Munay (Love & Beauty): Stories of Life in Peru: Every day is an adventure!

One reason why I love living abroad while integrating yourself into the community is that every day is a new adventure full of new experiences. I am sure that once I have been living here in Peru for a year or so, it won't feel like that as much. But for now it sure does and I love it :)

For example, last night some other volunteers and I went to a festival that was happening in a nearby community. We took the public bus there and then five of us had to take this tiny “moto-taxi” ride in the dark through all these bumpy roads and we had no idea where in the heck we were even going. We arrived to this hole in the wall festival that started at 11pm and went on until 6am! It was full of dancing, live music and fire shows. People here sure know how to party and have a good time! And when I say party, I don't mean that everyone gets drunk and goes crazy because that's not what its about. It's about hanging out with your friends, family and neighbors, dancing (there is always a lot of dancing), and just enjoying life!

Then there are the every day adventures like riding the public bus, exploring the neighborhood, always meeting new people, trying new food, spending time with your host family, learning new words in Spanish, playing soccer with local kids, or whatever it may be! As long as you are putting your self out there to explore new things and learn about the culture, then every day is an adventure!

Last week, we went to a local school to give presentations on different subjects. I presented with two other volunteers and our topic was values! We gave three, half hour long presentations to three different groups of students. The Peace Corps wants to give us as much practice on presenting to youth as possible before we get placed in our permanent sites!

Today I went to the local school for an exposition that the students put together on the food and traditions of the different regions of Peru. It was so much fun! The kids were all dressed up in traditional clothing from the different provinces in Peru and the mom’s had helped prepare food from each region that we could buy for lunch. Peru is such a vibrant and colorful country with so much cultural diversity and pride! My heart sings just being here and being able to try to integrate myself into this amazing culture.

I really adore the Peruvian family that I am living with and I am really enjoying my time with them. They genuinely want me to be happy here and unlike the family that I lived with in Ecuador, they aren’t using me just to get money that the Peace Corps is paying them. They want me to live with them for the cultural exchange experience and it is so refreshing. Something really sweet is that my 15 year old sister and I have become really close. We spend a lot of time together when I am home and my mom says that when I am not home she is always asking about me when I will be back. A few mornings ago at like 4am she came into my room and said “Sis, I can’t sleep. Can I come in?” And she got into my bed and cuddled up to try to fall asleep. Sooo cute. She has had a lot of body image trouble and even an eating disorder in the past recent years so I am really trying to be a good example for her and show her that a woman can take care of her body, eat healthy and exercise but that is should not be an obsession.

Here are some random photos from the last week:

(soon to come, photos from our excursion to downtown Lima that the Peace Corps took us on yesterday!)

My Peruvian parents and I!

At the school where we presented

One of the groups of students that I presented to

Mom, this is for you! A heart shaped fruit! My mom loves natural objects that are shaped like hearts :)

A street dog that we pass every day on our way to training. This dog is so funny looking and cute! always makes me laugh :)

A dog who like to protect us volunteers and walks us to the bus stop every day. One time he got in a fight with another dog that was bothering me and another girl.