Our jungle experience...
Last week, one of my best friends Jen came in for an adventure we'd never forget. I picked her up in Lima and after an almost sleepless night, we got up super early and made it to Iquitos (the capital city of Loreto). We were met in the airport by our guide Rodrigo, who took us around the local marketplace until the boat arrived to take us on our adventure.

Three hours later, we arrived at the Tahuayo Lodge. Built right into the jungle, it is beautiful but basic. No AC or amenities, solar paneled electricity, etc. We definitely signed up for an adventure :) The first day we had a great lunch, relaxed in hammocks, then went exploring a bit and did the zipline. I decided to hoist myself up instead of let them do it cuz I wanted the challenge. I got about 10-15ft up and changed my mind, but what they neglected to tell me was that I couldn't turn back. So onward and upward I went, and I did it! Still have the healing blisters to show for it.

Day 2: The next day we went hiking again and saw the smallest monkey in South America- and it really is tiny. We also saw a family of spider monkeys but they moved so quickly we couldn't get pictures. Our guides, who have all had survival training, did a demonstration of a trap you would set to catch animals. Super neat. Also they showed us how to make rubber from the rubber tree by scraping away the bark and putting flame to the white sap. At lunch we got to try fresh juice made from Camu Camu- the fruit with the highest concentration of vitamin C in the world... soo yummy. In the afternoon we went looking for pink dolhpins and found them! They were beautiful but seldom showed themselves and when they did it was only to grab some air for an instant. They like to play hide and seek. I also saw a hawk come down, scoop up its prey from the water and disappear into the sky-all in about 3 seconds. Craziness. At night we went exploring by boat, "looking for frogs." Til the moment the guide grabbed the caiman (aligator) from the water with his bare hands we still thought it was a big frog...man were we fooled!

Day 3: We went fishing, caught piranas, catfish and other kinds and then headed two hours further into the amazon to the research lodge. There we got to see a sloth!! We named him "Sid" (Ice Age). We also saw a beautiful woodpecker and I got to go swimming in the Amazon :) That night we went hiking and saw a jungle chicken and the most beautiful night sky I've ever seen. They said they cloudy-looking part was the milky way!

Day 4: our boat driver catching an anaconda with his bare hands! Playing soccer with the employees at the lodge (all guys lol), and going for a night canoe ride with our guide and talking to him about God and Jesus :)

Day 5: long boat ride followed by loooong hike looking for poison dart frogs, and finally we found them (when I say "we" I mean our guides lol). They are small but might creatures. Then on the way back we lost our propeller cuz the water level is so low and we crashed with tree branches. As soon as it happened our boat driver Freddy, a local, goes "Now this is an adventure!" haha. Jen and I just look at each other and laugh. They paddled for a while with tree branches and canoe paddles, then Freddy got off at a village and appeared downriver with a new propeller in hand. Impressive. On the way back, we had the biggest highlight of the trip...monkeys that came into the boat!! They are so adorable. The company rescued them from locals who kept them as pets and didn't know how to care for them. Now they know the sound of the motors of the company's boats and come running. We got to pet and interact with them, and feed them. The one monkey name Chela cried when we left...my heart broke. Such a beautiful experience. Jen and I decided to pass the time back to the lodge by making up raps for our guide and boat driver...lol. Back at the lodge they made us a delicious goodbye cake and thanked us for coming... so nice!

Day 6: Went on a cultural visit to a local village, El Chino (named because apparently the people look a little asian...not sure if I saw it). It was very interesting to see the slow pace of life and how things work. Most people have farms where they grow corn, rice, watermelon, yuca, etc. The kids were goregous and we got to buy some artisan stuff. They make beautiful woven baskets and hand crafts that they dye with natural colors. The women we bought from would always give us a little gift to show their appreciation. I was able to give the necklace I was wearing, that was made from an artisan woman in Morocco, to one of the ladies. It was a very special moment.

Then we had to leave and I was so sad. I absolutely loved it there and sharing it with Jen made the experience. We flew back to Lima, had a quick dinner at one of my favorite spots- the burger restaurant of the most famous chef in Peru (Gaston) and parted ways. I am so blessed to have had such a wonderful experience and I hope you enjoyed reading about it.

Til Next Time,
Jackie

Hey All!
Well, we're at the end of August...how the last few months went by so quickly I'm not quite sure. But I wanted to write to give some updates, so here goes:

• June: Had a wonderful trip home. Was able to be a part of 2 weddings, celebrate my mom's birthday, and see the wedding venue where my brother will be getting married (in 2 months!!) It was surreal and often strange to be back after a year, but totally worth it and I am so blessed to have had that experience.

• July: July was filled with preparing my girls for their business competition, going to Lima to be a part of the Youth Initiatives Committee (and getting to see my lovely host family there), and going on vacation with 2 awesome ladies to Puno and Arequipa. Puno is where Lake Titicaca is- the highest elevation lake in the world. People live on man-made floating islands so we got to observe their way of life...soo different. Its SO cold there but so beautiful. Strangely the city of Puno has a ton of pizza shops...they know what the tourists like ha! Then we went to Arequipa, the 2nd biggest city in Peru. Its gorgeous, with european-style arquitecture and a beautiful central plaza. Such a lovely trip!

• August: More preparing with my girls then headed to Lima for the national business competition "Somos Emprendedores, Somos Peru." My girls didn't win, but what an experience to be able to compete in the US Embassy with peers from around the country. My group wants to put a coffee shop in the central plaza in town, so now I am trying to find other funding sources to help make that happen. We also had med-checks, and though I had 2 more cavities, no worms/more serious stuff. Great to see my friends and explore Lima more- there are some wonderful coffee shops and restaurants there.

• "Welcome to the Jungle"
• My next post will be after I get back from Iquitos- the selva (jungle)!! One of my dear friends Jen is coming on Wednesday and we are flying to Iquitos from Lima, then taking a 5 hour speedboat ridge to our eco-lodge where we'll be staying 5 days!!! I cannot wait! I will post pictures.

Ok, that's about all I have time for now...I will write back sooner than 3 months this time!

Be Blessed,

Jackie

Mother's Day Thoughts...

Hiiii!!

First of all...Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there (especially my mom of course). You have the hardest but most amazing job ever and I hope I can have that job myself someday :)

This past week, with both my artisan group and the community bank in the campo (rural countryside) I decided (with the president of the artisan group- it was her idea) to have all the ladies share a little bit about their experience being a mom. Wow, was I humbled. Most of them became moms at 16/17 years old, and had to  figure out (painfully and often alone) how to be a mother and what that looked like. It was a really good thing for both groups- it brought the women together around that shared experience and also allowed them to share something they may have never talked much about before. One of the moms in the campo who is my same age (25), has a 6 year old daughter. 5 months ago, her husband took her daughter and she hasn't seen her since. It was so tender to hear her story and afterward as we were walking back, she held my hand and was leaning against me, and I felt so good that she was comfortable in my presence. Though we don't have a lot in common, my continuous presence there is sometimes enough, and this day it was.

Mother's Day here involved church per usual, but they brought the moms up front and prayed for them, which was great. Then I headed home, where my host mom had killed 2 hens and we ate them with some family visiting from out of town...soo yummy. Then when I could sneak away I headed over to Nick's host family where they also had a ton of family visiting and his mom had bought a good portion of a pig that weighed over 100 kilos (220 pounds!) and had prepared a typical dish called "chicarron." SOO good! One of my favorites. And they had prepared trigo as well, which is a wheat grain, so healthy and tasty! I ate a ton lol. I was able to talk to my host mom in Lima as well (who is expecting a 4th child) and my real mom in the states, so it was a wonderful day.

Getting excited about our boys camp, which is coming up this week. It looks like we have all the money from the grant and we may even be able to bring more boys! I will blog afterward with pictures!

Also excited for home. I've been feeling like I really need this break to spend time with friends and family and regroup a bit, change up the perspective. Five weeks from Wednesday I will be back!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed that little update. I have so much more I could say, but before I sign off I do want to thank God because He is teaching me soo much through this crazy experience.

Ok, gonna run, start my day. Til the next time!

J

P.S. A fun pic of me and my host sister, Greysi! I just adore this girl.

The Best Visit I Could Ask For :)

Hey Everyone!
I have so much to tell you...let's start with my parents' visit. One word...AMAZING! I met them in Lima and, after 10 months apart, the reunion was overwhelming. Tears and hugs and kisses all around (ok, only me and my mom cried, but you get the point ;). We met my host family where I lived in the 2.5 months of training and again, it was so wonderful. I adore them, and they were so good to me last summer, so it was really special for the families to be able to meet. My mom brought this awesome light-up squishy ball and the kids went crazy. Even though they couldn't communicate directly with each other. a lot of love and joy was shared between the two families. That night we ate our first of many amazing meals at Astrid & Gaston in Mira Flores. Here are my parents with their backpacks (so proud!) at the Lima hotel.

The next day we flew to Cuzco, headed to the main plaza and plopped down in the Starbucks for some nice coffee and a gorgeous view. We spent the next two days seeing nearby towns and ruins, kind of building up to Machu Picchu. We got to see an Easter procession in the plaza and go to church right there in the beautiful Cathedral. It was standing room only and the priest encouraged us to have a sincere, steadfast faith and pursue Christ. I loved it! Since I live here, I was blown away by how expensive everything was, but its a once in a lifetime thing so what can you do. Then we headed to Aguas Calientes, the closest city to Machu Picchu to spend the night. We got up super early and were among the first visitors to MP the next day...so gorgeous! We decided to climb up Huayna Picchu, a HUGE mountain that took us about 2 hours to climb. Its super steep and I'm glad we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but when we got up to the top it was so worth it...

After taking a time-out to rest and eat, we hired a guide to take us around the ruins for an hour and it was totally worth it. Learned so much...the Incans were absolutely brilliant with their architecture.

That night we started making our way back to Cuzco and stayed in a WONDERFUL hotel about an hour out of the city. It was like a hidden resort. Used to be a monastery, and just had beautiful grounds, a huge stone-floored lobby , amazing restaurant with free buffet breakfast (the best I've seen in Peru). I wish we could have stayed there longer but its not super close to the city or Machu Picchu, so we had to settle for one night :) I don't have any pics of it, but just imagine!

Then we headed back to Lima and took the bus overnight 15.5 hrs to my capital city, Cajamarca. We spent two days in my site where my parents felt like celebrities (people are still asking about them) and they got to see my life here. They came to our youth group meeting and the kids loved it. We visited my family. Nick's family, and I introduced them to everyone I could. Then we spent a day in the capital city with my best friend Heidi where my parents got to experience the hot baths (mmm...so relaxing), buy artisan stuff and just walk around. We had a great lunch...burgers and fries to prepare them to go back to the states (ha!) and accompanied them to the airport where (after quite a struggle, I won't go into detail) they got on the first of three flights to make it back home.

It was seriously such a gift from God to have them here. They mean so much to me and even writing this I'm tearing up cuz I miss them so much. BUTTT I will be coming home exaclty two months from tomorrow, so its all good!!!

**One important thing I want to mention before I sign off..we do 2 youth camps a year here, one for girls and one for boys. We have the boys youth camp (Valor) next month and could use some financial support. Here is the link if you want to donate: https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=13-527-017  (If it doesn't work at first, keep trying!)

Thanks y'all for reading, and much love!
Jackie

Some thoughts from today...

• Went to the 2nd of 2 computer trainings with some ladies from my artisan group. It was amazing (and a little painful lol) to watch as they learned to manage Microsoft Word for the first time. I was there for solidarity and to help them also with their questions. It was quite the scene as I sat there trying to perfect the knitting stitch I learned while they were trying to learn computer skills. It was as if I entered their world and them mine. 
• Then I went to the only Community Bank I hadn't visited yet. The ladies branched off of the other group that was started by the volunteer before me. It was so great to see the ladies so content- telling me about how they never were able to save money before but now they were committed and having to be responsible and accountable to one another. It was cool too to see the friendship and trust within the group- especially because trust is a huge challenge I see here. There are countless stories of groups falling apart or people leaving because something happened that offended them and they couldn't work through it. I hope they continue strong :)
• 9 days til my parents come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trying to be patient and embrace the days ahead with full force. Also three months from today I'll be homeeeee! It will be so sweet to visit :)
• For those who weren't aware, I changed rooms and now I am in the house with the family, more secure. Here is a pic of my new room. 

Thanks for reading. Hasta la proxima! (til next time)

A [Rainy Season] Update

They warn us about rainy season. They say to get your books out and prepare to be bored, and maybe even depressed. I've seen a lot of rain in the past few months. Today it has rained almost all day. Last week there was a thunderstorm that took the power out and some people here had never seen anything like it (they're still talking about it). But I'm not depressed, not at all. In fact, this has been a refreshing, cleansing time for my soul. I've been working out (hard), teaching little kids- and learning from them of course, and just enjoying this slow time to pray, focus on my bible study, get lots of rest, visit people, and take a step back to analyze my projects and what I want to see this year. My whole perspective on time has changed since joining Peace Corps, and now  a few months seems like a super short amount of time. I'm not in such a rush to start projects, since I now understand that things take time here. At first I didn't understand why this program was two years, and wasn't even sure if I'd stay the whole time. But after 6 months in my site and almost 9 in the country, I get it now and I'm at peace with staying (praise God).

I'm learning to enjoy the little things like the few old ladies in town who just light up when they see me- one who always tells me how pretty I am (confidence booster for sure!), another wants me to take her to the states with me...mind you she must be in her late 80's at least :) I went to visit this one the other day and she introduced me to literally everyone that walked by, telling them in Spanish  "Come and greet this gringa...she's from the US!" and just wanted to know about the states and all sorts of things. These kind of experiences I like to define as authentically  "peace corps."

Along the same line, another really cool thing is that here in this small town most everyone knows me, and many by name (esp the kids). I think everyone deep down wants to be known, and its awesome to have that and to know that I'm having an impact here at least by being a bright spirit to the kids in town. Yesterday some little girls I know stopped me on the street and just wanted to play with my hair and ask me questions and take pictures with me (on their brother's cell phone, ha). They held my hands and just wanted me to pick them up and love on them- it brought such joy to my day. I love that kids don't hold back and just love without fear.

Now the school year is about to start and I will be in a new season of life. I'm excited to see what that brings and thankful for this beautiful (rainy) season experience. Enjoy the pics!

1. Me and my girl Meg at Carnaval!

 2. Peace Corps friends who came in town for Carnaval...(we live sometimes overnight bus rides apart)

3. Us and the kids at the closing ceremony for Vacation School :)

January Joy

Hey All!
So its harder maintaining a blog than I thought, but I'm not giving up! Here are some highlights and pics to keep y'all in the loop.

• Started Vacaciones Utiles (like summer school) two weeks ago with my sitemate Nick. I LOVE it! We have 80-90 kids in one classroom, but we get to teach them whatever we want. Last week we focused on environment. The little girls are SO cute and they love to hold my hand and be by me. Its a nice change of pace to have a different schedule as well
• Me and Nick started cooking lunch, which has been really nice- more freedom in the schedule to eat when we want and eat really healthy
• Had training in Chiclayo/Lima for community banks/microcredit. Really excited to go back and help improve the banks we have/start new ones in the rural areas. I think they are a great project because they encourage saving, and help people improve their lives by taking out loans to invest in something like a small business or selling fruit in the market. And we brought community partners so they can help promote/facilitate the banks with us and it will be way more sustainable that way
• Looking forward to Carnaval in February- one of the biggest fiestas in Cajamarca!
• Coming home from training with a new perspective and rejuvenated to push forward!
• Loving my church in site, such a blessing. Hoping to get closer with some of the women there.

Our kiddies!

Me and my gfs enjoying milkshakes during training!

Alison's visit!!

My host siblings at Christmas!