the last few days

I think being sick in a foreign country is much worse than being sick at home. The familiarities and comforts are just not there. But, that's the way it goes sometimes. Now, I'm on the mend and very glad. Being in that little room was beginning to get to me.

A Few More Pictures

I am finding out how different I really am. I am 6feet tall with blonde/brown hair, a pretty light skin, and blue eyes. Peruvians, on the other hand, are much shorter, have dark hair and eyes, and darker skin. On the weekends, residents of the city of Trujillo come to Huanchaco to hangout at the beach. While residents of Huanchaco are used to seeing light skinned tourists, the people from Trujillo are not as accustomed since Trujillo is not a tourist destination. So, when I am walking by the beach on the weekends, doing whatever I do, people will often stare, giggle, smile, or want me to take a photo with them. To them, people like me are quite exotic. It was kind of hard for me to understand at first because in the U.S. we have so many different types of people, but in Peru there are places where it is very rare to see an outsider. It is still kind of weird to have people look at you all the time, so I just smile, wave, and say hello. Sometimes people are embarrassed and turn away, while others smile and say hello back. Yesterday as a fellow volunteer and I were walking to meet some friends three girls stopped us and asked us to take a photo with them (I honestly thought this would never happen to me). We said sure, thinking it would be two or three pictures, but it turned into a 15min. long photo shoot. I thought it was quite amusing, so I asked the girls if I could take a photo with them. They were very nice and sweet, but didn't seem to want us to leave. We kind of had to pry ourselves away from them.

White boy at the beach.

This is where I prefer to do my lesson planning.

This young lady sets up her grill every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening around dark right by the beach. She sells many different types of meat all of which are on a stick. I guess it's kind of like a kabob. She had beef, chicken, chorizo sausage, and beef heart for the low price of 2soles or .73us. I chose the beef heart and it was really tasty! I will definitely be back to she her.

This is a different street vendor but with the same type of set up. She has a bit more variety, though. I chose the chicken kabob with vegetables, but next time I am definitely going to try the grilled chicken feet. She was a bit more expensive 3.5soles or $1.28, but with her meat stick he also gave you a couple bits of potato.

For my momma.

Pictures and Stuffs

I haven't posted anything in a week or so, so I figured I should get back to it. I get busy doing other stuff and don't really pay attention sometimes. I'll try to do better.

When I first came to Huanchaco, Peru everything was so new and exciting and all I wanted to do was to walk around town, look in stores, buy food from the street vendors, and soak in my new surroundings. I would say to myself, "Holy cow, I am in Peru and it is awesome!" But now that I have been here for a little over two weeks and have a bit of a daily routine I tend to forget where I am. On my walk to the beach in the morning I see the same elderly man tending to the flowers in the park. I see the same security guard outside of the bank. And I buy empanadas from the same clerk at the same bodega. Everything seems so......normal. Though when I think about it, everything is not normal. I have lived for 30 years in one country and have spend the better part of those years living in one state (which is dear to my heart). Now, I live in a totally different country, on a totally different continent, in a different hemisphere, and beside a different ocean. And, I live in the desert! I think I need to be more proactive with taking in my surroundings. Although now I am looking to stay in Peru for a while, one day I will most likely move back to the U.S. and away from all that makes this place so wonderful. I don't think it makes a difference if I am riding the bus to El Tropico like I do every week or climbing up Machu Pichu. I need to stop and smell the geraniums (Peruvians seem to love geraniums).

**I do not want anyone to think that I do not think that my home country, the good old U.S. of A, is not full of awesome sights and people. I know it is. But the fact is, Peru is a place that is so totally different and at the moment totally different is what I am looking for.**

Below are a few of the photos I took this past week. I have more to put up and I promise I will tomorrow.

The Polleria: La Barra serves one dish; rotisserie style chicken with salad, fries, and a glass of Inca Kola (I'll talk about that later). You can have 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, or the whole bird, but the sides never change. I could care less about the sides because the chicken is outstanding. In the picture I ordered 1/4 and had trouble finishing everything. I have eaten here four times since I came to Haunchaco. The best part of it is, besides the taste, this plate costs 10soles. At the moment, that equals $3.68us. Give me a break.

This is a photo of Huanchaco Beach last Sunday afternoon. The tall objects are Caballitos de Totoras. They are a boats made from reeds that local fishermen have been using for hundreds of years and still use them to this day. In the mornings you can go down to the beach and watch the men prepare their boats and nets for the days work. In the afternoons you can go back and buy their catch right off the beach.

My favorite animal is a......

From left to right: Mika, Yudi, Nelson, Jason, Maycol, Marco Antonio, Antonia (spelling?)

This past week, for a vocabulary lesson, we learned about animals and I asked to kids to draw me a picture of their favorite. I got some pretty awesome pictures.

This and That

This week will be my second full week in Peru. I think I have found a nice routine that allows me plenty of time for lesson planning/teaching and plenty of time to see as much of this area as I can. I hope, in the coming weeks, I will be able to get off the coast for the weekend and up into the mountains. When I look east I can see the front range of the Andes way off in the distance. I'm looking forward to spending some time up there.

This is the beginning of the carnival Emily Skinner, Otra Cosa Project Coordinator, planned this past Friday night to raise books for the community library of Cerrocito. A bunch of the volunteers showed up to run the games, sell food, and play with the kids. The entry fee was one book and Emily raised almost three hundred of them. It was a really fun night and a great success.

This is El Tropico town hall with the town church. I teach here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays to kids and adults. Everyone has been so kind to me here and I enjoy it so much.

I am always amazed at how inexpensive Peru is, but it really blows my mind when I go to the bodega (mini-market). A tomato, onion, radish, Peru's version of Ramon, cheese, and bread all cost me 3soles, which is about $1.10us. Not only was it quite delicious, but also quite filling. If I always ate at home I could, probably, eat for less than $30us a week. But, then I would miss some ridiculously good ceviche, rotisserie chicken at The Polleria, and the fish special at MenuLand. I'll try to post some photos of the local cuisine. It it pretty impressive.

Sunsets and Classrooms

Sunset at Huanchaco Beach. This is the same spot I sit in the morning while I drink coffee and check the waves. The surf is chest to a bit overhead and super fun looking!

My students and I taking time out for a photo op. This is the most students I have had so far. They are really sweet and quite rascally. I am, literally, living my dream.

A couple of photos

So, my internet is much slower than I thought cause it has taken me almost 15mins to upload two pictures. I will to find another way to post them, so it doesn't take so long.

The woman standing by the cart is selling hard-boiled quail eggs. I wish I had gotten some then because Huanchaco does not have that type of street food. I think I could spend a whole weekend just eating street food! It's kind of like fair food, but half the time you don't have a clue what you are eating.

This is an Ican ruin that sits just off the road on the Pan American Highway as I headed north from Lima to Trujillo. It was amazing to be riding along and then suddenly see something so big

and old.

1st Day of Teaching...and other stuff too

As far as the other stuff goes, my debit card (my only card) was stolen/lost, not sure which, one sometime since i left Lima. It hasn't been too bad due to my wonderful parents taking money out of my account and sending it to me via Western Union. My card is on the way and I have enough money to last me until it gets here...... I hope. Also, my surfboard was damaged on the flight over. The entire tail was crush, but Victor, a local surfer/ding repair man did a great job fixing it for about $50us. I the board he gave me while mine was in the hospital was a local shape meant for these waves. I think I am going to talk to him about trading my board for his. We'll see how that goes.

Now on to the good stuff.

This week is my first full week of teaching english. I have classes Monday through Friday. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I take a 15min. bus ride to the small community of El Tropico. I teach elementary/middle grades from 2:30-4:00 and adults from 4:00-6:30.

On Monday as Emily (the previous teacher) and I are walking through El Tropico on our way to the municipal building to begin class one of the students, named Miguel, came running up to us to give Emily a big hug. It was so awesome! He then walked over to his front door and yelled to his Grandmother (in spanish, of course), "Grandma! I'm going to english class with the computer girl!" Emily told me that a few months ago she had taken her computer to class to show the kids a Powerpoint presentation and she is now known as the "computer girl". I wanted to tell you this story to help you understand where I am. These children may have never had access to a computer before. As far as I know, unless Emily brought her computer to class, they probably will not see one. Though they all have a roof over their head and food in their stomachs, I am not sure about running water, electricity, or public sanitation. Some may have them and some may not.

After my kids class I have an adult class. On Monday I only had one student, Jose. He is 27yrs. old and works as a truck driver in the area. He, also, goes to college in Trujillo and still finds time to come to english class. He is a very busy guy and really eager to learn.

On Tuesdays and Fridays from 4:30-6:30 I have english class at the Haunchaco Library. Yesterday I only have two students and they both wanted me to end class early because Peru was playing Chile in soccer. As I walked across town on my way home from class I noticed that most of the businesses were closed because of the game. The only ones that were open were restaurants that were showing the game on TV. I was told that that is the norm here. When the Peruvian national team plays everyone watches.

Everything else here is pretty much regular day to day stuff. I am trying to find a routine. I like getting up early, making coffee, and walking to the beach to check the surf. In the evenings I like to eat dinner and drink a tasty, cold Pilsen Trujillo Beer and go to bed around 11pm.

After I get settled into my classes I will be looking for an english teaching job in Trujillo. I already have a couple of leads, so I hope things go well. We shall see!

getting settled in huanchaco, peru

today is my second full day in huanchaco and i am really liking it so far. i came here to volunteer teaching english with the Otra Cosa Network. they are a nonprofit that places volunteers with other nonprofits in the area. everything from teaching english in impoverished areas to helping out at the local dog shelter to working on a coffee plantation up in the mountains. they cover a lot of different areas and reach a huge population that really needs the help. i am really looking forward to getting started in my work on monday.

as far as huanchaco goes, it's a pretty small town of around 8,0000 people. the town is pretty clean and very nice people, but i have realized that whatever spanish i know isn't even close to what i need down here. i can get by on what i know, but in social situations i am quite limited. luckily the locals here are used to gringos who don't speak spanish, so they are very patient; which i am very grateful for. my inability to communicate really fuels my fire to learn as much as i can as fast as i can. i have inquired about spanish classes and i hope to start sometime early next week.

everyday i am here is a first for me in some way, but today was a first for me in two important ways. one, i went surfing in peru for the first time. the wave here is a left point break and it soooo much fun! i was a bit nervous on the paddle out since i am in a new place with a new wave, but i lost the nervousness quickly. the wave is not super powerful right now, so the takeoffs are easy and wave is playful. my second important first of today was trying the local ceviche. my friend ickes in wilmington told me how good it was and he was right. a huge portion of ceviche with fresh fruit on the side was 10soles or 3.50us. at home that plate have cost more than $15us.

in a little while some of the other volunteers and i are going to skate ramp project. close to huanchaco is an extremely poor area where no one has electricity, public sanitation, or running water. some volunteers, earlier this year, acquired a small piece of property there and built a small half pipe for the kids to use. it is open about four times a week in the afternoons for the kids to learn how to skate and just have fun. i am looking forward to going and doing what i can to help out.

even though i have internet access here it is difficult for me to upload pictures. i will try to put some up soon.

a worthy waste of time...i think

soooo, my intentions for this blog have a few different faces. one, i want to keep my family and friends updated on what i am doing and where i am. two, i want it to be a place for me to record experiences that i deem noteworthy. and a distant third, i may want it to serve as a creative outlet (not really sure what that means yet, but it sounds cool).

my initial plan is to post pictures and words once a week. i may end up posting more or less, we will see how it goes.

i hope you like it, but if you do not you may now go back to facebook.