Hey everyone,

I went on a mini trip with the WATSAN group this weekend to the department of Ica. We were in a small town of Bernalez, near the regional capital of Pisco. It was a pretty poor place, with clay houses and tin or thatch roofs. It was the middle of the desert, so you can only imagine how hot and sunny it was. All the vonunteers got sunburnt! We stayed in a community building with a basketball
court, which they use to play soccer mostly. It was nice, because the Peruvians would play soccer until 10, then we played ultimate frisbee and soccer as late as we wanted with the stadium lights on.

Some of the community came to watch us play ultimate. They had never seen a frisbee before. They were surprised to see how far we could throw that thing with accuracy. Every night, I went to bed around midnight, just because it was so much fun hanging out with the other WATSANers. It sucks that we are being separated so much. I wont get to see some of them for the rest of my service once we are in site!

After building two dry bathrooms, two flushing toilet systems, and one latrine, we went to an oasis in the middle of the desert. This was, by far, the best part of the trip. The lagoon was one of the most beautiful things I have seen in Peru yet. It was surrounded by only sand and sun, then all of a sudden there is a calm, clear blue lake out of no where. We went swimming for a good hour in the
lake, which was great after not taking a shower for a few days under the hot desert sun, filled with dirt, sweat and grime. I felt so dirty! (though I dont take a shower very often here in Peru) It was great washing all of that off in the swim. It was also one of the first times since arriving here that I saw and heard wildlife. I have only seen dogs, cats, roosters, llamas, and horses here. I had forgotten the sound of wildlife from when I was hiking the AT.

After our wonderfull time at the lagoon, we headed back to Lima. I went out for Holloween with some other volunteers, had a fwe beers, and headed back at 3 am. So by Sunday morning, I was so tired, I could bearly stand without falling asleep! Unfortunately, Nov. 1st is the Day of the Dead, so I woke up early to celebrate the day of the dead with my host family.

Day of the Dead is so crazy here! The whole family gets together, drinks a little before going to the cemetary, goes to the cemetary, drinks more, and drink the whole day. They cry, talk, drink, drink some more, cry, and leave a glass of beer at the grave for the dead person. Who knows what happens to that beer. Probably some homeless alcoholic goes to all the graves and drinks it. There were so many people at the cemetary, I could bearly walk through it. All the people were looking at me funny too because I was the only white person in the whole place. We also eat lots of uau uau, which is a sweet bread with sprinkles on it that they eat only on this day. Last year, my host family woke up at 3 pm to make it at my grandma's house. There is no way I would get up that early to make bread.

Hope all is well in the states!
FYI, I am going to be gone for 2 weeks, so I wont be writing for a while. Training is winding down, which is kind of scary. I like hanging out with my new found friends. But as soon as we get to our sites, we are going to split up....

Happy Travels,
Teigan