A Quote And A Story - In no particular order.

Funny Story: so this morning, I went upstairs to collect my laundry this morning, and I walk back downstairs and into my room, and everything was normal. Now in my house, the stairs are right next to the kitchen, and I saw nothing unusual as I walked past and up the stairs. So, I walk out of my room 10 seconds later to go eat breakfast, and there is a bird in the kitchen. It's trying to fly outside, but it can't figure it out and just keeps hitting the window above the sink. It was a big bird, and I didn't know what to do. So, I grabbed a mandarina (like a mandarin orange, except bigger and wider) really fast and ran back to my room to eat it. So, I eat my breakfast, still shocked that a bird was in the kitchen, and after I've packed my backpack and found the courage to enter back out into the open house, I swiftly walk to the front door only to catch a glimpse of the bird now calmly sitting on the kitchen table. I went home for lunch, and there was no evidence on the bird. I'm not really sure what had happened...

So! On another note, a friend showed me this quote the other day:

"I beg young people to travel. If you don't have a passport, get one. Take a summer, get a backpack, and go to Delhi, go to Saigon, go to Bangkok, go to Kenya. Have your mind blown, eat interesting food, dig something interesting people, have an adventure, be careful. Come back and you're going to see your president differently, no matter who it is. Music, culture, food, water. Your showers will become shorter. You're going to get a sense of what globalization looks like. It's not what Tom Friedman writes about, I'm sorry. You're going to see that global climate change is very real. And that for some people, their day consists of walking 12 miles for four buckets of water. And so there are lessons that you can't get out of a book that are waiting for you at the other end of that flight. A lot of people - Americans and Europeans - come back and go, "ohhhhh." And the lightbulb goes on." - Henry Rollins

I thought I'd share it because I'm experiencing it. More on that lightbulb moment later. 

Martes - Música

Since Tuesday is a short day for us trainees, having only one class in the morning, we were able to have some extra hangout time. After class, we went to a fro-yo place in Chosica (yes, the fro-yo craze has reached Perú). But, we got there, and it looked sketchy. It wasn't the actual place that looked sketchy but the fro-yo. I'm not sure if it even was fro-yo. Anyways, we ditched the fro-yo idea and stopped at an ice cream cart instead. Mmmmm helado. Delicious! At lunch yesterday, I ate helado called "Secretos del Bosque" (Secrets of the Forest). It was absolutely delicious. I'm pretty sure it was a mix of vanilla ice cream, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. Well, whatever it was, I would like some more of it! Jaja. Anyways, after ice cream, it was back to Dante's for work. Which, I must say, it seems like we work a lot, but we are really productive for only half of the time. But hey, we get the work done. 

After lunch, we reconveined again to work on something a little different. This Friday, there is a Father's Day celebration at the school. Dante, our boss, thinks we should perform something for the faculty and staff, the kids, and all of their families.  We were going to dance to a mix of 60s, 70s, and 80s. But today, it was decided that we change from dancing to playing a song. And what song? Well, Pearl Jam's version of "Last Kiss." I cry everytime I hear the song because it's so sad. So, why this song? Isn't Father's Day a happy thing? Well, yes, the song is originally American. Wayne Cochran and friends actually first recorded it in Athens, Georgia. Go Dawgs, Sic 'em. It was covered a lot, most famously in the US by Pearl Jam in the 90s. But, in the 60s, a Peruvian band named Los Daltons translated the song into Spanish, and it was a huge hit. Also, it's even sadder in Spanish. http://www.musica.com/letras.asp?letra=1227405 So, it's kind of a fusion of the States and Perú. The fact that it was written in Georgia is pretty cool too, since the like half of the trainees are from Georgia. 

While in "band practice," I also decided to start learning guitar today. So far, I know 3 chords and nothing else. This will be interesting! And, I mean both the performance and me learning the guitar. 

...Qué? No sé. Pero, todo está bien.

So, with the arrival of 3 new trainees (2 from Colombia and 1 from Venezuela), the Educa360 2012 trainees comes to a total of 11. 6 on English Impact and 6 on Change Agent Project. 6 + 6 = 12, not 11. But, one trainee works with both projects. Though only half of us are gringos now, we still get ridiculous looks walking around Chosica and riding on combis. 

Now, though it may seem like working abroad for a summer is 150% awesome, and though most of the time that is true, it's still a lie. It's extremely frustrating. Not being able to understanding anybody all the time is the most aggravating thing I've ever experienced. And here, that's about 50% of the time I am conscious. I never know if the combi drivers are actually going to stop where I tell them to, I never know exactly what's in my food (which is extremely scary for me), and I never know if someone is talking to me on the street or not. Back home, I love making small talk with random people. You can find out the most interesting things. But here, I can't do that. Even teaching the children, though I'm teaching them my language, it's hard teaching somebody you can't very well verbally communicate with -- it's hard to make personal relationships with them. Every time I think I'm getting better at Spanish, something comes and knocks me back down. 

That all sounds depressing, but one more thing: I'm still here, and I'm not dead. I'm still in this game, and there's no giving up now. 7 more weeks of frustration, confusion, vagueness, a whole lot of crazy, and the time of my life. For anyone that knows me, I'm never satisfied with my actions and I'm always thinking about or looking for something. Well, I'm only 18 years old. I gave up my summer by choice to come to Perú and impact children's lives. Though I'm way in over my head, I'm still doing it. I came across a quote once, and it said,

"There's nothing like biting off more than you can chew, and then chewing it anyway." -Mark Burnett

I think it's a perfect description of my life right now as well as my life at the dinner table. It feels like I've been gone a year, so that just means it's like 2 more years until I leave. 

Karao-kay

So, another eventful weekend in Lima!

But first, Saturday morning was the premiere of our classes following the YouthXChange themes: Respecting Our Bodies (see earlier post: http://overthehillsnow.blogspot.com/2012/05/el-proyecto-project.html). It definitely got harder to teach as the levels digressed from Advanced to Pre-Beginners, but we still seemed able to get our point across. Teaching these classes definitely take much more planning effort and teaching effort than our classes during the week. All in all, it was a pretty successful first class.

Now, after class and a delicious lunch, the trainees headed to Lima. And, it was a milestone - nobody was there to take care of us. We got on a combi, rode to Santa Anita, and took two taxis to get to our destination. We didn't die, and didn't get ripped off. But, we did get the cab driver a little lost. And, the cab rides involved us being extremely squished in the back. So, our first stop in Lima was our friend Tati's house for balloon craziness. Essentially, we braided each other's hair (if possible) and tied balloons to the end in order to make our hair stand up. I must say, it was pretty successful but even more entertaining. Then, we took pictures and ate gummy bears. And, there was also some helium voices in the mix of this. Wee! 

Then, it was off to Karaoke. 6 gringos attempting to sing Hispanic music with Peruvians, and there was also some belting to American music **cough cough Adele**, which was just as interesting in it's own way. Very memorable, very hilarious, very crazy. 

This morning, after minimal hours of rest, Donovan, Tatí, and I went to church. While it was great, it was hard for all three of us to keep our eyes open. Still though, I enjoyed the sermon. Though I doubt myself, it's getting easier and easier for me  to understand Spanish each day!

Well, after church, Susy took Donovan and I to lunch with her family at a restaurant called Oceanka. It was so delicious. I ate causa (the potato, crab, avocado sandwich thing) and Chaufa with veggies and a shrimp omelet on top. With lunch, we watched Peru v. Uruguay, in Uruguay. What an exciting, depressing game. Peruvians have a saying to describe their football team: "Juega para nunca, pierde como siempre." It doesn't translate to English exactly, but it essentially means "Peru plays their hearts out each game, but they always lose." Though the score was 4-2, I honestly think it was much closer than that. Uruguay just managed to pull a goal in the 94th minute is all... very depressing. But, that was fun!

After the game, we joined the other trainees to watch a movie, but we decided to ditch that idea and went to get ice cream instead. On the way to the "geladeria," we drove though some very pretty parts of Miraflores. There is a huge park, which Susy calls "Central Park" because it is so big. There are olive trees all throughout the park, and gorgeous, expensive, huge houses lying in the middle. It's pretty incredible. Also, there was graffiti on the wall, which read "Jimi Hendrix Experience." That made me really happy - it's crazy to see how much of an impact music has on the world. Usually, we only see it in the country we live in. Anyways, back to ice cream. Here, ice cream is much more similar to Italian gelato than American ice cream. That's perfectly okay with me because I find gelato much more delicious. Anyways, we ate fancy gelato sundays for a while and goofed around as well as watching people pass by on the sidewalk.  

Before we headed back to Chosica, we stopped in a bookstore, where I bought my first Spanish book, "El viaje a la ficción" by Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa. Hopefully, it will take me less than a year to read and understand. If all goes well, I might finish a chapter by the time I leave Perú! Jaja. Anyways, after our short eventful Lima adventure, it was back to Chosica for another 6 days of work. 

More updates to come!

Keep in touch!