Hey everyone!

Lets talk about water. Living in the desert, and being a PCV desert rat that I am, you'd be surprised at how well we can conserve water, but yet let it go to waste in this region. I can wash my hands in 100 mL efficiently using a tippy tap-peace corps invention. But, for some reason, peruvians feel the need to water the dirt infront of their house. Not with used water, but fresh, clean, groundwater. They wash their clothes in the river, the same river that dumps sewage further up the mountain, and the exact same river that they get their drinking water from. They prefer to drink soda to water, and they seem to be in a constant state of dehydration, but somehow survive in this way. I really dont understand it. I drink less than a liter every 2 hours, and I'm falling over from heat exhaustion!

Its estimated that in 10 years, the ground water aquafers will dry up in the region of Ica, leading to a mass exodus of asparagus companies, leaving the people without work nor water. The sad thing about that, is that no one in my community knows about it! They just think that groundwater is forever a replenishing assett. And though it replenishes, not at the rate we are using it. One of my community's well ran dry (an 100 meter well, mind you), so they drilled a new one. They drilled a deeper one. And what did they find? Salinic water. Undrinkable. So they drilled deeper, and now use fresh water from farther down. No one has any idea what a big deal that is.

Some friends and I went to the mountains of peru for a weekend to escape the sand for a while. Picture included of Jess, blowing an air ringlet at the hotsprings. I didnt know air could do that!

Cant wait to get back to the states, where plenty of rain and water. At least in minnesota.

Happy travels,

Teigan