A Home For A Child

Lucho: A ball of fun

2011-01-31T11:43:00.001-08:00

January 31, Julia

This week was my first week at the Aldea and loved meeting all the new kids that will be a part of my life for the next 3 months. They are all so loving and want to play with us all the time. One Little boy that I had a lot of fun playing with last week was Lucho, a smily, chubby, 3 year-old. He is at the age that I love the most because everything amuses him and we can do the same thing over and over again without losing any entertainment. One day Lucho gave me a little wooden disk with yellow on one side that he wanted me to put on the bush, where it would fall to the ground immediately and laughed every time. We went through the same routine (adding in letting it fall from our heads) for 45 minutes straight. The funny part about it was that I didn't feel like it was getting old either and I could've gone longer but we had to go eat lunch. I love these kids and they make me feel so happy each day!

If you would like to learn more about sponsoring a child like Lucho, click here.

Flor: Tiny girl, huge personality

2011-01-31T11:40:00.000-08:00

January 31, Kathyrn

Flor is a little three year old girl who lives at the Aldea in Santa Rosa, Peru. She is about the size of a healthy one year old child, with the bold personality of a five year old. When I first met her she warmed up to me instantly, just as she had done with all the other interns. I was shocked to realize how old she was, considering her size. After only a few days at the Aldea she recognizes me as someone to trust and love, as she now runs into my arms whenever she sees me. The other kids tell me of how bright she is, always does what she is told and she knows what to do when asked.
On Friday we had a fiesta for all the kids who had birthdays in January. Flor came early with the interns to help decorate. She laughed as we blew up balloons and let them fly around the room and she always had another one in her hand for us to blow up when we were finished with one. I was happy to spend those few hours with just Flor and not have my attention split between a dozen kids. She has a fiery personality and the cutest smile to match it. I look forward to spending more one on one time with Flor and the other children as they learn and grow.

If you would like to know more about sponsoring a child like Flor, please click here.

Friends and crushes at the Aldea

2011-01-31T11:30:00.000-08:00

January 30, Carrie:

For the past two weeks I’ve noticed how the children at the Aldea are good about playing with different groups of friends. The kids still have people they are more likely to play with, but in general, they are good at including each other and varying who they play with. When we play sports it’s especially fun to watch how all the kids, of all ages, can play together and still have fun! This past week I was told that Alfredo, one of the boys in house 2, has a little crush on one of the little girls in house 1 named Antonina. On Friday, the Aldea had a birthday party for the children who had birthdays in January which was really fun. At this birthday party there was dancing, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone because Peruvians love to dance! During the dancing part of the fiesta, Alfredo asked Antonina to dance and they danced holding hands, with Antonina giggling the whole time and Alfredo standing there being a perfect gentleman.

This week we played in the pools that were donated to the Aldea with the kids on Tuesday and Thursday morning. I also had the opportunity to help teach an English class with Caesar who works for the Aldea and Julia one of the new interns for southern cross. Other than that we played soccer at least once a day, played a game called Kiwi and went to a fiesta for the kids with birthdays in January that was held on Friday.

Child Highlights:

1. Victor David in house 2 and I played monopoly two seperate times after dinner. I was eating at their house this week.

2. We watched Lucho and Renzo in our house for 2 hours on thursday while their Tia was gone. We played ball and tried to get Renzo to walk.

3. I talked with Victor David about what he likes to do, he's a really smart kid who loves reading and learning new things. He helped me with some Spanish and I taught him some things in English like "my name is...," "goodbye," "good morning," "thank you," and "how are you."

FIESTA!!

2011-01-31T11:26:00.000-08:00

From Natalie on January 3:

FIESTA!!

This Friday we had a party for all of the kids with January birthdays. It was so much fun! The kids got all dressed up for it and looked so nice. We had a big lunch outside with everyone...There are now only 3 sheep wandering around the Aldea instead of 4. They had presents for the birthday kids and a piñata for the rest of them. There was lots of yummy things like cake and popcorn and other desserts (I don't know what they were) for us to enjoy. We had a big dance party where the kids showed off their great skills. Some of them have some pretty good moves they whipped out. Everyone had a great time! I love it here!

Natalie: Week one!

2011-01-31T11:20:00.001-08:00

We spent this weekend in Trujillo with our host family who are amazing! We went to Huanchaco on Saturday. It was so much fun!! If you take six white girls to the beach you will get stared at though, I learned that. We ate at a restaurant with great food and got hair wraps, which look sweet! What we didn't get however, is tan...hopefully we will soon though. The weather is amazing and so are the people! Peru is definitely a great place to be to have a good time!

Thanks to our great contacts in Peru, our interns are getting to experience the culture and family life in Peru! Our host families are so generous and charitable to our organization!

New Faces at the Aldea!

2011-01-31T11:14:00.000-08:00

January 23 update from our interns Carrie:

There are 5 new children at the Aldea, all siblings and Me (Carrie) a new volunteer!

There is a new boy at the Aldea named Victor who is 11 years old. The first day that I was at the Aldea, I was there by myself, without the volunteers from project trust. No one at the Aldea spoke English and my Spanish wasn’t very good but Victor spent the whole day trying to help me understand what he was saying and what the other kids were telling/asking me. He still continues to ask the other volunteers and I how to say things in English so he can say things to us that we understand. He’s a really good kid and is always trying to help us or get us to play sports. Also, he is a very quick learner. When we taught some of the kids the alphabet in English, he was able to pronounce the letters correctly and correctly identify them when we asked him in English to find a certain letter. It was also Luchos birthday on Friday, he doesn’t quite understand yet that he’s another year older. When we asked him how old he was he kept telling us he was 2 but he’s 3 now.

We are so excited that our interns are already creating relationships with the kids! That's the first step to making a difference! Check back soon for more updates on the children and interns!

4 more days (Dan)

2010-12-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

¡Hola!

¿Como estan ustedes? Tengo solamente 4 dias mas en Banos del Inca!

It´s really crazy how fast time flies... It feels like I just got here to Cajamarca and the kids in Puylucana. Tomorrow is my last day at El Bichito, and I´m getting a little party set up. Basically I´m going to have some bingo so they can work on vocabulary and some balloons and a few goodies. It´ll be typically chaotic with 40+ kids as per the usual, but lots of fun. It´s been lots of fun lately there as I
have gotten more comfortable with the kids and they with me. It really does take some time, but I´ll be sad to miss them. Also, I´ve occasionally brought out the frisbee I brought and the kids are having
a blast. Wiliam is particularly good, and others like kevin and Manuel are decent too. The older boys still won´t stick around much, but a couple have.

Allie and Izzy, the two girls from Project Trust who I was with in the Aldea in Trujillo, came up to
visit and see Cajamarca with a few other girls from other sites in Peru. I showed them around banos and the hot springs, and finally got the chance to see Granje Porcon, a beautiful valley about 30 minutes away I had not yet seen. It is a small valley that has a trout farm and also a cool zoo. I got a chance to see a spectackled bear! Yeah, the only bear in South America.

Anyway, my time here in Peru is rapidly coming to a close and a list of the things quickly that I know I´ll miss...

Getting crammed into combis
The amazing Cajamarca cheese and ¨pan de agua¨
Toilets without seats
cheap public transportation
trying to get these kids to bring and finish their homework without cheating
Random rain starting out of nowhere (oh wait, I live in Seattle, nothing really weird there)
All of the amazing friendships I´ve made, more than I can list here...
really, it´s amazing how many amazing people I´ve met
Included are the kids at both the Aldea and El bichito... I´ve never
wanted to smile and go crazy so much in my life

Entonces, I´ll be leaving my Peruvian home soon, and I´m already feeling homesick...

Cajamarca (Dan)

2010-12-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

So, the real reason why I´m here in Cajamarca! So everyday during the week, I take a short combi (mini bus) ride up to the small town of Puylucana which is 5 minutes away. When I arrive, I usually meet with Feliciana and/or Melchora her sister. They run the comedor called ¨El Bichito¨ which literally translated means little bug. It is basically a lunch cafeteria for kids in the area to have a free meal when they finish school. In order to receive food, they must go to school, so it is not a complete giveaway. My job is to help as much as possible. This usually entails sorting through the rice and beans in the morning. We dump a big pile on the counter and then sort through the little pieces that aren´t quite edible. It´s a great time to talk to Melchora and Feliciana or just meditate to myself. I´m still pretty slow at sorting (faster than when I started) but Melchora especially is miles ahead of me. She says I just need to practice... :)

I then try to get ready for the kids coming, taking down benches, basic clean up, and trying to figure out how I´ll engage the kids that day. I usually eat before the kids arrive at around 1 pm, so I can talk and have fun with the kids while they eat, and try to get the faster kids to start doing homework. Not all the kids stick around to do homework, and it´s tough to try and motivate them. One technique I´ve been using lately, is blocking the doorway, and requiring the kids to answer a mental math problem for me before they can go in and eat. That way they´ve got to earn it, and I get them all thinking.

After eating, I average about 10 kids staying to complete their homework with me. Since there are about 45 kids that come to eat, it´s not great, but it´s hard to get the older ones especially to stay. (If you have any suggestions, let me know) There is chart I made (copying the plan set up and introduced by Chris and Kimball here during the summer) that marks when they bring and complete their homework. When they finish 5 homework assignments, and the 5 corresponding stars, they receive a small prize out of the prize box. That´s why it´s hard to get the older kids to stay, because small prizes aren´t really to their liking. Doing homework with the kids which I feel is very important, means that kids finish at different times and just bolt. I can occasionally keep a few kids behind for reading (they loved the Amelia Bedelia book) and as I´m learning to juggle, some kids had fun throwing around the juggling scarves. Before I leave I help clean up the place and make sure everything is ready to go for the next day.

I know that´s a longwinded explanation, but it really is an awesome experience. I get to teach a few words in English, I also tease the kids too (somehow that´s never gotten old) and learn some Spanish myself. It´s a great way to serve and these kids deserve it, even if sometimes they are ´traviesos´.

After Surgery (Michael)

2010-12-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Here are the after shots of Alida's eye. It looks a lot better than it did before the surgery!

Alida (Chris)

2010-12-14T00:00:00.001-08:00

We had a great time with Cameron and the group. Unfortunately I have a bad internet signal right now but i wanted to send you the pictures of Álida. We made collages with the kids and we will have to send you a better email soon. Also, if you zoom in on Maria´s right eye I think she has a cataract or a stye. She´s new and if there´s anyway we can get someone to look at it it would be great. Like I wrote before she is the oldest of 6 and she watches her siblings while her mom´s gone away for long periods of time.

Thanks so much

Alida (Nancy)

2010-12-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

Here in Cajamarca, the city ranges from paved roads with open plazas, to cobblestone streets crowded by cement and brick houses. Oh, and people. Lots of people, weaving in and out of the buses, motor-taxis, and cars. Just outside the city, the roads turn to dirt and switchback up the mountain to the countryside. Cajamarca is nestled high in the Andes mountains. As you go further out of the city, the cramped bus ride out to the surrounding villages is like riding back in time to an Inca village.

We travel every day to the area just outside of Cajamarca, "Los Banos". And we work in a drop-in center called "El Bichito," or little bug. For a few years now, poor kids from the country villages have raced there after school to pick up what is probably their only square meal of the day. Now, my husband Jared and I and another couple, the Jensens are working hard to keep the kids there longer, to tutor them with their homework and play games with them. The kids are amazing. Lots and lots of energy and so loving.

Today we want to introduce you to Alida. She is fourteen and a little bashful at times, but does not back down to anyone. She's very happy, a little mischievous, and eager to learn. When we tried to get her picture today, she would not look at the camera. I think it is because she is embarrassed of the growth she has on her eye. She has had it since birth, but it is getting bigger, and our new goal is to raise the money that could fund her operation, literally saving her from blindness. When she thinks no one is looking though, she has the brightest smile.

That's all for now. Thanks for everyone's help!

Nancy

WE WON!!! (Madi)

2010-12-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

WE WOOOONNNN!! What an adventure! The Aldea has won the womens Fulbito tournament. Not only did they win the FINAL, they have won all the games. So great we are proud of the Tias that played. We also had on of the other volenteers from the Aldea play her name is Alliei and she is here through Project trust. CONGRATS team!!

Daniela has just turned 18 an she is now getting ready to leave this month. she is getting ready to go out into the world. Hard, but we know that she will do very well.

6 month old baby Fabricio is doing a lot better. He goes to the Hospital Weekly to get exercises. Starting to slowly progress with his strength. When he first came he was not able to hold his head up. that was about 2 months ago, but he is starting to get there.

We had some children that were baptised this last week, and also some children that had their conformation through the Catholic church. Allie, Izzy and I participated as godmothers in this event. It was very different but very very cool to see these kids take such a big step. It is so cool to see kids going for things that they want. The kids that did conformation were, Keny,Elvia, Evelin and Ana.

congrats to all three kids !!

madi!

Update (Madi)

2010-12-06T00:00:00.001-08:00

Getting back to Aldea life is great. Peru is beautiful but the people are even better! Starting a new rewards system so the kids in each house can earn a movie at the end of the week! They have put the poole out on the grass a and summer is starting to officially be here. There are only 52 Kids in the aldea now but they are all great! Missed Halloween with the kids but I know they had a party. Now they just want a lot of candy !!

madi

sorry having probs on this compy with the pics

El Bichito (Dan)

2010-11-22T00:00:00.000-08:00

So everyday during the week, I take a short combi (mini bus) ride up to the small town of
Puylucana which is 5 minutes away. When I arrive, I usually meet with
Feliciana and/or Melchora her sister. They run the comedor called ¨El
Bichito¨ which literally translated means little bug. It is basically
a lunch cafeteria for kids in the area to have a free meal when they
finish school. In order to receive food, they must go to school, so
it is not a complete giveaway. My job is to help as much as possible.
This usually entails sorting through the rice and beans in the
morning. We dump a big pile on the counter and then sort through the
little pieces that aren´t quite edible. It´s a great time to talk to
Melchora and Feliciana or just meditate to myself. I´m still pretty
slow at sorting (faster than when I started) but Melchora especially
is miles ahead of me. She says I just need to practice... :)

I then try to get ready for the kids coming, taking down benches,
basic clean up, and trying to figure out how I´ll engage the kids that
day. I usually eat before the kids arrive at around 1 pm, so I can
talk and have fun with the kids while they eat, and try to get the
faster kids to start doing homework. Not all the kids stick around to
do homework, and it´s tough to try and motivate them. One technique
I´ve been using lately, is blocking the doorway, and requiring the
kids to answer a mental math problem for me before they can go in and
eat. That way they´ve got to earn it, and I get them all thinking.
After eating, I average about 10 kids staying to complete their
homework with me. Since there are about 45 kids that come to eat,
it´s not great, but it´s hard to get the older ones especially to
stay. (If you have any suggestions, let me know) There is chart I
made (copying the plan set up and introduced by Chris and Kimball here
during the summer) that marks when they bring and complete their
homework. When they finish 5 homework assignments, and the 5
corresponding stars, they receive a small prize out of the prize box.
That´s why it´s hard to get the older kids to stay, because small
prizes aren´t really to their liking. Doing homework with the kids
which I feel is very important, means that kids finish at different
times and just bolt. I can occasionally keep a few kids behind for
reading (they loved the Amelia Bedelia book) and as I´m learning to
juggle, some kids had fun throwing around the juggling scarves.
Before I leave I help clean up the place and make sure everything is
ready to go for the next day.

I know that´s a longwinded explanation, but it really is an awesome
experience. I get to teach a few words in English, I also tease the
kids too (somehow that´s never gotten old) and learn some spanish
myself. It´s a great way to serve and these kids deserve it, even if
sometimes they are ´traviesos´.

Zoo in Porcon (Nancy)

2010-11-17T00:00:00.001-08:00

Piggy Banks (Mike & Natalie)

2010-11-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

Today we helped the kids make "piggy banks" out of water bottles. We were expecting like 5 or 6 kids to stay to make banks, but about 25 - 30 kids ended up staying. They had a great time, and they all committed to using their banks to save money for college someday.

Elizabeth at Aldea

2010-11-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

Life at the Aldea keeps getting better. We got a new baby at the Aldea named Fabricio. The cutest thing ever, I just love him. I found out that he has Epilepsy and a few days later, that he's also blind. We went to the hospital for him to get an EEG to see if he's permanantly blind or if it can be fixed. However, the doctor never showed. So we left and are going to try again next week. We are still awaiting the arrivals of the new interns. We have their rooms prepared and ready for them. We are looking forward to their arrival. Our days are pretty exhausting, I've found myself the other day, realizing that its been a pattern, everyday a pattern of pretty much doing the same thing. Not that its a bad thing, especially when some days can be pretty "hard-core".

The mornings, while Madi and Allie go to the almazen I go over and help with one of the babies/or two. Last week, we had 2 mornings where it was pretty much a baby sitting party in our house. Also the Aldea has adopted a stray dog. I found him a few weeks ago when I was walking back to the volunteer house for lunch, and asked if he was any ones. He's found his way back in, and now stays permanent in the Aldea, and doesn't leave. Everyone loves him, and the kids call him by the name I chose for him when I found him again in the Aldea. His name is Marco Polo, like the game, but since he's now a resident of the Aldea the kids and I just call him Marco. Its funny though, they always ask if he's my dog, but then I tell them he's my dog friend. Me amigo perro. A lively dog thats fun to play with and is good with the children, friendlier then the other dog.

Madi at Aldea

2010-11-09T00:00:00.001-08:00

The kids are great at the Aldea, I love all of them so much!! They love to play, dance, sing and have fun! Along with being very loud and just going crazy sometimes but kids are kids!! Trujillo is so much fun and Peru as a whole is just a wonderful country !! I hope that anyone who can will come and help out at the Aldea!! The food is awesome thanks to the Tias. And everything is going great !!

Changes (Dan)

2010-10-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

(continued from Dan's last post)

Now for the big news! ... ... I´m heading to Cajamarca! Yes,
that´s right, as of tomorrow night, Sunday, I am moving up to
Cajamarca, (about 7-8 hours north) to help the kids up there. A
pretty big shock to be sure, but it´ll be a great opportunity and
challenge. I will be working with the kids at El Bichito, which is a
food center run by a woman named Feliciana. In talking with Chris, a
great guy I met who worked there with his wife this passed summer,
I´ll be helping the kids with their homework, and also with learning
activities. I know I´m going to miss the Aldea immensely, but I know
that I can do some good in Cajamarca. I also hope that being the only
volunteer up there, I´ll be able to improve my Spanish even more
rapidly. I´ll let you know more next week about the changes and
everything. I´m excited to serve the good people in that pretty city.

This past week, as I´ve been preparing to leave, I´ve been doing some
last minute activities with the kids and tias in the Aldea. I´ve been
trying to make pizza or bread with each and every house in the Aldea
before I leave. I´ve been teaching the tias how to do it, and the
kids have been having fun mixing and kneading the dough, and of course
eating the final product. It´s fun to share what I know (thanks to
Preston and Kelsey for teaching me the cooking skills) and have a
great time with the kids. Guadalupe in casa 1, who loves to dance,
and great fun grating the cheese and punching the dough until it was
ready for pizza. We´ve also been doing a lot of drawing and coloring
in casa 6 (the craft house) and it´s been fun to do paper airplanes as
well. I love seeing some of the more rambunctious kids like Jonathan
or Pedro, get really serious as they prepare their airplanes for
flight.

I don´t look forward to saying the last goodbyes to the kids. This
really does feel like home, and I will miss their smiling faces and
laughter. I´ll also miss those at the direction like Eduardo (our
stake president), Cesar, Blanca and Estelle in the direction, and so
many others too. I will miss the tias especially, as they are so kind
and helpful with us and cook for us the great Peruvian food all the
time. We just had papa de juan gallina, which is potatoes with this
creamy sauce poured all over it. Hmmmmm, so so tasty!

Entonces, I´m sorry about the long email... I just need to write more
often, and keep them at a better length. I´ll try to do that better
in Cajamarca.

Update from Aldea (Dan)

2010-10-13T00:00:00.001-07:00

I know it´s been a while since my last email, sorry about that, life´s
been particularly busy and crazy here in Peru. So we had a power
outage for about two days a few weeks back that was actually a lot of
fun. We had a few candles and flashlights that helped during the
night, but it was actually great to have the lights off in the Aldea
so you could appreciate the stars. It was cool how bright the milky
way was, and how much you miss them when the lights are always on.

We´ve had a great time playing futbol lately, and I´m proud to say
that I´ve been getting better. We had some penalty kicks the other
day and I scored on Cesar (probably the best kid here) and then I
saved his penalty kick. Yeah, I was proud of himself. It´s great
when the all the kids come together and play. Before, it seemed that
Cesar and some of the older boys would only play if there weren´t
younger ones playing as well, and maybe it´s just the lack of other
boys to play with, but everyone has been coming together to play.
Just yesterday in fact, we played a marathon game where Cesar´s team
beat us 22 to 21. It was in the smaller field/court, but it was still
tons of fun. Since I can be a little competitive, it was fun to have
a such a crazy game.

We´ve also played lots of volibol lately. The tias have been getting
into it. Tia Rosa from casa 5 (with the older boys) got some of the
older ones to play with the girls, who are really good. Tio Nelson,
the handyman of the Aldea also comes and plays sometimes. For the
older girls as well, like Ingrid and Antonia, it´s great to have some
fun physical activities.

Also, I went on a side trip up to the Cordillera Blancas with Asha, as
it was her last week. We went on a magnificent 4 day trek called
¨Santa Cruz¨ that was absolutely spectacular. We climbed up to 4750
meters, which is about 15600 feet. At times it was challenging, and
the altitude does make you slower, but it was totally worth it. At
nights it was freezing, especially since the wind chill was so big,
but during the day you had to wary of sun burn. An amazing trip, and
a good send off for Asha, who will be sorely missed here at the Aldea.

Fundraising Banquet

2010-10-10T12:20:00.001-07:00

Enrique in Porcon (Mike and Natalie)

2010-09-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Enrique came to La Granja Porcón for a few days to learn how to weave fabric out of wool. One day while we were down at El Bichito, he told us he was interested in learning in the artesanía (craft) shop, and so we arranged it for him to come up. He arrived on Tuesday, July 27^th, and worked and played in Porcón until the morning of Saturday, the 31^stof July. He weaved on the loom in the mornings and early afternoons, and then had the rest of the day to relax. Elena, the woman in charge of the artesanía, said that he was a fast learner. He picked it up very quickly, and had almost finished making an entire handbag by the time he left on Saturday. He had the chance to go to the zoo, go to the trout farm, go on hikes, and participate in our English Club classes at the local school. He became friends with the kids in our classes and had a great time with them. One of his favorite things to do (as with all 12-year-old boys) was stand by the river and try to skip rocks across it. He had a great time, and didn’t want to leave on Saturday when the time came. He said that he may want to work as an artisan some day, but he’s still not sure yet. This was a good experience for Enrique.

Luis (Chris)

2010-09-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

We had an wonderful time working with the children in Bichito! We finished the internship last Friday and we are in Chile now. I still wanted to send you some pictures of the Trujillo expedition with the Millers. Attached are some photos of the Miller and us painting the chairs for all the houses at the Aldea. I have a alot more kids I want to write about when we get home. One kid I wanted to write about was Luis Wilder. Here`s a blog entry:

We`ve had a great time with the children these past few weeks. We've established a Career Day program with the kids every week. We have a professional come and talk to the kids one day out of the week. So far we`ve had a Miner and Tour Guide come and talk to them. One boy that has really cought our attention by being very persistent in doing homework is Luis Wilder. He is about 12 years old and is Maria Alida`s younger brother. He is very bright and had done the second most homework out of all the kids. He is a star at soccer and helps take care of his other brothers. He has the same situation as Maria Alida, where his parents work far away to sustain the family. We learned recently that the reason why they go so far away is that they used live far in the country but the schools were really bad. Their parents moved the whole family closer to Puylucana so that the kids could study, but they still have to travel long distances for work. Luis is part of a special family that deserves so much more. Its been so great to work with him and his siblings.

Enrique (Nancy and Jared)

2010-09-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

We have an intern in Por Con! His name is Enrique, he's 15ish, and he is there this week to learn artenesia trades...weaving, painting, etc. Yesterday Jared and I took him to Por Con and dropped him off to the Murrows. They'll bring him back on Saturday. We were getting frustrated because none of the kids were interested, but then we had a Parent's Day last week and the Murrows announced the Por Con Internship and Enrique told us after that he wanted to go. We all went to dinner together last night, and we had alpaca steaks! It was the best thing I've eaten in Peru so far.

Hopefully we will get Alida to the other doctor this friday and see how much an operation would cost.

We were all thinking that it would be cool to take some of the kids on a field trip to Por Con. The two ladies who work at El Bichito, Malchura and Feliciana, told us that it would be 280 soles to rent a bus for the day, and they would organize it.

A few weeks ago some students from the University came and donated crates-full of fruit, eggs, and potatoes. They have been coming over now and then to help us with the kids, and yesterday, we had movie day. They brought a DVD player, projector, big speakers, and we played a movie for the kids on the wall. I can't remember what it was called, but it had guinea pigs in it. Ivan is the one who has helped the most, but he always brings friends with him. It's great to have help.

Take care,

Nancy and Jared

Travels and back to the kids (Preston)

2010-09-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

So, we are back from our travels. After a few bumps in the road, we ended up seeing everything we wanted to see. Macchu Picchu was amazing. It’s kind of unfortunate that the pictures we took will never do it justice. We went the back way via bike and foot which was a great way to do it. The physical aspect of it really added to the experience. The Rojas family was amazing. They were incredibly hospitable.

Iquitos was also amazing. We stayed with some friends of the Rojas family, the Babilonia family. They showed us around all the sights of Iquitos. We saw the amazon, a few really cool zoos and got to visit a native tribe. It was a lot of fun.

Even though we had so much fun traveling, it felt really good to come home to the aldea. I was surprised how much I missed the kids while I was gone. Kelsey, Lacey and Britney whipped things in to shape while we are gone. They are doing a great job rounding all the kids up with specific activities. The 50 dollar budget is also a big help because we can cook with the kids and a lot of other activities that we couldn’t really do before, so thanks to everyone who has helped make that possible.

It was Ruben’s birthday two days ago. He’s a great kid. When he is a little older, I’m sure he will fill leadership positions here in the aldea. The younger boys really look up to him. He was just moved to casa 5 with the older boys while we were out on vacation. He seems to be doing just fine there. Hopefully he will be able to dodge a lot of the problems that are common with the teenagers here.

Thanks for all of your support. I’m really glad I didn’t let this opportunity slip by.

Preston

A few special moments (Britney)

2010-09-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Natalie, Dan, Tanner and Preston got back from their big trip to Macchu Picchu and Iquitos and so I get to go running again which is so fun! Afterwards, I went to help in a house with Daniel, a boy about 12 with special needs and Pilar, the cute little baby. I kept Daniel occupied for about 2 hours and introduced the Tia to playdough! Then, I went to help Cinthia, a teenager learn how to read and write because I just found out the day before that she didn’t know how. What was so cool was that afterwards, she thanked me and asked me to come back! Then, as I was going out the two older girls in the house where I eat, Ana and Monica who are 16, are always home all day so I want to spend more time with them. We got to eat lunch together and that’s when they begged me to translate Justin Beiber - instant bonding, right?! Plus, I got into a longer conversation with Rocio, a 15-year-old girl!

Another cool moment was that at home I started washing clothes when Sara Lee (8) came over and started telling me the Pinochio story. Later, she wrote down the story for me and decorated it - A TREASURE! Don’t worry, apparently I don’t wash clothes that well so she and the tiniest girl I’ve ever seen - Estefani - both started washing my clothes. Even when I had to go, they begged to keep washing so we decided the next day we would!

Next, I was asked by the older girls to supervise them so they could dance in the cultural hall-ish room. They actually choreograph dances to all our pop music. Then we tried to help all the kids decorate the picture frames, but it was all a guise because they just wanted the pictures we gave them of them with their houses.

Visitor (Britney)

2010-09-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun helping little Renzo who is 9 months old strengthen his legs. He has absolutely no leg muscles - he came to the Aldea that way and the Tias try to help him practice crawling or walking but they said they just don’t have enough time so they asked us to help stretch his legs, massage them and help him practice standing to strengthen them. Meanwhile, Benjamin who is 8 and I love him had a day off school and came outside and played with my kickball with me. Then, I helped him study for a test and don’t worry we high-fived after every question he got right! Then SURPRISE, a Congresswoman came so we all had a big fiesta for her- meaning all the houses had some of the kids perform dances. It was awkward though for a couple of the older girls who were dancing to Justin Beiber’s “Baby, baby, baby,” - don’t worry all the girls are in love and I MEAN IN LOVE with Justin Beiber and the Twilight series. Even little Manuel, 6, in a house filled with 8 older girls sings all the lyrics in English. But when I translated them the other day, they didn’t even know what “baby” meant. haha The congresswoman was impressive and wants to work hard for the women and children - she acknowledges that they need a lot of help! She said over 2 million children work when they aren’t legally allowed to. One cool note for me was that cute Jose Antonio always goes around singing in an opera voice so I started singing out his name randomly all through the day - we sand back and forth - cute!

Fundraiser for Southern Cross Humanitarian

2010-09-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hi All!

It's Joy here, I haven't written on the blog for quite some time now. I just wanted to let everyone know about an opportunity to help raise money for Southern Cross Humanitarian.

I am an Independent Consultant for Shelf Reliance. You can check out their website at www.shelfreliance.com, but don't make your order until you send me an e-mail that says "I support Southern Cross Humanitarian." After you e-mail me, I will set up your Shelf Reliance account, so that you will be able to receive discounts of 10-30% off retail prices. Even if you already have an account, I can set it up so you will receive the discounts.

When you make an order in September, I will donate 10% of your order to Southern Cross Humanitarian.

Shelf Reliance has great products like 72 hour emergency kits, food storage, and food rotation systems.

Send me an e-mail at joy@thrivecrew.com that says "I support Southern Cross Humanitarian"

Now is always a good time to get prepared!

Career Day & Health Day (Hubers)

2010-09-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

In the last few weeks we've started "Career Day" and "Health Day", usually once a week. Chris and Kimball invited a friend who works in the local mine to talk to the kids about career options. The next week we brought a tour guide. They taught the kids about the importance of getting an education, and then finding a job, and told them about their profession. It was the first time the the older kids (16-18) stayed after eating. Usually only the younger kids stay, but this time the older boys were really interested and learned a lot.

Jared and I did a Health Day last week, where we taught the kids about personal hygiene, fitness, etc, and then gave the children a toothbrush and showed them how to use it. Jared used his computer to give a slide-show presentation. They loved it! The next health day is going to be about visiting the doctor, because a lot of the families in the country are afraid of hospitals. We'll keep you posted!

The Hubers

After School Program (Mike and Natalie)

2010-09-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

We have been here for three-and-a-half weeks, and things are going smoothly. In the school here in Porcon, we have been able to help the English professor in her classes. We have also established an after-school English club and about 20 kids show up for that each time. We've already picked a very capable student from the club to make sure it continues after we leave. He accepted and he will work with the professor to keep that club going after we are gone. We were hoping to get some teenagers from El Bichito to come to Porcon and work for a little while, but they all wanted to learn mechanical-oriented trades. We talked to Don Alejandro, Pedro, and Jacinto about what jobs they could do in Porcon and they were excited to have them work in the sawmill, as that would have been the best match for their interests. Unfortunately, though, the kids decided in the end that they were not interested in that. But we are going to give Pedro's and Jacinto's phone numbers to Feliciana so that in the future if there is a child who is interested in working in Porcon, she can set that up. We will also let Pedro and Jacinto know that she will likely call them in the future.

The Jenson's are leaving in one week, and the Huber's two weeks after that. We have all been making arrangements for local people to volunteer at El Bichito so that the after-school program continues after we all leave. We all decided it would be best for us to move down to Cajamarca and work in El Bichito after the Hubers leave. That way we will be able to keep it going until we leave and make sure that the people here are very familiar with the after-school program. Yesterday we had about 6 students from the University come and donate fruit and other food and they said that they will continue to be involved. Also, Natalie and I have met a man named Juan who works in Porcon and lives in Cajamarca. When he found out what it is we do, he said he would love to volunteer often at El Bichito. He used to work in another orphanage here, and he said he wants to get back into doing that and helping the kids. We are going to show him where El Bichito is so that he can stop by on weekdays to help out. So things are going well, and one of our main focuses right now is arranging things so that the programs we have started keep going after we are gone.

Thanks,

-Mike and Natalie

Porcon (Miguel & Natalie)

2010-08-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

Things are starting to come together for us here in La Gramja Porcon. At first it was quite a struggle getting our classes and other efforts going. But now we are working with the English professor at the local school and helping her out. She is great and is very appreciative of the help. Yesterday was a national holiday, Teacher´s Day, and Monday the kids put on a program for their teachers and they included us in that. Starting tomorrow, we will have an English club that will go for about an hour each day after school on the days there are English classes. That will be an opportunity for the kids to ask questions in a more relaxed setting and get some extra help. Every Wednesday and Friday there are no English classes at the school, so starting today we will come down to Cajamarca on those days to help at El Bichito. We are here in Cajamarca right now and have broughy hygiene kits and toys. The toys will become part of the toy cache kids can draw from when they have completed 5 homework assignments. Every day at 5, we have classes for the adults in Porcon. Those are going well, though not as well as we had hoped. The most we have ever had attend is 3 students, even though everyone has been informed. But we do have two students who come consistently and are doing well. We have started making arrangements to have at least one teenager from El Bichito come up here and work for a couple of weeks in the near future. We will give you an update on that as it develops. We are now in more frequent contact with the other interns, coordinating our efforts with them.

Cesar (Preston)

2010-08-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

I have been playing some chess with the kids, and while teaching the younger ones takes a lot of patience, there are some of the older ones that are actually quite good. This one guy, Cesar Humberto, who is 15, who is very bright and already knew how to play chess. He gave me a very good fight, and I´m sure he will beat me a few times before I leave the Aldea. I love how I am really feeling more comfortable here at the Aldea. I can joke around with the kids and even the Tias and it feels like home.

So we have a new intern here! She´s from Ohio and is great. Britney graduated from BYU in 09 and is 24 so I am not the oldest one here anymore! Her spanish is second to Preston´s and she came prepared with spanish books for the kids and is really motivated to help them.

Casa 2 (Lacey)

2010-08-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

So I think I will give you a little experience about the first night I ate in casa two. This is mainly from my journal: Alright casa 2 is awesome. Jhon and Reuben are so nice. (They are both about 10 years old). Jhon is so helpful with helping me understand what is going on. He’ll say, “escuchame” and then slowly repeat what he said. I had a really good conversation with him. He asked me what I would be doing when I was 25. I told him I would be married and hopefully have a baby. So I turned the question around on him. He said he wanted to go to cooking school and become a chef. I told him he had good goals but it was also important to be good to his wife and kids. He seemed to like this idea. He was saying something about his mom. I wish I would have understood. He wanted to show me with school work. We flipped through one of his notebooks and he showed off his cursive. He also helped me learn some new Spanish words. I think I am going to like this house!

Being at the Aldea has so far (and will continue) to be an interesting experience. The interns are really amazing! We get along really well. They have been super helpful to me and Kelsey as we have settled in and got into the routine at the Aldea. There are so many things I wish I could do for these kids. There are several (like Daniel, from Brasil) who could really benefit from a real speech therapist. But this is Peru. But I have been overall impressed with how things run here. The tias work hard and the kids have the basic things that they need. I actually don’t like bringing the kids gifts. They get a lot of things like that from local church groups and university groups that come to visit and come to expect gifts from us. I just hope that they can get a grasp on the idea of the possibility of a positive future. And many have that already.

Maria (Nancy)

2010-08-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

[Here in Cajamarca, the city ranges from paved roads with open plazas, to cobblestone streets crowded by cement and brick houses. Oh, and people. Lots of people, weaving in and out of the buses, motor-taxis, and cars. Just outside the city, the roads turn to dirt and switchback up the mountain to the countryside. Cajamarca is nestled high in the Andes mountains. As you go further out of the city, the cramped bus ride out to the surrounding villages is like riding back in time to an Inca village.

Today we want to introduce you to Maria Alida Mantilla. She is fourteen and a little bashful at times, but does not back down to anyone. She's very happy, a little mischievous, and eager to learn. When we tried to get her picture today, she would not look at the camera. I think it is because she is embarrassed of the growth she has on her eye. She has had it since birth, but it is getting bigger, and our new goal is to raise the money that could fund her operation, literally saving her from blindness. When she thinks no one is looking though, she has the brightest smile.

That's all for now. Thanks for everyone's help!

Ruben (Kelsey)

2010-08-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

So this week i want to tell you about my favorite so far. Yes i can have a favorite. His name is Ruben and he is in Casa 2 where i have been eating my dinners. Ruben is such a tough guy, he likes wearing like cut off tank tops and he always has his hair in a cute little faux-hawk. He always makes faces in pictures like he's Slim Shady or something. Yesterday we had this party and the kids were making each other into mummies with toilet paper and he totally smiled and was having a blast. Last night after dinner we were taking a ton of pictures and he loved to dance for the camera or throw up gang signs or something like that. He just makes me laugh, because he is trying to be stone cold, but his heart is too big. I am kind of sad that i don't get to eat in their Casa this week. I'm moving on to a different Casa. Oh! And we brought out a couple of the coloring books this week and the kids were going nuts, they get saying "Regalome!" And we would have to tell them that the coloring books were for everyone to share and they couldn't just take as many as they could hold and stash them in their rooms. But they colored for hours until their Tia's started yelling and telling them it was time for them to shower before dinner. Oh and yesterday we were playing soccer with one of the soccer balls that Lacey brought and Hector, one of the like 15 year old boys kicked it up and it smacked me right in the side of the face! He felt so bad. After that i kept telling him i was going to have a black eye and he broke my face and stuff like that to make him feel bad. He's a funny kid too.

I am seriously loving it here. I can't wait to get out of bed and go play. The food is pretty good, lots of beans and rice, and i could eat their little breads all day! Plus we get some fruit. I could eat fruit and bread for every meal for the rest of my life. This fruit and bread at least. I love going to town and seeing the people and the Peruvian culture. I love spending time with the kids, who love you so much, even if they don't know who you are. They just want to know that you'll still be here tomorrow.

My first day (Kelsey)

2010-08-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

Well today is my first full day of the orphanage. Yesterday when i arrived the kids were so sweet. Las Tejedas drove us out here from their home, where we stayed for most of the day. Their family is one of the kindest i have ever met. The girls were so outgoing and loved to laugh, we ended up dancing and chatting and helping each other with our spanish/english skills. When we pulled up in the car, the kids started swarming. They came right over and hugged me and i fell in love guys. It was the sweetest moment. Then one boy hugged me, paused and said "Son Gringos" Ha ha as if me and Lacey didn't know that we are the whitest people here. But the kids are really friendly, they all want to talk to me and know my name and tell me about themselves. They especially love to be tickeled. Once you start tickling them, they will never let you stop. They will chase you for hours wanting to be tickled. Each night we eat dinner in one of the Casas with a group of kids and their Tia, who looks after them. Last night we had some kind of meat, and lots of rice and beans.

I'm having a lot of fun so far, the kids are fun and they just want to spend time with you. I have a lot of respect for the tias and all of the work that they do for the kids. They are extremely patient. Also, luckily, my spanish is coming back much more quickly than i thought it would, just being here and being immersed in it is helping so much. Its amazing how much i remember and how well i can communicate with the kids already. I'm sure it will get better as time goes on and as they remind me of the vocabulary that i've forgotten. I still have a harder time understanding the tias, they tend to talk a lot faster, probably because they are so busy, but they are the hardest. The kids are patient when i don't understand and they answer my questions when i don't know how to say something. I'm going to make a list of all the words that i have a hard time remembering so that i can study them at night. Also, me and the other interns have spanish study time, so that will be super helpful, especially since Preston is fluent in spanish. They all seem great and i can't wait to get to know them better.

Enrique (Chris & Kimball)

2010-08-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

This week has gone by fast! Nancy and Jared have been a great help and have a lot of great ideas. The kids have really been progressing with doing their homework. The first kid to complete with five stars was Enrique. Enrique is almost 13 years old and is very extroverted. He was one of the first kids who talked to us when we got to el Bichito. This past week he didn't come on Tuesday and we were worried about him. When he came on Wednesday he said that his stomach was hurting so we gave him some pills. He ended up feeling worse and we had Feliciana's husband take him home in his taxi. Yesterday we went by their home to check up on him. He leaves with his Aunts and his mother is gone most of the day. We found out that Enrique's father died in a car accident when Enrique was little. The family are mostly farmers and the uncles have unstable work in Cajamarca. We also found out that he has or had a heart murmur and he can't play sports. He's mother is afraid to go to the doctors because they are in the city. Hopefully we can figure out a way to get him there this next week. Also, the family was suprised when I told them that Enrique was one of the best students at El Bichito. We left a little origami fox for Enrique. He really likes origami and is really quick to pick it up. We hope he gets better so he can particpate in the activities we have planned for the next few weeks.

A great week (Preston)

2010-08-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Life is amazing in the Aldea. Just writing about life here makes me happy. The kids are really starting to get comfortable with us. I'm getting to know them on a more personal level every day. It seems like every week I get to know a new kid.

This week Tanner and I have spent more time with the older boys, which is great because they are the hardest to win over. The key, unsuprisingly has been soccer, and to a lesser degree, volleyball. They definitely have more talent, but our size gives us an advantage. It evens out pretty well.

I ate in casa 9 this last week. The girls there are a lot of fun. Sara is full of jokes. Mercedes is anxious to learn everything. I promised them guitar lessons. Hopefully it will work out. Anyway, there is more to write but the time here in the internet cafe is running out. Im looking forward to another great week.

Lus & Flor (Nat)

2010-08-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

There is a girl in the orphanage about 12 years old...she´s got some kind of mental disorder. I don´t know how to describe it, like she can function and everything...she´s just over the top in your face. I love her to death even though it can get to be overwhelming at times. She´s really touchy and is always sticking her fingers in her mouth and then slapping them on your face. haha. My latest goal has been to teach her how to write her name. Her name is Lus Mila. It´s taken us a week to get down the letter L. But I´m proud of it. I know she can do it for sure, she just has the shortest attention span ever haha.

Oh and I have to tell you guys about Flor. She´s the smallest two year old you´ll ever see. Ohhh she´s so freaking adorable. Anyway, so when I showed up at the Aldea, Beth and Georgia warned me about how Flor is the little girl that when she sees any gringo face she cries so good luck. Beth and George had been here almost a year, right? Well, for some CRAZY reason...everytime Flor sees me, she runs between my legs, grabs hold and looks up at me with her huge eyes smiling. I cannot even describe how it makes me feel haha. If I´m ever having one of those days, you know, one of those ughhh days haha I just go play with her. I don´t know what it is about her. I want to take her home forever. She won´t even look at any of the other volunteers too it´s so weird. I didn´t even do anything! So yeah, me and Flor...I can´t wait to show you pictures of her.

Success (Britney)

2010-08-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

I hope you read this far because it was an absolutely hilarious day. Starting backward, because that’s how I wrote it in my journal, I felt like I haven’t become close to casa 8, where I eat, like I did the house I ate in last week, but tonight was the night! For one, I found out Ana, one of the girls who is always home during the day and more taciturn, made the dessert which was milk with bananas in it (don’t judge too quickly - it sounds horrible but it was delicious)! At first, she denied that she made it, but her tia kept insisting and I finally convinced her to teach me this coming Wednesday = success #1.

Then, UNO is typically the 1/2 hour I dread at the house because all the kids go crazy and don’t play by the rules. But tonight only Catarine, Manuel and I were playing in a room and I totally joked back to counter all their crazinesss and it worked! For one, I made Catarine hold up three fingers to promise me that she wouldn’t cheat. Ever since then I’ve made her do the scout’s honor promise for books I’ve lent her multiple times and she is so good about returning the books and taking care of them now! On Sunday, I totally forgot to do the promise and she begged for it and said “before I take your books I have to do the promise.” Then at dinner she bragged that I trust her a lot now and she is honest, because she does the promise. She even closes her eyes now when she shuffles because before she was stacking the deck all the time in her favor! = SUCCESS #2.

This same night, I started pulling out my delectable dance moves, which Kelsey loves when I show off in public, since the girls were listening to Justin Beiber and they all loved it! I even got kisses for it - take that Kels! Plus, it definitely created a bond. Then as I was leaving, cute little Manuel hugged me and said “Te quiero, te quiero! Hasta Manana!” I practically skipped out of there! = SUCCESS #3!

Earlier, I had come from casa 5, where we celebrated Ruben’s birthday. How hilarious is this - they sing Happy Birthday first in English and then immediately follow it up with a version in Spanish. But one cool tradition is that the Tia praised him and then invited everyone around the table to do the same!

Earlier in the day, cute Daniel with disabilities screamed when he saw me and ran to hug me - ahh how the kids are so loving here!

Maria (Chris)

2010-08-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with Cameron and the group. Unfortunately I have a bad internet signal right now but i wanted to send you the pictures of Maria Álida. We made collages with the kids and we will have to send you a better email soon. Also, if you zoom in on Maria´s right eye I think she has a cataract or a stye. She´s new and if there´s anyway we can get someone to look at it it would be great. Like I wrote before she is the oldest of 6 and she watches her siblings while her mom´s gone away for long periods of time.

Thanks so much

Until soon

Chris

Hospital visits (Nat)

2010-08-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

I went to the hospital twice again this week and plan to go again tomorrow. The first time was with Victor and Miguel (ages 8 and 6). They are brothers and have been at the orphanage for about a month. They're sooo cute I love them. Miguel has this huge smile that I can't not laugh at. He is always wanting to play with me so I dare say I'm his favorite volunteer....that was until I was the volunteer chosen to take him to the hospital to get his blood drawn for analysis. It was a nightmare for him. He screamed and screamed and screamed I couldn't hold him down for the blood draw so we had to get this man to come help. For 4 days Miguel would NOT look at me. No high fives no nothing. I was so upset about it cause seriously, he's the cutest. I mean, I don't blame him cause he literally thought I was going to kill him, I could see it in his eyes haha. But I bought him some chiclets at the bodega two days ago and that won him right over again. Funny how kids work like that. If only I could buy more friendships with candy at home.

Second time at the hospital was for Manuel. I think I told you guys but he's the 6 year old with incontinence problems. He's always wetting himself it's sad cause he gets super embarrassed. He's getting surgery today but I'm not exactly sure what they're doing. We volunteers have been taking 6 hour shifts to sit with him. We do that till Friday. So I bought a bunch of Disney movies on the street in Spanish for us to watch on my laptop. He's so cute. He's definitely my favorite kid to help me with my Spanish cause he will ask you for hours how to say different objects surrounding you. Then, he'll repeat it to make sure you remember it's cute. He's smart for how young he is. He always ruins my magic tricks for the other kids because he catches on too fast. Or maybe my magic tricks just suck, that's more likely. Anyway, he knows how to say "thank you very much" in English but pronounces it "sank oo berry mootch" and he says it super fast. So the other day in his little hospital bed he pulls out his toothbrush asking how to say it in english. He realized the way he says it rhymes with "thank you very much." So he goes "tootchbrootch como sank oo berry mootch" hahaha it's the cutest thing in the world.

The Older Boys (Kelsey)

2010-08-04T07:35:00.001-07:00

I am still enjoying my time here very much. Yesterday i got frustrated for the first time. We got out the baseball equipment for everyone to play with and the went nuts, they wouldn't listen, they would give me the bats, and they were like swinging them at people. One older boy purposefully threw it as far as he could over my head so I or one of the kids would have to run after it, all because i made him let me hold the bat while he wasn't hitting. But if i can find a way to have more control, it could be alot of fun. Also, last night was so funny. I was sitting in our casa with Tanner, one of the other interns, and there was a knock on the door. Kenny, one of the boys is casa 5 (the teenage boys) came in and he started talking to Tanner. He then proceeded to tell Tanner that i was cute or something along those line and Tanner laughed and said, "Dude she understands spanish." And Kenny turned all red and turned to me and was like Do You? And i told him of course i understood him! Then he tried to play it off like he knew that, so when he left he was like Goodbye, my love. Tanner was laughing so hard. That boy is really kind hearted. Most of the boys in that casa are, despite their tough guy exterior. I like playing soccer with them.

So i just finished a game of soccer with the older boys. It was the funnest thing ever. We were playing and its so intense. I kicked my shin into a boy's shin 3 times in the same place, i have a HUGE bump there. It was so funny though, soccer is definitely not my sport. My first reflex is to knock the ball down with my hands,which is obviously illegal. But after doing it twice Hector grabbed a flower that was on the ground from this huge tree and he handed it to me and was like "Tarjeta Roja" and pretended to blow a whistle haha this huge red flower. It was so funny! He is absolutely my favorite. They kept calling stuff on me, but they were just making fun and joking around. I think they enjoyed the game alot too. They like messing with me. Its good because that means they like me enough to even talk to me, which is more than some of the other people here can say. Also, i tried to buy a slingshot today at the Bodega, but they didn't have any! Some of the older boys carry them around their torsos or they wrap it up around their wrist. I think its sweet and i want them to teach me how to use it. Anyways, today was fun.

Casas 2 & 5 (Tanner)

2010-08-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

So this week in Trujillo was the first time that I went to the hospital. Two of the other volunteers and myself accompanied Senora Marta to the hospital to help keep an eye on the kids. One of the kids that came with us, Piero, was quite a handful. He is only around five years old, but he is one of the most agile five year olds that I know. I almost got lost in the hospital once while I was trying to catch up with him.

One thing that has happened in the aldea recently that I am very happy about is that the older boys, the ones who live in casa 5, are beginning to open up to us. At first they would keep their distance from us, but now I feel that they have opened up to us. They now come over to our house and just want to hang out with us, which to me is a huge step forward.

I'm eating casa 2 this week which is my favorite house to eat in, because of all the boys seem like brothers to me. It;s my favorite house to eat in because it seems like there is never a moment of peace in the house. Someone is always either screaming about something or getting beat up, and things like that...basically there is never a dull moment which I love. I was talking to the tia in that house, Tia Carla, and I was explaing to her why I loved to be in that house so much and she expressed her similar feelings and said that it was her calling in life to be taking care of these boys.

We've been playing a whole lot of volleyball with the kids. They are amazing volleyball players! Crystell and Marina are particularly good, they hit balls that I don't even consider hitting because they are coming so fast, but then again I'm kind of a whimp :)

This week the U.S. played England in the world cup and we got to watch on TV in casa 5. Preston, Dan, Kenny, and myself were all cheering for the U.S. to win while Miguel and Beth were cheering for England. We had bought soda for everyone while we watched the game and told Miguel that if he switched teams we would give him more coke so he switched sides leaving Beth all on her own!

Tanner

Birthdays (Dan)

2010-08-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

I'm here in Huanchaco, right outside Trujillo, trying to catch up on life. It's been great here in the great country of Peru! This past week was good, as I felt I connected with some kids really well. Sometimes it's easy to just sort of be at the Aldea with everyone, but as I am here longer and my Spanish gets better, I feel I can have more substantial conversations. One of the toughest things about this though is learning about their families. You might be surprised to hear this, but most of the kids at the Aldea actually have parents and family that occasionally visit them here. The reason why they don’t live at home is because the parents don’t have the means to take care of them. It’s a sad reality, and sometimes I think it’s even harder than not having parents. When the parents don’t show up as they had planned on Wednesday or Saturday, it’s even tougher because the kids get so excited, only to be disappointed.

On a lighter note, this week we spent a day and a half setting up the biblioteca “library” (it’s the biggest room to use for things) for a big birthday party. Instead of celebrating every birthday, they instead have a birthday party each month for all the kids who had birthdays in that month. We put up tons of streamers and ribbon and cut up tons of paper for names and designs on the wall. I felt like I was doing arts and crafts big time. The party was a big deal, and after they sang and gave presents to the 9 birthday kids, they then gave more presents to all of the kids of the Aldea. It means that each month the kids get a few tiny presents that are just for them. They’re all donated, and it’s way cool because the kids are really pumped about the parties.

Last Tuesday we visited the ruins of Chan Chan. It was amazing. It is a massive complex of walls and offices and old open wells that are intricately connected and have beautiful carvings. Only a small portion of the massive 11 part complex is restored, but it is spectacular nonetheless. We got some great pictures of the four of us volunteers there, I think some of my best yet. You should look online for some pictures of the site to give you a sense of the landscape.

April Birthdays (Nat)

2010-07-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

So this week I mastered how to explain Go Fish to the kids. The little girls wanna play all the time they can't get enough of it. Neither can I haha it's so funny to play with them. We had a huge birthday party for the kids who had birthdays in April. We volunteers decorated the entire place...which mind you, was a chore. We had to make our own streamers out of this weird tissue paper stuff. We cut out letters of all the names of the birthday kids to put up on the wall with a big happy birthday sign. It took like two days to set up, I was proud of it! At home something like that would take like 3 hours but here, we gotta make allll the decorations from scratch. It demands creativity haha. So that was fun. The birthday kids all got presents that were sent from the States. Then every single kid got a smaller present like crayons and coloring books they were SO happy. To be completely honest, these orphans are living the high life here in Peru. I mean, it's all relative of course, but they are well taken care of at the Aldea.

Fanny & Sofia (Preston)

2010-07-29T00:00:00.000-07:00

It's been another great week. I'm fighting a nasty cold right now, but besides that, everything is perfect. The kids are wonderful. They do a good job of keeping us busy and tired.

This week I have really gotten to know Fanny and Sofia, the twins of the aldea. Even though I have been spending so much time with them I still cant consistently tell them apart until I learn who's wearing what clothes. That being said, I don't feel too bad because they can never get my name right. They have decided that my name is Crespo and no matter how many times I remind them, they always revert back to Crespo. They really are great sisters and spend all of their time together. They love playing tag or monster and are experts at planning sneak attacks from behind.

This week I ate at Casa 5 with the teenage boys. I was a little bit apprehensive to start because Casa 5 is quite notorious among the interns for being a difficult group. I ended up really enjoying getting to know them and have some pretty decent conversations. I tried to get a little guitar class started, but it didnt happen this week, Perhaps next week.

Anyways, all is well here. I am loving Peru more and more every day. Thanks for sending me out and have a great week!

Preston

Jennifer & Luis (Tanner)

2010-07-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

So it was another amazing week at the Aldea. Here's a little update on the kids

Jennifer - Jennifer is possibly one of the most loving kids in the aldea. She was actually one of the first kids I met because we picked her up from her school on my way to the Aldea. Whenever any of the volunteers walks through the doors into the orphanage you will hear Jennifer scream at the top of her lungs and see her throw her arms up in the air. After that she comes running towards you to give you a big hug. You have to watch out though becaucse she gets a lot of momentum going and you can end up on the ground or in a lot of pain if you don't brace for impact.

Luis/Lucho - Luis is Antoina's son. He's only two years old but he's the strongest two year old i've ever met. I don't know how but he seems to know how to box already. He has a huge smile and loves to throw the ball around.

Tanner

Casa 2 Children

2010-07-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Before I even get started, I made a mistake. Stanley does not have a child named Luis.

Anyway, it has been another great week at the orphanage. The mornings get lonely with all the kids at school, but the afternoons are always filled with fun.

This week I ate lunch with Casa 2, which is mostly filled with younger boys. It was a blast. I helped them with their homework a lot this week, which was a lot of fun. Everyone I interviewed this week is from Casa 2.

Gian Paulo Daniel Briones Nascimento more commonly known as Daniel, is a hoot. He is incredibly active and smart. He was born in Brazil and spent the first couple years of his life speaking portuguese before he came to the aldea. Unfortunately, he was unable to pick up spanish and now he is unable to speak either language. The good news is that it doesn't hold him back from making his voice heard. He is a great communicator considering the language barrier. He loves the swings. They dont know his birthday.

Miguel Angel Laredo Ramirez is new here in the aldea. He and his brother victor arrived only a few days before I did. Because they are so new, we don't know too much information about them. He is probably about 4 years old. Miguel is one of the most lovable kids here in the aldea. He is fearless and likes to go higher in the swings than anyone else. When I asked him what he likes to do, he told me that he likes to sweep. When I asked him what he wanted to do when he was older, he told me he wanted to be a janitor. He would be a very friendly janitor.

Pedro Ediberto Carrillon Cesias is 13 years old. Like a lot of young teens, he loves sports and dreams of being a soccer player. He is a very hard worker. Every time I walk by his house he is cleaning something. He likes computers and working in sugar cane fields.

Ruben Alexander Malca Palacios was born on the 16th of July, 1999. He is the oldest of 3 brothers. He is a good older brother and always is taking care of his brothers. All of the Malca Palacios boys define boyhood. Ruben likes to play with tops and ride his bike. He wants to be a police man.

Jose Antonio Malca Palacios is 9 years old. He was born on the 6th of March, 2001. He is the funny guy here at the aldea. He is quick to make a joke. He is very athletic. I have a hard time chasing him down when we play games. He likes to play tops just like his older brother. He also likes marbles. He told me that when he grows up he wants to be a soldier.

Walter Benjamin Malca Palacios is 8 years old. Benjamin is more relaxed than his brothers, but he still plays all day long, every day. His favorite game is Kiwi. He likes to dance and dreams of being a soldier with Jose Antonio.

Jhonatan Jair Portilla Espinoza has got his head on straight. He loves studying, having a clean house and being abnormally friendly. He loves the tias (the caretakers) and is a big help around the house. He is 10 years old and is an aspiring soccer star.

Prisila Rosario Mori Vega is 16 years old and was born on valentines day, 1994. She is the oldest in the house and does a great job keeping the boys in line. She loves going to school and hopes to do something with computers in her future. She doesn't have a favorite sport because she loves them all. She loves love songs.

Piero Cordova Limay is 5 years old, but we don't know exactly what day he was born. He is quite the character. Curiosity is his defining characteristic. He always has his hands in something. He doesn't talk much, but you know he is there. He loves the swings.

Well, I think that between all of us we have covered just about all the kids in the aldea. I love spending time with them.

Have a great week!

Preston

Life in Peru (Dan at Aldea)

2010-07-23T02:44:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Life is great here in the great land of Peru. I got a little sick this week, but maybe it's just a painful way to lose weight. At the Aldea they serve a lot of food every meal, and it's tough to turn it down. That means that just maintaining my weight will be difficult here and my dream to lose a few pounds for real will be especially difficult. I have been running however, and we found this great trail above the houses that is on the side of the mountains. Except for the ever vicious dogs, its a great run that gives a really good view of the valley. I'm really glad I have Natalie and occasionally Preston and Tanner to run with. Even in this beautiful country, it's still easier to have someone running at your side.

I'm not sure if I told that I carved a baseball bat, but I made a rudimentary bat that is still slightly curved so we can play baseball with the kids of the Aldea. It is awesome! (If I do say so my self) We have also been playing some volleyball, which is a favorite of many of the girls here. Another great game is tree tag. There are some great mango trees in the center of the aldea that have great branches for climbing and 'monkeying around.' We play tag while staying in the trees, it's tough to get the little ones because even the small high branches will hold them just fine.

We are working right now on our travel stuff to Machu Picchu and then Iquitos. We now have tickets from Lima to Cuzco for the first week of July. It's about 100 dollars round trip for the plane, and about 25 bucks for the bus down to Lima. I am really excited to go the Sacred Valley and see all that stuff. After that, we are planning to go to iquitos which is a town in the Peruvian amazon. I'm pumped, getting the tickets has been a challenge. I'll have to get some malaria pills those few days, but it'll be well worth it. I've just heard so many great things about Machu Picchu and Cuzco that I'm just pumped to see everything.

I also picked up a panflute this past week, it's not great, but I got it for only 18 soles, so that's okay. I really do want to get and play a churrango. It's a 10 string oversized ukulele that is just awesome. You play 2 strings at a time so every note has harmony. Right now we (the band we created 'Lost in Aldea') is practicing the Hawaiian guy's version of "Somewhere over the Rainbow." Tanner has a uke, and I have a panflute solo at the end of the amazing song. I'm pumped to play it.

We had a great Saturday night talk where we wrote down 100 goals that we want to do in our lives. It was tough to get things down, and I only have 75 written right now, but it really made me think about the important and the not so important things I want to do.

Anyway, I think we're going to Chan Chan in the morning, which is a world heritage site near Trujillo of pre-inca ruins. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks for all the support stateside, and hope all is well with you!
-Dan

Meet Renso (Lacey)

2010-07-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

We have started taking the toddlers and babies in the mornings. This way, the tias have more time to cook and clean and we get to help the babies! This has become some of my favorite parts of the day! We played with Renso this week. He is the only baby in the casa 5 (about 8 months old). Casa 5 are all older boys and they really dote on Renso.( I just heard he is being moved to casa 2). He does not really have a lot of strength in his legs and we have been trying to improve that. He is just the sweetest kid. The biggest brown eyes you have ever seen! I wish I could take him home! I wish I knew more of his story. But I hope we can continue to help him. He is definitely my favorite.

This is a photo of me and Renso. :)

More Aldea Children (Preston)

2010-07-21T02:39:00.000-07:00

(Victor and Miguel - see their bio below - they are new to the Aldea...)

Hey everyone!
This week has been a lot of fun. I'm getting the hang of their names and getting to know them on a more personal level which has been very rewarding. We have had a few good activities this week like painting one of the walls with a tree and then using the kids hand prints as the leaves. There was a group from the local Baptist church that put on a presentation for the kids and brought them lots of gifts. Some of the kids have troubles saying my name so they call me "Fresco" which translates to fresh. I kind of like it. All the interns here aldea have been collecting information on some of the kids that are here. Here is the information that I managed to gather from the kids.

Victor Manuel Mun~oz Ramirez is new to the Aldea and arrived a few days before I did. That doesn't stop him from being the most outgoing child in the Aldea. We still don't know much about him like when he was born, but he claims to be 8 years old. He loves piggy back rides and any form of play. He has a younger brother that came with him named Miguel.

Evelin Edith Arenas Llaro was born on April 8th, 1996 and is 14 years old. She is always kind and a great help around the house where she is staying. She likes to jump rope, play volleyball and run. She also really likes to play computer games.

Dina Cruz Garcia was born December 1st, 2003 and is 6 years old. She is a little reserved, but often times her 6 year old mind gets the best of her and she is just as loud as the rest of the kids. She is always ready for creative activities like painting or drawing. She is an aspiring singer. She is one of 4 sisters here at the aldea.

Elvia Marleny Sanchez Garcia was born on November 4th, 1995 and is 14 years old. Music is her passion. She loves to sing and her favorite music is reggaeton. She has 3 sisters here in the aldea: Dina, Israeli and Daniela. She's a good sister figure for them and also does a good job of taking care of the younger kids that are in her house.

Stanley Enwin Mora Sevillano is 14 years old and was born on the 23 of October, 1995. She must have a little conquistador blood in her because her dream is to explore the world. She loves music, but is rather picky with her selection because she only likes romantic "ballads". She has an adorable son named Luis.

Eliza Elizabet Carranza Reyes was born on the 13th of July, 1993 and is 16 years old, making her the oldest one in her house. She has a younger sister living with her named Antonina. She likes to play volleyball and listen to romantic music.

Next week I will send you more information. Thanks for everything!
Preston

The Children of the Aldea (Natalie)

2010-07-20T02:31:00.000-07:00

Hello! Here are a few bios of the children in Aldea:

Sara Maribell is a 16 year old girl who is incredibly smart. Her birthday is August 14th. She's working hard at school learning English and is surprising good at it. Her favorite subject in school is English as well. However, she wants to be a nurse when she gets older. She is sort of a tom boy and fits in well with the boys because of how athletic she is. While at the same time, her down to earth personality makes it really easy to talk to her. She is a beautiful girl with dimples in her cheeks when she smiles.

Mercelith Sanches Saucedo is another 16 year old girl at the Aldea. Her birthday is June 5th. Her favorite color is purple. When asked what she likes the best about the Aldea she said she loves having lots of friends. She is very social and is always smiling about something. She is a great dancer and enjoys that as well. She is not afraid to perform as proven in a big concert we put on for the kids last week. I was impressed! She also loves any kind of music. She enjoys soccer and volleyball as well. We she is older, she wants to be a hairdresser.

Leticia is a 17 year old girl. Her birthday is the 26th of November. She enjoys tennis and volleyball. Her favorite colors are black and white and she absolutely loves reading books. Currently, she attends the cosmetology school in Trujillo. As much as she enjoys doing that, she says that she'd rather be a teacher for children one day. After she told me that, I've been able to observe how cute and patient she is with the younger children in her casa. I couldn't believe how patient she was even with me as I spoke to her in broken Spanish. She has been really helpful and probably one of the first kids I go to when I need help with my Spanish.

Antonina is a 5 year old girl at the Aldea. She is the most adorable girl I have ever seen. Her dark eyes squint so much when she smiles and she is such a tease. She is ALWAYS smiling. Not once have I seen her throw a fit, or pout, She's got the cutest little haircut and wears little dresses almost everyday. Her favorite color is red and she loves noodles with chicken. She is loves to paint, play with her dolls, and when asked what she wants to do when she gets older: homework. So cute! Her older sister Elisa lives at the orphanage as well.

Sophia and Fanny are 5 year old twins at the Aldea. We volunteers sure get a kick out of them. They are two of the toughest little girls here. Just like all sisters, they pull hair and kid around with each other, but unlike most sisters, they rarely cry about it! They love to tease each other, and are always laughing. They technically are not identical twins, but they sure look a lot a like. It took a few days for me to tell them apart. Both of them share the favorite food of sweet potatoes and bananas. Eating dinner with them is so funny because if one gets up from the table, the other will grab food from her plate and just laugh while she's eating it. They each love the attention of teasing. I love it. It brings lots of laughter to this place. Both are responsible as well. Whenever the Tia asks something of them whether it's to drink their milk or shine their shoes, they do it without complaints. Sophia's favorite color is yellow and Fanny's favorite color is red.

More will be coming!!--Natalie

P.S. Pictures attached are as follows: 1) Alfredo with bowl 2) Miguel sitting 3) 2 year old Lewis and I

Meet Kevin (Chris and Kimball at El Bichito)

2010-07-16T00:00:00.000-07:00

We have had a crazy 1st week! At first it took some time for the kids to warm up to us, but now we think they are getting used to the program. The first activity we did only 7 kids stayed but by the end of the week 30 participated. The first day we went around telling them why we had come and how long we were staying. One of the first kids that warmed up to us was Kevin. Kevin is a great kid. He has a great spirit about him. He's 12 years old and he is in 6th grade. He is really bright and takes a lot of initiative in the activities. We found out from Feliciana that his father abandoned him and his mother works far away. He lives with his grandparents and comes to center every day after school. For one of the activities we had the kids draw what they wanted to be when they grew up and Kevin drew himself as the Presidente de la Republica, or the President of the Republic of Peru. It was so awesome to see the kids imagining what they wanted to be. Some wanted to be singers, other policemen. I know that Kevin has great potential and we are excited to help many more like him.

Homework with the kids (Chris and Kimball at El Bichito)

2010-07-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hello Team,

I just wanted to email letting you know we are alive and well. Thanks for helping us get all set up. Obispo Rebasas is awesome! He is one of the nicest men I've ever met. He helped us get set up with la hermana Ruby in Banos he also helped us get our bags that TACA had lost and he also took us to the supermarket el Quinde to get some things.

Today we went to el Bichito and met Feliciana and her sister. We helped with lunch and also introduced ourselves to the kids. We let them know why we are here and asked if any would like to stay after to get homework help. I wasn't expecting much the first day but 7 kids stayed afterwards for help. There were so many, we couldn't help them each individually but Kimball with her awesome tutor math SAT skills combined with my Spanish, we were able to figure it out. Also I helped four kids, Kevin, Rocio, Rosemary, and Mavali with reading. Hermano Rebasas says we should focus a lot more on reading with the kids.

Tomorrow we plan to get with some of the same kids to do a drawing game (and continue with homework). Also, the best experience we had so far was with Feliciana's son, Alvieri, who is only 6. He is soooo motivated to study. We helped him for like an hour and half doing all his homework after the other kids left. By the end he was really understanding his math homework. He loves to draw and is little bit of a perfectionist, he would erase any crayon pencil outside the lines! It was really great to feel we helped him in so little time. We have pics but we´ll send you a more detailed email next week for the blog.

Thanks so much,

Chris and Kimball

This Week (Dan at Aldea)

2010-07-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

I wrote this sweet long email that just got completely deleted... AHHHH!

This is probably going to be a quicker version of it. Right now I am in Huanchaco, a smaller beach town just outside Trujillo. (The Aldea where I live is about 30 minutes into the mountains from Trujillo) We stayed last night in a small cheap little hostel with some other gringos, some from the US, Holland and Canada. There are so many more gringos in this town than in Trujillo or near the Aldea. Monday and part of Tuesdays are going to be our weekends normally, where we can go to town and get on the internet. Mondays and Tuesdays are the days when the kids at the Aldea are too busy with homework and school is longer, so we don't have as much time with them. Saturday and Sunday are the days that we have the most time with kids.

Yesterday I ate ceviche for the first time which is mostly raw fish with lemon sauce and other seafood. It's a favorite of many of the kids in the Aldea, and they have it everywhere here in Huanchaco. It is tasty! Probably my favorite thing so far. But then again I love all the seafood.

We had a fiesta on Friday done by a local christian church where they did a bunch of songs and dances and a puppet show. It was great, and the kids, especially the younger ones had a blast. It is still really difficult to manage so many young kids and they do go nuts easily. They're great, just rambunctious. This past week I ate in casa 10, which is full of girls, except little Alfredo. He's 4 years old and his sisters are in the house. The Tia in the house, Gloria is amazing with the kids, and helps me with my Spanish.

I am going to get a star chart for the southern hemisphere because the stars are great but unknown. There is so little light pollution when the skies are clear. We're also going to get a hotplate to cook eggs and stuff on in our own house from time to time. Our stove has no gas to it, and it would be great to have. I am also getting a panflute or a charrango (a peruvian guitar) so that I can play in our newly formed band, "Lost in Aldea." We have already sung a cover of "Hey Ya" by Outkast and a version of "Let it Be" that I changed the words to as a going away for our two English roommates Beth and Georgia who are leaving the Aldea after almost a full year.

more bios (Tanner at Aldea)

2010-07-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

Kristell - Kristell is another very energetic 10 year old girl who is always smiling. She said that she loves living in the aldea because of the houses they live in. She said she loves the tias and the other kids in the aldea. Kristell loves to dance and whenever the aldea has a talent show or anything like that she is always in it at least twice doing some sort of dance. She also said that she loved the library because it was a place where she could go to learn. Her favorite subject in school is religion and when she grows up she said that she wants to be a doctor so that she can help the sick and deliver babies.

Luz Marina - At 12 years old, Luz marina is one of the older kids in casa 8 and acts like a mom to the rest of the kids. She is always helping to clean the house and getting the other kids ready for school. She loves all of her classes at school, especially her reliegion class. When she grows up she said that she really wants to have a family. She loves volleyball, music (she is always singing), dancing, and art.

Monica - Monica is 14 years old. She was born in Peru in a city called Huamchaco. She said that she loved to listen to music and sing(she had two solos in the mothers day concert). She said she loved staying in the aldea because of its natural beauty and because the Tias are so kind. Ana Yureca - Ana is 11 years old. She said that she loves all her subjects in school especially communication. She loves to be around the other kids in the aldea. She said that when she grows up she wants to be a teacher because she loves to teach.

more about the kids - Tanner at Aldea

2010-07-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hi laura!

Manuel - Manuel, a 6 year old boy, is the youngest child staying in a house full of girls. He loves playing with his toy cars which he uses to help teach the volunteers spanish. He'll point to a car and say, "que color es?" and you'll have to tell him what color the car is in spanish. His favorite food to eat is seviche(raw fish). At school his favortie subject is math and his favorite part about school are the swing sets. His favorite part about living in the Aldea is how clean the houses always are.

Lus Mila - Lus Mila is an 11 year old girl. She is always the first one to greet the new volunteers by running up to them and giving them big hugs. Some of her favorite things to do are to play with her toys and to watch the television. She is another one of the kids that is always teaching me/the other volunteers spanish. During mealtimes she will point to objects all over the room say them in spanish and tell you to repeat them.

Brayelyn - Brayelyn is the 11 years old and is the older sister of manuel. She enjoys playing volleyball, listening to music, drawing, painting, and watching scary movies. She loves just about everything about her school but her favorite subject is math. She loves everything about the aldea and said that when she grows up that she wants to be a doctor because she loves to help other people. She can always be found helping the tia around the house by cleaning and taking care of her brother Brayelyn.

Katherine- Katherine is 9 years old. She is one of the most energetic and outgoing kids in the Aldea. While I was asking the kids questions and writing down their answers she said that my handwriting wasn't pretty and she took my notebook and started wrtiting everything down for me. Her favortie subject in school is religion, her favorite color is blue and she loves to climb trees and dance. She said that when she grows up that she wants to be a police officer so that she catch criminals and drug dealers and put them in jail.

a few short bios (Dan from Aldea)

2010-07-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a few little bios of some kids for the blog.

Alfredo Hoshua is 4 years old and loves to cuddle. He smiles and gives great hugs. Papas fritas or french fries are his favorite food. He loves to play a game called Kiwi with the other children, a game of tag with some unique variations. His other favorite activities are to play on the swing and watch his favorite show Ben 10. One his secret talents is to draw, but he doesn't care to share his awesome drawings too much.

Estefani Araujo SaaVedra is a seven year old chica who loves to climb and jump on people's shoulders. She has an older sister at the Aldea whose name is Jenifer. Her favorite food is Seviche, a raw fish dish that is absolutely delicious. Kiwi is her favorite game (as it is for many of the children) and she loves to play with dogs. She loves Dora the Explorar and many other cartoons. She is always smiling and is very friendly.

There is a sweet little shy girl in the orphanage named Blanca Tamani Briceno. She is a tiny six year old who smiles a lot once she is comfortable with you. She is the has 3 other siblings at the Aldea including her younger brother Alfredo. She absolutely loves spaghetti with meatballs and with ceviche being a close second. She likes volleyball and singing and dancing, but when she grows up she really wants to be a painter. She loves to have a pencil in her tiny hand. Her favorite movies are princess movies, preferably Barbie princess movies, and the song she loves to dance to is "Chulale." She is a great kid.More will be coming.-Dan

First Update from Dan (Aldea)

2010-07-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Just my first update from Peru. It´s for my family mainly, but if you wanted some more information then here it is.

I´m in Trujillo right now at an internet cafe. Trujillo is about a 30-40 minute bus ride from the Aldea Infantil, (we just call it the Aldea).

It has been amazing! I arrived last monday night in Lima and went with Zara Lopez to her home. I spent the next day Tuesday going around Lima a little and spending time with her young son Joshua. That night I spent on a bus to Trujillo where I met up with Carlos´ family and another intern Natalie. Then we went to the Aldea crammed in a small pick up truck. The Aldea has been awesome. There are two other volunteers here from before, from England! They´ve been here for almost a year, Bethany and Georgia who is from Sheffield. They´ve been showing us the ropes and it´s great.

We live in Casa 3 and there are 10 casas in the Aldea. Only some are used, but one of the us gringos eat in each casa for meals. I was in casa 9 last week and now I´m in casa 10. The Tias do the cooking in the casas and organize the kids in their casas. I room with Tanner from Chicago and Preston from Canada/Texas/...

My normal day is waking up around 7, then going for a 30 minute run with Natalie on the main road. Then we spend some time with the few kids who are new to the aldea and don´t go to school yet. We push them on the swing (colombio) and play games, and do lots of arts and crafts stuff in our casa. ¿Quieren pintar ahora? The kids always ask us to push them on the swing. They also like to dance a lot, and Bethany and Georgia have been working for a long time on a big show that we did yesterday, Monday. We sang some songs and danced as well. Beth and Georgia are going home soon so this was a big hurrah for them. I got a lot of video of it.

Back to the day. The niños come back from school around 1 pm and we eat lunch. Then we help with homework or play futbol or an awesome game called kiwi, or learn spanish and teach english. Those books have been great that your sent Mom. It´s tough to keep track of everything because the kids like to snatch anything they can get their hands on. I really to love the kids though. I´m beginning to get all the kids names down, probably at 80% right now. In the evening at 6 or 7, we have dinner and talk more. After that its time for us to chill in our own casa. We all get along really well, and it´s been great. Church on Sunday was great. It costs between 2.50 and 3 soles which is about 1 dollar to take the combio (bus) into Trujillo.

Anyway, it´s been great! There are a ton of bugs, and my legs are covered with mosca bites. We boil our water for drinking and we wash our own clothes by hand. Also, there are no toilet seats, so I only use our toilet because I know it´s clean. Thanks for the adapter, it´s been used a lot by everyone here. I like the sugar cane, and the normal rice and chicken is great. I´m really trying to eat carefully because it´s very easy to gain weight here. (Another reason to run every morning) Breath How is everyone stateside? Mom and Dad, thanks for pushing/nudging me towards this. It is so amazing! Love you all! and please share this with others!

Daniel el travieso(they call me that here as well)

My First Week (Preston at Aldea)

2010-07-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

My first week here in Peru has been amazing. The kids are so much fun. I'm still working on learning all of their names. It's tough because there are so many kids and I'm terrible with names, but I'm making progress.

This week we put on a little show with all of the kids in the aldea. Pretty much everyone was involved so it was a lot of fun. I'm glad I brought my guitar because we used it a lot in the show.

The children that I have gotten to know the best are Victor, Miriam and Daniel. Victor is extremely active and always ready to play. I can't sit down without him trying to climb on my shoulders for a piggy back ride. Daniel is a lot like Victor in the sense that he is always ready to play. He is very friendly with the interns. I got to know Miriam because she sat next to me at the dinner table in Casa 10. She is a little shy, but has a little spark in her that comes out from time to time.

Anyways, I'm really enjoying my time here. I'm extremely tired at the end of every day, but that's exactly what I wanted.

Have a good week!
Preston

Quick First Note from Tanner (Aldea)

2010-06-29T04:04:00.000-07:00

(note: we have a new round of interns both at the Aldea and El Bichito...their stories are great...stay tuned!)

i´m having the most amazing summer ever!

I was very nervous at first coming to the aldea but the kids made all of my fears go away. On the car ride to the orphanage we picked up Jennifer and the first thing she did when i got in the car was give me a hug. That is the general feeling in all the kids, they are just so loving. My first few hours in the aldea i was pushing some of the kids on the swings in the playground and was really thirsty and i asked one of the kids, maunuel, where to get drinks and he took my hand and took me to one of the casas to get water. Manuel is definetly one of my favorites.
sorry there is not a lot in this email, i´lll do better next week
Tanner

water fight! (Mitch at Aldea)

2010-06-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Southern Cross,

Friday was definitely the highlight of the week, maybe even of our whole time here at the Aldea. The month of February is supposedly known as the month of water fighting. All month kids have been secretly filling water balloons and attacking their friends, enemies and every once in a while us. All the water that was thrown during this month does not even compare to the massive water fight that we had yesterday. It was supposed to start after lunch, but I was completely soaked from head to toe around ten in the morning. War had then begun. I decided to leave and buy some water balloons for us to fill up. We soon realized that water balloons really were not as effective as pitchers, buckets, and hoses. The portable swimming pools were filled with water as well, and I think that every kid in the Aldea had at some point taken a dip. many kids spent all day in the pools. We all ate lunch together and the water games continued until 5 or so at night. Then we all danced around a tree that had been prepared with toys and presents hanging from its branches. The kids were to each take a turn with the machete until the tree fell down. Well, there was no machete, so we tried with a large butcher knife but soon realized that if we continued like this, we might find ourselves still hacking at the tree in the morning. One of the older boys then brought an axe and within minutes, the tree had fallen, and kids were going crazy trying to get their hands on a toy! We then had rice pudding, cake and popcorn. What a fun day.
I ate in casa 1 this week. We had a fun time together. With the older girls, I often played checkers with them after lunch and dinner. Sometimes I won, many times I lost. I taught one of them how to play chess. I liked playing that over checkers--I always won :) One of the older girls is Evelyn. I got to know her a little better this week, but not as well as i would like to. She is 13 and very close to a girl named Elvia that lives in the same house. They are always together. She doesn't seem to open up to many others. She is always cheerful and is always smiling. One thing I like about her is that she is very respectful of others and is usually always happy to help out. She doesn't really get involved in too many physical activities, but would rather sit outside her house and talk or think. She seems like she would be a reader to me, someone that could devour book after book and be completely happy. I'm going to have to ask her about that and see if that is something she likes to do. Oh, and she doesn't like to lose at checkers either! If anyone could get away with cheating, it would be her! Because this week the oldest children of the Aldea left on a religious camp out, there was extra milk each day for us. So I bought some little bags so that we could make marcianos (popsicles). Each night after dinner and after checkers, we made some delicious milk marcianos. I averaged about 4 or 5 a day-Yummm.

The internet is up and running in the direction so all is good there. We are just still waiting for computer desks for the computers before they put them in the houses. The kids LOVE learning things on the computer. I taught quite a few new kids this week and had some repeat customers as well.

Stephanie (Cori at Aldea)

2010-06-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Southern Cross-

This week, I decided to write about little Stephanie. Wow, what an adorable little girl she is, her smile just lights up my day, everyday. I will tell you what that girl can climb anything, she is so petite yet she is so strong. She is so incredible at showing her sincere kindness for others. Each day she gives me the best hugs in the entire world. Just the other day we were watching a movie and she was sitting on my lap and would wrap her arms around me and give me a kiss on the cheek. Simply adorable. She is really adventureous for her age and so daring to do anything. Swimming in the pool she will do so much, climbing the trees she will go so high, or climbing anything at that matter. Mitch also noticed that Stephanies loves buiding things, loves building houses out of anything. She made a house out of twigs for Mitch, and while watching a movie in our Casa she started making a fort out of the cushions, blankets, and chairs. This girl really is so smart, creative, loving, giving. I love being around these kids, they just teach me more and more each day.

Till next week. . . Cori

Luz Mila (Cori at Aldea)

2010-06-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Southern Cross-

This week was yet another one that flew by! Being with the kids the time just seems to be nonexistent. . . wow how I love them so much! This week we got a lot of good time with them before their school starts this next Monday. I got to know a cute little family this week, Braghalee, Kristel, and Manuel. What an adorable family they are. They all take care of each other and are all really good friends, its fun to see that they treat each other so well and respect one another. These siblings are such a great example for me and how I want to treat my siblings.

But I actually wanted to write about a cute girl named Luz Mila. She is such an inspiring girl. One ready and willing to give all that she has for you. While eating in her house this week, I was able to see how well she interacts with the others in the house. She is always willing and ready to give hugs, to give kisses, to get excited about life. She is so happy and constantly happy, even with the small things. For instance when in the pool with all of the kids, she was the one who wanted to be thrown in the air as well. Even though she is a lot harder to throw cause she is older, she still wanted to do what the kids were experiencing. She kept asking about when we were going to swim again, when she was going to be able to make her mask we made in art. Which she will make on Monday! I love how she is just so content being her. . . and when I went to say goodbye this weekend, she just wanted to say goodbye over and over again, so sweet, she just cares so much. With all the tias as well she is so excited to see them and to show them she is happy to see them. She has one of the biggest hearts! Thanks again for everything!

-Cori

Alahonda (Cori at Aldea)

2010-06-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Southern Cross-

We definitely have had a strange week this week with the kids back in school. . . the Aldea is . . . quiet. Something that hasn't really happened since we have been there. It has been quite weird, but its great to see how these kids are so busy and have so much going for their futures. The mornings however are quite different. This week I wanted to highlight the Alahondra in casa 9. I was looking at the part that said she was shy on the website, which is definitely true. . . at first. :) Once she is comfortable with you she is so playful, full of laughter, and such a jokester. So one of the nights we were sitting playing jacks. . . Wow! That girl is amazing at jacks, its fun to see how patient she was in teaching me when she was simply incredible. We had so much fun chasing the ball around on the floor when I messed up over and over again. Alahondra, Antonia, and I just laughed, laughed, and laughed. Great girls, who again taught me what true joy is, that you can find it in the simple things in life. And that communication really is heart to heart. She also is quite the cuddly girl, when I was watching something with all the girls in the casa she was sitting with the other girls and you could tell she wanted her way to feel loved. She would lay her head down on the laps of the older girls, it was adorable, at the same time it hurt me. Hard to see that these kids don't necessarily get that same love you would receive from a mom/daughter relationship, a sister/sister relationship. I know that they are all family here, and I absolutely love how that happens here, but it still made me wish she had a chance to feel that, made me wish she could experience that. But one thing I admire about her, is that she loves so much and that is how she receives love is by giving love too. I wish I could learn that myself. What an example she is in my life.

One Last Request (Mitch at the Aldea)

2010-06-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Southern Cross,

This is my last week for writing about the kids. I don't really know who to highlight. I want to talk about them all. They are all so wonderful and have taught me so much! Karmela and I are still having our regular piano lessons each night from 7:30 till 8:00. She is going to miss the lessons more than anything. She definitely has potential to become quite good at the piano. If there is any way that you could somehow get some self-teaching piano books for her, that would be amazing. She has pretty much learned the basics and just needs to keep practicing.

Jose Andres invented a new game the other day - steal the shoes from one of the girls and run away while she tries to catch him. It turned out to be a success as I was recruited to be on the boys team with Jose and Pedro against 9 girls. The girls sould pass the shoes back and forth while we tried to intercept them. Once we obtained both the shoes, then it was boys against the girls in trying to keep the shoes from falling into their hands. I guess the kids liked it so much that they already have planned to play it on Monday after school.

Cesar Humbarto and Juan Carlos have been exercising with me almost every day. They are both doing chin-ups and push-ups every day. Cesar and I have a goal that if he can do 15 chin-ups and 50 push-ups before I go, I give him something that belongs to me. A month ago he started out only doing 7 chin-ups and 25 push-ups. Now he can do 15 chin-ups and around 40 push-ups. He told me once that he did 50 push-ups in his house. I think it is awesome how far he has come. He has kind of inspired the other boys to start exercising more as well. We will see if he wins the prize or not.

Mitch

Mitch's final report (Aldea)

2010-06-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

(note: The following is a letter from intern Mitch - his last letter before ending his internship at the Aldea Infantile.)

Dear Southern Cross,

Life changing. That is how I can most accurately describe my experience in Peru. I went, as many probably do, thinking about the difference that I could make in some children's lives, when in reality, what I gave is small compared to what I received. My love for others has grown and hopefully I can further develop a child's love, a love that has no bounds or reserves and is shared with all. As soon as we walked through the Aldea doors, children were offering to help us with our bags and holding our hands as they accompanied us to our casa. They had no idea who we were. We were a different color than them. We spoke a different language; and yet, they immediately loved us. I want to love as they loved.

Peru has also taught me that it is not so important what is done together, but rather the time that is spent together. Many children just wanted to talk with you, walk with you, or simply sit beside you. I have vowed to spend more time with those I love. Peru is home to many wonderful families, some of which I was only privileged to meet, while others I was privileged to stay with for a certain amount of time. It seemed to me that many families were more concerned about building family unity that they were about building their financial portfolio. These people really knew how to spend quality time with their families, something I hope to improve upon with my own family Peru has taught me that instead of hoping to find more joy with the acquisition of material things, find joy in the things you already have. It is okay to not have a toilet seat; at least there was a toilet. It is okay to have a house full of bugs; at least I had a house. It is okay to not have a personal car; conveys and taxis do just fine. It is okay to not have clocks or watches; more time could be dedicated to the moment. It is okay to not have computers and ipods, more time can be spent interacting with real, living beings.

Peru has taught me to share. I saw countless times people who had so little, give so much. Many people are so willing to offer their home, food and resources to help others. While traveling on the bus once, a lady who we were talking to, invited us to lunch and if needed, offered us her place to stay the night. Another time while traveling, we became friends with a family that made us promise that we would visit them when we passed through Lima and once again, offered us their home if we needed a place to stay. A couple of times at the Aldea, a kid brought me some fruit that he had just picked off of a tree. Two kids at the Aldea gave me their bracelets cause I mentioned that I liked them. I need to be less concerned with what I have, but concentrate on what I can give.

Above all, my heart has been softened, and I hope that I can continue helping where possible at the Aldea, especially in finding people to adopt. Just think, if every solid married couple in the world chose to adopt just one child, there would be no orphans and many happy children. I know that in addition to the children that I hope to have, I am going to adopt at least one child, and offer him/her the endless opportunities that I enjoy.

Thank you Southern Cross for aiding me in coming to the Aldea.

Mitch

Antonia (Shelisa at the Aldea)

2010-05-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

Antonia is one of the mothers at the orphanage and is very mature for her age. I love seeing her with her baby, which she takes care of very well. I have never seen such a child so loved by a mother and at the age of 17, that is quite exceptional.

She is striving to learn more every day and is always asking what some words mean in English. The other day during computer class, Antonia came up and asked if she could learn some more. So the other intern and I allowed her to come in and learn how to turn on and off the computer and how to use some programins including Word.

In the process, we found out that even though she has the dream of being a schooltecher and going to college some day, she does not know how to read or write. She is very outgoing and a strong woman when you talk with her, but when we got her in front of the computer and asked her to click on a "file" in Spanish, she did not know where to click and she became very shy and told us she did not know how to read or write. She has a great deal of potential and I think after a lot of education, she will become a great teacher. She just needs the assistance to get her up to the educational level she needs to be at at her age.

a bit about Benjamin (Shelisa at the Aldea)

2010-05-25T04:11:00.000-07:00

Benjamin is such a joy to be around. He always has a smile on his face and it just makes your heart melt, especially because one of his front teeth is missing. He is such a handsome boy. One day during football, Benjamin was running to get the ball and one of the boys, in excitement, pushed him to the ground. Benjamin had scuffed his knee and was on the ground crying so I went over to comfort him. At the time I was wearing a hat that my father had given me from his work and that Benjamin had taken a fancy to. So to cheer him up, I gave him the hat.

I must say he looks much better in the hat than I ever will.

Getting to know him, I have learned that he is very athletic and loves to play any sports he can. He is always out with his little gang of friends, all boys about his age. Everyone gets a long with him quite well because of his easy going personality.

He also loves to be tossed around while swimming and has fun playing sharks and fish.

a little break....

2010-04-12T05:00:00.001-07:00

I have a business trip for the next few weeks so will be taking a short break. Come back at the end of April for some more great stories!

Natalie

Here's Blanca

2010-04-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a special profile on Daniel just for the Paramount School, in Meridian, Idaho who is sponsoring Daniel and Blanca. The 5th graders participate in "Wacky Wednesdays" once a month. On that day, the children at school bring $1 to do whatever wacky thing is going on that day (crazy hair, dress backwards, dress like twins, pj's, etc...) and the $1 goes to sponsor Blanca and Daniel. Thanks so much Paramount School 5th Graders! (Note: Daniel is one of our special needs kids who we are trying to help diagnose and treat.)

Blanca also struggles with a speech impediment. Interesting, her three siblings do as well. She has already received an operation on her mouth that has greatly facilitated her ability to speak. Blanca is at first rather shy, which is probably influenced by her speech impediment, but after she gains trust in you, she is far from quiet and calm. This girl loves to dance! When ever music comes on, she immediately starts to dance. Her hips just want to move. She also has a little bit of jungle fever as well, as she loves to hang from monkey bars and climb around in trees. The Tia's had only good things to say about her, as all report that she is usually very obedient and respectful of others. She is always willing to help out around the house and in what ever other thing someone might need help with. Something funny about Blanca is that when she watches television, she mimics almost exactly the dog ''lucky'' off of 101 Dalmations. There was one time that she was watching a movie with some other children in our house and as we were watching the DVD on our computer, the screen was not that big and the sound not all that strong. She sat right in front and it had to be 4 or 5 times that the kids or us had to tell her to sit down so that the rest of us could see. When I asked others to describe Blanca in one word, the response ''smiley'' was quickly returned. She is always smiling and it is one of those big smiles where every tooth is showing. It is rather contagious and one can't help but smile when you see her.

Here's Daniel - sponsored by Paramount School!

2010-04-07T06:56:00.000-07:00

Daniel's situation is unique. He grew up in Brazil, learning Portuguese, and then not so long ago was brought to the Aldea. Supposedly, before he came, he was learning and speaking just like all the other boys. But when he arrived here at the Aldea and no one could understand him and he couldn't understand anyone else, something happened to his speaking ability. Now he doesn't speak any language at all and only makes sounds.

He is still going to the doctor to try and figure out what treatment is necessary and appropiate for his condition. Until now, the doctors still don't know how to help him. Apart from his speech impediment, he is quite like any other boy. He loves to play outside, especially on the swings. He also loves to paint and write. He can spend hours just with a notebook, pen and crayons.

From what I can see when I observe him interact with the other kids, is that he likes to do things that bother them. When asked to describe Daniel in one word, they all responded immediately with mischievious. They told me some pretty funny stories that I think would cause you to laugh too.

One day, Daniel came back to the house soaking wet. I believe he was sick at the time and the Tia didn't want him to get worse. After getting him into dry clothes, he was told not to go out and get wet again. So what did he do? As soon as an escape was possible, out he went only to return soaking wet again. This little game continued two more times until finally the Tia had to lock him in his room after changing him for the fourth time!

On a more recent occasion, this one is my favorite, Daniel managed to flood the house. The Tia left for a while and when she returned, he had turned on the faucets in the bathroom and the kitchen on full blast and it wasn't long till water spilled over onto the kitchen floor and from the bathroom into the living room. Sounds like something one of my friends would have done.

adventurous Stephanie (Cori at Aldea)

2010-04-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week, I decided to write about little Stephanie. Wow, what an adorable little girl she is, her smile just lights up my day, everyday. I will tell you what that girl can climb anything, she is so petite yet she is so strong. She is so incredible at showing her sincere kindness for others. Each day she gives me the best hugs in the entire world. Just the other day we were watching a movie and she was sitting on my lap and would wrap her arms around me and give me a kiss on the cheek. Simply adorable.

She is really adventureous for her age and so daring to do anything. Swimming in the pool she will do so much, climbing the trees she will go so high, or climbing anything at that matter. Mitch also noticed that Stephanies loves buiding things, loves building houses out of anything. She made a house out of twigs for Mitch, and while watching a movie in our Casa she started making a fort out of the cushions, blankets, and chairs. This girl really is so smart, creative, loving, giving. I love being around these kids, they just teach me more and more each day.

Inspired by Priscilla (Cori at the Aldea)

2010-04-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week has been so much fun, I have absolutely loved the rain that we have gotten here, for it has made for quite a lot of fun here at the Aldea. Well, a different kind of fun, one of the highlights this week for me was playing futbol in the rain with all of the boys. It honestly was one of the funniest moments of the week, well good and bad. We were all laughing so hard at each other because everyone was sliding and falling, and at one point we did say that one had fallen into a mini piscina, it was hilarious. Aside from Mitch falling in a ditch and hurting his foot it was the time of our lives. The boys here just make me smile whenever I am around them. They just know exactly how to make me laugh and smile with their humor. They are such good kids inside and out, I am so impressed with their characters and the young men that they are. Don’t really know how to explain it, but I just am lucky to be around them.

Which leads me to who I want to focus on this week, which is actually Priscilla. The reason why I feel it ties in specifically to the boys is because she is the only girl living in her casa. She is just like another mom in that casa. I was eating in their casa this week which just really made me curious why she was in that house, but it was so much fun to get to know her a little bit better this week. Most of it are things that I have observed rather then things that I have actually discussed with her, but actions do speak louder then words.

First, I noticed how much the little boys in the casa look up to her. They are always making conversation with her and telling her stories trying to make her laugh. She helps a lot with these boys in the house. Today, the tia asked if she and I could watch for a bit while she took one of the kids to the nurse, and she honestly just knew exactly what to do. She is very responsible and very observant. We got to watch a movie together today and of course she turned it on in English for me, I tried to convince her otherwise, but she insisted. I thought that it was so sweet of her to do that. I heard her sing and she actually has a really good voice and she said how she loves to sing and dance.

However, I feel like I got to see a glimpse of who she really is later in the night during dance class. During one of the dances that most of the girls know already, I looked over and saw her teaching another one of the girls how to do it. She could have easily just done the dance that she had been wanting to do, but instead she took the time to help someone else to learn it. Such a selfless act of service. Then after that I saw her talking with one of the girls who had been having a bad day. I guess I just got the vibe that she is one of the girls who is a really good listener, maybe someone that a lot of girls trust. It was amazing to me to just see that she took the time on the wayside to help the other girls during this dance class. It’s like she was more aware of the other girls then of herself, such a respectable attribute that I hope I can learn.

It is girls like Priscilla who inspire me in my own life. I am sure she has impacted many of the lives here at the Aldea for the better.

Look forward to this next week, hope all is well, and thanks for this amazing opportunity created by Southern Cross to be able to be here. It truly is life changing. –Cori Hoffman

Yenifer's eyes (Cori at the Aldea)

2010-03-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

Yenifer (on the right) is simply an incredible girl. There is one thing that I really want to try and describe about her, but I also know that words won’t really do justice. I am going to try to anyways. She has the ability to do something that is pretty rare. When she hugs me, she is able to look up at me with her gorgeous eyes and it brings immediate joy. There is something about the power within her eyes. I wish I could explain, but don’t know if I will be able to, but she has that ability to say a million different things with a look.

She has so much personality and spunk, it is so much fun to be around her. I love how playful she is. When I was eating at her Casa she made me feel so loved. She was always one of the first to give me a giant hug. I can see that she has so much potential with whatever she does because she seems to have a lot of determination. Her ability to make others feel comfortable is incredible considering the age that she is. Seems to me that she is one of those born leaders.

PS - special thanks to Leonie Cramer and Carl Reese for sponsoring Yenifer!!

the most adorable twin girls...Fanny and Sophia

2010-03-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

I am lucky enough to be able to write about the most adorable twin girls here. Fanny and Sophia have the ability to literally make your heart melt when you see them smile and laugh. I don’t quite know where to begin, but I do want to share a few moments that I have been able to see take place. They are pretty incredible little girls, now if I can keep track of which one is which in the stories then that would be great, but chances are looking slim.

For starters, there was an experience at the pool in Simbal that was so incredible. I was sitting with Sophia on the side of the pool. She was almost dried off, and the volunteer next to me asked where is Fanny. For a moment I panicked cause I couldn’t see where Fanny had gone. I quickly asked Sophia if she knew were Fanny was, what she did next astounded me. . . she jumped right into the water where she last saw Fanny and started searching. It was so apparent to see the love that they have for each other. I think that Sophia was more nervous then we were as to where Fanny was, and that is saying quite a lot. I honestly was just so shocked that girls that age could understand so much about love and caring for each other. These girls are also so happy, constantly laughing and smiling, curious and excited about life.

Another incredible story that I have just happened today, again leaving me in awe at how much these two girls understand. Today was actually just one of those harder days for me and they just knew that I needed to feel loved. It’s crazy because I feel like these kids help me more then I could ever help them. But they both came up and just wanted to be held and to play. They stayed with me for quite sometime and brightened my day. The joy that they brought me is indescribable. What an example these girls are to me. I am so lucky to have the opportunity to be around them and their caring, pure hearts.

mitch's ankle

2010-03-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week has been…interesting. Due to the rain, many of the activities have been canceled. And frankly, I don’t blame the tias of the houses for not wanting the kids go outside, because it is extremely difficult to keep the house and the kids clean with all the mud. Regardless though, us boys managed to get in a super fun and WET game of soccer just before dinner on Wednesday. Instead of playing on the court, we played in the grass where we could slip and fall without serious injury—or so we thought. It wasn’t long till one of the kids had jammed his big toe and near the end of the game, my foot managed to find a small hole in the ground and needless to say, I didn’t leave the field walking. I decided that I might as well go to the doctor, and thankfully, nothing was broken. Within a week or so, I should be back and ready for another soccer match! (I certainly hope so, cause I can’t stand not being able to run around with the kids and missing my exercises)

One of the children that has stood out to me not only this week, but since the beginning, is Bray Helin. We have been on the same volleyball team a number of times and even though we don’t always win, she loves playing. Sometimes it is against my will. There was one time that Bray Helin and two other girls came to my house and pretty much dragged me to the volleyball court to play. I think she likes dancing the best though. The girls here can dance forever! I ate in her house last week and can I just say that eating at a specific house for a week is probably the best idea ever. I can’t tell you how invaluable it has been in connecting with more of the kids here. Bray Helin is a confident, beautiful young lady. She is super sweet, and often helped get me some extra fruit here and there from the mom. She was one of the girls that would often play the dice game with me and others of the house after lunch or dinner. She definitely is more girly in how she carries herself and acts compared to many of the other girls here. She reminds me a lot of my sister actually.

Hopefully the rain doesn’t interfere too much with our time with the kids and that soon I will be able to back in all the wonderful action here at the Aldea!
Saludos a todos,
Mitch

expecting the unexpected (Mitch at the Aldea)

2010-03-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hola! This week's events can only be summed up by one word--UNEXPECTED. Life at the orphanage is quite different than life back home. All the bugs gave most of us an unwanted welcome, but it was only a matter of days until the bugs and girls were able to work things out and become friends; well, at least tolerate one another.

Since the kids are not in school, they have plenty of free time available, and that means that there is much that can be done by us the volunteers. This week we formulated and finalized a well planned schedule that we envision will keep the kids busy: sports, swimming, dancing, cycling, proper hygiene classes, english classes, computer classes, art and drawing, more dancing and trips to the beach.

This summer we divided the children into three groups--the Little Ones, the Wolves and the Dragons--according to age and mental ability. The first group includes kids age 2-6. The second group includes kids age 7-13. And the final group includes kids 14-17. We are excited to get things rolling on Monday!

Besides the work put into the new summer schedule, much of our time was devoted to helping the sick. Regardless of the set backs, all of us, except maybe the girl that is still sick, agree that this week has been one of the most fun and enriching week of our lives. All week I was assigned to eat with the family in house number 1. All girls live there, ranging from 6 months to 16 years. One morning after breakfast I played a board game with the older girls. I guess they did not like that I was winning because in the middle of the game, before I knew what was happening, they wiped away the board pieces and declared that we were starting over! There were three younger ones though, Saralí, Antonina, and Miriam, that I spent the most time with, or should I say, they made sure to spend the most time with me. Every time they would see me it was like I was under attack! All of them wanted piggy-back rides and to have me help them do flips in the air while holding onto their hands. Sometimes I would pretend to faint and then they would dog-pile me and start tickling me or poking me till I gave in.

We have all learned so much. These next three months will undoubtedly be among the most treasured of our lives.

Gracias por todo lo que hace,

Mitch and the girls

Sweet Miguel (Shelisa at the Aldea)

2010-03-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

Miguel is such a sweet child and you can tell that he has such a sweet spirit about him. When Miguel smiles at you, you can’t help but to smile back at him. You can see the love that is in his eyes. Talking with him gets funny after a while because he will continue to ask the same question over and over again. For any of you are not aware Miguel has a physical handicap as well mental. He is willing to help out around the house when ever we clean and he seems to not allow his handicap prevent him from doing activities with the older children.

I wish that I could see him have more things to do with his disabilities but I love to also see him take on the challenges that he faces being with other children that do not have a hard time as he does. When putting the pools up for the children all the kids came running in to help out and to assist in any way possible and part of that group was Miguel, he would but the pipes together and hand them to us when we needed them.

The other day while driving back from the beach all the kids had received some icy drinks and all the children had given Miguel their empty cups and straws, few minutes later looking over at him the had all six straws in his mouth trying to suck up every last drop. It was so cute to just watch him sit back drinking it with his little hat on his head that looks like a fishing hat. He also has such a funny since of humor the other night some of us volunteers went over to casa five to play some games and Miguel had joined us part way though at first he helped out one of the volunteers and then the last game got some cards of his own. During the game he kept cracking jokes and making all of us laugh.

I think that one thing that I truly love about this kid is that he is just so innocent and has such a simple and innocent mind, and a good heart. When he says something you know that it is sincere.

An Example for the Older Boys (Mitch at the Aldea)

2010-03-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

Things continue to go well with the older boys as well. We had another late night of Uno playing, which I never did win by the way, and I feel like day by day I am becoming more of a big brother to them. One thing I want to be an example of is to always treat girls with respect. There is a huge lack of respect here among the kids. If I can help out even the littlest bit in treating girls with respect, I will be most satisfied.

One of the boys, Juan Carlos, is doing exceptionally well. He, along with the others, has so much potential to become someone in this world, find success, and make a difference. Juan is definitely the most reserved of the older boys, but makes a super good friend for the others. Every once in a while, Juan will show his crazy side, like when us boys beat the girls in volley ball 2 games to 1 and he starts doing his victory dance; or when at the beach, he starts a mud fight out in the water against Cori and I which only ends when we finally leave the beach 3 hours later. The boys got Cori pretty good. I still think she is picking mud out of her hair.

Juan loves to play soccer and surprisingly, he loves learning how to swim. He is one of the few kids that are in swimming lessons that takes it seriously and really wants to learn. He absolutely loves the water!

cute little Emerson! (Mitch at the Aldea)

2010-03-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Another fantastic week here at the Aldea! Things are running along smoother now, as we are all finding our own little niche here and contributing in ways that only we as unique individuals can. English classes are now occurring regularly, but we are still waiting for the computers to be moved into the individual módulos. We really want to start teaching the kids some basic computer skills.

I ate in módulo 8 this week. Mostly girls live there, but there are a couple of little boys, among whom one is Emerson. He still can’t talk yet, but that doesn’t stop him from expressing a little of his personality. He loves being apart of what the older kids are doing. Often after dinner or lunch I would play a dice game with some of the girls and he always wanted to be at the table with us and help gather the dice. He is an incredibly calm boy, but when you can manage to get him laughing, it takes a while for him to stop. On Thursday my módulo went to a special swimming pool in the afternoon outside the Aldea. We had to walk some distance after being dropped off, so I was in charge of carrying him to the pool. He made himself comfortable on top of my shoulders and really enjoyed the ride down to the pool. He is a super good kid.

spunky Luz! (Cori at the Aldea)

2010-03-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

This week was yet again packed with so many incredible moments, everyday is such a learning experience, and I continue to feel more and more blessed each day. This week I wanted to highlight Luz Marina.

I actually ate in her same Casa this week, which helped me to get to know her a little bit more. It was one of the first nights eating there and she just made everything so much fun. She was constantly laughing and saying funny things. There was one phrase she kept saying and dancing to, which I continued to laugh with her about, "I love you, I love you, I love you." As she sang this she would shake her hips, and start laughing hysterically. It just made me laugh every time I heard her sing it. I taught her this handshake off of the movie Parent Trap and she learned it so quick and would keep laughing every time we did it. She has so much spunk, it's fun.

The things about Luz is that she is really athletic! She is great at all sorts of things and loves doing it all. I asked her what her favorite things was to do and she listed basically it all. She loves to sing, dance, play sports, is interested in gymnastics too. I had her try a kart wheel, and wow she did an incredible job. It has blown me away how great she did considering it was her first time I think. I honestly think she would be great at gymnastics or something athletic that includes strength. She said she would love doing something like that.

One thing about her too is that she has a very strong personality. . . She is always helping the the Tia around the house cause she is one of the few older ones in the house. I always saw her helping and willing to work hard with anything. She definitely knows how to help and to make others smile and laugh. What an incredible girl she is, and I honestly feel like she will excel in anything that she puts her mind to. I hope to continue to get to know her and continue to learn from her!

my new best friend...Andres (mitch at aldea)

2010-03-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

This week was definitely better than last week--no sick interns. With regards to the schedule and all the things we have planned to do each week, we were able to accomplish much. The two large portable swimming pools have been assembled and we have had quite a struggle getting them out to do anything else, especially because it has been so hot this week.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the morning, I get to go with the older children along with one of the other interns to Trujillo. The girls have an athletic class and the boys have a soccer class. Immediately after they all have swimming lessons. Since another intern and I are the only adults that go with them, it is a really good time to bond with them. We aren't allowed to participate in soccer and the athletic class, but those in charge of swimming have allowed us to get in with the kids and do what they are required to do in their lessons as support.

One of the other interns, Bri, is going to highlight a girl named Karla. I just want to say that I am impressed with her athletic ability. She is a natural at long jump and at running--strides ahead of the rest, literally. She has just the right amount of confidence and is a beautiful young lady. She has a lot of potential to succeed in life if given the right opportunities.

My new best friend though would have to be Andrés. He lives in modulo 2 and that is where I was assigned to eat this week, so we saw each other at least three times a day and often many more. He is around 11 years-old and loves to play in the water and play soccer. He has a kind heart, always offering to help me when ever I was doing something, like sweeping or cleaning the pools. A couple of times this week we played a board game called "ludo". I find it interesting that even the most disobedient child wants to do good deep inside. Andrés is far from being super disobedient, but like many others, it is hard to be nice when everyone is fighting for attention all the time. After dinner, I would offer to help clean. Sometimes I would help one of the kids sweep. It was only a couple of days later that Andrés started to offer to help me when ever I was doing something.

With the board game, the kids are ruthless with each other. They will cheat and lie at any opportunity. When we played ludo, I tried to show a little mercy, not knocking off the other player sometimes and helping others out. I kept repeating that I wasn't playing to win, although i don't mind winning, I just liked having fun with them, whether I win or lose. Andrés then starting helping others out and everyone was a lot more calm while we were playing and when someone finally did win, the others didn't freak out like they are accustomed to. As well, when we played soccer, I keep reiterating that I will try my hardest to win, but whether I win or lose, it isn't as important as the fact that we have fun.

I also spent a couple of hours watching a cartoon that modulo #2 love to watch. Andrés, along with the other kids, were so excited to have me join them. Something so neat was when Andrés gave me one of the two identical bracelets he was wearing. We really have become good buds. Hopefully I can be a positive influence for good not only for Andrés, but for others at the Aldea. I think many kids simply need a male figure to look up to.

Here is a picture of Andrés and some friends and I in a little pool they have (this was the only pool we had to swim in until we set up the bigger ones). I promise that is not his middle finger. He kinda looks like a little gangster :)
The other picture is of Karla doing the long jump.

talented Kenny (Shelisa at the Aldea)

2010-03-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

Well the week has again flown by again! We got to do many exciting things with the children this week such as teaching them how to swim because most dont know how. We have been teaching them to do some American style dancing, the kids just eat it up and dont want to stop. I love it! We also got to do some manners classes.

While at Dance class this last week a young man Kenny was playing around on the Piano, I dont know much about pianos or even how to truly play, but I was able to show him a few of the things I did know.

He got so happy and wanted to keep learning he just kept on persisting and would not back down. He has such a strong motivation and desire to learn. When he messed up he just kept a good attitude and would go right back to the beginning and start all over again. It was sad because the Piano at the Orphanage is out of tune and some of the keys dont work but that does not stop the children and expecially Kenny from trying to learn. Along with wanting to play the Piano Kenny has a great talent for drawing.

When we were in class teaching about washing hands to not have germs, we had the children draw their hands and Kenny went into such amazing detail. I was truly shocked that he drew with such incredible detail. Kenny also enjoys listening
to music and asks to barrow our ipods from time to time to have a listen. He is such a good kid with a lot of drive and motivation. I could definitely see this kid going places.

A bit about Fredy (Shelisa at Aldea)

2010-03-03T09:23:00.000-08:00

Getting to the orphanage I was not sure what to expect, I was blown out of the water at how amazing the children are and how loving they are even to a complete stranger. When our truck pulled up the children came flooding in and they helped us instantly with our bags and carried them to our house. I enjoy and love so many of the children already and it has only been two weeks but they have my heart. The children have been so patient with me and the language barrier. They are also always willing to help out even without being told if they see us doing a chore they jump in and do it for us. I am there to serve them but it does not feel that way they are always serving me with their love and kindness.

The one child that I would like to tell you about today is Fredy, he has stood out to me the most. He is 15 years old, at first he is quiet and does not say much, but really just observes you. He is the father of the orphanage here. He is always setting the example to the children and is very kind to them. When I see a child having a hard time or crying he is there to cheer them up and take care of them. He is always there to help the little ones who get picked on of that just need a friend. He is also a very hard worker with a lot of determination; you can tell just by the way he carries himself and how he works around the orphanage doing his chores. He is now warming up to me, it may have something to do with the fact that we play soccer (football) with them.

I was told a story about him that just made me so happy, it was around Christmas time and he was running around the orphanage yelling children children…. Come out and play, they created a train of children and played with them that day! He really is like the father of the orphanage. He is also always willing to learn new things. The other day while teaching the younger children to swim he was there watching and learning what we were teaching them.

Alfredo and Ruben (Mitch at the Aldea)

2010-03-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

One kid that I have absolutely fallen in love with is 4 year-old (3 or 4, I really don't know exactly) Alfredo. If I was to have a little boy of my own, I would want him to be like this little guy--spunky, happy, funny, strong and super trusting. Every time Alfredo sees me, even if he is 50 feet away, he makes a huge mischievous smile and then starts running full speed straight at me, and right before he reaches me he jumps and for some reason trusts that I will catch him. Sometimes I go looking for the guy just so he will come and jump into my arms--I absolutely love it! He loves sitting on someone's lap and is always curious of what you are doing.

And then there is Ruben. This guy is a little older than Alfredo, but just as much fun. I went to the beach last week with his house and another house and we had an absolutely awesome time together. Along with the help of some of his friends, we were able to bury Ruben completely in the beach, leaving only his head out of the sand. The waves were so good that day and the beach had the perfect steepness that when the waves would break on the shore they could carry a kid 10-15 feet up the sand, not to mention me along with them! Of course Ruben was one of the first to figure this out and it wasn't long till many of the kids all opted to get hammered by these waves and rocketed up the beach. So much fun, and so much fun to watch!

Also at the beach, him and most of the other boys starting playing a game where they would throw a soccer ball into the sea and then wait to catch it as the waves would shoot the ball up on shore. Pretty soon they started asking me to throw the ball out to sea as I could throw it considerably farther than they could. As usual, the ball would eventual make it back to shore and they would scramble to be the first to catch it. The game evolved further to include point values for who ever grabbed the ball first when it finally came back to shore. We would play games up to 500. Ruben is almost fearless and always willing to try new things. If you didn't already figure it out, he loves to swim!

Antonia's Dream (Mitch at the Aldea)

2010-02-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

Another amazing week! Every day I feel like I am making more and more connections with the kids, especially the older ones this week. Their shells are a lot harder to crack than the little ones, but with all the time I am spending with them has sure helped. I taught the four older boys how to play uno and since I was eating at their house this week, we must have played it everyday at least 2 or three times. The weird thing is that they were the ones that kept asking me to play and didn't want to stop. I guess they are not so big and bad after all.

On friday the older kids, another volunteer and I did a caminata from the athletic stadium to Huaca del Sol (some ancient town that had been buried under earth). Besides the fact that it was scorching hot and we were walking for 3 hours and then on the way home we ran out of gas and had to wait another two and a half hours till we were on our way again, it was a productive day. I got to know a little better a girl named Antonia. She is 17 years-old and will be having to leave the Aldea soon. She has a little boy that is two years old and from what I understand it was not her choice to become pregnant and have a child. She is one of my favorites cause she is so responsible and mature compared to the other youth there. She doesn't have to be told everything in order for her to do it and she is really good at complying with what others ask her to do. She never fights with the other kids but is usually the peace maker of the bunch. She always participates in the activities that are planned for her. Her dream is to become an English professor, I say go for it. Whether she ends up teaching English or some other subject doesn't really matter to me, but i made her promise me that when she does leave the Aldea that she will do everything possible to make her dream become a reality.

dancing Carla (Brianna at the Aldea)

2010-02-24T05:00:00.000-08:00

(note: this posting is from our intern Brianna at the Aldea)

This week was so great! Once the kids know your name they really love to talk to you more. They love when I bring the camera out, always asking for their photo to be taken. I have been taking a lot more photos lately and it gives me a chance to watch the kids so closely.

We have been doing a lot more sports this week and the one game all the kids loved to watch and play was volleyball. I was taking pictures of the game and I couldn’t take my eyes off Carla. Carla has a real talent for sports and dance. You notice her especially when she plays volleyball. She moves with such grace and hits the ball with such force. If she were in a public school in the states, she would kill any competition.

Carla also has a talent and a love for dance. She couldn’t stop dancing and wanted to learn more even after the class was over. I had taken the class an hour over but we were having too much fun to notice.

I can’t wait for next week. I have a lot of fun dances for the kids to learn and they are very excited too. Peru is amazing and these children are beautiful in every way. I am truly blessed to be with them.

a bag of chips by intern Cori at Aldea

2010-02-22T07:58:00.000-08:00

This week has been so incredible- I feel like the kids are teaching me more then I could ever teach them. . . I feel so inspired each time that I am with these kids, there is so much each day that they teach me. It's hard to even know where to begin with it all, but I will do my best. I am still trying to get to know these kids on an individual, more personal level, and with the language barrier sometimes it makes it hard, but I have realized that actions speak so much more then words, so I decided to highlight a moment that I will never forget.

Some of the boys have made me feel so comfortable and so at home, feels like I have a bunch of younger brothers who have become more and more special to me each day. But it started out last week when I was sitting on the court at night after a run, and three boys came up and started to talk to me and Brianna. It was Juan Carlos, Juan Estevan, and Junior. They started talking to us and teaching us different words. They were so patient with us, and really tried to teach us which I thought was so sweet. The boys seem harder to "crack" a little harder to reach, especially at that age, however from the first time I talked I felt there is a way to help these boys feel important to feel special, but they have made me feel that way instead. I just can't get over their kindness.

But this past Monday we were in Truijillo waiting to go to swimming lessons there with the older kids. While we were waiting there, which lasted quite a while, these 3 boys Juan Carlos, Juan Estevan, and Kenny came back from buying some snacks and they handed me a bag of chips. They wouldn't let me turn them down and insisted that I take them. I was so inspired by their kindness. None of them would take credit for who actually bought it (partly because I think they were embarrassed), but I just couldn't believe how giving they were. To someone they didn't really know that well they were willing to give, when they don't really have a ton to give. I was so impressed by their unselfishness. They made not only feel welcome, but cared about.

That's what I wanted to highlight this week was the kindness and generosity of these teenage boys. They help take care of other people, other kids in the orphanage including the volunteers. As the week went on, they continued to talk with me, mostly joke with me cause I have quite a lack of words (poco espanol). It made my week, playing futbol with them was the highlight of a lot of the days this week. These 3 boys brought me joy each day that I was there. . . I am looking forward to getting to know them even more as time goes on.

the little bug expedition - day nine (pam)

2010-01-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

Breakfast at McDonald’s! What could be better than that? We had a little free time this morning before our flight to Lima, so Wayne and I went to the city square of Cusco for a breakfast sandwich. (McDonald’s is kind of hidden in the colonial buildings of the plaza, so don't be too disappointed.) We were also looking for Jorge, a young man that we’ve run into at the plaza on our previous trips selling artsy note cards. Jorge has a great resemblance of Britt. He even has freckles plastered all over his nose. Imagine a Peruvian with freckles! Sadly, we didn’t find Jorge in his old stomping grounds.

The flight leaving Cusco for Lima was about 1:30 pm, so we arrived at the airport a couple of hours early. What a surprise it was to see our old friend and bus driver, Octavio, walking from his bus into the Cusco airport! It was a happy reunion.

We all made it to Lima. While the rest of the group went to visit the catacombs of the Iglesia de San Francisco (that we’ve seen many times), not far from the Palace in Plaza de Armas, Wayne and I went with Zarahemla (our tour guide) to the Museum of the (Spanish) Inquisition. I’m not sure that I know exactly what that was all about as the tour was in Spanish, but I didn’t like the feeling there as I walked through the tiny jail cells underground.

Everyone met at Don Juan’s for one last dinner together. I always have the flat-iron steak with the avocado salad when we go there. Wayne had the pork fried rice. Yum! Yum! This is where we said our goodbyes to the group – a great group, by the way. Wayne, Cameron, and I had an earlier flight to Ecuador, so we left everyone in the good hands of Zarahemla, our tour guide. She was going to make sure everyone got to the Lima airport.

The three of us flew from Lima into the Quito airport about 1:00 am. Dr. Zambrano, from Charity Anywhere, was waiting for us there, thank goodness. He took us to the Finlandia Hotel where we yearned for a goodnight’s sleep.
Sleep was at the top of my agenda, and it was at the top of Wayne's also.

the little bug expedition - day eight (pam)

2010-01-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

I love saying Ollantaytambo. Besides the town’s cool name, it has some really cool Incan ruins. To enjoy them, though, you really have to climb hundreds of ancient steps. Sadly, we didn’t have time to spend at Ollantaytambo on this trip. We had a train to catch about 9:00 am – and it was on time! Amazing! It took a couple of hours to arrive at Aguas Calientes, the colloquial name for the Machu Picchu pueblo at the base of the mountains that house the ancient ruins. Wayne didn’t feel he could do much hiking around Machu Picchu, so he and Cameron found somewhere to hang out at Aguas Calientes. The rest of us boarded the bus that took us to the ruins. This was my third trip to Machu Picchu, so I broke away from the group to take photos at my slow pace. It was too bad that the sun didn’t peak from behind the clouds, because Machu Picchu always looks better under illumination. It was a VERY hot day, even so. And I mean hot! I almost got eaten by huge red ants that found me resting on a ledge. I didn’t rest after that until I got on the bus that took me back to Aguas Calientes.

Wayne and Cameron were easier to find than I thought. Actually Wayne found me walking through the small plaza. He had a window seat at an internet café that didn’t have any internet. No electricity either! The entire town hadn’t had electricity for almost twenty-four hours. Not an uncommon occurrence in South America. At least the trains were running – and running on time. Thank goodness!

But the return train ride was going to be longer; almost twice as long as the one we took this morning. Instead of returning to Ollantaytambo (and Urubamba), we were headed to Cusco. So imagine a train seat that makes you sit straight up with hardly any leg room. Imagine your butt gone numb. Imagine people sleeping on the floor because it is a lot more comfortable. If you can imagine being on a buck-board, you can imagine the jarring ride. And then there was the time the train stopped in the dark and backed up the length of the train. I think the engineer took the wrong track. Either that or he had to back up to get the momentum the train needed to get over the mountains. Then there was the time the train came to a screeching halt.. It appeared that we had run over something. The engineers were under the train with their spotlights for a while. That was enough excitement for one day, believe me.

meet the Bueno Palacios family

2010-01-15T08:14:00.000-08:00

Remember the family with seven children who moved near El Bichito because the mother heard we would help feed her children? Well, meet the family...and in case you missed Pam's email telling about their plight, I've included Pam's email with this family's story again.

(January 1st). Today we planned to take vegetables, rice, noodles, and oil to a very needy family of seven children ... Dina, Carmen, Israel, Eva, Lazaro, Marta, Madai. I don't know that I have the words to describe how they live, but I'm going to try. The children and their mother moved to Puylucana because they had heard of El Bichito. The children show signs of being severely malnourished. The family had no way of supporting themselves. The father, in prison, has served two years of a ten year sentence. The mother doesn't make enough money to pay rent, so the landlord lets them live in a one room mud hut. Three small beds take up most of the room where all eight of them sleep. When it rains, it is evident that part of the room gets soaked because of the gaping hole in the tin roof. These humble people have no possessions -- only what have in two large sacks.

They share a "kitchen" with the landlord -- an adjoining mud hut. You wouldn't feed your animals in there. Often these children have no food other than what they get at El Bichito on their way to school.. Their mother makes whatever she can by doing laundry and cleaning. Today, we waited for the mother to return home after finishing up a laundry job. She washes twelve articles of clothing for 3 soles = $1. She can't even afford to put clothes and shoes on her own children.

The oldest child, Dina, who is fifteen, has not been able to go to school because the family cannot afford the school fees and school uniform required for secondary school. She is the primary caretaker of the family while her mother works. We committed to helping the family as long as the mother sent Dina to school. The mother is a sweet lady who was overwhelmed by the generosity of the Southern Cross volunteers. She cried in Wayne's arms. The children cried. I am happy that I got to share that special time with Cameron, Kate, Wayne, and Feliciana. I will never forget this day.

And stay tuned to hear about how we hope to help this family...

the little bug expedition - day seven (pam)

2010-01-13T03:43:00.001-08:00

Now we're back in Lima, the noisy city! Mind you, Cajamarca, up north, wasn't too quiet last night! Celebrations were going on everywhere. After the New Year's Eve fiesta with the ninos, Wayne and I were totally worn out physically and emotionally. We said our goodbyes to our new friends, and Feliciana, eager to go home, told us all that we would clean up the fiesta mess today (January 1), so we were back at the hotel by 9:00 pm on New Year's Eve. That was a good thing. Our plan was to leave for El Bichito at 10:00 am today, so that people would have a chance to sleep in a little. Wayne and I didn't think we'd need to set an alarm. What a mistake! We woke up at 9:48 am, brushed our teeth, threw on some clothes, and headed for the bus that would take us to El Bichito.

I was so disappointed to see that Feliciana had cleaned up most of the mess by the time we had arrived. Bless her heart! I just love that lady! We did what we could to help. I snooped around a little and found all the fruits and vegetables that we had purchased two days ago tidily put away in a box under the kitchen counter. Needless to say, I was ecstatic! I thought they had been stolen.

We had planned to take the vegetables, rice, noodles, and oil to a very needy family of seven children ... Dina, Carmen, Israel, Eva, Lazaro, Marta, Madai. I don't know that I have the words to describe how they live, but I'm going to try.

The children and their mother moved to Puylucana because they had heard of El Bichito. The children show signs of being severely malnourished. The family had no way of supporting themselves. The father, in prison, has served two years of a ten year sentence. The mother doesn't make enough money to pay rent, so the landlord lets them live in a one room mud hut. Three small beds take up most of the room where all eight of them sleep. When it rains, it is evident that part of the room gets soaked because of the gaping hole in the tin roof.

These humble people have no possessions -- only what have in two large sacks. They share a "kitchen" with the landlord -- an adjoining mud hut. You wouldn't feed your animals in there. Often these children have no food other than what they get at El Bichito on their way to school.. Their mother makes whatever she can by doing laundry and cleaning. Today, we waited for the mother to return home after finishing up a laundry job. She washes twelve articles of clothing for 3 soles = $1. She can't even afford to put clothes and shoes on her own children.

The oldest child, Dina, who is fifteen, has not been able to go to school because the family cannot afford the school fees and school uniform required for secondary school. She is the primary caretaker of the family while her mother works. We committed to helping the family as long as the mother sent Dina to school. The mother is a sweet lady who was overwhelmed by the generosity of the Southern Cross volunteers. She cried in Wayne's arms. The children cried. I am happy that I got to share that special time with Cameron, Kate, Wayne, and Feliciana. I will never forget this day.

What a blessing to be here again in Peru at the New Year. Prosperos Ano Nuevo! Pam

the little bug expedition - day six (pam)

2010-01-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Prospero Ano Nuevo! Are you having any fun yet! I know, I must be a geek to be emailing on New Year's Eve, but we've been partying at El Bichito for most of the day, and to be honest, I'm pooped! I think everyone in our group is pooped.. Some of the guys started off the day with cementing the inside walls of the second floor. Most of the effort of the group was in setting up the New Year's fiesta for the children. Everyone went all out in the preparation. There were streamers, banners, and balloons to put up. There were cakes and jello to prepare. We showed Feliciana how to cook the cakes in the oven that was donated on one of the last expeditions. Until now, she has kept the stove pretty in the original box. We not only baked cakes in the oven, we cooked scrambled eggs on the stove top. The eggs went with the rice and split peas that Feliciana cooked everyone for lunch. The children were supposed to have apples with their lunch today. We purchased apples, carrots, tomatoes, and onions in the market yesterday, but when we arrived at El Bichito this morning, all of it was gone! Someone must have needed the produce more than we did. The children of the drop-in center rarely get to eat fruit and vegetables or meat, so I was a little heartbroken. There is so much NEED in this area. I can say truthfully that we are accompanied by some very generous people. They spared nothing to make sure the fiesta was a great success ... party hats, glow sticks, pinatas, balloons, silly string, sparklers, fireworks, and treat bags. But, more importantly, everyone made new friends. Some of the children brought their parents and grandparents. It's more difficult to break the ice with the older generation, but by the end of the fiesta, everyone was smiling and hugging. There were a few who cried -- ninos and volunteers. Saying goodbye can be so difficult. I made a new friend. Her name is Maria Mercedes -- a very intelligent and kind twelve-year-old. I could hardly hold back the tears when our new Peruvian friends thanked us for the fiesta, but I did. A sweet, very short, mother grabbed me and hugged me with genuine appreciation, and I watched her as she made her way around the room hugging the volunteers. Did I mentioned that it has been a great thing to see the Peruvian people, here in Cajamarca, willing to help their own people? The local family has invested a lot of time and effort into our project this week. Another man wanted to know how he could financially contribute. A mining company heard about our efforts, and they donated about a dozen frozen turkeys. They just showed up at El Bichito's doorstep this evening. It was like Christmas all over again! Meat? That's a luxury in Puylucana, especially for the ninos who come to El Bichito. I wish you could see what I see. I just keep thinking, one can only save vulnerable starfish one at a time. Happy New Year! Pam

the little bug expedition - day five (pam)

2010-01-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

What an eventful day! When I arrived at El Bichito this morning (on my own on a Peruvian bus), I was asked to accompany Kate and a couple of Peruvian ladies to the central market of Cajamarca. One lady was named Patty and I can't remember the other. Our goal was to purchase some things for the big New Year's Eve party ... pinatas, treats, and supplies.

On the way, we had to stop in at the apartment of one of the ladies. I have never been in a Peruvian apartment before; I've mostly visited more traditional houses (huts) made out of adobe bricks with the dirt floor and ceramic pots on an open fire in the corner. And don't forget the chickens and guinea pigs running around the floor. The apartment was quite a contrast, but even still, it was very small and humble.

Kate and I visited with our new friend and her husband and children for quite a while. The family was so friendly and so eager to chat with us. I could actually understand quite a bit of what they said. I tried to converse, but my Spanish vocabulary is limited. Kate helped me quite a bit. (I've figured out that immersion in a culture has got to be the best way of learning a language.) Patty met up with us again, and then we were off to the market.

Our new friends knew exactly where to take us for the good deals. When we had done all the shopping that was needed, Kate and I headed back to the hotel in a taxi with all the loot. As luck would have it, our taxi driver ran into the car in front of us at the crossroads of a round-about. It was only a fender-bender, but those who got out of the car ahead, were not happy. We soon realized that we would be there forever if we waited for our helpless taxi driver to resolve his problem, so we bailed on him, after we explained our situation and hailed another taxi.

We made it back to the hotel in time to eat lunch with Feliciana (coordinator of El Bichito), Cameron, and Wayne. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss ways to help the children of El Bichito and their families. Our goal was to focus on the children who were very malnourished and those who lacked clothing.

It was 3:00 pm when we finished talking ... too late to head back to El Bichito, so all of us decided to go to the market and purchase the things needed. We had so much fun! The market was so busy and so stinky. We saw huge snails as big as my fist. Apparently the are sold to suck the impurities out of your skin. We saw whole heads of cows for sale. Yellow underpants are apparently popular; they came in all sizes for both sexes. I understand that the yellow underpants are part of the New Year's celebration. Cameron could be pulling my leg..

Every day is a surpise down here. On my way to the drop-in center this morning, a very traditionally dressed lady was pulling up her knickers after she and her little boy had taken a wee along side the road at the entrance of the hotel. Are we having any fun yet? YES! Wayne is quite sore today, but he kept up with everyone remarkably well. We feel blessed that he was able to make the trip. Well, I've got to close my eyes to sleep now. Nicht th'noo! Pam

the little bug expedition - day four (pam)

2010-01-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

We boarded the bus for El Bichito (the drop-in center) on another sunny, glorious morning. When we got there, some of our Peruvian friends were already hard at work preparing the ceilings and walls for cement. Yesterday, the Peruvian electrician chipped away at the brick walls to insert the PVC that will encase the electrical wiring.

I think it was Feliciana that wanted more inner building windows, so, today, some of our group tried their hand at chipping away the bricks with a chisel and hammer. The young people prepared the cement for the ceilings and walls in the room where the work was to be done. They did it the old fashioned way -- on the floor with a shovel.

In the another room, our Peruvian friends were literally balancing on a very shaky scaffolding system in order to prepare the ceiling. I don't think any American would have gotten up their with them. Downstairs, in the large room where the children are fed, some of our group were removing mold off the walls and repainting. They did a super job. Everyone was working so hard.

I took a lot of photographs, but not long after we arrived at El Bichito, I felt overwhelmingly weak. I also had a bad headache. I could tell that it was the onset of altitude sickness, and I could tell that I was not going to be good for anyone today, so Wayne accompanied me on the bus back to the hotel.. I slept all afternoon. I'm feeling a little better now. I mostly feel bad about feeling useless. I also missed not interacting with the children. I was going to do a little origami with them today, but I didn't have enough brain power to figure out how to fold the paper. Terrible!

The rest did me good, because I was able to go out for Pizza with Wayne and about half of the group. No, the pizza tastes nothing like the pizza we're used to. We have a great group -- people from many walks of life coming together to create a little good in the world. Too bad some have to get sick. We've got two down right now -- one with altitude sickness, and one with traveler's diarrhea. Not good.

So, for those of you who live in the cold, I have to tell you that the high in Cajamarca today was 71 degrees F. The low tonight will be 46 degrees F. I think this will be the temperature of the Heavens. What do you think? Tomorrow I want to tell you all about Cajamarca. Meanwhile, "nicht th'noo"! Pam

the little bug expedition - day three (pam)

2010-01-04T05:00:00.000-08:00

After breakfast at our quaint hotel, all of us boarded a very small bus with Peruvians and ascended a few hundred feet in just a few miles to El Bichito drop-in center where we would be working all day. (Fanny, an engineering professor from the local university, who is also connected to the building project, joined us.) Part of the fun for me in Peru is connecting with the people, so I love riding on the bus with them. I know hardly any Spanish, but when I have to chance to use it to converse with someone, I'll at least try to say something that makes sense. I make a lot of mistakes along the way. Oh well!

Our first job at El Bichito was to clean up from the last job. It took us a good part of the day to clean up the debris on the second floor of the building ... bricks, rocks, wire, trash, tires, wood. The dust was flying everywhere to where, sometimes, you could hardly breathe. The people who have joined us on this expedition are hard workers, so it is fun to watch what they can do.

About noon, the children started showing up. They were shy and bashful at first.. You could hardly get a word out of them. Then some of our group started throwing around an American football, and the fun began. A hide and seek game was initiated by Christy, and it was funny because the ninos loved chasing after her. We all ate lunch together at El Bichito, prepared by Feliciana and a friend. We were all so hungry that we appreciated the meal of white rice, lentils, and a fried egg. It tasted so good!

I am still amazed how much the children eat here in Peru. They never turn away food, no matter what it is. Even the little ones had their plates piled high with food. I am also still amazed in how much the older siblings take care of the younger ones. It is beautiful to see. The ninos are not in school right now because it is their summer vacation. That meant that we could spend a lot of time playing with them.

We were waiting for the dump truck of sand to arrive anyway, so everyone took advantage of the time to connect to the children. When the sand arrived, it was back to work. I have a feeling our small friends will be coming back to see us earlier tomorrow. One member of our group had to return to the hotel today. He has a bad case of high altitude sickness. Not a good thing. Wayne has been fairing very well. He can't do any of the labor, but he is there to run errands or take over for Cameron (our fearless leader). He got a sunburn today from spending so much time in the sun. Yes, it is warm down here .... about 70 degrees F. At night, if we're going to be out much, a jacket is needed.

Wayne and I are really enjoying the hot springs. It is a great way to end the day. We added two more to our group this evening. Their flight had been cancelled in Chicago, so they joined us late. As we say in the old country, "Nicht th'noo!". Good night. Pam

the little bug expedition - day two (pam)

2010-01-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so tired ... I don't know how I will get an email written tonight. I shouldn't be tired, I haven't done much. For me it has been an enjoyable day ... sleeping in at the Manhattan Inn and getting to know the people in the expedition group. I feel bad for Cameron (our fearless leader) as he had to go back and forth to the Lima airport all night and early morning to gather up group who were arriving.

This afternoon, we all flew to Cajamarca (north of Peru) where we will stay for a few days to work on El Bichito (Little Bug) drop-in center where children are fed on their way to school or on their way home from school. We will go there tomorrow, and then I will be able to tell you more about it.

Cajamarca is a beautiful city, much like Cusco that sits in a lush mountainous valley. Wayne and I thought we had died and gone to Heaven when we arrived at the Hotel Laguna Seca. We've never stayed in anything so nice in Peru. It's an old hacienda converted into a hotel ... one level ... lush and spacious grounds .... and most importantly, hot springs ... lovely "non-stinky" hot springs outside in the courtyard, and lovely "non-stinky" hot springs in the bathroom. Wayne and I couldn't wait to get in hot springs so we threw our suitcases in our room and jumped in the warm pool outside. You can't imagine what it does for me to leave the snow and the frigid temperatures to jump in a pool in a soothing climate.

Tonight, we took a shuttle to the plaza where we all had dinner together. After, we walked around the plaza that was decorated for Christmas. There were people everywhere. I especially liked the large nativity scene in the center. Typically, the Peruvians leave their decorations up until January 6 which is a holy day called Epiphany. You'll have to search that one on the internet. Well, that's all for tonight. I've got to go to sleep. Pam

The Little Bug Expedition - Day One (Pam)

2009-12-30T22:08:00.000-08:00

(Note: Our latest expedition left for Peru just after Christmas. Pam has been sending me daily reports - while she's been on several Southern Cross expeditions, this is her first trip to The Little Bug "El Bichito").

It feels at home to be in Peru -- the sounds and the smells and the warmth of the air. Of course, we don't really get a sense of the real Peru until we arrive in the Andes Mountains tomorrow. Lima is a noisy city. People are always out and about. Salsa type music is always playing, and the Peruvians don't mind playing it loudly.

After resting at the hotel for a while today, Wayne, Cameron, and I went out for dinner. We sat OUTSIDE for our meal. I had "pollo y papas fritas" which is always a safe bet. I'm not sure all what Wayne and Cameron ate, but there was a little heart and stomach in the pile of meat. We visited the mall close by, which was very busy for the time of night. Apparently the mall doesn't close until 11:00 pm. That was a good thing because the TSA took my hairspray at the Salt Lake airport and I needed to replace it. There's not a blow dryer at the Manhattan Inn here in Lima, so the hairspray's not going to help anyway. Flat hair tomorrow.

Wayne and I are just loving the warm night air. We have to open the window at the hotel because it is so stuffy inside, and that means that we're privy to all the sounds from the city, including the fun sounds of children playing in the streets.

The bulk of the expedition participants fly in early tomorrow morning, but we do have three flying in late tonight. Thank goodness Cameron (our fearless expedition leader) will be meeting them at the airport. Wayne has done really well with his back. He's hurting quite a bit tonight, but overall, we are amazed how he has faired the trip. It was 17 hours from the time the plane left Salt Lake City to the time we landed in Lima. I slept for the whole 7 hour trip. We stopped at Guatemala so some passengers could disembark and others board the plane, but I wasn't even aware. I woke up as we were flying into Costa Rica. I think that's why I feel so good tonight. Plus the warm weather is kind to my body. By the way, would I have had to have been awake in order to say that I've been to Guatemala? I hope you had a marvelous Boxing Day. Pam