a graduation.

this week life around our apartment has been a little livelier. usually its just julton and i with our schedules and coming and going, his sisters also live in the same building with their own busy schedule between classes and their internship. and we don't really see much of one another. for a while we tried to schedule a weekly dinner, but it didn't really stick, its been difficult to coordinate all of us. but this week... this week has been so different and a refreshing change. this week Julton's sisters graduated!

Although they will finish their internships later this year, they had their formal graduation this week! Both of them are now lawyers and considering what's going to be in their near future. To stay here, to go back home, to move to another city...

But for now, the family is in town :) Their grandmother and grandfather have been here this week along with their father, and their mother will be here later in the week. I have been excited that they are visiting. Especially the grandparents  (i think theres a soft spot in my heart for grandparents :D ) At almost any given hour of the day Julton's granmother or grandfather or both will be standing in the window taking in what's going on in the street outside. And we get a huge smile as we are walking toward home and they recognize us. I'm also loving that when i come home from a morning of teaching, walk in the door considering my options for lunch (often times Julton works later at the clinic and eats out there) and Julton's grandmother sticks her head out the window to tell me to come on in for lunch. Yuuum. Juanes... cecina... bananas... Ants... A dish i'm not sure the name of but quite tasty, ... and Inchicapi (spelling im not sure of) the latter mentioned being probably my favorite peruvian food ever. Its a soup made with peanuts cilantro chicken and cornmeal, we ate it with rice and yuca and of course more bananas and of course ants on the side. everytime i think we must have eaten all the ants that they brought, more come from somewhere... they must have brought a whole suitcase full! But the soup is my most favorite thing. Its delicious. and although i wasn't able to be there to see how its made yesterday, I'm supposed to get a tutorial today :) 

It's been so fun having their family visit. Julton's grandmother is precious. She laughs and laughs at everything and is just a genuinely happy person. Even if no one else is laughing with her, she keeps it up. I'm also excited because this week, it's almost as though we have passed by the awkwardness/newness of "you're new to our family/I'm new to your family" into "a part of the family". 

english inglish ingleesh

i ran across this fun video while looking for some stuff for my classes... hehehe


speaking of my classes.... 


i never really thought about the way i pronounce some words, or if i have a specific accent. actually, i don't really know if my accent is southern, northern, a mix of both or just something in its own. but... i am now very well aware of the way i pronounce dirty. take a second to pronounce that word. and remember how you do it. now... imagine a student of mine... whom i believe is the first i have ever had with such a serious intent on replicating my pronunciation. usually my students listen to me pronounce the word then pronounce it their own way anyway. but... my fantastic student... trying to mimic me pronounce dirty... and with his own accent... said "deerrdee". hehehe. do you pronounce the t or is it more like a d? because for me its a d sound.... and for my student.. well..  its something similar. 


and... i would like to share that i have been officially compared to Princess Diana. I have no idea where that came from but as in another class we were talking about introverts and extroverts, i asked my student to describe me and he responded with... you are more introverted... but kind like the Diana Princess. 


There you have it, I have the manners of a princess. :D

celula update

remember when I talked about our cell group? well, here we are again to talk about how we've changed/grown. 

Our cell groups started meeting around April I believe... and between then and now... we've moved/grown/changed over and over. We meet on Sunday nights and sing/pray/have a study over scripture together/and also a time of fellowship. This past weekend we decided to have a movie night, to boost fellowship and also have an opportunity to invite friends that we have invited in the past but might be more likely to come spend time with us over a movie. It was so much fun. We ate stove popped popcorn and enjoyed the movie the blind side. At first I was a little nervous we were going to loose the kids attention through the movie... but when a football scene came up they were right there with their nose stuck to the (projected onto a wall) screen. We had a great turnout, and are hoping/praying/looking forward to the group growing to that size on a normal basis!

tapestry that wall.

yet another apartment post... but aren't you so glad that i am posting again? i went on a writers/bloggers/somethingoranothers block for a while. im not saying im making a comeback, but i'm working on it :)


since we moved into this apartment ever few days... that turned into weeks.. we talk about how we would like to do this or that or paint this or put that up. well, a lot of it hasnt really happen. i think it probably would if we could narrow down so many of our thoughts about what we would like, and actually do something about it. im excited to put our own touch on the white/cream/blotchy walls. with paint and photos and color. we are getting there little by little. im okay with that too. ive always rushed to fast into things. julton is so good for me in that he helps me to slow down to make decisions, so that i dont do things so rash/hastily. hes good for me like that. :) also, between his work schedule and mine... we don't have a lot of quality together time. so we havent made a lot of progress in the decorum department. sad. but like i said little by little we are getting there. im content with that. its amazing how different a bathroom looks when you put a fabric curtain up instead of having only a sheer plastic one, complete bathroom revolution. 
and speaking of room revolutions....

we added something to the living room (slash dining room)!!! it dawned on me that i have all these tapestries (most of which we are using for curtains) which have been a big part of my life and living situations for several years... and i thought, whyyy not? when i mentioned to julton that we should put it up on the wall. he looked at me... looked at the wall.. looked at me again, and as he looked at the wall again said "our peruvian flag would probably be better" 


buah buah buahh. 


i convinced him. 


and after he saw it up and covering the wall in all its amazingness, he agreed. although we did go through a hassle to get something to put it up with. the walls are concrete and we didnt want to make holes ( i didnt want to make holes in the tapestry). so one day i went off searching in the center for some... double sided tape. some hardcore double sided tape. the first place i asked, the little old man talked like he knew what i was talking about, didnt have it in his store though, and didnt know what to call it either. the next places... which happen to be a string of shops together in an open air market setting.... (very intimidating, maybe just for me, when you walk in and everyone looks at you to wait for your request... yikes) as i asked if they had the tape that is sticky on both sides... they ALL looked at me like i was from another planet and shook their heads no. i even ventured to ask if they knew what it was called (so that i could stop asking for the tape that is sticky on both sides) and they stared at me blankly. fail. 


but alas we did find it in sodimac. a home improvement store like a lowes or home depot. after a scavengerhunt we found it, in its thin cardboard backing and plastic covered front, with the familiar scotch brand. i m content with that little bit of globalism. 


so, we've got a bit more color around here! and julton thinks our apartment is starting to look hindu. i disagreed and told him we were looking like hippies and he didnt seem to like that either. he said i dont want to be... to which i replied.. well, you married a girl with a hippie heart.. sorry ... (he knew that before) :D

a favorite lunch.

cecina, chorizo, (jungle ham and sausage)... eggs, avocado, cabbage (one of jultons favorite vegetables.... scratch that - jultons ONLY favorite vegetable.. haha, fried bananas, rice and a homemade salsa. 

one of our favorite lunches. 

its a good day when we get a package from moyobamba. it usually means the cecina, choirzo, bananas, peanut butter, peanuts, candies, and while in season.. ants! between his sisters apartment and ours... the whole building has smelled jungly quite a lot recently.. for the ants :)

(again.. sorry for the random fork photo invasion. ... i usually take the picture right before we are about to attack it.... as you can probably imagine that leads to a conversation that goes a little like.. " agaaain??... take the picture! lets eat!" "just one more" "ohhh im hungry..." "okay, iknow! ... wait that ones blurry.. " "ohh... hmm.. grr..." 

a sofa? a sofa.

Who needs a sofa or couch when you can make your own "artesianal sofa" with your own blankets/tapestries/pillows? :D

Since we moved from a furnished apartment into a not so furnished apartment... weve been in lack of a couch. And we haven't really been set in high gear getting one either, for several reasons. We don't have a lot of time together at a good time of the day to go look... and we just don't to shell out much money for a couch we arent sure how long we will use. So Julton had an idea for his "artesianal sofa" and pulled out blankets and pillows and my -favorite- i might add, tapestry. It works for us :) 

a e i o u

conquistadores


Tell me, how do you pronounce that word?


Because in a recent class.. I will admit I had trouble. I think the actual spelling is conquistadors (in english) but that word slipped into the article we were reading and as my student pronounced it in spanish (in our english class) then asked me to pronounce it, my first atempt sounded amazingly similar to his! I had to practice myself... 


I remember back in early elementary school years, my year didn't get taught phonics phonics like they teach phonics now. We learned the letters (and songs for each letter I might add) but we didnt learn the phonics so much. I didn't learn much about phonics or proper pronunciation until I started studying spanish. So... when I'm sounding out a word to myself.... it should probably not surprise me that I am more likely to pronounce it in spanish. that just... doesnt come in so handy in an english class where I am the teacher! maybe i should sign up for some english classes of my own...

things i find fun

This is something that I have to share out loud. Because I just keep randomly repeating it to myself occasionally and it doesn't get me anywhere. And you know, when you say something out lout it makes it 'real'. Someone else hears it (reads it...) and it somehow validates you. Gives you some responsibility.You see, I'm a dreamer. When I was young I would wake up early in the summertime but lay in my bed all morning reading and reading. My imagination goes and goes... but I can never seem to get control of the ability to rope it in and make things happen. I think a lot about how something would be fun or neat or interesting or good for my life, life, in general. But then I just dream. I move on to the next dream. This isn't healthy. I'm sure that you yourself have those things that you think would be fun to do or "be when you grow up" if you will, but then... they just get away from you in your day to dayness. But a combination of some lovely posts on some blogs that i read consistently, and a conversation with a student of mine... over his children nonetheless! - One is a dreamer and one is a go getter. One dreams of surfing and making music and the others personality suits her so that she seems like a little administrator stuck in a 10 year olds body. As we were talking in class about personalities I started to think more about myself in that regard. And my student flat out asked me what kind of personality are you like? And I had to say I'm more of a dreamer. I could never be an administrator, I'm too much of a softy. So dream I do, which is great for me but... It's time to give those dreams more of a reality to live in :D

On to the blogs that I sort of live my dreams through...

Tiny Happy

She explores with her kids... she sews curtains... she sells on etsy... she decorates with second hand or vintage... she lets her kids draw dancing smiling crabs then makes it into a new sweatshirt design.... she makes lemon curd... i enjoy her posts and watching her creativity with her kids and business.

This for example is something she made after seeing a photo in a book of a lady in a bed of hydrangeas!

Next : Epheriell Designs

She designs her own eco friendly beautiful jewelry. And fills her blog with other beautiful inspirations. She writes e-books, has her own bazaar (shop) online for other sellers, I like her style :)

This is a piece of her work that she sells in her shop, simple and so pretty, no?

Next: Fine Little Day

Also a lady that explores with her kids, lets them create and encourages their creations, she sews also, and has an eclectically fun house, as well as a homey country house. (I didn't make any individual post links because i couldn't figure out how to link back to her posts)

Their eclectically fun house and...

The homey country house.

And lastly (but certainly not least...ly): Angry Chicken

Also a site I very much enjoy to visit and see what she's made next or sharing from someone elses page or has done with her kids. Such as sketching flowers in a park together, then pressing some of the flowers and making skirts on their drawings with them, and turning them into thank you cards for her kids to use...or making her daughters coats... 

So... what's the point of all of this blog sharing? Well... I just wanted to share with you a few of the things that inspire me, or have been. I keep thinking... I wish I still made collages, I wish I still did this or that... oooo i would like to do that with my kids one day (take notice that i said one day!!) I would like to knit, I would like to perfect my crochet skills, I would love to learn how to sew (better). I should have never let myself get out of the habit of sewing. I could make my own clothes! How fun! I have a friend that has taken sewing classes from an institute here and I am very seriously considering getting into it... I'm pondering the idea for now...

I hope that you enjoy each of these fun blogs as much as I do!

about some food: part 2

ants. we have been eating a lot of them lately. i don't have a picture but i promise its true. it was raining in moyobamba... which means its ant season! which also means that our entire building smelled like fried ants for about a week. since in our apartment and also jultons sisters (whom live in the same building) there were ants being prepared for lunch and dinner for a week... including kennedy's since hes renting a room he came over to have his also. the neighbors have to be used to that since jultons family has lived here for so long.

but not only ants come in small packages sent to us in a bus from jultons family in moyobamba. also comes.... chancaca (im not positive i spelled that right) which is a lot like brown sugar. and when added to peanuts makes a pretty awesome snack.... and i just recently found out that julton has mad skills at transforming it into caramel corn! i was having a low sugar day (sometimes it drops and i eat everything sweet in sight. unless julton is around then i get a glass of sugar water.... it's not as tasty as it possibly sounds i assure you, i would not make it as a hummingbird) but that day julton disappeared and said im going to make something that you are going to love and beg for the recipe for but i will never tell the secret! it was incredibly tasty. im starting to believe he might be telling the truth about being the best rice pudding maker... even though hes never actually made it for me.

in another direction: tequeños (wontons fried with cheese inside) and guacamole are one of our favorite things. and perus soccer matches on tv are one of jultons favorite things. so thats how our evening was spent last night. peru played panama. they... lost. actually they dont have a good track record of winning but julton tells me that they have a new coach this year and they are improving. they beat canada in a match. well.. not canada canada... i think it was a minor team. but still, thats improvement!

mangos

speaking of mangos....

i am very excited that they are starting to show up in the markets again. however i will restrain from eating one - two everyday.

recently julton told me a story about one of his patients. that goes a little something like this.

she was concerned because her friends and family had been telling her that she was looking yellow. so julton looked closer and sure enough her eyes were yellowing and her skin as well. so he ran several tests but there wasn't anything that he could find that was wrong.... that's when she admitted.... that she was trying out a new diet and had been eating at least a mango a day for the past 3 months.....

is it bad that i find it pretty hilarious that someone was trying to lose weight but their diet turned them yellow instead? i hope not.

today when i was telling my mom that story, she told me that i had to tell julton (i don't remember this) that when i was a baby she couldn't feed me too many carrots because my nose turned orange. that made me laugh harder.

about some food part 1

you may be asking yourself "is she really about to update me on what theyve been eating? is that really necessary? has her life been that boring lately?"

and to answer your questions i 'would' say to you "yes i am about to update you on what weve been eating. and this is only the first part. no, it might not be necessary but its happening. and no my life has not been boring lately. it just seems that all my photos are of food. my classes have picked up, but i think my students would think it a bit weird if i tried to picture them. on the topic of students, i have a new one from spain. hes a super nice guy, but... if i try to help him out by telling him the meaning of the word in spanish.... he turns around and says okay, thats what peruvians say but do you know how to say it in spanish? with a grin on his face. uhmmm i say... i guess i don't? but, i am taking it in a way that he is teaching me more vocabulary so that i have a wide range of spanish words just in case we ever travel in spain where they might not know that a terno is a traje (suit). just in case im ever out buying a suit in spain.

so back to the food.

my first ever attempt at cooking or eating for that matter... beef stroganoff. i was oddly excited to make this. i dont know where the idea came from, and i realize that this picture actually doesnt make the food look that appealing, but i assure you that it tasted wonderful. the origional recipe that i used was a little different than what i ended up doing (steak instead of ground beef) but we're fans nonetheless. and apparently often when i make pasta it must not have much meat in it, because when i told julton what we were having, his only concern was "is there meat in it?"

fish tacos!!!!

(and mangos are back in town!!)

(sorry for the random silverware sticking out everywhere in the photo)

pollo al horno

because we dont only eat pasta or tacos, we also eat alot of peruvian food

its basically chicken cooked in a sauce made with soy sauce

and lastly, another pasta dish... a random mixture of taco seasonings

equallying something like beefaroni.

ps: those were all lunchtime meals. we eat a lot at lunch :)

oh monday monday

many. many things can happen all in one hour.

since this past month I didn't teach many classes everything was pretty calm for me. until today. today started the new 'teaching month'. im not sure exactly what i did to ensure such a clumsy/strange day. or at least an hour of the day. but by the end of it i had my head hung and was ready to go home. tail tucked between my legs as they say. not that i have a tail. anyway...

today i was trying to figure out my way to a new class. that all went fine. until i actually got to the 'blue door' i was looking for that would mark the office i needed. i found a blue door. but i couldn't figure out how to open it. there was a little buttonish looking thing beside which i kept pressing but nothing was happening. although i kept waiting and waiting half expecting the door to swing open hitting me and knocking me head over foot to the bottom. finally someone saw me... but didn't do anything but talk, from behind a sealed door and a small window... no sound. if you have ever tried to tell me something expecting me to read your lips... you came to the quick realization, that I julie rogers, cannot for the life of me read anything you are trying to say. and thats in english. finally behind me i heard senorita senorita!! being shouted and as i turned i realized that a man was leaning out from a window to tell me to go out the building and around the other side. while everyone watched me from their windows. embarrassing. thanks.

when i got into the waiting area and explained who i was and who i wanted to see and why... the guy looked at me very, very suspiciously and asked me to write down my information. which i did and stepped back as i waited while he called someone, then came more suspicion. he finally said, well since you are so late he has no time for you. i very very confused, looked down at the time and thought.... but im FOUR MINUTES late!!!! it was actaually all a big confused mess. and i was supposed to be there an hour earlier. communication confusion. so he sent me away by saying see you wednesday, an hour earlier. and he and probably everyone else in the building watched as i shamefully walked away back by all the windows. i'm sure they were scribbling away in their lists of stereotypes about foreigners.

after that the day still didn't seem to get any better.... i bought a small cup of food thats a like ceviche, spilled the juice all over my black pants... discovered that whatever its made of does. not. come off after its dried. so i walked severl blocks looking like i had bird poo all over my 'professional' pants. then took a micro (bus) the rest of the way home. no one wants to sit beside you when they think you have bird poo all over you. no. one. oh they do, but you know all the while that they dont want to.

after changing and hurrying off to a meeting thinking this is it, the day is going to turn. the security guard gave me a who knows exactly how long but significanly longer than necessary speech about how i didn't have to make sure the door shut because it shut itself. complete with him bending over to point to the 'mechanism' at the bottom of the door that i needed to let 'work'. you can do that he said, but you need to let the door work like its supposed to work. i kept imagining tht he was secretly in some kind of secret union for the labor of doors. the only reason i stood there to make sure it shut anyway was because he was there and i thought he was going to lecture me for walking away without sufficiently closing it. buah buah buaaah. seriously, he talked for a long time.

and, after all that walking i successfully made 4 exciting blisters on my not used to wearing heels or sandals or anything other than boots, feet. the day just kept getting better.

oh monday.

i guess i'm getting paid back for my wonderful weekend. Julton and I got to spend the majority of the weekend together. it was great. 6 hours of our weekend we spent watch all three matrix movies (not consecutively) since he was so shocked that i had only see bits of the first one. and we (I) experimented with making hamburger helperish lunch. it looked kind of crazy but julton loved it. :)