A memorable trip

I know you were worried but I am safely back in the US of A. Everything came back well except my large intestine. I won't include details here. Peru is such a great place. I already have a list of things I want to go back to Peru to do. I want to hike the Andes, see the jungle, visit Machu Pichu, swim in Lake Titicaca, visit Lima, and spend more time with the people of Peru. Every day, no. Every minute was an adventure. I never knew what to expect next. If you know me at all, you know I am a terrible planner and make life up as I go along. I will go ahead and apologize for every time this has adversely effected your life.

One of my favorite parts of Peru was hanging out in the front seat of the bus we used to get around town. I hung out with the driver, Ilias, who didn't speak english. Here he is in action. I conversed with him in spanish all week. Since I learn well by asking questions, I pestered Ilias with questions about everything I could think of/saw outside. Thankfully Ilias was patient, understanding and always willing to teach. I learned alot of spanish and even more about Peru throughout our trips.

I was in Trujillo, Peru's third largest city. Trujillo has a population of a little under 1,000,000 and is located in the Andean rainshadow and is thus a desert. It was cloudy almost every day as the dry clouds from the mountains settle over the desert. So while a desert (0.5 inches of rain per year) the air is continuously damp. It was winter in Trujillo and since it is located at about 8 degrees south latitude, it never really gets below 50 F. At left is the cloudline above Trujillo with the Andes poking through. How crazy would it be to be on top of one of those mountains?

All the paper in the world couldn't contain all the stories I have from Peru. That is not true. They could. But this blog would be real long if I did that. I promise I will discuss the trip in as much depth as you desire the next time we converse. Until then, I hope you are having a great week!

All up in Peru

Oh, hello there. I am real excited because my hotel has internet. These adventures are not in the 757, they are in Peru. This has been an amazing 3 days. My buddy Josh and I are hanging out in Peru with some peeps this week and we successfully navigated Dulles, San Salvador, Lima and the Trujillo airports. My years of spanish in school are paying off. I can´t be on the internet long, so I´ll make an abbreviated list of ridiculous awesomeness:
1. Playing soccer (futbol) and getting laughed at because I´m a fat gringoç
2. Food-ceviche, Inka Kola, fried bananas, sketchy street vendor food, drinkable yogurt.
3. Taxi rides which are scary and awesome. A must do in Peru.
4. Speaking of taxis, some of them are pimped out...that means they have dvd players in the sunvisors. We call these party cars.
5. Playing basketball followed by sharing a 2 liter pepsi with a bunch of dudes
6. Shopping using my terrible spanish skills
7. Showers at 200 degrees.
8. Peruvian television.

Time for someone else to use the internet. I hope you have a great week!

Peru anybody?

Here it is Sunday and I am leaving to go to Peru on Friday. If you asked me right now if I was ready, it would be a resounding no. I have my passport and enough clean underwear and stuff like that, but am I prepared to sit and talk to Peruvians? While it shouldn't be any different than talking with people here in Norfolk (which can be a challenge, i.e. shipyard folk) I feel woefully inadequate. I guess this is where the Lord takes over. If you know me very well, you'll know I tend to forget things. Important things. I forgot that our group was being commissioned in church this morning. I forgot until today that TSA doesn't like you to bring large amounts of liquids, i.e. the bulk shampoo that I buy because it's cheap. I probably will forget something important this week. Hopefully I won't forget why I'm going on this trip. That's the most important thing.

Since it is Sunday afternoon, I am due for a nap. I hope you are doing well.

what a crazy weekend

I had big aspirations for this past weekend. A carpool to Blacksburg with my friends Jake and Amanda. I received a call on Thursday that a very close family member, Tuck Dickerson passed away. Therefore I went to Tuck's funeral instead. Let me give you some background. I was only born with 2 grandparents as the other two passed away before I was born. Both of those grandparents died when I was seven. When my dad was growing up on the farm, the folks living on the farm next door (Tuck and Mary Willie) helped dad out many times when my grandfather was in the hospital. Therefore, they naturally became a sort of grandparents to me. Please allow me to tell you a little about Tuck Dickerson.

For as long as I've known him, Tuck lived in Charlotte County, VA, near the bustling town of Phenix. Charlotte County is the only county in VA without a stoplight. That is where I spent alot of my childhood hunting, farming christmas trees, and enjoying a break from "fast-paced" life in Blacksburg. Now that I really live in the city, I realize how much I have taken the country for granted. I'm sorry, back to Tuck. There were many awesome things about Tuck. First, he married one of the most wonderful women I have ever met, Mary Willie. She is an amazing cook and a woman who is grateful for her relationship with God. They recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. That's sweet. Second, Tuck was as strong as an ox. He never lifted weights because he didn't need to. His time on the farm built him into a hoss. I only mention this because his physical strength was only matched by his willingness to show emotion. It takes a heck of a man to be able to do both of those things. Third, Tuck always welcomed me into his home and loved me unconditionally. Not many people can honestly do that.

Tuck taught me about hard work, striving after God, and how to be thankful for everything around me.

Happy Independence Day!

Nothin says summer like July 4th weekend. I am excited because I'm going back to Blacksburg with my friends, Jake and Amanda. We are going to the Floyd wine festival, an event that I have never been to despite my 22 years of residence in Blacksburg. It will certainly be a great time to reconnect with family and friends. If you will be in Blacksburg this weekend, let me know and I can see you.

My house is still working out well, except for the short ceilings in some parts. I bump my head often. My road trip to Rockbridge went really well, as I spent some time with some old friends and was blessed with the oppurtunity to hang out with some new friends. It is always encouraging when others share their lives, both the highs and the struggles, with me.

I almost forgot to mention my trip to Nags Head! I took a few days off to see my family down at the beach in NC. I have been blessed with such an awesome family and I am consistently humbled by their love.

In other great news, I leave for Peru in 2 weeks! I am excited to go to another country and share my life with the people there. I am also filled with uncertainty about how to mentally and spiritually prepare for the trip. I guess a little faith will go a long way. I am going with my good buddy Josh, who is in the June 16th pose picture below. We were originally bound for the medical team, working logistics to the doctors could be freed up to treat patients. We have been moved to the conversational english team, where we will be talking with Peruvians who know "book" english but have little experience speaking with people who primarilly speak english. I can't wait to spend a whole week away from the shipyard and invest in the lives of others.

My time at work has been a little slow as I prepare for my next phase of training. There is too little work for the large number of new hires. Hence my blogging right now. Hopefully around mid-July I will transition to new training. I learned today that there is a guy who works here named "Harry Carey". That's funny. What's also funny is the anti-terrorism training I had to take on the computer this morning. I now feel confident in my ability to ward off terrorists. Haha.

I hope you are doing well and that your July 4th will be filled with hamburgers, relaxing, friends, and rest.