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ABC...Easy as 123...?
First Day: Alarm set for 7am; slowly got ready; bag carefully and neatly packed with a pen of every colour; allowed 20 minutes for the 10 minute walk to main road; arrived at 7.45am at main road to catch bus with husband and mentor; carefully chose safest looking bus; rehearsed in head how to ask for a ticket to destination; held tightly to bag in case of robbery; attempted to memorise every landmark outside the window; stood up and awaited drop off point two blocks before destination...
Last Day: Ignored alarm and jumped out of bed at 7.20am; got ready in a mad hurry; threw phone and keys into bag trusting the required books and pens are somewhere inside; said goodbye to husband blissfully resting in the land of nod; ran downstairs to front gate with wrong keys; ran back upstairs to find right keys (husband still asleep); allowed 5 minutes for 10 minute walk to main road; arrived at main road at 8.10am; jumped on first bus going in the right direction; continued in a half-asleep state without paying attention to surroundings; jumped out at destination just before door closed...
How things change! Karen's first day involved fears and tears - she returned home questioning how she was ever going to learn anything when her teachers would only speak to her in Spanish. When she didn't understand she felt embarassed and dreaded returning the next day to face more of this humiliation. She couldn't see how she was going to be of any use here when she didn't have the language - leaving Mark feeling a little guilty for being practically fluent! However, we are pleased to say after this initial blip Karen has had a very positive time in language school.
Admittedly it has been frustrating at times getting up early, travelling for about an hour in Lima traffic, sitting through four straight hours of Spanish often one-on-one, travelling the same journey home and completing daily homeworks. She thought her days of studying were over. However, it is slightly different when you're studying something relevant to your context. The teachers, Moises & Irene, have taught Karen so much about the language and culture and have provided her with endless entertainment by revealing some of Peru's quirkier customs and in their openess - no topics of conversation were off-limits leading to many interesting stories and questions!! All the teachers were so encouraging to both of us and almost became like friends in a place where we knew so few. Every Friday the school provided a treat in the form of a local pastry or sweet, which also helped!
In the final weeks Karen had to do an exam to assess her ability. She felt the pressure of this because she knew that the outcome would determine when we could go to Huaraz. After a long morning at Immigration (where we officially became residents of Peru!) she took the exam and thankfully did well. At this point we were able to confirm that she would finish language school and we would move on. The last day of language school was sad as we said our goodbyes. They arranged a lunch of roast chicken and chips and presented Karen with a certificate and a mug - so kind. There was even some time for Peruvian Christmas songs!
So onwards and upwards...there will be challenges for Karen ahead as she tries to implement what she has learnt in the classroom into daily life and there will be some for Mark too as his days of waving goodbye to Karen from his bed are over! But for now, we are thankful to those in the language school who have been great ambassadors for Peru.
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