Lunch was arroz verde (green rice) with chicken. The rice has peas, corn, and carrots in it. There was also a radish salad. After lunch, I got to talk to my mom, and then Kelly and I headed over to the rancho to set up for her first cooking class. Today was the older girls, and I think they're probably the easiest group for this task. They seemed to really enjoy the class. They made cookies that they later got to dip in chocolate and also made cupcakes. The little kids will decorate the cupcakes later. I was in charge of measuring out the ingredients. Marita was very helpful. She squeezed lemon juice for me and did a bunch of the dishes. Each time we go to the rancho, I have to go up to the roof and start the water pump. Glad I learned that trick last summer.
After the cooking class, we came back to the rancho. I took a bunch of photos of the garden and orchard for Sarah. I'm currently posting them on facebook, but they're taking forever to upload. After my plant photo shoot, Kelly and I played hide and seek with Jhon, Alejo, and Marjorie. The little boys squealed most of the time. It was really cute and made them pretty easy to find. Later they wanted to ride bikes. I don't know if training wheels haven't made it to Peru or if HdE just doesn't have any bikes with them, but the little boys don't have it too easy. I pushed Alejo around the place a couple of times, and Kelly pushed Jhon. Jose Luis was content to push his bike around himself.
Dinner was leftovers from lunch. Arroz verde has never been my favorite, so I made some scrambled eggs. I'm getting really good at those. Meanwhile, we've run out of water jugs, so we gringos don't have any drinking water. The office called the delivery people like 4 times today, but they still haven't come. I was reduced to drinking a bottle of the Inca Kola I had bought. It was great, but I hated to go ahead and use it, and that was a lot of caffeine all at once for someone who doesn't usually drink caffeine. Oh well. It's not like I had a lot of options. I hope the water man comes first thing tomorrow.
Josue seems to be doing really well. He told me yesterday that he's praying about his future because he'll be 17 in April. I wanted to jump up and down. He was in the kitchen when we helped Filo this morning, and Kelly and I got to talk with him some more. He said he wants to be a chef after spending some time in the military. Josue also helped out in the garden this morning and works as vigilante (night guard) a couple of hours each evening. He told me he gets bored in the summer (which is now for them), but I'm glad to see that he's doing useful and helpful things with his extra time.
Kelly's downstairs baking the rest of the cupcakes. I'm going to bed soon. Tomorrow morning we're taking some of the kids to a pool. How do you spell sunscreen?
I love you, and I think you're pretty.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Helping Out
Kelly braided my hair this morning, and I am enjoying it so much! OK, enough vanity. Our first assignment was to help Filomena in the kitchen, but she wasn't here yet, so we helped in the garden a bit. Kelly was there a lot longer than I because I discoverd ants and had to leave before getting bitten. I'm really allergic. The garden seems to be doing well. There are carrots, aji, and radishes growing. We helped Filomena in the kitchen by peeling and cutting carrots.
After that, I helped out in the little boys' house. Sam and Oscar had to go to a meeting, so I covered while they were gone. I played Candyland with Juan, Jorge, Pablo, and Pedro. The kids were given a bunch of board games for Christmas. The boys managed to break a big picture frame and then step on the glass. Thankfully, Peruvians always wear shoes in their house, so it crunched into a bunch of pieces but didn't hurt them. Elizabeth came to help me clean up. Also, the electricity went out, and Edwin (age 8 and a special needs kid) was completely fascinated by the fact that the lights wouldn't turn on. He also managed to start a fire outside this morning. Juan gave him the match. Edwin loves fire, but they both got punished, as they should.
Lunch is ready, so that's all for now. I love you, and I think you're pretty.
After that, I helped out in the little boys' house. Sam and Oscar had to go to a meeting, so I covered while they were gone. I played Candyland with Juan, Jorge, Pablo, and Pedro. The kids were given a bunch of board games for Christmas. The boys managed to break a big picture frame and then step on the glass. Thankfully, Peruvians always wear shoes in their house, so it crunched into a bunch of pieces but didn't hurt them. Elizabeth came to help me clean up. Also, the electricity went out, and Edwin (age 8 and a special needs kid) was completely fascinated by the fact that the lights wouldn't turn on. He also managed to start a fire outside this morning. Juan gave him the match. Edwin loves fire, but they both got punished, as they should.
Lunch is ready, so that's all for now. I love you, and I think you're pretty.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Sunday
I originally wanted to go to a different church than the one we attended in July, but the choices were to leave with the little boys at 10:15 or to go with the other houses at 8:00. That was an easy choice, but as we started to get close to the church, I realized it was the same one I had already attended. Oh well, it was still fun to go with the little boys. There were too many of us to fit in the van, and Bob the Bus had taken the other kids to their church, so a few of us volunteers caught the micro, the public bus, into town. It wasn't very crowded. We met the boys there and took them to Sunday School. They had some sort of red, flavored soft drink for them when we got there, and Jose Luis about had a fit he was so excited.
The service was good. The lyrics were projected on the screen, and almost all of the time I knew what I was singing. The sermon was a little harder. I could get the gist of what the pastor was saying but couldn't follow word for word. He spoke about living sacrificially and finishing the race strong.
Because we were taking the micro back, we could stay in town as long as we wanted, so Stephanie, Elizabeth, Tiffany, Emily, and I went to lunch at a little cafe. We all had Oreo milkshakes, which were amazing, and I had some papas fritas. I feel a little self-concious posting about eating out on a mission trip, but everything is so cheap here that it's not really a big deal. The food from my Friday night excursion totaled less than 2 American dollars, and today's food was about 5 American dollars, so we're not exactly breaking the bank here. After lunch, we ducked in the grocery store, which is humorously enough called Wong, and I bought some chicha morada mix. Gotta have something for my birthday party.
The aforementioned Tiffany and Emily left this afternoon. They were short-term volunteers from New Zealand, affectionately referred to as "the kiwis." They're on a sort of tour of South America. From here they're going to Buenos Aires and then home. They both just finished college.
I got to talk to my sister Caroline on the phone today. She's Baylor's latest and greatest Chi Omega. Even our brother Alex approves of that sorority, so I think we're good to go.
Apparently, some volunteer group donated a small pool to the orphanage. It's really just a PVC pipe frame and a vinyl liner. The boys filled it up this afternoon and went for a swim, and they had so much fun. It was great just to watch. The younger boys swam first and then the older boys. The little 3 and Josue didn't swim, but all the others did. Ashley and Hilda, the madre of the older boys' house, swam with them.
After that, I played the game Sorry with Alex and Consuelo. Then I played with Consuelo, Alex, Heydi, Cristina Grande, and Italo. Then I played with Pablo, Italo, Abel, and Heydi. Yes, I played a board game with both Italo and Abel at the same time. Amazingly enough, it went just fine.
Dinner was leftovers from lunch, only there wasn't much leftover. There's a higher number than usual of volunteers right now, and they seem to be having trouble convincing the cooks we need more food. This is another reason I don't feel bad about eating out when I have the chance. Don't get me wrong- there was plenty of rice and pasta leftover, just not much of anything else. Thankfully, I packed bread and peanut butter. There will soon be a praise and worship night taking place in our living room. I suppose that's all for now.
The service was good. The lyrics were projected on the screen, and almost all of the time I knew what I was singing. The sermon was a little harder. I could get the gist of what the pastor was saying but couldn't follow word for word. He spoke about living sacrificially and finishing the race strong.
Because we were taking the micro back, we could stay in town as long as we wanted, so Stephanie, Elizabeth, Tiffany, Emily, and I went to lunch at a little cafe. We all had Oreo milkshakes, which were amazing, and I had some papas fritas. I feel a little self-concious posting about eating out on a mission trip, but everything is so cheap here that it's not really a big deal. The food from my Friday night excursion totaled less than 2 American dollars, and today's food was about 5 American dollars, so we're not exactly breaking the bank here. After lunch, we ducked in the grocery store, which is humorously enough called Wong, and I bought some chicha morada mix. Gotta have something for my birthday party.
The aforementioned Tiffany and Emily left this afternoon. They were short-term volunteers from New Zealand, affectionately referred to as "the kiwis." They're on a sort of tour of South America. From here they're going to Buenos Aires and then home. They both just finished college.
I got to talk to my sister Caroline on the phone today. She's Baylor's latest and greatest Chi Omega. Even our brother Alex approves of that sorority, so I think we're good to go.
Apparently, some volunteer group donated a small pool to the orphanage. It's really just a PVC pipe frame and a vinyl liner. The boys filled it up this afternoon and went for a swim, and they had so much fun. It was great just to watch. The younger boys swam first and then the older boys. The little 3 and Josue didn't swim, but all the others did. Ashley and Hilda, the madre of the older boys' house, swam with them.
After that, I played the game Sorry with Alex and Consuelo. Then I played with Consuelo, Alex, Heydi, Cristina Grande, and Italo. Then I played with Pablo, Italo, Abel, and Heydi. Yes, I played a board game with both Italo and Abel at the same time. Amazingly enough, it went just fine.
Dinner was leftovers from lunch, only there wasn't much leftover. There's a higher number than usual of volunteers right now, and they seem to be having trouble convincing the cooks we need more food. This is another reason I don't feel bad about eating out when I have the chance. Don't get me wrong- there was plenty of rice and pasta leftover, just not much of anything else. Thankfully, I packed bread and peanut butter. There will soon be a praise and worship night taking place in our living room. I suppose that's all for now.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Lazy Day
Today was another really good day. I got to sleep in and made some scrambled eggs for breakfast. It's a bit like cooking when camping, so I'll be really useful now, Sarah! Roxana, Lariza, and Dante moved home today with their mom and grandmother, but they had the despedida about hour before it was supposed to be, so I slept through it. That's probably the first time in the history of Peru that any event took place earlier than scheduled.
Lunch was a spicy chicken stew served over....pasta. Psyched you out, didn't I? For those of you who've been here before, it was the meal that looks a bit like spaghetti. It was super good. I spent a bit of time on the playground with some of the younger boys. Alejo (age 3) had put his head in my lap like he wanted to take a nap, and then it became a game where they all wanted to put their head in my lap and pretend like they were a babies. I sang fake lullabies because I don't know any real ones in Spanish, and they kept wanting me to sing. It was cute and fun, but kind of sad, too, because I doubt many, if any, of them ever had that with their real mother, and there's not a lot of time for that here when one woman is responsible for 9 or 10 kids.
This afternoon Kelly did a practice run on her recipes for the cooking class. We had gas at the rancho this time. Turns out they only have one of the tubes that connects the gas tank to the oven, so we can't cook at the rancho at the same time Filomena's cooking in the albergue. That's what got us yesterday. Anyhow, Elizabeth and I were her kitchen flunkies and also her taste-testers. Not a bad job. The cookies and cupcakes turned out well. The consistency and texture were different than what Kelly expected, but they tasted great. Of course they were great; Kelly's a pro. Literally. All the volunteers enjoyed them after dinner tonight. (There weren't enough for all the kids, and you can't give to one and not the others. By the way, the name Elizabeth makes me miss my Elizabeths.)
After that, I spent some time playing with some of the older boys: the new Jorge, Abel, and Juan. Yes, I played with Abel, and no, he did not choke me, probably mostly because I refused to pick him up. He's way too heavy for me anyhow. I pushed them on the swings, and it was crazy to me that an 11-year-old boy like Jorge wanted that, but again, I think it's just that they're so desperate for attention. I still really like that kid, and I had a good time with Abel today, too. He seemed to be in a pretty agreeable mood. It's still hard to understand a lot of what he says. Jorge climbed to the top of that crazy steep slide and saw an owl over the wall in the edge of the orchard, so Abel and I went up to look, too. I taught them to make owl noises, so then we called to him. After that we played fusbol. I'm horrible at that game, but so are they, so it all worked out fine.
Dinner was lunch leftovers, but there weren't really enough, so I made scrambled eggs and used some of the sauce from lunch. We were given eggs and cereal upon arrival. Apparenty, that's included in the whopping $15 per day we pay to stay here. Kelly had fried rice with chicken made by Elizabeth. Now the guys are watching the football game online, and the girls are hoping to get up a movie night. I think that's all for today.
I love you, and I think you're pretty. (If you don't get it, don't worry about it.)
Lunch was a spicy chicken stew served over....pasta. Psyched you out, didn't I? For those of you who've been here before, it was the meal that looks a bit like spaghetti. It was super good. I spent a bit of time on the playground with some of the younger boys. Alejo (age 3) had put his head in my lap like he wanted to take a nap, and then it became a game where they all wanted to put their head in my lap and pretend like they were a babies. I sang fake lullabies because I don't know any real ones in Spanish, and they kept wanting me to sing. It was cute and fun, but kind of sad, too, because I doubt many, if any, of them ever had that with their real mother, and there's not a lot of time for that here when one woman is responsible for 9 or 10 kids.
This afternoon Kelly did a practice run on her recipes for the cooking class. We had gas at the rancho this time. Turns out they only have one of the tubes that connects the gas tank to the oven, so we can't cook at the rancho at the same time Filomena's cooking in the albergue. That's what got us yesterday. Anyhow, Elizabeth and I were her kitchen flunkies and also her taste-testers. Not a bad job. The cookies and cupcakes turned out well. The consistency and texture were different than what Kelly expected, but they tasted great. Of course they were great; Kelly's a pro. Literally. All the volunteers enjoyed them after dinner tonight. (There weren't enough for all the kids, and you can't give to one and not the others. By the way, the name Elizabeth makes me miss my Elizabeths.)
After that, I spent some time playing with some of the older boys: the new Jorge, Abel, and Juan. Yes, I played with Abel, and no, he did not choke me, probably mostly because I refused to pick him up. He's way too heavy for me anyhow. I pushed them on the swings, and it was crazy to me that an 11-year-old boy like Jorge wanted that, but again, I think it's just that they're so desperate for attention. I still really like that kid, and I had a good time with Abel today, too. He seemed to be in a pretty agreeable mood. It's still hard to understand a lot of what he says. Jorge climbed to the top of that crazy steep slide and saw an owl over the wall in the edge of the orchard, so Abel and I went up to look, too. I taught them to make owl noises, so then we called to him. After that we played fusbol. I'm horrible at that game, but so are they, so it all worked out fine.
Dinner was lunch leftovers, but there weren't really enough, so I made scrambled eggs and used some of the sauce from lunch. We were given eggs and cereal upon arrival. Apparenty, that's included in the whopping $15 per day we pay to stay here. Kelly had fried rice with chicken made by Elizabeth. Now the guys are watching the football game online, and the girls are hoping to get up a movie night. I think that's all for today.
I love you, and I think you're pretty. (If you don't get it, don't worry about it.)
Friday, January 6, 2012
Hanging Out
We picked up Filomena, the cook, while in town this morning, and she told me that lunch would be ahi de gallina, and sure enough, it was. That's one of my favorites of the Peruvian dishes I've tried. It's something like a thick chicken soup served over...anybody want to guess...rice! I ate lunch at the table of Las Chispas, seated in between Sofia (age 10) and Brigitte (age 9). I'm loving them both. Sofia is so cute and will just come over and put her hand in mine. She's really quiet but so sweet.
After lunch I spent some time in the house of Las Chispas. The kids here are divided into four houses: older boys, older girls, younger boys, younger girls. Las Chispas are the younger girls. I visited for a while with the madre of that house and got in some good Spanish practice. Then I played a game that was something like hot potato with Brigitte, Sofia, and Heydi. We played some outside, too. Kelly brought Jhon (age 3) up to our room at one point this afternoon, and he loved exploring a new space. He's so inquisitive and got it into his head that he really wanted to see my pajamas. He kept asking, so finally I showed them to him, and then he started asking Kelly to see hers.
This afternoon was a very relaxed, impromptu sort of day. It was quite nice for a Friday afternoon. Lots of volunteers were around, so there were little groups everywhere of kids and volunteers playing games or just talking. I got to visit with Josue for a while. He told me about his braces and said he was the first of his friends at school to get them but now everyone has them. I'm glad for him. He asked about our other Windsor Road Church team members, so I updated him on a few people: Emily and Camden; Brett, Jen, and Olivia Johnson; the Brooks (Josh, he asked about you specifically); Nancy. There were probably more, but I can't remember past that. It's neat to see how the kids remember people from our summer trips and want to know how they're doing and if they'll be back.
Kelly and I went over to the rancho (a building owned by the orphanage and used for several things including our sleeping quarters when we come with the group in the summertime) this afternoon because that's where she'll be teaching her cooking classes next week. The gas to the oven wasn't turned on, so it turned out we couldn't do anything, but we walked around and went upstairs to see where the groups stay. Our names were still on our doors from last summer! I did not see our furry friends Raul or Amy Winehouse. Speaking of furry friends, Treci seems to be doing well. She still barks and runs to the gate whenever someone rings the doorbell. She's got to make sure no bad guys get in. I have not been around her when they've used the intercom, though.
Tonight Kelly and I went to Trujillo for dinner with a bunch of the volunteers. We had burgers and then ice cream. The patties were super thin, so I had a double with a fried egg and papas fritas. So good. My ice cream flavor was lucuma. You know it's been a good day when you had lucuma ice cream twice! It was fun to just hang out with some of the other volunteers.
Also, tonight I met up with someone I hadn't really seen yet this trip: Mr. Hot Water. It was good to see him, and I hope we'll get to hang out again in the morning.
After lunch I spent some time in the house of Las Chispas. The kids here are divided into four houses: older boys, older girls, younger boys, younger girls. Las Chispas are the younger girls. I visited for a while with the madre of that house and got in some good Spanish practice. Then I played a game that was something like hot potato with Brigitte, Sofia, and Heydi. We played some outside, too. Kelly brought Jhon (age 3) up to our room at one point this afternoon, and he loved exploring a new space. He's so inquisitive and got it into his head that he really wanted to see my pajamas. He kept asking, so finally I showed them to him, and then he started asking Kelly to see hers.
This afternoon was a very relaxed, impromptu sort of day. It was quite nice for a Friday afternoon. Lots of volunteers were around, so there were little groups everywhere of kids and volunteers playing games or just talking. I got to visit with Josue for a while. He told me about his braces and said he was the first of his friends at school to get them but now everyone has them. I'm glad for him. He asked about our other Windsor Road Church team members, so I updated him on a few people: Emily and Camden; Brett, Jen, and Olivia Johnson; the Brooks (Josh, he asked about you specifically); Nancy. There were probably more, but I can't remember past that. It's neat to see how the kids remember people from our summer trips and want to know how they're doing and if they'll be back.
Kelly and I went over to the rancho (a building owned by the orphanage and used for several things including our sleeping quarters when we come with the group in the summertime) this afternoon because that's where she'll be teaching her cooking classes next week. The gas to the oven wasn't turned on, so it turned out we couldn't do anything, but we walked around and went upstairs to see where the groups stay. Our names were still on our doors from last summer! I did not see our furry friends Raul or Amy Winehouse. Speaking of furry friends, Treci seems to be doing well. She still barks and runs to the gate whenever someone rings the doorbell. She's got to make sure no bad guys get in. I have not been around her when they've used the intercom, though.
Tonight Kelly and I went to Trujillo for dinner with a bunch of the volunteers. We had burgers and then ice cream. The patties were super thin, so I had a double with a fried egg and papas fritas. So good. My ice cream flavor was lucuma. You know it's been a good day when you had lucuma ice cream twice! It was fun to just hang out with some of the other volunteers.
Also, tonight I met up with someone I hadn't really seen yet this trip: Mr. Hot Water. It was good to see him, and I hope we'll get to hang out again in the morning.
Grocery Shopping
Today has already been a really fun day! We went into Trujillo this morning to Plaza Vea to buy some supplies for the baking classes Kelly will teach the kids next week. She was able to find everything she needed, or at least something close enough, and we also did a bit of personal shopping. I got 4 bottles of chicha morada, 2 bottles of Inca Kola, and two packets of mazamora morada mix. Mazamora morada is purple corn pudding, chicha morada is purple corn juice, and Inca Kola is the soda of Peru. I also bought and ate a lucuma ice cream bar while in the store. Lucuma is a fruit really popular here.
It was good that we were gone because we had to stay out of our rooms all morning. Marcos sprayed bug spray everywhere. We spent time this morning before we left for town packing up everything we'd unpacked so that it wouldn't get covered. We'll be able to go back in at noon. Right now all the doors and windows are open to air things out.
After we got back from the grocery store, I got to watch some home videos with the older girls. Yamelit graduated from high school a few weeks ago, and someone had videoed her graduation and given it to her, so that's what they were watching. What an accomplishment for her! Her mom had bought her a dress for the occasion, and a lot of her family was able to attend, as well as Reina, the mother of the house Yamelit lives in here. So cool!
I think that's all for now.
It was good that we were gone because we had to stay out of our rooms all morning. Marcos sprayed bug spray everywhere. We spent time this morning before we left for town packing up everything we'd unpacked so that it wouldn't get covered. We'll be able to go back in at noon. Right now all the doors and windows are open to air things out.
After we got back from the grocery store, I got to watch some home videos with the older girls. Yamelit graduated from high school a few weeks ago, and someone had videoed her graduation and given it to her, so that's what they were watching. What an accomplishment for her! Her mom had bought her a dress for the occasion, and a lot of her family was able to attend, as well as Reina, the mother of the house Yamelit lives in here. So cool!
I think that's all for now.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Playtime
There's not much to report on the rest of today. Kelly and I did go sit with the little boys while they napped. Alejandro woke up first, so I played with him for a little while. Eventually the others got up and all the kids returned from camp. The rest of the afternoon and early evening was spent hanging out and playing with them. Dinner was something like a stew served over...rice. Surprise! I played a round of spoons with most of the volunteers while the others played euchre. Look for some great video Kelly took today of me playing the aforementioned Bailar Game with Marita. Now for some updates on kids.
I got to spend a few minutes with the older Jorge today, and I'm glad because he's the only new kid since our last visit. He seems really friendly.
I already mentioned how much Alejandro has changed. It seems that his sister Rosita (age 7) is learning to talk, and I'm so glad! She's still got a long way to go, but I can tell a lot of improvement since July. It's got to be hard to learn to talk when you're missing all your front top teeth. Rosita is very noticeably taller than she was last summer, too.
Baby Yessica is as cute as ever and is much steadier on her feet than she was this summer. David said today that if they don't get any more little kids soon, she's in danger of becoming really spoiled, and I think he might be right.
Marita is looking older and is becoming quite the beauty.
I don't think of anything else in particular at the moment. If anyone would like an update on a specific kid, let me know, and I'll tell you what I can. I just listed above the ones in whom I already noticed specific changes since last summer.
I got to spend a few minutes with the older Jorge today, and I'm glad because he's the only new kid since our last visit. He seems really friendly.
I already mentioned how much Alejandro has changed. It seems that his sister Rosita (age 7) is learning to talk, and I'm so glad! She's still got a long way to go, but I can tell a lot of improvement since July. It's got to be hard to learn to talk when you're missing all your front top teeth. Rosita is very noticeably taller than she was last summer, too.
Baby Yessica is as cute as ever and is much steadier on her feet than she was this summer. David said today that if they don't get any more little kids soon, she's in danger of becoming really spoiled, and I think he might be right.
Marita is looking older and is becoming quite the beauty.
I don't think of anything else in particular at the moment. If anyone would like an update on a specific kid, let me know, and I'll tell you what I can. I just listed above the ones in whom I already noticed specific changes since last summer.
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