A tale of drugs, military dictators and human sized guinea pigs

Have I ever told you about my school? While Extreme isin itself an interesting place to work at, we work in line with a Catholic university called Universidad Catolica San Pablo. At UCSP, the rules ARE followed. Men don’t wear piercings and cant have tattoos, women only wear skirts that go below the knee. You must show up on time (students seem to ignore this), every website except for Google is blocked (unless you know the secret of hacking the security system at school and browsing facebook while waiting on your students to show (Accordingto the school, God is frowning upon this…by the way a figuring of the Crucifx hangs in every classroom), and absolutely NO public displays of affection.

You think you have seen it all…

Until you meet Alonso. Alonso Perez is 14 years old and visits the bars in the centre every night. Alonso frequently peruses into the pub where we begin our evenings out. Normally, in any other country, the sight of a 14 year old entering a place where alcohol is sold would cause nothing short of an emergency on par with a national emergency. However, this is the norm here. And Alonso is special. At 14 years old, Alonso knows every bartender and worker on San Francisco and the surrounding streets. With a backpack in tow, he brings candy and roses to sell. Not only is he adorably, Alonso is the best and most charming business”man” I have ever seen. His personality is captivating and you find yourself buying candies from him. Once, the girls even bought a yellow rose off of him, and as sad as it was to buy a rose for ourselves, it was impossible not to. As Alonso says Ciao to everyone in the pub (because he knows everyone and even knows most of the names) you would naturally think that he is going home considering it is after midnight. However, two hours later when you meander into a different bar or club, there’s Alonso chatting up the bartender and the girls and guys sitting in chairs opposite him at the bar. His hands and backpack are nearly empty and that is when you realize you have a star in the making. The Ultimate Sales Person. But then you are reminded that is he is in fact, still a teenager, when he borrows your iphone and plays Angry Birds for an hour. But he has earned it, he made more money than we did that day.

there isnt anything else to say except...

I love Arequipa. I cant imagine ever leaving.

I get by with a little help from my friends

I would say the greatest advantage of living in Arequipa are the people. I have made some wonderful friends since my arrival 2 and a half months ago. I always expect to make friends easily whenever I am in a new place, but sometimes I am surprised at how close we all become.

Sitting around the pub on Friday nights with Amanda, Claire, Sabah, Verena, Mick, and more, it's hard to imagine I have only known them for such a short time. Let me introduce you to my friends...

Amanda--I wouldn't be here if it wasnt for Amanda. We met in CELTA and became instant friends. She was offered a job here and let me know there was another opening. I love being here with her. Hopefully we can journey to many more countries together in the future.

Claire--my little British saucepot. She and I are quite the pair. People probably ponder our interesting friendship as we scratch each others backs or salsa dance together in a pub but I wouldnt have it any other way.

Sabah--my housemate and partner in crime, we think the exact same ridiculous things. It makes living together fun. We laugh together for hours.

Verena and Mick--this lovely British pair are the coolest couple I have ever met. Despite the extreme difference in our ages, when we are all together, we are young at heart. In addition to playing futbol games in the parks on weekends, they join us in the quizzes on Friday nights. Their brilliance and competitiveness make for a fun night. They are leaving at the end of the month and I know tears will be shed. They have helped us younger gringos out a lot and we love them!

Matt--my British brother who I love/hate. We fight like siblings and only once have I actually managed to hug him. From name calling and cat fights, we really do love each other (even though he wont admit it).

Diego--my closest local friend who always helps me out. He was one of my students and became a good friend. Whether its taking me to the pharmacy or the doctor, accompanying me to Serpost to get my mail, treating me to lunch, or letting me borrow his sweater when its cold, I know he will always be there when I need him. And sometimes we fight and argue like the oldest of friends.

Antuka and Majo--two of my awesome students from February. Us girls like to gossip and talk. They are so funny and cute. I love being around them!

Juan--my dance partner and wonderful friend. He helps me with Spanish and we never run out of things to talk about. He is on crutches now, and when he is healed, I will finally get to watch him play futbol (it's his career)! Get off those crutches soon!!

Dennis--fellow teacher and a great Peruvian friend. We constantly joke and Im sure that people around us have no idea what we are talking about most of the time. Awesome guitar player also. I told him he has to give me lessons.

Lucia--my new friend! she is a teacher and a local too. Tonight we walked home together and had a good time talking. I am glad we are friends now!

Maru--teacher and a local, I absolutely love Maru. She is a great friend. I love listening to her teach because she is hardcore and keeps her teenagers in line. And if you catch her dancing, you are lucky because that girl can dance!

Ron--another Peruvian English teacher. Today he gave me and Amanda and Claire the first of many Spanish lessons!

Miguel--I love Miguel. he teaches at another school here but worked at the Llama so that is how I met him. He is smart and really kind. Its fun to be around him.

Pilar--she is like my little sister I never had! I live in her house. Every night she comes to my room to get help on her English homework. She teaches me some Spanish too. She is so cute!

Ollie & Fiona--these two (British and Scottish) work at the Llama. The llama is like our second home whether its the weekend or a weekday. Fiona can make anyone feel better and Ollie makes you feel like the coolest person in the world when you walk in the door and he yells out your name, LAURAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I have many more friends here, but I just wanted to introduce a few and allow some insight into my Peruvian family!

Finally...

“The hills are alive with the sound of……..”

Wait.

I don’t live in Salzburg anymore, I live in Peru…So should I say something like, the streets are alive with the sound of…Combies? Taxis? Dogs barking? Garbage trucks playing delights such as Beethoven, the Little Mermaid, and Barbie girl (yes this is true)?

Such different sounds, so many different things to get used to compared to where I have been before. What an experience it has been so far. From dodging the overcrowded and narrow sidewalks to learning Spanish, Arequipa has treated me well, despite almost being hit by taxis and combies every 10 seconds. You learn to deal with it. You figure out how to maneuver yourself on the packed sidewalks, like balancing on the curb as you walk. Don’t fall…if you do…you WILL get hit by a cabbie because they will not stop.

Today is one of those days where I actually have time to think. I actually have time to open my laptop and say, “Oh ya remember those blogs you started to write after week 1? Why don’t you finish those Laura?”

Later, I will write about my recent holiday around Peru, the joys of shopping and eating, and a typical Arequipan day.

For now I must prepare for tonight, as us gringos like to terrorize this town with our weekend shenanigans….