A little Thanksgiving, a lot of learning

Thanksgiving came and went with little attention here in Peru, but Catherine and I managed a mini celebration. We cooked for the first time in our apartment and I am pretty proud of our Peruvian Thanksgiving Dinner. We cooked chicken, carrots and peas, and made mashed potatoes. We also each had a roll and split a mini apple pie from the bakery where we work. We were most thankful to have each other, even though we missed celebrating with our families. Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes and for the mail. I am putting all the mail I receive on a wall in our apartment as a reminder of the great support we have. Catherine and I are both still exploring and learning about both work sites. We had found that she is most comfortable at the hogar and I really enjoy the atmosphere at the bakery. We spend four days a week at our respective sites and one day at the other to keep up the relationships that we are building. I am learning, little by little, how the make all the breads and pastries at the bakery. The guys are extremely patient with me and they tell me that by the end I'm going to be an expert baker (this has yet to be seen). I also spend a lot of time in the store, helping the tourists who don't speak Spanish. My favorite things to do, though, is to just sit and talk with everyone. I give English lessons in flour in the kitchen, talk about life in the United States to the girls, and answer lots of questions, some easy, how many siblings do I have, others more difficult, what has motivated me to come here, and, of course, the most popular question of them all, am I single. Everyone says I look much older than I really am and think that I am already married with kids. I am affectionately known to some as Mega, which is what my name can sound like with a Spanish accent. It is interesting because the supermarkets here are all called Megas so people think that we share the same name. I have to explain, many, many, times, that no, my name is Meghan, but yes is it funny how they both sound the same. Christmas celebrations are about to start up and my first event is a Christmas party with all the other lay workers from the three sites. We have secret friends and everything even though I don't have a clue what to get mine. Pretty soon it will be time to start decorating the bakery and the Christmas season will be in full swing, which I love. Catherine and I have already put up our Christmas tree, a wonderful 3D masterpiece made entirely of green construction paper. I will put up pictures soon of our decorations, they are fabulous! Hope everyone is doing well and I appreciate all the e-mails and mail, it's keeps me going on those not so easy days. Lots of love!

When the shower does`t work, you can`t find the tape, and laundry becomes exercise.

There are times when things happen and you can just see the irony in them, see how it is a metaphor for your life. My time in Cusco has brought on many feelings of insecurity, an unfamiliarity with my surroundings and a general feeling of being lost that can be summed up in one or two experiences. We wanted tape to hang things on the wall. Now at home, all I would have to do is go to my kitchen an get some. If it wasnt there, I knew probably at least 10 places where I could go and buy some, very easily. In Cusco, Peru, however, things are a little different. First we tried to call people to see if they could tell us where to buy tape, however, no one answered. Then our landlady came back, and said that she would show us to a place where we could get some. However, we get there and they dont sell it. So Catherine and I are standing there, in the rain, with no idea where to go to find tape. That is the story of my life right now...no idea where to find the simplest things, no idea where to go. Not even a clue if I should turn left or right because nothing is familiar. The other night Catherine went to take a shower, and the water wouldnt turn on. Further investigation showed that we had no running water at all. The thing is that these things are going to happen, more often then we might expect, and its a shock at first. We did our laundry for the first time and I think I burned all the calories I consumed during that day scrubbing each individual sock. That is going to be a daily event. Everything I am learning starts from the very beginning. Learning how to take orders in the bakery, how to help make the bread in the kitchen, where to walk the girls to school begins with a blank slate. So right now you can find me in Cusco, Peru, constantly searching for tape.

What is going on with me!

I have been writing a lot about what I have learned, so I thought I do a little about what I have been doing and how I have been feeling. I have learned how to take the bus to the Hogar, but I havent managed to get get off the bus gracefully once. I always bump my head and hit someone with my backpack. These are mini buses and they cram as many seats into them as they can so its difficult to move without bumping into someone. We have also learned where the supermarket it, where we can go to change our money, where to buy phone cards, and where to send mail. We live very close to the central plaza in Cusco that is surrounded by churches on two sides and restaurants and stores on the other. It is very pretty at night with all the lights. When we arrived in our apartment, it hit me that this was going to be my home for the next two years and that was scary. It is difficult to adjust to a new place and its daunting because you think you will never get and will be lost forever. I know little by little we will both learn our way around the city and even make a couple of friends. Catherine and I get along very well and it is nice to have soemone to share your experience with and who is also going through similiar things. The city is so beautiful and the people are extremely nice, so we know we can always turn to someone when we need something, which happens a lot. I am excited to get to know the programs better and to be able to participate in everything that goes on. We are getting Spanish classes, which are very helpful. Being around the girls also helps me to put perspective on things, because I konw they have been through so much in their short lives. Knowing that I can help to take some of that pain away, even for a little while, is motivating. They are always willing to play and talk, so I know I will have a friend in them.

The Girls Home

The other site placement that we have is a girls home about a 20 minute bus ride from our apartment. It is called the Hogar del Buen Pastor, so I will refer to it as the Hogar from now on. They have over 50 girls betwen the ages of 6 and 19. There are 3 what they call pavillions that have dormitories where the girsl sleep. It is usually about 6 girls in a room. In the morning the girls wake up and makes their beds and make sure there rooms are clean. After that they have a knitting/crocheting workshop followed by a sewing workshop. Then they get washed up and ready for school and eat lunch together. After that they go to school from 1-6. Then they return and eat dinner and do nighttime activities. They also have weekly meetings with a psychologist and receive help with their homework. There are also lots of other activities that go on like trips on the weekends. Also on the grounds are two buildings for the ceramics workshop that is for people form a surrounding who come on Saturdays to make things like plates and cups to sell. The sisters also live on the grounds in another pavillion with a chapel. There is also a playground, a basketball court, and a large field where they are growing potatoes. The sisters also have a snack bar about 10 minutes away from the Hogar that sells juice and coffee in the morning and drinks and salchipapas (french fries with fried hot dog on top) during the week and other foods on Saturday. The older girls work there everyday. They also work in the kitchen at the Hogar helping to prepare lunch and dinner. There are also social workers and educators on staff everyday to help the girls with whatever they might need. Catherine and I will have the chance to participate in all the activities here as well. We are both excited to see what we will be able to do in the years to come.

The Bakery

Catherine and I are in what we like to call the orientation phase. We are exploring both work sites until the end of December before we decided where we want to be permanently. We set up a schedule that started yesterday. I will go to the bakery alone on Mondays and Wednesdays, and we will go together on Tuesdays. She will go to the girls home alone on Mondays and Wednesdays and we will go together on Thursdays. Then she goes to the bakery alone on Friday and I got to the girls home. So far we have learned a lot about what goes on in each bakery. In the bakery there are girls ages 16 to 21 who live adjacent to the bakery. It is all one big complex. There are also guys who some every morning to help to the baking. The head chef is named Willy and he recently won an award in Argentina in a baking competition. The gisl who live there have been placed there by Peru`s child services. They all go to school and most of them are in university. When they are not working in the bakery, they are studying or at school. They also have specific jobs around the complex. Girls are in charge of the inventory of all the ingrdients, going to the market every Saturday, the tool closet, cleaning, etc. The money that the bakery makes helps to pay for their education. All they keep asking for are English classes, so that will be one of the things we will do once we get settled. Also they would like classes in computers. They have their vacation from january to March, so during that time there is a lot of opputunity to do workshops, go on trips, and other activities. We will be involved in almost every aspect of the bakery form baking to selling to cleaning. We will also probably be spending free time with them as well. As much as I don`t really like to bake, I am fascinated by people who can. They make really delicious pies, sweet bread, regular bread, and other tasty treats and it is amazing just to watch. Hopefully they will have the patience to deal with my ineptness in the kitchen.

Cusco - The Beginning

I have been in Cusco for almost two days now and it's a little crazy to think that this is going to be my home for the next two years. Catherine and I received very warms welcomes from everyone. The altitude here has made me a litle quesy and lightheaded but it will pass soon. On our first day here we rested for a little while and then went to both the bakery and the girls home where we will be working. The had a mass at the bakery and we met a lot fo the girls who live there. Then we went to the girls home where they had a celebration prepared for us. All the girls did dances and sang songs and we sat at a table of honor under a sign that said welcome Meghan and Catherine. It was a lot of fun and we even did a little dancing with girls after it was over. We are trying to learn the bus system and where the grocery store is, but it's going to take a while. Our apartment is really nice and is perfect for our time here. It has all mini furniture though, which makes for some comical moments. We also visited some Incan ruins that were very interesting. Things here are a little overwhelming right now and I know it's going to take some time to adjust. Two years seems like a really long time but I am excited for all the new experiences that are going to come. Tomorrow we start Spanish classes, so that will be helpful. Hope everyone is doing well and I miss you tons!

Adventures in Lima

Well...I've finally made it after months of waiting! Peru is a beautiful country and I am very excited to get to know more about it. We got into Cusco yesterday after spending a couple of days in Lima. Lima is a very busy city with lots os cars, buses, and pollution. We had a whirlwind couple of days. We stayed at a volunteer house in a really nice part of the city and spent most of our time seeing the different programs that the sisters have in Lima. We visited Pino, a very poor town built into the side of a mountain. There the sisters have what seemed like a hundred different things going on. They have a center up on the hill that has a library, a place for the kids to stufy, computers, a game room with a t.v., a foosball table, and a card making workshop where the kids make cards from recycled material. They also have a office at the bas eof the hill where they have a t-shirt making workshop, sewing materials, and also support groups for women, homosexuals and transexuals, and youth. I was really amazed by the card-making operation. The sisters provide the blank cards and then the kids cut out scenes and paste them on. Right now they are in Christmas mode making cards with candles, the nativity scene and gifts bags with snowmen. They turn out really beautiful. We also visted a home the sisters have for young mothers and their children call Reina de la Paz. There must have been over 30 babies and toddlers there all with mothers between the ages of 11-17. They also have a girls home for girls who have been removed from there homes due to abuse or neglect. I was really impressed with all the programs because they provided educational support and also a way for the residents to make money and be able to support themselves. That is an important philosophy of the sisters, to help the populations they serve be able to support themselves. We also got to do a little site-seeing in downtown Lima, which was nice . We saw the central plaza with the national cathedral and the president's house. Lima was a nice little stop, but Cusco is really where I wanted to get to. In Lima I felt like a tourist but Cusco will be much different.