Peru: Spanish Intensive and Cultural Immersion

 Sadly… spanish classes in Peru have come to an end, after 56 hours of instruction.  Pictured at left is Carmen, my Practica teacher, who led me around the city and helped me run errands when I needed a fluent speaker by my side.  On the right side is Nayut, my classroom teacher, who painstakingly ran me through the schools Basico I,II and Intermedio I program in three weeks.  It was difficult to say goodbye, after seeing them nearly on a daily basis for almost my entire time in Peru.

Before class I ran to the artesan market and hunted for gifts for my profesoras.  With the first money I´d given her, Nayut had bought earrings she thought were silver, only to find out that they were an incredibly cheap knock off after a few days wearing them.  I found her new earrings.  I bought Carmen a very nice white scarf, which may or may not be made from Alpaca.  While the two presents were being wrapped, I saw how uneven the sizes of the two presents were, and was sure that I would be interrogated if one present was larger than the other.  Quickly, as I was already late for my last day of class, I bought some knitted gloves for Nayut and threw them in with her earrings.  The wrapped presents were nearly identical in size.

They appreciated their presents, and we had heartfelt goodbyes throughout the morning.  As our last mission, Carmen and I went to a photo shop and printed two copies of the picture above.  One for Carmen, and one for Nayut.

I shall say goodbye to my host family over drinks tonight, and then head to the Plaza de Armas for my last look at the main square of the city.  I leave for Northern Peru tomorrow morning.  Until then, cheers!

When I returned to my homestay after Machu Picchu, Manchi, the grandmother of the house, seemed outside her usual jovial self, and preoccupied with things outside the family home, and even outside of Cuzco.  It is my understanding that her uncle became ill, and has now passed.  While she has still been lively and easy to joke with the last few days, there has been a look in her eyes that I had not seen before.  Today marked two weeks living with her family, and it seemed appropriate to move on to another location to allow for time to be devoted to other causes.

Classes continue, I have had two this week and have five more days left.  I have moved near the center of Cuzco, within walking distance of Fairplay.  This weekend I plan to travel to Lake Titikaka, and finish my time at spanish school sometime next week.  This is the update, Ciao.

An intensive week of classes.    This weekend looks to be full as well, with a teacher and student game of volleyball at the local college tomorrow, and the grandpa of the house´s birthday on ... [Continue reading this entry]

I´m not quite so sure anecdotas is actually a word... but you get the point...  (anecdotes).  Last night eight of my fellow students and I sat around the dining room table and helped prepare chiles stuffed with beef, carrots, potatoes, fried ... [Continue reading this entry]

AT 9:30 my Spanish teacher came to my house to show me how to take the bus to the school.   Extremely crowded, and still clad ïn ¨Feliz Navidad¨ decorations, the trip took about twenty minutes, and cost about a quarter.  ... [Continue reading this entry]

There are over 6800 languages spoken in the world.  Mandarin is the most widespread, with 800 million speakers.  Spanish is number two, with 360 million, and English is third with 350 million speakers.  It has been beneficial for me on this trip ... [Continue reading this entry]