The World Through My Eyes: The Journey

Well here it is! 3 plane rides and 24 hours later, I made it to Peru! The Journey went really smoothly, but my goodness it was a long trip. I enjoy flying. My first two flights were really nice. I didn't realize how comfortable my 8 hour flight was going to be. I was given a nice blanket and pillow and ear phones for my personal touch screen TV. I had 100 movies to choose from, games to play and I was served two meals and given snacks throughout the flight. My flight attendant was awesome, he brought me extra chocolates and I didn't even have to ask! He was pretty cute. And he spoke English, so he was automatically my friend. So that made it all bearable.

I landed in Lima at midnight and then had a 6 hour layover... that was the worst. I had to sleep in the airport, but it was so uncomfortable that I ended up just staying up all night. So by the time I got on my last flight to Piura at 6:10am this morning, I was exhausted.

Eliana, one of my country directors, picked me up at the Piura airport early this morning and we took a Taxi back to our apartment. I don't think South America has any traffic laws... Eliana was talking to me casually as if nothing was happening but I was freaking out inside as I watched our taxi driver speeding quickly back and forth between both lanes of traffic and swerving around cars that were swerving around the all other cars. There are no stop signs or traffic lights. And no right and left side of the road. The goal of driving here is to get to point A to point B as quickly as possible. Everyone is rushing as if its the end of the world, and EVERY one acts like they have the right of way. As a pedestrian, you have to run, cuz they don't stop for you. Instead they swerve around you. It is amazing and hilarious to watch their skill of not crashing into each other! haha

The name of the city I'm living in translates to "city of eternal heat". It is hot. But thankfully it's winter in South America, so the highs are only around 84 degrees. I really like it here already. I ate an amazing breakfast first thing, there is nothing like fresh bread from a Peruvian bakery, let me tell you! There is one on the block we live on. Very convenient. Eli made us eggs and an oatmeal drink too. And then I walked to Sacrament meeting with McCall and Brie. Church here is awesome and the wards are big. I loved it, even though I couldn't understand a word. The members greet you with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, rather than a hand shake. I like it better.

Peruvian little girls have stolen my heart. They are so sweet! They'll stare at us and smile big whenever we say Hola. Being white here attracts alot of attention... haha! Its funny.

I spent most of today sleeping, but I've explored a bit of the city this evening. Eliana made us Cafe Rio for dinner, it was amazing! I've yet to have Peruvian food... but I've got 5 weeks for that. We did just get back from the market and the plaza, I got the best ice cream I've ever had in my life. I'm a fan. So yummy. I'm going to spend all my sols on ice cream now. haha

Anyway, that's probably way too much detail for one day. I'm just excited to finally be here! It seems so natural to adjust to, and I'm getting by just fine with my Spanglish. The people love it when I try speaking Spanish. haha its an adventure!

Tomorrow we start on our projects. I'll be going to a school for special needs children tomorrow to volunteer, which basically means I get to go and play all day. And then the rest of the week, we'll be painting murals at the Orphanage and a school outside of the city. I was really excited to hear about that project!

I also booked my reservation to go to Macchu Piccu in 2 weeks!! I can't put into words how excited I am for that trip. We'll be in Cuzco for a few days and then we'll hike up to the Ancient city. AH!

Anyway, I'll do my best to keep this updated! Love you all!