Homework Assignment

So Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons I have blocks of music lessons. Recorder, flute, clarinet, and piano, oh my.

Well, I like to ask my kids what songs they like, and then learn them on their instrument. Today one of my students told me he didn't know what songs he liked. So I asked what type of music he listens to...and he doesn't listen to music. At least not intentionally. So I told him in broken Spanish, "your homework assignment is to go on the computer and find a song you like. Any song." And that I'd see him in a week.

I couldn't believe it at first, but it's actually pretty possible for the kids not to hear music unless someone else is playing it, or at church. It seems pretty unimaginable to me, and I'm always trying to find ways of making all sorts of music more accessible to the kids. Because I'm glad that there were so many people in my life who did that for me.

My 'Proud Mom' Moment

Yenni and her leaves!

On Sunday night, one of the girls here came up to Audrey and I in somewhat of a panic because she had to make a cake for school the next day. Her assignment was to bake a cake using some weird dried out leaves from Chile. She called it her "Experimental Cake" assignment...and I'm not even sure what class it was for.

Now, they rarely bake cakes here. Everyone pretty much buys cakes from the store because baking takes a lifetime in this altitude. But we were like...ok let's look up a cake recipe.

After gathering all the ingredients from various places, we were ready to begin. Because the leaves were dried, I knew we couldn't just through them into the batter. After I privately consulted the internet on baking "special" brownies, I got an idea!

We all worked together on it. Once the batter was finished, I was really worried about how this cake would taste. But once it was done cooking (6 years later), we tasted it and it was pretty good! On Monday, Yenni reported that her classmates LOVED the cake and all wanted to try it...and she got first place in her class! I felt so proud!

So because this cake went over so well, we all had to make 2 more cakes yesterday for further judging throughout the whole school...and I still don't understand what this is even for. But once she got the cakes to school, she learned that the judging won't commence until NEXT Wednesday, so Yenni made $5.90 selling the cake to her friends. I think we should start a business :)

Caballos!

Don't you want to sponsor this child?

What a weekend! Saturday I went with the kids to an intramural sporting event for children's homes in Arequipa. I watched our little boys play soccer, and I gotta admit, they were struggling at first. But with a little encouragement and continued direction from the older boys, they ended up winning the game! Julio didn't want to play so we hung out on the sidelines.

After teaching my Saturday lessons, the church had a goodbye party for Greg. We played a lot of games such as 'habla chancho', which involves wearing a blindfold and guessing who people are based on their animal impressions. Very fun. I got Greg on his bad impression of a guinea pig.

It kind of hit me this weekend that September is going to be a tough month. All of my Gringo besties are leaving me, and I'll have to rely on my Spanish more than ever. I was getting a little discouraged while praying about it outside, when one of my clarinet students happened to start practicing. He was learning a Simon and Garfunkel song, El Condor Pasa (If I could). It's actually a Peruvian folk tune that S&G adopted (that's my nice word for stole) and I'll be recording it with some of the older kids for Greg's documentary.

17 El Condor Pasa (If I Could).m4a


Anyway, listening to my student practice reminded me of why God brought me here in the first place. Not to become a Spanish-speaking all-star...although that would be nice (and I will admit I prayed one day to wake up the next morning with the ability of speaking Spanish fluently.) But I'm here to give the kids love and music lessons, and none of them have had the opportunity of learning clarinet before this! So listening to my student practice and learn a new song on his own reminded me to focus on victories from God, and not rely on my own strength.

Sunday after church, Audrey took all the girls horseback riding! It was beautiful riding throughout the countryside and just taking in God's creation. Although my horse was kind of a bully and kept biting other horses in the butt. What can I say? She wanted to be first, and I can appreciate that.

Volcanoes

So I recently found out that Arequipa is surrounded not by mountains, but volcanoes! Within the Andes Mountains there are quite a few volcanic zones (thanks wikipedia) and I'm living in one of them. Meet Misti, Arequipa's favorite volcano. Misti is inactive, and people climb it quite often. This is a photo I took on a bus tour of Arequipa.

Here's what Misti looks like from space. I took this photo on a space shuttle tour of the Milky Way:

Peru sometimes has earthquakes too. Arequipa experiences around 200 small tremors a day which can't be felt normally. (Unless you happen to be a trained earthquakeologist like me.) From a Wikipedia article on Arequipa: "Unfortunately the city was built on a very earthquake prone area, and was completely destroyed by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions during the 1600s."

Honestly, I'm just glad I didn't decide to time travel before my visit. Because that would have been rough.

In other news, I went to a bunch of really cool art galleries today. There's a guy living at New Hope who's currently getting an Art degree in college, so he took me to some cool places. My favorite was a gallery full of paintings by a Peruvian artists who has visited the US a few times, which you could see in some of his works. There was one of the San Francisco bridge, which is fitting because there's a San Francisco area in Arequipa. I wish I could find more links online to his paintings because they're gorgeous. All the ones in the exhibit were of this style.

Tomorrow, the girls are going horseback riding! I'm pretty excited about it. And fortunately, I recently bought a pair of gray boots that I'm pretty sure will go perfectly with a horse.

Babies

Audrey: "you can totally buy babies on iTunes!"
Laura: "what?!?"
A: "...the movie!"

I heard this is a really good movie. And while actual babies can't be purchased on iTunes yet, here's to hoping.

Cake!

Good news: My health is improving and chicken is back in my life! Peru is making a meat-eater out of me...I even had some pork today. I don't know who I am anymore!

A music update: I have about 15 recorder students, 2 clarinet students, and 3 flute students. There's also a boy who wants to learn trombone...go figure...so I'll have to learn to teach that. It's so amazing to see how excited the kids are for their lessons! I hear them running across the yard, up the steps, and by the time they get to the music room they're out of breath. I tease them that they need air to play their instruments. I love that they have something different and exciting to look forward to each week. And I like to think that with time, music will help the kids continue to heal and empower them. I just love them!

So I went to Lima from Monday-Thursday this week with my friend, Audrey. The 16-hour bus ride was surprisingly really nice, and we had beautiful weather. One great thing about the trip was I got to spend time in another Children's Home in Lima. The kids there were so great, and younger in general than at New Hope. I also spent some time at the beach, ate at Chili's and Starbucks, and did some shopping!

My birthday was wonderful. I love the way they celebrate birthdays here. They normally throw a party with tons of snacks and cake. The kids play games, sing songs, and share about one another. I was lucky enough to have a translator, and I was really encouraged to actually understand what the kids were sharing! It really help me feel like I'm making an impact here. Here's a picture with 2 of the girls, Luz Yenni and Gladys:


Then at cake time, I was told I got to take the 'first bite'. Little did I know that the first bite was a chance for my face to get shoved into a cake. I loved it!


Today I celebrated my birthday with the disciples at the Arequipa Church of Christ, and I got another delicious cake but with a fork this time. :) It's really encouraging having a strong spiritual family here, and I'm getting better and better at communicating with them!