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1/11/07 from Alyssa in Switzerland

Grüetzi miteinand

Well, as I am more or less sick (by my American standards, not those of my classmates), I actually have a few hours to update about Christmas and New Years and randomness.

Hmm, Christmas was insanely quiet for my standards. Really, horror movie quiet, or butter commercial homely, whichever comparison you prefer. I went skiing in the morning, before the 3 inches of snow melted. Then Carla and I decorated the christmas tree. Then we waited for dinner. Before important dinners (or dinners where you have guests), there is always an apero, which means you drink a glass of wine or ice tea or whatever, and eat small things like thinly sliced salmon or breadsticks, or chips, or whatever. So there was also an apero (with slamon and toast out of a real TOASTER!!! I didn't know we had a toaster, so this was a fairly exciting development for me...). Then Carla bugged Juana Lydia and Kurt so much that we opened our presents before dinner. I got a watch from my host family, a handmade Patrick toy from Carla (I have taken to watching Spongebob here, for some reason, it is not as insanely stupid as it is in English, and Invader Zim is just a little too high over my level of understanding, mostly because of the complete randomness and constant mention of ham.), and from my family at home I got clothes, an earring and necklace set from my aunt, the traditional Xmas PJs from my mom and dad, and 3 games for my nintendo DS (which I had already opened before Christmas...Oops.) The best present by far was Juana Lydia's red New Years underwear. Apparently, in Italy, it brings good luck to wear new red underwear on New Years Eve. When Juana Lydia heard this a few weeks back, she said jokingly that that should be her Xmas present. We laughed, a lot.

 

So then we ate dinner, which consisted of some sort of rice with carrots and meat. It's from Nicaragua (my host mom is from there). I learned there is absolutely no real traditional christmas supper food, mabe Carp, but only because of all the foreigners in Switzerland. Then we went to bed.

I spent the next few days skiing- there really isn't much more to do at my family's vacation house. I perfected my technique of not falling down (because I can't stand up with skis on. So my strategy was not to fall in the first place.) My host sister Paula's boyfriend came to stay with us a few days. And it turns out that our skitrip was cancelled due to lack of snow. Oh well, there was still snow by the vacation house, so I just stayed there.

On new year's eve, we had guests, the leader of Sofinisbas, which is the organization with which my host dad went to Nicaragua with (in order to build houses, I think), and his wife, who is Canadian, and therefore speaks really odd german. But anyway, it was nice having a vegetarian in the house, because I didn't have to eat so insanely much meat as before (I still lean towards vegetarianism...). So on New Years, we had Rocklette, which is a swiss speciality involving, guess what, CHEESE. (They had asked me what the biggest surprise in comming here was, and I said that the Swiss really do eat that much cheese. There was much laughter, because it's true, and I don't like cheese, I suppose...) There is a little oven on the table, and you take out your tray, out a slice of cheese on it, and put it back in the oven. then you wait for it to melt. In the meantime, you can take a potato, and cut it up, along with small pickled onions and pickles. When the cheese is done, you put it all over everything and eat it. I prefer it to fondue by quite a considerable margin.

Then after a few more days of skiing and doing basically nothing, I came home to a pile of mail. My counsoler gave me Chuchichäschtli, the Swiss German- German - English Dictionary and a scarf. (For those of you who don't know, the real test of your swiss german knowledge is being able to say "Chuchichäschtli" without people laughing at you. I can almost do it. Almost. The last time I said it was in front of my German teacher, who silently started cracking up.) As well as a small package from LeighAnne, with a cd full of pictures and recordings (which are all on my MP3 player) which was and continues to be insanely cool. And hillarious.

In short, the whole holiday experience was exactly the opposite of what I do at home.

For the next 3 weeks I go to school normally, then the week after that, I have Theater Week. Believe it or not, I have a part in the play. "Endgame" by Sâmuel Beckett. I am Hamm 2. To make the Beckett play actually intresting (because trust me, his plays aren't. It's what doesn't happen that is important, not what does), we split the two main characters into 6 pairs, which means that I only have 1/6 of the lines I would have if I were the only person playing Hamm. And anyway it is cool. I hope someone records it actually. In short, it's the end of the world. Hamm can't walk, and Clov waits on him and keeps saying he's going to leave Hamm. Which he does, presumably at the end. After tons of intresting exchanges like

"Clov!"

"Yeah."

"What time is it?"

"The same as normal"

"Have you checked?"

"Yes."

"and?"

"Nothing."

"It must have rained."

" It won't rain."

Facinating.

Anyway, after theater week, I have two weeks more of vacation. Then a few more weeks, then easter vacation. Then slightly more school, then summer vacation. Then I come home. That is crazy.

Mm, I am trying to think of the political issues going on in Switzerland, but there aren't really any new ones. In Geography yesterday, we started learning about World Hunger, which was intresting. There was an article in a magazine with pictures of normal families from around the world with a weeks worth of food for them. Pictures from Chile, Germany, America, Japan, a refugee camp in Africa, and Austriallia. Some of it was really disgusting. But the American family had Ramen!! So we digressed a little while I rambled about how insanely delicious ramen is. Geography is where we talk about world issues and current events and stuff like that, so as you can imagine, sometimes it is rather uncomfotable. We discussed the hanging of Saddam yesterday, where for once, America wasn't actually under pressure. We discussed why europe was so outraged about this one particular execution when executions take place everyday around the world that are even less deserved.

A weird cultural difference came up in the pictures of a weeks worth of food around the world. The picture of the germans was so orderly. Everything in a line, all the drinks together, sorted between alchoholic and nonalchoholic, etc.  The class lâughed as our teacher pointed it out, but stopped when he asked how they would order it. Exactly the same. Whereas the Americans just sort of had theirs on the table like they had taken it out of the cabinets. Read into that what you like.

There is a lot of talk about how unnormally warm this winter is. The snowfall border is at 2000 meters above sea level. The last few days it has been somewhere around 10-15 degrees Celcius. Above freezing by a considerable ammount. which leads to another difference between my classmates and I: namely being that my intrest in the environment, though it has grown while I am here, is still really almost nothing in comparison, but really high for an American. Oh well. 

I hope you all are having fun. Greetings to teh extended family, because I don't know how many of them read this, and to Peter (in case LeighAnne is reading). And the band, and the outbounds, and all the german students.

Ciao miteinand.

Alyssa

1/10/07 from Claidia in Spain

Prestidigitación

1/9/07 from Aishah in Brazil

The moon was full and the crashing of waves against the rocks lulled me into dreamland as i rested in a hammock by the beach early on New Year´s Eve. The soulfull voice of Tracy Chapman filled the veranda, finally reaching my favorite song "New Beginning." Until this moment, I had never realized how appropriate this song was for the New Year. Her words proposed a challenged, one that i have always felt all in this world should challenge themselves with. So, in this new "beginning" i wanted to share her words with you, and perhaps you will take them to heart and make something of them in this new year and always.

The world is broken into fragments and pieces

That once were joined together in a unified whole

But now too many stand alone There's too much separation

We can resolve to come together in the new beginning

Start all over

We can break the cycle - We can break the chain

We can start all over - In the new beginning

We can learn, we can teach

We can share the myths the dream the prayer

The notion that we can do better

Change our lives and paths

< font size= "2"> The past month and a half have been incredibly busy and i apologize for my late responses to emails and updates and what not. But, hopefully this email will help a little bit. The month of December brought many changes. I moved to my second family. Which, is actually the family I met in Venice, Italy last year. So, before I even got here I had known them very well. I have a sister who is 9and abrother who is7. Mylittle sister, Ana Cecilia is very special to me. We spend an incredible amount of time togetherand I´msure shehas no ideahow muchshe has helpedme withmy portuguese.

< font size= "2"> Christmas, or Natal as we say in portuguese, was a difficult timefor meat first. Iwas reallyhomesick, something I hadn´t experienced like the other exchanges had. I had never realized how much time or how many traditions we have in my family or in our town back home until they were no longer there. And in addition, choir, something that has always been a large part of my life was absent. So, listening to christmas songs wasn´t an obtion, and we don´t have snow here, and we had almost no decorations. I was very distraut finding myself without the "Christmas Spirit" until i recieved apackage frommy auntwith a musicbox playinga christmas carol.Thenjust afew dayslater i recieved a large box frommy mompacked full ofall myfavorite christmas items from back home. You know someone is really special when they know exactly what to pack in a box to return the spiritof Christmasto someones heart.Thanks Mommy! So after this I got motivated to make Christmas cookies with my siblings and watch the Nutcracker and I finally felt saddness no more. Christmas in my family here was really fun and special. We all got dressed up and went to my Grandmother´s house. There we did a special Christmas program that she created, complete with acting which was really fun. Then afterwards we did our secret santa game which was also really funny.Then exchanged other presents and then on to the huge meal. Afterwards all of my brothers, sisters, and cousins and I went to a party called Natal Normal with all of our friends. 

At the beach,I went to two different concerts. The one on New Years was really neat because it had several different bands. On the night of New Years Eve, my family made a large dinner. Then at midnight we picked flowers and walked to the ocean. There, we jumped 7 waves and made a wish.; This tradition comes from one of the native tribes here. In addition we all wear white and colored underwear for goodluck.Thecolors goas follows: red= love, yellow= money, white= peace, green= health. < /p> < p> < font size= "2"> On New Years day, my family and I headed for a long trip. First we stayed in Macerole, then we went to João Pessoa so I could meet some of my cousins. There we visited one of the oldest churches in Brasil and one of the oldest forts. Then we headed for Reciefe and Porta de Galinhas. The last night we were there was January 5th, the day before my birthday and Ashleigh and her friends from Reciefe took me out to celebrate my 19th birthday.  < /p> < p> < font size= "2"> The next day we traveled back home to Teresina and I got to celebrate with some of my friends and the next evening with my family. All in All the holiday season went really great.

Its hard to believe I´mat myhalf way pointalready. The time has flown by faster than ever! Thank you to everyone who;has made this possible... itreally has been the experience of a lifetime and its not overyet!

< font size= "2">  I love and miss you all and as always look forward to hearing from you.

1/8/07 from Alexandra in Italy

1/4/07 from Jen in Peru

My sleeping patterns have officially been destroyed.  Thus a Holday-ish
email at 1:20 in the morning.  They've all gotten used to my 11 AM wake up
time.  : P

I realized now that I left out a lot in my last email as far as pictures and
information but I think I will hold out until later since they have nothing
to do with good ol' Saint Nick, Auld Lang Syne, and drinks all around.

I warn you now, it gets long because my personal thoughts are shoved in
there..how dare me.

CHRISTMAS

Being in South America (where not only are the seaons different, but the way
you turn a spiggot's handle to turn on the water..keep in mind..OPPOSITE
DIRECTION..I was conditioned to fail with spiggots by you
America...CONDITIONED!) made Christmas into an odd experience.  Whereas in
Pennsylvania I'd be leaving the house with a heavy coat or a sweatshirt and
cuddling under heavy comfortors at night, here it's summer, thus provoking
the opposite.  To Lily (who is from much colder and much more likely to be
invaded by Canadians Vermont) and me, it just didn't seem like Christmas was
coming.  Even when the lights were going up and the tree sat in my living
room, it still just didn't feel like it.  I guess spending your entire life
in a cold-ridden area will do that to you.

Here, Christmas is mostly the 24th.  The 25th is mainly a day where people
get together and party (not that they don't party for the most random
reasons anyway.).  My host-sister (how odd it is to call them "host" when to
my heart, they are my family) decided we would open our presents on the
24th.  She saw no reason why not to do it.  So we gathered in the living
room in front of our tree with a small pile that would make any spoiled
American child cry, but which for me was just right.  Christmas, as I feel
all must learn, is about families, not presents.  Victor brought out the
champagne and we all toasted while Victor handed out the gifts.  Most of
them were for me, which surprised me as I hadn't wanted them to buy me
anything.  As I had said to my mother when she told me that she hoped I
liked them, "It's not what the present is, it's that it came from the
heart."

They handed out the presents from my parents and the presents from me, and
that's where I felt content.  Everyone was happy with what I'd gotten and
what my mom had sent.  They truely appreciated it.  If I am able to say so,
I do believe my host-brother was in awe.  Yet at the same time, I felt a pit
because I couldn't buy the one thing I wanted for Victor.  In it's place was
a small card...a sort of "IOU" that merely said, "For Victor this Christmas.
  Obviously I was unable to buy your Christmas present (you were there).  So
for this Christmas I give you a promise that later we will go together and
buy your shirt of Alianza Lima.".  My father tried to see it but he closed
it real quick and said "No, it's mine."

We laughed at the dumbest things and I couldn't have been happier if I were
surrounded by my family in the States.

Afterwards, I changed into the clothes that they had bought me (none of my
old ones fit unless I want to walk with them around my ankles) and the shoes
I had bought myself and we went to my Aunt's house at around 10.  There we
did the usual party things..drink..talk..have a good ol' merry time.  Yet
much like New Year's, there came a melodious countdown and when the clock
struck midnight and the day changed to the 25th an uproar of "FELIZ NAVIDAD"
came thundering into my ears.  Everyone embraced and kissed and gave their
wishes for a Merry Christmas.  Finally when everyone had hugged everyone, we
all gathered in a circle.  A small baby Jesus was passed around and everyone
gave their blessings and thanks for the years and kisses his head.  It was
only after everyone was done that the baby Jesus was placed in the Nativity.
  He is kept out until this day.

A toast is then raised and afterwards everyone eats (mind you it is 1 in the
morning).  After dinner small gifts are exchanged and everyone sits and
talks.  Then, around 2 or 3 in the morning, Christmas is brought to an end. 
Everyone goes home and sleeps only to wake up and party the next day.  And
that's exactly what we did.

NEW YEARS

I will start off by saying that everyone wears yellow underwear for New
Years.

New Years was marked by Lily staying at my house for 5 days.  On Sunday we
went to my Aunt's house in Callao at around 11:00 at night.  We got there
and sat down for a while until it got closer to time.  Victor and my cousins
were setting off fireworks and people had started a huge bonfire in the
streets.  My aunt passed out packets of grapes in yellow netting for
everyone.  12 grapes to be exact.  Each grape was a wish..and you had to eat
them.  Personally I gave four away to my brother and his friend Willy (more
like told Willy to eat them and he did).  At the stroke of midnight everyone
throws yellow confetti and hugs and kisses and goes "Feliz Año".  Afterwards
the party BEGINS.  Ours lasted until 7 in the morning where everyone was
quite drunk..including a 16 year old who puked on himself.  And I'll let it
out there..I danced.  Horribly...but I danced.

And that is my story of the holidays Peruvian style.

Con mucho amor y cariño mando ésta carta con deseos de años felíces para
todos.  Espero que todos tus sueños y deseos sean reales y, además, que el
mundo nunca te muestra su lado feo y que el sol siempre brille sobre tu ser.
~*Jen*~

PS:  Official time:  1:55  Time to watch FOX!  WOO NO MOLESTAR!  The
Simpsons..Futurama..Family Guy..all in Spanish-ish glory!

12/30/06 from Alexandra in Italy

School is going well-- the teachers still don't seem to care what I do, but

now that I understand the lessons and can participate, they're pleasantly

surprised when I actually do the work. It's still frustrating how much my

class studies. All of my Italian friends only go out one night a week, if

that. I find it hard to believe that they really need to study as much as

they actually do-- perhaps if they paid more attention in school they

wouldn't need to study quite so much-- but I keep my mouth shut. I found

that a way to spend more time with my Italian classmates is to translate the

plots of the stories in "Dubliners" (what we're studying in English class)

into Italian to help them prepare for their tests. I'm not complaining-- it

helps me with my Italian and them with their English. Right now its

Christmas break, which is much longer than High School Christmas break in

the US. It started a few days before Christmas and it goes until January

8th. January 7th is the Befana, which is the day when a witch comes and

fills kids' stockings with candy. Sort of a combination of the candy of

Halloween and the stockings of Christmas. My Italian friends were shocked

that we don't celebrate it in America. Anyway, as the vacation is so long,

many Italians go away. A lot of people in my class are in the South and my

first host family is in Switzerland. Since my host mom has already gone back

to work, I'm still in Milan but I'm sort of glad to be here. There aren't

many people around so the city is much less crowded than it usually is, so I

have time to go to museums and do all the touristy things that I haven't

done yet. Switzerland is beautiful but I little boring for me since I don't

ski, anyway. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I'm going to a party with some

people in my class, hopefully that will be fun.

Oh, and about the subject line... that's how I introduce myself these days.

For some reason, people don't understand me when I say Philadelphia unless I

saw it with an Italian accent, and I feel really silly saying Philadelphia

with an Italian accent. However, people get it when I saw "come il

formaggio" which means "like the cheese." Here, they call cream cheese

Philadelphia... like the brand. That makes three things that they associate

with the city-- cream cheese, Rocky, and "City of Brotherly Love".

I know this was short, especially considering how long it's been since I

wrote an email, but I just wanted to say hi and let you know how I've been

doing. Hopefully I'll do a better job of sending out these mass emails in

the future. Happy New Year! I miss you!

Love,

Alexandra

12/29/06 from Christine's blog

hello everyone!! merry christmas!!
i just realized that i haven't updated since thanksgiving, and shame on me. it's been an extremely busy time of year, what with all of the visits and everything that we've made. but it was a nice christmas, aside from the fact that i wasn't at home and celebrating with all of you.
Christmas in Germany is celebrated on Christmas Eve.. we got up at around nine and had breakfast.. a really good breakfast with brötchen and marmalade and nutella.... mmm. nutella.. we don't have that at home. it's like this yummy mix of chocolate and hazelnut that you spread onto whatever you want.. it's sort of like peanut butter, but better. i plan to bring at least a liter of this stuff home with me.. it's so good... anyway.. and coffee and everything you can imagine, cheeses and leberwurst (which, i must admit, is not my favorite...) and lots of yummy stuff. then we all got ready to go to church, but the service wasn't really like.. a service.. it was more like a play.. a bunch of kids, confirmees (is that even a word?) put on the whole christmas story play.. it was cute. and i had fun singing all of the german christmas songs. (silent night was my forte. : ) ) and then we came home and had coffee, baumkuchen (this really good cake which consists of lots of little layers of cake.. it's delicious. and it was homemade by my host brother in law's father. mm.) and cream puffs. and that was really good. then we opened gifts. so gift opening works this way: everyone has a pile somewhere in the room and it's usually on a table or something and in the middle of all of the gifts is a candle burning. it was really pretty. and the youngest gets to start with the gift opening. it's very orderly... nothing like the hurricane of wrapping paper, ribbon, and boxes that i'm used to. but it was neat because christoph is always the one who gets to go first since he's the youngest. but this year i'm the youngest and so i got to go first.. lol. and i got lots of nice things, a pretty pearl necklace from sybille, two new watches from grandmom, and a cookbook full of german recipes (who's going to be your favorite person next year when dinner time rolls around?) that's right.. next year, i plan to make glühwein and klöse and spätzle for everyone! yaay! and i got a new calendar, and a bunch of books, including a journal from home with a baby picture taped in it, which my entire host family found soooo sweet. (sigh.) and among other things, a scarf/gloves/hat set from home, which is sweet, because it is cold here. at least today. tomorrow it's supposed to be 5 degrees (C) which is warm for winter. but today it's snowing like crazy!! aah! snow! it looks like a fairy tale outside! anyway, so we opened all of our gifts, and then we had a delicious dinner of Damwildbraten (so.. damwild is a cross between an elk and a deer.. we ate the back of one which karl had shot in the woods. it was yummy, if i didn't think of Bambi.) with rotkohl (red cabbage) and potatos.. it was delicious. absolutely lecker if i may say so myself. and then we sat around and looked at old slides of when everyone in the family was young, i.e. baby pictures of hans and susi, my host bro & sis (christoph wasn't born yet when slides were still in fashion...) then at around eleven o'clock, christoph and my host cousin, Erich, got up and asked me if i wanted to come with them to church. so i'm thinking.. okay.. church again? turns out, it's a tradition here in Frohnau that all of the kids meet in front of the church while their parents go to midnight mass. and it was so beautiful, at midnight, the bells in the church tower started ringing SO loud and there were fireworks and everything. it was really beautiful. oh, and i gave momo the bones that missy sent to him for christmas... and i think it's love.

so basically, although it was a hectic season, it was also a beautiful one. as well as a difficult one, because I miss you all terribly. but I wasn't alone for Christmas, and that made it a little better. i'll post some new years eve pictures as soon as i can!

12/29/06 from Julia in Russia

12/28/06 from Jenn L in Costa Rica

off a warning.. i cannot spell.. in the usa i sucked at spelling ..but here i hardly wever write in english or read ... so my spelling has gone down hill.. not to mention that i foget what suff is called in english... like bus station...yea i had to look that up in the spanish dictionary..so thats why i need a dictionary...to look up the english words....) so now that the christmass season is dying down and the chrstmass fat is starting to go away..from all those tamales which i will get to. i have time to write me "big " email...lol.. So the christmass "season" here started about a month ago on the first of december with putting up the christmass lights and my neighborhood/street had a small parade with lights and music to put up christmass lights in the "play" or park on the street corner. Ok so its not really a corner.. more like a small piece of land enclosed with a fence where 5 streets that are all of the same name intersect... i live on "barrio el carmen" and theres what i would call five other streets named the same... i would call them 5 different streets cause they go in 5 different directions... but whatever..the road constructors here are crazy... one streets in "one way" and the other is 2 way...and then they throw in a radonda or like a Big circle where if u wanted to could go around foreverrrr... but whatever...so they lit up the lights the first of december...then my family put up the "portal" umm.. in english.. wait. ...manger? i think thats what its called... i know what its called but as jennifer (the one in peru) said... its wierd to forget english words..and be stairing at a billbord trying to figure out what its called in enlgish... ok back to the manger.. we set it up outside and because it only has a fence with pointy metal spikes surrounding it .... (only) we have to take it in every night before it gets dark so no ones steals it. wait did i mention that the people... mary and jesus are like 2 feet tall?.. so yea its pretty big.. then for christmass night my mom spend the day in the kitchen and we had over my dads side of the family and my moms too. some friends stopped bye and the people who have stores near our house too... the guy who sews, the 2 girls from the massage clinic in front and the corner store (pulperia). my mom cooked pig that my dad went and got from the farm. yes, it actually died in chrsitmass morning and they brought it home in a cooler... and then they roasted it.. i tried to stay out of the kitchen for that...and didnt open the freezer.. then she make a chocolate "christmass cake" which i would call a birthday cake.. and potatos, chicken, rice( who would want to forget rice at a meal) and salad with apples on top and mayonase ( i know i didnt spell that right) for dressing.. at 6 everyone wanted to take a shower at the same time so there was the "whos gonnna take a shower first " descussion... and then get ready for the party guests. everyone was casually dressed up ( i know julie, sarah and jill wanna know what i wore so for the rest of you bare with me) so i wore jeans with black heels, a brown tube top, my hair was in a ponytail and curly in the back, a brown necklace that my sister lent me with earings that matched, when i had gone to san jose i got liquid eyeliner and still cant put it on in a straight line so melissa(my host sister) did it for me. after 2 trips up and down the stairs with platters of food i could walk in the heels. around 10 after eveyone had eaten dinner "santa" came. Tía Dinora(i dont think thats how you spell it) (aka santa) brought out ALL the presents.. the guests had each brought about 5 gifts..for their kids and gifts for my parents... and my family had brought down ALL the christmass presnts and put them in the biggest plastic bag i have ever seen..and santa came dragging the huge bag..."hohoho"( its the same in spanish as it is in english) santa called out the names on the presnts and handed out probably 30 presents..which took a good hour. I was suprised each person in my family had gotten me a present and really felt like part of the famiily. my mom got me a book by Miguel de ( Cervantes Saavedra) and a blue t shirt. my dad went out shopping by himself and picked out a blue tank top..that i actualy have on now... (my sister was really suprisdd that he had good taist and picked out a cute shirt) and i was quite suprised too.. Melissa and Alvaro got me a pink halter top(clothes are big here) with jewlery. and so thats my chirstmass... the party ended at 1 and everyone went home. we cleaned up the house and put away all the chairs. i ended up going to bed at 3 cause after a TON of coke to stay up to help clean up.. i got a package from the USA and opended it on the 25th and it had presents from my family so that was nice and made me miss them less... ok my fingers are tierd hope you are all well.. write me emails.. love jenn

12/22/06 from Jen J in Peru

As I sit in my chair trying to recall what is was I even wrote last time, I realise it's a bit chilly. Just a bit. Sorry Pennsylvania, can't say I miss your weather.

Now to recall what HAPPENED. That alone is quite a feat.

I noticed now that my ability to spell in my mother language is going downhill. With this goes my ability to remember certain words. Have you ever had to stare at a billboard and wrack your brain for what it's called only to find you've completely forgotten it?

The weekend after Thanksgiving, the other exchange student and I decided to make a dinner. I took a micro to her house by myself which utterly surprised

her host mother. It was going fine, we had to run out maybe once to buy something we forgot. However, she's a vegetarian and can't even TOUCH meat.

This lead to me being in charge of all things turkey. Apparently you have

to tear the wings of a turkey off to cook it? I don't know. So there's me,

standing over a sink struggling with all my might to pull these turkey wings

off while the maid of Lily's (Other student) house stands there laughing at me and cleaning around me. Finally I got those off (and chased her little brother around with the wing going BRAWK BRAWK!) and pulled the intestines and guts out and put it in the other sink to clean it. As I was cleaning it

I saw something in the other end and pulled it out. "Okay more intestines."

So I put my hand back into the turkey to see if there was anything else and pulled something out...and screamed, "OH MY GOD THERE'S A FOOT!". Lily runs into the room and she screams, "No! THERE'S A HEAD!" and I look down and what I thought were more intestines was the turkey's head. The maid, once again, stood there laughing at me. Then, while in the middle of peeling the potatoes (I boiled them a bit first for ease of peeling) I turn

to Lily and go, "Did you turn the stove off?" "Ehhhh..no" was her

response. Turns out, we had been without gas for a good 10 or 20 minutes.

So we had to run the turkey up to her aunt's house. This meant going up a treachorous flight of spiral stairs every 5 minutes. We'd argue over who had to do it. In the end, it all turned out delicious though, and we both agreed we felt better about missing Thanksgiving with our families.

The next day, Rotary had a traditional Peruvian dance thing to benefit children. It was fun minus the fact that Lily and I were whiped out from the day before.

STORY! (I pulled it from my Xanga for lack of typage ability) The guy in the story made me angry..so it's a bit more of a rant. : P "So, I, Jennifer Johnson, was sitting in my History of Perú class quietly watching Star Wars with Spanish subtitles making fun of random voices with my classmates when the "Normas guy" (I can never remember his name) comes in

and pulls out the kids who are going to carry the flags next year during formation (ehm..monday thing..yeah whatever). 2 minutes or so later, they came back in and I hear "JEN VEN!" and the "normas guy" goes "JEN!". So I left and was informed someone came from the United States to....eh...even now I don't know. So we go downstairs and they're playing the American national anthem...and we wait...and wait..and wait..and WAIT for this guy to

get here. Finally he comes and we're still all wondering why he's here. No

one decided to tell us. We introduce ourselves (apparently I was pulled out

because I was American.) and we sit down to talk (this wasn't part of the

plan) and BAM I'm whacked in the face by a Republican from Florida. He never ONCE told us why he was there. And he says to us, "So, what do you think is the biggest problem with Perú?" I wanted to ask "WHY DO YOU CARE?!

WHY ARE YOU HERE?!" He kept going ON AND ON AND ON about America..and the

entire time I'm sitting there thinking "No one here cares....shut up." At one point he says "The people of America respect George Bush because he says

how he feels and what he thinks." and I wanted to say "What America are you looking at? Please tell me we haven't been taken over by idiots since I've left the country." I swear he thought I lived here for a long time. At one

point he asks me, "You went to a public school..well I assume you did?"

(This is where I think he thought I moved here a while ago or something.) and I said "Yeah." and he goes "It's horrible, your school." Right there I wanted to throttle him. If I had more of a backbone I would've said, "Oh so

you've been to my school? The one right behind the garbage dump and leaky powerplant." He was so..obnoxious. But not outrightly so. I think he probably felt my radiating hatred for everything he was. It wasn't that he's a Republican that I hated him, it's HIM that I hated.

Oh..and I had to touch a dead chicken's organs. Just a little side note. I

can now identify the gallbladder of a chicken. Isn't that exciting? By the

way, it's green. : P Although the spleen is a lovely shade of purple"

School for me is officially over. For me, it ended Wednesday because I decided Thursday would be dedicated to shopping, and Friday..well..who needs

Fridays? Thursday in the morning I went with my host brother to a market to

buy an adapter that changes Peru's 220 volts to 110 volts for my rechargable

batteries and MP3 player (which is en route!!). I bought a pair of shoes for 100 soles (Victor got them down from 120!!)..and searched and searched for an Alianza Lima shirt for Victor for Christmas(I eventually just had to tell him what I was looking for so he could help me.). Lily came over later

and we went with my host mom to Gamarra where I bought...MORE stuff. She stayed until..well..today. ^^

Really that's all that happened of note. Actually, I KNOW there are other things, I just can't think of them. So PICTURES! WOO! I kind of forgot to

make them smaller...sorry guys.

DSC01750.jpg --- This is a picture of most of the students in my class.

100_0742.JPG --- The other exchange student of Lima; Lily!

100_0765.JPG --- This is one of the dancers during the Peruvian dance show.

100_0774.JPG --- A street in Lima. I thought the buildings were pretty.

100_0776.JPG --- The old mixed with the new.

100_0779.JPG --- A cathedral in the district of Lima in Lima.

ewww.JPG --- --- Me wearing a hat for THE greatest soccer team EVER!

ALIANZA LIMA! GO ALIANZA!! My hairs gotten so long....

See Pictures in Gallery