my life in a nutshell... a really big nutshell

Sunday: This is a day of planning, cleaning, sleeping in and playing catch-up. We usually sleep in until about 7 am and get up and make a special breakfast that we normally wouldn't have time for (such as cinnamon rolls, jungle muffins paired with fried potatoes or tortillas—Peruvian omelets). After that is laundry time, which takes seemingly forever… I really should wash clothes more than once a week, because it takes so long to catch up. WE carry our clothes down to the well, haul up water (good for the arm muscles… it's a deep well) after washing, attempting to rinse all the soap out, and hanging the clothes on the line to dry (I have issues with this part because I always seem to pick a day that it decides to rain, leaving my clothes damp for days and smelly to boot). After that task is done and the house is clean we do meal planning and go to market. Meal planning is difficult, for there is no such thing as quickly running to the store… you have to buy what you need for 2 or 3 days of meals and know exactly what and how much you we'll need before leaving the house… a task we are still far from perfecting. Whether in ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Pucallpa or Campo Verde market is an interesting experience. I prefer Campo for its closeness and smaller size, but I prefer Mercado dos (there are like 5 in Pucallpa) for the selection and better quality. The things I like most about market are the relationships built. We have our favorite bread lady who always gives us free samples of some new bread, our weekly fruit people, and odds and ends stands at both markets. It's especially great in Campo now that we've begun teaching, for we see students and their parents all the time. Catching a moto into town is always fun… I love motos, but some days you can walk nearly all the way to campo before finding an empty one. Three km might not be far, but at noon in the Peruvian sun it gets hot and tiring. After returning home (with hopefully no broken eggs, smashed fruit or leaking sugar… all of which are very difficult feats to overcome) we break out our lesson planners and figure out what to teach next. Kaitlin and I try to stay two weeks ahead, but things change so constantly that it almost seems pointless. At 5 we make our way back to campo to teach classes… we are there Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights at 6 pm. Kaitlin has the beginners and I have the more advanced students… 2 classes in one classroom… difficult for the attention spans and noise factors, but doable. They are hard to stay ahead of, but they are great students. I've never seen students so eager to learn. It's odd, for half of them are older than me, all are wondering how I plan to teach them English when I don't speak Castillano, and each one is becoming a dear friend… constantly reaching out to me with kindness. A return trip home and the boys have supper waiting (they take such good care of us). We are greeted by the barks of our dogs and a birdlike chirp from the monk. I love having animals. After Campo classes we go to bed around ten (which is late for here) and try to get rested for the next day.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday are all pretty similar to one another… the only exceptions being Wednesday and Friday market trips, and Friday prepping the house for Sabbath. On these mornings we ride our bikes to Los Pinos where we teach our favorite class. Professor Jorge leads our students out in the Peruvian national anthem and pledge as the kids go through their marching routine. It's so cute to see them all lined up, especially the kindergarteners. These are the kids we go on field trips with and stay after school to play games with. The teachers here like to involve us in everything… I love how much you can tell they love their kids. We teach an hour of English and an hour of music with the primary students (ages 6-12), and then an hour of music to the kindergarteners. Each day has it's challenges, but for the most part these kids are well behaved, eager to learn, and very loving. The 3-5 year old kindergarteners have very short attention spans, but we are slowly earning their respect and love. They are getting great about participation, always requesting "Las Gallinitas" and "Dios es Amor" to be sung a gazillion times. I love spending time outside of class getting to know them… having little ones fight over who gets to hold your hand as you walk with them through the zoo, or laugh at you as you try to play their games and get stuck while trying to slide under a 6 year olds legs are definitely unforgettable and precious moments. After class we stop by Bria's house where we always receive some homemade gift, fresh fruit or refresco. She and her family are so giving. Bria spent a year in the U.S. when she was younger and we go to visit her and help her learn more English and get practice speaking. Next it's off to the house to make lunch. I love cooking! We turn on some music and get to chopping. Everything is homemade here…it takes a long time, but is (almost) always delicious. Cooking is a time for unwinding and bonding and is one of my favorite parts of the day. It is an excuse to take a break from the other stresses and things that are happening. I didn't want to come here with the sole description of cook, but I am glad that it is now "part of my job". That is along with being the group "mother". Old habits die hard I'm afraid and no matter what I do I can't seem to shake my mothering qualities…thankfully no one seems to mind me being caretaker yet so it isn't so bad. The afternoons are spent either planning and cleaning inside, or helping with what we can out in the jungle (more stories on that another time). Supper, a dishes assembly line and off to bed around nine fills the rest of the day.

Tuesday and Thursday…the bike trip to Yerbas Buenas…Yay! Three km back a dirt-filled bumpy road lies this little village. I am slowly overcoming my great disdain and slight fear of bicycles and they are no longer the bane of my existence after making this trip so many times. Hilly and rocky, it is very uncomfortable on our not so decent bikes. They've redone most of the road now so it isn't terrible anymore… unless of course it rains, and then we are talking an 1 ½ hours of pushing/carrying our bikes up and down hills through the mud… oh what fun and entertainment that is J The teachers at Yerbas Buenas are much more detached from their students than those at km 37 (Los Pinos). I often feel that they see us as a break from teaching more so than as a help to their students. We have a class of 25 5-10 year olds with short attention spans and discipline problems… although with time it has gotten much better. Also at Yerbas we have a group of 20 ranging from the ages of 10-18, all of which are fairly bright and finally starting to see us as teachers. It is so awesome to see the progress made from "I'm too cool for this" to "can we do that again PLEASE". I am glad that they are starting to open up. Of course we have our favorite students at each school, but that will have to be in another blog as well… this one will be long enough as it is. Once we are done at Yerbas Buenas we bike home and repeat yet again the process of cooking, cleaning, planning, and working and yet again head to Campo for night classes.

Sabbath… my favorite day! We all get to hang out and relax. Friday (and Saturday) evenings we get to have longer worships than we normally get to in our morning devotions… it is so great to have that time of worship with others… no matter what race… but getting to come together not only as a "family" but as a family in Christ and a family in the Adventist Church. It may not be vespers at Southern, but it is wonderful. We sing tons of Spanish hymns and have dual language worship… I can't wait until I know enough Castillano so that translations are no longer necessary. Church is often times frustrating, for the language barrier makes things hard…but it is good to be with people who are SO excited to sing and to worship God. It also offers good time for journaling, Bible reading, prayer, and simply spending time with God… which is what church should really be about, God time. Many times we do spur of the moment special music's, piano playing, and sermons… apparently being white automatically makes you capable and a volunteer. On the way out everyone showers you with hugs, kisses, and greetings of "Feliz Sabado"… truly showing Christian brotherly love. Often times our Sabbath afternoons are filled with choir practice and youth meetings, making having our Sabbaths to ourselves a rare occasion. It is at these times I have to try hard to remember that I am here to serve and here for the people, not myself. I miss my Sabbaths… the way they are at home, but I am here for a different cause and when I return hopefully I will be more willing and ready to spend more of my Sabbath helping others out at home too… After all Sabbath isn't only for spending time with God, loved ones and resting, but also for sharing Christ's love with others. Some Saturday nights we have youth games (which will take a whole blog in itself to recount and explain) and others we S.M.'s sit around and hang out… playing games and just chillaxin. I love our group here… we make such a great team. Although it is times like these Saturday nights that I most miss Southern, my friends and Matt, they also remind me of how lucky I am to be with the wonderful people here. We are like a family and fit together so well. The people here will obviously never be able to replace or keep me from missing my family at home, but it is a wonderful and irreplaceable feeling to feel so handpicked by God as a team for this year. I am sure we'll come across problems and have some squabbles or disagreements, and I am bound to really get on someone's nerves sooner or later… but to all who I love at home, know that I am in good hands… both in God's and those of my team, and am being well loved and taken care of. And that is the conclusion of my (normal… if there is such a thing) weekly happenings here in Peru. Stay tuned for more blogs on the other aforementioned topics plus Pucallpa excursions and our upcoming clinic J