May 14: Turtles and Manicures

Today started so funny with one of the ladies arriving at Martincitos with a rather large turtle in her hands for the backyard!  This is now their 5th turtle.  He was a fast crawler when the gate was opened and several of the senior ladies pointed at us, particularly Jamie and I to pick the turtle up? We said No Can Do....then one of the ladies in her 80's picked it up like a pillow and put it back in the yard.  Afterwards, Jamie picked the turtle up and put it back numerous times.

The majority of other time was spent doing modified manicures-clipping,filing and polishing nails of the ladies.  And yes we did clip and file some of the men's nails also. Ladies knew what they wanted: colour was very important to them from very light rose to brown. It’s cute to see diversity.  A couple were almost to point of being too picky.
This afternoon we went to Miraflores, a rich neighborough of Lima to see the Pacific ocean. Unfortunately, it was misty and we could not see much. We saw a copy of the Gaudi parc in Barcelona

After lunch we all went to the Inca Market.  A very large market to purchase souvenirs.  Very nice market with lots of good stuff!  I exercised some restrain as I will purchase more over the weekend in Machu Picchu.

Emily and I headed to the laundry and to Starbucks for the free Internet.  It seems a bit more stable than the house with everyone on at the same time!

Then back to the house for dinner - Lentils, guacamole (the best homemade EVER), and fried yuca. YUMMY!

Now we are all settled in over the Internet, Skyping (is that a real word?), reading, or downloading pictures...all of us are multi-tasking!

Tomorrow Dee and I are switching assignments for service.  She will be heading to my class and I will be on her home visits to the abuelos (seniors) who were not at Los Martincitos.  A check-in to see if all is OK.  I have been told everyone here should do at least one home visit if it can be arranged. 

Our meals have been fantastic!  I definitely am not losing any weight in Peru.  For Bkft, we have a roll , with butter and/or jam , a boiled egg, various fruits (mango, tangerines,passion, bananas,) then either fresh squeezed pineapple or papaya juice.  The coffee has been too strong for my taste, but it wakes you up. 
You cant drink the coffee in the bottom in the cup, due to the filters arent real good, so a good amount of grounds are in the bottom. 
For lunch, we usually have white rice, yukon or white or sweet potates, vegetables like tomatoes/onions and usually meat like chicken or beef or beans/lentils in a sauce, then rolls.  They have an amazing ahi pepper sauce that we put on everything.  We drink filtered water every meal, and have fruits for dessert.  Lunch is the main meal around 1:30 each day and Dinner is around 7pm.  Its lighter with soup, stew or stir-fry vegetables with rice.

I am sharing a bunk bed with 3 others: 2 ladies from Lilly, and 1 lady from Canada.  We typcially are in bed by 10 pm b/c we need our rest for energy during the day....particularly the people working with toddlers and kids.  Also we start getting up at 6am  b/c 8 females are sharing one bathroom.  3 are college girls so they want to sleep at late as possible and be out the door at the last minute.  It has only been a challenge one time, which we had to discuss....and been fine ever since.

Thanks so much for all your prayers, love , cards, and support!  I love YOU

Weekend Trip out of Lima

Several of us took a weekend trip to Paracas and Islas Ballestas . It was a 4 hour van ride south of Lima. Needless to say it was fun. The highlight for me was a dune buggy ride through the desert. I'm certain that this was something that would never be offered in the states. At least not without an extraordinary amount of legal waivers and precautions.

We were given some cheap goggles, a big smile and then it was vaya con Dios. I guess I was given special instructions to keep my elbow away from the rear wheel that was spinning awkwardly by my particular seat in the buggy. I also noted that some bailing wire was wound around the CV joint. It was a nice touch and something I tried not to dwell on. The ride was more fun than any roller coaster in the states.

Towards the end of the ride we did a little sand boarding which is basically like sled riding. Just swap out the hill and snow for a sand dune and you get the idea. Trekking back UP the sand dune was a little harder than snow.

The drive down and back was really depressing. I quickly realized the scope of the "problem" in Peru. Hundreds upon hundreds of shacks made of woven mats from plants line the pan American highway. These are the shelters of the people that work this mainly agricultural area of Peru. There are also 100's of industrial size chicken coops that line the coastline. I'm guessing that the coastline is the best place because the ocean catches the runoff (for better or worse).  So, the Peruvians living in mat "shacks" don't even get to live on the side of the highway with the ocean view!  Sometimes you just can't win.

We all returned safely and were eager to start our second week of placements.

I guess I should add that another highlight to the trip was the hotel. We stayed one night in a double tree. I took a hot shower!!  Reading this back home you probably don't think thats a big deal but after a week at the CCS house in Lima it was pure heaven!!  We had a TV. It was in Spanish but we watched it for a while. The titles were great.  Los Simpsons was on TV. That's reassuring that its made it to Peru....We had a great dinner with fresh mozzarella, and tomatoes.  Also had to sample a Peruvian Cabernet wine---it was delicious.  The breakfast was great on Sunday morning.

Hopefully I will be able to show you some of the pictures from Dee's camera that showed the best color variation of the rocks, the penquins and sea lions....which she did a better job of zooming in and you could almost touch them from our boat ride to Ballestas Islands.

There are also a few other "quirks" in the plumbing at CCS that didn't apply at the double tree. Current and previous volunteers probably know what I'm talking about. I'll spare the casual reader the details.

May 11 Dia 5 in Peru

We had a busy day at Los Martincitos, the Senior Center today. First with helping serve breakfast. Then with bagging 30 bags of 2 kilos of rice that were used for give-aways to the women for Mother's Day. All the women were given artificial rose corsages. Also the Lions Club of Peru came and brought all the ladies a towel and bar of soap. We take for granted the basic essentials! There was bible reading and motivational time by Tony, the director and Nelly. Because it was all in Spanish, and my translator was absent today, I could only pick up bits and pieces. The gist was regarding the significance of women in our lives and the important roles they play in our lives! The staff also had drawings for door prizes. For example: dish detergent, cleaning supplies, juice, tissues, etc! All needed supplies and no frills like a manicure, or candy like we might use for door prizes in USA. In between the door prize drawings were 2 songs for dancing. One of the ladies was in a wheelchair named Isabel. She waved to one of my peers Jim that she wanted to dance. Reluctantly, he helped her out of wheelchair and slowly shuffled to dance floor, and then music stopped. It was time for another game. So Isabel sat back in wheelchair until the next dance 30 min later. In the meantime, I sliced tomatoes and red peppers in the kitchen for lunch. They had a good meal today with chicken, rice/vegetables with pesto and tomatoes/onions. I know some of you are thinking yuck, it doesn't sound good! We did more dancing, door prizes before serving lunch. The afternoon was light. Most of us are resting tonight for our sight Seeing this weekend. More to come....

Peru Adventures

Day 1 of Placement: 5/7/12

Los Martincitos-Villa El Savador

The senior citizens are so welcoming and full of hugs and kisses!  Judy from Canada and I chopped veggies in the kitchen with Elena, Alberto, and Jessica.  Noella is from Holland and she met her boyfriend on line.  She moved to Peru, 5 wks ago and is renting a room from a family in Villa El Savador.  Her boyfriend is an artist.

When we arrived at senior center first person I spotted was Antonio, who Re’Nita from Indy mentioned from volunteering here last year.  Catherine, Judy, Jim, Jamie and I are there.  We also chopped carrots, radishes, celery, squash, parsley, leeks and another root to put in the chicken soup.  The knives are the best they have….but dull for chopping.  Also Judy and I peeled potatoes with make do peelers.  In addition , for lunch was hominy, with a sweet potato slice on top.  The seniors are very happy to have any attention. 

Jim and Jamie led a coin toss-type game which would be similar to corn-hole in America.  After the game, they turned up the Latin music and we started dancing.  Some of the ladies are good dancers and are limber.  All but 1 of the men would point to their knee or hip and shake their head No, can’t dance when I pointed to them…Story of my life.

Serg, the volunteer who lives in Florida, but has been coming to Lima for the last 6 years during hurricane season, saw Judy and I dancing.  He volunteered us to lead the dance and exercise activity on Wed.  They want us to lead the hokie pokie, and maybe the macharina dance.  I would like to use some of my easy zumba moves I have learned, but may be too much.

Day 2 of Placement:  5/8/12

Today the 5 of us did home visits.  Only 5 of the places we went were home.  Juan Manuel from CCS drove us, along with Tony the Los Martincitos director, and Serg.  Tony actually selects seniors to visit that have not been seen at the program in awhile (months) to check on them.  We didn’t take any food or medicines like I thought we might.  We listened as Tony asked their overall health, food, living condition/situation, etc.  Two of the seniors plan to see the nurse or social worker very soon at Los Martincitos.  One of the men, showed us his X-ray, which clearly showed a hip fracture.  One doctor said he should have surgery, and the other one said he wasn’t a candidate due to his age. 

The houses are made with brick/mortar, block or cement.  They have a tin or steel roof, which keeps their homes cooler.  Many do not have electricity or running wáter.  Many cannot afford a refrig.  The gov has agua portable tanks on the backs of trucks that go into the poorer areas 2-3x/week…..but you still have to pay to receive the wáter.  The same is true for propane gas tanks.  Some will send a kid or teen to climb the utility lines to connect to the electricity to use it for free, until someone comes and removes.

This afternoon we had Spanish lessons.  I was in the beginner group with 4 others….b/c I have forgotten what I learned in the past.  Will see how much we can remember when we get back to our placement on Wed. 

The food has been really good at the house.  Breakfast is typcially boiled eggs, rolls, cheese and fruit.  The fresh fruit is amazing:  mango, oranges, pears, apples, bananas.  Coffee and fresh papaya juice are available.  Lunch is the main meal of the day.  Some of the favs are cucumber, avocado salad with oil.  Also the beef/squash/potatoes served over White rice.  Today we had a really good pasta with red sauce and meatballs.  I do not think I will be losing any weight while here, because the menú consists of potatoes, hominy, rice and breads ( often at least 3 starches) at the same meal.  Aunt Della would not approve.

Day 3: Guinea Pig is a national popular dish in Peru:

It has been discussed 3+ times since in Peru that the guinea pig is the national animal in Peru and popular at many nice restaurants, and our of the staff pointed out that it has No Cholesterol! LOL.

I led the Hokie Pokie for exercise class this morning, which was a hoot.  After they had breakfast, we walked the seniors in a line today, holding hands, and arms, approx ½ mile to the Municipal building.  What troopers they are…..walking  across 2 streets, with motor taxis honking for us to move, and down a sandy, rocky road.  So much for respect for the elderly…. They are pushed by the Martincitos staff for physical and emotional needs.  At the municipal building, they watched a 1 hr movie on the history of Villa El Salvador and the controversary that was going on in the 80’s-90’s.  The problem was it was narrated in Spanish of course, so it was hard to understand. 

We had a really good lesson on Villa El Salvador from Tony, the director at Los Martincitos after lunch. Its interesting how their development began.  THen we went to the National Museum, which was interesting to see the pottery, gold and silver ítems from Inca and Nasca lines.  The 6th floor is dedicated for all the happenings in Peru from 1982-2000. Many humbling and troubling pictures and narratives are displayed…due to all the trajedies that were on going with the Shining PAth and the Republic Army.  It was almost hard to decipher who where the bad guys being as so many shootings/killings were on-going.  I could have spent another hour reading all the captions.

We are all enjoying emersing in not only the Peruvian cultura, but in learning the many talents of our Lilly colleagues and the other volunteers that are here.

Day 4:  Finally A connection to the Internet!

Hola, several of us walked to Starbucks to connect to the internet.  Connectivity has been very spotty or non-existent at the team house the last few days. 

Its been awesome to read the postings of my peers!  Even though we are in the same house, we learn more of other’s experiences by reading their blogs.

Our team assisted in unpacking donated toiletries, clothes, shoes, etc at Los Martincitos today.  The staff particularly appreciated the strength and height of Jamie and Jim to organize the labeled boxes that we re-packaged on the top shelves in the storage room.  Catherine and Serg assisted with the Spanish translation of ítems, which was a great way to expand our Spanish words.  I’m one of the weaker Spanish speaking folks on our team…..but my peers, the staff and our Spanish lessons are helping to improve!

Buenos Dias. Have been trying to post for 3 days but unable due to connectivity issues. I'm journaling and will post When obtain Internet. We are very blessed to be here. Any act of kindness, smiles or hugs is appreciated. We have 10 from our Lilly group plus 9 others from various places volunteering. One young lady is a senior at UNC majoring in Spanish and here for 4 weeks teaching English to 4-5 yr olds! If only I would have learned Spanish at 5 yrs old, I might could speak it now. Have a blessed day and know that we are safe, eating well, sleeping and emmersing in the Peruvian culture. FYI, one of the gals from France cooked a homemade pear torte last night. Catherine rolled out the pastry for 7 tortes! It was delicious, even though she wasn't pleased because she had to use margarine and she uses butter at home. Love you bunches! Thanks for your support and prayers!

What a great 1st day

What a great 1st day in Lima. One of the volunteers that has been here a month took some of us out this morning to Tour the local area of San Borjas. We found the local equivalent of super Target called Wong. Had the best key lime helido(which is like gelato). Orphe our cook today is a very sweet Peruvian lady who speaks no English. Bkft we had an assortment of rolls, boiled eggs, papaya juice. Theres a basket of assorted fruits(mango,bananas,tangerines,pears, passion fruit). Yes we are washing with fresh water and peeling. For lunch we had a fresh spinach, avocado,and cucumber salad and stuffed red peppers and rice. The main meal is at 2pm and had leftovers for dinner. 11 of us walked 2 miles each way to the upscale Jockey Plaza mall today with all the name brand stores. And yes it's next door to Jockey racetrack where they were getting ready for a horse race. Very excited to start our placement tomorrow.

My Placement in Lima Peru with Cross Cultural Solutions May 6-19

2012-05-02

“Los Martincitos” is a community-based initiative sponsored by the Catholic Church in Villa El Salvador. Three times a week, approximately 130 poor senior citizens receive basic services (two hot meals a day; recreational activities; a literacy program; arts and crafts classes; basic health care and counselling).  The participants of this program face different challenges: neglect on the part of their families, physical abuse, poor health and nutrition levels, inability to adapt to a new urban environment, and social rejection for racial and age reasons.  They wait for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to come together and share their meals, sing and pray, play games and have fun.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the staff members pay follow-up visits to the homes of the elderly.

Duties: Volunteers participate in and develop recreational and other activities for the senior citizens, including the visits at their homes.  Activities for the regular program days may include helping the staff serve breakfast and lunch to the seniors, leading a short exercise session, playing games or sports with them, polishing the ladies’ nails and shining the males' shoes, teaching them some crafts activity or sometimes just sitting down and listening to them. While some of these activities may seem trite, the men and women attending the program do appreciate the volunteers’ company and attention.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays volunteers will go with one of the program’s staff members on home visits.

I’m elated to be working with senior citizens because you know how passionate I am about their care.  Thanks for your prayers and support as we assist in the needs of the Peruvian people as led.