BBQ peruvian style

Hello faithful readers! After much anticipation, I am finally blogging again. I feel like I put off writing a blog when I have almost too much to write. It's kind of like I don't know where to start. Some current updates: my firend and site-mate got kicked out for taking a little vacay under the radar in another department. While I would like to share my personal feelings on this matter- I think it is wise to let it lie a.k.a. not get myself into trouble with Peace Corps. So that's been a downer.

Other news... this weekend I took a weekend trip to Piura (the department just south of Tumbes) for a little R&R (a.k.a. good food, cable, and internet) and I will be headed back tomorrow.

We got another volunteer added to Tumbes! Anne, who was initially in alta Piura, switched sites and came to replace Caleb in Tumbes, who left two months ago to go back home. So our depleted ranks are slowly building themselves back up! Right now we have eight volunteers total with Anne included which, when you compare it to other departments that have 40+ volunteers- we are definitely outnumbered. But I kind of like it that way. We're all pretty close (both in location and friend-wise) so we are able to kind of work together and get bigger projects off the ground (cue our work on HIV/AIDS).

My diarrhea has pretty much come to an end (cue applause) thanks to an antibiotic I took that ended the 2 and a half month-long love affair I was keeping with the toilet.

My mom surprised me one morning with making me french toast!!! This is extraordinary because I made french toast for my family a few weeks ago and I thought they hated it. When I asked my brother how it "went down" he replied "mas o menos." I took that like a knife to the heart. However, apparently my mom really liked it! So she copied my recipe and made it for me one day. How exciting! Cultural interchange! However, they don't sell syrup here so we eat it plain (I'm not complaining).

Okay so last Monday my counterpart Sofia invited me over to her dad's house to celebrate his birthday. She told me that if I came, I would have to eat meat though. Now, despite the fact that I have given up my old PETA ways, I have not eaten red meat since getting to Peru. No hamburgers, hotdogs or yummy goat. But I knew this bday party was going to have a nice cake and I didn't want to offend Sofia's cooking. So I went. Best. Decision. Ever. I didn't realize ahead of time that "parillas" (sp?) translates into BARBEQUE. F yes. I have not had grilled chicken since August. There were so many delicious flavors in whatever sauce they used to marinate the food I almost cried. There was chicken, steak kabobs, hotdog kabobs, some meat with a hollowed bone in it, and intestines. Oringially, I thought the intestines were noodles, but upon asking Sofia's mom if that's indeed what they were, she laughed. So, I thought to myself, what is the grossest thing these "noodles" could be? And by golly, I was right. Intestines. Did I eat them? Yes. Did I want to vomit and die? Yes. Was I able to keep a straight face and stay calm? Most definitely. So I broke the red meat-free diet and was burping steak and intestine bubbles all night long. The picture up top is one I took of my plate with just the chicken and some sauce. Tasty right? Don't worry folks, that whole carnivore party was a one-time thing. I still think I will be passing up sheep when my family offers it.

So after eating three plates of food and a few glasses of beer, I was full to the brim. Sofia's parents had actually spent the past year living in Alexandria, VA while her father was working with the Peruvian military. So that was an awesome conversation starter. Mainly I was so interested in the fact that they lived a year in the states without knowing a word of english. They said it was incredible. So we reminisced about DC and how they got lost on the Springfield interchange and ended up lost in Richmond, VA and weren't able to ask anyone for directions back ( I feel like the chances of finding a spanish speaker in Richmond, VA is like looking for a Swedish princess in the Amazon). Below is a pic of her dad with the mystery number birthday cake.

So all in all, I was glad I was able to be a part of that intimate family gathering and I had a great time (and ended up staying for eight hours).

Also this week, I had my weekly yoga class. I posted a bunch of pics up on facebook because I almost started crying when everyone arrived. I have been holding this yoga class every Friday at 5pm and slowly but surely, more and more people have started to come. Finally, this Friday, I taught to a packed house. SUCCESS AT LAST!!!!! So now, I'm going to teach twice a week and hopefully start teaching in one of my caserios nearby so people don't have to walk so far or take a moto to come to my class in San Juan. It may not sound like a lot, but for me it's been an uphill battle getting people to actually be proactive and motivated about something. But I think it's finally starting to work! So hopefully that keeps going strong.

I miss you all a ton, but life here is great. We're all trying to figure out our Semana Santa plans and it looks like I might be headed to the jungle! We shall see...

p.s. if you haven't noticed, i finally just learned how to put pictures up on my blog. yay for me.