Just had my first cup of coffee in three weeks...

and it was very, very good.
Well the month of January has come and gone, which is kind of hard to believe, especially because without any seasonal weather changes, and without weekends really being any different from weekdays here in Yanamito, the passage of time feels all screwy. Anyway, the past couple of weeks have been a bit up and down, but overall good I would say. I made it through three weeks of summer school, teaching English and some environmental themes. I’m not going to lie, so far the majority of my environment classes have entailed either old discovery channel DVDs or environmentally themed coloring pages with brief discussions about why the kids should care about the environment. During that time they mostly just fight about who gets to use what markers, over my repeated insistence that they need to be shared. English class is a bit more involved—there’s a whole bunch of kids running around town singing “heads, shoulders, knees and toes” and shouting out “good morning” or “good afternoon” or “hello teacher” when they see me. Overall it has been a slightly taxing but good experience so far. Every day there are anywhere from 8-15 kids who show up, we have class from 8 (usually 8:30—timeliness does not really exist…) until 10 and the kids seem to enjoy it, and the parents, and townspeople in general, seem to be happy that I am teaching. The classroom experience is a lot different from anything I have ever seen in the US. The kids are well enough behaved, although the concept of hand raising is foreign to them, but it doesn’t seem like they have really been taught or encouraged to think. They like being told what to do, they like copying off the board and they like repeating, but trying to get a discussion going is like pulling teeth. I am interested in sitting in on some classes during the school year to see what it’s like when the real professors are at work.
The other big thing that happened this month was that my host mom took the kids and left the house. I’m not going to go into any detail, given how it’s a personal matter for them, but I will say that that has been tough. The house has been really quiet, and my host dad and grandma have been pretty bummed. I also was perpetually confused because anytime anyone discussed anything relating to it, they spoke in Quechua, so I had no clue what was going on. Anyway, after talking to a bunch of higher ups and friends, I decided that the best thing for me would be to change houses. I feel bad about leaving, because Rolando and his mom have both treated me really well and I feel a little bit like I am deserting them, but given the fact that this is going to be where I’m at for two years, I need to do what I feel is best for me. So I am moving into his brother’s house, about a 3 minute walk away. They have a real toilet (!!), a fifteen year old son and two daughters who live outside the community (this is what Peru has done to me—real plumbing takes precedence over children), so all of those birthday wishes I made when I was little asking for a little brother are kind of coming true. I know the family pretty well, they are really nice and they said they’d welcome me like a son and I am kind of excited to be living in a family structure where the parents are actually closer to the age of my real parents. So I moved all my stuff yesterday and hopefully that will be for the best.
Other thing of note: I started playing football (that’s soccer to us). I am still pretty bad, but I vowed to get better. It’s giving me a good in with the younger guys around here too, which I think will be good. And despite my lack of skill, they still invite me to come play, which feels welcoming (they also bet a sol on every game, so maybe they’re just taking me for my money…who knows?). Football is actually another cool way in which the community comes together—whoever wants to play can, so you get a good mix of teenagers, guys in their 20s and a few middle aged men thrown in as well, and they all have a really good time with it. Anyways I hope I get better quick, but if not, there is are a few kids who are begging me to buy a basketball, and although I’ve never been Michael Jordan, if nothing else my height will allow me to make them all think I’m really good.
Also, Quechua classes start tomorrow, so we’ll see how that goes. It’s a really hard seeming language, and I’m not much of a language person to start with but I will try my best.
And that’s about it here. As my mom pointed out a week ago, this is the longest I have ever gone without seeing my family (5 months), which was to be expected, but still feels kind of strange (I also ran out of my regular Colgate toothpaste, which didn’t happen in India or Israel…). When I here news from home (job updates, engagements, weddings, random encounters etc) I realize that a lot is going on while I’m off trying to be a do-gooder in Peru. But I am glad I am doing what I am doing, I think I’m really lucky to be where I am and every day I get more comfortable with the people around me. So yea life is good and I hope you all feel the same…