Wanderlust: n.noun. A very strong or irresistible impulse to travel.

"A desayunar todos!!" yells Jackie from downstairs. Her summoning to the breakfast table wakes me up every morning. I climb out of bed, down the cold ceramic stairs and sit myself down at the table. Jackie always greets me with a big laugh. She is a happy person. Always laughing. Always smiling. She never lets anything get the best of her. She is a great mother and I am blessed to watch her motherly and culinary expertise. 

We have finished training our interviewers and now we are heading out full force to each of the districts of the city to conduct survey interviews with the people of Arequipa. We have randomly selected neighborhoods across the entire city, which is cool for us because we get to see different parts of the entire city. 

We are working with some really great university students and they are already our good friends. We are happy to have such hard-working people on our team and we are very proud of the work they have done. 

Arequipa is a colonial city. When it was first founded it was a community based on the very prominent convent that was at its city center, Santa Catalina. 

Santa Catalina is called the mini-city because it is literally a tiny community with buildings, courtyards, and streets within the confines of a large surrounding wall. 

I need to correct myself about calling Arequipa "the white city" because of the white lava rock. It is called that now because of the many buildings built with "sillar", white volcanic stone, but it was originally called the white city because of the many Europeans/whites that inhabited the city. These Europeans were mainly brought to this place because of the holy convent that supported 12 nuns within the convent. 

There are now around 15 nuns within the convent, but the lifestyle of the convent is very similar to the original set up. These nuns go through an eight year initiation process and when they finally enter into the convent it is for life. They never leave the convent and never communicate with outsiders. Most of Santa Catalina has been opened up for tourist access, but a small section still pertains to the current nuns that reside in the small community. Back in the 1500s when Santa Catalina was founded, it was an honor and privilege for wealthy men to send their oldest daughter to be schooled and accepted into the convent. These young girls were wealthy youth sent off by their fathers sentenced to a life of prayer and worship. I applaud the women that dedicate themselves to such a life, but I feel that service to God needs to include His children. The most valuable growth towards consecration comes from interacting with God's children. I can't help but think myself selfish if I decided to stay inside, away from the world, reading my scriptures all my life. The gospel requires active service in benefit of others. This life is about supporting each other, not just increasing our own personal knowledge and purity.    

Tim Heaton, the director of the PEAT program, came down to visit last week. It was great to have some help on a couple of things as we get the project running. He was invited to speak at a local university and share some findings of his last project concerning women's health in developing countries. There was another local professor that was invited to speak and who ended up taking like 3/4 of the meeting, so Tim only spoke for about 10 minutes. We all laughed. Not to mention that the bulk of the other professor's address was about participating in reviving the Marxist movement. Let's just say that sociology is very different in South America.  

Then this happened...

Colca Canyon is the second deepest canyon in the world (the deepest in the world in also in the region of Arequipa...we are headed there next month). Twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, it is a spectacle to behold. It is also well known because it is the home of the large Condor. There are hundreds of large vultures that circle between the canyon walls in the early morning. Let's just say it threw me "heels over head"...(that one is for Andi, the punster of all punsters) But seriously, I am really glad that I have time to get back on top of my yoga practice. I was so incredibly busy last semester that it wasn't even a priority, but I'm happy to practicing daily once again. 

The local community is its own separate entity from the state and they live completely self-sufficient. Each member of the community is given a piece of land and they are asked to cultivate the land for the benefit of the entire community. It is quite amazing. 

     

The long bus ride and dusty roads reminded me too much of  Honduras. I was oddly content to ride for hours on an unkempt road with a mouth full of dirt. That sensation was too familiar. 

This place is becoming so close to my heart so fast. I am already nervous for the day when I have to leave this place. I told Conner the other day that I am concerned for myself, because I have started to scatter pieces of my heart all over the world. I am too eager to open my heart to different places, cultures and opportunities. It hurts to think about all the people I care for all over the world. I worry about them and pray for them, but it is painful to try maintain so much inside the tiny confines of my heart. But I realize that I would rather hurt with feeling than not feel that love at all.  

And...just so you know, I am still in love with this gal.