No remembero how to say eleven

From the One Semester of Spanish Love Song which Amanda just introduced me to. Watching this YouTube is encouraging to me, because it rememberos me of where my Spanish language ability used to be and how far I have come.

I stayed in Peru this summer and savored it.

My favorite part was going with church friends to Cañete, a small village 3 hours outside of Lima:

While there, we played games (including ultimate frisbee!!!)...

climbed a steep hill...

and celebrated Nadia's 22nd birthday party.

We slept 2 to a mattress in an uncomplete house which Christian's uncle owns. 10 girls in one small room next to another small room where 10 boys slept. Of course, all 20 of us shared a bathroom which had no running water.

So for this reason, a few of us girls ended up washing our hair and brushing our teeth in the river...

On the night of their Independance Day, we went to see the townspeople alight a robot which was completely loaded with high-power fireworks.

The fireworks caused the arms, legs, and some unmentionable body parts to move on the giant robot and occasionally a large firework would blast into the air and light up the sky.

After that, we danced in the town square. We ended up playing a game where one of us would make up a dance move and the whole group of us would dance using that move. Then we started repeating the dance moves which fellow dancers who were "slightly overserved" were creating.

But my favorite thing we did was try to swim upstream a river with rapid rapids. Right after this picture was taken I walked into an area where the current was quite strong. Here is what occured (try and imagine the scene as if it were in a movie and it will be much more exciting)...

"Eden! Get out of there!" Yelled Carlos, and the rest of the group joined him in yelling for her to get out.

But it was too late, before the words had left his mouth the river's current had the distracted gringa completely within its grasp. Her anxiety rose as she flailed through the current with no success. She was being pulled faster and faster to the small waterfall downriver.

Brave Maria, holding onto a rock flung out her arm so that Eden could grab on before she was sucked under.

"I can't reach!" said Eden hopelessly.

"You can, just grab onto my hand!" Yelled back Maria.

"Its too late!!! Nooooo!!!"

"Eden!!!"

And then she was gone (some could swear they faintly heard Celine Dion's powerful voice blowing through the wind in that moment).

Eden was then completely controlled by the will of the river. Over, beside, and around rocks and finally, down a small waterfall.

There she stopped. All were silent, waiting to see the outcome.

They sighed when Eden stood up, unharmed.

As the rocks were quite smooth, the ride was fun rather than hurtful and I had a strong desire to let myself get sucked into the current again. But... alas... my friends wouldn't let me.

After the three eventful days, I came home to Lima with a stronger respect for rivers, personal bathrooms, and powerful firework bearing robots.