I'm in Peru!

Hola a todos desde Lima! Catherine and I got in last night at about 12:30 and were met by Sr. Therese, who waited patiently holding her sunflower for us to appear out of customs. Our flight was uneventful. We took a taxi right along the coast of the Pacific Ocean to get to our pueblo, Las Delicias de Villa. It's a poor area, and our first introduction to the mercado street this morning was a quite overwhelming experience. There are little stands selling everything imaginable, all in bright colors; dogs and people dodging out of the way of tiny "moto-taxis" that resemble a child-carrier on the back of a bicycle, except with a motor and a driver (we rode in one back to the house and it was kind of fun!); the streets are dusty and unpaved, and nothing is as clean as we're used to in America, but the people are dressed like anyone you'd see in the US and there are stores selling Puma sneakers alongside homemade jewelry stands. The open-market food, which we have been warned not to eat, doesn't look too tempting because everything from raw meat to fruit is exposed to the open air, with nothing to keep away flies. Many of these houses I'm sure have no running water, and yet here we are with internet and cell phone stores next to the food stands. Anyway, it's been an overwhelming but exciting first day. Next time I'll write about the showers in our house. ;)