Past the 3 month marker now

Well, I'm past the 3 month marker now. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I only have 8 months left. That seems like a short time, but in reality, it's quite a long time. I guess I just don't want this year to end. :(

School is going great and I have gotten closer yet with my Peruvian friends. It has gotten to the point where I'd rather hang out with them than my exchange student friends sometimes. At school, I used to only hang out with 3 girls and no one else. But now, I hang out with more people. So, I am broadening my friends, while I still kept those three girls as my closest friends. And, they are really extremely helpful. One speaks fluent English so she helps me communicate when I get stuck (though she does use me to practice her English). All three of them correct me if I do something wrong or say something wrong; whether it be incorrect or against the customs. Those three girls are the ones that have helped me the most at school. Whenever I speak, most of the time people will laugh at me because of my accent or I said it wrong, but then they will always correct me. That's Latinos for you. They are the most helpful people in the world.

I am going on a trip on the 7th of November until the 15th of November. I will be going to Cusco, Machu Picchu, and Puno. I'm sure all of you have heard about Machu Picchu. It's one of the 7 wonders of the world. It is unknown why Machu Picchu was built, but it was built by the Incas in the Andes Mountains. Some believe that it was a place of agricultural experimentation, while others think it was a place for worshipping the gods. Cusco was the capital of the Ica Territory, so there is a lot of history there. There is also a lot of history surrounding Cusco and machu Picchu left over from the Incas. And, as the history buff that I am, I am beyond excited to go. Puno is a town in the southeast of Peru that is close to the Bolivian border. Lake Titicaca is on the border, and it is the largest lake in South America by volume. Lake Titicaca is part of Inca Myths and legends, and I'm not sure if we will be going there, but I hope we do.

So, I will probably not be updating my blog until after I return from my trip.

My spanish: It's been getting better everyday. I surprise people when I tell them that, yes I am a gringa and yes I can speak Spanish. Everyone is more than ready to speak English with me, and it gets on my nerves sometimes. I can understand exactly what everyone is saying (minus the slang. still picking that part up) but I can't always respond in the best way. Which leads to people speaking about me infront of me, thinking I can't understand. (creeps on the streets). I have gotten more whistles here than I ever have in my life. I watched a movie in Spanish the other week and I understood every part of it! It was from Spain, so the accent was really weird and funny.

On Friday, I decided to have motivation and I worked out. I did about an hour of abs and 15 minutes of legs. After, I went and ran 7 kilometers with my sister. So, yesterday and today, my body hurts. And I am planning on working out again today. Need to get ready for summer!

I find it to be funny, but also sad, that I am going into Summer right now! Funny because everyone from back home is complaining about the cold, and it's Spring here (not that warm, but not as cold as it is back home). It's sad because I miss the feeling and I won't be able to have a cold Christmas. It'll be warm and that is just plain weird.

Oh! There is no daylight saving here in Peru, so I am an hour ahead of home now.

Well, I'm off to eat breakfast!

Until Next Time!
Emily