When traveling, it’s easy to fall into the mentality that the destination is the only thing that matters. However, when a multi-day journey awaits you, it’s beneficial to adopt the mentality that the journey is just as worthy of reflecting upon as the destination itself.
In our case – Project Suyana’s fifth trek from the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor to the region of Puno in Peru – the journey began on a Wednesday morning at the Cube and ended in the comfortable confines of our new residence on Avenue Alfonso Ugarte. The plane ride to Ft. Lauderdale, layover, plane ride to Lima, overnight stay and brief visit of Lima, and two bus rides clocked in at 59 hours (4 a.m. Wed. – 3 p.m. Fri.).
Despite our short stay in Lima, we were still able to get a pretty good sense of the city. Lima is a sprawling city and on our taxi ride from the hostel to the downtown district we were exposed to its non-tourist area, chock full of local businesses, stray dogs, and men peeing in public. Arriving downtown gave us a very different impression of a clean, coastal city with breathtaking views.
Although the travel was exhausting, it provided us with some necessary bonding time and opened our eyes to the adjustments we would have to make while immersing ourselves in an unfamiliar culture. For example, we played bingo during our first bus ride, but could hardly keep up with how fast the numbers were being called out. On our final bus ride, we encountered locals selling anything from keychains to food and were entertained by a Peruvian walking the aisles while playing his guitar.
On Saturday, Dr. Ivan (our good friend and main contact in the area) invited us to take part in the construction and celebration of his sister's new home. After a quaint bonfire and hearty meal in Dr. Ivan's backyard, Ken and Erin were invited to be the Godfather and Godmother of the house. Luckily, their only responsibility was to smash a bottle of champagne with a hammer, a tradition in Peru to properly dedicate a home.
The following morning, we journeyed down to a large public park near Lake Titicaca. Nestled beneath some picturesque mountains, the area was more than just a place to get exercise as we got a sense of the region's natural beauty as well. However, we were forced to adapt to the high altitude and became winded within minutes of our soccer game.
The game itself was quite the cultural experience as we were the only non-Peruvians participating. Onlookers had plenty to laugh at as our naivety of the area's social constructs became immediately apparent. First, Clare was instructed that girls don't play soccer in Peru. This didn't discourage her and her unexpectedly aggressive play led to our team's only legitimate goal. After the game, our team's goalie – a 57-year-old Peruvian man – asked Clare if she would continue to play soccer after she had children, which once again showed the cultural divide. Similarly, players and spectators alike couldn't get over why Carlos would take off his shirt when he became uncomfortably overheated during the game.
After we got acquainted with our surroundings and adjusted to the low oxygen levels, it was time to get to work. Monday was our first day at the school. After meeting the Director, Elvira, we found out that the teacher for fourth grade was in the hospital, so we took over and taught English class during the morning. The kids were a bit rambunctious, but they were definitely excited to see some new faces and surprisingly receptive to the English we taught them.We will continue to update the blog as our experiences at the school continue. Additionally, we will be traveling to the compo this Friday to resume our clean-burning stove initiative and will have a recap of that project as well.
[Written by David Riva | Photos by Benjamin Antonio and Clare Toeniskoetter]
In our case – Project Suyana’s fifth trek from the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor to the region of Puno in Peru – the journey began on a Wednesday morning at the Cube and ended in the comfortable confines of our new residence on Avenue Alfonso Ugarte. The plane ride to Ft. Lauderdale, layover, plane ride to Lima, overnight stay and brief visit of Lima, and two bus rides clocked in at 59 hours (4 a.m. Wed. – 3 p.m. Fri.).
Despite our short stay in Lima, we were still able to get a pretty good sense of the city. Lima is a sprawling city and on our taxi ride from the hostel to the downtown district we were exposed to its non-tourist area, chock full of local businesses, stray dogs, and men peeing in public. Arriving downtown gave us a very different impression of a clean, coastal city with breathtaking views.
Although the travel was exhausting, it provided us with some necessary bonding time and opened our eyes to the adjustments we would have to make while immersing ourselves in an unfamiliar culture. For example, we played bingo during our first bus ride, but could hardly keep up with how fast the numbers were being called out. On our final bus ride, we encountered locals selling anything from keychains to food and were entertained by a Peruvian walking the aisles while playing his guitar.On Saturday, Dr. Ivan (our good friend and main contact in the area) invited us to take part in the construction and celebration of his sister's new home. After a quaint bonfire and hearty meal in Dr. Ivan's backyard, Ken and Erin were invited to be the Godfather and Godmother of the house. Luckily, their only responsibility was to smash a bottle of champagne with a hammer, a tradition in Peru to properly dedicate a home.The following morning, we journeyed down to a large public park near Lake Titicaca. Nestled beneath some picturesque mountains, the area was more than just a place to get exercise as we got a sense of the region's natural beauty as well. However, we were forced to adapt to the high altitude and became winded within minutes of our soccer game.The game itself was quite the cultural experience as we were the only non-Peruvians participating. Onlookers had plenty to laugh at as our naivety of the area's social constructs became immediately apparent. First, Clare was instructed that girls don't play soccer in Peru. This didn't discourage her and her unexpectedly aggressive play led to our team's only legitimate goal. After the game, our team's goalie – a 57-year-old Peruvian man – asked Clare if she would continue to play soccer after she had children, which once again showed the cultural divide. Similarly, players and spectators alike couldn't get over why Carlos would take off his shirt when he became uncomfortably overheated during the game.
After we got acquainted with our surroundings and adjusted to the low oxygen levels, it was time to get to work. Monday was our first day at the school. After meeting the Director, Elvira, we found out that the teacher for fourth grade was in the hospital, so we took over and taught English class during the morning. The kids were a bit rambunctious, but they were definitely excited to see some new faces and surprisingly receptive to the English we taught them.We will continue to update the blog as our experiences at the school continue. Additionally, we will be traveling to the compo this Friday to resume our clean-burning stove initiative and will have a recap of that project as well.
[Written by David Riva | Photos by Benjamin Antonio and Clare Toeniskoetter]
Amazing, already so jealous of what you guys are up to! Can't wait to hear more...
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