El Sol: Escuela de Español

I exited my room to see a huge delicious bowl of fresh fruits and yogurt for breakfast. Though I was still stuffed from the night before I ate all the mango, but there was only one problem...my roommates weren't up and we were supposed to leave in 20 min! I woke them up and off we went to La Escuela de Fuerzo Aerza. After some wandering around in the taxi we arrived in time to hear the Peruvian National Anthem, watch the flag ceremony and be formally greeted by the students.

Back to Miraflores for the placement test and we were placed in our Spanish classes in El Sol. My teacher, Andres, spoke clearly and I think he will be a great teacher. Turns out he also teaches our culture class where we learned about the Chavín culture. The Chavíns mastered acoustics as they built grand temples where you could hear a person across the room clearly. They also made many stone carvings of snakes and cats.

We returned to the Air Force School for lunch (quiche from the grocery store which HAD CHICKEN, very sad). Then attended a small ceremony and spoke to the students we will be working with. They are in the 5th grade at age 16 and will graduate this year. Some of them want to be doctors or chemical engineers and they were all excited to friend us on Facebook and practice their English.

After we returned to our homes Kim and I went shopping for an adapter and other goods. I was able to successfully navigate Miraflores and received far less stares than normal, an exciting improvement! We went searching for a Radio Shack, which I had word was nearby. Wandering southwest we came to la playa, leaving us very confused. A security guard told us to go down the steps from the viewing platform, and lo and behold we found a huge mall with just what I needed, Radio Shack.

We shopped a bit more, and then went back up top to check out the para-gliders and the beautiful view of the beach.  I found my way back home and helped my host mom prepare dinner: quinoa with soy and pesto (not the Italian kind), salad and rice. Muy rico!

Lessons Learned:

Maps help SO much.

Always carry toilet paper in other countries...sometimes there are different bathroom standards and this is NOT one to slack on.

Think before you speak: I ended up asking my host mom if she had water rather than if she WANTED water. As I was standing there holding a cup of water, I received a rather odd look.

La cocina en mi casa.