Post-Peru..... 5 months later...

More and more do I realize how much I love speaking spanish.

It was strange returning to the States-everyone was speaking english and I was really confused:p. on the plane ride back I Successfully cried for 2 straight hours from cusco to Lima as these two understanding Canadians sat beside me and made me feel less of a loser. Looking back now, and realizing shortly after I gathered my senses, I concluded that the quick and rushed “good byes” I was forced to give while departing my beloved Spanish family was for my best. You see, I was there for roughly three months….. They didn’t tell me that two months previous to my departure that my flight had been switched to an earlier time!!! To make a long story short:

-Martha said, “ I have a funny feeling we need to get their early”

-we convinced the taxi driver to let us fit 8 people PLUS my luggage in one taxi for 5

-we showed up WAY early and no one was there.

-checked in, gave the desk attendants a heart attack as they screamed at me, “YOUR FLIGHT IS READY FOR DEPARTURE RIGHT NOW!”

-so…. My family and I hugged and kissed good bye as tears streamed down each one of our faces as I and the airport workers dragged my stuff to my gate!

-plus side, I have NEVER gone through security that quickly in my life! They just said, “just go just go!!!”

So yes, that was how I said goodbye to my family. It was already hard enough I feel as if the quick and sudden goodbye helped in the long run.

Sorry to back track on you there…. that’s jus the way my brain words :p jeje

Jumping ahead.

OH MY GOSH I ACCOMPLISHED A GOAL OF MINE!!!

You know when you are in a different country or area where people are speaking a different language that you just happen to know and they look at you and speak English? And then when speaking to them in that language they continue to speak English to you?

Ok… this can only mean one of two things:

1- they really want to practice their English

Or

2- your really not that good at the language and its easier to speak to them in (insert native language here). Sorry, that’s just the truth.

WELL my whole life (meaning in reality the last 5 years or so) I have always tried speaking Spanish to people in hopes that they would speak Spanish back. They never did. They just looked at me and some told me jus to speak English b/c it was easier. Bah. :p

This time though, as the flight attendant approached me, I was mid conversation with an elder women from Lima when she went to hand me a “citizen of Peru formy thing” when she had to stop think about it, then ask me If I was American. SCORE! She instinctively switched to English so I did what I always do in those situations, I continued to speak to her in Spanish ;). Sometimes, it takes a couple back and forths, but this time, it was instant. I said but a few words ands she switched right back to Spanish. Win.

When arriving at JFK I was still in Spanish mode, of course, and was speaking in Spanish to all the guards and customs people in Spanish. I don’t know about others, but I feel really pleased when the American security guards ask if I can speak English ;)

My beautiful mother and Mr. Mike Bonn picked me up and I then ventured home for a brief 5 days before heading back to school for my Senior and final year at SUNY Fredonia. (totally denial)

The fall semester was a bitter sweet as I was enrolled in four upper level 400 Spanish classes. Thought it took some getting used to switching between languages so often, I gave up most of the time and just spoke in Spanish since that was the language I am usually thinking in anyways. ;)

I lived with my 6 closest girlfriends and roomed with one of the most treasured people I could have ever prayed into my life.

Ever since I was a little girl, mi abuelito, Ahada, used to call me chatterbox. He always said the reason as to why I sleep talk was because there just simply wasn’t enough hours in the day! (thanks Ahada-da!)

Apparently, according to Heather, I no longer carry on conversations with myself or order strange foods in English….. Thats right…. I now sleep talk in Spanish. Baha! I cant help it!

I have realized now that when I pray or do homework in Spanish before sleep, that obviously gets me thinking in Spanishà dream in Spanishà sleep talk… in Spanish. I think its pretty cool. Its just no one knows what I am saying ;).

This semester (spring 2011) I am only taking 2 Spanish classes, which saddens me greatly, buttttt I talk to my host family just about every other day. Most of the time we msn chat but occasionally we video chat so I can practice and of course see their beautiful faces! My siblings are trying to visit me if not next summer the one after that. Unfortunately, visiting the US is much more expensive than visiting south America :x.

It brings be such joy to know that there are several students interested and going to Peru this summer because of the program that I was able to introduce to Fredonia! One of them is a friend and classmate Andrea who will hopefully be staying with my family! So exciting!

Where do I stand now?

I have concluded a few things after processing for quite some time:

1- like most people have hobbys or passions such as playing the guitar, basketball, knitting, ect…… My passion-is Spanish. Its different you see when your passion is a language. Its all communicative. You can invite your non-athletic friend to come play Frisbee and have a great time but its difficult to truly share language with others when they cant speak or understand it.

This leads to my second part of #1.… we’ll call it 1 ½

1 ½ - its not just Spanish but I am obsessed with ALL LANGUAGES! This explains why I love being in other countries so much so often because lets face it: I love being the only white chick in a group of people. I love mimicking, learning, and experiencing different languages and cultures. I adapt so quickly to them.

2- That God is gracious beyond my understanding. I wish I could trly capture how gracious He is. They best way I can is this:

1- look at the cross and think about what He did, and

2“Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.” -Isaiah 30:18.

Also- that the sufficiency of Christ is beyond any strength us mere human beings could come up with on our own. How great, how loving, how good, how faithful is my God. (whom, I fall more madly in love with as each day passes by).

I hope to return to Peru to visit my family, but as previously posted, I have no desire to return there again. I am exciting to see where God leads me next and will patiently await His calling. God bless and peace be with you all. Cuidate-abrazos-besitos.

8 de Augosto 2010

Where do I begin.

So to catch up for the past few weeks. I went machu pichu (pics are up on face book FINALLY) chilled with some llamas, ate some berry skittles that were far too over priced, but when you crave berry skittles….

After 9 long yet short weeks of classes I have finally had a week in a half to relax and plan my classes in color in my calendar for next semesterJ its strange how much satisfaction and enjoyment I get out of organizing :p I have enjoyed taking history classes here about south america and Peru because I now enjoy and appreciate the places I visit because I have learned and understand the importance of the andian Culture. Machu pichu was break taking. I believe it to be a time when you can attempt to take photos but the camera, no matter now fancy shmancy or expensive, doesn’t do it any justice. There were a lot of tourists there…. But I explored off with this boy named Tom and we got away from the crowd to enjoy the beautiful ruins from a higher elevation.

I was successfully yelled at on 4 different occasion for one, sitting too close to an edge; 2- sitting too close to another ledge ( people need to just let me be and stop being afraid of heights!); 3- for throwing my apple core off a high clift down thousands of feet into a forest where there are no people. “chica, muy muy mala” tards…. , and 4-for climbing on top of this cool wall rock thing to take a sweet foto! ( I guess I deserved that one).

Went gift shopping all week and hung out with friends during the evening. Oh, and watched a few disney movies in Spanish. Gosh I love cloudy with a change of meat balls!

Last weekend I went to Manu national park.

For those who don’t know ( I didn’t before so don’t feel like a tard if you don’t) it’s THE JUNGLE! Oh yea! So let me tell you about my trip: (please do Jenna)

So as 5:00am approached I gathered my things, grabbed my back pack and a bread roll, and hopped in a van that would take me 6 hours south to Manu. The ride was bumpy but I was with two of my chicas from Madrid, Spain and they made the trip quite enjoyable. The first place we stopped was at a hidden lodge buried deep within the jungle trees that required climbing up lard stone steps to get to the entrance.

Lets review….

I love peru, and I don’t mind Cusco, but goodness was it a praise and a relief to be out in the middle of the jungle with nothing but fresh air, giant trees, funny looking birds, and the sound of rushing water as it poured over softly moss covered rocks.

As you can imagine, the first thing I did was venture out and sat next to this waterfall for a solid 30 min and just-----s-a-t. nothing else. I just sat there, and was still. Still before the water, still beneath the trees, and still before the God that created it all.

Dinner was amazing and as we headed back to our mosquito netted covered beds I praised God that I had remembered to bring an entire roll of soft wonderful toilet paper ;).

When in Peru, South America, and especially the jungle, you NEVER want to leave home without toilet paper or tissues. Just a tip for those who dare to travel in the future ;)

Early we rose the next morning as ham filled omelets and hot tea awaited us at homey picnic tables as the sun began to shine through the deep jungle trees. We were to leave around 8am to journey deeper into the jungle to where we would meet a boat that would take us to our second location.

Fortunately we were able to get out of the stuffed vans and walk in the wilderness for an hour or so. How nice it was to walk without cars buzzing by or the sounds of business on either side. We met a long skinny boat ( they look like the boats in Italy- but jungle/Peruvian style!) and got to see the jungle from the shore. After arriving at one of the islands, we went rafting for 2 hours and got to swim! How refreshing and dearly missed!

After rafting we headed back to the island to explore the trails for different types of birds, and then by nightfall, ventured out with flashlights to discover all the different sizes and ugliness of insects :p The next morning we were woken at 5:20 to leave by 5:40 to get to another island by 6am to watch Macaws in their natural habitat. I borrowed a really nice pair of binoculars from a lovely Peruvian couple and noticed that macaws are actually quite large parrot type birds. They fly around over head to investigate the ground beneath for predators, then fly back and land on the side of the bluffs to eat of of soil. They do this because they are receiving salt and nutrients from the soil that is excellent for their fitness and apparently, sweet to the taste!

Today was a fun day. After watching birds all morning and learning random facts about giant jungle ants and how the natives eat them (after frying the first of course), we headed back for breakfast to equip us with the energy that we would need for the long day ahead.: jungle hike, zip lining through the trees at least 80 feet from the ground (yahoo!!!), vine swinging, swimming, futbol on the beach, swimming again, mud fight, other island for more trails and I got to stear this cool boat thing that was pretty much sinking ( it was awesome) some a giant ginny pig for got the name but it swims and eats plants, shower, dinner, fiesta!!!!!, played in the rain, went to bed early (because im boring I guess ; p ) then left for home the next morning. We had a totally of 4 FLAT TIRES but hey, when things don’t go according to plan, you just grab a coke and chill because you have no where else to be. The germans were angry but the stars were out so I couldn’t complain J it took us 12 hours versus 8 hrs to get home but lucky for us, we left at 8 so I go to bed around 9:30ish. It was a wonderful trip:0)

I ALMOST FORGOT!

I saw two monkeys! And they were in a tree, not enclosed in fences in the zoo ;) they were black and super cute. Ok. that’s it.

It is late Friday night and before writing this I went to fiesta at my friends apt since many people, including myself, are leaving this week/weekend.

Im pretty sure im in denial about leaving, and my family here is as well. It is going to be hard and I am trying to pretend that the dreadful reality of me leaving in 5 days isn’t really happening. As my host mom keeps saying, “Wednesday doesn’t exist. We can just call you mom and tell her that you are going to stay here with us.” *break my heart* its going to be VERY hard leaving my siblings and my host mom here. I guess this is the Lord just continuing to prepare me since I now consider myself having 4 homes: Lake Luzerne, Fredonia, Peru, and Haiti. I love Peru, but what I love more is how confirming it is that the Lord has called me to spend at least a little more time in Haiti. I don’t know when, when He sends me-my prayer is that I will be ready and willing, humble and obedient. Peru, I hope to experience all that I can in my remaining 5 days. Buenas noches. -besos

19-7-10

I have 3 weeks left and I don’t know where the time went. I am finding it harder and harder to type in English and think grammatically while speaking….English….yea….

I am now in my last class, which is literature and I have to give a powerpoint presentation next Tuesday and write a final 5 page paper and present it in front of all of my professors and the head of my school :x *gulp* I am having such a difficult time deciding on a topic.

As of the past few weeks my old project has ended and a new one has begun. I am teaching a sweet little 4 yr English everyday from 4-5 and I love it! Today we practiced colors and counting with trix cereal… hmmm tasty!!!

So I am finally going to machu pitchu this weekend :P it only took me 2 months to get there.

I miss my friends and family very much but am dreading leaving and saying bye to my family, friends, and professors here in peru. But I am excited to live with my crazies when I return and am ready to take on my last year of college! Oh why oh why does the time go by so quickly?

Humm…. Yea… not much is new here. Classes, gym, teaching, chilling, making fun of cheesy shows…. Yup that’s about it! Peace out girl scouts :p

oh ps- i am goign to the jungle soon. idk when yet. i think next week? :) maybe i can met a monkey! :p.... mom joke chow and besos!!!

9-7-10

I have concluded that I am the worst at this blog thing….

Last weekend went to lake Titikaka and it was INCREDIBLE! Where do I start….

After classes on Friday we had lunch then headed on a 7 hr bus ride to puno. So God story!!! I got to talk with the girl next to me about Christ for prob 3 hours!!! I don’t even remember how it started but God was working in so many ways. I opened my Bible to show her who God was and why it is that Jesus is the only way to the Father and she wanted me to keep reading!!!! So we went through parts of the Word together and it was so blessedJ She then asked me why Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and why God waited so long to set Jesus…. Yea…. And so on ;P it was incredible!

We got to puno and stayed in a snazzy hotel! It had the cleanest bathroom I have ever seen in my life! So shiny! :p the next day after our complementary breakfast of delicious fruit, yogurt and granola, and tea y juice ;);) we jumped on a boat and headed to the floating islands! It was amazing! So this is the way it works:

There are 5 families that live on one of these Islands and they go to work and school by boat each day (hand made boats) we stayed there for part of the day learning about the history of the island and then we got to dress up in their traditional wear and it was so much fun! Bright colors and tiny hats…. It was great! J

Oh… I almost forgot… I am going to live there. They have huts made out of bamboo type stuff :p I took lots of pics and exploredJ and I played with these two adorable kids the whole time! It was wonderful. Then we jumped back on the boat and traveled for a few hours to the second island named Amantani there we met the other host family we would be staying with for the evening. We had lunch, relaxed for a while, then hiked this ridiculous mountain where the view was breath taking… oh yea, I forgot to mention that there is no electricity on the islandJ so when the sun when down and the starts came out… yea, enough said. ;) we then hiked back down, ate some delicious dinner from our host parents then they dressed us up in their traditional clothing and we went out dancing for a few hours!!! Man are those Spanish women strong! My host mother was wippin me around like nobodies business! We then woke up at 6 am, ate some breakfast, then got back on the boat to go to the next island Taquile. There we hiked again until we got to the plaza, went on another tour of the island, ate at this delicious restaurant that overlooked the island, then got back on the boat to return to Puno. We had 6 hours to waste in Puno, so, we did what ever good tourist does-ate lots of food and bought souvenirs. :p we then got on the bus and headed 7 hours home. We all had classes at 8:30am that same morning and we got back at 4. It wasn’t that bad having a few hours of sleep but I wouldn’t recommend it too often ;).

Taylor and I joined a gym that’s 2 min walking from my house so that’s awesome! Its so ghetto, but hey it works! And its nice because we go when there is only one other person there. J finished up my last week of indigenous culture with Erwincito (my professor) and oh! We went on a field trip and the other students In my class got their “futures” read by a women who was a “watuq y Wikch’uq”. Basically, people goes to these people who practice traditional medicine for cures and also for receiving their future plans. What happens is you buy a bad of coca leaves and then she puts them in this bowl and reads them and such. I don’t know how it works exactly because I didn’t do it, but that’s what the other students and my homework said.

Oh the bus ride home I got to talk to Gillian about Jesus! Yay God! She asked why the heck I didn’t do it and I explained that my Lord specifically talks about not getting involved with those kinds of things because they can be very real and deceptive and it opened up for a wonderful half an hour conversation.

Friday night was 6 of my friends last night in Cusco so we did what all should do on their last night in a foreign country---- went out on the town! We met up and there were about 15 of us and we just danced the night away. I love salsa dancing! And I love salsa dancing with Spanish men who know how to lead and really wip ya around ;) :p jaja oh sick-but its true. Oh! Amy, DanI, and I got our eyes all painted in this glitter junk and it was intense, but hey it was free!!! :p

This weekend was me just bumming around, watching the last final two partidos para futbol and spending some good catch up time in the Word.

I just want to end this post with a quote that I have been learning the hard way:

“We may be seeking for our growth in a more diligent use of the means of grace, and a more earnest striving to live in accordance with God’s will, and yet entirely fail. The reason is, that there is a secret root of evil which must be removed. That root is the spirit of bondage, the legal spirit of self-effort, which hinders that humble faith that knows that God will work all, and yields to Him to do it.” -Andrew Murray

27-6-10

Well I have concluded that I STINK at keeping blog posts:p. so I will attempt to summarize up the last weekJ

So I started my second class! I’m studying indigenous cultures currently and learning a little bit of Quetchwa ;) (the native language of the Incas). Since Cusco is so close to THE famous Machu pitchu, it is not only a hot spot for tourists (sick) but also right in the middle of the Incan culture.

So I have been really enjoying learning quechua, one because its so cool! And two… bc I always talk to the taxi drivers and they get so excited when they learn that I am not only studying Spanish, but quechua too!!! They ALWAYS teach me new words or phrases in quechua….and, sometimes, give me a discount;P yay for being friendly and talkative! I guess it plays out sometimes… when your in peru….and learning quechua …..yea. :D jajaja!

Kelsey left and I’m super bummed:/ School just wont be the same without her wonderful loud, bubbly, and joyful personality, and of course, her love for Christ. J butttt I will survive and am praying that the Lord brings another Christian friend to my school (please Lord!!! -pray request for those who don’t mind ;) )

On Saturday we (the fam) brought whit and kinds to the airport ( my two American sisters) and man…. It was hard! I couldn’t believe that the first month flew by and they were already on their way back to the states….where its summer!!! Eeeeee!!!!

OH! So qui (ginny pig) was ok, but oh man…… a bunch of us went out on Friday night b/c it was a few peoples last night in Peru, and I had----- bisteck de alpaca…… steak of---- alpaca! And oh my goodness….. IT WAS FLIPIN DELICIOUS! ( muy rico)! For those who don’t know what alpacas are… think llama but with 237409273409832 times more hair. Yup…. I ate part of one of those, and it was fantastic ;) :p

I finally got to see the kids for my volunteer on Sunday! Oh my word, they are just wonderful! We took this van up to the top of Cusco where those less fortunate live and around 3pm I saw 6 beautiful little girls between the ages of 5-8 run up to me and throw their arms around me before I even told them my name. So, I introduced myself and then two of them grabbed my hands and we ran around the streets gathering all the young kids we could find! My project involves me simply reading and “tutoring” young kids who cant afford books to read or sometimes, an education. We swung by a street corner store and bought some gym ;) ;) they love gum, and then returned back to the steps where we would have our reading time: I returned with 23 wild kids on both sides skipping and chomping on gum:p I guessss you could say I enjoy my project ;) ;) jejej…

Played futbol with nato y chistes today and it was sooooo great to finally be active and kick around the ball. Man I love futbol. Speaking of futbol, usually nato, chistes, and I are inhaling our food during lunch so that we can say “probetcho” and get to the tv to watch the cup! :P I love watching the world cup with a Spanish family J so fun!

I guess I will end this post with this: I have met some incredible people here, mainly my family, and I love them all so much. I totally need to recognize God in thanking Him for giving me such a wonderful opportunity and placing me in a family that has, from the first day, accepted me as one of their own. I cant put into words how much I love this place and new life long friends I will always keep dear to my heart.

# I don’t know, oh 6!

Well I have quite a bit of catching up to do;)
First off, I want to apologize this is so late…. My stupid Microsoft work will only let me view things now b/c the darn thing expired or something… anyways…
Two Sundays ago I finally tried cuy: guinie pig ;) it- was- chewy but I like it! Lol hey I had to, its only the “delicacy” here:P I have before, and after pics ;P
I finished my first class and earned a 91 overall!!!!! YahoO!!!!! Bo-to the yahhhH! Thank groodness(baha) for homework and participation since I got stupid Bs on all my tests :x. but hey, it was hard!!!!
I started countering and its-not what I expected, but I know God will use me there. I only get to see the kids on Saturdays L buttt during the week, we prepare crafts and activities (we being myself and 2 crazy older men!) jajaj!!! They are hilarious and its great bc they usually pick on me and we converse about the world cup and how brazil is the best team ;) ;)
I have been here for three weeks and the time has flown! Classes are every day from 8:30-1 then lunch from 1-2, then volunteer ever-re day from 3:30-5:30, homework/studying until 9ish then bed in time hopefully between 10-10:30! It gets dark here around 5:30 so bedtime couldn’t come soon enough J and believe it or not, I wake up every morning at 6:30 so I can have my shower, devo time and breakfast before I have to leave for class at 8am. ( I know col, its super early, who know?!?!) ;)
This past weekend was a family trip to Abancay so Martha madre, Jossy, Nato, Chistes, y traveled to Abancay because that’s where padre works. Soooo, on the 4 hour swirvey mountain bus ride I was sure to take lots of pics :0 SO amazing- woah!
We had a wonderful weekend: I met more of the fam from the grandparents to tio y tia y sus hijo, Miguel (mikie- como micky mouse: ) who is 5 and ahh! I ahd som uch fun with him! I love kids!!!! Jajaa!
We walked around and oh! I went a mi primero “disco” …. bahhhhhhhh. It was- interesting… haha no it was cool but here in Peru, you always do partner dances, mostly salsa and marange. It was super fun so Jossy, chistes, nato, and I danced the ngiht away… well only until 1 :p. we were tired. All in all, it was a really fun weekend full of futbol, lots of walking, dancing, and some kick butt food!

Oh…. I almost forgot. I now have my siblings saying “sick”………. ;) muhahahahahah!

We are still working on the contest, but they are staring to get it J aweshome!

hummm

so let me tell you what happened....

i typed up all that happened in the last two weeks... WHICH WAS A LOT and then the microfoft windows on my computer decided that it was time to expire
....
so i can read my posts but not copy them over to this dang page!!!!

so until i can either one, figure out how to drag the dang thing over
or two
not be lazy and retype it... i will keep ya'll updated.

they wear shoes all the time here... like... all the time... hum.
thats all for now.