Careful with that axe, Luchita

Its difficult to believe, but I have been in country a full 5 months at this point.  I am about to finish up my third month in site, my community diagnostic, and can finally leave Piura and start taking vacations.

Things in site are going well.  It rains every day, starting at 1 in the afternoon.  Some days its so loud on the tin roof that you can barely hear yourself think and for the first time we had a full blown thunderstorm.  I sat out for a while watching the lightening, it was pretty intense.  But its not all bad, some mornings the clouds break up and the sun does its best to peek through.  When this happens you can see the mountains all around and the valley stretching out, its really a beautiful sight.  There are times when the rain gets very frustrating. Its hard to get things done, my clothes get moldy from the moisture in the air, and I cant dry anything in site. I had to wash one of my hats, it took 3 days to dry.  But that gives me a reason to come into Piura, which is always searingly hot, but also a nice break from the rain and the clouds.

The work I'm doing is starting the come along.  The language is still an issue, I understand more and more but always have trouble expressing myself.  My host mom always laughs and jokes that I talk too much, which is the opposite of what takes place.  I have been working with my health center on a recycling project that they want to start and have been going around doing surveys and meeting different people from Faique.  I always have to do this in the morning, because once the rains come everything shuts down for the day.  So most afternoons I read.  I've finished quite a few books, and have read things I wouldn't have normally.  I read an interesting book about Lewis and Clark's expedition west, The Sun Also Rises, and the Game of Thrones. 

The food in site has gotten a bit more interesting.  My host mom jokes that I would eat rocks if she put them on my plate, and I think she has begun testing the theory.  I have had plenty of liver, but was used to that from the states, so it wasn't a big deal.  Next came the chicken feet, interesting, but not much to it, mostly skin.  After that I got chicken necks, again not a lot to it.  After this my host mom, continuing with the chicken them, gave me chicken heart.  This was interesting, but it was in my soup so I dealt with it pretty well.  From the beef department I have had the tongue, which had an interesting texture but wasn't really that bad at all, although you can see the taste buds and what not, a bit unsettling.  After that I got a sausage type meat that came from the intestines, it tasted a lot like a spicy sausage, pretty good.  Right before my most recent trip to Piura, she told me she was going to get me cow's heart, so that should be waiting for me when I get home. I wonder what mystical abilities I will gain from eating a cow's heart?  We'll have to wait and see for that one.

That's basically the gist of things going on.  I have settled into a routine, and life is becoming pretty normal.  Oh yeah, except for that crab in my house.