Liz Toland
Liz in Lima Joined: May 10th 2010
Logged in: September 7th 2010
Logged in: September 7th 2010
Travel Blog Posts
There are these box-like carts all over the streets of Lima that are filled with anything anyone could want...potato chips, gum, Halls cough drops (eaten like candy here), chocolate bars, pop, water and so much more. These kiosks are as common as taxis here. Have a craving for something? A kiosk will not be far off. And in some of these little boxes sit people. People trying to sell what they can to survive. The first time I realized that in some of the smaller kiosks sit people, I was surprised. My hands were hovering over the gum selection when my eyes looked up and met another set of eyes. The solemn face asked me what I needed and handed it to me without any expression. I paid and left, contemplating her job. There seems to ... read more
Hands-on work!
Well, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to preach today, but I did it. At Marisu's dance performance on Friday (which lasted 5 hours...and for whatever reason was OUTSIDE!) I started feeling really cold (more than normal) and my body was achy. By the time we got home, all I wanted to do was curl up in bed forever. I basically stayed there until this morning, going back and forth from having horrible chills to sweating profusely. This, of course, was the first time I've really sweated here in Lima, haha. Needless to say, I was sick and having to translate a sermon from English to Spanish in a flu-ish haze was no fun, even if google translator was doing the bulk of the work. But I woke up today and felt ... read more
The sun sets on Lima
I realize I've kinda fallin' off the blogging bandwagon. I'm sorry that it's been two weeks since I've written anything. The entry about my church that I just posted has been in the works for a long time, so it's good to finally get that out there. Perhaps it's productive procrastination? I've always been good at that. Since I still have a sermon to finish, I suddenly find time to catch up on a lot of other things I've been needing to do. Funny how it works that way. Life has been pretty busy lately though. Most days are split between two activities. I'm either in the office, at the seminary, teaching English at a nearby school, or traveling to La Oroya. Up until this week I was only in the office for one full day ... read more
IEP in Mirones Bajo
The church that I attend here in Lima was founded in the house where I live. Like the strong walls of the family house that surrounded those first members, my Peruvian family (the Barreras) remain a strong foundation for the IEP (Iglesia Evangelica Peruana) church in Mirones Bajo. In 1977, Saul Barrera, the father of Damaris and Deborah and all the other D-named siblings, saw that people from Mirones Bajo were traveling long distances on Sunday mornings to attend the IEP located in another part of Lima. He recognized that this made little sense, when time and money are often hard to come by. So Saul and his wife Herlinda (the dear sweet mother who is still recovering in Brazil), along with three other families, founded what is the church I attend today. For many, many ... read more
Aldair
I spent Wednesday in La Oroya with the CAMBIALO kids. It was such a wonderful experience. The group of us that made the trek up there for the filming got to spend the day going around La Oroya and the surrounding areas filming clips for the curriculum. Two of the kids, Jhohana and Aldair, did the clips in the morning and then in the afternoon all the kids got to take us on a tour of their beloved city. I just made an album of this fun day on Facebook. Please check it out and get to know the faces of CAMBIALO!!!!! Here's the link: ... read more
I awaken to the sound of THE praise song floating up from the first floor. I've never met the voice, but it's rather off-key. I wish I could actually understand the lyrics since the song will remain in my head the rest of the day. And since I will hear it again tomorrow morning. I throw back the heavy blankets, exposing my warm bed and my warm body to the cold air. I peel off my two pairs of socks and slip on my flip-flops. I open my door. No sun...again. Some days when I walk across the patio to the bathroom I discover the strong smell of fish. "Oh yeah...we are close to the water." How easily Lima makes me forget our neighbor, the sea. Downstairs, my daily avocado on the table greets me. The ... read more
My dad!
What I've enjoyed most about blogging while in Peru is that it's allowed me to tell stories of people I've met, people I've observed, and people I've come to admire greatly. Tonight, however, I have a very personal story about someone far away in Kansas. On Saturday afternoon I received a voicemail from my brother that my dad had a stroke. That's not a fun message to hear when you're 3,600 miles from someone that you love dearly, especially if you're in a taxi...stuck in traffic...unable to call anyone. For 20 minutes I was left alone with my overactive imagination as I desperately prayed. Just as the taxi pulled up to my house, my sister-in-law called and filled me in on the news, in the calm way that she handles everything. She told me that dad ... read more
The token gringo
"GRINGO!!!!!" That was the first thing Ginna and I heard when we stepped out of the taxi. Clearly, we were in the right place. We had gone to the Plaza de Armas in Lima to watch the USA-Ghana game. We wanted to be at the FIFA Fan Fest event sponsored by Coca-Cola for the very important game. What's better than watching a World Cup game with thousands of strangers in a foreign country? We were planning to meet up with YAV friend Joe. Where could he be? "He's tall," we thought. Surely we would see him. And yep, there he was.... ...up on the stage! Joe, the token gringo, was being interviewed. And to the surprise of many, José actually spoke Spanish. Our surprise and excitement led us to yell "Jooooooe!" which caused the man to ... read more
I went to Starbucks last Sunday. Now, normally I don't go to U.S. owned chains while I'm traveling, but I'm not gonna lie...I really wanted a Peppermint Mocha (this will not surprise many of you). Nothing sounded better on another cold, grey day in Lima than my favorite hot coffee drink. Besides, sometimes it's just nice to know exactly what you're going to get when you order. And so German friend Eva and I went, excited for the people-watching possibilities. We had chosen to go to a Starbucks in Miraflores, an upper-class neighborhood in Lima, one of the few neighborhoods where typical tourists go. That is nice sometimes when being anywhere else in Lima makes us stand out. Tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed girls don't blend in very well here, so we enjoyed blending in for a bit ... read more
