Adios Lima.

Last day in Lima. Next stop - Chimbote! Otherwise known as my home for the next two years.

It´s hard to beleive that a week ago I was in the U.S. Where it was 105 degrees. Where I didn´t have to boil the water before I drank it. Where everyone spoke a language I understood. (and where I could flush the toilet paper.)

I have to say though, Peru is a really rich country. I´ve seen that already and I´ve been here less than a week.

We´ve gotten to see some of Lima and experience some of the Peruvian culture. We´ve visited the Museo Nacional, the Presidents Palace, the Cathedral and the Franciscan catacombs. While the sights have been cool, the people are awesome.

Marcel Keating - the nurse who Katie will be replacing - left today, but before she did she told me a little about how proud Peruvians are.

As we walked along the rocky beach, the sound of the stones rolling and crashing against eachother, Marcel explained, ¨Peruvians are very proud and very clean...and with all the dust and dirt here, it´s hard. You want to keep up with it too. You want to be able to clean as much as they do...but it just gets to be too much. Like, they sweep in front of their houses.¨

¨Their porches.¨

¨No, outside. They´d sweep that.¨ She said pointing to the littered dirt we were walking on.

That reminded me of the people in Progreso back home. Even though its just dirty sidewalk, its their sidewalk. Their land. And they´re going to take care of it. 

I respect that a lot. Even though they may not have much, they take care of what they have and make the most of it.

Another thing Peruvians are proud of is their food.

The food here is good.

Really good.

Breakfast is usually just a medium sized meal. Maybe some oatmeal, fruit, bread and jelly and some coffee or tea. Nothing too special.

Dinner is a similar story. Bread, cheese and some fruit. Alright.

Lunch is where its at. Since its cold out (Oh yeah, it´s winter here.) they usually start out with some Caldo de Pollo. Its similar to what we have in the Valley but the spices are a little different, the broth is a little green instead of red. The second course is always served with white rice, some good vegetables or mashed potatos and some type of fish, chicken or red meat. They have really good potatos and sauces and they have a lot of variety when it comes vegetables, peppers and fruits.

I haven´t tried a single thing that hasn´t been good.

I do have to say though, it´s going to be tough living without tortillas. Which means no tacos. No enchiladas. No chips. No flautas. No chalupas. No migas.

Mmmm...Migas.

But the food here is so good, I think I´ll survive.