Manam noga quechuata parlatsu

“I don’t speak Quechua” (I wanted to put that I don’t speak very well, but I don’t know how to say that.)

Hi everyone! Happy a couple days after Christmas!

Today I made my first meal for my family! It was spaghetti and I made it the good ol’ American way. I got a package of spaghetti sauce and then commenced to add things (tomato, onion, garlic, salt, and oregano-because I can’t find an Italian mixed seasoning anywhere) I thought it was delightful. Then I got butter and garlic and made some garlic bread. Heavenly, according to me. My family ate it but the compliments were not forthcoming.. :)

Now it’s raining again. It rained twice this morning too. Luckily, my clothes are hanging out to dry under a roof of sorts so I don’t have to make a mad-dash outside to get everything picked up! Yay!

Today I colored with my host little sister.. We colored the pictures in a financial informational manual. I think I need to find her a coloring book. And no one knows where this manual came from. I also want to read this manual, as it looks interesting…

Yesterday I sat around a bunch of people my age and realized why I don’t hang out with lots of people my age. I have no idea what they are saying. It’s all Spechua (my made up word for Quechua and Spanish) and they usually elect to say the punchline in Quechua. The best part is, they’ve decided that since I’ve been studying for a month, that I completely understand everything that’s going on. Right guys.

I also walked up to Huaripampa with my two little friends (Jessi and Soledad, both about 11 years old) to tell Tsutsuy something that took five minutes. Nothing like an uphill 2 hour climb to pass the time. (Actually I thoroughly enjoyed the walk, I just happened to be exhausted the rest of the day.)

I realized something the other day… It’s immensely more fun and productive to go on errands with other people than by myself. First off all, crazy people yelling in the calle, your friend invariably will know what that person said. Second, they know a lot more people than you do and you, the crazy foreigner, are a whole lot less intimidating when you are accompanied by a local. Hence, they ask who you are, what you’re doing there, what religion you are affiliated with (no joke), and other assorted inquisitive questions. All very fun.

Alright, that was all very random so I’m going to stop now…