10 things I've learned after a Month

I have been in Peru for 1 month now and would like the top 10 things I have learned during my first month

1) It took every motorcycle taxi driver, combi driver, truck driver and taxi driver to teach me that I do infact have very blonde hair and am very pale and female... I am now immune to the sound of a car horn

2) My name is not actually Katie... but actually Ki-tz-ie, Kaaaaaatee or Kat and on the extreme end, it can morph into oi FLACA! (skinny girl- a common way of referring to people), GRINGA )(White Girl) or Senora Gringa, Chica, Amiga, Senorita, and Mamacita (little mama) or Costilla (Rib- as Matt lovingly calls me)

3) Cold Showers can actually be enjoyable with strong water pressure. if you are used to bucket showers, they feel like a gift from the gods.

4) When Roosters crow they do actually say Cockle-doodle-doo. After a month of having my family's rooster sleeping outside my window, I can challenge the myth that roosters only crow at sunrise... no, no 2am, 3pm, noon, midnight are also popular times for roosters to crow

5) Explaining Canadian traffic laws provides instant entertainment and hours of jokes afterwards. The idea of waiting at a street corner until the signal, even if there are no cars and fines for jaywalking is hilariously foreign here. Also, explaining how Canadians say thank you and sorry for everything is funny here.

6) On a related note, explaining that North Americans willingly forgo drinking clean tap water to spend money on bottled water or filters... leads to general bewilderment... we really are strange peoples

7) On another related note, explaining that people willingly forgo eating vegetables, meat, wheat, fruit, and dairy products for reasons aside from medical reasons eg. vegan or "cutting down on food miles" also leads to jokes or general bewilderment about gringos

8) Ahi chilli is the most amazing flavor ever and (rightly) does go well with every meal.

9) Peruvians have a herb (hierba) to solve any ailment. Oregano, Hierba Buena, Hierba Louisa, Anis, Mint pick you right up and taste much better than other medicines.

10) Black clothing does not hide dust here, and white shoes actually stay cleaner
here than in Canada

Everything with the activities is really picking up, we are doing about 4 hours a day of classes at one school and making some real progress. We have about 7 more weeks left of activities and we are already starting to make preparations for the final website. It's very exciting. Matt has been in contact with a few volunteers to help us with the project.

World Cup begins tomorrow, surprisingly, I seem to be the most excited about it out of everyone I have talked to. We bought a projector to help with the activities...all I need to do is find a website from which to stream the games. I Will not miss the World Cup even if I am far, far, far away from them.