Huancayo, Peru: August 2010 - Arriving

I arrived at 11:50pm on sunday and was picked up by a man named Ronas and a driver. Ronas is the manager of the Casa Rodas hostel which I stayed at. He often helps out the Developing World Connections groups when they come to Peru. Very kind and charming... The Hostel was nice, very cold inside though!! its all tile floor and the windows are just glass on hinges, no frame, no screen. its kinda cool. In the morning i ate breakfast and took a cab to the bus station to meet the group. The buses were very nice big buses. which was very necessary because we had a 7 hour drive ahead of us... we winded up mountain roads and saw all sorts of villages... dwellings at the side of the road, women washing clothes in tubs outside, children playing, dogs, lots of dogs, stray and scavenging. Chickens, sheep, donkeys, pigs, cows, goats. Not a single llama!! Yet...

We all started to feel the altitude on the climb up the mountain. My face started to feel like I had a bad sunburn. I had not yet been in the sun at all. It was interesting. I started to have difficulty breathing but was overall okay.

We arrived in Huancayo at about 8pm and we met by the Arguedianos host partners, Violetta and Alejandro. Piled our luggage in the truck and walked to the Hotel. Checked in. Sleeeeep.

The altitude is funny. We are all huffing and puffing just to crawl into bed at night! heart racing, the whole works. Some have headaches and we all seem to be experiencing cold like symptoms, stuffy runny nose and sore throat. But coca tea is the key. And thankfully it is very available. In our hotle lobby for example, always hot coca tea ready to be drank. It is so helpful, tasty and addicting... go figure, haha. Not only is it good for altitude sickness but it is good for digestion.

Day 2: Huancayo
Today we slept in, went for breakfast at the Coqui Cafe next door to the hotel. Fresh made waffel and fresh juiced papaya! yum! Afterwards we were met by two lovely ladies, Fabiola, and Nancy who are part of the host partner group, Arguedianos. They took us in a cab around the city center and to the jobsite. I will talk more about the jobsite tomorrow. We went to a hat park... yes, a hat park.. Their were giant hats (used as umbrellas over the benches) in a beautiful park square with bidges and fountains. It was very unique... :) Afterward we walked around a mall, which, Im not going to lie, was really boring. I didn't come here to shop in a mall with fashions and prices the same as what I can find in Red Deer. Even though I get easily suckered in 'cause I do enjoy shopping... but I have to remind myself what things exactly I wanted to buy while in Peru... and it wasn't that. But it was helpful to learn were the supermarket was. And was, I admit, a good way to get used to the city.

Before dinner, we had some time to kill so Karin and I decided to take a little walk around city center. Got some great photos of the children chasing pigeons in the park as well as some beautiful photos of a colonial church. (will post later) We stumbled across a little artisan marketplace with beautiful andean crafts. Including of course, woven textiles and knitted sweaters. I bought my first ever alpaca sweater :) for 32 soles. Which is roughly about 15 buck cnd! Heck ya!
On the way back to the hotel I was taking some photos of the sunset light against the church and a woman with a child stopped me and asked, foto? pointing to the child. I thought she may have been giving me a photo op for of course a small fee. (tourists tend to get that) Of course I said ok sure.. But then she handed me the baby!! and explained again, no, we want a photo of the baby with you!! For no money of course, and we both felt bad for thinking so.. So i got to hold this sweet wide eyed pudgy cheeked little peruvian baby :) Filled my heart with joy!!
We finished the day off With a good meal at a fine Restaurante! Tomorrow morning, off to the jobsite!

Amber Lee
DWC Participant

Huancayo, Peru: August 2010

I have arrived in Peru now, and am happy to be settling in Huancayo. The trip was good, we met up with three others from our group in Vancouver. Stayed the night at a hotel in Lima, then took a bus from there to here. The bus ride was 7 hours and was up, up, and up the whole way. We are now higher than the peak of Whistler, I have definitely never been this high up. It is hard to get used to the altitude, very tired and short of breath but the coca tea helps a lot. The rest of our group has been here for a week so they gave up all the tips and heads up on how we would feel.

There are pretty much no other tourists here so we definitely stand out. The host company we are working with toured us around today and took us to the work site. It's a cool project for sure, the first school of its kind being built here. More to come!

Jessica Saavedra
DWC Participant

Huancayo, Peru: Excursion into the Rainforest

Fortunately everyone seemed to recuperate quickly from the flu. We were all back to work on Monday where we continued with the garden. We have spent a lot of time shoveling and wheel-barrowing dirt, in order to level the land. The boys have been helping Mr, Alejandro mix and pour cement. We are all happy to see the garden starting to take shape (and look like the blue prints). In fact, it seems like we are over half way now.

We are looking forward to putting our mosaic pictures into the walkway of the garden. Everyone is going to work in pairs and will be making their own design. The time has been flying by already, most of us are pretty exhausted at the end of the workday. We like to come home and catch up on some reading, also card games are quite popular at our house particularly rummy. We booked a rainforest excursion on the weekend and 8 of us went. It was an amazing experience.

The day began bright and early at 6am where we hopped onto a bus and headed out of Huancayo. Along the way our tour guide filled us in on the different histories of different towns we passed through. We stopped to see viewpoints, churches, and waterfalls, until finally we got to the main attraction. We got out of the van and started a half an hour hike to the waterfall we came to see. It seemed like we would never get there until finally we could hear the rush of the water, we turned that last corner and there it was! We quickly got into our swimgear and heading out into the water. The closer we got the windier it got which caused the spray to pelt against our skin. The current was moving quickly as well so by the time we all made it to the bottom of the falls we were laughing pretty hard. At first the water felt freezing but soon we became used to it. We stayed about twenty minutes screaming, laughing, and snapping pictures. We then began the hike back down to the van.

We moved slower on the way down in order to take in the beautiful lush rainforest. Once we got back to the van we came across a man who had numerous snakes available to be held (and photographed). A few of us summoned up the courage to hold the grey boa, of course we took a picture for proof. We then headed to a restaurant for lunch where we were fortunate enough to sample some traditional jungle food such as wild boar, deer, and various fish.

Next we went to a native community where we got dressed up in traditional clothing right down to have our faces painted. We danced around a bonfire with the members of the community and did a little shopping as well. Our final stop was at a coffee factory where we could sample some jams and coffee liqueurs, again we did more shopping.

Finally we got onto the bus to start the long drive back home. We rolled into Huancayo at about midnight and barely made it to our beds before crashing for the night. Today was a leisurely day spent shopping at the Sunday market we have come to love and lounging in the sun. Our group is eager to start this next week of work as we are all really hoping to complete the garden.

Lauren Hoffman
DWC Student Team Leader
Huancayo, Peru May 2010

Huancayo, Peru:

Tuesday we awoke eager to begin our first day of work. We found out that we would be doing a garden for the school. This involves clearing a field of weeds, long grass, and rocks. This task alone took us all of Tuesday and Wednesday.

While we were busy clearing the land we quickly became acquainted with a few critters. Marlie seems to be a magnet for the big, beefy spiders. We soon found this work to be very exhausting; especially, since contrary to what many of us thought the weather has been very sunny and hot. We have been struggling to adapt to the heat and the physical work. After work on Wednesday our translator and life saver Yessi took us on a tour of the city. We stopped to see all of the parks. This was not only interesting but also gave us a feel for the city and helps us to navigate our way around the city.

Finally we went to see the Torre Torre sandstone formations-a highlight for all of us. The driver could only take us so far and then it was up to us to hike the rest. With a few breaks and perseverance we finally made it to the top. It was a breath-taking experience literally. We all agree that it is an activity we hope to repeat before it is time for us to leave Huancayo.

On Thursday we began leveling the ground, more very labour intensive work. I think all of us girls are fortunate to have our three hardworking guys Mike, Will, and Jake here to help lighten our load a bit. Thursday a few of us started to feel ill and it has quickly gone through most of our group. Luckily for us we arrived at work this morning to find out that we had to wait for cement and there was no work for us today. Instead we were in for a real treat.

We went to Yessi´s house to pick up a basketball and a soccer ball and with that we were off to the park. We began to toss the basketball around and soon enough we had a few children circling us to watch. At first they were quite shy but once one little boy got in on the game it seemed like the children kept multiplying in numbers. Until we all had a little group to play with. We spent most of the morning at the park playing games with the kids, taking pictures, and just enjoying one another´s company. We were having so much fun that before we knew it we were due back at the worksite for lunch.

After lunch the women that stay at the house on our worksite asked us to play volleyball with them. Of course we were happy to do so, we didn´t realize what a workout it would be. These two moms were able to play volleyball and watch their kids, and we still tired out before they did. Tonight everyone is taking it easy as no one is feeling a hundred percent. We are hoping that the weekend will do us good and we will be ready for action Monday morning. Unfortunately this flu caught us at a bad time as it is Sarah´s 21st birthday today. We have decided to postpone a night of fun until a later time when we can all enjoy it.

Lauren Hoffman
DWC Student Team Leader
Huancayo, Peru May 2010

Huancayo, Peru: The first days of the project.

We arrived very early Saturday morning in Lima. We then got picked up and were off to our home for the night - the Flying Dog. Since most of us had been up for nearly 24 hours we spent the day napping and relaxing. We met up with out three participants that had spent the previous week in Cuzco. We all enjoyed a nice dinner together and got to know one another.

So far everyone is doing well and is very excited to be here. The following day we got up and packed up to head to the bus station. Where we then got on a very long bus ride to Huancayo. We only travelled a short 200km but it took a little over 8 hours. It was a very twisty turn-y ride, some people felt motion/altitude sickness. But it didn´t last once we arrived. We got to our house, set up beds, and got ourselves organized.

Today we spent the day getting to know our way around Huancayo. We went for a big grocery shop to stock our house. Tomorrow is our first day of work and we could not be more thrilled to start our project.

Lauren Hoffman
DWC Student Team Leader
Huancayo, Peru 2010

Lima, Peru: May 7th, 2010.

Today we were invited to the Mother's Day celebration at the school, which started off with a speech by the principal about how important family was and how very thankful they were to have us. There was a problem with the contractor and the classrooms were not going to be painted in time for school to start on Monday, so we took on that job as well as working on the bathrooms. Everyone was incredibly grateful to us which they let us know by accepting us full out into their community celebration.

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All the children and mothers gathered in the community hall, and after the speeches each grade took a turn doing a dance they had learned starting with the three year olds. It was incredibly adorable and everyone had their cameras out clicking away. After each grade had finished their dances we were called up to the front and had a toast with all the mothers which we were then paired up with by the principal. The music started playing and everyone started dancing to the spicy Peruvian tunes, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. The next song brought the children to the dance floor and everyone was holding hands, smiling, laughing and having a great time. I think they may have been laughing at the crazy moves we brought to the dance floor, but it was awesome none the less.

After we finished dancing everyone was served this delicious meal, and when it was done we took pictures with everybody, I actually felt like kind of a celebrity. The celebrations ended with tons of hugs, kisses and thank you's, and I left with this overwhelming feeling that I am still trying to figure out because it was like nothing I had ever felt before.

Heather Ling
DWC Participant,
Student Experience - Lima, Peru, 2010.

Lima, Peru: The most beautiful part of Peru.

When I told people I was going on a trip to Peru, some gasped and said, “Wow Peru! How beautiful! Full of palm trees and beautiful ocean.” As Peru does boast beautiful beaches and hot weather, what I saw today is definitely not tourist material.

We drove about an hour out of Miraflores, where we are staying, to an area without streets or grass or ocean or trees. It was breathtaking. Mountains of dirt and dust upon which thousands of people construct their houses, their livelihood, and live with their families. We drove up to a one storey brick building under construction. The blackboard hanging on the wall suggested it was a place of learning, and it was. We had arrived at our worksite.

The principal and mothers of the area showed us around and the impact that these people had on the lives of their students was immediately evident. We went into a classroom to see what it looked like while the school day was in session and 30 little ninos chimed “Buenos dias!” altogether with smiles across their faces. It was a beautiful sound!

What a wonderful place to be. During the day we worked around the school painting an office for the principal, cleaning and organizing a workshop room, chipping away concrete on the bathroom floors (the beginning of the waste disposal system), and any other odd jobs they presented. What a difference a day makes! The school is looking great after only 8 hours of labour and I am excited to see what it looks like after a month. I think this will be the most beautiful part of Peru I see.

Jennifer

DWC Student Participant

Lima, Peru 2010