My Peruvian Adoption

Last week in one of my classes, my teacher and I decided to take my lesson out of the class and to a restaurant. We were walking down the street when we passed by a veterinarian’s office. I asked if we could check out the puppies there, so we went into the foyer where the dogs are in the cages. And there before were two Shih-tzu puppies, each that looked identical to the one I left behind with my parents. I instantly was captivated by one of them, and throughout our time in the restaurant that was all I could talk about. I wasn’t sure however if I could have him with my host family or not, so as we passed back by the vet’s office I put down a small (refundable) down payment. I went right home and talked to my “mamita” (my host mom), and she didn’t have a problem with it, so the next thing I know, I am back on the street making my way back to the vet’s office.

When I got my last puppy, I had about 4 weeks to think of a good name for him. But this day I didn’t wake up thinking, “Hmm…. Maybe I’ll get a dog today.” It just happened. So for about a day or so, this little fella didn’t have a name. I had a little list of ideas, and I also was looking on the internet, but nothing seemed to fit this little guy. I wanted a cute name, and one that had a good significance too. Well, finally my list came down to Coby or Toby. So I went to look up what those names meant. Coby was derived from Coburn, which is a name of a town. However, Toby was derived from Tobiah, which is Hebrew and means “Yah-weh is good” (God is good). My decision was made easy between the two then.

Some day I may adopt a different Peruvian, however right now, this little Peruvian is keeping my hands full too.

So here is a picture of my little adopted baby named Toby:

The Small Things in Life Part 2

I know this may not be exciting to those back home, but the mundane-ness (I don't know if this is a word or not, but it sounds good, and forgive me because I am loosing my English words at this very moment), so as I was saying, the mundane-ness of coke, diet coke, and fanta as options to drink have made me miss my favorite sodas of Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew. I was expecting to find those occasionally in Lima, but not here in Arequipa.... but LOW and BEHOLD this week I found them, and have been savoring every taste. Yet again, trifle, but comforting too!

New Years in Peru

New Years Eve was interesting as well here. Us girls (Anna, Marissa, and Susanna) went to the youth group of one of the churches in Cusco. A few missionary girls, who are with Wycliff, had invited us over for dinner and to celebrate bringing in the New Year. Andrew Eisner (a missionary in Cusco) had his family visiting, and his sister joined us that night too. The night was so much fun, and filled with a lot of laughter. Right before midnight we went upstairs to watch the fireworks. We had a great view over Cusco to watch the fireworks being shot up from the roofs. Someone mentioned that it seemed like little fleas jumping around, which was a good description. On New Year's Eve in Peru, it is typical to use yellow for everything at New Years: confetti, balloons, leis, and underwear. If you have these, it is for good luck, that you will have a good year. Here is a shot of us at dinner that night:

Yet Again, Another Small World

So as I mentioned, I spent some time in Cusco with some friends during my school break. We were expecting an intern, Anna, to arrive later on in the week, and she was going to stay with us. On the Friday morning that she was getting to Cusco, I wanted to prepare breakfast, but I prepared some grits (not really knowing where she was from or if she would like them). Since she had arrived to Lima really late at night, spent the night in the airport, and flew to Cusco that morning, she came to the apartment and crashed. (Not that I can blame her at all!) Later when we were talking, Marissa, an intern in Cusco told me that she went to Samford (which is in Birmingham). I thought that was cool. When she woke up we started talking, and I found out that her dad works at Briarwood Pres., but that she goes to Oak Mountain Pres. To add another small world story to my blog, Anna is the sister of my friend Rebecca Cushman, who I know from Oak Mountain. That was quite fun!!

(Anna and I at a coffee joint)

She and I did a few things together while I was there. One day we went to some Incan ruins overlooking Cusco, named Saqsaywaman. It was fun because there weren’t many tourists there, and we kind of made our own tour there. (Respectively, of course!) Here are a few shots of those ruins.

Also here is a shot of all of us girls together in Cusco. It was a great way to spend my school vacations. (Left to Right: Susanna Murphy, Anna Cushman, Marissa Gabrysch, and myself)