Monday, February 26, 2007

Just for Fun

We received an email from a friend recently that asked questions to get to know each other better. I usually do not fill them out, but this time I thought it would be fun (sorry). All the answers pertain to Peru.

1. What is your occupation? Jobless. As volunteers Kris teaches preschool, English, and Art. We just made sculptures from clay and painted them. The kids did a great job. They made turtles, snails, a coin dish, a heart, a flower, and a lizard. Adam does "manly" things in the garage and around the Albergue.

2. What color are your socks right now? Socks, are you crazy? It is a million degrees here! We prefer barefoot on the beach!

3. What are you listening to right now? Children laughing, Rocio singing in Spanish, kids running, and crashing on bikes.

4. What was the last thing that you ate? I am not sure, but I think it was a bird of some kind! Last week we had cow stomach, and tongue with rice... the rice was delicious!

5. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Um, if I was a crayon I would be chewed up, broken, or all over the kid's arms and faces! Oh, what fun we have in the preschool class.

6. The last person you spoke to on the phone? My dad in California. It was his birthday on the 24th and I had all the girls sing a happy birthday song in Spanish. It had to have been the COOLEST B-day call ever!

7. How old are you today? I am 23, but I feel younger than I was when I first got here. The kids have brought me back to my childhood years. I have had to use my imagination, play on the swing sets, and find the excitement in things that crawl! It's been great!

8. Favorite drink? Oh, how we long for a glass of milk! Here they have what they call milk, but it is thick, creamy, and tastes like half and half. Oh yeah, and it is not refrigerated! Yup, you refrigerate it after it is opened.

9. What is your favorite sport to watch? Well, the workers and kids playing soccer at the end of the day. Adam has been playing a lot of futbol!

10. Pets? Mosquitoes, flys and spiders. Just kidding, well kind of. At the Albergue there are two dogs, Tracy and Pebbles. Pebbles knows English because she belonged to a United States family. She is a basset hound, very old, and well fed! Tracy is a skinny, funny looking dog, but recognizable as a dog, as many are not. We have seen some very ugly dogs! There is also a cat.

11. Favorite food? MEXICAN FOOD!!! I can not wait for the day I have a burrito smothered in Green chili, a shredded beef taco, chips and salsa, a chimichanga, a taco salad, and green chili chicken enchiladas all sitting in front of my face! Peruvian food is not Mexican food! We will not be wanting rice or soup for a long time. I think my favorite also excludes stomach, tongue, or feet!

12. What was the last movie you watched? The Ant Bully in Spanish. We invited the kids over to our apartment to watch a movie on our 10" television. We laid out several mattresses, had popcorn, fresh squeezed O.J., and played games all night.

13. What is the favorite toy for kids at the Albergue? Their bikes, because there are not many of them and they are only allowed to ride them during certain times. Other favorite toys include: an empty cardboard box, a stick or block of wood, water, and tires. They have many toys, but they prefer to use their imagination.

14. Favorite fruit? Mangoes and apricots are fresh, sweet, and in season.

15. Favorite day while in Peru? Feb. 24th we took the older kids to El Mirador (Dad, we celebrated your b-day!). The 7-11 year old kids went to camp, so Adam and I took the older kids and some employees out for a fun day. At El Mirador there are two large pools, horse back riding, playgrounds, soccer, volleyball, great food, a mini zoo, and live music. It was a treat for my apoyos, or helpers, for doing a great job helping me with the small children. We were able to take 11 people out for only $62! That included 11 large meals, ice cream, entry fee, riding horses, transportation, everything! It was a very fun day. None of the workers or kids had been there before, so it was a real treat. It was rewarding to be able to do something so special for them all and spend the time with them. Another favorite day was working up in Alto Salivary with the Boston group, what an awesome group of people, we miss them.

16. Who is most likely to respond? To our blog... Kim and Mary Lou, they are troopers! We greatly enjoy the comments and hearing from you, so please keep 'em coming!

17. Living arrangements? We really are homeless, but currently, I can't complain living in Peru at the Albergue. We get three meals a day, a nice clean apartment, running water (most of the time), and electricity (most of the time). When we return we will live with my parents in Pueblo, until we find and can afford a place to live in Springs.

18. When was the last time you cried? Last Sunday... sometimes, but rarely, I want to be home. Not having any Mexican food is just too much to handle sometimes! Tee hee Tee hee.

19. What did you do yesterday? We went to church, went to a friend's house for lunch, then came home and slept all afternoon and all night. We woke up to eat and watch part of a movie. It was wonderful. El Mirador was a big day, the night before we were at a surprise birthday party until late, then after Mirador we went into town to watch Inca dancers. It was very neat, but we were very tired at the end of the week!

20. What are you afraid of? It used to be babies, now it is Peruvian taxis!

21. 10 inches of snow or 100 degree weather? Snow... it would be a nice change and like I said it is a million degrees here! In snow you can drink hot coco and wear layers. It is very hot here and there is no such thing as an air conditioner.

I forgot one life lesson last time... The world really is a small place. Of all people to meet here in Peru, we met a girl from Alamosa, Colorado. She just graduated high school and is here for one year. Crazy!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kris, (that still doesn't sound right to me)
You are such an articulate, humorous journalist. You should consider writing a book at some point, you know, with all your spare time!!! I had a dream that you and I were crafting. You were scrapbooking, and I was adding embellishments to the pages. Adam was playing the guitar in the background....The only thing lovelier would be some grandkids scampering around. No pressure!!!!
I can't wait until you guys get back. Kim, let me know what date you are planning your party for. I need to request a few days off asap.
PS - Kris, keep an eye on Adams leaky toe, he had this problem in high school too. He said he was going to look for a first aid kit, but I but he didn't. Take care, LOVE YOU MUCHO GRANDE. Mary Lou

Kim and Brian said...

Hey guys. Well, that was fun reading! Kristen, I am afraid you are going to go into shock the moment you do have milk, cheese, and mexican food!! :-)
MaryLou, my fellow trooper, I hope you read this, if not Kristen or Adam, please pass it on. Actually this is to all who are interested, we are going to do a big hoopla in honor of Kristen and Adam complete with a large block of meltable cheddar cheese, milk, and mexican food covered in green chile! Kristen and Adam, I need to know again when you are going to be back so we can plan this. It will be on a Sunday, that is all we know for now. The date will be determined after we find out more from the honorary Peruvians. To those who are interested please e-mail me at kslanovich@comcast.net for details and help! :-)
I had to laugh when I read MaryLou's blog message, only a mother can get away with making reference to Adam's leaky toe for all to read! :-)
Kris, I talked to Mom and she told me you had the kids sing "happy birthday" to Dad on Saturday! That is awesome! I am sure he loved it. I called but he was out fishing the river in the rain. Men.
I can't believe you ate cow stomach and tongue, I think I would rather have chicken toe soup. yuk.
I can't wait for you two to get back!

Love you,
Kim and Brian