the passenger's seat: Feliz Año Nuevo!;-) The glass half full.

whew. made it back. ;-) wow. for one, I'm completely 10 shades darker than i was 3 days ago. Lets just say my African blood is definitely starting to show haha;-). The radiation here is so much stronger. I literally feel like I am just directly putting my body under the coils of an oven. Like it isn't super super hot, just really really intense. Almost like you can feel the rays of sun destroying your body, laughing at how weak your sunscreen is.

Beyond looking like i got a spray tan this weekend, my hair also lightened up A LOT. Like this weekend people actually were noticing the change daily! It was so crazy. So now I'm even more of a blondie than before. ;-)

And now to actually let you know what I did this weekend. So we went "camping" again;-) So there's a beach resort that is affiliated with the other resort we went to last week. It contains an even bigger pool. A billion Ice Cream shops (deadly;-), a beach out of a movie, and a bajillion peruvians. It's an exclusive club so definitely was nice;-)

The Sperl's and I... In the Center of Lima;-)

The first day (friday) we spent by the pool... oh but before I went, spent a few hours with Jordan Sperl's (the exchange student from Prosser that went to Germany) family in Centro. It was incredible. Definitely was my first "real-life mixed with new life" experience. Definitely surreal. And definitely the hardest thing in the world to say goodbye in the end of the day.

But back to the club... Friday night we spent playing "Never have I ever..." A party where if someone says "Never have I ever..." and you've done it, you have to drink. (my glass was pure coca-cola;-) But it wouldn't have mattered anyways, I found myself with a glass full in the end anyways. Lets just say, my childhood, teenage years have been very different. God has protected me.

Our little group, that ended up getting a lot bigger haha;-)

Some people think it's so strange the way I'm am down here... sometimes;-) haha. when they're asking how many girlfriends a person has had, I'm asking if they have ever had a girlfriend. That's definitely been something really good for me about Peru. Learning to be content with who I am even when NO ONE is the same. But more importantly, learning to be okay with the fact that we are different. Learning to be comfortable being the odd one out. Learning to be okay being the only one with a full cup in the end of a drinking game.

Looking at the pool over the ocean.

Anyways, day 2 (saturday) was filled with sitting by the pool even more. Drinking the best frozen lemonade I've ever had (for less than 2 dollars), and sweating... a lot. Oh but we did receive a surprise saturday. One of the exchange students from Peru (Hernan) received his host family from America this week. So Honore and I spent a lot of time with them and their 2 kids (17 and 18). Definitely reassured me that I have definitely learned spanish while being here ;-) haha. And the craziest part about it... THEY WERE JEWISH! (don't know if you know, but i am too... Grandma from africa, yup. ) ;-) Anyways, it was such an amazing experience because they are Jewish by religion as well and just being able to talk to them about their lifestyle just overjoyed me. And not only that, the day is like a millionaire and uses his money to collect Holocaust memorabilia so he can travel around the world and inform people about what happened. Literally around the world-the family is going to Italy next week;-) and have been to peru twice;-) (website: www.spungenfoundation.org) But as you might know, anybody who enjoys study and informing about the holocaust is a friend of mine;-)

A little different view. ;-)

Me trying to cook hot dogs;-)

That night I cooked hot dogs on the grill for everybody. ;-) It was quite the experience as fireworks were exploding at my feet. Definitely a bit nerve-racking. And when it came down to the hour, we just kinda huddled in a group and made our own countdown. (considering there was no other way to tell when it was actually mid'night. And when it came. Fireworks like I've never seen in my life filled the sky in every part of the horizon. Just imagine being along about a 30 mile stretch of beach resorts where there are about 100 people lighting off fireworks in each resort. It was spectacular. Definitely surreal. And after greeting everybody and watching the fireworks pop like popcorn in a microwave... we headed back to the tents, talked until about 3 in the morning, and returned to sleep in the sand;-)

Enjoying our last few moments at the resort today;-)

Woke up today at 7, read my bible on a tennis court in Peru, went swimming, drank more frozen lemonade, ate tequenos, came home, and passed out from 12 until 7:30 tonight. And I guess if I made any new Years resolutions in all of that, it would be this...

The best frozen lemonade!!!!

----I'm going to appreciate life. Every day. Peru has slapped me in the face a billion times to tell me to come back to reality. To come to the here and now. To appreciate your family while you have them. To be content with those around you. And appreciating life for me isn't about reminding myself everyday to appreciate it. It is about an actual change in my mindset. From longing, to thanking. From wishing, to being content. From the having my mind in the U.S., to having it here. From looking at my watch, to looking at my friends. To realizing the sunsets on a beach in Peru in front of me, instead of the fact that I am tired. From reading the Bible, to applying the Bible. From praying to God, to praying to my Savior/friend. ----

Anyways, I'm back, it's 2012. Happy New Year.

"My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent." Proverbs 1:10
"Wisdom cries aloud in the streets, in the markets she raises her voice... 'How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?'" Proverbs 1:22

Enjoy some photos;-)