Well, last week was “Semana Santa” or Holy Week. Thursday and Friday were official holidays and most of the city of Lima was very quiet as everyone took a long weekend to go to resorts in the mountains or on the coast. Last weekend was their “official end of summer” weekend….sort of like our Labor Day weekend in the states.
Friday, Good Friday, David came home early and we went to a movie. We haven’t found a church down here. There are some that offer English services, but I am ashamed to say that it hasn’t been a top priority with us. Anyway, walking back from the movie, we saw a procession in our neighborhood. They were carrying a large crucifix statue through the streets with the people carrying candles and singing to guitar music. People would approach the statue and put flowers around the base. Along the street, people had made alters in front of their homes and the priest would stop and bless (?) or say a prayer…I didn’t quite figure out what they were doing, but a stop was made at each alter. I would have loved to have had a picture of it, but decided that it wouldn’t have been in good taste.
David actually got 2 days off this weekend, but we didn’t go anywhere as arrangements had to be made way in advance. That was OK, it was a quiet, relaxing evening. Saturday was a long walk through the Park of Olives, one of my favorite parks in this area. However, it was so, so hot. We didn’t stay out very long.
Saturday afternoon, the internet technicians arrived to fix our internet. It had been down since Friday night and being Easter weekend, we had slight hopes that anyone would show to repair it. What is the saying “Hope for the best, expect the worse and be happy with what you get!” We were amazed when they showed up!!! It was something with the wires in our building. I am not certain what happened, but as you can see, it is up and running.
Easter day, was like any other Sunday…relaxing morning and then exploring in the afternoon. I introduced David to the “combi bus” and we rode downtown to the Exposition Park. This park houses the art museum, a lovely gazebo, a Moorish-style building, restaurants, open air craft market and small paddle boat pond. We wandered around there and then walked a few blocks to Bolivar Plaza. From there, we walked down the connecting pedestrian mall to Plaza d’Armas. Many people were out enjoying the warm, sunny weather. After awhile, we hopped the combi and came back home.
OK, so I must admit….I really dislike being in warm weather for Christmas and Easter. Christmas is suppose to have snow and cold weather so you can bundle up and play in the snow or sit by the fire. Easter is suppose to be the beginning of spring….trees budding, flowers blooming and pretty pastel colors everywhere. It just doesn’t seem like those special times of year when the temps are anywhere from 85-100 degrees!
I realize that my friends and family in norther US/Canada have had a brutal winter and you probably won’t give me much sympathy. I totally understand…I probably would be complaining if I had to live through the winter like you folks did….so, is there a happy medium????
Oh my gosh, I just realized that I haven’t shared with you that I bought a guitar down here! It is hand-made and beautiful. I am taking lessons from the man who made it…his name is Lorenzo. I had my second lesson last night. It is interesting learning music down here. They teach with the do-re-mi music theory (sorry Maria, I forgot what they actually call it). Anyway, I am used to the notes (C-D-E) theory. So, learning the guitar with a new music theory and in Spanish is really a hoot! However, I am proud to report that after two lessons, I can play Happy Birthday and Mary Had a Little Lamb….which I figured out myself! Plus, some of Julie Andrews “Do-Re-Me” song…again, I am figuring it out!
I haven’t been taking any Spanish classes for the past month. I was going to study on my own….well, it always gets put at the bottom of the list of things to do and then, it never gets done! So, I have made arrangements with my teacher’s mother, Kika, to have her work with me three times a week when I get back from the states!
I am so excited about this as I have really enjoyed spending time with Kika. She has to be on dialysis, three times a week and is in fragile health. If I had returned to the school that I had been taking the classes, I would never be able to visit with Kika as the days that she doesn’t have dialysis is the days that I would be in class. So, this is a win-win situation. We are both very excited. I will take the combi to the center of Lima on Monday-Wednesday and Fridays about 1-3 for my classes with her. Oh, and did I mention that Susan, her daughter, my former teacher is now working in David’s office giving private lessons to all the engineers!
OK, so I have rambled on enough. We leave Tuesday night at 11:00 PM to head back to Maine. We will be in Portland at 2:00 on Wednesday afternoon. It will be good to be home….especially to see my new built-in shelves that weren’t finished when I left!!!!
Cheers and may you be as blessed today as we are everyday!