work. It was originally planned that Hannah, my fellow SSTer here in Hyo., and I would be working at "comedors" or community kitchens here in the city. I thought the plan was to work at preparing and serving food, or helping with kids at the comedors. But, when I got in last week, I asked my host dad what the plan was for my work, and he knew about as much as I did. We spoke with the local pastor's wife, and Hannah's host mom, and found out that we should start work this Monday. However, last night we went over to Hannah's family's house, and found out that, in fact, it would be another week, on Monday the 10th, that we would be beginning our work. I'm still not positive what we will be doing, but it is possible that we may also begin some English classes for young kids at the comedor.So, since I haven't started my service yet, I've just had a lot of free time to hang out. I've been doing a lot of reading at home, but haven't yet been able to explore the city too much, because I still don't completely know the transportation system. I have had a couple of highlights in my first weekend here in the city.
On Saturday, I went to the nicest park in Huancayo, Parque de la Identidad Wanka (Park of the Wanka Identity, Wanka is the local pre-Hispanic culture) and took some pictures. It is a pretty cool park, that t
ook several years to build, and it definitely a bright spot in the city. The first few pictures in the post are from that visit. After the park, we went to the house of my host mom's sister, Olga, where we had a traditional dish called "pachamanca." It was a really good mix of chicken, beef, potatoes, and green beans, but it was definitely a lot to eat. After eating, we went down to the river that Olga lives near and just sort of hung out and enjoyed the local scenery. In the evening after Olga's house I went downtown with my host parents, Kim and Ruth, and my host dad's cousin, Misial, who also lives with us. We explored the main plaza of Huancayo a little bit and also visited a local artisan's market. Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery at the Parque de la Identidad, so I don't have any pictures of the rest of the day.
ook several years to build, and it definitely a bright spot in the city. The first few pictures in the post are from that visit. After the park, we went to the house of my host mom's sister, Olga, where we had a traditional dish called "pachamanca." It was a really good mix of chicken, beef, potatoes, and green beans, but it was definitely a lot to eat. After eating, we went down to the river that Olga lives near and just sort of hung out and enjoyed the local scenery. In the evening after Olga's house I went downtown with my host parents, Kim and Ruth, and my host dad's cousin, Misial, who also lives with us. We explored the main plaza of Huancayo a little bit and also visited a local artisan's market. Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery at the Parque de la Identidad, so I don't have any pictures of the rest of the day. After a full of on Saturday, we got up bright and early on Sunday and went 
to the local market downtown. We left at about 6:30 am and went to buy rice, fruit, and some other necessary foods. It was amazing how the market is set up - there are small stalls all over the place selling various things, or specialized products like fruit. The market went on for several streets and was pretty packed with people, but my host dad told me tha
t later in the day it would be about five times as busy. When we got home from the market, I made breakfast for my host family - American style pancakes - which they seemed to enjoy. After eating we went to church and then met some of my host dad's family for "parilladas" which is kind of like a Peruvian barbecue. After eating we also played some volleyball, which is a pretty popular local pastime. As I mentioned before, we also went to Hannah's host family's house for a little bit last night as well.
to the local market downtown. We left at about 6:30 am and went to buy rice, fruit, and some other necessary foods. It was amazing how the market is set up - there are small stalls all over the place selling various things, or specialized products like fruit. The market went on for several streets and was pretty packed with people, but my host dad told me that later in the day it would be about five times as busy. When we got home from the market, I made breakfast for my host family - American style pancakes - which they seemed to enjoy. After eating we went to church and then met some of my host dad's family for "parilladas" which is kind of like a Peruvian barbecue. After eating we also played some volleyball, which is a pretty popular local pastime. As I mentioned before, we also went to Hannah's host family's house for a little bit last night as well.
All in all, it was a pretty busy weekend, though my weekdays haven't been quite so eventful. I've been spending most of my time kind of lounging around our small apartment, but I think this week I'll be trying to get most of my work done on my final project, since I don't have to work all week. I'm sure I'll also be doing lots of reading, I just started Catcher in the Rye, and I'll probably get through that pretty quick. Anyway, I'll keep you updated on what I'm up to and I'll let you know what exactly my service work is, just as soon as I start it.
1 comment:
yes, things here are pretty interesting... and quite active. but honestly, i´m jealous of YOUR freetime. i have basically NO free time. i get home around 8.30 pm every night, eat my dinner, and then go straight to bed. i barely have time to read a book or relax, which would be nice.
also, there is so much drama here at the church. i´m planning on writing my next blog about it, but who knows when i´ll get the chance to. it´s pretty frustrating though and i kind of feel like punching a few people.
it was good reading your experience thus far though, even if it is a tad on the boring side. i hope you have work on monday, too! and i´m still missing you!
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