Recent Family Picture
Sunday, February 22, 2015
To Be Continued
We've reached our limit of photos allowed on this blog, so Magdalena has started Part Two. Please go to <dutchersmith2.blogspot.com> for more posts and photos!
Volunteering at the police station during an uprising (Kent)
Volunteering with the Peruvian National Police is a bit strange for peace-loving Mennonites from Indiana. We're not used to being around a lot of officers in uniforms with guns. However our first 2 weeks volunteering there were fairly comfortable. They have 200 children enrolled in their summer "useful vacation" program, 20-25% of whom came to our 3 music classes and our English class. They are doing the work of what our Parks and Recreation Departments do. All of the programming has traditionally been sports, but when the PNP of La Merced were approached about us volunteering there, they welcomed us enthusiastically. Our first two weeks there were very "tranquilo" with lots of children (and the ocassional dog) running around the police station. Police officers were friendly and encouraging of what we have been doing--especially our supervisor, Officer Johnny Alata.
When we arrived to volunteer on Monday, February 9 (Teresa's Birthday), things were different. Instead of the 40-50 police officers gathered on the volleyball/basketball court, there were hundreds. To get to our classroom, we walk on a small balcony that overlooks the volleyball/basketball court, which is where all of the police officers gather. When we came home for lunch, Luis, our host father, informed us that there was a big protest in the town of Pichinaki, about an hour and a half from our town of La Merced. Since La Merced is the capital of Chanchamayo and Pichinaki is also in Chanchamayo, all of the PNP operations were bases out of the same police station where we were based.
Luis told us that Pichinaki is a poor indiginous town and that an Argentinian oil company, Plus Petrol, was planning on drilling there. Plus Patrol was granted this land 10 years ago by the Peruvian government, which apparently was a shady deal. The people of Pinchinaki live off of their land and knew if an oil company came in to drill, that their land and their lives would change for the worse. So, they protested, they marched, they blocked highways and they blocked bridges and stopped the Plus Petrol trucks from entering Pichinaki. So, the PNP had to come in. Everyday during the week of February 9-13, we walked the balcony to our classroom and would look down at all of the PNP police with their shields and their firearms. One day I estimated 500 officers were there. Some news reports said that some 600 officers were in the region from all over Peru. We've also learned that there are currently several other protests involving Plus Petrol in indiginous communities in other parts of Peru.
By the end of the week, the protesters successfully kept Plus Patrol from entering Pichinaki, the the company agreed to retrieve it's equipment and never come back. However, during the protests, the PNP did open fire on the protesters. Two people were killed and 140 people were injured. Apparently the police were instructed not to use lethal weapons; none of the protesters had any. It's unclear who started the firing, but there is now an investigation underway.
Living at our house were some short-term medical volunteers from the states. One of them was volunteering in the hospital and saw five of the gun shot victims. On of them still had a bullet in his neck and was sent to Lima for treatment. The medical facilities in much of the country are not great.
One evening that week an electric transformer blew in our neighborhood and we had a blackout. Our first thought was that it had something do do with the protesters and the conflict, but it was simply that the transformer blew. We weren't in any real danger because we were 70 kilometers from Pichinaki. Although we weren't in danger being there, I did feel uncomfortable. The people of Pinchinaki were the oppressed and the marginalized, and here we were volunteering with the oppressors. Did that make us the oppressors too? The government felt like the enemy here, and the PNP is the arm of the government. It felt as though we were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
On the other hand, Jesus taught us to love our enemies. Here we were in the confines of the "enemy" teaching music and English to children, children who wouldn't otherwise have these opportunities. We were the first non-sports offering ever in the police station's summer programming. In four weeks time we taught 20 days, which in the Goshen Public Schools would be the equivalent of 20 weeks of music classes. While hundreds of police were gathered on the volleyball/basketball court with their shields and guns, we were down the hall singing, dancing, playing singing games, playing percussion, creating dances, improvising and helping children corporate and work together. Were we showing another way? Were we being a "witness" to others with a completely different world view?
During our last few days at the police station, the crisis in Pinchinaki was heating up again because Plus Petrol decided it wasn't going to leave after all. After a week of things getting back to normal, things were beginning to heat up again at the police station. A new batch of police officers were at the police station. In this midst of this, we were having our final performances and classes. Family and friends came for these final performances and watched very attentively and with great interest seeing their children do things that they didn't know they knew how to do. Every single child and parent thanked us and said goodby to us on the way out. In Peru, this means that all women and girls will kiss you on the cheek. Because the sports programming is segregated by gender, all of our music classes were mostly girls, and the majority of those in attendance were mothers and grandmothers. This meant a lot of "cheek kissing" on the way out.
After our last class on Thursday, February 18, we were surprised by a farewell luncheon by Officer Alata and many of the mothers, fathers (a few), grandmothers, and children of our classes. They had found out what our favorite dishes and juice were (from our hosts) and served a complete meal to the 40 or so people in attendance. It's customary for the host (Officer Alata) to kick things off with a tribute/speech. Even though Officer Alata had a fever and was sick, he gave a very nice speech, thanking us for our work with the children, our patience, and for bringing music and joy to their community. Then after a wonderful meal and lots of conversation, there was another round of "cheek kissing farewells" and even a few gifts of coffee and chocolate!
Despite the discomfort of volunteering at a police station during an uprising, it did feel as though we were called to be there. I guess we are not always called to places that feel "comfortable." Even though we were only in La Merced for 4 1/2 weeks, it was a very rich experience and it was harder to say goodby to the children and families than I would have imagined. I guess that's one sign of being at the right place at the right time.
When we arrived to volunteer on Monday, February 9 (Teresa's Birthday), things were different. Instead of the 40-50 police officers gathered on the volleyball/basketball court, there were hundreds. To get to our classroom, we walk on a small balcony that overlooks the volleyball/basketball court, which is where all of the police officers gather. When we came home for lunch, Luis, our host father, informed us that there was a big protest in the town of Pichinaki, about an hour and a half from our town of La Merced. Since La Merced is the capital of Chanchamayo and Pichinaki is also in Chanchamayo, all of the PNP operations were bases out of the same police station where we were based.
Luis told us that Pichinaki is a poor indiginous town and that an Argentinian oil company, Plus Petrol, was planning on drilling there. Plus Patrol was granted this land 10 years ago by the Peruvian government, which apparently was a shady deal. The people of Pinchinaki live off of their land and knew if an oil company came in to drill, that their land and their lives would change for the worse. So, they protested, they marched, they blocked highways and they blocked bridges and stopped the Plus Petrol trucks from entering Pichinaki. So, the PNP had to come in. Everyday during the week of February 9-13, we walked the balcony to our classroom and would look down at all of the PNP police with their shields and their firearms. One day I estimated 500 officers were there. Some news reports said that some 600 officers were in the region from all over Peru. We've also learned that there are currently several other protests involving Plus Petrol in indiginous communities in other parts of Peru.
By the end of the week, the protesters successfully kept Plus Patrol from entering Pichinaki, the the company agreed to retrieve it's equipment and never come back. However, during the protests, the PNP did open fire on the protesters. Two people were killed and 140 people were injured. Apparently the police were instructed not to use lethal weapons; none of the protesters had any. It's unclear who started the firing, but there is now an investigation underway.
Living at our house were some short-term medical volunteers from the states. One of them was volunteering in the hospital and saw five of the gun shot victims. On of them still had a bullet in his neck and was sent to Lima for treatment. The medical facilities in much of the country are not great.
One evening that week an electric transformer blew in our neighborhood and we had a blackout. Our first thought was that it had something do do with the protesters and the conflict, but it was simply that the transformer blew. We weren't in any real danger because we were 70 kilometers from Pichinaki. Although we weren't in danger being there, I did feel uncomfortable. The people of Pinchinaki were the oppressed and the marginalized, and here we were volunteering with the oppressors. Did that make us the oppressors too? The government felt like the enemy here, and the PNP is the arm of the government. It felt as though we were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
On the other hand, Jesus taught us to love our enemies. Here we were in the confines of the "enemy" teaching music and English to children, children who wouldn't otherwise have these opportunities. We were the first non-sports offering ever in the police station's summer programming. In four weeks time we taught 20 days, which in the Goshen Public Schools would be the equivalent of 20 weeks of music classes. While hundreds of police were gathered on the volleyball/basketball court with their shields and guns, we were down the hall singing, dancing, playing singing games, playing percussion, creating dances, improvising and helping children corporate and work together. Were we showing another way? Were we being a "witness" to others with a completely different world view?
During our last few days at the police station, the crisis in Pinchinaki was heating up again because Plus Petrol decided it wasn't going to leave after all. After a week of things getting back to normal, things were beginning to heat up again at the police station. A new batch of police officers were at the police station. In this midst of this, we were having our final performances and classes. Family and friends came for these final performances and watched very attentively and with great interest seeing their children do things that they didn't know they knew how to do. Every single child and parent thanked us and said goodby to us on the way out. In Peru, this means that all women and girls will kiss you on the cheek. Because the sports programming is segregated by gender, all of our music classes were mostly girls, and the majority of those in attendance were mothers and grandmothers. This meant a lot of "cheek kissing" on the way out.
After our last class on Thursday, February 18, we were surprised by a farewell luncheon by Officer Alata and many of the mothers, fathers (a few), grandmothers, and children of our classes. They had found out what our favorite dishes and juice were (from our hosts) and served a complete meal to the 40 or so people in attendance. It's customary for the host (Officer Alata) to kick things off with a tribute/speech. Even though Officer Alata had a fever and was sick, he gave a very nice speech, thanking us for our work with the children, our patience, and for bringing music and joy to their community. Then after a wonderful meal and lots of conversation, there was another round of "cheek kissing farewells" and even a few gifts of coffee and chocolate!
Despite the discomfort of volunteering at a police station during an uprising, it did feel as though we were called to be there. I guess we are not always called to places that feel "comfortable." Even though we were only in La Merced for 4 1/2 weeks, it was a very rich experience and it was harder to say goodby to the children and families than I would have imagined. I guess that's one sign of being at the right place at the right time.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Back to our Lima home (Kent & Teresa)
We're back in Lima, safe and sound! Our return bus ride was a bit more challenging than the trip to La Merced. The air didn't work, so for the first part of the trip, 4 hours or so, we were quite hot. Luisa started to feel sick and looked rather pale. We had the panoramic windows in the top front of the bus, which was fun, but it was also the hottest place on the bus because there were no windows to open in the first three rows. After the lunch stop, Luisa and Kent traded spots with another couple and we were right by an open window. Also after lunch, Magdalena threw up, even with meds for motion sickness; then she felt better.
The bus ride was two hours longer than it was supposed to be because of traffic throughout the trip, and especially once we reached the edge of Lima. But, the scenery was amazing and beautiful, with lots of winding up and down mountains, following rivers, going through interesting towns and past lovely farmland of flowers, corn, spinach, chard, and many other crops unknown to us. At the beginning and the end of the trip, 2 different salesmen stood up in the isle and gave passionate sermons about their products, each of which lasted at least a half an hour. Then there were a few children near us that were playing some game that apparently involved screaming, and their parents didn't seem to mind. I (Kent) usually try to be tolerant of kid noises, but when I have a headache and we're in a small public space I'm less so. I took 4 ibuprofen during our 10 hour bus ride and still had a headache! We were very glad to get off the bus at 8:30 and be greeted by Willy (who has aided us with many parts of our Peru travels and stays) and was willing to be our taxi, hauling all of our luggage in his minivan.
The Mennonite Brethern church is where we're staying again here in Lima, and it feels like home. At 8:30 this morning we joined them for a church breakfast, and then we headed out to do shopping. We were thrilled to find school shoes for Magdalena at the second place we looked.....at Payless Shoes (in U.S. Size 11). And we had fun finding gifts and souvenirs at a huge artisan market. Tomorrow we'll enjoy a day of rest!
The bus ride was two hours longer than it was supposed to be because of traffic throughout the trip, and especially once we reached the edge of Lima. But, the scenery was amazing and beautiful, with lots of winding up and down mountains, following rivers, going through interesting towns and past lovely farmland of flowers, corn, spinach, chard, and many other crops unknown to us. At the beginning and the end of the trip, 2 different salesmen stood up in the isle and gave passionate sermons about their products, each of which lasted at least a half an hour. Then there were a few children near us that were playing some game that apparently involved screaming, and their parents didn't seem to mind. I (Kent) usually try to be tolerant of kid noises, but when I have a headache and we're in a small public space I'm less so. I took 4 ibuprofen during our 10 hour bus ride and still had a headache! We were very glad to get off the bus at 8:30 and be greeted by Willy (who has aided us with many parts of our Peru travels and stays) and was willing to be our taxi, hauling all of our luggage in his minivan.
The Mennonite Brethern church is where we're staying again here in Lima, and it feels like home. At 8:30 this morning we joined them for a church breakfast, and then we headed out to do shopping. We were thrilled to find school shoes for Magdalena at the second place we looked.....at Payless Shoes (in U.S. Size 11). And we had fun finding gifts and souvenirs at a huge artisan market. Tomorrow we'll enjoy a day of rest!
Entertainment in Chanchamayo
Car crash: as we were in the tour van going to our last tour we began to pass a mototaxi and as we were beside it, it turned into us, shattering the headlight on the right side of the van. Our driver pulled over to check the damage, but the mototaxi turned around and returned the way it had come from without looking back.
Chicken on the second floor: one day while Luisa and Magdalena were sitting in the living room they heard Luis yelling from downstairs. Then they saw that there was a hen at the top of the stairs, entering the living room. Luisa ran to chase it back down and as she did, the hen jumped up to get on the windowsill but couldn't fly so ended up crashing into the wall. Then Luisa chased her back downstairs.
Dog on motorcycle: one day Kent saw a man with his dog on a motorcycle. The dog was standing on it's hind legs behind the man and had it front paws on the guy's shoulders.
Boa man: every weekend in the central plaza, there is a man with a boa around his neck that makes money off of people getting their picture taken with the boa.
For sale at a market booth: Crocodile skin and head; a large, dead snake; and big fish head.
Guinea pig meat for sale: at the market there was a stand with guinea pigs that were gutted, de-haired and ready to cook
Underwear on circles: at the market the way of displaying underwear is by putting it on a metal circle to hang
New index cards with coffee stains and shoe prints: we got index cards for the English class we were teaching and when we opened the packs the one pack had a coffee stain down the sides of all the cards and the other deck had footprints on a couple cards
Motorcycle with a big sign on it: we saw two men on a motorcycle and they had a 3' x 6' sign between them
Hearing Magdalena and Luisa sing along with TV jingles: "el maravilloso mundo de Disney" (Disney) "todo es posible, whoa-a-o-o-o" (Barbie), "claro que Toni" (Toni yogurt)
Chicken on the second floor: one day while Luisa and Magdalena were sitting in the living room they heard Luis yelling from downstairs. Then they saw that there was a hen at the top of the stairs, entering the living room. Luisa ran to chase it back down and as she did, the hen jumped up to get on the windowsill but couldn't fly so ended up crashing into the wall. Then Luisa chased her back downstairs.
Dog on motorcycle: one day Kent saw a man with his dog on a motorcycle. The dog was standing on it's hind legs behind the man and had it front paws on the guy's shoulders.
Boa man: every weekend in the central plaza, there is a man with a boa around his neck that makes money off of people getting their picture taken with the boa.
For sale at a market booth: Crocodile skin and head; a large, dead snake; and big fish head.
Guinea pig meat for sale: at the market there was a stand with guinea pigs that were gutted, de-haired and ready to cook
Underwear on circles: at the market the way of displaying underwear is by putting it on a metal circle to hang
New index cards with coffee stains and shoe prints: we got index cards for the English class we were teaching and when we opened the packs the one pack had a coffee stain down the sides of all the cards and the other deck had footprints on a couple cards
Motorcycle with a big sign on it: we saw two men on a motorcycle and they had a 3' x 6' sign between them
Hearing Magdalena and Luisa sing along with TV jingles: "el maravilloso mundo de Disney" (Disney) "todo es posible, whoa-a-o-o-o" (Barbie), "claro que Toni" (Toni yogurt)
What we've seen in (and out of) a moto-taxi in La Merced
What we've seen in a mototaxi:
--a man holding an Andean harp that was sticking out the side
--a woman with pineapples stacked all around and on her, and on the back rack
--on a rainy day, a man holding his bike out the side
--four adults, a baby and a bunch of cooking pots
--a man with his arm outside holding as many long 2x4s as would fit stacked from his hand to his shoulder
--a foreign family with a scrawny girl sticking her long scrawny rawny legs out the side, her scrawny rawny legs go up every time we go through the river
-- 15 foot long metal pole on top
--completely full of toilet paper
--a man holding an Andean harp that was sticking out the side
--a woman with pineapples stacked all around and on her, and on the back rack
--on a rainy day, a man holding his bike out the side
--four adults, a baby and a bunch of cooking pots
--a man with his arm outside holding as many long 2x4s as would fit stacked from his hand to his shoulder
--a foreign family with a scrawny girl sticking her long scrawny rawny legs out the side, her scrawny rawny legs go up every time we go through the river
-- 15 foot long metal pole on top
--completely full of toilet paper
Monday, February 16, 2015
Time to move along (Teresa)
La Merced, in the region of Chanchamayo, has been a beautiful place to be for these 4 1/2 weeks. We are so grateful for: caring hosts who serve great, healthy food; meaningful work with a supportive supervisor; gracious and generous folks to learn from; and amazing natural surroundings to experience. Divine care comes in many, many forms!!
Now we are teaching our last week of classes, and ending on Thursday to be ready to travel back to Lima on Friday. This time our bus ride will be in the daytime, so we look forward to seeing the surroundings as we go. We`ll spend the weekend in Lima, again staying at the Mennonite Brethren Church. On Saturday we`ll do some shopping for necessities which are cheaper in the big city; our list includes finding Magdalena`s shoe size for the black school shoes she'll need for attending school in Cusco. (We were able to find Luisa`s here in La Merced.) On Sunday we`ll attend church again, and then relax and pack for our next journey.
Monday morning we`ll fly to Cusco, a city of 1/2 million in the mountains (elevation over 10,000 ft), just a short flight from Lima, but a treacherous bus ride. Cusco was the center of the Inca Empire, and is known as the "historic capital" of Peru. Many folks are drawn to Cusco because it`s the entrance point to visit Macchu Picchu, famous Incan temples and ruins, and we look forward to visiting there. But, we were drawn to Cusco because of the Mennonite, bilingual school located there, started 10 years ago by Peruvian Mennonite churches. At the school, La Promesa, our girls will attend while Kent gives support to a new music teacher who is starting a new program, and I will help with tuturing English, and support in other ways that I can.
The biggest recent news is that we have a furnished apartment to rent for a very reasonable cost for the three months that we`ll be in Cusco! We are extrememly grateful for the help of Willy Villavicencia, who works with Goshen College groups in Peru, along with Pastor Roberto and his wife Valeria in Cusco, who worked hard to find a place for us!! We had the option of house-sitting for a missionary family during our first month, but likely will be able to move right into our own apartment. We hear that our place is close to the school and the Mennonite church, so we look foward to getting to know the area of San Jeromino, which is a district (pop 30,000) within Cusco.
Again, we welcome your thoughts and prayers for the travel ahead and for the next phase of our adventure. Some challenges that we are preparing for are: motion sickness for some of us on the curvy bus ride to Lima; altitude sickness for all of us upon arrival to Cusco; and our girls´ first experience of doing school work in Spanish. (There are meds available for the first two challenges!) Also, give thanks with us for so many gifts on the journey!
Now we are teaching our last week of classes, and ending on Thursday to be ready to travel back to Lima on Friday. This time our bus ride will be in the daytime, so we look forward to seeing the surroundings as we go. We`ll spend the weekend in Lima, again staying at the Mennonite Brethren Church. On Saturday we`ll do some shopping for necessities which are cheaper in the big city; our list includes finding Magdalena`s shoe size for the black school shoes she'll need for attending school in Cusco. (We were able to find Luisa`s here in La Merced.) On Sunday we`ll attend church again, and then relax and pack for our next journey.
Monday morning we`ll fly to Cusco, a city of 1/2 million in the mountains (elevation over 10,000 ft), just a short flight from Lima, but a treacherous bus ride. Cusco was the center of the Inca Empire, and is known as the "historic capital" of Peru. Many folks are drawn to Cusco because it`s the entrance point to visit Macchu Picchu, famous Incan temples and ruins, and we look forward to visiting there. But, we were drawn to Cusco because of the Mennonite, bilingual school located there, started 10 years ago by Peruvian Mennonite churches. At the school, La Promesa, our girls will attend while Kent gives support to a new music teacher who is starting a new program, and I will help with tuturing English, and support in other ways that I can.
The biggest recent news is that we have a furnished apartment to rent for a very reasonable cost for the three months that we`ll be in Cusco! We are extrememly grateful for the help of Willy Villavicencia, who works with Goshen College groups in Peru, along with Pastor Roberto and his wife Valeria in Cusco, who worked hard to find a place for us!! We had the option of house-sitting for a missionary family during our first month, but likely will be able to move right into our own apartment. We hear that our place is close to the school and the Mennonite church, so we look foward to getting to know the area of San Jeromino, which is a district (pop 30,000) within Cusco.
Again, we welcome your thoughts and prayers for the travel ahead and for the next phase of our adventure. Some challenges that we are preparing for are: motion sickness for some of us on the curvy bus ride to Lima; altitude sickness for all of us upon arrival to Cusco; and our girls´ first experience of doing school work in Spanish. (There are meds available for the first two challenges!) Also, give thanks with us for so many gifts on the journey!
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Adventure Tour (Luisa)
Yesterday my dad, Magdalena and I went on a tour to the waterfalls of three queens, but my mom felt like being lazy so she stayed home. We left at around 11:30 in a van and went to a bridge about 5 minutes away where we started walking. We walked on a nice path for about 40 minutes all up hill in the hot sun when we finally got to a little house with 10 hammocks, a swing, a small tree house, and a little stand selling hot dogs and juice. We were there for about 10 minutes before we started walking again. We walked another 5-10 minutes before we got into the river, and at the same time it started pouring rain. It poured for about 5 minutes but then it stopped and we swam a bit before walking more. But this time there wasn't any path and we had to walk in the river, but it wasn't very deep. There were a few little waterfalls that we had to climb up. They were only 4-5 feet tall but had a fast current so we had a rope to help us get climb. There were some parts where the water was up to 4 feet but most of the time it wasn't more than 3 feet deep.
When we got to the first queen waterfall we had to climb up a 20ish foot wall to reach the second queen waterfall; they told us that it was to hard to get up to the third queen so we stayed at the second one. Here there was a place there where we could climb up an 8 foot high rock and jump into the water. It was really fun; the water was about 4 1/2 feet high and once you jump in the current takes you down and 3 foot slide. I jumped three times but then it was time to head back. On the way back we went on more dirt paths and we were in the water less, and soon we were at the little house again. We were hungry because by this time it was after 3 and we hadn't had lunch so we got some hot dogs. It took about half the amount of time to walk back as it did to walk there because it wasn't as hot and it was all down hill. Soon we were back to the bridge where we got in a truck and went back to town. It was so much fun but I'm not sure my mom would have enjoyed it very much.
When we got to the first queen waterfall we had to climb up a 20ish foot wall to reach the second queen waterfall; they told us that it was to hard to get up to the third queen so we stayed at the second one. Here there was a place there where we could climb up an 8 foot high rock and jump into the water. It was really fun; the water was about 4 1/2 feet high and once you jump in the current takes you down and 3 foot slide. I jumped three times but then it was time to head back. On the way back we went on more dirt paths and we were in the water less, and soon we were at the little house again. We were hungry because by this time it was after 3 and we hadn't had lunch so we got some hot dogs. It took about half the amount of time to walk back as it did to walk there because it wasn't as hot and it was all down hill. Soon we were back to the bridge where we got in a truck and went back to town. It was so much fun but I'm not sure my mom would have enjoyed it very much.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Oxapampa Tour (Magdalena)
Last Saturday we went on another tour with the same tour company as the week before. This one was to Oxapampa, a town almost two hours from La Merced. Oxapampa is a German-Austrian settlement town with European style homes and beautiful gardens.
Our first stop was the Pokartambo bridge. Here we got our picture taken and I got a tamal while Luisa got a sprite and my dad got coffee. Then we went to a look out on the side of the road where we got our picture taken in front of a really big drop off. Then, as we entered Oxapampa, we stopped at a monument that was Peru's belly button meaning it was geographically right in the middle of Peru. Once we got to Oxapampa, we started to see lots of European style homes and everyone started getting their camaras out and we just sat in the van and thought "those homes look like our house in the states."
Our first stop in Oxapampa was at a store called NEVE with lots of carmels, jellies, honeys, yogurts and cheeses and we got to sample just about everything there. Then we went to Tunqui Cueva, a very cool cave with lots of stalagmites and stalagtites. Across the street from the cave we went zip-lining on a short line and we swung in some tire swings. Our next stop was Wharapo, a sugar cane processing plant where they make guarapo (an alcoholic drink), aguardiente (an alcoholic drink that looks like water), honey (made out of sugar cane) and chancaca (I'm not sure what this stuff was). Then we went to an artisan store called J.C. where we could dress up like Germans. When Luisa and I came out with our German clothes on everyone said "here come the original Germans." I had forgotten that we're German. Woops! Then we went to El Trapiche where we ate lunch. Luisa had chicken, my dad had sausages and my mom and I shared a big plate of chicken, sausage, beef and another kind of beef. Our last stop was a store called Ceja de Selva that had cheese and carmel. After that we walked across the street to the plaza and walked around and saw irises, lilies and other kinds of flowers that we have planted at home.
Since the ride was so long, our guide threw in lots of random facts about the region, here are some. 22% of Peru's coffee production is in Chanchamayo (Chanchamayo is what we would call a county), the most in Peru. Kitokito (or quitoquito) is the principal fruit in Oxapampa. Yánika is the indigenous language in Oxapampa. Chanchamayo means river of bones. There are three types of rain in Chanchamayo: loca (crazy rain ending with a rainbow), macho (male meaning that it comes and goes fast) and embra (female meaning that it is a steady, slow rain where sometimes it can drizzle for multiple days straight).Oxapampa is 1814m above sea level where as La Merced is only 751m above sea level.
Also, with all the time we spent in the van, we became friends with a family that had two daughters, ages 5 and 8. The younger girl talks nonstop leaving no space for the older sister (just like Luisa). The two sisters really liked playing games on our ipad so we gave it to them for the entire two hour ride home.
Our first stop was the Pokartambo bridge. Here we got our picture taken and I got a tamal while Luisa got a sprite and my dad got coffee. Then we went to a look out on the side of the road where we got our picture taken in front of a really big drop off. Then, as we entered Oxapampa, we stopped at a monument that was Peru's belly button meaning it was geographically right in the middle of Peru. Once we got to Oxapampa, we started to see lots of European style homes and everyone started getting their camaras out and we just sat in the van and thought "those homes look like our house in the states."
Our first stop in Oxapampa was at a store called NEVE with lots of carmels, jellies, honeys, yogurts and cheeses and we got to sample just about everything there. Then we went to Tunqui Cueva, a very cool cave with lots of stalagmites and stalagtites. Across the street from the cave we went zip-lining on a short line and we swung in some tire swings. Our next stop was Wharapo, a sugar cane processing plant where they make guarapo (an alcoholic drink), aguardiente (an alcoholic drink that looks like water), honey (made out of sugar cane) and chancaca (I'm not sure what this stuff was). Then we went to an artisan store called J.C. where we could dress up like Germans. When Luisa and I came out with our German clothes on everyone said "here come the original Germans." I had forgotten that we're German. Woops! Then we went to El Trapiche where we ate lunch. Luisa had chicken, my dad had sausages and my mom and I shared a big plate of chicken, sausage, beef and another kind of beef. Our last stop was a store called Ceja de Selva that had cheese and carmel. After that we walked across the street to the plaza and walked around and saw irises, lilies and other kinds of flowers that we have planted at home.
Since the ride was so long, our guide threw in lots of random facts about the region, here are some. 22% of Peru's coffee production is in Chanchamayo (Chanchamayo is what we would call a county), the most in Peru. Kitokito (or quitoquito) is the principal fruit in Oxapampa. Yánika is the indigenous language in Oxapampa. Chanchamayo means river of bones. There are three types of rain in Chanchamayo: loca (crazy rain ending with a rainbow), macho (male meaning that it comes and goes fast) and embra (female meaning that it is a steady, slow rain where sometimes it can drizzle for multiple days straight).Oxapampa is 1814m above sea level where as La Merced is only 751m above sea level.
Also, with all the time we spent in the van, we became friends with a family that had two daughters, ages 5 and 8. The younger girl talks nonstop leaving no space for the older sister (just like Luisa). The two sisters really liked playing games on our ipad so we gave it to them for the entire two hour ride home.
A Chanchamayo Birthday (Teresa)
Wow! Two surprise
parties in one day……yesterday we were celebrating Latin American style! This means:
lots of people (so many new friends!), much laughter and hugs, loud
singing, pop (here it’s Inca Cola), a salty snack, and a lovely decorated cake.
The first party was at the police station, where we teach classes. In the middle of our last class of the day we
began to noctice lots of commotion in the hallway, which was quite distracting
for our students. Soon, parents and
children from earlier classes, along with the policeman who supervises us, came
into the classroom carrying cake, drinks, and snacks. Policeman Johnny Alata gave a speech about
how much he appreciates us being here, and that they didn’t want to miss a
chance to celebrate my special day. (We
still have no clue how they found out it was my birthday. Do the pólice just know everything?!) The singing began with “Happy Birthday” in
English, continued with the Spanish versión with the same tune, followed by
another verse, “many blessings to you” (in Spanish). Then, I was given an opportunity to make a
speech, and after I did so in Spanish (impromtu, aaackk), they requested that I
also speak in English. Finally, I was instructed to go around the
room to receive hugs and wishes from each person. A lovely celebration!
Later that evening, there seemed to be excitement around the
houses, along with whispering between my family members and others at the
house. We usually prepare supper for our
little family on our own, but were instructed not to do so this evening. Rosa served up a light, healthy supper for
everyone in the house, and while we ate together in the living room a local
friend of the family (who works with the other volunteers in our house) showed
up with two cakes. It was party time
again, for me and for another family friend!
This time, at the end of the singing, each of us birthday folks had our
faces pushed into our lovely cakes! But,
the icing tasted good J We enjoyed cake, hot chocolate and visiting
with all of these new friends. Unfortunately
the party came to an abrupt end when one of the young adult volunteers (who had
been sleeping through the party) needed to be taken to the hospital. All ended well at the hospital, and I won`t
be surprised if the party is continued this evening!
My family also surprised me with sweet gifts, of
course! Kent treated me to a good back
rub and both Luisa and Magdalena had secretly bought local treats for me when
we were at the store the evening before.
Luisa knows that I can always enjoy a chocolate and coconut combination;
and Magdalena gave me my own personal size of panetone (a moist bread/cake with
raisins). I`ll open those treats once
all of the cake is taken care of!!
Monday, February 9, 2015
Counting on my fingers (Teresa)
When we were singing "Two little hands, ten little fingers" in English class this morning, I recalled a new skill I've picked up: counting on my fingers. You may be surprised that I haven´t learned this before, but I'm realizing that the method we use to count on our fingers varies with people and locations. I'll explain....
In Indiana (and the U.S. in general, I think) we count starting with the index finger, then proceed in order to the pinkie, and end with the thumb, then proceed to the next hand to count past 5. In the Galapagos (Ecuador), as we sang "Two little hands" in Spanish and English, I realized that the children were counting by starting with their thumbs, and then proceeding in order ending at 5 on their pinkies. I assumed I would find the same pattern here in Peru. But, on our first day of teaching here I realized that while a few students were trying to copy me, as I started on my thumb, the majority of students were starting their count on their pinkies, proceeding in order and ending at 5 on their thumbs! So, now I can count on my fingers in three different ways!
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Second Full Week in La Merced (Kent)
Our second week of teaching was very good and much more consistant! It feels as though we have a really good routine going now. All of our classes have a steady core of students and all classes now have a nice steady minimum. Our 7-9 year old music class averaged 20 students this week, followed by our English class (11 students), 4-6 year old music (10 students), and 10-13 year old music (8 students). Our 4-6 year old "weekly average" is based on 4 days because on Monday no one showed up. Our supervisor apparently had forgotten to tell anyone about our new class time. We changed the time so that we would be back to back with the 4-6 year old volleyball group, so on Monday I went down to their class during the end of their period and made a recruitment speech to the parents. The next day we had 9 students! The previous week we had 4-6 most days.
Our supervisor, Johnny, is very curious about us. On several occassions after our last morning session, he hung out with us to converse and ask questions. He´s been so encouraging and supportive of our work here and asked us if we can come back every year for their summer program! He said that sports programs are very strong here, but there is not much music programming or music education. (I think the one exception to this would be folk dance. There are many folk dance clubs in Peru and many different types of folk dance.) He's not sure how we got here or why, but he said that he believes that we "were a gift from heaven." That huge big warm fuzzy should last us awhile. :) I explained to him that our reasons for coming were many. We wanted to get a new world perspective, we wanted to learn about the Peruvian cultures, we wanted to improve our Spanish, and we wanted to volunteer and teach music to children--all of which come out of our faith.
Johnny´s response to this was that Peruvians would never do this and that it boggles his mind that we would leave the U.S. for a year and spend all this money to volunteer. He said that he's gotten very positive responses from parents and that one comment he hears is that "this family from the U.S. is different" and is doing something that is "muy bonito" (very lovely). We were with a program in the Galapagos in a community that was used to volunteers, we were a bit less of an oddity. But now we are in an area that gets very few international volunteers like this (especially in the area of education). I guess a family from the U.S. going around and teaching music in Spanish in Peru for no pay is a very counter-cultural thing. The fact that the lead teacher (me) is male is even more odd because most teachers at the primary/preschool level here are female. After 5 months of being in South America, being odd is nothing new and is something that we are now accustomed to. Being "gushed over" by Johnny is a bit new for us, but I must admit it is definitely a nice feeling and it is very affirming. I think we are supposed to be here. :)
Our household changed drastically this past week. We went from being a family living with a "host couple" to living in a hostal with 6 other foreigners! Our hosts, Rosa and Luis, are seasoned hosts and host parents, but worked their tails off during the past 2 weeks to increase their housing capacity. They moved their bedroom to the top (3rd) floor, to which they added walls and a roof since we´ve been here and they did some major clearing out of their first floor to make more usable space. The six foreigners (also from the U.S.) are all with the same NGO organization,which is focused on public health and healthcare. 4 of them are only staying for 5 days, one woman for 3 weeks, and one guy 3 months. One is between med-school and residency, one is applying for med-school, one is in residency, and the other 3 are studying public health (although one of them is a veterinarian). Luisa has complained some about the extra noise at night, but with most of them being here a short time, it will be a short-lived challengee. We are just happy to have a nice place to live and everyone is kind, but after 5 months of living with others, we will be happy to be living on our own in Cusco.
Our supervisor, Johnny, is very curious about us. On several occassions after our last morning session, he hung out with us to converse and ask questions. He´s been so encouraging and supportive of our work here and asked us if we can come back every year for their summer program! He said that sports programs are very strong here, but there is not much music programming or music education. (I think the one exception to this would be folk dance. There are many folk dance clubs in Peru and many different types of folk dance.) He's not sure how we got here or why, but he said that he believes that we "were a gift from heaven." That huge big warm fuzzy should last us awhile. :) I explained to him that our reasons for coming were many. We wanted to get a new world perspective, we wanted to learn about the Peruvian cultures, we wanted to improve our Spanish, and we wanted to volunteer and teach music to children--all of which come out of our faith.
Johnny´s response to this was that Peruvians would never do this and that it boggles his mind that we would leave the U.S. for a year and spend all this money to volunteer. He said that he's gotten very positive responses from parents and that one comment he hears is that "this family from the U.S. is different" and is doing something that is "muy bonito" (very lovely). We were with a program in the Galapagos in a community that was used to volunteers, we were a bit less of an oddity. But now we are in an area that gets very few international volunteers like this (especially in the area of education). I guess a family from the U.S. going around and teaching music in Spanish in Peru for no pay is a very counter-cultural thing. The fact that the lead teacher (me) is male is even more odd because most teachers at the primary/preschool level here are female. After 5 months of being in South America, being odd is nothing new and is something that we are now accustomed to. Being "gushed over" by Johnny is a bit new for us, but I must admit it is definitely a nice feeling and it is very affirming. I think we are supposed to be here. :)
Our household changed drastically this past week. We went from being a family living with a "host couple" to living in a hostal with 6 other foreigners! Our hosts, Rosa and Luis, are seasoned hosts and host parents, but worked their tails off during the past 2 weeks to increase their housing capacity. They moved their bedroom to the top (3rd) floor, to which they added walls and a roof since we´ve been here and they did some major clearing out of their first floor to make more usable space. The six foreigners (also from the U.S.) are all with the same NGO organization,which is focused on public health and healthcare. 4 of them are only staying for 5 days, one woman for 3 weeks, and one guy 3 months. One is between med-school and residency, one is applying for med-school, one is in residency, and the other 3 are studying public health (although one of them is a veterinarian). Luisa has complained some about the extra noise at night, but with most of them being here a short time, it will be a short-lived challengee. We are just happy to have a nice place to live and everyone is kind, but after 5 months of living with others, we will be happy to be living on our own in Cusco.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Challenging songs for children and adults (Teresa)
This exercise is for you to try at home. In our Enlish class we are teaching the parts of the body, and are using many songs, including "one finger, one thumb." In this song you begin by moving one finger and one thumb, then you add one moving foot, then one moving elbow, and finally one moving head. By the end we`re all tired and dizzy, but it`s good for learning :) I think the movement might be more challenging than the language! Try it!!
Verse 1: One finger, one thumb keep moving (x3); we`ll all be happy and bright.
Verse 2: One finger, one thumb, one foot keep moving (x3); we`ll all be happy and bright.
Verse 3: One finger, one thumb, one foot, one elbow keep moving (x3); we`ll all be happy and bright.
Verse 4: One finger, one thumb, one foot, one elbow, one head keep moving (x3); we`ll all be happy and bright.
Verse 1: One finger, one thumb keep moving (x3); we`ll all be happy and bright.
Verse 2: One finger, one thumb, one foot keep moving (x3); we`ll all be happy and bright.
Verse 3: One finger, one thumb, one foot, one elbow keep moving (x3); we`ll all be happy and bright.
Verse 4: One finger, one thumb, one foot, one elbow, one head keep moving (x3); we`ll all be happy and bright.
New Skills and Habits (Teresa)
We're keeping busy, but also have relaxing times at home and away. We generally have to go away, to an internet cafe to get online, so you're not hearing as much from us. Thanks for personal notes, for prayers, and for keeping in touch :)
We've made a habit of stopping for a scoop of locally made ice-cream on the way home from our afternoon classes each day....it's just so hot we can't resist! Kent always has the same, maracuyá (passion fruit). The rest of us like to try a variety: cappucino (local coffee beans); camu camu (a jungle fruit); guanabana; queso y canela (cheese and cinnamon, both fresh); mint chip (fresh mint and cacao); strawberry chip (both fresh); pinapple (fresh, of course); rum raisin (both fresh!); mango; chocolate with peanuts (both fresh); etc. Amazing!
Other new habits include.....
Luisa now eats all day long; seems like a growth spurt coming on! Her favorite snacks here are hard-boiled eggs and mixed nuts. Nice and healthy, and snack carts are in good supply here. She hasn`t tried the hard boiled quail eggs that are sold on the street; she sticks to chicken eggs that we boil at home. One day she ate a total of 7 hard boiled eggs!
Magdalena has taken a liking to the granadilla fruit, with her record being 10 smallish ones in one day. They are a strange looking and textured fruit, but cheap and delicious. Magdalena also has gotten smart about when to take her daily (cold) shower, and tries to get it in while she`s still sweaty in the evening :) Once the sun sets at 7pm and the air cools (8-9pm) it's harder to motivate ourselves to jump in a cold shower.
Kent´s new habit is taking warm showers with the help of boiled water. The rest of us are too lazy to take the time for this kind of preparation, and our hosts think it`s kind of funny, but they understand at the same time. Rosa is happy to aid Kent in his shower preparations and they enjoy his happiness after a nice shower :)
One of Teresa`s new habits is getting up early to open the curtains and windows. The bedroom windows are closed at night to keep out mosquitos, but in the morning cool air pours in when we open them. I love to lay in bed, feel the cool air and enjoy the amazing scenery of green mountains, fruit trees and all kinds of birds. I`ve been watching a hummingbird that regularly visits around the house, quite large by our standards, and colored in greens, purples, browns....just gorgeous.
We´ve also been developing some new skills....
Luisa has become very skilled at flagging mototaxis, and directing them to pick up her slower parents! She took on this job when I was having foot pain, so didn´t want to walk very far to locate a taxi. She takes off running from the house and returns in the taxi with a big smile! We wonder what the taxi drivers are saying about us!
Magdalena is develping amazing teaching skills. She is doing quite a bit of small group teaching in our classes, and she`s also offered regular teaching session to Kent, since she`s dismayed by his grammatical mistakes (in Spanish). After some conversations, Kent is graciously receiving tuturial sessions from Magdalena and his Spanish is improving by leaps and bounds! So, I guess this is also a report on Kent's new skills.
Teresa is becoming more skilled with determining when to hang out laundry around the rainy season showers...but this was reported in a previous post :)
We've made a habit of stopping for a scoop of locally made ice-cream on the way home from our afternoon classes each day....it's just so hot we can't resist! Kent always has the same, maracuyá (passion fruit). The rest of us like to try a variety: cappucino (local coffee beans); camu camu (a jungle fruit); guanabana; queso y canela (cheese and cinnamon, both fresh); mint chip (fresh mint and cacao); strawberry chip (both fresh); pinapple (fresh, of course); rum raisin (both fresh!); mango; chocolate with peanuts (both fresh); etc. Amazing!
Other new habits include.....
Luisa now eats all day long; seems like a growth spurt coming on! Her favorite snacks here are hard-boiled eggs and mixed nuts. Nice and healthy, and snack carts are in good supply here. She hasn`t tried the hard boiled quail eggs that are sold on the street; she sticks to chicken eggs that we boil at home. One day she ate a total of 7 hard boiled eggs!
Magdalena has taken a liking to the granadilla fruit, with her record being 10 smallish ones in one day. They are a strange looking and textured fruit, but cheap and delicious. Magdalena also has gotten smart about when to take her daily (cold) shower, and tries to get it in while she`s still sweaty in the evening :) Once the sun sets at 7pm and the air cools (8-9pm) it's harder to motivate ourselves to jump in a cold shower.
Kent´s new habit is taking warm showers with the help of boiled water. The rest of us are too lazy to take the time for this kind of preparation, and our hosts think it`s kind of funny, but they understand at the same time. Rosa is happy to aid Kent in his shower preparations and they enjoy his happiness after a nice shower :)
One of Teresa`s new habits is getting up early to open the curtains and windows. The bedroom windows are closed at night to keep out mosquitos, but in the morning cool air pours in when we open them. I love to lay in bed, feel the cool air and enjoy the amazing scenery of green mountains, fruit trees and all kinds of birds. I`ve been watching a hummingbird that regularly visits around the house, quite large by our standards, and colored in greens, purples, browns....just gorgeous.
We´ve also been developing some new skills....
Luisa has become very skilled at flagging mototaxis, and directing them to pick up her slower parents! She took on this job when I was having foot pain, so didn´t want to walk very far to locate a taxi. She takes off running from the house and returns in the taxi with a big smile! We wonder what the taxi drivers are saying about us!
Magdalena is develping amazing teaching skills. She is doing quite a bit of small group teaching in our classes, and she`s also offered regular teaching session to Kent, since she`s dismayed by his grammatical mistakes (in Spanish). After some conversations, Kent is graciously receiving tuturial sessions from Magdalena and his Spanish is improving by leaps and bounds! So, I guess this is also a report on Kent's new skills.
Teresa is becoming more skilled with determining when to hang out laundry around the rainy season showers...but this was reported in a previous post :)
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Tour of the Perené Region (Magdalena and Teresa)
Saturday (yesterday) we went on a fun, varied field-trip to the local area of Perené along the river with the same name. Our tour guide shared all kinds of information with us, including facts and local legends. Magdalena took good notes in Spanish, which we´ll share with you in English!
The Airplane Park in our town of La Merced.
- We pass this roundabout with a propellar plane every day on our way to the police station.
- The plane was used in the last twenty years for raides on drug trafficing in this region.
Ecólogic Chanchamayo, a local coffee farm, plant and store.
- Ninety percent of agriculture in Chanchamayo (which includes 6 town, including La Merced) is coffee. The Chanchamayo region is the coffee capital of Peru.
- When coffee is natural it is brown; if it's black it's burned!
- If coffee is good, then you should enjoy it without sugar. Only bad coffee needs sugar!
- You should drink two cups of good coffee each day: one cup of café americano in the morning to wake up and one cup of espresso in the evening to calm you for the night.
Quimiri Bridge
- a suspension bridge 90 m long across the Chanchamayo River in La Merced
- built in 1905 to bring loads of fruits from the farms into the town
- On the other side of the bridge we noticed how the roots of plants and trees hold the rocks and bolders in place. Our guide explained that people have often cut off roots to make coffe and produce baskets since the roots are moisture-resistant. When these roots are removed avalanches result; this is a common problem during the rainy season on barren hillsides.
- We enjoyed freshly made juices (mango) and ice cream (pineapple, coffee, chocolate, and passion fruit) at the Bio Fresh shop along the river, with a great view of the bridge.
Mountain of the sleeping native man
- The clouds moved away just in time for us to see this natural attraction, the face (forehead, eye, nose and chin), and body profile on the top of the mountain.
Villa Progresso, a farm, hotel and restaurant
- orchards of oranges, tangerines, coconuts, bananas, plums
- heliconia, a jungle plant
- confluence of the rivers Chanchamayo and Baucatamba, forming the Perené River which eventually forms the Amazon.
Visit to the famous machetero Pepelucho
- nocturnal relative to other large rodents
- the name relates to its ability to cut with its teeth like a machete; English name is Pacarana
- this is a domesticated machetero who has stared in movies, including one from Hollywood, "El Dorado, Temple of the Sun"
- most recent film is from Peru, "Trata de no callar"
- also met the cutpe, a smaller jungle rodent
Ashaninka Indigenous Community
- 2nd largest indigenous group in the Peruvian Amazon
- comtemporaries of the Incas
- we learned some essential Ashaninka words before we arrived: kitaitery (good morning); pashonky (thank you); habiro (hello); pabishi (enter); pisaiki (sit down); sheténedy (good afternoon); siténedy (good evening)
- "Marankiari" is the name of the village we visited. It's set up like a living history museum where you participate in some of the culture. When we arrived we were dressed in local garb: long brown smocks; strands of beads; headbands with feather for the women and children; straw head bands for the men; and face markings for each, depending on your age and marital status. Kent and Teresa received 3 stripes on each cheek, Luis had one stripe on each cheek, and Magdalena was marked with a star on each cheek, meaning that she is marrying age :)
- We were served a drink of manzinato masticado. a fermented yucca drink. Not very pleasing to us!
- We experienced a marriage ritual during which Magdalena and the other single young lady in our tour group were taken away by a single man of the community to be tested for marriage. (Magdalena said he just took them to some plants and taught them about the properties and uses of the plants.) When they came back to the group, we were escorted by village folks into a dance around a bonfire. Several men played drums and a boy played the kena (bamboo flute), to provide the melody and rhythm for the dancing.
- after the wedding ritual and dancing, there was time to shop in the artisan areas and to hold boas and parrots; both of our girls held the boa for photos! Magdalena was surprised how heavy it was.
Boat ride on the Perené River
- We weren´t so sure about going on the "Titanic", a long canoe-like boat with a motor, fitting 18 (plus a baby) of us in our group
- lovely to experience a ride on a rushing river; high brown water in the rainy season
Restaurant: El Shamuray
- the restaurant specializes in meats from the jungle, but none of us could think of eating the machetero or cutpe that we just met this morning! We opted for other local meats....
- Luisa had "Milanesa de pollo", a breaded chicken fillet
- Magdalena ordered "Venado asado", grilled deer meat
- Teresa and Kent both enjoyed fried Doncella, a South American catfish
- all dishes were served with white rice, fried sticks of yucca (similar to thick french fries), and cooked ripe plantain
Bayoz Waterfall and Bride's Veil Waterfall
- beautiful hikes to various lookouts along the waterfalls
- water was especially high and brown because of recent rains, so they didn't recommend swimming; in the dry season there is much less water and it's clear, nicer for bathing
- we still enjoyed the refreshing spray along the hikes
Chanchamayo Highland Coffee
- another local plant and stores, the store that we located on our first day in town, which sells Menno Tea and has photos of Goshen's own Niles Graber Miller with a cute mishasho (coati in English), a small jungle animal
- Café Misha is the most expensive coffee. It´s produced when a mishasho eats the coffee beans. The poop is cleaned and processed to produce a specialty coffee which is sold for lots of money in Europe and the U.S. (e.g. 95 soles per 100 gm, or $38 for 3.5 oz)
- we stocked up on local chocolates: chocolate with orange juice and rind; and coffee chocolates
The Airplane Park in our town of La Merced.
- We pass this roundabout with a propellar plane every day on our way to the police station.
- The plane was used in the last twenty years for raides on drug trafficing in this region.
Ecólogic Chanchamayo, a local coffee farm, plant and store.
- Ninety percent of agriculture in Chanchamayo (which includes 6 town, including La Merced) is coffee. The Chanchamayo region is the coffee capital of Peru.
- When coffee is natural it is brown; if it's black it's burned!
- If coffee is good, then you should enjoy it without sugar. Only bad coffee needs sugar!
- You should drink two cups of good coffee each day: one cup of café americano in the morning to wake up and one cup of espresso in the evening to calm you for the night.
Quimiri Bridge
- a suspension bridge 90 m long across the Chanchamayo River in La Merced
- built in 1905 to bring loads of fruits from the farms into the town
- On the other side of the bridge we noticed how the roots of plants and trees hold the rocks and bolders in place. Our guide explained that people have often cut off roots to make coffe and produce baskets since the roots are moisture-resistant. When these roots are removed avalanches result; this is a common problem during the rainy season on barren hillsides.
- We enjoyed freshly made juices (mango) and ice cream (pineapple, coffee, chocolate, and passion fruit) at the Bio Fresh shop along the river, with a great view of the bridge.
Mountain of the sleeping native man
- The clouds moved away just in time for us to see this natural attraction, the face (forehead, eye, nose and chin), and body profile on the top of the mountain.
Villa Progresso, a farm, hotel and restaurant
- orchards of oranges, tangerines, coconuts, bananas, plums
- heliconia, a jungle plant
- confluence of the rivers Chanchamayo and Baucatamba, forming the Perené River which eventually forms the Amazon.
Visit to the famous machetero Pepelucho
- nocturnal relative to other large rodents
- the name relates to its ability to cut with its teeth like a machete; English name is Pacarana
- this is a domesticated machetero who has stared in movies, including one from Hollywood, "El Dorado, Temple of the Sun"
- most recent film is from Peru, "Trata de no callar"
- also met the cutpe, a smaller jungle rodent
Ashaninka Indigenous Community
- 2nd largest indigenous group in the Peruvian Amazon
- comtemporaries of the Incas
- we learned some essential Ashaninka words before we arrived: kitaitery (good morning); pashonky (thank you); habiro (hello); pabishi (enter); pisaiki (sit down); sheténedy (good afternoon); siténedy (good evening)
- "Marankiari" is the name of the village we visited. It's set up like a living history museum where you participate in some of the culture. When we arrived we were dressed in local garb: long brown smocks; strands of beads; headbands with feather for the women and children; straw head bands for the men; and face markings for each, depending on your age and marital status. Kent and Teresa received 3 stripes on each cheek, Luis had one stripe on each cheek, and Magdalena was marked with a star on each cheek, meaning that she is marrying age :)
- We were served a drink of manzinato masticado. a fermented yucca drink. Not very pleasing to us!
- We experienced a marriage ritual during which Magdalena and the other single young lady in our tour group were taken away by a single man of the community to be tested for marriage. (Magdalena said he just took them to some plants and taught them about the properties and uses of the plants.) When they came back to the group, we were escorted by village folks into a dance around a bonfire. Several men played drums and a boy played the kena (bamboo flute), to provide the melody and rhythm for the dancing.
- after the wedding ritual and dancing, there was time to shop in the artisan areas and to hold boas and parrots; both of our girls held the boa for photos! Magdalena was surprised how heavy it was.
Boat ride on the Perené River
- We weren´t so sure about going on the "Titanic", a long canoe-like boat with a motor, fitting 18 (plus a baby) of us in our group
- lovely to experience a ride on a rushing river; high brown water in the rainy season
Restaurant: El Shamuray
- the restaurant specializes in meats from the jungle, but none of us could think of eating the machetero or cutpe that we just met this morning! We opted for other local meats....
- Luisa had "Milanesa de pollo", a breaded chicken fillet
- Magdalena ordered "Venado asado", grilled deer meat
- Teresa and Kent both enjoyed fried Doncella, a South American catfish
- all dishes were served with white rice, fried sticks of yucca (similar to thick french fries), and cooked ripe plantain
Bayoz Waterfall and Bride's Veil Waterfall
- beautiful hikes to various lookouts along the waterfalls
- water was especially high and brown because of recent rains, so they didn't recommend swimming; in the dry season there is much less water and it's clear, nicer for bathing
- we still enjoyed the refreshing spray along the hikes
Chanchamayo Highland Coffee
- another local plant and stores, the store that we located on our first day in town, which sells Menno Tea and has photos of Goshen's own Niles Graber Miller with a cute mishasho (coati in English), a small jungle animal
- Café Misha is the most expensive coffee. It´s produced when a mishasho eats the coffee beans. The poop is cleaned and processed to produce a specialty coffee which is sold for lots of money in Europe and the U.S. (e.g. 95 soles per 100 gm, or $38 for 3.5 oz)
- we stocked up on local chocolates: chocolate with orange juice and rind; and coffee chocolates
First Full Week of Teaching in La Merced (Kent)
Our first week of teaching in the summer program was yet another lesson on flexibility for us. We had 3 music classes this week, and English class started on Tuesday.
Our first class of the day ended up being for the 4-8 year old age group, however on Monday, our supervisor brought in 10-12 preteen/teenage boys who had their soccer practice cancelled or something, so I changed the lesson mid-stream and geared the lesson towards them since they were now the majority. I think what happened was that our supervisor felt bad that we didn't have many children in class and he saw these boys who didn't have anything to do, so he told them to come to music class. I did everything I could think of to engage both sets of kids at the same time, which included a singing dodgeball game from Afganistan, Native American stick games, and lots of percussion playing and improvising. The rest of the week this class was more consistant, with a half dozen or so 4-8 year olds.
Most of our music classes are made up mostly of girls. I think one reason this happened was because of a slight "mis-marketing" of our classes. It's kind of hard to market "Orff style" music classes, especially when general music classes don't really exist. I told them that we teach music using folk dance, creative movement, percussion, singing, singing games, body percussion, improvising and composing. This got condensed to "dance class." The other thing is that the police summer program is mostly sports segregated by gender, so some of our classes are scheduled so that a group of girls come straight from volleyball.
Our second class was made up of 10-14 year old girls. On day 2, there were about ten 12-14 year old volleyball girls that were told up to my 4-8 year old music class. I decided that I didn't want to do that again, so we told them to come back a bit later for their age group. That class went very well, and we had about 15 girls and a big focus of the class was on playing the recorder. However, most of them didn't come back. Each day after that we had less and less girls. By Friday we were down to 2 girls.
Our third class of the day, which started at 4:15 and allowed us a nice big lunch and siesta break in the middle of the day, was our most consistant this week. For most of the week we had 25 girls 7-10 years old who came directly from volleyball. This group went pretty well, especially when we broke the class up into 2 or 3 groups for our singing games, folk dances and percussion playing. When we're in 3 groups, each of the Dutchersmith females leads a group, and I facilitate the whole class. This works really well.
Our 4th and final class of the day was English class. This wasn't in our original plans, but we did it because it seemd to be in high demand. (They don't even know that I am a certified and trained ENL teacher in the states.) Everyday it was made up of different kids. Wednesday we had 15 children between the ages of 6-10. Earlier in the week we had kids as old as 14. Of the 15 students there on Wednesday, only 3 had been there on Tuesday.
The biggest challenge of teaching English class is that I think students here are used to a totally different way of learning which is more "old school," using things such as rote memorization, work sheets and copying things from the board. I try to use more engaging things like singing, chanting, games and TPR (Total Physical Response). TPR involves responding to commands. It also involves more concentration and thinking than more traditional methods so the students are kind of uncomfortable and sometimes reluctant to participate. Luisa and Magdalena, who were the ones initially very excited about teaching English, were pretty down after Thursday's class because the kids were very distracted. and had a hard time concentrating and paying attention. So, we went out for supper, talked about it and came up with a new plan for Friday that involves all of us and engages more students more intimately.
So, on Friday, that's what we did. After singing and chanting time at the beginning, Luisa split the whole class into 4 groups based on age and ability. Each of us took a group and did a 10 minute center. After 10 minutes, we rotated groups until all 4 groups went to each teacher-led center. It worked wonderfully and engaged all the students all of the time! Yay!!! Our four groups on Friday were:
1. Word matching game with family vocab--Luisa
2. Playing a game with alphabet picture cards-Magdalena
3. TPR using family vocab--Teresa
4. Family vocab practice using Family pictures--Kent
Luisa and I went shopping for some teaching materials on Thursday and found blank cards (for making flash cards), English alphabet cards, English-Spanish fruit and vegetable cards, food cards, and a little basic English book that we can make copies of different pages. The total cost of all of that was 17 soles, which comes to about $6.50. The police station is willing to make copies for us. Next week we are adjusting our schedule, which will hopefully fix a few of our attendance/scheduling issues. Our first 2 classes need more students, so we are adjusting the schedule in hopes of attracting more.
A good chunk of today I will spend doing lesson plans. Actually, "lesson plans" isn't a very good word for planning in this environment. A list of "lesson possibilities" is a more acurate description of my planning.
Our first class of the day ended up being for the 4-8 year old age group, however on Monday, our supervisor brought in 10-12 preteen/teenage boys who had their soccer practice cancelled or something, so I changed the lesson mid-stream and geared the lesson towards them since they were now the majority. I think what happened was that our supervisor felt bad that we didn't have many children in class and he saw these boys who didn't have anything to do, so he told them to come to music class. I did everything I could think of to engage both sets of kids at the same time, which included a singing dodgeball game from Afganistan, Native American stick games, and lots of percussion playing and improvising. The rest of the week this class was more consistant, with a half dozen or so 4-8 year olds.
Most of our music classes are made up mostly of girls. I think one reason this happened was because of a slight "mis-marketing" of our classes. It's kind of hard to market "Orff style" music classes, especially when general music classes don't really exist. I told them that we teach music using folk dance, creative movement, percussion, singing, singing games, body percussion, improvising and composing. This got condensed to "dance class." The other thing is that the police summer program is mostly sports segregated by gender, so some of our classes are scheduled so that a group of girls come straight from volleyball.
Our second class was made up of 10-14 year old girls. On day 2, there were about ten 12-14 year old volleyball girls that were told up to my 4-8 year old music class. I decided that I didn't want to do that again, so we told them to come back a bit later for their age group. That class went very well, and we had about 15 girls and a big focus of the class was on playing the recorder. However, most of them didn't come back. Each day after that we had less and less girls. By Friday we were down to 2 girls.
Our third class of the day, which started at 4:15 and allowed us a nice big lunch and siesta break in the middle of the day, was our most consistant this week. For most of the week we had 25 girls 7-10 years old who came directly from volleyball. This group went pretty well, especially when we broke the class up into 2 or 3 groups for our singing games, folk dances and percussion playing. When we're in 3 groups, each of the Dutchersmith females leads a group, and I facilitate the whole class. This works really well.
Our 4th and final class of the day was English class. This wasn't in our original plans, but we did it because it seemd to be in high demand. (They don't even know that I am a certified and trained ENL teacher in the states.) Everyday it was made up of different kids. Wednesday we had 15 children between the ages of 6-10. Earlier in the week we had kids as old as 14. Of the 15 students there on Wednesday, only 3 had been there on Tuesday.
The biggest challenge of teaching English class is that I think students here are used to a totally different way of learning which is more "old school," using things such as rote memorization, work sheets and copying things from the board. I try to use more engaging things like singing, chanting, games and TPR (Total Physical Response). TPR involves responding to commands. It also involves more concentration and thinking than more traditional methods so the students are kind of uncomfortable and sometimes reluctant to participate. Luisa and Magdalena, who were the ones initially very excited about teaching English, were pretty down after Thursday's class because the kids were very distracted. and had a hard time concentrating and paying attention. So, we went out for supper, talked about it and came up with a new plan for Friday that involves all of us and engages more students more intimately.
So, on Friday, that's what we did. After singing and chanting time at the beginning, Luisa split the whole class into 4 groups based on age and ability. Each of us took a group and did a 10 minute center. After 10 minutes, we rotated groups until all 4 groups went to each teacher-led center. It worked wonderfully and engaged all the students all of the time! Yay!!! Our four groups on Friday were:
1. Word matching game with family vocab--Luisa
2. Playing a game with alphabet picture cards-Magdalena
3. TPR using family vocab--Teresa
4. Family vocab practice using Family pictures--Kent
Luisa and I went shopping for some teaching materials on Thursday and found blank cards (for making flash cards), English alphabet cards, English-Spanish fruit and vegetable cards, food cards, and a little basic English book that we can make copies of different pages. The total cost of all of that was 17 soles, which comes to about $6.50. The police station is willing to make copies for us. Next week we are adjusting our schedule, which will hopefully fix a few of our attendance/scheduling issues. Our first 2 classes need more students, so we are adjusting the schedule in hopes of attracting more.
A good chunk of today I will spend doing lesson plans. Actually, "lesson plans" isn't a very good word for planning in this environment. A list of "lesson possibilities" is a more acurate description of my planning.
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