I'm sitting here in the classroom watching my students take their test. I just read the climax of AK and I can't believe that's it. She justs throws herself under the train and its over. All that agony! What saddens me the most is how much of myself and my last few years I found on those pages.
She was uncapable of believing in Vronsky's love, always jealous and working herself up into hysterics. She knew she was provoking his anger, but from pride, could not stop herself. Pride is so destructive in relationships. She was spiteful, and killed herself from spite! It seems like a stretch but after reading all those pages and seeing her downward spiral played out slowly, her suicide seemed to be the only possible conclusion. Now that it's happened, I don't even feel like reading the last 40 pages- there can be no happy ending. Perhaps that's why I love Dostoevsky, even though characters die, there is redemption. Here it was just meaningless death, death because her heart was eaten up with bitterness. What's scary is how realistic it is and the baseness we are all capable of.
If you've never read it, then perhaps this entry is nonsense to you. I just have such strong feelings about it at the moment and needed an outlet. She started off so good and fell so far, without letting herself acknowledge reality.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Daddy are we there yet?
It's not that I don't like it here, but I'm really looking forward to getting home and going to school. This further convinces me that I'll probably end up in grad school and maybe get my ph.D for the simple reason that I love going back to school every fall. The summer day when I wake up and think "I'll never be a full-time students again" shall be a very sad day indeed. Perhaps I'll feel differently by then, but for now, I am quite excited to get back into the academic routine.
One thing I've learned from being a teacher this summer, is that being a teacher and being a student are very different things. I don't think teaching English is my calling, in fact, I'm quite certain it is not. Maybe economics someday, but we'll see. Teachers have to do so much grading! Seriously, I think twice about assigning homework because I know I'll have to correct it. Same with essay questions- what a pain. I guess that's why our professors have TA's.
I'm currently sitting out on the balcony at SALI (where I pretty much live). There is an enormous mass of vines growing on the building next door that are blooming in a vibrant shade of purple. I'm glad because on these cold, cloudy days, it's nice to have some life to look at. I hope it's oppresively hot when I get home.
Just a little more than 2 weeks left down here, south of the equator. I'm still taking my spanish classes though now that I'm not going to take spanish this semester, it seems like a bit of a waste. Still, Noemi, my teacher, is so kind, and we've started reading the Bible in Spanish for practice. I understand a lot, it's encouraging to have spanish class if for no other reason than it makes me feel like I do actually speak spanish. I hope to watch spanish movies to hang on to what I've learned so next time I can start a little further along than when I arrived. Maybe I'll go to Spanish club, we'll see.
I can't believe how fast the summer disappeared. I guess I've done a lot but since I tend to gage progress by how many books I've read, I feel like I haven't done anything. When I get home I'll read, though there are so many other things I want to do too. In any event, I feel like I've had a huge attitude readjustment lately and I'm feeling very relaxed. I look forward both to being social (and 21) and having some quiet afternoons/nights with a book. I resisted the urge to put an extra class in my schedule, though so many looked interesting, especially the Middle East film class on Monday nights.
It's not what I expected but I'm starting to reevaluate my supposed love of latin america and moving here after I graduate. It definitely has its charms and I don't mind going without some of the luxuries of the West, but I don't know if I'd ever feel at home here. I'm pretty sure the language barrier has a lot to do with it since it's hard for me to make real deep relationships without enough spanish. Still, I'm not going to run full speed ahead towards such a specific career. I'll see what comes along.
Jenny and I were talking today about state/city pride and we decided that Connecticutians just don't have it. I think I'd like to live somewhere that does, where people are more invested in making their city/state something they can be proud of. For example, people in Boston have Boston pride, as do people in New York City. A lot of southerners I've met down here also have state pride, in Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee. I end up defending CT and feeling proud to be from there only because other people feel so about their homes. It's an interesting dynamic. Living here has also allowed me to test out city life and thus far, I think I can handle a small city. I'm definitely more of a Trujillo girl than a Limanite; more of a Boston girl than a New Yorker. I like the accessability of a city and the community it fosters.
Alright well I guess I should go do something that's actually productive. I taught this morning from 9-10:30 and I don't teach again until 5:45 so I have some time. Perhaps a book? Que bueno!
One thing I've learned from being a teacher this summer, is that being a teacher and being a student are very different things. I don't think teaching English is my calling, in fact, I'm quite certain it is not. Maybe economics someday, but we'll see. Teachers have to do so much grading! Seriously, I think twice about assigning homework because I know I'll have to correct it. Same with essay questions- what a pain. I guess that's why our professors have TA's.
I'm currently sitting out on the balcony at SALI (where I pretty much live). There is an enormous mass of vines growing on the building next door that are blooming in a vibrant shade of purple. I'm glad because on these cold, cloudy days, it's nice to have some life to look at. I hope it's oppresively hot when I get home.
Just a little more than 2 weeks left down here, south of the equator. I'm still taking my spanish classes though now that I'm not going to take spanish this semester, it seems like a bit of a waste. Still, Noemi, my teacher, is so kind, and we've started reading the Bible in Spanish for practice. I understand a lot, it's encouraging to have spanish class if for no other reason than it makes me feel like I do actually speak spanish. I hope to watch spanish movies to hang on to what I've learned so next time I can start a little further along than when I arrived. Maybe I'll go to Spanish club, we'll see.
I can't believe how fast the summer disappeared. I guess I've done a lot but since I tend to gage progress by how many books I've read, I feel like I haven't done anything. When I get home I'll read, though there are so many other things I want to do too. In any event, I feel like I've had a huge attitude readjustment lately and I'm feeling very relaxed. I look forward both to being social (and 21) and having some quiet afternoons/nights with a book. I resisted the urge to put an extra class in my schedule, though so many looked interesting, especially the Middle East film class on Monday nights.
It's not what I expected but I'm starting to reevaluate my supposed love of latin america and moving here after I graduate. It definitely has its charms and I don't mind going without some of the luxuries of the West, but I don't know if I'd ever feel at home here. I'm pretty sure the language barrier has a lot to do with it since it's hard for me to make real deep relationships without enough spanish. Still, I'm not going to run full speed ahead towards such a specific career. I'll see what comes along.
Jenny and I were talking today about state/city pride and we decided that Connecticutians just don't have it. I think I'd like to live somewhere that does, where people are more invested in making their city/state something they can be proud of. For example, people in Boston have Boston pride, as do people in New York City. A lot of southerners I've met down here also have state pride, in Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee. I end up defending CT and feeling proud to be from there only because other people feel so about their homes. It's an interesting dynamic. Living here has also allowed me to test out city life and thus far, I think I can handle a small city. I'm definitely more of a Trujillo girl than a Limanite; more of a Boston girl than a New Yorker. I like the accessability of a city and the community it fosters.
Alright well I guess I should go do something that's actually productive. I taught this morning from 9-10:30 and I don't teach again until 5:45 so I have some time. Perhaps a book? Que bueno!
Monday, August 6, 2007
Saturday, August 4, 2007
If only I had some of those zip-off cargo pants, I'd be a real traveler.
So I went to Machu Picchu this past week, and all the fun tourist towns that involves on the way there and back. I can give a more detailed report of my adventure to whoever asks, but here are the bare bones and highlights of my trip...
July 26th I got on the Super VIP bus to Lima with Becca, Jason, Sarah, Julie, and David. It was weird saying goodbye to everyone at the bus station because I was the only one of our group who was returning to Trujillo. The fact that I can't sleep during a movie has been reiterated to me many times lately, despite that I've seen the movies before, they're dubbed in Spanish, and have no subtitles, I still can't sleep while they're playing. We arrived in Lima at about 6:30 a.m. and went from there to the Lima airport. I got excited about Dunkin Donuts but it was premature- when I tried to order an iced cappuccino (which I expected to be the equivalent of a pretty normal coffee), I recieved a super strong coffee coolata. No worries though, I got my Starbucks iced caramel macciato by the end of the trip.
Okay enough about little things, I'll try not to get bogged down in unimportant details. We flew to Cuzco and took taxis to the downtown. There we sat around at the post office for a good 2 hours waiting for David to get money wired to him (his bank turned off his debit card). The picture below is Becca and I in that taxi.
Once David got his money we were off to the Peruvian bus station (as opposed to a tourist one) and hopped on a local bus for an hour and a half ride to our next checkpoint (for about $1). From there we took a comvi (a public van) for another $.35 for another 20 minutes to Ollantantambo (not sure of the spelling on this one). We spent the night here at a pretty nice hostal- though I had a killer migraine and went to bed at 8:30. This was a beautiful village geared toward Machu Picchu travelers and nestled in the middle of a beautiful mountain range. 
The next morning was stressful because we had to meet a guy at the train station who would give us our tickets and we waited for a good 35 minutes before finding him just in time to get on the train. While we were waiting for the train I noticed that one of the snack vendors was selling Red Bull. If you think about how isolated we were in the Sacred Valley of Peru and how much traveling we had already done to get there, it just seemed so silly to me to find Red Bull there. In any event, we made the train and rode for 2 more hours to Aguas Calientes (yes there are hot springs there). 
Aguas Calientes is what Becca and I liked to call the Disney Land of Peru. Everything was expensive and geared towards tourists. We got massages. You walk down the street and people are pushing menus in your face left and right. "Free pisco sour!" "12 Sole Menu!" You haggle with waiters in the street to determine prices in the restaurants- it's rather ridiculous. I got some decent lomo saltado that night (my favorite Peruvian dish). A menu (pronounced "men" "new") is a course meal that usually includes a weird saladish thing or a bowl of soup plus your main dish plus a postre (dessert) or drink (usually a pisco sour or lemonade). We had a pretty nasty menu in Cuzco for 10 soles (about $3) but sometimes you get lucky.
On the morning of Sunday, August 29th, we woke up at 4:30 am (but then julie said we could sleep another 20 minutes) and left the hostal at 5:20 to meet our tour guide in the plaza. We took the bus up to Machu Picchu and entered the ruins at about 6:00 am. It was really cloudy so we couldn't see the sun rise. We were actually a bit worried that the day would be cloudy and we wouldn't get to see Machu Picchu at its finest, but the clouds are just part of mountain weather.
Our tour guide told us some theories about Machu Picchu and we walked around the ruins in the rain for a bit. There were very few tourists there yet so we could get a good look at everything and feel the isolation of this mysterious incan city. They think that only about 800- 1000 people lived there at a time and 85% of the bodies they have found were women's. One of the theories is that Machu Picchu was a convent of sorts, with women preforming religious rituals in the various temples. They also think that there was a princess that ruled over Machu Picchu and that she was very tall (most peruvians are very short). There was one building that had two basins in the middle. The "expert" conclusions on these basins range from "they were paint holders in an industrial building" to "they were sacred astrological tools". Becca found this quite amusing. It may be out of character for me not to care about the historical aspects of a place, but what I most enjoyed about Machu Picchu was its beauty and serenity locked away in the mountains.
After our short tour we climbed Waynapicchu (the mountain in all the pictures of Machu Picchu). They only let 400 people climb it a day (which seems like a lot, but a lot of people come to Machu Picchu). Climbing that mountain took most of the morning. It was basically the Stairmaster 5000. The Incas must have been very physically fit. We took some amazing aerial shots of Machu Picchu and hung out with our fellow climbers at the very top for a while.
Back down in the main area of ruins Becca and I had a nice chat about God and going home. I ate two of the best oranges I've ever tasted. We met up with the rest of the group at a very high point in the ruins and took some pictures. In all my pictures it really looks like I'm standing in front of a green screen or a bill board of Machu Picchu. After we took more pictures than necessary (which must be a lot for me) we sat around off the beaten path and sang some hymns and RUF songs. I read some passages from Isaiah that I've been collecting to set to music. It was a nice ending to a lovely morning.
At 3:30ish we left the ruins and went back to Aguas Calientes to get our stuff. I was proud of myself for only packing my school backpack for a week-long adventure through Peru. We took the train back to Ollantantambo and then a van to our hostal. It was about 9 p.m. when we made it to our hostal in Cuzco only to find that they had no record of our reservation.
This was our "Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem with no room in the inn" night. We didn't have to sleep in a cave but we did have to squeeze 4 girls into 2 twin beds. Still it was better than nothing so despite my poor night's sleep, I was glad we had somewhere to sleep in that chilly city.
We ate breakfast at Jack's, a delicious discovery in our part of Cuzco. While the rest of the group went to a few museums and cathedrals, I mostly just wandered in and out of shops. I found some beautiful alpaca long coats but they were $300, so I had to let them go. Still I enjoyed seeing some good fashion after being lost in the sea of stretchy polyester and pocketless pants for two months. I do look forward to seeing my vintage clothes when I get home.
That night (Monday) we went to a cool cafe and listened to some live music by a Portuguese guitarist and his lovely back up singer. We sat in the window over-looking Cuzco all lit up. I'm a big fan of Cuzco, it had a lot of charm. If I'm ever passing through Peru again, Cuzco would definitely be worth the trip.
We flew back into Lima on Tuesday morning. We met the reggeaton group Hector El Father in the airport and that was rather amusing. After dropping our stuff off at the Melia (luxury hotel where Becca and I spent the night), we stepped back into the US for most of the day. We went to a huge mall and I enjoyed looking at the high fashion that was slightly more affordable than usual, but still not affordable (even when my $1 is worth three soles). We ate lunch at the nicest Pizza Hut I've ever seen, and Julie was the only one brave enough to eat her salad (lettuce is very hard to clean so we generally don't eat it here- I'll eat lots of salads from the SU when I get back to make up for my lack of salad all summer). We went back to the Melia and said goodbye to Julie, Jason, David, and Sarah. We stood there waving to them as they drove away and it was really sad to think I may never see them again. Weird; goodbye's are weird after you've just spent so much time together.
Becca and I took showers and layed on our big beds. It was a restful evening. I felt the need to put myself together before walking by the front desk again, since earlier they had asked me when my parents were coming! I put on a clean shirt (Becca's actually) and we went out to look for a cafe. We walked the wrong direction for about 7 blocks and finally turned around and found what we were looking for. The people in San Isidro (the neighborhood we were in) seemed a bit stuck up if you ask me. Things were definitely more expensive there- 12 soles for a small cup of gelato! What will I do when I get home? I was cheap before!
Wednesday was relaxing too. We did a bit more shopping (most of this vacation falls in the shopping category) and then chilled in Parque Kennedy for a while. I had some great lomo saltado at Cafe Cafe and an iced caramel macciato at starbucks. The atmosphere at Starbucks wasn't quite as relaxing as in the states though, because there is a guard who stands at the door and walks around every few minutes. We were pretty worried he was going to kick us out when I finished my drink and we were pretty much homeless since we had checked out of our hotel room that morning and it was too cold to be outside. That is the slowest I've ever drunk such a tasty treat, and it was a real exercise in self control. I was overwhelmed by the big stores and comericalism in Lima- it's a real shock to the system after being in Trujillo for a while. Becca and I both said many times that we're so glad SALI is in Trujillo instead of Lima.
Wednesday night was sad because I had to say goodbye to Becca. Becca if you're reading this, I miss you!! I took the Super VIP bus home to Trujillo and arrived at 6:30 on Thursday morning. I was really happy to be back in Trujillo, though by midday I was really feeling the loss of everyone who had already gone. I'm going to do my best not to feel like leftovers. Chase and I are the only ones from the summer crew who are staying for August. I moved my flight so now we are flying home together on August 26th. I'll probably skip my classes on the 27th to recouperate a bit.
For those who have been praying about my crazy stressed-outness, thanks, and I'm quite happy to report that the last two weeks have been a lot better. Granted, I haven't been teaching, but hopefully this attitude will carry over into next week.
I miss you guys back in CT, and I'm looking forward to coming home and starting up at school in just a few short weeks. I hope to have a car which will be a bit life-changing, and I'm planning to road trip/fly south for a few days to see some very sorely missed individuals. Being 21 when I get home will add an interesting twist to my life too, I expect. In any event, the future is bright, but I'm trying to live in the moment and enjoy each day I have left here in Peru. Trujillo has become quite dear to me, in a way I didn't know a small foreign city could.
One of these days I will post some of my favorite songs that we sing on Sundays down here, but until then, hasta luego!
July 26th I got on the Super VIP bus to Lima with Becca, Jason, Sarah, Julie, and David. It was weird saying goodbye to everyone at the bus station because I was the only one of our group who was returning to Trujillo. The fact that I can't sleep during a movie has been reiterated to me many times lately, despite that I've seen the movies before, they're dubbed in Spanish, and have no subtitles, I still can't sleep while they're playing. We arrived in Lima at about 6:30 a.m. and went from there to the Lima airport. I got excited about Dunkin Donuts but it was premature- when I tried to order an iced cappuccino (which I expected to be the equivalent of a pretty normal coffee), I recieved a super strong coffee coolata. No worries though, I got my Starbucks iced caramel macciato by the end of the trip.
Okay enough about little things, I'll try not to get bogged down in unimportant details. We flew to Cuzco and took taxis to the downtown. There we sat around at the post office for a good 2 hours waiting for David to get money wired to him (his bank turned off his debit card). The picture below is Becca and I in that taxi.
Once David got his money we were off to the Peruvian bus station (as opposed to a tourist one) and hopped on a local bus for an hour and a half ride to our next checkpoint (for about $1). From there we took a comvi (a public van) for another $.35 for another 20 minutes to Ollantantambo (not sure of the spelling on this one). We spent the night here at a pretty nice hostal- though I had a killer migraine and went to bed at 8:30. This was a beautiful village geared toward Machu Picchu travelers and nestled in the middle of a beautiful mountain range. The next morning was stressful because we had to meet a guy at the train station who would give us our tickets and we waited for a good 35 minutes before finding him just in time to get on the train. While we were waiting for the train I noticed that one of the snack vendors was selling Red Bull. If you think about how isolated we were in the Sacred Valley of Peru and how much traveling we had already done to get there, it just seemed so silly to me to find Red Bull there. In any event, we made the train and rode for 2 more hours to Aguas Calientes (yes there are hot springs there). Aguas Calientes is what Becca and I liked to call the Disney Land of Peru. Everything was expensive and geared towards tourists. We got massages. You walk down the street and people are pushing menus in your face left and right. "Free pisco sour!" "12 Sole Menu!" You haggle with waiters in the street to determine prices in the restaurants- it's rather ridiculous. I got some decent lomo saltado that night (my favorite Peruvian dish). A menu (pronounced "men" "new") is a course meal that usually includes a weird saladish thing or a bowl of soup plus your main dish plus a postre (dessert) or drink (usually a pisco sour or lemonade). We had a pretty nasty menu in Cuzco for 10 soles (about $3) but sometimes you get lucky.On the morning of Sunday, August 29th, we woke up at 4:30 am (but then julie said we could sleep another 20 minutes) and left the hostal at 5:20 to meet our tour guide in the plaza. We took the bus up to Machu Picchu and entered the ruins at about 6:00 am. It was really cloudy so we couldn't see the sun rise. We were actually a bit worried that the day would be cloudy and we wouldn't get to see Machu Picchu at its finest, but the clouds are just part of mountain weather.
Our tour guide told us some theories about Machu Picchu and we walked around the ruins in the rain for a bit. There were very few tourists there yet so we could get a good look at everything and feel the isolation of this mysterious incan city. They think that only about 800- 1000 people lived there at a time and 85% of the bodies they have found were women's. One of the theories is that Machu Picchu was a convent of sorts, with women preforming religious rituals in the various temples. They also think that there was a princess that ruled over Machu Picchu and that she was very tall (most peruvians are very short). There was one building that had two basins in the middle. The "expert" conclusions on these basins range from "they were paint holders in an industrial building" to "they were sacred astrological tools". Becca found this quite amusing. It may be out of character for me not to care about the historical aspects of a place, but what I most enjoyed about Machu Picchu was its beauty and serenity locked away in the mountains.
After our short tour we climbed Waynapicchu (the mountain in all the pictures of Machu Picchu). They only let 400 people climb it a day (which seems like a lot, but a lot of people come to Machu Picchu). Climbing that mountain took most of the morning. It was basically the Stairmaster 5000. The Incas must have been very physically fit. We took some amazing aerial shots of Machu Picchu and hung out with our fellow climbers at the very top for a while.
Back down in the main area of ruins Becca and I had a nice chat about God and going home. I ate two of the best oranges I've ever tasted. We met up with the rest of the group at a very high point in the ruins and took some pictures. In all my pictures it really looks like I'm standing in front of a green screen or a bill board of Machu Picchu. After we took more pictures than necessary (which must be a lot for me) we sat around off the beaten path and sang some hymns and RUF songs. I read some passages from Isaiah that I've been collecting to set to music. It was a nice ending to a lovely morning.At 3:30ish we left the ruins and went back to Aguas Calientes to get our stuff. I was proud of myself for only packing my school backpack for a week-long adventure through Peru. We took the train back to Ollantantambo and then a van to our hostal. It was about 9 p.m. when we made it to our hostal in Cuzco only to find that they had no record of our reservation.
This was our "Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem with no room in the inn" night. We didn't have to sleep in a cave but we did have to squeeze 4 girls into 2 twin beds. Still it was better than nothing so despite my poor night's sleep, I was glad we had somewhere to sleep in that chilly city.
We ate breakfast at Jack's, a delicious discovery in our part of Cuzco. While the rest of the group went to a few museums and cathedrals, I mostly just wandered in and out of shops. I found some beautiful alpaca long coats but they were $300, so I had to let them go. Still I enjoyed seeing some good fashion after being lost in the sea of stretchy polyester and pocketless pants for two months. I do look forward to seeing my vintage clothes when I get home.
That night (Monday) we went to a cool cafe and listened to some live music by a Portuguese guitarist and his lovely back up singer. We sat in the window over-looking Cuzco all lit up. I'm a big fan of Cuzco, it had a lot of charm. If I'm ever passing through Peru again, Cuzco would definitely be worth the trip.
We flew back into Lima on Tuesday morning. We met the reggeaton group Hector El Father in the airport and that was rather amusing. After dropping our stuff off at the Melia (luxury hotel where Becca and I spent the night), we stepped back into the US for most of the day. We went to a huge mall and I enjoyed looking at the high fashion that was slightly more affordable than usual, but still not affordable (even when my $1 is worth three soles). We ate lunch at the nicest Pizza Hut I've ever seen, and Julie was the only one brave enough to eat her salad (lettuce is very hard to clean so we generally don't eat it here- I'll eat lots of salads from the SU when I get back to make up for my lack of salad all summer). We went back to the Melia and said goodbye to Julie, Jason, David, and Sarah. We stood there waving to them as they drove away and it was really sad to think I may never see them again. Weird; goodbye's are weird after you've just spent so much time together.
Becca and I took showers and layed on our big beds. It was a restful evening. I felt the need to put myself together before walking by the front desk again, since earlier they had asked me when my parents were coming! I put on a clean shirt (Becca's actually) and we went out to look for a cafe. We walked the wrong direction for about 7 blocks and finally turned around and found what we were looking for. The people in San Isidro (the neighborhood we were in) seemed a bit stuck up if you ask me. Things were definitely more expensive there- 12 soles for a small cup of gelato! What will I do when I get home? I was cheap before!
Wednesday was relaxing too. We did a bit more shopping (most of this vacation falls in the shopping category) and then chilled in Parque Kennedy for a while. I had some great lomo saltado at Cafe Cafe and an iced caramel macciato at starbucks. The atmosphere at Starbucks wasn't quite as relaxing as in the states though, because there is a guard who stands at the door and walks around every few minutes. We were pretty worried he was going to kick us out when I finished my drink and we were pretty much homeless since we had checked out of our hotel room that morning and it was too cold to be outside. That is the slowest I've ever drunk such a tasty treat, and it was a real exercise in self control. I was overwhelmed by the big stores and comericalism in Lima- it's a real shock to the system after being in Trujillo for a while. Becca and I both said many times that we're so glad SALI is in Trujillo instead of Lima.
Wednesday night was sad because I had to say goodbye to Becca. Becca if you're reading this, I miss you!! I took the Super VIP bus home to Trujillo and arrived at 6:30 on Thursday morning. I was really happy to be back in Trujillo, though by midday I was really feeling the loss of everyone who had already gone. I'm going to do my best not to feel like leftovers. Chase and I are the only ones from the summer crew who are staying for August. I moved my flight so now we are flying home together on August 26th. I'll probably skip my classes on the 27th to recouperate a bit.
For those who have been praying about my crazy stressed-outness, thanks, and I'm quite happy to report that the last two weeks have been a lot better. Granted, I haven't been teaching, but hopefully this attitude will carry over into next week.
I miss you guys back in CT, and I'm looking forward to coming home and starting up at school in just a few short weeks. I hope to have a car which will be a bit life-changing, and I'm planning to road trip/fly south for a few days to see some very sorely missed individuals. Being 21 when I get home will add an interesting twist to my life too, I expect. In any event, the future is bright, but I'm trying to live in the moment and enjoy each day I have left here in Peru. Trujillo has become quite dear to me, in a way I didn't know a small foreign city could.
One of these days I will post some of my favorite songs that we sing on Sundays down here, but until then, hasta luego!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Take a bow and say goodbye
Well it’s been a while since I posted. Nothing too exciting has happened. Today is the last day of July classes- I really can’t believe that it’s the end of July already. The lack of warm weather has left me wondering “when is summer going to start?” The weather has been a bit warmer than it was in June though, so I am thankful for that.
I taught Basic 9 and Intermediate 4 this month. I went out to eat with my Basic 9 class on Monday night and we’re going out again for Chifa tonight after the exam. Chifa is the wonderful blend of Peruvian and Chinese food. The best part about Chifa is the names of the restaurants. They’re all over town. The one I walk by to go to SALI is called “Heng Lung”. Becca and I ate at Fuk Hou on Sunday night.
Tomorrow night we’re leaving for Cuzco. We’ll take the fancy night bus (the seats fold down completely flat!) to Lima and then take a flight Friday morning to Cuzco. We’ll stay at a few different hostels and see Machu Picchu on Sunday morning (taking the 5:30 am train to get to it). The 28th of July is Peru’s independence day and they get pretty into it, so hopefully that won’t hinder our travels too much. We’ll spend 2 days in Cuzco and head back to Lima on Tuesday, July 31st. Becca and I will hang out there for 2 days until her flight leaves for the US and I’ll take a bus back to Trujillo for another month of teaching. All in all it should be really good. Everyone I’ve talked to says that Machu Picchu is just breathtaking. We’re going to try to climb the mountain there too. Hopefully I’ll manage to hang onto my camera and take a lot of pictures.
Most of the summer crew is leaving over the course of the next week. Chase and I will be the only summer people staying through August. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing right now, probably just because I’m so sad to see them all go. Maybe I’m a little jealous that they all get to reunite with their families and friends back home so soon. I still have so much reading I wanted to do this summer. Maybe someday I’ll finish Anna Karenina. I expected to have so much down time but the opposite has been true!
Okay more to come later...
I taught Basic 9 and Intermediate 4 this month. I went out to eat with my Basic 9 class on Monday night and we’re going out again for Chifa tonight after the exam. Chifa is the wonderful blend of Peruvian and Chinese food. The best part about Chifa is the names of the restaurants. They’re all over town. The one I walk by to go to SALI is called “Heng Lung”. Becca and I ate at Fuk Hou on Sunday night.
Tomorrow night we’re leaving for Cuzco. We’ll take the fancy night bus (the seats fold down completely flat!) to Lima and then take a flight Friday morning to Cuzco. We’ll stay at a few different hostels and see Machu Picchu on Sunday morning (taking the 5:30 am train to get to it). The 28th of July is Peru’s independence day and they get pretty into it, so hopefully that won’t hinder our travels too much. We’ll spend 2 days in Cuzco and head back to Lima on Tuesday, July 31st. Becca and I will hang out there for 2 days until her flight leaves for the US and I’ll take a bus back to Trujillo for another month of teaching. All in all it should be really good. Everyone I’ve talked to says that Machu Picchu is just breathtaking. We’re going to try to climb the mountain there too. Hopefully I’ll manage to hang onto my camera and take a lot of pictures.
Most of the summer crew is leaving over the course of the next week. Chase and I will be the only summer people staying through August. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing right now, probably just because I’m so sad to see them all go. Maybe I’m a little jealous that they all get to reunite with their families and friends back home so soon. I still have so much reading I wanted to do this summer. Maybe someday I’ll finish Anna Karenina. I expected to have so much down time but the opposite has been true!
Okay more to come later...
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
welcome to peru
First I would like to say congratulations again to a very close friend on her happy news! Even though I’m all the way down here, I’m still sharing in your joy and excitement! It makes me so happy to think of you so happy.
On the other hand, I seem to be on a “less healthy” streak. It’s nothing serious, but I’ve had quite a few migraines since I’ve been here and I currently have a head-cold of sorts. Either it’s a bad cold or my allergy medicine just decided to stop working. The headaches are probably stress related because it seems that I am stressed out no matter my circumstances. Here’s a lovely little example: Friday afternoon I was finishing making my tests (that I needed about 2 hours later to give to my classes) and I simply could not get the new Microsoft Word 2007 to stop making these random lines in the middle of the page. The back button wouldn’t undo anything and I couldn’t for the life of my get rid of the stupid lines across my test for quite a while. After a while I stood up and walked away from the computer and I was really losing it. I sat down again because we were about to start a meeting, and tried a few more times and then there I am, crying at my computer because I couldn’t erase the lines across my test. Poor Matt sitting next to me. He was really nice about it, of course, but I just get so worked up over nothing. It really is a problem, and more likely a symptom of a deeper problem. In any event, I would really appreciate prayer for my health and that I wouldn’t be so stressed out all the time.
WARNING: only continue reading if you are bored, and care to understand the culture and inefficiency here in Peru.
Saturday Becca and I walked all around Trujillo. I had hoped our two errands would take about 4 hours (making allowances for the terrible inefficiency down here) but it actually took us from 12:30 to 7:30 to accomplish our small tasks. First we looked for fabric to bring to the tailor to have pants made. That was quite a fiasco. We didn’t find what we wanted in the town center so we went out to one of the 3 major (underground economy) malls to see what they had. Becca found some really nice alpaca wool for khakis. By this time, it’s already about 2:30ish. I found some really nice navy wool for a blazer, but I want to make sure I know a good tailor before I invest in that because it’ll be pricey. Our next task was to find some tea light candles for the coffee house on Thursday night since Becca and I are in charge of decorations. How hard can it be to find candles in a city of about 1 million people? I had asked a Peruvian friend earlier in the week where candles could be found and she told me in Zona Franca so to Zona Franca we went. She had told me the second floor of the mall so we started there. We looked around, and not finding any, asked someone who worked there where candles are sold. He told us the 3rd floor. On the third floor we didn’t find any either so we asked again. She told us on the 4th floor. So we went to the 4th floor, and another lady told us we could find them on the second floor. In truth, no one had any idea where there were candles, and just keep naming random floors! Finally one lady suggested El Virey, another shopping mall across the street. We went there and finally found candles in a window display! But alas, what a cruel joke- the store was closed. We thought that perhaps it had closed for siesta and decided to come back at 4. By this time it was already 3:30 so we thought it was worth waiting. As we wondered around the third floor of the mall, we saw a place to get manicures and decided we’d go back there and get manicures (for only 5 soles) while we waited as soon as we checked for other candle stores. We poked in a few other stores. I bought a really cute cream skirt with blue flowers on it that I am currently wearing as I write this. But when we wanted to go back to get manicures and candles, we couldn’t find the store! This may seem hard to believe, because we ourselves were bewildered, but we walked around the third floor of El Virey for at least 30 minutes. All the shop owners laughed at us as we walked by them for the 5th or 6th time. The way these malls are laid out is so confusing- none of the stores have signs and they’re so small. Finally we gave up and bought expensive tea light candles from the Indian store. We were both exhausted.
We took a cab to one of our favorite cafes and had a late lunch/early dinner. On the TV in the café they were announcing the Seven New Wonders of the World. Everyone was watching to see if Machu Picchu would win. When they announced it (in English) Becca yelled out “Machu Picchu” and everyone cheered! It’s funny how when you’re in public when events happen, you feel a sudden camaraderie with complete strangers around you. It was exciting to be with a bunch of Peruvians when the announcement was made. I will say though, that if you watched the ceremony, you’d think Peruvians don’t know how to wear suits. All the other countries had their representatives wear suits (the Indian representative did wear more traditional clothing but they actually still wear those) but the Peruvian guy looked like he stepped right out of The Emperor’s New Groove. Please don’t think Peruvians don’t know how to wear suits- they may not be very nice suits, but plenty of people are wearing them.
We stopped in one more fabric store and after a bit of difficulty, I bought some grey fabric. Then, with Sara, we went to the tailor on the other side of town. It took at least an hour and a half to tell the tailor about the 4 pairs of pants that we wanted between the three of us and get our measurements taken. By the time we got back to SALI, I was ready to crash. Thus it was another relaxing Saturday here in Peru.
Sunday night I went to Teresa's house for tea. The tea was tasty but not very hot, and we ate saltines with a little jelly on them (which is actually quite good). It amazes me how different the 'middle class' of Peru is from the middle class in America. I think Teresa would be considered middle class. She is one of 7 siblings and lives in a decent neighborhood. The lighting inside the main room consists of a few exposed light bulbs. The floor is cement (compared to the "poor" people's dirt floors). There are a few chairs arranged for chatting, a big table with more chairs, and a nice cabinet with tea cups inside. That was it though. The walls are bare white cement. There are no interior doors that I could see, only openings. I've been in other houses that do have wooden doors though, or curtains. What amazes me is that having known Teresa for a while now, and she always looks so cute with her straight leg jeans and tacos (high heels), I was somehow unprepared to believe that she lives with so little. Compared to plenty of people she isn't poor, but if she lived in that sort of house in America, everyone would consider her impoverished. She's the first generation in her family to go to university. Teresa and I walk around Wichanzao (the poorest part of Trujillo) every Thursday to visit the women in the microfinance program. Last Thursday we visited Bertha, who makes cakes out of her home. She watches her grandson while her daughter works two jobs and goes to school every day from about 5 am until late at night. They had a packed down dirt floor and probably half of their belongings around the room we sat in. Once you get past the material differences though, everyone here in Peru has the same basic human needs as we do in the US. However, when you are hungry and tired from working all day, everyday, your mind probably dwells more on immediate problems than the more abstract.
We are so blessed in America. I love America for its efficiency, but am frustrated by its selfish luxury. The southerners down here keep reminding me that Connecticut is both the richest state, and the one that gives the least to charity.
On the other hand, I seem to be on a “less healthy” streak. It’s nothing serious, but I’ve had quite a few migraines since I’ve been here and I currently have a head-cold of sorts. Either it’s a bad cold or my allergy medicine just decided to stop working. The headaches are probably stress related because it seems that I am stressed out no matter my circumstances. Here’s a lovely little example: Friday afternoon I was finishing making my tests (that I needed about 2 hours later to give to my classes) and I simply could not get the new Microsoft Word 2007 to stop making these random lines in the middle of the page. The back button wouldn’t undo anything and I couldn’t for the life of my get rid of the stupid lines across my test for quite a while. After a while I stood up and walked away from the computer and I was really losing it. I sat down again because we were about to start a meeting, and tried a few more times and then there I am, crying at my computer because I couldn’t erase the lines across my test. Poor Matt sitting next to me. He was really nice about it, of course, but I just get so worked up over nothing. It really is a problem, and more likely a symptom of a deeper problem. In any event, I would really appreciate prayer for my health and that I wouldn’t be so stressed out all the time.
WARNING: only continue reading if you are bored, and care to understand the culture and inefficiency here in Peru.
Saturday Becca and I walked all around Trujillo. I had hoped our two errands would take about 4 hours (making allowances for the terrible inefficiency down here) but it actually took us from 12:30 to 7:30 to accomplish our small tasks. First we looked for fabric to bring to the tailor to have pants made. That was quite a fiasco. We didn’t find what we wanted in the town center so we went out to one of the 3 major (underground economy) malls to see what they had. Becca found some really nice alpaca wool for khakis. By this time, it’s already about 2:30ish. I found some really nice navy wool for a blazer, but I want to make sure I know a good tailor before I invest in that because it’ll be pricey. Our next task was to find some tea light candles for the coffee house on Thursday night since Becca and I are in charge of decorations. How hard can it be to find candles in a city of about 1 million people? I had asked a Peruvian friend earlier in the week where candles could be found and she told me in Zona Franca so to Zona Franca we went. She had told me the second floor of the mall so we started there. We looked around, and not finding any, asked someone who worked there where candles are sold. He told us the 3rd floor. On the third floor we didn’t find any either so we asked again. She told us on the 4th floor. So we went to the 4th floor, and another lady told us we could find them on the second floor. In truth, no one had any idea where there were candles, and just keep naming random floors! Finally one lady suggested El Virey, another shopping mall across the street. We went there and finally found candles in a window display! But alas, what a cruel joke- the store was closed. We thought that perhaps it had closed for siesta and decided to come back at 4. By this time it was already 3:30 so we thought it was worth waiting. As we wondered around the third floor of the mall, we saw a place to get manicures and decided we’d go back there and get manicures (for only 5 soles) while we waited as soon as we checked for other candle stores. We poked in a few other stores. I bought a really cute cream skirt with blue flowers on it that I am currently wearing as I write this. But when we wanted to go back to get manicures and candles, we couldn’t find the store! This may seem hard to believe, because we ourselves were bewildered, but we walked around the third floor of El Virey for at least 30 minutes. All the shop owners laughed at us as we walked by them for the 5th or 6th time. The way these malls are laid out is so confusing- none of the stores have signs and they’re so small. Finally we gave up and bought expensive tea light candles from the Indian store. We were both exhausted.
We took a cab to one of our favorite cafes and had a late lunch/early dinner. On the TV in the café they were announcing the Seven New Wonders of the World. Everyone was watching to see if Machu Picchu would win. When they announced it (in English) Becca yelled out “Machu Picchu” and everyone cheered! It’s funny how when you’re in public when events happen, you feel a sudden camaraderie with complete strangers around you. It was exciting to be with a bunch of Peruvians when the announcement was made. I will say though, that if you watched the ceremony, you’d think Peruvians don’t know how to wear suits. All the other countries had their representatives wear suits (the Indian representative did wear more traditional clothing but they actually still wear those) but the Peruvian guy looked like he stepped right out of The Emperor’s New Groove. Please don’t think Peruvians don’t know how to wear suits- they may not be very nice suits, but plenty of people are wearing them.
We stopped in one more fabric store and after a bit of difficulty, I bought some grey fabric. Then, with Sara, we went to the tailor on the other side of town. It took at least an hour and a half to tell the tailor about the 4 pairs of pants that we wanted between the three of us and get our measurements taken. By the time we got back to SALI, I was ready to crash. Thus it was another relaxing Saturday here in Peru.
Sunday night I went to Teresa's house for tea. The tea was tasty but not very hot, and we ate saltines with a little jelly on them (which is actually quite good). It amazes me how different the 'middle class' of Peru is from the middle class in America. I think Teresa would be considered middle class. She is one of 7 siblings and lives in a decent neighborhood. The lighting inside the main room consists of a few exposed light bulbs. The floor is cement (compared to the "poor" people's dirt floors). There are a few chairs arranged for chatting, a big table with more chairs, and a nice cabinet with tea cups inside. That was it though. The walls are bare white cement. There are no interior doors that I could see, only openings. I've been in other houses that do have wooden doors though, or curtains. What amazes me is that having known Teresa for a while now, and she always looks so cute with her straight leg jeans and tacos (high heels), I was somehow unprepared to believe that she lives with so little. Compared to plenty of people she isn't poor, but if she lived in that sort of house in America, everyone would consider her impoverished. She's the first generation in her family to go to university. Teresa and I walk around Wichanzao (the poorest part of Trujillo) every Thursday to visit the women in the microfinance program. Last Thursday we visited Bertha, who makes cakes out of her home. She watches her grandson while her daughter works two jobs and goes to school every day from about 5 am until late at night. They had a packed down dirt floor and probably half of their belongings around the room we sat in. Once you get past the material differences though, everyone here in Peru has the same basic human needs as we do in the US. However, when you are hungry and tired from working all day, everyday, your mind probably dwells more on immediate problems than the more abstract.
We are so blessed in America. I love America for its efficiency, but am frustrated by its selfish luxury. The southerners down here keep reminding me that Connecticut is both the richest state, and the one that gives the least to charity.
Monday, July 2, 2007
note to self: go to a L'Abri
Last night at the Ferguson's, Brian told us about how he studied at the L'Abri in Massachusetts for a few weeks a few years ago. I decided this might be a really good idea. If you don't know what it is, check out their website http://www.labri.org/ . Basically it's a Christian study center for people with questions (both Christians and seekers) where you study for a few hours each day from their big library and extensive collection of recorded sermons. You also do chores for a few hours a day, and the rest of the time is spent talking and eating with the other people there. As soon as he mentioned it, I decided it was something I'd like to try. There is one in Southborough, Mass, and also one in southern Sweden... so maybe I'll try to go to the Swedish one in the spring or the Mass one when I get back next summer.
Today has been very relaxing. I didn't get out of bed until 12 because I didn't feel very well, but now I feel better. I'm starting to get excited about Sweden- not that it's all that soon but it's on the horizon.
Today has been very relaxing. I didn't get out of bed until 12 because I didn't feel very well, but now I feel better. I'm starting to get excited about Sweden- not that it's all that soon but it's on the horizon.
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