It has been a full 9 days of life in Peru so far and my headed is just starting to stop its constant spin. Thanks to my great Spanish teacher Isa and my spending countless hours around the kitchen table with my host family my Spanish has improved greatly. Spanish class here is totally different here than in the US for a few reasons. Two of those reasons would be: NO INGLES!, Fun non-formal learning. We get involved and play games. We use our Spanish instead of just writing it in a little worksheet and forgetting about it. I’m not sure how much anyone else can tell, but I know that my vocabulary has at least tripled and I am actually starting to spit out more and more phrases with ease. I still get nervous when I talk to people completely in Spanish, especially authority figures at Cuerpo De Paz, but after I have had one or two conversations with them I feel considerably less stressed about the next one. Watching the news everyday helps with my language and I don’t mind watching cartoons (Spongebob/Timon and Pumba), dancing competitions, or Peru’s national volleyball team either. Our various assignments for Spanish class have taken us out into our villages to meet community members and practice there as well.
Along with our Spanish classes we go through about 4 hours of technical training everyday as well. The times switch but either way there is always 4 hours of technical training and 3 hours of Spanish. When we get done with day it’s a fight to decide what to do with my time. Do I go to the internet cafe for 2 hours or do I go for a run and work off all the potatoes and rice sitting in my stomach from almost every meal? I love potatoes and rice, but they do tend to pack on the lbs. Or I can try to work on homework and studying for 2 hours before dinner and conversation with my family which usually lasts for 2 or 3 hours. If I choose any of these that leaves little, if any, time to go out in the community or hang out with other trainees. There are some times that really make everything fit into place however. Thursday my mother and sister took me to a concert at my sister’s old high school. We danced and listened to music until 11:00 when we wandered back to the house. It was fun to hear American beats and old 80s and 90s music being played the whole night, but Miley and Lady Gaga were our cue to get out (they only played Peruvian music or reggae tone once every five songs or so). Just this Friday I hiked the hill/mini mountain overlooking my village again with another volunteer and this time took my camera for the great view. The days do drain me of all my energy, but I am happy I am getting the most out of each one.
Just as I thought I would sit down and rest, the first weekend in Huascáran turned out to be just as packed and fun as the week. Friday night I made my way into Chosica with a group of 6 other volunteers for dinner and a trip to the target like superstore. This difference here is that this super market happens to have an Elmo mascot, a big Barney mascot, dancing contests, and eating contests. I have only seen the Elmo and the dancing contests, but the others have been witnessed by other trainees at other random hours. Anyways, at Paul’s Pizzeria we celebrated our week with a great view of the central park of Chosica and few tasty cervezas. The Cuzqueṅa beer has to be one of my top 3 favorites of all time. The Cristal isn’t so bad either and the name just helps out its case that much more. The night was full of great storytelling and fun new experiences as well.
Saturday I finally got out on the fútbol court, yes court, and yes fútbol. My host sister and I played some volleyball and I taught her a few general tips for her fútbol skills also. After that I met up with another volunteer Kati for some fútbol and friendly conversation. If that plus speaking Spanish with my family all morning wasn’t enough I went to a birthday party for the little sister of one of the other Peace Corps trainees in Huascáran. I don’t have a little sibling but the people here are so welcoming that they immediately invited me in and I patiently waited for the surprise party guest of honor to arrive. Outside of my 21st birthday this was the most fun I have had at a birthday in years. There had to be over 50 people in this one medium size room with mostly moms on the outside in chairs and 4 Peace Corps volunteers joining them. The birthday girl was turning 8 I believe and she had over 20 friends in the middle of the room for the whole party joining in the festivities with her. The family hired a clown/entertainer who was a little creepy at first but turned out to be an amazing performer for the kids. He got the kids involved in singing, dancing, dance competitions, games and everything you could think of at a kid’s birthday party. Of course being the only gringos in the room the 4 of us stood out and the clown did his part to get us involved in the party as well. I laughed and sang more at this party than any other time on this adventure and by the end of the party I was done for Saturday, except for a little internet time at the café to top it off.
Sunday was my first day playing an actual game of fútbol. Kati and I were enjoying a little kick around when a couple of young local boys came up to the park. We invited them to play and our game went on for about an hour. Jose Luis and Piter (Peter probably?) are now added to my growing list of local acquaintances and I’m sure there are many more fútbol matches in the future for us. Besides a three hour game of monopoly with my sister, studying was the rest of my life Sunday.
Monday was another day in the routine now. Get up and have a cold shower, eat breakfast, watch the news, off to the centre and trying to manage my time again. I did make another trip back into Chosica. This was my first trip completely on my own and I ended up asking a few different people on the street where I could find another backpack to buy. I was proud of myself when it went very well and I was directed to a shopping mecca off the beaten path a little. My trip for a new backpack ended up taking me an hour and forty minutes, but it was well worth it. I got to see the mass amounts of stores and vendors there are here in Peru. Back home you might have an office next door to a business or maybe even a few apartments. Here there is a store, restaurant, or food vendor of some sort in every single open door look in. It was a great experience and now I’m just more excited to show it off to my Peace Corps amigos.
The rest of this week will be packed full of more TECH training and language, then it’s off to Agraria University in Lima on Saturday. With our group it is bound to be a great learning experience and more fun than I will probably have the energy for.
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