Learning Something New Daily

Nothing is familiar.

Everything is strange.

But it's all a grand adventure.

I'm learning.

I'm growing.

I'm adjusting.

I'm accepting.

I'm learning to love it here.

Yesterday something interesting happened. I got lost. like LOST in this city that I have only been inhabiting for 4 days. There are several different bus lines and I took the wrong one. Imagine being cramped into a tiny bus with 30 other people all speaking a foreign language. I stopped trying to listen to people around me and searched the scenery franticly in hopes that something would look familiar and I would know when to get off the bus. I second guessed myself 1 too many times and ended up 40 minutes away from home. (If I had gotten off the bus when my intuition told me to I would have only been 15 minutes from my house on foot - but I didn't know that because I didn't have a map or any sense of direction for this new city). Long story short, it took me 3 hours, 3 buses, a taxi and 6 soles to get home instead of 1 bus and .80 cents.

I was not scared in this strange city. I was only frustrated that I couldn't figure out where I was. That I couldn't go to a store owner and ask for directions and get a clear answer in a language I am fluent in. (I only catch about half of the words spoken to me on the street because its loud and people don't speak slow enough for me to understand them like my family does - they know i'm learning and they are patient with me.) People on the street expect me to talk to their level and they have no patience for my ignorance. In the end, I did figure out how to get home on my own. When I walked in the door my mom hugged me for an eternity. She was so worried. I don't have a phone and she knew I didn't have a map. She started crying which made me cry. Then my nose started bleeding (which has been a common occurrence here because of the change in climate and elevation) so my sisters took me to the couch and made me lay down. They wiped my tears and combed through my hair with their fingers. They consoled me while I cried and made me laugh and smile in spite of my tears. They took my bloody tissues and gave me clean ones until the bleeding ceased. I love them. I hardly know them but my heart is bigger than it was when I got here.

Today I walked to school. My dad gave me a map and very detailed instructions. It took me 40 minutes but it was 40 minutes that I got to watch how life works here. Its something entirely different and difficult to explain. Sure, its a huge city - almost 1 million people - but there are no skyscrapers. There are people everywhere but it's nothing like New York, Chicago, or even Boston. Theres a certain something different in the atmosphere here - I think it's South American hospitality. I may not understand everything I hear on the streets but I understand smiles and nods. The people are just genuinely nice here. Its refreshing. Its like breathing in sunshine and rainbows with every step.

I plan to walk to and from school from here on out. I plan to stop in little tiendas (shops) on the street and talk to the workers. I plan to soak up as much of this city as possible and in the end I know I'll be a better person for it and perhaps I'll even bless those around me as they've blessed me.

Learning to love it here,

Erin