Elena and Tom

Ok, I’ll try to tackle some of the questions posed, though I’m not sure I can answer them all, some are probably better left for our roundtable. Why are there so many more orphans in Peru than in the United States. The most apparent reason for the amount of orphans is, of course, poverty. While perhaps not qualifying as a third world country, Peru is definitely quite impoverished in relation to the States. This especially pertains to the indigenous population, who make up a majority of Peru’s population and from whom most of the orphans come. The indigenous people face an interesting dilemma; they can abandon their culture in attempt to keep up with the current modernization and globalization occuring in their country, or they can remain true to their heritage and remain entangled in poverty. ... read more

Ok, so this is what we have been doing since we got back from our trip to Lake Titicaca and La Paz. We have moved into the ¨Family House¨, which is awesome. We have amazing food prepared by an actual chef, women who come and clean the house, and a rapid named Pepe. We feel a little spoiled. We are taking Spanish lessons at the same organization that organizes our orphanges, Maximo Nivel. We started our orphanages last Tuesday, and we both are having amazing time with the kids. They are so happy and enthusiastic. Saturday (Feb 17th) We slept at Monica and Rafo´s house until around 10am, and then packed up and moved to the "family house", the house for all of the volunteers to stay in who are working with Maximo Nivel (it turns ... read more

Hey everyone, We just got back from Manu, which was fantastic. We will look more in depth later on in the blog. Here’s a recap of the past week: TUESDAY: We continued our last week of Spanish classes, while we were both sick. Elena had to get some shots, and Tom had to take lots of medication, but everything is fine now. WEDNESDAY: classes again THURSDAY: more classes, Elena went to play soccer, scored three goals and totally kicked ass again (I’m not really that conceited). FRIDAY: Last day of Spanish classes, Elena had to give a speech in front of everyone, we all cried. That night our guide came and briefed us on our trip to Manu. SATURDAY: We woke up at 6 and our guide picked us up at 6:30. We picked up the ... read more

Hey Everyone! Tom finished this last blog and I was gone or sleeping or had Spanish classes at a different time...or soemthing... so I'm goign to add a blog of what I did the past week too. Here's the run down: Monday through Wednesday: I had my Spanish classes, which are going great, I can almost always understand the basic idea of what people say and always am able to respond. Not much else happened these few days. Thursday: I played soccer for about three hours, and once again I was the only girl. I scored two goals (of course), and by the end of the game the guys were yelling Elena es muy peligroso (Elena is very dangerous), and Matele (kill her), but I completely kicked their ass, except that when I got home I ... read more

Hey Everyone! Sorry for taking so long to post again, we're too lazy to go to an internet cafe and Rafo's computer was having some trouble running Travelblog. How is everything in your parts of the world? Peru is as gorgeous as ever, we've had mixed weather, a little bit from everyone. Here's a brief overview since we last posted: SATURDAY (January 13th): Elena took a two hour bus ride and half hour taxi ride with other students from school to Maras, a place in the Sacred Valley where the Incas had agricultural fields. The fields are arranged in stacked circular rows, and could only be used during the rainy season. The Incas dug a massive hole in the Earth to make a canal for water to flow through and then covered it back up again. ... read more

We made it! We´re currently sitting in an internet cafe, reveling in the beautiful, sunny weather and heat. Cuzco is fantastic, the scenery is incredible! Rafo´s wife, Monica, picked us up at the Cuzco airport and brought us to their house, which is awesome. There is also a Russian man staying there, and this weekend a girl our age and an older man are coming (we think). So, the part you´ve all been waiting for, a detailed analysis of our flight. We caught our Portland flight in plenty of time, but not before Elena had her grapefruit seed extract confiscated, along with her hand sanitizer and chapstick (My lips are quite chapped). Next, we had six hour layover in JFK airport, where we spent half the time sitting in a corner doing Spanish flashcards and the ... read more

Hey Tom! ... read more

Day Negative 2 Weather is calm. Not a cloud in the sky, or as far as I (Elena) can see from the computer lab window. Supplies. We need some. Specifically a water bottle, jam and maple syrup (for gifts, we don't just enjoy these things). Besides that though, we're set to go. Yay Peru! Elena and Tom... read more