Another week gone by!

It's been a really great week--the new volunteers stepped up and quickly took over classes, which has been a huge relief for me, and I've gotten the chance to spend some time in grade levels other than 1 and 2, which is a nice break. I didn't realize that one of the coolest parts of this job would be watching the volunteers come into their own while they're here. Most are quite nervous when they arrive and aren't sure what to expect in the schools, but to see them jump right in to lesson planning, teaching, and laughing with the kids is a really neat thing to be a part of.

I have been working with a new girl at Maldonado, Virginia, who will be entering 6th grade in a few weeks. She recently moved here and is at about the same level as my second graders in math and reading, which I discovered while the rest of the class was doing a simple exercise and it became apparent that she didn't know the difference between addition and subtraction. She's somewhat grudgingly worked with me over the last few days, and I hope that she'll catch on a bit before the school year starts.

Some people have been asking about this week's 6.0 earthquake in Southern Peru, but it was in Pisco, no one was killed, and we just felt a little tremor that night, so I am still very much alive at this point and hoping for no more seismic action for the next eight weeks!

Last night we went out to a very interesting restaurant, Zig Zag, as a goodbye to one of our fabulous volunteers from Scotland, Jennie. This restaurant is not for vegetarians: you order big slabs of meat that come out still sizzling on a hot stone, and I was told that I absolutely had to try the trilogy, which is ostrich, alpaca, and beef, and it was quite delicious. I've been a bit food-deprived while I've been here, so it was nice to have some actual protein and feel full after a meal! Jennie and I shared a special bond, and we couldn't decide if it was because we share the same birthday or if we bonded over almost being run over by rogue ice cream bicyclists multiple times on the way in between Triunfo and Maldonado (Some people sell ice cream in carts attached to a bike. They don't have brakes and they FLY down the sandy hills that we walk on). Anyway, she's in her fifties, has raised two children and had a handful of different careers, has an intense travel bug and loves to scuba dive. I know I've said this before, but one of the coolest parts about this job is meeting people from all over the world, in different phases of life, all coming to try to make the world a bit more bearable for others. Jennie came to have an adventure all on her own, having married young and not had a lot of completely independent experiences.She was absolutely marvelous with the kids and will be missed by all.

I make a few cameos in the GVI Phoenix Project blog. It's not the first entry, but it's called Back to Basics in Peru, and talks about summer school thus far. The link is:
http://www.gviphoenix.blogspot.com/

Today I get to lay low a bit, and then I have a 4:45 am wake-up call tomorrow to pick up on new volunteer, followed by orientation, a barbeque, and moving in with my host family! Have a good weekend, everyone!