Since it's been a little while since I last updated, my first update is that it's official.. I renewed my contract to stay here for another year! God had been changing my heart and confirming this for several months now but I finally got up the nerve to sign the paper and turn it in several weeks ago. I'm super excited, even though it means being away from my family for a longer period of time. I can honestly say I have a ton of peace about the decision and I know this is where God wants me for this next year. I am so thankful for His guidance when I don't have a clue what the future looks like and I can just take it a year at a time. But thankfully I have been able to come home twice a year so far to spend some much needed time with family and friends.
Before I give an update on thanksgiving, I think a kitten update is long overdue. Unfortunately these pictures are actually a week or two old, so they're even bigger now, but this will have to do. We were able to find owners for 2 of them, so we have already given one away and will be giving the 2nd away tomorrow. But thankfully my roommates were sensitive to my attachment to these kittens and agreed that we can keep this little grey one, which is the most timid and least annoying of the 3, and we're hoping it stays that way. But here are some other pictures of them on my bed, where they have enjoyed peeing quite a bit over the last several weeks.. I'm trying to take it as a sign of their love.
Well, ironically enough, the zoo that our house has been recently with so many animals represents quite well the way the last month or so has been for me... crazy. This can be expected when the end of the semester is nearing, but for some reason I always seem to be amazed at all there is to do. We now have less than 2 weeks left until the end of the semester, Dec 18th, which is the same night that I'll be flying back to the States. Now that I am actually taking the time to think about being back home I'm getting super excited, especially after hearing that it snowed yesterday! It is the opposite here.. sunny and getting warmer.. but it's funny how much more normal that feels this year. Listening to Christmas music while running in shorts outside and spending Thanksgiving by a pool is beginning to feel like tradition, but I definitely still long for Christmas at home in Doylestown. I will be home for about 4 weeks before coming back and shortly after my mom, dad, and Erin will be visiting for a little over a week to go to Macchu Picchu and spend some time in Lima, which will be awesome!
In an effort to really have the holiday spirit this year, Amanda, Eden, and I decided to have 2 Thanksgiving celebrations this year. We went to Cieneguilla again (same place I went last year.. about an hour from home) for a few days to celebrate with about 10 American teachers from the school, which was a great time to relax, cook, eat, and sit by the pool.. and pretty much nothing else. There are a few pictures here, but I was feeling rather lazy with the camera so there aren't many. But we also decided we wanted to share this American holiday with our Peruvian friends, so we had about 10 Peruvians over the Sunday before to have a big American feast. I must say I am quite proud that we pulled off our first Thanksgiving dinner without our mom's to help! It was a lot of fun to share with them, even though they pretty much thought we were crazy for making so much food. I think they liked most of the traditional food, even our sweet potatoes with marshmallows and my pineapple stuffing (even though it's so not a Thanksgiving dish.. but they don't know that). However, we compromised somewhat by allowing the Peruvians staple, aji sauce, at the table to put on the turkey. So maybe they didn't have gravy all over their plate, but they still had the American experience. Here are some pictures of our cooking extravaganza and the group.
This is almost the whole group, but well, Peruvians aren't exactly known for their punctuality
Here are some pictures of Cieneguilla. We got off to an awesome start when we were picked up by a man with an awesome airport sign that said:
Only in Peru.
These are Rachel and Jeremy's adorable twin girls, Esther and Joy. They are precious and remind me a lot of my baby niece, Ella! They also have amazing hair, thanks to Amanda..
And of course, it wouldn't have been complete without Jeremy bringing his Slingbox so we could watch football and the Macy's parade on Thanksgiving. We might be away from home, but our holiday still manages to be quite typical, with the girls in the kitchen and the boys on the coach in front of the TV. I'd say that makes it a successful trip!