Stuffs

 Here is a quick look at this past week.
Wednesday night some friends and I went to Trujillo for the evening to listen to some music. We weren't quite sure what we were going to listen to, but it ended up being a recital at the music conservatory of Trujillo. All the musicians seemed to be in their twenties with instruments that ranged from the guitar to the flute to the piano. They, all, did a great job and it was nice to something far from the regular tourist track.
Friday morning I went over to Fleming College to take a look at my contract for the next two years. I can't sign the contract until I get my Work Visa paperwork taken care of in the US. While I was there I took a tour of the school with the head of the English department and another English teacher. The school is different from schools in the US in the sense that it is much more open. The temperature in Trujillo doesn't fluctuate like the temperature does at home, so I didn't see any heating or AC units, all the windows in the classrooms were open, and there was not an indoor gymnasium; all the school assemblies are held under the covered basketball/soccer court. I did, however, see a cafeteria, but there were no students eating in it, they were all eating somewhere outside. One of the most exciting aspects of the school I was able to see was the garden. It was quite large, which is surprising because, in a city such as Trujillo, space is at a premium. I really hope my classes will be able to participate in planting next year. This coming week I will be going back over the the school to gather some materials for my English classes next year and to see the end of the year ceremonies.
Yesterday, Saturday, a couple of the other volunteers and I went to the mountain town of Otuzco for the day. The town sits about an hour and a half east of Trujillo at an elevation of 8,665ft. The town has a major tourist base, but my friends and I were the only gringos; the rest of the tourists were Peruvians, mostly from Trujillo. We had a nice time walking around, taking photos (like a good tourists do), and just enjoying a day off the coast. It was cloudy and a bit rainy, but I really like being in the Andes. The culture is so old and so many people still adhere to the old ways. As we were walking to catch the bus a woman yelled at us from inside a small bodega, "hello gringos!" Always trying to put my best gringo foot forward, I poked my head back in and said, "buenas tardes!", in my best non-gringo accent. There were five or six ladies sitting on the floor peeling yuka (yoo-ka or yu-ka, whatever) for a party later that evening. They told us we were welcome to come and that there would be a lot of food and dancing, and probably a lot of pisco, the national liquor of Peru. Unfortunately, we had to get back to Trujillo, but I sure would have enjoyed going to that party.

Dinner before the music recital, a Duquesa Royal. I've had better.

Colegio Fleming

Arroz Chaufa. A Peruvian take on Chinese stir-fried rice. Very tasty.

 Friday afternoon lefthander. These guys are, certainly, one of my favorite parts of Peru. 

Catholic cathedral in Otuzco

Being the ultimate tourist.

Over looking Otuzco 

Brick making. Most of the homes in Otuzco were built from this type of bricks.

 At the hostel in Huanchaco. Two Australian guys were riding these bikes from the Arctic Circle in Alaska to the southern tip of South American to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation. 

The Goings On

     Today is my last day as a volunteer in Peru. I have enjoyed it so much, but I am ready for the next step. Over the next couple of weeks, before I fly back to the US for a month, my plan is relax and do some things I haven't gotten around to doing. One, will be to take a bus north to the city of Chiclayo. There are many archeological sites there from the Ican Empire and before. It should be pretty interesting to see. I will, also, try to surf until my arms fall off. Even after being here for two months, I am still amazed at how good these waves are. 

     In other news, I have started tutoring two students who attend Fleming College (the school where I will be working) in Trujillo. They are 9yrs. and 13yrs. old and I help them with math and science. They speak pretty good English since their father is from the US and the attend a bilingual school. For two hours of work I get 15soles and dinner. It's a pretty good deal.

     I was getting out of the water a couple of days ago and I see more than two hundred people getting off buses and crowding in the street. They were residents of the outlying communities around Huanchaco; and they were not happy. They gathered in the streets with bullhorns and signs and walked down the main beach road blocking all the traffic that tried to pass. At first I didn't know what to think because I wasn't sure what they were protesting, so I kept my distance. It seemed that town officials in Huanchaco had misspent money that was supposed to go to these poor communities, so the people were in Huanchaco to give those officials a piece of their mind. The owner of my hostel, Patricia, said that the officials had taken money that was supposed to go to the much needed infrastructure of these communities and bought cars with it, among other things. Not wanting to get involved in something I new nothing about, I went home. An hour later I had forgotten about the protest, so I walked down to the beach to make some copies for my English class. I ran into all the protesters again in front of the town hall. They were not being violent, but they were, definitely, making their presence known. It was such a strong presence that the town decided to bring out the riot police. So, there were twenty national police in front of the town hall in full riot gear. It was something very out of the ordinary for Huanchaco. I watched for a bit and then went about my business. Later that day, someone told me that the police had popped canisters of tear gas to get everyone to disperse. You know, it is such a bummer when poor people rise up. It is so annoying for the rich to have to deal with such unpleasantries. Peru is like many other countries in the world. While the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. The next morning, as I was eating breakfast, I saw footage from the protest on the national news. I hope they got their point across.

These are the winners of the English contest I judged last week at the Sinai Catholic School in Huanchaco. I was the only judge, which was a little nerve racking. Everything went well and all the kids did a great job. These are the types of experiences that I look forward to. The gentleman on the left is Principle Calderon. He was a great host.

I know I'm not supposed to have favorites, but Antonela was just wonderful. She always came to class eager to learn and she was a big help with the other students. 

This is the catholic church that overlooks Huanchaco. Some people have told me it's the oldest church in Peru and some have told me it's the 2nd oldest in Peru. Whatever it is, it is really beautiful.

This is the view from the church looking over Huanchaco. In the distance you can see perfect lefthanders breaking off the point. 

Every house in town has a cistern which sits on the roof. In the evening, the town cuts the water off so you have to make due with what you have on the roof. Peruvians really know how to conserve their water. We, in the US, could learn a thing or two about water conservation.

Fresh fish at the market in Huanchaco. You can get, just about, any meat you want here. Beef, poultry, duck, guinea pig, goat, lamb, whatever it is, they probably have it. The interesting part is that it sits out in the open for customers to inspect. The meat hangs from hooks, so you tell the butcher what part you want and he/she cuts it off for you.