Observations

The summer rainy season has officially begun in Peru; as a result, snow has returned to the mountains, everything has become more colorful, and the city is a bit less dusty. The beginning of the rainy season also heralds the end of school and many people are heading to the beach for the summer.  Everyone tells us the city will be less crowded in January and February but for now it is total mayhem due to the holidays.  Last night we took a taxi to the closing ceremony for Hannah's gymnastics program and what is normally a fifteen minute ride took over an hour due to the traffic.

Speaking of ceremonies, we have been very busy with all kinds of year-end activities. The girls had final exams at school which was quite a long haul but they both did very well. Then of course came all the various parties, closing events and holiday festivities.

December is also a big birthday month for us.  We organized a birthday celebration at the girls' school but  since parents are not allowed into the classrooms, we only got to hear about it.  Not wanting to be left out, we also held small party at home and the girls invited a few close friends.  Hanukkah was celebrated with a homemade menorah and potato latkes and Christmas will be spent with some friends.

The end of the school year also marked the beginning of what the kid's call "Mommy and Daddy School."  We are trying to home school the girls to help them get ready for the next academic year in Peru and the USA. We have done a few fun projects, including a marble track which is still a work-in-progress. The I-Pad has come in handy as there are many excellent educational apps when one of the "teachers" gets frustrated.  Don't worry, our summer break will not be all work and no joy. We are planning on travelling to the countryside before our visit to the United States in January; we also hope to visit Northern Peru in February. Everyone is looking forward to these upcoming adventures and a MUCH needed break from Mommy and Daddy School.

As part of our home schooling efforts we asked Emma and Hannah to practice their writing by sharing some observations about Peru.

Emma

• People in Peru are very creative with Christmas decorations.  I have seen Santa on a ladder and "Santa stop here" signs.
• I have never seen a lawn mower in Peru.  I have only seen alpacas and llamas eating grass.
• The Peruvians speak differently than Nicaraguans.  They still speak Spanish but many words are different. For example, if I say "mecate" (rope) people do not understand me but if I say "cuerda" they do.
• Almost everybody in Peru has bread for breakfast.  When we go to the bread store in the morning there are always lots of people there.
• Almost everybody in Arequipa goes to private school.  There are hardly any public schools.

Hannah

• I like my school because I have lots of friends there.
• I like to sing at school with my music teacher.
• I like the people in Peru because they are very good people.
• My gymnasium in Arequipa is very good because I am learning lots of things.
• The food in Peru is very good, my favorite is tallarin (noodles).

The adults will add a few observations to the list:

• There is a constant struggle over small change in Peru; if you buy something for 9 soles and give the store a 10 sol bill, they still ask if you have exact change.
• Like much of the world lines mean nothing in Peru and unless you are vigilant about getting to the front, you never will.  However, if you are really rich you can apparently walk to the front of whatever line you want.
• Peruvians hate lines but love rules.  Conformity seems to be rampant so it is very exciting when we see folks dressing or acting outside the norm.
• Once you get to know most Peruvians, they treat you like family; our friends always invite us to their celebrations and shower us with warmth and affection.
• There is no such thing as bad food in Peru (unless you go to KFC).

Well, those are all the observations we have for now.  It is has been an absolutely wonderful year and we are looking forward to 2012 with great anticipation.  We hope you all have a lovely holiday season.

News from Arequipa

Jeff

One of the reasons I wanted to move to Arequipa is the mountains.  There are three peaks over 19,000 feet very close to the City.  Unfortunately, I have not met any climbers and the guide services do not run many trips this time of year due to low demand.  I could not wait anymore and decided to attempt a solo climb of a nearby volcano called Misti.  I bought a few items that I needed (including a map and compass) and arranged for one of the guide services to transport me to the trail head shown below.

The route uses the prominent rib to the left of the sign

My chosen route was very easy, with the altitude and route finding being the only real challenges. However, on the way to base camp, I got stuck in a snow/hail storm so I decided to stop at a lower camp that had some small ledges I could sit under since I did not have a proper tent.  I went to sleep around 5:30pm but was so worried about not having made the upper base camp I got up four hours later to start my summit attempt.  It turns out I was way too worried about time. I reached  the summit in the dark and made it back to my camp by 6:00am.  It was a nice hike and a very beautiful mountain to spend some time on.

View from the summit

The hardest part of the trip was getting home.  The long hike back to the trail head was followed by an even longer hike to the road. However, I loved the high desert scenery and the previous night's storm brought out some beautiful wildflowers.  Once the walking was over, I had to sit in the middle of nowhere praying for a bus to show up on a seemingly deserted highway.  After nearly two hours in the hot sun, I finally saw a bus!  I started jumping up and down frantically to ensure the driver stopped for me. Everyone was cracking up when I got on board; I am not sure if they were laughing because I was waiting in the middle of nowhere, had been jumping up and down like a maniac or that my face was covered in volcanic ash.  Once I settled into my seat, an old guy reached over and patted me on the shoulder. He said something in what I think was Quechua.  My Quechua is very limited; he was either telling me "congratulations on the climb you strong north american hero" or "don't worry crazy and stupid gringo, everything will be just fine."

Emma
A couple of days ago I competed in a swimming competition at school.  I was 1 of the 4 people that competed for my class.  I won a silver medal for speed, velocidad, below is the medal.

I won another silver medal for relay, postas.   In the photo below is my team. The boy in the towel is Sergio Tadeo, the boy next to him is Brandon, I am next to Brandon & to my left is Maria Fernanda.  

My medals are now hanging on my closet door.


Aileen
A few weeks ago I mentioned to a friend that I when I get back home to the U.S., I wanted to get back to working in Special Education, because I really loved it.  She said that she knew someone who worked with a special education program and could arrange a volunteer placement for me.  She said somewhat flippantly, "I believe that if you really love doing something, you should do it."  Even though she said it off the cuff, I've been thinking about it a lot.  Anyway, her aunt brought me over to Unamonos, a privately funded program for special needs children, and since then I've been volunteering there a few times a week.

It's been really interesting for me, to see both the similarities and the differences between special education in the U.S. and here.  I find that on Monday mornings as I walk to the school, I'm looking forward to seeing the kids I've been working with and helping out however I can.

Hannah
We had Thanksgiving at our house.  When we were cooking the turkey it was kind of weird but we had to give it a shot to get the juice in there.  We had to stick carrots and celery and onions in the turkey's butt which was weird too.  Mommy and me cooked everything.

After we cooked all that stuff our friends came over:  Sammy, Francesca, Ximena, Mafer and the adults - Erica, Nelson and Teresa.

We played with them in our garage and did hide-and-go-seek and los paises.  I really loved the turkey.  Thanksgiving was so good!

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