Single Digits...

Update time!

When we last left off, I was about to embark on a journey to the Desert of Peru, the Atacama Desert, to be exact. It is one of the driest places in the world! (ooo - aaahh)

Well, on the 22nd of May, all of the exchange students in my district (4455) went on a trip together for the last time. We traveled to the cities of Ica, Pisco, Paracas, and Nasca.

We went sand boarding and on dune buggies in the sand dunes right outside of Ica. It was really fun. The dunes we went boarding down were nerve racking. The first dune we went down, was like any normal hill, nothing scary. But, the rest of the dune we went down kept getting steeper and bigger. On the second to last dune, I went down and had miraculously made it with out flipping over (we went down on our bellies). I was just about to stand up when a girl accidentally ran into me. I fell down, and I was in pain. My knee ended up swelling up. Looking back on it, it didn't hurt as much as I thought. It was just the shock that got to me at first. But, the next day I was perfectly fine, just with a sore knee.

The next day, we went to the Rotary District Conference. The exchange students just showed up to parade out blazers and sit. We were there for an hour that morning and nothing more. After, we traveled to Paracas to see some very beautiful islands. On these island, there are Penguins and Sea Lions. It was really an experience to see those animals in their natural habitats.

One night, we went to the Rotary Conference to attend the talent show. Out of the exchange students, there were 5 performances. I was not in any of them, but I did clap as loudly as possible for my friends.

We attended the conference on the second to last day of the trip to put on the part of the conference about Rotary Youth Exchange. In this district, almost none of the clubs want to receive students. We put on the program of the morning to convince them that hosting a student is an enriching experience for all. We were there for most of the morning, then we went to a winery as Ica is known for its wine and pisco. We were able to see how they make it all. The scenery at the winery was beautiful.

The last night of the trip, the night of the 24th, was a very sad night for us all. We had a dance party and then said good bye to the people not coming to Nasca with a group of us. Some of the people that I said good bye to, it was the last time I will see them in Peru.

So, we went on to Nasca. We flew up in tiny, 6 passenger airplanes to see the Nasca Lines. It made me woozy, but I didn't puke. thankfully. Seeing the Lines was amazing. It astounds me just thinking about how the Nasca people could have made those lines in the desert so long ago.

We went on a bus from Nasca to Lima after. What should have been a 7 hour trip, was actually closer to a 10 hour trip, because an accident happened on one of the roads on our way back. We were not involved, but effected by the traffic it caused.

We finally came back to Lima around 2 am and I slept the whole next day.

On the 28th of May, Rotary had a going away party for us students. It was really very lovely and we all appreciated it a lot. It was a sad night, but a good night.

What have I been doing in these days, you may wonder?

Well, I have very little days left. I have been going out with friends every day and making the most of the time I have left here. I don't like to think about going home because it makes me angry and