Some thoughts on the project

On October 18th, 6 weeks into my project, I wrote the following email to Katie (who is now in Trujillo). I outlined some of the major aspects of the experience to that point, and now a month after having left Trujillo I still think what I shared with Katie would be useful to any future volunteers. I have 5 points:

"1) Arrival: First of all, are you coming straight from home to Peru? Are you from the UK, or somewhere else? When you arrive, I guess you will probably have at least a day or so in Lima. Orientation is basic, Fiorella will give you some simple, yet important information, and will take you out to a nice lunch. The bus ride is comfortable, but I'd recommend bringing earplugs because they play movies the whole time throughout the whole cabin.

2) Family. Monica, Jamie and their two girls, Valerie (6) and Karin (11) are charming and wonderful. They have a maid Marlany [no longer there!] who does a good amount of the cooking. As it looks now, once I am gone you will have a whole flat to yourself: three bedroom, two bathrooms and a simple living room with a table and couch. You eat basically the same breakfast everyday, bread with jam, juice and tea or coffee. Sometimes you have eggs or something else as well. Dinners are very tasty, and large--I can rarely clear my plate. Valeria is very energetic and silly, her older sister is much calmer and quieter, and they balance each other nicely. Monica and Jamie both work long hours, and sometimes you won't see one of them for a few days at a time. Jamie sometimes longer (he is transferred around the city as a police officer, but it is possible that he will be stationed more locally when you are there).

3) La Beneficencia. I have been working with a group of about 20 five year olds, having taken over from a British volunteer that worked with them for 5 weeks before me. They are wonderful kids, some are a bit ADD, others a bit spacey, and the boys can get a bit rough. I have developed a good daily routine. The kids in the morning (when I am not there) have kindergarten, and more structured classes. After lunch, when I arrive, the time is completely unstructured. Usually when I get there at 1:30 they are all seated around a table, a few still running around. After getting them all calm and quite, we usually sing a couple songs and I talk about the day and about how they can behave well and what I will reward them with if they do. This is easier since I am nearly fluent in Spanish, will probably not work as well for you, depending on how comfortable and knowledgeable you find yourself a few weeks in.

From about 2 to 4PM, they have free time. I have wanted to organize more games, but it is very hard. They are sharing a space with the 4 year old group, and its is chaotic. However, the kids benefit from the free time and social interaction. Often I am either sitting with kids on my lap, or I am playing soccer with a few of the boys.

At fourish they have a snack of liquid oatmeal and bread.

After that, I have them sit around the table, and there are a variety of arts and crafts projects I have them do. ALL the supplies I have needed to bring. The school has nothing. Therefore, I'd encourage you do to two things: bring some stuff, and fundraise a bit so you have a slush fund to tap into. You'd be surprise to find how much help you can get from family, friends, church or your employer if you say you're going to work with Peruvian orphans [though be forewarned, there are nearly no actual orphans at the project; they are needy kids, but i-to-i doesn't get the profile exactly right]. When you arrive there should be a good amount of supplies left over for you and I'm recommending that all future volunteers make an inventory of supplies so subsequent volunteers can plan according to what they will have on hand.

I have also focused considerably on literacy because the kids are noticeably behind where they'll need to be to get ahead. Some still even struggle writing their name. I am not very experienced with this, but I am learning. A little reading up on early childhood development and literacy won't hurt, if you have time.

I am not sure if you will be with the same group, I was pretty much flowed in because thats where the last volunteer was. I think it would be really valuable for the school as a whole if they could link the English speaking volunteers with some of the older kids, because my contact with them is currently very limited [To my knowledge Katie is currently doing just that]. In the next few weeks and when you arrive, we could discuss what kids you are most interested in working with--its possible they need volunteers mostly with my group, but if you have more to offer the older kids, its might be possible to place you with them.

4) Trujillo. A nice city, my first impressive wasn't as good, but now I call it home. Sometimes noisy and sometimes with bad air, it is always sunny and a perfect temperature. You will wear a t-shirt during the day and a sweatshirt at night. There are a few fun places to go out at night, especially if you dance. There are some good restaurants that I frequent daily for lunch, and they are starting to recognize me. Food is cheap, and you can get a good lunch for under 3 dollars. However, you have to watch where and what you eat: I've been sick 3 times. Taxis will take you almost anywhere for a dollar. If you have been to Latin America before, you shouldn't be too surprised by how things work. I generally feel safe, and nothing bad has happened to me even if out at night. Peruvians are quite friendly, and though usually its not very good, they are thrilled to practice their English.

5) Anything else? I haven't had much time to travel. I do a bit of reading, and I go to the internet cafes almost daily. I joined a gym, which I don't go to that often but it helps me feel like I'm staying healthy. I do spend a lot of time with the host family, and I try to spend time prepping for work. There is also trip planning time, and before you know it, the day is over. I find it hard to belief I've already been here six weeks."

There are obviously ways I can elaborate and expand on this basic description. Is there anything that you would like me to write on in later posts?