havent written in a while

Hey! I´ve been pretty busy, everything after leaving Huaraz has been crazy packed!
We had a despedida with the kids before we left the orphanage in Huaraz, and it was really sad to say goodbye to everyeone. I defienetly miss Huaraz and all the people I met and the place itself!
We headed back to Lima and reunited with everyeone, which was great. On Saturday we gave presentations, and it was really interesting to see what everyeone has looked into over hte past 6 weeks of service. Than, after all our work was done, we set off for our touristy week!
I don´t have much time to write, but basically heres what my past 6 days has consisted of (other than early mornings and late nights)¨
=Swimming with sealions (the water was freeeezing) sea lions
=mountain biking down the Andes
=soaking in hot springs,
=hiking the deepest canyon in the world
=seeing the condor, the largest bird in the world,
=swam in lake titicaca
=spent the night on an island with natives
=danced traditional island dance in traditional dress
...it was awesome.
anyways, i get back in 5 days, im really excited!

....I might have got picked up by the police...

The week at Arco Iris was pretty chill... on Sunday we took a bus tour to Chavin, ancient ruins. They were really fascinating. On the way thrte ,the bus broke down 3 times, but it was fixed but on the way home it stopped another 7 times, staarted coasting and then came to a complete stop. we waited on the bus probably 45 minutes, and then 2 police suv´s came and we all fit in the back of them and then waited about anmother 30 minutes in the freezing cold until a replacement bus came. we were s upposed to get home at 7 but got home at 10;30, but it was overall a good day. We met a man traveling south america from Isreal and some ladies from Holland...I love meeting the different people that are in Huaraz for various reasons! I have a really bad cold, but we have tommorrow off, so I plan on takinga lot of Nyquill and sleeping alot! Jerell and Jane visit Thursday, so it will be nice to see them as well. I can´t belive how fast time is flying here! We have 10 more days, a few days in Lima, time in Arequipa, at Colca Canon, and Lake Titicaca and then a 3 day retreat and then headhome! I´m ready to be home (and quit getting sick off of food), and I´m looking forward to starting as Interim Program Director at camp a few days after I get back!

Tour number one

So, yesterday Callie and I had the day off so we went on a day long tour. We started out driving a ways, stopped in a town and got really good icecream, continued, hiked for about an hour in Yunguy and saw the effects of the 1970´s earthquake, then continued in the bus to Lake Llaungua(spelling?). It was gorgeous..the water was crystal blue and it was nestled in the mountians. Then, we went to a resturant and I had a really good plate of lomo saltado..basically frenchfries topped with marinated onion, tomato, pepper, and steak. On the way home we stopped at an artisan fair and got to see a man making the pottery,which was fun. We got home about 8:00, so we were pretty tired, but for only $10, it was totally worth the 10 hours!! Also, there were people from the Chec. Republic, Germany, the US, Argentina, Chile, Ecquador, Lima, Spain, and England, so it was interesting to be around so many international people. And I´m now convinced I have to go to England...

Birthday week!

Well, this Monday started off as normal, only I had been sick from the previous day (and was feeling sick until about Thursday), and then Tuesday our schedule changed becuase one of the ladies we work with is going on vacation. Now, Callie and I always work at the girls house. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday we work from 7 am to 2;30 (we have to get the girls all up,,they start school tommorrow!). Friday and Saturday we work from 2;30 to 9 at night, which is a lot more chill, and I get to put the little kids to bed and sing to them until my voice is about gone. I finally figured out how to get on the 3 year old boys side (he´s at the girls hosue becuase his sister is there), and it´s been working becuase he´s been by my side pretty frequently and seems to be crying less, which is good. I started enforcing time out for the 4 year old girl when she won´t listen and I´m pretty sure she´s afraid of me now because she hates time out (when there are problems at the house, they usually just hit the kids on the arm), so now everytime she starts crying I start to pick her up and she stops pretty quickly. My birthday was good, some of hte girls made me cards and sang to me and then I got together with friends from Goshen, too. Thursday morning we went to visit the boy´s house...I miss working with them! I´m hoping when the lady comes back from vacation we will be able to work there, although I highly doubt it :( . This week I met more people working from Germany, Ireland, and Spain-it´s really cool to meet people from other places, and the lady from Spain lived in Chicago for 2 years, so she actually knew where Peoria was (that was a first) and she spoke english, which is nice, too. Today we did some soveiner shopping, at the market, so I pretty much have stuff for everyone, and had a lot of fun doing so! Our brother who is 16 arrived from Lima this week, but our dad was gone..our family is very busy-our parents leave again on Thursday until next Tuesday. Tuesday is our day off, so this Tuesday we planned a trip to a big lake..a day long for only about $10, so hopefully it´s fun!

Tired...

The rest of the week went well...Wedensday and Thursday they were painting the boy shouse, so all of the kids were at the other house, so it was crazy, but fun. Friday I basically just walked around the plaza de armas with the 1 year old the entire morning and then in the afternoon played some game (well, i think they just called it a game..it was more erika chasing us) with the older boys. I had a really good week with the boys ..I´m looking forward to going back. Today, the 7 of us around Huaraz went to the Lazy Dog Inn where Julia and Sarah work, and we hiked. We had to walk about 30 minutes up a hill just to get to their house, which was gorgous, and then we hiked about 2 hours, ate lunch and talked, and walked back. It was absolutely GORGEOUS. I took a lot of pictures, but they can´t even show how beautiful it is. I had a lot of fun, but I´m really tired and probably dehydrated. Anyways, thats all for now!

Week with the boys and babies

This week, CAllie and I switched the orphanage houses we´re working with )as we will every week), so this week Ive been hanging out with two 9 year olds, two 13 year olds, a 16 year old, a 1 year old, 6 month old (all boys) and a 1 year old girl that has cleft palet. Ive been enjoying my time at this house, its defienetly a lot more calm then the other house. During the mornings I take the 6 month old and the 1 year old boy on walks in the park, feed the babies lunch, put htem to bed, eat, and hang out with the older boys in the afternoon. The 1 year old boy, Jonathon, is super cute. Today during lunch, the boys decided it would be fun to ask me if every food and animal on planet earth is in the US, and Im pretty sure I lied a lot, because there were so many things flying at me, and I didnt know what half of them were. So if in the future you meet a child that thinks we have condors (huge birds) and eat guinea pig in the US, its me to blame.Also today a volunteer from Germany that is my age was working too, I think she´ll be there the rest of hte week, so that made even less for us to do. I really like hte aunt that is at this house (and the other house too), andin the afternoon another tio comes (we´re all aunts and uncles ,tios and tias), so sometimes I even have time to just read. TOday I enterviewed the boys for my project, as I did with a street vendor on SAturday (shes been selling foods out of her basket for 29 years, a cute little Quetcha mountain lady), and its interesting what Ive been founding out about how Peruvians view their culture and the US´s.
Saturday all of the girls got together and we went to the market, I got a new jacket, which is really nice and warm! Sunday we went to the evangelical church with our parents, a sunday school (which was more liek a sermon), then singing, a short sermon, and more singing...it actually reminded me of church at home...minus I couldnt undersatnd what he was saying. Then we wandered around the city and found a place with cool jewerly, I bought a bracelet, ring, and earrings,and then the vendor made us these cool wire things (mine was a flower, CAllies a pair of glasses) in front of us, which was awesoem to see. TOday aftyer work we went to the California Cafe, it´s atmosphere is a lot like the Electric Brew in Goshen, and they serve American breakfast all day and had amazing cake and break and juices and coffees..it felt like we were back in the US (and after having a 30 minute convo about IHOP, we decided Saturday morning we´re going to be going for that delicious sounding American breakfast). AFterwords, we stopped at AWI, where two of the guys from our work are working, and we all went to get sweets at a panaderia and talked, which was fun. We got home at 8,. and our parents had been a little worried and thought we were kidnapped because we werent home (whoops!), but it ended up okay. Thats about all that´s been happening in Huaraz lately!

I might just have to move to Huaraz

If any of you ever want an awesome vacation spot..Peru is it. Lima is awesome ,and the 8 hour (for only 10 dolalr) bus ride to Huaraz is worth it. This place is gorgous..Yesterday Callie and I ventured onto the roof of our house and its a gorgous view. And we found out that we are in fact teh only ones that live in our apartment so its really ours which is awesome. Our parents are hardly ever here..between work, church, classes, and friends, we see them about 30 minytes every day (enough to get food). The orphaanage has been going decent, its crazy with so many kids around, I help clean up after breakfast, help kids with chores like laundry, take some of the them to the park, come back, serve them lunch, help clean dishes and the table, and leave by 3. After Callie and I are bth home, we usually walk downtown, about 6 blocks and I think we´ve walked the entire town because its so narrow. Weve found a lot of places we want to go, we´ll probably head to some this weekend. Yesterday was Caranval so while downtown we found a huge prade and part of the prade is for them to chase you down streets so there were people chasing us and we ended up running into this really awesome coffee shop that gives part of their money to the orphanage we work for, which is cool. The caraval prade ends at the river where they throw a fake casket in, read the last will of the deceased, and people jump in the river to ´save the casket´(they have harnesses on and the fire crew was nearby). It was a huge thing, and we were so packed in that it felt like I was on a bus or combi again, only if you feel it was into the river...
I´m also trying to think of my final project, as of now I think Ill interview different Peruvians about how they view America and why they do so...now the key is to find people to interview...
Oh, and the weather is crazy..mornings are cool, noon is hot, rain is rain, and after 3 its freeeezing...i think im going to by some gloves, a hat, and a sweatshirt (yes mom, I infact should have broughts those 5 sweatshirts, becase the 2 I have with me now arent doing enough:)