Updates

World Map:
My good friend, who shall remain unnamed, payed a return visit to the school. Apparently he wanted to paint so he broke into the classroom again and painted a portion of one wall bright yellow. It appears that he also kicked the paint can over because there was also yellow paint all over the floor. Despite the disaster I encountered I decided it would be best to ignore it and paint the map. However, I then realized he had also gotten the urge to fill all of the paint cans with water. At this point I also realized I needed the yellow paint. Go figure, it was nowhere to be found. Now, I had passed this young man on my way to paint and he had said hello as always and acted perfectly normal. I was left with no option but to confront him so I charged back to where I had seen him and found him calmly sipping away at a slushy. When asked where the yellow paint was he responded, ¨Why, it's in the plants" as if that was it's logical storage location. I made him go back to the school to show me exactly where it was and he offered me some of his slushy as if I was in the mood for a slushy! As for the map it's nearly complete and looks very nice.

Health:
It should be known that Peace Corps volunteers spend a disconcerting amount of time discussing bowel movements and stool consistency. Hence, I have decided that the rest of you might as well be privy to my current health status. Basically it hasn't been normal since I got to site, my stool that is. But then came the day about a week ago when for once I was normal...for TWO entire days. Imagine my excitement. I was basically rejoicing. Then out of a dark doorway emerged a glass, a glass of impending doom. That's how I felt anyway when I was beckoned over to the entry of the house of the older man who has befriended me to find that he was extending me a large glass of guanabana juice in the dirtiest glass I've ever seen. Honest to God, it had mud on the inside and I know for a fact that the water was NOT boiled. Rather than refuse I cheerfully chimed, "I love guanabana juice!" Things haven't been normal since.

I also may have a stress fracture in my foot from running. I stopped running before Christmas but it still hurts so I'm going to get an x-ray.

My doctor was in the department of Lambayeque recently so she came to visit me at my site. It just so happened that she was here over the lunch hour. Of course my family gave me three times the normal amount of food and then proceded to tell her that I don't eat. My host-mom, as serious as could be, was like, "Karen, you better finish your whole plate." Thank goodness my doctor came to the rescue and told her that we people of the U.S. aren't used to eating such large portions.

Language:
My host-sister and I were walking back from the store the other day when we passed one of my old man friends on his bicycle. As always, he stopped for a brief chat. After the usual courtesies he told me he was going to buy a Marciano, the sketchy but tasty frozen juice pops that I'm always being offered. To which I replied, "Umm, que rico!" This means somethings like, "Yum, how delicious!" Then he mentioned something about purchasing rubbing alcohol which kind of confused me but then we went on our way. My sister asked me what I had just said and she looked pretty damn amused. Turns out he had said he was on his way to see Mariano, the older gentleman who owns the store. ¡Que rico! I'm pretty sure no one says that about Mariano anymore!