Day 6: Tuesday

We got up a bit earlier to make a stop at Wawawasi, a day care in a very, very poor part of Ventanilla.  The mom's pay $1/day to leave their kids in the care of these sweet ladies so that they can go work.  We startled them as a few kids started crying as the gringos showed up lol.  We quickly got the Play-Doh out and they were eager to play with us.  We brought 2 suitcases full of donations of baby clothes, shoes, wipes, toys, blankets, etc....  We didn't stay too long as it was lunch time, so we said our good-byes and off we went.
Another great day of games up in Las Lomas.  We started with dancing, musical chairs, relay games, and ended with beach-ball volleyball as well as regular ball volleyball as well as some soccer.  Lots of laughs & smiles from the Gringos as well as the Peruvians.
No evening activities for us, but we came back to the apartment as got to work to prep for Thursday's activities.  We are going to make tie fleece blankets with the kids, so we need to cut the fleece.  So, for the next 5+ hours, we cut and we cut and we cut....tired fingers in Santa's workshop.  But it will all be worth it to get a blanket to a kid!!!

Day 5: Monday: Let the Games Begin!!

Slept in a bit today....lots of sun yesterday from the boat!  Made a Starbucks run and then up to Ventanilla we went.  Another delicious lunch & potty stop at Metro before making the climb.
Today we start our after-school activities.  Most of the kids in Las Lomas attend school in the morning and then have nothing to do in the afternoon except find trouble.  Students in Peru only attend for a 1/2 a day:  either morning or afternoon, due to space & resources. So, some kids go from 8-12 and others go from 2-6.  The V4P pre-school goes in the morning only.  As the kids have nothing to do in the afternoon, we offer activities for them to come to & participate.  We did some musical chairs first, trying to draw the kids down to the court.  We then divided up with a PV kid as a captain and they had to pick their team names.
We then did a bunch of relay games.  First up:  Dress Like a Gringo.  We found shoes, shorts, shirt & a sweater for an adult & the kids had to put all of that on and run down around a cone & back, and then take it all off so the next kid could go - hilarious watching them run in clothes that are WAAAAY to big for them!!!  Lots of giggles & laughs!  Then we grabbed some balls and practiced their dribbling skills around chairs.  We did multiple versions of that and then ended in Tug-of-War!  The different teams played against each other and then we combined them, and then we did a Peruanos vs. Gringos!  The Peruanos won and boy was there quite the celebration!!!!
We had the kids sit with their teams while we calculated the scores & awarded candy for the top 2 teams and invited everyone back tomorrow!!!  A very successful 1st day!!
Said our good-byes and down the hill we went - dinner time - and then off to soccer.  There are 3 different divisions of soccer:  Juniors, 2nd Division & 1st division.  They practice on a smaller, turf field so we went to watch practice.  Ava & Sydney even participated in the drills as well as the scrimmage!  Way to represent, chicas!!
As the sun was out earlier in the day, it was quite warm, but as the sun sets, it gets quite chilly, so luckily we came to practice prepared with sweatshirts, blankets, etc...  We stayed for part of the big kids' practice and then home we went.
A very busy, but fun &productive 1st day of camp!!!

Day 4: Sunday: Sea Lions & Love park

Today we headed down to the port to board our boat and go out swimming with sea lions!!!  The waves were a little choppy on the way out, but we took some dramamine and all was well!  The weather wasn't terrible - and with their wet suits, they were well protected.  All of the kids chose to go in and off the went.  They said it was one of their most favorite activities, something they would never ever be able to do back home.  The rock was full of sea lions, barking away, some swimming in the water, some just keeping watch over their huge rock.  The sun came out - was a beautiful day!!  But with the sun coming out on the way back, we all got some sun on our faces....just a bit lol

Back to the house we went for a quick lunch & shower, and then we headed back down to the coast to the Parque del Amor (Love Park) to see the mosaic tile designs and watch sunset...but the clouds were back in Lima, so not much of a sunset.  Dinner tonight was at Papacho's, a great hamburger place.  Awesome food - kids loved it.  Got some gelato for dessert and back to the house to put some aloe on the sunned faces.

Tomorrow starts our games & activities!!!

Day 3: Saturday: Soccer & Youth Group

Our original plan today was to tour Lima City, to make comparisons between the capital and Las Lomas, but we had van issues, so we walked to Starbucks, and then also checked out the market, bought supplies for our games this week, and then headed up the hill.  Another delicious lunch.  We also got to watch a soccer game.  Along with the preschool, V4P has a soccer club, which also provides education to the young men of the team.  We were able to watch the first half of the 2nd Division's game.  Was neat to see a game, and not just watch practice.
Saturday's are a big day in Las Lomas, as the kids have Awansa, or Awana.  They always start with games, and we arrived just in time for my Gringos to participate.  Games they've never played, but the kids were helpful to explain how the games worked.  Next the kids go inside for Bible study, sing songs, listen to a short sermon (Noah's ark was today's theme), find out who won the games, and then have a snack & a drink.  What a great thing to see such a beautiful community come together!
After dinner started the Youth Group.  The players in the soccer club are required to attend Youth Group so many times a month to be eligible to play.  I think my students understood some of the message as the Pastor speaks very clearly and has a power point for us to follow.  Pastor even welcomed us here to their community, which was very sweet.  We are feeling very welcomed and very loved....and it's only the 3rd day!!

Day 2: Ventanilla & Las Lomas

Today we headed north towards Ventanilla & Las Lomas.  So, our townhouse is in Lima, but the community we will work in is about 35 minutes north of here, but with traffic, it takes us about an hour to get there.  The kids have noticed the differences already as we move north...traffic, vehicles, houses, landscape....  Ventanilla is another big city, but it's up in the hills where Las Lomas is.  We took the kids to an overlook spot so they can see the mass of humanity and try to wrap their brains around it all.  We drove them around some other communities, saw where Daniel lived for a while, and oddly took them to a cemetery.  An odd stop on a tour, but good to understand the corruption that occurs in other countries, even when burying your loved ones.  Did a beach stop, and then lunch.  We eat most of our meals at a restaurant run by Victor's sister.  She is an amazing cook and the kids basically licked their plates clean!
Finally, we headed up the hill to Las Lomas so they can see what they've been working so hard for.  We were greeted with so many friendly smiles & hugs, new & old faces!!  We gave the kids a tour of the place, introduced them to the kids, and then they went for a hike.  They hiked up to the antenna tour so they can see the entire community.  While it's not an easy hike, the sweet kids helped my Gringos every step (or slide) of the way.  We stayed until dark, said good bye to our amigos, went for dinner, and headed home.

Day 1: Peru, here we come!!

Today we start on our next summer adventure:  heading back to Peru to volunteer at Voices4Peru! This is our 3rd summer of volunteering outside of Lima in the community of Las Lomas.  We have 3 groups going again this summer, and this first group has 5 students, a mom, and a Senorita!  :)  Earlier this Spring, we packed up a whole bunch of suitcases full of donations, so each group has their suitcases to bring.
We met at the HS at 2:30am to meet our ACT II shuttle and off to Ohare we went!  Flights were suuuuper cheap out of O'Hare, so off we went!  Checked in, chilled in the food court, and boarded our flight.  Our connections Chicago - Panama City, Panama - Lima.  Easy connections, good flights, on-time arrivals!  We cleared customs and were greeted by half of Lima, cheering, lighting fires, signs, etc....  A bit overwhelming for the Gringos.  But, come to find out, the Peru National Soccer team was set to arrive after us...and as Peru hadn't been in the World Cup in 35 yrs, it was a big deal.  Even as we left the airport, people were lining the streets waiting for the team to arrive... craziness!!
Daniel & his staff from V4P met us (amongst the chaos) and off we went to our townhouse.  Had a nice pizza dinner, got to meet the staff, check out our townhouse, and good-night to us!  Excited for more adventures tomorrow!!

Day 12: Adiós Spain

Sadly, all good things come to an end.  Our last 10 days in Spain have been a blast, ones we will never forget, with memories & friends who made it unforgettable.
We also said good-bye to Solange at the airport this morning as she is extending her vacation to visit family in France.
We sadly said good-bye to our lovely Tour Director, Patricia, and thanked her for a magical week.  She truly made this week the best ever!
Our flights are Barcelona to Atlanta (9.5 hrs), 6.5 hour layover in Atlanta, then Atlanta to Moline.
All our flights went smoothly, our layover was long, but made the most of it...and they only switched out gate once!  (Thanks Delta!)
Made it home safe & sound....as well as did our luggage...phew

On behalf of Señora & Señorita, we would like to thank you all for taking the leap and coming with us to try this new trip!  From your feedback, we will definitely do this trip again, but boy!, the next group has big shoes to fill.  Thank you for trying new things, for practicing your language, for going with it, for smiling & laughing, for being such great troopers that everyone commented how wonderful you were!  Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts!  Grathias!  :)