Ok, I’ll try to tackle some of the questions posed, though I’m not sure I can answer them all, some are probably better left for our roundtable. Why are there so many more orphans in Peru than in the United States. The most apparent reason for the amount of orphans is, of course, poverty. While perhaps not qualifying as a third world country, Peru is definitely quite impoverished in relation to the States. This especially pertains to the indigenous population, who make up a majority of Peru’s population and from whom most of the orphans come. The indigenous [View Full Entry]

---

---

Ok, so this is what we have been doing since we got back from our trip to Lake Titicaca and La Paz. We have moved into the ¨Family House¨, which is awesome. We have amazing food prepared by an actual chef, women who come and clean the house, and a rapid named Pepe. We feel a little spoiled. We are taking Spanish lessons at the same organization that organizes our orphanges, Maximo Nivel. We started our orphanages last Tuesday, and we both are having amazing time with the kids. They are so happy and enthusiastic. Saturday (Feb 17th) We slept at [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hey everyone, sorry for taking so long to write. We´re actually going to post two blogs, one about our trip and one about what we´ve been doing since we got back. Here is a summary of our trip: Friday (Feb. 9th) We left for our Lake Titicaca/La Paz/Copacabana trip. We got up at 5 am, hopped on a bus, and headed out for Puno, a city on the shores of Lake Titicaca. On the way, we stopped at various stops and got some brief tours. First we stopped in Andahuaylillas, a small, colonial town, renowned for its cathedral . This cathedral [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hey everyone, We just got back from Manu, which was fantastic. We will look more in depth later on in the blog. Here’s a recap of the past week: TUESDAY: We continued our last week of Spanish classes, while we were both sick. Elena had to get some shots, and Tom had to take lots of medication, but everything is fine now. WEDNESDAY: classes again THURSDAY: more classes, Elena went to play soccer, scored three goals and totally kicked ass again (I’m not really that conceited). FRIDAY: Last day of Spanish classes, Elena had to give a speech in front of [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hey Everyone! Tom finished this last blog and I was gone or sleeping or had Spanish classes at a different time...or soemthing... so I'm goign to add a blog of what I did the past week too. Here's the run down: Monday through Wednesday: I had my Spanish classes, which are going great, I can almost always understand the basic idea of what people say and always am able to respond. Not much else happened these few days. Thursday: I played soccer for about three hours, and once again I was the only girl. I scored two goals (of course), and [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hey Everyone! Sorry for taking so long to post again, we're too lazy to go to an internet cafe and Rafo's computer was having some trouble running Travelblog. How is everything in your parts of the world? Peru is as gorgeous as ever, we've had mixed weather, a little bit from everyone. Here's a brief overview since we last posted: SATURDAY (January 13th): Elena took a two hour bus ride and half hour taxi ride with other students from school to Maras, a place in the Sacred Valley where the Incas had agricultural fields. The fields are arranged in stacked circular [View Full Entry]

---

---

Whoa it’s been a little while since we’ve written. We’ve been here a week, it seems like so much longer. Here’s a run-down of the past week: SATURDAY: We slept from 5pm Friday until 9am on Saturday. We got up, cooked breakfast with Rafo, and headed off to see the Plaza De Armas. We visited the Cathedral, and we saw the painting of the “Last Supper” with the Guinea Pigs. We then saw the Plaza San Blas (very beautiful, you can see our pictures), the district where artists show their work. We then went and sat in the middle of the [View Full Entry]

---

---

We made it! We´re currently sitting in an internet cafe, reveling in the beautiful, sunny weather and heat. Cuzco is fantastic, the scenery is incredible! Rafo´s wife, Monica, picked us up at the Cuzco airport and brought us to their house, which is awesome. There is also a Russian man staying there, and this weekend a girl our age and an older man are coming (we think). So, the part you´ve all been waiting for, a detailed analysis of our flight. We caught our Portland flight in plenty of time, but not before Elena had her grapefruit seed extract confiscated, along [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hey Tom! [View Full Entry]

---

---

Day Negative 2 Weather is calm. Not a cloud in the sky, or as far as I (Elena) can see from the computer lab window. Supplies. We need some. Specifically a water bottle, jam and maple syrup (for gifts, we don't just enjoy these things). Besides that though, we're set to go. Yay Peru! Elena and Tom [View Full Entry]

---

---