So I am finally sick. It’s only sinuses, but I feel like complete crap. It’s from my glacier like showers and then living outside/inside. I have taken some sinus meds and then my mom fixed me my favorite meal, rice with milk. It’s so warm that it soothes my throat. She also made me this warm beet jello that was awesome. I went to my room early and curled up in bed and watched an episode of comedy central presents on my computer and snacked on Oreos with peanut butter. I was highly upset when I realized my packet of Oreos only contained 4 cookies. Needless to say I will be buying a giant package when I am at Plaze Vea next. I can’t explain how tastey Oreos dipped in peanut butter are. I have a new favorite fruit too. In Spanish it is called granadilla. It looks like and oval orange and you peel it open and eat the insides. The insides look like fish eggs, but it’s sooo good. I bought a few from this lady on the street and devoured them all in the same day.
Also, when I came home today I had a good, but questionable laugh. Ok if you didn’t know, I don’t have a hair dryer and I don’t have a straightener. Yes I have electricity, but I don’t care because once I get to site I won’t have electricity and I might as well get used to looking like crap. So every other day I shower which means every other day I wear my hair pulled back with a head band, which I like. (Side note: if you ever see a super cute headband, mail me one). Anyway, when I walked in my house my sister and mom were taking groceries out of bags and I noticed, they were both wearing brand new headbands. Not once have I been here when they were wearing one. I’m not sure what that means, but it made me laugh. My mom had on her UK shirt with a nice brown hair band. They either like my “fashion” or are totally making fun of me. Whatever.
Today was a pretty cool day though. We went to a school in Tres de Octubre (a community about 15 minutes away via combi) and we split the kids of 2 classes into multiple groups. There were about 6 or 7 students in each group and about 4 volunteers in each group. My group had to ask them questions about FREESTOP which is Family, Religion, Education, Economy, Salud (health), Technology, Organizations and Politics. This helps us figure out what the communities are like, what people do and the way things run. It was a pretty fun activity, but my kids were so shy and didn’t want to talk. We tried having them draw things or write things, but they just were down with that so we didn’t get a ton of information. Luckily we weren’t the only group with that problem. When we got there though, the younger kids were running up to us and hugging everyone. It was pretty fun, but the teenagers were a lot more shy. We are going back to that school next month to teach them sex education! Whoo hoo!!
Another thing I got to do today was visit the Health Post of Chaclacayo. It’s essentially like a heatlh clinic, but they do more emergency type things and they have a dentist. It was very different from health places in the US. The supplies are usually laying out and they used a microwave looking thing to sterilize things. There was even a coke bottle attached to something that had water in it. Ha. We were up close and personal with patients too. One lady had been hit by a mini taxi in the face and was bleeding profusely. I’m not sure about another lady, but she was covered in blood as well and I think they were both going to end up being sent to a hospital. We toured the entire place seeing how it all ran and what campaigns they have going on. It was pretty awesome.
Oh and I also learned that the earthquake we had here was a 5.7! No wonder it was shaking me out of bed! Another thing that is funny about being here is the number one way to distract a PCT (Peace Corp Trainee) is to put a cat in the room. We have a cat named Pisca at the training center and when she is in the room, everyone has to play with her when she comes by. Pisca, btw, is how you say the number 5 in Qechuea (Incan language).
One more thing I love about this culture, the way people greet and say goodbye to each other. When you greet someone, whether you are greeting a man or a woman, it is appropriate to shake hands/hug with kiss on the cheek. That is how I greet someone I just met on the street, my parents, friends, brother and his friends and everyone. I love it! This culture is so affectionate and it is so much more exciting for that.
I have also started plotting the death of these birds here. They don’t chirp, they sound like doggy squeak toys and they drive me nuts! I hate them so much; they sit in the palm trees here and just make the most awful noises. I wish a cat would kill them.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Pictures
Here are some pictures. I have one of my house...my bedroom with my sister....friends...and etc
Monday, September 27, 2010
More fiestas
Ok so I guess I should never underestimate the amount of fun compressed into one Peruvian weekend. Sunday morning my family was cleaning the house and they were dressing themselves up more than usual. I knew something was going on and that my brother was coming home, but it seemed a big much for just the arrival of their son. Come to find out my brother was coming home for a few days and my dad’s friend was coming for lunch….and stayed for dinner….and had to stay the whole night. Here’s how that happened:
We all had a great lunch together (my brother wasn’t home) and just sat around and talked. “We” included me, my mom, dad, uncle and my dad’s friend. They started drinking around 2ish and then around 4ish my friend Bj came over and wanted me to come play soccer with him so I left. We played for a bit and then two little boys joined us and we played 2 vs 2. It was so much fun and I accidently kept nailing the other kid in the face with the ball. Luckily he was tough and didn’t hate me. We played for a few hours and then once it got dark the boys went home and me and Bj just walked back home and chatted for a bit. When I got in my house around 7 my family was still drinking.
Side note: The bottles of beer in Peru are very different than in the USA. A Peruvian beer bottle holds about 2 or 3 American beers. Also, drinking in Peru is social. The group who is drinking has one bottle and one glass. A person fills their glass/cup up half way and downs it and then passes the same glass and bottle to the next person…and repeat. This goes on for hours. If women are drinking in the group they usually have their own separate glass (thank God). Oh and you don’t finish your entire glass either, you leave just a little bit, slosh it around and dump it in this little tiny cup.
So back to the story, I walked into my house and my family is still drinking and has an entire crate of empty beer bottles. They don’t seem drunk at all and ask me to sit down and join them. I went to get my own glass and was officially in the, “circle o’ death.” My mom showed me how to chug the beer in my glass instead of sip on it because apparently I was doing it wrong. So let’s fast forward, 2 hours later my dad’s friend is teaching me how to salsa dance and everyone came to the agreement that I pick up salsa dancing faster than Spanish. They also said that I was the best gringa they have seen dance la salsa. I think I surprised them with my amazing skills. I could feel the beer settling in so I decided it was time to stop because I am just responsible like that. It’s actually kinda difficult to get out of a drinking circle because you don’t want to offend anyone. In Peru people show their love by offering you food and drinks and to turn them down can sometimes be rude. It’s like a bad game of double-dutch. I just passed the bottle on when no one was looking. Lol. The entire family was dancing in the living room and they were still drinking becoming more and more loud and wild. My mom was fine though. She was dancing, but like me, we didn’t really want to drink that much. I’m not sure if you know how to dance salsa, but you dance REALLY close to the other person and considering that other person I was dancing with was beyond intoxicated, it started to become, if you will, really awkward. After many failed attempts of just setting down and saying I don’t want to dance, I decided I needed to shower and get ready for tomorrow. That worked. Luckily when I was out of the shower my brother, Lucho who is 21 had arrived and I thought he would be my escape goat for not being asked to dance, but no. They sent him to Chosica to get chicken and fries for everyone. Gah. Still drinking and dancing, the family wanted me to dance and I was finding every way out of it because they were so drunk it was just starting to get weird and slightly uncomfortable so I did the dishes and Lucho finally came home. We sat at the table with my mom and talked and watched the others stumble around and break glasses and bottles of beer. They played classic rock music and started testing their English with me. Then my dad’s friend fell asleep and the party settled down around midnight. Total amount of beers finished: 36
Now if you are worried, don’t be. My family is great and would never put me in harms way. I now know how to properly get out of a beer circle and I learned in some classes today how to get out of accepting food and drinks appropriately when you don’t want them. Lol. Oh and I know how to salsa!!! Needless to say, but this weekend was amazing and I hope many similar ones are to come!
(Side note, when sending a package, don’t declare anything in it. Say it’s used clothes or shoes. That’s what I have heard to do.)
We all had a great lunch together (my brother wasn’t home) and just sat around and talked. “We” included me, my mom, dad, uncle and my dad’s friend. They started drinking around 2ish and then around 4ish my friend Bj came over and wanted me to come play soccer with him so I left. We played for a bit and then two little boys joined us and we played 2 vs 2. It was so much fun and I accidently kept nailing the other kid in the face with the ball. Luckily he was tough and didn’t hate me. We played for a few hours and then once it got dark the boys went home and me and Bj just walked back home and chatted for a bit. When I got in my house around 7 my family was still drinking.
Side note: The bottles of beer in Peru are very different than in the USA. A Peruvian beer bottle holds about 2 or 3 American beers. Also, drinking in Peru is social. The group who is drinking has one bottle and one glass. A person fills their glass/cup up half way and downs it and then passes the same glass and bottle to the next person…and repeat. This goes on for hours. If women are drinking in the group they usually have their own separate glass (thank God). Oh and you don’t finish your entire glass either, you leave just a little bit, slosh it around and dump it in this little tiny cup.
So back to the story, I walked into my house and my family is still drinking and has an entire crate of empty beer bottles. They don’t seem drunk at all and ask me to sit down and join them. I went to get my own glass and was officially in the, “circle o’ death.” My mom showed me how to chug the beer in my glass instead of sip on it because apparently I was doing it wrong. So let’s fast forward, 2 hours later my dad’s friend is teaching me how to salsa dance and everyone came to the agreement that I pick up salsa dancing faster than Spanish. They also said that I was the best gringa they have seen dance la salsa. I think I surprised them with my amazing skills. I could feel the beer settling in so I decided it was time to stop because I am just responsible like that. It’s actually kinda difficult to get out of a drinking circle because you don’t want to offend anyone. In Peru people show their love by offering you food and drinks and to turn them down can sometimes be rude. It’s like a bad game of double-dutch. I just passed the bottle on when no one was looking. Lol. The entire family was dancing in the living room and they were still drinking becoming more and more loud and wild. My mom was fine though. She was dancing, but like me, we didn’t really want to drink that much. I’m not sure if you know how to dance salsa, but you dance REALLY close to the other person and considering that other person I was dancing with was beyond intoxicated, it started to become, if you will, really awkward. After many failed attempts of just setting down and saying I don’t want to dance, I decided I needed to shower and get ready for tomorrow. That worked. Luckily when I was out of the shower my brother, Lucho who is 21 had arrived and I thought he would be my escape goat for not being asked to dance, but no. They sent him to Chosica to get chicken and fries for everyone. Gah. Still drinking and dancing, the family wanted me to dance and I was finding every way out of it because they were so drunk it was just starting to get weird and slightly uncomfortable so I did the dishes and Lucho finally came home. We sat at the table with my mom and talked and watched the others stumble around and break glasses and bottles of beer. They played classic rock music and started testing their English with me. Then my dad’s friend fell asleep and the party settled down around midnight. Total amount of beers finished: 36
Now if you are worried, don’t be. My family is great and would never put me in harms way. I now know how to properly get out of a beer circle and I learned in some classes today how to get out of accepting food and drinks appropriately when you don’t want them. Lol. Oh and I know how to salsa!!! Needless to say, but this weekend was amazing and I hope many similar ones are to come!
(Side note, when sending a package, don’t declare anything in it. Say it’s used clothes or shoes. That’s what I have heard to do.)
Sunday, September 26, 2010
My first fiesta and hike!
Sorry for this super long post, but it was an interesting day to say the least. Saturday was probably the best day I have had here. Earlier on Saturday Nate came over to borrow my soccer ball pump because he and his brother were going to play some soccer. After that I was studying my Spanish when my friend BJ came over and invited me to go play some soccer with the new soccer balls we bought at Plaza Vea. We ended up hiding our soccer balls under some rocks and hiked the mountain behind my house. It was a beautiful view. There is a big cross on top of this mountain and we sat under it. I didn’t realize how big Chaclacayo is. The hike was nice because it was windy and we didn’t feel hot. It’s a semi-tough hike because some of the rock isn’t solid and you can lose your footing easily. I plan on doing that a lot more and maybe even hiking the other big ones around that are twice the size of the one we did today. At least I have officially hiked in the Andes! Haha.
When we were sitting on top of the mountain we noticed a funeral starting across the street from my house. I forgot my mom told me that the neighbor died. The casket was walked from the house to the graveyard about 2 miles away with a ton of people walking behind it. After we hiked down we each went to eat lunch and afterwards met again and just passed the ball around at the court and talked about home.
I had to leave because my family was going to my sister’s friend’s birthday party one street over. What was awesome is that it was the birthday party of another volunteer’s sister. Once I got there, I realized it was at my friend Jillian’s house and Bj and another volunteer came as well. Little did we know this would be the strangest, but most fun birthday party ever.
Jillian’s little sister was turning 8 and it was a surprise party. There were about 30 kids who showed up and mostly just the moms attended. A clown and some music was the entertainment. The kids were dancing and playing all sorts of games when suddenly a woman with a mini skirt and belly shirt comes out dancing from no where. Apparently only the gringos were confused. A girl dirty dancing in a mini skirt and belly shirt for an 8 year olds birthday party???? There was tons of candy, cookies, cake and food for everyone. These kids here dance so well it’s amazing. There was one little boy who was 3 and they call him Michael Jackson. At first I didn’t get it, but after seeing him dance it all makes sense. That little boy can move!! He threw me for a loop when he started humping the floor. Don’t worry, I have it on video.
After a while the whole place was dancing. Then the clown started more games and he totally turned ALL the attention not to the birthday girl, but to the gringos. He was speaking Spanish so fast we all just kept laughing and asked him to slow down. He pulled me and the other two girl volunteers and started taking turns to dance with us…not just any dance, but what I would consider some slight dirty dancing. Haha. Then he grabbed Bj and threw him to the belly shirt/mini skirt girl and she was all over him. Everyone was having a good time watching the confused white people attempt to dance and speak Spanish. We had a blast and even got turns to hit the thing filled with candy. (I forgot the name! Sorry)
The clown who was leading this party kept picking on this African lady who was kinda bigger. When he passed out candy he gave her two pieces and kept offering her food. He called her “gordita” which means fat lady in Spanish. That is what is so weird about Peru. People here don’t consider it rude to call you by what you are. If you are a fat white guy they will call you gringo gordo. If you are black, they call you negro. It’s just culture here and it’s not considered rude, but it was sooo funny to watch him pick on this lady! At the end of the party all the parents came and told us by. Haha. It was an amazing night. When I got home my mom, dad, uncle and I all watched Peru play the Dominican Republic in volleyball which is one of the most popular sports here. Diana was playing quietly with her toys. :) I don’t think too much can top this amazing weekend. I wonder what tomorrow will bring!??!
When we were sitting on top of the mountain we noticed a funeral starting across the street from my house. I forgot my mom told me that the neighbor died. The casket was walked from the house to the graveyard about 2 miles away with a ton of people walking behind it. After we hiked down we each went to eat lunch and afterwards met again and just passed the ball around at the court and talked about home.
I had to leave because my family was going to my sister’s friend’s birthday party one street over. What was awesome is that it was the birthday party of another volunteer’s sister. Once I got there, I realized it was at my friend Jillian’s house and Bj and another volunteer came as well. Little did we know this would be the strangest, but most fun birthday party ever.
Jillian’s little sister was turning 8 and it was a surprise party. There were about 30 kids who showed up and mostly just the moms attended. A clown and some music was the entertainment. The kids were dancing and playing all sorts of games when suddenly a woman with a mini skirt and belly shirt comes out dancing from no where. Apparently only the gringos were confused. A girl dirty dancing in a mini skirt and belly shirt for an 8 year olds birthday party???? There was tons of candy, cookies, cake and food for everyone. These kids here dance so well it’s amazing. There was one little boy who was 3 and they call him Michael Jackson. At first I didn’t get it, but after seeing him dance it all makes sense. That little boy can move!! He threw me for a loop when he started humping the floor. Don’t worry, I have it on video.
After a while the whole place was dancing. Then the clown started more games and he totally turned ALL the attention not to the birthday girl, but to the gringos. He was speaking Spanish so fast we all just kept laughing and asked him to slow down. He pulled me and the other two girl volunteers and started taking turns to dance with us…not just any dance, but what I would consider some slight dirty dancing. Haha. Then he grabbed Bj and threw him to the belly shirt/mini skirt girl and she was all over him. Everyone was having a good time watching the confused white people attempt to dance and speak Spanish. We had a blast and even got turns to hit the thing filled with candy. (I forgot the name! Sorry)
The clown who was leading this party kept picking on this African lady who was kinda bigger. When he passed out candy he gave her two pieces and kept offering her food. He called her “gordita” which means fat lady in Spanish. That is what is so weird about Peru. People here don’t consider it rude to call you by what you are. If you are a fat white guy they will call you gringo gordo. If you are black, they call you negro. It’s just culture here and it’s not considered rude, but it was sooo funny to watch him pick on this lady! At the end of the party all the parents came and told us by. Haha. It was an amazing night. When I got home my mom, dad, uncle and I all watched Peru play the Dominican Republic in volleyball which is one of the most popular sports here. Diana was playing quietly with her toys. :) I don’t think too much can top this amazing weekend. I wonder what tomorrow will bring!??!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
A night out!
I have officially been in Peru for one week and it feels like 3 months. Last night me and 6 friends went to Chosica again, but this time not for class. It was for pizza and beer. We had an awesome time celebrating. The Peruvian beer isn’t like the American beer. One bottle here is almost triple the size of one beer in the US, but one bottle here is supposed to be shared among others. We didn’t do that. We had one for each person! Haha. After lots of laughs, beer and pizza we went to Plaza Vea again to shop. If you don’t remember, this place is like the Wal-Mart of Peru. They have everything!! I bought a folder (that sucks) for my homework, a soccer ball and a few other necessities. I also bought my family more chocolate. They get so excited when I bring that home. Oh and it was really creepy, but a person dressed like Elmo was just walking around the store.
On the way back to Chaclacayo we had some trouble in the combi. We told the guy what stop we needed and he said ok, but when we came to one of the stops he kept going. When we asked him to stop he said he didn’t understand us. We kept telling him over and over where we needed to get off but he turned his back to us like an a-hole. The locals on the bus yelled at him where we wanted to go because they did understand. Finally he let us off way pass where we needed to be, but oh well. He was a hater of us gringos. We had to walk about 30-40 minutes in the dark at 9PM to our houses. Luckily my friend BJ lives just down the road from me so I didn’t have to go too far alone. My neighborhood is very safe, but it’s the dogs that creep me out. All the old ladies see me and say, “Hola gringa.”
In class yesterday we had a pretty shocking session. It was all about nutrition in Peru and how we would gain soooo much weight if we don’t watch out. They say regardless we will gain, but if we are careful it won’t be much. This weekend I am going to come up with a good workout routine. I live at the top of a hill so it’s not the best running area. Plus there is a new dog in town that almost ripped my face off yesterday when going to my classes. Luckily he was on a chain and I got my rabies shot a few days ago! It’s so weird to see so many dogs on roofs. This one dog a few houses down is so small and his bark is so big I am waiting for him to bark himself off the roof when I pass by.
My little sister has been sick. She was throwing up in the bathroom the night before last and then when I came home from Chosica she wouldn’t leave me alone. It’s not that I don’t want to be around her, but I would rather not have her germs because so far I haven’t been sick. Lol. She is a sweet girl, but I have to tell her I am going to bed for her to leave me alone. She is a typical 5 year old. Oh well. Speaking of being sick, the PC doctors taught us all about the different level of diarrhea. Now when we volunteers have free time we can talk about what level we are at on that day!
Not sure what the plan is for tonight, but we will see. I did do my laundry today. We have a washing machine for shirts, but hand wash pants. My hands are basically raw now. I had to climb on the roof to dry everything. My VS panties are looking GOOD blowing in the breeze!
And one last thing I find hilarious and weird, all the other volunteers talk about my “country” accent! I had no idea I had an accent, but people say they love hearing me talk. Lol. Gah! It’s soooo weird.
On the way back to Chaclacayo we had some trouble in the combi. We told the guy what stop we needed and he said ok, but when we came to one of the stops he kept going. When we asked him to stop he said he didn’t understand us. We kept telling him over and over where we needed to get off but he turned his back to us like an a-hole. The locals on the bus yelled at him where we wanted to go because they did understand. Finally he let us off way pass where we needed to be, but oh well. He was a hater of us gringos. We had to walk about 30-40 minutes in the dark at 9PM to our houses. Luckily my friend BJ lives just down the road from me so I didn’t have to go too far alone. My neighborhood is very safe, but it’s the dogs that creep me out. All the old ladies see me and say, “Hola gringa.”
In class yesterday we had a pretty shocking session. It was all about nutrition in Peru and how we would gain soooo much weight if we don’t watch out. They say regardless we will gain, but if we are careful it won’t be much. This weekend I am going to come up with a good workout routine. I live at the top of a hill so it’s not the best running area. Plus there is a new dog in town that almost ripped my face off yesterday when going to my classes. Luckily he was on a chain and I got my rabies shot a few days ago! It’s so weird to see so many dogs on roofs. This one dog a few houses down is so small and his bark is so big I am waiting for him to bark himself off the roof when I pass by.
My little sister has been sick. She was throwing up in the bathroom the night before last and then when I came home from Chosica she wouldn’t leave me alone. It’s not that I don’t want to be around her, but I would rather not have her germs because so far I haven’t been sick. Lol. She is a sweet girl, but I have to tell her I am going to bed for her to leave me alone. She is a typical 5 year old. Oh well. Speaking of being sick, the PC doctors taught us all about the different level of diarrhea. Now when we volunteers have free time we can talk about what level we are at on that day!
Not sure what the plan is for tonight, but we will see. I did do my laundry today. We have a washing machine for shirts, but hand wash pants. My hands are basically raw now. I had to climb on the roof to dry everything. My VS panties are looking GOOD blowing in the breeze!
And one last thing I find hilarious and weird, all the other volunteers talk about my “country” accent! I had no idea I had an accent, but people say they love hearing me talk. Lol. Gah! It’s soooo weird.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Earthquake and Mission Impossible
Today was awesome. Our trainers paired us up with another person and we had to complete our, “mission impossible.” My partner was Heather and we had to go find a store in a city about 20 minutes away that was an herb store. Heather’s mom knew of a place and she took us straight to one and wow. This lady had everything for any pain. She had teas that cured cancer and hangovers and all sorts of goodies. She even had a tank with (Whitney stop reading here) live frogs. She takes the frogs and some type of liquid and puts them in a blender and turns it on. I also threw up right in the street. We had to ask her questions about everything she had so here was my conversation:
(pointing to a jar with a giant penis)
“What is this?”
“A penis.”
“Yes. It’s clearly a penis. What animal did it come from?”
“It’s a penis I blend to make you want to have sex. You want it.”
“No thanks. I’m fine.”
After all that happened we decided to go to a place called Plaza Vea which is like a Wal-Mart. It was awesome and I bought tons of chocolate for me and my family. Oh the town I went to was called Chosico. I got to take my first combi ride too. It’s a bus for 22 and we had 39 shoved on it. Ha! On the way back I missed my drop off point because I was singing Alicia Keys and drinking Incan Cola (which is so good). We eventually found where we needed to be. The phone just rang at my house and my sister is telling my dad that I brought them chocolate and it’s really good. Oh the little things that make everyone happy. Well I need to go eat and take another freezing shower. Ugh. If anyone can send me a shower that emits some type of warm water that would be greatly appreciated. I will never get used to freezing showers. Oh before I go, today is the first day of spring here and it’s a tradition that kids dress up for school as flowers, princess or butterflies. My sister was a princess. On my walk home from a friends’ house there were two dogs humping in the street, guess they know it’s spring now!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
These last few days have been full of weird things. The night before last there was a stranger curling up in my bed and the last night there was an earthquake! It was around 3AM and I thought someone was trying to snatch me out of my bed and when I realized no one was in my room I thought maybe an animal was trying to jump on my bed. Once I got up to turn the light I on realized my entire bedroom was in motion. I have never felt an earthquake, but it was kinda weird and neat at the same time. It last for about a minute and it was done. After that I fell back asleep and woke up to the sound of my sister puking in the bathroom. Uggghhh. I need a good night of sleep, not to mention but I drink so much water here I have to pee 2 or 3 times a night. At lunch today my sister stayed home from school so I am trying to avoid here because I don’t want to be sick.
I also think I was able to get across to my mom I don’t eat a lot so I don’t need my portions of food to cover my plate and be 3 inches tall. She was very kind about it and said that it’s ok because she doesn’t want me to be fat and it’s no problem if I don’t like her food (which hasn’t happened yet.)
Last night for dinner was rice with milk and it sounds gross, but let me tell you it is amazing! I am worried the milk might make me sick, but I am prepared because that food was awesome.
Here is a fun fact I learned, Peru has 4,000 kinds of potatoes. Needless to say, I eat potatoes every day, all day. After lunch today I had a bag of Famous Amos cookies and that was unbelievably amazing. (Feel free to send me those anytime)
Oh and here is something important: Please don’t send me packages over 1.1 pounds because I have to pay to get them and I have to find the post office. If you send it in a padded envelope that is under 1.1 pounds they will deliver it to my training center and I can get it pronto. I don’t have a lot of time to find the post office and I only make $2 a day right now. Plus, I really don’t want to have to deal with finding a post office. I can hardly find my way to other volunteer homes. Once I find the post office and I am more comfortable here, I will tell you to send packages often, but now I just want cards and letters.
Not sure if I have talked about this, but Peruvians LOVE calendars. My family has 8 calendars in the living and kitchen. It’s crazy. I am not sure why, but they love them!
I have some exciting things coming up. This Sunday my brother Lucho is coming in to town so hopefully we will have a big dinner and maybe he speaks some English!! All I know is he is 21 and studying at a university in Lima. Also, this Friday I am going to hike the tallest mountain in Chaclacayo with a few friends. It actually happens to be right in my backyard so we will have a good starting point!
(pointing to a jar with a giant penis)
“What is this?”
“A penis.”
“Yes. It’s clearly a penis. What animal did it come from?”
“It’s a penis I blend to make you want to have sex. You want it.”
“No thanks. I’m fine.”
After all that happened we decided to go to a place called Plaza Vea which is like a Wal-Mart. It was awesome and I bought tons of chocolate for me and my family. Oh the town I went to was called Chosico. I got to take my first combi ride too. It’s a bus for 22 and we had 39 shoved on it. Ha! On the way back I missed my drop off point because I was singing Alicia Keys and drinking Incan Cola (which is so good). We eventually found where we needed to be. The phone just rang at my house and my sister is telling my dad that I brought them chocolate and it’s really good. Oh the little things that make everyone happy. Well I need to go eat and take another freezing shower. Ugh. If anyone can send me a shower that emits some type of warm water that would be greatly appreciated. I will never get used to freezing showers. Oh before I go, today is the first day of spring here and it’s a tradition that kids dress up for school as flowers, princess or butterflies. My sister was a princess. On my walk home from a friends’ house there were two dogs humping in the street, guess they know it’s spring now!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
These last few days have been full of weird things. The night before last there was a stranger curling up in my bed and the last night there was an earthquake! It was around 3AM and I thought someone was trying to snatch me out of my bed and when I realized no one was in my room I thought maybe an animal was trying to jump on my bed. Once I got up to turn the light I on realized my entire bedroom was in motion. I have never felt an earthquake, but it was kinda weird and neat at the same time. It last for about a minute and it was done. After that I fell back asleep and woke up to the sound of my sister puking in the bathroom. Uggghhh. I need a good night of sleep, not to mention but I drink so much water here I have to pee 2 or 3 times a night. At lunch today my sister stayed home from school so I am trying to avoid here because I don’t want to be sick.
I also think I was able to get across to my mom I don’t eat a lot so I don’t need my portions of food to cover my plate and be 3 inches tall. She was very kind about it and said that it’s ok because she doesn’t want me to be fat and it’s no problem if I don’t like her food (which hasn’t happened yet.)
Last night for dinner was rice with milk and it sounds gross, but let me tell you it is amazing! I am worried the milk might make me sick, but I am prepared because that food was awesome.
Here is a fun fact I learned, Peru has 4,000 kinds of potatoes. Needless to say, I eat potatoes every day, all day. After lunch today I had a bag of Famous Amos cookies and that was unbelievably amazing. (Feel free to send me those anytime)
Oh and here is something important: Please don’t send me packages over 1.1 pounds because I have to pay to get them and I have to find the post office. If you send it in a padded envelope that is under 1.1 pounds they will deliver it to my training center and I can get it pronto. I don’t have a lot of time to find the post office and I only make $2 a day right now. Plus, I really don’t want to have to deal with finding a post office. I can hardly find my way to other volunteer homes. Once I find the post office and I am more comfortable here, I will tell you to send packages often, but now I just want cards and letters.
Not sure if I have talked about this, but Peruvians LOVE calendars. My family has 8 calendars in the living and kitchen. It’s crazy. I am not sure why, but they love them!
I have some exciting things coming up. This Sunday my brother Lucho is coming in to town so hopefully we will have a big dinner and maybe he speaks some English!! All I know is he is 21 and studying at a university in Lima. Also, this Friday I am going to hike the tallest mountain in Chaclacayo with a few friends. It actually happens to be right in my backyard so we will have a good starting point!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
unwanted guest
Well things just got a little more interesting. Let me set the scene first.
Diana was just put in bed asleep and my mom and I are talking at the dinner table when there was a knock at the door. She goes to answer it and a guy walks in with two avocados and sets them on the table while my mom helps someone else at the door. He then proceeds to walk right into my bedroom and hops right in my bed. Now, before I go on, I should tell you that earlier that day I had spent 4 hours in training talking about safety and how you should be careful who you talk to and let around your items because theft is at large in Peru. So back to the guy in my bed who is not welcome. Ok, I panicked and didn’t know what to do so I just stood outside my door and said, hola! He looked at me and said nothing. Luckily my mother realized what was happening and got him out my room and explained to me that he was, “especial.” Once I saw him in the light I realized it and felt horrible. I don’t think she was offended, but since he stayed the night I kept my room locked which turned out to be a good thing because he kept knocking on my door and when I got up to go to the bathroom I heard him scurry away when I would unlock my door. I was in panic mode when I would walk from my room to the bedroom. Haha. Oh and the other person at the door was my grandmother. It was my mom’s mother and she and the boy (who I am not sure how he is related) traveled 20 hours to get here from the north. I’m not sure why, but oh well. My grandmother speaks Spanish and the traditional Incan language, Quechea (not sure if I spelled that right). She taught me how to say, “The rain is coming.” She is shorter than me and about half my size. She was rattling off that Spanish faster than I could think so I went to bed soon after she arrived.
Oh and I also learned that Pio is my father’s brother. So he is my uncle. Not my father. I’ll get to that later. At the training center today we started our Spanish class and it is taught in Spanish. Gah. I know it’s better, but honestly, ¾ of my day is nothing but Spanish. It’s weird because when I try to type in English my mind still thinks in Spanish. Life is weird right now and it hasn’t even been a week!!
I finally got to see the kitty and it’s not a kitty, but sounds like one. Every time I say hola it meows. It is yellow and white. It reminds me of my cat Lucy. At the training center we have a dog that I am in love with and want to kidnap named Lulu. Lulu makes me so happy because when I am overwhelmed we snuggle on the grass.
Ok back to my dad. After training me and the other gringos walked around to see each other’s houses and once we were done with that I went to find my father and Diana! He is super nice and named Jorge. He speaks Spanish super fast, but I am learning to keep up. We talked for an hour about minerals in the north part of the country and how they need more laws to protect them. I thought it was his job, but when I asked I was wrong. Now I have no idea what he does.
At dinner tonight we had rice and milk. It was the best food ever!!! I have a feeling though since the milk is probably full cream and thick I will probably get sick. Hopefully not, but I bet I will. Grrrr.
And I will end on the best quote of the day by Michael: No amount of snuggies can cure cerebral palsy
Diana was just put in bed asleep and my mom and I are talking at the dinner table when there was a knock at the door. She goes to answer it and a guy walks in with two avocados and sets them on the table while my mom helps someone else at the door. He then proceeds to walk right into my bedroom and hops right in my bed. Now, before I go on, I should tell you that earlier that day I had spent 4 hours in training talking about safety and how you should be careful who you talk to and let around your items because theft is at large in Peru. So back to the guy in my bed who is not welcome. Ok, I panicked and didn’t know what to do so I just stood outside my door and said, hola! He looked at me and said nothing. Luckily my mother realized what was happening and got him out my room and explained to me that he was, “especial.” Once I saw him in the light I realized it and felt horrible. I don’t think she was offended, but since he stayed the night I kept my room locked which turned out to be a good thing because he kept knocking on my door and when I got up to go to the bathroom I heard him scurry away when I would unlock my door. I was in panic mode when I would walk from my room to the bedroom. Haha. Oh and the other person at the door was my grandmother. It was my mom’s mother and she and the boy (who I am not sure how he is related) traveled 20 hours to get here from the north. I’m not sure why, but oh well. My grandmother speaks Spanish and the traditional Incan language, Quechea (not sure if I spelled that right). She taught me how to say, “The rain is coming.” She is shorter than me and about half my size. She was rattling off that Spanish faster than I could think so I went to bed soon after she arrived.
Oh and I also learned that Pio is my father’s brother. So he is my uncle. Not my father. I’ll get to that later. At the training center today we started our Spanish class and it is taught in Spanish. Gah. I know it’s better, but honestly, ¾ of my day is nothing but Spanish. It’s weird because when I try to type in English my mind still thinks in Spanish. Life is weird right now and it hasn’t even been a week!!
I finally got to see the kitty and it’s not a kitty, but sounds like one. Every time I say hola it meows. It is yellow and white. It reminds me of my cat Lucy. At the training center we have a dog that I am in love with and want to kidnap named Lulu. Lulu makes me so happy because when I am overwhelmed we snuggle on the grass.
Ok back to my dad. After training me and the other gringos walked around to see each other’s houses and once we were done with that I went to find my father and Diana! He is super nice and named Jorge. He speaks Spanish super fast, but I am learning to keep up. We talked for an hour about minerals in the north part of the country and how they need more laws to protect them. I thought it was his job, but when I asked I was wrong. Now I have no idea what he does.
At dinner tonight we had rice and milk. It was the best food ever!!! I have a feeling though since the milk is probably full cream and thick I will probably get sick. Hopefully not, but I bet I will. Grrrr.
And I will end on the best quote of the day by Michael: No amount of snuggies can cure cerebral palsy
Monday, September 20, 2010
Host family
A long, but detailed update on what has been going on!
Hola a todos! My comfortable weekend retreat has come to an end. The health volunteers were taken to Chaclacayo and the Wat. San. and Enviromental volunteers went to San. Eulilia. Chaclacayo is so beautiful and sits on the foothills of the Andes which oddly enough look like the mountains in Egpyt. We were taken straight to the training center where our host families came to collect their gringo.
My mom showed up in this cute little hat and was so happy to see me. She is 37 years old and has the best daughter in the world name Diana who is 5. Diana appeared to automatically love me when I arrived in the driveway. She came running out of the house screaming hola! When I unpacked in my room she stayed with me and told me the name and color in Spanish of everything I was taking out of my bag. I can already tell she is going to teach this gringa a ton of Spanish.
I am confused if the guy in the house is my uncle or my dad. They tried to explain, but I don’t get it. Jorge is arriving tomorrow (I think) and I don’t know if he is my dad or my uncle, but the guy who is here now is named Pio and he is great. He is 41 and knows a few words in English.
My family hardly speaks a word in English. Diana knows a few colors in English, but that is it. Luckily we were able to talk all day long about everything. A magazine my friend Leslie in the states gave me has pictures of so many animals and we spent a good hour talking about each animal. I brought pictures of my family and friends and those were good ice breakers as well. The maps of the world and of the states were a hit too.
My house has electricity, running water AND internet. I hit the jackpot I do believe. So hopefully I can keep you updated pretty well. (I think I even have a washing machine!!) It really hasn’t hit me how long I am going to be here yet, but if each day is similar to today then this is going to be great! My house is so nice and clean. My bedroom is great too. The bed has the bounce of a dining room table, but that is the least of my worries.
Oh yeah, I have about 5 spider bites already. I don’t think they are bad, but at the retreat we stayed at I found a few spiders wondering around my bed when I woke up and then later noticed I have bites. Oh well. It could be worse. You would think I would have woken up to a rooster, but at the retreat I woke up to an owl. It was so loud it sounded like he was, if you will, whoooing, on my bed post. I like my host family house better than the retreat.
Diana has a kitten that they keep on top of the house. My mom, Silvia, doesn’t like cats so it stays up there. I was afraid to ask if I could go see it, but I may have to ask tomorrow. It sounds so tiny!!
I won’t lie; while I have been typing this my mind has been thinking how I would say the words in Spanish. Never in my life have I spoken so much Spanish as I have today. Silvia and Pio assured me it wasn’t horrible. Later Diana confronted me that I am pretty, but my Spanish is bad. Haha! Well that is all for now. I need some serious sleep. Buenos noches!
It has been a day since I wrote all that stuff above. I type my journal entries on my computer and then I copy and paste them in my blog so that way I don’t stay on the family computer too long. Today was the first day at the training center. We spent a lot of time talking about our first day with our host families, got a lot of shots and talked about safety in public and our health. I probably know more about diarrhea than anything right now. If all is correct I should have diarrhea real soon! Yahoo! At least now I have a toilet. I have about 15 bug bites now total. My bedroom appears to have zero bugs right now, but who knows.
My friend Michael had a rough first day. Some kids followed him to the top of this hill and the parents came running out of their houses calling him a child molester. They had no idea who he was and freaked out. He had his parents explain to them everything and the children’s parents’ calmed down after he apologized. The kids also brought him a Bible and told him he looked like Jesus. As if a Bible would be proof he looked like him. Haha!
Most everyone seems to like their families. I have about a 20-30 minute walk to the training center. There are three other volunteers in my neighborhood so we are going to meet and walk together. I slept pretty well last night. The only problem is the Peruvian roosters like to be up at 4am and the owl likes to be up at 6am once the roosters have shut up. My family doesn’t have roosters, but our neighbors do. I also hear dogs fight about once a day. My bedroom is sorta not attached to the house, but in a way it is.
I took my first shower tonight and whoa. My mom told me it is best to shower at night because the water has heated during the day (we don’t have warm water). What I would like to know is, how can the water be any colder than it was tonight? I almost went into shock when I stood under the faucet. I can honestly say I will not be showering a lot, sorry mom. Oh and the toilets are weird. When you wipe (yes my family uses toilet paper), you throw the toilet paper in a trashcan..not in the toilet. This is the rule everywhere folks!
Our moms send lunch with us to the volunteer center and all the volunteers were soooo jealous of my food. It was some type of chicken and rice with a weird orange sauce that looked like it had fingernail clippings in it. It was SO good. She also gave me and avocado, orange, banana and a Pepsi. Tomorrow I am going to learn the polite way to ask her to not give me as much food. In Peru it is rude not to clean your plate and I am starting to get sick after meals because I am eating so much. I think she secretly wants to make me fat.
Oh and my first of many screw ups happened. My mom bought me coffee and I thought I had to pour the whole pack into my mug...well I was wrong and my coffee was HORRIBLE!!! I didn't want to toss it so when mom was in the kitchen I chugged it. It was soooo bad. Next time I will ask. Now I know why she gave me a funny look when I poured the whole thing in.
All is well right now. I need to start working on some homework and I need to organize my things. Later tonight Diana (my 5yr old sister) is going to help me with Spanish if I help her with English. Sounds like a good plan to me! Buenos noches!
Hola a todos! My comfortable weekend retreat has come to an end. The health volunteers were taken to Chaclacayo and the Wat. San. and Enviromental volunteers went to San. Eulilia. Chaclacayo is so beautiful and sits on the foothills of the Andes which oddly enough look like the mountains in Egpyt. We were taken straight to the training center where our host families came to collect their gringo.
My mom showed up in this cute little hat and was so happy to see me. She is 37 years old and has the best daughter in the world name Diana who is 5. Diana appeared to automatically love me when I arrived in the driveway. She came running out of the house screaming hola! When I unpacked in my room she stayed with me and told me the name and color in Spanish of everything I was taking out of my bag. I can already tell she is going to teach this gringa a ton of Spanish.
I am confused if the guy in the house is my uncle or my dad. They tried to explain, but I don’t get it. Jorge is arriving tomorrow (I think) and I don’t know if he is my dad or my uncle, but the guy who is here now is named Pio and he is great. He is 41 and knows a few words in English.
My family hardly speaks a word in English. Diana knows a few colors in English, but that is it. Luckily we were able to talk all day long about everything. A magazine my friend Leslie in the states gave me has pictures of so many animals and we spent a good hour talking about each animal. I brought pictures of my family and friends and those were good ice breakers as well. The maps of the world and of the states were a hit too.
My house has electricity, running water AND internet. I hit the jackpot I do believe. So hopefully I can keep you updated pretty well. (I think I even have a washing machine!!) It really hasn’t hit me how long I am going to be here yet, but if each day is similar to today then this is going to be great! My house is so nice and clean. My bedroom is great too. The bed has the bounce of a dining room table, but that is the least of my worries.
Oh yeah, I have about 5 spider bites already. I don’t think they are bad, but at the retreat we stayed at I found a few spiders wondering around my bed when I woke up and then later noticed I have bites. Oh well. It could be worse. You would think I would have woken up to a rooster, but at the retreat I woke up to an owl. It was so loud it sounded like he was, if you will, whoooing, on my bed post. I like my host family house better than the retreat.
Diana has a kitten that they keep on top of the house. My mom, Silvia, doesn’t like cats so it stays up there. I was afraid to ask if I could go see it, but I may have to ask tomorrow. It sounds so tiny!!
I won’t lie; while I have been typing this my mind has been thinking how I would say the words in Spanish. Never in my life have I spoken so much Spanish as I have today. Silvia and Pio assured me it wasn’t horrible. Later Diana confronted me that I am pretty, but my Spanish is bad. Haha! Well that is all for now. I need some serious sleep. Buenos noches!
It has been a day since I wrote all that stuff above. I type my journal entries on my computer and then I copy and paste them in my blog so that way I don’t stay on the family computer too long. Today was the first day at the training center. We spent a lot of time talking about our first day with our host families, got a lot of shots and talked about safety in public and our health. I probably know more about diarrhea than anything right now. If all is correct I should have diarrhea real soon! Yahoo! At least now I have a toilet. I have about 15 bug bites now total. My bedroom appears to have zero bugs right now, but who knows.
My friend Michael had a rough first day. Some kids followed him to the top of this hill and the parents came running out of their houses calling him a child molester. They had no idea who he was and freaked out. He had his parents explain to them everything and the children’s parents’ calmed down after he apologized. The kids also brought him a Bible and told him he looked like Jesus. As if a Bible would be proof he looked like him. Haha!
Most everyone seems to like their families. I have about a 20-30 minute walk to the training center. There are three other volunteers in my neighborhood so we are going to meet and walk together. I slept pretty well last night. The only problem is the Peruvian roosters like to be up at 4am and the owl likes to be up at 6am once the roosters have shut up. My family doesn’t have roosters, but our neighbors do. I also hear dogs fight about once a day. My bedroom is sorta not attached to the house, but in a way it is.
I took my first shower tonight and whoa. My mom told me it is best to shower at night because the water has heated during the day (we don’t have warm water). What I would like to know is, how can the water be any colder than it was tonight? I almost went into shock when I stood under the faucet. I can honestly say I will not be showering a lot, sorry mom. Oh and the toilets are weird. When you wipe (yes my family uses toilet paper), you throw the toilet paper in a trashcan..not in the toilet. This is the rule everywhere folks!
Our moms send lunch with us to the volunteer center and all the volunteers were soooo jealous of my food. It was some type of chicken and rice with a weird orange sauce that looked like it had fingernail clippings in it. It was SO good. She also gave me and avocado, orange, banana and a Pepsi. Tomorrow I am going to learn the polite way to ask her to not give me as much food. In Peru it is rude not to clean your plate and I am starting to get sick after meals because I am eating so much. I think she secretly wants to make me fat.
Oh and my first of many screw ups happened. My mom bought me coffee and I thought I had to pour the whole pack into my mug...well I was wrong and my coffee was HORRIBLE!!! I didn't want to toss it so when mom was in the kitchen I chugged it. It was soooo bad. Next time I will ask. Now I know why she gave me a funny look when I poured the whole thing in.
All is well right now. I need to start working on some homework and I need to organize my things. Later tonight Diana (my 5yr old sister) is going to help me with Spanish if I help her with English. Sounds like a good plan to me! Buenos noches!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
I'm here
Hello hello!!
I am here safe and sound. We made our flight to Peru and then once we landed there were supposed to be buses to pick us up, but they never showed up. Haha. Since there are close to 80 of us in Peru, we all piled into mini vans and headed to our retreat center. After landing in Lima around 930PM we got to the retreat center at 2AM and had to be up at breakfast at 8AM. I am super sleepy and I won't lie, it's been a rough day.
We have been rushed and constantly on the go. I'm overwhelmed with the language and culture, but I feel assured when I get on a schedule and more familiar I will feel at home.
Basically today I learned today that I thought I could speak Spanish, but come to find out I am terrible. I learned who to call when I have diarrhea or when I am puking. I also learned how to tell if my money is fake. I'm basically a Peruvian now! Keep me in your prayers and please mail me letters!!!
(Please try not to send packages over 1.1 pounds because I am going to have to pay to get them I think and I really don't have the time for it to go through customs here and it's really expensive for me...but send letters!!!) Tomorrow I meet my host family!
I am here safe and sound. We made our flight to Peru and then once we landed there were supposed to be buses to pick us up, but they never showed up. Haha. Since there are close to 80 of us in Peru, we all piled into mini vans and headed to our retreat center. After landing in Lima around 930PM we got to the retreat center at 2AM and had to be up at breakfast at 8AM. I am super sleepy and I won't lie, it's been a rough day.
We have been rushed and constantly on the go. I'm overwhelmed with the language and culture, but I feel assured when I get on a schedule and more familiar I will feel at home.
Basically today I learned today that I thought I could speak Spanish, but come to find out I am terrible. I learned who to call when I have diarrhea or when I am puking. I also learned how to tell if my money is fake. I'm basically a Peruvian now! Keep me in your prayers and please mail me letters!!!
(Please try not to send packages over 1.1 pounds because I am going to have to pay to get them I think and I really don't have the time for it to go through customs here and it's really expensive for me...but send letters!!!) Tomorrow I meet my host family!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Staging
I have finished staging! All 78 people of Peru group 16 are waiting at the DC airport for our delayed flight to Miami. If it doesn't delay any further, we won't miss our flight to Peru. Haha. I guess the delayed flight is getting us ready for Peruvian Standard Time...which I hear always runs a little late. Right now we are the biggest group to go to Peru in the PC history of Peru.
Staging was great. We played a lot of ice breaker type games and talked about our anxieties and aspirations. There was paperwork to finish up and junk stuff like that.
Oh and before I even got to staging I met people. We all started to find each other in the airport. I mean there aren't too many people walking around dressed in business casual who are wearing hiking backpacks and pulling duffle bags that are overly stuffed. I have started to get to know a lot of amazing people. Everyone I have met is so like-minded and just fun to be around. We are all excited to head to Peru and to get to know each other. A group of us went out last night and had our last US beer and pizza. Lol. It was a necessary stress reliever. My amazing friend Whitney came up and joined us for a little bit. I'm glad someone I know has already met my new friends! It was good just to get out and relax a little bit. That's all for now! I think I may go hunt down a Starbucks or go find more food! Hopefully my next update will be from Peru! Love and miss you all!
Staging was great. We played a lot of ice breaker type games and talked about our anxieties and aspirations. There was paperwork to finish up and junk stuff like that.
Oh and before I even got to staging I met people. We all started to find each other in the airport. I mean there aren't too many people walking around dressed in business casual who are wearing hiking backpacks and pulling duffle bags that are overly stuffed. I have started to get to know a lot of amazing people. Everyone I have met is so like-minded and just fun to be around. We are all excited to head to Peru and to get to know each other. A group of us went out last night and had our last US beer and pizza. Lol. It was a necessary stress reliever. My amazing friend Whitney came up and joined us for a little bit. I'm glad someone I know has already met my new friends! It was good just to get out and relax a little bit. That's all for now! I think I may go hunt down a Starbucks or go find more food! Hopefully my next update will be from Peru! Love and miss you all!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Last Day
Well it's finally here. This is my last day at home. I am all packed and ready to go. Tomorrow I fly out of Paducah and head to Chicago. From there I am off to DC for staging and then after that we hop to Miami and then head off to Peru. Whew!! These are the days I have been dreaming and waiting for and they are finally here. I will do my best to keep you all updated as soon as I can. Don't forget to email and keep up with me on facebook too!
Here is the list of what is going with me:
-3 books
-2 tubes of toothpaste and a toothbrush
-4 journals
-3 chap-sticks
-1 deck of cards
-Uno and Phase 10
-razor and 5 blades
-magic jack and phone
-running watch
-pictures of friends and family
-Map of USA and world
-3 pair of socks
-2 scarfs
-gloves
-2 winter hats
-6 tank tops
-5 pair of shorts
-3 yoga pants
-1 pair of sweatpants
-2 pull over hoodies
-2 hoodies
-9 t-shirts
-2 pair of rain pants
-2 skirts
-3 sweaters
-raincoat
-2 zip up hoodie jackets
-5 long sleeve shirts
-backpack
-duffle bag
-hiking backpack
-running shoes
-black dress pants
-nalgene water bottle
-5 sport bras and 5 regular bras
-34 undies
-toiletries
-umbrella
-Casual tennis shoes
-black flats
-black and red TOMS
-host family gifts
-sleeping bag
-duct tape
-knife
-jar of peanut butter :)
All of that fit in these two bags!
Here is the list of what is going with me:
-3 books
-2 tubes of toothpaste and a toothbrush
-4 journals
-3 chap-sticks
-1 deck of cards
-Uno and Phase 10
-razor and 5 blades
-magic jack and phone
-running watch
-pictures of friends and family
-Map of USA and world
-3 pair of socks
-2 scarfs
-gloves
-2 winter hats
-6 tank tops
-5 pair of shorts
-3 yoga pants
-1 pair of sweatpants
-2 pull over hoodies
-2 hoodies
-9 t-shirts
-2 pair of rain pants
-2 skirts
-3 sweaters
-raincoat
-2 zip up hoodie jackets
-5 long sleeve shirts
-backpack
-duffle bag
-hiking backpack
-running shoes
-black dress pants
-nalgene water bottle
-5 sport bras and 5 regular bras
-34 undies
-toiletries
-umbrella
-Casual tennis shoes
-black flats
-black and red TOMS
-host family gifts
-sleeping bag
-duct tape
-knife
-jar of peanut butter :)
All of that fit in these two bags!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Shakira and making news
Shakira has really been putting me in a South American mood. Her new single, "Loca" started it all and then I heard her song called La Tortura which has the best video. Between those two songs I am ready to start dancing my way to Peru.
I've heard that RPCV's say if you serve in Asia you come back more spiritual and if you serve in Africa you come back laughing, but if you serve in Central/South American you come back dancing. Let's hope these Peruvians teach me how!!
Also, http://www.westkentuckystar.com/News/Local---Regional/McCracken-County/Heath-Graduate-Leaving-for-Peru-with-Peace-Corps
http://electric969.com/new/uncategorized/the-electric-morning-show-wants-to-salute-former-electric-96-9-dj-kaitlyn-aka-lisa-lee
And if you feel like being put in a South American mood, check these songs out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsp_8Lm1eSk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16DO5oHu0vM
I've heard that RPCV's say if you serve in Asia you come back more spiritual and if you serve in Africa you come back laughing, but if you serve in Central/South American you come back dancing. Let's hope these Peruvians teach me how!!
Also, http://www.westkentuckystar.com/News/Local---Regional/McCracken-County/Heath-Graduate-Leaving-for-Peru-with-Peace-Corps
http://electric969.com/new/uncategorized/the-electric-morning-show-wants-to-salute-former-electric-96-9-dj-kaitlyn-aka-lisa-lee
And if you feel like being put in a South American mood, check these songs out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsp_8Lm1eSk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16DO5oHu0vM
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
It's the final countdown
9 days until departure. Holy. Crap. As my days left in the United States slowly slip away, I am trying my best to pack, say goodbyes, make sure everything is done and ready to go. It's like the days are soooo sloooooow, but I somehow stay busy and never finish what I need to. Laying out and sleeping in are a lot more appealing than deciding what items I can't survive without.
I went to the University of Louisville with Jonathon and we met up with a group of PC people who were all all stages. I learned a little, but ultimately it made me more excited about leaving. (I even was able to catch up with my old friend Max and my my my how time flies....Max if you are reading this, you better keep your promise and visit me:)
I bought a new laptop to take with me and now I am trying to get it all set up and ready to go. So pretty much everything I need to leave is ready to go....in a pile....that keeps expanding by the day. I have done a few mock packs and I want to burn my bags. As of now one bag is 52lbs and the other is 24. Somehow I will figure out the magic formula and it will work. I refuse to let anyone do it but me because I am stubborn and I have come this far and won't quit while trying to shove peanut butter jars and enough rain gear to look like I could survive in the rainforest for the next decade. I did have to make a discard pile of items that include my sleeping bad, rain boots, some books and other items, but alas, someone can bring them to me. Any takers?
I've started the process of saying my goodbyes. I said goodbye to my sister, cousins and the kids I spent my summer babysitting. My going away party with my friends from college is this weekend and also the going away party with my family. I'm going to have a hard time saying goodbye to the people who have been with me for all of this from the start. (Thank you for not killing me because all I talked about was Peace Corps) I love my boro friends. It's really going to be hard to say goodbye to my two closest friends there. They are the ones who have kept me sane through everything and I can't thank them enough for all they have done for me. (Lee and Hisham you are the best). Luckily my other close friend, Whitney, will see me off in D.C. for my last "supper." Whoop whoop! Most likely my last vegan meal for a while too....
The day I return from Murfreesboro I will have my going away party with my family. That will be the hardest. Needless to say, these last few days are going to be the toughest. The picture includes about 98% of the crap I am taking. Yay! Those piles are my life for the next few years!! Btw: The East Coast Road Trip was AMAZING. We had a few hurdles, but it was awesome. A great way to see some amazing friends.
I went to the University of Louisville with Jonathon and we met up with a group of PC people who were all all stages. I learned a little, but ultimately it made me more excited about leaving. (I even was able to catch up with my old friend Max and my my my how time flies....Max if you are reading this, you better keep your promise and visit me:)
I bought a new laptop to take with me and now I am trying to get it all set up and ready to go. So pretty much everything I need to leave is ready to go....in a pile....that keeps expanding by the day. I have done a few mock packs and I want to burn my bags. As of now one bag is 52lbs and the other is 24. Somehow I will figure out the magic formula and it will work. I refuse to let anyone do it but me because I am stubborn and I have come this far and won't quit while trying to shove peanut butter jars and enough rain gear to look like I could survive in the rainforest for the next decade. I did have to make a discard pile of items that include my sleeping bad, rain boots, some books and other items, but alas, someone can bring them to me. Any takers?
I've started the process of saying my goodbyes. I said goodbye to my sister, cousins and the kids I spent my summer babysitting. My going away party with my friends from college is this weekend and also the going away party with my family. I'm going to have a hard time saying goodbye to the people who have been with me for all of this from the start. (Thank you for not killing me because all I talked about was Peace Corps) I love my boro friends. It's really going to be hard to say goodbye to my two closest friends there. They are the ones who have kept me sane through everything and I can't thank them enough for all they have done for me. (Lee and Hisham you are the best). Luckily my other close friend, Whitney, will see me off in D.C. for my last "supper." Whoop whoop! Most likely my last vegan meal for a while too....
The day I return from Murfreesboro I will have my going away party with my family. That will be the hardest. Needless to say, these last few days are going to be the toughest. The picture includes about 98% of the crap I am taking. Yay! Those piles are my life for the next few years!! Btw: The East Coast Road Trip was AMAZING. We had a few hurdles, but it was awesome. A great way to see some amazing friends.
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