Getting to Know Arequipa (Again)

Forgive me for not posting on here as often as I would like! Since both Marshall and I have lived in Peru, there isn't much that is "new" to us, and I don't want to not post something that might be intriguing to you, just because living here is normal to us. So, with that, here is some information about Arequipa that you may not have known....

Our first 2 weeks here were REALLY wet and rainy. They've told us that its normal to get rain in February, but not as much as we got. The Chile River runs right through town and didn't flood any areas here in town, but the high waters did cause damage to one of the 7 bridges in town and the floods damaged many crops outside of town. (In many areas of the country, you will see how road work companies have done a cheap job on the roads and instead of laying the 8 inches of asphalt that is normal, its 2-3 inches. A Brazilian company was brought in to do a lot of the road work in Peru since the money the government gives to do the work tends to end up in pockets instead of the road quality.) So with all of the rain, many roads in Arequipa are torn up....which makes traffic slower and roads bumpier and hole-ier. In the meantime until the roads are fixed, bricks are laid in the holes.

Arequipa is surrounded by volcanos...One, Pichu Pichu blew its top thousands of years ago. I don't have a picture of that one yet. It is estimated that it would have been the tallest peak over 30,000 feet.

Last week the sun came back out and we were able to see some old friends....The following pictures were taken from the roof of our host family's house. Here is our first old friend Misti, a famous volcano in Peru:

Marshall got to climb Misti a few years ago when he was here studying. Here's a link to his old blog when he wrote about that experience. (Marshall and Misti)


Below is Chachani our other friend.... another volcano.

When we both studied here, Becca in 2005, Marshall in 2008 and 2009, there was only one small mall with a department store called Saga Falabela, a grocery store, food court, small shops, and a cinema. Now there are 3 more malls, each with a cinema, and a Chili's, TGI Fridays, 2 Starbucks, and more fast food joints than there were before. Arequipa has exploded! I'm not complaining at all, in fact, Analu and I have had 2 of our classes at Starbucks, and Marshall took me to TGIFridays for Valentine's Day. 

We're enjoying what Arequipa has to offer, because soon enough we'll be in Pucallpa wishing for McDonald's!! 

Our Typical School Day

We have classes at the ABC Español Institute in Arequipa, Peru. Arequipa is in the southern part of Peru, as shown below on the map, in a mountainous desert region.

So.....what does a normal school day look for us? We wake up around 6:45, get ready, eat breakfast and by 8 we walk down the street to catch the "C-Grampo-Monterrey" public transportation bus (aka combi). This bus very conveniently drives right by our street and continues to the other side of town and passes our school by a few blocks. Riding in this public transportation bus is typically an adventure....its almost always packed where there is standing room only and we get an early morning upper body work-out as we hold on tightly to the bars on the bus and swing around and to the side depending on the craziness of the driver. We get off the bus a few blocks away from school. 

Our first class starts around 8:30, and we both have grammar at that time with separate teachers. That class last until 10:00, we have a 20 minute break (which Marshall typically uses to go get one of his favorite sodas and a snack as you see below). 

The next class lasts until around 11:50. We both have Conversation/Practice at this time. Below is the building where our classes are held. 

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Marshall has his classes with Julio (on the right) and Edgar (on the left). 

Becca has classes with Analu (on the left) and Abi (on the right)

After classes we go home, change, go exercise in a nearby park, and then come back home where our host family has prepared lunch for us. Then we spend the afternoon doing homework and practicing our Español.

In Arequipa for longer than originally planned...

Its hard to believe we've been here for 3 weeks now! We've finished 3 weeks of school and about to start week 4. Its been so great for us both! We enjoy speaking Spanish and have enjoyed (for the most part) our classes. Originally we were only going to be here for 4 weeks of school for a refresher course, but we've decided to extend our studies a bit more. Its so important to speak very well, especially in sharing our hearts and lives and what Christ has done in them. There's an important aspect of Spanish grammar that English doesn't have and that is the subjunctive tense. Marshall hasn't had that in formal studies yet. We've prayed about it and believe this is what we need to do. We are taking a few steps of faith in staying as we didn't raise support for the extra school and cost of living (rent, etc) is more here than what it is in Pucallpa.

Marshall will continue with classes when we get back to Arequipa from the SAM field conference in Lima. Becca had the full 6month course here in 2005, and several Peruvian friends have asked why she's taking classes again. It has been good for her, and they've "polished" a lot of her mistakes. She will probably meet up with a few friends regularly here who are good at correcting mistakes, instead of taking classes to help out with those extra costs. Both of her teachers at the school have agreed that she doesn't need to continue with classes after this week....she just needs to keep polishing her common errors. =)

Who knows, maybe God is leading us to do this also because as of now we have no housing in Pucallpa, and there have been some delays in getting our visas....maybe once we're done with the schooling we'll have a visa and a place to live!
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If you would like to give a financial gift to help us out with this extra bit of schooling,  you can give online here on the right sided column or contact us at mrkitron@southamericamission.org.

We're Here!

We are in Peru! Its been 5 days and we're still occasionally looking at each other and saying, "We're in Peru!" We've been trying to get here for so long, its still hard to believe we're here! We may need to be pinched!!

We left Birmingham on Tuesday. Gary and Catherine Noah (along with sweet Mary Blake!) took us to the airport...We checked 8 bags and had our carry-on bags and backpacks. At first it seemed that they wouldn't let us check all 8....and after a week of deciding what goes and what doesn't, I don't know what I would've done if they'd only let us check 2 each. After a few phone calls the lady was assured of what we'd read online and we were able to check all 8. (With some hefty fees of course.) We went through TSA, and I gave them a heads up about my kitchenaid (a girl has gotta bake!), they did pull that bag aside to look through, the lady was very nice, there were no problems, and all was clear! Our flights were fine from Birmingham to Houston and Houston to Lima.

After getting off the plane, we first went through "Migraciones" (Immigrations). We were given a heads up about our visa process and due to some recent complications, our visas may be delayed, and so we asked for an extension of the normal 90day tourist visa, and the Peruvian immigrations guy gave us the 180 day extension. Hopefully we won't have to leave the country before our visas are processed! After migraciones we got all of our bags, put them in carts and proceeded to "Aduanas" (customs). In this process, you file in a line, then hand the form you filled out to a customs officer. After this you push a button, it'll either give you a red or a green light. If its green....no problems!! Go on out of the airport....If its red....ugh...immediate increase in blood pressure and heart rate.....you have to go to the side, load all your luggage to be scanned in a HUGE x-ray machine, and if anything is conspicuous, you're pulled aside. Its stressful enough to get the red even when its just your clothes in 2 bags...but 8 bags of not only clothes, all our DVDs, our computers, kitchen stuff, our Wii, books.....What of all of our things was the most threatening??? My kitchenaid. The lady pulled me and that carryon to the side, asked if it was mine, how old it was, how much it costed me, if it was industrial, etc....I answered all of her questions honestly then finished with, "We're moving here and I like to bake and cook!" Then she asked if all the clothes were ours or if we were giving any away. I answered, "We're moving to Pucallpa and will be sweating a lot." She nodded with an "ahhhh" and let me go! =)

We spent a few days in Lima....on Marshall's side of Lima....at the SAM (South America Mission) guest house. We ran different errands in getting the visa started, and also began eating some of our favorite Peruvian foods! First we had Pollo a la Brasa (Peruvian rotisserie) served with french fries and aji sauce. We both have missed aji! (Aji is a Peruvian pepper that flavors most Peruvian meals). Our second meal of choice was Anticuchos de corazon (grilled beef heart.....sounds weird, and I don't want you to visualize the whole heart on a skewer....its the muscle of the heart in pieces, marinated in a lot of goodness and grilled). We've also delighted in Lomo Saltado......fine, soft beef sauteed with onions, aji, tomatoes, cilantro and served over french fries and rice. Hmmmm.......

We left Lima yesterday afternoon by bus to go to Arequipa. This city in southern Peru has a special place in our hearts. This is where we both have learned Spanish and have a lot of friends.....including Karen, our former language school teacher who was the matchmaking brains behind putting us together! Our bus ride ended up being 17 hours instead of 14. We slept ok, but today we're laying low, taking it easy. We're staying with Julio and Miriam O'Brien. He's one of the teachers at the school, and a dentist. Its a great set up. We have our own room and our own bathroom. Pedro, one of the other teachers, and the director of the school dropped by to see us. =)  Karen and her family live close by, and we dropped by, but no one was home. =(  We'll see a lot of our friends tomorrow at church, including the family I lived with for 6 1/2 months!

We're eager to brush up on our Spanish, be corrected for bad habits, bad pronunciation, and learn/relearn some of the more advanced parts of Spanish. Please pray with us for this month of learning! Please also pray for our health as we currently acclimatize to higher elevation (8,000feet) and as our bodies and intestines get used to food here again.

Thank you for reading!!