One whole week

Kids driving!! Nah, just in the my host Dad´s taxi goofing off.

My host sister and her daughter


Host Dad on his 60th birthday with a bunch of gringo Peace Corps volunteers.

One week down! It is amazing how long and short one week can week at the same time when your entire life has changed. I now have a completely new, but temporary, family that I am really enjoying and finally understand! Because everyone was always working and running in and out, I never really understood who was living in the house or who was who. Now I know I have three host brothers that are 21, 22 and 26 and one host sister who’s spouse also lives in the house with their one year old daughter. Finally I have my host parents. My host Mom is great. She is so patient and sweet with me. She makes me feel like I am back in middle school, always asking me how I am, noticing little things about me (like how itchy my legs are from all the bug bites) and explaining things to me slowly so that I understand what is going on. I feel like her heart is so big it could fit half of the world in it. My host Dad is also great, but I don’t talk to him as much. The other night was his 60^th birthday party and there was a lot of Peruvian dancing, cake, pictures, piñata and music! It was a blast! A couple other volunteers were there as well and we all danced. My host Dad is an amazing dancer! I was so impressed by his moves. Later in the night, I attempted to do what I like to call the Peruvian shuffle dancing and my host family was (or pretended to be) impressed! They actually said that me, la gringa, could dance!

Also, I met a little girl at the party and introduced her to my camera. I let her keep it all night and take as many pictures as she wanted. The pictures posted here are the result of some of her handiwork! It was a fabulous time and I didn’t have to feel awkward about taking pictures because I didn’t have to take any! Below is a picture of my little photographer with her piece of cake!

Other than the goings on in my host family’s house, things are busy all the time. My mind is always full of information and I am always tired because of the constant information overload. But, I am always a happy tired. The volunteers are divided into three groups based on our experiences and upcoming projects when we go to our sites. Right now, Peace Corps Peru is training volunteers for water and sanitation, environment and health. The training site is the place we all gather together to have our lessons in our particular fields as well as health lessons for the entire training class. There are 57 or 58 of us total. We are one of the biggest incoming groups. Last week, the environment group worked with the water and sanitation group to make a giant compost pile at the training site (see picture).

Finally, I went to my first mass on Sunday with my host parents and my friend Anni. First, my host Mom and brother took us around a park in Chosica, which was really nice. We all got some ice cream and then went to a short mass at a Catholic church. I went mostly for the experience and to listen to Spanish. There was a lot of music and not too much talking, which I really enjoyed.

I guess I will end by saying that the Spanish is still difficult, but it is manageable. Every morning I wake up and feel very shy because I suddenly feel like I cant remember anything and forgot it all in my dreams. But, as the day progresses I gain confidence and start talking and understanding more. By most evenings I am having rather in depth conversations and actually understand most of it. It feel great… until the next morning when my memory is mysteriously erased. I’ll know I have a handle on my Spanish when I can wake up and understand everything that is going on!