A little more of a laid-back week this week. Unfortunately Daniel's come down with a cold, so he's bundled up and munching oranges at the moment, poor dear. We're hoping lots of sleep and vitamin C will cure him sufficiently that he can be functional at our first informal team meeting tomorrow!
He doesn't look so good... but that's mostly just cuz he's got papel higiénico (toilet paper) up his nose. Overall, he has a really good attitude about it! He just says, "It's all part of the game." He's a trooper. =)
Here's what's been going on this week:
Experiments with Peruvian cereal!!! I've been missing home a bit lately, so (because I expressed my excitement to have a bowl of milk and cereal when we got home) Daniel got me a box of cereal.
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| "MegaTrigo" -- breakfast of barbarians! (His name is "Breno el Bárbaro" according to the box.) |
Now, with cereal from foreign countries, you pretty much have to guess. Some are basically American cereals with different names, and some just seem that way but are different. We gave the "MegaTrigo" (trigo = wheat) a try, and it tastes sort of like honey nut Cheerios. But then we noticed a kinda weird aftertaste... so Daniel read the ingredients: "Trigo (wheat), azúcar (sugar), esencia de anís (anise extract)." ANISE!! I mean, they have anise-flavored tea here, but anise-flavored cereal??? Daniel said, "I feel like I just ate an anise bush!"
We met with someone from Occopata!!! Just to clarify, Occopata is one of the two small communities we've been planning to work with. It provides a lot of opportunity because it's small, on the outskirts of Cusco, and (unfortunately) in extreme poverty. The only other NGO there is WorldVision, and it seems like they're just doing sponsorship for individual families. So there's not a lot of nonprofit activity there (especially as compared to some other small communities). There are also a lot of home births and a lot of distrust of medical professionals. Anyway, yesterday we (Daniel, Adolfo, and I) were able to meet with Liz, an obstetrician who also serves as the jefa (boss, manager) of the health center in Occopata. It was a super great meeting! She has in mind a few women leaders from the community who might be interested in working with us, so she's going to go talk to them and see if we can't get a community meeting set up to chat with interested folks. Liz is super friendly and seems like a really solid advocate for the community and the health of its members, so we're SUPER excited that she likes our objectives and is on board with our project!
Machu Picchu turned 100!!! ...Wait, what? Yes, that's right. Yesterday the city of Cusco declared a city-wide día feriado (festival day) -- aka no work and no school -- to celebrate "the centennial anniversary of Machu Picchu." Now, let's think about this for a second. We're talking about Machu Picchu here. Like the big tall mountains, with the Incan ruins on top... you know, the ones that date back to pre-Colombian (or pre-Cortezian, rather) times... and were "discovered" by Hiram Bingham in 1911 -- OH!!! I get it... that's a hundred years ago! So Machu Picchu only started existing once some old white dude "found" it (with the assistance of "local indigenous farmers") and stole a bunch of stuff. Sounds great! I know -- let's make a picture commemorating this fantastic event and put it EVERYWHERE!!!
Yes, ESPECIALLY in the airplanes going to Cusco, so that this simplistic half-picture of history will reinforce any gringo tourist assumptions that Peru = Giant Tourist Attraction Playground and any local assumptions that History = The Story of Europeans. Great idea!!
Adolfo's quote: "How is this the 100-year anniversary of Machu Picchu? Is the Incan culture 100 years old??"
Needless to say, we stayed home.
Many many lesson plans were imagined!!! Daniel and Adolfo have continued to work hard on the "founding documents" of Wiñarisum, and I've spent the majority of the last two days researching and brainstorming in preparation for my impending school year. One of my future colleagues was kind enough to send me a copy of the 8th grade curriculum map for next year, so I've been reading over it and trying to get a handle on what will be our first few units. It's super fun!! When I think about being in charge of like 100 8th graders all by myself I kinda freak out a little... but when I look at the map and brainstorm all the cool things we're gonna learn this year, I forget to be afraid and just get EXCITED! I am definitely looking forward to getting into my classroom and seeing where all the learning (mine and theirs) is gonna happen this year! =)
That's basically what we've been up to this week. Oh, and we've discovered a deep and abiding love for Peruvian cheese. But that's neither here nor there.
Hope you all are enjoying your summers -- and we've got two special shout-outs! One to Bethany Jackson, who just celebrated her 21st birthday, and one to the Schulz clan, who is currently chilling at the lake! Love you!!
Un abrazo fuerte,
Rebequita y Danielito
VERY, VERY USEFUL SPANISH PHRASES
Lesson Six: Around the House II
¿Está bien ventilado el departamento? (Is the apartment well-ventilated?)
¿Hay elevador de carga? (Is there a freight elevator?)
No soy muy hábil. (I am not a very handy person.)
¿Prefiere cortinas o persianas? (Do you prefer curtains or blinds?)
Tengo que utilizar un vaporizador de alfombras para remover estas manchas. (I need to use a carpet steamer to remove those stains.)
Hice que deslindaran la propiedad. (I had the property surveyed.)
Esta casa se está derrumbando. (This house is falling apart.)
Mi llave no deja de gotear. (My faucet won´t stop dripping.)
Is anise like licorice?
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