Chimbote, mi nuevo hogar.

I made it to Chimbote from Lima safely. Its hard to beleive that Ill be living here for the next two years. The people are really nice, and the two missionaries who have already been here for a year, Kelli and Emily, are cool.

Im still figuring out how to use the whole internet cafe system so Ill have to be quick to post before my computer shuts off:

Cool stuff about Chimbote:

1. The weather. Its awesome. With a high of about 70 and a low in the evenings of about 50, you really cant beat it. Especially compared to 105 during the day and 104 and night in Texas.
2. The people. Apparently there has been a lot of people anticipating the new missionaries and the parish community has really welcomed us. The people in general here are really open and nice.
3. The house. The missionary house is awesome. Its two stories, I get my own bedroom and we have a back yard with a hammock and a cat. Its pretty sweet.

Unexpected stuff:

1. It seems like everyone has a dog here. But guess where they dogs live? ON the roof. Apparently there is a problem with people breaking in to homes from the rooftops so people started keeping their dogs on the roof. Its crazy to be barked at from above. Also, they let their dogs out onto the street during the day and the way that you can tell that they are owned is that they have little T-shirts on. Its funny to see a popluation of clothed dogs wandering around almost like theyre people.
2. There are a lot of religious denominations here. I thought that it would be primarily Catholic, which it is for the most part, but there is also a large Mormon, evangelical, and Jehovahs witness presence. And they are outspoken. One woman at the migration center in Lima had a pretty blunt conversation with Emily about what she thought of the Catholic faith as she was stamping our documents. Separation of Church and State? Not here. I can definitely forsee some challenges in that department later.
3. The smell. Okay, it really does smell like fish here. You get used to it for sure, but that first moment when I got off the bus I thought, "Man...how am I live with this smell for two years!" But I dont really smell it much now. (But every now and then, Its pretty powerful)
4. There is a big Asian influence. Apparently there is a lot of diffusion between Japan and other Asian countries due to Chimbote being a fishing area. Japan is one of Perus largest trading partners. So its not uncommon to see Peruvian-Asian looking people and chinese food restaraunts.

Some negatives:

The people here are great but Ive already heard some pretty sad stories. One little girl told Katie while they were learning how to add and subtract that her older sister who was fifteen was shot and killed in their neighborhood. Another little boy had a cast on his armand said that the moto-taxi (motorcycle powered carts used for public transportation) taking him to school was driving to fast when it took a turn and flipped. Ive already seen a lot of men, who look like hardworking fishermen, with jaundiced eyes who look like theyre suffering from alcholism. So overall Chimbote has good people but the hurt is already apparent.

Hopefully Ill be able to do something good for this community.

And sorry for the typos this spanish keyboard is taking some getting used to.

Adios Lima.

Last day in Lima. Next stop - Chimbote! Otherwise known as my home for the next two years.

It´s hard to beleive that a week ago I was in the U.S. Where it was 105 degrees. Where I didn´t have to boil the water before I drank it. Where everyone spoke a language I understood. (and where I could flush the toilet paper.)

I have to say though, Peru is a really rich country. I´ve seen that already and I´ve been here less than a week.

We´ve gotten to see some of Lima and experience some of the Peruvian culture. We´ve visited the Museo Nacional, the Presidents Palace, the Cathedral and the Franciscan catacombs. While the sights have been cool, the people are awesome.

Marcel Keating - the nurse who Katie will be replacing - left today, but before she did she told me a little about how proud Peruvians are.

As we walked along the rocky beach, the sound of the stones rolling and crashing against eachother, Marcel explained, ¨Peruvians are very proud and very clean...and with all the dust and dirt here, it´s hard. You want to keep up with it too. You want to be able to clean as much as they do...but it just gets to be too much. Like, they sweep in front of their houses.¨

¨Their porches.¨

¨No, outside. They´d sweep that.¨ She said pointing to the littered dirt we were walking on.

That reminded me of the people in Progreso back home. Even though its just dirty sidewalk, its their sidewalk. Their land. And they´re going to take care of it. 

I respect that a lot. Even though they may not have much, they take care of what they have and make the most of it.

Another thing Peruvians are proud of is their food.

The food here is good.

Really good.

Breakfast is usually just a medium sized meal. Maybe some oatmeal, fruit, bread and jelly and some coffee or tea. Nothing too special.

Dinner is a similar story. Bread, cheese and some fruit. Alright.

Lunch is where its at. Since its cold out (Oh yeah, it´s winter here.) they usually start out with some Caldo de Pollo. Its similar to what we have in the Valley but the spices are a little different, the broth is a little green instead of red. The second course is always served with white rice, some good vegetables or mashed potatos and some type of fish, chicken or red meat. They have really good potatos and sauces and they have a lot of variety when it comes vegetables, peppers and fruits.

I haven´t tried a single thing that hasn´t been good.

I do have to say though, it´s going to be tough living without tortillas. Which means no tacos. No enchiladas. No chips. No flautas. No chalupas. No migas.

Mmmm...Migas.

But the food here is so good, I think I´ll survive.

A mixed bag.

4AM - San Antonio International Airport

¨Your bags are overwieght.¨ the Airline rep told Katie and I at the Continental counter.

We knew they would be. We were ready to pay.

¨Okay. So how much extra is it going to cost?¨ I asked, impatiently tapping my credit card on the counter top. I was still kinda sad about saying goodbye to my family.

¨No. Your bags are overwieght. Overweight bags aren´t allowed on the flight you´re taking.¨

¨What?¨

¨You cannot take bags weighing over fifty pounds to Lima,¨ the rep rephrased it.

¨So...what do we do?¨ I asked, already suspecting the answer.

She raised an eyebrow, leaned over her computer to look at our bags and bluntly gave her suggestion:

¨Take stuff out.¨

As we stood off to the side of the ticketing line, our bags flung open, digging through all the stuff we thought we´d need, deciding what we could and couldn´t live without, I couldn´t help but smile at Katie, the ¨this-is-going-to-be-a-funny-story...later¨ smile.

I had to give up mostly all of my books, a pair of shoes and some clothes. Katie gave up some clothes and a lot of her toiletries with the hope that she´d be able to find replacements once we arrived.

She told me later as we sat on the taxiing airplane, ¨There counldn´t have been a better way to begin a journey about living simply.¨

and I couldn´t have agreed more.

We were forced to ask ourselves, ¨Okay, what is it that we really need?¨

Thanks to Jelly who was able to come back to the airport and pick up our stuff, there´s hope that one day we might see our orphaned stuff again. But we found ourselves asking, ¨Did we really need the things we gave up after all?¨

Think about the things that you think you can´t live without. I bet you´d be surprised at what you´d be able to give up if you had to.

...and in our case, what we really needed (like patience and sense of humor) wasn´t even in our bags at all.

First Things First

Alright, I'm not getting up from  this computer until I've posted something on here. 
    
I keep putting this off because I'm not sure what to write. A professor of mine taught me that if I'm agonizing over starting to write then I'm probably over thinking it. They'd tell me to just get it out, keep it simple.     


For the  past couple of weeks I have been in orientation with the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. I have learned a lot about the Order, a lot about myself, and a lot about what it means to be a missionary.

But most importantly, I have learned that I have a lot to be thankful for.

So before writing anything else, I need to thank all the people who helped to get me here.

My family.
These past weeks have been tough, especially being so close, but so far, from my family. Missing home is what I'm least looking forward to these next two years. I just want to thank my parents, my brothers, my sister, my grandparents, my aunts, my uncles, my primos and primas for all of the love and support throughout my life. And friends that might as well be family, like the Prietos, the Holders, the Johnsons, the Vasquezes, all all of the Rosary group and my homeboy Michael Sanchez.

I keep thinking about the last day I was at home and how throughout the entire day I kept thinking about having to pack my bags. and how I didn't what to. and how sad it was going to be. After we had eaten thanksgiving dinner in July-which my mom planned for me because I won't be here for it and because she's also the best-I walked into my room, and there they were. My aunts and cousin, packing up all my stuff for me. Hey, so, I'm still not exactly sure what all I have in my bag....and I'm finding all kinds of little 'surprises' That is family to me. Having people in  your life that think you're important enough, and love you enough, to do stuff for you that you don't want to do yourself, or by yourself. Or something like that.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary Community.
I think I truly experienced a miracle this past summer. I've had a blessed life but I'd never felt the holy spirit more strongly than when I asked my community for their financial help. 
Not only did I raise enough money-which I got by the end of the first weekend I asked-I received almost  double the amount. This money goes directly to the missionary program, so I felt very blessed and extremely humbled  to be able to hand over that check and say to myself, "Yeah. See that? That's the strength of my home. That's my parish." It is equally important  that  I thank all those who gave their support spiritually through prayer. It meant as much to me, and my family,  for someone to say they would remember me in their prayers. These next two years are going to be tough. Awesome, but tough. Prayers will be critical.
And I couldn't have done any of that without the support of Monsignor Biseno. I feel like he is really one of the most underrated aspects of my church community.
 
Peace from Villa Maria in  San Antonio

...Finally. the first post. Nailed it.