A Friend for a Day

On Sundays they shut down the main street and encourage the residents to ride bikes.  They have bikes for rent on the side of the road and everyone is out biking or roller blading!  Great public health campaigning at work right here in Lima! =)

...I felt like I had to give a shout out to public health! 

Anyway, I decided to go do some more touristy things today so I went to the local ruins.  Literally 2 blocks away from my hostel are ruins from AD 400.  The contrast between the new and the old is amazing.  The tour was in English and ended up being semi-private with just me and three other girls from the states.  It was really interesting to learn about the history of the ruins (basically, it was a ceremonial center for the city back in the day), and the view from the top was beautiful. 

I started talking with one of the girls and she too was traveling alone.  Actually, she had just finished the Peace Corp in Costa Rica and was on vacation in Peru for the next three weeks.  We got to talking and ended up spending the whole day together.  It was refreshing and such a blessing to spend the day in conversation with another person, a nice break from my solitude.  We spoke about life and about social justice, about our goals and dreams, we shared about our families and friends back home, our travel experiences, her time in Costa Rica.  I can't begin to explain how much of a blessing it was to have a friend for a day. 

And what a great way to start a new week.  Ok.  Deep breath, be strong, be brave, and stand firmly for what you believe in.  Let's go make a difference in the world...