Before I even set out from the airport I had a 5 hour drive down to Gatwick airport from Manchester and I had the difficult task of saying goodbye to my parents and my boyfriend which was very sad but I was still so excited that my year away was finally starting.
It was great to see everyone again because I hadn´t seen them since training. The flight to Madrid was pretty normal but then the flight to Lima was a bit more... tricky.
As it was nearing 1am and after my long day the day before I fancied a bit of a nap on the way but plane seats being the way they are made that a bit difficult so sadly no nap for me.
So I tried watching a bit of the in flight tv which at the time happened to be Two and a Half Men. Again, I faced difficulty. Knowing only enough to pick up very few words such as girl, bathroom and shoes I realised to my amusement that this was not enough of an insight to have any idea what was going on. Essentially I was quite tired when I got to Lima, but I didn´t mind because I was still so excited about finally being on my way!
In Lima we were met (after a minor scare with my luggage in which mine was the last to come out and I thought it was lost) by Jorge and Charlotte who to took us to our hostel (in the hostel a cat weed of on Rae´s bag which was pretty funny).
Here´s me and Cass in our Lima hostel...
We met our reps and had dinner at a gorgeous restaurant in Lima and we learnt that we had early morning flights to our project the next day. A 3am start, another early rise but what was one more?
I learnt a few more things while in Lima, for example...
1) Peruvians love to put sneaky bits of avocado in stuff.
2) I love Inka Kola
3) The traffic is a nightmare. You put your life on the line just crossing the roads. Even when the green man is on!
4) Also men who work in the parks ride about on segways. I was so jealous.
Eventually Cassie and I were off to our project. Scared? Yes. Excited? Of course!
We were picked up from the airport by the Director of the aldea and a member of security who were lovely. When we arrived at the aldea we were instantly met with curious looks from the children and with calls of Hola Gringos!
It was all very strange and of course quite difficult as we weren´t sure what anyone was saying.
We went to our accommodation and then went to meet the Tias in the baby house. Tia Paquita and Tia Angelica.
Of course before we met the tias we were greeted by the children in the house. First by Angie who ran up to us with her arms out waiting for a cuddle and screaming ´Hiya´over and over. Instantly my heart melted a little bit and I loved all the children straight away. We met the babies of the house, Miguel (9 months) and Pedro Pablo (6 months).
Angie...
We were so tired but it was only early in the morning still so we spent the day with the children in Casa 5 (the baby house) and met with the Director and his daughter who are both so lovely!
So far it seem like we have done so much in such a small space of time but we feel as though we have been here for so much longer. I already feel accepted by everyone and I feel like part of the Aldea.
We love everyone here and can´t wait to be able to speak more Spanish so I can get to know everyone better! We´ve been learning new words each day and we think this is getting easier but I still struggle and it´s sometimes very hard but being able to laugh with the Tias and the older girls about it makes it seem better.
Me, Graciela and Gloria (I´m crouching so they look a bit taller!)...
I feel very independent here and I´m doing things I have never had to do at home such as hand washing!! We had to fashion makeshift washing lines in our house as we had nowhere to hang our clothes. Very inventive!
Me and Cassie doing our washing and hanging it all up on our makeshift washing lines...
We want to do so much with the kids but until we can speak with them a bit better we just made them some finger puppets to play with. Of course giving them to very little children was a mistake because they got broken instantly but oh well, it was fun for the 5 seconds they lasted!!
Our finger puppets. R.I.P...
The children here are all adrorable and so loving! It just makes me sad that they have no real families but then I see the Tias with the kid and I see how much they love them and it makes me realise that they do have a family, it´s just a bit different.
Here are some pictures of the kids so you can see for yourselves just why it is that I instantly fell in love; both with children, the tias, all the staff in the aldea and with life here in Peru.
David, Carlos Emillio and Carlitos...
