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.