hey all! Hope things are well in the states. I just got back from a beautiful vacation in chachapoyas, which is in the department of amazonas. As you can see from the picture, I was SUPER happy to get out of the sand dunes, and into the mountains and rain. (and have kept that splash of Teigan personality) It rained every day, and I'm not upset about that. Its probably more rain than what I have seen for my entire service.We went to a beautiful waterfall, the ...

Hey everyone! We should talk about phones in peru. Ha yes, phones. As a Peace Corps Volunteer on the coast, this is my number one means of communication. PCVs have unlimited minutes for calling each other and people working in the Peace Corps office, and buy credit to call people in our community. I can spend anywhere from 5 to 20 soles a week on credit! Depending on who I am calling and what I am trying to organize. If its a parade on not burning trash, theres...

Hey everyone! Hope you are all well in the states. Lets talk about attitudes: I have noticed that in the past few months, my attitude towards peruvians has been so negative! For someone who is positive most of the time, its hard to admitt to yourself that you have a bad attitude. The funny thing is, it sneaks up on you so slowly, then one day you realize that you are a drag to be around. I usually dont vocalize my distaste for peruvians. But I definitely h...

Hey all! Hope everything is going well in the states! I just got back to my site, after nearly 3 weeks away! I first ran a half marathon (in under 2 hours!) in Lima, then spent 2 weeks in Pittsbugh and Minnesota. I forgot how clean and organized everything is. The states is by far the most efficient and organized place I have ever been. Cars are quiet, no honking, and cleaner than my usual mode of transportation. I dont look at the seats, questioning whether...

Hey all, Lets talk about the desert.I saw the English Patient the other day(did NOT like the movie), and came to the realization that, in many movies such as the English Patient, the desert is depicted as this exotic, romantic place.Stargate, The Mummy, Raising Arizona, Aladdin, Lawrence of Arabia, Raiders of the Lost Arc, etc.They all make the desert seem to be this romantic place, where people gleam with sweat and take their shirts off while talking in the l...