A Peruvian Scenario

Read the situation below and respond with what you think would be the best solution to the problem from the given options.

You are a foreign English teacher living in the country of Peru. Each day you arrive at the training center where you teach around 2:45PM in order to begin classes at 3:00. Your mode of transportation is usually catching a moto taxi or a regular taxi to get up the mountain from where you live. The ride is only about 5-10 minutes, but the walk would be a good 45-50 minutes. Most days you begin walking around 2:30PM and a ride stops within 10 minutes. No problem. Most days.

Today is different. You get out of the house a few minutes later than usual and begin the trek. You walk...and walk...and walk. No sign of any cab. You keep walking. It's been about 15 minutes when you run into one of your students. "Has visto un moto?" you ask. Have you seen a moto? "No, no he visto nada." is the response. No, I haven't seen anything. Great. You keep walking. Where have all the motos gone?

Time is ticking and you're not sure what to do. It's hot. You're sweaty. And you are carrying all your teaching materials. Class begins in about 10 minutes at this point, but it's still at least another 25 minute walk. Then you realize that there really are no options and you keep walking. Tick tock, tick tock. Hmmmm. Wait. What's that?! You think you hear a car about to turn around the bend and you stop. "Please be a cab" you think to yourself.

You are in luck and so relieved to see the cab sticker that you excitedly wave it down. But as soon as it stops you wonder why it did. The front seat has three people crammed in and the back is full with four. Clearly you weren't the only one wondering where all the cabs were. It's about five minutes to class at this point and you have a decision. What do you do??

OPTION A

Wave the cab on by and keep walking. There's no room for you in that car and you're not about to sit on a stranger's lap. Besides, being 15 minutes late to something is not a big deal in Latin America, right? Sure, you are the teacher, but you're usually very punctual. Once is not a big deal and maybe another cab will come around that turn in a few seconds...

OPTION B

Ask the cab driver if he'll drop the others off and come back for you. It will take a little longer, but you'll know for sure that someone is on his way. You may only be 5-10 minutes late with this scenario.

OPTION C

Pop the trunk open and hop in. Heck, you've got places to be and are tired of walking. It's only about a 3 minute ride from here and there aren't laws against doing this in Peru. You think you've seen other people do it and the driver obviously thinks he has room for you somewhere.

Dear Grandma

October 26th, 2010

Dear Grandma Donna,

Land-line phone calls...I don't think so.

Hand-written letters....are you kidding me?

Morse code....let's be serious.

I'll be honest, grandma. I didn't think this day would come. But now that it has, I want the world to know that yesterday was a day to go down in the history books. Not only did you get a computer and turn it on, but you successfully got online and skyped with me for 45 minutes. It took me a second this morning when I woke up to remember if it had been a dream or reality. Sure enough, your name was still on my Skype list when I logged on. Beautiful.

Let me know when you start writing a blog or get Facebook.

Your technologically inferior granddaughter,

Katie

PS If you talk to Grandma Kay, let her know that it's been too long since I've skyped with her. I'd like to change that.

Psalm 121

The view out my backyard in Lunahuana.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

² My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Salmos 121

Cántico de los *peregrinos.

¹ A las montañas levanto mis ojos;
¿de dónde ha de venir mi ayuda?
² Mi ayuda proviene del Señor,
creador del cielo y de la tierra.

³ No permitirá que tu pie resbale;
jamás duerme el que te cuida.
⁴ Jamás duerme ni se adormece
el que cuida de Israel.

⁵ El Señor es quien te cuida,
el Señor es tu sombra protectora. ^"
⁶ De día el sol no te hará daño,
ni la luna de noche.

⁷ El Señor te protegerá;
de todo mal protegerá tu vida.
⁸ El Señor te cuidará en el hogar y en el camino,
desde ahora y para siempre.

Peruanismos

Even if you speak Spanish, you may not recognize some of these distinctly Peruvian words and phrases. Enjoy!

English- Spanish- Peruanismo

House- Casa- Jato

Money- Dinero- Plata

To sleep- Dormir- Jatear

To be very tired- Estar cansado/a- Estar trapo/a

Very- Muy- Recontra

To study- Estudiar- Chancar

Party- Fiesta- Tono

To work- Trabajar- Chambear

Job- Trabajo- Chamba

A moment- Un momento- Un toque

Homegirl- Amiga- Pata

EFL News

Last Monday I was blessed to begin teaching English at the training center in Uchupampa which is a small anexo in the district of Lunahuana. To begin with, I am teaching four classes: two for youth and two for adults. The English classes are being run by a Peruvian man named Pablo and they are the first classes to be held in this building. Apart from me, there are two Peace Corps volunteers who each teach one adult class a few days during the week.

The classes are all beginning at the very basic level as most of the students have no English background or very little experience with the language. The number of students in each class continues to change each day, but I usually have between 10-15 students per class. Though numbers fluctuate a bit as we get started, there is a solid number of core students in each class who have remained consistent. It's been fun being able to see students outside of class as I spend time in the community and begin to hear more about who they are and where they are coming from. Please continue to pray for those relationships.

Another prayer request is that this Wednesday there are plans to begin a Bible study! LCMS World Mission teams and missionaries have done different outreach activities in the past and built some deep relationships in Lunahauna. The Lord is using those connections in many ways, one of which is to gather a group of people to start studying his Word on a consistent basis. We are not sure how many people to expect the first night, but many have expressed interest and seem excited to participate. Please pray that the Lord would richly bless our conversations that evening and that his message would be shared in its truth and purity.

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door four our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ..." Colossians 4:2-3

Unity

Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who unites us so beautifully in faith and love. Since the recent move to Peru my mind has been dwelling frequently on this concept of unity as I find myself physically so far away from loved ones back in the United States. There have been many moments so far when I’ve actually felt very close to home thanks to Skype, e-mail, and Facebook. In fact, just last week I was able to watch the Twins game at a restaurant a few blocks away from where I am staying in Lima. On the other hand, there are also frequent moments in which I feel like life in the U.S. is a faint memory and that I’m completely out of touch with what is going on there. Being immersed in a very different culture while knowing that daily routines are still taking place back home makes it difficult to grasp this concept of unity. However, I am encouraged to know that even living on different continents, we share in fellowship and unity by the power of the Holy Spirit. Philippians 2:1-2 states, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” Though our locations may look and function completely different, we are united as we are blessed and instructed by the same God. As Christians, we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and confidently know that we are one because Christ leads and guides us all.

Reconciling Human Suffering with a God who Loves

"The problem of reconciling human suffering with the existence of a God who loves, is only insoluble so long as we attach a trivial meaning to the word 'love', and look on things as if man were the centre of them. Man is not the centre. God does not exist for the sake of man. Man does not exist for his own sake. 'Thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created' (Revelation 4:11). We were made not primarily that we may love God (though we were made for that too) but that God may love us, that we may become objects in which the Divine love may rest 'well-pleased'." C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Where exactly is Lunahuana??

In case you are not exactly sure where in Peru Lunahuana is located, this map provides a good visual. Lunahuana is southeast of Lima, Peru's capital. The terrain is mountainous and there is a river that runs through this community. Lunahuana is well-known for its river shrimp (camarones) and its white-water rafting (canotaje). In fact, it seems that every time I tell a Peruvian that I am going to be living in Lunahuana, I'm quickly asked if I have been white water rafting or tried the shrimp! This area of Peru is also filled with vineyards making wine production another source of income for people in the community. A delicious Peruvian fruit called the "nispero" grows in excess here and is produced to sell in other parts of the country.

nisperos