This past week was interesting. This weekend the business group went to San Pedro Castello. Its at about 11,000 feet and it was phenomenal! I was actually a little worried I wouldn´t be able to go because I was having some stomach problems the night before. I think it something to do with the cow intestines my house mom served me the night before. Advice to anyone interested in trying cow intestines…It´s not as good as it sounds. It was about a 3 hour bus ride up to the town of San Pedro, then an hour and a half horse ride to Marcahuasie (spelling?) and set up camp for the night. It´s known for the giant boulders that resemble different animals and human faces. It was an amazing experience! We met a Harry Krishna that was camping next to us. This guy says that he has such a spiritual connection with that place that he drives up from Chosica every so often to reconnect with nature. Super hippie! But very interesting person. He had a dog with him, that everyone thought was his but was apparently some random dog that followed him up from San Pedro, that was constantly humping his leg. He felt it was just the dogs way of showing her love for him so he would just let it happen. It made it a little difficult to pay attention to what he was saying with a dog humping his leg, but whatever floats your boat i guess. So Harry Krishna volunteered himself to become our unofficial guide. Took us on some hikes, pointed out some rock formations, and so on.
Since it was a Saturday when we returned home, my house brothers invited me to the discoteca. If I could point out one major difference between the clubs in the states and the clubs in Peru…everyone can actually dance! Which kind of put me at a disadvantage, but I worked with what I had. With every glass of beer my dancing got that much better! We started at around 11 pm and didn´t get home until about 6:30 am! And the discoteca was still bumping by the time we left! Every Peruvian we met was extremely generous. I paid for my first drink, everything after that until the moment I left was from other people I met! I tried to offer money, but they wouldn´t take it. I could definitely get used to this!
Taught at a highschool today. a little nerve racking teaching a class when I´m still not that comfortable with my Spanish, but it actually went alright. We were supposed to teach them how to make resumes, but ended up going off on other topics about how to start a bracelet making business. I was really impressed with how interested they were in what we had to say! Especially since this was their day off and they came to learn how to make resumes on their own free will! That´s pretty impressive by itself! The education here apparently is terrible! The government required all professors and teachers to complete a standardized test. A good number of the professors scored 8-9 out of 20 and still received jobs! Teachers come in late, come in drunk, or don´t come in at all to class. Its really sad considering how eager these kids are to actually learn and apply themselves. There is no way in hell I would come in to school on my day off to learn about resumes if I was a senior in highschool. I realize how much I have taken my own education for granted. ok, gotta go!! Hasta Luego
Paths of Peru 