My Peruvian Excursion

Sunny Saturday

2008-08-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

today was a beautiful day. i saw sunshine and blue skies! which is a rarity here in Lima´s winter. This morning a few of us went to the Inca and Indian market to do some gift shopping. we went back to the house for lunch, and then after headed to larcomar. from there we walked along the coast to parkque de amor, which is a park filled with beautiful moasic tiles that have cute saying about love written in them. The park is soo cute and over looks the ocean.

later we continued walking to where the paragliders take off. I decided to go. i was sooo scared and nervous. i am soo glad i went, becuase i had the most amazing experience. it was sooo gorgeous looking out over the water and such.

Week Two

2008-08-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

Monday, August 18th:
I did not attend placement on this day because i was still recovering from my sickness. in the morning i had slept and tried to feel better. by the afternoon i was sick of being in the house all weekend so, feeling a bit better, i decided to go out with the group to downtown lima. We all walked around Plaza De Armas and then visited the Iglesia de San Francisco which was a catherdal, a convent, and catacombs. All very interesting and beautiful.

Tuesday, August 19th:
I went to martincitos in order to help with a big used clothing sale they were holding in order to raise money for the program.

Wednesday, August 20th:
Placement on wednesday, ran like a typical day at martincitos. i was not feeling very well though. I did a lot of arts and crafts that day. once arrving home and having a cup of coca tea i was feeling much better.
in the afternoon the entire group was taken to pachamaca, and site of pre-incan and incan ruins near the ocean. It was really amazing, and such a great view from the top of the sun temple we had climbed.

Thrusday, August 21st:

Friday, August 22nd:

Bacterial Infection

2008-08-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

yes, over the week i had to deal with an infection of kind which was not fun. vomit, nauesa, diareha, and stomach craps, loads of fun.
anyway a doctor came to the house and prescribed me medicine. after 2 and a half days of being uncomfortable, i am finally feeling like a human being again. haha
no photos to accompany this post. and i am sure you will be thankful for that. ha.

My Volunteer Placement

2008-08-13T13:12:00.000-07:00

August 11th through 15th: this week has been really amazing. i have volunteering at the community center for senior called martincitos every morning this week. all of the abuelos are so adorable and welcoming. to explain, martincitos is a place in a town called villa el salvador where poor senior citizens cane come 3 days a week to recieve 2 free meals, excercise, healthcare, therapy and can participate in exercise, games, prayer, singing and dancing, as well as arts and crafts. this is a really wonderful place that helps many people who normally would not have enough money to even eat. the first day this week they all welcomed us with a really cute song and dance. we did exercises with them, served them breakfast and lunch, did the dishes, helped in the kitchen, did arts and crafts with some of the ladies, and gave lots of hugs and kisses. the clinic is only open monday, wednesday, and friday, therefore on tuesdays and thrusdays the nun who runs the place, sister jackie, and a few volunteers make house visits to the abuleos who did not make it to the clinic that week to ensure that everything is okay. making house visits with jackie on tuesday was very heartbreaking, but also inspiring. it was very interesting to see where and how people lived. some places had dirt floors and carboard roofs. everyone was very inviting and so happy that we had come to visit. even though i cannot understand or communicate very well, i felt my presence, and the hugs helped. they know that people care. it is important that someone goes to check on them, and jackie always does, and they were all so appreciative of her.

Arival to the Cross Cultural Solutions Home Base

2008-08-12T20:50:00.001-07:00

August 10th
erica and i arrived at the house on sunday early in the morning and went straight into our beds for a long nap, since we were exhausted from waking up for a really ealry flight. once we had awoken we ate lunch and met everyone. in our group for this week there is only about 10 to 12 girls. six of us all sqeezed in one cab later in the day and went to downtown lima. we visted the museo de equsition and the plaza de armas. it was interesting learning about the spanish inqusition and the toture that was infliced upon many of the people back then. the main square was beautiful as well. we also saw a small art exhibt, got ice cream, and then walked around the downtown shopping district.
we had come home, ate dinner, and then all decided to go out and celebrate a fellow volunteer, clariza´s brthday. we headed to the ccoast, got extravagant desserts and then played in an aracde for a while. it was a lot of fun getting to know everyone and it was nice to finally settle in to what will be our new home for the next 3 weeks.

Manchu Picchu

2008-08-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

August 9th
erica and i visted manchu picchu, which was amazing.
we woke up bright and early to catch our 650am train ride to the mountain. The ride up was really interesting, so interesting that i stayed awake most of the 4 hour ride there to see everything along the way. we got to see great views of cusco as we headed up the mountain. as we made our way i got the see the landscape evolve into the remote mountainous areas and the people who lived there. the tracks followed alongside a river for over half of the way. about 2 thrids of the way up we entered into the amazon jungle. i had never seen so many different types of plants.
once we finally get off the train we find our tour guide and eventually board the bus that takes us on a tiny dirt road of the side of the steep moutain to the top. we get off the bus and finally enter the gates to the city in the clouds. the views were breath taking. we saw a couple of llamas, not as many as i had hoped though. the tour of the ruins was really interesting, but my favorite part was the sun dial at the top of a pyramid ruin.
the sun dial was a astrological tool used by the ancient incas. it was consturcted with perfect compass coordinates. it also has the direction for true and magnetic north. the location where it sits is in the dead center of the andes mountains. Many sacred rituals and offering had been preformed on this structure. also the form was made to align the corners with the position of the sun during the winter and summer soltices. this place was very special and was a sink of positive energy. the energy admitted from this rock was very strong and i could feel it with my out streched hands. it feel magnetic, i felt a pulling and tingly sensation. at that moment, standing on top this mountain in the sky in the middle of the andes, i felt a deep connection with the earth, it was a truy amzing feeling and the highlight of my manchu picchu experience.

The Sacred Valley

2008-08-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

HOLA! On August 8th, Erica and I went on a tour of the Sacred Valley in Cusco. We took a bus tour through the area which let us cover a lot of ground. The mountains were very beautiful with a river cutting through due to the melting glaciers that you can barely see on the peaks through the clouds. There were many Incan ruins that you could see cut into the sides of the mountains. We stopped at quite a few different places along the way. We saw the archeological sites of Pisac, Ollantaytambo, and Chincero. Not only were they very beautiful, but they all involved thousands of steps into the mountains. I enjoyed seeing and learning about the temples devoted to the sun god, as well as learning about their well-known symbol for earth that can be seen everywhere. For lunch we stopped and ate a Peruvian buffet which was quite delicious. I enjoyed talking with an art student and looking at his work, as well as playing finger puppets with some little girls on the bus. It was a long, eventful day and I enjoyed every minute of it, especially visiting the llamas.

Cusco...finally!

2008-08-08T21:47:00.001-07:00

August 7th
Erica and I finally arrived in Cusco today This morning we had
arrived at the airport at 3:50am in order to catch our 5:40am flight.
But there were unfavorable weather conditions and all flights to Cusco
were delayed. This place was a zoo. People everywhere, we were both
really tired, I had been sick that morning, plus there was loud
construction going on above us.

We finally boarded the plane around 945am. On the
airplane we made friends with a lady who resided in Lima and used to
work as a police officer. She only spoke Spanish but Erica and I
helped her with the settings on her camera. She took a picture of all
of us together on the plane, and we exchanged email addresses. She was
very nice and was proud to have her as our first Peruvian friend.

We arrived in Cusco, got our luggage, and to our
surprise there was already a taxi ready for us through the hotel my
mom had booked for us last minute. Right then and there we figured out
our itinerary for the next couple days and got decent rates. Our taxi
then took us to our hotel. It was wonderful driving through the city,
although all the stray dogs and puppies made me sad.

When we arrived we were served coca tea, to help
with the altitude, then went straight to the huge king size bed we had
waiting for us. We both took a long needed nap and finally awoke at
5pm. Now being well rested, we went outside and took a stroll through
the city. The main square was beautiful made up of many old cathedrals
and large buildings. There are people in the streets selling different
things everywhere. This area is very touristy. We finally found a
restaurant to eat at after a long search and the restaurant that had
no cheese… We both craved pizza and finally found a good place.

After dinner we went to a small market and bought a
few things, then made our way through a few shops. Both of us ended up
buying rings from a small shop. We then walked back to the hotel. Now
that we have experienced the weather here I am regretting the fact
that I did not bring a warm jacket. It is freezing and I am sure it
will be even colder at Manchu Picchu. Hopefully I can find a warm
jacket or sweater for a decent price, maybe some gloves as well.

Loooong layover

2008-08-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Right now i am in Bogota Columbia during a 7 hour layover we have between flights. The plane ride over went well with the exception of some turbulence and a child kicking the back of my seat. haha. It was hard to get much sleep on the plane, so Erica and I are exhausted. We have been taking napping shifts on the airport floor.
The airport here is very small. It is mainly one long hallway with about 10 gates. Although you can exit the secure area and visit a cafe and some different shops. Erica and I attempted to eat omlets at the cafe this morning at 6 am when we arrived (4am our time) which were pretty good.
I am looking forward to getting on my flight, arriving in Lima, and SLEEPING in the hotel.
Ciao!

Garage Sale!

2008-07-29T22:19:00.000-07:00

In order to help fund raise my program fee for my Peru trip I decided to clean out my room, my closet, and the garage to find things to sell. I had a garage sale at my house a few months ago, which yielded a pretty good turnout, and I ended up raising $130.00 for my trip. Thanks to all that came out and supported me, and to the Maldonado family for donating some items to my sale!