Mercado de Chosica

Market day again - WAHOO! Best ever...today we tried quail eggs which for some reason are SO much better than chicken eggs! Love the organized chaos that surrounds the market streets, the people, the conversations (which I only catch half of), and the FOOD. Coming into the trip, I was predicting food to be quite problematic for a vegetarian - on the contrary, there are so many new things to try. Chirimulla is a fruit they have in Peru that tastes like a combination of piña colada, pineapple, and coconut which comes out to be one of the most delicious things I´ve ever eaten!! It is also a very popular ice cream flavor that I´ve tasted quite a few times ;)

Yesterday, the children had the opportunity to go to a farm owned by a lovely woman on the other side of Chaclacayo - what an awesome experience for them! There were endless fields of various produce and vegetation that the children could help tend to, a horse for some to ride, and many cows for them to pet. SO MUCH FUN. I keep meeting ridiculously amazing individuals on this trip and through Tony´s work, and the owner of this farm was definitely among them. She eventually hopes to get a routine down for the children to visit once every week - but for now, each time they come, she allows the kids to pick whatever ripe fruit and vegetables they can find and bring it home with them! You should have seen these children dart through the tomato and strawberry plants, herb gardens, and carrot field!! They had a BLAST! The woman also makes cheese from her cows´ milk, which she allowed us all to sample with crackers when we started wearing down from running in the fields. She sent two jars of homemade yogurt home with us as well which is AMAZING - never had yogurt so fresh and could only think of how much my mom would LOVE IT!! Needless to say, I am hoping that we get to go again this Friday, if for nothing more than to see the sheer excited and joy the kids have in the field - they do not get out much aside from the nearby park, so when they do, they have at it!!

As for now, Ashley and I are not looking forward to saying goodbye to our new friend from Ireland, Aoife (pronounced Ifa), who unfortunately flies out Monday night to continue her 8-month trek around the world. She has been such a source of entertainment and inspiration - she has also taught us many Irish terms and phrases which we are definitely bringing back to the states. However, as we are reluctant to see her go, we wish her the best of luck to her in the remainder of her journey! Much love Aoife!