Dances of Peru: A Perupedia Entry.

     With the start of this week came the realization that my stay volunteering for the Karikuy program was coming to an end. I decided to spend it hanging out in Lima to focus all my attention on Perupedia. Traveling through Peru has been a great experience but I have really grown to love Lima and all it has to offer. From walking around in Miraflores to shopping at the Jirón de la Unión in Cercado de Lima it has really been a whirlwind of experiences. Spending my final weeks locally in Lima enjoying the spender of the city just seemed right.

     Last week Lani, Julio and myself visited the Asociación Cultural Brisas del Titicaca so I decided to devote time to writing a Perupedia entry on the venue. Brisas del Titicaca is a interactive dinner show devoted to showing traditional peruvian dances to Peruvians and travelers alike. The Marinera Norteña is the final dance of the show and also the national dance of Peru. The Marinera Norteña is a beautiful dance where the women dances barefoot and does elegant hand movements with scarfs waving her dress around. Check out the Perupedia article on Brisas del Titicaca and vistit: Asociación Cultural Brisas del Titicaca, Jr. Wakulski 168 Lima 1(Alt.cdra.1 Av.Brasil), 715-6960

     This week has also been focused on completing the Perupedia entry on dance styles found in Peru. In this I am including traditional and contemporary dances found in all dance venues whether informal dances found at clubs or traditional dance at festivals and venues such as Brisas del Titicaca. Our Karikuy team has done “extensive” research on dance in all the places we have visited. And by “extensive” I mean all types of clubs and festivals. Check out the Perupedia entry on Peruvian Dance which is still in working progress.

     Apart from spending my day time hours writing about dance we have been watching World Cup soccer games and just enjoying each others company. The other Karikuy volunteers are a pleasure to spent time with and we often enjoy a movie night where we sit and watch Horror films or Game time playing Super Mario Wii.



Anastacia is a volunteer for the Karikuy program.

A Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood; Planeta.

Living in Lima, Peru has been interesting and eventful. Taking cabs and combis are an adventure within itself, feeling like your life is going to come to an abrupt and sudden stop because of oncoming traffic or a truck barely missing your door. And the food, food venders available near our humble abode have really made it easy to call Planeta home. The area in Lima which you can find the Karikuy team is located near Cercado de Lima in a local barrio called Planeta. Although the local peruvians might think of this area as ‘movido’, I have come to really enjoy living here and taking advantage of everything it has to offer.

This past sunday I went to local soccer tournament with Julio and the other volunteers. We hung out watching different teams from the surrounding barrios and drinking Crystal, the local peruvian beer. People were welcoming as always and tried to speak the bits of english they knew offering us tamales and beer while simultaneously rooting for the underdog and cracking jokes about the beer bottle thrown at the referee for the bad calls made. The time spent watching the tournament was a great experience with good people, great food and of course cold cervezas.

Apart from the people, the food in the local area make the prospect of leaving a sad one. Juliana is Julio’s aunt and the one who cooks most of our meals. Everyday we look forward to amazing meals that excite the taste-buds and you can’t help but wonder what Juliana has in store for the next meal. Every meal includes a flavorful soup, an entrée and a tasty homemade juice to wash it down. My favorite would have to be lentils and rice, yum.

If Juliana’s cooking isn’t satisfying enough, street food in Planeta gives no reason why you should want to leave the neighborhood for a meal. The first person I need to speak about is referred to as ‘Señor’ but we in the Karikuy house know him as ‘Hamburger Man’. There is no wonder Julio compares the cost of things by how many peruvian hamburgers you can buy. These burgers pack a punch filled with salad, large french fries and your choice of chorizo, chicken or beef with whatever sauce you want drizzled on top. You can get a loaded burger for a little more then 2 soles.

The Churro man can be found near the local school at 5pm during the week ready to feed the hungry children filing out. These are the most delicious and delectable treats made of pastry with manjar blanco, which is a local peruvian spreadable sweet reminiscent to caramel, fried and rolled in sugar. After a long days work comes 5 pm the other volunteers and myself file out the house to be greeted by an older man who gives us a warm fried churros for a mere 60 centavos.

Although an article about the local food in the area could go on for pages I’m going to have to conclude my list with the personal favorite of Christina, our cake connoisseur. ‘The Cake Lady’, as we know her by, is located up the street from the Karikuy house. Outside her front door she has a glass pained display case which is used to house all the cakes and sweets she makes completely from scratch. From traditional peruvian deserts Tres Leche, Mazamorra and Alfajores to more common deserts like Strawberry Short Cake and Chocolate Cake her cakes are perfect for desert. With a price less then 2 soles it’s hard to find an excuse not to take an after dinner walk to her.

Planeta might be considered as being less then safe by locals but my experiences living here disproves it. The people have truly been friendly and helpful, the wild dogs are always looking for a nice head rub and the food makes you want to stay. Volunteering in such a culturally rich area of Lima has made the experience all the more meaningful and memorable.

Huaraz and the Andes

     Huaraz and the surrounding area is full of rich culture and the sad past of a massive and destructive avalanche causing earthquake which destroyed the town of Yungay. The second day trip taken while staying at the Monte Blanco Hotel (80 soles a night for a double) was to see the Pastoruri Glacier which has an altitude of over 15 thousand feet above sea level. Although the deteriorating glacier is the pièce de résistance, my interest lied in the ride filled with the view of the Andes approaching and interesting plants with stories and medicinal uses. Conversation about the plants was sparked when a local Peruvian women sat near me in our tour bus with an interesting white furry plant in her bag. When asked what they were she gave the answer that it was used for stomach aches then I listened while she spoke about other plants found in the Huascaran National Park that can be used for other medical reasons.

Puya Raimondii

     Although the Puya Raimondii does not have any medicinal uses it is known as the Queen of the Andes because of its long life and the fact that it takes about 100 years to bloom. This plant is said to have a lifespan relative to peruvians which has lengthened as the Peruvians have started to live longer. The Puya Raimondii is only found in the Andes in Bolivia and Peru in altitudes 15 thousand feet and higher. The Puya Raimondii plant grows to about 30 feet high when fully in bloom with thousands of little white flowers on its spike above the green leaf base. Interestingly this plant dies soon after it blooms. Locals once thought the Puya Raimondii to be carniverious because their lifestock would get cut but the thorny leaves when trying to eat it. Sadly for me I did not see this exotic plant in bloom although the other Puya Raimondii still held a powerful presence. If your in Peru in August you’ll be in luck because there are a few getting ready to bloom.

Ajinco

     Ajinco, Artemisia Absinthium, is commonly known in English as Wormwood and used in the potent alcohol Absinth. Although its use in Absinth is more hazardous then helpful, when the leaves and flowers are used to make a tea it will combat liver disease, colds and stomachaches. Ajinco is a silvery-white color with small little fruit covered in the same fur and can be found in the Andes.

     I find it awesome how one does not have to go to a botica for panadol or advil to cure a headache. Instead putting a raw potato on your temples can sooth it. There is also a local flowering bush found in Peru which is also good for the kidneys. The trip to the Pastoruri Glacier was beautiful. The scenery was filled with blue skies and lush green shrubbery. Everywhere I looked was filled with breathtaking scenes you only see in postcards.

Anastacia is a volunteer for Karikuy in Lima, Peru.

Sandboarding the Huacachina Oasis

The first week in Peru ended in a bang as my fellow volunteers, Julio and myself bought our bus tickets for a small but epic trip to the Ica Province. Three martial art films later we arrived in Huacachina Oasis. The Huacachina Oasis is a mysterious lake in the midst of the Ica desert’s white sands. To my utter suprise the temperature is much warmer then Lima with the sun fully out, sharing its rays with us. I knew as soon as we had arrived that the time spent here would be memorable because the oasis was something I had never seen before. The legend of the Huacachina Oasis goes that a beautiful young princess was caught bathing by a hunter, when she fled, she left behind a pool of water that became the lake and the gown she wore fell behind her and became the dunes and sand. She is said to still live in the lake as a mermaid. Learning the legend increased our interest in the dunes and made sand boarding the first activity on the agenda. After checking into El Huacachinero we signed up and paid 45 soles for the adventure of a lifetime.

While climbing into the Dune Buggie an excited male tourist comes up to Lani and I and says with a grin, “Bless you all, don’t break a limb”. We looked at each other in disbelief then instantly noticed the seatbelts and how they modeled it like child’s car seat. Barely strapped in, the driver zoomed off toward the dune, with adrenaline pumping and excitement peaked we felt like we were on a roller coaster. At one point I commented to Lani and Christina how this job cannot possibly get boring, driving through the dunes with the wind on your face. Our driver seemed like he enjoyed his job and had a great many facts to share with us about the area. The driver was going at top speed and suddenly stopped at the top of a dune. At first I thought maybe he had to turn around or it was a viewpoint. The stop was only for us to realize what we were up against. The milliseconds of that stop were enough to make everyone yell with excitement as he stepped on the gas and plunged down the tremendous dune.

The drive through the desert was exhilarating. Speeding up and zooming down the dunes and the sharp turns. When the driver would stop we would all file out the vehicle, grab a board and surf down a dune. At first when I grabbed the board I sat on the edge questioning if I had the courage to just surf down. Sitting on the edge, I was having flashing scenarios in my head of how wrong this could turn out: flipping down a mountain or landing face first. I finally decided to just go and what a rush it was. Although I did fall, I was psyched to go down a view more slopes and we did. The amount of time spent in the desert was much more then expected but flew by like the speed of lighting as it was all thoroughly enjoyed.

At sundown we stopped to marvel at the sky and the beautiful colors in the horizon. Sitting next to Christina, Lani and Julio and watching the sun go down was the moment of reflection and the main thought was how lucky I am to be with such a fiery group of people that I can really learn from. Volunteer programs, such as this one, are a great way to meet people with similar interests as yourself and grow through the experiences you share. Our trip on dune buggies and sand surfing was a great way for us to bond. Sharing laughs of Julio’s failed attempts at surfing down the mountain or yelling in unison with shear excitement while flying down the side of a dune visiting the Huacachina Oasis is a must.

Anastacia is a volunteer for Karikuy and writes for Perupedia.

Killer Pisco Sours and Karikuy

Four cities and 34 hours later I stand in Jorge Chávez International Airport lugging around my over packed bags While bombarded by taxi drivers asking me if I need a ride my Spanish was tested for the first time as I tell them “estoy esperando por mis amigos”, “Im waiting for my friends”. Gosh, just that simple utterance requires a thought process completely impossible for a sleep deprived barely fluent Spanish speaker. Well, after 10 minutes I see 2 very friendly faces and know that Julio and Christina, a fellow volunteer, have arrived to take me to the home I will inhabit for the next 2 months, I’m thrilled to see my bed. While on the car ride to Planeta, the area in Central Lima in which we will be living, excitement replaces my exhaustion as I peer out the windows taking in everything Lima has to offer.

The homes in Lima are colorful and it seems people really try to be different in the design of their homes. The colors and designs vary from house to house and you cannot help but stare at each one. Our humble abode is a off white with a balcony on the seconded floor where ‘Killer’, the friendliest dog around, resides. I can estimate 10 minutes when I was around and about getting a small tour of the house then went straight for a well-deserved nap.

I was awoke several hours later by persistent knocks at my bedroom door and I knew exactly what they meant, Dinner. My first Peruvian meal consisted of 2 courses. The first was potato in a cream sauce and the second was chicken on a bed of seasoned spaghetti. Dinner was amazing and just what I need to fuel a few hours night out in the heart of Lima. The highlight of the night was sitting down at the recommended Pisco Palace, "La Catedral de Pisco", and sipping on my first Pisco Sour. After walking through Jiron de la Union into la Plaza de Armas and spending some time hanging out on the square with the night view of the President’s Palace we climbed into a cab with home as the destination and a well deserved night of sleep.

My initial days in Peru have been filled with new experiences and I cannot wait for what I have in store. I do know a few things now: my Spanish is not as bad as I thought and Julio’s eight year-old niece will be a great aid in my newly acquired Spanish fluency. Vacations can be boring but volunteering for half of the summer in Peru is the best way to gain experience writing while seeing the sights and getting away from the hustle and bustle of Philadelphia.
Anastacia is a volunteer with the Karikuy volunteer program, to learn more or apply for a position click here

About the Writer

Tower of Pisa, Italy

A sedentary life living and working in Philadelphia has never been the ideal life for me. My eyes yearn to see new and exciting places so I have made it a life long goal to travel and experience new cultures. I am a Temple University graduate from Philadelphia which, in my opinion, is the best city on the East Coast; Yes, better than New York. We have everything in Philly: Art, Music, and Nightlife. Philadelphia is a great metropolitan area that is small enough to ride your bike almost anywhere. Philadelphia is also host to diverse cultures that link throughout the whole world. This is probably one of the reasons why I have such a urge to travel. The other is definitely following my father's footsteps who traveled to many different countries while in the military. So far I've lived in been to a few countries in Southern Africa, Peru, Dominican Republic, and Italy. I am still a very new traveler so I have allot of airplane tickets to book and trains to jump on! Currently I am residing in South Africa, again, and working at The Jetstream as a creative writer. My dream of working with animals and educating about the state of the environment is in the plans and writing will get me there.

Apart from travel, animals and the environment I'm interested in a slew of things. I'll spare you guys on the fashion, hair and makeup and instead focus on the list below.

What you'll find on this blog...

Travel tips and tricks

-My experiences abroad 

-Currently I'm writing a blog on moving to a 'foreign land'. I have some experience in this.

Physical Fitness and Health

-This will include all my research on diet, the answers from the 10 million questions I ask the trainers at the gym and my fitness goals.

Food

-Get excited about Latino food made healthly (it's possible), yummy deserts (both health conscious and diabetics beware) and yummy foodies I make for sunday lunches.

All things TEFL

-Teaching English, certifications, how-tos, and my experiences so far.

Environmental/Conservation

-Animals represent! The Philadelphia Zoo has left it's mark on me for life!
 

Mental Health

-Mostly inspirational thoughts and advice since I'm pretty much usually trying to stay a 'positive Polly'.

Feminine musings

-These might just be intertwined in many things I write. My dad taught me to be girlie. 

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