On the other side of the street

   In a country that doesn’t have the infrastructure or ideas that many Americans have in regards to care for the elderly or mentally unstable, it’s a common sight to come across loco men and women in the streets.  Living next to the Pan-American Highway heightens our opportunities for such occurrences, as does working in the city center. 

   There are those who fade into the background, that are seen occasionally, but don’t seem to attract everyone’s attention and then there are those who are not forgotten.  We see a man, who most people don’t notice, because he likes to sleep in the grass in the median of the highway right across from our house.  There is the “Crazy Sack Lady” who can often be found in the business district with her overgrown fingernails and toenails and plastic sacks on her head, piled next to her and protruding from her ragged clothing.  Finally, you must meet “Loco Chete,” a legend in Chiclayo.  On two different occasions, in an English class, when students were to describe other people, I asked them to describe him and everyone in the classes new him.  He is a non-aggressive, generally cheerful, alcoholic who is said to have lost his mind after seeing his father burned alive at the age of 12.  Loco Chete covers the entire city on foot, carrying a few bags, usually some beer and muttering, laughing or hollering nearly unintelligibly (at least for me) in a good natured way.  The people love him.  They give him a little bit of money, they offer him food, cut his hair for him and care for the man, lost in time but not in space.  He may not have any sense of who others are or where/what he should do at any particular time but he can tell a person about every district in the city and where he has been or is headed. 

   We get caught up in our own lives and know what’s going on in our own home and sometimes what is going on in our neighbors.  We see those on the other side of the street but often do not know their stories and then the further one goes from home, the more like a dream their lives seem.

Loco Chete across the highway from our house

Experiments in the kitchen this week

Peanut butter!  The third time was a charm!  

Over the past month, I’d tried twice earlier to make it, as it appeared to be easy to do according to reviews I’d read.  Well, the first time, it turned into a crushed peanut mess and never got creamy.  The second go got a little bit burnt and dehydrated my lips when I tried to eat it.  

Today’s peanut butter: perfect! 

garlic rice, a lima bean veggie salad, 

topped with a trout fillet seasoned with turmeric powder and pepper

pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving J

Pesas

Pesas (or ‘weights’) is a word that Igor loves.  Lifting weights is one of this famous pastimes.  He lifts for fun, to relieve stress and to stay in shape.  I prefer running.  To be fair, he accompanied me running along the Pan-American Highway a few times, so to hold up my end of the deal, we lift together occasionally.  

A busy, busy month

With warming temperatures, less rain, more sunlight, and American Thanksgiving just around the corner, this has been a busy, very busy, month. 

Virtual classrooms

   The university language center that I work at signed an agreement with a virtual education company and looks forward to offering language classes via computers so that students can study from home.  It’s an interesting concept, because, unlike many online classes, students must enter at a specific time and interact with their classmates.  There is also a teacher present giving instructions facilitating discussions.

   For those of you who know me, I’m not the most tech savvy person in the world.  I spent a week being trained (without compensation) to teach these courses in the future, but secretly I hope to not have to do so.  I enjoy physically interacting with others and it’s really challenging to facilitate when you cannot see people’s facial expressions.  That course along with my work really kept me busy. 

Cooking experiments

   I've tried a few things this month.  Peanut butter seems like it should be really easy to make but both batches have turned out, well, not quite as creamy as we'd like.  Third time's a charm.  Maybe next week.

   I bought a pumpkin to try to make a pumpkin pie in honor of Thanksgiving.  I have yet to find the time to attempt it.  

Work…

   My schedule has been filled with several classes at the university in the early morning and late afternoon/evening classes as well as sporadic private lessons throughout the day.  Conversation is my preferred class, because it allows for creativity.  The majority of my students look forward to the class and enjoy it.  This month has had smatterings of great debates, conversations about current events, life events, habits and childhood memories.  Listening to students’ memories was fun, hearing about the games they played or where they hid or what foods they hated and being able to draw the connections between childhood in Peru versus the United States. 

Finished at last

   Last week, Igor had final written exams, hands-on exams and presentations.  After successfully presenting a poster of his thesis and passing all the exams a very happy and tired Igor came home to catch up on sleep.  All done with the university.  Just preparing to do his residency.

Studies

   Now we both have the next few weeks to study and prepare for exams—Igor for admissions exams for residency (the 12^th and 14^th of December) and me for internationally recognized English Teaching Knowledge exams (the 15^th and 16^th of December).