El Ratón de los Dientes

So, I missed class again today.  Just kidding, I really didn't.  I actually went to Peruvian Social Reality today and it was actually a really fun class.  When I walked in the professor was talking about the different ways people celebrate Christmas and I thought that holidays was the topic of the today's class.  Well, come to find out, when there were ten minutes left in the class, our professor said, "Oh, I actually wanted to have class today and talk more about gender."  Haha, well obviously that didn't happen, but still like I said, I had a lot of fun talking about the different holidays and traditions in Peru.  For example, Christmas has "US American" aspects to it, like they have snow flake and other snow decorations, but there has never been a recorded snowfall in Lima.  Also, a really cute thing that I like is the tooth fairy here.  Actually, they don't have a fairy.  They have a little mouse that takes your tooth and leaves a coin or small gift.  And here's the part that I really like about this story, everyone has their own mouse!  How cute is that?  The tooth fairy is so general, so a kid has to feel really special knowing that he has his/her own personal mouse to take his/her tooth. :)  Also, we talked about other holidays like Easter, New Year's, Valentine's Day, April Fool's Day (which is actually in December), and Latin American holidays like Carnaval and Tres Magos.  It was an overall great last day of class.  Also, I should tell you that my professor's son is home and doing so much better and he is off all pain medications.  He will still have a surgery in the next coming weeks, but compared to how he was before, it seems that his health has improved immensely.  Thanks for praying for his family.

After PSR, I had my last Living and Learning class.  We had a bunch of snacks today in class and it was actually rather unhealthy and all the sweet food made me feel sick afterwards, but the discussion was good.  We pretty much discussed reverse-culture shock and what we're going to say to people when they ask us about our experiences.  We also talked about what we'll miss and how we think we have changed by being here.  It was a nice last class and it was nice to talk about our experiences with people who have all had experiences here as well.  After an hour break, I had my Spanish Writing Workshop final.  We had to write two essays and to be honest, my essays were quite boring and I'm really not sure how well I did, but mostly, I just can't believe that it was my last day of actual classes.

Anyway, after class, Tonisha and I went to Café Z for a few hours to work on our presentation that is next Wednesday.  We got some of it done, but we didn't finish by any means.  I'm really glad we didn't have to write a paper, but at the same time, the paper would've given us more direction and made us more organized.

Tonight, we had a cocktail party with all of the students and host families.  It was a really good time.  We got appetizers and free pisco sours! :)  I sat with my host mom, Tonisha, and Tonisha's host family and we had some really nice conversation.  Then, we had some nice entertainment.  Jenplays the ukelele so she played that while Ian and Rachel sang and then Mark played the cajón while his dad played the guitar.  It was really good entertainment.  We sang Aude Lang Syne, Mi Perú, the Star-Spangled Banner, and La Bamba.  During La Bamba, Sheila's mom made Tonisha and I get up and dance, which was fun. :)  Also, some of the host parents, students, and CIEE staff gave short speeches to everyone and I'm not going to lie, I did tear up a little.  I still can't believe how fast the time has gone and how I have really gotten to know everyone in the group!  It's been amazing!

The Entertainment :)

My host mom and I (We did not plan the Christmas colors,
however, I will say that I love that we do in fact look like Christmas)

Anyway, Tonisha came over to my house tonight so we could work on our presentation some more since we leave tomorrow at 6 a.m. from my house to go to Puno.  We'll it is now 3:30 a.m., our presentation is still not done, and we're exhausted!  So pretty much we're going to bed and we're going to do the rest of it during our trip.  I'm very excited for this last trip and I can't wait to tell you all about it next week!!

Anyway, one last thing...thank you soooo much for voting for ILS this whole month!  We ended at #23, but we would have never been able to even get that far without all your votes!  Thanks for voting and thanks for sharing!

Sorry that there will not be any posts this coming week, but you will be flooded with trip posts next week so keep your eyes open for them!