san bartolo and generación

I just returned from a pretty sweet week in Peru! I spent 2 days in Lima and 4 days in San Bartolo, a tiny surfing town an hour south.

As I said in the post below, my friends Mel and Cecily have spent a month volunteering for Generación, an organization that houses about 16 street kids from Lima and provides them with a chance to go to one of the many schools in San Bartolo. The kids are able to live in a safe environment, away from the vulnerability of being exploited on the street.

The kids range in ages 6 to 16. The six year old was born here and a lot of the others have lived here most of their lives. They are the sweetest bunch, although they do have their moments. The kids go to school every day, and spend their free time surfing (some of them are phenomenal), skateboarding, making jewelry, playing at the beach, and just hanging out with each other. Generación brings in several people a bunch of times a week, like a theatre professor, who gets them playing hilarious games, and a math professor, who keeps them up to speed in their work.

One of the kids riding the waves

Mel teaching Moises how to make cool designs on bracelets

It was really great to see the relationship Mel and Cecily have made with these kids. The kids are really quick to bond to you, even if your Spanish isn't top-notch. Even in just the four days I was there, the kids really took to me too, but they always kind of kept their distance, knowing I will one day leave. We spent our days playing games the theatre teacher has taught them, reading, singing, making bracelets, and playing a bit of soccer. We also had a massive wrestle/tag session at the skateboarding ramp on the last night.

The days in San Bartolo are really lazy and slow and wonderful, since it is the low season. I would like to return sometime in the summer when the town is, apparently, packed with tourists and all the Lima residents who have summer homes there.

Also, the Fourth of July came and went as we were here. To celebrate, we three gringas bought some Barardi and OJ, cookies and potato chips and played American music in our hostel. Go America! This is your big year!

Before making in down to San Bartolo, I met Cec and Mel and we spent two days in Lima, a really interesting city that I want to return to. The city has the typical traits of most South American cities, it seems: A crowded and dirty downtown with beautiful plazas and colonial architecture, peaceful, hip, wealthy neighborhoods, and striking contrasts between poverty and money. There were also approximately 3 million KFCs and McDonalds and Las Vegas-style casinos everywhere, it seemed. It was neat to see a different capital city. And the Pacific Ocean!!

Keep up the good work, girls!

AND GOOD LUCK STUDYING IN EGYPT, CECILY!!!