Sometimes you forget...

On the way home from school yesterday, my (new) friend Ana asked me "Do you sometimes forget you're living in another country?" I immediately answered yes and we went on to discuss how the everyday things - job, making dinner, going to the movies, etc. - sort of takes over the "Wow! I'm in another country and should go do amazing things every free moment!" I don't think this is a bad thing...in fact, at least for me, it's a very necessary feeling. I find it comforting to just relax and live life.


That being said, there still are, of course, wonderful and amazing things that still happen everyday because that is what life should be about - wherever you live.

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DISCLAIMER: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
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After an unfortunate accident, we no longer have a working camera.
While we hope to fix this situation soon, in the interim blog entries
will contained limited photographs that we have been able to get from
other people's cameras. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
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ROCK CLIMBING: Last weekend we went rock climbing and had a fantastic time. I only went to the rock climbing gym three times in September and haven't had the time to do anything else since. So, it was not an easy day for me, but once I got over my own feelings of embarrassment at being the complete novice, I realized that the group we were with was really supportive and that we're all still struggling to learn...and then I had a really great rest of the day!

FOOTBALL: Arturo continues to play football (soccer) once a week which is great. The gym is fine, but actually doing something outside is better. This is a picture of him with Chris, a 19 year-old Nigerian who has come over to play football and is staying at the hostel for a month. I have been invited to join my school's women's football club. We shall see.

SCHOOL: I have realized what truly wonderful people I work with. Although the school has many of the usual problems in terms of organization, last minute announcements, and so on, I work for and with very, very supportive people - and it makes a huge difference. The end of our first term is coming up in four weeks and I have been working accordingly in my classes to finish our major CAT (curriculum assessment tasks) for each term, one written and one oral. Then, I discovered that, unlike I am used to, the last day of term is not the last day to collect work. Two weeks before the end of term you have to submit your grades and then the last day of term report cards are handed out. Not surprisingly, I was (and still am) a bit stressed at losing two weeks of working time. Additionally, I have become the co-coach of the Debate Club. This has been a great experience so far, but also another drain on time and stress. This week was the Pan-American Debate competition with students from Canada, the USA, Bermuda and Peru. Additionally, the British Schools of Peru debate is coming up in a week and we needed to have an in-school debate to decide who goes to that. Needless to say, it's been a very hectic and stressful week.

Now, back to that 'supportive staff' bit. First of all, Steve, the head of my department is always there to answer questions I have...often patiently explaining to me how things work since I am new at many of the classes and school systems. Maria, my co-Debate coach - who used to do everything on her own - has been fantastic to work with and, although she thinks I am simply helping her, I am learning a tremendous amount from her, too. Finally, at the Finals for the Pan-American Debate, held at one of the nearby universities, Steve turned to me and told me that he will take the kids back to school (all 32 of them) by himself and I should stay for the final luncheon. This meant that I missed the last period of the day (although I had a free period) and was able to relax, eat a great meal, and watch a Peruvian dance show. I returned to school refreshed and relaxed...only to encounter Steve who told me that he just had a long conversation with Dave, the head of the upper school, about what an amazing job I am doing. So, all in all, I'm working more than I have since my first year of teaching, but the ambiance and support is far superior and that makes all the difference.

DRIVING: I have been learning to drive for the past month. Well, learning to drive in Lima. Basically, I have had to re-learn all of the driving instincts I have developed since I started driving 16 years ago. A few examples:

• You should never use your turn signal unless you are actually turning. For example, you shouldn't use it to switch lanes.
• The people inside of a traffic circle should yield to those outside of the traffic circle...but you should never yield in a way that stops traffic...and you can turn off the traffic circle from all lanes.
• If you make eye contact with a driver, it means you are letting him get in front of you. You must be aware of other drivers, but must avoid eye contact...unless you are at a small intersection in which case you must make eye contact to know who is going to cross the intersection first.
• When turning, it's best to be 'covered.' This means that in a one-lane turning space, there are actually two of you, both next to each other, within inches of each other, and one of you is 'covering' the other one from oncoming traffic while you turn.

These are just a few of the new instincts I am developing. I am proud to say, that I am getting the hang of it all and now have driven to and from school by myself several times. Well, when I say by myself, I mean without Arturo. I pick up a colleague on the way to school and ride home with another...but this is still a huge step for me...

That's it from the 'everyday amazing stories' for this week...