Ilene Style

An Alibi staffer’s journey through impoverished Peru

What follows are excerpts from a complete travel journal originally posted at alibi.com. Click here to read extra and extended posts.

My first reaction at seeing Villa el Salvador during my volunteer orientation was the same as everyone else's in my program. As we entered the neighborhood for the first time, we all fell silent, our eyes scanning the streets for something, anything, that would make us think, This isn't so bad after all.