Well, folks, I'm terribly sorry for having left you thinking about Halloween for the last three weeks. The case is that I spent 10 days of those weeks traveling and the rest of those days gearing for and gearing down from traveling. We completed our FBT (field-based training) in a place called Junin and then I went on to visit my future home in Yauyos. So 10 days of travel and it was good to come "home" to the bed I'd gotten used to. Anyway, the good news is that, as some followers of my blogs know, when I go traveling, the result on my blog is......a TOP 10 LIST!

So to remind you of the rules. Top ten lists need not reach ten nor be limited by ten. The order in which items of the list appear has nothing to do with the coolness of the event. Also, my lists count up. So here we go!

1. In the drive to Junin I achieved a new personal best highest altitude reached. That sign says 4818 meters (15,807 feet) above sea level!

2. We got to visit many current volunteers in their sites, including Lauren in Huayre. Huayre is cool because of this giant in their plaza.

That is a maca. It is a tuber indigenous to high altitudes (Huayre is at about 4100 meters) and known worldwide for its health benefits - specifically, high in vitamins, energizing and an aphrodisiac. We started many a day in town with a hot papaya-maca smoothie.

3. Teaching the children. Also in Huayre, as well as Junin, we were able to give environmental education talks to a few classes in the schools. We focused mainly on reforestation and the importance of planting trees since we were there during Reforestation Week. The kids made us feel like a rock star. Even if we were feeling unsure of our spanish and the adults didn't really know what to make of us, the kids loved us immediately.

4. Working with special children. We also got to visit a special ed school in Junin. This was a simultaneously cool and ugly experience. Cool because, well, let's face it, if kids make you feel great for loving you, special ed kids have the biggest hearts and therefore have way more love to give. The ugly side came when, being there, we could observe a few of the attitudes of other Peruvians towards special ed kids. Some are ashamed, others are afraid and others don't necessarily see them as capable. But for the most part, this experience was uplifting - especially when we all sat down to a mid-morning roll and plastic cup full of Inca-kola.

5. Teaching the adults. On this trip, I had my first experience leading a discussion with adults. The tourism committee of Huayre asked us to give a talk about eco-tourism and help them visualize how they could do that in their town. Having no experience in eco-tourism (except as an occasional patron), we were a little insecure going into this talk too. Of course, even with our limited experience, we still had more than these community members. It turned out to be a great chat and ended with delicious Sol de Cuzco hot chocolate and soda crackers. Yes.

6. Giant frogs! In case you're just tuning in, no, this isn't a list of plagues. Junin is home to a couple of endangered and endemic species because of its altitude and its lake (Chinchaycocha). It is really a quite beautiful altiplano wetland. But due to hunting and loss of habitat this little guy (not so little) is in danger.

Because of that, Peru's protected area service is conducting a population rehabilitation center which we got to visit. Also cool. As a biologist, Lake Chinchaycocha was calling my name.

7. Running into an old Brassica friend at the municipal vivero (tree nursery) in Junin. This little guy was all over Spain when we were looking for its relative last year.

8. Flamingos! We went on a boat trip out onto the lake one morning and from our zodiac, we could see Andean coots, zambullidores and flamingos. So cool. Here they are flying.

9. Historic site of the battle of Junin as well as the location of Incan ruins in Chacamarca (I think that's the spelling). This was the first day that I could actually be in a short-sleeve shirt. It was lovely.

10. Recycle buyback with PCV (and C of C alum) Will. For 4 hours, we bough recyclables from little old ladies, drunk old men, moms and children. The total we bought I think turned out to be about 300 soles (~ $100) worth of recycled materials.

11. Site visit! Walking my new home with the volunteer I will be replacing. Here we are at the end of the street on which I will live.

12. We're heading into the rainy season and so one lovely rainy afternoon (it rained from 1:30 until 7:30), we had an information download. I sat with my notebook and wrote down everything Cate could throw at me about our new town.

13. To tackle one of her current problems regarding trash separation and at the same time introduce me as the new volunteer, we made an informational video. It will be played before the popular television shows so that everyone watching will see.

14. There's another tall, blond, foreigner in my town. She's from the Netherlands and is doing a study on the biodiversity of the snails in the area for her masters. What are the odds?

15. Donkeys. Everywhere. Including the health post.

I think that's it for now. Though I'm sure I'll be coming up with a lot more for you. We have one more week of training and then we move out to site. Since I will have internet there, I plan to be keeping you up to speed through the blog but only time will tell with what frequency once my work gets going. Thanks for reading.

Blessings.