We have spent 5 weeks in Cajamarca, Peru. Exploring the countryside, history, music, and food has been a great experience. On Saturday we boarded an overnight bus to Lima. The seats converted into fully reclined beds, but the road was so bumpy that we didn’t sleep very well. We have already received a few calls from friends in Cajamarca, wishing us well. We will miss them all very much.
We spent Sunday night (December 7th) at the lovely home of Kristy Krahl, who used to be a teacher at Carlos Gilbert Elementary. She is now an administrator at an international school in Lima. She was an excellent host and it was nice to get to know her (thanks to a thoughtful email from Dolores Pong). She made us chili and cornbread, which made us feel right at home.
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| From The Big Field Trip – Peru, November 2008 |
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we spent catching up on some work and study, but we also spent time with our friends Theresa, Mike, and Ollanta, friends of ours from Santa Fe. Theresa is a native of Lima, and the family tries to spend a few months in Peru each winter. Bella had a sleepover with Ollanta, who is also eight. They have known each other since they were both three. We spent time at Theresa’s parents’ home, walked through different neighborhoods, and went to the Lima zoo.
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| From The Big Field Trip – Peru, November 2008 |
On Wednesday night (December 10th) we boarded a plane for Brazil and arrived at our apartment in the Porto Barra neighborhood of Salvador on Thursday afternoon. After a day of recouperation we began our Portuguese lessons on Friday morning. Cyrus and Bella have seperate lessons, followed by lessons for Angela and me. We are only one block from nice city beach and we can swim every day.
We will stay in Salvador until December 29th. Although we will not have any company over the Christmas Holidays, my brother, Spencer, and my mom and step-dad are both thinking about coming to stay with us in January and February. We are looking forward to it.
Before we begin our posts from Brazil, we need to catch up on a few posts from Peru. I thought I would print a few more Peru-inspired poems and Cyrus still has a couple of movies that are not yet finished. He has been working hard, but has been pushing the envelope a bit and has experienced some technical difficulties. Look for them soon.
Poems:
Cinquain - We used a variation of the form that many elementary students use. There is one word on the first line (the subject), two words on the second line (adjectives describing the subject), three words on the third line (action words), four words on the fourth line (a four word phrase that expresses feelings about the subject), and one word on the fifth line (re-stating the subject or theme in a different way).
Market
Colorful Loud
Pushing Shouting Selling
It Makes Me Stressed
Mercado
By Cyrus, Peru, November, 2008
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| From The Big Field Trip – Peru, November 2008 |
Hike
Long Beautiful
Walking Carrying Climbing
My Feet Hurt A lot
Trek
By Cyrus, Peru, November, 2008
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| From The Big Field Trip – Peru, November 2008 |
Lake
Water Birds
Falling Swimming Splashing
Hot Happy Sad Cold
Sticks
By Isabella, Peru, November, 2008
Hotel
Uncomfortable Smelly
Scratching Freezing Yelling
Very Uncomfortable Straw Mattress
Hostel
By Cyrus, Peru, November, 2008
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| From The Big Field Trip – Peru, November 2008 |
Rock
Red Orange
Jumping Running Painting
Hurt Scared Happy Adventurous
Paint
By Isabella, Peru, November, 2008
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| From The Big Field Trip – Peru, November 2008 |
Guide
Fun Knowledgeable
Walking Telling Helping
He Only Spoke Spanish
Marcelino
By Cyrus, Peru, November, 2008
Sonnet - Cyrus tried his had at the English version of this poetry form. There are three stanzas of four lines. They each have 10 syllables and have an a-b-a-b rhyming pattern. The poem ends with a couplet, two rhyming lines also with 10 syllables each. The final couplet usually has an unexpected change or twist in theme or tone. It was quite a challenge for him.
Cajamarca
Cajamarca is in Northern Peru
It’s in the Mountains and sometimes is cold
This town has a great typical green stew
Of my life this is an interesting fold
The people speak Spanish here, which is neat
Lucky for us my mom speaks Spanish
There are lots of new people here, including Marlith
Her daughter Eva, who doesn’t like fish
Each weekend we go on tours with good guides
Marlith owns the company, “Inca Baths”
To get to the sites we take long bus rides
On one long Inca trail I hurt my calves
Unfortunately we will leave Peru
December tenth. I hope we come back soon!
By Cyrus, Peru, November, 2008
We welcome all of you to respond with poetry of your own. Thanks for the haiku poetry that you submitted Ethan and Bertie. We’ll make a Brazil post soon!
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