After several days of travel (a 9-hour bus ride followed by a taxi to the airport, and then our delayed flight), we have finally made it to the Inca capital of Cuzco. Our first day was eventful - good eats, wandering streets and meeting all the warm and welcoming cusqueños. We will be spending five days in this magical and historic city. According to our local tour guide, Puma, the city is designed in the shape of the Puma, one of the most important symbols of the Inca religion. During our visit we will be living with Sara and Oscar in their beautiful and spacious home just outside of the city centro and taking classes in the afternoon on Inca and Peruvian history and culture. Our class themes include Inca legends and history, Peruvian gastronomy, music, weaving, and much more. Neither of us are particularly suffering from the dreaded altitude sickness often experienced by newcomers to Cusco, but Katie´s stubborn cold lives on. We are currently sitting in the beautiful seaside town of Huanchaco which serves as the home base of the NGO Otra Cosa Network. We have spent two wonderful days here learning about the local community and the great work that Juany, Peter, Alton and Laura (as well as all of the volunteers) are doing here. We have been warmly welcomed by all we have met. Friday morning we visited a local high school, Dean Saavedrall with whom we hope to start a pen pal campaign. Additionally we were able to visit several of OCN project sites including a primary school, daycare, sewing class, community center and skate park. We were very impressed by all the great work being done as well as the energy and compassion of all those working with OCN. We are happy to have found a great volunteer program to share with our students and teachers back in Chicago. During our stay in Huanchaco we also had time to play tourists riding on the local transport of motos, walking along the beautiful beach and getting to know the city by foot with Juany and Laura. Sadly Katie has taken a little ill and spent most of the morning in bed. Luckily she was able to make it out to the Ruins of Chan Chan which are just outside the city limits. Chan Chan is the largest pre-Colombian city in South America and was constructed around 850 AD. Alton with OCN made a great guide as we lost ourselves in the splendor of this historic city. We head back to Lima tonight and fly to Cuzco. Now we are off to see the local beach market here in Huanchaco before the long bus ride. Saudos a todos. Today we visited Liceo Naval a pre-K thru secondary school in the heart of Lima. We met with administration to discuss ways of connecting our Payton classrooms with those at Liceo. We also toured the school, shared information and pictures from Payton. We left our meeting excited about the possiblity of connecting our language students during the upcoming school year. After our visit to Liceo Naval we ventured over to the Larco museum where saw ceramics and artensay spanning pre-inca through colonial times. At a local restaurant we were able to try the traditional dish of lomo saltado, muy rico. Next we are off to the bus station for the eight hour bus ride to Trujillo to meet with representatives from the NGO Otra Cosa Network. Hasta pronto. Que lindo el Lima!: Today we set off early to explore the downtown historic center with a private tour guide, Guillermo, who was especially friendly and down-to-earth, humorous too as he added personal anecdotes to many of the places we visited. The highlight was the catacombs underneath the church of San Francisco which date back over 500 years and store the remains of more than 25,000 people. A most fascinating and eerie experience! We also visited the church of Santo Domingo, very well preserved with an impressive array of Flamencan religious painting, as well as relics of revered locals saints Santa Rosa de Lima, San Martín de Porres and San Juan Macías. We also visited the Museo de Gastronomía and learned all about Peru´s thriving agriculture and more than 600 mouthwatering dishes. After the museum our hungry stomachs promptly directed us to Pez Amigo, a local Pescadería that specializes in ceviche. For dinner un amigo peruano, Mario, took us out to dine at a fabulous Peruvian-Japanese fusion restaurant. In true Peruvian fashion, all the waitstaff and cooks we´re excited to share with us their flavorful, unique dishes. ¡Hasta mañana! Traveling: Here we are in Ft. Lauderdale anxiously awaiting our flight to Peru, 5 hours away from the first stop on our jounrey. We are excited to explore the nation´s capital of Lima. We know 20 days of learning and adventure await us. Here´s our action-packed itinerary. Part 1 - Lima, La capital: We´ll spend the first few days of our journey visiting the major sites of Lima and sampling all its culinary delights. We will also visit with Liceo Naval Almirante Guise, a public high school located in the San Borja neighborhood of Lima, to discuss with our classes in Chicago. Part 2 - Trujillo, Community Outreach: We will then journey north to the colonial city of Trujillo to meet with a non-profit organization, Otra Cosa Network, to learn more about the programs and services they are providing to the community, as well as learn more about this historic, seaside city. Part 3 - Cusco, Legacy of the Inca: Next we venture to the awe-inspiring city of Cusco where we will take classes on Inca civilization and Peruvian culture. Class themes include textiles and weaving, Inca legends, gastronomy and an introduction to Quechua, all of which will be accompanied by guided tours of related sites, such as the textile museum, the Sacred Valley and the Mercado Central. Part 4 - Machu Picchu, The Epic Trek: Our journey continues with a magestic 4-day hike to Machu Picchu via the Lares trail, which passes through colorful villages as well as a number of hot springs. We will camp during the night and rise early to hit the trail. We look forward to treking through the Andes and getting to know its people. Part 5 - Lima, Take Two: Our trip concludes with 4 well-spent days in Lima where we will explore the country´s vast capital of 8 million inhabitants. |
Srta. Gallegos and Srta. Long
Katie Gallegos and Colleen Long, Spanish teachers at Chicago's Walter Payton College Prep and 2012 Fund for Teachers Fellows. ArchivesCategories
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