So I suppose I should start this blog with some background on why I’m here. After 7 years of working in the DC NGO world, I decided that I needed an escape - to remind myself that there really is a world beyond the beltway. I needed a change, I needed new challenges, and I needed to take life a bit less seriously for a while. It was a leap that took me a long time to take, but I have not regretted the decision for a moment since.
Now I find myself in Arequipa, a colonial city in southern Peru. White-washed stone buildings line the narrow streets, indigenous women wearing long braids and pleated skirts pass men in business suits and dodge through noisy traffic, roosters crow next to scantily dressed women selling claro and moviestar cell phone packages, and most importantly – you can buy queso helado topped with cinnamon on almost any corner.
My first goal is to improve my Spanish. I am taking 20 hours of classes a week at a local Spanish school started by an older Peruvian woman who used to teach history at the local university. I live with a family – a woman and her two children. Patricia (coincidentally my own mother’s name as well), also teaches at the school. Her husband left for Spain a year ago and her parents have passed on, so she is raising two children all by herself. Quite a remarkable feat. Her 8 year-old son has Asperger’s – a difficult syndrome for a parent to handle in the U.S., let alone in Peru. He is a delightful kid, obsessed with technology and completely convinced that the US has the best technology (and lego ninjas – or ‘ninjagos’) and is therefore the best country in the world. The 17 year-old daughter is incredibly mature for her age, working and studying hard and helping her mom take care of the house.
The family is great about speaking slowly and helping me practice my Spanish, and tries not to laugh too much at the ridiculous things that come out of my mouth when I try to speak in Spanish. And the city is wonderful for exploring. But it is the rainy season and by the time my non-morning-person self gets going I’ve usually missed the blue skies and sun, resigned to clouds and rain that detract from the many amazing vistas and overlooks. But it is a wonderful city to explore nonetheless. And a perfect place to start my travels.
