Hey guys! I finally feel like I'm getting back on track a little. Finally posted my pictures, caught up on my sleep, and hopefully getting my blog back up to date now.

Last week was tiring. I'm still sick on and off and I've been pretty dead tired since Machu Pichu last Monday. We're still messing around with the Municipality about the food and drinks for the track kids and hopefully it's going somewhere; we'll find out this week. I helped write up a new document and did some calling/running around. I'm getting to know the kids in both Kanchay Wasi and track a bit better and they make me laugh a lot. It's non-stop joking around with the kids from track and they are quite entertaining. Hector didn't show up for practice again on Thursday and this time I really wasn't feeling it. Practice didn't go as well as the last time he left me alone, but it definitely worked out alright.

On Wednesday night Tiffany and I hosted trivia night at the Muse which was a lot of fun. We included in there some fun categories including Disney, quotes, and Boy Bands and it seemed like everyone enjoyed it. I felt like we really got to know some people from the other two volunteer groups by doing it which was really cool. We also got free dinner which was a huge bonus. I ordered a super-hamburger. I'm getting pretty sick of the loads of potatoes and rice here and I definitely enjoy having a meal that I'm not forced to overeat.

Thursday night I stayed in and had a couple really good conversations with Marta (the mom). It was really cool. And I found out we're not getting another volunteer in the house so I have my family all to myself for my last month. Yes! Marta and Jose went out a bit later and I felt pretty good about that because I don't think they get to do it very often. It made me smile.

Friday night a bunch of us went out to eat for a kind of good-bye dinner for 2 of the other volunteers. They just so happen to be the two I went to Machu Pichu with, so that kinda stinks, but it's okay. I was brave and got this combination platter with a bunch of different things on it. I tried cow heart (and actually liked it)! Unfortunately, I chickened out on the cuy (guinea pig). I just couldn't do it with its four little paws cleanched together, waiting for me. I had some stuffed pepper thing which was pretty fun too. It made me cry when I had a biteful of the seeds. Not like tear-up either, like tears streaming down my face crying. The rest of the table got a kick out of it.

That night four of us headed to Cusco for the night where we started the night off at a Hookah bar. I still haven't tried it. It was fun though and I got to know the other girls pretty well. We danced quite a bit until around 4 when we stopped at some little sandwhich place. It was fun but definitely more mellow than the last time in Cusco.

I woke up around 9 the next morning in time to meet my family at some little plaza about a 10 minute walk away from my hostal. There Marta and Vale picked me up and we did a little bit of running around before we met Jose and his mom's house. It was a mini-family reunion with Jose's sister and Marta's brother and girlfriend. I helped make the food, played with their puppy, and just hung out for awhile. It was really cool. A bit uncomfortable, but for the most part it was awesome.

Sunday I went to church with Marta and Vale. It's pretty hard to understand the pastor, but I caught on that we were studying Job and so I picked up quite a bit from context. It was cool. And somewhat what I needed. =]

We also went to the Peruvian circus on Sunday night. Haha. They had a tiger, a monkey, and a duck. But the tiger never came out. We sat like 10 feet away from the ring so I was pretty excited. The clowns were kinda funny, kinda weird, really spanish, lol. I could understand quite a bit but I think I probably missed some of the jokes. They were joking about smoking marijuana at one point and I think that one caught me off guard a bit. There were also some acrobats and a dancer. One of the acrobats actually saw me on the street today and stopped me to talk for a minute. It entertained me probably more than it should of. This guy is probably like 5'2" or so, super-built, and pretty good at swinging himself around and floating through the air. I don't know, just the idea of meeting and talking to a Peruvian circus man made me laugh at least half way to the ProPeru house.

On a similar note, walking home from spanish class yesterday, Aja and I spotted this monkey running from roof to roof. A monkey! And no, it wasn't the same monkey as the circus one. It was this little spider-monkey looking thing. We like stopped some little girl and told her to look and she was pretty darn non-chalant about it. But then we turned the corner, and a couple other Peruvians seemed a bit interested. That made us feel better. We asked some guy whose reaction was probably in between the two and he's like, aw, yeah, that's totally normal. That's Franco. From what I understand, monkeys in Uru aren't normal, but Franco is. He's like a pet or something. Anyway, another entertaining moment/thought.

Ummm, the rest of the week has been pretty chill. We're supposed to have food on Thursday for the track kids. We'll see how true that is. We're also supposed to have a high jump which would be pretty exciting.

I've been pretty homesick this week: just missing the states in general and really being there with and for people I care about. It's been alright though, I'm sticking it through! Yesterday I met "mi primo" here, which just so happens to be the one in a previous blog post. The chef who's travelled around a bunch. He's back in Uru/Cusco for now and seemed like a lot of fun. His friend from the states also just moved in below me. It was a bit of a surprise when I returned home after class and there was a white guy messing with the door. They both seem pretty cool though. Today I also felt a lot better. I really felt like I was getting somewhere in my spanish class today and later I ran into Nicia (our young empleada) and that circus guy. I practiced a bit with both of them. =] And I really like my family. A lot. I'm really feeling pretty comfortable with Marta and Jose now.

But, it's time to eat. Sorry, no crazy insights this week, just trying to catch up. Next time. =]

Chow!