Reporting from Ephrata, Pennsylvania

Well, folks, I'm officially home safe and sound. My day of travel on Saturday was long, but all planes were on time, thankfully. It feels strange to be home; I really miss the kids and my host parents and the volunteers, but at the same time, I'm really enjoying the time I have to catch up on a few things and prepare for the Fall Semester. Here are a few pictures from my last few days:


This was on my last day, at my "despedida" party where the kids danced and sang for me and gave me a goodbye card. It was precious.

This was also on my last day, on Friday. We brought water balloons to have a water balloon toss as part of the gym lesson. Of course, it turned into a water fight, and I ended up walking around with wet socks for the rest of the day.

A balloon broke on Angel, and here he is ringing out his pants. He doesn't like getting wet.

This would be me mixing the milk (yes, that's milk) that the Peruvian Government supplies for the school. It looks better than this when we serve it, but it's still really gross.

I had to say goodbye to the dinner ladies that cook lunch for the elderly people in the area. It's a GVI project called "plan ancianos," and it was started pretty recently. They invited me to lunch a few times each week, and we became good friends.

Fernando looking like a bobblehead.

Ruth is the most beautiful girl. Period. I'll miss her.

I find myself thinking about the kids and the volunteers a lot during the day. I would love to return someday, maybe next summer as an intern, but we'll see how my plans evolve. I now have friends all over the world, literally, and would love to visit some of them (and of course I invited them to Pennsylvania, although they didn't seem too excited about the idea). Thanks for reading my blog and keeping in touch with me. Hope to see you all soon!

Love,

Señorita Jenna

Nice to mee-choo, Machu Picchu.

This past weekend I traveled to Cusco and Machu Picchu with Andi and Georgina, two other volunteers. We left Thursday night by bus and arrived Friday morning in Cusco, a beautiful city (where my host brother lives). Right away, we decided to buy our train tickets to Machu Picchu only to find out that ¨there weren´t any tickets for the next two days,¨ so the travel agent man told us. We wanted to hear it from the source, so we ventured to the train station, where we bought our tickets quite easily. We think the travel agent guy just wanted our money; he offered a helicopter to us for $250 per person to fly us to Machu Picchu. . . no thanks.

We traveled to Aguas Calientes (the town closest to Machu Picchu) on a few cheap buses and one very expensive train ride on PeruRail (they basically have a monopoly on transportation to Machu Picchu).Once in Aguas Calientes, we set up our tickets and entrance fees for the next day, settled into our hostal, and went out for dinner. The town of Aguas Calientes is basically...ugly because it exists almost solely for Machu Picchu tourists. Everything is concrete and looks like it was built too quickly to accomodate all the tourism. It´s in a beautiful location, though, and there are tons of really interesting people there.

Bright and early Saturday morning--5:30 to be exact--we were first in line for the first bus to Machu Picchu. Thirty minutes later, we were in the clouds...literally. They didn´t go away. The three of us wandered the ruins for about 3 hours, using our guide book in place of a guide. Finally, at 10:00 the clouds cleared, and we were able to get some wonderful pictures:

And of course, THE picture, which could never do it justice:

We spent much of Saturday afternoon returning to Cusco (the train ride back included a lovely alpaca fashion show). Once there, we went out for dinner and spent the night in a hostal close to the main plaza. Most of the day Sunday was spent wandering around Cusco, eating, shopping...you know, the usual. Sunday night we hopped on the bus back to Arequipa, arriving at 6:30 am and heading straight to work. Needless to say, we were yawning a lot on Monday.

Today in the school women came and gave a Hep B vaccine (or C? I can´t remember...one is for STD´s or something, but the kids got the other one). They all did very well; nobody cried! Below is Angel after his shot:

This week is my.....last week. ¡No puedo creer que tengo que salir! The week is filled with last minute errands and gift buying and family time and volunteer dinners and such, hopefully ending with a nice night of dinner and salsa dancing. Probably one more post is on its way after this, including my last few days here and goodbyes and ¨despedida¨ dinners and last thoughts of my experience. Take care, everyone. Can´t wait to see you soon!

Hasta luego,

Jenna

Earthquakes and clinics and strikes, oh my!

First order of business....the earthquake. Tremor is more like it, actually. It happened at 4:15 in the morning on Tuesday; the strongest part lasted for about 20-ish seconds. It woke me up, obviously, as my windows were rattling and my shelves and bed were moving. I sat straight up in bed and kind of smiled...it was my first earthquake ever! My parents and I congregated in the ¨safe zone¨ of the second floor and went back to bed soon after. It was actually really cool, and I can say that because nobody was killed (or even hurt I think) and the damage was almost nonexistent. It was a very strong tremor, though; a 6 on the richter scale so I´ve heard, which is big enough for me. I pray they don´t get any bigger.

Second order of business...the medical clinic. On Tuesday we took most all of the kids at school to a medical clinic to see a doctor and dentist. The two local teachers and our project manager left with about 25 of the kids, leaving the volunteers to run the school by ourselves (something we were not aware of before arriving that morning) for 12 remaining students that didn´t bring in their permission slips, a few from each grade. It was a challenge with them all grouped together and at very different ability levels, but we managed to do a long English lesson and some math before lunch, when the others came back from the clinic. Many of the children have chest infections, bronchitis, and dental issues. Some returned with a few less teeth than before. A few who were suffering from malnutrition last year are much healthier now, which was really good news. Now our job is to make sure they all finish their medication and to stress brushing their teeth every day after lunch.

So, the strike (a ¨huelga¨ in Spanish) is today. I´ve been told that the reason for striking is inflation...what´s new. Our project manager decided earlier this week that we wouldn´t be going into the school today. Basically, all of the schools are closed today, along with many businesses; all means of transportation will not be running today because there are supposedly road blocks all over the city (and I would assume the country as well, because it´s a national level strike). My father made it into work this morning somehow, but most people won´t attempt leaving their houses. Apparently there´s a protest in the plaza this afternoon and occasionally some rock throwing if there´s a vehicle on the road...but it should be mostly peaceful, and it should last only one day. One day is the plan, but last year ¨one day¨ turned into about a week. A bit ridiculous. With our trip to Cusco/Machu Picchu starting on Thursday night, we´re really praying that it sticks to the original schedule, otherwise we might not be able to leave the city. We´ll see.

This is a picture of our whole group (minus Carla and Candy) from our night out last night, since we didn´t have to go into school today. I love these people; they´re so much fun. If you look closely, Thomas and I are ¨working it¨ in the corner :-)

Have a great week, everyone. Love you all,

Señorita Jenna

I´m beginning to think a ¨normal¨day doesn´t exist...

This past week was crazy, as usual. We celebrated June birthdays, day of the teacher, and Alison´s despedida (goodbye) at the end of the week. Here are some pictures... (I apologize for all the pictures of the kids. I know they might not mean much to you, but I´ve grown very attached to them and can´t get enough of their cute little faces)

Nadia and Andi, two of the volunteers, bought a sweatshirt for each of the children with money that had been donated from their friends and family at home. This winter season has been especially cold, so they decided to help out the kids´ lacking wardrobe. Here they all are in their ¨thug¨ poses. The kids went crazy for these things and have been wearing them ever since.

Pablo and Alfredo looking quite cool in their new jackets. (¨Jumpers,¨ as the English call them)

Thomas and Raul. I want to take Raul home with me.


Alexandra, Ruth, Anabel, and Yovanna dancing to ¨Gasolina.¨ :-)

Magdalena and Alejandra; they´re inseparable.

Juanito, Arnaldo, and Mauricio. I could take them home, too.

Me and Nacida, from the Inicial, which is their equivalent to preschool. We walk over to the Inicial every Monday and teach English and PE.

Piero from Inicial. Yes, he always looks like that, and yes, he´s the cutest little boy ever.

Juan from Inicial. I think he looks like Dora the Explorer´s brother.

Alison and Me, out this past weekend with some other volunteers. She didn´t know it was ugly face picture time, apparently. She leaves tomorrow after 4.5 months here. She´s really sad to be leaving.

This week is my host dad´s birthday, so I decided to cook for him today. I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes. They loved it, of course. How could they not, though? It´s basically a different variation of what they eat every day.

Dessert!!! I think these were the first chocolate chip cookies my host parents had ever eaten. I felt honored :-)

Me and my host mom, Sonia.

This week will be another crazy week, possibly even crazier than the last if that´s possible? On Monday the teachers will not be in the school (their present for day of the teacher, I guess. It´s a bit backwards if you ask me), Tuesday we´re taking all the kids for medical checkups, Wednesday there will be a strike in the city, so we might not be able to make it to the school at all because of the road blocks, so I hear, and Thursday night I leave for Cusco and Machu Picchu for the weekend. I´m so excited!

Love you all a lot,
Jenna

Birthday Shenanigans

The before picuture. A lovely day at school. When all of a sudden...

(Video on its way)

The tradition of egging the birthday person. I think it´s just a tradition at our school.

The after picture. Before being drenched in water.

They sang happy birthday to me and gave me cards. Oh, and did I mention smashed the cake in my face? Well, that too. It was a wonderful birthday.

I came home to even more cake and some warm chocolate pudding. Notice the proper candle :-)

Zimel and Eder, both in grade 3.


Felix and Alex. They´re brothers; can you tell?


Little Fernando and Ivan.

Copa...Copacabana

We all had a great weekend in Bolivia; Lake Titicaca was absolutely gorgeous (from the Bolivian side; from Puno it was a bit ugly), and Copacabana was nice, despite the very touristy feel. The weather was great, although it was a bit cooler than in Arequipa. I was advised to leave out a particular story from my blog, but ask me sometime about crossing the Peru-Bolivia border. It´s a good one.

Don´t worry, I didn´t buy it.

Copacabana.

Copacabana at sunset, from our hostal window.

A view of Lake Titicaca from the Isla del Sol.

The famous reed boats of Lake Titicaca.

School this week has been going really well. We were without teachers today, but the volunteers were very capable of handling the situation on our own. Teaching is such a challenge because there are three grades for each floor, and all the students are at a different skill level, even within a particular grade. Magaly, for example, is in grade two and can barely add, yet she is dragged along with the others as they learn fractions. It´s a very frustrating environment. Today, however, we were able to give some individual attention to those students who never get the chance to catch up. We made some great progress in their mathematical skill level and introduced a few new English words and concepts. I wish all days could be as successful as today.

At the end of this week in school we will celebrate the June birthdays, which includes mine, Carla´s (the project manager), and Maricruz´s, who is in the 5th grade. I hear lots of eggs are involved...raw ones...that will end up on my head. Pictures to come. Hopefully a video as well.

On our way to school in the morning. The van gets quite cozy.

The view of the chacras from the school. Many of the children´s parents work here.

Until next time,
Señorita Jenna

PS Thanks for the cards in the mail, Mom, Martha, Sarah, and Andrea!

¡Por fin!

Well, almost two weeks have passed since my last post, which means that my time here is almost halfway through. I can´t believe it. My first week in the school flew by. It´s really tiring work, especially now that we´re taking care of lesson planning once we return at the end of the day. I return home around 7 or 8 in the evening with enough time to eat my dinner, shower, and pass out in my bed.

We had a mumps scare last week in the schools. About 12 children in Triunfo (the other school) supposedly caught it. The volunteers had an emergency info session with our on-call doctor. He said we should all be fine since we´re strong and healthy and that it´s better if the kids spread it amoung themselves to create an immunity. Influenza, he said, is the thing we should be worrying about instead. This winter season, which is colder than usual, the flu has already killed 28 children in Arequipa. Our kids would be a prime target: underfed, cold houses, dirty neighborhoods, etc. So far nothing has happened at our schools, and we pray it stays that way.

I´m becoming more familiar with the lives of some of the students outside of school; you would never pick up on the seriousness of their situations from their smiling faces at school. I wonder sometimes why Alfredo or Nancy don´t come back after lunch, only to find out later that they had to go home to take care of their younger siblings or help their mom prepare dinner. I asked Magdalena, a girl in second grade, what she likes to do when she´s not in school, expecting an answer like ¨play soccer¨ or ¨read.¨ On the contrary, Magdalena enjoys ¨working.¨ I found out later that she takes care of most of the housework and her younger brother since her parents left for some reason. Many of them are forced to grow up way too quickly; I can´t even imagine. The school itself is incredibly lacking in its resources. I think I´d like to find an encyclopedia set for the school before I leave, maybe install some shelves or buy english workbooks. I don´t know. There is so much that could be done. A proper bathroom, for one, would be the perfect addition. A sink was just recently installed outside for when the children wash their hands and hair and brush their teeth. It was like Christmas in June.

Here are a few pictures from school:

All the kids in one place. Sitting down. What a miracle.

My portrait courtesy of Eder--grade 3. See the resemblence?

Alison and Andi and me with our popsicle stick representation of the school.

Alejandra, Maricruz, and me.

Crazy third-grade boys.

This past weekend I went on a trekking trip to Colca Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world (second only to its Peruvian neighbor). Overall, we hiked for about 10 hours, and it was incredibly difficult considering the altitude and the vertical path. There were six other volunteers on the trip; I was very thankful to be one of two that did not get altitude sickness. The pictures can barely convey the depth and beauty of this canyon...

The ¨Oasis¨ wating for us after 7 hours of hiking. Well-deserved.

A beautiful view from the bus on the way home. Tons of terraces.

This weekend I and eight other volunteers are traveling to Bolivia...Copacabana to be exact. A bit of Lake Titicaca here and a bit of shopping there, and hopefully some time to relax, maybe sleep and read? It should be fun. Since I´m American, though, I have to pay a border crossing fee. Go figure. I´m gonna try to flirt my way out of it. Yeah right.

Carla, the new project manager, arrived last week (see right--the kids think we´re twins), along with two new volunteers this weekend: Thomas who is my age and from France, and Candy who is 30 from Hong Kong. I still remain the only American. Patrick arrived on Tuesday--he´s an intern for the next three months, my age and from England. I know what you´re thinking...and the answer is no :-)



I´ll leave you with some interesting things I´ve noted about Peruvian culture and life here in general:

1) My fingernails are ALWAYS dirty.
2) Most people have special covers made for their kitchen appliances to cover them when they´re not in use.
3) Street vendors sell the weirdest things; there´s shoelace man, hot water bottle lady, and suction hook guy. How can they make a living?
4) There are no public trashcans. It´s annoying.
5) You can´t always count on hot water, even in an upper-class neighborhood.
6) Any bill higher than 20 soles is such a burden to change. (20 soles = about $7)
7) Public school teachers have little motivation to show up at school on time (or sometimes at all).
8) The kids at school will copy whenever possible--creativity and imagination are not well-developed.
9) Apparently all gringas look alike. (gringas = white touristy females)
10) The public telephones are actually people who wear a fluorescent vest and carry a cell phone. They´re everywhere! They walk around saying ¨llamadas, llamadas, llamadas¨ and charge about ten cents per call.
11) There are specific streets that sell every type of specialty. There´s banana street, cake street, guitar street, shoe street, etc.
12) Road signs are basically nonexistent (you know, like the stop sign for example). To drive in Arequipa, one must honk the horn every 5 seconds and be very greedy when maneuvering through an intersection.
13) I pay an equivalent of 3 cents for a popsicle at the end of a long day at school. Seven dollars for a fancy and large meal is normal. I can get huge plates of cheap food for about $1 near the plaza. I think I´ll return even more stingy than when I left.

Until next time.
Hasta luego,
Jenna