Lovely moments

In order to give some balance to my previous post on some Huancayan idiosyncracies, I thought it would be nice to mention what makes this place (and my life here) so lovely:

1. The park outside of my house is the main gathering place for all sorts of parties, parades, festivals, weddings, funerals - you name it. I often unexpectedly run into people practicing dances, bands tuning up, and huge groups of people gearing up to head down to the centre of the city with a statue of the Virgin Mary, men dressed in monkey costumes, etc.

2. Now that the rainy season is gone, the skies are clear in the afternoon, allowing me to take in one incredible sunset after another. To the west, the sky turns many shades of colours, which streak through big fluffy clouds hanging over the western slopes of the Andes, while to the east the slopes become deep red - similar to the sands of Cavendish Beach, but much darker.

3. When it was raining, I would often come home after a small shower and look up to multiple rainbows arc-ing over my house. At one point I saw four separate arcs!

4. In general, the skies here are breathtakingly beautiful.

5. We're in the height of harvest season now, and the market stands are overflowing with potatoes, corn, veggies, everything! What's more, many of the people that we work with have been gifting us from their harvests, and my kitchen is overflowing too! Yesterday I came home with pears, spinach, and oregano and found 30 kilos of potatoes waiting for me to share with my co-workers.

6. Any excuse for a party or small celebration is seized upon here. This week a co-worker and I went out and purchased (from the CIP budget) gifts for all the mothers working in our office and this morning the office cooks prepared a breakfast for everyone where the gifts were given out and everyone said something nice to all the moms. Happy Mothers Day to you mom!

7. Although Huancayo itself is dirty, busy, crowded, noisy, etc., 15 minutes in any direction takes me out to some beautiful scenery - every day is amazing.

8. Overall, the greatest aspect of my work here has been my coworkers and the people who have made my stay here so amazing and such a beautiful experience. Thank you!