After we got back from the Gira trip, I still had a week and a half in Peru. The students were on their winter/spring break, so they weren't around. We were able to spend this time relaxing a bit after a full week before and touring the country a bit. I did a bunch of random things, so most of my mini paragraphs won't be in any specific time order.
We got back after driving for 12 hours back from Puno about 5 in the afternoon. (Yeah, we left at 5 that morning. :) We had a ton of luggage, so we took everything off the top and sectioned and carried everything to the place it belonged. Our pile, Pat and Wendy, bedding, etc. We were hungry, so we all collectively decided on the chicken place for dinner. We were really tired of potatoes and slightly craving meat. The dish we always ordered at the chicken place was 1/4 chicken and french fries. The best part was the salad bar! Fresh vegetables were scarce in Puno! Techis (dorm parent) and her kids came along to dinner with us. Her husband was still gone on a trip, so she needed some company. I think she is Rachel's closest friend there. Little Milka (5) ran up to me when we jsut got in from Puno and gave me a hug on the legs! (so sweet!) She had to be the cutest little kid! And definitely chattery! Chicken never tasted so good that night, and wearing capris and a short sleeve shirt felt pretty good too!
That night, I did 2 fun things. We had just gotten back, so I took a shower!!! YAY! 9 days without a shower and 6 without washing my hair, it was needing some work! I also skyped my family and told them all about my week. Fun fun!
Being gone for a week makes you accumulate laundry really quickly! We had so much laundry to do because each outfit consisted of many many layers! Ariel and I were working on that pretty much the whole next 2 days, but we got everything put back in order remarkably quickly! We were filling up the lines and rotating the lines once the first batch dried etc. (It was fun hanging stuff out on the line! Except you had to turn everything inside out. Didn't take stuff out of the drier for a month though! :-)
Ariel and I were really craving Mexican food by the end of the trip. One day we were talking to Wendy and planned this Mexican feast that we were going to have that next week. We all prepared and brought different things and really did have a feast. Enchiladas, canned refried beans (YAY), tortilla chips, homemade guacamole by Ariel, homemade salsa, and fresh vegetables! Top that off with vanilla pudding, bananas, cookies, and whipped cream. I'm making myself hungry thinking about it! :-) We had Pat and Wendy, Rachel, Ariel, Bethany, Randy, and me for our dinner. :-) That was good!
I had a bit of time, and lots of stories, so I did get to skype with my friends Lisa and Rebekah. I always love talking with them...we have been friends a long time! One day I was folding some ladies Bible study booklets in the library for a missionary in the jungle and was skyping at the same time to Rebekah. When the cook came in I was glad she went quiet though. I didn't want to explain that I was talking face to face to someone over this little thing-a-ma-jig. (in Spanish) :-) I really did love to use my Spanish while I was there. I'm emailing some friends in Spanish occasionally now that I'm back. :-) And I make up random conversation to myself to keep up thinking of the words I need.
I was also able to help Rachel out with some picture slides for Oansa. She has the hard copies, but needed them on power point for all the many kids at Oansa to see. Since I knew how to use PowerPoint already, that saved her the explaining. I knocked out 4 sets while I was there which finished them up for the school year and part of next. (their school year ends in December.)
If you know me pretty well, you know that I love to go bike riding! Daniel and I usually go around Thanksgiving break together, and I always really enjoy that! Pat (late 50s) goes bike riding (for a long time) every morning. These aren't exactly paved flat roads either. :-) I was dying to go, so I persuaded Ariel. I think she liked the idea of riding bikes in the beautiful countryside more than pedaling up hills on rock and dirt paths. Hey it was fun. The seminary has some bikes that people can check out to go to work etc. Ariel and I used those, except I had to make the seat a bit higher...since I'm a bit taller. :-) We went probably for an hour and a half or so. Just saying, but there seemed to be a lot more up hills than down. :-) There were some "tricky" spots where you had to hit the rocks just right to go up them. One time Pat was in front of me and said, "Watch out for the bump". What I next saw, up very close, wasn't exactly what I envisioned. Imagine a ditch filled with rocks. If I had more time to contemplate the path that would be most advantageous to take, I might have gotten over it. Might. When I got up from off the ground, I saw that my bike's back wheel was much higher than my front wheel. That looks uncomfortable! Pat and I kept going a bit after Ariel went back. Put it this way. I was more sore after that bike ride than hiking all day at Machu Picchu! I had fun though!
Ariel and I had fun running odd jobs for Rachel. We liked going out, and if we could help Rachel (who has a million things to do) we were happy! A missionary friend needed some pictures of the Christian school in Urubamba (Heros de Fe) heroes of faith Christian school. I had helped a few times with PE with the Christian school. The Rojas and Ratkeys do a lot with that. The missionary was raising money for kids scholarships and needed some pictures of the kids. We ended up walking down there 2 times to try to talk to Mr Ratkey, and everything. I REALLY don't like to be a interference/bother/in the way... especially for taking pictures! I did it though, and it was fun seeing the kids. I'm Profesora Yoana when I'm around them. Teacher... I guess like a term of respect. Some of the teachers thought I came to teach English. Not today! Sorry...
Bethany spent a few days and nights with us part of the week. Mr. and Mrs. Rojas had to go out of town, and Rachel didn't want Bethany to miss that much school. So then... we got to have a party with Bethany for a few days! I really had fun with her! I could tell she enjoyed having an older girl to hang out with too. When I left, I think she was one of the people that had the hardest time.
If Bethany got so many perfect papers or was on time so many day, she would get to check off a box. If she checked off so many boxes, we got to go on a picnic. So one day, Ariel, Rachel, Bethany, and I went to Moray. It basically is a popular hole in the ground. The Inca's built it to acclimate the jungle plants to the high altitude and cold weather of Urubamba Valley. The lowest layer of the circle would be sheltered from the winds, so when the plant could survive in the lowest circle, they would move it a layer higher. Kinda interesting! We all packed a really amazing lunch! We had sandwiches, cucumber, carrot sticks, coke, watermelon, and a dessert. That was one great watermelon that we had! It was really really windy and really cold that day. (the one day I didn't bring a jacket) It was 2 days or so before I left, and it was fun to be able to spend some fun relaxing time with friends.
Ariel and I had fun running odd jobs for Rachel. We liked going out, and if we could help Rachel (who has a million things to do) we were happy! A missionary friend needed some pictures of the Christian school in Urubamba (Heros de Fe) heroes of faith Christian school. I had helped a few times with PE with the Christian school. The Rojas and Ratkeys do a lot with that. The missionary was raising money for kids scholarships and needed some pictures of the kids. We ended up walking down there 2 times to try to talk to Mr Ratkey, and everything. I REALLY don't like to be a interference/bother/in the way... especially for taking pictures! I did it though, and it was fun seeing the kids. I'm Profesora Yoana when I'm around them. Teacher... I guess like a term of respect. Some of the teachers thought I came to teach English. Not today! Sorry...
Bethany spent a few days and nights with us part of the week. Mr. and Mrs. Rojas had to go out of town, and Rachel didn't want Bethany to miss that much school. So then... we got to have a party with Bethany for a few days! I really had fun with her! I could tell she enjoyed having an older girl to hang out with too. When I left, I think she was one of the people that had the hardest time.
If Bethany got so many perfect papers or was on time so many day, she would get to check off a box. If she checked off so many boxes, we got to go on a picnic. So one day, Ariel, Rachel, Bethany, and I went to Moray. It basically is a popular hole in the ground. The Inca's built it to acclimate the jungle plants to the high altitude and cold weather of Urubamba Valley. The lowest layer of the circle would be sheltered from the winds, so when the plant could survive in the lowest circle, they would move it a layer higher. Kinda interesting! We all packed a really amazing lunch! We had sandwiches, cucumber, carrot sticks, coke, watermelon, and a dessert. That was one great watermelon that we had! It was really really windy and really cold that day. (the one day I didn't bring a jacket) It was 2 days or so before I left, and it was fun to be able to spend some fun relaxing time with friends.
With Alicia gone on vacation along with all the other seminary students, Ariel and I got to run some errands for Rachel. We had fun doing that! The seminary isn't a far walk from town. We enjoyed walking around, seeing the town and market, and helping Rachel out too! Rachel would send us out with a detailed map and list of things to get. If the cheese place was closed, then you can get it at Franks. There is the chicken place, the plastic store, the gas station, the place where we bought dog food, and the market. I loved going to the market! It is so full of color! 50 cent cucumbers, 2 soles worth of limon, 4 oranges for a sol, a kilo of carrots, etc. There were cheap oranges and pretty oranges....and they taste the same. :-) I went to this one fruit stand that I normally went to, and she had pretty cheap ones, but she wasn't there. The one next to her had moldy looking cheap ones for a high price. I didn't get any there. (she was a few soles higher than the last time I bought them from her) I was walking along the street, and saw someone on the side of the road selling some. Those were also 4 for 1 sol, but were tiny. I persuaded that I definitely needed 5 for 1 sol if they were that small. :-) I really had fun with those market runs, and it was something definitely different than here in the states!
I'm so glad that God put Rachel, Ariel, and me together for my last month there. We all really enjoyed doing things, spending time, and talking together. One night we stayed up until past 11 talking. We were all in the mood for hot chocolate, so we made a few cups and put some 3 Musketeers in for extra chocolaty flavor. I love hearing all of a missionary's stories.
I think the Tuesday before I left, the Lovealls and 2 other missionaries got to Urubamba from Lima. It turned into a 3 day drive, and after the got back, all of them were coming to Rachel's house for dinner. The Lovealls had been gone for a few months in the states, and are a very important part of the ministry in Urubamba. They have 6 kids, and one was in the states to start college. Ken and Sharon Loveall, 5 kids, 2 other missionary guys, plus Rachel, Ariel, and me all in Rachel's kitchen made for a fun afternoon. We were really hungry because they didn't get there until about 3. We made spaghetti, garlic toast, and salad. Making food is a bit more challenging when you can't run to Walmart and grab a bag of mixed salad. We made a LOT! (like a few pounds of spaghetti noodles) We had to make the sauce, brown the meat, but the most time consuming was the salad. We didn't have fresh vegetables the week before in Puno, so we wanted a big salad! You had to go to the market to buy everything, soak it to kill whatevers, peel, shred, and cut everything! The whole lunch turned out really well, and we had enough leftovers to last the rest of the week! When we brought dinner that night to the Lovealls house (from the giant chicken nugget place) no one was hungry! We sent over food for their whole family for a meal the next day. We were eating on that for a while!
Thursday night we had the normal church service in Urubamba. I love the Thursday services! They have a special time for prayer and requests. I said to pray for my trip to the states because I leave in one week, and thanks to God for my time in Peru. Bethany was sitting next to me, because she was still sleeping over that night. She was like, "You said that right!" Improving I guess? Not the hardest stuff to say. The music was beautiful, and I enjoyed singing. After service, I got to talk to some friends from church, and it seemed like they were saying good-bys. "I'm still going to be here Sunday" It was sweet though, and I miss them.
Sunday church was kinda normal good. Sunday school, music, teaching, talking afterwards. I did get a fun surprise though! Raquel was there in the morning, and we got to talk a bit. I didn't think I was going to see her again while I was there, so it was an added bonus. :-) I have a beautiful sweet card from her...It's a treasure! I gave out a lot of cards to people who impacted me, and those I befriended while I was there. It was just a little way I could say thank-you. :-) I put a picture in everyone's card, and I hope that they think and pray for me often. I sure do for them.
My packing wasn't too bad. I got all my clothes washed, and everything was in 3 drawers, on top my dresser, or in my part of the closet. I left some stuff that I knew Rachel could use, or some clothes that I knew I wouldn't use. :-)
On the night before I left, we went out to dinner at the roasted chicken place. When we were walking back, we ran into someone from church and said, "We are going to miss you." I think that kinda sums my 2 months up. I really got to know the people. I miss them, and hopefully they miss me too. :-) It was a great 2 months!
Inca ruins (Moray) that we went to go see on our picnic
Old Oansa pictures that I got later from Wendy's camera. Bad quality, but I got to hold the flag one night for pledges
Raquel helping the special needs girl
Pictures of students from the Christian school
Bethany and me
All the Oansa leaders! Love this picture!
Lis Carmen helping with the pre Oansa game
Pardine family... Eric and Cassandra, Joshua, Stephen, and Gabriella
Book time
Me helping Ruth
Game time! You can do a lot with an Oansa circle, cups, and balloons
Our Sebic shirts the morning before I left. Wendy brought over cinnamon rolls and I needed a picture with her, and all 3 of us happened to be wearing our shirts.
Seminario
Evangelico
Bautista
Independiente del
Cusco
making computer flash cards
Our picnic! It was soooo fun!!!
Watermelon!
Pretty!
Rachel, me, Ariel, and Bethany
The cook's daughter, Eliada
Bike riding with Pat and Ariel one morning.
(nice mountains huh? Getting too used to Florida flatness again:)
Walking in the market and had to get this picture. I love this town's outfit. It is so colorful! You can tell where a person is from by their dress a lot of times. Especially by the hats!
