In the Travel Office we are very lucky, because Jim Whitmore and Katie Colby, our wonderful Bridge Peru leaders, are making life easy for us by writing all these email updates themselves, directly from Peru. All we have to do is copy and paste!
Without further ado, here is Bridge Peru Email Update Number 2:
"Since we checked in last, the Bridge Peru students have been getting to know their host families, improving their Spanish through morning classes, and learning about different aspects of Peruvian society through several service projects.
Last Thursday after the students visited the zoo with their Spanish teachers, we had the opportunity to work with kids with special needs at La Clinica San Juan de Dios. We played with the children outside, colored with them, and helped feed them during dinner.
Our students were really surprised how well they could communicate with these children through body language, gestures, and facial expressions, even if some of the kids could not talk or walk by themselves. We will have the opportunity to go back again this Thursday to spend more time with these children.
On Friday we visited the village of Kirkas, which is an hour drive up the mountain on a windy dirt road. We sang songs, played soccer, and played “Pato, Pato, Ganso” (Duck, Duck, Goose) with the little kids in this poor village before coming together as a community for lunch.
The people of Kirkas showed us how they cooked potatoes underground using hot rocks and everyone ate these along with cheese, ham, and oranges that we had brought. We also fulfilled a community need by bringing backpacks for the younger students to hold their school supplies, and replacing some of the broken windows in the school. Our students fell in love with the kids at Kirkas and were pleasantly surprised by how welcomed we were by this community. We had a different kind of 4th of July celebration by going salsa dancing at night!
This weekend, our group hiked up two different Incan ruins, one in Tipon, and one in Pisac. We also had a chance to try cuy (guinea pig), a local specialty, and to experience a Sunday market using all of our five senses.
Monday and Tuesday this week after Spanish classes, we are teaching English to boys at the Salesiano School, a middle class school here in Cusco. In pairs, our students each work with a class of 20-30 students, helping them practice English through fun games and outdoor activities.
On Wednesday there is a transportation strike in the morning, and our students will be able to learn first hand the interaction between unions and government here in Peru, and will have their Spanish teachers to help them navigate these cultural and political issues. In the afternoon, we’ll have some more group bonding time and then go visit some llamas and alpacas!
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