The Adventures at Lake Titicaca

So this past Friday, as many people were shopping and fighting to get the best bargains, my Peruvian sister Ana and I were peacefully making our way by bus to Puno, to visit Lake Titicaca and some of the islands there.

(For a bit of a geography lesson for those who are like me: Lake Titicaca is the largest freshwater lake in South America, and the highest navigable lake in the world at 12,500 feet above sea level.)

Our first stop early on Saturday morning as a part of the tour was the floating islands near Puno, Los Uros. Here people live on islands that are made out of reeds, as are their houses, boats, and the people eat the root of the reeds too. It was quite interesting to learn of their way of life.






After our visit there, we had a 3 hour ride to Amantani Island. The people there speak Quechua and Spanish. They were so friendly! As a part of the tour we stayed with one of the families. The houses on this island were very primitive, as in an outhouse, no running water in the house, and no electricity. They had a room set aside for us with 3 beds and a table. The primary form of income for this family is through the tourism, vegetation, and handmade goods. The family we had were so sweet and humble. After we arrived they served us lunch: hot potato and carrot soup then roasted potatoes with fried cheese. They also gave us a type of herbal tea that was supposed to help with the altitude. Here are some pictures of the family and their house.






After lunch we were lead to a colosium where a soccer match between some of the islanders and some of the European tourists had already started. This was the meeting place for where we were going to hike. This colosium is very likely the highest in the world too. After watching a bit of the game, we hiked up one of the mountains of this island (unfortunatly I forgot the name) for a great lookout over Lake Titicaca. We were told we could see other parts of Peru and even Bolivia from this point. I did see a lot of land, but couldn't distinguish which was which. It was a great view though!






When we hiked back down we met up again with our family and had dinner. After dinner they dressed us up in the typical dress of the island and took us to the community center where all the other tourists were dressed up as well. We got to learn some of the typical dances, and then later in the evening we danced by the fire outside. It was a lot of fun!! Like I mentioned earlier there is no electricity on this island and no one told us to bring flashlights, so it was interesting walking to the community center without light. The girl of the family led us around as if it were nothing. Here are some of the pictures of the clothes we wore.






Maybe it was the hiking, maybe it was the dancing, or maybe it was the fierce sun combined with the cold air, but we slept so hard and so good that night. We got up and were welcomed by the fresh air and hot pancakes. We said many thank you's and goodbyes to the family and headed for the port. From there we went to the island of Taquile, where the people there were a lot less friendly and one would be lucky to receive a smile at all. But it was a beautiful island, and very interesting to learn about their system of marriage and courting. (Guys all you need is a few pebbles to throw at the girl you like, and you both have about 8 hours to decide if you will get married....feel free to ask me more about this odd subject!) After lunch on this island we climbed down 535 steps to the port. We traveled another 3 hours back to Puno to catch our bus and go home. Here are some shots from the last island:

Thanksgiving in Peru

Many people have asked about my first Thanksgiving in Peru. It was a lot of fun with some familiar tastes! Besides myself, there are 2 American families at the school. We all brought a different side dish for the Thanksgiving meal. We shared Thanksgiving with a German family, a few women from England, and a Peruvian woman. We had the traditional turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potato casserole (especially since sweet potatoes and every other potato is abundant here!), green bean casserole, and other side items. We shared some bible verses, poems, and what we were thankful for. It definetly was a different Thanksgiving, but so nice to be able to share it with other people who are used to this holiday and its traditions.




*side note* If you ever volunteer to make the green bean casserole for a Thankgiving in Peru, be sure to bring down some cans of green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and especially French Fried onions. This receipe which is so easy back home was quite a challenge here making everything from scratch: cleaning, cutting, boiling them until they are no longer crunchy (because who wants a crunchy green bean casserole?); making the cream of mushroom soup from the powder mix here and adding to it to make it thicker; battering and frying onions, then baking to dry them to put on top. (needless to say, this recipe is a lot more difficult and time consuming here than back in the states).

I am so thankful for my family and friends, those both here in Peru, the states, and other parts of the world. In my room I have pictures taped around my mirror and others in different parts of the room. Daily I have reminders of what good true friends I have! Some people are fortunate enough to have a few good friends, and I am blessed with so many. I am so thankful to be living in Peru! What an adventure this has been. I am so thankful to all of those who have given me the opportunity to live here by their prayers and support! God bless you all!

Intercultural Party

Earlier this month there was an intercultural party, where us students and teachers from different parts of the world shared a dish and music from our countries. (Thanks Suzanne for the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake receipe! It was a hit!) If we had a dance to share from our country, we did. Thanks to Ridge Haven and my years there I was able to teach the 16-step, 32-step, and the moves to the Tragedy song. We all got to learn some basics of salsa, as well as some traditional Peruvian dances. Of all the countries represented there were people from: Peru, USA, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland. It was quite a memorable night!



Me with my new friend Alyssa:

El Día de Los Muertos

Tuesday, November 1st, here in Perú and in other countries El Día de Los Santos (All Saints Day) and El Día de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) was celebrated. (You may have seen photos of this holiday celebrated with parades of people in black, and many decorations with skulls and bones. This is how Mexico celebrates this holiday.)

Out curiosity I went to different cemeteries to see how Perú celebrates this holiday. From a combination of Roman Catholic and other cultural traditions, the majority of the population goes to the gravesites of loved ones to visit, give gifts of flowers, food, music, beer, and other things. There are priests that are available to go to the gravesites and offer prayers to the deceased. Different bands will come and play the favorite song of the deceased person as well.


There were so many people all over the place! Sometimes in some crowds it was difficult to even push my way through! This is a picture of one main sidewalk in a cemetery (actually this photo was taken at a slower hour for this cemetery... I can´t imagine it at a busier time!):


Near the largest cemetery in Arequipa streets were closed down, and vendors were all over the place, either set up as a little flower stand, a restaurant, or toys. People also go to other gravesites of people who are considered heroes in order to ask the deceased for a miracle for them or a family member.

Often it is like a family reunion and picnic at the gravesite. The family brings the most favored meal of the deceased person and stays there to eat, and leaves the meal and drink at the gravesite. In one of the poorer cemeteries the families were very warm and welcoming to foreigners, sharing some of their meals, and were very eager to show off the gravesite.



I did see a sign at one of the masses that was held, saying that you could pay for the souls of your loved ones to be freed from purgatory. I was told later that if you pay, you can receive a certificate verifying this. (And just who and how are you going to show this paper to when it matters?) hmmmm...It definitely reminded me of why I am here, and hopefully soon I will be able to communicate more about the FREE gift of salvation and with that to be absent from the body is to be present with Christ, and that we can have hope and assurance of this!

Wah-becca

So I have acquired more nicknames here than I truly expected! The normal “Becca” which I am accustomed to hear, Rebequita (which is a nickname given with affection) and from that a few more variations:

*Bequita (which I am not as fond of, maybe because it is close to Becky, which I love for other people, but it just never fit me)
*Bebequita (from a combo of my name and bebe or in English: baby)
*Wewequita (this one is more recent, and I am not too fond of either, but don´t think that it will last).

However the last one, I am not sure if I don’t like it because it reminded me of when I was little and couldn’t pronounce my “R’s” and they came out as “W’s”. When I was little I would tell everyone that my name was “Wahbecca” I liked “Wabbits” and the primary colors were "blue, yellow, gween, and wed". I had to go to speech therapy to get this corrected.

But recently when I heard this name of “Wewequita” and it reminded me of those days when I couldn’t pronounce my R’s it made me think of God, and His awesome big plan for my life. Now I can pronounce 3 different “R’s” well, and after meeting other people from different countries I have been able to practice other pronunciations of R´s. (French, German, Danish, and Swiss). How awesome to look back and see how God’s hand was working even in my young years of 3-4, that He enabled me to have my English R´s corrected and then to be able to communicate in another language that can be difficult for some people to pronounce and roll the R’s.