Huancayo, Peru: Monday of Holy Week.

The week started off in a good and productive manner. We arrived at the work site well rested from the weekend and ready to paint. It wasn’t long before Jorge (the painting maestro) had the spatula’s out, and pointing “Aqui, Aqui” It is so hard to believe that we missed so many spots. This is going to be the best finished ceiling in Huancayo. It is amazing to see the workmanship that is possible with limited resources and tools.

It is really cool to see all the pomp and ceremony of Holy Week . Each evening the Church square comes alive with elaborate processions around the square each celebrating a significant event in Christs’ life leading up to Easter Sunday. The streets are lined with families creating and selling elaborate woven palm leaves, sheath’s of wheat and breads to sell to the faithful. It has become a nightly ritual for us to watch the festivities as they occur.

Funny after seven days in Huancayo, we noticed that there are no franchise fast food restaurants in town, or at least none that we have seen. The streets are crowded with vendors selling incredibly smelling treats and tasty food, and little independent restaurants in every nook and cranny but no Americanized “McDonalds”. It seems like a little pocket that North America has not really found yet.

DWC Participant
Dan

Huancayo, Peru: Updates from the first week.

We all arrived in Lima at different times, odd times, early or perhaps late times. Our team leader Tom Fair had everything organized so it was trouble-free travel upon arrival. There was a driver with name cards to identify us at the airport. In no time, he drove us to the Bayview Hotel in Miraflores. Dan and Tom arrived about 1:30 am on the 7th, just in time to have a celebratory beer. Paul arrived about 5:30 am, knocking on Dan's door to get a couple hours shut-eye before starting the Lima adventure. Conny flew in from Germany on the Apr 7th at about 10:00 pm. Finally Judy arrived on the 9th at 1:30 am, bursting through her roommate Conny's door and waking the whole hotel up. Judy's energy continues to carry on through this Peruvian adventure.

Tom arranged accommodation at the Bayview Hotel in Miraflores. It is quaint and very central to the action in the neighbourhood. Miraflores is an upscale part of Lima close to the coast. Staff at the hotel are friendly and helpful. One of the highlights of the hotel is a big turtle in the back patio. The team has named the turtle Charlotte. Dan is deathly afraid of Charlotte and has nightmares of her biting his toes off. However, Dan and Charlotte grown to live in a state of happy co-dependency, as Charlotte is fed fruit daily and in turn acts as a wine caddy by night.

It is unusual to have few days of free time before starting on the project in Huancayo. Some planned for a day or two to get adjusted. However we were set back a day because of the Presidential election, which wasn't hard to miss as every street was nearly covered in campaign posters or graffiti of various parties and their candidates. Everything shuts down for the day including buses to Huancayo and the sale of wine and beer. Given extra time for team building, the first order of business appeared to be to create names for team members.

Some how, it is a long story that no one quite remembers (or perhaps chooses to forget) but Dan was given the name red chicken. He didn't like that so much so we changed the name to 'Pollo Rojo' (red chicken). He still doesn't like it but consensus ruled. Since then he has become Senor Atlas. Another long story is how Tom got his name but everyone remembers this one. While eating at a restaurant the first evening in town Tom adventurously ordered a dish he was not familiar with. When the dish arrived, there was a large pile of what looked like chicken livers. Dan and Paul tried a piece each and agreed that one piece was just fine. Tom dug in and eat about half. Turns out that they were chicken hearts, thus the name Muchos Corazones, or Many hearts. Tio Thomas (Uncle Thomas) is Tom's other name. Conny quickly received the name Pequeno Diablo (Little Devil) because of the sparkle in her eyes. She brings really great energy to the team and adds a more international flavour to the group. When she speaks Spanish it is her third language. Judy has few names. Lima is hot and with her fair skin and red hair she was soon known as Frito Camarones (fried shrimp). And day or so later with some attention from local boys Roberto and Alberto she also became known as Abja Reina (Queen Bee). At times she shares the same name given to Paul, which is Momma Sito but hers is the feminine form of Momma Sita, for at they times parent the group. Possibly from missing their children at home. Paul is also known as San Pablo (Saint Paul) he acts as body guard to Conny and Judy when out on the streets seeing as he stands a good foot or two above the locals and keeps an eye out for possible danger. A better name would be Grande Pablo.

On a more serious note, we discovered that Lima has excellent cuisine (aside from chicken hearts), good shopping and many interesting districts to visit. Dan and Paul had a go at surfing. The ocean off Lima has a consistent 5 foot breakers and it was tough even getting out to try to catch a wave. The instructors would yell 'paddle! paddle! paddle!' for encouragement and one time Paul (or maybe Dan) turned back to their instructor and yelled 'But I am!'. Dan successfully got up after a few tries, whilst Paul only managed to get to his knees on the board then toppled over. However they got back to the shore they were both happy with the experience. Dan and Paul weren't the only ones to catch a wave though. Conny, Tom and Judy had stayed on shore to watch the boys surf. Before heading out Paul had prophetically mentioned never to turn your back to the ocean. Well, apparently the ocean doesn't like to be ignored either! During a conversation between Judy and Tom a rogue waved completely doused the two from head to toe. Conny being more mindful of her surroundings managed to jump out of the way and was spared wet clothing.

We took the bus to Huancayo on the 12th and started our project at the school on the 13th. The bus ride was long but comfortable as the bus taken was a double decker tour type. We were able to watch three movies in big reclining chairs and was served a dinner too. The road was twisty and seemed to climb endlessly into the heart of the Andes. At times the bus slowed to a crawl and we were able to watch the Andes 500 as other vehicles would dangerously pass us on the narrow roads; one side at times being a cliff and the other the mountain wall. So there was little room for error. The best way to deal with this was to just go to sleep and hope you woke up still alive.

Our bus driver safely brought us into Huancayo late in the night and the team was greeted at the bus terminal by a large contingent of locals involved with the project. We immediately felt very welcomed and watched our luggage be whisked away by truck to the hotel, Los Balcones. After being on the bus for 8 plus hours a walk to the hotel with Violetta (the project co-ordinator) sounded perfect. We all felt the altitude (Huancayo being 10,500 feet) by the time we arrived. Even after being here a for nearly a week climbing the two flights of stairs to our rooms leaves us out of breath at times and it is not that we are in bad shape or so we hope anyways.

Work started on the 13th and so far the team have put in three full days. The day starts with breakfast at the corner cafe and the van picking the team up at 8:15. The same route to the work site is rarely taken more than once so there has been a great opportunity for the team to see Huancayo. There are many Volkswagen Bugs used as transportation in Peru and naturally the game Punch Bug was started to pass the time during the drive to the worksite. It has now become a death match game between Dan and Judy with Conny and Tom being helpful at pointing out the upcoming Bugs for the two of them.

The plan for the group originally was building desks, unbeknown to group leader Tom the plan had changed. The team was now to paint the upper level of the administration building. Day One had the team scraping and sanding the walls and ceiling smooth for the paint. We are all fast workers and in a couple hours had that done. We felt good about our accomplishment and looked forward to the next day's schedule of painting. Days two and three were spent filling holes and cracks with putty and then scraping and sanding the areas smooth in preparation of painting. The afternoon of day three the team was able to put up the first coat of paint. Day four saw the second coat and then a third coat of paint go up. Week two has been scheduled for working on garden plots which are incorporated into the walkway design in the courtyard area. The walkway was made by a previous DWC team and their team members names can be found written in cement tiles, sometimes accompanied with Canadian pins or Canadian money for embellishment.

Each day the group is greeted at the work site by their interpretor, Jesse. Jesse spends the day with us and helps with communication between the painter and the team members. We tend to make a mess of the Spanish language but no one can say we don't try. Jesse is very patient with our attempts at it. At lunch time the Huancayo home team, consisting of Nancy, Christian and Huan Carlos, arrive with lunch. The meal is always delicious with a lot of variety to choose from. The home team has been very accommodating and helpful.

Jesse has also worked as a tour guide for the team. She has taken the team to see many sites in and out of Huanycayo and helped to explain some of Huancayo's history. One night she arranged for the group to go see traditional Huancayo musicians complete with dancers who performed two dances specific to the city of Huancayo. At one point the dancers picked Conny and Dan to join in on the second dance. The team has also seen how alpaca wool is made into yarn and weaved for blankets.

Come back and read up on the team members various adventures and illnesses!

Collaborative effort by DWC Participants,
Judy, Paul and Dan

Huancayo, Peru: April 2011 - Off to a good start

Buenos Dias!!!

Our Peru team of 5 have all arrived safe and sound. We have a very good group of participants (3 from Kamloops BC, 1 from Alberta and 1 from Germany) and I believe that we will get along with each other well. The past few days we have seen a lot of Lima and had some great meals and wine. Today we head to Huancayo on Cruz del Sur on the 1:30pm bus. I spoke with Violeta, our host partner contact at Arguendianos, and she is going to be meet us at the bus depot.

Looking forward to getting started on the project. We will keep you posted.

Tom Fair
DWC Team Leader

Huancayo Peru: August 2010 - Last day on the project and saying goodbye

Last day of working in Huancayo today and it has proven to be a rewarding experience. although we will not see the completion of the school, we feel good knowing that we helped to get it one step closer. One day it will be full of children and will hopefully be the beginning of a new way of schooling in Huancayo. Be able to working side by side with the foreman, Maestro Augusto, was a rewarding experience in itself. He is an easy going guy with a sense of humor. Communicating was easy, he spoke zero English but with the help of our "pocito espanol" and a lot of hand signals we managed to get quite a bit of work done in the admin building. Its nice to be able to visualize what the entire place will look like when it is completed. The classrooms are already done, they have tiled floors and large windows and big fancy doors... the walkway that we worked on looked something like a labrynth, twisting and turning around what will be gardens and a meditations and chess area. There is a large grassy area for the kids to play if they like. The brick and cement keep the buildings cool in the day time. I am unsure whether or not Lizette and her family will be a permanent residence on the property after the completion of the school. But for the meantime it is necessary and quite a privilege for us to be able to see the daily life of this woman and her child while working at the jobsite. It was a little sad knowing we would not be back the following Monday to keep working with the group, Yessie, Augusto... and have Nancy bring lunch at 1pm. Its so funny how easily one can fall into a routine. But mostly it will be sad that we wont get to see any of them again.

I never thought saying goodbye would be so hard. Its amazing in such a short time the kind of bond you can create with a person. The kindness that our friends in Huancayo showed us is more then I can explain. Each and every one of them made it so comfortable to be there and it felt like home in no time at all. Nancy and Yessie arranged a tour for us on our last day, to see some of the country side we hadn't seen yet. We drove out of Huancayo, through a few small towns and into the country to the beautiful farmlands of the Andes. We stopped to hike up a beautiful cobblestone trail to the top of a mountain to see some ancient Wankan ruins. The Wankas were a civilization that lived in the area in the same time as the Incas (but nowhere near the Incas). They were a much stronger civilization and extremely strategic in the building of there city. It overlooks the mountain in all directions. They were wiped out by the Spanish however, same as the Incas. It was very warm and sunny, and although we were exhausted by the time we reached the top, it was worth it to experience the ruins. As well as the incredible view of Huancayo and surrounding area. The countryside was some of the most beautiful I had ever seen, old tapia and adobe style houses, ruins, freshly plowed fields ready to be planted, some already being harvested by old women wearing traditional layered skirts with aprons vests and hats. Towering over everything were beautiful eucalyptus trees, the air was fresh and clean with the slight scent of eucalyptus. It was quiet and peaceful, not like the city. There were donkeys, sheep and cows grazing on the land.. Its the kind of peaceful and simple life that I dream of. Cristian says its only about 10 soles/meter for land out there. That is less then 5 dollars Canadian!

Driving back down the mountain side, we stopped in a little village to see the oldest church in Huancayo. It is 450 years old. Beautiful, like something you would see in the movies. it was so... incredible. And cobblestone walkway leading over a bridge and all the way up to the front door.

On the ride there and back, I got to sit beside Cristian. It was nice having him near so I could ask questions about things. He and Yessie are so helpful anytime we have questions about the culture or anything. So we chatted a bit and he shared with me some photos of himself when he was younger and his family. It was so nice getting to spend a little extra time getting to know him. Wish I had even a few more days to get to know him better. And Yessie too...

Our farewell was rushed and chaotic. But we hugged and said our thank yous and goodbyes. I cried when I got on the bus. Some people asked what the best part of the trip was, and by far, it was making friends with the locals. I left a piece of my heart in Huancayo today. And one day soon I will be back for it.

Amber Lee
DWC Participant

Huancayo, Peru: August 2010 - Macchu Picchu

We boarded Inka Rail, en route to Aguas Caliente at the base of Macchu Picchu. The train followed along the Urubamba river through the Sacred Valley of the Inkas and with windows all around, we had a spectacular view of the Valley. We watched as the mountains went from dry, and brown with tall eucalyptus trees, to lush and green, and almost jungle. The mountains here are somewhat different then at home. Our mountains have a much larger base to them, these ones here shoot straight up. We arrived in Aguas Caliente around 5, grabbed our luggage and walked through endless markets up steep and narrow cobblestone streets to our hotel. Our hotel here was called, " Plaza Andina". We went to grab a bite and then call it a night because we had to get up at 3:30 to get in line for the bus to Macchu Picchu.

Karin and I (and everyone else) had requested a wake up call for the next morning. We had also attempted to set the alarm clock... Our wake up was to be at 330. The alarm never went off, and the phone never rang. We woke up to the sound of a rooster crowing. I guess that was our wake up call! We packed our bags and walked down to the bus stop. There was already people in line and more on their way. The bus ride was quite an amazing climb up a switchback up to the high Andes. when we got to the check point, we got out and walked. up a few flights of stairs.. but that was nothing. The most beautiful and overwhelming feeling I have ever had happened when we reached the top of our climb. I have waited and waited, and come all this way. And there it was the ancient Inka city of Macchu Picchu. All I wanted to do was cry. About 20 minutes had passed before I even took a picture. I just sat and stared in awe.

Soon enough, Pursy gathered us up for our history lesson. He is such a thourogh and informative guide. We learned many things about Macchu Picchu. one thing being that the city itself is not named Macchu Picchu, but that is the name of the mountain to the north. The City's name in still unknown but there are some thoughts on what it might be however. The man who discovered it in 1911 was told buy a local farmer that their might be some ruins up there (pointed) on Macchu Picchu. It wasn't, but was in the middle of three mountains. But he decided its name was Macchu Picchu. The man was an American by the name of Hiram Bingham. He found many artifacts, such as pottery, textiles, tools, etc. and He brought them all back to the united states with him and still today they remain in Yale Universtity. Which is tragic for Peru. Their history should be preserved in their own country not the united states.... :( More and more things we learned... the Inkas had an irrigation system running through the entire city, trenches carved out of the stone running down each street and into beautiful fountains. And then, while we were in one of the houses and pursy was telling us what each room was for he showed us a small room with a small hole in the floor... it was a bathroom! There was a completely different pluming system running through the city for sewage. How fantastic is this place!!

Next we climbed up Waynapicchu to get a fabulous view of Macchu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. Waynapicchu is the tall tall mountain in the background of Macchu Picchu when you see pictures... the Inka trail goes all the way to the top. It was the most difficult hike I have ever done. Mind you I dont do much hiking.... But it switch backed all the way up one side. Inka stonework made stairs all the way up... it was so rewarding getting to the top!

Amber Lee
DWC Participant

Huancayo, Peru: August 2010 - When in Rome

Today is our second last day of working on the school. We finished the walkway we started last week and feels great to be done. A few of us went to help Maestro Augusto lay bricks on the second floor of the admin building, as well as finish off the roof. Laying bricks is kinda fun, we wet the bricks really good, mix up some cement and dirt and water, slop it on ans lay the bricks. After the walls are done they get covered in a layer of cement for a smooth finish which can be painted later. this is a very common way to build here. Haven't seen any 2x4's and drywall yet. Before the walls can get covered, the bricks must be soaked in water. So I had the lovely job of hosing down the walls of the bathroom upstairs. After a bit, Augusto was ready to start wiring. So he tosses up an extension cord and brings up a little circular saw. He motions to Jeff to dry his hands so he can hold the plug in the socket so it wouldn't fall out. It properly fit and had to be held in place in order for it to work. I told him my hands are already dry so I would hold it for him. Augusto grabbed a bucket, turns it over next to the wall and stands on it. I follow him over to the wall with the plug and extension cord in hand right into the massive puddle of water on the floor from wetting the bricks earlier. (but its a good thing my hands weren't wet) I held the plug in place while he dug out a place in the bricks to put the wires for the light, hoping he didn't fall of the tippy bucket. I'm pretty sure they teach you in elementary not to do this kind of thing. Ha ha.. when in Rome...

After work today we were going to a restaurant to eat and learn how to salsa! Yessie brought a friend of hers who knows how to dance really good to teach us how to salsa and merengue. we had the whole upper floor of the restaurant. It was so much fun! we invited everyone from the office and they brought along some friends with them too. Just a we bit into the dance lesson Nancy's husband and little girl came. We see this sweet little girl about 7 or 8 run up the stairs and right to her mothers side and announce, "HELLO MY FRIENDS!" in her best-est English ever! She had so much fun dancing with us. as did everyone! Cristian came, Augusto came all dressed to the nines, and few other friends from the office also showed up. It was really great time with everybody and I have lots of pictures to remember it. Tomorrow will be our last day working at the school. I am really sad to not be returning Monday and also a little sad not knowing when it will be ready for the kids to start attending. But I'm happy knowing we helped to get it closer to that point.

Amber Lee
DWC Participant

Huancayo, Peru: August 2010 - Team Leader Shalen's thoughts

August 19, 2010

As I sit in my hotel room I think about how every time I vacation to a new exotic country, I feel as though I’m living in a surreal place. Sometimes it seems as though I don’t realize the true magnificence of my experience until much later... upon return... upon reflection... It is as if, I am living a dream; a beautiful dream where I explore wholeheartedly and experience truthfully.

The experience as a Developing World Connections Team Leader has given me a huge understanding and appreciation for the work and effort that other Team Leaders put into making a trip like this successful. When all the others are drinking Cervesas after dinner my mind rolls around budgets, numbers, planning and execution for the following day. This is a job people, don’t kid yourself.

However, having said that, I am extremely thankful for this job. I never said that a challenge wasn’t good. The reason I do new things, go new places, and learn is because I like challenges. I don’t think anything worth doing is ever easy. Great success comes from trauma, turmoil, and drama. And in the midst of all these things, there is so much joy... If you choose to see it.

What amazes me the most on every trip I take, is people. In my life, people around me are always telling me I trust too much, I give too much, and get screwed too much. But, every time I come to a foreign land, I am refreshed in my belief in people. People all over the planet, no matter their race, religion, culture, language, or ethnicity are basically the same. We are all striving to make our lives magnificent. And if we stop for a moment and reflect on our blessings, I think that in every culture, no matter our wealth or standing in society we can realize that our lives truly are as such...Magnificent, glorious, unbelievable, and amazing.

Having said this, let me tell you about my new friends. These are the friends and people that teach me so many more things than I could ever learn in any class or from any book. For me, life is truly about people. And our wow’ed experiences with people create the moments that make life worth living... nothing else.

First, our host partner in Huancayo Peru, Arguedianos has a host of employees. These people are the friendliest and most accommodating people I have ever met. They are so happy to greet us, feed us, take us on tours, plan excursions, party with us, and plan with us... I can tell that they are truly excited and happy to be with us; and rightfully so we are equally excited to spend time with them. Do you know how amazing it feels when you come to another country and you are welcomed by a personal tour guide with open arms? Just imagine, it’s pretty wild... It’s almost like I’ve always had these friends in Peru even though we certainly just got here. Our friends at Arguedianos have brought us lunches each day, cooked for us, danced with us, sang with and for us. I cannot express my thanks to these people, Jessie, Cristian, Nancy, Violeta & the rest of the gang...

Secondly, somehow along the way we met a Peruvian guy named Victor. I don’t really even know how we met a military journalist from Lima, but we did. I think it was Laura and Drew who originally randomly met Victor and made friends. Somehow though, serendipitously we had the pleasure of spending some time with him in Huancayo. His English was very good and this made for some entertaining nights with too many Pisco Sours down the hatch and just the right amount of Salsa and Merengue dancing to make you want just a little more... What amazed me about Victor was he truly cared for our safety even though we all had just met. It was like an instantaneous friendship... For example, he walked Nicole back to the hotel one late night when the rest of the gang wanted to stay late at the discoteck. Further, Victor always kept his eye on every individual in the group making sure we kept a close eye on our belongings and one another. If for even one brief moment someone from our group was out of sight, Victor would ask around and search them out to be sure they were always ok. He walked us home several nights, always encouraging the group to walk in the areas where light surrounded us... He shared stories about his heart being broken, his interesting job and his corny jokes. And not once did he ever do anything that appeared self centered, sleezy, or unkind.


These are the people that make life worth living...

Shalen Curle
DWC Team Leader
Huancayo, Peru
August 2010