Be Careful

I just have to relate this story from my teacher, Edgar, today. I'll try to do it justice, translated just the way he told it.

Yesterday he wanted to buy a thermos for his 3-year-old Sebastián, so he went to Estilos, a local department-type store which is actually among the more modern and "trustworthy" in town. He went to the kitchen section on the third floor and soon found a small lunchbox (with thermos inside). He asked the saleswoman the price, and when she went to find out, he found another that was bigger and sturdier. Upon opening it, though, he was surprised to see that the thermos already had water inside! In his shock, he spilled some on his hands and other papers he was carrying. When the saleswoman came back, he informed her of the "used" product, and asked for a different one. She inspected the thermos, gave it a sniff, and said, "Señor, ésta no es agua. Es pis." The thermos was actually filled with urine! EEEEEEEEW!! Can you imagine?? They had no idea how it got there, though most likely a mother had a young child with an urgent need, and she looked for the nearest thing - then of course closed it up and set it back on the shelf. Sadly, as Edgar said, not entirely acceptable, but not all that surprising either. He went to the bathroom to wash off (as usual, it had neither soap nor toilet paper), then had a few words with the woman and left, never to return.

The awful conclusion is that, from what he could see, the saleswoman took the thermos to the back room, washed it out with disinfectant spray, and set it back out to be sold again. What in the world??

Things....

We love Peru. But sometimes we miss home.

Things missed
--thunderstorms
--bookstores
--grass
--humidity (yes, really!)
--seatbelts
--summer bbqs

Things not missed
--cell phones
--beltway traffic
--driving in general
--microwaves
--air conditioning (or "climate control")
--mosquitos

To be continued...

Weird

Actually I forgot to note how watching that game last Monday was an interesting cross-cultural experience. First, having spent the last six months immersed in soccer, I had nearly forgotten the American TV sports world, just how many breaks and commercials there are, and frankly was almost bored at times. As I’ve learned, it seems to bore most of the world, who prefer soccer’s 90 minutes of action, stopped only by halftime.

Second, on two different occasions in the evening, I was asked by a Peruvian to explain American football – really a complicated game when you think about it. The abundance of rules and nuances don’t make sense to most non-Americans; again soccer’s simplicity wins out. The second gentleman, clearly a businessman just getting off work, showed up late in the game and was very drunk. He claimed to be from Puno, but spoke Spanish with a thick French accent. He really tried to understand, but preferred to shout, “Ooo, merde!” at the screen whenever somebody (of either team) was tackled. So it was that much more bizarre trying to explain, in Spanish, concepts like quarterbacks, 10 yards for a 1st Down, punting, pass interference, and the scoring system, to this well-dressed inebriated young Frenchman from Puno. At least I had somebody to rejoice with when we won.

We're in trouble now

Short update....we have crossed a new threshold. Noah has discovered how to climb out of his crib. It's a portable one, so pretty high, but he's a little acrobat. He's very proud of himself, and we're not sure what to do. Any experienced moms feel free to write a comment with things you found useful when your kids reached this stage. He gets more travieso by the day!

Monday Night....

One of the nice things about Peru, is that (even though nobody here cares) they still show the occasional American Football game on tv, and always good old Monday Night Football. I admit I've become quite settled in the culture here, and nearly abandoned American sports for futbol, BUT this week was Redskins vs. Eagles, so I couldn't pass up that opportunity. I found the nearest restaurant with cable (since we don't have it), and enjoyed a great game. Now, we have several friends who are serious Eagle fans, including at least a few who I know read this blog, so this is a special message for them, sent with the utmost respect and Christian brotherly love......YEAH!! How do you like that?? Hail to the Redskins, baby: 20-12, good guys!

Anyway, I doubt we'll see much more of the season, but it was a nice treat on Monday. Noah says, "Go 'Skins!"

Sillustani

On the way to the airport after Puno (two weeks ago), we took a detour to a recommended site called Sillustani, and we were very glad we did. As we drove through the desert, seemingly out of nowhere appeared a hill that might have otherwise been unnoticed, but for the fact that it was covered in rock mounds. Sillustani is an ancient burial site, used first by a pre-Incan culture, then taken over and used by the Incas themselves. The bigger the rock-tower, the more important the person was. The first group didn't cut the rocks, but the Incas always did (see pics of Sacsayhuaman and Machu Picchu). What I found most fascinating about the Inca part of the ruins was that it was almost like a snapshot in time. There were tombs in all stages of construction, even a workshop of sorts where they were cutting the rocks. It was all just left, mid-project, when the Spaniards came, and we see it just as it was. The location itself is quite a sight - one side looks out over barren desert landscape, and the other over a huge blue lake that may have at one time been a volcano. We had a great guide, Miguel Angel, who explained everything and took us afterward to the airport. The more we see of Peru, the more we are amazed by its beauty.

Cute little boy and his vicuña

Our guide was wonderful! Thankfully, Noah seems to really enjoy riding in his backpack.

20 months

Laura had her "Noah" post a couple weeks ago, so it's my turn. Our little man is 20 months old today! I couldn't have imagined how much he would change in these 20 months, nor how much he would melt my heart. It is incredible to watch him learn and grow, especially with language. He is constantly surprising us with what he understands, and he seems to pick up at least one new word each day. About a quarter of Hungry Noah's words relate to food, including "cheese", "pan" (bread), "'nana" (banana), and just yesterday, "pizza." He loves calling out what he sees on walks, especially "car" and "bus", And he just started trying to say his own name, calling himself "Nah-nah."

Here are some of the latest adventures....

Noah and I took an afternoon recently to hit one of the local parks while Mama studied. The real park was closed (as are most green spaces in Arequipa), but we found an acceptable alternative nearby. The main requirement for a Noah-approved park is not a playground or toys, but space to RUN! He has boundless energy and doesn't like to stay in one place for long, so we kept on the move and had a great time.

Speaking of running, Noah is becoming quite the futbolista. Throwing and kicking soccer balls are his favorite things to do outside (besides running), and he goes crazy whenever he sees a ball or a picture of one. "Ball! Ball!" he yells, sometimes sticking out his tongue on the "L" for emphasis. His latest game is to kick or throw the ball between my legs, and then shout, doing his best (high-pitched) Latino announcer impersonation, "Goooooooool!" I have no idea where he picked it up - it's not like we say that, and we don't really watch much soccer on TV. Must be in the air here.

And of course, Noah is ever the aspiring artist. He still dances to music, even to my quena melodies, high-stepping around the room and turning circles. He loves - to the point of mild obsession - guitars, or "Ga-ga" as he calls them. Several times a day he begs me to take out my guitar so he can listen or play. Sometimes we practice duets! (see above) He has his own quena as well, which he hums into instead of blowing.

Yes, our boy is growing up too fast.

One final story: Tonight we were holding him, singing just before putting him in his crib, and he began giving us each kisses, back and forth, one to the other, before finally grabbing both of our heads and pushing them together so that we would kiss! He did it about a dozen more times, giggling through it all. We sure love our little Noah.

Links, continued

For your continued viewing pleasure (and because I don't have time to post more today) I have a few more links.

Must-see, hilarious video on dads changing diapers.

Jolly Blogger with a quote from an upcoming Tim Keller book.
A thoughtful note from Coloring Girl
And a post that I really resonate with, an Invitation to the Story

More posts to come this week, with some cute Noah pictures - thanks for reading!

Puno

Last weekend we took a trip to see the city of Puno and Lake Titicaca, and had a great time! The lake, as surely you remember from geography class, carries the distinction of being the highest navegable lake in the world, sitting at about 12,500 ft. Thankfully none of us had any problems with the altitude, and we could enjoy the beautiful landscape. Puno itself was not so lovely, and there was little to do or see besides the lake, but the weather sure threw us for a loop. Our first night there, as we sat down to dinner, the dark clouds we had seen earlier opened up for a very welcome thunderstorm. This would have been exciting enough, as we haven't seen rain for months, but it then began hailing! Pea-sized hail fell for a good half-hour, leaving the ground covered in almost an inch of white.

The following day we took the morning to visit Los Uros, the floating islands. These are whole communities built on piles of reeds 3-4 meters thick, so they are literally floating on the Lake. It's a fascinating place, an ancient culture, though mostly sustained now by tourism. The Uros are a 20-minute boat-ride from Puno, and the air is so clear up that high, that just being out on the lake had a particular brilliance.

After Noah's afternoon nap, we explored more of the city, and found our way to an overlook. The next morning we finished up our time in Puno with a trip to the Yavari, a British steamboat that was hauled up the Andes from the Pacific in 1863, in parts, over a period of six years. Amazing!

The city of Puno

Plaza de Armas - always Noah's favorite spot

This is my new favorite form of Peruvian transportation. These guys are all over Puno, and they work hard!

Out on the lake, with a traditional reed boat

This was their rough visual aid for explaining how the islands work. The loose reeds (on which we stood) were stacked on top of blocks of thick mud, clay and reeds - all floating, but anchored to the lake bottom.

Reeds, reeds everywhere! They even eat the inside of them when fresh, and we got to try a few bites.

You can actually spend the night afloat on the main island in this "hotel" - rustic, to say the least. Pick your own hut.

One of Noah's favorite words is "agua", so he was beside himself to be surrounded by it on a boat.

The Yavari

Captain Noah!

Link Time

Many articles and blogs have caught my attention since I last wrote a post like this, and I wanted to share a few.

Starting with the Washington Post, I always love the annual education review, and there were several interesting articles this time around.
My favorites were: Gifted labeling, Homework, Living without electronic devices, Inner-city debating, and Sending kids to college

In the blogosphere, I still love the Internet Monk, in particular posts on Grace (One and Two), Mother Theresa, Post-evangelicals and Catholic Spirituality, a piece on unconfessed sin, and a great sermon on humility.
The title post regarding missions on "I see men like trees..." and most everything recently on emergentvoyageurs is good reading, and Towards Hope continues to be one of my favorites, especially this post on the loss of lament.

On the more political side, there's this piece on an ideological shift occuring, and another on Christians and nuclear weapons.

And lastly, for some heavier reading, there's a relatively new blog continuing the legacy of Harvie Conn, a former Westminster prof and urban ministry guru.

If that isn't enough reading, let me know, there's more. Enjoy!