My christmas was not good, I had to convince myself that it was not really Christmas just so I did not spend the whole day crying. Convincing myself of this fact was easier then I expected seeing as I spent the whole day in a bus.
I was excited because I was taking that bus to Lima, where I would be taking a taxi to the airport, where I took a plane to the city of Tarapoto,which is in the jungle. It is wonderful, I am dying of heat and am very badyly sunburned even after putting on 5 layers of sunscreen. But that day was worth it because I got to ride a motorcycle for the first time. At first I was terrified, I barley new the person that was driving and I was wearing flip flops (yes dad, I know). But soon the fear melted way and I realized that for the first time since being here I was not expected to say someyhing, I did not have to think about my problems with my sisters, I could just look out over the mountains and forget where I was and who I am and for that hour I could just be. I was so happy and i felt free,but my knuckles where white from gipping the handle bar. I will never forget that, ever.
So yeah as I metioned i am having some problems with my sisters here. The older one Alicia only talks to me when 1 the most common, she is telling me to do something or not to do something 2 when she is forced to talk to me by another person 3 the only time she is nice to me, when she wants to use something of mine. this morning I came out of the room and said good morning to her, she looked at me and said nothing but gave me one horrible looks. And this is how it is, if I ask her a question she ignores me and pretends that i do not exist. So I am not sure what I am doing wrong or how to fix it, but i am trying.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Visa adventure!!!
So I was sitting at home on a normal wednesday night, I don´t even remember what I was doing, when all of a sudden the phone rang, I thought nothing of it....little did I know.
So my dad answers and is talking for a while, I thought he had hung up, but then he tell me that the president of AFS here in Huancayo is on the phone for me. I just figured that it was another meeting or another trip, BOY WAS I WRONG!
So she starts talking about the city of Lima and then my visa and I did not really understand at first, but then she starts talking about a city called Tumbes. Now at first I thought that she was saying that I was changing cities for my two week exchange in January (all of the exchange students are going to change cities for 2 weeks to get to know another part of the country). But then she said that I was leaving on Monday! Then I finally understod the issue. There is a problem with my visa, and in order to fix it I had to go to Tumbes, I soon found out that Tumbes is partly in Peru, but aslo has parts in Ecuador. yes Ladies and Gentalmen, I was getting kicked out of a country! How many people can say that!!!!
So the next two days leading up to my trip I was feeling horrible. I did not want to travel the 8 hours to lima and then 20 hours to Tumbes in a bus! Well when I got to Lima they were all very worried about my health, so I actually did not end up going to Ecuador, I stayed in Lima for 4 days to get tests done. I actually enjoyed my visit because I got to see the beach for the first time in months, I got to wear flip-flops and short sleeves and not get yelled at, and I found out that for my two week exchange I am going to be living in one of the richest districts in Peru!!!!
So then when they found out that there is actually nothing wrong with me but a gigantic overload of stress, I was allowed to go home!
The bus ride back was actually not miserable, I did not get car sick or anything!
Well eventually I do have to leave the country, sooner rather then later, so that will be another adventure!
Mrs. Tammy- I have found the Peruvian version of you while I was in Lima! She was in AFS too, she loves God and Jesus, AND she is the first peruvian I have met that is Baptist! I am going to give her your e-mail if that is ok!!
Love you guys!!!
So my dad answers and is talking for a while, I thought he had hung up, but then he tell me that the president of AFS here in Huancayo is on the phone for me. I just figured that it was another meeting or another trip, BOY WAS I WRONG!
So she starts talking about the city of Lima and then my visa and I did not really understand at first, but then she starts talking about a city called Tumbes. Now at first I thought that she was saying that I was changing cities for my two week exchange in January (all of the exchange students are going to change cities for 2 weeks to get to know another part of the country). But then she said that I was leaving on Monday! Then I finally understod the issue. There is a problem with my visa, and in order to fix it I had to go to Tumbes, I soon found out that Tumbes is partly in Peru, but aslo has parts in Ecuador. yes Ladies and Gentalmen, I was getting kicked out of a country! How many people can say that!!!!
So the next two days leading up to my trip I was feeling horrible. I did not want to travel the 8 hours to lima and then 20 hours to Tumbes in a bus! Well when I got to Lima they were all very worried about my health, so I actually did not end up going to Ecuador, I stayed in Lima for 4 days to get tests done. I actually enjoyed my visit because I got to see the beach for the first time in months, I got to wear flip-flops and short sleeves and not get yelled at, and I found out that for my two week exchange I am going to be living in one of the richest districts in Peru!!!!
So then when they found out that there is actually nothing wrong with me but a gigantic overload of stress, I was allowed to go home!
The bus ride back was actually not miserable, I did not get car sick or anything!
Well eventually I do have to leave the country, sooner rather then later, so that will be another adventure!
Mrs. Tammy- I have found the Peruvian version of you while I was in Lima! She was in AFS too, she loves God and Jesus, AND she is the first peruvian I have met that is Baptist! I am going to give her your e-mail if that is ok!!
Love you guys!!!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Thanksgiving away from home
So I was not quite sure how I was going to feel spending my first major holiday away from home. And the day before I was actually kind of excited because I was going to get to say the prayers in the morning in front of the whole school so that I could explain what thanksgiving is. I woke up and got ready just like any other day. And I was so excited when I got to school to talk in front of the entire school. I was so proud of myself, I did not mess up once and everyone understood my spanish!
But then I got downa dn looked at the time, big mistake, all I could do was think about what my family in the United States is doing, then I started crying. I continued crying through most of the morning because all I could think about was how much I wanted to be with my family. But then during the brake my class had prepared a little party kind of thing for me. They all went in a circle and said what they were thankful for, and then they all came up and gave me a hug. It was so sweet of them and it made me very thankful to be there. For the rest of the school day I was allowed to leave school to go to my friend´s house, which was very nice of them ( the school even offered to pay my taxi).
then I met up with my family and we went out for lunch and ate my favorite thing, chicken a la brasa (don´t know how to say it in english). It was very nice of them to do that for me. But when I got home one of the other exchange students told me that she had two american friends that were here in Huancayo and that were making dinner!!! I had to wait a little bit so I called my family and I got to talk to everyone, which was really nice.
Then i went to the house to eat dinner, wich only reminded me how great mine is, because it was kinda horrible, but I had fun.
I definatly did not like spending that time away from my family, it was by far my hardest day here. I think that christmas is going to be about 5000x as hard, but who knows.
A few more things that I would like to add
*My kittens have now opened their little eyes
*My host school won the dance competition
*I pass out when I get very stressed and am 10,000 feet up in the moutains
Thats all for now :)
XOXOXOXOXOXO
Lindsey
But then I got downa dn looked at the time, big mistake, all I could do was think about what my family in the United States is doing, then I started crying. I continued crying through most of the morning because all I could think about was how much I wanted to be with my family. But then during the brake my class had prepared a little party kind of thing for me. They all went in a circle and said what they were thankful for, and then they all came up and gave me a hug. It was so sweet of them and it made me very thankful to be there. For the rest of the school day I was allowed to leave school to go to my friend´s house, which was very nice of them ( the school even offered to pay my taxi).
then I met up with my family and we went out for lunch and ate my favorite thing, chicken a la brasa (don´t know how to say it in english). It was very nice of them to do that for me. But when I got home one of the other exchange students told me that she had two american friends that were here in Huancayo and that were making dinner!!! I had to wait a little bit so I called my family and I got to talk to everyone, which was really nice.
Then i went to the house to eat dinner, wich only reminded me how great mine is, because it was kinda horrible, but I had fun.
I definatly did not like spending that time away from my family, it was by far my hardest day here. I think that christmas is going to be about 5000x as hard, but who knows.
A few more things that I would like to add
*My kittens have now opened their little eyes
*My host school won the dance competition
*I pass out when I get very stressed and am 10,000 feet up in the moutains
Thats all for now :)
XOXOXOXOXOXO
Lindsey
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
coffe and kittens :)
I am SOOOOO happy right now! Why? Because my cat had her kittens at 2 in the morning and I get to keep one!!!!!! I named my little kitten Boo for a few reasons, one, I like the name and think that it is cute, two, because she is black with splotches of orange, just like Halloween. The two babies are so cute, I am so happy that I get to be here to experience that, I just wish that it was not at 2 in the morning.
Anyways, as you all know, I am in a new host family and that I love them! Well, my dailey life has changed quite a bit now. I wake up every morning and go up to the roof to wash my face. Then I get ready for school, I always drink coffe in the morning. Then I am off to school in the taxi with my two sisters and my two cousins. School is the same as alwasy. but after I take a taxi home where we just chil and watch TV and do homework.
My house is very different too. I do not have to go outside to get upstairs or to go to the bathroom 
anymore, it is much more like the houses in the USA.
anymore, it is much more like the houses in the USA.My new family also took me to the most beautiful`park in all of Huancayo, La parque de Identidad. It is all a bunch of stones that cover everything, with little houses and winding paths, it is very beautiful and very peaceful, i wish that I could have stayed there forever. I have wanted to go to that park since my first day here.
Chua (bye)
-Lindsey
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
New host family
As some of you may or may not know, I was having some problems with my old host family, so after about aa month of people telling me that I should change families, I finally did. The day that my best friend Alicia knew for sure that I was changing, she asked her parents if I could live with them. And the best part is, they said yes. So I decided to change on Tueday and I was in her house on Friday!
I now with my mom, dad (who is my language teacher, how great is that!), my cousin who is four, my aunt, and my two sisters, Alicia who is 15 and Leo who is 13. I share a room with Alicia and Leo, which I love cause we can just talk all night. In the past few days, my spanish has gotten so much better and I am about 10000000x happier.
On saturday I went with Leo on a trip for AFS and we had so much fun, it was such a great way to get to know her. And on Friday my family took me shopping to buy things for the room. And on sunday they took me to buy a whole new dresser for all of my stuff, A WHOLE NEW DRESSER! I thought that was really nice!
We also wash all of our clothes m¡by hand here, wich is really really fun. So on Sunday morning, we were out in the morning for about 2 hours washing our clothes, well I was wearing a razor back shirt, and was in the sun. My one friend now calls me Miss Lobster 2009, because I have the worstsunburn of my entire life. Luckily I had on a hat so, my face is ok, utmy back is truely horrible, so much pain. Sleeping is very difficult :)
But my family is taking good care of me and doing everything that they possibly can to keep the pain down, cause it hurts A LOT, all the time. I have learned my lesson.
So yes, I am much happpier and I really think that changing families was my best decision so far.
I now with my mom, dad (who is my language teacher, how great is that!), my cousin who is four, my aunt, and my two sisters, Alicia who is 15 and Leo who is 13. I share a room with Alicia and Leo, which I love cause we can just talk all night. In the past few days, my spanish has gotten so much better and I am about 10000000x happier.
On saturday I went with Leo on a trip for AFS and we had so much fun, it was such a great way to get to know her. And on Friday my family took me shopping to buy things for the room. And on sunday they took me to buy a whole new dresser for all of my stuff, A WHOLE NEW DRESSER! I thought that was really nice!
We also wash all of our clothes m¡by hand here, wich is really really fun. So on Sunday morning, we were out in the morning for about 2 hours washing our clothes, well I was wearing a razor back shirt, and was in the sun. My one friend now calls me Miss Lobster 2009, because I have the worstsunburn of my entire life. Luckily I had on a hat so, my face is ok, utmy back is truely horrible, so much pain. Sleeping is very difficult :)
But my family is taking good care of me and doing everything that they possibly can to keep the pain down, cause it hurts A LOT, all the time. I have learned my lesson.
So yes, I am much happpier and I really think that changing families was my best decision so far.
Monday, November 2, 2009
QUE DIFFERENTE!!!
In Peru, everything is different then in the USA. And I know that I have said that everything is different, but I have not explained how. So now I am going to make a huge long list of everything that is different....
* People here greet each other with a kiss when they say hello and when they say goodbye.
* Public transportation is the main way to get around, barely anyone owns a car.
* After you go inside the fron door of a house, you are usually still outside and are not inside untill you enter a room. Every house has parts out side ( my "backyard" is in the middle of my house)
* The schools here are completely enclosed by walls.
* The only trees are in the parks
* There are stray dogs EVERYWHERE
*In resturants you do not pay at the table, you get a bill and bring it up to the front register to pay.
* Students never change classrooms, it is the teachers that change.
* The only type of paper used in notebooks is graph paper.
*Most shops here are just one little room about 15 by 15 ft sometimes less.
* Most of the houses have tiny little doors that you have to duck to get into
* Kids that are poor can go into resturants and go table to table begging for money.
*There are poor people on every street corner.
* Guys here love to whistle at girls (expecially if they are blond)
* Everyone knows how to prepare rice.
* We eat rice with almost every meal.
* We drink some type of hot water with every meal.
* We do not eat lunch in school
* Breakfast is usually bread
* Every school has a uniform, even the public ones
* The dial tone for telephones is one long beep
There are many more, so I will post another list later with more detail, but right now I have to go to my dance practice :)
XOXOXOXO
Lindsey
* People here greet each other with a kiss when they say hello and when they say goodbye.
* Public transportation is the main way to get around, barely anyone owns a car.
* After you go inside the fron door of a house, you are usually still outside and are not inside untill you enter a room. Every house has parts out side ( my "backyard" is in the middle of my house)
* The schools here are completely enclosed by walls.
* The only trees are in the parks
* There are stray dogs EVERYWHERE
*In resturants you do not pay at the table, you get a bill and bring it up to the front register to pay.
* Students never change classrooms, it is the teachers that change.
* The only type of paper used in notebooks is graph paper.
*Most shops here are just one little room about 15 by 15 ft sometimes less.
* Most of the houses have tiny little doors that you have to duck to get into
* Kids that are poor can go into resturants and go table to table begging for money.
*There are poor people on every street corner.
* Guys here love to whistle at girls (expecially if they are blond)
* Everyone knows how to prepare rice.
* We eat rice with almost every meal.
* We drink some type of hot water with every meal.
* We do not eat lunch in school
* Breakfast is usually bread
* Every school has a uniform, even the public ones
* The dial tone for telephones is one long beep
There are many more, so I will post another list later with more detail, but right now I have to go to my dance practice :)
XOXOXOXO
Lindsey
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
why yes I am a dinosour
As you all know, I am not the only exchange student in Huancayo right now, there are two kids from Thailand, a girl from Belgium, and my best friend, a girl from switzerland. Her name is Johanna and she is 20 years old. She is truely my best friend here, and she speaks english, so when I am upset I can talk to her without having to translate!
Anyways, I love to go and hang out at her house with her and her host brother, Charlie. Whenever I go to her house there are a few things that we always do. We always sit on her bed, we always listen to music, and we always always always eat junk food. It is so fun because we just lay there and talk about anything and everything. What we are feeling, school, families, friends, food, problems, or just any random stuff that we think of; like dinosours.
We were just sitting on her bed making shadow puppets on her wall, when one of them looked like a dinosour, which made me remember when I spent like two days walking around my house in the United States acting like a dinosour. So naturaly I wanted to tell them this story, one problem, neither johanna nor I knew the word for dinosour in spanish to tell Charlie. So what did we do, we used actions and sounds. I think that Charlie was laughing to much to relize what we were doing so it took him about five minutes to figure it out. Turns out that the word for dinosour in spanish is practically the same as in english.
My time at their house sitting on Johanna´s bed is probably some of my favorite time spent in Peru. Johanna is just so nice and a good listener and is always there for me whenever I need her. And Charlie is like my big brother, he is alwasy looking out for me and making sure that I am happy and that I am being safe and that any problems that I am having are being resolved (He is 21).
So there you go, two more important people in my life right now and an example to show that I am still just as crazy as when I left :)
XOXOXOXOXO
Lindsey
PS- SOOOOOOOO sorry about the pictures, I am trying so hard to get them up, but I always run into problems!
Anyways, I love to go and hang out at her house with her and her host brother, Charlie. Whenever I go to her house there are a few things that we always do. We always sit on her bed, we always listen to music, and we always always always eat junk food. It is so fun because we just lay there and talk about anything and everything. What we are feeling, school, families, friends, food, problems, or just any random stuff that we think of; like dinosours.
We were just sitting on her bed making shadow puppets on her wall, when one of them looked like a dinosour, which made me remember when I spent like two days walking around my house in the United States acting like a dinosour. So naturaly I wanted to tell them this story, one problem, neither johanna nor I knew the word for dinosour in spanish to tell Charlie. So what did we do, we used actions and sounds. I think that Charlie was laughing to much to relize what we were doing so it took him about five minutes to figure it out. Turns out that the word for dinosour in spanish is practically the same as in english.
My time at their house sitting on Johanna´s bed is probably some of my favorite time spent in Peru. Johanna is just so nice and a good listener and is always there for me whenever I need her. And Charlie is like my big brother, he is alwasy looking out for me and making sure that I am happy and that I am being safe and that any problems that I am having are being resolved (He is 21).
So there you go, two more important people in my life right now and an example to show that I am still just as crazy as when I left :)
XOXOXOXOXO
Lindsey
PS- SOOOOOOOO sorry about the pictures, I am trying so hard to get them up, but I always run into problems!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
sunday
Ok, last Sunday was a very special day for me. Why was it a very special day for me? Well on this sunday I got to spend five hours at my boyfriend, Alex´s house with his family. I had so much fun!
At 11:00 in the morning he came to my house to pick me up. Then we took a taxi for about 30 minutes to the city that he lives in, Concepcion. When we got there I was sooooooooo nervous! Well we were walking down the road and his three little brothers ran over to meet us. Chrystopher is 12, Paul is 8 and Rai is 2. They were all so sweet! So we walked with them to their grandparents house. I was even more nervous! And then we turned the corner to the backyard and I was shocked, I was not just meeting his parents, I was meeting his parents, brothers, grandparents, aunt and cousin!Well as soon as I greeted all of them my nerves disapeared because they were all so nice and welcoming.
Soon after I arrived we all got up to play a game of volleyball. It was so much fun, I felt bad though, because I played horribly! Luckily no one seemed to mind (even though my team lost both times) :).
After our exciting vollyball match we sat and talked for a while. I got to learn a little bit about all of their personalities. Paul is crazy, but I love him! He has so much energy and is so curious and he asked me the most random questions, but I was smiling the whole time. Chrystopher is more reserved, but he is so sweet! He would sit there and try to explain everything that I did not understand.
Anyways, after vollyball we all went out to lunch. The resturant that we went to had really good food, of course I got Cebiche (it is one of my favorites!!). The whole first half of the meal none of us could really eat because we were all laughing so hard watching Rai try to eat his Jello. We eventually did manage to finish our meal though, then we listened to a man play us a few songs on this little flute then we went to Alex´s house.
When we got there it was almost time to go, but we did have time to eat dessert! Now what I am going to tell you just proves that Alex´s mom is the most thoughtful person in the world. Before going to her house I had only met her once and I don´t even remember talking about it, but some how she rememberd that I love the dessert called Turrone. And she had her husband bring back one of the best Turrones in Peru from Lima to eat with me on this particular Sunday. I was so touched! and of course the Turrone was DELICIOUS!!!!!!
After that,I had to say goodbye to all of them. It was so cute because Paul almost cried! They told me that I was welcome to come back any time that I wanted and I know that I definatly will!
On the ride home our first cellectivo broke down in the first two minutes so Alex and I had to walk back to get another one. We did not really talk much, mostly because I spent the trip looking out the window at the mountains.
Overall that day gets a 9 out of 10. It does not get a 10 because it was to short!
I had a BLAST!!
Oh yeah. SO I am trying very very hard to get my pictures up, but there are some problems that I have to figure out how to work around. I Promise that I will find a way to get some posted soon!
XOXOXOXO
Lindsey
PS: Please leave comments, even if they are just to say hi, because I miss you all so much!
At 11:00 in the morning he came to my house to pick me up. Then we took a taxi for about 30 minutes to the city that he lives in, Concepcion. When we got there I was sooooooooo nervous! Well we were walking down the road and his three little brothers ran over to meet us. Chrystopher is 12, Paul is 8 and Rai is 2. They were all so sweet! So we walked with them to their grandparents house. I was even more nervous! And then we turned the corner to the backyard and I was shocked, I was not just meeting his parents, I was meeting his parents, brothers, grandparents, aunt and cousin!Well as soon as I greeted all of them my nerves disapeared because they were all so nice and welcoming.
Soon after I arrived we all got up to play a game of volleyball. It was so much fun, I felt bad though, because I played horribly! Luckily no one seemed to mind (even though my team lost both times) :).
After our exciting vollyball match we sat and talked for a while. I got to learn a little bit about all of their personalities. Paul is crazy, but I love him! He has so much energy and is so curious and he asked me the most random questions, but I was smiling the whole time. Chrystopher is more reserved, but he is so sweet! He would sit there and try to explain everything that I did not understand.
Anyways, after vollyball we all went out to lunch. The resturant that we went to had really good food, of course I got Cebiche (it is one of my favorites!!). The whole first half of the meal none of us could really eat because we were all laughing so hard watching Rai try to eat his Jello. We eventually did manage to finish our meal though, then we listened to a man play us a few songs on this little flute then we went to Alex´s house.
When we got there it was almost time to go, but we did have time to eat dessert! Now what I am going to tell you just proves that Alex´s mom is the most thoughtful person in the world. Before going to her house I had only met her once and I don´t even remember talking about it, but some how she rememberd that I love the dessert called Turrone. And she had her husband bring back one of the best Turrones in Peru from Lima to eat with me on this particular Sunday. I was so touched! and of course the Turrone was DELICIOUS!!!!!!
After that,I had to say goodbye to all of them. It was so cute because Paul almost cried! They told me that I was welcome to come back any time that I wanted and I know that I definatly will!
On the ride home our first cellectivo broke down in the first two minutes so Alex and I had to walk back to get another one. We did not really talk much, mostly because I spent the trip looking out the window at the mountains.
Overall that day gets a 9 out of 10. It does not get a 10 because it was to short!
I had a BLAST!!
Oh yeah. SO I am trying very very hard to get my pictures up, but there are some problems that I have to figure out how to work around. I Promise that I will find a way to get some posted soon!
XOXOXOXO
Lindsey
PS: Please leave comments, even if they are just to say hi, because I miss you all so much!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
People
So, I have been here for just over a month, and I have met a lot of people. I am going to tell you about some of these amazing people.
Mama- She is one of the most caring person I have ever met. She makes breakfast with fresh juice for us, as well as lunch. She always makes sure that I have everything I need.
Papi- He works most of the day, but when he is sitting around the table with us he is so funny. He has this very distinct type of humor, but it is so funny.
Prilu- She is my sister here and I would be so lost without her. She explains and translates whenever I do not understand anything. We have so much fun together, making dances, singing, and joking about everything. She is the biggest Jonas Brothers fan that I have ever met.
Nestor- He is my brother here. I do not see him very often, but when I do he is one of the nicest people.
Alicia- She is my best friend in Huancayo. She sits next to me in class and explains everything and lets me copy her notes. She does everything to help me and make me feel welcome here.
Rosmery- She sits behind me in class and can always make me laugh. She is the funniest person that I have ever met. She has a joke for everything, and can make you feel better no matter what.
Alex (Panda)- He is one of my best friends, he is also my boyfriend. He is so nice, he walks me home everyday and pays for me to ride the bus. He always makes sure that I am happy and have everything I need. If I have to wait for my mom to go home he will wait with me (even in the rain).
Well that is all for now, I will post another with more people at another time, but right now I am in an internet shop and quickly running out of time.
Love you all
XOXOXO
Lindsey
Mama- She is one of the most caring person I have ever met. She makes breakfast with fresh juice for us, as well as lunch. She always makes sure that I have everything I need.
Papi- He works most of the day, but when he is sitting around the table with us he is so funny. He has this very distinct type of humor, but it is so funny.
Prilu- She is my sister here and I would be so lost without her. She explains and translates whenever I do not understand anything. We have so much fun together, making dances, singing, and joking about everything. She is the biggest Jonas Brothers fan that I have ever met.
Nestor- He is my brother here. I do not see him very often, but when I do he is one of the nicest people.
Alicia- She is my best friend in Huancayo. She sits next to me in class and explains everything and lets me copy her notes. She does everything to help me and make me feel welcome here.
Rosmery- She sits behind me in class and can always make me laugh. She is the funniest person that I have ever met. She has a joke for everything, and can make you feel better no matter what.
Alex (Panda)- He is one of my best friends, he is also my boyfriend. He is so nice, he walks me home everyday and pays for me to ride the bus. He always makes sure that I am happy and have everything I need. If I have to wait for my mom to go home he will wait with me (even in the rain).
Well that is all for now, I will post another with more people at another time, but right now I am in an internet shop and quickly running out of time.
Love you all
XOXOXO
Lindsey
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Combi
So I realize that I have now mentioned combi´s a few times now and you probably have no idea what they are. So I will explian them to you the best that I can.
So you all know those vans in the USA that fit like 10 people, well combi´s are a little bit bigger then those, but not much. They have 4 rows of seats. There is one long seat in the back, then three rows of a bench for two-space- then a seat for one like this --_- (the dashes are seats and the underscore is the aisle. So the best place to sit is the front single seat. Because then you do not have to be pushed against someone else, you have leg room, and if it is really crowded it is easy to get off.
--_
--_-
--_-
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the first row deas not have a single seat because that is where to door is.
Ok so now that you know the set-up of these combi´s I will explain how they work.
It takes two people to operate a combi, one person drives and the other person leans out the door and yells the name of the route and tells the driver where the passengers need to get off, this person also collects the money.
Now these are not like in the USA because they do not have designated stops, when you want to get off you tell the caller and if you want to get on you have to flag them like a taxi.
Once you get on, you better hold on because you are in for quite a wild ride. The drivers do not obey any of the common rules of the road, they love to honk at anything and everything, and they are usually really really crowded so it is really hard to get on and off.
Sounds like fun right!
I use one to get home everyday.
But oh yeah, one more thing, it costs 30 centimos to get home from school, in dollars that is about, .10 cents.
Combi´s are one of those things that you learn to love.
By the way I have all of the stuff for my camera so I should be able to upload photos soon!
LOVE YOU ALL
XOXOXO
Lindsey
So you all know those vans in the USA that fit like 10 people, well combi´s are a little bit bigger then those, but not much. They have 4 rows of seats. There is one long seat in the back, then three rows of a bench for two-space- then a seat for one like this --_- (the dashes are seats and the underscore is the aisle. So the best place to sit is the front single seat. Because then you do not have to be pushed against someone else, you have leg room, and if it is really crowded it is easy to get off.
--_
--_-
--_-
----
the first row deas not have a single seat because that is where to door is.
Ok so now that you know the set-up of these combi´s I will explain how they work.
It takes two people to operate a combi, one person drives and the other person leans out the door and yells the name of the route and tells the driver where the passengers need to get off, this person also collects the money.
Now these are not like in the USA because they do not have designated stops, when you want to get off you tell the caller and if you want to get on you have to flag them like a taxi.
Once you get on, you better hold on because you are in for quite a wild ride. The drivers do not obey any of the common rules of the road, they love to honk at anything and everything, and they are usually really really crowded so it is really hard to get on and off.
Sounds like fun right!
I use one to get home everyday.
But oh yeah, one more thing, it costs 30 centimos to get home from school, in dollars that is about, .10 cents.
Combi´s are one of those things that you learn to love.
By the way I have all of the stuff for my camera so I should be able to upload photos soon!
LOVE YOU ALL
XOXOXO
Lindsey
Monday, September 28, 2009
A day in the life of me
So I realized that what I now consider to be normal is very different then what I used to. So I am going to describe a normal day here.
1. I wake up at about 6:30 every morning and get dressed into my uniform. I put on my make-up (very minimal) and put my hair up ( which is required)
2. I go to the kitchen and wait to see what kind of juice we will be drinking this morning ( I have had, strawberry, mango, papaya, orange, and about six others that I do not know the name of) breakfast is usually bread with jelly, ham. or egg.
3. After I brush my teeth I am off to school! Most mornings my father drives me and my sister, but sometimes I have to take a collectivo (it is like a taxi, but it has a certain route and just collects people as it goes).
4. I get to school and before I can enter my class room we all have to line up into a formation were we say prayers every morning.
5. I get to my classes and unload all of my stuff into my desk because I do not ever have to change class rooms, the teachers are the ones that change. And everytime a teacher enters we have to stand up.
6. I do not understand most of my classes so I just try to follow along the best that I can.
7. Now we do not have lunch during school, we have a half hour break that is like snack time for us at 11:00. We can purchase snacks or just hang out and talk to all of our friends (this is a great time for me to catch up with the other exchange students)
8. I go back to the class room and finish up not understanding anything. But it is not that bad because I have a lot of friends that always want to help me. Before school ends I always spend some time joking around with the boys that sit behind me. Then we line up in formation again before we get to leave.
9. Then I ride in a combi (it is like a really small bus) and walk home with my boyfriend (he likes to make sure that I get home safe everyday).
10. When I get home at about 2:45, I change my clothes and eat lunch with Mama. We eat rice every luch with differnt potatoes and chicken and soups.
11. Then I help clean up and I go to the shop with them to wait for my sister.
12. At about 8 or 9 we come home and I work on my homework until dinner which is at about 9:30.
13. Dinner is always really small, we usually just finish what ever we ate for lunch that day.
14. I go on the computer and check my e-mail and finish my homework.
15. At about 10:00 I go to bed and start all over the next day.
XOXOXO
Lindsey
1. I wake up at about 6:30 every morning and get dressed into my uniform. I put on my make-up (very minimal) and put my hair up ( which is required)
2. I go to the kitchen and wait to see what kind of juice we will be drinking this morning ( I have had, strawberry, mango, papaya, orange, and about six others that I do not know the name of) breakfast is usually bread with jelly, ham. or egg.
3. After I brush my teeth I am off to school! Most mornings my father drives me and my sister, but sometimes I have to take a collectivo (it is like a taxi, but it has a certain route and just collects people as it goes).
4. I get to school and before I can enter my class room we all have to line up into a formation were we say prayers every morning.
5. I get to my classes and unload all of my stuff into my desk because I do not ever have to change class rooms, the teachers are the ones that change. And everytime a teacher enters we have to stand up.
6. I do not understand most of my classes so I just try to follow along the best that I can.
7. Now we do not have lunch during school, we have a half hour break that is like snack time for us at 11:00. We can purchase snacks or just hang out and talk to all of our friends (this is a great time for me to catch up with the other exchange students)
8. I go back to the class room and finish up not understanding anything. But it is not that bad because I have a lot of friends that always want to help me. Before school ends I always spend some time joking around with the boys that sit behind me. Then we line up in formation again before we get to leave.
9. Then I ride in a combi (it is like a really small bus) and walk home with my boyfriend (he likes to make sure that I get home safe everyday).
10. When I get home at about 2:45, I change my clothes and eat lunch with Mama. We eat rice every luch with differnt potatoes and chicken and soups.
11. Then I help clean up and I go to the shop with them to wait for my sister.
12. At about 8 or 9 we come home and I work on my homework until dinner which is at about 9:30.
13. Dinner is always really small, we usually just finish what ever we ate for lunch that day.
14. I go on the computer and check my e-mail and finish my homework.
15. At about 10:00 I go to bed and start all over the next day.
XOXOXO
Lindsey
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
short, but really funny
Last Friday was just another ordinary day at school. Lots of classes that I don´t understand, lots of teachers that I don´t understand, and lots of gossip that I don´t understand. Now, I need to sidetrack for just a minute and describe the doors in Peru. The doors here only have latches on one side, so if you are on the other side you have to knock or a have a key to enter. Ok back to the story. Well it was english class and I am just chilling and helping everybody, when I notice my friend Jesus is knocking at the door. So I look around and no one is getting up to open the door for him. So I wait a second, then trying to be polite I go over and open the door for him. Now in the USA it does not mean anything when a girl opens the door for a guy, it is just polite and nice, I asumed that it was the same everywhere, silly me. As soon as he steps into the room, the whole class bursts out in whistles and screams. I am very confused. So I go back to my desk and turn to my friend Alicia and ask her to explain. What I soon found out is that in Peru if a girl opens the door for a guy it means that she "likes" him. I was embarrased for about a minute, but I got over it.
There are a few upsides to this story
1. I learned a social rule of Peru
2. It was really funny
3. It entertained all the boys in the class for about 30 seconds
4. I learned that the boys in my class are really good at whistling
xoxoxo
Lindsey
There are a few upsides to this story
1. I learned a social rule of Peru
2. It was really funny
3. It entertained all the boys in the class for about 30 seconds
4. I learned that the boys in my class are really good at whistling
xoxoxo
Lindsey
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Dance practice
Ok so on Thursday, I was asked by some of my classmates if I wanted to join a competitive dance group at the school. Of course I accepted the offer. All I knew was that we were learning some type of tradtional dance. So on Saterday I walk to the school where we are meeting and I only know a few boys from my class. We are leughing and joking, then we have to start running for a warm-up. At first it was really easy, then after about 30 seconds I realized that there is no oxygen in the mountains *my pace slows*. Then at one point in time I realize that I am barly breathing, so I decide to walk, and the boys that were running with me did not want me to feel left out so they walked with me. So we are streching and everyone is amazed at how flexible I am. :) Then we start dancing, all I can think is Oh My God what did I get myself into. It was so fast with so many steps and I could barly keep up. But everyone kept encouragin me and I caught on pretty quickly. Then after about an hour and a half we had a little break. The boys were commenting on my flexibilty, so I showed them my splits, they freaked out! They were all trying and it was one of the funniest moments in Peru so far. So practice is over and I am exhausted and I have to walk back to the shop.
Well the four boys from my class decided that they were all going to walk with me for "saftey". This was also very funny because they were all pretending to be my secret service and one of them would go ahead to "clear the area"; I was very amused. But the best part was when we were getting close to the shop we decided to play a trick on Mama and I linked arms with them to pretend that I had 4 boyfriends. You should have seen my mother´s face when I walked into the shop surrounded by four boys and I said "Hola Mama, yo tengo cuatro enamorados". Translation- Hello Mama, I have four boyfriends. She just kinda stared for a second before realizing that it was a joke. Then one of them explained that they were walking with me for safety and that they are my friends. I will never forget that!
I am so excited for my next dance practice! Our costumes are going to be amazing and we are going to kick butt at competition!
Well the four boys from my class decided that they were all going to walk with me for "saftey". This was also very funny because they were all pretending to be my secret service and one of them would go ahead to "clear the area"; I was very amused. But the best part was when we were getting close to the shop we decided to play a trick on Mama and I linked arms with them to pretend that I had 4 boyfriends. You should have seen my mother´s face when I walked into the shop surrounded by four boys and I said "Hola Mama, yo tengo cuatro enamorados". Translation- Hello Mama, I have four boyfriends. She just kinda stared for a second before realizing that it was a joke. Then one of them explained that they were walking with me for safety and that they are my friends. I will never forget that!
I am so excited for my next dance practice! Our costumes are going to be amazing and we are going to kick butt at competition!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
First day of school
Ok, so people may think that GCS has a strict dress code, NOT EVEN CLOSE! The uniform that I have to wear is so much more extreme! The skirt has to be 2 fingers below my knees, the socks come up to my knees, I have to wear a jacket, AND a little tie thing, that is the most uncomfortable thing in the whole world. I will post picture eventually. Anyways, I wake up early on monday morning, and get dressed, then I eat as much breakfast as i can handle, i was really nervous. When I got there I waited for about 10 minutes before the other exchange students showed up. We had to get introduced to the whole school, and then, SURPRISE, we have to talk infront of the entire school! And guess who had to go first, yup, thats right, me! It was actually really funny though, because when I was walking up to the microphone all of the boys were whistling. Of course i forgot all of my spanish at that point in time and I made a fool out of myself, but everything turned out ok. So I get put into my classroom and to my surprise everyone wanted to sit next to me. I made so many friends in the first two minutes! I did not understand one word that any of the teachers said, and some of the teachers did not even ackowledge the fact that I was there, but I had a lot of fun. During this one point in time when we were waiting for our next teacher, every single boy in the entire class was around my desk, every one! It was really cute, they would all tell me their names and then cheer if i could remember one. :) Everyone is so nice! Everyone always wants to help me and to ask me questions about english. It is really entertaining, because at free time with teh whole school, I can always catch a few boys staring at me, so I stare back and they blush and turn away, It is really cute.
Yes, I did have homework on my first day, and yes, it was in spanish, and no, i did not understnad a word of it.
Each day is getting better and better, soon I will be fluent in spanish, then all of you are going to have to translate every owrd like I have to, HA.
XOXOXO
Lindsey
Yes, I did have homework on my first day, and yes, it was in spanish, and no, i did not understnad a word of it.
Each day is getting better and better, soon I will be fluent in spanish, then all of you are going to have to translate every owrd like I have to, HA.
XOXOXO
Lindsey
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The market
Now when you think of the market you think of this happy little place with a whole buch of happy little people selling a whole bunch of happy little fruits. Well, the people there are mostly happy and they are definatly little, but it is no so small and the fruit is most definatly not happy. So I walk up to what I think is this normal row of shops, boy was I wrong, you enter a shop and it is like you are transported to another place full of people yelling ranbom stuff that you don´t know and a whole buch of chicken heads being chopped off. Every direction you face there is some type of different activity going on *what did I get my self into*. Mama is watching me, waiting for any type of reaction. Waiting with anticipation and then...just when she thinks I am going to run home screaming.....I smile. Now this smile is not just a little I am happy smile. This is a OH MY GOSH THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING; CRAZIEST; MOST INTENSE (just like the circus) PLACES I HAVE EVER BEEN TO smile.
I can not control my eyes, they are hypnotized by all the colors and sounds and smells. Sounds like, lound banging of chicken being cut and the heaving plodding of bags being dropped and the constant shuffling of feet going in every direction. There are so many differnt fruits and vegatable nad potatoes, every color you can imagine and even the colors you can´t imagine. Every grain, and meat and seafood and... and just everyting you could ever want to eat. So we set off into the abys *clings to mama´s arm* in search of onions and god knows what else. People stare, I am the tallest and my hair is not black. We are lost in this black hole of food for what seems like 5 days (it really only felt like 10 mintutes, but I like being dramatic). Then like a shark leaping out of the water to catch its pray, we emerge! *huge deep breath* Am I alive? I slowly look over my body to make sure that all of my limbs are attached. Feet, check; Legs, check; Hands, check; Fingers, check; Head......head...HEAD....OMG WHERE DID MY HEAD GO!!! oh wait there it is, on my neack right where it is supposed to be, as opposed to sticking out of my stomach, where it is not supposed to be. The whole experience was incredible! I hope that I did it justice, because it is really a wonderful place. *contented sigh*
I can not control my eyes, they are hypnotized by all the colors and sounds and smells. Sounds like, lound banging of chicken being cut and the heaving plodding of bags being dropped and the constant shuffling of feet going in every direction. There are so many differnt fruits and vegatable nad potatoes, every color you can imagine and even the colors you can´t imagine. Every grain, and meat and seafood and... and just everyting you could ever want to eat. So we set off into the abys *clings to mama´s arm* in search of onions and god knows what else. People stare, I am the tallest and my hair is not black. We are lost in this black hole of food for what seems like 5 days (it really only felt like 10 mintutes, but I like being dramatic). Then like a shark leaping out of the water to catch its pray, we emerge! *huge deep breath* Am I alive? I slowly look over my body to make sure that all of my limbs are attached. Feet, check; Legs, check; Hands, check; Fingers, check; Head......head...HEAD....OMG WHERE DID MY HEAD GO!!! oh wait there it is, on my neack right where it is supposed to be, as opposed to sticking out of my stomach, where it is not supposed to be. The whole experience was incredible! I hope that I did it justice, because it is really a wonderful place. *contented sigh*
Futbol
On Saturday morning I woke, just like any other day, BUT, it was not anyother day. Saturday is the day that I met all of Prilu´s friends. So I wake up early and peel myself out of bed. Now normaly I don´t worry to much about how I look, but I had to look perfect. Every hair has to be in place, every eyelash perfectly coated with mascara. So it is time for breakfast. cut the bread, spread the jam, fry the sausage, WAIT, darn, I overcooked them again. GOOD MORNING PRILU, she woke up late. Now we pile ourselfs into the car, I am confident???? Anyways we drive up to the futbol field where they will be for the games today. *bead of sweat* we are here. I say goodbye to Papi and in an instant I go from nervous, to super excited, I can feel my heart beating from my head to my feet, and then POW! I am engulfed in a flurry of greetings and kisses and so so many names, Leslie, no wait, your Danielle, or are you Sophia, no she is Sophia, you are......oh well its not important I will just smile and nod. The next hours are so much fun, watching all of the futbol, and cheering for our team!My eyes can not help but to dart from place to place. Now this may sound like all fun and games, and well technically it is, but when you are surrounded by a whole bunch of people talking in a language you barely know and everyone is constantly staring at you because you are the only one with hair that is not black, things can get pretty intense (like the circus :)). *sigh* it is time to go. I honestly had so much fun, I got really sunburned, but I had so much fun!
Friday, September 11, 2009
fresh lemonade
Ok, so on Thursday morning I got up pretty early (which I have been doing a lot lately) and ate my favorite breakfast, fryed sausages and a pastry with strawberry jelly. Then Mama and I went to my high school to get my schedual and ask about the length of my skirt, it has to be BELOW my knees!!!!! I almost died! The best part of my day was right before lunch when I went to the market for the first time, I thought that it was huge, but according to Mama and Prilu it was tiny. We had to get fish and the lady cut the fish in half, length wise, including the head. While we were waiting for her to clean the fish Mama and I played with the shrimp that were there (they still had all their legs and eyes and everything) and made little shrimp puppets that talked to each other; people laughed at us :). Then we came back to the house to prepare lunch, I got the most important job, to make the lemonade.
Now, this lemonade is not the silly stuff that comes out of a can like in the USA, no it is the real deal fresh, made from water, lemons and sugar. So I went to work carfully squeezing each lemon to get the exact amount of juice needed. Now the lemons in Peru are not for the faint of heart, these are hardcore, little, green peruvian lemons (very sassy). So after the pain staking task of squeezing the lemons I had to measure the suger. Now you may think that this is an easy task, WRONG!!! You see, if you don´t put enough in then it is sour, and no one wants to drink lemonade that is too sour. But if you put to much in then it is too sweet, and no one wants to drink lemonade that is sickly sweet. So I had to put one spoonful at a time, very slowly; I can see mama watching me out of the corner of her eye *gulp*. Another spoonful, then another, then... STOP, no wait I need more *deep breath*. Just one more and.....BAM! PERFECTION! I had successfuly created probably the most delicious lemonade ever to exist on this wonderful plant we call earth. Each sip was heaven in liquid form. It had a taste so radiant that you were worried that once it was gone you would have nothing to live for!
Needless to say everyone loved it and I passed the test.
The rest of my day was pretty low key after that episode, hanging out in the shop, meeting Prilu´s brother, and buying shoes.
I can not wait for school on Monday, I am kind of freaking out, but I am really excited too.
XOXOXO
Lindsey
Now, this lemonade is not the silly stuff that comes out of a can like in the USA, no it is the real deal fresh, made from water, lemons and sugar. So I went to work carfully squeezing each lemon to get the exact amount of juice needed. Now the lemons in Peru are not for the faint of heart, these are hardcore, little, green peruvian lemons (very sassy). So after the pain staking task of squeezing the lemons I had to measure the suger. Now you may think that this is an easy task, WRONG!!! You see, if you don´t put enough in then it is sour, and no one wants to drink lemonade that is too sour. But if you put to much in then it is too sweet, and no one wants to drink lemonade that is sickly sweet. So I had to put one spoonful at a time, very slowly; I can see mama watching me out of the corner of her eye *gulp*. Another spoonful, then another, then... STOP, no wait I need more *deep breath*. Just one more and.....BAM! PERFECTION! I had successfuly created probably the most delicious lemonade ever to exist on this wonderful plant we call earth. Each sip was heaven in liquid form. It had a taste so radiant that you were worried that once it was gone you would have nothing to live for!
Needless to say everyone loved it and I passed the test.
The rest of my day was pretty low key after that episode, hanging out in the shop, meeting Prilu´s brother, and buying shoes.
I can not wait for school on Monday, I am kind of freaking out, but I am really excited too.
XOXOXO
Lindsey
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
:)
ok, last night (Tuesday) was my best night so far. My sister, Prilu came home from school and we made dinner for ourself because our parents were at the store. When Mama and Papi came home I gave them one of the gifts that I had bought them and they all loved it! Then we sat around the table huddled up in blankets and joked around. They gave me an alpaca hat with ear flap to try on, I looked rediculous, but it was sooooo funny, of course i have a picture. Then we were joking about how at school all of the boys will line up to help me with my homework and to take me out, this is Mama´s favorite thing to joke about.
Today (Wednesday) when I woke up Mama was not here, all of her stuff was, but not her. I called her name and started to get really worried. Turns out she just had to run to the market for some fruit. Then we went to a store so I could be measured for my uniform ( I start school on Monday!!!!). And then we ran around town tying to find my sweats for PE. It was such a great morning!
XOXOXO
Lindsey
Today (Wednesday) when I woke up Mama was not here, all of her stuff was, but not her. I called her name and started to get really worried. Turns out she just had to run to the market for some fruit. Then we went to a store so I could be measured for my uniform ( I start school on Monday!!!!). And then we ran around town tying to find my sweats for PE. It was such a great morning!
XOXOXO
Lindsey
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Tuesday
well, today was a much better day than yesterday. I spent the morning reading in the sun with was so peaceful. Then mama took me to the high school that I will be attending, I got my text books and almost died; then are all in spanish! Then we went to all these little shops that sell a whole buch of typical Peruvian stuff. Mama bought me a little toy gymnast and she like to call him my first friend in Peru :). I think that I am finally starting to kinds adjust to living here. I honestly can not imagine anything that is more different from the USA. I want to be home so bad, but I do not want to leave. Oh well, hopefully school will make the days go by faster. I will keep you posted.
Love,
Lindsey
Love,
Lindsey
Monday, September 7, 2009
peru at last
Greetings from Huancayo Peru! The trip here was crazy!!! It was a two hour plane ride to Miami, where I stayed for one night before taking the 6 hour plane ride to Lima Peru. OH MY GOSH, Peru is soooooooo different. What is funny is that the first three resturants that i saw where: KFC, Burger King, and chinese food. It was really funny. I spent two nights in Lima where I met all of the students from all over the world that decided to come to Peru. They were all so nice, some of the countries that they were from are Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland ( I made a really good friend from here!), and New Zealand. On sunday we drove for 8 hours in this amazing bus up to Huancayo. Unfortuanatly I did not feel well the entire time. Then when we finally arrived we met up with our host families, everyone was so excited. When I got to my house I still did not feel very well so I did not eat much dinner. I also got really homesick, i felt bad because I was crying for most of Monday morning. But my host mom made me feel a lot better. I am still homesick and I still miss the USA and my family very much, but I am a bit more excited for this next year. I will start school in a week, so everything is going to get veny crazy, luckily I have an amazing host family to help me. I miss everyone so much, please e-mail me!
Love,
Lindsey
Love,
Lindsey
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
saying goodbye
Wow. These past few days have been CRAY! On Saturday I had my going away party. I was so happy that so many people could come, but saying goodbye to all of them was really hard. Of course there were tears, but I know that it is all for the best. Today I had to say goodbye to the Lenahan's, that was definitely one of the harder goodbyes for me. Oh yeah on Saturday before my party we went and had family photos done before I left, it was so fun fun. We even brought Rudy with us, but he was not to crazy about the flashes.
So packing has actually been pretty easy, I went through my closest and all my drawers and grabbed the clothes I liked. It was so cool because mom told me to buy these space bags that suck all the air out and flatten your clothes, they work really well! I finally finished today and I had to weigh my suitcase ( weight limit of 44lbs). I was holding my breath, guess what it weighs, 43 pounds!
It was very strange going through today knowing that it was my last day here for a year, but the extent of this trip has not fully registered in my brain yet. I am sure it will soon. The next time that I write it will be in Peru!!!! I am so excited!! I will keep you posted!
So packing has actually been pretty easy, I went through my closest and all my drawers and grabbed the clothes I liked. It was so cool because mom told me to buy these space bags that suck all the air out and flatten your clothes, they work really well! I finally finished today and I had to weigh my suitcase ( weight limit of 44lbs). I was holding my breath, guess what it weighs, 43 pounds!
It was very strange going through today knowing that it was my last day here for a year, but the extent of this trip has not fully registered in my brain yet. I am sure it will soon. The next time that I write it will be in Peru!!!! I am so excited!! I will keep you posted!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Hello there everyone. Its hard to believe that in just over a month I will be on my way to Peru! And I am also very excited because I found out my host family, I will have a mom, dad and sister (who is only one year younger then me!). I will be living in the city of Huancayo, which is located in the Andes mountains, 10,629 ft above sea level and 6 hours east of Lima. My mom and I are very eager to start packing and shopping and all that fun stuff. I can not believe that I have to start packing a month in advance!!! I am sure that this next month will be a flurry of going away parties, packing, traveling, and many arguments on why I should stay :) but I don't think that anyone could talk me out of this, it is an amazing opportunity and I would not miss it for the world! talk to you later!!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Hello to everyone! As you most likely know, my name is Lindsey Rhodes, and I would like to study for a year in Peru. Not only do I want to become fluent in Spanish, but I also love to meet new people and learn new things. One of my favorite things to do is to learn about other people's culture and any way of life that is different from mine, and Peru will offer that to me. When I return from my year away I want to share with people that that there are other ways of life instead of just our own. I want to share all of my new skills that I will pick up and the new customs I grow used to. However, this experience does cost a lot of money, and at the moment my family can not pay that on our own seeing as my sister is in college. I really do need your help, going to South America is a dream of mine and sometimes people need help to achieve their dreams. I already have a part-time job that I balance with school, I am also picking up other little jobs like baby-sitting. My mom and I are planning fundraising parties for the next coming months. So please whatever you can contribute, no matter how small will be so greatly appreciated. Thank you all SO much for your support!
To sponsor my AFS program now, please click the ChipIn button.
To sponsor my AFS program now, please click the ChipIn button.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
OK, so for my first blog I would just like to say thank you to the amazing people at AFS that gave me a scholarship for my trip. This trip is something that I really want to do and I am so grateful for anyone who helps me along the way. But these AFS people are AMAZING!! They have helped me so much and I can't express how much I appreciate all that they have done for me. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and to be able to do it is just amazing!! So thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!
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