first of all, we kept on working! erin completed all of her interviews and i continued to drudge along in the darkness of qualitative methods...this may not be my thing as it turns out, and i am tired of trying things and realizing that they're not exactly for me, but at least i learn, right?
then came the worst of my tour of peru, i came down with the weirdest sickness ever. it consisted of fevers, migraine-like headaches that left me unable to think, see, talk, nor sleep. i mean, i think i got religion after going through 8 days of that...(and i'm still mas o menos holding up my end of the bargain, which was that i wouldn't drink as much anymore, i think the loose terms makes it easier, j/k). during those eight days, i went to the hospital 3 different times in order to figure out what was ailing me...the joke is that 80% of what people get is unclassified.
the sad part of those eight days was that my dearest, beloved, partner in crime, erin, left peru for the beautiful north east US. i miss her dearly. i wasn't able to give her the best goodbye that i could have done, but i know there will be other chances for that...i think we made a good married couple traveling team and we'll have to do it again sometime soon!!!
so after getting back on my feet, i wallowed around in lima getting better, trying to figure out where my research was going. it was kind of miserable. but once my adviser got back from the states, she set me up with a dataset to work with. NUMBERS! thank god for NUMBERS! i'm just soooooo happy to do something that i CAN do. so now my project is going to culminate in an article mostly focusing on the quantitative with supplements from the qualitative. i like that.
in other news, i finally received word that my invitation from the peace corps is in the mail...the two pertinent details being OCTOBER and AFRICA. so we'll see. i'm excited, petrified, relived, worried, not sleeping, confused, dazed, and MOSTLY EXCITED.
otherwise, i've just been enjoying spending time with the fam, with co-workers, and with a nice young man who's like my own private salsa instructor. so who's ever up for dancing when i get back to the states, i'm in!
so i'll leave you all at that, but make sure to check back in 2 weeks when there will be updates from amazing travels to Cusco and Puno and Huaraz!!! Macchu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, and Andes!
some pictures: pachamaga(SP?)aka food that is cooked in the ground for hours with hot stones in Chosica outside of lima, the family climbing rocks, my mami (Aida) and I cooking my father's famous pancakes, Bridget who makes a star appearance in order to use some of the outdoor exercise equipment in San Borja, and some of the amazing artwork on the walls of my favorite shanty town in Lima.
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