All Good Causes

One of my English students, Elmer, works for a really great charity in Trujillo called Fairmail.  Fairmail is a Fair Trade company that specializes in socially-conscious greeting cards. The photos on FairMail cards are taken by Indian and Peruvian teenagers growing up in under-served communities. By taking part in the program, they receive free photography training, part-time work, medical insurance, and mentoring from Fairmail staff. The teenagers earn 50 % of the profits of the sale of their own cards to finance their housing and education.  I recently purchased a couple of Elmer´s cards in a cafe in Huanchaco.  Here are some samples of his work:

If you are interested in supporting this great organization and learning more about Elmer´s story, you can visit:

http://www.fairmail.info/photographers/profile/elmer

Since I am shamelessly promoting my students in this blog, let me tell you about the other organization that Espaanglisch partners with here in Trujillo.  Rodolfo, who joined my English class a few weeks ago, and David work with a group called SKIP (Supporting Kids in Peru), which educates children in some of the same areas where we teach for USDA.  If you want to read a bit more about SKIP and the work they are doing, their website is below:

http://www.skipperu.org/index.php

Finally, if you want to contribute to USDA or Espaanglisch, either by coming to Peru to volunteer or donating to their current projects, please let me know, and I will put you in touch with the appropriate people. There is information about charitable donations at USDA.org (link below) and Espaanglisch is currently working on an online giving site.

http://www.usdaperu.org/en/donations

I didn´t have any big adventures over the past week, but there were many good times had in and around Trujillo.  Last Monday, after returning from Huaraz on the overnight bus, Tia Carmen treated my fellow volunteers and I to a homemade lunch in honor of my birthday.  The festivities continued into Tuesday at Maria´s house in Huanchaco with a delicious seafood feast for me and my new pals.  After dinner, we all headed to a bar down the street for pool, Jenga, and general merriment.  I was overwhelmed and happy by the turnout at my belated birthday party; I feel so lucky to have made such great friends in the short time I´ve been in Peru.

With the slightest twinge of a hangover hovering over the group, we headed out to sweltering Uno A the next morning.  I don´t know about the rest of you, but for me, nothing cures a headache and an acidic stomach like an overly complicated craft project with young children!  Please see pictures below:

Since our trip up to Huaraz, Ruwan had been complaining about a sore on his leg that seemed to be getting worse by the day.  Anjana and I, being the good moms that we are, forced him to go to the clinic to have it checked out after our classes finished.  Later that afternoon, poor Ru came home from the hospital with bad news.  Apparently a small insect bite had turned into a massive infection and the doctor had to perform minor surgery to clean out the sore.  Since then, Ru has been on bed rest and is slowly getting better.
With Ru out of commission, Anjana and I spent Thursday afternoon taking in the sites of downtown Trujillo.  We tried to visit the VERY creepy Museo del Juegete (Toy Museum), but it was closed.  Good thing, because we peeked inside the window and it was filled with the kind of carnival figurines and old-fashioned baby dolls that still give me nightmares. 

After, we ate at a beautiful cafe called Cadona Deza, which, according to the owner, was the former mansion of a Spanish sea captain.  The center of Trujillo is filled with colonial style homes and social clubs tucked away behind large wooden doors and wrought iron gates.  If you ever visit, it is definitely worth checking out the hidden courtyards scattered around the Plaza de Armas...

....and the casinos named after popular American music-television programs from the 80s.

Following our big day on the town, I was faced with my biggest teaching challenge yet.  My Thursday night class has grown to approximately 12 students, many of whom have never spoken a word of English in their lives.  For those students who have been coming for a few weeks, this was a bit of a blow because I had to backtrack about 5 chapters in our book and re-teach very rudimentary words and phrases.  I´m hoping that we will be able to split the class into two groups this week, but since Ru is still convalescing and Anjana is out of town for a few days, I´m going to have to improvise for now. 

I spent Friday in Huanchaco with Anjana.  The day started out on a pretty uneventful note and after some beach time, she and I headed to one of the local watering holes for an afternoon cocktail.  On our way down a quiet back street, a taxi drove by us, stopped about 100 yards down the road, turned around and parked along the sidewalk.  As Anjana and I approached, we called out to us, ¨Hola, chicas!¨.  I turned my head to nod politely and saw, to my horror, that the pervert had his shirt pulled up, his pants down around ankles and was proudly displaying his man parts. It was, officially, my first run-in with a Peruvian flasher.

As I attempted to rid the aforementioned scene from my head, Anjana and I returned to Trujillo for Compartidos, which was taking place by the Plaza de Armas.  That night, USDA helped about 20 kids make hand painted pencil cases for school and fed about 50 people around the square.  I was a bit irritated that night because there were several men who came for a free meal who clearly were not in need.  We had to turn down about 5 kids at the end of the night because we ran out of food.  Later that evening, when I was out with some of the other volunteers, I spotted one of said men across the bar, happily drinking with his friends.  I REALLY wanted to give him a piece of my mind, but I restrained myself.

The rest of Friday night was a blast.  Anjana and I met up with Teresa and Pedro, two Peruvian USDA  volunteers, and we headed to a boisterous bar with live music.  A four-person dance party broke out on the balcony, much to the bewilderment of the other patrons, and we kept the fiesta going until the wee hours of the morning (photos to follow).   Saturday and Sunday were spent on the beach, enjoying the nice weather and the company of friends. 

    Caballitos de Tortoras in Huanchaco

                                                                                      View of the Beach

Oh, and on my latest trip to the mall, I spotted this very familiar looking logo for GCI Peru!  Who knew?  And it´s a general contracting company to boot!

Lows and Highs

I forgot to mention in my last post that another American volunteer moved into the Espaanglisch house. Anjana is from upstate New York but attended Berkeley and lived in San Francisco until she left her job as an English teacher at Kaplan.  As if the world weren't small enough already, it turns out that Anjana used to date my next-door neighbor in Harvard, Mass..  NUTS!

Following a relaxing weekend at the beach, we returned to Uno A on Monday, where I took on the fun new role of co-art teacher.  Given my complete lack of artistic talent, I feared that I would be exposed as a fraud within minutes.  Luckily, our lesson consisted of teaching the youngest class of kids how to draw shapes (i.e. squares, triangles, and circles) and then use the shapes to make a picture.  As simple as this task sounds, you would be amazed how little these kids can accomplish in an hour.  Many of them lack the basic motor skills to properly hold a pencil because they were never taught properly or because this is their first time in a classroom setting. 

I took several pictures of the kids in Uno A this week. Here are some of my favorites:

       

 Walking home from class

 After teaching, we hitched a ride on a convi back to downtown Trujillo.

An introduction to convis (pronounced Con-Vees):  Trujillo does not have an official public transit system.  Instead, the majority of residents rely on convis to get around. Convis are micro vans with set routes that operate like public buses.  A typical ride begins with a loud, Peruvian fare collector sticking his head out of the window and yelling the vehicle's final destination (ex. Huanchaco, Huanchaco, Huanchaco, Huanchaco, etc.) on repeat until he is certain that everyone heading his way gets on-board.  As the last passenger´s foot is still halfway out the door, the driver pulls away at top speed, honking at cars, people, and/or dogs...basically anything that crosses his path.  Every 5-10 blocks, the fare collector jumps out of the convi (usually while it's still moving) and runs to a punch clock where he registers the van's arrival time and the number of passengers on board.  The driver then begins to drive away, the fare collector runs to catch up, and it's on to the next pick up.  I have noted on numerous occasions that a convi will have a "maximum capacity: 12 or 13" sticker prominently displayed on its dashboard.  However, it is not uncommon for 20 people to cram into a space similar in size to a Dodge Caravan.  I must say, as uncomfortable as many of these voyages have been, the convi system is bizarrely reliable and wildly cheap.  For example, I can ride from my house to Huanchaco, which is a good 25 minutes away, for about 50 cents.

Sorry to digress...

My adult English classes are going well.  I had three people show up on Monday and by the end of last week, we were up to four! The three hours per week I spend with my adult class are some of my most rewarding.  Many of the students are in their late teens or early twenties and all of them are totally forgiving of my feeble attempts to explain English grammar in Spanish.

This past Tuesday, we had the day off due to the prior-mentioned scheduling debacle, so I headed to Huanchaco for Spanish lessons with David.  After class, all of the volunteers were treated to an incredible ceviche dinner at David's former landlord's house on the beach.  All in all, I have been unimpressed with the cuisine in Trujillo, but Maria's ceviche was amazing.

Dinner on Maria´s roof.

Following another day of teaching in Uno A on Wednesday, we were recruited for another USDA project.  On Thursday we joined Carla to collect food in the market for Compartiendo Sonrisas (Sharing Smiles), the Friday night meal service I mentioned in my last post.  With giant plastic bags in hand, we were sent out in groups to scour the market, asking vendors to donate to the program.  The majority of market vendors in Trujillo are just slightly better off than the people we feed at Compartiendo, so donating to USDA is an incredibly generous act.  This experience was a testament to the best and worst of Peruvian charity.  While many vendors were happy to give potatoes or a few scraps of meat to our collection, others saw a golden opportunity to unload all of their rotting food or garbage on us.  When we returned to the organization´s headquarters to stock the kitchen, we realized that many of the potatoes were spoiled and smelled like poison.  After emptying an entire bag of onions onto the floor for peeling, we discovered that the majority were black with decay.  The most horrific moment, however, was emptying the contents of a bag filled with discarded animal parts.  Dry heaving immediately ensued, and I told Carla that I just couldn't stomach this particular task. 

Following that morning of character-building work, I began to organize for my upcoming weekend trip to Huaraz.  My original plan was to go alone and spend my birthday surrounded by complete strangers in the foothills of the Andes.  Luckily, two of my new pals from Trujillo decided to join me for the adventure; Ruwan, who I introduced last week, and Billy, an Irishman who is working in La Esperanza as a nutritionist while taking Spanish lessons from David.

Back in Vilcabamba, I saw a poster for a place called The Way Inn, a beautifully constructed stone lodge surrounded by snow capped mountains. At that moment, I decided that if I was within driving distance of this fantastic looking place at any point in my journey, I would make a point of getting there.  When I realized that Huaraz was a quick, 9-hour, overnight bus ride from Trujillo, I booked my spot the next day.

On Thursday night, Ru, Billy, and I headed to the bus station in Trujillo bound for 2 nights and 3 glorious days up in the mountains.

When we arrived in Huaraz the next morning, Bruni, the co-owner, arranged for her regular driver to pick us up in town and drive the 11km up to the lodge.  It took us a good 30 minutes to navigate the rocky and perilously narrow road that is the only way (besides walking) to get up to the property.  When we arrived, we were met by Ian and Dava, the current volunteers looking after the lodge.  Bruni and Alex, the owners, live in Huaraz and entrust their property to traveling volunteers who stay on for weeks or months as temporary managers.  The inn itself was truly magnificent and the views of the towering Cordillera Blanca to the east were spectacular. I am a bit obsessed with this place so please forgive the excessive photos.

Ian and Dava informed us that we were the only guests at the lodge, which I suspected might be the case, given that it is the low season.  With that knowledge, we checked into the 10-person dorm room, aptly nicknamed ¨The Cave¨because it is literally built alongside a massive boulder. After settling in, we decided to take a quick walk to to to a nearby ridge. While admiring the views, we received side glances from the indigenous shepherds who bring their livestock up to the meadows to graze.  When we returned, I got a hot-stone massage from Dava (a gift from the boys), who used to practice and work in, guess where...
San Fran, of course.

 
             The main lodge (above) and outside ¨The Cave¨ (below)

View from the lawn

We spent Friday night in the main lodge with Dava and Ian reading our books and telling ghost stories by the fire.  The inn has a single generator that powers the main lodge and outbuildings.  On our first night, the electricity went on at sunset to allow for meal prep and was promptly turned off a few hours later so that the only source of light were the candles scattered around the property.  It was a spooky, cozy, and fantastic introduction to Huaraz.

We woke up Saturday morning, fully prepared for a long day of hiking up into the mountains. Unfortunately, it was raining and freezing cold, so Ru, Billy, and I unanimously decided to wait in in the lodge by the fire until the weather improved.  Several book chapters and a rousing game of Scrabble later, it appeared that the rain was slowing, so off we went in search of a beautiful lake that Ian told us about the previous night.

I haven´t mentioned yet that The Way Inn sits at 3700 meters or 12,139 feet above sea level.  Our hike added another 400 meters of altitude, so the going was slow.  About half way up, the clouds started to reform above the high peaks and the rain followed shortly after.  Long story short, we never made it to the lake.  It´s possible that we took a wrong turn or simply couldn´t see it because the cloud cover was so thick.  Regardless, we returned to the lodge a bit defeated and frozen.

Billy and Ru slacking on the trail

That night, the owners, Bruni and Alex, arrived with their son and a dozen of their close expat friends who live in Huaraz.  They brought along their chef, Eladio, and he whipped up an amazing dinner of asparagus soup, fresh trout from the inn´s pond, and baked pears.  After weeks of eating eggs, PB&J, and rice, I was in heaven. Happily stuffed to the gills, Billy joined in on a game of Texas Hold Em with some of the crew (losing S/ 40 in the process), while Ru and I had our asses handed to us by Ian in a pathetic game of Monopoly.  All in all, it was a another truly lovely evening at The Way Inn.

A massive boulder on the property.

On our last day in Huaraz, we set off on another hike, this time towards a giant ravine leading to the entrance of Huascaran National Park.  When we arrived back at the inn, Alex, the co-owner (and Bruni´s ex) was sitting out in the sun.  After innocently telling him that I currently reside in San Francisco, he launched into, what would become, a 4-hour, spiritually-themed diatribe regarding the impending apocalypse.  While it may seem like a bizarre segue, our new friend explained that SF and most of the Pacific Rim are slated to burn and crumble first. Alex, a practicing shaman and native Brit, is in the process of building a self-sustained, rainforest lodge in preparation for Armageddon.  At the end of the day, following a 30-minute car ride down the hill and a 2-hour dinner, Alex invited Billy to join him as the on site nutritionist at his yet-to-be-named retreat.  Ru and I, lacking any relevant skills, were, sadly, not offered a job.

It looks like I´ll be burning in SF with the rest of you suckers. 

Trujillo: Week One

Waking up in Trujillo the first morning was a bit of a head trip as I was so groggy and out of it from my bus ride.  I didn´t teach my first day, but Elizabeth took me to the nearest shopping center so I would know where to buy groceries.  I also accompanied her to the gym, which, after being in a time warp in Cuenca for a month was a a major culture shock.  I felt like I had been teleported back to the United States. The gym rivaled any major, oversized chain, complete with a smoothie bar and spinning classes.  I only mention this because, as you will, see, Trujillo is a city of bizarre contrasts.  On the one hand, you have gleaming mega malls with high tech gyms where a membership costs S/ 200 (approx. $70) per month.  On the other, you have people living in extreme poverty, reminiscent of a Save the Children infomercial.  More on this topic later...

That first day, I met Tia Carmen, David´s aunt and the matriarch of the house.  For those of you who don´t know, David is the founder of Espaanglisch.  I am now convinced, 6 days later, that Tia Carmen does not know and/or doesn´t know how to pronounce my name because she always addresses me as ¨Chica¨or ¨Niña¨.  At some point I´m going to call her out on it, but I haven´t found the right way to do so yet.

(L) The Espaanglisch House in Downtown Trujillo and (R) the view of the guinea pig pen outside my bedroom window.

On Monday night, I was introduced to my other housemate, Ruwan.  Ruwan is 18 and hails from London.  Like most Brits, Ruwan is taking a gap year to travel and volunteer before he heads to Oxford in the fall.  I also met, Rodrigo, a Peruvian university volunteer who teaches math during the summer months. Later that evening, Ruwan and I sat in on Jean Paul´s adult conversation class, where I met his students Carla and David.  Carla is a psycologist and volunteers for USDA (Una Sonrisa de Amor), Espaanglisch´s partner organization.  Her English is fantastic and she has a great sense of humor.  David (different David) is studying with Espaanglisch in that hopes that one day he will be able to join his sister in the U.S. who currently resides in Potrero Hill in San Francisco!

The next morning, Jean Paul, Ruwan, and I walked to the USDA offices to get our supplies and head out to an area called El Milagro (The Miracle).  Ruwan insightfully noted that the worst areas in Trujillo are given  misnomers such as El Milagro and Esperanza (Hope), perhaps in a half-hearted effort to bring some cheer to the slums. There were seven volunteers heading out to teach that morning, and I was surprised when Norma, the head of USDA´s volunteer program, hailed just one cab.  This, I would learn quickly, was standard protocol for transporting us out to the far-reaching corners of the city.  With 5 people squeezed into the backseat and Ruwan and Rodrigo sharing shotgun, we headed off for my first day of teaching.

El Milagro is a dirt track located about 5K outside of the city center.  When we arrived at the facility, all I could do was think back to the daycare in Cuenca, which, at the time, I considered to be a barren and under resourced school.  Needless to say, when I saw the majority of kids sitting on used paint cans, the mud brick walls beginning to crumble, and the plastic tarp canopy offering the only shade in the space, I realized that my judgements of CDI SF were premature and unfounded.

We spent the majority of our time that day teaching English basics such as, ¨hello¨, stop¨, ¨go¨, and ¨goodbye¨.  The kids were very enthusiastic and easily swayed into participating by the promise of stickers at the end of class.

 The classroom in El Milagro.

 

Ruwan and I with our first group of students.

With my first day of teaching in the bag, I felt enthusiastic and excited about the next four weeks. It wasn´t until we were back at the house in the afternoon that Ruwan told me the bad news.  Apparently, USDA decided to cancel half of their English summer program (two days before I arrived) and replace us with a mobile library that travels to the different slums.  I was not thrilled to hear this news, but since then, things have been somewhat resolved.  We are teaching English part time and also helping with art classes until the final week of February when we return to our regular schedule.

On Tuesday night, I had my first Spanish class with David and he apologized to me for all of the confusion with our schedule and heartily welcomed me to the program.  For the first time since I arrived in Trujillo, I felt some sense of belonging.   

The next morning, we headed out to La Esperanza, which Ruwan informed me had a better facility than El Milagro but was worse off in every other aspect.  The name of the slum where we were teaching is referred to simply as ¨Uno A¨ (One A).  To give you a sense of what I´m talking about when I say that Trujillo is a city of mind blowing contrariety, take a look at the pictures below:

                       Trujillo´s Plaza de Armas

and...

 

...a ditch representing the first stage of Uno A´s plumbing system.

When we arrived at Uno A, I was hit immediately by the overwhelming stench of rotting garbage and sewage.  The level of poverty here makes El Milagro seem like a quaint suburb.  There are stray dogs everywhere rummaging through trash and many of the homes are protected by tin planks or plastic tarps.  Once again, I was amazed by the kids and the unwavering happiness they displayed when we all arrived at the school.  We spent time going over the same lesson as the previous day and also covered numbers up to 10. 

The School in Uno A.

 Rodrigo singing with the kids.

On Wednesday night, I had my first adult English class back at the house.  Only one student showed up, so she and I went over some basic verbs, greetings, and outlined what she wants to cover over the next month. My next class on Friday night also consisted of one student, but this time it was Rodolfo, who volunteers for another organization in Trujillo.  So far: two classes, two students, and some major one-on-one learning!

Friday was our day off from teaching, so a bunch of us headed to Huanchaco, a small beach town about 20 minutes from downtown Trujillo.   Gringo sightings are a rarity in the city, but in Huanchaco they are a dime a dozen.  The little surfing/fishing village has a very laid back vibe and we enjoyed our time sunbathing and hanging out on the Espaanglisch roofdeck.  Over the course of the weekend, multiple beach volleyball games ensued as the sun set over the Pacific. David runs a separate Spanish school in Huanchaco for tourists, and the view isn´t too shabby...

David and Rodrigo jamming on the roof.         

  

On Friday night, we went with Carla to hand out meals to struggling street vendors and the homeless on one of Trujillo´s main drags. Everyone we fed was extremely gracious and thankful, and I was impressed with the efficiency with which Carla and her team worked.   My first week in Trujillo started out a bit rough, but by the end of the weekend, I knew that I made the right decision to come down here.  I have met some really great people who work tirelessly to alleviate hunger and improve the education received by Trujillo´s poorest residents. 

Oh, and in case you were curious, the guinea pigs have been spared from the guillotine, for now.