So Villa Maria Invierno 2010 begins:
The first full day in Villa Maria consisted of meeting Alejandro and the gang, we had a tour of the area, including the communities we would be working in, and even met some of the families we would be building houses for. One thing that struck the group was the sheer size of Villa Maria - something that pictures just cannot convey.
The rest of the week was made up of building our first two houses alongside community work and being challenged by the locals to the odd game of football - our shins will never be the same after meeting Peruvian Beckham. We learnt many new skills involving tools and found muscles which we previously never knew existed.
We did our first Domingos Familiares with our very own Lady GaGa in the form of Sam, needless to say it resulted in us shouting ‘caramelos' and throwing sweets for the children to scramble for. After a very satisfying, but painful, two hours the children had bagfuls of goodies and painted faces (varying in quality depending on who had done it.)
Second week started off with a really long working day - 11am-8pm - which was a struggle, however, it was worth it when we managed to complete two houses in one day. The underlying reason for working so hard was so we could go and celebrate Peruvian Food and Independence Day in Miraflores. Lots of Arroz con Pollo, Anticucho and Peruvian deserts consumed.
The rest of week was more of the same; Jo, Charlotte and Philsa wowing everyone with their cooking expertise (or lack thereof); playing with the kids; learning a few dance routines and we even managed to put up a couple of houses.
And so the third week began with us feeling competent in the art of construction; we whacked a few houses together in no time - lovely job! It was the most successful week to date as we built, painted and put up two houses by Wednesday - we think the whole group is proud of their efforts. We were paid a visit by a previous Quest go-er with his group of school children who had returned to paint a house they'd built a few weeks previous.
Back to reality with a bump in the fourth week although we found that we'd actually missed our beds here in Villa Maria! As we write this (dressed in Barney and Thomas the Tank Engine costumes) the final two houses are being put up - we are the first Quest team to have built 8 houses and we are all very proud of this achievement. Despite all the early mornings, tiredness, aches and pains it is worth it when we see the finished product of our hard graft and the gratitude on the faces of it's new residents. Villa Maria we will miss you!
Find out how you can volunteer in Villa Maria on your Gap Year or next summer.
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