The Last Week in Peru

As the last week comes to a close. I try and do what I call 'the last week adventure'. This started when I first stayed in Europe 3 years ago. On that trip I decided that instead of packing and getting sad because I was leaving I would have some sort of adventure every day of the last week. These adventures, as I call them, don't need to be big and they don't interrupt my normal schedule. So as I have entered my last week in Peru my adventures have come in full swing. I will be writing this post a little different as I recap my last days to you the reader. I want to be clear, I did not neglect my regular work and sadly I have also been saying goodbye to different people everyday.  With that said here we go. My last week started at the end of a week.  I leave on a Thursday and so I will start on Thursday.

Thursday:
I was blessed with two adventures on the first day. The first was a type of graduation party for the children from Semillas. I was able to make them a cake and say goodbye to the kids I had been working with. The second adventure came that same night while all the missionaries got together to play Mexican Train Dominoes. I was able to meet Ed, a man I had heard so much about and to top it off I won a lovely singing Santa. I say lovely with that sarcastically sweet tone.

Friday:
Today a group of youth went to Tarata. This is a natural hot spring up in the mountains. Though the water was hot and the conversation humorous I would have to say the exploration of the cave was my top adventure moment. We had hiked what they call the Inca trail and then went into a cave where we stumbled, not literally, across some remains. The story is said that they were buried there since the war, but since they can't speak we shall never know! Either way, I felt like an archaeologist which made it even more realistic since two of the youth are geologists by trade.

Saturday:
We did Culto in the park today. So we spent the day together playing games and having lunch. Then we all went to the zoo. It was a lot of fun seeing the animals. I fed some hungry monkeys and got attacked by mosquito's. By the end of the day I felt that good kind of tired. The one you get when you have had a long day filled with too much food and you hurt from laughing.

Sunday:

It was my last Sunday at church and it made me sad. It felt like going to a party and having to be the first to leave. But this party happens every week and I may never get to go back. The adventure for me starts there. Let me explain, due to my trip coming to a close I was invited up front at both churches.  They wanted to pray for me. After that they asked me to say a few words. This is normal in most places you do mission work for a period of time. The adventure started when I realized these few words had to be said in Spanish. You may be thinking, 'but you have been learning Spanish?' This is true, but I have a slight fear of speaking in public. It isn't the speaking part or the public part it's because I sound like a 12 year old crying from her first heart break. Go ahead and laugh it's not one of those 'oh your being hard on yourself moments'. No, no multiple people over the years have told me this or a variation of this. So going up front and saying a little something in Spanish turned into me trying to remember all my Spanish while trying not to sound like I was a sobbing child.  I did it and no one asked me if I was crying so I count it as an adventure well done.

Monday:
Apparently my adventure from Saturday never ends. I was given a gift of bug bites that seemed to manifest into my own form of tracker-jackers (Hunger Game reference). They decided to start itching during the night and never ended. For those of you with a wild side remember some adventures turn out to have painful consequences even days later, so make sure they are worth it. This time I will endure but I will think twice about wearing shorts the that park again. On to the adventure of the day. This adventure starts with an open air market where I got ingredients for lasagna. Then I headed up the road to Tio's house were my old host family and my present host family had a lovely lunch. We laughed and talked about super powers. Now you may be thinking 'How is lunch with friends an adventure'? My answer is simple, adventures come in all forms. This for me wasn't just lunch, but quite possibly it was the last time I would get to enjoy the presence of Tio. As you know his wife Tia left for Chilie.  But today was my goodbye with him. This adventure was bitter sweet. No promises given, just the knowledge that if I return to Peru his home is open and if he comes my way the same is true. If you have ever sat down with someone knowing it could be your last face to face encounter you know what I mean when I say this adventure is one I would never replace.

Tuesday:
For my adventure today I didn't even have to leave my house. Don't you love when that happens? I made chicken tortilla soup for my host family and the missionary family. This was the first time I have ever made it and I had to wing it. The recipe was good but Tacna does not have everything it called for - including a garlic press. I usually don't mind tedious tasks but chopping 1/2 cups of garlic by hand was not going to happen. I got about 1T and decided to call it good.  The soup turned out yummy. Just about now you may have one of two things on your mind. One thought is 'Wow this girl does a lot of stuff wrapped around food'.  The answer to that is yes, I believe most things that we look back on and smile about involve food. Your second thought may be that my idea of adventure is different than what you would call an adventure. Again you would be right. If you look up adventure in the dictionary, which is what I just did you will find this "an exciting or very unusual experience." (You will find that if you look it up on the Internet, a real dictionary may say otherwise.) But that is not the point. For me, making something other people have to eat without knowing how it will taste, is an experience. Today I enjoyed my adventure two fold - one experiencing it and two eating it.

Wednesday:
The time has come, I have said my final goodbyes. Today is the last day in Tacna. I fly home in the morning, so I had to make it count. I spent the day learning from a Peruvian how to make a traditional Peruvian dish. I know, I know, more food! It was a blast cutting everything. I even made french fries. -which is something that people in the US just don't do very often. My last lunch was a nice one. We even had some ice cream for dessert. This adventure is two fold also because I got to experience how to make the food here in Tacna and I will also be able to make this dish for my family when I return home. It will make me smile then as I think of the people I have come to care for in Tacna.

Thursday:
I write this from my bed at home. My adventure today was short and sweet. Well not that short since the flight was quite long in duration. But the time flew by, literally, since I was in a plane. I am now home and have hugged the people I have missed and love.

Until I fly again my adventures and travels will stay in my home country. I thank you all for following me as I traveled and for keeping me in your thoughts. Remember, even your home holds hidden treasure. Never think your life is dull, for you do something new every day. God bless. Keep in touch. I will still be writing so please still come and read.

A Shift has Occurred

This week was the anniversary of one of the three churches I am working with and so they all came     together and had service.  After that we served lunch and played games together. I got there early and helped with the cooking. (If you remember from last week I scrubbed potatoes. Well, I ate three whole potatoes on Sunday, they were very good.) Tio held a raffle and I enjoyed watching when someone won. Then each of the churches played volleyball against one another. Jerusalem Church won both games but everyone had tons of fun.

We are ending English class this week and it is always hard to say goodbye - it doesn't matter if it is a person, an activity you enjoy, or a food you like to eat. For the final class we decided to join all three groups together for one final goodbye. Goodbye to new friends, and with that goodbye to exciting topics and new foods. In the end we had a lot of fun and I think our students did also. We are hopeful that we will see them again. Maybe not in class but around the town or at the church.

With this goodbye comes another even harder one for me. My host mom went to Chile this week for the duration of my stay. That meant saying goodbye to her which was so hard to do. On Thursday I moved in with another family for the rest of my days here in Tacna. I am grateful they will have me even though I am sad to leave the place I have called home since the beginning of my trip. It is weird how you can get attached to a place and how it brings back memories of laughter and good times. Tacna will do that for me in the future, I already know this. But as I like to say, it is never goodbye but see you later.

my fruit face

This week at Semillas I got to teach the children a food friendly activity. I decide to make faces out of fruit. That seemed simple - a few slices of bananas and some apple and we made eyes and a mouth. I got started with a few volunteers cutting the fruit for me. By the time I told them how to arrange their plates a few of the younger children had taken bites of their food. Step one... don't eat the food!  (Apparently I forgot to mention that.) Then I told them to add manjar to the fruit for some sweetness. I should have just put manjar on the table and told them to make faces using only one ingredient and they would have been just as happy.

Have you ever bought a cook book, art book, or anything that is supposed to teach you how to do something? The steps look simple enough and the picture makes the end result look so amazing and yet  somehow when you try to do what they say you realize the five steps that should be so simple are in another language. This cause you to just look at the picture to figure out how the author got the end result. That's how I felt. I was speaking Spanglish (most English some Spanish) to the children and then I was showing them my face and they looked at me like, ' how did she do that?' (For you hip folks who look at memes it was one of those nailed it ideas!)

As December has come, once again remember to take joy in the people you get to spend this holiday with. Like always make the most of every day because people are always growing and changing so enjoy the time you have with them right now, as they are. And remember, giving thanks doesn't end at Thanksgiving.

No Picture Necessary

Can I just say time flies when you’re having fun. I can honestly say this week like every one before it, has flown by. I woke up on Monday the next thing I knew it was going to be Friday. Crazy how that works. Crazy how different events mark time.

This past week I have been working in the classroom of the youngest munchkins at church. I am done with all the projects for their playtime. Now I am helping with homework, counting and mostly coloring since I can do that much with the Spanish I know! I also just spend time being with them and playing. This is a fun switch and it definitely passes the time. It is nice being able to get to know the children a little more each time I am there. Fewer unknowns and more hugs.

English class is going great.  This week we had our first student take her test. One of the things we do in English class is to prepare a few of our students who are taking an English comprehension test in their schools. We practice with them twice a week to get them ready. By the end of this week we will have two students that will have taken not only an oral test but a written one as well. They don't get the results until next year but we celebrate with the fact that they did the best they can and pray for passing exams. It is a big accomplishment to pass this type of test and the other teacher and I are very proud of our students.

Halfway through the week my family hosted a little dinner party. I put up Christmas decorations, which I hot glued to the walls! I love doing things I have never done before. The wreathes were hung and the party was in full swing. We had so much food and so many people. It was truly a nice evening reminding me of my family gatherings. It kind of felt like Thanksgiving with lots of people talking and eating. Although my family’s language of choice is English we might hear a little French due to my Aunt. We can even hear a New York accent every once and awhile. Here, there was mostly Spanish with English thrown in the mix. The volume was no different than back home and we even had a few kids running around. What is a gathering when you don't have a child under the table hiding from an adult impersonating an animal and too much food in your tummy?

A picture is worth a thousand words they say. Against my better judgment I left my camera at home so a thousand words it is. Get ready for either an amazing story that will make you laugh like you experienced it with me or a five minute break as you let your mind wonder. We begin with potatoes, move on to an OCD gardener, and then to an epiphany about dragons, followed by a base jumping spider, and then back to potatoes. Twenty words with 980 words to go. I hope that while you're reading what was humorous for those people involved you will not be bored due to my lack of creative writing or my inability to manipulate the facts to sound better. Even if you find the story uninteresting you should still read it all because you have to find out the ending.  So, tally hoe and get ready to be enthralled…I hope!

Walking into the church I saw familiar faces. It was Saturday morning and we were getting ready to celebrate the church's anniversary. I was asked to wash the potatoes ~ that didn't sound too hard. Although I walked right past them the first time, not knowing what is in the sack. By sack, I mean a bag a foot shorter than me and I’m 5'2. Remember the potatoes and I will get back to them later because before I filled a basin of water to start boiling the water I stepped outside to talk with the pastor who was in the garden. When I questioned him, he mumbled to himself and proceeded to talk about a nice plant that he had only one of. To me only having one of that particular plant did not seem like a problem but for him it threw off his whole garden. He was a little OCD about the level and arrangement of the plants and he did not like the thought that right in the middle was a single green plant.  He wanted it to either multiply or die. Ranting to himself in not quite a whisper, he drew in another church member.

Then, as the pastor was directing his tangled words in our direction he had an epiphany.  Of course we jumped on that by asking the, oh so daunting question, “What is it?” He proceeded to tell us of how dragons can see really well in the dark ~ there sight is amazing according to the pastor.  Even in the daytime dragons wouldn't need glasses. The only time the dragon is at a disadvantage is at dusk when the sun is about to kiss the ground and the first star is ready to be seen.   The dragon’s eyes cannot adjust very quickly and so that is when you must STRIKE if you want to kill them. (Of course, if you see a dragon any time soon ~ killing it would be the best option.) Happy to have shared that fun epiphany with us the pastor picked up a plant and began to decide the best place to put it in his garden.

As I headed back into the kitchen I wasn’t sure if he found the perfect place or if he gave up on gardening all together because he remained holding the plant. While looking at us he took notice of a spider on the wall. Pastor informed us that he has the same spider in his house and that they named him Fred. These are base jumping spiders, or so I found out. To show us what he meant pastor took the innocent plant and began swatting at the spider in hopes of making it jump. Well, I don't have to tell you it ran and hid from the giant green thing trying to attack it.

Okay back to the big bag of potatoes.  I finally got water to start washing potatoes. They opened that bag and potatoes tumbled out.  I sat down with two children not yet in the age of double digits and we got to scrubbing. I checked the clock and noticed that it was 10:46 a.m. I also asked how many potatoes were in the bag ~ 700 potatoes. We all three hunkered down and started with our bare hands in a wash basin filled with water and begin to scrub the potatoes. For those of you who have never seen a potato outside of a grocery store they require more than a rinse off. These potatoes just came from a field and that means from underground!  We had to really scrub the dirt off of them and then fill up pots with potatoes. Halfway through we dumped the water and started fresh. In the end we had three pots ranging in sizes with heaping piles of potatoes. The small pot could cook two whole chickens in it and the large pot was large enough to be a great place I could hide if I was playing tag!  It was 12:49 when I have finished scrubbing my last potato. I didn't reach my 1,000 words but hopefully the picture I painted for you isn't too blurry.

If you liked this last story you will have to come back next week and find out if I ate those potatoes on Sunday for lunch or if I was all "potatoed" out. Until then, remember that time goes by quicker than you realize ~ so make the best of it.

Bachlor Pad Without the Bachlor

Tio left for a conference this week and so it's women only in the house. Woot Woot, party. So, what do two grown woman do when there are no men around? Women reading this already are thinking of a list of things they would do. Men, if your reading this lean in close and I will tell you. When you leave the house women... ready for it - go about their day like normal. I am so glad to be the one to share that with all of you men. To be honest Tia and I actually haven't been in the house much ourselves.

I taught English class solo on Wednesday due to a sick child needing someone to care for her. It was fun. I taught about slang words. No matter where you go, what language you are learning, slang words are always a hit. I won't bore you with the details of my planning process but I will tell you one thing... I am not hip. Shall I elaborate? While trying to find slang words I ran across a few online dictionaries that said they would be helpful. First of all, not everything you read online is true. I know that because most websites were not helpful at all. Second, slang is intense. I thought I new a decent amount but apparently I don't. Let's be honest if you want to know if you led a sheltered life go to an online dictionary of slang words and see how many you have heard of.  Better yet see how many slang words you know the definition for. I'm pretty sure from what I read I need to gouge my eyes out. I didn't know some things existed let alone had a slang way of saying them. I want to be clear ALL the slang I taught was appropriate and clean.

Skyped family for Thanksgiving

Those of you reading this from the good old US of A know that Thursday was Thanksgiving. For everyone else in the world it is simple Thursday. So what did I do, being torn in two on this day. For one, I wished my father a happy birthday from Peru. Which for those of you who have never gotten a birthday wish from another country it is one of the coolest feelings knowing you know someone who lives in another country. Back to what I did, as those of you who have been following this adventure know by now Thursday is when I work with the children at Semillas . I left early and me and another Tia made pasta for lunch for all of the kids. It was good, if I do say so myself. Although I mostly stirred stuff and washed dishes. This was the first Thanksgiving for me to be away from home so I added a little USA to the day (ha ha that rhymed) my friend and I made deviled eggs or as my mother calls them angel eggs.

Can I just say Telephone Pictionary is very funny. For those of you who have never played either of the games Telephone or Pictinary let me just say that alone they make you LOL but together you ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing). I hope I used those right, it was my first time abbreviating. I feel so hip. Any who back to the game which we played in English class. I am no artist - by this I mean that finger painting by a parrot looks like Picasso next to my artwork. Add the fact that with having people attempt to describe your work in one sentence makes the situation so much funnier. At one point in the game it went from "trying on a new sweater" to "Kortni steals money from under her chair to go shopping at the mall". You guessed right, my picture was the reason the next person got it so wrong.  And that was one of my better drawings! Then, on the other end of the spectrum was the artist in our group drawing a llama with socks, a scarf and some light rain.  Also looked like the llama had just walked out of the field and onto his piece of paper. What a show off! Either way it went, it was funny and we were all laughing by the end of both classes.

All in all this week has been good. It has gone by faster than I ever thought it could go. Until next time, remember you are blessed and find joy in the small things.

Birthday Week

This past week was "Birthday Week".  It has nothing to do with Peru but it is one of my family traditions and it goes wherever the birthday person is. For those of you who have never heard of this wonderful idea, it is simple. The family member who is having a birthday is spoiled for the entire week leading up to their big day. This usually means no washing dishes and maybe a candy bar or two. For those of us with siblings it means having them do your house work - which for any child could possibly be better than Christmas gifts! Since my birthday happens to be on Monday November 19th I will celebrate it in Peru.  At the beginning of this week my parents and family have been wishing me well each day, which I am grateful for. But, since I am not near my immediate family which are the only ones to usually abide by these rules I have decided to take it upon myself to enjoy one thing every day that is not a normal occurrence. I should have done this a lot sooner.

Some of the girls here are taking a massage class. Of course I volunteered to be their practice dummy. Who wouldn't right? Well, they not only give wonderful massages they sometimes have to try more than once, you know the old saying "practice makes perfect".  This week I got a massage and I also got a few lessons.  What a good start to what turned out to be a wonderful week.

In English class we introduced a new phenomenon in Peru. The ice cream, fries dip. For those of you who never tried this I recommend that you stop reading right now go to your local In-In-Out, or even McDonald's (anyplace that sells soft served ice cream and good fries) and then forget the spoon, straw or however you down soft serve. Take the fries and dip them into the sweet treat and you will find your mouth water. Enjoy the glorious flavor until both fries and ice cream run out. Now that you have had a fiesta in your mouth come back and finish reading my blog. Don't worry if you were skeptical at first, most people are. The students in English class had their doubts until they tasted the wonderful concoction for themselves. I am not sure who first thought of this although it just might have been a small child wanting to eat ice cream before finishing his happy meal and so they simply combined it.


At church we were able to hang the tents that took me way too long to figure out how to sew! Let me just give a quick tip. When someone hands you a hula-hoop... step inside and make it spin. (I didn't do that, I used it to make the hula-hoop tents in the picture.) The tents turned out fine and the girls seem to like them. Now I will move on to more painting. My next project will be a nice cardboard stove which I'm sure will prove to be much simpler than the tents.

At dinner this week the family and I did a lot of  laughing. We all had a long night and apparently the giggles were coming in full force. We were all laughing away when Tio (my host father) asked me to do something. Miscommunication makes funny stories. My Spanish isn't horrible but apparently I missed the key words that he said to me and the whole idea changed. I heard him say, "Tell Tia (my host mother) a word in Spanish." Tia leaned in and cupped her ear so I could whisper the word to her. That was when it hit me that this was a game but I had no idea that the game was "Eye Spy". I thought it was smart to think of the newest word I learned - "linda".  In Spanish it is not only a name but it also means 'cute'. Tia then proceeded to look around the room and randomly guess items. That was when it hit me that we are playing "Eye Spy". I immediately burst out laughing because the word cute was not an object for Tia to find in the kitchen. Tia smiled and attempted to guess but Tio knew what I did wrong and so he suggested we start another round. For my second word, I said bananas since they were on the counter. And this is why understanding the whole conversation in your native language helps! When you only catch bits of something you end up saying something like "linda" which makes no sense playing "Eye Spy" in a kitchen!

To end this bea-u-tiful week I will celebrate my twenty-third birthday.  I woke up to a lovely day, feeling good. My host family took me to Chile so we could enjoy the beach. Chile and the beach were both wonderful.  All in all, my "Birthday Week" ended with a great birthday "day".

Monsters Under Your Bed

As a child, were you ever afraid of monsters under your bed? Well think back to that time. There have not been thoughts of monsters under my bed lately but I feel like those days are returning. At the moment I am surrounded by pillows. Why that reminds me of monsters is simple. The more pillows you have the less likely the monster will find you. Burrow deep into your bed covered with blankets and 15 that's right 15 pillows and even if there were monsters under my bed they wouldn't be able to find me.  Why do I have 15 pillows on my bed? Good question, I have been working hard this week making them. Instead of chairs for the children's reading area at church we decided pillows would be a fun alternative.  I got the job of making them. Which brings me back to childhood moments and monsters. Then again, a lot of things brings me back to childhood memories.

I am excited to say we have new students in English class. We passed out flyers in front of the university and we got bites. There was also one guy who was just walking by the church and saw the sign and came inside and said he wanted to be part of the class. Score one for us.

Here is little glimpse into my home. Tia made a mix between a crepe and a pancake. I want to say I helped but unless you consider holding the bowl while she did all the work is considered helping then I give her all the credit. They were so good. We put some kind of caramel sauce on it. I added apple slices although I think bananas would have gone wonderfully as well. Then we sat down to dinner. Dinners here are just a light snack usually what I would consider breakfast. Toast with avocado or jam or maybe eggs is a common dinner at my new home. But the other night when we had pancakes I was so happy. Ever since Tia made the pancakes it made me a little sad since she can't eat them. It is like making a cake and then not getting a slice, it saddens your heart a little. Tia also made empanadas this week. Some of you might have had them before. If you have, erase those from your memory because Chilean empanadas are the best thing my mouth has tasted. It is like a festival of flavor for your senses. So good that I can't even describe it.

girls freezing at soccer.

On Sunday the men play soccer at a local park. During this time of night the girls tend to go and watch. It is cold and so this week we decided to be pro active. A basketball was brought and we played. I want you to imagine what it looked like to see four girls and a basketball. We split into two teams and played full court. For those who may not know, I loath running. I find it pointless and exhausting. So there I was running - playing basketball which I haven't done for at least 3 years. So you can guess I am pretty rusty though I don't think I was ever that good to begin with. We played until one team reached 15 points. Which means we ran up and down the court for almost an hour non stop. If you were watching you could find me at some moments running and then suddenly I would just lay down.  Since there was only two of us I would have to get up rather quickly and continue playing. Hopefully you can see by this picture how tiring it was! It also was one of the funnest times I had this week. If I play again I will remember not to wear two pairs of pants and 2 jackets because I definitely was no longer cold by the time we finished.

I am thankful for so much. Thinking back on everything it is easy at moments to find myself in a mundane mood. The same routine, the same people. Then - I remember I am in Peru! So if you are in the spot as well thank God for the things that are normal and seem mundane. Every time I leave my house I am grateful I have a house to leave behind. I am thankful for the food I get to eat. I am thankful for the people that did not know me 33 days ago and now treat me like family. I am thankful for family back home that love me from afar. So much that gets put into the normal everyday things that may not be normal and everyday for other people. Until next week... love the small joys God puts into your life.

A Kitchens a Kitchen

As I look around the place I will call home for the next two months there are a few things I realize. Most homes are the same. They are split into rooms that are designed for different reasons, but with every home rooms change. A living room can become a bedroom. A bedroom can become an office. An office can turn into a play room. There are a few rooms that don't change no matter the country. A bathroom may look different from one country to another but it can only serve one purpose. Then, there is the kitchen. A kitchen is a kitchen no matter where you are. I have lived in homes in North America, China, Europe, Central America, Africa, and now South America and a kitchen never changes. Peru is no different than all the other countries I have lived in.  The kitchen is what I find to be the heart of the home. No matter its size the kitchen is a spot where people come together to share life.  

My host mom.

The beginning of this week started in the kitchen. Monday morning my host mother and I went to work making cookies. As most would agree, the smell of fresh baked cookies brings back childhood memories and that has a way of making us smile. This time was no different for me. The cookies we made have no name because we made up the recipe - a type of vegan oatmeal fruit cookie. I will tell you this though, they were delicious. The best part is Tia (Aunt) could eat them. I must admit that to start a day off baking is the best way to start a day. I knew the rest of the week would be amazing, and I was right!

I hope you all like history because I am about to throw some at you. As most of you know I just graduated from a small Foursquare Bible College. Foursquare is a Christian denomination. Like most churches they have a logo. As you can guess, our logo is “4 squares”. How does this relate to Peru? Wait for it…I will take you back in time and tie up the loose ends of this history experience. As a child I was like most other children playing the game of 4 square. It consisted of 1 big box turned into 4 smaller boxes where 4 children would hit a ball around. This game is still played at the college I just graduated from. (I think mostly because of the humor behind the name.) This past week I painted a 4 square court on the church floor for the after school program. So, of course I was feeling school pride and got permission to paint the court the Foursquare denomination colors. Each color represents a different aspect of God's love for us. That is my history lesson… hope you enjoyed it.

Several people have asked the question if Halloween is celebrated in Peru. The answer is yes and no. The church does not celebrate because of the history behind Halloween which includes witches and communicating with family or friends that have passed away. The people that don't attend church in fact do celebrate. Their celebration looks like what I know as “The Day of the Dead”. The children get dressed up and go trick-or-treating but this is done at local businesses instead of homes. I did not celebrate Halloween in Peru although a group of the youth and I went to the central area of town and got to see all of the costumes.

Today I spent most of the day at the pool. We took the youth that help to lead Awanas to the pool for a nice treat. It was a fun day. Watching from my chair I remembered swim parties from my youth and the feel of cold water on a nice summer day. It was very relaxing and enjoyable.

Until next week learn something new, do something you have never done, and love the people close to you.

Finding Beauty in the Desert

Earlier this week I was blessed to wake up early and go to the market with my host family. While there, I saw many things that you don't see every day back in the states. One thing that I saw brought me back to my childhood. I did not play many video games growing up but one that I did manage to become decent at was Donkey-Cong. I am not sure if you have played or seen someone play this game. But at one point you can find hidden rooms filled with bananas. This was the highlight of the game. (Finding mass amounts of bananas meant extra points within a minute.) When I was at the market the other day I got the same feeling when I saw mass amounts of bananas was being sold. There were actually many things being sold in mass amounts, but the bananas just made me think of my past. I imagined the little monkey from Donkey-Cong running through the market pounding on the bananas, jumping to reach the high ones and all the while hearing the blrrrrr sound of the points adding up. A wonderful memory so early in the morning. It made me smile.

This week has flown by. It is Sunday and we just finished a lovely lunch. They made tacos, which I do enjoy. I will be making cookies for my host mom which I hope are good. All in all the weeks here seem like days. It is crazy to think this month is practically over.

I started the week by painting games (hopscotch and foursquare), for the children to play during the after school program.  Hopefully in the next week I will finish the painting and get started on a wonderful play house for the girls so they can have tea parties. This makes me remember a time when my family would set up a tee-pee in the living room. My cousin, sister, and I would bring all our dolls into it and have tea parties. Good memories.

This week in the English class that I co-teach we had a talented young man read some of his fairy tales to our class. They were brilliant. I can't remember the last time I was drawn into such vivid childhood books. It was a real treat to have them read out loud to us. I cant wait to see the pictures of the golden colored balloon with wings, that gives the "land without flavor" back its sweetness- all due to a mischievous princess and her dog Manga. It's brilliant. Right?

My photo this week is meant to show off the designs on the mountains.  I am not sure if everyone can see the designs clearly and I am not sure what all of the designs represent but they look cool. They are made from flowers and I guess it takes hours of time getting the design just right. These symbols are on most the desert hills. This is what I see from the roof of my house here in Tacna. I was told about them by the missionary before I left the USA but now that I am here and can see them from miles away I realize that they are shockingly beautiful.  I don't know what they stand for but the energy someone, or more likely multiple people put into the symbols, is astounding.

Spanish!

So I have decided to paint a little picture for you. I am sitting on the middle of my bed and I have surrounded myself with tools for learning Spanish. This is how I have past my last few hours of free time. Me, in the middle of the bed, with a notebook on one side and a pen ready to write all I am learning. I have a Spanish to English dictionary open and it is being used vigorously. I also have an idiots guide to Spanish open and I read it from time to time. Different stacks of flash cards are lying around - they vary from verbs, vocab, questions. All the while my computer is humming Spanish music softly in the back ground. This is how I am learning Spanish when I have a few hours to myself. So far, it is going better than expected. Advice... know the language before you decide to move someplace new. I think it would have helped me. Well, that is a glimpse into today.

As for this week it has been great - we started an English conversation class and people actually showed up and they enjoyed it. We just did introductions but I think it is going to be great for all of us. It never occurred to me that teaching an ESL class would help me learn Spanish.

On Saturday I got to work with Peru's Awana program.  For those of you who may not know what the Awana program is, it is a way to develop spiritual growth in kids through the use of games and memorizing the scriptures.  After I was introduced I was left alone to help the Peruvians run the class. I was taught how to play one of the games but on the first round I forgot to do one of the  steps.  They decided to let me watch one round and then I did the second one with them. After a rough start I would say that I did pretty good in the end. It was a lot of fun running around with the youth. This made me excited for next week when I will begin to work with the after school program.

At night I have been reading books set in Jane Austin's time - the 1800's. As I am reading I kind of feel like some of the characters. If you have ever read Austin or an author from that genre you know one thing that people used to do that we no longer do. They would travel to relatives or friends houses for weeks or months at a time. I was always shocked by that, it felt like an intrusion to have whole families living with you all of a sudden.  I just finished a book of that nature and all of a sudden it hit me. That is what I am doing! Don't get me wrong, I love it here in my Tacna home with my new family. I feel welcome and it is a blessing. I don't believe that they find me an intrusion. But, that changed my idea of this custom from Austin's books.  Instead of thinking of this as an intrusion I'm beginning to think of it as a fun idea. Who wouldn't want the people they love to hang out with them for several weeks if that was the only time of the year that you were able to see each other? I know I would like to have them with me for long periods of time. So I guess Austin had something going when her characters traveled to other places.

Okay, so to sum up the week I am still on an up hill trek to learn Spanish. The English class is going good. I will start working with the children's after school program next week. Awanas was scary at first but turned out to be really fun. Lastly, living with friends for long periods of time is good for the soul.

Tacna, Peru

It has been awhile since I have written but I have a few new adventures as of today. I am now living in Tacna, Peru. A quick geography lesson, Peru as I believe all you know, is in South America. Tacna is in the furthest southern part of Peru about a one hour drive from the top of Chili. This is a desert region which means it is hot during the day and freezing at night.

Why am I here?  I am doing another internship. I say another internship for my new readers because I just returned from a two month internship in Europe. If you would like to know about that trip then you can read my earlier posts. Well I arrived in Tacna a week ago - this is the first of  my weekly updates.

Praying for a lady on the streets.

I am living with the pastor and his wife at one of three churches I will be working at in the area.  They are two of the sweetest people. This week I have only worked at their church. So far it has been amazing. I spent most of my time painting with some of the members of the church. We are getting the children's classrooms ready for the new year.  One of the nights we had someone come and do a class lecture for the church leaders. One afternoon the youth and I went to the central city square and handed out food and prayed for people.  Starting next week I will get my schedule and be working with all three churches.

Those of you who know me may be wondering about the language barrier - yes there is one! My three years of high school Spanish did not prepare me for this.  I am trying my best to learn Spanish as quickly as possible. In my new home Spanish is the language spoken although the family knows a tiny bit of English. I will have to say that the fastest way to learn a language is by not being able to speak yours! I pray my Spanish will become more and more fluent as the time passes. There is another American intern that is working at this church and living close by so I am thankful for her.

This is a small glimpse into my new life for the next three months. I hope you enjoyed having a personal view into the Peruvian culture and the church family that I get to spend my days with.

The In Between

I have been back in the states for three weeks already. Which to most three weeks does not mean a lot but for me that means I have one more weeks to go. It has been nice seeing friends, family and spending time at home. For those of you who may have missed my earlier post I have just returned from Europe. As well as those who dont know what lays ahead I will be leaving the first week of October for Peru. Crazy to think four weeks in America could be all I needed to get my things and go once again.

I just want to thank everyone who one prays for me and my safty during these times away. I can feel your support and am greatful for all of it. Second I want to thank those people who support me by donating their hard earned money. I am glad to know you agree with what I am doing. During this time home I needed to raise $2,000 dollars and with your support I am practically there. Which I think is a record for me. When I first left for Europe I gave you all the challenge of helping me. Now leaving for Peru the challenge has been met. So thank you all for your prayer and partnerships.

While I am away I will keep you all up to date with what is going on in Peru. So make sure to check out my blog. I will be posting as often as I can.

Donations welcomed

Hey everyone,
I have been asked about how to donate to the mission trips that I go on. Well if you were wondering the same question there is an easy answer. Just click on this link http://www.razoo.com/story/Peru-Internship?referral_code=share#.UA_fohJ0gdo.facebook and it should bring you to my razoo account. This will enable you to donate to my upcoming Peru trip. Thank you for all your support.

Last week in Vienna

My host mother and me !

The summer has past by in a blink of an eye. Through the past months I have been able to experience things most will not in their lifetime and I am grateful to everyone that has got me here. Vienna as a local for one more week. I have bought my underground ticket and can travel throughout the city from below. When I am ready I can get off and walk the city from one side of the Danue to the other. Stopping anywhere, the city is my limit - the experience and companions welcomed.

Don't worry... abandoning my weekly tasks is not part of my agenda. I will be listening to my European momma preach on Wednesday as well as enjoying laughter with the youth as we encounter God during our Monday night meetings. Each Friday night is time for outreach as we pass out flyers in the middle of the city. After outreach we sit in a quaint pizza parlor playing a rambunctious game of spoons or whatever pops into our minds at the moment. These moments in my week will be missed as they will be the last ones for this trip.

In the end I am grateful for every encounter. The people here have brought me into their family and unlike most families this one spans the ocean.  It is filled with what I call "a small slice of heaven". Including blended cultures and expansive languages. Even when words are not understood gestures are caught and emotions are stirred. I have fallen in love with a city most have not even thought of visiting.

After my second time spending my summer in this home away from home. I look forward to returning. Some people spend their summers at the beach, being a Cali girl it would make sense but when I think about it I am not drawn to the beach I am drawn to the purr of subways. I enjoy the stir of people and feeling a desire to know what everyone is talking about as they too take in this majestic city. I love being able to hear three languages sung all in one song and understanding what I never thought could be possible. I cherish laughing into the wee hours of the night in front of a bonfire at the lake and the surrounding echoes of your voice off the water making it sound like the world around you is laughing as well.

In the end I plan on spending this week enjoying every day, encounter, moment, and memory. To make sure this is not just something I check off my list of things I want to do but something I will be able to recount at a moments notice years down the road. When goodbyes are needed they are long and overdrawn - filled with smiles and see you soon but no fair-wells.

Bible Seminar

The past two weeks have been amazing. Practically the whole church has been at the summer Bible Seminar. We all traveled by train to Strobl which is a small town between Bad Ischl and Salzburg. I say that simple because I like saying Bad Ischl. It is fun to pronounce and I recommend you trying it. Well can I say traveling by train may be the funnest way to get somewhere. Not only do you get to see the scenery but you don't have to drive. You also meet new people and can spread out instead of having four people in a car you can have four people in a train on different levels and still have room to spare. That was my tangent on trains, now on to the seminar.

The first day I got there God and the women (a small number of them) tested my faith. We climbed to the top of a mountain and though I have never been scared of heights climbing a ladder attached to the side of a cliff with little room for error definitely tested that fear. The four hour hike also tested my endurance but we all made it and can I say the view was amazing. I am sure that mountain was meant to be climbed when God created it or he would not have made the view so grand.

During the week we had four teachings by the pastor and his wife.  During the days we ate a lot and played soccer. Actually, the men played soccer, I simply tried not to get in the way. On each Friday the whole group climbed up 200 stairs and got to take in the beauty of a lake right in the middle of a mountain. Not only was I able to dip my feet into the famous St. Wolfgang lake but I was able to sit on the shore of a little hidden treasure.

View from the Top

Now you may think that is a small amount of information for two weeks. Well I spent my nights with four lady's who made me laugh as they sang to oldies, a roommate I shall never forget, a slight flood in the flat by a suspicious washer, as well as a reference to Sigmund Freud I think was considered a complement. My attempt to be out doorses was walking an hour on the side of a freeway, unsure of how to get to the meeting place I had only visited once before. Though that walk only lasted 45 minutes then I climbed down an embankment and took a side street I was most delighted to find. I attempted to ride a bike which did not turn out so good. I enjoyed a late night bon fire lakeside with the youth.  Sausage was cooked using sticks. My host mother's birthday was spent on a five hour train ride. Then, who can forget a new form of bowling that I had never seen which was quite entertaining. Lastly, but certainly not least, my first movie watched completely in German with my own personal translator. Interwoven between all of this was of course a lot of laughter.

Finding the plus side of every situation

The First week of August has begun and I have officially been in Vienna for one month. After the conference the church settled back into our normal routine. We said farewell to one of the interns as he traveled back home. Now there are two interns left and we are about to get ready for summer Bible Seminar. But, before we can all head out on holiday we have to finish off this week.

On Wednesday my host mother and I got to speak for mid-week service. We settled down on a nice couch and let the congregation see how we live. It was nice being able to speak again, I am getting less and less nervous. This weeks discussion was on difficult people. How do you handle someone who is being difficult? Also, what does the Bible say we should do when we encounter a difficult person. While preparing what we were going to say my host mother and I got to enjoy many of the situations we have encountered and many difficult people we have known over the years.  At the time people who get under your skin may seem to never leave, looking back there is a sense of joy knowing that you made it through and have the stories to prove it. It was a joy being able to give the topic at church and a nice bonding experience.

You may be wondering how I have not shared any horror stories from my trip. Like most people who work overseas, the joys out weigh the hardships. This is not to say that some points haven't been hard or trying - they have. Here is a silly thing that happened just the other day. I scraped my elbow while jumping on a trampoline - jumping on a trampoline with some new friends out weighed the scraped arm!  Also, for those who know me well and those who don't ATM's have never been my strong suit. You may think, "how can someone not know how to work an ATM?" apparently if you forget your password then your credit card will get eaten by one.  Mine did!  Not to fear, it was my fault for pressing the buttons t0o many times. Here is a heads-up, if you ever go out of the country make sure you have some cash tucked away since ATM's can keep your credit cards. On the bright side, I learned something new.

Like I said before, Summer Bible Seminar is coming up and for the next two weeks I will be enjoying a different part of Austria with the church. Our week will be filled with fun, preaching, and food. I will write about those adventures when I return but until then remember to enjoy the scenery for their is someone wishing they could be where you are.

Routine in a foriegn land

Well what can I say, I am starting to settle in. I have my daily routines and my work habits that come and go week from week. I do love routine. Every Monday I know I will be in the kitchen, then youth group, followed by aerobics class with some of the ladies. When we are done my host mother and I walk home talking about our day and then sit and eat chocolate due to the fact that we just worked out and it makes us want sweets. Routine being what wakes me in the morning knowing the essentials of how my day will play out yet still being open for new and surprising things.

One of those surprising things was a visit to Schonbrunn Palace.  I was able to walk around the queens gardens admiring the lush green trees that encase the crimson red and canary yellow roses. All being tended by Austrian men of different ages listening to hip hop music in English. The sounds of languages going by from China, to Russia and back again. Everyone intent on finding the hidden treasures the queen loved so much. The secret bench is encased by bushes for a couple to sit alone, the fountain where fresh water flows, the baby birds chirping overhead, and the trees so large the path is shaded by their branches above. It was glorious stepping into a part of history looking as lovely as when the queen herself road through in her horse drawn carriage. I am sure to return.

This past week I was able to speak at the mid-week service. I never really have liked the sound of my voice behind a microphone, but I was glad to have been asked. With a translator by my side all turned out well. The whole service was meant to represent an art - form from solo songs to paintings done on stage. The fact that some people can learn through art as much as others can learn through the spoken word makes me so glad we were able to combine a few ways of learning into one service.

When I first arrived I landed hearing the sound of a loud bang and seeing a flash of light.  Lightning and thunder continued until this last week when the sun finally decided to show its face.  We had water baptisms on Sunday at the Danube River - with perfect weather.  We also enjoyed an outing to the local pool.

This week we are hosting a conference.  The speaker hails from Texas - which isn't surprising since the pastor loves that state.  We are about to encounter day two and the topic is Jesus loves you. The simplicity in the words captures the depth in the message.

Party not in the USA

Hello people around the world.  I have been in Vienna for two weeks now.  Let's just say this week has been jammed packed with adventures.  My first European bachelorette party was different than in America simply because we all got to parade the "bride to be" around town and do silly things.  I also went to a  few birthday parties outside of Vienna but still in Austria.  Everywhere we go in Austria is so beautiful.

During the party I tried to remember all the German I am learning.  I applaud anyone who knows two or more languages.  It is quite difficult for me.  I am at the point where the Spanish I learned years ago is starting to be remembered instead of the German.  This is extremely hard when ordering a cheeseburger and you have three languages going on in your head.  This becomes even more difficult when people are talking to me in German and I know how to answer in both Spanish and English but cannot for the life of me remember how to answer in German.

Back to what I am doing after church this weekend - we will not only be hosting a wedding but also an engagement party.  It should be fun.  On other notes, if you read last week Cheezy the hamster has made an impression on me.  I was able to do a small photo shoot of him and he is adorable as always.  You can look online at the pictures that I have posted so far.

Goodbye for now.

A hampster named cheesee

What can I say I enjoy Austria just as much as last time. The people are so sweet and friendly. I have been here one week and other than getting lost in the airport nothing to scary has happened. I have made a new friend named Cheese-Choosie (spelling may be off) he is so cute and cuddly. He lives with me, he is the pet hampster. At church I was able to attend the prayer group and it was so nice to see members of the congregation come together and pray for one another. This was my first Sunday at church, Kephas Church to be exact. There was a guest speaker named Jan Erikson. He was a pimp and then converted to christianity and preaches worldwide about it. After the youth all went out to an amusement park, it is more like a carnival that is permanent.

The lady that is housing me is amazing. I am blessed at how well we get along. Well more to come and thanks for catching up with me. Goodbye for now from Vienna.

Europe here I come

Well I am off on another adventure. I will be leaving America in 26 hours. I have a 26 hour flight to look forward to. I can not wait to get going. Europe was amazing the first time and the second time will for sure be even better. I am all packed and ready now I just have to wait. I am sure to miss all of my family and friends. But if you are bored you can always come and visit. Austria is beautiful this time of year. Wish me luck. See you all in two months, and have a wonderful time where ever the wind takes you. Embrace everything I know I will. Also keep checking in on me, I will be keeping you all updated with pictures and stories.

My new chapter

Well I am officially a college graduate. After three and a half years I have a BA in Bible. So where to go from here is the question? In a world filled with options I have found myself out of answers. More school is an option, culinary school would be nice. One day I hope people will pay for me to feed them. Settling down at a church is an option. That brings more questions though. I want to do missions/ community outreach. That brings me to my third option to travel. Do what I have wanted to do all my life, leave America and see the rest of the world. Finding towns people have never heard of and speaking with people just like me. I have chosen the third option. I will be heading to Europe, Vienna Austria to be exact. This will be a time to work at a church with people I enjoy being around. I will be able to not only see the world, do what I love, but also work at a church. After Europe I am planning on going to Peru. Again I will be able to do what I love. In the end I may not have a trade which is what most people think will get you by in life. I have a degree in the Bible which gets me so much more. I can't wait for the next part of my life.

This is my roommate and me right before we walked across the stage.