Hola a todos. Finally the rare occurrence that we call "the sun" appeared in Lima this weekend and I have an awfully red burnt face to prove it. The unusually clear skies allowed me the opportunity to watch an incredible Pacific sunset. Usually the clouds are in the way, but not this evening. This late afternoon I sat down with my newest read (The World According to Garp) and spent almost 2 hours in my favorite park witnessing my Lima. There were skateboarders, a guitar player, teen couples, and (you guessed it) gringos all dotted along the edge of the pale brick wall that peers over the cliffs and down at the Pacific. Of course, my camera was not at hand, but I am happier that it wasn't because it forced me to simply live in the moment, rather than trying to capture it. As I sat idly with Garp, the sky grew pinker and the sun slowly descended into the azul waters of Lima's coast. I felt a peace finally come over me, that hasn't been present since I got back a week ago. I slowly sipped the air around me and appreciated how lucky I am to be here and how priviledged I feel to have been given the opportunity to experience Peru.
This brings me to what's next in my life story. While I had planned to stay here until mid-November, I have changed my plans to come home earlier on October 2 (two days after I turn 25). Long story-short, I have been searching long and hard for some consistent volunteer opportunities in Lima and the results have not satisfied me. And while I do enjoy the city of Lima, my friends here and travelling in Peru a great deal (as well as living with Mark), I decided that it's best for me to re-integrate to DC and start the job hunt once more. No hard feelings to Lima, I have had a life-shaping experience here for sure. I just want to contribute to society again and I can better do so from the District. For those of you there, I look forward to seeing you soon, and whoever passes through in the near future, don't hesitate to get in touch :) Gracias y chau.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Belated update...Techo building
Hey all. I know this is way overdue but I wanted to share a brief bit about my service project . So I last told you that I signed up to do a service project whose mission was to build 270 houses in Lima and Pisco. There were 12 teams of about 30-50 people and my team (Escuela Morada--purple school) was sent to Villa Maria de Triunfo, a barrio on the southern border of Lima. Took us over an hour to get there from my neighborhood. That just gives you an idea of how big Lima actually is. We arrived quite early in the morning, around 1:30am (to an actual school near our work site), to our group leaders banging pots and pans to welcome us. Not my idea of fun, but I got used to it. We stayed at the school for a week,a all 33 of us, sleeping on one large cement classroom floor.
We had 6 long days of work ahead. Most of the days we spent lugging boards, wall panels, and beams up the side of a muddy rocky mountain, most times in the misty Lima rain. I have never been so physically tested in my life. And even though it was super painful most of the time, like grunting and biting your lip painful, it felt so great the at the end of the day to be really physically exhausted. I really felt like I was working and helping. Each team (2-3 people) had two houses to build in very little time. Luckily some of the house components were pre-made, like the walls. What we did was level the land (which was really bad terrain for building), put down the support beams and floor boards. then we put up the walls, secured them with primary and secondary beams, and finally attached the tin rooves. It sounds easy in theory, except for the fact that we had to lug all of the materials way up hill. I am seriously surprised that I didn't have a slip and fall accident. The worst that happened was that a heavy rock fell on my shin. Got a proud black and blue that I showed off for a few weeks after. It's just now beginning to vanish.
My team or cuadrilla finished house number one by day 5, which left one day for house number two. Of course our last day was the coldest day and after a week of mist the land was getting really muddy and more and more slippery. As night began to fall the last night, we were working diligently to finish. It was very hard since the light had gone and we were using my travel booklight to illuminate things. All of the sudden we heard a loud noise, felt the ground shake, and heard someone scream. The ground right below the house we were constructing partly fell through due to the rain and just plain un-durability(?) of the land. The land that fell crushed the wall of a shack below us, including an older woman inside. She ended up with a cut in her head, but was actually ok in the end. All in all, the civil defense and fire department ended up coming to the mountainside and all teams had to stop work. It will luckily be continued this month thanks to a new set of volunteers.
This incident, albeit very scary to me, is a regular occurrence in this area. The land is horrible and the only people living on it are doing so because they have no other choice. A new house is only a band-aid to the very complex problem of urban poverty. I wish I could have done more, but at least we assisted in the betterment of these people's daily lives. Having a roof and floor and wooden home is a nice upgrade to a cardboard cube. I am really grateful for the experience I had, especially all the people I was able to meet. My group consisted of mostly Peruvian college students who thankfully taught me some awesome Spanish slang words and loved my somewhat lousy attempts at cursing.
In summation, the trip was incredible and super rough at the same time. Ia happened to meet two wonderful dutch girls there (thanks to AIESEC, smaaaaaall world). It was great to have an optional break from Spanish. But the majority of the time it was Spanish so that was helpful for my language skills. I mean who knows when I will need all the vocabulary I know have relating to construction. You just never know. Thanks for reading.
p.s. Stay tuned next time for my trip to the states :) Back to Lima in one week, currently in Maine.
We had 6 long days of work ahead. Most of the days we spent lugging boards, wall panels, and beams up the side of a muddy rocky mountain, most times in the misty Lima rain. I have never been so physically tested in my life. And even though it was super painful most of the time, like grunting and biting your lip painful, it felt so great the at the end of the day to be really physically exhausted. I really felt like I was working and helping. Each team (2-3 people) had two houses to build in very little time. Luckily some of the house components were pre-made, like the walls. What we did was level the land (which was really bad terrain for building), put down the support beams and floor boards. then we put up the walls, secured them with primary and secondary beams, and finally attached the tin rooves. It sounds easy in theory, except for the fact that we had to lug all of the materials way up hill. I am seriously surprised that I didn't have a slip and fall accident. The worst that happened was that a heavy rock fell on my shin. Got a proud black and blue that I showed off for a few weeks after. It's just now beginning to vanish.
My team or cuadrilla finished house number one by day 5, which left one day for house number two. Of course our last day was the coldest day and after a week of mist the land was getting really muddy and more and more slippery. As night began to fall the last night, we were working diligently to finish. It was very hard since the light had gone and we were using my travel booklight to illuminate things. All of the sudden we heard a loud noise, felt the ground shake, and heard someone scream. The ground right below the house we were constructing partly fell through due to the rain and just plain un-durability(?) of the land. The land that fell crushed the wall of a shack below us, including an older woman inside. She ended up with a cut in her head, but was actually ok in the end. All in all, the civil defense and fire department ended up coming to the mountainside and all teams had to stop work. It will luckily be continued this month thanks to a new set of volunteers.
This incident, albeit very scary to me, is a regular occurrence in this area. The land is horrible and the only people living on it are doing so because they have no other choice. A new house is only a band-aid to the very complex problem of urban poverty. I wish I could have done more, but at least we assisted in the betterment of these people's daily lives. Having a roof and floor and wooden home is a nice upgrade to a cardboard cube. I am really grateful for the experience I had, especially all the people I was able to meet. My group consisted of mostly Peruvian college students who thankfully taught me some awesome Spanish slang words and loved my somewhat lousy attempts at cursing.
In summation, the trip was incredible and super rough at the same time. Ia happened to meet two wonderful dutch girls there (thanks to AIESEC, smaaaaaall world). It was great to have an optional break from Spanish. But the majority of the time it was Spanish so that was helpful for my language skills. I mean who knows when I will need all the vocabulary I know have relating to construction. You just never know. Thanks for reading.
p.s. Stay tuned next time for my trip to the states :) Back to Lima in one week, currently in Maine.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Un Techo Para Mi Pais
My next adventure will take place in Lima from 12-17 of August. It's called Un Techo Para Mi Pais, which literally means "a roof for my country". It is a week long service project that will build over 270 homes in Lima and Pisco (a city a few hours south of Lima). It's led by Peruvian college students. There are gonna be a ton of volunteers, I hear. I signed up today and am really looking forward to it. Although I am not looking forward to sleeping on a floor for 5 nights, but it's nothing I can't handle. It will be really interesting to do home construction in Spanish. But when I talked to a staff member while signing up, she assured me by saying that another American signed up and he doesn't speak ANY Spanish, so I feel better already. In fact, I think this will be a good for my language skills, kinda like Spanish boot camp :)
Feel free to read more about the organization online. It's a pretty neat idea in my opinion, started in Chile in the late 90s, in Peru only 3 years ago. They've been doing really incredible work building houses in the area where the huge earthquake hit this time last year, south of Lima.
Well, off to buy some work gloves, borrow a sleeping bag, then hang out with my Aunt and cousin who are ending their Peru trip with a weekend in Lima. Nos vemos <3
Feel free to read more about the organization online. It's a pretty neat idea in my opinion, started in Chile in the late 90s, in Peru only 3 years ago. They've been doing really incredible work building houses in the area where the huge earthquake hit this time last year, south of Lima.
Well, off to buy some work gloves, borrow a sleeping bag, then hang out with my Aunt and cousin who are ending their Peru trip with a weekend in Lima. Nos vemos <3
Friday, August 08, 2008
Bienvenidos a la Selva...
Wow. I almost have no words for what the Amazon jungle and river were like. I have never in my life been so immersed in nature...not only in nature but in such rich biodiversity, such amazing life. It was crazy and I loved it.
After a flight cancellation, 5 hours in the airport, and some incredible river views from the plane, Sarah Anne and I arrived in Iquitos. As soon as we stepped off the plane I felt like I had entered a sauna. It was very hot and humid. It almost reminded me of the DC summer that I left behind. We made our way to a cute little hostel where we spent the night. Had a homemade breakfast on Friday and then headed to a hotel to meet our jungle guide and get transported by boat to the lodge. Beder, our guide, (still not sure how he pronounces his name), got us all on a little bus which took us to the dock. While leaving Iquitos for the lodge, we just happened to see the rare pink river dolphin. It's the only dolphin that lives in fresh water.
Arrived at the lodge in time for lunch. We ate the most delicious food (fresh fish, salad, friend plantains, fruit, etc) and dove into the jungle for a 2.5 hour walk. It was certainly sweaty, esp. in my corduroys, but it was incredible. The forest was just teeming with life. You could hear all the creatures and insects just humming and buzzing in surround sound. We saw some incredibly tall trees, lots of species of plants, and a few birds. We got the rest of the evening off for glorious cold showers, dinner, and some time in hammocks.
The next day was jam packed. We went bird watching at 6am. Saw a lot of birds but I can't remember many of their names-- kingfisher was def. one of them though. We also went fishing for piranas and swimming the Amazon (!) all before lunch.
That afternoon we visited a real-live sugar cane distillery used to make aguardiente, a really bad tasting alcohol, the poor man's rum. Of course I ended up buying some since they claimed that it sometimes cures people of stomach illness, headaches, etc. Can't be that bad I thought.
Later that evening, before dinner, after the sun went down, we took our flashlights and took another walk in the jungle. I was totally dreading this part of the tour because I knew we would see spiders and other nocturnal things that I have been trained to fear. But I bucked up and didn't even freak out when we saw this baby tarantula.
The next day, Sunday, we left after breakfast for a short boatride followed by a walk. The ultimate purpose was to see these GIANT lilypads called Victora Regia (Queen Victoria). They were gorgeous, but apparently deadly if you touch them in the wrong spot...luckily we weren't close enough to try anything.
That afternoon we took a short canoe ride on the Amazon and enjoyed the tranquility of the river at dusk. It was very peaceful to hear all the different types of birds and just be a witness to nature. After we returned to the lodge we were able to engage in some jungle talk with our guide and another friend at the lodge. We talked about Peruvian politics, infectious diseases (much to Sarah's chagrin), and other things.
Monday was our last day. We took a lovely boat ride to where the Amazon River meets the River Napo. It was beautiful and we even visited the town of Orellana where apparently Francisco de Orellana "discovered" the Amazon back in the 16th century. Of course the indigenous folks who had already been there received no credit, as per usual. Either way the town of Orellana was beautiful and almost felt over-developed for a river town on the Amazon. They even had streetlights and a beautiful town square.
On the way back from Orellana, we just happened to stumble upon some kids holding slothes. So we did what most tourists would do, which was pay them a few coins for some awesome pictures.
After lunch, we said goodbye to Heliconia lodge and went back to Iquitos. We had a lovely dinner looking out at the river and even topped off the night with delicious jungle gelato :) If you are even thinking of visiting the Peruvian Amazon, just do it... you won't regret it.
After a flight cancellation, 5 hours in the airport, and some incredible river views from the plane, Sarah Anne and I arrived in Iquitos. As soon as we stepped off the plane I felt like I had entered a sauna. It was very hot and humid. It almost reminded me of the DC summer that I left behind. We made our way to a cute little hostel where we spent the night. Had a homemade breakfast on Friday and then headed to a hotel to meet our jungle guide and get transported by boat to the lodge. Beder, our guide, (still not sure how he pronounces his name), got us all on a little bus which took us to the dock. While leaving Iquitos for the lodge, we just happened to see the rare pink river dolphin. It's the only dolphin that lives in fresh water.
Arrived at the lodge in time for lunch. We ate the most delicious food (fresh fish, salad, friend plantains, fruit, etc) and dove into the jungle for a 2.5 hour walk. It was certainly sweaty, esp. in my corduroys, but it was incredible. The forest was just teeming with life. You could hear all the creatures and insects just humming and buzzing in surround sound. We saw some incredibly tall trees, lots of species of plants, and a few birds. We got the rest of the evening off for glorious cold showers, dinner, and some time in hammocks.
The next day was jam packed. We went bird watching at 6am. Saw a lot of birds but I can't remember many of their names-- kingfisher was def. one of them though. We also went fishing for piranas and swimming the Amazon (!) all before lunch.
That afternoon we visited a real-live sugar cane distillery used to make aguardiente, a really bad tasting alcohol, the poor man's rum. Of course I ended up buying some since they claimed that it sometimes cures people of stomach illness, headaches, etc. Can't be that bad I thought.
Later that evening, before dinner, after the sun went down, we took our flashlights and took another walk in the jungle. I was totally dreading this part of the tour because I knew we would see spiders and other nocturnal things that I have been trained to fear. But I bucked up and didn't even freak out when we saw this baby tarantula.
The next day, Sunday, we left after breakfast for a short boatride followed by a walk. The ultimate purpose was to see these GIANT lilypads called Victora Regia (Queen Victoria). They were gorgeous, but apparently deadly if you touch them in the wrong spot...luckily we weren't close enough to try anything.
That afternoon we took a short canoe ride on the Amazon and enjoyed the tranquility of the river at dusk. It was very peaceful to hear all the different types of birds and just be a witness to nature. After we returned to the lodge we were able to engage in some jungle talk with our guide and another friend at the lodge. We talked about Peruvian politics, infectious diseases (much to Sarah's chagrin), and other things.
Monday was our last day. We took a lovely boat ride to where the Amazon River meets the River Napo. It was beautiful and we even visited the town of Orellana where apparently Francisco de Orellana "discovered" the Amazon back in the 16th century. Of course the indigenous folks who had already been there received no credit, as per usual. Either way the town of Orellana was beautiful and almost felt over-developed for a river town on the Amazon. They even had streetlights and a beautiful town square.
On the way back from Orellana, we just happened to stumble upon some kids holding slothes. So we did what most tourists would do, which was pay them a few coins for some awesome pictures.
After lunch, we said goodbye to Heliconia lodge and went back to Iquitos. We had a lovely dinner looking out at the river and even topped off the night with delicious jungle gelato :) If you are even thinking of visiting the Peruvian Amazon, just do it... you won't regret it.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Coming soon: Selva Amazonica
Currently, I am still in Iquitos, the largest city in the world not accesable by road (wow). Heading back to Lima manaña. Sarah Anne and I just returned from our Jungle journey and it was incredible. I am going to try to be diligant this week and actually upload all my photos (which is a lot) and link to them for you all, in addition to publishing a beyond-awesome post. So, I guess this mini-post is just a teaser. Stay tuned later this week for the recap of one of the best trips of my life! Espera con paciencia :)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Nuestra Patria, Nuesta Fiesta, Nuestro Pisco
Alas, another blog (attempt). Since I last wrote, we've celebrated Peruvian Independence Day AND National Pisco Day and therefore I have consumed a lot of my favorite drink, the Pisco Sour. Here's a brief summary of the holiady celebrations with some pics. I will add more pictures later when I steal some from Mark.
On Sunday, National Pisco Day, we ventured south to the Pisco making region. The town we visited, Lunahuana, was just lovely. It took us way longer than we thought to get there. But what's a bus trip in Peru without delays and annoyances. Anyways, we had great Pisco, an incredible lunch of fresh shrimp and a nice hike in the desert region south of Lima. Above is a pic of Mark and I hiking. I intend to add the picture of our lunch (patience is a virtue).
Monday was the biggest national holiday Peru has, Fiestas Patrias (Independence Day). Sarah Anne, Mark and I were kinda pooped from our trip to Lunahuana and the bus rides back and forth, so we relaxed and took it easy. Sarah Anne took it upon herself to start cooking. Mark and I actually awoke to the delicious smell of eggs and mixed veggies. Not only that, but she proceeded to make an incredible lunch... she is certainly earning her keep. Oh my goodness, we've been eating well.
That brings us to Tuesday, another day off for Peruvians. Unlike July 4th, whether the holiday falls near a weekend or not, Peruvians get two days off for independence. Sarah Anne and I took that day to see some sights. We ventured into the historic center of Lima. We walked around the Plaza de Armas and went to the Monastery of San Francisco (pictured above). All in all, an educational trip. We even stopped for some incredible ceviche that just happened to be available in a nearby park. Later we went to a festival in a neighborhood of Lima called Surco. We had some more amazing Pisco while listening to a live Peruvian band.
And today, we ventured out for ceviche again, at Punto Azul, a restaurant near my house. It was so delish! It had a different sauce than the classic ceviche made from a pepper here called 'rocoto'. All I can say is that I enjoyed it thoroughly. Now, it's time to prepare for the jungle and Iquitos. Sarah Anne and I will be staying at Heliconia Lodge. I heard some good reviews so I booked it! Hoping for the best. Thank goodness for low-cost, high-quality anti-malaria pills; they are essential for the journey. Look for a post when we return. Exciting things to come :)
On Sunday, National Pisco Day, we ventured south to the Pisco making region. The town we visited, Lunahuana, was just lovely. It took us way longer than we thought to get there. But what's a bus trip in Peru without delays and annoyances. Anyways, we had great Pisco, an incredible lunch of fresh shrimp and a nice hike in the desert region south of Lima. Above is a pic of Mark and I hiking. I intend to add the picture of our lunch (patience is a virtue).
Monday was the biggest national holiday Peru has, Fiestas Patrias (Independence Day). Sarah Anne, Mark and I were kinda pooped from our trip to Lunahuana and the bus rides back and forth, so we relaxed and took it easy. Sarah Anne took it upon herself to start cooking. Mark and I actually awoke to the delicious smell of eggs and mixed veggies. Not only that, but she proceeded to make an incredible lunch... she is certainly earning her keep. Oh my goodness, we've been eating well.
That brings us to Tuesday, another day off for Peruvians. Unlike July 4th, whether the holiday falls near a weekend or not, Peruvians get two days off for independence. Sarah Anne and I took that day to see some sights. We ventured into the historic center of Lima. We walked around the Plaza de Armas and went to the Monastery of San Francisco (pictured above). All in all, an educational trip. We even stopped for some incredible ceviche that just happened to be available in a nearby park. Later we went to a festival in a neighborhood of Lima called Surco. We had some more amazing Pisco while listening to a live Peruvian band.
And today, we ventured out for ceviche again, at Punto Azul, a restaurant near my house. It was so delish! It had a different sauce than the classic ceviche made from a pepper here called 'rocoto'. All I can say is that I enjoyed it thoroughly. Now, it's time to prepare for the jungle and Iquitos. Sarah Anne and I will be staying at Heliconia Lodge. I heard some good reviews so I booked it! Hoping for the best. Thank goodness for low-cost, high-quality anti-malaria pills; they are essential for the journey. Look for a post when we return. Exciting things to come :)
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Just an update...
Realizing that not every blog has to be really long with lots of pictures, I thought I would just update you all on a weekly (hopefully) basis. This past week, Sarah Anne (one of my best friends from g-dubs) arrived in Peru. After spending two years in Peace Corps Honduras, Lima is the city of her dreams. Check out some of her thoughts here. It's amazing the different perspectives you get from other folks who visit. It's a joy having Sarah here since she is ecstatic about how awesome Lima is. It gives me a good kick in the butt to realize just how lucky I am to be living here.
I had the weekend to myself after Sarah fled to Cuzco and Mark remained with his parents in Arequipa and Lago Titicaca. I managed to finish the Tipping Point, which I found just okay. Sarah delivered me some reading materials and I have started Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. Be prepared for my many enlightened blogs to come due to this spiritual literature. I have also caught up a bit on my knitting. Sad to say, I am still knitting a scarf I started in May for my mom's birthday in June. At least I have to excuse that I can't give it to her until August when I visit the states for 2 weeks. That's a good excuse, right mom?
Mark returned Monday with tales from Colca Canyon (twice as deep as the grand canyon) and Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in South America, or the world, I forget. Either way, he said that he had a great time with his folks and that they are truly soaking up all Peru has to offer. Now, in between visitors, I have rejuvenated my search for constant work. I've made a lot of connections with some volunteer orgs here but I need to be a little more persistent. My wonderful amiga Jacky (who is currently doing Peace Corps in Bolivia, but studied abroad in peru) told me that I need to show these orgs that I really want to work them, and sometimes that means calling and even knocking on some doors. I prefer email, but perhaps only because that works in the states where people would think you're crazy if you just showed up at an NGO looking to volunteer. C'est la vie. I am ready to jump in. I really miss working and contributing to society. I think once I get something constant, a little daily routine, I will really start to LIVE in Peru and improve my Spanish...instead of feeling like I am temporarily visiting.
Anyways, I am in the midst of planning the rain forest trip. Not the cheapest thing in the world, but it IS the Amazon so I am pretty excited. Sarah and I might enjoy the following activities: fishing for piranhas, bird watching, village visiting, hammock reading, pink river dolphin spotting, canoing down the amazon, etc. There will be a really long blog with pictures after that. We depart Lima July 31 and return very early on August 5. Look for more posts from Fiestas Patrias next week as we celebrate Peruvian Independence Days. Hope you all are well. Sorry this blog actually turned out to be rather long, as usual. Thanks for reading.
See you Stateside Aug 23- Sept 7 in the cities of DC, Pittsburgh, and Chicago :) Big hugs-SG.
I had the weekend to myself after Sarah fled to Cuzco and Mark remained with his parents in Arequipa and Lago Titicaca. I managed to finish the Tipping Point, which I found just okay. Sarah delivered me some reading materials and I have started Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. Be prepared for my many enlightened blogs to come due to this spiritual literature. I have also caught up a bit on my knitting. Sad to say, I am still knitting a scarf I started in May for my mom's birthday in June. At least I have to excuse that I can't give it to her until August when I visit the states for 2 weeks. That's a good excuse, right mom?
Mark returned Monday with tales from Colca Canyon (twice as deep as the grand canyon) and Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in South America, or the world, I forget. Either way, he said that he had a great time with his folks and that they are truly soaking up all Peru has to offer. Now, in between visitors, I have rejuvenated my search for constant work. I've made a lot of connections with some volunteer orgs here but I need to be a little more persistent. My wonderful amiga Jacky (who is currently doing Peace Corps in Bolivia, but studied abroad in peru) told me that I need to show these orgs that I really want to work them, and sometimes that means calling and even knocking on some doors. I prefer email, but perhaps only because that works in the states where people would think you're crazy if you just showed up at an NGO looking to volunteer. C'est la vie. I am ready to jump in. I really miss working and contributing to society. I think once I get something constant, a little daily routine, I will really start to LIVE in Peru and improve my Spanish...instead of feeling like I am temporarily visiting.
Anyways, I am in the midst of planning the rain forest trip. Not the cheapest thing in the world, but it IS the Amazon so I am pretty excited. Sarah and I might enjoy the following activities: fishing for piranhas, bird watching, village visiting, hammock reading, pink river dolphin spotting, canoing down the amazon, etc. There will be a really long blog with pictures after that. We depart Lima July 31 and return very early on August 5. Look for more posts from Fiestas Patrias next week as we celebrate Peruvian Independence Days. Hope you all are well. Sorry this blog actually turned out to be rather long, as usual. Thanks for reading.
See you Stateside Aug 23- Sept 7 in the cities of DC, Pittsburgh, and Chicago :) Big hugs-SG.
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