Getting my feet wet

I've been in Perú for ten days. So far it's been totally different than I expected. I don't really know how to describe the city of Lima, or more specifically Miraflores, where I am living. It's very urban and it feels really disjointed. Bs As was urban, but it also felt welcoming and inviting. Lima does not invoke those feelings. I don't exactly know how to describe it...it's just different. It's also cold...who knew? Apparently the Humboldt Current comes up from Antarctica and creates a cloudy/humid/coldish climate. It's certainly not winter, but most days are overcast and around 65 Fahrenheit. There is a lot of poverty here and there are many children begging or juggling or dancing in the streets. I've been told that families will actually rent out there children to street vendors and they receive a cut of the profits in return. Very sad.

School is going well and I'm amazed with how much I've learned. I still have loads and loads to learn, but I can finally carry on basic conversations with a bit of ease. It's strange how it felt like I wasn't making any progress and then one day I realized I was speaking and it wasn't a total disaster. It feels great to make progress. I also started learning to surf last week. An adventure for sure :) I like it, but it's much more difficult than I imagined. The standing up isn't so hard...the paddling and wave battling is hard. Today was my third day and much better than my first two times. I love being in the ocean and sitting on my surfboard as the sun sets over the Pacific is pretty sweet.

I'm living with a host family and they are fantastic. There is the grandma (Olinda-70ish), her daughter (Rosana-50ish), Rosanna's son (Renzo-25ish), and Olinda's granddaughter (Daniella-12). A full house. They are friendly and welcoming and generally really wonderful. The only problem I've encountered is the food. Oy. We eat so so so much rice. Most nights we have a giant plate of white rice with a giant side of either mashed or fried potatoes. Yikes. Some nights it's rice and quinoa. So many carbs. I want to ask my host fam for some beans or veggies or something, but I feel very rude and don't want to be insensitive. A tough situation for sure. This morning I had some type of quinoa gelatinous soup for breakfast. I love quinoa, but this was the consistency of throw up. No bueno. I'm really at a loss because they watch me eat and love to hear me say nice things about the food...but it is not easy! Sometimes we have delicious veggies or fruits, it's just too rare of an occurrence. This country has so many incredible incredible incredible fruits, and yet I eat so much rice and potatoes. I have had the opportunity to try many new fruits on my own. I'm obsessed with granidillas, maracuyas, chirymoras, guanabanas, pipinos, mamays and there are so many more to try! I will try to take some photos and post them soon.

Okay, my bill at the internet cafe is adding up fast so I must go. I miss you all so much and hope you are enjoying fall and all of the beautiful changes happening! I love hearing from everyone so please stay in touch. Te amo mucho!!!