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.

teaching culture shock

Living here is just fine, I realy like. It almost feels normal, like at homw. But the teachign part is really hard. If Í´m going through culture shock, it would be in this area. The teacher does not know enough English and there have been many times in just a week that we have mis understood each other. She´s very load, I guess is the easiest way to explain it. Basically, learning English here is like taking Spanish or French in high school back in the States. The students really don´t care. My first day in the classroom, many students were talking when the teacher was and they got away with a lot. I wouldn´t put up with that at all! Then, she has me plan some activities, and we don´t even get to them. She has tried to tell me that my English grammar wasn´t right.....excuse me? oh, yesterday, we had like a two hour break and she left and I was stuck in Ollanytatambo with nothing to do! Going to an internet cafe was out of the question because it was 3 soles and hour where in urubamba it´s only 1. She likes to surprise me with stuff and change plans a lot. I know I should try to relax and take it easy, and try not to look at it from a Western, developed nation´s persepective, but it´s so hard! it´s not the way i would teach at all! I like to be prepared etc, I don´t feel like she is or is very organized.

Oh and another thing, each student is given a number, and that is how roll call is taken. Number one, are you present? si or no. It´s very weird. But, there´s like 40 students in each class and two sections per grade, so I see over 100, maybe close to 200, students a week. SO I can understand that. It´s just weird. It´s very different. It´s only been a weeka nd i feel like i want to scream and yell at her! It´s only a week, so I¨m hoping it gets better. The good thing is is that a few students have taken the time to talk to me, which makes me feel good. Plus I taught a lesson today and it went pretty well. For the most part, the students are great, but it´s a completely different atmostphere.
I am solo on Friday since my teacher is gone for the day. I get a class of senior aged boys all alone. How wonderful. I´m hoping it goes ok. I get a break tomorrow, I´ll take the time to plan and rest since I caught a little cold.

From Peru!

I fianlly made it here! Wow is it different, but as different as it is, I feel very comfortable here. Everything is very strange, including this keyboard Í´m typing on, so there´s a reason there might be a lot of errors. it is very third world here. there are so many dogs and cats running in the streets..no colloars, no identification. they leave you alone, and you just have to watch your step so you don´t step in any poo. the people are very nice and yes, i´ve gotten a few whistles, put no real stares or anything. my family is really nice and my spanish has picked up a lot, though i still only understand about 25 percent of what is being told to me. i have trouble saying what i want, but it´s only the second day.

this morning i was supposed to go to my school in ollantaytampo, but there was no one at the school! they apparently just cancel school on random days for any kind of celebration. but i will go again friday, thursday´s i have off. the bus ride was extremely different. they pack as many people in there as possible. today happened to be market day, so a lot of people were coming to urubamba to sell their goods. ollantaytampo is pretty, from what i saw. they have cobbled streets, much like in boston. they call it the inca city becaue there are ruins there and lot of the city was built by the incas. i think i´ll go there this weekend to walk around.

i met some of the other volunteers last night. most are from england, one from germany, and one other american! unfortunatly, most live in pisco, about an hour away. but they are fun. there is another volunteer living with me and my family. she´s nice and has only been here for a week, but has gotten around pretty well. she´s been helping me.

there´´s so much to tell that i don´t know where to start! once i figure out the picture part, i will post some pictures. it´s funny because i got picked up at the airport yesterday and they drove me quickly around cusco, at at all what i thought it´d be, and then drove to urubamba. they were driving "safe" but it was fast! so i did not get a lot of good pictures and i´ve felt too much like a tourist to take any more. but i will be taking some more once i feel more comfrortable and less liek a tourist.

mas a venir! chao!

Gifts

So these last few days before I go have been really stressful. I feel like there's so much to do! I feel like I'm going in so many different directions. But, I don't think there's a way I can be fully prepared, fully protected from anything with this trip. Today I spent most of it shopping for last minute items I need or would be nice to have. I guess now is as good as any to buy nice hiking pants and shirts that are breathable and dry fast. Blah blah.

I also spent a good amount of time worrying about what to get the family. It's customary/respectful to bring a gift for the family. It's also a good idea to give them something before you leave as well. The program director suggested something that represents your hometown. So I went looking for a gift store with Colorado stuff in it. And of course I couldn't find one. I ended up shopping at the Hallmark store and Boarders, which turned out not so bad. I got them a bag of Reese's Pieces, a mug that says Colorado on it which also has a nighttime picture of the mountains, Colorado made cherry jelly and tea, and then a thank you card along with this little metal trinket that is of a bucking horse and a cowboy on it. It's pretty cool actually. I almost bought a really nice magnet, but I don't know if they have a fridge, they probably do, but take the risk? I felt successful today with all my shopping, but now it's the packing. Anyone want to do it for me? Ha ha!