He llegado. I have arrived.

... like 10 days ago, but I have yet to post. Whoopsies. My first week in Lima was spent with the Goodfellow family (Blake, Sarah, and their 4 kids - Riley, Ford, Brady, & Tyler). Blake's sisters came in the same day as I, so we were all paraded around like tourists. It was awesome! I went surfing for the second time in my life (aside from Hawaii) and didn't even need to wear a wetsuit because the ocean was that warm. The Goodfellow family was so welcoming and it felt like being home. I'm extremely grateful for their hospitality.

The Goodfellows also took us to a water park called Parque de Aguas (very literal name). Blake's sisters and I were standing by the fountains watching the kids play when a Peruvian woman came up to us asking if any of the blonde kids were ours. She then gawked at their hair and told me it costs $75 or more to get your hair dyed that color. From there she asked our ages, whether or not Blake's sisters were able to get pregnant still, and asked if we wanted to meet her son. We were giggling and joking with her until we realized she wasn't kidding. Then, mysteriously, I said we all had boyfriends and she looked at me directly in the eyes and called me a liar. Thankfully, Blake was passing by right then so we said we needed to leave with him and bid her fairwell (with kisses on the cheek, Peruvian style). That was a sufficiently awkward and sufficiently Peruvian encounter =)

And then there are the cucarachas. The first one I saw was in a box of yarn at Krochet Kids. Riley and I were inventorying yarn, and when I picked up a cone of yarn a cucaracha ran around the box. I jumped and refused to touch that box. Blake thankfully went through it one by one but we didn't find the rascal! That is, until the cone of yarn was in my hand and I turned it around to see the cucaracha in the middle of the cone. I yelped and threw it. The next day I was in my house washing my hands in the bathroom when I looked down and saw a sizeable cucaracha (2" long body) on my shorts!! I quickly threw off my shorts and stepped on it though it didn't die. Not even close. That time I didn't even make peep so I think I'm making progress =)

Here are a few photos to document my time here thus far:

1. Blake picking me up from the airport, Lalo on my backpack

2. The view of the village (Chorrillos) where Krochet Kids is (& Lalo)

3. Riley at KKP with Lalo on her shoulder

4. Fireworks that were going off for hours on new year's. Everyone shoots them off.

 5. Cool historic church in Parque Kennedy. Across the street from here I got a pretty tasty lucuma shake.

 6. Me overlooking the beach. All coastal land is protected in Lima so it's really beautiful.

7. Parque de Aguas (where we were propositioned for marriage).

  8. A Chicharron - a popular Peruvian sandwich with pork, onions and a sauce made from a spice called aji (pronounced AH-HEE).