Lunch with the Locals

I've heard from a few of you that I seem to be hanging out with only Americans. This is partially true. In Ecuador, there were no Americans, (Ok, there were some. I met 4 in my 3 weeks there) so I was hanging out with many nationalities, including Ecuadorians. Americans aren't in Ecuador because they're all in Peru. (But in my defense, I've been hanging out with a few Brits as well.) Meeting Peruvians has been a bit tougher. I have my students, of course, but while there are no rules against fraternization with students, it's still a bit awkward. Plus, it's nearly impossible to be "just friends" with Peruvians of the male variety. I had a student suggest we go out for Pisco Sours and dancing, but I'm pretty sure he had other intentions. (I'm finding that nearly every other teacher has tales of admirers. Apparently, a good number of them learn English to meet the teachers.) Today, however, I had lunch with Marisol, who is the student I was giving private lessons to the first couple weeks. First, she came along with me so I could make my reservations for hiking the Inca Trail (April 15th!). She's a trail guide (for another, more expensive company) but she knows the owner of this particular company and told me she was going to call the owner tonight to confirm my reservation and suggest the best guides for my trip. So sweet. Anyway, she took me out to lunch at a truly local restaurant. I was the only gringa in the place, and Marisol knew everybody. Very cool. We spoke English and Spanish, practice for her and me. Unfortunately, Marisol has to get back on the trail next week, so she won't be around very often. Shame.