Reflection on Peru

SO as I come to the end of my stay in Peru I´ve been thinking about everything that has happened in the last three months. I have a lot of mixed feelings, happy mixed feelings if that´s possible. There are manythins I´ll miss about this place and a lot I wont miss about this place. So, I made a list about both and here is the start to it:
Things I Wont Miss About Peru:
1.) The bug bites-no more fleas! no more scorpians!
2.) sleeping on a matress that dips in the middle
3.) the birds literally right outside the window waking me up
4.) the cold showers, or only slightly warm.
5) having to drink boiled water
6.) stupid taxis drivers and other peruvians who take advantage of tourists, jerks
7.) not having all the resources for school that you want as readily as you need it

Things I Will Miss About Peru:
1.) my host family, they were so kind, i felt like another part of their family
2.) working with my students, even if they didn´t behave well all the time.
3.) hanging out with the other volunteers
4.) the bakery on the corner...dang cook pastries!
5.) the pretty views of Peru
6.) how easy and cheap transport is here
7.) how easy it is to get anything here and how cheap it tends to be
8.) how laid back it is here
9.) the amount of walking I do, except to the office, not so much fun!
10.) the supoort and friendliness you get from people and staff

There is more to this, so I´ll had when I think about it, but maybe this gives people as general idea of how it is here.

Living in another culture

Living in a nother culture is really hard sometimes. It´s not like the people are horrible, but sometimes the language barrier is so exhuasting. There have been numerous times where I was at lunch with my cooperating teacher and other professors at the school and I didn´t understand a word of the conversation. My teacher didn´t help translate and I was completely lost. I wanted so bad to be part of the conversation, but didn´t have the language to converse. They probably think I´m anti social. The worse part though is when your students try talking to you and you don´t know what they are saying! I want to help them out so much, but it´s so hard. Then, my spoken Spanish is also not the best. I try so hard, and at least I try. I know I mess up all the time, and of course I get the looks of ¨what did you just say? I don´t understand.¨ Then of course I get laughs too. That is the most humiliating part. I don´t know if they are laughing at me or what I said incorrectly, or someting else. I get so self concious.

Today I had to teach solo, which I didn´t think would be a problem because they were supposed to be my easy classes, but I had such a hard time getting them to listen. I gave my fourth grade class a test and they wouldn´t be quiet. I´m pretty sure they cheated. I´ve wanted to cry so many times b ecasue of the language barrier and just the different ways they do things. Peruvians tend to be loud...like talke loud in the morning when you are sleeping or playing music late at night pretty loud. I don´t know, it´s hard to throw yourself into a new culture. Now I COMPLETELY understand how immigrant children in the U.S. must feel. I guess knowing this feeling I can help them better when I become a teacher.

sick

It is very easy to get sick here, Peruvians have tougher stomachs then us gringos (gringos is a term they use for foregin, white people. It isn´t a bad world like it is in the US). I thought I was being safe with washing my hands a lot and not touching or buying stuff off the streets. But I got sick Thursday. I was throwing up and some other not so fun stuff. I went to the doctor and was told I had an infection and a parasite! What fun huh? but all is ok. I felt like crap Thursday, but things are feeling better now. I can now eat food!They gave me a lot of medication and this really disgusting electrolite drink. I think that was by far the worse drink I´ve ever had! My host mom was really worried and make sure I took my medication. My muscles were so achy and she rubbed them for me and put a hot cloth on it. It felt so good and I was so thankful. I unfortunatly didn´t know how to thank her enough for everything she did. But I know she wanted to help. I´ll make sure to give the family a big going away present! ha ha

but no need to worry, all is ok, or wil be very soon. I miss everyone and some of the holidays the U.S. has coming up, but I am looking forward to Dia de los Muertos and other holidays Peru has coming up. chao for now!

all is good

I tried to pet the llama, it´s ears went back and i ran away. i didn´t want it spitting on me!

in a door and the ruins in ollantaytambo.

things here are getting better. I don´t have many problems any more with my teacher (knock on wood). I´ve been teachign more and things have been getting better. I try and take time to talk with students and I´ve noticed how more and more are coming up to me to talk. I found out today that one of my really bright studens knows four languages...quechua, spanish, english and dutch. He works at the ruins as like a guide so no wonder he´s bright. I told him I felt dumb compared to him since I only know one language really well. lol he just laughed and said no, but I looked good. HA HA! Teaching is still hard, I have a hard time explaining determiners and quantity words (some, any, much, many, a lot of). My teacher translates a lot, which is helpful when I can´t get the point accross, but other times I fear it´s too much of a crutch for the students. I would do some things differently for sure, but I have little control over that. There is stuff that my teacher does that is good...so I will be taking strategies from her home with me.

I´ve been traveling a lot on the weekends. A few of us volunteers bought the tourist boletto which gets you into a lot of the ruins and museums for free...it cost 130 soles or about 40 dollars. I didn´t see the museums, and got into Pisaq for free, but it was relaly cool to see eerything. It is a little hard to travel and make plans with a lot of the volunteers because I´m one of the oldest...they are mostly 17-20. It´s not the biggestt age difference, but it´s almost enough. They got really drunk Friday and lazed around most of the day Saturday where as I and another volunteer who´s 33 went to all the ruins we could see. Then Saturday we left Cusco early where as the others got home really late. It´s not a bad thing, but there is a difference between priorities, planning,a nd to some extent maturity. That had kinda of been getting to me lately. Don´t get me wrong, I really like the other volunteers and love hanging out with them, but at times I´m tired and I know I´m here to do more than just drink and party. I´m past that stage. Plus, partying with them Friday made me realize I really miss my friends back home. Partying with them is fun, but not the same. A few of the other volunteers are taking advantage of the laxed rules of drinking in Peru. I would too, so that doesn´t bother me...everyone needs drinking stories. I´m just ready to use my time here constructively. I really do love my other volunteers, they are smart, confident, and fun to hang out with. It´s another thing I need to be flexible about and take it as it comes.

I do have the traveling bug though, I want to go to Europe now! Anyone interested in backpackign Europe with me???

Update

Things seem to go by slow here, but fast at the same time. I caught a cold that has been staying with me for more than two weeks now. I went to the doctor today and got some medication...antibiotics. It cost about less than 50 American..so not bad, but still grumpy that I had to spend money to get well...just wish I had never gotten sick!

The teaching has gotten a little better. Last week was really weird in that I had to call in sick monday, left early Tuesday, the studens had ¨student day¨ on wednesday, no school Thursday, and taught Friday. But I met my teacher´s husband and after she proceded to tell me that they fight a lot. He works in a another mountain valley and so they only see each other once a month or somethig like that. She thought that he had anther woman on the side, maybe why they fought. She wanted to separate from her husband. At first I was very shocked to hear all of this, but it all kind of came together. She never seemed happy, always stressed. So I now know why and it breaks my heart. I feel really bad for her. I told her that she should talk to her husband about why they fight and that she needs to do what is happy. Unfortunatly, there is a little girl in the mix. Yesterday morning she told me that she did talk to her husband and things are a little better..but not perfect. I guess her dad even wants her to leave her husband. I just hope it works out ok, she´s a good perso, even if I don´t always agree with her teaching style, etc.

I actually played volleyball with my students today! volley ball is huge here, and every student plays. They are really good too! I sucked becaue I don´t play, but they were chearing me on...even if they were laughing a bit. But I do have a couple of male students that are really good at English and so they spent time with me today and we had a good conversation about music. I told them they should put together a cd of peruvian music for me to take home. lol!

I have a lot of bug bites all over me. my host brother was chiding me about how it was pulgas...aka fleas! i was upset..so i made sure to ask the doctor today and he though it was mosquito bites. whew! I found another scorpian trying to make his way into my room. The new joke in the house is that bugs are attracted to me....great. lol I´m meeting lots of new people here..a few are Americans so that is good! One from Canada whom I´m hoping to do some traveling with. The other volunteer living with me, Sharmila, is traveling for two weeks in October, so I´ll be alone! lol it´ll be ok. All in all things are great!

pics 2-macchu picchu

went to macchu picchu this weekend. fabulous! we hiked the inca trail from aguascalientes at 3 am. it was hard (plus i´m sick), but it was so worth it! then we hiked wanupicchu (sp?) which was also just as hard, but also so worth it! that place is just so awesome, so beautiful! never seen anything like it, especially the views of the mountians. very green.

pics

I´ve tried to up load befoer and it takes forever, so i´m trying againg right now.