Travelers Not Tourists

We´ve seen a lot of great stuff on our trip so far, but today may have been the most uplifting experience yet. We were on a high on our way home from our first day of work with the Traveler Not Tourist program in Arequipa, Peru. We thought that we would be working at a school, but TNT is doing very well and the school was fully staffed today. Instead, we went to an after-school program on the outskirts of the city in the Chachani community.

Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru, but after a 45 minute bus ride, it seemed like we were in the middle of nowhere. The people there are very poor. They are basically working towards squatter´s rights. After two years, they will own the land. Right now, the houses are underdeveloped with limited plumbing and electricty.

Getting there was an adventure in and of itself. We took a local "bus", which is basically a van. A fare collector stands half out the door soliciting passengers. On occasion, he jumps out while the van in still going into a full sprint to the corner. He stops at the corner, gets some paper stamped and jumps back into the van A-Team style while we are making our turn. Very entertaining!

When we finally arrived, we sought out one of the community leaders for some essential supplies, some shelf board that would serve as our student´s desks, a basketball, volleyball, and of course a futbol. We went to our "classroom" (a combination basketball court / soccer field with concrete stadium seating) while Stephanie, our young prodigy, rounded up the local kids.

We would have an hour for english and an hour for sports. The crowd was thin at first. We were warned that the kids would be shy until they saw that some other brave kids were having fun. With only a couple of students, we got warmed up with a little volleyball before eventually turning to Frisbee. When we said that Stephanie was a prodigy, we mean with her English, but she had some disc skills as well. Within minutes, she graduated from a backhand to a forehand!

Eventually, we had critical mass for an English lesson. We prepared some exercises to teach the children colors in English. Some of the students already knew quite a bit of English. Others had absolutely no clue, a familiar classroom experience for both of us.

It´s amazing how such little things can make them happy. We brought some colored pencils for them to color with and a huge bottle of water for them to share. Both were big hits! They colored for a while and worked hard to complete an English colors crossword puzzle. Then it was time for games!

They loved Frisbee (or el disco), The girls especially enjoyed it. Some of the boys were stubborn to give up their soccer, but eventually everyone gave it a try.

Chris tossed with some girls while they all screamed "lista" (ready). They all wanted the disc! Without any prodding, they formed a line and took turns thowing and catching. Meanwhile, Jen was teaching another group of kids how to throw.

Well, we couldn´t pass up an opportunity like this. With no trouble at all, we joined the two groups, set up two lines, and actually had them running a go-to drill. Watch out for Peru at Worlds in 15-20 years!

We´re hopeful to get out and see the kids again tomorrow. Since it´s in the middle of nowhere, we need an escort to get there without getting lost. Stacy, an Australian who has been here for a couple weeks, showed us around today. She was great! If we can find an escort, we will go again tomorrow. If not, we´ll be out there on Wednesday with a Halloween lesson of paper Jack-O-Lanterns and face painting.

Enjoy the rest of these photos....

This girl was a natural. At first, she was terrified to catch the disc, but would scramble for any disc on the ground. She loved to throw. Eventually, after handling a couple of high floaty backhands, she was brave enough to throw and catch. We´ll make a handler out of her yet!

Chris waits his turn in line during the drill. They needed some work on their high 5´s.

The kids are hard at work while we review colors. They had a little problem with rasing their hands. They raised them and shouted out the answer at the same time.

This kid, Fernando, was hilarious! He was launching full field hucks with his flick! We had to get him to reel it in before he decapitated someone. Notice the placement he chose for his smiley face sticker too!

Chris helps some of the girls with their crossword puzzles.

Jen explains the finer points of the flick grip.