tomorrow, at 6:15 am, i am leaving my house for the airport to go to cusco. can't lie, i'm pretty pumped. machu picchu? who would not be excited?

what else is new in my life?

well, yesterday, carlos and bachy went back to the united states. i'm pretty sad, and excited that now is the time i'm leaving for chimbote, because i don't know if i could return to life in peru without carlos and bachy. they became such a part of my life. and bachy is insisting the minute i return to the united states i take a drive down to cincinnati and stay at their house. she's even going to show me how to cook my favorite peruvian dish, lomo saltado (which basically consists of steak, tomatoes, onions, rice, and spices and sauces of sorts, of course - que rico!). in any case, they left peru last night and it was basically "THE HUGEST DEAL EVER!" no, really. i haven't seen a family become so obsessed with people leaving as what yesterday turned out to be, but i suppose that is the difference between having your family leave your native country, rarely returning, versus having some family in a different part of the world, easily accesable and living stabily. also, plain and simple, it's the difference between the peruvian culture, and the "culture" of the united states. so, at about 7:30 pm, while i was in the middle of studying for my SST final exam (worth 25% of our grade), 20 some family members all pile into our small apartment and start talking rapidly, giving any advice they could think of as to how much bachy's suitcases could weigh, if she could really sneak in food, where she should put specfic items, how she should carry it all in the airport... on and on. i don't think there was a person there who didn't have some sort of "helpful" advice to offer. and then there was all this commotion, and i became overwhelmed, and even had to retreat to the roof for 10 min. out of sheer over-stimulation. but alas, it was about 9:30 and they were heading off to the airport. i kissed bachy goodbye, about 4 times, and hugged and took multiple photos with carlos. and then 10 people, 5 in a taxi, 5 in an uncle's car, all zoom off the airport! what a family commotion for something so common in my own person life. but i won't lie, i loved it (even though i thanked god it wasn't how my real family opperates).

saturday night we had a "fiesta de disfrases," aka costume party, at reuben's house. honestly, it was just like something like the disney party at goshen, only in peru, with costumes rented at some shop in jesus maria, peruvian music, and peruvian people. oh, and walking down the streets of lima where everyone looks at you - especially when dressed as a bubble bee. and an english speaking bubble bee at that! (ps. i went as a bubble bee).

but yeah, basically we all went and rented costumes, and then showed up at reubens house, drank and dance a bit, ate a bit, laughed at each other a lot... yup. overall, a grand time. i must say the best part was when cj (a monk) and i went on a search for a certain drink and had a little trouble finding it. we ended up walking an extremely main road in lima, where the sidewalks were crowded with native peruvians getting a pretty good chuckle and the white people dressed up in ridiculous costumes. to make it a little better, we decided to act like we were arguing. we made it into a walmart like super store, and just went at it, "fighting" in english. it was great. ive never had so many people look at me with such astonished faces as i did that night. you may want to look at cj's blog. he was going to write about this and his perspective may be a bit more funny.

but all you need to know is that it was a great night, and i was one badass abeja.

and i realize i never wrote about the crazy holiday called carnival (and if i did and just completely blanked out on it, please correct me), but in any case, all of the month of february, peru celebrates carnival. orginally it was invented to celebrate the fact that peruvians made it through another year. now it's just a fun tradition where boys can fill up water balloons, pelt all the girls with them, and not get in trouble for it. the first sunday of carnival (the craziest carnival day of them all), i was hit with water baloons on 3 different occassions. the first was on a kombi ride to church. i was just sitting quietly in the backseat, bumpin along the rode, looking out the open window with a breeze running my hair when BAM! all of a sudden i, and the rest of the cambi, was covered in water! we had been carnivaled. thank goodness for the hot weather - i dried in about 10 min. the second time i was hit was when i was walking to my friend gisela's house. that time i wondered if they scored more points hitting a gringa, because they definitely aimed for me, not her. the third time was on a bus ride home. i actually wasn't hit with the balloon, but everyone around me was.

i wish i had more time, because i could then explain this whole carnival thing in a bit more details, but this may just have to be something we need to talk about when i come home.

right now i'm flying around the house. i have to wash some clothes before i go to cusco tomorrow, so they can then dry while i'm gone. friday we all get back from cusco, and then need to turn around and leave for chimbote on saturday. therefore, i need to pack my bags for cusco, but also get everything ready to leave on saturday. crazycrazy business. it snuck up on me so quickly, i don't even know what to think.

i will admit i am nervous for chimbote. for one thing, there are huge protests and riots going on in peru right now. alan garcia, the president, isn't making the smartest of decisions (seems like presidents all over the world can be dumbasses), and all sorts of workers are going on strike. one of the biggest things is that cusco people are striking because the peruvian government might let foreign interprises come into the cusco surrounding area and machi picchu, and build all sorts of glorious resorts and such. we actually aren't completly sure if we'll get through to cusco, but everyone is praying for the best. anyway, protestors have been blocking the highway to chimbote. therefore, people haven't been able to get through, or have had to walk a few miles past the road block, or have had to sit in a bus for hours upon hours because of these protestors. protestors who throw rocks at the bus windows even. so yeah, i won't lie, i'm a bit nervous about that.

also, everyone in our group seems so excited to get out of the city, but i personally love it here. i don't notice the pollution, and i've even begun to not notice the noise so much. the crazy highways seem normal now. i also sleep all the way through the nights, and i'm pretty capable at getting around anywhere here in lima. i truly do love it here in this city, and as much as i know service will be an incredible experience, i just don't want to leave what has become so familiar and comfortable for me.

but alas, i must leave, and i know it will be an exciting and advenurous experience.
i hope to inform you on all the excitement, but i will be going to an extremely poor area of lima, in fact one the poorest with the biggest drug problems, so i'm not promising a bunch of contact from me. especially not compared to how accessable i was here in lima.

plan to hear from me in a week or so?
peace and love.