Runner's High

(This was written on 01/28/11, but internet connectivity delayed the posting)

A fantastic and incredibly fun morning! At about 7am this morning, I climbed out of bed and put on Huaraches sandals in anticipation for a nice thirty to forty minute run. Normally, I exercise around 6 or 6:30 so the sun isn't too strong and so I can make it to breakfast and drink copious amounts of porridge (in addition to the piece of bread we get each morning). However, I and many of the volunteers went to our favorite restaurant (this word is used loosely. They only sell skewers of goat meat and drinks, and the meat usually runs out mid-day. So if we don't go early, we just grab some drinks and relax and chat) last night, and we didn't get back to the village till late.

Anyways, after a few hours of sound sleep, my body decided to wake up just before six, and after lying in bed for an hour, I realized I wasn't going to get any more sleep so I might as well run. I opted to go for a run towards Ntunga (the town in the opposite direction of Rubona (the nearest small town that has market days on Tuesdays and Fridays and is home to our lovely "restaurant."). So as I left the main gate of Agahozo, I turned left and started on my journey. I planned to just do a simple out and back. I ran along this path a few days ago and discovered that the hills are a lot more challenging on foot than they appear to be very time we ride in to or out of the village on mototaxis. As you near the top of one of the hills, you can look out over your right shoulder and receive this splendid view of rolling green hills and blue sky for miles and miles. After about a mile along my planned path, I made a quick decision and turned off the main road onto a smaller and less traveled one. For the first fifteen minutes, I kept telling myself I'd turn around when I received the next corner, but each turn revealed new and magnificent view of the land, and so I continued onward. After a few more minutes, I discovered that I descended into one of the valleys between the many hills that I saw when I was running along the road at the top of one of the hills. After stopping to ask (in my broken Kinyarwanda) a young boy about directions to Rubona (since I had now turned away from Ntunga and was headed in the "general direction of Rubona), he assured me it was no more than thirty minutes away. I'm not sure if I misheard him or if he overestimated how fast I can run (probably both since (1) maybe he thought I was Kenyan and (2) I heard "mirongwitatu" (thirty), but he may have said "mirongwitanu" (fifty) which would have made more sense).

Either way, I found myself running for another hour, but it was a truly exhilarating experience. The road soon narrowed to a simple path and then dropped even further to the bottom of the valley (something like a 1000-foot descent over a quarter mile or so) and then rose back up through winding farms and even narrower paths (I'm pretty sure I was just running on the farm properties of different Rwandan families). Since today (Friday) is market day, I met many passerby carrying different items and balancing bananas on their heads. Almost all stopped and stared as the muzungu ("white person") ran past wearing a long sleeve running shirt, shorts, headphones, and crazy running sandals. At the beginning of our time here, the other volunteers and I were a bit more self-conscious about the stares, but now it's so commonplace that all I do is smile and greet those I see with a "mwaramutse" (good morning!) or "mwiriwe" (good afternoon/evening!). Finally, about an hour after asking the boy about the distance to Rubona and greeting/chatting briefly with many others en route to the market, I exited onto a familiar path that would lead me back from Rubona in about ten minutes to the gates of ASYV. The exhilaration of finishing the run helped in that last uphill mile, and upon getting back to my room, I was on such a runner's high that I decided I'd write in my blog since I haven't done so in over a month! This decision was followed by my rainwater bucket bath (since our running water was not working) and then an hour-long attempt (electricity issues) to make eggs and sautéed tomatoes for breakfast. In the end, it all worked out, and I was and remain happy about a good start to the weekend.

The Science Learning Center (SLC for short, where I work) is closed on Fridays, so I'll be heading to the market soon with Sarah, Michelle, and maybe some others. I guess I feel a bit more inspired to write now, so I'll try to be more regular in my updates. Until then!

Land of A Thousand Hills

Muraho! (Hello!)

I arrived in Rwanda a week ago (last Thursday), and things have been quite busy since arrival so I haven't had much time to write. I do not think I was very clear in my explaining my transition from Peru to Rwanda.  I am spending the next 8 months working as the Science Enrichment Coordinator here at Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (hereafter simply referred to as ASYV or Agahozo). ASYV is a youth village that started in 2009 that offers housing, schooling, and enrichment activities to orphans living in Rwanda.  This is the third year of operation so the third class of 125 students will be arriving soon.  As a result, ASYV will soon house 375 students and over 150 staff members! For more information about the organization, please visit:

www.asyv.org

Since classes have not started, I am not entirely sure I can explain all of what I'll be doing here, but I'll describe what I understand my responsibilities to be at this point.  I have been hired by ASYV to help oversee the activities at the newly constructed Science Learning Center (SLC).  From what I can understand, this involves coordinating science fair projects, tutoring some of the students after-school, and making sure that the SLC remains organized and under control.  Additionally, as a long-term volunteer, there are a number of other responsibilities that arise (teaching english to staff and students, helping out on the farm, etc.) throughout our time here.

I wanted to write a short post to say that I have arrived safely.  While we do have internet here in the village, connection reliability is still an issue so I will try to post as often as I can.

Amy (Farm Manager), Ariela (International Coordinator), Sarah (Music Consultant), Yasmin (School Consultant), Molly (ESL), Ido (Construction Manager), Trevor (Landscape Consultant), Michelle (Arts Coordinator), Jared (School Admin Consultant), and Mike (the IT guy)  are all really cool, and I'm looking forward to an amazing year with the other volunteers!!

Leaving Ayacucho....

To say that it's been quite some time since my last post would be much of an understatement.  It's been over a month! It has been an interesting month filled with both ups and downs.  Oddly enough, this is the last post on Ayacucho since I'll be leaving tomorrow (Thursday) evening to head back to Lima (only briefly) and then on to Huaraz (in the Cordilleras).  It's been quite exciting, and I've learned a lot about Ayacucho and its people during these past six weeks. I'll try to upload some pictures here soon.  I have a fair number of photos on my facebook page, so please check out my albums for more on the sights in and around Ayacucho.

Next stop: Huaraz!

Ayacucho (in photos)

Mi dormitorio

Mi Cama

Mi cómoda

Mi escritorio (well...also my breakfast/dinner table)

El estadio - I asked my landlady about where I could go to run.
She told me about the "El Estadio." Turns out that my only attempt
to run here was ruined by neurotic dogs and overwhelming pollution.
I have since joined a gym.

Ayacucho is full of incredible green space and small parks.

The low-quality picture doesn't capture the vibrant nature
of this building. Ironically enough, there was a separate building
(non-affiliated) with the name "Arco Iris" (rainbow) to the left.

La Plaza de Armas

Artisan at work!

Side street just off the plaza.
One of these doors is home to my favorite empanadas place.

Churches are everywhere!Ayacucho is known for its 33
churches, one for every year of Jesus' life.

"??? and Fujimori: Criminals and Assassins"
Saw this while exploring the city. Had to come back with my camera to document it.
Can't read the first name but Fujimori is one of Peru's ex-presidents.
Fujimori is well remembered for his indifference during the Internal War with the Shining Path and also for his numerous human rights abuses, many of which involved killing political opponents.

Ayacucho!

I'm here! I finally made it to Ayacucho. Technically, Ayacucho is both the name of the main city as well as the name given to this general region that stretches for hundreds of miles in every direction.  It is, indeed, quite large. I've settled into my cozy 1-room apartment on the 3rd floor, and I'm only about five or six blocks from the main plaza (every city that I've been to in Peru has its own "Plaza de Armas," which generally acts as one of the commercial centers of town). 


I just arrived on Sunday and my English classes started Monday! I'll be here in Ayacucho for about 8 weeks, and I am teaching English mostly to people connected with the human rights movement here in Peru. The politics of Peru and its history are quite interesting, to say the least. To me, it seems like the word "disturbing"might be more appropriate. Much of the work being done here is related to the Shining Path movement of the 80s and 90s. Basically, some socialists professors and activists got together in the early 80s and wanted to start a "New Democracy" movement in Peru (they considered themselves a shining light of the communism movement). They ended up using coercion and killing as a means for recruitment and somewhere around 70,000 people were killed or went missing. Oddly enough, the military that was supposed to help defend many of the poor rural towns (where much of the violence occurred) actually ended up assisting in many of the killings, though the extent of this damage by the government was only discovered after the release of a report by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (my professor at Harvard was part of this committee and she was the one who helped direct me to my present position).


On Sunday I met up with Edith, a woman who works with the Praxis Institute of Human Rights (the organization that professor Theidon directs). We visited a few parts of the city, and she told me a lot about the history of the Shining Path as well as the history of the human rights movement here in Peru. Sadly, early Sunday morning, a local candidate for mayor, who was one of the strongest candidates in supporting the human rights movement, was killed in a car accident along with 5 members of his staff. On Monday, we travelled to his home town of Huanta (about an hour from Ayacucho city) to sit and talk with family and friends. Given that I did not know him or the family members, my time was spent sitting and observing.  Edith and Dulia (another friend of Edith's that works in the office of Disappeared Persons (people are still declaring missing persons that they last saw more than 20 years ago)) knew many of the family and close friends, and the mood across the whole town was one of sadness. Though I was not an active participant in much that transpired that day, I feel like it was one of the most powerful experiences I've had so far in Peru. I'll do my best to continue with updates about changes in the political climate here in Peru. Elections for various offices are coming up in October, and so there should be a fair amount to discuss in terms of Peruvian politics and its future.

Salkantay!

I have just arrived in Lima and finally settled down to write about my last week or travel, which largely consisted of the 5-day Salkantay trek to Machu Picchu. The journey consisted of such a large range of everything. It proved to be a rollercoaster of emotions, personality types, weather, you-name-it. I’ll do my best to recount the day-by-day experience and adventures, but first I think it might be helpful to have a list of characters as our 16-person team (excluding the two guides, Cesar and Raul, and the horsemen and cooks who left at various intervals) was full of interesting and memorable people.

Michael – fellow volunteer from Arequipa (the only one I knew prior to starting the trek). United Kingdom.

Mo – roughly 34-year-old chef with a great sense of humor currently traveling with his girlfriend Anna. Australian.

Anna – a vibrant and spunky young woman that served as a great guide regarding interesting and fun facts about Peru. Australian.

Fay – very chill and amiable, on vacation for a few weeks and considers herself to not at all be an “outdoors person.” U.K.

Ed – the 25-year old geography major and environmentalist on a short vacation. U.K.

Sandra – a young Argentinean woman from Buenos Aires

Marco – young and generous guy who loved sharing beer and wine with all members of the group. Married to Tanya. Portugal.

Jugo – friend of Marco and Tanya. Also amiable guy who shared food and beverages with rest of the group. Portugal.

Tanya – young and amiable woman who spoke English, Spanish, and Portuguese incredibly well. Married to Marco. Portugal.

Orr – the youngest member of the group just out of the military with a great sense of adventure. Israel.

Christof – a lively and high-spirited German full of lighthearted jokes for all members of the group. Germany.

Nils – blond hair and blue eyed German who shared Christof’s sense of humor. Germany.

James “Tupperware” “Bond” Gordon Horn – given a number of nicknames by Germans for past adventures they had shared together. Germany.

Other German – I never got this guy’s name as he was the quietest of the group of Germans. Germany.

Felipe – the extremely chill guy from southern Brazil who only spoke Portuguese but got along well with everyone despite language barriers. Brazil.

The Brazilian Girl – her south Brazilian accent was too intense for me to understand much of what saying most of the time (and this included her introduction and name…). Brazil.

Day 1: The Beginning

Around 4:30am, the bus arrived at our hostel. Michael and I joined a few of the others that had been picked up previously. After a few more stops, we were on our way to a town (about 3 hours away by car), where we would begin our journey. Upon arrival, we sat down for a quick breakfast in a small locally owned restaurant. As is standard in Peru, the breakfast included tea and bread with some jam and butter available. I had the opportunity to sit down with Marco, Jugo, and Tanya (the three Portuguese travelers) who offered me some cake to add to my breakfast, and I had the opportunity to chat in Spanish with them as I didn’t realize until later in the trip that they all spoke fluent English. We set off on our journey around 9am in the morning. The sun was partly occluded by clouds (these clouds would soon produce a lot of rain…)  but general spirits among the group were high. It was, after all, the very beginning of a long 5-day journey and low spirits now would make the climb even more difficult.  After a little more than 3 hours of walking through the countryside along what was mostly a dirt road, we arrived at the top of a viewpoint for a nice lunch (including soup, rice, and a great beef and vegetable dish). Sadly, the rain and fog had set in during this time and the “viewpoint” was not exactly as memorable as one might have wished for. For some reason unknown to me, I opted to not buy a poncho to throw on over my bag and only noticed during this time that everyone else (excluding Michael) had ponchos for themselves and often an additional one just to cover their belongings. Most of my extra clothes (one shirt, scarf, hat, and jacket) had been placed inside of plastic bags so I knew they’d still be relatively dry upon arrival at our campsite. After lunch, we set out on another 3-hourish journey to our campsite for the night.  We continued along this road and the rain continued as well. It was quite easy to bond with the other British men and women over “what terribly weather we were having” since they are so accustomed to such great rainstorms. Much of the first day was spent getting to know the other group members. The group stopped at various intervals throughout the day, and people would often change walking partners or spend some time just walking alone in the rain. Since our group consisted of roughly half Spanish/Portuguese speakers and the other half native English speakers, I tried to spend time switching between using English and Spanish. Some conversations proved to be more difficult than others because I was, at the time, unaware of the differences in Argentinean Spanish (e.g. the double “ll” is pronounced as “sh” instead of “ya”) or of the fact that the Brazilians were, in fact, speaking the same language as the people from Portugal (while I knew they both spoke Portuguese, I could, for some reason, clearly understand the Portuguese people when they talked but not the Brazilians. As Marco would later explain to me, it appears that Portuguese speakers can generally understand almost everything said in Spanish and they would respond in Portuguese as the native Spanish speakers could generally understand what they were saying but would respond in Spanish accordingly. I believe I have quite a ways to go in my Spanish speaking ability before I jump on a plane to Brazil…). The end of the day came to a conclusion when we arrived at our campsite in the early evening. As Michael can attest to, it is difficult to explain our excitement upon seeing the tin-roofed structure under which all of our tents were to be set up. Originally, we thought that we’d be setting up tents on high ground and just hoping that we didn’t wake up in a puddle of water. The temperature had dropped close to freezing, and everyone made the best attempts to get dry by either hanging up wet clothes, putting on warm dry ones, holding on to the metal cup of hot tea, or some combination of all of these. (We would find out in the morning that the condensation formed on the underside of the tin structure actually made all of our clothes and jackets even more wet over the course of the night…) After another nice hot meal, everyone retired for the night since our journey over Salkantay would begin tomorrow at 5:30am.

             Lunchtime

Michael strikes a pose before the journey begins!                                       Campsite Night #1
        
    

Day 2: The Salkantay Challenge!

After a relatively undisturbed night of sleep (going to the outhouse in the middle of the night required a serious time investment considering that I had to put my clothes and boots back on to reach the bathroom), most of us were up and seated at the table by 6am for a wonderful breakfast of pancakes with chocolate syrup served with hot tea on the side. After some packing and measured decisions about how many layers of clothing to wear, we set off just after 7am for our 11-hour day of hiking. As our guide explained prior to our departure, the climb up to the Salkantay pass (4600 meters) would involve three stages: the first a relatively small incline through light snow, the second being the hardest of the three and involving a rapid change in elevation over a short distance, and the third existing somewhere in between the first two stages in terms of difficulty (though the details of this stage were never really explained or experience). The precipitation had not let up during the night and the rain had only stopped at one stage to allow for some snow. As we began our climb, the cold light rain continued, and we advanced through the rocky/snowy terrain for just under 2 hours in our effort to complete the first stage. After a quick water break and regrouping (well…about half the group had arrived after 15 minutes but not everyone was there), we started on the second stage of climbing. The next three hours proved to be a serious test of will. The wind picked up and became a lot more severe as we rose in elevation. I decided that my iPod and “Training” playlist (which includes a few inspiring Rocky songs) would be the best source of motivation for the climb.  While my jacket boasts of its waterproof layer, the functional issues of a wet iPod became more apparent as I continued the climb, and I am not entirely convinced in the quality of my jacket anymore.  Nevertheless, chocolate bars, peanuts, and dried fruit helped make the climb much more manageable. Low temperatures and feelings of no-end-in-sight had Michael and I pausing at various times to discuss emotional highs and lows of our trip so far. When one paused to stop and look around, the beauty of the landscape was almost overwhelming and one might get lost in such grandeur were it not for the near-frostbitten hands and rapidly changing winds that reminded one of the need to continue climbing, reach the pass, and eventually descend to the other side.  After a little more than 2 hours since the start of stage 2, I caught up with Michael (who had been leading the pack) and Ed, and together we all made our way to the highest point of our journey (we never figured out where stage 2 ended and stage 3 started…). I’d like to say that the view at the top of the pass was magnificent, but strong winds, a large amount of fog, and tiny ice particles kept us from seeing anything but the ground ahead of us.  After only five minutes at the top, we began our descent.  We all knew that lunch was waiting at the bottom so we chose not to hesitate during this part of the journey. On the other side of the mountain, we not only found a warm meal but also a brilliant and shining sun in the sky along with a surprising lack of any serious amount of precipitation. A nice hot meal of soup and pasta after roughly 6 hours of climbing was exactly what everyone needed to recover from physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. Though it would be another three hours before we arrived at our campsite for the evening, the rest of the day was spent walking downhill and pausing for great views of the waterfalls and rivers along the path. Entering the grounds of our campsite in the early evening, we all commented on the fact that many wouldn’t believe that we had encountered such a range of weather all within the same day. The beautiful green lawn and fading sunlight stood in stark contrast to the dark and snowy climate from earlier in the day. Nevertheless, we relaxed for a few hours while dinner was prepared and, after another great hot meal, we all retired to the second floor porch, which would serve as our big group bed for the evening. Having dropped to 2900 meters, the night proved to be much warmer and passed quickly with no complications.

 A quick picture near the bottom of the hill. Was much warmer down thereAt the top, we made it and my poncho is being blown away by the intensity of the wind.

Michael and Fay during our descent 

Day 3: The Selva (and its oh-so-wonderful population of insects!)

Did I mention that I hate insects? Well, I guess not all insects, but definitely a large majority of the ones we encountered on the third day. After a quick breakfast, we set out on our trek just after 8am. The sun was shining brightly overhead, and, after about 15-20 minutes of walking, most of the group had stopped to remove all the extra layers of clothing. I continued on my gym shorts and a short-sleeve dry-fit t-shirt. Though I was aware of the impending threat of mosquitoes, my Off bug spray didn’t do much to deter them from biting almost every part of exposed skin on my legs and arms. Having passed over the Salkantay mountain, we were now on our direct route to Machu Picchu, the great lost Incan city. Having completed the second day, spirits were much higher considering that every subsequent day did not involve as many hours of walking and did NOT include the constant presence of rain. In fact, this day only involved walking until roughly 1pm. We paused around 11am and spent almost an hour lounging around in a clear open space. The Germans, all members of the same lacrosse team, had all brought their sticks and decided to toss the ball around for a while and taught a few people how to properly throw and catch a lacrosse ball. After the extended break, we continued our downhill journey along the river banks and through more forest. I did not encounter any wild animals along the trail as much of this very touristy trail was populated with small towns and plenty of places to buy water and snacks. As we neared our final destination of the day, we encountered a riverbank full of millions of sandflies that opted to follow us for the next thirty minutes until we arrived in a small town, destined to be our site of an extended lunch. After frustrating attempts to swat the bugs and run away from them, I gave up and just decided that getting bitten was inevitable. Following lunch, we boarded two buses for a short (or well, relatively) one-hour trip to the campsite.  Less than 20 minutes after departure, we had the inconvenient experience of a flat tire, but our guide and cook were able to fix the problem in under 15 minutes, and we arrived at camp only shortly after the others. Since it was only the early afternoon, the entire group opted to grab a bus to the hot springs located only 20 minutes away.  Though it proved to be an extremely touristy place, the natural hot springs was a much needed point of relaxation after three days of hiking. Everyone had a few beers, and we returned to the campsite for an extended 3 hour dinner (only made complete by the presence of the owner’s pet monkey who kept jumping across the table from person to person). For Michael and I, the biggest concern of the evening was figuring out how to get inside our tent without attracting all the bugs in via the use of light.  Though we felt relatively safe when falling asleep (since we couldn’t see any bugs), the morning light brought evidence of the ridiculous number of bites we had each received during the night. Insects 1. Humans 0.

Departure from Campsite #2             Break in the field

      

  

Day 4: Are We There Yet?

Well, this day proved to be more of a mental challenge than anything else. We knew that the day’s end involved a hot shower in one of the hostels of Aguas Calientes, the town located at the bottom of Machu Picchu, but getting to this final destination involved a 3+ hour walk along a not-so-spectacular road to the hydroelectric plant as well as another 3+ hour walk along the train tracks that would take us from one side of the Machu Picchu mountain to the other (where we would find Aguas Calientes and where we would begin our cimb the following morning). At this point, my iPod was finally dry from its rain exposure on the second day and, to my surprise, still had enough battery left to get me through the second half of the day’s journey. Various intervals of rain and a general lack of motivation left me with little energy to stop and take pictures along the way. The day seemed to drag out longer than all the others despite the fact that we were not covering an incredible amount of distance. At this point, my mental stamina was drained, and I was quite ready to jump on the next train riding into town. That said, a few chocolate bars and Keane/The Fray/Red Hot Chili Peppers proved capable of helping me advance to my final destination. We all arrived in Aguas Calientes in the late afternoon, and we were quite overjoyed to find some wonderful accommodations waiting for us (a clean and comfortable bed and hot shower). After our final group meal at a local restaurant, we retired to our respective rooms around 8pm since the next day involved a wake-up call at 3am.

On our way to HydroElectric Plant      Train tracks to Aguas Calientes

          

Water Break.
Almost to Aguas Calientes













Day 5: The Magnificent Machu Picchu

Another traveler I met said to me that if a picture of Machu Picchu might conjure up a 1000 words, then being there would surely provide one with more than a million descriptions. I would imagine that it might be most appropriate to spend a significant amount of time describing all the sites and sounds of Machu Picchu, but I think that, at least for me, the place carries with it this history of feeling. Having trekked for 4 days, gotten up at 3:30am, ran up a hill for the best part of an hour to get in line, and waited along with hundreds of others to enter, just the feeling of being inside the city proves to be difficult for me to describe in words. For me, the day included a 2.5 hour tour (I opted for explanation in Spanish from our guide Cesar since he had a closer family connection to Incan/Quechuan history than the random English speaking guide that was chosen to lead the non-Spanish speakers) of part of the city, a group climb up to the top of Waynapichu (a mountain that overlooks the city itself and is relatively popular due to its limited admission of 400 people a day), and a solo journey (only because I lost the rest of the group on my descent from Waynapichu) up to the top of Machu Picchu mountain (farther away but higher up than Waynapichu). The solo climb during midday (between 12:30pm and 2pm) of Machu Picchu was indeed the most challenging of the entire 5-day trek. It was the last climb on the adventure, and the climb is less technically challenging than Waynapichu but more physically demanding as it requires longer to get to the top.  Nevertheless, the arrival at the top of Machu Picchu mountain was personally moving. Unlike Waynapichu, Machu Picchu is not frequently visited, and only 3 people were sitting at the top viewpoint looking down on Machu Picchu city. After 10 minutes, I found myself up there alone. As I scanned the horizon all around me, I was surrounded by the most marvelous view of the Andes as they were: snow capped mountains, rustic river valleys, green luscious forest, and cloudy blue skies. My ten minutes alone on the top of this mountain were transcendental. Every step along the 80km trek came to have so much more meaning when I finally arrived and stopped to reflect from this point. It was an experience I hope to never forget.

After running up the hill to the entrance at 4:45am

Daylight now. Preparing for our tour.

Clouds and Mountains!

Overlooking part of Machu Picchu City

City, Mountain, Skyline

Top of WaynaPicchu!

The wonderful treat after the solo climb up Machu Picchu Mountain

Was too dark to see this sign when I ran up in the morning

Goodbye Arequipa, Hello Bolivia

Wow. The past week has really been an adventure. Finishing up my time in Arequipa and then trekking out to Bolivia for a week has been quite an adventure. My last two days in Arequipa consisted of many sad goodbyes to my amazing students as well as my wonderful fellow volunteers and staff members. I spend the day gathering a few last minute things (candy, scarf, hat, etc.) and decided to stop by the office. Turns out that a fair number of people were in to heading over the San Camilo market to try some frog juice (Li had tried some and wasn’t about to recommend it as a go-to option but I thought I’d give it a try).  Turns out that 10 Soles buys one not only the juice but the entire show of preparation. This involves showing us a live frog, showing us the best way to kill it (by smacking it against the ground) and then skinning it and boiling it. After all this, it is thrown in a blender along with some yellowish (cornmeal-esque) stuff and served warm. Kind of tasted like warm rotten banana juice and I imagine might be better served cold. Nevertheless, our group was determined to finish it all since Li’s group had failed to do so (yea…we have a competitive spirit…so what). We documented our success, and I marked frog juice (jugo de rana) off my list of things to do. The rest of the day was spent packing and getting ready to catch my bus (had to be at the bus station around 5am…)

I spent the last night in the volunteer house just chillin with cool folk. Said my goodbyes and caught my taxi in the wee hours of the morning to make it to the bus terminal. Now, there are no direct buses from Arequipa to La Paz, Bolivia. So I was told that I should simply go to Puno (on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca) and I’d be able to do everything from there.  What I was not told was that I’d end up having to get out and push my bus that broke down a few blocks from the station. After receiving poor directions on where exactly the bus terminal was (read ‘terminal’ = just some buses that are in the same area but it isn’t a building or designated area per se…). Grabbed a bus to Desaguadero (vaguely remembered this name from the Lonely Planet guide book but was not at all sure if it was where I was supposed to go). Turned out to be a town on the border between Bolivia and Peru. After a hassle with Peruvian officials (who wanted some airport form that I was not given upon landing…), I crossed over to Bolivia. It wasn’t until I walked into Bolivian immigration that I recalled the tension between the U.S. and Bolivia. This all came front and center when they demanded US$135 for a visa. After a lot of hassle and money exchanging (since I had soles and the closest ATM was in Puno…), I made it through and grabbed a 2-hour taxi ride to La Paz for about $3. Arriving at the Wild Rover (crazy Irish party hostel that my friend Gemma recommened) after about 13 hours of travel was fantastic. The guy at the door answered in English and after a day of arguments and bartering in Spanish, it was nice to just check-in and confirm my reservation all in English. 

La Paz was an interesting and quite unique experience. Though Gemma had originally created this wonderful itinerary, all the issues at the border had me go straight to La Paz and skip Copacabana. Then, upon arrival, I learned from the travel agent that Bolivian farmers had been burning the forest near where my planned amazon jungle trek. Thus, it was then impossible to get a flight to the jungle and the 22-hour bus ride sounded less appealing after she informed me that driving drunk is not uncommon for the local drivers on long distance journeys (not to mention the fact that the amazon city destination is only about 100 or 150 miles away from La Paz but the roads themselves are incredibly dangerous that one is required to go so slowly for 22 hours to get there...) So in the in end, I opted to spend the middle part of the week in Copacabana, a nice small town on the lake front of Titicaca (highest lake in the world). It was a peaceful and calm experience that was much appreciated after spending a few days in the bustling city of La Paz. 

Copacabana from the shoreline

Interesting figure found after crossing the lake (en route to Copcabana)

My view for lunch

My lunch (2 other courses served as well...)

View on way down from top of Isla De Sol

I returned to La Paz on Thursday and spent more time exploring the city (and trying the "World's Hottest Vindaloo" for which I received a free t-shirt since I ate my whole meal (didn't have my camera but pictures were taken by some friends in La Paz and hopefully I'll be able to get them soon. I was in pain given that the dish itself is 40% ground up Bolivian chili peppers).  

I left early Sunday morning and arrived at my present location (Cusco) late Sunday night. The 12-hour international trip back to Peru was a much more enjoyable experience (especially since I didn't have to change buses or pay US$135 to leave Bolivia!). I've met up with my volunteer friends Michael, Gemma, Matt, and Anika here at the Southern Comfort (fresh pancakes w/ chocolate every morning = awesome). More on the Cusco experience to come soon.  I think I'll try and post a lot more pictures with shorter descriptions. Until next time.

Culture Day (Friday Aug 13th) and Arequipa Day (Sunday Aug 15th)

What a weekend.  It passed so quickly that we're already midweek, and I'm just now getting to write about the amazingness that was both Culture Day (at the school) and Arequipa Day (for the whole city).
On Friday the 13th (my students told me that they had heard of the superstition but that belief in such things wasn't widely accepted in many parts of Peru), myself and the other volunteers all prepared meals/desserts/snacks related to our chosen country (though I had thought of representing my motherland the United States, I decided to choose Nigeria and prepare more interesting dishes).  Earlier that morning, I was able to scramble together and make fried platanos (plantains), which I love when they are hot and fresh but I also will eat well after they have gone cold.  Additionally, with the help and expert advice of my homestay sister Cecelia, I was able to throw together a Tres Leches Cake (a traditionally Peruvian cake) that I painted Green-White-Green (the colors of the Nigerian flag).

So it was indeed a fusion of cultures. We decided to save the cake for our final activities on the Cancha (the playground).  We let all the kids in around 3:30pm and our day of culture commenced. Each student went around to different tables and had to fill in worksheets related to that specific country while also listening to the country host talk about different aspects of their nation.  My goal for the day was to stress the fact that Nigeria was one of the many countries located in Africa, which happens to be a continent. Given that the map in our classroom originally did not contain any factual information on Africa (except that the continent's language was English???), I figured that we might be able to remedy this situation by repeatedly stressing Africa's status as a continent made up of many countries and that these countries all have a variety of different languages that, in many cases, are quite far from English (though Nigeria's official language does happen to be English). After about an hour of indoor activities and lots of snacks (I basically ate a fried platano each time one of the kids took one...), we made our way down to the Cancha for organized games and cake.  I opted to cut the cake. Given that there were 40+ kids and not that much cake available, I decided to start with relatively small pieces, so as to make sure all the kids got  some. Turns out that there was plenty left over after this process, but all of this ended up being divided between the 15 or so volunteers and staff. I thoroughly enjoyed the cake (which isn't saying much since I love milk and this cake is literally soaked in three different types of milk).  After the Cancha, we all returned to the classrooms and cleaned up our respective areas. Everyone concluded that the day was a success and that it should definitely be repeated in the future. Some pictures from the day are below.

 

 

Arequipa Day!

What an adventure.  It's really a whole weekend. Activities started on Saturday, August 14th. Myself and the other volunteers met up around 7:30pm at the main plaza (which, of course, is a bad idea on the day before Arequipa Day because the whole center is packed with people and it's incredibly hard to find people in such a mess, but we succeeded).  We attended the most bizarre concert, the setting of which was an old highway blocked off by police.  Large speakers and a medium-sized stage were moved in for the performers.  Nevertheless, the very strange and unusual parts of the show were the audiences reaction to everything happening on stage.  No one looked happy.  No one was dancing. Only a few people could be seen mouthing the words, and, even then, their faces looked expressionless. Myself and the other gringos attempted to liven up the party by dancing awkwardly (which is always fun), and, of course, we drew a fair amount of attention (it also helps that the large majority of Peruvians are short, such that I, at 6 feet exactly, can see well above the heads of everyone in front of me and Matt, the 6' 5'' Australian, receives points and laughter from all the people (kids AND adults) that see him walking around).  We left after a couple of hours and decided to retire in preparation for Arequipa Day.
Sadly, the ongoing festivities throughout the city (we went to one of the at least 4 concerts that night) thwarted our efforts to get a good night's sleep. We all could hear rather loud music blaring till about 6AM (I guess we were lame and went home before the REAL party started).

The whole afternoon affair of parades and dances started at 10am, and we all decided to book a place on the rooftop of a restaurant starting at noon and going till whenever (they told us it ends anytime between 8 and 11pm). After a scramble through the vicious and claustrophobic-inducing crowd at the corner, I slipped into the restaurant. After going upstairs, I discovered that the owner had sold too many tickets and our front row seats and view of the parade were taken. However, the next roof over was relatively empty and only cost 8 soles (under $3) to sit there (he had charge us 21 soles!).
Others got lost in the crowd, and, as I later found out, were stuck for almost an hour at a single corner. I didn't understand how this was possible till Debbie (another volunteer) and I ventured over to her hostel to grab the bottles of wine that all the volunteers has stored there for the night (since the stores were closed on Arequipa Day, we had to buy wine the day before). On the trip over, we were physically forced on top of the much smaller people in front of us and after 5 minutes decided to walk around the the block instead of trying to attempt another passage through a dangerous corner.  On the return trip, I thought that this same corner looked less traveled and that we could make it if we went quickly. Bad decision. Upon arriving at the corner, I discovered that people were only traveling in the opposite direction. All people forcing and pushing me backwards. I attempted to hold ground and on to my bag that contained our wine! Debbie pushed forward and we were all at a stand still. Then, the shouts in Spanish began. People looking at me (remember I'm taller than everyone in this crowd) and yelling random things that I cannot fully understand. I start to sweat and I'm wondering how exactly were going to get out of this. I ask Debbie if she can back up and she tells me that there is now a crowd behind her as well. I'm looking around and quite unsure if we will ever be free. And then...there it is! A small opening arises from a man who disappears and I use my entire body to make it into this gap. I feel my elbow hit some old guy in the face (sorry?) and then I use the momentum to barrel through the next four people and bam. I'm in the open. Free at last (to steal MLK's words). Debbie and I spent a few minutes recovering and recounting the event. Then we rallied and made our way back to the roof.   The rest of the afternoon was a mix of wine, oranges, chips, chifa, and sandwiches. For dinner, we stopped at a fantastic falafel place called Fez on the way home. Though it took a while (and I was already full), it was quite fantastic.  A great end to wonderful day.  Lots of pictures from the rooftop are below.