I am another year older. At the young age of 23, I had no idea what this world was like. Having now turned 24, I can assure you that I've been zapped by the holy hand of all things religious and am a much wiser, more humble and all around awesome person.
That, and I'm pretty sure I've been celebrating my birthday for an on going 3 days now.
Saturday: I spent the day in Trujillo/Huanchaco running my usual errands (note to self: need to go back to Serpost this week, just to see if my mail gets in on time... I'm in correspondence with a school back in the states, doing a penpal thing with a class in my site, but classes end this Wednesday so I gotta get these letters before then or else...) and hanging out with a friend of mine. Later that night, there was an ugly sweater party with the volunteers that was fun, mostly because hanging out with volunteers is always nice :) The party moved onto the bars, and I got to meet a few 18ers for the first time (p.s. love them!)
Sunday: I went back to site, just in time for a lunch that was collaborated between my family and another. My host mom prepared my favorite meal of ceviche with tons and tons of wonderfully acidic lime juice, and the other family killed a goat for some cabrito, rice and beans. Just the sheer amount of food was enough to put me in a food coma, but that on top of the little sleep I got from the night before had me 3 seconds from passing out and possibly dying for a little bit. My host family warned me that I had to get my energy up because there would be much dancing and singing and rejoicing later that night, possibly at the clubs that exist (that I have yet to go to). Thankfully, the peruvian hour kicked in and everyone was dragging their feet about it all and by the time people were setting to leave, my host parents mandated that we couldn't go because the next day was a school day and the kids needed to go to bed. So I managed to sneak back into my room and pass out for a good 7 solid hours of sleep.
Monday: I got up and oh boy, was I not feeling so hot... You'd think getting some sleep would have put me into tip top shape, but something had not agreed with me the day before... possibly the mountain of raw fish and slaughtered goat... in any case, I stayed in bed for the most part and gave some people a call, letting them now of my delicate state. However, what to do? There was a party being held for me by the committee I work with in the municipality. Thankfully, it started at night and I had all day to try and get better quickly. Downing hot tea and popping pills like mints eventually did the trick and I managed to get myself out of bed and to the meeting. The party wasn't rowdy (no hora loca, thank the dear baby jesus) and I didn't get caked shoved into my face or eggs smashed into my hair- it was, for the most part, pretty boring. Not in a bad way, mind, but it was perfect for the level of ability my body was currently in. Soon, though, we sat down and each person gave a small speech about me- basically, everyone in the room sat around flattering me. It was kind of awesome. That eventually moved on to jokes, and quickly became super raunchy jokes. It was getting really late and of course, that just meant more guests as the night policemen (they drive around site, I really don't know why or how often but they happened to be out and about tonight) came in. They were dressed in black (pants, jackets, sweaters, beanies, combat boots) and each of them had a shiny black shotgun strapped to their backs. But this was a relaxed occasion, so they put their guns down, grabbed a nice slice of pink birthday cake, and settled down to tell their own raunchy jokes and to listen to the others complain about the state of policemen in site.
It was kind of weird.
But hey! It was also pretty cool. They later drove all the women to their individual locations (deeming it unsafe for us to walk alone, which was quite kind of them, actually) and now I am here, sitting in front of my computer, trying to plan for tomorrow. Sadly, I still feel mildly ill and I think the medication is starting to wear off... ah well, I'll just be sleeping so whatever.
Tomorrow is a day of travel for me. I have to get back to serpost in Trujillo to see if those letters have arrived since Wednesday is the last day I'll have a chance to get these letters to the girls. I am also hoping to make a run to another volunteer's site to help her with an english singing competition that's going down, plus to indulge in a little more bday celebrating. In between this time, I have to meet with a local lawyer here to discuss an idea of his for a youth committee sector about family and sexual violence. It's gonna be another interesting day!
Well, that was just a quick update on my life. I think I'm going to start adding links to my friends' websites as well- a bunch of them are fantastic writers and have me laughing like a madwoman everytime I read their blogs. Seriously, hysterical.
Alright, that's all for know. I'm hoping to get a few hours of sleep tonight before I go running around again! Love you all tons and tons and TONS! and for all those who sent me stuff for my bday... you should know that you're basically my favorite people in the entire world... if you didn't... well, there's always christmas >:P heheheh, kidding! just kidding!! LOVE YOU ALL!
Peace and Love, y'all
<3
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