Welcome family and friends! Starting yesterday, January 17 at 4:50 PM, my adventure began at the Miami International Airport on my way to Cusco, Peru for my four month long study abroad and volunteer program and then two months making my way around Peru and Ecuador, and wherever else I happen to feel like going. I can’t believe after all this waiting and planning I am finally here! Well, it didn’t all start so…calmly we can say. When my mom dropped me off at the airport I was a wreck, so much so that people actively looked away from me and one kind man even brought me a cup of water. I think you got the picture, so I finally made it through security and to the plane, and all I needed was some distraction and sleep, but lo and behold, not only was there a shrieking toddler in the seat directly in front of me, but on top of that the audio on my personal television was not functional. Fabulous. So I just disappeared into my book until the words were swirling together so much that I had to fall asleep. That didn’t last long, though, as the toddler was back to her screeching and no matter how hard I tried sleep just would not grace me with its presence again. Finally, though, I arrived in Lima, alone and exhausted. My first step once I was there was going through immigration, which took around an hour and a half (perfect time for me to get some more reading in). I finally got through and picked up my luggage, which was way heavier than I initially realized. I got through customs and was about to go check in for my flight to Cusco at 6:40 the next day when a woman came up to me and started telling me in spanish that Taca Airlines does not allow you to check in until 5 AM and that I should allow her to drive me to some hotel and give me food and shelter. I had been warned about things like this so I graciously declined, but she did not seem to get the picture. She followed me to exchange my money and tried to keep telling me I should come with her, but I somehow finally managed to get away from her. Right after this I learned that I would not be able to check in until 4 AM, so I decided to put my luggage in a locker for the rest of the night for 40 soles (about $15) and go try to find WiFi to Skype with my family. It turns out it is not that simple. One way to get internet is to buy it for a day from an internet provider called Vex, but apparently they can and did run out of vouchers. I was very close to meltdown at this point as it was around 12:30 AM and I got very close to buying a week long internet connection for $25…it had been a long day. Eventually, though, I walked past none other than Starbucks and saw several people on laptops, and knew I found my spot for the rest of the night. I sat down to begin to Skype when I noticed a girl looking at me. I forgot about it, though, and went to sit at a table, which happened to be near her. I started my call with my mom and dad, when all of a sudden I heard the same girl mention a four month long volunteer program she was here to do. Long story short, she is my house mate in my host home and had recognized me from Facebook! We talked for a while and then all of a sudden saw two girls who we realized were probably also part of ProWorld, and they were! We ended up staying up the rest of the night together and talking and then went to our respective flights around 4:30 AM, on which I promptly passed out across two seats before the plane even took off. Suddenly, I was woken up by the flight attendant speaking too quickly in spanish, which I put together as her telling me to sit up because we were about to land. I sat up and looked out the window and was blown away, I was flying right over the Andes mountains! Minutes later we had landed in Cusco and got off the plane to meet up with ProWorld staff who drove us to a hotel called Los Aticos where we are staying the night. While waiting for our site coordinator to arrive, me and the rest of the girls who were already here got in bed and passed out for two and a half hours. We woke up to the sound of the other group members arriving, and went downstairs to meet everyone. We had a short orientation with ice breakers where I met my entire group, Sarah, Amanda, Becca, Emily, Brandon, Noah, and strangely enough Arianna, and then we were off to lunch at a delicious vegetarian restaurant, where they had a buffet of different salads and menú, which is a set menu that consisted of a delicious soup and either beans and rice or this noodle dish, but we were all too altitude sick to eat it all! We left lunch and went to the Plaza de Armas, which is the main city center to begin a walking tour of the city. We went all around to different areas and saw beautiful cathedrals built by the spaniards, but the fascinating thing was that many of the bases of the buildings were built by the Incas and then built on top of by the spaniards. You can tell the difference between the stones because the more recent ones are held together by cement, and the Inca stones were just carved and fit together perfectly like a puzzle, and they are so sturdy that in the earthquake in Cusco in the 1950s many buildings collapsed, but none of the Inca foundations did. One stone had twelve different sides and angles to it! Also on our walking tour we went and saw some beautiful art, including in the chapel inside the 5 star Hotel Monasterio full of gorgeous sculptures and paintings. Much of the art in Cusco is Catholic themed, but with a mix of traditional Incan styles stuck in, making a beautiful combination of traditional and spanish artwork. After the walking tour we went back and had a two hour orientation about ProWorld and some the things we are going to be doing, after which everyone was so exhausted we didn’t even want dinner. I went straight to my room and laid down in bed and then here we are! 

Sorry it was such a long post, but get ready for some more great stories and photos to come and if I left anything out due to my exhaustion I will get it to you as soon as I can!