Life So Far...

Hello again,

It's been quite awhile since my last post. Guess I'm not very good at keeping this up-to-date. Life here has been interesting thus far. It has been the hardest thing I have ever willingly put myself through. I came here expecting to go on this amazing adventure and love every minute of it. It has definitely been an adventure, but not in the way I expected. Working at a small international school is a lot harder than I expected. The school is going through an accreditation process which means a lot more work for the teachers. There is an overabundant amount of work on top of the normal requirements of a teacher and for awhile it got very overwhelming. I was actually working 7 days a week, 9-10 hour days. That is way too much for anyone. Working that much was really affecting all aspects of my life, especially my spiritual life. At the beginning of October we had a four day weekend, so some friends and I decided to go away for the weekend and take a break from work.

We spent the weekend on the beach in Arica, Chile and it was an absolutely amazing weekend. It was exactly what I need to gain perspective. Being about to take a step back from work really help me to see where my priorities were and where they should be. I realized that for my own health and sanity I needed to not work so hard, but actually enjoy the time I have in Peru. I went to Chile with four other people for three days. We flew down to southern Peru and drove over the border to Chile. We spent the three days relaxing on the beach, boogie boarding, playing Frisbee, sand volleyball, card games, and had an exuberant amount of laughter. It was an extremely relaxing time and I wish I was back there. The above picture is of John Swaney, Jon Bernhardt, Marissa Parsons, Jenette Cline, and I enjoying the sunset in Arica, Chile.

Since Chile, my time here has been a lot better. I have been really proactive about not working so much and enjoying my time in Lima. This weekend is Thanksgiving weekend and I decided to stay in Lima for the break. On Thanksgiving day I went to a potluck that a few of my coworkers were having. There was a traditional meal which made being away from home a lot easier. The next day I went to a beach in the southern part of Lima with 6 other friends. It was so fun. The waves were huge, probably the biggest I have ever seen. Since the waves were so big, it allowed dolphins to come really close to the shore. I have never seen a dolphin in the wild before so it made it that much cooler to see them jumping out of the waves. A few of us took boogie boards out and tried to ride the waves. We were extremely unsuccessful. They were so big it made it impossible to ride them. As soon as the waves hit me, it would just throw me around. It was really fun/intimidating to be next to waves that size.

The next day, 5 of us decided that we were going to go surfing. I have never surfed before so it was really fun to learn. It is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I am so sore from paddling out every time. I successfully stood up twice though, but only for a few second each time. While out there, we swam next to a jellyfish that was a good two feet wide. Talk about feeling helpless. I was happy once I got away from that. Now that the weather is getting nicer here I am really excited about spending more time at the beach.

There is only three more weeks left in the semester and then I go back to Colorado for a month. I have really missed all of you so much and I can't wait to see you all. I am so blessed by each and every one of you. I now have a phone that can call to and from the states. The number is 724-687-9071. Feel free to call me anytime. Again, thank you so much for all your prayers and support.

Andrea

P.S. As I was sitting here write this blog, Lima had an earthquake. There have been a lot here, but I haven't felt any of them, until today. I am glad I finally felt one. Now I can say I truly live in Peru:)

Huaraz Video

The 4th grade teacher, Megan, made a video of our time in Huaraz. It gives you a bit of a perspective of what Peru, outside of Lima, looks like.

Official Resident!

Hi Everyone!
I officially became a Peruvian resident this week. I am so excited. I no longer have to carry my passport around. Instead, I have a card called a carnet. It doesn't do much except for that I no longer have to pay tourist prices, I can pay resident prices. It just makes life a tad bit easier. A few of you have been asking for my address to mail me things. There is an embargo on Peru so the rules are that I can only receive items under 2 pounds and that I can't get mail at my apartment. It has to go to my work. My address is:
Andrea Santi
Av. Angamos Oeste 1155
Miraflores, Lima 18
Peru

I have been teaching at the school for about a month and a half now and I am still really enjoying it. The students are so great. For the most part, they are all extremely motivated to learn which is so helpful to me. I don't feel like I am pulling teeth trying to get them to participate and turn in work. I had a small victory yesterday. I gave the students a quiz in my algebra II class and all but two aced the quiz. That means I successfully taught something:) I don't always feel that way so it was nice to see it on paper.

I haven't had time to travel much since being here because I am working so much, but I did manage to go to a small mountain town called Huaraz. I went over a four day weekend with a group of 9 other girls on a bus for 10 hours. It was so much fun and felt extremely good to get out of Lima for a bit. We spent the first day there touring Huaraz. They have a lot of alpaca markets full of scarves and hats and purses. All craft type items. We shopped at the markets for most of the day.

The next day we went to the town of Chavin to look at the ancient ruins. The Chavin people were a culture that was extremely manipulated by fear. The high priests built underground water canals that they would use to echo sounds through the town that sounded like jaguars. The Chavin people didn't know about the canals so they thought whenever they heard the jaguars it was the gods angry at them. I was really interesting to see how much fear they lived with. The town look really small, but most of the rooms are underground. They had miles of tunnels underground full of rooms. It was extremely dark in there so they would take hallucinogens that would help them see down there.

The final day we went to a glacier lake in the mountains. The water was so beautiful. It was a bright blue color. We took a boat around the lake to get a better look at the glacier. It was freezing out there, but definitely worth the cold.

 Next to the lake was a mountain woman cooking fried bread and corn. It was so interesting to watch this woman work. She has such a different life style (and clothing style) than me. Her entire life is built on manual labor. Most of the mountain women work on farms which are built on the side of the mountain. The mountains are so steep that they have huts on the mountains they stay in for days while they are working on that section. It is just to much work to walk up and down the mountain each day. They definitely work harder than I ever have. It was really an eye opener as to how blessed I am to have a nice apartment with running water and a bed that I can go home to every night.

After the lake we went to the another town at the bottom of the glacier. It showed the history of what used to be the town. It was a thriving city until an earthquake hit which caused a giant mudslide from the glacier. It came so fast that it buried the entire town killing everyone except for the people that climbed up to the cemetery on top of the hill. Now all that is there is a memorial for all of the people that died.

This trip was really good for me to go on. It gave me a different perspective of how blessed I am in life. It was really nice to get away and see that Peru is a very beautiful country and to enjoy the sun for a bit. I am so blessed by the people God has put in my life since being here. My friends here at really awesome. I have so much fun with them. I am still in a transition period, but having people that I enjoy being around has made that a lot easier. Please pray for me as I continue to transition here. Pray that my teaching will be fruitful and spirit-filled. Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
Andrea

One Month!

Hey Everyone!

So I have decided that the best way to keep you all up-to-date on my life in Lima is to start a blog. As many of you know I am not a fan of writing, but I am really going to try and commit to keeping this blog current. I decided to make my first post today, because this is exactly my one month mark :) I can't believe that it has already been a month and that it has only been a month. I hope that makes sense. This month has been one of the longest months of my life and one of the shortest months all at the same time. My days are long, but my weeks are short. Haha. I am just now starting to get a routine which is really comforting. It is helping to make Lima feel more like home.

Lima is definitely bigger than I expected. There are 9 million people living in the city and the city is so huge. It reminds me a lot of New York City or San Francisco. There are buildings packed in right next to each other. The wonderful thing is I am a fifteen minute walk from the ocean. I haven't touch it yet because there is a cliff in the way, but soon I hope to get down there. Public transportation is huge here. I take what is call a Combe to and from work everyday which is basically like a daycare van. It is always interesting on the Combe. They pack people in there like sardines. There are also taxi's everywhere which is an experience all on it's own. When you get in a taxi you barter for your price. It is hilarious when I try because I don't speak Spanish well enough. I am picking up the essentials quickly though.

The first two weeks in country were really chaotic. There was so much I had to do to set up my apartment and my classroom. Most of my time was spend shopping for things like a bedspread, bathroom supplies, dishes, and a dryer. I still have a lot that I need to get, but I am finished with the necessities for now.  The rest of the time was spent in school meetings to get acquainted with the school. My co-workers are so wonderful. Honestly every single one of them. God has definitely blessed me with a great group of people that are so supportive as I transition into the country and as I figure out my first year of teaching.

For the past two weeks, I have been actually teaching. I am teaching geometry, algebra II, and two remedial math classes at ICSL. My classes are really small. I have 8 students in my geometry class, 11 in my algebra II class, 4 students in one of my remedial math classes and 3 in the other. So far all of my classes have been going well. I am still trying to find my teaching style, but that'll come with practice. My students are great. They are really motivated to learn. That is a new concept for me coming from Greeley and Denver schools. It's true what they say though. The first year is the hardest. I basically live at the school because there is just so much to do. I am trying to set good boundaries to keep myself healthy and sane.

My main purpose for creating this blog is so that I can set up a prayer support team. I have been really missing my family and my friends over this past month. It has really been hard not having anyone who truly knows me around all of the time. I don't have the support system that I am used to. Pray that I continue to grow closer to the people here and make deep connections. It has also been really cold and wet here for the past month. I have only seen the sun once. Please pray that Lima can get some relief from this weather for a bit and have a sunny day.

I am so thankful for all of you reading this. God has truly blessed me with all of you.

Andrea

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9