Sand Boarding at Conache

This week has mainly consisted of spanish and eating lunch with the students. On wednesday I did go to the 'gringas' bible study which I really really enjoyed. They are looking at the book Crazy Love which is all about knowing how much God loves us. It was asking us "are we really totally in love with Jesus? Or do the words halfhearted, lukewarm and partially committed fit better?" I found this really challenging looking at my own life and asking myself do I really show Jesus that I love him by the way I act and how I spend my time. I am looking forward to the next study in a couple of weeks.

On Wednesday night Pam and Rich had some friends over and Chris barbecued Bolivian style. The food was sooo good, I would definitely recommend a Bolivian bbq. On Thursday morning Pam and I went into the centre of Trujillo and she took me round the big market there. It was amazing to see all the variations of food and the different ways they were displayed, although I would say that a lot of the meat looked disgusting.

Bolivian style bbq 

My next lunch..

Yesterday I went sand boarding with all the students which was so much fun. To start the excitement we had 10 of us in one car which was a huge squash! When we got there we rented 3 sand boards (snow boards) between fifteen of us and then walked about ten minutes to the dunes. On our walk the students taught me the words for each of the animals we passed- chickens, cows, turkeys, and donkeys.  The scenery all around was so beautiful - muy lindo - with dunes and huge mountains surrounding us. The walk up the dunes was killer though and by the time we reached the top we all were basically dead. We all managed to have one go sand boarding down the dune which was so so fun but really scary as well because it was so steep. 

On our way to the sand dunes!

The view as we walked 

Climbing the giant dunes

Uno, dos, tres, sonríe 

Little boy fishing 

Lizzie and I

Last night we all had a movie night at Anne-Laure's house and watched Argo and everyone was really nice and let it be in english with spanish subtitles. I was very thankful for that because otherwise I would have been completely lost! Tonight we are barbecuing again and then at 8.00pm I'm going out to youth group.

A New Roundabout

The weekend has been really busy- teaching my first english class, the graduation for all the students at Capacitation, going to the mall, youth group, Church and watching soccer. One thing that beat all of that though was going to watch the 'inauguration' of a roundabout on Friday night. So you would think.. the opening of a roundabout, no big deal but let me tell you, you are very wrong. Positioned at one side of the roundabout was a brass band and next to them was a marque filled with decorated chairs  for the neighbours to have special viewing of the opening. Luckily we made the cut for 'being neighbours' so we took seats to wait in anticipation for what the night held. Crowds were surrounding the roundabout, along with a variation of camera and tv men. To begin the night, a creepy mime artist danced around the audition and of course, being a gringo trying not to look at him, he picked me to have his photo with. Next there was a long speech given, the national anthem was sang and many photos were taken. Finally the process of the opening began. A large piece of plastic was covering the statue in the centre of the roundabout, so slowly that was taken off. Again photos were snapped at every possibility. You would now think that that was it, all finished but no. The night had only just started. Peruvian dancers danced the national dance- the Marinera, horses were ridden around the roundabout, fireworks went off and wine and nibbles were served. I had to remind myself that this was all just for a new roundabout. 

                                                                 Dancing the Marinera

The statue in the centre of the roundabout

Little girl dancing

Mime artist 

Lizzie and I after the celebrations

Peru, you get better each day

Two weeks has gone past so fast. This week I've been going to the devotionals at the Church each day then having spanish in the afternoon with Lizzie. I think I am starting to understand a little bit which is rather useful since all the talks, meetings and activities are done in spanish (obviously). Tomorrow I'm giving my first english lesson at the orphanage with a class of about 8 boys I think so hopefully they will understand what I'm trying to teach. I've also realised by helping Lizzie that we have different words for things than the Americans/Canadians- Bin (garbage, trash), Trousers (pants), Rubber (eraser).

Yesterday I went to a fruit market for the first time- there was so much fresh fruit, it was amazing! 

Peruvian fruit market

There weather here is constantly sunny and getting hotter day which I love but I do have to admit though that I'm slightly jealous of missing all the snow at home. 

The contrast in weather 6000 miles apart 

Yesterday I think I had my most interesting meal yet- fish head.

He was looking at me 

God has been so good to me and He's showing me new things each day. 

"Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts."1 John 5:21 

I read this verse the other day and it made me remember to keep perspective of what life's actually about. 

Huanchaco Beach

The weekend has been and gone once again and we're back to Monday. Lectures start at the college early this morning but lucky for me I'm not going until ten. On Saturday afternoon we went to Huanchaco beach with Louis and Anne-Laure which was really nice. We jumped in the waves, played with sand, walked around the market and watched the sun go down. The waves are perfect for surfing so I'm going to try and learn while I'm here.

Holding the sun 

Buried in the sand 

Sun setting 

Playing in the waves 

Yesterday I went with Chris and some of the other students from Capacitation (one of the courses running at Church) to a smaller church about twenty minutes away. It only had about 20 people including the ten of us who came from CBT so it was a very different experience.

Funny story of the day- a lady sitting behind me asked Chris if I was his daughter. He either looked very old or the lady thought I was really young. 

Later on I went with Pam to an evangelistic night at the church that was being run by the students. There were dramas, a testimony, songs and a small talk. Luke 5:27-32 How many times has God called you? And what is your answer?

Huaca, combis and the orphanage

Today was filled with so many different things. This morning I went to these sun and moon temples with a family from Cajamarca, her parents and Chris. It was really interesting learning a bit about the history of the Moche people and it was amazing to see some new scenery. Did you know, Trujillo is actually a desert?! It was really hot as well and it didn't really help that there was hardly any shade. From these temples we walked to a place that had a pool for lunch however when we got there we quickly found out that they weren't actually serving food. No swimming today then. To get back to the church I had my first ride in a combi (a small, rickety bus filled with people, some even hanging out the side.) It was rather exciting for me. I wanted to take a photo but didn't think it was really appropriate. We went to another place for lunch so I got to try a peruvian dish- potato and spicy sauce to start, spicy fajita beef on top of rice and potato for the main. They really like their carbs here!

After lunch I went with the Twinems to an orphanage just down the road a bit. There were 26 kids ranging from the age of 2 to 16. They were so so cute giving me big hugs and massive smiles and some of them gave me a tour of the place so that was really nice to see. I was asked to teach some english classes there over summer so I think on a Friday and Saturday morning I will be doing that and I might even get to help out at a baking class! Yaaay! 

Tonight I went to the prayer meeting at the church which was really good even though I don't understand most of what's being said. Pam thankfully translated a bit for me though. Probably going to bed soon, although tonight I feel surprisingly awake compared to other nights. 

The Twinems Tortoise!!

Inside Huaca de la Luna

Huaca del Sol

From French to Spanish

I've been here nearly a week now which is a bit crazy. A bible course started running in the Church on Monday so each day we go to a devotional in the morning from 10-11am. This is given by a french guy and translated into spanish by a peruvian- a very strange experience. Yesterday and today however I think I managed to understand a little bit which is an improvement from the first day. By the end of it my brain is slightly fried though. I'm having spanish lessons with a really nice lady called Lizzie at 4pm every afternoon and the deal is she teaches spanish to me and I try and teach english to her. Yesterday we also had lunch with all the students at the church so that was interesting trying a proper peruvian meal. There was also a debate about whether or not I should drink the juice but the conclusion was that I may as well because I'm here for more than 2 weeks. Lucky me.

Pam the mum in the family I'm staying with loves baking too so it's great! She made this amazing chocolate cake last night which we had with Pizzas from Papa Johns- two for tuesdays.

Malteaser cake! - I know, it looks so good. 

The view from the apartment 

We are having loads of people over for lunch today so it will be pretty busy and then after I think we might go for a walk to explore a park down the road.

Inside the apartment 

Peruvian's know how to party with style

So I finally arrived in Peru yesterday after a total of 30ish hours of travelling. The last part of my journey was an 8 hour bus journey from Lima to Trujillo which in my mind wasn't going to be very fun. I was very very wrong. The bus journey was like travelling first class- massive seats which turned into a bed, a pillow, a blanket, a tv, dinner and breakfast. I felt like a rockstar on tour.

The Peruvian Bus

The family I'm staying with are lovely- Pam, Rich, Lucas (who's 4) and Emily (nearly 2). A missionary guy Chris from Bolivia is also staying with us at the moment because he's teaching part of a training course that's starting in the Church on Monday. I haven't seen a lot of Trujillo yet apart from the Church, the mall and the crazy driving. The peruvians somehow manage to fit cars in to gaps that would only fit half a british car!

Today I was lucky enough to experience a one year old's birthday party and trust me, you haven't been to a real birthday party until you go to a Peruvian one. So the party 'started' at 3.30pm but naturally people didn't start to arrive until at least 5.00pm. (We were the first people by a long way.. 4.15pm) One lady and baby even turned up at 7.00pm! The theme was Dora the Explora therefor everything had dora on it and they even had two characters walking about. Food was handed out constantly, games were played, music was on and kids were running about. It was great fun!

Game: see which child can feed their mum the fastest

The food table- purple corn jelly, drinks, popcorn, cake

All the children with Dora

Massive Pinyata 

Tomorrow is Church, then out for lunch and I'm not sure what after that. I'm having a great time so far and thank you to everyone who is praying for me. I really appreciate it!