Church, Earthquakes, and Sea Lions

Sea lions basking in the sun at Islas Ballestas

I'm halfway out the door to Lima, where I'll have mid-service medical exams and meetings for the next week.  But a lot has happened over the last month so I wanted to jot it down before I took off.  Some quick hits:



Kelly was here for a week. We went camping, took a tour of Islas Ballestas (Peru's own, weaker version of the Galapagos Islands) where we got 10 feet from some mammoth sea lions, saw a gazillion birds, and a gazillion pounds of bird poop.  The visit was a lot of fun but short, as they always are.

There was an earthquake while Kelly was here.  The epicenter was about an hour from my house and it hit 6ish on the Richter scale.  Kelly and I were still fortunate to find ourselves in Lima at the time.  Though there was no real damage in my town, people were still pretty scared as the huge earthquake from August 2007 is still fresh in their minds. 

The radio show, Gringos Locos, that Matt and I have started is going well.  One hour each week talking about all things American.  Food, music, sports, customs, it doesn't matter, we'll talk about it.  Check out and "Like" our raw facebook page when you get a chance.  Improvements are coming.

Sweet Aviators

Last weekend, I attended the confirmation ceremony of my host brother, Jeisson.  Not knowing the norm, Matt and I showed up in slacks and ties, way overdressed.  The church was packed and we got there late, so I stood in the threshold of the church for the entire ceremony.  The priest gave a 'no masturbation, no sexual activity before marriage' speech to the sexually charged teens to be confirmed, said some other things that I didn't pay attention to, and two hours later, we were done.  Afterwards, to celebrate the occasion, Jeisson disappeared and the adult males drank beer all afternoon in the typical Peruvian circle.

I'm going home for Christmas and New Years.  This will be my second time home.  I'm especially excited for this visit though, because I'll be home longer than my last visit, be home during my favorite holiday, get to see Kelly and for the first time in over a year, get to see my family.  Cool.

Off to Lima.  See you later.