Adios Tacna, we'll miss you!

The last day of Tacna arrived and allowed us to relax and catch up with some sleep! 

We explored a little more of Tacna including the cathedral, steam trains and even some dancing flowers!! Walking through a market full off meat, veg and fruit was also an experience, particularly when the chickens still had their heads and feet on!

Planning ready for the National board and an evening of games rounded off our rest day nicely.

Our final trip on an aeroplane altogether came, although not before a surprise visit from some Tacna leaders! They came to say goodbye (however some people were still in their pyjamas!!). It was lovely to say good bye to such warm and friendly people. They have so much enthusiasm for Guiding in the very south of Peru it is amazing to see it.

We safely arrived back at the Guiding Headquarters in Lima, which very much felt like returning home, unpacked and feeling ready for our evening outing. We are off to see a Peruvian show with dinner with some members of Guiding in Lima.

Tacna comes to an end.

So today marks the end of our 3 days of leadership training in Tacna. We have had an absolutely amazing time, and really treasured seeing young people starting to take the lead and gain confidence in their abilities. We particularly enjoyed watching the human knot and allowing the groups to create a game using any resources available - the variety of games they created were fantastic!

We have been thoroughly spoilt whilst in Tacna - receiving many fantastic and often homemade gifts including llama hats, tacna pin badges to add to our growing collection on our neckers, and an amazing locally brewed and produced wine made by one of our participants - she was very keen to see our reactions.

Having no kitchen facilities has also enabled us to try some traditional Peruvian dishes including Chifa (Peruvian Chinese), Ceviche (fish cooked by the acid in lemon juice) and Salchi Papa (chips with frankfurter sausage). The group have enjoyed trying the local delicacies and introducing our translators to marmite!

We were asked to organise a campfire to end the training and we were excited to find participants from both the morning and afternoon sessions as well as members from the local scout and guide groups. Making a campfire with kindling one foot long was somewhat challenging but in true GOLD style we made a fire to be proud of! We shared many classic campfire songs and chants, with particular favourites being oggie oggie oggie and campfire burning proving language was no barrier. We were treated to marshmallows, cake and an amazing hot chocolate before finishing with a Peruvian favourite Goodbye song to the tune of and Auld Lang Syne followed by our choice of Go Well and Safely.

We will be sad to leave Tacna and the friendships we have made but excited for the next stage of our project with the National Board for Guias Scouts del Peru.

My path, my pace!

So our training in Tacna has started! We are here for a few days to deliver 3 days training on Leadership. This training is not only different in content but also in dynamics, as in Lima we trained teenage girls at a camp. In Tacna, our audience is mainly adults and the sessions are repeated for a different group in the afternoon.

At the beginning of our first session we didn't quite know what to expect or how many to expect. We ended up with a good group of 20 adults and young leaders both in the morning and afternoon who were eager to learn about different style of leadership.

We focused on the WAGGGS learning styles - informal education, formal education and non formal education, with our sessions being delivered through the non formal style of education. We were keen to emphasise that non formal learning is different to the learning which goes on in school and that therefore being in guides is and should be different to being in school.

The participants thoroughly enjoyed our practical games and songs which taught them about different styles of leadership and communication,  and how different situations require different styles. We received great feedback from both groups and feel they are understanding and taking on board everything we are showing them.

We were very lucky this afternoon to have a visit from a local Brownie troop who danced to a song from 'Zootropolis' and gave us some homemade key rings - it was a lovely treat.

First day off!

Sunday 7 and Monday 8 August

First day off! A house alarm was going off full pelt from 5.30am which sadly meant our longed for lie in was scuppered. Ximena and Franca kindly showed us some of the main tourist attractions in Lima; the Cathedral, the largest church and the main square. We saw the changing of the guards with a military band to celebrate the President's first Sunday in office. Franca told us an amusing story about how the Spanish word for llama and flame is the same which resulted in the statute of Mother Earth in the centre of the square having a llama on top of her helmet! We had the opportunity to do a bit of shopping and most of the team bought llama jumpers which were worn almost immediately as it is very cold in Lima. We went to Ximena and Franca's favourite restaurant for lunch, a chicken restaurant a bit like a nicer version of Nandos and everyone enjoyed it. After our day out everyone was very tired so early to bed for everyone.

The next day we flew to Tacna and despite much speculation to the contrary the flight arrived on time! We had a lovely welcome committee  from the Tacna Board who sang us a welcome song and did a couple of the Peruvian Girl Scouts chants. Edliberta took us to a Chifa restaurant which is a Chinese Peruvian fusion. We then went to the Cathedral and main square where we had a photo taken and whilst we waited for it to develop we played 'good morning, good evening. good night'.

Camp comes to a close...

The last two days of camp, the 5th and 6th August, whizzed by in a flash. The GOLD sessions focussed on the skills required to be a Peer Educator and all the Guias Scouts del Peru girls want to help set up peer education in their regions.

We were also joined by Canadian Ranger Guides from British Columbia. It was the first time the Guias Scouts del Peru had hosted two nations at the same time so it was a fantastic photo opportunity!

On Friday afternoon we headed out to an army camp to take part in an assault course. We joined the Guide patrols and helped each other with the obstacles. Unfortunately half of us came away with minor injuries!

Friday evening's activity was sardines. One person was chosen to hide and the rest of the camp  had to find them in the buildings and grounds. Three of the GOLD team stayed behind to plan for the next day, however this had to be done with a head torch as the electricity was turned off for the game!

On Saturday we had the closing ceremony of camp, where we gave out badges and thank you gifts. We received lots of thanks in return, with an infinity bracelet from the Lima troop and a pin badge from the Tacna representatives.

Following the camp was a fundraising concert and we danced all afternoon with the Peruvians and Canadians. The huge slices of homemade cake were only 50p, so of course we all endulged!

Is everybody ready? You bet your life we are!

Friday 5th August

We woke early, and after facing the freezing showers we were alert, alive, awake, enthusiastic (and the rest of the team have learnt some new Spanish words- frio and caliente). 

Peer education was on the agenda and today the focus was on the distinction between a peer educator and a mentor. The participants were split into two groups and explored the qualities needed to be a peer educator/mentor and those that they can develop over time to improve their skills. The training was well understood and there was plenty of enthusiasm. "Is everybody ready, you bet your life we are!"

In the afternoon, we attended a WAGGGS leadership session on advocacy and it was really inspiring to hear the stories of 2 Peruvian Guides, Marysol and Nicole who spoke about an advocacy project they started when they were 16. 

British Columbia in Canada have a twinning project with the Guias Scouts del Peru and a group have called in to La Castellana for two days as part of their tour of Peru. They're a really friendly bunch and we're looking forwards to having them in our GOLD sessions tomorrow. 

Alice took one for the team, she claimed responsibility for the teams left behind items and had to stand up at the front and do a dance (along with the other culprits) as a forfeit! 

We also had a WAGGGS surf smart session which encouraged us to think about ways to use the Internet safely. We created a Facebook page for Lady Baden-Powell #beprepared

The day ended with international night, where we gave a performance complete with Royal family masks, we learnt about the history behind the song 'barges' and had presentations about Peru and Tacna (a region in Peru we'll be visiting later in the project). We were then able to try lots of new Peruvian food including a drink made from black corn and a rice pudding which went down a treat!

We've had an action packed day and are looking forwards to what tomorrow has in store. 

We are having trouble uploading pictures but hope to get more up soon!

Day 1 - Peer Education

Training days have begun!

With a day to acclimatise we were ready to start our first day of training.

Our four days of trainings in Lima are based around peer education. Our aims for the programme are to:

1. To encourage members of GSP to think about peer education, what is involved 

and how it could be integrated into their organisation. 

2. Begin to develop skills which would enable them to become a Peer Educator or 

Mentor. 

So day one was based around introducing the participants to what peer education is. They experienced a Peer education session; the UKs new 'Think resilient' programme which was launched earlier this year. The participants thought about emotions which they experienced and filled a bucket with water for every emotion they experienced which of course quickly over filled! How to cope with these emotions were discussed and the water removed showing that we can cope with our emotions and they don't need to become too much. The other peer education activities also went down well getting them to think and reflect on their own emotions.

Once they had experienced the style of a peer education session we got them to think about what peer education is. The classic peer education training activities of peer education is and isn't was a big hit. Defining a peer took a bit of time but we are confident they now have a clear understanding of it. This all forms the basis for them learning about being a Peer Educator or Mentor.

The rest of the day was filled with thinking about our own leadership experience and development and team building activities.  We finished the day with a campfire where we shared some songs from the UK including "CHICKEN"!

We prepared for day 2 and drifted off to sleep...!

10 things we have learnt about Peru so far...

We are finally in Peru! It feels strange to say that but we are very glad to be here. A summary of what we have learnt so far:

1. Everyone is very welcoming
2. The bread is amazing
3. You can't buy a SIM card unless you live here
4. Black corn does exist
5. Taxi drivers don't know where the Guiding HQ is
6. Toilet paper has to go in a bin
7. The showers at La Castellana are cold
8. There really are lots of varieties of potatoes
9. Ximena is pronounced Him-en-a
10. It's the coldest winter here in years and we are sat in just our t-shirts

Looking forward to trying some black corn!