COLAN - Año Nuevo

The 31st in the morning we were kicked out of the garden of the house we were staying at, for reasons we don't understand. So AniLu and I brought our stuff to Rafo's house, one of Jose's friends, where Jose and his brother Cesar were staying. Then we went to eat lunch and in the late afternoon went to beach to get a tan and swim in the ocean again. After spending some time in the Camacho we went back to the house to get ready for the party. We put on our dresses and make-up and went to the party. There are so many people in Colan for this party for New Years, so to get in the party you have to stand in line for quite some time in order to get in. And in order not to being standing in line at midnight you have to get there at least half an hour earlier. At midnight we saw really pretty fireworks and then the party started. We danced and had fun, although it was extremly cold. The party was divided in 3 parts: Preferencial ( this is where most of my friends and I were ) , VIP, and Platinium. We stayed until like 5 o'clock in the morning and then went to the Camacho to wait for Jose's parents to get us by car. There were so many people in Rafo's house, so AniLu and I shared a bed and a blanket. We got up late the next day and went to eat lunch, and then I got a temporary tatoo. =)
There was another party the 1st and after the party we slept in Rafo's house again, but then on the second we went and rented a bungalow for the two of us. We got ready and went to the party, but this time we made it work, so we could get into VIP, which was really cool. The third of January Tefy, Ricardo and I went home by bus.

Mi cumpleaños =)

The 29th in the evening I went to my boyfriend Jose's house with Tefy and Ricardo and Jose'e brother Cesar and later me aunt ( Tefy´s mom ) came too and we sat outside talking. When it got close to 12 o´clock Tefy and jose started arguing about who was going to hug me first to wish me Happy Birthday,which was really funny!! =) At 12 bith of them jumped on me and hugged me at the same time and then I hugged the others. Then we went inside, where Jose's dad was waiting with champagne. Jose made a toast saying how special I am for him, and told me he loved me infront of all of them including both of his parents and then his mom gave me really pretty earrings and a necklace as a present! I was overwhelmed and really happy. We all sat down in the living room and talked while drinking more champagne and wine. Tefy, her mom and I left at around 1 and went home to sleep.
I had to get up at 6 to get my bag packed and then went to meet Valeria (Peru) and Linden (Australia). Nancy wished me Happy Birthday and a good trip, and we waited an hour and a half for AniLu (an AFS volunteer). This is called " hora peruana". =)

Then we took a bus to Paita and then a taxi to Colan. We went to the house where we were supposed to stay and set up the tents. Then AniLu and I went to eat lunch in a restaurant. We went to the beach and layed in the sun. I just couldn't believe that it was my birthday, because I was lying in the burning hot sand and then we went swimming in the Pacific Ocean. But in Colan you can only go swimming when the tide is high, because when it's low there are lots of sting rays. ( picture ) In the evening we went to change, but we werern't allowed to use the shower in the bathroom, so Anilu showered in the garden in our bikinis, which was really cold, but a lot of fun!! Then we got ready and went to the Camacho, which is the center of Colan. with all the stores, which is where everybody goes to meet other people.

Feliz Navidad!!!!!

The 24th of December was awesome!!! Christmas here officially starts at 12 o'clock, midnight, the 24th of december. In the morning we went to the market, yet again, to buy food and whatever else we needed. I love to go to the market!! Some parts are disgusting, like where they sell meat, but the fruit section is amazing. There are sooooo many different kinds of fruit and so many colors and smells, it's cooL!!! Going to the market with Tefy's mom is like a sport, because although she's a small woman, she can walk really fast!!! And what Tefy and I try to do is run after her, and that's not as easy as it sounds!!! =) Because I'm the stringest of us 3, I always carry the heavy stuff, whcih makes it even harder to keep up, but it's also very fun. In the afternoon Tefy's (Ricardo) and my boyfriend (Jose Carlos) came to see us, and we gave them our presents ( a teddy bear, and a christamas card, because I call him Teddy =) )
Then later Jose came again and gave me a heart necklace for Christmas --> really pretty!!! =)

My blood related brother Chris called me. When my brother here told me who was calling, I screamed soooo loud, I think they must have thought I had gone crazyyyyy!!!! =) But I was just really happy =)

In the evening, we got ready to go to Catacaos to Papi Lencho's ( the grandpa) house. The 8 of us squezzed into the Volkswagen, which was really fun. =) We walked alround town, then went back to the house, where I met the whole family. At 12 o´clock I hugged everyone, saying " Feliz Navidad", then we ate rice with fruit, turkey, and for desert paneton, which is a specialty for X-mas and Pastell. Everything was soooo tasty, and I ate A LOT. In fact, I ate so much that I wasn't hungry the whole next day. =)

This was my first christmas without my family and without presents, but it was an amazing experience and all I really wanted for Christmas this year was to be with my best friend and a family that really cares about me and my wish was granted!!!! =)

Fiesta de Promocion!!!!!!!

Steve and I

Tefy and Winnie (her best *boy*friend)

Tefy y Ricardo

On Wednesday I moved into Tefy´s house. We don´t have my bed set up yet, so we squeezed into one bed =) In the morning we had to go to school, because Tefy and lots of my other friends from quinto had repeat exams, cause they failed the ones before. I waited for a couple of hours. Yesterday in the afternoon I went shopping for my corsage with Steve, because he´s my pareja for the fiesta. Then in the evening we got ready and everything and first went to school for the graduacion ceremony. We were really late, it was almost over, but we were just in time for the group foto, so we quickly out on the graduacion gound and the hat. Then we went to the fiesta, which was in a really fancy back yard of a huge house. First every student from quinto danced with their mom/dad. This is the part were I just watched, cause I didn't have anyone to dance with. Then we danced walz with our pareja and then just sat around, talked, danced and had a good time. At 3 we were kicked out of the house. All the parents left at 3, and so did Tefy and I, because she had another make-up test the next day. She was really mad at her mom for that, but what can you do, right??

Quinzañero/ Nelly's birthday

On the weekend I went to my first quinza#ero. When a girl turns 15 in Peru they usually have a really big party. I went with two of my friends. It was a little boring, because I didn't know anybody (not even the girl who's party is was :)) but when i got back to the house there was a birthday party from my sister Nelly, who turned 20, so I hung out with her and her friends, which was really fun.

Mail for ME =)

<-- my camera is still broken, so the only pics I can put in my blog are either from other people or the internet ( like this one)

When I got back from Chicayo I got a package from my old home, which was sent to me from Austria!! I was really excited and wanted to open it immediatly, but I had to wait, becuase we went out to eat with Mery, the AFS lady, I´d been staying with and then I switched houses again to where Steve is living, Nancy´s house, who is the president of AFS Piura. I´ll be staying here until they find another family for me.
Today Steve and I sat down to open our mail. He had also gotten 2 boxes with stuff from his family in Switzerland. We took turns opening pur presents. My parents had sent me a " Milka- Adventskalender", some christmas stickers and a letter from my mom. I opened the windows of the Adventskalender up to today, and was eating chocolate while watching Steve unpack his packages, which contained lots of chocolate, and christmas cookies. Then we took turns reading the letters we had gotten to each other, I read Steve´s letters, which was really quite hard because most of them were in "Switzerdeutsch" which is the German they speak in Switzerland, which I think is quite easy to understand but really hard to read and he read the letter I got from mom to me, which was also really hard from him, because he, like so many people, could not read my mom´s handwriting. =)
Mom, Dad, thank you so much for the package and for thinking of me!! I love you and I miss you!!

And of course you too my beloved brother. This may sound weird, but I miss fighting with you. =)

Chiclayo

On Saturday I went to Chiclayo with lots of AFS people. We stayed at a hotel about 2 miutes from the beach, which was awesome. When we left piura it was really HOTTT but in Chiclayo it was windy and kind of cold. We went to the center of Chiclayo and walked around a little and then went back to the hotel to get ready for the party, another "50 years of AFS" party, but this time for Chiclayo. The theme was black and white, and it wasn´t elegant, but casual, so I put on a short white skirt and a black shirt. The party was in a restaurant on the beach, which was really noce. Diddi was there and so was Miriam, which was awesome!! I sang "My Heart Will Go On" again, this time not just with music, but also with Celine, and it was really fun. We ate, talked, danced and then went back to the hotel.
The next day we got up early and went to the beach to walk in the water, which was really cold!! Then Linden, from Austrlia kumped in the water, so i did too, well up to my shoulder, which was a blast!!! Then we went to the center of Chiclayo to find a prom dress for Lisa and we did. We had lunch in Pizza hut, and I also had a really nice conversation with a guy working in Starbucks. Miriam spent the whole day with us, which was really cool!! In the late afternoon we went back to the beach for another quick swim. The waves were ginourmous and the current was strong, but we managed to keep it under control. Afterwards we went to one of the AFS volunteers´house for cake and then to the bus stop. Our bus left at 8:15 and we were back in Piura a little before 11:30.