I have been in Peru for the last three weeks and I have two more weeks left. I have come to the conclusion that I love Peru and, if I could, I would live here for a year or so. My placement at Los Martincitos is much better than I anticipated. On MWF the the elderly in need come into the center and recieve two hot meals and a social atmosphere. I help prepare food, serve food, do activities with the abuelitos (cute grandparents), and do very little paperwork. On T, Th, I visit those abuelos that are too ill to come into the center. We go into their homes and provide company. Sometimes there are desperate situations that we have had to deal with. In general, however, people mostly just want love.
As far as travelling, I have been lucky enough to visit Huaraz, Trujillo, and Chiclayo. All were wonderful. I much prefer the smaller cities and towns of Peru to Lima. If it is financially feasible I would like to visit Huacachina this weekend, but we shall see.
I hope everything is going well at home. See you soon!
As you probably expect, I have many more pitures I would love to share with everyone. Unfortunately Blogger will only allow me to upload 5 photos. These are some of my favorite memories from my time in Peru. In the first one I am with one of our abuelas, Eulogia. We are standing in front of the cart she uses to make her living. Whenever we visited her we were sure to try some of her soda. My favorite was the pinapple flavored. The second photograph is of some of my friends and I during our horseback riding trip through the mountains near Huaraz. Next - a rather silly picture of my buddies in the Chan Chan ruins outside of Trujillo. The fourth is a group picture of everyone who helped repaint Los Martincitos. Not only did the paint give the center a fresh face, but we had a great time getting the job done. Finally, is a picture of myself, Tom, and Missy at the beach below Barranco. Sven, sadly, is taking the picture. The four of us had a great time that night. Not only was it my first time swimming in the Pacific Ocean, but I got to know those three well.
