Encounters

Ok, so I thought that after living in Cusco for six months now, people in my little neighborhood were finally used to seeing me. I was proved wrong today. I've found it interesting the responses I've received after greeting people on the street from time to time. People usually respond, but other times, it's as if I'm invisible and end up getting no response at all(which is fine I guess.... I am a bit out of place for them?).

Well, today on my way to work I said good morning to this older woman. She immediately started talking to me and then proceeded to touch my hair and remark about the color. And then she started talking about my eyes and how they were the color of the sky. Wow!! I'm used to kids staring or making comments about the gringa, but adults don't usually say anything It just made me laugh for some reason.

I guess it's my every now and then reminder that I'm Cusqueñian....

Looking back....

Well, the time sure has gone by super fast. As of yesterday, I have been in Peru for a year. Yikes!! Its kind of wild to think about how much has gone on this past year, the people I’ve met, the new things I have encountered, the things I have learned, and so much more. There have been lots of fun times, but difficult times as well. Even though there are people from home I dearly miss, I am so thankful to have some dear friends here who have helped keep me sane during this adventure and always seem to keep me smiling. Over all, it’s been a pretty cool adventure and I’m looking forward to what’s ahead as well!!

Here are a few of my favorite firsts in the past year....
-The end results of studying Spanish for 6 months:Abby speaking Spanglish
-Friendships with other missionaries from many different countries
-Getting to know lots of other missionaries and hearing their stories and adventures in missions
-Becoming thoroughly acquainted with the food of Arequipa
-Huge meals at lunch instead of dinner
-Learning Salsa
-Becoming a big fan of some of the popular music here
-Experiencing the World Cup in a Latin American country
-Empanadas
-A visit to one of the Seven World Wonders-Machu Picchu
-Adopting a cat
-Setting up a house
-Living in a place surrounded by HUGE and beautiful mountains
-Eating couy(guinea pig)
-Tunas
-Being involved in a ministry I have been dreaming of working with for the past couple of years
-Playing with children as a part of my job
-Going to the campo(countryside) for ministry
-The absence of a 12 hour work day
-My height is now above average
-Introduction to Burn Notice
-Really cheap produce that tastes so good!!!

Pausa

Last week I had the opportunity to go on a little vacation to Arequipa with my German BFF. It was SOOO nice!! It was great to visit with our Peruvian families, visit some places I’ve really missed, see some of our Peruvian friends, visit the school we studied at, go to some great restaurants, and so much more. . Some of the people we met with knew we were coming and some didn’t (the surprises were really fun!!). In many ways, it felt like I were coming home for a visit. It’s where I started my experience with cross cultural living and so much more. Seeing my Peruvian family was the next best thing to seeing my family in the States. It was nice to catch up with them, share about what life is like for me in Cusco and to hear about what’s going on with them as well. I almost laughed when my Peruvian mom set aside a special plate for me that was different from everyone else's(after a six month battle over portion sizes for me, I finally won!!! My plate had less than everyone else had:)

I was amazed by how much the city has changed in the past six months since I’ve lived there. There are now three more malls, another movie theater, and lots of new restaurants. Yikes!! We did visit the new spots, but really enjoyed going to old favorites. My favorite dog in the park where my friend and I were almost robbed was even there on the Sunday afternoon we went to the park.

Even though I haven’t traveled all that much in Peru,Arequipa has a special place in my heart and is my first love in Peru, so as you can imagine, it was a pretty sweet time.

How Long??

Well, for just about the past year I have been practicing the art of waiting for people(or being the person others are waiting for...). So far, it hasn't really made me crazy. For the most part, I've been alright with it and have looked at it as a lesson in patience. It is nice not to be so rushed and be pushed to be super prompt all the time. It does have it's downsides though....

Well, I was supposed to meet with someone today and as usual, she wasn't there when I arrived at the meeting spot(even though I was late, it was no big deal since that's pretty typical). I was content to just sit and hang out for a bit. Well, after hanging out for an hour, I finally gave up on waiting and called it a day and went on my way to get some other things done for the day. So, I guess an hour is my new limit....

Back to the land of the living....

Well, it feels like a month of my life is now missing. After a month of absence, I’m trying to get back into the habit of writing as life seems to be getting back to normal for me(except for feeling tired a lot of the time). I feel like such an old lady...

This past week I finally made it to the Josephine house to spend some time with the kids. It was great. Since I had been gone, one child had been adopted and a new baby has come to live there. The new baby boy is ADORABLE(he's 10 months old)!! He was stabbed and mom had left him at the hospital and we don't really know anything about dad. Sounds like a difficult situation and I'm just thankful that there was space in the Josephine house to care for this little boy. Despite the difficult situation this little boy came from, he's the most happy, easy going, good natured little kid. One of the other kids in the process of learning parts of the body and was so excited to play the “point to the body parts I call out” game. It was quite entertaining.... Another toddler has been learning to stand and walk with help and is figuring out how to pull herself up. I don't really like that I have been away for such a long time, but on my first day back,it was cool to see all kinds of new things the kiddos could do.

And......I'm finally working at the clinic full time, yay!!! One of the nurses has gone out on maternity leave, so I'll be working there full time for at least the next three months. It's been great to get back to working there full time and get to know the patients even better. We continue to be super busy just about every day we're open. It should be an interesting couple of months....

MIA

Well, another month has gone by and I've yet to update my blog. The whole month I've had good intentions to write, but it just hasn't happened. It's been a busy month. I finally started the application process for my carnet(residency card for Peru). This included a nice stay in Lima. It was kind of my first time in Lima since before that, the only time I had spent in Lima was passing through in the airport. It was nice to be in a big city for a couple of days, go to a mall, go to the movies, eat at TGI Fridays, enjoy Dunkin Donuts, and much more. I had the opportunity to meet the MTW director for Peru and spend some time with his family as well. It was a good time of rest and refreshment for me. Oh yeah, and I did get step one completed for applying for my carnet(really, there was work stuff in there too).

A couple of days after I came back to Cusco, I took my first trip into the campo (countryside-about six hours out from Cusco)for the start of a year long community health project with mom's and kids. It was quite a trip. Lots of firsts for me and plenty of surprises along the way. I WILL write more about the adventure in the near future. Right now just isn't the best time.

Last week started another new South America experience for me. I was sick last week, so had a chat with the doctor at the clinic I'm working at. The end results were me taking antibiotics and also hearing that there was a high possibility that the answer to all my issues at the moment is that I have Typhoid. Things are getting better, but I'm looking forward to being vertical again. I think my cat is enjoying having me around all the time and I have had more than enough sleep for the next year, but I would really like to get back to work, be fully functional, and maybe be outside again too...

So, that's it for now and I hope to be writing more in the near future.