Remember September

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Family and friends, whom I dearly miss,

Today I am writing you with a 3 week old cough for which I have been searching numerous homeopathic remedies, luckily for me hot chili peppers is one of them and I eat aji, a hot pepper sauce almost daily. I will also be buying ginger and using the local honey I bought that is packaged in a Pisco bottle, with bees and all still floating in it. It’s rustic- I like it.

That brings me to how I obtained the honey. Last weekend my friend Joshua and I went to Herma Linda market. This place was amazing. They sold just about everything there plus some. Peru contains one of the richest varieties of produce- over 200 varieties of potato, and countless varieties of banana and avocado. One section of the market is just a large dirt road with organic plant matter attracting flies while others are tents with produce such as onions beautifully presented in pyramids, or peeled garlic over powering the other more offensive smells. We successfully bargained and obtained a modest charcoal grill for about $8, beautiful exotic fuchsia and orange gladiolas. I’d like to share some highlights from this past month:

I went to a Peruvian wedding which was very fun. Not too different from American weddings except the size of the wedding party included about 12 bridesmaids and groomsmen and 3 flower girls. They also have Godparents that help pay for the event and host it. They have godparents for many events too apparently. Another thing is you can’t even escape the games when there are 50+ people. For one of them we had to stand up when they said Jerusalem and sit down when they said Zion. Another had all the married couples stand and kiss each other in front of everybody to see which couple was the most passionate. It was of course the couple of 43 years who were basically making out in front of everyone. Also the bouquet toss is not a toss at all. The bride is blindfolded and spun then you shout directions to her so she can find you. I tend to think my voice and accent stuck out to her in the crowd as she chose me! There was not much dancing only for the wedding party and only a shot glass size of wine as the Evangelical churches in Peru try to remain conservative. I had quite the conversation with the pastor about how this is changing and they are pushing away from legalism toward balance and enjoying weddings as they were enjoyed in the Bible.

Another fun event was the SALI scavenger hunt. We were sent all over town to complete hilarious tasks including: playing a game of 3 on 3 with strangers, performing in the streets for money-I sang “Perhaps, Perhaps, perhaps” in Spanish while 2 of my students danced (we got more than double the required amount thank you). We all tried on the same red sweater at the market. One man had to race another to eat a monstrous burger called the Matahambre: the hunger killer. It was a riot and a good way to experience Trujillo.

This past Saturday we had and old fashioned dance where we did the Virginia Reel, the Waltz, The Gay Gordon, and Posties. We have been practicing for a month but we had enough people who did not come to practice that the dances were pretty rough especially the circle dance people were falling on each other and bumping into one

another, steeping on shoes. One thing I failed to mention from the dance is Peruvians dress up prom style from various events such as weddings, dances, quincineras etc. We Americans feel quite awkward at times since we did not bring these items. But we try.

Please pray for the brand new choir at Arevalo and Noemi’s (my Spanish teacher and pastor’s wife) health as she has some tests done on a tumor. I will be helping develop the music and I am trying to minister to my students of different faiths. Please pray for me as I study the Book of Mormon and discuss my faith with my students and their Elders.

I miss you all so much and look forward to seeing some at Christmas.

Love,

Katie