The Wandering Scholar

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Becoming Peruvian

Jul 26

Posted by Local Roots Journalism Fellows in Uncategorized | No Comments

Our Local Roots Journalism Fellows have clearly learned a lot from their travels abroad including learning a few things about themselves.  In this blog post, Hannah talks about her encounters with local Peruvians, of both the human and animal varieties.

Hannah hard at work on her service project in Peru.

Confessions of a Teary Eyed Wanderer [Precious]

Jul 26

Posted by Precious in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Yesterday was our last day working in the Herradura village. With the last water pipe inserted, we were overcome with mixed feelings of pride and humility, quickly followed by sighs of relief. It´s very satisfying to know that our efforts are much appreciated by the community. The village showed their gratitude by throwing us a fiesta last night. We danced the night away together, swaying to the beats of bachata, merengue, and salsa music.

Leaving this village means that I will be leaving behind working long days in the sun, trying to avoid greedy, stray dogs at lunch time, and waking up to fresh bug bites every morning. Unfortunately, it also means that I´ll be leaving behind the only “grandmother” I’ve ever known. It was a new, unfamiliar setting at first living with someone who gladly waited on me, cooked all my meals and did my laundry but after nights of long talks full of her words of wisdom, I feel like I’ve known her all my life. I´m excited to move on to our next location but I can´t help but feel like I´ll be leaving a piece of my heart behind.

Our vacation is a little more than halfway over and I´m still trying to suppress feelings of homesickness. I think about my family every day, wonder what they´re doing, I dream about them and imagine what it would be like to see them for just five minutes. My heart won´t allow me to call them because I know that my whole attitude will turn sour and I´ll want to hop on the first plane back to Colorado. I did get a piece of home today when I went to the Catholic church with my Abuela. Although I´m not Catholic, it was refreshing to be in a church for the first time in a couple of weeks.

We had to write a letter to ourselves that Paul (one of our group leaders) will mail to us in a couple of years. If nothing else, I want to remember how much I’ve grown during this trip. I’ve become more aware of the world that I live in. My likes (working with children and helping others) have been reinforced and my dislikes (physical labor and working under pressure) have been brought to light. I now seek to understand others and our similarities as well as embrace the beauty of our differences. It´s been quite an experience and it seems that I´m learning something new about myself everyday.

Tomorrow we´ll be off to the beach and I can´t wait to see what´s in store for us in these last few days.

Costa Rica Discovery C 2011: The First Week from Walking Tree Travel on Vimeo.

Peru Keeps Us Guessing

Jul 22

Posted by Local Roots Journalism Fellows in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

This post was written by Local Roots Journalism Fellow, Faye, who is currently discovering Peru with Walking Tree Travel.

The Peruvian bull: a symbol of protection, prosperity, and luck.  Atop every home in rural Peru are 2 clay bull sculptures about the size of a shoe.  There is a cross situated in between the two and the figurines serve as guardians to the home while proclaiming faith at the same time.  As we traveled by bus through many villages and saw these bulls, it soon became clear that for this month, the Peruvian community is our bull that gives us guidance and protection.  Our homestay families of Ollantaytambo guide us through our Spanish mistakes, illness, and homesickness while helping us to understand their culture.

We are rapidly learning what a fiercely connected ancient culture they maintain.  Perhaps it is the well-maintained ruins that tower over the valley but I think it has more to do with the fact that the people share a deep pride for their Incan roots.  Some of us feel the Incan way influencing us through everyday life and possibly the Coca leaf.  One of the Peruvian foremen for our service project called Caroline (the oldest student of the group) a natural born Incan based on her rock laying skills.

There are other sides to life here in this small village.  The host family we are living with is fairly modern. At our service site, a local school, we were most surprised to see how eager the children are to help us with the heavy duty work, like moving rocks.  It speaks to the hardworking nature of the small-town Peruvians.  The entire culture surprises us on a daily basis.  Today, we visited the salt flats on our bike tour.  To our disbelief, one kilo of salt is only worth 80 coule cents.  And yet, the people make it their business to utilize the salt and sell it.  We are incredibly impressed with the simplicity of their lifestyle.

Courtesy of Walking Tree Travel

Our host dad, who had lived in New Mexico for 25 years, says he loves living in Ollantaytambo because of its small village attitude, preserved Incan ruins, and the fact that there are no banks, lawyers, or appointments.   Later I found out that he left the U.S. after September 11th, 2001.  He said that the U.S. had large problems to work out and he preferred the happy-go-lucky nature of Ollantaytambo.  He also made a comment saying that the U.S. appears to be free when really we are under constant surveillance and must avoid breaking the many laws.  His prime example was his perception in the difference between traffic cops in the U.S. and Peru.  Here, in Peru, there are few rules of the road.  We have found that the drivers here are not aggressive, so much as witty.  They are one with the road.  There is a method to their madness.

Another thing that struck me was how attached the stray dogs are to us ¨gringos.¨  They follow us everywhere.  Perhaps it is because we humor them while the locals refuse to tolerate their presence.

Another thing that we didn’t expect was how much we crave chocolate here! Our leaders tell us it is because we are eating mostly salty foods with less fruit and we are not used to it.  A local made an interesting comment on our weak stomachs.  He said we are so used to completely sterile foods that when we come here we struggle to cope with the new bacterias in our diet.

Peru Immersion 2011: Ollantaytambo Service Project from Walking Tree Travel on Vimeo.

A typical day consists of waking up to the roosters outside our window and heading downstairs for breakfast.  From there, we gather up our work gloves and head off on the cobblestone streets of an already busy town to work.  As we dodge buses, cars, stray dogs and people, we realize how lucky we are to witness the upbeat start to everyone’s day in the town of 2,000 people.  Often times, we will pick up some produce or a sublime bar (Peruvian chocolate bar) on our way to the service site.  As we get closer to the school, we receive many ¨hola!¨s from the students who are making their way to their elementary school as well.  Throughout the morning we set rocks as the foundation for the floor and mix plaster to apply to all walls.  All the while, we embrace getting dirt under our fingernails and watch as the school kids weave in and out excited to see fresh faces at their school.  At noon, we head home for lunch with our host families and hope to catch a siesta before heading back to work.  The rest of the afternoon includes the continuations of work on the soon-to-be cafeteria.  Once we are released, we grab hot chocolates on the plaza and hang around until dinner at 7:00pm.  After dinner, we spend time with our family or go over to a friend´s house to learn how to make dolls from their host mom or return to the plaza.


Despite our ever ready brigade of questions throughout our adventures, we have learned to embrace the fact that Peru keeps us on our toes.  The best way to enjoy the experience is going with the flow.  With Macchu Picchu and the Amazon still to come, we know Peru will keep us guessing along the way.  There is no better way to spend a month abroad.

Contagious Spanglish [Precious]

Jul 21

Posted by Precious in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Today’s the third day we’ve been in the village. There is so much to do, see, and eat when in a different country! When we first arrived, the local  community members of all ages greeted us with welcoming hugs and from there we were assigned to our host families. Some of us had more than eight siblings whereas others had none. I live with my Abuela (grandma), Abuelo (grandpa), and their dog. Although having a smaller family is a more comfortable setting and we have people constantly passing through it does get pretty quiet in the house sometimes. My Abuela doesn’t speak any English so there’s a lot of pointing and gesturing required for us to communicate with each other and it has actually become a fun little game!

A lot of us seem to be having dreams in Spanish or go in and out of Spanglish when conversing. I guess learning a new language becomes a totally new experience when you are immersed in the culture because you have to use your Spanish every day whether you’re greeting people passing by, talking to your family, or trying to communicate with the community members assisting us with our service project. Our service project is by far one of the most physically demanding jobs I’ve ever had to do. We are digging around the community and inserting water pipes and if we work hard it’s usually done around lunch time.

Courtesy of Walking Tree Travel Blog

Experiencing the cuisine has been one of the most exciting parts of this trip. The mystery of what will be for breakfast and questioning the contents of your colorful omelette has almost become routine. There are many different types of fruit drinks, all with their own distinct sweetness and the milk here is fresh and so much richer than the watery kind we have at home. Lots of the meals include rice and/or beans so here I’ve attached a recipe to one of the most popular dishes courtesy my Abuela. I haven’t tried out this recipe for Gallo Pinto yet myself and the measurements are a little off so if yours doesn’t turn out as delicious as you had hoped, do not fret for I will perfect it myself when I get home.

Gallo Pinto

Necesita:

1 cuchara de aceite

3 rodajas de cebolla

1 diente de ajo

2.5 tazas de arroz (cocinado el dia anterior)

2.5 tazas de frijoles negros cocinado

.5 cuchara de la salsa Lizano

Preparación:

Ponga aceite en un sartén un poco caliente, agregue cebolla y ajo, sofría todo junto, luego ponga el arroz, los frijoles y la salsa, mezcle todo y dejar a fuego lento, moviendo ocasionalmente hasta  cuando los sabores se combinen y espolvorear el culantro picado finalmente. ¡Sirva y disfrute!

In English

You need:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 slices of onion

1 clove of garlic

2.5 bowls of rice (cooked the day before)

2.5 bowls of cooked black beans

.5 tablespoon of salsa Lizano

Preparation:

Put the vegetable oil in a pot over low heat, add the sliced onion and diced gloves of garlic, stir it all together, then add the rice, beans, and salsa, mix everything over medium heat, let simmer and stir periodically, sprinkle chopped cilantro last. Serve and enjoy!