19 days already?

So, i´ve been in Peru for two and a half weeks and it has just flown by. Everyday we have training from 8 to 5 and we have saturday morning sessions in Lima. Life is very busy, especially with the soccer tournament we´re in. We have games almost every night and many of our family members come and support our team when we play. The tournament ends this week, with a large party on Friday night in the neighborhood where we play. We haven´t lost in the last 3 games, winning one and tying 2. There is actually a lot of gossip about our team, because we are gringos and i think other teams are embarrassed when they don´t beat us. We´re actually not bad though.
Saturday we had a training session at the University of Agriculture outside of Lima. We learned many names for fruits and vegetables that are grown in Peru, both native and non-native. We also learned how to plant seeds, which is the same as in the U.S. but will be useful for the tree planting portion of my service. Saturday evening we attended a neighborhood party that involved a stage, 2 bands, and lots of fireworks. There was a large wooden tower that shot fireworks in every direction, including into the crowd, but nobody seemed too worried about it. Then, ¨toro loco¨happened, which is a wooden bull that a man (who´d had a few) runs around in and fireworks shoot out in all directions. With this the fireworks are very close to the crowd and sparks are flying everywhere. It reminded me of a quote from my sisters Thai host family, ¨In America, safety first. In Thailand, no problem!¨ That quote also seems to apply to Peru.
Sunday was another family day, except in the afternoon i went to s professional soccer game with my older host brother. It was fun and there were of course ridiculous air horns and drums being played the entire time, which really spiced things up.
As of today, all training sessions are now in Spanish, which makes it much more difficult to pay attention. For me, language is the most important aspect of my training. The other parts of training involve learning how to approach people and work in groups...kind of like camp. I have even taught a few camp games to the Environmental group, becuase a large part of what we´ll be doing is working with/educating youth. As a whole, training is going well and we are having a pretty good time. Language is the only thing that gets overwhelming at times, becuase we learn so much vocab every day that their isn´t time to practice everything. I´m doing a lot of selective learning that this point of what is going to be important at this time. I figure I have 2 years to learn vocab.
That´s about it for now. I´ll try to get some pictures up soon, but we´ll see.

Peace

More from Yanacoto

So, after one whole week living with my host family things are going great. In case I didn´t already explain, I live in Yanacoto, which is a small neighborhood an hour inland from Lima. The air is cleaner here, and it is always sunny. Daytime highs are in the upper 70s to low 80s but it is dry. We are just entering spring here, but there aren´t really 4 distinct seasons. Nighttime the temp drops into the 50s, so the weather is quite pleasant.
Sunday in my host family is always a family day because nobody in my family has to work. My mom and dad, four of their kids/spouses, and 6 grandchildren (ranging from 12 yrs to 20 months) were all at my house for breakfast and lunch, followed by relaxing and watching a soccer game between two popular teams from Lima. It was relaxing and fun to have so much family around. All the kids causes quite a lot of noise, but it wasn´t too different from a family gathering in the U.S.
We have language class 3 or 4 times a week, and this week my class of 5 people is meeting at my house (it changes each week). Class is fun and relaxed, as there are only five of us, but we learn a lot. My Spanish is coming along really well. I haven´t improved my grammar too much yet, but my vocabulary has really improved.
There is a soccer tournament in a neighborhood where a few volunteers live, and Peace Corps entered a team (unofficially). It is 6 on 6 and we play on a cement slab a little bigger than a tennis court. We lost our first game 1-0 but all our families were proud of us because normally the PC team gets demolished. It is pretty intense, the other teams all have jerseys and goalie gloves. Our team has a definate size advantage, even i´m bigger than most, but playing on cement is a different type of game. We have our second game tonight, so we´ll see what happens. We just want to have some fun.

I´m quickly getting used to life in Peru. I really enjoy my neighborhood because people are alway outside and it is easy to talk with and meet everyone around us. The food is great, lots of rice and potatoes, chicken, and fresh fruits.

All is well, Peace from Peru!

Here in Yanacoto

It´s my 10th day in Peru and all is well. My training has been going well. We have Spanish language class, letures about the Environmental program, and other activities to practice integrating into a new community. Most things are fun and interesting.

My host family is wonderful and welcoming. I´m excited to spend 3 months with them. Sorry for such a quick update the the internet cafe is closing for the night. More to come soon...

Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers.

Not quite yet...

First, I need to say Happy Birthday to my sister Elizabeth. Today is my last day at home and Mom and Elizabeth and I are headed out around town for one last day of fun. I'm almost packed...but it always seems like there is more to be done. Wednesday morning I take off for Washington D.C. for a day and a half of Peace Corps orientation. Then, on Friday September 12, we're off to Peru!