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.

horseback riding!

#5

This week classes were so long. Kels and I had to memorize all the names and dates of the Mexican/Cuban revolution, bios on Fidel and Che, andddd the FMLN and FSNL. Got an 84 on my test… I’ll take it! Haha

Friday we went horseback riding after classes and wow….was it beautiful! There were 10 of us that went; perfect number. I have decided, that I found where I want my house to be and what my transportation will be;);). Once I figure out how to put pics up I will, but boy does my keester hurt today! After that, I went with two of my sisters to this Spanish concert thing. Some local band was playing so we dressed up and went out. It was cold, but totally worth it. Today has been a relaxing day. Reading, playing some guitar(such a good decision to buy that thing down here!) and spending time with my family.

There was a little bit of a mix up concerning the volunteer thing, but I start orientation for a different place on Monday! I don’t start my placement until wed so I will keep ya’ll posted;) the new place is called “biblioteca en la calle” and basically, I will be reading and spending time with kids on the streets of cuzco as well as playing my guitar and singing with the kids. I don’t know about you guys, but this seems much more like me:D.

#4-white water rafting!

Today was prob one of the best days here so far! Starting at 9 am 21 of us traveled 2 hours to where we would white water raft for the dayJ honestly, I thought that waves were going to be a bit bigger, but we made it so much fun! I met lots of new people who were visiting tourists on our trip as well as 8 hilarious Peruvian tour guides that joked and laughed and threw us into cold water! Although the bus ride there and back was super long, it was totally worth seeing the gorgeous mountains and valleys our bus passed through. They served us lunch and we headed home. Oh man, the bus ride back was WILD. Haha! Spanish people sure can drink;) hahaha and they did! It was a giant fiesta and we danced and had fun and sang really old songs at the top of our lungs! Ahhh, muy divertido!. Got home around 7pm, had tea and toast with the fam, then continued the guitar lessons with Renato and Jossy:p I love them so much! Well classes tomorrow morning bright and early at 8:30 am! Buenas noches!

#3

So the concert last night was…. Interesting…BAHAHAHA. We’ll leave it at that ;) This morning I was supposed to go on a hiking trip somewhere with the other American students but i decided I needed some devo. time instead :D I don’t think I can talk about how faithful and good the Lord is. It has been interesting this first week here. Getting used to a new culture, language, society, friends, and family. Every time I travel to a different place or am in a group with people who’s first language is not English, I am constantly reminded that communication and understanding is so important. Language barriers are not the greatest things in the world, but fortunately, God can and does work in more than one way;) :D.

As I have been adjusting, I have been searching to find ways in which I can be a light for Christ here in Peru. Everyone is already so friendly, kind, giving, hospitable, and loving! But alas, the Lord is opening doors starting in my very own home, with the people I am closest with and spend most of my time with. This morning I was interceding for my Peruvian family and asking that God would use me in their lives. As I finished praying for each one by name, not 30 seconds later one of my brothers stuck his head in my door and asked what I was doing. At that point in time, my Bible was wide open and I was in the middle of praying. I told him I was reading my Bible and we talked about it for a little bit. He then told me, in Spanish of course, that it is a secret desire of his to read the Bible and know God. He picked up my Bible and stared looking through it and began asking me some general questions

…..

PRAISE GOD!

I told him that he can join me at any point in time and he said that he’s love too! I think that sometimes we assume that God’s timing is always longer than we want but clearly, it’s sometimes instant. ;)

Went to the black market with my sisters and finally found a cheap guitar and fulbol jersey:D as soon as we got home, my entire family was SO excited that I bought a guitar they make me sing and play for then for the next hour :P so cuteeeee(que bonitaaaa)! Afterwards I was just finger picking(terribly mind you) when two of my sisters moved really close and said, “ohh mannn I want to learn!”…. so I asked them if they would like me to teach them and they excitedly obliged. For the next hour or so Josi, Abbe and I learned the G, C, and D major cords :P. haha they were so cute and asked if they were doing something wrong because their fingers hurt. Jaja. I told them that it’s the sign that they are doing it right:P Later my brother, Renato, I call him (plaga=pest) jajaa came home from classes and then the four of us sat there and learned guitar together! We are going to practice ever-re day…jaja. I teach them guitar, they teach me Spanish!:D it’s a great system;) I am quite excited to see their reactions when its time for me to return to the states and I leave my guitar with them… :] anyways, while I was helping them, I realized that I stink at vocab more that I thought! Sooo Renato stayed up with me for an extra hour teaching me vocab and drawing pictures so I could learn easier!!! Haha hes going to be a professor so I told him that he was good at it and thanked him for having so much patience with me. He replied with” I teach little kids all day how to use computers….so you’re like one of them!”....jajaja I told him one of my nick names was Dory and now he calls me that all the time. That or lenta jenna… which means slow jenna…. Jajajaj!!! It’s a mutual thing. I call him pest or slow renato, he calls me slow jenna… we’re even:p I love that about my whole family. We are always picking on each other! From my 2 brothers to 04 sisters, to my mother and father, we all lovingly joke around. The new family saying is, “broma broma!” which means “joking!” it was a great dayJ

#2 Frist week of classes completed!

I have been in Cuzco for 6 days now and it feels like home away from home. My family is absolutely amazing and it keeps growing! Whittany’s cousin is coming to visit tomorrow so it will be mama, papi, Jossy, Whinnie, Renato, Abbe, whit’s cuz Kindsey, and myself all in one house! Cristes is always over with Renato; especially at night when we have coca de leche (similar to hot chocolate!) Martha(mama) never repeats any food and so far, I have loved every single thing! Usually for breakfast, we have a glass of fresh juiced fruit juice a long with tea and eggs or la ensalada de fruitas, or toast with jam (mermalada). Wow, it is so hard for me to type in English right now since I am usually thinking in spanish :p. I have only been here for 5 days and I feel like my Spanish is improving already! Awesome!!!

Classes started on Monday and the way that it works is that I take one class every three weeks for three credits each. The class I will be taking for the first three weeks is Hispanic cultura y civilizacion. There is only one other student, Kelsey, in my class with me. I love it so much because it’s like private tutoring!

Entonces….. it is amazing what happens when one asks God for opportunities in the morning before the day starts. ;) yesterday(Tuesday) for our 4^th and final hour of class for the day our professora asked us if we wanted to keep studying or work on conversational Spanish. Kels and I both responded with conversational! Yaya! For the next hour, we were able to talk about Christianity and faith and hope in Jesus Christ with our professor…. En Espanol!!!! :D! It was amazing and since yesterday I found my first Christian friend down hereJ we are going to look for a church to go to these next couple weeks!:) then today kels was sick so for the second session it was just the professor and myself. For an hour in a half today we just talked in Spanish and it was amazing! We talked about each other’s family, home, relationships, culture differences between Peru and the U.S., and…. Jesus! Yet again, God was able to use me with a language I am just starting to really understand and speakJ Praise the Lord.

Volunteering starts this next Monday-Friday 4pm-6pm. I will be volunteering for a program called “las madrinas”. Las Madrinas most closely translated stands for “the mothers”. During my volunteer I will be working with orphaned and abandoned ninas from the ages of 5-17. Fortunately enough the academic and volunteer programs partner with each other so students can get the most out of their experience while here in Cuzco. For the next two weeks I will have classes in the morning from 8:30-10:30 and 11-1,then home for lunch with the family, then off to San Pedro church to be with the kids from 4-6 everyday. No puedo esperar!(I can’t wait!!!) I am hoping to find a cheap guitar so I can play and sing with the kids; I have been told its one of their favorite activitiesJ mostly I will be helping with homework and teaching basic and fundamental skills concerning self health and honestly, just loving these ninetas!

A few nights ago I taught my family how to play the card game “spoons”…. We play it every night now! Haha its so much fun! I’m so glad it’s the weekend, I can finally catch up on reading, sleep, and devo time!!!:D!!! yayy Jesus!!! I know that tonight a bunch of us are going to go out and listen to some bands play and tomorrow…. My first disco! I think… we will see if we end up going ;) my family LOVES to dance, and well…. I mean come on… so do I! yahoo!!! Sunday I am going white water rafting con mi escuela down one of the biggest rios in Peru! It will be a bit chilly, but I am pumped! :p