another week gone by.

{monday oct.4}

my friend dani with santa clause

{tuesday oct.5}

oops.

{wednesday oct.6}

they are selling pumpkins!!!

amelia was quite excited.

{thursday oct.7}

oops.

{friday oct.8}

delicious meal cooked with sam and megan.

pecan chicken, rice and veggies.

{saturday oct.9}

the white board in my kitchen.

{sunday oct.10}

cute graffiti of a window box.

little tid-bits.

I recently realized that I have been doing a terrible job of keeping this blog updated with what is going on in my life. So here are a few little tid-bits of what my life has been like as of late. Let's see, where to start...

I'm currently in the midst of midterms. I don't have any actual exams, but instead projects and essays to do. I think I'd prefer to take an exam. None of this reading a 400-page ethnography and then answering questions comparing it to another one of 180 pages. No thank you. Side note about reading the 400 page ethnography, library books can only be checked out for a period of 4 days. How am I supposed to get all the reading done in such a short amount of time? I suppose I could renew the book, but wait, during midterms you aren't allowed to renew books. Strange? I think so. So I've just got to plan out when I check out books and when I'll actually have time to read them. I think I've got it figured out. But it's still a bit frustrating. I also recently found out that I have 3 major projects/essays due within two days of each other - two on Tuesday and one on Wednesday. It's a bit stressful and overwhelming, but I'm just trying to take it a little bit at a time, because honestly that's all I can handle.

So I guess since it's midterms that means that the semester is halfway over. What? When did that happen? I haven't yet decided how I feel about it because thoughts are pretty mixed. But I think I've come to the conclusion that I want to go home but I'm not ready to leave Peru. (I'm not so sure that I'll be ready come December, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.) Yup. That's how it is. So I just try not to think about it. I've got to be here now.

I started attending a church here in Lima about 5 or 6 weeks ago. I go each sunday with my friend Anna from CIEE. It's a Christian Missions Alliance church. I really enjoy it although we haven't met anyone and aren't involved in any way. I just don't have the time to make a commitment to something else, but Sunday morning worship is necessary. We've decided that we really like sitting in the balcony - one of the reasons being that it provides a better view of the cute drummer. Gosh, that sounded so girly and high-schoolish. Oh well. I promise thats not the only reason we go each Sunday.

Alright...what else can I share? I leave to go to Buenos Aires in 19 days!!! I am so incredibly excited!!! I LOVE traveling and haven't been out of Lima yet this semester. I'll be going with Amelia and our program director Melvin. Since Amelia and I are here for our second semester we've already been on the program trips to Cusco and Lunahuaná so we get to take the money from those trips to go on another trip. We chose Buenos Aires!!!!

Oh, here's a good story. So on Monday I was asked if Sam and I would be able to do something "special" for the meeting that CBU was leading on Thursday night. All of the CBUs from different universities in Lima get together once a month and they rotate which university is in charge. This month was "our" turn. And we were asked to help out. Which is great! It made me feel good to be included. But at first we were a bit unsure. It seems a little bit like throw the gringas up on stage and watch them be funny. Amelia decided that we are not circus freaks, as much as it may seem like it at times. Once we established that that is not what it was about, Sam and I decided to participate. All we were told was that they wanted our "special" act to be funny. Alright. So we thought a bit and decided to do that skit where one person has their hands behind their back and the other person stands behind them and puts their arms through and acts as their hands. We didn't tell them what we were going to do but we promised that it would be funny. They all seemed very curious and a bit unsure, but I guess they trusted us or something. Also the day of the meeting (Thursday) we were eating lunch and one of the guys asked me to help him lead worship, aka singing with him. Well I wouldn't say that I've got a great voice and I've never really sang in front of anyone, but I wanted to help him out and he seemed a bit desperate. So I agreed. It turned out alright. And our little skit went well. There were probably about 50 peruvians in the room and two little americans. We were so worried that they wouldn't think it was funny, but they laughed. And we got positive feedback throughout the night. I made a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich and ate it. Which meant that there was PB&J everywhere. And drinking out of the water bottle proved to be quite the challenge. But like I said, it was successful. And our friends are still friends with us so all is good.

So I suppose I should wrap it up, go eat something and do some more homework. (Who am I kidding? I probably won't do anymore work.) I hope all is well wherever you happen to be. I'll be posting some pictures from my week tomorrow.

week in photos.

[monday sep. 27]

ugly traffic on javier prado in the morning

[tuesday sep. 28]

gelato tuesdays with sam and amelia

[wednesday sep. 29]

hydrangea flowers on campus

[thursday sep. 30]

los danzantes tijeras (scissor dancers) at la dama juana

[friday oct. 1]

out with some friends from cbu for pollo a la brasa

(l to r) ángel, jonatan, amelia, miki, paola, nora...and me and sam

[saturday oct. 2]

oreo truffles made with love by abby and amelia

[sunday oct. 3]

christmas items are already in stores.

a bit early it seems.

(i (obviously) didn't take this one, but it still counts)

abigail

[abigail]

in hebrew the meaning of the name is: father rejoiced or father's joy. gives joy.

in spanish there is a word for when you share a name with another person:

tocayo - when you share the same first name

colombroño - when you share the same last name

homónimo - when you share the same first and last name

i have yet to find anyone here in peru that share my last name but i have found 3 tocayos.

1. when i was activating my id card in the library last semester the man working at the front desk informed me that his daughter is also named abigail.

2 & 3. two little girls at deporte y vida (the organization where i volunteer in villa el salvador)

the first little abigail is 6 years old. a few weeks ago i was helping her with her homework, but she was a bit distracted because she was also in charge of taking care of her 1 year-old brother. i could tell that she was really into her homework but she kept on having to get up to go and find her brother, or to comfort him when he fell down. after most of the kids had finished their homework the teachers put a movie on. abigail just wanted to watch the movie, so i told her that i would watch her little brother. she kept on looking over and checking up on him. it was very sweet. i found out from norma, one of the teachers, that abigail probably wouldn't be going to school that day because she had to watch her little brother. we asked abigail and she confirmed, her mother had gone to work and she was to take care of her brother. can you imagine that? a six year old in charge of her brother for the whole day? it broke my heart knowing that this little abigail doesn't have a chance to be a kid, she has to be a mother.

and this is the other abigail:

i think we've formed a special bond because we share a name. whenever i arrive she always runs over to me and gives me a big hug. she wants me to pick her up and play with her, and i'm happy to do it. we play hand games where she is singing the song and i'm just trying to follow along. she is very sweet and loving, but she also gets into trouble. she is often hitting other kids and getting into fights. the other kids tease her a lot and she will come running to me to find shelter and protection. as she hides behind me the other kids whine and say "but she hit me! she pushed me!" i try to calm them down and they eventually give up and run off again. then i turn to abigail and tell her not to hit the other kids. and she looks at me with these eyes that pierce my heart. i can see pain and hurt. i don't know what her story is, but i can sense that it is not a happy one.

and it makes me think of a song by maeve, and i pray that i may be able to whisper peace into this little girl's life.

"whisper peace"

i want to rock you in my arms,

let you cry, let you cry.

i want to take on your pain

get it out from inside.

i want to hold you in my arms

and put God's hand around your heart.

whisper peace.

whisper peace.

it didn't take too long

for you to get inside my mind.

the mystery of the world

seen through your eyes drew me in.

i wanted to know every thought inside your head.

why were you spinning?

i want to rock you in my arms,

let you cry, let you cry.

i want to take on your pain

get it out from inside.

i want to hold you in my arms

and put God's hand around your heart.

whisper peace.

whisper peace.

dreaming.

ever have those dreams that you wish would never end? those dreams that you wake up from then try to somehow slip back into them because you want to continue? either to see how it ends or just because it's wonderful and comforting?

i had one of those dreams last night. and as i hit the snooze button on my alarm clock this morning i attempted to drift back into the world of my dream, but i just couldn't get back in. in my dream i was back at home with my family and friends after peru. it was so vivid and real that it seems like i actually spent time with my family and friends. which left me in a really good mood all day today.

sometimes i wish that i could choose what i dream about at night. when i was younger i would repeat a word over and over as i lay in my bed to try to force myself to dream about it. i don't think it ever worked. but that would be nice. it that were the case i'd like to dream about my family and friends every night. i'd like to be with them, spending time with them. because then they don't seem so far away from me.

"i think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. if we're in each other's dreams, we can be together all the time." [calvin and hobbes]

------------------------------------------------------

and in case you were wondering, i've

decided to upload my pictures on a weekly basis.

(sorry mom. you'll just have to wait till the end of the week.)

love.

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

saturday.

[this is how i spent my saturday]:

peacocks in the park

abigaíl

kiara

pushing christian y jorge on the swings for hours and hours