yesterday today and tomorrow

Oh, life.

The past several months we have gone from...

coast to jungle to countryside.

mild heat to extreme take several showers a day heat to bitter cold.

surrounded by friends and transplanted family to surrounded by family to surrounded by family and building new friendships.

scared of the future and holding onto the present to speeding through the present to clinging to memories and making new ones.

I miss my ESL students like crazy but love the little kids that I get to hang out with now.

Julton misses the clinic like crazy but loves the next step in life that studying 8-10 hours a day for an exam is going to bring him. 

Oh, life.

bonfires...

new t-shirts and a 2nd anniversary

Today it is pouring rain, lightly. If that is possible to imagine. And I love that it is just warm enough to sit slightly bundled on a porch swing just out of the rain's reach. With coffee.

But I still find myself feeling bittersweet because half of me wishes to be beachside eating ceviche just out of the ocean's reach. With Cusqueña.

                                                                              Source: piccsy.com via Julie on Pinterest

blogs and contests oh my!

Although I don't blog nearly enough, or consistently... one thing I have been known to get a little addicted to is.. reading others blogs. Julton doesn't like to hand me the computer before breakfast... because that means that breakfast... will be a while. 


And recently I've taken to entering contests. Today's is for homemade granola!


So go check out this guest post from After His Smile! at the blog See The Skyline!

A laugh, a smile, a hug.

Source: meggielynne.tumblr.com via Julie on Pinterest

So, there's this boy.


And he's so cute.


For the longest time he called me ha...ha...HA! with a smile and a sparkle in his eye. I didn't realize that I laughed enough around him for him to associate that with my name. Now he calls me by my name and I love to hear the way he says it. He's the kind of kid that you just want to hug and not let go. And send a hug with him for good measure. But he doesn't really like to be touched. He likes to do things in his own, unique way. That gets messy but you realize you don't know how to fix the messiness without making him very upset. Then you wonder just how much of the messiness needs to be fixed. He has no idea how big of a smile he gives my heart. Even if he did just manage to get ricotta filled lasagna on top of my freshly washed hair.


I got used to him not wanting me to hug him as much as I wanted to give him a hug.


Then today as I was sitting in a rocking chair it happen. He came up and crawled up into and curled up in my lap. And it was just me and him and the ABC song as he sang broken pieces of it to himself. Then after a short few minutes passed he, content, walked away still singing the ABC's and I sat there with a heart more shocked and thankful that he was willing to share a little piece of himself with me than he will ever know. 


He decided that he needed a hug so he took one, and I had no idea how much I needed a hug, but received one. 

Source: tumblr.com via Julie on Pinterest

rain rain

It's raining and raining and I'm finding that I quite like listening to it when I don't have to worry about it seeping into our kitchen from the open air laundry room that we had. But the rain is very fitting to my mood for the day. It's just one of those days. There's not really anything that stands out that makes it bad, just one of those days. One where I'm missing Trujillo and friends and one of those days that I didn't realize I was going to have... where I am missing Zanax so much. Is it selfish to say I hope she misses me too? We hear lots of updates about her, she has become a great butterfly hunter. 

But today the tapestry went up. On a day like today, I needed "the tapestry". I should really come up with a name for it. 

I was never really one for antique malls, thrift stores I was down with, but antique malls? I just never really got into it. But for some reason several years ago now on a trip from WV to SC on my way back to college, I decided to stop at an antique mall. It could have been the several billboards beckoning to me that made me curious. And there I found something that has taken up the space where shirts could have gone in suitcases, ever since. A $25 fabric that was made by who knows who and who knows when, became mine. It has been put up everywhere I have lived since its purchase. And I just realized today after Julton put it up on the wall for me, and agreeing to move the Peruvian flag we had had there to a smaller wall so there would be space for it, that "the tapestry" kind of represents home to me. I feel that Julton and I have been in transition since we got married, and for that matter I feel that I have been that way since long before that. Going to Peru was supposed to be where I "figured out life" then came back home to do it. After we married we never really settled down, because we knew we shouldn't since we were planning to come to the US for a while. Now in WV... there's still a sense of "don't get too comfortable" because we don't plan to stay... after we know where we will go for school. 

So, today after Julton pinned up the tapestry to the wall, I felt a strange sense of relief and comfort. All from a piece of fabric. Kind of weird for a person that doesn't consider herself very attached to "things". But in soon or not so soon future when we find ourselves in another city going to school, in a city where we may or may not settle down for a while, "the tapestry" is going to be there. 

basketball and poetry

I have really been looking forward to Saturdays. Not because the weekdays are so bad, they are actually quite pleasant, but because however pleasant weekdays are... Saturdays are still without compare. On Saturdays Julton and I get out and explore. Figure out that I don't know my hometown as well as I thought I did. Find hopefully inexpensive ways to spend time together. I've mentioned I don't like buying gas... well after traveling 50ish miles to get to somewhere ... so that you can go somewhere ... let's just say there aren't many pennies left over to play with. 

Thankfully they advertise even free things to do in the newspaper! So even though we think we were the only ones not family members or teachers there, we went to "Poetry Out Loud" a poetry contest for high school students. Mostly because it was free. And there was supposed to be a couple of celebrities there. But mostly the free part. 

Verdict? It was fun! (Julton might tell you otherwise since I caught him falling asleep.)

But even Julton liked the part where Amber Tamblyn (who we both recognized from House) and here mother came out and did a skit of poetry mixed with singing and guitar playing. 

Overall we enjoyed it, even though we almost didn't go in because everyone else we saw going in had on suits. 

They did not list a dress code in the paper. 

We also went to a basketball game to support/surprise the son of a friend. They were 4 years old. I think you know where this is going. Hilarious! Julton enjoyed that more than the poetry. My favorite part was one little boy, the smallest of all, spinning in the middle of the court as though he didn't have a care in the world... or anybody watching him.

Bert Elliot: a faithful star, rising night after night for Christ - Blog - Eternal Perspective Ministries

Bert Elliot: a faithful star, rising night after night for Christ - Blog - Eternal Perspective Ministries

Hearing the news and reading the article above, I feel so surprised. The Elliots were very good to me in the short time that I was able to know them. I attended a Bible study they had in their own house, for a while. Until regrettably teaching a class took over that hour in the week. I saw and experienced first hand their generosity and selflessness. My heart and prayers go out to Mrs. Elliot and their family, as well as the church family in Trujillo. What a sweet man of God he truly was. 

reverse culture what?

I've been neglecting blogging and spending more time (or wasting time? -debateable) on Pinterest. Laughing at this like this:

Source: polyvore.com via Julie on Pinterest

And listening to people like Iron & Wine ... Ingrid Michaelson and The Civil Wars on itunes that I have downloaded from NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts or Daytrotter. Love those.


But mostly right now I am drinking ginger tea and trying to fill up on vitamin C to help me get this cold the outta here. I've had a cold since we got here, and after it turned into an ear infection and I started antibiotics... the antibiotics are gone now and I am a little paranoid about getting sick again. Julton tells me that I am a dramatic vomiter and nose blower (that might be TMI ... sorry) so me blowing my nose during nap time at the daycare is not going so well, I wake the kids up! 


And since I have been doing things like this... I haven't even loaded or finished for that matter, the post that I started quite a while back... so here it is:






So far being back home, Julton and I have been invited to and participated in a lot of thing that I didn't even do the whole 18 years of my life that I lived here. It has been fun to experience them with Julton and see his reaction to everything. 

Monster Jam, for example.

Last night (several nights ago) we went to see a country music concert. 



Dia Frampton, the opening act, is not country. (which relieved me, country music and I are not the best of friends... but country music and Julton are getting along better than I had dreamed or hoped) She has a beautiful voice and fun songs. I loved their performance and am sad that we couldn't drive to Pittsburgh tonight to see her play again. Her record is out, in case anyone would like to surprise me with a gift :D


- the second act by the way was SUPER country and I caught him listening to it on youtube the next day.


To close... just a few or not so few random thoughts of things that I have noticed since coming back to the USA. A friend of mine asked me a few days ago what was the hardest thing to get used to in Peru... and to be honest it was hard to answer because I could only think of things I am having a hard time adjusting to now! I finally came up with not having things like mixes and sauces readily available to buy or that canned foods were more expensive... but after a few years I got used to figuring out how to make my food without all of that boxed and canned stuff and realized how much healthier I was for it... which means that since being back in the states and experiencing fresh food being more expensive... let's suffice it to say that my body and I are not happy. Thus more ginger tea for me. 


1. We are currently living where I grew up, which is miles from anything and in the middle of the woods. It's fun for Julton because he feels like he is in Moyobamba again ... except for the fact that it is so cold right now. Ironically Julton hasn't felt bad at all, I've been the one with the cold. But the cold and this cold that I have have both made it hard for me to get out to run. Thankfully Julton agreed to go out with me yesterday when the weather was prettier. Apparently the neighborhood isn't as safe as it used to be and I'm not supposed to go out running alone. Coming from our neighborhood in Trujillo, I did not see that one coming. 


2. Everyone is on a diet!! At least most people that I have met. And to be honest, diets annoy me. Or at least confuse me. Or maybe it is just the word. I think that if you are going to change the way that you eat, that is great... but make it permanent. More a lifestyle change than a temporary fix. 


3. I miss walking everywhere. And I don't like buying gas. And by the way I think that Julton is still a little shocked that I can drive.


4. In orientation for my job someone asked me if I had any gum, and in church I see candy and lotion passed around. And it just made me think that the only thing I was ever asked for in Peru when I was out in a crowd or in church... was for toilet paper. :) (You usually have to carry your own for the bathrooms there.) Not a bad difference, just a difference that I noticed. 


5. I do not express myself well face to face in English. I start to ramble because what I am saying doesn't make much sense. It makes sense in my head but not when it comes out. Thankfully the people this has happen to have been very patient with me. But it makes me start to think, if it is like this for me... what must it be like for Julton? Although I guess that I understand his fight with English because it was/is like my fight with Spanish. But me fighting with English? Ugh. Sometimes I feel like people look at me and think, isn't she supposed to be a college graduate?


6. Someone told me before coming back that I would remember things the way they were but they would have changed and that would be difficult for me to adjust to. Okay, That two way street is no longer a two way street. But what they didn't tell me was that I was going to pretend to remember things and get them completely ridiculously wrong. Then do things like go into blockbuster and expect to be able to rent movies as if it were the library. When my reaction to the guy asking me for money was "What? I have to pay??" I'm pretty sure he thought I was either sarcastic or just weird. 


7. And choose your own ingredients style restaurants like Subway or what we most recently tried Qdoba? I wanted to tell them just to pick out the ingredients for me and surprise me. The food was great but I'm not used to having so many options. 


8. I think my face gets a little red when I get called honey, darlin, sweetheart etc. Because I am used to being called names (I'd rather not hear) by guys on the street that usually are a little distance away anyway and you can pretend you didn't hear it. And maybe hearing "hija" (daughter) or "amiguita" (little friend)...but not honey from someone that is giving me the total of my order or refilling the water I told them I was done with anyway. 


9. People really like to buy things. Things they don't really need. I like to "go shopping" but usually don't actually buy anything. I would like to say it is because I don't have any money anyway, but it doesn't seem to stop other people.


10. I miss having friends close by. to be able to call someone and say hey see you in 5 minutes at..".."  In Trujillo I lived just a few blocks away from some of my closest friends. Here the closest one lives 2 hours away... TWO HOURS! After our visit this weekend, when leaving I thought to myself that it was way easier to live another continent away from her rather than so close yet so far away. That's just torture.


*Please note that Im not trying to sound negative if it sounds that way. I'm just noting some things, Julton and I both are having good and bad days with "culture shock". 


I also... really miss my cat. She is having a blast living in the jungle now, but wow I miss her. Even if she was crazy. 

becoming reality

This is definitely one of the coolest things that I have found lately. This lady takes pictures that children have drawn and makes plush toys out of them! What a cool gift that would be! 

Check her out at Child's Own Studio

groundhog day? groundhog day.

Something quite mind blowing has happen. I'm working with kids. And I am enjoying it!


Now if you know me at all, you know that it's not that I don't like kids or have something against them... but at least my first choice on where to spend 8 hours out of my day would not be with a bunch of children. 


But alas, I had the opportunity to work at a daycare/preschool. And here I am , spending eight hours a day being spit up on, rocking babies and changing diapers, holding toddlers hands as they learn to walk, and helping after school kids with their homework. 


And it is all working out really well. If you can imagine me feeding and rocking one baby while bouncing two others with my feet on bouncers... that's how my week has gone. Some of the kids don't notice me, and some of the kids are in love with me. And I love each of them. In just a couple of weeks. I think some monumental bridge has been crossed. Officially. I realized it a few days ago when it wasn't so scary to change a diaper. Then again yesterday when I was helping a little boy learn to eat his cereal. Then it really set in today when I got to help a few kids with their homework and their English. The place I am working is probably one of the only places in our area with a concentration of kids that don't speak English at home. And even though I don't speak their languages either, (I haven't found one yet that speaks Spanish) when I told them about how lots of people called me July instead of Julie in Peru, they looked at me with big eyes that made me think they thought I could understand them. And then they taught me how to really pronounce their names and let me help them understand their homework. 


I've made myself agree to work on not showing them too much special attention though. Even if they make me feel giddy and at home and not lost, I don't think the other kids would understand that. 


Today one of the kids was very skeptical about a groundhog having a day and him deciding if we were going to have Spring or Winter and why everyone was so excited about it and him having to color a picture about it. I tended to agree with him but I tried not to let on. 

Settling In

In order to know what it means to become American, you must know what it means to have been something other than American.

- Meri Nana-Ama Danquah
Becoming American

I found this book at a used book store pretty soon after arriving here in the US. It is a collection of personal essays of first generation American women. And is really interesting to read. To read what they went through/experienced their whole lives. To compare it to what I felt living in Peru and moving back. It's helpful in processing Julton and mine's own feelings about being in the US. 

We've been here a little over two weeks and very busy for all of it. Julton jumped right into his studies and I into looking for employment. Of course, we've had a lot of fun in our spare time, too :)

Julton is a natural at shooting a target with a gun!

in between

Waiting in an airport for 10 hours for your next flight is not so much fun. Especially when there's only one option for food, and their mayonnaise has no lime, and their ketchup sucks, too. That's when you know you are caught in the middle. Oh, Ecuador. 


At least there is free wifi here, they've got that going for them. And some fun earrings that I found that are made out of the seed from a palm tree. They look like the bone or elephant tusk jewelry except vegan friendly. Very cool. 


We are nearing the end of our long stay here in the airport and about to head out to Miami! Immigrations here we come, we've got a visa and we've got a sealed envelope just for you.


Since I've had plenty of time I was able to upload the pictures we have been taking the past few weeks. Meeting up with friends, visiting some new places and saying goodbyes...

There used to be enough beach there where the waves have covered, to play and lie on. They are working on it now, or are in plans to, to restore it. 

Christmas puppet show.

Christmas fireworks after Christmas dinner complete with hot chocolate at midnight on a summer night, at a friend's house. (Thank you, Rosa!)

Zanax meeting one of her new roommates. 

It rained A LOT in moyobamba. Everyday. 

But we still went fishing... and after Julton tried and tried to "help" me because he was convinced that I wouldn't know what I was doing... I caught the biggest one! 800 grams.

Our fearless guide.

Julton's little cousins pretending to be natives, playing in the yard and eating aguaje, a jungle fruit.

Father and son waiting for our luggage at the airport. Julton's dad traveled to Lima with us.

We got to meet up with and go out with our good friends from Trujillo that now live in Lima. I met Katy on my first day here, when I couldn't speak a bit of Spanish. And we have been best friends since. I wouldn't have been able to buy anything, walk anywhere or speak to anyone had it not been for her.

new year!

Happy New Year!


We brought in 2012 peacefully at home while the street outside not so peacefully celebrated the new year. The street in front of Julton´s family´s house has been built up with bars and clubs over the past few years. So even though we didn´t actually go out, we still felt like we were in the party. 


But we actually spent the night at home baking a turkey! I`m not exactly sure why but Julton´s mom was convinced that I´m an expert on turkey cooking. I´m not sure where that came from. But thankfully it all worked out! And it was my first to bake. I also made sweet potato casserole. It was Julton´s family´s first time to try, and they liked it!


It has rained every day if not two times a day here, so it is making it a little difficult to make plans. We have been trying to get out to hike up one of the popular mountains that you can see from nearly everywhere in the city, but it has been raining too much so far. i have no idea how people get their laundry done here, everytime we turn around Julton´s mom or grandmother are bringing the laundry back in because it is raining. 


But, even in the rain we went fishing yesterday. We were determined to go fishing, even though it started raining. We calmly waited for the rain to pass, which is did. But 5 minutes later we looked up and saw another wave of rain coming in our direction, literally. So we waited it out and  looked for the owner of the fish farm. which was a scavenger hunt in itself. Then we were handed our tree branches with a hook attached and a piece of styrofoam as a bobber, and set out to fish. Julton was really worried that I didn´t know what I was doing and was trying to do everything for me every few seconds. Apparently my fishing history has never come up as a topic of conversation in our relationship. He didn´t believe that I knew what I was doing, that is, until I caught the biggest fish of the day! About 2 pounds! Pictures to come soon. 

rain rain rain

After finally having rested up from our bus ride, I´m realizing and remembering why I love the jungle or at least Moyobamba so much. 


So many fruits. So many foods. So many trees. So many nice people.


A pijuayo is a fruit from the amazon jungle and this is the first time that I have tried it. The trees it comes from are very tall and skinny. And it is difficult to eat. I don´t believe that it gets eaten raw. You have to boil them first. Then peal and eat the fruit that tastes a little like nuts and a little like something I can´t put my finger on. It gets made into drinks and ice cream too!


Aquaje is another amazon jungle fruit. It has a hard shell that resembles fish scales that have to be picked off first. It is a little messy. You can eat it raw plain or with salt or sugar. It also gets made into drinks. It´s pretty delicious. And apparently good for female health.


We have been eating a lot of pijuayo and aguaje. Amongst a lot of other things. And Julton has beein going between his parents house and his grandparents at each meal time... which would explain his stomach ache!


Yesterday we went to visit a smaller city just outside of Moyobamba where Julton has some relatives. One of the daughters is studying tourism so she took advantage of the opportunity to show me around. I learned a lot. Including that there was a legend that there were dwarves that would come out of the river to make people disappear into the woods, at one place we were visiting. As I looked around she said, but not anymore!!
It rained on our way back and I woke up last night to hear it raining heavily oustide. Zanax doesn´t know what to make of that. She is still hiding under the bed. She tried to catch the birds in Trujillo but I think the quantity of birds in Moyobamba scare her. Julton´s sister´s kitten is so curious about Zanax´s litterbox and likes to play in it, which she doesn´t like one bit. The poor little guy really wants to be friends with her but Zanax won´t have it. 


Today Jultons mom took me over to the stadium to meet her niece that works there and to let me go into run. But the running didn´t work out so much since it rained so hard last night and the track is made of mud. So Julton took me out to the other side of town to a tiiiny concrete soccer field , where I could run. I nearly crushed a frog in the process and was nearly trampled by a horse since the soccer field was literally in a field where horses were grazing. 


So far I am loving our trip in Moyobamba. As always. It´s so easy to relax here. If you don´t mind getting rained on. But the rain is a good thing, since that means there will be water to take a shower. This is the second time that I have been here and the water has been turned off for one reason or another, so it is either bucket showers or wait until it rains! Or go to the thermal baths, instead!

Christmastime

Christmas this year for us was very fun and special.

A few weeks ago we had sold our Christmas tree/decorations since we knew we would travel right after Christmas. Then about a week before Christmas we had everyting boxed up and sent to Moyobamba, early to make sure it got there with no problems. 

So we were sure that we would spend Christmas in an empty apartment, eating whatever food we could find in the supermarket since we didn´t have a stove anymore. A far cry from last year when we cooked Christmas Eve dinner for ourselves and a friend that couldn´t go home for Christmas. 

But we have such generous friends and this Christmas was more than we could ever have imagined.

Saturday evenign we went to a special service in our own church to celebrate Jesus` birth. Everyone shared in paneton (a special christmas treat made of bread with a few pieces of fruit) and chocolate milk while we watched a fun presentation a friend made for the kids with puppets and lots of characters from around Peru and the world. 

We then went over to visit the service of the catholic priests that I have been teaching. It was a very interesting service for me. The music was beautiful. 

Then we went over for the midnight Christmas dinner with a friend, Rosa`s family. We loved spending that time with them, getting to take part in their traditions and food! As the clock struck midnight we all hugged each other to say Merry Christmas, and drank hot chocolate and eat paneton. then we set off fireworks.

The next day after going to church we went again to a friend´s house, Jamesson´s, to have lunch with his family. And later got together with the missionary families for a Christmas dinner. 

That was a lot of food! And we loved every bit of it. We are so thankful to have so many people that care about us. It was a really special and unforgettable Christmas.

The trip begins.

Safe and sound in Moyobamba. 

I`m not sure how to reflect on the bus ride here yesterday. It was the craziest that either of us have taken. 17 hours. +2 more of waiting for the bus to actually arrive. Julton and I were the only passengers getting on the bus that origionally came from Lima. And since it was 3 am, the bus station was closed and dark. Thankfully there was someone there to let us in to wait. So it was us, a sleeping caretaker, Zanax and a creepy soap opera playing on the TV while we waited. 

The actual ride was annoying in that it was very informal and everyone just sat down wherever they wanted or could, ignoring their tickets. So Julton was forced to the back and I to the front. That was hard since we were on a mission to keep Zanax quiet and somewhat comfortable. Thankfully later we were able to sit together. Zanax did better than we expected. Although we had to get her out every six hours to give her a few more drops that the vet had given us to keep her calm. She rode for a while in my lap and was very content. Until the end of the trip when a little girl though that it would be fun to meow at her to get her to meow back. Then she started to get a little anxious. 

I lost track of how many stops our bus made to drop off passengers and pick them up. The majority of the trip was in the day so it was a hot and sweaty trip. Thankfully our window opened. Although the one behind us was shattered, because we later learned that the bus had nearly been robbed as they left Lima. Someone threw a rock at the bus shattering the window, but they didn´t rob the passengers - only the driver. Nothing like hearing that the bus you are on was just robbed to help you settle down into a long bus ride. Thankfully nothing like that happen on our leg of the trip.

The guys sitting around us at first began to complain about the cat, saying that it smelled (which she actually didn´t). But after Julton offered them cookies (that we had brought so that we wouldn´t have to buy anything to eat/probably get sick) and one of the guys some medicine for his nausia (and later a ton after everyone figured out that he was a doctor and a walking pharmacy) they were all buddy buddy with us. And after one little girl got sick and we offered her some wet wipes, they all decided that we had everything anybody needed. 

Oh but the view! I`ve only ever taken night buses to the jungle and since this one was in the day we got to see all of the beautiful views that Peru has to offer. Coming from the coast was passed through farms and then through as far as you can see dessert. From there we went into the mountains, the kind that are bare and mostly rock and have lots of goats. I lost count of all the goats. Then we passed through lots of rice fields. Then huge mountains somewhat covered with trees. Then even bigger mountains covered in thick green. At one point we were on the top of one mountain looking down on another and the river winding between the two. In and out of fog, rain and sun we went until we arrived.  

Because there were so many people getting on and off the bus I didn´t take my camera out, but I don´t think that the pictures would have done it justice. 

Now we are relaxing in Moyobamba, making plans about how to take advantage of our two weeks here. And trying to get out to the thermal baths as soon as possible.

Zanax is a little less than comfortable. It is her first time out of the city, and she has lots of new friends to make that she is a little less than pleased about. She sits on our bed hissing at anything that dares to enter. She spent the majority of the night under the bed though so it is an impovement that she has come out. Then the rooster that crowed scared her and she went back under the bed. I`m glad that we have some time to be with her while she gets used to everything. Right now the only thing she doesn´t hiss and growl at is her litter box. 

the processing process. of feelings.

I think that I have pretty much accepted that I am a terrible blogger. Once again, sorry for the lapse of time between blogging. If you are reading this and have read before, you should probably just sign up to receive email notices of when I actually do blog instead of checking. Sorry!


But I do have a reason. Certainly not an excuse but a reason. As to why I think I haven't been much for blogging as of late.


Blogging requires processing feelings. And I haven't been so into processing feelings lately. It's painful. Julton and I will be moving to the US soon, and although I'm excited for that adventure and seeing family and friends, I'm so not so happy about all that I am leaving behind. Things change. People grow. Trujillo will be completely different one day when we see it again. And although both Julton and I are from more rural areas and not so used to a city, Trujillo is where we have made our life together so far. And it holds a lot of people that we care a lot about. People that have been irreplaceable as friends and mentors and for some helping us get through the first chapter of what it means to be married. 


I'm not really into processing all of those feelings about how I'm going to miss all of these people. But I am trying. Because when you don't process feelings... weird little outbursts start to happen. Like being in the market and emotionally breaking down on the lady that has been there for you day in and day out selling you veggies. She gets confused and you embarrassed. 


It's awkward.


Or just randomly spurting out a confusing mix of words to someone that you're not sure if you are going to see them again but you want them to know how much they mean to you although you don't want to have to tell them goodbye. And you are confused about if you are able to speak any language at all. 


Then you do it again the next time you see them.


That also gets awkward. 




So, here we sit in a nearly empty apartment. No stove, that we excitedly bought after having been married nearly a year. No washer that we were so thankful for after many a day and night trying to keep up with washing laundry by hand. Just some clothes and each other. Oh, and a cat :) all waiting to go to the jungle for a visit before we leave. I can process how much I appreciate the ability to have all of those things. And that it is going to be really weird to use a dryer to dry my clothes. But the people part, that's harder to process. 


But this morning I officially finished my last class with one group of my students. And the processing process has started. 
I'm really going to miss my students. They have kept me humble, made me laugh a ton, and I learned a lot of the English and Spanish language right along with them :P


Julton and I will be spending Christmas here in Trujillo, then we are on our way to the jungle for New Years and then off the the US!

sushi

This past weekend: Good Sushi and Good Conversation.

I don't eat sushi that often anymore so I do often forget how much I love it. Although I'm not too much of a fan of how much they love to put sweet potato in it here. Or dunk it in some kind of flavored mayo. But hey you can't win them all. 

Conversation: win. I met up with a friend that is one of those kind of people that you can spend 4 hours talking to and not realize that so much time has passed, look down at your phone and realize you have lots of missed calls from a worried husband. :/ oops. 

But we've always got lots to share. My friend is Peruvian and her husband is Columbian. I love to listen to their experiences living in Peru and as a mixed culture/country marriage. It's fun to see what we have in common and what is different. Often there is more in common than we expect. 

bananas tiny peppers and ants, oh my!

I have been learning a lot this year about how to use a big wooden bowl and a palm - sized rock correctly. And also not come away from it eating dinner with a throbbing palm. It takes skill, or maybe just repetition until you can't tell that it hurts anymore. Yep, maybe that's it. 

Upon my mother-in-law's second visit to stay at our place, she presented me with the rock telling me that she noticed that I didn't have one. I thought it was a curious thing. 

Then she showed me how to use it. 

We've made tacacho, fried plantains mashed (with said rock) with pork fat. I never imagined myself intentionally putting pork fat into my food to make it tasty. But I do now. 

Then I figured out that I could make hummus, which I don't have a food processor for and my blender is not up to. That was very difficult and I'm pretty sure Julton's mom that I was crazy. But she liked it!

Also, those little peppers are THE best. I usually don't like spicy things, but their flavor is magical. Just magical.

A 'typical' dinner around our house recently. 

It's ant season! Yes, ant - season. 

Our friend Kenedy explained to me that for this kind of ant they wait until night time, out at the farm, and go out and make a fire near the ant hill. Then the ants come pouring out and they scoop them up by the bagfuls. 

Julton's parents have come for a visit this week, which means... more and more jungle food. When they come to visit bananas, different kinds dried meats, juanes (banana leaf wrapped packages of green rice and meat), peppers and different kinds of sweets ... are all guaranteed to be lunch. 

media agresiva

Bit by little bit Peru, or grocery shopping experiences in Peru rather, have been turning me from my passive ways and a little more aggressive each day. I haven't figured out yet if that is a good thing. 


I'm really not a pushy person, and I am quite content waiting for what I want/need. Until it comes to the 3rd person in a row pushing in front of me to get in their order to the guy at the fish counter, then I start to get impatient. 


The first year I quietly looked on in shock. The second year I turned to giving the person dirty looks. This year... I've started speaking up.


And I have been surprised over and over again at how many people just look at me as though they haven't done anything wrong. Or like today when I told the impatient woman behind me in the check-out line that she was stepping on my foot and could she stop? She didn't say "sorry" she said... oh... "y como cocinas esa zapallito??" I started to get agitated and I caught myself catching her use the form "tu" instead of "usted" with me and all I could think was... excuse me? you don't know me and you've been stepping on my foot? what makes you think we are buddies? show some respect! 


I think it is time for me to spend some time in the jungle now, and get away from the city. 

they whisper too loud for me.

Apparently this song came out last year. But I just found it today and I love how fun it is. It's one of my new happy songs. I have no idea who she is or am sure if I like her other songs, but I love this one. 


You just can't help but swing your hips can you?