Intiwawa, a day in the life...

Here's the Arequipa mash-up. The days were full and I never got to writing full posts! Always a good sign. Here tis a little overview of my two and a bit weeks in Arequipa, the White City...

Every week day I had 2 hours of Spanish lessons with Keyla, the most patient Spanish teacher in all the world. It worked out at about $4 an hour for a one-on-one lesson. Incredible. Most of the voluntarios took Spanish lessons with Keyla, in the kitchen, and really we wanted her to move in. Stay Keyla! So lovely, always made you feel like you were really clever even if you got all the homework wrong. Oh yes, and homework. That took some time, but I always counted the sub-titled double episodes of Friends each week night as study. I was reading the sub-titles, obviously.

Depending on the schedule of the day, it is off to jardin, kinder class, in San Isidro for the morning. San Isidro is about an hour out of Arequipa on the bus, and is a little town built around brick-making. The place is dry and dusty and there are a lot of families struggling out there. Kinder was a bright blue little beacon of colour up the dusty hill, and Norma the kinder teacher was the sweetest. The kinder kids are wild, absolutely, but Norma had this calm serenity and you don't even realise that she is herding the kids through the day. The kinder class-room was bright and clean, with lots of toys (although many creatively made from bits and pieces around the house), puzzles and books. Norma is a fantastic teacher, and my Spanish being the level it is, I'd find myself enthralled in her reading of Little Red Riding Hood and excitedly pointing out items that were rojo (red) with the kids. Fun for all ages. Kinder was from 8:30-1, then you'd get the bus back, make some lunch, maybe even squeeze in a shower every other day, cram my Spanish homework and have my two hour lesson. Followed by exhausted collapse in front of double Friends episodes.

If it wasn't Kinder, it was Tareas (homework) also in San Isidro, in the afternoon. Then the day would be in reverse, but would also end in exhausted collapse in front of Friends.

Now, the bus ride was something. One day, we had five people (FIVE) not actually in the bus but we were on the first step into the bus. Hanging on for dear life to anything you could. An hour of this is a nightmare, though mostly you can snag a seat. One trip I couldn't actually hold onto anything, and ended up being in a three-way-spoon with Manu, me and then the bag of food for tareas.

Intiwawa was like a share house more than a hostel, and there were 6 of us staying there, though always a host of extras at the weekends or nights from the Intiwawa family. There was always talk of Pisco Sour Hour, but Shannon and I tended to be too tired to go to the store and organise this. It was good in theory, though, and one time we managed to get red wine. Otherwise, weekends were for going out, or showering and doing laundry...

The big Plaza Vea supermarket is about a 10 minute walk from the house, and with so many people sharing one fridge it was best to buy in small bits. Also, the occasional electricity outages had an influence.

So, that's the mash-up. The day in the life. I loved Arequipa and Intiwawa, but I am just ready for the  next thing and also to eat. I could have stayed there for a year just doing Spanish lessons and hanging out in Arequipa, but I think this is not a productive use of my time.

xx