Day 31

Claudia, Eden and the whole universitarios group went all out on the face paint this afternoon to watch the World Cup qualifier game between Peru and Chile at Gabriel's house in San Miguel. Church went really well -- Jim Panaggio (another EFCA missionary) spoke on Hebrews, and I was able to understand almost everything because of his gringo accent. Then I had lunch with the roommates at home (pollo a la brasa and papas), and their pastor and his wife joined us. The universitarios group all went to Gabriel's in the afternoon and watched the second half of the Brazil/Ecuador game before watching Peru play. Afterward, we played Mafia. I was killed first in the first two games, and then in the third game -- when I was the mafia -- they killed me before I could kill all of them. Figures...

Day 30

Tonight I had my first Chifa (Chinese food with Peruvian ingredients) experience, and it was quite satisfactory. This is Mariano, one of the guys in the universitarios group -- he's good about using his Spanish with me to get me to practice and I think he's the most animated guy I've ever met. So fun. I woke up this morning with my roommates cooking breakfast and making coffee in the kitchen just outside my bedroom and we all ate together. They're so cute. And then I hung around the house until going to meet Eden at her house to go to the playa to attempt surfing again. I would say that today was not the best surfing experience. En serio. First off, my toenail fell off as soon as I got in the water (disgusting, I realize). I hurt it in December, I think, in indoor soccer, and a new toenail is about half grown out underneath... still gross. Then, as soon as we paddled out there, there was a lull in the waves (muy tranquilo), but I got seasick from just sitting there on my board for 20 minutes, and then when I sat up on my board, I got muscle cramps in my glutes. I wiped out really well a few times, when the wave broke on top of me and flipped my board, and I only caught one really good wave, when I was able to stand up for probably five or six seconds. Crazy day. I went home, took a hot shower, and then went to the universitarios group, where Pastor Ramiro talked and then we went to a Chifa restaurant. I feel really accepted by the group, which is so awesome.

Day 29

I got my grade back from my class, which was a B, but still the highest in the class (I think that school grades really hard on participation). I signed up for the next month of class, which starts next Thursday -- I have a nice little vacation for a few days. After class, I went home for a while before meeting Eden at the school where she works as an art teacher. We went to the Inca market in Miraflores (a lot of fun souvenirs) and then walked around Parque Kennedy. It feels pretty touristy (lots of gringos), but then there are a ton of locals there, too. At least we don't get stared at as much there. I bought some of (apparently) the best coffee in Lima at a bodega -- only $10 for 1 kilo. Eden and I went to a Dutch restaurant and shared an awesome giant crepe and then watched some people dance in the parque (you gotta love Latin America) and went to a free piano concert. It was awesome -- the guy (Ismael Pacheco) is only 19 years old and plays amazingly well. He sat close enough that we could see his facial expressions -- he seemed very much like a little kid. He wore a black T-shirt under his blazer, and his sleeves were a few inches too long, and after every song he'd kind of roll his eyes and wipe his brow and blow air out of his mouth, as if relieved that the song was over. We felt like such Limeños because I think there were a lot of people from the community there. We took the bus home after the concert, but stopped at Buen Pastor to hear the end of a teaching about a new evangelism method at church, and then I got to walk home with Nadia.

Day 28

Autumn officially started last week, but it really is still summer here. The heat, sun and humidity were quite the combination today as Kali and I traipsed around the center of Lima. I took my final exam for my Spanish class this morning, and then I met up with Kali at a Starbucks in Parque Kennedy. Then we went downtown to the Plaza de Armas (there was a lot of walking involved) and the Plaza de San Martin. The photo is of the cathedral in the Plaza de Armas, taken right after an old guy offered to let us stand in the shade of the same tree, as if he could charge us for the shade. There was a lot of staring at the two gringas, but we enjoyed our day and ate at a "budget" restaurant that we found in the Lonely Planet guide. Then I was home only about an hour before going to English class, which was great. Plus, tonight was David's birthday, so his family showed up for a little surprise party, and we had a whole meal and cupcakes at about 9 p.m. Such a great family to hang out with.

Day 27

There are a lot of odd plants here. This is a tree in Parque Kennedy in Miraflores -- the parks here are actually really pretty. Class was taken up mostly by working on a fun project, and then I went home and had a lazy afternoon. Meredith left for Venezuela at 7 a.m., so I may not have much to do for the next two weeks, but I'm trying to stay busy. After eating lunch, doing homework and taking a nap, I went to prayer night at Buen Pastor with a lot of the jovenes and Eden. It went really well, I think, and Eden and I want to go there every other week (the weeks that we don't have the gringa Bible study).

Day 26

Probably my least favorite day in Peru to date. It started off with discovering that Sonia had felt at liberty to take my hair brush from my shelf in my room and borrow it, maybe thinking that I wouldn't discover the different hair in my brush. (Elsa's going to talk to her about it next time she's here). It left me questioning what else she felt like she could use -- my deodorant? My toothbrush? And that wasn't even the worst part of my day. Class went well, but on the bus ride back, I was sitting in a seat right behind the door of the bus which is guarded by the guy who collects the pasaje. Well, a guy wanted to get on illegally in the middle of the road, the guy at the door wouldn't let him, so the frustrated guy spat on the guy on the bus through the open window. Alllll over my face. No joke. I'm glad my mouth wasn't open.

I went home and discovered that the Internet hadn't functioned since the electrician had worked on the telephone lines, and I wanted to talk to Steve before he left for Europe for two weeks. The electrician couldn't undo what he had done. Meredith and I got lunch and then went to the Indian market (lots of alpaca and souvenirs with very pushy vendors). And then I went to the English class with David Block. It went really well, and I was able to contribute a little more. I wrote out the lyrics to U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" on the board and we listened to the song and discussed it in the intermediate/advanced class. And then Dave let me borrow his Vonage phone to call Steve. The day ended much better than it began.

Day 25

It was a very good start to the week -- the last week of my Spanish (basico 3) class. The electrician was at the house and so was Sonia, the maid. It's customary to feed lunch to someone who works in your house all day, but Meredith had plans for lunch. So I ate lunch with Sonia and the electrician. Needless to say, it was a pretty quiet, quick lunch. This week at the Christian school where a lot of the gringas work and where the MKs go to school is Spiritual Emphasis week. There's a conference, so I went to the first night on Monday. It was actually about the five love languages that night -- kind of a review. Before the conference, Eden and I got some mocha frios from Cafe Verde in Miraflores, a few blocks from the school. Eden wants to note that in the picture her fist is raised in excitement.

Day 24

A little glimpse into the amazing Peruvian food. This is ceviche and causa, my lunch today. The roommates and I all met after church to eat at Senor Limon (one of Racquel's favorite restaurants). In Peru, lunch is by far the most important meal of the day (people don't eat much for dinner). I went to church this morning (and understood more...), met the roommates for lunch, and then joined several of the people in the universitario group to watch a game at someone's house in San Martin de Porres. It was a classic game between "La U" (Universitario) and Alianza, two of the major club soccer teams in Lima between whom there is a big rivalry, apparently. We watched a movie, and then Nadia and I took the bus home. There was a lot of Spanish practice today...

Day 23

Just to clarify, I'm holding the board that I actually surfed on, but the other girls surfed on boards the same size (I realize this picture looks ridiculous, though). I went with Kali, on the left (from California, Yale graduate, works with tuberculosis patients in Lima), and the other girl is a friend from Kali's work (she's German, but she speaks English and --poor thing-- stepped on a sea urchin). After surfing, we had breakfast in Miraflores near the Parque Kennedy. We all went home after, and in the evening I went to the universitarios group. We just hung out at Eden's house, which is only a fifteen-minute walk from the church. I understood a lot more of the lesson, so it's encouraging that my Spanish is improving (poco a poco).

Day 22

This photo wasn't exactly taken on this day, but I thought it was cute. This is Eden -- an art teacher from Kansas who goes to Buen Pastor with me. And she's holding the cat which has yet to be named. They were going to name it Mimosa, but apparently it's a brand name for something else in Peru, so it wouldn't really be a good idea. Class went well, and then I came home and went to lunch with my Peruvian roommate. It was about a 40-minute lunch entirely in Spanish! I did a lot more listening than talking, but I picked up a lot of the main ideas of what Elsa was saying, so that's exciting. Then I went to the birthday party of the little brother of one of the guys in the universitarios group at my church, and it was a lot of story telling with every one laughing and me sitting there with a half-smile, wishing I knew what was so funny. And then the guys that I came with (who speak pretty good English) get a double laugh because they see the expression on my face and know that no intiendo nada. Awesome...

Day 21

This is the inside of the door of El Alfarero church in San Martin de Porres where David Block and I are teaching English classes. Tonight was the second night of teaching, and attendance doubled in the first class and grew a little in the second, which was encouraging. In language class today, we learned about home appliances, vocabulary which will come in handy when Meredith leaves for Venezuela next week and I'm home with my two Peruvian roommates. I think it'll be good, though, because it'll force me to try to use more Spanish. Another highlight of my day was finishing my book by Susan Vreeland titled "Luncheon of the Boating Party" about the famous Auguste Renoir painting.

Day 20

Residencial San Felipe is such a cute little community. Every other Wednesday night is a live band, and tons of people dance, and a ton of others line up all around the courtyard to watch. It was a great, exhausting day. I was a little frustrated that the electrician was in my room seriously all day so that I couldn't take a nap, but I'm extremely grateful for him placing a water heater in my shower and replacing all of the old outlets and light switches. I saw this dancing on my way to the gringa Bible study tonight, which I really enjoy.

Day 19

Kids are playing soccer everywhere here. This perspective is from our 10th-floor balcony. Today was the first pretty cloudy day since I've been here. Meredith and I had planned to go to the pool, so we were a little disappointed, but decided we'd eat lunch at the cricket club anyway, and the sun actually came out for a while, so it worked out well. Then I went with David Block to San Martin (northern district in Lima) to help teach English classes. It's really an outreach ministry to the local community. There were four people at the basic English and three people at the intermediate/advanced, but we're pretty sure that number is going to grow. It was nice to actually be able to help with something because I spoke the language. It's going to be every Tuesday and Thursday evening for the rest of the time I'm here.

Day 18

A Cuisinart Haiku:
So disappointed
Get others' ice cream hopes up
At the garage sale

We're officially giving up on the ice cream maker. You can also see half of our entire kitchen counter space in this picture -- it's quite cozy in there. Behind me is the "lavanderia" on the closed-in porch. Meredith made fish again for lunch today, and then we went to David and Kay Blocks' house (other EFCA missionaries) for our missions meeting. On the way home, we made a stop by the hardware store, probably my sixth time in two and a half weeks. This apartment still needs some fixing up.

Day 17

Nadia and her sister were baptized at El Buen Pastor today (they're the two girls farthest to the left). It was neat to be able to witness such an important moment in her life. I went to lunch with two other gringas and had a chicharron sandwich (pork roast, sweet potato, and onions soaked in lime juice... incredibly delicious). And tonight we watched the movie "Bella" while eating crepes with manjar blanco. We also experienced another failed homemade ice cream attempt. This time it was supposed to be coffee ice cream.

Day 16

I went to a Peruvian wedding today! This was right when the bride was about to walk in the door. Meredith and I got a little pampered today -- we got our hair straightened and we got pedicures. Then I took a bus to another EFCA church in Surco to go to a conference with the universitarios group and afterward took a walk around El Parque de la Amistad. The weather was incredibly hot and humid today -- it would be nice if there were such a thing as air conditioning here.

Day 15

Going to Starbucks for the first time made me feel a little more at home. It's only about 6 blocks from classes, but it's just expensive here as in the states -- I paid the same for an alto vainilla latte as I did for a two-course lunch with a beverage at a restaurant. I also went to a party centered around "The Office." (There are several Pennsylvania girls working as teachers in Lima.) We watched some of the first season and ate perogies (very tasty Polish food).

Day 14

We had a girls' movie night at Eden's house with girls from El Buen Pastor, and she made us key lime pie -- soooo good. We watched "My Best Friend's Wedding" (with Spanish subtitles, of course, for the Spanish-speaking guests). After class today, Meredith, Elsa and I made lunch for my pastor and his wife and son. After that, we went to the birthday party for the one-year-old daughter of one of Meredith's friends. In Peru, they sing three happy birthday songs -- the first in English, the second is the regular Spanish one, and the third is the Christian Spanish one.

Day 13

One of the puertas at the Idiomas Catolicas, where I take my language classes every day. There are a lot of extranjeros (foreigners) at the school. In just my class, there are people from Switzerland, the Czech Republic, China, Japan and France. It's about a 20-25 minute bus ride on usually a very crowded, maroon bus. I now have a cell phone, which will be good for emergencies, and we went to the birthday party of the pastor of El Buen Pastor, where I sampled some extremely tasty Peruvian food (but Meredith steered me away from the cau cau, a cow stomach stew).

Day 12

I would title this "suffering for Jesus." After class, Meredith and I went to the pool at the Cricket Club in Lima, which Meredith is a part of. It was started by British people, and is very expensive to join unless you're a missionary. They get a crazy (like a few thousand dollar) discount, and it only cost 20 nuevo soles (US$7) for me to get in as a guest. We had lunch by the pool, but it was all business because we were discussing a book that we've both read called "Cross-Cultural Connections" (by Duane Elmer). We had a great chat in the summer sun while sipping frozen limonada.

Day 11

In Peru, fish are sold with their heads, which our maid Sonia enjoys eating. She ended up with three trout heads on her plate. After going to class, I helped prepare lunch, which is quite a feat for a domestically challenged person like myself. However, Meredith's and my attempt at making homemade strawberry ice cream failed miserably. It's pretty much strawberries, cream and sugar with no resemblance to helado.

Day 10

A mosaic outside Colegio San Felipe on my walk back from the first grocery store trip by myself. Metro is a popular grocery store and only about 3 or 4 blocks from our building. I went to church (and was able to understand more because he used PowerPoint slides), went to lunch at a restaurant called San Antonio, and walked to the grocery store on my way home. The weather is still pretty warm and humid here, so my hair refuses to stay straight. By the way, today was Internacional Dia de la Mujer (Day of the Woman), which -- for me -- meant that I received chocolate at church and all the women there greeted me with "Feliz Dia!"

Day 9

The outside of our lovely residence, called Residencial San Felipe. We live on the tenth floor in a two-story apartment. There are several buildings this size as part of the community, and they were all built in the 1950s, I think. It's not pretty, but it's well constructed and survived a pretty huge earthquake, so Meredith's OK with living up that high. We went to the conference in the morning, left after lunch (about 3) to come home, and then I went to the universitario group at El Buen Pastor. We had a time of prayer and then a lesson, and then we watched a pirated version of Slumdog Millionaire, which is "Quisiera Ser Millonaro" in Spanish. The nice thing was that it was in English with Spanish subtitles; however, I kind of forgot that I was in Peru.

Day 8

My room. It's nice and cozy, but I don't have much to fill it up. It used to be the breakfast nook, apparently, but they slapped up some drywall and some paint just before I came so I could have my own room (and bathroom, too). I now have a toilet seat AND a lock from the inside so that it closes (there's no door knob). Que emocion! I went to my first Basico Tres class, and the professor's great -- he annunciates and speaks slowly -- and everyone in the class is at my same Spanish level... kind of comforting. Tonight, Meredith and I went to a youth conference led by an American guy from Reign Ministries who grew up as a missionary kid in Colombia. We went with the kids that were in Meredith's youth group at her old church, Los Pillares, which is in the district of Callao (northern part of Lima).

Day 7

I spent about three hours at a cafe in Miraflores tonight, and it's definitely true that waiters will completely alone all night, and they won't bring you la cuenta until you ask for it. I just read a book and enjoyed the weather. It started to drizzle when I left. Tomorrow I'm moving up to basic Spanish class number three instead of one because it's way too simple, and if I'm only here 2 1/2 months, I don't want it to all be review.

Day 6

Tonight I was introduced to the amazing Peruvian fried food picarones. They're like sweet potato donuts that you cover with chancaca, a sweet syrup. Making them is quite an art. Today was also my first day of Spanish class, and I was able to make it all the way back to our apartment on the bus by myself... quite a feat.

Day 5

The sunset during the bus ride from Chincha. This region is the epitome of coastal desert. Very sandy, little rainfall, but so close to the ocean that the air is hot and humid. We rode on the top level of the bus, which was nice for the view, but not so great when there was a lot of wind on the road.

Day 4

Goats in the streets of Chincha. You can see the woman who herds them -- apparently she brought her mountain culture down with her. The destruction by the earthquake on August 15, 2007 was incredible to see -- the majority of the adobe homes had collapsed, and not many had been rebuilt. People are living in "basket homes," made out of reeds, and people can't leave their homes for fear that everything in them will be stolen.

Day 3

My roommates -- Racquel, Elsa, y Meredith. We went to a mall in Miraflores, the nicest/most touristy/most expensive district in Lima. We went to a mall that overlooks the ocean. It was amazing. I went to church at El Buen Pastor in the morning and then lunch with the other missionary families in Lima in the afternoon and then out for dinner with the roommates. Peru has great food.

Day 2

This is the view from the back porch of our 10th floor apartment -- you can just barely see the ocean about 15 blocks away. The steel rods were bent in the earthquake in 2007 (it registered about 6 in Lima and 8 at the epicenter). Our day was fun but long. Meredith took me around to sign up for language classes, go to a youth group thing, and shop at a Sodimac (hardware store). We came back to the apartment to fix up some stuff, but a circuit blew, taking out all the outlets in the apartment except the one in my room -- The only things plugged in are the refrigerator and the modem. Welcome to Peru...