First week in the Selva!

I am finally settling in here! I am getting to know different people of different churches, the people at Mission Tec, and the people in my house better! I was getting a really good tour of Tec after it rained and around every building there are trenches dug and have wood over them to keep the water away from the buildings. I was walking over one and the wood broke from too much bugs and water in the last couple days and I fell really hard in the trench. I didn’t bleed at all which is good because with the bugs I would not have enjoyed that. I got two huge bumps on my left leg one with a bruise the size of an apple near my knee. I told my family here that I have to fall or hurt my knees at least one time during a trip so not to worry I was just getting it over with. (I still have the cut on my right knee from mexico a couple weeks ago) But my family here has been putting this medicine on it to help the swelling go down and its working great.
I moved into my house one night this week, arriving there on the back of a motorcycle! My oom is like a barn home for a princess if that makes sense. The room looks like a giant barn on the inside with big windows over looking the back yard which has 10 huge Mango trees about to go into season and a bunch of other fruit trees. The princess part comes from the Misquito net around my bed. My family is awesome. We always have different people here from the church or working. They have more money than most people living in San Jose so they have people helping here. One girl cleans the house while Evelyn volunteers in the city. Her name is Melody and she is 22 also, we talk a lot when she is here and she braids my hair differently every day for me. She asked me to help her with English as well. Its interesting because today I got my computer out to type and I realized that it was her first time really looking at one. She asked questions about it and wanted to look at everything including Microsoft word. It makes me really appreciate the fact that I know and own a computer.
I have been waiting to write this blog for a couple of days because I was really sick. I have not eaten much for the last 2 days. One day only half an apple and some powerade with a couple saltine crackers. Its okay though because I hung out with my family when I could get out of bed. I gave the kids the gifts and they loved it. We colored all day and played with bubbles. They tried one of all the candies I had and their favorite was starbusts but my favorite was when they tried the sour sprees and both kids faces were priceless. We sat at the table for 5 hours going back and forth from coloring to playing with bubbles and then at night I got out the glow sticks and we played starwars for 30 minutes. Im sure i just had travel sickness or the flu but I am glad I am better now because I can eat, play for reals with the kids, and go out.
We bought cellphones and it is really nice to be able to get ahold of ayumi at the other house to tell her I was sick or for my family to use. Also for our Spanish teacher to get ahold of us or for friends to take us out. We have a friend names Gerzon who called and text me all day to see if I was feeling any better and to tell me he was praying, if felt good to have a friend call here. My number is 985183933 on a pay as you go movistar phone, so really different. It makes me really appreciate cell phones in the U.S. as well. I think it works for out of country, for sure for skype, but I cant call you guys from it because it would take almost a whole 3 weeks worth of minutes and messages to pay for one minute.
One night this week Ayumi and I got picked up by Gerzon in his motertaxi and went to town for dinner. We got hambugers peru style which is wayyy different. For one the ketchup is kinda pink, the French fries come on the hambuger, the meat is different, and you drink chi cha with it. Chi cha is a drink made from sugar and boiled purple corn it tastes kinda like cough medicine but it grows on you. It was really nice getting to sit down and hear the life story of someone from here. Usually on mission trips you only get to know someones history after you leave if you stay in contact.
My family gave me the talk this week about how all the boys are going to want ayumi and I because we are new to the city. They told me to be careful and for the signs of a suck up. I agree with them that I am only here for friends and school! Its fun to meet everyone new though and through a new culture. Its funny though because at the house here we mix cultures a little, like watching 2 and a half men with Spanish subtitles, using phrases like “oh my god” (one the whole family knows) as well as Batman. Its been an adventure from being sick to moving to eating new foods, but my host family is really perfect for me. Today my host mom bought all my favorite foods like peanut butter and ranch for salad. I didn’t even know she listened to me the other day or understood. I love it here, I really miss you all, but I do love the jungle… Bugs and all.

last day in lima!

Today was awesome! or Chevere! in Spanish. We woke up earlier to a packed day of adventure with the Lucas family and then later my host family the Bardales’. It started out walking through different famous plazas in Lima. They have big circles dedicated to different important days of their history. July 28th is the day of their independence so that date is written everywhere. I was told that it is required to hang a Peruvian flag from your house on that day or you will be fined for not supporting your country. Also I thought it was interesting that most places were working on repainting their outside walls, I learned that a few years ago the law changed but before that it was required to have your house, restaurant, job site, hotel, whatever repainted and fixed up for the independence day holiday or you would be fined greatly. They want their country looking great to remember how great they are. We made our way to another plaza where the oldest church of Lima is. I did the tour and found out it is actually a monastery for the Franciscan Monks that are in the St. Francis de Assisi order. There used to be 300 active monks their but now there are only 50. It was beautiful there, the huge libraries, dining halls, church, choir lofts, paintings, and the CATECOMBS. We went down the catacombs and were right next to the huge pits of bones. People just wanted to be part of the church forever so they paid money to be buried underneath it. We only went down one tunnel and were literally able to touch the bones if you didn’t get caught. I didn’t of course because I didn’t want to break the rules and bones just aren’t my thing. But there was one pit that was 45 feet deep of straight up bones, they have arranged the top in a kinda funny way for tourists to see only full bones and skulls but underneath is all broken ones. John Lucas and I found a hallway that was not part of the tour and went for our own adventure, we found more bones and decided that without electricity that would be one really creepy place. We booked it out of there to make it right in time for the beginning of the Presidents guard change. We were at the gate where the president of Peru lives!! Every day at 12 o clock there is a ceremony for the new guards coming on duty and they parade around in front of the palace and have a band playing. It takes almost 30 minutes because of the routines they do. It was really interesting that it happens every day and to see how many people come to see it. After that we had lunch at a popular Peruvian restaurant called Norky’s. They serve all different kinds of meat there. I ate some of Ayumi’s Anticucho which is COW HEART. I could not bring myself to try the gizzards but I looked at them. I ordered chicken fingers, it’s a safe bet every time. Kengi, Johns son got a popular dish which turned out to be sliced hotdog on french-fries. We drank some more Inca Kola! My host family called the Lucas’ during lunch and we planned on meeting them at Barranco, a part of Lima that I saw on a post card and the sales lady told me was really beautiful. It is older and on the coast. All the buildings are different colors and are antique looking, like old salons. We spent a couple hours walking around there and walked down to the coast past all the Rasta men. They hang out, smoke, and sell things the find in the sea and use to make jewelry. We went out to coffee after, Cesar my host dad suggested Starbucks but we wanted something more Peruvian. I got hot chocolate con crema which is this amazing whipped cream they have here! We returned back to the SAM (South American Mission) house we were staying at to pack up for our trip to Pucallpa!

2nd day!

Hi everyone!!
It is pretty late here and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow but I wanted to give brief update on the life here!!

- Slept in until 10
- Ate cheap bowl of Peruvian Cereal
- Met a missionary named John Lucas and his family
- Taxied to the beach in Lima
- Went to the mall
- Got mango juice that Ayumi loves
- Ate not so good peruvian fast food
- walked miles to the Inca market
- Watched transformers with John and his family
- Ate duncan doughnuts and tangerines with the Lucas's and MY HOST FAM!
- Met my host family!
- Found out my computer wont upload my photos, but Ayumis does so there is hope to see some eventually
- Skyped my best friend SARAH! <3


-Sorry there is not much detail but the bullet points will have to do until tomorrow! we have a crazy day planned with the Lucas' and my host family!

First Blog From LIMA PERU!

Thank you all so much for caring enough to read this and keep updated on my life! Where do I start to explain the last week…
I was just in Mexico for a week spending quality time with my family and celebrating my 22nd birthday. I laid by the pool and talked to Sarah about how weird it was that my mind was on Mexico and had not yet set into “getting ready for Peru” stage. I am here now and it still has not completely hit me yet that I am in Peru for the next 4 months. We returned from Mexico just in time to have my going away party/danny’s graduation party that really was amazing. I know I felt so loved and so supported by everyone there. I was out to dinner with the family the night after and all we could say was how great it went and how everything just flowed so perfectly. People came that I was so excited to get one more goodbye with! My family, family friends, friends, and best friends seriously made me feel so loved. Hanna my best friend from school surprised me with the best gift ever! Herself She flew in from Minnesota to say good bye for reals. It’s amazing how much one more hug really means. Sarah came early to dye my hair for the party, buy last minute things for my trip, and listen to me cry on the phone when I kept breaking down about leaving. Jyll and Pam my second family set up all the tables with perfectly matching table clothes, flowers, and cupcakes! My mom and dad ordered a bomb taco guy and hosted the best going away ever. The moment everyone sang a song to send me on my way then prayed over me was the moment it finally hit me. I was leaving. I started to cry as I looked around the room knowing I was not going alone on this trip. I had 40 people standing there, praying for me, encouraging me, and giving me confidence in myself to take the final step (last minute packing of my suitcase).
After my going away dinner at BLUE AGAVE for the last time (sorry wheel and jonny I had to go once more) with the family, Ayumi, Hanna, Sarah, and Jyll I finished packing my backpack but with the help of Jyllian, the one going over the lists, Sarah the one doing all the things none of us could figure out, and Hanna the one telling me what I actually needed and packing things into little organized bags. Somehow with everything I fit it all in a backpack, roller duffel and 2 carryons.. I managed to only weigh in my back pack at 44 pounds which is a miracle because I have 5 months of stuff in there! Saying good bye at the airport was brutal and I cant wrote much about it because I do not want to get sad.. just know that good byes are so hard for me. I was able to get right on our plane and make a friend within seconds  His name was marco and he was from Puerto Rico! We had a blast swapping stories about the island and the places that I was able to visit. We ended up talking 2 hours and watched the movie which allowed me to sleep for 1 hour. I felt like I had only been on the plane 20 minutes when I got off because of the great conversation. The movie was weird and I am usually obsessed with the free movie choice but it was just weird. Marco had an interesting connection to my trip because his girlfriends great great grandfather was the explorer that discovered Machu Picchu! What!! Crazy right.. Ayumi and I arrive in Miami and rush to gate D40 trying to catch Rebecca our friend doing her GLT in Ecuador but our flight had landed to late.. so we ate dinner and tried to get free internet across the airport. We didn’t get internet for long but we made another friend! Diego is from Lima and comes back and forth for work supplies. He ended up hanging out with us for 5 hours while waiting for the plane.. I learned a lot of Peruvian Spanish slang verse Mexican Spanish slang differences while he told us everything to look forward too! I love meeting new people that are just interested in getting to know someone with no time limits. He pointed out a famous Peruvian stage actor and comedian sitting near us who then had to be included in our little group of friends. Picture to come as proof that we met Luis C. Finally after hours we got onto the plane and I got my third good friend of the day! His name was John and he was an art teacher from England living in Philly. We got to swap travel advice and the list of shots we had gotten. He was going to travel in Iquitos (shout out to colin) and I was able to tell him about my awesome friend who somehow got malaria and a broken arm there. He decided to get vitamin B1 pills after that and a yellow fever shot in the airport. It was fun to get some of his excitement about climbing Machu Pichu as well! Well what comes next is arriving in LIMA, PERU!
We made it here! Got to SAM house, a home for Missionaries and short termers to stay. Ayumi and I took a long nap and then headed to the city! We took the long way to the Metro (market/mall), got some pretty good food in a little Peruvian street vender center. It was called Lomo, a steak with rice meal with onions and tomatoes. I ate it! Also drank some bomb tea! It was the only meal we had today because of our awkward sleep schedule but it filled us up for 5 soles, which is 1.80$ so I got a full steak dinner and drink for less than 2 dollars! We realized how bad our Spanish really is and came home to practice. It has been nice to spend the rest of the day relaxing. We were able to skype with Liz our LA Term buddy and Rebs and Ali in Ecuador! It really set in how far we are away from everyone when rebs and ali are the closest to us. Now were waiting on the arrival of my host family here at the house hoping the will take us around Lima tomorrow! I think these next 3 days before we fly to Pucallpa, I will have internet and would love to skype or email! My email is molivier09@apu.edu and my skype is themichellerenee so please talk to me! Send me your address in an email if you want to be pen pals as well! I love you all and I cant wait to give you my next adventure updates! Thanks for caring enough to read this really long update!

First Day in LA!

Hello World! Today I officially moved into my LA Term semester! I love everything about it! We met at the school and of course we were late… oh the 5 freeway. But it was great walking into a room filled with people that I am going to share the next 3 and a half months with who all have similar passions as me! oh I love it! It was good catching up and catching on to the excitement in the room. I really enjoyed talking to Hanna again (the one who went to Costa Rica at the same time as me) and getting to know my roommate. My mom, dad, Ver, Jyll, and Pam moved me in to my new house. Everyone thought I packed to much stuff but I knew it could fit, and guess what there is totally room for more.. When mine and Candice’s families left we finished our room and started to hang with the family. They are awesome! We had fun getting to know them, getting a lay of the land, meeting some friends, and just learning about each others lives and dreams. We had steak, rice, green beans, tortillas, and salad with cranberries and apples, pretty bomb for a first meal! oh and the only beverages in the house are water and DIET COKE, amazing right. I think I will fit in nicely. We listened to stories and asked questions and really had a fun 2 hour dinner. After Yomara (my mom for the semester) invited us to her friends house to look at the new curtains and we hung out there for a couple hours and out little brother ale finally got comfortable with us. He was jumping on me for hours.. we played soccer and catch, literally he would jump and I better catch, and facial expression games. I feel so lucky that they are already comfortable with bringing us to their friend’s houses and letting us into every aspect of their lives. Ale wouldn’t go to be tonight before he came to give us good night hugs, so excited to meet the other two and just become part of this home. We met a new friend that goes by ‘blue’ who is 20 and lives really close. She is showed me all the really popular music around here and taught me how to baranca (not sure on spelling) so were going to go dancing with her next week in a little Spanish club! I love the culture here, everything is done in half Spanish and half English so I am going to get to practice a lot! I only talk to ale in Spanish and the grandpa as well. I can’t wait to see where it takes me! I love it and I love having a roommate again. It’s so great to get to know new people and just drop everything and take on a new culture and life. It is one am and our internet isn’t working but I will post asap with a picture <3

June 10… Day before the weekend!

Today was another simple but great day. We went to school early because Marlous started her volunteer project close to the school and I got to call my dad! It was great to hear his voice and it made my day! I love you dad! School was interesting today because I wasn’t feeling very good but had so much planned. At break I reserved the hotel rooms, lunch I organized a group of 16 to go out to eat at “spoon” a wonderful Costa Rican restaurant, then after school got a group to go shopping down in the art district! So the day zoomed by and I am here writing my blog after packing for the weekend. Some important facts about my day, I love spoon, I met someone wonderful in the art district. Yes, it was a boy. Haha but it was just a wonderful conversation. We talked for an hour while the others shopped, it saved me some money! It was so nice just to talk to a tican and not feel pressured into buying, going, doing, nothing just a wonderful conversation. I was able to speak in Spanish for the whole hour and actually understand what he was saying back. We started out with normal conversation and made fun of each other’s languages of course, then started talking about real life. One thing he said to me that I will never forget is, tu tiene muy pura ojos, it has so much more meaning in Spanish, but its you have very pure eyes, he explained to me that he could see my innocence and enjoyment of life in how clear my eyes displayed what was on my heart. It definitely changed the way I think about a lot of things and I feel so lucky that I got to have such a great conversation while walking through the shopping district. Pura Vida Juan José. I am now off to bed because I leave to the Pacific Coast at 5 in the morning! I will be beaching it in Santa Teresa and jumping off waterfalls in Montezuma! I love life! Pura Vida mis amigos! <3

June 9 Movie Day!!

Today was a pretty normal day in Costa Rica… except MARLOUS CAME BACK! It was wonderful getting my friend back!! We had a great day catching each other up on the latest CRLA gossip haha! It rained pretty hard today and it was the one-day I wore heels here so I now have crazy blisters but it was worth it! My classmates and I all decided to kinda dress up today, we straightened our hair and put effort into our outfits, it was kinda awesome and I kinda love my class! I think we have the most fun in the whole school. We laugh the whole time and our examples are always interesting facts about the others in the class, we try to keep Susana, our professor laughing the whole time. I am really going to miss it. We have really become a little family. After school Marlous and I went home and brought her mamatica flowers because she was in the hospital with horrible asthma and then to my house to bring my tiarica flowers and chocolate for her birthday. Then off to the cinema! We saw Prince of Persia with a bunch of people from school and I pretty much loved it. After that we returned to Marlous’s house to arrange our pictures and we hung out with her Mamatica and abuelatica what a riot those two are! We could not get them to stop talking for an hour. So now im exhausted but happy and off to bed!