Today did not resemble Canadian Thanksgiving, but it is was none the less a love-filled day. As per usual, many hugs and kisses were shared between the kids and youth I work with. Food wise? Well, rice and beans, fried plantains and fresh bread with avocado were just as delicious as always, so I am not complaining. Aside from family, I think what I missed most was going for a walk in the countryside and reveling the vibrant fall colours.

In between two homework help sessions of algebra, multiplication tables, dictations, and English vocabulary, I worked on assembling this giant poster to be used this week in Project Chiclayo events for our visitors (to arrive on Wednesday). Kids were responsible for colouring the letters I had drawn and they certainly did a great job. Alex and Kriss, two of the youth in this morning’s session, were a big help in cutting out the letters with care.

Symphony of Hope: coming to you this week from Proyecto Chiclayo, Chiclayo, Peru. 

Upon finishing work at 6pm, I dashed to the music school to practice with my two fellow 1st violins compañeros from the chamber orchestra. Playing without the 2nd violins, violist or soloist allowed us to concentrate on our tuning and play in true unison (Bach’s Concerto in A minor for violin and his Concerto for Two Violins).

Since tops are very much in style with the boys of the city, why not join in?
It is pretty fun to see how many times you can transfer a top between hands before it stops spinning,
as demonstrated by Eber. Funny enough, boys seem to frown upon girls when they try to play with tops, but the younger ones do not yet have this questionable mentality yet.

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More pictures from my trip: these are my Peruvian host parents (Chela and Isaac) and I at the central cemetery in Cuzco where we saw where some of my host mother’s relatives lay to rest.

After eating a breakfast of chancho (pork) and tamales with them, Marcela and I were off to Pisa’q (Písac), a beautiful village nestled in the Sacred Valley.  To leave Cusco in a convi there was a lot of up, up, up and to descend to Pisa’q, a lot of down, down, down…
not to mention a lot of turns at a velocity a little too high for out comfort levels–but what views we saw along the way!

This was at someone’s house, converted into a store with handmade goods.

A BIG tree full of what I call ‘old man’s beard’ in the city centre.
(sign reads: private property of the typical handicrafts market of Pisa’q)

After a visit to the huge market, we headed some 20km up the mountainside to the archaeological site of Pisa’q…

All the way up here, despite the strong winds, we could here the peaceful sounds of a Peruvian pan flute being played somewhere on the mountain side. Although perhaps done to enhance the touristic experience, it was very fitting.