8 de Augosto 2010

Where do I begin.

So to catch up for the past few weeks. I went machu pichu (pics are up on face book FINALLY) chilled with some llamas, ate some berry skittles that were far too over priced, but when you crave berry skittles….

After 9 long yet short weeks of classes I have finally had a week in a half to relax and plan my classes in color in my calendar for next semesterJ its strange how much satisfaction and enjoyment I get out of organizing :p I have enjoyed taking history classes here about south america and Peru because I now enjoy and appreciate the places I visit because I have learned and understand the importance of the andian Culture. Machu pichu was break taking. I believe it to be a time when you can attempt to take photos but the camera, no matter now fancy shmancy or expensive, doesn’t do it any justice. There were a lot of tourists there…. But I explored off with this boy named Tom and we got away from the crowd to enjoy the beautiful ruins from a higher elevation.

I was successfully yelled at on 4 different occasion for one, sitting too close to an edge; 2- sitting too close to another ledge ( people need to just let me be and stop being afraid of heights!); 3- for throwing my apple core off a high clift down thousands of feet into a forest where there are no people. “chica, muy muy mala” tards…. , and 4-for climbing on top of this cool wall rock thing to take a sweet foto! ( I guess I deserved that one).

Went gift shopping all week and hung out with friends during the evening. Oh, and watched a few disney movies in Spanish. Gosh I love cloudy with a change of meat balls!

Last weekend I went to Manu national park.

For those who don’t know ( I didn’t before so don’t feel like a tard if you don’t) it’s THE JUNGLE! Oh yea! So let me tell you about my trip: (please do Jenna)

So as 5:00am approached I gathered my things, grabbed my back pack and a bread roll, and hopped in a van that would take me 6 hours south to Manu. The ride was bumpy but I was with two of my chicas from Madrid, Spain and they made the trip quite enjoyable. The first place we stopped was at a hidden lodge buried deep within the jungle trees that required climbing up lard stone steps to get to the entrance.

Lets review….

I love peru, and I don’t mind Cusco, but goodness was it a praise and a relief to be out in the middle of the jungle with nothing but fresh air, giant trees, funny looking birds, and the sound of rushing water as it poured over softly moss covered rocks.

As you can imagine, the first thing I did was venture out and sat next to this waterfall for a solid 30 min and just-----s-a-t. nothing else. I just sat there, and was still. Still before the water, still beneath the trees, and still before the God that created it all.

Dinner was amazing and as we headed back to our mosquito netted covered beds I praised God that I had remembered to bring an entire roll of soft wonderful toilet paper ;).

When in Peru, South America, and especially the jungle, you NEVER want to leave home without toilet paper or tissues. Just a tip for those who dare to travel in the future ;)

Early we rose the next morning as ham filled omelets and hot tea awaited us at homey picnic tables as the sun began to shine through the deep jungle trees. We were to leave around 8am to journey deeper into the jungle to where we would meet a boat that would take us to our second location.

Fortunately we were able to get out of the stuffed vans and walk in the wilderness for an hour or so. How nice it was to walk without cars buzzing by or the sounds of business on either side. We met a long skinny boat ( they look like the boats in Italy- but jungle/Peruvian style!) and got to see the jungle from the shore. After arriving at one of the islands, we went rafting for 2 hours and got to swim! How refreshing and dearly missed!

After rafting we headed back to the island to explore the trails for different types of birds, and then by nightfall, ventured out with flashlights to discover all the different sizes and ugliness of insects :p The next morning we were woken at 5:20 to leave by 5:40 to get to another island by 6am to watch Macaws in their natural habitat. I borrowed a really nice pair of binoculars from a lovely Peruvian couple and noticed that macaws are actually quite large parrot type birds. They fly around over head to investigate the ground beneath for predators, then fly back and land on the side of the bluffs to eat of of soil. They do this because they are receiving salt and nutrients from the soil that is excellent for their fitness and apparently, sweet to the taste!

Today was a fun day. After watching birds all morning and learning random facts about giant jungle ants and how the natives eat them (after frying the first of course), we headed back for breakfast to equip us with the energy that we would need for the long day ahead.: jungle hike, zip lining through the trees at least 80 feet from the ground (yahoo!!!), vine swinging, swimming, futbol on the beach, swimming again, mud fight, other island for more trails and I got to stear this cool boat thing that was pretty much sinking ( it was awesome) some a giant ginny pig for got the name but it swims and eats plants, shower, dinner, fiesta!!!!!, played in the rain, went to bed early (because im boring I guess ; p ) then left for home the next morning. We had a totally of 4 FLAT TIRES but hey, when things don’t go according to plan, you just grab a coke and chill because you have no where else to be. The germans were angry but the stars were out so I couldn’t complain J it took us 12 hours versus 8 hrs to get home but lucky for us, we left at 8 so I go to bed around 9:30ish. It was a wonderful trip:0)

I ALMOST FORGOT!

I saw two monkeys! And they were in a tree, not enclosed in fences in the zoo ;) they were black and super cute. Ok. that’s it.

It is late Friday night and before writing this I went to fiesta at my friends apt since many people, including myself, are leaving this week/weekend.

Im pretty sure im in denial about leaving, and my family here is as well. It is going to be hard and I am trying to pretend that the dreadful reality of me leaving in 5 days isn’t really happening. As my host mom keeps saying, “Wednesday doesn’t exist. We can just call you mom and tell her that you are going to stay here with us.” *break my heart* its going to be VERY hard leaving my siblings and my host mom here. I guess this is the Lord just continuing to prepare me since I now consider myself having 4 homes: Lake Luzerne, Fredonia, Peru, and Haiti. I love Peru, but what I love more is how confirming it is that the Lord has called me to spend at least a little more time in Haiti. I don’t know when, when He sends me-my prayer is that I will be ready and willing, humble and obedient. Peru, I hope to experience all that I can in my remaining 5 days. Buenas noches. -besos

19-7-10

I have 3 weeks left and I don’t know where the time went. I am finding it harder and harder to type in English and think grammatically while speaking….English….yea….

I am now in my last class, which is literature and I have to give a powerpoint presentation next Tuesday and write a final 5 page paper and present it in front of all of my professors and the head of my school :x *gulp* I am having such a difficult time deciding on a topic.

As of the past few weeks my old project has ended and a new one has begun. I am teaching a sweet little 4 yr English everyday from 4-5 and I love it! Today we practiced colors and counting with trix cereal… hmmm tasty!!!

So I am finally going to machu pitchu this weekend :P it only took me 2 months to get there.

I miss my friends and family very much but am dreading leaving and saying bye to my family, friends, and professors here in peru. But I am excited to live with my crazies when I return and am ready to take on my last year of college! Oh why oh why does the time go by so quickly?

Humm…. Yea… not much is new here. Classes, gym, teaching, chilling, making fun of cheesy shows…. Yup that’s about it! Peace out girl scouts :p

oh ps- i am goign to the jungle soon. idk when yet. i think next week? :) maybe i can met a monkey! :p.... mom joke chow and besos!!!

9-7-10

I have concluded that I am the worst at this blog thing….

Last weekend went to lake Titikaka and it was INCREDIBLE! Where do I start….

After classes on Friday we had lunch then headed on a 7 hr bus ride to puno. So God story!!! I got to talk with the girl next to me about Christ for prob 3 hours!!! I don’t even remember how it started but God was working in so many ways. I opened my Bible to show her who God was and why it is that Jesus is the only way to the Father and she wanted me to keep reading!!!! So we went through parts of the Word together and it was so blessedJ She then asked me why Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and why God waited so long to set Jesus…. Yea…. And so on ;P it was incredible!

We got to puno and stayed in a snazzy hotel! It had the cleanest bathroom I have ever seen in my life! So shiny! :p the next day after our complementary breakfast of delicious fruit, yogurt and granola, and tea y juice ;);) we jumped on a boat and headed to the floating islands! It was amazing! So this is the way it works:

There are 5 families that live on one of these Islands and they go to work and school by boat each day (hand made boats) we stayed there for part of the day learning about the history of the island and then we got to dress up in their traditional wear and it was so much fun! Bright colors and tiny hats…. It was great! J

Oh… I almost forgot… I am going to live there. They have huts made out of bamboo type stuff :p I took lots of pics and exploredJ and I played with these two adorable kids the whole time! It was wonderful. Then we jumped back on the boat and traveled for a few hours to the second island named Amantani there we met the other host family we would be staying with for the evening. We had lunch, relaxed for a while, then hiked this ridiculous mountain where the view was breath taking… oh yea, I forgot to mention that there is no electricity on the islandJ so when the sun when down and the starts came out… yea, enough said. ;) we then hiked back down, ate some delicious dinner from our host parents then they dressed us up in their traditional clothing and we went out dancing for a few hours!!! Man are those Spanish women strong! My host mother was wippin me around like nobodies business! We then woke up at 6 am, ate some breakfast, then got back on the boat to go to the next island Taquile. There we hiked again until we got to the plaza, went on another tour of the island, ate at this delicious restaurant that overlooked the island, then got back on the boat to return to Puno. We had 6 hours to waste in Puno, so, we did what ever good tourist does-ate lots of food and bought souvenirs. :p we then got on the bus and headed 7 hours home. We all had classes at 8:30am that same morning and we got back at 4. It wasn’t that bad having a few hours of sleep but I wouldn’t recommend it too often ;).

Taylor and I joined a gym that’s 2 min walking from my house so that’s awesome! Its so ghetto, but hey it works! And its nice because we go when there is only one other person there. J finished up my last week of indigenous culture with Erwincito (my professor) and oh! We went on a field trip and the other students In my class got their “futures” read by a women who was a “watuq y Wikch’uq”. Basically, people goes to these people who practice traditional medicine for cures and also for receiving their future plans. What happens is you buy a bad of coca leaves and then she puts them in this bowl and reads them and such. I don’t know how it works exactly because I didn’t do it, but that’s what the other students and my homework said.

Oh the bus ride home I got to talk to Gillian about Jesus! Yay God! She asked why the heck I didn’t do it and I explained that my Lord specifically talks about not getting involved with those kinds of things because they can be very real and deceptive and it opened up for a wonderful half an hour conversation.

Friday night was 6 of my friends last night in Cusco so we did what all should do on their last night in a foreign country---- went out on the town! We met up and there were about 15 of us and we just danced the night away. I love salsa dancing! And I love salsa dancing with Spanish men who know how to lead and really wip ya around ;) :p jaja oh sick-but its true. Oh! Amy, DanI, and I got our eyes all painted in this glitter junk and it was intense, but hey it was free!!! :p

This weekend was me just bumming around, watching the last final two partidos para futbol and spending some good catch up time in the Word.

I just want to end this post with a quote that I have been learning the hard way:

“We may be seeking for our growth in a more diligent use of the means of grace, and a more earnest striving to live in accordance with God’s will, and yet entirely fail. The reason is, that there is a secret root of evil which must be removed. That root is the spirit of bondage, the legal spirit of self-effort, which hinders that humble faith that knows that God will work all, and yields to Him to do it.” -Andrew Murray

27-6-10

Well I have concluded that I STINK at keeping blog posts:p. so I will attempt to summarize up the last weekJ

So I started my second class! I’m studying indigenous cultures currently and learning a little bit of Quetchwa ;) (the native language of the Incas). Since Cusco is so close to THE famous Machu pitchu, it is not only a hot spot for tourists (sick) but also right in the middle of the Incan culture.

So I have been really enjoying learning quechua, one because its so cool! And two… bc I always talk to the taxi drivers and they get so excited when they learn that I am not only studying Spanish, but quechua too!!! They ALWAYS teach me new words or phrases in quechua….and, sometimes, give me a discount;P yay for being friendly and talkative! I guess it plays out sometimes… when your in peru….and learning quechua …..yea. :D jajaja!

Kelsey left and I’m super bummed:/ School just wont be the same without her wonderful loud, bubbly, and joyful personality, and of course, her love for Christ. J butttt I will survive and am praying that the Lord brings another Christian friend to my school (please Lord!!! -pray request for those who don’t mind ;) )

On Saturday we (the fam) brought whit and kinds to the airport ( my two American sisters) and man…. It was hard! I couldn’t believe that the first month flew by and they were already on their way back to the states….where its summer!!! Eeeeee!!!!

OH! So qui (ginny pig) was ok, but oh man…… a bunch of us went out on Friday night b/c it was a few peoples last night in Peru, and I had----- bisteck de alpaca…… steak of---- alpaca! And oh my goodness….. IT WAS FLIPIN DELICIOUS! ( muy rico)! For those who don’t know what alpacas are… think llama but with 237409273409832 times more hair. Yup…. I ate part of one of those, and it was fantastic ;) :p

I finally got to see the kids for my volunteer on Sunday! Oh my word, they are just wonderful! We took this van up to the top of Cusco where those less fortunate live and around 3pm I saw 6 beautiful little girls between the ages of 5-8 run up to me and throw their arms around me before I even told them my name. So, I introduced myself and then two of them grabbed my hands and we ran around the streets gathering all the young kids we could find! My project involves me simply reading and “tutoring” young kids who cant afford books to read or sometimes, an education. We swung by a street corner store and bought some gym ;) ;) they love gum, and then returned back to the steps where we would have our reading time: I returned with 23 wild kids on both sides skipping and chomping on gum:p I guessss you could say I enjoy my project ;) ;) jejej…

Played futbol with nato y chistes today and it was sooooo great to finally be active and kick around the ball. Man I love futbol. Speaking of futbol, usually nato, chistes, and I are inhaling our food during lunch so that we can say “probetcho” and get to the tv to watch the cup! :P I love watching the world cup with a Spanish family J so fun!

I guess I will end this post with this: I have met some incredible people here, mainly my family, and I love them all so much. I totally need to recognize God in thanking Him for giving me such a wonderful opportunity and placing me in a family that has, from the first day, accepted me as one of their own. I cant put into words how much I love this place and new life long friends I will always keep dear to my heart.

# I don’t know, oh 6!

Well I have quite a bit of catching up to do;)
First off, I want to apologize this is so late…. My stupid Microsoft work will only let me view things now b/c the darn thing expired or something… anyways…
Two Sundays ago I finally tried cuy: guinie pig ;) it- was- chewy but I like it! Lol hey I had to, its only the “delicacy” here:P I have before, and after pics ;P
I finished my first class and earned a 91 overall!!!!! YahoO!!!!! Bo-to the yahhhH! Thank groodness(baha) for homework and participation since I got stupid Bs on all my tests :x. but hey, it was hard!!!!
I started countering and its-not what I expected, but I know God will use me there. I only get to see the kids on Saturdays L buttt during the week, we prepare crafts and activities (we being myself and 2 crazy older men!) jajaj!!! They are hilarious and its great bc they usually pick on me and we converse about the world cup and how brazil is the best team ;) ;)
I have been here for three weeks and the time has flown! Classes are every day from 8:30-1 then lunch from 1-2, then volunteer ever-re day from 3:30-5:30, homework/studying until 9ish then bed in time hopefully between 10-10:30! It gets dark here around 5:30 so bedtime couldn’t come soon enough J and believe it or not, I wake up every morning at 6:30 so I can have my shower, devo time and breakfast before I have to leave for class at 8am. ( I know col, its super early, who know?!?!) ;)
This past weekend was a family trip to Abancay so Martha madre, Jossy, Nato, Chistes, y traveled to Abancay because that’s where padre works. Soooo, on the 4 hour swirvey mountain bus ride I was sure to take lots of pics :0 SO amazing- woah!
We had a wonderful weekend: I met more of the fam from the grandparents to tio y tia y sus hijo, Miguel (mikie- como micky mouse: ) who is 5 and ahh! I ahd som uch fun with him! I love kids!!!! Jajaa!
We walked around and oh! I went a mi primero “disco” …. bahhhhhhhh. It was- interesting… haha no it was cool but here in Peru, you always do partner dances, mostly salsa and marange. It was super fun so Jossy, chistes, nato, and I danced the ngiht away… well only until 1 :p. we were tired. All in all, it was a really fun weekend full of futbol, lots of walking, dancing, and some kick butt food!

Oh…. I almost forgot. I now have my siblings saying “sick”………. ;) muhahahahahah!

We are still working on the contest, but they are staring to get it J aweshome!

hummm

so let me tell you what happened....

i typed up all that happened in the last two weeks... WHICH WAS A LOT and then the microfoft windows on my computer decided that it was time to expire
....
so i can read my posts but not copy them over to this dang page!!!!

so until i can either one, figure out how to drag the dang thing over
or two
not be lazy and retype it... i will keep ya'll updated.

they wear shoes all the time here... like... all the time... hum.
thats all for now.

horseback riding!

#5

This week classes were so long. Kels and I had to memorize all the names and dates of the Mexican/Cuban revolution, bios on Fidel and Che, andddd the FMLN and FSNL. Got an 84 on my test… I’ll take it! Haha

Friday we went horseback riding after classes and wow….was it beautiful! There were 10 of us that went; perfect number. I have decided, that I found where I want my house to be and what my transportation will be;);). Once I figure out how to put pics up I will, but boy does my keester hurt today! After that, I went with two of my sisters to this Spanish concert thing. Some local band was playing so we dressed up and went out. It was cold, but totally worth it. Today has been a relaxing day. Reading, playing some guitar(such a good decision to buy that thing down here!) and spending time with my family.

There was a little bit of a mix up concerning the volunteer thing, but I start orientation for a different place on Monday! I don’t start my placement until wed so I will keep ya’ll posted;) the new place is called “biblioteca en la calle” and basically, I will be reading and spending time with kids on the streets of cuzco as well as playing my guitar and singing with the kids. I don’t know about you guys, but this seems much more like me:D.

#4-white water rafting!

Today was prob one of the best days here so far! Starting at 9 am 21 of us traveled 2 hours to where we would white water raft for the dayJ honestly, I thought that waves were going to be a bit bigger, but we made it so much fun! I met lots of new people who were visiting tourists on our trip as well as 8 hilarious Peruvian tour guides that joked and laughed and threw us into cold water! Although the bus ride there and back was super long, it was totally worth seeing the gorgeous mountains and valleys our bus passed through. They served us lunch and we headed home. Oh man, the bus ride back was WILD. Haha! Spanish people sure can drink;) hahaha and they did! It was a giant fiesta and we danced and had fun and sang really old songs at the top of our lungs! Ahhh, muy divertido!. Got home around 7pm, had tea and toast with the fam, then continued the guitar lessons with Renato and Jossy:p I love them so much! Well classes tomorrow morning bright and early at 8:30 am! Buenas noches!

#3

So the concert last night was…. Interesting…BAHAHAHA. We’ll leave it at that ;) This morning I was supposed to go on a hiking trip somewhere with the other American students but i decided I needed some devo. time instead :D I don’t think I can talk about how faithful and good the Lord is. It has been interesting this first week here. Getting used to a new culture, language, society, friends, and family. Every time I travel to a different place or am in a group with people who’s first language is not English, I am constantly reminded that communication and understanding is so important. Language barriers are not the greatest things in the world, but fortunately, God can and does work in more than one way;) :D.

As I have been adjusting, I have been searching to find ways in which I can be a light for Christ here in Peru. Everyone is already so friendly, kind, giving, hospitable, and loving! But alas, the Lord is opening doors starting in my very own home, with the people I am closest with and spend most of my time with. This morning I was interceding for my Peruvian family and asking that God would use me in their lives. As I finished praying for each one by name, not 30 seconds later one of my brothers stuck his head in my door and asked what I was doing. At that point in time, my Bible was wide open and I was in the middle of praying. I told him I was reading my Bible and we talked about it for a little bit. He then told me, in Spanish of course, that it is a secret desire of his to read the Bible and know God. He picked up my Bible and stared looking through it and began asking me some general questions

…..

PRAISE GOD!

I told him that he can join me at any point in time and he said that he’s love too! I think that sometimes we assume that God’s timing is always longer than we want but clearly, it’s sometimes instant. ;)

Went to the black market with my sisters and finally found a cheap guitar and fulbol jersey:D as soon as we got home, my entire family was SO excited that I bought a guitar they make me sing and play for then for the next hour :P so cuteeeee(que bonitaaaa)! Afterwards I was just finger picking(terribly mind you) when two of my sisters moved really close and said, “ohh mannn I want to learn!”…. so I asked them if they would like me to teach them and they excitedly obliged. For the next hour or so Josi, Abbe and I learned the G, C, and D major cords :P. haha they were so cute and asked if they were doing something wrong because their fingers hurt. Jaja. I told them that it’s the sign that they are doing it right:P Later my brother, Renato, I call him (plaga=pest) jajaa came home from classes and then the four of us sat there and learned guitar together! We are going to practice ever-re day…jaja. I teach them guitar, they teach me Spanish!:D it’s a great system;) I am quite excited to see their reactions when its time for me to return to the states and I leave my guitar with them… :] anyways, while I was helping them, I realized that I stink at vocab more that I thought! Sooo Renato stayed up with me for an extra hour teaching me vocab and drawing pictures so I could learn easier!!! Haha hes going to be a professor so I told him that he was good at it and thanked him for having so much patience with me. He replied with” I teach little kids all day how to use computers….so you’re like one of them!”....jajaja I told him one of my nick names was Dory and now he calls me that all the time. That or lenta jenna… which means slow jenna…. Jajajaj!!! It’s a mutual thing. I call him pest or slow renato, he calls me slow jenna… we’re even:p I love that about my whole family. We are always picking on each other! From my 2 brothers to 04 sisters, to my mother and father, we all lovingly joke around. The new family saying is, “broma broma!” which means “joking!” it was a great dayJ

#2 Frist week of classes completed!

I have been in Cuzco for 6 days now and it feels like home away from home. My family is absolutely amazing and it keeps growing! Whittany’s cousin is coming to visit tomorrow so it will be mama, papi, Jossy, Whinnie, Renato, Abbe, whit’s cuz Kindsey, and myself all in one house! Cristes is always over with Renato; especially at night when we have coca de leche (similar to hot chocolate!) Martha(mama) never repeats any food and so far, I have loved every single thing! Usually for breakfast, we have a glass of fresh juiced fruit juice a long with tea and eggs or la ensalada de fruitas, or toast with jam (mermalada). Wow, it is so hard for me to type in English right now since I am usually thinking in spanish :p. I have only been here for 5 days and I feel like my Spanish is improving already! Awesome!!!

Classes started on Monday and the way that it works is that I take one class every three weeks for three credits each. The class I will be taking for the first three weeks is Hispanic cultura y civilizacion. There is only one other student, Kelsey, in my class with me. I love it so much because it’s like private tutoring!

Entonces….. it is amazing what happens when one asks God for opportunities in the morning before the day starts. ;) yesterday(Tuesday) for our 4^th and final hour of class for the day our professora asked us if we wanted to keep studying or work on conversational Spanish. Kels and I both responded with conversational! Yaya! For the next hour, we were able to talk about Christianity and faith and hope in Jesus Christ with our professor…. En Espanol!!!! :D! It was amazing and since yesterday I found my first Christian friend down hereJ we are going to look for a church to go to these next couple weeks!:) then today kels was sick so for the second session it was just the professor and myself. For an hour in a half today we just talked in Spanish and it was amazing! We talked about each other’s family, home, relationships, culture differences between Peru and the U.S., and…. Jesus! Yet again, God was able to use me with a language I am just starting to really understand and speakJ Praise the Lord.

Volunteering starts this next Monday-Friday 4pm-6pm. I will be volunteering for a program called “las madrinas”. Las Madrinas most closely translated stands for “the mothers”. During my volunteer I will be working with orphaned and abandoned ninas from the ages of 5-17. Fortunately enough the academic and volunteer programs partner with each other so students can get the most out of their experience while here in Cuzco. For the next two weeks I will have classes in the morning from 8:30-10:30 and 11-1,then home for lunch with the family, then off to San Pedro church to be with the kids from 4-6 everyday. No puedo esperar!(I can’t wait!!!) I am hoping to find a cheap guitar so I can play and sing with the kids; I have been told its one of their favorite activitiesJ mostly I will be helping with homework and teaching basic and fundamental skills concerning self health and honestly, just loving these ninetas!

A few nights ago I taught my family how to play the card game “spoons”…. We play it every night now! Haha its so much fun! I’m so glad it’s the weekend, I can finally catch up on reading, sleep, and devo time!!!:D!!! yayy Jesus!!! I know that tonight a bunch of us are going to go out and listen to some bands play and tomorrow…. My first disco! I think… we will see if we end up going ;) my family LOVES to dance, and well…. I mean come on… so do I! yahoo!!! Sunday I am going white water rafting con mi escuela down one of the biggest rios in Peru! It will be a bit chilly, but I am pumped! :p

Mi primero dia en Cuzco!

This was it! I was finally on my way to a trip I had been looking forward to for months. It wasn’t even 15 min into my journey when I sat down besides a Hispanic woman who looked to be in her upper 20’s. We began to engage in conversation, en Espano, claro! ;) As it turns out she was a professor at Syracuse University and she ended up being such a blessing for those 7 hours into the night and early morning. The sunrise was breathtaking by the way. I believe we were flying over Ecuador when it began to rise over the horizon.

After arriving in Lima, Peru and having Evalin direct me in the right direction with many newly learned tips from the previous flight, she gave me her email and said I was welcomed to call, e-mail, or stay with her in Lima at any timeJ Praise God for another connection! The second flight was only about an hour and goodness I wish I could put into words how unbelievable Peru is from 11,000 feet up in the air!!!

Finally I arrived in Cuzco’s small airport around 10am after traveling since 3pm the previous day. Although exaughsted from the trip, I paced myself so I wouldn’t get altitude sickness and proceeded onward in hopes of finding a small Hispanic family holding a piece of paper with my name colored on it. Sure enough, there they were in the front row amongst the crowds with excited smiles and lots of welcome hugs/kisses. (in peru, and most Spanish speaking cultures, you greet with a kiss on the cheek even if you have never met them before nor will again.

Now… as for my host family…. GOD IS SO FAITHFUL! :D

I love Cuzco so far! The way that a group of people decided to build on, in and threw these gigantic mountains and, with a touch of Spanish culture, being bright colors, brought the city the size of Boston to life. As we drove to place I would call home for the next three months I couldn’t help but observe all that was going on in the city. There were street vendors with wild things to sell, multi-colored buildings, children running everywhere, and of course, thousands of people who drove however they wanted: fast, slow, on their side or yours:P. To say the least, it was an adventure getting from the airport home!

As we arrived at the house I got to meet the rest of my host family! J Marta is my mother, josylynn aka.josi is my 21 year old sister; renhato is my 19 year old brother; Whittany is my temporary American sister who is finishing up a volunteer program until the end of june whos 20 as well( our family cant pronounce her name so they call her whinnie as in Winnie the pooh…. Haha it brings a smile to our faces.; and then there is lucho…. Who is my eldest brother but he is married with a child and doesn’t live in the house I am staying at, but he hang out all day anyways! Something I licked up on right away was how close this family is. That means so much to me seeing as how my family is the closest knit family I have ever seen. After they showed me my room we had a quick “hello and what do you like to do” convo. As soon as the word “futbol” was brought up, that was all we needed to change real quick and call a cab to head down to the park to play!

Since I had just arrived 30 min previous to this, I, unfortunately, didnt play( there you go mother;)) but I had a great time watching and getting to know their family friends. Everyone is so close here, I love it so much. We ended up spending the entirety of the day at the park in the winter weather of 73 ;). Yup, was totally in shorts :0).

I am so blessed because I have the best host family in the world! None of them speak ANY English so it forces me to speak and listen 24/7-which is exactly how I wanted itJ. Like I mentioned previously, we all range between 19-23 and it is so much fun because instantly I have a group of friends that also so happed to be my siblings. We had Christopher “Chistes” and a few other friends of the family hang out all day with us two as we enjoyed a few solid games of futbol, had chicken/potatoes for lunch, and headed back to relax at home.

It is weird writing this because after today I feel like I have been here for a month already! God has truly blessed the relationships I am forming so far even after a day! I know that may be hard for some of you to understand, but for others, you‘re not surprised in the least ;).