My Sister Bridget, The Tooth Mouse

Explanation: 

A. Peruvian children do not get visited by a tooth fairy. Instead, they wait patiently for the Tooth Mouse. 

B. My sister Bridget sends presents for Piere in her packages. She's a saint. 

Onward to story hour! 

Rewind about a month. Early May. Piere is tugging at his front tooth like it's his job. He wants nothing more than to rid himself of his front-right diente. 

Rewind About a month and a half. Bridgie sends me an Easter package with a coloring book for Piere, and UNO cards for me. I already got UNO cards in a package earlier this year (thanks Annah ;). So I decide to save the cards for Piere. I didn't want to give them to him at the same time as the coloring book. May as well space things out. Piere had found some UNO cards, exactly like the ones I have, at the local bodega. He had been bugging Maggie to buy them from Señor Alvarez for him for months.  I tell Maggie about the cards from my sister and we agree to save them until he loses his tooth. Operation: Bridget The Tooth Mouse is born. 

On Wednesday May 9th it happened. I was gone from around 8am to about 8pm on a random long day with my community partner from the school district. When I came home, Piere was delighted to tell me that his tooth had finally fallen out. "Breeeetttt! Ya salió!" was shouted before I even made it into the driveway that night. His excitement lit up the house. My natural reaction to this was to ask him if the Tooth Mouse was coming that night. His response was epic. 

"No, he's not available tonight. When he does come, I'm going to ask for S/. 20 instead of just one. That's what he gets for making me wait. It took me 2 weeks to get this tooth out." 

I cracked up, of course, and shared a look with Maggie. After Piere went to bed, Maggie explained that they didn't have any extra solcitos to give him that night, so they told him the Tooth Mouse was busy that night and wouldn't be able to come. I gave her the cards, she remembered our deal, then thanked me profusely. 

The next morning at 6:14am, I woke up to this, "LOOK! MOMMMMMMM! LOOK WHAT THE TOOTH MOUSE BROUGHT ME!!!!!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY!!! GRANDMA, GRANDMA, LOOOOK!!! MY OWN CARDS! JUST LIKE BREETT'S" Mission accomplished. Score for Bridget. 

While Piere freaked out and celebrated, I stayed in my room so he would make it to school on time. He dawdles in the morning and I knew he would want to play with his new cards. So later that afternoon when I came home for lunch, Piere was leaning in the doorway waiting for me, UNO cards in hand. 

"Breett, look what I got?!" 

This was my opportunity to mess with him. 

"Piere, where did you get those? Are those my cards? Were you going through my stuff?" 

"Breeeetttt, no! These are mine! I got them from the Tooth Mouse!" 

"How does the Tooth Mouse carry cards?"

"I don't know, but he brought them for me last night! I think he bought them from Señor Alvarez!" 

He then proceeded to come into my room with me, open my drawer, and show me that my cards were in their place. 

"See? Now we both have them!" 

And there's where I gave in and celebrated with him. He was so delighted. Wish Bridget could have seen it. 

Only problem is... he keeps losing teeth. Since then, he has lost 2 more teeth and has had to wait for the Tooth Mouse to be "available" to bring him some soles. After a few days of waking up to nothing beneath his pillow. He shared this thought with us at breakfast. 

"Mom. I think we need to fire this Tooth Mouse. He didn't come AGAIN." 

Well, that must have been the Tooth Mouse's warning, because he showed up that night with some shiny new coins for Piere. Peace has been restored in our household and, at least for now, the wiggling has stopped and the Tooth Mouse can rest. By the looks of Piere's friends though, he has more teeth to lose. That whole class probably has about 13 teeth among the group. Ah, first grade. 

Here he is after the second front tooth had fallen. 

Thanks Bridget for the UNO cards. You have no idea how happy you made a 6 year old child about a month ago. You have a way with the first graders. Still got it :) 

English Workshop #2

Last week the high school English teachers of the province and I had our second workshop of four for the school year. We had a lot of fun and I think everyone learned a lot, myself included. Special thanks to my neighbor boys, Teddy and Jake, for lending a hand both days, couldn't have done it without those two. 

Highlights-

A-

Me- To put up with. This means to tolerate; to live with or handle something that you don't like.

Teacher- So for example... I have to put up with my mother-in-law?

Exactly, friend. You've got it. 

B- 

Teacher 1- Britt, what's the difference between saying bathroom and toilet?

Teacher 2- Yeah, and what's the difference between saying bathroom and pissroom?

Hahaha. I don't know where they come up with this stuff. 

Here are a few shots I stole from the teachers. They took so many pictures, then uploaded them to facebook immediately. lol. 

Kerin, Teddy, Jake, and Me.

Teddy's group, day 1.

Jake's group, day 1. 

The school district made this poster to promote the event. 

These photos are from previous English workshops. 

It was all over the school district, their website, and facebook. lol.

Please note the awesome photoshop job they've done on my arms and "waistline." 

Hahahaha. I love it. 

Ordinary Things 5: PARTIES!!!

Peruvians know how to party. These past few months more than ever, I've been making the rounds with the birthday parties. This is one of those things that I think is best explained with photos, so here you have some nice shots of parties I've recently been too. 

The main things to know about parties here is that a.) they happen a lot b.) there will be dancing and c.) if you're lucky, you'll get an hora loca. ... oh, and the guest of honor gets birthday cake smashed into their face. FUN! 

What is an "hora loca?" Crazy hour! Balloons, dancing, sometimes a clown, and hats for all! 

And so I leave you to the good stuff... 

Jake knows what's coming...

...BOOM. 

Cumbia dance party! 

Poor Kati. Teddy really gets into the cake smash. 

He will not be on the guest list for my next cumple. 

I went to one of my community partner's husband's 40th birthday bash.

Passion fruit cake in his face. BAM! 

Hora Loca!!! 

Brian's cake attack. Kerri is always my partner in crime :) 

Hora Loca! 

Brian's party had actors :) 

Oh, and I hate that damn fake snow. I get blasted with it every time. 

Hora loca. With a Maypole. 

Erin's party. She had the best sign I've seen so far. 

A Roman Candle. For real. 

I MISS YOU

Ok, so maybe this is coming from a place of, "Holy shit I've almost been in Peru for a year!" Or maybe it's because I've just been less than great at keeping in touch lately. Perhaps it's because it is Sunday night and I am exhausted and happy after a great weekend with volunteer friends and Erin's host family in her beautiful beach site. Maybe it's because I've been talking about the new group of volunteers this weekend and therefore thinking of where I was this time last year and how great my last week in the States was. I'm not sure what the reason is, or if there even is just one reason, probably not. Whatever the cause may be... I MISS YOU GUYS! I wouldn't say I'm homesick, it's not really like that. I'm not missing absolutely everything about the States and I'm not sitting around sad, I just MISS the hell out of you guys! 

-I miss the funny things that the nieces/ nephews say, though I have gotten a couple of good Grant stories lately ;)

-I miss being able to call specific friends to ask if I should spend too much of my tax return on beautiful leather booties I found (in my size!!!) in Lima (I bought them, of course).

-I miss dropping in to visit my sisters and their families (this includes Lucy, Brenna) randomly whenever I feel like it. 

-I miss my parents and their skunk troubles... let's hope J. Nig doesn't get caught on the highway with a rifle again this time around...

-I miss Travel Guard folks (even the ones who aren't in Medical, or weren't in Stevens Point, and even the Baked Goods lady. TG= Good people).

-I miss spring/ summer cookouts with friends who are so awesome they make me veggie skewers before putting the meat on the grill.

-I miss my cousins.

-I miss sporadic grandma visits

-I miss Wine/Wii with Eva.

-I miss sushi dates with Katie/ Sal/ Eva/ Brenna, etc. 

-I miss seeing relatives at family get togethers. 

I could go on forever. The point is, I miss you guys. Don't get me wrong, I'm as happy as a clam here. This is not a cry for packages. I just want to tell you that I value you, I love you, and I miss you. A boatload. Just wanted you to know. 

Be well and have a great week! 

April Recap

It's June 1st. I realized that I can't do a May recap without first adding one for April. I'll try to keep it short. April was a long time ago already, we'll see what I can even remember. May went by in a blur and I never got around to writing a full April recap, but most of the cool things that happened are on the blog in other posts. Here you go, better late than never... 

-The month started out in Ayacucho, where I spent Holy Week. It's a very charming little place in the Andes. I had a great time there spending Easter week/ weekend with old volunteer friends and some pretty cool new ones. 

-What stands out about April most for me are the Red Ambiental meetings. I led a lot of them that month with varying topics, though Earth Day was a central theme. There's a post about that here from not too long ago. Pictures and explanations found there :) 

-While in Lima on the way back from Ayacucho after Easter, a group of 6 of us volunteers had All-You-Can-Eat Sushi in Lima. Best drain of S/. 45 I could think of. This is a Lima splurge that has already been repeated and is pretty much a guaranteed trip I will make every time I stumble into Miraflores. 

-After 8 months of living near Trujillo and wanting to go to the botanical garden, I finally made it happen! Free entrance and my being poor certainly helped.

-I got some great packages in April! Thanks guys! You are the best and I am spoiled!!! I love the toast socks, Lisa :) Oh, and to anyone who sent me magazines, THANK YOU! Not only are they great entertainment, but I also use these for craft projects with the kids and they go a long way. You guys don't realize how much you help me out ;)

-I was super duper poor in April, and that was alright. It worked out and was good for me. The only part that sucked was that when I was down to S/. 6.60, I found out that S/. 2.10 of those coins were counterfeit. Who the hell makes a fake ten cent piece? And yes, I see the irony in boasting about dropping S/. 45 on sushi, then whining about being poor in the same post. Sometimes, a girl's got to splurge. 

-After taking a trip for Holy Week, I didn't feel like leaving site too much. It was nice to spend time with the host family and I stayed really busy with work all month which is always a good thing. This led to a couple of Saturday afternoon Trujillo dates with Kerri to pick up mail, go shoe shopping, grab good coffee, use the interwebs, then head back to Ascope. A very nice little afternoon break. 

-April ended with a big all-night party with my host family. See the "Cruz de Botija" post. 

This is all I will leave you with for April, along with a few snapshots. Life has stayed just as busy and awesome. May recap coming soon... 

Hope you are all doing well and enjoying Wisco springtime! MISS YOU!!!

Question: How many pieces of sushi can 6 hungry volunteers take down?

Answer: More than 200 

I made a friend at the botanical garden :)

Red Ambiental, April: Teaching about recycling

Luminaries on the eve of May 1st.

Cruz de Botija party! 

The Lima Diaries

NOTE: This post is very long. Perhaps it will make up for the lack of updates in the month of May? Sorry and sorry. 

I have bad teeth. Always have, always will. It's in my genes. My teeth are soft and the spoils of Peru are sweet. Long story short, I spent 10 days of May in Lima for my crap teeth to be tended to. The following are a series of random thought bursts that I clacked into the Mac sporadically throughout my week and a half in the "strangest, saddest city." I'll start us off with that quote... 

-In the book, "Moby Dick," Herman Melville wrote that Lima is 'the strangest saddest city thou can'st see... For Lima has taken the white veil; and their is a higher horror in this whiteness of her woe.' This, of course, refers to the mystic fog that positions itself above the city and stays there for all of winter (April - October). Another author calls the Lima sky a 'dirty cotton ceiling.' All of these things are true, and I don't mind. Summer days in Lima are beautiful with blue skies and that same Peruvian heat I bake under up North. That said, the brisk winter weather is refreshing and a little more familiar to me, so I really enjoy it. When I first met Lima about a year ago, it was wearing it's fog hat. So for me, that sad strange ceiling is just a part of the city's character which adds to the ironic charm and unique feel of a place I have really come to appreciate. Maybe Lima is sad for a reason. Maybe it's not sad at all, but just likes wearing gray. I can relate. Whatever the case, that 'dirty cotton' makes Lima, Lima- a city unlike any other I have spent time in. Gray sky or not, I'm a fan. 

-And regarding that crisp and brilliant weather...I can run splits in under 10 minutes here! Good things happen when you remove that awful running variable that is excessive heat. First day in Lima and I just put down 6 miles at around a 9:30 pace. Sure that doesn't sound fast, but when you live in the desert and can't seem to run a mile in less than 10 minutes, and then end up dehydrated and covered in a prickly heat rash if you try to push yourself to go faster, 9:30 feels Kenyan! There is no feeling that matches the high of a good run. So happy. 

-There is a wide world of breakfast options waiting for me in Lima. Good coffee, croissants (hau hau hau), baguettes, cream cheese... the possibilities are endless. The fact that there is a bakery right across the street from where I am staying makes this situation even better. 

-Bird of paradise flowers are everywhere in Miraflores, and they are so cool. Also, their name in Spanish, 'Aves de Paraiso,' sounds so much more exotic :)

-I get a kick out of these Limeñas wearing Ugg boots and long sleeves. The easiest way to tell the difference between the locals and the tourists is by their footwear. Tourists wear flip flops and shorts, locals wear cute boots and long sleeves. 

-Miraflores is the district of Lima where I stay when in the city. Of the many things I love about it, it's name tops the list. Literally it means to "look at flowers." City names in Spanish-speaking countries charm my little socks off. Nerd alert: I like to look at maps in Spanish just to read the names of the cities. Miraflores is one of the best ones. Finesteria in Spain is also on my list. Bonus points for anyone (besides Sal) who knows what that means and why it is the name of a city on the Northwest coast of Spain ;)

-Tina, a fellow Peru 17 volunteer, is also in town this week. Big win for me. This means a bus buddy, lunch dates, and a qualified city guide. Due to her own unfortunate dental luck earlier in our service, Tina also spent a good chunk of time in Lima for the chompers to be fixed up. She knows so much about this city, she could be a gringo guide. This is good news for me because it means she knows where the good stuff is- like cheap falafel and tofu kebabs! Had a nice afternoon with her today (this was written on Monday) and am looking forward to spending more time with her this week. 

-Dental appointments + Peruvian tardiness = hours of reading Spanish magazines in chic Lima waiting rooms with comfy couches and fancy floors. I am all caught up on Principe Guillermo and La Duquesa Katerina (William & Kate). They have a puppy and she's 30. That' seems to be pretty much all that has happened in their first year of marriage, yet there are literally hundreds of magazine pages dedicated to reporting such ground-breaking developments. Sure don't envy that girl. I also stumbled upon a National Geographic in English from 2008 and the cover story talked a lot about Wisconsin Farm Technology Days. How small our world really is. 

-I love wandering around Miraflores. I love ducking down random streets and figuring out where I am. Sticking my head into shoe stores and cafes. Sneaking through Parque Kennedy to buy fresh popcorn- I go for half salty/ half sweet. I love getting lost and then stumbling upon new places. Miraflores is like Peru's trapdoor into the US. It's a strange transition, but also a nice little retreat. 

-Because of this impromptu Lima visit, I am unable to take teen girls from Ascope to the leadership camp our department is holding next weekend, Camp ALMA. This is a pretty big disappointment for me. I was really looking forward to giving some girls in my site the awesome opportunity that these camps are, and I have a handful of girls who I know well enough to take, whose parents would probably trust me to take them to a weekend camp a few hours away. I just don't have the time in Ascope to make it happen right now. So that's a bummer. But while being in Lima robbed me of the time I need to set up the girls' trips and get their parents' / principal's permission to go, it does offer me the opportunity to help out for the camp in ways that I otherwise could not. I've been printing documents and certificates for Camp ALMA plus selling rubber bracelets to make money for the next camp, VALOR (for teen boys), that we will hold at the end of June. All is not lost, and it's nice to have something to keep me busy while I'm here. 

-About those rubber bracelets... they are very trendy in Lima right now. I sold 30 of them in 2 hours at the Peace Corps office. Not a bad situation. Starbucks is selling a similar product for "Enseña Perú," the Peruvian equivalent of "Teach for America." So if Starbucks is selling them, you know they're cool. 

-Dental visits in Lima are almost identical to dental appointments in the States. Same office set-up, same smell, same magazines -only here it's "People en Español!"-, same weird orange light-gun when you get fillings, same bad jokes made by dentists, and my dentist in Lima even has the same 80's/ 90's soft-rock/ new wave music playing every time I am there. Hard to be upset about being supine and drilled on when you get to hear the song "Africa" right after "Karma Chameleon," right? 

-While here, I've been whining a lot about this damn tooth problem, being away from site, and missing meetings/ classes that took me months to set up. That is not an exaggeration. Months. For real. But I also realize that am totally spoiled this week. Yeah, going to the dentist all the time definitely sucks. And letting down community members in Ascope by being away is weighing on me... buuuuttttttt, I saw the Avengers in 3D (Tres-Day!) the other night and ate copious amounts of popcorn while wearing ridiculous glasses. I am running along a gorgeous coastline complimented by cliffs and flowers. I have eaten Honey Nut Philadelphia Cream Cheese for the past 3 breakfasts. I have been able to Skype with several wonderful people this week without dropping the call 14 times a pop. I am planning to run in a huge half marathon a few days from today. I've been hanging out with volunteer friends I haven't seen in months. I am fortunate, and yes, spoiled. My life is awesome, even if I do have shit luck when it comes to teeth and a godawful headache right now to prove it. In 3 years, I will remember all of the things I just mentioned, except for the headache :) 

-La Lucha sandwich shop is a necessary splurge- both in terms of calories and soles. So worth it. Food coma happens NOW. 

-I miss Piere and I wonder if he lost that second front tooth yet. (Note: he lost said tooth a few days after I got back from Lima, but I was at the youth camp and missed it. It was the first thing I heard about when I got back. Those teeth are just falling right out of his mouth these days. And none of his friends have teeth either. So cute.) 

-My host-mom's birthday was two days ago and I didn't have credit on my phone to call her, nor money to buy credit, then I forgot to borrow someone else's phone to give her a birthday call... long story short, host-daughter FAIL. Feel so bad. Going to catch hell for this one... 

-The Lima Marathon sponsored by Adidas had the BEST race expo I have seen yet. I got free Powerade and got to play Wii Fit! Free stuff, random games, lots of sponsors, cool location (fountain park), and a great vibe. Makes me really excited for tomorrow's race! It will be my slowest Half Marathon to date, but will a good race, I can already tell. This will be my fourth half marathon, so I'm not looking for a PR (personal record, for those of you who aren't running nerds. AKA everyone- unless my uncle Ray is reading this ;) I'm just out to maintain fitness and enjoy a good ol' fashioned race day, Lima style. I realized the other day that I've never run a race in a big city. Something to add to my running resume ;) Excited! 

-Saturday afternoon. Sitting in Cafe Z, Miraflores' biggest hipster watering hole. I like the coffee, don't judge. Just read "El Comercio," -think the New York Times, but in Spanish and about Peru- while waiting for my sammich. Apparently Batman is gay. Who knew? 

-Half Marathon in the morning. I have that stir-crazy anxiety that only comes on the eve of race day. Everything is ready for tomorrow. Electronics are charged. Playlist has been updated. Cookies & Cream Power Bar has been procured and preserved for my customary pre-race breakfast, along with the traditional banana. Safety pins have been counted and placed on race bib. Gu flavors have been chosen. I even wrote motivational Sharpie notes on my wrists. The only thing left to do is sleep, which is coincidentally the only thing I am currently unable to do. Sigh. Race day. You'd think I'd get over this. Not my first rodeo... (Post-script side note- Despite/ because of my restless sleep and crazy nerves, I managed to forget my race bib at the hostel and had to get a cab to take me back to the hostel from the starting line, a S/. 20 mistake... good thing I left for the race way earlier than anyone ever needs to. Ah, running.) 

-Lima 21K (Half Marathon): Complete. Awesome race. Slowest Half time for me so far, 2:20:30, but we knew that would happen. I'm actually kind of proud of myself for guessing my time so accurately. I guessed it would be 2:20 and some odd seconds. Makes me happy that I know my body, abilities, and race behavior well enough to know how it would go. I pushed myself, enjoyed myself, and cursed myself for doing this in the first place... my typical behavior in a race. All par for the course. This was far and away the most organization I have ever seen in a marathon, and for that fact, the most organization I have seen so far in Peru. I'm really glad I did it and am proud to be a part of such a great event. My race highlights? I showed up to the starting area in a police truck and made a running friend from miles 4-7ish who shared a chocolate wafer with me for "energy." More on each in a different post. Runners high has taken hold. Time for some binge eating, cold beer, and waddling around like I'm 90. I love race day! I just ran a half marathon :) 

-The grocery stores here have real beer. MGD, Corona, and more. This is something that will be taken advantage of. 

-It's now Monday on my second week here. I had some facebook magic today. Just when I was starting to feel the onset of one of those anti-facebook phases, something spectacular happened. This morning, I noticed that the status of a Greenwood friend positioned him in Miraflores, Lima. What are the odds? He and his wife are returned Peace Corps volunteers, and really cool, so I figured it would be worth a shot to try to meet up with him if facebook were correct and if they actually were just a few blocks away in MIraflores. I messaged him to ask if he'd want to try to meet up for lunch. A couple hours later, he called my cell from Skype and lunch was confirmed. A few hours after that I was enjoying sushi in the company of familiar faces and their family members. I can't explain the value of a familiar face here, even if it is someone I see maybe once a year. Talking with them about Peace Corps and Peru and just life in general was so wonderful. Thanks facebook for making that happen. 

-I get to go back to site! If all goes well, I will be on a bus Wednesday night. It's been great Lima, but I'm ready to bounce. 

-Came back to site for about 4 hours to drop off some stuff and see the host fam before leaving for Camp ALMA. I got tackle hugged about 3 different times. Piere waited to give me a real hug until his friends were gone, typical, and Farid gave me a surprisingly large hug and warm greeting... but then about an hour later he said that I must have eaten well in Lima because I had gotten fat. Home, sweet home. It's good to be back. 

Miraflores Coastline.

Photo taken from pedestrian trail. 

One of the best places to run in Peru.

Bakery treats! 

Tina and a new friend.

Taken in the mall just after a Dunkin' Donuts run. 

When in Rome ;)

La Lucha Saaaammmmmiiicchhh! 

Biggest lunch I've had in awhile. 

Sooo good! 

Kelsi and me at the race expo Saturday morning.

Street Art 

LIMA 21K

I've been negligent with the blog. Apologies. I promise to hit you with a pile of updates in the near future. I've been in Lima for dental problems so I've been a grumpasaurus and not in the best state of mind for blogging. BUUTTT, I did run a half marathon on Sunday and thought the pictures would be a quick and easy post.

I had planned to run this race way before my damn teeth landed me in Lima, but the timing worked out pretty well so that I had a week in Lima to adjust to the weather and get a few good runs in around Miraflores before race day. The weather in Lima has officially declared winter upon the city, so the running conditions are fantastic these days.

I'm planning on writing a full post about the race, but for now please enjoy some classic race shots- always glamorous and never unflattering. Haha.

Case and Point: Don't I look pretty? 

This was at the finish line. 

Not my finest form. Heel striking. Dammit. 

Ready to be done at that point. 

Brian and I both ran the Half. It was his first and he killed it. 

8:40 pace just as he had wanted. 

Awesome job, Brian! 

PS- I look tiny next to him. Piere, who has met Brian only once, calls him "The Giraffe."

Our group minus one. 

Brian and I after the Half.

Kelsi, Mario, and Kate after the 10K. 

Great race everyone!