been a long time

so i am back in the states and have been quite busy...after being surprised at airport in chicago (my mom dad bro sis bro in law and neph came to pick me up when i thought my friend kelly was going to... i was so excited to see them, that, yes, tears were shed!) i went back to champaign working and hanging out with the ones who remained in champaign. we had a blast going out and sleeping in. tsince then i have been floating around the midwest from st. louis to wisconsin. now i am in st louis getting ready for my nephews 2nd bday....which is tomorrow! will post some summertime photos now

peace
kar

bye to trujillo

so yesterday morning a sad and sick karin had to say bye to her peruviaN FRIENDS AND FAMILY. GILLIAN AND i were blubbering messes. heh....then we got on a bus and about 18 or so hours later...we arrived in nasca. im still sick, and let me tell you being on a bus for that lobg is no fun and especially when you are sick! nasca is a cool city, more touristy than trujillo. the nasca lñines are here. pre incan culture that made animal shaped lines in the desert planes. you can only see them by lil plane. so at noon we are hoping on one to see this phenomennon ( heh no idea how to spell that)

yes water was fixed within a day, and cajamarca has been my favorite city. its in the foothills of the andes, more or less. more qalm and quiet. we visited a coop farm of 1000 people that pretty much make everything they need.

this past week was a blast. running a lot of errands and preparing a piñata for the boys. they loved it. it was hard saying good bye to the little guys.

okay should get going
hope all is well
oh and havent checked my emails for about 2 weeks, sorry!
xxoo
kar

no water

heh so for the past day or so our apt has been without water, yup thats right, no flshing of the toilet...and i should remind you i share a bathroom with gross boys! heh....so i am going to my buddies to shower etc...
tonight we are heading to cajamarca. we escaping from the city feel to go hiking and see a smaller, less touisty city. we will be heading to a farm where the farmers make everything they need minus matches. cool stuff.
so my worst nightmare came true...a flea bite,....in my BELLY BUTTON! sick. definitely NOT scratching that.
today the older boys went to a girls orphanage to play music for them. tyhey were all dressed up and even were wearing cologne! adorable!

times up
kar

chicken feet...on sticks

heh so its funny how separated we are from our food, and how it gets on the table. here in every market you see hanging carcasses of chicken andd other birdies. kinda cool, they have therir intestines and all. peruvians majke good use of everything here...even chicken feet. on every street corner there is a food seller, sometimes fruit, bread, or fried chicken feet on a stick. yum yum!
tomorrow gillian and i are learning ot cook some veg. peruvian dishes! ill be writing down the recipes .) im excited to learn to make y favorite dessert...arroz con leche!
ehhh thats all the time i have.
see ya
kar

happy fourth

hola, heh col i didnt know i could write in colours...

so in honor of fourth of july, gillian and i snuck into a beautiful hotel right in the main plaza and layed out. dont you worry, im still as pale as ever! it was a great way to pass the day, plus i was listening to a cd dan made me (dan is my music guru!) (oh la la i ca change fonts too) we hung around reading and chatting for most of the morning. its the only time i felt like i was sticking out. (most peopple who stay in this hotel are white). the orphanage was CRAZY today. nearly every lil boy gt into a fight. we ended up playing gatos y ratones (hide n go seek), and pato pato ganso (duck duck goose). this let off some of their steam.

this past weekend was awesome. saturday was rather calm, and on sunda we went to chiclayo. a town 3 hours orth of here. it has some great museums and ruins. my favorite was tutacame. we were able to climb up this huge hill and see the ruins from uptop. and it was such a gorgeous view. this area is very flat, so we could see miles and miles into the distance. then we headed to the witch market. pretty cool stuff there, lotions and bath salts, candles and herbs, good luck tokens, tarot type cards...
in chiclayo there is an abundance of motor-taxis. heh hard to explain, but dont you worry, ive got pics!

im havig a great time with the people we live with. Berta is the woman who cooks for us. she is a riot. we laugh so hard it hurts nearl y everyday (usually because i mispronoune a word, and say somethiung i shouldnt, or because she is just plain goofey).

i hope everyone is enjoying thier 4th! now im off to take a nice freezing cold shower, and then salsa dance he night away!
chou
k

food

so i cant believe i havent talked much about the food......deliious, or as they would say here ¡muy rico!
Berta (she is 30 and runs the store in fron of the house) is the chef around here. amazing too! breakfast is bread with jam or cheese and some sort of warm drink, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and often really runny oatmeal you drink...aveena maybe its called? anywho may not sound good but it...
lunch is great we always get 2 courses, either salad or veggie soup (ohhh except ne time when we goit this potato....does ptato have an e? anyways back to the food..., onion, avacado layered bit. yum) and as the main course a smal portion of rice and often carne soya (tofu type stuff) sometimes eggs, a tortilla (kinda like an omelet but more bready) fried banas (yum) stir fry....this bean concoction...a huge variety.

well poop am out of time
but dinner s great woo

will write later
chou

okay last of the pics

10. chan chan largest adobe city, pre inca period
11. feliz cumplianos for the orphanage boys
12. more boys
13.at the nearby beach in huanchaco. gillian road in one of these boats.
14. a nice sunset.
ok so hopefully they upload now. heh heh karin

more photos

5. inside a colonial house with our friends edwin nikson orlander and gillian
6. at the orphanage colouring
7.more boys i work with, they love cameras.
8. edwin gillian henrry and i in front of where we live
9. henrry and gillian salsa dancing!

PHOTOS

okay so i put my photos on a CD and am going to post them! yahoo...okay.
1. the catacmbs in Lima. before they used cemetaries religious folk and other important pople were buried under the church. under this church they found nearly 25000 bodies
2. photo of baranco, a city neary lima where gillian and i staed our first nights in peru
3 the plaza de armas in trujillo. its the center of town. i live abut 15 min away from here
4.colonial church, mainly colonial arch. here

so ive done it again

heh only have a few minutes...will talk about the kids i work with

there are 25 or so there that i help with hw and arts and crafts they range from 8-15 yrs. theysleep, learn, eat, wash clothes, etc...in one concrete building with 2 floors. they only have running water upstairs, and the bathroom on the bottom floor doesnt work. the kids arenormal little boys who like to fight get dirty and play games. my job is to make sure they do their hw first. i have trouble understanding them because they speak so quickly and with slang. they LOVE colouring books, and right when we get in the door they ask [senorita, senorita, can we please colour now....please senorita* heh they are very cute. they greet us iwth a kiss on the cheek, as do all peruvians. i like this way of greeting. a few boys are dedicated to learning english. so instead of colouring gillian teaches them basic english. it is a blast really. we made cards the other day, three-d ones. very cool!

the place i am living is great

its a store in front with bread dessert and then randoms (cleaning supplies, soda, water) and then a family lives there and rents to 15 students....man okay thats all the time i have but have much more to say


oh did i mention my camera isnt working with the comp, so will post pics when get home

k chou
kar

in a hurry

heh, again i am sure this entry will be interrupted in a few lines....i only have a few more minutes here...i am adjusting very well and enjoying the peruvian culture. trujillo is a nice size city and not overwhelmed with tourist traps. my spanish is getting a bit better. my vocab is the sdame, but am better at understanding...

okay just got the ÿoure time is over tap

adios
kar

trujillo

hello all}
so have to make his fast, am running out of internet time. am here in trujillo, my home for the next month!!! yahoo. the city seems very managable. gillian nad i got in last night and had a nice meal with the family we are living with. we share a room next to the bathroom, which is nice. there are 15 people living in the house errr apt not sure how to classify it. but i know the family also rents to students at the local universities. the woman, goria, is very sweet and patient. must go


adios!!!

alma mater

IMG_0065
Originally uploaded by kalewis.

this is our schools alma mater....just testing out blog photos etc...

trying out photos

hey there

jackie and i are done packing, she saved my butt with packing, yeah she pretty much rules....she was the one who taught me the rolling technique. okay off i go

almost time....

one full day left, then i am off to peru...tomorrow will be a busy one, filled with packing and last minute errands.