Monday I got back from Arequipa in the morning, and then went to school early to change my classes. The lady who is in charge of international student affairs here is named Claudia and she is such a joke. I seriously only know the word for "useless" in spanish because of her. Basically she is just very slow to help any of us with our problems, or just doesn't help at all. And when she does decide to do something for someone, she's generally a bitch about it. So you can imagine how fun it was to work with her for all my scheduling issues. After a stressful afternoon I finally dropped out of my history and theater classes and enrolled in an ethnicity class and an alternative programs for childhood education class. After all that got figured out I had class and then salsa. As far as that goes, I think I was under the impression that all latin men had rhythm, and if nothing else, this class has proven me wrong. I haven't found all too many broad generalizations to be true in my life, and this is no different. Some latin men certainly do have rhythm (wait for my story about last night...) but the men in my class do not belong to that group. The whole experience is a mixture of frustration/annoyance/hilarity, and as much as it sucks to get stuck with a dude who can't grasp the concept of the basic move being 3 steps instead of 2, I am still happy to be in the class and it is a lot of fun.
On Tuesday I was very nervous for the education class as I had now missed the first three weeks of class (I only have class on Mondays, and lab on Tuesdays), but I had no other options. So I went to lab scared out of my mind, and I felt very out of place as it is a class of about 15 students and they all knew each other, and there isn't a single exchange student in the class either. Also, the professor felt the need to introduce me to the whole class like they do in the movies. It was embarrassing, but only momentarily, as afterwards some girls took me under their wing and let me join their group. The class seems super interesting, each group has to plan, and I think implement in some way, a project for a poor area in Lima. My group is making a library and "ludoteca" which is basically a toy library. So right now we are writing a report about it and doing the logistics, and then I think later we get to do the more fun stuff. Anyway, all the girls were VERY nice to me and understanding of my less-than-perfect spanish skills. They all gave me their numbers and told me to call if I needed help with that class or any class, and also invited me to volunteer with them on Sundays with little kids somewhere. I didn't quite understand what it was, but I think I'll go with them next Sunday. I'm finally making friends!
Wednesday was class. Normal. Thursday I don't have classes so one of my sisters in the house, Regina from Texas, and I went to the Body Worlds exhibit. There, I met my soulmate. I don't know his name or number, but I'm telling you this man is perfect. I am getting ahead of myself. Let me begin at the beginning. So they have medical students working at the exhibit to walk around and explain things to people, and this one beautiful medical student just happened to be in every single room we went to, so when we had questions we got to talk to him. At the very end we ended up talking to him for like 15 minutes, and he was very nice and friendly. (And he speaks fluent english, which I'm not opposed to) Right when we left, he left, and then we went to Wong (a Walmart-ish place) and then he went to Wong, and then we were waiting for the combi, and he was waiting there too. So basically I had one million and two opportunities to ask him for his number and I totally chickened out! But I have decided I will go back this Thursday with a bunch of people from my house who want to go and hope that he is working again. I can't decide if that's a creepy thing to do, but I figure I don't have much to lose except the $10 entrance fee, and I don't know what I have to gain! I'll keep you updated :)
Friday was not as wonderful. I went to school despite having no classes so I could study a bit, and I got very discouraged about how long it takes to get through my readings. I was starting to get nervous and frustrated about upcoming tests and decided it was nothing a hamburger couldn't fix. (I know mom, I always tell you I don't like hamburgers, and usually I don't-but it felt right at the time!) There is a well-known hamburger cart across the street from my school called Tio Bigote (Uncle Mustache) so I headed over there with my friend Kelly. We waited in line for a very long time, as everyone here has no problem skipping us, and there are always a bunch of different lines and I never know which one is right. I didn't really know what to order as I couldn't figure out what the different options were, so I asked the boy in front of me who had just gotten his order what it was and him and all his friends just started laughing at me. I was so confused and upset so I started to cry right there on the street in front of everyone (title quote) and Kelly and I didn't know how to say anything back to them in spanish so she just gave me a hug and ordered my burger for me. It was embarrassing and reinforced all my insecurities about my spanish abilities. I didn't feel great for the rest of the day, so I ended up staying in on Friday night and wallowing in self-pity. It really wasn't as bad as it sounds, but it wasn't fun either.
(I promise I'm almost done--stick with me, it gets good now!)
Saturday was GREAT! I went to the Peru vs. Uruguay game with Colleen, Kelly, and Leia (what do I not do with them? :D) and another sister from my house and her friend, plus our dad Tito. It was such a blast! It wasn't even an important game, as Peru has a pretty bad team and already is out of the running for the world cup, but it was still everything I had heard about South American soccer. Lots of swearing, players choking each other over unfair calls, fun cheers and people going crazy when goals are scored. And the best part is WE WON! I can't wait to go to my next game, it was sooo much fun. Afterwards Leia and Kelly came over to our house and we went to get dinner at a cute little restaurant near our house, then we all got ready together and went out to Barranco, which is one of the happening districts to go out dancing and clubbing. We went to a place called Carpe Diem, where Kel and Leia had gone the night before. Within five minutes of being there I met a guy named Marcelo who was from Mexico and here traveling. His english was perfect, which was nice, because it is hard for me to understand and speak in spanish without blaring music in the background, so my ability to communicate decreases greatly in discotecas. So this Marcelo character was very cute, a VERY good dancer, and I spent most of the night dancing with him. He taught me some cumbia (thought of you Martha, claro) and merengue, and we danced a lot of salsa. It was SO FUN! We were out until 3:30, which was a bit late for me, but it was one of the most fun nights I've had since I got here, so it was worth the exhaustion.
Today Leia and Kelly came over (it is weird for us four (Colleen, of course, she lives here with me) to go more than 12 hours without seeing each other) and we ordered pizza and watched Hangover with Mauricio. It was low key and fun, and now I'm gearing up for another week of school. I have my first quiz on Wednesday!
Word of the day: DAR A LUZ I learned at Body Worlds that this is how to say "to give birth". Literally translated it means "to give light", which I think is pretty beautiful!
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