Arequipa ... Day 1

So, I have arrived safe and sound in Arequipa, Peru!
It was an interesting trip, as I arrived in Lima at 2am, had to sleep in the line up to buy my ticket at 4am for a plane leaving at 6am which did not have a boarding gate assigned until 5am! However, it turned out just fine ... so nothing to worry about.

I arrived at 7:45am in Arequipa to the breathtaking view of the snow covered mountains that surround this town of 800,000 people, which itself is a bit of an oasis in the middle of surrounding desert.
I was picked up in a crazy chrome and faux fur covered Daewoo taxi by Allie, the 24 year old American who is the coordinator of the project here in Peru. Armando, the hotel owner and overseer of Arequipa operations described her to me on the phone as "a tall, blond-haired, noticeable girl." This is rather true as the standard Peruvian appears to be shorter in stature with black hair, dark eyes and dark skin. I brought my soccer shoes but am thinking it is doubtful that anyone will be able to use the size 11.5 shoes!

I was taken to Casadenvila Hotel and Spanish school, which is the home base for GVI (global vision international) volunteers here in Arequipa. Showered ... shaved ... slept ... aaaahh! I had a bit of free time so I went into the main part of town to the main plaza and walked around. There appear to be almost no private vehicles, everything is these Daewoo taxis, buses, armored transports, and army / police vehicles. I stopped for a bite to eat at a nice cafe, just outside of the outrageous tourist priced areas.

At the restaurant I had (Ordering was horrible, I was just randomly saying "si" and hoping what I received was palatable):

- consume con yema (chicken broth soup with egg yolk ... surprisingly good!)
- pollo a la chilindron (chicken fried with peppers + rice + some interesting potatoe type sauce)
- macedonia de frutas (fruit salad)
- fresh pineapple juice

all for 5.50 sol! Which is about $2 CDN including a bit of a tip.

Then I met with the family I will be living with. Cecilia is a Spanish tutor for international volunteers here at the Spanish school, her brother Armando, her mother (who is working out of town) and her grandmother Loura (roll that "R"!!) who is SOO inquisitive about Canada but cannot speak a word of Spanish. However, she heard that I am taking Spanish lessons starting tomorrow and expects great things! Considering I cannot even count past 8 as of yet, I am not so hopeful...

Looking Ahead:

- Tomorrow I start Spanish lessons
- They are interested in my designing and setting up a database to record all the volunteers information and experiences as well as project information to prevent people form reinventing the wheel
- Thursday we leave for Culco Canyon and will spend the following 3 days mountain biking, hiking and horse back riding through the canyon. What an awesome way to start the trip!