Martes: Trabajo y Divertido en Lima

Teaching the kids this morning was a blast. Binita está enferma :'( hoy, so I had to teach our group by myself. I had them make a "Get Well Soon" card for Binita, which they had lots of fun with. Words and phrases from their notes included: "Be very careful," "comming," "very kisses," and the favorite, "Do you like the cheese?" 

So, after dancing the Cha Cha Slide with the class, the trainees and I (minus Binita) headed to Lima for the afternoon. Mathilde, the French girl, wanted to meet up with her friend, who also happened to be in Lima for the day. After dropping her off at the nicest building we'd been in for a long, long time (their hotel), we chilled in lots of bookstores and some other cheesy knick knack stores around Miraflores for a while, and then we ate lunch. Pescado al ajo con arroz y papas (Fish in a garlic sauce (also with lemon) with rice and potatoes). Que rico. So, then we began the two hour search for an, as Donovan would say, "heladeria," which is extremely hard to say in Spanish. I'm not sure how, but we were unsuccessful. We did however find the most expensive fro-yo ever, a place that made really expensive ice cream sculpture looking things, and the coolest and artsiest bookstore in Lima with super cool winding staircases and some obscure books, and lots and lots of cats. Yes, Miraflores is still the land of cats. 

So, after the ice cream fail we headed to Barranco to pick up Mathilde. Barranco right next to Miraflores, and is pretty hipster and bohemian. There are  lots of backpackers and really cool old Colombian architecture. Also, it's beautiful. I definitely would like to go back there a few times. 

After the quick Barranco stop, we found our way back to the place where we take a colectivo back to Chosica, and proceeded with the scariest colectivo ride yet. It started with a van full of 12 people backing up into a 4 lane main street. It then continued to take a crazy back way out of the city with lots of bumps, turns, and sketchy areas. The transmission - also scary. But, we made it back alive! Also, we managed to survive in Lima completely with no direct help from Pacífico. Only some directions. And though we missed our friends, hopefully we will see them soon!

Feliz Día Papá

So like the rest of the word, this past weekend was Día del Padres in Perú. And, it's a much bigger deal here than in the United States, or at least a bigger deal in El Colegio de San Carlos. On Friday, the trainees and I attended and participated in a type of Father's Day Recital put on by the school. It was pretty legit, I must say. Whether it be a play or a dance, each grade level put on a different number especially for their fathers. The Inicial grade, while dressed up in their dad's clothes and shoes, recited (more like shouted) a poem about their papás. I Primaria put on a abridged version of the lion king complete with dancing, awesome costumes, and make-up. II Secundaria put on a great rendition of a traditional Colombian salsa, and Carlos, one of the Colombian trainees, joined them.  The Vallejo section of V Secundaria, the oldest grade, performed a traditional Peruvian dance with lots of jumping and pretty amazing costumes. I Secundaria performed traditional Mexican dance with a special appearance from José, the Mexian trainee, accompanying the class with his voice to "El Rey." The first surprise of the night was our Spanish teacher singing a song! V Primaria put on a shortened Peruvian version of Rapunzel complete with costumes and dance.  The trainees stepped in, and our original plan of playing "Last Kiss" was cut out and replaced with a short, impromptu dance to New Kidz on the Block's "Step by Step." It was so gringo. The performance ended with IV Primaria performing a 80s type dance, and V Secundaria had a very up-beat American-Peruvian infused dance to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," and a salsa song I can only guess is called "Margarita." A surprise Mariachi band, though not from Mexico, showed up for some final entertainment, which led to more dancing! The night ended with empenadas and a Peruvian hamburger from a hole in the wall restaurant half a block from the school.  It was way more fun than any high school event I'd ever been to, and I wish that all kids in the world were  as happy to show their love to their fathers as the kids at that school. 

Saturday! 

This was the first weekend I stayed in Chosica, and it was quite relaxing and well-needed. On Saturday, after we'd finished teaching our morning classes, two of the quinto Secundaria kids took us to a park in Buenos Aires, the town next to Chosica where many of the students live as well as some of the trainees. There, one section of the quinto class and their families were hosting a fundraiser.  The entire quinto class is taking a trip to Cusco in the fall (spring here), and the proceeds are going towards that trip. They had a soccer tournament, raffle, and lots of delicious food including arroz verde con pollo and some other sort of chicken that was delicious. After being the awkward gringos just chillin at the field for a while, we left and headed to Dantes for some work. After cooking dinner there, I went home only to find a second dinner of pollo a la brasa waiting for me. Can't resist that!

Sunday - Father's Day

Well, Father's Day was very relaxing at my house. My family had their huge celebration unfortunately while I was at the school on Friday night. So, we ate a big breakfast of some potato egg pancake and chicken toast stuff,  we chilled until lunch. Troucha (trout), arroz papas, ensalada con palta, pollo, y helado. Mmmm. Also, a delicious sauce which I will be putting on all my rice. It's kinda like mayo, but different. Whatever it was, it's sooo good! Like Choo Choo's yellow sauce for everyone who's had that. 

After a good night sleep and a hard day at work today, I'm ready for bed. Chaufa todos.