"That pier has big gaps in it," Kiko said when I asked him if he's ever walked on the pier here in Pacasmayo. "I KNOW," I told him.
We flew to Chiclayo last night, which is about 500 miles or so from Lima, a little more than an hour flight, where we stayed at an upscale hotel chain and I ate a memorable risotto with river shrimp. After dinner we walked down the street until we reached the Plaza de Armas, the public square in the center of town anchored by a large Roman Catholic church on one side. The Santa Claus in his sleigh about eight feet off the ground was a nice touch! On the way back to our hotel, a young woman with a tiny toddler approached us, selling lemon candies from a bag. People are so enterprising in Peru, you really have to admire them for coming up with some kind of way to make money. While she was completing the business transaction with Kiko (10 candies for 1 sol), the little girl started to wander away from her mother, so I grabbed her small hands and made her stay still, which she didn't want to do, until her mother could follow her down the street. The baby had the biggest smile on her cute, little dirty face, and I wondered how long they would be out on the street since it was already 11:30.
We left Chiclayo at 6:45 this morning - Kiko's driver got us here in under an hour and a half. Pacasmayo is a little provincia on the northern coast of Peru, and many of the residents either work at the huge cement plant where Kiko is doing coaching sessions this week or they're fishermen. There's no movie theater or mall, but there is a cancha de fulbito (small soccer "field") where the soccer games can get pretty intense. Kiko checked us into the Pakatmanu Hotel, an old colonial-style building, and he and his assistant left for work, leaving me to my own devices for the day.
Obviously the first thing to do was to take an early morning stroll along the boardwalk. The beach itself is directly in front of the hotel on the other side of the boardwalk, but last year's 8.8 earthquake in Chile created a change in the ocean, shifting the composition of the beach from sand to stones. The waves crash onto the shore, leaving no room to walk, unless you walk in the water. I walked along the boardwalk toward the pier, and when I got there, I found a woman setting up her makeshift "restaurant" where she would soon be cooking the morning catch. I walked onto the pier, and seeing a sign saying "Visitantes 1 Sol", paid the fee and gingerly placed my feet on the railroad ties that made up the structure. I stopped to watch a lone fisherman out amidst the waves, retrieving his catch. He was floating in an innertube, pulling himself along his net and when he found a fish, he strung it on the line that he held between his teeth. If you don't have a boat, you make do with what you have!
The only other people on the pier were fishermen, and as I slowly made my way across the railroad ties I started putting it together that this was not a tourist Huntington Beach type pier, with a Ruby's diner at the end. I think I made it about half way down when I gave up and turned around. The railroad ties were spaced about two or three inches apart, except when they weren't. Sometimes there were gaps of three or four inches, or maybe eight, or there was an entire tie missing, or the tie I stepped on was loose, no nails holding it in place, or worm-eaten and termite-infested. Needless to say, it was not the relaxing walk on the pier that I had envisioned! Maybe the sol I paid will help with maintenance.
I'm sure I Iooked a little out of place with my purse, and TOMS, and white sweater as I stood with the fisherman gawking at a shark that one of them had caught. There were also some small rays, a few large, spotted fish with weird looking tails, and an assortment of smaller fish. Two cats, two dogs, fish guts strewn about and the woman cooking fresh fish completed the scene on the pier.
Kiko came back to the hotel for his lunch break, and we both had lomo saltado, one of my favorite Peruvian dishes, which consists of pieces of beef sauteed with onion, tomato and aji peppers, served with french fries and rice. When he went back to work, I went for a walk through town. It was a very quiet walk, because it was 3:00, and basically the place was closed. I saw several surf shops, because Pacasmayo is famous for its surfing, but they were closed, and I figured that maybe they don't open until the summer. But then every other shop was closed as well. I walked to one of the busiest intersections in town, with a traffic signal! There were only a few mototaxis with passengers at this time of day, and hardly any taxis. I walked to the other busy intersection, with the other traffic light in the province, and passed more closed shops but a few fruteros and their carts of fresh pepino melon and tuna roja.
I finally peered between the iron bars of one of the closed shops and asked the shopkeeper when she would be open. She told me not until 4pm. Apparently in provincia, people take three hour lunches. They go home, eat a large, hot meal, and take a long nap. So, it turns out that the town basically shuts down from 1 until 4 every day! I was able to find a fairly large store (by provincia standards anyway)that was actually open where I bought an ice cream and some Cusqueña beer, and enjoyed the ocean breeze on our terraza. There's a photo of our balcony on facebook.
Tonight, after a lovely nap, Kiko and I had dinner at a hotel down the boardwalk. My crema de zapallo (cream of squash soup) was quite good, and Kiko and I shared a mixto completo (a grilled ham and cheese with a fried egg). The best part of dinner was the impromptu music being played by two young men sitting on a bench in front of the hotel. These guys had incredible talent, jamming on their guitars just for the love of their music. Kiko gave them part of our sandwich and a big tip - they were surprised and happy, and we were, too. We walked back to our hotel while a beautiful crescent moon almost disappeared into the sea.
Kiko is already asleep, and I'm looking forward to falling asleep to the sound of the waves. I know I'm very, very blessed, and I'm grateful!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Glad I Waited
This morning I finally did something that I've wanted to do since before I arrived in Peru. I started looking for volunteer opportunities while I was still in California, and had continued looking without success until now. You would think that in a developing country, you could walk down the street and volunteer somewhere but I found it much more difficult than I imagined.
There are many people, a lot of them college-age, who travel to Peru from all over the globe to participate in volunteer programs located in various parts of the country. You pay to participate in these types of programs, where you get to immerse yourself in the culture and take side trips for sightseeing . Cusco is certainly a very popular volunteer destination, but there are needs and opportunities throughout Peru. Before you are accepted as a volunteer, there are requirements that must be met, especially if you want to work with children. This is understandable, and is similar to the US where we now need to be fingerprinted and background checked. Since I live in Lima, I have to go about volunteering from a different angle.
When I first arrived here, I visited the largest orphanage in South America, which houses over 500 kids. I also went to the children's hospital near downtown Lima with a friend who had previously volunteered there. In order to volunteer in a public institution, the process for volunteering is complicated - you need to complete lengthy applications, provide health certificates, pass psychiatric exams, and attend hours of training. The interesting thing is that institutions don't appear very interested in your interest. At the children's hospital, we inquired about how to help and were told to send a letter. We asked if we could talk to someone since we were already there? No, the procedure is to send a letter. Well, could we email it? No, it has to be a real letter, not an email. My friend wrote the letter on the spot and handed it in, and to date we have heard nothing from the hospital.
Site location and transportation to a volunteer site is an issue. There are so many shantytowns on the outskirts of Lima, places that are incredibly poor, and programs operated by churches and NGOs who are happy for volunteers. I attended a discussion at the South American Explorers Club where three program directors described their programs in the shantytowns and said they'd welcome volunteers immediately. However, these areas are far from where we live, it would be too expensive to take a taxi, and I wouldn't feel comfortable (ie. safe) traveling alone through certain parts of town by bus.
I'd really like to work with street kids. You see them out at night, some have parents who neglect or abuse them, and can't afford to feed them, and others who are orphans. Kiko had a great project for a class of his; he and his classmates raised money to help a group home for street kids. I got to spend an afternoon with the directors and some of the boys in the program, sadly hearing tragic stories of before they arrived at the home (for example, one boy's mom tried to drown him in a bucket of water, most of the young boys were drug users) and happily seeing boys with the promise of a future. I would love to work with this program, but it's just too far away.
Guess what? Timing is everything. I was more than frustrated that I've been here all these months and still no volunteering. One day, after spending all the previous day searching for volunteer opportunities online, I was having coffee with mi amiga Peruana, Maritere, and mentioned my desire to volunteer. She offered to introduce me to a friend of hers, who just happens to be the director of a program I saw online. Coincidently (?) while on their website a few weeks previously, I had expressed interest in volunteering and requested more information but hadn't heard from them yet. Of course I jumped at the opportunity, so my friend took me right over to meet the director. Carla gave me her card, and told me to email her and she'd help me to get involved. After a few emails back and forth, she put me in touch with the site coordinator, we scheduled an interview, and TODAY was my first day of voluntariado.
I am volunteering at a public hospital for cancer patients (Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplasicas, or INEN), with a program called Aprendo Contigo (meaning "learning with you", Information and photos of Aprendo Contigo in English). Since we moved to the new apartment, I can walk to the hospital in a leisurely 15 minutes for my 8:30am - 12:30pm weekly shift (I would have had to walk 10 minutes and then take the bus from our old apartment). The program's goal is to make sure that children with cancer have things to do to keep cancer from being the center of their lives. The kids who are patients in the hospital have lessons every day so they don't fall behind in school, and the kids who are there for chemo or doctor appointments are kept busy with activities.
This morning I was one of 12 women who tried to get some cute kids' minds off their cancer for a little while. I worked in the chemo room, with the youngest being one year old to a teenage boy texting on his cell phone. Our job was to make sure the kids had something to do. We gave them toys, dolls, games, puzzles (rompe cabezas, literally translated as head breaking?!), word searches, cartoon pages and ceramic ornaments to color, and comic books. I learned that Danna is 13, and hasn't seen her mom in two years because she's working in Los Angeles. Edwin's hair is growing back, I think one of his legs was amputated, and he kept me busy providing the right colors for his artwork. A darling 18 month old cried for awhile when the enfermera tried many times to find a vein in her little hand. A few parents smiled in understanding when I explained that I'm from the U.S. and were very patient with my Spanish. Besides working with the kids, we talk to the parents, who are often from the provinces and not only overwhelmed with their child's illness but also with the huge city, tall buildings, and traffic, as well as learning how to deal with an institution like a large hospital. We're actually on the floor from 9 until 12, with the first half hour as prep time and the last half hour for putting things away and a wrap up meeting to discuss the kids' progress and any issues.
All the women are very nice and helpful, and a few speak English, but they all know I want to improve my Spanish and can understand a lot if they speak slowly. The program seems well-organized, which is really exciting (for Peru, that's a novelty!) I am already included in the Secret Santas, and will be going to the "reveal" luncheon with everyone in December. To top it off, one of my fellow volunteers, Ada, lives down the street from me, and I had a very enjoyable walk home with her; she pointed out various flowers and birds, telling me their names in Spanish and correcting my incorrect grammar.
I'm so glad to be working with kids again. I've missed them since I lost my long-term sub job. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about being around these very sick children since I've been more emotional lately. But I had no problem because these very sick, brave, smiling kids were a joy to be with! My friend Debra reminded me of this today via her Facebook status, "In all things, God is never too late or too early but His timing is always perfect. It is up to us to trust, wait and obey." I think that while we're waiting, often impatiently, we really can't imagine what that thing we're waiting for will look like. I'm so blessed that what I waited for looks like Aprendo Contigo.
There are many people, a lot of them college-age, who travel to Peru from all over the globe to participate in volunteer programs located in various parts of the country. You pay to participate in these types of programs, where you get to immerse yourself in the culture and take side trips for sightseeing . Cusco is certainly a very popular volunteer destination, but there are needs and opportunities throughout Peru. Before you are accepted as a volunteer, there are requirements that must be met, especially if you want to work with children. This is understandable, and is similar to the US where we now need to be fingerprinted and background checked. Since I live in Lima, I have to go about volunteering from a different angle.
When I first arrived here, I visited the largest orphanage in South America, which houses over 500 kids. I also went to the children's hospital near downtown Lima with a friend who had previously volunteered there. In order to volunteer in a public institution, the process for volunteering is complicated - you need to complete lengthy applications, provide health certificates, pass psychiatric exams, and attend hours of training. The interesting thing is that institutions don't appear very interested in your interest. At the children's hospital, we inquired about how to help and were told to send a letter. We asked if we could talk to someone since we were already there? No, the procedure is to send a letter. Well, could we email it? No, it has to be a real letter, not an email. My friend wrote the letter on the spot and handed it in, and to date we have heard nothing from the hospital.
Site location and transportation to a volunteer site is an issue. There are so many shantytowns on the outskirts of Lima, places that are incredibly poor, and programs operated by churches and NGOs who are happy for volunteers. I attended a discussion at the South American Explorers Club where three program directors described their programs in the shantytowns and said they'd welcome volunteers immediately. However, these areas are far from where we live, it would be too expensive to take a taxi, and I wouldn't feel comfortable (ie. safe) traveling alone through certain parts of town by bus.
I'd really like to work with street kids. You see them out at night, some have parents who neglect or abuse them, and can't afford to feed them, and others who are orphans. Kiko had a great project for a class of his; he and his classmates raised money to help a group home for street kids. I got to spend an afternoon with the directors and some of the boys in the program, sadly hearing tragic stories of before they arrived at the home (for example, one boy's mom tried to drown him in a bucket of water, most of the young boys were drug users) and happily seeing boys with the promise of a future. I would love to work with this program, but it's just too far away.
Guess what? Timing is everything. I was more than frustrated that I've been here all these months and still no volunteering. One day, after spending all the previous day searching for volunteer opportunities online, I was having coffee with mi amiga Peruana, Maritere, and mentioned my desire to volunteer. She offered to introduce me to a friend of hers, who just happens to be the director of a program I saw online. Coincidently (?) while on their website a few weeks previously, I had expressed interest in volunteering and requested more information but hadn't heard from them yet. Of course I jumped at the opportunity, so my friend took me right over to meet the director. Carla gave me her card, and told me to email her and she'd help me to get involved. After a few emails back and forth, she put me in touch with the site coordinator, we scheduled an interview, and TODAY was my first day of voluntariado.
I am volunteering at a public hospital for cancer patients (Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplasicas, or INEN), with a program called Aprendo Contigo (meaning "learning with you", Information and photos of Aprendo Contigo in English). Since we moved to the new apartment, I can walk to the hospital in a leisurely 15 minutes for my 8:30am - 12:30pm weekly shift (I would have had to walk 10 minutes and then take the bus from our old apartment). The program's goal is to make sure that children with cancer have things to do to keep cancer from being the center of their lives. The kids who are patients in the hospital have lessons every day so they don't fall behind in school, and the kids who are there for chemo or doctor appointments are kept busy with activities.
This morning I was one of 12 women who tried to get some cute kids' minds off their cancer for a little while. I worked in the chemo room, with the youngest being one year old to a teenage boy texting on his cell phone. Our job was to make sure the kids had something to do. We gave them toys, dolls, games, puzzles (rompe cabezas, literally translated as head breaking?!), word searches, cartoon pages and ceramic ornaments to color, and comic books. I learned that Danna is 13, and hasn't seen her mom in two years because she's working in Los Angeles. Edwin's hair is growing back, I think one of his legs was amputated, and he kept me busy providing the right colors for his artwork. A darling 18 month old cried for awhile when the enfermera tried many times to find a vein in her little hand. A few parents smiled in understanding when I explained that I'm from the U.S. and were very patient with my Spanish. Besides working with the kids, we talk to the parents, who are often from the provinces and not only overwhelmed with their child's illness but also with the huge city, tall buildings, and traffic, as well as learning how to deal with an institution like a large hospital. We're actually on the floor from 9 until 12, with the first half hour as prep time and the last half hour for putting things away and a wrap up meeting to discuss the kids' progress and any issues.
All the women are very nice and helpful, and a few speak English, but they all know I want to improve my Spanish and can understand a lot if they speak slowly. The program seems well-organized, which is really exciting (for Peru, that's a novelty!) I am already included in the Secret Santas, and will be going to the "reveal" luncheon with everyone in December. To top it off, one of my fellow volunteers, Ada, lives down the street from me, and I had a very enjoyable walk home with her; she pointed out various flowers and birds, telling me their names in Spanish and correcting my incorrect grammar.
I'm so glad to be working with kids again. I've missed them since I lost my long-term sub job. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about being around these very sick children since I've been more emotional lately. But I had no problem because these very sick, brave, smiling kids were a joy to be with! My friend Debra reminded me of this today via her Facebook status, "In all things, God is never too late or too early but His timing is always perfect. It is up to us to trust, wait and obey." I think that while we're waiting, often impatiently, we really can't imagine what that thing we're waiting for will look like. I'm so blessed that what I waited for looks like Aprendo Contigo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)