Our day of firsts
We met Sabine, the Dutch director of the program in the Plaza de Armas. She will be volunteering with us today to explain the program to us and introduce us in English. After this there will not be anyone who speaks English again.

We walked the Main Street, talking about the region and the program. Currently they are struggling with funding since the economic crisis hit Europe. The organisation is Dutch based and part of working on the board or an office role is a donation to the foundation and a requirement to partake in some volunteer work. All the way we were walking towards an amazing mountain range, with a snow covered peak that was the crown in an amazing vista.

We arrived to the school and walked through the play area, past some of the new and old classrooms.
Peruvian school utilises the infrastructure to the maximum. The junior years attend school in the morning until lunch and the high school runs from midday to seven at night. Some teachers, like our Spanish teacher, teach both morning and night some days. For example our teacher teaches the seniors Monday to Wednesday and both the juniors and seniors Thursday and Friday. Makes for a massive day.

Therefore, we teach the seniors English before they start school from 11-12, then lunch for the older years followed by lunch for the younger kids with activities and English after. So we are at the school from around 10:15to 3:00.
During lunch we help with the 'flees,' the kinder age kids who want to play with the food, play with each other or spill everything. They know we are new, they know we are soft to their puppydog eyes and they know we don't speak fluent Spanish!!

These are the poorest kids from each classroom. Originally the teaches reported who the poorest kids of their classroom were. Then the directors went to the homes to verify this and talk to the parents about the program. These kids were likely not eating lunch, or a meal and were falling asleep in classes and malnourished. Once part of the program they must attend everyday and eat all the soup and main they are served, and a glass of water. The portions are huge, I guess they haven't eaten much for a while. If they don't do this, a different hungry tummy will take there place. The food is great and really healthy. We eat the same food before helping with the fleas.

After lunch we talk to the kids and help them with puzzles. It's good fun and some kids improve I front of you. Some of the children are starved for attention so when you join them they light up. It's the first time I've heard of where they are more interested in guys. Sabine explained some do t have an older male in there lives, others don't have good ones. It's rare for these children.
After class, I borrowed a Spanish children's book, 'un perro muy raro' and we headed back towards town.

We walked along the Main Street but got distracted, very distracted by streets of markets. The city of Huaraz has only small 'supermarkets' which are more expensive than anywhere else. The streets in this area we were walking were filled with everything. All sorts of shops along the sides with the streets filled totally with other stalls. It's as if Big W, K-Mart and Asda spewed out all over the streets! We followed this to the central market, the official market area.
It an interesting place, stalls for everything and usually about 40 of each, next to each other offering the same service. A 'street' of sewing ladies next to a 'street' of fancy dress sewing ladies. 2 'streets' of stationary, 2 more of adult clothes, and innumerable amount with the same kids toys.

The middle and far end are my favourite by far. The middle are the supermarket type shops, with more selection and cheaper, little wine shops, little lolly stalls and big bread shops. It's fun talking to the venders, trying to find items and joking. The second half is a random assortment of shops, mainly meat but with random clothing stalls and occasional vegetable shops. Some photos of whole guinea pigs, pigs faces, cow heads with some cheek meat showing but the hair on the rest of the face. There are really weird ones too, some I don't know but also piles of lunges and intestines; I guess someone loves them. Upstairs are restaurants and fruit and vegetables. A great way to spend time in Latin America!!

We head back after picking up a few supplies for dinner.

Dinner is worth a mention as its a little different but very addictive. A roll with scrambled egg, tomato, avocado and Vegemite!! It actually good.

We went out to meet our new Spanish teacher, Jessica and to head to her house. She is really nice and organised and is around our age which makes it fun. she has a very different style to what we had but its really good.
After 2 hours we head home for a final bit of excitement.

Just relaxing watching tv and enjoying a celebratory glass of wine ($4 a litre for the wine and celebrating our jobs and Spanish lessons), when the sink in the bathroom blows the hot tap hose and sprays water everywhere! The bathroom fills and flows out through the room and outside, raining down next to the people on laptops below.

We moved everything out of the way and quickly moved rooms while they struggled to organise a solution. A new room, a flat bed and the end to a full rich day.