UAU

WHAT a WEEK

Saturday= Andy and I went to the Qosco center for native arts for a dance show. The dance troupes did eight different kinds of traditional dances from 8 different regions of Perú. It was very fascinating and quite fun. We also went to Pachakutec monument (ummm.... if it wasn't already payed for i wouldn't have gone.) and STUDIED

Sunday= MATT's BIRTHDAY! And we spent the day playing tourists and traveling around the state of Cusco. First we went to a llama "zoo" where there were Llamas, Vicuñas, and Alpacas. Did you know these three animals had three lips, and are related to the camel? It's so cool! Then we went to Pisac, which have ruins ontop of a mountain, and you can see so much from the top. It was absolutely beautiful! It's one of those Corey Jay "I'm in South America." moments.


We stopped at the Pisac market, which tends to tourists and is increadably expensive, so of course everyone got something. After that We had lunch in Urubamba, and it was gooooood. There were some very interesting Macaw like birds there too.. Next on the list was Ollantaytambo. My host mom said that this city was made by Ollantay, a man who was in Love with Pachakutek (the most well known incan leader) daughter, but they could not marry because he was from a lower social class, so he moved and made this town and constructed an army to fight Cusco. Our tour guide said this was wrong, whatever. In Ollantaytabmbo is the BIGGEST templo del sol in Cusco, and it wasn't quite finished when the español took over los inca.

Only 1/4 of the temple This thing is huge.

ON the buss ride home, we were all talking about everything, when our guide started singing. He sang some Peruvian songs for us (they would be the equivalent to our "America the Beautiful" and "This land is my land") We sung for him the star spangled banner and some others, but then we decided to just play Spencer's iPod. We tried to play "American" songs, which included "Baby Got Back," "You've Lost That Lovin Feeling", and "Wouldn't It Be Nice." My good memory was discovered by everyone on this trip when i sung along to most of the songs that were played. One thing that I really learned from our Tour Guide was from one of the songs he sang. I don't knnw the name, but the meaning was that all American's are related, not just South American to South American and Nort American to North American. ALL Americans. How easy it is to loose sight of that though. South America is on the other side of teh hemisphere, they have countries that are under developed, and they speak a different language from those north of Mexico. But the fact is we are one. I am from the Us, and yes i am American, but no I am not just american, becasuse my host mom is American too. And whats even more interesting is "United State-sian" isn't a word. Hummm.

Monday= STUDY DAY. And a very good development class day.

Tuesday= first test in Spanish. On Ciencias Politicas. Good news though, both Andy and I passed! I also went to a travel agency today and booked Machu Piccu for my dad, my tio, andy and myself. Next weekend baby! Oh and this was was also the day everyone started getting sick. Let me tell you, a sunburn and a cold is one interesting combination.

Wednesday= Class ALLL day. For Art we went to the Cathedral of Cusco. And most of us disliked the venture, alot. Then we studied for Art test.

Thursday= Art test! We passed again!

Friday and Saturday= double project weekend. We went to Occoruro both days and comstruimos refrigeradores económicos. I have great stories that I will post in another blog. We just got back from day 2 and I am whiped. Plus ProWorld is throwing everyone who was born in February a b-day party tonight. Yay!

On Friday, Corey, Jennie, Laura, Erich, Kelsey, me and Andy went to see CHINO Y NACHO EN CONCERTO! They are one of my favorite reggaeton bands, and I discovered them whilst in Nicaragua. The concert had the opening band, Los Monkies, which are a RocKumbia band. I was thinking it was gonna be a joke, but they were really good, and apparently well known. Andy's downloading their album now. But Chino y Nacho, it was a tini bopper backstreet boys concert. SO many kids and SO much screaming, but i LOVED it. The best part was any time there was a hip gyration made by anyone, everyone went crazy. It was awesome. They danced too.

Chino y Nacho's most popular song, and my favorite, se llama "Mi Niña Bonita" (My beautiful girl)

This is my favorite part of the song, and it is because of the lyrics. Translated it means:

What I feel for you is tenderness and passion.
You have helped my realize that in my heart this is so much Love,
So much Love.

I was born for you, and you for me.
And now i know that dieing would be trying to live without your Love,
Without your Love.

My beautiful girl, my sweet princess,
When you kiss me, I am on cloud nine.
I could fly higher than the clouds,
With the smell of your hair by my side.

My beautiful girl, my shining star,
The phrase "I like you" is not enough.
That's why my lips say "I Love you."
Everyday we fall more and more in Love
Here there is Love
Here there is Love
Here, there is LOVE.

One of the many (MANY) things i have realized here is that Love is the SINGLE most important thing in the universe. If you have true Love, you have it all and you don't need anything else. Fight me if you will, but it's the truth. Part of me has always known this, but in the US, it can easily be labeled as "clique" or "stupid" or "gross" or "imposíble." But here, the singers sing of Love, pet names are expected, and people say it allllllll the time. Love what makes the world go round, and it is the only thing that makes human beings live.

Nuestra primer examen

So.... both Andy and I had a fabulous weekend. And The post will be about 10 paragraphs long at least, but I both of us have una ciencias politicas examen a martes, y un arte historia examen a jueves, so this week is not a good time to be posting in massive amounts. Check back on Thursday for a sick update!!

Amor y pachamama,
Libby and Andy

Tecnología

As I write this, my internet is taking its sweeeeeet old time downloading my e-mail account and facebook. I actually had to switch servers a couple times cause they were all going quite slow. Why do i do this? Cause although I am a patient person, when technology is running slow (or my brother is being an annoying little thing) I get mad and VERY frustrated. Something that most people in developed nations, me included, take for granted is technology. My internet, cell phone, iPod, and television neeeeeeeeed to be working at all times, if not, the world falls apart. But here, technology is not what technology is the the US. Technology in the US is haveing 999 cable channels with movies on demand and pay per view, having the latest computer style in the dell vs mac battle, having an iPhone or driod or blackberry with the best apps ever, an iPad or Amazon kindle, and the latest kitchen, bedroom or bathroom appliances. Technology here is having a working stove, running water, toilets, a telephone, a blender a microwave, a tv, and lights. Maybe a car. Oh and a radio/cd player. Cell phones and computers are becoming more popular.

The other day in Spanish class we read a short essay that was suposed to work on our future tences blah blah blah our spanish teacher is an idiot and it didn't help whatever bljah blah blah anyway, we did have an interesting conversation afterwords. She asked us to pick out a topic talked about in this paper and say when we think it happen, when will this be invented. Well, most of is has already been invented. The ability to pick what shows you want at anytimes, well thats cable on demand, and its very real and alive today. And Hulu helps by letting you watch many shows whenever you have time. Another was all the books you own in one device similar to a computer. Oh yeah that's the Amazon Kindle or iPad and I'm sure there are others now. The list went on and on, of devices our teacher had never heard of before that are very real in America. It just made me stop and thing. This society, this culture, has been living quite and well and prospering quite nicely. And they haven't even heard of theses things before. Why do we NEED them. What makes us crave these new gadgets? What makes Apple and Dell and Amazon and Verizon to compete with eachother for these things? Ok yes, I agree that a cell phone totally makes life easier, and if you are aweful at direction like my sister a GPS will save you alot of trouble, 999 channels are not.

Spencer and Erich don't have a dishwacher at their house. They are so close with eachother and their family, and I am so jealous. When technology is said to bring people together, in realuty is dies just as great of a job as tearing people apart. People today txt non stop to friends or boyfrieds, and that can really change the relationship. You were born one person, not 2 or 3. Alone time with your thoughts and your favorite activities is healthy. (in moderation!)

Yesterday was Occoruro's 26th anniversary celebration. We were their making refrigradores ecológical and were invited to the fiesta. For the majority of the time we played soccor, vollyball, and with the kids. We also helped the locals resurrect their tree of goodies (its customary at every carnival to cut down a tree, put presents on it, replant it, and the people take turn cutting it down. Whoever cuts it down needs to start the festival for next year. Its really cool :-) ) When we were sitting listening to all the important people of the village give their speech, and when we were dancing with the locals, there were about 7 woman in one kitchen making enough food to feed the whole village. Everyone recieved a plate of espageti, rocoto relleno, papas, y pollo (and on a side note, this was the bets chicken of my life. I'm sure becasue they were free range untill 3 hours before the festival, when there were... prepaired. Anyway, it was AMAZING) These woman made this for at least 80 people if not more. They had two stoves/ovens. I was just brought back again to technology. Technology for me is a new cell phone. Tenology for them is a stove that wont give them lung cancer, a refererator that wont casue their food to give them a paracite, and seperate "houses" or cages or stables for theie animals. How did this happen?

El día de amor y feliz

Love. It’s a word that is constantly used by everyone everyday. “I Love that show!” “Oh puppies are ok but I really Love kitties more.” And of course “I Love you!” But Love, Love is a word and a feeling that many many people take for granted. The only thinks you really REALLY NEED in this world is Love and happiness. The money doesn’t matter, the house, the car(s), the clothes, the school…. none of it matters if you have Love. The only problem is people have lost sight of that, and not just Americans. Not only have they lost the sight of that, but they have lost sight of the feeling. What does true, real Love feel like. I can’t answer that question for you, only you can. But I think that people have just lost sight of the feeling and the meaning, and that’s why the world is why it is today.

It’s hard to Love. When you Love your heart and soul are wide open, out there in the world, and when the Love is not true or it fails, damn it hurts. Many people don’t want to get hurt, which I completely understand. I don’t think there is one person who had been hurt by Love. And many people don’t have the energy to do it again, to try and Love again. But you have to. Love makes the world a livable pace, and until you find that true love that was made for your heart, the world will not be that happy place.

Here in Perú, I have had the wonderful chance to look at the world of Love in another country. The differences I have seen:

-like I said PDA= acceptable. You can show your Love, and not be judged. And all ages can do it to, from 18 to 70, I’ve seen all sorts of couples.

-Family. Kids are not so eager to get up and leave their families right after high school (escuela secondaria) and college (universidad). I’m not saying that the families here don’t get annoyed with eachother, but they depend on eachother more than Americans do. Independence and freedom had a different meaning here than it does is the US, and it can be seen in the family unit.

- Pacha Mama. I know I have talked about her before, but the impact Pacha Mama has on everyone and every aspect of life here is so grand it amazing. Even those who are catholic, they see Mary mother of Jesus as Pacha Mama, the fertility goddess who will heal the sick and answer your prayers. The Love people have here for nature, it’s big. Everyone here knows what herbs, foods, and smells will do what for your body, both good and bad. The respect nature and know that without it, we are nothing. I have learned so much here about how humans can interact with nature and not harm it, and I am bringing back every single fact to the states and using it. I Love Pacha Mama, and Pacha Mama will always Love me.

Valentines day here is very different from the states. Yes, there are booths with flowers, chocolates and balloons to give to your Loved one, but they don’t overtake commercials and grocery store. People call everyone they know and say “I Love you! I wish happiness to you!” all day. My mom’s phone was ringing off the hook. It’s a different sentiment. Its not an eat what you can day, its to remind all those people who Love you and who you Love that that Love is still there. I Love you all, and hope your day of happiness and Love was a true one.

PS. I always use a capital L when I write Love because it makes me think of the importance of the word and the sentiment, just so you know :-)

Una Mes

I can NOT believe it has been one month. As of yesterday, I have been in the beautiful land of Cusco Peru for 4 weeks. It seemes like it has gone by in a flash. But when I look at everything i have done and expierenced I can NOT believe it has ONLY been one month. I want to take this post and write something i had in my other journal, the one not online. Its the distinct differences between what I'm used to and Peru. It's not a comparison, just something i think everyone would find interesting.

1) The toilets here don't flush toilet paper. You have to throw the toilet paper into a garbage can.

2) Some showers here are electric. You flip the on switch, which makes the shower head heat up and pump out warm/hot water. I may or may not have accidentally touched the shower hear a couple times and gotten electrocuted.

3) Being white=you have a ton of money and want to spend it. Whenever I walk down the street, a dozen cab cars point at me, honk their horns, and flash their lights, expecting that i want to get a cab ride and don't want to walk. I am approached many times a day be vendadoros seeing if i want to buy something, from a cell phone to finger puppets. I am handed out pamphlets about massages and bars MANY times a day. Sometimes it can get a bit annoying.

4) STARCH! For EVERY meal i have rice (which isn't bad at all, cause my mom's rice is the best rice ever) However, often it is paired with potatoes, or bread, or cereal. It alot.

5)It's very normal for members of the family to go out till all hours of the night, or sometimes for a day, and not call. Cel phones are used here, but not the way we use them.

6)In my neighborhood, no water after 930 or 10 roughly. This is to save water. I think its a brilliant idea. And whats great is people here don't care.

7) Service in restaurants or anything=SLOW. So tips are not necessary.

8) No te perocupes, don't worry, is a VERY common phrase here. It pretty much sums up the life of a Peruvian.

9)The weather here changes on a dime. Literally. Sun and rain at the same time, followed by a downpour for 3 min, followed by a rainbow. Followed by hail.

10) You are expected to kiss everyone on the cheek when you say Hola como estás? and chao! Everytime.

11) Food portions here are HUGE. But this culture is not a snacking one at all. Three big meals a day, followed by té. Soon I'll post another entry all about food :-)

12) PDA very excepted. Couples sitting on eachothers laps, kissing, walking down the street with their arms around eachother don't know how they do that) is the norm.

13) The Incan culture is in everybody's life, esp. Pacha Mama.

To leave off this blog I want to tell the story of the first mean person Andy and I encountered here in Perú. We have been here for 4 weeks, and only encountered 1 mean man. He was an American.

I am doing a favor for my host sister that involves walking around the city and having people take a survey about coffee. She works for a bank that is giving a loan to a coffee company and they need a survey on what kind of coffee people like, and why they like certain places. Because I don't know how to explain that in Spanish very well, I have been telling people its a project for my business class. Most people have been very willing to do this survey and ask where we are from what we are doing here, and other questions. I approached a man who was speaking English with another man, and started my schpeel, this time in English
"Hi! My name is Libby and I am study here this semester and I-"
"Slow down ok?" he said
"Um, ok. I am in a business class and we are doing a project about a coffee shop. Is it possibility you could fill out this survey?"
"What we need are markets and money for the people here, not coffee," he said.
"Um, come again?" I asked
"What the people need here," he YELLED at me, "are business that will benefit them and make them money. They need a market, no a coffee survay. Ok?"
At this point, there were so many things running through my head. We had been talking about markets for the past week in desarrollo. We had been discussing Peru and her potential and what the people really need. AND this survey was for a Peruvian who was opening a coffee shop. And why was he yelling at me? I am helping my sister. And even if i was a business major and this really was for a project, how does he know its not for the people to make them a profit? This could eb a business class about non-profit organizations....
"Ok." I said. (ooooooh were there other things i wanted to, but i knew they wouldn't get through to him.
"Quiere chocolate?" he said with a very mean smile.
"No, gracias" and I walked away, and he and his friend laughed at me.

I hope that man learns someday what the people of Perú really do need. And its not him, for sure.

Historia

The hardest class I am taking here by FAR is Ciencias Politicas, Political Science. It is not only in Spanish, but unlike my history classes in High School where most classes were a review of old classes along with a little bit of new information, this is a lot of new information that I have never heard of before. And as nice and VERY intelligent as the teacher is, she is quite boring. Up untill Tuesday, I really didn't understand a good majority of the class. I got words, dates, names, and phrases here and there, but the the general concept. On Tuesday however, we (meaning she, for 2 hours) talked about the independencía de Nicaragua. The US sent their military power to Nicaragua to watch them and act as a form of government from 1912-1933, and the people did not like it. Cesar Agusto Sandino lead the first guerrilla war from 1927-1933, eventually running the Marines out of Nicaragua, but the marines set up the Gardia Nacional first, which was their had picked Nicaraguans they thought would be the best at keeping things in line. From this group rose Anastasio Somoza García, one of the worst military dictators of all time. Our teacher said (in english, so we would really get it) "There is a quote from a reporter saying to President Nixon 'Somoza is a son of a bitch.' And Nixon said 'Yes. But he's our son of a bitch.' "

What got to me even more was our talk about Chile already had a stable, democratic governemnt. They just happened to elect for their president Salvador Allende, a man from the socialist party, which ment the US had to intervine. The US through the CIA spent $3,000,000 campaigning agaist him, (and this was in 1970) so when he won they tried to get a group together, to seem that it was unconstitutional for him to be president, when finally in 1973, Allende was overthrow by Agusto Pinochet. The US backed a group to overthrow another countries president. That just the facts. What if someone had done that to the US when were were trying to establish their democracy and a brand new government back in the late 1790s-early 1800s? What gave them the right to do that to another country? I just don't understand.

As long as there was a non communist leader in these countries, the US was happy. They didn't care that people were disappearing, or the government was corrupt, or any of the things the US government VERY MUCH cares about for their people. Where was this information when we were learning history in school? How have i lived in this country for 21 years, and not have known about it? Was i ignorant to the knowledge, or was it never taught to me? I remember learning that Pinochet was not a nice man, and lots of people died in Chile because of him. But i didn't know our country was responsible for that.

One thing my mother asked me about one of my first days here was about the Native Americans of North America. She said that from what she has heard they were very simiar to the Incans, ans she would Love to learn more about them. Now, I really enjoyed learning about the Native American's in hs, but the only things we learned about were: Thanksgiving, sickness to them from europe, Squanto, taking land without asking, Sacajawea, reservations, and the trail of tears. Where is the other information? Where is their life, their history, their story? And once again, why have i only learned the sugar coated version of it?

I talk practically every day with my dear friend Laura about these issues, and of course those of development. We both have a huge desire to learn more and do more. To fix what has happened in this world. How can we fix this?

Moray

Hey all. I promised an update sobre The Moray and Salteras. It was beautiful. My mama here said that Moray is the closest you can get to Pacha Mama, or mother earth. Once we hiked down, we could see left over ojas de coca from a cerimoney that must have been held not long ago. I also felt oddly tranquil. I was FULL of energy, but REALLY relaxed. I don't have a good picture of the salt mines for you all, they are on Andy's camera. But i wanted to share the picture with you.

Sorpresa

My host mom planned me a surprise birthday party. All of my friends were at my house waiting for me when Andy and I arrived. I honestly can not think of a better birthday. I have known these people for 3 1/2 weeks. And they are my family.

Lago Titicaca y Puno: Glorioso

Ok i know i said the next post would be what we did two weekends ago, but what we did this weekend was so awesome I have to tell everything! 13 of us ProPeruanos went to Puno, a fairly large city in the south of Perú, very close to the Bolivian and Chile Boarder. Puno is located on Lake Titicaca, the worlds highest navigable lake.

Our adventure began at 9pm on friday night, when we made our way to the bus station to catch a 7 hour bus to Puno. We got a good deal on the bus, but too good. The bus was, as described by my dear friend Corey, a "janky piece a shit." All true. It smelt reaaaaaal bad, sounded like it was gonna fall apart, and some lady came in trying to sell us bread at 1230am, when we were trying our hardests to sleep. It was worse that that time we spent 16 hours in the Lima airport. When we got there we went to eat b-fast in the only restaurant the bus terminal had. The had one pan to make all of our omelets and pancakes. I ordered a hamburger. Then we were suposed to meet with a woman named Estephany to be our tour guide and receive tickets for the bus ride back. That never happened. Some man with a list of 13 people from Cusco found us as we were waiting for Estephany and told us to follow him to our bus. Sketchy? Yep. We finally got a confermation from Estephany saying it was ok. So we piled onto the bus and went to the boat. Our boat was very small and very... leaky. One thing about Perú is that the wet season is a legit wet season, and it was no difference for Puno. So we set out into the mist of this foggy gross lake, really apprehensive and a REALLY tired. Our tour guide who was not Estaphany was talking about the formation of the lake, the islands, and the people. It was very informative, but a little dry.

After about 40 min i decided to go on top of the boat and see if there was anything worth seeing. Wow, was there. We were heading into the floating islands. These are islands made of blocks of dirt tied together with layers unpin layers on reeds on top. When the reads decay, the add more to the top. The reeds can also act as a food that helps to brush teeth (a mix of a corn husk and celery in taste) The houses on these islands were all made from reeds, and some of the boats were as well. It was so amazing. It was really unbelievable. No other place in the world has these human made reed islands. No other. As amazing as these islands were, I was a little sad about teh communitys living on them. Their entire life revolves around the tourists who come to the islands. The dress up and make their crafts and make their children sing songs, all day everyday. Their LIFE is tourism. I don't even know if they would choose to live on these islands if it wasn't for the tourism.

The islas flotando.

Moving on, after the floating islands we made our want to the island we were to stay the night on. It was about a 2 hour boat ride. We all snoozed for a little bit, some the whole time. When i could nap no longe i went to the top of the boat again, and was amazed. The sky had cleared, the clouds were gone, the sun was out, it was warmer, and we were in the world's highest navigable lake. Shoot. It was gorgeous. You could see the curve of the earth. You could see across the lake were the was bad weather. You could see the mountains, even the snow capped ones. Increíble.

I wish you could all see how glorious this lake really was.

Once on the island, we were still in awe from the lake. We were in more awe from where we woudl be staying the night. We were staying with homestay families. Every 3-6people to a house family. They fed us lunch, dinner, and breakfast the next day. It was very fun getting to know them. At one point Spencer, Kelsey and I were helping our host sister Soña peel the potatoes for our papas fritas (and these were literally the BEST papas fritas i have ever had.) Throughout the day we chilled with our family, stuck our feet in the lake (AMAZING) and, explored. We went to the town center and learned about the traditional dress. We went for a hike up the mountain and saw basically 180˚ of the lake. The sight was amazing and NON of my pictures do it justice. You just gotta go ;-) After dinner our families dressed us in traditional clothes, which was ridiculously amazing. We were still delirious from our no sleep, so whenever we look at one another, we burst our laughing. They thought Andy and I were a Senor and a Senora couple, so i got a married lady's had, a black shall, and a carrier "When asked what the carrier was for, our host mom replied "para sus bebé." Nice. We all made our way in the pitch dark (not alot of electricity on the island at all) to another house were we "danced" with the locals. This was ridiculous for 3 reasons. 1) You can't dance in that stuff. You just can't. 2) The band could not keep a beat for the life of them and 3) It was raining. I still had a blast, but it was... loco.

My friend Kelsey and I, with Spencer in the background. They thought Kelsey and Spencer were married too...

The next day we woke up early, had fried corn dough for b-fast (best of my life) and headed off to another island for more hiking, eating, and exploring. It was once again amazing. i really can't begin to describe to you all the islands of lake Titicaca. For our three hour bus ride back to Puno, It was sunny and HOT. A group of us sat on the roof, soaking in the sun and talking about the day, the lake, and everything. The friends I have here already mean everything to us, and its been three 1/2 weeks. Cómo marvolosa.

We were all excited to go to Puno and expierence one of the biggest Peruvian festivals every, but Pacha Mama decided it would be awesome to start hailing on us. We sat in the boat, ran to a bus, sat in the bus, ran to the café, and ate really great food as the sky opened at the festival came back to life. People and parades EVERYWHERE. Street vendors. Costumes. Music. Peruvian flute bands. Best tamales of my life. It was a festival to say the least.
Each parade was a different town from either bolivia, peru, or chile. They were grande y gran.


and there was a differnt one every 20 minutes or so

This weekend was amazing (minus the bus rides). Thats all i can say to sum it up. Thanks for reading :-)

Un poco tarde

Sorry followers! I have not been in a computer using mood this week, due to the fact that computers here don't really like Macs here. But here are some things we did that we will write more about when we have the chance:

-Moray y Salinera
-ANDY'S BIRTHDAY! (and our profesora de español)
-El museo de arqetectura de inca
-proyecto numero 2
-PUNO!!!

Next post will be Moray y Salinera. Now, its Andy's birthday and the upcoming trip to Puno.

So... Andy's 21st was a good one. It was on a Wednesday, so we had 8am classes. Meh. But every Wednesday we go to lunch as a group and experience different parts of Cusco. This time we went to Juanitos, a Sandwich shop literally connected to my house. We all had AMAZING sandwiches with the best french fries ever, followed by a chocolate cake. We were pretty stuffed by the end of that. We made our way back for a double dose of español, since we are in the basic level class. Our teacher who started out promising is now terrible. She has us fill in the blanks instead of talking, and she moves at a snails pace. We all want to learn more, and we are still reviewing. The most annoying part is that when we mess up while speaking, she thinks we don't know the subject. Speaking is probably the most challenging part of learning a language, and mistakes should be made. Our mistakes will cost us a 20 minute lecture. Anyway, after the first class she gave us homework, and we were all a little confused as to why she was giving us homework now and not after our 2nd class. "Pero tenemos una otra clase," i said. "Sí. Manaña." "No," I began, but she cut me off with the explanation of the homework. She didn't think i knew what i was talking about, which happens often. Well, she got up and left and didn't come back. She forget, and when we tried to remind her, she didn't listen.

It turned out to be ok because we all went to Paddy's Pub and ordered Andy his first Guines. AND HE LIKES IT! After the majority of us went to Andy's house where we chatted and ate dinner and cake (made by his Peruvian mother) And sang happy birthday and feliz cumpleaños. Then we went to another neighborhood called San Blas becasue the were having a fesividad to honor San Blas. We saw the most dangerous fireworks of our life. Picture: Bamboo scaffolding like structures holding up things that would spin superfast and launch off into the air, spewing sparks all the way. It was crazy! But fun. A very good day.

This weekend, all the CBC kids and Tony and Lauren are going to PUNO for the fesividad de candelaria. It is to honor the Virgin of Candelaria. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary appeared to her when she lived in Spain, and this ENTIRE month is a celebration for her. We have a 9 hour overnight bus ride there, a two day tour, and an overnight busride back on SUnday night, bringing us home by 5am Monday morning. Vamos!