October 13, 2010




My six inches of scarf so far



            Miscommunications have become a daily part of my Peruvian life. Speaking in another language is hard, and it is even harder when your comments are constantly being misinterpreted into something else entirely. Here in Chimbote, for example, if you compliment someone’s garden, the reply will most likely be, “Ok, this Saturday at 4pm you come over and I will teach you how to garden.” All of a sudden your intended side-comment to start a conversation becomes an obligation.

        Two weeks ago I was in a patient’s house and her daughter was crocheting a scarf. I was standing alone with her in the living room and decided to speak with my toddler-age Spanish after about 30 seconds of awkward smiling.

Me: Me gusta tu chalina. (I like your scarf)
Her: Gracias!! Sabes que como tejer?? (Thanks!! Do you know how to crochet??)
Me: No, no puedo. (No, No I can’t)
Her: Bueno, este Jueves a las 4 in la tarde puedes venir y te enseño. Puedes comprar linea in Al Centro hoy dia antes de 9. (Great, this Thursday at 4:00 in the afternoon you can come and I will teach you. You can buy yarn downtown today before 9pm.)

        Needless to say, this situation escalated into a twice a week visit to this lady’s house to learn how to crochet my new red scarf. I have about 6 inches done so far, 3 more feet to go. Two days ago, I was talking about cooking   lunch for my community every Monday with another nurse. It went a little something like this:

Me: Tengo que cocinar cada Lunes (I have to cook every Monday)
Her: Que te gusta cocinar?? (What do you like to cook??)
Me: No puedo cocinar muy bien. Puedo cocinar pasta y otros cosas muy facil. (I can’t cook very well. I can cook pasta and other easy things.)
Her: Pues, este noche tengo tiempo libre. Me llamas antes de 6:00 y puedo venir a tu casa enseñarte como cocinar Estofado de Pollo. Hasta luego!! (Well, tonight I have free time. Call me before 6:00pm and I can come to your house and teach you how to make Estofado de Pollo. See you later!!).

          I was left standing there mid-sentence (“But I have English class tonight and can’t….), a vegetarian with a date to learn how to make a chicken and rice dish before 6pm.

    At first this attitude seemed presumptuous and frustrated me, but I am starting to see the beauty in it all. The Peruvians attitude is to drop everything they are doing just to share their culture and lives with someone they barely know. In The United States, we are all so rushed and living inside of ourselves that it is a huge inconvenience to have to pause and share something with another person. Our usual way of communicating is to have an interaction to get our point across. Here in Chimbote, the interactions are so much more about sharing presence, life, stories, hobbies, language, and love. Their openness and willingness to bring you into their culture with open arms is so beautiful and genuine. While I might not be too excited about having 3 more feet of red scarf to crochet, I feel blessed to have this time to share with the Señora who is teaching me. It is about the conversation and the presence, not just the messy ball of red yarn sitting beside me.

At least someone is excited about the scarf making