PERU SERVICE LEARNING TRIP 2019
PERU SERVICE LEARNING TRIP 2019
A group of 12 students along with two staff members are traveling to Peru in June through July on a Service Learning Trip! Stay tuned here for a blog of their adventures.
A group of 12 students along with two staff members are traveling to Peru in June through July on a Service Learning Trip! Stay tuned here for a blog of their adventures.
We arrived at the airport at 5:30 took pictures and said our last goodbye to our families. We then made our way to the plane and boarded smoothly. This plane ride was only 4 hours and we were luckily able to use the movie screens. When we landed in Toronto, we all went to get lunch from the food court. Afterwards we boarded the plane. This plane ride would end up being 8 hours and without any screens. Most of us slept or went on our phones for this ride and we were all grateful to land. When we landed it was about 2 in the morning. We jumped on a green bus and rode to the Brothers’ residence. On our drive we experienced the poverty and disparity between buildings. While some were new, clean, and beautiful directly beside would be a building with holes, crumbling walls, and graffiti covered. This was extremely eye opening and showed us a different sort of poverty. We were used to homelessness while here nobody was on the street. It was only stray dogs. When we arrived at the Brothers’ house we were quickly introduced to Brother Casey, given a small snack, and sent to bed around 2 in the morning.
- Brooklyn Coletta, Grad 2021
Today, we woke up at 10 and had a quick breakfast of bread, oranges, and bananas. Then we had a quick orientation where we went over rules and our itinerary. We then were split into two groups each with a teacher to map out the area around our house. There is a McDonald’s, Nike, and Adidas that we recognized but also a Norky’s which is a fast food chain mainly with chicken. When we walked back to our house we walked through beautifully coloured houses that were pink, orange, yellow, green, and blue. We were finally able to see the Brother’ residence in the day light. It is royal blue and four stories high, full of flora and fauna and has a deck on top. We got back to the house and met again to write down our maps and our perception of the neighbourhood. After this meeting we had a lunch of chicken noodle soup and spaghetti pasta.
We then had a short siesta and made our way to the catacombs. We took a bus to a church called San Francisco Church; it was very old and had 25 000 books and oil paintings salvaged from when the Spanish rule on most of the walls. As we began walking into the “basement” of the church, the tour guide warned us that it would be claustrophobic. He was right. We then walked into Ms. P’s heaven. There were skulls and bones everywhere and I wasn’t having it. It was scary and spooky and we were all glad to get out. Once we got out of the church, we took a group picture and random people also took our picture. Afterwards, we got the best churros in Lima and got to walk the plaza by the Archbishop’s house and the President's. It was really amazing to see the drastic difference between this area and the bus ride in. To finish the day, we went to a parade in Plaza de San Martin. When we arrived at home, we had empanadas, Finally, we did a quick reflection with our group and went to bed.
P.S. Ms. Lauang gave me five minutes to write both of these journals! It's no Shakespeare.
- Brooklyn Coletta, Grad 2021
After a glorious 9.5 hours of sleep #blessed we had a relaxing morning after the fight for the pretzel buns before heading out to mass. The crowded SkyTrain was interesting and really reminded me of home. After a nice Spanish, 45-minute mass, we headed out to a touristy plaza where there were some more familiar stores and restaurants. We received our 20 sol for lunch and went to explore Chilli’s and TGI Fridays before quickly realizing that 20 sol is not a lot of money and we would have to find cheaper options. Our lunch consisted of chicken a variety of ways from KFC popcorn to little fried chicken balls and chicken strips from Burger King. Fries were mediocre and the ketchup was interesting but the highlight had to be our Peruvian chicha drink. We picked up our red drinks all curious to try the sweet, flavourful mystery drink that came with our combos and were very disappointed with the drink we later discovered to be made up of purple corn, pineapple, and cinnamon. Safe to say, we won’t be drinking that again but at least we tried it. We then took quite the walk to a great ice cream place, and I couldn’t eat it but it looked really good. We then learned to salsa dance with some locals who gave us balloons so that was a fun time. You can catch our funky fresh moves in Bella’s upcoming vlog after the trip, so don’t feel left out. We then walked at least an hour back to a bus stop and then got on another bus and then got on a SkyTrain to get back home. Now we are chilling and playing card games before our dinner of pizza. We did a lot of walking today and we’re all feeling it. Tomorrow, six days of service begins and we are ready and excited to start and empty our suitcases.
- Julianna Pathyil, Grad 2020
Calling today a physical challenge would be an understatement. As a group we surprised ourselves and managed to lift 10 panels up 200 stairs. The struggle was very real as we tried to lift these panels up the stairs and then through the rocks and then up more stairs. Although we kept saying it was impossible and had quickly decided we would never finish, we somehow managed to push through and complete it. The house we were building was as high as it possibly could have been and Canto Grande was slightly against us. When we arrived, we quickly realized the old house was not torn down yet which was the first delay. Then, a curve ball was thrown our way when a pipe burst and sent a stream of muddy water down the entire staircase. It was a sight to watching all the occupants of the Canto Grande hills step out of their homes to sweep the water off the stairs. Another crazy sight was the view from the top of the hill where the house was built. One way was a continuous line of houses up and down the hills displaying the large population. The other way was a huge drop off with endless garbage and stray dogs and cats. As we walked through the market, we saw some things we’ve never seen and smelled somethings we wish we’d never smelled. The raw chickens and cut off cow hearts really made us consider the vegan lifestyle. Tomorrow, we plan to paint the house and finish the job we came to do. We are excited to never have to walk up those stairs again or smell the raw chicken again!
- Vanessa Salzano, Grad 2020
We started the day off with a nice walk and bus ride to Fe Y Alegria after our usual breakfast of juice and bread. We then made our way up the 200 stairs. For some reason it was much easier with the planks of wood! We nailed in the doors and windows and roof and learned how to master a hammer and wrench. We painted the house a beautiful turquoise blue and ended up painting ourselves along with it. We’ll say a few us looked like Smurfs by the end. We then all headed down for our sandwiches and Oreo’s and some familiar looking lays. We then played with some of the kids at the school and had our siesta time. We then were divided into two groups and brother Paul and Jorge guided us up the hill and took us to meet some of the families. We got to hear the stories of Carmen, Tania, Christian and Emma who loved Brooklyn. Their stories touched our hearts and taught us what life is really like to live on the hill and what our work goes towards. So many of the people we talk to face illness and disabilities that are easily curable in Canada, but life threatening in Canto Grande. For example, many of the people we talked to or heard about suffer from tuberculosis, which is extremely life threatening and contagious, but not something we ever really have to worry about in Canada. Following the stories, we played a huge game of soccer again. Our team won for the second time. It got pretty competitive when Anthony, who has a basketball scholarship for university, decided to join in. Then, we took the bus back to the Brothers home and before dinner we celebrated the house keeper, Lucia. At 6:45 pm exact, we ate cake and sang for she’s a jolly good fellow as a team. Dinner consisted of ham and pea soup and shepherds pie. To end the night, we all reflected on the long day which was by far our best reflection yet.
- Victoria Rogers & Clara Scaglione, 2020
Today, we woke up at a ripe 6:00 am and brought the rest of our suitcases down stairs before breakfast. We then ate our usual breakfast of bread, juice and jam. Then we left the brothers house for the last time and headed out to catch a city bus. After the 45-minute ride we then got on a private bus for about 15 minutes and headed to Jicamarca. We split off into two separate groups. One headed to Veritatis Splendor, a school near the house we are staying a, which is where the Third World Eye Care (TWECS) clinic was set up. The other group went to Jose’s house, where the brothers have an immersion center set up. Here, the first group learned about the awful terrorism that occurred in Peru in the 1980’s-2000’s. After that, we then made sandwiches and headed to the TWECS. There the second group set up tables for the stations. Most of us were in charge of doing registration for the children. The majority of the school kids were sitting on benches waiting for us to help them. In the beginning, our Spanish wasn’t the best but after 30 minutes, most of us were basically fluent. It was such a cool experience to communicate with people using a language foreign to us. At about 3pm, everyone headed back to Jose’s house. It was only about a ten-minute walk, but the path was a steep incline. It wasn’t until later that we discovered a short cut to the house. Once we arrived at Jose’s house a nice siesta awaited us. The majority of us decided to play a spirited game of soccer after our siesta with Anthony, Bruno, Kevin, and some other neighborhood kids. The dogs made a good crowd. Of course, our team won for the third day in a row. Prior to the soccer game some others played some basketball against Anthony, who has a basketball scholarship. Thank goodness we took the newfound short cut home as the games took a lot out of us. Once back at the house we all gathered downstairs for the semi final Copa America game of Peru versus Chile. The game was a good one as Peru won 3-0. The highlight was when they saved a penalty shot preventing a 3-1 score. During the game we had burgers and we all taught Julian how to braid hair. It’s not his strong suit. All in all, it was a great first day so we all went to bed excited for what was to come in Jicamarca.
- Victoria Rogers & Clara Scaglione, Grad 2020
We started off day seven with a lovely 7:15 am wakeup followed by our typical breakfast here in Jicamarca. After breakfast, we all got ready and my group consisting of myself, Vanessa, Gigi and Julian had a “siesta” until about 9 o’clock while the other two groups headed to the T. W.E.C.S site. While their group headed there, our group of four stayed here at the brother’s house where we played the Italian card game, scopa. All I can say about our game is that it was almost as intense as the Peru versus Chile soccer match. Later, our group then settled in downstairs where we watched a documentary on the terrorism that occurred in the poorer areas of Peru. This impactful film really opened our eyes to the pasts of many Peruvians including those in the areas we visited and how their lives became changed by these terrorist acts. This terrorism engraved an everlasting fear in many civilians of this country leading to a shadow being cast over their past. Overall, this documentary made our group realize the magnitude of impact the terrorism caused within the Peruvians lives. After the film, we made lunch for the other groups at the T. W.E.C.S site with much love and headed over to eat with them. Later on, we came back to the house and we played some board games until dinner time with everyone, and Alessia has the rest!
We began our seventh day in Peru and our second day in Jicamarca with an early morning wake up by Ms. Lauang if you weren’t already woken up by the roosters. Our breakfast of the day consisted of the usual bread, jam, butter, and bananas. While one group had the ability to stay home and watch a movie about terrorism in Peru, two of the three groups left to volunteer at the T.W.E.C.S. (Third World Eye Care Society) work site to register the patients and test their visual acuity. However, if you’re lucky, you may get the opportunity to work inside with one of the optometrists and get out of the cold Peru winter day. Later on in the day, when we came back to the house, everyone played cards, board games, and Twister before eating the most delicious chicken fried rice for dinner known as Chao-Fa. Once we finished our scrumptious dinner, we all went for a walk to the market up the long, steep hill to buy snacks. Today was an overall amazing experience and taught me that we are so blessed to have access to our basic needs including having the ability to see through receiving glasses when our eye(s) need correction.
- Cristina Capitanio, Grad 2020 & Alessia Percy, 2021
Today was another wonderful day in Jicamarca, Peru. Today’s awakening was much more peaceful than yesterday because our neighbour, Luis, murdered his rooster after hearing Brooklyn’s complaints. After waking up, we headed downstairs to eat our regular breakfast of bread and fruit. Following this, we walked down the dusty, rocky, dirt roads towards the school where T.W.E.C.S was set up for another day of work. As the crowds of students, parents, and civilians began to roll in, we separated into groups. A few people began registering the patients, noting simple things like the people’s names, ages, and visual disabilities. This provided a great chance to practice our Spanish and interact with the people of Jicamarca. A few others and I were at the visual acuity station administrating eye exams for patients anywhere from one years old to seventy-nine years old. One of the patients that was really fascinating to me was a man that was 47 years old. He did not own a pair of glasses before this exam and in one eye, he had 20/20 vision. However, in his other eye, he could not interpret the letters on the wall, in fact he could not even count my fingers from farther than four feet away. This really stuck out to me because before the pair of eye glasses that he would later receive from T.W.E.C.S , he was essentially completely blind in one eye. Aside from this man, I was also able to interact with the joyful children. They were all so happy, showering us all with hugs and adorable smiles. We took a break for lunch which consisted of ham or turkey and cheese sandwiches. Following lunch, we continued conducting eye exams, distributing glasses, and interacting with the people. When the clinic closed the gate for the day, we helped clean up and then walked back up the steep hill that led to the brother’s house. After a bit of a siesta (break), we joined the family that lives in the other half of the house for dinner. The dinner was delicious, pasta with sausage. After dinner, we relaxed and played various games as a group such as cards and Jenga. All in all, another great day in Peru. Crazy to think we are already over half way through our journey here
- Gigi Gaspar, Grad 2020
Today was a change from the routine we had been following for the past few days as our time with TWECS had ended. In the morning we took Jose’s bus to a local chapel where we met with a Sister who told us about the organization they had started here in Peru a number of years ago. After this presentation, we split into groups where four people went with the Sister and Ms. Lauang to paint a portion of a school and the rest of us went with Mr. Mitchell and some other workers to build a concrete floor in a house in the hills. I started off in the concrete floor group and when we arrived, we met this adorable four-year-old boy named Josué. It was nice meeting him because it gave building the floor even more purpose now that we knew the people it was going to. The group of us were in charge of making the concrete by filling the machine with sand and rocks while the more experienced workers actually layered it on the ground. It was time consuming but we got it done as a team. Eventually, the painters walked up to the house and four more people, including me, replaced them. At the school, we picked up where the other group left off and continued the paint job. This was pretty tiring since today was one of the sunniest days in the trip so far. Both the concrete and painting groups merged together for lunch at the chapel then made our way back to the house for a well-earned siesta. However, this break was short-lived because soon enough we had to participate in one of the most challenging hikes most of us have ever done by walking up Los Angeles Hill. For a good portion of the walk most of us had to use our hands for balance so the work gloves came in [hand]y, yet again. The view at the top was lovely and after a few bucket showers everyone was feeling like themselves again. After dinner and our final reflection, it was fiesta time. We welcomed a bunch of the neighbours and got to make a bunch of new friends. We gave out some of our clothing donations and learned a bunch of Peruvian dances. Even though most of us were not blessed with the dancing skills of many of our Peruvian friends, we still had a good time. Overall, today was a long and tiring day but the fun evening made it all worth it!
- Kate Smith, Grad 2020
Today we got up at 5:30 to head to the airport Lima airport for our flight to Lima. It was a long bus ride in the dark and everyone was exhausted. When we were dropped off at the Lima airport there were tearful goodbyes. It was the last time we were ever going to see the people who had hosted and fed us this trip. At the airport we waited for 3 hours for our flight. The food court was great. Most of us had Mcdonalds. After getting through security we met our Explorica tour guide Andres. Andres is a 6’4 big Peruvian guy which threw everyone off. The flight to Cusco was fine. The view was pretty good as we were flying over the Andes. We landed, got our bags, and loaded onto the Explorica van. We drove to our hotel and got checked in. After checking in we went for lunch. They fed us rice and this meat that everyone just assumed was beef. Only after eating it did they tell us that it was alpaca! That was kinda mean ngl. Cusco is 11 800 ft elevation and we really felt the altitude in our chests when we tried to walk. After a good night’s rest, we all felt better and were ready for another busy day of sight seeing. We got up early and headed towards the train station that would take us to Machu Picchu. Along the way we stopped in the sacred valley and toured an area called Ollaytantambo, which was an Incan ruin. It was quite amazing to see the size and depth of the area, and how much work it must have taken to get it built. After spending time climbing and checking it all out, we headed to the train station and went to Machu Picchu.
The train was fun, the Peruvian panflute music was playing and we felt like it was going to be an amazing experience. We checked in, had some dinner and wandered the area, a very touristy one. The next day we were up early and in the bus line for Machu Picchu. The rules have changed a lot in MP and they are working at keeping the number of visitors down because it is actually sinking, so we feel fortunate to have had the opportunity. When you walk up the stairs and finally get to see MP for the first time, there really are no words to describe it. It is phenomenal and wild to think that the Incas lived there for so long and nobody knew. After a tough hike up to the Sun Gate that had an amazing view, we met Jesus our tour guide who walked us through MP and answered our questions.
This leg of the trip was an interesting follow-up to our time in Canto Grande and Jicamarca. After immersing ourselves with the communities in Lima, it was eye-opening to learn about the ancient history of the country. We tried new foods and got an in-depth lesson on bartering in the local markets. We began really thinking about our loved ones at home and how we wanted to remember our experiences here in Peru. The last night in Cusco was spent furiously packing all of our newly acquired gifts and trinkets like Inka Cola shirts, and Peru jerseys. We were excited to go home but also dreading the long, 28(ish) hour travel day. In the Lima airport, we said goodbye to Andres, the last of our Peruvian friends, and prepared for our flights.
It is now a few hours after arriving home and words cannot describe how grateful we all are to our Peruvian friends. Thank you to Brother Stephen and Brother Paul for all your hospitality and wisdom. Thank you to the Jorges for helping us build the house and translating for us along the way. Thank you to Gina for trusting us to build your home. Thank you to Carmen, Tania, Cristian, and Emma for sharing your stories. Thank you to Jose, Kevin, and your family for feeding us and hosting us in Jicamarca. Thank you to Bruno and Anthony for your friendship and working with us. Thank you to Marina and Derrick March and TWECS for having us during your time at Veritatis. Thank you to Sister Jacinta, Luis and Josue for allowing us to be a part of your lives for just one day and sharing your spaces with us. Thank you to Andres, Miguel and Percy for guiding us through our last leg of the trip in Cusco and Machu Picchu. Lastly, thank you to all our families and friends that were at home supporting us, praying for us and who have allowed for us to be in Peru these last few days. For you, we will always be grateful.
'Life is good when you're happy. Life is better when someone is happy because of you.'
- Pope Francis
- Julian Lui, Grad 2020, Mr. Mitchell and Ms. Lauang