I'm Still Here

     Well, considering I haven't posted anything since June 11th, I figured it was high time I got back on the writing train. It's amazing how much can happen in two months. End of the first half of the school year. Fiestas Patrias. Three week vacation. Visit from Mom and Dad. Lazy mornings drinking coffee. Surf. Fulbito. The beginning of a new semester. There is so much for me to catch up on.


The end of the first half of the school year coincided with our three week vacation and Peruvian independence day called Fiestas Patrias (which is actually a four day celebration). On the last day of school for the semester students from every grade level, pre-school through secondary, participated in a two and a half hour event that showcased traditional dance and song from all over Peru. There is so much diversity in this country, but I never really had the chance to see it until I was able to participate in Fiestas Patrias celebration, not only at Fleming College, but in other parts of Trujillo and Lima, as well.

My P6 (6th grade) students preparing to perform. 

Students, teachers, and parents watching the opening ceremony of the  event.

Some of younger ones patiently waiting their turn to perform.

Some of the secondary (high school) girls performing the traditional dance of Trujillo, Marinera. 

After the show the teachers had a great lunch outside.
Grilled bull heart on a stick called anticucho (my absolute favorite)
Corn on the cob called choclo
Peruvian style doughnuts with a honey sauce called Piqueos
And of course, wine 

A very happy Me.
First half of the school year completed with a three week vacation coming with a visit from my parents.

     


     School ended on a Friday and my parents flew into Lima the following Monday for a two week visit. Before they arrived I hadn't really had the chance to travel much in Peru since I work so much, so I was excited to be able to see places like Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca for the first time with them. To be honest, I really didn't know how well my parents would do down here with all of changes from the States. The language barrier, food, and overall cultural differences can be very overwhelming for some people visiting Latin America for the first time. It didn't take me long to see that they were going to do just fine. My Mom and Dad are hearty people who are very relaxed and accept cultural differences very well when they are aboard (and at home too). The big part of traveling with them that I was worried about was the way their bodies would react to the different foods and water since to sanitary standards are very different from home. Again, they did wonderful and no one got sick, including myself.
     Having them here is, definitely, one of the highlights of my time down here so far. I know it put my mother at ease for her to see where I live in Huanchaco and that I am living a pretty safe and happy life down here.

The first day of our trip we took in the sights of Lima.
Plaza de Armas

Dad and I having an afternoon tea on the roof of our hostel in Lima

     Our first stop on the trip was a flight to Cuzco; the capitol of the Inca empire. The city, now, has over 300,000 people and is a big tourist attraction since it is so near Machu Picchu and holds so much history of pre and post colonial Peru.

Mom and Dad in front of the main cathedral at the Plaza de Armas in Cuzco. 

Dad and I at Saqsaywaman. The most important temple for the Incas. Very impressive.

A view of Cuzco from the mountains outside of town.

     Our next stop was a bus ride a Puno where we would take a boat trip on Lake Titicaca. We stayed in Puno for one night and took a boat the next day to see the floating islands of Los Uros and to stay the night on the Island of Amantani in the middle of Lake Titicaca. Though very touristy, the lake is so beautiful and the people are so nice. The whole trip in itself was awesome but Lake Titicaca is near the top of my list.

The floating Uros Islands.
Though very touristy, it was very interesting to see how these people still live.  They receive no assistance from the local or national governments and make a living from subsistence fishing and tourism. 

Our home away from home on the island of Amantani. For 30soles  ($11) a night per person we stayed with a local family; food included. 

The guest quarters.
There were three beds and no heat, but plenty of heavy blankets.  Lake Titicaca is over 12,500ft above sea level so it gets pretty cold at night. 

Dad sneaking a kiss while taking a walk on Amantani.

While we were walking along the shore line we came upon two men building a boat.  They weren't into answering questions, but they said we could stay and watch. It was very interesting, especially for my Dad who grew up on the coast in Wilmington, NC seeing boats being made throughout his child.
This photo is, also, for my cousins Jess and Pat Jewell. They would have really appreciated the craftmanship.

     After a night on Amantani we continued our boat trip to the Island of Tequile where we ate a delicious lunch and went for a walk.

Mom relaxing at the Plaza de Armas on the island of Tequile.
Walking 13,000ft above sea level is a bit more difficult that walking at sea level. There is a lot less oxygen and you can feel it.

Most of the bigger islands on the lake were terraced for farming and livestock grazing. Mom and Dad said it reminded them of being on the Mediterranean.

     No rest for the weary. After returning from Puno and Lake Titicaca we were back in Cuzco for a night before taking off for the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. A tour operator named Luis who set us up with the trip to Lake Titicaca offered to drive us on a tour through the Sacred Valley and to Ollantaytambo (pronounced O-yanta-e-tambo) to meet our train to go to Machu Picchu. We made a few stops to see various Inca sights along the way, but the drive alone was completely worth it. The other great part was that Luis had a very nice car and we didn't have to worry about finding a reliable taxi. He didn't speak English so I was able to work on my Spanish skills by trying to translate everything. I was quite happy with my performance and I think I did it with 85-90% accuracy.

Photo opportunity through the Sacred Valley. 

Salineras
A natural salt spring flows out of the mountains and into 3,000 pools where nature does its magic by evaporating the water and leaving the raw product. These process has been happening continuously since before the Incas conquered the area. That's old.

Terraces of Moray
An experimental farming sight leftover from the Incas. Each terrace is a separate micro-climate with, exactly, a two degree variation from terrace to terrace. 

Train station in Ollantaytambo
About to join the circus that is Machu Picchu

     Ok. I have been writing for the past two hour and I am going to need a break. I'll be back later today with the rest of our trip and other fun stuff too.
     I apologize for there are spelling or grammar errors, but I don't feel like proofing right now. If there are I'll fix them later.

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.

Huanchaco Staycation

     At Fleming College we have four quarters during the school year called bimesters. At the end of each bimester the students and teachers get a week off (except in July when we get three weeks off!) to recuperate and recharge our batteries for the next bimester. Today, I am at the end of my week break and I have had a great time. I had planned on leaving Huanchaco for the week, but all that changed and I decided to stay in town to hangout with friends and surf. And eat. And drink coffee. Also, I have been able to get settled into my new apartment, which has been nice. The only time I even left Huanchaco was to go to school for the afternoon on Wednesday to finish up some work.

     

     Here is what my days have been like for the most part this past week.

- Wake up at 7 or 8am

- Drink a lot of coffee and play on the internet

- Go surfing

- Come home and make something to eat

- Take a nap

- Go surfing again

- Come home and take a shower

- Go back to the beach and watch the sunset

- Come home and make something to eat

- Go see some friends

- Come back home and fall asleep while watching a movie

   As much as I have enjoyed myself this past week, I am happy to begin work tomorrow morning.

Feliz Dia de la Madre! 

The Catholic church that overlooks Huanchaco

Caballitos de Totoras
Reed fishing boats the local men use

Huanchaco on a Sunday afternoon

Movin' On Up!

Well, I have, finally, left hostel living behind and moved into a de-lux apartment on old Huanchaco. I am going to miss the McCallum family, but I am quite happy that I no longer need to walk three flights of stairs every morning just to make coffee.
One part of hostel living I will miss is having my room and bathroom cleaned every Sunday, but hey, you can't have everything. I suppose I could hire someone to clean my place, but for the time being I'll suffer through cleaning a two bedroom apartment.

Salt of the Earth
The McCallum family: left to right Stephanie, Patricia, Tania, Barbara, Manuel, Neil

Just so you know, I'm pretty sure my pad will end on MTV cribs, so check your local listings. I have a kitchen table, beds, a refrigerator, cable TV, and a moderately strong internet signal. All for the low price of 620soles or $235 a month.
Now that I have an apartment and an address of my very own everyone is more than welcome to send me things. Pictures and coffee are my favorites.
Jiron Simon Bolivar 230
Huanchaco, La Libertad, Peru

   

My street.
Jiron Simon Bolivar

My house.
I live on the bottom floor. 

Coming in the front door.

Kitchen.

My room.

The wash room behind my room.
Many people down here wash their own clothes.
There is a large porcelain sink with ribs to clean your clothes.
For right now, I'm going to stick with the lavanderia.

Carson's room.
But for now it will be my friend Emily's.
She works for Otra Cosa Network here in Huanchaco and needs a place to stay for a month or so.
Super happy to have her!

 I went to the post office in Huanchaco today to send a letter to my Momma and to tell the postal worker that I had moved into a new apartment. The place is one, tiny room and the lady who works there is so nice. She must be in her late 70's or early 80's, but she still delivers the mail to all of Huanchaco. We talked for 30mins and she told me all about how people from all over the world come to take her picture and give her things because of her age and the character of her office. This lady was so stoked on her job. I hope I'm like her when I get to be her age.

Huanchaco Post Office Lady (I forgot her name) making things happen

The sign on the door says the post office opens a 2pm, but it really opens at 3:30pm or whenever she wants to open.