Lot's of Exciting News!

This Sunday Marco and I went for a run along the Malecon de Chorrillos. It is the road that runs along the Ocean. We ran a few weeks ago but this time we ran a little farther. We headed around a point and made our way to a restaurant on the rocks called El Salto de Fraile (The Friar's Jump). We got there just in time for the main attraction. Every day there is a man who dresses up as a friar and jumps 25 feet into very choppy water that is crashing against the rocks. He made us wait in a bit of anticipation but he finally made his splash. It reminded me of my diving days in high school and college. I hoped that the depth of the water was at least 15 feet but I highly doubt that it was.

My wonderful friends Akhtiara and Jimmy are staying with us this week. Akhtiara and I worked at Maximo Nivel together way back when in Cusco. She and Jimmy were just married in Cusco last week! They are here in Lima to visit family and for Jimmy's work. That means that Akhtiara has had time to hang out with me! We went to a beach in Barranco yesterday with our friend Sabrina (whom also worked at Maximo in Cusco). The weather was not pretty. The fog was thick and you could barely see 30 feet in front of you but the company was great. It was so great to chat with these ladies about everything. We have all lived in Peru for more than 2 years (Sabrina 5+ year) and it's nice to know that I am not alone in a lot of the experiences I have had and understandings of Peruvian culture. This outing was much needed. Unfortunately, Akhtiara goes back to Cusco on Friday and Sabrina heads to the States so this kind of outing will not be possible after this week. Thank goodness for skype!

Speaking of Skype! I got a job on Monday! I am not working as an English teacher for the company Overcome the Barrier. It was created by a Russian guy and it serves mostly students in Russia and Ukraine. The method they use is pretty cool. Unlike Open English which is set up for the very beginner language learner, Overcome the Barrier uses conversation and error correction in a google document. I type everything that my student says in once column and after 15 minutes or so I go over the sentences with him or her and correct the errors in the second column. My first class was today with a great student named Olga. She works for Adidas and she told me I was cool at the end of the class. I think she requested to have me as her teacher again next week because I am set up to have another class with her next Wednesday. I am super excited to be teaching online. It's a new platform for me and with this company I am free to come up with the lesson plan I want for each student. It might be a little bit more work but either way, it's rewarding.

In my final section of good news, I am playing in a concert for the trio Los Morunos. I am a part of a 15 piece orchestra that is backing up the trio in a Valentine's Day concert. It will take place in The Japanese Theater in Lima tomorrow night and I couldn't be more excited about it. I would never get a job like this in Chicago. We had two 2 and a half hour concerts and we are playing 10 songs. They are mostly boleros and waltzes. Check out the video that is linked to their name. It is the song "Motivos" that was really popular in the 80s. The only original member still in the group is the singer. He is a super nice guy and asked me if the boleros were treating me well. I had told him earlier that I enjoyed learning boleros because they were super pretty but I had never played them before.

 

The trio Los Morunos

Things are going really well and I am pumped about all the new opportunities!