Where are you from?

Maximo is learning about Journeys for his Unit of Inquiry at school.  It has been great, because we have been able to participate in this unit quite a bit.  John went into Maximo's class last week to share with the class his journey to Aomori on the 8th grade ski trip.  They've had a lot of guest speakers who have shared their journeys with them, and they also had a travel agent come in as well.

Next week, they have their final "assessment"/action for the unit.  All the students will be travel agents and I get to be a prospective client.  Where do you think I want to go?  Definitely somewhere warm.

This unit has also opened a lot of discussions lately at our dinner table about journeys and why people take them and we've talked about different places around the world.

Today, Maximo started to scratch off places he's been on the map that Nana sent him.

After scratching off countries he's been to, he said, "Mom, I've been to eight places."

"Eight Countries."

"Yeah, eight countries.  I want to go to all the countries in the world.  I want to go to Antarctica and play with penguins and ski EVERYDAY."

"That sounds like fun, Maximo.  We'll go to a lot of countries together."

"Mom, where's Korea?"

"It's right there, Maximo."

"Yoonseo is from Korea."

"That's cool, Maximo."

"Maximo, where are you from?"

Pause.

"Peru."

"Yes, you were born there, but you aren't Peruvian."

"Are you Japanese?"

"Yes, a little bit."

Eating our Summer Away

Low Country Boil
Photo Credit: www.unclebubbas.com

As May comes every year, we start dreaming of all the things we can get in the US.  Things we miss from our childhood or just from the past few years.
Living in Japan is different than when we lived in Peru.  In Japan, we can get almost anything we want, at a price.  In Peru, there were things we just couldn't get and shipping was not reliable, even packages from our family.  Over the years, we have learned how to make many of our favorites from scratch - pork barbecue, Tex Mex, and many others.

Here are a few foods and dishes we crave from the US.  Most of them we've ate while we were home, some of them will have to wait another year.

In the South:

• Pork Barbecue at Johnny Harris, at Papas, Blowin' Smoke and anywhere else we could get our hands on it!
• Peaches!  Blueberries!  The kids ate their weight in fruit this summer.
• Boiled Peanuts
• Key Lime Pie
• Cuban Food at Rancho Alegre, specifically for me - Lechon Asada
• (Tex) Mexican - at Jalapeños and at Carlitos. 
• Shrimp - in a low country boil or peel and eat with hush puppies

In the North:

• Grinders (sub sandwiches, but somehow better)
• Sweet pizza from the Pizza Lady, although I miss it from Guilinos Bakery.
• Iced Coffees at Dunkin Donuts - I had at least one a day.  I miss Bess Eaton's crushed iced, but the iced coffee is still good.
• Soupy (local cured sausage - appropriately called Supri Soupressata)
• Portuguese Sweet Bread
• Lobster
• Fried Clam Strips
• Steamers
• Clam Chowder

Others:

• Mango salsa -spicy and sweet!
• Peanut Buster Parfait from Dairy Queen
• Rye toast

And a few of our new favorites...

We had a wonderful date night at the fairly (this means anything that opened in the past 7 years) Local restaurant near Forsyth Park, which was delicious! We then went to Lulu's Chocolate Bar for dessert and drinks.  Another night, we went to Sol which was a great treat too - we had a yummy dish of 4 different kinds of salsas and I had a great shrimp taco with Thai chili sauce. 

But, now we're back in Japan... luckily not too much heavier after eating all this food!  Soon enough we'll start dreaming about this food again, but for now, we're happy to be cooking more and eating great food here!

Flavius Lemley - A Tribute

As many of you may have read on John's Facebook or have heard from us, Flavius has passed away.  He was a wonderful pet who had a full life.  I'm writing this to share with you, but mostly for Maximo and Lola when they get older.

When John and I moved to Peru, we had just "lost" a cat (Lucy) and John's stepbrother took Max (the Cat), since there was an embargo on flying him in the summer to Peru and because we didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into with international teaching.  After getting settled into our new environment, we realized something was missing from our home - a CAT!  Another teacher from school had been feeding and finding other teachers cats from behind a church in our neighborhood where there were many stray/abandoned cats that were fed by a rotation of people in the area.

John and I went with her one evening in hopes of finding a kitten to take home.  Armed with a can of tunafish and a zippered mesh bag, we went to the park behind the church.  All of the kittens were too skittish and wouldn't come near us, but an older looking orange tabby plopped himself on our laps, with really no interest in the food, but more interested in the attention.  We took that as a sign, and decided to take him with us.  We only lived about two blocks from the park, but we decided that with all the hustle bustle of traffic and people, that he may freak out if we tried to just carry him home.  So, we stuffed him in the bag and hailed a taxi.  He howled the whole way home and John and I just exchanged apprehensive looks at one another.

As cats do, he stayed under a bed for a few days, but was eating and used the litter box without instruction.  Our wild "street" kitty seemed to me more of an abandoned pet.  He was very comfortable with people and was litter box trained.  We also thought he was about 7 or 8 months old, but after his first vet visit, we were told he was probably 7 or 8 years old, he was just a bit underfed.

Why did we name him Flavius you might ask?  Not really Peruvian.  We were watching the HBO Series, Rome.  So we were tossing around a lot of Roman names like Marc Antony, Auralius, etc.  Then we thought of Flavius, meaning "blonde" in ancient Roman.  It just seemed to fit... and we lovingly called him Flavor Flav or Flavi!

Flavius was pampered in Peru.  Our maid, Clara would be in our house every day, continually giving him attention as she went about her work.  When we moved to our house in Peru, he was able to go outside again, which he LOVED.  He often scrapped with the other neighborhood cats (in the middle of the night), but otherwise was a joy to have around.  He would plop down on our laps as soon as we sat on the couch to relax, grade papers, check email, whatever.  Soon after moving, our first maid's sister, Rosmery, started working for us.  She LOVES this cat.  I came home one day to her mopping the floor with him zipped up in her fleece!  She was always so sweet with him and even emails to ask about him and the kids since we moved to Japan.  It was really hard to write her the email this week of Flavius's passing.

Flavius had a good life in Peru and loved Maximo from the day he came home.  He was always loving and super tolerant of the kids' rough play.

He was so special to Maximo, so we decided that he should come to Japan with us.  Unfortunately, getting animals into Japan is a huge and expensive process, but he was worth it!  So, we followed all the rules and vaccine schedules so he could come live with us in Kobe.  He had to go directly from Peru to Japan, so a good friend watched him and got him on a plane to come here.

Life's been a little different for Flavius here...  Our place is much smaller, but luckily, we are on the first floor, so he could still go in and out.  He was alone all day - the horror!  But, he was still loved and happy here, with again, an occasional scrap with a Rokko Island stray.

A few days before we left for Thailand, we noticed that he had been sleeping a lot and not going out almost at all, which was very unlike him.  He also wasn't plowing through his bowl-a-day either.  He was still acting normal besides this.  Then, before we left, he was looking a bit skinny and his fur just looked like he wasn't keeping up with his grooming.  We had a lady watch/feed Flavius and he just didn't come back one day.

This is very unlike Flavius.  He always went out, but he ALWAYS came home.  So, like most cats do, we think he wanted to find a quiet last resting place.  Unfortunately, we cannot find that place.  He is definitely not in the house, but we've looked (as has the cat sitter) pretty extensively around our apartment complex and the areas close to us.  It makes it sadder that we don't really know where he is...  it kind of leaves it with a lot less closure.  We still have the litter box and food out, in hopes that he will walk back on the porch again, although I think we all know that he will not come back.  We're also a bit wary of someone else finding his decaying body somewhere too.  This island is not that big.

It was our first "death" talk with Maximo.  He didn't even notice Flavius wasn't around for two days after we got back, as he was wrapped up in Christmas and his new toys.  Then he just looked at me and said, "Mommy, where's Flavius?"
I tried to explain the best that I could...  a real parenting challenge.
He sobbed, so I cried.  He couldn't understand how/why Flavius couldn't/wouldn't come back.
Finally, he just said, "Mommy, can we just get him new batteries?"
Everything in Maximo's life that has "died" has been easily fixed with a new set of batteries.  Sad and sweet.

So, Flavius, we'll miss you buddy.  You were a great cat to us and definitely to our little munchkins.   You will always hold a special place in our hearts.
xoxo


I was actually a bit surprised to find tons - at least a hundred pictures that Flavius was in...  Here are some good ones:

For Maximo

Dear Maximo,
Tonight we leave Peru, the country in which you must have been dying to see, since you jumped out of my nice warm belly 9 weeks early, which feels like eons ago, but was a little less than 2 years ago. Peru has been so kind to you, my love, and it actually makes me tear up a bit to think that you probably will remember nothing from it.

Since the moment you were born, everyone here loved you. They love your strong gladiator name. They love it when you wear your Peruvian soccer uniform or your chullo.
They love that you are a blonde hair, blue eyed Peruano. They love how you speak their language. You are known by everyone who lives within a five block radius of our house. As we walk to the park, everyone stops and dotes on you and you melt their hearts when you blow them kisses as we continue on our way. You put a smile on strangers' faces as you wave to them or as your bravely run up to their dogs and touch their noses or give them besos. They love you because you see beyond the class or color which often defines Peruvians. You are just as friendly to the man who waters the parks as you are to some of your well-off friends' parents. When I am out by myself whether it be at the grocery store or bodega across the street, I'm always asked, "Where is Maximo?" and they sigh when I tell them that you are home with Papa and they are missing your sweet smile, wave and kisses.

Yesterday your friends planned a little despedida for you. It was the first time I really welled up about us moving. I looked at you playing with your friends and how much you meant to them and how there'd be a missing piece in the playgroup tomorrow and my heart hurt and I got choked up saying goodbye and giving besos to all your little friends.

I hope your dad and I can keep Peru alive to you through our photos and stories. I hope that some day we will return to Peru as family so we can show you where you were born, where you spent the first 22 months of your life and what you liked to do - and so you can have a better appreciation for the culture, sights, sounds and food.

We hope that you will enjoy this lifestyle that we have created for you. If not, we will stop for you, so know that. Japan will be a new adventure, one that will be a great influence in your life. It'll be where you start school, where you learn how to ride a bike, where you'll start to sleep in a big boy bed. It'll be a country of many firsts for you, as Peru has been. We're excited to bring you home this summer to reacquaint you with your family and our roots. Then, it's off to our new home in Japan.

Love,
Mommy

Maximo in the park kissing his girl, Hania

The neighborhood gang at his despedida:
Vasco, Fernanda, Jimena, Max, Hania, Malina, Santiago and Cusi

Moving Math

59 boxes packed up and taken away

5 hours from start to finish

3 efficient packers

2 boxes needed to be ripped open - one to take out REALLY IMPORTANT documents for our Japanese visas and our appointment at the Japanese Embassy, the other to take out a bunch of toys that were going to be recycled - the half chewed/broken ones.

1 missing card reader - which means I guess we packed both; which also means I can' t post pictures and I'll have to buy a new one in the states.

4 things that I wished I packed but can live without

and now, 5 more days until we leave...

I HEART Peru(vian Food)

Foods I'll Miss The Most, I Think.

• Aji from Pardo's (it's a sauce made from the aji pepper that you dunk your roasted chicken into - or drink with a straw, whatever)
• Mangos & Grenadilla & Pineapple & the Fresh Orange Juice - oh, the fruits I missed growing up in Connecticut
• Anticuchos - grilled beef hearts - done right with the perfect marinade - delicioso!
  

• Mate de Coca & Lemongrass tea from Machu Picchu Santuary Lodge - unfortunately I can't travel with coca leaves for obvious reasons, so this one will have to wait until we return to MP!
  
• Pulpo Bebe a la Parrilla (Grilled Baby Octopus)... Mmmmmmmmmm, especially from Laeñe
• Tacu-Tacu - a mash made from rice and beans, then lightly fried
• Papitas con Huancaina sauce (potatoes with a creamy, peppery? sauce)
  
• Choclo con queso in Ollantaytambo (corn with a salty fresh cheese)
• A good empanada (but not with the powdered sugar, I don't like the savory/sweet mix)
  
• A GOOD Pisco Sour (until I drank too many one night - and haven't had one in 2 years!)
• Lucuma ice cream
• Cusqueña beer (some people complain about the Peruvian beer and/or lack of variety - I love it - especially on a hot summer day!)
• The fantastic fresh fish and cevicherias

Really I could go on all day. The food here is, in a word, AMAZING! It's fresh and best of all, cheap! I knew nothing of Peruvian cuisine before I moved here. I thought it was like a lot of other Central and South American cuisines with rice and beans and a little kick. While there is some of that, it doesn't define the food here. I'm not sure I could do it justice by trying to summarize it in a sentence, so I won't! Come down here and experience it yourself!

What would have made this post SUPER special is if I ate all of these things this past week and took my own photos of them... Unfortunately, life has been horrendous and my to-do list can't include go to different restaurants, order these foods and take photos. But, now, I'm hungry and wish I had AND wish I could eat all of these one last time or maybe two or three more times in this next week. Maybe there's still time!

Happy Father's Day!

My dear friend, Anne, gave me this great idea: A Father's Day book. Every year, I'll include a picture of Max (and any other children that come our way) and let him write a message to his dad or decorate the page. I also created pages for 2007 & 2008.

the cover

first Father's Day - 2007 - a 4-D image a few weeks after Father's Day


2007 - almost crawling!

Today

Maximo's hands and his art work!

It Has Started

The movers come this Friday and are supposed to pack and take away everything... We made a decent dent today.

Top Ten Most Memorable Experiences in Peru

1. Teaching English to the workers and forging some amazing relationships
2. Getting locked out of our house and becoming a neighborhood spectacle (this is our neighborhood on a good day)

3. Amazon Jungle trip

4. 10-day Huayhuash hiking trip through the Andes, though it wasn't always fun

5. Going to Paracas and Islas Ballestas with my mom and sister (though Carrie got really sick)
6. 
   Every visit (4) to Machu Picchu and Cusco - I hope we'll get to go again

7. Having and raising Maximo here
8. Traveling to Cuba, Argentina and Colombia(I know that this is not Peru, but living here made it easier to go)
9. Language School with home stay in Arequipa then traveling to the Colca Canyon
10. Social gatherings with friends - Halloween parties, Game Nights, Galas, Despedidas, Dinners... (I know these events make us seem all glam, but most nights I'm in bed by 9. These events are spread out over four years.)

Sayonara Saturday

We are finally close enough that I can see the end and I can finally say "Only 'insert days/weeks' left". Actually in four short weeks, we'll already be back in the states visiting friends and family. YIPEE!

We are very very excited for our move. We know it'll be stressful, especially doing it now with a little one and we'll have to work extra the first year since we're teaching different courses and because, well, we're MOVING TO ANOTHER COUNTRY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD!

BUT. The goodbyes are difficult. What's really surreal about some of our goodbyes is that they are just that - goodbye. We may never see some of these people ever again. They are not on the internet. They don't have mailing addresses. If they leave FDR then we'll have no means of contacting them. These are the people we said "chau" to on Saturday, friends who we will keep in our hearts forever.

Yesterday, we were invited to a lunch provided by a couple of workers at school. Pedro caught us during the week and invited us for anticuchos (skewered grilled beef hearts - YUM!). We arrived at school when they were done working on Saturday and had a really special, heartfelt lunch with some of our favorite people from school:

Pedro - the head gardener at school and probably the nicest human being I know.

Marino - a custodian at school, who is funny and goofy and has an infectious laugh

Connie - a soft spoken custodian at school who is so kind and always asking about Max

Marcos - the custodian in the high school, who is young, hardworking, has learned English with exceptional proficiency, and who just had a beautiful baby daughter, Luciana, whom we got to spoil with some of Max's baby clothes

Erasmo - the courier for the school. I love Erasmo. He's this cute little man who rides a motorcycle around town, sometimes sporting a little mustache and he has time after time helped us get packages through customs and to our door.

We taught them English in a class offered on Saturdays for workers two years ago. It was a really powerful experience for us. We got to teach them English, learn about who they are and their families, share ourselves and our customs. I don't know how we would have been able to get to know them well otherwise. Our Spanish has gotten better, so we can communicate, but we're often just passing by each other on campus, so without this class our relationship would have remained just polite hellos.

They have become tias and tios (aunts and uncles) for Max. They love him. Truly. They are constantly asking about him and were in class when I was first pregnant and were very concerned when they heard about his birth. They always have kisses for Max when they seem him and let him play with the hoses or Pedro lets him sit on the tractor when he has it out.

Here are a couple of pics from our lunch yesterday. It was a fantastic time, one we will cherish. (Thought the weather was HORRIBLE - wet and cold!) Max loved his first anticuchos, as you can see. He's definitely a little Peruvian boy.

TTD

As we begin our last month here in Peru, we barely have down time. We've had a major "to do" list. Somethings have been checked off, some are dancing around our my mind during the wee hours of the night, and many seem to get added daily.

• Find a temporary home for Flavius HALLELUJAH!
  
• Buy a new baby alpaca jacket Wasn't originally on a list... but oh, it's so purty!
  
• Make appointment and go to dentist
• Make appointment and go to dermatologist for weird foot thing
• Buy Peru paraphernalia for Maximo for next few sizes
• Close out Peruvian bank account
• Get Luciana to tailor a few items and make Maximo a Halloween costume.
• Start Packing and "organizing"
  
• Sell things we don't want
• Help our maid and nanny find new jobs
• Buy odds and ends gifts
  
• Sell car
• Complete paperwork for Japanese visa
• Get medical records - especially explanation of "incompetent cervix"
  
• Renew Georgia teaching license - yes this is half crossed out for reason - don't ask.
• Say many goodbyes

The title is as such because my students and I have fun sometimes speaking in "chat" language using acronyms for everything. They think it's a crack up that I know a lot of them and I continually make them up to amuse them (note: sixth graders are easy to amuse). Whenever I make a to do list, I always start the sticky note with: TTD (Things to Do).

And this doesn't have anything to do with TTD - except maybe,

• Eat him with a spoon:

Stolen!

I just stole these off of Katie's Facebook page because they're just so darn cute. This was from last weekend, at Victoria's 2nd birthday party. She was the first of many Roosevelt babies in 2007.I need to go out and buy paints.
He loved painting and screamed when I took him away.

Playing in the ballpit/bouncy house
- with a stroke of red paint accentuating his pensive stare.

It was a quiet Thursday Night

When I heard a commotion out the window.

Please don't wake my baby up! Immediately jumped into my head and out of my mouth (minus the expletives)

Then, I thought - this is why we're doing this. This is why we're living overseas. I sure as hell never saw a band followed by little girls dressed as angels and another hundred or so people in procession as six dedicated men carried a large Virgin Mary down the street growing up in Pawcatuck .

I'm not sure if there's a Catholic holiday today OR if it's just an event from one of the schools around the corner OR even if they're just blessing a new ground breaking for a new apartment building down the street.

Since I'm posting "videos from our living room window", I'll also post this:

I filmed this a couple of months ago and wasn't sure what exactly I was going to say about it, but this woman's voice is something that I will definitely take with me when we leave Peru. The sounds of a new place are always interesting and different. Every day in the summer (well, I think everyday, we just hear it everyday, since we are at home in the summer) she walks through the neighborhood selling tamales and I love her voice. I also love the whistle of the knife sharpener who also walks through the neighborhood during the day, but I haven't been able to capture that on film.

I wonder what the sights, sounds and smells of Peru we'll miss the most. I wonder what sounds will intrigue us when we move to Japan.

Because We Don't Want to Forget

Mother's Day at La Canta Rana enjoying cancha,
calamari and a nice lunch with my boys!

I'm sure by now you're tired of hearing about Max's words... It's just amazing how much more vocal he's gotten in the past three weeks or so and there are things we don't want to forget him saying. This blog is as much for us as it is for you... let's just say he doesn't have much of a baby book, so we really cherish the details about his life from this blog and Lo Maximo.

"Yes" - means shoes, duh, obviously. A really clear, enunciated "yes" ... don't know why.
He's in LOVE with shoes right now - he'll wear ours, he'll insist we wear a certain pair, like my high black boots on a Sunday family walk (I distracted him and did NOT wear them out of the house) or he'll insist on choosing which ones he wants to wear and now since it's colder - with socks.

"Lalalo" - La luna - the moon. He loves it when John cradles him and holds him near our bedroom window so he can stare at it before bedtime.

"Mo-mo" - more - for more food, to be scared more, for us to keep repeating the same song, book, etc.

"Avion" - he LOVES planes right now. Problem being we can hear them while playing in the park, but we can't see them because of the fog.

"Cah" - Car with a Bostonian accent. Somehow he sounds like his Uncle Tim.

"Keen up - Keen up" - I taught Max the "Clean Up" song. He loves it! He throws things around, then twists from side to side with his arms swaying, singing the song while I clean up!

"WOW!" said with enthusiasm and held for about 3 seconds... meaning, "crane". Why not? A crane is definitely WOW worthy. There's some construction down the street so he gets to see the "WOW" daily.

"Mmmmmmmmmmm" whenever he sees something delicioso.

"Nee nor, Nee nor" This is the sound of the firetruck from one of his books, but it now the sound of any car. Now that he's playing more with cars and trucks, he pushes them around saying "nee nor, nee nor". Cute.

"Dodudat" - First we thought tortuga, but now, "Don't do that", maybe?, but we don't know where he picked it up.

He is speaking quite a bit of Spanish too. But, understandably we get more of the English. His cute Spanish lately is "Alli" - there and "Asi" - like this.

And holding at our favorites: "I love you", "Peas and Tan to", of course his sing-song "Mommy and Daddy" and "Flavio" - the Spanish version of our cat's name, Flavius.

Peas & Dhan Dou

Since Max is talking quite a bit, we decided to start early with the important words...

Please and Thank You!

After only a couple of days of reinforcing it, he says "please" without being prompted. He now knows to say it whenever he wants something. Unfortunately it also makes it harder to say "no" to him. "Thank yous" occur more randomly or when he repeats after us.

The funniest "pleases" in the past two weeks were:
After an hour or two of playing in the park and the dirt, our little monkey sees a woman passing by eating a bag of Lay's potato chips. He beelines for her, sticks his grubby little hand out and says, "Peas". His nasty little fingers made him look like he was straight off of a Lima intersection, and I was a bit embarrassed that my little gringo boy was begging for food from a poor (literally) passerby.

Sunday, we were playing in the park, after a not-so-hot day of napping when his friend Malina arrived. Usually she and Hania drag Max around like a rag doll, but he loves it. He kept trying to grab for her hand, and repeatedly said, "Peas... Peas... Peas?" Malina was a bit tired herself and didn't want to hold Max's hand (at least right then, later, she started dragging him around the playground). Maximo's first rejection from a girl. Her dad and I couldn't stop giggling.

Only in Peru

Does the grocery store hand deliver a present to your door for Mother's Day.

A monogrammed towel wrap with head band.

I'm not sure how they even know I'm a mom... I signed up for my Vivanda card way before we had Max... maybe they're tracking our purchases... the diapers, wipes and gallons of milk we purchase definitely indicate there's a wee one living in our house.

It was a nice surprise... and may have saved John's ass by reminding him it is Mother's Day on Sunday.

Word World

First, I know you're shocked that I am even posting a third time in one weekend. There's just much to say about our chaotic lives right now - Max's development, having fun family time, and starting the transition from Peru to Japan.

In the past two weeks, Max's language has BOOMED! He'll repeat almost anything and now says many things on his own unprompted. Here's a little video of Max this morning...

First, of him successfully (okay, crudely) eating grits (like a good Southern boy) with a spoon.
Then, of Max talking (yes, I'm obnoxiously prompting him, but his voice is tres cute!)

I love how he refers to himself as "Ma'mo". He usually thumps his chest too! And how he says cheese whenever he sees a camera... And... And... And...

And the second being a message to his grandparents.... Sorry Grandpa Jim and Grandpa John, he can't get Grandpa down... we'll be coaching him every day until we arrive home in July.

Author's Note: This is officially my favorite age (to date).

Bembos Birthday Bash

Let me set the stage for those of you who have never been to Peru or a child’s birthday party in Peru. First of all, I think most of the Peruvian mothers in our neighborhood think I’m cruel because we didn’t throw Max a party last year. Parties here are HUGE for little kids. Maximo went to a party today for one of his neighborhood friends, Santiago. This is only the second birthday party I’ve gone with Max – not counting teacher’s kids, but those are different, because we know everyone there, English is the main language spoken, and it’s usually just a cookout or pizza party at someone’s house…
The setting: Bembos – a proud Peruvian fast food chain – an equivalent to McDonalds.
After forcing myself not to leave the house before 11:00 – the invitation stated the party started at 11:00 am, we were about the fifth people to arrive at 11:15. There was a large play area with ball pit and “soft play” area so Max said hello to Santiago, then was off playing.
Max happily played and was thrilled when Bembo’s workers started passing around “hors d’oeuvres” - different platters of chicken nuggets, onion rings, fried yucca, and fried cheese sticks.
Then, the crazy American woman (ME), sees drinks being passed and the mother of the birthday boy asks if we’d like a drink. “Si” I reply. The waiter comes to us, but is only serving Coca Cola and Inca Cola. Mind you, there are probably 25 kids under 4 at this party with just as many adults.
“Do you have water or juice or only sodas?” I ask the waiter, in Spanish, I’m not that crazy.
“No, only sodas.”
“No thank you.” I reply.
A few minutes later the mother returns concerned we don’t have a drink. “No, we’re fine,” I reply. “Maximo doesn’t drink soda.” She starts to fuss over us a bit, and I tell her not to worry, I have water for Max (which I do in the car, down the block – along with diapers. Let’ s just say I’m not always the most prepared mother in the world.)
After continuing to nibble on the fried delicacies, Max and I both become thirsty, so I walk downstairs to the order counter with a kid screaming, “Agua, agua, agua!”
My twenty soles bill is counterfeit, so they won’t take it and thankfully I have another bill in my pocket. The cashier also begins to think I’m crazy when I ask for the same cup, lid and straw the soda is being served in upstairs, so Max doesn’t have to look crazy with his crazy mom. I pour in the bottled water… Max stops yelling “Agua!”
Soon, the show starts…

Here’s a bit from it:

Max is enthralled. I’ve never seen him sit so still and be so engaged! If his teachers use puppets when he’s in school, he’s sure to pass.
Afterwards the Bembo’s Girls start dancing. Max is disinterested because it’s not Rap, Cumbia or Reggaeton, so he goes back into the ballpit.
He misses the piñata and the throwing of “cheap little plastic Made in China” toys around the room. Fine by me.
Lunch is served. It’s the equivalent of a Happy Meal – French fries, which he devours, and chicken nuggets. He sits like a big boy next to his friend Jimena because there’s just no room for adults at the table. He looks like such a big boy! The table was at about eye level for him, but he sat there very well and ate his lunch. I wonder where my little baby has gone.
He then returns to the play area in which I’m happy to report, he plays quite well with many kids and bites no one! Yipee!
We say our goodbyes, gather sopresas (like a giftbag), two boxed pieces of cake, give kisses all around, then head back home so Max (and Mommy and Daddy) could take an afternoon nap.

When our R&R goes awry...

We had 4 1/2 days off this weekend for Semana Santa or Easter vacation. Wonderful! Great! Over a month ago, we decided we were going to take a road trip south and have a beach getaway. We were a little weary of the 4 hour car ride with Maximo, but that ended up being the least of our problems.
We left school at 12:45 on Wednesday, ran home, scooped up Maximo and headed south. John started driving and soon after started taking long blinks that made me nervous, so we pulled off the road and switched. After adjusting seats, baby paraphenalia and our huge bag of snacks (or entertainment for Max), we were on our way. I hadn't driven 5 km when I got pulled over. UGHHH. I'm don't want to get into the whole thing with driving and the police here in this post (I'll save that one for a rainy day), but here's an abbreviated version of what happened.
First, the police officer asked me for my identification and then commented that our car hasn't been inspected. The car inspections were canceled before they got to our number last year, I guess they started them back up again, unbeknowst to me. Then he started commenting on the dark tint on our car windows (I know we are breaking the law with this one). I was really frustrated at this point in time; I just want to get where we need to go and start vacation. At about this time, Max started to scream, which may have worked in my advantage. I tried to explain to the guy that I didn't know the inspections started again, and "What can I do now?" and then... I STARTED CRYING - in frustration, that my precious vacation was ticking away on the side of the PanAmerican Highway, because I was tired from not sleeping enough, and I just wanted him to stop jerking me around. I didn't want to play the game. If he wanted a bribe, then fine, but I didn't want to go back and forth about this. He then started to get all flustered with me crying and kept telling me to "Calm down, Senora". He then said as long as I took care of the problem as soon as I returned from my vacation, he'd let me go. I slipped him 20 soles (about $7) and we were on our way.
As soon as I drove away, I couldn't make eye contact with John. I was just crying to a cop and got out of a ticket. Did John think that was my intention? Or did he realize that I was just at my breaking point? We didn't discuss it. Maybe he didn't realize I was crying because he was tending to Max and he zoned out with the Spanish.
Anyhow, at about 5:30 we rolled into Paracas, our first time there in over two years, before the HUMUNGOUS earthquake that turned most of the beach town into rubble. We found our hotel fairly easily and walked into the reception...
"I'm sorry, there is no reservation for you."
"But, look, I paid the deposit, here's my receipt."
"Sorry, you didn't re-confirm."
"Re-confirm? No one told me I had to reconfirm. I confirmed and PAID."
This is where I totally started to lose it and started CRYING AGAIN!
"Look, we drove here four hours WITH A BABY for our vacation."
"I know that, Senora, but you didn't reconfirm. We do have a room available for tonight, but we're fully booked the rest of the weekend."
"I have the email correspondence, let me show you. Do you have internet?"
"We don't have power right now."
"No power?"
"No, and you didn't reconfirm. We do have a room for the night."
"No. Is there anything else in town? This is our vacation. We came all the way from Lima."
"You didn't reconfirm. It's a holiday weekend. There is nothing."
This is when I lost it, and started speaking in English...
"We will NOT stay here. This is ridiculous. We're traveling with a baby and you won't even attempt to help us find anything!"
John buts in and starts yelling in Spanish... $#%@#%John buts in and starts yelling in Spanish... $#%@#%John buts in and starts yelling in Spanish... $#%@#%John buts in and starts yelling in Spanish... $#%@#%$&@#$*@#(%@#$@#$*@#(%@#$@#$*@#(%@#$
Then a man walks up, from where, I don't know, and tells us there's a room at the hostal down the street.
Fine. I'll look at it.
We enter the Hostal del Piratas (Pirate Hostal). There was 1 room left only for Wednesday night. It was getting too late to head back to Lima - the PanAmerican Highway is dangerous enough during the day - it's horrific at night.
So we checked into our $22 dollar a night, clean, king-size room, then ventured out for dinner.
It was almost dusk and this was when we realized the WHOLE TOWN HAS NO POWER. We ask someone and they say it's until 8:00pm.
Ugghhhhhhhh.
We have dinner at a beachside restaurant which was good - we enjoyed fresh fish and chips.
The only problem we had at dinner was the stray dogs walking on the boardwalk. Maximo is used to petting all the dogs when he goes out in the neighborhood, and couldn't understand why he couldn't go up to all the mangy dogs walking around.
It was almost pitch-black when we walked back to the hotel. Fortunately, the lights in our hotel were on and it was only 7:30... they must have been using a generator, because no one else had lights.
After it taking almost 2 hours to get Max settled down and asleep (our window opened up to the terrace with the bar - it wasn't too loud, but our room had white curtains, so it wasn't very dark), we settled in for the night...
To make a long, miserable story short, we slept no more than 2 hours due to being EATEN ALIVE by mosquitoes.
The next morning, we got up, had breakfast, went to the national reserve, which I had planned to explore each day, finding different beaches and nooks along the coast, then headed back home. Max did surprisingly well in the car, especially since our ride home took an extra hour or so due to two MAJOR accidents and a major detour because they made both sides of the highway southbound to help with traffic flow to the beaches.
So, this was how we spent our last vacation in Peru... Sigh...
Here are some pictures from our short trip.

El Bomberito - The Little Fireman

One of the mothers of the children that plays in the park with Maximo sent me these pictures today. I wonder if the city worker got (gets... this looks like multiple days) any of his work done with Max hogging his hose.