Update #1

So much has been going on for the past few weeks...a quick visit back to the States and a week's holiday climbing in the Andes. For now, I'll start with the trip back home and go from there (Update #2 and #3 coming up soon!).


WHY GO HOME FOR THREE DAYS?
Arturo's brother's wedding was on the last Sunday in April. I arrived with Arturo and his parents on Friday afternoon, but I had to return to Peru on Monday morning to finish teaching for the week. Luckily there's only a one hour time difference.

HOW WAS THE TRIP?
Aside from the fact that it was a whirlwind of a visit, it was really fun.


WHAT DID I DO?
On Friday, Arturo and I met his brother at LaGuardia, said a quick hello, and left to go to my grandmother's house. After another quick hello, we went to run some important errands. First, I got my International Driver's Permit. Now, I've got a year before I have to take the Peruvian Driving Test. Yeah! After depositing some money in the bank, we stopped by our favorite store, EMS, and managed to find Arturo a $100 coat for $40 because of a broken zipper.


Then, we went back to grandma's house where Mom and Wayne were waiting for us. Despite terrible traffic and some track problems, Dad, Sarita, Effie, Benjamin, and Leo were able to make it to dinner. As usual, grandma prepared a delicious - and enormous - meal. Of course, in addition to the delicious food, we had some wonderful conversations. It was so, so great to catch up!

After staying up late going through the boxes and packing up more clothing to bring to Peru, Arturo and I left early the next morning to head to NJ for the wedding weekend. We walked from Penn Station to Port Authority, a mere 8 blocks, but it felt great to be in the city...and tasted good, too. We had 'dirty water dogs' which tasted yummmy!


Next, it was off to NJ to meet Arturo's nephew and get ready for the wedding on Sunday. Details coming up in Update #2...