Computers, Insect Burns, bamboo and more!
Wow is time really flying! I can't believe we're already half way through February!! I'm just about to hit the 8 month mark here in Peru, about a third of the way through my two year term. The past few weeks have actually been quite busy. The large majority of my time has been spent in the computer center teaching classes. I continue to teach 5 classes every monday, wednesday and friday. It has definitely been a challenge...sometimes difficult to get out of bed at 6:30am knowing that I'll be speaking spanish and teaching classes (two things that i'm not really the best at!) until 9:30pm. The mornings are particularly rough since the students range in age from 6 yrs old to 12. They really put my patience to the test! Every 5 minutes or so i have to remind them to pay attention to what i am saying so that they can learn something new... really all they want to do is play games(i let them do that every now and the too). The afternoons/nights are much more relaxed. I really enjoy working with the adults because they are really interested in learning. They've come a long way. They have now nearly mastered the basic functions of Microsoft Word, can save documents, transfer files from cds etc... It's been fun watching them progress.
The good news is that the classes come to an end this coming friday. I've no doubt enjoyed the past month and a half, but am ready to make the change to working on a project that it more in my field. In March I will be traveling to Lima where I have a meeting with my supervisors and another volunteer concerning a Peace Corps Peru video project that we will hopefully be undertaking soon. Also, I am looking into the possibility of working with the women weavers in my district to help them organized themselves and look for markets throughout Peru. Yet another possibility is working with my host father on a fish farming project. I'm definitely excited about getting into the work. I've finally reached the point where I am comfortable enough with my Spanish to confidently pursue work opportunities!
Another "Peace Corps Moment" occurred when I work up one morning with an intense burn on my right underarm... hm.. what could that be??? how about a little black bug that discharges some type of acidic liquid causing the equivalent of a blistery sunburn. Fortunately my burn wasn´t too extreme, though it lasted for a good week and a half. A friend of mine had a similar experience but found herself in the hospital for 3 days.
The days when I'm not teaching, I've been enjoying spending time with my little brothers and sisters as well as walking throughout town chatting with the locals. One day I crafted a large shelf out of bamboo with a bunch of my little buddies. It actually turned out really well, except for the fact that there is another insect which keeps eating the bamboo... not really a big deal, but it covers everything with saw dust. I've got to look into a solution for that.. my clothes are still in my suitcase, and i've been waiting for the opportunity to move them onto my brand new shelf.
Anyway, I must conclude this entry. The next couple week should be pretty exciting. In addition my parents will be coming to visit the third week of March. Boy, am I excited!!!!
The good news is that the classes come to an end this coming friday. I've no doubt enjoyed the past month and a half, but am ready to make the change to working on a project that it more in my field. In March I will be traveling to Lima where I have a meeting with my supervisors and another volunteer concerning a Peace Corps Peru video project that we will hopefully be undertaking soon. Also, I am looking into the possibility of working with the women weavers in my district to help them organized themselves and look for markets throughout Peru. Yet another possibility is working with my host father on a fish farming project. I'm definitely excited about getting into the work. I've finally reached the point where I am comfortable enough with my Spanish to confidently pursue work opportunities!
Another "Peace Corps Moment" occurred when I work up one morning with an intense burn on my right underarm... hm.. what could that be??? how about a little black bug that discharges some type of acidic liquid causing the equivalent of a blistery sunburn. Fortunately my burn wasn´t too extreme, though it lasted for a good week and a half. A friend of mine had a similar experience but found herself in the hospital for 3 days.
The days when I'm not teaching, I've been enjoying spending time with my little brothers and sisters as well as walking throughout town chatting with the locals. One day I crafted a large shelf out of bamboo with a bunch of my little buddies. It actually turned out really well, except for the fact that there is another insect which keeps eating the bamboo... not really a big deal, but it covers everything with saw dust. I've got to look into a solution for that.. my clothes are still in my suitcase, and i've been waiting for the opportunity to move them onto my brand new shelf.
Anyway, I must conclude this entry. The next couple week should be pretty exciting. In addition my parents will be coming to visit the third week of March. Boy, am I excited!!!!
posted by Ryan Nelson | 9:40 PM
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