Hi mom and dad!!!

Right now we are at an in-country retreat/orientation at a nice and clean resort. I was worried about the cold but it is like Spring here! It is very sunny with a nice, gentle breeze. There were bright green parakeets (I think they were parakeets) with red heads flying around the trees as we ate our breakfast of bread and butter. The staff here are soooooooo friendly and eager to have us here. Most of them met us at the airport, from the language teachers to the country director. They videotaped us and took pictures of us and held ¨Bienvenidos a Peru¨signs and wore huge smiles. I feel very safe and at times I feel like I¨m in high school at summer camp because of the energy and they kind of held our hands as we landed in Lima from luggage check onto the bus and to our bungalow rooms. I´m sure the high school/college feel will fade, especially on-site, thankfully. In half an hour I will have my Spanish interview. I am feeling confident about my Spanish. They speak fast but very clearly here. I think I´ll be placed in a high to middle level class. There are some people here with only high school experience with Spanish but there are also people who have spent a year in Spain or a semester in Chile. Then I will get vaccinated and have interviews with people who will place me with a host family and the environmental program staff. The environmental program staff gave a picture presentation...Even though we won´t be in the Amazon, I am not feeling too disappointed now. This country is so beautiful and has such a diverse, rich ecology. OK, there is a line so hasta luego!