Monday, September 22, 2008

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!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Jared,

Sounds like my kind of weather! What an experience you must be enjoying...good for you. Good luck on that pavement...SCORE!

Take care.
Gerry

Anonymous said...

We just started to have your kind of weather down here too. (Well, I guess it should be "up here.") I love your update. Should we send you knee pads for the pavement soccer. Yike! Tell me more about food next time, if you can. If it's good I want recipe.

Noo

SJM said...

Hey Jared

The Sunday family gathering sounds fun! Do you make you usual dish you like to bring to our family gatherings? :) Hope you guys can score a goal this time -- good luck.

Steve

Unknown said...

Hey! Good to read about your adventures all the way over here in India. Hope all is well!