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Published: July 23rd 2010
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The sun sets on Lima
When the sun does come out, Eva and I try to get as close to the water as possible! 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 on Fridays. That's all come to an end though, as this week the office is moving to a new location. Like many things here, the moving day has changed multiple times. I don't even try to keep up anymore. Luckily I'm just being told when I need to show up at the new office again. I won't have time to fall into any new
La copa mundial
Eva, Ginna and I went to the Plaza de Armas with the rest of Lima to watch the final World Cup game. We squeezed into a space on the steps in front of the cathedral. routines, however, as next week is Fiestas Patrias (basically, patriotic parties, haha). Wednesday and Thursday are the official days to celebrate Independence Day...which means that most people take off the rest of the week, too. : ) I'm up to my knees in curriculum work for the seminary, which I hope to knock out Monday and Tuesday so I can enjoy some free days here in Lima!
The red and white Peruvian flag has been appearing all around the city this month! People are selling flags and patriotic pins in the streets...and seemingly random parades on Thursday mornings or Sunday afternoons are clogging main trafficways left and right. I also pass little kids in costumes all the time, as every school puts on some sort of dramatic performance. I don't fully get the themes. I've seen kids in everything from colonial era wear to bee costumes (Ceej, you would fit right in here!). Damaris just asked me if I want to go see Marisu dance at her school in the morning, so I'm pumped for that! I've had to work all the other days they've asked me to accompany them to school functions, so I'm happy that I get
Pinina has a new trick
Pinina just celebrated a year of life last week and while she is still absolutely crazy, she can do a few cool things. Well, actually...just one. to go this time!
I still like to spend a lot of time here at the house in the evenings and on the weekends. The dynamics have changed a bit, as the little girls are now in another home living with their mom, but luckily I still get to see them often enough. I've really enjoyed a slower pace this summer. I'm so go-go-go all the time back home that I often don't take the time to sit back and enjoy having no plans. There's really no point in making plans here because it's likelky that half the plans that are made won't happen anyways. This was something that really frustrated me when I worked in Mexico, too, but I've learned to just take everything with a grain of salt. I've also seen that while plans might almost always fall through, other memorable moments happen when I least expect them. I've had some wonderful conversations with different family members during our morning breakfasts or lazy Sunday afternoons. It's going to be hard to leave here.
What I will not miss, however, is the COLD. I know some of you think I'm joking when I talk about the cold,
A good-bye to remember
Last week the CAMBIALO kids put on one of the sweetest good-bye/thank you presentations for all of us volunteers that I've ever seen. Here they are performing the dance they choreographed. but I'm really not. It's full blown winter here...and South America is even experiencing record low temps. If you remember the picture of my room from my first entry, I live up on the patio, so you can bet it's drafty. And so I've become accustomed to wearing no fewer than 3 shirts or sweaters every day and the last few nights I've slept in gloves and my llama stocking cap that my mom knitted. Soy friolente, or that's what they tell me. Friolente = someone who gets cold easily. I cannot deny that, and it obviously doesn't help the situation. I've never lived in a place with such damp coldness. It really seeps to your bones and makes you feel like you'll never be warm again. And this is just Lima. My heart aches when I think of all the villages in the Andes that experience extreme cold every night. That's where llamas and alpacs come into play. They offer their fur for the goods that will keep the people warm. It's so unusually cold though that some llamas are dying in parts of the Andean region. The occasional glimpse of sun here in Lima is nice, but it
Cut the cake already!
The four volunteers who have been working with the CAMBIALO kids (YAV Joe, Grad student Jill, and YAV Anna and I) were the center of attention for the good-bye party. Here we are awkwardly cutting the cake as tons of cameras took our picture! It was such a wonderful afternoon! also means that it'll be even colder as soon as the sun disappears. I'm almost to the point where the sun doesn't excite me anymore. Almost. I know I will still welcome the Georgia sun when I return in two weeks.
Well, that covers most of what I've been up to lately! Actually, not really, but hey...I have to save some stories for when I'm back home, right? : )
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CJ
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Haha! I'll make sure to bring my bee costume to "fit right in" when I go with you to Peru one day!