Hi everyone!
We've been in Pisco for about a week now, though it feels like it has been a lot longer. The 8.0 earthquake that happened on August 15th destroyed about 80 percent of the city and ruined about 85,000 houses. Rachel, Leah, and I have been working with an NGO called Hands On Disaster Relief. The organization is great and I'm really glad we were able to find them. The work itself is pretty intense. We work from 8-12 and then from 1:30-5:30 and so far most of the work has been clearing rubble from houses that were destroyed and throwing all the contents in the street so that the bulldozers can come along and clear it all. Our goal at the moment is to clear spaces large enough so that the families can get tents or modular houses that are being donated and put them up to live in temporarily. My body is finally getting used to the work, but I could hardly move after the first few days because I was so sore!
In addition to clearing rubble, I also spent one day sorting clothes in a huge warehouse at the port. Donations have been flooding in and unfortunately, they are not getting to the people who need them as fast as they should. A couple volunteers from Hands On are trying to work it out so that we can help distribute some of the supplies to areas that have not yet received any aid. Yesterday I also spent a half day working at a UNICEF sponsored project with kids who are living in a refuge camp. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to be able to help provide a sense of normalcy for kids who have just had their worlds just turned upside down. I'm hoping to go back every week that I am here. We originally committed to a week, but I think we'll stay here for a month.
When we arrived there were about 25 other volunteers and now there are about 40 of us with more expected to arrive soon. It has been fun getting to meet people from all over and I've been impressed in general with how easy it has been to share a small space with so many people. Our lunch and dinners are prepared by two local women and we all take turns doing the dishes and all the general clean-up.
Love, Katie
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
Peru!
Greetings from Peru! We've been here for four days now and have been having a good time, except for the cold! We spent the past few days exploring Lima and trying to navigate our way around the city using public transportation. Lima is huge, sprawling city of about 8 million people (about a third of the total population of Peru) and since it is winter here it's overcast and cold everyday.
Jose Luis (the friend of a friend that we stayed with) was a great host and gave up his bedroom for us for a couple of nights. On Saturday night we went with him and some of his friends to a Salsa concert in Callao. The music was good, but it was outside and even though we each had on about 5 layers, we were still freezing. We were ready to leave by around 11pm, but had to wait for everyone else until 2:30am because we were told it was too dangerous for us to get a taxi by ourselves. We were pretty miserable by that point, but we made it home safely and happily crawled into our sleeping bags.
On Sunday we went to the National Museum and spent a couple hours looking at a photography exhibit about the history of Peru from 1980 to 2000. Most of you probably know about the Shining Path and the war that raged between them and the military for decades. It was a powerful exhibit with many images that were hard to look at, but it was also interesting and helped me to further understand some of Peru's complex history.
This morning we went off in search of sleeping mattresses and found a couple large inflatable mattresses that should work. Then we packed up all our stuff (we have a lot since we have our three large backpacks, three daypacks, and three suitcases of donations) and got a bus to Pisco. The bus ride took about three and a half hours and as we got close to Pisco we started seeing evidence of the recent earthquake. Piles of bricks and building materials litter the streets and some whole city blocks are completely destroyed.
After getting off the bus we took a taxi to our 'new house' and so far have only met a few other volunteers (most people are still working for the day). We'll be working six days a week, about 8 hours a day and I'm looking forward to plunging in tomorrow and getting into a routine.
I gotta go to dinner, but I'll try to write again soon,
xoxo, Katie
Jose Luis (the friend of a friend that we stayed with) was a great host and gave up his bedroom for us for a couple of nights. On Saturday night we went with him and some of his friends to a Salsa concert in Callao. The music was good, but it was outside and even though we each had on about 5 layers, we were still freezing. We were ready to leave by around 11pm, but had to wait for everyone else until 2:30am because we were told it was too dangerous for us to get a taxi by ourselves. We were pretty miserable by that point, but we made it home safely and happily crawled into our sleeping bags.
On Sunday we went to the National Museum and spent a couple hours looking at a photography exhibit about the history of Peru from 1980 to 2000. Most of you probably know about the Shining Path and the war that raged between them and the military for decades. It was a powerful exhibit with many images that were hard to look at, but it was also interesting and helped me to further understand some of Peru's complex history.
This morning we went off in search of sleeping mattresses and found a couple large inflatable mattresses that should work. Then we packed up all our stuff (we have a lot since we have our three large backpacks, three daypacks, and three suitcases of donations) and got a bus to Pisco. The bus ride took about three and a half hours and as we got close to Pisco we started seeing evidence of the recent earthquake. Piles of bricks and building materials litter the streets and some whole city blocks are completely destroyed.
After getting off the bus we took a taxi to our 'new house' and so far have only met a few other volunteers (most people are still working for the day). We'll be working six days a week, about 8 hours a day and I'm looking forward to plunging in tomorrow and getting into a routine.
I gotta go to dinner, but I'll try to write again soon,
xoxo, Katie
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Last night in NC
It's been just over two months since my last entry so this entry is way overdue! However, since I'm leaving the country for 8 months tomorrow and I haven't started packing yet, I'm going to have to keep this brief.
I last wrote in Costa Rica and from there Leah, Rachel, and I traveled to Panama and met up with Ruben (Rachel's boyfriend). We did a whirlwind tour of Panama and spent time in an indigenous community that Rachel had spent time with a few years ago when she studied abroad there. It was amazing few days and we were able to visit 4 out of the 11 Naso villages that are located close to the Costa Rican border. From there we went to Bocas del Toro and spent almost a week at the beach relaxing and doing some snorkeling. After that we went to David to visit Ruben's family and spent a few days with them and did some hiking. From there we went to Panama City for just a couple nights before flying back to the states.
I thought I might have some culture shock after being gone for about 7 months so I was a little surprised about how smooth my transition was to my life here. The biggest change was orienting myself to Carrboro since my mom moved here from Durham while I was away. I spent my first month back in NC working for a nonprofit in Durham and catching with friends and family. It was great to be back except for the NC heat and humidity!
Near the end of August I flew up to MA and spent about a week visiting friends from Clark and then spent a week in Keene visiting my dad and stepmom. I was able to do some hiking, boating, swimming, and blueberry picking so I was happy. Then this past weekend I went to my friend Rebecca's wedding in Provincetown and it was a beautiful event. It took place on the beach and was casual and fun. Rebecca and I have been friends since age four so it was not something that I wanted to miss!
I flew back to NC two days ago and tomorrow my friends and I will be flying to Peru. I've had a great six weeks in the states, but at the same time I'm feeling ready to hit the road again. I'm especially excited because this time I'm going to a continent that I've never been to before and I'm curious to see how different it is from Central America. The dad of a friend of a friend is going to pick us up at the airport and our plan is to stay in Lima for four nights and then head south to Pisco where we'll be doing earthquake relief work for a few weeks. I'll write more about that once I get there.
Take care and please keep in touch!
I last wrote in Costa Rica and from there Leah, Rachel, and I traveled to Panama and met up with Ruben (Rachel's boyfriend). We did a whirlwind tour of Panama and spent time in an indigenous community that Rachel had spent time with a few years ago when she studied abroad there. It was amazing few days and we were able to visit 4 out of the 11 Naso villages that are located close to the Costa Rican border. From there we went to Bocas del Toro and spent almost a week at the beach relaxing and doing some snorkeling. After that we went to David to visit Ruben's family and spent a few days with them and did some hiking. From there we went to Panama City for just a couple nights before flying back to the states.
I thought I might have some culture shock after being gone for about 7 months so I was a little surprised about how smooth my transition was to my life here. The biggest change was orienting myself to Carrboro since my mom moved here from Durham while I was away. I spent my first month back in NC working for a nonprofit in Durham and catching with friends and family. It was great to be back except for the NC heat and humidity!
Near the end of August I flew up to MA and spent about a week visiting friends from Clark and then spent a week in Keene visiting my dad and stepmom. I was able to do some hiking, boating, swimming, and blueberry picking so I was happy. Then this past weekend I went to my friend Rebecca's wedding in Provincetown and it was a beautiful event. It took place on the beach and was casual and fun. Rebecca and I have been friends since age four so it was not something that I wanted to miss!
I flew back to NC two days ago and tomorrow my friends and I will be flying to Peru. I've had a great six weeks in the states, but at the same time I'm feeling ready to hit the road again. I'm especially excited because this time I'm going to a continent that I've never been to before and I'm curious to see how different it is from Central America. The dad of a friend of a friend is going to pick us up at the airport and our plan is to stay in Lima for four nights and then head south to Pisco where we'll be doing earthquake relief work for a few weeks. I'll write more about that once I get there.
Take care and please keep in touch!
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