The title of this entry, should it have been an entry all by itself, would have been: "I went straight to the bathroom and cried."
In short: today was the first day of classes. In spanish. Let's just say it did not go all that well. My first class was "Realidad Social Peruana" and it was at 11. We got there 5 minutes late because the traffic was horrible (naturally, I live in Lima) and I was scared we would be in trouble or not have seats. Oh no, I must have forgotten we were running on Peru time. EVERYONE is late. Always. (Well, casi siempre). Kevin, Alison, and I arrived, got seats, and prepared ourselves for lecture. A friend of mine, Sarah, from Madison came up to me and I asked her about her first class that morning and she simply told me it was horrible and afterwards she went to the bathroom...and well, you know the rest. To say the least, I was a bit nervous for class after hearing this and seeing all the Peruvian students surrounding me speaking their ohsofastandhardtounderstandSpanish. Class finally began at 11:30 (Peruvian time, I'm tellin ya) and it was a straight hour and a half of not understanding anything. The professor kept making jokes and I didn't get any of them. Then we watched some Peruvian comedy videos (with clowns...weird) and the whole class was laughing the entire time! I understood most of the words but the jokes were not funny to me. The humor here is very different. I think I will most likely take this class because I really don't have many options as to what I can take, but it will be hard because the majority of my classmates will enter with so much background knowledge and context (as the entire course is about Peruvian issues) that I simply don't possess. This should be interesting.
My next class was at 3, a children's lit class. My Canadian friend Kelsey and I arrived at 3, being the punctual North Americans we are. We waited, and waited, and waited. We waited some more, and then when 3:40 rolled around and not a single soul was in the classroom aside from our two confused, scared, blond selves, we decided we could leave. We were sure the classroom was right, and the day and time, but we have no idea why no one came. Perhaps the teacher emailed the class list that something had changed or it was cancelled, but because the exchange students don't enroll until next Monday we aren't on the class list and don't receive the emails. You know, they say this 'shopping cart' week is a good thing, but so far all it has caused is problems...
The second entry, as it were, would be titled: "Beauty in the Beast"
After my wonderful trip to the Pisco and Ica this weekend, a lot of my friends are feeling a bit down on Lima. It wasn't all that fun to return to a grey city after basking in the warmth of the sun on a beach in Huacachina. And last night and today I kept hearing people say how much they don't like Lima and how they want to leave every weekend. This began to upset me. I kept thinking, we have to live here whether we like it or not. I am not going to spend the next five months of my life unhappy with my surroundings; I refuse. Also, I am a big fan of trying your best to maintain an "Attitude of Gratitude" despite sometimes unfavorable circumstances. We are so lucky! We get to study in another country! Most people in the world will never have this opportunity. So I decided I would spend the day finding the beauty in Lima. And I think if I continue doing this, I might find that it is in some ways better to live in a place where the splendor and charm is a bit hidden. If nothing else, it's a good exercise in counting our blessings no matter what. Here is what I have so far (and all of this in one day! My list will go on forever after five months I'm sure):
I find beauty in Lima in....
The constant Latino rhythms played for hours on the combi. The ease with which the cobradores glide in and out of the bus as the wheels barely stop turning for another passenger to squeeze in. The tetris-esque way in which bodies find a way to inhabit the same small space on their morning commute. The smell of chicharrones frying in the street carts. The chorus of a million Limeños asking, yelling, begging, laughing, conversing, passing time. The ease with which Spanish words have begun to roll off my tongue. The feeling of accomplishment after each and every trip on a combi. The open doors on all the shops. The constant bustle. The never-ending honking of horns. The dance of cars weaving in and out for miles and miles and never touching another. The fact that the day the sun finally decides to shine will be one of the best days of my life. The bittersweet sound of the voices of children singing in a desperate plea for coins. The joy in understanding each word, every day (this one is big. We take for granted our comprehension and intelligence!) The unique feel that I have only ever experienced in Lima.
I hope to add to this every day. I hope you can begin a list of your own. Maybe in your head, maybe on paper, maybe in your own blog or in conversation. Why is your place beautiful? Why are you blessed? What little things are you taking for granted? Search for beauty--it's everywhere!
My third and final 'entry' would be entitled: "The end of an era."
Tonight, after a long skype session with a dear 'friend' of mine back at home, I went to eat dinner with Alison. As we sat at the table, more people came in and out (as 15 people live in this house, that tends to happen continually. I love it!) and we discussed our days, our classes, our worries and our constant state of exhaustion. People came and went, and Alison and I stayed. We ate our soup and rice, and drank glass after glass of tea. We laughed with another Peruvian student, Mauricio, and begged him to hang out with us at school because we want Peruvian friends. We discussed movies with our sister Meli, we discussed English with our brother Benja, and last but not least, we discussed our Spanish progression with our mother Nancy. After giving us various books in Spanish (at my request, as I really need a pastime here that is also good for me, instead of so much internet) she told us very seriously that we need to stop speaking in English. Not seriously as in enforcing a rule or disciplining us, but just reminding us that the only way we will ever progress and improve is if we really do it, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No English with other gringos at school, no skyping all the time with friends at home, no books in English and no more sneaking American conversations behind closed doors. No. More. English. I returned to my room after my wonderful, hilarious night with my family with a mission. I am here to learn Spanish (among other things) and that is what I am going to do. So I have vowed to stay off of Skype, Facebook, and email for the rest of the week. I know a week isn't that long, but for a girl with not much to do and a laptop with wireless in her room, this will be hard. I have decided I can check all those fun sites once or twice a week for awhile, so my brain can work on its Spanish. I haven't yet decided if I will update my blog or not. I do like doing this as it is fun to recount my day, and I believe there are a few people out there who read this and might be interested in my life. I might update it in Spanish and you can rely on a translator (o para ti, Martha, no lo necesitarás porque me entenderás todo, ¿no?) or I might just update less often. The bottom line is I need to really cut down on my internet time because it is holding me back in my Spanish progression. What will I do with all this free time I have? I don't have much of an idea, but I think that's what these books on my bedside table will help me with. I am also going to buy a puzzle tomorrow :)
With that, I will leave you for awhile. Know that I am well and LEARNING SPANISH, which is lo más importante, ¿sí?
And for me, if no one else...
The word of the day: MANI Apparently, this is how they say peanut in Peru. The word we learned in Spanish class was cacahuate, but I found out tonight that that term is only used in Mexico. Go figure. So tonight my brother Benja asked us how we thought we should say peanut butter. Alison accidently responded: "mantequilla de caca" (poop butter) and the entire family laughed to the point of tears for a very long time. It was hilarious (we were all tired and slap happy by this point, so that made it much much funnier) and it was the first time I think I have laughed so hard my stomach hurt since I arrived in Peru, which was a nice feeling too.
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