the last day in cusco

hi, folks.

i would like to apologize for several things at this point. one is my failure to have made any posts during the last few weeks of my time in peru. another is that i'm planning to post things, which will be both retroactive/retrospective, and out of order. but, hey, that's the nice thing about living in the editor-less world of blogs! and thanks again for reading.

this post comes from an e-mail message i just sent to friends karen and mary from the timmy foundation. karen and mary flew into lima the night of march 4, joining me and teresa at the mami panchita hostal. rob, karen's brother, was supposed to have come, too, but his standby status meant that this time, he stood by and watched karen and mary leave him at the indianapolis airport.

sunday, the 5th, the four of us flew to cusco, which almost didn't happen because the ventilator karen travels with caused the folks at lan peru a great deal of concern. eventually, we got permission to bring the thing on board, and off we went. after about an hour in cusco, dropping things off at the hotel we would be staying in the second half of the week, we headed to the sacred valley, which at only about 8,000 feet above sea level, is a lot easier to manage than cusco at 11,000 feet!

there are stories about the first half of the week that will have to wait for another posting, but, on thursday morning, after a sleepless, uncomfortable and scary night, karen and mary left to cusco to return to sea level. the four of us had planned to spend the second part of the week on "timmy business," after adjusting to the somewhat lower altitude of the sacred valley and machu picchu. teresa and i spent friday doing both "pennies for peru activities" and "timmy business," which meant we distributed donated clothing, school supplies, toys, and other items, visited a hospital, schools, and other locations in cities and smaller communities, scouting for possible timmy-sponsored medical mission trips, and purchased items for schools with funds raised by the beloit college track and field team--bless their fleet feet, strong arms, and generous hearts! (and more about them in another soon-to-arrive post!!)

so, here is the story of friday, march 10, our last day in cusco. it won't win a pulitzer, but it was a great day, and this is a way to preserve its memory. thanks for reading this far.

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right after breakfast, my dear friend and spanish teacher, Ursula, her sister Eliana, Eliana's 5-year-old daughter Andrea, Ursula and Eliana's friend Gaby picked us up at the Corihuasi Hostal. Ursula had arranged for us to rent a mini-van and driver (Coco, a friend of Gaby's) for $45 for the entire day--and boy, was it worth it!

First, we visited the Hospital Lorena (the hospital for poor people in the Cusco area--where it costs less than $1 to see a doctor), and visited the regular obstetrical unit and some neonatal units (long and short-term care). We also visited the pediatric unit. We were able to donate LOTS of baby and little children's clothes there. The moms and the nurses were gracious and appreciative. The babies were, of course, adorable, and oh-so-tiny.



Eliana had (thoughtfully!) prepared delicious sandwiches for us all, which we swiftly and gratefully devoured between our first and second stops.

Second, we went to a school on the outskirts of Cusco in the community of San Geronimo (I need to check on this name), where we visited both classrooms. We got to meet the children, hear them share what they were learning, and give away school supplies, toys, puzzles, and clothes. I also got to teach a bit, which I loved (of course). The children were delightful, and the teachers incredibly generous to us. The teachers were also understandably proud of their students--it was great to witness. Afterwards, the staff invited us to stay for a beverage, and we had an enjoyable little picnic on the school grounds, which had been painted by a previous group of American volunteers!


From the school, we headed out in search of an even more distant community, Sunccu (again, I need to check spelling, etc.). We were going to visit the school there to find out what was needed, and then go back to town to make some purchases. Coco deserves special mention here, because he drove us along some narrow mountain roads with really steep drop-offs. I could sense Teresa leaning to the center of the van several times, and occasionally sneaking peaks down! The turns were dramatic, and the occasional back-ups especially exciting!

Almost at the top of the mountain, we encountered a group of three people walking down a road. We asked them for directions to the community, and, then following their directions, turned around and headed up a different road. When we arrived at the community and school, we were informed that school had let out an hour or so earlier. So we turned around yet again, and headed back down the mountain. A little ways down, we encountered the same three people, who, this time, asked us for a ride down (we were now going in their direction).

It took about 10 seconds to realize that they were the teachers from the school! We asked what was needed for the 70 or so children in the school, and they said, "Everything--pens, pencils, notebooks, crayons, markers, scissors, rulers." So, we got the director's phone number and address, dropped the three of them off in town, and headed back into Cusco to get money and go shopping!

But, first, we stopped at an unofficial car-wash location, where young people wash cars all day long. We opened up the back of the van, and the kids kind of took turns coming to see what we were up to. We were able to give them some of the clothes and toys we had left. The kids were so sweet, and just as kind and polite to us if we couldn't find anything that would fit them. I was very impressed. We also went to one of the markets in downtown Cusco, and gave away more baby clothes. Actually, Ursula and Eliana gave away most of the baby clothes--Teresa and I wandered the market, scoping out potential recipients (and buying dyes!)

For exactly 600 soles (the budget we gave ourselves), or just about $200, we bought 84 large notebooks, 84 small notebooks, 36 pens, 48 pencils, 48 erasers, 10 large boxes of markers, 12 boxes of colored pencils, 24 pairs of scissors and 70 rulers. It was so much fun--I love shopping for school supplies!! When they had our order all boxed up, we carted it to the van, and headed back to the director's place, where we unloaded everything. I could see that the director was clearly overwhelmed, but just as clearly envisioning all the learning that was going to happen through the use of the materials!

By this time, it was almost 6 p.m., and we were all pretty tuckered out. The back of the van was littered with bags, and the clothes that hadn't fit anyone. Andrea had fallen asleep an hour or so earlier--kids are wonderful that way. We had dropped Gaby off to go to a class, and Coco dropped Teresa and me off at the Plaza de Armas for one final purchase of ceramics at Seminario (I had successfully resisted this entire visit until I realized it was my last chance!).

A couple of hours later, Ursula and Eliana and Teresa and I met up in the Plaza de Armas, and we headed off to dinner at CocoLoco (a favorite of Ursula's), where we laughed for hours. In one of my (frequent) Spanish errors, I referred to Alcoholicos Anonimosos as Alcoholicos Animosos (animated alcoholics), and we had started a new organization!

After a couple of photos back at the Plaza de Armas, it was the end of an evening, a great day, and an eventful (!) trip to Cusco and the Sacred Valley.

Well, that's the story. I'll include a couple of photos here.

Best,
Kathy