Latin Inspirations..

Saludos de Peru! Hola amigos! Que tal? Awesome i hope..i won't spend too much time writing en Espanol because it would come across like I was rubbing it in or something.. and I would hate that.. And since it's my first contribution to Damo's wonderful blog I thought I'd better lay a little background down first (I'll make it quick i promise)before I go blabbing on about how wonderful it is over here..haha

So I left Australia on November 25th with a three week stint in Ecuador volunteering in a small coastal village called Oln and was going to travel for 4 months after that and return home in April.. that was non-existent plan one! Yeah I did the volunteer work.. teaching English to children who had never seen a 'gringo' in their lives (my posts will include a bit of a vocab..gringo/a is the term used to describe any foreigner. It originated in Panama sometimes - history is not really a strong point of mine- to describe the American troops in their army green clad bodies.. obviously a dislike for the Americans presence 'Green-go!' and thats how the term originated.. apparently.. who knows..

I quickly realised that 'todo es possible en Ecuador.' All is possible in Ecuador.. and it's true. The people in these countries live with such a freedom. Maybe not voting freedom.. or a freedom from poverty.. but I've come to realise you can do what-the-f%@k-you-want.. stick 50 people in a mini-bus.. ride in the back of anything that moves.. a moto-taxi, truck, donkey driven cart, whatever.. drink in the streets at whatever hour.. yell at people when you think you are getting ripped off.. or tell someone what price you want to pay and they can take it or leave it.. kick a mototaxi driver in the head and it not assault.. bribe officials.. walk around with chickens in plastic bags.. sexually harrass women all the time.. and much much much more!

After I volunteered I travelled around Ecuador. I met some really awesome people from all sorts of places all walks of life.. but we all had something in common, we didn't want to go home. Every backpacker I have met is searching, for what is different for everyone, themselves usually.. and as always, the people you meet really do make the experience..And now I am here living in Peru.. a dusty and buzzing city called Piura, located north about an hour from the beach.. teaching English at another small village about half hour away for a organisation called Ayni. A friend I made in Cuenca, Ecuador on New Years Eve is the co-ordinator. After keeping in touch for four months I decided to join Ayni, settle down in Piura and work. So really I haven't backpacked for a while.. and frankly sometimes it's a bit much, every day being a weekend.. always eating out.. living in hotel rooms.. I wanted a life again. Living costs are really so cheap,rent being 150s/ a month (around $60) to live in a double storey home with a HUGE room, cable TV (in my room of course) lunch cooked for me if i hang around.. I mean who could say no?

Living standards in Peru really do vary.. where I teach and the surrounding areas are like desert.. and people are living in shacks with a dirt floor.. And weekends.. which consist of three days sometimes more.. they love having transport strikes here. So life is kinda easy.. relaxed.. and I am so happy here.. and I think about everyone at home doing the university thing and the working thing.. and I can't say I am at all envious.. but oneday I will have to return home. I just don't know when! So that's just the beginning of my story.. or maybe by now it's the middle

Saludos a todo!

Ange