Hair fluttering, lungs pounding, legs straining, we pushed through the last miles of our run, and so ended the epic Sunday long run. For some, it was 7 to 9 miles, just a test as they ratchet up their summer training. Others ventured for far more. Dalton partook in an imposing 12 miles, and Scott even attempted 15. Needless to say, we were all plum tuckered after the morning’s trial, and we opted for an “all you can eat pancakes” bonanza at one of the local restaurants, the Blue Llama. After, we explored the Sunday market Pisaq is so well known for. Many deals were struck, and many gifts were bought.

Finally, after some ample down time, the group travelled to the local track to work for a few late afternoon hours under the sun. As the school is currently under construction, the track had become carpeted with various types of weeds and vegetation due to lack of use, and Strive has volunteered to help maintain it.

As we were about to leave for the day, a youth soccer club approached us for a pickup game of soccer, and needless to say, we accepted. It was an interesting dichotomy of unskilled, athletic late teenagers (Strive), and sensationally skilled, seasoned, young athletes. We soon realized we had neither the lung capacity nor the technical skill to evenly spar with the young team, and thus we resorted to a defensive focused mindset. However, there was one advantage we held over our younger counterparts: speed. With this speed, we could capitalize on every break away and counter attack, which led to a close, fiercely competitive game, and, in fact, through some amount sheer luck we emerged victorious 2-0 (shoutout to Nic’s 2 goals). After the game, we conversed with the kids, and encouraged them to attend our week day afternoon English tutoring lessons. But alas, we’ve digressed, and we must not forget about the other exciting events that transpired this week.

In other news, teaching continued unabated this week at Divino Corazon, Strive’s local partner school, with the exception of one half day on Friday. The president of Peru came to Pisaq that day for a speech on economic stimulus in the area-our Spanish skills were put to the test, to say the very least.

Another exciting event from this past week was our long awaited soccer and basketball matches against Corazon’s faculty. It was a Peruvian way to break the ice, and to begin to build relationships between the two parties of individuals. Our pre soccer game pull up warm up had no effect upon the other team’s confidence; rather, their high altitude athletic prowess trumped our best efforts in a 4-2 loss. To even the odds, we invited the faculty to a rematch game of basketball. With a valiant effort, they put up a good fight, but our familiarity with the game proved to be too much. We ended up walking away from the games 1-1, with a promise of a relay at a future date to settle things.

Additionally, our after school tutoring program, the Strive center, continues to be a hit among the budding youth of Pisaq. In fact, our tutoring sessions have grown nearly two fold, and with the increase in size, we can now go no further than a few blocks without encountering one of our pupils! The trip has been a blast so far, and we can’t wait for the coming weeks.

James and Isao