Shotgun

Note- Arequipean traffic can be easily compared to shotgun.. whichever car beeps first has right of way.

In other news, going to Cusco tomorrow for easter break with the girls. Looking forward to the overnight bus ride.

Arequipa Part 6

Ok first day of my permanent class - gorgeous little grade 1's and 2's with Margi, (US) who's the most organised person i know. She's very skilled with admin stuff, and has amazingly reconnected her Peruvian host family with their son, who has been unwell in Alaska for the last 40 years. Unbelievable what the internet can do!

We had some medical students come to Chiguata today to discuss hygiene, health and how to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The second year students provided the kids with checkups and a short lesson about washing hands before eating, brushing teeth, etc. It was fantastic.

Carlos, the new boy. Adorable!

Check up with a grade 2 girl from my new class

Afterwards we had 4hrs of class with the two grades combined. I'm finally feeling much more comfortable in the school, and am happier with the age group. Probably because i actually feel like i'm teaching the kids something! Read 3 little pigs in spanish, (which i think went down well) followed by an hour of an oragami workshop.

Me swinging Mayte around... i think she got a little scared!

Nina with Mayte... the little girl can't get enough

Oly (UK) playing with Millie

All in all, a good day. Going out for cake now with Nina from denmark to celebrate her last few days here.

Arequipa Part 5 / Camana Beach

Thank god that week is over. I knew it was going to be hard, but geez, it was tough. Mostly because my spanish is so basic, but also because i felt like i was babysitting a bit too much. I really want to be able to teach here, but the kids in inicial had such basic skills that we (yussef and i) just played with puzzles and drew pictures with them. Now, don't get me wrong.. they are bloody cute. I've even contemplated stealing some of them. But i guess it wasn't really for me.

Kinder's perched on top a sign

Me and Millie

Mayte and Millie

Me and Freddy

Luis!

Which is why on Friday, Madaline (Norway), Deb (Ireland), Liz (England), Carli (England), Hilary (US) and myself headed down to Canama beach to get away for the weekend. And although there was absolutely nothing to do in the town, it was so nice to just relax next to the pool. The cocktails were really yum as well.

Liz, Madaline and me on our first night

Deb and me dressed up for our last night out

The pool at our hotel

Liz, Me, Madaline, Deb, Carli

On the last night we went out for dinner, and for one of the first times since i left, i wore makeup and felt like a girl again! it was fantastic.

Anyway, good weekend. Ready for another one.

Arequipa Part 4

Teacher strike today. Very small attendance - 5 los niños de inicial (kinder, not prep) - but still a good day. Read ´¨The Ugly Duckling¨¨ in broken spanish, not sure if they understood me. Not sure if they know the difference to be honest.

Yussef handing out lunch

My kinder class

Grade 5/6 boys

Grade 3/4 boys

Melissa

Our bus... Tess is obviously excited to be going home

Kinder boy (forgot his name). Probably the cutest boy i've ever met.

Millie

First Day!

First day of school. Changed schools once again for Chiguata, our newest GVI associated school. For this week i´m taking initial - prep - with Yusef (Cairo, Egypt) who´s fantastic with all the kids, and basically throws them around everywhere; very effective tool for keeping them busy.

Riding on our red bus on the way to Chiguata my lovely volunteers warned me of various precautions that one should take when going to indigenous schools..

1) Beware of insects in your ears
2) That glorious tan you think you get every day washes off in the shower.
3) Sticky substances always find their way onto your shirt. always.
4) Always check your shoes for scorpians

Most of which aren´t actually true, so i found out about 10 minutes ago.

Have to go shower now. Dirt in between my toes.

Arequipa Part 2

My new friend Pako, the 60yr turtle who lives in the hostel Casa de Avila

Had our big weekly BBQ friday night. I made tirmasu.. not sure if i´m capable of cooking anything but desserts.

Preparing dinner in the kitchen; (from left) Janine, Carli, Hilary, James, Madaline

Eating in the garden; a weekly ritual

Jack, Anastasia and Patrick

St Patrick´s day last wednesday was very fun. Went for some yuuumm mexican first in a very intimate and inexpensive restaurant, before heading over to the Irish Bar for some good ol´ Sangria. Which, by the way, is my new favourite drink.

Friday i had my last spanish classes, and to celebrate one of my teacher´s, Elsa, took me for a tour of some museums and cathedrals in the city. I can finally have a (very brief) conversation in spanish, although i´m not sure i`m feeling ready yet to start school tomorrow.

Beauuutiful architecture of the La Compañia church, right next to Plaza de Armas (city square)

The plan for now, (which could very well change in the next 24hrs) is to go to a school called Triunfo, taking grades 2 and 3. Lucky me, the teachers are going on strike the day after i start, so taking a class of 20 spanish speaking niños should be veeery interesting indeed.

Going on a bus tour around the city today. Looking forward to the styrofoam hats...

Bye for now!

A few things i´ve noticed since i arrived...


a) traffic lights don´t seem to exist. or if they do, noone follows them.
b) one way streets are in fact two way
c) for just 30c you can buy an awesome chocolate bar, ¨´sublime´¨
d) public buses don´t stop when you get off

Colca Canyon Trek

It took 21km of trekking for me to realise just how unfit i really am. Got back yesterday from one of the biggest hikes i´ve ever done. (Haven´t really done that many, but nonetheless it was a tough one)

It all started with a 2.30am wake up one Friday morning. We took a bus from the hotel (where GVI is based) for about 3hrs, until arriving in a small rural town called Chivay. After stopping for a brief Peruvian breakfast, half the group got off for an abbreviated, more luxurious Colca ´trek´, while the remaining six of us - Madeline (Norway), Janine (US), Jack (UK), Ollie (UK), Nina (Denmark) and myself - got back onto the bus for another few hours, heading towards the beginning of the Canyon.

On the way, stopped at condor look out + sited 3 large birds

Small touristy market overlooking the condor lookout

First day was 8km of downhill trekking. The view was absolutely gorgeous! The canyon was about 5000 feet upwards, so the thin atmosphere made it that much more difficult. By the time we reached the bottom our legs were shaking uncontrollably, which created problems for the 15min hike up a sharp incline towards our cabins.

In the middle of the hike with Oly

Oly and Jack

We arrived at about 1pm and had some lunch, before relaxing on the grass in the basin of the overwhelming canyon. Then we had a brief dinner, courtesy of our guide Victor, before heading to bed at about 8pm. (yes, we were exhuasted)

Eating lunch, day 1

Our first destination

Second day, we got up about 7ish for some yumm pancakes, before heading out for 7km across the canyon, involving various inclines up and down. This was probably the easiest day, but it was as hot as hell, so was far from your average stroll. At about 1pm we arrived at the lowes point of the Canyon, at a ´hotel´ called Paradise. It was bloody amazing. There was this great big swimming pool, nestled beside a bar that had walls overlooking the canyon. And there were so many other backpackers, in their 20s, all hiking the same trek as us so it was pretty cool to meet people and just relax. (which we didn´t really end up doing because we were still so exhuasted) After a huge lunch, followed shortly by an even bigger dinner - by candelight (there was no electricity) - we headed back to our rooms to relax and listen to Oly reading aloud ¨The Road¨. Which, for those who haven´t read it, is a fantastic book.

While stopping over at a gallery for a break, we met this GORGEOUS dog, shapup.

A woman sewing traditional clothing

The last day we awoke at 5am for our last and hardest hike - 6km up a very sharp incline, accompanied by loose falling stones, large stepping rocks and a very alarmingly thin path. I hiked up for about 3km, but my back caved in at about halfway, so i took a mule up the last few kms. This was probably one of the scariest things i´ve ever done! My fear of hights was confirmed by how close the mules walked to the edge, not to mention how unsteady they swayed with each step. The scenery was absolutely amazing though!

The mules that i road on the last few k´s up the mountain

Janine stretching at one of the points on the canyon. The path in the background shows part of the trek we hiked down on the first day.

Finally, though, we all reached the top and had bananas to celebrate, along with a group picture with Travis - an American guy travelling solo who we met along the way.

We then had bfast back in Chivay, before taking the 3hr bus ride home with many stops on the way. This of course included the hot springs, which i unfortunately didn´t go to because i was sick from brushing my teeth with some tap water in the Canyon. (I don´t recommend ANYONE trying that... honestly, not worth it)

Arrived home about 7pm, and fell asleep instantly, but not before having a long hot shower..

All in all, a good trek. I swear i can feel a few more muscles in my arms and legs...

Arequipa part 1

You may have been wondering, where in the world is Lauren? What country is she in now? Is she lost, again?

The answer is yes, i have been lost many, many times. But i´m not here to discuss my lack of direction. This blog is to save you any repeated, lazy or brief replies. You can check it however frequently or infrequently you want.

So here we go.

For the next 2 months, i´ll be living in a town called Arequipa, just outside of Peru´s capital Lima. It´s soooo beautiful here! I arrived after a horrific 27hrs in the air, entertainment not included. This was of course followed by 48hrs without my baggage, typical of Latin America so i´m learning. I´m still recovering, after 5 days of living here.

The first day i arrived, i wandered around the city - without getting lost!- before meeting the GVI guys. Our group here is apparently the biggest Childcare education Volunteering group they´ve had, with 24 people from all over the world teaching across 3 schools, maybe even 4 in the next few weeks. That night, Friday, we had a massive BBQ - apparently a weekly ritual - which gave me a good chance to get to know everyone. This was of course followed by a night of bar hopping and a weird Peruvian liquior, which tasted awful, and was stronger than i had intended.

Eating lunch with Madeline, a Norwegian volunteer, inside a monestary (Santa Catalina)

AND the best part, is everything is so bloody cheap; i spent 50c AUS on a huge chinese wok meal yesterday for lunch. (My first Peruvian meal)

Since then, i´ve moved in with my homestay - Martha - and her family, who live 30minotos from the hotel Casa De Vila, where the program is based. She lives in a 3 storey granny flat, and everyday i walk to the Casa for 4hr Spanish classes passing through bustling streets of Arequipa, in particular this gorgeous bridge that overlooks 3 or 4 active volcanoes, a river, and most of the city.

On my daily walk to Spanish school...

The view from my bedroom window

My small and very cosy bedroom, located on the third floor

As for my spanish, i can already have a (very brief) conversation after just 2 days of classes, which i discovered having spent a 10minute car ride with a taxi driver yesterday.

All in all, i think i´ll be here a while.

Hope you´re all recovering from those terrible Melbourne storms!

xLB