Bienvenidos a Peru!

My trip started Wednesday at 4pm. I arrived in Lima Peru on Thursday at 5am. I then took a taxi to the bus station to by a ticket for Chimbote Peru. I called my CIEE program directors in Lima Peru to find out if we could meet but no one answered. So I decided to have an adventure since the bus didn{t leave until 12:30pm. I wanted to visit their office, or at least see the university where I will be studying. I hoped on a crowded public van that acts as a bus, called a combi. There I was squished in the back corner for a good half hour constantly asking where I should get off. I then walked around in search of the Universidad del Pacifico for a good hour until I finally realized it was really close to where I had been dropped off in the first place... dumb gringo! (Actually the guard who had pointed me in the wrong direction apologized..accident? Idk)

Anyways, I arrived and met the woman working in the international students office there and she called my program director and he came to pick me up to take me to the other program directors house. By this time I had to make it back to the bus on the opposite side of town. It was already noon and they told me it would take 40 minutes to get back there... oh oh. So I greeted her and she gave me a cell phone (all students get one when they program starts, but she made an exception for me) and I ran out the door to make it to the bus station just in time.

The bus I took had leather seats and air conditioning and tvs and leather footrests.. I felt like a king. They play bingo on the bus halfway through the ride for the chance to win a free return ticket. I was very close, but didn{t win.. better luck next time. I finally arrived and a man asked me if I was Tommy. I said yes, but how did you know? Turns out he had been waiting for me for a couple hours because they didn{t know what time the bus was going to get in. He was from the parish where I was going to stay. We took a taxi back and I met Father Jack and we talked about how Peggy was probably meeting with my family at the exact same time. The fed me chicken and rice and I left to meet my host family.

The whole family lives together.. grandparents, children, and grandchildren. They are all super happy and caring and we made jokes throughout the end of a game of futbol until I crashed in the third floor. I fell asleep overlooking the whole city of Chimbote from my window.

In the morning I went to morning prayer. Father Jack blessed me and everyone clapped. I already feel very accepted and a little bit of Spanish can go a long way I have realized because everyone is happy to greet me here. I took a tour of many of the programs that they have here in the parish of Nuestra Senora del Perpetuo Socorro. They have many many programs for kids, people with disabilities, drug addicts, single mothers, the sick and dying, etc. I am hoping to work with the economic development programs here which I will explain more about later. Now, I am about to go back and eat with my host family at noon. This afternoon I plan to help Father Jack write 800 handwritten letters and after that going to go to the place of the economic development program where they are having classes of computers and english for people there. I miss MN and sent you all warm wished from down South!

Goodbye Dominican Republic

What a wonderful trip to relax and catch up with old friend and family. I spent the first week with Miguel Angels family and the second with my previous host family. The first weekend I went to Cabarete, the windsurfing capital of the world, and stayed in an all inclusive hotel with Miguel Angel and we had a great time relaxing on the beach. I fell about a million times trying to windsurf, but eventually got it and then felt very chevere (cool). The second week I spent most of my time in the community with the artesanos of Arte a Mano, the association of artisans that I worked to start during my first study abroad experience. There are many new members and many changes being made. I worked to help orientate (is that a word in english?) the new CIEE student and to figure out together with our director what work needs to be done to most successfully and sustainably help the association grow.

The second weekend was spent one day in the Northern Playa called Sosua with Miguel Angels brother and the one day (Sunday) in La Vega, the country-s capital of Carnaval. Lets just say it is crazy there. People run around in huge elaborate costumes smacking people in the butt with a hard, filled cow bladder called a bejiga. Its like the MN state fair but with twice the amount of people and way better music blasting on every corner. It is something you have to experience if you ever visit this beautiful country.

The last couple of days I spent with my directors, one night writing a grant (one of their million side projects in the community) for an community organization called One Respe, which is expecting to have a huge influx of impoverished Haitian immigrants because of the earthquake. We watched the super bowl (in Spanish.. wierd) with all the other CIEE students and monday and tuesday I spend saying goodbye to all of my artisans, friends, and families with whom I stayed. I am going to miss this country very very much. But like they say here, only God knows (Solo Dios Sabe) if I will make my way back some day.

Check out pictures by going to the following and clicking ¨Play Slideshow¨:
http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1221711027/a=2439520027_2439520027/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/