Good week

I bought a guitar today! Our new friend and guitarist for the downstairs church, Frank, took us to the Calle Puente Bolognesi, where there are nearly a dozen guitar shops, mostly hand-made there. Almost all are nylon-stringed. After Frank and I tried several guitars in several stores, we decided on one and Frank helped bargain down to about the equivalent of $100, including the case. It's a beautiful instrument, and I plan on using it at the church here, and then taking it along to use in the ministry in Lima. Pictures are below.

It has been a very good week. We love our language school and have been working hard, labeling everything in our apartment, learning 60 new verbs, and quizzing each other on a long list of prepositions. Some is review, but much-needed review. The hardest (and most important) part is putting these things into context. I can sit and make verb conjugation charts for hours and it might as well be a math exercise. I realize I need to adjust the way I learn, because it is for the purpose of communication and not for passing a written test. We are also learning how to work and study together, which is new and, like hanging wallpaper or having a kid, can be a terrific stress on a relationship. Thankfully I have a patient wife, and we are doing very well. Last night we realized we had been taking care of Noah and doing many things together, but had neglected to carve out time to just talk and share things on our hearts. We decided that directly after Noah goes to bed was a perfect time to forget other things and just sit together to process the day. We began last night, talking a lot about how the Lord is teaching us to live more simply, areas where we see our own sin and need for repentance, what it looks like to truly love people, an frustrations with our own difficulties in doing so. Wow, that time of connection is so needed, and we really missed it. Now why can't I see my personal time of connecting with God as even more crucial?! I'm still subject to the American disease of busyness. Praise the Lord for his grace and gentle hand in teaching us.

Noah loves Concho, our friend who watches him for a couple hours each day. She has also cooked several absolutely delicious Peruvian specialties. Thanks, Concho!

Frank and I in serious discussion. I ended up buying the guitar I'm holding here.

In closing, Laura happened to capture Noah on video enjoying some Latin music. I can't stop watching it and loving our little musician. Here's the link where I think it's a little clearer, but I'm posting the video here too.

Alright, I think we can officially say that Noah is back to normal. He is still getting his medicine, but has not shown any symptoms in a couple days. It is such a relief to us to see him with his normal energy and appetite. We are so thankful for your prayers, and for the provision of good doctors and medicine here.

Spanish study is going well, and lots of work. We have plenty of homework and studying to do each night, and I am constantly amazed by how much I don't know. Here's our daily schedule.

8:15 am - Laura leaves for her Practica class, from 8:30 to 10.

9:45 am - Concho arrives to watch Noah, and Michael leaves for the Institute

10:20-11:50 - Michael and Laura share Grammatica class together, then Laura goes home

12:10 - Michael's Practica class, until 1:40

2:00 - Michael returns home to have lunch with Laura and Concho (Noah is already down for his nap)

The teachers are very good, and so patient. I may start writing blogs in Spanish so I can practice.

I´m including various unrelated pictures here, because I like them, and I hadn't had a reason to put them up.

This may look like a cute, happy scene, but don't be fooled. One of Arequipa's most famous dishes is cuy chactado - fried whole guinea pig, so these guys are basically waiting to be dinner at Santa Catalina.

And of course there's no such thing as too many adorable Noah pictures.

Our Apartment

Noah is doing much better today. It's the first morning we've woken up without something to clean up in several days, and though he was very sad when Mama left for class, his health is clearly improving. We are so thankful!

We have been asked to show some pics of our apartment - and are happy to do so. Actually, we've gone one better. I finally got videos up on youtube, and there is a short video tour of the apartment. As you can see, it is quite comfortable! We feel a bit spoiled here. If for some reason, the video doesn't work, or you are using dial-up, I am putting a couple pictures here too. There's another video too, of Noah's latest endeavors. I will get a few more up soon.

Gotta go study Castellano!

If that doesn't work, here's the regular link.

And the other video.

Our bedroom

The dining room/study

And our kitchen

And finally...

I'm posting a bunch of blogs today, because I'm realizing that it is probably going to be a lot more difficult to post once our studies really get going. Which brings me to my first topic:
Language School
Today, I went to the first day of our Spanish classes, while Laura stayed with our recovering son. What a humbling experience! I took the basic assessment test and realized just how far I have to go. Talk about deer-in-the-headlights. Everything I tried to get in four years of high school Spanish crammed into one four-page exam. Every subtley different tense that we may or may not have spent one week on during senior slump came rushing back to me, and the teacher could only laugh at my bewildered looks. We use what we know of the language all through the day, rarely speaking in English, and I know our speaking and listening abilities have improved immensely since arriving, but it's good to know that we have so much to learn, and so much time to practice. And it is great to be right in the city where we can walk out the door and use what we just learned.
It is very refreshing to have a bit more of a purpose here too. We have spent the last two weeks learning about the city, adjusting to a new life, and keeping each other healthy. We have toured around and have about reached that point where a vacation gets old and you either want to go home or dig into a bigger purpose. Thankfully, we have the latter. We are not on a vacation; we have been called here by the Lord to study the great language of Spanish, so we can serve and love the people of Peru and truly build relationships and community at the heart level. Mediocre gringo Spanish will not do for such a calling. Again, thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragement.

P.S. Fútbol update - whereas the city was busier than usual Saturday morning, come game time it was comparatively a ghost town. Fortunatley, Melgar won and retained its place atop the Peruvian standings. In related news, the Sub-17 Peruvian national team tied Argentina yesterday to secure a place in the Sub-17 World Cup. Even these youth games are televised nationally, and front-page news. Before that, Brazil's team scored 3 goals in the first 25 minutes and destroyed Ecuador. I think their Sub-17 team could beat the US National team. Soccer is king down here.

Laura

I'd like to take this opportunity to brag about my wife. She has been absolutely incredible in caring for Noah through all his illnesses. It is a team effort, to be sure, but let's be honest about whose arms Noah prefers to be in, and who leads the way in his day-to-day care (yes, it's wise to marry a nurse!). I am incredibly thankful for her and all the ways she keeps our household together. She is beautiful, humble, loving, patient, and deserves at least one blog post devoted to her (stay tuned). Laura is one amazing Mom, and she shows Noah and me the unfailing love of Jesus every day. Here are some pictures of her (and Noah) that I like.

Another Noah update

Wow, what a whirlwind it has been. Noah is still on the mend. It seems every time we think we're getting somewhere, he takes a step back again. It turns out he has a form of E. Coli, so we changed antibiotics. But yesterday, when we thought we were on the road to recovery, like I wrote in the last blog, he was still quite sick in the morning. We got him liquids all day, but he couldn't keep a lot down. So Laura and Noah returned to the doctor this morning, changed the prescription yet again - this time to injections instead of oral, and we are hopeful. If this doesn't work, we may try to find a different doctor. He is such a trooper, though. He really tries to be as energetic and smiley as he can when he's not completely uncomfortable (throwing up). Thank you for all your prayers, and again we will keep you updated on his progress.

With all these Noah updates, I haven't had time to post pictures from our latest day of being tourists. Now I can't even remember what day it was. But it was lots of fun! Below are a few pictures from the Plaza de Armas, Arequipa's main square. Always packed with people and pigeons, it boasts one of South America's largest cathedrals, spanning the entire block.

We met this darling little boy and his family, and enjoyed watching him feed the pigeons.

Our other major trip was to Arequipa's most popular attraction, the Monasterio Santa Catalina. This was truly incredible. It feels like you have stepped out of Peru and into Italy. A city within a city, it is extremely well kept and full of beautiful colors and scenes from cloistered life. It was a delightful surprise!

¿Soccer?

As long as I'm waiting here to pick up Noah's lab reports, I might as well give a little update on Arequipa.
Today is game day, and the city is hopping. The city's flagship fútbol team, FBC Melgar is hosting one of Lima's major teams, Universitario. Melgar is leading the Peruvian league right now, and let's just say they have a very devoted following here. Saturdays are usually busy here, but there is additional energy today. We have seen throngs of people walking through the streets chanting and singing, and the location of our apartment makes it especially exciting.
Last night when passing the hotel down the street, I saw a team of police with full riot gear and shields guarding the door. I joined other gawkers and peered inside, thinking there might be a head of state or foreign dignitary. No, it's actually just the hotel where Universitario is staying. Today I passed just as the bus was about to be escorted to the stadium by a SWAT team. Very exciting. I'm hoping to go to a game at some point, but preferably with a Peruvian who knows the ropes and how to stay relatively safe. Anyway, we'll hopefully write again soon with a happy update on Noah's progress. ¡Viva Melgar!

Noah...

Noah has been quite energetic all day, despite the fact that he has had almost nothing to eat or drink outside of nursing and medicine for almost 24 hours. He had refused all water, rehydration formula, gatorade, chicken soup, agua con arroz, and even his favorites, bread and bananas. The doctor gave us some additional suggestions for getting him to drink yesterday, and said if he didn't take those, he would need IV hydration today (not fun for a baby). So despite Noah's normal behavior, we were still quite down and about ready to give him up to the IV, when just before his nap today he downed half an empanada and several ounces of water. Leave it to Peruvian food to entice our boy back to eating. So we are very hopeful again. I'm going to get his lab results in a minute, and we'll see how he eats and drinks after his nap, and he may be on the mend. We'll keep you updated. He just needs to keep hydrated. Thank you to our medical friends for your advice, and to all of you for your prayers.

Update

Hello, just a short update here. Noah is doing okay, and often today he has been his usual silly self. He is also taking all of his medicines well, however he is not taking any of the liquids or food that he needs, so we are returning to the doctor this evening. He just needs to get some nourishment by whatever means necessary. We are a bit concerned and would appreciate your continued prayers. We know this is in the Lord's hands.

Noah, continued

We realize that the star of this blog is not either of the actual writers, so in the interest of pleasing the masses (or at least the dozen or so of you who read this), we will continue with the Noah updates.

Actually today is a rough day to speak of Noah, and we would appreciate your prayers, because Noah has had another run-in with a stomach bug, this one a bit worse. We took him to a doctor this morning after he was acting quiet and not hungry - very un-Noah-like. We got a couple prescriptions and lab test done, and this afternoon he was looking a lot more like himself, though still a bit weak. He's getting fluids and smiling, but it definitely had us worried this morning. It's certainly a lot more nerve-wracking process doing it all in a second language, but God is good, and we understood the doctor's instructions clearly. Your prayers for Noah would be much appreciated. We'll let you know how he improves.

I just got a video up on youtube of Noah (I think), so we'll see how it goes, and if we can put it directly on the blog. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjjEatknOD0

Not much new today, so it´s time for a Noah update! This amazing little boy is adjusting so well to life here, and we are very thankful. He loves walking all over our apartment, carrying around whatever he finds along the way. He still reads his books all the time - turning the pages and cooing over favorite pictures. He has his own room, where he can take all his toys out and make as much noise as possible with them. One of his favorite things to do is knock down towers of anything you put before him - plastic cups, blocks, etc.

Noah loves helping out!

But even more than playing at home, he loves to get in the Baby Bjorn and ride around town. He is such a hit, bringing out smiles and "Que lindo!" from everyone along the way. All the ladies in the tiendas like to talk to him and hold his little hands. He returns the greetings with smiles and giggles. Babies can truly be such a picture of Christ-like unprejudiced love.

At a local "pollos a la brasa" restaurant - much like El Pollo Rico or Crisp and Juicy for all you Arlington folks. Noah loved it!

At first, we were worried because Noah was such a good eater back in the States, and he showed signs of pickiness when we first arrived. No problem now, though, as we cannot give him enough. He especially loves fruit and bread, and just about turned into a mango last night. The abundance of fresh apples, bananas, pears, mangos, grapes, and pan here ensures that we will have a healthy-eating boy, even if everyone can't believe he's 14 months. I think it's the hair.






This morning we played tourist and visited some of the recommended sites. I have always enjoyed marveling at places of worship, so we saw several of the colonial churches. Really beautiful, though it's hard not to think of the cost at which they came. It is significant that there is primarily one ethnicity in power and another in poverty. Just an observation...

Little things we are learning, part 1

I am trying to remember...

-TP goes in the trash can, not the toilet
-Greet everybody upon entering or leaving with a kiss
-Everything has a fine layer of black dust within 30 minutes of cleaning
-Don't panic about the miniscule distances between cars when merging or passing
-Temperature yesterday was 28, yet balmy
-If there is someone yelling out the window of the completely stuffed bus, then there is room for one or two more
-You don't have to buy from every sincere, desperate ice cream vendor who flags you down, even if he risks his life to stop traffic for you (we did buy from that one)
-At the market, a "limón" is small, usually green, and tastes like a lime, and a "lima" is the larger, more sour yellow-ish fruit
-If dinner out costs more than $5 for the family, you found a tourist spot

To be continued....

This message was supposed to be posted yesterday, but blogger was down. Lo siento mucho.

We found our language institute today! We did this by calling and getting the exact address and instructions to tell a taxi driver. This was a better strategy than yesterday, when we tried to find it based on an imprecise dot drawn on an imprecise map by friends who weren´t exactly sure about the address. "I´m sure it´s just around this corner, Laura!", I declare as my wife smiles patiently and Noah cries, ready for a nap. It´s a good thing the taxi driver found it today, because it´s just a house like any other, with no signs or anything. We entered to a pleasant surprise! Instead of just Pedro, the director with a schedule, we ended up crashing a full blown goodbye party for some Irish students who had been there for two weeks. (We had heard that parties were common). The wildest part was that we were almost the only Americans! We met a Canadian girl who is a photographer for a doctors´organization, a missionary from London, three Swiss students getting ready for a conference on education, several other Irishmen, and a girl from Kentucky who just wants to travel. We´re very excited about the international flair of the instituto, and we got a great schedule set up, starting the following week, March 26.
We also met Concho there, a sweet lady who will be helping to watch Noah for a few hours each day when our classes overlap and hopefully teach us how to cook delicious Peruvian lunches.
More pictures. What a beautiful city!

One consolation upon waking up still sick that first morning was to see this right out our window! This is El Misti, Arequipa's most famous landmark. It´s almost 19,000 ft, and a volcano. It apparently still smokes often, but hasn't erupted in at least 500 years. The following pictures are all from our roof, giving a great view of the city and surrounding mountains.

Now some more shots of city life

A beautiful church on the Plaza de España, a bustling meeting place that is more locally popular than the more famous Plaza de Armas

Concho also introduced us to a market near the Instituto, where we got some wonderful fruits and vegetables. Adela, the owner was so nice - we will return!

A few final notes -
--an addition to the 'common mistakes' section of the last post - there are many signs for "playa" here, though we are miles from the coast. Don't think 'beach' like we all learned in Spanish 1; playa also means parking lot.
--Excellent op-ed piece in the WP yesterday that reflects a lot of my thoughts on politics. I've been seeing more movement in this direction lately, and it is encouraging.

And a bonus picture of Noah at his silliest, showing of his tongue on the airplane:

Getting Settled

Arequipa is an amazing city- full of life and more interesting every day. Yesterday we explored a bit, and I am posting a few pictures from our walk. We do not have internet in our apartment, and may not (it would admittedly be a luxury), so these last couple blogs are from internet "shops". I don´t know what else to call them, they just say "internet", but they are everywhere, and incredibly cheap - about a quarter per hour. I was noticing the mix of sounds and smells as I walked here, the former a combination of salsa music from tienda stereos, live Andean flutes playing "Unchained Melody" in the plaza, and endless car horns, many of which are made to sound more like car alarms. The aromas are endearing - bread from countless bakeries, pollos a la brasa, and cevicherias all clamor for attention. We have not sampled much of the local food, but i can´t wait.

Last night Laura went to a women's bible study in the church below us. She loved meeting the ladies, and we hope to be involved there while we are in Arequipa. (besides the spiritual blessings, it should also be a great help for our Español)

Speaking of that, we are slowly correcting some of our more common errors as we practice with anyone who will listen. First, they rarely use the word "español" here, but rather "Castellano". To excuse oneself after talking with someone, one does not say "perdón" as I might imagine, but "con permiso". Just a couple examples. Already, we both see a significant improvement in our speaking skills, just from having to make our way through conversations. We love it!
Enough talk, more pictures.

Approaching the Plaza de Armas, and the Cathedral - lots of colonial architecture.

This is on one of the bridges across the river. We will need to cross over each day to get to the Language institute. Noah was having a great time, but somehow fell asleep amist the commotion.

Looking back towards the old part of the city.

The view heading up river toward the mountains.

Well, we have better pictures, but it´s taking too long to put them up for the moment, so I will post a bunch more later. Ciao for now.

¡Arequipa!

After a rough entry in to the city we are getting used to our new surroundings. We flew in Tuesday, a rather painless travel experience, considering. Again, the gracious Peruvians at the airport came through, looking past what could have been at least $100 in fees for extra weight (requirements are tight within country) and charging us nothing. When the plane landed in the tiny Arequipa airport, we first took our time getting all of our baby gear (and baby) off, not realizing that there was only 20 minutes before it was scheduled to take off again. We hurried out the door and across the jetway, and were almost inside when we realized I had left the camera on board. I ran back but was stopped by a guard who was not impressed by my begging in broken Spanish. He finally got his boss and I was able to retrieve the camera just before they closed the door.

Our new best friends, Bob and Noel Rich picked us up at the airport and took us to their place where we are now living (they have a guest apartment below their own). They are missionaries who have been in Arequipa for 40 years! We got in contact with them because they are from one of our supporting churches, Cherrydale Baptist Church, in Arlington. Noel actually went to Wakefield High (where I taught), so she reminisced, and there we were in Arequipa, Peru, singing the Wakefield Warriors fight song. Anyway, they have been incredibly helpful to us, providing this apartment, getting us oriented, taking us grocery shopping, and bringing us a doctor. We had both been suffering from a bit of what Laura´s East Asia friends call ¨Big D¨ (diarrhea), par for the course as American travelers, but it was taking a turn for the worse when we reached Arequipa. We both were wiped out Tuesday night, though Laura graciously put up a good fight until Noah went to bed. Various effects of the offending parasites kept us up most of the night, and I was still feeling terrible in the morning, when the doctor came. He prescribed some good medicine and rehydration, and thankfully today we are both back at (almost) 100%. But wow, when you´re down and out like that, you don´t want any part of another culture or language or ministry or anything. Nothing like a stomach bug to make you long for 1st world comforts. At the same time, I can´t help but look back and think of how much I do have here. For so many people here, there´s no respite from an illness like that. There´s no doctor to come, no medicine to relieve, no family or hosts to assist, and certainly no imagined American care to dream of. Lord, let these trials make us thankful, and mindful of those with greater suffering.

Alright, the ¨long-winded blog¨ alarm just went off, so I´ll call it a day. Today we explored the city, so I´ll have to post pictures later. ¡Ciao!

Embajada

Today we returned to American soil. Yes, we entered the (somewhat) welcoming arms of the U.S. Embassy this morning, and had quite a time. First of all, the place is HUGE. Looks relatively new and very imposing. We came to work out a problem with Laura's passport. She got her passport before we were married, so after her name changed, the U.S. government added an addendum in the back, stating her new name. Apparently this method is not accepted by the Peruvian government. They would not give her a residency visa because her name is not the same as what is on the passport (front). We needed something from the Embassy stating officially that the addendum is the U.S. way of changing a name on a passport, but the folks there could not give us such a document. They did the best they could and gave us some notarized sheet confirming Laura's new name as truly hers, so hopefully Peru will accept that. If not, she may need to get a new passport (in order to get a visa). We have plenty of time, so we're not worried, just seems more complicated than it needs to be. Anyway, it was interesting to see the place - you've always got to have a visa story, right? If you visit, just be careful if you have any addenda on your passport; Peru doesn't like them.

Speaking of the U.S., I am still keeping up online with my dear Washington Post for news, and I was pleased to see that my good friend Linda Allen and the middle school where I taught made the paper! Way to go Gunston!

A few pictures of our daytrip:

Goodbye to Lima for a little while

What a wonderful 5 days it has been in Lima. We finally got out to see more of the city, though we didn't bring the camera, so more pictures will have to come later. Here's a rundown of our last couple days - nuts and bolts only, no in-depth analysis.
On Saturday, our whole team came over for lunch (the big meal here), our first time meeting many of them. Jeremy Ross is missing from this picture.



Sunday we got to worship at the church in Santa Anita, an impoverished district east of the city center. It was a beautiful time, though I only understood parts of the sermon.

That evening we went to a kids' event at a park in Salamanca - full of songs, games, and bible lessons. Great fun!

Today, a trip to the embassy and an afternoon spent with Jeremy, Amanda, Kayla and Bella Ross, who are on our team and just finished language school. They are so sweet and gave us great tips on life in Arequipa. Here's Noah with the two girls, Kayla and Bella.




Tomorrow at 2:30 we fly to Arequipa! We don't know what the internet situation will be, so we may not be able to post for a little while. The Berrys have been such gracious hosts, and we will miss the team over the next several months, but we are SO excited to dig in to Spanish study. Much love to our family and friends back home. Ciao!

A taste of our new home

Noah has just about made a full recovery! He had a big breakfast this morning involving some of his favorites - cheerios, bananas and oatmeal. He's going to have to enjoy the cheerios that we brought, because there are none to be found here. The fresh fruit is amazing! In general Peruvian food is delicious - we have already enjoyed arroz con pollo, aji, huancaina sauce, chicha to drink and mazamorra for dessert.
It turns out that we will probably be going to Arequipa on Tuesday, because Laura needs to verify some information for her resident visa. So we will head on down to the embassy Monday morning!

This is the guest apartment at the Berrys' where we are staying.

There are some shops just down the street from their house, a central meeting place for the neighborhood. We all went down last night to get ice cream.

Noah with his new friend Moises - 9 months old. Anna, the Berrys' oldest daughter loves to play with the babies.

And such beautiful sunsets!

Un buen viaje!

Our first blog from Lima - we can't believe we're actually here. A handicapped wife and sick baby notwithstanding, we had a great trip! We arrived at JFK airport 2 1/2 hours early and needed every minute of it. Laura's foot really is okay and healing, but she could not have walked through all the long terminals, so we had help. My admiration and esteem for airport employees has gone way up with this trip. Everyone in New York, Panama, and Lima went out of their way to help us. Mark Berry met us at the airport, and took us on a wild ride across the city to get to their place. Driving was chaos, much like Manila. In fact, American traffic is unbelievably orderly compared to just about anywhere else - remember that the next time someone cuts you off on the beltway. What we have seen so far has honestly been beautiful. Maybe it's all the time I've spent in Tucson, but I have been pleasantly surprised by this desert city and the mountains all around. The weather is gorgeous: it's been like a time warp going from winter to summer - we left New York at 19 degrees and today it was 85 here. We have been mostly inside taking care of Noah, but we look forward to meeting more people and exploring more of the city tomorrow, and going to church in Santa Anita on Sunday. Here are some pictures from the last 48 hours.

Driving to NYC in a snowstorm

Jamming with Uncle Matthew

Yes, that's all our checked luggage (except the baby)

We made it!