First to explain the title of the blog... While studying abroad in Costa Rica, we were placed in homestays with Costa Rican families for 4 weeks. My Spanish at the time was fairly limited (and still is...thank goodness for Laura!). My 6 year old Tica sister found my language struggles to be delightful and would speak exceedingly fast and for long periods of time, and then look at me expectantly, waiting for some sort of response. I would usually smile and say "No comprendo. Mas despacio, por favor." ("I don't understand. Slower please."). Then, I would laugh and she would shake her head at me and roll her eyes. Boy did she have the eye roll down by the end of my stay! Laura was over one day and my Tica sister told a long, fast story to us both, finished and looked at awaiting our reply. When we looked to each other, our clearly confused faces signaled neither of us had understood and we began laughing, stating apologetically to her "Lo siento, pero no comprendemos." ("Sorry, but we don't understand."). She turned and walked away muttering "Ellas no comprendon, entonces se rien!" which means "They don't understand, then they laugh!". She was patient with us, at least as patient as a 6 year old can be, and we eventually figured out how to have a lot of fun without needing to communicate in perfect Spanish. This usually consisted of sitting around the table looking at each other and bursting into laughter, catching guppies in the pond near her grandparents house, or playing hand clapping and singing games.
This title I suppose will likely reflect the attitude we will take with us on our trip to Peru. We are approaching it as a learning experience. A lot of things will be new to us along the way and we may not understand everything that we encounter in full, but bearing this in mind we will also take along open minds, a sense of humor, and lightheartedness. We are off on a great adventure where we will encounter new people, places and customs and hopefully we will learn a lot, and make new friends along the way.
As we continue the planning process (itinerizing, collecting gear, and reading as much as possible about Peru) we are getting more and more excited to get underway. We depart October 4th from The Big Apple and return on December 8th. That means, two months of exploring mountains, deserts, forests, coastlines and ancient ruins, working on organic farms throughout the country and learning how to effectively utilize the bus system...look out Peru, here we come!
