A very scary experience

I'm writing this as I recover from a very scary experience we had this morning. On our way to school every morning myself, Diana and her son Daniel always take a taxi to beat the traffic and escape the very over crowded buses at rush hour in the centre of Lima. Today we did as we always do: we hailed a taxi in the street and, after negotiating a price with the driver, we got in.  On hindsight, as the taxi pulled up I did think it looked a bit old (even for a Peruvian taxi - which can be pretty ancient!) but being a bit of a novice when it comes to travel in Peru, I quickly forgot all about it. We got in and took off.

Diana gave directions and off we sped (literally) towards the school. We had only gone about 2 blocks when we came to a junction. Our driver, in typical Lima fashion, sped right on without stopping to check for on-coming traffic. All of a sudden another taxi, also speeding and not watching, came out of nowhere.  Everything happened in slow motion.  We were going too fast to stop and smashed head on into the side of the other taxi. Yikes!

There was a terrible couple of seconds afterwards of shocked silence.  Fortunately nobody was seriously hurt even though the taxi had no seat belts. Unfortunately, for the taxi driver his car was a bit of a wreck and had to be pushed off to the side of the road by some helpful bystanders, leaking fuel.  Sadly, with the loss of his car the driver also probably lost his livelihood.

We got out after a few minutes of shock and made to school a little late in a safer and slower taxi. We're all a bit sore and quite shaken up by what happened but more than anything we are thankful we weren't going any faster and that nobody was in the other taxi. Things could have been very different and much worse. For me it's woken me up to the dangers of the roads of Lima but most importantly I've seen God's protection and care in a very personal way. He promises that He is with us always and those who trust in Him will walk in safety, their feet shall not stumble and they shall not fall. (Proverbs 3:23/24). 

 I don't mean to scare senseless anyone thinking of visiting Lima because in all the time I've spent here I've never seen an accident till now.  We happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and these things happen but I've also learned my lesson: it pays to be vigilant and careful when out and about in Lima. Thanks be to God that He is ultimately in control of whatever happens to us.

Not my photo but definitely captures the chaos of Lima's traffic

                                                                                        

A tempremental relationship

I wrote this entry a while ago but never posted it. So here goes, the saga of myself and the shower and our rather difficult relationship. 


I write this as I warm up from yet another freezing cold shower. This has been an everyday day situation since I arrived. Try as I might I can't fix it! It doesn't seem to matter which knobs I turn or buttons I press, it's always cold, colder or freezing! The funniest thing is that Diana can get it to stay hot for at least a little while but when I try, it stubbornly refuses to comply.  I'm really not amused by its tricks.  I don't know if a lack of hot water is common in Lima or if perhaps my shower has a particularly malicious streak (I'm thinking the latter).

I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining though, I do have a lot to be thankful for: running water, a warm bed at night, a safe place to stay and food on the table. I've seen many, many people here who don't have these things. Being in Peru is teaching me some important lessons in what I think I need and what I can do without. Turns out a cold shower is bearable. All the same, every night I secretly hope someone has been in in the middle of the night and fixed the shower. Alas no such luck yet anyway. I guess a refreshingly chilly shower each night is just what I deserve if I've spent the day complaining about the heat though!

In fact its not just the shower I can't figure out. I'm not doing all that well with any of the bathroom applicances. I was very helpfully told by Megan at the beginning of my stay in Lima that you can't flush toilet paper down the toilets here: it all goes in a little plastic bin beside the toilet. Well, you can imagine what that must be like. I found this a little hard to believe at first so I played the ignorant foreigner and flushed it all away. I was quite pleased with myself when this worked fine at least the first couple of times. But, my success was short lived and I ended up very narrowly avoiding a flooded bathroom. Turns out the unspoken rule about the toilet paper is actually there for a very good reason. No more toilet paper down the toilet then...

My problems don't end there though! You can't drink the tap water here in Peru at all - I'm told it harbours some nasty bugs and to stick to boiled or bottled water, which I do (when I remember). But, I'm so used to brushing my teeth with tap water at home that I often catch myself just in the nick of time before rinsing my toothbrush. This is a particular problem in the morning when I stagger into the bathroom in zombie mode to brush my teeth and accidently turn on the tap and get stuck in only to realise in panic what I'm doing. I've done this a few times now and spent the rest of the day watching out for signs of some deadly disease, convinced I've probably poisoned myself! So far I'm happy to report I'm still alive and trying very hard to steer clear of the tap water, not flush toilet paper and not complain about the shower :)

Two special girls

This week I've been very lucky indeed.  I've had the chance to go to not one but two birthday parties!  The Arevalo family with whom I stayed for my first two weeks in Lima have two little girls and both had birthdays this past week.  So that meant plenty of cake, Inca cola (Peru's national drink) and endless cups of tea with Charmian who is British and understands the need for a cup of tetleys from time to time.  

Emily turned 8 on Tuesday and Little Franchie was 4 yesterday.  We had a party for each of them with all the extended family and I was privileged to be invited along.  We played the usual party games and just had a lovely time together.  It made me realise how fast time is passing.  I can very clearly remember being 8 years old and although it only feels like a year or two ago, it's times like these that remind me that it was a long while ago now.  Coming to Peru wasn't even a distant dream back then yet here I am!

Black forest cake known as "torta de la selva"
jungle cake in Peru

Birthday girl no. 1

Birthday girl no. 2

       

 Princess cake for Franchie

School is going very well and I'm kept nice and busy.  Everyone is now settling into a routine there even me.  I spend most of my time with 1st and 2nd grade which I love because the kids are so affectionate and make such an effort to learn.  I still get many questions a day about where I'm from! The Scottish tourist board should be paying me for promoting Scotland!  There's a little fellow in 1st grade who's favourite phrase is "but why?" and likes to repeat everything you say.  Our conversations go something along the lines of: 

Me (waving our two english puppets about) : Ok class I have two friends here... 

Moses (jumping out of his seat) : No you don't have 2 friends!

Me: Well, no but I do here with me just now.

Moses: No there's not two!

Me (trying to be patient) : Um...yep Moses there is. Now...

Moses (jumping out of his seat again) : But why?

Me: Moses please stop asking questions and let's do some work.

Moses (gravely serious) : But you don't have two friends you must have more than that!

Me (defeated) : Ok, ok! Lets just pretend I've only got two then.

Moses (rolls his eyes): Oh no!! Not pretending!

I'm the first to give up on this kind of conversation.  He has something to say about most things.  He is such an inquisitive little thing but he wears myself and Vanessa (the teacher) out.  He is so so cute and I guess its not a bad thing to ask questions...just not all the time!

I've had some exciting news this week.  Firstly one of my very close friends from school is getting married soon after I come home from abroad and has asked me to be a bridesmaid! It'll be my first time and I'm quite excited although slightly worried about fitting into my dress with all the nice food there is here.

Also, my mum and sister have finally taken the plunge, after much persuasion, and are coming out to visit me here in Peru.  They arrive on Saturday night!  I can't wait to show them the country that has slowly been becoming home to me over the past few weeks.  The school have very generously given me time off to spend with them and we hope to visit Cusco, Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley.  I'm especially looking forward to spending time with them since home and family seem very far away when there's 6000 miles and the Atlantic Ocean separating you!  Our time is precious.  Most of all, I'm looking forward to their reactions to life in Peru and all the differences there are.  I'm sure there will be plenty of hilarity and chaos as I try to translate and they adjust to life in a country that seems to know nothing about health and safety or a nice cuppa.

A day at the beach

I'm afraid I've started to get behind on writing this blog already!  A lot has happened in the last week or so since I last posted so I thought I'd better get jotting it down.  


Firstly, I had the chance to see a little more of Lima last week.  Ruth Bailey offered to take me into the centre of the city.  The photos I took just don't do it justice! The city centre is really very beautiful and quite different to the rest of the city. The buildings are very European looking - a legacy left behind by the spanish conquistadores.  Apparently Lima used to be called 'The City of Kings' (La ciudad de los Reyes) and something of its former luxury is still evident today.  We spent a lovely morning visiting some of the tourist sights and I have to admit it was nice to see other tourists and feel you aren't the only foreigner in the city.  We wandered down to the ocean side at Larcomar for lunch.  I was quite glad to get out of the school for a little while since the heat is unbearable at the moment and zaps sll your energy.

The centre of Lima

On Tuesday the whole school staff were treated to a day trip in Kawai, a christian beach site about 2 hours south of Lima.  We left the school at 7 am and spent the day on the beach enjoying the hot weather and peace and quiet.  It was my first time out of Lima since I arrived so I was really excited at the prospect of seeing a little bit of the real Peru.  Lima is the 2nd biggest desert city in the world so when you get out of the city everything is very dry, dusty and barren.  Pretty much nothing grows unless it is near a little oasis of water of which there are very few!  The landscape was strikingly different to the cityscape I'd got used to.  After spending all day at the beach we headed back to the city again and I began to notice all the places I'd forgotten to put suncream (doh I never learn!) 

Kawai

Desert scenery outside Lima

The biggest event this past week has been the start of the new school year after the Christmas holidays.  On Thursday morning it seemed that the whole of Lima was on the move as thousands of school children, all smartly dressed in their school uniforms, headed towards schools all over the city.  At San Andres we start at 7.30am so at 7.15am I was at the school gates to help with organising the children into classes (no easy task when there's nearly 750 children in the school!)  The school day is a long one - from 7.30 am till 3.15pm and quite exhausting when you're not used to it.  I will be helping out with the youngest primary classes aged between 5-7 yrs and I've already had the chance to meet a lot of the children over the past few days.  The kids are really sweet and very affectionate and many already speak quite good english.  I feel really happy in the school and as if its where God intended me to be.

Sn Andres is a really noisy place, constantly full of activity and there's a lovely friendly atmosphere; the feeling that it is a really happy place.  I think the children think of me as a bit of a foreigner though despite my attempts not to stick out too much.  A little girl asked me yesterday "Miss, why are you so white?".  Well I launched into an explanation of where I'm from and all that but she was not to be put off "But Miss you're really, really white. You must be from somewhere very, very far away!" (as she stared in wonder at my pale and pasty arms) I have to admit I felt a little like I'd just come down in a spaceship from Mars at this point and vowed to myself I'd getting working on my tan soon...For some of these children its the first time they've ever seen a foreigner so different to themselves and I love how inquisitive they are.

In school assembly, which they have everyday here, we sing hymns and psalms as well as the Peruvian anthem and the school anthem.  I was put to shame by 6 year olds today who knew the songs far better than I did and who sung them with such gusto and obvious delight.   I really will have to learn the Peruvian anthem for next week's assemblies! That will be my homework this weekend.

Well, I have so many stories to tell from school but since its only the first few days and I will doubtless have many more to tell, I'll leave it at that just now.  I will add some photos of the school very soon.

Colegio San Andres