In Huancayo!

So, right now I am sitting downstairs in the house I am staying at here in the city of Huancayo. This house houses the husband and wife and their little girl who run the volunteer project called Carisma Peru. It also houses a few other girls who are part of the project as well. I arrived here to Huancayo by bus Saturday night and the family picked me up at the bus station. I wasnt sure whether I was going to get picked up or have to try to take a taxi to a hostal at night, but they were there and they brought me back to their house in a taxi. Their house was full of young American people when I got back and more kept showing up. Everyone was so friendly and greeted me and I was kind of taken aback. I had not been expecting that and I was kind of groggy from the bus ride. All the young people were drinking vodka and beer and talking about going out dancing. At first I wasnt into the idea, but then I was like, I probably wont go out dancing any other time, so Ill go. I chatted with one girl in particular for a while, who is from New Zealand. We hit it off and seemed to have some things in common which was nice. After drinking the tiniest amount of vodka and beer, everyone finally headed out in groups of taxis. The taxi was piled full of drunk girls and on the way to wherever we were going, some of the girls got pissed because they thought that the driver wasnt going to take us to where we were. It was a funny experience, it felt like being in high school or a sorority for a little while. Then we got to this super packed club where we waited outside for a while trying to stick together. Finally we got in and it was packed and there were people smoking inside and club music. We danced for a while and it was fun. It was fun to dance with a bunch of other people. But then it got late and I really wanted to go home. I told some girls, whenever they want to leave, let me know. But we stayed for probably like 3 hours until finally some of the girls were so drunk and 2 of them had stepped on broken glass from beer bottles that they were ready to go home. Thankfully, I had a good attitude the whole time which almost suprised me because I was so tired. We got home and I made myself a sandwich with avocado, onion, tomato and cheese and some tea and I read my book The five people you meet in Heaven and went to sleep and that was good. Haha, it was a night I never would have expected. I later learned all these girls are Pre-med students who found this volunteer program through their college in Arizona. Anyway, now I am glad because I am sharing a room with my friend who I met who is from New Zealand. On Sunday, I walked around Huancayo. I started off walking with the group of kids who was going on, but I went off on my own. I didnt like walking with such a large group and with a large group of young, loud Americans. Some of them were really nice, but I still didnt enjoy it. Once I branched off, I tried to find the market and met some people and greeted lots of people with Buenas Dias until I realized it was no longer morning. When I was with the group, I also felt like everyone was looking at us like we were obnoxious Americans haha. Thats ok, but sometimes then it puts up a wall for connecting with native people. Anyway, that day, I walked all over the downtown through their craft market and I tried to find the food market and that was fun, getting lots of directions and I bought a little pot of flowers and some mandarin oranges. I met a really cool guy from Peru who I had walked past a couple times and then he introduced himself to me. We chatted for a while. Its so cool when I realize that I can communicate with people with my spanish and that you can communicate with someone even you are not fluent in that language. A lot of it is me connecting words or ideas with other ones that I do know the words or names for. We talked about travel and school and music and he showed me where the supermarket was and which milk is the best to make hot chocolate with. When we were in the supermarket, Hey Jude came on and it almost made me cry. Also, because the whole time I was talking to this person, I was trying not to cry because I had seen a starving dog trying to get food out of the garbage can and I had gone to the butcher right there and bought a sausage and then tried to find the dog. When I did find him, I took off running holding the sausage, the pot of flowers and my oranges. I didnt even know if the person I had been talking with would find me again, but I so wanted to find that poor dog. I gave him the sausage and he ate it and then I wished that I had bought more meat. The dog started off walking again and I thought that it would take a while and I might not even find him if I went all the way back to the butcher. I dont know what I was thinking. But it was really hard for me that day and night because I couldnt stop thinking about that dog. Something about dogs. I feel more emotional than with people even sometimes. But most of the dogs I have seen here look absolutely fine. And that dog is ok wherever he is. Anyway, yesterday was my first day of volunteering at the school. It was kind of crazy. Thankfully, I got to go with a girl who has been here for a month. She leaves tonight for Cusco. We walked a ways down to a street to catch a collectivo, which is like a taxi that picks up as many people as it can going a certain way. We finally saw one going to the place where the school is and we ran across the street to get in. We got to the school and went into the 6th grade classroom. Her and I led the lesson by ourselves, which she says she did starting on her second day. She said usually the teacher sits in the back of the classroom, but today the teacher left because her mother was very sick. So, we started by writing verbs we knew in spanish and english on the board and going through with the kids to help them pronounce them. Then we went on to play a game with matching words in spanish to the words in english. Then we had a recess, which I very much enjoyed haha. I petted some of the dogs that hang out around the school and in some of the classrooms. It was stressful working with the kids haha. They are loud and talk all the time and get up and punch each other haha. But it was a great learning experience and Im sure it will continue to be. It was also really fun, helping the kids. Then we caught a collectivo back and walked home and all the volunteers were over at this house. There are a couple different houses that they stay at. We ate the most delicious lunch, prepared by the family. During the week, they prepare all your meals. And you pay $100 per week for 5 days of all meals and 7 days of lodging. Its a pretty good deal. Yesterday, my friend from New Zealand, Kylie, and I made hot chocolate out of real chocoalte and milk and sugar and it was sooooo good. We also started planning our trip to the jungle!!!!!!!! We are going to do that this weekend. I really really want to go to the jungle. An intuitive, psychic lady told me not to go to the jungle alone, before I came on this trip, but god how I want to go. And I wont be alone. So, I have had a plethora of experiences on this trip so far! Oh yes, and my trip to Lake Titikaka. I went there kind of on a whim. I asked someone in the hostal I was at in Arequipa if they had gone and they told me how to do it. So, I caught a taxi to the bus station in Arequipa and bought a bus ticket and went on to have a rough experience on the bus. I drank a bunch of water because I was so hot and then I couldnt pee on the bus for the life of me. I tried everything to help myself pee, but I couldnt do it. Finally, after 2 hours of sitting in the stairwell, reading my book, I peed and it was like the glory of god. Haha, on my bus back from Lake Titikaka, there was no toilet on the bus so the driver let everyone off so we could pee on the side of the road. It was great for me because I have some sort of complex with peeing in some of the bathrooms on buses of trains. I dont know why, but it was great haha. The bus from Lima to Huancayo was the fanciest bus ever. I had no idea. There were movies and they brought us food and we even played bingo and I won a free bus ticket! Anyway, now Im going to eat some bread for breakfast and then go back to work at the school. I love bread.
Love
Josie