They introduced me to their friends and family and celebrated holidays with me.
I learned about the Huaca La Centinela, which are old ruins built by the Chinchas, an Empire in Peru before the Incas arrived. This became a frequent morning walk, where I passed the ruins and the farms growing grapes, pomegranates, corn, mandarines, cotton, and avocados. I also discovered the fishing pier in my site and the fisherman would show me the different types of fish they caught for the day, sometimes they even caught rays and baby sharks by accident. In the summer, I spent a lot of time at the beach and enjoyed watching soccer and volleyball matches in the local park.
Some of the students I teach in the local school here taught me how to play the cajon, which is a box drum. I also learned to dance marinera, a popular dance where women wear long skirts and spin around. I became friends with a lot of the street dogs and cats. I always leave them bits of food. I also enjoyed teaching my host family how to play American board games. After several months, I started watching TV shows in Spanish and memorizing the lyrics to popular songs here. I even went to a concert! On my walk home from work, people in the community started to recognize me and say Buenas tardes senorita (Good afternoon, miss). This was a moment when I smiled, as I realized I finally was becoming part of the community.
