oh the simple things

So I've been in Lima for almost a week now but I'm just getting around to setting up this blog, sorry guys. I'm so glad I've got a Peruvian mama, Nini! We already had our first pijamada and I actually helped her cook arroz con pollo and it was edible! Today proved interesting if a bit frustrating. The other student whose living in the apartment with me (Sarah) and I went to la Plaza de San Miguel. I was trying to call another student who was going to meet us there only to find out I couldn't make calls. There's a Movistar store in the plaza so I went with Sarah and we got our number (140) to wait for someone to help us. Every time the next number was called and someone didn't immediately get up, the worker would always look over at us. "136 . . . 136!" "No tengo 136, tengo 140, puedo contar" I was very tempted to tape my ticket to my forehead so that they would realize it wasn't my turn yet just to show them that there are gringas who can speak Spanish. I found out that my Movistar phone was never activated so I have to wait until the weekend to go back to the store and have them activate it. I never realized simple things like making a phone call would be so complicated.

I also realized just how many people have never seen a 6 ft, pale, blond girl before. Especially when I'm walking around with Rossy, the woman who cleans and cooks for us. I swear she is the shortest, full grown person I've ever seen. Her head comes up to the bottom of my ribcage so walking around San Miguel with her makes me look even more out of place. The staring and whistling started to get quite annoying, especially when the guys are 5 ft tall. I don't mind when the kids point or say something because I now have three friends who have invited me to play soccer with them in one of the parking lots around the complex. I'm getting lots of practice with Spanish, although a couple people have commented that I use too many Mexican words! At least orientation starts tomorrow so I can't get into too much trouble since I won't have as much free time. My other huge accomplishment is that I have yet to get lost!! We'll see how well that goes.