Te Amo Peru!
Hola! Ojala que todos estan bien! Estoy escribiendo del Peru, y queria decirte hola! Okay, now in Enlgish :)

In case you haven't been keeping up, I am currently in Peru on SST. Yes, I went a little early, but I haven't regretted it for a second. Peru has been amazing. There's lots of pollution and a ridiculous amount of people (8 million) in the capital city (Lima) but seriously, it's all worth it. I completely love Peru. My host family has been amazing. I have two sisters, 29 and 20, and a brother, who is 26. My host mom is a teacher and my host dad is a consultant. My 29 year old sister is an engineer, my 26 year old brother and 20 year old sister are both studying to be lawyers. We live about 30 minutes away from downtown Lima...but in Lima, there's always something to do, and it's not necessary to go downtown to find it.

SST has been really different than a typical goshen semester. Different professors and language (for starters), different culture, and just a different way of doing things. Traffic here is crazy, and I mean completely insane. No one has gotten hit (yet) but this is a driver's paradise...pedestrians never have the "right of way." We utilize the public transportation system here MUCH more than any of us ever have. I think I've caught more buses, microbuses and combi's here in the past few weeks than I have in the past few years of my life.

SST reveals a difference in cultures, logic, ways of living, but also a lot of similarities. People are people wherever you go, and I've been learning a lot.

1. Not to judge people, not as soon as I meet them, and not ever. It's not our job, we don't know their stories, and so we can't do it.

2. To be more adventurous. I'm not a wuss by anyone's standards...but I have some fears...planes, heights, nutty drivers...you get the idea. But our fears shouldn't stop us from living life or experiencing things.

3. Eat, drink,and be merry. Okay, so they eat some weird stuff here: guinea pig, ceviche, cow's heart, chicken's heart...more potatoes and rice than I knew existed. Weird jello, oatmeal rice stew (kinda) desert, hot dog and egg sandwiches. But it's okay! It'll pass. And just because it's strange doesn't mean it's wrong...For example, cow's heart is really good, and cuy is good for you. Corn drink, coca tea, oregano water...this list is long. Haha, take my advise, shut up and eat it. In the words of another SST-er, don't be such an American. :)

4. Smile! Those lines are a lot better than frown lines! And smiley faces look better on the SST website!!

5. Enjoy yourself. SST is a once in a lifetime experience. No matter how much you travel or have traveled, there will never be anything else like it. Experience the culture. Enjoy your family, and in a moment of extreme cheesiness, I'm going to use the phrase: Realize the "Joy of the journey."

Welcome to Goshen. THIS, is what changes lives.
Posted at 23:57 #

Random Happenings (MAO days and SST)
Hello dears!

It's been a while. I spent my summer doing Maple Scholars, and when that was finished, I went home and worked at a daycare :-) which was sweet. I hadn't realized how much I missed kids. Home was nice. It was a little weird at first because I'm not sure where I fit at in the scheme ofthings at home. I wasn't used to checking in with parents anymore, but that's what was expected, and so that took some getting used to. Of course, by the time I was used to checking in, it was time to go back to Goshen.

Onto what I really wanted to talk about...the Multicultural Affairs Office hosted a lovely group of multicultural freshman, the same orientation program I went through last year. It was interesting to see things from the other side, and the freshmen seem pretty cool. I can honestly say that although I've only known some of them for a few days, I'll miss them :-(

For those of you wondering why I'll miss them, I'm headed to Peru in like 30 hours. Okay, so sue me, I counted. I'm nervous as ever, and I can't honestly say that I'm ready to leave, but I'll never be ready, so I guess I'm just going to have to go now. :-P

I'll be writing you guys from Peru and posting on my blog, complete with pictures of Machu Piccu and other lovely things in Peru. Be sure to check out the SST updates and my blog. I'll write you soon. Pray for safe travels, and a life changing trip, not only for myself, but for fellow blogger Tim Blaum and the other 21 students :-)

I'll try to write when we land in Peru!
Posted at 23:57 #