Riding the Waves

Last Tuesday, I had a realization: come July, we REALLY are leaving Peru. Come July, our lives are going to change.

What brought on this realization? A job offer. Tuesday in a whirlwind of events, my job search was finally over. After nearly 30 applications, several interviews and, admittedly, a little bit of insecurity, I was offered a high school Communication Arts position in the Kansas City metro. And I accepted. I don’t want to elaborate on this too much since, after all, the blog is about my adventures in PERU—but I will say I’m incredibly thankful for this opportunity and I’m excited to start the next chapter of my life.

We came, we saw, we ate seawater... we conquered? 

That being said—for the time being we ARE still in Peru. So, last week we checked something off my bucket list: surfing. Katrina and I trekked to Miraflores, put on the ever attractive wet suits, got a crash course in about 10 minutes of Surfing 101 and hit the waves.

What I immediately discovered is that attacking waves with a surfboard makes your stomach churn. Katrina doesn’t get motion sickness, but by the time we paddled out to the place where you can actually start surfing we both looked at each other with slightly green faces. From there, came the surfing attempts.

Surfing is said to be no joke—a workout—and it lives up to its reputation. Luckily, the Lima coastline has forgiving baby waves, which were perfect for us beginners. We came, we stood up, we wobbled, we fell. And it was completely fantastic.

After about twenty minutes was the first time we got “Prudencioed.” Allow me to explain. Prudencio is a member of our congregation who is the most fearless man I have ever met. Prudencio doesn’t know how to swim, but naturally, this doesn’t stop him from entering the water. So, during Dia de la Playa, Prudencio would swim out, wait for a gigantic wave, then get completely annihilated by it. The water would grab him, throw him to the ground and drag him along the ocean floor until it receded just enough for him to pop his head out again. He’d shake his head, get up, and walk out for more. It was an ocean smack down, and the water won every battle. Prudencio absolutely loved it.  

We'd usually catch the waves at the end of this boardwalk. 

Thus we have the verb of getting “Prudencioed.” The first time it happened our instructor said, “Hang on to your boards!” We had just enough time to turn around and see the imminent beating coming our way. Your body is thrown from your board like a rag doll, then you’re slapped around under the water, uncontrollably thrashing about, your head going left, your butt going right and somehow your feet are pointed upwards—or downward? You’re unsure of which way is up. By the time it’s over, you flail about to reach the surface and emerge disoriented and thankful that your board is tied to your foot. Each time you get Prudencioed, you swallow about a cup and a half of saltwater—and not all of it is taken in through your mouth.

After a few rounds of this, I had about 5 cups of saltwater in my belly, and that was when I had the horrifying realization that I was about to feed the fishes. My stomach lurched and I choked back the delightful taste of stomach acid. I flopped on my board lifelessly, waiting for the vomit to come. And at that point, my instructor and I determined that perhaps it was best to return to the shore—and so we did. So…my hour long lesson was about 40 minutes long—but it was still fantastic, and I still want to try it again. I’m no professional, in fact, I have the grace of a newborn deer—but it was still delightful, and I’m just glad I was able to fully stand up for a few seconds. And if we go surfing again, I’m taking two Dramamine instead of just one.

A visit with Lela and Virgilio for coffee and conversation. 

After surfing, Katrina and I dizzily walked around Miraflores, burping up seawater and waiting for our stomach to settle enough to hop a combi back to Callao. Once we got back (and napped off our dizziness) we popped some popcorn and had a movie night with our host sisters and host cousins. It’s the simple moments like this, just watching a movie, that we know we need to do more and more as our days tick away, to soak in as much time with our Peruvian family as possible.

The rest of the week slipped by as usual. Friday night Katrina taught a class on presiding in Monte Sion and helped people build their first service. Saturday was my turn to preside and I put some of those plans into motion. Somehow, in my eight months here, presiding is still not an art I’ve fully mastered. I don’t know if it’s all in my head, if it’s the language barrier, or it’s simply a series of unfortunate events, but I’ve yet to walk away from a service I’ve built and thought: yes, I nailed that.  

Sunday, my class on Lecto Divina was a bit lackluster as well. People seemed confused as to why I was teaching something “Catholic” and why we had to read the scripture and meditate so many times. The class flopping was a bit of a bummer, considering I’d just been hired as a TEACHER, but you win some and you lose some—and when you lose you learn how to get better.

Gladys sharing a few words. 

After church, we had a surprise party celebrating Gladys graduation from college. I’d been expecting that we’d just hand her some balloons and clap—Gladys has been playing the whole ordeal fairly low key. However, as soon as they pulled out her balloons the waterworks started from all around. People stood up and gave passionate testimonies. Turns out that Gladys mother died right when she was about to start college. The family came together after her death to help Gladys pay for college. Her graduation now is a tribute to her mother. Gladys made a point to say that her graduating isn’t just the fulfillment of her dream, but the dreams of everyone in that room. The night became a passionate celebration, complete with sandwiches, pop, and, of course, cake.  

And it’s on that note that we rounded up our week. Katrina and I are in a frantic rush today—withdrawing money, converting it to Soles, packing our bags, etc. because we are headed out to Arequipa TONIGHT! After a week where I wasn’t impressed with my presiding and teaching, it’s good to get a little bit of time away to relax and regroup. We’ll be in Arequipa for 10 days, so I don’t know when my next full blog post will be—put I’ll try to post some pictures on the road. Until then!