Good things.

Praise God for unexpected surprises. He is always good about showing His love to us in the little things. Picture this: A park. Green grass. Blankets. Good books. And....sun. This afternoon, Sandi and I laid outside in a park across from the apartment. It was so delightful to feel the sun's warmth on my cheek, to see blue skies, no clouds at all. I don't think that this afternoon could have been any better. 

For those of you who have yet to hear me whine about my current home, here is the reason why I am so excited about sun: There is no sun in Lima, Peru. Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but most of it is true. Lima doesn't get very much sun, at least not at this time of the year. So, here's the good news: I am leaving Lima on November 1 for Arequipa, which is really my home, and which also happens to be sunny 300 days of the year. I've definitely learned in the last two weeks that I am a girl who needs some sun in her life. :) 

I've had some good days recently, mostly hanging out with friends here. This feeling I have of not being able to do anything is about to change with my move south. Among other things, Sandi, Jessica and I have been hanging out a lot, roaming the city, drinking coffee, shopping, watching Lost (it just doesn't get old) and various movies with Austin and Anibal. We had a Halloween costume party last week for the ESL class, and that was tons of fun. The longer I stay in Lima and meet people, the more I do like it, and I will miss new friends. 

The other day I sat at Starbucks for 3 hours. It was so good. I finished reading The Shack (thanks for the loan Chris Black, I don't even think you knew I had it...I'll mail it to you in Brazil). My take on the book: It is a good read--fun in the sense that it makes you think. It is quite introspective. Here's how I look at all the spiritual stuff, though: To everyone who thinks the book is the be-all-end-all of things, just pick up Scripture. The Bible, the Gospel, though offensive, is what the author draws from, and it is far more accurate and life-giving than any novel. So my advice, for what it's worth, while I know not much, is just to read the Word of God and fall in love. 

Other funny tidbits that I have for y'all, if you're still reading after I spouted off about The Shack...

*Spanish here, at first, seemed like a breeze. Oh, it's absolutely not. I find myself saying "como?" more than any other word. I'd love to practice with people, but I need to understand them first. I think it's just that Peruanos speak really fast, and there are a lot of dialectal differences as well. 

*My taxi driver the other day thought I was from France. Wow. I don't even know what to say to that.

*I am going to turn into a chicken before I leave Peru. I'm convinced that these people eat more chicken than anything else. 

*I was excited the other day when I passed a local store and actually recognized it and the merchant in the store. The previous day I'd seen a man outside the store dancing with his daughter/sister. It was really cute. They were just salsa-ing, no music. Well, the next day, I saw him again. I know this sounds weird, but it was almost familiar....like I was actually home. I saw a complete stranger twice, but it was something recognizable. 

*Peruvian movie theaters are an experience...good, but interesting. Here is a movie NOT to see: Ceguera, or Blindness. I thought it would be a good, interesting, "intellectual" movie, but I was wrong. Sandi and I walked out of the theater. Don't ask, I can't even think about it. I lost 8 soles on that awful creation.

*I've now seen much of what is available as far as shopping goes. Jess and I went to the Black Market the other day, which was interesting. I can't say I'll go back there. Then, we went to Jockey Plaza, which was really fun and nice, very much like an American mall. Today Sandi took me to a "middle of the road" plaza, where we went to Topitop, also known as "La gran tienda peruana." This cracks me up. Everyone here seems to love this store, and it is does have good stuff for decent prices. Maybe someday I'll embrace Topitop and actually buy something.

*There is a new creature in my life. I call her Devil Cat. The apartment I am currently in houses a kitten. Don't ask me her name, I couldn't tell you. Jessica got her for 5 soles, which is about 1.50. That should tell you something. If you know me at all, you know that I hate cats with all my being. Well, this cat KNOWS that I hate it. I'm telling you, she is after me. She is a white furball roaming around, looking at me with her freakishly beady eyes, always ready to pounce on me or draw blood from my limbs. She can be semi-cute sometimes when she lets you hold her, but most of the time, she acts possessed. Since Jess left for Arequipa for a week, Cat has started to confuse me with her owner. Please come back soon, Jessica. 

*Now onto the BIG THING. Everyone interested in making fun of me/Peru, READ THIS (ie, all my Athens friends...) I saw llamas for the first time today. It's only taken me over two weeks. I was in a taxi and happened to look to my right and saw a park, where two llamas were roaming around. I didn't have my camera, and there was a a fence separating me from this glorious sight. All hope was restored in this moment, and I can die happy now: Sun and llamas in one day.  

Last funny thing, and then I'll leave the blog-world for another 10 days or so. First of all, happy halloween from Peru. Let me explain Peruvian halloween, as I know it at this moment. I've heard that Halloween falls on the same day that Peru celebrates its criollo music. So, most Peruvians, if they choose to celebrate something, are going to celebrate this day in their culture. Well, Sandi and I forgot to buy candy so tonight as we are watching a movie, we suddenly hear cries of "Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!" Apparently some kids do celebrate halloween, and we ended up having to hide from them, which made me sad because I would have loved to have seen some costumes. This year we embraced the ABBA fad that is currently taking over in this country and attempted to be ABBA-esque (it failed). Maybe I'll start working on my llama costume for next year...