Gringos in Peru

After being in Lima almost 3 weeks, we´ve actually started feeling at home, and worked out some kind of daily routines. This is a typical day in my Limanese "everydaylife". 06.40, the alarm on my cellphone goes off. I turn it off, and continue sleeping. Christina (the "morgenfugl" she is) is alleady in the shower. Around 06.50 Christina is back from the shower, and I don`t have eny more excuses to stay in bed. I head for the shower, and feel more awake the seccond the "not so warm" water hits my face. We get seved breakfast by out peruvian mom, or one of the daugthers in the house. The breakfast usaly consists of tea, some kind of soup or bread. As a consequense of getting up a few minutes too late every morning, we have to hurry off for the bus.

Our bus to Euroidiomas, where we attend spanishclasses, takes around 1 hour and a half. Sometimes more. Its hard to predict how the traffick will be, so on an occation or two we have been a bit late... Taking the bus here is quite exciting as I have mentioned, and I see new things every day. But, getting more in to things, we´ve started to use the time we have to spend on the bus to relax (sleep). Its a thrill to see if we wake up in time for our stop.

We have classses from 9 am to 1 pm, monday to friday. Having a teacher who barely speaks english, and who insist on only speaking spanish has been a challenge from time to time. Since she doesn´t know the norwegian language, she doesn´t understand exactly what we struggle with when it comes to spanish. After classes we usaly go to Miraflores (the commercial centre), Larcomar ( a big mall) or the historic centre. There we hang out, go eat or go to the movies. Its very touristic, and we really feel like gringos. And it adds to the contrast, it gives the feeling of living in two totally different realities. But Lima being a big city, with a lot of crime, it does seem safer for a group of gringos like us ( Here they use the term gringo about white foreigners) to hang out in a place like that.

Even if we get back home in the afternoon, or late at night, there´s always food. For others comming to Norway, all the bread we eat there takes some getting used to. For us, it takes some getting used to having two "dinners". A big plate of rice, chicken and frijoles at 10 pm is a bit too much for me. So, we are useally more than full when we head up to our room to do homework and go to sleep....

And, being in Latin America, we have gone out dancing every saturday. My salsamoves aren´t perfect yet, but we just have to keep on practicing. From what I´ve heard, there will be a lot of dancing in Iquitos.

Bueno, muchos besos para todos!

Lima; Baja, baja

Finally, some words from Lima from me as well. We´ve been here one and a half week now. So far it´s been great! It took a coupple of days to et used to this enormeus city, but I allready start to feel a bit like home. Christina and I live with la Familia Atencio, a family consisting of mom, dad, three daugthers and two sons and a grandson, a cat and three dogs on the roof. They are the best, really making us feel welcome. We live in a part of Lima called San Martin de Porres, and from here its a one to one and a half hour busride in to the more central parts, where we go for spanish classes. The traffic and buses here in Lima are something for itself, at least for someone like myself being more used to the norwegian countryside... But I enjoy the daily busrides, one sees a lot and gets a lot of impressiones from the bus. Baja, baja is what people say when tey want to get off the bus, and what the "ticketman" shouts to the driver as the passenger gets off.

So far we've visited the office of Stromme Foundation here in Lima, and met the nice people working there. This week we also visited the Centre para madres adolescentes, where Silje and Stine will be working in their practiseperiod. I got a really good impresson of the centre and the work they do there. Both the young mothers and their kids melted my heart, and I wouldn't mind working there myself.

The people we see and meet, wheter on the projects or walking down the street, make an impression on us. And I do feel that after spending 7 months here, I will defenatly have widened my horiazont and gotten a better understanding of the people here, the lives they live and the problems they face. You just get reminded every day that "the poor", or "the streetchildren", are individuals that deserve the same posibilities as you and me.

The people of Hald

I'm going to miss all of you guys in the months to come! Good luck in your practiceplace!
Elise-my partner- and myself
Brave norwegian and peruvian vikings sleeping outdoors. Erick and Eivind in the front
Me, Kamphet, Elise and Dino.

Mere Haldliv

Me and Neat from Uganda
Studying spanish; Me, Steinar, Victor and Hanne
Our own musicians; Steinar and danijel
Me and Dino from Iquitos, Peru

Haldliv

Since we are leaving this beatyful and nice place very soon, I thought it would be on its place to post some pictures...Here you see some details from the fantastic old school-building...

Just a week left...

Wow. We are sitting here at Hald, learning about blogging...In a week and a day, we'll be on our way. It's beggining to get frigthfully close, a bit scary, but o so exciting!!!Viva la Peru! I'll be back with more juicy detailes...besos y abrazos, Camilla

This is Pollo Loco by the way, a new student here at Hald, quite excited to make his own blogg...