Summer is Over

Note: more photos (Good Friday´s Way of the Cross, my mom´s Chimbote photos) are posted for viewing by clicking the link at right.

Yes, the climate has finally changed a bit -- nights and mornings are cooler, mid-day sun isn´t quite as strong, people are starting to wear light sweaters for the cool evening breezes, and the morning running crowd has dwindled to the truly dedicated (addicted?). A downside is that cold showers are not quite as welcome, so yesterday Oscar (our periodic handyman) and I put in a couple new electric shower heads that work great. Actually, the upstairs one, because of less water pressure, is actually too hot with no way to change the setting -- so we´ll wait until the downstairs head goes bad and then switch. While talking about household items, I can mention that we got an unexpected bonus a few days ago when I was actually home when the trash truck passed by, on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm. He didn´t ring his obnoxious horn, but I was with a couple friends at the door so we all made a couple of trips to carry the 15-20 small bags (about 2 months worth) to throw into the back of the truck. The driver was not around and the truck appeared to be stopped for some reason (maybe broken down, or maybe the driver is a friend of our neighbors), but we didn´t ask any questions. As luck would have it, the truck passed again the very next day. As Nicole commented, we are learning this year to appreciate the little things.

I was sick over the weekend with a nasty head cold, and am still fighting the rear guard of a sore throat and occasional nose-blowing. I have indeed been sick this year much more than last -- my mom thinks its the dust and pollution, and she may very well be correct. People here tell me that it´s the ´cold´ weather and drinking cold drinks, a notoriously bad habit that we Americans have. So, I´m trying to breathe as little as possible and drink lots of tea :).

Nicole, Emily and I leave in two days, on Friday, for our yearly IWM retreat -- led by Sister Lourdes, a Peruvian IW sister. We´ll be at a retreat center in Lima through Wednesday, and I am honestly looking forward to the time away to reflect a bit on my time here so far and to discern priorities for the months ahead. Might be the smallest retreat group I´ve ever been a part of.

Our second week of youth basketball class built on the first -- we had eight girls and eight boys show up. I again took the girls and we worked on some fundamentals like passing, dribbling, and layups. The girls, ages 8-13, are a good group and help each other out -- the two youngest cannot yet get the ball up to the basket. A friend Elmer works with the boys during the 1 1/2-hour time period.

Finally, a book recommendation. My mom left Conquest of the Incas, by John Hemminging, when whe visited and I have completely finished the book in the two weeks since. It gives a good rundown of the Conquest and post-conquest issues, events, and personalities, using a lot of first sources from that time period. Anyone with an interest in the historical basis of modern Peru would find it worth their while to pick it up.

It seems there was more to share, but I´m feeling a bit tired and sense I am forgetting something. Nonetheless, I´m heading to daily mass this evening at therefore must sign-off. Have a blessed week!