I was looking so much forward to go to the centre wednesday, but I found myself vomiting in the morning and was dragged to a doctor by Melanie. Was told that I had to go to the gringo (=traveller) clinic in Cusco, and so I did. Annoyed that I was not feeling that bad anymore, I had to get drop with some electrolytes and some other things 'cause apparently I had gotten myself salmonella, amoeba and a third thing that I don't remember the name of.
In case any of you don't know, the needles they put into your hand are huuuuuuge! And they had to switch them five times 'cause they couldn't find a vein.... Yay!
After trying to talk the nurses into letting me out, I was finally allowed to leave friday morning. Alex had spend two days at the centre painting faces and angels wings for the play, so I was excited about finally getting out of the hospital and being able to see the play that was on friday, the last day of summerschool. Still missed it 'cause I felt bad though, so I had to go to the house.
Fortunately I felt good saturday morning when we got up to catch our flight from Cusco to Lima!
We got off the plane and went directly to the bus station to catch a bus for Mancora. The bus left at 4pm, and we had food and drinks served by a funny man walking around the bus like a flight attendant with a trolley and a nice suit, asking if we would prefer coffee or tea with sugar.... Obviously we were not able to stay away from laughing at the very friendly man a couple of times, as he was coming over with a tray covered by a green cloth, offering readings such as Madagascar (the movie, turned into a childrens book) and other not very tempting magazines.
The bus was nice though, and we arrived at Mancora at about 9am this morning. We went to see Alex, the coordinater of the Mama Cocha centre in Los Organos (near Mancora), and went back to our hostel, the Point Hostel in Mancora.
Apparently we've arrived at a perfect day, 'cause tonight there's a fullmoon party at our hostel. Looking forward to a week in a vacation paradise with opportunities of surfing, horseback riding and lots of other stuff!
Feb 28, 2010
Feb 24, 2010
Bolivia and Titicaca
Just got back to Urubamba after quite a few days away. Alot has happened and ill do my best to remember it all.
We started off Friday around 6pm to leave for Cusco, having our bus to Puno leaving at 9pm. Having missed the last collectivo (shared taxi), we were forced to take the cheaper bus. Cheaper for obvious reasons. Takes twice as long, smells constantly of fart, petrol, sweat and is a bumpy, slow and just plain painful ride. Me and the other volunteer sat next to a highly crazy religious woman who worked at the meat market and smelled like it too. When we finally arrived in Cusco, all the excitement to be on our way was almost completely gone. Nevertheless, we found dinner in town and made our bus to puno with comfortable seats. Took about 8 hours, whereafter we jumped on a bus to Copacabana, the small village on lake titicaca in bolivia where Isla del sol is. This bus ride included crossing the border to bolivia, and for the other volunteer with us, an american, this was no easy task realizing she had to pay a 135 dollar visa. For us danes, we simpy walked across, filled out the forms and got our stamp. Turning our eyes the other way, the american opted towards making a deal with the bus drivers (since she didnt have 135 dollars handy) and was more or less smuggled across the border. She was told the same bus drivers would be there to pick us up, and the same procedure would go for the return ticket. The bus took 3 hours, and upon arrival we almost immediately jumped on a 2 hour boat to Isla del Sol, the island that the Inkas believed to be the origin of their god. We climbed to the top of the island and settled in, after much walking around and haggling after realizing there was no atm present and we had to be sparesome with our wallets. We found a cheap place with a stunning view over the lake and the snowy mountains in the background. Sat outside watching the approaching thunderstorm with a cold beer, thinking about how incredible the place was. Having a lake so massive it seems more like an ocean 4000 meters up in the mountains is hard to grasp.
We woke up early and set off on a hike across the island (about 15km). We had briefly met some brazilians the night before who joined us. It took us a good 3 and a half hours to get across the island, but the view was worth it all. Walking past inka ruins and constantly having this amazing view out over Lake Titicaca took the mind of being tired. We took a boat back to mainland and Copacabana around 1:30pm and went on the hunt for an atm as we were literally completely broke at that point. To our greatest surprise, there was only one bank in town, that only opened on tuesdays. We refused to believe it for a while as it really just seemed straight out stupid considering the amount of backpackers and tourists in town. Walking around broke with no bank forced us to find a hostel that took card, which was very few and ended up being a little more expensive than expected, although 30 dollars a night for a triple room seems like nothing to the western world. The owner of the hotel Copula, a german, was extremely generous and understanding and gave us a good price. The place was also absolutely amazing with a view over the lake and hammocks providing the perfect place for me to relax with a view while the girls looked around in shops. We did eventually find a place that offered a cash advance for a huge personal commision, but desperate and moneyless in a foreign country, we were forced to accept. That night, of all nights, happened to be carnival in bolivia and after dinner we made our way to the plaza just to look around. There were at least 5 bands playing and everywhere people were dressed in the most amazing traditional costumes. The moral code seemed to be no less than drink till you fall, and so they did. We were pulled in by locals, given free beer, given their costumes, the other volunteer was proposed to and introduced to the mother in law, father in law and the rest of the family (the man proposing was just sober enough to remain on his feet). We danced around in the most absurd conditions but constantly just laughing and having a good time. During my two years at Roskilde Festival I would say I have seen my share of drunk people, but this was just even more loco (for you, petersen). Watching them literally tip over and zig zag their way home was a lot of fun. The next morning the girls went shopping and I stayed in the hammock with some music, and we had our bus home to catch in the afternoon. Leaving at 6, it left at half past (such is peruvian time as we have come to learn). With a bus to catch at 9 in puno to cusco, we were getting nervous, although bolivia is one hour ahead. Immigrations took a while, and our american friend was terrified to see her bus drivers from last time were not there. While the rest of us got in line to legally leave Bolivia and enter Peru again, with an extended visa, she strolled past without any problems but with her heart beating quite fast. Once again, we turned our blind side to the matter, of course caring about her but not wanting to get involved in anything. The bus on the other side was a dump. It rolled, smoking like a camp fire, towards Puno at an alarmingly slow pace. Several times the engine stopped, and finally, 10 km from Puno, it had could go no more. Already half an hour late for our next bus that we HAD to make because we had only gotten monday off from the school, we were thrown into a taxi, told to leave the taxi, jumped on another bus and got to Puno at 10 and even in peruvian time, the bus had left. Being given a promise of a reimbursed ticket in the morning, we found a hostel in town, got up early and went back to the terminal. We managed to get in touch with the school to let them know we wouldnt make it today. As expected, no one took blame the next morning and we fought for about an hour without luck, and had to pay for another ticket home as we had no other option. Being able to speak spanish in day to day situations as we can now is very different from arguing, and we had to give up eventually. We finally made it to Cusco at 4 in the afternoon and got home to Urubamba just now, at around 7. The school was very understanding of the situation, luckily, but we now only have 3 days of school before leaving for Mancora for some more vacation. At the moment we are getting very little work done, and seem to have a lot of vacation, but who are we to complain. Suzy, founder of Kiya Survivors, is currently here and having to see her, more spanish lessons and going to the rainbow house in 3 days is going to be very hectic.
Will write more soon,
Alex
We started off Friday around 6pm to leave for Cusco, having our bus to Puno leaving at 9pm. Having missed the last collectivo (shared taxi), we were forced to take the cheaper bus. Cheaper for obvious reasons. Takes twice as long, smells constantly of fart, petrol, sweat and is a bumpy, slow and just plain painful ride. Me and the other volunteer sat next to a highly crazy religious woman who worked at the meat market and smelled like it too. When we finally arrived in Cusco, all the excitement to be on our way was almost completely gone. Nevertheless, we found dinner in town and made our bus to puno with comfortable seats. Took about 8 hours, whereafter we jumped on a bus to Copacabana, the small village on lake titicaca in bolivia where Isla del sol is. This bus ride included crossing the border to bolivia, and for the other volunteer with us, an american, this was no easy task realizing she had to pay a 135 dollar visa. For us danes, we simpy walked across, filled out the forms and got our stamp. Turning our eyes the other way, the american opted towards making a deal with the bus drivers (since she didnt have 135 dollars handy) and was more or less smuggled across the border. She was told the same bus drivers would be there to pick us up, and the same procedure would go for the return ticket. The bus took 3 hours, and upon arrival we almost immediately jumped on a 2 hour boat to Isla del Sol, the island that the Inkas believed to be the origin of their god. We climbed to the top of the island and settled in, after much walking around and haggling after realizing there was no atm present and we had to be sparesome with our wallets. We found a cheap place with a stunning view over the lake and the snowy mountains in the background. Sat outside watching the approaching thunderstorm with a cold beer, thinking about how incredible the place was. Having a lake so massive it seems more like an ocean 4000 meters up in the mountains is hard to grasp.
We woke up early and set off on a hike across the island (about 15km). We had briefly met some brazilians the night before who joined us. It took us a good 3 and a half hours to get across the island, but the view was worth it all. Walking past inka ruins and constantly having this amazing view out over Lake Titicaca took the mind of being tired. We took a boat back to mainland and Copacabana around 1:30pm and went on the hunt for an atm as we were literally completely broke at that point. To our greatest surprise, there was only one bank in town, that only opened on tuesdays. We refused to believe it for a while as it really just seemed straight out stupid considering the amount of backpackers and tourists in town. Walking around broke with no bank forced us to find a hostel that took card, which was very few and ended up being a little more expensive than expected, although 30 dollars a night for a triple room seems like nothing to the western world. The owner of the hotel Copula, a german, was extremely generous and understanding and gave us a good price. The place was also absolutely amazing with a view over the lake and hammocks providing the perfect place for me to relax with a view while the girls looked around in shops. We did eventually find a place that offered a cash advance for a huge personal commision, but desperate and moneyless in a foreign country, we were forced to accept. That night, of all nights, happened to be carnival in bolivia and after dinner we made our way to the plaza just to look around. There were at least 5 bands playing and everywhere people were dressed in the most amazing traditional costumes. The moral code seemed to be no less than drink till you fall, and so they did. We were pulled in by locals, given free beer, given their costumes, the other volunteer was proposed to and introduced to the mother in law, father in law and the rest of the family (the man proposing was just sober enough to remain on his feet). We danced around in the most absurd conditions but constantly just laughing and having a good time. During my two years at Roskilde Festival I would say I have seen my share of drunk people, but this was just even more loco (for you, petersen). Watching them literally tip over and zig zag their way home was a lot of fun. The next morning the girls went shopping and I stayed in the hammock with some music, and we had our bus home to catch in the afternoon. Leaving at 6, it left at half past (such is peruvian time as we have come to learn). With a bus to catch at 9 in puno to cusco, we were getting nervous, although bolivia is one hour ahead. Immigrations took a while, and our american friend was terrified to see her bus drivers from last time were not there. While the rest of us got in line to legally leave Bolivia and enter Peru again, with an extended visa, she strolled past without any problems but with her heart beating quite fast. Once again, we turned our blind side to the matter, of course caring about her but not wanting to get involved in anything. The bus on the other side was a dump. It rolled, smoking like a camp fire, towards Puno at an alarmingly slow pace. Several times the engine stopped, and finally, 10 km from Puno, it had could go no more. Already half an hour late for our next bus that we HAD to make because we had only gotten monday off from the school, we were thrown into a taxi, told to leave the taxi, jumped on another bus and got to Puno at 10 and even in peruvian time, the bus had left. Being given a promise of a reimbursed ticket in the morning, we found a hostel in town, got up early and went back to the terminal. We managed to get in touch with the school to let them know we wouldnt make it today. As expected, no one took blame the next morning and we fought for about an hour without luck, and had to pay for another ticket home as we had no other option. Being able to speak spanish in day to day situations as we can now is very different from arguing, and we had to give up eventually. We finally made it to Cusco at 4 in the afternoon and got home to Urubamba just now, at around 7. The school was very understanding of the situation, luckily, but we now only have 3 days of school before leaving for Mancora for some more vacation. At the moment we are getting very little work done, and seem to have a lot of vacation, but who are we to complain. Suzy, founder of Kiya Survivors, is currently here and having to see her, more spanish lessons and going to the rainbow house in 3 days is going to be very hectic.
Will write more soon,
Alex
Feb 19, 2010
Couple of days...
Tuesday we went to the park so that some of the kids could get to swim, and they loved it. We ordered tickets to Mancora! So now we're going from 27/2 to 7/3, to spend a week there. We got tickets for 150 dollars for both of us, Cusco-Lima and Lima-Cusco. We will have to spend 17 hours in a bus to Mancora though, but we're looking so much forward to it!
Wednesday was a sad day, as James and Maddie had their last day at the centre. At night we went out to have some sort of goodbye-party. It was a funny night at Tequila Bar, and I am probably the only one who remembers all of it, reasonable as I am :D
Jaime and I got flowers from a kneeling Alex, and I was told by Manuel, Melanies boyfriend, that I have a lot of things to learn in life - for example the fact that stones are magical...! James also found that Alex lying on a bench was a very comfortable spot to sit on, much to Alex' regret.
After 3 amazing hours of sleep, we got up to go to the centre on thursday. We said a final goodbye to Maddie before we went, and met James in the house to say goodbye when we got back from school. The house feels a bit empty with only 3 volunteers now. Good thing is that we have now moved to the top floor an have a great view! Awesome :D
Today was a crazy day. There was carneval at the school, which equals crazy water fights and throwing coloured flour at each other.
After about an hour of water fights, I sat down in the grass, convinced that I was going to dry soon, as I was not that wet.
BUT some of the kids thought that I was absolutely not supposed to dry, and Vladi, Yelson, Carlos and Carlos dragged me to a huge tank of water, placed me directly under it and opened it.. I gave up trying to run away from them though I had been putting up quite a fight against the four boys, and ended up getting completely soaked.
Afterwards dear Eli brought the coloured flour. And yes, I was attacked by several kids, and yes, I was completely multi-coloured after a couple of minutes. Loco!
Where was Alex in all this mess? Of course, he was at the Rainbow Centre to fix a bed for Matilde! And of course he got back just in time to join the fun, more clean and certainly more dry part of the carneval - chopping a tree full of toys and balloons with an axe (and yes, all the kids did that with a real axe - not very scary!) while dancing around it.
Got back just in time for our Spanish lesson, and we will be leaving for Lake Titicaca in a couple of hours. Can't wait!
Wednesday was a sad day, as James and Maddie had their last day at the centre. At night we went out to have some sort of goodbye-party. It was a funny night at Tequila Bar, and I am probably the only one who remembers all of it, reasonable as I am :D
Jaime and I got flowers from a kneeling Alex, and I was told by Manuel, Melanies boyfriend, that I have a lot of things to learn in life - for example the fact that stones are magical...! James also found that Alex lying on a bench was a very comfortable spot to sit on, much to Alex' regret.
After 3 amazing hours of sleep, we got up to go to the centre on thursday. We said a final goodbye to Maddie before we went, and met James in the house to say goodbye when we got back from school. The house feels a bit empty with only 3 volunteers now. Good thing is that we have now moved to the top floor an have a great view! Awesome :D
Today was a crazy day. There was carneval at the school, which equals crazy water fights and throwing coloured flour at each other.
After about an hour of water fights, I sat down in the grass, convinced that I was going to dry soon, as I was not that wet.
BUT some of the kids thought that I was absolutely not supposed to dry, and Vladi, Yelson, Carlos and Carlos dragged me to a huge tank of water, placed me directly under it and opened it.. I gave up trying to run away from them though I had been putting up quite a fight against the four boys, and ended up getting completely soaked.
Afterwards dear Eli brought the coloured flour. And yes, I was attacked by several kids, and yes, I was completely multi-coloured after a couple of minutes. Loco!
Where was Alex in all this mess? Of course, he was at the Rainbow Centre to fix a bed for Matilde! And of course he got back just in time to join the fun, more clean and certainly more dry part of the carneval - chopping a tree full of toys and balloons with an axe (and yes, all the kids did that with a real axe - not very scary!) while dancing around it.
Got back just in time for our Spanish lesson, and we will be leaving for Lake Titicaca in a couple of hours. Can't wait!
Feb 16, 2010
Chinchero 15/2
A little update about yesterday. I went to Chinchero with James, and as we waited for the kids to show up, we cleaned the floor, which was soaked in water because of the rain. We did not expect a lot of kids, since only one had showed up half an hour after they should have been there - however, we ended up having about 20 kids to teach!
We started out with brain gym - very basic brain gym, as there were a lot of new students. Then they had a snack, did some drawings and had lunch. One boy, Daniel, did an amazing drawing. A shame it had to stay at the school! A short school day, but quite hard anyway.
The difference between Pasitos Chinchero and the Rainbow Centre is huge. All the kids are clean when they show up in the Rainbow Centre, they're all very positive and outwards, and the kids in Chinchero are all very shy, and most of them wear dirty clothes and some have skin diseases. You can easily tell there's a lot of work to do in Chinchero, and I might go there more than just once a week when regular school starts...
Today we're off to the Rainbow Centre in a couple of hours. I've been with the kids in the park during school time, some of them went swimming - a lot of fun!
Still have amazing pictures to upload, but the internet here os soooooo slow!
We started out with brain gym - very basic brain gym, as there were a lot of new students. Then they had a snack, did some drawings and had lunch. One boy, Daniel, did an amazing drawing. A shame it had to stay at the school! A short school day, but quite hard anyway.
The difference between Pasitos Chinchero and the Rainbow Centre is huge. All the kids are clean when they show up in the Rainbow Centre, they're all very positive and outwards, and the kids in Chinchero are all very shy, and most of them wear dirty clothes and some have skin diseases. You can easily tell there's a lot of work to do in Chinchero, and I might go there more than just once a week when regular school starts...
Today we're off to the Rainbow Centre in a couple of hours. I've been with the kids in the park during school time, some of them went swimming - a lot of fun!
Still have amazing pictures to upload, but the internet here os soooooo slow!
Small update
Just a quick update this time. Friday night we all went out to our project coordinators house for dinner and had a great time. The evening was followed up by a night out in Urubamba, as crazy as it gets. We had a great time in each others company, an saturday we invented the best hangover cure in the world: danish pancakes and a water fight with the kids. It cured the uncureable. Poor AC should never had made pancakes the first time since were now expecting more anyday!
Sunday we went to Ollantaytambo, a small village about half an hour from Urubamba. We had heard of some festival there and decided it was worth a days trip. As previously mentioned, the month of february is a little intense on the water down here, and as it turns out, weekends are even worse. There is no mercy for gringos what so ever, and it really is best to stay in doors. Just on the way to Ollantaytambo we had to close windows in the car several times to block buckets of water. We´ve actually bought quite the water cannon and now never ever leave the house unarmed. It was almost worse in Ollantaytambo and 50 kids charging at us from all directions forced us to have an early lunch at the closest restaurant (shelter). We headed towards the so called bull run in town (due to the festival) and saw a wall of water created by kids using balloons, buckets, anything. I managed to bribe a police officer to get us through for 5 soles (10 kroner) but half way through he seemed to vanish and we were drenched in less than a second. The bull running then turned out to be a bull fight which was a mixed experience. Interesting to see culturally, but less interesting because its so brutal. It didn´t look like the bulls were tortured, and neither were they killed, but it we still had mixed feelings about it.
Today was spent more or less peacefully at the rainbow center for me and chinchero for AC. Have made plans to take monday off for an extended stay in Puno, the city closest to Lake Titicaca which we will then visit. Will cross a few miles into Bolivia (apparently the most beautiful side of the lake) which then also allows us to renew our visas. Parents, it is NOT dangerous - it is a hugely visited tourist spot. The first week of march the center is closed due to a transition between summer school and regular school and we have therefore decided to head up north to mancora, partly to visit the other center and partly just to relax, perhaps learn how to surf and lie on the beach for a good 5 days. Plane to Lima and bus from Lima to Mancora will take about 24 hours but costs less than 600 kroner all together, including return tickets.
Thanks for the comments everyone, keep them coming, great to hear from you all.
Alex
Sunday we went to Ollantaytambo, a small village about half an hour from Urubamba. We had heard of some festival there and decided it was worth a days trip. As previously mentioned, the month of february is a little intense on the water down here, and as it turns out, weekends are even worse. There is no mercy for gringos what so ever, and it really is best to stay in doors. Just on the way to Ollantaytambo we had to close windows in the car several times to block buckets of water. We´ve actually bought quite the water cannon and now never ever leave the house unarmed. It was almost worse in Ollantaytambo and 50 kids charging at us from all directions forced us to have an early lunch at the closest restaurant (shelter). We headed towards the so called bull run in town (due to the festival) and saw a wall of water created by kids using balloons, buckets, anything. I managed to bribe a police officer to get us through for 5 soles (10 kroner) but half way through he seemed to vanish and we were drenched in less than a second. The bull running then turned out to be a bull fight which was a mixed experience. Interesting to see culturally, but less interesting because its so brutal. It didn´t look like the bulls were tortured, and neither were they killed, but it we still had mixed feelings about it.
Today was spent more or less peacefully at the rainbow center for me and chinchero for AC. Have made plans to take monday off for an extended stay in Puno, the city closest to Lake Titicaca which we will then visit. Will cross a few miles into Bolivia (apparently the most beautiful side of the lake) which then also allows us to renew our visas. Parents, it is NOT dangerous - it is a hugely visited tourist spot. The first week of march the center is closed due to a transition between summer school and regular school and we have therefore decided to head up north to mancora, partly to visit the other center and partly just to relax, perhaps learn how to surf and lie on the beach for a good 5 days. Plane to Lima and bus from Lima to Mancora will take about 24 hours but costs less than 600 kroner all together, including return tickets.
Thanks for the comments everyone, keep them coming, great to hear from you all.
Alex
Feb 12, 2010
Feb 11, 2010
Chinchero and whatevers up.
The guitar was a small traditional peruvian guitar, how could I not? Sounds like a banjo. Ragnar, back me up.
Almost now an integrated part of the rainbow center, and will definetly never get used to being called "Proffe Alex" (professor alex) by the kids. Just doesnt seem right. Been shadowing some classes and have definetly opted towards working more with the creative and sportive side of things. Worked one on one yesterday with a student called Sharon with music therapy which basically consisted of teaching her the names of the instruments and when she was allowed to play it and when she was not, a concept she seems quite challenging to grasp.
Went to the rainbow house the other day as well, was amazing to see how they live now, having their backgrounds in mind. Their excitement when you walk through the door and how badly they want to show you their room really does make you feel good about yourself. Planning on going back on saturday with danish pancakes and water balloons. Turns out february is a month of madness down here. Kids throw water at any foreigners, no mercy. Today we were chased by 10 boys with buckets of water shouting "GRINGOOOOOOS". Unfortunately for AC, I am faster meaning she got drenched and i escaped >:D
Spent today in a Kiya outreach project in a town between Urubamba and Cusco called Chinchero. We went around to families with special needs children and essentially just tried to convince them to send their kids to our school. We ran into an incident with a severely autistic boy who was just put into a small "cage" no bigger than 1 by 2 meters outside because they didnt know what else to do with him. The sister, in 4th grade, had just had her first child. The parents were more willing to send their oldest son to university in Cusco than to help their son with autism in any way possible. The boy couldnt communicate and in frustration had bite marks from biting himself. He needs physiotherapy which we can provide for free, but the parents are too suspicious of what we do. Every single house we went to had pigs, goats, cows and chickens (one with shoes! Ragnar will once again appreciate!). Not exactly the most hygienic living conditions, and it was definetly an eye opener to see how bad poverty can actually be down here.
On a totally different note, we are becoming extremely cheap. When we first got here, 6 soles (12 kroner) seemed amazingly cheap for an hour of taxi, but now we seem to hesitate at paying 1 sol for a bottle of water for example. Parents, this is your time to be proud.
Finally, we are just getting used to the height. In Chinchero today, at 4000 meters, a 10 meter walk uphill caused your heart to beat and break a sweat. It feels like your heart is swollen and is really quite unpleasant. Here in Urubamba, lower down, it is really not that bad anymore and we can barely even feel it.
Thats all for now, thanks for the comments :-)
Alex
Almost now an integrated part of the rainbow center, and will definetly never get used to being called "Proffe Alex" (professor alex) by the kids. Just doesnt seem right. Been shadowing some classes and have definetly opted towards working more with the creative and sportive side of things. Worked one on one yesterday with a student called Sharon with music therapy which basically consisted of teaching her the names of the instruments and when she was allowed to play it and when she was not, a concept she seems quite challenging to grasp.
Went to the rainbow house the other day as well, was amazing to see how they live now, having their backgrounds in mind. Their excitement when you walk through the door and how badly they want to show you their room really does make you feel good about yourself. Planning on going back on saturday with danish pancakes and water balloons. Turns out february is a month of madness down here. Kids throw water at any foreigners, no mercy. Today we were chased by 10 boys with buckets of water shouting "GRINGOOOOOOS". Unfortunately for AC, I am faster meaning she got drenched and i escaped >:D
Spent today in a Kiya outreach project in a town between Urubamba and Cusco called Chinchero. We went around to families with special needs children and essentially just tried to convince them to send their kids to our school. We ran into an incident with a severely autistic boy who was just put into a small "cage" no bigger than 1 by 2 meters outside because they didnt know what else to do with him. The sister, in 4th grade, had just had her first child. The parents were more willing to send their oldest son to university in Cusco than to help their son with autism in any way possible. The boy couldnt communicate and in frustration had bite marks from biting himself. He needs physiotherapy which we can provide for free, but the parents are too suspicious of what we do. Every single house we went to had pigs, goats, cows and chickens (one with shoes! Ragnar will once again appreciate!). Not exactly the most hygienic living conditions, and it was definetly an eye opener to see how bad poverty can actually be down here.
On a totally different note, we are becoming extremely cheap. When we first got here, 6 soles (12 kroner) seemed amazingly cheap for an hour of taxi, but now we seem to hesitate at paying 1 sol for a bottle of water for example. Parents, this is your time to be proud.
Finally, we are just getting used to the height. In Chinchero today, at 4000 meters, a 10 meter walk uphill caused your heart to beat and break a sweat. It feels like your heart is swollen and is really quite unpleasant. Here in Urubamba, lower down, it is really not that bad anymore and we can barely even feel it.
Thats all for now, thanks for the comments :-)
Alex
Feb 9, 2010
8/2 and 9/2
Monday was a great day. Despite my increasing cold that was not exactly getting better after the weekend in Cusco, I tried to go for a run in the morning. I did not manage to get very far though, as I turned around, agreeing with myself that running without being able to breathe through my nose was not a very good idea.
At the center we started out with brain gym, where I managed to say "Me gusta comer panqueqas", very proud of myself! I spent the first hour with Elizabeth teaching group 1, the little kids, where we were doing drama.
After our break that I spent practising my nonexistent volleyball skills with the kids and some of the teachers, I spend the next hour watching the physiotherapist working with a 5-year old boy with Downs Syndrome. It was very interesting to see her alternative methods, trying to make him blow into a balloon, practising his coordination using stones he had to put in a bottle, and massaging his face to strengthen his facial muscles so that he will be able to talk.
We spent some of the afternoon learning Spanish with our teacher Natalie - though I am still not at all able to have a conversation in Spanish, I feel that both Alex and I are improving. Actually, I did manage to have a tiny conversation with our neighbor Delfina, as I asked her if she could wash our clothes. Very proud of myself!
The rest of the afternoon was spent hiking to a cross on a mountain. Probably not the best cure for my cold, and I did lag behind a bit, but it was totally worth it. The view from the mountain was incredible - I'll soon update a couple of photos! (Mom, you'll get so jealous!)
Tuesday, we started out with brain gym, and then we went to go talk to Melanie about going to the Rainbow House this afternoon. She introduced us to the children living there, and we'll be going today.
My break was spent trying to communicate with a fantastic 18-year old boy that suffers from autism. This was so fascinating, as he was so eager to show me how good he was at cleaning his cup after drinking his milk, and we went to say hi to the horse that lives in the center. He gave it some grass, and just standing there watching the horse and having a bit of company clearly made him so happy. It's so amazing that he can be such a glad person, especially considering that he and his siblings have a very difficult background.
In an hour, we'll be going to the Rainbow House!
At the center we started out with brain gym, where I managed to say "Me gusta comer panqueqas", very proud of myself! I spent the first hour with Elizabeth teaching group 1, the little kids, where we were doing drama.
After our break that I spent practising my nonexistent volleyball skills with the kids and some of the teachers, I spend the next hour watching the physiotherapist working with a 5-year old boy with Downs Syndrome. It was very interesting to see her alternative methods, trying to make him blow into a balloon, practising his coordination using stones he had to put in a bottle, and massaging his face to strengthen his facial muscles so that he will be able to talk.
We spent some of the afternoon learning Spanish with our teacher Natalie - though I am still not at all able to have a conversation in Spanish, I feel that both Alex and I are improving. Actually, I did manage to have a tiny conversation with our neighbor Delfina, as I asked her if she could wash our clothes. Very proud of myself!
The rest of the afternoon was spent hiking to a cross on a mountain. Probably not the best cure for my cold, and I did lag behind a bit, but it was totally worth it. The view from the mountain was incredible - I'll soon update a couple of photos! (Mom, you'll get so jealous!)
Tuesday, we started out with brain gym, and then we went to go talk to Melanie about going to the Rainbow House this afternoon. She introduced us to the children living there, and we'll be going today.
My break was spent trying to communicate with a fantastic 18-year old boy that suffers from autism. This was so fascinating, as he was so eager to show me how good he was at cleaning his cup after drinking his milk, and we went to say hi to the horse that lives in the center. He gave it some grass, and just standing there watching the horse and having a bit of company clearly made him so happy. It's so amazing that he can be such a glad person, especially considering that he and his siblings have a very difficult background.
In an hour, we'll be going to the Rainbow House!
Weekend in Cusco
Saturday morning we headed off to Cusco to spend the weekend. Alex went with James very, very early in the morning to watch a football game - only to find that the pub where they were supposed to watch the game, was closed.
I slept a couple of hours longer and went with Jaime to Cusco, where we met with the other two, had a great lunch, and then we went to do some shopping in the markets.
Afterwards we went to meet up with Maddie at our hostel, and we had dinner at a weird place that had no idea whatsoever of cooking. Then we went to a couple of cafés and clubs, including an amazing place with some sort of fairytale theme. When you got in the restaurant/café, you took a hat and/or a funny tie, and you could go sit down in comfortable couches and pillows. I had a drink containing passionfruit, milk, ice, rhum and a secret! Such a great place.
We ended up in a crowded club - the only one that was crowded I guess, since the rest of Cusco was quite empty because of Machu Picchu closing in february. It got quite late, and I might have had a drink or two that I should not have had, 'cause I was quite hungover when we woke up sunday (blaming it partly on the altitude, of course...).
Sander was too, and he managed to go to the markets with the others, but I was soooo tired I had to go home and get some sleep. Terrible, terrible ride in the collectivo (taxi from Cusco to Urubamba), as they drive insanely fast and the roads are not exactly the best ones.
When Sander walked into our room, he declared that he had spent a lot of money buying three instruments, including a little guitar, and I couldn´t help laughing. I felt a lot better, and the rest of the day was spent eating, relaxing, reading and making pancakes (which, of course, was eaten with peanut butter, as we are living with to americans :D)
I slept a couple of hours longer and went with Jaime to Cusco, where we met with the other two, had a great lunch, and then we went to do some shopping in the markets.
Afterwards we went to meet up with Maddie at our hostel, and we had dinner at a weird place that had no idea whatsoever of cooking. Then we went to a couple of cafés and clubs, including an amazing place with some sort of fairytale theme. When you got in the restaurant/café, you took a hat and/or a funny tie, and you could go sit down in comfortable couches and pillows. I had a drink containing passionfruit, milk, ice, rhum and a secret! Such a great place.
We ended up in a crowded club - the only one that was crowded I guess, since the rest of Cusco was quite empty because of Machu Picchu closing in february. It got quite late, and I might have had a drink or two that I should not have had, 'cause I was quite hungover when we woke up sunday (blaming it partly on the altitude, of course...).
Sander was too, and he managed to go to the markets with the others, but I was soooo tired I had to go home and get some sleep. Terrible, terrible ride in the collectivo (taxi from Cusco to Urubamba), as they drive insanely fast and the roads are not exactly the best ones.
When Sander walked into our room, he declared that he had spent a lot of money buying three instruments, including a little guitar, and I couldn´t help laughing. I felt a lot better, and the rest of the day was spent eating, relaxing, reading and making pancakes (which, of course, was eaten with peanut butter, as we are living with to americans :D)
Feb 6, 2010
The rainbow center
Today was our first day at the rainbow center. Woke up around 7:30 in order to be ready for the day at the center at 9 to rain rain and more rain, but a beautiful view of the mountains with snow in the background. Much like my worries last time of how I would react to seeing all the kids, they were once again put to shame. You are immediately greeted like one of them and you feel welcome and appreciated straight away. We stayed in the shadows today as we will in the beginning of next week and just watched what was going on. We spent an hour on brain gym (morning ritual to get the day started) in the morning which due to rainy weather had become a play session in one of the classrooms instead, where we were both picked on and had to put on our best show of making different animal noices, a fierce dog myself, if i may say so.
For me especially, I was looking forward to seeing how many of the students i would recognize and how many of them would recognize me. All of them did, and even remembered my promise of being back in two years time. There was surprisingly few new students at the school and so it was great to see someone like Gervacio be his usual self and Sharon boogi-ing down to anything resembling a beat. The stuff we painted last time, the swings etc., still looked as colorful as ever but could do with a little retouch. CIS?
Had two hours of spanish lessons this afternoon. Been a while since weve had to use our brains for anything challenging so now im stuck with a headache and if possible, worse spanish skills than this morning. Elizabeth, one of the teachers at the center is coming over for dinner and some beers later today, and i´m heading to Cusco tomorrow morning at 7 to watch Liverpool-Everton as James, british volunteer, has convinced me its the right thing to do. Followed by a rugby match and then the market by which time the girls will have made their way there. Will then check into a hostal and have a hopefully fun night out in Cusco.
Alex :)
For me especially, I was looking forward to seeing how many of the students i would recognize and how many of them would recognize me. All of them did, and even remembered my promise of being back in two years time. There was surprisingly few new students at the school and so it was great to see someone like Gervacio be his usual self and Sharon boogi-ing down to anything resembling a beat. The stuff we painted last time, the swings etc., still looked as colorful as ever but could do with a little retouch. CIS?
Had two hours of spanish lessons this afternoon. Been a while since weve had to use our brains for anything challenging so now im stuck with a headache and if possible, worse spanish skills than this morning. Elizabeth, one of the teachers at the center is coming over for dinner and some beers later today, and i´m heading to Cusco tomorrow morning at 7 to watch Liverpool-Everton as James, british volunteer, has convinced me its the right thing to do. Followed by a rugby match and then the market by which time the girls will have made their way there. Will then check into a hostal and have a hopefully fun night out in Cusco.
Alex :)
Feb 4, 2010
Feb 3, 2010
Urubamba
This one will be in english, sorry :-)
After two amazing days in Lima with Pacific ocean sunsets, warm weather and good food, we´ve managed to move on and are now currently checked in at the volunteer house in Urubamba. Our flight to Cusco from Lima was very uneventful, and almost empty as Machu Picchu has been closed for the next two months due to the heavy rainfall. Although not affecting us, there are constant reminders such as landslides, wrecked houses and roads being partly blocked by stones although not having any impact what so ever on a peruvian taxi driver going (parents look away) 100+ on small deserted roads. Very glad we didnt rent a car anywhere down here; traffic in Lima is intense. Cars squeeze in wherever they see a 10 cm gap. They are extremely aggresive and the horn is used more often than not.
The volunteer house in Urubamba is not exactly the most luxurious - a room with two beds and a drawer for our clothes. A nice view however of the plaza outside where we so far, after only having been here for about 3 hours, have seen pigs, ostriches, chickens, goats and donkeys casually taking a stroll. Just got back from a small lunch with the coordinator of the project, Melanie, where we were introduced to two of the other three volunteers working here, who all seem very nice. Can definetly feel the height difference, our drive from Cusco to Urubamba took us to 4200m, and we both feel a little light headed and dizzy, although nothing serious. We have the rest of the day today and tomorrow to relax and get to know the area before we are introduced to the rainbow centre on friday. Will strive to get some pictures up and running on here sometime soon in the next few days.
Hasta luego.
After two amazing days in Lima with Pacific ocean sunsets, warm weather and good food, we´ve managed to move on and are now currently checked in at the volunteer house in Urubamba. Our flight to Cusco from Lima was very uneventful, and almost empty as Machu Picchu has been closed for the next two months due to the heavy rainfall. Although not affecting us, there are constant reminders such as landslides, wrecked houses and roads being partly blocked by stones although not having any impact what so ever on a peruvian taxi driver going (parents look away) 100+ on small deserted roads. Very glad we didnt rent a car anywhere down here; traffic in Lima is intense. Cars squeeze in wherever they see a 10 cm gap. They are extremely aggresive and the horn is used more often than not.
The volunteer house in Urubamba is not exactly the most luxurious - a room with two beds and a drawer for our clothes. A nice view however of the plaza outside where we so far, after only having been here for about 3 hours, have seen pigs, ostriches, chickens, goats and donkeys casually taking a stroll. Just got back from a small lunch with the coordinator of the project, Melanie, where we were introduced to two of the other three volunteers working here, who all seem very nice. Can definetly feel the height difference, our drive from Cusco to Urubamba took us to 4200m, and we both feel a little light headed and dizzy, although nothing serious. We have the rest of the day today and tomorrow to relax and get to know the area before we are introduced to the rainbow centre on friday. Will strive to get some pictures up and running on here sometime soon in the next few days.
Hasta luego.
Feb 1, 2010
Lima
Saa er vi ankommet til Lima!
Soendag morgen skulle det selvfoelgelig sne i Koebenhavn, saa vi ankom til London to timer forsinkede og naaede ikke flyet til Miami. Vi blev dog hurtigt sat paa et fly til JFK, saa vi ventede ikke saa laenge i London. Troede vi...
Pga. smaaparanoide ameriakenere skulle alle passagerer dobbelt-trippelt-tjekkes, noget der skulle tage to timer. Heldigvis, eller rettere fornuftige som vi jo er, var vi ved gaten som nogle af de foerste, og vi boardede hurtigt. Saa vi matte paent vente paa jumbojetten (og ja, Simon, jeg har taget billeder af samtlige fly vi har vaeret med :D)!
...
Et spil Towerbloxx og en halv marabou senere var vi dog i luften - endelig var vi da i det mindste paa vej ud af Europa!
Vi ankom stopmaette af flymad til JFK og fandt hurtigt naeste gate, og saa stod den ellers paa soevn det meste af turen til Lima.
I Lima maatte vi igennem naesten samme procedure som i USA, med papirer der skulle udfyldes osv. Og da vi fik vores baggage skulle vi igennem en slags "tjek". Man skulle trykke paa en knap, der saa enten lyste roedt eller groent, og saa maatte man enten paent vente paa at faa al sin baggage scannet, eller ogsaa maatte man gaa videre. Vi var heldige at den lyste groent for os begge, for det saa ud som om at maskinen lyste efter hvad den lige havde lyst til...
Mario stod med et skilt i ankomsthallen, saa vi var hurtigt ude i bilen og paa vej til Hotel El Carmelo. Vi har allerede laert vores foerste ord: Juvia, eller noget i den stil, som betyder regn. (Jeg havde svaert ved at huske det, saa nu taenker jeg "jubijaaeee, der er regn", og saa lyder jubijaaee lidt ligesom juvia. Fantastisk maade at huske spanske ord paa)
Det lader til at INGEN overhovedet kan tale engelsk, heller ikke Mario. Saa vi proever os frem, men humoeret er hoejt, og vi har det sjovt. Vi glaeder os til at spise paa peruansk restaurant i aften, og nu vil vi smutte over i den flotte Parque Miraflores.
:D
Soendag morgen skulle det selvfoelgelig sne i Koebenhavn, saa vi ankom til London to timer forsinkede og naaede ikke flyet til Miami. Vi blev dog hurtigt sat paa et fly til JFK, saa vi ventede ikke saa laenge i London. Troede vi...
Pga. smaaparanoide ameriakenere skulle alle passagerer dobbelt-trippelt-tjekkes, noget der skulle tage to timer. Heldigvis, eller rettere fornuftige som vi jo er, var vi ved gaten som nogle af de foerste, og vi boardede hurtigt. Saa vi matte paent vente paa jumbojetten (og ja, Simon, jeg har taget billeder af samtlige fly vi har vaeret med :D)!
...
Et spil Towerbloxx og en halv marabou senere var vi dog i luften - endelig var vi da i det mindste paa vej ud af Europa!
Vi ankom stopmaette af flymad til JFK og fandt hurtigt naeste gate, og saa stod den ellers paa soevn det meste af turen til Lima.
I Lima maatte vi igennem naesten samme procedure som i USA, med papirer der skulle udfyldes osv. Og da vi fik vores baggage skulle vi igennem en slags "tjek". Man skulle trykke paa en knap, der saa enten lyste roedt eller groent, og saa maatte man enten paent vente paa at faa al sin baggage scannet, eller ogsaa maatte man gaa videre. Vi var heldige at den lyste groent for os begge, for det saa ud som om at maskinen lyste efter hvad den lige havde lyst til...
Mario stod med et skilt i ankomsthallen, saa vi var hurtigt ude i bilen og paa vej til Hotel El Carmelo. Vi har allerede laert vores foerste ord: Juvia, eller noget i den stil, som betyder regn. (Jeg havde svaert ved at huske det, saa nu taenker jeg "jubijaaeee, der er regn", og saa lyder jubijaaee lidt ligesom juvia. Fantastisk maade at huske spanske ord paa)
Det lader til at INGEN overhovedet kan tale engelsk, heller ikke Mario. Saa vi proever os frem, men humoeret er hoejt, og vi har det sjovt. Vi glaeder os til at spise paa peruansk restaurant i aften, og nu vil vi smutte over i den flotte Parque Miraflores.
:D
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