Volunteer Service Day!

My friend just posted some pictures from my work service day a few weeks ago. My co-workers and I went to a community center outside of Cusco. We mostly did painting and a little construction work as well. At the end of the day, we played soccer with the kids from the community. It was a fun and exhausting day. In this picture, one of the kids is ¨helping¨ me carry a bucket of dirt.

Juegos Mecanicos

Things are going pretty well in Cusco, other than getting the flu last week. My roommates and some of my students and me have been enjoying the carnival (juegos mecanicos) right by our house. There are crazy rides, fun games, cotton candy, churros, and much more! It costs three soles (one dollar) to go on each ride. I also LOVE playing this game where you need to roll down eight balls into different numbered slots. You get a different prize depending on the sum of the slots where the balls entered. Anyways, it so fun because you always win and I have won some great stuff such as bowls, hangers, juice boxes, toys, and a plastic piggie bank! It is fantastic!

What´s new?

So today I officially finished my second month of teaching ESL! I am a little fatigued from grading dozens of quizzes and exams, but it feels good to be done. Overall, my students did very well. I have the rest of the day off and tomorrow I have a volunteer service day for work. We are meeting at 8am to take a bus to a town outside of Cusco to do some construction work and play soccer with the kids in the community. I think I will mostly be painting inside. We´ll see!

This past week or two has been busy and fun. I joined the gym (for 15 dollars a month). It is no Primetime, but at least I can go there to do some exercises and take a warm shower (which can be difficult to find here!).

Also, my roommates and I discovered a carnival right down our street and have been going there a lot! Some of my students from my Basic 1 English class have gone with us too.

I continue to take a Spanish class for an hour everyday.

Oh ya, and I went to a birthday party for one of my students this week. It was a lot of fun. We ate chicken and fries, danced, and ate cake. The cutest baby was there named Eduar (see picture above!). He is my student´s nephew. He is turning one this Saturday and my friend Josie and I are invited to his birthday party! He is SO cute!

Now I am off to eat some lunch!!!