The weather is really quite similar to British summer weather – we expected constant rain, being the rainy season, but actually it only rains for part of the day and at other times it can be really hot. It is the low season for tourism here, partly due to the rain and partly due to the fact that most Westerners don’t take a big holiday during January and February. Some Peruvians go away, particularly if they have family in Lima (it’s hot with no rain there at the moment), but most can’t afford to.
After New Year Sammy spent a couple of weeks (mornings only) at his school holiday club. Most schools and sports clubs seem to have holiday clubs. I think teachers in the UK would be horrified to think of spending most of their summer holidays back in school running a holiday club! Sammy’s school has opened its new site now. I don’t think it’s all ready yet but they have some rooms suitable for the 30 or so kids in the holiday club. So we had a practice run taking him to the edge of town for a couple of weeks. We can actually get there, door to door, in 30 minutes with a fast walk to and from the bus stop either end, so that’s better than we thought! Sammy wasn’t 100% keen to go but he enjoyed it once he got there. They did some fun trips including swimming and horse riding! It was good for his Spanish to attend and also good for us while we had a lot to do to sort the house out! Although he’s not going to the club these few weeks, I go to the swimming pool with both boys on the same morning that the club go each week so Sammy can have fun with his friends.
The little park opposite the new house has been fantastic for the boys. It doesn’t have any play equipment but it has grass, a few trees and some little paths round which all the local kids ride their bikes and cars. Benjamin charges down the slope on his truck squealing with laughter. Sammy is getting strong legs trying to ride up the hill. They have made lots of little friends, ranging in age between 1 and 13! Some of the older kids love playing with them, sometimes helping them with their bikes, sometimes playing with a ball and sometimes playing with little diggers and trucks in the mud.
We have got to know a few parents and grandparents from around the plaza. Most of them don’t come out with their kids as once they’re 4 they’re deemed old enough to go out on their own, or rather with older brothers and sisters or friends. Everyone’s house overlooks the park so we can watch the children easily from the windows. The people we have met have been very friendly though. Last night I was really happy as when the little youth group from church came up to the house to do a treasure hunt in the park, and then make pancakes, quite a few of the local kids were still around. So everyone took part in the treasure hunt and then we took some pancakes out for them later on.
We have had a few special events during the holidays. This week we had Keira’s second birthday party which was fun. Keira is the daughter of friends we have made recently, Jed and Jaime. They are from the USA and we have hit it off really well. They arrived in Cusco this year too and live just behind the building where Sammy’s pre-school used to be.
Today we had a baby dedication at church and then most of the morning congregation (it’s small) went out together to a chicken restaurant. There are lots of places here that specialise in chicken and chips and are good value, especially for a group, so it’s quite a common way of going out for a meal together for Peruvians. Roland said they didn’t really need to bring the baby as it was so bundled up you couldn’t see it! All babies here, under about a year, if they go out at all, get smothered in fleecy blankets and always have their faces completely covered over to protect them from sun, dust, cold, wind or whatever other environmental hazard they might be exposed too!
We have two more weeks here, taking it in turns to look after the boys and carrying on with our work with project and church, and then we will go to Lima for a week for our Latin Link Peru team annual conference. We will meet Roland’s parents in Lima and then plan to spend a few days in the valley near here with them before Sammy goes back to school.
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