Hasta Pronto

It's 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 30. Our group spent four days in Chimbote, taking the night bus to Lima at 11:30 p.m. yesterday and arriving here in Lima at 6:00 a.m. We are passing the hours at an apartment of a Rotarian family who splits their time between Chimbote and Lima. ¡Muchíssimas gracias por la caldorosa bienvenida!

Our time in Chimbote was full of interesting and fun activities: a church built into a hillside (and our walk down the hillside!), an amazing visit to a high school, and a warm welcome from our last Rotary Club visit (R.C. Buenos Aires with Interact and Roteract, two Rotary youth groups). I don't think any of us had much internet access during our stay in Chimbote, but I hope we'll be able to post more details and stories in the coming weeks.

About thirty seconds ago, I said "hasta pronto" to Gabriella, who is now on her way to the airport to catch a flight to Cusco with her sisters. Today our group will go our separate ways: Maria and I are spending one night in Lima before she goes to Cusco and I head south to Páracas, while Nancy and Molly are catching a red-eye flight back to the U.S.

It's a strange day. We have spent a lot of time together, to the point that I can sense when someone in the group is missing, and I automatically start looking for them. We have learned so much about Peru and Rotary International here, but speaking for myself, the more I've learned here, the more I've realized how little I understand. There are good parts and bad parts and parts that aren't good or bad, but one thing that has been consistently amazing is the reception from our host Rotarians. I know I speak for the entire group when I say that we will ALL miss our Peruvian Rotarian family very, very much.

So, on our last day together, I raise an imaginary pisco sour for brindis to my Nancy, Molly, Maria, Gabriella, and the entire cast of characters in the U.S. and Peru who made this adventure possible. May there be many more pisco sours in our future. :)

Onward to Piura!

This afternoon we depart for Piura, six hours north of Trujillo. This is the closest to the Equator that I´ve ever been... let´s see if I sweat un testiculo del pulpo, eh Maria?

A million thanks to our new friends in Trujillo! We love you!

Two Photos From Huaraz

We will be taking an overnight bus tonight from Huaraz, in the Andes, to Trujillo, on the coast. Our time in Huaraz has been amazing, and I hope we can write more detailed posts in the future. In the mean time, here are two photos from our stay in Huaraz.

This is for my climbing friends:

Huascaran in the sunset

This is for my mother:

Peruvian gato

Tentative Itinerary

Today, we heard from our hosts in District 4460: we have a very tentative, completely subject to change itinerary!

• May 2: Arrive in Lima
• May 2 - May 7: Huaraz
• May 8 - May 13: Trujillo
• May 14 - May 19: Piura
• May 20 - May 26: Chiclayo
• May 27 - May 29: Chimbote
• May 30: Depart from Lima

Check out the map at left to see these cities on a map of Peru.

Introduction

In May 2009, Rotary District 7170 (central-western New York State) will send a team of five women to Rotary District 4460 (northern Peru) as part of a Group Study Exchange (GSE).

What is Group Study Exchange?

According to Rotary International, "The Group Study Exchange (GSE) program is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young business and professional men and women in their initial years of professional life. Rotary districts in different countries are paired to send and receive professional study groups of four to six non-Rotarian team members and one Rotarian team leader to travel for four to six weeks, staying in the homes of Rotarians when possible."

There are four goals of a GSE experience: vocational visits, cultural experiences, fellowship opportunities, and Rotarian involvement.

For more information, see www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/164en.pdf.

Who are the District 7170 (NY) team members?

In no particular order, we are:

*Nancy Potter (team leader), Family & Community Development Issue Leader with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County
*Molly Bargar, Big Brothers, Big Sisters Program Assistant at the Ithaca Youth Bureau
*Maria Difrancesco, Spanish Professor at Ithaca College
*Gabriella D'Angelo, Architect with John Synder Architects
*Nicole Tedesco, Service & Operations Analyst with Tompkins County Area Transit, Inc
*Gina Gammage-Sikora (alternate team leader), Spanish Professor at Tompkins-Cortland Community College
*Rebecca Heller-Steinberg (alternate member), Community Educator for Opportunities for Otsego