We're officially halfway through our 2-month stay in Peru, and I thought I'd take a minute before work today to reflect on my trip highlights so far and my goals for the next four weeks in the sacred valley.
Because the only saving grace that makes me the second-favorite son in my household and not the least favorite son (mind you, there are only two boys) are my organizational skills, I'll try to follow a format of a memory and a few quick notes.
1. Teaching, at first, was extremely difficult for me because of the language barrier and general lack of authority in the classroom.
-I'm excited to say that due to my ever-optimistic partner in crime, Hannah, I've remained hopeful about our work in the classroom, and it's paid off. We've developed a sense of trust with the students, and they genuinely love to see us in the mornings. Nothing's better than seeing one of my students in the streets after work and hearing a pipsqueak yell, "Profe! Profe!"
2. Conversing with locals in the market was an arduous task at first, and I feel like I got hustled by too many little old ladies.
-Thankfully, I've gotten a lot better at piling kilos of tomatoes into bags, quickly weighing them, and asking for the appropriate amount of soles without too many raised eyebrows or cross faces from the crowd. This gringo has cracked his way into the fastest growing economy in Latin America.
3. I'm psyched about the relationships I've made with Duke kids, ProPeru staff members, and community members in Urubamba.
-Our group has grown incredibly close due to a lot of time together working on our projects, weekend hikes, and senseless boondoggles around the Sacred Valley. My host family and I have forged a great relationship, and I couldn't be happier with my roommate, Dave Balthazar. Although he'll whoop my ass at cards after dinner, we've both made a conscious effort to help out as much around the house as possible.
4. Ollanta Humala is the new Peruvian president.
-After a full month of anticipation, we finally heard the announcement of the new president of Peru. I was on a run with Miriam and Dave when we heard a radio voice booming for a house yell, "Ollanta, Ollanta!" The vote was incredibly close: 52.6% of Peru voting for Ollanta, and 47.4% for Keiko. It's hard to have any strong political views in a foreign country other than those of your host family's, so I'm excited to see how they'll respond after seeing their lesser favorite candidate take the victory. Keiko advocates are worried that Ollanta will try to dismantle a lot of the foreign investment in the tourism industry in favor of redirecting all of the income back to Peruvians, and my host uncle (a tourism guide in Cusco working with foreign agencies) has expressed some worries. Regardless, it was amazing to see the public celebrations for Ollanta in the street Sunday night. Men and women waved flags and engaged in patriotic song and dance. Although Humala doesn't take office until we leave, I'm excited to follow the Peruvian political scene from afar.
5. Family, it's been a while.
The whole Kachadoorian clan hasn't been together since Christmas, and we've all been up to some pretty exciting stuff, whether it's Caroline breaking out into the 5th grade travel lacrosse program, my mom chasing fitness goals that still amaze me, Meaghan accomplishing more than I ever could in high school while still getting made of by my Euro-stylish brother, or my dad's never ending devotion to his career to make all of the aforementioned possible.
I'm beyond excited to share my experiences with Karen and Meaghan in Peru in a week, but I'm even more pumped to be with the whole family at home this summer.
Here's to another amazing month,
Chris
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