Father's Day weekend began Friday the 15th with an actuación at San Carlos. Every grade, from los niñitos in Primeria to the kids about to graduate from Quinto Secundaria, prepared a dance or skit for the fathers. We all headed to the school that evening, where the sports court was filled with chairs and decorated with curtains. Little kids in costumes ran around the rows of seats and props were being placed in the center of staging area. Before we knew it, we were treated to the absolutely most adorable collection of dances from little animal-costumed choices to older kids doing traditional Peruvian dances. And everything in between. There was even a quite thorough skit retelling the Lion King, which I don't completely understand since his dad dies pretty early (Happy Father's Day Mufasa!), but it was beyond cute. We also watched a excellent version of Rapunzel (again, not exactly sure of the tie in exactly). There were also a couple of dances that the mom's had rehearsed to perfection for the dads, and at different points in the night, moms or kids would give short speeches to their husbands/dads. The trainees didn't just sit and listen, though. José sang a Mexican song while one of the classes danced their Mexican style dance. Carlos (one of the two columbian trainees) also danced a columbian dance with another class. Hugo dressed as a prince and read a little poetry/ played harmonica, and the trainees from English Impact danced a bit as well. We had made up a little routine at the request of the staff at San Carlos which we followed with a little speech to the fathers in general. Our dance to "Step by Step" by New Kidz on the Block was in stark contrast to all the performances but the Quinto Secundaria's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." Quite a mixture of cultures and musics. Disclaimer: we did not chose that song. It was assigned to us. In fact, we originally planned to play/sing "Last Kiss" by Pearl Jam, but that unfortunately fell through. The night ended with a mariachi band and some spontaneous dancing with the older kids while everyone talked and eventually vacated the premises.
Sunday was real life Father's day, and it was awesome. I was woken up by my very lively three year old hermana de host. We drew yellow elephants with my other host sister until breakfast was ready, and then sat down to a delicious meal with the family. After that, my host grandma's daughter came with her husband and kids to spend the day with us. We chatted for a while and then headed to lunch at a really good pollo a la abraza restaurant within walking distance. After we couldn't hold any more, we all returned to the house and visited some more. I tried to call home but my parents were out at the Christ Church home bell concert that I unfortunately couldn't attend this year. Luckily I was able to contact my dad to talk for a while after we has tres leches cake. Various family members stopped by during the day to wish my abuelo a happy father's day. When everyone had left and we started to wind down for the day, I realized that it was the first day I'd gone without seeing the other trainees at at least SOME point, meaning that besides Facebook chat, I'd spent the whole day talking in spanish. That I was able to do that made me feel great. I finally feel as though I'm at the point that I've progressed a lot with the language. Gaby told me when I was chatting with her on Facebook that she can see the improvement. I've got a long way to go, but it's good to know my work's paying off already!
Father's Day weekend began Friday the 15th with an actuación at San Carlos. Every grade, from los niñitos in Primeria to the kids about to graduate from Quinto Secundaria, prepared a dance or skit for the fathers. We all headed to the school that evening, where the sports court was filled with chairs and decorated with curtains. Little kids in costumes ran around the rows of seats and props were being placed in the center of staging area. Before we knew it, we were treated to the absolutely most adorable collection of dances from little animal-costumed choices to older kids doing traditional Peruvian dances. And everything in between. There was even a quite thorough skit retelling the Lion King, which I don't completely understand since his dad dies pretty early (Happy Father's Day Mufasa!), but it was beyond cute. We also watched a excellent version of Rapunzel (again, not exactly sure of the tie in exactly). There were also a couple of dances that the mom's had rehearsed to perfection for the dads, and at different points in the night, moms or kids would give short speeches to their husbands/dads. The trainees didn't just sit and listen, though. José sang a Mexican song while one of the classes danced their Mexican style dance. Carlos (one of the two columbian trainees) also danced a columbian dance with another class. Hugo dressed as a prince and read a little poetry/ played harmonica, and the trainees from English Impact danced a bit as well. We had made up a little routine at the request of the staff at San Carlos which we followed with a little speech to the fathers in general. Our dance to "Step by Step" by New Kidz on the Block was in stark contrast to all the performances but the Quinto Secundaria's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." Quite a mixture of cultures and musics. Disclaimer: we did not chose that song. It was assigned to us. In fact, we originally planned to play/sing "Last Kiss" by Pearl Jam, but that unfortunately fell through. The night ended with a mariachi band and some spontaneous dancing with the older kids while everyone talked and eventually vacated the premises. 
Sunday was real life Father's day, and it was awesome. I was woken up by my very lively three year old hermana de host. We drew yellow elephants with my other host sister until breakfast was ready, and then sat down to a delicious meal with the family. After that, my host grandma's daughter came with her husband and kids to spend the day with us. We chatted for a while and then headed to lunch at a really good pollo a la abraza restaurant within walking distance. After we couldn't hold any more, we all returned to the house and visited some more. I tried to call home but my parents were out at the Christ Church home bell concert that I unfortunately couldn't attend this year. Luckily I was able to contact my dad to talk for a while after we has tres leches cake. Various family members stopped by during the day to wish my abuelo a happy father's day. When everyone had left and we started to wind down for the day, I realized that it was the first day I'd gone without seeing the other trainees at at least SOME point, meaning that besides Facebook chat, I'd spent the whole day talking in spanish. That I was able to do that made me feel great. I finally feel as though I'm at the point that I've progressed a lot with the language. Gaby told me when I was chatting with her on Facebook that she can see the improvement. I've got a long way to go, but it's good to know my work's paying off already! 
