After a long day of travel for our new arrivals, and a last day of Spanish class for the Spanish Immersion Program students, our entire STRIVE-Peru group united in Pisaq yesterday afternoon! We were greeted by thin air and sunny skies as the group got to know each other and took a tour around Pisaq. We were lucky enough to arrive on a Sunday – the busiest market day in the town – and were treated to a delicious and fresh lunch of authentic Peruvian food. 

With a good night sleep, the group woke up this morning full of energy and ready to delve into this first full week of service and training. As most of us are still adjusting to the altitude, the entire group did a very short run together in the afternoon, just to shake out the legs and get to see the beautiful vistas outside of town.  

During the rest of the day, we used the local holiday which meant schools were not in session to prep for the coming week’s teaching activities. Groups will be helping to teach in several local schools and will be tutoring students in our free after-school programs. 

Despite the holiday, we had over 20 students show up to after-school programs this afternoon, and our group got a chance to dive right into the service work. STRIVErs taught English to the group that ranged from 7-14 years old and everyone had a great time – and learned a lot!
Finally, we had a great dinner at local Pollo a la Brasa restaurant – a rotisserie chicken dish that is a specialty in Peru – and even got to catch most of Peru’s semifinal soccer match in the Copa America tournament (which they sadly lost to Chile). 

Tomorrow, we’ll head to school and begin to settle into our rhythm for the remainder of the week. We’ll update again soon!