MUWAH!

I just got shushed at lunch today! There were six of us and we all were laughing, but you know me. I'm just guessing, but I think my laugh may have been a big contributor to the shush. We were having a borderline inappropriate conversation- no, not borderline, it was inappropriate, but I don’t care. We were having a hilarious time, and I was understanding it, as they were explaining to me as we went along. I was able to laugh at something other than myself. And this is good, to enjoy the humor of others. To you that may sound odd, but for the past 2 months, I haven’t really gotten the jokes. Everybody will giggle at something, and then someone will try to explain what they are talking about, and I give a courtesy laugh, even if its not funny to me. But today we all laughed. So, whatever old lady at El Delfin, I laugh loudly!

Right now, I believe I’m in the thick of cultural shock. It seems like my days are extreme opposites. I’ll have a great day, then wake up in the morning, and have an invisible day. You know what I mean, a day when nobody seems to get you, or understand you, or even see you. Hence invisible. That is I’m invisible to everyone but the cat-callers. And on these days every cat call, every hello, every lindo, every preciouso, every I love you just makes me burn. The worst is the kissing noise, the smacking of lips together in a smooch sound. I have come to almost expect this. When I pass a group of boys or men, I brace myself for it. Jason, another YAV here in Lima, doesn’t hear it. We can be walking down the street and I’ll hear the noise and say there it is. And he’s like what, no I didn’t hear anything. Its subtle, but so annoying!

I’m placing my communication abilities hand in hand with my ability to get over this whole culture shock thing. I am trusting that the more and more I understand and am able to say, the less and less confusion I will have. Also the more I fill up my down time, the better. Yesterday for my second guitar lesson Jamie, fellow YAV who is teaching me to play, asked me do you really have nothing better to do than sit around and practice the guitar? My response was well yeah, sort of.

Once I arrive home, if nothing is planed to do with the church, I generally do not leave again in the evenings. For two reasons, my neighborhood isn’t the safest to return to after 10ish and my family doesn’t really leave for any reason after dark. They are a little lets say on the conservative side, and don’t participate in things like going out for a drink, or teaching me to dance salsa. This has been a bit disappointing for me to deal with, however I believe I can learn different skills from my family. Like how to start random conversations to break the silence, and kids, little ones, how to coexist with them. Fiorella, the one year old, is adorable and runs around the house saying korikorikori. But, Andrea, is more of a challenge. She is four, and well she is four.

I just changed my settings on my blog from Spanish into English, and realized that I can change my comments section. Now anyone can post comments, without having an account here. So, as I am getting over this whole culture shock-two month hump-depression-thing, it would be great to hear from you! Just send me a quick message, its nice to know who is reading this. Thanks:)