I have been at Casa Acogida for 4 days now and I absolutely love it and all the girls there. There are only about 6-8 girls that are there during our time because the others are in classes during that time. On Friday I took some pictures of them while they were cooking lunch and they made me promise to print off copies for them to bring back on Monday. They were so excited when I gave them their pictures and they went around and showed them off to everyone before hanging them up in their rooms.
One girl in particular named Juanita has grown attached to me already. She told me that all of her family back in Lima where she is from is dead so now we are sisters and that I need to break her out of the shelter and take her back to the United States with me. She constantly hugs me and won’t leave my side. She is only 12 years old, yet she told the shelter when she arrived that she was 16 so that she would only have to spend 2 years there instead of 6. I am suffering from a moral dilemma right now as to whether I should keep my promise to Juanita to not tell anyone or whether I should go tell the directors that she lied and they need to check out her real age. She also told me that she had a 27 year old blonde haired 6 foot tall boyfriend from Switzerland waiting to marry her in Lima when she gets out of the shelter. I have a feeling that like girls back in America, these girls have behavioral problems too. Juanita obviously has a problem with lying and I think some of the other girls have self esteem issues by the way they pose and “smile” in pictures and the way they dance.
On Monday we danced with the girls to some of their Latin music and I tried to teach them some of the salsa moves I learned, but of course they already knew most of them and were way better than me. Afterward, they taught us a game with clapping and moving cups that got harder and harder the faster we did it.
Yesterday we painted pictures of our friends and most influential people in our lives and then played volleyball.
Today we were able to take the girls out to a public pool to go swimming. We had to pay S1.50 for each of them (about 6 girls) but they had a lot of fun and even though none of us volunteers went in because to us it was too cold and to be honest pretty dirty, they enjoyed getting out of the shelter to have some free time with just us girls and no adults.
We have planned to do make-overs tomorrow and Yoga on Friday.
I am enjoying my last days in Cusco with the many friends I have made here and hoping not to break down and cry when I have to say goodbye to them in just a couple days. Tonight we are going to trivia and then to the San Pedro volunteer house to play card games on their roof top balcony. I have mixed feelings about leaving: I am sad to leave the place I have called home for the past 2 months, but excited to get back to my family and friends back in the States. I will miss the work I have been doing here all summer and the people I have been spending time with. It is a bitter sweet feeling as I think about Saturday afternoon when I will take my two large suitcases full of souvenirs to the airport to start my almost 24 hour long journey back home via Lima and JKF- NYC. I will spend the next 2 days embracing all of Cusco and soaking up every last bit that I can as I finish up my work and go out on the town with my new friends from all over the world.
One last funny note… who would have ever thought they dressed their dogs up in clothes in Peru? Well the ones that aren’t strays are very fashionable and may even beat Tito and Rosie on the runway for best dressed. I have seen numerous dogs of all shapes and sizes dressed in clothes of all kinds. I thought it was odd that in a country like this, they would do something so superficial like we do in the United States.
Wish me a safe flight home and I will see you all very soon. Look forward to your awesome presents! I love you all and can’t wait to see you. Hasta luego for now, but not for long.
-Hillary-
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Church and Futbol
Sunday morning Bryant, Brittany, Liam and I went to the large cathedral in the Plaza de Armas for a 9:00 am Catholic Church service. Bryant was the only one of us who was religious but it was still cool to experience how church is in Spanish and in South America.
It was my first time actually inside a Cusco church because usually you have to pay to go inside them by buying a tourist ticket and going after the services. The inside was beautiful! It had high ceilings and old paintings hung all over the walls. There were gold gates surrounding areas like the center where the music played and toward the front where some candles were lit. The many rows of pews were dark shiny wood and there were pillars that reached the ceiling with podiums attached where the priests used to go to talk in.
Many things were different from a service back home. Some people were standing all over and leaning up against the pillars instead of sitting down in the pews to listen. It was not silent while the priest spoke either and some people were not even paying attention to him but rather they were kneeling and praying to themselves or over to the right side praying to a large statue of Christ on the Cross surrounded by fresh flowers. This really tested my Spanish and made me realize I may not be as good as I thought I am because it was hard to follow what he was saying. Although, I did understand when he the many times he said “en el nombre del padre, su hijo y espirito de santo” while making the three point sign from the forehead to each shoulder. The priest held a microphone so that the enormous church and its crowd could hear his homily (a Catholic sermon). He wore a long green robe and sat in a chair at the front of the church that almost resembled a king’s throne.
The crowd was a mixture of all different kind of people. There were other gringos like us, some coming for the experience and just to look around and others that were there to actually pray. There were wealthy families dressed in their Sunday best, indigenous women with their long braided hair, people in jeans and t-shirts, and even some men in uniforms that stood reverently in back.
We went home to have lunch and then went with the new Minnesota couple and Liam to a soccer game. The teams playing were Cusco (Cienciano) and Lima (Universitario). Apparently the Lima team was from an upper class area and was snobby making for a big rivalry between the teams. The fans from both teams were super crazy and we were glad to not be sitting in those sections but on the calmer “occidente” (west) side instead. Both fan sections had bands which they yelled songs to the sound of the drums, flags which they waved high, and they jumped up and down practically the entire game. The Lima fans let out orange gas at the beginning of the game while they rushed up and down the stands. Since the fans were so crazy, they had SWAT officers lining the steps in-between them in case any riots were to break out. The police stood at the top of the bleachers in each section as well looking down on the crowd and ready to pounce on any fights that may occur.
There were also police officers with shields lining the field to stop any crazy fans from jumping inside onto the turf which probably would have been nearly impossible since the field was surrounded by a fence with barbed wire on top. The shields were to protect the players and officers from things being thrown on the field like water bottles and other trash. They made us leave our water bottles outside of the stadium for this reason because people will sometimes fill them up with urine and throw them at the opposing team members.
The 4 referees dressed in blue uniforms and came out of the blown up “Movistar” phone promotion tunnels first. Next to the left of us Lima entered the field and to the right came out our team, Cusco dressed in red uniforms and white shorts. Our captain, number 10, did the kick off in the middle of the field to start the game. About half way through the first half Lima scored and a fan nearby us showed his excitement very openly in a crowd full of Cusco fans. A man next to us was not happy with this and threw a purple slushee at his white Lima jersey and called him a bad name in Spanish. The Lima fan surprisingly did not retaliate and simply kissed his jersey and let it go.
The game continued with the refs blatantly disregarding Lima hand balls and personal fouls making the Cusco players and fans extremely upset and even causing the injury of one of our best players. It looked like we were going to lose the game until in the last minute we scored and it ended with a tie of 1-1 for which they did not go into overtime to settle.
We left the stadium and the streets were packed with people now trying to get taxis home like us, which took us forever by the way because they were all already full. All of a sudden two dozen or more kids came running down the street at us and cops and army officers followed. I got freaked out and didn’t know what was going on and hid behind Liam until they had passed. I still don’t know what that was about, so if anyone has any idea please let me know. I don’t know whether those kids were getting in trouble, or if it was some sort of tradition but I am curious to know why they did that.
Adios for now! I will be home on Sunday afternoon.
-Hillary-
It was my first time actually inside a Cusco church because usually you have to pay to go inside them by buying a tourist ticket and going after the services. The inside was beautiful! It had high ceilings and old paintings hung all over the walls. There were gold gates surrounding areas like the center where the music played and toward the front where some candles were lit. The many rows of pews were dark shiny wood and there were pillars that reached the ceiling with podiums attached where the priests used to go to talk in.
Many things were different from a service back home. Some people were standing all over and leaning up against the pillars instead of sitting down in the pews to listen. It was not silent while the priest spoke either and some people were not even paying attention to him but rather they were kneeling and praying to themselves or over to the right side praying to a large statue of Christ on the Cross surrounded by fresh flowers. This really tested my Spanish and made me realize I may not be as good as I thought I am because it was hard to follow what he was saying. Although, I did understand when he the many times he said “en el nombre del padre, su hijo y espirito de santo” while making the three point sign from the forehead to each shoulder. The priest held a microphone so that the enormous church and its crowd could hear his homily (a Catholic sermon). He wore a long green robe and sat in a chair at the front of the church that almost resembled a king’s throne.
The crowd was a mixture of all different kind of people. There were other gringos like us, some coming for the experience and just to look around and others that were there to actually pray. There were wealthy families dressed in their Sunday best, indigenous women with their long braided hair, people in jeans and t-shirts, and even some men in uniforms that stood reverently in back.
We went home to have lunch and then went with the new Minnesota couple and Liam to a soccer game. The teams playing were Cusco (Cienciano) and Lima (Universitario). Apparently the Lima team was from an upper class area and was snobby making for a big rivalry between the teams. The fans from both teams were super crazy and we were glad to not be sitting in those sections but on the calmer “occidente” (west) side instead. Both fan sections had bands which they yelled songs to the sound of the drums, flags which they waved high, and they jumped up and down practically the entire game. The Lima fans let out orange gas at the beginning of the game while they rushed up and down the stands. Since the fans were so crazy, they had SWAT officers lining the steps in-between them in case any riots were to break out. The police stood at the top of the bleachers in each section as well looking down on the crowd and ready to pounce on any fights that may occur.
There were also police officers with shields lining the field to stop any crazy fans from jumping inside onto the turf which probably would have been nearly impossible since the field was surrounded by a fence with barbed wire on top. The shields were to protect the players and officers from things being thrown on the field like water bottles and other trash. They made us leave our water bottles outside of the stadium for this reason because people will sometimes fill them up with urine and throw them at the opposing team members.
The 4 referees dressed in blue uniforms and came out of the blown up “Movistar” phone promotion tunnels first. Next to the left of us Lima entered the field and to the right came out our team, Cusco dressed in red uniforms and white shorts. Our captain, number 10, did the kick off in the middle of the field to start the game. About half way through the first half Lima scored and a fan nearby us showed his excitement very openly in a crowd full of Cusco fans. A man next to us was not happy with this and threw a purple slushee at his white Lima jersey and called him a bad name in Spanish. The Lima fan surprisingly did not retaliate and simply kissed his jersey and let it go.
The game continued with the refs blatantly disregarding Lima hand balls and personal fouls making the Cusco players and fans extremely upset and even causing the injury of one of our best players. It looked like we were going to lose the game until in the last minute we scored and it ended with a tie of 1-1 for which they did not go into overtime to settle.
We left the stadium and the streets were packed with people now trying to get taxis home like us, which took us forever by the way because they were all already full. All of a sudden two dozen or more kids came running down the street at us and cops and army officers followed. I got freaked out and didn’t know what was going on and hid behind Liam until they had passed. I still don’t know what that was about, so if anyone has any idea please let me know. I don’t know whether those kids were getting in trouble, or if it was some sort of tradition but I am curious to know why they did that.
Adios for now! I will be home on Sunday afternoon.
-Hillary-
Housemates, Horses and Salsa
My last weekend in Cusco was very busy! We got new housemates and I was able to do the rest of the things I had wanted to do before I leave. Saturday was horseback riding and salsa lessons at Maximo Nivel.
On Saturday we got a new housemate named Liam from Ottawa. Sunday morning we got two girls from Washington named Amy and Molly and a young married couple from Minnesota named Amanda and Brian. Liam has long curly hair and tattoos and we really like him. He is a lot of fun and a cool person to talk to. The couple is very nice, although they are leaving in just a couple days to go do their volunteer work in the Manu jungle for 3 weeks so they won’t be staying here. The two other girls are a bit quiet, but seem to be friendly but they too are going to be leaving in a couple days to do their volunteer work up near Urubamba so it looks like we will be getting new housemates again before I even leave on Saturday.
Horseback riding was quite an adventure due to the fact that my horse didn’t like me and he had a bad case of gas and diarrhea. Brittany, Bryant and I along with a couple from Belgium were taken up to the ranch near the ruins above Cusco at 11 am on Saturday morning. They picked out our horses for us. Originally they tried to put Bryant on my crazy horse named Che (how ironic?) and I would have been with his gentle black horse named Cablo, but my horse wouldn’t let him get on the saddle and began bucking up and down when he tried. Instead of taking that as a sign that Che didn’t want to go on the hike and was going to be trouble the whole time, they decided to give him to me and said that he must have not liked Bryant because he was a boy but surely he would be fine with me… HA!
We started uphill along the trail and everyone else’s horses were doing fine. Brittany’s horse, Apacha, was 14 years old and still managed to keep up with everyone. My white horse with black speckles was very big and strong yet he stopped for bathroom breaks every five minutes and was huffing and puffing the whole way up. I would like to think that it wasn’t because I was too big for him, but the way he was acting it was like he was carrying a 500 pound man up that mountain. We had two guides that followed behind on foot and took pictures with our cameras. One was only 14 years old and had a crush on Brittany and the other was 23 and unfortunately had a crush on me. He took about 40 pictures of me on the 2 hour ride and the man from Belgium was egging him on to ask me out on a date, luckily he didn't.
Once we got up to the road and it was time to cross with the group, my dumb horse took another long break to drink water and I ended up having to cross the road with him alone. Then, when we got to the open area he took off running and I had no idea what to do! I tried to pull back on his reins like I’ve seen in the movies, but he would not stop and I was scared to death that I was going to fall off and die. I started to slide down his left side while still holding on to the saddle and eventually I just hopped off so that I wouldn’t fall off and get hurt. He kept running and I was fine with that and wished him a happy trip along the trail without me. Brittany and Bryant were laughing uncontrollably and I couldn’t help but join in at the stupidity of my un-trained horse with bowl problems who clearly just wanted to get away from me and the rest of the group.
The guide ran after the horse and brought him back to me and asked me over and over again if I was ok. I told him it was ok but that my horse was “loco” and I didn’t like him. Brittany, who rode horses when she was younger, told me that the horse could sense that I was scared of him and I needed to show him who was boss. I felt like he was boss by the way he almost threw me off and how he could start running at any moment and I automatically scream in fear. The guide put a rope bit in his mouth this time so that when I pulled back on his reins he would be sure to stop. Che did not like this and when I held the reins he shook his head hard so that I would let go and the ropes would fall to the ground making the bit fall out. He was a bad horse and I couldn’t wait to have a break from him!
We got to The Temple of the Moon which was a ruin along the trail. We got off our horses and they were able to take a break to eat grass and drink from the stream while we spent 40 minutes exploring the site. There were some vendors there who had a Spanish-speaking parrot named Pepito that Brittany became infatuated with. He would say “hola” and “mama” to us and crawl up and down our arm to our shoulder. He was eating an orange when we came upon him but once he met us he thought our sunglasses looked much tastier.
We got back on our horses after I tried to bribe everyone into switching with me. All the others were trying to get their horses to gallop but I wanted mine to just walk slowly and enjoy the scenic route. The little boy guide would sneak up behind the others and slap the horses behinds with a rope to get them to take off but I told him I would be very angry if he did that to Che. We continued on the trail in the open pasture where sheep were grazing and other guides had their dogs with them. The mountains were all around us and I was enjoying Che’s slow pace now despite his smelly droppings behind us.
We made it back to the ranch and I was happy to leave my horse and go off to pet the other horses at the ranch while we waited for our taxi back to town. Even though it wasn’t what I had expected, it was still another adventure and definitely a funny story for me to blog about.
After we got back to the plaza, we grabbed some lunch at a burger place called Bembos where the World Cup game between Spain and Paraguay was on. The place was packed with people cheering on Paraguay since they represent South America.
We walked to Maximo Nivel for salsa lessons for beginners that started at 3 pm. We learned 5 basic step sequences to counts and then paired up with a partner to practice them to music. At the end we all got into a big circle and traded partners after each sequence so that we could all dance with each other. At that point I was getting mixed up with my feet and I met a boy who helped me with the confusing steps. It seems much easier when you are actually out in the clubs doing it than in a classroom to numbers and so structured. Salsa is a very loose and free dance that to me just flows when you hear the music and have a dancing partner in a club. It was nice to learn the real steps though and I hope to use them at least once before I leave to impress Mario since he was the one who taught me here in the first place. At 4:30 the advanced class began and we had the option to stay and learn all the turning and dipping moves, but Brittany, Bryant and I all agreed that we were nowhere near being advanced salsa dancers and decided to head home after a long day out.
We had a relaxing movie night at home with all the movies we bought at El Molino, the black market. They are only a dollar a piece, so Brittany and I have each bought about 15 or so by now! I have a 7 hour layover in Lima on Saturday so they will come in hand while I have nothing to do in the airport.
We also bought some other things at the black market: going away gifts for our maid and house mom. We got our maid new tennis shoes since hers were so old they had holes in them and she does not have a lot of money and can’t afford new ones. Her feet are so tiny; she wears a women’s size 4! We got her some adorable white Nike’s with a green swoosh and she has been wearing them every day since. She was so excited when we gave them to her and I had never seen her smile so big. We got our house mom some beautiful flowers and her favorite bottle of Argentinean wine.
Read on in my next blog about Sunday’s activities: Catholic Church mass and a Cusco vs. Lima soccer game.
-Hillary-
On Saturday we got a new housemate named Liam from Ottawa. Sunday morning we got two girls from Washington named Amy and Molly and a young married couple from Minnesota named Amanda and Brian. Liam has long curly hair and tattoos and we really like him. He is a lot of fun and a cool person to talk to. The couple is very nice, although they are leaving in just a couple days to go do their volunteer work in the Manu jungle for 3 weeks so they won’t be staying here. The two other girls are a bit quiet, but seem to be friendly but they too are going to be leaving in a couple days to do their volunteer work up near Urubamba so it looks like we will be getting new housemates again before I even leave on Saturday.
Horseback riding was quite an adventure due to the fact that my horse didn’t like me and he had a bad case of gas and diarrhea. Brittany, Bryant and I along with a couple from Belgium were taken up to the ranch near the ruins above Cusco at 11 am on Saturday morning. They picked out our horses for us. Originally they tried to put Bryant on my crazy horse named Che (how ironic?) and I would have been with his gentle black horse named Cablo, but my horse wouldn’t let him get on the saddle and began bucking up and down when he tried. Instead of taking that as a sign that Che didn’t want to go on the hike and was going to be trouble the whole time, they decided to give him to me and said that he must have not liked Bryant because he was a boy but surely he would be fine with me… HA!
We started uphill along the trail and everyone else’s horses were doing fine. Brittany’s horse, Apacha, was 14 years old and still managed to keep up with everyone. My white horse with black speckles was very big and strong yet he stopped for bathroom breaks every five minutes and was huffing and puffing the whole way up. I would like to think that it wasn’t because I was too big for him, but the way he was acting it was like he was carrying a 500 pound man up that mountain. We had two guides that followed behind on foot and took pictures with our cameras. One was only 14 years old and had a crush on Brittany and the other was 23 and unfortunately had a crush on me. He took about 40 pictures of me on the 2 hour ride and the man from Belgium was egging him on to ask me out on a date, luckily he didn't.
Once we got up to the road and it was time to cross with the group, my dumb horse took another long break to drink water and I ended up having to cross the road with him alone. Then, when we got to the open area he took off running and I had no idea what to do! I tried to pull back on his reins like I’ve seen in the movies, but he would not stop and I was scared to death that I was going to fall off and die. I started to slide down his left side while still holding on to the saddle and eventually I just hopped off so that I wouldn’t fall off and get hurt. He kept running and I was fine with that and wished him a happy trip along the trail without me. Brittany and Bryant were laughing uncontrollably and I couldn’t help but join in at the stupidity of my un-trained horse with bowl problems who clearly just wanted to get away from me and the rest of the group.
The guide ran after the horse and brought him back to me and asked me over and over again if I was ok. I told him it was ok but that my horse was “loco” and I didn’t like him. Brittany, who rode horses when she was younger, told me that the horse could sense that I was scared of him and I needed to show him who was boss. I felt like he was boss by the way he almost threw me off and how he could start running at any moment and I automatically scream in fear. The guide put a rope bit in his mouth this time so that when I pulled back on his reins he would be sure to stop. Che did not like this and when I held the reins he shook his head hard so that I would let go and the ropes would fall to the ground making the bit fall out. He was a bad horse and I couldn’t wait to have a break from him!
We got to The Temple of the Moon which was a ruin along the trail. We got off our horses and they were able to take a break to eat grass and drink from the stream while we spent 40 minutes exploring the site. There were some vendors there who had a Spanish-speaking parrot named Pepito that Brittany became infatuated with. He would say “hola” and “mama” to us and crawl up and down our arm to our shoulder. He was eating an orange when we came upon him but once he met us he thought our sunglasses looked much tastier.
We got back on our horses after I tried to bribe everyone into switching with me. All the others were trying to get their horses to gallop but I wanted mine to just walk slowly and enjoy the scenic route. The little boy guide would sneak up behind the others and slap the horses behinds with a rope to get them to take off but I told him I would be very angry if he did that to Che. We continued on the trail in the open pasture where sheep were grazing and other guides had their dogs with them. The mountains were all around us and I was enjoying Che’s slow pace now despite his smelly droppings behind us.
We made it back to the ranch and I was happy to leave my horse and go off to pet the other horses at the ranch while we waited for our taxi back to town. Even though it wasn’t what I had expected, it was still another adventure and definitely a funny story for me to blog about.
After we got back to the plaza, we grabbed some lunch at a burger place called Bembos where the World Cup game between Spain and Paraguay was on. The place was packed with people cheering on Paraguay since they represent South America.
We walked to Maximo Nivel for salsa lessons for beginners that started at 3 pm. We learned 5 basic step sequences to counts and then paired up with a partner to practice them to music. At the end we all got into a big circle and traded partners after each sequence so that we could all dance with each other. At that point I was getting mixed up with my feet and I met a boy who helped me with the confusing steps. It seems much easier when you are actually out in the clubs doing it than in a classroom to numbers and so structured. Salsa is a very loose and free dance that to me just flows when you hear the music and have a dancing partner in a club. It was nice to learn the real steps though and I hope to use them at least once before I leave to impress Mario since he was the one who taught me here in the first place. At 4:30 the advanced class began and we had the option to stay and learn all the turning and dipping moves, but Brittany, Bryant and I all agreed that we were nowhere near being advanced salsa dancers and decided to head home after a long day out.
We had a relaxing movie night at home with all the movies we bought at El Molino, the black market. They are only a dollar a piece, so Brittany and I have each bought about 15 or so by now! I have a 7 hour layover in Lima on Saturday so they will come in hand while I have nothing to do in the airport.
We also bought some other things at the black market: going away gifts for our maid and house mom. We got our maid new tennis shoes since hers were so old they had holes in them and she does not have a lot of money and can’t afford new ones. Her feet are so tiny; she wears a women’s size 4! We got her some adorable white Nike’s with a green swoosh and she has been wearing them every day since. She was so excited when we gave them to her and I had never seen her smile so big. We got our house mom some beautiful flowers and her favorite bottle of Argentinean wine.
Read on in my next blog about Sunday’s activities: Catholic Church mass and a Cusco vs. Lima soccer game.
-Hillary-
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Casa Acogida
Happy Fourth of July from Cusco, Peru! It is weird being in a foreign country on such a big American holiday and I will miss the fireworks and cook out that usually fills this summer day with family back home.
I went to my new placement on Friday morning at Casa Acogida, the shelter for girls who have suffered sexual abuse and been taken from their homes. They ranged from age 13 to 18 and were the sweetest girls I have met yet during my time here in Peru. This was the placement that I had wanted originally and for my entire time here in Cusco because of what I am interested in with my career path in social work and the work I have done with my internship at Sexual Trauma Services in Columbia, SC. Unfortunately, due to lack of available volunteer space I am now only left with a week with the girls. There are only about 25-30 or so girls that live there and Maximo Nivel has the time slot of 9-11 am to have 3 volunteers do their visits. During the rest of the day other volunteer programs send people out so that it is organized and not too overcrowded for the girls.
I arrived at the shelter with a staff member from Maximo around 9:30 am. The shelter is just about a 10 minute walk from the main plaza but since it is down to the last week and I am running low on money, I think that I will have to resort to taking the combi in order to save money because they only cost .60 cents while a taxi is 3 soles. When I arrived I was introduced to about 8 of the girls who had just finished playing volleyball and they were now resting and making beaded jewelry under some rafters that let a little bit of sun shine through. I met the other two volunteers there, one who is from Oregon and the other from Holland.
The shelter was a lot larger than I had expected. I was let in the locked front door into an open courtyard where laundry was hanging to dry. To the left was another huge open area with a small statue and all of the girls rooms were circled around that area. The psychologist office was at the end of the courtyard and outside it had uplifting jokes, the daily schedule and recommendations for how the girls can keep their spirits up. I was sitting with the girls in the volleyball court and there was a kitchen connected where some of the girls had started to cook lunch. They were making rice with onions and French fries and some orange fruit punch to drink.
I had my camera out and they all wanted me to take their pictures while they prepared lunch. Afterward they were so excited by their pictures that they made me promise to print them off copies to being back for Monday. I can’t wait to go back on Monday to continue to get to know the girls and learn how sexual assault is handled in the Latin American society with a very “machismo” attitude.
I will get to teach the girls English, make jewelry with them, do exercises and sport activities, etc. I am hoping to get a chance to talk with the directors at the shelter to find out how the girls come to live at the shelter, whether they are brought in by the police, their other family members or come voluntarily. It would also interest me to know about their treatment and how long they are able to stay. I am wondering if they have similar procedures as in the United States in dealing with these cases. I will write back next week after I visit the shelter and hopefully get some of these questions answered.
-Hillary-
I went to my new placement on Friday morning at Casa Acogida, the shelter for girls who have suffered sexual abuse and been taken from their homes. They ranged from age 13 to 18 and were the sweetest girls I have met yet during my time here in Peru. This was the placement that I had wanted originally and for my entire time here in Cusco because of what I am interested in with my career path in social work and the work I have done with my internship at Sexual Trauma Services in Columbia, SC. Unfortunately, due to lack of available volunteer space I am now only left with a week with the girls. There are only about 25-30 or so girls that live there and Maximo Nivel has the time slot of 9-11 am to have 3 volunteers do their visits. During the rest of the day other volunteer programs send people out so that it is organized and not too overcrowded for the girls.
I arrived at the shelter with a staff member from Maximo around 9:30 am. The shelter is just about a 10 minute walk from the main plaza but since it is down to the last week and I am running low on money, I think that I will have to resort to taking the combi in order to save money because they only cost .60 cents while a taxi is 3 soles. When I arrived I was introduced to about 8 of the girls who had just finished playing volleyball and they were now resting and making beaded jewelry under some rafters that let a little bit of sun shine through. I met the other two volunteers there, one who is from Oregon and the other from Holland.
The shelter was a lot larger than I had expected. I was let in the locked front door into an open courtyard where laundry was hanging to dry. To the left was another huge open area with a small statue and all of the girls rooms were circled around that area. The psychologist office was at the end of the courtyard and outside it had uplifting jokes, the daily schedule and recommendations for how the girls can keep their spirits up. I was sitting with the girls in the volleyball court and there was a kitchen connected where some of the girls had started to cook lunch. They were making rice with onions and French fries and some orange fruit punch to drink.
I had my camera out and they all wanted me to take their pictures while they prepared lunch. Afterward they were so excited by their pictures that they made me promise to print them off copies to being back for Monday. I can’t wait to go back on Monday to continue to get to know the girls and learn how sexual assault is handled in the Latin American society with a very “machismo” attitude.
I will get to teach the girls English, make jewelry with them, do exercises and sport activities, etc. I am hoping to get a chance to talk with the directors at the shelter to find out how the girls come to live at the shelter, whether they are brought in by the police, their other family members or come voluntarily. It would also interest me to know about their treatment and how long they are able to stay. I am wondering if they have similar procedures as in the United States in dealing with these cases. I will write back next week after I visit the shelter and hopefully get some of these questions answered.
-Hillary-
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