[Disclaimer: I know this is long, but its an easy way for me to journal my trip, as well, so that I can remember everything that happened, while simultaneously sharing it with family & friends - sorry for the length!]
Hola amigos! This trip has already been so amazing! Yesterday, after sleeping for hours thanks to my 4:30 am arrival & lack of sleep from Miami to Lima, I met up with some group members and they took me out for my first Peruvian meal! The food was SOOO GOOD. I had Pescado de Costa - fish rolled in Parmesan Cheese & cooked in a shrimp sauce, served atop cooked asparagus & potatoes. It was wonderful. I was also convinced to try chichamorado, a purple colored juice (hence the morado) made from corn, mixed with fruit juices. Not too bad! Also, there are three female non-traditional ministry students from Canada on the trip which has made for great conversations!
Today was our first day with planned activities. We met with our trip leader, Lucy Borja, who founded Generacion - a non-profit organization which seeks to rehabilitate ninos de calles, street children, who are displaced due to a number of reasons. These children are more susceptible to trafficking as they are easily tricked by traffickers who promise them a better life. We were introduced to two former street children who helped give us the historical context of child homelessness in Lima, primarily due to former government corruption as well as the Shining Path terrorist group who were actively murdering and terrorizing communities during the 1980s-90s. They gave us a tour of Lima, taking us to a variety of monuments and historical sites. We toured a Cathedral & went into the Catacombs which were really creepy - we saw thousands of bones of people who were buried there in the 1800s, I do believe. The Cathedral was beautiful, though! In the Cathedral there was a painting of the Last Supper, in which they were eating Cuy - GUINEA PIG! I found this to be awesome. Also, I learned the Spanish word for guinea pig, which is fantastic.
We then went to La casa de Generacion for lunch, which again was amazing. Peruvian food is wonderful! Then, we traveled to El Ojo que Llora - The Eye that Cries - memorial which pays tribute to the 30,000 lives lost during the terror reign of the Shining Path, as well as the government induced massacres during the 1980s & 1990s. The monument was beautiful, a stone labryinth surrounding a stone with water pouring from it to represent a crying eye. A human rights activist shared with us the history behind the monument & one of the Generacion children told us of how her father lost his life during this time protecting her & her siblings.
Afterward we headed back to the Hotel Senorial to pick up our luggage as we transferred to San Bartolo. After surviving an hour drive in Peruvian traffic (there are no words to describe driving in Peru), we stopped for candy bars & bottled water! Then, we arrived at Hostal 110. Despite having "hostal" in the name, this place is wonderful. I feel bad staying here, but the view is absolutely gorgeous. I'm sharing an apartment with two other women & our apartment overlooks the Pacific coast. It is the most beautiful view I have ever seen. In fact, as I am typing this I am glancing out the open window toward the Pacific. Yes, I can hear the waves. It is crazy.
Wellllll, yes I know it has been a LONG post, but I wanted to update everyone & have this to look back on, as mentioned earlier. Also, for those of you who are very familiar with Spanish, I have yet to figure out how to use accents in this blog, but I know they belong in words such as Senorial & Generacion. :)
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