The Adventures of Jennifer

Hello again Asia!

jen625 — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 01:25:00 GMT

Hi everyone,

I arrived safely to Taipei, Taiwan last Friday night, January 21. I think I'm adjusting pretty quickly from the jet lag. Tomorrow, January 23, I will be flying to Hong Kong for a few days.

Keep ya posted!

xoxo

Jen

July 16th - Cusco

jen625 — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:42:00 GMT

Today, in the 3rd/4th grade class, I taught them the colors of the rainbow. I gave each student a paper with a rainbow on it, and had them write the colors in Spanish and English. After we practiced the words, they were placed in groups so that they can share the crayons and color the rainbow accordingly. When they were done, I taught them the "Colors of the Rainbow" song in English. It was fun! The teacher and other volunteers were so amazed at how attentive and engaged the kids were! This is usually the craziest group of kids in the school! And they were even nice to each other and sharing crayons! I was so proud of them.

In the afternoon, Marisa and I went to the Regional Historic Museum and the site museum of Qorikancha. The people of the Inca empire practiced articial cranial deformation. It was done by distorting the normal growth of a child's skull by applying force. Eek. We heard from another volunteer about a great Japanese restaurant at the Plaza and I had to go try it. It was a great night for some warm udon because it was freezing! We went to Kintaro and for a second we didn't feel like we were in Peru anymore. Haha. The owners are Japanese and the food was great! The Peruvian server placed a pair of chopsticks and a fork for Marisa, and just chopsticks for me. We found that hilarious. After dinner, we went to check out the Kamikaze bar.

July 15th - Cusco

jen625 — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:23:00 GMT

Today at school, I helped the 3rd/4th grade class with their math. They seem to like math. At recess, we played with more bubbles and the kids loved playing with the jump ropes. Upon arrival, I'm always greet with hugs and smiles from the kids. Today, when it was time for me to leave, some of the kids wouldn't let me go. They stuck to me like glue! Haha.

Oh the way home, I saw these break dancers in the middle of a major intersection. One of them saw me filming from across the street, waved at me, and walked over to talk to me. He told me that break dancing is not popular in Peru. They were good, so I gave them some money to support the art.

After lunch, the roomies and I joined a Cusco City Tour. The tour was only 12 Soles ($4) and the tour lasted 4.5 hours! It was great! Our first stop was the Temple of the Sun (Qorikancha). Then we went to Sacsaywayan, and learned that the zig zag shape of the rocks represented the puma's teeth. The city of Cusco was designed in the shape of a puma. Pukapukara was used as a military resting place. We ventured onto Tambomachay, where the Inca king would bring his many women and used it as a bath house. This place is also known as a place for fertility ceremonies. Qenqo was known as the Temple of the Mother Earth.

After dinner, we went to check out the Cross Keys bar, Zazu, and more dancing at Mythology.

July 14th - Cusco

jen625 — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:39:00 GMT

I spent the day in the neighborhood of San Blas, and ate at this little place called "Ollas y Suenos". For just 10 Soles, I got like a 5 course meal! Plus, I ate alpaca meat! I was scared at first, but it tasted like beef. It was pretty good. I wish I had my camera, but I didn't have it with me.

My host dad's brother is the director of the Cusco Planetarium, so he arranged a trip for us. Initially, we were thinking that we may only be able to get a group of 8-10 people, but at the last minute, many of the other volunteers seemed interested, and we ended up with like 20 people! It was great!

They took us to their Planetarium in Saqsaywayman. It was freezing! Inside, we turned about the Inca astrology and how important it was to them. In the dome, we viewed the many different constellations. Because we were in the Southern Hemisphere, what we see in the sky is much different from the Northern Hemisphere. Then, we went outside and they had some telescopes set up for us. We viewed various things, including Saturn, and we were able to see the rings of Saturn. With the naked eye, the one constellation that completely stood out was Scorpio. It was so huge and distinct!

July 13th - Cusco

jen625 — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 14:27:00 GMT

Today, we did a few things that were included in our boleto turistico. We went to check out the Monument of Pachacutec, who was the ninth Inca. The museums are are fairly small, so we checked out 2 of them: The Museo Municipal de Arte Contemporaneo and the Museo de Arte Popular.

In the evening, we went to see a performance of Andean dance and live music at the Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo. Later on, we went to a small bar, 7 Angelitos, and saw our friends perform; Guitar, saxophone, trumpet, and and the cajon, which is a kind of box drum. I didn't know it was an Afro-Peruvian instrument. After the jam session, we went to Mythology for more dancing!

Photos: July 14th - Cusco

jen625 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 05:03:00 GMT

Cusco Planetarium

Photos: July 13th - Cusco

jen625 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 04:51:00 GMT

Pachacutec monument, Museo de Arte Popular, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, and Andean dance at Centro Qosqo de Arte Nativo.

July 12th - Cusco

jen625 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:44:00 GMT

On the bus ride to school, the road was in the process of repaving, and so there was some traffic. Our bus decided not to wait, and so we had to get off the bus and walk a mile to the school. Yes, more walking. Today, I brought beachballs for them to play with and bubbles! They loved it. After recess, Bhavika taught the 5th graders how to make paper stars.

After lunch, my roomies decided to stay in because they were both sick, so I went to hang out with some local Peruvian friends.

July 11th - Pisac

jen625 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:30:00 GMT

After a major workout from Machu Picchu, I was looking forward to a day of relaxing at Pisac. Pisac is another town with ruins, but on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, they have the Pisac market where different vendors will set up shop on the streets. Our plan was to go check out the Pisac ruins real quick, then spend our afternoon exploring the market. Man...our plan failed miserably and we didn't know what we actually signed up for.

When we arrived to Pisac, we took a car ride up to the ruins. The driver said he can either meet us back at that area to take us back down to the market, so we can walk through the ruins and head back down the other way and he'll pick us up halfway. We figured that we didn't want to backtrack, so we said to meet us halfway down. After seeing Machu Picchu the day before, the Pisac ruins was amazing, but it just wasn't comparable. We started to make our way down and at some point, we must've gotten lost and missed a turn, because we ended up hardcore trekking it all the way down to the market! We were literally on the side of the mountain making our way down. It took us forever! I'm lucky that I was with my roomies since Jamie is a marine vet and Marisa is an outdoor junkie. Yes, I was definitely the turtle of the group.

By the time we got down to the market, we didn't have much time left to explore the market before it closed. We were starving and we ate at the Blue Llamas. For a 3 course menu, it was only 20 Soles! About $7! All the employees were fixed on the TV watching the World Cup. It's interesting how some of them were rooting for Spain because of the shared language, while others were against them because of the historical colonization.

The Pisac market is definitely a place I would go back to again, but I'll keep the ruins next time.

July 10th - Machu Picchu

jen625 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:12:00 GMT

At 6am, we walked across the street to the bus station. The bus ride took about 25 minutes and we caught some amazing views of the morning fog with the mountains. We arrived and met up with Cat the rest of our tour group. It was really foggy and we couldn't see anything yet. But once it cleared up, the view was breathtaking. I felt so close to the sky as if I was in a snow globe. I don't know if the photos I took can truly translate the spectacular view. We walked up many steps; it was definitely a great cardio workout! I don't know how the Inka people did it. After our tour, we were free to roam around. We found a nice little spot to have a picnic and just chilled. Then, we hiked a trail to the drawbridge, which was not the kind of bridge we expected it to be. We thought it was like a rope bridge that we can walk across, but it was only a wooden platform and it was blocked off since it would have been too dangerous to walk across. It was a nice trail and took us about 1 hour roundtrip.

We headed back to the ruins and I found a nice little area to relax and listen to my iPod. I wanted to fall asleep to see if I'd hae any weird dreams, but after about 30-40 minutes, I was kindly asked by an employee to leave the area since I'm not allow to sleep there. So as I made my way back to the ruins, it started to rain! So everyone started to head towards the exit. But guess what group of people busted out their umbrellas? That's right...the Japanese tourists! Haha. Ok, I admit it. I brought my umbrella, too, but left it in Cusco.

I arrived back in Cusco that night around 10pm, and Marisa and I went to go check out the discotecas (clubs) at the Plaza. It seems like no matter which club you go to, all of them have free salsa lessons before 10pm or 11pm. We checked out the salsa dancing at Mythology, then ahead over to Mama Africa to hear a live reggae band. Peruvians here LOVE reggae music, and I hear the music of Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Sean Paul on the radio all the time. For whatever reason, they also love the theme song to the TV show, "The Wonder Years".

July 9th - Aguas Calientes

jen625 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:47:00 GMT

Jamie & I had to get up early because we were going on our Machu Picchu trip. We were supposed to get picked up from the house at 6am for the train station, but our driver was one hour late and we almost missed our train because of it! You all know that I'm a stickler for punctuality. We were told not to be offended when people are late because that's just how things are in Peru. But that was just ridiculous!

Our driver took us to the Poroy train station which is about 30 minutes away. The train ride was awesome! We sat in the Expedition section with partial rooftop views. The ride took about 3 hours but we were served snacks and refreshments. We arrived in Aguas Calientes, which is a town right below Machu Picchu, and known for their hot springs. Our hotel was just a short walk away from the train station. After checking in, we walked around the plaza and ate at The Tree House Restaurant. Afterwards, we checked out the artisan market and bumped into Cat, who's another volunteer we met. We ate at Chez Maggy's for dinner...yes, more pizza! We stopped by an Internet/dessert cafe since Cat and Jamie wanted to try some sweets. There were moths flying around, and we found this huge white one flying around us. One of the employees catch it and told us that moths in their culture represents sadness and death. I knew my grandma was with me then. We called it a night since we had to get up really early for our Machu Picchu tour.

July 8th - Cusco

jen625 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:38:00 GMT

It is so nice to get up each day and eat breakfast with the roomies and our host dad, Americo, before we go to work. Breakfast usually consists of bread with butter or jam, bananas, cereal with milk or yogurt, and tea.

When I arrived at school today, the kids were already outside playing. Then they were practicing marching for an upcoming parade in celebration of their Independence Day. After recess, Bhavika and I taught an English lesson on "emotions" to the 5th graders. Since she can draw, she drew the facial expressions on the board while I taught the Spanish/English words accordingly. The students copied the words and drawings in their book, and I asked them to show me each facial expression as I snapped photos of them. They loved it! These guys were definitely quick learners!

That afternoon, I found out that my grandma passed away in Taiwan. It was difficult, but I'm grateful to have had the support of my new friends in Peru and the the support from friends back home. I know she would've wanted me to stay in Peru. Thank you all for keeping her in your thoughts.

That night, we went to eat at Los Perros. The food was so good! While hanging out at the plaza, a boy about 9 or 10 years old came up to Jamie and asked her if she wanted to buy finger puppets in English.

She told him, "No, thank you".

Boy: "Why not?" in a pouty tone of voice.

Jamie: "Because I don't want them".

Boy: "Where are you from?"

Jamie: "Africa". Clearly, she's light-skinned and from Texas.

Boy: "Liar".

And we just started cracking up! We told him that he spoke English very well. It's sad to see how kids that are smart and talented here are working as street vendors and bus fare takers. It seems like school may not be a priority for some of them because they need to help their family make ends meet.

In the words of my roomie, "Blame it on the Al-Al-Al-Altitude!". Fortunately, I didn't get any altitude sickness, but I definitely feel the effects of being up this high above sea level. With the ridiculously amount of climbing stairs and walking that I do, I run out of oxygen fairly fast and can't talk and walk at the same time. And the smog/pollution here just stays and lingers so I get exhausted quite easily.

July 7th - Cusco

jen625 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:10:00 GMT

Today was my first day of volunteering at the school. It takes me about an hour to get from my family stay to the Chynchaysuyo School. I have to walk about 30 minutes from the house to the bus stop located on the city's main street, Avenida El Sol. I take the Santa Ana bu, and all the buses come quite frequently. It's only .60 Soles to for bus fare, which is about 20 cents each way. They even have a bus route called "Batman" with the logo, too! The bus ride is about another 30 minutes long and my stop is right at the end of the route, so I don't have to worry about climbing over people to get out of the bus.

The school has about 80 students ranging from Kindergarten to 5th grade, with only about 6 teachers. To my friends in the Education field, you will find this interesting. I was informed previously that at some placements, they may not be well organized and you'll just have to throw yourself in there and interact with the kids without any direction. Two other volunteers work with me, and it was definitely challenging and frustrating at times for us. The teachers of the younger classes didn't seem so welcoming with volunteers, so we only got to play with the little ones during recess. As with any school, there are always students that are more willing to learn than others. In the 3rd/4th grade class, which is taught by the director of the school, is definitely the most rambunctious class. When the teacher leaves the classroom, and she does at times for short to long periods, the kids go loco! When it comes to discipline, the teachers will threaten to hit the kids to get them to behave, but I never actually saw them do it. Before recess, I am usually with this class, and after recess, I'm with the 5th grade class.

Recess/snack time can last anywhere from 30 mins to a little over an hour; again no structure or consistency. I brought my Spanish/English visual dictionary and the kids love it! They love looking at the pictures and learning the words in English. I noticed that some kids wear uniforms and others do not. So it seems as if they are not required, and only those whose parents can afford to buy them wear them.

My other 2 roomies' placements seem more organized. Marisa is at a school playing and coloring with little children. Jamie is working at an all girls orphanage and each morning they have specific activities before their academic lessons: volleyball, ceramics, knitting classes, etc. The girls also learn to bake and those baked items are sold at the El Buen Pastor Bakery in San Blas. All 3 of us usually meet back at the house for lunch before going out to enjoy the rest of the day. That night, we went to the Indigo Bar and hung out with other fellow volunteers.

July 6th continued...

jen625 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:49:00 GMT

That evening, we headed back to the Plaza de Armas. The plaza looks amazing in the day and at night. We tried our first Peruvian pizza at Pizza Marengo. It was delicious! The people here like to put mayonnaise on their pizza, but their mayonnaise is different from ours.

The people are are really friendly. Strangers passing by will greet you with a "Buenos dias", "Buenos tardes", or "Hola", unlike other countries where they don't even acknowledge your existence. It's obvious that Peruvians don't encounter many Asians here, so it's happened a handful of times to me where they will say hello to me, and before they even ask me my name, they ask if I'm Chinese or Japanese say "Konnichiwa". My roomies joked that I should wear my traditional Chinese costume on the streets and asked people for Uno Sole to take photos with me.

We stopped by the famous Jack's Cafe in San Blas and was invited by a local to check out their performance across the street at the La Nomade. We got our hot chocolates to go and went across the street. Amber is Korean who if from San Francisco and lived in the India for a bit. She now lives in Peru. She played an Indian instrument similar to the sitar as well as an Australian indigenious instrument. Fernando is a musician and guitar teacher from Lima. They were great!

Photos: July 11th - Pisac

jen625 — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:44:00 GMT

Photos: July 8th - Cusco

jen625 — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:20:00 GMT

Photos: July 7th - Cusco

jen625 — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:14:00 GMT

Photos: July 6th - Cusco

jen625 — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 06:59:00 GMT

Photos: July 5th - Cusco

jen625 — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 06:38:00 GMT

Photos: July 10th - Machu Picchu

jen625 — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:33:00 GMT

Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu Trip