Spanish... Spanglish?

I had a language helper named Esther for about 5 days and then she got a job as a teacher about 2.5 hours away in Circa. So I have now started with Silvia... and her baby is due on the 18th May (but she has been told it will probably come early). She's the pastor's wife and we're bout the same age - we meet for about 3 hours each day and it's been really cool.

So I guess you might be thinking... what do you do with a language helper?

We usually meet in the plaza at 9am and then chat about what we the previous day in the arvo and at night. She corrects me if I say stuff incorrectly. After that, the topics of conversation can range from food, culture, stories, myths, people, clothing, church, colours, numbers... usually I've thought of some stuff that I want to know or consolidate and she also has something that she wants to teach me.

After a while in the plaza, we walk around the market or streets to learn new words and then end up at the honey shop, where we have a drink or something to eat and read the Bible.

I also had a suggestion from someone or somewhere to read the New Testament out loud - so for about the last half hour, we take turns and read a paragraph each... at first it was quite hard, but it's getting easier and I feel like I'm reading at a "normal" pace. It's been cool to learn "bible" words and we're up to Mark 11.

I feel like I am improving, more Spanish and less Spanglish... and it has been really fun to have language helpers and live with a family rather than be stuck in a classroom. Definitely recommend it!

Pray that my brain will continue to absorb Spanish!
Pray for Silvia, for the rest of her pregnancy and that the birth will go smoothly.

Settling into my room...

My new room... and furniture! I bought a table and shelves to put all my stuff...

My culture helper, Sandra - we went to the Mirador (the lookout), you can see Abancay behind us

It's been fun getting to know Abancay and some of the people here. I'm getting lots of Spanish practice with the family, Esther and Sandra.

Moved in...

I've now been living with a family here in Abancay for 6 days. It's been really cool experiencing the Peruvian culture and being able to listen to/speak Spanish all day.

The father, Luciano, is a judge or lawyer here in Abancay for the district of Apurimac, the mother, Rosemary, takes care of the house and cooks etc - and they have 3 children. The eldest, Ruy, is studying in Lima, so I haven't met him, then there's Diana who's 16 and Javier is 13. They're really friendly and fun.

My room is right on the street and I'm only metres away from people walking past and cars driving past - it makes for a good alarm clock in the morning and I'm gradually learning to sleep through it all, I bought a table and shelves to put all my stuff, I've gotten used to showering without a shower curtain and making the whole bathroom wet in the process, I'm getting used to having breakfast at 8ish, lunch at 2:30ish and dinner at 9:30ish, and I've had all sorts of yummy Peruvian food. So it's going pretty well - I'm loving it.

I also meet up with Esther, one of my friends from the IEP church, for Spanish class and practice each day for about 3 hours. Another girl, Sandra, is also helping me to get to know Abancay. So we walk around town, catch the combis, visit people I know and chat.

Praise God for:
- the opportunity to live with a local family - it's awesome!
- Esther and Sandra who are helping me with Spanish and culture
- no new bug bites!!

Pray for:
- my relationship with the family, that I will be a good witness and have opportunities to share the gospel
- my Spanish, that it will continue to improve

Semana Santa

Holy Week...

I've been tagging along with the missos or MK's when they go and do interesting stuff...
- Allen and Jeff (missos) spoke at one of the universities that had a forum on "Jesuscristo Revolucionario" along with a Catholic priest
- Sarah (MK) sang at her school mass for Easter
- Allen went to a village about 1.5 hours away and showed "La Pasion de Cristo" followed with a gospel talk

So little by little, hopefully I'll understand more of Catholicism here in Abancay compared with the evangelicals. The Pastor at the IEP (Evangelical Church of Peru) spoke from Matthew 28:1-11 and reminded us of the significance of the cross and the hope we have in Christ's resurrection.

The team here in Abancay (15 Americans and 1 Aussie/ABC) also celebrated Easter and the fact that our Saviour and Lord died and is risen, and that has also been an interesting cultural experience! Since I started High School, Easter meant Youth Houseparty or Youth Getaway... AND chocolate... but this year, dyeing and hiding Easter eggs (who would have thought Easter eggs came in a non-chocolate variety that you had to dye yourself!), singing Easter songs (or were they hymns...) that everyone knew cept me, and having an Easter lunch with turkey, cranberry sauce and apple pie! YUM! I think I like!!

So for other news...
- I move in with the Peruvian family later today... Luciano, Rosemary, Diana and Javier
- I counted over 50 bug bites all over my body.... very itchy!
- I failed my project... again!

Pray that I'll be able to adjust to living with a local family and that there will be many opportunities to share Jesus.

Settling in...

Sometimes it's a bit bizarre to think that this is now my home. I live in Abancay...! I go from ohmygoodness to AWESOME!

Going to youth group and church, wanting to sing in Spanish but not knowing the words (they all just seem to know all the songs so they don't always put words up!), drinking something pink and sweet for communion, greeting people with a kiss, itchy bites all over my body, the soft Quechuan handshake, going shopping at the markets, bumping into people you know on the street, catching the combi, walking along dirt roads, jumping over gross things I don't want to step in, getting stared at - all things that sometimes seem unfamiliar which in time will become familiar.

A small town in the Andes - Abancay is very different to Lima. I feel like a city girl pretending to fit in and live in the country! Funny thing is, many people come into Abancay from the surrounding district, so it is supposed to be the "city". But I feel like I live in the middle of nowhere.

At the same time... this is where God wants me to be and I'm really looking forward to getting to know the girls from church better. I wish my Spanish was heaps better too! It would make it so much easier to get to know people. Listening to Spanish and trying to speak can actually be quite tiring too... I look forward to the day when I will be able to think and dream in Spanish!

Today as I was walking around town with Stacey (my orientation mentor), I met the Chinese couple who have a Chinese restaurant in town and they invited me to have Chinese tea with them! They speak Mandarin (not Cantonese) so that should be interesting - but we did manage a conversation with my really bad Mandarin and broken Spanish. How funny!

Tomorrow, we will go to visit the Peruvian family I hope to live with from next week.

Pray that
- I will continue to settle in
- I will be able to build good relationships with the other missionaries and some of the girls at church
- I will be a light for Jesus to the Peruvian family and the Chinese couple