Always something to drink cervezas to

Here are a couple photos from the wedding of Xavier's sister. There were 200 people at the wedding reception and almost all of them were family. And the whole family did not even come! There are so many more relatives across the country that I have never met.

Xavier and his sister the bride, Indira

Paltas en la huerta

So I have been in San Ignacio, Peru for about a week and a half. The first week was intense in many ways. It was wonderful to be with Xavier again, and I enjoyed being a mushy, "cho cho" couple. However, I was plagued with the dilemma that my internet connection did not work as well as planned. While the (only) internet service provider in San Ignacio sold us a package for high speeds, I was not getting this when I tried to do my work. So there was stress and worry and frustration. But we made it through (relatively calmly for typical me I have to say...), and I have adapted my work programs to function better here. (Many thanks to Hans and Mo for their (continued) help!)

And then Xavier's sister, Indira, is getting married tomorrow. Last weekend was her bachelorette party (despedida de soltera). Xavier is the oldest of three, with two younger sisters (like me). And Wednesday the groom celebrated his despedida de soltero, although it was less planned and more informal than for the bride. And we did not really stick to only the one gender in either party. Xavier and his uncle crashed the bachelorette party, and I joined his grandma and the bride at the bachelor party. And last night was his aunt's birthday. And as I said before, last week was Xavier's birthday. So there has been a lot going on and lots of celebrating with family (which means cervezas and delicious (and strong!) liquor from grapes).

Although we do not forget the simple things. There is not much in the backyard (but I want to make a garden and plant some vegetables...I am going to miss my balcony in DC this growing season), but there is one avocado tree. Oh how I love avocado, palta, aguacate (depending on where you are from). Lucky for me, it was time to harvest so Xavier's dad climbed it the other day to collect them. Here is a picture of him in the tree and Xavier collecting them.


On another note, I am glad I have those photos I took in the last posting of the view from the rooftop, because that view no longer exists. There used to be open space next to the house which then connected to his grandparents' house, which then connected to aunt and uncle's house. (Half the city is his family...I don't think I'm even exaggerating.) But now someone is building a restaurant that comes right up to the house (literally) and ended passage between the houses and blocks the views of the city (you can see it in this picture). The houses here tend to have openings to the outside, and there used to be openings above the bathroom and shower so you had nice light and even a small view. But now it's brick...they built the restaurant right up to the house. I mean right up to it. And now from the rooftop your view is the roof of the restaurant. While there is lots of banging and pounding during construction, they also blast music all day long. :-)

Otherwise things are pretty normal and chill. I spend most of my time in front of the computer working. Otherwise it seems we are eating, cleaning up, or buying food at the market. The family (dad, sisters, Xavier, me, and sometimes Indira's soon-to-be-husband) eat lunch and dinner together. Then in the evenings, we hang out or have random things to tend to. There is not really much to do here; you could say it's boring. His sisters will be staying here until end of March. Then their classes start back up and they'll be heading back to the city Chiclayo, on the coast, 12 hours away. If anyone wants to visit, they have a beach and right now it's summer there. :-) (Mind you it is summer THERE. Here it has been raining every day for at least a bit. But the sun peeks out too. It's quite nice actually, 60s- 70s.) Here is a sunset from there, when I first arrived in Peru. We stayed there for a day before continuing on the long journey from Lima to San Ignacio. (Nice sunset but the city itself is nothing to write about.)

Arriving at my new home in Peru

After two planes and two nights sleeping in buses, I finally arrived at my new home in northern Peru yesterday morning at 5am. Just how I remembered. This is my fourth time in this smallish town of San Ignacio, located in the tropical (lower altitude) part of the Andes mountains. The first step, after sleeping for a bit in my new bed and waking to a beautifully sunny, lush view out my new window, was unloading my suitcases and getting my new room set up. followed by connecting my laptop and ensuring an online connection for my job. In the evening, we had to get a pillow and something to hang our new curtains at the whole two stores here that carry those things. It is Xavier's birthday today so last night we started the celebration the traditional way by enjoying a crate of cervezas (beer), music, and dancing with his family. Today my current view is cloudy and rainy, as it is the rainy season right now, but I have to head to the (currently muddy) market, an entire block away, to get food to prepare lunch. It's interesting because the town is small and nestled in the mountains. So you are surrounded by houses, gardens, dusty streets, and then further out, mountains. The town itself does not have much to offer except cerveza and café (coffee) - it is the main producer of café in Peru. Unfortunately I don't have batteries for my camera yet so I have not taken any photos. But I do have photos from the last time I was here.


Regional views - areas nearby San Ignacio.






























View of San Ignacio from Xavier's family "farm" - they do not live there, just have land, which they do not really tend to except for a few coffee (café ) trees.

As I look at this picture, it occurs to me that San Ignacio is not THAT small...but they just got their first bank a couple years ago (after I was here the first time) which is the local Peruvian bank and only services their own customers, i.e. my ATM card for my US bank does me no good here. Plus, at that time, they only had a couple bars and one main discoteca...now they have many more.


















Within the city...some parts have more gardens and trees than others. I am lucky to live in one of the most "green" (as in color for you GA folk) parts of the town.




















Street Xavier and family live on - my new home.