The other side of South America
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Stephan
04 April 2014 | Peru, Huanchaco
I was asked to write a blog for the website of Otra Cosa, in English, so I did. It's a new blog, not a translation of my Dutch blog.
After travelling and enjoying Argentina and Brazil, I felt like I wanted to give something back to the continent of South-America. So that's is why I chose to go, both literally and figuratively, to the other side of South-America. Literally because Peru is on the other side of South America, figuratively because I see the other side of the continent.
When I decided to go travelling for a longer time, there was no doubt that South-America would be the destination. The main reason I wanted to visit South-America was the culture. As far as I could see from Holland the culture looked both very relaxed and passionate. After a few months of travelling I can confirm that both are true. While planning the trip, I decided that I would love to combine some studying, holidaying and volunteering, to make my trip valuable. So I studied some Spanish in Argentina, enjoyed the beauty of Brazil and now I'm in Peru to do my volunteering.
Back in Holland I was looking for volunteering options in South America. There were a few things important for me while searching. I wanted to work for a non-profit organization, the project had to be started by locals and I like working with people. After a while I found the project 'Mundo de Niños'. Mundo de Niños is a home for children who can't live at their parents' house. At the moment, there are only boys living in the house and the reasons why they're in the house are that they lived on the the streets, in poverty or they have special needs.
I'm really happy to work at Mundo de Niños. Since I arrived in Peru after celebrating carnival in Rio de Janeiro, it took me a few days to get settled down in the volunteer house in Huanchaco. After a few days we had the Volunteer Olympics and I met most of the other volunteers. Everybody gave me a warm welcome and they made me start feeling at home in Huanchaco. The next day I had my first introduction at Mundo de Niños: an interview with a psychologist. The interview went well and the next week I could start working at Mundo de Niños. The first time I went together with Alex, another volunteer, and when we arrived we saw the boys playing football. For me it was a good way to start my work, I love playing football. After the football we went to the beach, the boys were still a little bit shy. It made sense to me that they preferred playing with Alex, they knew him already. After my first day I went almost everyday to the house to hang out with the boys. It was still their summer holiday, so we spent most of the time playing football and games, going to the beach or watching a movie. My work was mostly being there for them as a friend - we all try to give them a 'normal' live.
It became clear to me from the first day that the boys are used to being very physical. They love to hug and just be close to you sometimes, but the other side is of them being physical is the way they play-fight. It's different then what I'm used to. Their play-fighting looks to me more like real fighting - they use their fists and kick each other. Also, when somebody is down, to continue fighting and attacking somebody on the ground is normal. The first days it was hard for me when to stop them, but I learned that they enjoy the playing, so I just stop them when somebody is down.
The boys are always very excited when we leave the house in Huanchaquito to go to Huanchaco. The first time we went, we tried to fit everybody in one taxi. There were 12 boys, 4 bodyboards, 2 tutors and me. Sadly enough it didn't fit and we had to take the bus. We went to the beach in Huanchaco and found a good place next to the pier. The favorite activities on the beach are swimming, bodyboarding and burying somebody in the sand. But after a few hours they decided they wanted to jump of the pier. The entrance fee for the pier is 0,50 soles, so they decided to climb onto the pier to jump off it.
On Fridays some of the boys get visits of their family so last Friday Katrina, another volunteer, and I were planning on walking with the rest of the boys on the beach to Huanchaco. That plan changed to going all together to Huanchaco the end of the afternoon. Everybody was excited to go, but it grew later and later. Because we were all waiting and getting bored we started playing a game throwing balls from the patio to the balcony. What started as game ended with a war of throwing balls, flip-flops and shoes. I wouldn't say that I wasn't involved in it. After we stopped and got the flip-flops that ended up the rooftop we went to Huanchaco. We arrived at the pier around 7.00 pm, and now the summer is over it's really cooling down in the evening. While most of is thought it was cold, a few of them decided that it might be a great idea to jump off the pier.
This week they finally started to go to school, 2 weeks later then they were supposed to go. In the South American fashion, the first day of school changed 4 times. Now that they go to school there is more structure in their lives. Our roles as volunteers is probably changing a little bit. I hope we're going to be able to help them a little bit with doing their homework. Next to that we continue do a lot of fun things with them as well.
As I said before, I'm really happy with my work at Mundo de Niños. Although the boys sometimes really test me, they make me smile everyday. I love that they all try to have a lot of fun, after the things they have faced. It's the small things that make me happy: when they give me a hug, act silly or laugh about my poor Spanish. I would recommend to everybody to do this kind of volunteering, if you get the opportunity to do it. I think it's good to experience different cultures and it makes me more aware and appreciate the small things in live.
After travelling and enjoying Argentina and Brazil, I felt like I wanted to give something back to the continent of South-America. So that's is why I chose to go, both literally and figuratively, to the other side of South-America. Literally because Peru is on the other side of South America, figuratively because I see the other side of the continent.
When I decided to go travelling for a longer time, there was no doubt that South-America would be the destination. The main reason I wanted to visit South-America was the culture. As far as I could see from Holland the culture looked both very relaxed and passionate. After a few months of travelling I can confirm that both are true. While planning the trip, I decided that I would love to combine some studying, holidaying and volunteering, to make my trip valuable. So I studied some Spanish in Argentina, enjoyed the beauty of Brazil and now I'm in Peru to do my volunteering.
Back in Holland I was looking for volunteering options in South America. There were a few things important for me while searching. I wanted to work for a non-profit organization, the project had to be started by locals and I like working with people. After a while I found the project 'Mundo de Niños'. Mundo de Niños is a home for children who can't live at their parents' house. At the moment, there are only boys living in the house and the reasons why they're in the house are that they lived on the the streets, in poverty or they have special needs.
I'm really happy to work at Mundo de Niños. Since I arrived in Peru after celebrating carnival in Rio de Janeiro, it took me a few days to get settled down in the volunteer house in Huanchaco. After a few days we had the Volunteer Olympics and I met most of the other volunteers. Everybody gave me a warm welcome and they made me start feeling at home in Huanchaco. The next day I had my first introduction at Mundo de Niños: an interview with a psychologist. The interview went well and the next week I could start working at Mundo de Niños. The first time I went together with Alex, another volunteer, and when we arrived we saw the boys playing football. For me it was a good way to start my work, I love playing football. After the football we went to the beach, the boys were still a little bit shy. It made sense to me that they preferred playing with Alex, they knew him already. After my first day I went almost everyday to the house to hang out with the boys. It was still their summer holiday, so we spent most of the time playing football and games, going to the beach or watching a movie. My work was mostly being there for them as a friend - we all try to give them a 'normal' live.
It became clear to me from the first day that the boys are used to being very physical. They love to hug and just be close to you sometimes, but the other side is of them being physical is the way they play-fight. It's different then what I'm used to. Their play-fighting looks to me more like real fighting - they use their fists and kick each other. Also, when somebody is down, to continue fighting and attacking somebody on the ground is normal. The first days it was hard for me when to stop them, but I learned that they enjoy the playing, so I just stop them when somebody is down.
The boys are always very excited when we leave the house in Huanchaquito to go to Huanchaco. The first time we went, we tried to fit everybody in one taxi. There were 12 boys, 4 bodyboards, 2 tutors and me. Sadly enough it didn't fit and we had to take the bus. We went to the beach in Huanchaco and found a good place next to the pier. The favorite activities on the beach are swimming, bodyboarding and burying somebody in the sand. But after a few hours they decided they wanted to jump of the pier. The entrance fee for the pier is 0,50 soles, so they decided to climb onto the pier to jump off it.
On Fridays some of the boys get visits of their family so last Friday Katrina, another volunteer, and I were planning on walking with the rest of the boys on the beach to Huanchaco. That plan changed to going all together to Huanchaco the end of the afternoon. Everybody was excited to go, but it grew later and later. Because we were all waiting and getting bored we started playing a game throwing balls from the patio to the balcony. What started as game ended with a war of throwing balls, flip-flops and shoes. I wouldn't say that I wasn't involved in it. After we stopped and got the flip-flops that ended up the rooftop we went to Huanchaco. We arrived at the pier around 7.00 pm, and now the summer is over it's really cooling down in the evening. While most of is thought it was cold, a few of them decided that it might be a great idea to jump off the pier.
This week they finally started to go to school, 2 weeks later then they were supposed to go. In the South American fashion, the first day of school changed 4 times. Now that they go to school there is more structure in their lives. Our roles as volunteers is probably changing a little bit. I hope we're going to be able to help them a little bit with doing their homework. Next to that we continue do a lot of fun things with them as well.
As I said before, I'm really happy with my work at Mundo de Niños. Although the boys sometimes really test me, they make me smile everyday. I love that they all try to have a lot of fun, after the things they have faced. It's the small things that make me happy: when they give me a hug, act silly or laugh about my poor Spanish. I would recommend to everybody to do this kind of volunteering, if you get the opportunity to do it. I think it's good to experience different cultures and it makes me more aware and appreciate the small things in live.
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Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
