Aventuras en Peru: First week in Arequipa

The internet has been down for a while so I haven't been able to write but I sure have been busy the first week in Arequipa. Karlene and I have been walking everywhere to get to know the place, and just as something to do. Last Friday night we went out with some of the teachers from the school which was nice to get to know them and some of our co-workers. We went to the only "Mexican" restaurant in town (in Peru). Better yet- it was started by a Canadian. Hmm... The following night we went out with our roommate and his girlfriend to get to know the night life a bit. Our other roommates also moved in- a couple from London. All a fun, relaxed group- but I suppose it makes sense since not anyone would just pick up to go to Peru for a long period of time.

At night we have often wandered up to the local mall, again just as an activity to do. We frequently find our selves singing or just being goofy. We have quite compatible personalities which helps since we're sharing a room in the house. In the mall, there is a walmart- type store which we walk around. In the produce section, found some very large kiwis that we thought impressive enough to photograph.

Speaking of food, Karlene and I have gone out to eat a few times. We were recommended to go to a ceviche (for those unfamiliar with this food, it a basically fish cooked in lime juice). Anyways it was delicious! Karlene tried the octopus and I had a combination of fish, shrimp, calamari and some other tasty sea creature which I don't know what was. These were our dishes:

Octapus

The combination (it is covered with onions but there was a good variety below.)

It was a delicious dish and a filling portion and we later understood why due to the prices. So we then started to look for a bit cheaper of places to eat. We have eaten the last 3 days for $1.25 a plate- much better!

While walking around town, we got some pretty shots of the city. We even made a friend named Alonso.

The alpaca wasn't super fond of how close we got.

We also found some tennis courts! Too bad I didn't bring my racket. However it is a private club.

I believe I counted 12!

Karlene and I even got our first picture of us together! More importantly- look at the beautiful background.

Starting Tuesday, we started with training. We had just a basic- get to know you- meeting with the Staff. Then Wednesday and Thursday they did a quick crash course or it could even maybe be called boot camp- to get us "ready" to teach. (I later learned it was the first time they did that. I was surprised because I would think they would always want to train the teachers with their methods or ways. However some bumpy areas gave it away that it wasn't the first time- still good to have for us!) It was a lot in two days and on Friday we got to observe another teacher. This helped to see the good and bad. Then this morning I got to hop into my own class of 6-8 year olds. I had 7 of them. Being that no one told me what they had been previously taught I was on my own to decide what I wanted to teach. That was good for my own creativity but it turned out they had known more than I thought. We improvised and had fun! I even got a "Welcome, nice to meet you!" picture from one student. Very cute.

To finish this off, here are some pictures of the city. I'm not sure what all the buildings are called, but they are pretty. The buildings still have a very Spanard feel to them from the conquer so many years ago.