Lake Titicaca for the long weekend!

So, we received a long weekend as school officials in the district of Arequipa closed schools Monday and Tuesday for precautionary reasons due to Swine Flu! Overkill to the extreme but it gave us some extra days to travel to Puno, Peru and to Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is the highest commercially navigable lake in the world and is home to many indigenous people. We toured the Uros Islands two days ago. The Uros are floating islands created with blocks of earth and reeds. The people create these islands every few years and then rebuild another island and their homes when the current island begins to recede. It was amazing to hear the history of the lake and how these people survive on anchored islands in the lake. Yesterday, we travelled to Taquila Island. It was a four to five hour boat ride round trip and we had a great time. The views from this natural island were incredible and we could see white capped mountains and also see into Bolivia which shares a maritime border on the lake with Peru. From this island we could also lay witness as to how absolutely huge Lake Titicaca is! We have eaten trout on both visits to the islands and it has been really, really good. Makes me itch to do some trout fishing when I get back home. We have also done a lot of hiking around Puno and hiked up to some amazing vantage points. Usually, they vantage points are over 4,000 meters and that equates to very heavy breathing and some coughing for me! But, well worth it as I have some pictures I will post for everyone. Tomorrow, back to Chivay via an eight hour bus ride and then finishing off our last week at the school in Canacota! Can´t believe I´m home in two weeks, so excited!

The School in Canacota, Peru

I want to post something about the incredible school we are working in currently. The school is located about forty minutes by packed shuttle ride above Chivay where we live. The elevation in Chivay is around 3,6000 meters and Canacota has an elevation of around 3,700 meters. I must admit, playing with the kids: futbol, basketball, wrestling, tag involves some serious respiration! The kids call me Profe Gigante, Giant Teacher, and I love the little buggers so much! The school is very rural and there are around 25 kids in the 1st through 6th grades. I am teaching the 5th and 6th graders and they are brilliant. There are seven kids in the class between the two grades and I can basically make them laugh at will and it must be pretty easy to laugh at the big, white, shaven headed gringo! Yes, shaved head. We tend to get a little bored in remote Chivay and all of my fellow volunteers took turns chopping off my lovely locks. Gil was the main perpetrator and I was left with a very, very bald head. Pictures to follow! Anyway, back to the school. There are two local teachers in our school along with a teacher for the inicial which is a pre-school program across the street. I teach with Rogerlio who happens to be the school director as well. He is hands down, the finest local teacher I have worked with yet. You hear and see at times, many examples of teachers who use power and control and negative epiteths to control kids in the classroom. Rogerlio is right up my ally: passionate to the point of yelling about topics such as history or math, energetic, encouraging, funny, and compassionate. He loves the kids and he has told us he has been rejuvenated with the help he receives from us. We are the first group of volunteers in this school and once again, it is amazing to have been among the first in two schools in Ecuador and Peru! Rogerlio will usually introduce a lesson and then I will work with the kids on worksheets and assignments. It is a lot of fun and I always have to mix in some jokes or funny faces with the kids. The kids are very, very smart and have amazing abilities; abilities I hope can flourish despite their economic status and their rural location. Also, given the communities remote location, the government of Peru has "forgotten" about the school and does not provide funding or support. This is very upsetting to Rogerlio and the other teachers but this is what makes GVI´s involvement that much more important. Further, while we have been here, the community and GVI has implemented a food program for the kids. Each day, the kids receive milk and cookie-crackers and then receive a very nutricious lunch after school ends each day. It is so nice to see the kids enjoying their food and many take leftovers home to their families each day. Also, the kids here are athletic, especially the older girls. I have been teaching some fundamentals of basketball to some of the girls and boys and they eat it up and are really taking the lessons to heart. Anway, very sad to leave the kids and this school soon. It will hit me double hard as this is my last GVI school and project! I will post some pictures for everyone soon when I´m able. Take care!

Chivay, Peru, My New Home!

Last stop on my journey, Chivay, Peru. The elevation is 3600 meters and the small town is an entry point to Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world. Chivay is very small and rather remote but is special to all of us who live there. We have a great group of volunteers: Maya and Aviv of course, Gil from the UK, Tristan from New Zealand, and Megan from the USA. We live in a motel as family stays have not been set up given this is a brand new project. Chivay consists of a bus station, hostels, a bull fighting ring, a small soccer field, restaurants, a food and good market, and street vendors. We eat street food for lunch and dinner and it is really good but really repetitive; chicken, rice, potatoes, bread, repeat! But, you get used to it and begin to crave the food when your hungry which for me is all the time. It will be nice to have some variety when I come back home though. The group is great and I have enjoyed my time in Chivay and spending time with them. We are always up to something on the weekends, ie. going to Arequipa and this is a perfect way to finish up the trip. Chivay has some incredible views of snow peaked mountain ranges and the weather is usually very sunny and warm during the day and a bit cold at night. Chivay is feeling like my home away from home and it´s always nice to come back to this little town.

Jobe comes to Peru and Colca Canyon!

My best bud Jobe arrived safely to Peru last week. We spent some long and fun nights in Arequipa before going to the Colca Canyon. It was amazing to have Jobe come see me and it gave me a shot in the arm as I finish my trip up. As mentioned, we partied it up in Arequipa and I even danced, multiple times! We woke up at 3 AM on a Thursday to travel to the Colca Canyon with the rest of the GVI group. Jobe and I did the two day trip which entailed descending the canyon in one day and then summitting back up the next day at 5:30AM. This was one of the most unbelievable expierences of my life and having Jobe there to take in the views with me made it even greater! By the way, the Colca Canyon is the world's deepest canyon and is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon! When I first saw the depth of the canyon as we were driving I could not believe what I saw. The depth is astounding and it truly does leave you speechless. I will try and include some pictures with this post so people can see how beautiful this canyon is. We stayed at the base of the canyon Friday night next to the rushing Colca River and then woke up before sunup and begin our climb. We made good time as Jobe and I are machines and finished the trip with breakfast, then the hot springs near Chivay, and then a huge buffet! Unfortunatley, Jobe had to leave Sunday morning but I am so happy he came out. He also brought school supplies that the students and parents from his school donated. The kids in Canacota will adore each of these.

Hola Peru!

Well, after spending eight hours in the Lima Airport, we arrived in Arequipa, Peru at around 6:00 a.m. last Sunday morning. Arequipa is a beautiful city of around one million people nestled ina valley surrounded by snow peaked mountain guardians. We met the country director Carla and headed for our beautiful hostel Casa de Avila to rest up. This entire week we have been taking Spanish classes and taking it easy in Arequipa. The food at the hostel is amazing and is prepared by Felipe, a tiny older man whose kindness is expressed through the food he prepares for us each day. Arequipa has historically been a very wealthy part of Peru and has numerous buildings made of white stone brought from the volcanoes. Further, the cathedral in the plaza is breathtaking and is considered to be one of the most beautiful (on the outside) in South America, pictures to follow. Also, I must mention, there are some incredibly gorgeous women here but no, I have not met any yet :). It has been nice to rejuvenate this week but I am ready to start teaching again. We will be teaching in a community outside of Chivay. The altitude is quite high (3700 meters) as we are at the beginning portions of the Colca Canyon, twice as deep as the Grand Canyon by the way! We will be teaching in a project that has just started and it is an exciting time! The state has basically passed this school off and given up on funding it, so, that is where GVI comes in. Also, we will have the chance to teach in a school even higher in elevation than the one near Chivay. It is called Ampi and is located 4800 meters above sea level, or around 15,000 feet! Crazy huh? Off to do some biking tomorrow and then we'll head off to Chivay on Sunday. Also, one of my best buddies, Ryan Jobe, is coming to see me starting on Tuesday in Chivay. Can't wait to see him and hike through the Colca Canyon with him next weekend!

Despidida en Ecuador!

My last day at the school in Muenala, Ecuador was amazing. It was one of only two or three days where the skies were clear in the morning and we had a full on view of Volcan Cotacaxi and the surrounding mountains around Otavalo. It was an amazing morning and I took tons of pictures before I left the school. I'm gonna try and post some today and hoping it works. I feel closer to these kids than any of the other kids during my travels. This is not saying I didn't love the other kids from previous countries, only we had the opportunity to spend more time with the kids at Muenala and we were the first volunteers in this school in over two years and it was a special context. On my second to last day of school, the kids made me cards and each child lined up and gave me their card and a hug. It was sad but it was brilliant to see the creativity of these kids and the words they wrote which included phrases like, "please come back again one day," and "thank you for being our friend and a great teacher," and "we will miss you so much." I will miss these little buggers and told them I will be back one day to visit, I plan on making good on this. For my last day, no local teachers were there and my buddy Troy deemed it Fun Friday. Therefore, we went for a hike with the kids (incredible views), made necklaces/bracelets with beads (they love this), and had an extra long lunch to play and visit with the kids. The kids we walk to and from school with everyday each gave me a hug and we each held on a little extra longer given it was my last day. So, as is the norm, I rushed around on the Saturday we left Otavalo: gifts for my host family, saying goodbyes to my local friends (peanut shop guys), checking the Internet, etc. Mission accomplished. I said goodbye to my host Mom and the kids and thanked them for their kindness. Then...we left for Quito and the airport! Sad to leave but also pumped up to visit Peru. Ecuador officially has a special place in my heart. All right, gonna try and post some pics!

Homestretch!!

I have officially been gone for over four months now! Wow! I am so happy I chose to do this as it is hard to even begin to reflect and think back on my time in Central and South America. I think I will begin to do this when I get back to the States in mid May. I have seen incredible beauty, met remarkable people, made strides speaking a second language, met lifelong friends from all over the world whom I have volunteered with, been a part of something much bigger than myself, have been rejuvenated and inspired by children who should be leading our world because of their innocence, ability to percieve, itelligence, and positive outlook. On the other end of the spectrum, I have seen poverty, pain, frustration, repression, and negative views about my country. These moments have been heartfelt and have struck me at the core. I know I want to do more each day to help people and I feel like this journey and my job back home have granted me the ability to do that. Also, one cannot expierence all of these things and not run face first into a new perspective and outlook. I hope that I can carry this special perspective unique to me each day from here on out. The journey has been everything I thought it would be and more. It has given me the perspective I have looked for I think and helped me to live in the moment, something I have wanted for a long time. Also, it has helped me to get in touch with Aaron...something I haven´t done in years, if ever. So, here I am with only three days left in Ecuador. I am dreading my goodbye to the kids on Friday and I think I will be worse for the wear than I was in Guatemala the day I left. I may need to return here someday but we´ll see. The future will play itself out and I´m not worried about it for once. Thanks to all of you back home who keep up with my blog and stay in touch. It means so much right now. Take care and until next time, buenas noches!