Everything about Peru is fascinating; there is a warm and inviting culture contrasted with a seemingly primitive way of life. I won't go into the bathrooms (or lack thereof) and this bus ride that never ends, but I need to talk about the wonderful people we've encountered here.
Now, I fancy myslef a little globetrotter when the mood strikes me, and I've been to plenty of places. The Peruvian people, however, have been the biggest and most welcome surprise. For instance, we went on a city tour with some of the Lima boys on Tuesday. Walking through such an immense metropolis is daunting at the best of times, but trying to maneuver thirty people through a largely poverty-stricken area with a language and cultural barrier made us nervous. Street vendors crowded us, locals gawked at us, and Mike discovered that pedestrians do *not* have the right of way.
On the way back, we stopped outside the President's Palace to watch the changing of the guard. While we watched, we noticed a group of schoolchildren staring at us. Before long, our group was completely swamped by smiling kids, all of whom wanted a handhake or a high five from the really tall "gringos." That's the way it was wherever we went, and by the time we walked back to Scripture Union's center, we were lauging, smiling at the locals, and jaywalking with daring frequency.
I was similarly nervous about meeting the boys themselves. We hung out with some great kids as Kawai, the center we stayed at for the first two nights, and they were great. Logan and Tyler got shown up by the boys in one-fingered pushups and handstands. But for some reason I was awkwardly expectant when ... to be continued?
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