Hellooooo Peru!

Well, we made it to our destination...Cusco, Peru. It was absoulutely beautiful today. Warm weather, blue skys, and a slightly cool breeze. Perfect. We flew out of Lima at 10 ish and arrived here at about 11ish.

Cusco is at quite a high altitude, it is 12,000 feet in the main areas and goes up from there. Because of this, in order to acclimatize, they recommend that you take it easy, don't walk fast, and drink cocoa tea. It is basically hot water with cocoa leaves in it. Yes, the very same leaves that they make cocaine out of. It is really disgusting. I literally had to choke it down, and almost didn't make it. It basically tastes like you are drinking old, dead, and slightly rotting leaves. YUCK.

Finally! All the nasty tea is gone.

We took a little walk today to the plaza. There was an amazing and beautiful cathedral. Apparently when the Spainish came and invaded Peru, they wanted to destroy the most sacred thing to them, their religion. So in almost every land space the Peruvians considered sacred, they put up a cathedral. Stupid Spanish. But I do have to say that they did make some beautiful buildings.

The city is beautiful. I am glad we had a day to rest and acclimitize. The streets are all made of cobble stone, with tiny mosaic like pathways down the middle of them. They are very unique and beautiful.

Tomorrow we are doing one of our humanitarian days. I am anxious to see what it will bring. The people here are very friendly, and the clothes are beautiful. At the plaza, there are people selling paintings, pictures, postcards, jewelry etc. One little boy, who claimed his name was Tom Cruise came up to me and was asking me to buy a postcard from him. I didn't want one, and he of course just kept following me around. We went to eat, and he waited for me outside the restaurant. He just kept following me, begging me to buy his postcard. Finally, just to get him off my back I offered him one American dollar as my final best offer - something I learned that worked well in Africa. He said that his postcards were worth much more than that and wouldn't take it. He said that I had promised to buy one once I was done eating, which was, of course, a lie. He told me I was a bad person and not very nice, and then he turned and walked away. It made me feel a little bad, but what can I do? I can't just hand out money because I feel bad. On the way home, we saw these two beautiful people. They said we could take a picture with them for free...which is rare. We ended up paying them though, and they were very happy. Beautiful.

Goodbye America

Well, it's been quite a day. We began this journey at approximately 3:18 am. Our flight left Las Vegas at 6:00 am, so we had to be up and at 'em bright and early. Ok, so it wasn't really bright, but you get the picture. We got to the airport before the gate was even open, so we had to stand around waiting for them to get everything going for a few minutes. We finally got to our gate and it was time to board. We flew out of gate D19. Had time to take 2 pictures.

After one small heart attack that we got on the wrong plane (I thought we were flying into JFK) everything went great (with the exception of a lot of turbulence) on the flight to Newark, New Jersey. We thought our layover was about an hour and a half, but once again, we were wrong. It was only 45 minutes, and our flight landed late. So we had about 30 minutes to find our gate, get our passports checked in and get on the plane. It turned out fine, and we made it.
However, I had planned to only carry on. My duffel fit just fine on the flight to EWR, but apparently it just wasn't happening from EWR to Lima. I don't know why. As we were on the little walk way to the plane, some guy thought that he needed to check everyone's bags. Ugh. I tried to sneak past him to no avail. He caught me and asked if I would like to check my bag. I told him no, to which he replied, but the overhead bins are already full, and this is a small plane. I told him that the last plane was small and my bag fit just fine, but he insisted, without knowing what size of plane I had previously come from, that this one was smaller and there was just no room for it. UGH!
I got on the plane, found my seat and looked around. The plane was exactly the same size as the previous plane, and every single overhead bin from the front of the plane to the middle of the plane had room for at least one bag, and the one right next to where I was sitting looked like this:

Apparently, this means it's too full for one more bag to possibly fit. I was a little perturbed, but after venting about it to Anne Marie for a few minutes, I vowed to let it go. :)
Anyway, we landed in Lima about 45 minutes later than we were supposed to, made our way to baggage claim, and my bag was already there waiting for me so I couldn't be too mad. We got through customs in a breeze, and about 20 minutes after we landed, we made it safely to our hotel, which was approximately 20 yards from the airport. Nice.
Tomorrow we are flying to Cusco where the conference is. I am excited and a little nervous to present. Ok, a lot nervous. It will be a great experience. I am a little bummed, as there is still a lot of damage on the rail road tracks and we may not be able to do Machu Picchu after all. Oh well. I have to keep telling myself that I utimately came for the expereince of presenting at an International Public Health conference, and Machu Picchu would just be a huge bonus. There are still some amazing things to see, and it will give me a reason to come back, with Danny!!

After being up for nearly 24 hours, I think it is time to say goodnight. It was too dark when we got here to take a real photo of what Peru looks like, so this plant in our hotel will have to suffice for now. :)

Thanks dad, for letting me borrow your camera. Already I can tell it is going to take way better pictures than mine would have! Stay posted. I will keep you updated! Much love, peace out.

Date Night

So, a couple weekends ago Dan and I decided to go out on the amazing, and huge town of Provo. There is always an adventure to be had in "zoo" town! The last time we went out on a date in Provo we went to The Malt Shoppe, and in typical BYU fashion, there was a triple date going on. The daters chose the booth next to ours, and thought it pertinent to pray over their hamburgers and fries. Yes, pray. Oh, and I am not talking about the close your eyes for a couple seconds, I am talking full folding their arms, bowing their heads and mumbling their prayer aloud. We were lauging histerically - quietly of course. Based on this experience, you can imagine how excited we were to go once again to Provo for our date night.

We started the date out at Outback Steak House, thanks to a gift certificate from some great friends. Friday nights at restaurants, as you all know, can be very hecktic. Especailly here in the Provo/Orem area, where they refuse to take reservations. So we went and got our name on the list and decided to hit up this cute little bakery called The Sweet Tooth Fairy. They sell gourmet cookies, cupcakes, brownies, cake balls, suckers, etc. We choose 3 cupcakes and 3 cookies. There were so many choices, we couldn't just chose 2!

We then headed back to the restaurant where we had some great steak. We also had the wonderful privelage of sitting next to some very serious "anti BYUers." They believed in yelling insead of talking, and weren't afraid to express their opinions about how "lame" BYU is. We all know the type. We loved it, and hated it.

After dinner, we decided to go out for some good old fashioned bowling. We had no idea the bowling in "zoo" town is quite popular, and apparently, the thing to do on a Friday night. We arrived at Fat Cats Alley only to find that the wait was approximately 3 hours, but we could definately get our name on the list. We obviously didn't want to wait 3 hours, so we left to find another bowling alley around - which wasn't hard to do, as there are a lot of bowling alleys around. We decided on Miracle Bowl. Well, once again we were dismayed as we found out that the wait there was also a couple hours. Never would I have ever thought that I needed to make a reservation to go bowling.

We decided to forgo the bowling idea, and decided to go shopping instead. But, by that time the mall was already closed, so we stopped by the Kohl's by our house. Sadly, there were no awesome finds. So we decided to do the typical -- get a Redbox, and snuggle on the couch. AKA, Danny watches the movie and I fall asleep. It really is probably my favorite thing to do, but for obvious reasons, Danny hates it. We go through a ritual, he frequently asks if I am awake, to which I nod my head, which he takes as a "YES." I just do it so he won't wake me up. I really am alseep. Then he has to deal with helping me get to bed, getting me into pjs and brushing my teeth. He usually does get a laugh or two out of the funny half-alseep comments I make, so it can't be that bad.

Ah date nights. My ideas are getting sparce, so I am up for any fun ideas any of you have. As you can tell, I NEED HELP!!!!

On another note, a couple weeks ago I got BANGS! What's the verdict?

Peru Bound...

Ok friends, it's official! I am going to Peru. On Thursday, February 11, Lynley, the professor I went to Africa with invited Anne Marie and I to speak with her about the research we completed in Africa at a conference in Cusco, Peru.

Since we have been back from Africa, we have been working on publishing our findings. We really would like to present at a conference, and usually the rules are that if you want to present, you have to do it preceding publication. (Crazy, I know) We could present at any health conference, but when this opportunity came up, we couldn't let it pass. So, we are off to Peru. I don't have all the details yet, but as far as I understand, we will be presenting on our findings of HIV/AIDS, how to prevent, change lifestyles, and provide information regarding myths associated with HIV/AIDS. We will also be speaking on health literacy, and just general preventative care practices. I am so excited. We leave March 20, and will be gone for 8 days. (I get to spend my 22 birthday in Peru).

We will be speaking for 2 days, and when we are not speaking, we will be providing humanitarian aid for the people. I am so happy to be able to help. Ever since coming back from Africa, my heart has been aching for something more I can do. Recently, there has been some major flooding, so we will be helping build, paint and clean up the damage. It will be a wonderful experience.

The last two days of the trip will be spent in a small village at the base of Machu Picchu. If the flood damage is taken care of, we will be able to hike Machu Picchu as well as the larger mountain next to it, though at this moment, it's name escapes my mind. Our flight leaves quite late on Sunday the 28th, so we will spend the last day touring around Lima, Peru's capital, shopping and seeing the sights. I feel so blessed to have yet another opportunity to serve and further my experience in the health field. I have been given some great opportunities to serve others, as well as gain an education and understanding of what the world is really like outside my protected, safe bubble. The Lord works in mysterious ways in my life. He seems to place opportunities in my lap and say, this would be great for you, take it or leave it. I hope I will always be able to take those opportunites and make them the greatest they can be. Life is crazy, and there isn't room for "should haves" "would haves" "might have beens" and "if onlys" I feel so blessed to be in a place in my life where these words don't apply, and even more blessed to have a husband who supports me in every decision and opportunity I get. He is truly the best man in the world!!

Cross country skiing

For the last few months now, Dan and I have been hanging out with the young men and young women. Dan got called to be the young men's secretary, and I got called to be the mia maid advisor. We are having a blast. Last week was our youth conference and we went up to Aspen Grove to go either cross country skiing or snowshoeing. Dan and I chose cross country skiing and had a blast! Niether of us had ever been any kind of skiing before and so needless to say it was an adventure.

Right at the beginning, there was a pretty decent sized hill. I was pretty nervous to go down, but I did it, and I only fell one time!

We skiied for about 2 hours and covered a distance of approximately 2 1/2 miles.

This is the view of the resort we stayed at. There were about 5 or 6 cabins and then a lodge which was pracitcally a hotel.

A new year means new resolutions!

Happy 2010!!! Well, it's that time of year. Time to make some new resolutions. I love this time of year because it is a fresh start. It doesn't matter what happened last year, or what you did or didn't accomplish, it is time to start fresh, no mistakes....yet. You can look back at the last year, remember the highlights, forget the lowlights, and look towards a new year and new adventures. So, my main resolution this year is to start working out on a regular basis, the only problem is that I feel stuck. I know I won't stick with it if I have to wake up early, and by the time I get home from work, I am too tired. Anyone have any motivational suggestions?

I want to do a quick recap of the best times of 2009 in no particular order:
1: Dan and I both graduated!! YAY!
2: The LSAT is officially OVER!
3: Africa
4: Getting Chloe
5: Chloe graduated obedience school
6: Moving to south Orem and fixing up our little house
7: Passing the CHES Exam
8: Playing soccer for the first time since the surgery
9: Hawaii and river rafting
10: And of course...being married to the greatest guy ever!!!

Here's to 2009, welcome 2010!

Gotta love fixer-upers!

While I was in Africa, Danny was left with the wonderful task of moving. Fun task, especially by your self. What a great guy! Well, the first apartment that we were going to move into, fell through after he had moved most of our stuff in. So, poor guy, he was left to find us a new place, and move us all over again. After much strife and help from my brother's girlfriend, Megan, he found us a place in south Orem, in a very old house. It is really good sized, but needed some serious repairs. We painted, fixed holes in the walls, cleaned up the yard as best we could, and sanded the wood floors. These pictures don't even do justice to what the house looked like when I first saw it.

Notice the painted bow on the closet door....cut eh? I know you all wish you could have baby blue toliet, sink, and tub. It is so in style!

With many thanks to Dan, I now proudly present our significantly improved apartment!

Not much I could really do about the blue bathroom, but the rest of the house looks pretty good. And poor Dan, after spending 4 hours trying to repair the outlet for the dryer and repiping the drain for the washer, we both thought that it would be the last of the repairs that we would have to do for this great fixer-uper, however, we were wrong. As I went to do the laundry today, the washer worked just fine, but the dryer quit working after about 15 minutes. Gotta love it!

Well, we have no drying racks, so we had to make do with what we do have, and this is how it turned out.

Ahhh, the joys of renting.................

Oh, and for all of you who still want to see picts of the orphanage, I just posted them! Yay!