Piura
Trip Start
Nov 17, 2007
1
11
23
Trip End
Jan 04, 2008
Piura, Peru
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Saturday Night: We took a bus into Puira and met John and Benito. Benito was the pastor of the church we would be working with. From there they took us to our hotel to get settled in and then to a chinese restaraunt. They showed us the main streets and took us to one of the major squares.
Sunday: Benito and John met us as our hotel and we took two taxis to the church. Once there, we met everyone and they made us stand in front of everyone and say stuff about ourselves. After that we made lunch. Yes that's right, I made lunch. We made chaufa which is like chicken fried rice. After that we all went outside and played volleyball and talked about life in Piura vs life in Canada. For supper we went back into the city and John showed a couples of places to eat and we finally picked one.
Monday: First thing we went to the market and one of the first parts we passed through was the meat section. What a smell to wake up to. I wasn going to throw up. After that we got to go to the food part to get banada chips so that wasn't too bad. Ihe kids got off school at around 1:00 so we went to the church around 1:30. At the market we had bought some beads and we spent the afternoon making bracelets and necklaces with he kids. Anna (Benito's wife) tried to teach my mom and sister how to make thread bracelets but they were hopeless at it. That night we walked around the main square and looked at all the lit up churches.
Tuesday: John picked my dad up early and they went and got wood for the tables we were building. Benito picked the rest of us up at 10:00 and we all met at the church. We spent the day making tables for their Chirstmas party. My dad also had the idea to make skipping ropes so he cut some rope and bamboo and made them for the kids.
Wednesday: We spent the morning at the market and looking around in other various shops; we bought more beads and wood. Once we got back to the church we made tables until the kids got home and then Rebecca and I made more bracelets. I think I'm going home with about 15 bracelets from these kids. We bought them the stuff so they'd make some for themselves but they were so happy to give us whatever they made. Anna also made us a potato and yellow sauce dish. I have no idea what it was made of but it was delicious. Once all the tables were made we took out the dice and taught everyone how to play 5000. Everyone was having a great time and all the kids had huge smiles on their faces.
Thursday: Today was the day that we got to go to Catacaos. Its a village that had all the straw hats and such, as well as it is the main spot in Peru for gold and silver. We met one of John's friends in Catacaos and he took us to a village to see how the hats were made. We watched the old ladies weave away. Man they were fast! From there they took us to a museum that was also a bit of an archelogical site. Our guides were awesome. We had these two little boys probably about eight that toured us aroudn the place. They told us everything in spanish and then John translated for us. It was a nice walk and when we got to the top we got a great view of the area. After that we went back into Catacoas and we got to do some shopping. The first couple of stores were nice but after a while everything looked the same. They had this stuffed squirrel that I really wanted to buy but I dont think I could ever get it through customs. At around 3:00 we went back to John's place to sort through some stuff for the Christmas party. John also made us supper. We had delicous lasagna and played cards.
Today (Friday): This morning we got up and walked around Piura looking for things to put in baskets that we were making for the families. We did a lot more wandering then shopping. In the end we ended up buying most of the stuff at the supermarcado just down the street. We put in the cooking basics as well at some pots and pans and a Christmas cake. For the kids we bought them each a christmas mug and filled it with some cookies. At 2:00 John came and took us out to the church where we handed out the baskets to Juan's family and Benito's family. They were very greatful. We all sat around and chatted. Finally we got a volleyball game going. We probably played for four hours. Everyone here was so energetic and they just wanted to keep playing. At home you could never get people to voluntarily play one thing for that long. It was getting dark and Anna made us a delicious supper. Then we said goodbye. It was diffucult but we got through it.
Our guide John was an interesting character. I didnt really get along with him and this week was very testing at times. On Saturday I didnt know if I'd make it through the whole week, because we didnt click from the start, but here I am, still alive.
This past week was an amazing experience meeting the people and being welcomed into a home with open arms. It was amazing to see the people giving us what they had because they were so greatful that we and come even though they didnt have much. They were an amazing group of people and I feel blessed to have met them.
