I've posted pictures from about half of our trip here. They're from the first half of the trip when it was just me and Shane. I divided them up into different albums by area.
I'll post again once the rest are up. Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
It's Official, Part 2
Yesterday we spent about an hour and a half signing our lives away for our house...but we've done all that is required of us and should be able to get the keys on Tuesday! It's crazy to think it's finally ours, but we're definitely excited.
Shane already found a great deal on paint (thanks to a hardware store going out of business) and on bamboo wood floors (which I had only dreamed of having until then) so as soon as the house is ours, he's getting to work. The house itself isn't bad at all, but we want to make some changes eventually so we figured we'd get some of them done before we had all of our stuff in the way. We'll add pictures as we make the changes...
Also, for an update on the Peru pictures... It's going to take a little while longer since the computer I use to get on the internet right now and the computer I use to organize my pictures are different. I'll try and work on it tonight.
We are going to spend the next four days babysitting the children of Shane's sister, Amy. We are very excited to spend some time with them, especially since Shane likes to retain his position as "favorite uncle". I'm sure he'll do fine... Also, my mom is coming out tomorrow and staying with us through Thursday to help me get things moved into and organized around our house! It should be a fun week, I'll keep you updated.
Shane already found a great deal on paint (thanks to a hardware store going out of business) and on bamboo wood floors (which I had only dreamed of having until then) so as soon as the house is ours, he's getting to work. The house itself isn't bad at all, but we want to make some changes eventually so we figured we'd get some of them done before we had all of our stuff in the way. We'll add pictures as we make the changes...
Also, for an update on the Peru pictures... It's going to take a little while longer since the computer I use to get on the internet right now and the computer I use to organize my pictures are different. I'll try and work on it tonight.
We are going to spend the next four days babysitting the children of Shane's sister, Amy. We are very excited to spend some time with them, especially since Shane likes to retain his position as "favorite uncle". I'm sure he'll do fine... Also, my mom is coming out tomorrow and staying with us through Thursday to help me get things moved into and organized around our house! It should be a fun week, I'll keep you updated.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Cusco, Machu Picchu, Puno, and back again!
So, I tried to write this part of the blog from our hotel in Puno, but was cut off and it didn't get saved, so I have to write it all again...
We met up with Roy and Connie on Sunday, the 15th at the Lima airport. We spent the night there and then caught an early flight to Cusco. The flight was quite an experience because Cusco is in a very tight valley so the planes have to descend quickly and land at a very fast speed...it was kind of scary, but the pilot knew what he was doing.
Upon arriving at our hotel, we were presented with tea made from coca leaves (the plant used to make cocaine) because it's supposed to help with altitude sickness--just to clarify, Cusco is around 11,000 feet above sea level. The tea was disgusting, but I choked it down (after the bishop's approval) so I wouldn't get sick. I didn't drink it anymore after that! We found Cusco to be much more of a touristy town. It was cleaner, prettier, and there were so many more tourists (and other blonds so I wasn't being whistled at all the time). We also ended up in a very nice hotel in some of the nicest rooms.
On Tuesday, we went on a tour of the Sacred Valley, which is the valley below the city. There is mostly farmland around the area, but there are tons of Incan ruins throughout it as well. We stopped at a city called Chinchero and we saw old Incan roads, water canals, and old walls which now serve as the foundation for Spanish colonial buildings. Then we went to an old Incan fortress called Ollantaytambo. It was huge! There was terrace after terrace climbing the mountain and then finally temples and other buildings on top. The Inca Trail also passes through this site. We climbed all the way to the top (gradually given the altitude) and got to hike part of the Inca trail.
On Wednesday, we left very early in the morning to catch a train to Aguas Calientes, the town below Machu Picchu. Then we caught a bus up the switchbacks to the actual site. I must say that it was surreal being up there! It was amazing to see all of the buildings, the terraces, all nestled in the middle of tons of huge, beautiful mountains! We went on a guided tour for about two hours and then found a nice quiet spot with a view to relax for a while. We were lucky enough to be staying the night in Aguas Calientes (most tourists catch the train back to Cusco the same night) so we got to stay at the site much longer than everyone else. After the crowds started to clear, we went and explored some more and found some amazing views. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we were dressed way too warm so we went to the market that night to find short-sleeved shirts for Shane and Roy in the market in town.
We got up early the next morning to return to Machu Picchu. It was cloudy and misty and completely opposite of the day before. It was still fairly empty when we got there and we set out on a hike up to Intipunku (Sun Gate), the point where the Inca Trail enters Machu Picchu and exactly where the sun rises during the summer solstice. The hike took about an hour but it was worth it. The view would've been even better if the clouds had lifted, but they blocked a lot of our view. We hiked back down and spent a while longer there before we had to head back and catch our train back to Cusco.
On Friday, we went on a tour of Cusco city and some of the closer archaeological sites. We saw the city cathedral and an old Incan temple that is now a monastery. Then we headed out to Sacsaywaman, more Incan ruins. This site had HUGE rocks that were moved and fit together into perfect, huge terraces in zigzag shapes. We were told it was a sacred place used for festivals and such, and it was cool to see.
During all of this, we were working to confirm our travel to Puno (Lake Titicaca) and we discovered that the trains weren't running because of teachers' strikes that were going on throughout the country. The protest moved throughout the country and while they were in Puno, they ripped up some of the train tracks and burned areas around the train station and airport. Luckily we were able to find room on a bus line that was traveling there. We checked with locals to make sure that it was safe to go, which it was, and bought our tickets.
We rode the bus all day Saturday to Puno and returned again to normal Peru, not the pretty, clean touristy city Cusco was. Puno is on the shore of Lake Titicaca, which crosses the border of Peru and Bolivia. The lake is at about 12,500 feet and is the highest navigable lake in the world. Our hotel was just off the main plaza and close to a pedestrian street that was full of shops and restaurants.
On Sunday, we took a tour to Sillustani--a funeral ground for the pre-Incan people in the area. They built circular tombs to house the remains of important people. We were able to see the progression of architecture over time and also to see the Incan influence once they joined the Incas. On our way back to town, we stopped at a living museum, where a family demonstrated daily life. They let us look in their adobe huts, showed us how they ground their grains for flour, how they built their stoves, how they farmed, and many other things. It was amazing to see that people still lived like that! It was probably the highlight of the day, along with petting a few llamas and alpacas.
On Monday, we got on a boat and headed out to the Uros (the floating reed islands). The islands have all settled into an opening amongst all of the reeds and most are now anchored down. There are about 35 islands in all and about 3,000 people still live out there. We stopped at an island where they showed us how they built the islands and their houses and how they got food and cooked. Then they divided us up and took us into their houses where they proceeded to dress us up in traditional clothes. The girl I went with even braided my hair and added in the pom-pom things they wear in their hair. We took a bunch of pictures and the old ladies on the island laughed at me because I apparently looked funny. We then bought a few things from them to show our appreciation for welcoming us and then they took us on a ride in one of their reed boats. It was like going to a whole different world!
After our trip to the Uros, we continued out into the lake for about 2 hours to Taquile island. We hiked up to the top of the island (which was quite a hike). The people are known for their weaving so we bought a couple bracelets and hats and then we went to a local restaurant to try local cuisine. The food was actually really good and none of us got sick! Then we hiked back down the other side of the mountain and got back on the boat to head back to shore.
We left the next afternoon to head back to Lima to prepare to return home. We stayed in the J.W. Marriott (thanks to Connie's Marriott points) which was a complete change from where we had been!! We went an saw a few sites in the city and then spent the afternoon wandering around the shops by the Marriott and we even saw Ocean's 13 to kill time since our flight didn't leave until 11:30 pm!
We flew home Wednesday night and got to Phoenix at 8:30 am today. We didn't get much sleep on the flight and so we've been pretty loopy today, but we'll sure sleep well tonight!
I'll write more tomorrow reflecting on the trip as a whole and we'll get some pictures uploaded soon...
We met up with Roy and Connie on Sunday, the 15th at the Lima airport. We spent the night there and then caught an early flight to Cusco. The flight was quite an experience because Cusco is in a very tight valley so the planes have to descend quickly and land at a very fast speed...it was kind of scary, but the pilot knew what he was doing.
Upon arriving at our hotel, we were presented with tea made from coca leaves (the plant used to make cocaine) because it's supposed to help with altitude sickness--just to clarify, Cusco is around 11,000 feet above sea level. The tea was disgusting, but I choked it down (after the bishop's approval) so I wouldn't get sick. I didn't drink it anymore after that! We found Cusco to be much more of a touristy town. It was cleaner, prettier, and there were so many more tourists (and other blonds so I wasn't being whistled at all the time). We also ended up in a very nice hotel in some of the nicest rooms.
On Tuesday, we went on a tour of the Sacred Valley, which is the valley below the city. There is mostly farmland around the area, but there are tons of Incan ruins throughout it as well. We stopped at a city called Chinchero and we saw old Incan roads, water canals, and old walls which now serve as the foundation for Spanish colonial buildings. Then we went to an old Incan fortress called Ollantaytambo. It was huge! There was terrace after terrace climbing the mountain and then finally temples and other buildings on top. The Inca Trail also passes through this site. We climbed all the way to the top (gradually given the altitude) and got to hike part of the Inca trail.
On Wednesday, we left very early in the morning to catch a train to Aguas Calientes, the town below Machu Picchu. Then we caught a bus up the switchbacks to the actual site. I must say that it was surreal being up there! It was amazing to see all of the buildings, the terraces, all nestled in the middle of tons of huge, beautiful mountains! We went on a guided tour for about two hours and then found a nice quiet spot with a view to relax for a while. We were lucky enough to be staying the night in Aguas Calientes (most tourists catch the train back to Cusco the same night) so we got to stay at the site much longer than everyone else. After the crowds started to clear, we went and explored some more and found some amazing views. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we were dressed way too warm so we went to the market that night to find short-sleeved shirts for Shane and Roy in the market in town.
We got up early the next morning to return to Machu Picchu. It was cloudy and misty and completely opposite of the day before. It was still fairly empty when we got there and we set out on a hike up to Intipunku (Sun Gate), the point where the Inca Trail enters Machu Picchu and exactly where the sun rises during the summer solstice. The hike took about an hour but it was worth it. The view would've been even better if the clouds had lifted, but they blocked a lot of our view. We hiked back down and spent a while longer there before we had to head back and catch our train back to Cusco.
On Friday, we went on a tour of Cusco city and some of the closer archaeological sites. We saw the city cathedral and an old Incan temple that is now a monastery. Then we headed out to Sacsaywaman, more Incan ruins. This site had HUGE rocks that were moved and fit together into perfect, huge terraces in zigzag shapes. We were told it was a sacred place used for festivals and such, and it was cool to see.
During all of this, we were working to confirm our travel to Puno (Lake Titicaca) and we discovered that the trains weren't running because of teachers' strikes that were going on throughout the country. The protest moved throughout the country and while they were in Puno, they ripped up some of the train tracks and burned areas around the train station and airport. Luckily we were able to find room on a bus line that was traveling there. We checked with locals to make sure that it was safe to go, which it was, and bought our tickets.
We rode the bus all day Saturday to Puno and returned again to normal Peru, not the pretty, clean touristy city Cusco was. Puno is on the shore of Lake Titicaca, which crosses the border of Peru and Bolivia. The lake is at about 12,500 feet and is the highest navigable lake in the world. Our hotel was just off the main plaza and close to a pedestrian street that was full of shops and restaurants.
On Sunday, we took a tour to Sillustani--a funeral ground for the pre-Incan people in the area. They built circular tombs to house the remains of important people. We were able to see the progression of architecture over time and also to see the Incan influence once they joined the Incas. On our way back to town, we stopped at a living museum, where a family demonstrated daily life. They let us look in their adobe huts, showed us how they ground their grains for flour, how they built their stoves, how they farmed, and many other things. It was amazing to see that people still lived like that! It was probably the highlight of the day, along with petting a few llamas and alpacas.
On Monday, we got on a boat and headed out to the Uros (the floating reed islands). The islands have all settled into an opening amongst all of the reeds and most are now anchored down. There are about 35 islands in all and about 3,000 people still live out there. We stopped at an island where they showed us how they built the islands and their houses and how they got food and cooked. Then they divided us up and took us into their houses where they proceeded to dress us up in traditional clothes. The girl I went with even braided my hair and added in the pom-pom things they wear in their hair. We took a bunch of pictures and the old ladies on the island laughed at me because I apparently looked funny. We then bought a few things from them to show our appreciation for welcoming us and then they took us on a ride in one of their reed boats. It was like going to a whole different world!
After our trip to the Uros, we continued out into the lake for about 2 hours to Taquile island. We hiked up to the top of the island (which was quite a hike). The people are known for their weaving so we bought a couple bracelets and hats and then we went to a local restaurant to try local cuisine. The food was actually really good and none of us got sick! Then we hiked back down the other side of the mountain and got back on the boat to head back to shore.
We left the next afternoon to head back to Lima to prepare to return home. We stayed in the J.W. Marriott (thanks to Connie's Marriott points) which was a complete change from where we had been!! We went an saw a few sites in the city and then spent the afternoon wandering around the shops by the Marriott and we even saw Ocean's 13 to kill time since our flight didn't leave until 11:30 pm!
We flew home Wednesday night and got to Phoenix at 8:30 am today. We didn't get much sleep on the flight and so we've been pretty loopy today, but we'll sure sleep well tonight!
I'll write more tomorrow reflecting on the trip as a whole and we'll get some pictures uploaded soon...
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Our last day up north...
It's been a while since we wrote, so here are some updates:
On Tuesday we went back to Tuman to visit more families. We first visited Rosa, the daughter of the woman Shane lived with, in her little restaurant. Then we went back to La Valentina's house for some cuy (which is guinea pig in case you were wondering). She made me some beef too in case I didn't like it. Shane loved it, and I can at least say I tried it... After lunch we visited some other families that Shane knew. Then we headed back to the house of the Sandoval family because we promised we'd stop by again. We got there at about 4 and stayed until about 8:30! They're a hard family to leave! They made us flan, we played computer games, and we took plenty of pictures. It was very sad saying goodbye to them...
On Wednesday we went to Lambayeque where the museum for Sipan is (see our last entry if you don't know what Sipan is). The museum, El Museo de Tumbas Reales, was huge! According to the guide, it's one of the top 10 museums in the world. They had tons of pottery and adornments from the various tombs as well as recreations of the tombs and the real bones... We also went to another museum that had artifacts from all of the ancient civilizations here and showed the progress from one time period to the other. We also ate at a nice restaurant there. We decided that it is now my mission to try Lomo Saltado everywhere we eat to notice the subtle differences. So far, the one in Lambayeque wins!!
We left for Trujillo on Thursday. It's about 2 hours south of Chiclayo and about 8 hours north of Lima. Our bus ride took about 3 hours because in Peru you can get on the bus whenever you want and you can get off whenever you want (even though it's a big, nice charter bus). Once we got to Trujillo, we headed to the main square to start the city tour in our book, but we got mobbed by tour guides. They kept offering us lower and lower prices for various tours around the valley.
A quick side note about Trujillo: it's named after Trujillo, Spain, where Pizarro was born and is quite beautiful. It's a colonial town and I LOVE all of the old buildings. It's also surrounded by ruins of two different pre-Incan tribes: the Moche and the Chimu so there's tons to do and see here (hence the mob of tour companies).
We decided to do a tour of Chan Chan, the largest city made entirely of adobe and of the Huaca de la Luna (temple of the moon) and the Huaca del Sol (temple of the sun). We had a tour guide and transportation and they were all awesome! We'll add more information and pictures about them later because time's almost up on the internet!!
Last night and today we got to see some awesome old colonial houses that have been restored by banks in the area. I wish the whole town looked like that! We'll post pictures of those houses as well.
We're heading out to the beach today to watch the fishermen on their reed boats and to eat some lunch. We leave tomorrow for Lima to meet up with Shane's parents and continue our journey southward!
That's all for now...
On Tuesday we went back to Tuman to visit more families. We first visited Rosa, the daughter of the woman Shane lived with, in her little restaurant. Then we went back to La Valentina's house for some cuy (which is guinea pig in case you were wondering). She made me some beef too in case I didn't like it. Shane loved it, and I can at least say I tried it... After lunch we visited some other families that Shane knew. Then we headed back to the house of the Sandoval family because we promised we'd stop by again. We got there at about 4 and stayed until about 8:30! They're a hard family to leave! They made us flan, we played computer games, and we took plenty of pictures. It was very sad saying goodbye to them...
On Wednesday we went to Lambayeque where the museum for Sipan is (see our last entry if you don't know what Sipan is). The museum, El Museo de Tumbas Reales, was huge! According to the guide, it's one of the top 10 museums in the world. They had tons of pottery and adornments from the various tombs as well as recreations of the tombs and the real bones... We also went to another museum that had artifacts from all of the ancient civilizations here and showed the progress from one time period to the other. We also ate at a nice restaurant there. We decided that it is now my mission to try Lomo Saltado everywhere we eat to notice the subtle differences. So far, the one in Lambayeque wins!!
We left for Trujillo on Thursday. It's about 2 hours south of Chiclayo and about 8 hours north of Lima. Our bus ride took about 3 hours because in Peru you can get on the bus whenever you want and you can get off whenever you want (even though it's a big, nice charter bus). Once we got to Trujillo, we headed to the main square to start the city tour in our book, but we got mobbed by tour guides. They kept offering us lower and lower prices for various tours around the valley.
A quick side note about Trujillo: it's named after Trujillo, Spain, where Pizarro was born and is quite beautiful. It's a colonial town and I LOVE all of the old buildings. It's also surrounded by ruins of two different pre-Incan tribes: the Moche and the Chimu so there's tons to do and see here (hence the mob of tour companies).
We decided to do a tour of Chan Chan, the largest city made entirely of adobe and of the Huaca de la Luna (temple of the moon) and the Huaca del Sol (temple of the sun). We had a tour guide and transportation and they were all awesome! We'll add more information and pictures about them later because time's almost up on the internet!!
Last night and today we got to see some awesome old colonial houses that have been restored by banks in the area. I wish the whole town looked like that! We'll post pictures of those houses as well.
We're heading out to the beach today to watch the fishermen on their reed boats and to eat some lunch. We leave tomorrow for Lima to meet up with Shane's parents and continue our journey southward!
That's all for now...
Monday, July 9, 2007
We have arrived!!
We made it to Lima after about 9 hours on a plane (2.5 from Phoenix to Houston and 6.5 from Houston to Lima). We got in late, but found our taxi and made it to our hostel which was BEAUTIFUL!! It actually looked better than the pictures on the website (which is quite a change from our last experience with hotels on the internet...). We have plenty of pictures and will post them once we're back home.
We spent Saturday in Lima taking in the main sights. We saw the main plaza and the governmental palace. Then we went in the catacombs under this old church. Over 75,000 people are buried there because it existed before the first cemetery in Lima. We went down in them and saw all of the bones. In some places they had been moved to make more space for new bodies and placed in geometric designs...kind of creepy!! Despite this fact, it was actually quite peaceful down there. After that we went to a museum that showed the torture methods and prison cells used during the Spanish Inquisition. That was also quite scary, but interesting. We wandered around Lima the rest of the day and had our first Peruvian food which was great!
On Sunday we travelled to Chiclayo, which is where Shane served his mission. As soon as we arrived, we got on a "convi" which is like a VW bus packed with about 5 rows of seats to Tuman which is where Shane spent 8.5 months of his mission. We visited the woman whose house he lived in for that time. She was so excited to see him!! We had called her the day before to let her know we were coming and she told us that we had been an answer to her prayers because she had been sad because her children had all moved away and she was feeling lonely. She made us some very authentic soup and a dish I've come to be very comfortable with, Lomo Saltado.
Next, we headed to the home of the Sandoval family, who Shane converted while he was here. They had 4 daughters when he left, now they have a son (who is named Shane, no joke) and another daughter. We happened to arrive about an hour before they were leaving to baptize their daughter and invited us along. We traveled to another town where there is a chapel with a font and then we had to wait about an hour for the person with the key to show up. Shane explained that it was in Peru that he really learned patience!! Once it all started, it was beautiful. There was another couple getting baptized and another girl. After the baptisms, they asked me and Shane to bear our testimonies. That was quite difficult considering I never really learned those words! After the baptism, the Sandovals came back to Chiclayo with us and we bought them a pizza from Pizza Hut, their first pizza ever!! And they loved it. They said that had wanted to try it, but were afraid to buy it because they would be wasting their money if they didn't like it. Then they bought us some ice cream and walked with us all the way back to our hotel. We had a great day and are so glad we happened to visit at that time!
Today (Monday) we went up to Sipan, which is the site of two large temples (like pyramids) of the Moche people, who were a pre-Incan tribe. They are excavating the burial sites all around there and have found some crazy things! They've found tons of copper, gold, and silver ornaments and clothing and a ton of pottery. It's crazy to see skeletons just lying in the ground, but it's interesting to see the customs that they had.
This afternoon we visited two other families around Chiclayo that Shane knew while he was here. We spent quite a while with them. They were all very excited to see Shane and everyone remembers him. I was worried before that he would be disappointed if the families didn't remember him, but apparently that's not a problem! We had a great day and were sad to leave them, but we don't have much time here.
That's the update so far. We're heading back to Tuman tomorrow to eat cuy (which is guinea pig by the way) and visit a few more families. On a side note, I'm starting to wish I would've heeded Shane's advice and dyed my hair brown before we came. We can't go anywhere without everyone staring, children following us, and men whistling! At the baptism, this one girl took about 20 pictures of me and Shane!! It's just strange getting so much attention when I look so average in the US. Also, I'm realizing how much I do understand spanish, and how hard it is to understand natives! Shane lets them know that I can understand if they speak slowly, and they try for a few minutes and then speed back up, but I can generally get the gist of the conversation.
Well, that's really all for now. We'll update again soon!!
We spent Saturday in Lima taking in the main sights. We saw the main plaza and the governmental palace. Then we went in the catacombs under this old church. Over 75,000 people are buried there because it existed before the first cemetery in Lima. We went down in them and saw all of the bones. In some places they had been moved to make more space for new bodies and placed in geometric designs...kind of creepy!! Despite this fact, it was actually quite peaceful down there. After that we went to a museum that showed the torture methods and prison cells used during the Spanish Inquisition. That was also quite scary, but interesting. We wandered around Lima the rest of the day and had our first Peruvian food which was great!
On Sunday we travelled to Chiclayo, which is where Shane served his mission. As soon as we arrived, we got on a "convi" which is like a VW bus packed with about 5 rows of seats to Tuman which is where Shane spent 8.5 months of his mission. We visited the woman whose house he lived in for that time. She was so excited to see him!! We had called her the day before to let her know we were coming and she told us that we had been an answer to her prayers because she had been sad because her children had all moved away and she was feeling lonely. She made us some very authentic soup and a dish I've come to be very comfortable with, Lomo Saltado.
Next, we headed to the home of the Sandoval family, who Shane converted while he was here. They had 4 daughters when he left, now they have a son (who is named Shane, no joke) and another daughter. We happened to arrive about an hour before they were leaving to baptize their daughter and invited us along. We traveled to another town where there is a chapel with a font and then we had to wait about an hour for the person with the key to show up. Shane explained that it was in Peru that he really learned patience!! Once it all started, it was beautiful. There was another couple getting baptized and another girl. After the baptisms, they asked me and Shane to bear our testimonies. That was quite difficult considering I never really learned those words! After the baptism, the Sandovals came back to Chiclayo with us and we bought them a pizza from Pizza Hut, their first pizza ever!! And they loved it. They said that had wanted to try it, but were afraid to buy it because they would be wasting their money if they didn't like it. Then they bought us some ice cream and walked with us all the way back to our hotel. We had a great day and are so glad we happened to visit at that time!
Today (Monday) we went up to Sipan, which is the site of two large temples (like pyramids) of the Moche people, who were a pre-Incan tribe. They are excavating the burial sites all around there and have found some crazy things! They've found tons of copper, gold, and silver ornaments and clothing and a ton of pottery. It's crazy to see skeletons just lying in the ground, but it's interesting to see the customs that they had.
This afternoon we visited two other families around Chiclayo that Shane knew while he was here. We spent quite a while with them. They were all very excited to see Shane and everyone remembers him. I was worried before that he would be disappointed if the families didn't remember him, but apparently that's not a problem! We had a great day and were sad to leave them, but we don't have much time here.
That's the update so far. We're heading back to Tuman tomorrow to eat cuy (which is guinea pig by the way) and visit a few more families. On a side note, I'm starting to wish I would've heeded Shane's advice and dyed my hair brown before we came. We can't go anywhere without everyone staring, children following us, and men whistling! At the baptism, this one girl took about 20 pictures of me and Shane!! It's just strange getting so much attention when I look so average in the US. Also, I'm realizing how much I do understand spanish, and how hard it is to understand natives! Shane lets them know that I can understand if they speak slowly, and they try for a few minutes and then speed back up, but I can generally get the gist of the conversation.
Well, that's really all for now. We'll update again soon!!
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Peru, here we come!
We leave for Peru tomorrow morning and Shane might explode with excitement. He's been secretly packing for months, but now it's very obvious he can't wait to go.
Originally, Shane was very worried about us pushing the weight limit for baggage. We weren't worried about the flight to Peru, but for the flights from different cities within the country, you can only have 55 pounds total. I wasn't so worried about this, but Shane was packing as little as he could. Finally, Connie gave us a scale that has a hook to weigh the bags. After packing almost everything we'll need except toiletries my bag ended up weighing 26.5 pounds and Shane's weighed 27 pounds. I don't think we have a problem. Since then, he's been a little more willing to pack a few more things.
Once we get to Peru we won't have our phones, but we will be checking our email as often as we can and we'll be posting updates as often as we can so be sure to check back and see how it's going! We'll also post pictures once we get back.
Independence Day
I hope you all had a fun day yesterday! Ours was a marathon celebration...
We began the day cleaning Tom's house in our Che shirts (they were given to us by a boy in the ward after his trip to Guatemala). Tom was very upset with us wearing these shirts given the holiday we were celebrating. Really we just didn't want to clean in other clothes, but it was funny to bug Tom (who also has a Che shirt, along with a Ho Chi Minh shirt, and a Mao shirt so he can't talk).
Because Tom has a pool we now celebrate all parties here, so everyone gathered about noon and we went swimming, then we had some hamburgers and hot dogs (how American is that?), and swam some more. Then someone decided we should go see a movie but the kids wanted to see Ratatouille and the men wanted to see the new Die Hard movie. We ended up finding showings that started 10 minutes apart so the guys and Ashley went to see Die Hard and the rest of us saw Ratatouille. We ended the evening with swimming, pizza, classic Nintendo, and root beer floats. I don't think we would've swam as much as we did if it weren't for the kids. They really like being in the water, so it makes it more fun for everyone else.
On another note, this week really introduced me to Arizona heat. It was in the triple digits all week, mostly around 110. Yesterday it got up to 117!!! I don't really know how to describe that heat. It's just hot, really hot. Luckily Tom has a covered porch and Roy brought over an extra canopy to cover more of the patio so we didn't get too hot!
We began the day cleaning Tom's house in our Che shirts (they were given to us by a boy in the ward after his trip to Guatemala). Tom was very upset with us wearing these shirts given the holiday we were celebrating. Really we just didn't want to clean in other clothes, but it was funny to bug Tom (who also has a Che shirt, along with a Ho Chi Minh shirt, and a Mao shirt so he can't talk).
Because Tom has a pool we now celebrate all parties here, so everyone gathered about noon and we went swimming, then we had some hamburgers and hot dogs (how American is that?), and swam some more. Then someone decided we should go see a movie but the kids wanted to see Ratatouille and the men wanted to see the new Die Hard movie. We ended up finding showings that started 10 minutes apart so the guys and Ashley went to see Die Hard and the rest of us saw Ratatouille. We ended the evening with swimming, pizza, classic Nintendo, and root beer floats. I don't think we would've swam as much as we did if it weren't for the kids. They really like being in the water, so it makes it more fun for everyone else.
On another note, this week really introduced me to Arizona heat. It was in the triple digits all week, mostly around 110. Yesterday it got up to 117!!! I don't really know how to describe that heat. It's just hot, really hot. Luckily Tom has a covered porch and Roy brought over an extra canopy to cover more of the patio so we didn't get too hot!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
It's Official!!
This is kind of a double title I guess.
First, I spent the afternoon at the DMV and we are officially Arizona residents. Thanks to a lot of money spent on postage by my father, I was able to get all of the information I needed to get the car registered here as well as a new license for me.
It's kind of crazy! Here are some pictures of our car with its new plates...
Second, we're closing on our house on July 31 and we've been approved for our loans so it's pretty much official (until we sign everything and get the keys). Shane's already planning everything he wants to do to the house (paint colors, new flooring, etc.) which is funny since it's a relatively new house, but I'm not complaining.
I've promised to post some pictures, so here they are:
The outside of the house
Another shot of the outside (the garage sticks out so that's mostly what you see from the street).
Our kitchen
Our family room (that's the front door behind Shane)
The view of our front room/kitchen from the front door
The master bedroom. I refused to take this picture, but Shane refused to leave until I posed for it.
The master bathroom
The grapefruit tree and the backyard. I'm very excited about this!!
There are also two other bedrooms and another bathroom, but we haven't taken any pictures of them yet...
We'll give out our address once we move in and we'll keep adding pictures as we make changes.
First, I spent the afternoon at the DMV and we are officially Arizona residents. Thanks to a lot of money spent on postage by my father, I was able to get all of the information I needed to get the car registered here as well as a new license for me.
It's kind of crazy! Here are some pictures of our car with its new plates...
Second, we're closing on our house on July 31 and we've been approved for our loans so it's pretty much official (until we sign everything and get the keys). Shane's already planning everything he wants to do to the house (paint colors, new flooring, etc.) which is funny since it's a relatively new house, but I'm not complaining.
I've promised to post some pictures, so here they are:
The outside of the house
Another shot of the outside (the garage sticks out so that's mostly what you see from the street).
Our kitchen
Our family room (that's the front door behind Shane)
The view of our front room/kitchen from the front door
The master bedroom. I refused to take this picture, but Shane refused to leave until I posed for it.
The master bathroom
The grapefruit tree and the backyard. I'm very excited about this!!
There are also two other bedrooms and another bathroom, but we haven't taken any pictures of them yet...
We'll give out our address once we move in and we'll keep adding pictures as we make changes.
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