languages and a photo.

I like languages.

are you surprised? probably not.

I’ve been fascinated with foreign languages since fifth grade.

I guess you could say that the reason I am sitting here in lima today started back in a classroom at buker elementary school. fifth grade we took French for half a year and Spanish for the other half in order to choose which one we would want to continue studying in middle school. I decided on Spanish the day that señora cressey asked me if I spoke Spanish at home because my accent was good. (of course being here in peru I realize that she must have been lying or exaggerating a bit because my accent leaves much to be desired) but that was it. I was sold. Spanish quickly became my favorite subject. middle school was just baby stuff. vocab and simple verb conjugations. then after 8^th grade I went to Russia. my world was expanded. a whole different alphabet with sounds that couldn’t be translated. how cool is that? I loved it. I love hearing it and reading it and (attempting) to speak it.

when I came back and started high school I fell in love with more than the Spanish language - I fell in love with everything about Spanish – music, culture, history, food and people. sophomore year I decided to add French. it was amazing how quickly I picked it up. I was finding similarities left and right. before being taught something I was able to guess how it would be because I already knew Spanish. while others struggled with the thought of having a preterit and imperfect tense and a subjunctive mood, I was an old pro at it. senior year was ap Spanish literature. it kicked my butt. but I loved every second of it. the way that the language changed and evolved throughout history. and then there was the beautiful poetry and captivating stories. then I graduated.

I entered gordon being completely confident that I wanted to be a Spanish major. and I still am. although I’ve found another passion along the way: linguistics. I think that up until sophomore year of college I was unaware that such a concept even existed. you mean a class where you just simply learn about languages? you’ve got to be kidding me. it’s just so interesting. things like the phonetic alphabet and morphemes and allomorphs and syntax and trees and derivation and performance and universal grammar and Chomsky and Turkish and the great american vowel shift and sapir-whorf and blocking and traces and train stations. that probably doesn’t mean much to many of you, but at the risk of sounding like the biggest nerd ever, it is just so darn fascinating.

ok so where am I going with all this? good question. today in my amazonian ethnography class we were discussing bilingual education in peru. bottom line is that many Peruvians are being quietly discriminated against because of the language they speak. Peru is a country of many languages – the main three being Spanish, Quechua and Aymara. funny thing is that Spanish is the only one of any real value. kids who grow up bilingual eventually leave the other language and just study Spanish because their mother tongue really has no use. sad fact: a national peruvian bank called BCP has branches in Bolivia as well. and in Bolivia you can be attended to in Spanish, Quechua or Aymara! but here in Peru you must speak Spanish, no other option. how crazy is that? and there are no translation schools here in Peru for indigenous languages, only European languages. what? I was just so surprised and a bit upset by this information.

alright, so day two of my picture challenge went well. is it ok if I share more than one photo? I think so. I do what I want. here you go:

vending machine on campus.

getting a little snacky-snack before class.

deer on campus

the ad that starts out BUSCO - translation:

I'm looking for a boyfriend for my persian cat...

alright javier. i'll let you know.

a photo a day.

i've been wanting to take more pictures recently. i mean i'm only here until december then who knows when or even if i will make it back to peru. thats a strange, sad, and somewhat scary thought to me right now. so i want to soak it all in, remember little details. i've recently been reading some friend's blogs and see that they are doing a 365-day photo challenge. a photo a day for a whole year. now who knows if i'll make it a whole year or if i'll actually take a picture every single day, but i'm going to try. and i'll do my very best to upload them here. they may not come every day but at least once a week. this will also give all my readers a little glimpse of my life here in lima.

so to start it all off here is the picture from sunday september 19th 2010:

a door that i pass when walking to catch a micro on benavides.

"Sí a la Vida" - "Yes to Life"

culture.

hello all! it's really been too long since i've seriously updated this blog. i realized today that i've completed one month of classes already. time certainly is flying! i've been keeping busy with homework, hanging out with friends, volunteering, sleeping and eating. unfortunately i haven't been taking very many pictures, but i hope to change that very soon.

the theme for tonight's post is culture. i've been noticing a lot recently how where you grew up greatly influences all areas of your life. i guess i've always been told that but i never really believed it. i mean we're all human so of course we have the same values and ideas of how things should work, right? wrong. every person from another country is actually an alien with very different values and ideas. just kidding, the incorrect part of that statement was the part about sharing values and ideas. why yes i think that some ideas and values are universal, i'm learning that many of my own (more than i would have thought) have been shaped by my american-ness. let me share a few examples that i've come across:

1. answering your cell phone during class. yes, thats right. i've seen it done. sometimes a fellow student will bend over in their seat and whisper into their phone in the middle of class! i honestly couldn't believe it. some just get up and walk right out of the room to talk. i don't know which i think is better. i mean isn't that rude? or doesn't it show a lack of respect for the professor? for me, yes. but not for everyone. i asked my friends jonatan and miki about this yesterday and jonatan's response was "por favor abby! vivimos en una democracía en perú, donde estás libre a hacer lo que quieres. no es como los estados unidos." translation: "come on abby! we live in a democracy here in peru, where you are free to do what you want. it's not like the u.s." (he likes to joke around about the u.s. by the way, he wasn't being serious)

2. wearing hats inside. i recently realized that my friend jonatan is always wearing a hat. i don't think i've ever seen him without it. which got me thinking if he ever takes it off, like in class or such. but no. i've always grown up thinking that it is rude (for a guy) to wear a hat inside. i'm not really sure why. but hats were definitely not allowed in school. and they are not allowed at the dinner table in my house.

3. walking. first off i'd just like to say that walking speeds vary greatly. here in peru i'm practically a speed walker. although sometimes i do get passed on the sidewalk. but when i'm walking with my peruvian friends sometimes it is painfully slow. like literally my legs start to hurt after a while. isn't that weird? but thats not actually what i wanted to say about walking. what i recently noticed and got me a little frustrated was when i was walking up stairs in a building on campus someone was walking down the stairs on the same side as me. as in i was staying to the right, because that is the way that traffic goes, but the other person was walking on their left. i thought to myself, why don't these silly people walk on the right? simple rules of traffic!! but my program director kindly pointed out that what may be common sense to me does not necessarily apply here. and it's true. it can be a bit frustrating at times, but i'm learning to deal.

4. colors. so usually peruvians identify the micros by their colors. (i haven't figured out why they don't refer to them by numbers, that would be logical - there i go again) as in to get to barranco from la católica take the white one with red and green stripes. or take the big gray and orange one to get to pueblo libre. but what always gets me is the color celeste which is sky blue. so someone tells me to take the celeste and to verify i say ¿el azul? (the blue one?), to which they reply, no celeste. as if it's not even blue. but it clearly is, to me at least.

5. food. huge aspect of culture. i've come to realize that the food you grew up with will always hold a special place in your heart. i mean yes peruvian food is good, but nothing will ever be able to stand up to my mom's spaghetti and meatballs. (side note: i was trying to think of another expression for that...like nothing will ever hold a cake to my mom's spaghetti?? or hold a candle?? am i making this up or is it actually a phrase that people say?) what you eat is just such a big part of who you are (literally - haha). and here in peru is no different. and peruvians are very gosh darn proud of their cuisine. talk with any peruvian long enough and the topic of conversation will undoubtedly become food. they want to know what you like, if you've tried ceviche and what you think of all the different kinds of potatoes. honestly, they go on and on and on. and they just can't seem to understand other types of food. my peruvian friends are appalled by the mexican tortilla because it apparently has no flavor and really serves no purpose. whenever that argument comes up i point out the fact that peruvians eat rice with every meal. mmmm how yummy and flavorful. all they can say to that is "no es igual." - it's not the same. sometimes at lunch when the básico (the lunch plate that you buy at the cafeteria at la católica) doesn't contain rice, but instead maybe noodles they complain and get upset. for them it just isn't a meal without a mountain of rice. i'm not joking. it may be hard to believe, sometimes i can't even believe it myself and i see it every day.

thats it for now. please don't mistake some of my sarcastic comments for negativity. i really do have an open mind and i'm enjoying realizing and learning new things. i'm being stretched outside of my comfort zone and learning to re-evaluate what i think is acceptable or important. and i'm happy here. it's a beautiful place with wonderful people who have welcomed and accepted me into their lives, for which i am eternally grateful.

dear peru,

i love you, with all your quirks and things that seemed so foreign to me and are now becoming strangely familiar.

little letters from first month back in lima.

dear aviación,

please hurry up and stop being such a mess.

dear twins at church on sunday night,

you were so cute copying everything that i was drawing.

dear nose,

why won't you let me put another stud in you?

dear nose,

thanks for finally letting me change the stud.

dear polvos azules,

how did we not meet at all last semester?

dear buenos aires,

i can not wait to meet you in october.

dear chomsky,

i'm not 100%sure how i feel about this whole universal grammar stuff.

dear traffic in lima,

just to let you know, you and me - we're in a fight.

dear fall in new england,

i'm very sad that i'll be missing you and all your beautiful colors and crunchy pine cones.

dear señorita at gelato place in plaza san miguel,

you're very sweet and your lovely smile makes our tuesday gelato tradition that much more enjoyable.

dear biblioteca central,

hate you.

dear september 21st,

come a little faster so i can check out library books again.

dear fruit roll-ups,

you're amazingly delicious.

only bad thing is that i've almost eaten you all.

dear jenna,

congratulations!

dear skype,

we have a love-hate relationship. tonight was one of the nights when my feelings are of love.

dear strawberries,

i'm so glad that you are currently in season here in lima.

dear little boys on the street,

good job pick-pocketing me. congratulations on swiping my católica id. and thanks for not taking my cell phone or anything else.

dear everyone reading this,

please pray for safety.

dear deporte y vida,

its so nice to be back. i missed you all.

dear spring (or whatever season is next here in lima),

please hurry up. i'm sick and tired of these cold, damp, gray days. enough winter, i'm ready for the sun to come back.

dear rosa,

i'm so excited to get to meet you in november.

dear brown sugar,

why can't you be found here in lima?

dear friends back at home,

i miss you all very much.

dear friends here in peru,

i am beyond thankful for you all. thanks for all the laughs, memories, help and patience.

dear kika,

you are a truly inspiring woman.

dear wong,

i'm not sure how i feel about the fact that you sell crack.

but it sure is yummy.

Registered and Reflecting

I am once again officially a student at la Católica. After a few stressful days trying to figure everything out it's done. I'm registered. Amelia and I slept over at our friend's apartment the night before because she lives like a 10 minute walk from school. So we got up and left her place around 6:30 am and got to school around 6:45. We got there to find most of the other CIEE students already there. So Amelia and I were numbers 24 and 25. But luckily everything worked out and I got into all the classes I wanted.

I am taking 4 classes this semester with a total of 15 credits:

1. Análisis Lingüístico (Linguistic Analysis)

2. Temas de Lingüística Contemporánea (Themes of Contemporary Linguistics)

3. Etnografía Amazónica (Amazonian Ethnography)

4. Taller de Narrativa (Creative Writing Workshop)

I'm actually pretty excited about my classes. Although it is a whole lot more work than last semester, but my classes are super interesting. I love being in the linguistics classes, I guess I just love linguistics. I just find it so interesting. I'm slowly making friends and starting to feel more comfortable in class.

The highlight of my week was most definitely Thursday. I have been struggling a lot with having the confidence to speak up in class. Let me just say that I'm shy, and I like to have people's approval. Sometimes I think I'm a bit too hungry to be accepted by others and forget that I just need to be myself. But Thursday was a breakthrough. I told Amelia that I really want to talk during class but I always got too scared to. So she decided that I had to say something in class on Thursday or else she was going to "punish" me. I wasn't exactly sure what the punishment would be, but it was enough to really push me. So Wednesday night I re-read the reading and prepared a whole page of notes and things that I could possibly say during the class on Thursday. First of all I was running late that day and was afraid that I would be late to class, but luckily I got there and the door to the classroom hadn't even been opened yet. And the professor ended up being like a half hour late. So she started class and as I was in the process of mustering up the courage to share my one intelligent comment that I thought was simply brilliant, someone else spoke up first and said the same thing. Ugh. Bummer. I was immediately discouraged and almost shut down completely and gave in to accept Amelia's punishment. Then I thought about all the advice and encouragement that I had received in the past week. Then all of a sudden I had an idea, and before I knew it I raised my hand, and the professor said "Abigaíl?". That was my cue and I shared my comment and as I was listening to myself I thought "Ok, this isn't so bad". When I had finished the professor said "Exactamente!" which further fueled the emotional high that I was on. And want to know something else? No one in the class laughed or snickered or thought me to be stupid. Isn't that awesome?!?! I sure think so.

So Thursday started a streak of great days for me. (The streak is still going on) Friday Amelia and I met for lunch at an arabic restaurant in Miraflores. So delicious. Then I had a new experience. For the first time ever I went to Polvos Azules. Literally translated would be "blue powders". Figuratively translated would be "Peruvian black market filled with really inexpensive things". So you might as well throw an eye patch on me and give me a parrot because I'm basically a pirate. Anyways polvos is this huge warehouse filled with seemingly endless aisles and small stores - shoes, clothes, music, movies, and other random items (such as statues and skateboards). Amelia and I each bought a pair of boots - fashionable, not quite practical for the New England winters, but good for fall. Then we moved on to the movies. Each disc is 2.50 soles (which is less than a dollar!). So I bought 10 movies. It was a good first experience for me.

Saturday I woke up and went to Amelia's house for breakfast and we made banana pancakes. Delicious!! Then we all (Alejo, Mateo, Paula, Sra María, Amelia and I) squished into Alejo's car to go and visit Kika at the hospital. She is doing well but still has a long way to go. She made sure to tell us to keep praying. Then we went back to Amelia's house for lunch - pasta with a pesto sauce. Then I came home and made a few phone calls before taking a nap. I got to talk to some good friends of mine - Jennie (it was her birthday!) and Jenna (my recently engaged best friend). It was really good to talk with them. I miss them and all my other friends so very much and I can't wait until December when I get to see them all again!

Sometimes I get really homesick and all I want to do is catch a cab to the airport, hop on a plane and go home. Home to where my family is, home to where my friends are, home to what is familiar and comforting, home where I don't have to face so many difficulties and challenges. But since when are challenges such a bad thing? And what is so challenging about my life here in Lima? I think the most challenging thing for me is having everything being so uncertain and different. My friendships here aren't the same as back home, the food isn't the same and my life is just different. But why am I longing for everything in my life to be the same? Well because thats how I like it. I like continuity and I don't really like change. I take the same micro every day. (at home) I drink a glass of milk every night with dinner. I get thrown off when there is a new register overlay at the bbq. I always do things right-foot first - pants, shoes, socks, etc. I like routines and schedules and knowing what is going to happen. But here in Lima there is just so much that is unknown. So much that just won't fin into a routine. So much is different. And having everything different and unknown is scary for me. Because I have no control over it, and I like to feel like I'm in control, like I can handle it. So when I get overwhelmed and feel like I can't do something I try to find a way out. Instead maybe I should look to the one who can do all things and who has promised never to leave me or forsake me.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified

because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you;

he will never leave you or forsake you."

Deuteronomy 31:6

"By faith Abraham, even though he was

past age -- and Sarah herself was barren --

was enabled to become a father because he

considered him faithful who had made the promise."

Hebrews 11:11

So the moral is: I don't have to be scared of what is unknown to me. And right now many things are different and thats ok. Things don't have to always be the same. It seems that my most difficult and different experiences have been the most rewarding - Russia, Mexico. And I know that when I'm at home I get antsy and just feel unsettled, and I feel the same way here. I wonder if I will ever feel satisfied. Will I ever feel like I completely belong in one place? Maybe I'm not supposed to. It's like I want the excitement and adventure of change, but I want things to stay the same. Why can't that happen? Why can't everything stay the same but be new and exciting? So for now I guess I'll just try to be here now because this is where I am and I can't really be anywhere else.

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and

try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms

and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue.

Do not seek the answers, which cannot be given you

because you would not be able to live them.

And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now.

Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it,

live along some distant day into the answer."

- Rainer Maria Rilke -

Why Not?

I've been back in Lima for 10 days now, and those days have been filled with all sorts of adventures, emotions, excitement and disappointment. So I'll try to get you all caught up.

I got here super early on Tuesday morning (last Tuesday, the 10th), went through customs without any problems whatsoever and got 183 days on my visa. (Which is exactly what I wanted) Then a very nice taxi driver (hired by CIEE) took me to my home in Surco and we had a very lovely conversation. It was nice to know that even after a month of not speaking Spanish I was able to hold an intelligent conversation with a native speaker. I called my home when we were on our way so that someone would be awake to unlock the door for me. Alfredo got up to let me in. I dragged all my stuff in, hugged Ruth and went to sleep for a few hours. In the afternoon I went over to la Católica for the volunteer meeting. And guess what happened? First time back on a micro and the peruvian time warp got me. The streets are even bigger of a mess than before and traffic is worse. I really didn't think it was possible to get worse, but it did. Oh well...thats just how it goes here in Lima. I spent the next few days going back and forth to la Católica doing some pre-registration stuff (side note: I was thinking of taking a class called History of Spanish I, but I am not able to. Want to know why? Apparently you have to know Latin to take that class. Hmm...where is Dr. Bird when you need him?) and trying to get to know the new group of students. I think I have all their names down. But I'm not positive. Its been kind of hard to get to know them because I came in after they had all gotten to know each other and I'm not taking the CIEE classes so I don't see them much. But they all seem like very cool people and I hope to get to know them better throughout the semester. Friday I called my mom at work because I think she was getting worried about me. On Saturday CIEE had a cultural activity - we visited an arqueological site called la Huaca Pucllana. Some wicked old ruins literally in the middle of the city of Lima. That was pretty cool. Then I went out for lunch with my friend Sam from Gordon. (Oh yeah, by the way there are two girls, Sam and Dani, from Gordon that are studying here this semester. Its so nice to have a friendly face down here and someone who understands where I'm coming from and someone that I can talk about Gordon stuff - people and professors - with.) Sunday I went to church with the Webers - a missionary couple that my home church in Peabody supports - and had lunch at their apartment afterwards. In the evening I was able to skype with my parents which was awesome. We even did the video skype and it was great to be able to "see" them sitting together, its almost like we weren't separated by thousands of miles. But it also made me a bit homesick.

Monday was the official star of classes at la Católica. I had a long list of classes to try out this week. Monday ended up being a very long and stressful day. I got home around 10:15 pm and had a bit of a breakdown. Everything seemed to happen all at once. But life goes on and I'm doing better. So this week was filled with going to classes and trying not to get stressed and overwhelmed by what is to come. I will *hopefully* be taking 4 classes, which really isn't all that much. I take 4 classes at Gordon and yes I have work to do, but it's never incredibly stressful. But here in Peru everything just seems 10 times as difficult. So I'm just trying to stay calm and make friends in my classes so that maybe they'll be willing to help me out if I start drowning. Next Monday (the 23rd) is registration day, so after that I'll have a set schedule and actually get down to business. I *hope* to be taking:

Linguistic Analisis

Themes of Contemporary Linguistics - (this semester's theme is Chomsky)

Amazonian Ethnography

Creative Writing Workshop

(3 out of the 4 are in facultad, aka upper level and intimidating)

So we'll see how that goes on Monday. In the meantime I'm doing the work for these classes, which is a lot of reading. I really enjoy the linguistics classes and only wish that I would speak up in class every once in a while. It's scary. I think about something to say, then I chicken out and don't say anything. Grrr. I frustrate myself. Then yesterday in Themes of Contemporary Linguistics we were discussing the reading (which I did and enjoyed). I saw that the professor was taking note of who was talking during the discussion and so I thought to myself, ok Abby, just say one thing today, just one, you can do that. So all class I was trying to find the right time to say something - anything. Sometimes I was planning out what to say in my head, then another student would step in and say what I was going to say - and in a more eloquent and intelligent way than I would have ever come up with. I don't know why I hesitate so much, I mean I am intelligent, I can discuss topics such as language competency and the innateness theory, but it's just so much more difficult in Spanish. I have all these ideas and thoughts but they are stuck in my head with no way of coming out in a way that even makes sense and doesn't sound completely ridiculous. So I really need to work on just putting myself out there and going for it. I mean what's the worst that will happen? I'll slip up and make a grammatical mistake? Big deal. The other students will think I'm stupid? Well I'm not. Or maybe, just maybe, they'll respect me more for trying. I sure hope it turns out to be the last option.

Yesterday afternoon after classes Amelia, Sam and I hopped on micro #28 to go to Amelia's house in Barranco. There we watched "10 Things I Hate About You" and had cheddar popcorn (not very good, but hard to stop eating). After the movie we ended up spending 3 hours in her kitchen just talking. And it felt good, refreshing almost. I'm so blessed to have good friends who I can just be around. I don't have to try, we can just sit (or stand) and talk for hours without running out of things to say. Its great.

So I'll leave you with some wise words from a song called "Why Not?" by (no I'm not ashamed to say it) Hillary Duff. Sometimes I enjoy a good blast from the past and right now I'm in need of some inspiration to step out and take a chance. So, why not?

So why not
Take a crazy chance?
Why not
Do a crazy dance?
If you lose a moment
You might lose a lot
So... why not?
Why not?

You always dress in yellow
When you want to dress in gold
Instead of listening to your heart
You do just what you're told

You keep waiting where you are
For what you'll never know
Let's just get in to your car
And go, baby go

Why not
Take a star from the sky?
Why not
Spread your wings and fly?
It might take a little
And it might take a lot
But... why not?
Why not?

So why not
Take a crazy chance?
Why not
Do a crazy dance?
If you lose a moment
You might lose a lot
So... why not?
Why not?

hellogoodbyes

(maybe it should be goodbyehellos...but that doesn't sound as good.)

goodbye 55 pleasant, hello 278 juan de rada.

goodbye mom and dad, hello ruth and alfredo.

goodbye sarah, hello amelia.

goodbye corn from daddy's garden, hello choclo.

goodbye wenham, hello lima.

goodbye little black honda, hello micro #35.

goodbye rt. 128, 1A, 97 and 95, hello benavides, aviación, javier prado and ayacucho.

goodbye english, hello spanish.

goodbye summer, hello gross lima winter.

goodbye stop&shop, shaws, crosby's and market basket, hello vivanda, plaza vea, metro and wong.

goodbye farm fresh milk, hello weird milk from a bag.

goodbye at&t, hello movistar.

goodbye riverview pizza, hello madre natura.

goodbye panera, hello manolo's.

goodbye gordon, hello la católica.

goodbye u.s., hello perú.

goodbye u.s. dollar, hello nuevo sol.

goodbye big comfy bed, hello not so comfy bed.

goodbye cellphone, hello skype.

goodbye shorts, hello jeans.

goodbye sandals, hello clogs.

goodbye sunglasses, hello scarves.

goodbye chicken parmesan, hello ají de gallina.

goodbye apple-grape-raspberry juice and iced tea, hello chicha and inca cola.

goodbye sunshine, hello clouds.

goodbye logan international airport, hello jorge chavez international airport.

goodbye fahrenheit, hello celsius.

goodbye comfort zone, hello adventures.