Iquitos

Excited Oriel

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Excited Oriel, originally uploaded by katherinebruder.

One thing I have always wanted to do here in Peru, or any country I visit, is go to a professional soccer game. Of all the sports in the world, watching soccer is definitely one of my favorites. Seeing Real Madrid play one cold December night in Spain was just amazing, and after tonight, it will have some competition for my favorite game.

Yesterday when the team from Nebraska arrived, they mentioned that they wanted to do something special with the boys – take all 44 of them somewhere in Iquitos. We had been to the movies recently, out to dinner, and the weekly customary trip to Quistococha (the local zoo/lake in Iquitos), but they were looking for something different. It was sugessted that we all go to the Saturday night CNI (Iquitos) versus Ancash soccer game at the city stadium and they loved the idea.

Tickets were bought and at 5:30pm, we all boarded the boat in Puerto Alegria to come into Iquitos for the game, which started at 8pm. Our seats, which were S/. 20 (soles or about $7), were right in the first few rows of the stadium near center field. I sat with Oriel, the little boy pictured in the photo above, and was able to share his first ever soccer game with him. He was so excited to be there, at just 5 years old, that he kept pointing out everything new he saw. Every time the players swapped out during the game, every banner that was being waved, the trumpets that played every few minutes, and all the other people cheering and enjoying the night. To see him so happy, excited and interested in what was going on was definitely a joy for me (therefore puts this game in a tie for my favorite soccer games).

Since the game started at 8pm, we didn´t leave the staduim until at least 10:30 to return to the port, where we would find the boat to make the long trip back to Puerto Alegria. (Since it was so late, Oriel missed the last 10 minutes of the game because he had fallen asleep. I had to carry him in my arms out of the stadium and on to the bus.)

We didn´t make it back to Puerto Alegria until very late that night and it wasn´t until 1am before everybody was in bed and asleep. Despite it being a long day, it was a great experience – something I will have a hard time forgetting.

For those that are interested, CNI (the home team from Iquitos) won over Ancash (which the province where the Girasoles Kusi home is located), 2-0. It was a good game to watch.

Daily Schedule in Puerto Alegria

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One thing I was nervous about living in Puerto Alegria for a long time was its isolation from the city and lack of things to do (for those of you that know me well, you know that I like to keep myself very busy and involved with many projects). While each day follows the same schedule, because there are 44 boys here, every day is completely different.

But, when there aren’t any work teams here, our typical daily schedule is:

6am : Wake up
6:30 am : Devotional
7am : Breakfast
8am – 12:30pm : School
1pm : Lunch
2:30 – 5pm : Math and communication classes at Puerto Alegria
5:30-6:30 : Daily soccer game between Gene and the older boys
6:30pm : Dinner
7:30 –9pm : Movies
9pm : Bed

The past three weeks the boys have been off of school for mid-year break so we have been starting the day a 7am and they spend more time in their math and communication classes with the two teachers who live in the house with us. Happily, this meant more time to spend with the boys.

Despite my typically busy American life, I have happily spent a day swinging in an hammock, laying on a bench with one of the younger boys, or spending the entire morning talking with the educator/assistants here.

It’s going to be hard to return to the “real world.”

4 Days Alone in Puerto Alegria

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Since I left a group from Alabama at the airport on Monday morning, it’s been both a busy and quiet week in Puerto Alegria. Unfortunately, I was unable to come into Iquitos as often as I would have liked to, but this happily allowed me to spend more time with the boys living at the Girasoles home in Puerto Alegria.

Since there wasn’t a work team, there wasn’t much for me to do than play and have fun. Therefore, this past week was full of soccer games, photographs, listening to Michael Jackon/DC Reto/Shakira (their favorite artists) on my iPod, dancing the choreographies, watching movies and making pop corn at night (which they call pop pop) and lots of sitting around and talking. I enjoy having work teams at Puerto Alegria, but it´s always fun to be the only one there too.

This being said, I’m off to the Iquitos airport to meet my last team for the summer. A group from Nebraska arrive today, and on Monday a small group from Berkley will arrive to install solar panels so we will have electricity all the time – which means we’ll now have a refrigerator!

Sadly though, this is my last group and I’ll be leaving Puerto Alegria and Iquitos next Sunday – August 16th – and returning to Lima.

A Day in the City

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This morning I took a team from Greensville, South Carolina back to the Iquitos airport after spending a week with them at our abandoned boys home in Puerto Alegria.

Their flight, which left Iquitos at 7:10am, fortunately missed all the heavy rains we have had in the past few hours. People that were out on the streets are thoroughly soaked and those that could, ran into the nearest stores and restaurants to avoid the downpour. Since it has been raining, the temperature has dropped to 72F, which is lovely! (I’m glad I brought as sweater this morning).

Since the flight left at 7:10, they had to be at the airport no later than 6am (ideally 5:30), which meant we all had to leave Puerto Alegria this morning at 4am. Getting up early is fine by me, it was after leaving the team at the airport at 6am that I had to be creative. Stores, restaurants and most internet cafes just aren’t open that early. Luckily, I know of an Internet cafe that is open 24 hours and was able to get some things done.

Since I’m here in the city until at least 4pm today waiting for Gene to run all his errands and meetings, it’s going to be a day of hanging out and exploring the city.

My next team, who is from Alabama, arrives on the first flight tomorrow morning at 6:50, which means another dark boat ride into the city of Iquitos tomorrow morning!

8 Ways to Survive the Jungle Weather

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As I write this post at 8:18am, it is already 82 degrees with an 87% humidity.  As the day progresses, it will just keep getting hotter and more humid.

Since this is an extreme change from where I live in Michigan and where I have been in Peru, I have quickly developed some changes to my normal lifestyle while in Puerto Alegria and Iquitos.

1. Buy cold bottles of frozen water (from the freezer) in stores in Iquitos.

2. Ride on the back of Gene´s bike

3. Play in the rain (very easy to do since it rains almost every day)

4. Take long, cold showers, with water that comes from the River Itaya.

5. Buy a chunk of ice for 50 centimos (about 17 cents) to take back to Puerto Alegria to have at dinner. (This never really works as well as it sounds since the ice almost completely melts on the way back from the city to the home.)

6. Wear light gaucho pans and thin t-shirts.

7. Swing in one of the hammocks down at the maloca (gazebo) at Puerto Alegria.

8. Sleep outside (but not during high malaria season).

Things that do not help avoid the heat (but I have done):

Help in the kitchen, hold a boy on your lap when on an overcrowded bus, sleep indoors since it is a high malaria season, wear a sweater, participate in a bonfire, sit in the sun keeping score and time for the daily soccer game, and wait at the dock for a boat back to Puerto Alegria.

Despite all this, there are so many great things about the Girasoles program and Puerto Alegria that it is worth living in the heat and humidity.