Since Correne is finally human again (thanks to the dr. and her antibiotic), we made the most of one of our last two days in Cusco. We got up this morning and went to the Museo Arte de Inka - taking in art history from the time of the Incas and before. There was much ceramic, stone, pottery artwork, and even some mummies in the museum, which is in itself a piece of art as an old mansion near the main plaza in Cusco. Next we headed to get some coffee and a pastry at a cafe on the plaza - sitting outside on the balcony there provides some interesting people watching and plenty of warm sunshine. We headed back to our host family´s house to eat lunch, and then it was off to trabajar (work) finally! We were able to find 2 empty seats on the bus we take to work, which we were very thankful for....we always happen to get on with many school children who seem to be faster at getting the few remaining seats than we are.
When we arrived at Azul Wasi (the orphanage), they were all very happy to see us as we had not been around for a few days (Correne had not been for 1 week). All the boys are so polite, shaking our hands and greeting us with ¨buenos tardes¨ (good afternoon). They were finishing up lunch. We quickly handed our gifts of notebooks, pencils, and a pencil sharpener over to Carlos, which he was very grateful for. Todd headed off to work in the garden, and Correne off to play games/teach some English to los chicos. We brought Uno (since our host family enjoyed it so much) and Jenga. They enjoyed both games, and it was much easier to explain than I thought they would be....the boys picked them up very quickly. They really enjoyed playing Jenga.
We brought our camera today to record some of these memories (see above). They loved to be on film and one boy in particular, Joe, took most of the photos for us.
The founder/director of the orphanage, Alcides, and his wife drove us back to Cusco in their old VW bug (which was a nice change from the bumpy buses we would take otherwise). We (meaning Todd) talked with them about how the orphanage started and where the boys come from. They are mostly referrals from people in the community who are aware the boys do not have families. They only started taking kids in this past January, and they are able to stay as long as they continue going to school or are learning a trade. There is no age limit (the oldest currently is 18 years). There is no organization providing money, and government assistance for programs like this is non-existent. They get eggs from their chickens, milk and cheese from their cow. Money for fruit, vegetables, and meat comes out of their own pockets - which they seem to stretch pretty far. The garden Todd is helping to turn over will become a quasi greenhouse for vegetables year round hopefully to stretch the money even farther. The boys take responsibility for helping with chores, cooking, and cleaning up after themselves. They seem to be very grateful for the little they receive at the orphanage.
We are heading back to Azul Wasi tomorrow morning for a short time to help out a little more and say our goodbyes. They have offered, as have many others in Peru, for us to come back after the baby is born and stay a while longer. They have all been very generous hosts. We´ve added a lot of photos to give you an idea of what the orphanage is like. Conditions are not great, but they get by with what they have. It has been a very eye opening experience.
We are unsure of the next time we will blog, as tomorrow is a busy day and we head to Puno on Sunday (without knowing what type of internet access we will have when we arrive there).
We may or may not be back for more updates before this trip is over....keep checking back!
Hasta luego,
C & T
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