Mom's Guest Blog

¡Hola a mis amigos!

Jenn asked me to write a guest blog about my trip to Peru, so here it is.

First let me say that I am very glad I had the opportunity to visit and experience a different culture. Second, I will say that I could not have done it without Jenn to translate for me. Very few of the people in Chimbote speak English. More do in Lima, but not the taxi drivers. I was even chastised by the priest at St. Francis who said that next time I should learn Spanish! I do agree that if one is planning on an extended stay, it would be best to know the language.

First impressions:
• Waiting in line at Immigration (Customs) and hoping I wouldn’t be asked any questions
• Seeing a mob of people at the airport exit after picking up my bags, and wondering how I would ever find Jenn - luckily she spotted me
• Big hills (small mountains?) in the middle of Lima
• Heat and dust!
• The wonderful hospitality of the sisters in Lima and Chimbote
• The beautiful coastline on the bus trip from Lima to Chimbote
• Memorials (shrines) along the road on the bus trip
• The crowded sidewalks of downtown Chimbote

Favorite memories:
• Jenn’s birthday celebration and the “hora loca”
• Lunch with the other missionaries on Jenn’s birthday
• Visiting with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd (with Jenn translating)
• La Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) in the neighborhood streets and shrines at the different stations
• Easter dinner at the missionaries’ house with the Sisters of the Incarnate Word
• Watching the NCAA men’s basketball championship at a sports bar in Lima
• The folk dancing show at the hotel in Lima
• Spending time with my baby girl!

Other memorable events:
• Not having “new” American money, so the moneychanger wouldn’t take it. Then having just enough soles (Peruvian money) to make it to Chimbote.
• Crazy traffic! – yet I didn’t see any accidents
• Meeting Jenn’s boyfriend, Roger
• Going to El Mercado 2 de Mayo – the market in Chimbote
• Turning on the water heater before taking a shower at the sister’s house (Jenn’s house doesn’t have a water heater)
• Rain (drizzle) in Chimbote the morning I left
• Having a taxi driver in Lima take us to the wrong museum
• Misty, foggy weather the morning we went to the beach
• Getting sick the night before I left Peru – but by God’s grace being well enough to check out of the hotel the next afternoon, walk around Lima to see a few more sites, and not get sick on the plane ride home.

All in all the “goods” outweighed the “bads”, and it was a wonderful trip.

Kristin