I am domestic.

I´m sure you all have been at the edge of your seats waiting to hear about the weekend long festival that ended last night. Well folks, it was great. I defitely wasn´t awake for the majority of it (36 hours in total), but I was there when they set up huge towers of bamboo that they later lit on fire in the middle of the park next to my house at two thirty in the morning on saturday night. The women were dressed up in these beautiful traditional outfits and danced with the men for foreverrrrr. The dances varied but they all told different stories about the history of Peru or of its culture. One told about the enslaving of the Incas by the Spaniards which was really interesting to watch from the Peruvian point of view. I loved it. I will try to post some videos at some point.

Yesterday was also the first day I did my laundry...by hand. No washer, no dryer. Just me, my brachioradiali, and a bar of soap (and some running water). It´s still on the line drying but I´m pretty confident about my newfound skills.

Also yesterday I had my first run in with a ¨ladron¨ in Peru. I was out watching the fiesta last night when my little brother Jeremy wanted to go see his mom (and I wanted my cena- pulled chicken and french fry sandwich) so I picked him up and carried him down a hill. I got dinner, walked home where I realized that my brand new video camera was not in my pockets. I ran back up to the park where no one saw it. I was depressed. I had forgotten to zip my fleece pockets and it had either fallen out or been pulled out. About twenty minutes later I went to call my parents to tell them the news when my mom came running in with the camera in hand!!!!!!! Que suerte! Apparently it had fallen out while I was carrying my brother where some man picked it up and took it. After I had gone home deflated my mom and her friends continued to ask around for it, when a girl approached her and said she had seen a man pick it up. My mom followed the girl to the suspected man and asked for the camera where of course the man said he hadn´t seen one slash didn´t have it. Lucky for me though, my mom is friends with a pretty well known guy in our town who then proceeded to interrogate the man and threaten him with calling the police. Of course at this point (after many times of saying he didn´t have it), the man took out my beautiful, new flip camera and handed it over. I. am. so. lucky. I was elated. Not just because I had found my camera, but because my family and their friends really rallied around me for support when I needed their help. It wasn´t just my mom that was asking around for my camera- it was my sisters, my grandma, my mom´s friends and my sister´s friends that were all helping out. I really felt like a part of the community after that. Tomorrow I am going to buy some treats for my family I think and bring them home after school.

Yesterday was a pretty busy day for me. In addition to doing laundry and fighting crime, my tres de octubre friends and I went and climbed one of the many rock mountains that surround Chaclacayo. The one we climbed was right behind our nieghborhood and is realllllllly high ( i have no concept of height but it was higher than I have ever been in my life other than in a plane). We climbed and climbed (there was no path p.s.) with three little ninos as our ¨guides.¨ It was hilarious. They had more energy than me. Since Chaclacayo is a realllllllly dusty area and the mountains are made of rocks and sand, the asthma kind of kicked in (as well as my fear of heights) right before the top. I then decided to sunbathe in the Peruvian sun. I laid down on some rocks in my sports bra and pants and bronzed for a good twenty minutes. I almost felt like I was at the beach. But then I realized I was 3600 miles from Ocean City, MD. The way down was easier but we all had a great time doing it and took some baller pics might I add. I really need to figure out how to upload them onto a public computer.

Today I finally got some much needed shots against rabies, hep A, and typhoid fever. My arm is def. sore but now at least I feel a little protected against the wild microbes of Peru. Amazonia here I come. People are starting to get sick and I´m kind of just waiting for the day when the bathroom calls my name (it is bound to happen we are told). But little by little (or poco a poco as they say here), I am adjusting and learning to love the food, dance and culture here. I might even try cui one day (guinea pig- it´s a delicacy here). I miss home like crazy sometimes though, but I have a great network of friends that I really have bonded with and we walk home together every day. They´re pretty cool and everyopne´s really different but we get along well (so far).

kk that´s all for now!!! love you all.