This morning I went on a walking tour of the neighborhood in Zona D with Lara, Kristin, and Yrma, Luz’s mom. Yrma led us to a nearby “foothill” (it looked more like a mountain to this Midwest girl) that had been divided into different plots of land for people to garden. Since the plots are on the side of the foothill, an extremely steep stone staircase was the only way to access the plots, which were also created with walls of stone. Each flat level was about five feet deep, so the whole side of the foothill looked like a giant staircase. It was pretty amazing.

Our next stop was the municipality of the Ate district, which is the district where Huaycan is located. They grow all sorts of starter plants that are then transplanted to various parks around the city. A super nice man told us where we could buy manure (at the “stable”), mulch (at the “carpenter shop”), and gardening tools, which was a huge relief since the dirt is really dry and dusty here. I’m glad we won’t have to wait 3 months to break down our own compost…We will likely buy those supplies on Friday or Saturday, after my dad arrives. I’m hoping he can identify quality cow poop better than I can.

Kristin taught an art class this afternoon, so I helped her (or tried to). I had a pretty difficult time trying to understand the kids, especially because of the noise produced by 25 of them. I’m not sure that I would’ve been able to hear them well in English, so I definitely struggled with Spanish. Thankfully a very sweet 10-year-old girl, Paola, was at my table, and she very patiently repeated pretty much everything everyone else said since she was the only kid I could understand. Eventually her cousin, whose name I also couldn’t understand, came over to our table and impressed us with a few magic tricks. After class he ran home and returned with more props to continue the show. The grand finale involved rubbing ashes on his arm, which formed the name “Luis,” which was the name I had drawn from a bunch of pieces of paper earlier. The kid was eleven.

Right now I’m sitting in our living room, listening to the English conversation class downstairs (they just finished singing “Jingle Bells”) and Avril LaVigne (Luz, as it turns out, is a big fan). Every once in awhile a dog outside lets out a high-pitched, whiny howl. Perhaps it’s trying to respond to Avril’s high-pitched, whiny voice. I have a feeling I’ll be able to work and sleep through anything by the time I return home in four months.