This will make your day.

Or your money back!


It's my kids dancing to a song from The Sister Act!!!! SOO cute!!!
I have like a million more videos but it takes forever and a day to upload them!! Any suggestions on making it faster??

Hello Beautiful

Where have you been all my life, Cherimoya???

Let's be friends. Best Friends.

Me gusta

I've seen some quality youtube videos the past couple of days, so instead of filling my facebook feed with them, I turn to blogging. Mostly so I have some where I can find them easily later :) Enjoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjCLQaTFXx0&feature=player_embedded#!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlW5c4tInvY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkd5dJIVjgM&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82yZVB7IDlE

Random side note and comment on the title of the post: I switched my Facebook to Spanish in hopes of me picking up some phrases or something, and the "like" button says "me gusta". Which makes sense. Because that's what it means. But it always makes me smile :)

Gets me every time....

I. love. this. video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHDvxPjsm8E

It just touches me. I'm not a Mom (yet). I'm not a burn victim. I don't know her. But it gets me everytime.

"I am not my body"

Watch it. Love it. Live it.

Is this true life?

Every now and then I look around me, and I have to think, this is really happening. Wow. This is my life right now. How random?!? But so divinely inspired! I don't know exactly why I'm here, but it's been amazing!! SO since I last wrote, I listened to Conference,attended FHE, went to the temple, had my first peruvian sleepover, and ate the heart of a cow and a chicken! That's my incentive for you to keep reading what is bound to be a long email!

So Sunday morning I woke up at looked at my watch and sat bolt upright because it said 10:30, and church is at 11! SO I jumped out of bed, washed my face, went into the kitchen to ate some cereal, then noticed the car was still in the garage and no one else was getting ready. Turns out my phone died in the night, and my watch was on timer, not the time. It was really 7:30. Nice. So I decided to take a shower, and then I practiced the piano for a little bit. Then I brought my computer out to the dining room with Gabriela. She watched it on her computer in Spanish, and I watched it on mine in English. It was great!!! President Monson’s talk about gratitude was inspiring. I have SO much to be grateful for!!! Then in between sessions, we went to eat at their favorite Chinese restaurant in China Town. (My second China Town of the week!) (and again with the eating out on Sunday!) It was really delicious! Muy rico! When we were driving home, I felt like I understood the conversation for a while and I got really excited! Then I got completely lost, but I had it for a second! It was like my happy thought in Hook. So then we came back and watched the closing session. I just love conference so much! It makes me want to be better. After the afternoon session, I cracked down on my Spanish. I made some handy dandy charts, went through flashcards, and listened to a talk from conference in Spanish. I can do this! With the Lord’s help of course!!
Monday- No school!! These are the days where as Mom says “I do nothing and then rest from it”. I forced myself to sleep in (it was actually really hard! Why is it that when you can sleep as long as you want, you pop awake at 7:30? Come on body, work with me!!) which was until 9. Then I had to go to the bathroom, so I woke up.. Later, I was able to talk to Emily on webcam!!! It was really fun talking to her and the girls!! Juan Carlos came home for lunch, and Sabrina made cau-cau, a typical Peruvian dish. It was good- it reminded me of something though…chicken noodle soup in potato and some Peruvian vegetable form maybe…

They invited two families over for FHE tonight! Mafer, from my class (my translator!), and her sister and Dad, David Torres (He went to law school at BYU), and Syrielle (she gave a talk the first Sunday I was here and wants to make me Thanksgiving dinner!) and her husband and daughter Nicole, and their son’s friend came over later as well. It was a lovely evening! We all ate (they ordered chicken, fries, and salad again), luckily I sat by David and he translated most of it for me! He and I had a nice talk about his decision to go to BYU. He’s great! I really enjoyed talking with him! Then David gave a spiritual thought, and they asked me to share my testimony and David translated it. It was kind of weird having what I said translated, but whatever. It was a great night! FHE in Peru- check!

Today I got up the nerve to go run in the park by the house, and it was great! It’s a nice park, and I feel very safe running there! There were policemen patrolling everywhere and there were a bunch of older people walking around, and I think it’s a nicer part of town…There were two old ladies doing tai chi! It made me think of Emily Fitzpatrick! So I came home and took a shower and got all ready. Then I ate lunch with Juan Carlos, Gabriela, and Clara! We had soup and then ravioli with this DELICIOUS red sauce! It was excellent!! Then I read scriptures for a little bit, and took a nap. Then I played piano for a while. Then I got ready and Juan Carlos dropped me off at the carpool bus to drive to the temple. I sat by myself but I talked with Katty, and another guy in the ward. I could understand the guy’s Spanish pretty well! I don’t know why, but I just understood almost everything he was saying! Jajajaja! (As the say here…) A girl name Merloni came and started talking to me and I talked to her for probably 30 minutes! She was very nice! She’s 28 and the young single adults representative I guess? She just moved to Lima and is a teacher! She wants to take me around to see places in Peru! So we’ll see what happens there! I don't know if it's just the nature of people here or because I'm an "exotic" American, but it seems like these people just instantly decide to be my new best friend! I hardly even say a word! Maybe that's why- they want someone to listen to them. Who knows? When we got to the temple, we had to stand outside for a little bit, I don’t know why, but it was cold. I definitely packed wrong for this time of year!!! We finally got to go inside- it’s a beautiful temple inside and out! Especially compared to the dirty city that surrounds it! But we sat in a chapel for a little bit and they gave everyone a Book of Mormon, Spanish of course, to read. I read in 3 Nephi 11, because I thought I had a pretty good idea of the plot that I could try and figure out what it was saying. It was beautiful in Spanish, and it really hit me about the universality of Christ’s love and Atonement. I always picture the Savior speaking in English, because that’s what I know, but people in Peru picture Him speaking Spanish because that’s what they know. But the Savior speaks ALL languages, and knows and loves ALL people!! It’s also changed how I see people; walking around the city I try to look more at peoples’ individual faces and imagine Christ seeing them and try to feel more loving toward them; it helps a lot! So after reading in the chapel for a little bit, they called up some girls to get their suits (wrapped in plastic…) and go down to the baptistery. The sister gave me a medium, but I knew it was going to be small, because medium on a Peruvian is not going to be a medium on me! But I didn’t know how to say “I want a large” in Spanish…”Yo queiro un grande?” So I just conceded. And sure enough, it fit ok, but the length came to a few inches below my knee. Oh well. Both the baptisms and confirmations affirmed my suspicion that they speak Spanish SO fast!!! I could read along with what they were saying and I couldn’t even read it as fast as they were saying it! Oy! But it was still beautiful! The font was little, so I had to stand right up next to the edge so I could go down! After I finished and got dressed, I went out and waited for Gabriela in the lobby. There were two older people and a younger boy who were Americans, and from BYU on a church tour!! So I talked with them for a little bit, and then the others as they came out. One of the temple workers came over and was so cute and was like “Thank you so much for coming! What are you doing in this neck of the woods?...wow! Quite the experience! Well thank you so much for coming!” My pleasure! Really! So then Gabi came and went talked to more people (a guy named George translated for me- so many nice people that speak English! I’m so grateful for them!!!!!) then we got on the bus to come back. Gabriela bought some snacks from some random kid that got on the bus and started selling them. Gabi told me more about her trip to Europe (she sang in a castle in Edinburgh! With people playing bagpipes!! ) Then she told me how she met Juan Carlos- he was an elder in her ward, but she was engaged to someone else! It all turned out ok in the end of course! ) Then we took a taxi to get home! It was a great day!

So Tuesday I talked to Amanda yesterday about what time we were going to get together on Wednesday, and she told me 9 o’clock. So, Wednesday I decided to get up early to go running before I went with her. So 7:30, I woke up and went running at the park. Then I took a shower and got all ready. Then I waited. And waited. I decided to read my scriptures and then sleep while I was waiting. I woke up when I heard the doorbell, but it wasn’t Amanda. Then I decided to practice the piano while I waited. Finally, at like 12 Juan Carlos came and said he was going to drop me off at Amanda’s. When I got to Amanda’s "Mama" (that's what I call her (: ) was there to welcome me, and told me I missed Lucy’s school play (which was why I came over in the first place ): ) I guess Amanda called Juan Carlos and he told her, he would drop me off at 10. Alas. So Amanda was at the school, so I helped Mama get lunch ready. We had pasta with sauce with some kind of meat and hot dog cut up along with chicken noodle soup, Peruvian style with spinach, and a whole chicken leg in it! Amanda got home and ate with us (when they come home they come in and say “yoo hoo!” I love it!) After we ate, we talked with Mama for a little bit, then we went to Plaza San Miguel! It’s a huge outdoor mall! We mostly just looked, but Amanda bought me a cute pen and I bought her a little thing for her phone! It was fun! We also stopped in the Apple store for a little bit and we took pictures with the in computer camera, which I guess Amanda had never done before! She loved it! Heck, I loved it!! Then we got gelato! It was muy bien!! RICO!! Then we bought a churro for the road. When we got home we had hot chocolate and bagel kind of things, which turned out to be dinner. Then I talked with Mama, Amanda, and Lucy for probably two or three hours. It was great! We talked about everything from my favorite music, to typical dances of Peru and America (including demonstrations!) and traveling to the U.S.! It was fun talking with them! There are such great people all over the world! That’s why I love traveling! Lima really isn’t the prettiest city I’ve seen, but the people are great! Oh! And Moma told me I have a very good accent! Especially for only having been her 15 days! (only 15 days?? is it true? I don't feel like actually counting...) But first step accent, next step, language domination! Then we went up into Lucy’s bedroom and sat on her bed and talked and watched T.V. Then Mister called at like 11:15 pm and we decided it would just be easier for me to sleep over. So then we got ready for bed. I’m pretty sure both of their beds are just like wooden boards. That’s what they felt like. Seriously. It wasn’t terrible for me, but I definitely didn’t get my best nights rest…but yay for Peruvian sleepovers!

The next morning however, I woke up feeling tired and sore. But we had a really good breakfast! Mama was gone when we woke up because she went to the hospital with Amanda’s dad who has problems with his nerves and suffers from depression. Most days he just lies in bed all day and sleeps or stares at the ceiling. Mama is such an amazing woman to me; she dedicates all her time to looking after her mom, her husband, and her children, and she’s always happy. I know that's pretty much what all moms do, but she is just so great! She made food before she left and left it out for us! It was eggs with some kind of meat and a grilled banana in a roll! So good!!! Then we walked to the school, and had a meeting with all the teachers. It was long and I didn’t understand most of it, but I came out of it with a few jobs. I am going to be the MC for the play in a couple of weeks, and I am going to help write a script for something (again I don’t know what…) and I’m going to help them plan then Halloween party so it’s an authentic American Halloween party! American culture is everywhere here and it fills me with mixed emotions. Part of me is happy to see something familiar, but the other half of me is sad that we’re coming in and enforcing our culture into theirs. They have such a rich history, with dances, and foods, and people- I don’t want it to get lost in the commercial America. I just realized that ironically enough I helped Amanda cut out pictures and letters for a poster about Christopher Columbus. Columbus was no doubt inspired, but he did manage to ruin a people and a culture to make way for a culture that is going to go and do it again throughout the world. But Peruvians think of America as this great place full of opportunity and happiness. It really is great, but it’s definitely not without its problems and corruption unfortunately. But the grass is always greener. Anyway, off random tangent, back to my day. Someone bought a huge cake and we ate it for Amanda’s birthday. I didn’t really like the cake, but I liked the frosting, which there was a lot of! Then everyone left, and I checked my email for a little bit and found out Michael has been called to the Roseville, California Spanish speaking mission!!!!!!!! I am so excited for him!!! He is going to be an amazing missionary!!! I saw in the apple store that he got his call, but he didn't say where and it was KILLING me all day to know!!!!!!!! YAY!! After that I was there alone with Mister and Sylvia who were doing financial stuff. I drove with Mister to Callao, which is an ocean side city next to Lima, to drop off stuff for his accountant. We saw a set of Elders while we were driving, and it made me happy and think of Michael. Then we drove back to the school and picked up Sylvia and went to dinner. I had my first anticuchos (cow heart and chicken heart!) It was MUY RICO!!!!!!!! Probably one of my favorite dishes!! That's what I get for being brave :) Dad would be proud! (Actually, he'd probably be jealous!! (; ) So that's all for this report! Tomorrow we're headed into the country at 6:30AM! Who knows what adventures will be in store for that trip!! Stay tuned!!

Tender Mercies

So the day after I wrote my last email was pretty rough. As Kristen said, it was one of those “I love you not” days in my teaching book. But I guess it’s good to have opposition. I was going to wake up early and take a shower, but I was too tired, so I just pushed snooze and opted for a no shower morning. Then Juan Carlos was running late for school, so he was rushed. Then the teachers weren’t particularly talkative at the gate this morning. I was in Miss Jenny’s class again. The kids went to music class after devotional. It was in the same room as robotics, and with a similar atmosphere. All the boys were being so rambunctious but the girls were being really good! But the boys were all all over each other! Jumping, punching, kicking, strangling, threatening. Oy. But every kid has their own recorder, and the teacher called them all up one at a time and had them play something. Then she had them get into lines and pretend to be trains. There were three different lines, and each line would move to a certain chord. Then she played some music and had them draw the instruments they heard in the music. Then she did the same thing, but she played individual instruments behind a door and they had to write the names down. Lots of good, fun music ideas.The boys were just crazy!! Then when we came back to class, Miss Jenny divided the class into three groups to work on math/money some more. I was assigned to work with one of the groups. Really? You trust me to teach these kids math in my Spanglish?! Ok…so I did it. I started on an individual basis and kind of worked with each kid first. Then eventually I worked with the whole group and held up amounts and gave them fake money and asked them to give it to me. I think it worked pretty well. The kids were really cute about it. When we were done, we ate lunch. I ate with the kids again. After lunch, we went and practiced for the play again. It was chaos. The boys were being crazy as ever, and I had to come back to the classroom with Joaquin and Angelo. Not that that did much good, because they weren’t listening to Miss Jenny, let alone me because they don’t know what I’m saying. Finally the end of the day came, but I had to wait like 40 minutes for Juan Carlos to come pick me up. I did get to go with Gabriela to her to her institute class. The traffic was crazy because Bon Jovi was performing at a local university! But the class was good- it was about honoring your spouse and making sure you focus on them while you are married, especially when you have children. It really struck me that it’s so important to find someone you really just enjoy being with, because even though you’ll have kids, they grow up one day and then its just the two of you for eternity and I want to be happy with the person I’m with!! When we got home, Gabriela and I studied the Book of Mormon in Spanish. She is quite the amazing woman.

Mom sent me one of those corny religious pass along emails, but I really liked one of the quotes, especially after today:

“Do not give into sadness or desperation for what you are going through today. God knows how you feel…God knows exactly and with perfection what is being allowed to happen in your life at this precise moment”

He did, and does know, because the next day was just that much better because of that bad day!

Thursday I felt like three months isn’t going to be long enough. The morning was ok, I was really tired, and I was kind of feeling daunted by the routine. I decided to try and be more loving toward Joaquin so he would behave better, and it worked! Kind of…They had robotics this morning again, and they didn’t really listen to me anymore, but at play practice I was able to maintain somewhat control of Eros and Joaquin, which I consider to be quite the feat!!! At the end of the practice, Mafer and Danielle came and gave me a big hug! It always surprises me when the kids get really cuddly, and the kids who are cuddly changes regularly! I think that’s what draws me to them, is trying to get them to like me…Then at recess we played tag, kind of, with the kids. It mostly consisted of the teachers running after the kids, tickling them, then chasing other kids. That was good bonding for me and Joaquin because it created interaction where I wasn’t scolding him or restraining him! (And I had a blast!!) I went to the bathroom afterwards, and I stopped by the sink to wash my hands, and Amanda called me into her classroom. She asked me what I was doing after school (at first I thought she meant after I was here in Peru, but she clarified for me) and I told her nothing, so she asked if I would be interested in going home with her. I said yeah! So she said she’d talk to “Mister” (Juan Carlos). That gave me something to look forward to!! Looking back, it could have been serious reason for concern, I mean I hardly know her! But I just didn't have time to worry, and everything turned out great! Then at the end of the day we listened to The Ugly Duckling by “haans chreestian andersohn”. (Hans Christian Anderson) They had a song they sang with the book and the kids LOVED it! It was in English, but they all pretty much sang it verbatim! The power of music! You ask them to say anything without singing, and they're done for...Then it was the end of the day!!!!!! I played the Peruvian equivalent of ring around the rosy with some of the girls for a little bit, then Amanda was ready to leave, so we started walking home. It was probably a 5-10 minute walk. When we got to her house, and I met her mom and grandma. Her mom is simply a doll!!!!!!! I love her to pieces!! We watched T.V. for like 5 minutes, then her mom fed us a delicious meal (I felt like a hobbit today- first lunch, second lunch, third lunch…) Then we played “yengha” (Jenga) and started a puzzle. Then she asked how often I talked to my family, and I told her I had only talked to them once, so she was like, let’s go call them! So we walked down the street to the local international telephone store, and tried to call my mom but she didn’t answer. It costs money to call though, and both Amanda and her mom were totally like, Go! Call her!!! Their generosity was so touching! It’s not like they have a ton to spare! Then we stopped and bought some eggs on the way home (she just asked for a certain amount and they put them in a bag!). Then we helped “Momma” peel potatoes (with our hands!) and then arrange the table with food for her party. We were talking about holidays and food, and Momma asked me what food I don’t like and I said I don’t drink coffee or alcohol, and they were totally cool with that, like they weren't shocked or surprised or anything! Amanda doesn’t either!! Then people started arriving. There were only about 15 people there- just friends and family. I felt really honored to be there! I mean, Amanda hardly knows me and she invited me to her family birthday dinner!? That goes above and beyond! No one else from school was there! Amanda was really good at trying to keep me in the conversation! I was still a little lost and didn’t know what people were saying. I’ve decided it’s exhausting trying to guess what people are saying all day…Amanada’s sister Lucy came home from teaching pre-school at like 7:30! I really like her too!! She’s very sweet! Before we ate lunch and dinner, Amanda asked me to pray! So I did! Later, we got out the cake and we were about to start singing to her, and I realized, wait! I don’t even know how they sing happy birthday! When they started singing ‘happy birthday!’!! They also had some other songs they sang that I didn’t know, but I could join in on the happy birthday part. I like their songs better though…then we took pictures (I’m pretty sure I was a good foot taller than most of the girls there, as usual….) and ate cake! I didn't have my camera though because she invited me at school and we just left from there:( Triste! (Sad!) Then people started leaving, and I talked with Amanda and Lucy waiting for Juan Carlos to come pick me up. Both Lucy and Momma asked me if I had a boyfriend! One of their first questions! Too funny! But the evening was simply lovely. I love that family so much! They filled my arms with food to take home too! Momma asked when I was coming back- muchos pronto of course!!! Very soon! I felt very much at home with them! I told Momma I wanted to learn Spanish, so she was talking to me in Spanish and translating ish for me all night! Too cute! Juan Carlos came and I had to leave, and they all said their goodbyes in Spanish , so I don’t know exactly what they said, but I think it was to the effect of “We love Kate, she’s welcome anytime!” (At least I hope that’s what they said…) So I hope to return many times!!

Friday, Welcome October!! How? How is it already October?? Time is flying!! Today was a pretty good day. I thought we were going to go to a ballet during school, only to find out that it’s at 7:30 p.m., so no missing school for me. The kids were really excited when Miss Jenny wrote October on the board instead of September! (They celebrate Halloween in Peru!) But the morning was pretty much business as usual. At one point, Miss Jenny took a girl out to get sized for her costume for the play and I was left in charge of the whole class. By myself. I handled it pretty well I must say, and the kids were VERY well behaved! (for once) I read them a different version of the ugly duckling that Mafer (her dad went to law school at BYU, and she was born in Orem. She's my little translator! Priceless!!) brought from home. It was kind a weird version, like the English was old English-esque, but the pictures were beautiful. I was surprised how attentive they were, especially since I’m sure they didn’t understand most of it. Then I dismissed them in groups to go wash their hands and get ready for lunch. We all ate our lunches without incident or injury! Miracle of miracles! ;) Then Miss Jenny came back and saved me! Then we went up and practiced the play. All the girls wanted to sit on my lap! At one point I had Ximena and Mafer on my lap, and Jocelyn, Angie, and Arianna leaning against me! They are sooo cute! But then, my boys had to go be their crazy selfs, so I had to go back to the classroom with Joaquin and Angello. Luckily Miss Erica was there to give the appropriate reprimands and instructions. When the whole class came back, we did math, combed and brushed their hair and got all packed up. I feel really bad, because I'm pretty sure I made one girl cry for brushing too hard! But they just kind of do a mass fast paced line, so I wasn't paying much attention. (She is still talking to me though :) Got to love kids!) Then I finished reading the Ugly Duckling, and they went through their lines one more time. I had a little knick on my thumb today, and all day the kids would see it and say something in Spanish, I’m guessing to the effect of, “oh no! what happened??” It was precious! Then I went home with Mister (that’s what everyone at school calls him “meester”) and took a nap. Of course, Diego (the member of the church who speaks really good English) called about the activity that night while I was asleep so Senora Clara came into my room with the phone and was like “hola, la telephone” –wake up call, literally :) Unfortunately, I couldn't go to the activity because of the ballet :( But that woke me up, so I started getting ready for the ballet. After picking up some dry cleaning, and picking up Jessica and Miss Jenny from the school, we were off to see the ballet. It was called “La Hija Del Faraon“, (The daughter of Pharo). The costumes were very beautiful and the set was great! We all went to dinner afterward (which I would have preferred skipping seeing as it was 10:30…but alas) and then came home. Apparently there are tests tomorrow, so more school :P school, school, school. And no conference because other broadcasts are banned because of elections. Moui triste! Miss Erica asked me tonight if I had a boyfriend! Is that a normal question to ask in Peru or something?? No boyfriend for me. Why as Mamma asked? Ask the boys.

At the play with some of the teachers from the school. Please note the apparent height difference.

So Saturday we came into school for two hours for the exam. I’m not sure what it was for, but I went into the school regardless. Afterward, they had something they called a promotional, and they sold food! Hot dogs on a stick w/ mayonnaise and ketchup (Peruvians love mayonnaise!!) tartes (chocolate cake, jello cake, crème Brule kind of cake) and sandwiches, and soda. I had a hot dog and a chocolate cake. Then I went with Mister to go get his car washed. We went to this little parking lot and they hand washed the whole thing. While we were waiting, Mister asked me if I have a boyfriend. Oy. I said no, and he was like, why?? You are a pretty girl! Well thanks, tell that to the boys my age! Then we picked up Gabriela, and went to a seafood restaurant for lunch. I actually liked it! I had octopus!! And who knows what else…but it was good! I feel like I’m always eating here! But it’s good food, so it’s ok. The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful, I talked to Amanda and her Mom on facebook chat :) I think we're going to go to the zoo next week! I also listened to Elder Holland's talk, SOO Good!!!! He gets me everytime.

Sunday morning I woke up at looked at my watch and sat bolt upright because it said 10:30, and church is at 11! SO I jumped out of bed, washed my face, went into the kitchen to ate some cereal, then noticed the car was still in the garage and no one else was getting ready. Turns out my phone died in the night, and my watch was on timer, not the time. It was really 7:30. Nice. So I think I'm going to be taking a nap later. They're not allowed to watch Conference in Peru this weekend because they have elections today (Sunday) and everyone is required to vote. But I'm going to try and catch a few minutes here and there if I can online!

I’ve been thinking, wondering why I don’t have funny stories about why my kids say to me. Then I realized; I don’t know what they’re saying, so they probably are saying really cute things, I just don’t know it. So sorry I don't have any stories about cute things my kids say. Those will probably come later! Well, I love you all! Everything in Peru is great! (Except I wish I had my rice sock...alas!)

What I've been up to!

"Hola! Como estas? Bien, bien! Yo soy le nueve Professora de Ingles! Much gusto!! Chow!" That there ladies and gentleman is my Spanish vocabulary. Thank you, thank you! Ok, I know like five more words than that, but I'm getting along ok with that. Today I looked outside the school on the posters they have out, and there was my face plastered on an 8X11 piece of paper, with bright colors and balloons saying welcome our new English teacher with a little bio! Wow...Now I'll be famous in Peru!! ;) But let's see, a lot has happened since my last email...three days ago, no? (even though I don't know Spanish, I feel like I'm starting to think in Spanish kind of, like how they would talk) So I went to church on Sunday and it was moui bueno! I helped pass out the programs, which was the perfect job for me because it only required saying "Bueunos Dias, programma?" Oh! And Peruvians ALWAYS give a kiss on the cheek when they say hello. So if when I come home and I do that to you, don't be alarmed! I'm sure it's going to become a habit. I really like it though! It instantly melts any kind of barriers and I automatically feel more comfortable with the person. We do it with the kids at school too. Its cute :) During the announcements they said my name and the counselor motioned to me to stand up, so I did and looked around a little and sat down. No idea what he said about me. I think the talks were good. I couldn’t understand them, but the people who gave them were very animated! I like singing, because you just have to say one syllable at a time pretty much, and it doesn’t require you knowing what you’re saying! As soon as I sat down, the elders motioned me out of the classroom. One of them is American and told me I was going to go to Gospel Principles with them. Ok? We sat down in that class and the teacher asked me (Translated by the Elder) if this was my first time in the church and I said no, I’ve been a member my whole life. Both Elders stared at me and said really? Apparently they introduced me over the pulpit as an investigator. Hahaha!!Some favorites from the day : Tito (man, who speaks un poquito English.), Diego (Sunday School teacher who has lived in the US and went to BYU Idaho before his mission and speaks very good English- hallelujah!) Margaret (sp?) (doesn't speak a lick of English but kept having me sit by her in the meetings, very very nice!) (P.S. I have to hear people's names like three times before I actually remember them, well any name really, its terrible.) and Cyrielle (26-ish woman who is married and has a little girl. She speaks a little English and said she wants to cook me Thanksgiving dinner since I won't be going home :) )(P.S. People in Peru don't really wear wedding rings, I guess because they could get stolen?) Juan Carlos took me out to eat Sunday, and I didn't want to be like oh, no. I don't like to eat at Restaurants on Sunday to a Bishop! SO I figured it was more respectful to just go with the flow. He also ordered take out chicken and fries for dinner, oy! The wife was out of town and just got back yesterday, so maybe that's why? I REALLY REALLY like the wife, Gabrielle! She is SOOO nice!! Love love love her! but I'll get to that later... (p.s. sorry this is so long, skim as you will! It just feels good to talk/type in English and have people actually know what I'm saying without repeating it three times! ;) )
So Monday was my first full day of school and I was in Miss Jenny's ("Mees Yenny") classroom all day. All the teachers a girls, and they are all very nice! Tabatha (ta-bat-a) is the name of one of the girls (she always wears the cutest panda beanie!!) . She loves me, and wanted me to sit by her all day! She’s adorable, but the girl takes ten hours to do anything! At lunch she wasn’t finished with her writing, and she kept saying she was hungry, so I figured she would speed up once she got her food. Oh no. She took forever to eat her lunch too. Tiny little bites five minutes apart. So that meant she didn’t get to run around and play, which wasn’t exactly a problem because it’s not like she had any extra wiggles or anything. At one point in the day, she and danielle were trying to teach me Spanish! It was so cute and fun! I could have done that all day! It was kind of like playing charades, only I didn’t even know how to say the words they wanted me to guess. But still fun. In the morning the class went to “robotics” which is a class where they build stuff with legos I guess. It was pretty much sheer pandemonium though. Kids screaming, throwing legos, the teacher yelling to get their attention. Crazy. Good idea in theory, even though the teacher went around and pretty much built every group’s car. When lunch time came around, I began to wonder if Juan Carlos (dad) was going to come get me and take me home for lunch or if he forgot about me. Miss Jenny asked if I had a lunch, and I told her I didn’t so she gave me a piece of cake for lunch! SOOOO nice of her! Later, Miss Sylvia brought me a lunch, which I downed half of and got back to class. I also used the bathroom at the school for the first time. I guess the adults just use the same one as the kids, but again, I’m like a foot taller than the stalls, so I was like ducking while I went to the bathroom. I’m not sure if this is a Peruvian school thing, or just this school, but you have to get the toilet paper before you go into the stall- luckily I remembered before I went in! However, I did go into the boys bathroom first. I’d say that was a successful experience!

After Gabrielle (the mom) got home, some arrangements were made for dinner, which I didn’t quite understand.( I wish I understood Spanish, have I said that recently?) However, it entailed Juan Carlos dropping Clara (Gabrielle's mom) and I off at a restaurant (Lalena- I remembered a name finally!!), leaving me, just me, to eat while he went and took an exam, and Clara and I walk home when I finished. I wish I could have intervened! I would have been perfectly content to eat at home!! But, out we went, Clara and I sitting there, neither of us completely understanding each other. But I had fettuccini alfredo with chicha morada. The drink made of black corn. While I was eating I just had to laugh at the situation. I never would have imagined it in my wildest dreams- in Peru eating Italian food with a 70 year old Peruvian (well technically Colombian, but whatever) woman.

Today, tuesday, was another full day of school in Miss Jenny's class. The first half of the day was ok, but I felt like I was just kind of in the way. But the second half of the day I was helping kids right and left ( "Mees Kayte Mees Kayt!") and I even taught a segment of the class (English!)! The kids are also putting on a play in English so I helped them memorize their lines and then we went up on the roof and practiced. Some of the kids learned a dance too, and I laughed out loud. Literally, when the music they turned on was from the sister act. Like straight from the soundtrack! hahahahahahaha! It seriously made my day!!
This is the song the kids are dancing to, in case you were wondering! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3ZbdgDKfbI
The script is in broken English, but its so cute to hear the kids say their lines, most of which are unintelligible. (They are in first grade and don't know as much English as the older kids) One little boy, Jose Ignacio, was obssessed with my watch today and was always running around the classroom and misbehaving and then calling for me. Oy! He's a trouble maker for sure. Oh, and Tuesday is Karate and Ballet day. All the boys go to Karate for an hour, and all the girls go to ballet. ("ball- et" :) ) I went upstairs (there are four stories! talk about stairs!!) and watched the girls for a bit and they all came to the window and would wave at me, even the ones who never talk to me in class, but they are still so excited to see me! They are SOSOSOSO cute! I could eat them up! They all changed into their leotards and tutu's behind the teacher's desk, and all the boys sat at the other end of the class room :) A lot of the things they do here would never fly in U.S. schools but I like it. Like you can be way more affectionate with the kids- giving them hugs and such here! And at the end of the day, they brush all of the kids' hair (with the same brush...) and redo their hair so they're more presentable I guess. I go back and forth every day, every hourr really, on whether I would want to teach as my profession. We'll have to see what three months of this does to me :) When I got home from school I asked Gabrielle if they had wireless internet and she said yes!! So hopefully I'll be able to keep a better corespondence now!!