First Days in Huancayo

Hello Friends and Fam!

I have made it to the city of Huancayo. I left yesterday morning on a bus from Lima. The bus was amazingly nice, better than most airlines in the states!!! We had comfortable seats, a movie, a meal, and they even had a game of bingo for the entire bus! (Take that US Airways!) The woman who won bingo was hysterical, she took the microphone and gave a thank you speech! (Or told a joke, I wasn´t sure exactly what was going on).

The ride was almost entirely through the mountains, which were breathtaking. We literally went straight up from sea-level to 5,000 meters (more than 15,000 feet) in about six hours. Needless to say, I was quite queasy by the end. I´m not sure if it was more from the windy mountain roads, or the shock of the high altitude, but I was not a happy camper when I arrived in Huancayo. And hell if they were going to make me think in Spanish at that point, all I wanted was a bed! To my dismay, my host family had an entourage of people to greet me at their house. It was nice and all, but with my headache and thinking I might puke at any minute, it was hard to make a good impression.

My host "mom" (six years older than me), Marie, gave me some tea to help settle my stomach - coca tea that is. Illegal in the US, I believe its where cocaine is derived from, no? Anywho, apparently at that altitude (now slightly lower, 4,200 meters) there are no strange side effects from it. It tasted pretty plain. I had a nice conversation with Marie (in Spanish, I´m doing well!!!), then took a much-needed nap. I met two other girls who are staying in the house with me - they are from Utah, and yes, they are Mormon. They are also 19-year-old hairdressers. We walked around a bit before dinner. Apparently there is a Mormon church in Huancayo, but not a Catholic church? (I must have misinterpereted that part). Four other girls arrived from Iceland late last night, also staying in the house.

The home I am in is very nice, and I like my room a lot. There is electricity and running water, and hot water in the shower (heated by an electric showerhead). They have a flat roof with great views of the mountains and surrounding homes, here are two views:














My host family is so nice. Marie and Tino are my host "parents" (Tino is a Peruvian award-winning weaver, I plan to take a weaving class with him next week), they have two adorable young daughters, I´ll post pictures as soon as I have some, they are too cute. Then there is the extended family who lives in the house as well - Tino´s grandmother, Marie´s brother Jesus (who is also a tour guide), and a housekeeper. Tino also has another daughter from another marriage.

Huancayo is definitely a city, not the most attractive but it has all I need and more. Internet cafe´s on every corner, nice restaurants, etc. I can´t wait to do some tours with Jesus around the city, there are many wonderful villages surrounding the area. Here are two views of downtown Huancayo:


















I´ve been doing OK with the altitude, I was nauseous last night, but I´m not sure if it was more from the bus ride. My fingers and toes feel like they have pins and needles. Marie says its from the altitude and that it will go away in a few days.

That´s about all for now, I start classes tomorrow (teaching and learning), so I will let you know how that goes.

Spanish lesson for the day - Hasta Luego! (Until Later)

Joan

PS - My host family addresses me as Juanita, for some reason Joan is practically impossible for them to say ; )