Jardin or no Jardin - That is the Question!

It is considered incredibly normal and quite frankly was expected that we were going to put both of our children in the Jardin once we started language school. What is a Jardin - well I am glad you asked! A jardin is basically a daycare center for preschool/kindergarten(jardin is Spanish for garden as well). Here it is normal for Peruvian children to go to the Jardin at age two if they are wanting to get into a better gradeschool, however it is obligatory to place your child in the Jardin at age three - at least that is what we have been told. The Jardin is from 8:50-12:30 every day during the week. For most parents this works out wonderfully because they need to work to support their families. However, for us it is a little complicated. First off John starts school at 8:30 and the Jardin does not open until 8:50 so that means I would have to walk with all THREE kids a few blocks to the Jardin - which seems like a few blocks to many unless I grow another arm. There are services to taxi your kids to school but those cost money and that scares me a little bit. Another thing to think about, is that if I did actually get Caleb to the Jardin in the morning I would not actually see him again until 4:30 because I have language classes from 12:10 till 4:30. At this time I would come home cook dinner and by the time I got done with everything I would be lucky to even get 20 minutes with the little guy before he goes to bed at 7. I feel like I am not ready for this. I think to myself, am I just being selfish or is the just not the right timing? John and I would really like for him to speak Spanish, but is this out of prideful ambition of just wanting to be able to say our kid speaks Spanish or does he really need to learn it right now? I mean I absolutely agree he needs to learn Spanish but right now we have a good schedule going and I fear the emotional turmoil (on both his side and mine) we might create might be worse than not sending him to school. At this point we are not sure if he will benefit from only having a few months in the Jardin before we move to Curahuasi. Once we get to Curahuasi we do not plan on sending him to school, for a couple of reasons (1) He is still very young (2) We have not decided whether we are wanting to homeschool or not. Caleb is still very young (3 in May) so really if we were in the States I would not even be considering whether or not to put him in preschool, however we do feel a good amount of cultural pressure to put him in school here. Every week people talk to me about the benefits of putting him in the Jardin, and really the only benefit would be that Caleb would learn Spanish because realisitically I will still not be able to get more homework done. Will 4 months in the Jardin really make a difference if we decide to homeschool them anyway in Curahuasi? Will it really be that important if we come back after three years anyway? Truth be told if we come back after three years he will not really retain any of it anyway although I am sure this will make it easier for him to learn Spanish in the future. Or will we stay here longer than three years? Tough, tough, tough decisions. Please pray for us on how to go about this.

 

We do have DVDs and music that the kids have been listening to and they are learning lots of Spanish words. We also have a sweet girl who comes to our house to watch the kids while John and I are walking to language school. She stays for about two hours and only speaks Spanish to the kids which has also been helpful. We also just started attending church on Thursday nights too in hopes to get Caleb exposed to more Spanish. We visited this particular church for the first time this past Thursday. What an eye opening experience. I imagine this will be a little bit more like the church experience we will have in Curahuasi. They had two kids rooms, one fore preschool and a nursery. The preschool room was a concrete room with ten plastic chairs. They did have a boombox for music and some crayons but that was pretty much the extent of it. The nusery had two small beds, one crib and lots of stuffed animals. Normally you expect to see a child safety gate in the nursery and they had one creatively made out of material easily available to Peruvians. Kids do not need much - just love and care - and that is what they got that night. When we returned to pick up Caleb that night he was so excited that he got to sing songs and color a picture. Who needs fancy toys right?

Pray for our friend who helps us with the kids as she will be going to have surgery next week, sooner than we expected. She will need to have about 3 weeks off after the surgery and we will miss her dearly - ourselves included. She is such a blessing to our family during this time of language learning.
 

 

...The decision on whether or not to homeschool is giving me more gray hair for sure. Any thoughts on this? I have many...

Oh the Microwave...

 

After several trips to oeshle (where we purchased our microwave), one mechanical repair that gave us back our original microwave and one mechanical repair that failed, two months later we have our microwave back. Seriously when I say several times I mean 15 times - not exaggerated at all. We took the microwave in before I delived Hudson and we just got a new one this week. Not sure we will ever know why it took so long but at least we have it back. We have not had a microwave for so long now we kind of wonder why we bought one in the first place. As we have used it this week we have realized that having a microwave is much more convenient when you have three kids and saves a lot on washing dishes. The funny thing is we have gone without one for so long that Hannah walked in and saw the mircowave, she pointed her finger and with a concerned look on her face said"Uh oh...uh oh..uh oh!". We are all grateful and astonished to have our microwave back. Oh the joy of modern conveniences!

I Can't Speak in English or Spanish

My brain is getting so confused I cannot even speak my native tongue anymore. Just a few days ago Caleb asked me how to spell the word "patient" I said, "P...A...C...I...." - John just looked at me and started laughing. I did not even realize that I was spelling it the Spanish way! Oh dear...

***By the way Caleb's first word he can spell all by himself is, of course, the word "jet". This kid has had airplane/helicopter brain since as he was born!***

Learning a new langauge does horrible things to your mind. Sometimes I cannot remember the English word for things - I consistently forget the English word for "palta" which is avocado. The avocados here are AMAZING- back in the States I could never find ripes ones but here I can choose if I want one for lunch or for later in the week. They always have ripe avocados here, and we are really enjoying them.

I just have to share some of these ridiculous language learning stories. This week for me has been a difficult one with the whole learning Spanish thing but I am slowly learning to laugh at myself - and so is everyone else! During class this week I was describing a scene in my vocab book to my teacher when I said, "The people are eating the duck", when what was really happening was the people were feeding the duck - no big deal right? We got a pretty good laugh out of this one. Oh but it gets better....this week I was trying to explain to John how Hudson's baby blanket smelled like dirt. Let me clarify this - I had just washed his blanket - however it is windy here in Arequipa and when you hang your clothes over night the wind blows all the dirt on the clothes. At least the blanket was cleaner than before it was washed. Anyway, as I was trying to describe that Hudson's blanket smelled like dirt I said, "The blanket sounds like the earth." John looked at me all funny and we both busted up laughing.

Sometimes language learning is hilarious, awkward, and extremely frustrating. The funny thing about this is that I **thought** (which is the key word here) that I pretty much knew Spanish before I got here. HaHAHAAHa! So FUNNY! Everyday I spend my time working on pronunciation, grammar, and just plain stumbling over my words. Spanish is such a beautiful language and it is horrible how I just butcher it every day. Just one more example..I had been here for 5 weeks studying Spanish when on one Sunday I asked my pastor, who is a guy, how his husband was doing?! In my mind I thought, "Did I really just do that?". Yep, I did. Oh brother...

I know that with every week that passes I am getting a little (emphasis on little)  better, but sometimes I wonder if it will ever be enough. One of the hardest things about learning a language is, well, that you actually have to practice speaking - profound right? Well as a mom I think this is really hard. I cannot spend all day integrating myself into the culture or meeting/talking with people well because I have three children who need to eat. In addition to this, every time we go out, we fall into the same pattern as we did in the US - John usually does the talking and I watch the kids. This is especially easy to fall into here since John knows considerably more Spanish than I do - I mean the guy is a genius! They say that some people are left-brained (better at math and science), and some people are right-brained (better at everything else). Well it is obvious to me that John uses both sides of his brain...I mean he is a doctor, and can absorb/speak new languages like no one else I have ever seen. After this evaluation of John, I am beginning to wonder whether I am right-brained, left-brained or just do not have a brain. I will let you know when the verdict is in.

We take for granted just being able to walk into a store and communicate with someone. Yesterday I went to one of my favorite stores here in Arequipa to purchase a few small wooden toys for the kids. They had these beautiful, colorfully-designed little instruments I had been keeping my eye on for a while. When I found out they were on sale I decided to go in and get a few. I spent  a while looking at prices and finally determined what I wanted and went to the register. As the prices began to ring up something was not adding up because it came out to be more than I had intended on paying. I took my receipt back and asked the lady why the price was so high since it said right here it was on sale. She tried to explain the problem to me for a couple of minutes but it was futile. I could not understand what she was saying and more importantly why I had paid so much for something that was supposed to be on sale. I had spent twenty minutes making sure I had everything added up right only to fail miserably. I walked home pouting in disappointment because I just could not understand a word that lady was saying to me. I tried really hard not to break down all the way home because so many people were watching me walk down the street - as I am always a spectacle with the baby. I got home, told John my story, and started crying. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be able to fully understand Spanish and more importantly have spiritual conversations - or make any sort of impact while I am here.

Everyone here is kind to me when I butcher the very language that so easily rolls off of their tongues. No judgemental words - a little laughter but hey that is just normal. When you learn a language it is like becoming a child all over again except children lack pride. With all of the silly little mistakes I have made lately I am lacking pride too - maybe that is a good thing. Oh Lord help me learn Spanish!

A break from studying Spanish!

Confessions of a Spoiled Rotten Missionary Wife

I admit sometimes I consider myself the most unlikely of candidates to be considered a missionary wife. I mean before coming to Peru I had never made my own applesauce (which I do on a regular basis now. As a matter of fact peels were flying tonight!) or even considered making my own baby wipes (this is next weeks new adventure). It is a for sure thing that I will never do cloth diapers - not because they are not awesome. I know lots of amazing women who use them but it just isn't for me. We all have our limits you know. Never before had I imagined not giving my kids a bath for an entire week, but here life is just different. No bath tub. Somtimes no power, and that changes everything now doesn't it. I never really realized how spoiled I was till I came here.

**Just for the record Peru has a lot of things. You can get lots of American products, but you will have to pay a little more for them and the trick is actually finding them - which can take forever, and who knows if you find it once, if you will ever be able to find it again. They do not really stock items here as I have found, which turns you into an impulse buyer for sure! Oh look they have corn chips, let's buy ten bags!**

I miss my high heels, having girls nights, eating fancy chocolates, and going out to high priced coffee shops for a few hours of relaxation. I long for my cowboy boots and country music. I decided not to bring my boots because I thought I would stick out like a sore thumb here, and I was right - but that does not change the fact that I miss them. John and I had really counted on being able to access Pandora while we were here too - then I could have had all the country music I wanted! Guess what?? Pandora doesn't work in Peru - really?

I miss my kids not getting sick all the time. I miss having a yard for the kids to play in with all of their toys. We have plenty of toys here but it just isn't the same. Sometimes I look at my kids and wonder if I have robbed them of the "American childhood" by coming here - or have I just given them different opportunities? In reality the kids are just fine and they are pretty much considered famous here. A guy in the super market today told us to warn people back home that are kids are going to be movie stars here - it is just so rare to see such light skinned children. I miss all of Hannah's beautifully color coordinated, ridicuosly, frivolous, girly outfits. Shouldn't every girl be gorgeously dressed? Somtimes I wonder if by coming here we have somehow managed to avoid the rat race of American culture, and maybe that is better. Since being here in Peru I have realized how materialistic I had become.

I miss hot summer nights in Missouri, grilling in the backyard (back when we had a yard), green grass that has been freshly cut, and playdates at clean parks.

I miss my dishwasher. It seems as though I spend all day doing the dishes. I miss my microwave - yes we had one but it has been out of commission since the 3rd of July. We have taken it in to the store we bought it from only to wait patiently to someday - hopefully- recieve another one. Glad we have a toaster and a TV - although like a lot of things that we've bought here, they are electrically spastic. Our TV randomly turns on whenever it wants - which is pretty creepy at 3 o'clock in the morning playing childrens DVDs. Our toaster also works when it wants to.

I really should not be complaining though becuase at least we have these things. I think of all of my friends in the Sudan who have NONE of these - these are the real missionary women. This is what I mean by calling myself a spoiled rotten missionary wife. Sometimes even with all of these amenities, I feel as though I am not cut out for this. It's true, I am not cut out for this. Inadequate - for sure. I do know one thing for sure though - God has called us to Peru. US as in both of US. Sometimes I am not sure why God has called me to a place so far and so different from home - but I know without a doubt we are here for reason. Sometimes God asks us to do things that do not necessarily make us happy, but they are the best things for us. God loves me and knows what is best for me - and for me right now it is Peru. I rest in this and in this alone because I know by myself I am a wimp - just ask John. He heard me scream tonight when I went to blend the applesauce and grabbed a worm on the blender - um that is just grose!

I am definitely no missionary wife hero - just an average, everyday, person who God has called to Peru. Not special, just doing what God has called me to in the place He has called me to.

Just so you know Peru is a beautiful country with many wonderful places to see and to visit. I think it is only normal to miss home regardless of how beautiful the country is or how wonderful the people here are. We have been warmly welcomed here in Peru, sometimes I just miss home that's all.

Here are a couple pictures of the kids I took today. Yes, Hannah is in a color coordinated swimsuit/headband that I brought from home!

A New Meaning to the Term "Porta Potty"

Here is the picture people have been asking me for. Apparently I forgot to post the promised picture! This is the bathroom of the place we decided not to rent. Can you see the hole with the blankets tied up around it in the front yard? Get it - porta potty - just dig your hole and hang up a sheet! Any idea why we made the decision to rent the other house - can you just sense the sarcasm in this comment? :)

 

Our house in Curahuasi and a trip to Machu Picchu
 

 

 

This picture is from Curahuasi on a hike up the mountain - more pictures from this hike to come in a later post.

 

Well we got back a little over a week ago from Curahuasi. We were looking for a house to fix up for our upcoming move in January/February time frame. Well fixing up a house turned out to be WAY more expensive than we thought. We looked at three places that were in need of some "fixing up", or just plain "finishing", and one that was completely finished but needed a few things to be worked on. The three fixer uppers consisted of cement or adobe blocks and wood poles. Needless to say after John introduced me to our first "fixer upper" some crazy things started running through my mind like...umm are we nuts? This house had no indoor bathroom, no indoor kitchen, no finished walls (only adobe bricks), no running water to the house, two floors but no stairs, no windows, electric wires hanging everywhere, and a giant gravel hole in the backyard. Can we say hazardous for three small children? I think once we exited the house John could tell by the look on my face that we were not going to be renting this one. I left that house thinking, " I know God never gives us more than we can handle so God must think I am one tough cookie." We went on to look at house number two. This was a cement block house with three rooms on the bottom floor that were totally unfnished although it did have one window that had glass in it - it was broken but hey, there was glass. This might sound strange but here in Peru "hallways" do not really exist. These houses all had space for a kitchen, living room and bedrooms but not of them are connected. You must exit each room and go outside to access the next room. Not really conducive for my potty training children considering the other hazards that are outside, gravel pits, electric wires, wild pigs, and loads of cactus.

The second house seemed like a better option even though the pigs were roaming around what would be the yard and the cactuses were in the multitudes, however, our hopes were dashed when were told the price to fix up the three rooms on the first floor (the second floor was not finished yet and rebar was jutting up into the air) - $10,000 american dollars - yep you read that right. We were shocked and disappointed because we do not have that kind of money and there is no way the kids and us will be living in the same room for the next three years - nope - not happening. On to house number three.

This was a little adobe house with enough bedrooms/space for us, but we were going to have to do some significant rennovating still. This included adding a bathroom (because there was NO bathroom - just a hole in the front yard surrounded by tarps...you can see it in the picture below), connecting all the rooms with hallways, redoing the stairs, making a room into a kitchen, raising the ceilings - aka digging out the floor (Americans are super tall in comparision with Peruvians and especially the Quechua people), and making a place for the washing machine. This list was just too long and the translation from English to Spanish to Quechua was just too difficult. So, on to option four.

Our fourth option was a finished duplex that had a kitchen but no counter tops. When we entered the house it stunk of rotting meat from the night before which was displayed on the table in the kitchen. Our first impression was not great but at this point things were looking good compared to our other options. This house was at least finished and only needed some minor work so we decided to go with it. We will be getting a larger water tank for the house since it is common to not have water for four or five days during the dry season. We will also be getting some counter tops and shelves so that I have a place to cook and a place to put my dishes. The best part about this house was the tiny plot of grass in the front yard. The kids will have a place to play and the yard is even fenced off! We have been told the windows leak and if that is true the landlord said he would fix it. So we now have a place! Quite the adventure.
 

These are a couple of pictures of our future place.

 

 

This is a picture of house number three, which we decided not to rent.

 

Pray for us this week as:

- We really need our house to sell

- We would really like it if our car would sell as well (an added bonus)

- That we would continue to learn the language well, which iI've found is especially difficult when I have Hudson in class with me.

- That the kids would adjust to having us back in school, and having our empleada return to help us with watching the children during our school time.

Suzanne and I ventured off to Machu Picchu while we were in Cuzco waiting to take our bus ride back to Arequipa. John so graciously stayed with the kiddos all day in a local Hostal and I bet he has some pretty awesome stories to tell you about that experience. John is such a trooper and really just an outstanding guy! Suzanne and I enjoyed our day off traipsing through the ruins of Peru. What a treat! It was more walking than I think either of us expected, even Hudson was tired! Poor John he has always wanted to go to Machu Picchu but it was just not going to be feasible with all of the kids. Hudson was only three weeks and now he can say he has been to Machu Picchu, I am sure John will never let me live this one down :) Love you honey!!! Enjoy the pictures from our trip!

Back to School...

 

Just a few more pictures of our little man. He is growing up so fast. I finally put him in a 0-3 months outfit today - getting big - out growing the newborn clothes. Hudson rolled over for the first time yesterday - quite a bit ahead of schedule than Caleb and Hannah.

 

Pray for Hudson and Hannah as they both have some kind of respiratory thing and the nights have been long. Other than that Hudson is growing well. The kids really enjoy having a new sibling and everyday it is so fun to watch them enjoy their new brother. What a blessing!

 

We have had the last month off to adjust to having Hudson around and it was also a Peruvian holiday time so school was not in session - including our language school. The timing worked out perfectly since we had the baby right before vacation time. During our time off we flew to Lima to get the kids visas and to register Hudson with the U.S. embassy. Dual citizenship sounds cool but in reality it requires a bit more traveling and quite a bit more paperwork. After our adventures in Lima we flew to Cusco and then made the supposedely 2 and a half hour drive, which took about 4-5 hours due to road closures, to Curahuasi. We will be moving to Curahuasi in January or February and we will need a house that is ready for us to move into at that time. Since things tend to take a little longer than expected we ventured to Curahuasi to find a house now so that the necessary improvements could be made before we arrive. Finding a house was quite the experience which I think deserves a blog of it's own. So hopefully sometime within the next week or so I can get that up as well. On a positive note we did find a house, and we are grateful for that!

 

We returned to language school this week. We are feeling super blessed to have our friend Suzanne here to help with this transition back to school. The kids have truly enojoyed having her around, and quite frankly I think John and I have enjoyed the extra help around the house.