Peru - You Won't Starve

Here is all of us at the open air dining at the hotel. 

There is about 60 students over 2 programs and separated at 2 sites.  The students are undergrad, grad, and post grad students from many universities.  Yale, Harvard, Berkeley, Brown, Colombia, Auburn, Holy Cross, Texas State, University of Texas, University of Kansas (WooHoo), Ohio State, Iowa, etc.  Also from Sweden, Belgium, Canada, Spain, etc.  The dining room is also where we have internet access so  it is always occupied when we are at the hotel.  A typical plate of food served at the hotel.

Rice at every meal.  Sometimes it is in the shape of a pyramid, on our bus from Lima we received a meal with rice in the shape of a donut.  Evidently northern Peru is known for the rice.  We have bread, giant slice avocado and papaya juice for breakfast.  Sometimes bananas.  For lunch if we are at the San Jose site we eat with the families of the workers.  The wives contract with the field school to feed us.   Everyone except the tall young men (like my Conner) feel that it is way too much that we are served.  Typical is a bowl of soup, some type of rice and chicken and they drink chichi a purple drink made from purple corn.  Very good..  They have wonderful sauces and potatoes.  For the 4^th of July we had a big cake with an American flag and they BBQ’d hamburgers with French fries.  Delicious!  You can buy a banana for 10 cents so you won’t starve.  No Diet Coke in sight but you can get Coke Zero!  There are two little snack bars here at the hotel compound also for sweets and water.   Several have gotten sick.  So far so good for me though even though I’m having carb overload with all the potatoes and rice.  I WANT A SALAD ok and a COOKIE!

FOR GEORGE:

Miss you.  Thanks for helping me have this opportunity.

FOR CONNER AND CAM:

Hey e-mail me you guys! Your mom’s outta the country remember. HAHA!

FOR GARY AND LISA AT BAYLOR:

Things I can’t live without in Peru:  my hat from Gary and bandanas from Lisa.  The wind in the afternoon sends pure sand everywhere.  We look like a bunch of cops and robbers with our bandanas around our faces.  Already given one away.  My 50 sunscreen is gonna run out!

FOR JAN AT BAYLOR:

I’m the mama first one up in the morning, every morning!  There is another “non-traditional” participant, Rhonda, who is my age.  She is a traveler extraordinaire and much fun to be around.

FOR LYNNETTE AT BAYLOR:

Children’s gifts a hit.  I messed up and didn’t take even candy one day.  Oops.  Dulce (candy) is popular word here. 

FOR SUZANNE AT BAYLOR:

I can’t find the skirt.  Do you think when my suitcase was lost they stole the skirt? HAHA

FOR KATHY NORDT AND DEAN AT BAYLOR:

Dean, the hot water works sometimes and I have learned about stratiagraphy (spelling?).  Kathy LOVE the snacks.  You are so good.

FOR ROBYN AT BAYLOR:

You should come run here no humidity!

FOR MY MOM:

You know how you do my laundry every time you come to see me.  Well I found a woman here who did a whole week’s worth of my horrible dirty laundry and it was only $7!!!  She even ironed my t-shirts.

FOR MY DAD:

They grow sugarcane and corn and cotton around here.  On a trip up one of the mountains you could see a large white area.  When I inquired what it was I was told it is chicken feathers on the ground.  As you can see below a huge area.  Another group had taken that route up the mountain.  It smelled like chickens but they never saw a live chicken while they tramped through the feathers.

FOR LISA AND ELIZABETH:

Hope you don’t want a big surprise from Peru.  Elizabeth how 'bout a guinea pig.  There are lots.  We ate at a ladies house and she had 60 of them, but not for pets.  I’ll let you know when I have it to eat.

TO MY CHURCH BUDDIES:

Love you all and thanks for the warm send-off.  Still staying with me.  Can’t wait to share the experience.

TO LORI NEWTON:

Definitely keep Peru on bucket list.