Oh the places you will go

Friday, 12 May 2006

Hello everyone,
I am writing to you from an internet cafe Trujillo, Peru. We made it into Peru on time as was indicated on our tickets, but were unable to land because there was a heavy fog covering Lima. Our flight was diverted to Trujillo where we were confined to the plane, but could get off to go into the airport there (it was very small and smelly). We got there around midnight and stayed there until 5:20 am. We then got the okay from Lima to return and land. However, when we got to Lima the fog that had lifted, resettled and we were stuck circling Lima for almost 3 hours. We finally got the okay to land at 8:30 am. From there we met our taxi drivers who took us to the bus station where we bought bus tickets to Trujillo. We had to wait in the station until 1 pm then we got on the bus and had a 9 hour ride up to Trujillo. When we finally arrived, we loaded into taxis and went to the Bruce Peru center. We had a brief tour of our residence and then waited for showers (we were very smelly after not having showered in 2 days and having been traveling for a long time, especially in the warm, humid conditions in Peru). The temperature is very warm here, but it is nice...not too bad. Today I went with a Peruvian teacher to a school a little outside of Trujillo. It was a school close to a dump. The students in that classroom go to school in the morning and then after going to school and having a small meal (a bun with peanut butter) they go to work at the dump where they are looking for something to eat, wear, or sell. These kids are only like 7 years old. All of them were so excited to be in school and to be interacting with each other and with their teacher, Juan. The children are so beautiful and even in the conditions in which they live, they seem very happy. I am so glad that I have some Spanish in my background because I have been able to communicate with people down here. At times it has been very difficult because they do not understand what I am trying to say and then I do not understand them either. I am much better at communicating with only one person or when there is not a lot going on in the background. In the classroom I was challenged because all of the kids were talking at the same time and I could not tell what they were saying or who they were talking to.

The conditions here are so different than in the US. Everything is so much dirtier. People just throw their garbage out into the streets or when they are done with it they drop it on the ground or out the window. The buildings are so much livlier because they are painted in bright colors, making them much more pleasing to look at, however, many of them are in great disrepair. Driving here there were so many different villages, and they each had buildings that seemed to be falling down and they didn´t seem to have roofs, but they may have just been flat. There are flowering trees and flowers lining many of the streets. It is a challenge to walk around outside because the taxis move so quickly and they are absolutely crazy. They don´t use turn signals and they are always trying to pick up people off the street so they heckle you and honk their horns. There is a lot of horn honking. It is pretty much a free for all on the streets. There are so many taxis and mini-buses. There are not a lot of individually owned cars like in the U.S.

Shawn, Megan, and I will be leaving Trujillo on Monday to go to Chiclayo, further north along the coast. Bruce (of Bruce Peru) said that the city is smaller and more modern than Trujillo, but there is also more crime. We were told not to carry or use purses because gangs of street children would take them from you in whatever manner they had to. He also said that while there were not as many children in their centers, there was a great need there for the centers and that many children did not come to their centers that could. I am nervous and excited to have the opportunity to be up there helping. In each of the places there is a Pervian teacher (through Bruce Peru) that works with the students and then the volunteers help to assist the teachers in the classrooms because at times there are 40+ students in a classroom. We will be there to help in any way we can. In the mornings we teach in the schools out in the community and then return to the center for a prepared lunch. After lunch there is some free time before teaching English classes to paying adults who wish to learn the language. On weekends we will have the opportunity to see things in Peru. I am still hoping to see Machu Picchu, but we shall see if it is possible.

I am having a good time so far. I am safe and sound and am learning a lot about a different culture and way of life. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Much love,
Kathy