I Lost 900 soles & It's Colder that a Witch's Tit in a Brass Brassiere

Well, it’s only Wednesday and I can say it’s been one of those WEEKS.

Last night I realized I had misplaced around 900 soles (about $240) which was my cash for rent and buying sweaters. I tore my room apart, had a freak-out, tried to go to sleep three different times, and kept waking up to look for the money. This morning, I woke up half an hour before my alarm to look again, and my anxiety was unshakable. I had to call

someone or do something, so I called the Peace Corps to weigh my options and see what could be done. At this point, whether or not it is my fault, the money is gone for good. Luckily, the PC safety and security staff had my back and it looks like I can get a reimbursement to pay my 780 sole rent before the end of the month. I truly do not believe my host family had anything to do with it, and I probably did just misplace the money somehow. But who knows… Weird way to start my first month at site.

In terms of my job at the health center, things have been going smoothly for the most part. Besides knowing what is going on about 50% of the time, I am growing very fond of my health center socia/boss, and she seems to like me a lot too. We have spent the last week absolutely decking out the social work office with Christmas decorations. This office is coated in tinsel and twinkly lights. I do not normally care much for Christmas, but it has been fun to bond with my socia and listen to Christmas music in Quechua. 

I am slowly growing to like it here, although the climate is incredibly temperamental. The nights are frigid, and there is no heating in my home, so I have to layer on my undershirt, sweatshirt, hoodie up, pants, fuzzy socks, plus my 5 blankets to sleep comfortably through the night. My bedtime outfit is featured above, I am grateful I brought the stuffed animals… They comfort me. 

This weekend I borrowed my host sister’s bicycle and rode down to a river where I proceeded to get a high-altitude sunburn on my stomach which made it hard to button my pants. My host family seems to be slowly warming up to me. We went to an amusement park on Sunday called Juegos Mecánicos La Huaycha and I rode rides with my 13-year-old host brother for a couple of hours until we got painfully confused inside the house of mirrors. The funniest part was we were under the impression there was an exit to this casa de los espejos, but there was no way out, only one entrance. Looking back, it was hilarious but at the time I was annoyed as hell. Trying to relay directions in Spanish to a teenage boy inside a labyrinth of mirrors was kind of a mind fuck. 

Today my socia and I are supposed to do house visits, but the morning has started with some Spanish practice on my laptop, filing my reimbursement for my "robbery," and responding to emails. At some point, we will visit the pregnant mothers, not sure when. I’m okay with staying in because it’s raining hard and I forgot my coat.