First Impressions Together

1. It's hot.
Really hot.
Everyone says it will get cooler in March... but I don't think that they realize it already is March.

2. Fans are the greatest invention ever.

3. Cars have a million reasons to honk. And by cars, we mean taxis. There are more taxis here than there are people. It has to be somewhere around the same ratio as the number of sheep to number of people in New Zealand. You have regular taxis, you have collectivos where they'll squeeze anywhere from 5 to 10 people into a normal car; you have combis - a van; and you have micros which is a bus that supposedly runs on a schedule, but how you figure out what that is, I have no idea. Once they get to a check point, the driver's assistant sprints out of the bus while it's still moving and races to a little store where he gets a paper stamped which proves the bus made it there on time and then stops for a coca-cola, chats with his buddy and mozies back to the bus for us all to take off again. Each form of transportation has its own norms and etiquette.

4. Trujillo has good food, cheap shoes, and effective wizards - so said our taxi driver in Lima. We've loved the food (although Brian is suffering from it at the moment), the shoes really are cheap, but we've yet to try out a wizard's spell. Maybe I should see one about a cure for Brian's stomach...

5. Trujillo gets poorer from the inside out. The center of the city is beautifully structured: gorgeous and enormous churches, buildings of marigold and blue, and a statue in the center of the plaza that hails artistic value and hard work. As you work you way to the outskirts of the city, however luxuries and utilities begin to disappear. Houses go from concrete walls to adobe walls. Adobe to reed huts. As you work your way out, first goes water, then electricity, then means for an effective roof.

These are the areas where Brian and I will be working. We've seen so much already! Brian went with a group to find a new building to hold some classes that will start on Monday. They spent an entire day moving bricks out of the middle of the building and now I think they'll be ready to start classes. I've gotten to see a project in micro financing that is a pilot program in one of the areas and I was also able to tag along in signing up children to start school on Monday. We've been able to get a really good idea of what we will be doing for the next 3 months and can't wait to start teaching next week.

Okay, back to the list:

6. Surfing is awesome! We took our first surfing lesson yesterday. We had so much fun. We are living only 20 minutes and 30 cents away from the beach. We surfed until the sun set and my arms could no longer summon the strength to paddle. It was a beautiful day.

7. Guinnea pig is actually quite tasty.

Thanks so much to all of you who are posting comments. While it's more difficult to write back to you guys using this blogging program, it truly is great to hear from you. We think of all of you all the time and love hearing your thoughts. Thanks again!