Hola from Huancayo!!
Over the last few days our group of 12 volunteers and our very experienced Team Leader, Tom Fair (this is his fourth trip to this project!) arrived in Lima and successfully rendezvoused at our hotel. We enjoyed a dinner in Lima getting to know one another and discovered we’re a diverse group, but with many things in common. We’ve got retirees, teachers, a doctor, a chef, a consultant, an administrator, a manager, a lawyer and moms, dads, husbands and wives. Our ages are from 25 to 67. We’ve discovered that we share a love of food (new foods in particular), spirits, and sharing stories from previous trips and adventures. We also share a desire to work hard, learn lots, and generally make this trip memorable … and so far so good!
Day 1 was a long day of traveling from Lima to Huancayo. We had a deluxe bus and drove through some amazing scenery. The altitude reached close to 16,000 feet and luckily only one of us was affected really adversely by the
change in altitude (and he’s on the mend and should be back in action shortly!).
After the long journey we were met and helped by our host partner, ARGUEDIANOS, at the bus station. Violeta ensured we had a fantastic and easy arrival. and we quickly settled into our hotel after a late dinner. We also discovered that sharing food and sampling plates would ensure food would not go to waste (and benefit everyone’s adventurous taste buds), so the plate passing began!
Day 2 was project orientation followed by a city tour and a visit to local artisans. Project orientation was fascinating! We met our host partner, ARGUEDIANOS, learned about the project we are helping with - stage four of completing a local alternative school for children who are high risk to drop out of school and often work to support their families. We discussed some of the challenges that face Peruvians and Peruvian children and asked a stream of questions about the project, meeting with local children, what the project would accomplish, and what the challenges and successes were to date. A big thank you to the previous Developing World Connections Teams that have come here to work on this school project! Amazing progress has been made and complete credit goes to our host partner here in Huancayo who have been hard at work and continue to make this project successful!
The rest of the day was continuing to acclimatize to the altitude and we toured the local downtown area. We soon saw the economic spectrum that makes up Peru and the extreme poverty that is always present. We met some very interesting people and also enjoyed a visit to local gourd artisans who make incredible artwork with a small carving tool, coal, and natural dyes - very impressive. Equally impressive highlights were an impromptu cooking class, a first class shoe shine, a lost cab driver and a very crowded bus ride back to the hotel (some local children insisted on giving us their seats)! We’re all looking forward to getting started bright and early tomorrow morning on the project!
Hablamos luego …
DWC Participant Peru April 2010
Pam Kovacs
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