Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Your Christmas Card

One more holiday post, then I'll stop. Because I can't afford to send Christmas cards, I am posting a picture of the cards I made for everyone here. Lame? Totally. Sometimes, life just requires us to pretend. So do me a favor- take a gander at the photo below, pick out one of the fancy shapes, then pretend that that card was sent to your mailbox, that you opened it, and then you felt warm inside. That is my Christmas wish to you. That was fun, right? 




Some of my snowflakes look more like monsters... I get bored fast. 

¡Feliz Navidad!

Warning: This post is a big, sappy, emo pile of mush. This is so sentimental that I probably won't ever be able to read it after I proof-read and post it. If I am forced to read it, I'll cringe at my mushiness. But I like to keep it real, so here's the Christmas 2011 post. 


Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you were/ are all able to enjoy the holidays with your loved ones. I won't lie, spending the holidays away from my family was very very difficult. 

I won't talk about how glum I was though, because I just can't focus on that alone. Even though it was really tough spending Christmas without my favorite people (that's you, family), I was also surrounded by some rather awesome people and I think I had a pretty good Peruvian Christmas. I am incredibly fortunate to be where I am and am happy to be here experiencing Christmas in another culture. 

I like to think I got to spend Christmas with 3 families this year. My host family, my Peace Corps family, and my real family. In that order. 

December 24: Noche Buena (Christmas Eve)

I spent Christmas Eve with my host family and it was pretty cool. During the day I was pretty bummed, but by the time the festivities began that night, I was feeling better. At around 9 or 10pm, we went to the Plaza de Armas here in Ascope where the entire town seemed to be. I wasn't expecting to see so many people all in one place, so I was pleasantly surprised when all of these people started coming up to me and hugging me, wishing me a Feliz Navidad. This was so touching. Most of them were kids or teens which makes it all the more special. Teenage boys who I thought didn't take me seriously stopped their game of foosball to come hug me, or at least look up and wave while they said Merry Christmas. Little kindergartners brought their parents and friends over to say hi to me. One of my socias from the muni introduced me to her friends who are around my age. All of this was awesome. Maybe it's because I was so caught up in feeling sorry for myself earlier in the day, but I hadn't actually thought about what to expect that night. In any event it was a very pleasant surprise. It feels great to be remembered and thought of by the people I am working with. This also speaks to the respect and courtesy Peruvian people hold priority to. I am lucky to be here. There were plenty of adults too, parents of kids I have met, people who work in the municipality or the schools, people who work at the bodegas where I buy my copious amounts of snacks, etc. I really felt like part of the community that night and it was wonderful. 

After Piere had worn himself out playing on the jungle gym, slides, and trampolines that were set up in the plaza for this event, we returned home for our midnight dinner. I was so not hungry, but I ate a load of food anyway. It's Christmas. Nutrition rules are void on Christmas. Dinner was nice. Solid family time. I had yet another giant chunk of paneton, the Christmas staple here. The best way I've heard paneton described was by my friend Matt (different Matt than my ex-neighbor. This Matt is down South and a fellow 17er) when he called it a "big, unimpressive muffin." That's very accurate. Paneton is like a huge muffin with raisins and weird little fruit chunks in it. I remain neutral when it comes to paneton. Can't obsessed over it, but I can't hate on it either. I've definitely eaten worse things, but I would never crave paneton. 

Highlights of the Noche Buena Dinner: Piere running around the house with sparklers; Tasty champagne; Christmas hugs with everyone when the clock struck midnight. 

First Christmas in Peru with Host family: Success. One family taken care of. On to the next. 

December 25: Christmas Day

In recovery from the late night celebrating, I slept in a little bit (like 9am- stop freaking out, family, i didn't waste away Christmas morning), then had some more paneton and hot chocolate with the family for a Christmas breakfast. After that, I took off for Huanchaco (beach town that I'm kind of obsessed with) to meet up with Slack, Nicole, and Sue Song. We spent the day hanging out with a few other volunteers and a bunch of people from random places in the world who were also staying in our hostel. It was nice to commiserate and celebrate to together. I don't know what I would do without my Peru 17 La Libertad group. Love them so much. I got to talk to Joe and a few other volunteer friends on the phone that day as well. I even received a few hilarious emails from Eva throughout the course of the weekend... that's actually the only kind of email that come from Eva now that I think about it. All of that love made it hard to be sad and easy to feel really lucky and fortunate. 

Christmas with the Peace Corps Fam: Big success. 

December 26: Nigon Family Christmas Day

Best for last, right? The 26th is the day that my family celebrated Christmas. So even though Christmas was officially over, the 26th was the hardest day for me to be here and not there. It wasn't so bad though. I was able to spend it with more volunteers and friends in Huanchaco on the beach, so I can't complain. Most importantly, I was able to talk to everyone in my family on Skype that day. I love Skype. Seeing all of their faces and talking to everyone made it so much easier. I feel like I was at their party, I just didn't get to hold the baby or eat the delicious food they were all talking about. Message to Brenda: you may have been able to tease me about Rachel's caramels that I missed out on that day, but Joe stole some for me for my next package! Haha! :) Anyway, seeing them all made it feel like Christmas. I even got to met Laura the dinosaur, watch some Buzz Lightyear-esque 'flying' and hear all about Santa's treats. I really don't have anything to be sad about. I have a marvelous family and a great set up here. I have everything I need. Even on the hard days, I'm spoiled and can't complain. 

Family Christmas via Skype: Huge success. Wouldn't have felt like Christmas at all without this hour and a half of bliss. Thanks family. Love you! :) 





Paneton: "A big, unimpressive muffin."


FY-AAAHHH!!!


La Libertad 17 Group. Our Christmas family photo :)


Spreading holiday cheer in our hats from the market... which makes me look kinda like the Travelocity gnome. 


HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Christmas Package!

The Thursday before Christmas I was starting to slip into a holiday sadness that could only be cured by some commercialism and companionship. What does that really mean? It means I missed you guys so much that I went to Trujillo with Amanda Slack and had 2 giant Snickers McFlurries within 24 hours of each other. 

Sidenote: Sometimes Peru tries real hard to do something American and fails miserably. Example: pizza. However, there are times when Peru takes something American and makes it better! Example: McFlurries. Think Snickers McFlurry with twice the amount of candy chunks which are the size of American 'fun' sized Snickers bars. This is awesome, but I'm not done. After this little gem has been concocted and you think the nice McDonalds man is about to hand you your special treat, he veers off to the left and heads to the fudge machine. That's right. A cup of ice cream buried under a pile of Snickers isn't enough. Here in Peru, we also  smother it in hot fudge. OM NOM NOM. I had two. And one of them happened at 10am. Don't judge. 

Anyway, back to the real purpose of this post... I went to Serpost with Slack because she had like 6 packages. Not kidding, six. I wasn't expecting anything, but am optimistic, so I gave the Serpost lady my tattered passport copy and asked nicely if she could check to see if I had anything. I don't get too excited anymore when I see her grab things and head back to the window towards me. Usually, the packages she brings me are for other volunteers who have a B or an R in their name. Oh, and this lady (one of two window ladies... though there is only ever one at a time) doesn't work when it's October and/ or anytime between 1:20 and 2pm. Not weird at all. Tough luck if you need anything when the window is closed. Anyway, Thursday seemed to be my lucky day because, to my surprise, this package was actually for me! And it was from Thorp WI!!! I was soooooo excited. What a delightful little treat. 

Naturally I ripped it open immediately and discovered REAL wrapping paper! A PRESENT! The next thing to do was devour all the candy I got and share the monster cookies that were hiding inside the pretty box. Slack liked the monster cookies as much as anyone else who has ever had one of Bridgie's famous cookies. You can see what the package contained in the photo below, so I won't go over it all. I can tell that the fam is getting the hang of the packages, because they keep getting better :) Packages with pictures, cards, letters, drawings, etc. are my favorite. And candy... I can't fail to mention that. If I got a package without candy, I'd wonder if I had done something wrong.

I loved the pictures and videos of the kids while Piere LOVED the coloring book, crayons, and card games that she threw in. The kids also made me some ornaments and Christmas pictures, along with little notes and some popsicle stick creations. I love it all. I won't lie, the video of Carley playing her keyboard and singing "Deck the Halls" totally made me cry. If I didn't cry, I'd have to be subhuman. It's adorable. I am so so fortunate to have such an awesome family. 

Thanks for being you, family :) 


Let It Snow!

Now that Piere is done with school for the summer, we've been spending some more quality time together. Because I am currently experiencing my first Christmas without any traces of snow anywhere, I decided to make my own. Piere was amazed by my creations. Really, amazed. If I had a camera, I'd make a video of his face when we open up the flake and he gets to see what it looks like. It's this little face of wonder and fascination, every time. I love it. I taught him to make his own snowflakes and he was delighted. This has been an activity that has hung around for days, which is saying a lot for a 6 year old. The "copos de nieve" also led to paper boats, paper hats, etc. Who knows what will come next. 

Here is the snowstorm in my room. The two on the bottom are Piere's. I only helped fold them when questions arose ("make a piece of pizza!"), all cutting and designing were handled by Little Man. 




Piere's first snowflakes 


PS- This is my 100th blog post. That's fun :)

Sunday, December 18, 2011

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Thanks to a brilliant (and unexpected) Christmas package from Sara, I have been slapped in the face by father Christmas. Because I was away from Ascope and my regular routine for the first half of the month, I hadn't yet felt the Christmas spirit. The fact that I live amongst palm trees, near beaches, and in a desert climate doesn't really help with the feeling of Christmas either. Not that I am complaining. This is the best December weather I have ever seen :) 

Shortly after returning from my trip with Joe, I discovered a large box full of Christmas cheer waiting for me at the post office. Not only was I able to polish off another bag of peanut butter M&Ms, but I was also enabled in the area of Christmas decorating. A few sticky snowmen allowed for me to finally take down the Halloween window decor Piere was so attached to; a penguin ornament kit gave little man and I a nice holiday activity to do on a lazy Saturday; and a string of Christmas lights lit up the teen dance party that was Farid's 15th birthday celebration. 

In short, thanks to Sara my life has been Chrismatized... and it feels nice :) Some photos for your holiday enjoyment- 




Happy Holidays!!! 

Wishlist

So... I feel kind of weird doing this, but a lot of people have been asking what I like or could use in a package. I certainly don't need any of this stuff, but for those of you who have asked for ideas, here are a few :) 

Stickers- I use these for bribes and motivators in the classroom.
PICTURES!- Disc of photos, piles of photos, even an email with photos. I just really like photos. I hang them in my room, share them with my host fam, show them off to friends, etc. I can never have enough. 
Short ankle socks- Between running through desert dust and scrubbing my filthy socks with a brush on laundry day, my socks are looking pretty thin these days. 
Starbucks Via COLD packets- I like all flavors :)
Markers- Kids always try to steal mine and I never have enough during group activities. 
Candy of any variety- I don't discriminate when it comes to sweets. Send me candy and I (and my host fam/ neighbors/ volunteer friends/ anyone who is around when I get the package) will love you forever.
Travel Toothbrushes- Mine is moldy :( GROSSSSS. 
Old magazines- Anything you have lying around is appreciated. Both for my reading enjoyment and to cut up and use for art projects. I like National Geographic and running magazines. 

If you're feeling generous... 

Cheap Shirts?- This might be a big ask, but if you happen to stumble upon a Target sale involving cheap girl-cut solid colored shirts, I wouldn't mind a new one. Or tank tops, or baggy tees. Anything that seems community appropriate. Cheap new shirts make me feel like a normal person and not a dirty gringa ;) 
Guu packets- I plan to train for a marathon on July 1st and would love some Guu for long training runs. 
Luna Bars- Delicious snacks on days when protein is hard to come by. 
A Deck of Uno Cards- I think Piere would like this. 

THANKS :)

Love, Adventure, and Cameltoe

Six months after a very sad and teary airport goodbye, I got to spend a week with Joe in beautiful Peru. How long I waited for that week and how quickly it passed. In preparation for his arrival in Peru, I told him to expect love, adventure, and the worst cameltoe he has ever seen. As expected, my beloved host country delivered on all counts. I could write a book about this trip, mostly because it was my first vacation in Peru, but also because I got to spend it with someone I really enjoy. I will try to condense this as much as I can. Here are the highlights- 

Good Food- I am poor. Joe is not. I get a minimal allowance in soles. Joe gets paid cash money in US dollars. Joe wanted to go to real restaurants, not just the cheap menu places I can afford. This was something I got used to rather quickly. While I fattened myself up on fresh fish with fancy sauces, overpriced pasta dishes, and giant breakfasts, I made Joe eat guinea pig, ceviche, lomo saltado, chifle, and a few other Peruvian treats. He even got his first taste of a Pisco sour. Fearless trooper, that one :) 



A Pisco Sour Treat 


Adventure sports!- Of course a trip with Joe would involve physical activity... and a lot of it. We surfed, went rock climbing, ran on the beach, and took a 6 hour hike to a glacial lake higher than 14,000 feet up. 

Surfing: I stood up on my first try. Joe did not. Must brag about that. I'm never better than him at anything. Finally, something I can beat him at :) He did a great job though and we both had a really good time. I was surprised I was able to do it and wasn't a big clumsy mess. Really, I think the hardest part of surfing was getting the wetsuit on ;)

Rock Climbing: I forgot how hard this is. I took a rock climbing class in college, but that was 5 years ago. I had to sing to myself to stay calm. Miley Cyrus's "The Climb" may have made it into the mix coming out of my mouth. Joe did great though. I only did 2 climbs while he did 4... and I think he did all 4 of his in the time it took me to do 2. 

Run on the beach: You might make fun of Vibram Five Finger shoes, but they are phenomenal when it comes to running in the sand. Of course, when both you and your bf are wearing them and yours are pink while his are blue... you should expect to be made fun of. We didn't see too many people on that lazy Monday morning though, except for a few herds of crabs on the beach- and they didn't seem to mind. 

Hike: I can't think of many better ways to spend a Saturday in Peru than hiking to a gorgeous glacial lake. It was a nice long hike in a beautiful place. I will let the photos further below speak for themselves. 



Climbing in Ancash

Lolling- While we did a lot of adventuring, we also took time to loll around in our cozy hotel rooms and read, watch YouTube videos, eat the treats Joe brought for me (cheese, Ghiradelli peppermint squares, caramels, etc.) and take in some Fox Life... the only channel available in English. Nothing like a little trashy TV to relax to. 

Piñata Time!- The visit would not be complete without a trip to Ascope for the bf to meet the host fam. To give Joe a proper welcome, I bought a big fat piñata for him to break while he was here. Silly fun was had by all. Many many things were eaten that afternoon, as my host mom insisted that he was too skinny and needed to be fattened up while he was here. 


His own Smurf Pinata! 


Football (not futbol)- We allowed ourselves one American indulgence and spent Sunday afternoon, Joe's last trip day, in a delightfully American sports bar in Miraflores Lima watching the Packers go 13-0. Not a bad way to end the trip. Though we did hear a pretty strong Tebow chant. I had heard about this Tebow thing, but hadn't realized it had gotten that big... Good day of football regardless. 

That's the trip in a nutshell. Here are a few pictures to maybe inspire my next round of visitors? Think about it, it's a good time. Just ask Joe :) 



Joe's first (and last) cuy (guinea pig). 



Pinata time! 


Joe meets the host fam 


Ancash Hike :)


I do more than eat while on vacation ;)


...but I don't waste the opportunity either :)


I love beaches.


Fountains in Lima. 

Like the pictures? Come visit! Take your own :)


Saturday, December 17, 2011

Reunited And It Feels So Good

I interrupt this otherwise incredibly interesting blog to share breaking news: I have been reunited with the love of my life. That's right, I recently had a rendezvous with a large bag of juicy, salty, squeaky CHEESE CURDS. 



Ah, sweet deliciousness. 

Friday, December 16, 2011

Anniversary Time Yet Again

The second and third weeks of November marked the anniversary of the private school here in Ascope. Dances, sporting events, contests, dinners, and of course a parade took place in honor of the students and staff of San Juan. By the end of the second week, mazamorra was beginning to grow on me with all of the free cups of it I was getting ;) 

Here are some fun floats from their parade-





Family Day

As the school year winds down here, there are many fun things happening. One of those events was an end of the year day trip with Piere's kindergarten class. The whole host fam went along and I was fortunate enough to get an invite that I gladly accepted. We spent the day with his class and their moms/ dads/ chaperones on a trip to Trujillo and a nearby park complete with giant slides and two pools. Besides the park, our stops included the Plaza de Armas de Trujillo in the morning and the shopping mall in the evening. Fun times shared by all. I had to show off these pictures from the day, as photoshopped by Farid. Love them.



What A Dick

Do you know what it means to be a Peace Corps Volunteer on World AIDS Day? If you're lucky, it means that you get to dress up like a condom. I made so many penis jokes that morning I probably could have even made Bob Saget proud. Enjoy! 


Youth Camp

Another November thing that has escaped the blog is the youth camp that happened early in the month. A volunteer in Jequetepeque (small town in northern La Libertad that has a super fun name) held a weekend youth camp that I and a bunch of volunteers helped with. Despite the Justin Bieber tunes on repeat for 3 days straight, it was a fun weekend and a great chance for me and the other new youth volunteers in the department (Sue and Slack) to see how the camps go and how we can do them in the future. Fun times. Good weekend. 




TREATS!!!

In the past few months I have been rich in package treats. This post is dedicated to showing off my loot and saying thank you to those wonderful people who have brightened many a day with their thoughtfulness, time, and consideration. I love you all! Thanks for the presents! I think I am a very spoiled volunteer... and I love it :) 





Birthday package from Ben, Rachel, Grant, and Cora. This one came on Halloween weekend while I was in Trujillo celebrating with friends, so the giant bag of Halloween candy I got didn't quite make it into the picture. Sharing is caring. This was a really great package. Rachel's captions and little notes crack me up. Clever lady, that one.  I've been needing markers and I am obsessed with Smart Wool socks, so to get them both was fabulous. The best part, though, was a disc of pictures of their family and mostly the kids. What a wonderful treat. I've had pictures of Grant and/ or Cora set as my laptop background since getting that package. 



Grant's T-rex from Peru. His little mind is magnificent. 



I love these little feet! Such a creative idea :)



Birthday box from Lisa! Even though we are heading into summer, I think these bear mittens are delightful. I will find an opportunity to wear them... even if it's just for a puppet show someday ;) Oh, and I got Hello Kitty mustache socks! That's brilliant! The king size candy bars aren't bad either. I used one of them as bargaining power to get some Peruvian music off of my 14 year-old host brother. I probably could have gotten the music without sacrificing my Twix... a move I am still kicking myself for. Sigh. My favorite part about getting this package is that it came in a Pet Meds box. At the post office, my friend was like, "Did you order Pet Meds? Who would send you something in a Pet Meds box?" That box could have only come from one person... and I love that. 



A letter from Carley!!! I love letters! And this one has stamps, stickers, and cool paper! My niece is awesome. 






A Hello Kitty surprise from Joe! Much like the Halloween package, I got this one in the company of friends, so the Power Bar balls, chocolate almonds, gum, etc. didn't make it to the picture. It came with a fun card and a movie, but I didn't get to taking a picture of everything. This little purse was my favorite part. So thoughtful (: Ps- Please excuse the crappy iPhone picture. This was the best shot I could get...



The Medical Department package!!! Even though I thought that I would be long forgotten in the good old Travel Guard medical department by now, I am not. And that. Is. Awesome. Not too long after my birthday, I received a marvelous envelope full of treats and kind words. They even sent a birthday card around the office for me for all to sign. So great to hear from everyone, even if it is just a few words. How great it feels to be thought of and remembered. This one may have earned a glassy eyed grin. The grin lasting for an entire afternoon. Thanks guys! 



A WHOLE bag of Starburst! Thanks Toby :)



Gummies from Eva! I won't lie, I had to wait for almost an hour to get this package out of customs... but as you can see, it was totally worth it. The giant Toblerone was a hit with the host fam... but was awfully hard for me to share ;) Piere loved the gummy bears and was in my room more than usual while those were around. I can't fail to mention the hilarious 5 page letter either. I miss you, Igler. 



A surprise from the Slack family! In response to the blog post about my good friend Amanda, her parents threw in some treats for me in one of her packages. That was SO thoughtful :) Not sure how they knew that I LOVE Hershey's cookies and cream, but I got a giant candy bar. Nom! This came with a bunch of gum and a really cute and heartfelt card. A very nice feel good treat. Thanks for the kindness, Slacks! Hope to meet you when you visit :)  



So... Bridget sent me a really really great package for my birthday. It had M&Ms, peanut butter, kid drawings, birthday cards, a pile of pictures, and a really long thoughtful letter (which means a little more when coming from a mother of four who is busier than most people I know). Unfortunately, the picture I took of it was lost in the camera debacle. What happened is that my camera wasn't working well enough to upload any photos, and I couldn't just put the memory card in my computer... so I was waiting to upload pictures until I got my old camera when Joe came. But then the old camera and the broken one were stolen along with the memory card with all of my pictures on it. Soooo, pictures from as far back as the week leading up to my birthday (making cake with my host fam, chilling with Piere, hikes with the teens, etc.) all the way through the day my camera stopped turning on, were lost forever. Sadly, I can't show off that package. Sorry Bridgie. It was a good one. Lucky for me though, I did find this picture of a little snack made possible by that package... good thing iPhone was handy that day. Better than nothing. And for the record, those three items together make a fabulous snack ;)

And on a more positive note, THANKS FOR THE PACKAGES!!! I love you guys and can't say thank you enough for thinking of me. You're the best and I couldn't do this without your support :) 

Thanksgiving in La Libertad

I had heard that Thanksgiving was one of the harder holidays to spend away from the family, and after having done it I can say that I agree. It was hard to be away from everyone during that time of the year and missing that holiday that is so specific to the US. There really is nothing else quite like it. 

Thankfully, I have an awesome host family. Early in the week, I had mentioned briefly that Thanksgiving was that coming Thursday. Curiously, my host mom asked what we did that day, what we ate, why it's a holiday, etc. I think she was surprised to learn that the main activity of the day was just eating dinner, but she doesn't judge :) To my surprise, when Thursday's lunchtime came, I found my plate filled with it's normal spoils, but piled into the mix were mashed potatoes with a sweet potato on the side. She even shaped my rice like she does for fancy meals. I looked up to her watching me and quickly explaining that she didn't want me to be sad on Thanksgiving, so she made me some of the things I told her I would be missing that day. So touching. Damn, I'm spoiled. 

The next day I went to Huanchaco (beach town just outside of my regional capital) to find most of the Peru 17 youth volunteers. We had a week long training event starting that following Sunday so most people came through Trujillo a few days early, to celebrate the T-giving weekend on the beach. Saturday was spent preparing a giant feast for all to share. I can easily say I have not been that full since arriving in Peru. And for all of the huge Peruvian meals or double lunches I have had in the past six months, that's saying something. I was walking around rubbing my inflated belly like a bear ready for hibernation for at least 24 hours. Perfect. Now that's Thanksgiving. While the food was astounding, the company was better. If I couldn't have my family, at least I could have my Peace Corps family. Not complaining about that at all. Good people. 

My Thanksgiving surprise from Maggie :)

Thursday, December 15, 2011

I'm Back!

Hello friends, fam, and faithful followers. I just stopped by the blog and noticed 2 things- A.) I have over 2,000 views already! Wow! and B.) I haven't written in over a month. Boo! I can give three solid reasons for this:

1- My November time was spent in nearly it's entirety working on a Community Diagnostic required by Peace Corps that was due at the end of the month. 

2- The first week of December was spent with Joe who was my first visitor! I am now allowed to have visitors and I took advantage of that by planning a bf trip that began literally on the second day we were allowed to travel and have visitors. 

3- My internet guy fell off the roof. Seriously. The internet I had in my room was taken away from me spontaneously in early November and I had to have it re-installed. By the time this finally happened, I was away for a training and when I came back, Piere told me that someone fell off the roof of the house because of me. Always a nice welcoming child that one. Even though I thought Piere was making this all up, my host mom explained that it was true. During the re-installation process of my internet, the nice man helping me out fell off of our roof. After the fall, the guy was thankfully not injured and walked away alright but couldn't finish the job, understandably so. By the time I came back from my trip with Joe, there was a beautiful wonderful ethernet chord hiding under my dresser waiting to be discovered. 

And now, there is internet. A splendid little holiday treat. Naturally I am most excited about being able to keep in touch with everyone at home. But, I won't whine about my recently regained YouTube access either. Lady Gaga has been doing marvelous things while I've been off the grid. The new video for "Marry the Night" is worth all 14 minutes of internet time :)

That said, I hope that in the coming days those of you who are still patient enough with me to keep checking this will have new posts to peruse. Sorry for the lapse in communication <again>. Thanks again for stopping by. 

One more thing- I am without camera. The one I brought with me was damaged and progressively worked less and less with time. Joe brought my old camera for me, but it was stolen about 3 days after we were reunited :( So... I have fewer pictures to share with you and many of them were taken with my iPhone. I can't promise quality and I don't know when I will be with camera again. I will do my best to steal pictures from others when I can, but the blog might be less attractive and more text heavy for awhile. Apologies. 

As I do like to sprinkle random pictures around where I can, I will leave you with this image of my Chaco tanned feet. If you remember my wounded toe, you might recall that I could not wear real shoes for awhile. That combined with the crazy strong sun here created what I like to call 'foot art.' Enjoy :)


Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Just Nice

A little girl picked these flowers for me the other day. It's a family of Daddy, Mommy, and baby white flowers with a Maracuya flower (the estranged cousin maybe?). Such sweetness had to make the blog ;)



"How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world." -William Shakespeare

Monday, November 7, 2011

Halloween: Peru 17 Style

Have I mentioned yet how much I love the Peru 17 ladies of La Libertad? LOVE THEM. To celebrate Halloween and also how awesome our lives are right now, we dedicated an entire day to hanging out and creating penguin suits for a Halloween party. Here you have the results:

From left: Sue, Slack, Me and Nicole

Penguinas!

Party on a Monday: Kindergarten Style

Prologue: A few of the benefits of living with my host family are their hospitality, their kindness, and their sweet house. These benefits are not exclusive to me. Which means? Birthdays happen here. Even if the celebrant is not an inhabitant.

Monday, October 24, 2011: Wonderful Peace Corps Day
Morning- Human Rights presentation at the private high school. The teens got into it and later, they told me they wanted me to give more presentations. I have a suspicion this is because I gave them stickers for participating. Thanks for throwing those in the Halloween package, Joe ;)
-Helped out around the house and hung out with some neighbors and moms in Piere's class. They are a fun group :)

Afternoon- Party at Piere's house! No really, the kindergarten teacher's birthday was that week, so the mothers in Piere's class organized a party for her with all of her students and their mothers at our house. It was an afternoon of food, fun, and of course an hora loca. I have a ton of pictures of this, but they are stuck on my camera that decides to work a little less everyday. As of late, I can take photos and videos, but uploads are impossible. Sigh. It was a really fun and random event. The mothers here work so hard. My host mom, with the help of a few of the other moms, worked all morning cooking, cleaning, decorating, etc. Don't worry, I helped. Because I am so 'tall' here, I get the fun jobs of hanging balloons, ribbons, piñatas, etc. It was a great party with a ton of energy and kindergarten fun. Low point- When some genius gave the 25 kindergartners in attendance whistles. Who invited that guy? High point- Having a dance off with a 6 year old. He won. Those little guys know how to bust it.
-Ran some errands and bumped into the mayor who invited me to go with him and another one of my community partners from the municipality to a sporting event in a neighboring town. I wasn't able to go that week, but getting the invitation was really nice.

Evening- Went for a run while the sun was setting. Desert sunsets will always be gorgeous to me and I don't anticipate ever getting tired of them. It was an awesome run and felt great. Perfect way to end a really good Peace Corps day.

Friday, November 4, 2011

...the rest of that week

Ok, so I'm slacking on the blog. This is going to be a boring post, but I'm giong to post it anyway. The rest of that mid-October week was totally mediocre. And that's another reason why there hasn't been much blogging lately. Things feel normal. Things that used to blow my mind in a totally strange and newly significant way no longer do. So I feel less inclined to "write home" about the everyday happenings and random stuff that I just recently thought was earth shattering. This is pretty awesome. This means I feel adjusted and am ready to just be.

But so that the rest of you know a little bit more about my everyday happenings and random stuff, I will begin by sharing a bit about the rest of that week and I will continue by doing a better job of staying on top of the blog. 

So after that candlelit vigil Tuesday night, my head cold was here and in full force. This meant that the rest of that week was just so-so. As much as I tried to ignore being sick, I was sick and it morphed me into a grumposaurus. Wednesday through Saturday was a mix of downers and pick-me-ups, just like anyone's average week probably is. 

Downers: Getting stood up by teenagers, or waiting hours for them and then being ignored while they talked to their friends in their weird teen language that I probably wouldn't understand even if it were in my first language, which it wasn't. Since when am I not cool to teenagers? Looks like my new girl shine is wearing off in Ascope. Damn. 

Pick-Me-Ups: Tutoring the guy who works at the bank and having our tutoring sessions turn into chats about Full House, Frank Sinatra, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It's fascinating how American pop culture has infiltrated the rest of the world. Also, I shared a cab with a lady who is a director of a school in a neighboring town and she asked me when I would teach another English workshop for the English teachers, because her teachers want another one. That's a little win :)

Mostly, I spent that week tutoring English, chasing around the mayor (literally... and this was an all day activity) to ask if we could use the projector for movie night for a school activity, getting stood up, making teen friends, working on my tan, waiting for teenagers, losing Go Fish to Piere, Friday night movie night with the teens (nothing quite like free popcorn and Final Destination 5 with horribly dubbed Spanish ;) making plans, helping out with English classes at the private high school, planned/ took a hike with a few high school friends, that's about it. Regular stuff. I stayed home that Saturday after our hike and had a surprisingly crappy day, so on Sunday I went to Pacasmayo for some football and beach time. Everything started to turn around from there. Not sure if was the kite surfing competition that was going on, the rugged beach exploring I did with Sue Song, the delicious ceviche lunch I had, or the Packer's victory over the Vikings that turned the tides for me.  Probably the Packer win. That was a nail biting first half. Still undefeated. Always awesome. Oh, the mood lift also could have come from the french fry sandwich I had for dinner. So good I accidentally ordered a second one. Street eating is a new one on my list of favorite things to do. Sometimes I feel like my life is only slightly different than it would be if I were at home: watching the Packers, eating things with no nutritional value 'because it's Sunday, so that makes it ok,' and talking to Joe about absolutely nothing. Only now, we have to text about absolutely nothing, which isn't so bad.

That night when I was arriving in Ascope after a refreshing football Sunday, my host dad saw me in the cab on my way into town and was waiting for me in his moto as my cab pulled up in the center of town so that he could give me a ride home. It was so nice to hop out of the cab and say no to all of the other moto taxistas trying to give me a ride. I popped back to Henry's moto and felt like such a local... with a really nice hook up :) It's great to feel so protected sometimes and know that my host family cares so much.

So yeah, life is good. Normality is bliss. Doing well. Hope all of you are too.


On our little Saturday morning hike in Ascope.