Gloomin' it Up on a Gloomy Day

I'm sitting at the dining room table, supposed to be working on my Peruvian History research paper. My Peruvian family is away, so I'm just hanging,

listening to my new Jack Johnson cd I bought from Polvos Azules.

(Click here and then here and listen while you read to get the full effect)

It's chilly and wet and Father's Day and I wish I could be with my US family

My little sister's representation of our family.

I am holding a sign that says Save the Kittens and a suitcase with different country names.

Activist and traveler I suppose?

I especially wish I could be with my super cool Dad! Shout out to you Daddy!

My dad is a handy man and good with animals.

Our dog is obsessed with him and follows him everywhere.

I just skyped with my other US family, my best friend and her folks, who were all gathered together to celebrate the day, wearing sundresses and peeling potatoes and speaking English.

I'm feeling a little gloomy.

I shouldn't.

I have three awesome families that love me.

I have recently been on some amazing trips.

Last week I spent time in the Amazon and in the Andes, in Iquitos and Cuzco and Machu Picchu. They were mind blowing and I wish to return - especially to the jungle.

And there are so many little every day things I love here:

My cluttered, tiny room

Wednesday lunches with Rose

Getting Pinkberry with my host sister

(this has also lead to me sharing my obsession with kiwis with my Peru family,

a fruit they had never tried. Now we are pretty much a kiwi fan club)

Aji "poderoso" in a jar that once held peach preserves from a small town Musella, Georgia.

Leaving my Peruvian family will be very hard.

Why must I keep finding people and places I love?