Wednesday, Sept. 14 Mission accomplished. We have all seen stores, like Ten Thousand Villages, that sell artisan crafts from abroad, but on Wednesday students learned what it means to buy those handicrafts via fair trade principles, meet some of the artists that make the crafts, and try their hand at…
Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 10-11. Spirited dancing around a bonfire made from cotton plants. We took a weekend field trip to experience one of the Peruvian cultures, that of Afro-Peruvians, descendants of Africans brought to Peru as slaves. A three-hour ride south of Lima, in the small community…
Friday, September 9. We drove 2 hours north from central Lima …. and were still not at the outskirts of this sprawling city. This capital now has almost 10 million people (Chicago is 8.3 million), but 50 years ago had less than 2 million. Rural poverty…
Josh buys tomatoes. The past four days the students have been settling into their weekly routine: language classes are from 9-12 in the morning at the Good Shepherd Church, an Anglican church with a long history in Lima. Lunches are usually shared together (either at Casa Goshen…
Before the plates were quickly cleaned. On Friday and Saturday the students had several activities interspersed with orientation sessions about living in Peru, including some quizzes on assignments. Friday began with us picking up the students at their hostel and walking with them to Casa Goshen, with…
Right off the boat, or the plane. The students’ flight arrived at midnight, about an hour behind schedule because of a detour around the hurricane off the gulf coast of Florida. But we’re glad to have them all here with us in Lima now. It took an…
Doug and Maria (with Tipi Sanchez Schirch in the middle) We have been in Peru almost three weeks, getting settled in to the apartment Goshen rents for SST leaders and making preparations for the GC students who arrive on September 1. We’ve been greatly assisted by three…
Dear Peru Summer-2016 SST group (Aka: Todo Angamos!) Here’s the things I couldn’t say to you on the bus to the airport, because I was just too choked up. We absolutely loved being in this crazy Peruvian “boat” with you. You were a fabulous group. We’re so grateful for the…
Posted by Kathryn Schmidt; additional text by Jill Steinmetz Jill, Eric and Ariel are having a wonderful time in San Roque, a tiny pueblo in Peru’s northern jungle San Martin region, about an hour from the larger city of Tarapoto. They are enjoying the village’s tiny size (less than 1,000 people), flexible…
Text and Photos by Kristopher Schmidt Just when you’ve thought experienced the best of what Peru can offer, you visit Arequipa. What a place. The climate is incredible right now. Unlike the cool and dreary days of Lima in Winter, Arequipa is warm and sunny. The temperature dips down in the…
