back in several places and had it treated here and fortunately is still standing/walking!)..
it's very big, fat and has a nice little cut on it.
I think a few posts back, I posted about my bad knee... well... Basically just fell down some stairs and because i was holding my computer i didn't have my hands to balance nor stop my fall and i landed on a corner (like pointed) edge of concrete against the side of the knee cap of my bad knee... i have a nasty cut and the knee is very fat and swollen now.. i can barely bend my knee, though i can somewhat tolerate the pain if i just keep the leg straight and keep total weight off of it. it was one of those injuries that instantly you know you've done something very wrong to it.. not just a scrape or bruise, but something has been damaged. was very close to tears heh.. and i can tolerate quite a bit of pain... after it happened i had to sit there for a while cuz basically my mind went black and couldn't do anything else... i'm goign to see if the swelling goes down tomorrow and how things are in the next few days and hopefully it'll start to heal without having to see a doc... right now i've got quite a headache; feels like the pain has sort of dulled and my brain is tired of numbing it... took an aleve... hopefully that helps...
will keep you posted heh....
Nursery update... a bit of bragging... cuz i can :)
So, my name's on the Nursery Page of the SKIP website :)
http://skipperu.org/index.php/general-skip-news/nurserybegins.html
Decided I wanted to blog/brag a bit, and I feel slightly justified because of the sweat and tears from the past couple months and insecurities from having never done this sort of work nor worked with this age group.
So basically, it's been running quite smoothly :) activities were quite on target, daily schedule working out to fill the day. All activities corresponding with developmental milestones. etc etc... today I was quite elated because the kids are learning the songs I'm teaching them and a bit amused because they're saying some of the phrases I often say... (hopefully they won't learn my horrible pronunciation of 'r')...
So my bragging story is that in addition to various compliments by my fellow volunteers, one of them is an actual teacher and was asking me about my schooling I've had with child development and education (which again, is almost none, I remember a child development class in my psychology b.s. and maybe 1 in my m.s.w. and no classes on teaching).. and saying that she sees me using quite a few methodologies that are really good. She was describing some to me that I'm apparently using and how its been diverse to meet different styles of learning that the children exhibit. :) yeeeeeeeeee!!! Estoy feliz sobre esto porque pensaba que yo no sabía que estoy haciendo!
Apparently I'm doing something right! Never taught before... apparently it's something I can do :)
More pictures later, cuz i defo want to show off how i've decorated the room :) and show sports activities we've done :)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Housemate robbed in front of house
I've mentioned that things have been relatively safe since I've been here, with common sense precautions...
However, there have been two incidents in front of the house since I've been here. (though none at the SKIP office which is generally "more dangerous"... )
The first incident occurred during the evening. I wasn't there, but apparently my housemates were in a taxi getting ready to go out, and some guy tapped on the window saying something. Lourdes who is Peruvian, was telling them to not open the door or roll down the window, but apparently no one heard, because they then rolled down the window. The guy then pointed into the car and stated that he left his wallet in the car. They were looking around and he then said something along the lines of having seen it right there and pointed on the ground. I'm not sure at that point who opened the door, but he reached right in and grabbed the purse of one of my housemates. She apparently had keys to our house, ID and money (not sure what else)... After that, we had to change the keys to the house, which was quite expensive.
Second incident was a housemate who was coming back to the house after going to the camera repair store to get her camera fixed. She had only keys, her camera (in a case) and 200 soles (in the case). The cord of the case was wrapped around her hand. As she was unlocking the door, a man ran out, pushed her, and then grabbed the camera case. She has a nasty cut on her hand from it and was quite spooked by the incident. The guy ran into a cab and they drove off (the cab had a passenger in it). Liz and I rode around with her to the tourist police station to have her give a statement so she can claim it on her insurance.
So nothing quite violent... but very close to home...
However, there have been two incidents in front of the house since I've been here. (though none at the SKIP office which is generally "more dangerous"... )
The first incident occurred during the evening. I wasn't there, but apparently my housemates were in a taxi getting ready to go out, and some guy tapped on the window saying something. Lourdes who is Peruvian, was telling them to not open the door or roll down the window, but apparently no one heard, because they then rolled down the window. The guy then pointed into the car and stated that he left his wallet in the car. They were looking around and he then said something along the lines of having seen it right there and pointed on the ground. I'm not sure at that point who opened the door, but he reached right in and grabbed the purse of one of my housemates. She apparently had keys to our house, ID and money (not sure what else)... After that, we had to change the keys to the house, which was quite expensive.
Second incident was a housemate who was coming back to the house after going to the camera repair store to get her camera fixed. She had only keys, her camera (in a case) and 200 soles (in the case). The cord of the case was wrapped around her hand. As she was unlocking the door, a man ran out, pushed her, and then grabbed the camera case. She has a nasty cut on her hand from it and was quite spooked by the incident. The guy ran into a cab and they drove off (the cab had a passenger in it). Liz and I rode around with her to the tourist police station to have her give a statement so she can claim it on her insurance.
So nothing quite violent... but very close to home...
Cajamarca for Semana Santa
May make this short, so i can continue working on lesson plans for the nursery.
Had thursday and friday off last week and a few housemates wanted to take a trip to Cajamarca, which was on my list of places I wanted to visit in Peru. I listened to spanish nursery rhymes and slept for most of the 9 hour bus ride there, so apparently I missed quite a bit of beautiful countryside, however, there was plenty to be seen beyond the bus ride!. Oh... and I can't forget to mention.. there was NO bathroom on the bus for the 9 hour bus ride. Which was ok because they did make one pee stop.. but was not ok, because apparently I ate something poor beforehand because I had a severe intestinal emergency and had to make them stop. Thought I was going to have a very embarrassing moment there, but after some pain and sweating, and some really nice bus drivers, my crisis was averted. (HUGE TANGENT: my housemate had just told us a story where she needed to go to the bathroom and the bus drivers refused to stop and stated that the bus was not going to restart if they stopped it. After some time, she ended up threatening to pee on the bus if they didn't stop and they went ahead and stopped the bus. Like clockwork, the bus did not start again.. and like clockwork, it started raining... everyone was very pissed off at her and they ended up being rescued by some truck that had railings above the cows they were transporting. They spent the next 3 hours riding the top of a truck with cows underneath them. Fortunately, this was not the fate of my situation!!).
So in Cajamarca... did lots of stuff like go to some hot springs:
walk around town
visit ruins (ventanillas de otuzco)
the town is quite rural
saw awesome rock formations, petroglyphs and aquaducts in Cumbe mayo.. including rock formations that look like other things (one part looks like a face facing our left):
Also went to an old hospital that was run by nuns, went shopping, bought some cheese, presents for friends/family, and saw a Jesus play with vignettes.
The altitude of Cajamarca is 2,700 m (8,900 ft)... which is a bit short of what Cusco is at 3,300 (10,800 ft).. and I had no altitude problems at all. In Cumbe Mayo which is slightly higher than Cusco (though we only stayed for a couple hours), I did get a bit dizzy, but nothing unmanageable.. we were hiking around quite a bit too.
It was quite cold (i had long johns, jeans and long sleeves and jacket).. and I was told cusco is colder than that.. about 60 F during the day at best is what i was told; nighttime of course much colder.
Actually, in a couple weeks i'm spending a weekend in Julcan, which is just about the altitude of Cusco.. So we'll see how the altitude feels there for a few days (I've been a little worried about the altitude adjustment in Cusco, cuz i've had problems in colorado when visiting my sis). Seems like it's not really gonna be a problem.
SUPER!
More photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frunkus/sets/72157616582699603/
Many of these fotos are better viewed by clicking the option "all sizes" at the top of each picture. Or slideshow option. Don't forget to click on info for description.
:) Disfruten!!!
Had thursday and friday off last week and a few housemates wanted to take a trip to Cajamarca, which was on my list of places I wanted to visit in Peru. I listened to spanish nursery rhymes and slept for most of the 9 hour bus ride there, so apparently I missed quite a bit of beautiful countryside, however, there was plenty to be seen beyond the bus ride!. Oh... and I can't forget to mention.. there was NO bathroom on the bus for the 9 hour bus ride. Which was ok because they did make one pee stop.. but was not ok, because apparently I ate something poor beforehand because I had a severe intestinal emergency and had to make them stop. Thought I was going to have a very embarrassing moment there, but after some pain and sweating, and some really nice bus drivers, my crisis was averted. (HUGE TANGENT: my housemate had just told us a story where she needed to go to the bathroom and the bus drivers refused to stop and stated that the bus was not going to restart if they stopped it. After some time, she ended up threatening to pee on the bus if they didn't stop and they went ahead and stopped the bus. Like clockwork, the bus did not start again.. and like clockwork, it started raining... everyone was very pissed off at her and they ended up being rescued by some truck that had railings above the cows they were transporting. They spent the next 3 hours riding the top of a truck with cows underneath them. Fortunately, this was not the fate of my situation!!).
So in Cajamarca... did lots of stuff like go to some hot springs:
walk around town
visit ruins (ventanillas de otuzco)
the town is quite rural
saw awesome rock formations, petroglyphs and aquaducts in Cumbe mayo.. including rock formations that look like other things (one part looks like a face facing our left):
Also went to an old hospital that was run by nuns, went shopping, bought some cheese, presents for friends/family, and saw a Jesus play with vignettes.
The altitude of Cajamarca is 2,700 m (8,900 ft)... which is a bit short of what Cusco is at 3,300 (10,800 ft).. and I had no altitude problems at all. In Cumbe Mayo which is slightly higher than Cusco (though we only stayed for a couple hours), I did get a bit dizzy, but nothing unmanageable.. we were hiking around quite a bit too.
It was quite cold (i had long johns, jeans and long sleeves and jacket).. and I was told cusco is colder than that.. about 60 F during the day at best is what i was told; nighttime of course much colder.
Actually, in a couple weeks i'm spending a weekend in Julcan, which is just about the altitude of Cusco.. So we'll see how the altitude feels there for a few days (I've been a little worried about the altitude adjustment in Cusco, cuz i've had problems in colorado when visiting my sis). Seems like it's not really gonna be a problem.
SUPER!
More photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frunkus/sets/72157616582699603/
Many of these fotos are better viewed by clicking the option "all sizes" at the top of each picture. Or slideshow option. Don't forget to click on info for description.
:) Disfruten!!!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Former Peru President Fujimori convicted of mass murder, kidnapping
Alberto Fujimori is sentenced to 25 years. Activists say the verdict shows that even former heads of state cannot expect to get away with serious crimes.
By Adriana Leon and Chris Kraul
April 8 2009
Reporting from Lima, Peru, and San Agustin, Colombia -- Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was found guilty of mass murder and kidnapping Tuesday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, a rare instance of a former head of state being found guilty in his own country on human rights charges.
More here: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-fujimori8-2009apr08,0,1670805.story
By Adriana Leon and Chris Kraul
April 8 2009
Reporting from Lima, Peru, and San Agustin, Colombia -- Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was found guilty of mass murder and kidnapping Tuesday and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, a rare instance of a former head of state being found guilty in his own country on human rights charges.
More here: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-fujimori8-2009apr08,0,1670805.story
Nursery
So, I was meaning to take a nap right now, but thought I might upload a couple fotos for you guys to see with the nursery :)
There were 3 days this week, Monday being the first day of the nursery, and my weekend starts today because it's Semanta Santa (Easter)... Thank goodness, because after yesterday, I was so exhausted, I was a bit concerned about how I'd be able to keep all this up until I leave for the States in July. There's an awesome psychologist who just arrived who has been helping me out quite a bit with advice. At one point yesterday I was so mentally exhausted, I just couldn't talk/hear more about the nursery (not even stuff that would help ease the day).. but after a good night's sleep and an easier day today, I was ready to work on some improvements with the psychologist.
The way I have it set up, the 4 hours are all split up into 20 minute segments, these include: morning gathering, toy election (when they have choice to choose a toy, promotes independent thinking), storytime/language, mathematics, personal development, music, art, quiet time, sports, and snack time... each having an important role in child development. I've got 8 kids in total. Also have integrated a parenting skill objective (since one mother is to stay for 1 morning a week). Handwashing and teeth brushing every day (which the kids love, it's so cute!), folders for each kid with weekly reports, a piaget assessment, and will have all their finished work that they're parents can pick up at the end of the week... We've changed up the schedule to have two sports (1st directed by us and 2nd free choice/child-directed) activities, since the kids get ansty and it's tough to be in the same room for 4 hours... We've included a component where they help us set up and put the equipment away (not just the toys)... which helps me quite a bit because it's part of the time they're there (saves me 15 minutes before the 4 hours of nursery) and the kids learn and feel a sense of responsibility...
Grr.. the pictures aren't loading on blogger... you'll just have to wait for me to upload them to flickr, but that may be a while...
anyway, the nursery went as well as I think it possibly could... and then on top of that, having been created by someone who has never run a nursery, much less worked a nursery (other than the 3 recent days I 'observed'), and then it being done by someone who's spanish is barely intermediate... not so bad if i say so myself
My brain is absolutely pushed to it's limit... not only did I do the planning, I'm doing the coordination, lesson plans, and I'm the primary teacher... and as I've mentioned, on top of all this, I'm doing this all in spanish (which is still a struggle).. I think I've never pushed my brain so hard...
(hope i dont sound too much like i've been complaining in my last posts about the nursery)... just more expressing/sharing how difficult it has been and how, yes, outside of all the surfing and having fun on weekends, I'm working my ass off during the week...
the kids are absolutely adorable though... not trying to have favorites (at least being aware that I do is the first step to not showing favoritism right?) but there is the cutest little boy that just tries to do every I'm teaching and is just so happy when he's got something down.. raises his hand for everything.. is very independent, and kind to the other kids.... so adorable! :) all the kids are super cute. makes the stress worth every minute of it.
There were 3 days this week, Monday being the first day of the nursery, and my weekend starts today because it's Semanta Santa (Easter)... Thank goodness, because after yesterday, I was so exhausted, I was a bit concerned about how I'd be able to keep all this up until I leave for the States in July. There's an awesome psychologist who just arrived who has been helping me out quite a bit with advice. At one point yesterday I was so mentally exhausted, I just couldn't talk/hear more about the nursery (not even stuff that would help ease the day).. but after a good night's sleep and an easier day today, I was ready to work on some improvements with the psychologist.
The way I have it set up, the 4 hours are all split up into 20 minute segments, these include: morning gathering, toy election (when they have choice to choose a toy, promotes independent thinking), storytime/language, mathematics, personal development, music, art, quiet time, sports, and snack time... each having an important role in child development. I've got 8 kids in total. Also have integrated a parenting skill objective (since one mother is to stay for 1 morning a week). Handwashing and teeth brushing every day (which the kids love, it's so cute!), folders for each kid with weekly reports, a piaget assessment, and will have all their finished work that they're parents can pick up at the end of the week... We've changed up the schedule to have two sports (1st directed by us and 2nd free choice/child-directed) activities, since the kids get ansty and it's tough to be in the same room for 4 hours... We've included a component where they help us set up and put the equipment away (not just the toys)... which helps me quite a bit because it's part of the time they're there (saves me 15 minutes before the 4 hours of nursery) and the kids learn and feel a sense of responsibility...
Grr.. the pictures aren't loading on blogger... you'll just have to wait for me to upload them to flickr, but that may be a while...
anyway, the nursery went as well as I think it possibly could... and then on top of that, having been created by someone who has never run a nursery, much less worked a nursery (other than the 3 recent days I 'observed'), and then it being done by someone who's spanish is barely intermediate... not so bad if i say so myself
My brain is absolutely pushed to it's limit... not only did I do the planning, I'm doing the coordination, lesson plans, and I'm the primary teacher... and as I've mentioned, on top of all this, I'm doing this all in spanish (which is still a struggle).. I think I've never pushed my brain so hard...
(hope i dont sound too much like i've been complaining in my last posts about the nursery)... just more expressing/sharing how difficult it has been and how, yes, outside of all the surfing and having fun on weekends, I'm working my ass off during the week...
the kids are absolutely adorable though... not trying to have favorites (at least being aware that I do is the first step to not showing favoritism right?) but there is the cutest little boy that just tries to do every I'm teaching and is just so happy when he's got something down.. raises his hand for everything.. is very independent, and kind to the other kids.... so adorable! :) all the kids are super cute. makes the stress worth every minute of it.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Bathhouse
Until reading my friend's blog, I nearly had forgot about the sauna incident.
So, I'm used to going to the korean bathhouses in Los Angeles... in fact it's almost like my body craves going ... it's like a reset button for your body and mind.. you go sit in the sauna until you're delirious and then jump into the cold pool..do this several times.. and at one point in the process you're scrubbing all your dead skin off.. so by the time you leave you're feeling refreshed and clean inside and out... the whole process is like 4 hours...
So, i was quite delighted to find a bathhouse here... They had a dry sauna and wet sauna, and a cool pool (not quite "cold", but still alright)... oh and a gym... though I won't be returning, because I think there was a chance we had visited a brothel.....
So the incident went like this... I was laying down on the bench in the dry sauna.. and the chick who is naked on the bench next to me (which I'm used to because it's like that in korean bathhouses.. nudity represents something very different than in the americas.. it's not all sexualized) so then the chick looks at me and says "quieres bajar?"... and, as usual, i wasn't quite sure what i heard.. and so i have her repeated it.. "quieres bajar?"... so i think about this for a while.. literally this means "do you want to go down?"... i'm on the bench so i'm thinking maybe she's refering to us being on the bench and she's asking if i want to leave?... like get off the bench and go outside.. and then i thought she was asking me if i wanted to "bajar" my clothes.. cuz i was wearing a bathing suit.. and maybe she was telling me that the culture is fine to be naked in the spa... so very confused all i answered with was "esta bien"... "it's ok"... so then gets up and she walks over to me like expecting something.. and i look confused .. and then she said how since i'm not from around here i don't understand..
and then leaves the room...
some other strange incidents include the drunk chick (this was at like 2pm we were there) was insisting on teaching me how to use the spa's gym equipment... and she was exercising with her high heels on...
strange strange...
hoping to find a normal bathhouse....
So, I'm used to going to the korean bathhouses in Los Angeles... in fact it's almost like my body craves going ... it's like a reset button for your body and mind.. you go sit in the sauna until you're delirious and then jump into the cold pool..do this several times.. and at one point in the process you're scrubbing all your dead skin off.. so by the time you leave you're feeling refreshed and clean inside and out... the whole process is like 4 hours...
So, i was quite delighted to find a bathhouse here... They had a dry sauna and wet sauna, and a cool pool (not quite "cold", but still alright)... oh and a gym... though I won't be returning, because I think there was a chance we had visited a brothel.....
So the incident went like this... I was laying down on the bench in the dry sauna.. and the chick who is naked on the bench next to me (which I'm used to because it's like that in korean bathhouses.. nudity represents something very different than in the americas.. it's not all sexualized) so then the chick looks at me and says "quieres bajar?"... and, as usual, i wasn't quite sure what i heard.. and so i have her repeated it.. "quieres bajar?"... so i think about this for a while.. literally this means "do you want to go down?"... i'm on the bench so i'm thinking maybe she's refering to us being on the bench and she's asking if i want to leave?... like get off the bench and go outside.. and then i thought she was asking me if i wanted to "bajar" my clothes.. cuz i was wearing a bathing suit.. and maybe she was telling me that the culture is fine to be naked in the spa... so very confused all i answered with was "esta bien"... "it's ok"... so then gets up and she walks over to me like expecting something.. and i look confused .. and then she said how since i'm not from around here i don't understand..
and then leaves the room...
some other strange incidents include the drunk chick (this was at like 2pm we were there) was insisting on teaching me how to use the spa's gym equipment... and she was exercising with her high heels on...
strange strange...
hoping to find a normal bathhouse....
Monday, March 30, 2009
DIY Nursery
So... The past 8 years I've worked with mostly vietnam veteran vets.. mostly men.. occasionally I'll have a few women (ran a woman's group).. and occasionally i'll have someone who is a woman (but biologically a man).. occasionally i had someone who was as young as 20... there was a time 9 years ago when i worked at a group home for teens... and then even longer before that while i was in college that I worked with infants until the age of 2. That being said.. who more perfect to plan a new nursery program for 3 & 4 year olds! Heh.. anyway, yeah so here's my HOW TO guide to putting a nursery together by a person who has never worked in a nursery nor has any sort of experience with this age group.
1. Get excited about working with kids and then begin to freak out about how much work this is going to involve. (especially when you initially thought you were assisting someone else, and then it turns out you're the one doing it and no one is assisting you with the planning process and you're the primary teacher).
2. Spend endless hours reading about child development.
3. Spend endless hours reading about child development in developing countries.
4. Spend endless hours searching for an assessment tool, just to find out there isn't one available free and having to type one up yourself based on Piaget...
5. Spend endless hours researching nursery programs and what exactly it is.
6. Spend endless hours gathering ideas for lesson planning (also doing this in spanish) and what should be included in the curriculum.
7. ..... researching what the best sorts of classes should be scheduled for the day and figuring out the schedule (20 minute segments for each subject).
8. ..... researching how to setup the classroom (in regards to supplies/toys/etc) and what sorts of toys are best for learning
9. ..... researching spanish nursery rhymes and songs (and learning all of them).
10. ..... observing in a nearby nursery to actually see first hand this age group and their level (of attention, ability, etc.)
11. .... meeting with the mothers and organizing that end of it.
12. ... making posters, educational decorations and games (so you're not spending all of the small budget allotted)
13. ... researching parenting objectives (since the parents are participating and the nursery includes a parenting skills component)
14. .... planning lessons and then doing all the worksheets for all the lessons.
15. .... shopping for all the supplies (this is everything from paper to the locked cupboard to the mat on the floor small chairs/tables... educational toys.. etc...), then organizing/setting them up in the most efficient way.
16. .... writing up a guide so that the next person who takes over doesn't have to start from scratch.
17. ... translate everything into spanish so that spanish speaking volunteers understand.
I may have missed some steps, but that maybe gives you an idea... I did get some assistance with #11 and #15... and have gotten praise hehe.. which is encouraging...
My brain is fried and spinning at the same time.
Nursery starts 6 de april... wish me luck.
1. Get excited about working with kids and then begin to freak out about how much work this is going to involve. (especially when you initially thought you were assisting someone else, and then it turns out you're the one doing it and no one is assisting you with the planning process and you're the primary teacher).
2. Spend endless hours reading about child development.
3. Spend endless hours reading about child development in developing countries.
4. Spend endless hours searching for an assessment tool, just to find out there isn't one available free and having to type one up yourself based on Piaget...
5. Spend endless hours researching nursery programs and what exactly it is.
6. Spend endless hours gathering ideas for lesson planning (also doing this in spanish) and what should be included in the curriculum.
7. ..... researching what the best sorts of classes should be scheduled for the day and figuring out the schedule (20 minute segments for each subject).
8. ..... researching how to setup the classroom (in regards to supplies/toys/etc) and what sorts of toys are best for learning
9. ..... researching spanish nursery rhymes and songs (and learning all of them).
10. ..... observing in a nearby nursery to actually see first hand this age group and their level (of attention, ability, etc.)
11. .... meeting with the mothers and organizing that end of it.
12. ... making posters, educational decorations and games (so you're not spending all of the small budget allotted)
13. ... researching parenting objectives (since the parents are participating and the nursery includes a parenting skills component)
14. .... planning lessons and then doing all the worksheets for all the lessons.
15. .... shopping for all the supplies (this is everything from paper to the locked cupboard to the mat on the floor small chairs/tables... educational toys.. etc...), then organizing/setting them up in the most efficient way.
16. .... writing up a guide so that the next person who takes over doesn't have to start from scratch.
17. ... translate everything into spanish so that spanish speaking volunteers understand.
I may have missed some steps, but that maybe gives you an idea... I did get some assistance with #11 and #15... and have gotten praise hehe.. which is encouraging...
My brain is fried and spinning at the same time.
Nursery starts 6 de april... wish me luck.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
More about Porvenir, maybe some repeated stuff...
hrm.. i seem to be blog happy these days..
So I recently found out that the corrugated roofs
that most of the families in porvenir and many in trujillo are made of asbestos... they're almost exclusively used in the Porvenir's schools....
Also, in Porvenir there are many people who cook using bricks of charcoal that burn for an entire day. When walking around Porvenir, you can smell this burning.. well its either that or all the trash fires.. none of this can be good for their health... There have been SKIP volunteers who have attempted workshops teaching the mothers how to do these simple adobe ovens with metal pipes as the chimney that would save quite a bit of money, but of that the group that attended i think it was only 1 family that made one. Change is hard to implement...
Have I written about safety already? Alot of guide books talk about how unsafe Peru is... I have found that it has been safe enough for me, though that's with some common sense about safety. I hardly ever go anywhere with more than 50 soles ($17). I never use my phone in public (if i can help it... if i feel particularly safe i'll pull it out to make a phone call, though with concealing it). Although I wear a ring Brentt gave me, the bead bracelet A gave me, and my earrings my mom gave me, I'm generally unflashy with my flip flops, worn out tshirt and sweatshorts.. Though as we bring in our boxes of random school supplies to the SKIP office, we have been warned that there are certain unsavory people who have been watching "the gringos"... at this point we need to be careful to lock our door behind us and make sure the door is shut the whole time (we have high walls with barbed edges as well). There was a time, not long ago that a few volunteers were held at gunpoint at the SKIP office (some convicted murder named Pato Negro or something).. they took a laptop, leather jacket (which the volunteer shouldn't have taken to SKIP in the first place), cell phone and lots of cash. Seems that it resulted in the police taking action and some sort of shootout happening by Indoamericano one of the schools we work with. Don't know much more about that...
Britta asked me today sort of what the living is like here because it's hard to imagine. I would say it is definitely something that is hard to understand unless you're there to see it. And even then, it's easy to forget when you return to your comfortable mattress, internet, and running water. Where I live, although it looks more like the dirty part of downtown Los Angeles (in regards to sketchiness and standard of living, not in regards to having large 20 story buildings..), I'm actually in the middle-class area... It's quite different from the dirt floor dirt brick houses of Porvenir. There are random sounds of sheeps on roofs, chickens clucking, the smell of something rotton, dog corpses... at the Plaza del Armas, which is relatively nice and clean (Center of town), you'll see an old beggar woman with arthritic hands asking for money (she's sat on the same spot every time i've gone to the center of town)... you see alot of folks like this. Not to mention the children asking you to buy something.
So I recently found out that the corrugated roofs
that most of the families in porvenir and many in trujillo are made of asbestos... they're almost exclusively used in the Porvenir's schools....Also, in Porvenir there are many people who cook using bricks of charcoal that burn for an entire day. When walking around Porvenir, you can smell this burning.. well its either that or all the trash fires.. none of this can be good for their health... There have been SKIP volunteers who have attempted workshops teaching the mothers how to do these simple adobe ovens with metal pipes as the chimney that would save quite a bit of money, but of that the group that attended i think it was only 1 family that made one. Change is hard to implement...
Have I written about safety already? Alot of guide books talk about how unsafe Peru is... I have found that it has been safe enough for me, though that's with some common sense about safety. I hardly ever go anywhere with more than 50 soles ($17). I never use my phone in public (if i can help it... if i feel particularly safe i'll pull it out to make a phone call, though with concealing it). Although I wear a ring Brentt gave me, the bead bracelet A gave me, and my earrings my mom gave me, I'm generally unflashy with my flip flops, worn out tshirt and sweatshorts.. Though as we bring in our boxes of random school supplies to the SKIP office, we have been warned that there are certain unsavory people who have been watching "the gringos"... at this point we need to be careful to lock our door behind us and make sure the door is shut the whole time (we have high walls with barbed edges as well). There was a time, not long ago that a few volunteers were held at gunpoint at the SKIP office (some convicted murder named Pato Negro or something).. they took a laptop, leather jacket (which the volunteer shouldn't have taken to SKIP in the first place), cell phone and lots of cash. Seems that it resulted in the police taking action and some sort of shootout happening by Indoamericano one of the schools we work with. Don't know much more about that...
Britta asked me today sort of what the living is like here because it's hard to imagine. I would say it is definitely something that is hard to understand unless you're there to see it. And even then, it's easy to forget when you return to your comfortable mattress, internet, and running water. Where I live, although it looks more like the dirty part of downtown Los Angeles (in regards to sketchiness and standard of living, not in regards to having large 20 story buildings..), I'm actually in the middle-class area... It's quite different from the dirt floor dirt brick houses of Porvenir. There are random sounds of sheeps on roofs, chickens clucking, the smell of something rotton, dog corpses... at the Plaza del Armas, which is relatively nice and clean (Center of town), you'll see an old beggar woman with arthritic hands asking for money (she's sat on the same spot every time i've gone to the center of town)... you see alot of folks like this. Not to mention the children asking you to buy something.
Drama with SKIP! and problems with migraines and my knee :(
So, there has been drama lately with our organization for months now... but I should say that we only find out recently that there is drama because we were not an active participant in the drama.
Basically another organization here has for some reason felt threatened by us (and i'll elaborate on my thoughts of why) and created a mock website pretty much having copied the front page of ours (literally copied.. like a print screen copy or something) .. and what i mean by mock website is that they used the domain www.skipperu.xxxx (something else, ours is org) and then at the bottom they have something about the "REAL" history of SKIP and then they have a banner saying something about how our director in 2003 stole their project and named it SKIP. this eventually links to his site.. where he has yet another link to a webpage devoted solely to naming all the ex volunteers who "stole" his project, took it somewhere else, and renamed it...
So... my thoughts on why this guy feels threatened and has started to pick on us... apparently from things i've heard and read from ex volunteers of their organization (and i know a few people who used to work for them) is that despite the outragious volunteer program fees that they charge, the volunteers are not supplied with even basic materials such as paper and pencils for the projects they are doing... that among other problems (such as the organization not doing nearly half of the things it claims on it's website)... so basically the thought is that if the money isn't going towards the program... ... it's going into a particular someone's hands... so that being said i'm guessing we are a threat because recently a few people have chosen to come to our organization instead of theirs, taking away his precious income... it seems that he's been watching us for a while though because we only launched our new website format in january, and it appears (from his whois on register.com) that he coincidentally updated his mock one.
In our research to find out what else he may have been writing about skip, we came across quite a many negative reviews about that organization.. actually, an ex volunteer had told me that she had done some investigation on various projects that this guy claimed to be in the budget and turned out that these projects do not exist, but her apartment was broken into and her computer and files were all stolen... she decided not to further pursue this.
We were thinking it may be a good news story because from reading all the reviews (and from personal experience of some folks we know), it seems like theres a pretty good chance there is fraud going on.. and this is quite unfortunate because it is taking advantage of a giving community and putting a really bad slant on it. I would imagine he may be receiving grants and other sorts of funding... it is unfortunately if all this stuff is actually true that this money is going into one person's hands instead of helping a community that is really in need. I'm not one to yell and scream "DOWN WITH THEIR ORGANIZATION!" but if what's being claimed by many people is true.. then someone needs to expose what's going on... alas, none of us know any journalists... I dont even know that this would be a big enough story anyway, despite my thought that they would find out he and his wife are running a fraudulent game...
Anyway, it's annoying that he's bringing our name into it.. it just looks unprofessional for the both of us to be playing this "SKIP stole my project" game. When has helping a community been an original idea to steal? And besides, we are far from doing what he's doing... we're actually spending our money on projects that we claim to be doing.. and no one here is getting any sort of "profit" (except hopefully the families we are working with... hehe well and the intrinsic rewards for us of course; but lets not get cheesy here). :)
On another note.. ive been having quite a few migraines.. have i mentioned before i think how much MSG is in the food here.. i'm thinking this is a likely contributor.. also seems to happen on the few weeks that i have decided i need a bit more energy (such as the last 2 weeks pounding away at the nursery planning).. and divulged in some chai tea for the caffeine... and i haven't been so particular on the foods i'm allergic to (which also seem to be related to my migraines)...
another ailment i woke up with was my knee in a bit of pain.. it's right in the front of the knee slightly to the right (on my right leg) its swollen and hurts to put pressure on... probably didn't help that i attempted to surf today. i say attempted because although the waves were beautiful today, they were slightly over my level and i barely made it up for 3 seconds twice heh..
Basically another organization here has for some reason felt threatened by us (and i'll elaborate on my thoughts of why) and created a mock website pretty much having copied the front page of ours (literally copied.. like a print screen copy or something) .. and what i mean by mock website is that they used the domain www.skipperu.xxxx (something else, ours is org) and then at the bottom they have something about the "REAL" history of SKIP and then they have a banner saying something about how our director in 2003 stole their project and named it SKIP. this eventually links to his site.. where he has yet another link to a webpage devoted solely to naming all the ex volunteers who "stole" his project, took it somewhere else, and renamed it...
So... my thoughts on why this guy feels threatened and has started to pick on us... apparently from things i've heard and read from ex volunteers of their organization (and i know a few people who used to work for them) is that despite the outragious volunteer program fees that they charge, the volunteers are not supplied with even basic materials such as paper and pencils for the projects they are doing... that among other problems (such as the organization not doing nearly half of the things it claims on it's website)... so basically the thought is that if the money isn't going towards the program... ... it's going into a particular someone's hands... so that being said i'm guessing we are a threat because recently a few people have chosen to come to our organization instead of theirs, taking away his precious income... it seems that he's been watching us for a while though because we only launched our new website format in january, and it appears (from his whois on register.com) that he coincidentally updated his mock one.
In our research to find out what else he may have been writing about skip, we came across quite a many negative reviews about that organization.. actually, an ex volunteer had told me that she had done some investigation on various projects that this guy claimed to be in the budget and turned out that these projects do not exist, but her apartment was broken into and her computer and files were all stolen... she decided not to further pursue this.
We were thinking it may be a good news story because from reading all the reviews (and from personal experience of some folks we know), it seems like theres a pretty good chance there is fraud going on.. and this is quite unfortunate because it is taking advantage of a giving community and putting a really bad slant on it. I would imagine he may be receiving grants and other sorts of funding... it is unfortunately if all this stuff is actually true that this money is going into one person's hands instead of helping a community that is really in need. I'm not one to yell and scream "DOWN WITH THEIR ORGANIZATION!" but if what's being claimed by many people is true.. then someone needs to expose what's going on... alas, none of us know any journalists... I dont even know that this would be a big enough story anyway, despite my thought that they would find out he and his wife are running a fraudulent game...
Anyway, it's annoying that he's bringing our name into it.. it just looks unprofessional for the both of us to be playing this "SKIP stole my project" game. When has helping a community been an original idea to steal? And besides, we are far from doing what he's doing... we're actually spending our money on projects that we claim to be doing.. and no one here is getting any sort of "profit" (except hopefully the families we are working with... hehe well and the intrinsic rewards for us of course; but lets not get cheesy here). :)
On another note.. ive been having quite a few migraines.. have i mentioned before i think how much MSG is in the food here.. i'm thinking this is a likely contributor.. also seems to happen on the few weeks that i have decided i need a bit more energy (such as the last 2 weeks pounding away at the nursery planning).. and divulged in some chai tea for the caffeine... and i haven't been so particular on the foods i'm allergic to (which also seem to be related to my migraines)...
another ailment i woke up with was my knee in a bit of pain.. it's right in the front of the knee slightly to the right (on my right leg) its swollen and hurts to put pressure on... probably didn't help that i attempted to surf today. i say attempted because although the waves were beautiful today, they were slightly over my level and i barely made it up for 3 seconds twice heh..
Monday, March 23, 2009
10 months...
Also turns out, I'm actually here for 10 months, not the 9 that i kept saying all this time...
I plan to be illegal for 3-4 days.. heh..
Trujillo, Peru to Montanita, Ecuador and back...
Trujillo to Tumbes 9+ hours in bus (Emtrafesa) 45 soles ($15)
Tumbes to Guayaquil 6+ hrs in bus (CIFA) ($7)
Guayaquil to Montanita 3+ hours in bus (CLP) $6
Same route back home ~20+hrs $28
Hostel in Montanita: $6/night 3 nights = $18...
Total costs: $74... plus food/drink costs...
So just got back from Ecuador to renew my visa.. mostly went unscathed, however had a bit of an argument at immigration office on the way back to Peru.. at first they were going to give me 3 months.. i have about 4 months and 1 week left here in Peru.. after some argument about how i'm here volunteering (not earning money) and spending my money in their country and how i dont have money to buy another plane ticket out for an earlier date, etc, etc, etc.... ... i somehow managed to get 1 more month in there... so i'm legal for about 4 months, but that takes me to july 20th more or less and my ticket out is july 23rd.. so i'm illegal from the 20th to 23rd... basically that just means that i pay $1 each day that i'm over.. i continued arguing with the chick (however in my own head for some reason i thought i was 2 weeks over and kept saying this, she probably thought i was such a nut).. but anyway, it just doesnt look good in any way to be overdue.. and i'm hoping it doesn't affect future traveling plans, but i dont plan to be in any one country for more than 1-2 months in the future anyway...
on the way to montanita, we met this young chick from denmark who was traveling alone so she hung out with us most of the weekend... we also met a group of guys traveling together from canada/san francisco/switzerland who we hung out with for most of the weekend as well... didn't get around to surfing, though it was supposed to be the premier surf spot in ecuador.. apparently last week there were 9 foot waves, but this weekend the waves were a bit lame.. plus i ended up being a bit too exhausted to want to surf... mostly vegged out and did a bit more nursery program planning..
the food costs in montanita was quite expensive (though expensive being that it's 1/3rd the costs in the states instead of 1/9th which i'm used to in peru)... tried the cebiche which was ok... though maybe wasn't that representative, since i bought it off a cart on the beach (though didn't get sick!).. tried a cebiche right on the border on the Peru side which was very tasty..
For pictures click here.. ecuador was surprisingly very green.. I didn't realize it was so jungly right on the coast... i have just about 30+ mosquito and sandfly (?) bites on arms and legs....
On the way back, on the bus, as i'm ready to fall asleep... some guy came on to the bus talking VERY LOUDLY .. at first i wasn't paying attention but then i looked up and noticed a gross picture he was showing of someone's naked backside and a huge pile of worms.. .. and right next to it, a face of a very infected looking baby... the guy apparently was talking about worm infestation in order to sell his herbal product. Almost forgot to blog about it because I forget that that's not normal... while on the bus to pretty much anywhere, there are always people coming on to the bus selling something, whether its food or some other product... this actually comes in handy when I forget to buy water, or i'm starving... as of yet, i have not gotten sick from anything i have bought from them...
my ceiling continues to fall on me.. in general, buildings in peru are not equipped to handle rain... the house i live in is no exception.. so when it rains, one part of the ceiling in my room leaks.. the other side of my room ceiling has paint that just continues to peel whether or not it's raining... came home to a huge chunk of paint on my bed.. probably not good for my health heh... oh well...
Trujillo to Tumbes 9+ hours in bus (Emtrafesa) 45 soles ($15)
Tumbes to Guayaquil 6+ hrs in bus (CIFA) ($7)
Guayaquil to Montanita 3+ hours in bus (CLP) $6
Same route back home ~20+hrs $28
Hostel in Montanita: $6/night 3 nights = $18...
Total costs: $74... plus food/drink costs...
So just got back from Ecuador to renew my visa.. mostly went unscathed, however had a bit of an argument at immigration office on the way back to Peru.. at first they were going to give me 3 months.. i have about 4 months and 1 week left here in Peru.. after some argument about how i'm here volunteering (not earning money) and spending my money in their country and how i dont have money to buy another plane ticket out for an earlier date, etc, etc, etc.... ... i somehow managed to get 1 more month in there... so i'm legal for about 4 months, but that takes me to july 20th more or less and my ticket out is july 23rd.. so i'm illegal from the 20th to 23rd... basically that just means that i pay $1 each day that i'm over.. i continued arguing with the chick (however in my own head for some reason i thought i was 2 weeks over and kept saying this, she probably thought i was such a nut).. but anyway, it just doesnt look good in any way to be overdue.. and i'm hoping it doesn't affect future traveling plans, but i dont plan to be in any one country for more than 1-2 months in the future anyway...
on the way to montanita, we met this young chick from denmark who was traveling alone so she hung out with us most of the weekend... we also met a group of guys traveling together from canada/san francisco/switzerland who we hung out with for most of the weekend as well... didn't get around to surfing, though it was supposed to be the premier surf spot in ecuador.. apparently last week there were 9 foot waves, but this weekend the waves were a bit lame.. plus i ended up being a bit too exhausted to want to surf... mostly vegged out and did a bit more nursery program planning..
the food costs in montanita was quite expensive (though expensive being that it's 1/3rd the costs in the states instead of 1/9th which i'm used to in peru)... tried the cebiche which was ok... though maybe wasn't that representative, since i bought it off a cart on the beach (though didn't get sick!).. tried a cebiche right on the border on the Peru side which was very tasty..
For pictures click here.. ecuador was surprisingly very green.. I didn't realize it was so jungly right on the coast... i have just about 30+ mosquito and sandfly (?) bites on arms and legs....
On the way back, on the bus, as i'm ready to fall asleep... some guy came on to the bus talking VERY LOUDLY .. at first i wasn't paying attention but then i looked up and noticed a gross picture he was showing of someone's naked backside and a huge pile of worms.. .. and right next to it, a face of a very infected looking baby... the guy apparently was talking about worm infestation in order to sell his herbal product. Almost forgot to blog about it because I forget that that's not normal... while on the bus to pretty much anywhere, there are always people coming on to the bus selling something, whether its food or some other product... this actually comes in handy when I forget to buy water, or i'm starving... as of yet, i have not gotten sick from anything i have bought from them...
my ceiling continues to fall on me.. in general, buildings in peru are not equipped to handle rain... the house i live in is no exception.. so when it rains, one part of the ceiling in my room leaks.. the other side of my room ceiling has paint that just continues to peel whether or not it's raining... came home to a huge chunk of paint on my bed.. probably not good for my health heh... oh well...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
5 for 5....
So, I can't keep track, but i'm pretty sure it's been about 5 packages that have been sent to me (possibly 6??)... and i'm at 100% of packages being mailed... the motivation to post this particular post was that I received one in RECORD TIME!!... Brentt sent me a book that was meant to stay with me, but got carried onto the plane with him :) tho it was well read and sent back to me... I received it within 6 days of mailing. AMAZING...
I've also begun to send some l
I've also begun to send some l
Sunday, March 8, 2009
More on Nursery.. living conditions... and scorpion...
So, just a quick update.. i'm continuing to plan the nursery.. been doing alot of research on developmental stages, nursery programs, lesson planning, and various other related stuff like nursery songs in spanish.. etc...
We have just about 6 mothers or so who are interested (possibly more after a meeting this past weekend)... I dont think we can handle more than 10 nursery kids at this point... So to give you an idea of what it's been like to get a program like this going at SKIP.... fortunately we have a monthly meeting for all the families at SKIP... so they're supposed to come to the office (though not all do)... but if you want to get information out to them otherwise.. its this inefficient system of going out to each of their houses.. this means walking through the sand to each of their houses, which are at times .5-1 mile apart.. if you're lucky there's a bus that goes near their house.. and if you're really lucky, one of them either has a phone or knows someone who does.. so this needs to be done each time we've been wanting to meet with the mothers for the nursery program. though slowly but surely, it'll all come together...
on another note...found out the other day that one of the kids (14 y/o) has been working in a shoe factory for 70 hours a week just earning about $5 for the week. SKIP has talked to the parents and discussed how we can change this (alot of times the parents don't know the maths and don't know there may be other options available)...
We found a scorpion the other day in the room next to mine.. it was small, but just as scary as they look with their pinchers and huge spiky tail.. will need to do some research on what to do if i get stung heh...
continue to feel homesick.. though i'm sticking it through of course...
We have just about 6 mothers or so who are interested (possibly more after a meeting this past weekend)... I dont think we can handle more than 10 nursery kids at this point... So to give you an idea of what it's been like to get a program like this going at SKIP.... fortunately we have a monthly meeting for all the families at SKIP... so they're supposed to come to the office (though not all do)... but if you want to get information out to them otherwise.. its this inefficient system of going out to each of their houses.. this means walking through the sand to each of their houses, which are at times .5-1 mile apart.. if you're lucky there's a bus that goes near their house.. and if you're really lucky, one of them either has a phone or knows someone who does.. so this needs to be done each time we've been wanting to meet with the mothers for the nursery program. though slowly but surely, it'll all come together...
on another note...found out the other day that one of the kids (14 y/o) has been working in a shoe factory for 70 hours a week just earning about $5 for the week. SKIP has talked to the parents and discussed how we can change this (alot of times the parents don't know the maths and don't know there may be other options available)...
We found a scorpion the other day in the room next to mine.. it was small, but just as scary as they look with their pinchers and huge spiky tail.. will need to do some research on what to do if i get stung heh...
continue to feel homesick.. though i'm sticking it through of course...
Monday, March 2, 2009
End of Summer Camp and What comes next....
Summer camp ended over a week ago.. We took the kids to the zoo and ended the last day with an Open House.
I'll be starting the planning for a new nursery program ... something I've never done before (though i had never planned a summer camp before and that happened!)... if anyone knows anything about nurseries (better yet, a nursery in a developing country), I'm all eyes/ears...
I have about 4 months left.. it would seem this would be an easy home stretch ... but with Brentt's visit, it seems to have reset my "homesickness" and the last month has been a bit of a struggle.. though, i'm looking forward to the nursery program, trip to Ecuador to renew my visa, trip to macchu piccu (with a, e, britta, michael, nadia, anthony and possibly others?), and then ending my "Part 1" travels with the Shamanism conference in Iquitos...
Oh.. one last note.. i was really excited this past friday night; we had found an electronica party with the type of music i like (tech house)! Only took 5 months, but there is hope :) the best selection i have found of electronica has been some cheesy house music...... it was outdoors, on the beach, under the stars :) I was in bliss.
I'll be starting the planning for a new nursery program ... something I've never done before (though i had never planned a summer camp before and that happened!)... if anyone knows anything about nurseries (better yet, a nursery in a developing country), I'm all eyes/ears...
I have about 4 months left.. it would seem this would be an easy home stretch ... but with Brentt's visit, it seems to have reset my "homesickness" and the last month has been a bit of a struggle.. though, i'm looking forward to the nursery program, trip to Ecuador to renew my visa, trip to macchu piccu (with a, e, britta, michael, nadia, anthony and possibly others?), and then ending my "Part 1" travels with the Shamanism conference in Iquitos...
Oh.. one last note.. i was really excited this past friday night; we had found an electronica party with the type of music i like (tech house)! Only took 5 months, but there is hope :) the best selection i have found of electronica has been some cheesy house music...... it was outdoors, on the beach, under the stars :) I was in bliss.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Google analytics
So I get a kick out of the stats related to my website.. (have i already posted about this?)... So I'll share with you some of the interesting stuff...
From the beginning, approx Sept 26, 2008 to today...
I've had 714 visits from 31 different countries to my blog (top 10 countries in order of visits is US, Peru (probably me blogging), Solvenia, Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, Mexico, and India)
56% of my visits are from returning visitors :) yay! thanks for coming and reading my stuff :)
When someone has come to my website through a google search, here is some of the stranger keyword searches:
christine xxxxx (last name censored)---woah! someone came to my website after searching for you Christine... weird?!?
lice ---hah great.. glad people are finding me with that..
bush falls off cart in peru--huh???
chinitas peru
coreanita
freckles ---i would imagine that they would have had to been on the 1000000000th search page to have mine pop up..???
peruvian mancora creamy yellow salsa recipe---tasty.. too bad for the person for not finding this recipe on my blog.. hah...
peruvians are missing parties beach in peru this summer--wow very strange google search...
show me what peru looks like right now --huh?..
shrimp unfridgerated
skip peru lizette--hrm.. who's searching for me?
not sure if that's interesting to anyone else but me.. :) but thought i'd post it...
From the beginning, approx Sept 26, 2008 to today...
I've had 714 visits from 31 different countries to my blog (top 10 countries in order of visits is US, Peru (probably me blogging), Solvenia, Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, Mexico, and India)
56% of my visits are from returning visitors :) yay! thanks for coming and reading my stuff :)
When someone has come to my website through a google search, here is some of the stranger keyword searches:
christine xxxxx (last name censored)---woah! someone came to my website after searching for you Christine... weird?!?
lice ---hah great.. glad people are finding me with that..
bush falls off cart in peru--huh???
chinitas peru
coreanita
freckles ---i would imagine that they would have had to been on the 1000000000th search page to have mine pop up..???
peruvian mancora creamy yellow salsa recipe---tasty.. too bad for the person for not finding this recipe on my blog.. hah...
peruvians are missing parties beach in peru this summer--wow very strange google search...
show me what peru looks like right now --huh?..
shrimp unfridgerated
skip peru lizette--hrm.. who's searching for me?
not sure if that's interesting to anyone else but me.. :) but thought i'd post it...
My first time in a well...
Had to jump into a well today...
There's no running water where I work.. so in order to flush the toilet, I need to go to the well and fill up a bucket... As I'm filling up the bucket, i hear a plop and my heart sinks because i know just what it was.. I dive into the well and grab the phone, but none to early, it's completely drenched from the inside and with each shake theres a rain of water...
This is the phone I use in the states... and for those who know, it's EVERYTHING... my schedule, my contacts, my alarm clock, all sorts of information that doesn't fit in my head, goes into this phone.. etc etc etc... and was quite a bit expensive at that.. Made me contemplate quite a bit about my attachment to this phone and whether that's something I need to change...
Anyway, one of my peruvian friends informed me that you can go to a phone place in the center of town and get it dried/cleaned.. Feeling quite defeated, I went for it, though I figured all the circuits were probably blown and I would need to invest in a new phone and unfortunate it was that i had spent so much on this one...
Well.. S/.20 (which is about $6) & 50 minutes later--including a nap in the store--- my phone is once again functional... yay!!
There's no running water where I work.. so in order to flush the toilet, I need to go to the well and fill up a bucket... As I'm filling up the bucket, i hear a plop and my heart sinks because i know just what it was.. I dive into the well and grab the phone, but none to early, it's completely drenched from the inside and with each shake theres a rain of water...
This is the phone I use in the states... and for those who know, it's EVERYTHING... my schedule, my contacts, my alarm clock, all sorts of information that doesn't fit in my head, goes into this phone.. etc etc etc... and was quite a bit expensive at that.. Made me contemplate quite a bit about my attachment to this phone and whether that's something I need to change...
Anyway, one of my peruvian friends informed me that you can go to a phone place in the center of town and get it dried/cleaned.. Feeling quite defeated, I went for it, though I figured all the circuits were probably blown and I would need to invest in a new phone and unfortunate it was that i had spent so much on this one...
Well.. S/.20 (which is about $6) & 50 minutes later--including a nap in the store--- my phone is once again functional... yay!!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Wishlists
So, right now the only thing on my wishlist is TOFU. I had found one place that sold tofu and now they discontinued it, I don't know why...
As for SKIP.. we have a wishlist as well....
http://skipperu.org/index.php/Wish-List/wish-list.html
SKIP would never function without the generosity and time of everyone involved.
In addition to our constant fund needs for education and related activities, we are currently seeking donations of the following items:
books for the skip library
Books in Spanish for children : dictionnaries, atlas, fairytales, school books, comics
Books in English: fairytales, dictionnary
Books for the parents and the volunteers, preferably in Spanish: psychology, health etc
paint, play dough, pens and pencils
Gardening tools,
Athletic gear: balls, shirts
Notebooks,
Caligraphy books,
Pens,
Pencils,
Paints,
Crayons,
A4 paper,
All other scholastic materials.
Childrens toothbrushes
As for SKIP.. we have a wishlist as well....
http://skipperu.org/index.php/Wish-List/wish-list.html
SKIP would never function without the generosity and time of everyone involved.
In addition to our constant fund needs for education and related activities, we are currently seeking donations of the following items:
books for the skip library
Books in Spanish for children : dictionnaries, atlas, fairytales, school books, comics
Books in English: fairytales, dictionnary
Books for the parents and the volunteers, preferably in Spanish: psychology, health etc
paint, play dough, pens and pencils
Gardening tools,
Athletic gear: balls, shirts
Notebooks,
Caligraphy books,
Pens,
Pencils,
Paints,
Crayons,
A4 paper,
All other scholastic materials.
Childrens toothbrushes
Monday, February 16, 2009
Otra vez....
Well, there was definitely good reason to invest in the industrial strength nit/lice comb... looks like i've got lice again.. it's no wonder, because i'm in the classroom all day with the kids... no one else in the house seems to be getting them but me..
so the old wive's tale is that you get them if you don't wash your hair enough.. but from studies, it's actually that lice prefer clean hair... so just so you know I am keeping myself clean!! :)
so the old wive's tale is that you get them if you don't wash your hair enough.. but from studies, it's actually that lice prefer clean hair... so just so you know I am keeping myself clean!! :)
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Half way mark
Did I mention that I'm at my halfway mark for Trip 1 of my travels. I will be coming back to the states at the end of July which is in about 4.5 months.. I had decided that likely Trip 2 (other countries in S Amer and Centr Amer; --S.E.Asia?--) will be after the holidays (need to talk to Cassanna about that!!)... so i'll be home for a good 6 months before heading out again.
There's this whole thing with one-way tickets costing more than round trip tickets.. and i have spent hours and hours researching the best cost to get home.. up until today the best cost i could find was about $600... until...........
Not exactly sure how I came to do this, but I decided to check out a ticket from Lima to Miami instead of Los Angeles.. lo and behold, they are half as expensive, if not less than that... so that got me on to a search for one way tickets from miami to los angeles, which are really not to bad either... so after months of searching I have finally found a route that will take me from lima to miami (avianca) to los angeles (american airlines) ...(all will be done in one day 5:50am - 8pm) for $434 (including all taxes)!!...
I'm booking this tomorrow as I feel wiped out tonight and don't feel like dealing with it right now.. but it looks like i'll be coming home for a little over $400... yay!! And I'm setting the date for 23rd of July... (might set it for 24th of july if that's easier for someone to pick me up)
-----------update
TIckets bought... will be arriving in LAX approx 8pm on Thursday July 23rd.
There's this whole thing with one-way tickets costing more than round trip tickets.. and i have spent hours and hours researching the best cost to get home.. up until today the best cost i could find was about $600... until...........
Not exactly sure how I came to do this, but I decided to check out a ticket from Lima to Miami instead of Los Angeles.. lo and behold, they are half as expensive, if not less than that... so that got me on to a search for one way tickets from miami to los angeles, which are really not to bad either... so after months of searching I have finally found a route that will take me from lima to miami (avianca) to los angeles (american airlines) ...(all will be done in one day 5:50am - 8pm) for $434 (including all taxes)!!...
I'm booking this tomorrow as I feel wiped out tonight and don't feel like dealing with it right now.. but it looks like i'll be coming home for a little over $400... yay!! And I'm setting the date for 23rd of July... (might set it for 24th of july if that's easier for someone to pick me up)
-----------update
TIckets bought... will be arriving in LAX approx 8pm on Thursday July 23rd.
Brentt Visits!!!
It was so wonderful to have Brentt here visiting me for 3 weeks. Was counting down the days since buying the plane tickets. So I took a 9 hour bus to meet him in Lima since we were taking off by plane to Iquitos from there (Iquitos/Amazon can only be reached by boat or airplane!). While in Lima, I found a cookbook that is ONLY available in Lima.. if you try and buy it online it's only sold for like $200+ ... had been searching for it in Trujillo and it is indeed ONLY available in Lima... was still a bit of a hefty purchase for a book, but I figured it was going to be my one big gift to myself... has great reviews on amazon and is quite an amazing cookbook with explanations on all the foods unique to peru... I am definitely going to miss the food here when i get back home so I had to invest in a really good cookbook. I've already got brentt sold on the papa a la huancaina.. and he tried and really liked the aji de gallina (which of course we'll substitute the meat with some sort of tofu or something since his vegetarian hiaitus was only for his time in Peru)....
So.. we got to Iquitos.. a friend of a friend was to pick us up from the airport, but he was preoccupied with work and forgot to pick us up... which turned into an interesting ordeal because the mototaxi guys are a bit insistent and finally we allowed one to call this friend (since i ran out of minutes on my phone, which sucked as it was, since we were a bit stranded cuz i neglected to get the address of this friend since i thought he was picking us up) we weren't actually sure if he actually called my friend and hestitatingly got into the mototaxi not really sure where we were going... as we're in the mototaxi, this guy in a motorcycle comes by and they just nod at each other and the mototaxi guy starts following him... brentt and I are staring at each other like.. what did that mean? is that my friend (neglected to ask him to send me a picture so i had no idea what he looked like) how'd he know that was him with just a nod... ... anyway, end up at the guy's house and there's a frenzy to get the backpacks out into the house, which added to our strange suspicion.. I look at the guy and i'm like.. "are you xxx??" to which he says yes... anyway, it turns out it really was him, but it was an odd experience for us... to add to the oddity, so my friend had offered for us to stay at his place, so i cancelled our reservations at the hostel... he neglected to mention that his bedroom/apartment is one room... this was a bit awkward as it has been 4 months since brentt and I have seen each other and were hoping to have some level of privacy to catch up on our lives and have alone time... it was an incredibly generous offer for him to allow us to stay at his plce, but a bit awkward .... so we ended up going back to the hostel with our cancelled reservations where the lady kept going on and on about how she had reservations for us and we cancelled them and now she doesn't have them... to which we explained the situation, but she continued going on and on about it.. oh well... my friend found a hostel down the street for us, so it all worked out....
so the next day we were off to the jungle lodge... it was incredibly surreal.. just sort of amazing that a place this beautiful exists naturally..
It was the start of the rainy season so there were alot of half "flooded" trees, flooded houses (houses only used during farming and therefore flooded during rainy season?), houses on stilts... Some animals we saw were venomous/nonvenomous snakes, friendly/domesticated monkeys (who were very cute and polite), iguana, praying mantises (alot of them!!! which was cool cuz brentt and i are obsessed about them), anaconda, armadillo, tarantulas, frogs, poisonous catapillars, massively huge ants, parasitic trees, pink dolphins, lots of amazing plants, ... etc etc etc... it was surreal to turn around in the canoe to find a tarantula crawling by next to me (actually it was the ants that scared me the most)....
we were covered in head to toe in the heat, because the mosquitos are relentless... i had just about 100 bites on my hands and feet/legs... we used alot of deet, but any oportunity they could get to bite where there wasn't deet or bite where there was deet they did... we did end up taking malarone pills, you take it for 1-2 days before you enter the malaria area, then during the time you're there until 7 days after you've left. I didn't notice any side effects.
It was strange (and must have been strange to the guides at the lodge), when we arrived, there was an australian couple who were leaving.. where the guy was white and the woman was asian, then there was brentt and I, and then couple days later, another couple white/asian came (from england/japan)... there weren't alot of guests at the lodge, so this really stood out...
one of the coolest experienced was furiously canoeing for 1.5 hours in a thunder/lighteningstorm back to the lodge... our guide told us to take off any metal we were wearing as we could get electricuted.. it was quite fun though, we were all just laughing and jokes as we were having sheets of rain pouring down on us and still a long way to get back to the lodge... our guide kept telling us to take our raincoats off because the rain was healing... I spent most of the time bailing water out of the canoe, as our two guides and brentt were rowing ... though i did put some of my share of rowing to give the others a break every once in a while :)
one of our guides caught an anaconda in his fishing net the night before and showed it to us.. turns out he was going to "domesticate it" with tobacco leaves and then let it roam their home to eat rats and possibly one of their dogs??.....
on one day we ended up at a work party, where people from the people from the village get together and have a little party with lunch before they help clear a garden for a neighbor. They gave us a taste of some armadillo that they were just finished cooking...it was like rubbery chicken.
on our last day in iquitos we went to the butterfly farm.. there was a tapir there; did you know if you rub a tapir, it loves it so much it'll roll around on the floor?
At all times there are beautiful sounds all around you.. tried to capture the sounds one night:
It was incredibly loud at night, but soothing at the same time..
On the way back to Trujillo, we took a 3 day boat ride to yurimaguas... 3 days of this.... life is tough eh??
We needed to buy hammocks for the boat ride..
Brentt ended up getting sick in Yurimaguas to Tarapoto, so it was good that we spent one night in Tarapoto before heading to Trujillo.
The trip to Iquitos with the jungle tour, flight from lima, boat/bus ride back, and everything came out to just about $550 for two people more or less... (if you're curious how much it would cost to go to the amazon jungle... )
Back in trujillo, brought brentt around to see Chan Chan, the Huacas del Sol y de la luna, to Huanchaco for surfing (which brentt turns out to be a pro!! and the only skills i was able to show brentt was surfing on my knees and falling), went out dancing with my housemates (
), cooked some yummy japanese curry (which was not quite japanese curry, but got rave reviews anyway), trip to hermalinda, the movies, porvenir (where i work), and the center of town... had a very full awesome time in trujillo.... even saw a "fake Bones" ..
one story to end off with... we came to this one restaurant to eat and were deciding on a dessert... he was set on one but I was a bit insistent on him trying "tres leches" which has become one of my favorites here... so after a good long discussion deciding which one to choose, we got the 3 leches, which it turns out he wasn't so impressed... so we came back the next day to try out his choice... but then we we had another long decision session (keep in mind too, that brentt and I are probably the two most indecisive people in the world)... we finally decided that since we had come back to get this one dessert, we're going to choose that one... so we ordered it to go since it was brentt's last day and we were in a bit of a rush to catch the bus back to lima... we stopped off at this one store on the way home to pick up some cookies for brentt to take back... got home, now ready to eat the cake we had been waiting 2 days to try... it's gone.. likely at the one store we stopped at, we never got to try it...
back at the airport in Lima, we lost an hour of time together because when we checked in, they told brentt he had to get to the gate 2 hours before the plane leaves... that sucked, but his leaving was going to suck anyway :P
MISS YOU!!!!
More amazon videos here: http://www.youtube.com/user/djelated
More of brentt's visit pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frunkus/sets/72157613801296113/
So.. we got to Iquitos.. a friend of a friend was to pick us up from the airport, but he was preoccupied with work and forgot to pick us up... which turned into an interesting ordeal because the mototaxi guys are a bit insistent and finally we allowed one to call this friend (since i ran out of minutes on my phone, which sucked as it was, since we were a bit stranded cuz i neglected to get the address of this friend since i thought he was picking us up) we weren't actually sure if he actually called my friend and hestitatingly got into the mototaxi not really sure where we were going... as we're in the mototaxi, this guy in a motorcycle comes by and they just nod at each other and the mototaxi guy starts following him... brentt and I are staring at each other like.. what did that mean? is that my friend (neglected to ask him to send me a picture so i had no idea what he looked like) how'd he know that was him with just a nod... ... anyway, end up at the guy's house and there's a frenzy to get the backpacks out into the house, which added to our strange suspicion.. I look at the guy and i'm like.. "are you xxx??" to which he says yes... anyway, it turns out it really was him, but it was an odd experience for us... to add to the oddity, so my friend had offered for us to stay at his place, so i cancelled our reservations at the hostel... he neglected to mention that his bedroom/apartment is one room... this was a bit awkward as it has been 4 months since brentt and I have seen each other and were hoping to have some level of privacy to catch up on our lives and have alone time... it was an incredibly generous offer for him to allow us to stay at his plce, but a bit awkward .... so we ended up going back to the hostel with our cancelled reservations where the lady kept going on and on about how she had reservations for us and we cancelled them and now she doesn't have them... to which we explained the situation, but she continued going on and on about it.. oh well... my friend found a hostel down the street for us, so it all worked out....
so the next day we were off to the jungle lodge... it was incredibly surreal.. just sort of amazing that a place this beautiful exists naturally..
It was the start of the rainy season so there were alot of half "flooded" trees, flooded houses (houses only used during farming and therefore flooded during rainy season?), houses on stilts... Some animals we saw were venomous/nonvenomous snakes, friendly/domesticated monkeys (who were very cute and polite), iguana, praying mantises (alot of them!!! which was cool cuz brentt and i are obsessed about them), anaconda, armadillo, tarantulas, frogs, poisonous catapillars, massively huge ants, parasitic trees, pink dolphins, lots of amazing plants, ... etc etc etc... it was surreal to turn around in the canoe to find a tarantula crawling by next to me (actually it was the ants that scared me the most)....
we were covered in head to toe in the heat, because the mosquitos are relentless... i had just about 100 bites on my hands and feet/legs... we used alot of deet, but any oportunity they could get to bite where there wasn't deet or bite where there was deet they did... we did end up taking malarone pills, you take it for 1-2 days before you enter the malaria area, then during the time you're there until 7 days after you've left. I didn't notice any side effects.
It was strange (and must have been strange to the guides at the lodge), when we arrived, there was an australian couple who were leaving.. where the guy was white and the woman was asian, then there was brentt and I, and then couple days later, another couple white/asian came (from england/japan)... there weren't alot of guests at the lodge, so this really stood out...
one of the coolest experienced was furiously canoeing for 1.5 hours in a thunder/lighteningstorm back to the lodge... our guide told us to take off any metal we were wearing as we could get electricuted.. it was quite fun though, we were all just laughing and jokes as we were having sheets of rain pouring down on us and still a long way to get back to the lodge... our guide kept telling us to take our raincoats off because the rain was healing... I spent most of the time bailing water out of the canoe, as our two guides and brentt were rowing ... though i did put some of my share of rowing to give the others a break every once in a while :)
one of our guides caught an anaconda in his fishing net the night before and showed it to us.. turns out he was going to "domesticate it" with tobacco leaves and then let it roam their home to eat rats and possibly one of their dogs??.....
on one day we ended up at a work party, where people from the people from the village get together and have a little party with lunch before they help clear a garden for a neighbor. They gave us a taste of some armadillo that they were just finished cooking...it was like rubbery chicken.
on our last day in iquitos we went to the butterfly farm.. there was a tapir there; did you know if you rub a tapir, it loves it so much it'll roll around on the floor?
At all times there are beautiful sounds all around you.. tried to capture the sounds one night:
It was incredibly loud at night, but soothing at the same time..
On the way back to Trujillo, we took a 3 day boat ride to yurimaguas... 3 days of this.... life is tough eh??
We needed to buy hammocks for the boat ride..
Brentt ended up getting sick in Yurimaguas to Tarapoto, so it was good that we spent one night in Tarapoto before heading to Trujillo.
The trip to Iquitos with the jungle tour, flight from lima, boat/bus ride back, and everything came out to just about $550 for two people more or less... (if you're curious how much it would cost to go to the amazon jungle... )
Back in trujillo, brought brentt around to see Chan Chan, the Huacas del Sol y de la luna, to Huanchaco for surfing (which brentt turns out to be a pro!! and the only skills i was able to show brentt was surfing on my knees and falling), went out dancing with my housemates (
), cooked some yummy japanese curry (which was not quite japanese curry, but got rave reviews anyway), trip to hermalinda, the movies, porvenir (where i work), and the center of town... had a very full awesome time in trujillo.... even saw a "fake Bones" ..
one story to end off with... we came to this one restaurant to eat and were deciding on a dessert... he was set on one but I was a bit insistent on him trying "tres leches" which has become one of my favorites here... so after a good long discussion deciding which one to choose, we got the 3 leches, which it turns out he wasn't so impressed... so we came back the next day to try out his choice... but then we we had another long decision session (keep in mind too, that brentt and I are probably the two most indecisive people in the world)... we finally decided that since we had come back to get this one dessert, we're going to choose that one... so we ordered it to go since it was brentt's last day and we were in a bit of a rush to catch the bus back to lima... we stopped off at this one store on the way home to pick up some cookies for brentt to take back... got home, now ready to eat the cake we had been waiting 2 days to try... it's gone.. likely at the one store we stopped at, we never got to try it...
back at the airport in Lima, we lost an hour of time together because when we checked in, they told brentt he had to get to the gate 2 hours before the plane leaves... that sucked, but his leaving was going to suck anyway :P
MISS YOU!!!!More amazon videos here: http://www.youtube.com/user/djelated
More of brentt's visit pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frunkus/sets/72157613801296113/
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Picture update and summer school.
Posted some pictures from Christmas up to Brentt's visit (which will be in it's own album)...
The few pictures of Mancora that I got... including this beautiful sunset:
Some fotos of summer camp:
The makings of a poi workshop at our summer camp:
Before
After
And the kids:
For summer camp we had these awesome attendance boards.. instead of doing attendance, we had the kids put their name on the board:
We had 4 classes, so the other boards were butterflies/sky, apples/tree, and worms/earth...
Coordinating a summer camp is amazingly difficult, especially when yo'ure not a teacher nor have ever done anything like this before... fortunately I had the help of quite a few people--pretty much had someone as a co-coordinator majority of the time :) the camp was monday through friday, morning and afternoon for the primary school kids (elementary school).. more academic stuff in the mornings and fun workshops in the afternoon (such as cine club, poi, bracelet making, etc etc)... each week had a theme (ecology, animals, food, peru, the world, etc etc...) and its 7 weeks long... of our 400 primary age kids in SKIP, 90 signed up.. and about 70 show up... I have never worked so hard in my life!!! the camp required quite a bit of creativity considering the little resources we have and lack of actual teachers. but we managed and it was quite great!!
Rest of the fotos in this album here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frunkus/sets/72157613795896761/
The few pictures of Mancora that I got... including this beautiful sunset:
Some fotos of summer camp:
The makings of a poi workshop at our summer camp:
Before
After
And the kids:
For summer camp we had these awesome attendance boards.. instead of doing attendance, we had the kids put their name on the board:
We had 4 classes, so the other boards were butterflies/sky, apples/tree, and worms/earth...
Coordinating a summer camp is amazingly difficult, especially when yo'ure not a teacher nor have ever done anything like this before... fortunately I had the help of quite a few people--pretty much had someone as a co-coordinator majority of the time :) the camp was monday through friday, morning and afternoon for the primary school kids (elementary school).. more academic stuff in the mornings and fun workshops in the afternoon (such as cine club, poi, bracelet making, etc etc)... each week had a theme (ecology, animals, food, peru, the world, etc etc...) and its 7 weeks long... of our 400 primary age kids in SKIP, 90 signed up.. and about 70 show up... I have never worked so hard in my life!!! the camp required quite a bit of creativity considering the little resources we have and lack of actual teachers. but we managed and it was quite great!!
Rest of the fotos in this album here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frunkus/sets/72157613795896761/
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