I’m currently sitting on a bed with my new 8 year old host sister, Grease (pronounced Grace), watching a jumbled Disney movie in Spanish. My host family’s house is in downtown Chaclacayo and I’m the only one of the volunteers right here; all the other volunteers are in neighboring barrios or little towns. I have a 4 minute walk to our training center and the town center compared to most other’s bus rides or 15+ minute walks. The house is beautiful and quite big, complete with a backyard garden and my own spacious bedroom. When Pablo, my host Dad, and Grease brought me to our house I thought it was a joke, but apparently most accommodations in Chaclacayo are very comfortable during training. There isn’t hot water, a washing machine, or internet, but they have most other modern conveniences and tons of space, which I didn’t expect. 
I spent the afternoon hanging out with Grease, who is super-outgoing and really bright for an 8 year old. She may turn out to be the most effective Spanish teacher I’ve ever had. We threw the Frisbee in the yard and later played with her Barbies. Pablo cooked dinner and I spent most of the night talking with him. My Spanish needs some serious improvement, but it is really exciting to have people to converse with. My host Mom, Guadalupe, is in Lima working right now so I won’t meet her until Tuesday. I believe she is a pharmacist and spends some of her time working in Lima. Pablo worked in both Pharmacy and accounting in the past, but now he stays with Grease and seems to do a lot of the traditionally feminine tasks around the house, which is an encouraging indication that the Machismo culture may not be as pervasive in more modern or urban communities.
I spent the afternoon hanging out with Grease, who is super-outgoing and really bright for an 8 year old. She may turn out to be the most effective Spanish teacher I’ve ever had. We threw the Frisbee in the yard and later played with her Barbies. Pablo cooked dinner and I spent most of the night talking with him. My Spanish needs some serious improvement, but it is really exciting to have people to converse with. My host Mom, Guadalupe, is in Lima working right now so I won’t meet her until Tuesday. I believe she is a pharmacist and spends some of her time working in Lima. Pablo worked in both Pharmacy and accounting in the past, but now he stays with Grease and seems to do a lot of the traditionally feminine tasks around the house, which is an encouraging indication that the Machismo culture may not be as pervasive in more modern or urban communities.
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