In the morning, our group hired a van and driver to see the surrounding countryside of Jaen. Sylvia, the chair of CEPRONAM, and Yolanda, our English translator, joined us. Yolanda brought us "grenadico" fruit. It has a brittle outer shell, like a soft eggshell. When squeezed, the pod cracks open to reveal a soft inner core full of seeds and a delicious gelatinous interior that is sucked fro the hole at the top of the fruit, created by removing the stem. Our first stop is down a dusty road to the edge of the Maranon river, a marine highway into the Amazon since the beginning of time.
What a surprise! We think we are far from civilization, only to be greeted by dozens of youth, who ask us to join them in a dance to music played by a disk jockey, with electricity supplied by a portable Honda generator. Needless to say, we all joined in, waved our arms in the air, danced and sang; some were songs in Spanish, and others were similar to "rave" music, with plenty of base beat.
In the afternoon, we passed by buildings stencilled with slogans and illustrations showing there is controversy surrounding industry practices in the Amazon. One is of a shovel that is crossed out with the words "Vota Asi" above. The land surrounding this part of the Amazon is very arid, similar to Arizona, there are "limon" trees, papaya and rice fields where the land can be irrigated. Along the road, we see HUGE wild Thanksgiving turkeys, saved from the celebrations in Canada!
Cam Grant
DWC Team Leader
Jaen, Peru: October 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Friday, October 7, 2011
Lima, Peru: Building relationships
With a few days of volunteering under our belt, our group is getting into the swing of our new routine here in Lima. Although we are not fluent in Spanish, and our hosts are not fluent in English, the relationships between us that have developed in these few short days in noticeable. Yesterday when we arrived on our job site, the kids were preparing to start classes for the day and some of us were already on the roof getting ready to work. One young girl, about nine years old, approach me and asked where Natalie was. I told her she was on the roof, and she ran off to greet her. Another young girl called my name out from the ground below while we were working away - we had introduced ourselves briefly three days earlier and despite all the new names to learn she had remembered me and my name. Throughout the day, the school kids came up onto the roof to take photos with us and say hi. We have come to know many of the kids and their personalities during our time here.
We have also created relationships with the local work crew. On our first full day of work, our foreman, Abdios, used the English-Spanish dictionary to tell Duncan to "surrender" - to stop working because he was not bending the rebar properly. Quickly, the exchange became a joke, and each time one of us struggled or did something improperly, Abdios would yell out "Duncan! Duncan!". It was all in good fun, and the event was the starting point of Duncan and Abdios" friendship during this trip.
This experience has made me realize that difference of language is hardly an obstacle to building relationships and friendships. A funny incident, or an exchange of names, however brief can spark memories that will last so much longer.
Amelia Bowden
DWC Participant
Lima, Peru October 2011
We have also created relationships with the local work crew. On our first full day of work, our foreman, Abdios, used the English-Spanish dictionary to tell Duncan to "surrender" - to stop working because he was not bending the rebar properly. Quickly, the exchange became a joke, and each time one of us struggled or did something improperly, Abdios would yell out "Duncan! Duncan!". It was all in good fun, and the event was the starting point of Duncan and Abdios" friendship during this trip.
This experience has made me realize that difference of language is hardly an obstacle to building relationships and friendships. A funny incident, or an exchange of names, however brief can spark memories that will last so much longer.
Amelia Bowden
DWC Participant
Lima, Peru October 2011
Lima, Peru: Settling in, Work and Play
I woke up and my back was a little sore today. I think I slept a little funny, although it could have also been from the bed. I feel like my bed on one side dips down a bit. Not enough that I feel like I'm going to fall off or anything just like I'm lower down (lol). Bread must be a normal thing for meals here. We had buns with breakfast again. Although instead of eggs this time we had meat with it. It was like round ham or something maybe a mix of meat. They have this jam, I think its figs. So I put some of that on there too and its sweet tasting. I had lemon tea with my breakfast. The buns we had today for breakfast are the ones that kinda rip apart the top of your mouth when you eat. They taste great though.
Our rides have been on time so far since we started taking the vans. It’s the same couple everyday that drives us in. I don’t know their names yet. Its been pretty crazy the first few times we got on the bus. I'll have to ask them in the next few days. Our rides are always interesting but much the same everyday. Aside from the crazy driving that is.
We got to the job site today and the lady that has the key for our locked room, with our stuff in it was a little late. I went up on the roof to talk to the foreman and see what we were doing for the day. Its not like working at home where you can just get told and go and do it. He tells me what we are doing and I say "no entiendo" (I don’t understand). Then he tries a few more times to explain it and he points to stuff. At this point I figured out we are doing something with rebar. Its amazing what you can figure out with no verbal communication. He pointed to a jig he had set up so I knew right away we were bending rebar for our columns. So all I needed was for him to show me the sizes. Once he did a demo I made some marks and I was able to show the other people that were going to start bending. Today was a lot of cutting and building rebar cages. My work buddy is Jessica, her and I were cutting tie wire to tie all the rebar together. Back home I would just use a zip cut on a grinder to cut through it real fast. Here they use a chisel and a hammer. Then they lay the wire on the rock and hammer the chisel through it. Takes a bit longer but works well because the wire is very thin. The kids in the school all left early on a few buses to go on a field trip. There was about four kids that were hanging around the job site. We found out they were still here because their parents couldn’t afford to send them on the field trip. They hung out and helped us do some work. They seemed to like working with me and Jessica. We had them hitting the chisel with the hammer, while one of us held it. I have to admit I was really worried at first. I didn’t want them to miss and hit my hand. However they all did a great job! The oldest one looked about 8 years old, maybe 10. The youngest one maybe 6. They helped us for a bit, but then went and talked to the other people in our group. They are typical kids they get board easy and then get into mischief, but we had fun and got a bunch of pictures with them.
Once we got some of the wire cut a group was able to start building rebar cages. Just like construction that I work in, the first time you do something it usually takes a lot longer. To understand what the foremen wanted and do the first cage took about 3-4 hours. It was pretty much lunch before that one was done.
Lunch was a bit hard at first today. We were originally going to eat on the roof, but when we got everything set up and were starting to put sandwiches together, the kids were just standing there watching. It reminded me of a hungry dog looking at you at the dinner table. We were told when we had our orientation that you cant share your food with the kids. You have to be careful about what you share with them. If you don’t have enough for everyone that’s there then you cant share with them. We ended up moving down to one of the classrooms to eat lunch. Our host rep that was there sat with us to make sure the kids stayed out and didn’t bother us during lunch. Its hard not to feel bad for eating in front of the kids. We get a pretty long lunch which is nice because after we eat we have some time to play with the kids. I brought out my hacky sack I brought along with me, and Russ brought some soccer balls so he pumped one up. We got a group of us together and started playing with the hacky sack and the kids came over to join us. Were not the best at it and I think that was good because they had a fun time playing with us. If we kept it up in the air for more then three or four times everyone cheered. After about 10 minutes of playing with the hacky sack, a soccer ball came flying up on the roof. Russ tossed it up from the ground and immediately the kids started playing with it. However kids will be kids, and as soon as one of them seen some dogs messing around on the ground he thought it would be a good idea to throw the ball off the roof at them. Of course he didn’t come close but the ball rolled way down the hill. So we sent him after it to go get it.
Back to work after some fun with the kids. We managed to get 2 more rebar cages done by the end of the day and stood them both up. I think that were making really good progress so far. Also we're getting to be really friendly with the workers and learning more Spanish everyday. Even if its only one or two words. The workers are becoming more out going and I think they are enjoying working with us. Near the end of the day I handed out some hard hats and safety vests to the workers that were donated from my work, FRPD (Fraser River Pile and Dredge). We got some group photos and then some with just me and the guys. That was the end of the day and we got in our van bus and headed home.
On the way home we got some some busy parts and the traffic came to a stop. The lady in the bus was telling us to close our windows and keep our stuff down. I guess it’s a usually thing that people come up and grab things like cameras and bags out of the windows of cabs and buses that tourist are riding in. We made it back to the hostel safe and sound. Once we were back it turned out that one group of girls locked their room key in the room. The best part was that the guy working here that barely speaks English told them he didn’t have a spare key. They got all worried and went up to their room to see if there was any way to get in and the guy came up with the key. He totally played a trick on them (lol).
Paul Sweryda
DWC Participant
Lima, Peru October 2011
Our rides have been on time so far since we started taking the vans. It’s the same couple everyday that drives us in. I don’t know their names yet. Its been pretty crazy the first few times we got on the bus. I'll have to ask them in the next few days. Our rides are always interesting but much the same everyday. Aside from the crazy driving that is.
We got to the job site today and the lady that has the key for our locked room, with our stuff in it was a little late. I went up on the roof to talk to the foreman and see what we were doing for the day. Its not like working at home where you can just get told and go and do it. He tells me what we are doing and I say "no entiendo" (I don’t understand). Then he tries a few more times to explain it and he points to stuff. At this point I figured out we are doing something with rebar. Its amazing what you can figure out with no verbal communication. He pointed to a jig he had set up so I knew right away we were bending rebar for our columns. So all I needed was for him to show me the sizes. Once he did a demo I made some marks and I was able to show the other people that were going to start bending. Today was a lot of cutting and building rebar cages. My work buddy is Jessica, her and I were cutting tie wire to tie all the rebar together. Back home I would just use a zip cut on a grinder to cut through it real fast. Here they use a chisel and a hammer. Then they lay the wire on the rock and hammer the chisel through it. Takes a bit longer but works well because the wire is very thin. The kids in the school all left early on a few buses to go on a field trip. There was about four kids that were hanging around the job site. We found out they were still here because their parents couldn’t afford to send them on the field trip. They hung out and helped us do some work. They seemed to like working with me and Jessica. We had them hitting the chisel with the hammer, while one of us held it. I have to admit I was really worried at first. I didn’t want them to miss and hit my hand. However they all did a great job! The oldest one looked about 8 years old, maybe 10. The youngest one maybe 6. They helped us for a bit, but then went and talked to the other people in our group. They are typical kids they get board easy and then get into mischief, but we had fun and got a bunch of pictures with them.
Once we got some of the wire cut a group was able to start building rebar cages. Just like construction that I work in, the first time you do something it usually takes a lot longer. To understand what the foremen wanted and do the first cage took about 3-4 hours. It was pretty much lunch before that one was done.
Lunch was a bit hard at first today. We were originally going to eat on the roof, but when we got everything set up and were starting to put sandwiches together, the kids were just standing there watching. It reminded me of a hungry dog looking at you at the dinner table. We were told when we had our orientation that you cant share your food with the kids. You have to be careful about what you share with them. If you don’t have enough for everyone that’s there then you cant share with them. We ended up moving down to one of the classrooms to eat lunch. Our host rep that was there sat with us to make sure the kids stayed out and didn’t bother us during lunch. Its hard not to feel bad for eating in front of the kids. We get a pretty long lunch which is nice because after we eat we have some time to play with the kids. I brought out my hacky sack I brought along with me, and Russ brought some soccer balls so he pumped one up. We got a group of us together and started playing with the hacky sack and the kids came over to join us. Were not the best at it and I think that was good because they had a fun time playing with us. If we kept it up in the air for more then three or four times everyone cheered. After about 10 minutes of playing with the hacky sack, a soccer ball came flying up on the roof. Russ tossed it up from the ground and immediately the kids started playing with it. However kids will be kids, and as soon as one of them seen some dogs messing around on the ground he thought it would be a good idea to throw the ball off the roof at them. Of course he didn’t come close but the ball rolled way down the hill. So we sent him after it to go get it.
Back to work after some fun with the kids. We managed to get 2 more rebar cages done by the end of the day and stood them both up. I think that were making really good progress so far. Also we're getting to be really friendly with the workers and learning more Spanish everyday. Even if its only one or two words. The workers are becoming more out going and I think they are enjoying working with us. Near the end of the day I handed out some hard hats and safety vests to the workers that were donated from my work, FRPD (Fraser River Pile and Dredge). We got some group photos and then some with just me and the guys. That was the end of the day and we got in our van bus and headed home.
On the way home we got some some busy parts and the traffic came to a stop. The lady in the bus was telling us to close our windows and keep our stuff down. I guess it’s a usually thing that people come up and grab things like cameras and bags out of the windows of cabs and buses that tourist are riding in. We made it back to the hostel safe and sound. Once we were back it turned out that one group of girls locked their room key in the room. The best part was that the guy working here that barely speaks English told them he didn’t have a spare key. They got all worried and went up to their room to see if there was any way to get in and the guy came up with the key. He totally played a trick on them (lol).
Paul Sweryda
DWC Participant
Lima, Peru October 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Lima, Peru: Amazing first day!
Hola,
Our first day was amazing. We all agreed to individually pay extra for a Spanish lesson and tour. They taught us all morning then took us to exchange our money in soles, then to the market, and off to a tour of town. It is highly recommend as it was very helpful for around town and also at the work site the next day.
The weather is fairly cold at night, and where the hostel is located I would recommend pants and socks/shoes. Perhaps even a jacket.
Our second day was our first day at the job site! What an amazing experience. We were able to meet all the kids, they had songs prepared and were excited to meet us. That is where the Spanish lesson comes in handy, its warming to be able to interact with words. The work site is a lot warmer of a climate, I would recommend, hats, work gloves, proper shoes, and some long shorts and t-shirts.
If you are going to bring donations I would recommend some picture books of animals, the kids were very curious about what Canada looks like. Extra recommendation, bring toilet paper (!papel higenico¡)
Natalie Sweryda
DWC Participant
Lima, Peru October 2011
Our first day was amazing. We all agreed to individually pay extra for a Spanish lesson and tour. They taught us all morning then took us to exchange our money in soles, then to the market, and off to a tour of town. It is highly recommend as it was very helpful for around town and also at the work site the next day.
The weather is fairly cold at night, and where the hostel is located I would recommend pants and socks/shoes. Perhaps even a jacket.
Our second day was our first day at the job site! What an amazing experience. We were able to meet all the kids, they had songs prepared and were excited to meet us. That is where the Spanish lesson comes in handy, its warming to be able to interact with words. The work site is a lot warmer of a climate, I would recommend, hats, work gloves, proper shoes, and some long shorts and t-shirts.
If you are going to bring donations I would recommend some picture books of animals, the kids were very curious about what Canada looks like. Extra recommendation, bring toilet paper (!papel higenico¡)
Natalie Sweryda
DWC Participant
Lima, Peru October 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Jaen, Peru: Digging in
Time slows a little here, and the volunteers' internal clocks are now beginning to sync with the pace of life in Peru. It's hot and dry; the streets are dusty, partly from a great deal of water main upgrading, and the general nature of the climate at this time of year as we're heading into summer south of the equator. We even had a whirlwind that was strong enough to tear some corrugated iron roof sections off a nearby house. The wind was welcomed by the volunteers because it becomes very warm when clouds open to bright sun in a blue sky. We are now careful to refill our bottles with water from our 25L water container, and rest when our bodies tell us we need to rest and seek shade.
The kitchen will take several weeks of labour to build, so our accomplishments are measured in metres of trench dug and the vision of setting up the first concrete forms and bending rebar. We marked the outline of the kitchen with lime. There will be six 4' deep holes dug for pillars, all joined by 3' deep trenches, dug into soil that is like soft sandstone shale. It's very hard and slow work.
Reporters from two newspapers, one named La Prensa, and one TV station "Hora 20" and a Radio Unico, showed up at the site. We have no idea how they discovered what we are doing, but we are elated that CEPRONAM and Developing World Connections are able to show the Peruvian world what community partners can accomplish.
Cam Grant
DWC Team Leader
Jaen, Peru: October 2011
The kitchen will take several weeks of labour to build, so our accomplishments are measured in metres of trench dug and the vision of setting up the first concrete forms and bending rebar. We marked the outline of the kitchen with lime. There will be six 4' deep holes dug for pillars, all joined by 3' deep trenches, dug into soil that is like soft sandstone shale. It's very hard and slow work.
Reporters from two newspapers, one named La Prensa, and one TV station "Hora 20" and a Radio Unico, showed up at the site. We have no idea how they discovered what we are doing, but we are elated that CEPRONAM and Developing World Connections are able to show the Peruvian world what community partners can accomplish.
Cam Grant
DWC Team Leader
Jaen, Peru: October 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Jaen, Peru: Getting to Jaen
The DWC volunteers took a 1.5 hour flight from Lima to Chiclayo. Chiclayo city has a dry landscape, with the majority of buildings constructed of brick, giving the city a sandy-brown colour. In the distance, there are agricultural crops. We arrived in Jaen after a 6-hour double-decker bus ride from Chiclayo. There, we were met by CEPRONAM's Sylvia, Yolanda and Mario, plus a number of family members. We were very warmly welcomed and whisked away to our hotel using several mototaxis, a very common means of inexpensive transportation.
The tired volunteers had a late dinner with our hosts, then turned into bed just before midnight. The air in Jaen is warm and humid, evidence of it's being closer to the equator than Lima. Tomorrow, we will get an orientation and discuss building plans for the new kitchen.
Cam Grant
DWC Team Leader
Jaen, Peru: October 2011
The tired volunteers had a late dinner with our hosts, then turned into bed just before midnight. The air in Jaen is warm and humid, evidence of it's being closer to the equator than Lima. Tomorrow, we will get an orientation and discuss building plans for the new kitchen.
Cam Grant
DWC Team Leader
Jaen, Peru: October 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Jaen, Peru: Arriving in Lima
The Kamloops volunteers' alarms rang around 4am, and we collectively jumped out of bed to greet this new adventure! Well, maybe that's not quite the case, because I was still doing last minute packing a little after midnight. All eleven volunteers are taking various routes to our destination: the Bayview hotel in the Miraflores area of Lima, which is close to la playa ( the beach), various parks and walkways. Lima is only two hours ahead of Canada's west coast, but culturally distant in that Peru is a predominantly Spanish speaking country and steeped in history as old as the Pyramids.
After flying to Toronto, it was a very relaxing flight to Lima. Arriving late, we were met by the Bayview van- it is always a good feeling to see a sign that says "Developing World Connections", an instant connection to the country which we will all come to know better over the course of two weeks. We arrived mysteriously short two volunteers, despite phone calls to our accommodation. Their whereabouts were unknown until we found out later that evening when we arrived at our hotel that they were unavoidably delayed in Huston, Texas and will join us later. Michele, our emergency contact at DWC in Kamloops, relayed a message via email that the two were safe and looking forward to joining us as soon as possible.
October 1st, we spent a relaxing day wandering the streets of Lima. We saw the changing of the guard at the royal palace, marvelled at the Baroque and classical architecture, stopped to gawk at massive 18th century doors, and wandered in underground catacombs, complete with the mortal remains of centuries of monks and saints. Lima is a vibrant city with very clean streets and parks. Many couples arm-in-arm, and people scurrying to and fro along the numerous pedestrians only streets, a feature many would be envious of in cities like Vancouver and Toronto.
The weather is perfect, not too warm, or too hot. We quickly decompressed down to the unhurried pace of the Peruvian. English is rare in this part of the world, but we walked, discussed, laughed, and walked some more, then we ate. We had to ask some of the patrons what they would recommend, then with taste buds watering, we enjoyed ethnic diversity. In the evening, we walked the warm night streets, bustling with families and the rest of the smiling populace, feeling safe and serene, and then walked up a flight of stairs to mouth-watering fare at the Bircher Benner Fina Cocina.
We are up early, packed and away to Chiclayo tomorrow.
Cam Grant
DWC Team Leader
Jaen, Peru: October 2011
After flying to Toronto, it was a very relaxing flight to Lima. Arriving late, we were met by the Bayview van- it is always a good feeling to see a sign that says "Developing World Connections", an instant connection to the country which we will all come to know better over the course of two weeks. We arrived mysteriously short two volunteers, despite phone calls to our accommodation. Their whereabouts were unknown until we found out later that evening when we arrived at our hotel that they were unavoidably delayed in Huston, Texas and will join us later. Michele, our emergency contact at DWC in Kamloops, relayed a message via email that the two were safe and looking forward to joining us as soon as possible.
October 1st, we spent a relaxing day wandering the streets of Lima. We saw the changing of the guard at the royal palace, marvelled at the Baroque and classical architecture, stopped to gawk at massive 18th century doors, and wandered in underground catacombs, complete with the mortal remains of centuries of monks and saints. Lima is a vibrant city with very clean streets and parks. Many couples arm-in-arm, and people scurrying to and fro along the numerous pedestrians only streets, a feature many would be envious of in cities like Vancouver and Toronto.
The weather is perfect, not too warm, or too hot. We quickly decompressed down to the unhurried pace of the Peruvian. English is rare in this part of the world, but we walked, discussed, laughed, and walked some more, then we ate. We had to ask some of the patrons what they would recommend, then with taste buds watering, we enjoyed ethnic diversity. In the evening, we walked the warm night streets, bustling with families and the rest of the smiling populace, feeling safe and serene, and then walked up a flight of stairs to mouth-watering fare at the Bircher Benner Fina Cocina.
We are up early, packed and away to Chiclayo tomorrow.
Cam Grant
DWC Team Leader
Jaen, Peru: October 2011
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