Farewell

Sister Jackie and the abuelos wave farewell

Friday was our last day at Los Martincitos and in Peru. A week of volunteering with CCS is never enough, yet I am ready to go home. We made a lot of new friends and my admiration for the work that Sister Jackie and the other permanent volunteers do in Villa El Salvador is beyond description. I received more hugs and kisses in farewell than a person would usually get in months.

We watched a documentary from Irish television telling the story of Villa El Salvador. I could go on for hours about these strong, resilient people who were dumped in the desert and told this place was to be their new home only 40 years ago. It may not look like much, but they have built schools, clinics, churches and a community out of nothing.  If you study what the residents of Villa El Salvador endured during the terrible years of violence in the 1980’s and early 90’s, it’s hard to imagine how they survived. They were targets of the government, military and the Shining Path revolutionaries due to their successful non-violent social programs. The documentary was especially meaningful since there were several people we worked with from Los Marincitos who were included in the story.

Every time I have stepped outside my comfort zone to tackle a volunteer assignment with CCS, I have learned as much about myself as I have about the people I have chosen to assist. I may work hard and  give them my time and attention, but I come home the recipient of gifts far more valuable than I have given. I am constantly reminded that although we may live differently and speak different languages, most of us want the same things – food on the table, security, education for our children, a purpose for our lives and for the world to be a better place for all of us.

Thanksgiving Day

I was going to write about our trip to the mega-supermarket this afternoon. It’s a 20 minute walk and they have 500 attendants, one on every aisle to sell you everything they have. Except for the cranberry sauce that we were looking for. Apparently it is very scarce in Peru. So I can’t resist the topic of traffic instead. This photo is from the pedestrian bridge we cross to the mall. And it doesn’t begin to show what it’s like. Notice how there don’t really seem to be any lanes. And imagine the cacophony that accompanies this. The background roar of engines, dozens of angry horns honking, all the bus drivers out in the street yelling, trying to get you to take their bus. “ Five soles” one shouted as he shoved five fingers in my face when I came down the stairs. Glad I was walking to my destination. Several times today on the van to Los Martincitos, if you stuck one knuckle’s worth of your finger out the window, you could touch the vehicle next to us. I won’t miss the traffic.

Since Thanksgiving is not exactly a Peruvian holiday, I wasn’t expecting any celebration. But several years ago, they started having a special lunch for the abuelos at Los Martincitos since there are so many American volunteers. They don’t quite understand the reason, but they are always happy for a celebration and another free meal.

So today half the group did home visits and my half was assigned to decorate the dining room for the event. Henrique, the CCS program director, came up with four pumpkins and some brown paper. We requested that Tony, the Los Martincitos director take us to the market to shop. This makes them nervous because the Villa El Salvador market is not really a good place for gringos. But we love it there. You can buy everything from shoes to herbs to whole slaughtered pigs in this outdoor market. We bought colored paper, metallic garlands, fruit and vegetables to decorate. It was especially challenging since none of our escorts spoke English and none of us speak Spanish.

The abuelos arrived in a festive spirit and seemed to appreciate the decorations. And of course, they loved the gigantic turkey meal cooked by a combination of the Los Martincitos and CCS cooks. They had enough on their plates to take home and feed them for several days. Many hugs and kisses sent us on our way at the end of the celebration.

What I Wouldn't Give....

....for some quiet. I realized today, that since our return to Lima, there has not been even a moment of silence. My ears are under constant assault. The roar of traffic is incessant – louder during the day than at night, but it never quiets completely. There are perpetual car alarms, police sirens, multitudes of barking dogs and honking horns, as well as voices and music. Even my sleep is restless and anxious, I think because my brain is never lacking input. Ear plugs don’t help. The noise is never ending. I’m a little homesick and longing for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, but most of all I’m craving silence. 

Volunteer Activities

The last couple of days have gone by quickly. With all the new volunteers arriving over the weekend, it has been pretty crazy. And for a group that is technically older than most that we’ve worked with before, there is WAY too much DRAMA. Fortunately, our room is located in sort of an annex that is mostly used for storage and we only have two neighbors over here. Good place to escape the turmoil.

Yesterday we got to see what a full day looks like at Los Martincitos. We served breakfast – sardine sandwiches- which I could barely stomach in the morning, did mounds of dishes, served lunch and washed more mounds of dishes. In between the meals, the eight volunteers worked with different groups of abuelos. Some helped in physical therapy, others in the craft room or the literacy program where they teach Spanish since most of the abuelos speak Quechua.  Larry chopped and chopped and chopped vegetables for their delicious looking lunch. I was in the game room and wanted to play musical chairs, but got snagged to bag dried beans into individual serving size bags and spent much of the morning in the storeroom with a scoop.

Today I did home visits with Sister Jackie again. I just can’t bring myself to take pictures of their homes. It’s not as bad as I expected, but I can assure you that you would rather be dead than live where they do. Crumbling walls, dirt floors, no real roof and often no electricity. Forty percent of the population in Lima lives on less than $2/day for a family of four. There’s no heat in the homes and they are cold and damp since the sun comes out only a few months of the year. I didn’t realize that Lima is actually a desert. And Villa El Salvador is built on a gigantic sand dune, so very little grows there and it is very dusty and dirty. I’ve had a headache most of the time from the dust and the diesel fumes.

So for a change of scenery, we went back to the mall this afternoon. It’s about a 15 minute walk from our house, across from the university. It is very American-the stores, restaurants and brands are almost all American. We counted seven gelato places. Since there is no Thanksgiving to get in the way, all the Christmas decorations have been up all month, which seems very strange. But they are planning a special Thanksgiving dinner for us on Thursday minus the cranberries and pumpkin since those don’t grow in Peru and apparently aren't available.

Taxi Terror

Sat am traffic

Lima has done nothing to quell my fear of taxis. I thought traffic was bad in LA, Cairo and Boston, but I have NEVER seen anything like Lima. I ride backward in the van on the way to placement so I don’t have to see where we’re going. Getting in a taxi where there are no rules, you don’t speak a word of the language and you just have to hope your driver is taking you where you want to go is more than enough to cause hyperventilation and nausea.

Taximoto

But there are no alternatives to taxis in Lima. They tell us getting on a bus is a sure way to get robbed and a taximoto is a sure way to die. So you’re left with a taxi. It doesn’t help that I heard today that a licensed taxi driver in Ariquepa kidnapped tourists for ransom this week. So if I want to go somewhere, I have to take a taxi and hope for the best.

This afternoon we wanted to go exploring. That requires a taxi. And the ability to tell the driver where you want to go.  And then how to get home. And the ability to ensure you’re not getting stiffed on the fare. Almost enough to keep me from going out. But we got lucky today. Our drivers were honest and adept at maneuvering traffic. We made it to our destination in record time.

Barranco church

We spent the afternoon in Barranco, a seaside district of Lima known for its old Spanish style buildings, nice market and oceanview bars. The sun came out and it was quite warm; a nice change from the chilly, dreary days in Lima so far. We walked down to the beach and back up all the steps to the square.

We shopped around at the market and I added another purse to my collection. At this rate, I may return home with the world’s largest collection of purses.

Ten more volunteers arrive tonight and another twelve or so on Sunday. The peace and quiet of the house will soon be over. By this time tomorrow this place will be a zoo!

Barranco market

Lake Titikaka and the Floating Islands

Lake Titikaka is the highest lake in the world. Most places you will see it spelled with “c”s, but the correct spelling in Quechua is with “k”s as I have done here. We boarded a boat for a three hour trip to explore the lake and its islands.

Our first stop was one of the floating islands. These islands are made of reeds and are inhabited by people who consider themselves to be from a pre-Incan culture. They showed us how they maintain the island by layering the reeds and how it is anchored so they don’t float into Bolivia. Their homes are made of reeds and so are their boats. They support themselves with crafts that they make and sell. We sailed in the reed boat over to another island.

Then we returned to our regular boat and headed to Isla de Taquile where there are no roads or even bicycles. Just 500 steps to the top and the town square. We climbed half way up and stopped for a delicious lunch, then made our way to the top, passing several children herding their sheep along the way. 

On our way down, school let out and we passed groups of children on their way home. Even on this distant island, some of the children had their noses stuck in video games as they navigated the treacherous steps home. 

You can read about the food we've enjoyed on the trip, such as the fabulous lunch on Isla de Taquile, at Tastemonials.www.tastemonials.net

Chinchero

Last Sunday, we drove again through the Andean farming country to visit another weaving cooperative at Chinchero.  Along the way, we travelled through herds of sheep and cattle. We saw one woman dressed in traditional attire, sitting on the hillside knitting, while she tended her sheep.

The weaving cooperative at Chinchero was started in 1996 and represents a different 9 communities and weaving traditions from the ones we visited at Amaru. We were greeted warmly as they covered rock walls with woven blankets for us to sit on. Then they served us a cup of coca tea. This tea is good for preventing altitude sickness and we have consumed large quantities.  I hope no one has to take a drug test in the near future!

The ladies demonstrated their backstrap weaving and dyeing techniques. They were dress exquisitely and wore stockings and lace petticoats under their colorful skirts. Each one wore an embroidered blouse, a vest and an elaborately beaded and embroidered jacket. In our broken Spanish (they actually speak Quechua) we learned that their husbands do the embroidery on their clothing by machine. They also showed us how to wrap the bundles, including babies, that they carry on their backs all day and continue their work of knitting, weaving, farming or herding. Amost every Andean woman always has a bundle on her back.