omg - first week!

Ok, so, I guess this is the first full week I've been here! Kinda crazy! I can maybe say that this may be up there with one of the hardest weeks of my life! It's just been intense taking everything in and learning all these new.. words and systems and .. everything! Today we had class of course, from 2pm to 5pm (3 hours Mon - Thurs) and it is getting easier, thankfully! The first day (last Thurs.) I was def thinking - what the heck am I doing here, uhhh I'd like to go home please! But it's getting better day by day, I'm a hard adjuster as everyone knows! School is dif here, you make copies of everything, and you can't just make them at the school - you have to go to a special shop, and you have print in special shops too outside of the school. Way dif than my Luther comfort zone where I can print and copy and waste all the paper possible at my beck and call. Got to class on a micro - bigger than a combi and more comfortable, and maybe like an eensy weensy bit cleaner. It takes about 45 min to get to class and about an hour 20 min to get home, cause of all the traffic. The combi fits probably about 16 people "legally" (there's no such thing as "legally" here), and today I counted.. there was between 16 and 20 people just standing in the aisles that weren't even sitting! It's hot and sweaty and close and there's no such thing as personal space. This girl told me to put my backpack in front of me so no one would steal anything, so I was thankful for the advice! I'm getting more used to the cat calls - I was really threatened by them at first and I felt scared everywhere I walked, but I'm getting accustomed. Guys will stare, whistle, yell out 'You're beautiful' and such in spanish, try to talk to you in english, taxi drivers will honk and do kissy faces out the window and stop in front of me all the time when I'm trying to walk across the street - it's definitely something to get used to! And it's everywhere especially because I'm white... and blonde. At times when I'm walking I promise myself I'll dye my hair and find myself wishing I were 6 foot 9! Thanks for the advice Pagina :) That's exactly what our director said too - that she stopped getting the cat calls and now she misses them! My computer.. is now working. It has not worked all day and I was pretty much a wreck this morning because of it. Having my comp not work sucks - having it not work in a dif country is so much more terrible! But our director said she knows a good technician if I have problems and that it's must cheaper and better service here too. It's working right now tho (have no idea why! I was basically almost in tears in Starbucks this morning) and I'm in my apartment and getting wireless internet! God is good! There are so many little things I don't understand here it's like whoa. For example.. I give my laundry away each week to the lavenderia.. I have no idea when I get it back. Also, there's this reappearing bread in my doorway and I don't know how it gets there. Many times, I have no idea what I'm eating. I ask, but I don't understand. Just these tiny things you'd never think you'd have to think of when you're in the comfort zone of home! I just started brushing my teeth with the water here, so hopefully I don't get sick! But def can't drink or do anything else with it. Little things are very dif - theft is super high, - you can't put toilet paper in the toilet, - you can't drink the water, - the police don't really have authority, - traffic is super crazy and they don't abide by signs (such as stop or pared) or others, - lots of money is fake, - many people won't accept "large" bills like 50/soles - which is about $15, just lots of little little things.
We are going to Ica, Paracas, and Nazca this weekend from Friday to Sunday and am super excited! But, first week - omg - dios mio - can't believe I made it through. It was a rough one. Asked myself many times what I was doing here with out the love and comfort of home, but that's all part of the experience, I'm sure!