Monday, February 20, 2012.  The GLC students woke up early,  packed and got ready to leave our temporary home in Lima to venture on to Lobitos.  However, before we hopped on the place and flew away we went through a bit of a hiccup.

First, we had breakfast and then we used our newly found bargaining skills to shop at the local market where we get lots of cool little souvenirs.  Then, at about 10:40, things started getting crazy. We transitioned from using our bargaining skills to our NYC walking skills so that we could get back to our hostel on time.  And though we were on time, the van that was supposed to take us to the airport never showed up.

It was 11:45 and our flight was at 1:30 and we were about 30 minutes away.  It was time for our chaperones to make an executive decision.  So Ms. Dye and Ms. Schwenkler went outside to hunt for cabs.  When we got to the airport, we were met by a nice woman who led us to our gate.  At some point, after security, four of us girls got to the gate before anyone else did and we were worried that the rest of the group was not going to make it on time, but the rest of the group was right behind us.

Luckly, we all made it safely and in one piece and when we got off the plane we were met by Dave from W.A.V.E.S. who greeted us with yummy bananas and sandwiches and we continued our journey through Talara.

The sight of Talara was devastating.  There was garbage everywhere and poor conditions for the people.

When we finally got to Lobitos, we all relaxed and could finally stop and breathe and enjoy the rest of the day.  I was really excited to see what the rest of the week has to bring for the GLC ambassadors.

Pachacamac was established by a pre-Incan civilization called Limas.  It was the sacred place for both cultures.  We took so many pictures with a view of this place.

There were two major temples:  the temple of the sun and the temple of the moon.  When we were standing on top of the temple of the sun, it seemed like we were standing on top of the roof of the world.  In the Incan culture, the sun symbolized the male energy and the moon symbolized the female energy.

After we finished exploring the ruins, we visited a very nice restaurant called Pardo’s where we were served very delicious chicken.

Our next stop was La Casa de Panchita, an organization that is dedicated to helping young girls who are put to work as domestic servants as young as eight years old. There were no girls there today; however, we got to meet many women who were helping them and were helping each other.  Some of us taught English class while others made jewelry.  It was very interesting social experience.

I think that everything we did in this day was fantastic and helped us on our journey of global citizenship.

By Nik – GLC Student

Then we took the bus to a fantastic restaurant called La Caplina and it was beautiful inside.  They gave us chance to make ceviche, their local dish.  Fama, Justus and myself (Ramzy) were the  chefs.  Ceviche is made out of raw fish with lemon and onion.  The acid from the lemon cooks the fish.  It tasted “delicioso”!

Next, we went to a famous restaurant that was owned by Mama Teresa who died last year, but we were so lucky to meet her daughter, Elena, who took over the restaurant.  They served us wonderful Creole food that is “fused” with Peruvian food.

After lunch, we walked around famous plazas like Plaza de Armas that gave us a sense of what life is like in Peru.  Then we went to Chinatown where we walked around and ate chicken.  Next stop was the Museo d’Oro where we learned a lot about how people lived a long time ago and we saw mummies!  They were really cool!

After a long day, we came back to the hostel where we rested for an hour and then went to dinner.  Justus’ family came with us.  We ate Peruvian sandwiches for dinner and then went back to the hostel for a long awaited good night sleep.

By Ramzy - GLC Student

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The surf shop has eclipsed everyone’s expectations and it has since its early beginnings come a long way. The WAVES surf photography program has been one of the key drivers of the success of the shop with surfers from all over Lobitos coming in to check their photos taken by our resident photographer (Henry Espinoza).  Within a couple of months the original backroom became overcrowded and felt too small for what we tried to accomplish (a relaxed inviting environment). Early November, with an influx of fresh motivated minds, some extensive brainstorming was done and the idea to move the shop was born.  We decided to move the store to the front of the house into a more spacious room where people could see it from the street, look through the windows, hear music coming out of the shop and would want to hang out and interact.

Fortunately there were plenty of willing hands around and with the honest blood, sweat and some tears of Adam, Dino, Raffael, Pim, Richard, Tali, Fanny  and Sr. Raul Tinoco the work (demolishing the old room (my favourite part )sanding and painting the walls, building a surfboard racks and a proper shop counter, thinking about and design customer flow charts and the best spots to display items for sale, etc.) the shop was finished just before the Christmas break.

We are all very proud of the end result and potentially even prouder that in true WAVES spirit we built everything from recycled/reused material (minus a few cans of paints and a few screws). The new shop is both more spacious and inviting to both local youth and tourists looking for a place to hang out, read a surfer mag or watch a surf movie (in the near future). Since the move, the shop has kept on growing and every day we seem to attract both more tourists as local youth. In this manner the shop is gaining meaning by providing employment for several local youth, funding for local WAVES projects, being a live training ground for local youth working in the shop and functioning as a place where cultural exchange can occur in a relaxed surfy atmosphere.

Aloha,

Pim

Like every year WAVES was celebrating a Peruvian tradition called Chocolatada. Therefore all the children who took part in programs or supported WAVES were invited to the WAVES house.

To provide shade and protect the ca. 100 guests from the strong sun two big tents had to be set up. To get the party started and to keep it going an animator dressed as Mama Noel introduced the whole WAVES crew: The administration manager Irene, environmental class teacher Sonia, english teacher Junior, volunteer coordinator Pim and the volunteers (Adam and myself).

Apart from short speeches (being thankful for the participation and the support of the last year and announcing the summer program) all the WAVES guys had to dance with Mama Noel which was quite a lot of fun. Everyone had his own style of dancing and obviously the kids liked  seeing the “Gringos” dancing. But then the children had to prove their dancing skills throughout several games. For example building a basket tower while dancing but being careful not to bump it over. The winners were rewarded with a Christmas present handed over by us and sometimes also certificates for participating in the different WAVES programs.

We were very surprised how even the two-year-old kids could already move their hips to the beat. So the reason why the people in latin american countries rule the dancefloors is for sure because they know how to dance before they can barely walk.
After the games were over – the highlight of the day – a huge pot filled with hot and really sweet chocolate milk was served.

In the end it was a great event and a lot of fun. Cultural differences were obvious so it was good to be able to ask questions to the local WAVES crew which made the whole experience more informative and interesting.

Written by: Raffael Schmidt a WAVES volunteer

• Best Day Foundation
• Beyond the Surface International
• Surf Resource Network
• Surfrider Foundation NYC
• Warm Current
• Waves of Health

Korduroy.TV is the breeding ground for independent surf culture. Pioneering online entertainment where surfing meets DIY, Health and Environmental awareness, they have produced over 200 shorts and 3 documentaries, supplying viewers with free, high-quality programing. They have developed 5 original short content series so far and are working on new concepts for 2012 including new shows and a new revolutionary website for the independent surfing community. Check out their exclusive prizes and their bitchin’ website!

Korduroy.tv graciously curated the visuals at the last Rising Tide… Surf Causes Event in NYC.  Help spread the digital dollars love in the name of digital aloha.  With only a few days left, help them reach their goal…

During the filming of CAPTURE: A WAVES Documentary he discovered his passion for photography. The non-traditional education provided by WAVES and the various skilled volunteers visiting Lobitos have propelled Henry into a social enterprise. A portion of surf photography sales go to him, a portion go to his educational/career fund savings and a portion to WAVES for use of the equipment and to support further programming.

Here’s a short video of Henry in chicama (in Spanish):

Henry talks about his photography aspirations

Below is one of Henry’s photos taken of Las Capullanas, close to Lobitos.  Stay tuned for more from Henry in the “Create Your Future” collaboration with Surf Resource Network and Poor Speciman.