el último día de junio

Quick note: I forgot to mention that you can also rent a cell phone in plaza de armas to make just one phone call. Yup! You look for a person in a green vest, they hand you a cell phone, you make the call and then pay up! How cool is that?! Someone I met today even mentioned that you can have someone type up a letter for you! Love it there!

I didn't get to spend much time there today. My day has been busy and I loved nearly every minute of it. I made it to breakfast, which is free here at Los Andes Hostal, AND made some new friends. After that I headed out for an hour to see some more sites and then it was off to the volunteer office for me!

The volunteer place is blessed with lots of volunteers right now. It took an hour to get my assignment, but I finally got placed in the day school, Flora Tristan, with enough time to go out and start volunteering today.

I had a wonderful lunch and then I was off! The bus ride to the school is about 45mins and I loved every stinky minute of it. You're usually packed in and they drive a little crazy. A person stands outside the bus encouraging people to ride and then they collect payment as you leave.

Our bus stop was in the middle of nowhere with the beautiful volcanos in the background. After a short walk we arrived at the school. The school is two small buildings with 4 classrooms, each of them tiny, and no running water to speak of. The kids just show up on their own, including some who see you coming and then walk in with you. Each of the children greet you with a cheerful, "hello, teacher!" I also got a nice smooch on the cheek from each one!

Amazing things happen at this school. Despite breaking all the rules I've learned about teaching and motivating children, the kids have a good time and I can already see they benefit from the experience. It's only one hour of teaching and then one hour of playing. I'm not sure which is my favorite.

I spent my time with a young girl named Esperanza. She asked for a piggyback ride to the play ground, I obliged, then I had a new best friend! We proceeded to play red light, green light en espanol and then I convinced her to switch to English. It was *such* a good day!

I didn't even mind the hour long ride back into the city. Once in the city about 8 of us stopped in a pizza place and ordered an "enorme pizza" and it was HUGE! I'm topping the night off with a cup of my new favorite tea, Té Canela y Clavo, and an ichat with my favorite muchacho.

This trip is turning out to be exactly what I had hoped for!

29 Junio 2009

I liked Plaza de Armas the first day, but today I decided I love it! I literally could hang out around there all day. There is so much to see and do! Here is a short list:

• sit on a bench to people or dog watch
• buy candy or icecream
• buy a wooden train
• buy bird food to feed the pigeons
• have your shoes shined
• be hit on by random guys
• get into trouble for crossing the chains surrounding the fountain (I saw, didn't do)

I'm pretty sure Puruvian children survive on just candy and ice cream! It's fun to watch them eat and play in the plaza. They are very content here, maybe that's why I am too. Even the adults join in on the fun!

I also went to the Museo Chiribaya
http://www.museochiribaya.org/museum/index.htm
I wasn't allowed to take pics, so you can check out the website for more info. There was lots of cool jewelry, fishing tools and pottery (even some with chi chis!).

28 June 2009

I'm actually writing this on 29 June. I was too tired/distraught to do any writing yesterday. After arriving at the hostal at 6am (after being taken to the wrong destination) I crashed for about 4 hours and had a hard time dragging myself out of bed. After crying to Michael about already wanting to come home and regretting making the decision to come, I dragged myself to the market to get water and something to eat.

It just so happens I'm right around the corner from the plaza de armas. It's a town square surrounded by all kinds of shops and restaurants. I found a place to buy a bottle of water and walk around, as there are no spots to be had on the benches. It's Sunday, Domingo, and the place is really crowded with all kinds of people and lots of kids. It seems like it'd be a nice place for me to sit down with a book.

It is here that I get chatted up twice. Once by a man who speaks no English, but tries to teach me a few words in spanish, breakfast in the morning, lunch at noon and dinner at night (desayuno ala manana, almuerzo ala mediodia e cena mas tarde). He then asks if I like to dance and if I want to go to the discoteca with him. I laugh out loud and seem to hurt his feelings a little. Do people really say yes?! I thank him and tell him buenos dias, and then I'm off to find solitude.

That's when I meet Aldo... more on that later!

I'm gonna catch up on the last few days and blog as I go...

6-27

Leaving San Jose was really hard, but I didn't cry. I'm slowly realizing that I'm not nearly as tough and independent that I often like to think I am. That's part of why I made the trip to Peru. I needed to know that I can do something on my own. It's also nice to know that doing things on my own pale in comparison to doing them with my husband.

Getting here was no easy feat. I let enough time pass between international travel that I was actually excited about this trip. But I was quickly reminded that this kind of trip entails waiting in a lot of long lines and often walking around with a 'I have no idea what you're saying to me' expression. Other than trying to go through security with my checked baggage in Lima, it's been an uneventful trip. I hated LAX and, of course, don't recommend plane food, but I'm nearing my final destination. Tired and already missing the two 'people' I left at home, but excited about what's to come!

Lilo helping with yard work. Such a good girl!

OH yeah! And I'm trying out baking.

It's a work in progress, but it's the thought that counts. I delivered these to a couple of friends today and enjoyed 3 myself! :)

The clock is ticking!

And holding adorable little ones like this doesn't help at all!

Two nights in a row!

My mom recently told me that she started drying clothes on a line to be more green. Why didn't that ever occur to me? I should have started doing this a long time ago! It's a little more high maintenance than just popping them in the dryer, but it's manageable when you do small loads more than one day a week. In other words, I couldn't do this if I were emptying the basket once a week, doing laundry all day long.

And some flowers that bloomed in the front yard while we were off honeymooning. Nice little something to come home to.

Trying this out as a photo blog...

We finally delivered some dog toys to a local rescue! We go so many from the wedding that we were able to donate to TWO shelters! That's lots of happy pit bulls! Thank goodness because you know unhappy pit bulls eat small children! :)
We're very happy that we found our favorite brand of caramel popcorn at Costco this weekend! It's very dangerous, though. We already polished it all off!