Happy Halloween! Some friends and I did some errands this afternoon and there were kids in the streets with halloween costumes: batman, spiderman, snow white, and cinderella. I couldn't help but to smile and remember my days of dressing up. The tradition is a new thing for Peruvians, that is, to dress up and go trick-or-treating like the "American kids" do. On Wednesday night we had a celebratory Halloween/birthday party (for a Peruvian friend). The girls from my program (Leah, Mehtab, and Lauren) all dressed up as a famous American woman: I was the Statue of Liberty; Leah, Rosie the Riveter, Mehtab, Pocahontas, and Lauren, Marilyn Manroe. We found some unique material to pull off our costumes at this great thrift store near my house; I found this big piece of green fabric that I made into a dress, along with a gold belt and a gold headband. We all got ready together at my house; I needed lots of help pinning my outfit together.
I ended up cooking twice this week, and I now realize how much I miss cooking! On Sunday I made pancakes - delicious pancakes with fresh strawberries, bananas, walnuts, and to top it off manjar (Peruvian carmel sauce). They were quite a hit! On Wednesday night I made a Peruvian style birthday cake (with help from Martin's grandmother, mother, and brother who is a chef). It was very confusing because there were so many people in the kitchen giving me orders in Spanish, and his grandmother, (who may be a little crazy), was just rambling off the ingredient list. But turns out the cake was delicious, it was the basic: sugar, butter, flour, vanilla, a little orange zest, milk, baking powder, eggs, walnuts. And to top it off, I made a cream (confection sugar, milk, vanilla, and a little marmalade) with sprinkled walnuts and fresh strawberries. I will admit it looked professional. 
My clothes are getting worn out; a pair of my favorite shoes in particular, as I've worn my soles uneven from all tourist style sightseeing. So yesterday I took them to a repair shop to repair the hole and the soles, and to my surprise only cost s/10 (or $3.33)! Furthermore, I went to a shoe wear-house yesterday - think department store sized building with 3 floors of shoes (leather type, sandals, boots) aka HEAVEN! I ended up spending a lot of time there but didn't make any big purchases. A size 9 in women's is very big for Peruvian standards and despite having so many shoes, my choices were limited. They also make custom shoes here for cheap. I printed some styles I like off the internet and had them quoted. Before I leave, I want to get a pair of custom made shoes. Further, to go along with the feet theme, I ended up checking out this new SPA near my house last week. My feet were in need of a pedicure (and when I say this I really mean it because in the states I don't get many pedicures), so for $7 I got both a pedicure and manicure.
This past weekend Leah and I went shopping in Miraflores (after we attempted going to another cancelled yoga class). We found a cute, tacky Christmas store, bunches of bead stores, Artesian stores, a rock/stone store, and jewelry stores. We found some great treasures! I was walking back home from the shopping trip and ended up falling down on the sidewalk. I was proudly eating choclo y queso (bought off the streets - again, my favorite Peruvian snack), and I tripped and fell. My arm/elbow got a bit infected and my knee has a big bruise, but the lesson learned is no matter how good something is, it's not worth getting hurt over!
Last night I successfully (!) went to Bikram Yoga class taught by Angie, who I knew from UVA! (She returned to home to Lima after graduating from UVA). The class was really great - I felt so much more relaxed afterwards and also just a bit sweaty. Tonight I'm going out to eat with her and some friends she met while in New Zealand (from UVA).
Tonight I'm going out to eat with her and some friends she met while in New Zealand (from UVA). 
