Catching Up on the Details
Greetings everyone~
Alright, I fell off my promise to update the blog every week, but I can assure you, you wouldn´t have missed much if I gave you an update last week. In fact, this week´s update will be pretty pedestrian in comparison to the others-it´s funny how once you start working, it consumes all the interesting things in your life :). Actually, the job itself is quite interesting and entertaining. I am teaching English to two classes of young adults, one at a basic level and one at an intermediate level. My students are all quite nice and respectful, with varying degrees of English speaking skills. I have some students that are really good English speakers who are quite driven to get better, some who are trying to balance a lot in their lives while also trying to learn English, and some who are attending because Mom and Dad keep paying the monthly tuition :).
The interesting aspect of the job is how disorganized it all is. . .I come home and shake my head and laugh with Marianella about the set-up. For my basic class, I´m unable to bring the textbooks home to prepare the following day´s lesson due to the fact that there´s not enough books to go around. It´s not due to a lack of funds, rather to the fact that previous teachers would lose the books or leave them at home, so finally the principal (who doubles as my Spanish teacher) said that no teachers could take books home. I´ve convinced her that I´m trustworthy enough to bring home the teacher books for the intermediate class, but I can´t take home the basic books because there´s not enough available. I would offer my suggestions on how to make sure those books get back from the teacher, but I´m afraid she might be pretty ruthless when she´s giving me Spanish lessons.
Another interesting part of the job is how the principal´s office, which doubles as the staff lounge, becomes a smoker´s lounge before and after classes. The principal and one of the teachers, a South African character (and I stress character) named Ronald eagerly puff away on their cigarettes. When not smoking their heaters, they are gulping down strong coffee. The other day Ronald was telling me how you need to climb a certain amount of stairs each day to remain healthy. I decided not to ask the question on how a constant stream of nicotine and caffeine into the body fits into the health plan. When not smoking or drinking coffee, Ronald is likely saying something to grab the attention of everyone-on Friday, it was telling a quiet, attractive young teacher that he just wanted to let her know how sexy he thought she was. The words were barely out of his mouth and I thought how the lawyer would already be contacting the principal, explaining the details of the lawsuit if we were in the States. In this office in Peru, everyone just laughed it off (including that young teacher), lead by the principal. It´s a different world down here, I have to say.
It´s a bit amazing to consider that this class is already half over and then I´ll be moving onto another, yet to be determined job. The English classes only last three and a half weeks per level, and once we step into October, Marianella and I will be moving closer to her work which means that I´ll find a job in that area too. We have also tossed around the idea of me doing some freelance English tutoring, as there are many people down here eager to soak up the language. Anyway, a big chunk of our recent free time has been centered on finding an apartment. While we´ve yet to settle on one, we´re getting closer to finding our own place which will be good, especially regarding Marianella´s stress level in driving home from work (mere words cannot describe the traffic down here).
The other thing that has been occupying our time as of late is getting the paperwork together so everything is legitimate with our marriage, work, etc. in Peru. Let me tell you, the bureaucracies in Peru have nothing on the bureaucracies in the States-they´re miserable institutions everywhere.
So, work, apartment shopping, waiting in lines. . .I told you life has been tame lately in Peru. Fortunately, we have an upcoming trip to Argentina just a couple weeks away, so I´ll surely have some interesting info and pictures to show you in the not too distant future.
Ohh, I do have an interesting story to share. . .this past Friday night, I attended a ceremony where a couple celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and renewed their wedding vows (they are neighbors and friends of the family). If you recall from an earlier post, I stated that Peruvians like to party deep into the night or morning. Well, this celebration just reaffirmed that. I attended with Marianella and her mother and after the ceremony at the Church, the (renewed) bride and groom arrived at the reception about 11 p.m. Fortunately, we had eaten dinner that night about 5 p.m., but I was feeling a bit hungry and figured we´d be eating soon. Upon arrival, the couple had their first dance-and then the dancing just continued. Appetizers came around, but no sign of the meal was in sight. Trying to take our minds off food, we joined in the fun and danced frequently, but when we saw the clock go past 1 a.m., Marianella´s mother decided to investigate. It turns out the D.J. was booked until 6 a.m.! My theory is that at 6 a.m., the guests finally ate. We didn´t find out, as we checked out at 1:30 a.m. to head home. Keep in mind, this was a 25th wedding anniversary-not some young whipper snappers, but a couple with adult children! These Peruvians are incredible! The good news though is I was told by Marianella and her mother that I no longer dance American, now I dance Peruvian :).
Alright, I fell off my promise to update the blog every week, but I can assure you, you wouldn´t have missed much if I gave you an update last week. In fact, this week´s update will be pretty pedestrian in comparison to the others-it´s funny how once you start working, it consumes all the interesting things in your life :). Actually, the job itself is quite interesting and entertaining. I am teaching English to two classes of young adults, one at a basic level and one at an intermediate level. My students are all quite nice and respectful, with varying degrees of English speaking skills. I have some students that are really good English speakers who are quite driven to get better, some who are trying to balance a lot in their lives while also trying to learn English, and some who are attending because Mom and Dad keep paying the monthly tuition :).
The interesting aspect of the job is how disorganized it all is. . .I come home and shake my head and laugh with Marianella about the set-up. For my basic class, I´m unable to bring the textbooks home to prepare the following day´s lesson due to the fact that there´s not enough books to go around. It´s not due to a lack of funds, rather to the fact that previous teachers would lose the books or leave them at home, so finally the principal (who doubles as my Spanish teacher) said that no teachers could take books home. I´ve convinced her that I´m trustworthy enough to bring home the teacher books for the intermediate class, but I can´t take home the basic books because there´s not enough available. I would offer my suggestions on how to make sure those books get back from the teacher, but I´m afraid she might be pretty ruthless when she´s giving me Spanish lessons.
Another interesting part of the job is how the principal´s office, which doubles as the staff lounge, becomes a smoker´s lounge before and after classes. The principal and one of the teachers, a South African character (and I stress character) named Ronald eagerly puff away on their cigarettes. When not smoking their heaters, they are gulping down strong coffee. The other day Ronald was telling me how you need to climb a certain amount of stairs each day to remain healthy. I decided not to ask the question on how a constant stream of nicotine and caffeine into the body fits into the health plan. When not smoking or drinking coffee, Ronald is likely saying something to grab the attention of everyone-on Friday, it was telling a quiet, attractive young teacher that he just wanted to let her know how sexy he thought she was. The words were barely out of his mouth and I thought how the lawyer would already be contacting the principal, explaining the details of the lawsuit if we were in the States. In this office in Peru, everyone just laughed it off (including that young teacher), lead by the principal. It´s a different world down here, I have to say.
It´s a bit amazing to consider that this class is already half over and then I´ll be moving onto another, yet to be determined job. The English classes only last three and a half weeks per level, and once we step into October, Marianella and I will be moving closer to her work which means that I´ll find a job in that area too. We have also tossed around the idea of me doing some freelance English tutoring, as there are many people down here eager to soak up the language. Anyway, a big chunk of our recent free time has been centered on finding an apartment. While we´ve yet to settle on one, we´re getting closer to finding our own place which will be good, especially regarding Marianella´s stress level in driving home from work (mere words cannot describe the traffic down here).
The other thing that has been occupying our time as of late is getting the paperwork together so everything is legitimate with our marriage, work, etc. in Peru. Let me tell you, the bureaucracies in Peru have nothing on the bureaucracies in the States-they´re miserable institutions everywhere.
So, work, apartment shopping, waiting in lines. . .I told you life has been tame lately in Peru. Fortunately, we have an upcoming trip to Argentina just a couple weeks away, so I´ll surely have some interesting info and pictures to show you in the not too distant future.
Ohh, I do have an interesting story to share. . .this past Friday night, I attended a ceremony where a couple celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and renewed their wedding vows (they are neighbors and friends of the family). If you recall from an earlier post, I stated that Peruvians like to party deep into the night or morning. Well, this celebration just reaffirmed that. I attended with Marianella and her mother and after the ceremony at the Church, the (renewed) bride and groom arrived at the reception about 11 p.m. Fortunately, we had eaten dinner that night about 5 p.m., but I was feeling a bit hungry and figured we´d be eating soon. Upon arrival, the couple had their first dance-and then the dancing just continued. Appetizers came around, but no sign of the meal was in sight. Trying to take our minds off food, we joined in the fun and danced frequently, but when we saw the clock go past 1 a.m., Marianella´s mother decided to investigate. It turns out the D.J. was booked until 6 a.m.! My theory is that at 6 a.m., the guests finally ate. We didn´t find out, as we checked out at 1:30 a.m. to head home. Keep in mind, this was a 25th wedding anniversary-not some young whipper snappers, but a couple with adult children! These Peruvians are incredible! The good news though is I was told by Marianella and her mother that I no longer dance American, now I dance Peruvian :).
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