We made it!!!

Blog entry by Seth Shimkonis:
Our fearless leader Nathan has gotten us to our destination in Arequipa Peru with everyone intact including all our bags, thats right, not one bag was stolen, lost, or misplaced. Which is pretty amazing considering each person had about 3 - 4 bags. We were picked up from the airport in Arequipa from Dave the owner of the mission house we are staying at. The place is beautiful and so is the scenery!

The local Arequipa area is pretty interesting, the weather in this high mountain desert is pretty much perfect, about 78 all year round, so they have these single pane glass windows in all the buildings which have very little to no insulation, if that tells you nothing of the climate, then I'll just tell you to retire here.

After unpacking we were all pretty beat and most of us took a nap until it was time to head over to the New Hope Orphanage to meet the kids and get a tour. When we arrived we were introduced to the kids, took a tour and hung out with the kids after our tour. For me, it was great to just play futbol with the kids and run around. I know little to no Spanish and at first it was difficult to communicate, however words are only a part of communication and the little kids just wanted to be picked up and see their picture on the digital camera, and the older kids just enjoy spending time with you and playing futbol or volleyball.

When it was time to leave the orphanage we headed over to Tony and Julie's (They run the orphanage, click here to see Tony and Julie's blog) house for a get to know you session before dinner. It was great to hear some personal stories and reasons others came to Peru. Personally, I knew I would have time available this time in the year so I came to just be available to the kids and be willing to do anything.

Following the meeting we headed to San Fransico Ave, the Tourist district, to get some dinner at El Turko Dos, where I was able to sample many different foods from others dinners such as: Alpaca, Fish in an squid ink sauce, and guinea pig...trust me, they were all very good! And none tasted like chicken. I also ordered a lemonade...its actually limeade, and it was my favorite thing of the night from dinner, actually I think its my favorite drink ever!

The beginning of the trip has gone extremely well, and the friendships are beginning to grow with late night game playing and sharing of our personal histories. I'm really looking forward to the days ahead. And with that, I'll leave you with a few photos from the first 36 hours of our trip.