As you've probably guessed from the title, I am back in Paris!
After a hard month slaving away doing my CELTA course, I am an official English teacher, YIPEE! However, after two weeks of being in Paris, the job hunt continues. Despite being offered some reasonable hours in June during Skype interviews, the face-to-face interview in Paris didn't deliver the hours I'd hoped for.
So Plan B was put into place and I'm currently a babysitter/Egnlish tutor, which is going to pay my monthly rent and travel for the time being....not so bad after all.
I had my 5th interview this morning to be an English teacher. All interviews have gone well, but as with everything in France, I'm waiting impatiently for a response to find out possible contracts and hours. The French are clearly still in post-holiday mode!
I'm trying not to be too impatient but spending my days lolling around waiting for my evening slots of babysitting is nothing short of frustrating.
Let's keep the fingers crossed for some progress next week!
Bisous
Friday, 14 September 2012
Friday, 6 July 2012
Back (for good)
So....it's certainly been a while since my last blog.
What can I say, I've been in the final semester of final year hell.
But fear not, I'm back (for good, as Take That said). Uni is finished and I almost officially have a university degree with graduation in less than two week....hallelujah!!
But now, rather than being inlanguagelimbo, I'm inlifelimbo. After finishing uni, I pretty much increased my hours at work and have been working like a dog ever since, but hey ho, we all need the pennies especially as I'll be jetting back off to Paris at the end of August. Yes, you read correctly, I'm returning to my love, she's expensive but worth every penny. I'll be doing my CELTA teaching course in August back in the pool of life (Liverpool) then heading over afterwards.
I'm so excited but also a bit nervous and anxious as this time as I'll have a proper job and proper responsibilities as a teacher. WAHHH!
Ok, I'm more excited than anything. I'll have my old apartment back which I'll be sharing with my friend Lauren who was on her year abroad in Paris with me back in 2010.
I guess it's going to be a whole new experience though this time around as we'll actually have adult jobs and never have to leave. (unless the French authorities tell us to) YAYYY!
This is why I'm in limbo, I'm not a student, not a graduate and not full-time employed. Sounds like an Alanis Morissette song to me. This in-betweeny stage is weird. Plus this grim weather is not bringing me the beautiful Sheffield summer days I so wished for. Instead, since the day I finished exams, the heavens have not closed! Thanks, Mother Nature!
I'm praying for a little sunshine, as you should too, for my graduation on the 16th. Nobody pulls off the wet dog look do they?!
What can I say, I've been in the final semester of final year hell.
But fear not, I'm back (for good, as Take That said). Uni is finished and I almost officially have a university degree with graduation in less than two week....hallelujah!!
But now, rather than being inlanguagelimbo, I'm inlifelimbo. After finishing uni, I pretty much increased my hours at work and have been working like a dog ever since, but hey ho, we all need the pennies especially as I'll be jetting back off to Paris at the end of August. Yes, you read correctly, I'm returning to my love, she's expensive but worth every penny. I'll be doing my CELTA teaching course in August back in the pool of life (Liverpool) then heading over afterwards.
I'm so excited but also a bit nervous and anxious as this time as I'll have a proper job and proper responsibilities as a teacher. WAHHH!
Ok, I'm more excited than anything. I'll have my old apartment back which I'll be sharing with my friend Lauren who was on her year abroad in Paris with me back in 2010.
I guess it's going to be a whole new experience though this time around as we'll actually have adult jobs and never have to leave. (unless the French authorities tell us to) YAYYY!
This is why I'm in limbo, I'm not a student, not a graduate and not full-time employed. Sounds like an Alanis Morissette song to me. This in-betweeny stage is weird. Plus this grim weather is not bringing me the beautiful Sheffield summer days I so wished for. Instead, since the day I finished exams, the heavens have not closed! Thanks, Mother Nature!
I'm praying for a little sunshine, as you should too, for my graduation on the 16th. Nobody pulls off the wet dog look do they?!
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
2012 is going to be a good year!
2011 was definitely one of the best years ever, travelling and generally loving life but I can feel that 2012 is going to be even better!
It's graduation year which is scary as hell but really excited too! After a long weekend in Paris at the end of January, I am even more encouraged to return after uni. My 5 months stay in 2010 was just not enough! But what to do....?
I've applied for a few things so far, all involving teaching English in Paris, but it's all a waiting game until April :S eeeeek! I've also applied to do a course for teaching English abroad in the summer, to open up even more opportunities....hopefully!!
This week is first week back in lectures and the workload has piled up already...wish me luck!!!!
It's graduation year which is scary as hell but really excited too! After a long weekend in Paris at the end of January, I am even more encouraged to return after uni. My 5 months stay in 2010 was just not enough! But what to do....?
I've applied for a few things so far, all involving teaching English in Paris, but it's all a waiting game until April :S eeeeek! I've also applied to do a course for teaching English abroad in the summer, to open up even more opportunities....hopefully!!
This week is first week back in lectures and the workload has piled up already...wish me luck!!!!
Dum dum duuuuum....final year!
The prospect of a new house and new housemates lessened the dread of coming back for final year, a year that everyone deems as 'hell'. I'm now living with 6 girls from my course in a house-come-flat. We all have our own en-suites but the 7 rooms are spread across 3 floors, it's pretty shweeeeet considering all bills are included, so perfect for freeeeeezing cold Sheffield in the winter months!!
So...where to start?
Freshers week was amazing and exhausting! From day one, as a house, we were all getting on amazingly which is still true today!
HOWEVER, final year really is a bitch, do believe what they say about it! Work, work,work, lack of sleep, more work and some evil essays to do aswel! But sharing that / moaning with your housemates and course mates who are all going through the same, makes it all a bit easier. God knows what I'd do without my uni mates...yer, probably go insane!
Apart from uni, a few crap things happened last semester, my friend not being very well for one, which was hard, you can't help but worry and want to just swish your wand and make them better again. But I'm glad to say that she is all well and good now :)
In November, came some good news!! Apart from FINALLY receiving my student loan (thanks for that one, Student Finance....saracasm definitely intended), I somehow, miraculously, got myself a job as a part-time sales assistant for the xmas period. This did mean a very short 4-day Christmas break at home with my family, but also a nice 'few bob' in my pocket. And even more miraclously...they've offered me a permanent job!
Christmas 2011 was possibly one of the best, and yet shortest, Christmases that I've ever had. The Bartlett sisters were reunited as my sister returned from Oz and obviously, we stook to our Christmas eve tradition of getting drunk (this year maybe a bit TOO drunk) at the local pub. But, after all, that's what Christmas is about...family and getting very drunk with them.
New Year was also a good'un with a few sheff and scouse friends, not to mention, a Parisian visitor :) The night involved cocktails in Revolucion de Cuba (my new favourite bar!), Ring of Fire, lots of party poppers and David tonguing every girl in the room at midnight. Not to forget Caz falling over en route to the Harley at 3am...bless her! Even a very hungover New Years Day consisted of Nandos and cupcakes. 2012 had a great start!!
Final year has kept me away!!
Oh how I have abandoned my blog!
The past few months have not been short of travel, drama, new beginnings and being a busy bee.
Since my last blog, I've returned to the motherland from Peru and it was definitely a shock to the system! Despite it being so hard to leave Peru as I was going to miss my host family and the friends I had made there, 6 months without my family and friends had been tough, as was life without galaxy chocolate!!
But the travelling didn't stop there, two weeks after my return I jetted off to Barcelona, a place me and my friend Megan had been wanting to visit for years but had never got around to going.
It was even better than expected!! From mojitos freshly made by slightly odd Spanish men on the beach, to tonnes of sangria and my first ever Paella, all accompanied by some beautiful sun and a little top up of my South American tan. It was exactly the cheapest holiday but it was worth every penny. Getting accidently caught up in a street festival is always fun after a few too many mojitos in a Cuban salsa bar!
Early September I returned to my love, Paris for a week. I got to see my friends, eat cheese, drink wine, the usual Parisian treats. Then I jetted off to Portugal with friends from my old workplace in Paris...but my god, getting back into speaking French after 6 months in South America was TOUGH!! We stayed in a villa by Lagos, the villa of my friend's family and it was UNREAL. 4 double bedrooms, each with an en-suite and a private heated pool, we couldn't have asked for more. With a rented minibus for the week, lots of cheap supermarket alcohol, sun, beaches and our own pool, we has SUCH a good time. However, alcohol means drinking games, which meant a few skinny dips in the pool and embarassing dares for the majority of us. We were staying up til 5am in the pool and soaking up the sun from 11am, returning back to England for Freshers Week, I was already exhausted, but I had a CRACKING tan... see above ;)
The past few months have not been short of travel, drama, new beginnings and being a busy bee.
Since my last blog, I've returned to the motherland from Peru and it was definitely a shock to the system! Despite it being so hard to leave Peru as I was going to miss my host family and the friends I had made there, 6 months without my family and friends had been tough, as was life without galaxy chocolate!!
But the travelling didn't stop there, two weeks after my return I jetted off to Barcelona, a place me and my friend Megan had been wanting to visit for years but had never got around to going.
It was even better than expected!! From mojitos freshly made by slightly odd Spanish men on the beach, to tonnes of sangria and my first ever Paella, all accompanied by some beautiful sun and a little top up of my South American tan. It was exactly the cheapest holiday but it was worth every penny. Getting accidently caught up in a street festival is always fun after a few too many mojitos in a Cuban salsa bar!
Early September I returned to my love, Paris for a week. I got to see my friends, eat cheese, drink wine, the usual Parisian treats. Then I jetted off to Portugal with friends from my old workplace in Paris...but my god, getting back into speaking French after 6 months in South America was TOUGH!! We stayed in a villa by Lagos, the villa of my friend's family and it was UNREAL. 4 double bedrooms, each with an en-suite and a private heated pool, we couldn't have asked for more. With a rented minibus for the week, lots of cheap supermarket alcohol, sun, beaches and our own pool, we has SUCH a good time. However, alcohol means drinking games, which meant a few skinny dips in the pool and embarassing dares for the majority of us. We were staying up til 5am in the pool and soaking up the sun from 11am, returning back to England for Freshers Week, I was already exhausted, but I had a CRACKING tan... see above ;)
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Cusco POR FIN (finally)
So after 5 and a half months of every taxi driver asking me "have you been to Cusco?" finally I can now say YES!
I had waited so long to go to Cusco because over a year again, Shadia had organised this trip as a trip for volunteers of the VTP program.
The 23rd July we set off to Cusco, but to avoid the 22 hour bus journey we took the 1 hour flight instead. We dropped our stuff at the hostal (Marques de Saphy) which was ok for the price, it had a private bathroom at least despite Sarah's bad luck with the hot water.
We met Gian, Sarah and Jack in a little cafe off the main square as they'd arrived much earlier that morning and got some well-needed food down us!
We went for 'mexican' later on, however I use that adjective lightly as it didnt tatse very mexican to me, but it was tasty either way. Being Shadia's birthday, we headed to the bars afterwards. After entering the Irish pub and leaving pretty swiftly as it was packed full of drunk gringos in fancy dress and we definately hadnt had enough to drink yet. We ended up in a pub opposite playing 'Ive never' and downing too much fizzy beer. But we called it an early-ish night as we'd all been up pretty early.
The next day, somehow we didnt manage to get out of the hostal until 4pm but Shadia and Tulo had already been the market to grab some cheese, bread, coffee and a cheap-as kettle, breakfast/lunch was sorted! We then headed to the tour agency to see what prices we could get for tours to Sacred Valley or even water-rafting. Whilst we were asking about other tours, the guy asked us if we had bought our Entrance tickets for Machu Picchu as we were heading there the next day. DOOOOOOM. He told us there were no more left until the 28th, 3 days later! And we had already forked out 70 dollars for our train ticket...noooooooooooooooooo! What could we do?
Not only had we paid for the tickets, but Gian was flying back to England on the 28th, he couldnt postpone his trip to Machu Picchu.
The train to Aguas Calientes (the place where you stay the night before Machu Picchu) was that night at 9pm from a place called Ollaytotambo, 1 hr and a half away from Cusco, so Gian ahd to make a decision, he either had to go and risk it or not go at all. So after an evening of umm-ing and arr-ing, Gian decided to go solo and risk getting in the next day.
This was not just something that had happened to us, loads of other tourists alike had been faced with this problem and apparently there would be a protest the next day.
After all the stress of the afternoon/evening, we all needed a drink. Heather, Hannah and Lisa had all suggested a bar called Mythology in Cusco where everyone gets free drinks and dances on the bar, it sounded like just what we needed! A few hours later, me and Sarah were dancing on the bar getting Rum poured down our throats, classy birds of course!
It was a really good night, and we finally got off the bar so that Sarah could pratice her salsa moves with a few peruvians and I could teach Jack a few moves.
The next day we didnt have any plans other than to recover from our hangover and have a nose around Cusco. We actually made it out of the hostal at a reasonable lunch hour and headed to the main square to take a few photos not before munching on some amazing veggy food at Govinda despite its 45 minute wait. We then met Shadia who took me, Jack and Sarah to the market, a place of the locals and kind of out of the gringo trail. We picked up a few presents and then headed back to the tour agency to book some tours.
Sarah and Jack went that evening to Puno on a one day trip to see Lake Titicaca and so the next day, Shadia, Tulo and I headed to the Christ statue situated on a hill above Cusco, so we went up in taxi to catch a few birdseye snaps of Cusco.
The next day was the Sacred Valley trip visiting ruins in Pisaq, Ollaytatambo and textile works in Chinceros. It was just us four gringos who went on the trip but for 40 soles (about £8/9) it was really worth it. We got to pick up even more presents for family back home and saw some of the most famous ruins of Inca times, actually pretty interesting.
The next day , after having to pay 100 dollars for any train with another train company to Machu Picchu, me, Sarah and Jack said goodbye to Gian and headed off to Ollaytotambu to catch our train at 11.25am. To which we met another problem, the bus from Cusco wasnt going to leave for another half hour and would make us late for our train, we had to get a taxi. Thankfully, the taxi for an hour and a half trip only cost us £20 between the three of us and we couldnt risk missing our train. We arrived on time and full of relief at Ollaytotambu and stepped on to the lovely train. It was the best train Ive ever been on, amazing service, snacks provided and a beautiful toilet (the most important thing obviously), at least we have forked out alot of money for something worth it after all.
Arriving in Aguas Calientes, we dumped our stuff at the hostal, went to buy our bus tickets for Macchu Picchu and grabbed some lunch. The thing is about Menus including starter, main and drink for £2/3 is that its pot luck, sometimes they are amazing value for money, but other times, a pile of crap, where you get served cold veg with your meal or microwaved pasta...fail!
Later on, we headed to the Thermal Baths (its not called Aguas Calientes 'Warm Waters' for nothing) for a £2 entrance fee, not bad hey! Well I say Thermal Baths, theyre more like pools with naturally hot water in them, water which smells pretty funny too, but being able to order mojitos to the pool was definately worth it. It must have been an hour and half later when we left, slightly tipsy but majorly relaxed.
W went back to the hostel to disinfect ourselves from the grimmy water then headed to Govinda (the veggy restaurant chain that we went to in Cusco) and then went for a few mojitos and Jenga at a restaurant nearby. Note to all, 3 cocktails for £4 are never going to taste good.
We got into bed around 11 knowing that we had a 4.30am wake up call the next day for getting the bus to Machu Picchu :) Shadia and Tulo arrived around 11.30pm from Cusco and we all set our alarms for the next day.
It was DIFFICULT getting up at 4.30am, but with the thought of going to Machu Picchu and a cheese butty and coffee down us, we were ready to roll.
Even with a long queue ahead of us, we got in quite quickly, and headed up to the most famous view of Machu Picchu. (see below) We took an unneccessary amount of photos, jumping and planking and then took a time out to sit and relax and take in the amazing views! We then took a walk, sat down a few more times, took more photos and by the time we knew it, 7 hours had passed by. Machu Picchu really is incredible, the fact that nobody really knows why its there or the story behind it makes it so much more interesting. We didnt bother with a guided tour for this reason, we had Jack, his Lonely Planet Peru book and our guesstimations to entertian us.
We decided to call it a day and head back to the hostal after spending most of the day there. The day before we had bought only one-way bus tickets to Machu Picchu so that we could walk back down to Aguas Calientes. With amazing views, the aching feet thanks to wearing Converse and not walking boots and the intense heat.... we made it back down and were ready to eat asap!
Afetr eating, we were all feeling pretty tired, Me, Jack and Sarah went for a coffee then full-body massage whilst Shadia and Tulo searched for a room to nap in.
The massage was just what we needed, but Sarah and I paid a bit extra for a shower pre-massage after a sweaty day in the sun. Once we finished, it was time to get our train back to Ollaytotambo and after waiting for ages at the other end in a taxi, we finally made it back to Cusco around midnight, then popped the TV on and got into bed.
The next day was horse riding day, not that we hadnt done enough exercise in the past few days. The idea was to visit ruins but by horse, a bit nice than just being drove about. Sarah, Jack and I went for a quick breakfast then headed to the tour agency office only to be told that the horses were getting their yearly jabs that morning so it had to be postponed 2 hours, typical!
We went to the market to buy a few last-minute presents and then got a taxi to the horse place.
I was a bit nervous seeing as I hadnt been on a horse in a few years, but all the horses seemed pretty chilled until mine decided it wanted to bite Tulo's horse, but we survived nevertheless!
We got back and had lunch with Sarah who hadnt came on the trip. We went to Jacks cafe, a typical European restaurant, that has the most amazing Strawberry milkshake, huge sandwiches and WOW beans and cheese burritos.
Sarah headed to Arequipa that night to continue her travels and it was my last night. I packed up my stuff and we went for a cheap but tasty meal just off the main square before getting an early night before a 5am start for my flight back to Lima the next day.
I really enjoyed Cusco despite all the problems we seemed to have and all the money we spent. But as long as you enjoy yourself and are in good company, thats all that matters :)
Friday, 22 July 2011
Peru Luz de Esperanza volunteering
For my stay in Peru, I had set aside 6 weeks post-volunteering with VTP to travel. The volunteering I did in Lima was more aimed at helping to improve the level of english teaching in a good school, so I wanted to have a bit of a change and participate in a volunteer programme helping those in the poorer rural areas to have a deeper insight into life outside my Miraflores (gringo/tourist area) bubble in Lima. Also, im currently doing a project for uni about the education system in Peru and so this seemed to me as the perfect way to explore it a bit more.
The social volunteer project is called Peru Luz de Esperanza and is located in Chupaca, a district outside of Huancayo, a city to the East of Lima. I spent 10 days with the program, which I had found by randomly browsing google for volunteering experiences in Peru.
It is an absolutely lovely project which involves teaching English, helping with Kindergarten and even helping contruct the school that they are currently constructing.
The idea is to improve the teaching of the children in the are of Auhac, about 10 minutes from Chupaca, children who go to state schools where classrooms are unequipped and falling apart bascially. However, also, the project aims to involve the community and especially the parents to create a community spirit and connection to education.
Volunteers are housed, fed and welcomed into the family's home of those who run the program for $300 dollars per 2 weeks. At first I can seem a bit expensive but considering the delicious food, your comfort within the home and being able to see directly where the money goes (ie. to the children you work with), its certainly all worth it.
As I mentioned above, the project is not only supporting physically (teaching) and financially the various poor rural schools , but they are also currently constructing their own school to allow a more enriching and professional schooling for these children, and also for them to all be in one school together benefitting from new materials and a better environment for learning.
Within the community, the project has been helping out one family in particular lately. A family of 8 children but a house without a bathroom nor toilet, with one double mattress on the second floor for all the children to sleep on, not to mention the piles of dirty clothes heaped outside and within the house. Therefore, the program has been putting windows and a door on the second floor of the house and will shortly be creating an area for the family toilet, which is now a mere hole in the floor in view of all passers-by. (see below)
Despite the living situations of all the children who go to the schools that the program is involved with, they are all so loving and willing to learn, but most of all so thankful for the volunteers' teaching and involvement in the program. Every volunteer receives a welcome and leaving speech from a few of the children with words so lovely and so heart-warming, thanking you for coming so far to help and teach them.
The program had certainly touched the hearts of Evelyn and Werner, an Austrian couple who has managed to raise 6000 euros for the program. With the money, they were able to buy tables, chairs and whiteboards for the new school being built, something which allowed a huge progression in the construction which requires alot of time and especially money. The costs of that above itself came to around £1750!! for 50 students!
At first I helped out teaching to get an idea of the work level and also to be familiar with the kids. Teaching the present tense in English went well with kids about6/ 7/8, and as ever, when in doubt of a game to play, Hangman always works well! The next day however with more boys in my teaching group, it was a bit harder when they decided that they'd rather be under the table and/or scribbling in each others notebooks than paying attention to my lesson.
English lessons took place at 3.30pm at the 3 various schools alternately everyday and during a few mornings we worked at the construction site of the new school. And my god was it hard work!! Imagine yourself carrying sand bags (loaded with stones/rocks too) up a steep hill at 3400m altitude and in the sun, yep pretty hard work!! Thankfully it was only for 3 hours on 2 days, but at least we had the motivation that we were doing this for a new school for the kids we were helping.
On the Saturday, I checked out the local market in Chupaca where there was fruit/veg/household products and animals in bags or boxes as far as the eye could see! Then in the afternoon we went on a touristy trip to a village a few hours away taking in beautiful scenery en-route. We visited the house of a man who is making the metal window and door frames for the new school and he kindly prepared us some DELICIOUS trout and potatoes, but those typical of the area, a sort of sweet-flavored potatoes. He even took us trout fishing but unfortunately we were unsuccessful, the trout were definately onto us and stayed away.
The Sunday was an important day as I was party time at the new school. Using the money that Evelyn and Werner had raised, they wanted to have a party for the children of all the schools with games, food, drink and most importantly, fun as a treat for them. I have never saw children so happy and content with a few sweets and fizzy drinks, all of whom, as ever, were so grateful.
Monday and Tuesday were my last days with the kids at the schools so I bought biscuits and fizzy drinks for all. It was sad to leave but I know that I will want to continue to support and help the program in the future.
For my last night, I went with one volunteer and a teacher from the program into Huancayo to watch the Copa America as Peru and Ecuador were playing against each other. Being around guys meant a lot of beer drinking/downing and drunken debates but all in all a good night ending with Wantan soup to warm my freezing body up from the Highlands cold and a 3.30am return to the house.
What can I say, the 6am start to pack my stuff and jump my bus back to Lima wasnt the most pleasant but I had the most amazing and enriching (cliche I know) experience and would certainly recommend this program for anyone coming to Peru. A hard-working program of lovely people with hearts the size of the Moon.
The social volunteer project is called Peru Luz de Esperanza and is located in Chupaca, a district outside of Huancayo, a city to the East of Lima. I spent 10 days with the program, which I had found by randomly browsing google for volunteering experiences in Peru.
It is an absolutely lovely project which involves teaching English, helping with Kindergarten and even helping contruct the school that they are currently constructing.
The idea is to improve the teaching of the children in the are of Auhac, about 10 minutes from Chupaca, children who go to state schools where classrooms are unequipped and falling apart bascially. However, also, the project aims to involve the community and especially the parents to create a community spirit and connection to education.
Volunteers are housed, fed and welcomed into the family's home of those who run the program for $300 dollars per 2 weeks. At first I can seem a bit expensive but considering the delicious food, your comfort within the home and being able to see directly where the money goes (ie. to the children you work with), its certainly all worth it.
As I mentioned above, the project is not only supporting physically (teaching) and financially the various poor rural schools , but they are also currently constructing their own school to allow a more enriching and professional schooling for these children, and also for them to all be in one school together benefitting from new materials and a better environment for learning.
Within the community, the project has been helping out one family in particular lately. A family of 8 children but a house without a bathroom nor toilet, with one double mattress on the second floor for all the children to sleep on, not to mention the piles of dirty clothes heaped outside and within the house. Therefore, the program has been putting windows and a door on the second floor of the house and will shortly be creating an area for the family toilet, which is now a mere hole in the floor in view of all passers-by. (see below)
Despite the living situations of all the children who go to the schools that the program is involved with, they are all so loving and willing to learn, but most of all so thankful for the volunteers' teaching and involvement in the program. Every volunteer receives a welcome and leaving speech from a few of the children with words so lovely and so heart-warming, thanking you for coming so far to help and teach them.
The program had certainly touched the hearts of Evelyn and Werner, an Austrian couple who has managed to raise 6000 euros for the program. With the money, they were able to buy tables, chairs and whiteboards for the new school being built, something which allowed a huge progression in the construction which requires alot of time and especially money. The costs of that above itself came to around £1750!! for 50 students!
At first I helped out teaching to get an idea of the work level and also to be familiar with the kids. Teaching the present tense in English went well with kids about6/ 7/8, and as ever, when in doubt of a game to play, Hangman always works well! The next day however with more boys in my teaching group, it was a bit harder when they decided that they'd rather be under the table and/or scribbling in each others notebooks than paying attention to my lesson.
English lessons took place at 3.30pm at the 3 various schools alternately everyday and during a few mornings we worked at the construction site of the new school. And my god was it hard work!! Imagine yourself carrying sand bags (loaded with stones/rocks too) up a steep hill at 3400m altitude and in the sun, yep pretty hard work!! Thankfully it was only for 3 hours on 2 days, but at least we had the motivation that we were doing this for a new school for the kids we were helping.
On the Saturday, I checked out the local market in Chupaca where there was fruit/veg/household products and animals in bags or boxes as far as the eye could see! Then in the afternoon we went on a touristy trip to a village a few hours away taking in beautiful scenery en-route. We visited the house of a man who is making the metal window and door frames for the new school and he kindly prepared us some DELICIOUS trout and potatoes, but those typical of the area, a sort of sweet-flavored potatoes. He even took us trout fishing but unfortunately we were unsuccessful, the trout were definately onto us and stayed away.
The Sunday was an important day as I was party time at the new school. Using the money that Evelyn and Werner had raised, they wanted to have a party for the children of all the schools with games, food, drink and most importantly, fun as a treat for them. I have never saw children so happy and content with a few sweets and fizzy drinks, all of whom, as ever, were so grateful.
Monday and Tuesday were my last days with the kids at the schools so I bought biscuits and fizzy drinks for all. It was sad to leave but I know that I will want to continue to support and help the program in the future.
For my last night, I went with one volunteer and a teacher from the program into Huancayo to watch the Copa America as Peru and Ecuador were playing against each other. Being around guys meant a lot of beer drinking/downing and drunken debates but all in all a good night ending with Wantan soup to warm my freezing body up from the Highlands cold and a 3.30am return to the house.
What can I say, the 6am start to pack my stuff and jump my bus back to Lima wasnt the most pleasant but I had the most amazing and enriching (cliche I know) experience and would certainly recommend this program for anyone coming to Peru. A hard-working program of lovely people with hearts the size of the Moon.
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