I have become an expert shopper here in Trujillo. So much for "I should buy clothes before I go because I won't be able to buy stuff there." Last weekend I bought a bright yellow jacket (to keep warm in this especially chilly winter we're having), a really cute brown shirt with cool sleeves, and two long-sleeved T's to keep warm. Today Becca, Julie, and I ventured out again but this time we went with Fuerela, one of our Peruvian friends from Sociedad San Agustin (the Peruvian equivalent of RUF). I bought moccasins at the shoe market - picture an entire mall of teeny-tiny shoe shops all selling very similar wares- and some fun accessories at the Peruvian "Claire's" which is called "Do It". There is one really great store in Trujillo called TopyTop. The clothes are really cute and quite affordable to us (given every dollar = 3 soles). TopyTop is actually a supplier to Hollister and Abercrombie, but the clothes just don't have the brand printed across the front. I did see two shirts that actually said "Hollister" today.
I also found a taylor who makes quite fashionable clothes and said she can have them ready in 24 hours! It'll be an investment, but less of an investment here than in the states, so I think I might have a really cute suit made. Basically I get to design it, and find/draw some pictures and she'll make it happen for about $150 I think. I'm not sure if the fabric costs extra but I'll go back when I have a better idea of what I want. The thought of having my own designs made by someone else for me is really exciting.
Of course I do more here than just shop. My intermediate 3 students took their third quiz yesterday and I went out with 3 of them afterwards to get some food. At this point I had one of my first eat-to-be-polite experiences here in Peru. Usually the food is great, but at this perticular restaurant, all they serve is chicken colon broiled in its juices with a side of yuca. It was soo cruchy and chewy and all I could think about was that I was eating colon and I'll probably get some terrible parasite! Of course, Victor kept saying, "eat more Michelle, it's 'muy rico'." In any event, I had more than enough colon and ate lots of yuca. Good thing there was Coke to wash it all down.
I took my conversation class on a field trip yesterday. We walked down to an art exhibit in one of the old colonial houses, looked at the art, and talked a bit about the history of Trujillo. It's cool "teaching" adults because they can teach me all sorts of interesting things about Peru. The best thing about the walk was that one of my students who hardly speaks in class was very chatty with me on the 10 minute walk each way. Her English is actually quite good but I think she's embarrassed to speak in front the of the class. It was nice for us all to talk to each other in another environment too. I've really enjoyed getting to know them. I'm sad I only have 3 more days with them because in July I'm not teaching conversation anymore. I'll be teaching Basic 9, which I've heard is fun to teach because instead of working through a grammar book, the students read super abridged versions of The Little Princess and The Wizard of Oz, and then you talk about it and work on their writing skills. The students are in each level for a month, which works out to 18 classes per level. It goes Basic 1-10, Intermediate 1-10, and Advanced 1-5 I think. We also encourage everyone in Intermediate and Advanced to take conversation (which is just for practice; there's no grading or out of class work). Ideally, if the student works hard and sticks with the program, he or she can walk into SALI without knowing how to say "hello" and walk out 2 and a half years later totally fluent. The fact that every class above Basic 5 is taught by a native speaker is a real advantage. The other language institutes in the city don't have as many native speakers for teachers and much larger class sizes. We demand a lot of our students; if I was learning Spanish in the US I don't think I would be willing to devote an hour and a half every weekday evening or morning to Spanish classes, plus homework in the workbook every night, and a chapter test every Friday that includes a speaking test. The scholarship kids have to maintain an 80 to keep their scholarships. It's pretty rigorous.
I decided not to go to Chile and Argentina this summer at the end of my Cuzco trip. It would be really expensive and I'll probably be really tired after teaching in July and traveling around Peru for 5 or 6 days. Thus after all the other summer interns (except Chase) leave at the end of July, I'll probably head up to Cajamarca, a mountain town farther north. PeruMission was originally established there, and I can stay with Pastor Ramirez and his family probably. I hear it's beautiful and a good place to relax. Life is a bit slower there than in the city where I live now.
Last weekend we went to Chan Chan, some pre-Inca ruins, with a bunch of SALI students. It was a good time to get to know people better, though only one of my students actually came. Fuerela and Natalie were there though, so we hung out. Here's a picture of us. By the way, that day was the ONLY day in the month I've been here that I could wear a tank top. I embraced the sun- it's almost always overcast here.
I also found a taylor who makes quite fashionable clothes and said she can have them ready in 24 hours! It'll be an investment, but less of an investment here than in the states, so I think I might have a really cute suit made. Basically I get to design it, and find/draw some pictures and she'll make it happen for about $150 I think. I'm not sure if the fabric costs extra but I'll go back when I have a better idea of what I want. The thought of having my own designs made by someone else for me is really exciting.
Of course I do more here than just shop. My intermediate 3 students took their third quiz yesterday and I went out with 3 of them afterwards to get some food. At this point I had one of my first eat-to-be-polite experiences here in Peru. Usually the food is great, but at this perticular restaurant, all they serve is chicken colon broiled in its juices with a side of yuca. It was soo cruchy and chewy and all I could think about was that I was eating colon and I'll probably get some terrible parasite! Of course, Victor kept saying, "eat more Michelle, it's 'muy rico'." In any event, I had more than enough colon and ate lots of yuca. Good thing there was Coke to wash it all down.
I took my conversation class on a field trip yesterday. We walked down to an art exhibit in one of the old colonial houses, looked at the art, and talked a bit about the history of Trujillo. It's cool "teaching" adults because they can teach me all sorts of interesting things about Peru. The best thing about the walk was that one of my students who hardly speaks in class was very chatty with me on the 10 minute walk each way. Her English is actually quite good but I think she's embarrassed to speak in front the of the class. It was nice for us all to talk to each other in another environment too. I've really enjoyed getting to know them. I'm sad I only have 3 more days with them because in July I'm not teaching conversation anymore. I'll be teaching Basic 9, which I've heard is fun to teach because instead of working through a grammar book, the students read super abridged versions of The Little Princess and The Wizard of Oz, and then you talk about it and work on their writing skills. The students are in each level for a month, which works out to 18 classes per level. It goes Basic 1-10, Intermediate 1-10, and Advanced 1-5 I think. We also encourage everyone in Intermediate and Advanced to take conversation (which is just for practice; there's no grading or out of class work). Ideally, if the student works hard and sticks with the program, he or she can walk into SALI without knowing how to say "hello" and walk out 2 and a half years later totally fluent. The fact that every class above Basic 5 is taught by a native speaker is a real advantage. The other language institutes in the city don't have as many native speakers for teachers and much larger class sizes. We demand a lot of our students; if I was learning Spanish in the US I don't think I would be willing to devote an hour and a half every weekday evening or morning to Spanish classes, plus homework in the workbook every night, and a chapter test every Friday that includes a speaking test. The scholarship kids have to maintain an 80 to keep their scholarships. It's pretty rigorous.
I decided not to go to Chile and Argentina this summer at the end of my Cuzco trip. It would be really expensive and I'll probably be really tired after teaching in July and traveling around Peru for 5 or 6 days. Thus after all the other summer interns (except Chase) leave at the end of July, I'll probably head up to Cajamarca, a mountain town farther north. PeruMission was originally established there, and I can stay with Pastor Ramirez and his family probably. I hear it's beautiful and a good place to relax. Life is a bit slower there than in the city where I live now.
Last weekend we went to Chan Chan, some pre-Inca ruins, with a bunch of SALI students. It was a good time to get to know people better, though only one of my students actually came. Fuerela and Natalie were there though, so we hung out. Here's a picture of us. By the way, that day was the ONLY day in the month I've been here that I could wear a tank top. I embraced the sun- it's almost always overcast here.
I've been playing soccer most Tuesday and Thursday nights. It's better now because I know all the guys' names and they know me. It feels good to get some exercise! Not that we don't do a lot of walking around town, but after sitting in Gringolandia all day, I feel the urge to run around a bit. It's weird playing on concrete without any walls around the court. I played on concrete sometimes in Brazil and a lot in Spain, but this whole "no walls" thing makes the game a lot different. It's all about ball control and dribbling past people. We usually play 6 on 6. When the ball goes out, pretty much anybody can put it back in play- no throw in's necessary. Sometimes they roll it in, sometimes they toss it with one arm, sometimes they drop it at their own feet and start dribbling. There's no such thing as a push, trip, or offsides. Really there are no rules except that you can't shoot from behind a certain line. Once you except the fact that no rules apply (though sometimes they call hand-balls), it's actually quite freeing. I think I pulled my hamstring on Thursday but hopefully it'll feel better for Tuesday. What's great is that playing soccer with the guys (and a few girls too) gives us the opportunity to get to know them and invite them to youth group and church, which are right across the street. They all know Pastor Ricardo (he lives right near the soccer court) and his wife and sometimes they play with us. Sydney, Matt, and Joe always play too so I'm not the only gringo. It's a good time.
Okay well I should go do some grading. Now I better understand the life of a teacher! Thanks for all the prayers and sorry I haven't been so good at keeping in touch. My computer hasn't been working a lot and there's always so much going on! To Vista Hermosa....
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