Hour 6.5 at Lima airport. Going slightly insane but that`s okay. Having rounded off my 4 week long trip in Cusco Peru this morning, I now find myself having to spend an obscene and disgusting length of time waiting between flights here. At Lima airport. Being the planner I am, I tried to space out my activities to maximise `fun, time-flying` feeling and minimise `wanting-to-rip-out-hair` feeling which wouldn´t be fun for anyone involved. So far, I`ve used the bathroom 3 times, finished off my travel journal, drafted my 2008 NY`s resolutions, read 53 pages of John Steinbeck`s "Of Mice and Men", bought an unnecessary notebook, eaten a `medigrill` chicken burger, a supercome from Peruvian Maccas, a gigantic mixed fresh juice, and even had a 10 minute nap quite embarrassingly in the foodcourt. Now I am using the internet for 2 hours, after which is the pinnacle of the day: dinner. I have been eyeing my perfect dinner table for a while. At one point I was even unknowing playing ´hide and seek´ with a small Peruvian boy parading a good old-fashioned bowl haircut. After this, a young Peruvian toddler aged like.. 4 came up to me and began to dance like see didn`t have a care in the world. Her dad however, looked very awkward not quite knowing what to do. HAHAHHA. He wanted to obviously stop her but she was so happy, giggling and mumbling away. He kept periodically looking at me- the random asian girl who, from his point of view obviously wouldn`t be able to speak Spanish (which indeed, sadly I can`t). She sported a blue T-shirt, orange pants, green socks and brown shoes. Happiness written all over this one. She was very adorable, not making much sense, pointing at various places, taking my folder, and not liking my habit of biting the end of my pens. And yes, that´s right- I am speaking about this random child in strangely great detail but you must understand that she was the highlight of my day. When she left her dad made her give me a peck on the nose. And a little of my waning sanity was saved =) I shall post a photo of her when I get back to Oz (Yes, I asked the dad if it was okay). An yes, I was quite out of ideas of what to do that I revisited my long dead xanga site, and thought how fitting it would be to write another entry pretty much a whole year later, and again about a travel trip but one that was so totally different to any before it. A 4 week volunteer program in Cusco, Peru. Staying with the loveliest of lovely host families (Ana Maria and Carlo), learning spanish 2 hours every weekday morning, followed later by 3.5 hours at San Judas orphanage, an all girls orphanage run by Catholic nuns. Weekends were free for Jen & I to explore the spectacular and history-rich sites of Peru, namely Puño and the floating islands of Lake Titicaca, Aguas Calientes and of course the mystic Machu Picchu. As with any traveling experience (which is what I love about it), I fee like I learnt alot. It felt like at times my brain was getting denser and layers of new understanding were being added on. This entire adventure however was so far detached from anything I`d ever experienced that I felt like areas of thought that had never before been active were made `hot`(as my spanish teacher would put it). Seems so obvious I know, but I needed to really see it, breathe it, to be reminded once again the BIGness of this world. It`s wow to see that such varied standards and styles of living, such opposite groundings of belief, such different expectations, priorities, concepts of life can exist in the same world. I am glad for the reminder because I think if I were to surround myself with only what is familiar, I could start believing that only that is acceptable, normal and real. Working at the orphanage, Jen & I had to constantly be re-evaluating and remoulding our predeterminations and inevitable expectations. I don`t think we could have ever really have even gotten close to predicting what it was like. It may not have been what we thought but wow- it was quite something. I don`t think those girls and the nuns will ever quite know how much they taught us without any intention to do so. Meeting some other volunteers there also, some who have been there for years and their quiet, unsung selflessness was truly inspiring. As for the sites of Peru- I don´t think I could justly describe in words what it was like so I will pick some awesome photos to try and let them speak for themselves (but really, even so- you just have to go for yourself). New Year`s in Cusco Plaza de Armas. I thought many times I was going to die and though I`ve never been in battle, I`d imagine that`s what a war zone might resemble. It was exhilarating in that worried-giggling kind of way. We loved that Cusco has these crazy New Year`s traditions for luck- wearing yellow underwear, running around the plaza with suitcases, eating 12 grapes straight after 12:00am. Oh dear.. I see that my trying to hide the fact that I am quite bored is obviously not working as evident by my ridiculously long-winded xange entry. AHAHHAA. Well- okay, I shall leave it here then. Dinner is waiting and then LA and then Sydney- home. I can`t believe its 2008. Madness. P.S. Jen- it feels slightly weird without you here 0.o Enjoy the santa faces and trees. xoxo *** LA, USA  
Rodeo Drive - Santa Monica Beach --- Cusco, PERU  
Name on sign at airport - near our house  
llama street - host family`s daughter`s apartment  
Cusco city - Cusco woman  
Plaza de Armas - small Jen, big Incan rock  
Sacsaywaman - Jen llama  
Orphanage -- Floating Islands 
On Lake Titicaca  
Sailing forward - Uros island epic mountain  
Cool canadian brothers - sweetest other tourist couple  
we ate guinea pig - street kids joined us for dinner & games  
in the `medicinal` waters of aguas calientes - Machu Picchu 
having just climbed Wayna Picchu  
dangerous - sense of achievement  
jen braves street meat anticucho - dinner with the orphanage teachers  
opening xmas gifts from host family - our beautiful host family 
breakfast with the best spanish teacher ever Jaky  
the girls at a xmas singing competition: young girls - older girls  
making bread at the orphanage - the sisters 
in restaurant/bar `Los Perros` | 
Its gonna be the bessstest. 
- thank you guys! Truly truly "youse are all great" haha
but were for art thou eunsun..
) hanging out like that again
