It is Sunday night here at 9:30 ... it is 10:30 there because as I found out tonight while skyping with the parents is that they don´t observe daylight savings time down here. So I am an hour behind here in Perú, will be on the same time in Chile, and will be an hour ahead in Argentina and Uruguay.

I have been exploring Arequipa a little bit and doing so through shopping with Andrew. We have found so much stuff down here that is SOSOOOOSOO cheap, but one thing that is weird is that all of the pharmaceutical products are very expensive ... we spent $15 on sunblock and contact solution, but I suppose everything evens out.

Last night we took a group of niños out to the mall where all of the rich people hang out. We ate dinner with them and then we saw Star Trek! It was so much fun and the kids loved it ... niño can mean around 3-12 and chico is more 13-19ish. The kids we took out were from 4 to 7 years old. They couldn´t read the subtitles fast enough, but they just liked all the action.

Today we went with two chicos (14 & 16) to the local church and then went out to eat some lunch. Andrew and I had $6 meals and a 2 1/2 L coke that only cost $4. So again... everything is so cheap!

Later on today I tried to start working out, but I could only run about 2 miles because we are 7,800 feet above sea level! That is much higher than Denver. Because of the high altitude I have been getting really short breathed doing simple things like walking 5 blocks! I keep getting nose bleeds as well, but I guess that is the whole point of adjusting right? haha

Well I just spke with Mom, Jason, Carleigh, Mom, Dad, Whitt, and Chelsea all on Skype! We talked about an hour after we figured out how to use skype and that i was running an hour late because of the time discrepancy! It was SOSSOSOSOSOSOOSO good to hear from all of them! If anyone who is reading this wants to get skype and talk to me that´s great ... just send me an e-mail (jnewb@email.unc.edu) and we´ll set it up!

Now, I think that I am going to chill with the other volunteers and watch a movie, and maybe go to bed early tonight because me and Andrew are getting up early to do yoga/workout a bit/ and maybe i´ll run!

I am going to set up a flickr account to post pictures on because it is easier to view them that way, but i´ll send out more info about that later!

love yall and happy memorial day!

thus far!!!

i have been here two days and i love peru!!! i arrived at my friend arturo´s house yesterday at 1:30 en the morning and the accames were awesome! arturo y yo went on a tour of lima and visited cathedrals y catacumbas. after the tour we went out to a late lunch for my american appetite but i didnt eat dinner because i was so full! we had ceviche, conchas de parmasean (scallops with parmasean cheese), y i ate the parihuela -- a type of soup with calamari, shrimps, y mas marisco (seafood)... sorry that i keep switching back and forth from english a español pero estoy un poquito contento ( a little tipsy ) so i just write cualquiera word is coming to my mind! pa right now im in the volunteer house and just got back from la escuelita (the little school). me encantan los ninos y i am going to return tomorrow to hang out with the kids more! im going to help in the contruccion de la escuelita and teaching the kids english. tonight were going to a fancy dinner (ten dollars) becaause it is one of the voluntario´s last night here in arequipa! what me surprised me was that most of the volunteers no hablan español very well ... i am one of the better speakers in the house!!! entonces i have to go prepararme to go out to dinner and the go out to clubs!!!

gracias por leer lo que estoy haciendo (thanks for reading what i am doing)

chau a todos y te quiero (bye everyone and i love yall!!!)

It is Sunday, May 17, and I am about 36 hours from leaving RDU!!! I am flying to Miami and having a two hour layover and then flying to Lima. This link has a great map of South America (you can click on the picture to zoom in). Since I don't have anything to report, I am going to walk y'all through the first part of my viaje (trip).

I am going to arrive in Lima at 9:20. I am going to stay with my friend, Arturo, from UNC. He lives in Lima, so I got in touch with him, and he was awesome enough to arrange for a taxi to come pick me up and to offer me to stay at his house! The first day, I am going to hang around Lima and hopefully visit the coast. At 4:30 on the 20th, I am getting on a 17 hour bus ride to Arequipa to start working with Traveller Not Tourist until June 10th.

Traveller Not Tourist is a great organization that coordinates for people visiting Peru to contribute back to the local community. They provide responsible tourism that doesn't exploit the local population. I am really excited about working with them for 20 days. Hopefully, I'll get to get to know the kids at the orphanage really well and get to help them improve their opportunities in life!

Hasta luego