Peru 2

This week has been good! I feel like I have been able to get more involved in the projects that are here.  The university mentoring program that I´m working with has progressed.  We had a meeting on Friday with the students and some faculty of the University of Piura.  The meeting presentation started out well... for about the first 10 minutes. Well first let me say that it took them about an hour from the time we were supposed to start to actually get there. The meeting was to begin at 10:30 am, but it didn´t start til 11:30 because we had to wait around for people to come. This is definitely one of the biggest things I have noticed about Peru. It´s a lot of waiting around for everyone.  Anyways, about 10 minutes into the presentation one of the students asked how a person can become a mentor in the program.  (the mentoring is for university students to go and mentor elementary kids) Our project lead responded that right now anyone can do it since we are just getting the program started. Once this was said, one of the faculty ladies got frustrated.  She was angry and started saying that this program will not work. She has kids, and she wouldn´t want just anyone coming to her kids. She said the university students might molest the kids or teach them bad morals.  Everything that she said made a very valid point, but it was very frustrating to me the way she presented it.  We were willing to listen to her critisicm and fix the program so that it was better, but I got the feeling that she didn´t want to listen to our program or help it succeed.  After about an hour and a half we finally made it through the meeting and we were able to set a first day for the university students to mentor.  I think this week I had to learn to be open minded. I feel like I am generally pretty open to everything, but dealing with someone that was as stubborn as that faculty lady, it just helped me to remember that I should always listen to others ideas. This week I also got to go see the orphanage (Aldea).  It was actually a pretty nice orphanage. I was suprised! I got to spend time with the littlest kids, and they were so much fun! We put on music and they danced around. It is such a good feeling when the little kids run to you and give you a big hug. I love how they want to show me their coloring books and everything else. It seriously warms your heart having such adorable little kids wanting to spend all their time with you.  They never want us to leave!  On Saturday I got to go to Encantada in Chulucanas.  This place is known for their pottery, and let me tell you something... Their pottery is amazing! Most all of them live where their store is. The store and workshop is the front, and their house is the back. I thought it was amazing, but at the same time I thought how do these people do this.  They had so much pottery done, but what are they doing with their lives. Maybe a lot of tourists go there, but it was way up in the woods, so I doubt it, and I just think how do they live just making pottery all day that doesn´t produce much of an income. It was definitely interesting. I enjoyed visiting, but I am so grateful for the life that I have and the hope for my future.  At the same time, I think it is amazing how people here can simply enjoy life without having to do anything.  On Friday night, a group of us went to the plaza, and we were all talking about how people can enjoy life here.  People all over just walk around the plaza, some sit on benches and talk to eachother.  It´s really cool! In America, we always have to be doing something. If we want to spend time with a friend, we usually go out to eat together or have something planned, but I love how they just meet at the park and sit down and talk.  Today I went to church.  I stayed for all 3 hours, and I was suprised at how much I could  understand.  At times I would stop listening, because it is so hard to concentrate on translating Spanish for that long, but when I really tried I was amazed that I could understand.  I can usually grasp the concept of what they are saying, but sometimes I can actually understand a whole sentence. That is one of the best feelings in the world!! One of my favorite things here is when people ask where we are from.  Nobody ever thinks I am from the US.  It´s so funny! A group of ladies thought for sure I was Costa Rican, and other people will ask my country director where I´m from.  Even though I have dark hair and am a little tan, I still stick out here.  Everyone here is so dark. Whenever our group walks down the street people will yell, Hola gringas! People never stop whistling, honking horns, and trying to get our attention.  I´ve just gotten used to it now. We usually just wave and say, Hola or Buenos Dias, etc. It´s fun here.  We have begun our planning for Machu Picchu.  I will be going to Machu Picchu, Cuzco, and Lima.  Oh... and we get to go to the LIMA TEMPLE!!! I am so excited for that! Anyways, that´s all for now :)