Well, short term team season is over and I am settling into Life in Peru Without STT. It is different, but I enjoy them both. My time now is spent finalizing accounts from teams that have come and gone; paying bills for the teams; doing final administrative work on the teams; and already planning for next year. I am also working more with our new Fellows. I have had them over once a week for the first 2 weeks they have been here and think it will become a weekly occurrence.
I always did enjoy entertaining and it is really fun to go shopping for groceries, figure out what to cook and how to make that work here, and then having people in the house. Last Thursday we had sandwiches (ham, turkey, roasted eggplant and bell peppers for the veggie lovers, avocado, basil, and cheese) and mexican salsa. It was fun going grocery shopping for all these fresh veggies. Here you have to wash your fruits and veggies with chlorinated water (or we call it a bleach bath). So, you come home from the grocery, fill the sink, add just a small bit of bleach (a few drops or no more than half a capful) and let it soak for 5 to 10 minutes. For the basil and cilantro, I just swished them around the water real good on the leafy side. I will say after putting the veggies in my dishrack to dry there was a ton of dirt in the sink! But it is fun to me. I enjoy the adventure of shopping and expanding my vocabulary. Often I double check what I am buying by looking in my small dictionary that I carry in my purse. "I think Pavo is turkey, but is it? Yes, there it is in the dictionary, it is indeed turkey."
The girl Fellows and I have also started a Thursday prayer group. It was really encouraging. Our theme verse is 1 Thes. 5:11, "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." It was a great time of encouragement and prayer. I am looking forward to our time together on Thursdays. And we decided to continue Thursday night dinner afterward and we just won't invite the boys until about an hour and a half after we start prayer group. So, I am looking forward to our year together!
Also during my time of just living in Peru, I've joined a local gym. I had not had time for any exercise and it is good to get back into a routine of working out. So far I am just going to different aerobic classes, but I really enjoy it. The music is very LOUD though!! And I do mean LOUD!!! The Peruvian culture itself is very loud so this should not have surprised me! Despite the loud, loud, loud music, I do enjoy the classes. I even caught myself counting in Spanish during one of the classes. So far, Fight Do (similar to Tae Bo) is my favorite. I like the music, the instructor, and his enthusiasm. I also have found some public tennis courts. My next item on fitness agenda is to find a tennis partner. I think a few Peruvians I know play so that is my next goal.
I've added a few new pictures to the Trujillo album of life in Peru. check them out.
God has blessed me in so many ways and I am ever thankful for my life here in Peru!
