End of January 2017

So I should be a good productive girl tonight and be doing Spanish homework, but I'm going to sit and write something instead. First off, shocker of shockers! I actually change my profile picture. Don't know why I put so much effort when I figure there's only five people that I know of that actually read this blog. But then it's partially my own fault as I don't tell my family about it. If I did, I couldn't write how they drive me crazy so freely. Besides, I talk to them all the time and they know my number.

Okay, so what has been going on? This past Sunday marks first ever as primary pianist. The Primary President was the pseudo chorister. We basically ended up playing several songs just for fun. I was talking to the newly called chorister after church, the second counselor in the bishopric's wife. She seemed really excited to do it. She was showing me how they have sharing time all planned out for the year and suggestions for songs to sing, etc. I was telling her I had never been a pianist before and she said she had never been a chorister before. Great! Blind leading the blind. Oh well, kids can't be too picky, right?

Second, I find myself at Erins house three times this week. I told her I may as well move in. She's getting her air conditioning fixed and is wanting people to come to keep her company in the afternoons. So Monday Victoria, Erin, and myself met together for snacks and games. And then we ended us just sitting and talking instead. Victoria is really a lot of fun. I mean, there's only so many people who can be telling you about their experience of having food poisoning over the weekend, and making you laugh about it at the same time. I just won't forget this one moment she was saying, "So there I was, in the bathroom, having a religious experience." Victoria is heading off to Machu Piccu this week with her husband and friends, so we shall be waiting to hear about it when she gets back.

Tuesday I went over to be visit taught. Yes, they are trying to bring back visiting teaching to the barrio. And guess who my visiting teacher is? I mean, there were only so many people Erin could visit teach with the fact she doesn't speak Spanish that well. When I got that news I was like, "What? I see her every week already!" Oh well. Erika, the YW President who she is already good friends with, is her companion.

I took a couple of pictures of the view from her balcony to send to our mutual friend Kristine to convince her to come down and visit us sometime. Never mind the fact she has three kids under the age of 7. She needs to come to Peru! I wanted to take a picture with Erin in it but she refused and took one of just me instead. It turned out not too bad and figured it was time for my profile picture to be changed.

Second, I found out today I am getting fired from the tutoring company I work for. School starts in about 2 1/2 weeks and I told the director I wanted to cut my days down to twice a week. She said what she usually does is just a complete separation once one of her teachers starts working for Markham.

When the school director offered me the position, she told me at the time that I would not be able to tutor any students who attended the school. It would be considered a conflict of interest. I was fine with that as very few students I have taught have attended it.

But the director was saying at one point I guess some friends of hers wanted to work at her tutoring company and the school flat out said no. So, as she put it, she didn't think it was right to have to say no to them and allow me to do it. I personally am totally fine with it. I thought she gave me a good recommendation so I could stay in the country and could work for her longer, but I guess not. Either way, I am grateful for her help and have been impressed by her business practices. I still hope one day I can return the favor in someway.

Only two and a half more weeks till school starts. I am looking forward to starting and having more of a routine. Meanwhile, Gabi, my roommate, was working from home one day with this cute hat on and I just had to get a picture of her with it.

And these are the pictures from Erins balcony. It's a rough life they live down here. 

First Summer in Lima

Erin, Casey, and myself were warned that it gets really hot here during the months of January, February, and March (aka South American Summer). Let's take into account several factors here. Number one, Peru, being like the rest of the world outside the United States, does not believe in air conditioning. No place does except the United States. Spain, Ukraine, Hungary, and France, no where! Second, it is VERY humid down here. Third, Erin and Casey are from Atlanta. So far they say this is nothing compared to how miserable it gets there.

Granted temperatures have been in the 70's, with the maximum I've seen so far in the 80's. But throw some humidity in there, and it can get kind of sticky. Course, Mari and Gabi tell me the best is yet to come in February and March. After living in the midwest for 12 years, we have not quite reached yet what I consider "miserable" status yet. Erin has an air conditioner in her place and a two dehumidifiers that she says she has to empty morning and evening.

I, in the meantime, have been working a little and trying to squeeze in as many playdates as possible with Erin until school starts. We as staff start on February 16th, but the kids won't be coming to school till March 1st. Hopefully by that point I'll have some clue what I am doing.

Erin and I usually get together during the day. Once school starts, I'm sure we'll switch to evenings. Casey is usually gone overnight one or two days a week and Erin is usually open to visitors then. Still, I'm trying to get as many daytime activities done with her while I can.

This week we are meeting with a co-worker of mine, Victoria from Washington State. The tutoring company we work for, there are 8 teachers, and only Victoria and myself are from the US. Others come from Britian, Australia, Canada, and other places.

Summer is actually a busy time for teachers and tutors. All the students are out and they all want classes. I gave up on taking Spanish classes at the language institute. There were so many days when something was happening in the morning I knew I would need to skip class and I won't be able to attend it once school starts anyway. I started taking private lessons from a teacher someone recommended and plan to keep doing that. I like my teacher, and I feel sometimes private lessons are more efficient than group ones.

Teaching wise, through the company I work for, I usually do about 5-6 hours a week. I also have some private lessons that I do also. My sister-in-laws mission companion, Tania, had a friend from law school who wanted their sons to learn english. It pays well, but it's with a 5 year old and a 3 year old. Sometimes their attention span is such you can only do so much. I basically go over and play with them, speaking only english to them and trying to throw in several words in hopes something sticks. Actually the 5 year old does take it very well and is open to learning. I just hope after I start school and have to start working with younger kids that I'll pick up some better techniques. Right now, I can honestly say I have no idea what I am doing. Oh well, the boys like me and we have fun, so I guess that's the important part.

They finally found something for me to do in the barrio also. They want me to be the Primary Pianist. Actually, they asked me back in December, but I pointed out to the Bishop that Primary doesn't have a piano. They kept talking about a "portable organ" they have. I think they must mean a keyboard. I absolutely HATE playing on those things. If it's an organ, well, I don't know how to play one of those either.

I suggested to the Primary President and bishopric that they just switch room assignments around where Primary meets in the room where the piano is at. See, Sacrament meeting is one room, then afterwards there's a bunch of dividers they pull out to make smaller classrooms. One of them being the pulpit area where Sacrament meeting is. There's only one piano in the entire building and I am advocating to use that because I am a piano snob. So they announced it in Sacrament meeting, and everything is set up to go except for one thing............we need a chorister. Talented as I am, I can't do both. So once that is taken care of,  I might actually be doing some playing.

Meanwhile Erin and Casey got recruited to Young Men's and Young Women's. The only reason I knew about this, is I happened to be at the building practicing the piano the night they were meeting with a member of the bishopric, and got hauled in to translate. Casey is Young Men's secretary and they wanted Erin to be a Young Women's "Camp Specialist." I asked if Erin was doing this in addition to teaching the English Sunday School, and the counselor in the bishopric said it was meant to be her "fun" calling.

Erin was Girls Camp Director before she left Atlanta. I clarified this camp is just for the Young Women from our barrio (a grand total of 8). This is what I don't get though. They want Erin to start coming to Young Women's on Sundays, attend meetings, and so forth to get to know the girls. Here's the thing, the camp is not till November! Eleven months away people! Personally I think the YW president is jealous and wants to be her BFF (Okay, so I'm not sure of that). Though I am hoping that in a smaller setting, Erin will be able to learn more Spanish.

They also finally got the First Counselor in the bishopric position replaced. Let me explain here. The last First Counselor in the bishopric passed away my second Sunday here in Lima. It has been three months since they got a new one. I'm not sure if part of it is there are slim pickings for leadership in those type of positions. Remember the wedding I went to in October? It is the husband, Edwin. I am sure he will do a good job.

So my little world has it's own happenings as it always does.

First trip to Peruvian ER

My Saturday started off differently than planned by my first trip to a Peruvian Emergency Room. Erin called me that morning and said that she had gotten a blister from running on Thursday. It was small and red, but now it had gotten larger, was purple, yellow, and draining stuff. That did not sound good. Perhaps the one thing that clued me in the most was the fact that Erin was concerned. She is not a drama queen and very easy going, so if she was concerned then I knew there was a good reason to be. I went over pretty quickly, took one look at it and said she definitely needed something for it (it could not wait for the embassy doc on Monday). I had even brought my dictionary in anticipation for an ER visit.

There was a clinic across the street from where they lived that we went to. I have done extensive research about the medical facilities here in Lima in hopes of working at one eventually. The one next  to her was up to US standards. Miraflores, having so many wealthy citizens and foreigners caters to such a population. I went along to translate. Thank goodness I had studied medical terminology before I came down.

Overall it went very smoothly and we were in and out in about an hour. Doctor prescribed her some antibiotics that were common with skin infections.

I have to say the biggest thing of all was just how nervous she was. Different country, what was going on, would all be okay, etc. I know, from having nurses in my life, it is just nice to have someone there who can reassure you things are normal and to know when to be concerned. I was able to tell her later about some medical situations I ran into while I was in Hungary and how I remember being a little nervous because it wasn't home.

She was doing better by the next day. Course I kept getting after her to keep her foot elevated and to not be bashful on taking the pain medicine.

Either way, glad I was able to do a favor considering how kind and generous she's always been with me. It helped me realize I do miss being involved in the world of medicine, but I hope once I can get my Peruvian nursing license, some opportunity might come up.

My Good News

I got an early Christmas Present this year. Right before I left Lima I signed a contract for a job as a Teaching Assistant at an International School in Lima.

A problem a lot of foreigners have who want to stay here in Lima is getting residency. As an American, I can enter the country and stay up to six months on what is called a tourist visa. For anything beyond that, well, you have to do something. A lot of people used to do something called "border hopping." After living in the country for six months, you leave the country for the weekend and when you come back you can stay another six months.

Problem with this is you don't get the benefits of having residency. Like the ability to have a bank account, a cell phone plan, etc. Also, if you leave the country and you have overstayed your visa, you have to pay a fine for everyday you stay.

What a lot of foreigners want is a work permit. However these are very hard to obtain. First, it's very expensive for companies to sponsor foreigners. They have to pay more in taxes. Second, when a company sponsors you for a work permit, the are also saying they will be responsible for your personal conduct. So if I get in jail, or rack up a ton of credit card debt, the company is responsible. Hence a lot of work places don't want to hire foreigners.

The Peruvian State Education system is pretty bad that it is not uncommon at all for people to send their children to private schools. They are all over the place. And not all private schools are made the same. There is some status involved with how expensive they are to attend.

Awhile back some schools were set up for children of foreign families. For example, the most expensive school in all of Lima is the Franklin D. Roosevelt school. It's a school set up for children of Americans living in Lima. So the school system is based on the American Education system and the schedule runs the same as they do in the United States. Americans who work for the embassy that have kids, or mission presidents with children, all send their kids to that school. And of course, all the classes are taught in English.

After awhile wealthy Peruvians realized that if they sent their kids to school there, they would learn english. So now the student population at these schools are about half Peruvian even though they were set up for British or American families.

I will be working at a school set up for British Nationals living in Lima. It's based on the British Education system and it is the second most expensive school in all of Lima. It's one of those places when I tell people where I work their eyes open wide and say, "Oh, that's a good school." In reality, I think part of it is just that it has a lot of money.

Back in November when I was home, I saw an advertisement for the school looking for Teaching Assistants. I went ahead and applied and they called me for an interview when I got back to Lima. When they asked me what I had heard about the school, I said I worked for a tutoring company where the director was British and she had told me a bit about it. They asked her name and it turned out they knew her and her kids went to that school. She had to give me a reference and she must have given me a good one because they hired me.

Great and all as it has been, there has been one main reason I was hired at the tutoring, which led to be hired at the school.

It was because I had served in primary.

I mean really, what else could I put on my resume other than I had been a Sunday School teacher for 6 years, teaching kids ages 6-16. I must like them if I chose to be around them, and I had some clue about teaching. I definitely had experience with classroom management, dealing with different personalities, and as one person stated overall, it just showed what sort of person I was.

It is a great thing, and huge blessing. Best part of all, I get to stay in the country. In a way though, I wasn't surprised. Right before I left John Chipman gave me a blessing and told me I would find "meaningful employment."

School doesn't start till the middle of February. Until then it will be a process to get my paperwork done. But I'm just working for the tutoring company until then. Best part is the school gives breaks. So if anyone wants to come visit, let me know.

Deborah's Wedding

After months of driving us all crazy with their smoochy, smoochy business, Nathan and Deborah finally tied the knot. They really were obnoxious towards the end. Several days before their wedding they were eating from the same plate of food (Nathan just piled a lot of food on one plate) and mom made a new rule no kissing at the table. Which is funny because she's never had to make that rule up before. There was always no singing at the table when we were kids. Now that we're adults, it hasn't been much of an issue.

Here is an excerpt to an e-mail I sent to friends:

Allow me to tell you what my life has been like the past 10 days.

-There were three days in a row where there was at least one meal at my parents house where we fed 20-30 people. And since Mom was seeing grandkids and Deborah was the bride, guess who got stuck with most of the work?

-Five siblings, with their spouses, four of them which I can't stand and have to make effort to avoid.

-Fifteen grandchildren, 11 of which are under the age of 10

-sleeping on an air mattress in my mom's office because there's too much junk in the four other rooms of their house.

-driving siblings and their screaming kids back and forth to the airport.

-Having to help watch my 11 and 17 year old niece my older sister left behind after the wedding.

-my mother letting my 17 year old niece who has her learner's permit DRIVE THE CAR (I learned to close my eyes and keep my fingers crossed we wouldn't get in an accident. Ironically I'm heading back to Lima for peace and quiet. I can't get back soon enough.

Deborah really did marry a very nice guy. I took a ton of pictures but will include some of my favorites.

Amanda, the youngest niece who just barely turned one. Very mellow kid.

Here's us attempting to get a picture with Mom and Dad and their grandkids. As you can see, it was a work in progress. 

Eventually we got something worked out. 

I love the poise Nadia is doing in the center

I kid you not, right as I took this picture, my niece Guinevere is telling my nephew Derek how the San Diego temple looks like Elsa's castle from "Frozen."

Always my favorite, the sibling picture. Mom, Dad, and all the people who I owe my issues from childhood to. We are missing one, so it's not all seven of us. 

At the reception, Amanda playing with my necklace

I was able to grab a quick shot with Deborah

Amanda snuggling with me. 

Deborah had helped out with a lot of friends weddings the past few years, so she was very aware of what she did and did not want. I must admit, she was a good planner and organizer. She really wanted it to be about the nieces and nephews. She had a ring ceremony. I was a bit miffed she didn't ask me to be a bridesmaid, but she told me later she knew I would hate doing it, that's why she didn't ask me. She was right. I was planning to beg her not to be one. Guess she knows me well after all.