Carnaval

Well last year it was paint fights this year was a bit different we went to Huancavelica it was a very sad place if you ask me. It was freezing they had hot springs that did not were not even hot and rain and we would go to bed at like 8 pm because it would just be too cold to stay out. We had specifically come to this place as a means to participate in their traditional carnaval celebration only to arrive and find out that because of the rains they had recently had the celebration had been canceled. Mind you I thought that was impossible to have happen because it is like sacred party season. So my friend Emma and I decided to travel to another small town even higher up on a windy road. This department was know for being one of the coldest and highest at 3800 meters above the sea. And you definitely feel it walking up a hill as you begin to sweat profusely and your heart feels like it is going to jump out of your chest. So we are on this road to this small town and I am figuring that it is going to be rainy because we are in the rainy season but as we pass through these windy hillsides full of llamas it starts to SNOW. It is the first time I have seen snow in all my travels and I start laughing because neither of us have brought clothes for this kind of weather. We get there and have a lovely meal at the gastronomic fair they are having and then hang out in the plaza waiting for the parades to start. People are throwing buckets of water and water balloons and flour all over the place. Within an hour we are drenched in both and surely able to make cookies later with our coatings. Then there is the rain and dancing in the rain and hours of singing and dancing and merriment in the streets. There is a tradition where a group of people dance around a tree that is strung up with prizes and each couple gets a chance to chop it down and then everyone runs in and rips off all the prizes it is questionably dangerous but super fun to watch. By 8 pm we are once again in bed trying not to freeze to death. It proceeds to rain all through the night which means we had to leave because if it kept raining the roads would have been in too bad of shape to travel out on. We are in the car and the road that yesterday was smooth and in good shape is now filled with huge pot holes and slippery. We get to a tunnel and the mud is shin deep the car slips and we have the front right tire hanging over the cliff, you could feel the balancing point I swing open the door and my friend is literally on my lap trying to jump out I grab her because otherwise the shift in weight would have made the car go over. I have never been so terrified she begins to cry I am laughing as a nervous reaction. We make it down fine though shaken. We go to a different department called Huancayo to be able to avoid the risk of landslides on the roads blocking us into Huancavelica. It is raining again but we are on highway so no big deal. There is this beautiful park we spend the afternoon at it taking pics and then try on the traditional wear. After dinner we run into a Marinera dance competition of adults and youth. Amazing to watch. The following day we take a tour of the surrounding towns some ruins, a lagoon, and pass through some towns that are celebrating carnaval there is a huaylas dance competition so the majority of people are dressed out in these elaborately sewen with bright yarn of greens, yellows, and hot pinks. We visit an archeology museum and drink out of some supposed fountain of youth. Then it is back to Lima I moved into my own room now it is nice to have my own space decorated my own way and more than anything my own bed. Work is in full madness as we have one training after another coming up session planning, budgeting, coordinating, buying and organizing the necessary materials. And in my other job in San Juan de Lurigancho we are planning their work for the year in health promotion which entails designing the sessions or intervention they will being doing in schools and getting their people trained on a more effective style of teaching as well as developing monitoring and evaluation tools for their healthy families projects. Even though my vacation was not the best I have ever had it was still a good time to get some perspective on life and to give my brain a break. I will be trying to dedicate more time to myself reading books I like and building some friendships I started exercising again trying to get ready for this Mixed Martial Arts class I would like to take but realistically I am so out of shape right now for that, not overweight but just no endurance and pretty little strength since I almost never workout in this country. It felt great training the other day even though I am still sore. Long way to go. Perhaps at the end of March I will be able to start those classes. I am a bit sick right now so I spent all day doing nothing. It was nice actually. I think I will have at least one day each month of not working or doing chores or doing necessarily anything or leaving the house just me my bed, pjs, books, naps and snacks. Tomorrow I think I am going to try Parasailing or something of that sort. That's all for now.