Friday, July 23, 2010

Goodbye Wenatchee, Hello Lima!

Well, it’s really happening! From this point out I am flying solo. I had to say goodbye to mama and Skye at about 6:00 and I’ve been by myself ever since. This is my first experience traveling alone and to tell you the truth it wasn't too bad. I got to make all the decisions and didn't have to wait for anybody. Communication was flawless since the only moving parts were me, me and me. I did however get to experience the awkward shuffle dance of trying to fit my rolling suitcase, laptop carrier and backpack all into a tiny bathroom stall. The big downfall of traveling solo is that you are stuck with all of your luggage all of the time… No laps around the airport or yoga in the hallways. Still, everything went really smoothly throughout all of the trip. They fed us with cornflakes, ravioli, and turkey sandwhiches and all three were relatively tasty. My only complaint is that we had enough trash to fill an entire landfill with all the plastic dishes and wrappings in the meals. They had these really exciting little touchscreen entertainment centers on the back of each chair so I got to play chess, laugh at Devil wears Prada, and watch Pocahantus in spanish. :) Yep thats right I went for the comedy and disney...

My host family is pretty much the best I could ever ask for. They met me at the airport with huge signs that said "Bienvenida Chelan" and they have welcomed me into the family with hugs and kisses. Not only this but it is a HUGE family! Alejandra and I sat on the floor this afternoon and spent an hour drawing out a family tree so I could start to learn. I have cousins and aunts and uncles galore and it seems like about half of them came over to the house this evening for a birthday party. After all of the greetings I am finally getting the hang of kissing on the cheek. And I feel like my espanol is improving already although that might just be an illusion. My dad doesn't speak a lot of English so he is great to practice with and the rest of my family is good about using mostly spanish around me. When we were out at the store and market visiting with family I learned lots about the Peruvian culture. Luckily they love to talk and tell stoires and are very welcoming so my vocabulary is going to expand REALLY fast!

In just 24 hours since I arrived I have already experienced soooooooooooo many new things! We went to a restaurant for almuerza which was at about 2:30 and I tried squid, octopus, civiche, snails and a yummy sweat potatoe/crab dish. All of it was quite tasty and my seafood loving friends should be very proud of me! On the drive home from the airport last night there were jugglers trying to earn money at the stoplights and one little boy even had his batons on fire.

Well my eyelids are pretty much dropping off right now but I'll right more later and try to post a few pictures soon! I have a VERY busy next few days because today is the 30th birthday of my twin sisters. We had cake last night and tonight and a party tomorrow. Right now I have two little girls rolling around and dancing and giggling in spanish on the bed next to me. I have a feeling I am going to spend a lot of time with kids under the age of 5 which should be fun! Adriana, Macarena, and Alejandro are 3, 2, and 2 and they are the kids of my siblings. They speak slowly, have lots of energy, and never tire of doing the same thing over again so I'm sure I will learn fast.

Hasta luego!

7 comments:

  1. !!!!! So I'm pretty sure I think about you a lot more now than you're gone than I did when you were here! I hope you enjoy your lovely vacation in Ica and I encourage you to continue such a wonderful blog, exactly the opposite of my failure blog...hehehe! I LOVE YOU LOTS! TE Quiero mucho!!!!

    <3 Hannah

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  2. Hell of a blog Chelan. I must say, I'm rather impressed that you managed to fit all those spectacular events all in un dia! If you can manage 868 more of these detailed blogs, you could seriously consider writing the 8th Harry Potter:)
    Cy

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  3. Pocahantus in spanish!! its a good omen. It's wierd to think of you being in Peru y estoy muy celosa :) Glad to hear they are keeping you busy!
    Mucho amor!
    liv

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  4. My comments are evidently not posting so this is a test!

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  5. Ahhh....now they are!
    So good you made it safely to Peru. I am enjoying your blog and look forward to hearing of your adventures : )
    Buen camino mi amiga!
    Mr. Draggoo

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  6. Hola mi hija!

    Tu blog esta excellente... un cosa muy differente de mi espanol.

    Buenos suerte con su adventura!

    Tu Papa

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  7. CHELAN!!

    I'm incredibly proud of you for trying all that weird seafood. You're experience has already impacted me, and I'm not even there!! I regret never giving a goodbye hug, but now I'm thinking we didn't need it as much 'cause of this blog. I'll check up 24/7. MMMMM Chelan I miss you so much! I love you to Peru and back. And I'll watch over Jace for you :) Te amo!

    -Choque

    P.S. I've always wanted to know someone named Alejandro so I could sing to them like Lady Gaga. So just another reason to be jealous of you.

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