feeling like a bisca

i had a rough start to the day today.. i decided to switch jackets at the last minute, so i went back into my room and locked my room keys in there. i told my mama - and she said she had no spare! also, i was running late and she hadnt given me my lunch yet. she said something about lunch that i couldnt understand, but because i was running late i didnt have too much time for trying to get what she was saying. i politely said goodbye and left the house with no keys and no lunch. on the way to the training center, i was telling everyone about my morning - not paying attention to anything else - and i walked right in to a huge mud puddle with my dress shoes. everyone was saying, “ashley - ashley!” - but i was in my own little world.

my day did get better though. ryan and i presented our formal/informal project - we were the only ones who took pictures.. smart cookies.

we had spanish at the training center today, where we all obviously had the friday ants in our pants. even our instructor, sara, was super giggly as she taught us valuable words like chin-chon (a head bump) and bisca (a one-eyed person).. heheh

My Spanish Class - the "scared" pose:

(i guess thats biz looking scared)

i also had my interview with my small business development boss. hes the head of peace corps peru business projects. it went so great. he asked how things were going, and i said that my only concern would be my (lack-of) spanish. i told him my background and he took notes. i said i had a lot to give, i was just concerned with how i would give it in my spanglish. he made me feel so much better - “dont think about your spanish right now - youre a smart girl, youll get it.. tell me more about your expectations with your assignment in your permanent site.” i told him i wanted to be in the mountains - and amenities are not necessary. i told him about my experiences with production and quality control. i think hes going to put me in a district working with artisans. he also mentioned maybe being in or close to a district with another PCV who is working onanother project... which would be cool. i just trust his judgment in placement and i told him that.

at the end of the day - we found out some very exciting news!!! my small business development crew and i are taking a field trip with our instructors!!! next weekend, we are driving 3 hours outside of chosica up to the ruins of Marcahuasi! halfway up, there is a very very small town that makes arts, crafts, and cheeses!!! from there, we hike all day up to the top where there are pre-incan ruins - and we will be camping overnight!! the locals are arranging the details for us and horses will be bringing up our supplies.. how exciting!!! we will be 4100 m high - so we’ll see how all of our bodies react to the pressure change, for sure! and on a side note, the director of the entire peace corps peru is coming with us!!! (needless to say, the youth development trainees are super jealous because they dont get to go)

tonight, we went out for julians birthday. my neighbor, cassandra, and i met our friend linda at her house. (shes got a sweet set-up on the roof of her casa) about half of us (25 of us) went to this bar that apparently peace corps volunteers take-over every training period. it was lots of fun. we are a good crew, really. it takes a special type of person to want to join the
peace corps.