5% Fluent

After 15 weeks of language school I would like to share with you a brief look at what some of my time has been like. I have two classes every day, practical class is one on one with an instructor and grammar class is in a group of 3-5.

Practical class is mostly conversation, which at first was a little difficult. My instructor Juan Carlos doesn’t speak English. The first week went like this: Juan Carlos would ask me a question in Spanish, I responded “No entiendo”, he responded “busquelo” which means look it up. I would then look in the dictionary.  After a few weeks of class he took me to buy a new one because he didn't think mine had enough words in it!  In an hour and a half of classes we might have completed 4-5 sentences. Every night I had homework, writing sentences using verbs he assigned. But evidently I didn’t understand how to use the verbs correctly, so the next day I would read my homework and Juan Carlos would look at me and say “no, no puede,” meaning you can not use it like that. Everyday, every sentence was wrong and he always responded with “no puede.” Now I am not a violent man and have never punch someone in my life but for some reason I had an irresistible urge to punch my instructor every day. I spent the majority of class with my nose in the dictionary and getting corrected every time I opened my mouth. What fun!

After practical I would go to grammar class. I have the sweetest old Peruvian lady named Abby. She teaches all the fun stuff of Spanish; parts of speech, sentence structure, and of course VERB CONJUGATION. This is in bold because it is the most important part of Spanish. They say there are 14 ways to conjugate a verb but they are wrong, it is closer to 114. Each verb has 1^st person singular and plural, 2^nd person singular, and 3^rd person singular and plural. But that is only in present tense. There are five forms of the verb in all four past tenses, three future tenses, commands and don’t forget subjuntivo. This is a form of the verb that I don’t even know if it exists in English. It is used if you have doubt but only in certain situations and is used all the time in Spanish. It creates a soft way of speaking instead of direct and rude communication. And since I don’t know how to use it well, (yet) that makes me a rude American. Then you can change the verb to make it a noun, adjective or adverb. Grammar was my least favorite subject in grade school and so I now think I officially I know more about Spanish grammar than I know about English grammar. But that’s not saying much. My brain hurts everyday after class but at least I don’t want to punch Abby in the face. 

But 15 weeks later things have changed. I can carry on a conversation in practical class. Juan Carlos and I discuss politics, economics, and culture. We often read the bible together and pray together. Many times my homework is to read the bible and write a commentary on it. Some days we just solve the worlds problems. Other times we take field trips around the city to investigate the culture. I have been to lumber yards, home improvement stores, furniture stores, pharmacies, and insurance agencies. I’ll never forget the day he taught me how to hail a taxi and negotiate the price. I had to stand on the corner and stop 10 different taxis and ask the price to a certain location then say “no gracias” every time. After ten I figured out a fair price and stopped the next one and negotiated.  Everything is negotiable here. One day we road the combi, it is like a bus except three times the number of people as capacity and half the size of a real bus and it cost 25 cents. Standing room only on bumpy streets, in stop and go traffic, with people yelling in Spanish.  It is a real cultural experience. 

This is a combi I saw that ran into a house!

I still get corrected every sentence and look up a lot of words but I am much quicker due to all the practice I have had. In grammar I can (slowly) spit out most verb conjugations and form sentences in the correct order. Although this is very difficult with direct and indirect pronouns, I am making progress. 

My biggest frustration is how much I feel I don’t know. I assumed after a few months of language school I would be fluent.  They say that it takes 7 years to become fluent which is 364 weeks, so after 15 weeks I should be 4% fluent. That makes me feel better about myself because I am at least 5% fluent. But why didn’t God call me to study math?

To Lima and Home Again

Last week we took a trip to Lima.  The kids enjoyed flying again and a break from routine and school.  We were blessed to have some wonderful time together as a family.

Well, it's official.  Josh and I have been approved by the government to stay and minister in Peru.  We can now also get cell phones (and other services) in our names and obtain driver's licenses (I do not desire to drive here unless I have to!).  We have also started the process for the kids.  We will have to return to Lima at some point to pick up their carnets - then we will be finished with the process except for annual renewals which we understand are easier.

After our 6 hours at the migration office in Lima (I should have taken a picture there) during which we did homework, read books, played UNO, and ate snacks, Josh and I were able to pick up our carnets and apply for the kids.  Lucy said, "Oh good, now we can stay."  

 
To reward the children (and, let's be honest, ourselves!) we went to Parque de Aguas in the evening.  The park doesn't open until close to dark because it is a lighted fountain park.  We took towels and changes of clothes because you're allowed to play in some of them.  It's fall here and after dark it is quite chilly but the kids had a blast and it was really beautiful!

The following day we visited Parque de Leyendas, a zoo.  Throughout the park you can also see pre Inca ruins.  We enjoyed seeing animals from different regions of South America and specifically looking for animals that live in the jungle.  

There are several mission houses in Lima which are a blessing as they offer much more affordable accommodations for families and have kitchenettes so you can prepare your own meals.  Just a few blocks from the mission house we stayed in is the coast.  Our last day we spent walking to the coast and enjoying the playground.  I love to see my kids interacting with Peruvian kids and using the Spanish they've learned so far.  They had a blast - I think it was their favorite day!
 

 

 

Friday evening we were blessed to meet a young family who has just begun serving in Yurimaguas but who were also in Lima as they're awaiting the birth of their daughter.  One of my greatest prayers and desires was to have a good friend (and mom of young kids) in Yuri and when we decided to go, there were no other families with children there.  We're so thankful that God has provided in their family friends for our family!  They have 2 young boys and Henry and Judah became instant friends and can't wait to see each other again!  We really enjoyed the evening getting to know one another, sharing how God led us here, and encouraging one another.  

We were all glad to return to Arequipa.  Although it is a large city, it is quite peaceful.  Lucy still struggles with missing home and when we returned she was commenting that she wanted to go home.  Henry said, "Lucy, we are home".  This was music to my ears as he is adjusting well (although he still doesn't love school).  Maggie was ecstatic to be home and sleep in her own bed!  Lucy is learning at a young age that following God has a cost, but we remember fondly times with friends and family in Indiana and look forward to reuniting someday.  Lucy was excited to go back to school and wore a bracelet that a dear friend in Indiana made for her to "take a piece of home with her".  We're still praying for God to provide a girl her age in Yurimaguas.  He has proven so faithful to us along the way, we know He will in this too and are excited to see how He does it!

~ Jennifer

Peruvian politics are complicated

Warning: for those of you who dislike politics and history, stop reading now!

On this day, April 5^th 1992 then president Alberto Fujimori turned Peru upside down. At 10 pm on that Sunday night he dissolved both houses of congress and shut down the judicial system. Using the military, he arrested many senators, congressmen and judges who opposed his political party. The next morning, he proceeded to take control of all media outlets, newspapers, radio, and television. Journalists who had spoken out against him in the past were put on house arrest and he confiscated their computers and notes. Once he controlled the media he used it to smear congress, falsely accusing them of drug trafficking, prostitution, and corruption. Peru lived under his rule for 8 years until 2000 when he fled the country and resigned via fax. During his rule he embezzled over $600 million US dollars, used the presidential jet to smuggle coke out of the country, oversaw forced-sterilization of 300,000 indigenous women, and used the military to conduct mass killings in an attempt to rid the country of the Shining Path terrorists. Today he is in a prison in Lima dying of cancer.

Here is where things get crazy.

This Sunday are the elections here in Peru. His daughter Keiko Fujimori is running for president, and is the favorite to win. Why? Well the people still like her dad. Through his auto-coup he brought financial stability and rid the country of the Shining Path. He accomplished this through his mass killings and by using American aid to arm the peasants to fight the Shining Path. Now the peasants love him, I would too if he gave me free guns. In Peru it is mandatory that everyone votes, so the peasants get a big say. The good news is that Keiko will most likely not receive the 50% majority needed to secure the presidency and there will be a run off between the top two candidates. The question right now is who will get second? It is a dead heat.

There are currently ten candidates running for president. When we arrived in Peru in January there were 17 but seven have dropped out or been dismissed by the election board. It is a new law this election that candidates can not pay voters, until now it was legal. And it seems candidates are having trouble with this law. My favorite was Cesar Acuna, when he was accused of plagiarism while in college he seriously said “it’s not plagiarism, it’s just copying.” When he was removed from the election for paying voters he didn’t even argue it. The election board is suspected of corruption as well.  Keiko’s top competitor was banned from the election due to improperly filling out paperwork but when a video surfaced of Keiko personally giving an envelope of cash to a supporter it was overlooked by the board.

So here is a rundown of some of the current candidates:

Alan Garcia- The two-time former president is best known for 7000% inflation, crashing the monetary system, letting the Shining Path run roughshod over the country, and lowering the per capita annual income to $720. Even in 1989 that is hard to imagine. 

Alfredo Barnechea- He is a close friend of Garcia and many claim he is only a puppet of Garcia.

Gregorio Santos- Currently he is in prison for corruption during his time as governor of a district. While in prison he ran for reelection, and won. Now they are holding his governor position until he is released. They let him out of prison last week for a couple of hours so he could attend the presidential debates.

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski- The 77-year-old is very rich. While serving as minister of energy and mines under Alan Garcia he contracted all the government mining projects with… his company. He is also known for selling certain minerals to Mexico for 10 cents a ton and buying it back for $10 a ton, while receiving kickbacks.

Veronika Mendoza- She is currently in a dead heat for second with Kuczynski. She is running on the socialist platform. She wants to increase government spending 50%, withdrawal from free trade agreements, and rewrite the constitution.

On top of all of that the Panama Papers showing tax evasion, drug trafficking and money laundering, has ties to almost every one of these candidates. No one here is surprised by that. 

Overall the whole thing is a mess. On Sunday many Peruvians (10%-15%) will purposefully incorrectly fill out their ballots in protest. Many of those who want to vote correctly still don’t know who they will vote for. I spoke with a man on the street the other day who said he is voting for Santos (the guy in prison in case you forgot). When I asked him why he said, “he is corrupt, but less corrupt then the others.” That is what Peruvians are looking for: the least corrupt candidate. 
 Please pray for Peru this Sunday.

Gran Responsabilidad

This morning I went to a men’s breakfast for the men at our church. I was so nervous. The language barrier is still intimidating.  When I arrived I was relieved to see some German friends from my school. Even though they don’t speak English it felt comfortable sitting with someone I knew. We were served soup and bread, a common breakfast here and the soup was onions, tomatoes, fish and lots of spicy stuff. I like spicy stuff but it was strong enough that I had trouble eating it and I worked up a good sweat.

The most interesting part was after breakfast we had a bible study. It was lead by the pastor of our church Pedro. Of the 25 men at the breakfast I was one of the youngest, most of the men were 50 and older. For the study we read a passage and answered questions about it. But I was surprised by the basic nature of the questions. What is the context of the passage? Who does the passage say Jesus is? What are important things in the passage we should imitate?

Why were the questions so basic? Here is some background: 40 years ago some of the first evangelical Christian missionaries came to this area. They began to teach about Jesus and the bible. The first Christian churches were started. Even 20 years ago there were few Christian churches in the area and most of the churches were small with less than 50 people. Even though Peru has a Christian presence and Christian churches this is a relatively new thing.  These men at the study were not born and raised in the church. They don’t know all the right answers. Even if they came from the Catholic tradition reading the bible is discouraged here. There is still a need to teach basic doctrine to these relatively new believers.

Denominations are not important here. Where there are denominations it causes confusion among the believers. There is no time to argue about which translation is best, what songs to sing, or what clothes to wear. People need to know about Jesus. They need to know that faith in Jesus is more important then attending mass on Sunday. They need to know a relationship with Jesus is more important than sacrificing guinea pigs or idol worship. The church is growing here and the central focus is to share the gospel, and teach about Jesus.

As I discussed earlier this week in school with my Spanish professor he told me I have a gran responsabilidad (important responsibility). Because there is a huge need for sound biblical teaching here. It is a reminder: we are going to Yurimaguas to work with the Shawi people, to help feed children, to help with pregnant women and to teach agriculture; but more importantly we are going to share Christ. So as Christians lets focus on what matters; sharing Christ with a lost and dying world. Es un gran responsabilidad.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then, can the call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”      Romans 10:13-14

                                                                                                                               Josh

                                                                                               

Easter weekend in Arequipa

Some highlights from our Easter weekend here in Arequipa, Peru.  Thursday and Friday are national holidays and so we all enjoyed a four day weekend. Thursday we went to the Plaza de Armas to take in the sights and sounds from the catholic culture, which included a reenactment of the crucifixion in the main plaza with thousands of people watching. 

 

Afterword the people walk from church to church in the downtown area stopping at each church to remember an element of the passion and to recite prayers. Outside of each church are many food venders cooking on the streets and people selling cotton candy outside the church entrances. 

Henry enjoyed the candy apples people were selling. They were good but dipped in hard cinnamon candy and difficult to bite. 

We also watched this awesome street performer working during the red lights.

On Friday we spent an evening with two other American families playing games, talking, and watching movies. 

On Saturday we went to a big mall on the other side of town to play glow in the dark pirate putt putt golf and take our picture with the Easter bunny.

The best part of the weekend was worship Easter morning at our church, Cristianos en Accion.  Followed by lunch and fellowship. Here is a sample of the worship, the video is poor but do you recognize the audio?

Chicken feet and poopy grass

It is amazing how quickly we adjust to our surroundings. Things that were strange to us seven weeks ago are now normal and we don’t even notice them. I was so proud of my wife the other night at a restaurant. We were eating a chicken soup and she spooned up a whole chicken foot out of her bowl. She quietly pulled it out, set it aside, and continued eating the soup. I became nervous at the sight and went digging around in my bowl and found a foot as well. I also set it aside and continued to eat. It was good soup. 

The children have adjusted to the new normal very quickly. I have been a little slower because I am old and stuck in my ways but also because I tend to question everything. It is fun to ask why we do what we do. Why do we wash our dishes in warm water? Why is that man selling pieces of toilet paper on the street? Why are there five dogs on the roof of that house? Why don’t we have any water when it rains? Why are there guinea pigs grazing in that person’s yard? Why are the parks watered with sewer water? Why is there a foot in my soup?

But the questions are good. They lead to some interesting answers. For example, why do we wash our dishes in warm water? In Peru we always use cold water to wash the dishes, or the laundry, or sometimes ourselves. What does the warm water do? It doesn’t sanitize. It has to be over 180 degrees for that. It really doesn’t help get things cleaner as I have found out. In reality it is a waste of water, energy, and money.

Now I am not saying that the way you wash your dishes is wrong, what I am saying is maybe we should rethink things. Why do we do what we do? It is a healthy question to ask but sometimes difficult because usually the answer is “because that is how I have always done it.”

Arequipa is basically a desert. So I wondered how all the parks are so green. I asked my professor and he explained. (All was in Spanish so I am fairly certain this is correct but only about 90%) Well all the parks are watered with sewer water using gravity. The ground has a natural slope and each park has an entrance and exit from the sewer. Workers open the entrance and plug the exit with rocks or trash or whatever and the entire park floods. The sidewalks are built about a foot higher than the grass so you can still walk through the park. Once the park is flooded the worker opens the drain and plugs the entrance and presto! green grass. 

At first I was appalled by this but the more I think about it the more sense it makes. It is water and natural fertilizer for the grass; it is less wear and tear on the sewer treatment plants; and it is free. It also keeps people off the grass. (except our children of course)

In general we are adjusting but I continue to ask why. I continue to reexamine what i am doing and why. We should not only reexamine our lives but also our faith. Why do we do what we do? Why do we go to church on Sunday? We do we celebrate Easter? Why do we carry on traditions? Jesus himself condemned the Pharisees for this saying “you have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions” Mark 7:9

Again I am not saying any of this is right or wrong just I believe it is healthy to ask why and search out the truth. The truth is in God’s word not in our traditions. 

                                                                                                                     Josh

Back to School Shopping

I should start with the disclaimer that I have not gone back to school shopping in the states since I was in school.  However, I think even if I had, this experience would still be at the top of my list of must culturally different experiences thus far.

Everyone said to go shopping at San Camilo, the main market in Arequipa, for back to school supplies because they are the cheapest.  Everyone also said not to be there past 5pm as it is not safe for foreigners.  One friend had mentioned it took her 5 hours to get the supplies on the list.  That alone should have made us wait until another day but we were in the area (which is a taxi ride from home) so we went.

First, the list was quite long - the front and back of a piece of paper per child.  I had gone over the list with my dictionary at home first and still there were many things I didn't understand.  I had also revisited the school and asked if all of this was required since my children will only be in school part of the year.  She graciously crossed several things off the list.  Later, after going through everything I bought, I realized that when you send your child to school here, you are required to provided ALL the supplies.  A back to school list in the states for a preschooler might contain some pencils and crayons but you largely expect that your tuition covers the supplies (copy paper, toilet paper, craft supplies, etc).  That is NOT the case here.  Your tuition must cover only salaries and facilities.  You provide EVERYTHING else.  That alone was one huge and unexpected difference.

Secondly, the shopping experience was SO different.  The store is pictured above.  It is 2 aisles that you can barely stand 2 people wide in.  Behind the counter are the employees and all the majority of the school supplies.  I took my list to the counter and she began to look things up in the computer and create my "order".  We discussed what some items were, how life is different here, the young gals life story, etc while she entered the items into the computer and advised me what additional things she thought could be crossed off the list.  Nothing was priced and no prices were mentioned although I'm sure if I had asked the price of each item she would have told me.  That would have only extended the 1.5 to 2 hours I was already at the counter.  And I would have had no idea if those prices were fair or not here.  A package of 12 markers costs about $6 here - outrageous to me but I have asked in several stores since and it's the same everywhere! 

Meanwhile, Josh is standing outside the store with the 3 kids because there isn't room inside.  We were obviously an anomaly as many people stopped to look, chat, or take pictures.  Josh got to practice his Spanish with the security guard who was shocked that we lived here and were not tourists.  Josh got the impression that if we were tourists he would have told us that we should be leaving the area as it was approaching 5pm.  Josh and the kids also explored the market.

After completing my order, she sends me to the cashier to pay and says that it will be ready in about 1.5 hours.  Not expecting this but not wanting to have wasted all that time and have to do it again another day, we agreed and went to find some dinner while she proceeded to gather all the things we'd ordered from behind the counter.

We returned about an hour or so later just as she was finishing up.  Then they called me to the pick up counter where the woman proceeded to go through my ticket and put items into boxes for me as she checked to see that they were all there.  This process took another 45 minutes at least.  Finally with 2 large cardboard boxes, a large roll of poster board, a stroller, and 3 kids, we head to the street (with the help of 2 ladies from the store - bless them) to get a taxi home.  By this time it is well past the safe hour to be there and the women (and God) were looking out for us.  They helped us hail a safe cab and get loaded up.  

Once home, Josh carried the boxes up 4 flights of stairs to our apartment.  I then had to go through the material and label everything with the kids names.  The following day, Josh had to carry everything back down, and then we had to get a taxi to take us to the kids school (about a 5 minute walk) because there was so much to carry there was no way we'd make it walking with 3 kids!

The adventure continued when we arrived at school and they sat down with us and the list they'd given us to make sure we'd bought everything we were supposed to and they made a list of whatever was missing that we needed (some things had not been available at that store and I thought others were excessive).  God was gracious and so was the director of the school as she crossed off many of our missing supplies that the poor teacher spend 45 minutes making because the kids will only attend until we move to Yurimaguas.  That only left about 4 items I had to go to other stores yet to find.  The director of the school is a lovely woman whom we're grateful to have met and has been so gracious in working with us through this oh so new experience!

While back to school shopping was not what we'd expected, we survived, and we're all excited for the kids to start school tomorrow and be immersed in the Spanish language.  

~ My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19 ~

                                                                                                                               ~ Jennifer