The heat is hot and so am I.

I just decided to write a new blog instead of editing the other one. Ok, so, now I am at home in sweltering Alabama and am really glad of it. I've been here for almost a week, and I am still noticing little things that are different from Peru. I have decided to compose a list of the things that I noticed the most, in the order that I noticed them.

1. In the United States, people speak English, as opposed to Peru where they speak Spechua.
2. People wear less clothes here, mostly on account of the weather, but not entirely.
3. When you go to a restaurant here, if you run out of drink, they give you more for free.
4. You can actually flush toilet paper in the States. Hard to get back in the habit.
5. Exfoliating is such a luxury.
6. The shower water stays the same temperature the entire time you are in the shower.
7. When you say you are going to be somewhere at 6:00, and you show up at 6:30, the other person will probably be mad.
8. Food is expensive! As is everything else.
9. Gas prices are actually cheaper here in the states. But, of course, Peru hasn't paid for their gas with bodies like we have.
10. Taco Bell is better than rice and potatoes. By far.

Strangely enough, I have a new-found affinity for the color pink. Maybe it's because being girly was next-to-impossible in Lampa and now I just want to wear dresses and pastel colors and flip my hair out. Like Farrah Fawcett in Charlie's Angels. Ok, not so much, but the ever-present ponytail is a thing of the past. And, I know it's hard to believe, but I actually wore eyeshadow to church this morning. Woowee! I'm a girl!

Well, lately I have just been laying around, sleeping late, and enjoying the air-conditioning. I've been shopping a few times because I am absolutely sick of all the clothes that I wore the past two months. They were gross and I am going to donate them to a clothes closet. But in all my shopping, I couldn't help but notice the incredible excess that we all think we need to live. Do I really need three pairs of tennis shoes? Of course not. I don't need a tenth of the stuff I own. I am much more aware now of the huge difference between needs and wants. That may be the hugest difference I noticed between Peru and the United States. In Peru, especially in the campo, people accept the fact that they don't own flashy possessions and they live with what they have. Kids are happy kicking around a beat-up old soccer ball for hours in the street. In the states, kids whine for the newest game system, and when they get it, spend all their free time glued to the TV set blowing up aliens or each other. And I am not saying that Peru is such a better place to live than the states, but priorities are definitely different. This realization hit me as I was carrying all my shopping bags into the house, and I was a little ashamed of myself. It's easy to let yourself believe that if you have the means to buy nice things, why shouldn't you buy them? Sometimes we even think that we deserve all the things we want, and that is a very dangerous idea to have. But now, for me, when I start feeling bigger than myself, I can just think of what I lived on for two months and how I was completely fine. And also, thoughts of that little family with the sick mother, and their humble home, really make me check myself and make sure I don't get greedy.

So, all in all, God is good and so is life. I hope everyone adjusts well as they get back home. Let's all make sure to keep Peru in our thoughts and prayers. And will I ever be back? I certainly hope so. After all, I haven't seen Machu Picchu yet, and I am such a sucker for archaeological ruins. Dork, I know. Adios!