Free lessons

The top of the bronze fountain in the Plaza de Armas, built in 1650, in front of the Catedral de Lima, which was reconstructed after the 1746 earthquake.

Everyone here wants free English lessons and the best way to get it is by hanging out with native speakers, like myself. Luckily for me, it works both ways. When they get stuck in English (usually because after asking "Where are you from?" and I reply "Minnesota" they are dumbfounded since their geography of the USA doesn't extend much beyond Miami and California), then I slip into Spanish and continue the conversation. I'm by no means fluent but I'm a gringa (slang for American girl) who hold a conversation with a taxi driver or at a club. Last night, I went to a fiesta de cumpleanos (birthday party) for a Peruvian friend of my Peruvian running buddy. I was the only non-Peruvian in this very Italian-Peruvian family party. I held my own and was able to understand what people were saying except I could not, for the life of me, understand the drunk Italian-Peruvian father who slurred his speech. It was impossible to understand! At the party, I also got offered free surfing lessons if I agreed to only talk in English.

I have one more week of Spanish classes at El Sol and I'm learning a lot. I moved into a nice apartment in a central location 4 blocks from Parque Kennedy (the center of Miraflores) and 6 blocks from the Malercon (by the cliffs and the ocean). My roommate is Peruvian and we speak only Spanish on even number days and English on odd number days. It's free lessons for him and great practice for me. Enjoy the Northern Hemisphere weather as it's been in the 50s and chilly here. Adios!