May 14: Turtles and Manicures

Today started so funny with one of the ladies arriving at Martincitos with a rather large turtle in her hands for the backyard!  This is now their 5th turtle.  He was a fast crawler when the gate was opened and several of the senior ladies pointed at us, particularly Jamie and I to pick the turtle up? We said No Can Do....then one of the ladies in her 80's picked it up like a pillow and put it back in the yard.  Afterwards, Jamie picked the turtle up and put it back numerous times.

The majority of other time was spent doing modified manicures-clipping,filing and polishing nails of the ladies.  And yes we did clip and file some of the men's nails also. Ladies knew what they wanted: colour was very important to them from very light rose to brown. It’s cute to see diversity.  A couple were almost to point of being too picky.
This afternoon we went to Miraflores, a rich neighborough of Lima to see the Pacific ocean. Unfortunately, it was misty and we could not see much. We saw a copy of the Gaudi parc in Barcelona

After lunch we all went to the Inca Market.  A very large market to purchase souvenirs.  Very nice market with lots of good stuff!  I exercised some restrain as I will purchase more over the weekend in Machu Picchu.

Emily and I headed to the laundry and to Starbucks for the free Internet.  It seems a bit more stable than the house with everyone on at the same time!

Then back to the house for dinner - Lentils, guacamole (the best homemade EVER), and fried yuca. YUMMY!

Now we are all settled in over the Internet, Skyping (is that a real word?), reading, or downloading pictures...all of us are multi-tasking!

Tomorrow Dee and I are switching assignments for service.  She will be heading to my class and I will be on her home visits to the abuelos (seniors) who were not at Los Martincitos.  A check-in to see if all is OK.  I have been told everyone here should do at least one home visit if it can be arranged. 

Our meals have been fantastic!  I definitely am not losing any weight in Peru.  For Bkft, we have a roll , with butter and/or jam , a boiled egg, various fruits (mango, tangerines,passion, bananas,) then either fresh squeezed pineapple or papaya juice.  The coffee has been too strong for my taste, but it wakes you up. 
You cant drink the coffee in the bottom in the cup, due to the filters arent real good, so a good amount of grounds are in the bottom. 
For lunch, we usually have white rice, yukon or white or sweet potates, vegetables like tomatoes/onions and usually meat like chicken or beef or beans/lentils in a sauce, then rolls.  They have an amazing ahi pepper sauce that we put on everything.  We drink filtered water every meal, and have fruits for dessert.  Lunch is the main meal around 1:30 each day and Dinner is around 7pm.  Its lighter with soup, stew or stir-fry vegetables with rice.

I am sharing a bunk bed with 3 others: 2 ladies from Lilly, and 1 lady from Canada.  We typcially are in bed by 10 pm b/c we need our rest for energy during the day....particularly the people working with toddlers and kids.  Also we start getting up at 6am  b/c 8 females are sharing one bathroom.  3 are college girls so they want to sleep at late as possible and be out the door at the last minute.  It has only been a challenge one time, which we had to discuss....and been fine ever since.

Thanks so much for all your prayers, love , cards, and support!  I love YOU