After only 3.5 hours of sleep, I awoke to my battery powered travel alarm clock - yay REI! I woke feeling like I was back in my bed in Ecuador. It felt so familiar and culturally similar. This was probably due to my lack of sleep and complete deliriousness, but it felt comfortable. It smells the same, looks the same in terms of cars, urban planning, architecture, agriculture, etc. The noises were the same as I opened my window and heard the city waking up and the birds chirping. Except, in Ecuador, I was always woken by the rooster who camped out outside my window. I think he felt it was his duty to remind me the sun was going to rise in an hour.

Showered - got dressed and felt way underdressed in my Y tshirt and jeans, didn't dry my hair, etc. I packed this way on purpose for a few reasons. I am going directly from Peru to Buffalo, so I didn't want to bring too much luggage. I already had 3 bags, one of which was full of donations for the Peru Y. I packed a separate suitcase for Dana to bring to Buffalo, so I will already have 2 checked bags on the way home. Additionally, you get really comfortable really fast on trips like this, so for me it's an excuse to let my hair down- literally - and not have to try to impress anyone with clothes, makeup, etc. it's just me. And lastly, I have a MILLION Y shirts that I don't wear, so I wanted to wear them here and then leave them here. Lima is a very Urban and trendy city, so it's not like everyone around me was dressed down. I feel completely out of place clothing wise, but I expected that.

Breakfast is served continental in the dining room at the hotel. They serve meats and cheeses, fresh squeezed juice, (all juices are fresh squeezed here due to the abundance of fruit - one of my favorite parts) fruit, coffee and tea. They have water jugs in the hotel for us to fill up our water bottles, as we can't/shouldn't drink tap water for reasons mentioned prior.

We held a session with the group in the morning to set the stage for the experience. We discussed what they wanted to get out of it, expectations, culture shock, etc. We have a great and mixed group in a lot of ways, which adds to the rich experience and discussion. We were supposed to hear about the Mestizo population from our participants, but we ran short on time and had to catch our bus to the first location. Packed my mom-bag with a small pharmacy and all of our mannuals, grabbed cases of bottled water, and we were off!