Juntos (together)

After 18 hours of travel, Zinnia, August and I emerged from immigration in Lima to cheering from an excited Johanna and Eloise. It was a wonderful, tearful reunion and symbolized a transition to our time away, now together.

 

For me, the last week has been an absolute whirlwind, full of moments both fleeting and significant. A morning in Lima exploring Parque Oliver and trying our first pollo a la brasa and  tallarines saltados. An hour and a half car ride through the most intense traffic I have experienced to Chosica where I found myself laughing at the near misses as our driver found inches around the car ahead and accelerated into them. As the city receded and we made our way up the mountains, or cerros (hills), the fog burned away and the sun shone on the dusty clash of businesses, homes, and restaurants that is outer Lima.

After settling in, we wanted a bite to eat and Jo suggested we walk to the Chosicano (local bus) and introduced us to Señor Dante, the man perpetually guarding the entrance to the road in a small shed that serves as both office and gathering place for his buddies to talk away the evening. We also met the small crew of dogs that Jo and Eloise have affectionately dubbed “Little Head”, “Big Boy” and “Scrappy.”

To ride the Chosicano:

Raise your hand and almost instantly one will materialize and “stop,” though a more accurate description is, “slow to a pace where you can throw your kids on and jump in before rapidly speeding up.” The music is always bumping; Zinnia has named the vibe the “party bus” and it costs a sol ($.25) to ride. We have ridden these at least a dozen times since we have arrived and almost every time, the cobrador (person who collects money) makes sure Zinnia has a seat and then holds her hand on and off. It’s a beautiful mashup of humanity.

This week also marked August's first three days of school. He attends the same school as Eloise and besides a family from China, they are the only non-Peruvian students. The new quarter was starting and there was a birthday which resulted in two separate parties with cake and a piñata in August’s class. On his second day we were told that it was “polo loco” day, and we were to dress August in a crazy shirt. We bought a cheap one and let him go to town making poop emojis and other silly drawings. When Ms. Estrella, his new teacher, sent us all the photos of the class, Jo and I couldn’t stop laughing. The other kids were decked out! (check out the guy with the Hot Wheels track on his shirt). August came home with a box of candy and exclaimed, “school in Peru is so fun!” 

Zin and I experienced our first days of “Daddy School” which was bittersweet. I love our time together and we have a lot of fun learning, but I know I’m no replacement for her love of friends and the social dimension of school. As I get to know our community more, I am excited about creating daily adventures to the park, grocery store, and pool. 

While there have been periods of readjustment (What? Two parents again? And more siblings?!), our time together this week has been exploring the life Johanna and Eloise have made. The days flew by in a flurry of emptying our luggage and filling up on the sites, sounds and fantastic Peruvian food. It has been seven days, but it has felt like a month.  

Today we walked around our neighborhood and like everything in Peru so far it was a bewildering mix of extremes. One moment we are walking along the 4 lane carretera with traffic flying past in both directions, the next, we are tucked up two blocks to a tranquil coffee shop with a large walled garden lined with mismatched furniture, where we relaxed over scratch-baked pastries and incredible coffee. We walked on dirt back roads to the local park where three girls fell in love with Zinnia and made sure to include her in their fun. The Chosicano ride home dropped us in front of a stand that only opens on Sunday nights that sells fresh picarones (sweet potato donuts covered in different types of syrup). We were only steps away and bites in when we realized we had to get another round.