A Buddhist Lecture, Salsa Lessons, and Drinking

Last weekend we stayed in town and could not have done more. On Friday night a few of us went to a Buddhism, or Budismo in Spanish, lecture, where even though we did not understand the language, we were able to participate in a group meditation and meet some interesting people.

After the lecture, everyone that lives in our home-stay met up at a local bar that teaches salsa lessons for free every night from 9-11pm. Diana got her face painted, and we drove the DJ crazy requesting Beyonce, and Ke$ha, but all in all it was a really fun night, and was much needed after a hard week of school and volunteering.

Fiesta

On Saturday we decided to have a small party in our apartment, because several new people were about to arrive, and a few people who had arrived with us are about to leave. We gathered everything we needed at the San Pedro market, including llama jerky, olives, bread, two types of cheese, puffed corn snacks, and fruit. Two of the volunteers gathered the alcohol, and Diana and I made some toasted cheese sandwiches, while everyone else cut and organized the spread. We had an amazing time all hanging out together and eating and drinking, but went to bed fairly early to prepare for our trip to Tipon the next day.

Hostel Happenings

We are staying at Backpackers Family Hostel, and are having an amazing time with the owner Pedro, and his associates. On Thursday morning Pedro gave us a two-hour interactive Spanish class, complete with stapled packets of information and a white board! We learned a vast amount of topics and some basic grammar, and then were able to practice it all at the end when we were quizzed. Later that night, Pedro made everyone in the hostel Peru’s national drink, a Pisco Sour, which is Pisco (a Peruvian brandy) mixed with fresh lime juice, topped with frothed egg whites, and sprinkled with bitters.