Monday, June 11, 2012

The Past Couple of Weeks: A Brief History


Last week I accompanied 43 sixth graders on a class trip to Lima with two of my coworkers from Fleming. All in all, everyone had a great time. Here are some photos I look along the way.


This was our mode of transportation throughout our trip.
ITTSA Bus is one of the most respected bus companies in northern Peru and Ecuador and it's owned by the grandfather of one of my students.


  
The crew outside the National Aeronautics Museum.
It's located on the countries largest Air Force base, so we were accompanied by guards the entire time.
Being escorted to the next section of our tour.
The look on my kids face after the guard told him to stop touching his stuff was priceless. 
The Peruvian Air Force Band gave us a mini concert with fifteen of their members.
I think I enjoyed this much more than my students.
The next stop was a demonstration of the National Canine Search and Rescue Team.
Eating lunch.
Believe it or not, I did not teach Giovanni to do this. 
Waiting outside Diver City in Jockey Plaza in Lima.
Inside were twenty or so Peruvian businesses where the kids could learn how  they worked and get paid. Then they could spend their money racing go-karts and buying candy that would keep them up yelling all night.
This was the kids most anticipated event of the trip. They went bonkers over this place.
I never want to go back.

Getting ready to board the retired Peruvian submarine ABTAO at the national port.

Martino and Rodrigo getting excited for our nighttime tour of Lima in an open-top double decker bus.

Made a stop on the tour at La Parque de Las Aguas.


Taking a tour of ruins from the Lima civilization.

An ancient road from Lima culture. These people were conquered by the Incas long before the Spanish came and conquered the Incas.
I thought this stuff was great, but the students thought differently. 

We went to a farm outside of Lima where this couple extracted the methane from cuy (guinea pig) dung to use for cooking and lighting their home.
Combined, they had graduate degrees from the U.S., France, and Belgium.
Very impressive, kind, and warm hearted people.
This was, by far, my favorite part of the trip. 

Ulyses demonstrating the final product of their hard work.
After the farm tour, Ulyses and Carmen fed us with the traditional Andean meal, Pachamanca.
Pork, chicken, and potatoes wrapped in big green leaves and cooked for five or six hours buried underground.
Maybe this was my favorite part of the trip.

My co-worker, Wayne, waiting on his plate of Pachamanca. 

Lucia (left) and Sarah having fun at lunch.

How could we go to Lima without sampling the Colonel's Original Recipe?
Yes, we actually ate here. And, yes, I did too. My Grandfather once told me, "waste not, want not." And I didn't want to eat anything for a while after finishing my dinner here.
In the U.S. we know this place as KFC, but Peruvians affectionately refer to it, simply as, Kentucky.


So the kids took the nine hour bus ride back to Trujillo on Friday night and I stayed in Lima for the weekend because I had to be at the immigration and Interpol offices on Monday morning to finish the paperwork for my work visa and to get my Carnet Extranjeria (Peruvian ID card). Some of my coworkers were also here for the same reason so we got together and had a really nice time.


Tony (far left), Josef, Lizzie, and I eating lunch in La Punta in Lima. 

Parihuela.
A big bowl of seafood soup with a whole crab, whole fish, squid, octopus, and clams.

The Pacific Ocean in La Punta. The island on the left has a prison on it where on of Peru's ex-presidents resides.

A birthday I will not soon forget.
Lizzie, Tony, and I holding our brand-spanking-new Carnets in Plaza San Martin, downtown Lima.

Birthday boy with his cake and coffee.