Goodbye Lima...Hello Cusco

HolA from Peru!

Left Lima this morning...

and landed in Cusco this afternoon.

By far the best landing I've ever experienced.

We took a wide sweeping turn into the valley between

all the mountains. Little adobe roofs everywhere.

First thing we were instructed to do was drink tea.

They have coca leaves that, when put in water,

help with the altitude sickness.

Tasted disgusting and yes, if I were to take a

drug test I would test positive for cocaine. Strange.

Took a walk...

in back cobblestone alleys...

seeing beautiful colors...

to the main plaza.

(could the sky get any bluer?)

This little girl, Alicia, just kept looking

up at me so finally I asked for

a picture. Then she got all shy, naturally.

It could not have been sunnier either~
The architecture is definitely Spanish.

The rain changed how everything looked.
Luckily, we missed the rain shower that came

when we were eating dinner at INKA grill.

(Sweet potato chips with mint dip, then a

local classic of shredded chicken, cream sauce,

nuts, potatoes and rice.)

But just in case that doesn't sound good...don't worry,

they have breaded Alpaca.

This little girl was a character...
..and this couple just looked so 'the part.'

Please just look at her hat.

Overall, it was just an awesome day. Very relaxed. We are all a little sick from the fatigue of travel and then the huge altitude increase so tonight it's pretty chill. Carlie and I have our own room and are just enjoying hot showers, pj's, a little Colbie Caillat, and photos from the day. Oh, but we found we sooo can't sing because then we really don't get enough oxygen in us. haha!

Until next time...I'll just be hangin' out in Peru~

So you know when...

So you know when...

...the alarm clock goes off and it says 3 am

and your first thought is "Really?"

...you're pretty sure you are "that person" who

everyone hates because it's 4:30 am and

you're laughing so loud and everyone

else in the airport looks dead?

...the airline confiscates your apple sauce,

yet lets Carlie through with both a

razor and nail clippers?

...the two boys on either side of you on the

plane, who you just met, both fall asleep

basically on your shoulder because

CLEARLY they partied all night in Vegas?

(That is where we departed from.)

...you land in Newark and realize

"huh, yeah, thought I was flying to

New York today."

Nice attention to details Anne Marie...

...you feel like the stewardess is looking directly at

YOU as she repeats,

"once again, if you are using any

portable electronics, like a cell phone,

you need to turn them off NOW."

But, you feel justified cus you have to send off

one last goodbye text to your boyfriend???

{p.s. miss you}

...you get off the plane and people start talking to you

in Spanish and all that comes out is French

and you realize that that fact alone is going

to make these next 8 days quite interesting?

YeAh...

that was today in a nutshell.

So, Carlie and I landed in Lima about 10:10 pm tonight (Saturday) and literally only had to walk directly across the street to get to our hotel. Pretty humid, and I already have 5 mosquito bites. Excellent. We had the smoothest flights [Vegas to Newark to Lima] and all on time. I was able to have at least 5 minutes of language comfort today when three young French kids boarded right behind me and I decided this random coincidence was just too fun, so we spoke a bit. Checked in and were so excited to see nice clean beds, a hairdryer, and American plugs!

Everyone keeps saying "hola" and "gracias" to me and it's totally throwing me off. But the people here are beautiful; dark hair and wide eyes. Once again, my blonde hair draws much attention, but the skin less so.

Carlie is super anxious to get outside but I'm trying to restrain her, seeing as how it is 11:30 P.M. and there's nothing to see but the airport. So we took a photo by this random leafy thing to pretend we were outside. What? You can tell it's going to be beautiful though once daylight hits because landing we could see all the lights of a city interrupted with hills and mountains.

We'll fly to Cuzco tomorrow and have a little down time to see the town and catch up on sleep.

Love you all. I'll try to remember little details as the day happens. I just count myself so lucky and blessed to be here~

I'm here, I'm safe, I'm tired, and I'm working on a post...

~Updates~

It's been a while. Here are a few highlights of the past few weeks.

I've been put on the R.S. "Formerly Enrichment but now only informally called Enrichment" committee. We had our Celebration of Relief Society with a Garden/Tea Party theme.

I was amazed at all the preparation that is involved. Welcome to service in the church right?!

I was pleasantly surprised at how many

beautiful ladies came :)

Bought myself some new shoes, which dad

has affectionately said look like they

have washers on them.

Don't ask me...some tool or object

that only guys know about!

Hanging out with these ladies!

(my best friends)

Found 7 deer right across the street.

Random.

Triple dates...

And single dates...

with this pretty great guy, Todd.

REMEMBER

I am going to Peru in three days

so stay tuned for

more updates from around the world!

Sunday Walks

Love Sunday Walks...

especially when it is *snowing*

We were like a walking Ugg fashion show!

Kaitlin, Megan, Me, and Brooke.

We get so cooped up on Sundays, we've started

a tradition of Sunday walks.

Rain, snow or sun, we go!

Peru

Surprise!

Friends, Family, and Followers...I'm off on another journey.

Yesterday I accepted an invitation to go to Peru.

Since I returned from Africa,

my friend Carlie and I have been working with

Lynley, the professor that took us to Ghana. We are

writing a research proposal to publish the findings

we gathered from our research while in Ghana.

Yesterday, we were accepted to present at a

medical conference in Cuzco, Peru.

We will be traveling to Lima (capitol of Peru) in 5 weeks

along with many local Utah doctors.

For 5 days, our group will be presenting current

research to Peruvian doctors and medical staff,

as well as personal and public health,

organized response to natural disasters and

other medical related information.

Of course, we will be visiting Mount Machu Picchu,

spending one night camping at its base

then hiking it the next morning.

As for the rest of the time,

since I don't speak spanish, I along with

other non-spanish-speaking team members,

will be filling my week with humanitarian service

and lots of manual labor (uh oh).

I am so excited by this surprise opportunity

and cannot wait to visit a land and people

I never expected to see.

I leave March 20th, so stay tuned and,

as always, I'll keep you posted!

I am volunteering at the Utah State Hospital for the next few months. I am working in the children's unit in the classrooms. Today, I was switched classes because they needed more help in a new room. Before, I was working with kids ages 11-12. Now my little ones are 8 and under. Here are some of my favorite quotes of the day:

~While on the treadmill~

"Wowzers, he's ganna catch me!"

(might I ask who???)

~Another boy on the bicycle~

"Woo Hoo! My motorcycle"

(If I only felt the same enthusiasm)

~And now for my favorite conversation of the day~

Me: How old are you?

Him: Sssssssss.......eight

Me: Eight?

Him: But nine today

Me: Oh, is today your birthday?!

Him: No

Me: Oh, ok.

Fun on a budget

So, my roommates and I have been doing this experiment. It's called the "Let's not spend money for a while" experiment. Kaitlin and Brooke even went so far as to give me their credit cards and have me hide them. Yes...we're serious about it.These are a few of the awesome activities I have done 'on a budget'.

Kylie teaches dance at a nearby

elementary school, Northridge.

I went to their concert and it was

so cute to see her with all her kids~

Cost: $1.00

Then we got invited by some guy friends

to go to Park City. The girls were hungry...

naturally...so we stopped at this RANDOM

cheep little burger joint "Dairy Keen" that

was apparently dedicated to trains.

What???

Me and Meg

We found out that the snowboarder,

Shaun White, who is preparing for the Olympics

(think red hair) was boarding that night so

we went and watched him for a bit.

There were SO many people there, and you

had to climb up this hill and I was the

only one in my group with boots with

any sort of traction, so they all held onto me.

We rounded off the night with

dollar hot cocoa

from 7-11.

Total cost: $4.00

Then...I have been so inspired by all the fun

decorations on the shirts and I thought...

"I can totally do that!"

This is my first attempt, but I have bins and bins

of material and I plan on experimenting more.

It was fun to play with the texture and the idea!

Cost: $0.00

Finally...Some nights we have struggled

a little when it comes to what to eat.

Somehow, Kaitlin and Brooke ended up

here one night at a complete loss

as to what to make.

Pretty sure the discussion turned away

from food near the middle and towards

life in general. You just never know when

or where you're ganna figure it all out huh?

Me and Kaitlin ended up in the kitchen

at the same time and, laughing,

realized we had made the exact same thing,

both with our aprons so the

sauce wouldn't splatter us!

Summation:

Fun can very much be had on a budget

Three's a crowd?

NEVER!

The old roommates at Tori's wedding

Kaitlin, I and Megan at the opening

night of Cocoa Bean

(delicious cupcakes)

After hitting up the Park City outlets

Then we got in such a shopping mood

we bought the entire grocery store.

Pocket Pigs

Well friends, I got some bad news delivered to me today courtesy of papa bear. For some time now I have got it in my head that some day I would own a little pig. And I was under the impression that the little pocket pigs I found on line were, in fact, little for life. Oh no. Apparently dad talked to one of his patient's parents who works with animals and she said that these little pigs, sadly, do not stay little.

This little piggy went to market,

this little piggy stayed home,

this little piggy ate roast beef,

and this little piggy weighs 200 lbs!!!

Come on...how can you

NOT love this face!

Alas, I have come to the conclusion that I am now only left with one option. I gotta find me an Idaho boy. And fast!

Bowling

Our ward had a pizza and bowling night on campus tonight. The roommates and I had so much fun dancing and cheering each other on.

~I love these girls~

And I didn't realize till AFTER

the game that my ball said

"For children only"

(cus it was only 6 lbs.)

Luke 17: 12-19

And as he entered into a certain village,

there met him ten men that were lepers,

which stood afar off:

And they lifted up their voices,

and said, Jesus, Master,

have mercy on us...

I have recently been accepted to go to India this summer to serve and teach through a humanitarian organization called Rising Star Outreach. I will be working in the Leper colonies; bathing the feet and bodies of those afflicted, cleaning and painting homes, bringing water to the villages, and most important, loving the people. I will also be teaching and tutoring children in English one-on-one.

For those unfamiliar with Leprosy, it is a skin bacterium that affects more than 1 million people in India. The word leprosy comes from the Latin word Lepros and means defilement. These people are shunned from their communities because of their disease and are forced to live out their lives together in colonies with no access to treatment. The disease cripples the body by loss of feeling, digits, paralysis of the feet (why artistic renditions of the ten lepers are seen with bandages and crutches), and other skin pigmentation and ulcers. In the area I will be, colonies have come to be made up of families, with members who are not infected but are shunned by association.

I truly feel a deep pull in my heart that one of my purposes here on this earth is to meet Heavenly Father's children around the world and see them for who they are, eternal spirit sons and daughters of God. I have been so blessed with opportunities to fulfill this role I feel drawn to. I am excited beyond words to meet my brothers and sisters in India. Like with Africa, I have felt, for no obvious reason, a pull to go to India since I can remember. I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to go to Africa and now India while still so young. My experience in Ghana was life changing and I am forever grateful for those I met and loved. I pray that my time in India will be a humbling and amazing experience as well.

And one of them, when he saw

that he was healed, turned back,

and with a loud voice glorified God

And fell down on his face at his feet,

giving him thanks...