Porcon (Miguel & Natalie)

Things are starting to come together for us here in La Gramja Porcon. At first it was quite a struggle getting our classes and other efforts going. But now we are working with the English professor at the local school and helping her out. She is great and is very appreciative of the help. Yesterday was a national holiday, Teacher´s Day, and Monday the kids put on a program for their teachers and they included us in that. Starting tomorrow, we will have an English club that will go for about an hour each day after school on the days there are English classes. That will be an opportunity for the kids to ask questions in a more relaxed setting and get some extra help. Every Wednesday and Friday there are no English classes at the school, so starting today we will come down to Cajamarca on those days to help at El Bichito. We are here in Cajamarca right now and have broughy hygiene kits and toys. The toys will become part of the toy cache kids can draw from when they have completed 5 homework assignments. Every day at 5, we have classes for the adults in Porcon. Those are going well, though not as well as we had hoped. The most we have ever had attend is 3 students, even though everyone has been informed. But we do have two students who come consistently and are doing well. We have started making arrangements to have at least one teenager from El Bichito come up here and work for a couple of weeks in the near future. We will give you an update on that as it develops. We are now in more frequent contact with the other interns, coordinating our efforts with them.

Cesar (Preston)

I have been playing some chess with the kids, and while teaching the younger ones takes a lot of patience, there are some of the older ones that are actually quite good. This one guy, Cesar Humberto, who is 15, who is very bright and already knew how to play chess. He gave me a very good fight, and I´m sure he will beat me a few times before I leave the Aldea. I love how I am really feeling more comfortable here at the Aldea. I can joke around with the kids and even the Tias and it feels like home.

So we have a new intern here! She´s from Ohio and is great. Britney graduated from BYU in 09 and is 24 so I am not the oldest one here anymore! Her spanish is second to Preston´s and she came prepared with spanish books for the kids and is really motivated to help them.

Casa 2 (Lacey)

So I think I will give you a little experience about the first night I ate in casa two. This is mainly from my journal: Alright casa 2 is awesome. Jhon and Reuben are so nice. (They are both about 10 years old). Jhon is so helpful with helping me understand what is going on. He’ll say, “escuchame” and then slowly repeat what he said. I had a really good conversation with him. He asked me what I would be doing when I was 25. I told him I would be married and hopefully have a baby. So I turned the question around on him. He said he wanted to go to cooking school and become a chef. I told him he had good goals but it was also important to be good to his wife and kids. He seemed to like this idea. He was saying something about his mom. I wish I would have understood. He wanted to show me his school work. We flipped through one of his notebooks and he showed off his cursive. He also helped me learn some new Spanish words. I think I am going to like this house!

Being at the Aldea has so far (and will continue) to be an interesting experience. The interns are really amazing! We get along really well. They have been super helpful to me and Kelsey as we have settled in and got into the routine at the Aldea. There are so many things I wish I could do for these kids. There are several (like Daniel, from Brasil) who could really benefit from a real speech therapist. But this is Peru. But I have been overall impressed with how things run here. The tias work hard and the kids have the basic things that they need. I actually don’t like bringing the kids gifts. They get a lot of things like that from local church groups and university groups that come to visit and come to expect gifts from us. I just hope that they can get a grasp on the idea of the possibility of a positive future. And many have that already.

Maria (Nancy)

[Here in Cajamarca, the city ranges from paved roads with open plazas, to cobblestone streets crowded by cement and brick houses. Oh, and people. Lots of people, weaving in and out of the buses, motor-taxis, and cars. Just outside the city, the roads turn to dirt and switchback up the mountain to the countryside. Cajamarca is nestled high in the Andes mountains. As you go further out of the city, the cramped bus ride out to the surrounding villages is like riding back in time to an Inca village.

We travel every day to the area just outside of Cajamarca, "Los Banos". And we work in a drop-in center called "El Bichito," or little bug. For a few years now, poor kids from the country villages have raced there after school to pick up what is probably their only square meal of the day. Now, my husband Jared and I and another couple, the Jensens are working hard to keep the kids there longer, to tutor them with their homework and play games with them. The kids are amazing. Lots and lots of energy and so loving.

Today we want to introduce you to Maria Alida Mantilla. She is fourteen and a little bashful at times, but does not back down to anyone. She's very happy, a little mischievous, and eager to learn. When we tried to get her picture today, she would not look at the camera. I think it is because she is embarrassed of the growth she has on her eye. She has had it since birth, but it is getting bigger, and our new goal is to raise the money that could fund her operation, literally saving her from blindness. When she thinks no one is looking though, she has the brightest smile.

That's all for now. Thanks for everyone's help!

Ruben (Kelsey)

So this week i want to tell you about my favorite so far. Yes i can have a favorite. His name is Ruben and he is in Casa 2 where i have been eating my dinners. Ruben is such a tough guy, he likes wearing like cut off tank tops and he always has his hair in a cute little faux-hawk. He always makes faces in pictures like he's Slim Shady or something. Yesterday we had this party and the kids were making each other into mummies with toilet paper and he totally smiled and was having a blast. Last night after dinner we were taking a ton of pictures and he loved to dance for the camera or throw up gang signs or something like that. He just makes me laugh, because he is trying to be stone cold, but his heart is too big. I am kind of sad that i don't get to eat in their Casa this week. I'm moving on to a different Casa. Oh! And we brought out a couple of the coloring books this week and the kids were going nuts, they get saying "Regalome!" And we would have to tell them that the coloring books were for everyone to share and they couldn't just take as many as they could hold and stash them in their rooms. But they colored for hours until their Tia's started yelling and telling them it was time for them to shower before dinner. Oh and yesterday we were playing soccer with one of the soccer balls that Lacey brought and Hector, one of the like 15 year old boys kicked it up and it smacked me right in the side of the face! He felt so bad. After that i kept telling him i was going to have a black eye and he broke my face and stuff like that to make him feel bad. He's a funny kid too.

I am seriously loving it here. I can't wait to get out of bed and go play. The food is pretty good, lots of beans and rice, and i could eat their little breads all day! Plus we get some fruit. I could eat fruit and bread for every meal for the rest of my life. This fruit and bread at least. I love going to town and seeing the people and the Peruvian culture. I love spending time with the kids, who love you so much, even if they don't know who you are. They just want to know that you'll still be here tomorrow.

My first day (Kelsey)

Well today is my first full day of the orphanage. Yesterday when i arrived the kids were so sweet. Las Tejedas drove us out here from their home, where we stayed for most of the day. Their family is one of the kindest i have ever met. The girls were so outgoing and loved to laugh, we ended up dancing and chatting and helping each other with our spanish/english skills. When we pulled up in the car, the kids started swarming. They came right over and hugged me and i fell in love guys. It was the sweetest moment. Then one boy hugged me, paused and said "Son Gringos" Ha ha as if me and Lacey didn't know that we are the whitest people here. But the kids are really friendly, they all want to talk to me and know my name and tell me about themselves. They especially love to be tickled. Once you start tickling them, they will never let you stop. They will chase you for hours wanting to be tickled. Each night we eat dinner in one of the Casas with a group of kids and their Tia, who looks after them. Last night we had some kind of meat, and lots of rice and beans.

I'm having a lot of fun so far, the kids are fun and they just want to spend time with you. I have a lot of respect for the tias and all of the work that they do for the kids. They are extremely patient. Also, luckily, my spanish is coming back much more quickly than i thought it would, just being here and being immersed in it is helping so much. Its amazing how much i remember and how well i can communicate with the kids already. I'm sure it will get better as time goes on and as they remind me of the vocabulary that i've forgotten. I still have a harder time understanding the tias, they tend to talk a lot faster, probably because they are so busy, but they are the hardest. The kids are patient when i don't understand and they answer my questions when i don't know how to say something. I'm going to make a list of all the words that i have a hard time remembering so that i can study them at night. Also, me and the other interns have spanish study time, so that will be super helpful, especially since Preston is fluent in spanish. They all seem great and i can't wait to get to know them better.

Enrique (Chris & Kimball)

This week has gone by fast! Nancy and Jared have been a great help and have a lot of great ideas. The kids have really been progressing with doing their homework. The first kid to complete with five stars was Enrique. Enrique is almost 13 years old and is very extroverted. He was one of the first kids who talked to us when we got to el Bichito. This past week he didn't come on Tuesday and we were worried about him. When he came on Wednesday he said that his stomach was hurting so we gave him some pills. He ended up feeling worse and we had Feliciana's husband take him home in his taxi. Yesterday we went by their home to check up on him. He leaves with his Aunts and his mother is gone most of the day. We found out that Enrique's father died in a car accident when Enrique was little. The family are mostly farmers and the uncles have unstable work in Cajamarca. We also found out that he has or had a heart murmur and he can't play sports. He's mother is afraid to go to the doctors because they are in the city. Hopefully we can figure out a way to get him there this next week. Also, the family was suprised when I told them that Enrique was one of the best students at El Bichito. We left a little origami fox for Enrique. He really likes origami and is really quick to pick it up. We hope he gets better so he can particpate in the activities we have planned for the next few weeks.

A great week (Preston)

Life is amazing in the Aldea. Just writing about life here makes me happy. The kids are really starting to get comfortable with us. I'm getting to know them on a more personal level every day. It seems like every week I get to know a new kid.

This week Tanner and I have spent more time with the older boys, which is great because they are the hardest to win over. The key, unsurprisingly has been soccer, and to a lesser degree, volleyball. They definitely have more talent, but our size gives us an advantage. It evens out pretty well.

I ate in casa 9 this last week. The girls there are a lot of fun. Sara is full of jokes. Mercedes is anxious to learn everything. I promised them guitar lessons. Hopefully it will work out. Anyway, there is more to write but the time here in the internet cafe is running out. Im looking forward to another great week.

Lus & Flor (Nat)

There is a girl in the orphanage about 12 years old...she´s got some kind of mental disorder. I don´t know how to describe it, like she can function and everything...she´s just over the top in your face. I love her to death even though it can get to be overwhelming at times. She´s really touchy and is always sticking her fingers in her mouth and then slapping them on your face. haha. My latest goal has been to teach her how to write her name. Her name is Lus Mila. It´s taken us a week to get down the letter L. But I´m proud of it. I know she can do it for sure, she just has the shortest attention span ever haha.

Oh and I have to tell you guys about Flor. She´s the smallest two year old you´ll ever see. Ohhh she´s so freaking adorable. Anyway, so when I showed up at the Aldea, Beth and Georgia warned me about how Flor is the little girl that when she sees any gringo face she cries so good luck. Beth and George had been here almost a year, right? Well, for some CRAZY reason...everytime Flor sees me, she runs between my legs, grabs hold and looks up at me with her huge eyes smiling. I cannot even describe how it makes me feel haha. If I´m ever having one of those days, you know, one of those ughhh days haha I just go play with her. I don´t know what it is about her. I want to take her home forever. She won´t even look at any of the other volunteers too it´s so weird. I didn´t even do anything! So yeah, me and Flor...I can´t wait to show you pictures of her.

Success (Britney)

I hope you read this far because it was an absolutely hilarious day. Starting backward, because that’s how I wrote it in my journal, I felt like I haven’t become close to casa 8, where I eat, like I did the house I ate in last week, but tonight was the night! For one, I found out Ana, one of the girls who is always home during the day and more taciturn, made the dessert which was milk with bananas in it (don’t judge too quickly - it sounds horrible but it was delicious)! At first, she denied that she made it, but her tia kept insisting and I finally convinced her to teach me this coming Wednesday = success #1.

Then, UNO is typically the 1/2 hour I dread at the house because all the kids go crazy and don’t play by the rules. But tonight only Catarine, Manuel and I were playing in a room and I totally joked back to counter all their crazinesss and it worked! For one, I made Catarine hold up three fingers to promise me that she wouldn’t cheat. Ever since then I’ve made her do the scout’s honor promise for books I’ve lent her multiple times and she is so good about returning the books and taking care of them now! On Sunday, I totally forgot to do the promise and she begged for it and said “before I take your books I have to do the promise.” Then at dinner she bragged that I trust her a lot now and she is honest, because she does the promise. She even closes her eyes now when she shuffles because before she was stacking the deck all the time in her favor! = SUCCESS #2.

This same night, I started pulling out my delectable dance moves, which Kelsey loves when I show off in public, since the girls were listening to Justin Beiber and they all loved it! I even got kisses for it - take that Kels! Plus, it definitely created a bond. Then as I was leaving, cute little Manuel hugged me and said “Te quiero, te quiero! Hasta Manana!” I practically skipped out of there! = SUCCESS #3!

Earlier, I had come from casa 5, where we celebrated Ruben’s birthday. How hilarious is this - they sing Happy Birthday first in English and then immediately follow it up with a version in Spanish. But one cool tradition is that the Tia praised him and then invited everyone around the table to do the same!

Earlier in the day, cute Daniel with disabilities screamed when he saw me and ran to hug me - ahh how the kids are so loving here!

Maria (Chris)

We had a great time with Cameron and the group. Unfortunately I have a bad internet signal right now but i wanted to send you the pictures of Maria Álida. We made collages with the kids and we will have to send you a better email soon. Also, if you zoom in on Maria´s right eye I think she has a cataract or a stye. She´s new and if there´s anyway we can get someone to look at it it would be great. Like I wrote before she is the oldest of 6 and she watches her siblings while her mom´s gone away for long periods of time.

Thanks so much,

Chris

Hospital visits (Nat)

I went to the hospital twice again this week and plan to go again tomorrow. The first time was with Victor and Miguel (ages 8 and 6). They are brothers and have been at the orphanage for about a month. They're sooo cute I love them. Miguel has this huge smile that I can't not laugh at. He is always wanting to play with me so I dare say I'm his favorite volunteer....that was until I was the volunteer chosen to take him to the hospital to get his blood drawn for analysis. It was a nightmare for him. He screamed and screamed and screamed I couldn't hold him down for the blood draw so we had to get this man to come help. For 4 days Miguel would NOT look at me. No high fives no nothing. I was so upset about it cause seriously, he's the cutest. I mean, I don't blame him cause he literally thought I was going to kill him, I could see it in his eyes haha. But I bought him some chiclets at the bodega two days ago and that won him right over again. Funny how kids work like that. If only I could buy more friendships with candy at home.

Second time at the hospital was for Manuel. I think I told you guys but he's the 6 year old with incontinence problems. He's always wetting himself it's sad cause he gets super embarrassed. He's getting surgery today but I'm not exactly sure what they're doing. We volunteers have been taking 6 hour shifts to sit with him. We do that till Friday. So I bought a bunch of Disney movies on the street in Spanish for us to watch on my laptop. He's so cute. He's definitely my favorite kid to help me with my Spanish cause he will ask you for hours how to say different objects surrounding you. Then, he'll repeat it to make sure you remember it's cute. He's smart for how young he is. He always ruins my magic tricks for the other kids because he catches on too fast. Or maybe my magic tricks just suck, that's more likely. Anyway, he knows how to say "thank you very much" in English but pronounces it "sank oo berry mootch" and he says it super fast. So the other day in his little hospital bed he pulls out his toothbrush asking how to say it in english. He realized the way he says it rhymes with "thank you very much." So he goes "tootchbrootch como sank oo berry mootch" hahaha it's the cutest thing in the world.

The Older Boys (Kelsey)

I am still enjoying my time here very much. Yesterday i got frustrated for the first time. We got out the baseball equipment for everyone to play with and the went nuts, they wouldn't listen, they would give me the bats, and they were like swinging them at people. One older boy purposefully threw it as far as he could over my head so I or one of the kids would have to run after it, all because i made him let me hold the bat while he wasn't hitting. But if i can find a way to have more control, it could be alot of fun. Also, last night was so funny. I was sitting in our casa with Tanner, one of the other interns, and there was a knock on the door. Kenny, one of the boys is casa 5 (the teenage boys) came in and he started talking to Tanner. He then proceeded to tell Tanner that i was cute or something along those line and Tanner laughed and said, "Dude she understands spanish." And Kenny turned all red and turned to me and was like Do You? And i told him of course i understood him! Then he tried to play it off like he knew that, so when he left he was like Goodbye, my love. Tanner was laughing so hard. That boy is really kind hearted. Most of the boys in that casa are, despite their tough guy exterior. I like playing soccer with them.

So i just finished a game of soccer with the older boys. It was the funnest thing ever. We were playing and its so intense. I kicked my shin into a boy's shin 3 times in the same place, i have a HUGE bump there. It was so funny though, soccer is definitely not my sport. My first reflex is to knock the ball down with my hands,which is obviously illegal. But after doing it twice Hector grabbed a flower that was on the ground from this huge tree and he handed it to me and was like "Tarjeta Roja" and pretended to blow a whistle haha this huge red flower. It was so funny! He is absolutely my favorite. They kept calling stuff on me, but they were just making fun and joking around. I think they enjoyed the game alot too. They like messing with me. Its good because that means they like me enough to even talk to me, which is more than some of the other people here can say. Also, i tried to buy a slingshot today at the Bodega, but they didn't have any! Some of the older boys carry them around their torsos or they wrap it up around their wrist. I think its sweet and i want them to teach me how to use it. Anyways, today was fun.

Casas 2 & 5 (Tanner)

So this week in Trujillo was the first time that I went to the hospital. Two of the other volunteers and myself accompanied Senora Marta to the hospital to help keep an eye on the kids. One of the kids that came with us, Piero, was quite a handful. He is only around five years old, but he is one of the most agile five year olds that I know. I almost got lost in the hospital once while I was trying to catch up with him.

One thing that has happened in the aldea recently that I am very happy about is that the older boys, the ones who live in casa 5, are beginning to open up to us. At first they would keep their distance from us, but now I feel that they have opened up to us. They now come over to our house and just want to hang out with us, which to me is a huge step forward.

I'm eating casa 2 this week which is my favorite house to eat in, because of all the boys seem like brothers to me. It;s my favorite house to eat in because it seems like there is never a moment of peace in the house. Someone is always either screaming about something or getting beat up, and things like that...basically there is never a dull moment which I love. I was talking to the tia in that house, Tia Carla, and I was explaing to her why I loved to be in that house so much and she expressed her similar feelings and said that it was her calling in life to be taking care of these boys.

We've been playing a whole lot of volleyball with the kids. They are amazing volleyball players! Crystell and Marina are particularly good, they hit balls that I don't even consider hitting because they are coming so fast, but then again I'm kind of a whimp :)

This week the U.S. played England in the world cup and we got to watch on TV in casa 5. Preston, Dan, Kenny, and myself were all cheering for the U.S. to win while Miguel and Beth were cheering for England. We had bought soda for everyone while we watched the game and told Miguel that if he switched teams we would give him more coke so he switched sides leaving Beth all on her own!

Tanner

Birthdays (Dan)

Hello all!

I'm here in Huanchaco, right outside Trujillo, trying to catch up on life. It's been great here in the great country of Peru! This past week was good, as I felt I connected with some kids really well. Sometimes it's easy to just sort of be at the Aldea with everyone, but as I am here longer and my Spanish gets better, I feel I can have more substantial conversations. One of the toughest things about this though is learning about their families. You might be surprised to hear this, but most of the kids at the Aldea actually have parents and family that occasionally visit them here. The reason why they don’t live at home is because the parents don’t have the means to take care of them. It’s a sad reality, and sometimes I think it’s even harder than not having parents. When the parents don’t show up as they had planned on Wednesday or Saturday, it’s even tougher because the kids get so excited, only to be disappointed.

On a lighter note, this week we spent a day and a half setting up the biblioteca “library” (it’s the biggest room to use for things) for a big birthday party. Instead of celebrating every birthday, they instead have a birthday party each month for all the kids who had birthdays in that month. We put up tons of streamers and ribbon and cut up tons of paper for names and designs on the wall. I felt like I was doing arts and crafts big time. The party was a big deal, and after they sang and gave presents to the 9 birthday kids, they then gave more presents to all of the kids of the Aldea. It means that each month the kids get a few tiny presents that are just for them. They’re all donated, and it’s way cool because the kids are really pumped about the parties.

Last Tuesday we visited the ruins of Chan Chan. It was amazing. It is a massive complex of walls and offices and old open wells that are intricately connected and have beautiful carvings. Only a small portion of the massive 11 part complex is restored, but it is spectacular nonetheless. We got some great pictures of the four of us volunteers there, I think some of my best yet. You should look online for some pictures of the site to give you a sense of the landscape.