I mean, every day we learn something new here, but last week was something else. We are having a tough time keeping up and keeping everybody informed. We are trying though, I promise.
So, I spent all my free time on Mon, Tues, and Wednesday trying to do last minute shopping in order to get a few packages in the mail for Christmas. I couldn’t find all the supplies needed to mail a package–boxes, bubble wrap, etc. (Never found those, by the way. They only sell them at the post office.) Then on Thursday we finally had it all together and Wes was minutes away from going to the Peruvian post office (called SerPost) when Derek tripped on his step stool and fell on the kitchen tile, busting his chin open!
We took him to an emergency clinic and he had to get five stitches! Don’t worry, he is doing fine. He’s a tough little guy. Acts like nothing ever happened.
Then, Thursday night from 6-10 PM I got to go to my first Peruvian wedding shower. My Spanish teacher, Cynthia, is getting married on December 26th. It was fun! Tara and Alison went with me and we had a great time. I am looking forward to going to the wedding, too. They are serious about their parties here. From 6-9 appetizers and drinks were served. The meal was served at 9, which was pork roast with an awesome dessert bar with crepes, ice cream and lots of fruit. Cynthia’s sister is a talented singer/songwriter and so she entertained us throughout the night. The shower was held in Cynthia’s grandparent’s backyard, but it felt like we were in a beautiful garden the way it was decorated. Another cultural difference is that the guests don’t bring gifts. When you walk in the door you hand over cash as you sign in. And showers typically have a lot of hostesses (like 20 or more), who give the bride’s family at least $35 each to help pay for the shower. You are expected to have a nice, fancy shower here. If not, then, as Cynthia said, “Your guests talk bad about you and it gives your family a bad name.”
Saturday night was a story to tell, too. We got invited to a friend’s 6th grade graduation ceremony for his daughter (the school year here runs from March to December). Mark went with us and I’m really glad he did. He helped us with directions, and we soon found out how it seems there really is safety in numbers. The school is only 7 miles from our house, but it took us an hour to get there because of bad traffic, construction, and detours. So yeah, we got a bit lost. The school is in downtown Lima. Not the safest part of town. And the ceremony was supposed to last from 6 to midnight! After driving through some sketchy neighborhoods, praying that we didn’t run into a dead end, or run into a mob of guys, and after dodging whistles from cops trying to pull us over (they just stand in the street and as of yet, don’t get in their cars to come after you), because aint no way we are stopping… we finally found the school. Then we were like, UH, WE CAN’T LEAVE THE CAR ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD HERE. Not too bright of us. So we decided for Wes to just run in and tell our friend hi, and that we needed to get going, because we had to get the kids in bed (it was already almost 8 by this time). Our friend was nowhere to be found and everyone there was dressed in suit and ties, and nice dresses. They looked at Wes in his polo with looks that said, “Gringo, you are in the wrong place.” They were right.
We have many lessons being learned and stories being added to our growing list! Thanks for walking alongside of us.
