Aniversario de Huaycan y the women's program!

Friday was the 28th (correction) anniversary of the town I live in, Huaycan. The party literally went on ALL DAY and night. We were woken up at 7 A.M. by really loud music and people causing havoc in the street. All of the schools competed in a marching band competition and they were all dressed in the cutest outfits! There were llamas and horses in the streets all dressed up for the festivities too! It was a lot of fun and there were fireworks!



The next day, Saturday, was the women's program field trip. We went to the National Museum which is in Lima. Because Huaycan is a largely 'machismo', a cultural chauvanism, it is not often that women leave their homes or Huaycan in general. Light and Leadership allowed them to have an entire day off from their normal household duties; and they all learned a lot. I wanted the illiterate women from the Spanish Literacy class to fully experience the museum as well so Ellie and I walked through the exhibit with them and read aloud. The pictures spoke to the women more than the words I believe. The sixth floor of the museum is entirely dedicated to the history of the political terrorist group, Shining Path, which started back in the 1980s. Huaycan began its reputation then for housing Peruvian gangs. 69,000 people were slain due to this terrible organisation, many of them being family members of the women on the field trip. One woman, Marina, turned to me and said "Mi padre fue matado por Shining Path". Her father was murdered amongst thousands of other Peruvians and she was not the only one in the group. So many of the women were extremely emotional during the museum tour. It was everyones first time at the exhibit and it affected everyone deeply.

To lighten the mood, we ventured to the first floor for the Machu Picchu exhibit. There were tons of photos and stories of how Machu Picchu was discovered. After leaving the museum, we went to a restaurant called "rustica" where we ate piqueos which included all sords of different foods and meats. It was absolutely delicious and we got home pretty late. Everyone had a great time as did I!

The next day, I helped out Gladys, my roommate with an art class. We made rice shakers and decorated them! It was so fun! Today, Monday, was such a great day. I tutored Moises-we watched youtube videos, read funny articles, and listened to music. Next, I tutored Marleini, we talked about the criminal justice system and learned all the different vocabulary. Lunch was Locro de zapallo-sooo good. It's a potato creamy cheesey chocloey type of stew that goes with rice. In the afternoon, I went to the Alamos and gave out their final exam. They all did really well! We then played an hour or so of volleyball and it was really fun, yet really intense! hahah After that, I went down zone Z to the spanish literacy class where to my surprise, the entire women's group organized a party for us! They made Aji de Gallina (a shredded chicken custard-like dish that goes with rice, boiled egg, and potato. Lots of the women made speeches and thanked us for how much we have positively affected their community and their families. It was really great to hear! It really meant a lot how much work the women put in to making us the food and it was absoluetely delicious. It was Marina's birthday so we all sang happy birthday. Then, one of the women cracked raw eggs on Marina's head! I was in shock! Apparently this is a Peruvian tradition for good luck! Glad my birthday is in September!

Tonight, Gladys, being the art teacher she is, taught all of the volunteers how to woodburn. We all got little squares and picked out a design, traced it, and then burned it on! We all signed the backs of our wood as a little momento from Huaycan. Thanks Gladys, for your artistic two sense!