Well, when I woke up in the morning I was feeling much better! However, Kelly (from Atlanta) and Andrea (from California) were both sick. It seems like we are dropping by twos! I didn´t go to my Wawa Wasi placement and instead we went to the Maximum Security Prison. Children under the age of 4 live in prison with their parents. When they turn 4 they must either go to relatives (if they have any) or they go to the orphanage. Really, Í don´t know what is better... growing up without a parent or living in a prison and then being ripped away from your mother. Very Sad. We took them out to the Plaza and fed the pigeons. We colored a bit on the sidewalk and then they had some juice and cookies. We also ... read more

We had a speaker this afternoon... Carlos who is an anthropologist from the University. He gave a wonderful lecture on the Coca culture here in Peru. I found it immensly interesting... Coca has been known in Peru for over 3,500 years - it was discovered about the same time the people domesticated corn, guinea pig and the Peruvian dog (hairless thing like a rat). We know it existed that long ago since coca has been found in tombs as offerings to the Gods. The Inca empire used alot of coca however, it was only available to the nobility. When the Spanish invaded they gave coca to the workers to use in the mines since it helped them to work harder and longer. Coca has three main uses. 1. Medicine - for headaches, stomaches, body aches and ... read more

Well.. it´s 8 PM and I have made it through my first full day. Well, I have more to tell about the bull running... Yesterday afternoon Pancho (who runs the tours) took all of us on a city tour. We went down to Santa Ana which you may remember is where we went on sunday to watch the bulls. He took us to a very famous weaver´s shop and his stuff was gorgeous. All of his colors are done with natural dyes -- roots, vegetables, etc. The average price in there was around 500 soles ($200 and up). I plan on going back there! We also went to a famous carver of alabaster stone. He made beautiful earrings, carvings, you name it. Anyhow, while walking through the plaza the bullfighting (which we were stragecially kept away ... read more

It is so hard to believe that I leave in 5 Days. It really does seem like this journey is a lifetime in the making. As we grow closer to my departure I'm having trouble sleeping and getting a bit nervous. I'm nervous and excited about the cultural differences and the language. As most of you know, I've been assigned to the Wawa Wasi (Wawa = Baby and Wasi = House, in Quechua) is a community initiative to provide daycare services for families living in extreme poverty. In most cases the caretaker lends a room in her home to be used for educational and recreational activities for some 9 infants and children aged 9 months - 4 years. The government provides some educational materials and hot meals for the children as well as a small stipend ... read more