April Easter Bunny Chocolate Sweetness

Right before the end of lent, I recieved a package from my Mom full of chocolate!  What a wonderful surprise!

Amazingly, I have not binged on it like I thought I would after 40 chocolate free days.

Here in Perú, the two week days before Easter Sunday are part of what is called ¨Saints Week¨ (Semana Santa) and it is a national holiday.  I decided with my four free days (thursday - sunday) to go traveling to see my host family.  I had not seen them since October! I even convinced Alfonso to go with me to meet my Peruvian family!

Exploring my favorite northern city
So we arrived in Chiclayo and planned to have two touristy days because he is not from there.  One day we mostly wandered around the city and relaxed after sleeping on buses the night before.  But on the second day, we went to a beach town and watched fisherman on boats made of straw pull their catch up onto the beach and sell it to local people who instantly crowded around.

It was a cloudy and chilly day (relatively), so we had no motivation to actually swim, but watching local fisherman was a cool experience.  
(If a picture is worth a thousand words, this woman says everything I want to say about how awesome seeing this was.... Anyone want to buy an octopus?)

After the beach, we went on a search for the best ¨Arroz con Pato¨ (Duck and Rice) plate that we could find.  This is a traditional and very well done specialty from the Lambayeque region, so I was excited to eat the best by the best!  We went to a nearby town called Lambayeque, where Alfonso seemed to remember eating at a great restaurant.  He didn´t recognize anything because they are replacing the entire sewer system!  After a few semi-grosed out minutes of wandering the streets and getting some good photos, we actually found it!  The food was amazing, but more importantly, I got this shot while wandering around.

(Raw meat being carried into a local market)

Finally... To Olmos!  

We finally got on our way to Olmos on Friday night so as to visit my host family on Saturday morning. We got some great Olmos street food and admired the church and the giant lime hand statue... the two main events in Olmos.

Saturday morning, bright and early, we piled into a moto and headed out to my old Peace Corps village!  I was so excited I was shaking.  I always feel nervous excited to see my host family, and even more excited that Alfonso was going to meet them after everything I had told him about them.  We arrived and the entire family was there, even my host Dad who stayed home from work to greet me.

But soon we were whisked off to an event that the new volunteer in town had planned for me to participate in while I was in town, an Easter Egg painting event with the local kids!  It was a blast.  I saw all my old students and a lot of their parents came to see me as well.  We dyed eggs and played games and generally roasted in the hot northern sun.  I was so happy to see everyone and share the experience with the new volunteer in town, who I am happy to say loves the village as much as I do!

   

Afterwards we had a delicious lunch of Duck!  My host family killed ducks for our arrival because they knew it was my favorite.  They even cooked up some beans!  The food was excellent.


Soon, I got to introduce Alfonso to the highlight of the town, the local river.  We went at least three times in only a day and half.  Playing and enjoying the cool water in the extreme heat.  

(Host bro leaping into the pretty shallow water.  We had to ask him not to dive in head first! haha)

(Alfonso, myself and my little host sister)

Another highlight for me personally was seeing my youngest baby host sister looking so big and healthy.  She was only three months old when I moved out, and she is not a year and a few months and looks fantastic, walks around, and can say a few basic words.  She is a real treasure in the house.  I also brought a few story books for the youngsters, and was thrilled when they got really excited about them and started reading them to me.  

This little guy (left) reminded me that I had promised to bring him playing cards.  I had completely forgotten, so I sent him off wish a few soles and told him to buy a deck.  I don´t think I´ve ever seen him happier!  We played a couple rounds of his favorite game, casino, (not what you are imagining, trust me).  Love my little-ist bro!
















(Reading the ugly duckling and thumbelina)

Sunday Lunch

On Sunday, my final day with my host family, I decided to take them out to a seafood lunch at the local volunteer favorite for ceviche and Arroz con Mariscos - Rice with Seafood.  It was so fun hanging out with them and having a different type of Sunday in which my host Mom didn´t have to cook and the kids got out of the house!  

Overall, it was such a happy reunion and good time.  I´m glad I got to see my host family again!  They are such a wonderful, caring and loving family and I am so happy to have them in my life!  Thank you for giving me a fun filled Semana Santa.