4 more days (Dan)

¡Hola!

¿Como estan ustedes? Tengo solamente 4 dias mas en Banos del Inca!

It´s really crazy how fast time flies... It feels like I just got here to Cajamarca and the kids in Puylucana. Tomorrow is my last day at El Bichito, and I´m getting a little party set up. Basically I´m going to have some bingo so they can work on vocabulary and some balloons and a few goodies. It´ll be typically chaotic with 40+ kids as per the usual, but lots of fun. It´s been lots of fun lately there as I
have gotten more comfortable with the kids and they with me. It really does take some time, but I´ll be sad to miss them. Also, I´ve occasionally brought out the frisbee I brought and the kids are having
a blast. Wiliam is particularly good, and others like kevin and Manuel are decent too. The older boys still won´t stick around much, but a couple have.

Allie and Izzy, the two girls from Project Trust who I was with in the Aldea in Trujillo, came up to
visit and see Cajamarca with a few other girls from other sites in Peru. I showed them around banos and the hot springs, and finally got the chance to see Granje Porcon, a beautiful valley about 30 minutes away I had not yet seen. It is a small valley that has a trout farm and also a cool zoo. I got a chance to see a spectackled bear! Yeah, the only bear in South America.

Anyway, my time here in Peru is rapidly coming to a close and a list of the things quickly that I know I´ll miss...

Getting crammed into combis
The amazing Cajamarca cheese and ¨pan de agua¨
Toilets without seats
cheap public transportation
trying to get these kids to bring and finish their homework without cheating
Random rain starting out of nowhere (oh wait, I live in Seattle, nothing really weird there)
All of the amazing friendships I´ve made, more than I can list here...
really, it´s amazing how many amazing people I´ve met
Included are the kids at both the Aldea and El bichito... I´ve never
wanted to smile and go crazy so much in my life

Entonces, I´ll be leaving my Peruvian home soon, and I´m already feeling homesick...

El Bichito (Dan)

So everyday during the week, I take a short combi (mini bus) ride up to the small town of
Puylucana which is 5 minutes away. When I arrive, I usually meet with
Feliciana and/or Melchora her sister. They run the comedor called ¨El
Bichito¨ which literally translated means little bug. It is basically
a lunch cafeteria for kids in the area to have a free meal when they
finish school. In order to receive food, they must go to school, so
it is not a complete giveaway.
My job is to help as much as possible.
This usually entails sorting through the rice and beans in the
morning. We dump a big pile on the counter and then sort through the
little pieces that aren´t quite edible. It´s a great time to talk to
Melchora and Feliciana or just meditate to myself. I´m still pretty
slow at sorting (faster than when I started) but Melchora especially
is miles ahead of me. She says I just need to practice... :)

I then try to get ready for the kids coming, taking down benches,
basic clean up, and trying to figure out how I´ll engage the kids that
day. I usually eat before the kids arrive at around 1 pm, so I can
talk and have fun with the kids while they eat, and try to get the
faster kids to start doing homework. Not all the kids stick around to
do homework, and it´s tough to try and motivate them. One technique
I've been using lately, is blocking the doorway, and requiring the
kids to answer a mental math problem for me before they can go in and
eat. That way they've got to earn it, and I get them all thinking.
After eating, I average about 10 kids staying to complete their
homework with me. Since there are about 45 kids that come to eat,
it´s not great, but it´s hard to get the older ones especially to
stay. (If you have any suggestions, let me know). There is chart I
made (copying the plan set up and introduced by Chris and Kimball, who were here
during the summer) that marks when they bring and complete their
homework. When they finish 5 homework assignments, and the 5
corresponding stars, they receive a small prize out of the prize box.
That´s why it´s hard to get the older kids to stay, because small
prizes aren´t really to their liking. Doing homework with the kids
which I feel is very important, means that kids finish at different
times and just bolt. I can occasionally keep a few kids behind for
reading (they loved the Amelia Bedelia book) and as I´m learning to
juggle, some kids had fun throwing around the juggling scarves.
Before I leave I help clean up the place and make sure everything is
ready to go for the next day.

I know that´s a long-winded explanation, but it really is an awesome
experience. I get to teach a few words in English, I also tease the
kids too (somehow that´s never gotten old) and learn some Spanish
myself. It´s a great way to serve and these kids deserve it, even if
sometimes they are ´traviesos´.

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.

Life in Peru (Dan at Aldea)

Hello everyone!

Life is great here in the great land of Peru. I got a little sick this week, but maybe it's just a painful way to lose weight. At the Aldea they serve a lot of food every meal, and it's tough to turn it down. That means that just maintaining my weight will be difficult here and my dream to lose a few pounds for real will be especially difficult. I have been running however, and we found this great trail above the houses that is on the side of the mountains. Except for the ever vicious dogs, its a great run that gives a really good view of the valley. I'm really glad I have Natalie and occasionally Preston and Tanner to run with. Even in this beautiful country, it's still easier to have someone running at your side.

I'm not sure if I told that I carved a baseball bat, but I made a rudimentary bat that is still slightly curved so we can play baseball with the kids of the Aldea. It is awesome! (If I do say so my self) We have also been playing some volleyball, which is a favorite of many of the girls here. Another great game is tree tag. There are some great mango trees in the center of the aldea that have great branches for climbing and 'monkeying around.' We play tag while staying in the trees, it's tough to get the little ones because even the small high branches will hold them just fine.

We are working right now on our travel stuff to Machu Picchu and then Iquitos. We now have tickets from Lima to Cuzco for the first week of July. It's about 100 dollars round trip for the plane, and about 25 bucks for the bus down to Lima. I am really excited to go the Sacred Valley and see all that stuff. After that, we are planning to go to iquitos which is a town in the Peruvian amazon. I'm pumped, getting the tickets has been a challenge. I'll have to get some malaria pills those few days, but it'll be well worth it. I've just heard so many great things about Machu Picchu and Cuzco that I'm just pumped to see everything.

I also picked up a panflute this past week, it's not great, but I got it for only 18 soles, so that's okay. I really do want to get and play a churrango. It's a 10 string oversized ukulele that is just awesome. You play 2 strings at a time so every note has harmony. Right now we (the band we created 'Lost in Aldea') is practicing the Hawaiian guy's version of "Somewhere over the Rainbow." Tanner has a uke, and I have a panflute solo at the end of the amazing song. I'm pumped to play it.

We had a great Saturday night talk where we wrote down 100 goals that we want to do in our lives. It was tough to get things down, and I only have 75 written right now, but it really made me think about the important and the not so important things I want to do.

Anyway, I think we're going to Chan Chan in the morning, which is a world heritage site near Trujillo of pre-inca ruins. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks for all the support stateside, and hope all is well with you!
-Dan

This Week (Dan at Aldea)

Hello all!

I wrote this sweet long email that just got completely deleted... AHHHH!

This is probably going to be a quicker version of it. Right now I am in Huanchaco, a smaller beach town just outside Trujillo. (The Aldea where I live is about 30 minutes into the mountains from Trujillo) We stayed last night in a small cheap little hostel with some other gringos, some from the US, Holland and Canada. There are so many more gringos in this town than in Trujillo or near the Aldea. Monday and part of Tuesdays are going to be our weekends normally, where we can go to town and get on the internet. Mondays and Tuesdays are the days when the kids at the Aldea are too busy with homework and school is longer, so we don't have as much time with them. Saturday and Sunday are the days that we have the most time with kids.

Yesterday I ate ceviche for the first time which is mostly raw fish with lemon sauce and other seafood. It's a favorite of many of the kids in the Aldea, and they have it everywhere here in Huanchaco. It is tasty! Probably my favorite thing so far. But then again I love all the seafood.

We had a fiesta on Friday done by a local christian church where they did a bunch of songs and dances and a puppet show. It was great, and the kids, especially the younger ones had a blast. It is still really difficult to manage so many young kids and they do go nuts easily. They're great, just rambunctious. This past week I ate in casa 10, which is full of girls, except little Alfredo. He's 4 years old and his sisters are in the house. The Tia in the house, Gloria is amazing with the kids, and helps me with my Spanish.

I am going to get a star chart for the southern hemisphere because the stars are great but unknown. There is so little light pollution when the skies are clear. We're also going to get a hotplate to cook eggs and stuff on in our own house from time to time. Our stove has no gas to it, and it would be great to have. I am also getting a panflute or a charrango (a peruvian guitar) so that I can play in our newly formed band, "Lost in Aldea." We have already sung a cover of "Hey Ya" by Outkast and a version of "Let it Be" that I changed the words to as a going away for our two English roommates Beth and Georgia who are leaving the Aldea after almost a full year.

a few short bios (Dan from Aldea)

Here's a few little bios of some kids for the blog.

Alfredo Hoshua is 4 years old and loves to cuddle. He smiles and gives great hugs. Papas fritas or french fries are his favorite food. He loves to play a game called Kiwi with the other children, a game of tag with some unique variations. His other favorite activities are to play on the swing and watch his favorite show Ben 10. One his secret talents is to draw, but he doesn't care to share his awesome drawings too much.

Estefani Araujo SaaVedra is a seven year old chica who loves to climb and jump on people's shoulders. She has an older sister at the Aldea whose name is Jenifer. Her favorite food is Seviche, a raw fish dish that is absolutely delicious. Kiwi is her favorite game (as it is for many of the children) and she loves to play with dogs. She loves Dora the Explorar and many other cartoons. She is always smiling and is very friendly.

There is a sweet little shy girl in the orphanage named Blanca Tamani Briceno. She is a tiny six year old who smiles a lot once she is comfortable with you. She is the has 3 other siblings at the Aldea including her younger brother Alfredo. She absolutely loves spaghetti with meatballs and with ceviche being a close second. She likes volleyball and singing and dancing, but when she grows up she really wants to be a painter. She loves to have a pencil in her tiny hand. Her favorite movies are princess movies, preferably Barbie princess movies, and the song she loves to dance to is "Chulale." She is a great kid.More will be coming.-Dan

First Update from Dan (Aldea)

Hello everyone!

Just my first update from Peru. It´s for my family mainly, but if you wanted some more information then here it is.

I´m in Trujillo right now at an internet cafe. Trujillo is about a 30-40 minute bus ride from the Aldea Infantil, (we just call it the Aldea).

It has been amazing! I arrived last monday night in Lima and went with Zara Lopez to her home. I spent the next day Tuesday going around Lima a little and spending time with her young son Joshua. That night I spent on a bus to Trujillo where I met up with Carlos´ family and another intern Natalie. Then we went to the Aldea crammed in a small pick up truck. The Aldea has been awesome. There are two other volunteers here from before, from England! They´ve been here for almost a year, Bethany and Georgia who is from Sheffield. They´ve been showing us the ropes and it´s great.

We live in Casa 3 and there are 10 casas in the Aldea. Only some are used, but one of the us gringos eat in each casa for meals. I was in casa 9 last week and now I´m in casa 10. The Tias do the cooking in the casas and organize the kids in their casas. I room with Tanner from Chicago and Preston from Canada/Texas/...

My normal day is waking up around 7, then going for a 30 minute run with Natalie on the main road. Then we spend some time with the few kids who are new to the aldea and don´t go to school yet. We push them on the swing (colombio) and play games, and do lots of arts and crafts stuff in our casa. ¿Quieren pintar ahora? The kids always ask us to push them on the swing. They also like to dance a lot, and Bethany and Georgia have been working for a long time on a big show that we did yesterday, Monday. We sang some songs and danced as well. Beth and Georgia are going home soon so this was a big hurrah for them. I got a lot of video of it.

Back to the day. The niños come back from school around 1 pm and we eat lunch. Then we help with homework or play futbol or an awesome game called kiwi, or learn spanish and teach english. Those books have been great that your sent Mom. It´s tough to keep track of everything because the kids like to snatch anything they can get their hands on. I really to love the kids though. I´m beginning to get all the kids names down, probably at 80% right now. In the evening at 6 or 7, we have dinner and talk more. After that its time for us to chill in our own casa. We all get along really well, and it´s been great. Church on Sunday was great. It costs between 2.50 and 3 soles which is about 1 dollar to take the combio (bus) into Trujillo.

Anyway, it´s been great! There are a ton of bugs, and my legs are covered with mosca bites. We boil our water for drinking and we wash our own clothes by hand. Also, there are no toilet seats, so I only use our toilet because I know it´s clean. Thanks for the adapter, it´s been used a lot by everyone here. I like the sugar cane, and the normal rice and chicken is great. I´m really trying to eat carefully because it´s very easy to gain weight here. (Another reason to run every morning) Breath How is everyone stateside? Mom and Dad, thanks for pushing/nudging me towards this. It is so amazing! Love you all! and please share this with others!

Daniel el travieso(they call me that here as well)