Well, its crazy to say, but I am FINALLY here. I've been planning this trip for months and can now say that I live in Piura, Peru! It's been quite an adventure already. I flew out of Phoenix because I spent a week there with my family. I had a layover in Dallas, and then Lima, and now I'm here in Piura. On the flight from Lima to Piura, we had to walk up a thing of stairs from outside like they do in the movies. I don't know why I thought that was cool because I guess people do it all the time, but I liked it! The flight to Peru gave me plenty of time to think about everything that was about to hit me. I didn't sign up with anyone I knew because I wanted it to be an adventure of my own, similar to when people serve missions. I know this is going to be a huge learning experience for me. When I lived in Hawaii, I learned a lot about myself and my personality. I learned about culture, found new hobbies, and made goals for myself. I hope to come to similar realizations while I'm here in Peru, that will expand my knowledge of the world, and open up more opportunities for me later in life. I have met a lot of amazing people already that I know are going to challenge me in a good way. I'm looking forward to learning the language better. It's hard to not be able to say what I want, whenever I want!
We are living in a house owned by Mary and Pedro. They have 4 young boys that I have already fallen in love with. They are hilarious and are going to teach me some of their sweet dance moves. I stole this picture of their family from my director Angela.
One hard thing about being here is knowing when it's ok to whip out a camera and when it's totally not. My mind just see's things like it's a photograph and there have been so many times that I wanted to stop and take a photo, but I don't want anything bad to happen! I did put myself on a limb today and walked around with some friends to take a few photos. I probably make it sound like a super sketchy place, but its not. We just have to be careful because we already are a target because they think we are rich white people. Little do they know I'm just a broke college student. I like taking photos of people. Im not very good at composition of landscape, so here is one I took today! -->
Once I nail the language down, things will become much easier. I understand most things people say, which is an awesome feeling, but I cant keep up and speak just as fast yet! I've realized that Spanish has opened up a whole other world for me. There is so much for me to learn, and so much more I can do for these people because I speak their language.
One hard thing about being here is knowing when it's ok to whip out a camera and when it's totally not. My mind just see's things like it's a photograph and there have been so many times that I wanted to stop and take a photo, but I don't want anything bad to happen! I did put myself on a limb today and walked around with some friends to take a few photos. I probably make it sound like a super sketchy place, but its not. We just have to be careful because we already are a target because they think we are rich white people. Little do they know I'm just a broke college student. I like taking photos of people. Im not very good at composition of landscape, so here is one I took today! -->
Once I nail the language down, things will become much easier. I understand most things people say, which is an awesome feeling, but I cant keep up and speak just as fast yet! I've realized that Spanish has opened up a whole other world for me. There is so much for me to learn, and so much more I can do for these people because I speak their language.
Yesterday we met with some people around town that have projects for us to do once everyone is here. I'm excited to get started on them! After meeting with several people, we had lunch with the home owners. Mary made us aguacate relleno con camarones, which is shrimp stuffed avocados. It was so good! Last night we stopped by the YSA stake center here and said hi to some people and then went to dinner with Mary and Pedro. When we got back, we played soccer with the little boys and some of the neighbors for an hour or two. I can definitely get used to that. I haven't played in a while but I love soccer and want to get back into it. I would not mind playing street soccer every night! Today has been chill too because some of the people in our group are still arriving. We walked around a lot and stopped by some markets. I'm beginning to get a good idea of the lifestyle here. The people don't have very much but are happy and very lively. There are people and moto taxi's everywhere you look. Its fun to cruise around because there are literally no traffic rules, but somehow theres a pattern that everyone follows because amongst all the craziness, all the drivers know what their doing.
I've only been here 2 days and I feel like I've already been through half of the clothes I brought...probably because I kind of have. The next three months will be something I will never forget! Im excited to get to know the people and the language more. Next month we are spending a couple days in Trujillo, a couple days in Lima, and 6 days in Cusco to see Machu Picchu!
As always, if you would like to donate towards the projects we will be doing, click here and make sure you select "Support a Volunteer or Intern" and put "Zoe Theobald" in the memo line like the photo below! I will post more updates on projects soon so you know what it's going towards!
If you prefer not to donate online, you can also mail in a check to the following address and make sure you designate it as well:
455 North University Parkway
Provo, Utah 84606
Muchas gracias! Adiós!
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