Saturday, May 22, 2010

Poco a Poco.....

Where does the time go? It’s hard to believe I’ve been in Arequipa for two months now. Yikes!! The weather seems to be getting cooler here. It’s a bit strange to see some of the little kids going to school wearing gloves…it’s probably warmer than 55 degrees outside. Funny!! Since summer is coming for y’all in the U.S. that means winter is coming for me. AAACK!! Two winters this year!! At least it won’t snow here…

School continues to be challenging and fun too (most of the time…). As we push through more complex verb tenses and lots of new rules for grammar I’m reminded of how much I have already learned and also of how much more there is for me to learn as well.

Lots of people down here seem to like the phrase, “poco a poco"(little by little) when talking about language learning. This is probably a good way to look at the process, but I’m more of an instant gratification person… I’m an American. I’d like to have the results now please. For me, this has been a good lesson in patience and reliance on God. As I gradually learn more language I’m encouraged and thankful that God has opened up my old brain to learn Spanish in preparation for my next destination. One day, (I hope sooner rather than later) I’ll be fluent in Spanish. Until then, I’m enjoying the adventures on the way. I’m sure there are plenty more to come.

Other than school, I’ve been enjoying the sun, parks, center of town, and running from dogs. I think it’s rained about twice since I’ve been here. It’s been great!! I guess that’s the advantage of two winters for me. Yay for dry season!! The food continues to be absolutely amazing. I still miss cooking, but the food here is so good… Otherwise, life has been full of lots of Spanish and little bits of confusion.

Hasta próximo tiempo!!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Toros!!

Just thought I'd share a couple of pictures from my latest adventure to a bull fight down here.




Pre show entertainment


















Couy!!
























More Pre show entertainment....






Priming the bull












Three fearless men

















The real deal.....