Life has been a challenge, but the hardest part has been negotiating the language barriers in a country that predominantly speaks Spanish.

I should visit a doctor this week to confront possible consequences of eating a guinea pig a month ago, but I am reluctant to do so. The last time I went to a barber and asked for a short trim he cut most of it off. Who knows what a doctor would do to me with my unknowing permission, given that I often say ‘Si’ as an automatic response?

Believe me. Speaking ‘yes’ to everything can make life awkward.

I made a few expensive mistakes in arranging my adventure in Peru. To teach English in a foreign country I had to have a TEFL certificate. I found a company that promised a job at the end of a one-month course based in Peru, but then signed me up with a local Peruvian one. It then charged a high commission fee.  I am still grateful to the referrer in a way because without it I would not have found the local company.

I spent a month in a small coastal village learning how to teach English. My first practice lesson was a challenge. I hit my head on a classroom bench which tipped over the portrait of Mother Mary in the first 10 seconds of the class. I thought I had lost the children along with my dignity, but fortunately many of them had arrived 20 minutes late.

I was teaching them ‘opposites’ but the challenge with these children was I knew no Spanish and they knew almost no English. Yet I had a glow as if I had completed a successful performance at the end of the lesson. One of the students handed me my crayons to say a perfectly phrased ‘thank you’, and I tried to remember this glowing feeling when in later lessons the other students tested me.

I completed my TEFL certificate and gained a job although it took time and much patience to officially begin given that I work at a proper school. Many foreigners can gain their income by illegally without the required visa. There were others who came from across the world to complete the same course, and many of them also received a job at the school I am to work at.

We rented an apartment together in a small beach town which has a heavy surfing culture, and the transition from a hostel to having my own room makes me feel like I have a shelter when life outside is overwhelming.

It can be overwhelming. Everyone speaks Spanish and no matter what I say I cannot quite pronounce the words correctly. Many locals are annoyed at the ignorance, but this has decreased as I have gained the confidence not to be afraid of mistakes. The frustration I have at times teaches me empathy I will need for my students. Peruvians also have an aversion to breaking large amount of change and I was hungry for almost two days because I was busy and could not break my 100 soles note.

Many of the words in my Spanish vocabulary have their own stories as to how I know them. I know ‘cerveza’ and ‘Pisco sour’ because a cute girl bought me a drink on my 28th birthday. I know ‘Soy un gringo divertido’ when justifying why I should drink another beer. It is true. I am a fun gringo.

‘Manana’ means tomorrow, which is the same word four different bus companies kept saying when I tried to buy a bus ticket on Christmas Eve to be with friends. I know ‘hermosa’ (beautiful) because of the ‘chicas’ and the glorious sunsets and mountain glaciers I have seen at 5000 metres above sea level. And I know ‘Te Amo’ (I love you) from watching Gossip Girl during a Netflix binge.

I blog frequently and share my stories as journal entries, which you are always welcome to visit. It is called www.awkwardconversationswithburnzy.com. Life often is awkward here, but also confronting and fun.