droplets of learning, observations and activities

I´m sorry I have no pictures with me today but I will post some soon so you can see my new home!  Here´s a few tidbits to give you an update...

-The trip from Lima to Chimbote was loooong.  A large portion of the highway is getting redone so we were in a charter bus on a dirt road weaving through huge sand dunes, at times beautiful and at times seeming so desolate.  The rest of the trip was a highway with the coast on one side and sand dunes on the other, and there were small smatterings of tiny homes interspersed with huge haciendas (farms) of corn, hogs, strawberries, etc.  I saw a couple fields being tilled by a single farmer pushing a plow and lots of little fruits being hand-picked.  There were also a lot of hog confinements right along the ocean, and I wonder if the waste is going directly into the water, but I don´t know.

-Chimbote and the house are wonderful!  Our house is HUGE, and I am settling nicely into my room.  I have a very large window that overlooks the street, and this morning I spent several hours cleaning a thick layer of dust of the window and scrubbing the drapes!  We wash everything by hand, so it was quite the process, but I love being out on our rooftop washing and hanging clothes.  It was a very good time to be alone with my thoughts and the sounds of our neighborhood. 

-Most vehicles on the streets are modes of public transportation of a few variations as it is one of the biggest employers in the city, after fishing, of course.  We did go down to the ocean and try Chimbote´s famous ceviche, a raw fish dish with garlic and lime and some other garnishes.
-Kelli and I made our first friends!  Jefferson, 10, and Nayeli, 9, caught us leaving the house today and we have a playdate scheduled for tomorrow afternoon :)

-Marcela (third community mate) is attempting to teach us how to get everywhere.  She is a wonderful guide, but only the busiest streets have signs and the smallest don´t even have names, so it will take a little time.  I think I´ve got the ones directly nearest our house down, and I can find my way to the church (San Francisco/Saint Francis.. that´s our parish, but there are many others in the city that we will hopefully visit in time) and the sisters' house. 

-We went to Mass last night and it was great.  The music was really good, and there were a lot of people there for Mass and even for adoration beforehand... on a week night!  Of course the gospel reading was the infamous, "The poor you will always have with you."  Bleh!  Well then, I guess I will always be with them!  It´s a good reading though, lots of room for interpretation ;)

-My goal right now is to soak up, observe, ask questions, meet people, be open.  I am working to avoid judgments, conclusions, opinions, preferences.  In the next weeks, I hope to establish habits of active days, times for prayer and reflection, earlyish nights and early mornings.  We have yet to visit many of the ministries that are available to volunteer with, and we will likely start doing so next week, but the idea is to take is slow.  We want to become familiar with the community and have time to discern the options before commiting to a set schedule with certain sites. 

-Chimbote is a city.  I´m sure our neighborhood and the church community will get smaller once we get to know more people, but right now it´s a little intimidating.  There is very little structure, and at times I am tempted to feel entitled to a grand welcome or something.  It is far different from entering into a small community like Majagual, where everybody knows you are there.  I have found this to be just a little difficult but only for short moments... then I give myself a reality check.  I am in Chimbote, Peru! This is finally my life! Praise God.  Smile.  Enjoy.  Be.

I hope you feel as blessed as I do.  Peace and smiles to you.