(no subject)
i am flipping out because i just figured out that i leave for peru in less than a month. and i think i feel less prepared now than i did three months ago when our training just began.
i'm nervous about going through customs and stuff at the airport in Lima. there's a whole lot of if-you-lose-this-one-thing-you'll-be-stuck-in-peru-for-awhile sort of deals. then add that i speak basically no spanish, and i've come to realize that i have an insanely difficult time understanding spanish accents. i generally have to say 'what?' about twice and lean in very close to understand. most of the time, thankfully, i'll be with my team and locals from peru who will help a whole whole lot. but we have to go through customs by ourselves. i'm nervous about the food--generally i'm a fairly picky eater. i think as long as i don't find out what exactly i'm eating, i'll be ok. my main concern with the food is not offending the host! and the showers. they're scary. they're called "widow-makers" for the fact that to access hot water, there's an enormous amount of electicity running to the shower head. (the whole country of Peru has a higher voltage than the US...) so you have to flip this switch to turn it on. water+electricity=zap. eep! i think our whole team is going to be taking cold showers for 10 days.... and we'll be teaching english classes!! i'm excited about that b/c i think it will be super fun, but i'm also a little nervous. my group is teaching beginners (aka, they will know about as much english as i know spanish... and that's a scary thought...) and i think i actually wound up with the first lesson. so the whole language barrier thing will be quite frustrating for me, i think. especially because i can express myself quite sufficiently in english (obviously) and french. i can brag all i want about being such a good student in french but it ain't going to do me any good whatsoever in Lima! and at the same time, we gotta remember not to flush our toilet paper. (peruvian plumbing can't handle toilet paper).
but as much as i'm freaking out, i also know that there's no need to and that it'll all work out. because God is bigger than country borders and language barriers and ignorant americans. He can keep us safe in those showers, make all our food taste just like chicken, allow me to understand spanish, help us remember to not flush toilet paper, AND make all my stuff fit into one duffel bag. i'm soooo indescribably happy that i don't have to take care of everything on my own.
and then i'm left feeling excited.
WAHOO! I'M GOING TO PERU!
i'm nervous about going through customs and stuff at the airport in Lima. there's a whole lot of if-you-lose-this-one-thing-you'll-be-stuck-in-peru-for-awhile sort of deals. then add that i speak basically no spanish, and i've come to realize that i have an insanely difficult time understanding spanish accents. i generally have to say 'what?' about twice and lean in very close to understand. most of the time, thankfully, i'll be with my team and locals from peru who will help a whole whole lot. but we have to go through customs by ourselves. i'm nervous about the food--generally i'm a fairly picky eater. i think as long as i don't find out what exactly i'm eating, i'll be ok. my main concern with the food is not offending the host! and the showers. they're scary. they're called "widow-makers" for the fact that to access hot water, there's an enormous amount of electicity running to the shower head. (the whole country of Peru has a higher voltage than the US...) so you have to flip this switch to turn it on. water+electricity=zap. eep! i think our whole team is going to be taking cold showers for 10 days.... and we'll be teaching english classes!! i'm excited about that b/c i think it will be super fun, but i'm also a little nervous. my group is teaching beginners (aka, they will know about as much english as i know spanish... and that's a scary thought...) and i think i actually wound up with the first lesson. so the whole language barrier thing will be quite frustrating for me, i think. especially because i can express myself quite sufficiently in english (obviously) and french. i can brag all i want about being such a good student in french but it ain't going to do me any good whatsoever in Lima! and at the same time, we gotta remember not to flush our toilet paper. (peruvian plumbing can't handle toilet paper).
but as much as i'm freaking out, i also know that there's no need to and that it'll all work out. because God is bigger than country borders and language barriers and ignorant americans. He can keep us safe in those showers, make all our food taste just like chicken, allow me to understand spanish, help us remember to not flush toilet paper, AND make all my stuff fit into one duffel bag. i'm soooo indescribably happy that i don't have to take care of everything on my own.
and then i'm left feeling excited.
WAHOO! I'M GOING TO PERU!