28 de Noviembre (Almuerzo con mi amiga!)

My good German friend from school, Eva, kindly invited Elizabeth and me to join her for lunch at her house! It’s so wonderful to have home cooked meals sometimes as Liz and I basically survive off of peanut butter and jelly. :)

We left to go to her house, and grabbed a taxi that said he knew where he was going and that it would cost us 8 soles. This was really too much, but we took it anyway just because we didn’t feel like arguing. As we were on our way, the taxi driver asked for the address again and then proceeded to tell us that it was “muy lejos” (far) and that it was going to cost us 10 soles! Yeah, right! “Pero nos dijo ocho,” I said to him. (You told us eight!) He continued to argue which is when I said just stop the car. He changed his mind and said eight was fine. It’s so frustrating to be taken advantage of just because you are foreign. Anyway, once we got over to Miraflores, he realized that he didn’t know where the street was and had to stop and ask a police officer for directions. Needless to say, we finally made it.

Eva kindly gave us a tour around her beautiful home. It was so open and white and airy. . . The sun was shining outside and a cool breeze blew through the windows. It was a beautiful day. When we saw that she had a BATHTUB, we got so exicted! I haven’t been able to take a bubble bath, or a regular bath, in over three months now! (Disclaimer *We have a shower but no tub) She said that if we ever got the urge to come on over! Haha. She also informed us that her children would be coming in the SAME night that we’re leaving! I’m so bummed! They all look like so much fun, and I’d love to be able to meet some more people who would be able to correctly pronounce my last name!

Speaking of which, Eva’s been teaching me how to say it, and I think I’ve just about got it down now! I’ll teach the rest of my family when I get home. . . Haha.

When that was all done, we sat down to eat lunch. It was around 2:00 which is normal here in Peru! People are appalled to hear that Liz and I usually eat around 11:00 or 11:30. I told some of my Peruvian friends that in high school, lunch period started at 10:30. They couldn’t believe it. Hah.

Her empleada was so kind and cooked us a delicious meal of aji de gallina, camote, papas, aceituna and homemade chichi morada! For dessert, we had a made from purple corn, pineapple and apples. I wish I could remember what it was called. . . something about amor and morada. Anyway, it was good! She also made us these cute cappuccinos with a machine that she showed me how to use. Being that Eva lived in Italy for 4 years, she enjoys her coffee! :)

Anyway, it was such a nice visit and I’m going to miss Eva when I’m home. She DID say that I could go visit her sometime when she moves back to Germany, and perhaps I will! God has blessed my time here so much with good friends, experiences and lessons. It’s amazing that I have met people in Peru that I now consider to be my friends. We’ve met the kindest Peruvians that exist along with people from Europe, Asia and America. It’s just been the craziest experience, and I couldn’t have planned it any better myself. These friends of ours have taken us into their homes, shared their food and stories with us and, most of all, shown us kindness and love, and I’m eternally grateful to them for that.

Katrina

“Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible. They've made a full report back to the church here, a message about your love. It's good work you're doing, helping these travelers on their way, hospitality worthy of God himself! They set out under the banner of the Name, and get no help from unbelievers. So they deserve any support we can give them. In providing meals and a bed, we become their companions in spreading the Truth.” 3 John 1:5-8