Long-time volunteer, first-time Globe Aware participant, Michael J. Roginski, visits the Peruvian Andes and builds steps for the school auditorium, plants radishes in the local garden, hauls bricks for the new pharmacy, and helps with other projects making several new friends in the process. He chose our Andean Village Experience in San Pedro de Casta, a small community at about 10,500 feet above sea level and about 50 miles from Lima, Peru.
San Pedro’s cobbled streets, tiled roofs, and the harmony of its perfectly aligned houses, combined with its ancient ruins, amazing mountain views, and the magic plateau of Marcahuasi, make this one of the most beautiful and picturesque communities in Peru. According to local history, Soxtacuri, a living god, once ruled over the entire Marcahuasian plateau until he moved to Bolivia because his subjects halted the regular practice of offering a yearly sacrifice. It is said that when he was gone, his godless people also abandoned the plateau. Soxtacuri’s house and throne still remain.
Mike hails from Michigan where the business slogan is “Getting the Upper Hand” because of the incentives the state offers to attract new companies. A great motto for Mike would be “Giving with Both Hands” for all his contributions to this community. On his application he said he “wasn’t afraid of a little hard work” and he certainly lived up to this declaration, particularly on the day he hauled bricks for the new pharmacy.
Globe Aware coordinates, organizes and leads volunteer vacations, service vacations, working holidays and service trips to two Peru locations (Andes & Cusco/Machu Picchu), Cuba, Costa Rica, Thailand, Cuba, Nepal, Brazil, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, India, Jamaica, Romania, Ghana, Mexico, and other destinations.
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Charyn Pfeuffer, the “Travel for Good” winner featured in last months newsletter who chose our Costa Rican Rainforest Village Experience, had this to say about her trip:
Our volunteer project entailed repairing a water catchment that supplied water to El Sur de Turrubares. A monster of a tree had fallen a few months earlier and rammed itself right into the cement water catchment system, causing huge amounts of damage, debris, and cracks and allowing dirty water to enter the water system during the rainy season and heavy downpours.
Working as a team, we formed a human chain to heave buckets upon buckets of heavy, muddy debris over the nearby cliff. Mario, our fearless leader and EcoSur family member led the charge, as we tried to excavate the troublesome tree. For two days, we dug and dug, but the tree would not budge. It really did fall in the most unfortunate of positions. Eventually, enough earth had been moved for Mario to access the damage and deemed that the water source could be protected by constructing a cement barrier and patching the cracks. Problem solved and we had the sweaty, dirty clothes to prove it!
feel very fortunate that we got to be a part of the families’ of EcoSur’s lives for a week. No matter where you come from, or what your background or beliefs are, travel gives us the opportunity to learn from other cultures, while voluntourism allows us to experience, and hopefully, help ease the challenges of those in need.
Thank you Globe Aware and Travelocity Travel for Good for making our first voluntourism experience together a success and for bridging the gap between those in need with those that want to help. Maybe that’s all we really need to have in common after all.
Thanks, Charyn!
Volunteer Vacations Blog
In November, we unveiled Globe Aware's redesigned blog!
About Volunteer Vacations Blog
Launched last year, Globe Aware's blog has become a meeting and gathering place for volunteer vacationers who want to share their stories and experiences, videos and pictures.
Regularly updated with important news, colorful stories and interesting observations and insight, we encourage you to visit and sign up for our RSS feed. This will ensure destination and program news and updates are delivered to you in a timely manner.
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What was your favorite meal while on a Globe Aware volunteer vacation?
Jamaica: Jerk Chicken Antidote
With a Jamaican theme, you probably thought this would be a recipe for jerk chicken. It’s not, but you will be glad you learned how to make this Jamaican standard the next time you make the mistake of over-spicing your jerk rub and eating your chicken thigh without first taking a safety taste. This is a soothing porridge recipe to stop the sting.
When you think of Jamaican food your mind may conjure up images of empty conch shells scattered on the sand, fried seafood in a basket with a cold Red Stripe, or jerk chicken piled high on a platter resting on a picnic table under a canopy by the sea. Whatever images arrive, one item will likely stand out in your memory if you have ever eaten anything with it as an ingredient – the potent Scotch Bonnet pepper. According to eatjamaican.com website:
“The Scotch Bonnet pepper is an essential ingredient of Jamaican cooking because of its distinctive flavor.”
Distinctive may be the most grossly subtle adjective ever used to describe this “King Kong” of the pepper family (350k to 375k Scoville Units). The jalapeño by comparison is a light weight (2.5k to 8k Scoville Units). You pop a Scotch Bonnet in your mouth, thinking you can take it because you like the hot sauce at your favorite Mexican restaurant, and you will wake up in the recovery room with a priest looking down at you.
Scotch Bonnet peppers are just way too hot to be handled by amateurs. But, one day, you may just have one too many Red Stripes in the hot backyard sun and want to give it a try. You’ll go ahead and make a jerk rub recipe yourself and you will get it way wrong. This porridge dish, with its optional sweetened condensed milk and tongue-coating consistency, will be just what you need to avoid a call to 911.
Here’s a link to a video from our friend, Maureen, at Jamaica Adventure Secrets: How to Make Cornmeal Porridge Like a Jamaican
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