WE WON!!! (Madi)

WE WOOOONNNN!! What an adventure! The Aldea has won the women's Fulbito tournament. Not only did they win the FINAL, they have won all the games. So great! We are proud of the Tias that played. We also had on of the other volunteers from the Aldea play, her name is Allie and she is here through Project trust. CONGRATS team!!

Daniela has just turned 18 an she is now getting ready to leave this month. She is getting ready to go out into the world. Hard, but we know that she will do very well.

6 month old baby Fabricio is doing a lot better. He goes to the Hospital Weekly to get exercises. Starting to slowly progress with his strength. When he first came he was not able to hold his head up. That was about 2 months ago, but he is starting to get there.

We had some children that were baptised this last week, and also some children that had their confirmation through the Catholic church. Allie, Izzy and I participated as godmothers in this event. It was very different but very very cool to see these kids take such a big step. It is so cool to see kids going for things that they want. The kids that did confirmation were, Keny, Elvia, Evelin and Ana.
Congrats to all three kids !!

-Madi

Update from Aldea (Dan)

I know it´s been a while since my last email, sorry about that, life´s been particularly busy and crazy here in Peru. So we had a power outage for about two days a few weeks back that was actually a lot of fun. We had a few candles and flashlights that helped during the night, but it was actually great to have the lights off in the Aldea so you could appreciate the stars. It was cool how bright the milky way was, and how much you miss them when the lights are always on. We´ve had a great time playing futbol lately, and I´m proud to say that I´ve been getting better. We had some penalty kicks the other day and I scored on Cesar (probably the best kid here) and then I saved his penalty kick. Yeah, I was proud of himself. It´s great when the all the kids come together and play. Before, it seemed that Cesar and some of the older boys would only play if there weren´t younger ones playing as well, and maybe it´s just the lack of other boys to play with, but everyone has been coming together to play. Just yesterday in fact, we played a marathon game where Cesar´s team beat us 22 to 21. It was in the smaller field/court, but it was still tons of fun. Since I can be a little competitive, it was fun to have a such a crazy game. We´ve also played lots of volibol lately. The tias have been getting into it. Tia Rosa from casa 5 (with the older boys) got some of the older ones to play with the girls, who are really good. Tio Nelson, the handyman of the Aldea also comes and plays sometimes. For the older girls as well, like Ingrid and Antonia, it´s great to have some fun physical activities. Also, I went on a side trip up to the Cordillera Blancas with Asha, as it was her last week. We went on a magnificent 4 day trek called ¨Santa Cruz¨ that was absolutely spectacular. We climbed up to 4750 meters, which is about 15600 feet. At times it was challenging, and the altitude does make you slower, but it was totally worth it. At nights it was freezing, especially since the wind chill was so big, but during the day you had to wary of sun burn. An amazing trip, and a good send off for Asha, who will be sorely missed here at the Aldea.

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.

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

a bit about Benjamin (Shelisa at the Aldea)

Benjamin is such a joy to be around. He always has a smile on his face and it just makes your heart melt, especially because one of his front teeth is missing. He is such a handsome boy. One day during football, Benjamin was running to get the ball and one of the boys, in excitement, pushed him to the ground. Benjamin had scuffed his knee and was on the ground crying so I went over to comfort him. At the time I was wearing a hat that my father had given me from his work and that Benjamin had taken a fancy to. So to cheer him up, I gave him the hat.

I must say he looks much better in the hat than I ever will.

Getting to know him, I have learned that he is very athletic and loves to play any sports he can. He is always out with his little gang of friends, all boys about his age. Everyone gets a long with him quite well because of his easy going personality.

He also loves to be tossed around while swimming and has fun playing sharks and fish.

mitch's ankle

This week has been…interesting. Due to the rain, many of the activities have been canceled. And frankly, I don’t blame the tias of the houses for not wanting the kids go outside, because it is extremely difficult to keep the house and the kids clean with all the mud. Regardless though, us boys managed to get in a super fun and WET game of soccer just before dinner on Wednesday. Instead of playing on the court, we played in the grass where we could slip and fall without serious injury—or so we thought. It wasn’t long till one of the kids had jammed his big toe and near the end of the game, my foot managed to find a small hole in the ground and needless to say, I didn’t leave the field walking. I decided that I might as well go to the doctor, and thankfully, nothing was broken. Within a week or so, I should be back and ready for another soccer match! (I certainly hope so, cause I can’t stand not being able to run around with the kids and missing my exercises)

One of the children that has stood out to me not only this week, but since the beginning, is Bray Helin. We have been on the same volleyball team a number of times and even though we don’t always win, she loves playing. Sometimes it is against my will. There was one time that Bray Helin and two other girls came to my house and pretty much dragged me to the volleyball court to play. I think she likes dancing the best though. The girls here can dance forever! I ate in her house last week and can I just say that eating at a specific house for a week is probably the best idea ever. I can’t tell you how invaluable it has been in connecting with more of the kids here. Bray Helin is a confident, beautiful young lady. She is super sweet, and often helped get me some extra fruit here and there from the mom. She was one of the girls that would often play the dice game with me and others of the house after lunch or dinner. She definitely is more girly in how she carries herself and acts compared to many of the other girls here. She reminds me a lot of my sister actually.

Hopefully the rain doesn’t interfere too much with our time with the kids and that soon I will be able to back in all the wonderful action here at the Aldea!
Saludos a todos,
Mitch

The Cool Kids (Colleen)

February 28

The older boys are back! Adriel, Carlos, Hilario, and Wilfredo are well in their teens, attend high school, and just returned from summer internships and soccer camp. It’s great seeing them again, but I just can’t believe how TALL they’re getting! A few might be taller than me in a couple more years. They just tower over the other children.

They may be tall, but they are still children. That much is clear. They totally crack me up. “Let’s go Tia!” they called to me today. “Come with us to the stadium! Pleeeease!” “Why?” I asked. “I can’t play soccer. You know this.” “You can watch and take photos!” They insisted.

I went.

They LOVED the camera. I think this is their real reason for inviting me in the first place. They spent a good half hour posing for me and shouting at me when I snapped photos of them laughing or getting ready. They want to look “cool,” not like they actually have fun. Kids!

Hilario was especially entertaining. He told me all about his soccer camp . They woke up early in the mornings and ran every day. They ran and ran and ran. They ran from Plaza de Armas in Cusco to Sacsaywaman and back. He got tired. It was crazy running. Still, one day, he ran hard and beat the other 60 kids. “All sixty?” I asked in amazement. “Of course,” he said nonchalantly.

Then he posed for picture after picture after picture. “But Hilario,” I complained. “I have about eighty pictures of you already!” “I know. Just one more Tia. Please!” Good grief! He wanted to get his kick just right in a photo, get a photo of him kicking in a different style, and of course there were lots of photos of Hilario just sitting or standing and looking “cool.” I got one shot of him laughing. “I wasn’t ready!” he complained. How funny!



Finally, the game began. The boys played against some friends in town. It was nice to see the boys play with other kids in town. They played hard, but were losing when I finally got cold and left. It was raining at that point, but the boys smiled. “Bye Tia!” It’s good to have them back.