Back to the future

I have re-entered the 21st century - Peru 19 has received our cell phones!

After five weeks of organizing plans via "meet you at the central park statue in Chosica tonight at 9:30," or "be at the canchita in Yanacoto at 2:00 Sunday," it has been a serious struggle to adjust my mentality to the new possibilities opened to us by our phones. I've found myself starting to make our usual type of meet-up plans, only to realize mid-sentence that we don't need to worry about making exact coordinations. The new catch phrase is "if something happens, we can just call each other!" - and it feels very strange to have such freedom. Strange, but good :)

Tomorrow night I'm off to Field-Based Training (FBT) for a whole week. Myself and 5 other economic development volunteers are headed to the sierra town of Otuzco, in the northern region of La Libertad. We'll be leading a 4-day intensive create-your-own-business workshop for technical college students, and then spending the other days visiting current volunteers, hiking in the mountains, and even getting in a day at the beach on our way back to Lima. I am really looking forward to another adventure in the provincias of Peru, and to my first time in the highlands!