Turning a quarter of a century and saying goodbye!

When I first arrived in Trujillo I was a bit overwhelmed, and taking it all in was a big task! I remember thinking how long a month staying there seemed to be, and all the other volunteers telling me that is exactly how they felt when they first arrived, and how quickly that changed. Obviously they were right, and all the cliches about time apply to my stay in Trujillo. Before I knew what happened, and just as I was feeling very comfortable, the week of my birthday (and my last) arrived.

The week beforehand I had already been getting upset at the prospect of leaving, but it turns out my last week in Trujillo was definitely the best. On my birthday, I got sung happy birthday once in Spanish, and once in English. All the kids crowded round and were jumping up and down and generally were very excited - it was so funny, and I only wish I had a video of it! Then they each came up in turn to give me a hug. I also got a birthday letter from a couple of the girls (the ones who can actually write!) wishing me a happy birthday. One part, from Ana Lucia, said that even she had behaved really badly, she still was glad I had come! I left school that Thursday with a big smile on my face, and all the kids were excited, as the next day we were going to have a party for my birthday, and my last day.

I had promised the kids "English" party games, so the plan was: musical chairs, pin the tail on the donkey and pass the parcel. I went out and bought enough prizes so that everyone would get one, along with lollipops, chocolate cake and some weird sweets that I bought as they had the favourite, Ben 10, on them. I also printed out lots and lots and lots of photos of the kids. I tried to do it so that each child would have a few photos each, but as some are more camera shy than others it was a bit hard! And, once you start giving things out to the children they just want MORE...

So Friday arrived, and Brian and I headed to school feeling a little bit tired from my birthday celebrations the night before. We heard the kids before we saw them, screaming and yelling, and the next thing they came charging round the corner in a cloud of dust. The teacher had given them money to buy a couple of ballons, so I was greeted by a mass of screaming, dirty kids hitting me with pink ballons they had decorated - saying "feliz cumpleanos profesora elma". I don't know who was responsible for the Elma, as everyone seemed to call me Emma...

The games went down very well, my favourite was pin the tail on the donkey. Pictures will have to follow, as I have yet to find a computer that will let me put in a cd to upload them. Bringing presents for the kids probably brings out their worst sides though, as before you know it, they are begging for more and pushing and shoving eachother to get at stuff. They don't really understand the concept of buying things, and I think they believe there must be an endless supply of stuff that each teacher has! I think the best thing for these children was all the time I spent drawing with them, and also the map of the world that I bought for the classroom. But, it was good to spoil them too!

Most of the children were pretty relaxed about saying goodbye.Saying that, with a few of the children it was just so awful to say goodbye, and I had to try really hard not to start crying, as I was scared I wouldn't be able to stop. I am not sure that Brian would have been much help! One boy, Luigi, had only started the school since I had arrived. He is twelve years old, and as cheeky as they come. He reminds me so much of one of the boys I tutor in London, and he took it upon himself to defend me if anyone was rude! He has also got orange hair, from attempting to dye it to look like Justin Bieber. When I said it was my last day he didn't understand, and said "oh that's sad, when will you be back" and once I had explained that I wouldn't be, it was horrible. He must have hugged me about ten times, and kept coming back to say goodbye again! His partner in crime, Kevin, was also a tough one to say goodbye to, along with Kevin's sister Yanela. I had worked the hardest with the youngest children though, so saying goodbye to them nearly made me lose it!

But, of course, as you all have probably guessed by now, Saul was definitely the worse. I wish I could have a way of staying in touch with him. Even writing about the goodbye now makes me want to cry! I was worried he would just run off home and not even care that I was leaving, but at the end he came up and wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me for ages! He also told me to "look after myself and travel safely" which is pretty grown-up advice for a five year old! I like to think that is some of the wisdom I have shared with him shining through...

New shoes for Saul

This is something that nearly broke my heart before leaving Trujillo, along with all the other many things involved with the children! A man and his wife had been volunteering for Bruce Peru previously, and had returned with a a huge bag of shoes ofall sizes to give to the children. In each school, the kids with the worst shoes would have priority for a new pair. This involved the teachers of each school deciding who this would be - those who had sandals or flip-flops would be consider 'high priority'.

This meant that Saul was even higher priority. His entire flip-flop had come undone on the way to collect breakfast a few days beforehand, so there was nothing to keep the shoe on his foot anymore, and he had to hobble back to the classroom! The next day, Saul's brother and sister, Kevin and Yanela arrived at school at the usual time, but without Saul. I was actually surprised by how disappointed I was not to see him. When I asked where he was, they simply replied "no viene" (he´s not coming) and when I asked why: "No se". So, when about fourty minutes later, when Saul banged on the metal door I felt very excited to see him!

It came out a few days later that he had come late to school because of his shoes. As the broken flip flops are the only shoes he owns, he couldnt come to school until they had been fixed (buying new shoes is obviously not an option). His mum managed to fasten the part of the flip-flop that goes between your toes back to the sole of the shoe using a thick piece of wire, red with rust. It was all knotted together, so that when he walked he could feel the wire digging in through his shoes.

All of this meant that new shoes for Saul would be a huge improvement! The same was true for lots of the kids, though some were worse than others. Even just having a pair of sandals through winter can´t be good for the children.

The teacher, Ysela, put the chosen kids feet on a piece of paper , and drew around their foot with a pencil. Brian then took these pages  - with a foot and a name - to the office of Bruce, so that shoes could be assigned. Saul is so naughty, that when the teacher called him up to 'measure' his foot he thought he was in trouble. He turned to me, grabbed my arm and just looked at me with fear! It took a lot of persuading to get him up there...

So the next day, Bruce himself, and Señora Charo arrived with cameras and a bag of shoes! Each child was called up who was getting a pair of shoes, and tried them on. Unfortuantely, drawing a line round a foot on a piece of paper is not the most accurate form of measurement, and all the shoes were too big for Saul. He was so disapointed... And so was I, I wanted to cry!

So, when I left Trujillo just over a week ago, my last image of Saul was him hobbling home through the sand and dirt, with his broken flip-flops. I think I will have to send some more shoes, one pair with his name on...

Mancora Beach

Eight hours north of Trujillo is Mancora beach, about three hours away from the border with Ecuador. Nearer the equator, it is a lot warmer and so we went there for the weekend. After feeling cold for the past four weeks it was a luxury, and I will be heading back there as soon as I can! I forgot my camera batteries, and another girl's camera was stolen, so we don't have as many photos as we would like, but here are a few from the weekend...

After the work in the schools, and the weather in Trujillo, Mancora felt like a different country. We stayed in a hostel, which was full of other travelers, all there for sun and surfing. It felt strange to be there at first, but it was a good break, and great to meet so many people. We were a rarity as we spoke Spanish, and the difference in the number of tourists there and here was obvious by how many people speak English!

Katrina and I on the balcony of our room at the hostel.

Volleyball at the hostel.

Relaxing in hammocks before going for dinner!  

Alexandra, the newest volunteer and me on the balcony.

Arroz y papas, papas y arroz!

So... Peruvian food! I could have shared my thoughts on this a few weeks ago, but I was waiting to sample even more before I wrote about it. Just to be thorough, I have been eating a lot. All in the name of discovering the most I can about the culture!

The standard body shape here in Peru seems to be short, and without sounding too mean, fat. Well, not exactly fat but 90% of people here have a paunch. We have decided that this is due to the fact that with every meal they serve rice and chips. Together. Plus whatever else you have ordered. They also do not seem to be too big on vegetables here, so the standard diet is potatoes, rice, more potatoes, fish or meat!

Here in Trujillo we volunteers get all our meals provided. There are two family-run restaurants very close to our apartment, which have an arrangement with Bruce Peru, so we just go in and order whatever is available on the menu. Lunchtime is two courses, and dinner is one. A usual lunch is soup, followed by rice and chicken and beans. The soup often comes with different body parts of a chicken floating in it, but is very tasty. A good day you recognise a chicken foot, a bad day you know (hope) it is some part of a chicken, but you can't be sure!

Another favourite on the menu is aji de gallina. I still haven't figured out what this is exactly, if I take a picture it looks horrible, as does the images that a google search brings up. But it tastes good - a layer of potatoes covered in a yellow(ish) sauce with chicken it... you will all have to come to Peru to try it, as my description does not make it sound appetising. In my defense, I don't know how else you could describe it, as that is exactly how it looks!

Dinner time is from seven every night, and the standard favourite for all of us is lomo saltado - pieces of beef stir-fried with tomatoes and onions in  sauce, served with potatoes and rice. At the restaurant downstairs the couple laugh at the girls for asking for it with either potatoes or rice, but not both - I think they think we are all very fussy. But it is very delicious, and it is also possible to eat it everynight without getting fed up! There was one guy who stayed here a year, and still loved it, so it is not just me! Everything here comes with a sauce called aji - a spicy relish that makes everything taste even better. They have different types of aji for different types of food, and some are spicier than others, but I think it is my favourite food here in Peru!

Of course, as we are by the coast, there is a lot of seafood here too, and I have eaten lots of ceviche which is raw fish and seafood marinated in lime juice and chillies. It is really delicious, although I was a bit scared the first time I ate it, as getting sick from raw fish in Peru was an experience I wanted to avoid! The other favourite here is a parrilla - a plate of different types of meat served on a metal plate, with burning coals underneath cooking it all. I have even had anticuchos (cow hearts) and surprised myself by liking it! Of course, this all comes served with papas - I will go to the gym when I am back in London...

Huanchaco

These are a few photos of the fishing village next to Trujillo: Huanchaco. It is a lot prettier, and a lot more touristy than where we are, you will without doubt spot a gringo or two walking along the sand or surfing. I can imagine in the summertime that it gets over run.

It takes about twenty minutes in a taxi to get there, once you have actually found a taxi to take you for a reasonable price - there are so many taxis here that if the price is too high and he (they are all male drivers) won't lower it, the done thing is to slap the car and walk off and find another one. This can sometimes take a while! The other option is to take a "bus" which is in fact a combi van- I have done this twice, and the experiences, a long with all the bus rides here in Peru, deserve a blog entry on their own! 

The boats in the pictures - caballitos de tortoros -belong to the local fishermen who take them out every morning. In the afternoons, they will happily take out anyone who asks for ten soles... I have seen a few people balanced precariously on the edge, getting soaked by the waves, so in these temperatures I haven't been tempted!

The boys here head to Huanchaco to surf, but as this doesn't tempt me (I have already mentioned the cold!) it is just nice to walk around, get coffee and of course, eat ceviche! There are also a lot more shops  designed for tourists. On Sunday I went on what felt like a shopping spree... but when I stopped to count up how much I had spent it amounted to twenty pounds! I could get used to this...

Peruvian Dog

This is a picture of a Peruvian breed of dog, which I think is one of the ugliest things I have ever seen, so it gets its own blog entry! It is skinny, hairless and leathery, with what looks like a blonde wig on its head. They don't really run around the streets here, but when I have been to visit different archeological sites there are always a couple lounging around. When we first saw one, we didn't know what it was... 

This dog has been around since before the Incas. Apparently, it has a higher than normal (for a dog) body temperature, and it used to be used to treat illnesses in Incan times. If somebody had breathing problems, such as asthma, they would sit the dog on the person's chest, and their warmth would help ease the problems! So beauty isn't everything... Although for a pet I think I would prefer a labrador!

Teenage Mothers

Every Tuesday and Thursday Bruce Peru organize a group for young pregnant girls. These girls are between the ages of 14 - 18, and live on the outskirts of Trujillo, in an area called Alto Trujillo.

The group is held in one of the NGO´s schools, actually the best out of the three schools. 'The best' means that there is a concrete floor, instead of the dirt floor in my school, and there is electricity and even a bathroom! The area is still very poor though, and the girls are all single. They have either been raped, or got pregnant by accident, by "boyfriends" who come and go as they please. Peru has a very machista culture, which is so evident everywhere you go (the comments, stares, the way they talk, even the way the children talk!) and so this group is strictly women only. This means that none of the male volunteers can come along. This wasn't always the case, but the girls didn't know how to react to a male presence, and either tried to come onto the male volunteers or were just plain scared of them.

It just goes to show how bad a relationship these girls have with men. To be honest, after a few weeks in Peru, in these particular areas, I am not surprised by this. The norm is to see a group of men sitting outside from nine in the morning, drinking beer and talking. When we leave school at around 12 these same men are still drinking, to the point where they can't even stand up. Some of the kids in the schools here have drunk dads, or live next to drug addicts, and while I am sure it can't apply to every man, it seems to be all too common. So from the start, these girls face a difficult situation.

Ruth, one of the embarazadas. She had the most beautiful smile, but as soon as the camera came out it disappeared (nobody here smiles for photos) so I had to take one when she wasn't looking!

One of the girls with a baby blanket she knitted, after lessons with Bruce Peru.

The idea of the group is to teach them some skills, such as knitting or making sweets, so that they can then try and have a mini-business, to make some extra money. They also teach them about how to care for their babies, what they will need for them and how to spot signs of illness. They also throw each mother a baby shower when it is nearly time for them to give birth. So, last week I went to my first Peruvian baby shower! Actually, my first baby shower anywhere!

We bought some fizzy drinks and chocolate and spent the afternoon playing games. One game involved guessing what length of paper you would need to wrap around the pregnant girls stomachs - whoever got closest to the right amount won. For the record, I lost. Badly. There was also a race to see who could put a nappy on a plastic doll fast enough, but luckily that was only for the expectant mothers. I have no idea how to even put a disposable nappy on a giant barbie doll, never mind a cloth one...

Playing one of the games!

The girls all seemed to be good friends, and there was a really nice atmosphere there. It was one of the best afternoons I have had in Peru so far, and good to meet some older people from a similar area to where I teach. One girl, Flor, was particularly friendly. She is only 16, and due in October. She loved having her picture taken and wanted to know all about England, and she reminded me so much of some of the older girls in my school. This scared me actually, as she could well represent what some of these girls face in just a few years.

Flor

Although, with the work that Bruce Peru is doing, this actually might not be the case. It is good to see the difference this organization is making, and to see the fun that it can be for everyone involved!

All of us together (notice that only the gringas are smiling).

Feliz Cumple Brigit...

Today is Thursday, and I am close to the end of my first full week here in Peru! It already seems much longer, and I am definitely getting into the rhythm of life here. I am adjusting to the stares, the noise, the food and the bumpy bus rides, along with the Spanish and the school itself.

Today was one of the students birthday, Brigit, who turned seven (or eight, she didn't seem sure). All in all, although a birthday is a thing to celebrate, today has left me a little bit depressed as a few of the realities of life for these children sinks in.

I have spent the last few days mainly working with Saul, the five year old little comedian, and Luis, another five year old. They are both quite bad at concentrating yet at the same time so sweet. Trying to get them to pick up their pencils and write one word is a daily battle, yet when they try, they can do it. Luis's favourite thing to say when you ask him something is "pues siiii" quickly followed by a tilt of the head in the opposite direction while saying "Pues nooooo" Basically, he is saying, welllll yeeesss, welll noooo, over and over again as I desperately try to get him to do something, anything! All the children love colouring in, the school has one packet of colouring pencils and the last part of the day is spent drawing various pictures for each child. If you are interested, I can draw you a picture of Ben 10, dolphins, cats, dogs and some kind of Japanses cartoon (which I thought was pretty good!)

This afternoon my plan is to go and buy a map of the world for the children, along with looking for some pictures of Shrek that they can colour in (by special request of Saul). They currently have a map of South America hanging on the wall, so when I say I am from Inglaterra they ask me: is that in Colombia, or Brazil or Chile... They have managed to hear about the USA though, unsurprisingly enough! So they are all very excited to see where Europe is, and where I live. They also love knowing where Trujillo is on the map, and know that Peru is the yellow country (on this map anyway!)

For Brigit's birthday we sang once in English and once in Spanish, and then everyone had to give her a hug. Watching some of the boys being forced into hugging her was one of the funniest things I have seen, and I think she really enjoyed all the attention. She got given one carton of chocolate milk by the teacher as a special treat which she was very pleased with.

Saul had a arrived in school today with 30 cents in a small plastic bag, and was beyond excited, and spent the whole telling me he was going to buy something (just to be clear 1sol = roughly 20p). When he saw Brigit's milk he was so jealous, and wanted to know how much it was, and if he could buy it with his 30cents. Unfortuantely, the carton of chocolate milk costs 1 nuevo sol, and his face was so sad - he had been so excited before by his 30 centimos! It made me feel awful, and I wish I could have just bought him a whole trolley of chocolate milk, or at least given him the seventy cents extra to buy one, but it is not a good thing to give them money, for obvious reasons.

The  next reality check came  when I went to collect breakfast for the children today, and I was talking about the last volunteer before me with one of the little boys. He told me he really missed her, because he had got used to her, and now he would never see her again.He was so sad when he said it, and was just pointing out what should be obvious, but I hadn't thought about it before: one month isn't really long enough to spend with these children, and the effect of all these volunteers appearing and disappearing can't be that good for them. I already feel really sad and useless at the prospect of leaving...

Some Photos!

Hand washing! The kids are experts at blowing bubbles...

Saul, 5 years old, loves Justin Bieber!

Roger, Saul y Luis blowing bubbles.

Brian awarding the prizes for the art competition. I have included this picture to show what the school looks like!

The winners of the painting competition - Kevin, Saul and Brigid - with Brian and I. They each won a pair of shoes - the kids here all wear flip flops, even though it is winter. Some of the shoes are held together with pieces of wire, so new shoes are an important prize!

Roger and Jacqueline - brother and sister. Jacqueline is very naughty, but very cute, as is Roger. Each day they walk us to the bus stop, and wait with us until our bus comes!

                                  

My first few days in Trujillo, Peru

So I am sitting here in Trujillo, Peru... Even that is weird for me! I am really tired and feeling pretty weird to be honest, talk about a culture shock. So where I am sitting right now: at the most ancient computer ever, in the apartment that I am sharing with seven others. I share a room with an Australian woman who is married (her husband is working in Rio) and an English girl, who is great but is leaving today. People seem pretty nice, if not a tiny bit reserved. The girls here are scared to go out alone... and I have already been told about three muggings, one at gunpoint! Pretty nice welcoming stories, but I guess it is no worse than anywhere else, it just seems scarier here as I dont know it that well yet.

 

I leave the apartment every weekday at 8am, with a guy called Brian who also volunteers at my school. He is twenty three and from the states, taking three months out to volunteer and apply for medical school. Our school is called 'New Jerusaleum' and is meant to be one of the three most dangerous areas in Peru, according to Brian, so another welcoming fact! It is so so poor; the houses are just made out of clay or bamboo and the roads are dirt tracks with stray dogs running everywhere (some pretty mean ones). The kids are cute, although one when I entered just shouted ´tengo miedo´which just means I am scared! SO he is not my favourite kid yet... Another one marched up and shook my hand and another one gave me a big hug and then tried to take the ten soles i had in my pocket! ha! Its hard to teach them the Spanish stuff at the moment, and also understand everything they are saying, but I think it will take a few days to get going and hopefully feel more comfortable with my Spanish etc. With any luck when I come back to London I will be speaking like a Peruvian street child...

I dont get the impression there is loads to do in this town, and also, everyone has told me not to walk around on my own, so it will kind of limit me on what to do with my free time, but I have a lot to read... There are two American guys here, and a French guy who head out a lot in the evenings. Last night they went and saw a Freddy Mercury impersonator - something that I gave a miss, but maybe next week! I know i is early days yet, but I am not feeling great at the prospect of 6 weeks traveling this country alone - I have already been grabbed and kissed by one Peruvian man! Awkward... Luckily it was on the cheek. It is really cold too - I can hear the beach and sun calling me from somewhere!

 

Friday was a really good day, the sun wass shining so that helps a lot too. We had a painting competition between the three schools that the NGO runs, and it was our schools turn to do their painting. So, in our little clay hut with the dirt floor I did lots of drawing and painting with the kids, which was just so much fun. I think I had paint in my hair, on my face, my clothes... worth it though. We also brought the kids cookies, as it was a 'special' day, so they went down well.

The bus ride to the school is going to kill my back - it is soooo bumpy! It is basically a small van thing with about 10 seats and the roads are full of potholes. The way it works here in Peru is that if you want to be a bus driver, you buy a bus, and go to the company and get given a timetable. On the bus route the 'conductor' has to jump out and get his little card stamped at various stages, and if they run late then they get a fine. This results in a high speed race through the streets of Trujillo, when people get on the bus they are yelled at to hurry up, likewise when people get off. If you are too slow, you get lifted on by the conductor, or lifted (thrown) off. All for only 1 nuevo sol... bargain!

We get to the school around 9am, and go straight into helping the kids at whatever they are doing. They are all very naughty though, so concentration is a problem. What makes me laugh a lot is the fact that they know, and love, Justin Bieber, and I have had the pleasure of hearing 'Baby, Baby, Baby' sung by a little five year old called Saul. Next Friday we are having a singing competition, so I am hoping to bring my camera up and catch it all on camera... The problem is that the other day a volunteer got mugged outside the school waiting for her bus, so I am a bit wary of losing my camera! I think it will be ok though as long as I keep it hidden. At eleven we walk up the dirt track and bang on a door made of bits of scrap metal, and a little old lady appears with a bucket and cups of 'breakfast' for the kids. On Friday this involved something white and slimy, with some weird lumps in it. We also bring a bucket of water with us everyday up to the school (from the apartment), as there is no water in their neighbourhood. We use this water to wash the kids hands before they eat, and also to brush their teeth after. They love the liquid soap, and spend ages at the bucket of water, lathering up and trying to blow bubbles, until they are covered in soap. Of course, I already have some favourites, including Saul the singer. Also very cute is Luis, a five year old who seems to wear clothes made for adults, and who gave me half his cookie today, and hugged me on my arrival!

Anyway, although it feels kind of hard here, and I am still finding my feet etc, I enjoy the school part so much, so at least I know I am here for the right reasons.