Today, I "slept in" until around 10am and went out to breakfast with a group of girls. I ordered fried eggs, fried bananas and pineapple juice... muy delicioso y barato! I packed my backpack and took a cab to my host family. I was nervous because I'd never met them, plus I'll be leaving alone and was unsure about the language barrier. However, as soon as they opened the door I felt so welcomed. There are 5 people in this family. Manolo, the father, is a doctor's assistant. His job is to inform physicians about certain medications so they can give prescriptions to their patients. He's very funny and charismatic. The mother, Miriam, is a dentist and actually has a room on the main floor of her house where she works everyday. She explained to me how every Tuesday she works for a program that offers every type of health care to people who can't otherwise afford it.
Renzo is my age (well, he's 22 and I'll be 22 next month) and is studying architecture at a local university. Ximena is 15 and, like her 12-year-old brother Alvaro, goes to high school about 3 streets away.
Around 3pm, my host mother made lomo saltado for lunch. I had tried it in a restaurant already but hers was so fresh and rica that it couldn't compare. We also had a peach and Inca Cola. I offered to help clean up but my host mother told me I didn't have to do anything. It turns out the woman I met the other day was, in fact, a maid who comes every morning to clean and cook a bit.
Manolo told me there's a bus that runs near El Sol School. The stop is less than a minute walk away so he went with me and explained which bus to look for, how often it ran, and other necessary details. He then drew me a map and drove me through the route to familiarize me with it. Renzo and Miriam went with us in the car, and when Miriam stopped at the local grocery store to pick up a few things, she handed me a chocolate bar.
Once we got back, we talked a bit more and I then went upstairs to unpack and unwind a bit. It was nice to have more than a backpack full of dirty clothes and to finally have a closet with some shelves to get organized/settled.
Later that evening, we had dinner and I gave my host family my gift: a dish towel with a lobster and the word "Boston" printed below (which is currently hanging in their kitchen). Because Peruvians eat a large lunch and small dinner, we had an omelet, rolls with ham and cheese, and hot chocolate. I went to sleep early that night to prepare for my first day of classes the next morning.
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