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Published: February 20th 2006
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Lima
My one day in Lima Sat Feb 19
I feel terrible that I haven’t done a very good job staying in touch with everybody. The internet guy WAS here and left a note, but of course no one was home, and then we stayed home till 6:30 last night, and he didn’t come. I did go down to the shelter this morning to use their computer, but the internet connection wasn’t working. It’s just awful because we really have no idea when he is coming. He just comes when he gets around to it. If you think waiting from 9-12 or 2-5 for the cable guy is bad…..and it bothers me the most because I think of you all the time and I can’t read my email from you. Tomorrow Thijs is buying a second computer for the school, and I hope that will motivate him to hunt that internet guy down.
We had a pretty eventful day, well afternoon actually, because I worked all morning. Theijs made a deal with me that he would do my laundry if I would work on the curriculum. So he was up there on the roof scrubbing my jeans on a washboard while I typed away. A woman who also teaches English, but at another school (also all volunteers) came over and helped me for a long time. I never knew how much I don’t know about the English language. For example, the adverb “do”. Take this sentence- I do not paint houses. In Spanish it roughly translates to - No paint houses, because they often leave the first pronoun off, and the word “do” does not exist. So, how do you explain the function of the word “do” to people that don’t use it in their language? It’s all very complicated.
In the afternoon, four of us went to this sort of a park/fairgrounds place about 10 or 15 miles out into the country. First we all squeezed into a mototaxi to the edge of town, and then squashed on a VW van with about 15 other people for the rest of the way. These vans are the standard transportation besides mototaxis. Then we wound down a switchback mountain road, mostly praying no one was coming the other way, but laying on the horn at every turn just in case. When we were close to the sheer drop-offs, I said to my neighbor, “I can’t look.”, and she said (duh) “Well, don’t”. Really, I am not exaggerating. And then, if you think that’s bad, we left the paved road and drove on this muddy dirt path with big holes in it for another mile or two. FINALLY we reached our destination, down on the floor of a valley, surrounded all around by spectacular mountain views. There was a long dirt path alongside a stream, and on the other side of the path were thatched huts and small ramshackle buildings, with picnic tables around, mostly with thatched roofs over them. There were small fields between the trees where adults and children were playing soccer and volleyball, and lots of very loud music. I guess it’s a way some people here spend their Sunday afternoons. Much to my surprise, a woman came up to take our dinner order! Apparently, in some of these small buildings, there was a lot of cooking going on! I had no idea we were having dinner, but I was glad, because I was starving. I had my first “trucho” (fresh trout) and also my first local beer, Cervezo Cristal. The beer came in a giant bottle- everybody laughed when the waiter came with those beers and my eyes opened wide! I try SO hard not to just walk everywhere with my mouth hanging open, but it is hard! The trout was delicious, and the beer was not so bad either. The beer was 4 soles, about $1.25, and the trout dinner was 7 soles, I think, about $2.15. When we finished, we went for a long walk along the stream, and a good time was had by all. There were two things about it that weren’t good- one, the poor people weaving in and out among the picnickers/hikers, begging and trying to sell candy and trinkets, and two, I am always thinking I wish you all could see this too. I’m sure the pictures won’t do it justice, if ever I get any posted. I did give in to one little girl and bought some candy. It’s so awful, we have so much, and they have nothing. She sat with us for a while- I think she was pretty tired, and we talked with her. She was 9 years old, with 5 brothers and sisters. She doesn’t go to school at all. She was cute as a button, but I think a little slow, or not quite normal. The other teachers I was with thought she might have been a fetal alcohol syndrome baby- they have certain characteristics you can recognize. On the way out, there was a little boy begging who couldn’t have been more than 3. (Oops, there goes another marching band by, and it must be 8 o’clock at night.) When I saw that little boy, I thought about Matthew. It just breaks your heart.
As the sun was beginning to get low in the sky, we looked for a van back, and found one right away. We again squeezed in 16 (I counted ‘em), and stopped along the way back and picked up another guy with 6 or 7 crates of cactus fruit. The driver climbed up on the roof, and the rider handed him up the crates, the rider got on the bus (standing, which is not easy on a VW bus) and off we went. We drove back through some pretty sad parts of town, dirt, trash all over, falling down buildings, etc. Where the driver let us off wasn’t exactly Fifth Avenue. It was the first time since I got here that I felt a little nervous, but we had 6 foot Thijs with us, and nobody bothered us. It was a long walk home, up 3 flights of stairs, and a fourth to get my laundry down!
I am always thinking of things during the day to tell you, and forgetting them when I get “home”. Like when we were dropped off at the “fairgrounds” today, the driver tried to charge everybody 1.5 soles, instead of 1 sole, the usual fare. Thijs got mad and dragged us off without paying, which I felt terrible about, but he said that’s what you have to do to keep him from ripping everybody off. Of course, I’m thinking to myself, that’s 50 cents instead of 30 cents, we should just give it to the poor guy, but I really didn’t understand what was happening since couldn’t understand what was being said.
I know these entries get a little long, but there is so much to say! I want you all to share in it with me. By the time I get this on the website, it is going to be a book!
I miss you all-
Hugs and kisses
Kathy
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Daun
non-member comment
How exciting!
Ola! I've been anxiously awaiting an email from you- I totally forgot about your blog! Tonight I remembered and read your entries. It sounds like you are having a great time! The market sounds awesome-I'd like a picture of you cooking that chicken you purchased- better yet, eating it! I miss you- keep writing! Love, Daun