Runnin' and Dancin' for the 4th of July

In my Peru life I run, well okay I jog. I do NOT run in my US life, although I'm thinking that may change when I return if I can find a pretty outdoor place to do it. I started running here becasue I couldn't make it to my eliptical machine at the YMCA and it's warm all year long. I run through the rice paddys and cotton fields at sunset among stunning coconut palm trees cutting tropical silhouettes into the firey setting sun. Being there makes running a lot easier. Don't get me wrong, the first 10minutes or so are still torture, beautiful torture, but still torture.

This weekend a couple of fellow Peace Corps volunteers are helping to put on a run to raise money for their town's library. It's taking place in a town called Pacasmayo, located between Chiclayo and Trujillo. There's a marathon, half marathon, 10K, and 5K. Anthing involving the word marathon is just silly so I'm just doing the 10K. I hear that there are free t-shirts involved.

So, that'll be my 4th of July celebration. The run AND I taught my Youth Health Promoters to line dance to Dwight Yoakam today. The kids always ask about traditional dances in the US because traditional dance is such a big deal here. Every festival and anniversary celebration includes a traditioanl dance celebration. I don't think that you can leave elementary school without being able to dance huayno and marinera. I figured the electric slide was a close to a traditional dance and this native Austinite has.