February Happenings

Hola a todos! It is officially February. I don't even remember what I did last February. :) huh. This one though is looking to be a good one. Next weekend is Carnaval which means I'm going to Cajamarca (the party central of Carnaval for Peru). It involves throwing water and paint on ANYone who passes you by for a full weekend. Words can't describe my excitement. Yay culture! That means I'm for sure going to Cajamarca with no valuables and wearing shirts I don't mind getting paint on. No puedo esperar!

Since the Quechua classes I have been able to pick out more words at the dinner table this past week which is encouraging! The stages of learning a language are so interesting. It's like putting together a puzzle... blind. Mouth and ears groping for words that are just out of reach as they're swarming around you. I wonder if there will be any Quechua professor job openings by the time I get back.

Classes are going well (I'm a fan of vacaciones utiles!), peacecordian friends keep me sane when the goin' gets tough (I miss my "site mate" Lisette!), my host family makes me feel part of their own (for instance, I've been helping making a wool blanket and I help in some way with every meal usually by making cucumber salads or pancakes, my niece can sing the entire Happy Talk song, and my host sis has been styling my hair everyday for the past week... maybe I'll actually learn how to braid!), and now I have a plethora of peruvian friends to take me on great hikes! Poco a poco, no? Oh! And I heard the great news about the newbie John Paul! Yay! :) Congrats Amy and Dean! By the time I will see him he will be a big guy!

Espero que todo este bien en los E.E.U.U. :) Hasta pronto!

Abrazos,

Em