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Meghan's Trip
Here I am working in Lima, Peru. I can't really say what my expectations were coming into Peru, but I have been really surprised so far. The host family that I live with are absolutely amazing! Mili and her husband Ignasio run the project that I volunteer with (Dios es Amor). Mili is the most giving person that I have ever met in my entire life. I enjoy talking with her about everything because she always has such a inspiring point of view on life. She and the rest of the family have welcomed me into their lives as one of their own. Everyday is a struggle with our language barrier, but they really work hard to help me out. Mili likes for her children, Moises and Esteban to learn from my culture and work on their english. I am also fortuanate because there is another American living with us. Her name is Laura and she and I have been becoming quick friends. Her spanish is much better than mine because she minored in it in college. Laura is here to work at the medical center in town. Her stories on how laid back the hospital operates are interesting. Mili has taken us both in as children of her own. She is always concerned for our safety and works with us each day to make sure that we understand things. She is not only the most giving person I have ever met, she is also fun and crazy! When we go out dancing with her kids, she is right there too dancing the night away until the wee hours of the morning. She has a strong desire to make sure that our entire experience here includes a little of everything such as traveling, meeting new people, shopping, sight-seeing, having fun, and also working. Living with her and her family has been fun and interesting. They have a really nice house and Laura and I both feel so "at home" here. There are always different people over at the house because Mili opens it up to all of her close friends. I feel like I live at a hotel or something with all the different people passing through. Everyone we have met have been extremely friendly and helpful. There are some things that are really different in Peruvian culture. For example everyone is so affectionate with each other. Women walk in the streets arm in arm and when you meet someone you always kiss them on the cheek and hug them. Another thing that my stomach is not getting real use to is the eating habits. We eat breakfast, a huge lunch at 2:00, and dinner around 9 or 10 pm. Then people stay up so much later. We usually head to bed around midnight and Mili is always up later. Most of the food is potatoes, rice, and meats. I had Anticucho the other day for the first time, which is the heart of a cow! Things are real laidback to. There is a saying here that things are on either gringo (foreigners) or Peruvian time. Peruvians are alway late. If Mili says that we will work from 9 to 1 and then from 3 to 5 pm then that means that we will get there around 10:30 and leave for lunch around 2 then go back to work from 4 till maybe 6. It is kinda nice not to feel rushed all the time. Also, Lima itself is so different. The city is really polluted, I mean Bangkok's air pollution has got nothing on this place. The weather is exactly the same everyday, about 65 degrees and overcast. There is always a huge cloud of smog and fog over the city. If you drive 20 minutes outside of town it changes completely. The city is really dirty too. Trash is everywhere and there is little green areas, the landscape is mostly hills of dirt and shacks for homes. It sounds horrible and sometimes I think it is, but it is all about the experience and so far I am loving every minute of living here.
My first week here was filled with many spanish classes. My professor, Dante was an interesting older man who liked to talk a lot. I had classes almost every day and by the end of them I was exhausted from talking in spanish so much. I also worked at the project for a few days, which didn't help how tired I was. Whenever, Laura or I go to work we are always with someone else. I had no idea how dangerous this place was until Mili told us some of the things that have happened. It really wasn't that long ago when they had terrorists causing so many problems in their country. She always has someone with us just in case something might happen. Even when we are out in town, the guys with us always carry our bags for safety purposes. It is about a 20 minute taxi ride to the project and it is located in a really poor area of the city. Each day I have different responsibilties. Because half the time I don't understand everything that people are saying to me, I really never know what is going on until I am doing it. I am constantly agreeing to things that I am not entirely certain that I understand. This past week I helped teach the little kids how to count in english, I made picture frames and necklaces with the senior group, I helped with a ton of little projects for an upcoming celebration that they are having, and I played games with some of the kids. My involvement will increase more and more over the next few weeks as my spanish gets better and better. I am surprised how fast I have picked it up though. I really understand a lot of the language, talking back in it is a different story though.
Besides working and taking classes I have seen a lot of the city itself. Mili and Violeta (her best friend that works at the project) took Laura and I shopping at the indian markets in town. We got a bunch of Alpaca clothing for cheap prices. We sure needed it too because it has been a lot colder than we thought. We also went shopping in Miraflores (rich part of town) at the night market. We have been to see the presidential palace, the city square, San Francisco church, and the catacombs. We have been out to dinner at a trendy area by the ocean. A bunch of us went out last weekend to a Peruvian bar where they do traditional dances. It was so much fun! We drank the national drink, Pisco sours and danced the night away until 5:00 am. The host called up some people from different countries and then got them to dance to a song that represented their nationality. Of course Mili got Laura and I to go up in front of about 200 people to dance to "Staying Alive" and "YMCA". Sorry, I don't have any pictures for evidence. We rolled back home around 6 am, which is fairly normal in Peru for a night out in the town. Last night Laura and I cooked some American food for the family and then we sat around drinking wine and listening to music on my ipod. Later we decided to show them how to line dance.
So, as you can see I have been having a wonderful time. I feel very lucky to have ended up with such a great host family, without them this experience would be a lot more difficult and not nearly as exciting.
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