What I Wouldn't Give....

....for some quiet. I realized today, that since our return to Lima, there has not been even a moment of silence. My ears are under constant assault. The roar of traffic is incessant – louder during the day than at night, but it never quiets completely. There are perpetual car alarms, police sirens, multitudes of barking dogs and honking horns, as well as voices and music. Even my sleep is restless and anxious, I think because my brain is never lacking input. Ear plugs don’t help. The noise is never ending. I’m a little homesick and longing for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, but most of all I’m craving silence. 

Volunteer Activities

The last couple of days have gone by quickly. With all the new volunteers arriving over the weekend, it has been pretty crazy. And for a group that is technically older than most that we’ve worked with before, there is WAY too much DRAMA. Fortunately, our room is located in sort of an annex that is mostly used for storage and we only have two neighbors over here. Good place to escape the turmoil.

Yesterday we got to see what a full day looks like at Los Martincitos. We served breakfast – sardine sandwiches- which I could barely stomach in the morning, did mounds of dishes, served lunch and washed more mounds of dishes. In between the meals, the eight volunteers worked with different groups of abuelos. Some helped in physical therapy, others in the craft room or the literacy program where they teach Spanish since most of the abuelos speak Quechua.  Larry chopped and chopped and chopped vegetables for their delicious looking lunch. I was in the game room and wanted to play musical chairs, but got snagged to bag dried beans into individual serving size bags and spent much of the morning in the storeroom with a scoop.

Today I did home visits with Sister Jackie again. I just can’t bring myself to take pictures of their homes. It’s not as bad as I expected, but I can assure you that you would rather be dead than live where they do. Crumbling walls, dirt floors, no real roof and often no electricity. Forty percent of the population in Lima lives on less than $2/day for a family of four. There’s no heat in the homes and they are cold and damp since the sun comes out only a few months of the year. I didn’t realize that Lima is actually a desert. And Villa El Salvador is built on a gigantic sand dune, so very little grows there and it is very dusty and dirty. I’ve had a headache most of the time from the dust and the diesel fumes.

So for a change of scenery, we went back to the mall this afternoon. It’s about a 15 minute walk from our house, across from the university. It is very American-the stores, restaurants and brands are almost all American. We counted seven gelato places. Since there is no Thanksgiving to get in the way, all the Christmas decorations have been up all month, which seems very strange. But they are planning a special Thanksgiving dinner for us on Thursday minus the cranberries and pumpkin since those don’t grow in Peru and apparently aren't available.

Taxi Terror

Sat am traffic

Lima has done nothing to quell my fear of taxis. I thought traffic was bad in LA, Cairo and Boston, but I have NEVER seen anything like Lima. I ride backward in the van on the way to placement so I don’t have to see where we’re going. Getting in a taxi where there are no rules, you don’t speak a word of the language and you just have to hope your driver is taking you where you want to go is more than enough to cause hyperventilation and nausea.

Taximoto

But there are no alternatives to taxis in Lima. They tell us getting on a bus is a sure way to get robbed and a taximoto is a sure way to die. So you’re left with a taxi. It doesn’t help that I heard today that a licensed taxi driver in Ariquepa kidnapped tourists for ransom this week. So if I want to go somewhere, I have to take a taxi and hope for the best.

This afternoon we wanted to go exploring. That requires a taxi. And the ability to tell the driver where you want to go.  And then how to get home. And the ability to ensure you’re not getting stiffed on the fare. Almost enough to keep me from going out. But we got lucky today. Our drivers were honest and adept at maneuvering traffic. We made it to our destination in record time.

Barranco church

We spent the afternoon in Barranco, a seaside district of Lima known for its old Spanish style buildings, nice market and oceanview bars. The sun came out and it was quite warm; a nice change from the chilly, dreary days in Lima so far. We walked down to the beach and back up all the steps to the square.

We shopped around at the market and I added another purse to my collection. At this rate, I may return home with the world’s largest collection of purses.

Ten more volunteers arrive tonight and another twelve or so on Sunday. The peace and quiet of the house will soon be over. By this time tomorrow this place will be a zoo!

Barranco market

Lake Titikaka and the Floating Islands

Lake Titikaka is the highest lake in the world. Most places you will see it spelled with “c”s, but the correct spelling in Quechua is with “k”s as I have done here. We boarded a boat for a three hour trip to explore the lake and its islands.

Our first stop was one of the floating islands. These islands are made of reeds and are inhabited by people who consider themselves to be from a pre-Incan culture. They showed us how they maintain the island by layering the reeds and how it is anchored so they don’t float into Bolivia. Their homes are made of reeds and so are their boats. They support themselves with crafts that they make and sell. We sailed in the reed boat over to another island.

Then we returned to our regular boat and headed to Isla de Taquile where there are no roads or even bicycles. Just 500 steps to the top and the town square. We climbed half way up and stopped for a delicious lunch, then made our way to the top, passing several children herding their sheep along the way. 

On our way down, school let out and we passed groups of children on their way home. Even on this distant island, some of the children had their noses stuck in video games as they navigated the treacherous steps home. 

You can read about the food we've enjoyed on the trip, such as the fabulous lunch on Isla de Taquile, at Tastemonials.www.tastemonials.net

Chinchero

Last Sunday, we drove again through the Andean farming country to visit another weaving cooperative at Chinchero.  Along the way, we travelled through herds of sheep and cattle. We saw one woman dressed in traditional attire, sitting on the hillside knitting, while she tended her sheep.

The weaving cooperative at Chinchero was started in 1996 and represents a different 9 communities and weaving traditions from the ones we visited at Amaru. We were greeted warmly as they covered rock walls with woven blankets for us to sit on. Then they served us a cup of coca tea. This tea is good for preventing altitude sickness and we have consumed large quantities.  I hope no one has to take a drug test in the near future!

The ladies demonstrated their backstrap weaving and dyeing techniques. They were dress exquisitely and wore stockings and lace petticoats under their colorful skirts. Each one wore an embroidered blouse, a vest and an elaborately beaded and embroidered jacket. In our broken Spanish (they actually speak Quechua) we learned that their husbands do the embroidery on their clothing by machine. They also showed us how to wrap the bundles, including babies, that they carry on their backs all day and continue their work of knitting, weaving, farming or herding. Amost every Andean woman always has a bundle on her back.

Protest March

For certain, this volunteer role is not like what we’ve done before in Brazil. Today, after serving the abuelos breakfast and quickly washing the dishes, our job was to help them participate in a march and rally protesting violence against women and children. I don’t read much Spanish, but I’m pretty sure there were also reproductive rights included as well, although that was not mentioned when I asked Sister Jackie what we were marching for or against.

We started in a park and walked for an hour and a half. This is quite an undertaking for these elderly people, some of whom were only wearing slippers, instead of real shoes. There were a variety of organizations represented, including several large groups of children. Everyone carried signs and banners, sang and clapped as we made our way to a plaza in front of the police station.

There was considerable police presence and apparently the female police officers of the neighborhood were also organizers of the rally. There is a police station that is only women since for so long the male police officers were part of the problem. Officers blocked the road to ensure that no one interfered with the march, although one asked what the march was for – just a job for them, I guess, to protect the marchers since it was apparently sanctioned by the city.

At the end of the march there were speakers, music, singers and dancers. Apparently civil protest combined with music and dance is the norm in much of South America. And by the way, the road is still blocked, five days later, from Juliaca to Puno because the government will not agree to provide the money for road repairs needed in the jungle. Very, very different from our experiences in Brazil.

First Day at Work

We woke up early this morning ready for our first day of volunteering with Cross-Cultural Solutions in Lima. There were only seven volunteers here in the house until we arrived, but a large group starts over the weekend. I am very grateful that we were able to begin our assignment early before the crowd arrives. We learned last week that we will be working at Los Martincitos, a daycare facility for the elderly located in Villa El Salvador.

Villa El Salvador is a planned community where some of Lima’s poorest residents live. Many of the elderly have come from the highlands and do not speak much Spanish and others are neglected by their families. Los Martincitos provides two meals and activities on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sister Jackie makes home visits to check on people who are too ill to attend the program or those who have been missing for a few days.

Since today is Thursday, we spent our first day on the job with Sister Jackie and another volunteer making home visits. I now have an idea of what it must be like for a social worker. Villa El Salvador is a pretty dreary community. Although it is beachfront property, it is extremely dry and dusty, and this time of year there is a damp penetrating chill. Several of the homes we visited had no electricity because they had not paid their bills.

We visited about a dozen elderly residents between 8:30 and 1. It was clearly the highlight of their day to have guests. Houses ranged from spotless to dirt floors with no roof. There were dogs, cats, roosters and grandchildren. Today’s additional goal was to inform the abuelos (as they are called) of a new government subsidy program that needs forms filled out, even though Sister Jackie has little confidence that the program will actually be implemented.

Tomorrow is the last day for two of the volunteers, so we went out to dinner at a fancy restaurant by the ocean in the classy part of Lima. Quite a contrast from how we spent the morning.