Most Commonly Spoken Words

I was thinking yesterday, and I realized that I say the same words over and over and over again. I thought it would be fun to make a list of the words I say the most here, so here goes!

My Most Commonly Spoken Words (In Order):

1) Si - So often.... Whenever anyone is talking to me and I don't really understand, I just nod and say ¨Si, si!¨... Smile and nod, smile and nod

2) Gracias - Manners are so important always, but especially as and exchange student. I am really living in a dream here and it is beyond crucial to thank everyone who made it possible for me. Even when I couldn`t say much else, I ALWAYS said gracias!

3) Ciao - Here, every time you enter or leave a place you need to give everyone there a kiss on the cheek and a greeting, and here they say ¨ciao¨ as goodbye. Whenever anyone leaves, they always kiss you on the cheek and say ¨ciao!¨ and you do the same.. So I've said a lot of ¨ciao¨s!!

4) ¿Que? ¡¡No entiendo!! - What? I don´t understand! Story of my life

5) Habla despacio, por favor - Speak slowly!! They seriously talk so fast here... I'm getting a lot better at understanding though :)

6) ¡Estoy cansada! - I'm tired! It's already exausting to have to focus so much to understand or communicate with people, and having to wake up at 5:30 every morning doesn`t help. I`m exausted!

7) Yo extraño mi perro - I miss my dog. Really, I miss Buddy Wilson so much... There are a ton of stray dogs here that just walk around the street, and every time I see one it makes me miss my beagle boy :(

8) Buenas noches/Hasta mañana - Goodnight/See you tomorrow. It's always nice to say goodnight to everyone in the family before going to bed, and there are 7 of us in this family, so that`s a lot of goodnights!

That's just a little sample of my Spanish knowledge... But don`t worry, I can say much more than just those things ;)

El Campamento!

This weekend I went to a weekend Rotary conference with all of the other exchange students in Lima. We went to a resort on the beach, which was BEAUTIFUL! It´s ¨winter¨ here right now, so we didn´t swim much, but it was still a ton of fun. We had a lot of training and team building workshops, but it was still a good time because we were all together. I am honestly so grateful for such a great Rotary district here (4450) and such great exchange student friends to share it with!

One activity that we did was called a trust circle, where we had a circular rope, and everybody had to hold onto it and pull it back tight. Then the instructor asked for volunteers, so I raised my hand, along with one other guy. He told us to each start of different sides of the circle and WALK on the rope, at the same time, but going opposite directions. It was really scary, because we were totally relying on the strength of the people in the circle. It was a really cool experience, and it was super fun!

Care Package!

Yesterday I recieved my first package from home. It mostly contained things I forgot to pack, but there were also a couple little things in there just to make me smile. Recieving something from home made me SO happy. I felt so stupid while I was opening it, because I could not wipe the smile off my face! I absolutely LOVE getting things sent to me from home, so if any of you ever feel like sending me anything, whether its a care package or just a letter, I would be absolutely thrilled to recieve it, and I just might send something back ;) (Oh, and if you do send a package.... PLEASE send me some cookies n cream Hershey's drops... I´m craving... ;))

My address is written in the picture above, but here it is again:

Caroline Shapiro

Calle Pablo Neruda No. 126

Urbanizacion Santa Raquel 3rd

Stage Construction Tie-Vitarte

Lima Peru

My First Rough Day

Bexley High School starts school today... I didn´t think that I would feel sad about it, but I do. All I can think about is what all my friends are doing at school right now. I know that my life back home is going on just like it always had, except I´m not there. I know that my friends will sit at the same bench for lunch, but I won't be sitting with them. It's just a strange feeling... I miss my school and my normal life.

When I told my friends that I was going to live in Peru for a year, many people said ¨That's so cool! It´s like a year-long vacation, you´re so lucky!¨. I am lucky, and it is cool, but it is NOT a vacation. It´s so far from a vacation. It´s hard. It's hard to be placed in a new city, a new country, in a new life. A life where you don't know anyone, and it´s hard to get to know anyone, because you barely speak their language. It´s not a vacation, and it´s not easy.

I know that it´s normal to have days like this. It´s part of the experience. I know that I am growing so much and I am becoming a stronger person from it, and that makes me feel a little better.

A few days before I left home, I was up in my room packing with my mom and brother, and Stronger by Kelly Clarkson came on the radio.. My mom said ¨Caroline, this should be your theme song for the exchange! Whenever you feel down, just listen to this!¨, and then she and Zach started singing along and dancing. So today, I´m listening to that song, and it does make me feel a bit better. What doesn´t kill you makes you stronger, right Mommy?! ;)

School!

My last post mainly focused on my dramatic experience the first day of school, and I didn't talk much about what the actual school is like! It´s a private Catholic school, so it's pretty different than what I'm used to in Bexley. We have to wear uniforms (featured above. They're not great pictures but you can get a general sense of the uniform. It consists of sweat pants, a t shirt, and a jacket). It's not cute, but it's actually really comfortable, so I don't mind it much. The school building holds elementary classes and high school. I am in the last year of high school here, which is called ¨Quinto¨. I am in a class with about 35 other kids my age (only 4 of which are boys!) and we stay in that same classroom for almost the whole day while the teachers switch rooms. The only times we leave the classroom are during two 30 minute breaks we get throughout the day and for English class. The students are split based on English levels. I was placed in the highest level of English (for obvious reasons) for the first few days, but I think pretty soon I will transfer out and help assist some of the lower classes, helping with vocabulary, etc. That way I can be practicing my Spanish too!

The days are looooong. My host family just moved houses, and their new house is much farther from the school. We wake up at 5:30 every morning, get ready, eat a small breakfast and walk to the bus stop. The bus ride is about an hour and a half to get to the school, so with the walking to/from bus stops it takes almost 2 hours! So we leave the house at like 6:30 in the morning and don´t get back until 5:30 in the evening, and by that time it's already getting dark, because it´s winter here. By the time we get home I´m already exhausted and I still have to do all my homework and everything, and that requires a lot of energy because it's all in Spanish! Although I suppose it's good that I'm staying busy.. It takes my mind off of home and all of the Spanish practice is definitely helping.

Socially I'm doing great at school. Everyone loves talking to me and I've found a lot of people in the class with similar taste in music, shows, etc. They're all very nice when it comes to helping me understand what's going on in classes and they're eager to teach me all of the Spanish slang words. When we leave the classroom and walk through the hallways or in the court yard, people from other grades just stare at me when I pass by. Sometimes people say hi to me or come give me hugs... It's so strange having so much attention on me! I know it will get old for them after a while but right now they´re so intrigued. They all think it's amazing that I've been to New York City and Disney World.. And they think it's so cool that I can go see all of the bands I like in concert. I forgot that when a band comes here it's a big deal... There aren't nearly as many concerts here as back home. South American concerts for American artists are pretty rare.

I feel a bit uncomfortable being at a Catholic school, but my classmates and teachers are nice and it´s very helpful for my Spanish, so all is good!

Oh, and I forgot the best part! I get to wear my Merrells to school every day! I know my Daddy is gonna be very happy about that :)

First Day of School!

I think it´s safe to say that my first day of school could have gone a little better.... It wasn't exactly bad, it just got off to a bit of a rough start. The school day began with the entire school meeting out in the court yard to say a prayer (because it´s a Catholic school), sing the national anthem, listen to a welcome speech by the principal, etc. The entire school was standing out there for about 15 minutes. After a while I started to feel really hot, dizzy and sick, so I grabbed my host sister´s hand and dragged her out of the crowd with me saying, "Necesito sentarme" which means "I need to sit down." However, as soon as I started walking, it got worse. My vision starting to blur and I couldn't stand straight. I couldn't even explain to my sister what was going on. I could barely form sentences in English, let alone in Spanish! All I could say was "I'm about to pass out, I'm about to pass out!" My sister was practically carrying me to the nurse's office while I was collapsing in her arms. At one point I fell all the way down and a group of students rushed over to help me up and bring me the nurse. Everyone was staring at me.. When we got to the nurse's office, they laid me down in a bed and I was out. I laid there for a while before getting up and going to class, partly because I was still pretty woozy, but mainly because I was afraid to go meet my new classmates after what had just happened!

On my first day of Peruvian high school I passed out in front of every single student, teacher and faculty member at the school. How's that for an embarrassing first impression?! Not only am I the new girl from the United States, but I´m the new girl from the United States who passed out on the first day of classes. Oh and I´m Jewish too. In a Catholic school... To them I´m like an alien. But they're intrigued, and everyone wanted to talk to me so it looks like I have some new friends!

It was so strange to have school in Spanish. All of my notes are in Spanish and I had to write a poem in Spanish for one of my classes! It´s just so different. Everything is so different. I am 100% out of my comfort zone but hey, that´s being an exchange student. I'll get used to it, and eventually this will become my comfort zone!

It's normal to feel lost, uncomfortable and even embarrassed at times. It's all part of the experience. Even though my first day of school felt a little uncomfortable for me, I know that I´m going to do just fine there. I already have friends at school, and I can feel my Spanish improving. So yes, I passed out and embarrassed myself in front of everyone, but I know that in a couple of weeks I´m going to be laughing about it. It's definitely a memory that I won't be forgetting any time soon!

Inca Kola

Inca Kola- the drink of Peru. It´s delicious. It kind of tastes like chewing gum... I love it!

La Comida

The food here is delicious! It consists mostly of rice, chicken and potatoes. The main meal of the day is lunch, which is served around 3. It´s very strange to have lunch as the biggest meal, but I like it! The above pictures are 3 of the lunches I´ve eaten since I´ve been here. So far I´m really enjoying the food! ¡Que rico!

El Centro de Lima

  

Yesterday, my host family brought me to the center of Lima. My entire family (all 8 of us) packed into the car and drove the 20 minutes to get there. In the center, there are many beautiful government buildings, cathedrals, etc. and a TON of people! It was packed, but very cool. The President of Peru also lives in the center of Lima. The below is me in front of the President´s palace!

Mi Familia

My family here is so wonderful. Living with 3 other teenage girls is so helpful for me. I feel totally at home with them, and I'm learning how to fit in to their family. They treat me like a real sister which I am so grateful for.

There's also my little brother, Mati. He is a piece of work. Adorable, but crazy!!!! He's always full of energy and eager to teach me Spanish. He will come up and grab my hand, dragging me around the house, holding up an object and telling me how to say it in Spanish. It's strange learning a language from a 4 year old, but he's very helpful to me.

My host parents are incredible as well. They are extremely loving and welcoming. Although I don't always understand what they are saying to me, I can always tell that they are being very sincere when they tell me that I am at home in their house.

They are very loving and friendly and I am so grateful to be put into such a warm, welcoming family!

Viva El Peru!

July 28th and 29th are the independence days of Peru. I arrived here the night of the 28th, so I missed all the festivities of that day, but my family took me into the city on the 29th. We drove along the beach visiting several different festivals. There were parties everywhere! And at every one of them, there were people dressed in traditional Peruvian outfits and costumes doing traditional Peruvian dances. My host mom kept taking my camera and saying ``Ah Caroline, foto! foto!`` and asking people in cotumes if they would pose for a picture with me.. And everytime I went to take a picture, my little host brother Matias would run up and join. It was very fun, and an interesting experience for me!


I know I have only been here a few days, but I already feel so at home here! Peru es mi pais :)