Volunteering in Huancayo

So Sabs and I arrived in Huancayo yesterday night at about 9:30 after a long, but comfortable bus ride through the mountains. I now know what altitude sickness is (Sabrina fared much better)! Huancayo is a city nestled in the mountains about 7 hours from Lima, boasting a population of around 0.5M. We were greeted at the nus station by our hosts, Eli and Nestor, a husband and wife from the city, who are both increidible people with hearts bigger than the mountain range we crossed, as we found out today. After going to a highly religious ceremony in the city centre, we got to bed, anticipating out first days work.
I was swiftly taken to a modest school located in a rural village outside of Huancayo in the province of Junin. Very basic amenities: a couple of class rooms, a small yard where the boys play marbles and the girls play "Cinqo". Since it is mostly female volunteers here, I was a welcome sight to the "muchachos" who wanted me to partake in all their games with them. A fun, humbling experince.
Sabrina went to the medical centre, also outside of Huancayo, where she met the doctor/nurse she will be shadowing and helping for the next week. She seemed to also be humbled, but was a wee bit trepedatious also. I think she will make a welcome addition to the medical centre. Interestingly our hosts explained to us, over breakfast, that many people in Peru, especially those in rural areas, still entrust their health to local withc doctors. A tradition treatment for common health problems is to take a guinea pig, wave it over the person's body until it squeals, which is supposed to show the "doctor" where the maladie is. Next, they sacrifice the little guy and open it up to ensure that the medical problem has "passed" from the human to the guinea pig. Prett crazy, I know.
We also take part in an after school program together where we keep the kids occupied with games and the like for a couple hours until their parents come in from the fields. Day one, check. 4 more to go.

Hats made from baby alpaca at the mercado indio - muy suave!

Hostal El Patio

Pacific coast covered in fog

WE HAVE ARRIVED!!!!

We have arrived in Lima, Peru!!! Despite a couple of plane delays, we got here in one piece, with all of our luggage intact. The city is enormous, with a population of 9 million. We are staying in a really cool neighborhood called Miraflores. It´s one of the nicest parts of town, with tons of artwork and cool architecture. We took a nice walk to the ocean (pacific!) today, though the fog is incredible you can barely see anything. Tomorrow we head to our first volunteer gig in Huancayo, apparently 6 ot 8 hours, no one agrees.Sean is already picking up some Spanish words, and Sabrina is trying to teach him. Now it´s time to go, we are hungry for some real Peruvian food!