Two months ahhh

I can't grasp the concept that it's been two full months since I left home, time flies when you're having fun! 

The Aldea is finally starting to feel like a proper home where we have normality, as before everything was just all over the place. We have now sort of got a schedule however it's not working too well at all as we don't have a place to take the kids so that's still a work in process, however at least we're comfortable enough to go and intrude on houses to help or find something to do. 

The kids haven't been at school for the past few days and the place has gone mental- every morning were awoken to Zarahi peering through the small gap in our home made curtains, where she can see me sleeping, yet she persists to carry on knocking.This doesn't sound too bad but she has the biggest eyes ever; a very strange way to wake up at 7 in the morning. The girl is mad, she painted her tooth with pink nail polish- definitely one of my favourites :) 

We convinced her that Victoria in English is Pisa, Amber is Chomma and her name is Yomama and she uses the names religiously hahaa, it's so lovely having someone as crazy as we are though as majority of the kids spend their time calling us crazy rather than joining in. 

On top of that they have all been desperate for our iPods, bearing in mind all the music is English. They all knock on the window, even after little Ricardo shattered one showing how feeble they are, and shout "Presta mi tu iPod por favor" however quiet often there isn't a por favor. It's crazy having the patience to not respond, there's once been around 15 children asking before 9am, Lord help us. It's got so bad that ambers has atchually broken and lots of the Tia's have had to come and ask us not to give them out anymore ooops

The week before last at the Aldea was so strange, it went from amazing to horrible. It was Renzo's birthday on Monday and the Tia's in the house decided to throw him a birthday party, even though the monthly birthday party was the next day. Since it was at casa dos we got to join in! They basically just invited all of the young children over to dance and eat snacks, snacks which they bought with their own money. This really does show that the Tia's here treat the children as if they were their own! It was cute seeing all the kids doing a konga line even though the house could barley fit them all in, they don't let that stop them! We made him a card and wrapped him up some snacks which we bought from this little boy begging, it turns out the snacks were awful bless his little soul. 

The next day was the monthly birthday party as there's so many children they can't celebrate each birthday individually, so have a day for celebrations each month. It was really cute watching the kids get called up and being given a present and hugging all the Tia's and direction staff. There were some games for the little children which are great until one of them always gets upset when they lose hahaa! Basically the rest of the afternoon was spent dancing which is so much fun with the people there, however one of the Tios came over and made us dance with two boys who used to live at the Aldea and were visiting. This had to be the most awkward moment yet, as all the kids were laughing and taking the mick behind them, plus you couldn't really converse with the loud music so we were just kind of stood there. Some of them are still taking the mick out of us two weeks later - how lovely. But all in all it was such a nice day and I'm looking forward to the one next month! 

Three weeks ago we had our first night out in Trujillo and stayed in a hotel which was only £3 for the night, love it. We were planning on getting a bit peeved then heading out but I ended up falling asleep till 11 so that didn't go to plan. We went to the club which the past volunteers mentioned called Ama in a taxi , turns out the club was in the middle of a shopping centre- as you do. We thought we paid VIP as it was 40 soles however it was just bloody expensive, hence only one drink for the night. It took rather a long time to absorb it all, as all the people there were very wealthy and well dressed, plus the dancing in pairs thing is not amazing. Eventually we let go and danced for the whole night without anyone caring that there were foreigners there, such a rarity! It was such a good night! We got a taxi back to the main square and it was almost empty apart from a comotosed man passed out on the floor. It was so lovely seeing it peaceful and walking back to the hotel without the streets being full of people; except the other man passed out in the plant pot. The Tia's would kill us walking alone at this time but, touch wood, I don't feel unsafe in this country at all since I've arrived here, goes to show you have to find out for yourself! 

The Aldea has been chaos with the new houses, it turns out we're actually living in the same part as the kitchen where they cook the food for everyone, as well as everything previously mentioned in my last blog. It's quite difficult to keep the babies occupied on mornings as there really is nothing to do anymore, and no where to go. But we've realised that they loved being pushed around in wheelbarrows and would probably sit content for hours if our arms didn't get tired, such cuties. 

Some of the children started giving us the middle finger claiming it meant love, and I genuinely believe that's what they think. It's not a great thing for me to mention but it really does emphasise the culture difference and it's too funny to not mention.

Adding to the chaos there have been three kids who have run away since my last post. Alhondra was the first, this was the girl who we shared a room with for our first five weeks here meaning we were really close with her. She literally got up one day and managed to go without being caught, this not being too difficult due to all the building work. This was a real struggle to come to terms with and two weeks later I still don't think I've got my head around it, but we've heard from some of the other kids that she's safe and happy which is all that really matters. It's just unfortunate for us to loose a friend, who we potentially had the strongest bond with, and who helped us through the hardest time of our journey so far. She had a boyfriend in the Aldea, Victor, and after a couple of days we realised we hadn't seen him, turns out he had run away to be with her (they love their romance over here), however it can't be an easy life for a 15 and 16 year old out there. To top this Victors sister Ana Lee left too as she realised that if they could then she could too. This was another bummer as she was the other girl who we were really close too, but it's about them being happy not us, it's just so different without them being here as they were such a similar age and our friends. 

Oh and to top off that week, you're all going to love this, I got nits. After passing that age I never thought about getting them again! But I guess it's to be expected living in such an environment. I could have got them from a kid or Amber who unfortunately has them too. Thankfully there was some shampoo left from other volunteers so that solved the problem very quickly, but still it's horrible knowing this will happen again, banter though. 

So much has happened but I don't have the time to write it all in detail, but: we had five puppies born, some of the boys managed to open our window during the night which is scary, went to a mall and had a Pizza Hut wow, Ambers been writing love letters to people for the banter, I now like bananas, went to the school for an event and two of the girls from the Aldea dressed like princesses, had possibly the best weekend of my life at Huanchaco, drank tea with a lizard called Lipton, and the only thing that's not been amazing this week was hearing that Marie Lou is leaving soon, other than that it's been perfect. I'm honestly having the time of my life and I'm so grateful for every second. 

Woah

So as of this Monday coming it's been six whole weeks since I got on that plane and left England for the year...

The past three weeks have been something else, looking back I still don't think that it's sunk in that I'm in Peru and here for another 10 and a half months, but also the fact there's only 10 and a half months left!

Where to start, we finally moved into our volunteer "house" which is only a bedroom for the two of us, the living room is the library and the other two rooms are for food storage. This meaning our years are going to be very different than expected as we have nowhere to do anything with the kids apart from play in the dust outside, but we'll just have to make the project our own. When we first moved to the house it was just the two of us and a lot of dirt; we tried to clean our room but it wasn't as easy as expected, and since they still needed to put our bunk bed up we had two mattresses on the floor sleeping with the many wood lice.

A week passed and lots of dirt accumulated until they finally came to put our bed up, only to hear we have to wait for another Tio to do it tomorrow, so another night on the floor it was. Once the bed was finally assembled we decided to make a "carpet" out of multiple patterned blankets which turned out to work really well and make the place homely. To top it off we finally got to lose sight of them bloody suitcases we've been living out of for the past month and a half because of the wardrobe we created. This intelligent mechanism is three pieces of ribbon knotted together in the middle, then all hammered in the wall and glue guned into place, it's took long enough but we finally have a place to call home for the next year and it's the best feeling! 

We also decorated the bathroom with the mirror and shower curtain we bought so that's nice and pleasant now. However speaking of the shower, we have no hot water for the year so as for my ice bucket challenge, I have to go through that pain every day (apart from the one day I couldn't so washed my hair in the kitchen sink...) it just wouldn't be appropriate for me to voice my pain on the internet. I would say this isn't an issue for me as there's worse in the world, but wow, the initial reaction to the cold water isn't pleasant. Amber actually screamed the first time! Plus the bathroom door is half broken and we locked it accidentally, and had no key so Amber had to kick it down like you see in the movies hahaa!

All in all I couldn't be happier spending all my time with these kids and I've grown to love the new house, despite the many children we have had to lift through a window as we have locked ourself out... 

There's been some good and bad days at the Aldea which is funny. We were asked to decorate for one of the girls kinserya's, this being their big birthday. We rolled with it and gave it our best shot, it just turns out our best shot was totally rubbish. Not only that night did they take down our "peasant attempt" of balloons, but we had also put the words of the sign up the wrong way which were glue gunned to the wall. So yes after the birthday girl crying (all due to us) and us feeling lower than low, it turned out to be a really great night. We're lucky to get to see such traditions and be a part of them. The majority of the night was spent dancing with some crazy entertainers, and yet more balloons, eating some more chicken -  but it turned out all good and nobody seems to have held a grudge either!! 

Umm we took lots of the kids on a trip to the local pool down the road. The walk there was adorable singing a Spanish song with the young girls, everyone excited, only to get there to find a pool with no water... But they don't let that stop them here, after sitting and eating our picnic some of the kids ran around in the empty pool, and the rest found a river over a rickety wooden bridge: 

The kids loved it and so did we, it's was refreshing to see them all outside the walls of the Aldea and enjoying themselves!!

Plus me Amber managed to get a photo together even if you can't see my face fully :) 

Friday seemed like a regular day, after being idiots and putting too much clothing in the washing machine, we ended up hand washing the majority instead. After hanging my stuff out I return to chaos amoung the kids from casa dos where we still eat, this turned into a full on water fight. I've literally not had that much fun in a long time, we ended up getting our bathroom bin to fill with water to throw at the kids, however we ended up totally soaking. One of the kids, Alfredo, finally decided to just sit in the sink and turn the tap on, a lot funnier than it sounds. To ruin our high, one of the Tia's marched over and all the kids did a runner. She even proceeded to "tell us off" where we were like giggling girls who just couldn't hold in the laughter. Turns out we didn't see the bags of cement on the flood or think about the wooden house getting ruined, but they're only temporary right?! We were left with the words that "direction, the big mans, wouldn't be happy with us on Monday" oooh. It was all well worth it considering how happy with kids were, and us too. 

We're still eating with casa dos even though we're not living with them anymore meaning we are now so close to the kids there, meaning we end up causing chaos during meals but it's all fun and games. 

But yeah I'm currently in McDonald's getting free wifi and about to run out of battery but I'm having the time of my life and I'm so happy everyone at home is doing great- stay happy x

Crazy casa

So the night I posted my last blog post was night three at the Aldea, it was also the night the Aldea called the police as they thought we were missing...

Since we couldn't speak the same language it was hard to explain when we would get the bus back, whilst also apparently hard to understand that the last bus was at six. There we were enjoying a lovely omlette thinking everything was fine. We ended up asking a police woman about the bus who radioed something through, evidently the whole police system isn't on top form or they would have seen two British girls wanting to get back to the Aldea and put the two missing British girls together. Anyway after scaring the majority of the Tia's there, they finally found the funny side and we got mocked quite a bit. The nicknames thing 1 & thing 2 we were given by the other girls seems to be relevant... 

It's been two full weeks that we've been living here in the Aldea, it's crazy the bonds you can make with people in such a short time, especially considering you can't speak the same language! So much has happened and it's so difficult to condense it down, and find the time to write it living in this crazy casa. Starting with our living area, as I mentioned in my previous post we don't have a house but thought the new ones would be ready by now. It appears our moving date is now Wednesday, whether that will be the case or not I'm unsure. So yes we're still living in a house with the children, and the top bunk is our wardrobe... 

It also appears the new houses are only temporary and in 8 months time the new casas will be ready to move again- so very confusing. However living in this house has been the most amazing experience, we have bonded with the kids and the two Tia's so well which is going to make it so difficult moving to live in our own house. They're always so happy and upbeat, like tonight we turned off all the lights and danced to Peruvian music for half an hour- a lot more fun than it sounds. 

This is everyone but Mary Lou, the sweetest girl, who is taking the photo and Camilo, the nine year old with the voice of a forty year old,  who could be anywhere. Starting at the bottom left is Isac who you'll hear about later, Renzo who is four and beyond cheeky, Tia Carla who has the funniest laugh I've come across, Yene who we only just found out is Mary Lous sister, Alfredo who loves dancing to Barbie girl, then me, Amber and Alhondra who has been nice enough to let us share her room. She also brought pet fish home in a gel tub which we later proceeded to put in the river, if you could call it a river. 

We bought the kids in our casa two DVDs which worked out around £2 for both; I've never seen a child appreciate something as much which cost so little, this was lovely. They then proceeded to watch both numerous times that week which is always annoying, but you have to love them! 

A past volunteer from 6 years ago came back to visit the Aldea for a few days before travelling around other areas is South America. This was amazing up have someone there who had been through a similar situation to yourself, and who could speak your language, it couldn't have come at a better time. We got help with Spanish, translated important information to us, gave us advice and she bought loads of local snacks which have all been consumed. It was so refreshing having a three way conversation, something we haven't had in two weeks, it's really made me want to improve my Spanish to a high level! Emily taught us how to make bracelets so we can teach the kids, it's such a fun skill to have! 

We heard a lot of stories about the children and why they were here as Emily could understand and tell us; it was great to have more of an insight but also rather emotionally draining at the same time. We also found out that Isaac who we live with is currently in the adoption process which is amazing that his aunties want him to live with them in Lima. However on a selfish note it's going to be so difficult, this was the kid who came and played football with us on the first day and made an effort to make us welcome, the kid who woke us up every morning due to being so loud, the kid who has the most impeccable manners and also has banter banter. I didn't really think about this side of things but it's going to be such an amazing opportunity for him and that's all that matters. 

It's taken us until today to realise that there is a switch for the hot water, even thought the past volunteers told us we totally forget, hence two weeks of cold showers. Luckily we haven't mentioned anything to others so we won't be laughed at again for our stupidity! 

We look after the babies sometimes on a morning, this will likely be every day once we have our house next week. They're so adorable. 

First there's Jandy who is the youngest child here, we recently met her mum who came to visit which was so lovely getting to see them together. We live with Jandy which is amazing, there's no getting enough of her cuteness! 

Next there's Fatima who is three: 

And Ricardo who's two: 

There's also another girl called Estraya bit she hasn't quiet warmed to us yet, and that's putting it loosely. But I'm hoping that will change over time :) 

The rest of our day doesn't really have a schedule yet, but once we have moved house we will get a time table, and have room and resources to do things with the kids which I'm really looking forward to! 

The biggest challenge so far has definitely been the food. When we first arrived at night Tia Flora made us chips and egg which made us hopeful- how wrong we were. When they say you get rice with every meal they really weren't joking. Breakfast is bread, occasional olives, and this bizzare soup that always had strange foreign objects in it, so yes, for breakfast we eat bread... Then lunch has a soup which is just lots of food from the kitchen, a main meal which is always over half a plate of rice, then either meat, lentils or potato, and a side plate of vegetables which always have lime juice over them. Then tea is the same as lunch which is something I'll never get used to. They just have such huge portions but we don't want to be rude and not eat the food, it's
really been a struggle trying to get used to it. 

I'm having the most amazing time here, every day is so crazy and there's not been a day yet where we haven't had a challenge but there's always good fun. I'm so grateful for this experience! I know this post is all over the place but ahh well, hope everyone is well back home :) 

First impressions!

So much has happened in the last week, it's mad. So I managed to get on the train and say goodbye to my fam, it was bloody difficult but I know (hope) it'll get easier over time! I was so lucky at the airport and managed to get away with 2 bags which weighed like 40 kilos when I was meant to have one weighing 23 kilos woo! Anyway yeah, the flight was better than expected, I watched the Lego movie then slept the rest of the way, despite the horrendous turbulence leading up to Brazil. 

The hostel we stayed in for the first few nights in Lima is lovely, and it meant all 8 girls got to spend some time together before going to our projects. We got a minibus there and the roads are crazyyyyyyy- I mean I've seen worse but they are far from the civilised roads back in the UK! 

I had a bit of a blonde moment and tried to pay 108 soles for chips and a drink, that being around £25, but thankfully they laughed and explained it was 10.08 soles, not the best way to start the year I must say... 

Our morning flight to Trujillo was cancelled so we had to get one that night instead, because of this the airport paid for our taxi transfers, a room in the Sheraton and meals that day, plus $150 on flights anywhere with that airline, what madness. It was such a luxurious day which would be the total opposite of the next day!! 

Arriving in Trujillo was the complete opposite of arriving in Lima, there was so much free land around and the runway was literally just on the sea front! Anyway we arrived in the Aldea and slept in casa ocho (house eight) with the children there. We thought this was just for a night however the next morning they moved us to casa dos, this being when we found out we don't have a house...

We were told there was a house just for volunteers, however they are building new houses which will be ready at some point at the start of September, due to this we have to live in a house with the tias and children till then. This involves sharing a room with a girl called Alhondra who is lovely. 

However it also means living out of our suitcases and I have to stay on the top bunk which I must say is a bit of a challenge. In addition to this fact there is no privacy whatsoever... But I can't complain as these people have welcomed us into their home with open arms, something which I am truly grateful for. 

I've only slept in the Aldea for two nights but it already feels like weeks. The children are so loving and happy, I don't know how I'm going to say goodbye when it comes to leaving. It'll be like saying goodbye to my family again, except this time knowing it'll be the last goodbye. 

There is a one year old baby called Jandy who is the most beautiful baby girl I've ever seen. 

The language barrier is more funny than anything, the Tia's and children laugh at us A LOT, but we will get there eventually I'm sure :) 

On a negative note I was sick on day two at the Aldea, but thankfully it didn't stop me from doing anything. Sometimes it feels like I'm causing more trouble with the kids by laughing too much instead of helping, but other days  it's different. I spent yesterday morning helping an older boy with his English, however I didn't know a lot of the words in Spanish Hahaa, but still I felt useful. 

I have had bouts of homesickness throughout the week, on the odd occasion I have had time to think, but that's to be expected. I just didn't think I would struggle as much, but I guess this year is all about growing as a person, and this will most certainly help me grow in the long run. 

So yeah, I've spent today in the city and it's beautiful, like I think it's one of the most picturesque places I've ever seen. We had a local lunch and there was so much food for £4 Hahaa, and a local man came and eat with us- everyone is just crazy friendly. It just wouldn't happen back in the UK. I've managed to get internet and call home which was amazing. I just can't believe I'm here and this is real life. 

I don't really know what to say, I realise I've blabbed loads but I think my family will appreciate the stories haha! Missing everyone but having the most amazing time! 

The night before departure...

So the night has come when I have to accept the reality of one night left in my own bed, what a crazy thought... 

The last few days have been a whirlwind of emotions, and for someone who isn't a fan of tears it's been one hell of a rollercoaster. I got home from a holiday in Prague with my friends to have a leaving party two days later, this being the last time I would see my friends and a lot of my family for the year; my mum had got masks printed of my face which everyone wore. Now this I wasn't expecting, especially going into town that night and seeing my face everywhere, including the bathroom floor aha! It was such a lovely gesture along with many others and it's made me realise how blessed I've been with all the support my friends and family have provided- and the banta banta over the past however many years! There were some tears shed, especially with the influence of alochol (it was a leaving party after all), but goodbyes aren't meant to be easy are they??

The next night was a meal with all my extended family, now this had to be the hardest part, not only did I say goodbye to my grandparents, but to my nephews who mean the absolute world to me, how I'm going to cope not seeing them for a year is un-comprehendable and something I do not wish to dwell on. 

But then again it's only 365 days I guess........

My last day was spent packing, something which I hadn't even considered until 24 hours before my departure. Alongside with saying goodbye to a few more family members including my cousin. I'm going to miss my little pumpkin loads, just looking forward to come home and meeting the new pet pug hahaa, love you petal 

Now anyone who knows me well would be aware I don't pack light, this being quite an issue when attempting to cram a years worth of stuff into a rucksack. This was a mission impossible task considering I'm taking away a keyboard and a years worth of medication, hence the extra baggage which I will have to pay for, oops 

Either way I am almost completely packed apart from a few last minute things, advice for anyone going away in the future, pack in advance, it would be so much less stressful hahaa 

Then tonight's goodbye was with my sister after a meal out with my immediate family, I'm not too sure how I'm going to cope living so far away from her as this isn't something I'm used to, but it was a lovely and happy goodbye, most likely as it hadn't sunk in yet. Either way, It's going to take a lot of getting used too...

This was also meant to be the goodbye to my brother, however I was surprised with him taking the day off work and staying home for the night so he could wave me off tomorrow: what a radgie. 

Now that's three final farewells tomorrow rather than two, on the plus side I managed to convince him to take a selfie for my wall next year which was as close to a miracle one could get :) 

I'm not too sure how tomorrow is going to go, it's all been so surreal and hasn't quiet sunk in yet, hence the rambling which I do apologise for! 

My family have been the best one could ask for, it's going to be such a challenge without them by my side but I know it'll be worth it in the long run. I'm going to miss you guys incredible amounts, your kindness is something which has shaped me into who I am today and I am eternally grateful for that: as corny as it may sound! I don't know how I'm going to manage without them, love you all stupid amounts!

So yes, I guess this is it until the next time I get internet in Peru, which I hopefully will at some point aha! A massive thank you for all the support and I'll miss everyone loads, see you all in a year!!! 

What am I doing???

Right so 12 days till I leave for Peru and the feeling is so surreal, especially seeing as though I'll only be spending 6 of them in my own sweet, sweet bed.

I'm starting to have the 'what the bloody hell am I doing' feeling and I'm not too sure how to condense what my year ahead has to hold. After seeing the Honduras group leave and say their goodbyes it's becoming real how difficult the concept of saying goodbye is going to be, especially to my nephews who will grow so much whilst I'm away! However I know that this is something I've always dreamed of and it's definitely the right path to take. 

So yeah, I'm starting to get nervous, but thankfully that hasn't killed my vibe of excitement- wish me luck with packing a years worth of stuff into a suitcase. 

Training!

A year has passed since the crazy experience of receiving my acceptance letter, meaning my training course has been and gone, something which I never thought would happen so soon. This involved venturing back up to Coll to endure a week of talks and activities, covering everything we could possibly need to know for our year abroad. This was quite the eye opener to what type of work I would be doing, covering all the positive and negative aspects of what could happen; mainly positives so it's all good.

My training course was also with Namibia, Nepal and Honduras, it was lovely to get to know everyone and hearing about all the different types of projects and cultures we will be partaking on. This is everyone at the end of training at the ferry port once we arrived back in Oban before saying our goodbyes.

I will be working in a state run orphanage in Trujillo which is on the coast of Peru, an 8 hour drive up from the capital, Lima. At the present moment there are around 50 children living there, ranging from new born to 18 years of age, however there is a capacity for 80 children so this figure can fluctuate. For anyone interested the address that I will be living at is:

Aldea Infantil Victor Raül ,
KM 24 A la Sierra Liberteña,
Trujillo,
La Libertad,
Peru.

I will be living in a small house, made up of four bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, two bathrooms, and even a shower with warm running water! I will be sharing this with my partner, Amber, who I had the pleasure of getting to know on my training course.

I also got to meet the other eight Peru girls and my desk officer, Felicity.

Let's just say I cannot wait to go travelling with this group, it'll be quite the experience to say the least.

Training was an amazing experience preparing us for the main part of our year's volunteering, going from workshops to a lovely meal and ceilidh on the last night. I now prepared and stupidly excited to go away with people who I assume will become a major part of my life.



All £5,600 has now been fundraised so I am completely finished everything; besides the packing which should be a challenge. I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported me, either helping out at an event, coming along to a coffee morning, donating old clothes for me to weigh in, or offering me any amount of money, especially all the charitable organisations who have been insanely generous- this wouldn't be possible without all your help! Also a thank you to my family who have supported me in all of the above, especially my mum who has basically been a little personal assistant for me when I have been too busy with college, your support has been wonderful.

So yes, we will be jetting off on the 18th of August, flying via Brazil, then to Lima. I will up date this as often as possible however no promises can be made as to how much free time I will have, thanks for your interest in my experience :)