Esta Semana (This week)

This week has been eventful and uneventful at the same time.  I've mostly just been teaching and doing chores.

At school this week, we had two accidents that sort of scared me, but reminded me that I'm pretty calm in an emergency.  On Tuesday morning, the weather was so nice and Doane and I were feeling so lazy, we decided to have a play morning and try to work in a lesson.  We were telling them what to do in English, for instance if they had on a certain color they could advance.  A bit into the morning, Doane said that we really should have prizes, so I went to go get some candy from a nearby store.  When I got back, Doane was just having them do different kinds of racing, like crab walk or skipping or running backward.  The running backward idea turned out to be not such a good one, because Jhesly, one of my students, ended up tripping over another student, falling backward, and hitting the back of her head and then her cheek on the cement.  Doane and I rushed over and after we were sure she was okay to move, I walked her over to the grassy area in front of the classrooms to clean up her tears and ask her how she was feeling.  I stayed with her for the rest of classtime and figured she was doing better because she was smiling at the silly things the other kids were doing.  She did look out of sorts though and Doane and I wanted to be sure she didn't have a concussion.  He went to go look it up online in an internet cafe and we asked her if she had any of the symptoms they had listed.  She said she had some of the symptoms, but we thought she probably didn't have a concussion.  We walked her to her house and I told her older sister what had happened.  I was a bit worried when she didn't show up for school yesterday, but she was there today and she said she felt a lot better.

This morning before class had even started, a little girl hit her head on the swings.  The swings are made of metal and are quite big, so it must have really hurt.  She was wailing away and we went down to see if she was okay.  Doane carried her into his classroom and we laid her down on the table to clean her up.  She was bleeding quite a bit from her head, which is a frightening thing to see.  Mabel got the cotton and alcohol and was wiping away the blood from the wound while I held her hand to calm her down.  She quieted down and we wiped the blood and dirt from her face.  Then she started to get curious about what was going on outside, so I figured she was feeling a lot better.  I asked her if she wanted to stay or go home and she said she wanted to stay.  Thank goodness both incidences were taken care of and no one was seriously injured.

The other new happening is that I've decided to leave Huancayo on Monday and go to Cancun for a couple weeks before spending a few days in Lima and then going on to Ecuador.  I went to get a few warm weather things with Mabel and also got her a few things she wanted.  She keeps telling me not to leave and that I should stay another month or just move here.  She says she doesn't want to be awake on Monday morning when Doane and I leave because our goodbye will be too sad.  She has been a very good friend to me and I'll miss her a lot.  Today I told Mari and Lorenza that I wanted to take them shopping too.  Mari sacrifices so much for the kids at school and Lorenza does so much for us in the house, I just wanted to do something nice for them both.  Plus it will be fun taking them shopping!!!  :)

Tomorrow will be bittersweet.  I've had a good time with both of my classes, but they can be frustrating as well!!!  ;)  It will definitely be sad to leave them.  Kevin in my morning class asked when I was leaving and when I told him tomorrow was my last day, he asked if we were going to have a party.  He's been one of my favorites even though he can drive me a bit crazy as well.  :)  I'm just hoping to get a lot of pictures with my kids!!!

Domingo Deberia Estar Perezoso (Sunday should be lazy)

I had every intention of relaxing today, but that didn't happen.  I woke up early to talk to my mom and dad and then spent more time throughout the day on Skype talking to other friends.

I had been planning to go to the Sunday market with the others, but they had stayed out way later than I did at the karaoke bar.  They didn't get home until three because they kept ordering drinks and then when they went to pay, their credit card didn't work.  Mabel went around with Simon to a bunch of different ATMs until he was able to withdraw money.  Doane said that he hadn't thought it was that late, but when he got up it was around 2 in the afternoon and the house was silent.  Simon and Nora didn't get up until 11, which is when I went out with Mabel.

I went to the ATM and then to the grocery store to get some food for lunch.  I went to Radio Shack to swap the MP3 player I had gotten the other day, and they fixed it for me but now it doesn't work again.  I think I give up on it, since it was only about $20.  After that we went to the open market to get some fruit.  We also stopped at the little bakery near the house to get a few pastries.

After more time on Skype, Doane said he was going to the Sunday market.  I told him to wait for me and we walked down there together.  He was really thirsty, so we stopped at a shop and he ordered some mango juice.  We watched as the woman prepared the juice and another man got Doane his change.  He had shorted him 1 sol, so I told the woman and she and the man went back and forth about it because the man thought Doane was lying.  The whole operation was a little bit strange.  I don't understand how some of these people stay in business.  And I also wonder about the people who are cooking food to sell on street corners or who have scales and offer to tell you your weight for a price.  I can't imagine that many people wanting to pay to know their weight, although Doane was tempted today.  We walked around the market for awhile.  Doane got some shoes and I got some jewelry.  After we finished walking around there, we parted ways since I wanted to go into La Casa de Artesano and he wanted to go to some hardware stores.  He told me later that the hardware stores were closed, but that he saw a crowd of people and went to check it out.  I guess some guy was doing a comedy routine and said, "Gringo!" when he walked up.  He said he was talking to him for a long time and he didn't understand any of it but that everyone was laughing.  The guy asked him to come over to him, but he declined and came back home.

I was working on some things on my computer when Doane asked me if I'd eaten already.  We planned to go to La Cabaña for dinner with Simon, Nora, and Mabel.  We ordered three pizzas for dinner and also asked for them to bring Mikado (pick-up-sticks) to the table.  We had two games going.  I played a game with Doane and I realized that while I have a lot of patience, I was not so patient with this game.  Not enough to win at least.  Doane was taking it very seriously and so of course he won.  I had to scoot out of the restaurant before the others left because I was supposed to meet Leslie at karaoke at 10 PM.  I gave Nora and Simon big hugs since they were going to take the 11 PM bus from Huancayo to Lima.

I met Leslie at the house and we took a taxi to close up her shop.  I helped her move all of the purses from where they were hanging outside of the shop and move the glass display cases inside the store.  I was wondering if it would be boring arranging the same things every morning and then having to take them down again at night.  After leaving her store, we walked to La Rustica and there weren't that many people at karaoke.  We ordered a drink and after my first song, these two really drunk guys started talking to us and telling me that I had a pretty voice.  They asked one of the waiters to help them put chairs next to us so they could sit with us.  I was surprised that the waiter didn't ask us if we wanted them to sit with us because we would have said no.  They were trying to find a song for me to sing and they handed in Sweet Child of Mine by Guns n' Roses for me to sing.  The guy next to me was slurring his words and so I couldn't understand him most of the time.  He was trying to speak some English and was telling me he was going to sing a song for me.  He was asking for my phone number and when I told him I didn't have a cell phone he said to give him my number in the US.  They were annoying us so much and wouldn't stop even after Leslie said we had boyfriends and that I was leaving tomorrow.  They told her she was a liar and if we had boyfriends, where were they.  They also asked how we knew each other and Leslie just said we were friends and the guy asked if we were internet friends.  Leslie said yes.  Haha.  After they harassed us for awhile, they finally took their drinks to another table with two other girls.  Before they left though, they wanted to give us a hug and a kiss on the cheek like you do with friends.  We were seated by a railing and I was pressed all the way up against the railing telling him no.  They both forced a goodbye with us and afterward Leslie said we needed to go home to take a shower.  Haha.  It was much more pleasant after they left and we got to have more fun.

I was so tired when we got home and this morning I didn't get up until fifteen minutes before we usually leave.  I didn't feel so bad when I realized Doane still wasn't up yet.  :)

Aventura de Sabado (Saturday Adventure)

Today everyone got up early.  Most of the people in the house went to ride their bikes up Huaytapallana to the glacier, but Mabel and I went to take a different trip with our friend Christian, who works at La Rustica, the place we go sing karaoke.

I was hurrying to get ready, but we still left the house a little bit late.  She couldn't get a hold of Christian and it turned out that he had worked until 5 in the morning and hadn't gone to sleep until 6 or 6:30 in the morning.  She finally reached him and we had to wait a bit for him to meet us.

We took a combi to Chupaca and Christian was so sleepy on the bus that if Mabel turned to talk to me for a second, she would turn back to him and he would be sleeping.  He hadn't had time to prepare a lunch for himself, so when we got to Chupaca we went in search for some food for him.  There was a large market like the one we have here on Sunday, and he ended up buying a bagful of fruit: tangerines, bananas, grapes, mangos, and apricots.

Mabel found us a taxi to drive us to Iscos to see the lake Pucuhs Uclo where there are a bunch of different species of birds.  We arranged a price for the taxi driver to wait for us and take us to the rest of the places on our route.  We had to walk across the middle of a farm where they were growing artichokes, carrots, and other vegetables.  It was muddy around the lake, so when we got closer, we had to hop over the wet patches to get a better look at the birds and the lake.  There was a man washing his clothes near the lake and two dogs followed us around everywhere.  There was also a puppy and another small dog that came to check us out.

Christian, the puppy, and one of the bigger dogs.

We couldn't get close enough to see the birds really well, but it was still a pretty view and a fun adventure.  We found a raised gazebo and stayed there to take in the scenery for awhile.

Me on the gazebo.

The dogs followed us, so I sat down with one of them to give him a good scratch.

This dog wanted a good scratch.  :)

Mabel was saying that all dogs follow me.  :)  After a bit, we made our way back to the taxi.  We walked back a different way and passed by a small house.  There was a little black-haired boy peeking at us from behind the bushes and he smiled when I smiled at him.  He was adorable!

From there we went down the road a bit to see a stable.  There a big area where they were growing trees for reforestation and beside that there was a huge field of cows and sheep.  On the way to the cows and sheep, there was a woman preparing wool.  A little boy was watching her.

The woman preparing wool.

These unfamiliar sights are now becoming less foreign to me, although I still am impressed when I see women knitting as they walk down the streets.  Mabel told me that a certain cow was named Consuelo and I laughed.  She said she wasn't joking.  All of the cows had their names written on tags attached to their ears.  I took a picture of Pepe.  :)

Pepe, the cow.  :)

After that we passed through Chongos Bajo to go to Chupuro, since I had already been to Chongos Bajo before.  There was a small square in Chupuru where we stopped.

Mabel and Christian were being silly!!!

Mabel was telling me to do cartwheels in the middle of the square and she took a picture.

Mabel took a picture of me right as I was doing the cartwheel.  :)

We walked around the square and down a dirt road to see some more of the farm area.  There was a huge pig snorting around in the water in one of the ditches.  I wish I had gotten a better picture of him because he was really funny.  On the way back, Christian jumped to the other side of the road because a dead rat had surprised him.  We started talking about things that freak us out.  Mabel was talking about toads and Christian started telling us about a toad where he's from.  He's from a place in the jungle called Tingo Maria and he said there was a huge toad there and he indicated with his hands that it was about a foot wide.  He said it was an intense red and that when you see it, it scares you to death.  The way he told it was much more expressive than I can write on the page...though maybe I'll try...when he was describing it he said it was a "rojo inteeeeeenso."  :)

From there we went to Huayucachi and that's where we left our taxi driver.  On our way there we passed over Rio Mantaro, which Mabel was telling me was one of the larger rivers.  There were two giant hats in the square in Huayucachi and also two statues of dancing men.  We went into a church on one end of the square to look around and take pictures.

Christian and me doing his usual pose.  I couldn't help but think the pose might not be appropriate for the church... 

Further beyond that church there were steps leading up the hillside to get to a little chapel.  Mabel and I weren't having any problems walking up, but Christian was groaning while we laughed at him.  I had Mabel take a picture of me with a burro that was eating his lunch on the way up.

Me and the burro as he was munching away.

Right after that it started raining and we saw a bunch of men who had been working on the hillside run for cover.  We continued walking up and the rain died down.  There was a couple already in the chapel, so we took pictures around the chapel.

Me in front of the little chapel we climbed up to.

Christian sat down to eat more of his fruit while Mabel and I explored.  Christian couldn't believe we weren't cold because he was dying from the cold.  He came to join us though when we stopped to write our names in an aloe plant.  Mabel had found a piece of glass, so she held the aloe leaves while I wrote.

Our names in the aloe plant.  :)

We went on the other side of the hill to go back down and saw a little lamb and a sad-looking dog.

Walking back down from the little chapel.

From there we found a playground by another little church.  There was a huge mound of dirt in front of the church and we climbed it to take some pictures in front of the church.

Mabel and I in front of the church by the playground.

Then we went to go play on the playground.  Mabel and I went on the see-saws and she was freaking out like she always does in her funny little way.  We went on this merry-go-round type thing that was caged all the way to the top.  A little girl came on with Mabel and I while Christian pushed.  A dog was barking at us as we went around and I think it was just because he wanted to come on also because when it slowed down, he jumped on.  When we were stopped for a bit, Christian was asking for one of the little girl's snack with a puppy face.

Christian with his best, "Please, can I have some of your snack?" face.

She gave him one and then told him to push again.  When we got off, the little girl stayed on and had her family come to push her.  They had been on the swings, so we made our way over to swing for a bit.

Mabel and Christian on the swings.

We climbed up on another jungle gym type apparatus before we went back to the main square to take a combi back to Huancayo.

On the combi, Christian kept falling asleep and Mabel and I were messing with him while he was sleeping.  The women sitting across from us were smiling an laughing.  He went to sleep so quickly and soundly that he didn't wake up when Mabel pulled a hair from his head.  And then she was putting my camera up really close to his face to take a bunch of pictures.  He woke up then and she hid the camera quickly.  His eyes closed quickly after that and as his head dipped towards us, we were poking the side of his head to keep it from falling all the way over.  Mabel poked him so hard though that he woke up laughing.

The combi dropped us off by Plaza Vea and we went and sat in front of the main entrance to Plaza Real.  Mabel was saying she was dying of hunger, so Christian told us that we should all go to La Rustica since he gets a discount.  We went and got salad, chicken nuggets, french fries, and juice.  We were telling Christian more about our work at the school and he was asking me some things about English since he wants to learn more.  We were talking about our families and where we are from.  He was asking me if I missed my family.  I absolutely do, but I think I've reached the point where I feel at home here.  He was sweet and disappeared to pay for our meal without us realizing.  He said he'd had a really good time with us and that we should go with him to a movie on his day off next Thursday.  We parted ways, with the agreement that he would save a table for us tonight at karaoke since there is an event going on tonight.

Mabel made me a bit sad on the way home.  Not in a bad way.  She told me that she didn't want me to leave and asked me to stay longer.  It's crazy that I wasn't sure if I would survive when I first started and now I'm not sure how it will be to leave here.  I'm so blessed to have made so many good friends and to feel so at home here.  I know I still have a month left, but time has been passing much more quickly and I don't even want to think of the goodbyes.

Good night everyone!  I'm off to karaoke in a bit!!!

Viernes (Friday) - Play Day!!!!!

This morning when we were walking to school, we saw these pigs outside some of the houses.  There are always different farm animals appearing around that area.  I thought they looked like a cross between pigs and dalmations.  :)

Dalmation pigs!!!  :)

I brought my camera today since Fridays we play games with the kids and it seems more appropriate to take pictures.  This is the front of the school.  The big group of fifteen volunteers painted this welcome sign.  It really brightens up the front of the school!

Our new welcome sign.

Here is the classroom that I teach in.  We always put the benches and chairs up on the tables after class.  The only light we have is from a makeshift skylight...you can see the light pouring in from above the whiteboard.

My classroom!!!

Doane decided to make an obstacle course for the kids in the morning, so we gathered up a bunch of odds and ends.  They had to take a ball and put it between their legs across the monkey bars.  Then they swung a bit on a rope and went under a tent we'd made over some chairs.  Then they had to go between some small cone markers.  I had the older students go through them kicking their ball.  After that they went over, then under, and then over some items set up on some chairs, then through some more small cone markers, and finally threw their ball into the basketball hoop.

Margoth is getting ready to take off swinging.  You can see the tent in front of her, Simon tending to the over-under bit, and Nora helping the littler kids to throw their ball into the basketball hoop.

They liked doing it so much that when they finished they ran back to the beginning to do it all over again.  Poor Josselyn had the deflated ball.  She was a trooper though and still kicked it through the small cones.

Josselyn looks a bit sad that her ball is deflated.  :)

In the afternoon, we set up a bunch of chairs out in the cement area to play musical chairs.  Doane had brought is speaker and iPod to play music.  The kids had a lot of fun and were running around like crazy.  After the first time they played, one of my students, Ingrid, asked me what they were going to do after the game.  I said I didn't know but did she want to do something different.  Most of the other people in my class were working on homework, so she felt lonely.  We ended up drawing pictures.  I was looking through the dictionary for something to draw, so she drew a sunrise or amanecer and suggested that I draw the twilight or atardecer.  Here's my drawing...everyone complimented me on it.  Haha!  Her drawing is hanging in the classroom.

My drawing of the twighlight.

Now it's time for sleep.  Tomorrow the others are going to bike up to Huaytapallana, the glacier, and Mabel is taking me somewhere else.  We have to leave early though!!!  Good night!  :)

Jueves (Thursday) y Canchita, Mi Perrita (My Little Dog)

I stayed in the house mostly yesterday, so nothing much to report on Wednesday.  :)

This morning when we were walking to school, a little dog, a spaniel, started following me.  I thought she would eventually turn back around and go back to her house or run ahead of me but she didn't.  If she fell behind to check out some plants or mark her territory, she would run to catch up with me.  If she ran ahead a bit, she would stop and look back to make sure I was still there.  Otherwise, she would be circling around me so close that a few times I thought I would trip over her.  There were boy dogs who stopped to sniff her and some started following us.  I think they thought love was in the air, but she barked at them and ran them off.  She followed me all the way up to the mountain school.  I thought she would leave then, but after a bit, she came into the school too.  I said, "Oh, mi perrita!" meaning, "Oh, my little dog!"  One of the students said, "Es tu perrita?  Como se llama?" meaning, "Is that your little dog?  What's her name?"  I told him I didn't know because she had just followed me to the school.

I've decided to do history or a story every Thursday with my class since they enjoyed the St. Patrick's Day lesson.  I've decided to start on Greek mythology and told them the story about how Athena was born today.  They have to look up all the words they don't know, so it helps them build some vocabulary.  I asked them if they liked it and they said they did, so I think I'll tell them another Greek myth next week.

When I finished with class, she came out of one of the other classrooms and found me.  I motioned to her to follow me so I could sit down and give her a good scratch.  She followed me and I sat scratching her for awhile, before I headed home.

The others have been playing "trompo" a lot, which is a top that you set spinning by winding a string around it, holding one end of the string, and launching it spinning to the ground.  It takes a bit of practice to actually get it spinning, so they've all been trying over and over again to perfect their technique.  Since they've been doing that, it's taken them an hour or more to get home since they wind the toy, throw it, and then have to go get it before taking a few more steps toward home.  I haven't gotten into it that much, so I've taken to walking home by myself.

I set off out of the school with Canchita, as someone affectionately named my little dog.  Canchita means popcorn.  Again I thought she would walk toward her home.  We usually come up a different way than we go down, so when I got to the point where the path we take to school and the path we take home diverged, I stopped to see what she would do.  She just stood there with me looking up at me, waiting to see what I would do.  I started walking down the steps and she happily followed me.  A woman walking along the street commented, "Que bonita esta," or "How pretty she is," about my little Canchita.  She followed me all the way home and I felt so bad closing the door in her face.  I left it a crack open for a second and she put her nose in the door.  I finally closed it and went upstairs to get my camera.  She was still down there when I came back with my camera, so I got some pictures of her by the front door.  Mari and Lorenza came down and saw her.  I could tell Mari wanted to take her in, but she kept saying Tino didn't like dogs.  He's allergic to them.  Finally, I said goodbye to her and closed the door.  Maybe I'll see her again this afternoon.  :)

Poor little thing was just waiting for me to let her in.

When I knelt down to take her picture, she got hopeful and lifted her head up.

Tuesday - Adios, muchachas y el cumpleaños de Haydee - Goodbye, girls and Haydee’s birthday

This morning I was exhausted again because of the late night, but I woke up early.  The neighbors had stolen the wireless again...changing the name of it and the password.  I went to pay Tino for this week and let him know about the wireless.

Mabel, Doane, Simon, Nora and I all walked to school together and left the girls to fend for themselves.  I had asked Mabel if we were going to wait for them and she said she didn’t care what they did.  They were already at the school when we got there because they had taken the bus.  It started to rain and so we were standing under the overhangs in front of the classrooms.  The girls were standing in front of my classroom and I whispered to Mabel that I would scream if they tried to take over my class.  I went in before them and they went into the classroom that Simon had been teaching in.  Mabel started directing his class to a different classroom that he could teach in for the morning.  The girls ended up helping some students with their homework from high school.  It all seemed to work out okay in the end.  I gave Justi his pick of a new notebook since he had finished his on Monday.  He was excited to have it and even wanted to keep the part that is part of the packaging, saying what type of notebook it is.  He came back in during the break and was asking me some questions.  I asked him if he was going to play and he said no.  I think it was just because Kevin wasn’t at school today.

Justi and Kevin.  I kept trying to get a picture of Kevin and he kept hiding.  :)

Joselin.  She is sooooo sweet!

Before lunch, the girls came into the kitchen and told us that they were leaving.  Doane said that their bags were enormous and he asked if that was just for a week and a half.  They told him no, it was for two weeks.  I gave them hugs goodbye, though I was really just relieved that we wouldn’t have to deal with their behavior anymore.  I was wrong though because Mabel came back up after the left and told me that something had happened.  Apparently they had paid Tino with checks and Tino told them that they probably wouldn’t be able to cash them.  He asked them if they had any cash and they said no.  So they basically left without paying.  I hope it gets sorted out somehow because that is really upsetting if it doesn’t.

After lunch, I went downtown to see if the Radio Shack down by Plaza Constitucion still had the small clock I had washed the day before.  They did, so I bought two just in case.  They are really cheap, so buying two was cheaper than what I had paid for my travel alarm clock in the US.

I went by Leslie’s store after that, but she wasn’t there.  I found out later that she had been in Lima.  I went to go buy some movies and got a bunch of new movies to add to our collection.  When I got home, I had enough time to set one of my new clocks to take to school with me.

My students at school were asking me where the other girls were and I told them they had left.  They said they knew they were leaving soon because they had been taking pictures.  Now I realize why some of my students asked if I was leaving last Friday when I was taking pictures.  Joselin had asked me and given me a big hug and said she didn’t want me to go.  Today two of my afternoon girls asked how long I was staying and were happy when I said I still had another month with them.  I gave Luna a new notebook too because she has just recently joined our class.  She chose the pink notebook.

The other teachers had kept playing with the kids after the recess was over, but I had called my class in.  When I finished and told Mabel that it was 5:20, twenty minutes later than class is supposed to last, she started yelling that she was leaving.  Everyone kept playing for a bit and then we finally rounded everyone up and out the door.  One of the boys was asking Doane to be his caballito or his horse.  They’ll just say, “Teacher, caballito?”  He’s been directing them to me, but I’m not about to try to lift these kids up onto my shoulders.  :)  He finally got Simon to be Nando’s caballito.

When we had almost reached home, we all stopped to get ice cream because we were all extremely hungry for some reason.  I got a lucuma fruit ice cream sandwich.  It was really yummy!

When we got home we didn’t have to wait too long for dinner.  Simon and Nora were talking about making popcorn that they had bought and watching a movie.  The popcorn part happened, but the movie-watching didn’t.  Tino walked in with a big cake and said that it was for Haydee’s birthday.  We waited for Haydee and the rest of the family to come into the kitchen.  Angela was running back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room window like she always does.  I like playing with her and catching her as she’s running.  She likes playing around with me too and giggles as she hides behind the curtains or the door in the kitchen.  I was swinging her around in circles in the dining room.

After awhile the whole family made it into the kitchen and we sang happy birthday to her.  Tino said I was going to lead singing happy birthday in English.  I was a bit embarrassed, but I did it in the end.  We showed Haydee that Doane had suggested we put popcorn on the cake, so Leslie had put popcorn in the middle of all the flowers on the cake.  It almost made them look like orchids.  We all talked about the trip to the jungle and were laughing at all the things that had happened.  Before people started trickling out to go to sleep, we took a big group picture.

The whole crew!  Happy after eating cake!!!  :)

I was talking to Mari in between working on my blog and she told me that I should have her mom read coca tea leaves for me.  She said she’s really good at it and she has a lot of people asking her to read leaves for them.  I’m not so sure that I want to know what the leaves think my future will be...

Now I should be in bed asleep, but I just wanted to get caught up with my blog to keep everyone updated!!!  Good night!!!

Monday - Lavanderia y Karaoke - Laundry and Karaoke

I thought I was going to be completely nonfunctional on Monday morning.  I ended up getting up with enough time to eat breakfast and get ready to go to school.  The two girls from Wellesley had been bothering both Doane and I and I don’t know if the other two volunteers from Sweden were just too sweet to say they were bothered by them.  It had started in the jungle.  Leslie told me today that she has never encountered anyone so negative before.  They both had been swearing and wondering aloud why the f--- they were in the jungle.  I was hoping to give them the benefit of the doubt, but they kept on coming up with incredibly stupid comments, acting spoiled, or just being plain disrespectful.  Monday morning was no exception.

Mabel, Doane, Simon, Nora and I walked to the school and got there on time.  It was raining a bit so we had to wait as more students trickled in.  Cassie finally showed up at the school when we only had about fifteen minutes left of class.  She came into my class only to take pictures and distract my students.  I wasn’t impressed by her behavior.  I just had to take a deep breath and remind myself that they would only be there for one more day.

After lunch I went up onto the roof to wash my clothes.  Mari came up and talked to me for a bit while I washed.  She told me that I was the only girl volunteer who has ever washed my clothes properly.  :)  She said there were two guys who got their clothes to be gleaming white and she wondered why she couldn’t get her clothes to be that white.  As I was wringing out the jacket I had been wearing to school, I realized that I had forgotten to take out my notes and my little clock from my pockets.  I had written all the names of my students in the morning and afternoon on a piece of paper and keep it in my pocket as a reference while I learn names.  There have been more new students showing up the past few weeks, so I had to keep adding to my list.  I was sad that my little clock was sogged.  I had gotten it just so I wouldn’t have to carry around my little alarm clock.  Now it has somewhat revived, but the display is messed up.  Sigh...

When I finished with my laundry it was already time to leave.  I hadn’t realized that it was so late, especially since Charlene started to wash her clothes right after me.  But I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised since they had started their theme of disrespect.  They showed up at the school at least twenty or thirty minutes after the rest of us.  Mabel said they went into Simon’s classroom and took a few kids just because they had worked with them on Friday.  Mabel was really upset because they had not only disrupted Simon but thought they could just do whatever they wanted without asking her or the other volunteers.  I was just happy that they didn’t come into my classroom again and disrupt my students.

Doane had been talking about getting a haircut and when we passed by the “hair salon” on the way home, I teased him that he should get his hair cut today.  He had been wary of the place since they only charged 3 soles for a haircut, which is roughly a dollar.  Simon spoke up and said that he had wanted to get a haircut.  Doane said he would get his hair cut after Simon, just to make sure the woman did a proper job.  She showed them a booklet and asked them which style they wanted.  I helped them to tell her how they wanted their hair cut and she did a superb job.  She did all the cutting with scissors and then shaved the stray hairs on the back of their necks with a straight razor.  They were pleased with their haircut and Doane even said he felt really bad giving her so little money since it was a proper haircut.  He had even given her a bit more.  She was beaming when he gave her more than 3 soles.

It was raining as we walked home, so it was nice to have a hot dinner waiting for us at home.  I had convinced Mabel to walk with me into town to run some errands.  I needed to go to the ATM, buy some notebooks for some of my students who were new or had finished up their old notebooks, and check Radio Shack to see if they had a replacement for the clock I had washed that afternoon.  I accomplished them all except for getting my clock.

Afterwards we went to La Rustica for karaoke.  We had told the Wellesley girls that they could meet us there since they wanted to go out on their last night in Huancayo.  I don’t know why I kept on thinking they would prove me wrong about them, but when they came to join us, it didn’t take long before they embarrassed Mabel and I.  First they were screaming at people in Spanish to sing louder.  Then they were yelling that they wanted to sing their songs.  Mabel and I had put in songs already, but for some reason the DJ lost them and so the girls’ songs came on before ours.  Mabel and I were getting really angry because they were getting their way and we hadn’t gotten to sing our songs.  We asked our waiter to help us out because I wanted to go home, and so I got to sing my song.  But since the girls had already sang their songs, they wanted to go home too.  I didn’t want to stay any longer since it was already midnight, so Mabel left annoyed at them because she didn’t get to sing her song.  They also left a really small tip for our waiter.  I was thinking I should have left him a twenty soles tip just because he had to put up with them.

Once we got home, they still continued to be inconsiderate, talking loudly as if it weren’t midnight and other people weren’t asleep already.  I had to take another deep breath and remind myself that there was only one more day...

El Fin De Semana en La Selva La Merced - (The weekend in the Jungle La Merced)

Sorry I haven't posted a blog in awhile.  I was in the jungle the whole weekend and yesterday was busy busy.

We were supposed to leave the house at 6 in the morning on Saturday, so I woke up a bit after 5.  Mabel didn't start breakfast until after 5:30, so we ended up leaving after 6.  We all packed into two cars.  Leslie, the two girls from Wellesley, Charlene and Cassie, and I were in one car.  I picked that car because it had stickers on it saying, "Drago Dorado," or the "Golden Dragon."  I really wanted to ride in the golden dragon.  :)  Leslie's Aunt Haydee, Doane, and the couple from Sweden, Simon and Nora, were in the other car.

I fell asleep for most of the car ride down to Tarma, a city outside of La Merced.  We ate lunch there.  I got lomo saltado al jugo.  It was almost like a soup of lomo saltado, with beef, onions, and tomatoes.  It was a little bit chilly, so it was exactly what I needed!

Lomo saltado al jugo.

After Tarma, we were supposed to go to a waterfall that you get to by hiking through water.  It started pouring rain though, so we planned to go on Sunday instead.  I remember waking up after being stopped by officials guarding the border to the jungle.  They were asking for identification, but Leslie said all they really wanted was money.  She said they were trying to prevent people from going in to kidnap children.  After that we were back on our way.

We made our way to a botanical garden named "El Jardin Perezoso" or "The Lazy Garden."  This old man with a machete was our guide.  He spoke in Spanish and then Leslie would translate.  There were so many interesting plants there.  Some of them were familiar since they grow in the US, like the pink and red ginger plants.  There was a type of plant with large leaves that they use to make roll up jungle food called juanes.  They had some plants that were named for what their leaves looked like, like the deer hoof, frog feet, mother-in-law's tongue, and Adam's ribs.  We got to climb up into a small bungalow about midway through and you could see over a good portion of the garden.  There were two trees that the old man cut with his machete.  One of them looked like milk was seeping out of it and the other looked like it was bleeding.  The one that looked as if were bleeding was called sangre de grado.  I bought a bottle of the liquid that comes from the tree later because it has antiseptic properties.

The tree that looks like it's bleeding when you cut it.

We also got to see swarms of ants and termites as well as pools filled with huge snails.

A huge snail.

They had a bunch of stones laid out that looked like different parts of the body and other shapes.  One of them looked like a brain, another a skull, and many other shapes.  There were also lots of fruits and edible things around.  We got to try the fruit from the cacao plant and also were able to pick some star fruit.

Our guide giving us a taste of cacao.  You can see his machete stuck in the ground in the background down from his left hand.

We also got to see beans and coffee beans growing.  We kept laughing at Haydee because she kept getting things in her hair.  First it was a small yellow spider and then various leaves.  Doane kept teasing her and looking at her hair like there was something in it even if there wasn't.  It was a really fun visit.

After the botanical garden we went to the Bayos waterfall.  We had to hike a bit to get to the waterfall.  It was pretty impressive once we got to it.

Me at the Bayos waterfall.  My hair was super crazy because of the humidity.  Haha!

Doane was the only one brave enough to go into the water and go under the the waterfall.  He said it looked even better underneath it, seeing the water coming at you.  He said the water was coming down pretty strong, but it didn't hurt.

The Bayos waterfall.

He tried to climb up on the rock a bit, but it was too slippery.  Leslie said that during summer months when there isn't as much water, you are able to climb up the rock.  There was a stand that sold various drinks and snacks that looked very tropical.  There was also a grill there where they were frying up bananas and sausages to sell.

The tropical snack bar.

When we walked back to our car, we weren't sure if we were going to be able to leave because a huge bus promoting one of the political candidates had gotten stuck in the mud, blocking the road.  There were men trying to get the front wheel out of the mud.

The political bus stuck in the mud.

Our taxi drivers ended up going around the bus on the other side.  It was sort of terrifying to watch because if they had driven too far to the left, they would have gone off a giant cliff.  We managed to get by the bus though and were back on our journey.

Doane and two men from the bus pushing the car through the mud around the bus.

Next we went to dinner at El Shamuray.  I got la parillada de zamaño, which was grilled jungle guinea pig.  It came with yuca (cassava) and fried bananas.  I also got starfruit juice.  I thought I was just getting a glass of it, but I got a whole pitcher.  Leslie and Haydee got guanabana juice and I liked it better than the one I got.  It was frothy and sweet.

Zamaño, zuca, and bananas.  Yuuuum!!!  If you look closely you can see that the zamaño still has hair on it!!!  :)

We went to the native community of Pampamichi to sleep in bungalows.

One of the bungalows at Pampamichi and the Golden Dragon in the foreground.  :)

They prepared our beds with mosquito nets above each bed.

Our beds in Pampamichi.  The green one with stars and moons on it was mine!!!  We had to tuck the netting under our matresses to keep the bugs out!!!

The only bathroom they had was a good walk through the grass away from our bungalows.  It felt like a step above camping.  Doane, Simon, and Nora bought some of the native liquor called 7 raices or 7 roots and there was also another bottle, but no one can remember what it was called.  I'll have to ask Leslie.  Some of the people who were helping us at the bungalows, made a big fire with dried palm fronds.

Our big bonfire!!!  They made a second one next to it after completing this one.

 Leslie told Doane to jump over the fire, so he did.  After he did it once everyone wanted to take pictures so he had to do it four or five times.  I was really tired, so I ended up going to sleep instead of staying up to drink around the fire with the others.  At 4 AM our bungalow woke up because Charlene got sick and was throwing up over the railing on the bungalow.  She was saying she was numb, but after awhile she calmed down.  They got me up to help translate between Leslie and Charlene.  Leslie knows English pretty well, but they still were having language barriers.  Charlene wanted to go back to Huancayo, but she ended up staying.

It had been raining hard all night and when we got up in the morning, Leslie said she didn't think we'd be able to go to the waterfall still because it wasn't safe when there was too much water since we would have to hike through water to get there.  We had been planning to do some native dancing at 8 in the morning, but the rain and Charlene's sickness held us up a bit.  While we were waiting, Haydee and I were watching the roosters, chickens, and chicks hopping around the bungalow.  One of the roosters had woken us up again at about 6 in the morning.  We watched as the chicks followed their mother across the lawn and the father watched them go.

The chicken, chicks. and rooster family.

We finally all piled into the cars minus Charlene, to drive down the road to where we were going to dance.  We drove because it was still pouring rain.  It was already almost 10 by the time we got there and I was really hungry.  I didn't have the energy to participate much in the dancing.  They put us in native dress and painted our faces with a bit of red paint.  They only put a red line on each cheek.  This man came out and spoke to us about the community and then he and some of the other natives danced.

The native dancers at Pampamichi.

After they danced, they invited us to dance.  When the dancing stopped, they brought out some parrots for people to hold and take pictures with.  Next we went to look at the artesenia they had for sale.

After dancing, we packed up the cars and drove to go eat what was by that time lunch.  I had chicharrones and fried camotes.  It was meat with fried sweet potatoes.  I also had guanabana juice since I had liked it so much the night before.

Chicharrones y camote frito.

Next we went to Chanchamayo Highland Coffee.  A man there told us about their products before he let us go around the tables where they had all the products set up.  He said that Chanchamayo is at the perfect altitude for growing coffee.  We got to taste all of the different jellies that they make from fruits from the jungle.  We also tasted fruit juices, liquor, and coffee.  We all picked out several things to buy after we had tasted everything.  They were also selling soft coffee candies that were absolutely delicious.  This was the place that I bought the sangre de grado that looked like blood coming from the tree at the botanic garden.  I ended up putting it on some of the bug bites I got on my legs while we were in the jungle and it helped me out some.  When we were done with our purchases we went outside to see the views and look at the plants they had growing around the building.

The view from the Chanchamayo Highland Coffee building.

One of the workers there was telling us what some of the fruit on the trees were.  He gave me a tangerine and said it was good even though it was still green.  After that the others were picking fruit from the trees.

Haydee in front of some of the plants outside of the coffee place.

Next we went to Zhaveta Yard in Chanchamayo to see butterflies, other animals, and jungle plants.  Our guide was the cutest.  He must have been about ten, but he seemed much more mature.  He knew all about everything in the place and was telling jokes about them left and right.  He put the leaves of a plant called elephant ears around his face and you could tell he knew he was adorable.

Our guide at the Zhaveta Yard in Chanchamayo.  This is him with his elephant ears.

He asked anyone else if they wanted to do it so I did and some of the other girls did as well.  He showed us butterflies that were in their chrysalis and some of them look like they are made of silver or gold.  He showed us a lot of the same plants we had seen in the botanic garden.  One of them he picked up and asked someone to tough it.  Leslie touched it and said that it was prickly.  After that he said it was the most poisonous plant there.  Apparently it's only poisonous if it more mature and firmly attached to the roots.  He said the ones he had picked up were new and that he had easily kicked them off of the root.  There were a bunch of animals in cages, too.  We saw tortoises and alligators, zamaños, cuptes, and a lot of other jungle animals.  One of the tortoises had flipped over, so he went in the enclosure to turn it over and it started to bite his boot.  He was telling the tortoise that he was ungrateful because he had helped him and now he was biting him.  :)  When we were finished, we lay down in hammocks for a bit and then went to look in their store.

We went to eat dinner after that.  I had chicharron de zungaro with maracuya sauce and fried yuca.  I just looked up what zungaro is and I think it is a type of catfish.  There was some spicy aji there and everyone was impressed that I didn't think it was that hot.  I was eating it with the yuca.  I had wanted ketchup, but apparently they didn't have any and had tried to get it from a nearby store but couldn't find it anywhere.  I thought it was funny that they had gone looking for it.

Zungaro in maracuya sauce, yuca, and cocoma fruit juice.  You can see the aji in the metal dish in the back right.

It was getting really late by the time we set off again.  We were headed for Huagapo where the biggest cave in South America is located.  I was singing eighties songs that the driver had on for awhile.  Leslie and I were having fun laughing at all the bumps we were going over in the road.  Some of them the taxi driver wasn't prepared for and we would fly up from our seats.  I hit my head a couple of times on the roof of the car.  I was trying not to worry too much about our driver passing other cars or going around fallen rocks.  I fell asleep after awhile and we arrived at the cave around 9.

The sign for the cave in Huagapo.

We could go to the cave at night because you need flashlights even in the daytime.  There were three people who guided us through the cave.  I had thought we were just going to be walking straight back into a cave, but we had to climb up steps, ladders, and then ropes to get to the furthest spot we could get to before it got really dangerous. After the point we went to, there was a lot of water and they said only professionals could go there.  At one point someone dropped a flashlight and it went down a hole.  The guide said he would get it on the way back, but Doane ended up going to get it.  Once he got down there, he saw that a few feet away from him was a massive drop.  We threw him the rope we were using to climb up to the next place in the cave so that he could get up more easily.  The guides showed us many rock formations that have formed over many years.  There were lions, alpacas, people, the Virgin Mary, the Pope, and a lot more.

The lion rock formation in the cave in Huagapo.

There was also a rock formation that echoed and sounded like a drum when you pounded on it.  Once we got to the furthest point possible, the guide asked for everyone to turn off their flashlights.  It was really scary to be in pitch black in the cave with steep drops nearby.  They said if you were quiet and listened really well, you could hear the footsteps of the Incas who used to use the cave.  I was really happy when they turned the flashlights back on.  It was quite an adrenaline rush to be walking around in the near darkness, scaling walls and repelling down them.

Simon climbing up part of the cave in Huagapo.

It was enjoyable, but I was thankful to be back out in the open afterwards.

We didn't finish the cave until about 10:30 and we were all exhausted.  I woke up a few times on the ride home.  Once the way we were going was blocked by a barricade, so the driver had to back up out of the narrow street and go another way.  I woke up again and they had gone the wrong way, so we were on our way back to Tarma.  He had to turn around again.  The next time I woke up our driver was changing the right front tire.  He changed it really quickly, but I couldn't help thinking that I hoped he didn't blow another tire because then what would we do?  The last time I woke up, I recognized where we were because it was the way Lauren and I had ridden every day on the way back from Concepcion.  I tried to rest, but I was so ready to get home and jump in the shower.  I'd been in the same clothes for two days without a shower, hiking through mud and rain and dirt.  I felt really stinky and gross.  I was so happy to get the first shower and wash away all of the dirt.  It was already 2 in the morning by the time we got back home.  I was completely exhausted and wasn't sure if I'd be able to wake up in time for school on Monday.  It was a LONG weekend.  Long but rewarding.  :)