Todos en espanol, por favor

Hola amigos! I had a great time in Philly. It was a very busy, very fast, very wonderful trip. I got in to Philadelphia around 10 a.m. and met up with the EE group at a cafe (they had already been in Philly for a few days). Then we (me, two other EE employees, the two Peruvians, and a Philly cafe owner) went to the zoo. It was so much fun! The zoo was quite large and it was so cool walking around with Eulalia and Beltran (the Peruvians). We didn't have a translator with us at the zoo, but between the four of us Americans, we were able to communicate...sorta. My favorite animals were the big cats (like the lions, tigers and pumas) and this orangutan. He was so cute - he was playing hide and seek with us under a blanket and then he stuck his head out at us and smiled, showing his teeth. Then he stuck his tongue out. It was like playing with a little kid. I wanted to take him home with me.

After the zoo, we went to another cafe, where the Peruvians did a presentation for the customers, and then we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and finally the last event was at another cafe. This was a wrap-up panel discussion with the Peruvians, one EE employee and a cafe owner. It was a Q&A format and it was very inspiring, emotional and a perfect way to end the trip to Philly. People (including me) were moved to tears when they heard Eulalia and Beltran's stories and about how much this trip in the U.S. has meant to them.

After that, I went to a dive bar with the other two EE employees and that was fun getting to know them. Then the three of us drove to our hotel, where I had my own room, yay! (The Peruvians stayed with cafe owners during their time in Philly.) We got up early the next morning and went to a big indoor market (Reading Market), met up with the Peruvians and cafe owners and had breakfast.

Then we got on the road for the seven hour drive home. On the drive, it was me, the two EE folks, and the two Peruvians. No translator. We actually did pretty well and by the end of the car ride, I was feeling better about my Spanish. I still have a long way to go, though. There was so much I wanted to tell and ask the Peruvians. They gave me a winter hat as a gift and I love it. It looks like something I would have bought and knowing it was made in a Peruvian village is very special. The whole experience made me appreciate my job even more. It was sad to say goodbye to the Peruvians (we left them in Providence, where they are staying this weekend before going back to Peru on Sunday). We were all teary-eyed and gave each other many hugs. I will try to add photos from the trip - they're on my work camera.

Philly seemed cool and was quite pretty. I loved all the old buildings and sculptures. I would like to go back.

Today I went to Brookline (a Boston neighborhood, like JP) and walked around a bit. It's a cute area but the weather was rainy so I didn't stay that long.

Now I'm watching scary movies with Tiff and her boyfriend.