WWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obama is our president!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When it was announced that he won, I was in a pub in the center of Plaza de Armas, Cusco Pero. I won´t forget that for a long time. There were mostly Americans in the bar, eyes glued to the tv, and when he won I think there was this split-second moment of shock, then it sunk in, then we jumped and cheered. When I heard Obama´s speech I cried. I couldn´t believe this wonderful man is about to be our leader. I love this man & I love his family.
My sister asked me via e-mail this morning if I woke up with a smile on my face like she had. I did. I´m not even in the country and I feel like a weight had been lifted off of me! I have a renewed faith in this country and am so excited.

So back here in Cusco.........This morning I wore a white coat and was a nurse. After trying to communicate that I was there to volunteer, they gave me an enormous lab coat. (I think it said ¨pharmacy¨on it.) That must be why so many people were asking me the same question that I didn´t understand while holding a small white piece of paper...
Anyway, I put that on and went into a tiny office at the end of a hallway stuffed with people. I took people´s weight, and blood pressures. I did this without comprehension of spanish numbers, so that was fun. Then I weighed people on this old old metal scale where everyone´s weight was in kilograms. I spent two hours trying to learn how to say blood pressure and weight. The words just wouldn´t stick. I was a shining star. Mom, Dad, I made you proud. Trust me. Either that or you would´ve just had a good belly laugh. One of the two.

Isn´t it interesting how life just seems to work out sometimes? I ended up in this tiny office with about 5 young nurses and an older nurse and they are all so friendly. Within an hour we were out sitting on a bench in the sun helping each other learn our languages.

I´ll wind this up with a few examples of my exemplary grasp of this language. After eating lunch yesterday, I walked into the kitchen to return my dishes and wanted to tell my host mom that the watermelon was delicious. I walked in, handed her my plate and declared loudly, "Nice to meet you!" Bless her heart, I think she choked trying not to laugh as I realized my mistake...

And finally, when asked last evening how long I would be in Cusco, I declared proudly, "One table!" I was serious. I was also infront of the entire computer lab.
The end.

GO OBAMA!!!!!!!
Jess