Jueves (Thursday) and Saint Patrick's Day

This morning I woke up to the sound of squeaking beds...okay, get your minds out of the gutter.  :)  Lorenza was cleaning up the room across from mine and was dragging the beds across the floor, making squeaking sounds as she rearranged the room in order to clean the floor well.  I asked Mari if there were other volunteers coming and she said there were two coming soon.  By the time breakfast was served, Tino had brought the two new volunteers back to the house.  They are two girls from Wellesley.  Today they mostly just slept, but came with Tino to the mountain school in the afternoon.

I was planning to teach my classes about Saint Patrick's day today, so I looked up a story about Saint Patrick and how he charmed all the snakes and led them to their death in the ocean.  I wrote it up on the board and had them look up the words they didn't understand.  I told them a little more about the day and wrote down words particular to the day along with little pictures.  I thought I would give myself a little bit of a break and have them draw shamrocks, rainbows, leprechauns and four-leaf clovers for me.  :)  My morning class was working on their drawings even after the class time was up.  They really ended up enjoying the lesson.  I thought I would give the afternoon class a little more time to draw, but they ended up finishing really quickly.  It was really interesting to see how different the classes are from each other!  Joselin and Justi from my morning class both gave me their drawings.  Justi drew a really good leprechaun!!!  I was impressed.  He had been very secretive while he was drawing though and wouldn't let me see it until he was done.  In my afternoon class, Geraldina and Ingrid drew really impressive pictures and hung them up on the wall.  Geraldina drew a shamrock and Ingrid drew a leprechaun.

Joselin's picture.  They thought the shamrock and clovers were trees, so that's why there's a tree under the rainbow.   :)

Justin's impressive leprechaun and his pot of gold!!!

Between classes, during my break, I braved the post office again.  The woman there has to know me by now with the things I've sent and the people I've helped send things.  :)  She gave me a box when I got there and after I finished packing everything up, I had to fill out all the paperwork.  When she was reading my paperwork she said I couldn't send one of the things and so I had to open up my package, take everything out and then redo the paperwork.  By the time I did that, she weighed the package again and said I didn't need all the paperwork I had just filled out, that I just needed to fill out a smaller form.  I'm glad I left enough time for it even though I thought I had the procedure down pat.  Finally I got everything straightened out after filling out three sets of paperwork!  haha  She was very nice about everything though, so it really wasn't that bad.

Right when I'd come into the post office, my friend who sells jewelry came up to me and said hi.  He has his jewelry stand outside the post office, so he told me to come by and say hi.  Sometimes I hope he doesn't see me when I go by there because I always end up getting something new from him.

After the afternoon class, we all played with the kids outside.  All the little kids want me to throw around big plastic balls with them.  I prefer that to playing volleyball with the older kids because I am horrible at volleyball.  A couple of the girls were having me do races with them too.  We had to hop all the way from one side of the school to the other.  Then they wanted me to pick them up and swing them around.  It was getting chilly outside by the time we closed up the school, and a little girl who was walking with us held my hand as we walked.  She said to me, "Que frio!!!"  My hands were freezing cold.  She put her notebook under her arm and rubbed my hand between hers.  It was really sweet.

Doane had been saying he wanted to get drunk tonight for Saint Patrick's day.  I gave him a good pinch this morning since he wasn't wearing green.  He's Irish and should know better.  He said his friends had been drinking since 11 in the morning.  Mabel keeps talking about going to karaoke tonight.  I think she wanted to go along with Doane's desire to "drink loads" but I'm not sure if it's going to happen.

Fridays are used mostly to organize sports for the kids, so I'm going to bring my camera.  I hope it's sunny!!!  Okay, now I'm off to wash the day off of me...as Kevin, one of my brightest but cheekiest students, says, "Hasta tomorrow!!!"

Martes (Tuesday)

There's not much to report on today since I'm doing a lot of the same things now.  I've been a busy bee though from the time I wake up to, well, now...when I can't stop yawning and am ready to fall into bed.

This morning it was raining a lot, so we took the Petra (a combi, or small bus) up to the school.  A lot of the kids were late because of the rain, so we started class late.  We didn't have a break since we started late though and by the time class was almost over, they were restless and ready to leave.  The two boys in my class were playing with this toy that is like a top.  They wind a piece of yarn around it, yank the yarn to send the top spinning, and then can catch it in their hand so that it's spinning in their palm.  They can even hop it over to someone else's hand and it keeps spinning.  It's pretty impressive.  Mabel had to wait for Tino to come up to the school because they were expecting someone from the government to come inspect the school, so Doane and I walked home without her.

After lunch I ended up walking downtown.  It's been good exercise, since I don't have the leisure to be a little late coming back to the house like I did before.

The rain had cleared up by the afternoon class, so we walked to the school.  When my girls came into the classroom they told me that it was Geraldina's birthday tomorrow.  I was thinking we could spend a bit of classtime singing her happy birthday.  I got some lollipops too, so we can have a little bit of a celebration.  This class is really fun to teach because all the girls like to tease each other.

After walking home, I walked downtown again and bought some lollipops for my afternoon class.  I came back a bit late for dinner, but Mari told me to join them in the kitchen and she heated up my pasta for me.  After I showered, I helped Pilar with some of her math homework.  I figured out most of them, but one of the problems was giving me a headache!  Luckily Pilar said she could ask her teacher about the two we had questions about.

It's been a long but fulfilling day and now I'm ready to snuggle under my covers!  Buenas noches!!!

Lunes (Monday)

Today I started teaching classes up at the mountain school.  This is my third segment of my trip here: first was teaching at Concepcion, next was teaching ballet, and now, finally, I'm up at the mountain school.  I have the older classes in the morning and afternoon.  They are pretty funny because they tease each other about a girl liking a boy or a boy liking a girl.  I was having them think of sentences using verbs I put on the board and they were saying things like, "Kevin and Jhesly dance at parties."  And then they would all laugh.  The afternoon class was all girls, so they were teasing each other endlessly about the boys they liked.  I had a lot of fun with them.

Between classes, I went downtown and ended up at Leslie's store.  I bought something there and then she walked back to the house with me in time for me to get to the school.  It was pretty warm out today, so I got some sun and it's making me really sleepy.  Mari asked me, "Amy, are you okay?  Your face is pink.  Or are you mad?"  I thought that was pretty funny...I'm not sure my face has ever gotten that red from being mad.  :)

After dinner, I took a shower and when I went back into the kitchen, Mabel, Pilar and Mari were trying to do yoga.  They asked me to teach them yoga.  And then Pilar asked me to show them again how I did a cartwheel.  Mari and Mabel wanted to learn exercises to strengthen their stomachs.  I was showing them different things and we were laughing so hard while they were trying to mimic what I was doing.  Mabel is so dramatic too and when she was in plank position, she completely collapsed onto the floor after a few seconds.  Mari said she was already sweating.  :)  I always have so much fun with them!!!

I asked Mari if we were having English class tonight and she said we could start again tomorrow night because Lorenza is sick.  If I end up teaching the night class too, I'm going to have a very long day!!!

My eyes are wanting to close now...I think it's about time I go to sleep early...

Domingo (Sunday) and El Parque De Identidad

Today was another lazy day.  I think everyone was tired after the big group left, so we didn't plan to do much.  I have been wanting to go to El Parque de Identidad for awhile because it's on a lot of postcards.  We ended up heading out there at around 3 in the afternoon.  It's pretty close and we walked there pretty quickly.  There is a big gourd in the center of it, right as you walk in.  It's a beautiful park with lots of mosaics made out of stone, on the walls and the ground.  Almost all of the ground we walked on had designs, mosaics made out of stone.  There were lots of trees and flowers and even though it was sprinkling there was a lot of sunshine and light in the park.  I really liked it.  It seems like it would be a good place to go and relax with a book.  I am so horrible with directions though, I'd be afraid I'd get lost!!!  :)

Doane looks like a giant next to this traditional house.

There were a lot of bridges like this, fashioned out of branches.

We climbed up these steps to get a bird's-eye view of the park.

The giant gourd in the center of the park.

Me with my sign...Virgo!!!

Part of the park had the signs of the zodiac around it.  They also had the months written in Spanish and Quechua.  There was also a castle made of stone.  We were sad that only children under 10 could climb up into the castle.  Doane wanted to test the security guard and climb up in it anyway.  :)

The entrance to the shop in the park.

We went in to see the artesenia in this little shop at the park.  One of Tino's sisters sells artesenia on one side of the shop.  Mabel and I bought little souvenirs.

After we left we walked all the way downtown.  Mabel was complaining that her feet hurt and that we should take a combi, but Doane and I wanted to walk.  When we got to La Plaza Consitucion, we found that the restaurant we wanted to go to closes early on Sunday.  We ended up walking back to Plaza Real and going to La Rustica.  We ate our food and then went to Plaza Vea to get some things before we went back to La Rustica for karaoke.  Doane left and so only Mabel and I sang karaoke.  We got our usual lemonade and then got some calientitos.  Mabel wanted to try it with whiskey and her face scrunched up when she tried it.  :)  We got to sing a lot of songs since there weren't a whole lot of people there.  Every time after Mabel or I would sing, a group sitting at the bar kept saying that only our table should sing for the rest of the night.  :)  When we left, they told us not to go.  It was fun getting a round of applause every time after we sang!  :)

Tomorrow I'm going to be going up to teach at the mountain school since only Doane and I are left.  Doane said that he's only planning to stay a week or two more.  I don't know what will happen then when I'll be the only volunteer left!!!  Hopefully someone else will come along.

Now off to sleep...buenas noches!!!

Viernes y Sabado (Friday and Saturday)

Friday morning, we all had heard about the earthquake in Japan and I was worried that the tsunami would affect my friends and family in Hawaii and California.  I'm so thankful that they are all okay, though it is terrible to hear about the devastation in Japan.

Emily was also getting ready to leave and so I was making sure I was around to say goodbye.  Most of the volunteers going to the school had already said goodbye to her and Doane came back just in time to see her off.  I hadn't realized that I'd gotten a bit attached to her as well and was really sad to see her go.

In the afternoon when Pilar and Angela came home from school, I helped Pilar with her math homework.  A lot of the problems were more like puzzles than math questions.  I guess it might be for analytical thinking and problem solving more than actual math.  I was pretty tired, so some of the ones I was stuck on, we asked Doane to help us with when he got home.  He was excited to do those kinds of problems and so he was wanting to do more after he'd solved the ones we had gotten stuck on.

By the time I finished helping Pilar with her homework, the big group of volunteers came home.  Tino had gotten a cake to celebrate their last day and to thank them for everything they had done at the school.  They painted some really nice murals in addition to teaching since there were so many of them.  I couldn't believe that the week had passed by so quickly.

After the cake celebration, we all went to La Cabaña because there was a live band playing the local style of rock music.  We ordered pizza and before and after we ate, we danced along with the music in a big circle.  I was tired, but I always have enough energy to dance.  After we ate, I was sitting with Mari, Lorenza, and Angela and some of the girls from the group saw that I was sitting and got me out there again.  It was so much fun dancing and laughing.  When we were walking home, there was a group of men in a restaurant on a corner near the house and as we all walked by (there were many more women than men) they whistled loudly.

The band at La Cabaña.

In the morning, I still got up early even though I went to sleep late.  For some reason my body just hasn't been letting me sleep in.  I asked Mabel what I could do to help since I've been helping in the kitchen a lot with the big group there.  She asked me to go to the store with her and so we followed Mari out the door.  They didn't have exactly what she wanted, so I went with Mari to the everyday market.  It was so busy with people and carts bustling around.  Mari said they were like ants.  We got a bunch of corn, mangos, and potatoes.  I wouldn't let her carry any of the bags.  We weren't that far from home, but she was worried since the bags weighed more than 15 kilos.  She thought Tino might be mad if he thought she had made me carry the bags all the way home, but she was so happy that I had helped her that she gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  :)

After breakfast, I was on my computer in the kitchen and Mabel had turned on Como La Flor on the shared computer, so she could practice it while she was in the kitchen.  Angela came by and sat herself in front of the computer and since Mabel had been watching a karaoke version, Angela started singing the song.  When it finished, she started it over again and started singing again.  It was so precious, I took a video behind her...I hope the sound came out because she sounded so sweet.  :)  After, Pilar went on the computer and Angela was playing around with part of a water bottle.  She was wearing it on her head like a crown, so I cut holes in it and put a string through it so it would stay on better.

Angela with her crown on.  I think she was embarrassed to take the picture.  :)

There was a lot of commotion in the house as the big group assembled upstairs to take group pictures.  Doane and I took turns taking the picture since they wanted us both to be in the picture.  Then they were all bringing their suitcases downstairs and some of them came to give me a hug before they left.  I hadn't really grown attached to any of them.  I'm not sure if it was because I just felt more connected to Tino's family and the people who work for them, or if I just didn't want to get to know them for one week and have to see them leave.  I don't know how Mari, Tino and the girls can stand to see so many people come and go.  I don't think Mari has gotten used to it because she always tears up when people leave.

Mabel, Doane and I had been planning to go to the pool, but instead we stayed in and had a lazy day in the house.  I watched Tangled and Shrek 4 with Angela and Pilar.  By that time it was almost time to eat dinner.  We all ate out at the dining table since there's enough room for us all with the big group gone.  Tino has a bit of a cold, so he asked Mari to make him a calientito, which has pisco, anise, sugar, and lemon in it.  They gave Doane, Mabel and I a shot glass of it to sip as well.  It was really strong but it was good.  We sat and talked after that.  I had to translate for Doane.  Tino has some pretty funny stories.  When he first came to Huancayo he said that there was a drunk that would fight with lampposts and dogs.  Sometimes he would ask dogs to dance with him and then start dancing in the street with the dog. Then Tino said there was a drunk in the town he was from that everyone was scared of because he would fight you if you came across his path.  He said his family had a donkey and they tied his front feet together because it was so crazy.  One day the drunk came upon the donkey in the field and started to punch it.  He said that the donkey kicked him and the drunk just said, "Oh, you're a tough one, huh?" and continued to fight with it.  He gave up after the donkey kicked him two more times.  He started talking about dancing and said that last night some of the girls had told him that he danced really well, which he actually does.  He said he doesn't know how to dance, he just jumps and moves his body around.  :)  Then he said that I danced really well.  He said that he noticed the singer of the band was messing up the lyrics of the song at times and he would gesture to him, asking what had happened and the singer had pointed at me.  Like it was my fault because he was watching me dance.  How embarrassing!!!

After talking for a long time, Mari and Tino went to bed and that's where I should be right now.  It feels very empty and quiet in the house without all the other volunteers.  And then there were two...

Miercoles (Wednesday) and Jueves (Thursday)

The past few days have been great.  I keep waking up at 6 no matter how late I've gone to sleep the night before and then try to go back to sleep until 7...even so, I've been chugging through the days without a nap.

Wednesday morning I did yoga on the roof with some of the volunteers in the big group.  This morning it was wet on the roof, so I just went to help out in the kitchen, setting the table and getting ready for breakfast.  With nineteen volunteers including me, it gets to be quite a production.

In the mornings, I've been reading, writing emails, and talking to friends.  I can't get too used to having such a relaxing and carefree morning though, since next week, after the big group leaves, only Doane (I realized I've been spelling his name wrong all this time) and I will be left to teach up at the mountain school.

Wednesday afternoon, Leslie and I went downstairs to conquer the library.  We had to unpack more books and organized the books that were already there.  She went to Lima today to do some things for her store, but tomorrow, we're going to start an inventory of the books we have.  It is going to be a big undertaking!!!  We saw some funny books in the collection, actually I should say old books.  There was a book relating to the Gremlins movie and an Indiana Jones book that came with a record.  It was all sealed up still.  I was thinking that it actually might be worth something.  :)

This afternoon, I went with Mari and Emily up to Torre Torre.  I went up there the first weekend I was here, but we took a different route.  Mari took us up and over it instead of climbing up to it from the mountain school.  We did make our way down to the mountain school and checked out all of the murals they have been painting.  The volunteers were out playing with the kids since the classes had finished and a little boy came over to me to ask me to throw a ball around with him.  The ball would bounce everywhere though and sometimes after I went to get it, another child would want to play with me.  I ended up throwing the ball to the first little boy, Nando, and a little girl, Olga.  They were both adorable!!!  When we were getting ready to leave, it started raining and since the sun was still out, a huge rainbow appeared over the school in the mountains.  It was a nice way to end the afternoon at the school.

All the kids come up to give the teachers kisses, and when I started walking back down to the house with the other volunteers, Nando, the little boy who I'd been playing ball with, grabbed my hand and told me to walk with him.  He was hopping on one foot and then the other and I was trying to hop along with him.  He asked me where I lived and I told him that I lived in the United States.  He said that was too far away and that I was lying.  :)  I said that I lived with Mari and Tino in Huancayo.  That seemed to satisfy him.  When we got to his street, he let go of my hand and waved goodbye.

Mabel came to walk with me and she keeps trying to tickle me, since I've tickled her a bit.  But she's so ticklish, you can barely touch her and she flinches.  I guess it's a saying here that you're jealous if you are ticklish.  So apparently Mabel is really jealous.  :)  She wanted to run some to, so I raced her part of the way home.  Another boy, Justin, raced us for a bit, but then a dog started barking and chasing him, so Mabel and I slowed down and he dodged the dog.  :)

Back at home, I took a shower and then helped Pilar with her Physics homework.  I was baffled for awhile because there weren't many directions and I had to figure out all the words in English.  I ended up using the internet to help me get to the right answers and I was so proud of myself when I actually came up with an answer that was in the multiple choice answers in her book.  I felt like I'd won something.  I explained it to her and she wrote everything down in her notebook.  Hopefully they are actually the right answers!!!  Angela had already finished her homework by the time we got home, so I didn't have to help her.

By that time it was time to eat dinner.  I helped out in the kitchen some more and now here I am, writing my blog and getting ready to go to sleep late again.

Buenas noches!!!

Tuesday

Today I mostly helped out in the kitchen, setting the table, cleaning up, etc.  I've been eating in the kitchen since the group of 16 volunteers came along.  I like eating with Tino's family and their staff.

Last night I almost did yoga with the large group.  Apparently two of them are yoga instructors, so they are planning to do yoga every night.  It was really crowded though and I was happy when Mabel told me that Mari was looking for me.  I had told Mari that Lauren had wanted the recipe to make their special hot chocolate, and so Mari wanted me to see her make it.  She had me help move the rice around and then the chocolate.  If anyone is interested in a yummy hot chocolate recipe, let me know and I can email you what I wrote down.  :)  Also last night, Leslie, Tino's niece, was in the kitchen with us and she asked when we were going to karaoke because she wants to hear me sing.  We're going to go on Friday to La Rustica while the rest of the big group goes to La Cabaña to listen to music and dance.

This morning after breakfast, I was in the kitchen with Mabel tidying up the kitchen.  Two of the guys who are in the big group had volunteered to wash dishes and Mabel was enjoying giving them more plates and pots to clean.  We were singing Como La Flor and when some of the girl volunteers came in, the boys told them that we were singing them love songs.  Ha!  Not really.

Since Angela and Pilar are at school now and the rest of the family and staff are busy with the huge group of volunteers, I'm only teaching English to Angela and Lorenza in the afternoons.  I just found out that Lorenza is eighteen and that her mother died only a few weeks ago.  I can't even imagine that.  She's such a sweet girl.  Tomorrow, Angela and Pilar will have more homework since today Mari said they just had introductions to the class.  So tomorrow I'm going to start helping Angela and maybe Pilar with math homework.

I miss teaching the ballet class for Angela and Pilar!  It's really cute though when Angela starts doing some ballet steps that she learned from me.  It makes me happy.  :)

Until tomorrow!!!  :)