Food, Glorious Food

We asked for some ideas for future blog posts, and food was one of the requested topics, along with more info about our work here, and so I thought I would combine the 2.  I really enjoy cooking in Cusco, and discovering new dishes.  I cooked a delicious quinua soup the other day, full of veg and was very proud to see Sophia and Daniel yumming it up 3 days running. I am getting used to cooking at altitude - food can take longer to cook and the pressure cooker proves invaluable for certain meals.  Neil, however, has given up on cooking his chocolate cake, as it flops every time here.

There are lots and lots of restaurants in Cusco, and we tried Peruvian Chinese for the first time over the weekend - it was delicious.  In the centre, there are lots of places aimed at tourists, and the English pub even sells roast dinner.  One place does amazing nachos.

  A lot of the restaurants, though, offer menus, a fixed price 2 or 3 course meal. They normally start with a soup, followed by a main meal.  Trout is the most popular fish, but meat is very popular.  There is of course, cuy (guinea pig), but people really only eat it on special occasions.  One of Sophia's favourite Peruvian dish is Aji de Gallini, a creamy chicken dish with ajis (Peruvian peppers).   Daniel just loves pollo a la brasa - chicken and chips.  He said the other day 'I want a big chunk of chicken for lunch.' His other favourite is arroz con leche - rice pudding - which is popular with all of us.

We buy most of our food at the local supermarket, but buy our fruit and vegetables at one of the local markets. It is always an interesting experience, especially as we actually have seasons here!  It is great to be told that something is out of season, and won't be available for a few months - how different from the UK wheer we have become so accustomed to having fruit and veg all year around, despite the environmental cost.  Daniel and Sophia were very excited today when I bought home choklo, Peruvian maize, as it is in season again.  They both love it and it is a good discipline for all of us to wait for the things that we like the best.  This isn't limited to fruit and veg though, as the supermarkets seem to work in seasons as well.  Some products appear randomly on the shelves, only to disappear for weeks or months on end.  Mission workers discuss what is available and rush to the shops to stock up, and it makes us appreciate our favourite things that much more.

I still make mistakes with food, though.  The other day, I managed to buy the wrong kind of bananas which are used with cooking.  I bought a big bunch, so I thought I would get creative and made a banana curry. It smelt good, it looked good, and tasted pretty awful.  Daniel took one look and said, 'I am not eating that as I know I won't like it.'  We made him try it, but his original prognosis was correct.  I felt pretty bad, though as we had a dinner guest.  She genuinely seemed to like it, and said it was similar to a dish from another part of Peru.  She was so keen that we gave her the left overs to take home and were quite frankly glad to be rid of it and pleased it was going to be appreciated elsewhere.

Having now completely finished language study, we now have more time to have people round and cook for them.  I think sharing food together is important in most cultures, and Peru is no exception.  I have, however, learnt to cook in bulk, as there are times when we are not quite sure who is coming.  I cook up a feast so that we can feed whoever turns up and can freeze the left overs.  I have meeting with a teenage girl for a few months, but we have recently started eating together first.  It is so great to spend this time together, and as our language improves, I think we will enjoy these times more and more.  I recently cooked chilli for the young people and that was popular too - there wasn't much left over, so from this I conclude the appetite of teenagers is a universal phenomenon.

As we have more opportunities to eat together and share life, we can practise the gift of hospitality more and more.  This, to us, is an important part of our work and ministry here.  We are blessed to have so much good food to eat and enjoy, although that shouldn't stop people sending out more chocolate; it is always gratefully received.

The Remarkable Recovery of Sophia

We had a bit of scare with Sophia on Monday.  She developed a cough over the weekend, and was coughing loads on Monday morning.  We thought it could be a chest infection, so Neil took her to the doctors.  Although her chest was clear, her oxygen was low and her pulse rate was fast.  Neil was advised that  it was probably a virus but if she got worse, we should take her to hospital.  We started trying to give her the antibiotics, but she couldn't keep much down as she was coughing so much.  After lunch, I got worried as she became very lethargic and her breathing seemed laboured.  We decided it was best to get her checked out at the hospital, and so I took her down.  We got to the Reception when she suddenly perked up.  She decided it was probably best to go home and watch some tv and drink some hot milk, and she suddenly seemed like her old self, praise God. I took her home and by the end of the afternoon she was chasing her brother, hiding under beds and keeping down medicine and liquids.

Her oxygen was still a bit low this morning, but as can be seen in this video recorded before bed tonight, she doesn't seem too unhealthy!  It was a worrying few hours for us on Monday and we are so grateful that she is her normal cheeky self.  I was even secretly pleased to tell her off for pulling her brother's hair again.  We are very grateful for God's protection and for the good health of our family.  We are pleased that our little Sophia is so full of life again.  However, we do also remember the many families where the worry and concern over ill health lasts much longer than a few hours. 

Poverty

I've been thinking a bit more about poverty again recently through a film on youtube called "The End of Poverty" and a book on consumerism that I've been reading

Our experience of poverty in Peru has been quite varied. We visit the local hospital which is not very nice in comparison with the immaculate private hospital opposite, and Amanda has written previously about the situations she visited from the clinic which Anjanette visited.  In contrast we live in an area of Cusco which appears to be relatively wealthy.  A number of the people who live where we do are those who manage restaurants and hotels in the centre. But even in this area, there are still those who look through rubbish for things that they can use or sell.

The image of people, especially children going through rubbish is common, and in some ways it isn't surprising that it happens in Peru. However, I think it is the proximity of those of us with money and those who are less well of that is noticeable. Another aspect of this is the story of a girl called Chana. She comes to our kid's club, and enjoys all the activities, but spends her days on the streets in and around her grandmothers fruit stall. This is another example of the mixture of backgrounds and lives that are lived in such close proximity.

It is not easy to see how we should respond to this situation.  Prayer and practical help are clearly important, but I wonder if there are other things we could do.  Maybe the prayers could lead to other things...

What do you want from us??

We are approaching our 9 month anniversary in Peru, and day to day life here is pretty normal now.  We want to keep the blog interesting for those that are reading, so would welcome some ideas on what kind of things you want to hear more about.  Would you like to hear more about the food, culture, our work, Cusco, our daily routine, theological reflection...? or something completely different! Drop us a comment and we will see what we can do!

Information Treasure Hunt

I am currently trying to do some background research for a potential project involving young people and the environment. After some internet research, I was excited yesterday to discover that the Peruvian government have a department dedicated to the environment, and there is a local office in Cusco around 10 mins walk from the house - my first clue! Praying for a good reception, I decided to try turning up to get a meeting. Amazingly, I was instantly seen by a lady who managed to not only understand my Spanish, but gave me the names of a couple of people who are running projects for young people and children in association with the municipilidad.

And so I had my second clue, and I headed up to the main library in the centre of town to track down my contact. Sadly, things took a turn for a worse as the library was firnly closed, apparently for the next 20 or 30 days. The security guard seemed suitably vague, so goodness knows when it will actually re-open. He had never heard of my contact and looked at me like I was slightly mad. Undetermined, I thought I would try the Ministry of Education, which is just around the corner. Having no real idea what I am doing, I queued up at the nearest desk. The lady didn't know any info, but left her desk to take me to someone who might know more, She in turn left her desk to take me to find her colleague. Can you imagine turning up at a government office in the UK without an appointment, or a name and people going out of their way to help you?

I was eventually led to another courtyard, where there were more offices. However, it looked bizarre, as most of the buildings were no longer standing, with just the doorways and front walls remaining. We found their (still standing) office on the second floor and it crossed my mind that environmental education may not be a priority. Sadly, the people were not in the office, but I was sent elsewhere where I discovered their names and numbers. The clues were mounting up and i now had names and numbers although no actual information. After randomly walking into an office as it had the word environment in the title above the door, I decided that there were no more clues to be found here.

After a brief lunch, I got a taxi to Ausangate School. Daniel attends the nursery, but there are lots of environmental projects at the main school. I had a great chat with a teacher in English - hurrah. SHe was very helpful and showed me some of the projects that the school are running. A firm lead at last. Now, all I had to do was get home. I walked towards the bus stop, only to be faced with an angry, growling dog that was not keen to let me past. By this point , I really felt like Anneka Rice (note to younger readers - cult figure from the 1980s) and looked expectantly up at the sky for my helicopter to rescue me. Sadly, it didn't come, so I scrambled up onto a pile of dirt and walked across, keeping a safe distance from the dog. I was getting increasingly strange looks from a man on a motorbike, clearly trying to work out what the strange gringa was doing, and not offering any assistance.

No further adventures were forthcoming and I arrived safely back home with names, numbers and a few ideas, although little actual information! I continue to wait for the treasure.

The Ropers in Arequipa

There are moments in my life when I wonder how wise we are travelling with small children, and times when I am grateful for how well behaved they often are! We have just returned from the beautiful city of Arequipa, and took the overnight bus to get there. After our flight to Peru, when Daniel finally fell asleep at 3 am UK time, we have very low expectations about travelling with children, but they were both brilliant, apart from Sophia waking up at 6am on the way home and saying 'poo park', and laughing hilariously at her wit and comedic genius. She has also learnt to sleep anywhere, in true missionary kid style; here she is wiped out at the bus station in Arequipa.


Anyway, travelling aside, we had a wonderful time away. As well as seeing Arequipa, we got to spend lots of time with James and Julia, who are currently in language school. We had an action packed few days, involving an open top bus tour, drinks on a roof top terrace (one of Daniel's favourite parts) and wonderful views of the city. We even ate a local delicacy 'queso helado', literally translated as cheese icecream. It is delicious although sadly doesn't contain cheese.




We also had an opportunity to take the children to a wonderful sports club, where they could swim in a heated pool. We don't get many opportunities to swim in Cusco, especially as the public pool hasn't been open for a few months. They were both excited to swim, especially Sophia who got in the water and giggled for about 10 minutes!

Arequipa also has malls! Back in the UK, we really weren't great fans of shopping, and I am genuinely surprised how nice it was to visit these places. Maybe it is just a reminder of home (and for us to eat Pizza Hut pizza). The children got to choose a toy for doing well with the potty (Sophia) and doing well at school (Daniel) and I stocked up on gifts for friends. As well, we got to go the cinema and watched the Lion King in 3D (and Spanish). It was Sophia's first time at the cinema, although she didn't last the whole film. Here are Daniel, Sophia and Neil enjoying a meal at the mall.


Sadly I had to watch them eat. My stomach has strengthened in recent months, but couldn't handle the joys of Arequipa (or cheese icecream). Such are the realities of life in another country and it helps me with my missionary diet (soon to be patented)... as I faced the prospect of a 10 hour trip on a bus, my very good friends armed me with gifts of Imodium, mint tea and toilet roll. They know what a girl wants!

And so it was time for another bus trip. Travelling overnight with the kids may sound like a nightmare, but as the sun rose over the Andean mountains the folowing morning, it was wonderful to have the opportunity to look at the beautiful scenery with Daniel, and listen as he commented on the beauty surrounding him. What an opportunity for a 4 year old. Sadly, Sophia was too busy laughing at her own jokes to notice.