Falls

In a glacier lake!

What I've been up to...

I'm painting...


Sunset in the Andes....


Town festival



The picture says it all...




My host family, host mom's birthday. I made the cake! Strawberry cake.





Painting my bathroom, with my head in the clouds.

Christmas glistening in the distance....

I thought it would be a good idea to listen to Christmas music, I mean
tis’ the season. Well, bad idea. I listen to sleigh bells jingeling
on a silent night while mommy kissed Santa Claus, and the water works
opened like it was the first day of summer, full blast!

I was reminded of my favorite Christmas movie The Grinch starring Jim
Carrey. The scene where Christmas finally gets to the Grinch, and he
starts crying. I found myself asking, as the Grinch did, “why am I
leeeaking?”

Before coming to Peru I never considered my Christmas’ to be
particularly perfect. But here I am longing for that Christmas that
glistens in the distance.

So what is the point of all of this? Well I guess it’s that I can’t
wait to appreciate it all a bit more when I get back. But it's not
all that bad I'm blessed with so much family, so many friends and an
opportunity to see the world through another’s eyes, that I can’t help
but start to appreciate it all a little bit more even now. So I say
to you, this Christmas do me a favor, and fulfill what I can’t. Stare
at Christmas lights just a second longer, eat just at least one more
cookie, smile like you mean it in those annoyingly wonderful Christmas
pictures, jingle those bells, enjoy the mistletoe and the warmth of
the Holiday Season with your son, your daughter, spouse, mom, dad,
brother, friends, pets or what have you.

And to all those I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the holidays with
before, in the office, at school, at home, at your home, or even over
the phone. From the bottom of that thing that beats in my chest, thank
you for creating joyous memories of what I now consider more than 20 (
a girl never reveals her real age) perfect Christmas’. I will be
here, in Peru, enjoying the humblest of Christmas’ blessed with more
than I could have ever imagined. I miss home like crazy.

No bahambugs, just Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and a very Joyous
New Year to you all.

P.S. Send me some of those awesome cheesy Christmas pictures, of you,
family or friends. I loooove that stuff! Makes me feel like a have a
bit of home with me.

"No matter where I was, my compass pointed [north]. I ... always know what time it was in California..." Fitch, adapted for moi.

October will be my fifth month in Peru, but I still know what time it is in Cali. I assume I always will. A lot has happened since my last entry and have even joked with a friend that perhaps a short book should be started. I have enough titles for chapters including:

Incan gods in Jesus' house- from my trip to the wood sculpting sector of the parish that concentrated on traditional Andean artifacts.

Cold, sticky yet refreshing- our PC experience with food, and the PC experience overall.

Irony- on not being able to teach a class on respect because the children would not be quiet long enough to listen.

Ode to the dirt rode (Em)- on my trip up a mountain, seeing the most beautiful sight in all of my life and having an epiphany (inquire within for further detail). Huascaran- highest mountain in Peru, second highest in the Americas.

Parasites or Bacteria, the lesser of the two evils- on my experience at site for the first month, and my host mothers comments on me looking like a stick. I almost asked her to repeat that so I could record, I've never heard that before.

It's raining plaster- communication, or mis-communication.

Reading thicker books, they last longer and make better pillows (Coelho)- my refuge in the world of literature, the warmth of covers and the friend that never leaves.

Square pegs in triangular holes- on culture clash and integration.

I should stop too much writing makes others fall asleep. I'm taking submissions for suggested title, entries must be witty and yes, still apply to my life...

Pictures?