Reasons

Reasons Why You Should Come Visit Me in Ancash

1. You miss me.

2. You can meet my Peruvian niece and nephew.

3. My host family just painted the house because my Mom is visiting. If I tell them I’m having another American visitor they might finally finish the bathroom.

4. To help me practice my English.

5. There are three beautiful hikes that all leave from my site.

6. Meet my Peace Corps friends!

7. To learn the diverse number of ways you can eat potatoes.

8. Help me catch Charlie.

9. To prove your Ultimate skills by playing Ultimate Frisbee at altitude.

10. For a multi-day hike, like Santa Cruz.

11. To come to the Second Annual Sabor de Huaraz.

12. To be a librarian for a day.

13. So I'll have something interesting to blog about.

14. Learn Quechua.

15. Teach me how to cross rivers without hurting myself.

16. See beautiful stars.

17. See this:

18. To deliver peanut butter.

19. So people will make fun of someone else's Wisconsin accent.

20. I'll share illegally downloaded TV shows and movies with you.

21. Did I mention that you miss me?

Some Updates:

1. I think Charlie is still sneaking into my room. I even think I figured out how he's getting in. Now I’m just trying to figure out how to stop him. And any trace of reverse Stockholm Syndrome has worn off and now I just feel full of rage.

2. My host sister did have a baby boy. The baby daddy is living with us. Amelia and Narcizio seem really happy together. If they get married and nobody tells me I’m not going to talk to anyone in this house for weeks, like an angsty teenager.

3. The new Peruvain President has not kicked all foreigners out of the country, as was previously rumored and feared. He's been in power for almost a week. I think we're in the clear.

4. I still don't have running water. My body is learning to live on very little water each day – this probably isn't a good thing. (More on this in my next blog entry.)

5. I’ve learned that it's possible to be ridiculously happy and ridiculously homesick at the same time. I can't wait for December 2011 (when I'll be visiting home again) and I’m terrified of August 2012 (when I'll be done with the Peace Corps).

Check out more pictures of my BEAUTIFUL home HERE!