The Family is Complete

This post is coming from the couch in on of our home stay families homes. I am getting to know volunteers from my own imaginations group as well as other volunteers that are joining us from various parts of the united states. It is a little bit chilly at night here in Huancayo so I have a hot cup of coca leaf tea in hand. It is so delish :) Since my last post I have moved into my home in Huancayo. It is a lot different here than Lima. Today we went on a three hour hike into the mountains behind our home. It was really neat because on the way up the mountain we trekked up into some parts of the town. There were dogs, cats, cows, and pigs roaming the streets like it was no big deal. We would pass small stores and homes and people would whistle and whisper "ah gringas" to each other. I almost got attacked by some very cute pack of dogs... It was very deceiving and I am never making eye contact with another street dog again. Any way the hike was really amazing and we were able to get an amazing view of the city. Although we were unsure about some directions we explored a bit, slid down some rocks and made it home safely. Guilty confession: after the hike we were all so tired we went to the local mall and has some American food from the food court. Pizza hut yum!! We have been eating peruvian food like crazy so it was time for a little break. With every meal here you get potatoes and some kind of meat. It is all really delicious but I think it might get old pretty quickly. After our escape to American food court land we wondered around the market. It is especially busy on Sundays and there were many sights to see. There are carts on every street corner with fresh fruit. So another volunteer and I decided to start a fruit of the day. Yesterday was pineapple and today we decided to go a bit more exotic. We had two fruits named tuna and chirimoya. They were both so good. Ok time for a meeting because we are starting our work tomorrow. Wish me luck I am really excited.