Update from Aldea (Dan)

I know it´s been a while since my last email, sorry about that, life´s been particularly busy and crazy here in Peru. So we had a power outage for about two days a few weeks back that was actually a lot of fun. We had a few candles and flashlights that helped during the night, but it was actually great to have the lights off in the Aldea so you could appreciate the stars. It was cool how bright the milky way was, and how much you miss them when the lights are always on. We´ve had a great time playing futbol lately, and I´m proud to say that I´ve been getting better. We had some penalty kicks the other day and I scored on Cesar (probably the best kid here) and then I saved his penalty kick. Yeah, I was proud of himself. It´s great when the all the kids come together and play. Before, it seemed that Cesar and some of the older boys would only play if there weren´t younger ones playing as well, and maybe it´s just the lack of other boys to play with, but everyone has been coming together to play. Just yesterday in fact, we played a marathon game where Cesar´s team beat us 22 to 21. It was in the smaller field/court, but it was still tons of fun. Since I can be a little competitive, it was fun to have a such a crazy game. We´ve also played lots of volibol lately. The tias have been getting into it. Tia Rosa from casa 5 (with the older boys) got some of the older ones to play with the girls, who are really good. Tio Nelson, the handyman of the Aldea also comes and plays sometimes. For the older girls as well, like Ingrid and Antonia, it´s great to have some fun physical activities. Also, I went on a side trip up to the Cordillera Blancas with Asha, as it was her last week. We went on a magnificent 4 day trek called ¨Santa Cruz¨ that was absolutely spectacular. We climbed up to 4750 meters, which is about 15600 feet. At times it was challenging, and the altitude does make you slower, but it was totally worth it. At nights it was freezing, especially since the wind chill was so big, but during the day you had to wary of sun burn. An amazing trip, and a good send off for Asha, who will be sorely missed here at the Aldea.