First Week in Ocangate!

Hello world,
I hope all is well with you. I am currently at Rosanna's house in Cuzco, in between sessions of General Conference. I came back on Friday evening so I would be able to watch all the sessions. I actually am listening to them though, because the video stream is very choppy and doesn't work too well. Audio streaming works perfectly and I like it just as well. I wont be able to listen to the very last bit of this last session because I return back to Ocongate at 4:30 and it ends at 5:00 here. But that's ok, not only will I watch it again next week in Spanish, but I'll read it in English when it comes out in the Ensign, so I'm not too worried about it. I have loved all the sessions so far. Some of my favorite speakers so far have been: Elder Holland, Elder Cook, Elder Anderson, President Uchtdorf, President Eyring, and of course, President Monson. But I really have enjoyed all the talks so far and look forward to (most) of another session!

This weekend Berta's family all went back to Urabamba, but I came here to Cuzco because they don't have Internet at their house. Although, most the time they live in Ocongate, they still have a house in Urabamba they go to regularly. They live in Ocongate for work reasons. Well, let me tell you about my week in Ocongate. I arrived on Sunday after church, and had a lovely first evening. Giving gifts, eating dinner, and getting to know the family. The power had gone out so we ate dinner by candlelight, it was a fun experience. It is a family of four. Berta, her husband Vito, and their two children álvero (11) and Majayda (4). But I'll tell you more about them as we go along. The next day I went to the school in Huecco Uno with Berta, where she is the kindergarten teacher. I was mostly a helper, getting to know the kids, playing with them, assisting Berta with some things, etc. These kids though, let me tell ya, the best word I can find for them is "Hellions". They are such a handful! I've never seen such violent children in my life. It's part of their culture though, I'm pretty sure. The way you deal with children in Peru is as long as you can yell louder and hit harder, that's how you can control them. This, of course, teaches them children to yell and hit amongst themselves. I keep telling them not to hit, and it's like it's a new concept to them, and they don't really understand, or listen for that matter. As hard as it is dealing with violent kindergarteners, it's even more difficult when you can't speak with them very well. My Spanish is improving, but the children mostly speak Q'echua. Q'echua sounds like Spanish...while chewing on the biggest piece of gum you could possibly fit in your mouth, and singing. It's quite different, so I really can't understand the children hardly at all. I talked with Berta, and I'm not sure if I'll be going with her and her class most days or not. The original thought was that Mondays and Tuesdays I would go in her class and work with the Kinders, Wednesday and Thursday I would work with Amanda (the other teacher at the school) in the 1st and 2nd grade class, and Fridays I would teach English at álvero's school. Well, Wednesday came along, and Amanda said she didn't want me in her class. I could only understand so much of their conversation (that she thought I couldn't understand at all), but I'm not sure if she meant ever, or she just didn't want me there that day. Either way, I like working with Berta more; Amanda is kind of a grouch. I will definitely be teaching English at álvero's school every Friday though. I didn't go this Friday because I've been sick. I actually only went to school with Berta two days this week, and stayed home the other days. I was sick with altitude sickness, a cold, a cough, and food poisoning. Berta and I went to a restaurant on Monday after school and both got sick from the food. Berta said we won’t be eating in the restaurants in Ocongate anymore (there are only 3 or 4) and would only be eating at home, because they're not very sanitary. I'm okay with this because I quite like Berta's cooking. I quite like Berta period, she's such a great lady. She has been the perfect second mom I could have out here while I've been sick, she takes such good care of me. One of the nights, I was coughing pretty badly, so I guess it woke her up. She came over and gave me a scarf to put on, gave me vapor rub, and made me some tea...all at 4:30 in the morning. She's just so caring like that. I'm feeling much better though, and only have a little bit of a sore throat and a cough left. Not only do I love Berta, but the whole family as well. These kids are my new best friends! Majayda is the cutest little doll, but does cry quite a bit. She cries over everything, including her milk. Although she does cry a lot, when she's not crying, she's dancing and singing and playing and just being a doll. Álvero is my new best friend, he is such a stud! He is so funny; I can't help but laugh all the time when I'm around him, which is quite a bit. He's the skinniest little Peruvian boy you ever did see, and likes to dance like Michael Jackson. What a stud. I don't know Vito as well as the others, but is very, very nice and a good father to the family. I miss them already, just having not seen them over the weekend, but I'll see them again today, so no worries.

Berta was actually here at the house for part of the day yesterday because she was getting some last minute work done with Senor Michael. She made a joke in Spanish and I understood it but Michael didn't. I had to explain it to him in English...I felt pretty cool. Michael speaks Spanish and understands much more than I do, but just didn't get the joke. Michael actually left just about an hour ago for the airport, he returns to the states today. He hopes to come back out again very soon, but has to work that out with the Heartwalk Foundation first. So last night Michael, Jin, and I went out for his last big meal. We went to a small place by the house first, but they ran out of BBQ Ribs, which is mostly what we went for. So we ending up heading to Plaza de Armas, and found a nice restaurant there to eat. We had THE best dessert!! Jin and I are planning on going back next weekend, just for the dessert! It was a Banana wrapped in a chocolate sesame seed crepe, with a delicious peanut buttery sauce, and a fruit juice drizzled on top....mmm! After dinner we walked around the Plaza a bit, as I educated them on the mind of a woman. Jin has been having some girl trouble and drama with a girl here in Peru. It's actually one of his teachers, so that makes it a little more awkward. She has been very forward and wants to date him, but he just doesn’t really care to since he goes back home in two weeks. Both of them being single, and not very educated on the mind of a woman, they really didn't know what to do. So we had a long talk about it, and now it all makes sense and he knows what he has to do. Oh, silly men. I had to teach them the concrete fact that "Boys are dumb and girls are psycho." After our fun evening, we returned to the house where other guests were over visiting Rosanna, and also to say bye to Michael, I think. I was very tired and didn't join the party. I quickly skyped with mother and fell asleep. The guests downstairs were smoking though, so I woke up with a sore throat from the smoke.  Oh, I don't know if I mentioned in my last blog, but we have a kitten here at the house (I think I did mention him). He's getting big and very loud. He follows me around, climbs up my leg, likes to sit on my chest, and chew on my hand...it's very annoying. Hopefully he'll keep Jin company though this week, as Michael is gone, I head back to Ocongate, and there are no other students here at the house as of right now. Today is Election Day, so last night all the bars and a lot of Discotecha's closed down. It hasn't been as eventful today as I thought it might, since everyone was making such a big deal about it.

Oh, I haven't told you much about my living conditions, have I? The house is very, very small. There are only two rooms - an upstairs and a downstairs. Each room is maybe a bit bigger than my living room, maybe. I'll post pictures of the house too so you can see what it looks like and the size. We all sleep in the same room, but I get my own bed, so that's nice. The bathroom is out behind the house, just maybe 10 feet; in it's own little room. The shower is down a little bit, by some other houses. Vito works for the government, so we live in a little government community. It's a gated neighborhood, so you have to be careful not to get in too late or they'll lock you out. Life is very simple here; we hand wash and hang dry all the laundry, there is no fridge, no microwave, only a simple gas stove and sink with some shelves for the food and everything else. Everything must stay very tidy, because there is just no room in the house for a mess. Ocongate is very small, and not all that exciting. It's all cement and buildings. The streets are cement, the sidewalks, the Plazas, the market area, the walls, everything is cement. Some of the buildings are cement, but most of them are adobe. I love living with this family, but the actual town is much less exciting. There is almost nothing to do here, but go to the Internet place, go to a not very good restaurant, or play with the dogs on the streets. I choose to play with álvero and Majayda most the time, so I really haven't spent too much time in the town. It will be nice to come to Cuzco every weekend for Church and have Saturdays to do something out and about in the city. It will be a good balance. Well, Conference starts in a bit and I want to get some food before it starts. I think that brings us all up to date anyway, so I'll bid you farewell. I’ll post some pictures soon, but you can see them all on my facebook page. Thanks for reading, know I'm safe, and I miss you all! Love you very much!
Alyssa Nicole Escalante