Aventuras en la Amazon

This is the Amazon River

We said goodbye to our Cajamarcan home April 12.  Our bus driver was CRAZY!  We were sitting on the top floor at the very front so we got a great view of him passing all the other cars and almost going off the road, it was certainly a roller coaster.  Because of his craziness we got to Lima an hour early.  We stayed then night of the 12th with the wonderful Zara who took us to the Lima airport the morning of the 14th where we caught our flight to Iquitos- aka the Amazon Jungle.  

Relation status being painted on Cynthia's face (single)

We got picked up at the airport and took a boat to our lodge.  It was a beautiful 45 minute boat ride on the Amazon River. It was pretty hot our first day.  There were also about a billion mosquitoes-- we used 98% deet.  So the lodge we were staying in was pretty cool.  There's no electricity, so we used Kerosene lamps for light at night.  One of the walls in our room and the ceiling was just made out of netting, which was kinda cool too.  That day we also went to visit some places to show us "how Amazonian life is."  We got to try our hand at the blowgun and get our faces painted with our "relationship status."  We also got some sugar cane juice, which is delicious.

Me in knee high mud water

Beautiful jungle flowers

The next morning it was really rainy and actually a little chilly.  First thing we went dolphin watching and I got to see two pink dolphins!  Sadly my timing was bad, so I only saw their backs and not their heads, but it was still awesome!  Next we went to the primary forest where the vegetation was a lot thicker and there were way more mosquitoes.  We went wading through a flooded area to see a huge tree and we got to swing on vines like Tarzan.  We were wearing gum boots, but the water was a lot higher, so we just ended up with boots full of water.  On the way out I was trying to get mosquitoes out of my face by shaking my head.  And my glasses went into the river.  Luckily we were close to the shore and our two guides hopped in the brown water to look for them.  After a few stressful minutes they actually found them.  Which was a miracle because my glasses are about the same color as the river!  The afternoon was beautiful and we saw some cool wildlife.  We also went on a night walk where we saw lots of cool bugs and got to hear the cool sounds of the jungle at night.

Cynthia loved playing with the monkeys

The last day in the Amazon we went to a wildlife reserve.  When I read that I thought we would go look at things in cages.  But no, the animals were just roaming in this one open area.  The monkeys literally walked onto our boat when we got there.  They run and jump on you, so I ended up screaming quite a bit when they came to visit me.....  We also held a sloth and an anaconda.  I refused to hold the head of the anaconda though.   It peed on my jacket while I was holding it...

After the wildlife reserve we went home and packed our bags for our Cuzco Adventure!

Tiempo para Escuela!

Playing memory games with the 3rd graders

As the school year begins to wrap up back home, classes here are just getting started. And guess who goes to school every morning at 8am with the rest of the kids? That's right, us! But not to learn our times tables or practice spelling (even though I could probably work on both), nope, we are the four newest teachers at the Pulyucana Primaria, or elementary school. We work with the kids every morning for 2 hours and we take turns teaching English and Computer skills to each grade.

So many kids, so few computers...

Each class is different and sometimes we are able to teach numbers, colors, and greetings in one class period. Other times (like when there are 44 first graders in one class), we don't quite cover as much material. One teacher asked me and Liz to sing a song to the class in English. We had not exactly put that in our lesson plan, but they got a kick out of us singing "Good Mornin'", from "Singin in the Rain". As for computer classes, it was a little challenging deciding how to structure a class that included 30 students but only 3 computers... With a lot of sharing, a little extra time and a pinch of patience; we have managed just fine. It is interesting to discover that there are still some kids in the world who don't know how to play computer games, or use a mouse for that matter.

Look at me writing on the chalkboard like a teacher!

Liz helping kids with their questions

It has been very interesting to learn more about the school system here and we understand a little more about how classes and homework works here. In many ways the school here is like those back home; there are lots of energetic kids, classrooms with cute little pictures and chalkboards or whiteboards on the wall. In some ways it is a little different... Remember that cute little nursery rhyme about the lamb following Mary to school? Well here it actually happens, except with dogs. One day there were 2 or 3 dogs just running around the school, and classes carried on as normal. It is also very different to be the person at the front of the classroom, and I now have sympathy for all of my old elementary school teachers. I find myself thinking things I am sure every teacher has thought, like, "This seemed like a much better idea when I planned it..." or "Is anyone even listening?". I think I got a glimpse into the life of a teacher. Some days it is hard, really hard. Sometimes you feel like there is no way anyone is learning anything you are trying to teach. But once in a while, the entire class can answer your question, or you see a child all of a sudden understand what you have been explaining, or the entire 4th grade class will take turns giving you hugs when you have to leave. And that is why you are a teacher, because you want these kids to become all that they can be.

Erin teaching a group how a mouse works

Special thanks to elementary school teachers every where, and especially my wonderful roommate; who taught me what it means to be passionate about teaching.

Trujillo!

Us at the Moche temple- Huaca del Luna

We only have eight days left with our kids!  I can’t believe time has gone by so quickly.  It seems like just the other day I told one of the kids I had a “primo” (cousin) for them instead of a “premio” (prize).  Oh wait, that was Tuesday.  As the end to our time here is getting closer we’ve been fitting in tons of stuff we have been wanting to do.  This past weekend we took a trip to visit other Eagle Condor interns in Trujillo!

We took a bus out late Wednesday night and arrived early Thursday (my birthday!) morning in Turjillo. We got to the bus station at about 5:00am.  When it was 7:30 and the other interns still hadn’t shown up to pick us up we decided to ask around.  It turns out there were three bus stations in Trujillo for the same company- oops!  To make a long story short they showed up to pick us up at about 8:00.  Their alarm hadn’t gone off and they had visited the other bus stations first. 

Me dancing at the birthday party!

After the rough start we had an awesome time!  Thursday we visited the aldea (orphanage) in Trujillo where the other interns work.  It was a wonderful experience to meet the kids there.  The aldea is divided into different houses with two tias who work in each house.  It is a nice set up because it gives the kids an opportunity to have familial-like relationships.  In just a day and a half we fell in love with the kids there!   We played futbal, drew pictures, and of course ate delicious food with them.  The girls were nice enough to make banana crepes for my birthday- they were delicious!

HUGE delicious birthday cake

Friday morning we went shoe shopping.  Trujillo is known throughout Peru for being the place to buy shoes.  Luckily we both made it out after only buying one pair of shoes each, something I consider a major accomplishment.  That afternoon we returned to the Aldea for a fiesta for Blanca, the director of the Aldea.  That night we went to stay with the Castillos, who host the interns there every weekend.  Sister Castillo made me a HUGE tres leches cake with whipped cream and manjar blanco frosting.  Because it was my birthday my piece was at least twice the size of everyone else’s.

So cute- us that is

Cynthia and Carrie after surfing

Saturday morning we went to Huaca De La Luna y Sol.  They are pre-Incan ruins from the Moche people.  It was especially cool because there is tons of brightly colored paint inside that is original to the temple!  After our tour of the temple we went to the Huanchaco Beach!  We had fun eating, shopping, and surfing (ok, only Cynthia went surfing…).  Saturday night we went to Karaoke night with the single adults in the ward and then to the “grown-up” fiesta for the aldea director.  Apparently white people dance really funny or something because they made all of the gringos (10 in total) get up and dance while everyone else just watched. 

Most beautiful part of Peru (Cajamarca)

Sunday morning we got up bright and early to take our bus back to Cajamarca.  As we drove in to Cajamarca I couldn’t help thinking “We definitely live in the prettiest part of Peru!” 

La Ciudad de Amistad

     Warm air, busy streets and sandy beaches. I don't think we're in Cajamarca anymore Toto. It's because we were in Chiclayo this weekend! We took a rather impromptu trip to the coast for a few days and had a glorious time.
After sitting in the bus station playing cards for 2 hours we took an overnight bus to Chiclayo and arrived early in the morning. Some people slept just fine, but some of us were up for pretty much all 6 hours and got to watch some Harrison Ford movie translated into Spanish. We were picked up at the bus station by Victor Sanchez and his son. We stayed the weekend with this wonderful family and are so grateful that Liz had these friends. After resting up a bit and downing an entire pitcher of mango juice we headed to the beach.
 The city itself is pretty humid and hot but the beach was windy enough to make it the perfect temperature. We played in the water, ran on the shore, read books, attempted body surfing (and failed) and did not wear enough sun screen. Me and Erin got burned to a crisp. The big joke became that "Yo soy de Colorado y yo estoy colorado". Ok, so it's not really that funny, but the Peruvians thought it was hilarious... Our sunburns kind of incapacitated us and Erin sort of waddled for the rest of the weekend, but we still had fun. One of the highlights of the trip was eating the incredibly delicious food of Hermana Lupe. Bread, fruit, ahi de gallina, lomo saltado (for breakfast!) and some super awesome chicken wings made us all very full and very happy.

We came the weekend of the Stake futbol championship and we got to watch the wards battle it out on the concrete soccer field. These teams were super legit too, each ward had their own soccer jerseys with the ward name on it and a nice percentage of the ward showed up to watch. For some reason the game only lasted 30 or so minutes,  but it was fun all the same.






I also had the opportunity to meet another wonderful family in Chiclayo. I was put in contact with the Ramirez family by a friend who had baptized them several years ago. The oldest son has served a mission and the father is now a bishop. It was great to get to know them a little better and when they found out that I had never tried cuy they insisted on making it for me the next day. For those of you who don't know what cuy is, its guinea pig, and a pretty big deal here in Peru. So the Ramirez family cooked me my first cuy and afterwards I taught them how to make snowflakes out of paper.

 Chiclayo is known as "La Ciudad de Amistad" or "The City of Frienship" and we can't tell you how true this is. We are so grateful for our new friends in Chiclayo and that they could make our stay so wonderful.

Amigas!

Us on the roof being super awesome

This last weekend we had some other interns from Southern Cross visit us in Cajamarca.  They volunteer their time at an orphanage in Trujillo, which is about six hours away by bus.  Sadly we didn’t have kids this week, so they didn’t get to meet the kids we have fallen in love with, but we had a blast showing them around Cajamarca!  They arrived at the bus station in Cajamarca at 4:30am.  Jake went to pick them up while we prepared for their arrival.  We were all too excited to go back to sleep when they came so we made cinnamon rolls.  That morning we took them down to Baños and then in the afternoon we headed down to Cajamarca.  

Sitting in some Incan seats

We walked up the steps of Santa Apolonia to the seat of Atahualpa (the last Incan king).  The seat itself isn’t terribly exciting, but the view of the city from the top is spectacular and there are some pretty gardens. 

Next we took them shopping.  Unfortunately for our wallets, we have become master shoppers in Cajamarca and go way too often!  We had thought we would feel better about our spending habits with the Trujillo girls here because they told us they hadn’t had a chance to do much shopping.  Sadly, I’m pretty sure we still managed to out spend them.  Downside: our bank statements are not nearly as pretty as they were before we left.  Upside: We will have tons of super awesome stuff from Peru!

Erin, Katie and Liz eating delicious burgers

Anyway, after an afternoon of shopping we took them to our favorite hamburger stand.  The burgers are super cheap, but super delicious.  They don’t use as much meat as traditional hamburgers from the States, but they put mini french fries, onions, and tomatoes inside.  Then they have tons of sauces- ketchup, mustard, mayo, aji, and olive sauce.   All together it is a winning combination! We came home, made pizza, and then had girls’ night with homemade facials.  Oh, and Cynthia gave Julia a matching dread. 

Liz, Carrie, Katie and Natalie all wet from the waterfall

Julia and Cynthia sitting by some cool rocks near the caves

The next morning we got up to go on a really awesome hike to some waterfalls that are close by.  The area was beautiful and we took tons of pictures.  Some of the girls got soaking wet walking under the waterfalls (Cynthia and I both passed since it was a rather chilly day…).  After we went to the waterfalls we also walked to some caves down the road.  Summary: Our Peruvian backyard is awesome.  We finished the afternoon with more shopping and more hamburgers in Cajamarca.  Side note: If I thought four white people wandering around together attracted attention, I should have waited until there were eight of us.  We’ve decided that the rule must be it’s not rude to stare as long as you say “Buenas tardes” afterwards. 

Our shopping addiction

Sunday we took the girls to church with us AND Cynthia taught the Gospel Doctrine lesson- in Spanish!  It was an awesome lesson and we made banana snack cake for the class, which they loved.  We came home, made delicious food, and played tons of fun games.  We had a blast with the girls and we are excited that we get to go visit them in two weeks!

Nuestro Niños

We have some of the most awesome and hilarious kids here at El Bichito and we wanted to tell you a little more about some of them! We love these kids so much and hope you can see why.  

This is Junior. I wish I could explain Junior and how hilarious he is but there are really no words to do him justice. He is 7 years old, smiles big and likes to be in charge. He loves to be the center of attention and as soon as a camera is pulled out, he is front and center. He is a math flashcard wiz and can be pretty competitive. Junior makes me laugh every day and how can you not smile when you see how excited he is about life?

These happy kids are all siblings; Aurora, Gwilso and Hector. They are all a little small for their age but they hold their own here at El Bichito. Gwilso is the youngest and doesn't talk much, but loves to be tickled (hence the smile in this photo). Aurora likes to play games with the interns and Hector likes to sneak under the table and surprise you. Because their father and older siblings work all day, Aurora and Hector are left at home a lot, sometimes in charge of Gwilso. Despite a tough life, these kids are eager to have fun. 

 This is Aurora again (on the left) with some of her friends, Flor Margarita and Flor's younger sister Estela. Flor is a little introverted at first but when I asked if she wanted to learn some English, she smiled very big and nodded. She is very motivated to learn and picks up on things quickly.

Milagros means "miracle" and this is my Milagros We have had the unique opportunity to visit Milagros and her family in their home. She has so little but she is still so happy all the time and generous with what she has. This girl has the sweetest smile and the most hilarious laugh. She loves to give hugs and kisses and she brightens my day when she walks in the room. 

One of the things I love about El Bichito is all the families that come, brothers and sisters who watch out for each other. This is Lazaro and he is the man! He comes with his 2 older sisters, older brother and 2 younger sisters. This family is one of those that really needs the help offered here at El Bichito. Lazaro has a bright smile and loves to do things with his brother Israel. 

And these are his two adorable little sisters; Magali and Madai. They can be pretty shy but if you engage them in an activity they are happy to play. We had a field day this past week and played a hopping tag game. One of my new favorite memories is seeing Madai, wearing all pink, trying so hard to hop up and down. She is now "my little pink jumping bean". 

And here we have Rodrigo. Sometimes a trouble maker, but always a happy kid. He enjoys math flashcards (probably because he always wins) and likes to tease us interns.  

And this is the new love of my life, Alesandro. As you can see in one of the pictures, this kid is crazy. He has seemingly endless supplies of energy and is a total goofball some days. He likes to act like a monkey and jump from table to table or swing on your legs. He makes up his own language (as if Spanish wasn't hard enough) and makes silly faces all day. Alesandro also has a very gentle and sweet side. Some days all he wants to do is curl up in your lap and read a book, and how can you say no to a face like that?                                                              

These children have become so important to both of us. They teach us so much about friendship, family, sacrifice and love. All of the children here at El Bichito come here because their families struggle economically and this is a place for them to eat a good meal once a day. These kids benefit greatly from both the food and the opportunity to work one on one with interns who take an interest in their academic and emotional life.


We wanted to let you know of an opportunity that you could help some of our kids. We work for an organization called Southern Cross/ Eagle Condor and they set up the funds that keep this center running. These funds come from one time donations and child sponsorships. These donations can be made for a specific child or center and 100% of the money will go to supporting that child. These donations, no matter how small, are so important to the success of our center here and other locations in Peru and South America. If you would like more information about a one time donation or setting up a child sponsorship please click here, comment, or email us with your questions. Thank you so much for your support thus far and we are excited to keep sharing our adventures!

Me encanta Peru!

Our adventures at Cumbe Mayo

Us loving Peru




Chillin in the back of the dirt truck- so legit
So on Saturday neither of us could stop saying “I LOVE Peru!”  It was a perfect Peruvian day!  We started out in the perfect, clear, sunny weather (a blessing since it can decide to pour rain at any minute without warning).  We took a bus to Cajamarca where we began hiking straight up the mountain. 

About 45 minutes in (I was already tired), sad I know, but it was steep!) we got a truck hauling dirt to stop and give us a ride.  We rode up the mountain in the back of the truck- yeah we’re that legit.  It was perfect because we had a view of the gorgeous mountains and Cajamarca below.  Feeling the breeze and having an unobstructed view was worth the bumpy ride (I’m pretty sure I still have a couple bruises).  We decided this was a true South American, once-in-a-lifetime experience.  I can’t begin to tell you how perfectly happy we were in the pile of dirt in the back of that truck. 

Some of the beautiful views of Cumbe Mayo

We got dropped off at the road leading up to Cumbe Mayo and paid the nice truck driver a sol (about 35 cents) each for the half hour drive.  We finished walking the rest of the way up to Cumbe where we got to hike around and see all sorts of cool rock formations and aqueducts.  It was so awesome!  We got to climb around a little on the rocks and look at cool petroglyphs!  The aqueducts were personally my favorite part (I know that sounds a little nerdy, but trust me, they were awesome).  They were pre-Incan, so over 2000 years old.  I have no idea how they made them so straight and smooth and made them run at perfectly right angles. 

At any rate, we saw the cool stuff and then we were considering taking one of the tour buses back down the mountain.  Until we found out it cost 10 soles (about $3.50), so we decided to walk home.  I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony that we, the supposedly rich Americans, were too cheap to pay $3.50, but all the Peruvians had paid more for the ride up and a complete tour.  So we started walking down the road hoping that there would be another truck hauling dirt.  Luckily one of the tour buses we decided was too expensive was full of a group of people who decided to convince their bus driver to give us a ride for free when they saw us walking!  They were nice and we told them Cynthia is Shakira's sister (a favorite prank of ours).  I hope they didn’t actually believe us, but I don’t really know. 

They dropped us off in Cajamarca and we took another bus to Baños where we had lunch/dinner.  The restaurant was a little sketchy, but we are glad to report no one got sick! We got soup (which we didn’t eat), lemonade (which we also didn’t drink) and Saltado de Carne (steak and fried vegetables, which we did eat!).  All of that for only 4 soles! (about $1.25)  We of course chased it down with dessert from a delicious dessert shop down the road.  I got Maracuya Mousse and Cynthia had Crocan de Chocolate.  Of course that didn’t stop us from making oatmeal cake that night.  At any rate, it was an awesome day.  And I love Peru!

Que Rico! - Cynthia

You are walking down the street and then you smell something warm and inviting. Your feet begin to involuntarily walk into the panaderia off to your right. But once you are inside, it is not just the pan that smells amazing, it is the empenadas and tortas. And then you see some delicate pastry thing stuffed with manjar blanco (peruvian caramel at it's best). And before you know it, you have bought it and there is powdered sugar on your nose and on your cheek. And you sigh happily. And this is why we are all going to come back fat.
Here are just a few thing of the things that we have enjoyed eating.

Jake and Erin learning how to eat Maracuya. The next week I discovered Maracuya cheesecake... and two days later I just had to try the Maracuya mousse...



And here are the mangos that we turned into mango cake which Jake thoroughly enjoyed. 

This is a fruit called "Tuna" it is found on cactus and is quite tasty and fresh. The first couple weeks we were here we did not know that tuna was a fruit and kept wondering why everyone was offering us a seafood juice. 

Feliciana taught me how to make Arroz con Leche one morning. A lot of it. And it was amazing. 

This is beeswax full of honey. We really just wanted the wax to help make my dreadlock, but turns out you have to buy it with honey still in it. Lucky us. 





Our new friend Jose Miguel taught us how to make our own yogurt. That's right, homemade yogurt. We walked to the pasture next to our house, hollered at the lady milking her cows and asked if we could buy 10 liters of milk. She said yes and the next morning we had 10 litres of yogurt. The thing is, we don't have a fridge here, so we made our own. It consists of sticking the product in a bucket of freezing water in the shower. Jake calls it our "ghetto fridge". 









This is me eating my first empenada in Peru. And it certainly was not my last. They are these incredible stuffed pastries full of chicken and onions and spices and peppers and little bits of heaven. 










And this is Erin eating our two most favorite things ever. Queso fresca and Pan de Agua. Queso fresca is a type of cheese (which we also learned how to make thanks to Jose Miguel) and it is fresh and light and delicious. Paired with the most amazing roll ever, you have a winner. 


Pan de Agua. What words can I say to give you justice? You are crispy and chewy and you puff up so perfectly. You make a delicious crunch noise when I bite you and you fill my mouth with such happiness. I buy you almost every day and it is still not enough. When I go home I am learning how to make you. 

These are the wonderful ladies who cook for the kids of El Bichito every day. Here they are making "papas fritas" or french fries. And here we are eating our daily meal of rice and lentils. Who knew that something so simple could be so tasty?

And what would life be like without chicken foot soup?








 We have had fun experimenting with food on our own as well. We make pastas and... well more pasta and then we go eat it on our roof. 
And after discovering the hidden oven here we have made cake, cookies, banana snack cake, coffee cake, more banana snack cake and more coffee cake. Like I said, we might come home a little chubby. But very happy.