I can't believe I come home from Peru in a month!
I have done a lot in the past few weeks, including visiting Machupicchu!
Two weekends ago we went rafting and zip lining. I was terrified to be honest, but it was SO much fun! The rafting was only level three and four rapids, so it wasn't that intense, but the scenery was beautiful and we made some good friends on the trip! After rafting we had a delicious lunch in the base camp before doing some zip lining. That was majorly scary for me considering my fear of heights, but it was so fun and I'm so glad I did it!
Tuesday night we went to our friends house and learned to make some typical Peruvian foods! We made ceviche, causa, and with hyanciana sauce. It was really nice to cook Peruvian foods!
That week, we did a lot of team building work with the girls in the project. Tuesday we supplied them with a list of inspirational quotes in Spanish and they each chose one to write and decorate. We talked about the quotes a little bit after and then hung them up in the kitchen so that the girls have them to look at daily.
"Don't be afraid to fail, be afraid to not try"
"Never look back, it distracts you from the present"
"The only way to do a good job, is to love what you do"
"Anything is possible if you think it is possible"
Wednesday, we printed out pictures of the girls and brought them each an envelope to decorate with their names and other decorations. Then, each girl was given a stack of cards with all the other girl's in the house's names on them. Each girl then had to write something nice about every girl in the house anonymously. Then we sorted the cards and put them in each girl's envelope for them to read.
Friday, we did manicures with the girls. A lot of the girls don't understand the importance of hygiene, especially with little babies in the house. We cleaned their nails for them and painted them for fun.
Saturday morning, we left for Machupicchu! We chose to do the Inca Jungle Trek, which is a four day, three night excursion to Machupicchu. Although unfortunately our tour guide lacked some enthusiasm, we had a great group, and the trip was incredible.
Saturday, we biked three hours downhill to Santa Theresa where we stayed for the night.
The next day, we hiked 6-7 hours through the jungle to Santa Maria, where there were some hot springs we enjoyed after a tiring day.
Sunday, some of the group members chose to do zip lining, but Lindsay, Natalie, and I decided to walk for another two hours until the next town where we met the rest of the group for lunch. The walk was really pretty! We hiked with the group for three more hours that day, to Aguas Calientes, which was where we spent the night before Machupicchu.
Machupicchu was breathtaking. Even though it was raining when we woke up that morning, we decided to climb up to the Machupicchu ruins instead of taking a bus. Although it was 5 in the morning and a steep climb, I'm so glad we hiked up, it was so worth it. The ruins were incredible.
We treated ourselves to a $3 hot shower back at the hostel when we got back, and a delicious dinner of chips and guacamole and pizza. We took a train and then a bus back to Cusco, and passed out immediately!
The week before we left for Machupicchu, Brenda, the teen mom who was pregnant, went into labor. She had a lot of complications and ended up in the ICU for four days and then in the hospital for 3 more. She was so strong and such a trooper. Lindsay and I went to visit her about every other day and it was so relieving to see her improve. She is now back at the house and she and the new baby, Drey Smit, are doing well!
Drey! When we went to visit him in the hospital.
After we got back from Machupicchu it was the week of halloween! We decided to show the girls an American halloween! Wednesday we carved pumpkins with the girls. Thursday we decorated the house with halloween decorations. Friday we made cookies and decorated them, listened to music, and painted faces! They loved it.
Last weekend were two holidays in Peru. Dia de Los Santos was Saturday. It is customary to eat "lechon" which is pork on Dia de Lost Santos and spend time with the family. The next day is Dia de Los Muertos. It is customary to visit the graves of loved ones and bring flowers. It was a very interesting weekend!
Lechon, which is the meat typical to eat on Dia de los Santos.
These are the graves that we visited. The cemetery is totally different then I expected.
Tuesday Lindsay and I presented a presentation on breast feeding to the teen moms. The girls listened really well and were very responsive to the presentation which was really rewarding.
Yesterday Lindsay and I visited the kindergarten where I volunteered when I first got here. It was really nice to see all the kids again!
Tomorrow night, I head to Lake Titicaca, Colca Canon, and Arequipa for the weekend! I'm so excited to see more of the country!
Finally, thank you to all of you who donated money for us to buy baby gates!!! The response was great :) I'll post pictures as soon as we have them set up in the house. Thank you!
