Our Trip to Lima

Thanks so much to those who prayed for our recent trip to Lima to apply for our religious visas!  All things considered the trip went pretty smoothly.  I wouldn't want to do it again any time soon (though we might have to...), but as far as I can tell we accomplished what we set out to.

Here we are waiting at Interpol to get finger printed, questioned about body markings, and have our teeth examined.  They're pretty serious about knowing who is in their country!

 

One kind of nice thing about Peru is how they always offer "preferencia" to anyone who is old, pregnant, or with a small child.  Thanks to this policy I got to skip ahead in several lines provided that I had Finn with me.  Since we finished earlier than Derek we headed down the street to the 2nd largest mall in South America.  I enjoyed shopping for a few things that we haven't been able to find in Arequipa (crock pot, waffle iron, allspice, and garlic salt), and Finn enjoyed playing at this play place.

I learned that there's no point in paying for tickets or whatever to make the arcades and rides actually go.  As long as they're already lighting up and making noise he doesn't know the difference!

So hopefully in a few weeks we'll get word that our applications were approved and that we can pick them up and begin the process of getting one for Finn.  They won't let you apply for a visa for your child until you already have one yourself.  So there may be more trips to Lima in the near future, but hopefully there will be fewer lines and offices to visit since Finn is a minor (I can't imagine they'd want to finger print him too!)

- Laura

When last week's rain makes your internet drop

I'm pretty sure the few hours of rain we had a couple weeks ago just caused our internet to drop.  You see, rain in Arequipa causes big problems for the infrastructure.

 This is how our neighborhood was affected.

So due to some damage like this a little further down the road, some roadwork was begun a few days ago.

And I'm pretty sure they cut a line that brings in our cable and internet.

:/

So we are forced to entertain ourselves with archaic things like books, toys, and games for a few days.

At least the power and water only went out temporarily!

- Laura

My Morning Walk

My mornings all start out exactly the same.  Maybe yours do as well?  And yet the range of my satisfaction in life from morning to morning is so great, depending on how I focus my mind.

I took the two photos above on our walk to school this morning.  Our house is just on the other side of the buildings on the left.  In the picture just above, you can see "El Misti," the volcano, over to the right.  I see this beauty every day, and yet it's so easy to keep my eyes on the broken pavement in front of me...  or on the German Shepherd looming over me as the case may be - -

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Romans 12:2

It's so easy to miss the beauty of God's work around us isn't it?  It's so easy for me to focus on accomplishing things and consequently miss opportunities to enjoy God and the opportunities He brings my way.  I suspect this will be a life-long journey of dying to self and receiving God's grace.


While on these early morning walks to school I've enjoyed listening to different podcasts.  Podcasts are a fairly new thing in my life, but the 20 minute walks we take to and from school each day are perfect for it and it feeds my need to learn something other than just Spanish!  Lately I've enjoyed listening to...

• the Personality Hackers podcast, which discusses the different Myers Brigg's personality types and how our minds are wired differently, and how to grow in our relationships with people based on that knowledge.
• the Theology Refresh podcast, nice and short 10 or 15 minute inspiring and thought provoking podcasts on different doctrines and issues facing the church today.
• and the Mason Jar podcast on Charlotte Mason style education (of school-age children)

I've thoroughly enjoyed each of these and would happily discuss any of them with you.


- Laura

Summertime in Arequipa

 A few pictures I took recently...

Don't mess with these guys...

Trying out Dad's earbuds...

spaghetti...

A little friend we sometimes run into at the park...

- Laura

Hola and Gracias

The other day I was at a farmacia (pharmacy) down the street picking up some pepto-bismol (the world traveler's best friend!) and after paying for the goods, the cashier smiled and said, "Thank you"--in English.  And that simple gesture of kindness and welcome was so meaningful.  I doubt that he really knew much English, but he recognized that I was an English speaker and used a simple phrase that he knew.  It made me so happy.  Not because I'm starving to hear an English word, but because in speaking it, he communicated to me that he was happy for me to be in his country and that he wanted to make me to feel welcome and at home here.

This exchange made me think about so many times in the US when I have interacted briefly with Spanish speakers and chosen not to use my few Spanish phrases out of fear that I might get a whole bunch more Spanish in response.  How silly is that?  Using a simple, "Hola" or "Gracias" could have really made a foreigner's day, and even if they did try to communicate further, there's no harm in explaining that that's all the Spanish you know.

As an amateur Spanish speaker here in Peru, I am forced to use Spanish that I'm not completely confident in on a daily basis, and I realize that that is likely the case (with English) for many foreigners in the US.  How snobbish and self-centered was I for being unwilling to take very small, very safe risks once in a while by trying out a bit of Spanish with speakers of that language in the US?

I think my time as a foreigner here might make me more drawn to foreigners in the US whenever I am there again.

- Laura

New Friends, Delightful Mornings, and Alpacas

Derek has figured out how to use coffee beans, milk, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, chocolate powder, his new manual coffee bean grinder, and his new milk frother (birthday gifts this year) to make me the perfect mocha.  It’s delightful.  So here  I sit, enjoying my homemade mocha, around 2 in the afternoon, with my laptop in hand, while both of my boys are napping.  This too is delightful.

Today was a great day at class.  There are some days when I come home feeling a bit defeated by the Spanish language, but most days, like today, I feel encouraged.  It’s been SO helpful that I had some previous exposure to the language.  I think it’s really helped everything to “click” much quicker.  I still have a long way to go, but it’s so nice when our teacher introduces a new rule, and I realize that I’ve already been applying it without really knowing why.

Today started out really well even before getting to school, though, because I got to see this:

 

I wish I could send this picture back in time to myself a month ago.  It’s so so wonderful to see how much Finn love’s his Celia.  This morning as we headed out the door to school he was giving her repeated hugs.  Added to that was the joy of getting to listen to John Piper for 30 minutes via my earbuds while walking down the street in the perfect 70 degree morning air to our school.  These morning walks are so good for helping both my mind and my body to warm up for the day.  I’m sure many of you would trade your commute for this one in a heartbeat. 

Lately God has granted us several great opportunities to spend times with our new missionary friends here in Arequipa.  There’s something so special about the bond that fellow missionaries can form in a foreign culture.  I know it doesn’t always work out that way, so I don’t want to take it for granted, but this is one aspect of missionary life that Derek and I have both really looked forward to. 

[side note: Does that sentence make sense?  I feel like there’s something wrong with it, but can’t figure out how to fix it, haha!  Since beginning our Spanish study I sometimes struggle with English!]

A couple days ago I got to go on an afternoon excursion with the Gutierrez’s and some of the ladies from church to a really interesting place that not only sells really wonderful alpaca yarn and garments, but also has a series of displays and demonstrations showing how alpaca yarn is made.

 

We saw and got to pet several alpacas penned in with a little nativity scene.  It seems I took this shot at a bad moment for one of them, however in retrospect, I suppose this sort of thing renders the Bethlehem scene a little more authentic, right?

This lady is a professional alpaca fur separator (not really sure what her official title is).  She was raised to know how to separate the fur into 4 different categories of softness depending on where on the animal it came from (apparently there are not many people who know how to do this).  She was very friendly, and let us feel the different types of fur.

 

This is a Cusqueñan lady who was weaving a traditional Quechuan blanket with the alpaca yarn.

 

Here we saw all of the old machinery that used to be used to sift through the alpaca fur and turn it into yarn. 

Yesterday was a national holiday here in Peru, a Catholic holiday celebrating the “Emaculate Conception,” and so we didn’t have class, but we offered to babysit for the Bonhams and Gutierrez’s so that they could go out and spend some time together before the Bonhams head back to the states on HMA for several months.  We really enjoyed our time with their children, and so did Finn.

 

 

He’s got a new little buddy.  On the ride home from church last Sunday they were cracking each other up with jokes that only they understood.  It was so fun to watch.

 

 

I’m continuing to make progress in the cooking department here.  I was so excited to locate peppermint extract at a little shop near the church last Sunday, so I’m going to try to make some mint chocolate brownies for our school’s Christmas party next Friday.  We’re all supposed to bring some sort of food to share from our own country.  Peppermint doesn’t seem to be a common thing here (sadly, the Starbucks in town doesn’t have my favorite - the peppermint mocha frappaccino) so I thought those brownies might be a good contribution.  I might also attempt to make some spinach dip if I can figure out how to do that with the ingredients here.  We’ll see about that.

Here’s a funny little story for you.  The other day at the grocery store I spotted this bag, and without really reading it, I assumed that it was chocolate covered almonds.  That’s what it appears to be from the picture, right??

 

Well it’s not.  It’s chocolate covered something else - still not really sure what, and Finn’s the only one who likes it.  We’re learning that you really can’t go by the picture alone when it comes to food here.  So our translation apps tend to get a lot of use during our grocery runs!

That's all for now!

- Laura

Our new life in Peru

A few new aspects of our lives here in Peru:

• Earthquakes - mild earthquakes seem to be fairly regular occurrences here.  A fairly regular topic of conversation with our classmates at language school is regarding who felt or didn't feel the most recent tremor.
• Fireworks - they like to shoot it off pretty regularly here...
• Focusing on breathing - I now realize that there are many times throughout the day that I hold my breath in order to focus on something else.  These instances are now always followed by a couple minutes of concentrated breathing, to reintroduce the oxygen that has been lost.  (Altitude issues)
• Wearing hats and sunscreen.  I've been told that there's a hole in the ozone layer over Peru.  I don't know how accurate that is, but it does get some of the highest UV levels of anywhere in the world (ironic considering Peru was the ancient center of sun worship).  So we gringos have to wear lots of sunscreen and hats.  I've never considered myself much of a hat person, but I'm learning to become one.
• Walking.  We don't have a car here, so we walk a lot.  We do taxis a lot too, but walking is good for us, so we do that when we can.  It never rains here either, so the weather's always perfect for walking!

Things we miss already:

• Cheeseburgers, sour cream, frozen vegetables, Campbell's soups, quick comprehensive shopping trips (because of no car, we do lots of little trips).
• Wifi
• Colder weather.  It's so weird to hear Christmas music and see Christmas decorations when it's sunny with a high of 75.  We don't complain, because the weather's beautiful, but I do miss the fall weather that I see in my friends' Facebook pictures!
• Our bed.  The one in our apartment just isn't all that comfortable :(

And now for a few pictures:

 Finn loves going for walks.  We use the stroller when we're going to leave our neighborhood, but we let him walk until we get to the gate of the neighborhood.

Derek got to play the keyboard at church this past Sunday, and really enjoyed it.

Finn is learning little by little to stay busy during the church service.  There is a room with toys where I can take him when he get's rambunctious, but no nursery workers, so we try to keep him in the service as long as we can.  Everyone is very understanding and forgiving, too, so we are thankful for that!

Some of my Spanish vocab and doodles.  We're trying to internalize a ridiculous amount of vocabulary words right now, so we're using any and all means to try to help them stick!

 Finn watching some ants on the sidewalk.  He also likes to point them out in our apartment.  Fortunately, they don't ever seem to come in hoards like they did sometimes in Alabama.

In the evenings Finn often asks for music, so we have lots of dance parties!  He's developed his own signature dance moves, which are really entertaining to watch.

That's all for now!

Laura