Cuy

Let it be known to all. I just witnessed a guinea pig birth. Welcome, Larry, Hairy and Mo.

abrazos
em

Cuy

Let it be known to all. I just witnessed a guinea pig birth. Welcome, Larry, Hairy and Mo.

abrazos
em

Language Acquisition

It's like, seeing the same sunlight come into my window every morning, but for the first time really looking at it. Or seeing numbers and symbols all jumbled together on a piece of paper one day, and the next being able to work with them, work answers out of them, master their meaning. I have heard Quechua every day for a year and a half now, and though it comes in leaps and bounds... this past week (after Quechua classes) I am now able to listen to my host mom while she's chatting away with Florcita on the phone and actually not hear a mumbling of vowels and deep throated German sounding k's... but understand what those sounds MEAN. It's a powerful knowledge, language. Makes you feel as if you can conquer something. Changes your perspective drastically. I still am at the "grasping" stage of this native language (I'm not fluent by any means... whatever fluent is anyways) and what I mean by grasping is, you know... you're in spanish class in ninth grade and the teacher tells you to put an 'o' at the end of the verb to make it first person present tense and you have to think about it really hard and look at the board.. "Crap. how do you say "have"? oh yeah. Tener.. Crap. I can't say Teno.. it's irregular.. what is it again? Oh right. Tengo." You know. That stage of the language learning. That's where I am when it comes to speaking Quechua. But listening... I can make out a majority of the conversations ahora. Which is exciting and.... well... Now I just need to pay attention. :)

Besos y Abrazos

Em

Ya vengo

Merry Christmas! Happy New Years 2011! Happy Sarah's and Courtney's Birthdays! Groundhog Day is in there too I believe. :)

Umm... so. With that said. When I started this blog back in the day and I wrote my little profile on the right hand side that says Youth Development Volunteer in Peru from 2009 til 2011. I didn't think that that number.. 2011.. would come up on me so soon. Too soon! Aack! So soon in fact that I will be keeping you posted on my continuing foreign plans. Cuz there will be.

Right now it's summer here (which means... just no school... the weather is rainy... yay!). So I'm teaching some vacaciones utiles classes for the kiddos (communication, p.e., art and wow. Who'd a thunk it? Math!). Ok ok. So I am not actually teaching math. I scouted and found some teen helpers who actually teach it. I'm just the facilitator man. This past week we did some paper mache.. oh yeah. Very messy. But what I'm currently really excited about is Club de Mujeres Poderosas (powerful women), in which 17 teen girls and I meet up 3 times a week and tackle different themes from sexual health to how to start a little successful business (Peace Corps gives me materials! soo.. although I know practically nothing about business.. I can still teach it :) to meeting professional women and talking about future goals. Last week we got to talk to girls from Oxnard City Corps on skype! It was pretty exciting from where I was standing. To get the two groups I've been working with the last 3 years together. No importa las fronteras. We have only 3 more weeks to go, but maybe they'll want to get together occasionally during the school year too. A ver.

There are exciting things on the horizon (Peace Corps 50th anniversary, Ancash Prom, starting up the school year, Rotary Club's participation in a project in Shilla... the whole familia's visit in April...) that I'm pretty thankful for. Right now I'm off to Quechua classes. Shumaq warmi to all of you. Let's see if that grammar finally stays in my cerebro this time around.

Recent peruvian fotos will be posted on my facebook later today... Chao for now!

Abrazos long lost but FUERTES,

Em