Mid-service

I just arrived in Lima early this morning on everyone's favorite mode of transportation: the overnight Ittsa bus/cama from Piura to Lima. The 15 hour bus ride has gotten normal for me, but if a year and a half ago you told me that I would take a $33 bus ride for 15 hours instead of taking a $100 plane flight for 1 hour, that is back when I was living in New York City and earning a salary, I'm pretty sure that I would have informed you of your insanity and offered to take you to see my therapist. Money has started to mean something different than it did before when I made 15 times what I make now but still school loans are still looming. I think it's a good thing as I have never been one to be overly concerned with finances. It's definitely driving the point home.

I have been here for more than a year now so I'm in Lima to have medical checkups, to go to some meetings to present what I've been doing, and to help with starting this new program called a Peer Support Network. I have also been charged with bringing new clothes back home to the host family, colors sizes and styles all specified in great detail. And you know, none of this seems all that odd or novel anymore.

What else has gotten normal now that I have been here a year?
-Having water every other day for 2 hours, when the well pump is not broken
-Sharing my patio with Chau and Fa, my disco chickens who have go-go boot shaped feathers adorning their feet
-Town wide loud speakers that start at 5:15 AM with a Christian Evangelical talk show followed by a run down of who is selling what that day and a review of the front page news
-Having a house with cement floors and a hammock and wee neighbors who visit to sing a song called "I'm a happy tree" to the tune of "I'm a Little Tea Pot"
-Having my friends from home write and call with major life events like writing their first book, losing the dream job, getting the dream job, breaking up, getting married, having babies, going blonde, turning 30, getting a new therapist, finishing graduate school, getting yet another new boyfriend or girlfriend
-Eating delicious fresh fish soup everyday for dinner
-Speaking at all public civic events and being referred to as an "autoridad" like the mayor and city council members
-Being Professora Elita or La Gordita Gringa
-Running through the rice fields and watching the sunrise
-Eating tamarind Popsicles out of little bags on the front porch of Dora's house
-Having tons of incredibly cheap and delicious fresh fruit available basically when ever I want it
-Just waking up and being in Peru

But novel stuff is still a daily thing:
I took my host family to the movies on Saturday. They had never been before and they absolutely loved it, especially the kids (Darwin 13, Pepe 8 and Ingrid 7). We rode the escalator at the shopping center and they were totally terrified but, then after the movie asked to ride it again. We saw a Disney movie that in Spanish is called Dog Fireman, but I have a feeling that is not an exact translation of the English title. Dora loved the fact that it had a moral at the end, stuff about good parenting and taking care of your family. Hopefully we will go again, next time on Discount Tuesday.