I left for Peru in May of 2008, just after finishing up my Sophomore year at Duke. Our group consisted of all Duke students (mostly engineers), and a Duke Spanish Teacher, Joan. We flew to Lima from the U.S. and stayed at Hostal Torreblanca. It was a small hotel, but very clean and well kept. My journal starts a week into our busy trip so according to my first entry (May 20) we spent the day in downtown Lima, visiting sites like the President's residence, and then touring La Villa el Salvador -- a squatter community that has grown tremendously in the past few decades. While touring we sat down with the locals and despite the language and cultural barriers, they were more than hospitable. It was amazing to see the pride these people had in their community and what they had built with hard work.
Hostal Torreblanca
The next day we left Lima and went to see a monument called El Ojo que llora, The Eye that Cries. We were fortunate enough to meet with the artist who designed it, and she explained how the victims of the Shining Path terror are written on stones surrounding the main rock. The monument was quite powerful, especially when you read the stones and saw how young some of the people were who were killed. Afterwards, we got back on our bus and drove 3 hours to another hostal in Barranca by the ocean.
El Ojo que llora Monument
The following day we arrived to our ultimate destination, Huanchaco. Huanchaco was a beautiful town right next to the ocean, and we stayed in a house all together. Our volunteer work was being done in Ciudad de Dios, which was an hour bus ride away, but we could not stay there because they had no running water (purpose of our trip) and no electricity (they received it right after we left!). Looking back, it was nice to be living in a house with the entire group instead of being split up between local families, which was the living arrangement of another DukeEngage Peru trip. I dealt with a lot of homesick issues during my stay in Peru, and having the group there was a huge help.. especially since my Spanish was limited to Hola and Como estas. I did quickly learn, however, how to say "Can I use the telephone to call the U.S?"
The gorgeous city of Huanchaco, Peru
The first part of the week we were in Huanchaco, we spent exploring the city and getting to know every person in our group. I brushed up on my Spanish with the help of my Duke friend, Magdalena, as well as our housekeeper's son, Robby. We also took a day trip to the city of Trujillo to tour. It is a much bigger city than Huanchaco and has a busy feel to it. In Huanchaco, the beach was right down the block from our house so we spent a lot of time walking around by the water and observing people who live there. The day before going into Ciudad de Dios we split up into groups and went on a scavenger hunt in Huanchaco and Trujillo. Some items we had to take pictures of included "el coliseo de los gallos entre Huanchaco y Trujillo" (cock fighting), "la torta mas bonita en Trujillo" (pretty cake), and "una combi" (a type of car/minivan in Peru). It really helped us understand the area geographically and work on interacting with Peruvians.
Our entire group, including MOCHE leaders, and our Peruvian family
Next stop, CIUDAD DE DIOS!
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Huanchaco,
Peru,
Trujillo
