Donnerstag, 18. November 2010

Cuzco, Peru (?)



My first week in Cuzco is almost over now and I think I got a good impression of the city in this beautiful environment. I'm not yet able to volunteer, so I have 4 hours of Spanish every day which is good as I begin to improve. In the evenings I luckily get additional practice as my host parents (Wili Sr. and Gloria) do not speak English. They are a really lovely couple who greatly care about the students living in their apartment. Every time Gloria finishes cooking her delicious meals she yells: “Hijo, ven aqui! Come!” (Son, come here! Eat!). Their friendly and honest behavior made it easy for me to feel at home in their home very fast. However, I feel like a tourist rather than a “resident” in Cuzco. Back in Piura, when Javier told me that Cuzco does not feel like Peru, I did not quite believe him but he was correct. All over town there are people from different countries and if I wanted to I could strike up a conversation in German in any restaurant. Of course the locals here are much nicer to foreigners as most of the people in Cuzco depend on them as customers. It might sound funny but the men's evil looks in Piura made me feel more at home than the nice smiles of the young women who try to sell massages to me here in Cuzco.
At the moment I try to avoid acting like a tourist and therefore do expeditions of my own. As I was walking up one of the hills in order to get a good view of the valley I had to turn around as every two minutes a tourist bus shot up the road right next to me. That wasn't a problem for me but for the German Shepherd who had followed me from the city center all the way up the mountain. I couldn't get rid of my hairy companion but also did not want to as he gave me the feeling that a “local” liked me for other reasons than money!
Another strategy of mine is to go to restaurants where mostly locals eat. The school has advised us not do so because of stomach issues but so far so good! The fact that the stray cat, which was sitting in the door way staring at our food, was tolerated by the restaurant and that a street vendor came in to ask for left-over bones from our plates in order to feed his puppy made me happy. It mentally threw me back to bohemian Altos de los Mores with its strong sense of community.
However, I have to admit that there is a good side to the tourism: There are a lot of cafes with good coffee and funny tourists. Two days ago I was enjoying my cappuccino when a German couple caught my attention. They were discussing how to take a picture of the husband with the coffee and the scenery in the background. After finding the perfect distance between the camera and the husband they encountered the problem of the coffee not being in the picture. Finally after another two minutes of hectic problem solving the camera made: click! In Piura I would never have experienced anything similar to do this. However, in Cuzco this little almost ironic scene can be seen in many occasions.
In January I will start working in a home for mentally and physically challenged children. Around that time I will write my next entry to inform you about my work experience!

I hope that you enjoyed reading this less informative entry.
Best wishes from Cuzco,
Shannon

Class in Altos de los Mores

5th grade

A horse in Altos that broke free

 A school in Cuzco

One of the many alleys in Cuzco


A church on a hill over Cuzco

The city of Cuzco with a glacier in the background

Cuzco


Plaza de Armas - Cuzco

A hill on which my school is located

Freitag, 5. November 2010

My role in Piura


Dear All,
as some of you might know I’m writing to you from Germany this time. No, I did not quit but my grandmother’s funeral will be held this week. Of course it is sad to loose a family member but for her death meant relief. Although it is hard, we should not only feel grief but also contentment. We should be happy that we had such a wonderful, caring and joyful woman in our lives. Let us hold her in the light!


        On my long trip back from Piura to Osnabrück I had a lot of time to reflect on my experience in Peru. Now that some kind of routine has settled in I can focus on more detail concerning my role in Piura/Altos. I have to say that I feel very comfortable and happy in my new setting. I found my „niche“ at work and the 3rd and 5th graders seem to accept me both as their teacher and their friend which is great! Even the children who I do not teach do not call me „Gringo“ or „Ingles“ any longer when I walk over the school grounds but „Benjamin“. This acceptance is a good thing but can also be tiring because now one seems to have a magnetic effect on the children in Altos. As soon as we enter the play ground up to 20 children come running up to us and hold on to our arms, want us to play soccer with them in the burning sand or just want to know if we are going to be there for „biblioteca“. Of course it is fun to play with the children but I have to admit that I have not yet adjusted to the insanely hot climate of Peru. Over the last days the temperature has shot up the thermometer and I regret bragging to my friends having a year-long summer....
        One week before I went home I also found a woman who is willing teach me some Spanish. Her name is Hildegard and she really is a nice woman who also speaks German because her mother immigrated to Peru before she was born. However, she is not a real teacher and therefore has a hard time giving me proper lessons. I notice that I make some progress but it is neither fast nor good enough to properly teach the pupils. Especially as some have learning deficits and therefore are in need of more intensive teaching. In some cases these deficits are to such an extent that there are 14 year olds in third grade! Because of my limited ability of teaching I made up my mind and decided to change the project. This decision wasn’t of a light heart because the children have grown on me and I really get a long great with the other volunteers. On the 14th I will move to Cuzco, located in the south of Peru. Luckily I will fly and not have to take the bus as I did when I had to travel from Piura to Lima last week. As I am much taller than the average Peruvian the space to the seat in front of me was rather limited during the 17 hour ride. Also I won’t have to endure the blaring and badly synchronized movies and the mandatory bingo-game. In Cuzco I will have an intensive language course and later, again, engage in teaching and microfinance. But I will update you as soon as I know more about that!

See you soon,
Shannon
Election campaign in Peru

Food market in Piura


Eddison and me finishing a puzzle

Follower