A Weekend Away

This past weekend my host sister and I went to Huancayo for a little get away/delivery trip. Now, let me get a few things straight. I said that Millie’s mom set up a school in this town, however, it’s an after school program for kids whose families can’t afford sufficient food. So it’s a place for kids to go after school to eat, work on homework, and do other activities with other children. It seems like a great program and it seems like there is a great need for something like this. Millie's mom passed away about 3 years ago and now her aunt and uncle are doing most of the work for the program. I wish I could have had the opportunity to meet Millie's mom she sounds like a wonderful, loving, and warm-hearted person.

So, We went up to help clean up the building before school started (this week) and to drop of care packages of school supplies. We were able to leave the school supplies there, but by the time we got to the location they had already cleaned everything up. So…we didn’t really get to do anything hands on. We used most of our time to go to markets, eat TONS of delicious food and watch LOTS of movies (mostly because it was raining). But if you ever need a good pick me up just watch the last two musical numbers of the movie Grease. Guaranteed smile! :) We spent a lot of time just hanging out with Millie’s awesome aunt, uncle and cousins. They were a lot of fun.

It was stunningly beautiful where we were. This town is set in a valley of the mountains and everywhere you looked a mountain was there. It reminded me a LOT of my SST Experience in Jinotega. The mountains, the cold, the wet, the rain, the mostly unpaved roads and the size of the city. It really hit me that what I am experiencing in Lima is SOOO different than anything I experienced on SST for a variety of reasons. Millie and I talked a little bit about the differences between Lima and Huancayo (She grew up in Huancayo) and I think she said it best when she said that Lima is very cosmopolitan now. It’s so true! She said her life, studies and friends are all in Lima but that she would love to move back to Huancayo to work. They have such a rich culture that they are still holding onto. It was really beautiful to see. Lots of traditional outfits, however, there was a mix of modern and traditional and we saw LOTS of mothers with kids on their back like this...

photo from art.com

...Man, we gotta learn how to wrap up the babies like that in the states. Looks so fun! and if the baby gets tired you just cover up their little head with the blanket and let them sleep away :) I was thankful that Millie took me with her to visit her hometown and to meet more of her family (who are WONDERFUL!!)

It was really nice to get out of the city for a bit and to breathe the fresh, but thin air. The altitude difference didn’t really hit me until I got back last night and had a pounding headache (plus, I didn’t shower all day and rode on a bus for 8 hours...that all together would cause a headache) Millie said I had a cuerpo fuerte (strong body ) because I didn’t get sick from the altitude, water or food. Yay for me!

Now I am back in the midst of the hustle and bustle. As I write this I am sitting a McDonald’s near central Miraflores (about 2 blocks from my work) drinking a latte because every morning my dad drives me to the metro on his way to work, but our schedules are about an hour different and my office doesn’t open until 9:30am. So I usually find a cute little café or even splurge on Starbucks and then get online and write a blog or catch up on facebook, the news, etc… It actually has become one of my favorite parts of my day because I get to relax, drink coffee, and just be ! It’s quiet nice especially after the traffic congested, horn-honking commute we take every morning!

So back to the weekend, I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story. Pictures really don’t do the beauty of this place very much justice, but you’ll at least have an idea of where I was!

On our way! We took the bus line Cruz Del Sur. These busses were NICE! They were double decker buses, had huge seats that almost fully reclined, huge windows, food, drinks, movies, and wifi! Wow. Living the life. On the way there we drove through the night which went SUPER fast. On the way back we drove during the day. We sat on the second level in the front of the bus. We had a terrific view as we were winding through the mountains. Amazing. However, it seemed like it took ages (8 hours) to get back because we didn't sleep. Finally, we made it back to WARM Lima :)

Here's one view of the mountains surrounding the city

We visited a cool park where everything was made of stone, including the sidewalks. It was beautiful.

Another view of the mountains. Looks like rain!!

The after school building where the kids eat.

The family we stayed with. So much fun! :)

The ladies waiting for the pizza

The whole family out for some wood-fired pizza. YUMMY!

Listening and dancing to the music from the functioning juke box

Our view of the streets of Huancayo from the top of the bus! Front seat!!

Winding through the mountains all the way home

Beautiful mountains. Beautiful weekend.

By the way, Today is dia de la mujer here in Peru. It’s the day of the woman. Woo hoo! So feliz dia de la mujer to all my lady friends and family! You are all very special to me!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Until next time, Chau...

LO

VE

P.S. Sunday Lovin’ took a vacation, too. You’ll have to wait until next Sunday to see what I have been lovin’ on recently :)