Aranas y globos!

We have big spiders here. Like this tarantula was found in our backyard. Apparently, my host mom said that they're not poisonous...but it's the little ones that are everywhere that I should watch out for. Genial! So every night before I jump in to bed, I check for my unwanted visitors--fleas and spiders.

(And I'm actually quite scared of getting bitten by the small ones. If you've seen the sanitary conditions of my health post, you'd understand. On the day that I was there, I thought I might contract something just from sitting down on the bench.)

One last thing is that we're starting our Carnival in Cajamarca. This is like our Peruvian sierra version of Mardi Gras. There will be paint gun fights on the streets, drunken people, dancing, and all sorts of activities in the capitol city. My site will partake in some of that along with a roast to the leaders of the community. But for the time being, all of Cajamarca/Cajabamba is participating in the water fights. They sell these head size balloons and we fill them up with water, get on a balcony and drop them on people as they're walking by on the streets...Whoever started this tradition should be shot! It's been like a war zone here--dodging, ducking, and weaving. Oh, and did I mention that for extra fun, sometimes the balloons are filled with urine? Yep, this is all legal in Peru.