Pronunciation

Finally, a morning to myself! Time for the introvert to recharge. This past week I jumped into all the nursing venues without really getting my bearings in the city, so this week is my time to explore on my own. I take small steps but I eventually get there. I am using this morning to write, do laundry and to take on room improvement projects. The ceiling in the room has a paint job that has been decaying for some time. It only rains a few days out of the year but it looks like water damage was the agent of the decay. The paint chips have been falling on a daily basis and this past weekend while cleaning the house, I found a scraper! Time to say goodbye to the lead paint above the bed! I will be happy not to look up at that anymore.

Saturday was my second trip to the market so I am starting to have some confidence to shop and navigate on the unmarked streets. My point of reference is the path to the church. First, as you leave the house turn left, take the first street on the right, turn left at the red concrete sidewalk then go straight past the tall cactus and you will see the church on your right. Easy! Street signs are over-rated. My holy grail right now is to make it downtown to the supermarket by the plaza on foot.

Todd had a good send off Saturday night. We had around 70 people from his various ministries in the church. Pre-preparations involved a massive cleaning of the backyard. Our rags and brooms need to be thrown out. Clean rags and clean brooms for house-work are hard to come by so most efforts are not as fruitful as one would hope. In time, I am sure I will embrace the dirt. For now, I am still at war. Send clean rags if you can and a set of heavy rubber gloves.

For food, we bought tamales made locally, Todd made brownies and oatmeal bars, Julie prepared pisco masato (alcohol), I got to mix the purple corn drink, and chips and crackers from the store topped it off. A friend from the church DJed the Latino music with the random popular American song.

The man who was going to lend us benches was not home so the girls tapped their resources and went down the street to borrow benches and chairs from a neighbor’s house. As we were walking away with their chairs, one of the little children, who was no more than 5 years old, came running out of the house with their last chair to give us. I have no idea what they sat on that night. Seeing such generosity is very touching.

It was a night of dancing. Everyone dances with everyone here even some of the young nuns. I couldn’t help but think of the contrast with the U.S. It was so nice to see a 17 year old boy willingly dance salsa with his mother and 12 year old sister and just enjoying the evening together. Peruvian culture is very formal. As a host, you have to hand out drinks, silverware, and food and then go around and collect them. No one really gets up except to change conversation or dance and then they sit down between songs. One dance per person. Women in general have to wait to be asked to dance. After one dance, women sit and wait for the next person to ask. Even though there is an entire dance floor, Peruvians tend to form a line of couples dancing across from each other.

The party started at 10 pm and lasted until 6 am. I bailed around 4:30 because most of the guests left around 2. Conversation was good and my housemates now know I can dance. I had another humorous correction in my Spanish that night. People were asking if I speak Spanish and my response was “a little” in Spanish “poquito” except my pronunciation was off so I was really saying “piquito” which translates to “little pickle.” What can I say, my life is funny. Q: “Do you speak Spanish, A:“little pickle” :) I think they got the picture.

I mentioned earlier, my roommate is a theology major from St. Louis University with a minor in Spanish. She is well versed on anything Catholic and has a special interest in Buddhism and feminist theology. I am benefiting from her souvenirs from El Salvador and a Buddhist retreat which decorate our room. We have signs like “don’t hurry, enjoy the present moment” “listen with compassion” and “look deeply”. On the armoire she has a newspaper clipping taped to the door which I feel has special meaning for Peru because they enjoy dancing so much. I have copied it below to share with you:

Dancing With God

When I meditated on the word Guidance. I kept seeing “dance” at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God’s will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn’t flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing lightly in one direction or another/ it’s as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance. When I saw “G” I thought of God, followed by “u” and “I”. “God”, “u” and “I” dance. As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God’s blessings and mercies be upon you on this day and every day. May you abide in God as God abides in you.
Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and guide you through each season of your life.

I hope you dance.

-Anonymous