Posted in Peru on October 9, 2024
Day 1
It’s 7:30, a foggy, chilly morning as we load into our van to begin our trek to our home away from home for the next 2 weeks, excited to see the school and the children…but they aren’t there and won’t be back until Wednesday! Holiday.
So nice to see Elvira, Katya and Karen again! Such lovely, dedicated and inspiring women!
We tour the school grounds and then head into the classroom to pick up where the last group left off. Cutting tile, placing them, grouting and general cleaning – always tidying up this dust filled room. Tile cutting – A new skill for me…although Anela is much better at it than I am!
We are fortunate to have a wealth of experience on this trip. Chris, Sean and Sheila have construction businesses, Trev has lots of carpentry experience. Anela, Karen and Natasha are very hands on, seeing what needs to be done and just doing it!
A former student, Samuel, joins us. I remember him from my first trip here. He’s now 18, in high school and ready to graduate! He’s an eloquent speaker, very mature and such a joy to have with us! All those years ago we predicted he would one day be President and I still believe so!
Lunch is amazing! 2 women prepare our food for us. Today it’s my favourite, lomo Saltado with rice and patatas, a delicious vegetable crema and fresh mango juice. Chirimoyo fruit for dessert- so sweet!
Work goes until 4 and we all pile into our van to head back to our lovely B&B, looking forward to going back tomorrow!
Day 2
More tile cutting, dust and now PAINT! Sheila, Natasha, Karen and I are assigned to a new project – levelling the dirt for the scaffolding on the side of the building. Very labour intensive since it’s a half inch of dust and 2 feet of rock underneath! Fortunately, Karen and Sheila showed amazing skill with a pry bar, breaking up the rock, much to Miguel’s delight! It suddenly went from levelling for scaffolding to preparing a walkway and garden, to be named in our honour. 😆
Tiling continues, Shaun and Chris on that, Natasha now following behind, grouting, Anela and Trev, awesome on the paint rollers.
Lunch- quinoa stew with chicken, sautéed veggies, Chicha Morada(purple corn juice) and granadillas for dessert.
Our afternoon was a city bus ride and hike to the top of one of the human settlements to see firsthand a newly organized breakfast program. We met the mums involved, that buy all the groceries and begin preparing the food at 4 am every weekday. We met some of the 20+ children that are fed by the program as well as presentations from the high school students that help out. So warming to see how the community comes together to provide.
A nice walk down the mountain to meet the bus that would drop us back at the school where our driver was waiting. Day 2 in the bag!
Day 3
Today was an extra early start for Chris,Anela, Sean and Sheila, who got up at 6 am to participate in the school breakfast program (vegetable frittata with oatmeal and pineapple juice). Chris was in charge of dispensing fruit – only after their breakfast was finished, did they get fruit The rest of us enjoyed a bite more sleep and a beautiful breakfast at the B & B. Our driver, Senor Abraham picked us up at 730 am. Traffic was even heavier today as yesterday was a public holiday.
At the school, we joined a grade two class doing some physical activities in the playground (running to a pylon and then backwards on the return) before meeting with the Principal and Vice Principal. They shared the physical plans and provided an overview of the school’s development. There are to be three new classrooms on the new concrete slab for kindergarten students. A second and third floor with auditorium and play area are planned for the future when funding allows. The Principal explained that prior to breaking the new ground, a blessing was given to the land (Pisco, cigarettes and coca leaves). Before leaving to get to work the Principal gave us a gift of Chirimoya grown on a tree at her home 3 hours away.
At work we continued tiling, sanding, painting and cleaning. Scaffolding went up and the stucco work began. Lunch was a highlight! Potato and egg crema with chicken and rice, fresh mango with a traditional cake for dessert.
After lunch, the women (Cindy, Sheila, Anela, Natasha and I) walked a short distance uphill from the school to visit a mom run breakfast program that supports fifty kids and eleven elders with a healthy lunch (at five pm), recipes included using chicken blood to help prevent anemia which was a common issue. When leaving we saw a stray dog grab a loose chicken – it got a harsh talking to by one of the women 🤣
Karen, DWC Volunteer
Day 4
A state of emergency has been declared in Lima due to a general transportation strike. We are unable to go to the school today so our free time is spent exploring Barranco, the area we are staying in and Mira Flores. We all feel very safe and we’re happy to get a whole day for sightseeing and resting weary muscles!
Day 5
Things are starting to take shape and come together! Walls and ceiling primed, ready for final coats, counter tiles and grouting done, just the floor left, mudding on the outside half finished, hundreds (😆) of wheelbarrows of sand sifted for the outside wall mix-that is all mixed by hand!
And then for lunch…always an exciting part of our day…a vegetable medley salad with tuna, similar to a potato salad, turmeric rice and flambéed chicken with mango juice and the largest mandarins you’ve ever seen!
We leave right after lunch since some of us are flying to Cusco tonight to hike Machu Picchu tomorrow, back on Monday afternoon.
The rest of us enjoy a lovely dinner at a fabulous fancy steakhouse…with a giant tv screen set up to watch the soccer game -Peru vs Uruguay – and the sound cranked up to an earsplitting decibel level that left us walking home going…huh…what did you say..pardon…what….
Culture Weekend Saturday
Natasha, Karen and Trevor are hiking Machu Picchu today…an amazing experience, they all agree! They also enjoy the hot springs in Agua Caliente before returning. This is the travel advisor post Karen made – says it all!
Meanwhile, Anela, Sheila, Chris and Shaun are up at 5 am for their all day excursion on a luxury bus. First stop, Paracus and a boat ride to see the sea lions and penguins. Also viewed the Candelabra hieroglyphic at Pisco Bay. It’s 595 feet long and can be seen from 12 miles away. Then off to Huacachina, home to the largest sand dunes on the continent, where they enjoy a few hours of sand boarding, dune buggying, an amazing sunset and the less enjoyable pounding of sand into every crevice…
It’s a long day, they don’t return home until 11pm.
Meanwhile, back in Barranco, I enjoyed the gorgeous sunset too!
Culture Weekend Sunday
Today we Uber to historic Lima, home to Colonial buildings the Presidential Palace and the San Francisco Monastery where we view the Catacombs where the bones and skulls of 25000+ people have been unearthed and eerily arranged in geometric patterns😬. No pictures allowed.
So many people, so much going on! Lots of little stands, buskers dancing and singing, quite lively! Quite a bit hotter, too, since we are away from the ocean.
We cross a massive bridge lined with merchants selling their wares on tablecloths laid out on the concrete. The variety is amazing! Everything from used clothing to nail brushes, crazy glue and baby wipes!
On the way back we discover a beautiful park with a pond and paddle boats and a lovely amphitheatre with a dance contest happening! Traditional Peruvian music, ballroom style. A nice way to enjoy a couple hours in the late afternoon.
We enjoy a nice dinner with a dessert that surprised us all- it tasted just like pumpkin pie!
Day 6
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
No Turkey for us but we are all thankful to be here!
First thing on the “to do” list- play volleyball with the grade 1 kids. A rope is tied across the courtyard and the kids have to toss the ball over the rope, catch it and pass it to someone else on their team 2 times before tossing it over the rope.
Uno – Dos -Tres – OVER! Sometimes it works, most times it goes under the rope or over the rope on the second count or into someone’s head😬 Lots of laughing and chatter and we likely enjoyed the game way more than the kids!
Next, a fast-paced game of soccer. This is a sport they know how to play! Amazing footwork, tie game 2 all😆⚽️⚽️
Up to the job site to continue working on our 2 classrooms. We’re down 3 – Natasha, Karen and Trevor fly back today. Shaun’s cutting tiles and placing them, Anela and Chris are running the wires through the electrical outlets and Sheila, and I are tasked with cleaning out the room above. It’s filled with the petrified wood that was used for scaffolding (these logs are heavy) and they have to be piled in a spot some distance from the classroom. The room is on the second floor, there are no stairs, just a ladder to climb into it so the logs are passed down through the door and then carried to the spot where they will be stored until needed. These have been reused dozens of times, as most stuff is.
Lunch was cooked beet and broccoli salad, chicken, rice, creamed potatoes and Chicha. Massive delicious green uvas for dessert (grapes)
Back to our classroom, looking forward to our friends returning tomorrow!
Day 7
Our turn (Natasha, Karen, Trev and Cindy) to leave at 6:30 a.m. to experience the breakfast program.
On the menu – hot drink made with various herbs, including Anise and Cloves, rice and chicken livers. The kitchen rotates their breakfasts every 14 days. This is probably the least liked dish but they are addressing the iron deficiencies in so many of the children. The favourite – banana pancakes! Mandarin oranges are handed out once they finish their breakfast. The children bring their own dishes and cups with their names on them and we call out the names once their bowls are filled.
Breakfast done, off to opening ceremonies. – the mini Olympics start today! Opening ceremonies include Sheila lighting the torch
All the classes paraded out in their “country” colours with glittery confetti, coloured smoke flares, horns, whistles and cheers.
We were the guests of honour and got to sit on the stage with the other dignitaries 😁. Trev delivered the opening comments – in Spanish – and did an excellent job!
Work continued on the project
And the tiling on the second floor was started.
It was a long day for some of us but a good one!
Day 8
The Olympics are in full swing today! The event is Choreography. Karen is asked to be one of the judges and we once again take our seats on stage. The guys decide some work needs to get done so they head to the classrooms to paint and tile while we enjoy performances by each class. We pick Team Paraguay for the win, the grade 4 class.
We manage to get some work done on our room before lunch-more scraping, sanding, grouting and painting. Sheila helps upstairs with the tiling, doing the grouting when she’s not hauling up the 50 lb tile boxes. Karen removes paint from the wall so the baseboards can be applied.
Family visit to a mother with 2 sons, 10 and 7. Anela, Sheila, Chris and Shaun get to ride the school bus with the kids-an adventure in itself!
The school bus is an important part of the community. Children pay half fare on the city buses so they are less profitable which means they often don’t get picked up or are asked to get off the bus to make room for full fare adults. Imagine have your young child dropped off on the side of the road, halfway home! Jessica is one of the moms riding the bus, ensuring the children get off at the correct stops.
It’s a 2 room house, one of the rooms is the bedroom they share. There is a small room attached that is used as a storefront. She sells candy and a few school supplies. Water is trucked in every couple weeks and boiled before drinking. Laundry is handwashed. There is no shower, they bathe with jars of water. Juice is served.
We give them a small gift bag with some Canadian souvenirs-stickers, frisbee, skittles….the skittles were the big hit and the frisbee became the serving dish!
Day 9
The rest of the outside wall of our classroom will be parged with concrete once Anela and I mix up the dry ingredients. We are given the recipe for the mix – 35 shovels of sand , 1 bag of cement, mix thoroughly, place 16 shovels in the wheelbarrow and deliver to the side of the house for application.
Ignacio comes to visit me! He’s a student I met 5 years ago, is now 17 and attending high school. He has been doing extremely well with his speech therapy lessons. When I first met him he would not look at me and spoke very little. He tells me he enjoys weightlifting and shows me his massive muscles. He also pokes at mine and declares them…a bit soft🤣 and shows me some exercises to fix that. He baked Turron last night, a traditional Peruvian cake for me, although he doesn’t like baking.
We have a nice chat about Canada – bears, snowboarding and snow. Best of all, he lets me take pictures of the two of us, even smiles and gives me a big bear hug before he leaves to go back to school.
Our turn to ride the community bus to the top of the mountain to visit Miss Deanna, Stephany and Joachim. They have lots of pets! 3 dogs, 2 cats and 2 Guinea pigs. Their house was built 4 years ago. It’s a big hike straight up to get there!
While we are visiting, the others are having a rousing game of volleyball against the teachers. It’s pretty serious stuff but lots of laughs! No interpreter with them which makes it even more fun! Team DWC took them 2 out of 3 matches and celebrated the win with Chicha Morado, a purple corn drink. A fun time had by all until somebody takes out a desk…fortunately we have the skills to fix it.
Back at our B&B we are preparing to go out for dinner when we suddenly hear a marching band! Loud, lively music, lots of coloured lights and hundreds of people go marching by! It’s a parade to celebrate the private school just down the street!
There are tons of restaurants everywhere and pizza and pasta are vey common. The food is very good and very reasonably priced. Food prep is diligent and safe to eat without worrying about stomach issues. Just don’t drink the water from the tap or brush your teeth with it – the usual travel precautions.
Day 10
It’s our last day and we are all surprised at how fast these past 2 weeks went. What we accomplished:
Pastry classroom- Walls primed 4 times, ready for final coats of paint,
counters and baseboards tiled and grouted
Upstairs classroom-walls primed, floor tiled and grouted
Post holes dug and posts cemented to put up a security wall Our last lunch and we are able to thank the lunch ladies, Miss Vanessa and Miss Venita by replacing their old fridge that no longer works – Trev’s idea and we all pitched in! Fridges are very reasonable in Peru!
After lunch, the school did a presentation to us with speeches made by the Principal, Vice Principal, Parents group, the student group and Elvira, thanking us for all we had done.
The students performed a traditional dance for us and asked us to join in -fun for all!
We were then presented with gifts of Wool toques from the parents and shawl cloths from Efijant.
Then it was time to say our goodbyes with teary eyes, big hugs and promises made to return soon.
Although we are all sad to leave, our memories of these 2 weeks in Peru will make us smile.❤️🇵🇪
Posted in Peru on October 9, 2024
