Gap students begin project work in Peru

COUNTRY: Peru
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Building
WRITTEN BY: Lydia Searle

Hola amigos!

Our first week in Cusco has come to a close, and we are all beginning to feel settled in- and very tired! We have spent this busy week orienting ourselves in Cusco, visiting the beautiful Sacsayhuaman (or “sexy woman” to the gringos!) ruins and doing some early souvenir shopping at the markets all over the city. We were also welcomed by the children we will be teaching at Pma Marca school with hugs, a song and confetti that we were finding in our clothes and hair for days!

Our teaching and construction programs began late in the week. Between the Unibreakers and the Gapbreakers we have three groups teaching the children English, art and sport. We are quickly learning how much English the children know and what we can teach them, as well as mastering the very important “silencio” and “atencion”! Puma Marca school has over 100 children in years 1-6, so there is never a dull moment in our classrooms! The children are so excited to see the volunteers that a lot of our time is spent playing, giving hugs and high fives.

When we aren’t teaching we are out in the greenhouses, which need a lot of work. Our first few construction sessions have been focused on weeding and clearing out the greenhouses so that new crops can be planted. The food produced in the greenhouses is used to feed the schoolchildren and any leftovers are taken to the markets by the community members to be sold for profit, along with the flowers grown in the greenhouses. Once cleared out, we’ll be working on re-roofing and irrigation for the greenhouses to make them even more efficient.

To end the week we had a welcome dinner at an “Australian” restaurant near the Plaza del Armas. On the menu were alpaca meatballs and of course Pisco Sours! Mostly everyone has tried one but not many are keen to have another!

We are now all settling into our homestays and the routine of life here in Cusco, and looking forward to the weeks to come!

Hasta luego!