Things I miss...

I've been here just over a month and I have decided that in the spirit of thanksgiving, I'll write about things I didn't realize I should have been grateful for. Let me preface by saying I am not complaining. Really! 

Here goes, "Things I Miss" in no particular order: 

10. Showers. Here in Chulucanas, we are in a drought. This also means we don't have running water most of the day. We have these big buckets full of water in the bathrooms and we take bucket baths. Sometime in the early morning (when it's way too early for me to wake up) we get water and Sr. Vivi refills the buckets. And hot water? Yeah that doesn't happen here....

9. Air conditioning. I know, what did I expect?! It's really only bad from about 10am-5pm. Here in Chulucanas, the temp hovers around 90 degrees most days. It's dry. And there is a lot of dust in the air. I rarely leave the house between theese hours. Not that it's any better in the house. I typically sit in these rockers in the shade and dream of Huarmaca days...they tell me it's much cooler there! The plus side to this...I really don't miss hot showers ;) 

8. Normal speed internet. How many failed face times? Skypes? And let's not even talk about how long it takes to load my facebook page! It seems to be significantly worse the more people that are using the signal. But even when it's just me, it is soooo slow!

7. TV guide. Ok don't laugh. I'm trying to learn the language here. Do you know how useful it is to watch tv in Spanish? Just watch tv on the internet, you say? Right, please refer to #8. I really don't enjoy watching tv too much. I like watching movies. Either way, if I could just read the guide, I could decide what looked halfway interesting. Alas, I have just stuck with our tele novela "La Guerrera" which airs nightly at 9pm. Asi es la vida. 

6. Church hymns I know. First of all, I love that they sing so much in church here. Even daily masses, they always sing. The difference is that none of the churches have hymnals in the pews. I suppose the people would probably take them home? They tend to sing the same songs, and therefore everyone knows them by heart and doesn't need a hymnal. Except me. 

5. Piano. I could probably learn the songs if I had a piano and could play them and practice. Most churches back home have pianos and I would have no shame going to the church to practice. I haven't seen a piano in a church here yet. Even in Spain I had a piano. Although I am not a super pianist, I really do love music and I miss my piano. Maybe I'll find a nice house when I come home and get my piano back. That would make me so happy :) 

4. Spinach. I think there is very little nutritional value or flavor in iceberg lettuce. But that is the leafy green of choice here. I haven't seen spinach yet. Maybe it's iron I'm craving?? I just know that a big spinach salad has sounded sooo good for the last few weeks. 

3. Completely contrary to what I just said, beer and pizza. Need I really explain myself? 

2. Cherry coke. I really am not a pop drinker. But it seems the main options here are Inca Cola (a sort of cream soda flavored gaseosa), Coke, Coke Zero, or 7Up. You don't find the million varieties of vanilla, cherry, cherry vanilla, etc. here. It's best that I don't drink it. But on these hot afternoons, I've found myself dreaming of cherry coke more than once!

1. And since I decided to countdown from 10, I suppose I should finish it off. On a slightly different note, I miss me. I met with one of the sisters of Mercy, who is also an American, today. Sharing my feelings with her was such a blessing. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't be here, I'll never learn the language, I don't know anyone, etc. She shared that she also had those same feelings when she came. Just as a grain of wheat must die to produce much fruit, let me be humbled here. Do not be afraid. Me. It is so hard to express my feelings in Spanish and I feel like the Anna everyone is seeing isn't really me. Maybe a mix of culture shock and missing family and friends. Don't get all excited yet..I'm not coming home yet! Just wishing I felt like I'm where I belong. God brought me here, He'll bring me through it!

Ok, enough mushy! Of all the stuff I miss, I really am grateful for this opportunity to be here and the kind sisters that I am able to live with. And, there is some really great food here that you can't find in the states, so I shouldn't complain! I'll probably find myself missing parts of Peru once I'm back home! Much simpler life here, and that is something I can continue forever. 

Catching up: Chulucanas, Piura, Ordination

Total bummer....my first app fail on the ipad. I had two posts all ready to upload but internet was going suuuper slow. So, I (get ready for genius move here) deleted the app and re-downloaded it. This bright move also deleted the drafts. So now, I will make one really long post and probably not be as detailed. Sad face. 

I don't remember the date for this, but Sr. Jospeha and i went for a little hike up a "mountain". Chulucanas is a valley kind of.... It's got lots of big hills around it. Some of the hills are close, but most are more mountain-like and far away. Anyway, it took us all of 20minutes from our front door to the top of this hill. Here I am looking over the river that no longer exists. Yep, dried up, looking at a sandy riverbed. 

Classic Sr. Josepha pose: 

This one makes me laugh. It makes it look like a really technical climb. I had come down to take Sister's pic and was trying to go back up. Seriously, wasn't that steep, just loose dirt. I should have just run up, but I did it nice and slow and made it super difficult. Not a mountain climber I guess? But, I do love them!

Made it! The star and lights on the letters are just there for Christmas. This is the Hollywood of Chulucanas sign!

Afterwards, Sr. Jo treated us to a few too many scoops of ice cream..Dessert first, lunch came later ;)

Dec. 9th-The day after the feast of the Immaculate Conception, I made a day trip to Piura. It's a big city an hour long bus trip away from Chulucanas. I just go to the city center here in Chulucanas and pay 4 sols to board a bus, then I sit and wait till the bus fills up. Once it's full, it goes to Piura. All day long, people just coming and going. I mostly just walked around Piura. It's a big enough city that I didn't want to wander around too much and get lost. I stuck to the same streets, saw the local street market, a few big shopping centers, the bridge and then I headed back home. 

This here is the cathedral in PIura: 

When I got home, we walked a block down the street to this youth event with our bishop, Monsignor Daniel. Around a hundred kids aged 10-14 ish showed up. We sang P&W, heard some vocational testimonies, had Monsignor give a short talk, and had a light dinner. I thought it was really nice. Made me miss my TEC days...

Monsignor Daniel is originally from Chicago but has lived here over 40 years. He is so loved by the people and such a joyful person himself. Every time I see him he always greets me so kindly, you'd never know I've only met him a few times. So blessed to have him here. 

Thursday afternoon Sr. Jo and I decided to spend our afternoon at the public pool. We were pretty popular. According to these boys pictured especially....here I caught a pic of them all staring at us. All. Day. Long. We played with them and talked with them. They all wanted to know where the gringas were from, how old we were, what we were doing there, etc. You'd think after a few hours they'd stop staring. Nope. After this pic, I went and had a talk with them about how they shouldn't stare and laugh at people. I told them in my country it wasn't very nice. They tried to act like it was normal to stare here, but I finally got out of them that we were fun to watch bc we were different, the "gringas". They eventually left, but I wouldn't be surprised if I was the first white girl they'd seen or Sr. Jo the first black girl, or maybe the 2 of us together was quite something. oh well! It was a very nice day none the less! 

5:00 am Friday morning, the feast day of our Lady of Guadalupe, we left the house the board our bus for the 4 hour trip to Chiclayo. Monsenor Rovert F. Prevost, orginally from the states I believe, was ordained bishop of the diocese of Chiclayo yesterday. It was a standing room only Mass that was over 2 hours long. But, I'm really glad I was able to go. 

In the back of the church was this huge replica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. All those flowers from the people on her special day. Also, the bishop specifically requested to be ordained on this day. Cool!

The newly ordained bishop is somewhere in this crowd of people. He actually had a group of about 10 young men in a circle around him to protect him. I could be mistaken, but I don't think we had to get a security team for any of our bishops in Kansas.*Cultural differences*

After Mass, Sr. Vivi, Josepha and I went out for lunch with a few priests and seminarians from Huarmaca (where we'll soon be going). We got back on the bus at 4 and made it home by 9pm. A long, full day. But all part of the fun! 

Killing time just before the ordination. Love my coffee! (even if it is mostly milk!)

Just a few more days till Sr. Saane returns and we head up to Huarmaca. I'm ready to get this show on the road!!

More pics from Cajamarca!

Sr. Josepha took some pics in Cajamarca and I just got them off her camera. So in case the 20+ I uploaded last time weren't enough, here are some more!

Me and Sr. Vivi at the Plaza de las Armas

The whole group, minus Sr. Vivi:

Me and Sr. Josepha in an old monastery/church/hospital de Belen: 

All those steps..to the chapel and the view at the top!

On our way down! 

Lazy Sunday afternoon update....

This is Chulucanas, Peru. Famous for ceramics, key limes, and mangoes. 

I've been here since November 20th. Hot and dry. Dog days of summer... ;)

Our dog Bobby

Tourist in Cajamarca

Maestras católicas, Maristas, Buen Socorro, and Redemptoristas...a reverse nun run is what I did over the weekend...kinda ;) Young religious sisters  from the area of Piura get together annually for a little vacation. This year, 5 were able to come and they planned a weekend trip to the touristy town of Cajamarca. I was given the option to stay in Lima or to join the sisters of their trip. I felt like I was a little outnumbered, but I had a really nice time. Rather than visiting each of their convents and learning about their lives, we all met here and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them all! 

The convent where we stayed. 

San Francisco church right in the center of town:

Some dancers we encountered along our tour. I really like the music from this region. 

Halfway up the mount, looking Dian on the city. 

A little over 400 of the steps to get to that little chapel...but the view was worth it!

Of course a snack break at the top is always a good idea for the tired tourists. 

After 400 steps, here's the view of that same chapel from the other side. 

Of course, the tourist pose! I did get a little sunburned ;)

I admit it..Kansas girl fascinated by the fish shop. And the fellows were nice enough to pose for me! Boy did it stink in there!

In our downtime, I loved watching the hummingbirds at this tree in our hostel/convent. You have to look closely to see him-they move fast! 

We bathed at the Incan baths. Natural thermal springs. I should mention that we didnt have water at our hostel, so this stop was one of my favorites! We woke up at 4:30 and arrived by 5am do we didnt have to wait in line. Popular site. 

Fresh bread on a Sunday morning. 8 for 1 sol. So yummy!! 

Or a fresh chick also available...

Or cuy (Guinea pig). Dead or......

Alive. You choose! 

The sisters on our hike at the granja porcon. 

While the sisters took naps, I went on a guided your all by myself. I met a lot of neat people and was reminded how much I love traveling solo. 

This bridge was over what the called the rio grande. (Not sure if that's the real name). The villagers rake advantage of the clean water as you can see the clean laundry laying out to dry on the riverbank. 

This was fascinating to me. A necropolis. Evidence of over 300 graves here that trace back to 1000 years BC! It was called the ventanillas  (from the word ventana-little windows) Human remains are found in those little windows.  

Near the end of the tour, our guide serving up some chicha. A typical drink down here made from boiled corn and probably a lot of sugar. 

Now I'm back in Chulucanas. Pictures from here to come later. Having difficulties syncing my pics from iPhone to iPad hopefully just due to slow connection here. Me and technology don't get along well! This post is Fromm iPhone. Que rollo. 

Bus to Chulucanas

Nov. 19, 2014, 7:00pm

16 hours on a bus, at least that's what they tell me I have to look forward to! I'll arrive in Chulucanas Thursday morning. Friday morning I will go with Sr. Viviana and Sr. Josepha to Cajamarca. I've heard it's kind of a touristy place but honestly have no idea what to expect. We'll just be there a few days and then we'll go back to Chulucanas where we'll wait for Sr. Saane's return from the Philipines before heading to my final destination of Huarmaca. Many of you have asked where I'll be, or for an address. With all this travelling, now you understand why it's hard to give you one just quite yet!

I've never been on a bus like this. Double decker with a roof. I paid 90 soles (~30 dollars) to ride on the first floor. They called my fancy seat a semi-cama (semi-bed). It looks like those business class seats you pass on the airplane as you walk back to your tiny economy class seat. It reclines back nicely and they even gave me a mini pillow and blanket. It's really a pretty fancy looking bus! 

We departed the bus station at 3:00pm and it took us about 2 hours to get out of Lima due to of a lot of traffic (typical always here it seems) and the fact that Lima is huge! I'm really enjoying the scenery though. Scenery....Grey skies, looks like it's going to rain. People, so many people, even on the outskirts of town. People walk in between cars trying to sell snacks or bottles of soda to drivers. Other venders sit curbside cooking up yuquitas, churros, anticuchos, and so many other things. The people here are poor and they sit streetside selling just about anything a person could need. 

As we reached the outskirts of Lima, the landscape got a bit more mountanous. By this point, the bus was moving so I wasn't able to take a good picture. But I was fascinated by the homes these Peruvians live in. What I would typically look at and consider and abandoned shack is considered home to many here. Looking out my window I see the mountainside covered in tiny little homes painted in bright colors. Most roofs seemed to just be a piece of metal laid atop the house. Some were leaning to one side like they were ready to crumble. I honestly thought we'd reached the abandoned part of town until I noticed many of the homes had laundry hanging out to dry. An eye opener for me..how easy it is to take for granted all I had back home. 

Eventually we made it to more rural land. Mountains that seem to be made of sand alone, and the ocean just below us. I noticed a lot of little boxes (like 1' x 2' boxes) that had flowers in them. I could only assume these were little memorials for drivers that drove off the road. Scary. We've driven through a lot of little towns since. Not so many businesses, but a lot of those tiny little colorful homes. A different life they lead out here. They've told me the people in the north are poor in a different way than those of Lima. I think I've gotten just a tiny view of that on this bus trip. 

We just finished up dinner: Rice and chicken and mysterious fruity looking sauce. For dessert, a tiny little glass of coke. It came in a cup about the size of a dixie cup you use in your bathroom! Probably a good thing though....I was told the bus doesn't stop unless you have to go #2 and seeing that I forgot my toilet paper (not provided on bus!), I prefer to not fill my bladder until we're closer to our destination. My poor kidneys!

The big double decker bus...and me with my colorful Tom's. Thanks, Mom!

The mountanous desert view on the way out of Lima...Lots of colorful houses in the distance.

The mountain of rice and slice of chicken with the mystery purple sauce...I'll be lucky if I escape without a Michelin ;) 

Here's a little gem from my trip to the zoo with Sr. Rosie yesterday. Her face was really one of fascination..her very first selfie ;)